May 2, 2019 • 32 mins
Doug takes a look at Kevin Durant on the Warriors and why he could stay in Golden State, even though everyone thinks he will leave for the Knicks. He also thinks it’s time for the Steelers to stop talking about Ben Roethlisberger all the time. Doug talks to NBA Writer for The Athletic Zach Harper about each of the NBA playoff series.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the best of the Doug gott
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(00:21):
the best of the Doug got Leave Show on Fox
Sports Radio. Boom of America, Doug gott Leap Show, Fox
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Show brought you by Farmers and Farmers. We've seen almost everything,
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so when I cover almost anything, when it's game time,
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put their experience in play at Farmers dot com. Are
farmers uh? I saw this story and it relates to
what I think will be the story of the offseason
in in the NBA, which is the story of the
season in the NBA. And that's where will Kevin Durant
(01:05):
play next season? Man Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan
is sued for making too much money and spending too
much time with his band. Shareholders of MSG alleged that
Dolan's pay is quote excessive and that his job is
only quote part time due to how much he tours
with his band j D in the Straight Shot. In
(01:26):
a statement, MSG told the Financial Times news service Agenda,
which first reported the news, this lawsuit amounts to nothing
more than corporate harassment. The company stands by its policies
and its practices. And then you get this from NBA
insider Chris Haynes. Quote. This is where this blank is fun.
(01:48):
This is where it's serious, and I'm just embracing it.
He's talking. This is Kevin Durant talking about playing in
the playoffs. I'm just having so much fun right now.
This is the time of year, is what I'm here for.
I'm just hooping at a high level and enjoying the
competitiveness of the playoffs. You go through such a long
season to get to this point, and now it's time
to produce. Okay. There's always a y to why people
(02:15):
leave jobs, right, There's always a y. I didn't leave
ESPN because I didn't like ESPN I loved it. I
had a great house of a great neighborhood. I worked
there for nine years. I knew everybody, from the cafeteria
person to the people who worked in every different field.
Because I had worked for ESPN News dot com, magazine, radio, studio, games, uh,
(02:41):
daily shows, you name it. I'd worked with everybody, so
relationships with everybody. Plus my kids went to school or
played sports and or I did you know, mommy and
me courses are my little Jim and I would meet
other people from work. We all belong to the same
country club. Like I had nothing to do with any
of this nonsense you heard. I didn't even leave for
more money, same number of years. I was up at
(03:04):
a five year deal one place, in a five year
deal at the other. But two things. One, if I
took the job at CBS, I could move to the
West Coast, which would take my radio show, same radio
show I have now twelve to three. In other words,
I'd actually get to see my kids in the afternoon. Huh.
(03:27):
And that affected me because when you do college basketball,
it's five months out of the year. You're going every Saturday,
some Sundays, and then days during the week as well,
and then so I'm gone on weekends five months out
of the year and on weekday afternoons, and I thought
to myself, for five years, that's prime parenting time. My
(03:50):
kids are gonna get too high school, I'll be done
and I have a bunch of money in my bank
and I won't know my kids. So you combine that
with moving home. My dad was sick at the time,
and then I got a chance to do the n
c A tournament check check check win, win win. And
(04:10):
then when I left that place for this place, what
was the reason they had moved me mid contract? That
wasn't part of what we originally discussed. So there was
a breakdown in communication, a breakdown some trust. And I
believed in this radio network above all others because like
we got Claig, Travis, Dan Patrick me, you know, straight
(04:33):
at a Vegas odd couple lay up TV. People are
easy and I liked we had growing college basketball, got
to do some NFL stuff, living the West Coast, done
at three o'clock. It's a rap. There's a reason why
everybody thinks people make decisions because of money. If you're
any good, you're gonna make that money back. The truth
(04:57):
I'm gonna make the money back. There's gotta be reasons.
Hack one reason, I you know, I came here. I
want to be happy. And Kevin Durant has not been happy, right,
that's what. And he hadn't been happy. What was the
reason that he left Oklahoma City? Well, it's because you
couldn't beat him. You joined them. Now a little bit
(05:19):
that because of the construct of Oklahoma City's team he
grew frustrated, not just in Russell Westbrook. It's a little
bit he knew wherever you go. I mean, look, Steph
Curry dominates the basketball. Steph Curry has the ball, makes
some turnovers, takes some batch like it's not the steps
great and probably easier to play with than Westbrook, but
(05:39):
there's some flaws there. Russell westbrooks much better defensively, you
don't have to cover for him as much. But the
construct of the team. If you go back and watch
when they played the Golden State Warriors, every time he
got the ball, there were two guys waiting for him
in the lane because he had John Andre Robert and
Andre robertson. Yet Stephen Adams two non scores, and what
(06:00):
the Warrior said was, do you think you're the best
player on earth. Kevin Ryan said, yes, Well, the guy
who everybody else thinks is the best player on Earth
is Lebron James. And if you come join us, we
can guarantee two things. One you'll get a shot at
Lebron James every year, and two you'll get space to
show you're the better player. You don't have to play
(06:23):
one on two or one on three, but one on one.
Whose best player in the league? I am? Whose best
one on one player in league? I am? You want
to show it? You want to think it? Or do
you want to show it? Right? That's that was the argument.
That's that's what swayed him. It's very that's simple. I
remember I was at home and I'm sitting there and
(06:44):
I'm watching the n C. I was I was talking
about one of my wife and she was like, could
you ever watch the n C Herman again, knowing you
turned down the job to work the Final four? And
I said no, she said, We'll take the job. That's
the pool. So why would Kevin Durant, Why would Kevin
(07:07):
Durant leave this great setup for the New York Knicks?
Why how would you leave You're in northern California moving
to a new arena, because how many because he's in
the same he was, he believed before the playoffs. I'm
in that same space. I'm actually the best player. But
because James Harden has his own team and has this
(07:29):
ridiculously high usage rate, he puts up bigger numbers. Heck
Russell Westbrook's average of triple double the last three years.
Somehow he's getting more respect than I am because of
his stats, because he's got his own team. And so
the thought is, if I can be the guy who
saves the Knicks, if I can be the go to guy,
(07:49):
I can put up crap. I've already led. He's led
the league in scoring four times. Like we've so quickly forgotten,
Kevin Durant has shown he could lead the NBA in
scoring four times over. But look what's happened this postseason.
I'm embracing it. I'm having fun. Why is he having fun? Well,
he's playing great and he's winning. Those two things are fun,
(08:12):
but he's also getting the Hey, you know what, Kevin
Durant might be the best player on earth. Finally, Steph
hasn't been great. Clay Thompson's Clay Thompson is up and down.
Draymond has been way better than the post season the
regular season, but people are only pointing out, hey, you
know what, this Durant kid, he's kind of good, And
(08:35):
then you factor in not just in New York, hasn't won,
hasn't done anything, and there's no promise of even getting
to this fun part, right, Like, do I think they
would make the playoffs if Kevin Durant goes there? Sure,
and Kyrie Irvan goes there. Sure, But is there a
guarantee it's gonna be this much fun? Like, dude, they
(08:55):
literally have not been competitive late in the season in
five years. You don't just flip a switch and then
all of a sudden you're playing at this playing like this.
I love David Fizdel, everybody likes Dave Fizzdale. Let me know,
the last time he was playing deep in the playoffs
as a head coach hasn't happened. And then you gotta
(09:20):
work for Jim Dolan. And here's the thing that I
have learned in my three jobs as a broadcaster, and
in my six or seven jobs as a player, and
in my two schools that I went to as a
basketball player, and I can relate it to every other
(09:41):
person who holds a job. A job is only as
good as the boss, right is the boss. Look, the
reality of Jim Dolan is he is hanging out with
the band. He doesn't have anything really to do with basketball,
but once a year he's hims to show up and
make an ask for himself and Madison's sure garden. And
(10:02):
he is still the owner. And so while the plan
as of now is you guys run basketball and I'm
gonna play in the band and I'll show up every
now and again, that plan can change whenever he wants
it to change, because Jim Dolan owns the team. So
we can sit here and say, well, that wouldn't be right,
(10:24):
doesn't matter, doesn't matter. Owners own. That's a that's a
professional sports expression. What does it mean. It's the same
reason that Jimmy Hasselman employed an analytics department to discover
who the best quarterback in the draft was, and then
the day of the draft he goes, yeah, I know
you wanted Teddy Bridgewater somebody else, but we're gonna draft
(10:45):
Johnny Manzel. Why Because I'm the owner of the team,
and I say what goes? Owners own the same reason
that the scouts from the Washington Redskins either wanted Josh
Rosen or Daniel Jones, and they drafted Dwayne Haskins. Why
because Snyder's daughter went to school with Dwayne Haskins in
(11:07):
high school. Owners own and so at the end of
the day, if you're happy, don't mess with happy. If
you compete for a championship, why would you go somewhere
where you don't know if you can pete for a
championship and if you're finally getting the respect you deserve.
(11:31):
I mean, heck, who among us hasn't been a job
I remember when I was, when I was the feeling
one of the sticking points are is a your true story?
I probably shouldn't share, but I don't care. Whatever I
told you. I liked working there, but Mike and Mike
had an office, Colin had an office. Nobody else had
an office. I had a cupicle, which I didn't mind,
(11:52):
and spent a ton of time there. But one of
opportunity reason I did't spent a ton of time there
was it was a cupicle. It was loud. And why
I need to app because I would do Sports Center
in the in the morning and then do all these
shows and do my show in the afternoon and then
do college basketball or something at night. I wanted somewhere
to like just close my eyes or just shut off
the sound. And I viewed it as respecting I'm here enough,
(12:19):
I do enough. Why do those guys get it? So
I actually understand k D's played. I think many of
you understand Kyd's played. He not from Northern California. He
likes it, but he hasn't loved it. And one of
the reasons he hasn't loved it was people haven't embraced
(12:40):
him as being as good as he in his heart
of hearts knows he is because his performance at the
key times has been good enough to be deemed at
the level that he believes it is until now. And
so the reason I started with a story about Sharehold.
There's an MSG suing James Dolan for making too much
(13:06):
money and spending too much time with his band, only
tells you James Dolan kind of a jerk. Nobody really
likes him, And if you're the New York Knicks, you've
got to be getting really, really nervous because three months
ago it was a rap. He wasn't happy and the
Knicks looked like a great landing spot, and now he
(13:28):
is happy and the Knicks look like the Knicks. Be
sure to catch live editions of The Doug Dot Leap
Show weekdays at noon Eastern three pm Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app February. Ben
is big. Ben is the unquestioned leader of this team.
Like I said, he's the elder statesman. This is when
(13:50):
Kevin Colbert, the general manager, uttered these words, No, guys,
what you're doing is or is not good enough to
do this. He's got fifty two guys under him. Quite honestly,
I think once you win it, you've got fifty three
guys who who can say what it took Right now,
(14:11):
he's the only one. I have no problem with him.
He can call me out. That's fine. It goes on
Ben Bend Bend, Bend Bend Bend, Ben March Owners Meetings.
Kevin Colbert on the criticism Ben received from Antonio Brown.
Ben's very comfortable with who he is, what he's done,
and what he can still do. I don't think it
(14:31):
will affect him because each and every year he's out
trying to prove who he is. We're very comfortable knowing
Ben is our quarterback and he's our leader. March Mike Tomlin,
I have no problem with his Ben's play or his leadership.
I've heard some of the scuttle, but I have no
reaction to former Steelers and things of that nature. March
(14:51):
Art Rooney owner. I think Ben's record speak for itself.
Ben Ben Ben. They might as well have Steeler bucks
that are printed, and on the Steeler bucks they have
Ben Roethlisberger's face and underneath it it says in Ben,
we trust. Like they have gone all in on Ben Roethlisberger.
(15:11):
I've never seen anything of the kind. Now. This is
Steelers gentlemanager Kevin Colbert on Pro Football Talk discussing Big
Ben's future. I know he doesn't have an expiration day.
He's still very competitive. He still wants to do this
at a high level, and he doesn't want to do it.
(15:32):
He doesn't need money. Um, he doesn't need Hall of
Fame credentials. In my opinion, he's already achieved both of those.
What he wants is more Super Bowls and he wants
to continue to try to win, and then you know
we're going to support that. I mean, like, look who
doesn't want more Super Bowls. Um, he is coming off
(15:54):
a remarkably productive year, probably to productive a year, right, Like,
if you get you get to his age, his stature,
in his playing career, he's probably doing too much. But
he wants more of it. He wants more command, more control,
more opportunities, and he's gonna get it because they've gone
(16:14):
all in on Ben Roethlisberger. And you know what, I'm
not sure I disagree with that. In many ways, they
are riding and dieing with Ben Roethlisberger. Last year, he
threw for a career high in yards, a career high
in touchdown passes thirty four. They did not make the playoffs.
(16:36):
That's fair. He also had tied for his second highest
number of interceptions, but he was only sacked twenty four times.
He redid his contract, but it's fairly reasonable. And while
we can say that, we can attest that this success
of Mike Tomlin is remarkable that Tomlin has never had
(16:56):
a losing record, neither has Ben Roethlisberger. But man, they
do sound a little bit like the teenage girl talking
about Ben. Ben is just he's the adult in the room.
Ben is just this bend andy like enough about Ben,
and like the teenage girl, they cannot stop talking about Ben,
(17:19):
Ben Ben Ben, Ben, Ben Ben Ben. But you know,
as much as I'd like to pick apart the love affair,
the infatuation with Ben and say there were times in
which he wasn't great last year, he did throw for
five thousand yards, did throw for thirty four t d s.
He had a ninety point five quarterback rating. He was
(17:39):
sacked only twenty four times. I'm not sure I wouldn't
be all in on Ben considering what he was able
to do last season, and it was a tumultuous season
at that. Be sure to catch live editions. So the
Doug Dot Leap Show week days in noon eastern three
pm Pacific. And now Little Siege is a place to
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(18:03):
Excuse me, get a large five meat fast. Why can't
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Canadian bacon will be substituted for Haim in certain areas.
He's in Canadian bacon in him. The same thing that
lamas is that one good can we use that? That's
a take's take to take and I'll be my trailer.
This is this is Dan Patrick trolley meat earlier in
(18:47):
the day. Here's another thing that I think has been
lost in this. And Doug Gottlieb is always reminding me
that Kevin Durant's the best player in basketball. Uh. He's
a wonderful player, really wonderful player. Improved his defense, He's
a great all around player. But nobody is game planning
for Kevin Durant like they do James Harden, the Greek freak. Uh,
(19:07):
Steph Curry. The game plan more for Steph Curry than
they do Kevin Durant because they're so fearful of the three.
Kevin Durant gets single coverage for the most part. Steph Curry,
you know that they flash on him all the time.
They're trying to double team him. Uh, we know what's
happening with James Harden. The Warriors defense has geared towards
stopping James Harden. The Rockets defense can't go, oh, we're
(19:32):
just gonna stop Kevin Durant. Durant has been the beneficiary.
Has he played well, yes he has, But those midrange
jumpers don't concern the Rockets the way Steps three does
and what that opens up. And with Joanna's the Celtics
are focusing on trying to shut down him one player,
and Kevin Durant does not get that. I'm gonna respectfully
(19:57):
disagree here. Of course, you're not gonna leave Steph Curry
and double team Kevin Durant, and they're gonna leave Clay Thompson.
And the reason that Draymond Green and Andrea Goodala have
both had, you know, double figure, double figure games, is
because you have two guys that are helping on the
other three incredible shooters. And when they set a pick
(20:22):
and roll, they hit Draymond Green and he either goes
and scores it or he throws an alley to Andre Goodala.
How many times have we seen that, Like they're doing
the exact same thing as Houston. Houston is playing with
one guy on James Harden. Why if you double team him.
They got the rest of the team spread so far
out that somebody's gonna get a wide open shot, wide
(20:44):
open shot. Yes, they're absolutely game planning to stop Kevin Durant.
Look some of the letting him get those tour letting him,
trying to force him off his spot and making him
and take tough twos. That's what you do with anybody,
even Lebron James. Remember the Indiana Pacers last year against
Lebron James, would let Lebron go ahead, did cover you,
(21:06):
not leave any of your shooters and nearly worked. They
went to seven games in that series to beat the
beat to beat him? How to go to seven? You know?
So the the the idea they're not game playing from,
they absolutely are, absolutely are. Look if you don't think,
forget what we think. Here's what Lou Williams and Pat
(21:27):
Beverley said after game was a game six of the
last series. We tried everything right, So we we tried
everything we had. We had several different coverages for Katie
and they didn't work. Like like sometimes sometimes you come
(21:49):
across special people and it doesn't matter what you've sent
to him. It's no scheme, it's no defense, it's no
nothing that you can do with special people. He's one
of him and he showed it to night. He put
them guys on his shoulders and even the game that
he that he came out, he was like, I'm Kevin Durant.
Y'all know who I am, and that that's a bold
statement to make when you're about to go see some
(22:11):
guys that's extremely competitive. And he came out that game
and he said, I can really shoot over these guys.
And he did it. So it wasn't lack of effort
on our part. He's an all world professional and he
proved himself. He proved exactly who people think he is,
who he think he is himself, and he did it
and he touched your hat off to a guy like that.
(22:31):
Lou Williams, by the way, um, your honor arrest my case.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports
Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app
search f s R to listen live. Zack Harper and
I have worked together in another place now he's at
the athletic he's uh, hosting the No Look Pass from
(22:55):
one to four on Serious Sex m n b A,
and of course writes for The Athletic. He joined just
on the Doug Gottlip Show. Um, what are your thoughts
on on Kevin Durant? I I offer up the whatever
it takes to make you happy, that's where you should be.
And I felt like the only reason he wasn't happy
in Golden State was he wasn't getting the respect that
he felt like he deserved. Now he's getting it. Why leave?
(23:20):
That's a good question. I mean, that's kind of the
question the warriors are trying to figure out too, right,
Like it's it's he's been someone who has been relatively
miserable considering the success he's had at a historic level.
And when you're Kevin Durant, like I think he thought,
all right, i'll go to Golden State, I'll win some titles,
finally I'll get the respect, and everyone just kind of
dismissed his titles. Like not everyone, but you know what
(23:40):
I mean, Like the collective was just like, no, you
you took the easy way out. And and now like
he's trying to figure out, all right, how well do
I have to play in order to get this. Well,
it turns out if you start dropping forty points every game,
then everyone's like, oh, yeah, he's good, like of course
Kevin durant Um. But with him, like, I don't know,
like it could be possible that, like he's so good
his satorically and he knows it that he may never
(24:03):
be happy with his career. It may always be okay,
what's next, whether it's validation or more championships or more
MVPs or whatever. And I just like, he may just
be a guy that just isn't easily happy. Yeah, yeah,
might be Like there are people in life that are
happy when they're unhappy, right, They're happily unhappy. Yeah, he
might be might be one of those guys. By the way,
(24:24):
there's breaking news in the NBA. D'Angelo Russell apparently tried
to sneak weed through airport security, but did so using
a fake Arizona iced tea. Can you see the story?
I did not see the story. A couple of things.
A couple of things. I'll just point this out. I'm
an Arizona iced tea fan. I used to drink Arizona
is back before iced tea became the thing. Arizona ice
(24:46):
t was a big thing, a little on the sweet side.
They need to water down that formula a little bit.
And there there aren't a palmer is a good an
a palmer to camp but again too sweet. But who
thinks you can get a drink on a plane? You dope?
Forget about that. You had a better chance of just
weed in the bag. Then you do a can write
like a can draws the attention. You can't get a
(25:08):
can on on on a plane anymore. No, you can't
get You can barely get anything on a plane anymore.
Like I think, I think the move is is you
gotta you gotta roll. You know, you gotta roll some
stuff in clothing, check the bag and just hope for
the best. You can't try to carry on like that
is that's a heat check. Like I know he takes
some rational shots. That is a heat check. That's that's
a that's a bizarre one. How much how much faith
(25:29):
do you have that will have a series in Houston?
I don't have much. I mean, obviously Game three is
gonna be the key to all that. But I don't
like the way Houston responded after Game one, basically making
this a woe was us? Look where this is so unfair?
Blah blah blah. I mean maybe if you just concentrate
on shooting shots instead of trying to get foul when
you shoot shots, you would make those shots and you
would beat the Warriors. Like I think they have all
(25:51):
the makings from a talent standpoint, um from you know,
from a personnel standpoint, from the standpoint of the Warrior
are now going through, you know, essentially year five of this.
I know Kevin Durant only been there for three, but
year five of just a hundred games every year until
they get a little bit of wear and tear on
their side. But mentally like this team just never shows
up consistently to take down the Warriors. I know they
(26:13):
were up three to last year. That doesn't matter anymore,
like that that was last year, Like it just doesn't matter.
This team just seems too mentally weak. If they don't
come out in in Game three and not only respond
to win, but respond in an emphatic way, I just
think it's a five game series. I don't know, I
think they're gonna they're gonna win. I feel pretty strong
faith they win Game three. They get some calls I mean,
it is interesting that like Harden literally got poked in
(26:37):
the eye, like you see the blood, uh in his
eye even now. Um so, I mean like those claims
were totally legitimate in game two, but even then, you
didn't feel like he got a bad whistle. Like I
actually thought Game two was pretty well officiated. If anything,
they got a couple of calls maybe they shouldn't have. Yeah,
I actually was very impressed with it, Like going into
it is obviously as Scott Foster, Oh my god, Scott
(26:58):
Fosters going, and you know that has its own connotations
with pretty much every fan base in the NBA. But
I was I walked away thinking like, wow, that was
a really well officiated game, especially after all the conversation
leading up to it. Um, you know, at a certain point,
like I get it, it's part of his game, like
hunting fouls and and getting teams in foul trouble and
getting those free points because he's such a good free
(27:20):
throw shore. I get it, Like it's it's a smart strategy.
But when you're not getting the whistle, don't you have
to adjust? Like that was my thing about game one,
Like they were like whether you like to call or
not it was pretty consistent all game long, and yet
they kept going to it. I'm just like, man, you
gotta be smarter than that. That's the mental part of it,
Like you have to adjust in games. However it's being officiated,
as long as that officiates consistent. The Gotlip Show here
(27:43):
on Fox Sports Radio. Zach Harper is my guest from
the Athletic plus the host uh Sirix Sex M NBA Radio.
Let's get to tonight, Shelley. You have the Philadelphia seventies
six ers and Joel Embiid, who's might be the most
talented kid, a player in the in the NBA, but
he's seemingly never healthy. He got the whole Jimmy, don't
(28:05):
call me James Butler thing, right. But they are playing
at home, and after Game one against Brooklyn, they played
well at home in the playoffs against the Rafters, who
you don't know what you're gonna get out of Kyle Lowry,
but they do have maybe the best player, actual basketball
player in this series in Kawhi Leonard. What do you
think of Game three to nine. I think it's gonna
be fascinating to see just how the little matchups here
(28:25):
and there are adjusted like, is Ben Simmons going to
be allowed to be more aggressive and try to get
to the free throw line even though he's not a
good free throw shooter. Like how much time does co
I spend on him to kind of disrupt what they
want to do? You know, how how much can Toronto
get away playing one on one with Marcus Salt versus
Joel and bad because Gasol has actually defended him extremely
well over the last couple of seasons, uh, in these
(28:46):
individual matchups. And then and then in terms of Toronto,
like you know, they got an adjustment in game two
where Philly put Joel and bead on Pascal Siakam and
said go ahead, like that's your guy, go ahead, that
go go be you know a number who next to
Kauai and he really struggled in to the second half.
Do the Rafters go out there and and put him
into more action at the top of the key and
forced duel and beat him away from the basket and
(29:09):
and dare him to go defend in space against a
very quick, lanky guy. Like I kind of think that's
the those are the three things for me that go
into it. And then at a certain point, like Kyle
Lowry right, Like, if I'm Philly, I make Kyle Lowry
beat me. I just do like if and if he
beat two, he beat two. But like, this is a
guy who shoots less and less and less every single year,
and this year he hardly shoots at all. Like, I
(29:31):
know he's been a big score in the past, but
it's rarely coming to playoffs, and I would make him
beat me. Let's get to Boston taking out Milwaukee. Kind
of tale of two very different games. Uh, what do
you think happens in game three? I expect Boston to
come out and win games three. I just think that
they'll shoot better at home. I think the role players
will be more consistent at home. I think the defensive
(29:52):
strategy of these sound. And then I think in game
four Milwaukee comes out there and adjustin it's too too
going back to Milwaukee. And at that point, can you
win two of these next three games? And with if
your Milwaukee two of them at home? Um, it should
be something that you're able to pull off. But it
again with Boston, it's always do they like each other
enough to pull together? And it's crazy that we're still
(30:13):
having these conversations about them, But it does just come
down to they're the most talented team in the East,
like one through fifteen, Like they really are. It's just
they rarely play together in a consistent way game the game.
I remember we had the Kumbaya cross country flight. They
go into Oakland, they beat Oakland. It's like, oh, if
they fixed their issues, they lost four other next seven games.
Like this team just doesn't you know. They have it
(30:35):
up and then they have it down and and until
they figure out how to play with each other. I
do expect Milwaukee to ultimately come out on top of
that series, just because they had that chemistry. Really think
you like them winning the series? I don't. I don't know. Yeah,
I think I think it goes seven, Doug. But I
also think, like, if you could guarantee that Boston is
gonna play with their peak, I'll take Bossy s peak
over Milwaukee speak. I just don't think they get them. Um, Okay,
(30:58):
so then then let's get the poor Land and uh.
And Denver felt like Denver was your ki was just
gassed right end of the fourth quarter against the Spurs.
He was I saw Henry Abbott's piece and just how
tired he was. Um and then he was great in
game one, just killed and his cantor. But game two
he seemed to kind of level off, and there there
was just a lack of juice there, and really, without
(31:19):
a spectacular performance from Damian Lillard, Portland goes on the
road and gets a win. Um, do you see Portland
win this series? I had Portland in seven going into
the series. I still feel pretty good about that. But
if you're Denver, I guess part of me would be
very frustrated that I dropped that game at home, because
what is it like? Ncent of teams end up winning
(31:40):
when they're up to own a series. But you had
so many good shots. I mean, they weren't hitting jumpers early,
they went inside, they couldn't make shots inside the counting
team rebounds, that had seventeen offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter,
and couldn't dominate on the on the second chance points.
I mean, I just I think that you have to
figure those shots will fall at some point. It wasn't
(32:00):
anything Portland was able to necessarily do. You just missed
a lot of shots around the rim. And so I
think Denver should feel pretty good about themselves. But you
can't expect Dame to go five and seventeen every game,
like I think he's gonna come out. I actually think
that they'll They'll probably leave Portland's up three one, and
then for Denver's just trying to survive after that, UM
(32:20):
trying to get back in the series. But I think
the Blazers up three one eventually close that out. Amazing
right with with with no Nurkics if they could win
this series and get to the Western Conference Finals. On
the other hand, what would it mean for Golden State
if they get Portland, a team that they've eliminated from
the playoffs, you know, in the Western Conference finals. As
good as Lillard is, they're just not the firepower there.
What a great you know, what a nice kind of
(32:42):
easy set up before you get to the NBA finals
where Eastern Conference Finals are going to be an all
out war. Uh? Is that great stuff? Dude? Really love
your work and appreciate you and its thanks for for
being our guests. Thanks so a great time.
Thanks for listening to the best of the Doug gott
Leap Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every
weekday from three to six pm Eastern Time, that's twelve
to three Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. Find your local
station for the Doug Gottlieb Show at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
I Heart Radio app by searching fs R. This is
(00:21):
the best of the Doug got Leave Show on Fox
Sports Radio. Boom of America, Doug gott Leap Show, Fox
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Show brought you by Farmers and Farmers. We've seen almost everything,
(00:43):
so when I cover almost anything, when it's game time,
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put their experience in play at Farmers dot com. Are
farmers uh? I saw this story and it relates to
what I think will be the story of the offseason
in in the NBA, which is the story of the
season in the NBA. And that's where will Kevin Durant
(01:05):
play next season? Man Madison Square Garden CEO James Dolan
is sued for making too much money and spending too
much time with his band. Shareholders of MSG alleged that
Dolan's pay is quote excessive and that his job is
only quote part time due to how much he tours
with his band j D in the Straight Shot. In
(01:26):
a statement, MSG told the Financial Times news service Agenda,
which first reported the news, this lawsuit amounts to nothing
more than corporate harassment. The company stands by its policies
and its practices. And then you get this from NBA
insider Chris Haynes. Quote. This is where this blank is fun.
(01:48):
This is where it's serious, and I'm just embracing it.
He's talking. This is Kevin Durant talking about playing in
the playoffs. I'm just having so much fun right now.
This is the time of year, is what I'm here for.
I'm just hooping at a high level and enjoying the
competitiveness of the playoffs. You go through such a long
season to get to this point, and now it's time
to produce. Okay. There's always a y to why people
(02:15):
leave jobs, right, There's always a y. I didn't leave
ESPN because I didn't like ESPN I loved it. I
had a great house of a great neighborhood. I worked
there for nine years. I knew everybody, from the cafeteria
person to the people who worked in every different field.
Because I had worked for ESPN News dot com, magazine, radio, studio, games, uh,
(02:41):
daily shows, you name it. I'd worked with everybody, so
relationships with everybody. Plus my kids went to school or
played sports and or I did you know, mommy and
me courses are my little Jim and I would meet
other people from work. We all belong to the same
country club. Like I had nothing to do with any
of this nonsense you heard. I didn't even leave for
more money, same number of years. I was up at
(03:04):
a five year deal one place, in a five year
deal at the other. But two things. One, if I
took the job at CBS, I could move to the
West Coast, which would take my radio show, same radio
show I have now twelve to three. In other words,
I'd actually get to see my kids in the afternoon. Huh.
(03:27):
And that affected me because when you do college basketball,
it's five months out of the year. You're going every Saturday,
some Sundays, and then days during the week as well,
and then so I'm gone on weekends five months out
of the year and on weekday afternoons, and I thought
to myself, for five years, that's prime parenting time. My
(03:50):
kids are gonna get too high school, I'll be done
and I have a bunch of money in my bank
and I won't know my kids. So you combine that
with moving home. My dad was sick at the time,
and then I got a chance to do the n
c A tournament check check check win, win win. And
(04:10):
then when I left that place for this place, what
was the reason they had moved me mid contract? That
wasn't part of what we originally discussed. So there was
a breakdown in communication, a breakdown some trust. And I
believed in this radio network above all others because like
we got Claig, Travis, Dan Patrick me, you know, straight
(04:33):
at a Vegas odd couple lay up TV. People are
easy and I liked we had growing college basketball, got
to do some NFL stuff, living the West Coast, done
at three o'clock. It's a rap. There's a reason why
everybody thinks people make decisions because of money. If you're
any good, you're gonna make that money back. The truth
(04:57):
I'm gonna make the money back. There's gotta be reasons.
Hack one reason, I you know, I came here. I
want to be happy. And Kevin Durant has not been happy, right,
that's what. And he hadn't been happy. What was the
reason that he left Oklahoma City? Well, it's because you
couldn't beat him. You joined them. Now a little bit
(05:19):
that because of the construct of Oklahoma City's team he
grew frustrated, not just in Russell Westbrook. It's a little
bit he knew wherever you go. I mean, look, Steph
Curry dominates the basketball. Steph Curry has the ball, makes
some turnovers, takes some batch like it's not the steps
great and probably easier to play with than Westbrook, but
(05:39):
there's some flaws there. Russell westbrooks much better defensively, you
don't have to cover for him as much. But the
construct of the team. If you go back and watch
when they played the Golden State Warriors, every time he
got the ball, there were two guys waiting for him
in the lane because he had John Andre Robert and
Andre robertson. Yet Stephen Adams two non scores, and what
(06:00):
the Warrior said was, do you think you're the best
player on earth. Kevin Ryan said, yes, Well, the guy
who everybody else thinks is the best player on Earth
is Lebron James. And if you come join us, we
can guarantee two things. One you'll get a shot at
Lebron James every year, and two you'll get space to
show you're the better player. You don't have to play
(06:23):
one on two or one on three, but one on one.
Whose best player in the league? I am? Whose best
one on one player in league? I am? You want
to show it? You want to think it? Or do
you want to show it? Right? That's that was the argument.
That's that's what swayed him. It's very that's simple. I
remember I was at home and I'm sitting there and
(06:44):
I'm watching the n C. I was I was talking
about one of my wife and she was like, could
you ever watch the n C Herman again, knowing you
turned down the job to work the Final four? And
I said no, she said, We'll take the job. That's
the pool. So why would Kevin Durant, Why would Kevin
(07:07):
Durant leave this great setup for the New York Knicks?
Why how would you leave You're in northern California moving
to a new arena, because how many because he's in
the same he was, he believed before the playoffs. I'm
in that same space. I'm actually the best player. But
because James Harden has his own team and has this
(07:29):
ridiculously high usage rate, he puts up bigger numbers. Heck
Russell Westbrook's average of triple double the last three years.
Somehow he's getting more respect than I am because of
his stats, because he's got his own team. And so
the thought is, if I can be the guy who
saves the Knicks, if I can be the go to guy,
(07:49):
I can put up crap. I've already led. He's led
the league in scoring four times. Like we've so quickly forgotten,
Kevin Durant has shown he could lead the NBA in
scoring four times over. But look what's happened this postseason.
I'm embracing it. I'm having fun. Why is he having fun? Well,
he's playing great and he's winning. Those two things are fun,
(08:12):
but he's also getting the Hey, you know what, Kevin
Durant might be the best player on earth. Finally, Steph
hasn't been great. Clay Thompson's Clay Thompson is up and down.
Draymond has been way better than the post season the
regular season, but people are only pointing out, hey, you
know what, this Durant kid, he's kind of good, And
(08:35):
then you factor in not just in New York, hasn't won,
hasn't done anything, and there's no promise of even getting
to this fun part, right, Like, do I think they
would make the playoffs if Kevin Durant goes there? Sure,
and Kyrie Irvan goes there. Sure, But is there a
guarantee it's gonna be this much fun? Like, dude, they
(08:55):
literally have not been competitive late in the season in
five years. You don't just flip a switch and then
all of a sudden you're playing at this playing like this.
I love David Fizdel, everybody likes Dave Fizzdale. Let me know,
the last time he was playing deep in the playoffs
as a head coach hasn't happened. And then you gotta
(09:20):
work for Jim Dolan. And here's the thing that I
have learned in my three jobs as a broadcaster, and
in my six or seven jobs as a player, and
in my two schools that I went to as a
basketball player, and I can relate it to every other
(09:41):
person who holds a job. A job is only as
good as the boss, right is the boss. Look, the
reality of Jim Dolan is he is hanging out with
the band. He doesn't have anything really to do with basketball,
but once a year he's hims to show up and
make an ask for himself and Madison's sure garden. And
(10:02):
he is still the owner. And so while the plan
as of now is you guys run basketball and I'm
gonna play in the band and I'll show up every
now and again, that plan can change whenever he wants
it to change, because Jim Dolan owns the team. So
we can sit here and say, well, that wouldn't be right,
(10:24):
doesn't matter, doesn't matter. Owners own. That's a that's a
professional sports expression. What does it mean. It's the same
reason that Jimmy Hasselman employed an analytics department to discover
who the best quarterback in the draft was, and then
the day of the draft he goes, yeah, I know
you wanted Teddy Bridgewater somebody else, but we're gonna draft
(10:45):
Johnny Manzel. Why Because I'm the owner of the team,
and I say what goes? Owners own the same reason
that the scouts from the Washington Redskins either wanted Josh
Rosen or Daniel Jones, and they drafted Dwayne Haskins. Why
because Snyder's daughter went to school with Dwayne Haskins in
(11:07):
high school. Owners own and so at the end of
the day, if you're happy, don't mess with happy. If
you compete for a championship, why would you go somewhere
where you don't know if you can pete for a
championship and if you're finally getting the respect you deserve.
(11:31):
I mean, heck, who among us hasn't been a job
I remember when I was, when I was the feeling
one of the sticking points are is a your true story?
I probably shouldn't share, but I don't care. Whatever I
told you. I liked working there, but Mike and Mike
had an office, Colin had an office. Nobody else had
an office. I had a cupicle, which I didn't mind,
(11:52):
and spent a ton of time there. But one of
opportunity reason I did't spent a ton of time there
was it was a cupicle. It was loud. And why
I need to app because I would do Sports Center
in the in the morning and then do all these
shows and do my show in the afternoon and then
do college basketball or something at night. I wanted somewhere
to like just close my eyes or just shut off
the sound. And I viewed it as respecting I'm here enough,
(12:19):
I do enough. Why do those guys get it? So
I actually understand k D's played. I think many of
you understand Kyd's played. He not from Northern California. He
likes it, but he hasn't loved it. And one of
the reasons he hasn't loved it was people haven't embraced
(12:40):
him as being as good as he in his heart
of hearts knows he is because his performance at the
key times has been good enough to be deemed at
the level that he believes it is until now. And
so the reason I started with a story about Sharehold.
There's an MSG suing James Dolan for making too much
(13:06):
money and spending too much time with his band, only
tells you James Dolan kind of a jerk. Nobody really
likes him, And if you're the New York Knicks, you've
got to be getting really, really nervous because three months
ago it was a rap. He wasn't happy and the
Knicks looked like a great landing spot, and now he
(13:28):
is happy and the Knicks look like the Knicks. Be
sure to catch live editions of The Doug Dot Leap
Show weekdays at noon Eastern three pm Pacific on Fox
Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app February. Ben
is big. Ben is the unquestioned leader of this team.
Like I said, he's the elder statesman. This is when
(13:50):
Kevin Colbert, the general manager, uttered these words, No, guys,
what you're doing is or is not good enough to
do this. He's got fifty two guys under him. Quite honestly,
I think once you win it, you've got fifty three
guys who who can say what it took Right now,
(14:11):
he's the only one. I have no problem with him.
He can call me out. That's fine. It goes on
Ben Bend Bend, Bend Bend Bend, Ben March Owners Meetings.
Kevin Colbert on the criticism Ben received from Antonio Brown.
Ben's very comfortable with who he is, what he's done,
and what he can still do. I don't think it
(14:31):
will affect him because each and every year he's out
trying to prove who he is. We're very comfortable knowing
Ben is our quarterback and he's our leader. March Mike Tomlin,
I have no problem with his Ben's play or his leadership.
I've heard some of the scuttle, but I have no
reaction to former Steelers and things of that nature. March
(14:51):
Art Rooney owner. I think Ben's record speak for itself.
Ben Ben Ben. They might as well have Steeler bucks
that are printed, and on the Steeler bucks they have
Ben Roethlisberger's face and underneath it it says in Ben,
we trust. Like they have gone all in on Ben Roethlisberger.
(15:11):
I've never seen anything of the kind. Now. This is
Steelers gentlemanager Kevin Colbert on Pro Football Talk discussing Big
Ben's future. I know he doesn't have an expiration day.
He's still very competitive. He still wants to do this
at a high level, and he doesn't want to do it.
(15:32):
He doesn't need money. Um, he doesn't need Hall of
Fame credentials. In my opinion, he's already achieved both of those.
What he wants is more Super Bowls and he wants
to continue to try to win, and then you know
we're going to support that. I mean, like, look who
doesn't want more Super Bowls. Um, he is coming off
(15:54):
a remarkably productive year, probably to productive a year, right, Like,
if you get you get to his age, his stature,
in his playing career, he's probably doing too much. But
he wants more of it. He wants more command, more control,
more opportunities, and he's gonna get it because they've gone
(16:14):
all in on Ben Roethlisberger. And you know what, I'm
not sure I disagree with that. In many ways, they
are riding and dieing with Ben Roethlisberger. Last year, he
threw for a career high in yards, a career high
in touchdown passes thirty four. They did not make the playoffs.
(16:36):
That's fair. He also had tied for his second highest
number of interceptions, but he was only sacked twenty four times.
He redid his contract, but it's fairly reasonable. And while
we can say that, we can attest that this success
of Mike Tomlin is remarkable that Tomlin has never had
(16:56):
a losing record, neither has Ben Roethlisberger. But man, they
do sound a little bit like the teenage girl talking
about Ben. Ben is just he's the adult in the room.
Ben is just this bend andy like enough about Ben,
and like the teenage girl, they cannot stop talking about Ben,
(17:19):
Ben Ben Ben, Ben, Ben Ben Ben. But you know,
as much as I'd like to pick apart the love affair,
the infatuation with Ben and say there were times in
which he wasn't great last year, he did throw for
five thousand yards, did throw for thirty four t d s.
He had a ninety point five quarterback rating. He was
(17:39):
sacked only twenty four times. I'm not sure I wouldn't
be all in on Ben considering what he was able
to do last season, and it was a tumultuous season
at that. Be sure to catch live editions. So the
Doug Dot Leap Show week days in noon eastern three
pm Pacific. And now Little Siege is a place to
go tonight. Get five dollar meat fast for just nine dollars.
(18:03):
Excuse me, get a large five meat fast. Why can't
I read? Can I try this one again? For it?
Let's do it again. Start from the top. Here we go,
everybody quiet on the set and take three action. Little
Caesar is the place to go tonight. Get a get
a large five meat feast, probably nine dollars, featuring Pepperoni sausage, bacon, beef,
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and ham the five Meat Feast. Only nine dollars at
Little Caesar's plus tax were applicable available to participating locations.
Canadian bacon will be substituted for Haim in certain areas.
He's in Canadian bacon in him. The same thing that
lamas is that one good can we use that? That's
a take's take to take and I'll be my trailer.
This is this is Dan Patrick trolley meat earlier in
(18:47):
the day. Here's another thing that I think has been
lost in this. And Doug Gottlieb is always reminding me
that Kevin Durant's the best player in basketball. Uh. He's
a wonderful player, really wonderful player. Improved his defense, He's
a great all around player. But nobody is game planning
for Kevin Durant like they do James Harden, the Greek freak. Uh,
(19:07):
Steph Curry. The game plan more for Steph Curry than
they do Kevin Durant because they're so fearful of the three.
Kevin Durant gets single coverage for the most part. Steph Curry,
you know that they flash on him all the time.
They're trying to double team him. Uh, we know what's
happening with James Harden. The Warriors defense has geared towards
stopping James Harden. The Rockets defense can't go, oh, we're
(19:32):
just gonna stop Kevin Durant. Durant has been the beneficiary.
Has he played well, yes he has, But those midrange
jumpers don't concern the Rockets the way Steps three does
and what that opens up. And with Joanna's the Celtics
are focusing on trying to shut down him one player,
and Kevin Durant does not get that. I'm gonna respectfully
(19:57):
disagree here. Of course, you're not gonna leave Steph Curry
and double team Kevin Durant, and they're gonna leave Clay Thompson.
And the reason that Draymond Green and Andrea Goodala have
both had, you know, double figure, double figure games, is
because you have two guys that are helping on the
other three incredible shooters. And when they set a pick
(20:22):
and roll, they hit Draymond Green and he either goes
and scores it or he throws an alley to Andre Goodala.
How many times have we seen that, Like they're doing
the exact same thing as Houston. Houston is playing with
one guy on James Harden. Why if you double team him.
They got the rest of the team spread so far
out that somebody's gonna get a wide open shot, wide
(20:44):
open shot. Yes, they're absolutely game planning to stop Kevin Durant.
Look some of the letting him get those tour letting him,
trying to force him off his spot and making him
and take tough twos. That's what you do with anybody,
even Lebron James. Remember the Indiana Pacers last year against
Lebron James, would let Lebron go ahead, did cover you,
(21:06):
not leave any of your shooters and nearly worked. They
went to seven games in that series to beat the
beat to beat him? How to go to seven? You know?
So the the the idea they're not game playing from,
they absolutely are, absolutely are. Look if you don't think,
forget what we think. Here's what Lou Williams and Pat
(21:27):
Beverley said after game was a game six of the
last series. We tried everything right, So we we tried
everything we had. We had several different coverages for Katie
and they didn't work. Like like sometimes sometimes you come
(21:49):
across special people and it doesn't matter what you've sent
to him. It's no scheme, it's no defense, it's no
nothing that you can do with special people. He's one
of him and he showed it to night. He put
them guys on his shoulders and even the game that
he that he came out, he was like, I'm Kevin Durant.
Y'all know who I am, and that that's a bold
statement to make when you're about to go see some
(22:11):
guys that's extremely competitive. And he came out that game
and he said, I can really shoot over these guys.
And he did it. So it wasn't lack of effort
on our part. He's an all world professional and he
proved himself. He proved exactly who people think he is,
who he think he is himself, and he did it
and he touched your hat off to a guy like that.
(22:31):
Lou Williams, by the way, um, your honor arrest my case.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
the nation. Catch all of our shows at Fox Sports
Radio dot com and within the I Heart Radio app
search f s R to listen live. Zack Harper and
I have worked together in another place now he's at
the athletic he's uh, hosting the No Look Pass from
(22:55):
one to four on Serious Sex m n b A,
and of course writes for The Athletic. He joined just
on the Doug Gottlip Show. Um, what are your thoughts
on on Kevin Durant? I I offer up the whatever
it takes to make you happy, that's where you should be.
And I felt like the only reason he wasn't happy
in Golden State was he wasn't getting the respect that
he felt like he deserved. Now he's getting it. Why leave?
(23:20):
That's a good question. I mean, that's kind of the
question the warriors are trying to figure out too, right,
Like it's it's he's been someone who has been relatively
miserable considering the success he's had at a historic level.
And when you're Kevin Durant, like I think he thought,
all right, i'll go to Golden State, I'll win some titles,
finally I'll get the respect, and everyone just kind of
dismissed his titles. Like not everyone, but you know what
(23:40):
I mean, Like the collective was just like, no, you
you took the easy way out. And and now like
he's trying to figure out, all right, how well do
I have to play in order to get this. Well,
it turns out if you start dropping forty points every game,
then everyone's like, oh, yeah, he's good, like of course
Kevin durant Um. But with him, like, I don't know,
like it could be possible that, like he's so good
his satorically and he knows it that he may never
(24:03):
be happy with his career. It may always be okay,
what's next, whether it's validation or more championships or more
MVPs or whatever. And I just like, he may just
be a guy that just isn't easily happy. Yeah, yeah,
might be Like there are people in life that are
happy when they're unhappy, right, They're happily unhappy. Yeah, he
might be might be one of those guys. By the way,
(24:24):
there's breaking news in the NBA. D'Angelo Russell apparently tried
to sneak weed through airport security, but did so using
a fake Arizona iced tea. Can you see the story?
I did not see the story. A couple of things.
A couple of things. I'll just point this out. I'm
an Arizona iced tea fan. I used to drink Arizona
is back before iced tea became the thing. Arizona ice
(24:46):
t was a big thing, a little on the sweet side.
They need to water down that formula a little bit.
And there there aren't a palmer is a good an
a palmer to camp but again too sweet. But who
thinks you can get a drink on a plane? You dope?
Forget about that. You had a better chance of just
weed in the bag. Then you do a can write
like a can draws the attention. You can't get a
(25:08):
can on on on a plane anymore. No, you can't
get You can barely get anything on a plane anymore.
Like I think, I think the move is is you
gotta you gotta roll. You know, you gotta roll some
stuff in clothing, check the bag and just hope for
the best. You can't try to carry on like that
is that's a heat check. Like I know he takes
some rational shots. That is a heat check. That's that's
a that's a bizarre one. How much how much faith
(25:29):
do you have that will have a series in Houston?
I don't have much. I mean, obviously Game three is
gonna be the key to all that. But I don't
like the way Houston responded after Game one, basically making
this a woe was us? Look where this is so unfair?
Blah blah blah. I mean maybe if you just concentrate
on shooting shots instead of trying to get foul when
you shoot shots, you would make those shots and you
would beat the Warriors. Like I think they have all
(25:51):
the makings from a talent standpoint, um from you know,
from a personnel standpoint, from the standpoint of the Warrior
are now going through, you know, essentially year five of this.
I know Kevin Durant only been there for three, but
year five of just a hundred games every year until
they get a little bit of wear and tear on
their side. But mentally like this team just never shows
up consistently to take down the Warriors. I know they
(26:13):
were up three to last year. That doesn't matter anymore,
like that that was last year, Like it just doesn't matter.
This team just seems too mentally weak. If they don't
come out in in Game three and not only respond
to win, but respond in an emphatic way, I just
think it's a five game series. I don't know, I
think they're gonna they're gonna win. I feel pretty strong
faith they win Game three. They get some calls I mean,
it is interesting that like Harden literally got poked in
(26:37):
the eye, like you see the blood, uh in his
eye even now. Um so, I mean like those claims
were totally legitimate in game two, but even then, you
didn't feel like he got a bad whistle. Like I
actually thought Game two was pretty well officiated. If anything,
they got a couple of calls maybe they shouldn't have. Yeah,
I actually was very impressed with it, Like going into
it is obviously as Scott Foster, Oh my god, Scott
(26:58):
Fosters going, and you know that has its own connotations
with pretty much every fan base in the NBA. But
I was I walked away thinking like, wow, that was
a really well officiated game, especially after all the conversation
leading up to it. Um, you know, at a certain point,
like I get it, it's part of his game, like
hunting fouls and and getting teams in foul trouble and
getting those free points because he's such a good free
(27:20):
throw shore. I get it, Like it's it's a smart strategy.
But when you're not getting the whistle, don't you have
to adjust? Like that was my thing about game one,
Like they were like whether you like to call or
not it was pretty consistent all game long, and yet
they kept going to it. I'm just like, man, you
gotta be smarter than that. That's the mental part of it,
Like you have to adjust in games. However it's being officiated,
as long as that officiates consistent. The Gotlip Show here
(27:43):
on Fox Sports Radio. Zach Harper is my guest from
the Athletic plus the host uh Sirix Sex M NBA Radio.
Let's get to tonight, Shelley. You have the Philadelphia seventies
six ers and Joel Embiid, who's might be the most
talented kid, a player in the in the NBA, but
he's seemingly never healthy. He got the whole Jimmy, don't
(28:05):
call me James Butler thing, right. But they are playing
at home, and after Game one against Brooklyn, they played
well at home in the playoffs against the Rafters, who
you don't know what you're gonna get out of Kyle Lowry,
but they do have maybe the best player, actual basketball
player in this series in Kawhi Leonard. What do you
think of Game three to nine. I think it's gonna
be fascinating to see just how the little matchups here
(28:25):
and there are adjusted like, is Ben Simmons going to
be allowed to be more aggressive and try to get
to the free throw line even though he's not a
good free throw shooter. Like how much time does co
I spend on him to kind of disrupt what they
want to do? You know, how how much can Toronto
get away playing one on one with Marcus Salt versus
Joel and bad because Gasol has actually defended him extremely
well over the last couple of seasons, uh, in these
(28:46):
individual matchups. And then and then in terms of Toronto,
like you know, they got an adjustment in game two
where Philly put Joel and bead on Pascal Siakam and
said go ahead, like that's your guy, go ahead, that
go go be you know a number who next to
Kauai and he really struggled in to the second half.
Do the Rafters go out there and and put him
into more action at the top of the key and
forced duel and beat him away from the basket and
(29:09):
and dare him to go defend in space against a
very quick, lanky guy. Like I kind of think that's
the those are the three things for me that go
into it. And then at a certain point, like Kyle
Lowry right, Like, if I'm Philly, I make Kyle Lowry
beat me. I just do like if and if he
beat two, he beat two. But like, this is a
guy who shoots less and less and less every single year,
and this year he hardly shoots at all. Like, I
(29:31):
know he's been a big score in the past, but
it's rarely coming to playoffs, and I would make him
beat me. Let's get to Boston taking out Milwaukee. Kind
of tale of two very different games. Uh, what do
you think happens in game three? I expect Boston to
come out and win games three. I just think that
they'll shoot better at home. I think the role players
will be more consistent at home. I think the defensive
(29:52):
strategy of these sound. And then I think in game
four Milwaukee comes out there and adjustin it's too too
going back to Milwaukee. And at that point, can you
win two of these next three games? And with if
your Milwaukee two of them at home? Um, it should
be something that you're able to pull off. But it
again with Boston, it's always do they like each other
enough to pull together? And it's crazy that we're still
(30:13):
having these conversations about them, But it does just come
down to they're the most talented team in the East,
like one through fifteen, Like they really are. It's just
they rarely play together in a consistent way game the game.
I remember we had the Kumbaya cross country flight. They
go into Oakland, they beat Oakland. It's like, oh, if
they fixed their issues, they lost four other next seven games.
Like this team just doesn't you know. They have it
(30:35):
up and then they have it down and and until
they figure out how to play with each other. I
do expect Milwaukee to ultimately come out on top of
that series, just because they had that chemistry. Really think
you like them winning the series? I don't. I don't know. Yeah,
I think I think it goes seven, Doug. But I
also think, like, if you could guarantee that Boston is
gonna play with their peak, I'll take Bossy s peak
over Milwaukee speak. I just don't think they get them. Um, Okay,
(30:58):
so then then let's get the poor Land and uh.
And Denver felt like Denver was your ki was just
gassed right end of the fourth quarter against the Spurs.
He was I saw Henry Abbott's piece and just how
tired he was. Um and then he was great in
game one, just killed and his cantor. But game two
he seemed to kind of level off, and there there
was just a lack of juice there, and really, without
(31:19):
a spectacular performance from Damian Lillard, Portland goes on the
road and gets a win. Um, do you see Portland
win this series? I had Portland in seven going into
the series. I still feel pretty good about that. But
if you're Denver, I guess part of me would be
very frustrated that I dropped that game at home, because
what is it like? Ncent of teams end up winning
(31:40):
when they're up to own a series. But you had
so many good shots. I mean, they weren't hitting jumpers early,
they went inside, they couldn't make shots inside the counting
team rebounds, that had seventeen offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter,
and couldn't dominate on the on the second chance points.
I mean, I just I think that you have to
figure those shots will fall at some point. It wasn't
(32:00):
anything Portland was able to necessarily do. You just missed
a lot of shots around the rim. And so I
think Denver should feel pretty good about themselves. But you
can't expect Dame to go five and seventeen every game,
like I think he's gonna come out. I actually think
that they'll They'll probably leave Portland's up three one, and
then for Denver's just trying to survive after that, UM
(32:20):
trying to get back in the series. But I think
the Blazers up three one eventually close that out. Amazing
right with with with no Nurkics if they could win
this series and get to the Western Conference Finals. On
the other hand, what would it mean for Golden State
if they get Portland, a team that they've eliminated from
the playoffs, you know, in the Western Conference finals. As
good as Lillard is, they're just not the firepower there.
What a great you know, what a nice kind of
(32:42):
easy set up before you get to the NBA finals
where Eastern Conference Finals are going to be an all
out war. Uh? Is that great stuff? Dude? Really love
your work and appreciate you and its thanks for for
being our guests. Thanks so a great time.
Host
Doug Gottlieb
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