On this episode of the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman NBA Podcast, Bob, Jeff, and Gary Tanguay cover all the biggest stories around the NBA. The NBA Cup is coming to a close and the guys give their thoughts on the tournament as a whole, and the future of the Cup. Plus, are the Bucks back? And will their success in this tournament lead to playoff success? All that, and much more!
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SportsTranscript
00:00Welcome everybody, it's time for the Bob Ryan and Jeff Goodman Tango along for the ride
00:23pod here.
00:24Brought to you by PricePix, the exclusive Daily Tennessee partner of the CIS Media Network.
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00:32Well guys, I think, Jeff, I'm worried about the health of Bob Ryan with all these threes.
00:38I mean, is there a joke here somewhere?
00:42The Warriors made 27 threes and lost as a record-breaking night with Dallas and the
00:49Warriors, 43 three-pointers, 21 for Dallas and 27 for Golden State.
00:55This is not surprising.
00:58But it's funny, and you can't make this, you know what, up, is that when last we met,
01:06I was pointing out to you that a record had been set for the most misses.
01:13The Bulls and the Hornets missed 75 threes combined the other night.
01:18And then last night in San Francisco, we had the flip side, a new record it makes of 48.
01:26And a subplot of that was Clay Thompson's return.
01:31And he and Curry each had seven, but on opposite sides, of course.
01:40And the subplot of the subplot was Donchick had another routine evening, 45, 11, and 11,
01:46you know, for him.
01:48But this three-point thing, yeah, within days, we have a record of misses and a record of
01:54makes.
01:55And, yeah, it's part of the game.
01:57I got some numbers I'll throw at you, and then you'll, well, I'll get off this topic.
02:02I just, I got two separate nights I've taken a full account of the three-point, of shooting
02:08in the NBA.
02:10Last Friday, the association members combined to shoot 1,535 shots, of which 54% were twos
02:27and 46% were threes, in case anybody wonders what a ratio is.
02:32the association members combined to shoot 1,270 shots, and it was 58% two and 42% three.
02:43So I don't know, just to give an example of what the balance is on a nightly basis.
02:53Is it what you thought when you hear those numbers, you know, 54 versus, and 46 versus
02:5858 and 42 in favor of the two?
03:01Nothing surprises me now, Bob, nothing surprises me anymore.
03:06You know, it's hard to put into context how the game has changed over the years.
03:11And you know, when I was growing up, obviously, when you were growing up, it was bully ball,
03:18you know, when I was growing up, for sure.
03:21And now it's a shock if your five man is not launching threes.
03:26And that was a surprise last night, to be honest, it's like, you know, you've got a
03:29couple of bigs that really don't shoot threes for these teams.
03:34If you look at it, think about Derek Ively is the big for Dallas for the most part.
03:43He doesn't shoot threes at all.
03:45And then Golden State, I mean, they're going with a small lineup right now.
03:48So it's a little different, but Trace Jackson Davis doesn't shoot threes at all.
03:52But they got now, I mean, everybody in the court, Looney, I guess, Looney doesn't shoot
03:57threes either.
03:58So they're five men really don't shoot threes.
04:00And they still shot, it felt like 100, well, it was 100.
04:06It was 90, was it 95 threes, 95 threes for the game.
04:11Yeah, well, the game is absolutely good.
04:14And one other thing I have to tell you, statistics wise.
04:21I told you that there were 40 guys averaging 20 points a game, right?
04:27The number has dropped to 37 as of yesterday, so just so you know.
04:33It's a holiday slope, it's a holiday slope.
04:37But does this mean though, what does it have to do with winning a title?
04:41Do we know that yet?
04:43Very good question.
04:47The most recent champion certainly thrived on threes, the reigning champions in our midst.
04:53So it's helped them, no question.
04:56I have to go back.
04:57I'm not sure, I have to look at some numbers to check out.
05:01I don't know.
05:02What's your gut feeling though, Jeff, about the other teams that did it recently, the
05:10Bucks?
05:11Well, the Warriors, the Warriors are the poster kids.
05:15But here's my observation of it.
05:19The Celtics definitely like to shoot the three.
05:22We've seen that.
05:24However, Jeff, I don't know if I consider them a three-point shooting team in the same
05:29vein as the Warriors.
05:31Yeah, I mean, listen, they've got a bunch of guys that can shoot threes, but they're
05:39not three-point shooters, I would say.
05:42Like Jason-
05:43That's exactly right.
05:44That's exactly right.
05:45Tatum's strength is not really shooting the three.
05:48Jalen Brown's strength is not shooting the three.
05:52Derek White's strength, Drew Holliday's strength, none of them, even Porzingis to some extent,
05:58can score in a variety of ways now.
06:00Now, the one guy who's become an elite three-point shooter this year is Peyton Pritchard.
06:06It's crazy.
06:07And runner-up is Hauser.
06:10Hauser, they're very similar in that regard.
06:14But your five guys, your five primary scorers, none of which are, if you said to them, hey,
06:23you know what?
06:25We're not going to shoot the three tonight.
06:26We're going to go with a different way of trying to win this game, and you can't shoot
06:30any threes tonight.
06:32I still think the Boston Celtics would find a way to win because, again, their guys can
06:38get to the basket.
06:39They can finish.
06:40Now, that's not the model now for winning games.
06:42No, but that's a good point, and I think I'm picturing it as you speak.
06:46And all of them, yeah, obviously, starting with Porzingis, who has a postgame, and we
06:51know that both Brown and Tatum love to go to the hoop.
06:55They're very good going to the hoop.
06:57And we know that there's nothing—and the other, the guards, of course, are so smart.
07:02They'll figure something out, both of them.
07:05I think what the Celtics are—and that's why I do have hope for a well-balanced game
07:11where, you know, I'm not so anti-three as Bob, but I like to see a mixed bag, you know?
07:20I don't want to see a whole night of just launching away.
07:22I love to see Tatum go to the hoop.
07:25I like to see guys go to the middle and so forth, but I also like to see timely threes.
07:31I would characterize, Bob, this Celtic team as—seems to me they're very timely with
07:37the three.
07:38I've seen Derek White come up with the three big at times, or Brown come up with the three
07:43big at times, where, to Jeff's point, I wouldn't necessarily consider any member
07:48of the starting five one of the top three-point shooters in the league.
07:52Well, statistically, they are.
07:54Right, but I mean, I think they're timely, though.
07:58Yeah, no, that's a very good point.
08:01They're in tune with the new game in terms of seeking out the three and going inside
08:05out and all that, and looking for guys—when you run a fast break now, it's not necessarily
08:12to go to the basket.
08:13It's, you know, somebody fans out on the wing and all that, and—no, no, no, you're
08:18right.
08:19They're very versatile in that regard.
08:23They know how to make it work, right, yeah, that's right.
08:27Which I find—
08:28Yeah, it's good.
08:29I find refreshing, quite frankly, you know?
08:33Well, we know.
08:34Yeah, but—
08:35Anyways, moving on.
08:36Yes.
08:37A deal that was made.
08:38Jeff, I always forget—I should know this after all my years—is it Schroeder or Schroeder?
08:42Schroeder.
08:43Schroeder.
08:44Schroeder.
08:45It's Schroeder.
08:46That's right.
08:47It's like two O's.
08:48It's Schroeder.
08:49Because of that funny thing there.
08:50The umlaut.
08:51What is it?
08:52Umlaut, I think.
08:53Okay, thank you, Bob, the linguist.
08:56So he goes to the Warriors.
08:59What does this do?
09:00Well, I mean, here's the thing with Schroeder is he's talented.
09:04We know that, right?
09:05We know that.
09:06He's been talented since he came in the league, whatever it's been, a decade or so ago.
09:12He's just played on so many different teams that I think it's always like, is his talent
09:17worth his issues?
09:20And I think for Golden State right now, it's like, hey, they got to do something, right?
09:25They got to do something or else, you know, frankly, they're just kind of another team
09:30that, okay, maybe they can get in the playoffs, but they're not going to make any actual noise
09:36come playoff time.
09:37We're now, all right, here's another piece for them.
09:40And who knows what they're going to do with Kuminga?
09:43You know, are they just showcasing Jonathan Kuminga right now to try to deal him because
09:47they're playing him a ton of minutes?
09:49Steve Kerr moved him in the starting lineup.
09:51He's talented.
09:52I still don't know if I trust them as more than, I don't want to say an empty numbers
09:56guy, but kind of.
09:58So it's, you know, Curry and Draymond, and you got some of these, you know, other pieces,
10:04Wiggins, if he plays well, but you don't know what to expect out of Wiggins.
10:08I just think it was worth the risk, you know, if you're Dunleavy, of making this move.
10:14You didn't give up a whole lot.
10:15What did you give up?
10:16De'Anthony Milton and some second round picks for Schroeder.
10:20Yeah, it's worth a shot here to see how it goes.
10:25Just because again, Schroeder is, he's super fast.
10:31He can guard if he wants to.
10:34Not a great shooter, but streaky shooter.
10:36He can help him.
10:37He can help him if he's bought in.
10:40And I think it's hard not to be bought in when you're playing with Steph and Draymond.
10:44I think from the Warriors' point of view, this means we're not giving up.
10:52We, you know, we're actually seeking improvement this year.
10:56And picking up a guy who is having one of the two best statistical years of his entire
11:02career.
11:03He's averaging 18.2 or so, and his high was back six years ago at OKC with 18.9.
11:11And he's having a really good year and people have been singing his praises in New York
11:15as a leader, as a locker room guy, you know, in a way that you've never heard before about
11:21him.
11:22You know, he's 31 years old.
11:24And he has to, I won't say he has to be a cynic, he has to be a real realist.
11:28This is his sixth team.
11:30And he's been with one of them twice, the Lakers.
11:33And he's always in that category, he's sought after to a degree, but you're not afraid to
11:39give him up either.
11:40And he's having a hell of a career for this German guy.
11:44And he is German, believe it or not.
11:46And so their point of view, and from the Nets point of view, they're officially going into
11:53lag for flag.
11:55And there's no question about it.
11:57They're giving up.
11:58Hoop.
11:59Hoop for coop.
12:00Hoop for coop.
12:01Hoop for coop.
12:02Okay, fine.
12:03And they're giving up and they're entering that derby officially now, as opposed to unofficially.
12:09And Schroeder probably has done every morning, I bet in the last month when he got up, the
12:15first thing he did was pack his bag just in case, because they've been talking about this
12:20for years.
12:21He's had his bag.
12:22Hey, Bob, Bob.
12:23He's had his bag packed his entire career.
12:25It's ready to go.
12:26He knows he's probably very skilled at that.
12:28Yes.
12:29It's hard to remember.
12:31We had him.
12:32And I remember I think he had a 30 point game one night I was there, but I know I was there
12:36one night when he had a really, really, really good game.
12:39So he passed through our doors as well.
12:42Interesting guy.
12:43And so anyway, but I just think it's a fun trade in that regard, is that one team is
12:46saying, okay, we're not giving up on this season.
12:50And the other team is saying, well, it's over.
12:52And you know, we're a lot of rebounds.
12:56We got more coming up, including the Bucs.
12:58Are they back?
12:59That's all coming up here.
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14:46The Bucs.
14:47We talked about them a little bit in the past, Jeff.
14:50It seems like the Bucs are the Bucs back.
14:54I mean, I don't know if they're back, but again, they should have never been where they
14:58were earlier this season.
15:00They were horrible out of the gates and, you know, they've been good.
15:04But you look at kind of who they've been and now they listen.
15:07They do have Chris Middleton back.
15:09I don't think Chris Middleton is ever going to be the player again that he was a few years
15:14ago pre all these injuries.
15:17But you know, they got him coming off the bench.
15:19He'll help the second unit.
15:21I don't know if he ever gets back to where he's, you know, second or third, third best
15:25player in this team.
15:26If he ever did, you know, with Giannis and Lillard, man, then you'd be talking about
15:30a Milwaukee team that I don't think could challenge the Celtics, but could, you know,
15:35challenge anybody else in the East for the most part.
15:39You know, they're good.
15:41But again, listen, let me read you some of the teams they've beaten over this stretch.
15:45Okay.
15:46They were two and eight.
15:47They beat Toronto.
15:48They beat Detroit.
15:49They beat Charlotte.
15:50They beat Houston at home.
15:52They beat Chicago.
15:53They beat Indy.
15:54Charlotte again.
15:56At Miami.
15:57Washington.
15:58At Detroit.
15:59Atlanta.
16:00They lost to Atlanta.
16:01I'm sorry.
16:02They lost to Atlanta.
16:03Lost to Boston.
16:04Beat Brooklyn.
16:05Orlando.
16:06Without their two best players.
16:07And Atlanta.
16:08Like, who have they beaten?
16:09Detroit.
16:10That's a really good win.
16:11I mean, let's face it.
16:12That's a bunch of pretty much have-nots other than, what, Indy and maybe Houston?
16:18Like they beat nobody.
16:19All right.
16:20That's a good point.
16:21It's a good point.
16:23But I think that what it does do is build self-esteem, confidence.
16:27And I don't know.
16:28And because I'm always rooting for Doc, I mean, to salvage his reputation.
16:33It's taken such a battering the last couple of years.
16:36And I want him to get back his esteem.
16:40They got another guy on the team that I would say fascinates me.
16:45But he's somehow flown under the radar as being a really effective sub.
16:53And that's Bobby Portis.
16:54Bobby Portis having another good year.
16:55Seems like he always has a good year at what he does and what he is.
17:00And I trust that he's comfortable in his skin in terms of how he gets used.
17:04I don't know.
17:05He must be.
17:06But anyway, I just want to put a little shout out that Bobby Portis is an unacknowledged,
17:12really good contributor to a good team.
17:15And he's having another good year.
17:18I mean, do we really think Milwaukee, Gary, can do anything more?
17:24Like, I guess, again, could they play the Celtics in the Eastern Conference final?
17:31Maybe.
17:32Maybe.
17:33But does anybody think they could push?
17:35I mean, unless Lillard and Giannis go for 40 apiece.
17:41And even then, I'm not sure.
17:42Well, this is the way I view them.
17:43I think it's a damn shame that they didn't win more than one title.
17:48Because I love Giannis as a player.
17:49I think that they could cause some problems.
17:53You know, if Lillard...
17:54But I don't think they...
17:55You just mentioned.
17:56The thing about the Celtics, this is why Brad Stevens is...
17:59You cannot say enough about him.
18:03There is nobody that has their depth.
18:05Nobody.
18:06And if you talk about Milwaukee, where you guys are...
18:08Like, if you said to me, wow, you got Giannis and Lillard.
18:12Man, those are two Hall of Fame players.
18:15And you go, yeah, so what?
18:16The Celtics have nine deep.
18:18So like, you're right.
18:19They're going to have to score eight a night.
18:21And I think if...
18:22I mean, even if you look at Minnesota with the deal they made, they're completely out
18:26of the picture.
18:27I mean, the Celtics are laughing at everybody.
18:30I mean, it really is amazing, guys, when you think about it.
18:33This is just coming to the top of my head.
18:35When you look at all the other teams we're talking about, the Celtics roster-wise are
18:39just smoking them all.
18:41You would think with Giannis, Bob, and with Stoudemire, that they would be a contender.
18:48But to Jeff's point, they're not.
18:49It's just not enough.
18:51So I think they could cause some problems if they rest them.
18:54You know, if they rest them, they could cause some problems.
18:56But it's kind of disappointing, really.
18:59I mean, if I'm a Buck fan, I'm pissed.
19:01Well, and the thing is, it's almost...
19:05You mentioned a guy, Giannis.
19:06You want to get the most out of him.
19:08You know, in terms of W's and L's and championships and all that.
19:13And you haven't.
19:15And he's 30 now.
19:16He's as good as he's ever been.
19:18He's just scary.
19:19God.
19:20Guys, do you think...
19:21Jeff, I'll start with you on this, maybe because I don't know if you've heard out about it.
19:25Are they going to trade him?
19:27I know he's got the big contract and all that stuff, but I mean, are we better off having
19:31this guy go to the Knicks?
19:33I know you've got to work out all the cap stuff.
19:36I just think it sucks if this guy doesn't get to the finals again as an NBA fan.
19:40Well, I think at some point he'll ask out.
19:43At some point when he realizes...
19:46And it's not even up to the player half the time.
19:49It's agent-driven.
19:50Right?
19:51It's agent-driven of, hey, let's demand a trade.
19:55We haven't had it in a little while, Gus.
19:57It's been a while since I feel like somebody's kind of basically, you know, James hardened
20:01it.
20:02That's what I call it now.
20:03When a player just quits.
20:05When they quit and they basically say, like, you have to trade me.
20:09I mean, can you imagine if this guy, like, Bob, what happened?
20:12I'm just playing here because, you know, can you imagine if this guy ended up in Houston
20:17or like Atlanta?
20:18Oh, yeah.
20:19Awesome.
20:20I mean, you put this guy in Atlanta.
20:22I mean, you put this guy with Trey, I think it would be, or Memphis.
20:27Any team.
20:30It doesn't matter.
20:31Like, I want to put him with a young player.
20:34If you put him with any of the young guys on Memphis or OKC or Houston, I mean, I think
20:39it'd be fun.
20:40It just isn't fair.
20:41How about Cleveland?
20:42How about Cleveland, Gus?
20:43Forget it.
20:44Oh, God.
20:45How about if Cleveland traded a couple of their younger guys and said, you know what?
20:50We know we're close and we're going to pair Donovan Mitchell and make Donovan Mitchell
20:55our second best player instead of our best player and go get Giannis for, I don't know
21:00what you got to give up.
21:01Would you do it for Evan Mobley and Picks?
21:03Yes.
21:04That's what I'm saying.
21:06I mean, that's the trade.
21:08The trade would be something like with Cleveland that's close enough that would put him over
21:13the top and then Milwaukee can get some young guys and try to rebuild this thing.
21:18Bob, what's that do to Boston if that happened?
21:22Well, no, no, no, this, they say, OK, bring them on.
21:28I mean, they would.
21:29That's all.
21:31They have no reason not to.
21:32I mean, there's nothing.
21:33You know, he's talking about the depth earlier.
21:34I was just thinking about how they we take for granted, you know, because we're used
21:38to the situation that that Horford's going to get his nights off and Giannis is going
21:44to get his nights off and Giannis, Corpzingis is going to get his nights off.
21:48And oh, by the way, we got this guy, Cornett.
21:50It's not too bad, you know.
21:52I've been trying to tell people for a year in there, you know, and he came up with some
21:57important plays last night, you know.
21:59So they got right.
22:00And I'm bolstering what you're saying about Brad and the roster thing, that we haven't
22:06even seen the real best of them yet.
22:08Honest to God.
22:09I mean, it's like, you know, when you sit here and you think and you break down, you
22:13know, the teams and so forth, and you talk about like Giannis, even if Giannis went on
22:17another team like Cleveland, I mean, oh, my God, because I think.
22:24I'm not a true believer in Cleveland knocking out the Celtics.
22:28Bob, how do you?
22:29I don't think Cleveland knocks out the Celts in the playoffs.
22:31Do you?
22:32I think we would pick the Celtics, but it would be at the best of what I call a hard
22:40six.
22:41Yeah.
22:42You know, and I've seen plenty of those kind of series and over the years and hard six.
22:49But sure, give them a battle.
22:51And I think they have not, they're not remotely.
22:54How can they be discouraged?
22:55They've even beaten them.
22:56Can I give you guys the odds, the current odds right now?
23:02Yeah.
23:03What do you got?
23:04Win the title.
23:05It's crazy.
23:06I mean, it's crazy.
23:07There's only two teams right now.
23:08It's like a two team race in Vegas and the Celtics are like basically plus 200 to plus
23:13240 everywhere.
23:15Oklahoma City is like plus 350 to plus 400 everywhere.
23:19And then after that, it's like Knicks plus 1200, Dallas plus 1300, Denver plus 1800.
23:26I mean, Jeff, I'm looking at the standings and it's a joke.
23:30I mean, they've just pleased everybody, which brings me to this.
23:35Let's bring my next question here as I was looking at the standards.
23:38Jeff, I'll start with you on this one.
23:41How much do you believe in the Grizzlies and the Rockets to stay in the top four in the
23:46West for the whole season?
23:49Yeah, I mean, I don't necessarily.
23:54I would think Denver or Phoenix, if they're healthy, could go on a run.
23:58We'll see what Minnesota can do.
24:01We still don't understand that trade for Cat when things were going well, but maybe in
24:06time they start to figure things out a little bit better.
24:10I think one of Memphis or Houston probably stays in the top four and I think one of them
24:14gets bounced.
24:15I think Houston's probably the more likely to get bounced.
24:18As long as Memphis stays healthy, I don't know, man.
24:21It's tough to question them because, remember, they had this thing rolling when Ja was on
24:28the court.
24:29They had this thing going before, so they've done this before.
24:34Houston is new to it.
24:35I think they're a little bit of a novelty right now and I think they fall off despite
24:39my love for Fred VanVleet and Emay, frankly.
24:43But I just think Memphis, they've already done it with Ja, with Jaron Jackson, with
24:47Desmond Bain, they've got Marcus Smart.
24:50I like the addition of Zach Eaddy, he's been good, guys.
24:53He's averaging like 11-7.
24:55I remember, did I tell you guys this story?
24:58So I've been great to Zach Eaddy his entire career.
25:03They get to the national title game, I interviewed him after the Final Four win last year, and
25:09I had said publicly over and over, I just don't know if Zach Eaddy's really more than
25:13a reserve as an NBA player.
25:16He'll make a roster, but I don't think he's ever going to be more than a piece.
25:20So he looks at me before and he goes, you still don't think I can play in the NBA?
25:25I said, Zach, I never said you can't play in the NBA, I never said that.
25:30But it takes the right coach and the right system to be able to utilize a guy like Zach
25:35Eaddy.
25:36Not everybody's good.
25:37So I love the kid, he's gotten so much better, and I think he gives him obviously a different
25:42dimension.
25:44You play a two-man game with Zach Eaddy and John Moran, that's pretty tough to try to
25:49stop.
25:50Bob, how do you think about that?
25:53I can't disagree with almost anything that Jeff just said, but between the two, I would
26:02have a little more faith in Memphis, but I'm impressed with the way Houston just put the
26:10thing together and the judgments they've made and talent, and to get back to respectability,
26:16and they certainly are back to respectability, and they've got a coach that we know can coach.
26:21Yeah, that's a good question, and the question you posed, yeah, I think one of them can do
26:25that at least, and one reason being there's going to be an open spot, and when is Denver
26:33ever going to come back to what they were?
26:35And I don't see that happening.
26:40That's kind of the question to me.
26:43What's going on with Murray?
26:44This has gone on too long now.
26:48He just isn't the same as he was two years ago, and I don't know that it's due to injury.
26:53You say, Jeff, I don't know what.
26:55I feel like he's had so many big games in the playoffs that people forget that he's
27:01kind of been up and down a little bit in his career.
27:06He's had these huge, huge nights that everybody kind of expects him to have those nights all
27:11the time, but yeah, this year, I mean, certainly, you look out, he is not shooting the ball
27:16well at all from three.
27:18That's a big key right now for Denver, that he was kind of the Robin to Joker, and he
27:29hasn't been nearly good enough.
27:35Jason Brown's been good, Gus.
27:37He's been very good this year, but do they have a reliable number two guy?
27:45Michael Porter, again, you don't know what you're going to get every single night, so
27:48I think there's too many question marks.
27:51That's where the Celtics are so good is because all their guys are reliable.
27:58They may have an off night here or there, but first of all, we know they're going to
28:03give it to you on the defensive end, pretty much all their guys for the most part, and
28:08one of them can have a night off, and it doesn't really affect you that much, where if Porter
28:13or Murray has a bad night, a night off, they just don't have quite enough around them.
28:19Yeah, I agree.
28:21We had proof of the Celtics, you know, they casually won without Tatum the other night,
28:25and it was no big deal, it was easy, it really was.
28:29I want Bob Ryan's story time.
28:32Bob Ryan's story time, here we go.
28:34We just heard Jeff talk about how Zach Eadie came up to him and said, you know, so you
28:40don't think I can play in the NBA, Bob, give me a player that confronted you after you
28:46wrote something about him negatively or thought that you disrespected him.
28:53I was covering a game in San Diego in the early 80s, and this went down to the wire
29:06and the Celtics pulled out the win, and one reason being Jelly Bean Bryant, Joe Kobe's
29:13dad, while inbounding a pass in a crucial moment on his end of the floor, threw a bounce
29:21pass, which hit the sideline, therefore a turnover.
29:26It's a very classic Jelly Bean Bryant move, by the way.
29:29So anyway, the game ends, and I'm in the locker room, and I believe I was going to be talking
29:35to Randy Smith, who was a wonderfully nice guy, and I hear a voice behind me, there won't
29:42be a murder in here, there won't be a murder in here, and it was Sidney Wicks, and Sidney
29:48confronts me and, among other things, says, you ran me out of town, and for once and maybe
29:55the only time in my entire professional life, I summoned the right thing to say, and not
30:03an hour later, I said, Sidney, if I thought I had the power, I would have done it sooner.
30:11At least he didn't get physical, though threatening homicide, he didn't act on that urge at all.
30:22I love the rebuttal, though, and let me tell you, Bob, all of us wish you had the ability
30:28and could have done it sooner, because the Sidney Wicks-Curtis Rowe era is the worst,
30:34it's worse than AC Earl, I don't care, it was the worst for me as a Celtic fan.
30:41Oh, and by the way, along with those lines, the famous young Cedric Maxwell declaration
30:48telling us that after a game, and he was lamenting the loss, and Curtis Rowe said to him, allegedly
30:56had said to him, don't worry, kid, they don't put W's and L's on the paycheck, and I got
31:03that story confirmed, by the way, by Max not too long ago, the night of the tradition at
31:09the Boston Sports Museum, we were talking, and somehow or other, something came up that
31:15had put me in mind, the kid about that, and oh, yeah, it's definitely true, Curtis Rowe
31:19said, don't worry, kid, they don't put W's and L's on the paycheck.
31:24That says it all.
31:25All right, we got a final question coming up, but first, I got to tell you about game
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33:10All right, guys, as we wrap it up, we're going to let Bob Ryan take us home, because OKC
33:15and Milwaukee are battling out in the cup, Bob, in the cup.
33:21I'm so stoked.
33:23I didn't even know.
33:25Oh, I'm so stoked about the cup.
33:27I'm so excited.
33:28You know, look, it's a game I like to watch.
33:31I'll probably watch.
33:32Oh, yeah.
33:33I will watch, you know, holding my nose about the floor, whatever it looks like, and just,
33:40I'm not, I'm sorry, I'm not moved by this cup idea.
33:44I need to be shown that it's having a benefit, if anybody's really watching, other than teams
33:50that are involved.
33:51But as far as the game itself, fine, yeah, good, Milwaukee.
33:54OKC, that's a nice game, but I'm not a fan of the cup, I'm sorry, it doesn't do a thing
33:59for me.
34:00I'm with you.
34:02I honestly couldn't care less about the cup.
34:06It does nothing.
34:07These designs on the floor, on the court, are terrible.
34:12And I, again, maybe, you know, people are going to accuse us of just being old, which
34:19we are, I guess.
34:20But yeah, let's get rid of the cup.
34:23You know, of course, we don't, we're from a generation where the game is enough, right?
34:29I don't need fantasy.
34:31I don't need to gamble.
34:33I can simply sit there and watch the game.
34:35Even if I go to an NBA game, I don't need all the t-shirts and the dancers and all that,
34:40but that's fine.
34:42The question is, has it helped the NBA?
34:44And I think it's helped the NBA in this.
34:47It's brought some money from sponsorships.
34:49I think it's, that's it, you know.
34:52But I don't think the rate, the reason last year I think that it caused some buzz was
34:56because LeBron was in it, but it's true.
35:00It's like LeBron was in the finals.
35:02So we started to think, oh wow, maybe the Lakers will make a run.
35:05Maybe they got something going, you know, maybe this is an indication of things to come.
35:10It wasn't.
35:11So I think all it does do is it's good for the people who make the floors and the sponsors
35:20who pay the NBA a lot of money.
35:24And the nice thing about it, the benchwarmers are going to, some benchwarmers are going
35:27to get a nice little bonus that, in the envelope as we say, you know, 500 grand, 500 grand
35:34these guys are going to get.
35:35And you know, obviously Giannis doesn't need it, but some guy, whoever number 15, we're
35:42happy, even our boy Pat Conatant, who doesn't, by the way, can't get off the bench anymore,
35:47by the way.
35:48He's been DMP'd.
35:49Well, that's a story for another day.
35:52Anyway, all I have to say, all you need to know about the cup is that the Lakers won
35:58it last year.
35:59Period.
36:00Let's go.
36:01That's all you need to know.
36:02Who cares?
36:03Period.
36:04End of story.
36:05All right, gents.
36:06Jeff, have a great holiday season, if I didn't speak to you.
36:09Mr. Ryan, I'll grab you later in the week.
36:11We've been brought to you by Price Pitch, the exclusive Daily Fantasy partner of the
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36:18Loose.