March 30, 2024 • 43 mins
It was a huge week (and weekend) for basketball in Dallas and we've got it all covered ... from the Mavericks' two-game road sweep of Sacramento to the heavyweight matchups taking place in the NCAA Tournament at the American Airlines Center. This week's special guests: CBS' Ian Eagle and former Mavericks title-winning guard Jason Terry.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:04):
Welcome to the Saturday Steinline with MarkStein, presented by Panini Trading Cards and
Collectibles on ninety seven to one TheFreak, the official home to all Dallas
Mavericks games, hosted by legendary NBAreporter and publisher of his substack, the
Steinline. Here's Mark Stein, Welcomein everyone to the Saturday Steinline, presented
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of course by Panini Trading Cards andCollectibles. Well, this is full disclosure
time on the Saturday Steinline. Imost certainly did not expect the Mavericks of
Dallas to go into Sacramento and sweepa two game baseball seat against the Kings.
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And I definitely did not expect theMavericks to find a way Friday night
to impress us more than they didTuesday night when they absolutely shredded the Kings
on their own floor. But Ihave to say, coming back twice from
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double digits down when Luka Doncic washobbling around, clearly not one hundred percent
capacity. Again, it's one thingto blow the Kings out when you drained
twenty two threes and the whole teamis playing well. The Mavericks won ugly
last night by Luca's own postgame admission. Really only Kyrie Irving had something close
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to his A game going, andthat was we saw that in the fourth
quarter when Kyrie just went to anotherlevel offensively and looked like he couldn't miss
no matter how deep he was orhow many bodies he had to get through
at the rim. So just agargantuan sweep for Dallas in the California Capitol.
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And I was so eager after TuesdayNights one thirty two to ninety six
route, I really was eager tosee how these Mavericks, this new look
team so drastically changed since the tradedeadline, how it would handle prosperity,
how this team would handle all thenational love that it is suddenly getting.
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MAVs fans have been crying out forrecognition all season long, and now it's
just coming in waves. Every podcastyou listen to, every NBA show you
watch on TV, everybody is talkingabout what a dangerous team this is and
how much trouble the MAVs can causein the postseason. And I thought they
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handled some prosperity pretty poorly after thatseven game winning streak. Now the All
Star break was in there, andthe All Star Break came at a bad
time, but they won six ina row before the break, won the
first game after the break, andthen hit that one in five skid.
And I think people got too carriedaway by some of what we saw during
that initial seven game winning streak.But this response and Sacramento what we saw
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last night, the way they followedup the most complete performance of the season,
gotta be hat tips all around.And look, I think regular readers
of mine and frequent listeners have heardthis rant from me before. I really
do not like the baseball series conceptthat has been in the NBA. Now
this is season number three. Iknow why the NBA has done it.
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Their travel I sprinkling in these occasionaltwo game sets where a team gets to
park in a city for a littlebit. It does reduce the travel.
But to me, home court advantagehas never been less of a factor than
it is in today's NBA. Thisis the third season and four that teams
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league wide are only winning about fiftyfive percent of their home games in the
fifty fours. Right around fifty five, that figure should be closer to sixty
percent, or at least it usedto be for a long time in this
league, it's harder to win gameseven at home because presumably because of three
point variants now because the three pointshot keeps everybody in games, But in
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this case, it's a factor thatworked in the mavericks favor. Crazy scheduling
Tuesday Night's game Tuesday Night's game,both teams were on the second half of
a back to back. The Mavericksboth those games were on the road,
the Kings at home. Okay,fine, but they're both coming off.
They're both completing a back to backand then two days off between games,
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which you don't typically see that ina even in a baseball series situation.
But that allowed the Mavericks to settleinto sack Town even more. And when
I spoke to people with both teamsduring the week, I was indeed hearing
and getting this vibe that both ofthese teams thought that this did have the
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echoes of a playoff series. Thisdid have a playoff series feel, with
two full days for the Kings tomake adjustments and respond to that haymaker that
Dallas hit them with. Now,the challenge on the Mavericks side was the
fear that they might get complacent,feeling like they had already achieved what they
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needed to achieve by winning that firstgame so handily. But to this team's
credit, the Mavericks did not dothat on Wednesday. After the game,
after Game one, after the routetotal day off, I'm told there was
some significant team bonding activities, somegroup activities in NAPA, and then there
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was time for everybody to go offon their own. And then so Wednesday
total day off for the team toget away from the job for a day.
Thursday practice. I know Luca useda good bit of Thursday to get
some treatment and some rest. Andthen Friday, Friday night, the rematch,
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raggedy start Mavericks fall into a doubledigit hole, claw their way back
to within three in the third quarter. The Kings expand that lead to double
digits again, but then the comeback. The defense was just on point,
outstanding rugged physicality from the MAVs throughoutthat fourth quarter. And look, maybe
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I'm you know a lone voice inthe wilderness who keeps screaming about these baseball
series situations, But go again.The idea is to reduce travel. But
in these two game sets this season, where one team plays host to the
other team in the same venue fortwo games, in a row. Home
teams are thirty six and forty two. A losing record for this season is
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clinched. There's only one more baseballseries left on the NBA schedule. Miami
Place host to Toronto the last twogames the regular season. The MAVs just
became the thirteenth away team out ofthirty nine this season to pull off the
two game sweep on the road.But again, that's just a nerdy stat
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for an ultra basketball nerd like me. There are many more things. I'm
sure you guys want a laser inon. So many things happened last night
it's hard to know exactly what tofocus on. I know Luca was hobbling
around at various points. I continueto be told that these are the same
aches and pains that he's been managingall season. So I don't detect a
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great sense of concern from anyone inthe Mavericks camp. And I mentioned this
on Wednesday. I dropped here anddropped into studio here to sit with Ben
and Skin for an hour. Skinwas actually out on vacation, so it
was really just to sit with BenRogers for an hour, And I told
Ben, you can worry about theseaches and pains all you want, And
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I certainly can't blame you if you'reemotionally invested in this team, because obviously
Luca's health is paramount for this teamto do anything. How can I blame
anyone about worrying. I am aworld champion worrier. But the general answer
I get whenever I pose these questionsis he's going to play. He's going
to grit through it. You sawit last night. Even you see him
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on TV getting treatment on his kneeduring a timeout, You're not getting him
out of the game. Dante ExHAMmark last night down as yet another chapter
in Exham's bid to be officially crownedas the contract bargain of the Year.
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Now, of course, Derek JonesJunior, his teammate, is a rival
to Exum for that completely made upup award. There is not a real
award, but it's something I'll probablywrite about and talk about. ExHAM Man.
Late in this game, the Kingsmade sure neither Luca nor Kyrie was
going to beat them. Late,they were getting the ball out of their
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hands no matter what they had todo, and Exum left wide open on
the wing. He'd missed a couplethrees, a layup in traffic wouldn't go
down. I thought there was somecontact there, but the refs were letting
a lot of contact go, sono call. And then the crucial wing
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three, the ball makes its wayto ExHAM and he knocked it down,
and honestly, more importantly on repeatedpossessions in the fourth quarter, he just
played some really good point of attackdefense on de Aaron Fox. What a
performance from Dante ExHAM when the MAVsreally needed it. And then we had
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some crazy postgame scenes that didn't cometo light until Sean Cunningham, a reporter
in Sacramento, put this on hisTwitter. Luka Doncic spotted former Kings gm
vlade Devots courtside, so we havenow so thanks to Sean Cunningham, we've
now seen footage of Luca waving inthe direction of Devots once the Mavericks win
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was secure, and then there wasLuca bellowing in Vlad's direction about how the
Kings should have drafted him. Ido not have much in common with number
seventy seven, but his grudge holdingability six years later after that draft that
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I can't identify with and also hadtip he he just Luka Doncic loves to
fuel himself with perceived slights and pettiness. I have to say it's a fair
bit reminiscent of the guy whose JordanBrand shoes that Luca happens to wear an
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endorse. My voice is crumbling herewith the emotion of just getting swept up
in that moment of pettiness. Nowthere are, of course, still two
games left on this road trip.The Mavericks spent the night in Sacramento.
They are either just in the airor do to leave soon to fly to
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Houston early Sunday evening clash early Sundayevening clash with the Rockets. The MAVs
are on this ten in one heater. The only loss for Dallas came on
the second half of a back toback in Oklahoma City with no Luka doncicin
uniform, the ninth game this seasonLuca has missed, and in Houston they
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will be up against the league's hottestteam. The Rockets have won eleven in
a row, nine of those elevenwithout Alpera and Shengoon, who is widely
regarded across the league as Houston's bestplayer. Jalen Green has stepped into the
void. He is playing the bestbasketball of his life. Emo Udoka has
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thrust himself into the Coach of theYear race. Masterminding this surge. You
see the Rockets playing at a fastertempo without Shngoon Jabari Smith Junior frequently playing
the five. Now incredible matchup thatshould be. And then if the MAVs
have to go back to the WestCoast to play the Warriors in San Francisco.
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That game was originally scheduled for Januaryand had to be moved in the
just hugely catastrophics circumstances that befell GoldenState when Warriors assistant coach Deyon Miloyevich passed
away so tragically, so suddenly.Honestly, one of the saddest stories that
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I've seen in my thirty one seasonson the NBA beat still difficult, more
than two months later to try toimagine what this is like for Golden State
to deal with on a daily basis. On the court, the Warriors find
themselves in the midst of this battle. They're trying to hang on to number
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ten in the West, just tomake sure they make it to the play
and round of the postseason the Rocketson the strength of that eleven game winning
streak. The Rockets are trying tosteal that last spot bump the Warriors out
of the playoff picture completely, Sothe MAVs on the flip side, they've
put themselves in rushing now to finishin the top six. The MAVs should
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if they handle business the rest ofthe way, they should avoid the play
in completely. The Mavericks awoke onthis Saturday, sixth in the West,
one and a half game lead overnumber seven Phoenix. They also hold the
tiebreaker over the Suns, and nowthe Mavericks are two games up a number
eight Sacramento. Remember, the Kingswon the first two games of the season
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series here in Dallas. Hopefully youguys are keeping up with all this standings
math as the Mavericks prepare to goto Houston to play the Rockets and then
finish off this five game road tripTuesday night at Golden State, then they're
gonna have to hustle back home toplay a back to back against the Hawks
and the Warriors April fourth April fifth. Those will basically be the mavericks first
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home games in two weeks. Okay, but that's next weekend. I don't
want to skip too far ahead becausethis weekend. Obviously, I never divert
my gaze from the NBA. Butthis weekend Dallas is playing host to major
college basketball happenings down at the AAC. NC State beat Marquette last night,
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Duke beat the Houston Cougars, andjoining us next to talk about those games
and the scene. The Golden Voice, now the lead voice for NCAA Tournament
coverage on CBS. The one andonly Iron Eagle. He's going to visit
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with us next right here after thebreak. Iron Eagle up next here on
ninety seven won the Freak the SaturdaySteinline dribbles on. Now quite a time
for basketball fans here in DFW.While the Mavericks were in Sacramento for most
of the week playing their most importantgames of the season, threeen hundred miles
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away from here, Dallas was morphinginto a college basketball city. Okay,
maybe it's only temporary, but that'sthe vibe this week, hosting the South
Regional and the NCAA Tournament two SweetSixteen games last night. The Elite eight
game still to come Sunday, Sowe had these marquee matchups here Friday,
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absolute broadcasting heavyweights in town Grand Hill, Bill Raftery, my longtime friend and
former ESPN radio colleague PJ. Carlissimo. But this right now is next level
the play by play maestro. Youwatch him calling NFL games, you see
him doing the NBA on TNT.You will hear him and see him and
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watch him doing golf majors, tennismajors. The old heads like me prefer
to identify him first and foremostes asthe NETS longtime play by play man.
And today on this humble little show, I am honored to say that Iron
Eagle is joining us as a firsttime guest. Not the most prestigious line
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on his resume, but mister Eagle, we are honored to welcome you in.
Sir, No, Donie, thisis going right to the top.
Are you kidding me? You candownplay all you want. I get on
a Saturday Steinline program. I knowI've made it could be life changing or
maybe not. I'm doing it thatway. You're being facetious. I see
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it as maybe a pivotal fork inthe road in my career. Well,
this is huge, because I mean, I can't you end up doing a
lot of bills games where a bill'shousehold, so your voice is heard on
countless sundays in our house on yourNFL stuff. But first I want to
make sure is our how is ourcity treating you? From a hospitality and
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culinary point of view? Are wetaking good care of you? Very well?
Very well? Great city. Alwayslove coming to Dallas. I hate
to break it to you, Ihave the palette of an eleven year old.
So food wise, you would think, oh, you're gonna come down,
You're gonna eat like a king.No, it's just not. That's
not my vibe. So I findwhat I need in order to get by.
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But always love coming to Dallas.And obviously NBA wise, we'll see,
we'll see if Dallas is in myfuture. There's a jockeying for position,
as we know in the Western Conferenceright now, it's gonna be really
interesting down the stretch. Well,I can name somebody who hopes so.
By the way, I told JasonKidd that you would be coming on the
show today, and he was adamantthat I send you his warmest regards because
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you are one of his all timefavorites. And what I figured out with
Jason way back when when it wason the nets. Everybody wanted to talk
to Jason about process and approach andwhat he sees as a point guard.
And the only thing I ever talkedto him about Steiny was the Raiders.
I realize that he was so passionateabout the Raiders, and I have this
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very vivid conversation had with him thatwe had. This was a real conversation
he said to me. At somepoint, he goes, I think Andrew
Walter can be a star, andI said, I don't think so,
Jason, I don't think it's goingto happen. Yeah, No, I
think he loves, loves loves talkingabout the Raiders, the A's and all
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manner of other sports. Well,let's get to what you witnessed last night.
We had NC State upsetting Marquette andthen Duke. I don't know if
you call it an upset when Dukebeat somebody, but Duke knocked off Houston.
What were your standout takeaways from theplay by playtable. Let's start with
the first game. NC State isan eleven seed. NC State's not supposed
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to be here. NC State wasunder five hundred in their conference this year.
They were nine to eleven in theACC. What makes this event so
good and so unique is that allof that is completely irrelevant in the one
and done format and the way theyviewed it, which is really the only
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way to view it. They've playedeight elimination games, all the games they
played in the ACC tournament. Ifthey lost the game, they were done.
Their season was going to end.They were not going to be a
part of the big dance. Theyknew that, and with each round they
grew more confident in who they areand what they're capable of. And now
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it is not a shock to meanymore because if you watch them play,
they have a bunch of playmakers.This team is legitimately good. So maybe
the record didn't show that during theregular season, but it's based on how
you're playing when it matters most.DJ Horn has been fantastic. DJ Burns
has been one of the most popularplayers in this tournament because of his gregarious
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nature and because he's so light onhis feet and he does things that you
don't expect. Mohammed Diarra has provedexponentially from where he was beginning of the
year to now. Casey Morsels founda really important role with this team,
Michael O'Connell fit in perfectly, maybethe missing piece in terms of leadership and
unselfishness. So it shows you thatif you're a team that clicks at the
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right time, and even with thecurrent state of college basketball, mark you
could have eight new players, butif you find the secret sauce when it
matters, you can go on arun like this. Tremendous win for them.
Give him a lot of credit theway they played defense, the way
they performed enough offense against Marquette,a very tough and talented Marquette team,
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and NC State was the better teamsecond game. When Jamal Shed went down,
it changes everything. That's not tosay that Houston isn't a good team.
It just reminds you how important heis to their success. He's the
head of the stake, he's theheart and soul, he's the engine that
makes that team go. And itchanged everything and I think it empowered Duke.
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Just think of what happened in thefirst half. Jeremy Roach did not
score. Who was assigned to him, Mostly it was Shed, McCain non
factor. First half, couldn't getany airspace to make shots. Second half,
no Shed and all of a sudden, Roach is doing what he's been
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doing previously. Fourteen points. Telapowskiplays at a high level. It just
changed the whole complexion of the game. It's such an unfortunate moment for Houston.
But the reality is the reality,and they just weren't the same team.
Dude takes advantage and now familiar foesacc encounter to see who goes to
the Final four, the one andonly Iron Eagle joining us here on ninety
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seven to one. The Freak onthe Saturday Steinline presented by Panini Trading Cards
and Collectibles. But honestly, ifyou are an NFL fan, if you
are an NBA fan, and ifyou are watching the college basketball, if
you are watching the Big Dance,the NCAA tournament, you should recognize this
voice. And I suspect that youdo recognize this voice. All right,
only a couple more and then Igot to let you go and go back
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to preparations for NC State Duke tomorrow. Atmospherically, how would you say Dallas
is doing as the host of suchbig time games? I mean, NC
State Duke is a very interesting matchupfor an Elite eight game of such Magnetine
so interesting to me. First gamewas NC State Marquette, and Grant and
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Raf and Tracy and I were lookingaround and we're thinking, Okay, what's
going on here? Why are thepeople not quite here yet? And it
hits us that Houston fans are outenjoying themselves and they're gonna probably wait for
the last minute to come into thearena because they don't play till later.
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And then Duke fans there was asmattering, but it started to fill up
behind us as that first game wasgoing on. So by the time we
got to the second half of thefirst game, you could feel it.
You could feel the energy inside thearena, and then the carryover into Game
two. Houston fans very vocal.Early the shed injury takes place, and
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it's like the wind was taken completelyout of the sale of Houston and the
building for a stretch. It cameback and the Duke fans were heard and
there was a shift, but therewas a certain electricity. I think college
basketball brings that you have a swingvote in college basketball mark that you just
don't get in other events because thereare people that show up with no rooting
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interest and then they decide during theevent, who they want to root for.
They fall in love with a particularplayer, they fall in love with
a particular team, or a storyline, they fall in love with a particular
bet that they made. Whatever itmight be, you feel that from site
to site. I felt it lastweek in Brooklyn. So you're talking about
an NBA arena, NBA town lastweek, NBA arena, NBA town this
(25:04):
week. But the metamorphosis to collegeit's palpable. You could feel a different
kind of energy inside the venue.I used to get to see this myself
when I got to work a bitwith Mike Tarico on ESPN Radio, and
we would have morning meetings and hewould come in with, you know,
golf notes for the next major hewas about to do in golf, even
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though we were about to broadcast anNBA Finals game that night. I don't
know how you guys do it,toggling between all these major major sporting events.
I mean, you cover three orfour sports at once. You know,
I'm I like to just laser inand focus on my little NBA.
But you know, is there anythingleft on your bucket list that you haven't
(25:48):
called that you would like to callat this point? Well, It's interesting
you would bring up Mike in particular, because that's who I learned under.
I learned under him at Syracuse.He was the he was a few years
ahead of me in college. Hehad already gone to the professional ranks while
he was still in school at theCBS affiliate in Syracuse, And I ended
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up being an intern forum a producerfor him, and he was a mentor,
And little did I know at thatpoint, I'm not sure that I
could have asked for anything better thanthat. Just the osmosis of being around
that guy was so instrumental in mefiguring out how to do this, how
to approach it, how to doit the right way. It As far
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as events, this is one I'mnot just saying it because it's you.
I'm saying it because it's true.Wimbledon is an event I've never been to
in my life. It just workedout tough for us on an NBA calendar
to get to Wimbledon. Yeah,and that that would be the one that
if you asked, Okay, whatevent haven't you been to that you haven't
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called that you'd love to be thereand be a part of in some way.
At some point in my life I'mgoing to have to experience it,
even if it's on the fan level, but who knows, with the wacky
world of television, maybe it'll beon the broadcast level down the road.
Well. As an absolute tennis groupie, I know how excited and happy I
(27:17):
am when I tune in, notexpecting to have you on a tennis match,
and there you are. So Iwill happily be your campaign manager to
help you get that Wimbledon gig,although the truth is the man needs no
help. He is the lead voicefor CBS's coverage of the NCAA men's basketball
tournament and you will be seeing himthroughout the NBA playoffs as well. And
(27:38):
I hope the playoffs do bring youback to Dallas so we can maybe do
this again, because I could havedone this for another hour. Thanks a
mil mister Eagle for joining us,Sir Mark, thanks man, hope to
see you soon, hopefully it's righthere DFW, and have a great rest
of the weekend here in town.There he goes, I an Eagle from
CBS. Stick around. We haveone more segment to Jason Terry. MAV's
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Royalty is going to join me next. Thanks for sticking with us here on
the Saturday Steinline presented by Pinini TradingCards and Collectibles. Thank you for the
tea up there, mister Novitzky.I have to say Friday, when Friday
began, had no confirmed guests.But by Friday evening Saturday morning, Wow,
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Iron Eagle. I could listen tothe man talk about sports all day
long and it was great. Ireally appreciate him. He is swamped with
show meetings and show prep for tomorrow'sgame. Again, NC State and Duke
in an elite game. Why can'tI speak English? NC State and Duke
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in an Elite eight game in Dallasfor those two longtime rivals. So that's
that's gonna be something, Iron.I'll be on the call for that one,
as he said, with Grant Hill, Bill Raftery, Tracy Wolfson,
and next up we have a visitwith MAVs Royalty. I was able to
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catch up with Jason Terry. Heis now an assistant coach for the Utah
Jazz. Of course, Utah playedDallas at the start of this five game
road trip, and I was ableto connect with Jet and get into all
kinds of subjects with him. Let'sdo it now, let's listen in here
is my visit with Jason Terry.This is a treat for us everyone,
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because I do not get to seeour next guest as often as I like
to. But far more importantly thanthat, this is MAV's royalty. We
are talking about now an assistant coachfor the Utah Jazz. Yet for the
purposes of our audience, obviously he'smuch more. Are readily identified as a
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key member of the loan championship inMaverick's history, a key member of that
team that won it all way backin twenty eleven. Jason Eugene Terry the
Jet or do I have to callyou coach Terry? Now? Coach Jett
is all good? Coach is coachJet what they all use? That's what
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they use? Yes, sir,well, thank thanks for having me on.
Stanie Man you said a long timeago. See wow, twenty eleven
doesn't seem that work. But yes, it is right. We're both getting
We're both getting up there. Unfortunately, yeap, unfortunate. That's the way
this thing goes, Coach Jet,I love it. So this is your
second season on Will Hardy's staff.Just tell us how is the life of
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an NBA assistant coach treating you.It's been phenomenal. Obviously, my journey
has been a very diverse background professionalopportunity since I retired, you know,
being an assistant GM with the leedgcoaching high school girls basketball to a state
championship, then being an assistant atArizona, then being an NBA G League
coach with the Grand Rapids Gold,and then now here in Utah with the
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Jazz for two years. First yearI was behind the bench, this year
I'm on the front of the benchas an assistant. It's just been a
great experience. I'm learning as muchas I can, obviously in preparation for
one day being a head coach atwhatever level presents itself. So having fun,
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you know, impacting lives. Mypassionates people, and my purpose is
to inspire others, and I'm ableto do so at the highest level.
Well, you already anticipated my nextquestion because I can still remember when we
were visiting at the G League showcases. You mentioned you were the head coach
then for the Grand Rapids Gold,which is the Denver Nuggets G League affiliate.
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So you were a head coach atthe pro level and now, like
you said, behind the bench andyour one in Utah year or two,
you are on the bench beside WillHardy. So what is the ultimate aspiration
for you in the coaching game.Well, it was definitely to become a
head coach, you know, whetherthe NBA or in college. That's really
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my main focus right now as Icontinue to grow and continue to learn and
give back to this game that gaveme so much. You know, learning
under a young coach like Will hasbeen awesome. Obviously. I've had some
experience that I'm able to share withhim, you know, from a player's
perspective and from a head coaching perspective, and he's leaned on me. I've
(32:37):
leaned on him, and you know, we're growing together. And I think,
you know, in a process whereyou know you're in a situation where
it's about development, but you're stilltrying to hold onto your core values and
your structural foundation of winning and buildingthose winning habits. It's something that's fun.
It's challenging at times, but it'sfun. I mean, we got
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three nineteen year olds in the startinglife, so you can only imagine how
tough it is, you know,trying to get guys to you know,
buy in and understand like, look, it's gonna be tough. It's a
process. You're gonna have failure foryour like all those different dynamics of growth
and development we go through every day. And one of those nineteen year olds,
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of course is Keyante George, whois Local Stars. So I'm sure
our listeners are familiar with his game. What are today's NBA players? What
do they want to know from JasonTerry? Well, it's crazy because I
guess God to have a plan anda purpose for me because three of the
first round throughout this year our personallyhave mentor throughout my time in Dallas.
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When you talk about any black CasonWallace and Keyante George, then it just
shows you, you know, likeyour purpose is full and you know,
watching him grow and developed, andthen the fact that he's playing the same
position I played right, I camein as a scoring guard out of college
and then transition to the point guardposition, it was tough. And so
(34:07):
with him, it's every day teachinghim the little tricks, the little nuances
of the game. Ivrey, hehad to get a routine. He had
great work ethic, but then justseeing plays. But then also for me,
learning from him is like he's stillyoung in development. Where was I
at in my development at nineteen yearsold? Like I was nowhere near a
(34:28):
complete finished product. It actually tookme five years in the NBA before I
got with Dallas and Amy Johnson,before I really learned how to play the
game right. Yeah, I wasgood enough to get drafted to tenth big,
but I was just out there hooping, Like I was just out there
doing what I do. But Ireally learned how to manage the game,
how to play with other star players, how to impact the game different ways
(34:51):
than just scoring. And I thinkthat's a part of the process that you
want to fast forward for Keyante,But he has to go through it and
his past, he has to gothrough it. He has to learn on
the job, and so I justtry to help him as much as I
can with that process. So whenyou say you've mentored him for a long
time, how old was Kyante whenyou actually met him? Man, it's
(35:13):
crazy. His grandmother was in thefamily room the other day and she he
was in sixth grade and I wascoaching my lady jets and his cousin was
a girl on the other team,and he told his grandma man, look,
I want to go meet the jet. And you know, since that
day, I you know, Ididn't talk to him every day or anything
like that or work him out.But as he grew and as he grew
(35:36):
up in the AAU ranks, hejoined a program called Drive Nation, and
you know, I was the girlsdirector there, you know, so I
spent some time with him, youknow, before or after practice and watched
the boys play while I was waitingto work the girls out. So it
was awesome when I understood, like, okay, we're gonna really draft Kiante
And then to speak on Cason Wallace. So my first boy's AU program in
(36:00):
Dallas. His older brother Keaton wasmy point guard, and they both had
little mohawks and we would call themthe Little Mohawks and we would travel around
the country. I had both thegirls and the boys. Cason didn't play
on my team, but he wason every road trip and you could see
it then. He always had abasketball. He was following everybody around,
and you know, this kid's gonnabe special. So no, that's kind
(36:22):
of where the mentoring stem from.Jason Terry MAV's Royalty and a Utah Jazz
assistant coach now joining us here onninety seven to one the freak on the
Saturday Steinline. As you just mentioned, you guys were in Dallas not too
long ago. The Jazz played agame here against the Mavericks, and then
(36:43):
a few days later the rematch inSalt Lake City. There were so many
people who wanted to see you thatnight. I couldn't even get near you
after the game. I didn't evenknow where you disappeared to because there was
a long line of people who wantedto catch up with Coach Jet. But
at this point in your basketball life, you've obviously been removed from active player
status here for a while now.But what's it like to come to the
(37:06):
AAC as a member of the visitingteam. I still get chills and goosebumps
walking down the loading dock, andyou meet the security, you meet the
valet, and then you make yourway towards the Maths locker room, past
goal parking like all that. Itshould be just a memory, but it
(37:28):
just brings me right back to mytime as a math The fans, obviously,
the community, everybody that had apart in my career throughout that time.
You know a lot of them arestill there. They're still working for
the Maths, They're still in aacand seeing them always brings back crazy emotions.
Its honor. You realize when you'veplayed for multiple franchises and multiple organizations
(37:50):
and you work for different organizations,how special what Mark Cuban built and the
matterage for organization is. Because onething about it is we were close,
we were tightening it. We'll accomplishsomething that no other team has, that
has step foot on the mavericks Onfloor. And it's truly a family and
you know a lot of those familymembers are still present. All right,
(38:12):
Well, look, it is alwaysgreat to catch up with you. One
last thing before I let you go. I've got to get your take on
these new look MAVs because there's beena lot of talk from people around the
league. They've been impressing a lotof observers and scouts with the way they've
been playing since the trade deadline,the changes they've made. As I said,
Utah just played Dallas twice. Sofrom the other bench, you must
(38:36):
have a pretty decent handle now onwhat this MAVs team looks like now after
the moves, what it's capable of. Just give me some impressions from your
seat. What are you seeing fromthis new look MAVs team. Well,
from where they started off the seasonto where they're at now, totally different
night and day. They beat usin Dallas in game one probably by about
(38:58):
one hundred, by fifty points.Then they came to Utah, we beat
them by like forty. So thenthe trade deadline comes, they acquire PJ.
Washington and Gaffer and their team reallytook off. Like the consistency is
there now you understand what they're tryingto do defensively, their schemes are correct
or intact, and then how theyrotate and manage Luca's minutes and master them
(39:22):
with Kyrie's and then allow them toshare in the game in between spaces and
let them take over him and bewho they are. It's just tremendous.
I'll give a lot of credits toJakidd and his staff, and then so
Kyrie right for having to kind ofhumble his game somewhat but still be who
(39:44):
he is, understanding like can't doit by yourself, and Luca the same.
I mean, you've seen growth andmaturity out of Luca and the way
he impacts the game on all levelsright, assisting, rebounding, scoring is
just it's fun to wi, eventhough I'm on the other side in the
other locker room. It's fun towatch, and they do have a bright
(40:05):
future, and hopefully one day wemay face off against them in the playoffs
or something in a meaningful game andwe'll see what happens. But you know,
always, down deep in my heart, I'm rooting for the MAVs as
long as you know, Mark's involved, as long as Finn, you know,
Dirt and Jay kids on those sidelines. I'm a math forever for life.
I was gonna say, it's gottabe weird when you're down on the
(40:25):
other bench. I'm sure you andKid at some point, you guys catch
each other's glance and think, whatthe hell happened? Well all the time,
man, and then you see thepictures. You see like I took
a group into the mass locker roomfree game just to look at the trophy,
and it wasn't even for them.It was really for me, really
for me. But no, Ihonestly, truly, I wouldn't have had
(40:47):
the NBA career that I had fornineteen years had I not came through Dallas
and grew not only as a player, but as a man. It was
really an integral part of my growthand development and one of the reason why
I still loved again today in awhile, I'm coaching Jason Terry. Always
the pleasure to catch up Coach Jet. I am not letting go of that.
(41:07):
From now on, anytime I seeyou, I'm hitting you with the
coach Jet. Yes, sir,big news ahead. Talk to you soon.
Jason Eugene Terry, one of akind. You know, this was
a huge week in Dallas basketball anda huge weekend with the men's NCAA tournament
(41:30):
here. I hope we rose tothe moment. Great visits today with Iron
Eagle, who called both those gameslast night, NC State beating Houston.
He'll be on the call Sunday tomorrowwhen Duke and NC State play for a
spot in the Final four. JasonTerry, obviously we can. We would
(41:53):
love to talk to Jason Terry anytime. So to have both of them on
this show fantastic. One little smallI have to do because you know,
I'm a stickler and I can't standit. Heyantay George is now officially twenty.
He was nineteen when he was draftedby Utah, but the former Louisville
and Baylor star turned twenty in November. So I just have to fix that
(42:14):
because you know me can't help it. Have to always striving to bat one
thousand. I know we don't.I know we occasionally miss, but gotta
try so. Tomorrow night, theDallas Mavericks aim to go four to o
on this five game road trip.MAVs at Houston, six pm tip off.
(42:37):
It'll be right here on the Freakof course with Chuck Cooperstein. My
pal Kevin Gray will have the pregameshow at five point thirty. MAVs at
Houston on Sunday, MAVs at GoldenState on Tuesday, then back home for
the back to back against the Hawksand the Warriors next Thursday and Friday.
That is going to do it forthis edition of the Saturday Steinline. We
(43:01):
will be back next Saturday. Afterthat Hawks Warriors back to back vsen sports
Map Radio next up here on ninetyseven to one The Freak
Welcome to the Saturday Steinline with MarkStein, presented by Panini Trading Cards and
Collectibles on ninety seven to one TheFreak, the official home to all Dallas
Mavericks games, hosted by legendary NBAreporter and publisher of his substack, the
Steinline. Here's Mark Stein, Welcomein everyone to the Saturday Steinline, presented
(00:33):
of course by Panini Trading Cards andCollectibles. Well, this is full disclosure
time on the Saturday Steinline. Imost certainly did not expect the Mavericks of
Dallas to go into Sacramento and sweepa two game baseball seat against the Kings.
(01:02):
And I definitely did not expect theMavericks to find a way Friday night
to impress us more than they didTuesday night when they absolutely shredded the Kings
on their own floor. But Ihave to say, coming back twice from
(01:22):
double digits down when Luka Doncic washobbling around, clearly not one hundred percent
capacity. Again, it's one thingto blow the Kings out when you drained
twenty two threes and the whole teamis playing well. The Mavericks won ugly
last night by Luca's own postgame admission. Really only Kyrie Irving had something close
(01:44):
to his A game going, andthat was we saw that in the fourth
quarter when Kyrie just went to anotherlevel offensively and looked like he couldn't miss
no matter how deep he was orhow many bodies he had to get through
at the rim. So just agargantuan sweep for Dallas in the California Capitol.
(02:07):
And I was so eager after TuesdayNights one thirty two to ninety six
route, I really was eager tosee how these Mavericks, this new look
team so drastically changed since the tradedeadline, how it would handle prosperity,
how this team would handle all thenational love that it is suddenly getting.
(02:30):
MAVs fans have been crying out forrecognition all season long, and now it's
just coming in waves. Every podcastyou listen to, every NBA show you
watch on TV, everybody is talkingabout what a dangerous team this is and
how much trouble the MAVs can causein the postseason. And I thought they
(02:51):
handled some prosperity pretty poorly after thatseven game winning streak. Now the All
Star break was in there, andthe All Star Break came at a bad
time, but they won six ina row before the break, won the
first game after the break, andthen hit that one in five skid.
And I think people got too carriedaway by some of what we saw during
that initial seven game winning streak.But this response and Sacramento what we saw
(03:15):
last night, the way they followedup the most complete performance of the season,
gotta be hat tips all around.And look, I think regular readers
of mine and frequent listeners have heardthis rant from me before. I really
do not like the baseball series conceptthat has been in the NBA. Now
this is season number three. Iknow why the NBA has done it.
(03:36):
Their travel I sprinkling in these occasionaltwo game sets where a team gets to
park in a city for a littlebit. It does reduce the travel.
But to me, home court advantagehas never been less of a factor than
it is in today's NBA. Thisis the third season and four that teams
(03:58):
league wide are only winning about fiftyfive percent of their home games in the
fifty fours. Right around fifty five, that figure should be closer to sixty
percent, or at least it usedto be for a long time in this
league, it's harder to win gameseven at home because presumably because of three
point variants now because the three pointshot keeps everybody in games, But in
(04:20):
this case, it's a factor thatworked in the mavericks favor. Crazy scheduling
Tuesday Night's game Tuesday Night's game,both teams were on the second half of
a back to back. The Mavericksboth those games were on the road,
the Kings at home. Okay,fine, but they're both coming off.
They're both completing a back to backand then two days off between games,
(04:44):
which you don't typically see that ina even in a baseball series situation.
But that allowed the Mavericks to settleinto sack Town even more. And when
I spoke to people with both teamsduring the week, I was indeed hearing
and getting this vibe that both ofthese teams thought that this did have the
(05:06):
echoes of a playoff series. Thisdid have a playoff series feel, with
two full days for the Kings tomake adjustments and respond to that haymaker that
Dallas hit them with. Now,the challenge on the Mavericks side was the
fear that they might get complacent,feeling like they had already achieved what they
(05:26):
needed to achieve by winning that firstgame so handily. But to this team's
credit, the Mavericks did not dothat on Wednesday. After the game,
after Game one, after the routetotal day off, I'm told there was
some significant team bonding activities, somegroup activities in NAPA, and then there
(05:47):
was time for everybody to go offon their own. And then so Wednesday
total day off for the team toget away from the job for a day.
Thursday practice. I know Luca useda good bit of Thursday to get
some treatment and some rest. Andthen Friday, Friday night, the rematch,
(06:11):
raggedy start Mavericks fall into a doubledigit hole, claw their way back
to within three in the third quarter. The Kings expand that lead to double
digits again, but then the comeback. The defense was just on point,
outstanding rugged physicality from the MAVs throughoutthat fourth quarter. And look, maybe
(06:35):
I'm you know a lone voice inthe wilderness who keeps screaming about these baseball
series situations, But go again.The idea is to reduce travel. But
in these two game sets this season, where one team plays host to the
other team in the same venue fortwo games, in a row. Home
teams are thirty six and forty two. A losing record for this season is
(07:00):
clinched. There's only one more baseballseries left on the NBA schedule. Miami
Place host to Toronto the last twogames the regular season. The MAVs just
became the thirteenth away team out ofthirty nine this season to pull off the
two game sweep on the road.But again, that's just a nerdy stat
(07:21):
for an ultra basketball nerd like me. There are many more things. I'm
sure you guys want a laser inon. So many things happened last night
it's hard to know exactly what tofocus on. I know Luca was hobbling
around at various points. I continueto be told that these are the same
aches and pains that he's been managingall season. So I don't detect a
(07:45):
great sense of concern from anyone inthe Mavericks camp. And I mentioned this
on Wednesday. I dropped here anddropped into studio here to sit with Ben
and Skin for an hour. Skinwas actually out on vacation, so it
was really just to sit with BenRogers for an hour, And I told
Ben, you can worry about theseaches and pains all you want, And
(08:09):
I certainly can't blame you if you'reemotionally invested in this team, because obviously
Luca's health is paramount for this teamto do anything. How can I blame
anyone about worrying. I am aworld champion worrier. But the general answer
I get whenever I pose these questionsis he's going to play. He's going
to grit through it. You sawit last night. Even you see him
(08:31):
on TV getting treatment on his kneeduring a timeout, You're not getting him
out of the game. Dante ExHAMmark last night down as yet another chapter
in Exham's bid to be officially crownedas the contract bargain of the Year.
(08:52):
Now, of course, Derek JonesJunior, his teammate, is a rival
to Exum for that completely made upup award. There is not a real
award, but it's something I'll probablywrite about and talk about. ExHAM Man.
Late in this game, the Kingsmade sure neither Luca nor Kyrie was
going to beat them. Late,they were getting the ball out of their
(09:16):
hands no matter what they had todo, and Exum left wide open on
the wing. He'd missed a couplethrees, a layup in traffic wouldn't go
down. I thought there was somecontact there, but the refs were letting
a lot of contact go, sono call. And then the crucial wing
(09:37):
three, the ball makes its wayto ExHAM and he knocked it down,
and honestly, more importantly on repeatedpossessions in the fourth quarter, he just
played some really good point of attackdefense on de Aaron Fox. What a
performance from Dante ExHAM when the MAVsreally needed it. And then we had
(10:01):
some crazy postgame scenes that didn't cometo light until Sean Cunningham, a reporter
in Sacramento, put this on hisTwitter. Luka Doncic spotted former Kings gm
vlade Devots courtside, so we havenow so thanks to Sean Cunningham, we've
now seen footage of Luca waving inthe direction of Devots once the Mavericks win
(10:28):
was secure, and then there wasLuca bellowing in Vlad's direction about how the
Kings should have drafted him. Ido not have much in common with number
seventy seven, but his grudge holdingability six years later after that draft that
(10:52):
I can't identify with and also hadtip he he just Luka Doncic loves to
fuel himself with perceived slights and pettiness. I have to say it's a fair
bit reminiscent of the guy whose JordanBrand shoes that Luca happens to wear an
(11:18):
endorse. My voice is crumbling herewith the emotion of just getting swept up
in that moment of pettiness. Nowthere are, of course, still two
games left on this road trip.The Mavericks spent the night in Sacramento.
They are either just in the airor do to leave soon to fly to
(11:41):
Houston early Sunday evening clash early Sundayevening clash with the Rockets. The MAVs
are on this ten in one heater. The only loss for Dallas came on
the second half of a back toback in Oklahoma City with no Luka doncicin
uniform, the ninth game this seasonLuca has missed, and in Houston they
(12:07):
will be up against the league's hottestteam. The Rockets have won eleven in
a row, nine of those elevenwithout Alpera and Shengoon, who is widely
regarded across the league as Houston's bestplayer. Jalen Green has stepped into the
void. He is playing the bestbasketball of his life. Emo Udoka has
(12:31):
thrust himself into the Coach of theYear race. Masterminding this surge. You
see the Rockets playing at a fastertempo without Shngoon Jabari Smith Junior frequently playing
the five. Now incredible matchup thatshould be. And then if the MAVs
have to go back to the WestCoast to play the Warriors in San Francisco.
(12:52):
That game was originally scheduled for Januaryand had to be moved in the
just hugely catastrophics circumstances that befell GoldenState when Warriors assistant coach Deyon Miloyevich passed
away so tragically, so suddenly.Honestly, one of the saddest stories that
(13:13):
I've seen in my thirty one seasonson the NBA beat still difficult, more
than two months later to try toimagine what this is like for Golden State
to deal with on a daily basis. On the court, the Warriors find
themselves in the midst of this battle. They're trying to hang on to number
(13:35):
ten in the West, just tomake sure they make it to the play
and round of the postseason the Rocketson the strength of that eleven game winning
streak. The Rockets are trying tosteal that last spot bump the Warriors out
of the playoff picture completely, Sothe MAVs on the flip side, they've
put themselves in rushing now to finishin the top six. The MAVs should
(13:58):
if they handle business the rest ofthe way, they should avoid the play
in completely. The Mavericks awoke onthis Saturday, sixth in the West,
one and a half game lead overnumber seven Phoenix. They also hold the
tiebreaker over the Suns, and nowthe Mavericks are two games up a number
eight Sacramento. Remember, the Kingswon the first two games of the season
(14:22):
series here in Dallas. Hopefully youguys are keeping up with all this standings
math as the Mavericks prepare to goto Houston to play the Rockets and then
finish off this five game road tripTuesday night at Golden State, then they're
gonna have to hustle back home toplay a back to back against the Hawks
and the Warriors April fourth April fifth. Those will basically be the mavericks first
(14:48):
home games in two weeks. Okay, but that's next weekend. I don't
want to skip too far ahead becausethis weekend. Obviously, I never divert
my gaze from the NBA. Butthis weekend Dallas is playing host to major
college basketball happenings down at the AAC. NC State beat Marquette last night,
(15:11):
Duke beat the Houston Cougars, andjoining us next to talk about those games
and the scene. The Golden Voice, now the lead voice for NCAA Tournament
coverage on CBS. The one andonly Iron Eagle. He's going to visit
(15:31):
with us next right here after thebreak. Iron Eagle up next here on
ninety seven won the Freak the SaturdaySteinline dribbles on. Now quite a time
for basketball fans here in DFW.While the Mavericks were in Sacramento for most
of the week playing their most importantgames of the season, threeen hundred miles
(15:54):
away from here, Dallas was morphinginto a college basketball city. Okay,
maybe it's only temporary, but that'sthe vibe this week, hosting the South
Regional and the NCAA Tournament two SweetSixteen games last night. The Elite eight
game still to come Sunday, Sowe had these marquee matchups here Friday,
(16:15):
absolute broadcasting heavyweights in town Grand Hill, Bill Raftery, my longtime friend and
former ESPN radio colleague PJ. Carlissimo. But this right now is next level
the play by play maestro. Youwatch him calling NFL games, you see
him doing the NBA on TNT.You will hear him and see him and
(16:37):
watch him doing golf majors, tennismajors. The old heads like me prefer
to identify him first and foremostes asthe NETS longtime play by play man.
And today on this humble little show, I am honored to say that Iron
Eagle is joining us as a firsttime guest. Not the most prestigious line
(17:00):
on his resume, but mister Eagle, we are honored to welcome you in.
Sir, No, Donie, thisis going right to the top.
Are you kidding me? You candownplay all you want. I get on
a Saturday Steinline program. I knowI've made it could be life changing or
maybe not. I'm doing it thatway. You're being facetious. I see
(17:22):
it as maybe a pivotal fork inthe road in my career. Well,
this is huge, because I mean, I can't you end up doing a
lot of bills games where a bill'shousehold, so your voice is heard on
countless sundays in our house on yourNFL stuff. But first I want to
make sure is our how is ourcity treating you? From a hospitality and
(17:45):
culinary point of view? Are wetaking good care of you? Very well?
Very well? Great city. Alwayslove coming to Dallas. I hate
to break it to you, Ihave the palette of an eleven year old.
So food wise, you would think, oh, you're gonna come down,
You're gonna eat like a king.No, it's just not. That's
not my vibe. So I findwhat I need in order to get by.
(18:10):
But always love coming to Dallas.And obviously NBA wise, we'll see,
we'll see if Dallas is in myfuture. There's a jockeying for position,
as we know in the Western Conferenceright now, it's gonna be really
interesting down the stretch. Well,I can name somebody who hopes so.
By the way, I told JasonKidd that you would be coming on the
show today, and he was adamantthat I send you his warmest regards because
(18:33):
you are one of his all timefavorites. And what I figured out with
Jason way back when when it wason the nets. Everybody wanted to talk
to Jason about process and approach andwhat he sees as a point guard.
And the only thing I ever talkedto him about Steiny was the Raiders.
I realize that he was so passionateabout the Raiders, and I have this
(18:57):
very vivid conversation had with him thatwe had. This was a real conversation
he said to me. At somepoint, he goes, I think Andrew
Walter can be a star, andI said, I don't think so,
Jason, I don't think it's goingto happen. Yeah, No, I
think he loves, loves loves talkingabout the Raiders, the A's and all
(19:22):
manner of other sports. Well,let's get to what you witnessed last night.
We had NC State upsetting Marquette andthen Duke. I don't know if
you call it an upset when Dukebeat somebody, but Duke knocked off Houston.
What were your standout takeaways from theplay by playtable. Let's start with
the first game. NC State isan eleven seed. NC State's not supposed
(19:47):
to be here. NC State wasunder five hundred in their conference this year.
They were nine to eleven in theACC. What makes this event so
good and so unique is that allof that is completely irrelevant in the one
and done format and the way theyviewed it, which is really the only
(20:08):
way to view it. They've playedeight elimination games, all the games they
played in the ACC tournament. Ifthey lost the game, they were done.
Their season was going to end.They were not going to be a
part of the big dance. Theyknew that, and with each round they
grew more confident in who they areand what they're capable of. And now
(20:30):
it is not a shock to meanymore because if you watch them play,
they have a bunch of playmakers.This team is legitimately good. So maybe
the record didn't show that during theregular season, but it's based on how
you're playing when it matters most.DJ Horn has been fantastic. DJ Burns
has been one of the most popularplayers in this tournament because of his gregarious
(20:52):
nature and because he's so light onhis feet and he does things that you
don't expect. Mohammed Diarra has provedexponentially from where he was beginning of the
year to now. Casey Morsels founda really important role with this team,
Michael O'Connell fit in perfectly, maybethe missing piece in terms of leadership and
unselfishness. So it shows you thatif you're a team that clicks at the
(21:21):
right time, and even with thecurrent state of college basketball, mark you
could have eight new players, butif you find the secret sauce when it
matters, you can go on arun like this. Tremendous win for them.
Give him a lot of credit theway they played defense, the way
they performed enough offense against Marquette,a very tough and talented Marquette team,
(21:44):
and NC State was the better teamsecond game. When Jamal Shed went down,
it changes everything. That's not tosay that Houston isn't a good team.
It just reminds you how important heis to their success. He's the
head of the stake, he's theheart and soul, he's the engine that
makes that team go. And itchanged everything and I think it empowered Duke.
(22:04):
Just think of what happened in thefirst half. Jeremy Roach did not
score. Who was assigned to him, Mostly it was Shed, McCain non
factor. First half, couldn't getany airspace to make shots. Second half,
no Shed and all of a sudden, Roach is doing what he's been
(22:25):
doing previously. Fourteen points. Telapowskiplays at a high level. It just
changed the whole complexion of the game. It's such an unfortunate moment for Houston.
But the reality is the reality,and they just weren't the same team.
Dude takes advantage and now familiar foesacc encounter to see who goes to
the Final four, the one andonly Iron Eagle joining us here on ninety
(22:48):
seven to one. The Freak onthe Saturday Steinline presented by Panini Trading Cards
and Collectibles. But honestly, ifyou are an NFL fan, if you
are an NBA fan, and ifyou are watching the college basketball, if
you are watching the Big Dance,the NCAA tournament, you should recognize this
voice. And I suspect that youdo recognize this voice. All right,
only a couple more and then Igot to let you go and go back
(23:11):
to preparations for NC State Duke tomorrow. Atmospherically, how would you say Dallas
is doing as the host of suchbig time games? I mean, NC
State Duke is a very interesting matchupfor an Elite eight game of such Magnetine
so interesting to me. First gamewas NC State Marquette, and Grant and
(23:33):
Raf and Tracy and I were lookingaround and we're thinking, Okay, what's
going on here? Why are thepeople not quite here yet? And it
hits us that Houston fans are outenjoying themselves and they're gonna probably wait for
the last minute to come into thearena because they don't play till later.
(23:55):
And then Duke fans there was asmattering, but it started to fill up
behind us as that first game wasgoing on. So by the time we
got to the second half of thefirst game, you could feel it.
You could feel the energy inside thearena, and then the carryover into Game
two. Houston fans very vocal.Early the shed injury takes place, and
(24:18):
it's like the wind was taken completelyout of the sale of Houston and the
building for a stretch. It cameback and the Duke fans were heard and
there was a shift, but therewas a certain electricity. I think college
basketball brings that you have a swingvote in college basketball mark that you just
don't get in other events because thereare people that show up with no rooting
(24:41):
interest and then they decide during theevent, who they want to root for.
They fall in love with a particularplayer, they fall in love with
a particular team, or a storyline, they fall in love with a particular
bet that they made. Whatever itmight be, you feel that from site
to site. I felt it lastweek in Brooklyn. So you're talking about
an NBA arena, NBA town lastweek, NBA arena, NBA town this
(25:04):
week. But the metamorphosis to collegeit's palpable. You could feel a different
kind of energy inside the venue.I used to get to see this myself
when I got to work a bitwith Mike Tarico on ESPN Radio, and
we would have morning meetings and hewould come in with, you know,
golf notes for the next major hewas about to do in golf, even
(25:26):
though we were about to broadcast anNBA Finals game that night. I don't
know how you guys do it,toggling between all these major major sporting events.
I mean, you cover three orfour sports at once. You know,
I'm I like to just laser inand focus on my little NBA.
But you know, is there anythingleft on your bucket list that you haven't
(25:48):
called that you would like to callat this point? Well, It's interesting
you would bring up Mike in particular, because that's who I learned under.
I learned under him at Syracuse.He was the he was a few years
ahead of me in college. Hehad already gone to the professional ranks while
he was still in school at theCBS affiliate in Syracuse, And I ended
(26:11):
up being an intern forum a producerfor him, and he was a mentor,
And little did I know at thatpoint, I'm not sure that I
could have asked for anything better thanthat. Just the osmosis of being around
that guy was so instrumental in mefiguring out how to do this, how
to approach it, how to doit the right way. It As far
(26:32):
as events, this is one I'mnot just saying it because it's you.
I'm saying it because it's true.Wimbledon is an event I've never been to
in my life. It just workedout tough for us on an NBA calendar
to get to Wimbledon. Yeah,and that that would be the one that
if you asked, Okay, whatevent haven't you been to that you haven't
(26:56):
called that you'd love to be thereand be a part of in some way.
At some point in my life I'mgoing to have to experience it,
even if it's on the fan level, but who knows, with the wacky
world of television, maybe it'll beon the broadcast level down the road.
Well. As an absolute tennis groupie, I know how excited and happy I
(27:17):
am when I tune in, notexpecting to have you on a tennis match,
and there you are. So Iwill happily be your campaign manager to
help you get that Wimbledon gig,although the truth is the man needs no
help. He is the lead voicefor CBS's coverage of the NCAA men's basketball
tournament and you will be seeing himthroughout the NBA playoffs as well. And
(27:38):
I hope the playoffs do bring youback to Dallas so we can maybe do
this again, because I could havedone this for another hour. Thanks a
mil mister Eagle for joining us,Sir Mark, thanks man, hope to
see you soon, hopefully it's righthere DFW, and have a great rest
of the weekend here in town.There he goes, I an Eagle from
CBS. Stick around. We haveone more segment to Jason Terry. MAV's
(28:02):
Royalty is going to join me next. Thanks for sticking with us here on
the Saturday Steinline presented by Pinini TradingCards and Collectibles. Thank you for the
tea up there, mister Novitzky.I have to say Friday, when Friday
began, had no confirmed guests.But by Friday evening Saturday morning, Wow,
(28:26):
Iron Eagle. I could listen tothe man talk about sports all day
long and it was great. Ireally appreciate him. He is swamped with
show meetings and show prep for tomorrow'sgame. Again, NC State and Duke
in an elite game. Why can'tI speak English? NC State and Duke
(28:47):
in an Elite eight game in Dallasfor those two longtime rivals. So that's
that's gonna be something, Iron.I'll be on the call for that one,
as he said, with Grant Hill, Bill Raftery, Tracy Wolfson,
and next up we have a visitwith MAVs Royalty. I was able to
(29:14):
catch up with Jason Terry. Heis now an assistant coach for the Utah
Jazz. Of course, Utah playedDallas at the start of this five game
road trip, and I was ableto connect with Jet and get into all
kinds of subjects with him. Let'sdo it now, let's listen in here
is my visit with Jason Terry.This is a treat for us everyone,
(29:37):
because I do not get to seeour next guest as often as I like
to. But far more importantly thanthat, this is MAV's royalty. We
are talking about now an assistant coachfor the Utah Jazz. Yet for the
purposes of our audience, obviously he'smuch more. Are readily identified as a
(30:00):
key member of the loan championship inMaverick's history, a key member of that
team that won it all way backin twenty eleven. Jason Eugene Terry the
Jet or do I have to callyou coach Terry? Now? Coach Jett
is all good? Coach is coachJet what they all use? That's what
(30:22):
they use? Yes, sir,well, thank thanks for having me on.
Stanie Man you said a long timeago. See wow, twenty eleven
doesn't seem that work. But yes, it is right. We're both getting
We're both getting up there. Unfortunately, yeap, unfortunate. That's the way
this thing goes, Coach Jet,I love it. So this is your
second season on Will Hardy's staff.Just tell us how is the life of
(30:47):
an NBA assistant coach treating you.It's been phenomenal. Obviously, my journey
has been a very diverse background professionalopportunity since I retired, you know,
being an assistant GM with the leedgcoaching high school girls basketball to a state
championship, then being an assistant atArizona, then being an NBA G League
coach with the Grand Rapids Gold,and then now here in Utah with the
(31:11):
Jazz for two years. First yearI was behind the bench, this year
I'm on the front of the benchas an assistant. It's just been a
great experience. I'm learning as muchas I can, obviously in preparation for
one day being a head coach atwhatever level presents itself. So having fun,
(31:33):
you know, impacting lives. Mypassionates people, and my purpose is
to inspire others, and I'm ableto do so at the highest level.
Well, you already anticipated my nextquestion because I can still remember when we
were visiting at the G League showcases. You mentioned you were the head coach
then for the Grand Rapids Gold,which is the Denver Nuggets G League affiliate.
(31:55):
So you were a head coach atthe pro level and now, like
you said, behind the bench andyour one in Utah year or two,
you are on the bench beside WillHardy. So what is the ultimate aspiration
for you in the coaching game.Well, it was definitely to become a
head coach, you know, whetherthe NBA or in college. That's really
(32:15):
my main focus right now as Icontinue to grow and continue to learn and
give back to this game that gaveme so much. You know, learning
under a young coach like Will hasbeen awesome. Obviously. I've had some
experience that I'm able to share withhim, you know, from a player's
perspective and from a head coaching perspective, and he's leaned on me. I've
(32:37):
leaned on him, and you know, we're growing together. And I think,
you know, in a process whereyou know you're in a situation where
it's about development, but you're stilltrying to hold onto your core values and
your structural foundation of winning and buildingthose winning habits. It's something that's fun.
It's challenging at times, but it'sfun. I mean, we got
(32:58):
three nineteen year olds in the startinglife, so you can only imagine how
tough it is, you know,trying to get guys to you know,
buy in and understand like, look, it's gonna be tough. It's a
process. You're gonna have failure foryour like all those different dynamics of growth
and development we go through every day. And one of those nineteen year olds,
(33:19):
of course is Keyante George, whois Local Stars. So I'm sure
our listeners are familiar with his game. What are today's NBA players? What
do they want to know from JasonTerry? Well, it's crazy because I
guess God to have a plan anda purpose for me because three of the
first round throughout this year our personallyhave mentor throughout my time in Dallas.
(33:44):
When you talk about any black CasonWallace and Keyante George, then it just
shows you, you know, likeyour purpose is full and you know,
watching him grow and developed, andthen the fact that he's playing the same
position I played right, I camein as a scoring guard out of college
and then transition to the point guardposition, it was tough. And so
(34:07):
with him, it's every day teachinghim the little tricks, the little nuances
of the game. Ivrey, hehad to get a routine. He had
great work ethic, but then justseeing plays. But then also for me,
learning from him is like he's stillyoung in development. Where was I
at in my development at nineteen yearsold? Like I was nowhere near a
(34:28):
complete finished product. It actually tookme five years in the NBA before I
got with Dallas and Amy Johnson,before I really learned how to play the
game right. Yeah, I wasgood enough to get drafted to tenth big,
but I was just out there hooping, Like I was just out there
doing what I do. But Ireally learned how to manage the game,
how to play with other star players, how to impact the game different ways
(34:51):
than just scoring. And I thinkthat's a part of the process that you
want to fast forward for Keyante,But he has to go through it and
his past, he has to gothrough it. He has to learn on
the job, and so I justtry to help him as much as I
can with that process. So whenyou say you've mentored him for a long
time, how old was Kyante whenyou actually met him? Man, it's
(35:13):
crazy. His grandmother was in thefamily room the other day and she he
was in sixth grade and I wascoaching my lady jets and his cousin was
a girl on the other team,and he told his grandma man, look,
I want to go meet the jet. And you know, since that
day, I you know, Ididn't talk to him every day or anything
like that or work him out.But as he grew and as he grew
(35:36):
up in the AAU ranks, hejoined a program called Drive Nation, and
you know, I was the girlsdirector there, you know, so I
spent some time with him, youknow, before or after practice and watched
the boys play while I was waitingto work the girls out. So it
was awesome when I understood, like, okay, we're gonna really draft Kiante
And then to speak on Cason Wallace. So my first boy's AU program in
(36:00):
Dallas. His older brother Keaton wasmy point guard, and they both had
little mohawks and we would call themthe Little Mohawks and we would travel around
the country. I had both thegirls and the boys. Cason didn't play
on my team, but he wason every road trip and you could see
it then. He always had abasketball. He was following everybody around,
and you know, this kid's gonnabe special. So no, that's kind
(36:22):
of where the mentoring stem from.Jason Terry MAV's Royalty and a Utah Jazz
assistant coach now joining us here onninety seven to one the freak on the
Saturday Steinline. As you just mentioned, you guys were in Dallas not too
long ago. The Jazz played agame here against the Mavericks, and then
(36:43):
a few days later the rematch inSalt Lake City. There were so many
people who wanted to see you thatnight. I couldn't even get near you
after the game. I didn't evenknow where you disappeared to because there was
a long line of people who wantedto catch up with Coach Jet. But
at this point in your basketball life, you've obviously been removed from active player
status here for a while now.But what's it like to come to the
(37:06):
AAC as a member of the visitingteam. I still get chills and goosebumps
walking down the loading dock, andyou meet the security, you meet the
valet, and then you make yourway towards the Maths locker room, past
goal parking like all that. Itshould be just a memory, but it
(37:28):
just brings me right back to mytime as a math The fans, obviously,
the community, everybody that had apart in my career throughout that time.
You know a lot of them arestill there. They're still working for
the Maths, They're still in aacand seeing them always brings back crazy emotions.
Its honor. You realize when you'veplayed for multiple franchises and multiple organizations
(37:50):
and you work for different organizations,how special what Mark Cuban built and the
matterage for organization is. Because onething about it is we were close,
we were tightening it. We'll accomplishsomething that no other team has, that
has step foot on the mavericks Onfloor. And it's truly a family and
you know a lot of those familymembers are still present. All right,
(38:12):
Well, look, it is alwaysgreat to catch up with you. One
last thing before I let you go. I've got to get your take on
these new look MAVs because there's beena lot of talk from people around the
league. They've been impressing a lotof observers and scouts with the way they've
been playing since the trade deadline,the changes they've made. As I said,
Utah just played Dallas twice. Sofrom the other bench, you must
(38:36):
have a pretty decent handle now onwhat this MAVs team looks like now after
the moves, what it's capable of. Just give me some impressions from your
seat. What are you seeing fromthis new look MAVs team. Well,
from where they started off the seasonto where they're at now, totally different
night and day. They beat usin Dallas in game one probably by about
(38:58):
one hundred, by fifty points.Then they came to Utah, we beat
them by like forty. So thenthe trade deadline comes, they acquire PJ.
Washington and Gaffer and their team reallytook off. Like the consistency is
there now you understand what they're tryingto do defensively, their schemes are correct
or intact, and then how theyrotate and manage Luca's minutes and master them
(39:22):
with Kyrie's and then allow them toshare in the game in between spaces and
let them take over him and bewho they are. It's just tremendous.
I'll give a lot of credits toJakidd and his staff, and then so
Kyrie right for having to kind ofhumble his game somewhat but still be who
(39:44):
he is, understanding like can't doit by yourself, and Luca the same.
I mean, you've seen growth andmaturity out of Luca and the way
he impacts the game on all levelsright, assisting, rebounding, scoring is
just it's fun to wi, eventhough I'm on the other side in the
other locker room. It's fun towatch, and they do have a bright
(40:05):
future, and hopefully one day wemay face off against them in the playoffs
or something in a meaningful game andwe'll see what happens. But you know,
always, down deep in my heart, I'm rooting for the MAVs as
long as you know, Mark's involved, as long as Finn, you know,
Dirt and Jay kids on those sidelines. I'm a math forever for life.
I was gonna say, it's gottabe weird when you're down on the
(40:25):
other bench. I'm sure you andKid at some point, you guys catch
each other's glance and think, whatthe hell happened? Well all the time,
man, and then you see thepictures. You see like I took
a group into the mass locker roomfree game just to look at the trophy,
and it wasn't even for them.It was really for me, really
for me. But no, Ihonestly, truly, I wouldn't have had
(40:47):
the NBA career that I had fornineteen years had I not came through Dallas
and grew not only as a player, but as a man. It was
really an integral part of my growthand development and one of the reason why
I still loved again today in awhile, I'm coaching Jason Terry. Always
the pleasure to catch up Coach Jet. I am not letting go of that.
(41:07):
From now on, anytime I seeyou, I'm hitting you with the
coach Jet. Yes, sir,big news ahead. Talk to you soon.
Jason Eugene Terry, one of akind. You know, this was
a huge week in Dallas basketball anda huge weekend with the men's NCAA tournament
(41:30):
here. I hope we rose tothe moment. Great visits today with Iron
Eagle, who called both those gameslast night, NC State beating Houston.
He'll be on the call Sunday tomorrowwhen Duke and NC State play for a
spot in the Final four. JasonTerry, obviously we can. We would
(41:53):
love to talk to Jason Terry anytime. So to have both of them on
this show fantastic. One little smallI have to do because you know,
I'm a stickler and I can't standit. Heyantay George is now officially twenty.
He was nineteen when he was draftedby Utah, but the former Louisville
and Baylor star turned twenty in November. So I just have to fix that
(42:14):
because you know me can't help it. Have to always striving to bat one
thousand. I know we don't.I know we occasionally miss, but gotta
try so. Tomorrow night, theDallas Mavericks aim to go four to o
on this five game road trip.MAVs at Houston, six pm tip off.
(42:37):
It'll be right here on the Freakof course with Chuck Cooperstein. My
pal Kevin Gray will have the pregameshow at five point thirty. MAVs at
Houston on Sunday, MAVs at GoldenState on Tuesday, then back home for
the back to back against the Hawksand the Warriors next Thursday and Friday.
That is going to do it forthis edition of the Saturday Steinline. We
(43:01):
will be back next Saturday. Afterthat Hawks Warriors back to back vsen sports
Map Radio next up here on ninetyseven to one The Freak
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