January 21, 2026 • 10 mins
NBA broadcaster Noah Eagle catches up with The A-Team to dish on the Rockets' win over the Spurs and much more.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
All right, we've got him on the phone now. Of course,
as promised, Noah Eagle joining us here from NBC Sports.
He called the game last night for the national broadcast,
and we were just talking about this. Noah, First of all,
thanks for joining us. It's been we've been trying to
get this done for a minute, and we're happy to
have you. But just this game was kind of, I guess,
(00:20):
more competitive than maybe it looked on the scoreboard, because
if for no other reason, you're never really out of
a game, if you're only down by like ten or
twelve points in today's NBA.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Curtinly early in the game, guys, I mean, that's what
Grant Hill and I kept saying to each other every
time out in that first half, We're like, man, it
feels like I feel like the Spurs should be up more.
It just feels like the Spurs should have this incomplete control.
The way they shot the three in that first half
in particular, and they just didn't have that separation that
you generally get when you play the way that they did,
(00:53):
and so you just had an inkling, especially on the
second half of a back to back for San Antonio,
that Houston was going to have their opportunity, and they
obviously pounced on it, and a lot of credit goes
to Reed Sheppard for once again igniting this offense, which
is like the second time this week that they've needed
a spark and he's provided it, which is obviously a
great signe.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
No, it is, and maybe if it wasn't necessarily expected,
because you know, you've got Kevin Durant and you're thinking,
all right, he's going to carry you down the stretch.
But he has been just blanketed and you would expect
that with a player that's as good as he is,
but he, to his credit, has been able to find
these teammates. And last night, you know, Reid was was
(01:34):
one of the people that shined in that situation. And
of course you had the late shot from Albera and Shangoon.
But something Shingoon mentioned as it pertains to going up
against Victor winbin Yama, you've got to be physical with
that guy. And I don't know if you've seen this,
do you think teams just shy away from that or
what do you think it is that more teams don't
just really go at him.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, I think they're learning. Yeah, it's clearly a process
because we saw Glahoma City a week ago get uber
physical with Victor Webbin Yama and it was very successful
for them. Now they're the best team in the NBA,
the defending champions for a reason, and defensively, they're easily
the best defense by pretty much every metric in the league.
So a lot of that goes into that, and they
(02:16):
play a really good team style, but they're also just
physical by nature, and so I think that that was
a blueprint that was probably set to defend Wemby. And
at the same time, I think wemban Yama is still
good enough that he can counteract a lot of that stuff.
And so for the two three games after that Thunder game,
it felt like okay, even if teams were going to
be physical, which Minnesota was, and in the first matchup
(02:39):
a week and a half ago, Minnesota got the better
of them down the stretch, and then in the more
recent matchup they were still being incredibly physical with him,
but he now had the response, He kind of had
the experience, and so I just think that it's a
game by game thing. In the first half, he looked great,
and I just think he got tired in the second half.
He's still getting his full legs under him. So, yes,
(03:01):
that is the correct blueprint. And the other thing that
we saw. Emoodoka has been pretty upfront about this. It's
not in the best interest of Houston to just line
up Alpha and Shanghun one on one and say go
guard this seven foot five alien. That just doesn't benefit
Alpi's skill set on the defensive end. So what do
(03:22):
they do. Well, they put Josha Koge on him, and
they put Aman Thompson on him. Then Dorian Finney Smith
gets a crack. These are guys who may be a
little bit quicker on their feet, and you essentially are saying,
if you want to shoot over the top of me
from eighteen feet out and do that all game, we're
going to live with the result. But what we're not
going to allow you to do is get in get
(03:43):
a touch within ten feet post us up. Then we're
not going to let you get a mismatch with our
slower footed center and just let you go to work.
So I just think that teams are going to keep
throwing different looks at them and seeing what works as
they go.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Yeah, mentioned that earlier that they have the bodies in
personnel to send different guys at him. I was on
the radio call last night in the building with you, Noah,
and we had a little bit of extra time to
talk right before tip off. With the delay, you guys
are able to ascend it to a wonderful studio. Mellow
and Vince Chris Bosh there last night and you're doing
games alongside Grant Hill. Has the experience of being part
(04:19):
of this NBC Sports basketball team been everything? I'm sure
our listeners and the two of us think it probably
is in terms of this is just awesome.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah, it is. And before I gets all that, let
me say we did eventually toss it back to the studio,
but they gave me no idea of how long we're
going to have it, So I just kept talking for
the same seven eight, nine minutes and it was just
a stream of consciousness. I'm asking questions to Grant. I'm
faking narration between Jeff Green and Bismont Biambo. I was
(04:51):
doing whatever I could to essentially entertain myself and in
theory the masses that were tuning in and hopefully people
enjoyed that. And then I just got back to New
York and I walk into my apartment building and there's
like four people. They are like, man, have you ever
seen anything like that? They didn't care about the rockets comeback.
That was the craziest thing I've ever seen. So it
is funny what strikes people and what hits people. But
(05:13):
the answer the question, it has been phenomenal to be
a part of this as somebody who grew up obsessed
with the NBA the level that I was. I was.
I grew up in New Jersey around the New Jersey Nets.
I was going to fifteen games when they went twelve
and seventy. I was being used as a seat filler
because I just enjoyed being there to watch Jarvis Hayes
(05:35):
put up eighty three point attempts in a meaningless game.
I was that guy. And so for me, you mentioned
some of the great names. Vince Carter was my all
time favorite player growing up, and now it's been years
that I've gotten to work with him and he's just
one of the all time great people, which is awesome.
And then you've got Tracey McGrady and Carmelo Anthony and
Grant Hill and Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford, and then
(05:57):
you know the next generation Robbie Humble and I have
worked to other now for two and a half years,
and I think he's an elite broadcaster, elite person. Austin
Rivers is on his way to being one of the
elite elite broadcasters doing this, and so we've got a
really good squad. It's been a lot of fun sideline
reporters all the way through, and then obviously the production
side as well. So as somebody who kind of the
(06:20):
fabric of my fandom was the end of the NBA
on NBC, to be a part of the next generation
has been pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
No, it's fantastic to see what your career has done
already and where it's going. And you deserve every bit
of it, because, as I tell you, come from good stock,
and we're not just talking about broadcasting. Your dad is
one of the nicest people on the planet. I do
have to ask you, though, Noah, and I don't know why,
just because we're quirky. It comes up an inordinate amount
(06:48):
of time on this show. Have you ever sat down
with your dad and talked to him about the night
he and Mike Fratello went at it.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, I can tell you about that for sure. I
mean the craziest thing about that is it took out
the life of its own. I mean, this is really
even before Twitter or any of that, was a fabric
of what sport viewing culture was all about. And so
this went viral before going viral was as popular as
(07:19):
it is and as consistent and just current. And so
at the time it was if you got onto like MSN,
or if you got onto Yahoo, or if you got
put on to you know, Google's top searches, whatever it was,
that was a big deal. And so I remember the
day after the game, or maybe it was two, but
(07:41):
it was pretty soon after the game, my dad and
I went to a movie, the two of us, and
we're sitting in this movie and he's on his phone
a lot and furiously typing on his phone. It might
have been a BlackBerry at the time. I'm not sure
if it was even iPhone territory yet. But he was
only too a lot of texts, an abnormal amount at
(08:03):
least at that time. And I were about midway through
the movie and I'm like, you know, you're right, and
he's just like, yeah, I'm good, I'm good. I'm like
all right, And so we get out of the movie
and explains this entire situation. Now, I had known Mike
Urtello for a large portion of my life. I have
now worked with him for years. He's been very close
with our family. He's very close obviously with my dad
(08:24):
back in the day. They worked together for several years.
And I also knew their dynamic, which was this. It
was just hijinks NonStop, a lot of jokes inside, jokes,
outside jokes, whatever it was that were constantly being enjoyed.
And so I knew the bit. I watched the game.
I watched every game, as I said, and this was
(08:44):
the type of stuff they were doing. And so they
just thought to the point that they go to break.
And after that one in particular, Mike literally high fived
my dad. I got good. And so then everybody gets
this because at that time and nets were not very good.
If you look at that clip Sunday out of games,
is that the free throw line? That should be all
you need to know. And I think nobody really watched
(09:08):
the games enough to know that this was their thing.
And one person said, man, it's insane, and somehow it
got out there and it got But the funniest part
about all of it, which again none of it was
an organic bruhaha anytime. But the funny thing about it
is it gets resurfaced every year and again people are
like this, this is crazy. What happened last night? I
(09:29):
go Sunday out of games? Is that the free throw line?
What do you mean last night? He hasn't played in
the NBA in fifteen years. This is absurd. So yes,
it's it's wild the life that it took on. But
it's still something that my dad laughs at now, Mike
certainly laughs at now, and it really is remarkable what
(09:51):
sticks with people.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I can't tell you how happy it makes me that
we have that backstory now. And Mike actually was walking
up the stairs at Toyota Center when we doing a
show there a couple of seasons ago, and I just
looked at him as he got to the top of
the stairs where we were and I just said, slip
screen and he just died laughing. So that's I love
the backstory. That's great stuff, and and it's great to
(10:13):
have you on finally, we've been wanting to do this
for a minute. All the best, you know, you're doing
a great job, and let's catch up again soon. Thanks
for joining us.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
You got it, guys, anytime, all right.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
No Eagle here on Sports Talk seven to ninety called
that Rockets come back over the win over or over
the Spurs last night in that win at Toyota Center.
We will take a quick time out. We'll react to
that and get to more of Nick Cassario when we
return
All right, we've got him on the phone now. Of course,
as promised, Noah Eagle joining us here from NBC Sports.
He called the game last night for the national broadcast,
and we were just talking about this. Noah, First of all,
thanks for joining us. It's been we've been trying to
get this done for a minute, and we're happy to
have you. But just this game was kind of, I guess,
(00:20):
more competitive than maybe it looked on the scoreboard, because
if for no other reason, you're never really out of
a game, if you're only down by like ten or
twelve points in today's NBA.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Curtinly early in the game, guys, I mean, that's what
Grant Hill and I kept saying to each other every
time out in that first half, We're like, man, it
feels like I feel like the Spurs should be up more.
It just feels like the Spurs should have this incomplete control.
The way they shot the three in that first half
in particular, and they just didn't have that separation that
you generally get when you play the way that they did,
(00:53):
and so you just had an inkling, especially on the
second half of a back to back for San Antonio,
that Houston was going to have their opportunity, and they
obviously pounced on it, and a lot of credit goes
to Reed Sheppard for once again igniting this offense, which
is like the second time this week that they've needed
a spark and he's provided it, which is obviously a
great signe.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
No, it is, and maybe if it wasn't necessarily expected,
because you know, you've got Kevin Durant and you're thinking,
all right, he's going to carry you down the stretch.
But he has been just blanketed and you would expect
that with a player that's as good as he is,
but he, to his credit, has been able to find
these teammates. And last night, you know, Reid was was
(01:34):
one of the people that shined in that situation. And
of course you had the late shot from Albera and Shangoon.
But something Shingoon mentioned as it pertains to going up
against Victor winbin Yama, you've got to be physical with
that guy. And I don't know if you've seen this,
do you think teams just shy away from that or
what do you think it is that more teams don't
just really go at him.
Speaker 2 (01:55):
Well, I think they're learning. Yeah, it's clearly a process
because we saw Glahoma City a week ago get uber
physical with Victor Webbin Yama and it was very successful
for them. Now they're the best team in the NBA,
the defending champions for a reason, and defensively, they're easily
the best defense by pretty much every metric in the league.
So a lot of that goes into that, and they
(02:16):
play a really good team style, but they're also just
physical by nature, and so I think that that was
a blueprint that was probably set to defend Wemby. And
at the same time, I think wemban Yama is still
good enough that he can counteract a lot of that stuff.
And so for the two three games after that Thunder game,
it felt like okay, even if teams were going to
be physical, which Minnesota was, and in the first matchup
(02:39):
a week and a half ago, Minnesota got the better
of them down the stretch, and then in the more
recent matchup they were still being incredibly physical with him,
but he now had the response, He kind of had
the experience, and so I just think that it's a
game by game thing. In the first half, he looked great,
and I just think he got tired in the second half.
He's still getting his full legs under him. So, yes,
(03:01):
that is the correct blueprint. And the other thing that
we saw. Emoodoka has been pretty upfront about this. It's
not in the best interest of Houston to just line
up Alpha and Shanghun one on one and say go
guard this seven foot five alien. That just doesn't benefit
Alpi's skill set on the defensive end. So what do
(03:22):
they do. Well, they put Josha Koge on him, and
they put Aman Thompson on him. Then Dorian Finney Smith
gets a crack. These are guys who may be a
little bit quicker on their feet, and you essentially are saying,
if you want to shoot over the top of me
from eighteen feet out and do that all game, we're
going to live with the result. But what we're not
going to allow you to do is get in get
(03:43):
a touch within ten feet post us up. Then we're
not going to let you get a mismatch with our
slower footed center and just let you go to work.
So I just think that teams are going to keep
throwing different looks at them and seeing what works as
they go.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
Yeah, mentioned that earlier that they have the bodies in
personnel to send different guys at him. I was on
the radio call last night in the building with you, Noah,
and we had a little bit of extra time to
talk right before tip off. With the delay, you guys
are able to ascend it to a wonderful studio. Mellow
and Vince Chris Bosh there last night and you're doing
games alongside Grant Hill. Has the experience of being part
(04:19):
of this NBC Sports basketball team been everything? I'm sure
our listeners and the two of us think it probably
is in terms of this is just awesome.
Speaker 2 (04:28):
Yeah, it is. And before I gets all that, let
me say we did eventually toss it back to the studio,
but they gave me no idea of how long we're
going to have it, So I just kept talking for
the same seven eight, nine minutes and it was just
a stream of consciousness. I'm asking questions to Grant. I'm
faking narration between Jeff Green and Bismont Biambo. I was
(04:51):
doing whatever I could to essentially entertain myself and in
theory the masses that were tuning in and hopefully people
enjoyed that. And then I just got back to New
York and I walk into my apartment building and there's
like four people. They are like, man, have you ever
seen anything like that? They didn't care about the rockets comeback.
That was the craziest thing I've ever seen. So it
is funny what strikes people and what hits people. But
(05:13):
the answer the question, it has been phenomenal to be
a part of this as somebody who grew up obsessed
with the NBA the level that I was. I was.
I grew up in New Jersey around the New Jersey Nets.
I was going to fifteen games when they went twelve
and seventy. I was being used as a seat filler
because I just enjoyed being there to watch Jarvis Hayes
(05:35):
put up eighty three point attempts in a meaningless game.
I was that guy. And so for me, you mentioned
some of the great names. Vince Carter was my all
time favorite player growing up, and now it's been years
that I've gotten to work with him and he's just
one of the all time great people, which is awesome.
And then you've got Tracey McGrady and Carmelo Anthony and
Grant Hill and Reggie Miller and Jamal Crawford, and then
(05:57):
you know the next generation Robbie Humble and I have
worked to other now for two and a half years,
and I think he's an elite broadcaster, elite person. Austin
Rivers is on his way to being one of the
elite elite broadcasters doing this, and so we've got a
really good squad. It's been a lot of fun sideline
reporters all the way through, and then obviously the production
side as well. So as somebody who kind of the
(06:20):
fabric of my fandom was the end of the NBA
on NBC, to be a part of the next generation
has been pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (06:26):
No, it's fantastic to see what your career has done
already and where it's going. And you deserve every bit
of it, because, as I tell you, come from good stock,
and we're not just talking about broadcasting. Your dad is
one of the nicest people on the planet. I do
have to ask you, though, Noah, and I don't know why,
just because we're quirky. It comes up an inordinate amount
(06:48):
of time on this show. Have you ever sat down
with your dad and talked to him about the night
he and Mike Fratello went at it.
Speaker 2 (06:58):
Yeah, I can tell you about that for sure. I
mean the craziest thing about that is it took out
the life of its own. I mean, this is really
even before Twitter or any of that, was a fabric
of what sport viewing culture was all about. And so
this went viral before going viral was as popular as
(07:19):
it is and as consistent and just current. And so
at the time it was if you got onto like MSN,
or if you got onto Yahoo, or if you got
put on to you know, Google's top searches, whatever it was,
that was a big deal. And so I remember the
day after the game, or maybe it was two, but
(07:41):
it was pretty soon after the game, my dad and
I went to a movie, the two of us, and
we're sitting in this movie and he's on his phone
a lot and furiously typing on his phone. It might
have been a BlackBerry at the time. I'm not sure
if it was even iPhone territory yet. But he was
only too a lot of texts, an abnormal amount at
(08:03):
least at that time. And I were about midway through
the movie and I'm like, you know, you're right, and
he's just like, yeah, I'm good, I'm good. I'm like
all right, And so we get out of the movie
and explains this entire situation. Now, I had known Mike
Urtello for a large portion of my life. I have
now worked with him for years. He's been very close
with our family. He's very close obviously with my dad
(08:24):
back in the day. They worked together for several years.
And I also knew their dynamic, which was this. It
was just hijinks NonStop, a lot of jokes inside, jokes,
outside jokes, whatever it was that were constantly being enjoyed.
And so I knew the bit. I watched the game.
I watched every game, as I said, and this was
(08:44):
the type of stuff they were doing. And so they
just thought to the point that they go to break.
And after that one in particular, Mike literally high fived
my dad. I got good. And so then everybody gets
this because at that time and nets were not very good.
If you look at that clip Sunday out of games,
is that the free throw line? That should be all
you need to know. And I think nobody really watched
(09:08):
the games enough to know that this was their thing.
And one person said, man, it's insane, and somehow it
got out there and it got But the funniest part
about all of it, which again none of it was
an organic bruhaha anytime. But the funny thing about it
is it gets resurfaced every year and again people are
like this, this is crazy. What happened last night? I
(09:29):
go Sunday out of games? Is that the free throw line?
What do you mean last night? He hasn't played in
the NBA in fifteen years. This is absurd. So yes,
it's it's wild the life that it took on. But
it's still something that my dad laughs at now, Mike
certainly laughs at now, and it really is remarkable what
(09:51):
sticks with people.
Speaker 1 (09:52):
I can't tell you how happy it makes me that
we have that backstory now. And Mike actually was walking
up the stairs at Toyota Center when we doing a
show there a couple of seasons ago, and I just
looked at him as he got to the top of
the stairs where we were and I just said, slip
screen and he just died laughing. So that's I love
the backstory. That's great stuff, and and it's great to
(10:13):
have you on finally, we've been wanting to do this
for a minute. All the best, you know, you're doing
a great job, and let's catch up again soon. Thanks
for joining us.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
You got it, guys, anytime, all right.
Speaker 1 (10:24):
No Eagle here on Sports Talk seven to ninety called
that Rockets come back over the win over or over
the Spurs last night in that win at Toyota Center.
We will take a quick time out. We'll react to
that and get to more of Nick Cassario when we
return
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