It is the JR Sportbrief show on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta Georgia. Thank you to everybody listening all over North America. I hope you've had a tremendous Tuesday.
I'll be hanging out with you for the next two hours. This is a four hour show. It gets started every weekday 6 p.m. Eastern 3 Pacific. I'm in Atlanta.
Thank you to our producer in New York City, Ray Jarvis. Thank you to you for listening. Wherever you are.
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Just use your words. Tell it to play the Infinity Sports Network. We're about 30 minutes away from the start of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves. Hey, how about this? In about 20 minutes, we're going to be joined by Jonathan Von Tobel covers all things basketball for Vison. He'll be here to talk with us about everything going on in the league.
And we talked about a lot during this show already. The NFL deciding to allow its players to participate in the 2028 Olympics. No, there won't be any football per se. It'll be flag football. We'll see some NFL players out there. That'll be fun. We got to wait on the touch.
Push that vote comes tomorrow. You got Joe Burrow sticking up for Trey Hendrickson in his contract negotiations with the Cincinnati Bengals. We got Dwayne Wade beaten up on Jimmy Butler.
Say, man, you making 60 mill a year now. Man, you got to shoot the ball. We talked about OKC in Minnesota.
I think OKC is going to win the series. We just talked about Kaitlyn Clark and Angel Reese sparking a feud between Ryan Clark and RG three. Man, y'all just need to hug it out. And so we got more to get into more basketball, more football, even some baseball. We talked about briefly we will get into the New York Mets and Juan Soto. This guy's making seven hundred and sixty five million dollars.
And they're just all these reports, just how unhappy he is. And he went to the New York Mets because of his family. He wanted to stay with the Yankees. It's just not looking good right now. But when you're tied in and married for the next 14 years.
I hope you're going to be OK. Not like you're going to just trade that guy over to the New York Yankees because he's sad. So we got a lot to get into as the show continues on eight, eight, eight, seven, ten for ISN. That's eight, eight, eight, seven, ten for ISN. I mean, we we got real beef now, too. We got rivalries. We got cousins playing together against each other tonight in the queue.
Walker Alexander and and Shake Yo gets Alexander the cousins. They're going to go at it tomorrow. We got real beef. Well, Ray, that's fake beef, right? The WWE stuff with Halliburton and and Jalen Brunson. That's a fake beef, huh? Yeah, that's all scripted.
Wrestling is essentially soap operas for men. Yeah. Well, it was I got to tell you, it was pretty hilarious last year when Tyrese Halliburton played the bad heat. And I think they did this actually with Trae Young, too.
A couple of years ago, Trae Young was in Madison Square Garden. He came out as the bad guy. I don't know what he did, but he was the bad guy.
Got booed in Madison Square Garden. And last year after the Pacers eliminated the Knicks on the postseason, it was only like a couple of weeks later that Tyrese Halliburton, who certainly plays the the bad guy role. Halliburton was in Madison Square Garden trying to help out, I think, Logan Paul in a match.
Jalen Brunson went out and stopped them from cheating. So just this hilarious stuff all the way around. A matter of fact, last night we discussed this. Halliburton was on Monday Night Raw and he talked about his experience in the WWE. And it's not a surprise. Tyrese Halliburton as a basketball player, he certainly embraces the the underrated, overrated bad guy role.
Take a listen to this. Yeah, I wanted to be the bad guy. I was like, oh, no, I'm all in.
I was so excited as a kid. I always imagined if I was a wrestler, I'd be the bad guy because I'm like the skinny guy who can talk trash to people and then, you know, figure it out in the ring. I always imagined myself as like the mouthpiece of a stable. Like I always felt like that was supposed to be me.
So it fit well. And then I honestly didn't even know Jalen was going to be there until like the day before or like the day of. So we got there and me and Jalen are cool. So I was like, are you coming? And he's like, yeah.
And then all these things, you know, we're figuring it out and this is what it's going to be. And it was just a lot of fun. I had a lot of fun doing it. And yeah, I'm really appreciative of W.E.B. for letting me do that.
And hopefully there's many more opportunities for me to get involved in the future. Yeah, skinny guy, bad guy who doesn't shut up. Sounds like a Reggie Miller clone. I mean, this is the same Reggie Miller who just tortured the New York Knicks in the 90s. If I got to think about who gave Nick fans the most heart attacks, it was probably Michael Jordan and then Reggie Miller, except for Reggie Miller.
Just everybody wanted to be like Mike. You respected Michael Jordan. Reggie Miller just came across as a pain in the ass, flopping, flailing, trash talking, shot making just an irritant.
You want to elbow this guy in the ribs. And John Stark said he has a headbutt. It is a pain in the behind for the New York Knicks. And even last year, now with Reggie Miller as an announcer, you know, the Knicks took on the Pacers. Unfortunately, they did so without Julius Randle. And then you had Jalen Brunson, who's running around with a busted up hand.
He was certainly a compromise. And so the Indiana Pacers did go on to advance to the Easter conference finals. They ended up losing to the Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks.
They went home. Reggie Miller was basically saying, hey, I'm going back to the garden as an announcer right now. And the Nick fans basically chanted words that I cannot repeat here on the radio.
You imagine having 20000 people chant at you that you are a well that how about they don't like you listen to this. I know people are like, aren't you worried about going back to New York City and calling the game? No, I've owned this city.
I've owned this building. So I'd be worried about walking on out there. All right.
So no, I'm looking forward to it. Yeah, the fans, Ray, the fans were yelling at Reggie. Love you, Reggie.
Right. Love you, Reggie. Love you, Reggie.
Appreciate the memories. Flicking it up at Spike. Love you, Reggie.
Put it on a shirt. Yeah, love you, Reggie. That's what they were chanting.
Yeah, something like that. And then Reggie Miller, after the series was done, he kind of doubled down on how much he doesn't like the Knicks or their fans. Listen, Terry's Halliburton. Don't be this guy. Why I cannot stand the Knicks to be their front runners. They think that they're God's gift to basketball. Fine. You can think that all you want, but don't front run when you guys are up and then you guys want to talk stuff. So that's when the chants start.
Where gasoline was poured on it. There's 30 seconds left on the clock. Josh Hart came over to me. I think he was trying to be funny. But again, being front runners, there was no need for it. But it is what it is. Won't be the first time. And I very well can see these two teams battling for the Eastern Conference crown. Well, look at Reggie Miller. What an oracle he is. What a mind reader or fortune teller. Here we are. Eastern Conference finals, New York Knicks and the Pacers. Reggie Miller predicted it.
I think things might be different this year. And Reggie Miller, he talks about owning the garden, owning the Knicks. Well, he did have some big time moments. We know about the eight points in nine seconds, by the way, did kind of push off on some of that.
But I digress. You think about the 90s. OK, they met the Knicks and the Pacers did six times from 1993 to the year 2000. And if you think about the total postseason matchups all time. The Pacers only lead with 26 wins to the Knicks 22.
And that that includes last season where they beat the New York Knicks who were compromised. And so this series and this rivalry, it's it's really a rivalry. You know, in a lot of cases, people say rivalry and it's it's two teams. One team is literally beating the hell out of the other one.
And then they catch up. And this is this has been pretty even. And I think the matchup that we get tomorrow, starting in Madison Square Garden, I think that I'm going to give the New York Knicks the edge. I do worry about Karl-Anthony Towns. That guy sometimes is way too passive for me on the offensive side of the basketball. But I think Jalen Brunson, I think he's the best player in the entire series. I think he is the guy that is the bucket getter, shot getter.
We know Tyrese Halliburton can certainly go out there and knock down some daggers of his own. Just go ask Giannis Atetokounmpo. Go ahead and ask his own dad.
His dad will scream at you and tell you about his son. Ben Matherin wasn't available last year in the postseason. And he certainly can go out there and get some buckets and go on a heater all by himself. But I just give the New York Knicks the edge because a home court. I also give the edge to the New York Knicks because they have Brunson.
Last year he was compromised. But I do think this series is going to go down to seven games. It can swing either damn way. We're going to have some ups. We're going to have some downs.
We're going to have some lows. But the Knicks and the Pacers, they are certainly back at the forefront. And I don't think anybody expected or predicted this, but we had some injuries across the board in the playoffs. That does happen primarily to the Celtics and the New York Knicks.
Yeah, they were going down 20 points a game to him and still bouncing back. This is going to be a good one. We have to wait another 24 hours for this matchup. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. David is calling up from L.A. You're on the JR Sport. Re-show us up, David. Hey, JR. Good afternoon.
Thank you so much for taking my call. You know, you kind of took a lot of words out of my mouth. I really want to talk about Knicks Pacers here because I was the perfect age. I was a tween during that. They're the heated part of that rivalry when they met for, I think, three consecutive years from ninety three through ninety five in each round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
You know, you you come away with. For each of those series they met in those three years, you come away with at least one memory per series that you just never forget if you witness it live. Ninety three. It was Reggie Miller taunting John Starks so badly that Starks head-butted him. And then, of course, Reggie not even pretending he was acting by falling over like that got Starks thrown out of the game. Then, of course, ninety four, you had Reggie Miller's twenty five points in the fourth quarter in game five, which was only surpassed by Patrick Ewing's dunk in game seven to seal the series. And then you had the next year in ninety five, the eight points in nine seconds, followed by Ewing's finger roll in game seven. That basically ended ended that era of Nick's basketball because that was Pat Riley's last game as Nick's coach. You know, so for someone like me who doesn't have any skin in the game, who just enjoyed this rivalry or what it is, I mean, every single time Nick's Pacers clashes in the postseason, I get taken back to those three years where it was just pure entertainment between these two teams. And, you know, I know they played last year. I know they're going to play again this year. Are we seeing a renewed rivalry here between these two teams?
I'm going to guess it's probably not going to be as intense, but my God. Well, they did. They played about shoot at this point about a decade ago.
And thank you, David, for calling from L.A. But it didn't have it didn't have the juice. You know, I mean, who cares about young Paul George and, you know, younger Carmelo? It just doesn't have the juice like in any good story, any rivalry. You want to have the the antagonist. You want to have the protagonist.
You want to have somebody to root for. Jelen Brunson for a guy also who has a podcast and has also participated in WWE. When it comes to basketball, this guy doesn't say anything. He shows up and he goes to work.
There is no, you know, histrionics. There's no gigantic celebrations outside of him putting his hand over his face. He's like a killer out there. He's like an assassin. He doesn't give you much during the press conferences. He just goes out there and goes to work.
Halliburton is the opposite. He's there. He's showing up to the arena with the fancy clothes and maybe not fancy, but the unique clothes. He's leaning into being the bad guy.
His dad seems like a cheerleader behind him. The Pacers had to tell him to shut up and relax and go away for a little while. It's it's an interesting situation. And so you have two different personalities. You just heard Halliburton. They don't have a problem with each other.
But when you got these personalities, it's easy to root against the Pacers. It just is. Halliburton was just in an arena yelling at him that he's overrated. It's like, oh, man, I didn't know that we even had beef over here.
And so I like the direction that this is going. It's funny. Tom Thibodeau was asked about all this WWE and the rivalry and whatnot.
And and even Josh Hart, the Knicks, Jalen Brunson, they all just like, man, just Tom Thibodeau wants to think about basketball. Listen to this reaction just about the WWE and the rivalry and all of this stuff. Yeah, WWE.
They were cooking when they did that. WWE wrote a great script. So there's going to be a lot of guys that's going to be trying to get on WWE this summer. What do you make of that match, Jalen? That's for you guys. Like we have great respect for Indiana and Tyrese.
You know, we understand what we have to do. But I think, you know, where we are today, that's that's part of the league. But I try to focus on the basketball part. Yeah, Tom Thibodeau just always focused on the basketball part.
Hey, look, if we're going to get anything WWE, let's get a gauntlet with Draymond Green versus the world. He has to face off against Rudy Gobert and Sabonis. Am I missing anybody, Ray? Oh, Jordan Poole, right? Jordan Poole got to come out, get some hits in. Sabonis, Jordan Poole. We can't forget Steven Adams. What is our guy from the Phoenix Suns who caught the spinning back elbow? Nurkic has to get in there as well. We also have to think.
A quick caveat. I remember many moons ago, he got into Bradley Bill, a little fisticuff action on the court. Get Bill in there as well. This is pay per view.
They need to pay for this. Well, listen, if we ever see Draymond, Draymond feels probably that he's too big for WWE. So he's the guy who's fighting people the most. I guess he thinks he's a real dream on his tailor made for WWE. If anyone is supposed to be there, it's not Tyrese Halliburton. It's Draymond Green.
That's WrestleMania. Well, let's see if Draymond ever takes the check. Let's see if he does it this offseason. There's going to be some type of NBA player. It might be Halliburton again, but we're going to have an NBA player in WWE over the summer.
We'll see. It's the JR Sport Pre-Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. We're going to take a break. When we come back, we're going to have a chat with Jonathan von Tobel, host of Prime Time on Vson. We're going to have a chat about all things NBA as we head into an NBA Eastern and Western Conference Finals. We're going to have a new champ.
It might have a champ that we've never seen hoist the trophy before or the next whoever won since 73. Jonathan von Tobel on the other side, the JR Sport Pre-Show, Infinity Sports Network. It is the JR Sport Pre-Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. We are now minutes away from the start of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Minnesota Timberwolves. We got to wait tomorrow for, I guess, the blood match between the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.
So we're down to the Final Four in the NBA playoffs to talk about what we can expect, what we should see, what trends we should pay attention to. He's someone who covers all sports. He's the host of Prime Time on Vson. Joining us right now is Jonathan von Tobel. Jonathan, how are you, man? I'm good. I was actually doing really good when I heard that intro. I thought that was you talking about how great I was. But it turns out it was just a rejoin for you. So I am a little down.
I thought you were telling me how smart I was. Next time, Jonathan. Next time. Next appearance. Hey, when you think about these matchups that we have down in this Final Four, of course, we have Minnesota and OKC minutes away from starting. But what's overall capturing your attention based on what we've seen so far in these playoffs? I think it's really about I think it's kind of twofold with Oklahoma City.
It's will the other stars are the other pieces around shade does Alexander show up? And by extension, will this shooting show up? I think that's like the biggest shock to me for a second straight postseason. This Thunder team shooting has completely disappeared. When you look at what they did in the regular season from the accuracy standpoint, they were one of the best three point shooting teams in the league. They shot 38 percent from beyond the arc. But in this postseason, they're floating around 32 percent from beyond the arc.
It's completely evaporated. And some of that extends to some of these role players. Jalen Williams, Jay Dove finally kind of showed up in Game seven.
But in the other games largely disappeared. I'm fascinated to see if those other pieces and the shooting start to reappear at some point in this series or if they somehow win this without it going on to the NBA finals. But specifically this series, you're going to be able to you got to shoot against Minnesota. And I'm going to be very curious to see if they can do that from Minnesota standpoint and perspective. When you think about what Julius Randall has been able to bring to the team, not the greatest of starts this season in his first year, but it's really turned things on as of late, turned things on over the past couple of months. What are your thoughts on his performance so far in the postseason?
I've actually on our network and anybody would listen to me. I've kind of been pointing to him as the key to the series for Minnesota. They're going to win it. If you go back to like last year and the times in which Minnesota, I thought looked their roughest. It's been when the Anthony Edwards was getting like blitzed when he was getting double sent at him because when the ball would leave his hands, look, Jay McDaniel's is fine, but he's not a shot creator like Anthony Edwards.
Right? Mike Conley is a good player. He's been in the league for a long time. Again, though, he's not one that can create his own look like Anthony Edwards can. Well, Julius Randall can do that.
And so now teams do have to decide whether or not they're going to give Anthony Edwards this extra attention. The Timberwolves are 30 and six in the last 36 games that Julius Randall has played. You mentioned kind of the slowest start to the postseason. I mean, since I mean, the last four games for Julius Randall, he's brilliant. When you look at what he did at the end of that series against the Golden State Warriors, he's definitely found his confidence averaging 27 points on 55 percent shooting. And he's just been so physically dominant against a smaller Oklahoma City team. I think he's like the linchpin. If the Timberwolves are going to win this series, I think you're looking at him to have a really big series because that means he is physically imposing his will on what is a smaller, slender, a little bit more sleek Oklahoma City team that I don't know if they're ready for the physicality that the Timberwolves are going to bring in, namely with Randall leading the way.
Jonathan Von Tobel joins us courtesy of Vison. When you think about who ultimately is going to advance to the finals coming out of the West, who you selected? Yeah. So I have all season long called the Western Conference, the Oklahoma City Invitational. You are all invited to compete.
But we are here to, of course, crown one champion. And that would be the Thunder. So I'm going to stick to my guns and say that the Western Conference is won by Oklahoma City. But I would say I think it's going to be a long series like you could find bets out there minus one twenty five over five and a half games in the series. So go six, go seven.
I think it's a really smart play to make. I don't think there's that much separating these two teams. We all remember when they played in the end of the regular season. Remember, they played that back to back. There was a hard fought win for Oklahoma City in Minnesota. And then the Timberwolves out in OKC come storming back, score 14 straight points or 16 straight points at the end of the fourth quarter.
For some overtime to win that game. It's going to be a dogfight. And I think it's going to be a long series of that. But I do think OKC wins it. And that's on the Western Conference side of things. When you take a look at the East, a lot of talk about firemen getting garbage thrown at them and W.W.E.
and Halliburton and Brunson. What are your thoughts on the Knicks and the Pacers? So I say, I mean, look, I think we're destined for two really good, a long series. Like, why wouldn't I think that this is going to be a long one?
But I will say this. I think to me, what is going to be so fascinating about this Eastern Conference final series is I keep using the word sustainability. If you look at what Indiana has done up to this point, I think it is fair to ask the question, can they sustain what they've done? Their effective field goal percentage as a team to the first two rounds would be the highest in NBA history in a postseason. Is that sustainable? You have guys like Andrew Nembhard, who shot twenty nine percent from three point range in the regular season, shooting over 40 percent in this postseason. Is that sustainable? Pascal Siakam and Aaron Neesmith are both shooting nearly 50 percent on three point attempts.
Is that sustainable? And even go to their two wins or two of their wins that they've had to this point. Remember, going into this postseason, teams were one and one thousand six hundred and forty. That is one win and one thousand six hundred and forty losses in the postseason when they were trailing by seven or more points in the final minute of overtime or the fourth quarter. Indiana got two wins in that scenario in this postseason. Like you look around and you go, dude, can the Pacers keep doing this? They deserve all the credit in the world for getting here and winning the games that they have. And I think it's very fair to ask if they can continue to play at this pace because everything would tell you that what they've done up to this point is not sustainable over the course of a large sample size. Jonathan Von Tobel is here with us on the JR Sport Pre-Show Coast to Coast.
Am I reading this right? You see the New York Knicks advancing to the first final since ninety nine? Hey, look, I will say this. If New York has no haters, I am dead.
I am a big time New York hater. But I will say that I do think they win this series. Like I think that what Indiana has done to this point is very commendable. And I still think it's a long series. Like they have a very big edge when it comes to their bench.
Right. There are top two, top three team in terms of scoring in the postseason. We know the Knicks are bottom three in that regard. But I do think that the Knicks are the more talented team. That team, that talent is finally showing up. They're actually healthy this time around as opposed to what happened last time when they faced the Indiana Pacers.
And I think that upside gets them a series win in seven. Well, Jonathan, when you think about just the final four teams that we have right now, the Knicks, the only squad that won an NBA championship back in 1973. And then you think about the parity that we've gotten in the league and the champions over the past several years and the salaries and how difficult it is to move players. Do you think we're in a new era of NBA basketball given the current CBA and financial implications?
I think we are. Look, as you know, to write the seven champions, seven years, you mentioned like all that kind of stuff. I think this is a new time and I think it's really cool to see three franchises which don't have a championship to their name. Like you mentioned, the Knicks haven't been here for a while and we're seeing it almost every single year, just new blood making deep runs.
I think it's great. And I also think it's great that, you know, three or four, actually, all you can tell for these teams are really piloted by young stars that we're all very excited about, right? Like Brunson's not exactly young, but he's still a relatively new face to be a star in the NBA. Tyrese Halliburton and those guys, relatively young teams. We know OKC is young. We know Minnesota is at least has a young star and Anthony Edwards. I think it's really great that we're getting parity. I also think it's great because it does feel like the league is in good hands with some really good, talented young players that we're going to be watching for a really long time.
Jonathan Von Tobel here with us, host of Prime Time on Vison. You think about the young guys, but then some of the older, more established dudes in the league are a little bit in flux, someone like a Jokic. What talent do they put around him? Durant, where does he go to try to win another championship? Giannis Erecumpo, is he going to move along when it comes to the vets and the MVPs of the world who are well established? What captures your attention the most this offseason about what might happen?
It's got to be honest, right? Like he is he's the market mover. He shapes whether or not a certain team, whether it's the team that he joins or another team that doesn't have him is favored in a relative conference. He is going to be the massive piece. And I would say that it looks very likely that he's going to move.
It just doesn't make sense for those two marriages to continue or for that marriage to continue, I should say, right? When you look at the Milwaukee Bucks and the ability to grab some of the young pieces out there, for example, like I keep saying Oklahoma City, no matter what happens in this postseason, even if they win every single game moving forward, they should call Milwaukee and go get Giannis. Because if you're Milwaukee, you can get some really good draft assets. Remember, the Thunder still have Nicola Topich, the six foot eight point guard from overseas who many thought was going to be top five pick before he tore his ACL prior to the draft.
Like they have so many good unique pieces. Chet Holmgren, if you get Topich and Holmgren in a deal with some draft assets, if you're Milwaukee, that's a great place to restart a team. So I think that there makes no sense that these two teams or these two parties would continue their marriage and Giannis is going to shape the entire league. If he goes to Oklahoma City, all bets are off. I call this year the Oklahoma City Invitational. I don't even know what the next step up would be next year if they go and get Giannis on to the Kumbu.
Oh, my God. Jonathan, would you you writing more stories here before we even get there? Can they win the first maybe? I mean, look, it would be great to watch.
I think they're a really good story. But can you imagine if they went to win on to win the finals in however a many amount of games and after they won the finals in the off season, they then landed Giannis on to the Kumbu. It would be absolutely insane. I also do think like the Spurs should also be calling when B and Giannis together is basketball porn. I would watch it over and over again. It would be absolutely incredible to see those two play on the floor. I have no idea how you'd score in the restricted area against those two guys. It'd be incredible to watch. And no doubt about it.
Jonathan Von Sobel here with us from Visa as we start to wrap things up. The Boston Celtics, they have no idea where they're going to go, what they're going to do. Brad Stevens said that we're not in a rush. We don't know if Jalen Brown is going to need surgery.
No idea when Tatum is going to return. If you're the Celtics, what do you do? Just sit around and pray?
Yeah. I mean, I don't know if you sit around and pray, but like you're going to move pieces, right? It sounds like Porzingis might be on his way out, not only just because of the contracts, but obviously had a weird season in which you had this mystery illness. You know, you look around like you mentioned earlier, the the new CBA and the way that this thing is constructed, it's very hard to keep teams together. And so Boston is going to suffer because of that, because they are so talented. But look, you're going to sit around and you're going to have a lost year, but a lost year for them still in the Eastern Conference is going to be like top six seed in the East, being a playoff team and competing at the very least. And then just waiting for Jason Tatum to come back for the following season, two thousand twenty six, two thousand twenty seven.
There's way worse places to be. And then we'll see if you can retool and get ready to go. But especially if Giannis is gone from the Eastern Conference, that thing really opens up and Boston can still be very competitive, despite the fact that Jason Tatum is not going to be there. A final question for you, Jonathan, when you think about what's going to happen in about a month, son Cooper Flag is going to be on his way to the Dallas Mavericks. What are your thoughts on what we can expect from a production standpoint, knowing that Kyrie is going to be gone the majority of the season, if not all of it? And Anthony Davis has his own injury history. What do you think the sky, the ceiling looks like for him next year?
I mean, I think the ceiling is ultimately being like a very good contributor, whatever barometer you want to use for that right on a playoff team. I think the big problem for him is going to be I think there's going to be a big load on his shoulders in terms of ball handling and shock creation. The Mavericks don't have many guys who could dribble the basketball and I think that's going to be a really big problem for that roster at the beginning of the season. But if and when Kyrie comes back and if he is healthy and just even close to old school Kyrie, that's a team that is really formidable.
They're big, they're long. They've got pieces to move right on their roster that they could eventually add to that backcourt to. I think Dallas is like a sneaky contender in the Western Conference. I think it's going to start slow, but by the time we get to the postseason with Cooper Flagg having a season under his belt with Kyrie back with some pieces moved to add to that bench in that backcourt, I would look out for Dallas.
I think they stepped in it and then they're very lucky to get there and I don't think they deserve it, but they're going to be I think very formidable when all is said and done and we get to next year's postseason if they should only be so lucky. Hey Jonathan, I appreciate the time. Please tell everybody where they could follow and keep up with you, the show on Vson.
Tell everybody man. You can follow me on X, that means JVT if you would like. We're on Vson.
It's on YouTube TV, Sirius XM, all those spots. You can find us there too and I have been bumped up the lineup so you can find me on Money Moves which is going to be 12 to 2 Eastern Time Monday through Friday. It's still a new gig for me so I'm still getting used to the time conversions, but just check out the network. Got some great stuff up there too and I write articles every day at the Vson.com website. Awesome. Jonathan, appreciate the time. A pleasure to chat with you. Okay, catch you down the line. Hey, thanks for having me man. Appreciate it. Absolutely. That Jonathan von Tobel on Vson.
Wow. That'd be a wild situation man. Ray, could you imagine if the Thunder win the finals and then just say, all right, we're going to flip a couple guys for Giannis. Could you imagine that?
Yes, I can because we've kind of seen it already. Maybe not winning the finals, but we saw what happened with Golden State getting Kevin Durant when he had a nice nucleus put together, then they added KD and they went on the run of a lifetime. I think this will be very similar adding a Giannis to that equation. Man, we talk about all the parody that we've had in the league last year, the Celtics, the year before that, the Nuggets, then the Warriors and the Bucks and the Lakers, the Raptors before that. I mean, we'd be running into a different run if Giannis ended up on Oklahoma City. Well, let's slow down. Let's see what Oklahoma City can do first against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
It's the J.R. Sportbree show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. We'll take a break when we come back. Speaking of Cooper Flag, of course, everybody's waiting on him to end up on the Dallas Mavericks. I mean, if you're the Dallas Mavericks, you certainly have to play things a little coy. They're not fully admitting that they're going to select Cooper Flag. I mean, even Jason Kidd put out some hints about what they could potentially do.
And then meanwhile, because everybody has a show and a podcast. Well, Boogie Cousins, he was sitting down on a show and he has some thoughts about what the Dallas Mavericks should do at that number one spot as well. We'll get into that on the other side of the break. Hey, we also found out who was on this year's All-NBA rookie team.
Drop those names on the other side as well. We are minutes away from the start of the Western Conference finals between OKC and the Minnesota Timberwolves. It's the J.R. Sportbree show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. And right now it's time for a newsflash. Here he is.
It's Rich Ackerman. It is the J.R. Sportbree show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Game one of the Western Conference finals is already underway. Damn it, Minnesota off to a hot start. There's only about two minutes of going by in the game.
Minnesota already leads eight to one. Jayden McDaniels is the one getting things going. He has five points.
Anthony Edwards has the other three. Shay Gilgas Alexander at the free throw line. He put up that that sole point.
He's one for two from the line. So, of course, we'll keep you rolling and keep your breast on what's going on in this game as it continues on without a shadow of a doubt. Hey, thank you so much to Jonathan Von Tobel for joining us from Vison. You can go ahead and catch him online with a great basketball conversation we had there. And one of the comments that one of the questions that I asked him was about Cooper Flagg and what he expects. I just he feels I'm not going to say optimistic, but if Kyrie Irving is able to return and Anthony Davis is there as well, then the Dallas Mavericks can can surprise a few folks next year, maybe around this time in the postseason. And I just don't have any faith in it.
None. I think Kyrie Irving, given his style of play, it's going to take a little bit longer style of play and his age on the other side of 30. I think it's going to take some time for him to go out there and and just get readjusted. I mean, his game is built off of quickness. We all know about his ball handling. I think ultimately he'll be fine.
I wouldn't be surprised if it took him a little longer to get going. And then you have Anthony Davis, Anthony Davis. He does not trust his own body to go out and make it through a season. I will never forget when he signed his contract extension, the first one with the Los Angeles Lakers, he basically admitted he was like, hey, I'd be stupid given my injury history not to just sign the deal instead of waiting for later. And it's just like, oh, yeah, duh. Like this ain't no secret. This is not Zion Williamson.
I guess, you know, never talking about his weight or his fitness. Anthony Davis was like, yeah, I've been hurt. I think it'll make the most sense for me to go ahead and sign my contract extension now. I'm looking forward to seeing what Cooper Flagg does. I don't know if it's going to be on the positive side of things next year for the Dallas Mavericks. I think he'll grow.
He'll get his chances and opportunities. I'm just not all that confident about the guys surrounding him. Meanwhile, Boogie Cousins, he was on FanDuel and he was having a chat. It was Michelle Beadle was there and they were talking about the Dallas Mavericks having the number one overall pick. And Boogie Cousins was just like, hey, based on what the Mavericks have done and what Nico Harrison has said, that ultimately he feels that don't be surprised if the Mavericks trade the number one pick away.
Take a listen to this. But would you wait, you would get rid of a young Cooper Flagg for Kevin Durant? Because I the honest I get because he's young. Nico's already on record saying it's a three year window as far as winning the championship.
So Flagg doesn't fit that window. Kevin Durant does. So I absolutely think he'll trade that number one pick. I think that's a I think that's an option for him. Well, of course, it's an option. We've heard plenty over the past.
Well, damn it. The lottery was last week and we've heard enough between now and then that they're not looking to move off that number one pick. I mean, you think about the excitement that they had in their draft room. Nico Harrison almost, I guess not to say that he felt vindicated, but he got a new lease at life knowing that they have the number one overall pick. And I know for a guy to trade away Luka Doncic, then you've got to be kind of silly in that regard.
Is he silly enough to double down again? I mean, what type of nuclear bomb would be dropped on a franchise? They would just be risking it all. Just to say, hey, let's bring in a Kevin Durant and and now pair him with Kyrie.
They barely played in Brooklyn and now slap the other Anthony Davis on that team. That just sounds like a mash unit waiting to happen. And then you're you're really screwing up the money like this is a business. I'm looking at Cooper Flag, who, by the way, is 18 years old, hasn't suffered any type of major injuries, hasn't had any issues going out there and playing. And I'm thinking that this could be my cash cow for the next 10 to 15 years. I'm not giving that away. Ray, do you think there's any chance? Of course, there's a chance.
Nico Harrison is here. They're not moving that pick, man. You know, logic tells me that you come up on that first pick in the NBA lottery with a supposedly generational player in Cooper Flag.
Of course, you keep the pick. You have A.D. You hope that Kyrie comes back and he's at least 85 percent of what he was prior to an ACL. You still have Klay Thompson as a floor space.
You have some good length. You have some decent bigs. You keep this group together and maybe you are vindicated. But because this guy got emotional, got in his feelings, maybe got pushed by the organization who were also emotional and in their feelings and traded Luka Doncic, granted overweight but still also a generational talent. I cannot trust that Nico will make the right decision again. I don't trust that organization at all. So, no, it wouldn't surprise me if they traded that first pick just to prove themselves right with the foolish Luka Doncic.
Oh, my God. I would hope they learn from the first. I mean, some of the comments that they've made. I mean, even Nico Harrison going on about, hey, you know, I didn't I realized Luka was important to the fancy.
I didn't realize how I like. It's like every possible hole that the Dallas Mavericks could have dug for themselves. It's like they did so. And I know that Jason Kidd was sitting down at the well with the DLS guys and he was kind of giving some insinuations that they would go ahead and and potentially select Cooper Flagg. Jason Kidd didn't want to go ahead and say the name, but he kind of alluded to the fact that they would be keeping that number one overall pick. Just take a listen to this interaction. We love that kid from Duke. I've been studying him a little bit. And so that's the answer.
That's the real answer. I mean, this draft is is really talented. You have some young men at the University of Rutgers.
And so it's exciting. But right now I'm studying the young man that used to play at Duke. Oh, thank you. Thank you, Jason Kidd. I would have thought Jason Kidd was I guess he was busy in New Jersey.
I thought he would have been in New Jersey long enough that he wouldn't call it the University of Rutgers. I don't know. Anyway. Ain't picking Dylan Harper, ain't picking Ace Bailey. That is not going to happen. Cooper Flagg is going to end up with the Dallas Mavericks. If he does not, then Jason Kidd, I think at that point he'll just go ahead and quit because I think this off season next year, he was on his way to just saying, I'm out of here.
But with Cooper Flagg, I think he might look at this and go, man, I got I got another Giannis from America. Let's see what happens. The J.R. sport show on the Infinity Sports Network. What's the conference finals underway? We'll give you an update on that. On the other side of the break, we'll talk some basketball, some football, some baseball, Juan Soto history and sports a lot. J.R. sport show. Don't move.
