It is. The JR Sport Brief Show here on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you to everybody within earshot of my voice. Tuned in all over.
North America. This is when the show gets started every weekday. At 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. I'm in Atlanta.
Thank you to our producer in New York City, Holding Things Down, Ryan Botcher. Thank you to you for tuning in wherever you might be. You on the way home? You're going to work. You're relaxing, you're chilling, whatever you're doing, thank you for being here.
What a weekend. You you can uh bet we're gonna talk about some basketball, okay? NBA finals are done. Thunder are your champs. Halliburton confirmed torn Achilles.
Kevin Durant is now a member of the Houston Rockets. It's just a lot going on. in the basketball world. And then Tom Brady wants something again. Like all this guy does is go out and win.
Lose?
Well, he did lose something. Uh, wow.
Well, she left, I guess.
So anyway. We got a lot to get into here over the next four hours. We're going to have a chat with Steve McGee. He's going to come through next hour. To talk about these Oklahoma City Thunder, the Champs.
He covers them down for OKC9. And then we got Sean Pendergrass. He's going to be here with us in a couple of hours from Sports Radio 610 down in Houston, Texas. I'm going to ask him what this Durant deal. Means for the Rockets.
I'm going to give you my thoughts on it as well. If you want to be a part of the show, you can do that. Here's the phone number. You ready? 888-710-4ISN.
That's 888-710-4ISN. Follow me online everywhere at JR Sport Brief. We're just here for uh A good time on this Monday June 23rd. Of course, at the end of the show, we'll talk about all the things, or most of the things, some of the important things.
Well that's a Place this day in sports history. Ryan, how are you, man? You doing good? I'm doing great, actually, today. Besides for the weather, it's a little.
humid and warm.
Okay. Uh yeah, I think most of the country is is getting its ass whooped all over the place. Uh That place is nearing triple digits and Yeah, it's kind of crazy. Wherever you're at, whatever you're doing outside, if you should be outside. Wishing you nothing but the best, okay?
Some people gotta be outside, ain't got no choice, so much love. to you.
Okay, I'll try my best to to keep you distracted. In the meantime, and let's not waste any time. Congratulations. To the Oklahoma City Thunder. 68 games they won in the regular season.
They've now taken it to another level by completing it all and winning a championship. Been very disappointing if they didn't get the job done here against the Pacers. The final score last night, 103. to ninety one. And we know this game was just a massive...
It was a massive shrug for me. Like I'm watching the game and we know from the minute that Tyrese Halliburton went down. That Okay C was going to win. And that's exactly what they did. By the time they got into the third quarter, they just started running and running and running away.
And nothing but the best for Halliburton. We learned earlier today, and it's not like we needed confirmation. You saw the guy's leg basically, you know, like a rubber band snapping inside of his leg. We know that he was done. And that once he went down, there wasn't a chance in hell, a small chance, but a very small chance.
that they were going to win. Or that they were going to fight back. Ben Matherin had 24 points off the bench. God bless him. Pascal Siakam went out there.
He had 16 points. And. Halliburton is the guy. and without him being out there. They were just running out of juice.
They were running out of energy. They were running out of offense. and the points that Halliburton can help generate. I mean, he had nine points. in seven minutes before he went down.
This guy was knocking down threes. He was screaming. He was yelling. He was ready to go out there and give OKC. the business.
Now, do I feel cheated? No, not really. You know, of course, I want to see the best out there. In a lot of cases, series and and and finals can be determined by Who's healthy? Who's available?
I mean, we'll talk about Kevin Durant next hour. But if we go back to 2019. Let's be real. Congratulations to the Raptors But were the Raptors gonna beat the Golden State Warriors? If Clay Thompson was healthy.
If Kevin Durant was healthy, I think not. We can always look at injury as being a major, major factor. when it comes down to these basketball games. And you know what? L let's Let's hear something positive.
And then I want to talk a little bit more about Mr. Halliburton. This is bad for the Pacers, just. Not just this year, but moving forward into next season as well. I want you to listen to Matt Pinso.
This is Mr. Thunder Moneyball Baby deliver the final call when a game wrapped up yesterday. Thunder Baby. feel this moment. The uncommon young team.
Proves to be unstoppable. It's over at Pecom Center. Final in game seven, the Thunder 103, the Pacers 91. A dream realized. The storybook season is complete.
The final chapter reads: the Oklahoma City Thunder of the 2025 NBA Champions. Yeah, he's been waiting to say that all year Long. And we'll talk more about OKC. We know the deal. We've heard about it.
And Shea Gilgis Alexander isn't going anywhere. Jalen Williams isn't going anywhere. Chet Holmgram isn't going anywhere. And OKC is set up big time. For the future, unless a guy gets greedy, and of course, they're going to have to let dudes go.
But when you think about the track record of Sam Presti. He's one of the best executives, if not the best executive. in basketball. I'm thinking back to 15 years ago, and this guy had Duran and Westbrook and Hardin. There's no reason to think that the Oklahoma City Thunder are not going to be successful.
for the next several years. Which takes me to the Pacers. This sucks for them. This is a gut punch. I don't know.
Did anybody outside of Indianapolis even think that the Pacers were going to go this far. Did anybody outside of the state of Indiana. Think that we'd see these pacers here. in the NBA Finals. Like the answer is probably not.
The answer is probably no. They got hot. and got healthy. It's the beginning of the year. They were below 500.
By the time we got to Christmas, By the time we got into the New Year, The Pacers are one of the best teams in basketball flattened period. But it's real easy to overlook them when the Boston Celtics were there and they were still healthy. It's easy to overlook them when the Cleveland Cavaliers are right there. The New York Knicks, Big City Knicks certainly garner a lot of attention. Weren't nobody looking at the Indiana Pacers?
And now they make the finals. We saw all these amazing plays by Tyrese Halliburton. Helping to eliminate, well, the Knicks and the Bucs. This man just kept on goin' and goin' an' goin'. And now it really stinks.
He's probably going to miss all of next season. I'm not at a doctor. I'm not stitching him up. I don't know. Maybe he's going to go see Aaron Rodgers, doctor.
I have no idea. what his time line is gonna be. but he will miss time next year. How effective he is when he comes back, and how long it takes. No clue.
This man's game is built on speed. He's certainly an athlete. He's wiry. You know, he's not gonna. He ain't jump out the building, you know, superstar freak.
But this guy wants to push The pace and his teammates last night. They all felt it. I felt bad when he went down because the game was basically done from there. But his teammates felt worse. Pascal Siakam, this is a guy who already has a championship.
He was on that Raptors team. back in 2019. And this is what Siakam had to say about losing in the NBA Finals. We sorry, you know, like we wanted to do it, you know, for Indy. We we want we we want it more than anything, um, and and just just for the city, for the state.
Just 'cause they deserve it. Like, they these guys um sleep, breathe basketball, and um. It it was it was refreshing for me, like, to be in that environment. He's he's not lying about. Breathing, living, eating basketball.
Bacha, have you ever been out to Indiana? Nope. Man. You go out there they have They have facilities. That would just I don't know, like fifteen basketball courts.
It's like bigger than Chelsea Piers with people just to play basketball. Running tournaments all day. Young kids, older people, they just play basketball. Indiana, Loves basketball. And it stinks.
That next season I'm sorry, it's a wash. Like Ben Matherin will probably get moved into the starting lineup. He'll love that. Guy's never met a shot that he's not willing and ready to take. And they'll be they'll be okay.
They'll be barely making the postseason. Let's just go ahead. and put it that way. Obi Toppin, he didn't have a great game. He actually uh well.
He had a bad game. Moby Toppin stunk yesterday. Obi Toppin. Coming off the bench. 21 minutes.
Zero points. This man had twenty points in the other game to help him even get to this spot. He's on the road. He had zero points, and he said that he was playing the game. And the whole time he was thinking about Halliburton, and he thinks that's one of the reasons why he sucked.
Listen. We need a tie out there and He's been good for us all year. and for him to go down beginning a game like that. It's like sucked the soul out of us. I ain't gonna say hi to everybody, but.
I don't wanna feel like I played good because I was thinking about it the whole the whole day and I felt like it was my fault. Oh, well. Wasn't your fault. You just You're not all that good.
Okay, I'm just being honest. Not without Halliburton out there, right?
Somebody needs to throw him a lob. We're not going to give Obi Tompin a ball and tell him, hey man, go get us some buckets. This stinks. Pacers went this far. This man has been dealing with a calf issue for a couple of weeks now.
And he goes out and he ruptures his Achilles. Not the first time we've seen this. Happened to Kevin Durant. Just happened to Damian Lullard. It's a bad situation.
Rick Carlisle. The head coach and a man who won a championship with the Dallas Mavericks, Rick Carlisle, This is what he's had to say about Halliburton's injury yesterday. What happened with Tyrese is uh It just all of our hearts dropped. But he will be back. I believe he'll make a full recovery.
So he authored one of the great individual playoff runs in the history of the NBA with dramatic play after dramatic play. It was just something that no one's ever seen. And did it As One of 17. You know, that's the beautiful thing about him. As great a player as he is, it's always a team thing.
And so our hearts go out to him. Bad boy man It does suck. He was gone he built his own personal highlight reel. Just over the past several months. And Cyrese Halliburton was looked upon heading into the postseason as being one of the most.
Well, the most overrated player in the entire NBA, as voted by his peers. How many of them? I don't think a lot, maybe a hundred. This man Took up the mantle of being annoying. You can go ahead and thank wearing a Pacers uniform and.
Being built like Reggie Miller. But it sucks that he's gone. It's great that we got parody in the league. The seven champions In the past seven Years. The Indiana Pacers look like they they might be competitive for the next few.
But it only takes one injury, to switch things up. It only takes one injury. to go out there and change your your your team's fortunes. And so for the Pacers They went to the finals for the first time in twenty five years. They put up a fight.
I mean taking on The Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe and Shaq, there was nothing competitive about that series. They forced us to a game seven. And now they have to go into next season. Just knowing that they're going to be fighting. Uphill This is an uphill climb.
That they're not going to win.
Okay. And that's the part that sucks.
So congratulations to the Pacers. I mean, who wants to hear that after you just lost? The answer is absolutely nobody. But I didn't expect them to be here. I thought we'd be looking at the Boston Celtics.
In O K C And the Pacers came through and they crashed the party, and who knows when they'll be back. Damn it. It may be another 25 years. Who the hell knows? The New York Knicks almost got close.
They haven't won since 1973. Three, okay. Congratulations to the Pacers and good luck to Tyrese Halliburton. in his recovery. We won't see that mare for a while.
Yes, uh he'll he'll be doing watching WWE and I don't know, playing video games. Good luck to that guy. It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 888-710-4ISN is the number. That's 888-710-4.
For ISN, we are going to take a break. When we come back, Well We'll talk about the team that won. We're going to hear from the Oklahoma City. Thunder. Un unlike the Pacers?
Looks like OKC has a long runway. In front of them. We'll obviously talk about Kevin Durant. Making his way down. From Phoenix to Houston, Texas, to play for the Rockets.
Sho Hail Tani was back on the mound yesterday. We got some all-star voting in. Major League Baseball. I can't believe the All-Star break will be here in a few weeks. Tom Brady, I told you all this guy does, he just wins and wins and wins.
Well, he wants to win with the Raiders, so he has something or someone that he did not. One on the team. That guy's name is Sam Darling. Can you blame him? And Tom Brady won over the weekend at Fanatics Fest.
So we got a lot to get into. 888-710-4ISN. Happy Monday. You're listening to the JR Sport Reef Show, coast to coast, on the Infinity Sports Network. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief.
It is the JR Sport Reshow here with you coast to coast. On the Infinity Sports Network. 888-710-4ISN. That's 888-710-4ISN. We found out earlier today it's official.
Unfortunately, Tyrese Halliburton. Has a torn Achilles. We probably won't see that guy until late next season at the earliest or whenever the heck is he's going to return. Wishing him nothing but the best. But congratulations.
To the Champs, congratulations to the Oklahoma City Thunder. It looked like they were going to be champions years ago. Like they had Durant and Westbrook and Hardin. And they didn't win. And so here they are, all these years later, all three of those guys are done at the end of their careers.
And OKC has a a new set of stars. who are going absolutely Nowhere. Obviously, led by Shea Gilgis Alexander, he had 29 points, 12 assists last night. This man won finals MVP. He won MVP.
He won a scoring title. The last two dudes to ever have done that. Shaquille O'Neill. And Michael Jordan. That's the type of company.
that you want to be in. And last night after the victory, Shea Gilgis Alexander, of course, he was on ABC. This is what he had to say about winning the big one. It doesn't feel real.
So many hours, so many moments.
So many emotions.
So many nights of disbelief. Too many nights of belief. It's crazy to know that we're all here. But this group worked for it. This group put in the hours and we deserve this.
Man, it's good for them. And they were all happy and lucky and happy-go-lucky all season long. Every time one of the guys was interviewed, you had another three and four guys standing around. Like, they actually enjoy each other. It looks like it.
Otherwise it'd be the biggest jam that we've ever seen. And so Shagilgis Alexander has taken his game into rarefied air. Mid-range game, able to get to the basket when he wants. It just. He's going to be doing this and his his game is going to age nicely as well.
His other All Star. Jalen Williams, after the game, he was asked about whether or not it's even settled into his brain. That they won the title. Listen to this. Nope.
Yeah. No, not at all. I actually just had my first drink, so I'm like... Working on that I think in a couple days I'll be able to come back down to earth a little bit. But right now I'm just.
trying to enjoy the moment. A lot of trials and tribulations just throughout my career, a lot of things that I don't speak on. He's been very good to me, so. That was the one thing I reflected on so far. And then I had alcohol.
So. Yeah, pushing through that. Yeah. Alcohol will slow things down a little bit. Maybe you'll have a proper perspective.
Well, hopefully, he's done drinking. That'd be a lot of alcohol. And it's also nice that they won last night. In front of their home crowd, Like, that's great. Like to have your home crowd be able to celebrate and have fun.
And it was a party, let's be real. By the time they got to the second half and they started to run away, you you just. It's just a countdown at that point. Eight, eight, eight. seven ten four I SN That's 888-710-4ISN.
Paul is here from Rhode Island. Paul, you're on the J.R. Sport Breeze Show. J, thank you for taking my call. I am so proud that.
you always want to be the And you want it. Good for you, Obama. Oklahoma, that that that's a football state. is okay. But you know what?
Next thing you know, that as far as the ratings going to who's the top notch teams going into the finals. You know what? You had your chance. You did it. You did it.
Be proud. Be proud of what you accomplished. And I'm gonna tell you right now, this kid is gonna This kid, I'm telling you, hold on to be around for the next four years. This kid, damn, Paul, hold on. Paul, which kid are you referring to?
You talking about Shake Ilgis Alexander? Absolutely. Absolutely. This kid's going to be around for the next four years, five years. But we'll never probably make it to the next I also say I'll say the next four years of compass, they want the big market teams to go into competence.
They gave them a stipend. They gave him a cyphering. This team gave way to the team. Thank you, Paul. Thank you, Paul.
Appreciate you. Thank you, Paul, for calling from Rhode Island. Modern day Peter Griffin. It's been a minute since Paul has called from Rhode Island and. He came back and he's just modern day Peter Griffin, if you ask me.
Like, who the hell are you talking about? Like this kid, this. I don't know who the hell you talking about. You're talking about Tyrese Halliburton coming back? You're talking about shit.
I don't know what you're saying. Anyway, Paul from Rhode Island is proud of somebody. I don't know if he's proud of OKC or he's proud of the Pacers. I have no idea. I do know this.
Mark Dagnall, He is also proud, and this is very clear, he's proud of his team. and what they've done since twenty twenty and how they've grown and where they are now. Listen when it was COVID and there were no fans in the stands and we were winning twenty games and Shea Uh NAC Uh dub. I mean used to History that we all have together and the work that we've put in together. We've hung in there together, we've stayed together, the whole team, but Um Yeah, there's I can't describe it.
It was a special moment for me. Oh yeah, they suck for a while. Yeah, they were awful. For a while. Just as they were getting all these draft picks in.
and developing all these players. And when you think about how many guys just move around in modern-day basketball. It it's it's tough. Like they did, they drafted. Every single one of these guys.
Of course, Shake Yogis, they they traded for him. But the talent that they've brought in and how they've been able to supplement the team by signing somebody like Hartenstein. Stan Presty. He's a magician. And they got these guys under control.
They're the second youngest team in the entire NBA. I know you take a look at the past seven years, and we have seven different champs. Great, terrific. Makes the NBA absolutely awesome that you can wake up going, hey, man, we don't have. One team holding things down for three years, or four years, or for a decade, in the case of Michael Jordan, who decided to also step away and play baseball.
I digress. What we have right now is great. And as close as you can get. to being certain. This team is, they're going to be around.
They're going to be competitive.
Now, Chet Holmgram This man could break a leg, sprain an ankle, and that could change things. drastically. We've seen it happen with the Boston Celtics. Man, you got both Tatum and Brown. who've had surgeries here over the past several months.
And what happens next season with the Boston Celtics? You got to just scratch your head at it. You have no idea. And so things can change in the blink of an eye. mean, damn it, before we even saw Chet Holmgram on a basketball court in the NBA.
This guy this guy's basically tore his foot and his leg up. And the season was done before it even got started. And with his body type, that is certainly a possibility. But this team is built to last if they are healthy. They're they're not going.
anywhere. Get used to the Oklahoma City thunder. They go be around for etah long. long. Time.
Oh, yeah, by the way. Odds make or say, who do you think has the best odds to win the championship next year?
Well The team. The team that just won.
Okay C. I'd be surprised. If over the next three years They don't want another title. We have no idea how things are going to shake out. Who gets hurt, who comes back on others, we have no idea.
But I think O. K. C. is a Pretty pretty safe bet here. all things considered.
Eight eight eight seven ten four I S N. That's 888-710-4ISN. Bacha, did you make it through the entire game? Did you care? What were you thinking here?
When I actually turned it on exactly as. He towards Achilles and I was like, wow, that just kills the whole vibe. But then I watched the whole game. I didn't watch the post-game ceremony because I think those are drawn out way too long. I know they have to get the stage set up and whatnot.
But Yeah, I watched it. I thought here and there the Pacers were going to come back in the third quarter. But it it just eventually ended. And then it was like, Oh, it's over Yeah, it was it was a it was one of those It was bad. Like you, and you knew it.
You watch a game seven. Everybody knew about Halliburton's injury. And that there is and there was a a good chance that if he pushed it That Well, it was gonna snap, and it it did. It's just unfortunate you sit down and watch a game seven and it was done. After the first quarter, it just, you knew they were going to run out of gas, you knew that it was not going to work.
You knew that they were gonna be They're gonna be cooked. And so now they know If I'm a Pacers fan, I don't even want to think about.
next season. I'm like, damn. We shot our shot. You got hurt. And that's it.
It's unfortunate. They traded for their first round pick back, too.
So they traded first this year for their own first back. luckily for next year. Like it's like they somehow not to like say they knew something was up but they traded for their own first round pickback. Just in case they do stink. Yeah, it's just uh That that's That's still a loss.
Like when you have one of the the game's best players, he's one of the best guards in the entire league. And he goes down. You you're cocked. And you you want to think about what he's going to be when he comes back. And he's in the midst of uh of one of these big two hundred plus million dollar contracts.
So Everybody wants to see how they can stay competitive and Who knows? Maybe maybe he can come back.
next year. Maybe he can participate in the postseason. I mean, with these Achilles injuries and medicine and surgeries and what have you. You never know. Hopefully, he's back.
Sooner than later. It's the JR Sport Re Show here on the Infinity Sports Network. We come back. You know, let's talk about some of the other teams that are going to have a chance and an opportunity. To win the title next year.
Of course, we're going to get into Kevin Durant. We'll talk about him joining the Rockets at the top of the hour. Let's talk about some title favorites. for next year. It's the JR Sport Re Show on the Infinity Sports Network.
And right now, it's time for a new news flash. Here he is. It's Rich Ackerman. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief. It is.
The JR Sport Brief Show on the Infinity Sports Network. Yeah, NBA finals is done. You know what? I'm going to tell you about the ratings. I mean, ratings are down, ratings are bad, who watches this, who watch?
It was the highest rated NBA Finals game. In six. Years. It's six years. What can I say?
People watching all types of ways, huh? There goes that argument, at least for a day. 888-710-4ISN. That's eight eight eight seven ten. for ISN, approximately 16 to 17 million people.
Tuned into the game seven last night. And I guess it's a game seven. Of course, people are going to. I'll go ahead and tune in. And I I told you before we went to break, we'll talk about Kevin Durant.
at the top of the hour. that the championship odds are already set for next year. And outside of injury, like who and what is going to stop or slow down? The Oklahoma City Thunder. Apparently, uh nobody.
Because after you do this once, you would assume with another year of experience They're gonna get better. You would imagine that they're going to be better. They are already at the top of the odds list. to win a championship next year. Oklahoma City Thunder have the best odds at plus two twenty.
The New York Knicks, how about this? Plus 650. Second best odds, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, 650, and then the Houston Rockets, a newly acquired. Uh Kevin Durant. Plus 850.
The Orlando Magic, now with Desmond Bain, they are plus 950. And the Celtics, Well, they have 1,300. We know that both of their star players just had some surgeries. Minnesota Timberwolves, 1,400. The Los Angeles Lakers, 1,400.
The Nuggets, 1,600. And then I'll stop right there. Because now we're talking about the Clippers and the Spurs, the Warriors, the 76ers, the Mavericks. It's just. It's bad.
And then you think about some teams who absolutely have no shot in hell and no chance. The Sacramento Kings. Plus fifty thousand. The wizards, same thing. Jazz, hornets, nets, bulls, trailblazers.
Phoenix Suns all have uh No shot in hell.
Okay, and this is all according to the odds set and made. Uh, with fan duel. Uh botcher, how you feeling about a return So hoisting the Larry O'Brien trophy next year for OKC. I'd say I'm pretty confident, but the only thing that's throwing me off is that there hasn't been a real. repeat winner since the Warriors.
And I don't know if it's 'cause of the schedule being too long or the competitiveness in the West it doesn't seem that a team is destined to go on like a three three peat anymore. Yeah, well, it happens. It happens in spurts. It's cool that we have had, I think it's because we're in a transitional space. That's really what it is.
You think about How things have typically run. If you go back to the 80s, you have the Celtics. And then you also have the Los Angeles Lakers, and you can go ahead towards the end of that and say, okay, now you have. The Pistons, and then you could take a look at the Chicago Bulls. And then it was the Lakers, the Spurs had just a huge stretch.
and and runway with with Tim Duncan and company. And then you move on. to the Miami Heat, which was a pop up. And then you move on to the Golden State Warriors, and then you mix the Cavs in there. And so I think the fact that we are moving out of and away from the LeBron Steph Curry era I think it's given us this window.
And by the way, LeBron and Steph Curry both won championships over these past. seven years when they weren't battling each other out or battling out amongst themselves anymore.
So I think well, A, we know that the salary cap is is prohibitive. In regards to bringing in stars, keeping stars, paying everybody. The taxes are absolutely ridiculous on that right now with the different levels and going over one apron to the other. It's kind of nutty. Uh but I think I think we might see this Thunder team.
maybe string a couple together or or or win more than one over the next several years. I'm interested to see what they do. What I also find interesting. And we do have it's crazy, we just had game seven of the NBA Finals. In a couple of days, we're going to have the NBA draft taking place, which is going to be pretty fun.
It's about to be a Cooper flag season any day now. The New York Knicks have the second best odds to win a championship next year. along with the Cleveland Cavaliers, at six fifty. And I understand it's only June. But to take a look at the Knicks and then the Cavs as well.
These are two teams where there must be some real action going on. As to what the rosters are going to look like. If I'm thinking about the New York Knicks. How the heck are they jumping into Title contention. I guess the East is so weak.
You take a look at the Knicks and the Cavs, they have a better chance of moving forward. Than any of these teams out. Out west I'd gather. I mean I'd look at the Orlando Magic. I'm real interested in seeing what they look like with With Desmond Bain now being added to that team with Paolo Boncaro.
As opposed to a New York Knicks squad, it seems now that Kevin Durant has moved on. The Knicks didn't want Kevin Durant. What the heck? Could the Knicks possibly do? to improve their basketball team.
We know they don't have a coach. It got rid of a good coach. Fight him. Gave him the boot. Don't have a coach, have a crazy front office with a crazy owner.
What the hell? Bacha, do you see the Knicks doing anything? I think the only thought process behind the Knicks are that they get a coach, right, that'll maybe use the bench more. Maybe they won't be as tired. But they weren't a bad team this year.
So if they run it back exactly the same, With the weaker east they expect to go farther. And maybe you see a better matchup for a West team with them. A coach The Knicks could bring in any coach that they want. The coach can't make the players better. And I don't think there was an issue with the Knicks, there was an issue with them being tired?
Uh a little bit. At boo boo. I d I'm just gonna say Mikhail Bridges 'cause he was the number one to call out Thibodeau. You can see his jump shot wasn't working in the playoffs, but even still They can't physically get worse the next year. Mikhail Bridges' jump shot looked like crap.
all season long. He started the season off with a brand new hitch in his jump shot. They get to the end of the season. Mikael Bridges is somebody who wants to continue on with his Iron Man streak in the NBA, so much so that he's just. Kind of popping into a game and checking directly out.
You know, I wouldn't put too much into anything that he says about whether or not he's tired. He don't know whether or not he wants to be an Ironman or play or not play. Just just go out there. And so I don't I don't think the Knicks an issue with the Knicks was about being tired. These guys are going to complain about anything.
And he's not even the best player on the team. He's not the second best, he may not be the third. Best player on the team. And so I I don't know. It doesn't matter what coach they bring on.
You utilize a bench. Who is the best weapon coming off the Knicks bench? Deuce McBride? That's basically it. Campaign, maybe?
Yeah, Campaign is a journeyman. LeBron James had to look at him in the face one day and say, hey, man, shut up on the well, not with the Knicks, but he told him at one point, shut up on the bench. You need to be happy that you're here in the league. And LeBron is correct. And so the Knicks don't have a coaching issue.
I don't think the Knicks first or last issue. Uh came anywhere boiled down to you know, being tired. They were actually healthy. I think the Knicks issue was depth. It's it.
I it's What the heck are you going to do? In the depth department. They got rid of all these picks and traded them for Mikael Bridges, and they knew they shot. They're shot last year And that was it.
Okay, I mean these they knew they were going for broke. They wanted OGN and Obi. They wanted Mikkel Bridges. They wanted to go out there and compete. with the Boston Celtics.
That's what they wanted.
Well? They didn't face the Celtics in a healthy space. They weren't prepared to go out there and beat The Indiana paces, that part. That didn't work out for them. Good luck to the Knicks.
And then the Cavs, we can pretty much expect for them. To make some moves too. All we hear all over the place: the Cavaliers are going to get rid of. Of Darius Garland. How easy is that now when a guy has a busted-up toe that needs to get.
needs to get fixed and and and healed up.
So We'll see what happens. It's going to be a real interesting season next year. I have just been from day one interested in what comes next. with the San Antonio Spurs. Looking at Victor when Benyama go down.
Disappointing. And now he's hanging out at Buddhist temples. He was in New York over the weekend at Fanatics Fest. Like what the San Antonio Spurs do? How they grow, and they got nothing but.
Just young players. I want to see how they move along. The Clippers here. Plus twenty five hundred. Uh I'm done.
Kawhi, no thank you. James Harden, no thank you. I got no faith in them at all. Minnesota Timberwolves, uh no, thank you. Uh Rudy Golbert on the team is uh Uh not gonna do it for me.
Denver Nuggets. Let's see how they can improve their team. They have so many young players that they need to help step up with Jokic. Seventy sixers are here. I guess if they're healthy, they're gonna Dalmore is going to try to get one great shot out of him.
Milwaukee Bucks, nothing. Are there any teams here on this odds list that surprises you? I mean, the Knicks got me here at number two. But are there any other teams that you you're kind of surprised at where they might land? You mentioned it earlier, Orlando should be a lot higher.
I think the Desmond Bein trade finally sets them in a direction where they're like, okay, we're going to try to make a jump from developing young talent to acquiring players that can contribute now. And I think with the East being so weak, they should, they should be a top three seed, top four seed. Yeah. I I guess the fact we we haven't we haven't seen them play. We have to see how they all they all mesh.
I'd be interested how their depth and what their bench looks like. but their starting lineup is is going to be pretty solid. Desmond Bain Wagner Got Suggs. and Paolo Boncaro My main man from here in Atlanta, Wendell Carter, junior. uh holding things down in the middle.
I I want to know what what what they got coming off the bench. They had a glut of guards. How they continue to move forward, we'll see. You got Anthony Black, who's going to be moving into another year. He's probably, well, he should get better.
I think that's one of the reasons they were able to get rid of Cole Anthony. In this Desmond Bain deal. The Orlando Magic are going to be a a team to watch. I think it's only a matter of time before Paula Boncaro Just continues to step his game up into MVP category. Like we have some great young players.
in the league right now. And so everybody, we can all look at Kevin Durant, and God knows he's going to be sticking around a few more years. We got LeBron James. We don't know how much more he's going to stick around. Steph Curry will be done in a few years.
Let's just put it this way. In another three to five years, Max. These guys are going to be gone. All right. We're going to have Wimbinyama out here.
We're going to have Paolo Buncaro and Hopefully, Tyrese Halliburton can return to form. Even Giannis. At that point, Giannis will be in his mid-30s. He's not washed by any stretch, but Giannis and And and Jokic, these dudes are gonna be on their way out. I mean, if we don't even talk about the Lakers with with Luca.
He's going to have the run of the show if he can stay healthy.
So the NBA is certainly in good hands. as it moves to a different era. And that's not just my words. Adam Silver sent a league-wide, well, he sent a big email. To everybody, thanking folks for watching.
I just read it before I got on there. Thank you, Adam Silver. Adam Silver, by the way, still owes the JR Sport Ree Show and interview. Botcha, I had an interview with Adam Silver. And then he had to uh deal with uh Mr.
Memphis, okay? John Morant was getting in trouble. Ooh. Yeah, he delayed my interview. Thank you, John Morant.
What a guy. It's the JR Sport Re-Show on the Infinity Sports Network. We're going to take a break. We come back. You know, let's talk about.
The 37 year old shooter Now going to Houston. Let's talk about Kevin Durant on the other side. Good move or bad move for the Rockets. We'll chat about it. The J.R.
Sport Re Show, Infinity Sports Network. Mm-hmm.
