June 13, 2024 • 39 mins
Jason, Mike and FOX Sports 1 NBA Analyst Ric Bucher recap Game 3 of the Finals. The guy's debate if Luka Doncic sixth foul was warranted. Plus, Ric pays tribute to a legend, Jerry West.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
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Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Greetings, Welcome in side hour three The Jason Smith Show
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Speaker 3 (00:48):
Jason question, what do you got for what you got?
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Alex Tis sure? What do you know?
Speaker 5 (00:51):
As somebody recently told me that I looked like a
young Nicholas Cage with my long hair from my conair,
what do you think?
Speaker 4 (00:56):
Yeah, okay, I'll give you a little bit of connent.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Jeane, you got to look like Aaron Rodgers to watch
your back?
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Uh no, no, coming know bj Novak would play Aaron
Rodgers obviously. I mean that's to come on, that's that's
already done. Oh okay, yeah, but no.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
But I can. I can give you a little bit
of Nicholas Cage con air.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Sure, I got that a few times. So I got
oh world in my hands. I got thet's watch out
for Dave shown you sing purple range.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
All right now it is the Boston Celtics have the
NBA World in their hands, just one game away from
the Larry O'Brien Trophy, big controversy with Luca Dantic fouling
out in the fourth quarter. Joining us now on the
hot Line, Nobody Better and Fox Sports One insider Extraordinay.
Check out us on the Ball podcast. He's on Twitter
at Rick Buker. It is Rick Buker. What's happening, Bud Max?
Speaker 6 (01:44):
Oh Man, you know what I'm gonna share with you, guys.
Go ahead, you go, I'm gonna share with you. So
I just I just finished writing a quick quick piece
for Fox sports dot Com on on the Game, and
I was sitting here waiting for you guys to call
after I got done, and it suddenly struck me, what
(02:05):
the lead of my story should have been, and so
I'm going to share it with you here.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Okay, let's go.
Speaker 6 (02:12):
Luca dot bought the law and the law won.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Let's go.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Well.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
For years they did have the logo which was the
you know the ten.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Star, right, so I beat Rick. Look it breaks down
for me, It breaks down like this. Luca was very
emotional in the fourth quarter. He committed fouls during the
game that were rediculed one ninety feet from the basket
in the third quarter where he just seemed to lose
his mind for a second. I look at how this
game comes down to it. He misses two times in
(02:44):
a row with Jason Tatum on him under four minutes
left to go, when he could have either tied the
game or made it a ninety three to ninety two game,
and he decided to make a hero play and he
met gave the referees no choice but to blow that
whistle for a foul. Jalen Brown makes a great decision
to go into Luca and draw the contact, not try
to get by him or sidestep, and no, no, I'm
(03:04):
going to try to get this call and value out
of the game. And the officials had no choice. That
to me, this is all on Luca.
Speaker 6 (03:11):
Yeah, I can't disagree with with with any of that.
The only the only distinction I would make is that
I don't think it was just the fourth quarter that
he played emotionally. I thought he played emotionally the better
part of the game. There was a couple of instances
actually in the first quarter when they built a lead,
and then he came down and took two consecutive long threes,
(03:34):
which is something that they'd kind of gotten away from,
and and it led to the Celtics coming back the
other way, and by the end of the first quarter
it was a one point It was a point one
point game, and I just felt like there was the
Celtics had done such a great job of frustrating uh
(03:56):
Luca that it's It's one of the first times where
I've seen him taken out of his game to this
extent where he never he never got back into it
to settle it. I've seen times where he's gotten riled
up and he's gotten into it with the referees, but
he's always found a way to settle himself down and
get the job done. And tonight, instead of getting the
(04:18):
job done, he got himself fouled out four fouls in
the fourth quarter to the last two within twenty six
seconds apart, and then leaving it to Kyrie Irving. And
and look, the Celtics were ready to get tipped over.
I mean, they brought back all of the Goblins from
(04:41):
twenty twenty two, and it was a matter of Dallas
just didn't have enough and Boston with Drew Holliday and
Derek White like they the Boston just had enough from
enough different places. I mean, honestly, if Drew Holidays there,
I don't know the Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum closed
(05:03):
this close this deal. I thought Holiday defensively helped them.
Derek White made a couple of key plays. It was
it really was a collective in collective effort. Like to
me that the biggest question, the only maybe the biggest
question remaining is who's the finals MVP for Boston. I
(05:24):
think they've answered every other question, but that last one
that might be difficult to answer when we get when
we get to the end of this thing, because if
Boston ends up closing it out because they've gotten such
solid performances from so many different guys.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
You know, that's funny because when we talked about finals MVP.
I picked Drew Holliday because I thought the way the
series would go was he would lock up Kyrie Irving.
That would be a big through storyline. He had the
big game in Game two, and I'm thinking, boy, if
I bet my daughter's college fund on this, I'm going
to be a millionaire. But now I kind of look
after Game three, Okay, this week, you know, kay, he
(06:00):
still had a big game. The guy who's been the
most consistent throughout the first three games really has been
Jalen Brown. I know he doesn't have real signature moments.
He had the big twenty footer with a minute left
to go. But when it all comes down to it, Okay,
Tatum didn't really shoot well in a couple of games,
but he had a big game tonight. Brown's been the
most consistent guy. So I can see right now him
being the front runner.
Speaker 6 (06:21):
I'm not going to argue with whoever you picked. I
think it really is. It really is a toss up.
I know how the voting goes, and it generally goes.
They'll look at the they'll look at the stats, they'll
look at the overall staffs, and I think the overall
stats will probably lean in Tatum's directions. But but Brown, Look,
(06:44):
he had a couple of huge baskets tonight down the stretch,
the pull up jumper, a putback he's had. He's had
his moments as well. So and look, Kyrie did score well,
but final two minutes he got one shot off and
(07:05):
that was a desperation three pointer. He was basically scoreless
in the final two minutes, and that was through Holiday's handiwork.
So I wouldn't I wouldn't count him out of the
running at this point. I think all three of those guys, again,
depending on how and when this closes out, I think
all of them still have they still have a shot
(07:27):
at it.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Yeah, PJ. Washington can hit a wide open three pointer
after a Kyrie dish, we'd at least be able to
say he got a third assist in the game. Rick,
But back to Luca for a second. You know, this
one was kind of oddly officiated. I mean, we talk
about physicality, and as it ramps up, it seemed after
a while he was just theory testing of what it
(07:48):
was going to take to get a file call. He
wasn't playing basketball anymore, looking to facilitate it. Was the
all right, how can I sell a call here?
Speaker 6 (07:57):
Well, I missed a couple of show because he was
more focused on creating contact than he was actually fit play.
And then there was a couple, I mean a number
of times throughout the game where he was falling out
of bounds looking for a call, not getting it and
(08:18):
staying on the ground throwing his arms up and Boston's
going back the other way on a five and four
And I'm sorry, but these are the NBA Finals, Like,
you may not be happy with the officiating, but there's
a game to be played and you're down two. Oh.
It's simply you know, sometimes forget how young Luca is
(08:40):
because there's so much maturity in his game. I thought
he looked very young into night's game. It was it was.
While he's played in plenty of big games, and he's
done plenty of big things, this is his first time
in the NBA Finals looking to win a championship, and
(09:01):
there have been plenty of times where he has looked
like it is his first time trying to win an
NBA championship.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
You know, Rick, I think that's I think you hit
the nail on the head with Luca and I'm not
to go in the other direction on it, but even
if Luca is playing at a little bit higher level,
they're completely outmanned by the Celtics, who just keep hitting shots,
and they hit shots from deep and everybody hits threes
and when they need a basket, White will get it
(09:28):
or Holiday.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Will clamp down on Kyrie.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
It's just the Celtics are out talenting the Mavericks. And
for everybody thinks that's not a strategy, the Celtics get
ripped all the time. Oh they don't even practice, and
what kind of sister are they running? They just got
no But having enough talent and out talenting another team
is a thing, and that's what I think the Celtics
are doing right now.
Speaker 6 (09:48):
Well, but I agree, but it also requires utilizing all
of that talent, and I think that that's what has
made this Boston team particularly unique. And if they end
up winning it, I would say it's the first time
that I can think of a championship team where you
couldn't pinpoint definitively who their leader. And they're all I
(10:13):
mean probably say by default, Jayson Tatum is their best
all around player, but he's not necessarily their go to guy.
And what has made them special and has really put
them above and beyond Dallas is the fact that, look,
this is what Boston has done defensively. They have said,
we're not going to double team Kyrie, We're not going
(10:35):
to double team Luca. We'll let them try to go
get and that's been like, that's just been red meat
in front of those guys. Oh, I get to go
one on one, I'm going to go get mine, And
as a result, it has not involved the other guys
as much. And that's when Dallas is at their best.
And conversely, while Dallas is not double teamed balls, Boston
(11:01):
has continued to move players and the ball so that
they continue to keep everybody involved. And and there's there's
a way to do that, Like you don't have to
draw a double team in order to get somebody open
if everybody's moving and you're looking to find the guy
who has a crease, who can get buckets for multiple players.
(11:24):
And that's what Boston is doing, and that's what Dallas
has not done. Tyree and Luca are like, I got
one on one and they're not going to come double teamy.
I'm going to go try to get mine and It's
just not the most effective way for Dallas to play,
particularly against the Boston team that is involving everybody.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Finally, Rick, as we look at the day, we celebrate everything,
Game three of the Finals, but in the background, the
passing of Jerry West today, the moment of silence and
the myriad storylines and history of this league really brought
to bear. You know, as people remembered his life and career.
What stands out, you know, for you most as you
(12:05):
think about the trails he blazed here in the NBA.
Speaker 6 (12:11):
Probably just how iconic he was in so many ways
as a player and as an executive and as just
an ambassador of the game. And yet how none of
that affected who he was. He was still a guy
from West Virginia. I mean, you know, he worked in
Hollywood for the better part of his career, and dashing,
(12:36):
good looking guy, you know, always wearing a suit and
looking sharp, and yet he clung to those West Virginia
roots and the work ethic that allowed him to get
out of West Virginia and become the basketball icon, the
(12:58):
logo that he became, and I just you know, he
was just he was so personable. I mean, you know,
Jerry West had had the aura of one of those
of an icon. He was one of those guys you
walked in the room and it was like, oh, there's
Jerry West. But if you talk to him, if you
knew him, as soon as you started talking, it was
(13:19):
just like, it's Jerry. He was just he was a
guy and no matter who you were. I mean at times,
you know the stories that I've heard from you know,
various people like scouts and lower level people in the league,
and he would come up to them and he'd ask them,
(13:41):
you know, who do you like? What do you see?
Like he was, it didn't matter who you were, he
was going to pick your brain to find out, you know,
what what you were thinking and what you were seeing.
And for a guy that accomplished as much as he
did and knew as much as he did and had
done as much as he did, that he remained, you know,
so open and teachable and not carry and not having
(14:04):
airs whatsoever. That's that's that's a big part of it.
And then the other part, and you know, this is
a story. The scout told me he was sitting with
Mitch cuff Check and he knew Jerry, and Mitchell told him, Hey,
don't leave without saying hello to Jerry. He'll be really mad.
(14:25):
And so the game starts and the scout says the
Mitch he goes, he goes, Where's where's Jerry? And in
the in the arena, in the Lakers Arena, they probably
have about one hundred and eighty sweets. They've really milked
that aspect. And one hundred and seventy nine of them
(14:47):
were lit up, and one of them was completely dark.
And Mitch said, look up at the sweet and the
scout found the one that was dark, and he goes,
that's where Jerry. He is? Me, Yeah, he's sitting in
the dark and through the game because watching games just
(15:09):
tortured him. And mitchgos, I'm not even gonna go up
there with him because I can't stand it, Like I
can't stand around him during a game. Sometimes he wouldn't
even be in the arena. He'd get in his car
and drive around because just he just he lived and
breathed the game even if he wasn't playing. And so
that that competitor in him, you know, that that that
(15:32):
dichotomy of a guy that just was so steeped in
the game and cared so much about every second of it,
that it be played the right way and at the
same time could be so personable to everybody. It's what
made what made him unique and so truly unforgettable for
me and I just I think Bill Walton and Jerry West,
(15:56):
those those are two guys that were ambassadors for the game,
not because of what they did, but because of but
because of who they were and how they treated the
people around him. They that's I mean being ambassador as
you think of this kind of legal standing, and they
were the just meet you at your level, how you're doing.
(16:20):
They made you love the end. They made you love
the game because of how they loved the game.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Speak it.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
He's Rick Buker.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
He's on Twitter at Rick Buker, Fox Sports one NBA insider.
Rick has always appreciated, appreciate the stories, all the insight.
Have a great one. We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
I'm good, Thanks Rick. All right, there goes Rick Buker.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
That's great, I mean, awesome, awesome stuff from him, remembering
Jerry West and look hitting the nail on the head
with Luka Donsich as well, because yeah, clearly looked emotional.
We told you he was emotional. In the fourth quarter,
emotional fouls, made an emotional decision, and boom. Now the
Mavericks are one game away from get eliminated. We'll have
more on this and something big that needs to be
(17:00):
said about Jerry West that you probably haven't thought of today.
That's coming up next right here, Jason and Mike. You're
listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
Hey, we're Cavino and Rich Fox Sports Radio every day
five to seven pm Eastern.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
But here's the thing. We never have enough time to
get to everything we want to get to.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
And that's why we have a brand new podcast called
over Promised. You see, we're having so much fun in
our two hour show. We never get to everything, honestly,
because this guy will be over promising things we never
have time for. Yeah, you blubber listen Jam and me.
Well you know what it's called over promise. You should
be good at it because you've been over promising women
for years. Well, it's a Cavino and Rich after show,
(17:49):
and we want you to be a part of it.
We're gonna be talking sports, of course, but we're also
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It's gonna be the best after show podcast of all time.
(18:11):
There you go, over Promising. Remember you could see on YouTube,
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Speaker 1 (18:23):
Sports Radio, The Jason Smith Show with my best friend
Mike Harmon live from the ti rack dot com studios,
where the Celtics beat the Mavericks one oh six ninety
nine of three games to none. They go for the
closer on Friday night. We'll have more on this game
coming up in a few minutes, but obviously today a
(18:44):
very difficult day in the NBA early the death of
Jerry West, one of the great personalities, one of the
top five people all time in the NBA when you
talk about what they were able to accomplish both on
the floor and after playing days as an executive and
someone who always treated everybody incredibly well. And you know
(19:06):
you heard stories from Rick Buker that are just you know,
amazing about him. All the stories you've heard about mister
Clutch is true. I really in the history of the game,
you know the Mount Rushmore of four guys, I mean,
Jerry West is on that Mount Rushmore. He's that guy.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Well, that's just it. Do you bridge it over sixty
years in multiple capacities. Never mind the logo part of
things for a minute, but just look at the playing career,
look at the accolades, look at the history as a
player and then as an executive and being the architect
of those teams and recognizing talent. We talked about it
(19:45):
a little bit earlier. Podcasts will go up when we're
done here. Wherever you get your audio the iHeartRadio app,
carry us with you and then evangelize and send it
to family and friends. But talking about you know, recognizing
Kobe Bryant as a high school player, oftentimes pull players aside.
I mean, how many times did you hear great reference. Well,
I got my audience with you know Jerry West right
(20:07):
like a couple of minutes where he pulled went to
the side of the scrums or whatever. And he was
the the com the voice. And have heard him interviewed
probably three dozen times in the last few years where
it's just like little insights and little quips about players
he played against, or evaluating the game and talent now,
(20:27):
trying to put things in proper perspective, you know, not
too hot, not too cold, just with the eye for
the game as it is, versus what we do on
radio where you've got to have tonight is the biggest game,
the biggest moment of this guy's right, versus all right,
what have you seen? What do you really think? And
for Jerry West, he was always you know that voice
(20:48):
and certainly you know, one of the icons.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
He'll be missed no matter how old you are. He
had an imprint on the NBA. You watch whether it
was if you're over fifty, in your sixties, and you
watch Jerry West play as a player, whether you are
in your thirties and forties, and you remember boy Jerry
West building build showtime with the Lakers in the eighties,
whether you are in your twenties and thirties and you
(21:13):
remember him drafting Kobe Bryant, you remember him building the
Lakers back up, remember him with the Clippers from just
a few years ago and building Lob City and then
getting rid of Lob City being over in Golden Stands.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Yeah right.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I mean, every single bit of the NBA the last
sixty years has had his impront no matter how old
you are, he has done stuff that has affected the game.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
And the one thing that I want.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
To focus on with his legacy, because this is something
that hasn't been said a lot today and you've heard
a lot of great stories about him, and just think
about this being part of Jerry West legacy for a second,
is that you've heard so many things today about him,
no matter how familiar you are with his career or not,
Mister clutch, he's the logo.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
What he did as an executive.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
As we just laid out, building showtime, drafting Kobe Bryant,
building the Lakers, build the Clippers. You heard all of that,
and you also heard, hey, only player to ever be
named NBA Finals MVP from a losing team, Like it's
a big deal. He lost, he was still the MVP.
Jerry West record in the NBA finals was one and eight. Okay,
(22:23):
one and eight. What's he doing building teams? One once?
He lost to his arch rival six times. Lakers lost
to the Celtics six times. He was one and two
against the Knicks. He won one NBA finals in nineteen
seventy two. He was one and eight. And you know
what was great about today is when they talked about
(22:44):
about him, Nobody talked about it was, Hey, he won
an NBA championship, he went to he went to nine finals,
He was the MVP of the finals that they lost,
and he was great in the post he look at
his numbers. He averaged thirty seven points. Again, he was
great the postseason row and nobody talked today about oh
Jerry West.
Speaker 4 (23:04):
Look at that.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
What kind of record it was? That was only brought
up as a isn't this an odd thing? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Yeah, I believe this.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Yeah, but I mean the the to win the MVP,
but just the record, Yeah, I mean, look, Andre Dawson
remember a nineteen eighty seven It was on that Cubs
team that was terrible, but he had forty nine home runs.
He's still on the MVP. Yeah, Ernie Banks. Wow, it
happened to the Cubs a lot, and they were terrible,
but they had so we've had a couple of those.
But to your point of the the one and eight,
(23:33):
it was never a point of derision. No, And the
thing about his legacy is that's the way we should
talk about it.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
That part of Jerry West. I think one of the
big underlying message of today is that we're too hard
on the modern NBA superstar. We're too hard on guys
like Lebron and Kevin Durant and players who get to
finals and don't always win, right, Because think about now,
if Harry West was playing now and he was one
(24:02):
and eight in the NBA finals, he would be a punchline.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Well, but think about if he played for.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
The Lakers and they lost to the Celtics six times,
they lost every they got to the finals, they lost,
and then they played the Knicks three times and they
lost to the Knicks twice, Well, he would be it
would be Jerry West isn't gonna win. He's a punchline.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
But there's a bunch of bunch of amster that I mean. Obviously,
the coverage local news, what you got to see what
you didn't get to see. But now they'd break up
that team after the second time winning.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
We do it.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
We can't beat the Celtics, but look, I get it
was a different time and there weren't as many teams,
and but just think about how we would react to
a player now if he doesn't win in the finals, right,
we give Lebron all kinds of flat because he doesn't.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
He hasn't won every NBA final.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Dude's been to nine finals, man, and he come on,
that's a lot, dude, that's a lot, and you should
and yet he's penalized because he hasn't won every one. Now,
go back a bit, because I get that Jordan changed
how we perceive success, right, just like Tiger Woods change
how he perceived success in golf. When before Tiger came around,
if a golfer won two events in a year, not
(25:09):
two majors, two events in a year, point, what a
great year he had, man? He won the Hartford Open
here and he won the he won the Tour Championship.
That's a great year.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
About why the legend of Jack and Arnie ran for
as long as it did because they did some of
that against each other right.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
But Tiger would win every other week and it was
already that was the new way to measure success in golf.
And Jordan going three for three two years are already
comes back and he loses, but he only came back
for a little bit and then three more in a row.
It's a six for six in the finals, right, and
he gets all kinds of hey, six for six in
the NBA finals. Meanwhile Lebron James, who's been to three.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
More, oh, you didn't win.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
So so basically what people are, what the way people
are when they evaluate Lebron James is that getting to
the finals and losing is the same as Michael Jordan
not getting to the finals.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
And I'm sorry that's wrong.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Getting to the finals is a really big deal, right,
But because.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
I using Lebron James, because he's the guy that no
matter what he does, it's not gonna be enough. Can
you imagine what if Lebron had been to nine finals
only one one? Imagine Lebron with the Cavaliers loss of
the Wars and six against the Warriors, and then you
know then he was oh and six against the and
then one and two against the Lakers. Youscribe the quotes
that are there already, I don't know how.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Much worse it could get.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
No one would say he's a legend.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
They would say, boy, he's a really good player, not
good enough, not gonna that. That's how that's what we
would do to a guy like this today. It's what
we do to some players, like, oh, you should win more,
you should more?
Speaker 3 (26:34):
What we do now?
Speaker 1 (26:35):
I mean, looking after last season when the Celtics didn't
run back and claim victory in the finals, it was
should they break these guys up?
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Should Joe Missoula be the coach? Which is I mean,
he's an interesting guy, Like if we had another twenty
minutes with Rick Buker, that was gonna be the next
line of questioning of like, who the hell is this guy?
Because some of his responses to Q and A's are fascinating.
I don't think anybody has any idea who they really
just the point being that, you know, year to year
(27:03):
game the game because of how we cover the league
with a twenty four hour news cycle, not to mention
your X and Instagram and TikTok and everything else, like
it's got to be the hottest take now. So if
a guy goes on a three game you know, shooting
drought and he's struggling all of a sudden. Is he
done right? Is he lost his magic? You get into
(27:25):
the playoffs, Oh, you can't win with these two guys together.
They'll never get along. That's Celtics. They're one win away
from a title. And you know, you think about Jerry
West and that time and say nothing of when we
get into the how the game has changed, plus nutrition
and the way guys take care of their bodies. It's
a three hundred and sixty five day job per year
(27:47):
versus whatever guys had to do in the offseason back like,
it's all these changes. But to your point, yeah, absolutely did.
We didviscerate thee the history every once in a while
with Jerry West in the last couple of years, when
we'd have the Lebron run back to the finals, those
comparisons would come up because we're looking at how many
(28:07):
guys have been to the finals nine times, like everybody
on the Celtics from all those years ago, and then
Jerry West, some of the guys are lay and then
there's Lebron James. So the comparisons would come up, but
it would be pushed aside, because we had to talk
about how great or terrible Lebron James was.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Yeah, look but that and that's part of what it
would be to be a superstar. Like you PLoP Jerry
West down into that situation now, and it would be
that kind of conversation. It would be, boy, he's so good,
but he can't get them a championship, but oh they
won one even and if they won one, it would
be oh, yeah, but he lost eight other times.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
Like that's what it would be.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
And we're too we're sometimes we're too hard on these
guys for getting far and it's oh, it's not far enough.
And I don't mean suddenly we have to change and say, well,
three conference finals is worth one ya, you're talking participation.
Getting to the NBA finals is a really big deal,
you know, getting there. It's like, I almost hope Lebron
(29:03):
is well, hopefully at some point, maybe change the conversation, Hey,
getting to nine or ten or whatever it's gonna be.
But that but that's not how.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
But the reason it's not going to change is because
the people that put up Lebron as their goat will
be sitting in our chairs twenty years from now. Maybe
twenty five, So not.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Mike Harmon and I want to talk about while the
White Socks still.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Came, well, they lost and they got walked off again
tonight from the Crypt exactly.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
The White Sox have won four games in the last
thirteen years and they still play one hundred and sixty two.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
I'm gonna stab you in the neck with my pen.
But just the idea of a it goes air to era,
right like most folks, most rational people put Jordan as
the goat. Eventually, you know you're gonna have some more
advanced metrics and the folks that grew up with Lebron
are gonna make Lebron that guy. We already ha have
(30:00):
a few that find every every stat they can possibly pull.
And again, comparing eras is always dumb, but for the
purpose radio we do.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
You have a player now that's one for a, one
for nine in the finals. It's it's not, it's not.
This is one of the greatest players we've ever This
is a guy on the Mount Rushmore of the NBA.
This is oh man, they're just gonna lose regular season player.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
But when we get to money time.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
And especially losing to the two biggest rivals, you had
because as you lost it with the Knicks and the Celvin.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
That's the thing.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
There's also a reverence, you know, for for Jerry West himself,
and we commemorate, uh, the life and career going up
against that Celtic squad. I mean, how many guys that
and and women that wrote for any publication in Boston
had a book published about those teams from the sixties.
I mean they're everywhere.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
It's like the eighty five Bear the cottage industry, because
every guy that played even two minutes on that squad
had a book to tell you about their experiences with
all of those legends. So I think part of it
with Jerry West is there's a reverence and a respect
for that Celtics team that he kept running into Nicks.
(31:12):
I guess to a point, but certainly that Celtics finals history. Y.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
I hope that we sometimes we're too hard on the
guys when they get that far and still find a
way to say, oh no, you still stink.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
So are you came within one misshot of winning the finals?
Speaker 4 (31:27):
You stink?
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Like I hope Jerry West legacy continues to show that Okay,
you know what, hey, achievements or team.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Yeah, So when we talk about Luca next hour, you're
gonna be a little kinder to him, right.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
This is what he's a horrible human being. Jerry West
ever foul out of an NBA Finals games. He was
too emotional and blow the game. I don't know that
he did. He was wanting you can look back. I
could look back. I'm sure that's a game where I'm
sure that's a game where Bill Russell had thirty eight
points and thirty five.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Rebell You know.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Carmon live from the
Tirack dot Com Studios coming up next. Something even the
biggest critic of the Celtics has to admit at this
point in the NBA Finals. It's groundbreaking. It's something nobody
wants to admit. But the walk back on this is
gonna be insanely fun. That's coming up next, Jason to
(32:17):
Mike Fox.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Put up a candle for the Mavericks. Wave your cell phones.
Not over.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Tiger, you sound like him too.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
You're gonna give your kid the Bunny Fox Sports Radio
The Jason Smith Show with my best friend Mike Harmon.
And with the Celtics now up three games none in
the NBA Finals, just a matter of time before they
win the title? Will it be game four? Will it
(33:08):
be Game five? The walk back that people are gonna
have to do about the Celtics is going to be insane.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
It's gonna look like a like a.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Concert from the eighties and all the moon walking we're
gonna have to do, because look, it's time to give
the Celtics credit.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
They already apologize to you can.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
All you heard about the Celtics. All you heard from
so many talking heads and so many pundits. Hey, the Celtics.
They don't really have a system. The Celtics. They look
like they don't even practice. They're you know, was the
big an Aalom you were quoting the lad about you.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
You don't have a system, do you?
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Uh? They're the kid that that what is it?
Speaker 1 (33:52):
The kid that doesn't study all semester then crams the
night before the finals and acesm right.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
My brother had a photographic memory that like that.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
I know to hate people, am I had a roommate
in college.
Speaker 4 (34:02):
You did that.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
I was like, you did Jack squat the entire semester,
but you go to the library for the entire day
before your final and you wind up getting in.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
It was a legend. I was so jealous.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
But look, as we have said out, talenting another team
is a system. It's a thing. The Celtics have a mass,
a ton of talent. They don't need to take everybody
and put them in a great system, because what system
is Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown and Borzingis and Giralide
what are they gonna do well in? No, they need
to be on a team where they can each be
(34:37):
the best version of themselves. They can be This is
not hey so and so as this. We need a
shooter that can do this when you're playing. No, we
put the most talented guys we can on the floor
and we win games. That's what you want. If you're
a team, you want to have the most talent on
the floor. Now, it doesn't mean they're always gonna play
the same system. You have to be able to have
a team that's okay, Well you have a clear cut
(34:58):
number one, then we have a one. Here's a system
we run and we have a shooter we have a rebounder,
we have the that's not the case. The Celtics have
more talent top to bottom in their rotation than anybody
else in the NBA. And yeah, that's its own system,
that's its own way of winning and being able to
harness it and win like the Celtics have.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
That's a big deal.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
And for them to get to get you know, just
just diminished the way they've been.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
It's like, okay, so.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
Two out of last three years, you're talking about an
NBA Finals and the best record in the NBA this
year and winning the East by fifty games and beating
everybody in the NBA Finals and maybe sweeping the Mavericks
to win the title. Yeah, it's time to give the
Celtics their flowers and say, you know what, they're a
great team, because great teams find a way to win.
They're just not winning the way we like it. We
(35:49):
want there to be a reason why they're Wait, okay,
I understand. Because they can hit the threes. From here,
they can do this, they can do that. They can
do anything they want to. Their bigs can hit threes.
They can hit threes all over the floor. They can
get the ball to the hoop. They can play great defense,
they can do anything that they need to do to
win a game. But because it's done in such a
way where, oh it looks a little haphazard, it's kind
of a controlled chaos. We wonder, what's anything going on there. Well,
(36:11):
I'm sorry, but that's its own system. And the Celtics
are a great team and all they've done is prove
it to us over the last three years.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Well we've watched it since you know, Brad Stevens an
age before him, right in the front office and being
a good puppet master and pulling the strings and building
these rosters Missoula the last couple of years. When you
look at the coaching acumen defensively, because it always comes
back to buy in right. You know how many coaches
(36:40):
in NBA history get dismissed look at the players. Well,
they got to get along, right. It's one thing to
get everybody on the roster and they go all right,
there you go. You know, players still have to go
and find their spots. So that's what the Celtics have done. Offensively.
Sometimes it's Browns nights, Sometimes Tatum takes over. Sometimes you
need a lot for poor zingis holiday and you know
(37:03):
white right, you might need someone else to step up
and make a bunch of shots. But what they do need,
and this has to be consistent, is that they defend right.
And that's part of the system as well, is getting
guys to buy into a defensive system where there's not
a lot of standing around. How many times did you
watch Dallas tonight and I plot him for the effort.
(37:24):
But it almost like when guys are overacting. See, we've
been playing a lot of nick Cage, so let's go
there when you're overacting like Luca to show you how
hard he's working. He's flopping all over the place on
the defensive end, not just taking contact and flying off,
but also just look out hard I ran to this
spot to cut down this angle or whatever else. With
(37:45):
the Celtics, they all play into that space of all right,
we've got when Perzingis was there, and oftentimes he hasn't been,
you got a guy in the middle, so you can
be even more aggressive. You know, out at the perimeter
tonight he's not in, but you still saw it. Not
a lot of clean looks, certainly, not a lot of
passing lanes. Only fifteen assists tonight for the Dallas Mavericks again,
(38:09):
when you've got two guys that nearly average ten a game.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Exit out about a Fresco exit swollen dol. The thing
about the Celtics, it's not so much that, hey, they're
two big stars, are better than the two big stars
of a lot of other teams. Look, Tatum's great, Jalen
Brown is great. But the Celtics play when you go
three through seven, those three through seven are better than
any other teams three through seven, anybody else. You'd say anything,
anybody you're talking about. There's Drew Holliday, and there's White,
(38:36):
and there's Porzingis when he's health. It's they're better than
anybody else. Three greatness that is Al Horford Man. Al
Horford is sixty five years old and he's still still
knocked down shots for amazing, amazing but again moving.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
The ball, finding an open man and knocking down shots
again the massive three point barage tonight.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Coming up next, Mike and I will ask an attempt
to answer the biggest West you remaining for the NBA
Finals
Thanks for listening to The Jason Smith Show with Mike
Harmon podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
ten pm to two am Eastern seven to eleven pm
Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local station for
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Harmon at Foxsports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every night on the
iHeartRadio app by searching FSR. Please give this.
Speaker 2 (00:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Greetings, Welcome in side hour three The Jason Smith Show
with my best friend Mike Harmon. We're locked at the
Tirack dot Com studios tirect dot com. I'll helpe you
get there at unmatched selection, fast free shipping, free road
hazard protection, and over ten thousand recommended installers tirack dot
com The way tire buying should be.
Speaker 3 (00:48):
Jason question, what do you got for what you got?
Speaker 4 (00:50):
Alex Tis sure? What do you know?
Speaker 5 (00:51):
As somebody recently told me that I looked like a
young Nicholas Cage with my long hair from my conair,
what do you think?
Speaker 4 (00:56):
Yeah, okay, I'll give you a little bit of connent.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
Jeane, you got to look like Aaron Rodgers to watch
your back?
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Uh no, no, coming know bj Novak would play Aaron
Rodgers obviously. I mean that's to come on, that's that's
already done. Oh okay, yeah, but no.
Speaker 4 (01:07):
But I can. I can give you a little bit
of Nicholas Cage con air.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Sure, I got that a few times. So I got
oh world in my hands. I got thet's watch out
for Dave shown you sing purple range.
Speaker 1 (01:19):
All right now it is the Boston Celtics have the
NBA World in their hands, just one game away from
the Larry O'Brien Trophy, big controversy with Luca Dantic fouling
out in the fourth quarter. Joining us now on the
hot Line, Nobody Better and Fox Sports One insider Extraordinay.
Check out us on the Ball podcast. He's on Twitter
at Rick Buker. It is Rick Buker. What's happening, Bud Max?
Speaker 6 (01:44):
Oh Man, you know what I'm gonna share with you, guys.
Go ahead, you go, I'm gonna share with you. So
I just I just finished writing a quick quick piece
for Fox sports dot Com on on the Game, and
I was sitting here waiting for you guys to call
after I got done, and it suddenly struck me, what
(02:05):
the lead of my story should have been, and so
I'm going to share it with you here.
Speaker 3 (02:10):
Okay, let's go.
Speaker 6 (02:12):
Luca dot bought the law and the law won.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Let's go.
Speaker 4 (02:20):
Well.
Speaker 3 (02:20):
For years they did have the logo which was the
you know the ten.
Speaker 1 (02:23):
Star, right, so I beat Rick. Look it breaks down
for me, It breaks down like this. Luca was very
emotional in the fourth quarter. He committed fouls during the
game that were rediculed one ninety feet from the basket
in the third quarter where he just seemed to lose
his mind for a second. I look at how this
game comes down to it. He misses two times in
(02:44):
a row with Jason Tatum on him under four minutes
left to go, when he could have either tied the
game or made it a ninety three to ninety two game,
and he decided to make a hero play and he
met gave the referees no choice but to blow that
whistle for a foul. Jalen Brown makes a great decision
to go into Luca and draw the contact, not try
to get by him or sidestep, and no, no, I'm
(03:04):
going to try to get this call and value out
of the game. And the officials had no choice. That
to me, this is all on Luca.
Speaker 6 (03:11):
Yeah, I can't disagree with with with any of that.
The only the only distinction I would make is that
I don't think it was just the fourth quarter that
he played emotionally. I thought he played emotionally the better
part of the game. There was a couple of instances
actually in the first quarter when they built a lead,
and then he came down and took two consecutive long threes,
(03:34):
which is something that they'd kind of gotten away from,
and and it led to the Celtics coming back the
other way, and by the end of the first quarter
it was a one point It was a point one
point game, and I just felt like there was the
Celtics had done such a great job of frustrating uh
(03:56):
Luca that it's It's one of the first times where
I've seen him taken out of his game to this
extent where he never he never got back into it
to settle it. I've seen times where he's gotten riled
up and he's gotten into it with the referees, but
he's always found a way to settle himself down and
get the job done. And tonight, instead of getting the
(04:18):
job done, he got himself fouled out four fouls in
the fourth quarter to the last two within twenty six
seconds apart, and then leaving it to Kyrie Irving. And
and look, the Celtics were ready to get tipped over.
I mean, they brought back all of the Goblins from
(04:41):
twenty twenty two, and it was a matter of Dallas
just didn't have enough and Boston with Drew Holliday and
Derek White like they the Boston just had enough from
enough different places. I mean, honestly, if Drew Holidays there,
I don't know the Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum closed
(05:03):
this close this deal. I thought Holiday defensively helped them.
Derek White made a couple of key plays. It was
it really was a collective in collective effort. Like to
me that the biggest question, the only maybe the biggest
question remaining is who's the finals MVP for Boston. I
(05:24):
think they've answered every other question, but that last one
that might be difficult to answer when we get when
we get to the end of this thing, because if
Boston ends up closing it out because they've gotten such
solid performances from so many different guys.
Speaker 1 (05:39):
You know, that's funny because when we talked about finals MVP.
I picked Drew Holliday because I thought the way the
series would go was he would lock up Kyrie Irving.
That would be a big through storyline. He had the
big game in Game two, and I'm thinking, boy, if
I bet my daughter's college fund on this, I'm going
to be a millionaire. But now I kind of look
after Game three, Okay, this week, you know, kay, he
(06:00):
still had a big game. The guy who's been the
most consistent throughout the first three games really has been
Jalen Brown. I know he doesn't have real signature moments.
He had the big twenty footer with a minute left
to go. But when it all comes down to it, Okay,
Tatum didn't really shoot well in a couple of games,
but he had a big game tonight. Brown's been the
most consistent guy. So I can see right now him
being the front runner.
Speaker 6 (06:21):
I'm not going to argue with whoever you picked. I
think it really is. It really is a toss up.
I know how the voting goes, and it generally goes.
They'll look at the they'll look at the stats, they'll
look at the overall staffs, and I think the overall
stats will probably lean in Tatum's directions. But but Brown, Look,
(06:44):
he had a couple of huge baskets tonight down the stretch,
the pull up jumper, a putback he's had. He's had
his moments as well. So and look, Kyrie did score well,
but final two minutes he got one shot off and
(07:05):
that was a desperation three pointer. He was basically scoreless
in the final two minutes, and that was through Holiday's handiwork.
So I wouldn't I wouldn't count him out of the
running at this point. I think all three of those guys, again,
depending on how and when this closes out, I think
all of them still have they still have a shot
(07:27):
at it.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Yeah, PJ. Washington can hit a wide open three pointer
after a Kyrie dish, we'd at least be able to
say he got a third assist in the game. Rick,
But back to Luca for a second. You know, this
one was kind of oddly officiated. I mean, we talk
about physicality, and as it ramps up, it seemed after
a while he was just theory testing of what it
(07:48):
was going to take to get a file call. He
wasn't playing basketball anymore, looking to facilitate it. Was the
all right, how can I sell a call here?
Speaker 6 (07:57):
Well, I missed a couple of show because he was
more focused on creating contact than he was actually fit play.
And then there was a couple, I mean a number
of times throughout the game where he was falling out
of bounds looking for a call, not getting it and
(08:18):
staying on the ground throwing his arms up and Boston's
going back the other way on a five and four
And I'm sorry, but these are the NBA Finals, Like,
you may not be happy with the officiating, but there's
a game to be played and you're down two. Oh.
It's simply you know, sometimes forget how young Luca is
(08:40):
because there's so much maturity in his game. I thought
he looked very young into night's game. It was it was.
While he's played in plenty of big games, and he's
done plenty of big things, this is his first time
in the NBA Finals looking to win a championship, and
(09:01):
there have been plenty of times where he has looked
like it is his first time trying to win an
NBA championship.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
You know, Rick, I think that's I think you hit
the nail on the head with Luca and I'm not
to go in the other direction on it, but even
if Luca is playing at a little bit higher level,
they're completely outmanned by the Celtics, who just keep hitting shots,
and they hit shots from deep and everybody hits threes
and when they need a basket, White will get it
(09:28):
or Holiday.
Speaker 4 (09:29):
Will clamp down on Kyrie.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
It's just the Celtics are out talenting the Mavericks. And
for everybody thinks that's not a strategy, the Celtics get
ripped all the time. Oh they don't even practice, and
what kind of sister are they running? They just got
no But having enough talent and out talenting another team
is a thing, and that's what I think the Celtics
are doing right now.
Speaker 6 (09:48):
Well, but I agree, but it also requires utilizing all
of that talent, and I think that that's what has
made this Boston team particularly unique. And if they end
up winning it, I would say it's the first time
that I can think of a championship team where you
couldn't pinpoint definitively who their leader. And they're all I
(10:13):
mean probably say by default, Jayson Tatum is their best
all around player, but he's not necessarily their go to guy.
And what has made them special and has really put
them above and beyond Dallas is the fact that, look,
this is what Boston has done defensively. They have said,
we're not going to double team Kyrie, We're not going
(10:35):
to double team Luca. We'll let them try to go
get and that's been like, that's just been red meat
in front of those guys. Oh, I get to go
one on one, I'm going to go get mine, And
as a result, it has not involved the other guys
as much. And that's when Dallas is at their best.
And conversely, while Dallas is not double teamed balls, Boston
(11:01):
has continued to move players and the ball so that
they continue to keep everybody involved. And and there's there's
a way to do that, Like you don't have to
draw a double team in order to get somebody open
if everybody's moving and you're looking to find the guy
who has a crease, who can get buckets for multiple players.
(11:24):
And that's what Boston is doing, and that's what Dallas
has not done. Tyree and Luca are like, I got
one on one and they're not going to come double teamy.
I'm going to go try to get mine and It's
just not the most effective way for Dallas to play,
particularly against the Boston team that is involving everybody.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Finally, Rick, as we look at the day, we celebrate everything,
Game three of the Finals, but in the background, the
passing of Jerry West today, the moment of silence and
the myriad storylines and history of this league really brought
to bear. You know, as people remembered his life and career.
What stands out, you know, for you most as you
(12:05):
think about the trails he blazed here in the NBA.
Speaker 6 (12:11):
Probably just how iconic he was in so many ways
as a player and as an executive and as just
an ambassador of the game. And yet how none of
that affected who he was. He was still a guy
from West Virginia. I mean, you know, he worked in
Hollywood for the better part of his career, and dashing,
(12:36):
good looking guy, you know, always wearing a suit and
looking sharp, and yet he clung to those West Virginia
roots and the work ethic that allowed him to get
out of West Virginia and become the basketball icon, the
(12:58):
logo that he became, and I just you know, he
was just he was so personable. I mean, you know,
Jerry West had had the aura of one of those
of an icon. He was one of those guys you
walked in the room and it was like, oh, there's
Jerry West. But if you talk to him, if you
knew him, as soon as you started talking, it was
(13:19):
just like, it's Jerry. He was just he was a
guy and no matter who you were. I mean at times,
you know the stories that I've heard from you know,
various people like scouts and lower level people in the league,
and he would come up to them and he'd ask them,
(13:41):
you know, who do you like? What do you see?
Like he was, it didn't matter who you were, he
was going to pick your brain to find out, you know,
what what you were thinking and what you were seeing.
And for a guy that accomplished as much as he
did and knew as much as he did and had
done as much as he did, that he remained, you know,
so open and teachable and not carry and not having
(14:04):
airs whatsoever. That's that's that's a big part of it.
And then the other part, and you know, this is
a story. The scout told me he was sitting with
Mitch cuff Check and he knew Jerry, and Mitchell told him, Hey,
don't leave without saying hello to Jerry. He'll be really mad.
(14:25):
And so the game starts and the scout says the
Mitch he goes, he goes, Where's where's Jerry? And in
the in the arena, in the Lakers Arena, they probably
have about one hundred and eighty sweets. They've really milked
that aspect. And one hundred and seventy nine of them
(14:47):
were lit up, and one of them was completely dark.
And Mitch said, look up at the sweet and the
scout found the one that was dark, and he goes,
that's where Jerry. He is? Me, Yeah, he's sitting in
the dark and through the game because watching games just
(15:09):
tortured him. And mitchgos, I'm not even gonna go up
there with him because I can't stand it, Like I
can't stand around him during a game. Sometimes he wouldn't
even be in the arena. He'd get in his car
and drive around because just he just he lived and
breathed the game even if he wasn't playing. And so
that that competitor in him, you know, that that that
(15:32):
dichotomy of a guy that just was so steeped in
the game and cared so much about every second of it,
that it be played the right way and at the
same time could be so personable to everybody. It's what
made what made him unique and so truly unforgettable for
me and I just I think Bill Walton and Jerry West,
(15:56):
those those are two guys that were ambassadors for the game,
not because of what they did, but because of but
because of who they were and how they treated the
people around him. They that's I mean being ambassador as
you think of this kind of legal standing, and they
were the just meet you at your level, how you're doing.
(16:20):
They made you love the end. They made you love
the game because of how they loved the game.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
Speak it.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
He's Rick Buker.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
He's on Twitter at Rick Buker, Fox Sports one NBA insider.
Rick has always appreciated, appreciate the stories, all the insight.
Have a great one. We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
I'm good, Thanks Rick. All right, there goes Rick Buker.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
That's great, I mean, awesome, awesome stuff from him, remembering
Jerry West and look hitting the nail on the head
with Luka Donsich as well, because yeah, clearly looked emotional.
We told you he was emotional. In the fourth quarter,
emotional fouls, made an emotional decision, and boom. Now the
Mavericks are one game away from get eliminated. We'll have
more on this and something big that needs to be
(17:00):
said about Jerry West that you probably haven't thought of today.
That's coming up next right here, Jason and Mike. You're
listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 2 (17:08):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern seven
pm Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
Hey, we're Cavino and Rich Fox Sports Radio every day
five to seven pm Eastern.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
But here's the thing. We never have enough time to
get to everything we want to get to.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
And that's why we have a brand new podcast called
over Promised. You see, we're having so much fun in
our two hour show. We never get to everything, honestly,
because this guy will be over promising things we never
have time for. Yeah, you blubber listen Jam and me.
Well you know what it's called over promise. You should
be good at it because you've been over promising women
for years. Well, it's a Cavino and Rich after show,
(17:49):
and we want you to be a part of it.
We're gonna be talking sports, of course, but we're also
going to talk life and relationships. And if Rich and
I are arguing about something or we didn't have enough time,
it will continue on our after show Over Promised. Well,
if you don't get enough Covino and Rich, make sure
you check out over Promise and also Uncensored by the way,
so maybe we'll go at it even a little harder.
It's gonna be the best after show podcast of all time.
(18:11):
There you go, over Promising. Remember you could see on YouTube,
but definitely join us. Listen to Over Promised with Cavino
and Rich on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts, Fox.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Sports Radio, The Jason Smith Show with my best friend
Mike Harmon live from the ti rack dot com studios,
where the Celtics beat the Mavericks one oh six ninety
nine of three games to none. They go for the
closer on Friday night. We'll have more on this game
coming up in a few minutes, but obviously today a
(18:44):
very difficult day in the NBA early the death of
Jerry West, one of the great personalities, one of the
top five people all time in the NBA when you
talk about what they were able to accomplish both on
the floor and after playing days as an executive and
someone who always treated everybody incredibly well. And you know
(19:06):
you heard stories from Rick Buker that are just you know,
amazing about him. All the stories you've heard about mister
Clutch is true. I really in the history of the game,
you know the Mount Rushmore of four guys, I mean,
Jerry West is on that Mount Rushmore. He's that guy.
Speaker 3 (19:22):
Well, that's just it. Do you bridge it over sixty
years in multiple capacities. Never mind the logo part of
things for a minute, but just look at the playing career,
look at the accolades, look at the history as a
player and then as an executive and being the architect
of those teams and recognizing talent. We talked about it
(19:45):
a little bit earlier. Podcasts will go up when we're
done here. Wherever you get your audio the iHeartRadio app,
carry us with you and then evangelize and send it
to family and friends. But talking about you know, recognizing
Kobe Bryant as a high school player, oftentimes pull players aside.
I mean, how many times did you hear great reference. Well,
I got my audience with you know Jerry West right
(20:07):
like a couple of minutes where he pulled went to
the side of the scrums or whatever. And he was
the the com the voice. And have heard him interviewed
probably three dozen times in the last few years where
it's just like little insights and little quips about players
he played against, or evaluating the game and talent now,
(20:27):
trying to put things in proper perspective, you know, not
too hot, not too cold, just with the eye for
the game as it is, versus what we do on
radio where you've got to have tonight is the biggest game,
the biggest moment of this guy's right, versus all right,
what have you seen? What do you really think? And
for Jerry West, he was always you know that voice
(20:48):
and certainly you know, one of the icons.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
He'll be missed no matter how old you are. He
had an imprint on the NBA. You watch whether it
was if you're over fifty, in your sixties, and you
watch Jerry West play as a player, whether you are
in your thirties and forties, and you remember boy Jerry
West building build showtime with the Lakers in the eighties,
whether you are in your twenties and thirties and you
(21:13):
remember him drafting Kobe Bryant, you remember him building the
Lakers back up, remember him with the Clippers from just
a few years ago and building Lob City and then
getting rid of Lob City being over in Golden Stands.
Speaker 3 (21:25):
Yeah right.
Speaker 1 (21:25):
I mean, every single bit of the NBA the last
sixty years has had his impront no matter how old
you are, he has done stuff that has affected the game.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
And the one thing that I want.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
To focus on with his legacy, because this is something
that hasn't been said a lot today and you've heard
a lot of great stories about him, and just think
about this being part of Jerry West legacy for a second,
is that you've heard so many things today about him,
no matter how familiar you are with his career or not,
Mister clutch, he's the logo.
Speaker 4 (21:58):
What he did as an executive.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
As we just laid out, building showtime, drafting Kobe Bryant,
building the Lakers, build the Clippers. You heard all of that,
and you also heard, hey, only player to ever be
named NBA Finals MVP from a losing team, Like it's
a big deal. He lost, he was still the MVP.
Jerry West record in the NBA finals was one and eight. Okay,
(22:23):
one and eight. What's he doing building teams? One once?
He lost to his arch rival six times. Lakers lost
to the Celtics six times. He was one and two
against the Knicks. He won one NBA finals in nineteen
seventy two. He was one and eight. And you know
what was great about today is when they talked about
(22:44):
about him, Nobody talked about it was, Hey, he won
an NBA championship, he went to he went to nine finals,
He was the MVP of the finals that they lost,
and he was great in the post he look at
his numbers. He averaged thirty seven points. Again, he was
great the postseason row and nobody talked today about oh
Jerry West.
Speaker 4 (23:04):
Look at that.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
What kind of record it was? That was only brought
up as a isn't this an odd thing? Yeah?
Speaker 4 (23:09):
Yeah, I believe this.
Speaker 3 (23:11):
Yeah, but I mean the the to win the MVP,
but just the record, Yeah, I mean, look, Andre Dawson
remember a nineteen eighty seven It was on that Cubs
team that was terrible, but he had forty nine home runs.
He's still on the MVP. Yeah, Ernie Banks. Wow, it
happened to the Cubs a lot, and they were terrible,
but they had so we've had a couple of those.
But to your point of the the one and eight,
(23:33):
it was never a point of derision. No, And the
thing about his legacy is that's the way we should
talk about it.
Speaker 1 (23:41):
That part of Jerry West. I think one of the
big underlying message of today is that we're too hard
on the modern NBA superstar. We're too hard on guys
like Lebron and Kevin Durant and players who get to
finals and don't always win, right, Because think about now,
if Harry West was playing now and he was one
(24:02):
and eight in the NBA finals, he would be a punchline.
Speaker 3 (24:06):
Well, but think about if he played for.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
The Lakers and they lost to the Celtics six times,
they lost every they got to the finals, they lost,
and then they played the Knicks three times and they
lost to the Knicks twice, Well, he would be it
would be Jerry West isn't gonna win. He's a punchline.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
But there's a bunch of bunch of amster that I mean. Obviously,
the coverage local news, what you got to see what
you didn't get to see. But now they'd break up
that team after the second time winning.
Speaker 4 (24:32):
We do it.
Speaker 1 (24:34):
We can't beat the Celtics, but look, I get it
was a different time and there weren't as many teams,
and but just think about how we would react to
a player now if he doesn't win in the finals, right,
we give Lebron all kinds of flat because he doesn't.
Speaker 4 (24:46):
He hasn't won every NBA final.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
Dude's been to nine finals, man, and he come on,
that's a lot, dude, that's a lot, and you should
and yet he's penalized because he hasn't won every one. Now,
go back a bit, because I get that Jordan changed
how we perceive success, right, just like Tiger Woods change
how he perceived success in golf. When before Tiger came around,
if a golfer won two events in a year, not
(25:09):
two majors, two events in a year, point, what a
great year he had, man? He won the Hartford Open
here and he won the he won the Tour Championship.
That's a great year.
Speaker 3 (25:17):
About why the legend of Jack and Arnie ran for
as long as it did because they did some of
that against each other right.
Speaker 1 (25:24):
But Tiger would win every other week and it was
already that was the new way to measure success in golf.
And Jordan going three for three two years are already
comes back and he loses, but he only came back
for a little bit and then three more in a row.
It's a six for six in the finals, right, and
he gets all kinds of hey, six for six in
the NBA finals. Meanwhile Lebron James, who's been to three.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
More, oh, you didn't win.
Speaker 1 (25:46):
So so basically what people are, what the way people
are when they evaluate Lebron James is that getting to
the finals and losing is the same as Michael Jordan
not getting to the finals.
Speaker 4 (25:57):
And I'm sorry that's wrong.
Speaker 3 (25:57):
Getting to the finals is a really big deal, right,
But because.
Speaker 1 (26:01):
I using Lebron James, because he's the guy that no
matter what he does, it's not gonna be enough. Can
you imagine what if Lebron had been to nine finals
only one one? Imagine Lebron with the Cavaliers loss of
the Wars and six against the Warriors, and then you
know then he was oh and six against the and
then one and two against the Lakers. Youscribe the quotes
that are there already, I don't know how.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Much worse it could get.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
No one would say he's a legend.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
They would say, boy, he's a really good player, not
good enough, not gonna that. That's how that's what we
would do to a guy like this today. It's what
we do to some players, like, oh, you should win more,
you should more?
Speaker 3 (26:34):
What we do now?
Speaker 1 (26:35):
I mean, looking after last season when the Celtics didn't
run back and claim victory in the finals, it was
should they break these guys up?
Speaker 3 (26:43):
Should Joe Missoula be the coach? Which is I mean,
he's an interesting guy, Like if we had another twenty
minutes with Rick Buker, that was gonna be the next
line of questioning of like, who the hell is this guy?
Because some of his responses to Q and A's are fascinating.
I don't think anybody has any idea who they really
just the point being that, you know, year to year
(27:03):
game the game because of how we cover the league
with a twenty four hour news cycle, not to mention
your X and Instagram and TikTok and everything else, like
it's got to be the hottest take now. So if
a guy goes on a three game you know, shooting
drought and he's struggling all of a sudden. Is he
done right? Is he lost his magic? You get into
(27:25):
the playoffs, Oh, you can't win with these two guys together.
They'll never get along. That's Celtics. They're one win away
from a title. And you know, you think about Jerry
West and that time and say nothing of when we
get into the how the game has changed, plus nutrition
and the way guys take care of their bodies. It's
a three hundred and sixty five day job per year
(27:47):
versus whatever guys had to do in the offseason back like,
it's all these changes. But to your point, yeah, absolutely did.
We didviscerate thee the history every once in a while
with Jerry West in the last couple of years, when
we'd have the Lebron run back to the finals, those
comparisons would come up because we're looking at how many
(28:07):
guys have been to the finals nine times, like everybody
on the Celtics from all those years ago, and then
Jerry West, some of the guys are lay and then
there's Lebron James. So the comparisons would come up, but
it would be pushed aside, because we had to talk
about how great or terrible Lebron James was.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Yeah, look but that and that's part of what it
would be to be a superstar. Like you PLoP Jerry
West down into that situation now, and it would be
that kind of conversation. It would be, boy, he's so good,
but he can't get them a championship, but oh they
won one even and if they won one, it would
be oh, yeah, but he lost eight other times.
Speaker 4 (28:42):
Like that's what it would be.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
And we're too we're sometimes we're too hard on these
guys for getting far and it's oh, it's not far enough.
And I don't mean suddenly we have to change and say, well,
three conference finals is worth one ya, you're talking participation.
Getting to the NBA finals is a really big deal,
you know, getting there. It's like, I almost hope Lebron
(29:03):
is well, hopefully at some point, maybe change the conversation, Hey,
getting to nine or ten or whatever it's gonna be.
But that but that's not how.
Speaker 3 (29:11):
But the reason it's not going to change is because
the people that put up Lebron as their goat will
be sitting in our chairs twenty years from now. Maybe
twenty five, So not.
Speaker 1 (29:25):
Mike Harmon and I want to talk about while the
White Socks still.
Speaker 3 (29:28):
Came, well, they lost and they got walked off again
tonight from the Crypt exactly.
Speaker 1 (29:34):
The White Sox have won four games in the last
thirteen years and they still play one hundred and sixty two.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
I'm gonna stab you in the neck with my pen.
But just the idea of a it goes air to era,
right like most folks, most rational people put Jordan as
the goat. Eventually, you know you're gonna have some more
advanced metrics and the folks that grew up with Lebron
are gonna make Lebron that guy. We already ha have
(30:00):
a few that find every every stat they can possibly pull.
And again, comparing eras is always dumb, but for the
purpose radio we do.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
You have a player now that's one for a, one
for nine in the finals. It's it's not, it's not.
This is one of the greatest players we've ever This
is a guy on the Mount Rushmore of the NBA.
This is oh man, they're just gonna lose regular season player.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
But when we get to money time.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
And especially losing to the two biggest rivals, you had
because as you lost it with the Knicks and the Celvin.
Speaker 3 (30:30):
That's the thing.
Speaker 1 (30:31):
There's also a reverence, you know, for for Jerry West himself,
and we commemorate, uh, the life and career going up
against that Celtic squad. I mean, how many guys that
and and women that wrote for any publication in Boston
had a book published about those teams from the sixties.
I mean they're everywhere.
Speaker 3 (30:51):
It's like the eighty five Bear the cottage industry, because
every guy that played even two minutes on that squad
had a book to tell you about their experiences with
all of those legends. So I think part of it
with Jerry West is there's a reverence and a respect
for that Celtics team that he kept running into Nicks.
(31:12):
I guess to a point, but certainly that Celtics finals history. Y.
Speaker 1 (31:17):
I hope that we sometimes we're too hard on the
guys when they get that far and still find a
way to say, oh no, you still stink.
Speaker 3 (31:24):
So are you came within one misshot of winning the finals?
Speaker 4 (31:27):
You stink?
Speaker 1 (31:28):
Like I hope Jerry West legacy continues to show that Okay,
you know what, hey, achievements or team.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Yeah, So when we talk about Luca next hour, you're
gonna be a little kinder to him, right.
Speaker 1 (31:37):
This is what he's a horrible human being. Jerry West
ever foul out of an NBA Finals games. He was
too emotional and blow the game. I don't know that
he did. He was wanting you can look back. I
could look back. I'm sure that's a game where I'm
sure that's a game where Bill Russell had thirty eight
points and thirty five.
Speaker 3 (31:53):
Rebell You know.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
The Jason Smith Show with Mike Carmon live from the
Tirack dot Com Studios coming up next. Something even the
biggest critic of the Celtics has to admit at this
point in the NBA Finals. It's groundbreaking. It's something nobody
wants to admit. But the walk back on this is
gonna be insanely fun. That's coming up next, Jason to
(32:17):
Mike Fox.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Jason Smith
Show with Mike Harmon weekdays at ten pm Eastern, seven
pm Pacific.
Speaker 1 (32:27):
Put up a candle for the Mavericks. Wave your cell phones.
Not over.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
Tiger, you sound like him too.
Speaker 1 (32:47):
You're gonna give your kid the Bunny Fox Sports Radio
The Jason Smith Show with my best friend Mike Harmon.
And with the Celtics now up three games none in
the NBA Finals, just a matter of time before they
win the title? Will it be game four? Will it
(33:08):
be Game five? The walk back that people are gonna
have to do about the Celtics is going to be insane.
Speaker 4 (33:16):
It's gonna look like a like a.
Speaker 1 (33:18):
Concert from the eighties and all the moon walking we're
gonna have to do, because look, it's time to give
the Celtics credit.
Speaker 3 (33:24):
They already apologize to you can.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
That's it.
Speaker 1 (33:29):
All you heard about the Celtics. All you heard from
so many talking heads and so many pundits. Hey, the Celtics.
They don't really have a system. The Celtics. They look
like they don't even practice. They're you know, was the
big an Aalom you were quoting the lad about you.
Speaker 3 (33:47):
You don't have a system, do you?
Speaker 4 (33:49):
Uh? They're the kid that that what is it?
Speaker 1 (33:52):
The kid that doesn't study all semester then crams the
night before the finals and acesm right.
Speaker 3 (33:56):
My brother had a photographic memory that like that.
Speaker 1 (34:00):
I know to hate people, am I had a roommate
in college.
Speaker 4 (34:02):
You did that.
Speaker 1 (34:03):
I was like, you did Jack squat the entire semester,
but you go to the library for the entire day
before your final and you wind up getting in.
Speaker 3 (34:11):
It was a legend. I was so jealous.
Speaker 1 (34:14):
But look, as we have said out, talenting another team
is a system. It's a thing. The Celtics have a mass,
a ton of talent. They don't need to take everybody
and put them in a great system, because what system
is Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown and Borzingis and Giralide
what are they gonna do well in? No, they need
to be on a team where they can each be
(34:37):
the best version of themselves. They can be This is
not hey so and so as this. We need a
shooter that can do this when you're playing. No, we
put the most talented guys we can on the floor
and we win games. That's what you want. If you're
a team, you want to have the most talent on
the floor. Now, it doesn't mean they're always gonna play
the same system. You have to be able to have
a team that's okay, Well you have a clear cut
(34:58):
number one, then we have a one. Here's a system
we run and we have a shooter we have a rebounder,
we have the that's not the case. The Celtics have
more talent top to bottom in their rotation than anybody
else in the NBA. And yeah, that's its own system,
that's its own way of winning and being able to
harness it and win like the Celtics have.
Speaker 3 (35:18):
That's a big deal.
Speaker 1 (35:20):
And for them to get to get you know, just
just diminished the way they've been.
Speaker 4 (35:25):
It's like, okay, so.
Speaker 1 (35:27):
Two out of last three years, you're talking about an
NBA Finals and the best record in the NBA this
year and winning the East by fifty games and beating
everybody in the NBA Finals and maybe sweeping the Mavericks
to win the title. Yeah, it's time to give the
Celtics their flowers and say, you know what, they're a
great team, because great teams find a way to win.
They're just not winning the way we like it. We
(35:49):
want there to be a reason why they're Wait, okay,
I understand. Because they can hit the threes. From here,
they can do this, they can do that. They can
do anything they want to. Their bigs can hit threes.
They can hit threes all over the floor. They can
get the ball to the hoop. They can play great defense,
they can do anything that they need to do to
win a game. But because it's done in such a
way where, oh it looks a little haphazard, it's kind
of a controlled chaos. We wonder, what's anything going on there. Well,
(36:11):
I'm sorry, but that's its own system. And the Celtics
are a great team and all they've done is prove
it to us over the last three years.
Speaker 3 (36:18):
Well we've watched it since you know, Brad Stevens an
age before him, right in the front office and being
a good puppet master and pulling the strings and building
these rosters Missoula the last couple of years. When you
look at the coaching acumen defensively, because it always comes
back to buy in right. You know how many coaches
(36:40):
in NBA history get dismissed look at the players. Well,
they got to get along, right. It's one thing to
get everybody on the roster and they go all right,
there you go. You know, players still have to go
and find their spots. So that's what the Celtics have done. Offensively.
Sometimes it's Browns nights, Sometimes Tatum takes over. Sometimes you
need a lot for poor zingis holiday and you know
(37:03):
white right, you might need someone else to step up
and make a bunch of shots. But what they do need,
and this has to be consistent, is that they defend right.
And that's part of the system as well, is getting
guys to buy into a defensive system where there's not
a lot of standing around. How many times did you
watch Dallas tonight and I plot him for the effort.
(37:24):
But it almost like when guys are overacting. See, we've
been playing a lot of nick Cage, so let's go
there when you're overacting like Luca to show you how
hard he's working. He's flopping all over the place on
the defensive end, not just taking contact and flying off,
but also just look out hard I ran to this
spot to cut down this angle or whatever else. With
(37:45):
the Celtics, they all play into that space of all right,
we've got when Perzingis was there, and oftentimes he hasn't been,
you got a guy in the middle, so you can
be even more aggressive. You know, out at the perimeter
tonight he's not in, but you still saw it. Not
a lot of clean looks, certainly, not a lot of
passing lanes. Only fifteen assists tonight for the Dallas Mavericks again,
(38:09):
when you've got two guys that nearly average ten a game.
Speaker 1 (38:14):
Exit out about a Fresco exit swollen dol. The thing
about the Celtics, it's not so much that, hey, they're
two big stars, are better than the two big stars
of a lot of other teams. Look, Tatum's great, Jalen
Brown is great. But the Celtics play when you go
three through seven, those three through seven are better than
any other teams three through seven, anybody else. You'd say anything,
anybody you're talking about. There's Drew Holliday, and there's White,
(38:36):
and there's Porzingis when he's health. It's they're better than
anybody else. Three greatness that is Al Horford Man. Al
Horford is sixty five years old and he's still still
knocked down shots for amazing, amazing but again moving.
Speaker 3 (38:49):
The ball, finding an open man and knocking down shots
again the massive three point barage tonight.
Speaker 1 (38:56):
Coming up next, Mike and I will ask an attempt
to answer the biggest West you remaining for the NBA
Finals
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Jason Smith
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I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.