8/28 H3: David Vassegh; AD the key to the Lakers' season

David Vassegh hops on before the Dodgers host Arizona and Atlanta this week. Charles Barkley says the Lakers are going nowhere this season unless Anthony Davis plays at an MVP level - is he right?

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey, yes, and we continueon Rodney P. Jason Smith. Remember,
we'll give away two more tickets thishour eight six, six, nine
eighty seven, two five seventy notyet, I will give you the queue
to call and we'll give away thosetwo tickets also later this hour, we

(00:20):
will take your calls and want totalk and get your take on the Dodgers
where they stand now and maybe shouldthey make a run at Otani, But
just want to know your concerns asthe Dodgers get ready for this last month
of the season and push onto theplayoffs, jasons as they do go through

(00:40):
this last month? What is whatis your Do we have David yet?
Oh yeah, let's bring him onthere. Come on, David Batsy.
I shouldn't know. He's always ontime, He's always ready, Dave.
What's going on? What's up,guys? Rodney. Great to spend time
with Justin Turner and Kenley Jon inBoston, and they both wanted me to

(01:02):
make sure I gave RJ a bighug for them. Absolutely, manh Yeah,
we got a chance to talk toJustin last week. But tell me
about it back there. Seeing allthose guys back in Boston, Man,
it was like a mini reunion,Man, how was it for you?
It really was, Rodney. It'sso rare to have so many players overlap
as far as being part of theopposing team like there was in that three

(01:26):
game series in Boston. Obviously Mookiebets the headliner, but it was really
a spectacular three days in Boston.The games were really entertaining. I really
believe the last two games were twoof the most entertaining baseball games I have
seen the Dodgers play all season long. And Mooki certainly put on a show.

(01:49):
And I know he tries to downplayit, but he showed up on
a big stage with Lebron James atDodgers Stadium. Knew where Lebron was saluted
him after both home run and thenyou knew he was going to show up
in a big way at Fenway Park, and he certainly did. And everybody
in Boston really jealous that he isin a Dodger uniform and not a Red

(02:13):
Sox uniform. And as far asthe former Dodgers go, Rodney, you
know, for Kelly Jansen to bethe all time Dodgers saves leader, for
Justin Turner to have such a hugeimpact on the organization for those nine years.
You just don't automatically turn that off. And there was a lot of
emotions out there in Boston. Yeah, I bet they were. And it

(02:36):
was so cool to see the fansembrace and cheer from Mookie give him the
standing. Oh and Jason talked aboutit. But not just once, but
three times you got the standing ovationand had to tip his cap. It's
not often, I mean not allthe time do you see guys, especially
stars that returned to a place thatthey played before, get that kind of
embrace. The only other time I'veexperienced it was when Chase Sutley went back

(03:00):
to Philadelphia. That was really special, and I would actually grade the Philly
fans higher than the Boston fans asfar as the ovation. I said this
on Dodger Talk the last couple ofnights, they were louder swinging Sweet Caroline
than they were Cherry for Mookie Betts. So I give the edge to Philly

(03:20):
fans for Chase Subley as far asthe ovations go, David, as you
take a look now with a monthto go here, the Dodgers are where
they've been just about every year forthe last decade plus. If I said
Phil in the blank, the biggestconcern for the Dodgers for you is what
would you what would you complete thatsense with the biggest concern for the Dodgers

(03:42):
last month of the season is whatwell health. Number one and number two
going into the postseason they're pitching isJulio Ria is going to be a guy
that can be the horse that youjust ride all the way through October.
And how are the Dodgers going tofill in the spots after that? Are
they going to allow starting pitchers tobe starting pitchers or are they going to

(04:05):
treat them differently? That's going tobe a big question. And it kind
of feels like with what we haveseen there are going to be playoff games
that the Dodgers may go to theopener or piggyback Ryan Yarborough off a guy
like Lance Lynn or Bobby Miller.So already we're getting a little indication that

(04:25):
they are not going to have atraditional playoff rotation. And they let Gavin
Stone go a little long the otherday, Dave, and are we going
to see him get some more workand Pepio get more work as we go
through this last month of the season. Most definitely. It feels like Gavin
Stone is going to get a littlebit of a runway here, as is

(04:46):
Ryan Peppio with the entry to TonyGonslin and the Dodgers in the middle of
playing thirteen in a row. They'vecreated already a couple of extra days of
rest with Gavin Stone yes today,starting Bobby Miller tonight, and Kershaw and
the rest of the rotation get anextra day's rest. Lance Lynn and Julio
Arias had him pitched in a weekuntil they did this past road trip.

(05:13):
So you're going to see those typeof guys be inserted to make sure those
starters, those veterans are healthy andyou know, manage Bobby Miller's workload going
into October. And Dave, wetalked about this last week. I Julio
kind of found it a little bitand then has a tough outing the other
day and really kind of had sometough outings on the road. Is that

(05:35):
a thing or has just happened thathe's strugg in the last couple of outings
on the road and not such abig deal. No. He pit the
game in Boston was the first littlespeed bump he has had in the last
six starts, Rodney, and hewas one strike away from having a really
good outing. But you know,obviously he made a mistake to Adam Duval.

(05:58):
He had him O two and hethrew him a cutter that inning where
he gave up four runs. Ireally don't understand why he is relying on
the cutter, even though you knowthe times that he has thrown it,
hitters are hitting below two hundred againstit. But that's not really one of
his two best pitches. So thatwas a little curious to me. But

(06:18):
outside of that, I feel likeJulio has turned the corner on his season.
You know, Dave something Rodney andI talked about earlier in the show,
Freddie Freeman breaking Seawan Greens mark fordoubles getting forty nine and fifty.
Does he get to sixty, sixtythree, sixty four, sixty five.
I feel like every hit he getsnow is a double. He's on pace

(06:39):
for sixty one doubles. He wouldbecome the first player in Major League Baseball
since nineteen thirty six to have sixtydoubles. Think about that, because we
have had a few different players,even in the steroid era, hit sixty
home runs, but we haven't hada player hit sixty doubles since nineteen thirty

(07:00):
six, so this is something morerare than a guy hitting sixty home runs.
And I can't remember a one twopunch like Mookie and Freddie with any
team in recent memory. Dave.I mean, both of those guys have
been on fire, and every timeyou think, oh, they're gonna cool
off a little bit, they justkeep going. I mean, Mookie right
now at ninety three RBIs is onpage four, over one hundred from the

(07:23):
leadoff position. Those two guys,I mean, have you seen a one
two punch at the top of thelineup like this before? I have not,
not with the Dodgers, Rodney.The closest thing I could come to,
or to compare it to, isthe nineteen fifty five Brooklyn Dodgers,
when Roy Campanella and Duke Snyder finishedone two in the National League MVP race.

(07:46):
Campanella won three MVPs in his career. That might be the second greatest
duo in Doctor's history as far asproduction goes. Nineteen seventy seven, Steve
Garvey and Ron Say each drove inone hundred runs, and we're part of
that quartet to hit thirty home runs, but this is a different level of

(08:07):
one two punch at the top ofthe lineup with Muky and Freddy. You
know it's funny you say that becausestories just come out. Mookie Betts has
gone from thirty five to one MVPodds in August seventeenth, and now he
is officially the odds on favorite towin NL MVP. There's more bets on
Ronald La Kunja right now. Obviouslypeople are betting a Kunja all year,

(08:30):
but right now Mookie Bets is afavorite. I gotta tell you, if
I'm talking about MVPs in the NationalLeague, Look, the Braves have like
eight or nine All Stars. They'rereally good. I'd kind of have to
go Bets Freeman won two and andif Freddy Freeman gets sixty five doubles,
I don't know. I don't flipthat by the end of the season.
I'm with you, there's an argumentfor all three of those guys. So
I wouldn't be outraged if any oneof those three won the National League MVP.

(08:56):
But look, a lot of peopleput emphasis on the second half,
but he's had a better second halfthan Mookie Beds and Freddy Freeman and the
tiebreaker, maybe Mooky being able tomove around. I think we lost Dave.
I think we lost Dave Rodney.Yeah, I think we lost Dave.

(09:20):
There, we lose him. Yeah, we lost Yeah. I think
Ronald Lacuna probably cut the phone line. Were talking about guys other than him
for him. You think that Mookieand Freddie cut each other off? No,
no, no, no, becausebecause because Akunya and and Olsen will
cut each other off. Because Olson'sabout what forty home runs. I mean,
you know, these guys are bothgreat, But that's the point is

(09:41):
that the Braves, they're loaded topto bottom. We talked about this beginning
of the beginning of the show andthat this is probably the most impressive Dodger
regular season that I've seen in overa decade because it's not as talented as
these other great teams that were usedto and here they are at the top
with their normal twelve game lead aswe get to the end of August.
And this is what happens when yourtwo best players play like absolute superstars.

(10:05):
No, I think bets In Freemanshould clearly be more favorites for the MVP
than anybody from the Brain. Yeah, and I heard Dave mentioned that that,
you know, all those experts werepicking the padres and to win a
division, and again here we are, Hey, hey, Dave, do
you think that because of the wherethe races for all these things MVP and
with four different guys, that thatwell, Freddie doesn't rest anyway, but

(10:28):
does Mookie turn down some rest ordo they approach it differently because he's in
this MVP race. Well, Mookiekeeps saying that days off for him are
playing second base. He continually saysthat running out to right field, there's
a lot of miles on him,which I challenged him on. I'm not
sure I'm flying all that, butthat's the way it looks at it as

(10:54):
second base. It's kind of likea load management situation where you still have
his back in the lineup and don'tforget guys. Starting on Thursday, four
game series at Dodgers Stadium between theDodgers and Braves. I'm sure out of
those four players that you mentioned thatare being considered for MVP, there could
be a lasting impression on voters dependingon how each one of those guys performed

(11:20):
day they brought back Tyson Miller,what kind of role were you have with
the big league club now, Uh, mop up low leverage. That's just
another arm, Rodney. I don'task me too much about Tyson Miller.
I know more about Tyson Chicken orTyson Fury or Tyson Chandler. Let's keep
going with how do they play that? Sir? You mentioned the series against

(11:41):
the Brave day. Is it becauseboth both clubs are clearly gonna win their
division? Is it one of thosethat is going to feel like a playoff
atmosphere? Is they just gonna kindof Are they gonna kind of hold back
and feel each other out? Yeah? I was talking to Jose Mota about
that on the plane yesterday. Ina three game series, you can hold
back, but in a full gameseries, you can't really hold back.

(12:05):
You've got to use your pictures,You've got to use your rock. I
feel like both teams are there's gonnabe no secrets about it. And right
now, as it stands, it'sbeen like this for the better part of
three weeks. The Braves hold afour game lead in the lost column over
the Dodgers for the best record inthe National League, So there might be

(12:28):
a game or two swing. Honestly, I think the Dodgers are in a
more advantageous position as the number twoseed because whoever's the top seed is going
to have to play. As ofnow, the winner of a Phillies Cubs
wild card series, and the Philliesare the hottest team right next to the

(12:50):
Dodgers in Major League Baseball. Ihear you, I hear you well,
Dave. Thanks a lot, man. I'm glad you're back in town,
got your feet back at Blue Heaven. Thanks for joining us. Brother.
Hey, I'm gonna try to getup for this series after say, but
I'll have my coal brew. Youdo that, Dave, appreciate it.
Hey, this Wild Wild West sponsoris looking around. The Wild Wild West

(13:13):
is brought to you by SoCal Gas. Don't dance around safety. Contact eight
one one two business days before diggingaround your home. Go to socoal gas
dot com slash eight one one tolearn more. Listen Dodgers host of Diamondbacks
to Night pregame at six, Firstpitch at seven here on AM five seventy
LA Sports. When we come back, we want to hear from you.

(13:35):
We talked about old Tani, Wetalked about what may happen in the off
season, now that he's had thearm issues. As Dodger fans, do
you still want him if you're notable to use him on the mound?
That's good question. Eight six nineeighty seven two five seventy is the number.
And also, don't forget before weget out of here, we've got

(13:56):
another pair of Dodger tickets to giveaway for the All Night versus the Arizona
Diamondbacks, Jason Smith, and forFred Rogue and AM five seventy LA Sports.
Don't forget we are giving away thosetwo tickets this hour before the show
ends. Eight six six nine eightseven two five seventy. I will give

(14:18):
you the queue right now with throughit out there, if you want to
weigh in, should the Dodgers pursueShoeotani in the off season knowing that his
days on the mound may be limited? Jason, about you and the Dodger
what do you think about if theDodgers, and it's clear it feels like
that they are going to be inneed of pitching, whether it be starting

(14:41):
pitching or somebody in the bullpen.If Oltani can't pitch, is he a
guy that the Dodgers should actively pursuebecause they do need pitching. Oh,
he's just a hitter. Look,and how great would this? Because we
talked about it earlier in the show. Nobody can sign Otani expecting that he's

(15:03):
going to be able to pitch again. You can't. It's too much of
a gamble, too big times tobe a luxury if he does, Yeah,
if he comes whenever, he comesback and does as a luxury.
But could he come back from thisand close? Now, how great would
that be? Like, that's somethingI can see him doing where the stress
on his arm is not as much. He's pitching one inning every cup.
Look, he's been a starter forhis whole career. It's not like he

(15:24):
had a big innings limit this year. He's at one thirty when he wound
up getting hurt. But just thinkabout this. If he can come back
and close, that would be something. But is that going to mean suddenly
we get seven hundred million dollars.No, he's a little bit more affordable
at four hundred million, right,Just think about that, you get with
four in a million's fine? Butyeah, the Dodgers waited, and I
felt like they've waited all season long, knowing full well, Okay, there

(15:46):
weren't a lot of guys we likedlast year in free agency, so we're
gonna wait and we're gonna get whatwe need at the deadline. They didn't
have to get a lot, Theyneeded to get depth, so they got
death the deadline Otani. There's alot of starting pitching that's available in this
off season's going to be free agents. They can sign Otani and easily go
get another arm or two to startif they need to, because there is

(16:07):
going to be a lot of optionsout there for them. What do you
think the strain Yeah, but whatdo you think the strain on if him?
I know it's not throwing a hundredpitches as a starter, but even
as a closer coming in after you'vebeen cold all games. Say he's hitting,
he's d agent and you want himto come in in the ninth inning
to close the game out. Whatare you gonna do once every four or
five game he closes, or howoften are you gonna use him as a

(16:30):
closer? And if you're paying himextra to be that closer, how much
are you really going to get outof him? I am saying we're paying
you four hundred and fifty million dollars, and we're giving you X amount of
dollars more. When you can pitch, you can come close, and we
need to. Right, if youcan go every fifth day, you can
close every other day or every thirdday for a while and pitching sixty some

(16:53):
odd games over the course of theseason. I don't think that's too much
to ask. You're talking about sixtyinnings, right, You're talking about sixty
innings from and yes, it's alittle bit more warming up, But how
many pitches is he throwing? Throwingtwenty pitches in an inning. For a
guy who was a starter to becomea reliever, it's a lot easier to
do that. And maybe maybe yousee him be somebody who's a lights out
closer for the next ten years andhe continues on that run of being able

(17:17):
to be the big slugger and hitfifty home runs and close out games.
That's what I would look to that. If I could say what's the most
likely the best outcome for Otani,that would be it that he closes and
he winds up playing every day.I think that's I think that's realistic.
Are we gonna see him pitch asa starter. Do you think anymore.
I mean, say, you know, God forbid he has to have a

(17:38):
Tommy John surgery a second one.If he doesn't and it's just some mining
minor surgery, do you think thathe ever he becomes a starter again if
he doesn't have the surgery. I'msure he'll try, and that'll be something
that Hey, all I needed wasrest and whatever it was. I need

(17:59):
to be a little bit better takingmore care of my arm. Because look,
a lot of what we've seen hasbeen you know, Otani's team has
been telling the angels, this iswhat we want to do, right,
this is what we want to dothis Shohey is doing this, and they
tell the angels. Angels say,okay, that's fine. Kind of like
when Kershaw says he's ready to comeout of a game. All right,
Hey, Skip, I'm ready tocome out. You take me out of

(18:19):
a game. So if there's nosurgery, he will try. I am
sure if there is surgery, thatchanges everything, because that's can you come
back? Can you still be thestress of a starter or it's a time
to make that move where maybe youdo become a closer. And he's a
guy you don't have to worry abouthis mentality being able to change what.
Look, the guy's got all kindsof responsibility on him. If there's surgery,

(18:41):
then you have to look for afundamental change. But I'm sure if
there's none, he will try tocome back and try to start again.
Last thing on the Angels and baseballreal quick, if you're the Angels and
knowing that, and contrary to whatVictor Brigg believes, because I think he
still believes that he's gonna be anAngel, I don't think he's in an
Angel uniform. I'm with you onthat one. Do they try to move

(19:03):
Mike Trout and just build and rebuildeverything from start to finish? Now,
I don't know that you can.I don't know that you can move Mike
Trout because it's too much and hedoesn't play anymore. You know, nobody's
gonna get him to say, okay, we're this far away from him.
You know, it's this is aguy that probably should have and I'm sure
it will happen. Is Otani willgo because Otani is at the Shaquille O'Neal
stage of his career where he understandsas good as I am. Now they're

(19:26):
going to start asking me about championships. So in midway and his career,
Shack understood that I gotta get toLA. I win championships, my legacy
is secure. So Otani feels thesame way. I'm sure he's like,
Okay, I'm gonna be thirty.Everybody says great things about me, but
I gotta figure out a way towin a championship. So I think he
goes and I think to try toextend Trout's career. He dh is a

(19:48):
lot, and you don't see himin the field hardly at all. Maybe
he'll play a couple of times aweek in center field because you gotta find
some way to keep him the lineupright, whatever it is. You got
some way to cut the wear andtear on him because he just he just
can't stay healthy. And that's theonly way to really do it. That
he's locked in for that money,you know, you gotta put him out
there anyway. So I think that'skind of one thing you'll see from him
next year. Yeah, and sometimesit's been freaky things for him, getting

(20:11):
hit on the wrist and things likethat that have no nothing to do with
his drink more milk Man, drinkmore milk build those bones. Is Grandma
used to say, milk for thebones and not that crazy ass skin milk.
Drink whole milk, two milk,drink, drink the good stuff.
Yeah, drink the real thick milkthat doesn't even pour out you. It

(20:32):
looks like you're trying to pour wholebunch of liquid marshmallow just right, some
of that milk bones to be strong. Stop it. I'm trying not to
go to the bathroom. In thesegment, we had a milk conversation at
two thirty and Rodney just disappeared.I don't know what happened for the second
half of the last hour of theshow. All right, man, let's

(20:52):
move back to to to football,because all the talk is what happened with
the forty nine Ers and Dallas Cowboyswith the trade of Trey Lance to the
Cowboys. How much did the fortynine Ers botch this deal with Trey Lance
or was it just something that throughcircumstances and injuries just kind of presented himself

(21:14):
presented itself. What do you think, because I just think that it feels
like there was a lot of secondguessing and mishandling of the Trey Lance situation.
You know, I don't know thatthere was mishandling it except from the
forty nine ers perspective of they couldhave and should have moved on from him
earlier. Right, John Lynch gotscared. They moved up. They spent

(21:36):
so much draft capital to move upto get him, and it felt like
in the back of his mind sincethey got him, the entire time was
boy, we gotta make sure TreyLance works out. I was really out
on a limb with this. Butas time goes on, sometimes first round
picks work out, sometime they don't. They built the forty nine Ers into
a super Bowl caliber team. Theymight have gotten their last year if brock
Purty doesn't get hurt. It doesn'tmatter where you get the quarterback from.

(21:57):
You got the quarterback, right theguys, mister irrelevant, It's okay.
But the entire time they've had him, they've always felt we're going to protect
him and we're gonna try to gethim out there. They wouldn't, They
wouldn't give him the job. Theykept Jimmy Garoppolo around. That hurt a
little bit. He got hurt whenhe was finally named the starter. Couldn't
stay in the field. That hurthim a little bit, But this whole
I felt like they they could havemoved him for more, much earlier.

(22:19):
And you because you realize you knowabout a quarterback pretty quick, right If
you four years after a guy youget, you kind of know if he's
gonna be great, if he's not, if he's just a guy. So
they waited a little too long,moved him before last year or right after
the season. When when do youwhen should they have moved him? If
if you had moved first of all, you could have moved him for more

(22:41):
at the draft, you could haveeasily done. This past draft, you
could you could have got you hada fourth round pick. Now, could
you have gotten a second round pickfor Trey Lance? Maybe maybe because he
did win the job and then hejust got hurt. But then every off
season all you hear about Trey Lanceshe looks terrible. Well, here's more
turnovers. He had a horrible summer. Look at all, look at all
the interceptions that he keeps having.There is there is zero bit of good

(23:04):
news out for Trey Lance. Whatdo we get to those with the last
two months you had former NFL playerssaying he shouldn't have been a first round
pick. He should be in theCFL. He shouldn't even be in the
NFL. There were no good daysfor him. So after the first couple
of years, for me, itwas once you decided we're keeping Garoppolo,
right, we're not turning the teamover to Trey Lance and we're keeping Garoppolo.
That's what you should have said.Okay, we gotta flip Trey Lance.

(23:26):
Now we gotta fe because it's justnot working. But John Lynch was
afraid because we had moved up andspent so much to get him, the
return is not going to be great. So I got afraid to make that
move because I'll get they're gonna killme, you know, from making that
trade. But now nobody cares becausethe Niners are great. You built a
great defense, got a great offense, got great weapons at wide receiver and
running back and tight end, andyou're the most complete team in the NFL.

(23:48):
Yeah, but now you think youfeel like you have a guy,
you feel like you have Brock Purty. Now you move Trey Lance, and
okay, it's fine. They couldhave got more from them earlier. But
it's not like they didn't give himenough chances. You know, at least
they I could say they kept himaround. They gave him chances to try
to win the job. He justunderwhelmed and couldn't do it. So from
that perspective, yeah, they treatedright. They gave him a long time
to win the job. But yougot to know about a guy earlier than

(24:11):
that. You gotta know by aguy earlier than you know. It's first
four, the year four in theleague to say, okay, it's hard
to move on from it. Yeah, and then the window, the window
for the forty nine ers, it'sright now. I mean these last couple
of years, three years, they'vegot the best defense in the league.
They've been to multiple NFC title gameswith Garoppolo and then last year with Purdy,
and it feels like the only thingmissing, the only thing that's been

(24:33):
inconsistent, has been that quarterback position. And it's no fault of the guys
because they've just gotten hurt. AndGaroppolo I think, if if he could
have stayed healthy, it could havebeen their future. But he couldn't.
And then Brock Purdy leads him tothe NFC champions hip, he gets hurt.
It feels like the window of theforty nine ers is maybe one more

(24:56):
year otherwise, because guys are gonnastart moving on and leaving, and they
haven't been able to get the steadyquarterback situation right. And I don't know,
and we don't know with them movingoff of Trey Lance, we don't
know how healthy Purdy's gonna be,you know, to start this season?
What is it? Week two,week three, week one? When when

(25:18):
is it Sam Donald gonna take overfor a while, Which I believe is
I know you're a Jet guy,and I know you're against my guy,
but I believe that this is thebest thing in the world that could have
ever happened to Sam Donald. Itis a match made in heaven. You
heard it here. First, theJets the Panthers bad situations for him.
I think with Shanahan up there inSan Francisco with that defense, I think

(25:42):
it's a perfect situation for Sam Donald, which is why they named him early
as the backup quarterback and number two, which mean that was the writing on
the wall for Trey Lance. No, no, dude, let me tell
you my big outside of something happeningto Aaron Rodgers, but I should I'm
not even gonna say his full name, because I don't want to put that
up. But one of my worstfears is at exactly what's gonna happen is

(26:03):
suddenly I had to watch last yearGino Smith, who was a backup for
a decade and was awful with theJets, turned into a Pro Bowl quarterback
and signed a huge deal, andnow he's one of the top quarterbacks in
the NFL. Right, I justhave this whole this. I just have
this vision that I'm gonna watch SamDarnold truck everybody on the way to the
NFC championship, and I gotta watchthis in here. Boy, the Jets

(26:26):
screwed up. Here's another young guy, the Jets screwed up, and he'd
had to get someplace else to going. I'm gonna see it, and Sam
Darnold's gonna say, yeah, itdoesn't matter that, don't I don't know
what I see when I look downfield. Guys just catch the ball anyway.
I don't know what I look atthis. I'm just lucky, I guess,
and I'm gonna have to watch everyweek he Last year was the rebirth
of Geno Smith, and this willbe the rebirth of Sam darnold. I'm

(26:47):
gonna have to watch it. Thisis like, yeah, it's like the
golden opportunity where things are aligning rightfor him to either resurrect his career or
He continued with the narrative that everybodyhas been saying about him and there couldn't
be a better spot, uh forSam Donald. So for my sake and
from my fellow trojan, I'm hopingyou're right. Man. I'm gonna I

(27:11):
gotta feel I'm gonna be I'm notgonna want to be right, but I'm
gonna I want to be right abouteverything, but I gotta feeling this,
I don't want to be right aboutand I'm gonna be right about it.
I'm gonna have a by all yearlong. This is Sam down. I
see these big long pieces on onon Fox and ESPN about Hey, the
journey of Sam Donald, and here'swhat happened in New York and here's how
the Jets failed him, just likethey failed Genos Smith all season lost,

(27:34):
going on and on and on.Oh, sure, we'll trade Wilson at
the deadline to the Cowboys. He'llwin like eight games in a row and
suddenly it's gonna look at look atthis, Zach Wilson, that it's gonna
happen. It's just gonna happen.Hey, and we didn't forget about you.
These last two tickets, we're givingthem away. Caller number six eight

(27:56):
six six nine eight seven two fiveseventy, caller number six. Oh yeah,
wind it out. It's kind ofgoing by fast today. Jason Smith
always does. Man, you andI have a good time, damn right,
you damn right. Uh speaking ofhaving a good time, you know,
our man Charles Barkley always likes tohave a good time, you know,

(28:17):
and and and you have Do youhave a Charles Barkley story and Charles
hanging out? I do, butI cannot say it on air. Saving
that for the book. Yeah,saving it for the book. And for
that book that's gonna stay sealed forthe rest of our lives. So,
oh no, dude, you haveto write a book. Come on,
man, you got to write abook. No, No, not that
guy. Chapter eleven. What Ireally think about after I'll be in chapter
eleven. Write that book. Uh. But Charles was talking about the Lakers,

(28:42):
and he loves to poke poke atthe Lakers and what they can and
cannot do. But he recently saidon the Bill Simmons podcast that we kind
of knew this a little bit feltthis, but the Lakers aren't going anywhere
with lebronze age and what he hasto do now. They're not going in
where unless Anthony Davis is at anMVP level for the season. First of

(29:07):
all, are you buying that?And what does that mean being at an
MVP level for the Lakers to havesuccess. I don't I understand what Charles
Parkley is trying to say, buthe's saying it wrong because the regular season
in the NBA has just become irrelevant. Right. It used to be you
want to get a top seed,you want to be the number one seed,
Your path the finals is easier,you get the extra home game.

(29:30):
And in the last few years wehave seen that that's really not the case
anymore. You see teams going tothe NBA Finals out of the playing round.
And the playing round used to besomething. When it first came out,
the players hated, Oh, Idon't like the playing round, and
now it's hey, playing rounds great, It's gonna be one of the top
ten teams. So all you gottado is just play the regular season.
Well enough to get into the playoffs. It doesn't matter if you're the sixth

(29:51):
seed or the three seed or theone seed. Sure it's nice to be
a one seed, but one seedsgo home in the first round. Now,
because the NBA playoffs has become allabout matchups, it's not about eight
This team is great, they're gonnahave a tough time being able to match
the eight seeds. No, wesee. We see eight seeds giving one
seeds tough because of the style ofplay. So the regular season has become
really irrelevant. And really what thehope is now is that if Barkley had

(30:14):
said, hey, they need ad to be healthy and healthy and dominant
and MVP level in the playoffs,that's more accurate, because who cares what
he does in the regular I thinkthat, yeah, well, I think
he is partly mentioning making the pointthat even in the playoffs, like if
he is the MVP of the season, that's great, but even in the
playoffs, he's got to play tothat capability otherwise they have absolutely no chance.

(30:37):
And and look, they made itto the Western Conference finals, and
to your point, you know,being one of those teams that was in
the play in and getting all theway to the finals. He's even saying
that they had a luck of thedraw with some of the teams that they
play, which I I don't know, as Memphis was pretty hot team when
they played them. Yeah, butyou don't know what the draw is gonna
be, say the luck of thedraw. You don't know. You may

(30:59):
want up getting a team that youplay well against, a matchable or you
might not get a team, geta team that's very hot at that time.
You never know what you're gonna get. But in the playoffs, Anthony
Davis has to be the number oneoption. He has to be the dominant
player. And the question is canhe do that? Can he be that
guy? Can he take the reinsfrom Lebron James and say this is my
team. Everything goes through me.Yeah, No, he can absolutely do

(31:22):
that. The biggest question is gonnabe Lebron and a d being healthy for
the play win enough games in theregular season to get in, and then
those guys being healthy and being ableto go on a long playoff run,
because that's the one thing that youforget. The NBA playoffs is a marathon,
and you get how many star playersget hurt and miss the playoffs and
miss games and miss miss full seriesbecause they're just not healthy enough. It's

(31:47):
really why did Denver win last year? They were healthy all the way through,
right like they were healthy all theway that they had no, Yeah,
it is healthy. They front ranall the way through. It was
a great season for them. Theyfront run all the way through. The
Lakers got to a point where,hey, maybe Lebron hit the wall a
little bit, maybe a D hitthe wall a little bit, uh and
and they ran into trouble there whenyou get when you're getting into that portion

(32:07):
of the of the NBA playoffs.So it's it's those guys being rested and
ready for the playoffs that's gonna bethe big mantra. Just win games are
Let Austin Reeves play forty eight minutesa ninth. Let him score thirty five
a game. I mean, he'sa new Captain America now with the Phoebe
team. He's fantastic. You know, give him and then save the wear
and tear on a D and Lebronand hope that their injuries because you know

(32:30):
they're gonna get dinged up because theydo that. The injuries happened during the
season, and it just doesn't happenat the end of the season getting ready
for the playoffs. Are the Lakersmakeup as constructed now a team that can
win it all? Oh? Sure, sure, they're at the top.
They're at the top of the West. They're at the top of the West
along an Sure well, Bill Denveris still the champion. But Denver's got

(32:51):
to see, Hey, are theygonna face more adversity this year? And
they should because you think, youknow, the law of average is gonna
be well, you're gonna face moreadversity than you did a year ago.
Then you got the three Headed Monsterand Phoenix. Yeah, Phoenix is.
But can you count on Katie tobe healthy? I mean, that's the
whole thing. K Katie's got tostay healthy, Is Katie? You gonna
do it? You know, can'tsay that about Lebron and ad as you
just said, you know they're gonnabe healthy, assuming that that's why it's

(33:14):
all George and Kauai. Are theygonna be healthy? I mean yeah,
it feels like, yeah, nobody'stalking about the Clippers anymore, right that
the experiment is. It feels likeit's it's done, They've tried it.
Neither one of them can stay onthe court together. And it's a frustrating
thing because I think when they areon the court, they're a top two
three team in all of basketball.But they're never on the court together.

(33:36):
No, I feel like it's likethis has been like a ten year experiment.
Well feel one guy's hurt the otherguy when this guy gets here,
when this guy comes back and thisguy comes back. It's a there's nobody
that should be far above the Lakers, right, there's nobody that should be
Denver the champs and they come backand Okay, I understand that, but
the Lakers made a couple of moves. They look at what they did after
the deadline, more time for themto gel. The better the players,

(33:58):
like Austin Reeves, the more opportunitythey get to play. I mean,
there shouldn't be anybody where you cansay the Lakers can't beat this team,
or they go into a series,a playoff series where we're not equal favorite,
if not the favorite in this series. No, it should be there
for the Lakers. This year.It's Lebron and a d Are they healthy
and dominant at the end of theseason. Don't want to press the fast
forward button, but that's kind ofwhat you have to do. Hear.

(34:19):
What do you make of the JamesHarden situation before we get out of here?
Oh, dude, man, JamesHarden. I mean, yeah,
James Harden walks around like like it'slike twenty sixteen James Harden, and it's
not twenty twenty three James Hardenware.Dude, you've you've been on three teams
now that you've been the missing piecefour and your team's never won. It's
not that he's not a good playerand he went, Look he's silly.
Led the league and assist last year, but he's not the dominant force that

(34:42):
he used to be. And heand he's acting like he is. And
I don't know that there's any teamout there that says, yes, we
are James Harden away from winning itall. Let's give up everything we can
to go get him. No,the Sixers are gonna have to take less
to go to move James Harden.And that's how it's gonna wind up ending
it. At some point. Hehe's going to win because in the NBA,
the players always win. The playershave more power. He has more

(35:04):
power. He may not get tothe Clippers where he wants to get to,
but he will get to someplace hewants to be. And the Sixers
just have to understand you buy Areyou buying that They told him to opt
in that they were going to tradehim, and then Darryl Moorey kind of
backed out on the deal or couldn'tfind a trade partner along the way.
Ah. Yeah. From the peoplethat I've talked to in the NBA on
on my show at night, Yeah, I think that's the worst. That's

(35:25):
the worst thing for the Sixers isis that. And Rick Buker talked to
talk to me about it last weeksaid, if if Harden comes out with
the stuff that he says he waspromised that Darryl Moorey promised him, look
out. That's like the nuclear buttonin Philadelphia for James Harden. Look Out,
look out, look out, myman, Jason Smith, it's been
a pleasure. We gotta do thismore often. Man. Let me know,

(35:47):
Madam, I'm always here for you. And you're gonna buy lunch next
time, right, I am,I'm gonna buy lunch. Congratulations again,
Elsa Gundo Little League Little League WorldChamps. I love it uh. James
Smith, thank you very much forsitting in for Fred. Appreciate it.
Always a pleasure. Kevin Figgures,thank you very much. Katie. Thank

(36:09):
you for sitting in for Ronnie.Appreciate it. Thank you all for listening.
We will get it in tomorrow.Petrol some money next