Trae Young turning the corner?
The Panel:
With:
Guest:
Trail Blazers superstar, Damian Lillard!
First Half Hour
Monologue: Warriors found joy on a night they very much needed it
Sold on Warriors 3-peat chances?
“They are vulnerable more than anything. I am going with the Houston Rockets to beat the Warriors in a 7-game series” – aT-Mac
“It’s very hard to 3-peat in today’s game. I feel like that the Warriors are ready to 3-peat. They’re starting to peak at the right time” – Pippen
Is Klay an underrated defender?
He’s never been on the All-Defensive team
Klay Thompson on his case for making NBA All-Defense pic.twitter.com/sM51RoWjd6
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) March 21, 2019
“This is a guy that takes the challenge on guarding the best player night in and night out for 82 games every year. It’s absurd that he’s never been on the All-Defensive team” – T-Mac
“When you see Klay out there, he is guarding the top offensive player. It has to be something said about that” – Pippen
“We consider him one of the best two-way players in the game” – T-Mac
“I do think it’s a little bit a symptom of playing on this Golden State superteam. One of the things you trade in when you join this team is your individual accolades because people see the group as a whole” – Nichols
March 22, 2010 – Amar’e Stoudemire dunking all over the Warriors!
Madness; Best tourney dunk?
Ja Morant:
Jalen Smith:
Killian Tillie:
Ceilings How soon until De’Aaron Fox is an All-Star?
“He just going to have to get voted as an All-Star and not as a guard. Simple as that” – Pippen
Cookies; Should Jokic pay more attention to Bradley Beal?
“Without John Wall, Bradley Beal has been ballin'” – T-Mac
Retirement; Scared of Tim Duncan the kickboxer?
Tim Duncan … 6'11" kickboxer 😳(via @EcholsFitness) pic.twitter.com/ryEUExGCGk
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 22, 2019
“You better be scared of Tim Duncan” – Pippen
Moving on…
Another edition of:
Think Suns GM search is going well?
Suns have spoken to Kevin McHale (of TNT and former GM of the Timberwolves) and Jim Paxson (Chicago Bulls), per Marc Stein of the New York Times
“The previous GMs stink” – T-Mac
“Chauncey Billups, who’s just been removed from the game today and still knows the game would be a perfect candidate for that GM job to put that team together” – T-Mac
“Kevin McHale has the experience. It’s hard to go wrong with that job. You got a lot of room for error. They’re still young” – Pippen
“We don’t need to keep providing welfare for billionaires” – Nichols
Second Half Hour
Spoken to Antonio Brown since trade to Raiders?
“Absolutely. I was recruiting him. Raider Nation, baby!” – Lillard
What prompted you to call yourself one of the best players?
“I was kind of irritated by that because when I kept seeing the quote, it made it seem like it was a cry out and it wasn’t” – Lillard
What’s a successful postseason for Trail Blazers?
“To make a real run. Trying to get to the Western Conference Finals. We know it’s possible” – Lillard
“You can tell that they’re [the fans] itching for that postseason success” – Lillard
Fan of the “Logo Lillard” nickname?
“I like it a lot. People pay attention to that. It’s a shot that I end up taking a lot. The way I’m guarded sometimes I think that’s the pretty high quality shot for me because I got a lot of time to take the shot and I can shoot from the distance pretty easy” – Lillard
“I was like: ‘That’s my son.’ That was a moment I knew he was mine” – Lillard
Zach Lowe’s weekly column: 10 Things I like and don’t like
Jefferson: Morant
“We haven’t seen many players like this. You would compare him to a Russell Westbrook”
T-Mac: Morant
“I like him because of his poise. This kid seems like the game has already slowed down for him. High basketball IQ”
Pippen: Morant
“He’s NBA ready”
T-Mac: Secures bag
“His body of work speaks for itself. The kid has been putting up tremendous numbers and if he closes this season playing the way he’s playing right now, he deserves it”
Jefferson: Secures bag
“Anthony Davis is not the most popular person in the NBA”
Pippen: Secures bag
Pippen: Nets
“They are an exciting team, they have taste of what it’s like to win and have success. I would play with D. Russell”
T-Mac: Nets
“These guys are ready right now. They just need a couple stars to come and join with this cast”
Jefferson: Nets
“At the end of the day, players want to win, make money and have fun. They still have to prove that they can take another step. You have to be that first domino”
Jefferson: Clippers
“The Thunder are a more talented team. They’ll figure it out and finish strong”
T-Mac: Clippers
“If you have two All-NBA players [Westbrook and George] on your team [The Thunder], you cannot finish 8th. They should be able to get it done”
Pippen: Thunder
“They are not playing their best basketball and I expect them to fall to 8th. The Clippers have the momentum on their side”
March 22, 2007 – Tracy McGrady with the tough circus spinning layup vs the Pistons!
Third Half Hour
It's 2019 and @DickieV wants to see these college players get PAID! pic.twitter.com/pLSjcN5Uhp
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) March 22, 2019
College hoops players any closer to getting paid?
“100 percent they are” – Jefferson
“I don’t know if they’re getting any closer. But they should be paid” – T-Mac
“These players need to get paid. Zion became the face of college basketball” – Pippen
“I don’t know if were getting any closer, honestly because I don’t know if I can count on the NCAA to do the right thing even when facing heavier pressure” – Nichols
RJ Story on being suspended in college:
Expect Zion to dominate the tourney?
“I don’t because tournament basketball is a lot different. It’s really about team play and not individual play” – Pippen
“There’s nothing anybody can do with him in the interior of the offense. He’s just a physical freak” – T-Mac
“The one thing that could stop him is if he gets in foul trouble” – Jefferson
“If he’s on the floor for 32 minutes, he is going to dominate that game” – Jefferson
Coach Izzo go too far with his player?
Izzo’s former player and current Warriors player, Draymond Green gave his thoughts on the incident:
Just an FYI. Being in those huddles for years. Cassius and Matt grabbed Iz so he could shut up and move on… after a while you’re just ready for him to draw up the play. Just giving perspective from someone who’s been apart of those huddles.
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) March 22, 2019
And the reason he wouldn’t stop is because Aaron Henry kept talking. However, what the world doesn’t know is that Iz loves the kid who will challenge him back more than anything! So there’s some insight For you all!!
— Draymond Green (@Money23Green) March 22, 2019
“I like Coach Izzo’s coaching. I respect him and respect how he has brought his players along and I can respect him going at a player on the court like that” – Pippen
“This is coaching at his best. It’s tournament time. The people’s jobs are on the line. Some of these guys are seniors and this is their last opportunity. If a player is not giving 110 percent effort, it’s up to the coach to do everything he can to get into that player’s butt” – T-Mac
RJ’s take on the situation between Izzo and his player. And a fun T-Mac story:
Nets at Lakers
D’Angelo out for blood vs Lakers?
“D-Lo got it on his mind. He’s thinking about what he’s trying to do to this team. It’s personal for him. He should take this opportunity to eliminate a team that got rid of him, that gave up on him quick” – T-Mac
“You can call him the eliminator” – Pippen
“For a young player, if you’re going out there for blood, what’s the one thing? You might end up trying to do too much. Just keep going out there and play” – Jefferson
It’s amazing what can happen when you just mentally locked in and when you leave all the other crap alone and just concentrate on basketball. Being out here in LA, he was so focused on everything but basketball. There was a lot of distractions – T-Mac
Lakers giving Luke Walton a fair shot?
“No. I don’t think so. But it doesn’t matter what I think. It only matters what Jeanie [Buss], Rob [Pelinka] and Magic [Johnson]. A house divided cannot stand and if there’s three people on one side of the fence and he’s on the other side of the fence, it’s best not only for the Lakers but it’s also best for him. He needs to be in a place where they’re going to fully support him and he hasn’t gotten that this year” – Jefferson
“This year has just been a devastating year in terms of injuries and all the distractions and the trading deadline. He hasn’t been given a fair shape. He deserves another opportunity to coach a team that can be healthy and let’s see what he does with the healthy roster” – T-Mac
“I wouldn’t give him another year. He wasn’t given a fair shape. That’s just part of the NBA” – Pippen
“If they move on from Luke, Ty Lue is the obvious choice” – T-Mac
“I would be knocking on Washington’s door for Bradley Beal” – Nichols
March 22, 1996 – Greg Minor (Celtics) with the game winner off the glass at the buzzer vs the Nuggets!
Smart’s Shove
Marcus Smart fined $50k for shoving Embiid
It was his third offense of the season
Smart says he “was protecting himself.” He added: “You’re supposed to just take that and allow it. Unfortunately, I’m sorry, I just wasn’t raised that way. I always gotta protect myself at all times.”
“Spurs turned off AC on purpose in Game 1 of 2014 Finals” – Chris Bosh (Via South Beach Sessions podcast with Dan LeBatard)
“That is not true. LeBron forgot to hydrate” – Pippen
