5.222.23 - JR SportBrief Hour 2

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I am everywhere at J.R. Sportbrief right now in Los Angeles, California. Despite 38 points and a ridiculous defensive effort here from LeBron James, the Denver Nuggets lead the Lakers 107 to 102. There's about three minutes, a little more than three minutes left in the game.

And I think we all know this by now. If the Lakers lose tonight, this season is over. LeBron James, I told you, and now he just went for 40. LeBron James, this man had 31 points in the first half. He has played every minute and every second of this game. And Nikola Jokic has a triple-double already, 25 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists. We will keep you up to date on this game as it continues to roll on and concludes.

We open up the first hour of the show because I get started at 10 Eastern, 7 Pacific. We talked about the Celtics and all of their quitting. The Heat beat them last night, 128 to 102 at one point in time.

The Heat led by 33 points. Magic Johnson was embarrassed by this. Even Magic went online and pretty much said, hey, the Celtics, who would have thought this story franchise, this version of the team, would actually quit?

So we talked about the Celtics quitting, and they were also a game away from elimination. We talked about Brooks Koepka winning the PGA Championship on Sunday. We talked about Ben Roethlisberger jealous of Kenny Pickett, saying that early last season he was hoping for Kenny Pickett to fail because of his own jealousy and I guess insecurity, selfishness, hoping that people would miss Big Ben because Kenny Pickett failed. And I guess Ben Roethlisberger, he doesn't have anything better to do in retirement than just be miserable.

But at least he owned up to it. Anyway, speaking of retirement, the basketball world got a retirement today. Carmelo Anthony, done, finished, no mas, calling it a career.

Well, now LeBron James is the last guy to be in the NBA from that 2003 draft. Everybody know I'm done, I'm finished, and I'm pretty much passing the torch. Take a listen to this video.

It's well produced. Listen. It's not my feets on the court that come to mind, nor the awards or praise, because my story has always been more than basketball. My legacy, my son, is in you. I will forever continue through you, because the time has come for you to carry this torch. So, Kai, chase your dreams. Let nothing hold you back.

Let nothing intervene. My legacy, now and forever, lives on through you. Yeah, and that reference there is Carmelo to his son, Kyan Anthony, who is 16 years old, and if you've ever seen or you follow Carmelo Anthony on social media, his son is a baller. His son is a baller. Is he gonna make the NBA, play in the NBA, those are the type of things you never know, but his son for a 16 year old is at a ridiculously advanced level, as you can imagine, because his dad is Carmelo Anthony. And sure, over the years, Carmelo Anthony has been fed with the good and the bad, whether it's a former relationship with George Karl, or he's a bad teammate, or Carmelo Anthony, all he knows how to do is score, and it's just, anything you can think of has been painted on Carmelo's back, it seems, for the duration of his career.

And for whatever reason, you know, people, and we know this is just life, folks want to look at all the negative and omit everything else that is staring you in the face. Carmelo Anthony is one of the best basketball players who has ever picked up a basketball, anytime, anyplace, ever, flat, period. His accomplishments are things that anybody would look at, if you have an aspiration to be a basketball player, you wouldn't be too shabby to have his career, it's ridiculously unique.

Coming into, well forget coming into the draft, the man won a national championship at Syracuse, he's drafted in 2003, Darko Milecic and some guy named Lebron James, and then there's also Wade is in there, Bosch is there as well. Carmelo Anthony goes to the All-Star game ten times, he is a scoring champ, he won three Olympic gold medals, I already told you about his national championship up at Syracuse. He's ninth all-time in scoring, he's on the NBA's list, some of their top 75 players, one of the top 75 players of all time. He's been about approaching 5,000 players in the NBA history in 77 years, and Carmelo Anthony is one of the best.

Without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most dynamic scorers, gets you in the post, could get you in the mid-range, could go ahead, underrated shooter, if you want to call Carmelo Anthony anything, you can look at him and say he was an underrated shooter. He actually wanted to play in New York City, where a lot of players, even to this day, did not want anything to do with it. He was traded there, he resigned, and then when the wheels fell off in a relationship with Phil Jackson, then the wheels fell off of his career. Because the greatest thing that he could do, score, made him, I don't want to say a pariah, but it made him a distraction. Because of all of his success, it's a matter of how can we bring him into our locker room in a diminished role. He goes to OKC, fails, trade him to the Hawks, he gets, you know, waived, bought out for a couple of days, doesn't even play for the Hawks, same thing with Houston, goes to Houston, nothing works, goes to the Bulls, Bulls drop him, plays in Portland, does a very good job with the Blazers, being instant offense, goes to the Lakers, Lakers do not work, and we have not seen Carmelo Anthony in the NBA. Over the past year, and for a dude who turns 39 next week, and he's been out of the league a year, a season, what else is there to play for?

Just a ring, right? Just a championship. Because that's what everybody goes out there and plays for. And the way it's dictated to everyone, if you don't win an NBA championship, then you're just crap. We think about somebody like LeBron James, who to this day is still criticized because of what he has not done, as opposed to everything that he has done. And everything that LeBron James will still be able to accomplish, whether or not he wins a ring or not. And so to call Carmelo Anthony overrated, to look at Carmelo and say all he did is score and to look at the negatives. How many people, in the grand total of 5,000 players, outside of being on a Mount Rushmore at the top of the top of the top of the top, man, I think there have been, I don't know, let's just say 4,700, 800 players who would have loved to have Carmelo Anthony's career. Like not everybody wins a ring.

If you want to just look back over the past 30 and 40 years, it's not a birthright for everybody. And so everyone is just constantly looking at Michael Jordan. Well, if that's the case, if Michael Jordan is the end all be all when it comes to rings, then where the hell is Bill Russell? The conversation should just stop right there.

And everybody else should have to fall in line. And so sometimes you got to appreciate greatness when it's staring you in the face. If you want to compare Carmelo Anthony to LeBron James, no, Carmelo Anthony was not LeBron. You want to compare LeBron James to Michael Jordan and his accomplishments. Yeah, LeBron special in his own way. But if LeBron is the benchmark for Carmelo, then what else are we doing here?

Like people go go crazy and always focusing on on what someone did not do, as opposed to everything that they did. I can look at LeBron James, I don't think anybody would dispute Carmelo Anthony's a better score. Carmelo Anthony was a damn good rebounder. And yeah, sure, if and when he wanted to, he would pass the ball.

And there were plenty of times most certainly with the New York Knicks. If you watch some of the teams that Carmelo played on, I'm not mad at him for saying, I'm going to take the shot. I'm going to shoot it because my teammates think there's a little bit of the the Kobe ism in there. And I will always appreciate this about Kobe Bryant. Never shy in saying, I took the shot because I practice the shot more than my teammate here next to me. I've dreamed about this.

I have I have been maniacal about my habits and my work. And so I trust myself to take the shot more than this other do. And do we know it's a team sport? Yes, we all know basketball is a team sport.

It's played five on five. But we also know, I don't think there's so much of a sport where an individual talent is going to drive the entire team more than basketball, you need a team to win, but you need a singular talent to really drive you and put you over the hump. And unfortunately for Carmelo Anthony, he didn't have that. He didn't have that, that that team around him that would take advantage of his skill set, which was to score the damn ball at a historic rate and pace more than we've really seen from anybody else.

Most people who've played this game. And so kudos to Carmelo. He put a lot on his son there to say, hey, I want him to carry on my legacy. And we have to see what his son does.

But this much I know. Whether you think Carmelo is overrated. You think he was a bum. You think he didn't deserve all the attention that he got the next step for Carmelo Anthony is just going to be the Basketball Hall of Fame National Championship.

Multiple gold medals. One of the best NBA players of all time. And now his career is done enough with the Carmelo didn't do this Carmelo didn't do that. I think most people who picked up a ball would love to have had his career. It's the JR sport brief show here with you on CBS Sports Radio, you know, I just mentioned LeBron James.

We know he's a legend in his own right. The season might be over in four seconds. Right now, the Denver Nuggets lead 113 to 111. The Lakers are going to have a chance to do something here, coming out of the break. We'll give you an update on the other side. A matter of fact, it's all over.

Oh no. The Los Angeles Lakers season is done. The Denver Nuggets just beat them. The final score 113 to 111 LeBron James, leaving it all on the court, all 48 minutes 40 points. If there's one thing, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony.

They can have a glass of wine. They can at least take a breather together LeBron James drops to the basket. No fouls. Nothing, by the way, he's not retiring Jr right for the for the record. This isn't the last LeBron. It's amazing because he's in your 20 and anyone else you would say hey is this his last game but because this guy is the most durable athlete in the history of professional sports, you know, he's going on for the next few years at least. So it's just it's just put into perspective like how great this guy really is.

He went out swinging man. I can't believe they got swept. He's not he's not going anywhere right the Denver Nuggets win 113 to 111 LeBron James makes that long walk to the locker room, followed by cameras microphones and this last play of the game will be analyzed as LeBron gets the ball at the top of the three drops of the basket is hounded by Aaron Gordon met also by Murray and no fouls are there.

It's not really gonna matter. It's over. This is our sport ratio here with you on CBS Sports Radio. The Denver Nuggets advanced to the first their first NBA Finals in franchise history. The Denver Nuggets sweep the Los Angeles Lakers.

We're going to talk about this more throughout the course of the night. Obviously, as we continue on eight five five two one two four CBS is eight five five two one two four CBS, the Denver Nuggets. They go to their first NBA Finals led by Nicola Jokic and LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. They go home.

They get swept. That's on the other side. It's the JR sport brief show CBS Sports Radio. You're listening to the JR sport brief on CBS Sports Radio. Your credit to your profession. You're one of the rare where your personality is actually balances facts with whatever college call me with. I'm also a caller for Pearland, Texas.

So, Pearland, Texas loves you. Call in now at eight five five two one two four CBS. The JR sport brief show here on CBS Sports Radio. Los Angeles Lakers have been eliminated from the postseason. The Denver Nuggets come back to win 113 to 111 at halftime of this game in Los Angeles game for the Denver Nuggets swept this one at halftime. The Lakers led 73 to 58 LeBron James had 31 points at halftime LeBron James played all 48 minutes for tonight's game. He was the only Laker to play all 48 and he had a he had a game to try to stay alive. It just it still was not enough 40 points for LeBron 10 rebounds nine assists. Anthony Davis gives you 21 points and 14 rebounds D'Angelo Russell. He was put onto the bench.

He was benched. Yes, for Ruhi Hachimura and D'Angelo Russell only gave you four points. And Mike Malone has made an entire point here throughout the postseason to to remind everyone how even when the Nuggets win, it's about somebody else.

And so tonight it really doesn't matter. Jokic and the Nuggets are advancing to their first NBA finals. Jokic leads the way. 30 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists. Jamal Murray pours it in again, has 25 points. Aaron Gordon gives you 22.

Kentavious Caldwell Pope gives you 13 points. Nuggets got busy. Jokic played 45 minutes here to close things out. And I would say there was no bigger shot tonight than the one made by Nikolai Jokic. He hit a step back, fall away three over one of the best defenders, arguably the best defender in the NBA and Anthony Davis. Jokic got busy. I want you to take a listen to this three over the long ass arms of Anthony Davis that put the Nuggets up six. This is courtesy of the Nuggets radio network. Jokic picked up by Davis takes a tough three. Got it right at the hard.

Oh, man. This is the same Nikolai Jokic. Well, when Anthony Davis was asked about Jokic a couple of games ago, he hit one of those shots in front of him. And Anthony Davis said, there's nothing I can do about it.

What am I going to do? And that's exactly what Jokic did tonight. And he did it at a big moment in a big spot to help finish them off. The Los Angeles Lakers had the ball.

Four seconds left on the clock. LeBron James drove to the basket. He was hounded by Gordon. He was hounded by Murray. Murray got his hands on the ball. Didn't appear to be enough contact for the referees to say, we will blow this whistle. And so instead of LeBron going to the line.

Well, here, just take a listen. This is the final call from the Nuggets radio network. Four seconds left. Two points ties it up. LeBron in the paint layup. No good.

Got his own board. There's the hard. And the Denver Nuggets for the first time in franchise history will go to the NBA Finals. Denver Nuggets at this very moment, this second, they are on the court.

They have on their T-shirts. They got the Western Conference championship trophy there. They're celebrating. Obviously, this ain't the NBA Finals celebration. Four more victories before they can even be crowned or considered champions.

But they're enjoying this right now at this moment. Nikolay Jokic, minutes after the final buzzer sounded. Nikolay Jokic, he spoke to Lisa Salters after the W. Nikola, take me through that final defensive stand. Everybody in the building knew it was going to LeBron.

Of course. I mean, he had an amazing game. We couldn't stop him in the first half. We found a way to make him take a little bit tougher shots. But he's still one of the best that ever played this game. It was the kind of semi-aisle for him.

He was going last. Jamal helped really, really good. Really good.

And he didn't even take a shot. So it's a great, great collective team effort. You guys were down 15 at the half. What turned around for you guys? We don't give up. I'm saying this last five years, when we were bad, we were good.

We don't give up. And that's what happened today. They jumped on us the first half. They were really, they were better aggressive. They were scoring easy.

They didn't mess up, basically. But the second half, we turned up the page and everybody will step up. And I think it's a collective effort. It's not just one guy. It's just not one guy.

I told you, every member of the Denver Nuggets, every member of their starting rotation was in double digits. Nikolay Jokic, he's crowned the MVP of the Western Conference Finals. He walks away with the first time Magic Johnson trophy. Nikolay Jokic, just a little baby trophy, walking around with it in the back. Not the one that he wants.

Not the one that he really cares about. We know he wants an NBA championship. And that would pretty much be the defining thing, the defining accomplishment, really, for his career.

This is what people look for. You can MVP this, that. You can MVP this.

You can go back to back MVP. There comes a point in time where folks just want to see you, you know, go out there and win that championship. And so for Nikolay Jokic, he is four games away from doing so. We know the Miami Heat are doing their part, running around, trying to get these Celtics out of here. The Celtics not even competing. So by the time we complete tomorrow night, the NBA Finals may actually just be set and finalized. But we got one thing done already. The Denver Nuggets have done their part. 113 to 111.

There are so many different angles to discuss, so many areas to get into. The Denver Nuggets going to their first finals. LeBron James going home.

The Los Angeles Lakers, let's keep in mind this was a team with a different roster that started the season at 2 and 10. What happens in the offseason? Darvin Ham obviously a first year head coach. I don't think there's any concerns or or worries about whether or not he will return.

But there are some roster spots. Austin Reeves has been balling out of his mind tonight. Another solid performance, not the 23, 22 points, but he had 17 points.

A bigger question. What happens with D'Angelo Russell? Only four points tonight heading into the playoffs. So much talk about D'Angelo Russell and oh, he's performed so good. We don't we don't need to bring in Kyrie Irving.

Well, I'm sure that thought process will will go ahead and change now. Now that the Lakers have been eliminated. And so we're going to have plenty of time to talk about the Nuggets. The Lakers season is done.

It is a wrap. The phone lines are open for you right now. That's eight five five two one two four CBS. That's eight five five two one two four CBS. As the night continues on, we're going to hear from more of the Nuggets. We're going to hear from, I'm sure, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. We're going to have all the audio, all the coverage for you here on CBS Sports Radio. Let me know your thoughts, folks. We're going to hear from more of the players on the other side. Here's some of the game action. Lakers, they go home.

The Denver Nuggets, they go to their first NBA Finals. You're listening to the J.R. Sport Brief on CBS Sports Radio. I want to say thank you for being on the show and giving me some good content every time I leave my girlfriend's house, give me some time to chill, relax and listen to some good sports news. Call in now at eight five five two one two four CBS.

The J.R. Sport Brief show on CBS Sports Radio. The Denver Nuggets are going to their first ever NBA Finals. They sweep the Los Angeles Lakers tonight. They beat them in L.A. One thirteen to one eleven.

That is the final score. The Los Angeles Lakers, led by LeBron James, hot as hell to start this game. LeBron had thirty one points at halftime and the Lakers led seventy three to fifty eight. The Nuggets were able to turn the tide in the second half. Los Angeles Lakers at one point missed eight consecutive threes.

They could not hit the broadside of a barn, but they were able to get back into this game. And pretty much final call, final play. Four seconds left on the clock. LeBron James gets the inbounds. He drives to the basket from the three point line. He is met and guarded by Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray.

No foul call. So the Los Angeles Lakers, their season ends. They started two and ten. They revamped the roster and they have plenty to discuss and think about. And there's no way in hell we're going to touch upon everything tonight from the Los Angeles Lakers and some of their contracts for next season. And who do they bring in?

How do they manage the money? What happens with DeAngelo Russell? There's certainly Kyrie Irving. He has to be on a ring in his hands in anticipation, knowing that he set himself up to potentially be a Laker and reunite with LeBron. And for the Nuggets, they're just waiting. The Denver Nuggets are out here.

They are. They are waiting on the Miami Heat. It looks like the Celtics have already packed it in.

It doesn't appear that they're going to be too far behind the Los Angeles Lakers. And Jokic did it big tonight. 30 points. 14 rebounds. 13 assists.

Big. 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. That's 8-5-5, 2-1-2 for CBS. Nuggets outscoring the Lakers 55 to 38 in that second half. Flutist calling from D.C. You're on the JR Sport Brief Show.

Hey, what's up there, Mr. JR? It's good to see that the Denver Nuggets have finally made it to the NBA championship because this is a symbol that the ABA is like a completed mission. Because the four original teams from the ABA, the Denver Nuggets, the San Antonio Spurs, the Nets, and the Nuggets.

The four teams, now all four of them have at least reached the NBA finals. And the ABA brought a style of basketball that opened up the game with a three-point line. And the Nuggets have always been a team-oriented type of basketball team.

And to a lot of young guys, they're really into individual talents and they look at the stars. But them Nuggets teams, man, you can go back through their history. When they came to the NBA, I just want to drop a little history because I'm blind now.

I haven't seen basketball in quite a while, but I follow it. And they had David Thompson and Anthony Roberts and Matt Calvin. They came to the NBA.

They bought this whole wide-open offense. And then they switched to a team that had some of the best players. And no one ever talked about these guys. They had three players that would score 90 points every single night.

It was Kiki Van De Way, Alex English, and Dan Issel. And they had a point guard that used to get triple-doubles every night named Fat Lever. And he was only 6'1". He would get triple-doubles every single night.

His name was never mentioned in nothing. And they had a point guard named Michael Adams who had scored a three-point in, like, 187 consecutive games. And then the Nuggets moved up to the Dikembe Mutombo era when they had Dafonzo Ellis and Mahmoud Abdul-Raoud and Jalen Rose. And they had Ron Anderson. And they defeated the Seattle Supersonics at the time. And they were the number one seed. The Nuggets were the number eight seed. They saw the image of Mutombo on the ground, hugging the ball. You can see the pride. They probably got eliminated the next round, but they were eight-seed, put out the one-seed.

And there they have moved on into the Carvello after-era. Well, Flute, I have it on good authority. There's a good chance that you might hear from Fat Lever this week, okay? Man, that boy was mad, man.

I'm telling you, man. They never mentioned him as one of the best point guards there. He was only 6'1", man. He would get triple-doubles every night. And he was feeding them three top players, man. They would get 90 points out of three players every night. They was must-see basketball. But then the Carvello era with the Marcus Camby and the Nae Nae. They even picked up Allen Albertson, man. I mean, they tried to put together... The thing is, Flute, as you know, everything always boils down to... And this is what we talked... We talked about Carvello earlier in the show. Right, right. That's a big day. People only look at the results.

And it's where do you end up? And so, unfortunately, going to the Western Conference Finals in the 80s and the late 70s, that's not enough. You know, when people look at the storied franchises here in the NBA, there's a reason why there's so much interest in the Lakers and in the Celtics. Because people have memories that go back now 40 years.

And for some folks, even before that. And so, these Denver Nuggets right now, they're certainly getting their just due, even as Mike Malone has said it. He says, we are not going to properly receive respect, not as a franchise for what has taken place years ago, but for right now. Until we actually win something.

And they're getting close. Hey, Flute, thank you for calling from D.C. Hey, man, thank you, Jay. I love your pace, man. You have a real smooth and mellow pace about yourself, man. And the next time you come to D.C., man, you know, just stick around a little longer, man. You came through and shout out sometimes so fast, man. Keep doing what you're doing, man. And one last thing I want to tell you, man, is that a team is always better than an individual, man. So I'm glad that the young are getting a chance to see the Miami Heat and they're getting a chance to see these Denver Nuggets.

They are teams, you know what I'm saying? And I hope that continues. All right, Jay, y'all, I'm listening to you, man. Keep doing what you're doing. Peace out. Thank you. Shout outs to all my folks tuned in in D.C. And Flute is saying, hey, I got to stay longer. I was just in D.C. for two weeks ago. Nobody knew.

I just pop in, pop out. My bad. 855-212-4CBS.

That's 855-212-4CBS. You just talked about teamwork and a team player. Someone who's all about team.

Also showing a lot of respect to the opposition. Nikola Jokic had a triple-double tonight, 30 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists. He just spoke. And one of the things that he did do? He showed a lot of love to LeBron James on ESPN.

Take a listen to this. We had an amazing game. We couldn't stop him in the first half. We found a way to make him take a little bit tougher shots.

But he's still one of the best that ever played this game. Nikola Jokic showing him some love. 855-212-4CBS. His head coach, Mike Bellone, currently speaking as well. Darvin Ham had just left the podium.

We'll get that for you shortly. AJ's calling from Milwaukee. You're on the JR Sport Brief Show. What's up, AJ? What's going on, bro? I mean, basically, all I want to say is what's sweet. Simple as that.

What's sweet. It don't matter if it's the finals, conference finals, whatever round you want to pick in the playoffs over the years. In my opinion, the first round series win was against a dysfunctional team. Then they got a fugazi win against my Warriors. I mean, the Warriors would at least have one win, maybe two, even though they weren't too good on the road this year.

And as far as Denver, they've pretty much been the best team in the West since December, if not late November. So the first portion, correct me if I'm wrong here, of your call was to crap on the Los Angeles Lakers? The sweep.

Lebron, the sweep. No, no, that's not what I asked you. I'm asking you for clarity. No, I'm asking you. So wait, slow down. No, because I asked you and you didn't answer, and now I'm asking you. Hold on a second. To be clear here, you are downplaying what has taken, what the Lakers have done? Try to organize your point.

Go ahead. I'm kind of downplaying the series win over the Warriors. I felt it was fugazi. What does that mean? Phony. I know what fugazi means. Why do you find it to be fake, inauthentic?

I know what fugazi means. Because they didn't get one win over Denver, and when they lost the first game, it was still all about the Lakers as far as the narrative. It wasn't about Denver played a better game.

AJ, AJ, AJ. I'm going to ask one more time. You mentioned the Golden State Warriors, and then you immediately moved over to the Nuggets. Why do you think the Los Angeles Lakers winning over the Golden State Warriors was fugazi?

Because I felt like it just had a different feel to it, and the majority of the games was close, and I felt that last game, if it wasn't the last game, game six, when it was tied, and it was a few seconds left in the fourth quarter, and they had that jump ball, and the Warriors won the tip, and Steph got the ball, and they had a timeout, and he just threw it away like it was just something funny to it. Oh, wow. Okay, okay. Well, thank you, AJ, for calling from Milwaukee. Alright, yeah, it's fugazi.

Yeah, the powers that be just pushed the Lakers ahead and said, nah, we don't need the Golden State Warriors here. 855-2124, CBS. Greg is calling from Michigan. You're on CBS Sports Radio. Go ahead, Greg. Oh, my God, J.R., Mr.

Positive, I'm so depressed, but what can you say? He put in a hell of an effort. They lost. He almost had a triple-double. You know, what can he do? Should he retire? I don't think so, but what can you do?

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Let's not even, that's not even a thought. I hope not. Nah, why is LeBron, why is that even a thought? He's under contract. The man wants to keep playing. He wants to play with his son. Like, that would be the shocker of all shockers.

That would be the last thing that I ever, ever would even think about. Oh, thank you, my friend. When's your next agents of inclusion?

New episodes drop every Wednesday, Greg. Very good, very good. Hey, everyone go for your dreams. You're the best, J.R., and thanks for taking my call. Sure, don't be depressed. Just be okay, all right? You'll be fine.

You bet. Thank you, Greg, for calling from Michigan. He's depressed. What are you doing? Don't be depressed. Be happy.

You're here, right? You get to watch more basketball. LeBron James, Anthony Davis, getting ready to chat.

That should be interesting. Darvin Ham has already, in his press conference, talked so much about the inconsistency when it comes down to the referees and their whistles. But before he went to that, he gave a lot of credit to LeBron James for how he performed.

Listen to Darvin Ham. He came out with a mindset to keep this thing going. He came in the building, as he's been all year, all throughout the playoffs, with a focus, a determination to get it done by any means necessary.

I just thank them all. It's great, the competitive spirit. It was phenomenal. From day one, getting to this point from which we came, digging ourselves out of a deep, deep hole, and then being able to be a part of this 2023 NBA postseason and then become one of the Final Four teams. It was a hell of a year, a hell of an experience, and a hell of a turnaround. He did a complete 180.

He was a big part of that in terms of his communication, his leadership. He and AD both. He just came out ready to go.

He came out ready to go, but it was not enough. LeBron James dropping 40 points. LeBron James had 31 points at halftime. The Denver Nuggets, they still win 113 to 111. They sweep the Los Angeles Lakers. They await, I would assume, the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals if the Celtics just decide to just call it a wrap and lay down. It's the JR Sport Reshow on CBS Sports Radio. The phone lines are open.

It's 855-212-4CBS, 855-212-4CBS. Mike Malone just spoke to the media as well. We're going to hear from the head coach of the Denver Nuggets. He's been looking for a little bit of RESBECT all postseason.

Does he think they finally got it? I'm going to take your calls. We'll hear from Mike Malone. And oh yeah, I can't wait to hear from LeBron. Don't move on CBS Sports Radio. We'll be right back. So if you need great coverage, especially when you're on the go, check out T-Mobile.

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