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00:00River Island's guest line, Bob Fitzgerald, TV voice of the dubs, who doesn't know Bob?
00:05Hey Bob, how we doing? Where were the bad shots today?
00:11You know what? There wasn't a lot of bad shots.
00:13I just started to find the driver a little bit on the back nine.
00:17That definitely helped, so that was good.
00:20Where are you coming from, if you don't mind us asking?
00:23The Olympic Club, the Lakers today.
00:26Okay.
00:27Oh yeah.
00:28This has been a strong first 30 seconds of this conversation.
00:31I mean, we should call him Lou Ferrigno because this man likes to flex.
00:35Oh wow.
00:37Fantastic.
00:40I got Tehama and Ladera coming up and Burlingame Country Club.
00:46I got a good roster in the next couple weeks.
00:48Oh man.
00:49Slumming today at the lake, Bob.
00:51It's good of you to give the little people a little bit of your time.
00:56How are you guys doing?
00:57What do you think?
00:58Anybody got a free hamstring?
00:59Well, no, actually, unfortunately, we do not.
01:05But, you know, it's interesting to sort of, I think, talk to everybody about mentally where
01:10they're at, where you lose your star, but you come out of the game with a bird in hand
01:15in the series.
01:16So, what are your thoughts on what the Warriors won Tuesday night versus what they lost?
01:22Well, okay.
01:24First of all, let's refrain from ever saying, next man up.
01:30Because if the next man up was good, he'd already be playing.
01:33Okay?
01:34So, next man up is coach's ways of saying you're screwed because your best player's not there.
01:41And Steph Curry is a generational best player and the orbit of which everything matters around
01:48the Warriors.
01:49So, losing Steph is, it's incomprehensible.
01:53Like, you can't really discuss, you know, getting past it.
01:56Except you have to because you're in the postseason.
01:59And so, you've got to win.
02:02And there is a chance, given the way the schedule works, that maybe Steph could be back later
02:07in the series.
02:08So, you've got to hang in there.
02:11And you've got to find a way to win one of the next three or four games to ensure the
02:16series gets to six or seven games.
02:20And you have a great defense.
02:23You have a very deep team.
02:24You have a team with an unbelievable kind of compete level.
02:28And you've just got to find a way.
02:32And maybe it revolves around Jimmy Butler.
02:34Maybe it revolves around every guy that you could run down the list.
02:38But Jamski's had a 26-point game.
02:40Buddy has had multiple games.
02:42GP2's had a big scoring game.
02:44Moses Moody's had a 20-something point game.
02:47You may, Quentin Post has hit four threes in a game.
02:50You may need all of that.
02:52You know, or some of that to try to find a way to beat a team in Minnesota that's very,
02:56very good.
02:57And Minnesota had a terrible shooting night.
03:00They're probably going to be ready to go tonight.
03:02But if you're the Dubs, find a way to survive until Mr. Curry can return.
03:09And I think about the 2016 run, Bob.
03:11And this team is obviously not as good as that team.
03:14But they had to survive a whole series and a half without Steph.
03:17And just remembering that, did they change the way they went about playing?
03:21And does this team need to change their approach offensively without Steph?
03:25Completely dibs.
03:27Like, Steph, the gravity of Steph, we talk about it all the time.
03:32Even if he comes off the screen, two men jump with him.
03:35If he goes to the other side of the floor, all the defense tilts to him.
03:39You know, not having Steph changes everything.
03:42But you can run Butler posting up and Butler driving and kicking out.
03:48You can run Butler on mismatches and post him up to get him to the foul line and get into
03:55the bonus and make it a little grimier.
03:57You know, you can do some things with Kaminga if you need to.
04:01That maybe if you got into the bonus, he could get downhill and draw some fouls.
04:06Yes, you're going to be a Draymond hit four threes.
04:09If Gobert's going to stay in the lane, all right, Draymond hitting three, four threes.
04:13Those are warm-up threes where a five never comes out to him.
04:17Like, there's ways to do it, but you're not scoring 120 points.
04:21Like, that's not going to happen.
04:23This has got to be 95, 92 in the clutch, you know, in the corners, and grimy and rebounding
04:30and second-chance points and free throws.
04:32It'll look very different and far less pretty, but it doesn't mean you can't win.
04:38Bobby Fitz with us here on Withered and Dibs.
04:40Hey, Bob, safe to assume that Minnesota will never look that bad again?
04:46100%.
04:46You know, if you looked at the reason Minnesota was so dangerous, that they rolled the last
04:53couple weeks of the season.
04:54We kept looking at, like, oh, Minnesota has this easy schedule.
04:57They cleaned up and got into the playoffs, and then they looked terrific against the Lakers.
05:02They're not going to be 12 of 76 on threes.
05:06You know, that's not going to happen.
05:08Like, you know, Anthony Edwards 0 for 10 on threes against the Lakers and then couldn't
05:12throw in the ocean in the first half against the Dubs.
05:154 for 25 on threes, Minnesota.
05:17Top five three-point shooting team in the league.
05:20Like, no.
05:21You have their stumble game.
05:23They're going to play a lot better.
05:26It doesn't mean you can't win, but, you know, Minnesota, they gave you an opportunity in
05:33game one, and the Warriors were good enough to take it.
05:36You've got to hang in that maybe Minnesota gives you another opportunity to grab win number
05:41two at some point.
05:42Maybe it's not tonight, but the two games have chased.
05:45The crowd's been great at chase.
05:47But the pressure's on Minnesota tonight.
05:50This is a total free swing.
05:52You already got the split.
05:54You know, they're like, oh, they're a double-digit favorite.
05:56Steph's not playing.
05:57The Warriors are dead in the water.
05:59Like, okay, great.
06:01Like, Minnesota, if this game's tied or close in the middle of the third quarter, the D-Bos
06:05are going to be looking around like, wait, I thought we were going to walk over and
06:08roll and beat them.
06:09And what happened?
06:10So, a lot of pressure on Minnesota tonight.
06:14Yeah, the pucker factor is real, and we saw it in Boston last night, Fitz, where they had
06:18the 13-point lead late in the third, and they couldn't close out New York, and now they're
06:22up against it.
06:24When you think about personnel, and I know no one can approximate or replace Steph Curry,
06:29but in terms of who's going to get the minutes and who might be able to contribute, where do
06:33you think Steve looks tonight for contributions?
06:36I think it's all about playing hard.
06:40You know, Guy Santos is getting minutes.
06:42Pat Spencer's going to get minutes.
06:44Obviously, Buddy's going to get minutes.
06:46You've got to have Kaminga or Moody.
06:49They've got to find it, man.
06:50I mean, offensively, they're both sideways.
06:53They've got to find it.
06:55You know, one of those two youngsters has got to be a double-figure scorer.
06:59I think Quentin Post could hit some threes.
07:02To be honest, if they're playing Nas Reed and playing Gobert, I'll play my stretch
07:06five out there.
07:08He shot 40% on threes on a pretty big sample size in the regular season, but this is all
07:14about loose balls and rebounds and playing hard, and I think Steve will cycle through
07:18a lot of guys to see, all right, who's got that extra energy tonight?
07:23Because the combos are going to be very weird.
07:26They're not going to be guys that play it a lot together, and you're just, you know,
07:31okay, let me just keep shuffling the deck and see if I find some cards that they give
07:35me, you know, a full house to go after these guys.
07:39Bobby, it comes as no surprise when coaches in the NBA start working officials through
07:46the media during the playoffs.
07:48We get that.
07:49Were you a little surprised, though, that Finch played that card so firmly and so quickly
07:55after game one?
07:56No, because the Gobert pushing and shoving is real, and the clutching and grabbing on
08:05Steph off the ball all playoffs has been real, and you're trying to get any edge and put it
08:12out into the ether, but if I were Minnesota, I'd be careful with that, because it's not
08:18like Gobert and Julius Randle and these guys aren't pushing and shoving, and DiVincenzo,
08:25I mean, he looks like a terrific defensive back for the Minnesota Vikings.
08:30Like, you know, I mean, Dante's banging into people on every drive, so to me, I'd be a little
08:35careful with that.
08:36They're going to allow a lot tonight, man.
08:38Tony Brothers is the crew chief.
08:40He had no problem with the bump and grind.
08:42So, I love the way the games have been officiated the last several games, and there hasn't been
08:48a lot of shenanigans, to be honest, that that stopped in game six and seven against
08:53the Rockets, and it stopped in game one, but it is getting to be like, wow, a rebound
08:59goes up, and, you know, I'm looking for Jimmy Fly Snuka coming off the top rope and some
09:05WWE, man.
09:06Like, goodness gracious, there is a lot of stuff happening for rebounds.
09:10So, I always laugh when everybody says, you know, if you lose, we've got to play with
09:15force.
09:16Oh, my God.
09:16I mean, could we play with any more force than what's been going on in the playoffs so far?
09:22I wish I didn't get that 40-year-old WWE reference, Bob, but your Superfly Snuka dates both of
09:30us.
09:30Unfortunately, I got it, and yeah, I don't know about the force and the effort, but you mentioned
09:36Moody and Kaminga kind of losing their way.
09:38Do you think there's a spot for Kaminga to play alongside Jimmy Butler and Draymond?
09:44I know Steve has always said that those combos don't seem to work, but are all bets off now
09:49with Steph out?
09:51Yeah, all bets are off on that, but think about Jimmy and Draymond and Kaminga.
09:56You don't have a lot of spacing.
09:58So, Minnesota could play really big, sit in the lane, and go, okay, which one of you three
10:04is going to make threes between Draymond, Kaminga, and Jimmy Butler, but what I would
10:09say is when Butler drives, and he can usually beat whoever on the perimeter to get into the
10:14lane, it's Kaminga cutting and then slicing in the lane for a layup or dunk, or it's Draymond
10:22getting downhill and passing to somebody who's cutting to the lane.
10:27You're going to need movement, not just pass around the mulberry bush out on the perimeter
10:32and jack up threes late in the clock.
10:34So, I think if J.K. says, hey, I can beat my guy and jump into people and get free throws
10:41and stuff, that's great.
10:43The thing that for Kaminga, you see it once in a while, and man, it gets you excited when
10:48you do.
10:49If he would just live on the offensive glass, the Warriors shot 39% in game one, there's
10:56going to be a million missed shots in this game.
11:00Go to the glass, man.
11:01Just play like a man Thompson did.
11:04Just grab rebounds and get fouled and get layups and dunks and stuff like that, and I don't
11:10think Jonathan even realizes how good an offensive rebounder he really could be, and that's just
11:16the next part of his growth.
11:18Get on the glass, man, and that would give you a chance to score more and get more fouls
11:24and hurt Minnesota, because when shots go up, nobody boxes anybody out in the NBA anymore.
11:30You know, ask Donovan Mitchell, you know, when Matherin went in and dunked off a missed
11:36free throw.
11:37So, just have that intentionality of going to the glass.
11:40I think that would be an area where Moody and Kaminga can really help out.
11:44Bob Fitzgerald with us on Willard and Dibbs, 95.7 The Game.
11:47Bob, it's interesting how much you are talking about Jonathan Kaminga and his role going forward.
11:53Like, what kind of a runway do you think has been created here by this injury?
11:59Well, I think, like I said, Steve's going to shuffle the deck and give everybody an opportunity,
12:03and I think game one was kind of it.
12:05Okay, there's Quentin Post, there's Peyton, there's Kaminga, there's Pat Spencer, there's
12:09Key Santos.
12:10Like, he was playing everybody, just trying to find someone with some traction.
12:15And so I just think it's one of those, all right, you're going to get to play, and the
12:20better you play, the more you will play, and if it ain't your night, or if you're doing
12:24things like turning the ball over, or not, you know, you must play attention to the defensive
12:29game plan.
12:30Like, that's, I don't care who's scoring and not scoring, the Warriors have to play great
12:35D's, so if you're missing on switches, or you're not helping on the weak side, or you're
12:40not playing the low man role properly, there'll be a short leash for that.
12:44You know, when you see Steve take timeouts the last three or four games, it is a turnover,
12:48or it's a missed defensive rotation.
12:51And he takes those timeouts real quick, and the guy who might have erred in that situation
12:55usually is sitting on the bench right after that.
12:58And that's because there's no margin right now.
13:01You know, now this is the beginning of a series, so a little more leeway, but game six and seven
13:06against the Rockets, you saw guys in and out for making mistakes, because you could be
13:12done, you could be going home if you keep screwing up.
13:14How big a role does Pat Spencer have tonight, Bob?
13:18I know he's come in and been, you know, feisty, and he's made impactful, energy-efficient
13:23plays, but do you think he has an actual impact here tonight without Steph?
13:28I love Pat Spencer, so it's hard for me to be unbiased.
13:32I just love how tough he is.
13:34I love all the lacrosse background.
13:37I love that he's playing a million miles an hour all the time.
13:40I wish everyone played as hard as Pat Spencer in every sport, because he's maxing out of
13:47his total ability.
13:48So I think, you know, like TJ McConnell does for the Pacers, I just think there's something
13:54about when a guy's next to you, Guy Santos is similar.
13:58When a guy next to you is playing so hard, you're like, am I really playing that hard?
14:03Am I willing to get on the deck?
14:04Am I going after every loose ball?
14:06Am I making a second and third effort defensively?
14:09I think Pat has an impact for his own play, but the play around him and what he does for
14:15his teammates.
14:16So yes, I think he does have a role.
14:19And oh, by the way, in these playoffs and limited minutes, he's been able to score and
14:23get to the cup.
14:24And if you bring Gobert and Osreed and shot blockers at you, sometimes you miss, but then
14:29Looney or somebody is there to clean it up for a layup or things like that.
14:33So I love Pat Spencer, man.
14:35I wouldn't be surprised if he's got 10, 12, 15 minutes in him tonight, no problem.
14:39Bob, I look at this matchup, and this goes for even before the Steph injury.
14:45I really, I've called Minnesota all year long the should-be-better team in the NBA.
14:51Like, I love their roster.
14:53I think they're so dangerous and so talented.
14:55But even before Jimmy Butler and now in the one game that we've seen, there's something
15:01defensively about the Warriors that gives this vibe that they've got Minnesota's number.
15:07Is there anything to that?
15:11Well, I mean, they beat them four out of five times.
15:14Yeah.
15:15You know, I mean, I know that the personnel is different.
15:18But, yeah, I mean, I think the Warriors have a plan on a couple guys on that team that makes
15:25them uncomfortable and gets them into shots that they don't particularly like.
15:30I do think what's scary is Edwards' second half of game one.
15:34You know, oh, he had one point in the first half.
15:36Well, he had 22 in the second half and looked a lot like Anthony Edwards.
15:40And he didn't make threes, by the way.
15:42But he got downhill over and over again.
15:44And so, you know, I just look at Minnesota, man.
15:47They won game seven at Denver a year ago.
15:50They beat, you know, KD and those guys.
15:52They beat the Lakers.
15:54Like, they are a good team.
15:57And they are dangerous.
15:58And they're right where they should be as far as being a playoff team.
16:02But the pressure tonight is on Edwards to have a big game, to lead his team, and to get
16:10a split.
16:11And if the Warriors somehow pull out a miracle, my God, I mean, what will the narrative be
16:17if they're 2-0 heading back to chase and getting, you know, a couple days closer to hopefully
16:22Steph being able to play?
16:24So this is a massive, this is all about taking their first punch and hanging in the game
16:30so it's a six or eight point game in the middle of the third.
16:33And the T-Wolves are like, man, these guys won't go away.
16:36They're still here.
16:36But, you know, to your original point, the Warriors have a pretty good offensive game
16:41plan against Minnesota that's been effective in most of the games this year that they've
16:46matched up with them.
16:47You have the PGA Tour, the Live Tour, and the Fitzgerald Tour.
16:52Enjoy it, Bob.
16:55It's my own version of the PGA.
16:56It's the Professional Guest Association.
16:58That's right.
16:59Exactly.
16:59You know, I'm good company, apparently.
17:05That's why I get invited to play places.
17:07That's why we invited you here today.
17:10All right, fellas.
17:11Good hearing your voice.
17:12You made my day.
17:13Let's think good thoughts.
17:14All right.
17:14We're doing it.
17:15We're doing it.
17:15We'll talk to you again soon.
17:16Thanks, Bob.
17:18All right.
17:18See you later.
17:19All right.
17:19There you go.
17:19It's Bob Fitzgerald on his way home from shooting 59 at the O-Club.