Stephen A. is fired up about the NBA playoffs -- from the Knicks’ leading the 76ers, the Timberwolves’ sweep of the Phoenix Suns, the Clippers’ takedown of the Mavericks; and Russell Westbrook’s suspension. He also comments on Ezekiel Elliott’s return to the Dallas Cowboys, the upcoming boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul becoming a sanctioned professional fight, and more.
On The Stephen A. Smith Show, Smith gives you his renowned point of view, breaking barriers beyond the world of sports, and tackling pertinent issues across entertainment, pop culture, society, business, and politics. Three times a week, you'll hear his LIVE unfiltered opinions on the day's biggest headlines as well as straight-shooting interviews with top celebrities, game-changers, and thought leaders across the societal arena. The Stephen A. Smith Show is sure to entertain, inform, and motivate anyone who tunes in.
Support the show: http://www.youtube.com/@stephenasmith
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I don't have that much energy. I'm sick, but I
ain't that damn it. I saw what my New York
Knicks did. I saw what they did, and I know
what they gonna do tomorrow night too. The Stephen A.
Smith Show in the House.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Holla, what's up, everybody?
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Welcome to the Ladies edition of The steph and A
Smith's Show, coming at you as I love to do
it the very least three days a week over the
digital airwaves of YouTube. Hope y'all all had a very
prosperous and wonderful week, and hope your weekend was as
good as mine, because obviously there's a lot to get into,
and I will be getting into all of the things
that transpired this week and particularly in the world of sports,
but not before I take a moment to give thanks
(00:50):
and props and love to my subscribers and followers. We've
now exceeded over six hundred and thirty two thousand subscribers.
We continue to climb, and obviously that wouldn't be the
case of we're not for your support, So thank you
so much. Keep bringing it and I'm gonna keep on coming.
If you want to like and continue to follow the
stephen A. Smith Show. Just click the bell right there
in the right hand corner, and you too shall be
the latest and newest member of the stephen A. Smith
(01:13):
Show family. Also, make sure to pick up a copy
of my New York Times bestselling book, Straight Shooter, a
Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, that is now
in paperback. Just go to Straight Shooter book dot com
once again, that Straight Shooter Book dot Com to get
yourself a copy. It is now in paperback. Let me
get right into the NBA games. And this is not
(01:36):
gonna be a long show because again I'm feeling under
the weather. I was feeling great and then I woke
up and I had a scratchy throat and stuffy nos
and all this other stuff. Was feeling a little better,
did first take on ESPN this morning, and then after
that was feeling a little worse. But there's no way
that I was gonna pass up doing my podcast today.
I'm just not gonna be too long with it because
(01:57):
I'm not feeling great. But let me get right into it.
Let's get started with the NBA playoffs and specifically my
New York Knicks. The Knicks took a commanding three to
one lead against the Philadelphia seventy six y is yesterday
beating them ninety seven and ninety two in Philly. No less,
Jalen Brunson, let me say that again, Jalen Bruntson was
(02:18):
absolutely sensational, dropping a playoff record forty seven points for
the New York Knicks franchise to go along with his
ten domes. Then now I head back to Madison Square
Garden tomorrow night for a potential close out in Game
five because obviously they're up three to one in the
series right now. As an aside, mister Joel Embiid, who
dropped fifty on the New York Knicks in Game three,
he managed just one point in the fourth quarter of
(02:40):
Game four, no field goal, shooting zero for five from
the field afterwards, of course, and B was a bit salty,
but not because of just the results. It was because
of the crowd in Philly, specifically the number of Knicks
fans we all heard in the Wells Fargo Center. Just
what Joel Embiid had to say. I love our fans.
I'm not called them out, but it is disappointing, you know,
(03:02):
kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered
the sports town, so you know, they've always shown up
and I don't think that should happen. It's not Okay, Yeah,
I get where he's coming from. Makes sense. I understand
feel bad for him. Michael Dolens's I'd like to say
that because Philly's going home. Joel and b is one
(03:25):
of the greatest big men I've ever seen in my life.
He's absolutely phenomenal on one leg. To do what he's
been doing this series is definitely admirable. But it wasn't
his day yesterday. And when he complains about the Philly crowd,
all I'm gonna say to you is this, there's a
difference between Nick fans and most fans, just like there's
a difference between Cowboy fans and most fans. Stuff like that.
(03:46):
And let me explain to you the difference ticket Master
and all of this stuff. They might have tickets on sale,
and you know, I have people to pick up a phone.
They say, we're gonna call at twelve noon what the
New York Knicks fans was doing at at six am.
That's who we are. That's who we are, and that's
what happened. Okay, now you need'nt understand that when you
(04:08):
are a franchised that's been starving for a championship for
years because you ain't want niney things since nineteen seventy three, Okay,
damn it. And you sense the moment is arriving that
you're inching closer and closer and closer. You're gonna be
very very supportive and you're gonna be very happy. This is
what's going on. That's the way you gonna see things.
That's the way it's going to go. Okay, But that
being said, the New York Knickson up three to one.
(04:29):
It ain't because of that damn crowd. It's because of
the Knicks. It's because of Jaylen Brunton, and it's because
of og and a Noby. You gotta remember, Mitchell Robinson
was down after Joel and be tugged away at his leg. Okay,
a game. He should have received a flagrant too for
that should have been ejected that game, but that's neither
here nor Death's game three, that's neither here nor there.
(04:52):
Mitchell Robinson ultimately got hurt. He wasn't ready to go.
In Game four, Isaiah Hartenstein was your center, this dude.
After not registering a foul in the first half, gets
five fouls in the third quarter. I don't know what
the hell Tom Thiberdau was thinking about leaving him out there.
But you Heartenstein, don't you have a brain? Yes he does.
How the hell do you pick up five thousand in
one quarter? Nevertheless, that was the situation. And because of that,
(05:15):
Ognaobe had to guard Joel Ebid and guard him? Did
he do Lord have mercy? He was all up in him,
got low on him, made it made it very compromising
and difficult for him to use his legs and to
gather the movement. So Joel Embiid did the best that
he could, but ultimately it wasn't good enough because he
was ultimately neutralized. Nobody could stop Jaylen Brunson. Nobody could
(05:38):
stop him forty seven points, put on an absolute show.
And because of that, the New York Knickson up three one.
Let me say this about Jaylen Brunson. Of course, Kevin
Durant going to Golden State was a big deal. Of Course,
Lebron James going into Miami Heat and then after that
to the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, that
was a big deal. I challenge anybody omitting those two situations,
(06:00):
those two stories involved with Kevin Durant and Lebron James.
I challenge anyone, anyone to tell me a bigger free
agent pickup than that. Tell me who it is who's
been a better and a bigger free agent pickup than
what Jalen Brunson has ultimately turned in to be for
the New York Knicks. The Brothers a top five candidate
(06:22):
for League MVP Honors. The New York Knicks are basically
getting set for a date against the Indiana Paces in
the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a series I believe they will
win and ultimately advance to the Conference Arms, just like
I told you. And if you watch me on NBA
Countdown on ABC before the New York Knicks played, I
told you Jalen Brunston was gonna drop over forty and
(06:43):
after the New York Knicks was gonna win, and they
were gonna go up three to one, and they gonna
come back to the Garden and close it out Tuesday night.
And that's exactly what happened. Jalen Brunson is that special.
He's that special. But I gotta give love to Antonobe
as well. The New York Knicks are twenty two and
three when they've had both Jalen Brunston and Og and
Ob in the lineup this season. That includes a thirteen
old mark undefeated at Madison Square Gardens, where the New
(07:05):
York Knicks would be last Tomorrow night for Game five.
So good luck to the Philadelphia seventy six is final
way of pulling that off. One of the other things
that I'd be remissing neglecting to give props to Joel
andb is this. The Sixers have outscored the Knicks by
thirty four points in one hundred and sixty minutes. Within
bid on the court, Within Beid off the court, the
(07:29):
Sixers have outscored the Knicks by thirty eight points. Think
about that. That is okay, That is a seventy two
point turnaround when Joel Embiid is on the court. So
I can't ignore what this brother means to the game,
(07:49):
what he means to the Philadelphia seventy six ers. I
understand and being upset, you know about Philly fans not
really representing because the New York took over. But I
don't think it's that Philly fans didn't represent I think
that you know, you ticket Master and others. You don't
know who you're selling the tickets to. Somebody jumps in,
they try to buy it, and that's what it is.
(08:10):
New York's just beat them to it. That's all. Let
me transition to the West for a second here, because
with the t Wolves win, ladies and gentlemen, the dawn
of a new day is arriving, if it not has
already arrived. That's why I said, let's head out west.
We're witnessing a changing of the guard in the NBA
(08:30):
t Wolves forward Anthony Edwards heard about that brother really
an off guard. He dropped forty last night, thirty one
in the second half en route to a sweep with
Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, a sweep. I'll get
to Durant the Suns in that Big Three in a minute,
but I want to reflect on the greatness of Anthony Edwards.
Teammate and fellow All Star called Anthony Towns even said
(08:51):
last night quote the future is so bright for him,
I got to put my sun glasses on end quote.
That's what he said. Anthony Edwards is my favorite play
in the NBA. Anthony Edwards. When I think about Anthony
Edwards in this moment in Tom Ladies and Gentlemen, I
think about MJ. Kobe, Anthony Edwards. It was supposed to
be Vince Carter, it was supposed to be the greatest
(09:12):
endgame dunker we've seen. But there's something to be said
about wanting it. There's something to be said about wanting it.
And this is what I'm trying to get at with y'all.
I keep trying to break this down. I don't know
how many times you can have all the skills in
the world, you can even put in the hard work,
(09:34):
you could be focused, but you gotta want it. You
gotta want it. I mean, you take it on everyone.
Not only was Anthony Edwards scoring, Anthony Edwards was ruling
the guard. Whoever was the hot end. If it was
Kevin Durant, alright, I got him. If it was Bradley
Beal eyed, I got him. If it was Devin Booker eyed,
I got him. This is what Anthony Edwards was doing.
(09:58):
The ant man himself absolutely positively spectacular, wants all the smoke.
Ain't running from shit. This brother is something special. It's
something special. I'm telling you what I know. I've been
covering the game a long time. This brother Anthony Edwards,
you don't teach what he has, not that athleticism, not
(10:19):
that fire in his belly. He wants it bad and
he's not. And this is the thing that I love
about him, ladies and gentlemen. He's not just somebody that
wants it. He wants to take it from those who
have it. I promise you, if he could have his
perfect world, he'd want Lebron next. Now that ain't gonna happen.
(10:40):
You do know that, right, You do know that right.
It ain't beating then for four straight. But please be
clear when you look at an Anthony Edwards, he wants
it that bad and to watch. And here's another clue
as to once somebody stardom has ascended to such a degree,
(11:02):
you got guys like Carl Anthony Towns talking about and
putting my sunglasses on. You know why he says something
like that, look at the team, look at who they have.
I don't care if it's Mike Conley Junior. I don't care.
If it's Rudy to go be, I don't care. If
it's called Anthony Towns, I don't care. If it's nas Red,
I don't care if it's Alexander Walker. I don't care
who it is. They all I say this respectfully, you know,
(11:23):
not literally. They all bow down to Anthony Edwards. It's
his team. It's his team. He ain't playing. And what
he did in Game one against Kevin Durant, when he
dropped eighteen points in the third quarter, what he did
in Game two when his defense stole today, what he
(11:44):
did and pulling out Game three, and then to go
there and then notice and to know that they're trying
to avoid a sweet They're trying to avoid that ultimate embarrassment.
And then to go out on that basketball court and
after nine points in the first half, takes over in
the second half with the twenty one points to close
the Phoenix Suns out. The Phoenix Sons team led by
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. What can
(12:06):
you say? There's nothing else to say other than this
is my favorite player in the league right now. This
brother is box office. He is spectacular. He's somebody that
you walk through the turnstiles to see. In the Minnesota
Timberwolves know it now? Won do they have an ownership friction?
You know why? That's you know what that's about. Right.
You know it's got Mark Laurie and Alex Rodriguez, and
(12:28):
you know with the owner Glen Taylor, let me tell
you what it's about, in my humble opinion, Glen Taylor
agreed after they endured COVID and the franchise was valued
at one point five billion dollars. Right, I'm sorry, more
like close to two billion dollars. Glen Taylor agreed, I'm
(12:49):
gonna sell it to Alex Rojugiu. Sixty percent of it's
Alex Rodrigiu is a mart glory. I'm gonna sell it
for a help billion and a half. And then he said,
oh shit, we worth doubled at now. And on top
of it all, I'm in my eighties and I've been
on in this team all of these decades. Why the
hell am I gonna hand it over to the new
ownership so they could be the one celebrating if these
(13:09):
brothers run the table and they end up getting to
the finals or day, I say, winning it all, Why
the hell would I do that? What I really really
need to do is I need to make sure that
I'm still around and I'm still relevant, that I'm gonna
still be a part of this action. I want my
name mentioned. I want to be the one to host
the Larry O'Brien Trophy. I want to be the one
to do all of that. That's what he said. That's
(13:32):
what this is about. That's what this is about. And
here's how my logic comes to this conclusion. Alice Rodriguez
and Mark Laurie Well obligated to pay three payments value
franchise value. I was correct initially at one point five billion.
To get sixty percent, they were gonna have to pay
nine hundred million. They already gave up to payments to
(13:55):
six hundred million dollars. What the hell you think they're
doing walking away with the six hundred million dollars saying
go ahead and keep it or it will be a
silent partner. That is what they signed up for. They
want that. Glenn Taylor tried to throw a monkey rinch
because he sees what we're all seeing now that Minnesota
got a chance. Minnesota got a chance. I wish I
(14:17):
could tell you that about the Phoenix Suns with Kevin Durant,
but that's not gonna happen. That's not gonna happen. My man,
Kendrick Perkins on ESPN called it an embarrassment, said it's
the biggest collapse in NBA history. I don't know if
I'm gonna get that hyperbolic, but I'm gonna tell you this.
(14:42):
We have no choice but to look at Kevin Durant differently,
along with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Okay, because we
got to look at this for what is worth. Miami
heat Man have created the super team model with Lebron,
James d Wade and Chris Bosh, but the Phoenix Sons
may have killed it with the three names that I mentioned.
(15:04):
The Suns began a season with championship aspirations, led by
their ultra town to Big three we all know that,
but the team could never stay healthy, find a rhythm,
and ultimately ended the season yesterday when they were embarrassed
via a sweep at the hands of a young Minnesota
Timberwolves squad led by a twenty two year old that
seems to have a fire in his belly that we've
(15:26):
been looking for from those other dudes that we mentioned
in Phoenix, Let's count the waves. Bradley Bill's getting paid
fifty million next year. Kevin Durant is getting paid fifty
million next year. Devin Book is getting paid forty nine
million dollars next year. The Phoenix Suns are committing to
one hundred and fifty million with these three, okay, and
the team ain't good enough. They ain't good enough. Now,
(15:48):
why was that? Yes, you didn't have a point guard.
You let go CP three and Devin Book is no
point guard. Yes, you didn't have a rim protector because
DeAndre Ayt and you let go ahead and sent them
to Portland, and ultimately you got nurked who's a bit
undecized compared to DeAndre Aiden and certainly no rem protected.
All of that's fine, good and dandy. That ain't the problem.
Let me tell you what the problem is. The Big
(16:12):
Three wasn't a big three. Bradley Beer, you come from Washington,
you would think that how how many years you've been
starving for relevancy as a player, that once you had
the opportunity, we would see that brother putting on the
show scoring. Now, I know you missed a lot of games,
and I know the three of y'all were on the
(16:33):
court together, okay, only like forty one games. I believe
your record at the time was like twenty six and
fifteen were you on the court together when you were
in the series and Phoenix Sin's got their ass kicked. Now,
in the case of Devin Booker, somebody that I in
(16:54):
the past have called Kobe esque, Well, part of Kobe
is that Anthony David factor, where I'm here and it's
my turn and I'm taking the hell over. I'm gonna
bust your ass. That's what Anthony David. That's what Anthony
Edwards did. That's what Anthony Edwards did. Devin Booker scored
(17:17):
points when you were at home. You did the same
thing against Denver last year. Y'all got smoked the first
two games, and then you went home and you played
lights out against Denver those two games. The difference is
you tied up that series and then ultimately lost the
sixth to Denver, whereas in this series you couldn't even
win the game. But the pattern is similar on the road,
not much. At home, in front of your home crowd,
(17:39):
you go ballistic offensively, but it doesn't end up being
good enough in the grand scheme of things. A couple
of years ago, you get blown out in the Game
seven against Luka Dancik, and the Dallas Mavericks yesterday you
got swept, and so I don't think his reputation is
looking that good right now. I don't think Bradley Beer's
(17:59):
re mutation is looking that good right now. But I
also got to look at Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant is
a two time champion. He is a two time champion
in the two time NBA Finals MVP. We already know
that he's one of the greatest players in NBA history.
(18:20):
Nobody can deny that, and I'm not about to sit
here and try. He's Kevin Durant and I know that.
But do you know that since Kevin Durant is the
part of from Steph Curry, he hasn't made it out
of the second round. That means he hasn't been in
a conference championship series. Knowing an NBA Finals series. He's
(18:40):
Kevin Durant and it hasn't happened. Ultimately, when you look
at Kevin Durant's resume in this series, he averaged twenty
six point eight points on fifty five percent, shooting forty
two percent from three point range. He did his job.
He did his job. When it comes to playing Grace
(19:01):
and Allen Well, he injured his ankle, so he didn't
play games three and four. But ladies and gentlemen, in
the first two games he only had a total of
seven points of one to five shooting. Might as wella
sit them. What difference does it make? Weren't doing shit anyway.
So now he's gone. Now you got a situation with
Kevin Durant. It's never pleasurable to say this. I know
(19:24):
that people like himself and folks in this camp are
never pleased when I say this. But I said it
before and I'll say it again. I told y'all that
when he departed from Oklahoma City, Okay, and then he
ultimately departed from Golden State, when he decided to leave
Steph Curry to go and join Kyrie Irvin, I told
(19:46):
y'all he would for unless he won, he will forever
be seen as the guy who left Steph Curry for
Kyrie Irving. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, because
Kyrie Irving is a champion and Kyrie Iran is playing
lights out. He dropped forty yesterday against Dallas. But it
just doesn't look good. And when you talk about the
(20:08):
legacy of Kevin Durant. We don't talk about him in
the same breath that we talk about Lebron James or
the Kobe's of the world and others. I never thought that.
I believe for one second that there's going to come
a point in time where Kevin Durant is going to
be an afterthought in NBA annals because he was that great.
Once upon a time, I had Kevin Durant as the
(20:30):
best player on the planet. I thought he was the
best player on the planet Earth. I would have rather
had him than Lebron back in the day, because I
thought he was that prolific, he was that sensational. But
I would have been wrong, because somehow, some way, Lebron
(20:55):
is able to peel stuff out of people that Kevin
Durant cannot. In Brooklyn, not in Oklahoma City before that,
not in Phoenix now. And a couple of items before
I move on to my next subject. Number one, I
don't know if Kevin Durant's gonna be there. Because if
you're mad Ishpia, the owner of the Phoenix Suns, who
(21:15):
thought that he had the best roster in basketball and
said that publicly, if you're mad Ishpia, here's the question,
why keep this team together? Why not use the assets
that you have available to get picks. Oklahoma City's got
a bunch of assets. Not that, not that I think
(21:36):
that Kevin Durant would want to go back there, But
they got an abundance of assets. And you know who
else does too, The New York Knicks. New York's got
eleven first round picks over the next seven years. If
I could get my hands on Kevin Durant to be
a New York Knick, that would be phenomenal. Him and
Brunton has him to rely upon, it would be sensational.
(22:00):
I just don't think. I just don't know if it'll happen.
But Kevin Durant is being looked at differently today. He
really really is. And it ain't because of his basketball
skills and his basketball numbers and his basketball prowess. It
is because of self inflicted wounds he's created with the
(22:20):
decisions he made. He should have went to New York
instead of Brooklyn, and if you're gonna go to Golden State,
stay in Golden State. Should have never left. But now
here he is. So it is what it is. But
I'm gonna stay on Phoenix for a couple of the reasons.
Number One, I don't expect Frank Vogel to head coach
to keep his job. I'm not saying he deserves to
(22:41):
be fired. I'm saying it would have shocked me if
he is, because he never had the post of the team,
and now you got swept at your first year on
the job. I think he's gonna be one and done
in Phoenix as the head coach. Number Two, I want
to make sure I clarify something that I said about
Devin Booker, because NBA circles, not Devin Booker's camp. No
(23:03):
one close to him said this, and he certainly didn't
say it. I didn't speak to him, but I heard
that Devin Booker could potentially want out and want to
be in a place like New York. And one of
the things that I said, I said he'd probably denied
or whatever. That's not to mean that he's lying or
anything like that. I am in no way implying that
(23:25):
he wants to leave Phoenix. But if Phoenix is willing
to move on from him, New York is a place
he is willing to go. That's what I was trying
to say when I spoke about that. Earlier this morning
on television. Not that he's going to demand a trade
on anything like that, but I wanted to clarify that
because somebody called me and said that it could be
(23:45):
misconstrued that he's going to ask out of Phoenix to
go to New York. And no, that's not the case.
If Phoenix wants to move on from him because they
haven't won anything with him, he would not mind going
to New York. That is what I was told, So
I just want to point that out now. Let me
(24:08):
move on to Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
They managed to avoid the first round sweep SAT and
that against the defending champion Denvern Nuggets. I'm proud of them.
Props to Lebron and Anthony Davis. Mainly. You were back
in Denver to Knighte for Game five. I didn't expect that.
I thought I had the broomsticks ready because I just
looked at the Lakers and I said, how the hell
are you gonna come back from this team? Denver seemed
(24:31):
to be toying with them. Michael Porter Junior one game,
Aaron Gordon, the naxt Yo kicch always, Jamal Murray always
what the hell is gonna happen. That's how I was thinking.
And then suddenly Denver couldn't hit anything. Meanwhile, De'angelo Russell
showed up. He was making some shots. Lebron and Ad
(24:51):
were doing that thing, making this shots, and as a result,
the Los Angeles Lakers have avoided a sweep and beat
Nuggets for the first time after losing eleven straight. Props
to them. I'm glad they did it, but I don't
expect more than that. I don't expect more than that.
As a matter of fact, I'm so sure of it.
(25:12):
I've even told my man Shannon Sharp that if Lebron,
James and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a three to
old deficit, I became the first team in NBA history.
And by the way, that record is one fifty one
and zero if I remember correctly, of people who had
all three deficits and couldn't come back. You have a
three to old deficit, you have a three zero lead.
(25:33):
You usually don't lose that. You don't you never lose that.
But I'm gonna tell you this, if Lebron would have
come back from a three old deficit and beat the
reigning defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets. I'll be the first
to look at y'all dead in the face and say
we can revisit the the goat conversation, because that ain't happening.
That ain't happening your kitchen. That ain't losing four straight.
(25:54):
You crazy, That's not happening. I tell you that right now.
I be shocked if Lebron and the Lakers won to Night.
Just to be clear, I'd be shocked they won to Night.
So I just wanted to throw that out there all
right before I go to break. I made some news
over the weekend because I was on an NBA countdown
(26:16):
on ABC and ESPN, and one of the things that
I said after watching the Los Angeles Clippers lose to
the Dallas maverage Friday night, I said that Russell Westbrook
was awful in terms of the way he acted. He
nearly closed line one player flying in full layup. He
(26:39):
knocked Luka Doncic to the ground on a couple of occasions.
One time, when Luka Doncik was driving by h he
grabbed him and yanked at him. Who knows he could
have separated his shoulder and Luka Doncic got to say,
like what you do, and he pushed Luka danjik Off.
Then when he did that, he got pushed in the
back by PJ. Washington. And then he turns around and
(27:02):
to charge after PJ. Washington and pushes him in the chest.
He's shrugging off officials. You can't act like that. Now.
I've been one who has been complimentary about Russell Westbrook
since he arrived with the Clippers. It was an awful
experience with the Los Angeles Lakers, There's no doubt about that.
But he was not awful with the Houston Rockets. He
(27:23):
was not awful with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was
awful with the Los Angeles Lakers. But he has been
the energizer, bunny and everything that the Clippers need, no
doubt about it. But Friday's Game three, what's the belligerent's
all about? Where you coming from? Other than the fact
(27:45):
that Luca and Dallas was whipping the ass. Now, when
Russell Westbrook closed line, not closed line because he did
go for the ball, but he did knock the guy
upside the head, and acting like he didn't touch the guy,
That's where it ridiculous. She hit his head, not the ball.
But the point is one could argue that wasn't intentional,
But then when you want to be demonstrative about it,
(28:06):
deny it and then flex with everybody else, usually you're
getting teed up for that. In some cases that would
have been a flagrant too, is not a flagrant one.
It definitely was a flagrant too. When you did that
to Luca it should have been. And when you're sitting
up there and you're acting like that to me, ladies
(28:28):
and gentlemen, it wasn't enough for him to get ejected.
He should have been suspended for the next game. I
still stand by that, but once again, people take my
words and they do what they want with it. I
sat up there and said he deserved to be suspended.
I still stand by that. I said I even called
the league office to inquire about WHOA, why didn't you
(28:50):
suspend him. I didn't call the league office to sit
up there and say suspend him, now, get him suspended. No,
once the decision came that he wasn't suspended, I'm like,
wait a minute, you've been preaching about these rules and
regulations and if you did X, Y, and Z, you're
gonna get suspended. Could you explain to me why you
didn't suspend them. I don't want the thinking behind that.
You can call the league office and ask for yourself.
(29:13):
So you have folks like Gilly from Wallowing Gilly's podcast,
great podcast, by the way, you know, speaking about it.
He sitting up there. Why you call in the league office? Yo, dude,
that's my job. You talk about it. I cover it.
(29:38):
Whether it's the commissioner, is the executive VP, it's the
disciplinaryes are, it's PR or whatever. People who cover the
league speak to the NBA office every week about decisions
they make. And I happen to have the kind of
access that allowed me to pick up the phone and
call and say why did this not? Why was this
(29:59):
not a suspension? I don't have a problem with it,
even though I would have suspended them. I don't have
a problem with him not being suspended because I want
all hands on deck. If you're playing in the postseason,
ye hell yeah. I don't want any excuses. But if
you're going to say that you're going to suspend somebody
and then you didn't over such transgressions, not only do
I have a right to inquire or I have an
(30:20):
obligation because I cover the NBA. So I'm reading reports
and we got Yahoo Sports. You know, they come out
with some headline, you know, with me snitching, we juveniles.
Now that's what we're doing. We in the streets were
(30:49):
not talking basketball. I cover the NBA. And by the way,
what do you mean snitching? Snitching implies that you're trying
to review, folks, what nobody else saw? You were playing
on national television. We all saw it. What do you
(31:10):
mean snitching? He talking about I could go off, but
it's not necessary, you know. And I'm not talking about Gilly.
I got love for him, good brother. You know, do
(31:31):
your thing, man, But you damn right. I called to inquire,
and I'll do it again and again and again if
something else props up. By the way, I didn't bring
it up, but I inquired about him be too. When
he yanked at Mitchell Robinson's leg, why was that not
an injection while I had him on the phone. This
(32:00):
is how you know, y'all a lot of people out
there I'm not talking about. I'm not my contemporaries, obviously,
I'm not talking about us who've been in the business
as reporters for years. I've been a reporter for thirty
years as covering the NBA. You think I just watched
the game and talk. You think stuff just comes out
(32:21):
of my mouth and I'm not watching and I'm not
having sources feed me information. Now that's y'all who do podcast.
I'm a reporter. I've been a reporter. Yes I'm a personality.
Yes I'm a commentator. Yes I'm a pundit. But I
cover the league. Just like when I was on a
(32:46):
podcast the Drink Champs a few weeks ago, I said,
y'all had conversations. Y'all are having conversations about Alex Rodriguez
and the Minnesota Timberwolve's ownership story. I was having a
contract read to me on the phone. You talk about
the league, I cover it. There's a difference, and with
(33:11):
that comes an obligation to validate, to verify, and to
comprehend exactly what went behind the decisions that were made.
So when everybody's going off, going off, going off, No,
do that with yourselves, do that with your breathren who
(33:32):
do what you do, Because even as I sit here
doing some of what you do, there's an inherently different
obligation that comes from me and comes attached with me
because I covered the league. I don't just talk about it.
(33:52):
That's how it goes, That's how it is, and that's
how the hell it's gonna stay. Yes, as a pundit
and the commentator, I'm telling you Russell Westbrooks ass should
have been suspended because his behavior was uncalled for. What
if he had separated Luca's shoulder? That is true, but
(34:15):
that's not why I called the league office suspend him? Suspended?
You gotta suspend him? No, I called what was your
reason in rationale behind a decision to not suspend them?
And at that time I was informed the officials gave
the reports, and when they wrote the reports, they said
that the situation was handled. He had coming to him,
(34:41):
He got what came to him is exactly what should
have come to him. He was teed up twice. He
was also given flagrantw he was ejected from the game.
We had this matter under control and there was no
further incident. So since that was the case, that's why
we didn't suspend them. Perfect explanation, Thank you. That's what
(35:03):
I needed to understand. Because I cover the league, not
just watch. There's a difference. Pay attention. People pay attention.
Coming up next this news on the Jake Paul Mike
Tyson fight. I'll get into that. Plus a former Dallas
(35:27):
cowboy spins the block or will it make a difference? Also,
did y'all hear what Usher's Sun did with his phone?
Wait until you do all of them more? Right here? Next,
don't to see the Nates min show. Don't go away.
(35:50):
Have you all been watching the NBA playoffs? I'm sure
you have, But do you know what makes watching them
even more exciting? Prize Picks. That's right, With a big
game happening every night, Prospects is here to help you
cash in on all your basketball knowledge. You see. Prize
Pects is a daily fantasy app where you can select
to a more of your favorite players and then pick
more or less on their projected in game stats. But
(36:12):
Prospects doesn't stop with basketball. You can choose from several sports,
the MLB, NHL, the MMA, and everything in between. I
make my picks to submit early, all in less than
sixty seconds. Then I sit back and I chill and
watch and get this, Prospects will match your first depositive
up to one hundred dollars. You heard me right, Go
to Prospects dot Com and use code SAS. That's my initials.
(36:36):
Of course, for a first time or a first deposit
match of up to one hundred dollars, that's SAS. When
you go to Prospects dot com and use the promo
code pick more, pick less. Guess what, it's that easy.
Welcome back to the Cnnmin Show right here with the
digital airways of YouTube. Let's get to some uh. I
(36:58):
can't believe I'm gonna use these words pro fighting as
in boxing. Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson. Okay, we'll start
in the world of boxing. We're the fight between this
YouTuber Jake Paul and a former heavyweight champion of the world,
Mike Tyson, will now be sanctioned as a professional fight.
As a reminder, Tyson is fifty seven years old and
(37:19):
Jake Paul is twenty six. That thirty one year age
gap will be the biggest in the history of professional boxing,
which is exactly why it should not be sanctioned as
a professional fight. If Mike Tyson, despite his age, had
been fighting for years, okay, that would be different, but
(37:39):
that is not the case. Mike Tyson has been retired
for years. The only thing we've seen Mike Tyson in
the last twenty years. We've seen an exhibition against Roy
Jones junior and thirty years thirty years older than Jake Paul,
who's basically I mean, he's fort a couple of boxes,
(38:02):
including Tommy Fury, Tyson, Fury's little brother. Outside of that,
he knocked out a couple of UFC fighters Tyron Woodley,
all right, and of course Ben Askron that's true, and
we know what he did to form a basketball player,
Nate Robinson. I'm just saying, how can you sanction this
(38:29):
as a profile now? So people out there think, you
know what, Mike Tyson is gonna kill him? Mike Tyson,
I mean Jake Paul don't know what he's getting himself into. Yeah,
that's possible. Jake Paul is a big boy, He's got power,
that is true. But fifty seven years old is fifty
seven years old. A thirty one year age gap is
(38:51):
a thirty one year age gap. You haven't been fighting.
That matters as well. And oh, by the way, conditioning
is an issue too, because Tyson is fine when Tyson
is preying upon you. We've seen the different Mike Tyson
(39:13):
when he's been prayed uponn We've seen him when he's
been out of shape, We've seen him when he hasn't
been prestine. This is not the young Mike Tyson. We
see these videos all the time. We know how ferocious
and vicious and spectacular he was. But that was a
long time ago. And I really, really, sincerely hope that
(39:33):
Mike Tyson doesn't get himself hurt in this fight. That's
just me, it's just my wish. I want to see
Jake Paul at some point in time, like Oscar de
la Hoya said, if you want to be considered a
real fighter, a real boxer, get in there with some
real boxers. It would be nice to see. Anyway. Moving
(39:54):
on to the next up, that Dallas Cowboys made a
free agent sign in the day the team reaching an
agreement on a one year deal with former running back
of Ekiel Elliott. If you're a Cowboy fans, if you're
a Cowboy fan, maybe you should be happy. Maybe you
should and I don't know, I mean, what do you
want me to do? I mean, I'm happy he's back
in Dallas because I know that's where he wanted to be.
Hedn't want to be in New England. He never wanted
to leave Dallas, he never wants stop playing for America's team.
(40:16):
I get all of that, But in the seven years
that Ezekiel Elliott was dead, he win no damn Super
Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys. He didn't get to a
Super Bowl, he didn't get to an NFC championship game.
So why the hell would I be concerned about what
he's gonna do? Now? I mean, you had somebody named
Rico Suave, I mean Rico Dwell that was gonna be
your running back if it wasn't for Ezekiel Elliott. Okay,
(40:37):
but Ezekiel Elliott, I don't anticipate he'll make munch of
a difference. I just don't. I just don't. But I'm
glad he's back in Dallas for his sake, because I
want the brother to be happy. Let's get back to
the NBA playoffs towards clearly turned out to be the
best series in the West. And you already heard where
I stood about with Russell Westbrook and where I stand
on that, so I'm not going to reiterate that point.
(40:59):
I stand by that. But nevertheless, he did play in
Game four the Clippers without Kawhi. Lindon ended up winning
game for a courtesy of thirty three points from both
Paul George and James Harden, and now the series is
tied to too. Luca after the game, even though he
had a triple double but struggle shooting from deep, said
(41:22):
he needed to help out Kyrie Irving Moore, Kyrie Irving
portand Fort. He was absolutely spectacular, but Lucas still absorbed
the blame because he's like, yo, I need to do
more to help him. I need to do more. And
perhaps that's true, but that ain't the story today. The
story today is James Harden. James Harden showed up and
showed out. And because he showed up and showed out
(41:43):
the way that he did, this is why you got
him on this team. This is why because you expected
Kawhilendon to be hurt, because that's what he does. He's
always hurt. And that's why I didn't want to see
no damn photo of him holding the team USA Jersey.
He better not playing them, Damn Olympics. You can't be
ready to play in the postseason. He's missed thirty percent
(42:04):
of the postseason games for the Los Angeles Clippers. Since
he's arrived, he's missed more than forty percent of his
regular season games. I don't want to see Kawhi Leonard
in the Team USA uniform because you ain't healthy enough
to play for the team that pays your check. So
I ain't trying to hear that. But James Harden, if
he plays like that, Ladies and gentlemen, Paul George Podcast,
(42:26):
p Paul George, that brother and the show that he
put on in the first half yesterday that Paul George
shows up with James Harden. I got news for you.
Clippers got a chance. Clippers got a chance. But it's
going to take that. It's going to take James Harden
playing the way that he played for the rest of
(42:48):
this series and throughout the rest of the playoffs for
the Clippers to stand a chance. There's no other way
around it. So props to James Harden coming up. One
of the WNBA's most decorated players, says goodbye to the
game and the son of a pop music star mix
a bold move. All that and more next right here
on Steven ax Smith Show, Don't Go Away. Welcome back
(43:13):
to Steven Asmith Show. Right here over the digital airways
of YouTube. I want to take some time, just a
couple of moments to give props to one of the
greatest female basketball players we've ever seen and one of
the only candas Parker. She's one of the WNBA's most
decorated athletes who happen to have announced her retirement this
weekend on social media. Parker won two NCAA titles at
(43:34):
Tennessee before being selected number one in the two thousand
and eight WNBA draft. She won championships with the Los
Angeles Barks, the Chicago Sky, and the Las Vegas Aces,
becoming the first player in league history to clinch titles
with three different franchises. She's also a two time League MVP,
a ten time All WNBA selection, and a two time
Olympic gold medalist. Here's part of what she had to
(43:56):
say yesterday on social media. Quote, I promised I'd never
cheat the game and that I'd leave it in a
better place than I came into it. The competitor in
me always wants one more, but it's time. My heart
and body knew, but I needed to give my mind
time to accept it. Obviously eloquent the way that she
(44:17):
put it, She's absolutely right. I had the pleasure of
moderating a panel with her and Los Angeles Rams NFL
Los Angeles Rams coach Sharwan m veron the panel. I've
known Candas for a few years now. She's just wonderful.
She does a great job on television. She's gonna have
a future in this business. But to look at her resume,
(44:39):
why don't we talk about her more often? It's one
of the greatest players to have ever played. Three championships,
two MVPs, one NBAWNBA Finals, MVP one Defensive Player of
the Year award, seven time All Star, two Olympic gold medals,
two time NCAA champion, two time nc DOUAA tournament's Most
Outstanding Player, smith College Player of the Year, two time
(45:02):
would an award winner. Why the hell don't we talk
about Kandice Parking more? I don't know why, but we should.
Congratulations all the best to you, looking forward to watching
you on television do the great work that you've been doing.
Keep up the great work, all the best. So happy
for you, so happy for you. If your body was
(45:22):
giving out while we why I mess around with it?
Your mama, Now, you got a lot of obligations you
know your fun loving, want to have a good time
and enjoy life. You've earned it. Do that all right?
Before I get on out of here for today, I
want to get to another subject in the world, to
pop culture and entertainment. Listen, we've all had celebrity crushes
(45:46):
growing up. I'm not going front. I loved Jane Kennedy.
Let's do it again. Let's do it again, Bill Cosby,
City Portier. I'm telling you right now, just go back
to that movie and watch that opening scene when Bill
Cosby is on this construction truck or whatever, and he's
loading unloaded stuff and Jane Kennedy and a nice beautiful
(46:12):
skirt just comes walking into scene. Just trust me, you'll
see George Foreman and Bill Cosby and others just drooling.
And if you look at her, you'll understand why. Anyway,
some kid Navid Raymond, the fifteen year old son of
(46:33):
Grammy Award winning singer Usher. I told you I had
a crush, right, but he took his crush to the
next level. The teen stole his dad's cell phone the
message British pop singer Pink pantherists on Instagram. When Usher
checked his DMS, he noticed the pop singer's profile and
(46:54):
didn't know who she was. After a quick investigation, Usher
realized what happened and scrambled to explain the situation on
IG stories. He apologized to the popstar, who responded with
an invitation to her next show. Navid shared a photo
with Pink Panthers on his ig page and Usher reposted it,
(47:15):
explaining why he went easy on his son. Listen to
this quote. This was a great moment for Navid. This
was him moving on something he was passionate about. Yes,
he violated my trust in the process, and for that
I will never trust him around my phone. But I
should have known better. Nonetheless, I appreciate the hustle and
(47:37):
him making it happen from a text to a concert
to the artist. He masterminded this whole thing and made
it happen. Well, that's one way to look at it.
The other way to look at it is that you
could be inviting Dare I say unhealthy tendencies? I mean,
(48:01):
you want to reach out, you wanna DM folks, what
you're gonna put on Instagram, what you're gonna say right,
and you know everything ain't meant to be pursued, I guess,
But I understand where US's coming from. He is fifteen,
and so we want to be nice because we've all
had our crushes. And in fairness to Navid, if Instagram
(48:27):
actually existed and I could have DM Jane Kennedy back
in the day, I can't exactly rule out the possibility
that I might not have done the same. That is fair.
I gotta get on out of here for the day.
As I told y'all, I'm sick, so thank y'all for
sticking with me. I hope I feel better. I intend
(48:48):
to feel better. But until next time, This stephen a
signing off, peace and love. Everybody. Enjoy the games tonight.
Lakers will lose, Celtics will win, Knicks will close the
deal in five Tomorrow Night in the gardens, fotheringh mmahm,
I don't have that much energy. I'm sick, but I
ain't that damn it. I saw what my New York
Knicks did. I saw what they did, and I know
what they gonna do tomorrow night too. The Stephen A.
Smith Show in the House.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Holla, what's up, everybody?
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Welcome to the Ladies edition of The steph and A
Smith's Show, coming at you as I love to do
it the very least three days a week over the
digital airwaves of YouTube. Hope y'all all had a very
prosperous and wonderful week, and hope your weekend was as
good as mine, because obviously there's a lot to get into,
and I will be getting into all of the things
that transpired this week and particularly in the world of sports,
but not before I take a moment to give thanks
(00:50):
and props and love to my subscribers and followers. We've
now exceeded over six hundred and thirty two thousand subscribers.
We continue to climb, and obviously that wouldn't be the
case of we're not for your support, So thank you
so much. Keep bringing it and I'm gonna keep on coming.
If you want to like and continue to follow the
stephen A. Smith Show. Just click the bell right there
in the right hand corner, and you too shall be
the latest and newest member of the stephen A. Smith
(01:13):
Show family. Also, make sure to pick up a copy
of my New York Times bestselling book, Straight Shooter, a
Memoir of Second Chances and First Takes, that is now
in paperback. Just go to Straight Shooter book dot com
once again, that Straight Shooter Book dot Com to get
yourself a copy. It is now in paperback. Let me
get right into the NBA games. And this is not
(01:36):
gonna be a long show because again I'm feeling under
the weather. I was feeling great and then I woke
up and I had a scratchy throat and stuffy nos
and all this other stuff. Was feeling a little better,
did first take on ESPN this morning, and then after
that was feeling a little worse. But there's no way
that I was gonna pass up doing my podcast today.
I'm just not gonna be too long with it because
(01:57):
I'm not feeling great. But let me get right into it.
Let's get started with the NBA playoffs and specifically my
New York Knicks. The Knicks took a commanding three to
one lead against the Philadelphia seventy six y is yesterday
beating them ninety seven and ninety two in Philly. No less,
Jalen Brunson, let me say that again, Jalen Bruntson was
(02:18):
absolutely sensational, dropping a playoff record forty seven points for
the New York Knicks franchise to go along with his
ten domes. Then now I head back to Madison Square
Garden tomorrow night for a potential close out in Game
five because obviously they're up three to one in the
series right now. As an aside, mister Joel Embiid, who
dropped fifty on the New York Knicks in Game three,
he managed just one point in the fourth quarter of
(02:40):
Game four, no field goal, shooting zero for five from
the field afterwards, of course, and B was a bit salty,
but not because of just the results. It was because
of the crowd in Philly, specifically the number of Knicks
fans we all heard in the Wells Fargo Center. Just
what Joel Embiid had to say. I love our fans.
I'm not called them out, but it is disappointing, you know,
(03:02):
kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered
the sports town, so you know, they've always shown up
and I don't think that should happen. It's not Okay, Yeah,
I get where he's coming from. Makes sense. I understand
feel bad for him. Michael Dolens's I'd like to say
that because Philly's going home. Joel and b is one
(03:25):
of the greatest big men I've ever seen in my life.
He's absolutely phenomenal on one leg. To do what he's
been doing this series is definitely admirable. But it wasn't
his day yesterday. And when he complains about the Philly crowd,
all I'm gonna say to you is this, there's a
difference between Nick fans and most fans, just like there's
a difference between Cowboy fans and most fans. Stuff like that.
(03:46):
And let me explain to you the difference ticket Master
and all of this stuff. They might have tickets on sale,
and you know, I have people to pick up a phone.
They say, we're gonna call at twelve noon what the
New York Knicks fans was doing at at six am.
That's who we are. That's who we are, and that's
what happened. Okay, now you need'nt understand that when you
(04:08):
are a franchised that's been starving for a championship for
years because you ain't want niney things since nineteen seventy three, Okay,
damn it. And you sense the moment is arriving that
you're inching closer and closer and closer. You're gonna be
very very supportive and you're gonna be very happy. This is
what's going on. That's the way you gonna see things.
That's the way it's going to go. Okay, But that
being said, the New York Knickson up three to one.
(04:29):
It ain't because of that damn crowd. It's because of
the Knicks. It's because of Jaylen Brunton, and it's because
of og and a Noby. You gotta remember, Mitchell Robinson
was down after Joel and be tugged away at his leg. Okay,
a game. He should have received a flagrant too for
that should have been ejected that game, but that's neither
here nor Death's game three, that's neither here nor there.
(04:52):
Mitchell Robinson ultimately got hurt. He wasn't ready to go.
In Game four, Isaiah Hartenstein was your center, this dude.
After not registering a foul in the first half, gets
five fouls in the third quarter. I don't know what
the hell Tom Thiberdau was thinking about leaving him out there.
But you Heartenstein, don't you have a brain? Yes he does.
How the hell do you pick up five thousand in
one quarter? Nevertheless, that was the situation. And because of that,
(05:15):
Ognaobe had to guard Joel Ebid and guard him? Did
he do Lord have mercy? He was all up in him,
got low on him, made it made it very compromising
and difficult for him to use his legs and to
gather the movement. So Joel Embiid did the best that
he could, but ultimately it wasn't good enough because he
was ultimately neutralized. Nobody could stop Jaylen Brunson. Nobody could
(05:38):
stop him forty seven points, put on an absolute show.
And because of that, the New York Knickson up three one.
Let me say this about Jaylen Brunson. Of course, Kevin
Durant going to Golden State was a big deal. Of Course,
Lebron James going into Miami Heat and then after that
to the Los Angeles Lakers as a free agent, that
was a big deal. I challenge anybody omitting those two situations,
(06:00):
those two stories involved with Kevin Durant and Lebron James.
I challenge anyone, anyone to tell me a bigger free
agent pickup than that. Tell me who it is who's
been a better and a bigger free agent pickup than
what Jalen Brunson has ultimately turned in to be for
the New York Knicks. The Brothers a top five candidate
(06:22):
for League MVP Honors. The New York Knicks are basically
getting set for a date against the Indiana Paces in
the Eastern Conference Semifinals, a series I believe they will
win and ultimately advance to the Conference Arms, just like
I told you. And if you watch me on NBA
Countdown on ABC before the New York Knicks played, I
told you Jalen Brunston was gonna drop over forty and
(06:43):
after the New York Knicks was gonna win, and they
were gonna go up three to one, and they gonna
come back to the Garden and close it out Tuesday night.
And that's exactly what happened. Jalen Brunson is that special.
He's that special. But I gotta give love to Antonobe
as well. The New York Knicks are twenty two and
three when they've had both Jalen Brunston and Og and
Ob in the lineup this season. That includes a thirteen
old mark undefeated at Madison Square Gardens, where the New
(07:05):
York Knicks would be last Tomorrow night for Game five.
So good luck to the Philadelphia seventy six is final
way of pulling that off. One of the other things
that I'd be remissing neglecting to give props to Joel
andb is this. The Sixers have outscored the Knicks by
thirty four points in one hundred and sixty minutes. Within
bid on the court, Within Beid off the court, the
(07:29):
Sixers have outscored the Knicks by thirty eight points. Think
about that. That is okay, That is a seventy two
point turnaround when Joel Embiid is on the court. So
I can't ignore what this brother means to the game,
(07:49):
what he means to the Philadelphia seventy six ers. I
understand and being upset, you know about Philly fans not
really representing because the New York took over. But I
don't think it's that Philly fans didn't represent I think
that you know, you ticket Master and others. You don't
know who you're selling the tickets to. Somebody jumps in,
they try to buy it, and that's what it is.
(08:10):
New York's just beat them to it. That's all. Let
me transition to the West for a second here, because
with the t Wolves win, ladies and gentlemen, the dawn
of a new day is arriving, if it not has
already arrived. That's why I said, let's head out west.
We're witnessing a changing of the guard in the NBA
(08:30):
t Wolves forward Anthony Edwards heard about that brother really
an off guard. He dropped forty last night, thirty one
in the second half en route to a sweep with
Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns, a sweep. I'll get
to Durant the Suns in that Big Three in a minute,
but I want to reflect on the greatness of Anthony Edwards.
Teammate and fellow All Star called Anthony Towns even said
(08:51):
last night quote the future is so bright for him,
I got to put my sun glasses on end quote.
That's what he said. Anthony Edwards is my favorite play
in the NBA. Anthony Edwards. When I think about Anthony
Edwards in this moment in Tom Ladies and Gentlemen, I
think about MJ. Kobe, Anthony Edwards. It was supposed to
be Vince Carter, it was supposed to be the greatest
(09:12):
endgame dunker we've seen. But there's something to be said
about wanting it. There's something to be said about wanting it.
And this is what I'm trying to get at with y'all.
I keep trying to break this down. I don't know
how many times you can have all the skills in
the world, you can even put in the hard work,
(09:34):
you could be focused, but you gotta want it. You
gotta want it. I mean, you take it on everyone.
Not only was Anthony Edwards scoring, Anthony Edwards was ruling
the guard. Whoever was the hot end. If it was
Kevin Durant, alright, I got him. If it was Bradley
Beal eyed, I got him. If it was Devin Booker eyed,
I got him. This is what Anthony Edwards was doing.
(09:58):
The ant man himself absolutely positively spectacular, wants all the smoke.
Ain't running from shit. This brother is something special. It's
something special. I'm telling you what I know. I've been
covering the game a long time. This brother Anthony Edwards,
you don't teach what he has, not that athleticism, not
(10:19):
that fire in his belly. He wants it bad and
he's not. And this is the thing that I love
about him, ladies and gentlemen. He's not just somebody that
wants it. He wants to take it from those who
have it. I promise you, if he could have his
perfect world, he'd want Lebron next. Now that ain't gonna happen.
(10:40):
You do know that, right, You do know that right.
It ain't beating then for four straight. But please be
clear when you look at an Anthony Edwards, he wants
it that bad and to watch. And here's another clue
as to once somebody stardom has ascended to such a degree,
(11:02):
you got guys like Carl Anthony Towns talking about and
putting my sunglasses on. You know why he says something
like that, look at the team, look at who they have.
I don't care if it's Mike Conley Junior. I don't care.
If it's Rudy to go be, I don't care. If
it's called Anthony Towns, I don't care. If it's nas Red,
I don't care if it's Alexander Walker. I don't care
who it is. They all I say this respectfully, you know,
(11:23):
not literally. They all bow down to Anthony Edwards. It's
his team. It's his team. He ain't playing. And what
he did in Game one against Kevin Durant, when he
dropped eighteen points in the third quarter, what he did
in Game two when his defense stole today, what he
(11:44):
did and pulling out Game three, and then to go
there and then notice and to know that they're trying
to avoid a sweet They're trying to avoid that ultimate embarrassment.
And then to go out on that basketball court and
after nine points in the first half, takes over in
the second half with the twenty one points to close
the Phoenix Suns out. The Phoenix Sons team led by
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. What can
(12:06):
you say? There's nothing else to say other than this
is my favorite player in the league right now. This
brother is box office. He is spectacular. He's somebody that
you walk through the turnstiles to see. In the Minnesota
Timberwolves know it now? Won do they have an ownership friction?
You know why? That's you know what that's about. Right.
You know it's got Mark Laurie and Alex Rodriguez, and
(12:28):
you know with the owner Glen Taylor, let me tell
you what it's about, in my humble opinion, Glen Taylor
agreed after they endured COVID and the franchise was valued
at one point five billion dollars. Right, I'm sorry, more
like close to two billion dollars. Glen Taylor agreed, I'm
(12:49):
gonna sell it to Alex Rojugiu. Sixty percent of it's
Alex Rodrigiu is a mart glory. I'm gonna sell it
for a help billion and a half. And then he said,
oh shit, we worth doubled at now. And on top
of it all, I'm in my eighties and I've been
on in this team all of these decades. Why the
hell am I gonna hand it over to the new
ownership so they could be the one celebrating if these
(13:09):
brothers run the table and they end up getting to
the finals or day, I say, winning it all, Why
the hell would I do that? What I really really
need to do is I need to make sure that
I'm still around and I'm still relevant, that I'm gonna
still be a part of this action. I want my
name mentioned. I want to be the one to host
the Larry O'Brien Trophy. I want to be the one
to do all of that. That's what he said. That's
(13:32):
what this is about. That's what this is about. And
here's how my logic comes to this conclusion. Alice Rodriguez
and Mark Laurie Well obligated to pay three payments value
franchise value. I was correct initially at one point five billion.
To get sixty percent, they were gonna have to pay
nine hundred million. They already gave up to payments to
(13:55):
six hundred million dollars. What the hell you think they're
doing walking away with the six hundred million dollars saying
go ahead and keep it or it will be a
silent partner. That is what they signed up for. They
want that. Glenn Taylor tried to throw a monkey rinch
because he sees what we're all seeing now that Minnesota
got a chance. Minnesota got a chance. I wish I
(14:17):
could tell you that about the Phoenix Suns with Kevin Durant,
but that's not gonna happen. That's not gonna happen. My man,
Kendrick Perkins on ESPN called it an embarrassment, said it's
the biggest collapse in NBA history. I don't know if
I'm gonna get that hyperbolic, but I'm gonna tell you this.
(14:42):
We have no choice but to look at Kevin Durant differently,
along with Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. Okay, because we
got to look at this for what is worth. Miami
heat Man have created the super team model with Lebron,
James d Wade and Chris Bosh, but the Phoenix Sons
may have killed it with the three names that I mentioned.
(15:04):
The Suns began a season with championship aspirations, led by
their ultra town to Big three we all know that,
but the team could never stay healthy, find a rhythm,
and ultimately ended the season yesterday when they were embarrassed
via a sweep at the hands of a young Minnesota
Timberwolves squad led by a twenty two year old that
seems to have a fire in his belly that we've
(15:26):
been looking for from those other dudes that we mentioned
in Phoenix, Let's count the waves. Bradley Bill's getting paid
fifty million next year. Kevin Durant is getting paid fifty
million next year. Devin Book is getting paid forty nine
million dollars next year. The Phoenix Suns are committing to
one hundred and fifty million with these three, okay, and
the team ain't good enough. They ain't good enough. Now,
(15:48):
why was that? Yes, you didn't have a point guard.
You let go CP three and Devin Book is no
point guard. Yes, you didn't have a rim protector because
DeAndre Ayt and you let go ahead and sent them
to Portland, and ultimately you got nurked who's a bit
undecized compared to DeAndre Aiden and certainly no rem protected.
All of that's fine, good and dandy. That ain't the problem.
Let me tell you what the problem is. The Big
(16:12):
Three wasn't a big three. Bradley Beer, you come from Washington,
you would think that how how many years you've been
starving for relevancy as a player, that once you had
the opportunity, we would see that brother putting on the
show scoring. Now, I know you missed a lot of games,
and I know the three of y'all were on the
(16:33):
court together, okay, only like forty one games. I believe
your record at the time was like twenty six and
fifteen were you on the court together when you were
in the series and Phoenix Sin's got their ass kicked. Now,
in the case of Devin Booker, somebody that I in
(16:54):
the past have called Kobe esque, Well, part of Kobe
is that Anthony David factor, where I'm here and it's
my turn and I'm taking the hell over. I'm gonna
bust your ass. That's what Anthony David. That's what Anthony
Edwards did. That's what Anthony Edwards did. Devin Booker scored
(17:17):
points when you were at home. You did the same
thing against Denver last year. Y'all got smoked the first
two games, and then you went home and you played
lights out against Denver those two games. The difference is
you tied up that series and then ultimately lost the
sixth to Denver, whereas in this series you couldn't even
win the game. But the pattern is similar on the road,
not much. At home, in front of your home crowd,
(17:39):
you go ballistic offensively, but it doesn't end up being
good enough in the grand scheme of things. A couple
of years ago, you get blown out in the Game
seven against Luka Dancik, and the Dallas Mavericks yesterday you
got swept, and so I don't think his reputation is
looking that good right now. I don't think Bradley Beer's
(17:59):
re mutation is looking that good right now. But I
also got to look at Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant is
a two time champion. He is a two time champion
in the two time NBA Finals MVP. We already know
that he's one of the greatest players in NBA history.
(18:20):
Nobody can deny that, and I'm not about to sit
here and try. He's Kevin Durant and I know that.
But do you know that since Kevin Durant is the
part of from Steph Curry, he hasn't made it out
of the second round. That means he hasn't been in
a conference championship series. Knowing an NBA Finals series. He's
(18:40):
Kevin Durant and it hasn't happened. Ultimately, when you look
at Kevin Durant's resume in this series, he averaged twenty
six point eight points on fifty five percent, shooting forty
two percent from three point range. He did his job.
He did his job. When it comes to playing Grace
(19:01):
and Allen Well, he injured his ankle, so he didn't
play games three and four. But ladies and gentlemen, in
the first two games he only had a total of
seven points of one to five shooting. Might as wella
sit them. What difference does it make? Weren't doing shit anyway.
So now he's gone. Now you got a situation with
Kevin Durant. It's never pleasurable to say this. I know
(19:24):
that people like himself and folks in this camp are
never pleased when I say this. But I said it
before and I'll say it again. I told y'all that
when he departed from Oklahoma City, Okay, and then he
ultimately departed from Golden State, when he decided to leave
Steph Curry to go and join Kyrie Irvin, I told
(19:46):
y'all he would for unless he won, he will forever
be seen as the guy who left Steph Curry for
Kyrie Irving. Now that's not necessarily a bad thing, because
Kyrie Irving is a champion and Kyrie Iran is playing
lights out. He dropped forty yesterday against Dallas. But it
just doesn't look good. And when you talk about the
(20:08):
legacy of Kevin Durant. We don't talk about him in
the same breath that we talk about Lebron James or
the Kobe's of the world and others. I never thought that.
I believe for one second that there's going to come
a point in time where Kevin Durant is going to
be an afterthought in NBA annals because he was that great.
Once upon a time, I had Kevin Durant as the
(20:30):
best player on the planet. I thought he was the
best player on the planet Earth. I would have rather
had him than Lebron back in the day, because I
thought he was that prolific, he was that sensational. But
I would have been wrong, because somehow, some way, Lebron
(20:55):
is able to peel stuff out of people that Kevin
Durant cannot. In Brooklyn, not in Oklahoma City before that,
not in Phoenix now. And a couple of items before
I move on to my next subject. Number one, I
don't know if Kevin Durant's gonna be there. Because if
you're mad Ishpia, the owner of the Phoenix Suns, who
(21:15):
thought that he had the best roster in basketball and
said that publicly, if you're mad Ishpia, here's the question,
why keep this team together? Why not use the assets
that you have available to get picks. Oklahoma City's got
a bunch of assets. Not that, not that I think
(21:36):
that Kevin Durant would want to go back there, But
they got an abundance of assets. And you know who
else does too, The New York Knicks. New York's got
eleven first round picks over the next seven years. If
I could get my hands on Kevin Durant to be
a New York Knick, that would be phenomenal. Him and
Brunton has him to rely upon, it would be sensational.
(22:00):
I just don't think. I just don't know if it'll happen.
But Kevin Durant is being looked at differently today. He
really really is. And it ain't because of his basketball
skills and his basketball numbers and his basketball prowess. It
is because of self inflicted wounds he's created with the
(22:20):
decisions he made. He should have went to New York
instead of Brooklyn, and if you're gonna go to Golden State,
stay in Golden State. Should have never left. But now
here he is. So it is what it is. But
I'm gonna stay on Phoenix for a couple of the reasons.
Number One, I don't expect Frank Vogel to head coach
to keep his job. I'm not saying he deserves to
(22:41):
be fired. I'm saying it would have shocked me if
he is, because he never had the post of the team,
and now you got swept at your first year on
the job. I think he's gonna be one and done
in Phoenix as the head coach. Number Two, I want
to make sure I clarify something that I said about
Devin Booker, because NBA circles, not Devin Booker's camp. No
(23:03):
one close to him said this, and he certainly didn't
say it. I didn't speak to him, but I heard
that Devin Booker could potentially want out and want to
be in a place like New York. And one of
the things that I said, I said he'd probably denied
or whatever. That's not to mean that he's lying or
anything like that. I am in no way implying that
(23:25):
he wants to leave Phoenix. But if Phoenix is willing
to move on from him, New York is a place
he is willing to go. That's what I was trying
to say when I spoke about that. Earlier this morning
on television. Not that he's going to demand a trade
on anything like that, but I wanted to clarify that
because somebody called me and said that it could be
(23:45):
misconstrued that he's going to ask out of Phoenix to
go to New York. And no, that's not the case.
If Phoenix wants to move on from him because they
haven't won anything with him, he would not mind going
to New York. That is what I was told, So
I just want to point that out now. Let me
(24:08):
move on to Lebron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.
They managed to avoid the first round sweep SAT and
that against the defending champion Denvern Nuggets. I'm proud of them.
Props to Lebron and Anthony Davis. Mainly. You were back
in Denver to Knighte for Game five. I didn't expect that.
I thought I had the broomsticks ready because I just
looked at the Lakers and I said, how the hell
are you gonna come back from this team? Denver seemed
(24:31):
to be toying with them. Michael Porter Junior one game,
Aaron Gordon, the naxt Yo kicch always, Jamal Murray always
what the hell is gonna happen. That's how I was thinking.
And then suddenly Denver couldn't hit anything. Meanwhile, De'angelo Russell
showed up. He was making some shots. Lebron and Ad
(24:51):
were doing that thing, making this shots, and as a result,
the Los Angeles Lakers have avoided a sweep and beat
Nuggets for the first time after losing eleven straight. Props
to them. I'm glad they did it, but I don't
expect more than that. I don't expect more than that.
As a matter of fact, I'm so sure of it.
(25:12):
I've even told my man Shannon Sharp that if Lebron,
James and the Los Angeles Lakers overcame a three to
old deficit, I became the first team in NBA history.
And by the way, that record is one fifty one
and zero if I remember correctly, of people who had
all three deficits and couldn't come back. You have a
three to old deficit, you have a three zero lead.
(25:33):
You usually don't lose that. You don't you never lose that.
But I'm gonna tell you this, if Lebron would have
come back from a three old deficit and beat the
reigning defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets. I'll be the first
to look at y'all dead in the face and say
we can revisit the the goat conversation, because that ain't happening.
That ain't happening your kitchen. That ain't losing four straight.
(25:54):
You crazy, That's not happening. I tell you that right now.
I be shocked if Lebron and the Lakers won to Night.
Just to be clear, I'd be shocked they won to Night.
So I just wanted to throw that out there all
right before I go to break. I made some news
over the weekend because I was on an NBA countdown
(26:16):
on ABC and ESPN, and one of the things that
I said after watching the Los Angeles Clippers lose to
the Dallas maverage Friday night, I said that Russell Westbrook
was awful in terms of the way he acted. He
nearly closed line one player flying in full layup. He
(26:39):
knocked Luka Doncic to the ground on a couple of occasions.
One time, when Luka Doncik was driving by h he
grabbed him and yanked at him. Who knows he could
have separated his shoulder and Luka Doncic got to say,
like what you do, and he pushed Luka danjik Off.
Then when he did that, he got pushed in the
back by PJ. Washington. And then he turns around and
(27:02):
to charge after PJ. Washington and pushes him in the chest.
He's shrugging off officials. You can't act like that. Now.
I've been one who has been complimentary about Russell Westbrook
since he arrived with the Clippers. It was an awful
experience with the Los Angeles Lakers, There's no doubt about that.
But he was not awful with the Houston Rockets. He
(27:23):
was not awful with the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was
awful with the Los Angeles Lakers. But he has been
the energizer, bunny and everything that the Clippers need, no
doubt about it. But Friday's Game three, what's the belligerent's
all about? Where you coming from? Other than the fact
(27:45):
that Luca and Dallas was whipping the ass. Now, when
Russell Westbrook closed line, not closed line because he did
go for the ball, but he did knock the guy
upside the head, and acting like he didn't touch the guy,
That's where it ridiculous. She hit his head, not the ball.
But the point is one could argue that wasn't intentional,
But then when you want to be demonstrative about it,
(28:06):
deny it and then flex with everybody else, usually you're
getting teed up for that. In some cases that would
have been a flagrant too, is not a flagrant one.
It definitely was a flagrant too. When you did that
to Luca it should have been. And when you're sitting
up there and you're acting like that to me, ladies
(28:28):
and gentlemen, it wasn't enough for him to get ejected.
He should have been suspended for the next game. I
still stand by that, but once again, people take my
words and they do what they want with it. I
sat up there and said he deserved to be suspended.
I still stand by that. I said I even called
the league office to inquire about WHOA, why didn't you
(28:50):
suspend him. I didn't call the league office to sit
up there and say suspend him, now, get him suspended. No,
once the decision came that he wasn't suspended, I'm like,
wait a minute, you've been preaching about these rules and
regulations and if you did X, Y, and Z, you're
gonna get suspended. Could you explain to me why you
didn't suspend them. I don't want the thinking behind that.
You can call the league office and ask for yourself.
(29:13):
So you have folks like Gilly from Wallowing Gilly's podcast,
great podcast, by the way, you know, speaking about it.
He sitting up there. Why you call in the league office? Yo, dude,
that's my job. You talk about it. I cover it.
(29:38):
Whether it's the commissioner, is the executive VP, it's the
disciplinaryes are, it's PR or whatever. People who cover the
league speak to the NBA office every week about decisions
they make. And I happen to have the kind of
access that allowed me to pick up the phone and
call and say why did this not? Why was this
(29:59):
not a suspension? I don't have a problem with it,
even though I would have suspended them. I don't have
a problem with him not being suspended because I want
all hands on deck. If you're playing in the postseason,
ye hell yeah. I don't want any excuses. But if
you're going to say that you're going to suspend somebody
and then you didn't over such transgressions, not only do
I have a right to inquire or I have an
(30:20):
obligation because I cover the NBA. So I'm reading reports
and we got Yahoo Sports. You know, they come out
with some headline, you know, with me snitching, we juveniles.
Now that's what we're doing. We in the streets were
(30:49):
not talking basketball. I cover the NBA. And by the way,
what do you mean snitching? Snitching implies that you're trying
to review, folks, what nobody else saw? You were playing
on national television. We all saw it. What do you
(31:10):
mean snitching? He talking about I could go off, but
it's not necessary, you know. And I'm not talking about Gilly.
I got love for him, good brother. You know, do
(31:31):
your thing, man, But you damn right. I called to inquire,
and I'll do it again and again and again if
something else props up. By the way, I didn't bring
it up, but I inquired about him be too. When
he yanked at Mitchell Robinson's leg, why was that not
an injection while I had him on the phone. This
(32:00):
is how you know, y'all a lot of people out
there I'm not talking about. I'm not my contemporaries, obviously,
I'm not talking about us who've been in the business
as reporters for years. I've been a reporter for thirty
years as covering the NBA. You think I just watched
the game and talk. You think stuff just comes out
(32:21):
of my mouth and I'm not watching and I'm not
having sources feed me information. Now that's y'all who do podcast.
I'm a reporter. I've been a reporter. Yes I'm a personality.
Yes I'm a commentator. Yes I'm a pundit. But I
cover the league. Just like when I was on a
(32:46):
podcast the Drink Champs a few weeks ago, I said,
y'all had conversations. Y'all are having conversations about Alex Rodriguez
and the Minnesota Timberwolve's ownership story. I was having a
contract read to me on the phone. You talk about
the league, I cover it. There's a difference, and with
(33:11):
that comes an obligation to validate, to verify, and to
comprehend exactly what went behind the decisions that were made.
So when everybody's going off, going off, going off, No,
do that with yourselves, do that with your breathren who
(33:32):
do what you do, Because even as I sit here
doing some of what you do, there's an inherently different
obligation that comes from me and comes attached with me
because I covered the league. I don't just talk about it.
(33:52):
That's how it goes, That's how it is, and that's
how the hell it's gonna stay. Yes, as a pundit
and the commentator, I'm telling you Russell Westbrooks ass should
have been suspended because his behavior was uncalled for. What
if he had separated Luca's shoulder? That is true, but
(34:15):
that's not why I called the league office suspend him? Suspended?
You gotta suspend him? No, I called what was your
reason in rationale behind a decision to not suspend them?
And at that time I was informed the officials gave
the reports, and when they wrote the reports, they said
that the situation was handled. He had coming to him,
(34:41):
He got what came to him is exactly what should
have come to him. He was teed up twice. He
was also given flagrantw he was ejected from the game.
We had this matter under control and there was no
further incident. So since that was the case, that's why
we didn't suspend them. Perfect explanation, Thank you. That's what
(35:03):
I needed to understand. Because I cover the league, not
just watch. There's a difference. Pay attention. People pay attention.
Coming up next this news on the Jake Paul Mike
Tyson fight. I'll get into that. Plus a former Dallas
(35:27):
cowboy spins the block or will it make a difference? Also,
did y'all hear what Usher's Sun did with his phone?
Wait until you do all of them more? Right here? Next,
don't to see the Nates min show. Don't go away.
(35:50):
Have you all been watching the NBA playoffs? I'm sure
you have, But do you know what makes watching them
even more exciting? Prize Picks. That's right, With a big
game happening every night, Prospects is here to help you
cash in on all your basketball knowledge. You see. Prize
Pects is a daily fantasy app where you can select
to a more of your favorite players and then pick
more or less on their projected in game stats. But
(36:12):
Prospects doesn't stop with basketball. You can choose from several sports,
the MLB, NHL, the MMA, and everything in between. I
make my picks to submit early, all in less than
sixty seconds. Then I sit back and I chill and
watch and get this, Prospects will match your first depositive
up to one hundred dollars. You heard me right, Go
to Prospects dot Com and use code SAS. That's my initials.
(36:36):
Of course, for a first time or a first deposit
match of up to one hundred dollars, that's SAS. When
you go to Prospects dot com and use the promo
code pick more, pick less. Guess what, it's that easy.
Welcome back to the Cnnmin Show right here with the
digital airways of YouTube. Let's get to some uh. I
(36:58):
can't believe I'm gonna use these words pro fighting as
in boxing. Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson. Okay, we'll start
in the world of boxing. We're the fight between this
YouTuber Jake Paul and a former heavyweight champion of the world,
Mike Tyson, will now be sanctioned as a professional fight.
As a reminder, Tyson is fifty seven years old and
(37:19):
Jake Paul is twenty six. That thirty one year age
gap will be the biggest in the history of professional boxing,
which is exactly why it should not be sanctioned as
a professional fight. If Mike Tyson, despite his age, had
been fighting for years, okay, that would be different, but
(37:39):
that is not the case. Mike Tyson has been retired
for years. The only thing we've seen Mike Tyson in
the last twenty years. We've seen an exhibition against Roy
Jones junior and thirty years thirty years older than Jake Paul,
who's basically I mean, he's fort a couple of boxes,
(38:02):
including Tommy Fury, Tyson, Fury's little brother. Outside of that,
he knocked out a couple of UFC fighters Tyron Woodley,
all right, and of course Ben Askron that's true, and
we know what he did to form a basketball player,
Nate Robinson. I'm just saying, how can you sanction this
(38:29):
as a profile now? So people out there think, you
know what, Mike Tyson is gonna kill him? Mike Tyson,
I mean Jake Paul don't know what he's getting himself into. Yeah,
that's possible. Jake Paul is a big boy, He's got power,
that is true. But fifty seven years old is fifty
seven years old. A thirty one year age gap is
(38:51):
a thirty one year age gap. You haven't been fighting.
That matters as well. And oh, by the way, conditioning
is an issue too, because Tyson is fine when Tyson
is preying upon you. We've seen the different Mike Tyson
(39:13):
when he's been prayed uponn We've seen him when he's
been out of shape, We've seen him when he hasn't
been prestine. This is not the young Mike Tyson. We
see these videos all the time. We know how ferocious
and vicious and spectacular he was. But that was a
long time ago. And I really, really, sincerely hope that
(39:33):
Mike Tyson doesn't get himself hurt in this fight. That's
just me, it's just my wish. I want to see
Jake Paul at some point in time, like Oscar de
la Hoya said, if you want to be considered a
real fighter, a real boxer, get in there with some
real boxers. It would be nice to see. Anyway. Moving
(39:54):
on to the next up, that Dallas Cowboys made a
free agent sign in the day the team reaching an
agreement on a one year deal with former running back
of Ekiel Elliott. If you're a Cowboy fans, if you're
a Cowboy fan, maybe you should be happy. Maybe you
should and I don't know, I mean, what do you
want me to do? I mean, I'm happy he's back
in Dallas because I know that's where he wanted to be.
Hedn't want to be in New England. He never wanted
to leave Dallas, he never wants stop playing for America's team.
(40:16):
I get all of that, But in the seven years
that Ezekiel Elliott was dead, he win no damn Super
Bowl with the Dallas Cowboys. He didn't get to a
Super Bowl, he didn't get to an NFC championship game.
So why the hell would I be concerned about what
he's gonna do? Now? I mean, you had somebody named
Rico Suave, I mean Rico Dwell that was gonna be
your running back if it wasn't for Ezekiel Elliott. Okay,
(40:37):
but Ezekiel Elliott, I don't anticipate he'll make munch of
a difference. I just don't. I just don't. But I'm
glad he's back in Dallas for his sake, because I
want the brother to be happy. Let's get back to
the NBA playoffs towards clearly turned out to be the
best series in the West. And you already heard where
I stood about with Russell Westbrook and where I stand
on that, so I'm not going to reiterate that point.
(40:59):
I stand by that. But nevertheless, he did play in
Game four the Clippers without Kawhi. Lindon ended up winning
game for a courtesy of thirty three points from both
Paul George and James Harden, and now the series is
tied to too. Luca after the game, even though he
had a triple double but struggle shooting from deep, said
(41:22):
he needed to help out Kyrie Irving Moore, Kyrie Irving
portand Fort. He was absolutely spectacular, but Lucas still absorbed
the blame because he's like, yo, I need to do
more to help him. I need to do more. And
perhaps that's true, but that ain't the story today. The
story today is James Harden. James Harden showed up and
showed out. And because he showed up and showed out
(41:43):
the way that he did, this is why you got
him on this team. This is why because you expected
Kawhilendon to be hurt, because that's what he does. He's
always hurt. And that's why I didn't want to see
no damn photo of him holding the team USA Jersey.
He better not playing them, Damn Olympics. You can't be
ready to play in the postseason. He's missed thirty percent
(42:04):
of the postseason games for the Los Angeles Clippers. Since
he's arrived, he's missed more than forty percent of his
regular season games. I don't want to see Kawhi Leonard
in the Team USA uniform because you ain't healthy enough
to play for the team that pays your check. So
I ain't trying to hear that. But James Harden, if
he plays like that, Ladies and gentlemen, Paul George Podcast,
(42:26):
p Paul George, that brother and the show that he
put on in the first half yesterday that Paul George
shows up with James Harden. I got news for you.
Clippers got a chance. Clippers got a chance. But it's
going to take that. It's going to take James Harden
playing the way that he played for the rest of
(42:48):
this series and throughout the rest of the playoffs for
the Clippers to stand a chance. There's no other way
around it. So props to James Harden coming up. One
of the WNBA's most decorated players, says goodbye to the
game and the son of a pop music star mix
a bold move. All that and more next right here
on Steven ax Smith Show, Don't Go Away. Welcome back
(43:13):
to Steven Asmith Show. Right here over the digital airways
of YouTube. I want to take some time, just a
couple of moments to give props to one of the
greatest female basketball players we've ever seen and one of
the only candas Parker. She's one of the WNBA's most
decorated athletes who happen to have announced her retirement this
weekend on social media. Parker won two NCAA titles at
(43:34):
Tennessee before being selected number one in the two thousand
and eight WNBA draft. She won championships with the Los
Angeles Barks, the Chicago Sky, and the Las Vegas Aces,
becoming the first player in league history to clinch titles
with three different franchises. She's also a two time League MVP,
a ten time All WNBA selection, and a two time
Olympic gold medalist. Here's part of what she had to
(43:56):
say yesterday on social media. Quote, I promised I'd never
cheat the game and that I'd leave it in a
better place than I came into it. The competitor in
me always wants one more, but it's time. My heart
and body knew, but I needed to give my mind
time to accept it. Obviously eloquent the way that she
(44:17):
put it, She's absolutely right. I had the pleasure of
moderating a panel with her and Los Angeles Rams NFL
Los Angeles Rams coach Sharwan m veron the panel. I've
known Candas for a few years now. She's just wonderful.
She does a great job on television. She's gonna have
a future in this business. But to look at her resume,
(44:39):
why don't we talk about her more often? It's one
of the greatest players to have ever played. Three championships,
two MVPs, one NBAWNBA Finals, MVP one Defensive Player of
the Year award, seven time All Star, two Olympic gold medals,
two time NCAA champion, two time nc DOUAA tournament's Most
Outstanding Player, smith College Player of the Year, two time
(45:02):
would an award winner. Why the hell don't we talk
about Kandice Parking more? I don't know why, but we should.
Congratulations all the best to you, looking forward to watching
you on television do the great work that you've been doing.
Keep up the great work, all the best. So happy
for you, so happy for you. If your body was
(45:22):
giving out while we why I mess around with it?
Your mama, Now, you got a lot of obligations you
know your fun loving, want to have a good time
and enjoy life. You've earned it. Do that all right?
Before I get on out of here for today, I
want to get to another subject in the world, to
pop culture and entertainment. Listen, we've all had celebrity crushes
(45:46):
growing up. I'm not going front. I loved Jane Kennedy.
Let's do it again. Let's do it again, Bill Cosby,
City Portier. I'm telling you right now, just go back
to that movie and watch that opening scene when Bill
Cosby is on this construction truck or whatever, and he's
loading unloaded stuff and Jane Kennedy and a nice beautiful
(46:12):
skirt just comes walking into scene. Just trust me, you'll
see George Foreman and Bill Cosby and others just drooling.
And if you look at her, you'll understand why. Anyway,
some kid Navid Raymond, the fifteen year old son of
(46:33):
Grammy Award winning singer Usher. I told you I had
a crush, right, but he took his crush to the
next level. The teen stole his dad's cell phone the
message British pop singer Pink pantherists on Instagram. When Usher
checked his DMS, he noticed the pop singer's profile and
(46:54):
didn't know who she was. After a quick investigation, Usher
realized what happened and scrambled to explain the situation on
IG stories. He apologized to the popstar, who responded with
an invitation to her next show. Navid shared a photo
with Pink Panthers on his ig page and Usher reposted it,
(47:15):
explaining why he went easy on his son. Listen to
this quote. This was a great moment for Navid. This
was him moving on something he was passionate about. Yes,
he violated my trust in the process, and for that
I will never trust him around my phone. But I
should have known better. Nonetheless, I appreciate the hustle and
(47:37):
him making it happen from a text to a concert
to the artist. He masterminded this whole thing and made
it happen. Well, that's one way to look at it.
The other way to look at it is that you
could be inviting Dare I say unhealthy tendencies? I mean,
(48:01):
you want to reach out, you wanna DM folks, what
you're gonna put on Instagram, what you're gonna say right,
and you know everything ain't meant to be pursued, I guess,
But I understand where US's coming from. He is fifteen,
and so we want to be nice because we've all
had our crushes. And in fairness to Navid, if Instagram
(48:27):
actually existed and I could have DM Jane Kennedy back
in the day, I can't exactly rule out the possibility
that I might not have done the same. That is fair.
I gotta get on out of here for the day.
As I told y'all, I'm sick, so thank y'all for
sticking with me. I hope I feel better. I intend
(48:48):
to feel better. But until next time, This stephen a
signing off, peace and love. Everybody. Enjoy the games tonight.
Lakers will lose, Celtics will win, Knicks will close the
deal in five Tomorrow Night in the gardens, fotheringh mmahm,
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.