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I'm living my best life. Yeah, yeah. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Here's the other surprising part. With guest host, Brian Weber.
Yeah, big twos to film. Eisen's a legend. Live from the Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. The Rich Eisen Show. Do you know who I am?
I'm a guy on television. I have my own show. And now. Sitting in for Rich, here's Brian Weber. Powering our way into the final hour of the program, still plenty of time for you to get involved.
844-204-6. 7424 is the phone number. Jot it down. not to interact with the guest host, but... I know you want to talk to the star of the program, Rich and the guys, back with you on Monday.
They'll have their takeaways of What should be a highly compelling game seven coming up? Sunday night in Oklahoma City because The Thunder didn't show up after their 10-2 early lead on the road at Indy last night. And the Pacers had yet another... Impressive, comprehensive victory, primarily because of the strength of the role players, and it's a miracle. Dires Halliburton looking a lot more mobile than he did when he was clearly impacted by the calf injury.
Monday in Oklahoma City. If you want to chime in, Call your shot. How do you think things are going to play out in game seven? It's 844-204-7424. Coming up in 20 minutes, we'll expand the conversation.
We'll check in with our second and final guest, if. The radio gods smile upon us, and we have the gremlins out of the system. We're scheduled to check in with Eric Pincus of Leech Report, longtime NBA journalist, and then coming up in forty minutes. Because we live in a gambling-oriented world, I did notice one trend, and again, I'll be totally upfront with you. I am not.
A huge gambler for two reasons. One, I'm careful with money. I'm like the Cincinnati Bengals of fill-in hosts. I like my cash and I work, like you do, very hard to have a couple shekels. Secondarily, And we all have our stories to tell, and I'll do it briefly.
I had an uncle who was. A flat-out degenerate gambler and would take me to the Trotters as a kid at Glorious Yonkers Raceway. You really haven't had a fulfilling childhood till you've been 13 years old enjoying harness racing.
So if you've seen what people who have an issue, Deal with. Maybe it gives you a different perspective. I'm all for gambling responsibly. And from the standpoint of being a fill-in host, I love looking at the view of Vegas in terms of getting the wisdom of crowds. Pretty interesting what those of you who are putting some money down Think about Bill Belichick and North Carolina this year.
We'll get there coming up in 40 minutes. But. Unless I was completely abdicating my responsibilities, I would be more of a fool than I normally am to get you far away from the NBA today, primarily because. That was an absolute Demolition. Not the old WWE.
Tag team. An absolute annihilation put together by. Indiana last night.
Now, for those of us who Look at our watches, even on the West Coast, as I come to you from our Regal Studios in Southern California, wondering: okay, I know I've worked in TV long enough that when they say tune in, well, they always lie about the pregame show, but when they say the game coverage begins. At 8:30 Eastern. We're not going to get a tip until 10 minutes past that. But if you actually have to get up for a job on the East Coast, you got. A major benefit from the fact that last night was an absolute blowout because, unless you wanted to stick around to see what the final number was, for entertainment purposes only in terms of the under-over, and the final margin was 17, or He just loved watching hoops and know that As that game was winding down, there's only one more game on the schedule.
You could call it a night realistically at halftime. Because when the lead grew to 22 at the break, it just felt like OKC said, Good night. We will see you Sunday at home. Especially because if you endured the third quarter from the standpoint of both teams, that was grotesque basketball. Nobody could buy a bucket.
But I'm here to celebrate Indiana. And what's not to like about this team? I realize they play in the wrong market. And if we're just talking about Who is spending money? Here's another reason why I'm encouraged by what's going on in the NBA Finals because I like parody in sports.
I don't want to talk about the same three teams and the same seven superstars over and over again. And I don't even do this for a living anymore. But even as a fill-in host, you want variety. Indy, number twenty two in the league in payroll, OKC, number twenty four, primarily because they're young and their superstars haven't all got paid yet.
So it really is a reflection of draft development. And trading effectively, that have gotten these teams now on the cusp of the first Game 7 we've seen in NBA's finals history since LeBron and Kyrie rallied to take down the Warriors on the road in 2016. Just the fourth time. We're going to have the luxury of a game seven. In thirty years in the MBA.
So the question becomes: how relevant. Is what happened last night in terms of how things are going to develop on Sunday. And unfortunately, if you're a Pacer fan, I don't think there is much of a correlation. I thought we saw another signature total team effort from the Pacers. That's how they got to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second straight year.
And I realize injuries have played a role In Indiana's path to the finals and the conference finals in each of the last two years. But if we're going to be. Fair in our analysis. Remember, Halliburton was injured last year when they lost to Boston. I think they would have lost to Boston in the Eastern Finals either way, but he was banged up.
And we saw him be a shadow of himself in game five, and a pretty remarkable turnaround just in terms of the eye test. That he looked like he had full range of motion. He was moving up and down the floor well, only had to play 23 minutes, so he'll be fully rested. He'll get a couple more days of treatment, and it's game seven. Leave it all on the floor.
But If you're asking me. Does Indy's best beat OKC's best? I think the answer is no. And I think we saw that. with how things transpired when Oklahoma City was taken to a Game seven by the Nuggets.
Remember, they lost Game Six, so they've gone through this failure to finalize scenario before. They hammered The Nuckets.
Now, I think the Pacers are a much better team than Denver is when you take Joker out of the equation. And you know about Murray and Michael Porter Jr., but The absolute asset of Indy is their depth. In fact, they're the only team deeper than Oklahoma City. But I don't think the Thunder can play any worse than they did in terms of execution. They just couldn't hang out to the ball.
They could not make three-pointers for long stretches. And then... I'm not going to say they gave up. But certainly, in terms of substitution patterns and making sure everyone was rested for game seven, they wave the white flag going to the fourth quarter. But what I was doing.
Disappointed in and surprised to see was Oklahoma City's failure to match the energy. of the Pacers in the first half. And we know the value of playing at home. That's true for every team, but especially the Pacers, in front of those passionate and basketball crazy fans. Fans, who loves basketball more than people in Indiana?
I don't have to queue up the theme from Hoosiers. You know the point I'm making.
So if you're the thunder. With a chance to win your first title. Oh, well, let me finish my thought from the last hour because I know you've hung with me every step of the way. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Osin. Jot down the number for Rich when he returns on Monday, 844-204-7424.
And you can tweet at me, XME after the program. Pretty clear I have no life. BW Weber, Weber with two B's. When the Thunder went on Sunday. It will be their first title.
Do not tell me That the history of the Sonics matters in Oklahoma City. I don't care if the records came with them, if we're talking about the minutiae of the Browns and the Ravens, and I've demonstrated I'm damn old over the course of our two hours and change together. I remember the 79 Sonics. Do you want to recite everybody on that team? We lost downtown Freddie Brown, okay?
The Sonics never should have been allowed to leave Seattle.
So let's make a distinct delineation between OKC. and Seattle. There's my tie rate. I don't know why I had to get that off my chest, but I feel strongly about minor things. If you are a Thunder fan, I think it's concerning.
Other than maybe they felt like they already had game seven in their pocket. At home, and it's human nature to say, well, we got two cracks at this. I'm just surprised they did not have more resistance to what the Pacers were doing. And I think the challenge is Who are you going to focus on? When Indy is as dialed in as they are with a variety of guys, because early it was Nemhart, and we know what Neesmith has meant throughout the postseason.
Remember, he couldn't miss from three-point range, part of the winning formula against the Knicks. And Obi Toppin was making shots. And my bromance with TJ McConnell continues. The Pacers would not be Playing a game seven without the quality minutes he's giving them off the bench. I still don't fully understand.
I understand to a degree that you stick with your superstar, you stick with the face of the franchise, but go back to Monday. when Halliburton was laboring in a massive way. I would like to see TJ McConnell play more minutes in the fourth quarter, but... Coulda, shoulda, woulda is a good name for a podcast and really not relevant to analysis for game seven. It's going to take.
That kind of comprehensive approach for Indiana, if you're looking for the key difference maker, I think it's got to be Siacham. Again, there was a reason why he was the MVP of the conference finals. That was a funny moment when Halle Burton was kind of strutting towards the podium. He thought he was getting that trophy, and it went, I think, deservedly so, to Siacham. Who has changed this franchise in a massive way with the impact he had with a key pickup prior to the trade deadline last year, bringing championship experience, a steady presence, and I think flat out one of the most underrated players in the league.
And it doesn't really. Matter to me if you're an all-star or not, especially with what the all-star game has degenerated into. But if I'm just talking about a guy who can get his, create his own shot and finish, a two-way player who's got length. Siakum is sneaky good. And maybe it's his personality, that he's a low-key cat.
Maybe it's that he was tucked away in Toronto and now plays in Indy, but undeniably.
Somehow, he's still being overlooked, and that's why I'm giving all his props right now because win or lose, to me, he's the MVP of the Pacers, understanding. that Halliburton is mister Clutch.
So it's all there in front. of the pacers. The problem is you got OKC At home. And there's a reason why they won 68 games in the regular season. Played the best defense, whatever metric you want to look at.
And if we get back to how things fell apart for the Thunder last night, where was the defense? And even when your shots aren't falling, and now I get back to coaching grammar school basketball, which I never did because I don't have the temperament for it. The one thing you can control, obviously, is effort. Gotta hit that T. Maximizing your energy.
When you have a chance to win a championship, where was that last night? And that's an indictment on the players. You can talk about coaching all you want, comes down to them giving a damn. but I think now knowing, there is no margin for error, And we got the game seven. that very few of us thought would be in actuality I think the Thunder win.
I hope it's competitive. If we made it this far to Game 7. I don't want it to be a 35-point blowout. I want to see high drama in a high-leverage situation. But I I do think when we get to a single elimination situation.
It comes down to stars. And here's your moment, SGA. Already proving. That he's the best player in the league this year, and I'm not going to diminish that. And can we stop with the foul merchant and the free throw merchant?
reputation out there on social media. I understand Especially if you're a Pacer fan, you think that SGA is flopping. And selling these calls.
Well, there's an art to that. And I get it. Just from an optics standpoint, it's not the most pleasing basketball, but it's a huge part of his productivity, his ability to get to the line. And he's not the first star. To do it, nor is he the first star to get calls.
I think the immediate comp is James Harden, who turned that into a huge part of his career, whether he was wearing the fat suit or not.
However, he was tipping the scales, the one thing you could count on for Harden was his ability to get to the line. It's the same thing for SGA. And if we're just talking. to feed your NBA conspiracy theories one more time. Who do you think is going to get the whistles in Gabe 7?
The home team. And if you want to amplify that, who typically gets the calls in a Game Seven? Superstars. Who's the biggest superstar in the series? It's SGA with a chance to solidify his legacy at a young age and.
Although this is premature, and like the Thunder, they were premature, I think, mentally in thinking it was a done deal last night. When they went on Sunday, and I do think they'll close things out, we do have. a logical conversation at that point. To pose the question, who's going to stop them moving forward so long as ownership? Is willing to write the checks to keep the big three around.
And that's SGA. I'm not going to do the Williams or Scotty Pippen comp. It's lazy, it's tired, and it's just intellectually dishonest. But there's your one-two. And people overlook Chet Holmgren, and maybe it's my West Coast anchoring, but I remember how good he was at Gonzaga.
I remember last year wiped out because of the foot injury. It is pretty special to watch a guy of his size who can handle. Knock down threes because everyone can knock down threes in the modern NBA, but you put together that troika. Plus all of the draft capital, Oklahoma City has first-round picks in abundance. and a mastermind in Sam Presti.
So I'm not crowning anybody, nor am I rooting for anybody. I want it to come down to the final possession. And if the Pacers win, I'll be happy as a basketball fan because I appreciate Rick Carlisle. And you think about his longevity and all the different career stops along the way, and he's already got the first ring. When he pulled off the upset with Dallas, shocking.
LeBron and the heat? Not one, not two, not three.
Well, it would have been more titles if Carlisle's maths hadn't gotten in the way.
So. I have no Lean either way emotionally. I'm just looking for the best watch because after that, We're talking about The NBA draft, and yes, I'll be watching because I love hoops, it's my job. But if I asked you right now, PopQuiz, I can see you through the radio. That's a new technology they don't talk about.
Raise your hand if you can name one more player after Cooper flag in the NBA draft class. The answer is you can't, but at least we have Cooper because most years we don't know any of these dudes. Especially I'm not being xenophobic on a big word Friday because of the international component. You may know Ace Bailey because, for whatever reason, he's not willing to meet with anybody, which seems rather odd if you really do think you are a pick who's going to land either in the top three or the top seven. But we get ready for the draft.
Then it's free agency, which is not that sexy this year. I mentioned. Unrestricted free agents like Brooke Lopez and Miles Turner, who I think, especially if the Pacers win, they pay him, although he's getting up there in years, and D'Angelo Russell. And then the. Never-ending parlor game.
Where is Kevin Durant going? And we will pose that question straight ahead with our scheduled conversation on the agenda with Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report. And we'll start. That dialogue by asking him directly: what will Game 7 on Sunday between the Pacers and the Thunder come down to? I'm Brian Weber and for Rich about to scan social media, hit me up on the X platform, BW Weber, Weber with Two B's.
Much more NBA to get to as we continue on this Friday edition of The Rich Eisen Show. This episode is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible, financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home, and more.
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Always a pleasure to check in with an old friend, Terek Pincus of Bleach Report. Eric, how are you? Doing well, enjoying the finals, getting ready for the draft, getting ready for free agency. Great time of year. And most importantly, you can hear me, which I am very gratified to realize.
Let's start with the fallout from last night. Strong start by the Thunder. What changed allowed the Pacers to dictate the terms the way they did last night?
Well, I I I'll say this. I was five and oh Picking games in this final so far. I actually had Indiana getting the first one. I had it tied up 2-2. I had OKC taking the advantage.
I looked like I was a genius. And you know, that's all subjective. But I am finally wrong. I had OKC winning this thing in six. And uh There's an element of magic.
That we've seen in this Pacers team. And we've seen it undeniably with Tyrese Halleburton, with Siakam, with even E.J. McConnell and Obi Topp. I mean, Miles Turn, everybody, all the defensive guys I'm leaving out, Nemhard and Neesmith. This is a team that.
Uh Just embodies that finding a way to win no matter what. And it doesn't even matter if on paper the other team is better. You can find a way to win.
So we're going to seven. I'm five and one, which I'm happy to be. I like being wrong sometimes. I mean, you know, I like to be proven wrong. This is a great story.
It's fun to watch. I still, you know, I have to stick with my pick for the series, which was OKC. If it's OKC in seven and I pick OKC in six, I take that as a win in terms of prediction. It's obviously very hard to get the exact thing right. But I would be perfectly fine.
I don't have a rooting interest. I have friends with both organizations. I've known for several years.
So I'll be happy. We've seen some great basketball. And for those who were worried that this was a Uh might be a boring finals because the you know, maybe you didn't have a um A LeBron or a Steph. I've been very happy with what I've seen on the court. Eric, great minds think alike, and I will echo the sentiments.
I've spent the majority of the program saying similar things. I thought the Thunder would win. I think they'll win game seven. But before we move on to Sunday, were you disappointed that the Thunder could not match the energy and intensity of the Pacers? They had to know that it was going to be Bedlam and Indy, and they couldn't.
Sustained that early lead. And candidly, I think at the midway mark of the second quarter, they just look stunned.
Well, y the th the thunder They're just so good that you would hope that, okay, yeah, they can sustain that kind of energy, they can bring that. and just win every game if you're a Thunder fan, right? If you're rooting for the Thunder, why aren't you winning every game if you're the better team, right?
Well, that's just, you know, there's a human element. And as much as you try to bring it. and you are bringing it, the other team, they're fighting for their lives. It's different when like your backup is against the wall and you're either you know well, you know, metaphorically uh this is The last day you have on earth if you're the uh uh the ma the not the magic, I was gonna say the pacers. Like it was either your season's over.
Or you win. And so Matching that energy is tough, and I think we saw the Thunder came out really strong, came out to a nice lead, and then. The pacers like swung back, swung back hard, and then it just got out of hand. And so. there's a point where Usually the best team wins.
I've seen a lot of game fives Yeah, yeah. where you think one team is going to win. They're the obvious team that's going to win that series, but the the underdog comes and takes some big punches, gets up by 10, gets up by 12. Usually in those games I say, Yeah, let's wait till the fourth. And usually that better team will just it at that point, it's not about who's punching harder or even who's playing harder.
It's about the better team. Just outlasting and out executing. The plucky, heart-driven, But slightly lesser team. And so to see that, you know, that's actually why I had the Thunder winning that game. But then when we actually saw the Pacers, they were like, hell no, hell no, Eric, it's not going to happen.
That's not who we are. And so, you know, as great as the Thunder have been all regular season, this is their best. season that they've had in franchise history. We can You know, certainly argue when they got to the finals and lost, but this is obviously better than that right now. They're on the cusp of a title if they can get this done.
Uh You got to remember also that they are young, they are inexperienced, and Even the most experienced teams have trouble sometimes with that, you know, quote, killer instinct, but it's. Also not always up to you. Uh Tyrese Halliburton. The quote overrated player that he is not. uh has shown that he is basically immune to any and all uh things like he is somehow a guy who can lead his team.
uh without looking like this incredible monster athlete. Um I mean, you know, obviously he's a great athlete, but as far as like the Anthony Edwards level athlete, that's not Halliburton. He's got a funky looking shot. It goes in at like a miraculous clip this year, uh the clutch of season that I know. That I've seen.
But you have the MVP on the other side and the Thunder are. Uh you know they're they're deep, they have defense. All the way across the board. There's no real like clear hole in that defense.
Sometimes that, you know, they're They're more of an isolation attack of like Shay's going to go at it. Or Jalen, Jalen Williams is going to go at it, and we're going to complement them and give them space with our shooters. And sometimes that doesn't work. But we saw in you know in that pivot game that that's what they went to down the stretch And in a closed game, that's what Indiana is going to have to stop, but OKC is going to also have to stop. Halliburton doing what he does and Siakam and all that.
So can't wait. Nothing better. It's a cliche. Yeah, they said it on the broadcast. It's a cliche, but there isn't anything better in Hoops than that.
Pivotal game seven. And we've been waiting since 2016 to have another one. I'm Brian Weber in for Rich Eisen. We are getting you fully lined up for game seven on Sunday of the NBA Finals with my pal Eric Pinkus of Bleach Report.
So, Eric. Excellent overview. And thanks for taking us through the wreckage from the OKC perspective of what happened last night. Let's spin it forward. You foreshadowed that you think the Thunder win.
What do you think the game comes down to? What would have to happen correctly? As now we're at the dog show. I'm in a kennel suddenly here as well. What would have to happen from the Indy perspective for the Pacers to win?
So like what does it have to happen for the pacers to win? It's easy to just say, oh, well, Halliburton used to hit a miraculous game-winning shot.
Well, we've seen that. I don't think you're being illogical. And like you at some point you start to bank Like, yeah, they'll just do that because that's what you see them done. I mean, I spent a lot of years covering COVID and there's, you know, like, you just figure, okay, if it's close, he'll do something that will save the day. That's not the game plan for the Pacers.
And of course, like, yes, if it's a close game and you need an important shot, I trust Hallie, I trust Shay, I even trust Jalen Williams to bring that. But What the Pacers do That has shocked me even last year, but more so this year. is is they play defense with a team that shouldn't you at least i hadn't thought would be as good this Defensively. Like, I didn't think Halliburton is not a great defender. But you see him out there playing the scheme as it's required.
Neesmith and Nemhard. I mean, Nemhard, shoot, if you're a kid, if you have a kid rather, or if you are a kid, and you want to learn about defense at the guard position and how to play it, this is a great series. Cause you some people say, oh, people don't play in defense in the NBA. No, watch Nemhard, the way that he is is playing defensively. Watch.
Neesmith, watch Alex Caruso on the other side, watch I mean, Kaysen Wallace. I mean, these guys are going at it so hard defensively.
So really the key for Indiana It is is finding a way to just contain something. It might be Shay to make him just a little bit less efficient. It might be Focusing more on sticking with the shooters. I'll let Rick Carlisle do what Rick Carlisle does. He's arguably a top two.
Two. three coach in this league, Eric Spolstra, we could name a few others. Uh but some would even argue that that he may be the best coach in this league.
So I'm excited to see what they do. They have to hit shots. They have to play defense. All those things. I do think, you know, if that they have that magic of Halliburton doing something crazy, I just, yeah, I wanna I want to see a close game.
I want to see it come down to the last few possessions, and I want to see one of those two teams rise above. hit those key shot hopefully we won't get like four or five six misses in the last Yeah, I wanna see like, you know, Haymakers, let's let's go, let's see something, some really explosive And and ugly, there's always game seven gets always a little ugly uh in terms of, you know, defense and missed shots and everybody wants it just a little too much. But uh I'm excited. I can't wait to see. We are building the anticipation of Game 7 with Eric Pincus of Bleach Report.
He's our guest on the Rich Eisen Show. Eric, you mentioned you covered Kobe. You're based here in Southern California. You have covered the Lakers for a long time. One of your great strengths is explaining the salary cap in layman's terms.
So for all the people who are saying that when Mark Walter, the Dodgers owner, takes over the Lakers, he's going to throw hundreds of millions of dollars at their payroll. Can you explain how the NBA now more than ever is essentially hard capped with this new CBA?
Well, I heard most of what you said there. Like, basically, the Lakers. are in a positive well, you know, we have the sale, which is obviously uh monumental in the bus family selling the team which will change the the trajectory on some level, but I don't think You know, Genie Bus is still in charge, and Rob Plink is still in charge, and so I don't think. Uh there's going to be a change in how they operate for at least one, two, three years. over time, I imagine the the culture will shift.
But the Lakers don't have a lot of money to spend. The the system as it is is that if you're a high payroll team, that you have limited resources to go out and get someone else's players. You can keep your own guys. But it's difficult to find a way to add other teams' players. And so I think when you look at the Lakers, there's a massive hole at the center position.
I like Jackson Hayes. I think he's. I wouldn't mind if Lakers brought him back, but as a reserve. I thought he did a lot of good things in favorable matchups, but like Minnesota was not a favorable matchup, so he was ineffective.
So for the Lakers, it might have to be through trade because maybe they have $6 million to spend. on a player and maybe that's Clint Capella. Or I don't think Brooke Lopez will leave Milwaukee for six million dollars.
So it might be as simple as just getting a vet Min Sen center. But they do have some pieces to trade. They have some long-term decisions to make. We don't know what LeBron's going to do exactly, but I think we're going to assume that he's back, whether it's just opting in or re-signing on a two-year deal, perhaps. They'll likely bring back Dorian Finney Smith, who has an option.
So if you sort of pencil those guys in, The trade pieces might be Dalton Connect or some of the other. There's always the possibility that you have to consider that Austin Reeves could be traded. Uh I don't know that they're rushing to do that, um but if there was some uh magical path to uh uh impact big man. I'll make up something and please don't aggregate this aggregators. Like if BAM out of bio suddenly became available and they could find a way into BAM through Austin Reeves, and I'm not saying that that's real.
I'm giving just an example of the kind of move That the Lakers might consider if they had a shot to move Austin Reeves. It wouldn't be for a Daniel Gafford, who was a very good player, but you wouldn't trade Austin Reeves for Daniel Gafford. You might trade Dolphin Connect for him, but you wouldn't do that with Austin.
So that's how I see the Lakers moving forward immediately. Longer term, the sale, that I, you know, very fascinating to see how that changes the culture of the team. Eric, you're the best. Appreciate the comprehensive insights. As always, enjoy Gabe 7.
We'll talk to you soon. All right, talk to you. Eric Pinkins. Not only. Taking you inside the CBA.
Giving you the roundup of game six, getting you set for game seven. I'll take you behind the curtain. I don't think he could hear most of what I was saying. We had a small technical issue there. You know, I knew.
at some point as I'm pushing fifty six in November, but Makeup goes a long way when you see me in visual mediums. I knew at some point in my adult life, being the loudest man on the planet would pay dividends. I didn't know it would come in the utility role. Never know, kids. Be prepared.
Forget about the Boy Scout motto, but you gotta roll with it. And Eric is so good. That was like Fred and Ginger. He was doing all the work and he was doing in high heels going backward. That's another contemporary reference.
You know, I'm going to wear down Mr. Risen. Look, obviously, I begged and pledged with him to get the film enroll, and now they can't get rid of me because who else wants to show up every major holiday? Today is not a holiday. What am I doing in forich?
And I already have it on my calendar starred. I'll be back with you on July 4th, and we'll get that minor technical hiccup rectified by then. But. Rich also has a growing podcast network, and I keep pitching him the way things used to be with B-Web. Nothing is going to get that 18 to 24 demo more than a guy giving you Fred Astaire and Larry King references.
I love Eric, and I did not want to step on him because I didn't want to disrupt his rhythm. But when he said, Well, we can assume LeBron is staying, where is LeBron going?
Now he's opting out because he's the best businessman in NBA history. Because he always wants the hammer. He's going to get paid again. But because he Bullied the Lakers into drafting his kid. And then he got his podcast co-host who Who proved that he has some Learning to do as a head coach in J.J.
Reddick, go back to speaking of Tom Thibodeau getting fired. for allocating minutes poorly? Go back to that Minnesota series when JJ just played the same five games for all those minutes. And a major reason why the Lakers couldn't get out of the first round again. But I will safely say this: when I'm back with you on July 4th, talking about.
the inner workings of free agency with Marquee Names like Brooke Lopez and D'Angelo Russell as unrestricted free agents. The one thing we will not be processing is where is LeBron going? He'll play for the Lakers even with the ownership change. And remember, these deals take months to finalize. The Celtics closed in principle.
It still has not been signed off of yet for six billion to go to the ten billion valuation. But here's your lava filled hot take. LeBron James ain't going anywhere. And that's why I get to fill in for Rich. I'm Brian Weber in for one of the best in the business, Mr.
Eisen, coming up. A little bit more football. We'll focus on campus is Bill Belichick's personal life, The Reason Gamblers Are Hammering the Under for North Carolina's win total this season. Brian Weber back with you. We are winding down.
That means Rich and the guys are warming up. Back with you on Monday. They'll give you their takeaways for how things play out. Sunday night in Oklahoma City. Hopefully, we have gotten you fully prepared for The first, game seven.
We'll be lucky enough to have in an NBA Finals Series since twenty sixteen. That was LeBron and Kyrie coming back to stun the Warriors on the road in Oakland. I was there for game two. Did not think there'd be a game seven. Just the fourth game seven in 30 years.
And I did my best to make sure we were complete and comprehensive. In our preparation, I want to thank our guest. Just had a great basketball conversation with Eric Pinkas of Bleacher Report. Russell Dorsey took us around the bigs. You can see him tonight.
As the national MLB insider for Apple TV Plus, they have their exclusive coverage on Friday nights. Also, you can catch them on MLB Network. You can read them on Yahoo Sports. And a reminder, if you miss any portion of any program, you can listen anytime on demand. The podcast will be posted shortly.
We're getting closer to the return of college football. I was going to talk. Although I got I think push in the right direction by That surprising result From my perspective, last night in Indy, I figured when I was prepping for the show the other day that Thunder went big. I'm talking Dynasty, I'm talking stacking titles in OKC, and I'd have room to get into A Significant development by nothing happening in college football. I realize that seems like a paradox, but most of college football is paradoxical.
An oxymoron, if you will. The powers that be got together the other day As they're trying to map out not only the new format for the college football playoff, which we know. At a minimum, it's going to 14, probably 16 teams. But more importantly, the criteria, because the SEC. Can't get over the fact that Alabama didn't get in last year, nor did they deserve to, in my estimation, and wants to change the metrics to give them more credit for playing each other in conference.
Although, remember, they still only play eight conference games. Nothing was resolved.
Now, I know it's only June, but by December, we got to come up with the criteria. You got the Big Ten talking about the notion of automatic qualifiers. College football, as much as I love it, although it's hard to be objective because my beloved Pac-12 was killed by incompetence and greed. We'll save that for my podcast, the way things used to be with B-Web. One of the biggest stories, though, as we get set for What is always compelling on Saturdays, college football is the best when we're talking about the games itself.
It's everything around it that's become so much more challenging. But all eyes will be on North Carolina with Chapel Bill. And can it be there was no real news surrounding Bill Belichick's personal life this week? As I scoured the blogs. I'm all over T M Z.
Well, I'm here in Hollywood, and you know we have relationships. Harvey Levin did not call me back, so there was no breaking news in terms of Is Belichick engaged? What's going on with canoodling? And the 20-something girlfriend. I did find it interesting, however, as we connect things to the Vegas point of view.
And I'm getting older, probably will move to the state of Nevada like everybody in California does to avoid paying income tax.
So I'm paying more attention to the perspective from Cin City. The under over for North Carolina this year is seven point five wins, playing in the ACC, let's be candid, not the most rugged conference, and a non conference schedule that includes home games against TCU, Charlotte and Richmond, so they're not playing Alabama. And everything I'm reading, 'cause I track some of the same stuff you might do in terms of VegasInsider.com, is that over the last two months, the Sharpies are hammering the under. Why is that? I don't think they know the roster any better than we do, especially with the portal.
That's the other issue with college football. We know who these guys are. We know what they did at the previous school, but you got to come together. As a football team, especially in that sport of all the sports, it's about cohesion and picking up your teammates.
So I think it's so much harder to forecast these teams based on the roster. But I think a lot of this is people just looking at Belichick saying, what is going on with this guy's life? And now, because they don't really know the overall level of talent for the Tar Heels, and I did my research, it's my job after all. They won six games last year, but go back a couple of years ago as things were winding down for Mac Brown, eight victories under Drake May before he took his talents to New England.
So maybe I'm being too star-driven. or I'm focusing on the tabloid life here in La La Land. But if I'm just trying to be intuitive, it feels like people are following their guts. And trying to get a handle on this program and wondering: is the man. Who always said, do your job, no days off, finally becoming the ultimate distraction because of the decisions he's making very publicly in his personal life.
I'm Brian Weber. I have no life.
So you can tweet at me, BW Weber, Weber with 2Bs. A lot of people to thank, especially because I'm out here on a holiday. Very meaningful to be here on a real business day. Want to thank Mr. Eisen, Bruce Gilbert, all of my friends at Westwood Wood, David Murnack, the great people at the Infinity Sports Network, my good friend and skilled technical producer Art Martinez doing a fabulous job.
My name is Brian Weber. Enjoy your weekend. Rich is back with you, and I'll talk with you on July 4th on The Rich Eisen Show. The United States Soccer Federation presents the U.S.
Soccer Podcast. Inside the opening, 45 seconds. What a goal! With that cannon of a left butt! I'll leave it at one.
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