5.1.24 - JR SportBrief Hour 1

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Price and coverage match limited by state law. It is the JR Sportbreef Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Happy Wednesday to you. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you so much to everybody tuned in and locked in all over North America. Thank you to our super producer and host Ryan Hickey. He's in New York City.

I don't know where you're at, but I'm glad that you're here. And this is where I will be for the next four hours. You can always listen on the free Odyssey app. You can lock in on your local Infinity Sports Network affiliate. Hey, if you got XM, the Sirius XM Channel 158.

And if you got a smart speaker, ask it to play the Infinity Sports Network. We got a lot to do. We got a lot to get into. How about this next hour? We got Basketball Hall of Famer. Now author Chris Webber is going to join us next hour. Chris Webber got a book out. We're going to talk about the modern NBA. We're going to talk about back in his day. We're going to talk about his book by the grace of God.

That's the name of the book. Go ahead. Google it by the grace of God. Chris Webber. There's just a lot that we need to get into.

Michigan. I want to ask him about Vlade Divac to Jokic to NIL to Michigan. There's a lot that we will discuss with Chris Webber. That conversation is coming up next hour.

How about this? In about 20 minutes, we're going to have a conversation with another former NBA player, Mark Jackson, not the one that passed the ball. This is the big bruising. Mark Jackson. Mark Jackson is now an analyst for NBC Sports.

He's down in Philadelphia. Yeah, Mark Jackson. You might remember from the Warriors, the Sixers.

He would beat your ass. We'll have a conversation with Mark Jackson next hour or excuse me, in 20 minutes. And why have a chat with Mark Jackson? Because last night, the Philadelphia 76ers, they stayed alive, beating the New York Knicks 112 to 106. 76ers aren't the only team that stayed alive.

Despite not having Giannis Atteracumpo and also Damian Lillard, the Milwaukee Bucks, they stayed alive against the Indiana Pacers. And so we'll talk about those games and those teams as we continue on with the show. We'll unfortunately talk about the New York Knicks taking that big ol' L in a few minutes.

Mark Jackson, I told you, will be here in 20 minutes. We'll get into the Sixers. We'll get into the Knicks. We'll get into the Pacers. We will get into the Bucks. And then even tonight, how about this? We got more matchups in the NBA.

Can't wait for this. In about 90 minutes, we got the Heat and the Celtics. Boston Celtics need to just get the Heat the hell up on out of here. What are the Miami Heat going to win?

The answer is absolutely nothing. And then we got the Mavs and the Clippers. I know one thing we won't see as this series is tied to all, we won't see Kawhi Leonard. And quite frankly, what else is new?

Anyway, it's also Wednesday. Two hours from now, I'm going to give you a new top six list. We're going to talk about some of the most exciting stars. You know what?

Forget exciting. We're going to talk about the youngest stars in the NBA. We're going to talk about future stars. We're going to talk about the individuals in the league who quote unquote, they got next. Like this is their time to shine and they will shine bright. This is where we stand right now in the NBA. And I'm only going to look at dudes who happen to be 25 years of age and under.

Like who's going to carry the mantle for the NBA over the next, I don't know, 10, 15 years? I'll give you that top six list two hours from now. Of course, at the end of the show, we'll take a look at a few things that have taken place this day in sports history. If you're not familiar, this day is May 1st.

As Bone Thugs and Harmony told me, it is the first of the month and this is the first hour. So consider yourselves lucky. If you want to talk to me here on the Infinity Sports Network, it's 855-212-4227. That's 855-212-4227. If you utilize the internet, you can find me there as well.

I am at JR Sport Brief, every place somebody has a connection on social media, that is Twitter, X, Facebook, Instagram, just every place where people like to waste their time. We're not wasting our time. Super producer and host Ryan Hickey, how the hell are you? You know what I am, JR? At this point, I am rejuvenated. It's like, you know, when you've been sick for like a few days and you have like, you know, fever, flu, whatever you're feeling crappy, like that one morning you wake up, it's like, oh, okay, I think it's passed. I feel a lot better. That's how I feel today. Sick to my stomach yesterday with how the Knicks blew that in the final minute in overtime. Felt sick yesterday and now you wake up. New sense of optimism.

See the Sixers buying tickets because they don't trust the fans to go. The confidence is back. Let's go. Wow.

So wait a minute. I didn't know you were sick yesterday. The New York Knicks made you sick? Emotionally. Emotionally sick.

Okay. Where the hell have you been for the past, I don't know. I think your whole life.

Where the hell have you been your whole life? Well, when they just beat you down every day of every year, it's like you almost get used to it or numb to it. You don't know what it's like to be on the other side. So yeah, I never really felt optimism with this team for a large part of my life. And now you get a little taste of it.

And now it's you feel the crushing defeat. Yeah, I think there have been times where I can think about optimism. I can go back to 1994. Didn't work out 1999.

It was a nice ride. But even then, I knew that the New York Knicks had no damn chance. I did not give a damn about the 2013 New York Knicks with Carmelo Anthony and I don't know what, I don't know, Marmari Stoudemire, his corpse was still rolling around somewhere.

And so you're right. I mean, to be honest, and I hate to be the bearer of bad news, the New York Knicks have been on one hell of a stretch. And last night, yes, Hickey, they did disappoint. They were up 3-1, had a chance to eliminate the Philadelphia 76ers. And the Sixers, they trailed by seven points with 25 seconds left. And Tyrese Maxey said, I'm just going to score seven points in 25 seconds all by my damn self. And if I'm being real, these Knicks, they don't they don't stand a chance to win a championship. What they're doing is admirable because it's basically Jalen Brunson and then everybody else. And the Sixers, as bad and as bummy as Joel Embiid has been up and down, hurt, injured and everything in between.

Last night, not too bad. Triple double, 19 points, 16 rebounds, 10 assists, also turned the ball over nine times, not attractive, had four blocks, had a key smack in the face of Jalen Brunson late in the game. But the difference between the Sixers and the Knicks, the Sixers got another All-Star. They have Tyrese Maxey, the New York Knicks All-Star and Julius Randle. Well, he is rehabbing his busted up shoulder. And so Maxey had 46 points in a close out game. I mean, you got to go back to like Wilt Chamberlain. He had 44 points in a potential close out game.

And that's some ridiculous company to keep. Tyrese Maxey knocking down a four point play. Shout outs to Mitchell Robinson for being a clown and foul him at the three point line. And then he had a logo three to tie the game. And then New York Knicks after going up five in the overtime period, it's just like Jalen Brunson ran out of gas.

He finished with 40 points. Speaking of the Knicks glory years, there were so many New York Knicks stars who were in attendance. Patrick Ewing front row with Carmelo Anthony, with John Starks, with Latrell Sprewell, with Larry Johnson, like this is the past 30 years of New York Knicks success staring you in the face. And the Knicks blew it. You would have thought that Reggie Miller was on the court.

I tweeted this last night. Tyrese Maxey went into the garden and went into the garden and he basically. Reggie Millard, the Knicks. Yeah, I made Reggie Miller the verb. Feel free to use it when somebody destroys somebody in a short amount of time.

The Knicks got Reggie Miller. Hey, Hickey, try to use it in a sentence. Try. Go ahead.

I was so clutch last night. I don't. Wow, this is terrible.

OK, use it in a different context. I don't know. This is on the spot. This is terrible.

I Reggie Millard. Whoa. Go ahead. Oh my goodness. I can't even. Oh my. My brain is broken. I can't think of another sentence outside of that. It's OK.

It's just someone who just destroys somebody in a short amount of time. How about this? Bobby Portis. And we'll talk about this later. Back to basketball. Bobby Portis and Chris Middleton.

They Reggie Millard the Pacers in the closeout game. See, thank you. Thank you. Save the day. The referees in twenty twenty.

They Reggie Millard, the New Orleans Saints against the Rams in the NFC Championship game. See, I did it. Wow.

Open up some older ones. I'm sorry to my friends in New Orleans. But yeah, and I can't stand Reggie Miller. But Tyrese Maxey, he lost his mind and he spoke after the game, keeping these sixes alive. Tyrese Maxey, he filled everybody in on what was going through his mind before he hit that game time three.

Going through my mind right there was just find a way to survive. Like I say, the season's on the line. I mean, like, you know, you know, I trust my work. I trust what I've what I've done all my life and, you know, just try to get to a spot and raise up and knock a shot down. You know who else trusts in Maxey? The New York Knicks. Head coach Tom Thibodeau trusts this man to get absolutely hot because he is an all star. And the fact that Tyrese Maxey no longer has to share a damn basketball with James Harden, he has flourished.

And Tom Thibodeau, the head coach of the New York Knicks, the defensive genius, he said, man, we screwed up. We let this man start feeling himself. Maxey had a huge game on us. So he's explosive. Doesn't take much to get him going. And so we gave him too much. And once he got in rhythm, it was hard to slow down. Well, listen, nothing like getting in rhythm.

Hard to slow down. That's right. And that's from the opposing coach. What about Tyrese Maxey's own coach? What about Nick Nurse? He watches this guy in practice. He watches him and then he got to watch him be trying to play basketball. And Nick Nurse says, oh, yeah, I like him.

I like Maxey a lot. Considering that our number one option was was struggling, right, for him to kind of say, all right, I got to I got to put put this team on my back and go and just kept encouraging him, like, to take his chances, take his shots, make plays. And he certainly did it. He got in a rhythm and made a whole bunch of them.

Yeah, he lit them up. It was unbelievable. It was almost a celebration. You look at the clock, you go, hey, it's 25 seconds where we're up by seven points. And you say to yourself, this is this is a win.

This is a W unless things get ridiculous. Hickey, we were right here on the air last night at the conclusion of of regulation. And we're watching it. And you said it.

You said it. I'm like, hey, this is just about done. And you're like, unless something crazy happens. And that's exactly what we got. Maxey lost his mind. And I can pretend like I saw that coming, like it was just like one of those.

And he's not doing anything. As long as you don't let Maxey just go off. This game is over. And they did the one thing they could not let happen and let him score seven points in 28 seconds. A four point play in a game tying three. The New York Knicks didn't foul at the end of the game. We had Josh Hart, who missed a free throw. We wouldn't beat here if he made both of his free throws. Mitchell Robinson is making a stupid play to try to block the shot. It's just what are we doing? Josh Hart, who took responsibility for missing a free throw, said that, man, at the end of the game, we got to communicate better.

We need a Motorola pages. I miss a free throw with, you know, what, less than 10 seconds left. If I made both, we win. So, you know, I know what the situation is. And, you know, I got to take that one on the chin and, you know, I know that happened again. His coach agrees.

Tib says, well, it ain't just on him. We emphasis on we, we got to finish and communicate better. Tough way to lose a ball game. You know, so we had a lead and we got to play tougher with the lead. We followed in a situation that we didn't want to fall in. And then, you know, in the end, Max makes a big shot. So, you know, we got to do better.

Oh, yeah. Who are you telling? Hickey, how many cigarettes did he have after the game? Not enough.

I mean, no amount is going to help you there, but not enough. Yeah, he's a couple of packs for Coach Tibbs. He sounds like he's smoking in between him talking. After having watched that, the New York Knicks look like they had it in the bag. The Knicks haven't won a series at home since nineteen ninety nine.

Let me say that again. The New York Knicks have not won a playoff series at home since nineteen ninety nine when they went on that magical finals run to get smacked up by young Tim Duncan. This is crazy.

It's twenty twenty four. The fans in the garden were ready to celebrate. People were celebrating and the Knicks blew it. It's like Reggie Miller was up in the shadows of the stadium, the arena just casting down on the New York Knicks. Well, screw Reggie Miller.

Yeah, just because. And screw the 76ers, too. The next game is going to be tomorrow in Philadelphia. You know, those fans in Philly are going to be all hyped and ready to go. They're going to try to keep the Knicks fans out of Philadelphia.

Good luck with that one. On the other side of the break, it's time to have a conversation with someone who covers the 76ers. This man played 13 years in the NBA. Big, bad and bruising. He's an analyst for NBC Sports and CBS Sports Net out of Philadelphia.

Former NBA player, the big bruising Mark Jackson. We got a lot to do. Chris Webber is joining us next hour. I got a top six list about some of the most exciting stars, the next superstars in the NBA. We'll spend more time talking about the Bucks staying alive against the Pacers.

Oh, man, we got a lot, a lot to do. It's the JR Sportbreef Show, the Infinity Sports Network. Hey everyone, Boomer Esiason here. The NFL Draft is behind us and your favorite team is now gearing up for week number one. The free Odyssey app puts you right in the middle of the pro football conversation with the biggest sports radio stations from across the country. The local voices who know your team the best, giving you their unfiltered takes on the current state of your squad.

It's always football season right here on the free Odyssey app. You're listening to the JR Sportbreef. It's the JR Sportbreef Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Last night, the Milwaukee Bucks avoid elimination. The Philadelphia 76ers, they not only avoid elimination, Tyrese Maxey loses his mind in Madison Square Garden, 46 points, and the Sixers got another game in Philadelphia. Are they going to ride Maxey?

Is Embiid going to wake up and stay awake through the end of a game? Right now to talk about it is someone who played in the league 13 years. Right now he is a broadcaster for NBC Sports. He is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

It's the big bruising Mark Jackson. Mark, thank you for taking the time to hop on, man. My pleasure. How are you? I am very well. I appreciate that.

How are you? I mean, you get you get another game to cover, huh? Absolutely. Keeping the fun rolling.

Not sure. Now, we saw what Tyrese Maxey did last night, seven points in 25 seconds. He has certainly emerged without James Harden in his way quite unquote.

Should we have seen this coming? Was this like the breakout moment for him in regards to the entire league finally paying attention? No, I think he has done that all year. He's had some spectacular moments like this since the beginning of the season and even going back to last year.

But now with the ball completely in his hands, he's able to really showcase his skill on a consistent basis. And Mark, when you think about the big man who is his, I guess, co-star, former MVP, Joel Embiid, what can we expect from him the rest of the series? We see that he's battling.

It looks like the knee brace gets bigger every game. Yeah, what do you expect from him? You know, I don't know what to expect from him. I expect, you know, I'm hoping to get a little more from him for the sixth estate and throughout the course of the game. So as the game progresses, he's able to maintain and keep some kind of strength and in his body because I think, you know, as you know, as the game wears on, we all fatigue. I think that happens at the game. But the thing with Joel is, is like you're injured. You're not a hundred percent that fatigue amplifies.

So I think it's very important that these other guys get going to kind of let him kind of cruise until they really need him. Well, Mark, man, you played in the league for 13 years. You were down low getting the rebounds, playing defense.

You were you out there getting it. When you look at Joel Embiid and his body and granted, yes, he's been hurt since he's gotten into the league. Are there not improvements that he can do to maybe limit the injuries a little bit? He just always looks heavy or out of shape.

You know, I don't know. I think he's a big born of God. He's not fat. That's not something we can say about him. He is. He is built like a specimen. It's just that he's also has his private shifts.

He has all that. I don't know if it's that over just the timing of his injuries. When you get hurt almost every single playoffs or going into the playoffs, I mean, I don't know what kind of shape can you be in or expected to be in. So but I truly think that he he's given the Sixers a boost on defense when it's time. But I tell you, up until the last quarter of that overtime, you know, my young guy, Jellen Brunson was going at it every single play and Jellen realized that he could move and he kept calling that number and he kept coming through.

So hopefully you will get some rest, be ready to go tomorrow and give six or something good for 48 minutes. When when you look at what they did last night coming away, holding off elimination, do you now have the Sixers winning this series against the Knicks? I think the momentum has changed to the Sixers favor. Now, with that being said, they got to win two. Knicks got to win one.

So the odds are not in their favor. But I think momentum wise, I think that the New York Knicks and their fan base should be a little concerned because you let the Sixers get some momentum and win a game like that. Understanding they should have won game two, you know, and understand they should have won the game prior to that. So with that being said, the Knicks have to be nervous.

I think if you're not nervous, you're not being honest with yourself. NBA analyst, NBC Sports Down in Philly, Mark Jackson is here with us. The J.R. Sportbree show on the Infinity Sports Network. Mark, you have been fortunate enough to be from Philadelphia, to play high school in Philadelphia, to play at to play at Temple, to play for the Sixers. You have hit the trifecta.

You've hit the Holy Grail here. What's up with Philadelphia fans and the bad rap? Like, what's the deal? You know, I think there come a time where people think they have to live up to a certain name, like when they call you the bully, Philadelphia, you have to live up to that. You know, I think that's what Philly fans, you know, they've been called mean or physically through stuff at Santa Claus and that has never escaped them, ever. And I think they said, we might as well live up to it, but you know, when you come here, when people come and they see Philly fans, they come experience sports, it's not as bad as what people say. Now, with that being said, it is different fan bases. You got the Sixers fan base. You do got the Eagles fan base. Now I can't speak for the Eagles. That's a different story. But with that being said, they're just very passionate about these sports.

They really are. But sometimes they do get a bad rap. Well, Mark, I'm glad you separated the Eagles fans from the Sixers fans. I saw an eight year old Eagles fan reach out to give somebody a five and he ended up flipping the guy a bird. This is a grown man, an eight year old flipped the grown man a bird. Some things are just coming because they want to see parents do certain things, you know, but I can't speak for that gentleman, but if that was my kid, it'd be a problem. I understand.

I wouldn't tolerate as such as well. Mark Jackson is here with us, the JR Sport Brief Show. When you think about the league at hole or exactly what we have in front of us with the playoffs, what team is really standing out to you as an overall to maybe go out and win it all? You know, I know everybody's speaking so highly on Boston because you're on the East Coast.

You've been here in Boston, Boston, Boston. But for me, man, I'm looking at that Denver Nuggets. I'm looking at the OTC team. You know, last year, everybody thought it was a year away, but I'm looking at them and looking at how they're playing and chilling and playing together as a unit.

They are a very, very good team. But then I also look at what Anthony Edwards is doing. He is doing some spectacular things at a high level, and he's got the attention of everyone in the league and everyone out the league that's looking in. So I think the onus is on those teams because people are watching them, watching F.A. Edwards, watching Seagulls, Alexander, who may end up getting MVP this year, watching those guys go to work and saying, who can slow these teams down? Well, Mark, man, in your career in the NBA, you played overseas like you played all over the world.

And we see Anthony Edwards as he might be the youngest star that the United States of America is producing right now. What makes the international game so much different from things domestically? Well, it's that's a whole different episode, brother. You know, the way they do things in Europe, you know, it's a lot different. Like you, I know people used to call people certain guys soft. But what I used to tell guys, I said, guys, you see here from Europe, they beat a thousand people at their position, at their height out to get here. So there's nothing soft about them. And I think people look, oh, they're soft and not soft.

They've been through the ringer. They've been taught skill. Everyone from the height of five foot to seven foot, they all have the same same base and even taught the same thing. They all been taught the same thing. So if they have skill and it's not necessarily about position, it's about what kind of skill you have. So with that being said, also what they do is they also they develop this sense of and they don't have in a sense of entitlement. You know, we are so in as an American, I'm American.

I love being from here. But when it comes to youth sports, you know, it's so much mine, mine, mine. They don't care if you average 20 some points. They're looking at you got skill. If you're helping your team win, they don't look, OK, whoever this is, not about how many points you can play. Can you play the game the right way?

That's the oldest in Europe. If you're not paying again the right way, you average 20 points, you get cut. They don't let you progress to be on that team.

They cut you immediately. That's selfish play here in America. We're all about the 20 point scores.

And Europe's a totally different philosophy. If you look at the yearly, which is the top year of basketball division in all of Europe, most teams, they top score them in 13, 14 point for them, the highest paid players. Number one is paid like LeBron is paid like Luca. They have to 13, 14, maybe 15 points with the teams are losing, I mean, winning and competing for championships every year. But, you know, if you take them off their team, that team is not as good. They get rewarded for winning there.

They don't get rewarded for individual accolades. Well, Mark, having said that, we know Jokic has dominated. And between him and Shay Gildas-Alexander, Jokic may certainly win MVP. Do you think that we have a player in America who could kind of grab that mantle away from the Embiid's, the Jokic's, the Antetokounmpo's? Could it be Edwards or is it somebody else?

I'm telling you, man, I'm riding the Anthony Edwards train, brother. I mean, that man, that young man is, he is the face of this league. He's taken that mantle from a Luca. He's taken that mantle. And you look at Shay Gildas-Alexander, but he's Canadian. Do you count him? But, like, these guys are coming to take that mantle.

You don't have LeBron, Steph Curry, or KD advancing to the next round. That tells you a lot about these young guys are coming. And look at the way Anthony Edwards did it. He did it loudly. He did it proudly.

He wanted to make sure that KD and Devin Booker understood that he wasn't coming, that he is here. And while he's here, he's taking everybody's gear. And he's doing a good job of that.

Hey, it's certainly entertaining. Well, Mark, I hope that the Sixers can provide you with some more games over the next couple of weeks. I think they might.

I don't know how far they're going to go, but I think they will. Where can people keep up with you and all of your work down in Philly, Mark? I appreciate that, man. They can follow me on Instagram. It's TheMarkJackson, T-H-E-M-A-R-C, Jackson. I've got my name with a C. TheMarkJackson on Instagram and on Twitter, I'm sorry, X is Jacko2544, J-A-C-K-O-2544.

That's Jacko2544 on Twitter, or now we call it X. Now, Mark, I got to, this might be a request, this final question. Let's do it, buddy. Listen, man, you, you are a bruiser.

I watched you play all years, man. If I need somebody handled, can I give you a holler or some days over? Give me a holler, brother.

Give me a holler, but I'm past that and I'm more of a holler. Let's talk with my voice. Let's express our feelings.

I'm a father of three future NBA players, so I need to teach them how to live the right game right and live life the right way. Okay. I appreciate that, Mark. Listen, man, we're going to catch you on down the line and I'll catch you next time I'm down in Philly. Okay, Mark? Let's do it, man.

Let's do it. My man, shout outs to Mark Jackson, Philly native, held it down for the Sixers, played at Temple, played all over the world, and now is doing it on the microphone down for NBC Sports and CBS as well. Shout outs to big man Mark Jackson. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you on the Infinity Sports Network.

We are going to take a break. When we come back, we're going to talk about another big man. This big man helped save the Milwaukee Bucks from elimination last night.

He almost helped give the season away a couple of, well, the game before that because he got ejected. We're talking about Bobby Portis. Hey, Hickey, today is just the show for big men, huh?

I guess that's what it is. Big man appreciation day, May 1st. Yeah, big man appreciation. We just spoke to big man Mark Jackson. We're going to talk to the big man Bobby Portis. Next hour, we got big man Hall of Famer Chris Webber. You're listening to the JR Sport Brief.

It's the JR Sport Brief Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network. Hey, thank you to big Mark Jackson for joining us in the other break. Hey, Philly native. Played for Temple, played for the Sixers, played basketball all over the world, got to push people around, grab rebounds, play defense.

Not too shabby. Thank you, Mark Jackson. Thinks that the momentum is on the side of the Philadelphia 76ers after last night's victory in Madison Square Garden. Hickey, did you see Tracy Morgan giving Tyrese Maxey? Was it Maxey, the middle finger? Did you see that? I did, and that was the only time I broke a smile last night. That cracked me up. It could only be Tracy Morgan, right?

Only him. It looked like he was almost like a little kid with how he was sitting down, like kind of almost hiding in a way, just flipping it off. It was if you haven't seen it, you have to look out on social media.

It is hilarious. I don't think there's anybody else attending a basketball game that could get away with just throwing up a middle finger to a star. I mean, just just any spectator like you throw up a middle finger, you get in the boot.

And I get it. It was in the heat of the moment. Maxey probably didn't even see it.

Unlikely. But you can't do that at a basketball game, throwing up middle fingers. Imagine if somebody threw up a middle finger at Westbrook in a game after a game winning shot. What is Westbrook going to do? Well, he'll make sure that finger is never moving again, that's for sure. He might rip it off and get in the fan's face. You wouldn't give me the middle finger outside, but you're going to give me the middle finger here.

So it's something that only Tracy Morgan could get away with. And thank you again to Big Mark Jackson for joining us last break. Yeah, in about 40 minutes or so from now, 35 minutes, we're going to have a conversation with Chris Webber.

That's another big man in the NBA, Hall of Famer, played at Michigan and has a new book out, God's Grace. Chris Webber is going to join us next hour. That will be a lot of fun. And then I also want to give you a little bit of an update on the Colorado football situation. Yeah, every day it's a new update.

And right now it doesn't appear to be any different. You got this squad out here. Everybody's just tearing apart. Dion is answering back. Dion is answering back.

But we'll get into that. Somebody in the NBA always used to respond and not share to respond back is Bobby Portis. Yeah, the same man who punched a teammate in the face and broke his damn face for the Chicago Bulls, Bobby Portis. He helped break the souls and the spirits of the Pacers last night. The Pacers had a chance to eliminate the Bucks and send them home. This is only their third game of the year with no Lillard and no Antetokounmpo, Antetokounmpo. And they won.

They won a game without one of these guys, either one, neither one of them. Chris Middleton, whose body's been hanging on by a thread himself, puts up 29 points. Bobby Portis puts up 29 points. And this is the same Bobby Portis, must I remind you. He basically had to say sorry to his teammates because he got ejected in the last game for trying to punch Nembhard in the face.

Like, you can't do that. And so maybe they wouldn't even be in this position if he didn't get the boot. They're already playing shorthanded. Bobby Portis not helping things out. But last night, after dropping 29, keeping them alive, going back to Indianapolis tomorrow for another game, Bobby Portis said, listen, folks, I had to talk to my team before we got out there. Listen, I'm an emotional player. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I give my all every night. I take pride on being available for my team.

So, you know, game four, you know, a little scuffle, whatever it is, maybe cross the line. You feel me? I let my team down by getting ejected and not being available for my team.

And I pride myself so much with being available. So I owe them an apology for sure, just to let them know that, you know, you know, what I did wasn't right. Obviously, during the moment, you feel like that you didn't do nothing. As you sit in the locker room, as the first quarter goes by and the second quarter goes by and the whole game, you just sit there like that could have helped impact the game. So just let my teammates know that, you know, my bad.

I apologize for, you know, letting the team down and I'm gonna come out tonight and play as hard as I could. Hmm. Okay.

Hickey, I owe you an apology. Oh, for what? Nothing. Nothing. Just I mean, I just felt like I wanted to get it was such positive vibes.

I feel like I wanted to just get on the action. No. And now since you said that apology, just like Bobby, you're going to have a career night. Oh, maybe. Possibly. Well, I'd rather be Maxie than Bobby Porter's, you know, fair, fair. Yeah.

Maxie is a super destroyer out there. And despite the fact that there is no Lillard, Achilles, there has been no Giannis, Cav. I don't know if Doc Rivers is playing games, but after the game, Doc Rivers, he talked about how Giannis and Damian Lillard might be back. I don't know. How does winning this game and getting a couple extra days for game six just affect the injury timelines? Giannis and Damian, is there a chance that is extending this series that you guys hope to get them on the floor?

I don't know how to answer that. I know. I hope. I think they're very, very, very close. Hickey, we're radio guys, right? That means that we have distinct voices, right? Supposed to mean that supposed to me, I have a distinct voice.

You have a distinct voice. I don't know who the hell asked Doc Rivers this question, but listening to this reporter and then listening to Doc Rivers makes me go, am I in a comedy sketch? Let's listen to a few more seconds of this. Let's replay it so I can laugh. Listen to the reporter. How does winning this game and getting a couple extra days for game six just affect the injury timelines? Giannis and Damian, is there a chance that is extending this series that you guys hope to get them on the floor?

I don't know how to answer that. I know. That's enough. We know Doc Rivers voice has been through a cheese grater. We know that this man has played basketball his whole life.

He's been a point guard. He's had to yell at people his whole life. So, yeah, his voice is going to sound like crap.

And the reporter, he sounds like he should be reading science fiction novels. Interesting scenarios out there. And Doc Rivers, why would he tell anybody whether or not Giannis is going to come back? Like, why would he do that? If I'm if I'm Doc Rivers, I don't know. Like, you want to give the Pacers something to chew on, right?

I mean, if Giannis is going to come back, you would hope that he goes out there and just runs roughshod through the Indiana Pacers. There's no reason for Doc Rivers to tell the truth. Now, what head coaches do, their job is to lie and lie and lie and lie and lie to everybody.

Unfortunately, speaking of lies, I don't think this is a lie. I saw this earlier today and I had to go, you've got to be kidding me. You've got to be kidding me. Tonight and about three hours from now, the Dallas Mavericks are going to take on the Los Angeles Clippers. The series is currently tied at two all.

Kawhi Leonard is not playing. What else is new? I might as well say that every single day. And Hickey, I think if I said that every day, I'd be correct.

Eighty percent of the time. It's sad. And now we got another star like like Doncic got a knee issue. Luca Doncic might not play in the game. You got to be kidding me. Like what are we doing here?

It's sad. Jason Kidd, former great point guard, now OK coach I guess for the Mavs. He talked about the Clippers doing a good job holding down Luca, but we may not even see the guy. Throwing a lot of different bodies at him and making him work and taking the three away or taking the lob away. So for him, he's he's got to look to score a little bit more for us and be aggressive and set the tone early. Luca Doncic's got a sprained knee. Jason Kidd is talking about him.

We may not even see him. Luca Doncic spoke to the media this morning. And when asked how his sprained knee was feeling, how the hell do you think? Listen, I'm not going to do it better, but.

Not good, it is what it is. If this was the regular season. Luca Doncic would have been sitting on the sidelines. I would say sipping on a beer. Hickey, they're not allowed to do that, right? Not legally. Could you imagine? Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.

Wait. LeBron James was out one game with the Lakers. Remember he was on the sidelines with a glass of wine. Do you remember that? He was on the bench with a glass of wine. What?

I don't like was it obvious? Like, is it like a Gatorade cup or was it just like a clear glass? He had a wine glass on the bench.

LeBron James wine glass on bench. Let's see. Here we go. Come on.

Come on. Where's the fuck? He he he walked.

He walked from the back into the the front of the arena. He had a glass of wine in his hand. And you're right, Hickey. He he it was covered up. It was covered up.

But it's like, come on, bro. We we know there's wine. You just walked in with it. And so maybe Luca could put the beer in a I don't know, a black. Oh, tape up the cup, I guess.

I don't know. As I said, not legally. He could easily drink a beer on the sideline. Just put a little water cup there, have someone run to the back, put a little brewski in there and no one will know. Well, NBA players have been known to drink interesting things on the sideline. If you're on our test, you've admitted to drinking Hennessy during halftime.

And so, yeah, why not? Luca Doncic, sprained knee. You know who loves this, though? If there's one guy who loves this. It's Kyrie Irving. If Luca doesn't play tonight, Kyrie Irving is taking every shot. Kyrie Irving is going to throw it back to the YMCA. He is going to throw it back to the high school gym.

And I would pay to see it. Not really, because Kyrie Irving is going to he going to light it up. He's like Luca who?

No, I'm the man. Watch me put this team up three to two. I think Luca is going to try to give it a go, similar to what we saw last night from Joel Embiid and his migraine.

You got to suit up, man. It's the playoffs. Doncic will play. Kyrie will take a lot of the shots. And Jason Kidd, if he wasn't already bald, he'd be losing his hair watching Kyrie shoot. It's just the stress. It's the J.R. Sportbrief Show here with you on the Infinity Sports Network.

We're going to take a break. And speaking of losing hair, Deion Sanders, he lost all his hair. And then he had a procedure to bring it back.

And now he wears hats all the time. And now he's also getting destroyed by all of his former recruits, at least some of them. And Deion is talking crap back online.

I don't know. Maybe now he's going to talk crap against me. We'll talk about Deion and Travis Kelce. And oh, yeah, Chris Webber, Basketball Hall of Famer, coming up in a few minutes as well. It's the J.R. Sportbrief Show, the Infinity Sports Network. Baseball is in full swing. NBA playoffs are heating up and your NFL team is gearing up for training camp. Listen to the latest on the teams you love here on the Odyssey app, the biggest sports radio stations in the country, providing unrivaled local coverage of their teams all in one place. Exclusive interviews with players, coaches and team executives streaming live and always available on demand. Stay in the know with your favorite teams right here on the Odyssey app.