May 20, 2022 • 37 mins
Chris and Rob react to J.J. Redick’s comments about Bob Cousy, and Cousy’s follow-up response. Is it fair to compare certain players who played in different eras? Suns color analyst Eddie Johnson joins the show, and dives into what went wrong with the Phoenix Suns, Chris Paul’s future and much more! Plus, Chris Broussard’s “Fab Five” gives you the list of the Top 5 players left in the NBA Playoffs.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Odd Couple podcast. Be sure
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(00:21):
R party. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right,
it is the I Couple. I am Chris. Here is Rob.
You can follow us or social media. I'm at Chris
Underscore Bruce Art on Twitter, Chris Bruce R sixty eight
(00:41):
on Instagram. Rob is at Rob Parker FS one on
Twitter at Rob Parker FSR on the Gram and right
now we're both live from the Fox Sports Radio studios
and with prices soaring at the bump, I just got
some gas today and it was like, my goodness, this
is it wasn't telling me it wasn't La Gas six
(01:02):
nineteen to gallon. I'll tell you that, right, You're right,
you're right about that, Rob, it is I can't. I
can't complain. I guess compared to California, that's for sure.
But Discover wants to help you. They got your back,
and here's how it works. They've got this uh five
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(01:23):
and you'll earn five percent cash back when you use
it at gas stations and Target stores. That's now through
June on up to fifteen hundred dollars in purchases. That's
good when you activate, all right, learn more Discover dot
com Slash rewards limitations do apply. Eddie Johnson will join
us Rob at the bottom of the hour. And I
(01:44):
know you want to take him the task about his sons.
You know I'm going out to him, so I just
want you to know. And also you gave my Twitter
and Instagram handles. I'm thinking about changing it now for good.
Well can you though? I mean, you said it was
taking so long, Well, but I gotta. I'm thinking about
changing it to Rob Parker. H everything's not funny. I
(02:07):
told y'all. Every time I pick up my phone, oh,
I see some type of reference to Rob making the
Martin Van Buren High School Hall of Fame. Alex, Alex,
Have I overdone it or not? Have I over time?
I'd say, no, You're still within your realm. Okay, really,
you know it's kind of like hear me out, so
you know, like New Year's right, so you give people
(02:27):
like a couple of weeks because you haven't seen them
for New Year's right. The same thing as Rob hasn't
become it yet. So once he's become it, and say
a week or two has gone by, we're like, all right, Rob,
we get it now? Right, let me ask both? Can
I get there? I want to get yad. I didn't
even know y'all, didn't even know I was the Hall
of Famer. No, what school? What whom? Are you a
Hall of fame? Holy name high School? Really it was
(02:48):
back yeah, I mean, but that's my point. Real bad
boys moving silence? What did Little Way say? Real gangsters?
Movement side? When did when did they put you into
Hall of Fame? When it was when twenty sixteen? I
believe it's twenty It was either twenty sixteen or twenty seventeen.
And I'm in the Holy Name of High School Athletic
(03:09):
Call of Fame, Oh athletic call a fam I got you? Yes, yes, nice.
Listen to it. Listen to how he put a little
that you know what I'm saying what it's actually a
special It was combination of my sports prowess at high
school and my achievements afterward. I like how he said,
(03:30):
oh athletics. Okay, Okay, I'm gonna tell y'all something I
don't know, Rob, you might be able to match this.
I'm saying it's in all seriousness. This volume youngsters out there,
all you parents too, can encourage your kids. I made
the honor roll every quarter of my high school career. Wow,
(03:51):
and I was valedictorian. Rob as the only black kid
in my eighth grade class, I was a valedictorian of
the class. And you know, I'll be busting up stereotypes. Boy,
and you had all that time to study since you
weren't getting much peaked, So that's cool. I was just
I mean, our team was bad, but I was the
(04:12):
star of the basketball. I'm just saying I had I
told you already. I had my best sports years in Syracuse,
New York as an eighth grade. It was ridiculous, unbelievable.
We signed up late for baseball, right, we just moved there.
We had to sign up late for baseball, so they
had to put me in the miners. I was twelve
(04:34):
years old, Rob, you know, Majors was eleven and twelve
years old. Really good ten years old ten year olds
miners was like nine and ten year olds, right, So
for some reason they had to put me in the
made miners as a twelve year old. I was pretty
good baseball player, Rob, No, lie, this is absolutely no lie.
(04:55):
All right. My batting average was nine forty five. I
believe it. No, I believe it. I hit sixteen homers
in sixteen games. And then we won the championship six
to five, and I hit two three run homers in
that game. Unbelievable. It was ridiculous. Man. If I was
(05:15):
a parent, I'd say take that kid out of the league.
There was plenty of they were right, but it was bad.
And the next year I stepped up to the senior league.
You know that you're playing on a real field too,
You're playing on like a major league you know, sixty
foot six and six exactly. It was a total shot.
(05:38):
I mean I did all right, but you know it
was it was a definitely a big shot, all right. Um, Rob,
Let's get to some stuff that went on over the
last couple of weeks two weeks ago roughly, JJ ready,
who look, I'm gonna createit. Jjuh, he done it. I
think he's good. Rob. I think he gives really good analysis.
I think he can debate, go at it with Stephen A.
(06:01):
I think he's doing a good job and has the
future if he wants it in this in this broadcasting business.
He's even called some games. You think he's yeah, I
mean he's pretty good. I think he is uh more
like a prisoner of the prisoner of the moment kind
of guy moment in this era. But like last night, Yeah,
(06:25):
like he's one of those guys like everything that happened
yesterday is the greatest thing that ever happened. And I
think you just have to have some context. He's a
young guy, I get it, But just because you didn't
see the videotape or you don't know the story, if
you really want to be well rounded and balanced, you
just have to because we talk about it all the time.
We didn't see Babe Ruth play, but we know that
(06:48):
he's one of the greatest baseball players to ever played.
You see what I'm saying, Like, you have to have
that no matter what goes on in there. You just
can't totally dismiss him because he played in the twenties.
You can't. Well, I think you're referring to what he
said about Bibe Couzin, and I present the context. He
was going at it with Chris mad Dog Russo on
(07:09):
first take on ESPN, and he was Crusso was Russo
was saying Bobe Couzy was better than Chris Paul and
JJ Redick was like, first of all, don't even bring
me anybody before nineteen eighties. I mean I can bring
you a few, I can bring you will I can
bring your Russell like you can't totally dobody you know before,
(07:32):
right right, right, but anyway, and he ended it. He
got frustrated, I guess with Russo's argument, and he said
Couzy was playing against plumbers and firemen. Obviously rob a
reference to how back then a lot of NBA players
worked the second job every A lot of people did,
and a lot of great players, Chris, baseball players have
(07:54):
winner jobs. They weren't making a gazillion dollars they had
and you only got paid during the season. So a
lot of these guys had jobs. So I remember Richie
Hebner was a was a grave digger, Chris. I don't
know if you remember him. He's a first baseman, played
for the first Richie Hener. He did Doug Grays in
the off season. Wow. Wow. So anyway, that's what Reddick said.
(08:16):
And Bob Couzy robbed ninety three years old. Sounds like
he's in great shape, he answered yesterday or the day
before or in serious NBA radio, here he is. But
I will defend the fireman and the plumbers. So I
see who that fringished. How about Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain,
(08:38):
a guy named el Jin Baylor, Oscar robertson Jelly West
wasn't too shabby, and we must have had the best
fireman and plumbers on the planet of the time. I
love the answer from Couzy. Sounds great. He sounds ninety three.
My goodness, yeah, he sounds awesome. Here's what I'll saying.
(09:00):
I said it before, Rod, but it bears repeating. This
is my saying, and this is my real belief in philosophy.
The superstars of any era would be at least stars,
if not superstars of every era. The superstars of any
(09:22):
era would be at least stars of every era, and
some of them would be superstars. And I say that because, yeah,
well maybe if you take Bob Couzy as he was
and throw him in the day just as he was
in nineteen sixty one. But they put him in the
day to day then yeah, okay, he struggle, But like
(09:45):
you said, give him the benefits that today's players have,
the weight training, the nutrition, the diet, the better trainers,
the better coaching staffs and bigger coaching staffs, the charter flight,
the better sneakers, the year round play, being able to
work on your game year round, not even just as
(10:06):
an NBA player, but as a high school kid. If
you want, give him all of that and don't tell
me he couldn't be at least at least as good
as Chris Paul, Johnna Stockton, Steve Nash. It were robbed,
that's the thing, and the same goals for will Bill Russell,
(10:28):
Elgin Baylor. Give him all the benefits before you start
comparing them, or just say, look, they dominated their era
and it was no right. And Chris, here's the other thing.
There were only ten teams. There were thirty teams, right,
like a lot of players who who to only the
(10:49):
Kreme de la krem of the players who were playing
basketball played there were less spots. The biggest argument robbed
against that era, and maybe Jay J didn't want to
bring it up, but was the unwritten rule that you know,
you might only have a hand for the black players
per team. That's the biggest argument for the against that
(11:10):
there's no I get it, And that's the argument. It's
the argument against Babe Ruth that he never brought against
black or brown players his entire career. And we already know, Chris,
when you look at the record books, black and brown
and I mean Latino or Hispanic players are as great
as anybody. And they're all the pepper throughout the record books.
(11:31):
And they weren't allowed to play until nineteen forty seven
and they and they own the record books. So that
says speaks volumes, but it still doesn't mean that baby
couldn't play. And I'm with you. Given the right, uh circumstances,
Chris not taking train rides instead of chartering flights, they
take the train to games, and it was a different dynamic,
(11:56):
and those guys were still the best of the best.
And I think we gotta be careful because I was
mad at I think we had talked about this before
when the NBA had his top seventy five. Excuse me, well,
they did keep the top fifty as it was, because
remember we said that much right, you can't take You
can't do it, Chris, because it's not fair to those
guys who started the league and played under those circumstances
(12:17):
that they played in and excelled, And it's just not
fair to just go, oh, yeah, well we're not going
back that far. We're gonna start in nineteen eighty. That
just because you played reach ly don't mean you were
better than those other guys. So I think, um, I
think that's where JJ you can make it, Chris. If
you want to make a case against Bob Couzy, make
that case, but don't try to nullify him because he
(12:40):
played after nineteen before in nineteen eighty. I think that's
you can make a case right right. And I'm gonna
say this, Rob. We showed we talked about this on
First Things First this morning, and we showed some highlights
of Couzy and Rob and I've seen something here and there,
but he made six passes in a one and a
(13:05):
half minute, one minute highlight reel that today's players don't make.
I'm talking about passes that I've only seen Magic Johnson
mate consists. While I'm not lying over the like no,
look behind the head, I mean ridiculous stuff. And remember
he was, at least in the NBA, the first player
(13:28):
you saw doing the behind the back dribbles and the
fancy passing and things like that. And I'm saying, look,
guys today are passing like this. Go to YouTube, go
look up some Bob Couzy highlights and look at the passages.
I'm telling you you're not seeing players today make a
lot of things he passed. He made. But also, Rob,
(13:51):
I'm gonna say this because I've always said, look, Bill
Russell was about six nine, six ten and really couldn't shoot,
Rob right, He was a forty four percent shooter from
the field for his career, and you know, obviously he
was playing close to the basket. And some people would say, well,
come on, what would Bill Russell doing today's NBA and
all that blah blah. But I'm gonna say this, And
(14:13):
obviously he'd get the benefits of all we talked about earlier,
and I think he'd be great if he played today.
But Rob, before all you youngsters say, as he was,
there's no way he could play today. Rob, what is
Robert Williams the third doing, right? Now in the twenty
(14:35):
twenty two NBA Playoffs as a six eight center who
can't shoot a lick reaking havoc. What did Ben Wallace
due in Detroit as a six nine if that center?
He was like what four time defensive Player of the
Year or something like that and helped him win a championship? Right?
(15:00):
And Draymond greenplay center at six six? I mean not
all the time, but enough can't shoot. So we are saying,
if you give them the benefit of the doubt, you
know all the benefits of today, I should say they'd
be better. But Rob even taking some of them as
they were, like their strength, their athleticism was top notch,
(15:23):
and we got guys today that lacks some of the
skills you think they lack and are excelling. So be careful.
As Rob said, before you pooh pooh the superstars of
the past, we will throw it out to you guys
eight seven seven ninety nine Fox eight seven seven nine
nine six sixty three sixty nine. What you think about
(15:43):
Bob Kuzy clapping back at JJ Reddick for his plumbers
and fireman con comment you'll turn away with the eye couple.
Fox Sports Radio. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports
talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows
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Radio app search f SR to listen live. All right,
(16:06):
it's the ID Couple and we are brought to you
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three sixty nine. You'll turn the way in on the
Bob Kuzy JJ Reddick controversy. All right, Jabrill in Atlanta,
(16:51):
you're on the odd couple of Fox Sports Radio. What up?
What up? What's up? Man? I can't call it eight
you know, y'all? My boy, Oh here we go. I'm
glad JJ already said that because y'all generation, y'all think
a lot of y'allselfs, y'all not want to let nothing
that y'all did like we got my goodness, I didn't
(17:18):
see Bob. We didn't see we got that on. Come on, man, No,
I know I know, not him, y'all not in in
that generation. But y'all would not let y'all like refused
to say anybody in this generation can be the goat
or better than anything. No, we do. We say, we say,
hold on, keep keep him on the line, because we
(17:40):
you we say Lebron is the second best player ever.
Oh that you said that, because any time somebody would say,
like on Lebron or k D or Still or somebody
would dominate back then, y'all to say, not not in
(18:01):
in the twenties or whenever he were talking about, but
like backing at the nineties or eighties, they were too physical.
Let me all right, let me ask you this, Jabril,
what happened to Kevin Durant when Boston got physical with
him a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, Boston, the team
on Boston is better than the team No, but a
(18:23):
lot of it was about the physicality Boston. Hold on
Boston is better than say the Jordan Bulls or the
Nicks from back then, the Pistons from the nineties that
what you're saying, skill level? Y, No, they're not. No, No,
(18:43):
this was the bulls started Jordan Pipping Rodman, Ron Harper.
All those guys were athletic, long and athletic, and they
got more physical because the rules allowed it. Exactly, all right, Jabrill,
appreciate the call, fatar Right, Joe in Sunwise, Florida, you're
on the eye couple of Fox Sports Radio? What up? Joe?
(19:06):
The hell is JJ Reddick? What behind the ear? I know,
cozy shockstrap, little turn. Seriously, guys, come on, thank thank you.
That's all he wanted to say. Joey, he put it
out there. I'm not mad at him. Hey, how about
Dylan in Michigan. You're on the eye couple of Fox
Sports Radio? What up? Dylan? Hey? What's going on? Chris Bus?
(19:29):
Are you my favorite? Sports? Appreciate you give TB twelve
a break? Anyways on this, JJ Reddick, look at it you,
Tom Brady Lover all right, go ahead, I'm from Michigan.
Can you blame me? Sorry? Though? All right? I truly
believe Bob Couzie has a place in the NBA history books,
just along with all those other guys. I look at
it like this. Do you look at a seventies computer
the same way you look at a Mac that was
just made last week. I don't think you do. But
(19:51):
they all have their place in history. Yes, I think
we all just view it a little differently. They all
got to be remembered the same way. But I truly
don't believe those guys from the sixties and of needs
can hold water in today's game. Um, I think, thanks, well,
we said it. Look there's a few. I mean, you
take most of them as they were, No, but if
you give them the benefits, that's what we're saying. You
(20:13):
gotta remember it has to be all every time the same.
And like I said, there are a lot of guys
today that, like I robbed I said it. People would
would say Bill Russell wouldn't be as great because he
couldn't shoot, and he was only about six ten and ten.
I pointed out several guys today rob play Nixcel couldn't shoot, right,
Who were doing that? So no doubt? All right? Last one,
(20:35):
Marcus in Phoenix, you on the odd couple of Fox
Sports Radio? What up Marcus do good man? How are
you good? Good? Okay? So the only thing I think
first I'll say, I think, you know, all those players
back in the day definitely deserved their due and they
(20:55):
were you know, I'm sure they were drip players, great players,
but the elephant in the room, and for me, that's
always gonna to stick out there. I don't don't think
back in the day, there's a lot of guys sitting
on the sideline that wasn't allowed to be out there
over because of the side of times, the race issue, right,
So they were for their time back then because of that.
(21:20):
So I think it's true. There's no doubt, there's no
doubt some of the but some of but some of
the guys Chris is mentioning, Bill Russell was black, you
know what I mean, Like, uh, Will, I mean, he's
And I get your point one hundred percent, and we
said that earlier, we did. But but Chris is mentioning,
along with Bob Coozy, some black players who did play
(21:43):
during that era dominated Chris and given the same circumstances
and situations and benefits, we believe they would be stars.
Would they be superstars? We don't know that, but they would.
It's not like they couldn't play in the league. To
think that play doesn't make sense to me. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Odd Couple with Chris
Brussar then Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm Eastern four
(22:06):
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio
I Ches. If you want exclusive insight from the biggest
names in the sports game, what's good? This is national
champion and former pro bowler Chris Johnson. Let me tell
you a little bit about my new series. kJ J
Live is the only show featuring me going one on
(22:26):
one with the brightest basketball minds on the planet to
get the real. Then when I say real, I mean
that real. I got legendary Hall of famers, elite coaches,
and the top basketball insiders bringing you a unique perspective
on all things hoops culture that you will not find anywhere.
Helps to make your next move your best move. And
(22:48):
tap in with me on kJ Live wherever you get
your podcast from. All Right, here we go our man,
Eddie Johnson. Eddie? Where thank you? Where? All right? Rob? Robs?
Just where is he? I've been waiting to talk to him.
I'm shocked you even because let us call you? What's
going on? Eddie? What's happening? Hey? Rob? Wow? Let me
(23:11):
let let me let you know. I don't know how
many games I lost as a player. Okay, I went
the four Western Conference finals and I lost them, and
I didn't hide. You know why, Rob, You know why Rob?
They used to call me. They used to call me
(23:31):
a killer. Hey, I kill you. And that Eddie, Eddie,
too bad, don't let him jump bad? Too bad, too bad.
You weren't playing for the Suns this time because they
were no shows in Game seven. I told you last
year they were for Gayzy with that run to the championship,
(23:54):
and they were for gayzy and fraudulent, and they bamboozooed you,
that bamboos through the city of Phoenix, that bamboozo the
NBA and there thinking that they were contenders. There were
no contenders. That performance was as bad as it gets.
The Halem Globetrotters wanted to pour confetti on their head.
That's how bad it was. I'm taking it. I didn't
(24:21):
even interrupt you. Okay, okay, but what haschback? I'm a
pushback on you, and I know you would agree with this.
You know, Amy, tell you something, Man, If the Suns
played the Mavericks eight times in a Game seven, they
had to beating them seven up. You know, it was
just one of them games. Man. I'm sitting there watching it,
(24:41):
right and I'm staying to myself. I turned to my
wife about maybe halfway through the first quarter. I said,
we're in trouble because the rhythm of that game just
had negativity all over it, and the suns of that
credit was trying. Man. It just nothing went. It was
just like a thunderstorm. It was like a tornado and theater.
(25:04):
It's just like one of those occurrences that rarely happened.
It happened, man, and that's why you never let it
get to a game seven. Let me mean anything, the
songs are at fault is it is allowing it to
get to a game seven, man, and that's what costs him.
Let me ask you about Chris Paul who had what
does Chris the last five games? He had five straights
(25:27):
B games? What happened to him down or And we've
seen Chris have bad moments, bad games in big playoff moments,
but never like a stretch like that happen. I know, man,
and I'm gonna I'm gonna tell you all this, and
this is what I do respect about Chris. If he
doesn't divulge. If something's wrong with him, he does not
(25:51):
divulge you. And you know some players do, some don't,
and he's one of those guys. Something was wrong with him,
but nobody knows. Well he mentioned I mean, there's a
chod that came out. He didn't, but he didn't mention it.
He didn't. You think that was true without a doubt.
(26:12):
I think he was compromised because this is the way
I look at it. If that Chris Paul to go
five games like that, because the Chris fault we have
seen over the last few years and close out games
has been dynamic. Oh what is he afraid of? He's
got afraid of anything. So something was up. I mean,
(26:33):
you you give a guy credit like that. Now, it's
unfortunate and he has to live with it, and he
is living with it. He's not trying to get any excuses.
He's said he should have been better, you know, but
and that's all you have to live with. But I
believe that he was extremely compromised. But he's not gonna
talk about it. But here's my issue. I don't think
(26:54):
you're a good teammate if you're playing compromise and you
can't perform. I've really don't. I know it sounds good,
you want to give it old college try. You can't
play five games compromise where you can't do what you're
supposed to do and think that's gonna help the team.
Sometimes you gotta say I can't do it, Like Eddie,
(27:14):
Am I wrong? I mean at five bad games? Rob,
You're not wrong? But who did we have? Like campaign
was not campaign? We don't know what was wrong with him,
Like you know, he Monty took him out of the rotation. Now,
I would have liked for him to have given maybe
Aaron Holliday a shot to see what he could do,
(27:38):
but he went with Landry Shammond, and Landry Shammond didn't
play poorly. But Chris has been so dominant guys with
this offense and how it's executed. Anybody that would have
gotten out there would have had a struggle. And I
think that's something the Suns have to show up next
year because Chris a b back. Forget about this all
(27:59):
this retire, Okay, that's what I That's what I wanted
to ask you. Like, so you think Chris will definitely
be back? And what about DeAndre? Chris loves the game. Man,
I just cannot see him going away like that at all.
I just couldn't. I mean, I've gotten the normal a
little bit over the last few years. The guy loved basketball,
one of the first the gym want to last to leave,
(28:21):
always working with his teammates, and you all saw it.
He reconstructed his body, he took care of himself. So
that's the guy that loves the game. And also Lebron
is one of his best friends, and I'm sure they
both have a private bet who's gonna who's gonna last
a longer? Okay, So I don't I truly believe that's
not gonna happen. But after a tough game like that
(28:43):
in the tough series, yeah, I think you tend to
want to walk away. But after a few weeks he'll
be back to normal with DeAndre. Guys, look, the Sun's
obviously didn't mix, okay, And I'm just gonna get in
the mind of DeAndre. Okay, he didn't. They didn't mix them,
and Luca and Trey Young goat Max. But yet DeAndre
(29:04):
was on a team that went to the final. So
I'm gonna put you in the mind of a twenty
three year old, and how he's thinking, like, hold up now,
is it about winning or is it about stat Because
it's about winning. I was on the team that got
us to the finals. Oh, by the way, I played
well against Nicola Yokis last year in the semifinal round,
played well against the Clippers, and I don't get max.
(29:27):
I was the number one pick and they did. Okay,
that's his argument. Our argument is, we want to see
you mature more. We want to see you get better
in that category. We want to be able to count
it on you and get to your full potential. Okay,
we're not satisfied with nineteen and ten. We believe you're
twenty five and thirteen and fourteen guys. And I believe
(29:49):
he is as well if he put himself to it.
But what I will say, and I try to caution people,
he's twenty three. Like when I was twenty three, couldn't
still walk into dumb okay at the same time, and
so sometimes you just have to wait and see when
that maturity seeps in. We're seeing it with Dason Tatum
(30:10):
right now, and so we it with a big man.
It tends to drag on a little bit longer. So
you seem to have no doubt that they'll match whatever
offer a team puts out there for him. No, I
think I think they want him back, but I think
they have their mindset on what they want him for.
(30:30):
So I mean, I think it's up to de Andre
I do. I think it's up to him where he sits,
where he stands, and and and really the conversation that
he's gonna have with the Suns in regard to if
they do pay him, you know, is he gonna be
committed and and a part of the team, and that
it wouldn't be shocked in thirty seconds. I mean, there
(30:52):
was a story about him him kind of going at
it with Mine Williams on the sideline, only playing seventeen
minutes in Game seven. What can you tell us about that?
Is that, Yeah, I don't know much about it at all.
A lot of that stuff was always handled internally, as
Monty said, and this team got along for the most part,
(31:13):
and DeAndre got along with everybody for the most part.
He wasn't a kid that saught this year. Even though
he didn't get mac. He was very energized. He was
very charismatic, more charismatic than I've ever seen him really, so,
I just think you know, everybody's gonna go off. I mean,
Chris Paul had words with Monty during the course of
the playoffs. I mean, it's just so, It's just it's natural. Man.
(31:34):
I wouldn't put too much into that at all. But
I would just love to see DeAndre come back, but
I don't think it's one hundred percent that he will.
All right, that's our man, Eddie Johnson, former Sons player
and now color endless graf man, and you're band from
the show until the Sons win a championship. That means
(31:57):
you'll never be on the show again. You're done here, Eddie.
Thanks brother, having a good week. Best for the best,
all right, Bruce Hars five five is next. I've never
miss BRUSA. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk
lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at
(32:20):
Foxsports Radio dot com and within the iHeart Radio app.
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(32:42):
learn more discover dot com. Slash match limitations do apply.
It's time, folks for Bruce Hart's five five. Are you
ready pick the heat like Lapron, We're going big. It's goat,
It's Bruce sards f five. All right, here we go, guys.
(33:04):
This week's five five the five best players left in
the NBA Playoffs. Not who's been the best during the playoffs,
but the five best players just period left in the playoffs.
Here we go. Number five Jalen Brown, Boston Celtics guard
has given your twenty two and a half point seven boards,
(33:26):
almost four dimes on forty percent shooting from trey Jalen
Brown getting it done for the Celtics. Number four Jimmy Butler.
Somebody think this is loaf of Butler, Number four, but
he's given your thirty points a game, seven and a
half rebounds, five assists on get this fifty four percent shooting.
(33:52):
Jimmy Butler carrying the Miami Heat in Kyle Lowry's absence,
does it on both ends of the floor. I gotta
give him props. Number three. This man outplayed Kevin Durant
in the first series on both ends of the floor.
Jason Tatum boss himself. He's giving your twenty eight points,
(34:14):
six or sixt six rebounds and shooting thirty nine percent
from three, forty five percent overall, and has he merged
as a true and legitimate superstar. Number two Steph Curry,
three time NBA champion, trying to get that elusive Well,
first of all, he's trying to get the fourth championship,
(34:36):
but also that elusive finals MVP. A lot of his
fans would love to see him get that and put
the critics like Rob Parker the bad so they no
longer hang that over STEP's head. But he's giving your
twenty six and a half points a game, which is
basically his career playoff average, five and a half assists,
five rebounds, He's a good rebounder, fourth size, and shooting
(34:59):
forty five percent overall only thirty six percent from three.
So is that a sign he's getting a little older
or is that a sign that he's due to have
a breakout few weeks as these playoffs go on. Number one,
All right, you know who it is, the twenty three
year old sensation from Slovenia. Luca I had him first
(35:25):
team All NBA on my ballot Steph was second team.
Jason Tatum was also second team, Jimmy Butler was third team,
but Luca was first. I also had him fourth on
my MVP ballot. We're gonna see what he does tonight,
But so far in these playoffs, thirty and a half
points a game, ten rebounds, six and a half assists,
(35:47):
He's shooting forty six percent from the floor. Luca do
the best player left in these playoffs. And I told
you guys earlier, I think he's gonna get it done tonight,
not a wink, not a win. If they get a win, Look,
I think Golden State still wins the series, but that
would be something to worry about. You no longer have
(36:09):
home court advantage, And as Eddie Johnson said earlier, Rive,
you just don't want Golden State wouldn't melt in the
moment like Phoenix did. I believe, but you just don't
want to go to a Game seven when you're the
overwhelming favorite, because anything can happen. Rob at that point,
no doubt, you don't want to play around. It's fired, Chris,
(36:32):
because somebody could have a big game. And conversely, Chris,
one of your stars could have a terrible game. I
want to take this one steph Curry has a terrible
game and you're in trouble. It can happen, no doubt.
You don't want to. You don't want to go to
Game seven if you don't have to. So what you
think of my list right on the money? Fair? No?
(36:53):
I think it was a fair list. Luca is number one.
I think that's a fair pick. Tatum on Chris thought
you to have him about two. You have a head
of stuff, Yeah, I had him behind stuff. Yeah, I
would have on my head? Is stuff just for we
know you would just because you don't like stuff? Not
I don't who sing, I don't like stuff. I just me.
I like guys who make big shots when the moment matters.
(37:16):
I'm sorry. Is that stuff okay? Yeah, yeah it is.
You'll see, you'll see. Keep it like we got an
hour left. I couple of Fox Sports Radio
Thanks for listening to The Odd Couple podcast. Be sure
to check us out live every weekday from seven pm
to ten pm Eastern four to seven Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio. Find your local station for The Odd Couple
at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live
every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching F s
(00:21):
R party. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right,
it is the I Couple. I am Chris. Here is Rob.
You can follow us or social media. I'm at Chris
Underscore Bruce Art on Twitter, Chris Bruce R sixty eight
(00:41):
on Instagram. Rob is at Rob Parker FS one on
Twitter at Rob Parker FSR on the Gram and right
now we're both live from the Fox Sports Radio studios
and with prices soaring at the bump, I just got
some gas today and it was like, my goodness, this
is it wasn't telling me it wasn't La Gas six
(01:02):
nineteen to gallon. I'll tell you that, right, You're right,
you're right about that, Rob, it is I can't. I
can't complain. I guess compared to California, that's for sure.
But Discover wants to help you. They got your back,
and here's how it works. They've got this uh five
percent cash back program, so you use your Discover card
(01:23):
and you'll earn five percent cash back when you use
it at gas stations and Target stores. That's now through
June on up to fifteen hundred dollars in purchases. That's
good when you activate, all right, learn more Discover dot
com Slash rewards limitations do apply. Eddie Johnson will join
us Rob at the bottom of the hour. And I
(01:44):
know you want to take him the task about his sons.
You know I'm going out to him, so I just
want you to know. And also you gave my Twitter
and Instagram handles. I'm thinking about changing it now for good.
Well can you though? I mean, you said it was
taking so long, Well, but I gotta. I'm thinking about
changing it to Rob Parker. H everything's not funny. I
(02:07):
told y'all. Every time I pick up my phone, oh,
I see some type of reference to Rob making the
Martin Van Buren High School Hall of Fame. Alex, Alex,
Have I overdone it or not? Have I over time?
I'd say, no, You're still within your realm. Okay, really,
you know it's kind of like hear me out, so
you know, like New Year's right, so you give people
(02:27):
like a couple of weeks because you haven't seen them
for New Year's right. The same thing as Rob hasn't
become it yet. So once he's become it, and say
a week or two has gone by, we're like, all right, Rob,
we get it now? Right, let me ask both? Can
I get there? I want to get yad. I didn't
even know y'all, didn't even know I was the Hall
of Famer. No, what school? What whom? Are you a
Hall of fame? Holy name high School? Really it was
(02:48):
back yeah, I mean, but that's my point. Real bad
boys moving silence? What did Little Way say? Real gangsters?
Movement side? When did when did they put you into
Hall of Fame? When it was when twenty sixteen? I
believe it's twenty It was either twenty sixteen or twenty seventeen.
And I'm in the Holy Name of High School Athletic
(03:09):
Call of Fame, Oh athletic call a fam I got you? Yes, yes, nice.
Listen to it. Listen to how he put a little
that you know what I'm saying what it's actually a
special It was combination of my sports prowess at high
school and my achievements afterward. I like how he said,
(03:30):
oh athletics. Okay, Okay, I'm gonna tell y'all something I
don't know, Rob, you might be able to match this.
I'm saying it's in all seriousness. This volume youngsters out there,
all you parents too, can encourage your kids. I made
the honor roll every quarter of my high school career. Wow,
(03:51):
and I was valedictorian. Rob as the only black kid
in my eighth grade class, I was a valedictorian of
the class. And you know, I'll be busting up stereotypes. Boy,
and you had all that time to study since you
weren't getting much peaked, So that's cool. I was just
I mean, our team was bad, but I was the
(04:12):
star of the basketball. I'm just saying I had I
told you already. I had my best sports years in Syracuse,
New York as an eighth grade. It was ridiculous, unbelievable.
We signed up late for baseball, right, we just moved there.
We had to sign up late for baseball, so they
had to put me in the miners. I was twelve
(04:34):
years old, Rob, you know, Majors was eleven and twelve
years old. Really good ten years old ten year olds
miners was like nine and ten year olds, right, So
for some reason they had to put me in the
made miners as a twelve year old. I was pretty
good baseball player, Rob, No, lie, this is absolutely no lie.
(04:55):
All right. My batting average was nine forty five. I
believe it. No, I believe it. I hit sixteen homers
in sixteen games. And then we won the championship six
to five, and I hit two three run homers in
that game. Unbelievable. It was ridiculous. Man. If I was
(05:15):
a parent, I'd say take that kid out of the league.
There was plenty of they were right, but it was bad.
And the next year I stepped up to the senior league.
You know that you're playing on a real field too,
You're playing on like a major league you know, sixty
foot six and six exactly. It was a total shot.
(05:38):
I mean I did all right, but you know it
was it was a definitely a big shot, all right. Um, Rob,
Let's get to some stuff that went on over the
last couple of weeks two weeks ago roughly, JJ ready,
who look, I'm gonna createit. Jjuh, he done it. I
think he's good. Rob. I think he gives really good analysis.
I think he can debate, go at it with Stephen A.
(06:01):
I think he's doing a good job and has the
future if he wants it in this in this broadcasting business.
He's even called some games. You think he's yeah, I
mean he's pretty good. I think he is uh more
like a prisoner of the prisoner of the moment kind
of guy moment in this era. But like last night, Yeah,
(06:25):
like he's one of those guys like everything that happened
yesterday is the greatest thing that ever happened. And I
think you just have to have some context. He's a
young guy, I get it, But just because you didn't
see the videotape or you don't know the story, if
you really want to be well rounded and balanced, you
just have to because we talk about it all the time.
We didn't see Babe Ruth play, but we know that
(06:48):
he's one of the greatest baseball players to ever played.
You see what I'm saying, Like, you have to have
that no matter what goes on in there. You just
can't totally dismiss him because he played in the twenties.
You can't. Well, I think you're referring to what he
said about Bibe Couzin, and I present the context. He
was going at it with Chris mad Dog Russo on
(07:09):
first take on ESPN, and he was Crusso was Russo
was saying Bobe Couzy was better than Chris Paul and
JJ Redick was like, first of all, don't even bring
me anybody before nineteen eighties. I mean I can bring
you a few, I can bring you will I can
bring your Russell like you can't totally dobody you know before,
(07:32):
right right, right, but anyway, and he ended it. He
got frustrated, I guess with Russo's argument, and he said
Couzy was playing against plumbers and firemen. Obviously rob a
reference to how back then a lot of NBA players
worked the second job every A lot of people did,
and a lot of great players, Chris, baseball players have
(07:54):
winner jobs. They weren't making a gazillion dollars they had
and you only got paid during the season. So a
lot of these guys had jobs. So I remember Richie
Hebner was a was a grave digger, Chris. I don't
know if you remember him. He's a first baseman, played
for the first Richie Hener. He did Doug Grays in
the off season. Wow. Wow. So anyway, that's what Reddick said.
(08:16):
And Bob Couzy robbed ninety three years old. Sounds like
he's in great shape, he answered yesterday or the day
before or in serious NBA radio, here he is. But
I will defend the fireman and the plumbers. So I
see who that fringished. How about Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain,
(08:38):
a guy named el Jin Baylor, Oscar robertson Jelly West
wasn't too shabby, and we must have had the best
fireman and plumbers on the planet of the time. I
love the answer from Couzy. Sounds great. He sounds ninety three.
My goodness, yeah, he sounds awesome. Here's what I'll saying.
(09:00):
I said it before, Rod, but it bears repeating. This
is my saying, and this is my real belief in philosophy.
The superstars of any era would be at least stars,
if not superstars of every era. The superstars of any
(09:22):
era would be at least stars of every era, and
some of them would be superstars. And I say that because, yeah,
well maybe if you take Bob Couzy as he was
and throw him in the day just as he was
in nineteen sixty one. But they put him in the
day to day then yeah, okay, he struggle, But like
(09:45):
you said, give him the benefits that today's players have,
the weight training, the nutrition, the diet, the better trainers,
the better coaching staffs and bigger coaching staffs, the charter flight,
the better sneakers, the year round play, being able to
work on your game year round, not even just as
(10:06):
an NBA player, but as a high school kid. If
you want, give him all of that and don't tell
me he couldn't be at least at least as good
as Chris Paul, Johnna Stockton, Steve Nash. It were robbed,
that's the thing, and the same goals for will Bill Russell,
(10:28):
Elgin Baylor. Give him all the benefits before you start
comparing them, or just say, look, they dominated their era
and it was no right. And Chris, here's the other thing.
There were only ten teams. There were thirty teams, right,
like a lot of players who who to only the
(10:49):
Kreme de la krem of the players who were playing
basketball played there were less spots. The biggest argument robbed
against that era, and maybe Jay J didn't want to
bring it up, but was the unwritten rule that you know,
you might only have a hand for the black players
per team. That's the biggest argument for the against that
(11:10):
there's no I get it, And that's the argument. It's
the argument against Babe Ruth that he never brought against
black or brown players his entire career. And we already know, Chris,
when you look at the record books, black and brown
and I mean Latino or Hispanic players are as great
as anybody. And they're all the pepper throughout the record books.
(11:31):
And they weren't allowed to play until nineteen forty seven
and they and they own the record books. So that
says speaks volumes, but it still doesn't mean that baby
couldn't play. And I'm with you. Given the right, uh circumstances,
Chris not taking train rides instead of chartering flights, they
take the train to games, and it was a different dynamic,
(11:56):
and those guys were still the best of the best.
And I think we gotta be careful because I was
mad at I think we had talked about this before
when the NBA had his top seventy five. Excuse me, well,
they did keep the top fifty as it was, because
remember we said that much right, you can't take You
can't do it, Chris, because it's not fair to those
guys who started the league and played under those circumstances
(12:17):
that they played in and excelled, And it's just not
fair to just go, oh, yeah, well we're not going
back that far. We're gonna start in nineteen eighty. That
just because you played reach ly don't mean you were
better than those other guys. So I think, um, I
think that's where JJ you can make it, Chris. If
you want to make a case against Bob Couzy, make
that case, but don't try to nullify him because he
(12:40):
played after nineteen before in nineteen eighty. I think that's
you can make a case right right. And I'm gonna
say this, Rob. We showed we talked about this on
First Things First this morning, and we showed some highlights
of Couzy and Rob and I've seen something here and there,
but he made six passes in a one and a
(13:05):
half minute, one minute highlight reel that today's players don't make.
I'm talking about passes that I've only seen Magic Johnson
mate consists. While I'm not lying over the like no,
look behind the head, I mean ridiculous stuff. And remember
he was, at least in the NBA, the first player
(13:28):
you saw doing the behind the back dribbles and the
fancy passing and things like that. And I'm saying, look,
guys today are passing like this. Go to YouTube, go
look up some Bob Couzy highlights and look at the passages.
I'm telling you you're not seeing players today make a
lot of things he passed. He made. But also, Rob,
(13:51):
I'm gonna say this because I've always said, look, Bill
Russell was about six nine, six ten and really couldn't shoot,
Rob right, He was a forty four percent shooter from
the field for his career, and you know, obviously he
was playing close to the basket. And some people would say, well,
come on, what would Bill Russell doing today's NBA and
all that blah blah. But I'm gonna say this, And
(14:13):
obviously he'd get the benefits of all we talked about earlier,
and I think he'd be great if he played today.
But Rob, before all you youngsters say, as he was,
there's no way he could play today. Rob, what is
Robert Williams the third doing, right? Now in the twenty
(14:35):
twenty two NBA Playoffs as a six eight center who
can't shoot a lick reaking havoc. What did Ben Wallace
due in Detroit as a six nine if that center?
He was like what four time defensive Player of the
Year or something like that and helped him win a championship? Right?
(15:00):
And Draymond greenplay center at six six? I mean not
all the time, but enough can't shoot. So we are saying,
if you give them the benefit of the doubt, you
know all the benefits of today, I should say they'd
be better. But Rob even taking some of them as
they were, like their strength, their athleticism was top notch,
(15:23):
and we got guys today that lacks some of the
skills you think they lack and are excelling. So be careful.
As Rob said, before you pooh pooh the superstars of
the past, we will throw it out to you guys
eight seven seven ninety nine Fox eight seven seven nine
nine six sixty three sixty nine. What you think about
(15:43):
Bob Kuzy clapping back at JJ Reddick for his plumbers
and fireman con comment you'll turn away with the eye couple.
Fox Sports Radio. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports
talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows
at Fox Sports Radio dot com and within the iHeart
Radio app search f SR to listen live. All right,
(16:06):
it's the ID Couple and we are brought to you
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(16:28):
Getting the job done just got easier. Restrictions do apply
getting the zone all those zone eight seven seven ninety
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three sixty nine. You'll turn the way in on the
Bob Kuzy JJ Reddick controversy. All right, Jabrill in Atlanta,
(16:51):
you're on the odd couple of Fox Sports Radio. What up?
What up? What's up? Man? I can't call it eight
you know, y'all? My boy, Oh here we go. I'm
glad JJ already said that because y'all generation, y'all think
a lot of y'allselfs, y'all not want to let nothing
that y'all did like we got my goodness, I didn't
(17:18):
see Bob. We didn't see we got that on. Come on, man, No,
I know I know, not him, y'all not in in
that generation. But y'all would not let y'all like refused
to say anybody in this generation can be the goat
or better than anything. No, we do. We say, we say,
hold on, keep keep him on the line, because we
(17:40):
you we say Lebron is the second best player ever.
Oh that you said that, because any time somebody would say,
like on Lebron or k D or Still or somebody
would dominate back then, y'all to say, not not in
(18:01):
in the twenties or whenever he were talking about, but
like backing at the nineties or eighties, they were too physical.
Let me all right, let me ask you this, Jabril,
what happened to Kevin Durant when Boston got physical with
him a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, Boston, the team
on Boston is better than the team No, but a
(18:23):
lot of it was about the physicality Boston. Hold on
Boston is better than say the Jordan Bulls or the
Nicks from back then, the Pistons from the nineties that
what you're saying, skill level? Y, No, they're not. No, No,
(18:43):
this was the bulls started Jordan Pipping Rodman, Ron Harper.
All those guys were athletic, long and athletic, and they
got more physical because the rules allowed it. Exactly, all right, Jabrill,
appreciate the call, fatar Right, Joe in Sunwise, Florida, you're
on the eye couple of Fox Sports Radio? What up? Joe?
(19:06):
The hell is JJ Reddick? What behind the ear? I know,
cozy shockstrap, little turn. Seriously, guys, come on, thank thank you.
That's all he wanted to say. Joey, he put it
out there. I'm not mad at him. Hey, how about
Dylan in Michigan. You're on the eye couple of Fox
Sports Radio? What up? Dylan? Hey? What's going on? Chris Bus?
(19:29):
Are you my favorite? Sports? Appreciate you give TB twelve
a break? Anyways on this, JJ Reddick, look at it you,
Tom Brady Lover all right, go ahead, I'm from Michigan.
Can you blame me? Sorry? Though? All right? I truly
believe Bob Couzie has a place in the NBA history books,
just along with all those other guys. I look at
it like this. Do you look at a seventies computer
the same way you look at a Mac that was
just made last week. I don't think you do. But
(19:51):
they all have their place in history. Yes, I think
we all just view it a little differently. They all
got to be remembered the same way. But I truly
don't believe those guys from the sixties and of needs
can hold water in today's game. Um, I think, thanks, well,
we said it. Look there's a few. I mean, you
take most of them as they were, No, but if
you give them the benefits, that's what we're saying. You
(20:13):
gotta remember it has to be all every time the same.
And like I said, there are a lot of guys
today that, like I robbed I said it. People would
would say Bill Russell wouldn't be as great because he
couldn't shoot, and he was only about six ten and ten.
I pointed out several guys today rob play Nixcel couldn't shoot, right,
Who were doing that? So no doubt? All right? Last one,
(20:35):
Marcus in Phoenix, you on the odd couple of Fox
Sports Radio? What up Marcus do good man? How are
you good? Good? Okay? So the only thing I think
first I'll say, I think, you know, all those players
back in the day definitely deserved their due and they
(20:55):
were you know, I'm sure they were drip players, great players,
but the elephant in the room, and for me, that's
always gonna to stick out there. I don't don't think
back in the day, there's a lot of guys sitting
on the sideline that wasn't allowed to be out there
over because of the side of times, the race issue, right,
So they were for their time back then because of that.
(21:20):
So I think it's true. There's no doubt, there's no
doubt some of the but some of but some of
the guys Chris is mentioning, Bill Russell was black, you
know what I mean, Like, uh, Will, I mean, he's
And I get your point one hundred percent, and we
said that earlier, we did. But but Chris is mentioning,
along with Bob Coozy, some black players who did play
(21:43):
during that era dominated Chris and given the same circumstances
and situations and benefits, we believe they would be stars.
Would they be superstars? We don't know that, but they would.
It's not like they couldn't play in the league. To
think that play doesn't make sense to me. Be sure
to catch live editions of The Odd Couple with Chris
Brussar then Rob Parker weekdays at seven pm Eastern four
(22:06):
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeart Radio
I Ches. If you want exclusive insight from the biggest
names in the sports game, what's good? This is national
champion and former pro bowler Chris Johnson. Let me tell
you a little bit about my new series. kJ J
Live is the only show featuring me going one on
(22:26):
one with the brightest basketball minds on the planet to
get the real. Then when I say real, I mean
that real. I got legendary Hall of famers, elite coaches,
and the top basketball insiders bringing you a unique perspective
on all things hoops culture that you will not find anywhere.
Helps to make your next move your best move. And
(22:48):
tap in with me on kJ Live wherever you get
your podcast from. All Right, here we go our man,
Eddie Johnson. Eddie? Where thank you? Where? All right? Rob? Robs?
Just where is he? I've been waiting to talk to him.
I'm shocked you even because let us call you? What's
going on? Eddie? What's happening? Hey? Rob? Wow? Let me
(23:11):
let let me let you know. I don't know how
many games I lost as a player. Okay, I went
the four Western Conference finals and I lost them, and
I didn't hide. You know why, Rob, You know why Rob?
They used to call me. They used to call me
(23:31):
a killer. Hey, I kill you. And that Eddie, Eddie,
too bad, don't let him jump bad? Too bad, too bad.
You weren't playing for the Suns this time because they
were no shows in Game seven. I told you last
year they were for Gayzy with that run to the championship,
(23:54):
and they were for gayzy and fraudulent, and they bamboozooed you,
that bamboos through the city of Phoenix, that bamboozo the
NBA and there thinking that they were contenders. There were
no contenders. That performance was as bad as it gets.
The Halem Globetrotters wanted to pour confetti on their head.
That's how bad it was. I'm taking it. I didn't
(24:21):
even interrupt you. Okay, okay, but what haschback? I'm a
pushback on you, and I know you would agree with this.
You know, Amy, tell you something, Man, If the Suns
played the Mavericks eight times in a Game seven, they
had to beating them seven up. You know, it was
just one of them games. Man. I'm sitting there watching it,
(24:41):
right and I'm staying to myself. I turned to my
wife about maybe halfway through the first quarter. I said,
we're in trouble because the rhythm of that game just
had negativity all over it, and the suns of that
credit was trying. Man. It just nothing went. It was
just like a thunderstorm. It was like a tornado and theater.
(25:04):
It's just like one of those occurrences that rarely happened.
It happened, man, and that's why you never let it
get to a game seven. Let me mean anything, the
songs are at fault is it is allowing it to
get to a game seven, man, and that's what costs him.
Let me ask you about Chris Paul who had what
does Chris the last five games? He had five straights
(25:27):
B games? What happened to him down or And we've
seen Chris have bad moments, bad games in big playoff moments,
but never like a stretch like that happen. I know, man,
and I'm gonna I'm gonna tell you all this, and
this is what I do respect about Chris. If he
doesn't divulge. If something's wrong with him, he does not
(25:51):
divulge you. And you know some players do, some don't,
and he's one of those guys. Something was wrong with him,
but nobody knows. Well he mentioned I mean, there's a
chod that came out. He didn't, but he didn't mention it.
He didn't. You think that was true without a doubt.
(26:12):
I think he was compromised because this is the way
I look at it. If that Chris Paul to go
five games like that, because the Chris fault we have
seen over the last few years and close out games
has been dynamic. Oh what is he afraid of? He's
got afraid of anything. So something was up. I mean,
(26:33):
you you give a guy credit like that. Now, it's
unfortunate and he has to live with it, and he
is living with it. He's not trying to get any excuses.
He's said he should have been better, you know, but
and that's all you have to live with. But I
believe that he was extremely compromised. But he's not gonna
talk about it. But here's my issue. I don't think
(26:54):
you're a good teammate if you're playing compromise and you
can't perform. I've really don't. I know it sounds good,
you want to give it old college try. You can't
play five games compromise where you can't do what you're
supposed to do and think that's gonna help the team.
Sometimes you gotta say I can't do it, Like Eddie,
(27:14):
Am I wrong? I mean at five bad games? Rob,
You're not wrong? But who did we have? Like campaign
was not campaign? We don't know what was wrong with him,
Like you know, he Monty took him out of the rotation. Now,
I would have liked for him to have given maybe
Aaron Holliday a shot to see what he could do,
(27:38):
but he went with Landry Shammond, and Landry Shammond didn't
play poorly. But Chris has been so dominant guys with
this offense and how it's executed. Anybody that would have
gotten out there would have had a struggle. And I
think that's something the Suns have to show up next
year because Chris a b back. Forget about this all
(27:59):
this retire, Okay, that's what I That's what I wanted
to ask you. Like, so you think Chris will definitely
be back? And what about DeAndre? Chris loves the game. Man,
I just cannot see him going away like that at all.
I just couldn't. I mean, I've gotten the normal a
little bit over the last few years. The guy loved basketball,
one of the first the gym want to last to leave,
(28:21):
always working with his teammates, and you all saw it.
He reconstructed his body, he took care of himself. So
that's the guy that loves the game. And also Lebron
is one of his best friends, and I'm sure they
both have a private bet who's gonna who's gonna last
a longer? Okay, So I don't I truly believe that's
not gonna happen. But after a tough game like that
(28:43):
in the tough series, yeah, I think you tend to
want to walk away. But after a few weeks he'll
be back to normal with DeAndre. Guys, look, the Sun's
obviously didn't mix, okay, And I'm just gonna get in
the mind of DeAndre. Okay, he didn't. They didn't mix them,
and Luca and Trey Young goat Max. But yet DeAndre
(29:04):
was on a team that went to the final. So
I'm gonna put you in the mind of a twenty
three year old, and how he's thinking, like, hold up now,
is it about winning or is it about stat Because
it's about winning. I was on the team that got
us to the finals. Oh, by the way, I played
well against Nicola Yokis last year in the semifinal round,
played well against the Clippers, and I don't get max.
(29:27):
I was the number one pick and they did. Okay,
that's his argument. Our argument is, we want to see
you mature more. We want to see you get better
in that category. We want to be able to count
it on you and get to your full potential. Okay,
we're not satisfied with nineteen and ten. We believe you're
twenty five and thirteen and fourteen guys. And I believe
(29:49):
he is as well if he put himself to it.
But what I will say, and I try to caution people,
he's twenty three. Like when I was twenty three, couldn't
still walk into dumb okay at the same time, and
so sometimes you just have to wait and see when
that maturity seeps in. We're seeing it with Dason Tatum
(30:10):
right now, and so we it with a big man.
It tends to drag on a little bit longer. So
you seem to have no doubt that they'll match whatever
offer a team puts out there for him. No, I
think I think they want him back, but I think
they have their mindset on what they want him for.
(30:30):
So I mean, I think it's up to de Andre
I do. I think it's up to him where he sits,
where he stands, and and and really the conversation that
he's gonna have with the Suns in regard to if
they do pay him, you know, is he gonna be
committed and and a part of the team, and that
it wouldn't be shocked in thirty seconds. I mean, there
(30:52):
was a story about him him kind of going at
it with Mine Williams on the sideline, only playing seventeen
minutes in Game seven. What can you tell us about that?
Is that, Yeah, I don't know much about it at all.
A lot of that stuff was always handled internally, as
Monty said, and this team got along for the most part,
(31:13):
and DeAndre got along with everybody for the most part.
He wasn't a kid that saught this year. Even though
he didn't get mac. He was very energized. He was
very charismatic, more charismatic than I've ever seen him really, so,
I just think you know, everybody's gonna go off. I mean,
Chris Paul had words with Monty during the course of
the playoffs. I mean, it's just so, It's just it's natural. Man.
(31:34):
I wouldn't put too much into that at all. But
I would just love to see DeAndre come back, but
I don't think it's one hundred percent that he will.
All right, that's our man, Eddie Johnson, former Sons player
and now color endless graf man, and you're band from
the show until the Sons win a championship. That means
(31:57):
you'll never be on the show again. You're done here, Eddie.
Thanks brother, having a good week. Best for the best,
all right, Bruce Hars five five is next. I've never
miss BRUSA. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk
lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at
(32:20):
Foxsports Radio dot com and within the iHeart Radio app.
Search f SR to listen live. All right. If you're
a value customer, you deserve a simple gesture of appreciation
from your credit card company. That's why I discover card
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(32:42):
learn more discover dot com. Slash match limitations do apply.
It's time, folks for Bruce Hart's five five. Are you
ready pick the heat like Lapron, We're going big. It's goat,
It's Bruce sards f five. All right, here we go, guys.
(33:04):
This week's five five the five best players left in
the NBA Playoffs. Not who's been the best during the playoffs,
but the five best players just period left in the playoffs.
Here we go. Number five Jalen Brown, Boston Celtics guard
has given your twenty two and a half point seven boards,
(33:26):
almost four dimes on forty percent shooting from trey Jalen
Brown getting it done for the Celtics. Number four Jimmy Butler.
Somebody think this is loaf of Butler, Number four, but
he's given your thirty points a game, seven and a
half rebounds, five assists on get this fifty four percent shooting.
(33:52):
Jimmy Butler carrying the Miami Heat in Kyle Lowry's absence,
does it on both ends of the floor. I gotta
give him props. Number three. This man outplayed Kevin Durant
in the first series on both ends of the floor.
Jason Tatum boss himself. He's giving your twenty eight points,
(34:14):
six or sixt six rebounds and shooting thirty nine percent
from three, forty five percent overall, and has he merged
as a true and legitimate superstar. Number two Steph Curry,
three time NBA champion, trying to get that elusive Well,
first of all, he's trying to get the fourth championship,
(34:36):
but also that elusive finals MVP. A lot of his
fans would love to see him get that and put
the critics like Rob Parker the bad so they no
longer hang that over STEP's head. But he's giving your
twenty six and a half points a game, which is
basically his career playoff average, five and a half assists,
five rebounds, He's a good rebounder, fourth size, and shooting
(34:59):
forty five percent overall only thirty six percent from three.
So is that a sign he's getting a little older
or is that a sign that he's due to have
a breakout few weeks as these playoffs go on. Number one,
All right, you know who it is, the twenty three
year old sensation from Slovenia. Luca I had him first
(35:25):
team All NBA on my ballot Steph was second team.
Jason Tatum was also second team, Jimmy Butler was third team,
but Luca was first. I also had him fourth on
my MVP ballot. We're gonna see what he does tonight,
But so far in these playoffs, thirty and a half
points a game, ten rebounds, six and a half assists,
(35:47):
He's shooting forty six percent from the floor. Luca do
the best player left in these playoffs. And I told
you guys earlier, I think he's gonna get it done tonight,
not a wink, not a win. If they get a win, Look,
I think Golden State still wins the series, but that
would be something to worry about. You no longer have
(36:09):
home court advantage, And as Eddie Johnson said earlier, Rive,
you just don't want Golden State wouldn't melt in the
moment like Phoenix did. I believe, but you just don't
want to go to a Game seven when you're the
overwhelming favorite, because anything can happen. Rob at that point,
no doubt, you don't want to play around. It's fired, Chris,
(36:32):
because somebody could have a big game. And conversely, Chris,
one of your stars could have a terrible game. I
want to take this one steph Curry has a terrible
game and you're in trouble. It can happen, no doubt.
You don't want to. You don't want to go to
Game seven if you don't have to. So what you
think of my list right on the money? Fair? No?
(36:53):
I think it was a fair list. Luca is number one.
I think that's a fair pick. Tatum on Chris thought
you to have him about two. You have a head
of stuff, Yeah, I had him behind stuff. Yeah, I
would have on my head? Is stuff just for we
know you would just because you don't like stuff? Not
I don't who sing, I don't like stuff. I just me.
I like guys who make big shots when the moment matters.
(37:16):
I'm sorry. Is that stuff okay? Yeah, yeah it is.
You'll see, you'll see. Keep it like we got an
hour left. I couple of Fox Sports Radio
Hosts And Creators
kelvin washington
Rob Parker
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