The Best of The Dan Patrick Show

00:00:00
Speaker 1: You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox Sports Radio. Basketball coming up tonight. I'm not saying it will be, but it could be Lebron's last game as a Laker. Thunder or ten and a half point favorites against the Lakers. You have the Pistons and the Cavaliers. I've got the Pistons getting three and a half against Cleveland. By the way, on Tuesday, the Timberwolves are nine and a half point underdogs against the Spurs. Which is where I'll start. Because Victor Wembenyama was tossed last night in the second quarter of flagrant two. And let me give you the rule book here. A flagrant one is unnecessary contact. A flagrant two unnecessary contact and excessive contact. Therefore that can result in an ejection and possible suspension. I think because we like Wemby, we want to see Wemby, we don't think the NBA will suspend him. Go back to PTSD post Traumatic Stern Disorder when David Stern was the commissioner, because if I brought this up to him and I said, if Victor wembin Yama got suspended, and I would have the audacity to question the commissioner, as I once did. You can't suspend him. He already got suspended, really got kicked out of a game in the second quarter. And then he would probably use the word plaver and then he would scold me with this, Commissioner, Adam Silver, do I think Now here's the one thing that's tricky with this. And look, I don't agree with what Wemby did. I know that he's getting jostled, he's getting hit in the face, he's getting pushed. There's a lot of things that go on. This is the way that you are going to combat Victor wembin Yama. His skill and his size. They are going to rough him up. We talked about this when the series started. They're going to be physical with him. He's got to be careful. He's got to be he's got to make sure he's not the one who's going to be the enforcer. That's where you have a guy come off the bench and say, all right, why don't you smack Anthony Edwards here? I mean, this is what happens in baseball. You kind of police yourself here. You can't be throwing elbows. You can't. And I disagree with the coaching staff with the Spurs. Yes, it's physical, it's playoff basketball. But there's a better way to do this than me losing Wemby for an entire game that you probably should have won. But I think that's going to be as we move forward. How to San Antonio protect Wemby. How do they let Minnesota know you're not going to get away with that again. But watching that last night, it's above and beyond and it's excessive, And I wouldn't rule out a suspension. Man, I've been around the NBA for over fifty years. I wouldn't rule out that they would suspend him. Now, if it's the regular season, he would probably be suspended. If this would have been a fourth quarter flagrant two, then he'd probably be out for this next game. But watching that last night, you watch it in slow motion, it doesn't help now, not that the officials get to look at that, but the commissioner does. And that's where you look at it and you go, it's beyond excessive, like he was hoping to connect with somebody. I get the frustration level, but you're the best player on the floor. You can't be thrown out of a game because you want to let everybody know you're not going to take this. Do we have the coach of the Spurs, Mitch Johnson. Here we go.

00:03:46
Speaker 2: It's getting to a point that it's if the people that are in charge of controlling the game and protecting the physicality of the game don't do that, then at some point he's going to have to protect himself. We've been asking him to do that now for a while. I'm glad he took matters in news old hands. Yeah, not in terms of hitting nasried byll I mean, be very clear about that. I'm glad Nasri was okay and I didn't want him to elbum him. But he's going to have to protect himself if they're not. And I think it's disgusting.

00:04:12
Speaker 1: That's a playoff voice there with the coach of the Spurs. You can't do it. You can't. Now, I know he wants to decide with Wemby wants to, you know, let him know that he has his back as a coach. You got to make sure that you keep your cool with this. You don't like it happening. You just don't want to lose him because Minnesota benefits greatly because of that. This is why when Wayne Gretzky was doing. You know what Wayne Gretzky did Edmonton. All the other teams he played for always had an enforcer. If you're going to bang up Gretzky, Dave Simenko is Marty McSorley is going to come in and pound your face. Now, you can't do that in basketball, but I would bring in Kelly Olennok and say, Kelly, why don't you rough up Anthony Edwards Accidentally? I can't lose Wemby and I do want to have his back, and I know it's frustrating, and there was a play in a previous game where he got pushed from behind. It's going to happen. Michael Jordan didn't get up and fight people. When the Pistons game plan was to knock Mike to the ground, the best player in the game. They roughed him up, but Mike didn't get up and say I'm going to fight Bill lame Beer. Now he probably wanted to, but that's where you have players who will do that for you, great players. That's when you know a great player. Somebody throws at your head. You know you've hit two home runs, I'm going to throw inside. I'm going to hit you. I don't like it, but this is what happens. And then that's when your pitcher does that to their star player. You police each other. And I hated to see Wemby getting tossed from that game, but I wouldn't roll out. Now he'll probably be fined then therefore they'll keep him from being suspended one more game. And it's a second quarter violation, and I think if that was in the fourth quarter now we'd have a real real discussion here. But you're the Spurs, you're favored. Don't screw this up. You're better than Minnesota.

00:06:22
Speaker 3: Yes, Marvin, the rest looked at that replay a little bit longer than they normally would have. It feels a regular season game. That would have been a quick flagrant two. They did not want to eject him from the game yesterday.

00:06:34
Speaker 1: No, and you don't want to, but you have to in that situation. It was so excessive. You have to do it. You want to see stars be stars, but I can't have you out there after one of their players saw stars because you hit him in the jaw. You see what I did with that? Thank you? We got hit all stars stars.

00:06:56
Speaker 4: Thank you.

00:06:57
Speaker 5: Yes, paul I watched it about a dozen times, and as Wemby as getting bounced around and the ball is in play, one of the players that Timberwolves kind of reaches around and hits him in the eye. Well not too hard, but he hit him, and he clearly gets in his head and he loads up and swings, and that's the thing. He could have easily not done it. When you see it, it's hard not to call, very hard not to call him.

00:07:16
Speaker 1: Give credit to Anthony Edwards sixteen of his thirty six in the fourth quarter, but Minnesota was down eight points. They come back to win that game. Then you have the Knicks with the seventy six ers New York making eighteen first half three pointers. That ties the record for most first half three pointers in an NBA game, regular season or playoffs. Last time it happened the Cavaliers in twenty sixteen. The Knicks are doing everything right now. You got rest for Og Andnobi if you're going to need that runs in playing at a high level. If anything, you don't want to have two much rest here. But you were too good against Philadelphia. And the story will be about Philadelphia because we tend to put a period at the end of their paragraph this season, and now you look ahead to what do you have here? You got Joe Ellenbiid. Normally that's where you go, Okay, great, we got him locked up for three more years at one hundred and eighty million dollars. Your ever take. I like the back court, but I don't know, like it's weird to say it, but they're two different teams when Embiid is on the floor and when he's not, and Inbeid put up good numbers.

00:08:41
Speaker 4: It's just I.

00:08:42
Speaker 1: Can't count on him. I can't build around him. Am I going to trade him? We always do this where we go, oh, you know that team will just trade him. Well, then you have to always look at the other side and go, why would you trade for him? If he's not playing for them, he's probably not playing for you. So let me get this straight, expensive and injury prone. Okay, we'll take him. Uh and you know used correctly. Maybe you know, maybe you can get him for pennies on the dollar. Maybe it's a like a Golden State with Steve Kerr coming back two more years. Maybe you could get where you don't rely on him and get that contribution. But if you're Philly moving forward. They had a good year, surprising year, Like Paul George, I can't count on him to be better next year. I can't count on him be to be better Maxie and Edgecumbe. I can count on that. Kelly Oubra played pretty well. Yeah, Paul, you.

00:09:48
Speaker 5: Got two more years of Paul George at one hundred and ten million dollars guarantee.

00:09:52
Speaker 1: You know. Yeah, yes, Marvin, you.

00:09:57
Speaker 3: Seem so stressed out about the seventy six ers. But do you think this was a successful season, because if I tell the naked eye, you just look at that team with the naked eye, like, hey, I have Paul George, I have Tyrese Maxey, I have Joel Embiid, a second round suite by the Knicks. It's not a successful season.

00:10:13
Speaker 1: I don't think people thought that the Sixers would be this good at the end of the season, or at least even get here, because we didn't know about Paul George and we didn't know about Embiid.

00:10:23
Speaker 4: So I don't know.

00:10:25
Speaker 1: I think they're odds. At the beginning of the year were twelve to one to win it all, So maybe there were heightened expectations more than I remember. Yeah, smart, it should be You see how much they're getting paid. Well, I know, but that doesn't there's a lot of guys who get paid who aren't good. They're not healthy. It's not about your paycheck. It's Joe el Eenbiid and Paul George should be good when they're healthy. You know when that when you start your sentence with, you know, the Sixers, when they're healthy. Okay, stop stop, I don't want to hear it.

00:10:56
Speaker 6: Yes, Dylan, I don't think anyone even had them beating the Celtics, including the city of Philadelphia.

00:11:01
Speaker 1: Yeah, well that was another thing with the tickets. You know, Philly fans are gonna get slammed because they probably sold their tickets yesterday. If I'm a Philly fan, I sell my tickets like Game four. The reason why they were selling their tickets is they didn't think they were going to win this series. I mean, it's just a business move. Why is it. Teams can have business moves, but a fan can't have a business move. Hey, I got a two hundred dollars ticket. You want to give me two grand?

00:11:33
Speaker 4: Uh?

00:11:34
Speaker 1: Sure, I'll go to a pub and watch, Yes, Marvin.

00:11:37
Speaker 3: And if you're a Knicks fan, it's cheaper to take the train, park, go to the game in Philadelphia, get a hotel room, rather than it is just taking a subway and going to the garden. Those prices are out of control at Madison Square Garden, So why not take a quick train ride or a quick ride to Philadelphia.

00:11:55
Speaker 1: Here is Josh Hart, the k next Guard on taking over Philadelphi. You where you needed a little surprised at how how many of the fans are hit.

00:12:05
Speaker 2: No, because everybody was begging for that for Phillys Andasta tickets and do so.

00:12:11
Speaker 4: Man, Yeah, it's I.

00:12:15
Speaker 1: Used to think Philly was a sports town.

00:12:18
Speaker 4: I don't know if it is anymore.

00:12:20
Speaker 1: Man and Josh Hart went to Villanova a little shot there, City of Philadelphia, Flyers get swept, Phillies fire their manager. Seventy six ers. He got the Eagles, though you always got the Eagles. Okay, all right, Dylan, which poll question? First down with the program?

00:12:41
Speaker 6: All right, Dan, we got a couple Wembin Yama should be suspended for Game five or all good? He got his punishment.

00:12:50
Speaker 4: M hm.

00:12:52
Speaker 6: Do you have a problem with him being injected yesterday?

00:12:56
Speaker 7: No?

00:12:56
Speaker 1: No, he needed to be ejected.

00:12:58
Speaker 6: That's gotten dry.

00:12:59
Speaker 1: Yes, Look just because they did something doesn't mean you get to do something. And he did load up the elbow. He had intent. I gotta throw him. I think now it's are you gonna find him and or suspend him? I think he paid the punishment being suspended for most of a playoff game, and I wouldn't suspend him another. But they might find him. Yes, Todd, I was less surprised.

00:13:25
Speaker 8: He got ejected, more surprised than he had to be. Explained what that means. A flagrant foul too, though he didn't know that. That means he's done for the night.

00:13:31
Speaker 3: I found out to be very wild.

00:13:33
Speaker 1: What else do you have? Dyl Um?

00:13:36
Speaker 6: We could talk a little draft lottery.

00:13:38
Speaker 1: Well, I'm gonna wait wait, yeah, I'm gonna wait and talk about that because tanking one those who tank won paid off and probably the last year that you're going to be able to truly tank. Utah was blatant, blatant. The Wizards finally won something. Felt bad for a j Debanza because he didn't look like he won the lottery yesterday. It's like, Hey, you're not gonna go to Utah where you played your college ball with b Yu. You're you're gonna be a wizard. Huh yep, you're gonna play with the with That's where you start going. Who do they got on their team? You know where am I going to? Washington?

00:14:27
Speaker 4: Okay?

00:14:28
Speaker 1: Who did they get Anthony? He didn't play Trey Young?

00:14:32
Speaker 4: Oh?

00:14:33
Speaker 1: Okay? Who else do they have?

00:14:37
Speaker 4: Don't?

00:14:37
Speaker 1: Did I have the guy who got punched by Draymond Green? Do they have him? Be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app.

00:14:52
Speaker 9: Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typic sports pod, pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sportsbook, and all.

00:15:12
Speaker 1: The best guests.

00:15:12
Speaker 9: Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

00:15:24
Speaker 1: Basketball coming up tonight, Pistons three and a half point underdogs against the Cavaliers and the Thunder are ten and a half point favorites against the Lakers. Looking at this number for Tuesday night, this according to DraftKings, it feels like the NBA won't be suspending Victor wimbin Yama. The timberwolfs a nine and a half point underdogs against the Spurs. I watched the lottery yesterday. I wouldn't have watched the lottery if PAULI didn't let me know. The lottery was on three o'clock and I went, that's interesting, interesting time. But I'm watching, and all of a sudden, I felt bad for aj debansa made six million dollars this year at BYU reportedly, and now he's going to the Wizards. It's one of those where you say, see you later, probably won't see in a while.

00:16:18
Speaker 5: It's a real reaction.

00:16:19
Speaker 1: Yes, I actually felt sorry for the kid because I think it was kind of stunned. But imagine that in life. If there was a lottery and we were all waiting to see where we were going to live, where who we were going to play for, who else is going to be there. It's not the location, it's the franchise, the Wizards. Now I go back to when they were the Bullets, and they were a great organization back then, won an NBA championship. Wes Unseld Elvin Hayes, Phil shiney Er had a lot of great players. It's been a while since we've been able to say that.

00:17:00
Speaker 4: Now.

00:17:00
Speaker 1: The Pacers had the second worst record this season nineteen and sixty three. They traded a top four protected pick for a Vika Subach. He's with the Clippers, and then they just so happened to fall out of the top four, so the pick isn't protected and it goes to the Clippers. So they get Zubac from the Clippers. They gave up two players, two first round picks, and a second round pick. Now here's the problem that I have with this. The Clippers were thirteen and thirty eight when they made the trade. Like, what do you you think you're going on a run. You don't have Haliburton the entire season. That's the biggest problem I have with this. You got thirteen wins, your best players not playing, and you're gonna Yeah, he's a nice player, but I don't need him now. He's probably would have been available after the season. This everybody knew was a great draft and you know what this is where you just say, hey, we're not tanking, We're just not going to be a competitive team this year. And you know what, you take the hit, you get a top five pick, and all of a sudden, you turn, you know, turn things around next year. This is a great, great day for the Clippers. But two first round picks, a second round pick, a couple of players, and I went, oh my god. And Kevin Pritchard apologized to the fan base. I think he's the president of Basketball Operations or the GM. But you don't get that too often where he said, hey, you know what we tried didn't work out. And then when you talk about that you need a little bit of luck. I don't want my team relying on luck. I like skill. You know, call me old fashioned, but I like skill not I don't know. I hope we get lucky. I mean I said that in high school. Thank you, thank you, And it turns out I did as well as the Pacers did. Yes, Dylan, what about.

00:19:29
Speaker 6: It's better to be lucky than good, well or neither. In this case, I want to be good.

00:19:35
Speaker 1: Your luck runs out, as they say, But with the Pacers and you're going you got thirteen wins and now you're going to.

00:19:42
Speaker 4: Make this deal.

00:19:44
Speaker 1: You weren't going to be competitive, what do I know? Yeah, but I do think this is the last year of truly tanking. And look, Memphis tanked, Utah blatantly tanked, Wizard's tank. They all benefited from this. What if you just said, whenever you're eliminated from the postseason, then you go into the lottery. Everybody gets the same odds. All the teams that don't make the playoffs get the same chances. You get one chance to go first, second, third, on down. No, I don't know if the commissioner would go for that, Probably not, But that way you take out tanking because it's like, all right, you're bad, and maybe you start to develop players while you're getting ready for next season and you're going to be in the lottery. Yes, ton it could help with the tanking issue.

00:20:41
Speaker 8: But then there's always that team or two that they're just naturally terrible, and you could blame the GM or the front office, but those teams that need to be built up somehow a little bit, they're obviously going to suffer because they weren't tanking. They're just naturally awful.

00:20:52
Speaker 1: Okay, well then you get better. I mean, or you shouldn't be in the job. I can't sit here and go, well you're bad again. Here you go, Well you're bad again, Here you go. I mean Utah was sitting Jaron Jackson Junior the third and Laurie Markinen in the fourth quarter, and Marketen is a really good player. They were doing it. They got fined five hundred thousand dollars by the NBA. Now it's not the fine, it's the embarrassment of you guys are tanking right in front of us. I mean, this is manipulating a game when you think about it. I'm not saying they're throwing a game, but it's in the ballpark of this because I'm gonna I'm gonna sit my two best players in a game that we can win. I mean, imagine in any sport where you go, you know what, why are you sitting here? Why is Patrick Mahomes sitting in the fourth quarter? You know we just got to protect him.

00:21:57
Speaker 10: I mean.

00:21:58
Speaker 1: That's where I'd come down really hard on Utah. I mean, five hundred thousand dollars is nothing, but there might be like a ceiling of how much you can find a team for sitting players. Yes, Pauli, it's.

00:22:12
Speaker 5: Not throwing a game. That word doesn't work here. But it's not like Lori Marknen had an ankle spring that was light and they said he's out for the next month, and that's organizational tanking. This was a game where they had a small lead going into the fourth quarter and the coaching staff or management or both said we're going to do our best to not win this game. How's that much different.

00:22:32
Speaker 1: I know I don't like it, but that's I mean, the NBA has got a couple of problems. Load management is one, tanking is one, and those are really really important, certainly the load management, but tanking and look, teams have done this throughout history, but they weren't latant. I mean the Cavs tanked for Lebron. Somebody was on the coaching staff said, hey, look we had you know, instructions here, and mission accomplished. They got Lebron. So I don't know if you can figure out a way to try to mitigate, you know, the damage of you mailed it in, unless you say, you know when the seventy six ers had the process, I'm like, okay, you guys have an idea that you're not going to be good for a few years. Let the fan base know and you meet them halfway. How about we charge you in accordance to how well we play. How about that a novel approach. Here, we play great, tickets are going to be more expensive. We don't play great. Come on in. We still want you to come out and see our players.

00:23:44
Speaker 6: Yes, doing I mean tanking like by definition, is throwing the game. You're trying not to win the game. When, however, you managed to do that even if, like like PAULI said, you have a small lead, and then you start sitting guys, like if if anyone in the organization was having money on the game, that you had to prison because they'd be like, you fix this game for doing that exact same thing.

00:24:04
Speaker 1: Yes, I know, we I don't like to use fixing a game, but you kind of are fixing the opportunity for the other team to win the game.

00:24:15
Speaker 6: Yeah, Do you're intentionally trying to generate an unfavorable result that you have control over? Yeah, Like, I mean, obviously it's not apples to apples, but they are very much in the same their living room.

00:24:29
Speaker 1: Yeah, they're in the same fruit salad exactly.

00:24:31
Speaker 6: They're the honeydew melon of the fruit salad.

00:24:34
Speaker 1: We'll get phone calls. Best and worst of the weekend? What you saw that you liked you didn't like? Eight seven to seven three DP show Lucas and Texas.

00:24:41
Speaker 10: I Luke, what's on your mind? Hey day, good morning, good morning. I just wanted to hit with a quick best and worst of the weekend. A best. It wasn't all just the men's basketball.

00:24:53
Speaker 11: The WNBA kicked off and I watched probably the highest percentage of an entire WNBA game that I have and at least a.

00:25:00
Speaker 1: Couple of years.

00:25:00
Speaker 11: It was the Fever and the Wings, and it was just a great game, back and forth. There's a ton of playmakers on both teams that came down to a final shot that just barely missed out on the Fevers chance. So just a great experience. I had a couple of family members that never watched a WNBA that were kind of like, oh wow, they're really good. It was just a lot of fun. I think it could be a good year on the WNVA side. My worst, and I hate to tell this to Fritzy, I think we need to actually just admit that our astros are actually bad this year. That pitching staff is awful. They're wasting a good offense. So it's just never fun early on in a season realizing that your team might be one of the real stinkers of the season.

00:25:40
Speaker 10: So definitely worse, but it'll all balance out.

00:25:43
Speaker 1: Thanks, thank you, Lucas. They're not Todds astros. Todd's astros are from the eighties.

00:25:49
Speaker 4: That is a fact.

00:25:50
Speaker 11: That is fair.

00:25:52
Speaker 1: You would be a faux fan.

00:25:55
Speaker 8: I like the old uniforms with the rainbow stripes, and I like the Saysosdango's Ninos Cabels and.

00:25:59
Speaker 1: Bob Wa Zach and Knoxville.

00:26:01
Speaker 7: Hi, Zach, adp thanks for taking my call. Best of the weekend was Anthony Edwards. I know he's not considered the best player in the game, but to me, the most exciting to watch and worst of the weekend. I'm glad it was a happy and healthy baby. But LaMelo Ball naming his son la one Ball. That nickname's already taken. That's what the French called Lance Armstrong.

00:26:34
Speaker 1: As my mom would say to all of her children when we had children, you have them, you name them. She never questioned any name. Now we didn't have any crazy names. But you know, there should be somebody when you put in the paperwork for a name, there should be like a judge, Judy and I'm Budsman there to say, let's let's talk this one out a little bit here. Yes, Marvin, we.

00:27:04
Speaker 3: Got to start canter about our future. We got to care about our kids.

00:27:07
Speaker 1: It's all about the kids. The one ball, one ball.

00:27:11
Speaker 4: No one said that, no one.

00:27:13
Speaker 3: When my wife was pregnant, we literally said the full name, just all right, this sounds good.

00:27:18
Speaker 1: Yeah, hey, the one LeVar Ball No, yeah, the one ball yeah, yes, yes, Dylan.

00:27:28
Speaker 6: At that point, is it kind of on the responsibility of the doctor to be like, guys, it's your kid, but the doctor's not there, Well, who's someone asked to be there?

00:27:39
Speaker 1: The nurse is there?

00:27:40
Speaker 6: Okay, the nurse.

00:27:41
Speaker 1: Then yeah, the doctor's gone. He's got other things to do. He's not going, Hey, let's just sit around and think up names.

00:27:47
Speaker 6: I haven't given birth yet before, Dan, Yes, DoD.

00:27:50
Speaker 8: I don't understand like coming up with a unique or odd name where you could even have your kid get picked on, or you spell it in a strange way. Does that somebody you're hoping your kid and the future is going to become this creative, special, unique person because they have a unique, odd name. Like, what is the motivation for doing that?

00:28:07
Speaker 1: Is my question?

00:28:08
Speaker 4: What do you think it is?

00:28:10
Speaker 1: I have no idea.

00:28:11
Speaker 8: It has to be that, right, If I come up with a unique, weird name, he's going to be a unique, special kid and adult because he's so different than everybody with his weird.

00:28:18
Speaker 2: Cool name.

00:28:21
Speaker 1: I mean, say a loo to Hollywood. It's like, if you're not naming your son or daughter something different than, what's wrong with you? Yes, Dylan, I.

00:28:31
Speaker 6: Mean I've always said Todd, no disrespect, but naming a baby Todd was always funny to me.

00:28:36
Speaker 7: I love it.

00:28:37
Speaker 3: It's grown on, man, I don't love it.

00:28:38
Speaker 1: Or Harry Harry, Harold, Yeah, George.

00:28:43
Speaker 6: There's not a lot of Harold's and George's getting named these days though.

00:28:47
Speaker 7: No.

00:28:47
Speaker 1: But it's you know, it'll come around.

00:28:49
Speaker 6: Yeah, it's like fashion.

00:28:50
Speaker 1: Yeah, you know, it's all cyclical. But I remember when we were naming my son and we're gonna name after my dad and its name is going to be Jack, and then my mother in law was not having it. She goes, that's not a baby's name. I'm not calling him that, and I said, well, then don't call him anything. And then, you know, my wife gets a phone call from you know, the hospital bed and she's like, you know, her mom's ranting about me, not you know, being nice to her about the name we gave my son. She's like, put Dan on the phone, and she goes, I can't deal with this now, Okay. I said, all right, okay, don't worry about it. He'll grow into a grown up's name, yes, doing.

00:29:37
Speaker 6: I feel like Jack's pretty like, that's pretty basic. I mean it's not like uh l one or anything like that. Also, Jack Patrick has a nice ring to it.

00:29:45
Speaker 1: Well Jackson. It's a strong name, but it's not crazy, No, not at all. And then my mother in law wanted to call him Johnny, like John Johnny. I go, no, no, And then I go, well, then let's only Saint Johnny. And then she was like, why would you do that? I said, never mind, it's a sports name. Calling Mullen. Yes, Bo Dan.

00:30:11
Speaker 5: You know, I love this topic. Off the ball name. Solomon Ball is the point guard for Yukon basketball. He goes by Solo Ball.

00:30:19
Speaker 4: Yeah.

00:30:20
Speaker 5: I would definitely stick with Solomon in that situation. That's an easy fix, all right. Another topic you mentioned having an ombudsman at the UH at.

00:30:30
Speaker 1: The place so when no one leaves the hospital.

00:30:32
Speaker 5: Yeah, the hospital. I grew up with a girl named April Showers. Great girl friend of mine, but they named her April Showers, and that's a tough one growing up.

00:30:40
Speaker 4: You know.

00:30:40
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to listen live. Jamal Crawford on the call last night Game four, Mike Cherico, Reggi Miller on NBC, and Peacock for the Spurs and the Timberwell. Also, he'll be on the call in San Antonio Game five. That'll be a tip off at eight eastern on Tuesday. Great to talk to you again. Let me start at the end and work our way back. Do you think Victor Wembenyama will be suspended for Game five?

00:31:16
Speaker 4: No? I do not think he'll be suspended.

00:31:18
Speaker 12: He definitely should have been ejected for the shot he gave yesterday, but I don't think he's suspended for Game five.

00:31:25
Speaker 4: You what do you think?

00:31:27
Speaker 1: I think if David Stern was the commissioner, Okay, but I I wouldn't be surprised if he's fined. But I think the fact that it took place in the second quarter. If it took place in the fourth quarter with four minutes to go, then I could see him be suspended for game five.

00:31:48
Speaker 12: So why do you think if Stern was the commissioner, that happens in that right now?

00:31:52
Speaker 1: Because I think we look at this and we want Wenby to play. David Stern famously scolded me when the Enix Sons Marii Stottamayer got suspended for getting off the bench when Steve Nash got crashed into into the scorers table, and I said, but Stottenmeyer didn't do anything, and he said, he got off the bench. Now listen to me. And then he scolded me like, I don't care if you're a star or not. I have to I'm the commissioner. And therefore I think he would have a different look at this because in slow motion it doesn't look good at all that Wenby that was excessive. He wanted to take somebody out. Was there anything that led up to this in your mind that you could see not warranted? But understand, you know, his frustration.

00:32:45
Speaker 12: It's funny you say that because I may have given him the announcer's jinx, because I just praised him for how he was handling, you know, getting getting pushed and all the extra stuff and thrown to the ground. And I understand, like Minnesota side, you want to keep their best player frustrated or at least try to frustrate him. And he hadn't shown any emotion all series or really all playoffs in that way. So it could have been you know, things that led up to it, for sure, but that was not a good look and that what we expected.

00:33:15
Speaker 1: But this is why you have somebody on your ronster who can go in and protect you. This happens in hockey all the time. It happens in basketball. Tim Duncan was never going to go after somebody, but he had somebody to do that for him. Michael Jordan didn't go after the Pistons. He had somebody do that for him. I think that's the important part is and that's where Mitch Johnson, the Spurs head coach, I think is wrong to say, hey, I understand it. No, this is a playoff game, like let somebody else bang up Anthony Edwards if that's what you want to do to send a message. I can't have my best player and the most important player on the floor getting caught up something like this to kind.

00:34:01
Speaker 4: Of have that enforce of that security. Huh. I said that last well two years ago.

00:34:06
Speaker 12: I think it was with Okay, see they saw chet and I'm like, well, no, they kind of need to go through this.

00:34:11
Speaker 4: To see what they do need later on.

00:34:13
Speaker 12: And I'm sure these guys are going through this process and still can win it, but still you're right, maybe get that enforced or somebody's gonna bring that like no, no, no, we're not going for that at all.

00:34:23
Speaker 4: You know that to the roster as well.

00:34:25
Speaker 1: Yeah, I just think that that's I got to keep him on the floor.

00:34:30
Speaker 4: There, you have to. I mean, he does so many things well.

00:34:34
Speaker 12: As soon as he went off the court, Minnesota was like, oh, free ice cream.

00:34:38
Speaker 4: This is just I can go on the painting time. I feel like it.

00:34:41
Speaker 12: You know, and coordinat did a great job as well, not the same level as Wemby, but it was like drastic, like, Okay, soon as he goes off the court, we're going in there to get paint points at all costs.

00:34:54
Speaker 1: What is it about Anthony Edwards that we really only care about his game in the postseason. That I don't think he's a in or in regular season guy, But man, he has these moments in the postseason where you goim, he is different.

00:35:09
Speaker 12: He's different. He's one of the most competitive people I've seen to be that young. I mean, obviously we know he's been through so much in life, but he has like that grit, that toughness, that mental fortitude.

00:35:20
Speaker 4: And he just he wants it. He wants it.

00:35:22
Speaker 12: He wants to be one of the greats, and he understands the responsibility. And one thing I love about ed is his authenticity. You never feel like he's just saying something to say it. Whatever he says, he feels, he stands on it. And I think his guys, his teammates know that. Like I saw yesterday, I think Io got a and one late and he turned the bench like I told you, I told you.

00:35:44
Speaker 4: Almost like he saw something on the court. Like no, I trust him too.

00:35:47
Speaker 12: And he's amazing, Like he he can go in tight spots almost like a jet. He just takes off and he's not even all the way healthy right now, right but his grit and his heart. He had a moment where he's like, I'm just gonna take over this game. You will not lose this game. And he did what he had to do to tie this thing up.

00:36:04
Speaker 1: But I hate when we do this. You know, he kind of reminds me of Michael Jordan. I'm like, Okay, he's not Michael Jordan. No, no one is Michael Jordan.

00:36:13
Speaker 4: No one's Michael Jordan.

00:36:14
Speaker 1: Now you can have some traits right that Mike may have, like SGA man, he reminds me of Jordan where you know you can score and he's not Michael Jordan.

00:36:25
Speaker 4: I have a problem with that just from the standpoint.

00:36:29
Speaker 12: Michael Jordan to me is the greatest to ever play basketball, right and it's not even a question. But with that, we throw his name around so easily. If this guy reminds me of Michael Jordan, well, this is like he's the final Frontier. There's a bunch of other stages and guys you can refer to. Besides, we're referring to the last like Frontier because now we start looking at him and we look at the player a little sideways too. We may not appreciate the player we're looking at because we keep hearing that Michael Jordan comparisons, you know what I mean, So we should appreciate this guy as well.

00:36:57
Speaker 1: Talking to Jamal Crawford, he was on the call last night with the Spurs and Timberwolf's going to San Antonio for tomorrow night eight eastern on NBC and Peacott. You think Lebron retires any chance he retires after their next loss?

00:37:13
Speaker 12: I hope not, and the reason being he's done so much for the game and we've grown to know him and everything about him, just about how famous he is the last twenty five years, right since he was in high school. And I would just hope that he goes out and really receives the love he's shown to everybody all over the world, and he could be appreciating that way. I think it'll be like crazy just to go out quietly and like now I'm retiring now, Like no, like get all the love you possibly can because you deserve it.

00:37:45
Speaker 4: And look at the level he's still playing at.

00:37:47
Speaker 12: I mean to be a forty one year old man and still I'm telling you I played three days in four days. I played three times in four days the other day, then I was trashed the.

00:37:57
Speaker 4: Last day I could even walk. I was like, man, it.

00:38:00
Speaker 12: Took me forever to try to get loose. So what he's doing is like on a whole another level. And I hope he's appreciated in that way. With the NBA closer than the beginning, Why would he come back love of the game. You can just tell how much he loves it. He still gets pissed off if if something small happens. And I'm not saying like in a way of condemning a teammate, but in a way of carry like he still cares so much about everything. Everything I hear is still the first one in the gym. He's still preparing, you know, like he's a youngster just starting now. So that just tells me how much he loves the game. So I think that's why he would come back. Why do you think he would come back or not come back?

00:38:37
Speaker 1: Well, I wonder you come back to a team. It's rare when he had the feeling of his team can't win the championship. Right in his entire career, there was always the man, you know, we could get to the finals in just about every stop. I think he's got to look at the West and be honest, when you look at the Spurs and look at Okac, you're not on their level. And even if Luca was healthy, you're just you're not on their level right now, and it's not going to get any better. But I do think I think he's going to go out and he's going to do a documentary on his final year.

00:39:12
Speaker 4: I think I see that.

00:39:13
Speaker 1: I just think he'll hes not going to go out quietly. It's not going to be one of those, oh Lebron retired. I think he wants at once, he wants to get his flowers, and I have no problem with that.

00:39:26
Speaker 12: But then we didn't know the last dance was being recorded in that last year either, you know, like I mean, you probably knew being in the inside, but.

00:39:33
Speaker 1: I know I saw the NBA Entertainment crew following Michael, and I even asked the head of NBA Entertainment and I said, what is this used for? And he said that Michael wanted it. But I never thought it was going to be used in, you know, a documentary. But I did see these guys think I think Michael Thompson's son or brother I should say, was a cameraman, was a cameraman. Yeah, So I would see him and I'd be like, what are you guys doing? And they were just they were just filming. But I never filmed it. Never knew. I never knew what was going on. And even those who did know didn't really know. They're like, I don't know.

00:40:14
Speaker 12: Would you be disappointed if he did go out without like gain those flowers?

00:40:20
Speaker 1: Just from your standpoint, I wouldn't be disappointed. I would be surprised, Like, you do what you need to do for you. It feels like Lebron is gonna want to make stops in every city and whether he plays one year, two more years, you know, because as long as he's on the roster, Bronni's on the roster, and I think he wants to, you know, show that nobody will be able to do what I've done, right, They're not going to put up you know, twenty two, twenty three, twenty four years in this sport where Tom Brady you can play quarterback, but you're not playing defense, right right, I mean Lebron is keeping up with twenty year olds.

00:41:00
Speaker 12: Yeah, we'll never see anything like this from a longevity standpoint, a dominance of longevity, Like I don't think we see anything anything like this.

00:41:09
Speaker 4: I even went back. I think since his sophomore year of high.

00:41:12
Speaker 12: School, he's averaged twenty five or more points every year except like three, Like it's ridiculous, three or four maybe in the last you know, twenty five, twenty six years or whatever. It is, Like, he's will never see anything like this. That's why I hope he gets his flowers the right way.

00:41:28
Speaker 1: And imagine averaging this, scoring that, and not being a great shooter.

00:41:32
Speaker 12: He's not even being a great like a score, like not being a great score, not being somebody who plays to score first.

00:41:38
Speaker 4: Anyway. Yeah, think about that.

00:41:39
Speaker 1: Yeah, the James Harden, how do we write the history of James Harden?

00:41:45
Speaker 12: Mm, that's gonna be interesting because there's no denying what he did in his prime and his prime run of Houston during the course of a regular season, his dominance like he had, like he in some ways he had mastered the game, like in some ways in the regular season. Then the playoffs the struggle came. And that's why it's such a stark contrast. Would you rather have a guy like Wade who didn't have the same peak regular seasons but had more playoff success or would you say, you know, what over the course of six months is got dominated and then it just didn't go well the last month or whatever.

00:42:25
Speaker 1: Oh I'd rather be d Wade.

00:42:27
Speaker 4: You rather be d Wade?

00:42:28
Speaker 1: Oh yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah yeah. I mean I think Harden is absolutely fascinating. But why he changed the game he did. There's no denying that he changed the game. And you knew he was going to score. He knew. He would tell you I'm going to go right there and I'm going to do a step back jumper, you know, when you're scoring thirty six and also throwing, you know, handing out eleven assists. I mean, that's he's built for the regular season. He just not a playoff performer.

00:43:00
Speaker 12: And what's crazy about Harden is what position do you even put him at when it's all when the all time list comes out?

00:43:08
Speaker 4: Is he go as a point? Does he go as a two? Like? He was so skilled and is so skilled.

00:43:14
Speaker 12: He's the true definition of a humble guard because he literally could do both at that level. It's just the playoffs never it never looked like the regular season.

00:43:24
Speaker 1: What are the Knicks doing that they didn't do previously?

00:43:30
Speaker 4: Hmm.

00:43:32
Speaker 12: I think they're a little more diverse of how they're using Brunson. To me, they're using brunts and how Ai was used in Philly, and they got him off the ball some, they moved him around, then they got him in you know, pick and roll situations. Obviously, you know the playoffs slow down and you want the ball in your best player's hands. But they're a little less predictable and that they're playing a little more free. It seems to be honest with you, And I think Tims gave them a lot of freedom. I think Timms is a heck of a coach and he did an unbelievable job with him. But right now I think they're playing a little more free, and I think that he's a little more diverse in how he's being used himself.

00:44:10
Speaker 1: I find him fascinating though.

00:44:12
Speaker 4: Brunson, Yeah, why he.

00:44:15
Speaker 1: Just he moves in tight circles like he's really good in a tight area of just getting that split second less than that separation there. He doesn't strike me as he's like a left handed Chris Paul, where he he just finds areas. Not the quickest, not the fastest, can't jump to the highest like Chris Paul, but he just knows how to play the game.

00:44:43
Speaker 12: I think both of those guys they play to their smarts first and then they're like with Brunson, his footwork takes over. He's not playing to his footwork. He's playing to his smarts. Okay, let me see. Okay, you played me that way, you kept me left. Okay, now I'm gonna go left the first time, the second time I go left in count or like he's reading everything you're doing. So I think he's playing towards that first. He puts his mind in the game first, and then he's just picking you apart. And then he becomes a post player because he plays fifteen feet in.

00:45:10
Speaker 4: He starts catching at the free throw line.

00:45:11
Speaker 12: He'll jab step, shoot, will jab step bump you, and he's even better most people with physicality, they get sped up. He's better with physicality because he can feel you and he knows where you're at, so he knows how to counter you. And then you have shooting around him. Cats playing better. OG is out right now. But those guys, and I think they understand the pressure.

00:45:29
Speaker 4: Like, think about what people are saying about Mike Brown, Well, he has to go to the finals. If he doesn't go to the finals.

00:45:34
Speaker 12: It's a terrible season, so you know, I think that, and if the Knicks are going to do it, I think this is truly their chance. No Boston, right they're out who everybody had being there, the best team in the East for most of the year, thought they would go the Furthest. Detroit is in a dogfight right now, so this is the next best chance.

00:45:53
Speaker 1: Why is Steve Kerr coming back to this roster?

00:45:59
Speaker 4: Steph Kurr?

00:46:00
Speaker 12: I think I think Steph, I think sometimes it's bigger than just I mean, think about it. He's won four championships, I believe three or four, and I think it is for he just it could be bigger than basketball. That could be something like you know what, Steph signed up for this. I'm married to him as far as this. My relationship goes. Draymond same thing, like I think. And he loves the coach, like just watching him going games, talking to him, you know, pregame. He still has that zets for coaching like he loves and he would be unbelievable in TV as we know, or executive he's done all those things. But I think coaching is what really that competitive fabric, that's the part that's lost when you're not in that space.

00:46:38
Speaker 1: But you know you're not going to win there you do. They're a playing team.

00:46:43
Speaker 12: But Steve Kurr has won seven championships totals, He's had his fair share of winning two death.

00:46:49
Speaker 1: Yeah, but you get caught up in it, like you don't go I have one so much, I don't care if I win. When you win, I don't think you can turn it off and go eh, I'm okay.

00:47:00
Speaker 12: You don't turn it off, but maybe you sign you find beauty in something else. Think about Steph. This is a guy who is out there actually competing Draymond same thing. He could easily be like, you know what, my last four or five years, I want to go somewhere else and have a chance to win every single year. But his loyal team have rupped off on everybody else in the organization. It's almost like the Spurs with Tim Duncan. If Pop yelled, Tim duncany killed anybody. If Tim Duncan can be this beacon of light for this organization, you know Steph is doing that. And Steph we talk about changing the game like he's he is absolutely the way he changed the game.

00:47:33
Speaker 4: Where I'll live him because his effect has been unbelievable.

00:47:38
Speaker 1: Your son already got a scholarship offer. What is he a freshman in high school?

00:47:43
Speaker 4: Yes? Fifteen?

00:47:44
Speaker 12: Actually, yeah, he's a freshman in high school, which is crazy, so crazy.

00:47:47
Speaker 1: So Penny Hardaway reached out and gave him scholarship.

00:47:51
Speaker 12: He did, and that was full circle for me because this whole time, even when he was a kid, I'm like, if you could just study one player, I would just have you, you.

00:47:58
Speaker 4: Know, be Penny hard Away.

00:47:59
Speaker 12: So well in my thinking when I was working with him and training him, even to this day, and I've told him this, it was Penny because I thought Penny played the game in such an effortless way and his field for the game was next level. So I've been watching film with my son since he was in fifth and sixth grade and all those things.

00:48:15
Speaker 4: So getting that.

00:48:15
Speaker 12: Actual offer was like, Wow, that one kind of stopped me for a second.

00:48:19
Speaker 1: Wow.

00:48:20
Speaker 4: Yeah, crazy.

00:48:21
Speaker 1: But to study Penny and not somebody else.

00:48:26
Speaker 12: Yeah, No, we study a lot of people, but if it could just be one person, because I knew he'd be a tall guard, it was Penny thought. I thought, if you think about it, after Magic, I thought Penny was going to be like the next here's the batona magic. You know, you're passing the baton to the next great tall point guard. And Penny came with that heat and the way he played in his field and his personality, and then I had the opportunity to play with him in New York as well, so that one I was like, WHOA Like that one really caught me off guard. Dad, Nobody, even the high schools around my local city.

00:48:57
Speaker 4: Didn't know my name at fifteen years old. So see where this thing is going. It's crazy.

00:49:02
Speaker 1: If I had an NBA analyst one on one tournament, who wins?

00:49:09
Speaker 12: I should ask you that I can't vote for myself, right, So I would say, no.

00:49:14
Speaker 1: You can.

00:49:15
Speaker 4: I can you think that you would?

00:49:17
Speaker 1: You're the best analyst as far as talent go. I don't even know how to label it.

00:49:24
Speaker 12: Yeah, how to describe it. No, I wouldn't say that part. I'm not that I love Reggie because I'm next to him. I learned from him so much. Tim Lagler, Rjie. There's a lot of good people out there. But I think the advantage I have if I would stay in my case, not as the best, but just where for my case to be in that tournament, win to win?

00:49:46
Speaker 4: Is I think I can.

00:49:48
Speaker 12: I think I can do a pretty good job of bridging this era with the era that came before me. I can kind of intertwine them because I played against John Stockton, I played against Luca, so I've seen how the games kind of evolved. I remember, I come from a time where the off the dribble three was the worst shot in basketball. Don't ever take that shot to see it now be the biggest weapon. So I see both of them. Who would be up there for you? I'm not saying I'm the best. I'm just saying to be in the tournament. I won't say what it's even qualified. How about who do you like? How would Tracy McGrady do?

00:50:19
Speaker 4: He did great, but he doesn't he doesn't call you' talking about calling games?

00:50:22
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, just being an analyst.

00:50:24
Speaker 4: Oh, Ta Max is really good?

00:50:26
Speaker 1: Yeah, absolutely, Mellow, Vince Carter, all.

00:50:32
Speaker 4: Those guys are great, and.

00:50:36
Speaker 12: They're obviously Hall of famers, but they also know how to communicate, communicate the game in a simple way that anybody can understand.

00:50:42
Speaker 1: Being a good analyst. So I'm talking about playing one on one here.

00:50:45
Speaker 12: Oh you're talking about one on one. Yeah, and they're primer like right now, right now, win?

00:50:54
Speaker 1: Are you kidding me?

00:50:56
Speaker 4: Okay, okay, I thought you're talking about Actually.

00:51:01
Speaker 1: No, I don't care about that. I'm talking don't care about I'm talking about playing hoops.

00:51:06
Speaker 4: Hold on one second, one second, one second.

00:51:09
Speaker 1: What Crawford Hotel room in Minnesota? Have my hoops is.

00:51:15
Speaker 2: On the road?

00:51:15
Speaker 4: They come with me? Are you kidding me?

00:51:19
Speaker 1: Are you breaking ankles or spraining ankles?

00:51:23
Speaker 12: Well, I've got nicer as I got older, so now I'm just spraying them. I'll spray them. Say are you all right?

00:51:27
Speaker 4: Okay? Watch all I may say that.

00:51:29
Speaker 12: Moves coming like I've gotten nicer unless they start talking trash and then it's old.

00:51:33
Speaker 1: So you think you could take Tracy McGrady one on.

00:51:35
Speaker 4: One right now today?

00:51:37
Speaker 1: Yeah? Yeah, I me Vince Carter.

00:51:42
Speaker 4: I would be everybody right now, one on.

00:51:43
Speaker 1: Everybody, every analyst in in the NBA.

00:51:47
Speaker 4: I still play all the time.

00:51:48
Speaker 12: Okay, all right, yeah, yeah, all right, who do you think wins?

00:51:52
Speaker 1: I don't know. I'd have to see these guys walking around.

00:51:55
Speaker 4: Oh okay, that is the walk that doesn't.

00:51:57
Speaker 1: Well, I'm gonna know if how you're doing.

00:52:00
Speaker 4: You like my kids. If I try to give some new food, they smell at first. I'm like, that's not going to affect the taste.

00:52:04
Speaker 1: You know that right, We'll talk soon. Thank you, bye, sir. I appreciate that's Jamal Crawford