5-2-23 After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 4

Imagine you're looking at a balancing scale, with everything you do for other people on one side, and everything you do for yourself on the other side.

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That's BetterHELP.com slash positive. Good morning to you. It's Tuesday. We survived our Monday and the beginning of May, which kind of blows me away.

That wasn't even on purpose, but just a bonus. You're welcome. Good morning to you from Syracuse University. My final show from the campus where I attended grad school, from the building where I attended classes as a grad student here, where I earned my master's degree in TV and radio.

It was actually TRF, TV, radio and film, but my concentration being TV and radio. And last night I wrapped up my very last class of the four. It was a one credit, four week class, actually designed to be a three credit. And we condensed it for the spring semester as a trial run. I'm so glad that we did because I ended up having the best experience with the eight students who took the class and three of them were here until just a few minutes ago.

They finally bowed out. This was the last class for all of them because Monday was the last day of classes here on campus at Syracuse. And because it was an evening class, I literally caught them on their very last class. And for some of them, grad students, seniors, it was their last class ever, as one of the grad students said to me.

So kind of cool to be part of that. Also, I kept them late, not on purpose, but their final project was to record a radio segment. And we listened to them all in class. And I got to tell you, just as a human being, not as an adjunct professor, I was really proud of these students because I told them that the idea behind listening to the segments in class together really was for a couple of reasons. Number one, they need to get comfortable listening to themselves. They need to get comfortable listening to other people as well because listening is such a critical part of becoming a successful radio host. But it is kind of funny when you're sitting in a room and all you're doing is listening to radio.

You're not allowed to be on your phone. You really aren't looking at anything else. And so the way that the students kind of turned sideways, looked away from the table, some of them were staring at the ceiling. Some of them had their eyes closed while we're listening to eight different segments of radio. So for about two hours, we wove in and out of their final projects and each person would have the opportunity to not only critique himself or herself.

So I asked them for their reactions initially, but then to sit and listen to their fellow students give reaction. My only stipulation is we're not going to be mean here. We're not going to be rude. This is not commercial radio.

You're not up for a Marconi. OK, so find something positive. Tell us what you liked about your your colleague. Well, in this case, your classmates segment. But if you want to offer constructive criticism, that's OK, too.

I wasn't surprised that none of them offered criticisms or critiques of any of their fellow students. That was really left to me. And I did it without any real bite. In fact, I took notes the entire time. So each of the eight segments, I was furiously taking notes, not only because I have to grade them, but also because I told them, if you want to get some more extensive feedback, I'm happy to write up my notes and send them to you. That way you can look at them privately, both the positives and the negatives. And here's where I see the potential.

And here's what I would do to enhance your experience. But my students and this is why I'm really proud of them beyond being a teacher, just being a mentor of sorts or someone who's been in the business a long time. In radio and TV, we can be cutthroat. We can be ultra competitive.

We can be defensive. We don't necessarily want someone telling us what we don't do well. Or we think if we build each other up, if we support and encourage other people, somehow that takes away from our status or our radio and TV shows.

It's very weird. Misery loves company. And there's a lot of miserable people in this business. Instead of being miserable, instead of being critics, they all found something positive to say about their fellow students. I was really impressed. They clapped after every segment was done and they raised their hands and they. Encouraged, especially those who had never done radio before or had only really dabbled in the art as a podcast or recording maybe for other class assignments, but had never actually put together a full segment. And every single student came up with something positive to say about.

At least four or five of of their other their students radio segments. So that was really cool. It was neat to hear. It was neat to be a part of.

I tried to wipe the smile off my face because I didn't want them to think that that I thought it was all good, but they put such great effort into it. The research was extensive. They all had very unique topics.

They were all relevant. They were creative. We found ourselves laughing. We found ourselves being really thoughtful, impensive. Yeah, for a first time, a group of first timers, about half the class had never done a radio show before or radio segment before.

You wouldn't have known it. I was really proud of them, and I felt like they applied the principles that we talked about the first three weeks. So I'm going to take that as a compliment to the class, but also just a blessing to have this particular group of students. And before they left, there were three of them that were here for the first two hours of the show. Before they left the control room where I'm hosting my show, I asked them if they'd known each other. Turns out, while they may have crossed paths or had one class together, there were a couple of sophomores here, most of them didn't know each other and yet formed a nice bond over four weeks and 12-ish hours.

So it was really cool. My first experience as an adjunct professor, I hope there will be more. I will await an invite from Syracuse University to teach again.

I hope that will be forthcoming. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Glad to have you with us on this Tuesday morning. We are already into the second round in the NBA opener between the Sixers and the Celtics. As it turned out, in Boston, without you LMB'd, it wasn't a problem in Game 1 for Philadelphia. For Jalen Brown, only 12 fouls called on Philadelphia, but four of them actually. Jalen's shot clock winding down, deep three is good.

Those are killers right there. Harden comes off right-hand dribble, a fake push, and now the three. It's good! He made it! Marcus Smart kind of got out of the way as if Harden pushed him, and that space allowed Harden to shoot an open three. Mistake by Smart. Jalen taps it out to Brogdon. He's going to put back a three that bounces out. Offensive rebound Horford. Puts it in the hands of Marcus Smart. Ball fake. Returns it to Horford.

Pump fake. Scores off the window. Wow.

Wow. Al Horford doing yeoman's work and another assist then from Marcus Smart. Two to shoot. Brogdon with it. Brogdon will he get up?

No. He throws it to Maxie. He'll throw it.

He'll call it. And Maxie gets a layup. Boston had almost a 24-second shot clock violation, but they threw it right to Maxie, and Maxie dunks the ball. The Sixers have taken the lead.

Tom McGinnis on Sixers radio, Sean Grandy, Cedric Maxwell on Celtics radio, and this was a great back and forth. If we get a long series, a lengthy series, I don't want to go game seven yet, but if we get an extended series, I'd be okay with that. If they play the way they did on Tuesday. Nope. Monday.

Sorry. Monday night. Because what we got was a great back and forth. We got, it was a feeling out process in the opener, and I understand that Boston is disappointed because this game is on their home court, and they did have a double figure lead. The Celtics shot 74% in the first half. 74%!

That's insane! And yet somehow only had a three-point lead at the break. Sixers used the great equalizer, the three-point shot, and they were better than 50% from deep in the opening half. It was fast and furious to begin, and it was James Harden early and often. Hit his first five shots, including a couple of triples. Jalen Brown also started hot, and even as the Celtics were pulling away, maybe believing that the full head of steam would give them momentum and help them to take advantage of a Sixers team without Joel Embiid.

Right? Because as Joel Embiid is a big body, a space eater, a defensive player that can clog up the paint, the Celtics recognized that without him, there was some space, and they attacked the lane. They were going straight to the rim.

And so as they're doing that aggressive attacking, they build this lead, hoping that they can stretch it out even farther by the time they get to halftime. And yet what we saw in the first round against the Sixers, I know there's no Joel, but what we saw in the first round was all hands on deck for them with not just James Harden, but Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris. I know the Sixers have had some deep playoff disappointment. The last couple years, it's not come together for them, or in the case of last season, they ran into a Celtics team that was super hot and playing its best basketball of the year. But when you look at the Sixers starting lineup, okay, so thinking about the starter specifically, because you're not going to get a ton off the bench, heavy minutes for your starters. When Joel Embiid comes back, well, then there's one more body off the bench. But for the most part, DeAnthony Melton, the only guy that played significant minutes coming off of the bench. And yet these guys have shown that they can win a variety of ways and that it's not just Joel Embiid or James Harden. They've got others who can score. Still, this was tied going into the fourth quarter. It was a good back and forth.

And as you hear in that montage, you almost couldn't take your eyes off it. Must see TV until we get into the final stages game still hanging on the line. James with a dribble. Harden one-on-one. Nine seconds on the shot clock. Harden for three. Shot up.

It's good. Harden made a triple. The Sixers go up by two. Eight seconds to go.

Boston takes time. Sixers 117. Celtics 115. James Harden from out front. Nailed a three. His seventh three. He's got 45 points, and the crowd is gasping. Brogdon will trigger the inbound. Against Tobias Harris. It's in his hands. Bounce entry. Marcus Smart turns.

Drives. Scoops it wildly. No good. And a foul called on the Celtics.

Who? Well, that's it. And another brutal home court loss for the Celtics in the post-season is 4.6 seconds away. I don't need to make a statement. Like, what happens internally, like with the 76ers organization, coaches, my teammates, what they expect me to do, you know, all throughout the course of the year was, you know, be a facilitator and get Joel to basketball and, you know, score when necessary. Joel wasn't here tonight, you know what I mean? So, and we knew that going into this series, and now it's like our opening floor, James, you're going to be aggressive. And tonight I was aggressive.

So, it's not that I'm not capable of doing it. It just, this is my role for this team. James Harden jumping in there with his post-game after a career playoff high or tying his career playoff high 45 points. You hear that late triple with under nine seconds to go. And he was exactly what the Sixers needed. That's what impressed me about his performance. And he certainly has a role when Joel Embiid is out there. Joel is the MVP. He's the focal point. The offense revolves around him. Really, the team revolves around him. He is their superstar. And James, in ways that maybe he wouldn't or didn't earlier in his career, in other stops along his NBA journey, he's willing to adopt whatever role to morph into whatever the Sixers need from him. And without Joel Embiid, what they needed the most was scoring for sure, but also facilitating someone who could keep this team together, who can cause everyone else on the court to operate as a unit, but also to elevate his level of play. You saw that with James Harden.

That's leadership. And I will be the first to admit I'm not his biggest fan. You know me if you listen to me for even five seconds during the NBA playoffs. I'm not a huge fan. I don't love his decision making.

I don't like how he handles his business a lot of the time, but I got to give credit where credit is due. James Harden may not have a ring, but his playoff experience is extensive. And it all came together for him in this game last night without Joel Embiid. It certainly did help that the Sixers had a little time to prepare so they knew what they wanted to do. The Sixers followed Harden's lead. Not that they don't miss Joel. Of course, I think most, most analyst prognosticators would give the edge to Boston if they go an extended period without Joel, or if he doesn't return for the series. Sounds like they're hopeful that he will. But in this one game in Boston, Harden has the mental toughness.

I can't believe I just said that. Harden has the mental toughness. He has the leadership. He has the focus. Certainly his shot was falling.

It doesn't always in the playoffs, but it was last night. And he brought the rest of the team with him. He had to step into that position of leadership and the transition was impeccable.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence here on CBS Sports Radio. Doc Rivers, he's got a new label for James Harden. He was awesome. Kept his cool. Knew when to attack.

Knew when to give it up. I thought he had just great patience overall. I thought that he had just the perfect mindset tonight.

He really did. I'm so happy for him because it just tells you what he can do on given nights and then he can be your point guard on given nights. It just speaks. It's amazing.

The guy's a Hall of Famer and all you hear is the other stuff about him. I got to give them some credit. Obviously, they made plays. Guys had great nights. They hit some big shots. I think they were just in a rhythm throughout the whole game. I don't think our pressure and intensity was necessarily as high as it probably should have been to start. Throughout the course of the game, they hit shots and the game started going and it was in a good rhythm.

Interesting to hear Jason Tatum say that. He had 39 by the way because they shot 74% in the first half. They put up 66 points in the first half but they gave up 63. I don't know if you recall the Hawks series but something that stood out about the Celtics play in that first round is that they were giving up a ton of points to the Hawks. The Sixers are a much better team and they can beat you with four different guys. Not to mention, as I say, DeAnthony Melton comes off the bench and has 17. A much deeper offense for the Sixers. The Celtics have got to bear down on defense.

They really do and they've got to be able to protect their home court and they know it as well as anybody else. By the way, Doc Rivers of course won a championship as the head coach of the Boston Celtics. He drops the Hall of Famer about James Harden. The guy is a Hall of Famer.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let's not jump the gun. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. As for the Celtics, they certainly know that they let one get away. They missed out on a chance to start the series on a high note to grab the momentum and let's not forget to take advantage of a team that doesn't have its MVP. Weren't able to get stops and for a team like that that doesn't have MB, they want to keep the game close.

They're not even looking to really get ahead or beat us by 20. They're trying to keep it close so a guy like James Harden can close without what he did. He definitely did a dagger. Not that it was the last shot of the game, but it did put the Sixers ahead for good and it was a stake. When I say dagger, it was a dagger to the heart of the Celtics and to their fans.

You could hear that in the garden behind Tom McGinnis or even behind Granny and Max. And actually earlier when I was giggling about the call from Granny and Max, the eight seconds that were left on the clock for the Celtics after Harden hit that triple. They're trailing by two. Eight seconds left on the clock and there's a foul called on the Celtics. So on the baseline, the ball was kind of fumbled around.

They really didn't get a good look. And there's a foul called loose ball foul called against Boston. And every time I hear it, I've heard it, I don't know, seven or eight times now, the bewilderment of Cedric Maxwell who what it reminds me of when you're in school. And maybe you're one of your writing teachers or an English teacher taught you that you should always try to answer the questions of who, what, where, when, why, how and how much.

Cedric was using those words to try to figure it out. Who? What? It's going to be a good series. I'm looking forward to it.

I am entertained. All right, coming up, we're going to pivot a little bit. We'll get more into the basketball, the Suns and Nuggets and a critical injury yet again for Phoenix. We'll get to that at the bottom of the hour plus our other game seven in hockey. But the Ravens, they get their man. They lock up Lamar Jackson on the morning of the first round of the NFL draft.

They've also made some critical decisions about their roster. So we'll take a closer look straight ahead. It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

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Donate today at your local CSL plasma center and be rewarded for your generosity. For the last few months, there's been a lot of he say, she say, a lot of nail biting, a lot of head scratching going on. For the next five years, it's a lot of flock going on. Let's go, baby. Let's go. Let's go. Can't wait to get there. Can't wait to be there.

Can't wait to light up M&T for the next five years. Let's get it. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. That is one Lamar Jackson unmistakable joy, a little bit of giddiness there when on the morning of the NFL draft round one, it's announced that he and the Ravens have agreed to a contract ending the long Baltimore nightmare.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio from our Baltimore affiliate, 105.7 The Fan. Pleased to welcome our friend Rob Long, who's getting set for the big bad morning show with the cast and crew of thousands. Rob, I'm going to backpedal once we get your initial reaction.

But it's easy. Let's start there. Contract a few days old now. The dust is settled. What's your reaction to Lamar getting the deal to stay with the Ravens? It's about time.

First of all, good morning, Amy. It's about time. I mean, it's it's got us.

We hear similar to the offer that was on the table initially, but I'm glad it happened. Lamar Jackson is a difference maker. He's one of the most dynamic player, excuse me, in the National Football League. And for me to sit here and say they would have been OK without him would have been a lie.

I've held my stance the entire time. If he's not here, then we're in trouble. You and your co-host had me on your show going back maybe six weeks ago.

Don't quote me on that. But it was probably in March. And I remember that as we're talking about the Lamar situation, it kind of flagged with me that you all were speaking about him as though this was going to be a breakup. It was going to be a divorce.

At what point did you change your mind about that? No, my stance is always he'll be back for 23 for the franchise tag. I did not know whether beyond that. That was my stance. I thought he would be back for 23. But I was uncertain about the deal because he seemed to be so hell-bent on the get fully guaranteed contract. I thought, yes, for 23.

No, not not beyond that. But it was it was a guaranteed contract, like he said in that Instagram post. There was a lot of he say she say back and forth. And the one thing we all heard was that he wanted guaranteed money. He wanted his contract to rival that of Deshaun Watson's. And I just thought that Deshaun Watson's contract was not it did not set a precedent. It's the outlier. Nobody's doing that. The only time you set a precedent is if you're the beginning of the change. That's not going to change the NFL.

It's the outliers. Like, you know, you had a bad franchise give you a bad contract. And other good franchises are all going to follow suit. I just didn't feel Steve was going to do that on the Ravens. So that's why I thought long term Lamar and the Ravens weren't going to happen.

Is all forgiven with Lamar and the Ravens now? Absolutely. You know, sports and sports. I mean, Amy, in my past career, I was a police officer. And being a sports star radio, being in the media is similar to that in this. When things go wrong, you're always blamed. But yet when people need you, they always come to you.

When people want the information, they always tune in to us. However, times like this, you know, athletes blame the media and fans follow along with them. There was not he say, she say. The reason why there was he say, she say was because of some of the things Lamar put out there.

And because of the things that Lamar allowed to be put out there. But when you kiss and make up, you go to that, oh, well, you know, that's the media. Well, yeah, it is the media. It's what we were fed. So I feel like a bunch of professions are similar in that.

We're the bad guy until you need us. Thank you for your service. Rob Long is now a radio host. That's got to be the most unique career transition or 90 degree turn that I've ever heard from a fellow colleague in this business. But from our Baltimore affiliate, 105.7, the fan getting set for his morning show. Is it still the number one topic of conversation or have people moved on? Orioles baseball's number one right now. I mean, this team is hot. This team is hot. And that's the number one topic of conversation because you've got young players on the team who are intriguing.

You've got young players on the team who are producing. And on top of that, you still have guys in the farm system that are rated high all around baseball who you still watch. And I have more of my friends going to Bowie Bay Sox games. That's the Orioles double-A affiliation right here in Maryland than have ever gone before. So now that the Lamar thing has chilled a little bit, and I'll be honest with you, the last two weeks of the Lamar saga, Orioles baseball was still the number one topic of discussion. Second best record in the American League behind only the Tampa Bay Rays who have set a torrid pace atop the AL East. But right now, Orioles sitting at 19 and 9, picking up where they left off last year.

So a lot of fun early on. Okay, so if Orioles baseball has already taken over, then you think about Lamar Jackson and kind of getting back into a rhythm with the team. We know there's a new offensive coordinator. What do you expect them to do? I know you've not been a fan of Greg Roman for quite a while.

You've told us that. What do you expect them to do to try to spark the offense with a new system, new voice heading into 23? First of all, you put in an NFL-style offense and not the high school offense that they had been running, where you have two and three receivers in the same vicinity where, you know, it was ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous.

I think now, it's not just the weapons, I think it's also the strategy. Oh, by the way, the weapons, you had Odell Beckham Jr. who went out and drafted Dave Flowers and you already have Rashad Bateman. And let's not forget about one of the best tight ends of the game in Mark Andrews.

That sounds pretty good. J.K. Dobbin's in the backfield. You have a plethora of weapons now, toys that your new OC can work with, and I have the utmost confidence that John Harbaugh has to produce. So I think he's going to step aside and let his offensive coordinator be creative, be innovative. And I don't know whether it was Lamar's plan initially or not, Amy, or something that maybe he backed up to when he realized he wasn't getting the fully guaranteed money, but Lamar kind of manipulated this contract. I mean, this roster. You know, I don't think if Lamar's not in the contract yet, I don't know if this team would have gone out and paid Odell Beckham Jr. that much money. I don't know if they would have drafted Flowers in the first round.

I don't know. If you kind of believe that maybe there were some promises given to Lamar for him to all of a sudden sign or announce the signing on draft day. So I think either it was the original part of the plan or maybe he did a pivot at some point the way he kind of manipulated this roster, and I think this is going to be a dynamic offense that looks very NFL familiar. Rob Long is with us from Baltimore here on After Hours, CBS Sports Radio. Why did Antonio Brown say he's signing with the Ravens? I hope that's a lie.

I have no idea. I hope this goes into the category of why does Antonio Brown do a lot of things and say a lot of things that he does. I hope we all look back on this and laugh. The last thing they need in this locker room is an Antonio Brown. I can deal with Odell Beckham Jr. and his quirkiness because he's funny. He's witty. He's funny. I love his dances, but I don't know if you can mix Odell Beckham Jr. and Antonio Brown.

I don't think that's a good mix. How do you like what they did in the draft? Oh, I'm sorry.

Were you not done? I love what they did in the draft. You know what I love when they did the draft, Amy? We did our predictions on the show, and the topic that I gave out was do they trade back or do they take the pick? And I said they take the pick because I think the Ravens are in win now mode.

Trading back is an investment in your future. Any draft pick is, but trading back means you're trying to stockpile picks to make an investment. I felt like if you were all in now, you'd take that pick. So the fact that they made that pick and then trade back like they often do told me, you know what?

This team is serious right now. That's the third wide receiver in five years that they drafted in the first round. They are serious right now, and that alone, not only who they got or love, but the fact that they used the picks. And then at the end of the draft, they traded a future pick to get a seventh round draft pick also, which tells me here, here's a guy that we wanted that fell.

Get him now. Trade next year. We don't worry about next year, next year. Trade next year's pick and get this guy because we wanted this guy. And one thing I am very confident in is Ravens late draft picks from the fourth round down. Very confident also, this team had a long stretch of undrafted free agents making a team. They are very good when it comes to the back of that draft of free agents, undrafted free agents. So the fact that they traded a pick from next year to get back into the draft of the seventh round confirmed my suspicions of them being in win now mode. Considering that they appear to be making a bunch of moves that will shore up the team in 2023, and as you say, give them a sense of urgency here, looking ahead to the summer of OTA's training camp, yada, yada, yada. How do you see the AFC North stacking up considering the moves that have been made, but specifically around the Ravens?

I think the AFC North is going to come down to two teams, to be honest with you. I believe in the Browns when the Browns happened. You know, the Browns have fooled a lot of people.

They fooled me once a couple of years ago when one Odell Beckham Jr. was over there. I think it comes down to two teams, the Ravens and the Bengals. And I think when Mark Jackson knows that, that's why he wanted a lot of toys on the offense.

Because, you know, that guy Joe Cool, he has a lot of toys on that offense over there in Cincinnati. I think Lamar knows you got to keep up with the Joneses. And right now, Joe Barrow is the number one Jones in the AFC North, and Lamar Jackson is trying to keep up with him. So I think that I believe this division comes down to two teams. Pittsburgh Steelers are going to be Pittsburgh Steelers.

They're never going to have a losing season. Mike Thomas is just unbelievable. You know, I know Bill Belichick gets a lot of credit. He deserves to follow the Super Bowl Wednesday he's had. But Mike Thomas, to me, is just a phenomenal coach.

What he does sometimes with a roster that others couldn't do that with is just sensational. So you can never tell the Steelers out. But I think in terms of being serious and being serious AFC contenders, I think they're two teams in the AFC North. Before I let you go, Rob, if you are the Bengals, do you just go ahead now and give Joe Burrow a contract that pays him $52 million in average annual value? So we'd have Jalen, then we'd have Lamar, then we would have Joe Burrow to top it? You have to. You have to pay Joe Burrow now.

You have to. There's no doubt about it. This guy's just unbelievable. I like him. I like his swag. I mean, you can talk about his productivity.

I just like his confidence. I mentioned his college last year. College is so legit. And real quick, can I say this? You credited me from the flip from law enforcement to radio. I don't know if you noticed, one of my co-hosts, Ed Norris, was not only a cop, but he was the Baltimore City Police Commissioner and then became the Superintendent of the Maryland State Police before he got in radio. Impressive. You guys have quite the resumes on the show. Yes.

I didn't want to, I didn't want to, you know, I'd be remiss not to mention that. Yes, I was a police officer. I was a corporal.

This guy was Commissioner of Baltimore City and Superintendent of the state, so. Amazing. Not only am I stunned that there's two of you, but that you're on the same show.

That's got to be unique in the United States of America. It's unique because we're two law enforcement officers, former, and our third co-host last name is Con. Love it.

Love it. I know they have a good time. They've had me on the Big Bad Morning show in the past. Rob Long Sports on Twitter getting set for his show in Baltimore where, yes, the Orioles are all the rage because the Ravens angst has been put to bed, at least for now. Always good to talk to you, Rob. Thank you so much for your time and for joining us live in the morning.

Always. Have a great day. That seriously has to be unique in the entire United States. Two police officers turned sports talk show host and they're on the same show in Baltimore. Wowzers. That's awesome. Great insight and I'm sure incredible stories on that show. And we do love Rob when he joins us to talk about Baltimore. All right.

Coming up, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul, another injury that could derail the Suns. It's after hours. CBS Sports Radio.

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plasma center and be rewarded for your generosity. Murray behind the three point lights up foul on eight. Loose ball down to Yocut. Goal tending whistled against Phoenix. Count that bucket. Kevin Durant cheating. Another three to buy five.

Yocut has it. Bottom part of the midcourt circle. Back over to Jamal Murray.

Bucket here. You win the game. Murray to the nail. Yocut got it.

And that ought to do it. Denver leads it by ten. Timeout Phoenix. 134 to go. Nicole Yocut.

39. We found a way to rebound in the first half. They kicked our butts on the offensive last second half.

Much better job. We're 6-0 in the playoffs when we rebound our opponent. And I give it. I have to give our guys a lot of credit, man. Like we've done a really good job taking away the three and the foul line.

So to beat a team like that again in front of an unbelievable crowd, special performance by a lot of players. Guys understood if we were going to win this game, I challenged them after the third quarter. They just scored 31 points and they shot 70% in the third. So if you want to win this game, the fourth quarter defense has to be great.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. It certainly was that. The Suns only managed 14 points in the fourth quarter after Mike Malone issued that challenge.

And yes, Nicole Yocut with another impeccable performance. 39 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. He definitely knows how to fill up a stat sheet. Uncharacteristic shooting night for Jamal Murray and yet the Nuggets still beat the Suns by 10. Phoenix didn't even get to 90 points in this one because of that abysmal fourth quarter. Jamal Murray goes 0 for 9 from beyond the arc and had a little fun in the postgame press conference as he's sitting alongside teammates. If I'm being honest, it was really nothing. I was just, I mean, if I go look at the film, most of my shots were open. You know, it was just, they just didn't drop the night. So, 0 for 9 from 3, bro. I didn't even see that.

I did. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I just got to make a shot. I mean, I think it's simple as that. It wasn't really anything they did. We were just like, you know, especially in the first half or the first quarter was like 16 to 16, second quarter was 30 to 30. Like, both teams were missing and it was a rough, rough shooting night.

So for Jamal Murray, along with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, they can joke about it after the fact, right? He goes 0 for 9 from 3. He barely gets 10 points, a little better in the fourth quarter. The big turning point for the Suns, at least, is that they lose Chris Paul late in the third quarter.

He gets to the locker room at some point there in the second half. He's holding on to kind of the left groin muscle, does not return, and now there is concern that he could miss extended time. And this has been a problem with Chris Paul. Plus, he's now in his late 30s, and sometimes it takes longer to recover from injuries as a pro athlete when you are older. But it's been an issue, regardless of where Chris has been, that he's gotten hurt in the playoffs. But think about the extended regular season and then going into the playoffs. A lot of these guys, they're muscles, they're fatigued, and you're more susceptible to injuries.

It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. Tough shooting night for Kevin Durant, 10 of 27 from the floor, but 2 of 12 from beyond the arc. And even as Jamal Murray is struggling to buy a bucket, Durant not much better from deep.

I mean, I could have knocked him down, felt like they were good leaving my hands, but it is what it is. He just missed a ton of shots, but we got a lot of the shots we wanted. He and Book took most of the shots. We just didn't shoot a great percentage tonight.

And that kind of stuff happens. They only scored 97 points. Our defense was much better tonight. We just couldn't put the ball in the hole. It certainly is notable that neither team was over 100 points. Neither team got into triple digits. That's rare in the NBA these days. So yeah, you don't get a good game from either Kevin Durant or Jamal Murray. And it turns out that without Chris Paul, the offense doesn't move as well.

It gets bogged down. Tonight, we get the opener. It's high profile. It's hype city USA. We've got the Warriors hosting the Los Angeles Lakers. 6th playoff meeting that features LeBron James and Steph Curry in that core for the Warriors. Earlier, it'll be game 2 between the Heat and the Knicks in New York.

We'll wait to hear any word on Julius Randle. Alright, wrapping up, one last game 7 from the opening round. Let's get it. 15 seconds remaining. Mikkola with a blast.

That's off the glass. Sharangovitch clears. One last chance perhaps for the Rangers. Mikkola drives it in.

That will do it. It's on to Raleigh for the Devils as Akira Schmidt has shut out the New York Rangers 4-0. Remember the name, Akira Schmidt. Second shutout for a 22-year-old rookie goalie that really is the spark. The change that gets the Devils into a different place and a different mode. This rookie goaltender takes over in game 3 as the starter for the Devils. They do not lose again in the series. And so they're able to win the, well, they win the 4 in a row. And they take out the Rangers. First playoff series win for the Devils since 2012. A stunner for the Rangers.

But man, what a way to finish up round 1. We'll talk to you tonight. Have a great Tuesday. It's after hours, CBS Sports Radio. Boom! Be excited for your generosity.