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Best of The Ben Maller Show · The Ben Maller Show

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Thanks for listening to the best of the Ben Maler
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Show podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weeknight
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: from two to six Eastern eleven pm to three am
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and to find your local
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: station for the Benmatherlers Show at Foxsports Radio dot Com.
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: You can find it there or stream us live every
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: night on the iHeartRadio app by searching FSR.
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: This is the best of the Ben Maler Show on
• 0:26
  Speaker 2: Fox Sports Radio.
• 0:32
  Speaker 3: Normally we start things off with something we'd like to
• 0:34
  Speaker 3: call first Off, and I play this awesome SoundBite and
• 0:38
  Speaker 3: there's like a Mario Kart Let's go type thing going on,
• 0:41
  Speaker 3: but I'll just get right into it. Uh, Duke Duke
• 0:45
  Speaker 3: did it? They went full Dukie And I don't mean
• 0:48
  Speaker 3: welcome to Paradise by green Day. Like the people seeing
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: Paradise right now are Duke haters. They are getting off
• 0:55
  Speaker 3: to this Duke loss like bite my lip and close
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: mys take me wait to Paradise. If you don't know
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: what that song is about, that's from Longview, like right beforehand,
• 1:05
  Speaker 3: the Blue Devils. They might be used to being in hell,
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: but typically they rule it. That's not happening. Currently, the
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: Boozer is gonna be doing some boozing tonight as all
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: Duke fans are. The hell's wrong with you? Duke Dickie
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: V didn't beat Cancer's ass for this. He's an inspiration.
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: Love him. Cor mcghetty didn't do that front flip in
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: the dunk contests and then have those twenty four inch
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  Speaker 3: pythons to distract you from the fact he couldn't shoot
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  Speaker 3: a jumper. For Duke to lose like this. Shane Battier
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: didn't get those grooves on his head for this kind
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: of helped him line up the ball more I think
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: on threes Elton Brand he didn't step aside as the
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: GM of the sixers for Darryl Morey to come in
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  Speaker 3: and take it, make it worse for this. Bobby Hurley
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: didn't get into that car and drive for this. It's
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: a cautionary tale. It's a good reminder for all of us.
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: You think he's happy, Bobby Hurley because his brother beat Duke.
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: It's his brother winning, but also his school lost. Christian Latner,
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: he didn't become another nineties white guy with a great
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: college career that was a bust in the NBA for this. Okay,
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: he did make one All Star team for the Atlanta Hawks.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: That actually did happen. JJ Reddick. He didn't write those
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: wraps and dye his hair jet black, kind of like
• 2:18
  Speaker 3: a bizarro eminem for this. And I didn't pick them
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  Speaker 3: to win my bracket for this to happen. As soon
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: as I walk in, Shane was like, how's your bracket?
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: And I respoted with f you. That's how it is.
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: My bracket's cooked. We use a certain sound from The
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: Walking Dead for a long time that I don't think
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: I can play right now, but we'll get to it
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: a little bit later when your bracket explodes like alder
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: On and Star Wars. That's what happened to mine. At
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: least they made it to the lead eight. I didn't
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  Speaker 3: have him losing in like the second round or something.
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: But this isn't about This is about Caden Boozer just
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: needing to hold onto the ball and wait for Yukon
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  Speaker 3: to foul him up to with seconds remaining, or is it?
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: Well everyone else is blaming little Boozer, and the young
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: man did take the blame himself postgame and said quote,
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: I should have been strong with the basketball and it
• 3:19
  Speaker 3: cost our team our season. It did, But maybe it
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: wasn't on him. Well, I heard his coach, John Shire
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: say postgame, you know it's not one play that lost
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: us a nineteen point lead. It was everything leading up
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: to that and mistakes along the way, which is kind
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: of a way to cover for his player there. He
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: also said, quote, you just have to secure it, right,
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: We got it. They had to foul. I was ready
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: for a time out. We just had to hold on.
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: That's simple, right, That's what he said. But you know
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: what the SYNCD up video looks like. During that play,
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  Speaker 3: John Shire told Cayden Boozer to make the pass. Watch
• 4:00
  Speaker 3: the video. He was motioning to Kayden to throw it
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  Speaker 3: ahead because they had two blue devils in the front
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: court without a Husky in sight. Now he can say, quote,
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  Speaker 3: we just got to have to secure the basketball. All
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: he wants. He was coaching his player to throw the
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  Speaker 3: ball ahead. So when you crush Kaden Boozer for the
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  Speaker 3: turnover leading to Raylan Mules three pointer, the logo three,
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  Speaker 3: you just know that's what his coach instructed him to do.
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  Speaker 3: They got greedy because they knew. They knew that if
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  Speaker 3: that pass goes over the two defenders trapping if it
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  Speaker 3: goes over their heads. The game is definitely over. Well
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: it was not, man, Yeah, it is just a game now.
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  Speaker 3: I think Caden's thought process was he was trying to
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  Speaker 3: make that pass because that's what the coach wanted him
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  Speaker 3: to do, and then also because he didn't want to
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  Speaker 3: have to go to the free throw and deal with
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: all that pressure that would be there.
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  Speaker 4: Clutch.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know if he's got the clutch gen he's
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  Speaker 3: a freshman. But you can keep the champagne on ice
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  Speaker 3: Blue Devil fans, because you haven't won a national championship
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: for over ten years now. It's been since twenty fifteen. Now,
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  Speaker 3: I'm not saying they're head coach John Shires in the
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: same bucket as Hubert Davis and should be fired.
• 5:24
  Speaker 5: You're out, but.
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  Speaker 3: That blue pitchfork is definitely on his ass now. That loss, well,
• 5:32
  Speaker 3: it's on coaching. If you look into the details, they
• 5:35
  Speaker 3: lost this game in the possession battle. Listen to this
• 5:39
  Speaker 3: for my friend law Murray, who's coming up next hour
• 5:41
  Speaker 3: from the Athletic Basketball Expert knows it all offensive rebounds
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  Speaker 3: in the game, Yukon had thirteen. Duke had ten different
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: to three turnovers in the game. Yukon had five. Duke
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: had thirteen. We're talking about plus eleven in the possession battle,
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: is what Yukon went in this game. To eventually win
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  Speaker 3: by one point, they needed every extra possession they could get,
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  Speaker 3: and Duke gave it to him, including that last one
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  Speaker 3: to Mullins for that three ball, and that was the
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: thing of beauty. And he hadn't hit one all night shooter.
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  Speaker 3: All right, here's Duke's last three tournament losses. Now, So
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: they blew a nineteen point lead tonight, that was kind
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  Speaker 3: of rough. Before that, they made one field goal in
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  Speaker 3: the final ten minutes, led by fourteen with eight minutes left,
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  Speaker 3: by six with one minute left, and lost to Houston.
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  Speaker 3: Before that, they lost to an eleven seed NC State
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  Speaker 3: by twelve as a seven point favorite. Then in just
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  Speaker 3: their last four losses total going back to the regular
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  Speaker 3: season as well, they've only lost four times over the
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  Speaker 3: last calendar year.
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  Speaker 5: Duke.
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  Speaker 3: Well, let's see, they led by fourteen against Houston. Last
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  Speaker 3: year in the final four, they blew that. They led
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  Speaker 3: by seventeen against Texas Tech and loss. This year they
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  Speaker 3: led by thirteen against UNC and lost. And now they
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  Speaker 3: led by nineteen against Yukon in the Elite eight and lost.
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  Speaker 3: Are you seeing the pattern here? They only lost four
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  Speaker 3: games in a year and all of them were from
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  Speaker 3: blown leads. In the end, the kids are playing a tailor.
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  Speaker 3: Hundred counts are.
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  Speaker 5: Screwing it up.
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  Speaker 3: That's coaching. John Shire might want to go back to
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  Speaker 3: the Shire. This Lord of the Rings journey not for him.
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: He ain't getting at the top of Mount Doom One.
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  Speaker 3: Seeds were one hundred and thirty four and zero when
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  Speaker 3: leading by fifteen or more at the half in the
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  Speaker 3: history of the NCAA tournament until now. Duke they were
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: twenty seven to zero as a program when leading by
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  Speaker 3: fifteen or more in the tournament. So as much as
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: we joke about how this is a typical Duke choke job,
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: make no mistake about it. This was their disaster piece.
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  Speaker 3: This was a master class in a collapse. This is
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  Speaker 3: the worst they've ever blown it, by far, in the
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  Speaker 3: history of the program. Now, when something like this happens,
• 8:15
  Speaker 3: as Ben Maller would say, I mean, Adam Ashley, the
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  Speaker 3: story is in the losing locker room. But I'm gonna
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: put it a little bit differently. I'm not going to
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  Speaker 3: the locker room for postgame sound. The story here to
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: me is really from Duke's home broadcast booth, the call
• 8:35
  Speaker 3: from the Dukie Homerge radio network that we have here
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  Speaker 3: of the eventual collapse in meltdown.
• 8:42
  Speaker 6: Listen to this hit it in they do for Boozer,
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  Speaker 6: bobbled it back for sar And needs to get rid
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  Speaker 6: of it Dounser Kaiden seven seconds trying to throw it ahead,
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  Speaker 6: deflected stolen by Connecticut. Two seconds. It's Smolin's up top
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  Speaker 6: for the wind. Oh hit it with three tenths of
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  Speaker 6: a second ago, cale Kai Smith ran off the bench.
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  Speaker 4: That should be a.
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  Speaker 6: Technical Oh with three tenths of a second ago. Connecticut
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  Speaker 6: has the least seventy three to seventy two, as Connecticut
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  Speaker 6: got the three from Mullins. After the turnover from Caden,
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  Speaker 6: Boozer hit Laurina.
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: Can we just play that one more time and I'll
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: cut it off eventually here, But I want people to
• 9:23
  Speaker 3: focus in on one thing, he says, because this is
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: the most on brand Duke call of all time.
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: And they do.
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  Speaker 6: For Boozer, followed it back for Sarron needs to get
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  Speaker 6: rid of it. Does for Caden seven seconds try to
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  Speaker 6: throw it ahead deflected stolen by Connecticut two seconds.
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  Speaker 4: It's Mullin's up top for the win. Oh he hit
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  Speaker 4: it with three tenths.
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  Speaker 6: Of a second ago.
• 9:44
  Speaker 4: Cayle Kai Smith ran off the bench.
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  Speaker 3: That should be a technical alright, mel Guy Smith ran
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  Speaker 3: off the bench. This is the most on brand duke
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  Speaker 3: moment ever. The immediate reflex there by the broadcasters to
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: try to I went out. A Yukon player was on
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  Speaker 3: the court in Malachi Smith.
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  Speaker 4: Cali Kai Smith ran off the bench. That should be
• 10:07
  Speaker 4: a technical.
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  Speaker 3: As if in March Madness, as we're hitting the peak
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  Speaker 3: of it and the eye of the storm of the madness,
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: the officials should give that guy a technical for leaving
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  Speaker 3: the bench after one of the biggest shots in tournament
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  Speaker 3: history just went down. Are you kidding me?
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: This isn't some.
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: Letter of the law Commissioner Stern coming in and suspending
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: Amari stodameiern Boris diaw to screw over the suns twenty
• 10:31
  Speaker 3: years ago. This is pitiful. This is a whiney plea
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: from a duke play by play guy.
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: Cali Kai Smith ran off the bench.
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: Look at the bitch the bench.
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: Cali Kai Smith ran off the bench.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: That's the most duke thing ever. He wants some technicality
• 10:51
  Speaker 3: to save them with a technical free throw, I guess
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: to win it. This is the most sore loser cry
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: for help I've ever heard.
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: Kai Smith ran off the bench.
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: That's not gonna save you. Take your loss with some dignity,
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: have some shame, show some class in a way I
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: won't because I am obviously going to point to this
• 11:12
  Speaker 3: and play it over and over again until the end
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: of time.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: Cayle Kai Smith ran off the bench. That should be
• 11:18
  Speaker 4: a technical I.
• 11:20
  Speaker 3: Put it in the machine already tonight. I had to duke.
• 11:24
  Speaker 3: There is no escape. You don't get to cry about
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: some stupid rule which had nothing to do with the
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: turnover and the logo three that beats you. You can't
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: weasel your way out and cheat death on a technicality.
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: The tournament grim Reaper. It already got you now, Duke.
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: In their last five NCAA tournaments, I mean, they've been brutal,
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: but to try to blame it and try to get
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: away with it because Malki Smith was celebrating and left
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: the bench.
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: Cale Kai Smith ran off the bench.
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: No one's buying it. Chris Paul would be like known
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: as the poster boy for the most ardent rules stickler,
• 12:04
  Speaker 3: like he knows the rules better than the officials. And
• 12:07
  Speaker 3: we talk about like a guy's jersey being untucked and
• 12:09
  Speaker 3: somehow you get a technical out of it. He thinks
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: this is ridiculous, This is way too far. Like the
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: biggest well actually guy in existence in history thinks you
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: need to let this one go. Okay, Cal Smith, right
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: off the bench, fish out of water. You were still
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: touching the side of the pool.
• 12:26
  Speaker 7: Shut up.
• 12:27
  Speaker 3: This guy saw his season coming to an end. He's
• 12:29
  Speaker 3: in shock and he's trying to wiggle his way out
• 12:32
  Speaker 3: of it. No, no, no, dookies, you gotta take your medicine.
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: You think the rules should be duke never loses, that's
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: your problem here, Well, they do, and they lose in
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: pretty bad and big spots. And if it helps it
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: screwed me over to my brackets busted. This is what
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: we like to play on FNA right now, it's double
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: A and for Ben mallor when your bracket explodes, just
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: look at the flowers memorable scene from Walking Dead. If
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: you know you know, be sure.
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: To catch live editions of The Ben Meller Show weekdays
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific on Fox Sports
• 13:11
  Speaker 2: Radio and the iHeartRadio app.
• 13:13
  Speaker 8: Hi, this is Jay.
• 13:14
  Speaker 9: I'm the producer of the Paula and Tony Fusco Show.
• 13:17
  Speaker 9: Usually in these promos they asked you to listen to
• 13:19
  Speaker 9: the show. I'm here to ask you please don't listen
• 13:21
  Speaker 9: to the show. The hosts are two absolute morons who
• 13:24
  Speaker 9: have the dumbest takes on sports Imagiable. Don't listen to
• 13:27
  Speaker 9: the show so it can get camps.
• 13:28
  Speaker 4: What the hell are you doing out studio?
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: Get him Paulli. Ignore that fool. Listen to the Paula
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: and Tony Fusco Show on the iHeartRadio app or wherever
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: you get your podcasts. He's still moving, coming on the
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: show right now. Oh, there was a video game made
• 13:46
  Speaker 3: after this movie came out, so it's kind of in
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: reverse of what we were talking about. The movie came first.
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: Judge dread, I am the Law because Law Murray of
• 13:56
  Speaker 3: the Athletic is here at La Murray d nu is
• 13:59
  Speaker 3: where you finds him. He's a close personal friend.
• 14:01
  Speaker 10: Lot.
• 14:02
  Speaker 3: Thanks for doing this late night here on Fox Sports Radio.
• 14:05
  Speaker 8: Thanks for having me met.
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: First things first here before we get to the NBA.
• 14:10
  Speaker 3: You ever seen a game that crazy in college basketball,
• 14:13
  Speaker 3: because that's about as good as a guess because I
• 14:15
  Speaker 3: read your stats earlier talking about the possession battle that
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: was won by ucon that in some ways was the
• 14:21
  Speaker 3: deciding factor. Did that blow up your bracket? How are
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: you feeling?
• 14:25
  Speaker 8: I mean, I don't make brackets.
• 14:27
  Speaker 2: I am the bracket.
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: Sorry.
• 14:31
  Speaker 8: I was very happy not to do a bracket. I
• 14:34
  Speaker 8: can count on one hand how many brackets I've done
• 14:36
  Speaker 8: you in the last decades. So I wasn't watching for that,
• 14:40
  Speaker 8: that's for sure. Honestly, I just was watching basketball all day.
• 14:45
  Speaker 8: I mean I covered Lakers practice in the morning, I
• 14:48
  Speaker 8: watched the Clippers in the afternoon, and I wound up
• 14:51
  Speaker 8: watching the two NBC games. So that's just that second
• 14:54
  Speaker 8: half just wound up being what was one in between
• 14:58
  Speaker 8: all that while I was working with power ranking and
• 15:00
  Speaker 8: getting ready for this week ahead. And I mean, shoot,
• 15:05
  Speaker 8: I think the first game that claimed the mind for
• 15:08
  Speaker 8: me was the Villanova U NC game. That that was
• 15:14
  Speaker 8: one on a buzzer beater that was crazier when you
• 15:17
  Speaker 8: look at the distance of Chris Jenkins shout that was
• 15:20
  Speaker 8: that was even crazier than what I saw from Brandon Munns.
• 15:25
  Speaker 8: Saying it, but also was the Duke like they collapsed
• 15:29
  Speaker 8: last year, like you just have to keep watching they.
• 15:33
  Speaker 8: I don't think they were super impressive the first weekend.
• 15:36
  Speaker 8: So as someone who did not grow up a Duke
• 15:40
  Speaker 8: fan at all, never all that man to see Duke louse.
• 15:45
  Speaker 8: The only time I ever saw Duke winn I was
• 15:48
  Speaker 8: happy about it was one of my guy Neil Jefferson
• 15:51
  Speaker 8: won the championship. You know, shout out to France Central.
• 15:53
  Speaker 8: But other than that, never a bad day when Duke
• 15:56
  Speaker 8: go down, So shout out to Yukon.
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: Now do you think there's should have been a technical
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: foul on Malachi Smith for getting off the bench?
• 16:03
  Speaker 4: Smith ran off the bench.
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: That was the Duke broadcast law. They literally said that
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: after the Loco three Paul there should have been a
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: technical Yeah.
• 16:14
  Speaker 8: See when you Duke and you used to these collapses,
• 16:17
  Speaker 8: you are, you're keen to everything. Like man coach might
• 16:22
  Speaker 8: not have this in the bag. Let's make sure to
• 16:25
  Speaker 8: help him out. He said, you must have said that
• 16:28
  Speaker 8: loud enough in earshot of a referee. Man, But you know,
• 16:34
  Speaker 8: I think Duke is done and so once again U
• 16:38
  Speaker 8: complained in the final four. Uh, they made it happen,
• 16:41
  Speaker 8: Like I don't want to get on and say like, oh,
• 16:45
  Speaker 8: you know, Duke might have left the door open, but
• 16:48
  Speaker 8: U thought still had to walk through it. Like they
• 16:50
  Speaker 8: were shooting terrible and I feel like they missed sixteen
• 16:52
  Speaker 8: or their first seventeen to three something like that. They
• 16:56
  Speaker 8: certainly didn't have the talent Duke had, and it didn't
• 17:00
  Speaker 8: seem like it was going to happen for them, like
• 17:04
  Speaker 8: maybe like I thought they were going to get blown out,
• 17:07
  Speaker 8: and at halftime, I was like, all right, this is
• 17:09
  Speaker 8: the game that we're getting, and that possess in battle
• 17:13
  Speaker 8: it means a lot to me, Like I don't think
• 17:15
  Speaker 8: everything's a make or mislead, like we're gonna remember the
• 17:18
  Speaker 8: last made shut but the turnover mattered, the turnover to
• 17:23
  Speaker 8: close the game out after they had to leave, the
• 17:26
  Speaker 8: fact that they continue to give themselves opportunities to get
• 17:31
  Speaker 8: that in it even while the shots weren't falling and
• 17:34
  Speaker 8: they were struggling to find good offense, Like the offense
• 17:38
  Speaker 8: of Yukon didn't really win that game. It was the
• 17:40
  Speaker 8: fact that they just kept playing hard, kept giving themselves
• 17:44
  Speaker 8: a chance every time. Again Duke left the door open,
• 17:48
  Speaker 8: but Ukond walked through it.
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: Lobbery is our guest here on Fox Sports Radio. I'm
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: Adam Oslin in for Big Ben Mallard tonight. So Low
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: you said you were at Lakers practice earlier today. How
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: much are they going to be missing Luka doncis against
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: the Wizards tomorrow. Okay, I'm kidding.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: How did the.
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: Lakers get to this point where they've turned things around
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: to this degree? Did you see this coming?
• 18:10
  Speaker 8: I felt like when it came to the Lakers, they
• 18:14
  Speaker 8: had three really good players that they were confident in.
• 18:18
  Speaker 8: They weren't playing well with those three players, but a
• 18:23
  Speaker 8: light went on at the end of February where guys
• 18:27
  Speaker 8: understood how they needed to get each other going. But
• 18:32
  Speaker 8: I think the real impetus of success right before the
• 18:38
  Speaker 8: thing that started the nine game win streak that they
• 18:40
  Speaker 8: had in March. Lebron went out and Luca again playing
• 18:45
  Speaker 8: really well. Austin Reeves, a guy who missed all of
• 18:48
  Speaker 8: January dealing with his second calf injury. He started to
• 18:52
  Speaker 8: play the minutes that suggested that, Okay, he's completely over it,
• 18:57
  Speaker 8: and the best version of Austin Reeves is the version
• 19:01
  Speaker 8: that is going to be featured. You know, he is
• 19:03
  Speaker 8: a he can play off the ball, but I mean
• 19:07
  Speaker 8: Austin Reeves is a player who needs confidence to be
• 19:11
  Speaker 8: the best version of himself. And I'll always give Lebron
• 19:14
  Speaker 8: James credit because like Lebron is going to understand how
• 19:18
  Speaker 8: he needs to play. I mean, he SIPs in mine
• 19:20
  Speaker 8: and talks to Steve Knatch about that stuff on a
• 19:23
  Speaker 8: periodic basis. Now, so when Lebron got back from his injury,
• 19:27
  Speaker 8: Lebron understood that if he makes sure that Luca and
• 19:32
  Speaker 8: Austin get going and he just fills in where he
• 19:34
  Speaker 8: needs to fill in, then that's going to give the
• 19:38
  Speaker 8: Lakers a really good chance to be again the best
• 19:41
  Speaker 8: version of that team. And so they've done that. Lucas
• 19:46
  Speaker 8: Lucas played great. I think the biggest thing with Lucas
• 19:48
  Speaker 8: is he's shooting at three incredibly well. Austen he has
• 19:52
  Speaker 8: played more responsible basketball knowing that he's going to have
• 19:56
  Speaker 8: opportunities to get buckets. He's decreases aren't over significantly and
• 20:01
  Speaker 8: that gives everybody a chance to score more. And then
• 20:05
  Speaker 8: the thing with Lebron, even at this stage of his
• 20:07
  Speaker 8: career is he's still alone like that, He's bigger than
• 20:11
  Speaker 8: almost anyone who's going to guard him realistically. And he's
• 20:15
  Speaker 8: more skilled and he's smarter than a lot of people,
• 20:18
  Speaker 8: so like he's going to put themselves in position to
• 20:20
  Speaker 8: get very easy baskets. A lot of those easy baskets
• 20:23
  Speaker 8: are coming on with fast break. Dude is literally born
• 20:27
  Speaker 8: or I was and needs leave in the league and
• 20:29
  Speaker 8: transpreak points or something like that. He's dunked more than
• 20:32
  Speaker 8: he dunk last year, and that's what significantly fewer games played,
• 20:37
  Speaker 8: All those things have just gone into it. It's like
• 20:41
  Speaker 8: they're not a significantly better team. It's just that guys,
• 20:45
  Speaker 8: the guys that you know are going to decide their
• 20:47
  Speaker 8: success the most have made the commitment to do what
• 20:51
  Speaker 8: they need to do to play the best basketball for
• 20:54
  Speaker 8: each other.
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: How much of what happens moving forward to finish off
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: this season will inform Lebron's decision of where he's going
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: or is it not his decision? Is it the Lakers
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: and he's he already made it? Does he already know
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: he's not going to be here next season or if
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: he's coming.
• 21:10
  Speaker 5: Back or not?
• 21:11
  Speaker 8: I don't think the latter is the case. I think
• 21:14
  Speaker 8: as as it is with all of these things, the
• 21:17
  Speaker 8: playoffs matter. You know, I don't care how good the
• 21:21
  Speaker 8: vibes are for the Lakers, Like the Lakers had similar
• 21:25
  Speaker 8: vibes this time a year ago, and they didn't even
• 21:28
  Speaker 8: make it to the month of May. So I mean,
• 21:32
  Speaker 8: and let's just be real, there wasn't a lot of
• 21:35
  Speaker 8: There are people who watched that series against the Timberwolves
• 21:38
  Speaker 8: last spring, and at the end of it they understood
• 21:41
  Speaker 8: why the Lakers weren't good enough. But at the same time,
• 21:47
  Speaker 8: there are a lot fewer of those people who were
• 21:49
  Speaker 8: saying that stuff before the series started. There are people
• 21:53
  Speaker 8: who were drinking the Lakers coolly and thinking that they
• 21:56
  Speaker 8: were going to take it all the way to a championship,
• 22:00
  Speaker 8: and so that obviously didn't happen. Hindsight's twenty twenty, and
• 22:05
  Speaker 8: so when it comes to Lebron, he's in a contract year.
• 22:09
  Speaker 8: Like if they collapse in the playoffs again, there's a
• 22:13
  Speaker 8: lot of things that you're going to have to question,
• 22:15
  Speaker 8: including Lebron's will to play period, not just play for
• 22:19
  Speaker 8: the Lakers. So I think the playoffs will decide a lot.
• 22:23
  Speaker 8: I do think that this run of success that the
• 22:25
  Speaker 8: team has had in March will definitely help in terms
• 22:29
  Speaker 8: of hey, Lebron can be here, you know, but again,
• 22:36
  Speaker 8: the playoffs are going to be what raises or decreases
• 22:40
  Speaker 8: tensions to a relevant point.
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: In the off season, Kawhi Leonard has gone mainstream or
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: national again. He's getting more attention his way for the
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: right reasons. Kawhi Leonard has been incredible this season, fifty
• 22:54
  Speaker 3: one straight games of twenty or more after hitting twenty
• 22:57
  Speaker 3: on the Dot earlier today in their victory Clippers victory
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: over the Milwaukee Bucks. How impressive has this year at
• 23:04
  Speaker 3: the age of thirty four been from Kawhi given everything
• 23:07
  Speaker 3: that he has been through with injuries in his career.
• 23:10
  Speaker 8: Well, it's a deserved result. We were talking about him
• 23:16
  Speaker 8: being healthy going into an off season, getting through the
• 23:18
  Speaker 8: off season, coming into the training camp, and obviously people
• 23:23
  Speaker 8: wanted to talk about things that weren't connected to the
• 23:27
  Speaker 8: basketball as much. And the unfortunate thing with Kawhi is
• 23:31
  Speaker 8: he got hurt early in the season, you know, like
• 23:33
  Speaker 8: he lost ten games in March or not March, sorry
• 23:38
  Speaker 8: learn much now, but he lost time in November and
• 23:42
  Speaker 8: that started the descent of the Clippers more than anything.
• 23:45
  Speaker 8: Like the Clippers were on the close game to Miami
• 23:47
  Speaker 8: Heat when his angle went ninety degrees, and you know,
• 23:52
  Speaker 8: if they weren't able to pull that game out against
• 23:55
  Speaker 8: the Heat and they are two games over five hundred,
• 23:57
  Speaker 8: they lose. He doesn't play for three weeks. He comes back,
• 24:00
  Speaker 8: the team is in shambles. We heals out for the year.
• 24:05
  Speaker 8: Veterans who were added to the team were in and
• 24:07
  Speaker 8: out the rotation. Derrek Jones Junior was in the first
• 24:11
  Speaker 8: of two multi week mcl springs, so a lot a
• 24:16
  Speaker 8: lot had to happen. And then even when Kawhi came back,
• 24:19
  Speaker 8: he probably came back a little early and was in
• 24:22
  Speaker 8: a minute restriction that really wasn't allowing him to help
• 24:26
  Speaker 8: the Clippers actually win these games consistently. And he's done
• 24:30
  Speaker 8: nothing but put in the work on his body, on
• 24:33
  Speaker 8: his game. He's not just producing, but he's doing it
• 24:36
  Speaker 8: in ways that he hadn't done it before. And he's
• 24:38
  Speaker 8: dealing with players teammates that he hadn't done before, not
• 24:42
  Speaker 8: just in the form of new guys like Darius Garland,
• 24:44
  Speaker 8: and then after anything, also younger players like Jordan Miller
• 24:48
  Speaker 8: and Kobe Sanders who weren't exactly assets in November, but
• 24:53
  Speaker 8: they became assets over the course of the winner, and
• 24:56
  Speaker 8: so it's a huge credit to Kawhi, it's a credit
• 25:01
  Speaker 8: to his basketball ability, it's a credit to to his
• 25:04
  Speaker 8: place in the organization that he's been able to play
• 25:07
  Speaker 8: as well as he has and he's not done yet.
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: Lomra is our guest from the Athletic at Lot Murray.
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: The U is where you finds him on x LO.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: I talked about it a little bit earlier and played
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: a clip from Kawhi from last year and Wemby I
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: think recently talking about how it's not bad defense in
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: the NBA, it's better offense. Do you feel the same way.
• 25:29
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 25:29
  Speaker 8: When I look at the NBA, guys talked about how
• 25:33
  Speaker 8: much more they would like to be physical within the
• 25:37
  Speaker 8: confines of the rules. And when I look at the
• 25:41
  Speaker 8: playoffs and I listen to people complain every winner. Just
• 25:45
  Speaker 8: for those complaints to move the goalposts every spring, because
• 25:50
  Speaker 8: in the spring you get locked in good NBA players
• 25:53
  Speaker 8: who are playing with the kind of urgency that comes
• 25:56
  Speaker 8: with every single loss being a loss. That's as you
• 26:00
  Speaker 8: closer to the end of your season, when you have expectations,
• 26:03
  Speaker 8: when you've bom through a lot and you know these
• 26:06
  Speaker 8: teams to take away with these really good players do
• 26:10
  Speaker 8: well offensively their complex schemes, like a lot of dudes
• 26:14
  Speaker 8: on they couch could not operate and execute what these
• 26:17
  Speaker 8: teams are being asked to do. That's just to take
• 26:19
  Speaker 8: away a star, but to take away an entire approach
• 26:23
  Speaker 8: to scoring. Like, guys just know that you know you
• 26:27
  Speaker 8: can play great defense, and you have to switch it up.
• 26:30
  Speaker 8: Guys are going to make tough shots. Guys are going
• 26:33
  Speaker 8: to find their teammates and make the game easier on them.
• 26:36
  Speaker 8: So the game has gotten to a point again, I'm
• 26:40
  Speaker 8: old enough to remember when certain players were You've watched them,
• 26:45
  Speaker 8: and you've watched their stats, and it's like you're respecting
• 26:47
  Speaker 8: us pro ball players, But they weren't they they If
• 26:51
  Speaker 8: you take that those same players and put them in
• 26:54
  Speaker 8: today's game day struggle, you know, like the three point line.
• 26:59
  Speaker 8: I don't think these guys are better shooters. I think
• 27:01
  Speaker 8: there are just more guys who can shoot at a
• 27:04
  Speaker 8: league average level. I think that's the difference. You know,
• 27:07
  Speaker 8: I think you have coaches who, instead of thinking the
• 27:12
  Speaker 8: three pointer is a bad shot, they're thinking, how can
• 27:16
  Speaker 8: we weaponize the three pointer to get what we really
• 27:18
  Speaker 8: want which is in the paint. And again, like back
• 27:23
  Speaker 8: in the day, you had a slower game, the spacing
• 27:27
  Speaker 8: wasn't emphasized, and even if it was emphasized, guys didn't
• 27:30
  Speaker 8: make you pay for it nearly as much. I mean,
• 27:33
  Speaker 8: now you have to guard all the positions everywhere on
• 27:37
  Speaker 8: the floor, a faster game, and guys are just more skilled.
• 27:43
  Speaker 8: Like you know, big guys are coming in euro accepting
• 27:46
  Speaker 8: small guys are screening and rolling in the space. You
• 27:52
  Speaker 8: have multiple playmakers from different positions, so like that is
• 27:58
  Speaker 8: that is a skill. Things increase in skill and increase
• 28:02
  Speaker 8: and imagine nation and I think you have to start there.
• 28:07
  Speaker 8: And I respect the teams that can consistently take that
• 28:11
  Speaker 8: stuff away better than the other teams too.
• 28:13
  Speaker 3: How much of a problem is taking in your mind?
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: Is the NBA on the right track with fixing it?
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: Does it need to be fixed?
• 28:21
  Speaker 8: The NBA is always going to be on the wrong
• 28:24
  Speaker 8: track because they keep taking a big deal out of it.
• 28:27
  Speaker 5: And so.
• 28:29
  Speaker 8: I think that the relativity you see from a lot
• 28:32
  Speaker 8: of these teams is because of two things. One, yeah,
• 28:36
  Speaker 8: the draft is pretty enticing. You know, there's a chance
• 28:39
  Speaker 8: that there's a lot of difference makers in this draft.
• 28:42
  Speaker 8: But also a lot of these teams are up, like
• 28:45
  Speaker 8: there are teams that don't have the same draft capital
• 28:48
  Speaker 8: next year, like it's donated to another team or you know,
• 28:52
  Speaker 8: they got to make decisions, and all the guys that
• 28:54
  Speaker 8: they have, they have guys who are ready to ascend.
• 28:58
  Speaker 8: Like I look at Utah's ross next year, and I'm like,
• 29:01
  Speaker 8: those guys are going to be ready to at least
• 29:03
  Speaker 8: compete a little bit longer than you know, December. Same
• 29:07
  Speaker 8: thing with Washington, like they've been bad long enough, and
• 29:10
  Speaker 8: now they got two guys in Trey Young and Anthony
• 29:12
  Speaker 8: Davis who I wouldn't trust them individually, but together, if
• 29:16
  Speaker 8: those guys can put some games together, you know, the
• 29:20
  Speaker 8: floor is the middle of the conference. And so I
• 29:23
  Speaker 8: really feel like the league gets to a point where
• 29:28
  Speaker 8: all these people covering the league and consuming the league,
• 29:32
  Speaker 8: they wind up talking about stuff that doesn't have to
• 29:35
  Speaker 8: do with basketball. You know, they think that a team
• 29:38
  Speaker 8: is not allowed to be bad, and so you know,
• 29:42
  Speaker 8: a blowout between a team that's bad as a bad
• 29:45
  Speaker 8: record and a team that has a good record, two
• 29:48
  Speaker 8: teams with bad records, and you get some shenanigans. They
• 29:52
  Speaker 8: think because it's available to watch that it should be eliminated.
• 29:56
  Speaker 8: It's like, you're never going to eliminate that. So I
• 30:00
  Speaker 8: appreciate the lead paying lip service, but you'll never get
• 30:03
  Speaker 8: me to take it seriously.
• 30:05
  Speaker 3: I still understand why people think Jay Huff intentionally missed
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: those two free throws against the Clippers there, and I
• 30:10
  Speaker 3: it's like, wait a second, he flopped to try to
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: get to the free throw line. He could have just
• 30:14
  Speaker 3: lost the game right then and not flopped, Like why
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: is he trying to extend the game at all?
• 30:18
  Speaker 8: Yeah, Juff definitely didn't have no money on that game.
• 30:22
  Speaker 8: That's for damn Shore, like they cared about that game.
• 30:25
  Speaker 8: Like Jay Huff, he was tying his shoe in the
• 30:28
  Speaker 8: middle of the game and Courtney Kirkley gave the Balti
• 30:32
  Speaker 8: ka while Leonard a side out of bounds, brook wils
• 30:35
  Speaker 8: Has hit the three and Brooks just laughing figure down
• 30:39
  Speaker 8: the court.
• 30:39
  Speaker 11: Jay was upset.
• 30:40
  Speaker 8: Aaron need Smith ascalzy and they're like, what is happening?
• 30:44
  Speaker 8: You know, like as a as a certain coach texted me,
• 30:51
  Speaker 8: it's a little different when you stepped to the free
• 30:53
  Speaker 8: throw line and you got that much waying when you
• 30:56
  Speaker 8: with the game on the line like that, So you know, uh,
• 30:59
  Speaker 8: Jay missed the first and he Mississippi. I don't it's
• 31:03
  Speaker 8: convenient to say that it was a tanking endeavor. But
• 31:07
  Speaker 8: look at the rest of the games the Pacers played
• 31:10
  Speaker 8: this week. Like they lost sixteen in a row. They
• 31:13
  Speaker 8: beat the hell out of the Magic. They did fall
• 31:16
  Speaker 8: down big against the Lakers, but they kept playing and
• 31:19
  Speaker 8: whoever gambled on that game probably upset about how that
• 31:23
  Speaker 8: game turned out. They were up big on the Clippers,
• 31:27
  Speaker 8: and even when they blew the league like, they continue
• 31:30
  Speaker 8: to play well enough to give himself a chance to win.
• 31:35
  Speaker 8: And then they turn around and on Sunday they absolutely
• 31:41
  Speaker 8: whipped the Miami Heat, another team that has a lot
• 31:44
  Speaker 8: to play for right now and really could have used
• 31:47
  Speaker 8: that win. They annihilate them. And you know who had
• 31:51
  Speaker 8: a big performance in the fourth quarter is Jay Huff.
• 31:54
  Speaker 8: Jay didn't play in the first half on Sunday and
• 31:56
  Speaker 8: then fourth forty played the entire fourth quarter. A close
• 31:59
  Speaker 8: game ain't going in the fourth quarter, and Jay pretty
• 32:03
  Speaker 8: much closed out helped close the Heat out. So again,
• 32:07
  Speaker 8: it gets wacky in the NBA. There's a lot of
• 32:10
  Speaker 8: conspiracy theory the way this season began with a couple
• 32:14
  Speaker 8: of scandals like his people reason to have that on
• 32:17
  Speaker 8: their mind. And unfortunately, the NBA is a pretty reactionary league,
• 32:22
  Speaker 8: so they let these things go out of control with
• 32:26
  Speaker 8: how the league and how the game is talked about
• 32:28
  Speaker 8: instead of putting the focus on real good players and
• 32:32
  Speaker 8: real good teams. And by the way, again that's the
• 32:34
  Speaker 8: league's fault. They let the broadcasters talk about like five
• 32:38
  Speaker 8: teams and they keep talking about guys racted in the
• 32:41
  Speaker 8: two thousands. Is the face of the league, and there
• 32:44
  Speaker 8: are other players and other teams that they you know,
• 32:46
  Speaker 8: want to wait and see it in golf platform. So
• 32:49
  Speaker 8: it is what it is. Hopefully it gets better in
• 32:51
  Speaker 8: the playoffs.
• 32:52
  Speaker 3: Lastly, lot quickly here I'm going to talk about in
• 32:54
  Speaker 3: the final hour. But did we learn anything from Scottie
• 32:57
  Speaker 3: Pippen doing the Mister Pip commercial or Isaiah tom talking
• 33:00
  Speaker 3: about KD would have won six rings if you was
• 33:02
  Speaker 3: on those bulls teams too. When it comes to the
• 33:04
  Speaker 3: goat debate this week, I.
• 33:07
  Speaker 8: Think a lot of feelings would hurt me. Michael Jordan
• 33:10
  Speaker 8: at the top of this game, I'll leave it at dead.
• 33:12
  Speaker 3: He is La Murray of the Athletic at La Murray
• 33:16
  Speaker 3: and you is where you find Tim Covers teams here
• 33:20
  Speaker 3: in southern California in nationwide.
• 33:22
  Speaker 10: Low.
• 33:23
  Speaker 3: I appreciate you joining me here on Fox Sports Radio tonight,
• 33:25
  Speaker 3: my friend. I know it was late night, but I
• 33:27
  Speaker 3: know you're always working too, so I don't know if
• 33:29
  Speaker 3: this was a break or more work for you, but
• 33:31
  Speaker 3: I love you man. Thanks for doing it.
• 33:32
  Speaker 8: Oh my life are going out right now. I'm gonna
• 33:36
  Speaker 8: I'm gonna get ready for this week. Thank you having there.
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: It goes La Murray, I am the law.
• 33:41
  Speaker 2: Be sure to catch live editions of The Ben Meller
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: Show weekdays at two am Eastern eleven pm Pacific.
• 33:47
  Speaker 3: Lee in Florida.
• 33:48
  Speaker 10: What's up, Well, thank thanks for taking my call. Yeah, listen,
• 33:52
  Speaker 10: I was just listening to the guy talk about the
• 33:54
  Speaker 10: eighty four eighty five you know, College of Basketball, which
• 33:57
  Speaker 10: always comes up every year anyway, But anyway, what I
• 34:01
  Speaker 10: was trying to compare to talk about in those memory days,
• 34:06
  Speaker 10: you've got the Arizona Wildcats now going again in the
• 34:10
  Speaker 10: Final four and back in the late eighties. I don't
• 34:15
  Speaker 10: think it was eighty four eighty five, but it was
• 34:17
  Speaker 10: in the late eighties, just shortly after that. That the
• 34:20
  Speaker 10: Arizona Wildcats were ranked number one from like day one
• 34:25
  Speaker 10: moment one, and they ended up was only having like
• 34:27
  Speaker 10: one loss throughout the season. And then they went to
• 34:31
  Speaker 10: the conference tournaments and they blew the first game because
• 34:35
  Speaker 10: the guy wouldn't even play the starting five and he
• 34:40
  Speaker 10: was already in the NCAA tournament.
• 34:41
  Speaker 8: He just they lost the first game of the conference tournament.
• 34:44
  Speaker 3: And is this Sean Miller? Who was this?
• 34:48
  Speaker 10: I'm not sure who the coach was. I can't remember
• 34:52
  Speaker 10: the coach, but he was. He was a long time
• 34:53
  Speaker 10: Arizona Wildcats coach, you know, for many many many years.
• 34:58
  Speaker 10: Probably the best coach Arizona Wildcats ever had. But anyway,
• 35:02
  Speaker 10: uh he just like I say, in those days, the
• 35:05
  Speaker 10: conference turnams was not like it was today. But that
• 35:08
  Speaker 10: changed because they lost that first game of the conference
• 35:11
  Speaker 10: tournament and said, well we're going no matter what happens
• 35:13
  Speaker 10: in the tournament, We're going to the NCAA Tournament because
• 35:16
  Speaker 10: we're number one, you know, in the whole nation.
• 35:19
  Speaker 5: And uh so that changed.
• 35:21
  Speaker 10: The whole conference turns out to where we have today.
• 35:23
  Speaker 10: Now you have the bracket and you have to buy
• 35:26
  Speaker 10: the best teams that have a buy in you know,
• 35:28
  Speaker 10: they don't they don't play in the first round of
• 35:30
  Speaker 10: the conference tournaments. So that that changed that whole thing.
• 35:33
  Speaker 3: Okay, you're probably talking about lout Olsen, right, that's it,
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: that's the guy. Okay, Yeah, pretty damn good coach. Well,
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: what's your central point here, though, Lee, You're just going
• 35:44
  Speaker 3: down memory lane?
• 35:45
  Speaker 10: Was this? Well, no, no, no, I'll comparing it to
• 35:48
  Speaker 10: the Wildcats today. Now here they are, you know, right
• 35:52
  Speaker 10: number one, you know in the brackets, you know, and
• 35:55
  Speaker 10: and so you know, don't you know, don't be surprised
• 36:00
  Speaker 10: of this Yukon win, and and and you know this
• 36:03
  Speaker 10: this the Wildcats are still in that same kind of
• 36:07
  Speaker 10: type mode. You know, it's all about the NCAA tournament.
• 36:10
  Speaker 10: And Duke was just not up for it with this game.
• 36:13
  Speaker 10: You know, they had already put their sites past well,
• 36:16
  Speaker 10: to be fairly.
• 36:18
  Speaker 3: Duke almost lost their first game. Duke was hanging on
• 36:23
  Speaker 3: in their opening round game. Duke looked a little bit fraudulent,
• 36:27
  Speaker 3: a little bit shook initially. So I'm not surprised that
• 36:31
  Speaker 3: the Dukies blew another ball game right.
• 36:34
  Speaker 4: Off the bed.
• 36:36
  Speaker 10: Yeah, and and and you know, and and like you said,
• 36:38
  Speaker 10: my final thing was done that year that that the
• 36:41
  Speaker 10: Wildcats already put past getting into the NCAA tournament. They
• 36:46
  Speaker 10: did not do well. That frazzled them, you know, to
• 36:50
  Speaker 10: he thought he was doing the right thing by Steve
• 36:52
  Speaker 10: and the players and being ready for the tournament.
• 36:55
  Speaker 3: But you know they were Actually it's the old question
• 36:58
  Speaker 3: Rest versus RUSS. They weren't as battle tested. Then I
• 37:01
  Speaker 3: get it. I get where you're going, Lee. I think
• 37:02
  Speaker 3: it's a good point. I appreciate the phone call.
• 37:04
  Speaker 5: My friend.
• 37:05
  Speaker 10: Be good.
• 37:07
  Speaker 3: Let's go to David. Call him from Kansas. David, you're
• 37:09
  Speaker 3: on the Ben Mallor Show with at Aam awsloin filling in.
• 37:11
  Speaker 3: What's up date?
• 37:13
  Speaker 8: Hello?
• 37:14
  Speaker 11: Hello, Yeah, I just wanted to tell you, Adam, that
• 37:18
  Speaker 11: I have recently discovered five seventy out there in California.
• 37:23
  Speaker 11: I live in Kingess, Okay. And I had never heard
• 37:27
  Speaker 11: you before, but I think you're just great on the radio,
• 37:31
  Speaker 11: and I hope you get to be heard more. And
• 37:35
  Speaker 11: I'm glad you're you're doing something like filling in for
• 37:38
  Speaker 11: Ben because you're a perfect fill in for him.
• 37:44
  Speaker 3: Well, I'm honored, David, and you're a gentleman and a scholar,
• 37:48
  Speaker 3: and I'm glad I sent you that check earlier today
• 37:50
  Speaker 3: to call in tonight. He's a plant. Guys, get him
• 37:53
  Speaker 3: off now. David, thank you so much for saying that.
• 37:55
  Speaker 3: I appreciate it.
• 37:56
  Speaker 11: You welcome, Bye, You're out.
• 38:01
  Speaker 3: That's it. I feel like that's all David wanted to say.
• 38:06
  Speaker 3: All right, we'll take it. David, are you sure there
• 38:09
  Speaker 3: was no sports take? There was no video game take, nothing.
• 38:12
  Speaker 3: You just want to praise me because that does look
• 38:14
  Speaker 3: suspect on my part.
• 38:16
  Speaker 11: Well, I have a I have a I have a
• 38:18
  Speaker 11: sports take, just so that you know from whence I come.
• 38:24
  Speaker 11: I watched George Mike and Chuck Taylor when they came
• 38:29
  Speaker 11: to my hometown to play basketball at a local university.
• 38:32
  Speaker 3: Hey, what happened to George Mike? And when they expanded
• 38:35
  Speaker 3: the paint he wasn't the same guy after that.
• 38:37
  Speaker 4: You know, well I was.
• 38:40
  Speaker 11: I was pretty young when that happened. I was in
• 38:43
  Speaker 11: in uh, late late grade school, early junior high when
• 38:48
  Speaker 11: when when they started showing up.
• 38:50
  Speaker 3: Let me tell you something, David, didn't you think it
• 38:52
  Speaker 3: was bs that the Lakers didn't retire his jersey till
• 38:56
  Speaker 3: like a couple of seasons ago. They were fine raising
• 38:58
  Speaker 3: the banners that he won, but for some reason they
• 39:01
  Speaker 3: waited forever to retire Miken's jersey from Minneapolis.
• 39:06
  Speaker 11: Well, I yeah, that whole thing. There's the Lakers. At
• 39:12
  Speaker 11: least my experience with him now, certainly in this era
• 39:17
  Speaker 11: is not it's not good. But the Lakers were really
• 39:21
  Speaker 11: great because I lived up in South Dakota and uh
• 39:25
  Speaker 11: so the Minneapolis Lakers were you know, wasn't there the
• 39:30
  Speaker 11: big big change that we got we got to listen to.
• 39:33
  Speaker 3: I'm not a big fan of them. But what point
• 39:35
  Speaker 3: did you want to get across here, David?
• 39:37
  Speaker 11: Well, I just wanted to say that I do listen
• 39:39
  Speaker 11: to the Clippers now.
• 39:40
  Speaker 3: I never thought, where's the applause?
• 39:44
  Speaker 4: Well, you know what, I got one.
• 39:47
  Speaker 3: Of my machines, double applause. So many Laker fans, they're clapping, fans,
• 39:54
  Speaker 3: slubber fans.
• 39:56
  Speaker 11: You of us, You and Carlo emanus very very good
• 40:02
  Speaker 11: and very engaging. It's a fun. It's a fun listen.
• 40:06
  Speaker 11: And I hope, oh thank you to continue your upward
• 40:10
  Speaker 11: trajectory with your career. And I would warn you to
• 40:13
  Speaker 11: be very very careful of of Lorena and mister Cooper.
• 40:19
  Speaker 3: Wow are they crooked backstabbers? And that was your saying,
• 40:23
  Speaker 3: how dare you? They're right here, they've been helping me
• 40:25
  Speaker 3: all night.
• 40:26
  Speaker 11: Well I know they know me from a different persona
• 40:31
  Speaker 11: that I used to play. When I called in, I
• 40:35
  Speaker 11: will just give you I'll give you a taste of
• 40:38
  Speaker 11: my talents.
• 40:39
  Speaker 3: Okay, I don't know if I want to taste your talents?
• 40:42
  Speaker 3: But yeah, what what is it? David? Who are you?
• 40:46
  Speaker 4: Who you with?
• 40:47
  Speaker 11: I'm with my pet pig and we're going to do
• 40:52
  Speaker 11: a very short version of jingle bells.
• 40:55
  Speaker 12: Oh yay, all right, that'll do, Pig.
• 41:18
  Speaker 3: I well done. This is the upward trajectory of your career.
• 41:24
  Speaker 3: It's all. It's all downhill from here. That was so good, David,
• 41:28
  Speaker 3: Thank you for calling a All right? I called him
• 41:30
  Speaker 3: out and he's back. I don't know. I haven't even
• 41:34
  Speaker 3: started with him yet, but this could be a fight.
• 41:36
  Speaker 2: An you guys ever heard the expression fighting?
• 41:40
  Speaker 3: Mark a Philly guy. You know what's on? Mark calling
• 41:43
  Speaker 3: in from Philly. He wants to talk old school NBA
• 41:46
  Speaker 3: versus news school. Mark, what's up? You're on with Adam
• 41:49
  Speaker 3: Oslin filling in for Big Ben Meller tonight here on
• 41:50
  Speaker 3: Fox Sports Radio.
• 41:51
  Speaker 5: High Mark, how do you say your last name?
• 41:53
  Speaker 3: Again oslind A U s l U n d Land
• 41:57
  Speaker 3: of all us say it well, Adam Ashland, he calls
• 42:02
  Speaker 3: me Audam Ashland. There's worse. Yeah, I had Am Maslin
• 42:06
  Speaker 3: had a Massmus Bryanslin, Brian Ausin. I mean I've gotten
• 42:09
  Speaker 3: some really close. They're right there. What do you want
• 42:14
  Speaker 3: to call me? Mark?
• 42:15
  Speaker 5: I'll just go with Adam.
• 42:16
  Speaker 7: But you lost me last hour when Steve reference Steve reference,
• 42:20
  Speaker 7: Cab Calloway and Caesar Romero. So your audience trended up
• 42:25
  Speaker 7: about forty years. I'm calling about the NBA today versus yesteryear.
• 42:32
  Speaker 7: So you're associated with the Clippers. So that would explain
• 42:35
  Speaker 7: why you don't understand today's NBA.
• 42:37
  Speaker 5: They've been a re irrelevant ever since.
• 42:39
  Speaker 3: Really, hold on, see you're already off base. The Clippers
• 42:43
  Speaker 3: are about to get to because the Clippers are about
• 42:46
  Speaker 3: to get to fifteen straight winning seasons. That would be
• 42:48
  Speaker 3: the longest such streak in the NBA currently fifteen straight
• 42:53
  Speaker 3: winning seasons.
• 42:54
  Speaker 5: Yes, they haven't won a long with how many championships.
• 42:57
  Speaker 3: Look, they've had some bad luck along the way. Here
• 42:59
  Speaker 3: is this do you call in? You have this telling
• 43:01
  Speaker 3: with big Ben Maller or is it just me, how
• 43:04
  Speaker 3: do you coming out.
• 43:04
  Speaker 7: And doesn't take Ben refuses to take my call because
• 43:07
  Speaker 7: he knows he'll get beat down.
• 43:08
  Speaker 5: At least you'll stand up with the man and take
• 43:10
  Speaker 5: the call. I do appreciate that.
• 43:12
  Speaker 7: Now, as far as the NBA compared to yesteryear, I
• 43:15
  Speaker 7: don't understand, okay, how you can compare and say that
• 43:18
  Speaker 7: today's NBA is a better quality product. Okay, they play harder,
• 43:23
  Speaker 7: other better athlete. Anything across the board is incorrect.
• 43:27
  Speaker 3: So you don't think guys being better shooters in the
• 43:30
  Speaker 3: game of basketball where it involves putting the ball in
• 43:33
  Speaker 3: the hoop. You don't think guys that can do that
• 43:35
  Speaker 3: for more places on the court means they're more skilled.
• 43:39
  Speaker 5: I think that's one aspect.
• 43:41
  Speaker 3: Okay, you don't think that's a pretty big looking No.
• 43:45
  Speaker 7: You're overlooking the night's off, the laziness of today's player,
• 43:50
  Speaker 7: the way they're catered to.
• 43:51
  Speaker 3: What do you mean the laziness of today's player?
• 43:54
  Speaker 8: I don't.
• 43:54
  Speaker 3: I don't understand what you're staying there. I understand nights
• 43:57
  Speaker 3: off in load management. I also understand that guy are
• 44:00
  Speaker 3: having longer cod for lazy. Okay, So you think all
• 44:03
  Speaker 3: these guys just don't want to play and are just
• 44:06
  Speaker 3: being lazy. It's not because they're actually injured. So when
• 44:09
  Speaker 3: Kawhi Leonard tears his ACL and doesn't want to play,
• 44:12
  Speaker 3: it's because he's just lazy. He doesn't have a torn ACL.
• 44:16
  Speaker 5: When did he tear his ACL and play through it?
• 44:19
  Speaker 7: I want question that right, Well, it's when it's when
• 44:23
  Speaker 7: he's healthy and doesn't play.
• 44:24
  Speaker 5: It's when the majority of the players, So you know.
• 44:27
  Speaker 3: His body so well and know when he's healthier when
• 44:31
  Speaker 3: he's not, mark better than he does.
• 44:33
  Speaker 5: He has the documented history.
• 44:34
  Speaker 7: I s Gregg Popovich about his history of playing through injury.
• 44:37
  Speaker 5: Hey they pay no.
• 44:39
  Speaker 3: Greg Popovich and him were fine. It was Tony Parker
• 44:42
  Speaker 3: who made a comment once about him in San Antonio
• 44:45
  Speaker 3: and Kawhi Leonard and Greg Popovich have a great relationship.
• 44:49
  Speaker 7: Well, I'm sure it worked out very well in the
• 44:51
  Speaker 7: end for both.
• 44:52
  Speaker 5: But I will just say.
• 44:53
  Speaker 3: I would say Kawhi getting traded to the Raptors and
• 44:55
  Speaker 3: him winning that championship, I mean that worked out pretty
• 44:58
  Speaker 3: nicely in twenty nineteen and not the worst it did.
• 45:00
  Speaker 7: But since he's come to the Clippers, he has stolen
• 45:02
  Speaker 7: Steve Bamber's money, whether he's working or not.
• 45:05
  Speaker 5: I mean that's still under question. Let me he earned
• 45:07
  Speaker 5: all that money.
• 45:08
  Speaker 3: Let me ask you something. You think all the training
• 45:11
  Speaker 3: Kawhi does, which maybe actually hurts his body because he
• 45:16
  Speaker 3: works so hard and his body betrays him, is the
• 45:20
  Speaker 3: sign of a lazy player. You think he'd rather do
• 45:23
  Speaker 3: the training than actually play in games. He trains so
• 45:27
  Speaker 3: hard so he can play in games. The fun part is.
• 45:31
  Speaker 7: Yes, anything to avoid the game of the press conference
• 45:34
  Speaker 7: is what would suit Kawhi.
• 45:36
  Speaker 3: You think is actively one of the greatest players ever
• 45:39
  Speaker 3: when he's healthy, wants to avoid games. One of the
• 45:41
  Speaker 3: most clutch players with some of the biggest shots ever
• 45:44
  Speaker 3: wants to avoid games. I think that's ass.
• 45:46
  Speaker 7: Nine the best players, the best players in the world
• 45:51
  Speaker 7: today are all from out of the USA, So it's
• 45:54
  Speaker 7: not even America's game anymore.
• 45:55
  Speaker 3: It's almost like about don Global Mark And yes, the
• 46:00
  Speaker 3: ninety two Dream Team was going up against ten cans
• 46:02
  Speaker 3: compared to the guys today you have to go up
• 46:05
  Speaker 3: against in the international game. Turns out there's a larger
• 46:08
  Speaker 3: talent pool now, Mark, because the game has grown. And
• 46:11
  Speaker 3: credit Michael Jordan, he got he got guys to be
• 46:15
  Speaker 3: playing basketball everywhere, And you're right, there wouldn't be Nikola Jokish,
• 46:19
  Speaker 3: there wouldn't be Honest Dena Koompo, Luka, Doncis, Joe Ellenbiid
• 46:22
  Speaker 3: and all these guys. If the game didn't get so popular.
• 46:25
  Speaker 3: That's not to diminish the Americans. It's just the game
• 46:27
  Speaker 3: has gone global.
• 46:30
  Speaker 7: Well, that's what cements his legacy as the goat, not Lebron,
• 46:34
  Speaker 7: not anyone who is coming.
• 46:36
  Speaker 3: It's more about influence.
• 46:37
  Speaker 5: Not even Kobe. They don't touch Michael. They don't touch
• 46:40
  Speaker 5: what he.
• 46:41
  Speaker 7: Did throughout his career and even in Washington when he
• 46:45
  Speaker 7: was forty years old, he played eighty two games, his
• 46:48
  Speaker 7: final year eighty two.
• 46:50
  Speaker 5: Now Lebron will never be played with.
• 46:52
  Speaker 3: Did he play well in all those eighty two games?
• 46:54
  Speaker 3: And you have some nights scoring can actually see scoring
• 46:57
  Speaker 3: six points?
• 46:59
  Speaker 7: Understand he entertain the fans by showing up and playing
• 47:02
  Speaker 7: and not sitting there in street flows.
• 47:03
  Speaker 3: I don't know if all those games are very entertaining.
• 47:06
  Speaker 3: You look like a fraction of himself.
• 47:07
  Speaker 7: Mark, It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter.
• 47:11
  Speaker 3: His name is still Michael Jordan. But he doesn't actually
• 47:13
  Speaker 3: look actually look like.
• 47:14
  Speaker 5: He averaged that final year at him. I'll do that.
• 47:17
  Speaker 3: I think twenty on like twenty one shot attempts.
• 47:20
  Speaker 5: Let me do the research for you.
• 47:21
  Speaker 7: The average twenty points a games his final is that
• 47:24
  Speaker 7: what I just said?
• 47:25
  Speaker 3: And how many shots? How many shots did he take
• 47:28
  Speaker 3: to get to those twenty points? My friend? How many
• 47:30
  Speaker 3: shots did he take?
• 47:31
  Speaker 4: Was he?
• 47:31
  Speaker 7: A don't have that number in front of me, but
• 47:33
  Speaker 7: I know he got to twenty points, and I know
• 47:36
  Speaker 7: he played every game.
• 47:37
  Speaker 5: Let's Lebron James do that.
• 47:39
  Speaker 8: His nineteen shots?
• 47:42
  Speaker 3: Like, Mark, why do you why do you hate Lebron
• 47:44
  Speaker 3: James so much? Does he threaten your idols?
• 47:48
  Speaker 5: Hew out?
• 47:49
  Speaker 3: Jordan not a narcissist? No, not an egoistical guy? Whatsoever?
• 47:54
  Speaker 5: Mike Michael Jordan's do we hear from him? Except from
• 47:58
  Speaker 5: NASCAR these days?
• 47:59
  Speaker 3: So you're you're comparing him post career to Lebron during career?
• 48:06
  Speaker 4: Is that fair?
• 48:06
  Speaker 3: Why don't we talk about Michael Jordan and how he
• 48:09
  Speaker 3: was back then? You think he wasn't a narcissist? Do
• 48:11
  Speaker 3: you think Michael Jordan didn't think much of himself? Get
• 48:14
  Speaker 3: out of here?
• 48:15
  Speaker 4: But he backed it up, He backed it up, always
• 48:18
  Speaker 4: backed it up.
• 48:19
  Speaker 3: Did he back it up? In Washington? Did he back
• 48:22
  Speaker 3: it up when Nick Anderson stole the ball from him?
• 48:24
  Speaker 3: Did he back it up when he lost to the
• 48:26
  Speaker 3: Pistons in three straight years?
• 48:28
  Speaker 8: But those don't count, right, playing every game his final
• 48:31
  Speaker 8: year averaging.
• 48:31
  Speaker 3: As long as you're playing every game, even if you're
• 48:34
  Speaker 3: playing badly, that's all that matters.
• 48:36
  Speaker 7: All Lebron has done is try to emulate Michael Jordan,
• 48:39
  Speaker 7: and he's falling short except with the points. And that's
• 48:41
  Speaker 7: the longevity record. So congrats to Lebron for that. If
• 48:45
  Speaker 7: you think today's NBA is challenged, let me ask her something.
• 48:49
  Speaker 3: Is Michael Jordan going six and zero against the Golden
• 48:52
  Speaker 3: State Warriors With Kevin Jiders.
• 48:54
  Speaker 7: They're better shooters, and they travel in better quality, they
• 48:57
  Speaker 7: stay at nicer hotels.
• 48:59
  Speaker 5: So Ben is corrected about that, they get the catered deals.
• 49:01
  Speaker 5: These guys are so spoiled and catered.
• 49:04
  Speaker 8: I get it.
• 49:04
  Speaker 3: Getting off my lawn, Okay, Boomer, all that stuff, I
• 49:08
  Speaker 3: get it. You don't like the new NBA. You think
• 49:11
  Speaker 3: it was always better. Everything was better in your prime,
• 49:14
  Speaker 3: including the NBA. I get it.
• 49:16
  Speaker 5: Everything was better, But today version is Do you know what?
• 49:20
  Speaker 3: That's called Golden Age syndrome? Believe me I used to
• 49:24
  Speaker 3: have it. I used to feel the same way about
• 49:26
  Speaker 3: nineties basketball. I used to revere it. I felt like
• 49:29
  Speaker 3: this is the pinnacle of basketball. When I go back
• 49:31
  Speaker 3: and watch fool games and not just highlights, it doesn't
• 49:34
  Speaker 3: look the same as it did when I was a kid.
• 49:36
  Speaker 3: Kind of like some of those movies that don't hold
• 49:38
  Speaker 3: up that well that you cherished as a kid. The
• 49:41
  Speaker 3: game keeps them. It stays to it evolves. And we
• 49:45
  Speaker 3: actually have Michael Jordan talking about that. We'll get into
• 49:47
  Speaker 3: it a little bit later. The game evolves, Mark, And
• 49:50
  Speaker 3: even Michael Jordan said so very recently, just.
• 49:53
  Speaker 5: Now old man product. He will never say that.
• 49:57
  Speaker 7: Nobody will say that who watches the game kingly and
• 50:00
  Speaker 7: that exclusion.
• 50:00
  Speaker 3: Nobody will say what.
• 50:01
  Speaker 5: Nobody will say what the LA Clippers.
• 50:03
  Speaker 3: Nobody will say what that the.
• 50:05
  Speaker 7: Game is better than it was back in the nineties,
• 50:09
  Speaker 7: in the early two thousands. Besides the outside shooting. There's
• 50:14
  Speaker 7: way too much, no way you can claim that it's better.
• 50:18
  Speaker 3: Besides shooting the basketball in the game of basketball and
• 50:21
  Speaker 3: guys being better at it now, the game is not better.
• 50:25
  Speaker 5: I'm having more proficient outside shooters. I'm not saying it
• 50:28
  Speaker 5: turns out that's a that's a big deal.
• 50:30
  Speaker 3: It turns out that's a big deal. They figured out
• 50:33
  Speaker 3: the masks, they figured out ways to beat the game.
• 50:35
  Speaker 3: Like Mark, we can keep going in circles here, but
• 50:39
  Speaker 3: I got to get to our next guest. And I apologize,
• 50:41
  Speaker 3: But Mark, I will take your call again.
• 50:42
  Speaker 5: Okay, fair debate, great debate. And I love the way
• 50:47
  Speaker 5: that Ben pronounces your last names.
• 50:52
  Speaker 3: All right, Mark, love you, my friend.