It is the JR Sportbrief show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. I'm coming to you live from Atlanta, Georgia. Thank you for tuning in and being locked in.
This show starts every weekday at 6 p.m. Eastern, 3 Pacific. This means this is basically halftime. This is the beginning of the third quarter. We've got two more hours to go. Where you been?
We talked about and discussed a lot already. Thank you so much to Jeff Howe for joining us from The Athletic. Covers all things NFL. Just came back from Indianapolis during the NFL combine. In about 10 minutes from now, or 20 minutes, we'll have a conversation with Justin Termini, host or co-host of the NBA Today on Sirius XM NBA radio.
You can check him out with Eddie Johnson on the afternoons. And then next hour, we'll have a chat with two-time World Series Champion, multiple-time All-Star Johnny Damon is going to come through and join us. It's March. We're pulling up on spring.
We're about to spring the clocks forward. Nothing better, no person better than to have a baseball chat with than Johnny Damon. I'll chat with you too. You can call me 855-212-4227. That's 855-212-4227. I'm on the internet everywhere at JR Sportbrief. I'm in Atlanta. Our super producer and host, Ryan Hickey.
He is in New York City. So much to get into. We've talked about Cam Ward. We got into the Bengals and T Higgins. Now we hear that they have tagged him to maybe trade him.
We'll see. We talked about Sam Donald, where he might go. Don't go back to New York. Not even to the Giants. Go play for Tom Brady, man.
Go do that. We talked about Deebo Samuel going out to Washington, wanted that trade, was moved for a fifth-round pick over the weekend. Deebo Samuel no longer a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Deebo Samuel will be playing in Washington with Jaden Daniels. So much to get into. I want to talk about Devante Adams, Quinn Ewers is, yeah, when's the last time you heard his name when it comes down to the draft, but we'll talk about some of the words from Quinn Ewers.
It's just a lot to do. 855-212-4227. That's 855-212-4227. We got Kevin here from Dallas. Kevin, you're on the JR Sportbrief Show. What's up? Hey, JR. Thanks for taking my call, man.
I appreciate it. Being from Dallas, I mean, I have a lot of thoughts on Luca, but I'd never thought I'd see the day in Dallas where Jerry Jones wasn't the villain, owner, or GM of this city. As of all Dallas Mavericks fans, we are just at a loss for words. I mean, yeah, Anthony Davis is great for the 20 seconds that he played, and then, you know, it goes back to his typical street clothes, you know, nickname, and it's a joke, JR, and it's just so frustrating in the fact that they've had so much PR failures is just unbelievable, and then this 8% increase. I'm not a season ticket holder, but for the season ticket holders, it's just, it's crazy.
Well, let me ask you this, Kevin. We only hear what gets put out, and at this point, it seems like a lot of it is a smear campaign against Luca, how much he liked to drink, how much he liked to smoke, and how much all of this didn't play, and no defense. We hear all of that. Where is Mark Cuban outside of telling that fan to shut up and then giving him some tickets a couple of weeks ago? Like, has Mark Cuban been pretty quiet or silent through all of this? He can't say much, right? He's been super quiet, and you're exactly right. He can't say much because he sold off the majority stake. So, you know, the only thing that I read online was that he told Nico Harrison that, no, you shouldn't trade Luca, and then Nico said, well, it's already too late, too bad. That's the only thing I've heard. I still see Mark on the sidelines, but I mean, it's just, I mean, Luca, I don't care if he's 350 pounds.
He was a walking triple-double three out of five games every time. So, it's just, I mean, it's just so frustrating, JR. I can't, I can't believe the Mavericks have overtaken the Cowboys as the most frustrating team in Dallas. I hear you, Kevin. I feel bad watching it happen from afar. I appreciate you for calling. If things change or you want to vent some more, call up anytime, okay? I appreciate you, JR.
Thank you so much. No doubt about it, that Kevin calling up from Dallas. It really is unbelievable to think about how the fortunes of a franchise can really just change in the matter of, what, a month, a month and a half? Like, if I'm the Dallas, if I'm a Dallas Mavericks fan, like, I'm thinking about the star that I have, I'm thinking about the talent that we have on the team, and I'm saying to myself, whoa, we got one of the guys. Like, we got Luca Doncic. We just went to a finals.
Ain't no guarantee that he will take us back, but he's one of the best players in the league. We're situated to compete for a title, and now it's just like, well, you just, you just chop me down in my damn kneecaps. You just took a bat to my legs and then you sent him to L.A.? I don't think there's a worse ownership situation today right now than what we have going on in Dallas and whatever them idiots are doing out in, uh, in Sacramento.
Yeah. Fisher, who owned the A's and moved them out of, uh, moved them out of Oakland. A matter of fact, Hickey, I'm going to ask, uh, when we have Johnny Damon on next hour, I'm going to get his thoughts.
He played in Oakland for a year after he left Kansas City. I'm going to, I want to see what Johnny Damon, how he feels about moving on from Oakland. I'm going to get his thoughts on that. I'm excited to hear what he has to say. Should be fun.
We'll see. I'm going to ask him about beards and the Dodgers, and I'm going to ask him about all those things. We'll see what, uh, Johnny Damon has to say. Johnny Damon will be here with us, uh, next hour. 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27.
That's 8 5 5 2 1 2 42 27. I did mention this before we went to break. And I do want to get this out here. I talked about Devontae Adams. We got into T Higgins and what his future might look like with or without the Cincinnati Bengals, how they're going to pay Jamar chase and Trey Hendrickson and everybody is just kind of, uh, kind of mind blowing and shocking. But one guy that we learned is gone be gone from his team is Devontae Adams. And we knew that from the minute that we knew Aaron Rogers was going to be gone because there was no other reason for Devontae Adams to want to play for the New York jets. And so the jets can save a $30 million in cap space by giving him the boot. This past season, he had his fifth straight season of 1000 yards rushing or excuse me, 1000 yards receiving. He hauled in eight touchdowns.
Devontae Adams hasn't been a pro bowler since 2022, but he can still go out there and get you a thousand yards and be a solid threat. And so where does he go? If it's not the jets, Jeremy Fowler says he wants to play close to the home, play for the chargers. Good idea. Play for the Rams.
Good idea. We know that the Rams are getting rid of one wide receiver. And then also the San Francisco 49 is they just got rid of a receiver and his name is is Deebo Samuel. But whether or not they want to add somebody else on that's going to cost money, to be seen Ian Rappaport from yesterday, he said the jets, they want to try to trade him first. Trade him first. Who wants them now?
Listen to this. Sources say the Jets are now taking calls on a big name receiver. Devontae Adams. My understanding is this a process going to go on the next couple of days if they cannot find a trade partner for Devontae Adams.
I am told they are expected to release him. So moving on from Aaron Rodgers, moving on from his partner in crime, Devontae Adams essentially came in together. Rodgers came in the midway through the year. Devontae Adams came in, thought they would get there, do something special for the Jets did not transpire like anyone had thought. Rodgers now gone. Devontae Adams expected to be gone as well as a 30 plus 35 plus million dollar cap number. So really no surprise. Most important thing here. Devontae Adams is now on the move as the Jets have a clean break and start free.
Yeah, we knew that was coming. But the same way we went through the list of free agent wide receivers earlier on in the show. Who wants any of these guys at some of these prices? Chris Godwin, broken ankle and Devontae Adams.
He's not washed up, but he just turned 32 in December. Hickey, I feel like the most exciting thing I've seen Devontae Adams do a couple of seasons ago. It's not even remember he pushed that cameraman. Remember that? Yeah, in Kansas City on like a Thursday night.
Yeah, that has been his biggest highlight play over the past just couple of seasons. Just pushing the cameraman, nothing else. Not his Taco Bell commercials. Oh, no, I only visually see them. I don't even know what the hell they do in a commercial, man.
I don't know. No, they're not terrible. I would say that's probably been the highlight so far the last few years. They've been kind of funny, man. When your highlights are Taco Bell commercials and shoving a cameraman, I get it. We know you've been out there playing for the Raiders. People aren't necessarily, you know, screaming and yelling, oh, my God, we're watching the playoff team here. Most of the time they're getting smacked around by the Kansas City Chiefs.
It's just it's embarrassing how everything went down in New York with the Jets. Aaron Rodgers comes in. He gets what he wants. He's sitting around doing podcasts.
He's get the receivers that he wants. Allen Lazard came in to the New York Jets. Oh, man. Who's the other guy that just retired?
Oh, man. Randall Cobb. Randall Cobb.
Yeah. Randall Cobb came in. And now you're getting Devante Adams and Hickey the way he shows up.
He's popping up on like a Zoom interview that he's doing with McAfee. Like I'm hoping the New York Jets, I'm glad that they're getting away from all this drama. I'm happy they're getting away from all this nonsense and just focusing on the football and none of the the distractions and none of the sideshow garbage. So Devante Adams, man, I wouldn't even think about where Aaron Rodgers is going. Just just just go play somewhere, man. Go play for the Chargers and keep it moving.
Herbert Herbert could use a gigantic target. Chargers, like you said, the right like there are plenty of wide receiver, needy teams. And again, we'll see what I mean. Could Teagans be trade traded? Possibly.
You brought the brands and I thought I'm with you. I don't think the 49ers are going to trade brands and I and Deebo Samuel in the same offseason. So you kind of look around like Devante is easily the most attractive for age wide receiver on the market.
And again, I don't think he's going to be commanding 30, 35 million dollars a year. A lot of teams need a guy. He's had thousand yards in the last or in six last seven seasons. So he's still, despite kind of the jokes and kind of hiding in anonymity in Vegas, even with the Jets here the last few years, he has at least been producing from some bad quarterbacks.
So I think I could still play and go to good bargain there. But like I'm with you, if I was Devante, steer clear of Aaron Rodgers, go to a place that actually, number one, need you and can actually win. A lot of those teams that check those two boxes also don't need Aaron Rodgers.
Where I'm saying things are starting to look, I don't want to say bad for Aaron Rodgers. Where the hell can he play quarterback? That would be a winning situation like where? Where could he possibly go? That wouldn't just be some some massive shock. Like he'd have to be on a loser.
It always seemed odd to hear about. Oh, Matthew Stafford is leaving L.A. That's one less place. Where can Aaron Rodgers?
You said nowhere. You think he's going to retire? You think he's going to quit? I think he's got no choice unless he wants to wait it out and see about an injury or something like that in training camp. But like, I mean, it seems like based on reports that he reached out to the Giants and maybe he's interested in just playing anywhere win or lose. But even still, like does not seem the Giants, at least right now, would be interested in him. The Raiders have shown no interest. The Steelers in terms of winning, right? The Steelers would probably be the best guess, best option. But by all reports and so far it seems like they're going to go kind of with Justin Fields, try to give him the reins a little bit.
Like it's bad man. And yeah, for just highlight of the Jets, he wants control and doesn't produce. Yeah, it's it's Connor.
And I've mentioned some of these other teams, Minnesota. But why do you want why does Kevin O'Connor want who wants the headache? And if I if I understand correctly, I think based on last week with Pat McAfee, did he not say that Aaron Rodgers would be returning like next week or is that a figment of my imagination?
I did not see that, so I don't know. I hope not. But I think we're going to hear from Aaron Rodgers sooner than later. Maybe as soon as tomorrow. We'll see what he decides to shovel or you know how he decides to move across his own propaganda that'll help his cause.
We'll see sooner than later. It's the JR Sport Reshow here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. We come back. Speaking of propaganda, this guy doesn't spread it. He debunks it and he calls it out. We're going to have a conversation with Justin Termini from Sirius XM, NBA radio. Yes, I want to ask him about the Mavericks. We'll get into the Lakers and their surge. We'll talk about the Phoenix Suns and their downfall.
There's so much to get into. We'll have that conversation with Justin Termini on the other side of the break. It's the JR Sport Reshow coast to coast here with you on the Infinity Sports Network.
Don't move. 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. Yeah, the NFL is going on. Yeah, we're getting ready for March Madness, but the NFL is going on. Yeah, we're getting ready for March Madness, but the NBA is going through its own stretch run right now.
And we still have some other stories. The Lakers are rising. The Suns are falling. The Celtics are waiting.
The Mavericks are continuing to disappoint their fans. And to talk about everything going on in the NBA is someone we're going to have a chat who hosts the show on Sirius XM, NBA radio, NBA today alongside Eddie Johnson. The man joining us right now is Justin Termini. Justin, how are you, man? I just talked about all this stuff for three hours, but I didn't get my fill. So thanks for having me on.
Oh, all the time, Justin, always a pleasure. Now, we recently learned the Dallas Mavericks not only traded away Luca, they're now charging their fans a little a little bit more to attend games next year. What the hell is going on in Dallas? Yeah, that doesn't make any sense.
And I was thinking about this earlier today. It's not just the Luca trade that's making them look ridiculous. I mean, you look at what Quinton Grimes did for for Philadelphia the other day against, you know, where he had like 40 plus points. And, you know, so he's he's doing a really good job in that trade for Caleb Martin. Caleb Martin hasn't even played a game yet for Dallas. And then you've got Anthony Davis just played three quarters. So it's looking horrific on the Luca trade.
But you also got this Quinton Grimes, Caleb Martin trade that's not looking any good. And while that's taking place, of course, the Lakers now look like a title contender. So it's been an absolute disaster for Dallas, both financially and obviously in the standings. Well, Justin, you talk about how the Lakers have been on a run here, despite not having that that prototypical big that everybody talked about them adding when they made the Luca trade.
What are your thoughts on what they've been able to do and how realistically they'll be able to compete for a title as they go through each round? Yeah, to me, they're the fourth best team. I think there's a little bit of a gap between Cleveland, Boston, Oklahoma City in the Lakers. But the Lakers are that next team on the list. A lot of people are putting Denver in there. But the criticism with the Lakers is where the Lakers can't defend well enough.
But then people aren't saying that about Denver. Denver to me is a far worse defensive team than the Lakers. Listen, it's been a long sample size of L.A. being the best defense in the NBA.
They've been that way over the last 22 games. So they've gone 18 and 4 and they don't need to be the best defense like they've been over that 20 game stretch. They just need to be a top 13 or 14 defense in the postseason, I think, in order to compete, because their offense is going to be arguably the best in the NBA once Luca gets rolling, which he hasn't even done yet.
Well, Justin, before we go over to towards the east, let's stick to the west. We know that Shea Gilgus Alexander is most likely going to be the MVP for the league this year. We see the young Thunder team. They got smacked around last year.
Do you see them taking that next step this season to be competitors? Well, first of all, I have a vote for the MVP. And you're right. It looks like Shea Gilgus Alexander is going to run away with it, which I think is ridiculous, because I think that Jokic clearly should be it. He's a top 12 player in my estimation of all time. He's having the best season of his career and doesn't have nearly the assistance that Shea Gilgus Alexander has. But in regards to the Thunder, I mean, listen, everybody can defend on that team. They do have a guy in Shea Gilgus Alexander who's having an awesome season. And I think that there is a clear gap between them and everybody else in the Western Conference.
But they're also a team that I don't think anybody should be afraid of because they lack the experience. And they haven't done it in big postseason spots. I mean, this is going to be the second postseason for Jalen Williams. It'll be the second postseason for Chet Holmgren. So, you know, are you going to trust that in the series going up against the combination of Luca and LeBron? Tough to see. You're going to see that going up against the Celtics team that's done it before in an NBA finals on that stage.
Usually you have to go through the growing pain. So while I think talent wise, OKC is clearly the best in the Western Conference, maybe the NBA, I could still see them being had because they don't have that experience. Justin Termini is joining us here from Sirius XM, NBA radio, NBA Today. When you look at a team that is not doing good, the Phoenix Suns are just I guess they're waiting on Cabo. And I know you got to sit there with Eddie Johnson every day.
I know how much you love that. What are your thoughts on what the Suns are doing and what they have to do in offseason? I mean, they've been so bad that even Eddie is forced as their color analyst to admit that they got major issues.
And the problem is, I mean, one of the problems here that's popping up as of late is the effort. And listen, Durant's going to be out. The only question is now what happens with Devin Booker and really that Durant trade is going to tell you if they get enough back in the trade for Durant, that'll maybe keep Booker around for a couple of more years. But if they don't get a lot back for Kevin Durant, then they're going to be in a situation where they're not going to be good enough to win during Booker's 29, 30, 31 year age seasons. And I don't know of any star that wants to put up with that in today's day and age where these stars have so much power. So if they don't nail this Durant trade, they could be looking at the situation with Devin Booker, eventually ass out.
Well, Justin, is this and maybe not, is this a lesson learned? We see what happens with the Ishbiras when they decided to swing for the fences and bringing in Durant and Beah with his no trade clause. We see what's currently going on in Dallas and I don't know how to hell that's going to end up looking any type of good.
Is this not like a note to future ownership? I mean, maybe, I don't know, Alex Rodriguez, hey, just take it easy next time. Yeah, I mean, I respect Matt Ishbiras spending the money, like you can't fault them that way because, you know, it drives you nuts when organizations don't spend the money. So I'd rather have an owner like want to win and be passionate and spend money the long way than them be cheap. But I think like the lesson you got to take from this is you can't just act rashly and as soon as he moved in, like on day one, he makes the trade for Durant, then it's Bradley Beal. In today's day and age, it's more about the depth than it is, you know, that high end, maybe one or two guys on a roster, you got to be able to make smart decisions about the fifth guy in the roster, the sixth guy, the seventh guy, the eighth guy. And if you're just going to be top heavy, you're not going to win. So I'm split there on Ishbiras and the new ownership group type of thing because you want owners to spend money, but you got to be a little bit smarter, obviously, than he was.
Justin Termini here with us on the JR Sport Reshow Coast to Coast. If we go over to the east and you talk about depth, Nick fans just kind of beat up on Tom Thibodeau quite frequently because of his lack of depth and going to the bench. The Knicks are currently third in the east right now. What are your thoughts on how equipped or non-equipped they are to compete with the Cavs and the Celtics, which is what they tried to do?
Yeah, they're not equipped. I don't see what that has to do with Tom Thibodeau. He just doesn't have the benches that Boston in Cleveland has. I mean, he doesn't have the ability to go to a Ty Jerome or a DeAndre Hunter off the bench. He doesn't have a Peyton Pritchard, an Al Horford, a Sam Houser coming off the bench like Boston does. Now, again, I don't even fall at the front office because that's what you have to do is get rid of depth if you're going to add Mikael Bridges and Carl Anson Towns. But it's not Tom Thibodeau's fault that he's not utilizing a bench that doesn't exist. So, I don't think they have enough depth to compete with those two teams.
And that's not their only problem. I mean, they have, as good as they are offensively, their defensive holes with Jalen Bronson and Carl Anthony Towns. You could attack those two guys. A team like Boston doesn't have anybody that you can attack. A team like Oklahoma City doesn't have anybody as part of their rotation that you could attack. Meanwhile, the two best players on New York, you can go at them defensively. So, that's an issue that I don't think they can overcome.
But I also don't think that's a Tom Thibodeau issue. Well, Justin Cernanese here with us from NBA Radio and Sirius XM. When you think about the Cleveland Cavaliers, they've been sitting at the top of the East basically all year long. They're on a 10-game winning streak. They already have 50 wins.
March just kind of rolled over. And you don't hear a lot about the Cavaliers. Do you think they have a legitimate shot of moving the Celtics on out the way and winning a championship?
Yeah. I mean, if you're not hearing a lot about the Cavaliers, then you're not listening or reading the right stuff because people should be talking about the Cavaliers. I mean, they're 50 and 10. I think that's the 11th team in NBA history to ever do that. And they certainly can beat Boston. You look at the fact they have four guys that could have made the All-Star game.
Three of them made it. So, their starting lineup is really good. They fixed their one weakness, which was length at the wing by getting DeAndre Hunter. They've got a fantastic bench with both Hunter and Ty Jerome, who has been brilliant and probably should be the sixth man of the year, even over Peyton Prichard. They're well coached with Kenny Atkinson. They moved the ball. And Donovan Mitchell just has the Celtics number.
I was talking about this earlier today on our show. He's averaged more points against the Celtics than anybody in NBA history, surpassing Michael Jordan, who was the previous owner of that. So, he just kills Boston year in and year out, game in and game out.
They haven't figured out a way to stop him. So, they've got the recipe to beat the Celtics. They got the recipe to beat anybody in the NBA.
They're legitimate. Who do you have here in the finals? Are we looking at a Cavs? Are we looking at OKC?
Do we get a little bit of something different than what we've got the past few seasons? I mean, there's four teams to me that are capable of doing it. It's Boston and it's Cleveland and the Eastern Conference. It's the Lakers and Oklahoma City in the Western Conference. You know, I'll go with, you know, the chalk and what Vegas is saying right now with Boston and Oklahoma City, but would not be shocked to see Cleveland go to the NBA Finals. I think they're that good.
Justin Termini here with us on the JR Sport re-show. When you think about some of the teams that we will not be seeing, the 76ers trying to figure out their future or the future of Joel Embiid. Any hope for them or are they just not screwed?
I mean, there is hope. I guess Embiid gets back to 100 percent. They get a top six pick that they hold on to in a really deep draft and everybody comes back healthy next year.
But I won't count on that. It looks awfully bleak. I would say they probably have two of the at least five worst contracts in the sport, if not the two worst contracts in the sport. In Embiid and in Paul George. So, it's a likely long road if they can't even get out of it. And, you know, especially when you've got other young teams in the Eastern Conference that are just set to dominate for the next long stretch here, including, you know, the Cavaliers, as we're talking about a team like the Pistons or Lambda, if they can add some offense. So, you know, it doesn't look very good for Philadelphia.
Oh, last question for you. This is a team that kind of got slapped together following all of that Jimmy Butler nonsense. Do you have any hope in the Golden State Warriors that they could go on a little bit of a run and compete in the West now that they've added Butler? I mean, with the way that they've looked since the trade, plus the way that Steph has looked. I mean, Steph looks like a completely different player. We talk about Luca energizing LeBron. I think we can say the same thing about Jimmy Butler energizing Steph Curry. So, again, like they won a championship a couple of years ago with Andrew Wiggins is the number two. Jimmy Butler's a lot better than Andrew Wiggins. Now, I also think the league's a lot better. And that was one of the worst teams to ever win a title that 2022 Golden State team. But again, when you're talking about one of the 12 best players of all time and Steph Curry in a Western Conference where there's not really a runaway dominant team, the one team that's really good, has some questions about their youth, won't put anything past them.
I wouldn't give them as good of a shot as Oklahoma City or the Lakers, but I also wouldn't completely count them out. And things have gotten certainly interesting with a lot of these young teams rising up, veteran teams adding vets as well and all-stars. Hey, Justin, thank you for the time and catch you on down the line. Where can people follow and listen to you, my man? All right, JR, I appreciate it, buddy. You've got me on Twitter at Germany Radio at T-E-R-M-I-N-E Radio, then on Sirius XMBA Radio 4 to 7 Eastern Time with Eddie Johnson, as you were saying. Appreciate you having me on, pal.
Of course, I lied. This is the most important question. When are you and Eddie, when are y'all gonna have like a steel cage fight or match or we gotta wait till the offseason? When is that happening? No, I mean, like Sirius won't even let us in the same. He does the show from Phoenix. I'm doing the show from Boston.
They don't want us anywhere next to each other because they're afraid that I'll beat up on the 65-year-old senior citizen. Reasonable, Justin, reasonable. Well, we appreciate the time. We'll catch you on down the line, okay? All right, JR, appreciate it, buddy.
Thanks for having me on. No doubt about it. That Justin Termini co-host of NBA Today on Sirius XMBA Radio, along with Eddie Johnson. I agree. I like the way that the NBA has started to shape up the rest of the season.
There are so many great storylines. Can the Thunder, the young Thunder led by the likely MVP, Shay Goguis, Alexander, can they move? What are the Lakers going to continue to look like now that they have both Luka and LeBron? Justin had mentioned the Denver Nuggets and their shooting is poor. I mean, their spacing around Jokic is awful right now. And then we have the young teams, the Grizzlies, the Rockets, and then the Warriors that have future Hall of Famers on the team. And man, I say that. Hickey is, I'm trying to remember if we had this conversation. Jimmy Butler, he's going into the Hall of Fame, right?
Yes, by default, just because again, the Basketball Hall of Fame is, I mean, standard wise, by far has the lowest bar. He just, he destroyed his own reputation. But we live in a what have you done for me lately world. And so if he's able to have any type of success over the next couple of years, I agree with you.
I was sick of him enough, just what we've seen the past few months just to go, just stay home, you know, stay home. But we'll see how things shake out for the Golden State Warriors and the Cavaliers, man, a 10 game winning streak. They are 50 and 10, 50 and 10. The Boston Celtics are seven and a half games behind them. But the Boston Celtics, they may just be, they may just be buying time until it's time to compete for the championship. We know it's not easy just to turn things on when you get to the postseason, but the Celtics, they've won already.
They're going to try to win again. I still got the Celtics as favorites. Now what a world it would be if we ended up with an NBA Finals of Celtics Lakers. What a world. People are sick of both of these teams.
It's the JR Sportbreeze show close to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. When we come back, you know what, we'll talk about Kevin Durant, because that is an absolute disaster. We talked about how the fans in Dallas, they trade away Luca. And now they're going to, they're going to charge the fans more to witness these games next year.
As Suns are a disaster, so are the Mavericks. We'll get into that. I talked to you about Matthew Stafford staying in Los Angeles.
We got a lot more to do. Plus Johnny Damon is going to join us next hour to talk some baseball. You're listening to the JR Sportbreeze. It is the JR Sportbreeze show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. 855-212-4227.
That's 855-212-4227. Hey, thank you so much to Justin Termini for joining us from Sirius XM NBA radio. He feels that there are four teams that can legitimately compete for a championship. And they're the four teams that sit atop the standings in their respective conferences. That's in the West, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. And then you take a look at the East, you have the defending champion Boston Celtics. And then you have the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are seven and a half games ahead of the champs with a record of 50 in 10. Now I mentioned one team that is not in that space. That's the Phoenix Suns.
You would think a team and it really balls down to depth and just how they fit together. Kevin Durant, Bradley Beal and Devin Booker are on one team and they suck. They got a record of 28 and 33. Last night, they were embarrassed by the Minnesota Timberwolves 116 to 98 at home.
The fans were booing them in Phoenix. They had 22 turnovers. They gave up 40 points off of those turnovers. Anthony Edwards had 44 points, almost had a highlight reel alley-oop dunk. He got kind of shoved out of the air by Bradley Beal and Kevin Durant, who is still one of the top scorers in the league, despite being 36 years old. Last night, Kevin Durant was just saying how much, just how embarrassing it was.
Listen to this. Yeah, it's tough man. It's a shitty game, man. We didn't play our standards up to our standards at all. We embarrassed the fans, we embarrassed ourselves, the way we played. I want us to be better. Yeah, he wants them, I think the fans want them to be better.
They're just, they don't fit together at all. 855-212-4227. It's 855-212-4227 and Bradley Beal has the no trade clause. Kevin Durant, realistically, he's going to be moved to, and good for him, he'll be moved to probably a younger team that could use his scoring.
It's going to be fun. Like, think about Kevin Durant on the pistons, or Kevin Durant on the Rockets. He could be a difference maker.
Maybe that's why he ultimately didn't want to go to Golden State. He wants to just be a hired gun. I have no idea. We got Brandon calling up from Utah. You're on the JR Sportbree Show. What's up, Brandon? Hey, how you doing, JR? I'm excellent. How are you? I'm doing pretty good. I love your show. Thank you for letting me on.
I just had a question for you. In my opinion, I just think the NBA kind of has fell off in these last couple years. The political stuff, and then just players not want to play, and the whining, and I don't see a lot of effort in a lot of players, not all players. I'm in love with college ball. I love the heart that they have, and I enjoy watching college ball.
You can clip on any game. I'm watching Duke, and they just play real hard, and that's a game of basketball, and I just think the NBA has lost that, and I have a hard time even watching games anymore. It's not like the 90s, my, you know, John Stock and Carmel area.
I'm jazzed there, and I just wanted your opinion on that. Have they lost the game of basketball with just how they play, how they don't want to play, how they just, you know, the drama? Well, that's very broad.
I mean, that's very, very broad. Of course, the game has changed. Every game is changing. Baseball isn't what it was, you know, 20 or 30 years ago.
I mean, we can go on and on. The NFL isn't what it used to be, you know, years and years ago. You think about the emphasis on offense. So every league and everything changes, and I would even say that even for basketball, we talk about heart. A lot of the guys who are in college right now, these guys are getting paid as well, and I really think in this era of basketball where the NBA is right now, like, it's one thing to talk about load management and sitting down. A lot of those, a lot of these guys in the league are almost out the out the door.
I get it. LeBron James is 40 years old. He's still playing at a ridiculously high level. And nobody's thinking about Kawhi Leonard. You know, Joel Embiid looks like he's getting ready to be put out to pasture. So I think a lot of the young guys and stars in the league, the Cade Cunninghams of the world, the Shay Gilgus Alexanders, you think about the Celtics, Brown and Tatum, like, they go out there and play. Anthony Edwards plays his ass off. Victor Webb and Yama.
And God bless them with the clots and stuff. He's amazing. So if you haven't liked the past few years because of, you know, LeBron James and Kawhi and Embiid, I'd pay attention to some of the younger guys because they're real exciting to watch. It's mostly just just it doesn't seem like they have the heart like they used to like the 90s ball, you know.
Well, it's different. You know, I don't like it. I think college ball gives us, you know, like the true sport of basketball.
And I think the NBA has kind of let us down, in my opinion. That's it. It's reasonable. Well, thank you, Brandon, for calling from Utah. Appreciate you. Thank you what you do.
Thank you. No doubt. But it's always different. Like basketball, they're they're playing hardcore five on five. Move the ball around in the NBA. These are the top athletes. They're relying more so on their athleticism. And it depends on who and what you watch.
And so on Friday, I sat when I wasn't here on the air. I had a chance to sit down and I saw the Oklahoma City Thunder play. And I'm looking at the Thunder play.
And they were just efficient. They play. I felt like I was watching the college team.
It's no shock or surprise that they're competing for an NBA championship. Somebody rebounds the ball. They get the ball on the other side of the court. They swing it around three or four times.
Open J every single time. Now you watch a bad team. You're not going to get that. And so, yeah, when you're making millions and millions of dollars, things are always going to be different. But that's I think that's more of a societal thing. Like here we got storylines that are created on Twitter and social media. Like if we go back to the 90s, yes, the game was more physical, but we didn't have all the other storylines.
That's just the world in general, man. Well, I don't think I could sit down and watch a college game. I could sit down and watch an NBA game. If they're good, if the talent is good, if the players are good, I'm not watching no bum ass team.
I don't care if it's in college or the pros. And I know we're getting ready to start swinging into March Madness. Hickey, I can't believe that we're about what a week and change away from March Madness. Yeah. Conference championships, I believe, are next week. Yes.
Just how about that? It went from this. Well, I guess that time of year, right? Super Bowl, spring training, March Madness. Time flies, man. And we got Johnny Damon. Hickey, when is he going to be here?
Like 30 minutes? Yeah, just about. Get back in the baseball swing. It's I mean, it's crazy. Real baseball games are played later this month, even less than that, because the the Japan series. Ah, yeah. The Dodgers and the Cubs going out to Japan.
And Hickey, this is why it killed me a couple of weeks ago. Everybody was given a Yankee so much crap about Marcus Stroman and where Marcus Stroman goes and what does he do and what does he do? Louis Hill. He's out for what?
Almost two months now at this point. Like things work themselves. Guys get hurt. Pitchers get hurt.
It's just what it is. And so now what? Now, imagine if the Yankees now not that they would because it's stupid. Imagine if they told Marcus Stroman, hey, man, we don't want you stay home.
Like, imagine how dumb and silly they look there. But this is everybody gets hurt in baseball. So things work themselves out, even if it's March, man.
So I guess in a way, congratulations to Marcus Stroman, who gets his wish somewhat. Look, that's not to say that we don't get to the trade deadline and the Yankees don't move him. You know, it's just I always find it hilarious how fans in a lot of cases, and it's not just with baseball, everybody's so reactionary about now, like there's going to be so much focus on the NFL draft next month and everybody needs the quarterback and needs the quarterback and needs the quarterback. And it's just like a lot of these teams that are selecting early on in the draft, like they're going to suck regardless of who they draft this upcoming year. And so if you if you don't want a quarterback and you know, you're going to stink and take the best talent available, worry about a quarterback later.
I just fans always think like, hey, I need this guy right now. It's right in front of me. They serve an ice cream. I got to have the ice cream now. It's just sometimes just wait, leave it, leave it in the freezer and come back later. You don't need to indulge in it now.
It's not going to make a difference. It's the J.R. sport re show here with you coast to coast on the Infinity Sports Network. Matter of fact, when we come back, let's talk some some Los Angeles sports. OK, let's talk about Matthew Stafford, who's going to be staying in Los Angeles with the Rams. And then let's talk about these Los Angeles Lakers who are just one ridiculous run right now. And then we'll have a conversation with Johnny Damon, a former two time World Series champion. You're locked in is the J.R. sport re show coast to coast. The Infinity Sports Network.
