06/20/2021 - FOX Sports Sunday with Arnie Spanier and Aaron Torres - Fox Sports Radio

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to sports radio. Oh not so fast. Good
evening everyone, Torres. And for Plank tonight, I'm AARTI span
your busy, busy Sunday, twentieth day of June. How you
doing tonight, Torres? You know last week when you were out, Yeah,
we well, actually I was part of the rundown, and

(00:22):
Chris Plank was certainly part of the rundown or the
the vocals leading in. So I don't know if the
bosses didn't get the memo. I don't know if I
showed up here without telling anybody, or if I got
the wrong text. If Plank is supposed to be in,
I think like just decided not to show up at
the last minute. He must be. I think he was
mad at me because I didn't jow up last week,

(00:43):
because he didn't joke up the week before. So next
since week might I'm just filling in this shift in
perpetuity as you guys get back at each other. He
did say something about it being the most refreshed that
he's been in years, having that worked with you for
two weeks. So by next week he's going to be
a spring chicken. I gotta tell you, I don't even
have time to mess around with you and Buster Chops

(01:04):
a little. Oh do we have a lot to get to?
Jeff Zilga will stop on buy from the Enva Reporter
for the USA today. That's coming up in about twenty
minutes from now. Remember Todd Ferman gonna joined us an
hour number two. You'll have our picks coming up in
the Power hour of the show. But otherwise, a lot
to get to. You want to get a hold of
the show real quick, Aaron underscore Torres, I'm at stinking

(01:26):
genius one. By the way, the hockey game just ended.
Vegas wins it, so that series now tied at two
games apiece. But nobody cares about hockey. We care about basketball.
Right off the bat, I was watching obviously, were watching
Atlanta Philadelphia before we get into the game, Before we
talk about Simmons and bead Um and all that stuff.

(01:47):
What is the first thing that comes to your mind
while you were watching that game. Now that it's a
final and Philadelphia has been eliminated by the Atlanta Hawks,
what really comes to mind is what we talked about
last night. You and I were both dubious. We saw
the seven point point spread in this game, and I
picked at lanted it went out right, and you said
it's gonna be way closer than seven. And so I
think it just speaks to what was Vegas seeing in

(02:10):
the last hot firm in about it in an hour,
But what was Vegas seeing in Philadelphia? Because I think
they've been a team that's looks shaky all playoffs. Song Now,
it's not to say that they couldn't play like the
Bucks and elevate their game last night like the Bucks
did in an important game seven, but this team has
been shaky all playoffs. Ben Simmons has gotten progressively worse.
I know Tobias Harris played well tonight, but he hasn't

(02:30):
played like a Max contract player. I'm not surprised, Darnie.
I'm really not. I know we got a lot to
get into, but you asked me the first thing. I'm
ultimately not surprised that Philadelphia lost tonight. I'm really not.
You know, I want to go ahead and give Atlanta
all the credit of the world, and they deserve all
the credit of the world. I mean, look what they've done. Um,
they've been on a great run. But the first thing

(02:51):
that comes to my mind is how bad Philadelphia was.
I mean, it's one thing to go ahead and blow
a lead in the fourth quarter at home game seven.
Also all you lost all the home games. You lost
three games. Unacceptable, completely unacceptable. Simmons zero for zero in
the fourth quarter in the last four games and the

(03:13):
the end of all the churry on top of the Sunday,
you lost to a team who's best player was at
one point two of eighteen. He finished five or twenty three,
which meant he had three of his last five, but
he was two of eighteen. That's John Stark's historic when
you what I think Starks was what one of eighteen
or two? I think he was two of eight d
I mean to shoot that bad and they were still

(03:35):
in the game, and you lost to a team whose
best guy was five of twenty three. Unacceptable, completely unacceptable.
If you're a Philadelphia fan, it is unacceptable. And when
it goes down to and there's so many layers to this,
and I don't mean we can jump wherever you want.
I never trust in the team that is great during

(03:56):
the regular season, that's never done it before in the playoffs.
I trust the team team that has the great players,
that has the Kevin Durance, that has the Lebron James.
I know it's weird because they're both out, but in general,
you can trust them. And the reason I liked Atlanta
coming into tonight is I know he wasn't great. Well.
I trusted Trey Young to deliver more than Joe l

(04:16):
MB did, and I know Joel MB played fine and
all that stuff. But I just bring it up to say,
every year we try to get excited about these teams
that that have great regular seasons. I've never bought into Philadelphia.
MB never makes plays when his team needs him to.
I know he had a good stat line, but how
many points did he have in the last five minutes
when they needed him? I don't trust him like I
still don't, frankly trusty, honest and Philadelphia now obviously eliminated

(04:39):
from the playoffs. Right now we get to Philadelphia, We'll
start with Ben Simmons. Why not, that's what everybody's talking about.
Two of four from the field, he had five points,
did have thirteen and since to have eight rebounds, First
of all, is that good enough? No, it's not. I'll
tell you that right off the bath, Ben Simmons, did
you see where he passed up lay up or that
might have been have dunk to give it to what?

(05:01):
Uh to give it to one of his players? I forget.
It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. He was two feet
from the basket, uncontested, and he passed the ball. He
is broken, mentally destroyed. I agree, he is mentally destroyed.
I mean the guy doesn't want to shoot, doesn't want
to touch the ball, certainly doesn't want to go to
the foul line. He seems uncomfortable out there, like he's

(05:24):
not sure what to do next. Sometimes he might he
might not even want the ball. But once he gets
and he gives it right up, they follow him immediately. Uh. Look,
I told you I would trade for him because it's
an all time hold. It's kind of like stocks, if
I told you Apple stock, and I don't know what
it is now, but when from a hundred dollars down
the five dollars, you're gonna round up as much money

(05:45):
as you can and you're gonna buy it in five dollars,
hoping it's gonna go up to a hundred or maybe
two hundreds someday. Buy low, sell high. I don't know
if Simmons are gonna get any lower than this, but
now is the time to buy. Um. They say Golden
State may be interested in him. I brought up the Lakers.
I think he'd be a great fit in Boston if
you don't want to shoot. Certainly, there's the two guys

(06:05):
out here and Tatum and Brown. They'll take all the
jobs that you don't want to take. And if you
just want to hand it off to him, what do
you do about Ben Simmons? You tell me real quick.
I told you last night the Lakers was amongst your
worst takes, and I think we have somebody that wants
to chime in on that. Wow, you really think that
the Lakers don't go after Ben Simmons. I think, well,
they do want to go ahead and get a point guard.

(06:26):
They are going to lose about what three or four
or five of their guys out there. Um, I wouldn't
think it would be that bad of a move. I
see now, you're just seeing the bad Ben Simmons. What
happens if you work with him and work out his shooting.
I mean, he does have a lot of potential. You
guys are just assuming that he's gonna go ahead and
play like this the rest of his career. You may
be right, but I mean, you can work with a

(06:48):
guy and I don't think he needs all that much work.
Just fix a mentally why you wouldn't want him with
the Lakers. I take it not at all whatsoever. I
don't and I don't mean to jump in, Bobo, I
don't think it. You can't trade from if you're content,
because you can't have a player that you need, first
of all, that's making twenty nine million dollars that you
have to completely rehab that you can't play in crunch

(07:10):
time and go ahead, and the Lakers would have to
give up too much to getting like you would have
to give up. Well one is already gone, right, I understand,
and I understand that, Bobo. But I mean, think about this,
like the way Boston just gave up Kemba Walker. That
guy was worthless. He had knee injuries, he was slowing
the team down, he looked like he was aging every
year was like seven years, and he had a big

(07:32):
time contract. So sometimes you just have to do what's
best for the team and get rid of a contract
like that. Simmons isn't like that. He's not beat up
anything like that. I think he has beat up mentally. Man, Yes,
he is. Yes. Yeah, it's just I'll say this, there
are a lot of takeaways from tonight, and we're gonna
spend the next three hours talking about all of them.
I mean, Arnie, I'm gonna ask you, you've been watching

(07:54):
this league a little bit longer than I have. I know,
Marquel Folts came in and was kind of broken form.
Have you This guy was an All Star this year, Arnie.
Twenty one, he was an All Star and he was
bench late in other games DC Rievers got criticism, so
he played it and he was essentially unplayable. And to

(08:14):
your point, I'll say this, he does have like some
really really great skis a great passer, great playmaker, as
you said, thirteen says, great lockdown defender. He was part
of the reason that Trey Young didn't play tonight. But
you can't play him late, and it's it was kind
of funny. It was kind of one of those chicken
and a things of uh, you know, if you bench him,
you you crush his confidence. But I was sitting there

(08:34):
watching the end of that game, saying, they're playing four
on five right now. They can't have this guy out there,
and so I think what becomes of him is gonna
be interesting. I just don't. I don't see the scenario
where anybody trades for him, unless, to your point, Arnie,
somebody takes on kind of like the Kemba Walker deal,
somebody gives away first round picks or a young player

(08:55):
with I sent an article earlier today that the Golden
State Warriors um were one time. Now, who you know
who makes these rumors up? I don't know, um, and
if the writer has some inside source or anything like that,
but I mean that was one of them that said
the Golden State Warriors would take a good look at
Ben Simmons. Remember he didn't have to do the scoring
up there. Um. In Golden State they have a couple

(09:16):
of guards. Um step problem. You would like to take
all the shop. Yeah, I'm sure they would. But when
when it's you know, four minutes to go and he's
getting fouled the second he touches the ball, you're putting
the whole season on the line. So listen, I mean,
I can't sit here today and definitively say he will
not get traded, or he will get traded, or this

(09:37):
team want like you're right, I think maybe we're prisoners
of the moment, and we're under selling the fact that
he does have some value. But if you feel like
you're in that championship window, I don't know how you
can bring him in at the salary. To Bobo's point,
what you'll have to give up? And then on top
of that, the fact that you can't play the guy
in the minutes that you need to play him late.

(09:58):
Let me ask you this. If you're a phil it
off your fan and I think ninety nine point not
excuse me, I take that back. I think percent of
the Philadelphia some of music fans, what this guy gone.
What do you think you're going to get in return?
You think you're gonna get some like NBA All Star
for the next ten years, um, based on the way
Simmons has played, You're not gonna get anything returning from

(10:19):
somebody's big contract that they don't want to pay. So
it's not like you're gonna get a hidden gem or
anything like that. Door as you you're gonna get somebody
else's garbage. I agree, and that's part of the reason
why I don't believe. I don't like when you brought
up the Lakers last night, and I get it. I listen,
I understand Wakers are going to be in the market
for a guard, but go ahead, are they gonna be

(10:40):
They need pieces to win a championship now already. This
isn't two thousand thirteen. They're not building from the ground up.
They're trying to win now. They're not trying to trade
for the for a ninth guy on the bench that
that makes twenty nine million here, because you'ren't even to
forget if they if Philadelphia wins one home game, they're
going into the Eastern Conference. But they didn't win one

(11:00):
home game because the guy they paid twenty nine million dollars. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Now, look,
we could bag on Ben Simmons all you want. I'm
not gonna put the game seven. He had five points
in a game seven. You're gonna just put the whole
thing on him. It's completely his fault. They lost all
three games at home. He averaged fourteen during the regular season.

(11:22):
If he has ten, uh, they win a couple of
those games he averaged he had five points in a
game seven. I don't know you want me to tell you.
I mean, I'm sure he's a great guy. I'm sure
he's wonderful human being. But you know this ain't little league,
does it. Nobody gets a trophy for showing up. We
don't get orange slices at halftime. He's paid twenty nine
million dollars, but to deliver in a game setting. Why

(11:44):
do you think I understand that? I mean, there's no
defending him what he's done in the series. I'll be
the first to tell you. But why do you think
he got the big contract? Why do you think, um,
he was an all star? Why do you think there
was potential there? Uh, you're telling me that there's no
way to bring that potential out. Okay, fine, then don't
pick him up. I'm telling you there's people on other

(12:04):
teams saying, give me this guy for the summer and
I'll tell you what I could do for him. Or
somebody's like, let me trade for him, give me some
time to work for him. I'm gonna show you how
I'm gonna turn it around. There's a lot of people
that would love to work with this guy. Okay, if
you say, I mean, I don't know what you want
to tell you, I don't know you can out of
the end. I can. I can sit here and say

(12:25):
the sky is purple right now? In California. If that's
not true, it's not true. Like I don't I don't
know what you want me to tell you, but I
don't even know why you even say that's not true.
I mean, you you make it sound like this guy
will be out of the league next year. If this
guy didn't have a guaranteed contract, that'd be there wouldn't
be a team in the NBA that would want him.
And I think you're just being I think a lot
of people are being hard on him, you and a

(12:46):
lot of people out of Philadelphia fans. Sure, he played horrible.
So you're a Knicks fan, You trading for him? You
you have so much confidence in in your rehabilitation capability,
Go ahead. I will would tell you I would not
be against it. I would like to get more offensive weapons.
But if I I'll tell you this, if I'm a
Golden State fan, the answers, yes, I would trade for him.

(13:10):
Laker fans, yeah, I think I would trade for him.
If I was a Boston Celtic fan, absolutely, I would
trade for it. Because I have Tatum and Brown, I've
got I have Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. I've got
people to score that Knicks really don't have that, So
I'm not sure Simmons could help him. But if I'm
fans all those other teams, I certainly would do that.

(13:32):
So what you're saying is Ben Simmons needs to go
to a team that has scores and he's just there
just to distribute the ball. Yeah, I geah, I'm pretty
much saying that, yes, because you don't have to rely
on the scoring. And then let me ask you a
dumb question. Then let me ask you a dumb question.
What exactly are Joe L M B, Tobias Harris, and
Seth Curry? Well they're not Steph Well, first of all,

(13:53):
they're not Stephan clay Um Joel embiads average twenty seven
in this series. Tobias Harris every it's twenty one, Steph
Curry average nineteen. If Ben's if Ben Simmons, if Ben
Simmons gets double figures tonight, they potentially win, Like I
mean you, I mean you can argue, you can argue
you this next season when the season starts, will he

(14:15):
be at Philadelphia sevent I believe so. I believe so
because I don't think everyone's gonna trade for him. I
don't know who wants to trade for him, unless you're
the Oklahoma City Thunder and you're just taking a bunch
of bad contracts and they give you a million draft picks.
I'll say it is they're going to get rid of
him because they have to change something we've been trusting.
Well not weak, because I'm not a Philly fan, but
I respect them, and people have been trusting this process

(14:37):
for how long now whatever? This process is now like
almost ten years in and you've only produced the semi
conference finals, Like what somebody gotta go? Is rather gonna
be in bead or is gonna be him just going
to bed? He says, Actually, I'm looking at the sunset.
There is some purple in the sky in l A.

(14:58):
He just watched it to all that? All right? Often
running you lots to get to you. I saw Ben
Simmons make one jumper this series. You can see anything
if you look close enough. If you want to get
in Aaron on the score Tours, I would stinking genius one.
When we get back Jef zil Get, we'll stop on
by NBA reporter for the USA today. Oh, we'll get
his opinion. What does he think about Simmons? That's coming
up next right here on Fox Sports our radio. All right,

(15:21):
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Aaron torres In for Chris Planka, Marty Spaniard, we go
right to our guests to the NBA reporter for the
USA Today, It's Jeff Zill. Get Jeff, your first thoughts

(15:45):
on that Atlanta Philadelphia game. I was a terrible os
for Philly, But what were your first thoughts? Completely disappointing
in a game in which Trey you did not have
his best shooting night. But what it goes to show
beyond the disappointment in Dailey, which I'm sure we'll get
to and what's going to happen there, but Atlanta showed
that Trey Young can have an off night and they

(16:08):
have enough around him with a Kevin where that hurt
her enough, with Clint Capella, Danilo Gallinari, Uh, this is
a well rounded team. John Collins had a big game,
and so it shows that the team that they were
at fourteen and twenty back in March when they fired
Bloyd Pierce. This is a completely different team and they're

(16:29):
fully capable. This is a great road team. They won
in New York. They just want three in Philadelphia. They
can certainly go to Milwaukee and get a game. Uh.
And I don't think he by seed that they're that
far behind the Milwaukee Bucks when they had to just
start this series. So, Jeff Arnie and I were on
last night right after the Bucks Bucks Nets game, and

(16:52):
for once in his career, Arney brought up a good point,
and that was that the more interesting stories often in
the losing locker room. And you friends, Philly, Uh, you know,
Ben Simmons is the talk of social media right now.
He's going to be the talk of what we do
going forward these next couple of days. What is the
future for him with this organization or what does this
organization do with a twenty nine million dollar a your

(17:15):
player that has seemingly lost his confidence. Yeah, they have
to sit down with him and without him and figure out.
If you guys heard the press conference, DC Rivers couldn't
answer the question if that, if that Ben simmons future
in this league is at point guard. And look, I
understand it's right after a loss, but this is something

(17:36):
that Philadelphia is going to have to sit down and
figure out. And Daryl Morey, the guy who's in charge
of basketball operations in Philly, used to be in Houston.
He's not afraid to make the kinds of deals that
would send Ben Simmons elsewhere for a more reliable point guard. Look,
Ben Simmons is going to take a lot of heat,
and he should. You can't shoot like that from the

(17:56):
free throw line. You have to have some confidence shooting
the basketball even at the rim. There's plenty of blame
to go around though, on the Sixers team in particular
this game seven loss um, eight turnovers for Joel Ebid
and they didn't share the basketball the way they had
all season one, and so again plenty of blame Doc

(18:17):
Rivers and another circumstance in which his team had a
series lead. Don't forget even though Atlanta took game one,
Philly took the next two. Had a two one lead
in this series. And this is another loss for Doc
and which he had a series lead. But getting back
to Ben, they're going to have to figure that out,
and if they keep him they're going to figure out
where they're going to have to play him on the court,

(18:38):
because you just can't have such a non score on
the court in today's NBA, especially handled the ball so much. Yeah,
And you know, I gotta tell you and and Aaron
and I were arguing about this. And I know that
Ben had a horrible game, horrible series. I understand that,
But are we being too hard on him? I mean,
this is a guy for his four year career average
of six points a game, eight rebounds, almost data says

(19:00):
there's a lot of teams that would love a point guard. Yeah,
And so here's where I feel about this. He is
great in the regular season at sixteen eight and eight,
when he's playing a different team night in night out.
The Atlanta Hawks were able to lock Black in on him. Um,
and you know, Washington didn't offer up that same kind

(19:21):
of defensive pressure in the first round, and so they
were able to get through. But when you get to
the second round against the team that can put some
defensive pressure on you, that's when that sixteen eight and
eight becomes what less than ten points per games in
this series, not the eighth and eight that we saw
from rebounds and his sister in the regular season, and

(19:44):
there's the larger problem. Regular season, Ben, Yes, there's a
twenty nine other teams that would like to have him,
But in the playoffs you just can't have that kind
of performance when you have the ball as much as
you do and you're considered the point guard or the
point forward. So I know, Arnie just basically asked this
um and I apologize for for stand on Ben Simmons,

(20:04):
but he's the story of this game. What would the
potential trade market be for a guy that again makes
twenty nine million dollars. Is it a team that he
doesn't have to be the star or is it a
rebuilding team that takes on a quote unquote bad contract.
I know it's impossible to know in this moment, but
just in the broader perspective, what are your thoughts like
a Golden State or a Boston or or if I

(20:25):
think it's the opposite, like Houston or Okay, see that
that just wants to eat bad contracts. But go ahead, Jeff,
I'm sorry, No, Well, look, they want those teams want
to eat that contract if they're getting first rounders in return.
Don't forget that. In the Al Horford Oklahoma City Philly
trade that happened is that Oklahoma City already took some
first rounders from Philadelphia, right so that Philadelphia could unload

(20:49):
that contract. So I'm not sure they wanted to do business.
But I lean the other way that there is a
contender out there or a playoff type team that would
take Ben Simmons and try to find and away. It's
gonna take some creative coaching, let me put it that way,
whether it's Doc Rivers in Philadelphia or if it's with
another coach, to find a way that he can be

(21:09):
more successful, especially in the playoffs. Again, I like Ernie's point.
During the regular season, the way he rolls downhill, Um,
it's it's you know that teams want that he and
he pushes and he's he's a gifted passer. Uh, we
just didn't see that as much. And again I think
it's creative coaching to find a way to make him
more useful. But I do think he has a spot

(21:30):
on a playoff team. But to your point, he's not
going to be the guy on a contender. Uh. He
might even be the third or fourth guy on a contender. Um.
And to the point you make about money, That is
a lot of money to pay your third or fourth guy, Jeff,
there was another game, Sons take Game one? There up one,
nothing over the Clippers. Uh, no Kawai, no Chris Paul.

(21:52):
Chris Paul should and we'll be back up at least
I'm guessing, um Den was I just on fire? I
love the Sons in this already say the series is over.
Son is gonna go ahead and take this when I
believe Yeah, I like the Sons in the series too,
especially after watching Game one and seeing the way they
responded without Chris Paul. That that was huge. You know,

(22:13):
the Clippers have played without Kauai, not only just recently obviously, uh,
but portions of this season, portions of last season. They
know how to play without him. The bigger test was
how would the Son's play without Chris Paul, who has
just been their engine all year? And it's like they
didn't miss a beat. So when Chris comes back, they're

(22:33):
gonna be that much better. I just this Sun's team
has been fantastic to watch throughout the regular season. Their growth, Uh,
not only from Devin Booker, but DeAndre Ayton, Cam, Cameron Payne,
Cam Johnson. I mean there's guys down that roster. Um.
And then obviously Devin Booker is emerging, um, you know,
not not just as a star, because he's been an

(22:54):
All Star, but he's knocking on the door of all
NBA in this league. And so they've been fun team
to watch. And I think on top of it, Monty
Williams is just a great story in several different levels.
Last one for me, Jeff, we can be quick. Um,
I got one simple question for you. We're down to
four teams. Who do you believe is the favorite right now?

(23:15):
I think Phoenix is the favorite? I think and I
think so yeah. I mean, look, Milwaukee was the third seed. Uh,
they struggled to get by a Brooklyn team that was
missing Kyrie and had James Harden, you know, limping on
one leg for that. Atlanta is the fifth seed. Um,
and with the one oh lead, the way the Sons
have played, they had the second best record and the
best conference in the league, That's why I'm putting as

(23:37):
my favorite from here on out. All right, Jeff, I'll
give you one more. I'm gonna give you six names.
Which one would you want? These are all youngsters in
the league, like Devin Booker, Devin Booker, Janice Trey Young, Zion,
Luca or Donovan Mitchell. Oh boy, I'm little lead. It

(23:57):
is really difficult and I could probably make a k
for just about everyone. I'm probably gonna put my money
on Luca right now. But with that said, Dallas has
some work to do and they have changes in the
front office. They have to put some guys around Luca,
not to squander uh what's you know, not what's left,
but some prime years of his career as he's an
m v P caliber player. All right, Jeff Zolga and

(24:20):
everybody gotta be a reporter for the USA today. You
can tweet him at Jeff Zoga. Jeff always a pleasure
by Fred and Joy. We'll definitely do it again. Yeah, perfect,
you guys. Take care tonight, Take care Jeff Zoga, check
about good follow on Twitter. We'll come back. We'll go
do that list. We'll talk more about Philadelphia, more about
Ben Simmons. But first our first checking to see what's
trending with Steve the Sager. What's going on out there?

(24:41):
To sa Hello, Gentlemany, I one lucky fan tweeted to
staffter the Loss that whoever that guy was in Philadelphia
that threw the water bottle on the court. He took
more shots tonight in the fourth quarter. Did you see
the stat? Ben Simmons actually shot a hundred percent from
the field in the fourth co Yeah, yeah, the series.

(25:03):
For the series, he took three total shots in the
fourth quarters in the fourth quarter in the last four
games and in one earlier game. So literally in five
of the seven games he never shot the ball from
the floor in the fourth quarter. You're paying him how
much to be on the court. This is just also astounding.

(25:23):
The the item that Doc Rivers, who has been around
for a while, it happens to be the coach of
a team that gags another playoff series. Doc, with a
chance to clinch a series has lost twenty nine games
according to ESPN stats, and if he's coached a couple
of decades, so that's almost two hundred playoff games total.

(25:44):
But nine losses with a chance to clinch a series.
Can we have like Coke? This guy is great in
the regular season. I'll tell you that much. Can bring
back Phil Jackson for the playoffs. I don't know how
does that work? Get a d h H. You know,
I'm glad. Arnie that you mentioned the John Stark We
were talking about that before the show. I did look
it up. It was two of eighteen shooting in the

(26:05):
game seven of the finals at Houston. That included oh
of eleven from three point range. So it was that.
I mean, they only lost four. It was that close,
and but he was gonna there's still plenty of time
to get more shots. Yeah, And Trey Young tonight for
the Hawks was three of twenty at one point and
still winds up on the winning side one oh three

(26:27):
ninety six, beating top seed Philadelphia in Philly, taking Game
seven to end the second round. Now, the East Finals
won't start until Wednesday, Atlanta at Milwaukee. But my goodness,
this is the first time since that both the number
one seeds in the postseason failed to even make the
conference finals. It was nineteen seventy three, almost fifty years

(26:48):
ago when the NBA started seeding for the playoffs by conference.
Who had this final four in the NBA. Meanwhile, the West,
the West Final open today in Phoenix, Sons beating the
Clippers feen Devin Booker a triple double including forty points.
By the way, we mentioned when the Knicks nearly won

(27:09):
a title. The Hawks are the first team to make
a conference final without a single All Star since Indiana
Pacers Trey Young wasn't it is Yeah, that was my
first exactly, uh reaction, But yeah, I've seen a couple
of other sources of the team by Devin Booker wasn't

(27:29):
an All Star this series. But these comebacks in this series,
they kept winning in Philly, and they kept coming bad.
I mean half the games and they set they were
down Atlanta was down eighteen in Game four, they were
down twenty six the next game. And here their star
isn't shooting well for almost the whole night tonight and
they still take Game seven. It's just wow, just a

(27:51):
big while the Sons general manager James Jones was named
NBA executive that year, Kevin Durant is expected to play
for Team US in the Olympics this summer, according to
The Athletic. In the NHL Semifinals, Vegas and overtime winner
to one at Montreal, Kyle Larson took the NASCAR race
at Nashville. The Dodgers held on nine eight at Arizona.
Diamondbacks have lost seventeen in a row. That's that deserves

(28:15):
a while Atlanta and St. Louis split a double header,
and then we had the US Open one by one
stroke by John Rom. Louis EU stays in finished second.
John Rom, who lives in the Phoenix area, went to
Arizona State, winds up a winner of a major. However,
the NBC broadcast this weekend is not getting great reviews.

(28:35):
The great website Awful Announcing, for example, said the broadcast
not as well received as the John Rom victory. And
one simple change, they write that NBC needs to make
immediately the constant leaderboard graphic in the corner of the screen.
When Fox started carrying US Open, it had constantly the

(28:58):
leaderboard graphic on the screen for you. And as they wrote,
a stretch today where there were ten golfers either tied
for the leader one stroke back, constantly updating leaderboard kind
of essential for a stretch like that. And they also
wrote especially galling considering that NBC is paying pennies on
the dollar for these rights, taking it over from Fox,
not paying the same rate that Fox was for the

(29:19):
U s g A contract. Fox aired a ton of
commercial free coverage. NBC was going to commercials every three
and a half shots. It seemed all weekend long. I
started watching First Round and it was just tough to watch. NBC,
the last network, by the way, to actually put basketball
scores constantly on the screen. Remember back in the nineties

(29:40):
NBC had the NBA. You would have to wait for
a basket to be scored to find out what the
score was, and then they would take the score back
off the screen. Note to NBC, do a little better
for the fans, please becty Wow, look at him? Look
at him? And Simmons coming out on fire? Here, Uh

(30:02):
Aaron Torres and for christ whoa wow? You want to
get in air and underscore tours? I would sticking genius one.
Yeah you know what I told Jeff. I think that
might have caught you by surprise. You know, you don't
toss away point guards at average sixteen points a game, UM,
eight rebounds, eight assist. I think when you look at
that you scratch your head and and say, wait a minute,

(30:24):
maybe I'm you know, caught up in the moment about
a guy that had a bad series. Those are some
good numbers. I don't think people realize how good and
how many points the average is. Yes, you're gonna say
that's the regular season Um, but if you could do
it in the regular season, you could certainly, you know,
keep that going. I just think he just had a
bad stretch here and he needs to get his confidence back. Well,

(30:47):
he certainly needs to get his confidence back that, there's
no doubting that. And you're right, you know, listen, maybe
we are prisoners of the moment. I mean, he will
play in the NBA next year. You know that it
was sixty eight that caught me by surprise. I didn't
even know your average Japandi points the game for his career. Well,
I knew he was an All Star this year, so
it's not as though he could have been terrible. And

(31:07):
it was one of those things where, um, throughout these playoffs,
I mean obviously it's been you know what seven or
eight and you know, ten twelve games now between the
two rounds, where this conversation just started to pick up
steam every game it became more and more and more.
But I think to your point, I think, to your point, um,

(31:29):
somebody's gonna I mean, he's two talented, he's seven ft
thirteen assists in a game seven. Let me flip it
on you. I just want to can I just go
to what Ben Simmons said at the post game, he says,
I love being in Philly. I love this organization. The
fans are great people. I had a bad series. I
expected criticism. It's Philly, so um, he don't want to
go anywhere, class in the class, and we could criticize

(31:50):
him for on the court, but he went to the
podium and owned this, and there's a lot of guys
that wouldn't do that. I wanted to ask you speaking
to the podium, if you're Joe l em beat do
you o into management and say Bobbo and I were
talking about this during the break. It's him or me?
Do do do? If you're Joe l Embiid, do you
say we can't win with this guy. This is my organization.
We need to figure out another alternative. The answer is yes,

(32:14):
that's exactly what you say. If you're Joel Embiid, you
say you're walking in and say he's got to go. Um,
he's not making us a better team. We're gonna have
to but but but then again, you're letting get sixteen
eight Nate I go. And what are you gonna replace
him with? You're not gonna get high value. So you
know you're gonna make the decision to let him go,
But then how do you go ahead and get another

(32:35):
guy to replace sixteen eight and Nate. You know, be
careful what you wish for. It may come true. But
if I'm Joel Embiid, I I need to get a change,
And yes, the answer is absolutely yes, I've got to
get somebody else in there. But you're gonna have to
trade or a free agent and do something. You know, Well,
what I would say is what I told you earlier.
I mean, m beat average twenty eight per game in
this series, Tobias Hayah's average two, Seth Curry average nineteen,

(32:56):
and so I only bring that up to say you
don't need like you don't need sixteen eight and eight
or whatever. You just need a guy that you can
that is competent, that you can trust in that spot.
Like I don't think you need to trade Ben Simmons
for Damian Lillard or Ben Simmons for Chris Paul, or like,
I just think you need somebody that's competent that you

(33:16):
can trust, because they couldn't trust him. By the end
of all this, let me ask you this. You know,
we talked about Alonzo, but well, I didn't talk about
him now, but Alonzo Ball obviously a point guard. Simmons,
a point guard doesn't feel like point guard. Um, there's
like talking about the point guards from my era, you know,
like the Magic Johnson's and the Isaiah thomas Is and
the I mean the Hall of Famers. They've gone downhill

(33:40):
quickly when when it came Nash, I mean, my goodness,
to get a point guard of that quality now, Um,
it's just you can't find them, Mike that anymore, you
know what I mean. It's it's crazy. I heard Gary
Payton in an interview this week say there's only two
true point guards left in the league, Chris Paul and
right Jan Rondo. Everybody else is basically a common guard.
I mean, think about abody like Trey Young, incredibly talented.

(34:02):
I'm not taking it away from him, but Trey Young,
I know he averages a fair amount of assist but
is he really a point guard. He's a scoring guard
in my opinion, Right, So you go, you go across
the league Westbrooks like that, you know whoever. I can't
think of everybody off the top of my head, but
it does feel like the position, the leader, the set
everybody else up, guy, those guys are few and far between.

(34:23):
For sure. You want to get in Aaron Underscore Tours.
I've been stinking Genius one will come back. There was
another game today. We'll get to that game, one of
the Clippers Sons. That's coming up next right here on
Fox Sports A Radio. Alright, good evening everyone. Aaron Torres
in for Chris Blank. I'm already Spaniard in a busy
Sunday night. You want to be part of the show,
real simple, Aaron Underscore Tours. I'm in stinking Genius One.

(34:47):
By the way, I'm gonna leave Luca out of this.
Who would you rather have? Devin Booker, Janice Trey, Young,
Zion or Donovan Mitchell Trey. I'll give you those five.
That'd be the mistake. That's cool. I mean want to
draft The answer is Devin Booker? Okay, that's the right answer.
Yes it is? Are you sure it is? I mean,

(35:09):
you're you're positive it is? Because even I know I
know this, I I don't It's definitely not Zion, is it.
I mean he can't stay hell, I mean he stayed
healthy this year, but um now you gotta prove it, right,
I mean, you could argue Zion wouldn't even be the
first pick out of his own draft. You take John
Morant before him. I'm not saying I would definitively, but
you can make the argument. You know what, I can

(35:30):
make a case for Trey Young being the fourth pick.
I would even take maybe Donovan Mitchell. You know the
funny part about that list I just gave you is
I may take Joanna's last I would take you. I've
been saying for three weeks he's not a superstar. Knock
against him, but if I'd rather have Devin Booker, Zion, Luca,
Donovan Mitchell, and Trey Young before And that's what I mean.

(35:50):
This is why I see people get mad. I say
he's not a superstar. He's now. He had forty last night,
he was awesome. But a superstar to me is a
guy that puts his team on his back when he
absolutely needs a watch those games. Chris Middleton is the
one taking all the big shots late. And that doesn't
mean that, honest isn't one of the best players on
the planet, but he's not one of the two or three.
And that's what the NBA media has been trying to

(36:11):
sell us for years, and so when he asked me
about the the guys that you referenced specifically, by the way,
I think I would take Luca before all of them.
So I'm glad you left him out because I think
we both everybody would take you know, Devin Booker is
really is He's incredible, Like, let's just let the record show.
But he even said today he said, you know, I'm
not used to taking on that kind of playmaking role.

(36:31):
And it's a credit to he's first of all, he
scored seventy like four years like his second Yearly he's
a great player. Um, but Trey Young has taken an
entire franchise and put it on his back. And Mitchell
uh is really good too. I mean it's not you
gave me four really good choices. It took me to
uh you know, uh more in Steakhouse and said you

(36:54):
get the t Bow and the Porterhouse. I mean you
would take you would take Booker, Young and Donovan Mitchell,
but for you would take Zion probably, Yes, yeah, I would.
It's a guard driven sport. I mean, you know, Zion,
to his credit, creates a lot of points with offensive rebounds.
And you know, I'll say this we use the term

(37:14):
unicorn way too much in basketball now, like like Chris steps,
Oh he's a unicorn, Well he's yeah, he's like whatever,
He's a unicorn that you know is slow and you
know has one like whatever, he's whatever, he's he's he's
an interesting player. I don't think he's incredible, samily honest,
he's interesting, He's got a he's a unique player. I

(37:35):
don't think he's great. And I will say, like Zion
is a true unicorn. I mean, you ever's twenty seven
and seven this year, and so much of that is
on offensive rebounds, and so I will say, like I'm curious. Uh,
you know, it was interesting the story that came out
this week with stan Van Gunny. I don't remember if
I talked with you about it or if I was
on with Rob or Chris or somebody like that, but

(37:55):
when they made that higher, I was like, what are
they doing? Get a young guy that's going to develop?
I mean, stan Van Gunn, he's a yeller in a
scream where you give him a veteran team, he'll be fine.
But I never understood it, and I'm curious to see
who they get as the head coach and if they
can get even more out of Zion in that group,
because I mean, that's a team that should have been
way more in playoff contention than they were last year.

(38:16):
You want to jump in there and under score tours.
I'm instincting genius won the Suns take game one against
the Clippers. Um, I gotta tell you that one. I
think it's already over and I don't want to make
the same mistake that I did last time with the Clippers.
But um, with no Kauai Leonard and you're gonna get
Chris Paul back. This is the Sun series, and you
can tell them the better team. I think there's gonna

(38:37):
be the Suns, probably like five or six. I said
this during the game today. Sons are the best team
left in the playoffs. I don't know if they're gonna
win it, but they're the best team left in the playoffs,
and I will be fascinated to see. First of all,
I'm just curious if Chris Paul when he comes back.
You know, we had Kurt Healin on our show last
night say that that he understands it as once Chris

(38:58):
Paul gets two negative tests in a row, he's allowed
to come back. But I'll be honest, I think if
Chris Paul comes back, I think it's it's five max.
Like if Chris Paul is back game too, they're the
better team. They're just the better team, and the Clippers
great story. Um, at some point you know they're gonna
regress to the mean and Terrence Man isn't gonna go
for thirty nine points and all that kind of stuff.

(39:19):
So I think Phoenix is the best team left of
the playoffs. Doesn't mean they're gonna win it. By the way, East,
real quick, who do you like in the East, because
I have a very definitive opinion on that one too.
I'm gonna stick with Atlanta, with Milwaukee. With Milwaukee, Um,
good victory by Atlanta. I just don't think they can
continue this pace. But what the hell do I know?
I don't think it's Milwaukee series to win. Though. Yeah,
I thought Milwaukee her Excuse me, I thought Atlanta was

(39:41):
going once I saw them in Game one, I thought
they were gonna win this series. Ultimately, I didn't think
they were gonna win three games in Philly and lose
two at home. But I actually liked them in that match.
I actually like, Excuse me, I like the Bucks in
that matchup with Atlanta. At some point that length, that
size is going to be too much for Atlanta. And
I'm not I've not been in Milwaukee, but I was
impressed with how they kind of handled things last night.

(40:03):
And as great as Trey Young is, he ain't Kevin Durant.
And and and you know it was gonna it took
a historic performance from Kevin Durant to even keep the
nets in that game last night. So I actually like
the Bucks pretty convincingly in that series. Alright, our one,
just a flu on by, um, what's coming up an hour?
Number two? Well, Todd Ferman will join us at twenty
past the hour. Also, uh, did somebody already get thrown

(40:26):
under the bus from the Philadelphia seventy sixers, which means
Ben Simmons isn't gonna be coming back. Oh my goodness,
who threw him under the bus? And did he throw
him under the bus. We're gonna get to that. You
want to be part of the show, Aaron underscore, Torris,
I'm at stinking genius one. We're just getting going jump
on in right here on Fox Sports or radio. Oh,

(40:49):
Chris Plike has the night off. Aaron Torres, and for
Chris Plike, I'm alty spaniar. You want to be part
of the show, real simple, Aaron underscore Tres, I'm at
stinking genius one. Todd Ferman gonna join us in about
twenty past the hour of the Sager. We'll talk about
everything we didn't get to hit about forty five past
the hour, so busy show in our number two if

(41:09):
you want to get in, Like I said, Aaron under
score Torres, I'm a stinking genius one. Aaron, right off
the bat, I gotta tell you, I think we found
out the answer. If Ben Simmons is gonna be back
with the Philadelphia seven, the Sixers go ahead. I'm intrigued. Well,
because they were doing the post game interviews. They went
to the podium and Joe L. M bead was asked,

(41:31):
what was the turning point of the game game seven?
What was the critical part of it? Is? What he
had to say, What was the moment for you personally
tonight where your your belief and what you had in
terms of this being the Sixers. Yere turned to the
recognition that it just wasn't gonna happen. And I thought
that Tony problem was just you know we had an

(41:52):
open shot, man, you know we missed. We made man
fretto and when the sta and then the caim on
this court, uh and uh, we didn't get a good
possession on the other end. And Trey came back and
he made a three and from the down full and
then I go on, Um, he's on me a turn

(42:13):
the ball over on trying to, you know, make something happen,
Um from the perimeter. Um. But I thought that was
a ton important. Now you may have not picked up
on that air, and it was a little tough to
hear when they were talking about the tourney points, and
he goes to a bunch of things, but the first
thing he said was when we missed or didn't take
an open shot. In case you'd understand what he was

(42:35):
referencing is when Um Simmons was underneath for a wide
opened layup or slam dunk and he passed it off
to one of his teammates who made one of two
foul shots. Um. To him, that was the Turney point.
And I remember the score at the time, Aaron, But Um,
is that a shot at his teammate or is that
just honesty? Answering the question can it be both. I mean,

(42:59):
I hate to be a I hate to have a
cop out on that, but I mean, it isn't wrong.
It's not wrong. That's why, like it's hard for me
to to just sit here and say, oh, m be
throwing his teammate under the bus. But he kind of.
But it's kind of the truth though. But if I said, well,
we lost the game because, um, because Torres missed a

(43:20):
wide open layup. Um, isn't that throwing you under the bus?
Isn't that exactly what I'm doing? But you you said,
is their truth to it? And I said, yes, there's
truth to it, which means that it's both and it
really is. Well again, then you could say, maybe you know,
it's on me. There's a lot of things we could
have done different. Um. I do think he threw him

(43:40):
under the bus. Um. Look, he didn't emphasize that. He
didn't say, well, the big part of it, you know
is when um Simmons had a wide open layup, he
strictly said, you know, we had a shot, we didn't
take it, and he he moved on after that. But
I do think he's thrown him under the bus. And
I think in the next couple of days or weeks,
you're gonna start hearing the rumors that he is being
shopped around, and we'll just see how many teams are

(44:02):
going to be interested, because I don't think Philadelphia wants
him back, and I don't know what they can get
for him. Yeah, I don't. You know who I don't
think wants him back is your boy, Joe l mbad.
I mean, based on that quote, but again it's it's
it can be truthful and still throw him under the bus.
So it's gonna be an interesting offseason. And it's so funny,
right because with the n b A we in many
ways the off season is as entertaining, more interesting than

(44:23):
the regular season in a lot of capacities. And this
offseason it was kind of like, well, Kauai is kind
of really the only big time free agent and if
he stays, who's really gonna leave? Well, now, Ben Simmons,
I mean, he's not Marquee, He's not going to change
a franchise. But to your point, he was an All
Star this year. It doesn't feel as though he can
come back or the team wants him back, or Joe
l embiid wants him back. So maybe that is one

(44:45):
of the big storylines as we get out of this
season and we kind of try to figure out, uh,
you know what, you know, we try to figure out
what the future of this this organization looks like, and
just in general, what's going on in the NBA. By
the way, the Simmons not shooting the ball passing up
to one of the teammates three thirty left of the game,
they were down to six. His layup would have tied

(45:06):
the game up. And that's why I can't be mad
at show l m B for saying I mean, Artie,
you and I I saw your tweet, because I put
out a tweet at the same time. I mean an
uncontested dunk. Forget a layup, because the layup implies that
maybe I can't dunk it. There's there was no one
there and he passed it in. By the way, I
just want to say this too, I actually feel bad

(45:27):
for Ben Simmons, like, like, I know it's not the
right thing to say. And if we're on in Philly
right now, people are gonna get like, I don't want
to see anybody that, um, you know, lacking confidence, that
embarrassed on the biggest stage. I mean, I know he
gets paid a lot of money and we shouldn't feel
I feel bad for him. I mean, imagine working your
whole career to get to this point and you just

(45:48):
have a complete meltdown. I feel Um, let me ask
you this. Ben Simmons was at the podium. He was
asked if this is his last game in Philadelphia and
what he needs to work on. Toward the end of
the game. There were a few chances that were going
out there asking Trenty Ben Simmons, stuff like that, do
you feel like you played your last few minutes here

(46:09):
in Philadelphia? Like we just love games? Seven? Um, it
was about it, would you like just to remain in Philadelphia? Yeah?
I mean I love being a Philly you know, I
love this organization. The fans are great, great people for me.
Had a bad series. Then Doc said there's work to do,
and he and you need to get into the gym.

(46:30):
What is it in your game that you think you
need to approve first? I think all of it, you know,
all of them. I ain't shoe well from the line
this series. Offensively, I wasn't there. I ain't doing enough
of my teammates. There's a lot there's a lot of
things I need to work on it. Can I say
one thing, Arnie? Yeah, yeah, go ahead. I'm gonna give
someone credit. That's kind of random. I'm gonna give the
Philadelphia media credit because they asked the tough questions tonight.

(46:52):
I mean, whether it was Joe l Embiid, whether it
was Doc Rivers, whether it was that Ben's I mean,
you know, we we sometimes criticized the media, especially in
the NBA, that that they let these guys off the hook.
They asked some tough questions tonight they got some genuine answers.
I give the people in that media room, on that
zoom wherever they were credit for asking these tough questions.
It's not easy to go to a grown man and say, look,

(47:16):
we all kind of I mean, what was that question? Uh,
have you played your last game? That that means you sucked?
We know you suck, the fans know you suck, and
they don't want you back. And that was basically what
that guy asked him or girl asked him. So credit
to that person for asking that question. Well, they asked
Doc Rivers, can Ben Simmons be a point guard for
a championship team. Here's what Dot got to say to
that do you think Ben Simmons you can still be

(47:38):
a point guard for for a championship team like the
one you guys want to be done? Yeah, David, I
don't know that question or the answer to that right now,
you know, so I don't know the answer to that.
What do you when you said get in the gym
with him? What what be done? Obviously? Yeah? I mean
I that's that's between Ben and I. Wow, that's you

(48:01):
know what I gotta tell you. That's stowing him under
the bus? Or am I reading too much into that air?
And that doesn't seem like a um, you know, a
vote of confidence if your as could be did not
sound like a vote of confidence. And and that's another
tough question that was just asked, and it did not
sound like a vote of confidence. So funny, aren't like Arnie,
I'll say this. I mean, you know you talk about

(48:21):
a great night to be on air. I'll be real
with you. When is the last time we've gotten so
much candor in a post? I'm serious, I can't remember.
I mean, you asked the coach is this guy a
franchise point guard? The coach says, I don't know. I
mean he didn't say no. But I mean for for
the coach to say that speaks volumes. Um. Let me

(48:44):
even backtrack. I'll say this, for the coach to say that,
to to give a non answer, that means he knows
the answer and the answer is no. Because even if
there was like a three percent chance that Ben Simmons
could he could turn it around and he was the
future in Philly, Doc would have said I believe that
despite this disappointing series, Ben Simmons is the future in Philly.

(49:06):
But he did not say that. And so to me,
actions speak uh, you know, the words speak a ton
so yeah. And and not only that, it also, like
you said, Joel Embiid, the turning point is when we
open shot, nobody's coming to his defense. You can hear
the frustration in his voice. If I'm him, and I
know we can't say this. I you know, he can't

(49:26):
say no. I think my time up in Philly has done.
I think I need to change the scenery. I'm talking
about Simmons. You can't say that when you're asked that,
but I think he would benefit, no doubt he would
benefit um from a change of scenery going somewhere else.
It would make him a better player. I just think
that his time in Philadelphia it's just not going to
work out anymore, you know what I mean. It sounded

(49:49):
like that tonight. I mean they asked the you know,
they asked the head coach, and the head coach was noncommittal,
and they asked the star and he basically said the
game turned when this guy screwed up. So I don't
think it's an exaggeration to say his time in Philly
has done all right, We're getting a lot on Twitter
if you want to get in. By the way, is
there's a report Chris Paul has been symptom free since

(50:12):
testing positive for COVID nineteen remains quarantine though. Uh that's
according to Yahoo's Sports Chris Haynes. I get, I don't
know when he's gonna get to the two TESTA to
clear him. I'm I'm how long has it been, tor As,
I'm losing track here. You think you'd be cleared now
if he was vaccinated, right? Well? He I don't know.

(50:36):
I mean every report says that he is. And as
Kurt Healand told us last night, there are hippo laws
that don't really allow the team to comment on it. Now,
maybe he will comment on it. When did they comment
on all the other stuff that goes wrong? When somebody
tears an a C L and the coach comes out, Yeah,
so it's so toward a c we're sorry to see that.
Or he's got a broken leg of broken finger this

(50:56):
down or the other point, then we can hear that.
But when it comes to COVID we can here who
hasn't new doesn't. I don't know. It's an interesting point.
I'm not gonna I'm not gonna try to fight back
on that one. It is pretty interesting. Certain things you
can say, certain things you can't. By the way, Pack
twelve football guru taking the shot at uses make up
your mind. Torres Young is way better than Yannas according
to you, yet you have the bucks big makes no sense.

(51:19):
Um chnceil Jannas in for thirty and four teen, but
fifty field goals. There's only a handful of guys who
could say that. Um, you can say that about and
this is exactly what I said. I said. He says,
how can you say Janice is better? I said, because
Trey Young makes big plays when it matters. He honest
passes the ball to the Bucks best player Chris Middleton,
which is the one percent. He's laughing at you when

(51:40):
he said Middleton is better than Yannas ha ha ha
ha ha. I mean, let's think about this. So game,
what was it? No, seriously game? I think it was
one of them. When they won. It was the s
eighty three game. Chris Middleton scored eight of the last
ten points. He on his head zero. There was another
game late in the game where they need did a bucket.

(52:00):
Janice was in bounding the ball to Middleton late in
the game yesterday, Chris Middleton had fifteen points in overtime
and the fourth quarter. I mean, this guy, this little
loser over here Pack twelve guru can argue with me
if you want. He's wrong. I mean, I mean, listen,
aren'tie I told you earlier? If he wants to argue
with me this guy is purple, he can argue this
guy is purple. He's just wrong. So it doesn't really
matter to me. He could keep chirping all night long,

(52:22):
but he's wrong. But w wait a bout. Yannice is
two time league m v p um So what what
exactly is it about Janice that you don't like? Because
he's about to win a he's the favorite to win
an NBA championship this year, and he has two time
m v P. So those are pretty good credentials. Sure.
I mean, and Yokich one MVP this year and he

(52:43):
wasn't deserving. I don't you know, Like there are guys
that have won the Heisman that aren't the best player
in college football that year. So I don't really care
about regular season awards. You just told me Arnie last
segment that if you were drafting right now, you would
take Luca, Trey Young, Zion, Donovan Mitchell, and Evan Booker
all ahead of honest. So those are those are all great,

(53:03):
But that's my whole point. He visit a two time
m v P. I don't care that his Wikipedia page
says he is a two time m v P. The
m v P is the biggest crocket you know what
award ever, And I'll tell you why. It's what I've
been arguing for three weeks. It's no longer about who
the best player in the league is. It's about who
has the coolest stats. Because, oh, by the way, the

(53:24):
Sager just told us James Jones one Executive of the
Year this year in Phoenix. Why because he brought in
Chris Paul. But Chris Paul is sixth in the m
v P voting. Are you freaking kidding me? By the way,
Monty Williams second and coach of the year, so we
have the Executive of the Year and the coach of
the year. They were both there last year, but Chris
Paul wasn't there. He's the only difference. They go from

(53:47):
out of the playoffs to the number two seed and
now three games away from the NBA Finals. I'm sorry,
I don't really care. The m v P is a Crockett.
You know what, Yanna shouldn't have won it. Last year,
Lebron should have won it, and this year, Yo, kids
shouldn't have wanted Chris Paul should have want it. So
but you act like when I said even you said
you'd take Janic's last. Well, those other guys are damn good.

(54:08):
But that's not the point. The point is he was
sold to us by the media that covers the NBA
three sixty five days a year as the next great thing.
We're not being sold that he's one of the fifteen
best players in the league, which he probably Wait a second,
we're not being sold that he's one of the fifteen
or twenty best players in league, which he probably is, which,

(54:29):
by the way, great for him where he came from
in Greece. He's overcome so much and he deserves all
the accolades he's getting. But when you're a two time
m v P, you're supposed to be able to take
over playoff games when it matters most. Trey Young does it,
Luca Done does it, Kevin Durant does it, Chris Middleton
does it. Janice doesn't. He's just not. He's just not
one of the ten best players. There's nothing wrong with that.

(54:50):
It just means he's not one of the ten best players.
In Chris Middleton's the best player on the team, then
you and I will be wrong. If Milwaukee wins the championship,
that's like saying, because the Bulls won six championship, Scottie
Pippen is the best player, but you say he can't
lead a team to the championship. And if they go
ahead and win the championship with that, bruisals rung dead
right or not? Did Scottie Pippen lead the Balls to
six championships? Michael Jordans. We know if they're gonna go

(55:11):
within a championship, it's not gonna be because if anybody
else Chris Middleton won them the series. What do you
want for me? He won every big He was the
best player down the stretch in every big game. Artie,
watch the games man, watch the game like like you know,
stop with the preconceived this. Watch the games. He's the
best player. He gets the ball in crunch time when

(55:33):
it matters. I've never been also fired up about anything. Yeah,
you want to jump. Time for a break. Let's keep
talking about store us about that. Aaron Underscore Tours. I've
been sticking genius won. When we get back, though, we
go out to Vegas, Todd Ferman will tell us the
latest lines in the NBA. We'll get that coming up
next right here on Fox Sports A Radio. All right,
good evening everyone. Aaron Torres in for Chris Plank of

(55:55):
Artie Spaniard Discovered matches all the cash back you're in
on your credit card at end of your first year.
You see, it's amazing because discovers excepted at ninety some
of the places in the US that take credit cards.
Learn more at discovered dot com. Slash Yes twenty one
Nielsen Report limitations apply. Let's get all right out to
our guests, Vegans Decider for Fox Sports one, Fox Bet Live,

(56:17):
Bet the Board podcast, our buddy Todd Ferman Todd, people
catching it on the Hawks one three to one for
this game. Not too bad if they took the Hawks
on the money line, right, Definitely not a bad pay
day if you had the foresight to believe that Doc
Rivers would do what he's done time and time again,
failed to get his team over the finish line in
a closeout situation. But you do begin to wonder in

(56:38):
the wake of that defeat what that means for the
future of Ben Simmons. I'm not so sure it'll be
all that bright in Philadelphia. Go ahead, Todd. I know
we bring you on for gambling, but everyone's got an
opinion on Ben Simmons day. We take off your gambling hat,
put on your sports fan hat. Where is Ben Simmons
playing next year? God, I'll just shut up, honestly, Aaron,
I think Ben Simmons has to spend whatever he's got

(57:00):
than that five year, hundred seventy million dollar plus contract,
and by the best sports psychologist psychiatrist, whatever it takes,
because I don't think it's physical at all with Simmons, uh.
I think it's all between the years, and he's got
to find a way to get back to being the
dominant force he was at l s U. Nobody's asking
him to be a better than at three point shooter
from beyond the arc. But at the same time, you
have to be able to get to the line, you

(57:21):
have to be able to make your free throws, because
he's an elite level defender. If I'm a team that's
looking to go through a rebuild mode, I'd be willing
to low ball the seventy sixers and see if I
could take him off his hands. Maybe a team like
the Chicago Bulls or something else along those lines that
can use an athletic wing to potentially build around him
and hope that he sorts out his offensive ailments. Todd
I brought this up earlier, and we forget that he's

(57:42):
a sixteen point eight rebound ATIS guy for his entire career.
I mean, if you want to talk about interested teams,
I think Golden State says that he doesn't have to
score fronts because you just give the ball to the stuff,
and Clay Bauston can say he doesn't have to score.
I'll just give it to Tatum and and Brown. I
think the Lakers would like him to give it to
Brought and Anthony Davis. There's got to be interest. There's

(58:03):
gotta be takers out there now. Well, I don't think
he fits the Lakers makeup. I think the Lakers need
guys that can space the floor and can knock down
open jump shots. So I don't think that's the possibility,
especially with the kind of salary cap tag that'll come
along with it. But I do think there are gonna
be plenty of teams out there that would be interested
if the price is right. I mean, we don't have
to go back all that far to see Marquel folts
In the struggles he had as a member of the

(58:24):
seventy sixers, and how much brighter his future has appeared
to be when healthy as a member of the Orlando Magic.
So this is a kind of scenario. If it was
fantasy basketball, you'd be looking to buy low. I think
somebody will be more than happy, and you hope Simmons
takes the next couple of months and sorts out everything
that's slowed him down, So Todd obviously, you know, anybody
who follows this stuff, right, Lakers, Nets, I assume we're

(58:45):
probably I would assume you's correct me if I'm wrong,
the most bet on coming into these playoffs in terms
of future's odds. Is there any liability at the books
at this point or or the books feeling pretty good
just based on these final four You know, most of
the books I've spoken to Aaron feel pretty confident in
the position they're in because of the reasons you mentioned.
The Nets and Lakers were in that prohibitive favorite territory

(59:07):
all season long. I don't think a lot of folks
were buying into what Phoenix was putting together. It was
always going to be a nice storyline, which you never
believe they'd had enough to cross the finish line. The Clippers,
they hadn't really been you know, first and foremost as
far as betters were concerned. I will say, though, there
may be a couple of books out there that have
a little bit of liability to the Atlanta Hawks. And
the reason I say that we saw some big seven

(59:29):
figure potential payouts that were there, and uh, when you
saw those numbers come across, it was widely respected, responded
to with ridicules. You want, why is someone lighting their
money on fire with Atlanta? Lo and behold, Nate McMillan
has gotten the most out of this team. And while
they're massive underdogs against the Bucks in the next round,
you wouldn't mind having a ticket on the Hawks at
the price of a hundred to one or greater, hoping

(59:49):
that they could catch a little more lightning in a bottle. No,
but there's still some value out there. I know the
Bucks are the favorite pretty muchieving money, but you can
get the Hawks and what like eleven or twelve to
one or something like that, Todd or what Yeah, and
you can find plainly better prices there in Atlanta. I mean,
the early indications are they'll be about a three and
a half to four to one underdog in the series
against the Bucks. And let's see how Milwaukee handles prosperity.

(01:00:10):
So much made of them finally getting over the hump,
but that was still only the Eastern Conference semifinals, And
when you're talking about push comes to shove. This in
my opinion, as a coaching mismatch, there's no doubt that
the talent edge goes to Milwaukee. But if Nate McMillan
can get his team scoring from the perimeter, hey, maybe
they just have enough firepower to make this interesting. I
don't know if I trust the tandem of John Collins

(01:00:30):
and Clint Capella in the middle, though, to try and
keep you honest under thirty five a game. I know
you might not have known from like the preseason, Todd,
but but say when it was pretty clear that the
Suns were gonna be pretty good, make the playoffs, all
that stuff, what was like a reasonable number if you
were in Vegas January, February, early March, that you could
have gotten the Suns for, especially relative to what it
is now, given the fact that the Lakers, we all

(01:00:52):
believe that they were going to flip a switch, they
were gonna get healthy. I mean, Sons prices were to one,
you could add upwards of forty to one before the
season started, and I think they were eight to one
or ten to one. They're about to win the Pacific Division.
So this is kind of a storyline that snuck up
on some folks because you thought Chris Paul could do
more with this team. But maybe they're ceiling with the
Western Conference semifinals. At best, a couple of injuries here,

(01:01:16):
a full house down there at Talking Stick Arena there,
and suddenly Phoenix looks like the dominant force to come
out of the Western Conference. And guys, and they went
from right around a minus two dollar favorite there about
minus two twenty to win the series against the Clippers
coming into Game one with the game one victory. Today
that number has ballooned out north of one to five,
and I think the Clippers only shot to win the

(01:01:37):
series could potentially be if they're able to get Kauai back,
knowing that Chris Paul is waiting in the wings to
return for the Sun Todd last game. By the way,
I bet that a goaltender would misplay the puck and
give up a sign goal with two minutes left. Oh
my goodness, how do you was? Look, they won the game,
but I don't think I would have had the guts
to make a goaltender change at that point. Though. Well,

(01:01:58):
what's interesting about it, ark Andre Fleury is going to
have a strong case to be the Vesana Trophy winner,
which is awarded to the best goaltender for the of course,
the regular season. Right now, though this night's playoff run,
it's all gonna be Robin Lenner. I would be stunned
to Flurry gets the position back in a pivotal Game
five at home. You'd see what the scenario could potentially
be in Game six if the Nights were imploded at

(01:02:20):
the Fortress for that game coming up on Tuesday night.
But Robin Leonard went out there and for a goalie
that had started one game in the last forty days
and that was getting shelled by the Colorado Avalanche and
game more, he really opened some eyes and I was
critical to move as well. I'm a big believer guys
in trusting the date you brought to the dance and
would have let Fleury go right back out there. But

(01:02:40):
the Boars had to read on this team. They rallied
from a one nothing deficit in the third and we're
able to salvage it now finding themselves a heavy favorite
to get to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second
time in five years. I'm gonna ask you this time
last week or the week before, but you know, anything
that you're super hot on in terms of NFL futures,
it could be a division, it could be a Super Bowl,
anything like that. As far as some of the futures.

(01:03:02):
The only team that I would gravitate towards now would
be Buffalo if you're able to find them at a
price of twelve to one or greater. I do worry
a little bit no matter where you fall on the
political side and the scientific side of what the vaccine
stuff and everything else could do to divide a locker room,
giving cold Beasley's comments and Josh Allen, but from a
true talent standpoint, I mean this team offensively is only

(01:03:22):
going to take another step forward under Brian dables leadership. Defensively,
I think they regress in a positive manner to the
group we saw two years ago. But I'm real reluctant
to take big time flyers now. The one team that
does offer a little bit of intrigue, but I don't
love their quarterback situation be the Minnesota Vikings. I think
that defense gets much better with Daniel Hunter back. You're
talking about a Packers team that still doesn't know who

(01:03:43):
they're starting quarterback is going to be. So that would
be one long shot in that forty or fifty to
one range that might plunk down a few bucks and
hope that things worked out with Kirk under center and Todd.
Last thing, are you getting any action on the College
World Series? My Wildcats? Law? That was a tough one
against Vanderbilt. You know, you can only hope Arney that
after yesterday's tobacco against Vanderbilt, they went back. They got

(01:04:04):
Fred McGriff and Tom Amanski. It just ran defensive drill.
Given all the free runs they gave up to Vanderbilt,
I mean, you're gonna score five runs and a guy
like Kumar Rocker, you have to come out of that
game with a victory. But of course Arizona had a
chance against Stanford. They're about a dollar thirty favorite. The
winner of that game, you know, would take on the
loser of the NC State Vanderbilt. And I still think
this Arizona team has a bright future. Obviously, you have

(01:04:27):
to have your backs against the wall and it's not
easy to come out of the loser's portion of the draw.
But if we've learned anything you saw Virginia play, it's
best baseball you can get to this point, and maybe
Arizona can replicate that, especially if they draw Vanderbilt off
a loss to NC State, knowing that Jack Layer would
be burned in Game two. Yeah, but that means we
have to go against Kumar Rocker again. Right, They're not
going to run Rocker back that quick. That's the one

(01:04:48):
thing about the quick turnaround. He'd be on a limited
pitch count, and we'll be talking about Rocker going from
Saturday to Wednesday. I don't think he would be nearly
as explosive, but hey, the scenario could present itself as such.
And uh, that's what you get when you can't advance
the leadoff double at any point in extra innings across
the dish, or you can't hold it to run lead
in a sixth inning or later. Todd Ferman Vegas inside

(01:05:09):
of ff S one Fox Bet Live, Bet the Board podcast.
You can reach him, add Todd Fermant. Todd always a
pleasure and enjoy the week, my friend. Thanks boys, you
guys do the same. Thank you, Todd Ferman. Check about
He's a must follow on Twitter. We got bess about
a fact. Speaking about Twitter, we got a lot of
tweets we have to get to. We'll get to that next.
But let's get another check in with the saga. See

(01:05:31):
what's trending out there? What's going on? To Segar? I
like to Todd gave a reference to the Marquelle Folks name.
On the night that Philly as a topsy blows Game
seven at home, Atlanta advances one oh three ninety six.
Marquelle Folks was drafted number one overall in twenty seventeen
the year before. Yes, Philly was that bad. The year
before they drafted number one overall, and that's when Ben

(01:05:52):
Simmons became a Philadelphia seventy six. He did have thirteen
assists tonight, but no shots in the fourth quarter. Again,
five of the seven games in the series, he literally
did not take a shot two shots in the fourth
quarter in the first game, and then won the rest
of the series. That's just astounding to me. NFL, NFL,

(01:06:14):
NBA Draft, By the way, the top three selections were
Ben Simmons, then Brandon Ingram, then the Celtics Jalen Brown,
and the next year there was a trade that Philly
made with Boston a few days before the draft to
get him in the number one position. So essentially, Philly
traded the Jason Tatum pick at three overall for the

(01:06:35):
right to take market Hill full. You know what's funny,
you remember that, guys, is that after the draft, Danny
Ainge was like, well, we would have taken Jason Tatum
at number one. Everyone's like, no, you would it have,
And as somebody who's a college basketball nuts, I'm like,
Jayson Tatum is the better player. I mean, hate to brag.
That was when me and Chris pous Sark became tight
because I told him. I was like, I was like
this Marquel folks, guys is bad news. And they shut

(01:06:58):
him down at the end of the year at Washington. Remember,
couldn't play. My whole thing was he'd never elevated anybody.
He got his stats at the end of the game
when they didn't matter to say, are you being a
U c l A guy. You may remember this, but
I remember there was a big Saturday game with Alonzo
head to head, top two picks potentially, and Alonzo destroyed
Ye so you remember Arnie and and then the next

(01:07:20):
day everyone's like nobody watched the game because it was
on PAC twelve network. Only Arnie did, apparently, but because
we're on the air, usually not. And I just remember, well,
they played to a stalemate and I'm like, if you
watch that game, it wasn't even close. So anyway, I
was never a Marquelle Folks guy, but Tatum is awesome,
so yeah, and Folks and a Lonzo Ball were the
picked one two and then Jason Tatum Celtics number three

(01:07:41):
overall the way, and then Donovan Mitchell fourteen whoops. Yeah, hey,
Darren Fox was in that draft to just for the
record with Sacramento, so there's another guy that was available.
So Philadelphia basketball fans have been asked to trust the process,
and Philly hoops has been largely awful the last twenty
years since Alan Iverson was mvy E and they won
the East in two thousand one, mostly bad seasons, especially

(01:08:04):
let's say five years ago when they earned the number
one pick with a record of ten and seventy two.
And now they added Ben Simmons two MBAD and finally
making the playoffs a few years in a row. And
what's it gotten them. They were top seed, they had
home court, they had four home games in the series,
and they lost three of the four at home. Last

(01:08:25):
year they lost in the first round of the playoffs
four games to none, a sweep. And so now it's
in the East Final of Atlanta at Milwaukee in Game
one on Wednesday night. We mentioned earlier in the show
the Hawks are the first team since to make a
conference final without a single All Star on the roster.
The Hawks themselves had retweeted that since, by the way,

(01:08:46):
I looked up the box score the All Star Game
this year, no Trey Young. Mike Connolly was an All
Star this year. And the only three guys from the
All Star team that are still left left you Kauai
if you put four, Yeah, well who's who's got a
ring that's still in the playoffs aside from Kauai? I mean,
and don't say, you know, one of his THEBAK has

(01:09:07):
not playing, so Rondo that's it. But there's just no
room in the guards for the All Star unless he
got the Mike Conley spot because of you know, it's
Chris Paul and Kyrie Irving and don switch of the rest.
So yeah, no Trey Young in the All Star Game
this year. So Atlanta advances one oh three ninety six.
And earlier today the West Final opened at Phoenix Sons

(01:09:27):
beating the Clippers one fourteen. Again the Yahoo story that
Chris Paul is symptom free since testing positive for COVID
last week, and according to sources, the Sons are hopeful
he will clear COVID protocols at some point early in
the Western Conference finals end quote. Devin Booker meanwhile, had
his first career triple double today, including forty points. NHL

(01:09:50):
Vegas tied the semifinals two games a piece, winning and
overtime at Montreal to one. John rom won the US
opened by one stroke over Louis Use Days and Kyle
Larson took the NASCAR race at Nashville. He's been the
winner for four straight Sundays now, including last Weekend's All
Star Race. Ross Chastain finished second. This was the first
Cup Series race at Nashville Super Swede Way. And finally

(01:10:12):
that Dodgers were up nine to at Arizona eighth inning
the final to save to Kendeley Jansen. Arizona's the last
seventeen in a row. Albert Pooles of l A did
hit a three run homer this month. He's batting two
eighty nine with three home runs. Dodgers head to San Diego.
Padres just swept a four game series from the Red
Speck to you all right, thanks to Sega. Remember discovered matches.

(01:10:32):
All the cash back you're in on your credit card
at the end of your first year, you see. It's
amazing was discovers, except that at ent the plays in
the US that take credit cards. Learn more at discovered
dot com. Slash as Nielson Report limitations apply Aaron Torres
and for Chris Plank, Barty Spaniard, you want to be
part of the show, Aaron underscore tours. I've been stick

(01:10:52):
of Genius one. Ralph Boy just loves you, says Aaron
Torres with the straight fire right now, stick of Jesus.
Better give then the keys to the are ha ha
Already he always wants you to drive. There's no doubt
about that, Torres. He he just loves you. Ralphie Boy,
Yes he has seen you behind the wheel. Um it's
not pretty and he believes listen. I mean, you know,

(01:11:12):
I am the face of Fox Sports Radio. So not
really I mean, but more so than you anyway. At
their coc Troel Football Guru and nature Boy on the
same page, already is right again Torres has lost to
take a break, Torres and Nature Boy said, y'all was
supposed to kick sand and Torres his face of the beats.
Regionally recently, he has major hate for the Here's the thing,
here's the thing. If you honest, were to kick sand

(01:11:35):
in my face, you know how much time I would
have to move out of the way before he actually
kicked it because he can't do anything, and under twenty
five seconds, so I would have been perfectly good. Nothing
would have happened. Uh, he would have missed the free throw.
He would have he would have somehow missed the sand
when he attempted to kick it. And listen, Chris Middleton
is the guy they go too late. I mean, you
can't listen. I'm not gonna do the whole rant again.

(01:11:56):
I thought it was a great rant. I'm not gonna lie.
But just go back and look at the box scores.
The games they won they ran. They ran their offense
through Chris Middleton late. It doesn't mean that Janice isn't
a very talented player. It just means that Chris Middleton
is the guy that gets them buckets when they need it. Yeah,
a couple of guys got on you on about that.
Nature boy said it must have hit a nerve with

(01:12:16):
Torres about Yannis. Did you hear his voice go up
for early dogs? Can hear it? He heard it because
he just tweeted in what sorry Texas says, please tell
your partner to quit yelling. It's not good listening. Plus
in the tracks from the star of the show, which
is Arnie. So that was just made up. I'm sorry,
I totally agree with that. The Mason Maller, I'm sorry, Arende,

(01:12:37):
but Torres is full of it. Janni's earned his m
v P based on his play, not because of some
NBA media conspiracy to push a new star. To quote
Rashid Wallace, ball don't lie. I can see an argument
for h Chris Paul. But Yoki had a great year
hashtag fact. You know, Yoki Yokich was fine. They made

(01:12:58):
the Western Conference. Fine knows last year. The word value
is in most value if it's about the coolest stats,
and let's just call it the cool Stats Award, because
they honest would have wanted the last two years, and
Yokich would have wanted this year. He was. Yokich was
not more valuable to Denver than Chris Paul was to Phoenix.
He just wasn't. But again, I guess, I I get,

(01:13:19):
I don't know what. But wait, but the Sons did
win without Chris Paul today, did they not? Yeah, it's
first of all, it's a regular season award, and second
of all, it's a season long award. The Sons didn't
make the playoffs last year. Chris Paul comes to the
number two seed. And oh, by the way, if if
none of it matters, then why did James Jones win
Executive of the Year. Look, you're right, I don't think

(01:13:40):
you should. What did he finish? Six? Is that where
it was? It was? It was either fifth or six.
It was behind the honest you can't tell me Janice
is more valuable than Chris Paul is. I'm sorry you can't.
They go one seed to the three. It's just terrible voting.
But continue. But but I go by the stats. Also,
you're not a stat sky. You don't get to you.
It doesn't make it. Some guy averages five or seven.

(01:14:01):
That's It's exactly what I just said. It's not the
cool stats award. The word value is in most valuable Player.
There is no one who was more valuable to their
team this year than Chris Paul was. Yeah, you take
it too literally, though. When literally, I mean it's called
the most valuable player, most valuable player because there's stops,
so the best that's called the leading scorer in the league,

(01:14:24):
or the leading rebounder, or the leading assist or all
three of the guy all if a guy let the
league and assists, deals, um, scoring, and rebounding, you have
to say he's the m v P because he leads
in every major category. Would you not? Or what? Wasn't
there a year that Bill Russell averaged like thirty and
twenty eight and he didn't want to? The point I'm

(01:14:45):
trying to make is it's a stupid award. I mean,
it's just if we're not going to use the word
value in the Most Valuable Player, then just call it
the Cool Stats Award, because I'm sorry, you can't tell
me that Yokich on a team that made the Western
Conference finals last year, and don't tell me, oh, Jamal
Murray got hurt. Jamal Murray got hurt in the middle
of April. Okay, the season was eight percent of the
way done. Yokich is a really good player. He just

(01:15:07):
shouldn't have been m v P this years Westbrook won't
when he averaged the triple double. Is that the Cool
Starts Award there? Or no? Because he took that team,
he was the most valuable player that year, because he
took a team that nobody thought was gonna be any
good without Kevin Durandy got him. I believe the four
seed that year. All right, you want to jump in
air a Underscore Tours. I'm in stinking Genius one. When

(01:15:28):
we get back, the Sager comes in a lot of
stuff we haven't had a chance to get to. That's
coming up next right here on Fox Sports A Radio, guys,
as Chilly is out of the NBA playoffs, that's another
Doc Rivers team that crashes and burns in the postseason.
Hardly blaming him completely for this, It's just there's a
common denominator in you know, some years of greatness. It

(01:15:51):
is two decades in the league, but some notable else
including the fact that I've read tonight that Doc Rivers
has lost a Game seven at home now five times,
by far the most in NBA history. Last year, remember
how the Clippers gagged the playoffs and they blew a
sixteen point league Game five, blew a nineteen point lead

(01:16:12):
Game six, and then in Game seven blew a twelve
point lead and they were out. And in this series
second round, his Philly team Game four up eighteen, gag
that Game five at home, the crash and burn up
twenty six and lost the game. And then tonight they
lose a Game seven at home where Trey Young's five
of twenty three from the floor. So if you include

(01:16:33):
all the game seven's doc Rivers has lost, it's nine total,
most in NBA history. That would include for example, remember
when they had a chance to beat Kobe Bryant in
the finals again in seven ten and they lost Game
six and seven on the road, lost two chances. In fact,
even lad for most of the night on the road
in Game seven, lead with eight minutes I think it

(01:16:55):
was with six and a half minutes to go in
the fourth and lost that game with Kobe Bryant laying
on one knee before surgery and still shooting. Did anybody
else do that at the press conference? I don't know
if that was brought up. It's I it's a trend.
And how about this stat for Ben Simmons, he has
set some NBA history lowest free throw percentage any postseason

(01:17:18):
by any one player ever. I will say there there
were some really incredible stats that came out of tonight,
like really to show just the ineptitude of everything that happened.
But yeah, like him, it was thirty from the door,
this from the line, this post. In other words, worse
than Will Chamberlain eight percent one year in the playoffs

(01:17:41):
and Shaquille O'Neal thirty seven percent one year in the
playoffs six. Ben Simmons thirty four. Unreal that this has happened.
So you and Atlanta Hawks team making the conference finals
win at the end of April, their record was thirty
four and thirty and they're in the conference final. In fact,
a midseason coaching change and you still make the conference

(01:18:05):
finals that year. That is pretty rare. Cleveland top said,
that's crazy. Yeah, I believe that, and deservedly so. You
know Atlanta's record at the end of the February with
when they fired the coach fourteen and twenty at that point,
you remember five years ago when Cleveland got to Ron
lou That was a mid season coaching change that did okay.
When pat Riley became Dayne Wade's coach at Miami two

(01:18:27):
thousand and six, same thing. You aren't he were to
remember that. How did pat Riley originally become a head
coach in the NBA's fall wed Yeah, was forced out
of out of the Lake by Magic. Yeah. So Riley
had had been an assistant. You remember a couple of
years before pat Riley wasn't even on the staff. He

(01:18:47):
was the color announcer with Chakurrent on the Laker broadcast.
There was a famous clip that Jim Heally used to
play all the time on his l A radio shows.
He was upset about rebounding Riley on the area said,
I seem more pushing in men's room. Anyway. Paul West
head Magic's rookie here. Remember he took over mid season
as a Laker coach because of an injury to the

(01:19:07):
regular guy, a bike accident. So what's that come from
l m U? Is that where he came? After? After
with l m U to that great team about I
will tell you Jeff Perlman's book on the Lakers. I
haven't read the one on the Kobe Lakers, but the
one on the Showtime Lakers was unbelievable. There are three
different TV Laker projects out as well various streaming anyway,

(01:19:29):
so the Atlanta Hawks are on the list. You make
a mid season coaching change and still makes the conference finals,
it's pretty pretty rare. So what do we have a
matchup with Atlanta at Milwaukee? Starting the East Finals on Wednesday.
Milwaukee is barely a top forty TV market, just for
the record, less than one million viewers. The Milwaukee TV
market is smaller than Columbus, Ohio, smaller than San Diego,

(01:19:54):
smaller than Utah, Salt Lake City, smaller than San Antonio.
In fact, Sports Media Watch does point out that Atlanta, though,
is a top ten market. Uh, it's not Philadelphia, but
it is a top ten market. And of course the
other matchup already started the West Final today with Phoenix
winning Game one over the Clippers. What I want to
know is this weekend, with the three big events, what

(01:20:14):
we'll add the highest ratings. We had a Game seven tonight,
Game seven last night, same channel, and final round of
the US Open. Yeah, I think Game seven tonight two
hours or in the books thanks to Sager Power our
coming up next. Stick around for that here Fox Sports Radio.
Whoa good evening, everybody. Aaron Torres in for Chris playing tonight.

(01:20:36):
I'm Marty Spaniard. It is the power hour of the
show on a busy Sunday. You want to get in
real simple, Aaron underscore Torres, I'm a stinking genius one.
You'll get our biggest coming up at past there by
the way towards just a little side note something that
that's fathered mean, nothing big or anything. But I saw
a buddy of mine, okay, put up a picture and saying, yes,

(01:20:59):
we're in the Eastern Conference finals, excuse me, the Western
Conference Finals. And he was wearing a jersey of Buffalo
Buffalo braves. Yeah, Buffalo Braves. San Diego Clippers, and then
they became the l A Clippers. No, no, no, no, no,
no a second no, you can't. You can't claim them

(01:21:23):
as your team when they've gone from when they're two
cities removed. You just can't do that. You know why
if you've been rooting for them, I mean, you're the guy.
What did you ask for for a Father's Day this year?
Aren't happy Father's Day? By the way, I asked for
a Arizona Wildcat dot com? You did not. You asked
for a b A T shirt? Yes, I did. So.

(01:21:45):
You're not allowed to wear St. Louis So you're allowed
to wear St. Louis Spirits T shirt. But this poor
schlub can't wear his Buffalo braves. But you could wear it.
But you can't. You can't say that that that you
know that you're in the Western Conference Finals. That's not
your team. The Buffalo Braves aren't in it. I mean
the San Diego If it was the San Diego Clippers,
I cut a little slack because there one city removed.

(01:22:08):
But you went from Buffalo to San Diego to Los Angeles. No, no, no,
you can't claim them as your team. And even though
Buffalo doesn't have an NBA team though, but that's exactly
and so why can't you claim him? Too far removed?
They'd gone too long? Really too how long has it been?
It's been a long time, right, so if you that's
like people in Minnesota going our Lakers are lakerg you

(01:22:28):
don't do that. But they also is someone from Brooklyn
not allowed to for the Dodgers? Um? I mean that
was like sixty years ago. Yeah, that was a long time.
I don't think anybody's still alive. There's a few you
remember the Dodgers, right Ebbott's Field? You and your daddy, Yes, yes, yes,
we used to look through the hole in the wood
for the outfield so we wouldn't have to pay there's

(01:22:50):
a little hole in the What did you enjoy more?
Ebbotts Field? Of the Polo grounds, or the or the
original Olympics back in ancient Greece, which was your favorite
of the original Olympics. I didn't have to dress up.
I just wore a toga mortifying me. Yes, so you
you're okay with that, saying that's your team even though
they've been gone for what thirty years or something like that. Right,

(01:23:14):
if he's been rooting for him the whole time, give
him this moment. He's never had it. Um, you know,
if he's been uh and it was a city that's
never won anything, let's be honest. No, no pills. I mean,
if he's one of those notre dame Yankees Lakers fans
that's trying to hop on the Clippers bandwagon because he
visited Buffalo in two, that's a little bit different. I

(01:23:34):
just loved that he was wearying. Of course, the shirt
was a little tight, by the way, the jersey was
a little tight out of him. But yeah, they the
Clippers have been long removed from by the way, Buffalo
had a really damn good team. To say, and I've
talked about this before. Um what Ernie d and um,
you know, uh, Bob McAdoo, they were they were a
hell of a team. Too bad they had to leave Buffalo.

(01:23:56):
That was certainly they got a lot of backing there,
all right, you want to get a lots to get
to on the Power Hour the show air another score
towards I would stinking genius one. Just kind of resetting
what happened today. Matter of fact, let's start with the
Clippers and the Suns, because we've had so much going
on with the other game. We'll get back into what
happened with the Hawks in Philadelphia. But the Suns win

(01:24:17):
at one game to nothing, They're gonna get Chris Paul
back at least I think for game number two. There's
nothing definitive, but I just feeling that he'll be back
for game two, there'll still be no Kauai. Suns up
one game to nothing, they weren't able to win even
with Paul George scoring thirty four, and I know Bookers
not gonna score forty all the time for them, But
the Suns are certainly deeper. They look a lot better.

(01:24:40):
They look fresher too. I think the Suns could end
up winning this one and about five and and just
putting the Clippers out of their misery and moving on
to the finals. It'll be interesting to see how I wanted.
It'll just be interesting to see, you know, do we
get clarification on Chris Paul When does he come back?
All that stuff? Um and then too, Like I do
understand why the Clippers they were very competitive today, but

(01:25:04):
but you know, you think about the fact that they
just clinched at home on Friday night, have to turn
around play the Sun's in Phoenix. Phoenix has had a
week off. It's it's super cliche and it's so such
bad analysis on my part, But it does feel like
Game two is going to define this series. Is it
gonna go six or seven or is it gonna be
over quick? Because if if if I know, the series

(01:25:26):
technically doesn't start until the road team wins a game,
but if if the Clippers fall down, oh to potentially
without Chris Paul playing either of those games, I think
it'd be tough for them to come back. You know,
I I when I was looking at this game, I
just said to myself, Paul, George isn't going to be
enough to carry the Clippers without Kauai. They don't really
have a chance. Now, Like you said, they did play

(01:25:47):
well and Paul George was fantastic with thirty four, but
he's not enough at least I don't think so to
carry you to victory, or at least carry you to
a seven game victory, especially when you're playing a team
like the Phoenix. Un he's not enough. He's going to
need help. I don't think they're gonna get help. He
just can't do it by himself. Well, I actually agree,

(01:26:07):
but I think part of it is, you know, he's
doing what he's supposed to do. He had thirty four
points tonight, efficient seven for fifteen from three, seven for
eight from the from the free throw line. The problem is,
I mean, when you bring Kauai and Paul George together,
you have two guys that are capable of doing that
on any given night. And so what ends up happening
is what we saw today. If Reggie Jackson doesn't have

(01:26:28):
the games that he had. Now he finished with twenty four,
very good game, but he wasn't great like he has been. Uh.
You know, obviously Terrence Man was not great today like
he has been. And so that's the problem is that
that Paul George can do what he does, but other
guys have to elevate and uh, and so because of it,
that's my biggest concern is do you have enough offense?

(01:26:51):
And by the way, again on a day where Chris
Paul wasn't on the court, he will come back. Obviously,
we don't believe that Kauai will come back. It's gonna
be tough for them to overcome this. By the way,
a great crowd out there in Phoenix, Arizona. They they
just look pumped up. It was good, so good to
see them going crazy. Let me let me jump in
and I'll ask you because you live there, you worked
in that market, your you met your wife at a

(01:27:11):
son's game or something like that. I forget the story
you were at the Guerrilla Man or whatever. You know.
I've never you hear these stories about Oh this fan base,
they don't even care. They're apathetic. They're this, they're that.
I mean, I'm old enough to remember the Son's making
the finals in ninety three in that place, being a zoo.
I remember it. Obviously was crazy during the Nash days.
I always thought of Phoenix as a great basketball fan base.

(01:27:35):
They just haven't really had much to cheer for lately.
Is Is that fair? Do you think having lived there
and worked there, well when I was there. I mean,
first of all, remember them the Son's actually made it
to the finals. But to remember a lot of people
lived from other places that you know, it's like going
to the Florida people from all over. They have allegiance
to their teams. They're from Chicago, Um, they're from New York.
So um. There's still sports fans and they kind of

(01:27:58):
slowly adapt to the Sons. I I think it's a
great sports market. I think it's you know, first of all,
when it's a hundred twenty degrees, you'll do anything just
to get on and and go into the air conditioning,
you know, and and plus it's certainly entertaining. They've had
some great stars. I I think I disagree with a
lot of people. I think it's a great sports market. Now.

(01:28:20):
They're really, um, you know, trending in the right direction.
Look what they got going. I think they're gonna go
and win the whole thing this year. Maybe I think
they're the favorite right now. I really do. And maybe
well in Vegas it's Milwaukee. But yeah, I was gonna say, uh,
I don't know if they're gonna win it. They are
the most to me impressive team now could could the

(01:28:41):
Bucks do something where maybe the Bucks their length, their
size gives them trouble. I think Phoenix is the best
team that I have seen right now, aren'te? I really do?
You know? I gotta tell you know, when you say
it's a good fan base, I think it was Kurt
Warner who told Arizona fans before the game against the Cowboys,
you better not sell your tickets to Cowboy fans, because

(01:29:02):
we don't need this place half full for cowboy fans. Um.
That's what it was like back then, when you know
you're dealing with the Cardinals and and football, but it
wasn't really like that with basketball. They really had a
good fan base and they gotta. I think they have
a good fan base with the Coyotes too, but obviously
here with the troubles and the money um that they
have up there. Also in the Diamondbacks, UM, certainly have

(01:29:24):
a damn good fan base down there also. The Phoenix Coyotes.
Don't they play in like a strip mall. I've been
by the Puepec Glendale. Yeah, it's like their arena is
in a strip mall, like I was at uh. I
was out there one time eating We're eating dinner at
like an outback steakhouse or something, and they're like, oh yeah,
the Phoenix Coyotes play right there, like really so fun fact.

(01:29:44):
Fun fact for people that have never been to Glendale,
Arizona before. All right, the Hawks get by Philadelphia, they
win that series four games of three. Of course, everybody
talking about Ben Simmons, do you First of all, I
want to start with Joe Ebad's comments, who said that
the turn point of the game was when they didn't
take a wide open shot. They were down by two
with three thirty left in the game. That was Ben Simmons,

(01:30:07):
we didn't take the wide open shot. Who came up
with some cock and mimi excuse to pass the ball.
They end up only getting one point out of that. Uh.
Joel and Bead said that was the turning board of
the of the game. I'm not so sure, but you're
still only down one with three and a half minutes
to go. I think he threw him under the bus.
I think that's a sign of things to comfort Simmons

(01:30:27):
that he won't be on this team next year. As
I told you earlier in the show, I do believe
that two things can be true. I do believe that. Um,
he kind of. I don't think he kind of. Did
he threw him under the bus? Yes, he did. On
the flip side, I don't think he's wrong. Three minutes
to go, you have a chance to tie the game.
You pass up a wide open not even a layup.
It was a dunk. He had a dunk and he

(01:30:48):
chose to pass it because he lacked the confidence. Um.
And so so I don't blame Joe l Embiid for
saying that. And I will say if you have just
said that, well, we turned it over. We had seven
d turnovers. That's the turning board of the game. Or
they were better than us and we lost all three
games at home. Do you do you have to get
to the last second? Did you lose a seven game

(01:31:09):
series because you passed up the ball with three thirty
left the game seven down by two? That that lost
just seven game series? Well, and that's and that's part
of it. And if you listen to the entire Joe
l Embiid clip, he does say like that. Would They
asked him what the turning point was and he referenced
the Ben Simmons play, and then from there he listened
off three or four other things, including something that he

(01:31:30):
did wrong, and so I think he caught himself in
real time. But to answer your question, no, you're right.
One play does not decide an entire an entire season.
But you lose three games at home and he starts
to try and figure out, okay, what went right, what
went wrong? And when Ben Simmons, I believe it was
three field goal attempts in the entire fourth quarter of

(01:31:51):
the entire series. So seven fourth quarters he had three
total field goal attempts. That's why it's hard not to
point fingers there. It's really it really is. Now, this
is where we argue, this is where we disagree. Um.
You know, I say, a guy who gives you a
wed sixteen points a game, eight rebounds, and eight assists
and that's his career numbers is some value. Now. I
understand twenty nine million that destroys the whole thing, but

(01:32:13):
there is some value here. And I think a team
could say, you know what, we're gonna trade for Ben Simmons.
We're not gonna give up anything in return, and we're
gonna turn this guy around. Unless you think he's not fixable. Um,
unless you think a psychiatrist can't help him unless you
think a shooting coach can't help him, unless you think
he's just done with I think there's certainly talent there.

(01:32:34):
He's a great defender, he sees the court well. I
think he just needs his confidence back. I want the
guy that gives me sixteen and eight and eight in
the regular season. I would trade firm because I don't
have to give up a whole heck of a lot.
That's that's like me asking you, and I brought this
up an hour number one, Aaron. If Apple stock drops
down to ten dollars a share, I think you want
to buy as much as you can because it should

(01:32:56):
go back up. Maybe not right away, maybe in three months,
six months, a year, that will shoot back up. Eventually.
You want to buy as much as you can. Ben Simmons,
now is it's all time low? Don't you want to
buy it? It's all time low? He will play in
the NBA next year, and I'm you know, I've kind
of come full circle. I don't think a contender can

(01:33:16):
trade for him because I don't. Yeah, because of the money,
and because you're you know, if you're the Hawks, if
you're the Son's, if you're the Lakers. If you're the
clip whoever, you need that guy, you need a twenty
nine million dollar year to play in crunch time? But
does he have some value to Orlando or Oklahoma City
or Houston? Maybe? And I also do do you think

(01:33:38):
let me ask you, is it just completely Is there
any way he's back in Philly next year? Because I
do think part of it is you do have to
find a trade partner. You do have to get some
kind of value for him. Is it at all possible
that he is back next year? Or do you just
see zero scenario where he's back next year? No? No,
the only way. Look, I think they definitely want to
get rid of him. I think if they took a vote.
Doc says I want to trade him, Joe Embiad says

(01:34:00):
I want to trade him. Daryl More he says I
want to trade him. Uh, seventy sixers fans say they
want to trade him. Though. The only thing is that's
easier said than done. Like you said, it comes with
a twenty nine million dollar a year price tag. How
many people are gonna be able to clear out room
for that? And what are you going to send in return?
The Sexers are not just gonna take garbage just to
unload the twenty nine million a year. They need to

(01:34:21):
get something back and something you know, viable. Otherwise it's
a waste of time and they might as well keep
him and add something else to the team to see
if they can make it work. You just don't want
to give up on the guy, and let's just think
it's just a waste of money. They'll never be any good,
you know, absolutely, and you're gonna have to give up something.
That's the other thing too, is not only do you
have to trade him, um, you're not gonna get back

(01:34:43):
anything of actual value. And on top of that, you're
probably gonna have to give up something of value to
get someone to take his contract. And so the more
that we talk it out, the more that I do
kind of think he's gonna be back. Is upset as
joelm is gonna be as upset as at Doc Rivers
for people who are just tuning. In postgame press conference,

(01:35:04):
they asked Doc Rivers can he be a point guard
on a championship team? And Doc Rivers duck the questions.
So maybe we're all, including Joe l Embiid, including Doc
Rivers being prisoners at the moment. But the more I
think about I, I I just don't know. You kind of
might be stuck with him. Can you get something for him? Yes,
but I don't know what makes Trey Young so tough.

(01:35:26):
I want to get into that. Also, awesome news on
Peyton Manning. I got a question for you that's coming
up next of course, Torres and from Plank. I'm Marty Spaniard.
This is Fox Sports our radio. Wow, the show just
flew on by today. Oh my goodness. Great co host.
I mean, you have a great co host. Every Sunday

(01:35:46):
you're just taking shots all over the place. No, Plank,
he's a real professionally. You know, you could learn a
thing or two from him. But you guys can learn
a figure two from me. Give us a little music,
put us in the mood. We gotta get to our predictions.
And believe me, we got a lot to get to.
So let's start with the NBA. We got the Conference finals.
Now Milwaukee and Atlanta. I gotta tell you, as much

(01:36:08):
as I am so impressed with what Atlanta has been
able to do, now, I just think they finally hit
the end of the wall here. Milwaukee is now have
their sight set. They got over the hump with that
Game seven victory. I think they're the better team in Atlanta.
I don't think Trey Young is gonna go off like
he's been going off. I think Milwaukee wins his four
games to two. I am actually with you on this.

(01:36:31):
You look at Trey Young tonight very if a struggled
excuse me, finished shooting from the field eighteen percent from three. Uh.
If you watch games six, he was great in the
first half, kind of fade in the second half. Milwaukee
just you know, styles make fights. Bad matchup for Atlanta.
That size, that athleticism, the defense that Milwaukee can play.

(01:36:52):
I think Milwaukee and six feels about right to me.
These Suns and the Clippers. Of course, the Sun is
already up one game to nothing. The Clippers will have
Kawhi Leonard. I believe Chris Paul probably gonna come back
for Game two. At least that's what I'm thinking. We'll
have to see what the reports are gonna be. The
Sons are the better team anyway, so if both teams
were full strength, maybe it goes seven. But it's not
gonna go seven. Now. I can see the Sun's winning

(01:37:15):
this one in five, maybe six, but for official predictions,
I'm gonna go with the Sons in five. Yeah, I'll
say this is I do think that when you look
at this Clippers, you can imagine tough, turnaround, emotional game
at Staples Center Friday night. You gotta play Sunday afternoon.
If the Clippers don't win Game two, it's over in five, Max,

(01:37:38):
I will say they win game to Ultimately, the Sons
in six win this series, and that means the NBA Finals.
I have the Sons and Milwaukee. I think it could
be a good one. Though the ratings are not gonna
be very good because of the markets. I still think
the Suns winning and it could go seven. It could
be four games to three. I think it's gonna be

(01:37:59):
a finals. But I'm gonna go with the Phoenix Suns
to win the NBA Championship. Wow, poor Sons, because I
actually agree with you on that. I just think they're
firepower offensively, their athleticism, how good they are in transition,
and um, you know they can score. And and the Bucks.
I mean, look the Bucks. Everyone knows how I feel
about your honest, but I thought they showed some heart

(01:38:22):
over the last couple of games. But if you look
at some of these games. I mean there were times
where they have really struggled to score in these playoffs,
and so because of it, I like the Sons. So
I'll say Sons in seven Phoenix Milwaukee. How about that
for an NBA Finals, Just like we all predicted, how
many people are gonna be bummed out because it's gonna
be those two cities. How about of the rating is

(01:38:43):
gonna because of those cities. I'll be curious because I
the playoffs have been really fun this year. But I mean,
it isn't the Lakers, it isn't Lebron, it isn't k D,
it isn't whatever. So I'll just be curious. I have
no real thoughts. I mean, you know, it's for the
big stat first first NBA Finals without Stephor Lebron since

(01:39:04):
two thousand ten. I'll be curious to see how they
end up. Uh College World Series. My Arizona Wildcats still
gonna come back to win, even though they lost that
tough first game in the Vanderbild. What a killer that was?
That hurt so bad. We had a chance to beat
Kumar Rocker and we just fell short. That one hurt
to our ads. I know, you're the college baseball expert,
but that one hurt. It was a tough game. We

(01:39:25):
were obviously on air when it happened. I will tell
you this, by the way you talk about college baseball.
You see Mississippi State tonight they said in College World
Series record twenty one strikeouts of Texas, the starting pitcher
will something fifteen strikeouts in six innings pitch. That's insane.
So I Mississippi State. I'll tell you Vandy was my

(01:39:46):
pre tournament pick, as as America's foremost college baseball fan.
I had Vandy over Texas, not feeling great about the
Texas portion of it. But Vandy's got those two stars,
including Al Lighter's son Jack Lighter, that I I think
Banny's the team to beat. Yeah, I've been enjoying it.
I've been watching the College World Series, so I've been
been enjoying it until my Arizona Wildcats laws seven six.

(01:40:07):
All right, so we gotta wrap everything up. Thanks to Bobo,
our technical director lead the Lap of course, our producer
Steve the Sager on all the updates out there. Thanks
to Torres for filling in for Plank. Plank should be
back next week, so I think we'll be back to normal. Um,
you and I on Saturday, Plank and I on Sunday.
Coming up next, Big Ben Mallard. I'm sure he's got

(01:40:32):
a lot to say about that big Clipper game. So
tune in the bend. That's next here Fox Sports Radio.

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06/20/2021 - FOX Sports Sunday with Arnie Spanier and Aaron Torres

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}06/20/2021 - FOX Sports Sunday with Arnie Spanier and Aaron Torres