Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Steven Holder joins US now, and I'm sure thrilled to
be doing so. Based on that segue, he is with
ESPN dot Com Colts Get except for the Las Vegas Raiders. Steven,
I'll begin with this, did you happen to notice you're
a fashionable guy? I would say that in the sixty
two point six percent of the times that I have
seen you outside of a work setting, you are wearing
a baseball cap of some sort. Have you seen the
(00:22):
Indianapolis Indians redesigned uniforms?
Speaker 2 (00:27):
No? I haven't. Well, in a minute, I saw a
tweet referencing it, but I don't know if I saw
the actual uniform. But now that you mention it, I
got to google it.
Speaker 1 (00:37):
Okay, So I'm going to send you during the court
because I can multitask like there's nobody's nobody's business.
Speaker 2 (00:42):
I'm on the computer. Okay, let's let's look.
Speaker 1 (00:44):
Okay, so let's go go to go to the Indians
Indianapolis Indians dot com or whatnot. And then if you
go to obviously under shop.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Well, I see the hat. Okay, I see the hat?
Is it? Is it the one with the I N
D Y.
Speaker 3 (00:58):
You were just mentioning.
Speaker 1 (00:59):
Correct, there's that, and then there's one with the old
and you know script kind of block eye from the
nineteen o two season. I personally believe both these to
be very clean looking hats, as the kids would say
your thoughts.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Yeah, I think I so. I see the one you're
I see the the interlocking I N D Y one,
not seeing the the retro one you're talking about. But
I do like this, and I think I see the
one you're talking about. Is it? What's the what was
the second one?
Speaker 1 (01:32):
By the way, okay, the first one if you go
under just so that they have on their caps themselves. Okay,
they have the I N D Y which is the
new one, but then they have an alternate hat that
they're also wearing, which is a navy blue hat, and
then the white letter I on there is it says
(01:55):
Navy road clean and it's just it's like an ark
that Yeah, yeah, that's the that is the script that
is cool. Yeah, that's the script I that they had
in nineteen oh two when they first came out.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
I see it. Yeah, I see the difference. I like them.
I do. I might have to get one. I don't.
I don't love the the nineteen forty seven one, I
guess is that is that what we're talking.
Speaker 1 (02:19):
About forty seven is the brand? Yeah? I mean, so
you don't love this singular oppr?
Speaker 2 (02:23):
Yeah? Yeh, you're right, you're right, you're right.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
Do you like the interlocking I N D Y right?
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Yeah? They updated one. It's kind of cool. I like it. Yeah, yeah,
I do. That's cool. No, good uh good advice there.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
I mean, you're a fashionable guy, you know what I mean?
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Hey, listen, I listen. When you're bald, it is not
a lot. You don't have a lot of options. Okay,
it's either bald or you know, your hairstyle is your hat. Okay,
that's all you got, man, So you know, work with me.
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Do you, by the way, you are a fan of
Wu Tang clan?
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Right? Oh? Big, big fan. I mean I remember when
they came out because that's of age, because I'm old.
Speaker 1 (03:03):
So let me ask you this. If Wu Tang clan
is is Brady or Manning or is you know Jordan? Right,
then what is tribe called Quest? Is it? Is it Lebron?
Is it is it Mahomes? I mean, is tribe called
Quest considered for somebody who is a fan of Wu
Tang clan. Is tribe called Quest considered in the same breath, So.
Speaker 2 (03:27):
I think, yeah, I think they are. If you are
a true, true and tribe like hip hop fan, like
you came up with hip hop, then you have the
proper appreciation for a tribe called Quest. However, I would
say not everyone does. So I almost think you almost
have to put them in like the Joe Burrow conversation.
(03:49):
It's like there might be like, oh, yeah, they're really good,
but you know, because some people weren't. Really they didn't
have maybe the same commercial success that a tribe.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
How about what is Daylas soul ranking this?
Speaker 2 (04:04):
They're they're kind of in there somewhere like they're Matthew Stafford, right,
Like they're like they're right on the fringe of the
Hall of Fame. You know, maybe should probably be considered.
You know, I think they're Matthew Stafford, you know. To
go with the current reference the Cold Fans.
Speaker 1 (04:23):
I'm writing these down so that we can do some
re entries here for the rest of the show. Okay,
before we get to the game. Also, Steven Opine on this.
Eddie and I were discussing this earlier and I'm not
saying there's a right or wrong on this. I'm curious
your answer of the other thirty one general manage, well
thirty of the other thirty general managers in the NFL,
not in Indy or Jacksonville. If they needed a quarterback
(04:44):
and they had their choice between Daniel Jones and Trevor Lawrence,
what would the split down be in terms of how
many each GM would select?
Speaker 2 (04:53):
H Are we taking money out of the equation?
Speaker 1 (04:56):
Yes?
Speaker 3 (04:58):
All right?
Speaker 2 (05:00):
That is as a very interesting question because I think
a year ago you don't want either guy, and now
that is a much different conversation. I haven't seen a
lot of Trevor Lawrence this year, so I hesitate to say,
but but he's got the longer track record, right, there's
(05:21):
still I think this school of thoughts that like, we
need to see more of Daniel Jones. I'm not talking
about my opinion. I'm just saying that's probably the prevailing
opinion out there. We're talking about four games, right, so
the longer track record. Even though I readily admit that
Traylor Lawrence has a lot of convincing to do out there,
(05:42):
I really think that's still true and has his his
low moments probably outnumber his his highs in a lot
of cases. But I think he's had more success over
the more ups over the course of his career than
perhaps Daniel Jones recently, So I don't know. I leaned
slightly to Trevor Lawrence, but it's not a slam dunk.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
I thought Daniel Jones showed me a lot on Sunday,
and let me tell you why. When he threw an
interception on the first drive, and that really was his
first hiccup so far as a cult, I was curious
how he would respond, and he looked to me like
a quarterback that came back out. Unlike Ady Mitchell. He
(06:24):
looked like a quarterback that came out in a series
after his mistake and was able to immediately goldfish it
and put it behind him.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Your thoughts, I think that's true, and I think it
sort of dovetails with something I've noticed about him in
recent weeks, which is just a greater confidence that he's
been playing with. I think we even talked about this.
He looks like a guy. He does not look timid
out there. Okay, he looks in charge. He's stepping into
(06:55):
his throat, stepping up in the pocket, he looks in control,
all those things that that maybe you could question about
him in New York and and maybe maybe it is
sort of tucked in with with that whole way of thinking,
his ability to take something off and then come back
and say we got this. And I thought he did
(07:15):
a good job with that. I would agree. I don't
think he really was the issue on Sunday. I mean,
he really wasn't. I don't think anybody's saying that, but
I don't. I don't have any issue with how he played.
I think that that first interception is on him. Uh
he under threw the ball, you know, severely under through it.
It's his fault and and that is what it is.
But I mean, you know what are we talking about.
(07:37):
I mean he went three games with out of turnover, right,
so uh it was it was bound to happen, and
it's inevitable. So I think overall, I don't think I
feel any differently about the Colts offense after that game,
Nor do I feel any differently about Daniel Jones.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Adie Mitchell and his blunders. Steven. You know it wasn't
once was twice. I know he was a young player.
I know that the you know, publicly, the colts said
all the right things, and I mean none of this
as an attack in any way, shape or form on
the person of ad Mitchell. But the reality is that
(08:17):
Ady Mitchell, when he came out of college, we were
all told there were warning flags, red flags, and I
don't think it was red flags like this guy was,
you know, a law breaking knucklehead just as much as right.
He just wasn't necessarily a I'm all in on what
I've got to do to win guy. It seemed like
that all showed itself on Sunday. What is your assessment
(08:39):
not only of what we saw and whether or not
that was the anomaly or just the one thing that
needed to get out of his system, and then how
he goes from here.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
No, I think the questions you just pose are totally fair.
You know, the what I saw is a guy who
is a little lave a fair and I don't I
don't know. I'm a big proponent. I said this during
the game. I'm gonna say it here. I'm a big
proponent of the thinking that you play, how you practice right,
(09:11):
and the things that you do in practice you will
continue to do in the game. So that's why practice
really matters and coaches repeat this too. And so if
you were at training camp at all this year, you
saw from Ady Mitchell every time he'd make a big play,
there was this big, grand celebration and it was, you know,
he's throwing the ball up in the air. He's hyping
(09:34):
up the crowd and it's cute, right like those things.
People gravitate to that, and they're like, oh, that's cool,
great play, and you know it gets other teammates involved.
That's good to some degree. However, However, I really feel
like he didn't say yes or no or a confirmer
denied this. But I'm looking at that play where he
fumbled at the goal line, and what I saw was
(09:57):
a guy who couldn't wait to celebrate. He's trying to
I I think that's just my perception. Okay, I don't know.
I'm not in his head, but it certainly looked like
he's trying to reach the ball out to hold it
over his head or hold it out whatever, some sort
of expression, right, because he looks back at the defenders
and he cleared them, so he's not trying to reach
the ball over the goal line, Like, oh my god,
(10:18):
I don't want to get tackled. I think he's trying
to celebrate and it's it is exactly what he does
every freaking time he makes a play in practice. So
there's my theory is like, be serious in practice and
maybe you can have a serious performance on Sunday. That's
that's what I That's what I take away from this,
(10:39):
And it's it's sad because I like Ad. He's a
good kid. He's not, you know, some sort of serial killer.
I don't know what the character quote unquote characters concerns
were about him. I don't think they were about his character.
I think they were just about can you get this
kid to be a serious football player? Right exactly? And
I think those questions are still fair.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
What about X Clan? By the way, where do you
put them with? Tribe called quest dey la soul? X
Clan's where's x clan rank?
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Uh?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
What'm a big x Clan fan? I don't. I don't
even really remember their song.
Speaker 1 (11:15):
Grand Verbalized, Grand Verbaliza. What time is it you remember
that song?
Speaker 2 (11:20):
Yeah? Yeah, a little bit. They were I would say
they are? What were we comparing them to the David
Navid Garrard wants a playoff game. Underrated players, Mitchell under
I mean we could do this all day, right, Okay,
(11:42):
I like it. Craig Who's third base third base was
underrated too.
Speaker 3 (11:49):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (11:49):
Also, by the way, third Base, I F'm not mistaken,
featured one of the first nas versus on one of
their songs. No one remembers this, but if you're a
real fan, you know this. I think he was like,
I don't know, seventeen or something at the time, and
I would say, yeah, third Base. I don't know about
(12:10):
like the whole catalog, but I know a handful of songs.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
I liked him third Base. As we've gone over before, Steven,
now we're in circular conversation, I guess because you're the
one that sent me the fabulous video of third Base
confessed MC Hammer put a hit out on him after
I told you that third Base came along with Big
Daddy Kane and performed Rap City Live at my high school.
And I was in high school, which I'm one of
the proudest most I don't.
Speaker 2 (12:33):
Know which story is more amazing then performing at North
Central or the fact that Hammer put a hit out
on them. I don't know which story is more amazing.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
Big Big Daddy Kane. Who are looking at for Big
Daddy Kane?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
Okay, Big Daddy Kane definitely underrated. I would I would
put him Warren ub Is he Warren Moon? That's great
because I think, like, you know, he was before his time,
Rarn Moon. You know the four wide you know, wide
open offense, like he could have played, he could have
played in today's league for sure. Yeah, I love it.
Speaker 1 (13:05):
I'm still thinking on third base, like who is our
is third base? Third base is Lamar Jackson? Right is
third base Lamar Jackson?
Speaker 2 (13:17):
Well what's the parallel? I'm thinking we were really overthinking this,
by the way, I love it. I know, uh yeah,
So all right here Lamar Jackson. Here's the thing, like
we know these incredible talent, but like why can't he
break through?
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Right?
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Like same with third and everybody figured out these guys
are good something like that.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Listen third base, Lamar Jackson. When he came out of college,
people said he needed to be a receiver because he
was a dynamic athlete. Right third base. Where they came
out of Rockhurst, Queens, people said that they didn't they
couldn't be rappers because they were like awkward looking goofy
white guys, right.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
I mean that's true that that that apps that actually happened.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
So there you go. That's why they talk about.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
Hey, why you got to talk these things out?
Speaker 1 (14:10):
Steven? How are the Colts from a health standpoint? And
by that, let's face or let's focus on the defensive backfield,
you know, Exavin Howard in particular. You have to wonder
how many times they can go back to that. Well, look,
we just got done.
Speaker 2 (14:26):
We being myself and others on on the Colts beat,
we just got done Grill and lou Ana rumo about this,
and he did not offer anything to suggest that they're
making a change there. In fact, I walked away from
it thinking, huh, he's gonna stick with him, isn't he.
So I don't know what the plan is, but I
(14:47):
would tell you what I would do. I would play
anybody else. You've got to get him off the field,
you have to. I mean, the Los Angeles Rams basically said,
oh you're you're really doing this and they said, okay, Puka,
we're gonna throw you the ball every single play, and
he couldn't stop them. They so they put they put
(15:09):
Mooney Ward on DeVante Adams like on purpose. He stuck
with him all day. You might notice this if you
have watched the game and the idea there was they
both have, you know, sort of about the same amount
of targets coming into that game. And my thinking is
that they didn't say this, but my thinking is, and
Joel Erickson from The Star kind of, you know, sort
(15:32):
of brought this up to me. I think he may
be onto something. Davonte Adams is the guy who can
beat you over the top and get down the field.
Puka works the sidelines and in the middle of the
field underneath and then get some run after the catch.
So you saw that, right They they maximize that they
got powered, you know, across them over a couple of times.
(15:54):
And then you see Poka Nicoula wide open, you know,
heading across the metal and someone else may making the
tackle or Howard tackling him from behind. And they can
do that all day. Take those little twelve, ten and
twelve yard chunks and sometimes Puka is so good after
the catch he turns them into twenty and twenty five
yard chunks. And so anyhow, I guess help the health
(16:16):
question there. I don't think Kenny Moore actually matters that much.
He certainly matters, for sure, but I'm talking about in
terms of Howard. I don't know that it matters because
you still have him as one of the top three corners.
He doesn't play in the slot anymore, does so I don't.
I think this is a problem that we have to
bombard them with this question every day until they just
(16:39):
are honest about him and say we're not going to
bench him, because I think it's absolutely malpracticed. Right now,
sorry for not answering the question, but I had to
get that out there.
Speaker 1 (16:47):
The doc where's the doc rack?
Speaker 3 (16:54):
That is interesting?
Speaker 1 (16:55):
Whom I would say, who is a great quarterback that
was on their way to greatness that had a devastating injury.
Eddie helped me out here. That's that's it, because the DC,
in my opinion, was on his way to absolute greatness
and then he had an injury to his larynx and
was never the same.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
So, okay, well here I can actually answer that. Carson Palmer.
Speaker 1 (17:21):
Okay, that's not bad. That's not bad.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
Carson Palmer. I had somebody, I had somebody in the
front office tell me years ago when Carson was still playing,
like you know what, he had the Aco, and he
was never the same because he was scared in the pocket.
He kind of got like that that Tom Brady hit.
I think, if I'm not mistaken, you know where you
step up in the pocket and they take out your knee,
the front, the front knee, plant leg, and so he
(17:48):
was always a bit timid after that. So anyway, that's
a very long insplammation. But Carson Palmer comes to mind.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Yeah, it was still pretty good, is by the way,
is And I think this guy is still available, Steven
and I know that he's older, but he can't be
any worse in some of the areas that they have need.
Is Stefan Gilmore a possibility to return or has he
been picked up?
Speaker 2 (18:14):
I believe he's still out there. I believe people have
been asking me about him. I listen each one of
the best acquisitions Chris has ever made. It sounds crazy,
but like the guy was really good. It just didn't
matter because that season was such a disaster, right, But
Stefan Gilmore, he's a real deal. I don't know, it's
(18:34):
been a long time, certainly that was three years ago,
but I don't disagree with you. I think he's still
a better option. Than what they're currently getting. I think
the question is going to be, we're now, I believe
we're four weeks in, So does Jalen Jones come back
this week? And can he play immediately? I don't know
(18:55):
that answer. I'm not sure where he's at. He would
be an immediate upgrade, and maybe they're just holding out
until he comes back. But frankly, I think anybody would
be would be a better option right now. I mean,
why not just put you know, I don't know, Makai
Blackman out there, or you know, somebody I don't know.
I don't understand why there's been this hesitance to do that.
(19:17):
One thing I will say about Louis ana Roumo is
that one of the one of the criticisms I guess
of him in Cincinnati was that sometimes he can be
a little bit stubborn. And you know, he's probably earned
that right as a as a veteran coach who's very experienced.
But but I don't know. Maybe we're seeing an example
(19:38):
of that here. One player they really like, and numerous
people have told me they really think this guy's going
to be a player, Jonathan Edwards, the undrafted free agent.
I think he played a few snaps on Sunday, but
they've been reluctant to put him out there. And I
thought he had some good moments in camp and the preseason,
and Chris Ballard loves him, He raved about him, and
(19:59):
I the coaches like him too. I would put him
out there. Who knows how much worse can it get?
I mean, looking the coolest setting records against you? What else?
What are we talking about here?
Speaker 1 (20:09):
Steved?
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Are even sure that Jalen Jones would start or get
snaps right away when he does come back, because as
soon as they signed Zavi and Arrod, he was listening
as the starter over Jenlen Jones, even though Jones had
been there through OTA's Mini camp and the start of
training camp.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
It's a great question, and it's totally fair. It's a
great question, and that goes to what I'm talking about, right.
Lou and Rumo was very he was very adamant about this,
like he wanted Xavian Howard. He in fact, they had
to workout with him back in May. And the only
reason Ballor didn't sign him was because the thinking was,
let's let's take a longer look at some of these
(20:47):
young guys before we go that route, and so they
wanted to give those guys an opportunity in training camp
and the preseason. So they did that, and then after
it was over with an Arumo was still like, yep,
I want him. So you're right. I think it's a
great question. Of course, a lot has happened since they
signed him, and most of it not good. So all
I can tell you is every team is watching the
(21:10):
film and all they see is this guy getting destroyed
by by top receivers.
Speaker 1 (21:16):
Digital underground seven. Who's digital underground?
Speaker 3 (21:19):
Oh?
Speaker 2 (21:21):
Well, I mean and when you say digital underground, I
think what you really have to what you really have
to do, or what you're really saying is you know,
we're talking about shock G. Right, more or less?
Speaker 5 (21:36):
Who who is?
Speaker 2 (21:38):
Who is also of the underrated? You're like all the
underrated rappers today, You're you're giving them their flowers. I
appreciate that. Yeah, I mean, by the way, Shock G,
didn't you like bring us? Didn't you bring Tupac to life?
And neither one that introduced us to Tupac is the underground?
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Right?
Speaker 2 (21:56):
I mean?
Speaker 1 (21:57):
Well, I mean here's what's here's what's funny.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Part of Vigital Underground.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
I was never and this is what's interesting. I was
never a big Tupac guy, even though most of though,
although I shouldn't say that, I kind of go I'm
weird in the fact that I go like fifty percent
New York guys and fifty percent West Coast guys, right,
But part of it is and follow me here. The
(22:22):
true like the hip hop and the rap stuff that
that I really got into was when I was in
I was in high school, so late eighties, early nineties,
so starting with NWA, into the doc into the ones
I just mentioned then once in Tupac really I think
hit his stride right when I was in college, and
when you're in college you're kind of absorbed in your
(22:43):
own world and it's kind of hard to know what's
coming out that's new. Does that make sense?
Speaker 2 (22:47):
Hmm, Yeah, that's fair. So yeah, Tupac would have been
like I think his first album was early nineties sometime,
but anyway, Tupac was was part of Digital Underground. The
shak G well I think passed away. I don't remember when,
but like in the last couple of years, uh shack
G was was the guy, uh you know, the humpty
thing that we had the whole like alternate personalities, you know,
(23:10):
the what do you call it? The uh you know
he had he had, he had an alter ego. I
guess that you would say. Anyhow, quarterback for for Digital Underground.
I like this. Let's think, well, how about Doug Williams,
because you know why, pioneer.
Speaker 1 (23:27):
That's good.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Here's a pioneer. I mean, right, like like Doug Williams.
There's no Doug Williams. There's probably no like Lamar Jackson,
and there's no shock G.
Speaker 1 (23:36):
There's no Tubac and like Doug Williams kind of without
people remembering it introduced and kind of brought in I
think Steve Young, right, and then Steve Young kind of
often did his own thing and whatever else.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
Right, that's not bad? Yeah, yeah, yeah, I like it.
Speaker 3 (23:50):
So the way to do this.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
Okay, here's the last thing. And I ask you this
every once in a while, Steven, I want you to
tell me this. Ten minutes from now, when you are,
when you've hung up the phone, you're going to say
to yourself, I can't believe that moron talked to me
about hip hop stuff and did not ask me about
Blank from the Colts, which is the obvious thing that
needs to be addressed, and we didn't get to it.
Speaker 3 (24:11):
What was it?
Speaker 2 (24:13):
All right, let's end on a good note. I think
in terms of the Colts at least, I think Liatu
Latsu probably the best game I've seen them play. I
think they got that one right now. He's no Jared Verse,
who they also could have drafted. That dude is a monster. Okay,
he is a monster. Go ask Bernard Raymond about him
(24:35):
right now. But that being said, they have the player
they have, and I do think Latu might be turning
a corner. He is. If you look at his advanced
stats right now, he ranks up there with the best
in the league. And I think he's on a great
trajectory right now. And if they can get him going,
teams are going to have to start making some decisions
(24:56):
about whether they double him, and that should free up
other guys.
Speaker 6 (24:59):
And just from him.
Speaker 1 (25:00):
When he turns that corner, he does so with incredible lean.
Speaker 2 (25:04):
Just so you know, yeah, I mean, that's the stuff
you can't teach, you know. That's that's true. Stuff you
can't teach.
Speaker 1 (25:10):
That's true. That's true. He can he can running to
the side. Correct, That's what we were told Backley all right, Steven,
We're gonna play these great hip hop legends and pioneers
for the rest of the show.
Speaker 2 (25:23):
How's that?
Speaker 1 (25:25):
I love it you full credit of course, right, all right,
Steven ESPN dot Com. We will continue to watching. Do
you think that we're gonna see Waiver Wire stuff with
the defensive backs?
Speaker 2 (25:36):
Hmmm, I'm not. I'm not predicting that. No, not predicting
that right now.
Speaker 4 (25:42):
Okay, Steven, did they pick up a linebacker yesterday from
the Dallas practice squad?
Speaker 2 (25:46):
Did I see that? I cannot? I think I missed that.
I should not this right, Wait a minute, I took
a red eye yesterday, so I was like unconscious.
Speaker 1 (25:59):
You know, if they'd picked up one of the Ghetto
Boys out of Houston, then yes, we would have been
able to definitively know that, right we would be all
over also very underrated, by the way, Okay, although the
Ghetto Boys are probably popped, they're probably legitimately rated. I'm
looking right here to see about the practice squad there.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
Per Aaron Wilson, They said he said that yesterday Culture
signing linebacker Buddy Johnson the Cowboys practice squad.
Speaker 2 (26:25):
He was a former fourth round pick dealers. Well, I
mean they have no linebackers, so that tracks yes. Yeah,
I don't know much about them to be completely honest,
but I think that is there. That is probably their
weakest position, to be completely honest with you, So makes sense.
I mean, you guys are Franklin and who right, And
(26:48):
I think the truth is the guys who they have
tried there, no one has really stuck, you know, so
they're definitely having some issues there.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
I agree with that, all right, Steven. Appreciate the time.
By the way, Tupac I Am Told first appeared on
what you Like in terms of Digital Underground, So there
you go. You are correct.
Speaker 2 (27:06):
Oh, I love the song.
Speaker 1 (27:08):
There you go, There you go, all right, appreciate it.
Steven joining us from ESPN dot Com covered a lot
of ground there. Miles Turner kind of gave the gas
face to Indiana yesterday with his comments regarding, you know,
being appreciated or being celebrated by a city, and that
(27:28):
was why he was happy to be in Milwaukee. But
as for the Pacers themselves, his old team, Tyrie's Halliburton
yesterday opened up about his recovery from his injury, talking
about just the mental aspect of that, and it is
easy to forget that for the Pacers. This is a
year that you go in coming off of that finals
(27:49):
run and you got to kind of just keep things
going until Haliburton comes back and then you find out
who Turner's replacement will be long term. There was a
lot to discussed yesterday media day for the Pacers. Joining
us now from The Indianapolis Star. He is the Pacers
beat writer, Dustin A. Brick, who joins us on the show,
H Dustin. When you walked away yesterday, the overwhelming sentiment
(28:12):
you had about this Pacers team or their mindset was
what they're pretty.
Speaker 6 (28:17):
Determined, and I think, you know, you could obviously see
that these guys who have just been through it, and
you know, I think they're they're somewhat bothered by the
idea of that people think they're going to take a
gap year or something that they're just not going to
be relevant, h you know, for a season, as I
think they just sort of shrunk that up because I mean,
I think at this point, number one, they're used to
being underestimated in the first place, and too it's just
(28:40):
you're just not like there's not a world in which
you get Andrew nem Harden, Aaronie Smith and Pascal Siakam
and TJ. McCollums take it easy. So you know, I
think these guys you it as okay, like we're we're
still going to play the way that we play. We're
still we're still going to have the standard, We're still
going to exhaust people, We're still going to wear them out. Uh,
and people still can't hang with the way we play.
I think that's still their view it And it's pretty
(29:01):
sort of simple a matter of fact at this point
because they know sort of how well it worked last year.
I mean, I think they're they're aware there's going to
be complications. I mean, you know that you take away
a guy with not not only who has that much
production as Tiers Haliburton, but also creates the kind of gravity.
I mean, it is going to change the geometry of
the game to not have somebody out there that's commanding,
(29:21):
you know, two bodies to defend him so much. I mean,
they're they're going to have to function differently and they
know that, and I don't know if they realize what
kind of complication is coming there, but they're also just
not bothered by it because they've been through enough. I mean,
this is just this is a team that's decorated now.
You know, you see obviously the big difference in your
role players, in particular your net mark Jamie Smith. You know,
(29:41):
from a few years ago when they were just getting
into this and now there are guys that have seen
everything that have seen in the NBA Finals, in the
Eastern Conference Finals. They just seem very everything kind of
seems to what had this group all of a sudden.
They've just been through so much and she's like, yeah,
you know, like nobody thinks you can win, but we'll
be find because we're gonna work everybody. I mean, that
just seems to be how they how they look at
it right now.
Speaker 1 (30:00):
I'm gonna ask you to play along with one of
my hypotheticals here you ready.
Speaker 6 (30:04):
I love that My secorit part about doing this go on.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
So you are native to Pittsburgh if I'm not mistaken,
correct or the area that's correct. Okay, So let's say
for Christmas this year, you're going to go to Pittsburgh,
but the Pacers have a game on the twenty sixth
of December. You don't want to have to rush yourself
back per se. So you're like, you know what, I'm
just going to go ahead right now in October and
(30:28):
kind of write a skeleton version of the game report
and yah, I'll change the names.
Speaker 2 (30:35):
Here and there.
Speaker 1 (30:36):
But so in it, you start your story by saying
against the Celtics, Indiana was led in rebounding by their
starting center. Blank, whose name do you put.
Speaker 3 (30:47):
In it's going to be leading in rebounding.
Speaker 6 (30:50):
It's going to be Isaiah Jackson. So there's there's kind
of like there's like a presumption in that hypothetical. I
do think, I mean, there's a chance Jehuff is going
to start. If Jay Huff starts, I don't think he's
going to leave them in rebounds, you know. I think
you know, basically you're gonna have to lean on Siakam
to grab your rebounds in that case. I mean, because
I know Jay is, I think he's got at about
(31:11):
the same rate or low or as far as rebound
rate than moles Turner did and mouth still I think
the pass gal I'll put it to this, do you
believe that Jackson to get the coin flop?
Speaker 1 (31:20):
Do you believe Jackson will be their starting center because
they more covet rebounding or do you think Huff will
be their starting center because they more covet what he
can do offensively.
Speaker 6 (31:29):
Right, It is such a coin flip for me, But
I do at this point if you said, right now,
I would say Jay Huff because of what he can
do offensively. But I mean I could be, you know,
absolutely totally wrong on that. I know that Carlos Hea
Jackson has been working with the one so far. I
think the fact that he's up to two forty is
a big deal, very interesting sea of well. That looks
(31:51):
like he says, he feels like he's doing it pretty
well and he's still got the same amount of bounds
for the most part. He says he has some days
where he feels like he doesn't but I mean very interested.
But that looks like, uh live and so I mean,
my my opinion, that could change very quickly. I mean,
they've got Fan jam on Sunday. I might look at
the world totally different after that. If he's if he's
every bit as fast and jumps every bit as high
(32:12):
at two forty as he did at to ten. Uh,
you know that that does change some things. But I
do think Jay helps h the floor matters, and you know,
I could see from ups and downs as far as
it is concerned, and I think they might need that spacing.
That might be something that's mission critical for them. And
in the fact he can block shots also matters. Rebounding
could be an issue. And and Jackson might you know,
(32:36):
might have an edge there. There's a good chance he
has an edge there. But the hubstability to shoot, I
think is is gonna matter.
Speaker 3 (32:41):
One Worn thinks to be a key part of.
Speaker 6 (32:43):
The rotation because he can give you a kick and
puffs three point option similar to what Turner did, and
he's the only one that's proven his start in that
work hard.
Speaker 1 (32:50):
Do you believe that the Pacers believe their starting center
that will start alongside Tyre's Haliburton once Haliburton's back is
on the current roster.
Speaker 6 (33:02):
I mean, I don't believe that, So I would have
a hard time thinking that they believe that. I mean,
I think you've got a swing bigger than what's what's there.
I think these guys are good. I think they're effective.
I mean, I don't think there's anything bad about them necessarily,
but you know, I mean, you made a championship run
with a guy who was gonna hit what one hundred
fifty three pointers last year? You know, I mean and
(33:22):
and as your all time league uh you know shot blocker,
you know was shooting a bus through thirty nine percent
on a pretty high volume. You know, if if that's
what takes to get to a championship, and I don't
know that you have that, I'll be interested to see
if you know. Certainly Jay Huff could prove me wrong.
I think that Jackson could prove me wrong. But I
feel like if you know, you've seen kind of a
template for what you have to have to really make
(33:44):
it work and take at the distance, I don't you
have something that that's at that level on this group
right now. And I think you're gonna have to look
for that in the offseason somehow.
Speaker 1 (33:53):
What what overwhelmingly jumped out at you yesterday?
Speaker 6 (33:57):
I think, I mean maybe that I wasn't overwhelmed by anybody.
I think it was just the like not quiet confidence,
but it was just like they definitely had this view
of like, yeah, we're back, Okay, Yeah, we're just gonna
do this thing again.
Speaker 3 (34:09):
You know.
Speaker 6 (34:10):
It just seemed they were so matter of fact, they
were so you know, like they were so used to it,
and it was almost like they had been that thing
just such through such.
Speaker 3 (34:17):
A media country, through the finals, but this was just kind.
Speaker 6 (34:21):
Of like nothing to them, And I guess it felt
like part of a build up the last couple of
years of you know, two seasons goes like okay, we're
making the playoffs. This year there's like and last year
was okay, like we think it would be a championship team.
Like they had something to say in that regard of
this group as like, Okay, we're back. We know ties
out what we find, you know, because we know we're
doing like we we know how to win. We you know,
we've proven how to win. We've proven we can do
(34:42):
this recruiting, our way work. We don't know what we're
gonna end up. We're not going to even guess to
what that's going to be, but you know, like we're
gonna be better than you think. You know, That's all
we'll say. That just sort of seemed like it was.
It was very sort of like quick. They didn't dive
into a lot, and I really tried to get them
going on strategy and how it changes and how the
offense going to be and what you've got to get
used to and they can you still play at the
(35:02):
same pace and they're going to be as wide open
and we're like, yeah, I mean, we all got to
do more, you know, but like we set a standard,
we can hit that standard. And it was everything just
seemed very matter of fact in terms of how they
approach yesterday.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
You know, It's funny, Dustin, there was I was thinking
about the Pacers yesterday and there's one player and I'm
curious if you can decipher who I'm talking about. There
was one player that popped into my head and I
thought to myself, you know, we talk about other players
in the same area and whether or not you know
(35:35):
how those guys are going to take advantage of this
new opportunity for minutes, and then it dawned on me.
There's a third in that mix that we saw very
sparingly a year ago, and there have been flashes and
while still young, this is a player that I'm curious
if they break into rotation this year, and if so,
(35:58):
if that's like the found twenty dollars bill in your
pocket when you're doing your laundry, what player am I
talking about?
Speaker 6 (36:04):
You're talking about Johnny Surphy being BEng Goo Yeah m
hm am, I right, yeah, no, I mean, yeah, no,
I agree. I mean I think, you know, I I
I'm gonna be very interested to see. So I wrote
about this in like sort of a five questions thing
of you know what that young ring wing wing rotation
look like in the second unit. I mean, obviously, I
(36:24):
think it's pretty much been declared. All right, who four
of your five starters are? And you're you know two
to four on you know, on the starting lineup? Are
you know Masther and that Nie Smith and Sakham and
so you know you've got ob obviously penciled into be
your starting you know, your backup power forward. But for
those you know, two spots for shooting gardens all forward,
you've got three, you know, three pretty intriguing options between
(36:46):
Ben Shephard, Jars Walker, and Johnny Furthy. Shepherd obviously is
uh is the guy that you know is the constant.
You know, you know what Ben Shepherd is going to
be for better and for worse. And you know he's
not gonna put a massive numbers. But because he's gonna.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
Shoot open three, he's passed the ball.
Speaker 6 (37:00):
Otherwise run the floor hard, Uh, defend. I mean, he's
not necessarily a lockdown defender, but he's gonna he's going
to be aggressive and he's going to get after people
when he's going to be willing to warning the pressure.
And so you know you can trust what you're gonna
get at Ben Shepherd. You know, grit Carla loves Ben Shepherd.
So if those who are not impressed by Ben Shepherd
don't even get into this discussion, now, you know who's
going to play good over it now. But you know,
(37:22):
between Walker and Furfey, it's it's some very interesting stuff. Obviously,
they have they have different skill sets, they have different
potentials also, and I think there's both of them I
think have something that was kind of a calling card
for them going into the draft you haven't necessarily seen yet.
Speaker 3 (37:36):
You know.
Speaker 6 (37:36):
Furfey, I think it was being an outside shooter and
he's just been he's been just okay at that. And
Walker You're expected him to be this, you know, top
line defender, and he's been just okay at that. But
they've grown really in other ways. I mean, Walker is
really grown as a shooter. You know, you're you're seeing
some court vision from.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Him and that sort of thing.
Speaker 6 (37:52):
There's some impressive stuff there, but Furfey, I think it's
played tougher than a lot of people expected. He's he's
been a willing defender, a good rebound, under runs really hard,
is physical, finishes through contact. You've seen him grow. H
you know he's way more muscled up therecause he add
at least twenty pounds.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
You know during last season.
Speaker 6 (38:09):
He might have added more since. I mean, like he
he turned into you know, he's he's heading towards the
grown man's body pretty quick. You know that was something
that happened. I think fast for him where you know,
you came in. Obviously he's baby face to start with,
but he looked skinny when they got him. He doesn't
look skinny now, you know. I mean he's got some
real man muscle now. And you saw that show up
with the dunk in Summer League. I mean you saw
(38:29):
some really good grown man moments in Vegas in the
couple of games he played. So yeah, no, I think
you know, I think he starts as the clear eleventh guy,
and you know, one guy gets hurt and he's in
the rotation, you know someplace, you know, whether it's basically man,
I think anything and anybody gets hurt really along the
line other than center. I think then, you know, basically
(38:50):
there's gonna be moving parts that lead to Johnny Furfrey
getting rotation minutes. So, you know again, and it's possible
if Jaris Walker doesn't you know, take substantial improvements.
Speaker 3 (38:59):
It's possible.
Speaker 6 (39:00):
Well, at first he could rip the you know, backup,
small forward job right away from you know.
Speaker 1 (39:04):
What's interesting is Dustin Delpirek is our guest talking about
the Indiana Pacers. We had Aaron Neismith on yesterday, Dustin,
and you know who am I to tell Aaron NEI
Smith that he's wrong?
Speaker 3 (39:14):
Right?
Speaker 1 (39:16):
And maybe I had read it wrong. He was pretty
adamant to us yesterday that Indiana is going to continue
to play at the same pace, and that they are
going to run the ball and they're going to be
the same you know, kind of frantic nature that they
were before. I thought for certain I had heard, whether
it be Chad by Cannon Rick Carlisle basically indicate that no,
(39:37):
this year they're going to focus a little bit more
on isolation and then once Halliburton's back, they picked the
pace back up again. Did I hear that incorrectly.
Speaker 3 (39:47):
You heard it mostly correctly.
Speaker 6 (39:48):
I think where what Aaron, you know, the only day
you're both right. I mean, I think basically what they're
both sort of saying is when it gets into the
half court. I mean, basically, like they're going to look
for full court opportunities the same way they're going to sprint,
you know, like wingers are going to sprint the floor.
They're gonna try to get down as fast as they can.
You know, a big thing is just trying to get
into a situation where you're playing advantage basketball where you've
(40:10):
got more guys down the floor than they do, and
you know they've got a guard, a two on one.
You know, even if it's off of made baskets, they're
still going to attack the way that they've attacked. You know, basically,
they're going to they're going to push off of defensive rebounds,
are going to certainly push off the turnovers, and they're
going to push off of made baskets and try to
catch people celebrating and see if you can run back.
What's different in terms of how they're going to function is, uh,
(40:32):
you know, once you get into the half court, it's
going to be harder for the ball to pop the
same way that it did with Haliburton. I think the
big difference, I think is Halliburton's gravity that you lose
and you know the extent to which UH teams are
willing to put two guys on him, and so you
you know, basically you blitz them, you get the ball
out of Haliburton's hand, but then it pops. You know,
then it starts moving and it finds the open man.
(40:52):
And there is an open man because you dedicated two
guys to Halliburt and so you know, then you're scrambling.
Then you're in rotation and you're running on closed out
and there's a there's an open guy to find. And
I think they'll be in that situation less they're going
to have to break down defenses off the dribble, UH,
those sorts of things, because you have you know, Siakam
I think is still going to command some double teams.
(41:13):
But you know, basically when they're trying to double you know,
Halliburton early in the possession, you know, around half court, UH,
and you get the ball out of his hands and
it starts moving, it's going to find somebody. Whereas I
think that's going to be a little bit harder to achieve,
and you're gonna have to find different ways of creating
an open man, of of building gravity, of you know,
getting the ball in the paint. All those kinds of
things are gonna have to be executed a little bit
differently than they've been doing. So I think that's kind
(41:35):
of that that's at least what I've pieced together from
talking to all of them. But Chat did say that
it's going to be more of an execution game, particularly
in the half court. But I don't think they're going
to stop looking for, you know, sort of full court opportunities,
transition opportunities. I don't think they're going to pass those
up or or doubt back because I think they still
they still feel like they have the finishers, they have
the people that can run, and think they're conditioned enough.
(41:56):
They believe that wearing teams down is still a big
part of what they do. But I think they just
want to gets into half court. You know, the the
geometry will be different by virtue of not having a
guy in there that averages twenty points of.
Speaker 1 (42:08):
Tennis more to prove Jaris Walker, Ben Matheren.
Speaker 6 (42:12):
Jeez, I'm gonna say Benedict Mathm because he's in a
contract year. But I mean, obviously that's they are, you know,
they are who they are. I've called him the shiny
objects in the past because there's a lottery picks and
everybody is always going to look at them in terms
of what they achieve and and it's you know, like
it's wild that basically, you know, so many other guys
on this team have overachieved, uh, you know, for what
(42:34):
they were expected, how they were brought in, whether they
were drafted or where they where they were you know,
included as a you know throw in in their trade
sort of like neiw Smith was, and then how how
they sort of overachieved in what was expected. But mather
and Walker are top ten ticks, and I think people
will just always view them as just they are huge
assets and they have to they have to produce, and
that's that's true. They do and so I do think.
Speaker 3 (42:56):
Mathern has achieved more.
Speaker 6 (42:58):
But but they have to decide what they're gonna do
with him, and it's gonna be very very and we've
talked about it so many times in the past. I'm
very interest to see what Matherin's going to be like,
just because you know that's there, there is gonna be
temptation for him to just play the way he plays.
And you know, I think because you know, there's gonna
be times when they need that. There's many times when
they just need somebody to go get a bucket, and
(43:19):
they're gonna be like, Okay, well Ben's got to drive
into three people. Well, Hecker said, that's the best thing
we've got going with right now, So let him go.
And so you're wondering, was is he going to develop
into what they need them to him to be long
term or is he gonna take a step back this
year even if he puts up better numbers, because he's
just gonna rely on this basic and stick to plane
one on one. But I mean, I think Walker obviously
has less of an achievedment. You know, Matherine has proven
(43:41):
he can score. He has lived up to that billing,
and you know, but it's just a question of ken.
He's not a question of canny score. It's question of can.
Speaker 3 (43:48):
Fit with Walker?
Speaker 6 (43:50):
Like you still need to see the proof of production.
So I guess probably it's it's more important for mathroom
because it's more immediate. And you know, I mean, he
could he could have a twenty and still end up
on somebody else's roster next year. I think that's expertainly possible.
You know, Walker, though, I think needs so maybe I'm
changing my mind in the middle of this answer, but
(44:10):
you know, Walker needs to prove that he belongs in
the league. He needs to prove that he can be
a proactive NBA player, and so you know, you're seeing
signs of it, but you've got to see you know,
real I think measurable stuff.
Speaker 1 (44:21):
This year, Dustin, do you think Rick Carlisle's stronger suit
as a coach is a recognizing where a team needs
to be adjusted and making the adjustments for the team,
or be recognizing where a team has weakness and getting
(44:41):
guys to buy into what it is that he's needing
them to do and getting them to adjust to him.
Speaker 6 (44:50):
It's a great question because you've seen evidence of him
being really good at both, you know, I mean, I
think you know, it's it's really impressive what he's done.
You know, defensively, when you think about how easy it
was to score on the Indiana Pacers up until December
of twenty twenty three, you know, from you know, basically
the first two months of that year and.
Speaker 3 (45:09):
You're giving up one hundred and fifty points.
Speaker 6 (45:11):
You know, It's like, so it's really impressive that they've got,
you know, bought into this idea of Okay, you know
it's got to be pressure.
Speaker 3 (45:17):
You know that's gonna be.
Speaker 6 (45:18):
That's got to be the way that they achieved this
and get right is just to lean into pressure. And
you know you had to you know, I guess you
had guys that had the physical skills for that, but
you know still to say we're gonna do something nobody
else is doing, Like even though you know, we've been
horrendous on defense, so what we're going to do is
something no one else is even attempting. Uh, it's pretty well,
(45:39):
I think. I mean, I'm going to guess, remind me
exactly how you worked the first thing.
Speaker 1 (45:44):
So it was do you think it is Rick Carlisle
saying gosh, I've got all of these pieces that that
most would put together a perfect triangle, and then you know,
realizing and recognizing that, or is it saying gosh, these
guys look like they might be triangular pieces, but I
want them to be a circle. So I'm going to
(46:05):
get them to buy into what it is that I
need them to be.
Speaker 6 (46:10):
And that's I still win the first one. I mean,
I think in part just because I haven't seen the
Master and thing come together yet and it's been his
project the entire time. But you know, I but he's
good at both. I mean, he's very very good at both.
Speaker 3 (46:25):
And I'm trying to like.
Speaker 6 (46:26):
Even like some of those things really sort of weave together,
you know if you think about it, you know, like
over time, it's just he has he has looked at
this group and said, Okay, you know, like what what
what is this that I have? And men'ge to to
sort of look outside the box to figure that out
in terms of saying, Okay, you know, like this team
(46:49):
has to like I'm gonna this Tyrese Haliburton has got
to be you know, my sort of north star on
this and and playing his way and piecing everything around
it so that it works, and we're going to play
it differ the way that anybody else is doing that
and then looking and saying, Okay, I got a defensive problem.
I don't know how to fix it, So okay, I'm
going to lean into this. This is the idea of
pressure because I don't have enough size. So I'm just
(47:10):
going to try to outwork people, and that's how it's
going to work. I mean, he's I don't know, he's
very good at reading sort of. I guess both sides
of that equation of where he is deficient or where
he has more than you know, or where he has
a lot of pieces and just folds them into a
over our convision.
Speaker 1 (47:25):
Lastly, dustin this season, if you look at it, okay,
I want you to tell me the guy from last
season to this that is going to have the biggest
differential in terms of their scoring average, either because it's
going to uptick or because their role is different now
and it's going to dip.
Speaker 6 (47:47):
I think, I mean, I think just them. Hart is
going to go up because he has to score, you know.
I mean, I don't think he's going to average twenty,
but I think he's going to average you know, sixteen
seventeen in that range. I don't think you're gonna have
a bigger swing than seven points. But I think this
as the trigger guy, as the guy who's going to
be a picking a ball handler a lot, you know,
as a guy who's going.
Speaker 3 (48:06):
To play a lot with this the ball in his hands.
Speaker 6 (48:10):
I think, you know, Memhart will be required to score
more like I think I think there won't be any
way around it. Where last year he was able to
sort of still facilitate even though he was looking to
deal then you know, falling into that. Okay, let's let's
see Halliburton in up roll. In this case, I think
it's just like he has to put the ball in
the bucket, he has to take shots. You know it's
(48:32):
going to be fired of him that the still goal
attempts go up. And so by that nature, I think
I'm like again, I don't you know, I don't know
if you're to look at and say, well, Nenmark, it's
not gonna appe thirty or twenty five or anything like that,
but you know, like he'll be It'll be seventeen eighteen.
I don't think anybody else will have a seven points line.
Speaker 1 (48:49):
Dustin appreciate it as always. The next thing on the
docket here for the Pacers before we get into preseason
that you will be writing about will be what, ah Man.
Speaker 6 (48:58):
We got practice practice, now, we've got you know, Stan
jam Saturday.
Speaker 3 (49:02):
Im As far as it's like you're asking, like, what's
the next.
Speaker 1 (49:04):
Big development correct or the next just the next event.
Speaker 6 (49:09):
Yeah, next event. I mean, I guess it's fan jam
on Sunday. You know, there's practice all week stuff. We're
just coming out of that. We're going to write about
James Wiseman the one right and some of that stuff.
But we see, we see actually real basketball even tho
it's Tinner Scott Scrimmage on Friday, and then you know
it's one week from today at preseason games.
Speaker 5 (49:25):
Pretty well, all right.
Speaker 1 (49:26):
We look forward to uh not only obviously your time today,
but look forward to talking to you over the course
of the year. Hard to believe it's here, but it is. Dustin,
appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (49:34):
Absolutely things doll with chicks, all right.
Speaker 1 (49:35):
Dustin de pierrec joining us Indianapolis Star.
Speaker 2 (49:38):
Thank you, Eddie.
Speaker 1 (49:41):
We've got Scott Agnes on the line. Jake Scott, Scott
knows all this. Scott joins us on the program. He's
well aware of my gas face dancing skills because they're
probably still immortalized in the halls of our common high school.
Speaker 3 (49:55):
Uh.
Speaker 1 (49:55):
Pacer or excuse me not Pacers, Fever and action. Tonight
in Las Vegas, it is a game five to decisive
Game five to see if they can advance to the
w NBA Finals. So Scott, I will get right to
this question. Can they advance tonight to the WNBA Finals?
Speaker 5 (50:10):
I think, going back to your trademark, why not, Indiana?
I mean, yes, time you.
Speaker 7 (50:15):
Want to continue to count them out, Jake, they prove
us otherwise, so I think all of us would be
foolish to go.
Speaker 5 (50:20):
Ahead and cross them out. Now there's going to be
a lot that has to go right for him.
Speaker 7 (50:25):
We obviously will see how the officiating is called throughout
this one, because it's different from game to game.
Speaker 5 (50:31):
But there's no reason I would even hesitate to say
that they absolutely could get it done.
Speaker 1 (50:36):
Speaking of the officiating in the way it's been called,
Stephanie White in a little bit of hot water, right
for basically agreeing with or having the back of one
of her counterpart coaches.
Speaker 2 (50:45):
Is that right?
Speaker 3 (50:46):
Yeah?
Speaker 7 (50:47):
A thousand dollars fine, And I'd laugh at that because
she didn't add anything new. She just repeated what she's
talked about all season when asked about it. And the
challenge to me, Jake and all this is we're in
the semi finals. They couldn't be any better getting to
the Game five, and yet all the questions pre game
last game where they got fined Becky Hammond two.
Speaker 5 (51:07):
Were about the officiating.
Speaker 7 (51:09):
And so this has been a NonStop conversation both in
the playoffs here and throughout the regular season.
Speaker 5 (51:15):
But yeah, part of me does not.
Speaker 7 (51:17):
Understand the fact that you know, coaches are going to
support them one another and have their endorsements like it's
a small grouping and so then to add another fine
on top of that for not saying anything.
Speaker 5 (51:27):
New was a little bit baffling to me.
Speaker 1 (51:30):
Scott in terms of what Las Vegas has been able
to do, for example, to take advantage of Indiana and
vice versa. Will begin with the one side of it
tonight for the fever. The one thing they need to
make sure that they take care of that has cost
them so far two games in this series would be what.
Speaker 7 (51:52):
I would say their defensive performance. If they're allowing too
many easy buckets around the rims, lazy and falling and
those sort of things. Then if they're in for a
tough night here because you're you're not going to have
a home crowd behind you. You gotta a sellout here
of ten thousand people, so you need you need to
get a stop defensively. That's what Stephanie White's been preaching
(52:13):
all season long.
Speaker 1 (52:15):
Okay. Now, the other side of that would be the
Fever's key to success rides, where.
Speaker 7 (52:21):
I'll say, if they can set the pace into a tempo,
if they're playing fast, if they're getting in fast, getting
out in fast breaks, if they're getting to the rim,
then I think it's in.
Speaker 5 (52:32):
Then the Fever are in for a good night.
Speaker 7 (52:33):
If if it's slowing down, if the aces are dictating
tempo and all of that, then I don't like their chances.
Speaker 1 (52:41):
How important is the Leah Boston going to be.
Speaker 5 (52:45):
Significant? Because of what she has to do at both ends.
On one end, you're dealing with.
Speaker 7 (52:49):
The MVP, and you know she's probably good for at
least twenty five points, although we've seen age you have
a couple bad games in this series, which maybe does
not portend for a good game five for the Fever
on that front. But and then on the other side,
not only is she kind of the hub of the
offense and playing through her even more this season, but
(53:09):
on top of that, I mean, what she's had to
do on the interior, and to me, Jake, what has
stood out is how aggressive and how feisty and how
she has not backed down from that challenge because it
is no easy task and she's doing it and she's
playing like thirty five or forty minutes per game as well.
Speaker 1 (53:26):
You know, would you look at and this is Kart
before the horse. Scott Agnes is our guest Fieldhouse Files,
Fever and Action tonight, Game five against Las Vegas, nine
to thirty tip correct, Eddie, Yeah, nine to fifteen. I
got the pre game. Eddie will have the pregame as
he just mentioned, they're nine to fifteen.
Speaker 4 (53:40):
So for Scott at six fifteen, if he's interested in
tuning in after Stephanie White's pregame media availability.
Speaker 1 (53:45):
That's right. Was there a if they were to get
and I get it, I mean we're speaking fans speak
here because I know from their standpoint it's all about
getting the win tonight. But if if they were to advance,
you know, I was a little surprised to see Phoenix
get past Minnesota. And now maybe that's because I'm not
as nuanced in following the matchup of it, which was
(54:09):
is that an advantageous matchup for Indiana versus Minnesota?
Speaker 5 (54:15):
I think more so than Phoenix. I mean more than
just the curse of them playing.
Speaker 7 (54:19):
In Phoenix and all the different injuries that happened there
was that was a grinded out, physical, grueling series that
even though in the Fista Colliery if she was healthy
for Minnesota, you never want to go against that talent.
I just think Phoenix is a difficult matchup and one
you would have liked to avoid.
Speaker 1 (54:37):
Scott. I mentioned this to Stephanie White, and it was
interesting because she basically said no in every area without
saying no in every area, and that is and follow
me here, I'm almost embarrassed to ask it. Okay, they
win tonight, they get into the WNBA Finals, they let's say,
(55:00):
steal game one. Any chance that Caitlin Clark makes a return.
Speaker 7 (55:07):
Zero because she's not eligible. They have to have an
active list going into the postseason.
Speaker 5 (55:12):
She is not on that cause I thought therefore she
is not available.
Speaker 1 (55:16):
Okay, see I thought that that. Didn't Stephanie say that
she wasn't sure of like where that that lied or something,
Eddie when we asked her about it. Because there's been
so much discussion about it, Scott and I've seen varying
accounts as to whether or not she she would be
eligible to play. You're saying she would definitively not be eligible.
(55:36):
And that's not a finals roll, that's a postseason rule, right, Yes, okay, well, good.
Speaker 5 (55:41):
Back, I understanding ories. Yeah, yeah, for sure.
Speaker 7 (55:46):
This is all new territory because there and there's also
a lot of stuff that's going around the internet, like
if they're down two more players.
Speaker 5 (55:52):
Do they get an add a place? And it's like,
uh no, they can't.
Speaker 7 (55:55):
Add any more players should there be more injuries because
there are no more hardship exceptions in the playoff And
so the other thing is by not putting.
Speaker 5 (56:03):
Her on the active list, that allowed them.
Speaker 7 (56:05):
To keep the other players, like the hardship players, to
still be on the roster, or else you would have
had this sacrifice at least one of those spots.
Speaker 1 (56:12):
Do you get the impression that Las Vegas is more
how do I word this? Their experience at this point
is paying dividend for them? Or do they seem to
be at times just as on their heels as any
other team would be in this situation.
Speaker 7 (56:31):
Yeah, I would say the latter. I think they're trying
to figure this out on the fly. In as much
as the fever Head faced their own kind of adversity
still has this Vegas team. I still think back to
that early July game Jake and Indianapolis, where outside of
Asian no one else on that Aces team showed up
or I think made more than one field goal. It
was one of the worst, if not the worst opponent
(56:52):
performances collectively I have ever seen.
Speaker 5 (56:55):
And so then they navigate that, get over that in
a few weeks, and then.
Speaker 7 (56:58):
They rattle off eighteen or seventeen of eighteen.
Speaker 5 (57:00):
Wins two in the regular season, and so yeah, I think.
Speaker 7 (57:05):
This is a classic case where they're going to hope
to try to lean on some of that big game
experience and such. But I don't necessarily have anything like
one or two points there that we've seen.
Speaker 5 (57:15):
It's like, oh, yeah, they've been here before. You could
really see it in this moment.
Speaker 1 (57:20):
Scott, by the way, what have you done in Vegas
in your free time?
Speaker 5 (57:26):
Just had a nice dinner and a little gambling.
Speaker 1 (57:29):
A little gambling, okay, and in the gambling aspect, Eddie's
ears perked up. You gambled in what way? Like I
only play roulette. By the way, Blacks thirty one hits
every time you play what games when you gamble.
Speaker 7 (57:44):
Almost exclusively blackjack. If I'm one with the group, I
like craps, but not when it's one or two of you.
Speaker 1 (57:50):
I've never understood that, Like, am I weird that I
don't understand craps?
Speaker 2 (57:54):
Is that?
Speaker 7 (57:55):
Like?
Speaker 1 (57:55):
Is Crap's one of those games that once you learn it,
you don't understand how you didn't learn it. Does that
make sense?
Speaker 7 (58:01):
I think that's all the games quite frankly, even like blackjack,
like all the little nuances right of when you doubled down,
when you split, like that's where you really get the
best odds ultimately, So no, I think I think you
just have to learn by practice through all of these
except maybe Roulette, where you just pick and choose Scott.
Speaker 4 (58:20):
In the last couple of games, Mikayla Timpson has been
the first player off the bench for Stephanie White. There
were so many games through out of the course of
the regular season, especially down the stretch, A don't I understand?
This is probably largely connected to Tamoor Staunton's being in
the concussion protocol, and she's out again tonight for the
Indiana fever. But what was it about the Las Vegas
aces that allowed or I guess I should say spark
(58:42):
Stephanie White to go to Mikayla Timpson instead of Brianna
Turner or somebody else off to bench first.
Speaker 2 (58:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (58:48):
I think it was mostly physicality.
Speaker 7 (58:50):
She's got that defensive mindset the wingspan as well in
her activity levels high on the on the Glass and
they've been so good throughout most of this series on
the Glass. But the number one thing step points to
is is her physicality to battle inside and get after it.
Speaker 1 (59:06):
Scott, the the gambling, By the way, I'm back to this.
You won or lost?
Speaker 5 (59:12):
Sure, I had a good night last night?
Speaker 1 (59:16):
So he broke even to find good night? Did it
pay for dinner? Yes, pay for the hotel.
Speaker 5 (59:24):
That was comped, but yes, comped.
Speaker 1 (59:27):
Well, I believe what we're dealing with here is a
high roller okay, okay, uh pay for the flight home?
Speaker 2 (59:35):
Yes?
Speaker 4 (59:36):
Oh my wow, Scott was a heater last night.
Speaker 1 (59:41):
You have to pay taxes on it?
Speaker 7 (59:44):
No?
Speaker 2 (59:45):
No, I wish wow.
Speaker 5 (59:47):
Yeah, No, it's just a good night.
Speaker 2 (59:49):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (59:49):
I guess.
Speaker 5 (59:50):
Look, anybody that knows it knows it's just as easily
it could be a bad night.
Speaker 1 (59:54):
Okay, true enough that you could buy yourself Taylor Swift tickets.
Speaker 2 (01:00:00):
No, no, not at all.
Speaker 1 (01:00:02):
Okay, Wow, do you think it'd be weird if I
go to see Oasis in Buenos Aires, Argentina, By the way,
not at all if No.
Speaker 7 (01:00:14):
I think I learned through this whole Daylor Swift thing
that the concert experience, for the most part, overseas is great.
It's not better in some circumstance, totally circumstances than here
in the US.
Speaker 1 (01:00:22):
Totally agree, totally agree, all right, Scott, Tonight it is
fever in Las Vegas, aces Fieldhouse files all the coverage.
Appreciate the time as always. All right, thanks guys, Scott
Agnes joining us on the program, Scott, might I say
high roller?
Speaker 2 (01:00:35):
Agnes?
Speaker 3 (01:00:36):
Right,