On today’s episode, Jason discusses his beloved New York Knicks falling behind 3-1 to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals and the idea that these playoffs have proven that the ideal roster build in today’s NBA is more about depth than top-end talent. Later, J-Mac is joined by Spectrum SportsNet host and reporter Nikki Kay to discuss how the Oklahoma City Thunder have rebounded so beautifully after losing both Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook this decade, what makes this current OKC team built to last around MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, why the national media keeps disrespecting the Thunder, whether the League is better off with super teams or homegrown squads from small markets dominating, and much more!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
What is up straight Fire, Famp. It's me Jason McIntyre,
Straight Fire for Wednesday, May the twenty eighth. I would
say we have a phenomenal podcast today with a new guest.
The problem is my freaking Nicks lost, and I'm a
little perturbed if you could not tell. But our guest
today Nicki Kay. She has covered sports for a long time,
(00:34):
well not that long. She's young, and she now is
covering sports for Spectrum Sports, not out here in LA
and is at all the big games and everything. And
she has covered Oklahoma City plenty in her young journalism career.
So I thought I'd bring on a OKAC kind of
person to balance it out. Yes, okase fans, I've been
hearing it, j mcra hater blah blah blah. Okay, we'll
(00:55):
address some of that with Nicki. First things first, your
boy can't catch a break, guys. I was all fired
up for the Knicks. I thought they had a good chance,
thought they could win this one out right, bet them.
Timothy Shallam May my guy showing up for Game four
and the Knicks play no defense at all, give up
(01:18):
forty three points in the first quarter. I knew it
was over at that point. I'm like, you can't win
on the road. Giving up forty three in the first quarter.
I was like, what's happening. Thibodeau's calling cards defense and
they give up forty three in the first quarter. I know, Jay,
it's about the players, it's not about the coach. Well,
I don't know. Coach has to adjust. And the Pacers
pretty quickly figured out, Oh, guess.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
What when Karl Anthony Towns is the only big on
the floor, We're gonna put him on and pick and
roll up top and Hallie's just gonna run a layup
line and just get easy stuff, because's who's gonna block
shots on the back line?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Who are you worried about? And I was just stunned
at the lack of rim per TI. I don't have
an exact number on layups, but it felt like the
Pacers had at least ten to fifteen. Just disappointing. Pacers
did not shoot it great from three. Then Knicks outshot
them from three. Guys, I told you this was gonna happen.
Pacers forty percent, Knicks forty two percent. So Knicks made
(02:18):
thirty three of thirty nine free throws. Knicks couldn't miss
from in close. Nis had more offensive rebounds. How do
you lose this game? Nicks better from three? Uh? They
were both eighty four percent from the line. Nick's thirteen
offensive rebounds. How do you lose this game? I just
(02:39):
I was so perplexed, And a lot of it comes
down to the Knicks could not get stops and the
Indiana Pacers ball movement is much better. And of course
Tyreese Halliburton outplayed Jalen Brunson brunts and the stat line
will show thirty one five assists. Okay, it wasn't terrible.
He was about of sixteen, but Haliburton was thirty two points,
(02:59):
fifteen assists, twelve rebounds and zero turnovers, the first in
NBA history thirty two sorry, thirty or more points, fifteen
or more assists, ten or more rebounds with zero turnovers.
A magnificent performance. Haliburton was spectacular. The funniest part of
this game was late the knickser cut it to six,
(03:19):
maybe it was seven at this point, and Halliburton gets
to switch and he gets an io against Karl Anthony Towns,
which his eyes light up at anytime that happens because
Cat can move his feet and the Pacers call time
out and Haliburton like drops the ball and stands there
looking around like he's doing that, head moving to the side,
eyes wide aed, like wait, what just happened? What do
we do? Really? Time out? When I got Cat isoed?
(03:43):
Just a masterful performance from Haliburton. He's emerging as one
of the best stars in the NBA. Probably have to
do a top ten list of the best players in
the league, and this season, undeniably Haliburton's one of them.
Ben Matherin came off the bench to scored twenty in
twelve minutes. I mean, that guy's a tornado. Listen. Obviously,
I'm crushed that the Knicks are not going to the finals.
(04:05):
They're down three to one. I don't know. I'm recording
this at about midnight after the Knicks lost, So I
guess there's a chance that you know, there's bad news
for Karl Anthony Towns who bang knees with Nie Smith
late in the game. I guess there's bad potential bad
news for Karl Anthony Towns. But outside of a massive
injury to Halliburton or Seattle somebody, this is over. Maybe
(04:27):
the next win Game five in New York. But I mean,
just an outstanding playoff performance from Halliburton and the Knicks
are cooked. I don't think this needs any elaboration, but
I'm obviously rooting Pacers in the finals. Nobody's gonna give
them a chance, and that's fine. Nie Smith a very
(04:47):
good defender, but you know, Bruns is still getting the
better of them and getting fouled a ton. They have
multiple defenders. Nie Smith and them hard to throw at SGA.
You could even toss TJ McConnell, and I can guarantee this,
They're gonna pick up Aliburton. I'm sorry, They're gonna pick
up SGA full court, that's for sure. There's a lot
of good young players in this one. And I'm trying
(05:09):
to think of themes and it's not fully hashed out yet,
and I'm sure somebody else is gonna get on this.
But when I look at the rosters of the Pacers
in Thunder, they've got to be two of the youngest
rosters in the league. If you remove thirty eight year
old James Johnson, who's kind of the enforcer, you know,
like the seventeenth degree black belt or whatever. He is
on the bench. He never plays. They only have two
(05:31):
guys over thirty contributing Siakam who's thirty one, and TJ McConnell,
who's thirty three. If you look at the Thunder they
I'm pretty sure have nobody over thirty contributing. Let's check
out their roster. I'll humor myself over thirty. Oh, Alex Cruso,
I'm sorry, he's thirty one. So the oldest contributors in
(05:54):
this series in the NBA Finals is gonna be thirty
one year old Caruso, thirty three year old TJ McConnell,
and thirty one year old Pascal Siakam. Assuming Pascal Siakam
is actually thirty one, he looks a little older than that.
But this is this is gonna be a wild series. Guys,
do you know who the hot I bet you can't
even guess. The highest paid players in this series are
(06:16):
both on the pacers. Siakam and Haliburton are both making
forty two point one million dollars this year. I know
it's gonna be a referendum one. This is the new
NBA model. This is how you do it. You don't
have an ultra paid super max guy. You've got a
couple of really good players and then a deep bench
(06:37):
full of you know, good players who don't make a
ton of money. Aaronis is making eleven million dollars. Who's
the other guy? Nemhar's making? Oh wow, he's on the
rookie deal. He's making two million, Obi top In twelve mil,
Miles Turner nineteen mil. He hasn't been paid yet. And
we're gonna see all this. I need to do a
little more digging before I agree with all that stuff.
(07:01):
I do just and I think I pointed it out
yesterday on the pod, but I I think I said
it on the Herd too yesterday. Is that when the
Nuggets won the championship, everybody said, hey, man, hey listen,
Murray Jokic both under thirty, unstoppable duo. These guys are
going to dominate. Okay Denver's not going anywhere. They're gonna
(07:22):
be back here when multiple rings. Okay lost in the
second round two years in a row, Boston last year
wins it. Well, there's the best roster ever. They're so stacked.
Look at the depth. Oh my gosh, they have seven
deep they have They're unbelievable. Celtics don't get out of
the second round. Tatum's hurt day winning the title next year,
that's for sure. So like we can make these bullplock
(07:43):
proclamations that, oh my gosh, it's Oklahoma City's league. Wrap
it up, Oklahoma City. They got everything going for them,
and on paper, yes they do. We'll see what happens
in the series. Obviously a lot of basketball left to
be played. But I saw a clip where Shams is saying,
and it could be hyperbole or maybe something's coming down
(08:04):
the pike that he knows about, but this is anticipating
to be one of the wildest summers in the NBA
since twenty nineteen. That was I believe this summer. KD moved,
Kyrie moved, and there's a bunch of other stuff happening
around the league. Oh that was when, Yeah, that was
what's his name? Kawhi Leonard wins the title and then
(08:26):
goes to the Clippers. Paul George, that was a crazy summer.
I don't know other than Yannis and Zion, you know,
we have a long way to go before July. But
we'll see. There's a lot of stuff left to happen.
I mean, Listen, if the Pacers beat somehow beat the
(08:48):
Thunder in the finals, you know, okay, so he's probably
gonna make a move, right, you would have to assume
Kevin Durant probably on the move. Houston is fixing to
do something big, like yeah, there could be a lot.
So let's just bottom line is, let's not go out
and make stuff like, hey, this team set up to
win two, three, fourths. The league doesn't want that. And
(09:10):
watching my Knicks, they're close again, they don't blow game one.
This is a whole different series. Just Nie Smith hitting
eight of nine threes in that game, Halliburton's buzzer shot
to force overtime, so many things had to go their way.
It's just, you know, just devastating for the Knicks. So
(09:31):
they're down three to one, and you have to wonder
if people are gonna over freak out about this. Jalen
Brunson defensive issues. We know, we got it. He wasn't
a great defender. Karl Anthony Towns was not a great defender. Historically,
they have not been guys. They they got to the
Eastern Conference Finals, should have won game one, and it's
(09:54):
all been largely downhill from there. I don't think this
Knicks team is cooked. Remember are done next year. The
Cleveland Cavaliers and the Knicks and Pacers are the three
best teams in the East. Now, you know, I just
caught myself. I've done about ten minutes here and I
realized I'm barely doing anything on Pacers. It's all what's next?
(10:15):
And I think that, to me is a big sign
that we're about to see Pacers thunder. And to no surprise,
it's more interesting to talk what's coming, what could potentially
come this summer than the NBA Finals matchup. All I
know is I'm hosting the Hurt next week, and if
these two damn series end in the next couple days,
(10:36):
I don't know what the hell I'm gonna talk about. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Son of a Biscuit, The Final start on the Thursday, June.
What the hell day is that? That's June fifth, NBA
Finals start. Oh boy? All right, without further ado, let's
get to our guest, Nikki K. Spectrum La.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live. You know, Jason likes to think he knows
everything when it comes to sports.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
I know what sports fans want, but for.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Everything he doesn't, he knows a guy who does.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
Let's just say I know a guy who knows a
guy who knows another guy.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
All right, let's welcome into straight Fire. A special guest
never been on the pod before. She's all over TV
out here in LA. Nicky k. Spectrum Sports Net covers
all the teams in Los Angeles, but she started her
career in OKAC, and we got to balance things out. Nikki.
I've been kind of blasting the free throw Merchant and Company,
and a lot of OKAC fans are mad, so we
want to have you on, you know, the Thunder as
(11:48):
well as anybody. First of all, how are you?
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Oh well, Jason? First of all, thank you so much
for having me on.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
And I find it so funny that I cover teams
in LA, but it's been Oklahoma City that has gotten.
Speaker 5 (11:58):
Me on on bus national airwaves here.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
But what an exciting time for the Thunder franchise and
fan base. I mean, they had so much early success.
You know, it's been well documented. The Russell Westbrook, Kevin
Durant the infamous James Harden trade, and I was in
the building.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
It was my first playoff series I ever covered.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
And mind you, I grew up in southern California, diehard
Lakers fan, and my professional expert experience brought me to
OKC and sitting in that arena Game six of the
Western Conference Finals when Clay Thompson goes off for forty
eleven threes right and just rips the hearts out of
the city's fan base, and then you have Kevin Durant
(12:38):
leaving on the most dismal Fourth of July ever.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
So all that to say, you know that moment, someone looked.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
At me, who had covered the Thunder since their inception,
and said, this team will never host a Western Conference
Finals again. That's it, this is the end, and here
we are. You know what, that's eight years eight years later,
nine years later, you've got this group that looks like
the limit does not exist, right when you think about
how young they are, the dynamic and cohesion they're showing.
Speaker 5 (13:09):
And I think that.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Win against Minnesota in Game four was what I would
call like the big boys win, right, because you were
wondering what the context of that game three loss would mean.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
Forty points just just ugly.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
And would it be this this moment where this young
team crumbles and doesn't respond to it and here they
here they are.
Speaker 5 (13:29):
You know, one went away.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
From an NBA Finals appearance, and I know you mentioned
Shay being a free throw merchant. They'll say it out loud, Yeah, yeah,
that's a it's a I'm not a big fan of
that description. I think it's it's fine to say, you know,
he's he's benefiting off the calls, for sure, and.
Speaker 5 (13:46):
He's seeking out the free throw line.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
But as someone who covers these athletes and you hear
about the quality of leader he is and how beloved
he is, it's it's really hard to to I understand.
The play is not pretty how he's getting his points,
but he's.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
Taking advantage of the rules that exist within the game.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Right. So let's back up a little bit. So you're
a southern California girl, and where did you go to college?
Speaker 5 (14:16):
UCLA?
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Okay, Okay, so all southern cal and you get a
job in Oklahoma City. I'm just curious, like when you
get that offer, like what do you say to the fam, Like, hey, guys,
I'm moving to the Midwest. Were you excited or nervous?
I mean, they did have a good team at the time.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
Yeah, yeah, And I wanted to go somewhere where I
could really cut my teeth as a sports reporter, right,
And I think when you look at the fans that
exist in Oklahoma, from the Sooners to the Oklahoma State
Cowboys to the thunder fans, they are so incredibly passionate
and die hard. You have Grandma Sue at Ou football games,
(14:53):
who knows the name of the third string safety. So
that's where I kind of write, like, that's where I
went to learn what it meant to be a responsible reporter.
And while it wasn't so cal and there there are
no beaches in Oklahoma news break there there's a beautiful
lake Lake Hefner. I found that the people there are
(15:14):
incredibly wonderful and endearing and you could be my line.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
You know, when I mom.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Wasn't happy that I was, you know, doing doing the Midwest,
But I told my parents, like I could be in
line at Starbucks and get an offer to a Thanksgiving dinner,
Like that's just how you.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Know it is? Yeah, yeah, no, it is. It's nice.
It's nice, No, but.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
It's well, wait, wait, hold on, are these like guys
hitting on you or like fifty five year old grandparents
or seven year old grandparents.
Speaker 5 (15:40):
I think we had our fair share of mix.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
I tried to learn golf out there, you know, and
and I would get a lot of unsolicited golf advice.
But that's every driving range in America, right. You get
men coming up to you with uh with the pointers
you never knew you needed.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, so you're covering Kadi, Harden and Russ, and I
just have to ask, it's obvious did you see Kevin
Durant like frustrated with Russ at times? I know there
was like a batman Robin, but no, I'm not a Robin.
I'm more of a batman too. And there was that
push and pull. Did you see did you anticipate Katie
leaving even as that series to Golden State was kind
(16:15):
of lost?
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Right?
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Right?
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Right?
Speaker 5 (16:17):
Such a good question.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
So by the time I arrived, Harden was gone, So
it was Katie and Russ, and I have to admit
I was there like wide eyed, fresh eyed. I was
just stoked that I got Kobe's last road game, right,
like Kazaka was in Oklahoma City.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
That to me was such a.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Cool marquee moment, you know, grew up warshiping at the
altar of twenty four here in Sokala, as Laker fans do.
But I didn't think I really understood what I was
witnessing historically. But I do know that I got a
call on the fourth of July, which I also didn't
(16:55):
have the full comprehension of, oh, this is trade deadline,
you know, like this is where you got to start
to be on your toes for a WOJ bomb.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
At the time, so to speak.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
And I spent my fourth of July talking about Kevin
Durant leaving, and just you know, there was a like
sadness that I won't forget because that team, he meant
so much to the city.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
I think you could argue he still does. Like their Thunder.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Fans will have a soft spot for the Westbrook KD
days because they were.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
So young and unexpected.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
But I think like this iteration of the Thunder has
brought so much joy to a fan base that really
has been I mean almost spoiled, even like when you
think about Katie leaving. But they won a lot in
a relatively young existence as a franchise.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
So Katie Bolts. It's weird because I was I've told
the story, but I was packing to move to LA
during Game six and I was like, I'm not cutting
off the cable to keep it on. I remember watching
that game the TV is propped up on like a
moving box site and I get out here and it's
like just a flurry of things, you know, in a
short time span. Curry loses Game seven at home and
(18:12):
then oh, Kevin Durant is going to the world. It
was just like, oh my gosh, this is perfect. But
I will say like being did you feel stuck in
Okasee after Kevin Durant left or like you personally.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Ooh, that's such a good question, right, Like when you
look about at career moments and frustrations, I think being
an ambitious individual, right you always want the next step
and you don't know why it's not coming soon enough.
And then like all of a sudden, you know, I
was maybe three months into the job, and I was like, no,
like the thunder can't be irrelevant.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Now, Russell Westbrook will be a great leader.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
And you know, credit to Sam Presty bringing in all
George Carmelo, Anthony.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
There was always something to talk about.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
And then you got you know, the Sooners down south
in Norman, and you've got Baker Mayfield and Lincoln Highley
and like it's just so funny, you know, I come
out to LA with my job here and PG comes.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
Lincoln Riley comes.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
As Westbrook comes, and it's cool because that's when you
start understanding as a reporter. You're like, oh, I've laid
you know, the foundation and stops along the way that
have helped me with relationships. And you know, KD, I'm
at a I'm in Crypto dot com arena right now
as we're doing this interview. I've got a Sparks game
tonight and Kd's out here baseline or sitting sidelines watch,
(19:33):
you know, taking in the action. I go up someone
I was like, I don't know if you remember me.
He's like, I do, you know, And so it's just
kind of a fun, fun, full circle moments. But the buzz,
the buzz is always happening out there in Oklahoma.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Yeah, they have a good vibe, There's no doubt about it.
I joke around with free throw Merchant and blasting them.
But you have to admit, Nikki, you cover the NBA
closely the league. This is what the league wants. They
are doing their best to help the small market teams.
Once you draft the guy, they make it so it's
almost punitive for him to leave the team that drafts him.
(20:06):
They really want this balance, and okay, see has benefited
from that obviously. They trade for SGA, But like the
second Apron, it's gonna kill the Celtics pretty quickly and
the thunder are built to last. But we heard that
about Denver and Boston the last couple of years too.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
No, right, right, It is so wild because to your point,
I love seeing I love seeing the guys who stay
and become synonymous with a franchise.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
I'll ask step Curry.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
I also love the idea and notion of parody what
we had like seven different NBA champions over seven years.
You look at this final bore and what a moment
for the small markets. And then of course the New
York Knicks have entered the group chat. But I can't get.
Speaker 5 (20:47):
Enough of Knicks fan base, like I want it.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Bring all the smoke Knicks fans.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
You guys deserve it.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
But as someone who understands like where headlines are made
and stuff, especially here in Los Angeles. I mean having
Luca Doncic arrive has been so fun, so fantastic, And
you know when you've got Lebron and my dad's lifelong
Laker fan, and he's like, you know, it's better being
(21:15):
relevant than in the dark days. And I think, you know,
whatever years he's referring to, maybe the twenty fifteen, sixteen range.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
But at the same time, it's it is what the
league wants.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
I go back and forth because I like it when
players can stay. But then also looking at the landscape
of how things have shifted, you kind of get the
sense too that like this is a pivot here for
the league, right, like as we don't have Steph and
Lebron and you know, the stalwarts in the final four,
(21:49):
but you got these new young faces that are I
think becoming pretty pretty fun to watch and lovable characters.
Speaker 5 (21:57):
But I also think casual sports fans might not know.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Who shake you just Alexander's right, if you're not following
the NBA at least somewhat closely.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, I use the mom test. You know, any mom's
over seventy years old, do you know who SGA is?
And like what, no idea? But yeah, I mean, your
mom might because you're like you lived in Okac and
now you know you're doing this. But let me just ask,
like this idea that the League is better with small
market teams, I know, Adam Silver works for the owners
and the owners a lot of small markets want this.
(22:29):
But don't you think the super Teams was an incredible
era for the league? Lebron, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and
Christosh Like I thought the twenty teams, I guess is
what it was with the super teams was as good
as it gets. I don't think this now sucks. But
I mean, Nikk, you gotta be honest. You know, if
(22:49):
you could tell me, Jason, would you rather have another Lebron,
Kyrie and Company against Clay Curry and Katie? Of course
I would rather.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Have those feel like the glory days. Now, that's why
it's not so funny. And then I remember when the
Nets had that moment I called a moment because that's
kind of what it felt. Lord knows how many games Harden,
Kyrie and Evan actually played together, but that feels like
a fever dream, right. I remember when the news broke
and you're just thinking, oh my god, the Nets are
(23:19):
gonna win it all, and that that, you know, toppled
over like a deck of house of cards, I guess.
But it is interesting like the super teams on paper
versus the super teams that actually work. And you know,
now we look at those Calvs as a super team
when you.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
Talk about Lebron, hay Love.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
And Kyrie, But at the moment, it felt like they
had a herculean task of going up against the Golden
those Golden State Warriors. But I think I think the
more drama the better. So that's why I know we
can make jokes about, you know, being like this. The
script writers have had this screenplay all written out with
(23:58):
the MAVs getting the number one overall pick.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
Yeah, but give us the drama.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
I want people talking about it and finding a reason
to tune in.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Right. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup
in the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports
Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR
to listen live, I mean listen.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
We've talked about small markets a lot. That being said,
Jannis drafted by Milwaukee wins a title like that's a blueprint,
But now they got they're up. Shit's creek without a paddle,
and it looks like they're going to be trading Giannis.
I know there's a Doc Rivers story out there that
nobody believes. Oh, Doc Rivers can convince Jannis to stay, Like,
give me a break. I am curious, though, do you
(24:39):
think there's a world where a small market makes a
play for Jannis an Orlando? If Orlando's are small, I mean,
if Shack left, They've got to be small. But an Orlando,
I don't know that Indiana would do it. They're in
a good spot. But do you think he automatically goes
to an La. Houston's a huge market. Do you think
that happens? I mean maybe the NIXT I don't know.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
Well.
Speaker 4 (25:02):
And here's the thing, like when you when you talk
about the small market teams making a play, and what
I can tell you from personal experience, I will never
forget getting the once again, the WOJ push notification and
the dog days of summer, Oklahoma City and Carmelo Anthony
are circling each other, right And I know, I know
Mello wasn't mellow mellow when he came to Okay see,
(25:23):
but just that kind of like wait what like and
then make the thunder making a play for you know,
Carmelo Anthony out of New York to come in, and
so those types of moments, I'm like, this league, right,
and so I say, never say never if we if
we can get Yannis in another small market. But I think,
(25:45):
you know, the heartstrings of those who follow and cover
the league closely want Jannis to stay in Milwaukee because
of what he means, but also to have him on
a competitive roster one that support him. It just also
makes the NBA better in every way.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Do you think OKAC will have a Christmas Day game
next year? And will they play Opening Night? They've kind
of been snubbed the last well this season, we'll just
say that got snubbed. But I mean.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Yeah, I mean at first, I'm like, duh, but you
know you said yeah, considering recent history, they have been
a little disrespected, I guess.
Speaker 5 (26:23):
But I think with the way they rose to meet
the moment and won at an incredible.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
Clip this season, you got you gotta put them in
marquee matchups.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Now, I mean you would think, but Indiana Pacers, what
at the Conference finals last year? They didn't get a
Christmas Day game? And Christmas Day is you know, people
are like, who cares? Well, that's kind of the unofficial
start of the season as football is winding down. Obviously,
the first week is big. Let me circle back to
the Lakers real quick. Yeah, there is this weird negative
vibe that this team sucked. They got blown out by Minnesota,
(26:57):
I mean, Nikki, they lost basically three coin flip games
in a row with four minutes left, two minutes left
in the games, and they were they were like n
nip and tuck and oh, by the way, they were
the third seed in the West trading for Luca who
was not even close to one hundred percent. Like, this
idea that the Lakers sucked is to me, it's insane.
And they're calling me a homer. You covered the team,
you've been around them a lot, Like, I don't know
(27:19):
what's Is there a right answer here?
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Oh no, there's there's two points I want to respond
to that with, and one first and foremost being the
Minnesota Timberwolves.
Speaker 5 (27:26):
Are in the Western Conference finals.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Yeah, and like they're a good team and the Lakers
were also an incomplete team. And yes, you say yes
to a Luca Doncic trade ten times out of ten,
but they didn't have the size to go toe to
toe I mean in the pain, especially with this Timberwolves roster,
and even like I was at game one of the
(27:51):
Western Conference Finals where it's thunder Wolves and you could
I was even unsure.
Speaker 5 (27:57):
I was like, Oh, this Wolves team looks really big.
Is there is that going to bother?
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Okay see and obviously now that's under or up three
to one. But I think this, this Lakers roster wasn't complete,
and you know, Luca was making his way back from
an injury in the middle of the season, and I
think what I experienced in this building, I have not
heard Lakers fans being more excited. I mean, obviously you
(28:24):
get Lebron James and Anthony Davis, and when a championship
in twenty twenty, this fan base didn't get to celebrate that.
But Luca, like, for reference, on his opening night here,
I've never seen more people wearing the free T shirts
in the lower Bowl Crypto dot Com Arena. So I
think maybe the way the season ended it was a
(28:45):
little bit of a like, but there was a lot
of positive momentum and excitement, and I just think like
they got they need an offseason to not only put
guys around Luca and Lebron, who you know makes sense.
Get that vertical lob threat in the middle that Luca
likes playing with. But I think Luca and Lebron, you
(29:08):
put them on a court together, they're gonna and give
them the time, they're gonna figure it out.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
Yeah, I mean, like just pivoting to LA at large
real quick. So you're in like a sweet spot in that.
The Lakers get Luca, the Dodgers have Otani, just won
the World Series, You've got the Galaxy head of tremendous season.
LAFC is obviously very good. The Sparks get Kelsey Plumb,
who I don't know how they pulled that off. She's
one of the best players in the league. But that's
(29:32):
I digress. There's one other team in LA that's really
good that I was spacing on, Well, the Clippers had
a good season, But I don't know. It's like, I mean,
you've got to love work out here. Like I'm still
I know a lot of people don't like their jobs,
but like I wake up every day, I'm like, oh,
I get to talk about sports and Lakers and teams
in LA are great. It seems like I'm assuming you
(29:53):
have maybe even a better job than I do.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
Hey, hey, you know, every day is different and it's beautiful.
And the only thing that perplexes me sometimes is that
I'm only showing up at UCLA basketball on Selection Sunday.
Speaker 5 (30:07):
Why am I not there earlier? You know?
Speaker 4 (30:09):
And and it's too it can get so overwhelming, or
like the Dodgers playing in the middle of the summer
when we've got sparks, you know, broadcasts going on, and
then all of a sudden, it's, oh my gosh, the
postseason's ramping up, and you know, it is an embarrassment
of riches.
Speaker 5 (30:26):
There's always something if it's all I.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Forgot Stafford, Stafford in the Rams could be going to
the Superwitch justin.
Speaker 4 (30:31):
Herbal, Yeah, like come on, we have we have Harbaugh,
we have Herbert, we have yeah, like Sean McVay and
we the Rams won a Super Bowl in twenty twenty one.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
It's it's.
Speaker 4 (30:45):
I can find myself being like, oh my gosh. You know,
whereas in a smaller market, you're at every coaches press
conference every week, right and because you have the scheduled down,
but now it's like, oh my gosh, hey, U c
l A baseball's in the postseason and you want to
you know, I know, random random shot.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
I did not know that. I can't. I'm out of bandwidth,
you know, Nikki, like I can't follow college baseball.
Speaker 5 (31:13):
That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
But the cool thing about my job and what I
love so much is that if you focus on the
storytelling too, you know, I don't just do Sideline broadcast.
I get to do features for our Spectrum News one
channel out here, and it's like when you lean in
and make a big season granular, like within the story,
within a game or a moment, then it kind of
slows everything down and gives you a little bit more
(31:35):
connection to the athletes and their journeys.
Speaker 5 (31:38):
So yeah, I mean, I love it here.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
And like I said, every day, you know, is a
winding road in the words of Ryl Crow Cyril Crow.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Ruf, wow, I did not see that one coming. Let
me ask about the Clippers. I know they're kind of like,
you know, the step job, but they have an awesome arena.
I have not been to it yet. I'm just curious
your thoughts on the arena and like, where do they
go from here?
Speaker 4 (32:02):
You got to get you got to get into into
it Dome. It is like a spaceship on another planet.
It is uh, it's it's a fun experience and it
gets loud. I wasn't able to My schedule didn't align
with their playoff games here in LA, but I was there.
You know, I saw I caught a College Basketball Showcase
game in December and that was really fun. It's I've
(32:25):
seen a concert there. It's an awesome venue. And as
for you know, the state of the team, the Clippers
had a tough first round in Denver, right.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
But some of those games are awesome.
Speaker 4 (32:37):
I think you can make the case that that's been
the series of the playoffs so far, right, like that
seven game battle between those two teams. And as for
their off season moves, I'm not incredibly familiar on like
who's a you know up and you know could be
on the move. But I think I think Kauwhi is
not going anywhere. And seeing him return to four this year,
(33:00):
I mean, I know it's not all all game or.
Speaker 5 (33:03):
Not every game, but it's like I think I had.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
A couple of well welcome back Kawhi tweets because it's
just like he was out there looking like he was
twenty ninety.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Why Pladwell, yeah, we can wrap up. I am curious.
I know you're you're not in like the hot take business. Yes,
obviously for.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Setting me up with hot Yes.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Well I just want to preface it. Yeah, and the
prediction business is tough, So we're recording this before game
four Pacers Knicks. I'm just curious, do you think either
of those can pose a challenge to okay See. I
mean I've seen some of the numbers. I think people
are going a little overboard with this historically great OKAC team.
We had Dave mc benaman on last week and he
said that an NBA player told him, okay See is
(33:44):
the best college basketball team in the NBA because they're
basically a bunch of young guys who play hard every
single possession and you just don't see that a lot.
The Pacers are kind of young, the Knicks kind of
sort of too. Can either of them slow down? Okay See?
Speaker 4 (34:01):
I think they can, and I've I've been leaning towards
a Knicks thunder finals would be really fun.
Speaker 5 (34:08):
Oh yeah, because I mean the.
Speaker 4 (34:10):
Pacers are scrappy and I love I loved the show.
Tyrese Haliburton is putting on. But I think to have
the contrast of you know, the Knicks fan base and
the Thunder fan base, and you know Jalen Brunson what
he's able to work and and and.
Speaker 5 (34:28):
Pull off in in late games, you know, to be
that clutch.
Speaker 4 (34:32):
And also what a what a moment for Karl Anthony
Towns too, right, like this guy to have this, you know,
to arrive at this level of his career and actually.
Speaker 5 (34:44):
Deliver. I'm it's I'm happy for him.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
So I would say for the hell of it, like, yeah,
let's let's give us a nixed Thunder finals.
Speaker 5 (34:54):
And I mean, ultimately, I think.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
This is okay, S's okay, S's time to bring it
home finally. And granted I say finally, they've been around
in you know what half of the time span it
took for the Knicks to return to the final, so
that seems a little bit dramatic. But yeah, I think
we're going to get a good finals from either of
(35:17):
those groups.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
Looks at least six games.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Right hopefully, Geez, I don't know. We'll see all right,
Nikki k great stuff spectrum out here in La continued
success as you write, Maybe I'll see you at a
sporting event. Are you going to Dodgers Yankees this weekend?
It's like the sports don't stop out here and listen.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
I know.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
I was like, oh my gosh, the drama is already returning.
I will say I was in the Bronx covering that
that game five, and it was it was the best
assignment of my life so far. It was spectacular, awesome
being and you know, doing the clubhouse interviews like after
a World Series win. I mean that was that was
(36:00):
like a pinnacle of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 5 (36:03):
I didn't know was on the horizon.
Speaker 4 (36:05):
Right because the Dodgers are always always contenders on paper
and we've seen them, you know, get their hearts ripped out.
I digress, I digress, But yeah, maybe i'll Are you
gonna be at the.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
I'm lobbying for tickets. I don't think it's like an post.
Everybody wants to be there, you know, and it's one
of those like we'll see what happens, but uh, I'm
sure I'll run into you at some point. Nikki. Thanks
a lot for taking the time and continued success.
Speaker 5 (36:26):
Absolutely, I'll join any time.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
Thank you so much for having me on And what
a day for sports fans right yeah,
This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
What is up straight Fire, Famp. It's me Jason McIntyre,
Straight Fire for Wednesday, May the twenty eighth. I would
say we have a phenomenal podcast today with a new guest.
The problem is my freaking Nicks lost, and I'm a
little perturbed if you could not tell. But our guest
today Nicki Kay. She has covered sports for a long time,
(00:34):
well not that long. She's young, and she now is
covering sports for Spectrum Sports, not out here in LA
and is at all the big games and everything. And
she has covered Oklahoma City plenty in her young journalism career.
So I thought I'd bring on a OKAC kind of
person to balance it out. Yes, okase fans, I've been
hearing it, j mcra hater blah blah blah. Okay, we'll
(00:55):
address some of that with Nicki. First things first, your
boy can't catch a break, guys. I was all fired
up for the Knicks. I thought they had a good chance,
thought they could win this one out right, bet them.
Timothy Shallam May my guy showing up for Game four
and the Knicks play no defense at all, give up
(01:18):
forty three points in the first quarter. I knew it
was over at that point. I'm like, you can't win
on the road. Giving up forty three in the first quarter.
I was like, what's happening. Thibodeau's calling cards defense and
they give up forty three in the first quarter. I know, Jay,
it's about the players, it's not about the coach. Well,
I don't know. Coach has to adjust. And the Pacers
pretty quickly figured out, Oh, guess.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
What when Karl Anthony Towns is the only big on
the floor, We're gonna put him on and pick and
roll up top and Hallie's just gonna run a layup
line and just get easy stuff, because's who's gonna block
shots on the back line?
Speaker 2 (01:54):
Who are you worried about? And I was just stunned
at the lack of rim per TI. I don't have
an exact number on layups, but it felt like the
Pacers had at least ten to fifteen. Just disappointing. Pacers
did not shoot it great from three. Then Knicks outshot
them from three. Guys, I told you this was gonna happen.
Pacers forty percent, Knicks forty two percent. So Knicks made
(02:18):
thirty three of thirty nine free throws. Knicks couldn't miss
from in close. Nis had more offensive rebounds. How do
you lose this game? Nicks better from three? Uh? They
were both eighty four percent from the line. Nick's thirteen
offensive rebounds. How do you lose this game? I just
(02:39):
I was so perplexed, And a lot of it comes
down to the Knicks could not get stops and the
Indiana Pacers ball movement is much better. And of course
Tyreese Halliburton outplayed Jalen Brunson brunts and the stat line
will show thirty one five assists. Okay, it wasn't terrible.
He was about of sixteen, but Haliburton was thirty two points,
(02:59):
fifteen assists, twelve rebounds and zero turnovers, the first in
NBA history thirty two sorry, thirty or more points, fifteen
or more assists, ten or more rebounds with zero turnovers.
A magnificent performance. Haliburton was spectacular. The funniest part of
this game was late the knickser cut it to six,
(03:19):
maybe it was seven at this point, and Halliburton gets
to switch and he gets an io against Karl Anthony Towns,
which his eyes light up at anytime that happens because
Cat can move his feet and the Pacers call time
out and Haliburton like drops the ball and stands there
looking around like he's doing that, head moving to the side,
eyes wide aed, like wait, what just happened? What do
we do? Really? Time out? When I got Cat isoed?
(03:43):
Just a masterful performance from Haliburton. He's emerging as one
of the best stars in the NBA. Probably have to
do a top ten list of the best players in
the league, and this season, undeniably Haliburton's one of them.
Ben Matherin came off the bench to scored twenty in
twelve minutes. I mean, that guy's a tornado. Listen. Obviously,
I'm crushed that the Knicks are not going to the finals.
(04:05):
They're down three to one. I don't know. I'm recording
this at about midnight after the Knicks lost, So I
guess there's a chance that you know, there's bad news
for Karl Anthony Towns who bang knees with Nie Smith
late in the game. I guess there's bad potential bad
news for Karl Anthony Towns. But outside of a massive
injury to Halliburton or Seattle somebody, this is over. Maybe
(04:27):
the next win Game five in New York. But I mean,
just an outstanding playoff performance from Halliburton and the Knicks
are cooked. I don't think this needs any elaboration, but
I'm obviously rooting Pacers in the finals. Nobody's gonna give
them a chance, and that's fine. Nie Smith a very
(04:47):
good defender, but you know, Bruns is still getting the
better of them and getting fouled a ton. They have
multiple defenders. Nie Smith and them hard to throw at SGA.
You could even toss TJ McConnell, and I can guarantee this,
They're gonna pick up Aliburton. I'm sorry, They're gonna pick
up SGA full court, that's for sure. There's a lot
of good young players in this one. And I'm trying
(05:09):
to think of themes and it's not fully hashed out yet,
and I'm sure somebody else is gonna get on this.
But when I look at the rosters of the Pacers
in Thunder, they've got to be two of the youngest
rosters in the league. If you remove thirty eight year
old James Johnson, who's kind of the enforcer, you know,
like the seventeenth degree black belt or whatever. He is
on the bench. He never plays. They only have two
(05:31):
guys over thirty contributing Siakam who's thirty one, and TJ McConnell,
who's thirty three. If you look at the Thunder they
I'm pretty sure have nobody over thirty contributing. Let's check
out their roster. I'll humor myself over thirty. Oh, Alex Cruso,
I'm sorry, he's thirty one. So the oldest contributors in
(05:54):
this series in the NBA Finals is gonna be thirty
one year old Caruso, thirty three year old TJ McConnell,
and thirty one year old Pascal Siakam. Assuming Pascal Siakam
is actually thirty one, he looks a little older than that.
But this is this is gonna be a wild series. Guys,
do you know who the hot I bet you can't
even guess. The highest paid players in this series are
(06:16):
both on the pacers. Siakam and Haliburton are both making
forty two point one million dollars this year. I know
it's gonna be a referendum one. This is the new
NBA model. This is how you do it. You don't
have an ultra paid super max guy. You've got a
couple of really good players and then a deep bench
(06:37):
full of you know, good players who don't make a
ton of money. Aaronis is making eleven million dollars. Who's
the other guy? Nemhar's making? Oh wow, he's on the
rookie deal. He's making two million, Obi top In twelve mil,
Miles Turner nineteen mil. He hasn't been paid yet. And
we're gonna see all this. I need to do a
little more digging before I agree with all that stuff.
(07:01):
I do just and I think I pointed it out
yesterday on the pod, but I I think I said
it on the Herd too yesterday. Is that when the
Nuggets won the championship, everybody said, hey, man, hey listen,
Murray Jokic both under thirty, unstoppable duo. These guys are
going to dominate. Okay Denver's not going anywhere. They're gonna
(07:22):
be back here when multiple rings. Okay lost in the
second round two years in a row, Boston last year
wins it. Well, there's the best roster ever. They're so stacked.
Look at the depth. Oh my gosh, they have seven
deep they have They're unbelievable. Celtics don't get out of
the second round. Tatum's hurt day winning the title next year,
that's for sure. So like we can make these bullplock
(07:43):
proclamations that, oh my gosh, it's Oklahoma City's league. Wrap
it up, Oklahoma City. They got everything going for them,
and on paper, yes they do. We'll see what happens
in the series. Obviously a lot of basketball left to
be played. But I saw a clip where Shams is saying,
and it could be hyperbole or maybe something's coming down
(08:04):
the pike that he knows about, but this is anticipating
to be one of the wildest summers in the NBA
since twenty nineteen. That was I believe this summer. KD moved,
Kyrie moved, and there's a bunch of other stuff happening
around the league. Oh that was when, Yeah, that was
what's his name? Kawhi Leonard wins the title and then
(08:26):
goes to the Clippers. Paul George, that was a crazy summer.
I don't know other than Yannis and Zion, you know,
we have a long way to go before July. But
we'll see. There's a lot of stuff left to happen.
I mean, Listen, if the Pacers beat somehow beat the
(08:48):
Thunder in the finals, you know, okay, so he's probably
gonna make a move, right, you would have to assume
Kevin Durant probably on the move. Houston is fixing to
do something big, like yeah, there could be a lot.
So let's just bottom line is, let's not go out
and make stuff like, hey, this team set up to
win two, three, fourths. The league doesn't want that. And
(09:10):
watching my Knicks, they're close again, they don't blow game one.
This is a whole different series. Just Nie Smith hitting
eight of nine threes in that game, Halliburton's buzzer shot
to force overtime, so many things had to go their way.
It's just, you know, just devastating for the Knicks. So
(09:31):
they're down three to one, and you have to wonder
if people are gonna over freak out about this. Jalen
Brunson defensive issues. We know, we got it. He wasn't
a great defender. Karl Anthony Towns was not a great defender. Historically,
they have not been guys. They they got to the
Eastern Conference Finals, should have won game one, and it's
(09:54):
all been largely downhill from there. I don't think this
Knicks team is cooked. Remember are done next year. The
Cleveland Cavaliers and the Knicks and Pacers are the three
best teams in the East. Now, you know, I just
caught myself. I've done about ten minutes here and I
realized I'm barely doing anything on Pacers. It's all what's next?
(10:15):
And I think that, to me is a big sign
that we're about to see Pacers thunder. And to no surprise,
it's more interesting to talk what's coming, what could potentially
come this summer than the NBA Finals matchup. All I
know is I'm hosting the Hurt next week, and if
these two damn series end in the next couple days,
(10:36):
I don't know what the hell I'm gonna talk about. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday,
Son of a Biscuit, The Final start on the Thursday, June.
What the hell day is that? That's June fifth, NBA
Finals start. Oh boy? All right, without further ado, let's
get to our guest, Nikki K. Spectrum La.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports Radio
dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to
listen live. You know, Jason likes to think he knows
everything when it comes to sports.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
I know what sports fans want, but for.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
Everything he doesn't, he knows a guy who does.
Speaker 4 (11:21):
Let's just say I know a guy who knows a
guy who knows another guy.
Speaker 2 (11:26):
All right, let's welcome into straight Fire. A special guest
never been on the pod before. She's all over TV
out here in LA. Nicky k. Spectrum Sports Net covers
all the teams in Los Angeles, but she started her
career in OKAC, and we got to balance things out. Nikki.
I've been kind of blasting the free throw Merchant and Company,
and a lot of OKAC fans are mad, so we
want to have you on, you know, the Thunder as
(11:48):
well as anybody. First of all, how are you?
Speaker 5 (11:50):
Oh well, Jason? First of all, thank you so much
for having me on.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
And I find it so funny that I cover teams
in LA, but it's been Oklahoma City that has gotten.
Speaker 5 (11:58):
Me on on bus national airwaves here.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
But what an exciting time for the Thunder franchise and
fan base. I mean, they had so much early success.
You know, it's been well documented. The Russell Westbrook, Kevin
Durant the infamous James Harden trade, and I was in
the building.
Speaker 5 (12:15):
It was my first playoff series I ever covered.
Speaker 4 (12:18):
And mind you, I grew up in southern California, diehard
Lakers fan, and my professional expert experience brought me to
OKC and sitting in that arena Game six of the
Western Conference Finals when Clay Thompson goes off for forty
eleven threes right and just rips the hearts out of
the city's fan base, and then you have Kevin Durant
(12:38):
leaving on the most dismal Fourth of July ever.
Speaker 5 (12:41):
So all that to say, you know that moment, someone looked.
Speaker 4 (12:45):
At me, who had covered the Thunder since their inception,
and said, this team will never host a Western Conference
Finals again. That's it, this is the end, and here
we are. You know what, that's eight years eight years later,
nine years later, you've got this group that looks like
the limit does not exist, right when you think about
how young they are, the dynamic and cohesion they're showing.
Speaker 5 (13:09):
And I think that.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
Win against Minnesota in Game four was what I would
call like the big boys win, right, because you were
wondering what the context of that game three loss would mean.
Speaker 5 (13:20):
Forty points just just ugly.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
And would it be this this moment where this young
team crumbles and doesn't respond to it and here they
here they are.
Speaker 5 (13:29):
You know, one went away.
Speaker 4 (13:30):
From an NBA Finals appearance, and I know you mentioned
Shay being a free throw merchant. They'll say it out loud, Yeah, yeah,
that's a it's a I'm not a big fan of
that description. I think it's it's fine to say, you know,
he's he's benefiting off the calls, for sure, and.
Speaker 5 (13:46):
He's seeking out the free throw line.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
But as someone who covers these athletes and you hear
about the quality of leader he is and how beloved
he is, it's it's really hard to to I understand.
The play is not pretty how he's getting his points,
but he's.
Speaker 5 (14:05):
Taking advantage of the rules that exist within the game.
Speaker 2 (14:08):
Right. So let's back up a little bit. So you're
a southern California girl, and where did you go to college?
Speaker 5 (14:16):
UCLA?
Speaker 2 (14:17):
Okay, Okay, so all southern cal and you get a
job in Oklahoma City. I'm just curious, like when you
get that offer, like what do you say to the fam, Like, hey, guys,
I'm moving to the Midwest. Were you excited or nervous?
I mean, they did have a good team at the time.
Speaker 4 (14:31):
Yeah, yeah, And I wanted to go somewhere where I
could really cut my teeth as a sports reporter, right,
And I think when you look at the fans that
exist in Oklahoma, from the Sooners to the Oklahoma State
Cowboys to the thunder fans, they are so incredibly passionate
and die hard. You have Grandma Sue at Ou football games,
(14:53):
who knows the name of the third string safety. So
that's where I kind of write, like, that's where I
went to learn what it meant to be a responsible reporter.
And while it wasn't so cal and there there are
no beaches in Oklahoma news break there there's a beautiful
lake Lake Hefner. I found that the people there are
(15:14):
incredibly wonderful and endearing and you could be my line.
Speaker 5 (15:18):
You know, when I mom.
Speaker 4 (15:20):
Wasn't happy that I was, you know, doing doing the Midwest,
But I told my parents, like I could be in
line at Starbucks and get an offer to a Thanksgiving dinner,
Like that's just how you.
Speaker 5 (15:30):
Know it is? Yeah, yeah, no, it is. It's nice.
It's nice, No, but.
Speaker 2 (15:34):
It's well, wait, wait, hold on, are these like guys
hitting on you or like fifty five year old grandparents
or seven year old grandparents.
Speaker 5 (15:40):
I think we had our fair share of mix.
Speaker 4 (15:42):
I tried to learn golf out there, you know, and
and I would get a lot of unsolicited golf advice.
But that's every driving range in America, right. You get
men coming up to you with uh with the pointers
you never knew you needed.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Yeah, so you're covering Kadi, Harden and Russ, and I
just have to ask, it's obvious did you see Kevin
Durant like frustrated with Russ at times? I know there
was like a batman Robin, but no, I'm not a Robin.
I'm more of a batman too. And there was that
push and pull. Did you see did you anticipate Katie
leaving even as that series to Golden State was kind
(16:15):
of lost?
Speaker 1 (16:17):
Right?
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Right?
Speaker 4 (16:17):
Right?
Speaker 5 (16:17):
Such a good question.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
So by the time I arrived, Harden was gone, So
it was Katie and Russ, and I have to admit
I was there like wide eyed, fresh eyed. I was
just stoked that I got Kobe's last road game, right,
like Kazaka was in Oklahoma City.
Speaker 5 (16:32):
That to me was such a.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Cool marquee moment, you know, grew up warshiping at the
altar of twenty four here in Sokala, as Laker fans do.
But I didn't think I really understood what I was
witnessing historically. But I do know that I got a
call on the fourth of July, which I also didn't
(16:55):
have the full comprehension of, oh, this is trade deadline,
you know, like this is where you got to start
to be on your toes for a WOJ bomb.
Speaker 5 (17:04):
At the time, so to speak.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
And I spent my fourth of July talking about Kevin
Durant leaving, and just you know, there was a like
sadness that I won't forget because that team, he meant
so much to the city.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
I think you could argue he still does. Like their Thunder.
Speaker 4 (17:23):
Fans will have a soft spot for the Westbrook KD
days because they were.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
So young and unexpected.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
But I think like this iteration of the Thunder has
brought so much joy to a fan base that really
has been I mean almost spoiled, even like when you
think about Katie leaving. But they won a lot in
a relatively young existence as a franchise.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
So Katie Bolts. It's weird because I was I've told
the story, but I was packing to move to LA
during Game six and I was like, I'm not cutting
off the cable to keep it on. I remember watching
that game the TV is propped up on like a
moving box site and I get out here and it's
like just a flurry of things, you know, in a
short time span. Curry loses Game seven at home and
(18:12):
then oh, Kevin Durant is going to the world. It
was just like, oh my gosh, this is perfect. But
I will say like being did you feel stuck in
Okasee after Kevin Durant left or like you personally.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
Ooh, that's such a good question, right, Like when you
look about at career moments and frustrations, I think being
an ambitious individual, right you always want the next step
and you don't know why it's not coming soon enough.
And then like all of a sudden, you know, I
was maybe three months into the job, and I was like, no,
like the thunder can't be irrelevant.
Speaker 5 (18:43):
Now, Russell Westbrook will be a great leader.
Speaker 4 (18:46):
And you know, credit to Sam Presty bringing in all
George Carmelo, Anthony.
Speaker 5 (18:51):
There was always something to talk about.
Speaker 4 (18:53):
And then you got you know, the Sooners down south
in Norman, and you've got Baker Mayfield and Lincoln Highley
and like it's just so funny, you know, I come
out to LA with my job here and PG comes.
Speaker 5 (19:07):
Lincoln Riley comes.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
As Westbrook comes, and it's cool because that's when you
start understanding as a reporter. You're like, oh, I've laid
you know, the foundation and stops along the way that
have helped me with relationships. And you know, KD, I'm
at a I'm in Crypto dot com arena right now
as we're doing this interview. I've got a Sparks game
tonight and Kd's out here baseline or sitting sidelines watch,
(19:33):
you know, taking in the action. I go up someone
I was like, I don't know if you remember me.
He's like, I do, you know, And so it's just
kind of a fun, fun, full circle moments. But the buzz,
the buzz is always happening out there in Oklahoma.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
Yeah, they have a good vibe, There's no doubt about it.
I joke around with free throw Merchant and blasting them.
But you have to admit, Nikki, you cover the NBA
closely the league. This is what the league wants. They
are doing their best to help the small market teams.
Once you draft the guy, they make it so it's
almost punitive for him to leave the team that drafts him.
(20:06):
They really want this balance, and okay, see has benefited
from that obviously. They trade for SGA, But like the
second Apron, it's gonna kill the Celtics pretty quickly and
the thunder are built to last. But we heard that
about Denver and Boston the last couple of years too.
Speaker 4 (20:21):
No, right, right, It is so wild because to your point,
I love seeing I love seeing the guys who stay
and become synonymous with a franchise.
Speaker 5 (20:31):
I'll ask step Curry.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
I also love the idea and notion of parody what
we had like seven different NBA champions over seven years.
You look at this final bore and what a moment
for the small markets. And then of course the New
York Knicks have entered the group chat. But I can't get.
Speaker 5 (20:47):
Enough of Knicks fan base, like I want it.
Speaker 4 (20:50):
Bring all the smoke Knicks fans.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
You guys deserve it.
Speaker 4 (20:53):
But as someone who understands like where headlines are made
and stuff, especially here in Los Angeles. I mean having
Luca Doncic arrive has been so fun, so fantastic, And
you know when you've got Lebron and my dad's lifelong
Laker fan, and he's like, you know, it's better being
(21:15):
relevant than in the dark days. And I think, you know,
whatever years he's referring to, maybe the twenty fifteen, sixteen range.
Speaker 5 (21:25):
But at the same time, it's it is what the
league wants.
Speaker 4 (21:29):
I go back and forth because I like it when
players can stay. But then also looking at the landscape
of how things have shifted, you kind of get the
sense too that like this is a pivot here for
the league, right, like as we don't have Steph and
Lebron and you know, the stalwarts in the final four,
(21:49):
but you got these new young faces that are I
think becoming pretty pretty fun to watch and lovable characters.
Speaker 5 (21:57):
But I also think casual sports fans might not know.
Speaker 4 (22:01):
Who shake you just Alexander's right, if you're not following
the NBA at least somewhat closely.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, I use the mom test. You know, any mom's
over seventy years old, do you know who SGA is?
And like what, no idea? But yeah, I mean, your
mom might because you're like you lived in Okac and
now you know you're doing this. But let me just ask,
like this idea that the League is better with small
market teams, I know, Adam Silver works for the owners
and the owners a lot of small markets want this.
(22:29):
But don't you think the super Teams was an incredible
era for the league? Lebron, Kevin Durant, Kevin Love and
Christosh Like I thought the twenty teams, I guess is
what it was with the super teams was as good
as it gets. I don't think this now sucks. But
I mean, Nikk, you gotta be honest. You know, if
(22:49):
you could tell me, Jason, would you rather have another Lebron,
Kyrie and Company against Clay Curry and Katie? Of course
I would rather.
Speaker 4 (22:58):
Have those feel like the glory days. Now, that's why
it's not so funny. And then I remember when the
Nets had that moment I called a moment because that's
kind of what it felt. Lord knows how many games Harden,
Kyrie and Evan actually played together, but that feels like
a fever dream, right. I remember when the news broke
and you're just thinking, oh my god, the Nets are
(23:19):
gonna win it all, and that that, you know, toppled
over like a deck of house of cards, I guess.
But it is interesting like the super teams on paper
versus the super teams that actually work. And you know,
now we look at those Calvs as a super team
when you.
Speaker 5 (23:36):
Talk about Lebron, hay Love.
Speaker 4 (23:38):
And Kyrie, But at the moment, it felt like they
had a herculean task of going up against the Golden
those Golden State Warriors. But I think I think the
more drama the better. So that's why I know we
can make jokes about, you know, being like this. The
script writers have had this screenplay all written out with
(23:58):
the MAVs getting the number one overall pick.
Speaker 5 (24:00):
Yeah, but give us the drama.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
I want people talking about it and finding a reason
to tune in.
Speaker 1 (24:06):
Right. Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup
in the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports
Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR
to listen live, I mean listen.
Speaker 2 (24:19):
We've talked about small markets a lot. That being said,
Jannis drafted by Milwaukee wins a title like that's a blueprint,
But now they got they're up. Shit's creek without a paddle,
and it looks like they're going to be trading Giannis.
I know there's a Doc Rivers story out there that
nobody believes. Oh, Doc Rivers can convince Jannis to stay, Like,
give me a break. I am curious, though, do you
(24:39):
think there's a world where a small market makes a
play for Jannis an Orlando? If Orlando's are small, I mean,
if Shack left, They've got to be small. But an Orlando,
I don't know that Indiana would do it. They're in
a good spot. But do you think he automatically goes
to an La. Houston's a huge market. Do you think
that happens? I mean maybe the NIXT I don't know.
Speaker 5 (25:01):
Well.
Speaker 4 (25:02):
And here's the thing, like when you when you talk
about the small market teams making a play, and what
I can tell you from personal experience, I will never
forget getting the once again, the WOJ push notification and
the dog days of summer, Oklahoma City and Carmelo Anthony
are circling each other, right And I know, I know
Mello wasn't mellow mellow when he came to Okay see,
(25:23):
but just that kind of like wait what like and
then make the thunder making a play for you know,
Carmelo Anthony out of New York to come in, and
so those types of moments, I'm like, this league, right,
and so I say, never say never if we if
we can get Yannis in another small market. But I think,
(25:45):
you know, the heartstrings of those who follow and cover
the league closely want Jannis to stay in Milwaukee because
of what he means, but also to have him on
a competitive roster one that support him. It just also
makes the NBA better in every way.
Speaker 2 (26:04):
Do you think OKAC will have a Christmas Day game
next year? And will they play Opening Night? They've kind
of been snubbed the last well this season, we'll just
say that got snubbed. But I mean.
Speaker 4 (26:14):
Yeah, I mean at first, I'm like, duh, but you
know you said yeah, considering recent history, they have been
a little disrespected, I guess.
Speaker 5 (26:23):
But I think with the way they rose to meet
the moment and won at an incredible.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
Clip this season, you got you gotta put them in
marquee matchups.
Speaker 2 (26:34):
Now, I mean you would think, but Indiana Pacers, what
at the Conference finals last year? They didn't get a
Christmas Day game? And Christmas Day is you know, people
are like, who cares? Well, that's kind of the unofficial
start of the season as football is winding down. Obviously,
the first week is big. Let me circle back to
the Lakers real quick. Yeah, there is this weird negative
vibe that this team sucked. They got blown out by Minnesota,
(26:57):
I mean, Nikki, they lost basically three coin flip games
in a row with four minutes left, two minutes left
in the games, and they were they were like n
nip and tuck and oh, by the way, they were
the third seed in the West trading for Luca who
was not even close to one hundred percent. Like, this
idea that the Lakers sucked is to me, it's insane.
And they're calling me a homer. You covered the team,
you've been around them a lot, Like, I don't know
(27:19):
what's Is there a right answer here?
Speaker 4 (27:20):
Oh no, there's there's two points I want to respond
to that with, and one first and foremost being the
Minnesota Timberwolves.
Speaker 5 (27:26):
Are in the Western Conference finals.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Yeah, and like they're a good team and the Lakers
were also an incomplete team. And yes, you say yes
to a Luca Doncic trade ten times out of ten,
but they didn't have the size to go toe to
toe I mean in the pain, especially with this Timberwolves roster,
and even like I was at game one of the
(27:51):
Western Conference Finals where it's thunder Wolves and you could
I was even unsure.
Speaker 5 (27:57):
I was like, Oh, this Wolves team looks really big.
Is there is that going to bother?
Speaker 4 (28:01):
Okay see and obviously now that's under or up three
to one. But I think this, this Lakers roster wasn't complete,
and you know, Luca was making his way back from
an injury in the middle of the season, and I
think what I experienced in this building, I have not
heard Lakers fans being more excited. I mean, obviously you
(28:24):
get Lebron James and Anthony Davis, and when a championship
in twenty twenty, this fan base didn't get to celebrate that.
But Luca, like, for reference, on his opening night here,
I've never seen more people wearing the free T shirts
in the lower Bowl Crypto dot Com Arena. So I
think maybe the way the season ended it was a
(28:45):
little bit of a like, but there was a lot
of positive momentum and excitement, and I just think like
they got they need an offseason to not only put
guys around Luca and Lebron, who you know makes sense.
Get that vertical lob threat in the middle that Luca
likes playing with. But I think Luca and Lebron, you
(29:08):
put them on a court together, they're gonna and give
them the time, they're gonna figure it out.
Speaker 2 (29:12):
Yeah, I mean, like just pivoting to LA at large
real quick. So you're in like a sweet spot in that.
The Lakers get Luca, the Dodgers have Otani, just won
the World Series, You've got the Galaxy head of tremendous season.
LAFC is obviously very good. The Sparks get Kelsey Plumb,
who I don't know how they pulled that off. She's
one of the best players in the league. But that's
(29:32):
I digress. There's one other team in LA that's really
good that I was spacing on, Well, the Clippers had
a good season, But I don't know. It's like, I mean,
you've got to love work out here. Like I'm still
I know a lot of people don't like their jobs,
but like I wake up every day, I'm like, oh,
I get to talk about sports and Lakers and teams
in LA are great. It seems like I'm assuming you
(29:53):
have maybe even a better job than I do.
Speaker 4 (29:56):
Hey, hey, you know, every day is different and it's beautiful.
And the only thing that perplexes me sometimes is that
I'm only showing up at UCLA basketball on Selection Sunday.
Speaker 5 (30:07):
Why am I not there earlier? You know?
Speaker 4 (30:09):
And and it's too it can get so overwhelming, or
like the Dodgers playing in the middle of the summer
when we've got sparks, you know, broadcasts going on, and
then all of a sudden, it's, oh my gosh, the
postseason's ramping up, and you know, it is an embarrassment
of riches.
Speaker 5 (30:26):
There's always something if it's all I.
Speaker 2 (30:28):
Forgot Stafford, Stafford in the Rams could be going to
the Superwitch justin.
Speaker 4 (30:31):
Herbal, Yeah, like come on, we have we have Harbaugh,
we have Herbert, we have yeah, like Sean McVay and
we the Rams won a Super Bowl in twenty twenty one.
Speaker 5 (30:42):
It's it's.
Speaker 4 (30:45):
I can find myself being like, oh my gosh. You know,
whereas in a smaller market, you're at every coaches press
conference every week, right and because you have the scheduled down,
but now it's like, oh my gosh, hey, U c
l A baseball's in the postseason and you want to
you know, I know, random random shot.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
I did not know that. I can't. I'm out of bandwidth,
you know, Nikki, like I can't follow college baseball.
Speaker 5 (31:13):
That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 4 (31:13):
But the cool thing about my job and what I
love so much is that if you focus on the
storytelling too, you know, I don't just do Sideline broadcast.
I get to do features for our Spectrum News one
channel out here, and it's like when you lean in
and make a big season granular, like within the story,
within a game or a moment, then it kind of
slows everything down and gives you a little bit more
(31:35):
connection to the athletes and their journeys.
Speaker 5 (31:38):
So yeah, I mean, I love it here.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
And like I said, every day, you know, is a
winding road in the words of Ryl Crow Cyril Crow.
Speaker 2 (31:46):
Ruf, wow, I did not see that one coming. Let
me ask about the Clippers. I know they're kind of like,
you know, the step job, but they have an awesome arena.
I have not been to it yet. I'm just curious
your thoughts on the arena and like, where do they
go from here?
Speaker 4 (32:02):
You got to get you got to get into into
it Dome. It is like a spaceship on another planet.
It is uh, it's it's a fun experience and it
gets loud. I wasn't able to My schedule didn't align
with their playoff games here in LA, but I was there.
You know, I saw I caught a College Basketball Showcase
game in December and that was really fun. It's I've
(32:25):
seen a concert there. It's an awesome venue. And as
for you know, the state of the team, the Clippers
had a tough first round in Denver, right.
Speaker 5 (32:35):
But some of those games are awesome.
Speaker 4 (32:37):
I think you can make the case that that's been
the series of the playoffs so far, right, like that
seven game battle between those two teams. And as for
their off season moves, I'm not incredibly familiar on like
who's a you know up and you know could be
on the move. But I think I think Kauwhi is
not going anywhere. And seeing him return to four this year,
(33:00):
I mean, I know it's not all all game or.
Speaker 5 (33:03):
Not every game, but it's like I think I had.
Speaker 4 (33:07):
A couple of well welcome back Kawhi tweets because it's
just like he was out there looking like he was
twenty ninety.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Why Pladwell, yeah, we can wrap up. I am curious.
I know you're you're not in like the hot take business. Yes,
obviously for.
Speaker 5 (33:22):
Setting me up with hot Yes.
Speaker 2 (33:24):
Well I just want to preface it. Yeah, and the
prediction business is tough, So we're recording this before game
four Pacers Knicks. I'm just curious, do you think either
of those can pose a challenge to okay See. I
mean I've seen some of the numbers. I think people
are going a little overboard with this historically great OKAC team.
We had Dave mc benaman on last week and he
said that an NBA player told him, okay See is
(33:44):
the best college basketball team in the NBA because they're
basically a bunch of young guys who play hard every
single possession and you just don't see that a lot.
The Pacers are kind of young, the Knicks kind of
sort of too. Can either of them slow down? Okay See?
Speaker 4 (34:01):
I think they can, and I've I've been leaning towards
a Knicks thunder finals would be really fun.
Speaker 5 (34:08):
Oh yeah, because I mean the.
Speaker 4 (34:10):
Pacers are scrappy and I love I loved the show.
Tyrese Haliburton is putting on. But I think to have
the contrast of you know, the Knicks fan base and
the Thunder fan base, and you know Jalen Brunson what
he's able to work and and and.
Speaker 5 (34:28):
Pull off in in late games, you know, to be
that clutch.
Speaker 4 (34:32):
And also what a what a moment for Karl Anthony
Towns too, right, like this guy to have this, you know,
to arrive at this level of his career and actually.
Speaker 5 (34:44):
Deliver. I'm it's I'm happy for him.
Speaker 4 (34:47):
So I would say for the hell of it, like, yeah,
let's let's give us a nixed Thunder finals.
Speaker 5 (34:54):
And I mean, ultimately, I think.
Speaker 4 (34:56):
This is okay, S's okay, S's time to bring it
home finally. And granted I say finally, they've been around
in you know what half of the time span it
took for the Knicks to return to the final, so
that seems a little bit dramatic. But yeah, I think
we're going to get a good finals from either of
(35:17):
those groups.
Speaker 5 (35:18):
Looks at least six games.
Speaker 2 (35:20):
Right hopefully, Geez, I don't know. We'll see all right,
Nikki k great stuff spectrum out here in La continued
success as you write, Maybe I'll see you at a
sporting event. Are you going to Dodgers Yankees this weekend?
It's like the sports don't stop out here and listen.
Speaker 5 (35:35):
I know.
Speaker 4 (35:35):
I was like, oh my gosh, the drama is already returning.
I will say I was in the Bronx covering that
that game five, and it was it was the best
assignment of my life so far. It was spectacular, awesome
being and you know, doing the clubhouse interviews like after
a World Series win. I mean that was that was
(36:00):
like a pinnacle of twenty twenty four.
Speaker 5 (36:03):
I didn't know was on the horizon.
Speaker 4 (36:05):
Right because the Dodgers are always always contenders on paper
and we've seen them, you know, get their hearts ripped out.
I digress, I digress, But yeah, maybe i'll Are you
gonna be at the.
Speaker 2 (36:16):
I'm lobbying for tickets. I don't think it's like an post.
Everybody wants to be there, you know, and it's one
of those like we'll see what happens, but uh, I'm
sure I'll run into you at some point. Nikki. Thanks
a lot for taking the time and continued success.
Speaker 5 (36:26):
Absolutely, I'll join any time.
Speaker 4 (36:28):
Thank you so much for having me on And what
a day for sports fans right yeah,
Host
Jason McIntyre
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