Steve Hartman & Ryan Hollins Set the Stage for the NBA Playoffs!

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio eleven the dream
once again here on a fully loaded Sports Saturday.

Speaker 2 (00:09):
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We got one hell of a playoff game going on

(00:29):
right now between the Nuggets and the Clippers. Clippers have
led for most of this game, but right now three
zho six to go in the fourth court and the
Nuggets have a ninety three to ninety two lead, So
we are going to be all over this game. We
got games coming up. Obviously, we got the Pistons taking
on the Knicks, and then later on the Timberwolves and

(00:50):
the Lakers. Already Indiana did some serious damage on the
Milwaukee Bucks. So the NBA playoffs are definitely underway. And
of course we've all also got the NFL Draft that's
going to be coming up here on Thursday. Adam Kaplan
is going to be joining us our NFL insider and
he'll give us the latest not only on how the

(01:11):
top of the draft looks right now, but also the
latest on the Aaron Rodgers situation. Will he be a
Pittsburgh Steeler or is he not going to be a
Pittsburgh Steeler? Is he going to announce his retirement? So
we'll have all the NFL news for you. We're hooking
up with Ryan right now. And the great thing about
having Ryan Hollins on is not only the fact that

(01:33):
he is my fellow bruin, is the fact that he
has also been the color analyst for the Houston Rockets
for the last four seasons. So he'll give us a
little previews the Rockets will open up their series against
the Golden State Warriors this weekend and get obviously his
inside on everything about the NBA with these exciting playoffs.

(01:54):
I was actually at into a dome on Tuesday to
check out Clippers pract this and they were a very
confident bunch going in. So right now ninety five ninety
four Denver leading the Clippers two forty two to go on,
Ryan is joining us, my fellow bruin. Ryant's great to
hook up with you again. How are you, man?

Speaker 3 (02:13):
What's going on? Brother?

Speaker 2 (02:14):
How you been I've been great. I mean, you've been
busy obviously the last four seasons. Now the analysts for
Houston Rockets Basketball, and we got plenty of talk about
with the Rockets and their series coming up with the Warriors.
But let's talk about this game that's going on right
now again. Nuggets leading the Clippers ninety five ninety four.
We got two twenty two to go in this game.

(02:35):
As I mentioned, I was out with the Clippers, your
former team, one of your former teams on Tuesday out
of practice. Talk to Zubots, talk to Hardin obviously talked
to ty Lou. This is a different Clippers team this year. Ryan,
They're healthy. You know, you feel like if they can
keep Kawhi on the court, this team could go deep.

(02:56):
But think about it. How many teams have four guys,
I mean, guys like a Kawhi Leonard, a Viatza, Zubots,
James hard and Norman Powell that can take over games.
Not a lot of teams have that luxury.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
No, no, they don't. And here's the thing. You know, Kawhi,
when he's healthy, you could argue that he could be
the best player on the planet at any time. And
we got a chance to see the Clippers as the
season ended, and James James Harden looks as close to
form as he did to his Houston days. Uh, they're
defending at a high clip. But again, I think the

(03:33):
scariest thing that we saw was just Kawhi Leonard with
a pop a pep and his step and he still
has that that kind of you know it factor when
he wants to take over basketball games so very easily.
This game that we're watching, this series with the Clippers
in Denver, two of these teams could come out the West.

Speaker 2 (03:51):
Yeah, I mean when you talk about I mean, as
a former NBA big yourself, Ryan, it beats a Zubots.
What a story. I mean, he's he's probably if he
doesn't win the two awards, he'll be a finalist for
both Most Improved Player and Defensive Player of the Year.
In a game where he's going yep against Jokich, I
mean he's sitting there right now with six offensive rebounds

(04:11):
in this game. This guy's development, You've watched him over
the years. The Lakers essentially gave him away to the
Clippers for next to nothing. Could you have ever imagined
that this guy would be this level of player in
the NBA.

Speaker 3 (04:25):
No, it did surprise me, and I think the Lakers
just they weren't sure the investment that they were going
to put into him. And he's one of those guys
where you know, it's kind of all or nothing, and
I don't know if they knew what they'd be beginning.
But you know, keep in mind Zubach meturation this season,
a lot of that comes from James Harden. You know,

(04:46):
James Harden gets more of a known for what is scoring,
you know, some of the lack of defense in moments,
but when he's really at his best, he's passing the
ball around the horn, he's getting guys involved, and he
is he is really really good for the big man.
Think about Clint Coppella. Clint Capella got eighty million dollars,

(05:07):
you know, of James Harden, you know, and that was
at a time when eighty million was a really good
number and it still is, but an NBA term is
not the same. But nonetheless, you're seeing that James Harden
pick and roll and what happens is too much as
either scoring or he's hitting guys in the corner, he's
hitting cutters. He's really really coming into his own rather
than just being a pick and roll big.

Speaker 2 (05:27):
All right, Well, Joker just missed two free throws and
the Clippers scored at the other end. So now the
Clippers lead ninety six ninety five, who got one eleven
to go in the fourth quarter. So who's your picking
this series?

Speaker 3 (05:38):
Ryan oh Man, I you know what, I'm gonna go
with the Clippers. I think it's a it's a tight series.
But from what I saw from these two teams down
the stretch, I just think it's it's kind of crazy.
It's a weird year. As tight as this race is
in the West, there's like.

Speaker 4 (05:55):
Locker room drama, coaching's coaches fired, Like like two of
the coaches in that tie down to stretch Memphis and
in Denver fire their coaches.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
I mean, it's just such.

Speaker 2 (06:06):
As never happened. Lucas traded right, you know, honestly, I
had the conspiracy going big time. I mean, here Memphis,
you know fires Jenkins right before they play a huge
game against the Lakers. You know it could be like
a tie breaker type game at the time, and they
were at home, and they lose that game to the Lakers,
and then you look at which team's been the biggest

(06:28):
nemesis to the Lakers over the last couple of years. Oh,
that's right, the Denver Nuggets better fire their coach as well.

Speaker 3 (06:33):
You know.

Speaker 2 (06:34):
I mean, I love how Adam Silver likes to erase
any any idea that there's anything going on in the
league office, or how the Lakers stole Luka Doncic or
all these favors being seemingly handed to the Lakers in
a desperate attempt to get the Lakers deep into the playoffs.
He denies anything's going on, But I don't know, it

(06:54):
just seems to It just seems to work out for them,
right Ryan, I guess coincidence.

Speaker 3 (06:58):
Huh. Well, you know, they still got to play the game,
they still got to win. But you know, nonetheless, it
is put the Lakers right back in the thick of things.
And make no mistake, you know, with Lebron James, if
he plays even at not, I can't I don't even
say you need to have you know what, like like
we've been having this conversation right for for some time,
and we're like, you know, it's Lebron, still Lebron. This

(07:19):
is the first time we can look at it and say,
Lebron just needs to be good, but he doesn't need
to be great. And the Lakers legitimately have a shot
with the maturation of the rest of their team. You know,
their role players are really exceeding right now, and I
think that's the difference with the Lakers. But you know,
I think we'd be lying to the Eynings right now
if we said we knew what was going to happen.

(07:41):
But the Lakers have as much a shot as anybody
right now.

Speaker 5 (07:44):
They do.

Speaker 2 (07:45):
I have some conspiracy theories. I want to share it
throughout the show today. I'm big on those Ryans, all right.
So right now, here's where we are. Clippers lead the
Nuggets ninety six ninety five. There's thirty two point six
seconds left, and look like Jamal Murray just knocked the
ball out of Kawhi's hand. The question is, was it
off Kawhi when it went out? So I think they're

(08:06):
gonna review this play right now. By the way, we're
going to be joined by Adam Kaplan, our NFL Insider,
coming up in the next segment as we get ready
for the NFL Draft on Thursday. But I want to
get your thoughts on the Rockets right now. I mean,
here you are. The Rockets are the two seeds. Obviously
they have made some major improvements over the last couple
of years. They're going against a veteran Golden State team

(08:28):
that's obviously a much different team now that Jimmy Butler
is in the lineup for them, and the Rockets is
the two seed, are the underdog against the seven seed Warriors.
Give us a little inside on the Rockets and why
the Warriors may be in a little more trouble in
this series than a lot of outsiders think.

Speaker 3 (08:46):
For one, Houston's deep, and they're deep defensively, so they
can throw bodies, and they've been built is as a
group that's been built to guard the Curries and the
Lebrons and you know, the Kawhi Leonards because you don't
have to worry about getting foul trouble. You can stay
aggressive with Dylan Brooks and Tarry Easton and the men. Thompson,
who should be the defensive player of the year if

(09:07):
people take the time to sit there and watch the
plays that he makes at the end of the day,
but Houston just unorthodox that they'll play big, they hit
the boards, they're tough, and you know the youth is
still there with Shingoon and Jalen Green, and that's where
the question marks come. But Ime Udoka, who should be

(09:28):
the coach of the Year, has found a way to say, hey, man,
if if Jalen Green's off, we have a group that
can still win games. If our Prince Shangoon doesn't have
his best foot forward, you can step forward and still
win ball games. So Houston's a very unique team. They
like to get physical and e May has tried his
best and you know the success he had over in Boston,

(09:51):
He's done his absolute best kind of getting the guys
ready to go and play into the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (09:57):
Yeah, you mentioned Udoka, who obviously has the mess situation
in Boston and was suspended for a year and then
we'll let go And then you know a lot of
people are like, really, Houston, you're gonna hire this guy
because of you know, all the different rumors, everything that
was going on in his past. But just just talk
about what he has done because obviously last year, you know,

(10:17):
first year in but this year such a leap up
for the team. So he may what what has he
done to get this Rockets team to the next level.

Speaker 3 (10:26):
Well, the one thing that he stepped in and done
is he said, you know, guys, we're gonna defend, and
if you don't defend and play the right way, you're
gonna be on the bench. And it's been quite of
a strength Steve, because you can't bench like Lebron James,
like you can't bench a veteran, you can bench a
young player to teach him. He took our kids to college.

(10:47):
At the end of the day, and that's where we've
seen the biggest grope, the biggest maturation with the young
Houston Rockets is because they have been able to excel
and really learn on the fly. And and that's where
you're seeing the dividends being paid with the roster. So again,
at the end of the day, he's held accountability and

(11:08):
he's been able to coach him.

Speaker 2 (11:09):
All Right, you're not gonna believe this, but it's Russell
Westbrook that makes a three point shot to give the
Nuggets a ninety eight ninety six lead twenty three point
four seconds left. So if all people they hit at three,
it's the future Hall of Famer, another fellow Bruin, Russell
Westbrook that nails it for the Nuggets. So timeout Clippers

(11:29):
ninety eight ninety six Nuggets lead at twenty three point
four seconds left. All right, we're getting ready for the
NBA Draft on Thursday. No better person to break it
down than our NFL insider Adam Kaplan. This is Fox
Sports Saturday.

Speaker 6 (11:45):
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in
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listen live.

Speaker 2 (11:57):
Steve Hartman and Ryan Hollins. Here Sports Saturday. We are
live from the Tyrak dot com studios. Calm the chaos
with the shipping software that delivers. Use the code sports
for a free trial at shipstation dot com. That's shipstation
dot com, Code Sports, and be sure to tune into
Fox Sports Radio's Draft Night, which is Thursday night, eight

(12:18):
pm Eastern through the first round of the Draft. Insider
Jay Glazer, former Jets general manager Joe Douglas, college football
Hall of Famer LeVar Arrington, and Fox Sports lead college
football reporter Jenny Taft will have you covered for all
thirty two bicks with predictions and reactions. That's Thursday, eight
pm Eastern throughout the first round of the Draft, live

(12:40):
right here on Fox Sports Radio with a live video
simocast on the Fox Sports Radio YouTube page, brought to
you by ship Station. By the way, they're in overtime
right now, Nuggets and Clippers tied at one hundred three
point thirty to go in the overtime. Joining us right
now to get us ready for the draft, which is
now five days away. That would be our NFL insider,

(13:03):
the legend himself, the great Adam Kaplan is joining us
right now. And Adam, you know, before we get into
some of the details here about how the top of
the draft is gonna go, let's go a little deeper
into the draft at number twenty one, where the Pittsburgh
Steelers are sitting. Are they still waiting for Aaron Rodgers
to make a decision because you know, obviously Aaron Rodgers

(13:24):
one on with Pat McAfee in a retirement.

Speaker 3 (13:27):
You know, he.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
Bitched a moan about how he was treated by the Jets.
Who knows what the real story is there. But are
the Steelers sitting here, just days away from the draft,
still waiting for a decision by Aaron Rodgers or are
they focus on what they want to do in terms
of a quarterback in the draft right now.

Speaker 7 (13:46):
All right, So Aaron Rodgers has nothing to do with
their plans zero. If they want a quarterback of twenty one,
in which I'd be surprised if they did, certainly in
the first two rounds. But if they want a quarterback
of twenty one, they're taking quarterback Aaron Rodgers, if he signs,
will be on a short term deal. The draft is
about the future, it's not about this year. And if
they like a quarterback, they'll take one. Now, I could
tell you from talking to Steelers a ton over the

(14:08):
last couple of months, they'd like to get that young
quarterback to develop and that guy to play behind Aaron Rodgers.
That that would be sort of like their plan, but
they're not married to it. They do have Mason Rudolph,
and now I know that they've gone to record saying
like they're comfortable with him. I don't believe that he
did well two years ago for a number of games.
But folks, we're talking about a seventeen game season plus playoffs.

(14:29):
Of course, they're not to be there the full season,
so they'd like to get that quarterback. They definitely would
like to get it. But one thing I will tell you,
I could just tell from talking to certain people there,
they've learned from that mistake of Kenny Pickett, who, by
the way, was not drafted by this regime. He was
drafted by Kevin Colbert, the former general manager.

Speaker 5 (14:47):
That was his last draft.

Speaker 7 (14:49):
But they've learned organizationally that you don't want to force it. Okay,
now I could tell you if I'm talking to multiple
teams in the last couple of days, there are teams
out there that I do not have more than one
quarterback Grady to go in the first round, like on
their board, I mean Shu Dur Sanders. One of these
teams does not have them as a first round great quarterback.

(15:10):
It might surprise some people, but Sir Dour Sanders is
not probably the quarterback that a lot of people thought
he was.

Speaker 5 (15:15):
He may be though when he plays someday.

Speaker 7 (15:18):
But going into this draft, he's not as highly thought
of as some people think.

Speaker 3 (15:22):
Okay, picking up piggybacking off that, because that was something
I was going to ask, who do you feel like
is the best quarterback off the board right now? Is
there someone that you've heard that a team is extremely
high on and you know, trust their organization Moving forward with.

Speaker 7 (15:37):
You're Ryan other than cam Ward, who will be the
first pick overall. Steve and I have talked about him
since January. I'm going to give you a couple guys
who will go a little bit later. One who's is
kind of get Gavin Kubstein is a little bit older.
And then there are a couple guys if they go
to the right situation. And Ryan, you know, is a
player an athlete that if you don't I don't go

(16:00):
to the right situations, sometimes it may not work out
for you. And coaching matters and depending on where these
guys go. So the first guy we're going to mention
is Jackson Dart. Now, Jackson Dart has had sort of
like this bow nick kind of rise Jackson Dart. It
really started for him at the senior ball where now
he has a funky delivery. It's a little bit different,
but he gets the job done. Decent f athlete, he

(16:22):
can make throws. He's going to be a top forty pick.
There are a lot of coaches I've spoken with they
like to work with him because they like the so
called wiring, the makeup of the player, and he's had
good numbers at Old Miss. And then the next guy
I'm gonna mention he's older.

Speaker 5 (16:38):
He's older.

Speaker 7 (16:39):
It's Tyler Shuck, the quarterback out of Louisville. Now it's
sho ug h. Some people think its show. It's actually
pronounce Shuck. Believe or not.

Speaker 5 (16:47):
He sure, it's twenty six. That's fall.

Speaker 3 (16:49):
Now.

Speaker 7 (16:50):
Ordinarily, when you talk about a twenty six year old rookie,
if he's a skill position player, while he's going to
go way late because you have a short NFL career. Now,
Shuck has played at multiple schools, he has an injury history,
but man, his skill set is phenomenal. I saw him
into Senior Bowl. So he's a guy I that could
go as early as the second round. But you know, overall, guys,

(17:13):
I could tell you this is your twenty seven of
cover of the NFL.

Speaker 5 (17:16):
This is probably and.

Speaker 7 (17:18):
We're gonna talk more about this next Saturday, Steve, when
you and I, when you and I go over that,
what we've seen so far in the first two days,
this is probably one of the worst first rounds in
terms of how the league sees it that I can remember.

Speaker 2 (17:30):
Well, think about this, guys. We are sitting here five
days before the draft and the thirty two first round
picks are all in order, with the teams having their
own pick. I mean, I can't remember the last time
we are this close to the draft. There hasn't been
a trade off, trade down. Everyone is sitting on their

(17:51):
first round.

Speaker 3 (17:52):
Not good.

Speaker 2 (17:53):
I mean, I've never seen anything like this, and so yeah,
does that? I mean I've always been of the mindset
when it comes to the draft that you have to
trust your individual board. I mean, you're paying scouts, you're
paying talent evaluators big money to do a job, and
so you have to trust your board and the idea

(18:14):
of picking the best player on your board available to
me as a winning formula. I think teams that do
that more often than not win when you reach when
you forced to go up, you know, when you start
getting desperate for a certain position and then you draft again,
it's not how who you draft, it's where you draft him.

(18:34):
So do you expect this is going to be I
mean we've been talking about this, Adam for a couple
of weeks. Now, do you expect any teams to move
up in this draft? Is there any player where you're
getting some buzz like, wow, you know we got to
move up to get that guy? Is there any of
that with this year's draft.

Speaker 7 (18:51):
Well, see, here's what I would tell you. If your
team picking let's say anywhere Philly at thirty two, Chase
at thirty one lines.

Speaker 5 (19:00):
Who needed that strusure in the worst way.

Speaker 7 (19:02):
If a couple guys drop, sure, And by the way,
the trade calls have already happened. Every all thirty two
teams talk with each other, and this is the way
these calls go. I'm told, hey, listen, if our guys there,
let's work this out right now, what do you want
for your pick? And this has all worked out. You
never do it on the clock. This is all worked out.
So by the time they get to the draft. That's

(19:23):
why it's why you don't take your full ten minutes
in the first round. You know what you want to do.
You've already worked these things out in advance. So yeah, Steve,
to answer your question, move forward here only if certain
players drop. Now, there are certain players here that I'm
gonna give you a couple of guys who there's some
players who have some off the field concerns, nothing major.

Speaker 5 (19:45):
James Pearce is one of the top betrushes for Tennessee.
Right out of the University of Tennessee.

Speaker 7 (19:49):
If he drops into the mid twenties, the kid is
too gifted, like some team's gonna be comfortable.

Speaker 5 (19:56):
With him and say, you know what, we can handle him.
Something like that.

Speaker 7 (19:59):
Now we mentioned the Steelers, right though, I don't see
the Steelers going for a quarterback of twenty one. I'd
be surprised. Now they're gonna be looking at a running back.
They don't have a starting running back right now. And
you know, it's all about the run game with the Steelers,
that's what they want to be ash And gent's highly
likely to make out of the top ten. So let's
say he shocked us and dropped out of the top ten,
they're gonna be teams calling up to see if they

(20:20):
can get up there to get this player. It has
to be something that's club. Steve, by the way, did
not expect. That's usually when you get trades.

Speaker 3 (20:27):
Let me ask this while we're owing it. You say
it's one of the worst drafts. What's the feedback you're
getting from Travis Hunter? Is he worth the hive? Is
he doesn't have a chance to play on both sides
of the ball.

Speaker 7 (20:40):
What are you hearing from him behind the scenes? Ryan, here,
this is a really interesting story. So I'm at the combine, right,
you know, in that lefever early march in Indianapolis. And
I try to go to all the GM press conferences
I can get to and Andrew Barry, the GM of
the Browns, who who has personnel control. He's very usually
very tight liped publicly. He doesn't really say much. He

(21:02):
doesn't want to give out much information. And he was
asked the question, where do you see Travis Hunter playing receiver,
a quarterback, receiver a cornerback? And I did figure he
would not give the well, we we see him as
both or you know, we see him as a corner, which.

Speaker 5 (21:16):
Is generally the way he's seen.

Speaker 7 (21:18):
And he goes, well, you know, we see him more
as a receiver than a corner. And I was just like, wow, hey,
you're going to give that out when you have the
second pick overall, and b this.

Speaker 5 (21:28):
Is a hot button tomic. It's just stunned.

Speaker 7 (21:32):
I know him to say hello, I don't know him
very well, but I know the way he is talking
to people work with him, and that was not the
way he is.

Speaker 5 (21:39):
I was just kind of stunned by that. So Ryan
just polling teams.

Speaker 7 (21:43):
As you know, over the series of weeks, certainly corners
the position that they want him to play, a lot
of the teams do. But that's not what Andrew Berry said,
and he said it again this week. By the way
he doubled down on it. I'm a little surprised by that.

Speaker 5 (21:57):
Now.

Speaker 7 (21:57):
I know Travis has come out and said, hey, if
I don't want to you know, I don't want to
play football if I can't play both. Now here's what
it's gonna happen. Okay, Ay, he's gonna play wherever they
tell him to play. Yeah, okay, number one, number two. Coaches,
I could tell you this will not go like you
get this guy who's unbelievably gifted, right, Eventually you got

(22:20):
to say, okay, are we getting him this week? If
you're trying to put a game plan together, you have
to know it is really interesting. I gotta tell you this,
it's fascinating. And I do believe he'll go to Cleveland.
And by the way, they need help at both positions,
receiver at corner, so I mean, take your pick, but
that would be kind of cool though, if he went there,
because after everything they've been through with the awful Deshaun

(22:43):
Watson situation. The fans is ever break. You get an
elite athlete and talent in Travis Hunter.

Speaker 2 (22:48):
All Adam will just have to wait until we see
what plays out. But right now it's been very quiet,
not some of the wow rumors that we've been hearing
in recent years. So usually the calm before the storm.
I want entertainment on Thursday. You know it's in Green Bay.
They get an opportunity to host the Draft. I want,
I want some histronics. I've seen it all, like I

(23:13):
live at the draft.

Speaker 7 (23:14):
Probably there were two or three shockers to me. When
the Broncos drafted Tim Tebow in the first round. You
could have pushed me over with a feather. Yeah, okay,
stuff like that. I love that when yeah, oh no,
I got the best one. I got the best one ever.
It's your former team. And when I thought for sure
that it was a mistake, like the commissioner read it wrong,

(23:37):
Sebastian Janakowski a kicker in the first round.

Speaker 5 (23:39):
Yes, that's the biggest surprise in my man.

Speaker 2 (23:41):
They did it with Ray guy and by the way,
hey he's all famer the Stormer. The story was when
when Al Davis made that selection in nineteen seventy three,
taken a punter Ray guy in the first round. His
coach John Madden stormed out of the draft room. He
was livid, really and then he realize next that yeah,

(24:02):
all time, great, great stuff. As always, Adam will check
in with you next week.

Speaker 3 (24:06):
Appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (24:06):
That's Adam Kaplan, our NFL insider. All right, let's find
out what is trending right now, and Martin, we got
a pretty pretty exciting basketball game going on right now.

Speaker 8 (24:17):
We do overtime in the first game of the Western
Conference playoffs, Nicola Jokicic and the Denver Nuggets versus Kawhi
Leonard and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Clippers defense has
been everywhere the last few possessions, but it is now
a one ten to one oh seven score Denver making
a fourth quarter in overtime comeback that we're trailing for

(24:39):
most of this the game, over six point five seconds
left in the matchup right. Leading the Nuggets in scoring
is Nicola Jokics with twenty eight points. Jamal Murray follows
up with twenty one, Aaron Gordon with twenty five himself,
and the Clipper side of things, James Harden had thirty
two points, Kawhi with twenty two and just Steve his

(25:00):
defensive influence.

Speaker 2 (25:01):
Has been felt in this game like he like you.
Basically we are looking.

Speaker 8 (25:05):
At playoff Kawhi win loser draw in this matchup with
his twenty two points, five or six rebounds and actually
seven turnofs. That's no good to assist. But Chris Dunn
also adds ten points. As we're five point leading now
for the Denver Nuggets and over timas Norman Powell will
dribble the ball of the court, take a three point shot,
make make it so point nine seconds left times a

(25:28):
lock kicks out, uh, the Denver Nuggets will be the
winners of Game one of the four to five series
one twelve to one.

Speaker 5 (25:35):
Ten.

Speaker 8 (25:36):
Now to bring our attention back to the Eastern Conference,
at ten to eight, the New York Knicks leading the
Detroit Pissons are the three to six matchups six twenty
six left in the first quarter. There it's at ten
to eight and major in NHL, the Saint Louis Blues
have a one goal lead over the winning peg Jets
with eight point fifty left in the first period. Has

(25:58):
playoffs everywhere Major League baseball. We got extra innings in Seattle.
In Seattle and Toronto, three to three, bottom of the eleventh,
top of the seventh inning, the Orioles lead the Reds
five to four going into the bottom of the ninth inning,
the Pirates trying to come back from the three to
zero deficit. The Guardians currently have them in bottom of
the eighth inning. White House looking for their first road win,

(26:19):
tie three to three against the Red Sox. Yankees Eavy
six to four lead over the Rays. In the bottom
of the seventh inning. The Nationals have a twelve to
six lead over the Rockies again six oh two left
in the first quarter, twelve to eight. The score between
the Knicks and the Pacers. Just saw the Nuggets beat
the Clippers one, twelve to one.

Speaker 3 (26:37):
Ten.

Speaker 2 (26:37):
Back to you guys, all right, Martin, Yeah, And we
got the Knicks and the Pistons underway twelve eight right now.
Knicks with the early lead in the first quarter, and
of course later it'll be the Lakers and the Timberwolves.
Steve Harbin, Ryan Hollins, Fox Sports Saturday Company Live from
the tire Rack dot Com Studios, Fox Sports Radios Draft
Night Live through the first round of the Draft on
Thursday night, brought to you by Dollars Shave Club, your

(26:59):
place to get everything you need to stay smooth and
smell great. There's a Dollar Shaveclub dot Com Slash Draft.
Use the promo code Draft for twenty percent off your
order of twenty dollars or more plus free shipping. That's
Dollars Shaveclub dot Com Slash Draft. Be sure to tune
into Fox Sports Radios Draft Night Live, which is Thursday night,
a pm Easterns through the first round of the draft.

(27:20):
Insider Jay Glazer, former Jets general manager Joe Douglas, College
Football Hall of Famer LeVar Arrington, and Fox Sports Lead
college football reporter Jenny Tapp while Ivey cover for all
thirty two picks with predictions and reactions Thursday, eight pm
Eastern through the first round of the draft, live right
here in Fox Sports Radio with a live video simocast

(27:40):
on the Fox Sports Radio YouTube page, brought to you
by Dollar Shave Club. All right, Ryan, so let's talk
about the Nuggets coming back in this game. The Clippers
got off to a hot start, they held on to
that lead late, but the Nuggets find a way and
I guess that was going to be the big question
I had going into this series. How would the Nuggets

(28:03):
react without Malone? You know, the leader of this team,
the guy that guided them to a championship just two
years ago. And the way they played down the stretch
and end up winning this game in overtime, I think
says a lot about the maturity of this team and
the fact that at least for the moment, they're gonna
be okay for the moment.

Speaker 3 (28:22):
Yeah, I mean, you're not gonna feel Mike Malone's presence
missing until you're down zer two on the road in
the NBA Finals finals or the conference championship. I mean,
this team is good enough to get you there, probably
without Mike Malone. But do they go all the way
and Mike Malone? I played for Mike. E's as certified

(28:42):
as they come. And I just thought it was intriguing
because we seen as you brought that up, Steve, like
we've seen some crazy things happen, Like think about Memphis
getting that five second call when they couldn't get the
ball in bounds out of they end up getting the
big win against Dallas the other day. Did you know
Taylor Jenkins is somewhere going Yep, I had to play
John up for that. Knew it was gonna happen. So nonetheless,

(29:04):
you know, it's still the players that play the game.
But the coaches come and they show value. And anytime
you come behind a great coach, you got to step
up and show and prove yourself. Joe Missoula a world
champ of a coach. He kept getting questioned for not
being em Udoka. So that's just part of going out
and proving yourself. We remember many moons ago and Spolstra

(29:26):
was questioned, you know, and having a step into too
his shoes. But I thought it was a huge win
for Denver. It's a veteran club, as veteran as it gets,
and with those type of teams, Steve, you know what
you're teaching motivation. It may not be the ex's and
those those guys know what to do. It's the motivation
and it's the conflict resolution when you do get in
those sticky situations.

Speaker 2 (29:47):
Yeah. I even though the Clippers did lose this game,
I don't think that that really hurts this team. They
played well in this game. The guys that needed to
stepped up did some big shots are made late in
this game. By you know, Harden and Leonard and you know,
so I don't. I mean, it's tough to lose a
game where you feel like, wow, we really have this
game and could have taken home court advantage. Let me

(30:10):
let me ask you about that part of it.

Speaker 5 (30:11):
Ryan.

Speaker 2 (30:11):
You know, we talked about home court advantage a lot. Oh,
they're playing for home court advantage. We saw what happened
to Denver last year, you know, losing Game seven at
home to Minnesota in the playoffs. Is home court all
that or is that reserved for certain teams where they
you know, certain places where they actually really do play

(30:33):
another level of basketball at home.

Speaker 3 (30:35):
No, home court is huge because if both teams are
pretty squares, they even comes down to home court advantage,
and you want to be with your home crowd. Now,
as a veteran group, I remember in Boston we were
the seventh seed playing Atlanta, but we knew we went
into Atlanta saying, you know, as a lower seed, we
made it to our strength. So we said, like this,
we just need one of these two games and the

(30:57):
series changes one of these two and we're sitting right
where we want to be. We've stolen the series. So
if you look at it as you know, you're pretty
much playing with house money in those situations, and then
you can go up three to one in a jiffy.
You get a team questioning themselves. And those game twos
are so pivotal because if you lose confidence, then you

(31:19):
go on the road. Oh it's tough, man, and then
you got a you know, the a team that loss
has to go and still win. So there's nothing better
than playoff basketball. But that's kind of the psyche. And
I think when you have two balanced teams, it could
be a difference. So for example, right, we talked about earlier, right,
Steve Houston and Golden State. Right, our young guys need

(31:39):
on court advantage, Yeah, need that excitement behind them.

Speaker 2 (31:44):
Well, I guess while I'm looking at two veteran teams,
like the two teams you just watch, you know, with
the Nuggets and Clippers, these guys have been there, done that,
you know, and so they've seen both sides of it.
By the way, you can stream this show and all
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(32:05):
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All right, We'll continue to monitor NIX right now. Lead
the Pistons twenty to nineteen. First quarter of that game again,
Lakers and Timberwolves later on. Oh, that's great to have

(32:27):
the NBA playoffs going on right now. On the other side, though, Ryan,
I want to get your thoughts on UCLA's new quarterback
courtesy of the University of Tennessee. This is Fox Sports Saturday.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
Please don't listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (32:46):
Steve Harvin and Ryan Hollins Here Fox Sports Saturday. We're
live from the Tyraq dot Com studios, and be sure
to check out Fox Sports Radio YouTube channel. A ton
of great videos from many of our Fox Sports Radio shows.
So arch Fox Sports Radio on YouTube you see a
whole bunch of video highlights from our shows, and be
sure to subscribe to you always have instant access to

(33:07):
our Fox Sports Radio videos on YouTube. So Ryan, I've
been doing TV forever here in La along with radio
and everything else. Thing about TV is you know, you
got to get the names right, and so Ea Malayava,
nico Ea Malayava. I have now learned this name, Ryan,

(33:28):
because he is our quarterback.

Speaker 3 (33:31):
Now.

Speaker 2 (33:31):
UCLA has brought in the former Tennessee quarterback nico Ea
Malayava as their new quarterback, which is quite a score
because obviously this guy guided Tennessee into the college football
playoff a year ago. But I want to get your
thoughts Ryan as a former star athlete at UCLA and
just the whole change in dynamic of college sports with

(33:54):
the transfer portal and nil. It just seems to be
total confusion. Can you imagine Ryan Hollands a big out
on the you know, auction block year after year teams
coming in say, yeah, I'd love to have that guy.
You know, we'll pay you a little bit more if
you leave U C l A. Where are we going
with this, Ryan? In your opinion? Where where's the end

(34:16):
game for college sports? With the continuing seemingly confusion surrounding
the transfer portal and n I L.

Speaker 3 (34:27):
This is thick. This is a thick one. And for
one I was gonna let you say Nico's name first, Okay,
I was just gonna come Niko.

Speaker 2 (34:34):
Remember this. It's it's six syllables. E a malay ava.

Speaker 3 (34:39):
E lva quote malay ava male e lave Okay, I'll work. Listen,
I got out.

Speaker 5 (34:51):
To the.

Speaker 3 (34:53):
Work.

Speaker 2 (34:54):
Yes, yeah, no e malay ava.

Speaker 3 (34:59):
There we go, l lave mava Okay. Either way, here's
where I stand with it. And I'm really kind of
furious about the nil thing. But for different reasons, Steve,
then probably most know. I'm furious at the storylines. I'm
furious at the former athletes and the people that aren't

(35:21):
doing their homework. They're mad that these kids are transferring
and moving. They're counting the dollars that these kids make,
but they don't have a remote clue how much money
the universities have made, not just for free, but are
still making off of these kids. They are playing for

(35:42):
pennies compared to their actual worth. In the NBA, the
owners and the players essentially split revenue. Every other professional sport,
the athletes are treated like professionals. When your coaches are professional,
the TV deals are professional, you don't get paid like
a professional. That's a problem. And what's happening now, Steve,

(36:05):
is these guys that are transferring and moving about, and
the public perception that keeps getting pushed through social media
and television is that, hey, they're ungrateful. What are they
doing with this? They need to stay where they are.
And Steve, I want to ask you this or I

(36:26):
want to throw this out, help me with this one.
If someone like me or you got an offer, and
maybe we're in different places, but imagine we're in a
more of a different place, a younger place in our life.
We're pretty much content where we are. But if someone
offers you a third more money or twice the amount

(36:46):
of money that you could be making, you're going to
go and take that job. If you're not happy at
a workplace, what do we do? We hit the market
and we look for other work. Now, the challenge that
I proposed to is that college the NCAA fixed this
problems from a university standpoint. So I don't know. I've

(37:10):
talked in depth with this, and I don't know. See
here's someone Thill said, maybe throw at a salary cap.
I said, okay, Well, let's have a revenue split half
to the schools, half to the athletes or the athletic program,
and then half to the athletes. We'll do a salary
cap then, and we all know, at the end of
the day, every single college program is not created equally.

(37:32):
The football team may bring in more than the basketball
team right now, women's basketball may bring in more than
you know, the track team. Per se, They're not equal,
and they've never been treated equal. And if you want
to claim that they're equal, put an equal TV deal
out there. Put equal for the coaches. There's a reason

(37:53):
the football coach makes a couple more million dollars then
another sports coach. So no disrespect. Give people what they're earned.
You do it in the workplace, and treat it like
the workplace.

Speaker 2 (38:04):
Well here, here's something interesting. So Josh Heipeld takes over
as the coach at Tennessee before the twenty one season.
After his second year, he was under contract, right, he
signs his initial four or five year contract at Tennessee.
They have a breakout year, they end up winning the
Orange Bowl number six ranking, and he gets a raise
to nine million even though he has an existing contract.

(38:24):
They're like, uh, well, extend your deal now. We're going
to pay you nine million a year. I mean, when
you think about it, isn't that what Malayava was saying, Okay,
you were paying me an il money and then I
guided you to the playoffs. So if you're going to
redo the deal of the coach after a good year,
how about redoing the deal of the quarterback after a

(38:47):
good year.

Speaker 3 (38:47):
I mean, you've.

Speaker 2 (38:48):
Already set the president with your own coach, who after
his second season was a nice year for them, they
won eleven games, they got to a number six ranking.
They stepped in said we're gonna give you a raise though,
oh he had a contract, and so this is this
is where it gets tricky. Now the deal with Malayava
is reportedly he's taking less money at UCLA, and it's

(39:13):
more about the system they run or are going to
run that he feels will better prepare him for the
next level. In other words, Tennessee said, no, we're going
to do what's best for Tennessee. We're not worried about
putting in a system to make you a better prospect
at the next level. And that's so. There again stories
on both sides in the situation. But again, at some

(39:37):
point we're going to have to get a little more
stability in the situation. I think this is a big
reason why Nick Saban some of these longtime coaches saying,
if I have to redo my entire roster every single year,
I just don't want to do that.

Speaker 3 (39:52):
Well, let me ask you this, Steve how And also
he's a hometown kid. He plays your home beach, so
he wants to come home, of course, But Steve, how
would your company get you to stay? What offering for
OK four one K a retirement plan.

Speaker 2 (40:05):
There's actually been a few times in the one hundred
years I've been in this business where, you know, occasionally
one of my employers says, what is it going to
take to keep you? And it's amazing when they say that,
and I'm like, oh, let me tell you all right?
Coming up on the other side more on the first
day of the NBA Playoffs. This is Fox Sports Saturday.

Speaker 1 (40:23):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio Radio.

Speaker 2 (40:27):
Yes, rolling along here on a super busy sports Saturday.
Fox Sports Saturday. We're broadcasting live from the ti iraq
dot Com studios, tire rack dot com. We're gonna help
get you there, and I'm Matt Selection fast free shipping.
Free Road has a protection over ten thousand recommended installers.
Ti iraq dot Com The way tire buying should be

(40:49):
nixt lead the Pistons thirty five thirty four. We got
nine minutes to go in the first half in this game.
How about the job Bickerstaff did. I know you're you
got your own fit as NBA Coach of the Year,
But you talk about year to year, the mess that
the Pistons were a year ago. For them to jump
all the way into the playoffs as a six seed,

(41:10):
Bickerstaff did a hell of a job this year, Ryan.

Speaker 3 (41:14):
He did. They gave him some veterans in a place
seemingly that nobody wanted to be, and much like Houston,
they kind of hit the switch and said, you know,
we're going from rebuilding to hey, we've got enough. And
Kate Cunningham is as box office as it gets. I
actually was drafted to Charlotte where JB. Bickerstaff was worked

(41:36):
with him twice over in Minnesota. He's a good friend
of mine, man, I really consider him family. But JB's
done an excellent job and he doesn't get enough credit
for what he did in Cleveland. I think it's crazy
and it's tough because you know, when you're that good
and you lose, it's got to be somebody's fault, you
know my opinion, Evan Mobley just wasn't ready yet. And

(41:57):
when he took a huge jump and Daris Garland took
a jump, the Cavaliers got better and you see where
they are. So nonetheless, JB. Biggerstaff was huge, huge with
their development, and you see overnight what is done in
Detroit and there man quietly Steve, they're that team that
nobody wants to play.

Speaker 2 (42:18):
Yeah, I would say they are and obviously a team
on the rise right now. I've been laughing, honestly at
some of the national pundits that are looking to add
to the projection for the NBA Finals Ryan, and they're like, okay,
so who out of the West is going to play
the Celtics in the finals. And I'm like, okay, you're

(42:38):
completely dismissing Cleveland. They had three All Stars this year,
they have probably I don't know one of, if not
the most dynamic back court in the NBA right now.
And so are we too quick to dismiss the Cleveland
Cavaliers are the defending champions, gonna seemingly have a walk

(42:59):
all way to the NBA Finals, even though they're the
two seed in the East. And if there is a
team out there that could give them their best challenge
in the East, who is it.

Speaker 3 (43:09):
Ryan, Cleveland gives them their best challenge. When they went
out and made the trade for Hunter, that was essentially saying,
you know, we need to stay a little bit more
dynamic and we need to be able to guard guard
against what Boston can bring to the table. But you know,
make no mistake, Boston got better from where they were

(43:32):
a year ago. It's gonna be really hard for them
not to come out the East. They're really good. Steve
and I get it, you know. And in terms of Cleveland,
they're the most equipped. You see the success that they've had,
but you got to see it in the playoffs. And again,
like I mentioned earlier, if Evan Mobley is a guy
who can you know, go for twenty five and ten

(43:54):
at night in the series in the playoffs, which he
has to show, that changes things right now, as is,
there's the work cut out, you know, at the end
of the day for the Cleveland Cavaliers. But Boston's so
good and it's forget the three point shooting, forget the
one on one from Tatam and Brown. They can beat

(44:14):
you on the defensive end, like they have four just
lockdown defenders, and that is by far the biggest difference
in what they do.

Speaker 2 (44:24):
All Right, So coming up later, we're gonna have the
Tea Wolves taking on the Lakers. As I mentioned my
conspiracy theories, but the NBA engineered the firing of Jenkins
in Memphis so that that would clear the way in
a huge head to have matchup against the Grizzlies that day,
and then of course engineered the inexplicable firing them alone

(44:45):
with three games to go, the team that's knocked the
Lakers out of the playoffs each of the last two years.
And then of course the Luka Doncic trade, which by
the way, should have netted Dallas at least six number ones,
at least six number ones in that deal instead of
one number one and a you know, future Hall of
Fame player that's had injury problems galore. It was a giveaway.

(45:10):
That being said, this was a Timberwolves team that shock
the world last year by knocking out the defending champions.
Then they end up losing to Luca and the Mavericks
in the Western Conference Finals. And somehow a year ago,
it just seemed that Anthony Edwards was getting more play
than he is this year. I'm not sure why. You know,
this guy is still one of the absolute elite players

(45:33):
in this league. So when you look at this matchup
of the Lakers and the Timberwells, and obviously this game
will start tonight, it'll be at Crypto dot Com Arena. Lakers,
by the way, bypass the play in tournament, they were
in the play in tournament three of the last four
years Riot, so you know, this was something that they
just haven't had an opportunity to actually start a series

(45:54):
in the first round with the home court advantage. But
is this seemingly a walkover for this superstar Laker team
with Doncic and obviously they'll bron and Austin Reeves or
could the Timberwolves shock the world in this series.

Speaker 3 (46:10):
I don't think it's gonna be a walkover. But I
like the Lakers, And the reason I like the Lakers
is because Anthony Edwards is still learning how to play basketball.
He's an immense talent, but the same thing can make
you great, can make things tough on you. And at
the end of the day, when you're looking at Anthony Edwards,

(46:30):
he's still playing hero ball. He's still young and you know,
wants to do everything by himself. And when he learns
to really buckle down and play basketball, I think Minnesota
has a chance to be really good. And he's already good.
He's got that type of talent. But we've seen it
in the playoffs before because he doesn't shy away from
the smoke. He likes those matchups where you know he

(46:52):
can run himself essentially into the ground.

Speaker 2 (46:55):
The Lakers future with Luka Doncic. So I've said this
last week. Some people agree with me. Others were like,
you are just being stupid Hartman, which course I've heard
that many times over the years. But I maintain that
this is Lebron's last year as a Laker because I

(47:16):
look at the Lucas situation and by the way, if
you have been over to Crypto dot com arena since
Luca arrived, there's no Lebron buzz anymore. In fact, I
actually saw one National show was talking about who's the
best Robin, you know, like Batman and Robin in the
NBA playoffs, and they included Lebron. At what point of

(47:37):
his career has Lebron ever been the number two? That
would be never This is Luka Doncic's team. He just
turned twenty six years of age. And as you look
to the future to build around your now star. And
by the way, everybody now these Laker home games are
all decked out in their seventy seven jerseys. It's Luca's team.

(48:00):
The fans are with Luca. I don't know if that
includes a soon to be forty one year old Lebron James.
My guess it doesn't. Maybe a lot depends on how
deep the Lakers go in the playoffs this year, Ryan,
But if you're the Lakers right now, obviously Austin Reeves
has emerged as a borderline All Star, averaging over twenty

(48:21):
points a game. They have some young pieces, but they
need more. They need interior defense. There's a lot of
things they still need. I don't know if Lebron would
ever agree to a trade. I'm sure it would only
be to a specific team if he doesn't decide to retire,
if indeed they want to turn the page with him.
But how do you look at the Lakers beyond this

(48:41):
season as they now are fully entrenched in the Luka
Doncic era.

Speaker 3 (48:48):
Well, I don't think Lebron's going anywhere. I think you're
absolutely spot on, though, is that they get a future
in Lebron. You know, they get some future, they get
someone who can take over and right now, you know,
as we see through the playoffs, you could argue he's
a better player right now. But the reason that I

(49:10):
don't think, and even if it was the best move
for the Lakers, let's say, right even if it was
the best moves, hey move on from Lebron. It just
it makes sense at this point. I don't think that
they do it because the Lakers are very much about
the business of basketball, and they still know the fame
that Lebron James holds. They still know the tickets that

(49:32):
he sells, you know, they still know the name that
he has at the end of the day. So I
don't think because of those reasons, he's going anywhere. But
ultimately you can look at it and say, well, that
would be the smart thing to do. You don't. He's
already gone past, he's already you know, playing with house money,
and Lebron has enough of a name where he probably

(49:53):
would veto a trade somewhere. You know, another team would
be scared saying unless if they're possibly even the Cleveland Cavaliers,
and he'd be saying, well, I'm not going. Yeah, I
don't want to go. I'm done. You know, for that
same reason he's almost he's just so unique, Steve. We
just haven't seen anything like it.

Speaker 2 (50:10):
You know, I agree with you. Now, he would love
to go to Golden State, I think, and that's one
team I think he would sort of like, yeah, I
could see that, you know, play with Steph. I mean,
and again I don't say that he can't play a
supporting role because he's really done that with Luca. There
are games when he has stepped aside and allowed Luca,

(50:30):
who is a bald, dominant player, which obviously for most
of Lebron's career he's been the same type of player,
but he's allowed Luca to take over. It just seems
to me right now that obviously one thing that Lakers
have to do is get Lucas signed to a long
term deal because right now, after next season he's a
walk away. So they got to focus on that first.
By the way, calm the chaos with the shipping software

(50:53):
that delivers use code Sports for a free trial at
chipstation dot com. That's shipstation dot Com code Sports and
be sure to tune into Fox Sports Radio's Draft Night,
which is Thursday night at eight pm Eastern through the
first round the Draft insider Jay Glazer, former Jets general
manager Joe Douglas, college football Hall of Famer LeVar Arrington,

(51:13):
and Fox Sports Lead college football reporter Jenny Taff. We'll
have you covered for all thirty two picks with predictions
and reactions. That's Thursday at eight pm Eastern through the
first round of the Draft, live right here in Fox
Sports Radio with a live video simulcast on the Fox
Sports Radio YouTube page, brought to you by Ship Station.
All Right, Ryan, on the other side, we're going to
be joined by our Fox Sports Radio NBA insider get

(51:36):
his thoughts on this first day of the NBA playoffs.
Mark Medina will join us. This is Fox Sports Saturday.
Steve Harbin, Ryan Hollins, Fox Sports Saturday. We are live
from the Tyraq dot Com studios for the best pregame
show every weekend. Be sure to tune in Fox Sports
Radio's Countdown presented by bet MGM, every Saturday and Sunday

(51:59):
morning from nine am to noon Eastern six to nine
am Pacific. We'll count it down to all the biggest games.
There is no better place to prime you for the
tournament games. I'm speaking about this NBA playoff tournament right here.
Tune in a countdown presented by bet MGM every Saturday
and Sunday morning right here on Fox Sports Radio and

(52:20):
the iHeartRadio app well. For more on what's going on
with these NBA playoffs which are underway today is our
NBA insider Mark Medina. So Mark earlier today, Pacers no
problem at home against the Bucks and then just a
shootout between the Nuggets and the Clippers, and the Nuggets

(52:41):
found a way. And you know, Ryan and I were
just talking about, you know, how would this team play
in the postseason without their leader Malone and the way
they came back and pulled out a huge game for them,
an absolute must game in my opinion to win this series.
They were able to pull it off. But how do
you see this playing out right now between the Clip
and the Nuggets, Mark, Yeah, I expect.

Speaker 9 (53:03):
That this is going to go the full way of
a seven game series. I think the Nuggets they should
encouraging signs that's not just about Nikola Jokich. They can
rely on other players, whether it's Shamal Murray, hitten shots,
Christian Brown hitting shots, Russell Westbrook having a revenge game
against the Clippers. That's something that you haven't seen the
Nuggets do on a consistent basis, hence all these changes.

(53:24):
But this game kind of reminded me of when there's
a mid season firing and you know whether it's right
or wrong. A lot of times players run on this
adrenaline rush and want to buy into what the new
coach is saying. And you saw that, and it also helps.
There's a familiarity and respect level for David Adelman. But
given where the Clippers are and how competitive it is,

(53:45):
I expect that it's going to be another competitive one
again too.

Speaker 3 (53:50):
Mark, are you buying that the thunder in the Rockets
are somehow playoff underdogs? Is that a fair assessment to mate,
because a lot of people are saying that it's very controversial.
They're young, obviously there's name still But are you buying
that those two teams are underdogs?

Speaker 9 (54:12):
Yeah, it's very wild to think of that as the
first and second seeds as underdogs. I think that if
I were to choose which one is an underdog, I
would say the Rockets and it's not because they have
I think nine players on their playoff rotation that are
going to set the playoffs the first time. I think
it's more of the fact that they're facing the Golden
State Warriors, obviously much different teams than when they want

(54:34):
championships with the Common Denominators. They still have Steph Curry, Draymond,
Green State's curse, still the head coach, Keavon Mooney, and
they're paying the second are still role players, and Jimmy
Butler is a very big playoff edition and he you know,
Treys as a Lion edition and he's called Playoff Jimmy
for a reason. But when you look at the Rockets,
you know Emduke is emy Adok is a proven coach.

(54:56):
They have good veterans with Fred van Vliet and Dyl
Brooks that you know it could go either way. But
the Thunder I don't buy that at all that they're
an underdog. I mean they've been the most dominant team
in the Western Conference and by a wide margin. I
think shad Gyogis, Alexander will Win MVP, jal Williams Scott
his first All Star appearance, and they just have a
lot of depth across the board with a lot of

(55:18):
great wing defenders, they got a great front court and
Chet Holmgren, and that they Hardensteigins that barring a major
injury to one or two of their players, I don't
see any scenario that they lose the Memphis Grizza in
the first round.

Speaker 2 (55:31):
All right, Mark, you know I shared some of my
conspiracy theories with you how the league god Jenkins fired
by the Grizzlies right before they played the Lakers in
a huge matchup during the regular season. They got Malone
fired because while the Nuggets have knocked the Lakers out
of the playoffs the last couple of years, they basically
enabled the Lakers to steal Luka Dancis for next to nothing,

(55:52):
one first round pick for a guy that should have
netted seven first round picks. So everything's been working in
the favor of the Lakers as they go into the postseason.
This is rarefied air. It's been a while since they've
hosted Game one in the first round of the playoffs,
you know, on their home court, so you know, they

(56:12):
seem to have every advantage going into this series against
the Timberwolves. Should there be any concern for Laker fans
as they take on a Minnesota team that, oh, by
the way, got to the Western Conference Finals last season.

Speaker 9 (56:26):
Yeah, I would favor the Lakers because they've been playing
mostly good basketball at the right time. Lebron James has
had a week to recover from father time and different injuries.
I think the dynamic with them and Luka Dancis are
mostly good. Austin Reeves has played an all star caliber level,
and their defense has played out of its mind even

(56:46):
without Anthony Davis. But I don't think that this is
going to be a sweep. I don't think it's going
to go seven games either, but Minnesota can still be respectable.
Anthony Edwards, he's on board to have career highs from
with scoring from three point range. He's expanded his game.
He's had a bigger role since the carl Anthonia Towns trade.
You know, I still question the overall fit with Ruby

(57:09):
Bolbert and Julius Randall, but it's gotten better as the
season's gone on. But again, they they've been I think
top ten in both offense and defense this season. So again,
it's not a doormat opponent, but I expect the Lakers
to win in six games.

Speaker 3 (57:26):
Were you shocked at all, even without Damian Lillard, the
way that Indiana dismantled Milwaukee.

Speaker 9 (57:34):
Yes, I was shocked incredibly because when you look at
their starters, I think Janni Sante Kumbo in like thirty
six points. Their starters at fourteen points. Kyle Kuzma had
a big, fat zero. I did not see that coming.
Indiana has been playing really good basketball as of lay.
They play in a fast paced Tyree Salburn one of

(57:54):
the fastest point guards in the NBA. But I thought
it would least be competitive. And when you have someone
like Gianatantotokumpo putting up an MVP performance, the fact that
they lost and lopsided is bash and shows how terrible
the rest of the team played. It's unacceptable and I
would expect it's not going to be as much of
a blaw Game two. But they got to get their

(58:16):
act together because here's two things. One unpleasantly surprised Damian
Loward's coming back at some point in the series because
blood clots. I've talked to doctors about this. You usually
need at least three to six months to recover with
dinners before coming back. But even if Damian Loward's coming back.
You have to think that they're going to exercise a

(58:37):
lot of caution because of just the severity of all this.
So someone like Kyle Kuzma has to play offensively well,
but also it cuts both ways. Defensively, they got to
make stops because not only does that slow down Indiana,
but that really enables the Bucks to have a balanced
offense because they can get out in transition, they can

(58:59):
get guys open looks that aren't named. Be honest, but
when you're not making stops or are commanding a lot
of turnovers, you shoot yourself in the foot like that.
And that was just a tough game to watch for
Milwaukee's own mark.

Speaker 2 (59:11):
How critical is this postseason for the NBA? And the
reason I asked that question is the league's been under
a lot of criticism this year. You have Adam Silver,
the commissioner, shooting back of the media, is saying, well,
we get more negative coverage from the media than any
other sport, And of course my answer to him is, well,
then do something about it. You're the commissioner, figure it out. Obviously,

(59:33):
allowing the Lakers to steal donc it was a good
way to get the you know, people eyeballs on the NBA.
But but how critical is it for the NBA to
have entertaining, long running series, competitive series, you know where
people you know are buzzing about the NBA playoffs. It
just seems to me like this year is a very

(59:53):
critical year for them to get some noise, especially out
of these early rounds of the playoffs, so that by
so the time we get to the finals, everyone is
fully focused on the NBA.

Speaker 9 (01:00:05):
Yeah, I agree with you. Now my coveyat is the
NBA is in great financial shape, hence the media right steal.
But I think from a viewership standpoint and the fact
that a lot of the focus around the NBA, some
of it, you know, because of just the way audience
reacts to things, some of us keeping low hanging fruit topics,

(01:00:26):
you know, regurgitating. A lot of the focus is away
from the game itself. And sometimes there's an understandable reason
for that, because the regular season doesn't have the same
kind of compelling attention that the playoffs get, so you
want the focus to be on the court. I know
there's always debates about the eras. I feel like, you know,

(01:00:48):
what's lost in this current generation is even if there's
legitimate criticism about load management. Who you blame. There's a
lot of skill in today's NBA that should be celebrated,
but it should be celebrated when there's a good product
on the floor. And so I think the challenging part
about this, Steve, is all things are true, there's legitimate

(01:01:09):
criticisms about all these things. But what's very important with
the playoffs You've got to have competitive games, you got
to have stars rise to the moment, and you have
to be giving fans a reason to talk about the
games as opposed to everything else. So it's not going
to make or break the NBA from a business standpoint,
they're fined, But when it comes to talking about the games, yes,

(01:01:31):
this is a huge opportunity, not only for some of
the familiar stars that we're talking about Lebron James and
Steph Curry and Luca Dodgers to have big games, but
some of the younger stars as well. So we'll wait
and see, well day.

Speaker 2 (01:01:44):
One have a two month journey through these NBA playoffs
before we emerge with an NBA champion. Mark great stuff.
As always, Well, check in with you next week.

Speaker 9 (01:01:54):
Steve, Rian appreciate you and Steve looking forward to the
next conspiracy.

Speaker 2 (01:01:58):
I got so many of them, so many of them.
I get fed by people all the time with their
conspiracy theories. Mark, thanks so much. There is Mark Mendina,
our NBA insider. By the way, Fox Sports Radios Draft
Night Live through the first round of the Draft on
Thursday night is brought to buy Dollars Shave Club, your
place to get everything you need to stay smooth and

(01:02:18):
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(01:02:41):
Joe Douglas, college football Hall of Famer LeVar Arrington, and
Fox Sports lead college football reporter Jenny taff will have
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That's Thursday, APM Eastern throughout the first round of the
draft live right here on Fox Sports radio and with
a live video simocast on the Fox Sports Radio YouTube page,

(01:03:02):
brought to you by Dollar Shaved Club. All right, let's
find out what is trending right now, Martin. We got
another competitive playoff game going on right now.

Speaker 8 (01:03:11):
Right Martin Vagini was just talking about the NBA playoffs
need to deliver, stars need to arrive. Well, I don't
know about the stars of this matchup so far, but
this game has been delivering fifty seven to fifty five
the score at the half, the Knicks in the lead
the home team in a three to six matchup on
the Eastern Conference side of things. The leading score in

(01:03:33):
this game Tobias Harris seven for ten from the floor,
four five from three for twenty two points. Cade Cunningham
struggling shooting the ball three for ten from the floor
for six points, but he does have six assists. Jalen
Brunton four for fifteen, one for three. He's got eleven
points and three says, like I said, the Stars having
a tough time here. Og Nanobi though filling it up.

(01:03:55):
He's got nineteen first half points. Carn Anthony Towns with ten.
Earlier in the day, we saw the Denver Nuggets beat
the Los Angeles Clippers one twelve to one ten in overtime.
The Nuggets with a second half comeback here being led
by Jokic with twenty nine points, nine rebounds twelve assists
for a double double. Aaron Gordon finished with twenty five,

(01:04:15):
Jamal Murray with twenty one. Michael Porter Junior had a
rough day, only shot four times, only played twenty six minutes,
had three points. James Harden led the Clippers and scoring
with thirty two points, Leonard twenty two, and Zubox had
twenty one in the earlier game. Today, the Pacers pounded
the Bucks one seventeen to ninety eight. Giannis had thirty
six of those ninety eight points, but no other Buck

(01:04:37):
had more.

Speaker 2 (01:04:38):
Than fifteen points.

Speaker 8 (01:04:40):
Pascal Siakam led the Pacers with twenty five, seven and
seven and in the NHL with ten to fifteen lefts
in the second period. The Saint Louis Blues have a
three to two lead over the Winnipeg Jets. Steven Ryan,
who back to you guys.

Speaker 2 (01:04:53):
Vibe busy day. Indeed, it's going to be a very
busy time coming up here.

Speaker 3 (01:04:58):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:04:58):
I just throw in the NFL raft on top of
everything else, so crazy times. Love it, absolutely love every
minute Here on the Sports World Fox Sports Saturday, Steve Harmy,
Ryan Hollins with you live from the tire rack dot
Com studios. Hey, don't forget out. The show podcast is
going up, So if you missed any of today's show,
check out the podcast. Just search Fox Sports Radio wherever
you get your podcasts, then follow review the podcasts. In fact,

(01:05:21):
just give it five stars. Yeah I know again, Just
search Fox Sports Radio wherever we get your podcasts. You'll
see today's show posted right after we get off the air.
So it's been a while rn since we did shows
together and now you've been like this TV analyst for
the Houston Rockets. How's that been for the last few years?

Speaker 3 (01:05:40):
Man, it's been a blessing in having a blast And
this is one of the funnest seasons that the Houston
Rockets have probably ever had because it's an organization not
used to rebuilding. Okay, this is like a new word. Okay,
not to just have greatness on the floor or to
be competitive every year. And then you get the chance

(01:06:02):
to watch these kids grow up post James Harden. So
it's been a blast. The team is ahead of schedule,
and again you can tell that it's a group that
really enjoys themselves. A coaching staff is that has done
an unbelievable job. And now you're looking at arguably the
most competitive season that the NBA has ever had from

(01:06:25):
top to bottom, those competitive Western Conference ever, and the
Houston Rockets are two seed. If you told me that,
if I told you Houston would be a two seed
coming into the season, you tell me I was crazy.
But Imo Ludoka and those kids have just put it together,
one brick at a time.

Speaker 2 (01:06:43):
Well and again we asked this question to Mark of
you know your top two seeds in the West. I mean,
Oklahoma City won sixty eight games this year. Sixty eight games.
It's one of the greatest regular seasons in the history
of the NBA. Let me ask you a question here.
I don't know if you have a vote, but if
you had to vote for MVP of the NBA, do

(01:07:05):
you go with Shay Gilges Alexander or you look at
Jokicic and the fact that he's the first big ever
to average a triple double, first player ever to actually
finish top three in the league in points per game,
rebounds per game, and assists per game. Which way would
you lean As far as.

Speaker 3 (01:07:23):
MVP, Jokich is the best player, but Shay's the MVP
because of his team's success. Now forgive me, because MVP
doesn't mean MVP. We moved the goalpost on it, and
Jokich very well should be. But if we look at
the history of the award, the best player did not

(01:07:45):
always get it. Michael Jordan was the best player, didn't
get it every year. Lebron James was the best player
in the league unanimously, did not get it every year.
And it's a team award along with a seasonal Kalaid
and for Shay, Gilgess, Alexander and the jump that Okac
has made, the way that they've played, I mean they've

(01:08:08):
been they've been on fire Man, So again, well deserved.
It's going to go to Shay for those reasons. But
Jokic is the best player, but his team has not
had the success.

Speaker 2 (01:08:20):
Yeah, I have a problem with that.

Speaker 3 (01:08:22):
Now.

Speaker 2 (01:08:22):
One thing I like with the NFL, and I agree
one hundred percent everything you're saying here, Ryan, But I
like the NFL because they have the MVP Award and
then they have separate Offensive Player of the year, Defensive
Player of the Year, and so in those cases, you
reward someone that's got the numbers. You know, it could
be a running back, it's been a wide receiver, it

(01:08:43):
could be a quarterback if he's got ridiculously good numbers.
But MVP is a different award, And so I like
that because you're right, how do you define most valuable?
Baseball's had this problem for years where sometimes they'll select
a because he just has big numbers and they ignore
where his team finished. And there are other times will

(01:09:05):
pick a guy that maybe didn't have the numbers, but
his team won, maybe they made an unexpected run early
in the year. Again, these are regular season awards. By
the way, I have no problem with these awards being
a regular season because you do have separate postseason awards.
I mean, what is more important ultimately when you look
at a guy's resume, regular season MVP or NBA Finals MVP.

(01:09:30):
I mean, we just saw Chauncey Billups get into the
Hall of Fame. You know, he was an NBA Finals MVP.
He was never in the discussion for a regular season MVP.
So I don't have a problem with separating the two awards.
But the idea, as you say of recognizing YO two.
I mean, it was just ridiculous. Im Jordan's should have
been MVP eight times, ten times, you know. And Lebron

(01:09:53):
James he won four out of five years. He hasn't
won an MVP award in ten years, ten years. It's
just I don't know, just it is frustrating. But like
you say, usually goes to the best player on whatever
team had the best record in the regular season.

Speaker 3 (01:10:09):
I love what you just said though about the NBA
adding awards. Yeah, and I don't know how you feel
about this, but you know, a couple of times I
almost feel like the Defensive Player of the Year award
is almost that extra award. And some were saying and
if you look at the numbers and it comes with
the name. Also, because it's defensive player is pretty subjective.

(01:10:32):
You can play unbelievable defense, Steve and not guess that,
or you can be okay and your teammates can help
you out. And it's one that the players know. Other
than that, it's kind of the way that it's pushed
onto you like a narrative. For instance, Mark gasol got
I love Mark, former teammate of mine, and we searched
him out and pick and roll every time. Rudy Gobert

(01:10:54):
has won it multiple times because you can see the
analytics when he can test shots are the off the
but he's a great shot contester. But he's a guy
in the playoffs or in games you pick on him.
Teams have picked on Rudy Gobert and had success. Not
to say that he's not really good defensively, but there
are some holes you know that you could argue that

(01:11:16):
are in his game. But he's an excellent shot blocker
in a scheme. So I almost feel like the Defensive
Player of the Year is one subjective and that's one
that you know, some people are saying Shay should have that,
but they also don't realize lou Dort cards the other
team's best defender. But his numbers are pretty ridiculous on
the defensive end because you know, he's he's a kind

(01:11:38):
of he's a poor man shot blocker, Like he blocks
a lot of shots, he gets steals. He makes an
impact defensively too.

Speaker 2 (01:11:47):
Yeah, you know, I get I get frustrated with Defensive
Player of the Year. I was excited a couple of
years ago that Marcus Smart won it. You know, it
usually goes to a center. You know, it seems to
be but the game has changed so drumatically, you know,
just following up what you know we were talking about,
you know, the criticism that the commissioner Adam Silver's had

(01:12:08):
to the media for all the negative coverage. I mean,
you're you're around this sport now full season. You know,
as an analyst, you're covering NBA basketball all the way
through the season, so you've seen a lot of it
over the years along with your playing years. Do you
feel the NBA has got a pr problem? Is it
a style of play problem? Is it a commitment from

(01:12:30):
the players to give their all night in and night out.
Or is this completely overblown by certain members of the
media that the NBA is in a crisis right now?

Speaker 3 (01:12:42):
Steve, there's a little bit of truth in every lie.
I'm gonna start with that. And Steve, you know this.
You know from your experience in the media that had
I put this, lukewarm doesn't sell tickets, right, Lukewarm doesn't
put butts in seats. Polarizing figures do that. Okay, controversy

(01:13:09):
does that. And right now the NBA Twitter is probably
one of the most toxic things you can see on
the planet right now, and that's where the popularity is.
And our role players, you know by name. When you
get to an NFL team, name the you know, name

(01:13:33):
the third string quarterback, name the backup, name the offensive lineman.
If this were the NFL, our offensive lineman can hit
the front page. They got notoriety, they got you know,
all the you know, the the accolades. You know, they're known,
they are prestigious figures. So the popularity of the NBA

(01:13:55):
comes within the controversy, but it also in that same
tokens the no lie It hurts the NBA because you
have people going out and players going out, and there's
a difference. It's the goalpost moves we talked earlier about,
you know, MVP movie. The goal post moves where someone

(01:14:18):
will be wrong or a little too critical or you know,
maybe you know, disrespectful of a player outside of the
realm of what you might think is okay, and it
can actually hurt a player's money or popularity, or the
narrative may not be properly explained. And then you see
a bit of a it's a it's a pissing popularity

(01:14:40):
context for kid my language, Steve, But you get a
lot of that and that hurts the game. And we're
seeing it far, far too much in sports. Excuse me
in the NBA.

Speaker 2 (01:14:51):
Well, I think one hundred percent. You need villains, you
need heroes. You know, when you think of the classic
Lakers Celtic matchup in the eighties, it had every, it
had everything. You look at this Celtics team, I'll be
I'll be honestly, as great a player as he is,
Jason Tatum is boring. He's a boring player. You know,

(01:15:12):
he's a he's an outstanding guy, but he doesn't move
the needle. And so that's that's a.

Speaker 3 (01:15:18):
Big part of air it air that he gets hurt
because of that.

Speaker 2 (01:15:22):
Well, I don't know it just it's again, why did
Caitlin Clark and Angel Rees move the needle for wounds basketball?
Because you know, Agean Rees was brilliant, she understood there's
a ying to the yang here, I'm gonna I'm gonna
play this up. And all of a sudden, they're getting
all this attention and Jason Tatum just being a great
player isn't enough. You need to have some kind of edge,

(01:15:45):
and that's what's missing right now. From the NBA. All right,
coming up on the other side, we'll get Ryan's pick
which teams will move on to the next round of
the playoffs. This is Fox Sports Saturday, Steve Harvey, Ryan Hollins.
Here Fox Sports Saturday, were coming live from the tyraq
dot com studios. I want to thank our crew today.
Martin doing a trend of job on updates. It's getting

(01:16:07):
ready for his show coming up here. Mary Mack brilliant
on the board as usual in our esteemed rising star producer,
Ian doing well. Ian, How disappointed were you that Houston
lost that championship game in the NCA tournament. Weren't you
writing Houston all the way to the championship?

Speaker 10 (01:16:25):
I was, But but our guy Scott Shapiro, shout out Scott.
He actually had to crush my dreams going into it
because it turned out I didn't have a chance going
into the game because Frostburg had clinched it.

Speaker 2 (01:16:36):
Oh boy, Justin and l Rag another guy that started
off with me, the great Justin Prosper. All right, Ryan,
let's talk about ultimately who's going to move on into
the second round of the playoffs. Let's start with the
series that started today. Obviously, the way the Pacers just
beat up on the Bucks. Are they going to continue
that or couldn't the Bucks come back to win this series?

Speaker 3 (01:16:58):
I really like the Pace and Steve. I know we
didn't talk, but they were one of the teams that
I had and I was amazed nobody was looking at
and they are probably one of the most disrespected teams Steve.
People forget they played in the Eastern Conference Finals last season.

Speaker 2 (01:17:16):
Yeah they did. Nobody remembers that.

Speaker 3 (01:17:20):
I'm nobody.

Speaker 2 (01:17:21):
Nobody remembers that.

Speaker 3 (01:17:23):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:17:23):
If they look like they did today, that's going to
be a short series. How about the Clips and the Nuggets.

Speaker 3 (01:17:30):
I'm torn there. Nikola jokicch is just something special, But
I'm gonna laying with the Clippers because there's controversy with
the Nuggets. The Nuggets haven't been great defensively. This is
really hard for me to do, but I think I

(01:17:51):
just think it's too much to overcome. You fire coach
right before the playoffs and you're you're in a situations
looking around and when things get tighter as the series
goes on goes on, you don't have that backbone that
you had in Mike Malone. And not to say that
you couldn't have that, uh in Adelman. But at the

(01:18:14):
end of the day, when you do it in the
middle of the season, you gotta give them a better
shot than that. You got to give the players a
better shot. And I think the Clippers just got good
mojo around them. They're peeking at the right time. As
long as nothing unforeseen happens with Kawhi Leonard.

Speaker 2 (01:18:29):
Yeah, and that's a whole point. As long as Kawhi
can stay in there, I agree with you. I like
the clips there.

Speaker 3 (01:18:34):
All right.

Speaker 2 (01:18:35):
How about this game right now, Nicks and Pistons. Who's
going to win this series?

Speaker 3 (01:18:40):
I like the Pistons. Man wowingham is box Office New
York has struggled against all the best teams. They go
check their record. They have struggled, and I don't trust
their depth. And there's something hungry and physical and tough
about these Pistons that I think this is poisoned.

Speaker 2 (01:19:00):
Right upset wo Okay, Lakers te Wolves, I think you're
already on the record on that one. All right, the series,
let's start tomorrow and I'll go with your series last.
Let's go to the Grizzlyes Thunder series.

Speaker 3 (01:19:11):
I like the thunder. You're you're not gonna out Athletic.
Uh them, You're not gonna out athletic. Okay, see they
got too much good good rolling through and shaking match
whatever joh does on that end.

Speaker 2 (01:19:26):
How about that Ja Moran follow up dunk yesterday? I
thought that was God.

Speaker 3 (01:19:30):
That was just sick about when he threw it off
the backboard to himself the game before.

Speaker 2 (01:19:34):
I thought he had a bad ankle. Magic Celtics should
be a walkover, I would imagine there.

Speaker 3 (01:19:39):
Yeah, yeah, Steve, you never did that on a bad ankle.

Speaker 2 (01:19:43):
Uh. Heat calves can heat give the Calves any trouble there.

Speaker 3 (01:19:48):
They're gonna give them some trouble. Oh dang. You know what.

Speaker 2 (01:19:53):
By the way they years, they hear they say they
made it.

Speaker 3 (01:19:57):
To the NBA, they have the heat upset them. I'm
doing it out right now. The heat up set.

Speaker 2 (01:20:02):
Oh wow, that would be the ultimate.

Speaker 5 (01:20:03):
That would be the ultimate.

Speaker 2 (01:20:05):
And finally, your Rockets taking on the Warriors. Who's going
to win that series?

Speaker 3 (01:20:09):
I go Rockets. They're too physical, too deep, too young,
and eMate Ludoka is going to put the troops in
the right spot.

Speaker 2 (01:20:16):
Wow. Well, hopefully we're going to get a very entertaining
NBA playoff run Ryan, great job, as Zoway's great to
catch up with you, ladies and gentlemen. Keep it right here.
Mare coming up on Fox Sports Radio

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