On this episode of the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman NBA Podcast, Bob praises Payton Pritchard - again, again and again. The Sixers are beat up, already. What does that mean for the Celtics? Plus Bob's trip to the Hall of Fame. All that, and much more!
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SportsTranscript
00:00Gary Tango with Bob Ryan here, folks.
00:19Let's talk some hoops brought to you by PrizePix, the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the
00:24CLNS Media Network.
00:25Pick more, pick less with PrizePix.
00:28Bob, how are you tonight, my friend?
00:30I'm doing fine.
00:32Feel good today. Everything's good.
00:33That's good. All right. So let's get to it.
00:35Now we're actually starting to talk about some basketball as in preseason is
00:41underway. We're talking about rolls.
00:43And one of your favorite players, Pritchard, was front and center the other night.
00:48He said that.
00:50You know, it's interesting, I forgot that he demanded a trade.
00:54Yeah. Two years ago.
00:56Two years ago, I forgot he had demanded a trade.
00:5922-23, he was not a happy camper.
01:02And, you know, that got rectified last year.
01:07I don't know whether Joe Mazzola's light went off in his head or what exactly.
01:12To me, Pritchard, I don't see much difference in him, Gary, since he showed up.
01:16Well, I think Marcus, when Marcus left.
01:19Yeah, that was it. That's Marcus.
01:20That's right. Thank you.
01:22Yeah, that created a need that he and he was ready.
01:26He had a terrific year for a substitute guard last year and he's fulfilling his
01:31role. And his preseason is off the charts, really, so far.
01:37You know, he's an asset.
01:40And at both ends of the floor, that's the thing that people don't often acknowledge.
01:45He's a pest on defense.
01:47And I have this thing I've been saying, I think, to you for several months at the
01:52end of last season, he's guaranteed for one sneaky offensive rebound a game.
01:56He is. Yeah, he is.
01:58Yeah. He's a tough little bastard.
02:00And, you know, and he said he's not a star and they're going to be an all-star.
02:06But, boy, he's an asset.
02:08You know, it's like I said, he's a combination.
02:11Now this is going to reign in two separate levels and eras of Celtic fans.
02:17But I hope they either.
02:18He's a combination of Larry Siegfried and Eddie House.
02:22Well, that's a boy you I don't think you've I I've heard the Larry Siegfried
02:27and I've heard that Jerry Seaston, you've come up with that one.
02:30Well, you know, I think how Siegfried that's a new one.
02:33Well, you know why? Because I used to say Seaston and I'm not lying.
02:39I'm telling you the gospel truth right here.
02:42I used to say Seaston.
02:44And as I was speaking to you 25 seconds ago, Eddie House splashed into my head
02:51instead of Seaston.
02:52And it made perfect sense to me on the fly because, you know, and but
02:58take your pick, you know, he's.
03:00Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:02It's more like, you know, offensively, it's probably more like Eddie.
03:06Although Seaston was not a three point shooter at all.
03:09It was a part of it.
03:10It wasn't in the game the way it is today.
03:12You know, and I've got to say, I never want to miss an opportunity
03:16to to praise Jerry Seaston that that he shot in the last 13 games of the nineteen
03:22eighty five, eighty six regular season, he shot sixty five percent from the floor
03:28in a 13 game stretch down the stretch.
03:30And and you know that 90 percent of the 65 percent were foul line jump shots.
03:36Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:38And the great Lee Montville used to talk
03:41about Seaston's who strictly was a perimeter player and said the title
03:46of Jerry Seaston's autobiography will be I've never been to the paint.
03:50Right, right.
03:53Anyway, Peyton Frichard is off to a great start, as is Sam Houser.
03:59And they are, you know,
04:02they're both turning out to be what they were supposed to be.
04:05So and Houser undrafted, you know, out of Marquette.
04:09Right.
04:11Richard, no second round pick.
04:13But but
04:15Sam Houser turned out to be a wonderful addition to the cast.
04:18And I still go back to one of the early exhibitions.
04:21I think it was the second one.
04:22He made a move to the hoop.
04:23I said, oh, my God, where'd that come from?
04:25But it was it was highly acrobatic.
04:28We know he can shoot the ball.
04:30But so things look good from there.
04:33They they've been my big takeaway from that.
04:36That and the fact that Jalen Brown
04:38get out, look out world, he's look out world.
04:42That's all I can say.
04:43That guy wants to show somebody something this year, I think.
04:46And it's not in spite.
04:49You know, it's just he's just found himself a way to motivate himself further.
04:53And he's he's in the best shape he's ever been in, which is saying a lot.
04:56And and he's just he's been a terrific player in the early in the preseason.
05:02Well, if Tatum finds his three point shot
05:04again, which I believe he will, yeah, it's coming.
05:07It's coming around.
05:10It's coming around. So, yeah.
05:12Forget about it. If that happens, it's oh, I say it's over.
05:16We'll get to Philly in a minute.
05:17They've already got health issues.
05:19But I mean, I mean, I mean, he's played twenty, thirty nine games last year.
05:23He never plays more than 60 ish games.
05:26You know, so I'll get to those guys in a minute.
05:30But back back to Pritchard, what I also
05:32liked when he spoke to the media is he's happy with his role there.
05:37You know, there's no and he played 22
05:40minutes a game last year, which I didn't realize it was that high.
05:43Yeah, it was. And, you know, I mean, let's face it.
05:45It's a you're looking around at the league
05:48in a league where people are making upwards of 40 million dollars a year.
05:52And he's realistic.
05:54He's not that kind of player, but, you know, he's looking around.
05:56He's like, I'm sure he's measuring himself against certain people in certain teams
06:00and saying, you know, I I'm as good as him and I deserve to play more.
06:04I deserve. But I think he appreciates he's on a team
06:08that the guys he's playing behind, he respects totally.
06:10And I think now that Joe Mazzola has
06:13much more apparent confidence in him than than he had two years ago,
06:19that he's going to be out there at important times.
06:22And he appreciates the whole circumstance.
06:24He's got a ring and I got a good chance for another ring.
06:27And why why rock the boat?
06:29You know, he's not like he's starving.
06:30And so he's not greedy in that regard.
06:32No, it's very important that he feel that way.
06:35Which brings me to another guy, by the way.
06:38Oh, they picked up an interesting guy in
06:40Lonnie Walker, the fourth, who's coming off a very nice second half of the year
06:44with the Nets, he's bounced around, but he's an offensive guy.
06:48And I don't know him enough about anything about his personality.
06:51But when you bring in a guy like that,
06:54you know, you got to bet him that he understands where he fits into this team
06:58and what the expectations are and, you know, he's making a bid.
07:03He's coming off that is not the game that was that is taking place as we speak.
07:08But the game before that 20 point game with eight to 15 from the floor
07:13and making a bid for the roster and maybe a bid for some playing time.
07:18And, you know, is he would he accept
07:22a lesser role to have a chance to get the ring?
07:25A. And the other issue, though, if they can't even afford to keep him,
07:30his price tag is substantial.
07:34And they have to worry about the payroll.
07:37Very definitely how he would possibly fit in.
07:39Well, I mean, as we have read,
07:42that is one of the reasons the Celtics of the ground spec share is on the block.
07:46Yeah. You know, yeah, that's an issue.
07:49Irv is not into paying two hundred fifty million over the cap.
07:53No, it comes down to Lonnie Walker versus a younger player like Springer or Walsh.
07:58You know, it'll be an interesting thing
08:00because in paper, you know, he said, you know, he's a he's a nice insurance policy
08:04in theory, if, you know, if everybody you've got two guys who start over 30,
08:09one of them is thirty three or four and holiday and, you know, you can't guarantee
08:13they're going to get not get through the season unscathed.
08:16And, you know, he would be a nice insurance
08:19policy if if he's willing to accept his role here.
08:22Well, I'm not saying I don't know the guy.
08:25I don't know anything about the guy other than I remember him in college in Miami.
08:29I saw him play at V.C.
08:30You know, and and I know he's had to
08:34you know, he's an auxiliary player, but he's had his moments and he had a lot
08:38of those moments for the Nets last year.
08:39And so, you know, you wouldn't mind having
08:41a guy on a payroll on a bench that could play a serious player.
08:46Well, to me, you keep up because, well,
08:49you're not really you're not grooming anybody for the future.
08:52I mean, we're winning now, right?
08:55We want to like this team could win three straight.
08:58It's a good point that we're winning now.
09:00So you want that guy in case.
09:02Well, here's where, you know, you made an allusion to it.
09:05The sale, it does cloud the issue with this team.
09:08Well, I mean,
09:11but financially, you know, but so I don't know.
09:15Like, obviously.
09:17I mean, he's he's got a big number for his price is going to be more than
09:22generally what his price he's outpriced himself for the position he's in.
09:26There's no question he's overpaid.
09:28But, you know, he's not he's not the only reason they're
09:33like two hundred and fifty million over the cap or they're going to, you know,
09:36he's not the problem.
09:37But I don't know.
09:39You know, but in the fact that the team is
09:41on the block, but they haven't been sold yet.
09:44I don't know if it enters into the picture.
09:46You hit on a big issue.
09:47And this is a big issue in all sports.
09:49Not right now.
09:50Our pressing issue is the immediacy of the Boston Celtics
09:52in the immediate future and and how they're going to keep this group
09:55together and what their potential is, because we know the last time we had
09:58a great group, they could have won three and they won one.
10:01And in both cases, it was because somebody got hurt.
10:04Correct. First case was because Garnett got hurt.
10:07They're even better than they were in 08.
10:09He got hurt. They didn't get through the playoffs.
10:11And the second time there were no excuses.
10:13They should have won. They should have won.
10:15They should have beaten the Lakers in game seven.
10:16They didn't do it. OK, fine.
10:18And then it was over after that.
10:19OK, this group. Right.
10:21But that's where in all sports guys,
10:24the owners sign people to big, you know,
10:27whopping things and things that are going to have distasteful endings, you know,
10:32long, multi-year contracts.
10:34And then the guys in his mid 30s or later,
10:36I'm going to talk on all sports now and it's not worth it.
10:39And you're just stuck with it, blah, blah, blah.
10:41But, you know, you don't you think about the music,
10:44who's going to buy this team at the exorbitant price it's going to take and be
10:48willing to ride out these contracts?
10:52That's a great question, because it can't be a long list.
10:58You got to, you know, somewhere out there,
11:00we're praying that there's some guy that bleeds green, that that is a Celtic sicko
11:05from youth or college or something who happens to have a few billion dollars.
11:10You know, look at what Bomber built for a new building in L.A.
11:14Yeah, yeah. Right.
11:15That was two billion dollars.
11:18You know, it wasn't an issue for him.
11:20So, you know, it has to be someone from Silicon Valley or something.
11:24I say to Celtic fans, just we've got to live.
11:27We're living day by day until we find a until we find out who the owner is.
11:31And then you live in day by day with this
11:33thing, but it won't affect this year, you know, it won't affect this year.
11:37You know, it was starting to come into play
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12:35And the other thing that happens to Bob
12:36and we've seen this and we don't begrudge anybody,
12:39but certainly during the Patriots heyday, guys would leave to get paid.
12:43I mean, Park got paid when he was traded,
12:46and he would not have the safety net that he has now if he had remained
12:51with the Boston Celtics.
12:53So you're talking about tens of millions of dollars for players.
12:56So Pritchard, who's a very young man, plays this year, plays next year.
13:02So he gets another ring or maybe three.
13:04After Pritchard gets three rings,
13:06if somebody wants to pay this, overpay this guy, he's going to take it.
13:11Then he would be Larry Siegfried.
13:15Right, right, right.
13:16But that's what happens.
13:18Now, having said that,
13:20Siggy is no longer with us, regrettably.
13:22And he was a very interesting guy.
13:25But I got to see if there's anybody
13:27around that could possibly know what he was getting paid.
13:30I'd just love to know.
13:32I mean, it's five figures and not that many.
13:36Believe me.
13:38No, no, no, you're right.
13:40People, the young generation have no idea what Siggy was like.
13:43But I can still hear Johnny most, Gary, he's in his shirt.
13:50So, all right.
13:51Characters, characters, characters, characters.
13:56But with this team,
13:58you know, but you mentioned a walker, I think he's got to stick.
14:01And I think that, you know, Joe can get him some minutes, get him ready.
14:06I just remember during the 08 season, we saw a team, you know, PJ Brown,
14:13Posey, some big players, you know, showed up.
14:18And started chewing into Eddie House's
14:20minutes until, you know, the crucial moments.
14:24Then I wasn't happy about that because,
14:26you know, I thought Eddie House had done nothing to lose his playing time.
14:29And I wasn't unhappy.
14:30I didn't dislike Sam Pescel or anything like that.
14:32But I just I remember being as a fan and being upset that Eddie House was losing
14:38time, but it all worked out.
14:40Eddie made a significant contribution in the finals.
14:43He got his ring. Sam got his, you know, and and everybody, you know, everybody.
14:49You know, the great story of PJ Brown, it can't be told enough.
14:52He was actively recruited like he was a college high school senior.
14:56By the cadre, by Garnett, Pierce and Allen,
15:01Garnett and Pierce, I believe, and they they they literally saw him
15:05in the All-Star game walking down the street.
15:06Right.
15:08Jumped out of the car, PJ.
15:10And hey, if only for the one moment he beat the Cavaliers with a jump,
15:15with a jump shot and a close game and a one point game, a two point game.
15:21But he gave them exactly what they needed.
15:23He was he was the ideal veteran, you know,
15:25and so that those those stories you can't tell often enough.
15:30You believe in the Sixers.
15:31And I and I don't because of health.
15:34Paul George, he's got an issue now.
15:36And yeah, I just don't.
15:39That guy, poor Embiid, you know, he can't stay healthy.
15:42George is too old. I don't know.
15:43George is healthy. He's heard already, right?
15:45Yeah, he's heard already.
15:47You know, that's caveat emptor with him.
15:49You know, and yeah, that's right.
15:51On paper. And I like the jewelry things they added.
15:54You know, Reggie Jackson and and there's a couple.
15:56Oh, Andre Drummond.
15:57You can still rebound, by the way.
15:59He's one of the premier rebounders in the league still, I think.
16:02And, you know, they added their bench to the bench.
16:05But but it's all conversation if George can't give them what they need.
16:11Right. To change the equation there.
16:14And of course, Embiid, you know,
16:16you just turn over the hourglass when he's going to get hurt.
16:19So that's the issue.
16:21I'll believe it when I see it.
16:23Yeah, I mean, the Knicks are more of a viable threat because, you know,
16:27there's less of those potential issues, I think there's still a little, you know.
16:31No, the Knicks, they they got a thing they're looking for.
16:35I mean, I I fully expect that they will be
16:38the opponents in the Eastern Conference finals.
16:40Not that I'm just saying dismissing Cleveland, by the way, or Indiana.
16:46But I think the Knicks will turn out.
16:49I think right now, when you look at trying
16:51to beat the Celtics, you have to look at depth.
16:54Right. And you have to look at certain positions.
16:57And the championship teams we have seen
17:00in the past have all been two person teams, if you will,
17:04whether it be Denver, whether it be Dallas.
17:06Now, Golden State is a different story,
17:08but they started to they don't have the roster that they once had.
17:13You know, I'm going by memory.
17:15I'm going I'm talking off the top of my head.
17:19The team with the closest roster to the Celtics are the Knicks.
17:23Yeah. And they're still not close to the Celtics.
17:26They they they went out and they got Ananobi, I guess, at the trading line,
17:32at least sometimes, and they got McHale Bridges.
17:35And and they're not even making any secret.
17:38That's hopefully that they can match up, they think, with Brown.
17:42And I bring them on, bring them on.
17:47That's fine.
17:48And and then I got Carl Anthony Towns, who they hope,
17:52although no one said that out loud, but I'm saying they have to hope he can do
17:56for them what Brzezinskis did for the Celtics, stretch the floor at seven feet.
18:00They he must be honored.
18:02You know, you could ignore him once he walked away from the basket.
18:05You can always ignore Mitchell Robinson when he walks away from the basket.
18:08But you can't ignore Carl Anthony Towns when he walks away from the basket.
18:12So he got that and he can also post up
18:15what his reputation is and we'll see is that he's soft in general,
18:19you know, at the other end. Right.
18:21And he may get some statistical stats on the rebounds.
18:24But he's not that he's not a tough guy.
18:26And Hartenstein was tough.
18:28And Robinson lives just to block shots and dominate.
18:31But Towns is totally different.
18:33But he will make them there'll be some night, Gary.
18:36They're going to have maybe they may go for five guys and dubs themselves.
18:39They may have it.
18:40And we're going to have at least four nights.
18:43They're going to be they're going to score a lot of points, I would think.
18:46You know, now, will they defend like the Celtics?
18:49They think they hope that Bridges and nobody will help them do that.
18:52But at the other positions, I'm not sure that Brunson and I not to diss Brunson,
18:57but he's not going to make the all defensive team.
18:59But he certainly is an offensive genius in a in a wonderful team.
19:04Oh, he's a great player.
19:05He's a wonderful player.
19:06Yeah, I think Miami's out of it.
19:10Well, you know, they got to start with Butler, how many games and then,
19:13you know, yeah, I don't think they've had anything, even if Butler's healthy.
19:18And I'm a fan of the guy just as a basketball fan.
19:20I mean, how can you not be?
19:22I know he's a wonderful. He's not enough.
19:24No, no, no, no, no.
19:26They got no BAM is good.
19:29All right. They got BAM. BAM.
19:30BAM is arguably as good as American born center as we have because,
19:34you know, look at the NBA is from Cameroon.
19:36And I'm just saying, I know, but like
19:39Bounds is from North Jersey.
19:41So that does. He's American.
19:42That qualifies.
19:43But I would if I had to pick win a game
19:46tonight, would you take BAM out of Bayou or would you take any town?
19:49So I would take BAM out of Bayou.
19:50I take out of Bayou. But like, no, but you mentioned the centers.
19:53I mean, but it's so funny because like for Dallas or Denver or even Porzingis,
19:59they're like they're I guess those guys are technically centers.
20:01They just don't play like it.
20:02No, no.
20:03That's it.
20:04This is evolved and changed and it's a joke.
20:07So I think BAM, but I understand what you're saying.
20:09BAM is I don't think he's as good.
20:12He's developed into a score and he and hey, he's our, you know, look at one
20:18other guy, he's not a center, but he's he's a four or five hybrid.
20:22And I love him.
20:23And I think he's and we're going to need him in 20 market down in twenty twenty
20:28eight and we get to the Olympics and that's a pile up on care of.
20:31He's the next. He's the cover.
20:33He's so he's the cover.
20:35Now, I'm not saying Orlando, the team is going to be a threat.
20:37But but Bankaro is really good.
20:40Really good.
20:41I want to talk a little bit for me,
20:43having been to the Hall of Fame ceremony the other night.
20:46And yes.
20:47And they do a wonderful job, you know,
20:50and at one problem in terms of, you know, the evening's
20:55ongoing nature, they're honoring 12 people.
20:59That's a lot.
21:00That's a lot. That's a lot of speeches.
21:02But two of them were posthumous and the
21:05speeches that the people represented them weren't long.
21:07You know, that was and and and Dick Barnett, who's 88,
21:13had to have a pre-recorded speech because he's 88, come out in a wheelchair.
21:17And and and one of his sponsors, it was also in a wheelchair.
21:21And I didn't know he was Earl Monroe.
21:24And I had seen him earlier in the Pearl.
21:27I didn't know. But he's in a wheelchair.
21:29And the one who wasn't in a wheelchair
21:31was Bill Bradley.
21:34But
21:35Barnett gave a nice, you know,
21:37pre-recorded speech, but he's 88 and not in good health at all.
21:42I got to tell you about people have to know and I haven't tried it myself.
21:47It's got to be YouTube and I would recommend it to people.
21:51Simone Augustus went in and Simone Augustus, who was from Baton Rouge
21:58and obviously oozes Creole, Cajun, you know, vibrancy.
22:03You know, she's a proud, proud woman of that of that world.
22:07She starts off singing.
22:11A little ditty, I think it was en francais or no, it may not even be en francais.
22:17It was in a in a patois of some kind.
22:20OK, as I recall, but it was a little ditty.
22:22She sings and then she launches into her acceptance speech.
22:27Excuse me, her acceptance poem
22:30that she wrote and then recited spontaneously, not even using the prompter.
22:36I mean, talk about stealing the show.
22:39Yeah. Oh, wow.
22:41You know, so all props that she's I mean, she had everybody's mouth open.
22:46She was so good. God love her.
22:47Simone Augustus.
22:48So she she stole the show in the long run.
22:52My favorite guy honored was Michael Cooper.
22:57Right. He was extremely gracious, extremely good, really good.
23:01And I love the part where he cited that he
23:03was so proud to be the fifth defensive oriented player that, you know, to get
23:09into the hall starting, you know, he tipped them off, of course, with Rodman
23:13and Bobby Jones, Bobby Jones, Wallace and Dikembe and then him.
23:20And, you know, he may have it.
23:21And, you know, I think about it, you know,
23:25it's very rare that a defensive oriented player is Wallace.
23:28Which Wallace Wallace Ben is in.
23:31Got in a couple of years ago and he gave a a legendary speech.
23:36He gave a great speech.
23:37Yeah. Ben Wallace is in the Hall of Fame.
23:39I'm sorry if you don't like that.
23:41I don't know, Bob.
23:43I mean, oh, borderline things.
23:46Well, that's it. That's it.
23:47OK, Larry.
23:49Now, Larry was there in support of Herb Simon,
23:52the owner of the Pacers for the last 40 years.
23:54Yeah, Larry.
23:55Larry was there with Reggie Miller in support of Herb Simon.
24:00And but two people.
24:04There's always somebody that runs through the stop sign.
24:07Now, I got to say, when you get up there, there's a clock ticking off 10 minutes.
24:12Yeah.
24:14And I love the guy, I've known him 50 years, literally, and he's
24:18one of my all time favorite opponents, you know, personally and professionally.
24:22Doug Collins.
24:24Oh, yeah.
24:25He talked for over a half hour.
24:29He talked for over a half hour and it was the work and the thing about it,
24:32it was it was the thing you absolutely don't want to do.
24:35And then I did this and then I did that and then I went there and then I went
24:39there and then I went there and then I did, you know, OK, now.
24:42And you were replaced by Phil Jackson.
24:45Well, you need to. And then, Doug,
24:46you needed the hook for Doug, you know, OK,
24:49the other guy who spoke at great length,
24:53it was kind of charming, though, but it was the last one.
24:56And after three hours, people are ready to go.
24:58You know, we started six and went three hours and 15 minutes.
25:01OK, we started six.
25:03Vince Carter and Vince Carter, who played for eight teams,
25:08gave us teammate thank yous to every team
25:14teammates, not every last one.
25:16But he told he had two hundred and forty
25:17one teammates in the history of the Dottie Marshall spoke highly of him.
25:22He came off really smart.
25:24Yeah.
25:25Honest and really thoughtful.
25:27Yes, he did. He came off very, very well.
25:30It is the most wonderful time of the year.
25:31Yes, the NBA season, folks, it is the best.
25:37Look, the NFL is great.
25:39I understand.
25:40But if you're looking at the star power,
25:42the celebrity entertainment, it's the NBA.
25:47There's no doubt about it.
25:48And my Celtics, I'm looking for them to defend.
25:50We need it. We need a new dynasty in the NBA.
25:53We need one. OK.
25:55And I think this Celtic group can do it.
25:57I know the Celtic group can do it.
25:58You know who else, from what I understand, is a Celtic fan is Hugh Jackman.
26:02Yes. Wolverine himself.
26:04The greatest showman, Hugh Jackman, is a big Celtic fan.
26:07And if you're like us and you want to check out the Celtics or maybe any other
26:11team that happens to be coming to town to try to knock off the kings of the NBA,
26:15the Celtics, make sure you go to GameTime, download the GameTime app.
26:19Now, GameTime and you can get your Celtics tickets there.
26:22It's really easy to do.
26:23GameTime is a new feature called GameTime Picks that makes getting tickets to see
26:28your favorite teams play live even easier because GameTime Picks filters out the
26:32fluff, right, to show you incredible deals and great seats so you don't have
26:36to waste time searching through thousands of tickets.
26:40It's like when I go to my GameTime app, it's a Celtics game right there.
26:42Boom, pops up how much the price is.
26:44I'm ready to go. It's as simple as that.
26:47They have super deals.
26:49They're as good as it gets.
26:50Check it out on the GameTime app.
26:53And again,
26:55I can't emphasize how easy it is, even for an idiot like me.
26:59You download the app. It's got a G on it for GameTime.
27:03You just click it on.
27:04You can designate where you want to go, what you want to do.
27:07You can, you know, favorite your games and your cities and so forth.
27:10And it pops up on the screen.
27:11You click it on and there you go.
27:12And you're off and running.
27:14It's as simple as that.
27:15They also have curated deals to make it
27:17easy to find best prices and great seats.
27:20They have the super deal.
27:22And I love this part.
27:23You know the view of your seats before you buy them.
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27:36So GameTime picks curation makes it easier
27:39to save more on concerts, comedy, theater, sports.
27:43Oh, speaking of concerts,
27:45Coldplay coming to Gillette Stadium in July of twenty twenty five.
27:49Tickets are already up on GameTime.
27:52Not bad either.
27:53Not bad at all.
27:56And the jingle ball kiss, the kiss, you know,
27:58the I heart I heart jingle ball at the garden.
28:01You can get tickets on that, too.
28:02And they always have big stars around Christmas time.
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28:41Download GameTime today.
28:43What time is it? It's GameTime.
28:46Yeah,
28:47when Donnie, when I were doing the games,
28:49the pre and post game show, then Vince went to the Nets.
28:53Donnie was tight with Jason Kidd and he knew, but he always liked Vince.
28:57And Vince, he always felt that maybe Vince got a bit of a bad rap.
29:01You know, he was never really a selfish player.
29:03He was a, you know, he was a high flyer.
29:06High flyer at Alps Supreme.
29:08And of course, they had a great montage of his dunks, you know.
29:11Oh, yeah.
29:12And I said they should have invited Frederick Weiss.
29:14You know that story, right?
29:15The famous dunk in the exhibition game over the Frenchman.
29:19Right. Yes, yes, yes.
29:22For those who don't, can you tell it?
29:25It was, you think you've seen high flying dunks over, he's a seven footer
29:29and he must have taken off from 20 feet away.
29:31And he dunked over Frederick Weiss of France and it became instantly a legend,
29:38instantly iconic, you know, I'm sure you could YouTube that.
29:41Just go Vince Carter slash Frederick W.E.I.S.
29:45I bet you it's there, you know, and then what I'm talking about.
29:48So I'll wrap this up with that.
29:50Anything else?
29:51Oh, so Jerry West goes in for the third time.
29:55The first time was a player, naturally.
29:57The second time they inducted the 1960 Olympic team on mass.
30:01And he and Oscar Robertson were the two.
30:03And Russell, there were three on that, some stars on that team.
30:07And now he went in for an all around executive contributor, which he was.
30:13It was a great executive with the Lakers.
30:15OK, well,
30:17the big heavy hitters showed up, except for Kareem.
30:20Apparently he had some issue.
30:22He couldn't be there. But Magic was there.
30:24Worthy was there. Cooper was there.
30:26Riley, of course, was there for a few people, but it was nice.
30:30And, you know, it was
30:34Jerry West's son, Johnny, spoke and that was nice.
30:38I'm going to tell you something, people go check out Simone.
30:41That's S-E-I-M-O-N-E, Augustus.
30:44OK, check it out.
30:46It was she was really tremendous.
30:49The on ESPN dot com,
30:53Baxter Holmes, who we knew here from Boston, had an article about the
30:58Jerry and the Lakers.
31:00Oh, the few.
31:03Yeah, the feud where he even said he was
31:06quoted or at one point saying he wish he had never played for them or coached.
31:10I bet it's so sad. That's so wrong.
31:12He's so Mr.
31:13Laker, you know, the he's completely Mr.
31:15Laker. I mean, it's Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Kobe.
31:20And Elgin got to throw Elgin, got to throw Elgin.
31:23But I always look at I look at.
31:27That I look at Jerry as like Batman and Elgin is Robin.
31:31Well, when they moved to trust me on this, when they moved from well,
31:34when they moved from Minneapolis to L.A. and after the fifty nine sixty season
31:38winning and Elgin Bale, now Jerry was a rookie.
31:42Elgin Baylor was the franchise at that point for them.
31:45OK, absolutely.
31:46He was the one that captured the hearts and soul of the basketball fans.
31:49And Chick Horne was there to sell the sing the gospel, you know,
31:53and spread the gospel and Elgin Baylor.
31:55And just now you're talking to.
31:59I'm hardly unbiased.
32:01All right.
32:02Elgin Baylor is one of my two boyhood
32:04idols, along with three, along with Ted Kuzniewski and Robin Roberts.
32:08So but I loved Elgin Baylor and I believe
32:10that Elgin Baylor personally reinvented an individual offensive basketball
32:16individual moves up to numbers and hesitations and and odd shooting angles
32:21and everything else. Elgin Baylor changed basketball in that regard by himself
32:24in the late 50s, and so he should be there.
32:28He his career, you know, he got hurt and it ended, you know,
32:31sadly it ended when he retired and they replaced him in the lineup with Jim
32:36McMillan and went off on the thirty three game winning streak that night.
32:40Yeah, that sucks.
32:41But he he was everything in L.A.
32:44until West gradually by the by.
32:47OK, but eventually, you know,
32:50he was long gone when Jerry became, you know, Jerry West, you know, saying
32:55that he was he was the man that that.
32:58Really introduced professional basketball to the city of Los Angeles.
33:03What happened between West and the Lakers?
33:06Because it really is sad.
33:08I know I really know I'm going to plead ignorance.
33:11Exactly. I knew something bad, but I I didn't
33:14realize, you know, until as time went on, you hear the things I well,
33:18I never had a difference of opinion with Riley and they were, you know,
33:20they were buddies and he hired him, hired him, hired him.
33:24But but eventually there was some conflict, right?
33:28And it's the idea that he ever worked.
33:32I did.
33:33He ever went to work for the Clippers, you know, was unimaginable, but he did.
33:36And then in the story, they talked about how they fired his son.
33:40Yeah. Went to Memphis and hired QB out of, you know,
33:45and QB had something left.
33:47He had a fastball left and got him in the playoffs.
33:49You know, QB, by the way, was 91 years old.
33:52We work it again this year.
33:53Amazing. Another guy someday I can I had he was really
33:59the guy who taught me more about NBA basketball with two people,
34:02Tommy Heinsohn and and QB Brown.
34:05And when he was an assistant coach with the Bucks, we interacted and we've been
34:11friends for 50 years and I learned a lot of basketball from him.
34:14But it's remarkable.
34:15He's still got every one of his.
34:18Yeah, he's 91.
34:20He's going to be doing games again this year.
34:22So so anyway, it's I recommend if you can ever if people are fans and, you know,
34:26Springfield's two hours away from Boston, if you're ever or you don't even if you're
34:29in Tacoma, it's it's a it's a wonderful weekend.
34:33It's a nice night, you know, and and I'm I'm a shy who you forget about because he
34:38doesn't he's still the host and he's terrific.
34:41Oh, really? Oh, OK.
34:43He's still the host. And he's you know, even though he hasn't done it, he's been
34:45off the TV.
34:47Yeah, yeah, yeah.
34:49But he must love he must love it.
34:51And he's very good.
34:52And so it's a nice night.
34:55I'm happy I was able to take part in it.
34:58And one but one sad note I want to pass
35:00along, Jim Calhoun was supposed to be a presenter for Bo Ryan of Wisconsin.
35:05You know, oh, yeah.
35:07And Roy Williams was there for him.
35:09Jim Calhoun arrived.
35:11I'm told now arrived in Springfield.
35:15And I won't say collapsed, but he was
35:17stricken with some at the hotel and he couldn't get there.
35:20Oh, no.
35:22He's got some serious medical issue.
35:24And no, no.
35:26And so people, you know, in Boston should know.
35:28And that, you know, Jim Calhoun Springtree's own Jim Calhoun.
35:34You know, when I was a Channel four, I did a story on him and I did
35:39the history of Jim Calhoun and I went to Braintree High.
35:43I went and I took a look at the graduation
35:45pictures and talked to people and all that.
35:48His story is amazing.
35:50Then to Northeastern.
35:53Oh, and then you get to UConn.
35:55I went directly from Dedham High School to Northeastern.
35:57And as a coach. Right, Dedham.
35:59That's right.
36:01American National College, Springfield, Massachusetts.
36:04That's where he played, AIC.
36:06And and then he went into coaching and he was coaching Dedham High.
36:10And they had a good tech.
36:11I think it was still the Tech 20 then it was.
36:13And in 1972, you know, 71.
36:15And and he when Dick Dutcheyer, long story, but he left to co-coach
36:20the Greek national team, he was the coach at Northeastern for many years.
36:24And there was some problem with his successor.
36:26There was an issue.
36:28There was an unfortunate issue that the guy, whoever it was.
36:31And they turned to the coach of Dedham
36:34High School, Jim Calhoun, and that's how the real career got launched.
36:38Yeah. Yeah.
36:40Donnie Marshall had so many great stories about him.
36:43What a character.
36:45My favorite thing of all I know, and I've known him, you know, I know him over 50
36:49years, his favorite thing is they one year after they won.
36:52I don't know whether it was after the first national championship or whenever.
36:55But one of his national championships,
36:58he was invited to throw out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium.
37:01And he said, no.
37:05That's him. Oh, that's him.
37:08He politely refused.
37:11Yeah, that's him. Boy, Donnie used to talk about sometimes
37:13in practice when he would get on players and he had that thick New England accent.
37:17Oh, God. Oh, they would be like, what did he say?
37:20Yeah. You know, it's just Donnie.
37:23Donnie loved the guy. And when and I don't think I'm saying
37:26that when Donnie got the.
37:28Donnie, Donnie in high school was a great
37:30soccer player, and he actually thought his sport was going to be soccer.
37:33And then he grew up to Yukon.
37:37He wasn't I don't think he was on the radar.
37:39He very soon became on the radar.
37:43But yeah, he loved playing for Calhoun.
37:45He goes, he just.
37:46Oh, he would like read those guys, the Riot Act, and they were just
37:51I think there was one game, you know, playing Harvard or somebody
37:54at the beginning of the year, and, you know, they're up by 25.
37:58You know, Calhoun comes in the locker room, you know, like, what are you guys doing?
38:02You know, you're, you know,
38:04guys like we're up by twenty five places.
38:08You know, I wish him the best.
38:10And I hope, you know, but I haven't heard.
38:12I hope he's OK. Yeah, definitely.
38:14All right, Robert.
38:16Pleasure, my friend.
38:18We will talk again later on.
38:20Yes.
38:22But I'm glad we touched on the Jerry West thing.
38:25He was.
38:26Some he was he was an original, no doubt about that.
38:29And I always felt like to wrap this up,
38:32I always felt a little bad, like even Tommy told me he was a he's very hard on himself.
38:37Oh, nobody's harder on themselves.
38:41I've ever met than him.
38:43And his son actually had to acknowledge that in his speech.
38:47Just so hard on himself.
38:49Well, he's famous for that.
38:51And if you read his autobiography, West on West, it's terrifying.
38:56It's the darkest autobiography.
38:58His father was abusive because on and on.
39:00And he and he he's never satisfied.
39:03And, you know, he was so tense and wound up that during those glory years with the
39:07Lakers in the 80s and they'd have a home game and he couldn't watch.
39:11And he drove around. Oh, yeah.
39:13Listen to Chick Hearn and listen to the game.
39:16He couldn't even and he would never come back here.
39:18And, you know, I was one of many that urged
39:20him that he would be so honored and gratified how well he would be treated in
39:24Boston, thanks to Johnny, most a lot, a lot of it.
39:27And that in addition to what people saw
39:29with their own eyes, because Johnny Moses, the one player that he would know,
39:33he was gentlemen, Jerry, right?
39:36You know, Rambis called out from the sewer.
39:39Jerry, you know, helped him out.
39:40And, you know,
39:42he would have been so gratified with the reception.
39:45He wouldn't do it. He would not.
39:47The Celtics scarred him.
39:49He lost six times, you know, six times he lost the Celtics in the 60s.
39:53And he never got over it.
39:55Even when they won, it wasn't enough to wash away the bad, right?
39:59Yeah, yeah, he was.
40:01He was the ultimate,
40:04the profound pessimist, but a great, great man.
40:08And so anyway.
40:11Bob brought to you by Price Picks,
40:13the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the CLNS Media Network.
40:16Pick more, pick less with Price Picks.
40:17Bob, we'll talk to you again later in the week.
40:20Perfect. Always fun.