REShow: Jim Jackson - Hour 1

This is The Rich Eisen Show. Live from The Rich Eisen Show studio in Los Angeles. Honestly speaking, we don't care if you pick us to win.

We never have, we never will. Today's guests, 14-year NBA veteran Jim Jackson, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, actor and director Josh Duhamel, host of ABC's America's Funniest Home Videos, Alfonso Ribeiro. And now, it's Rich Eisen.

Ah, yes, everybody. Welcome to this edition of The Rich Eisen Show. Live from Los Angeles, California, here on the Roku channel.

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It's free. Over 550,000 subscribers now. We crossed that line about a half an hour ago, so we're very proud of that. This little television radio show.

Yeah, we're cultivating this caper, you know what I mean? Good to see you over there, Chris Brodhead. How are you?

I'm all right. Good to see you, DJ Mike. Good morning, Rich. How are you doing?

Ah, there you go. And TJ Jefferson has already lit the candle. Good to see you. Good to see you back, brother.

And I am pleased to be back here and thrilled Susan sat in here and and steered the ship expertly. Great stuff with Shaq yesterday and and a whole host of guests that we had. We've got a great guest list today. Jim Jackson's joining us in about 18 minutes time. The Turner announcer about what's going on in the conference finals that now are each one game in. Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Coach Tomlin is going to be calling in and then not one, but two in studio guests. Josh Duhamel, the Dakota kid, will be here. He's got a new film, Buddy Games Spring Awakening. And guess who's in that movie? Josh Duhamel. Oh, and.

Actor Chris Brockman. Yes, we're all in it. Yes, we have a nice little cameo in it, and it's not one of those don't blink cameos. We're in it for for a couple of minutes, for a couple of seconds. Yeah, we're in a montage. We're in a frickin montage. So so that that's so he's coming in here, diehard Vikings fan. And then in our number three, Alfonso Ribeiro is here.

The host of America's Funniest Home Videos will be here in studio. He's a big time golfer as well. The PGA Championship is underway, underway round one.

A beautiful day, it looks like in Rochester, New York. So there you go. Let's go. Let's see if Jon Rahm can make it two majors in a row.

We'll see if Rory McIlroy can rebound from his dreadful Masters performance on his home course. He's a member. He's a member.

His wife is from the area. How about that? That's why. Is that why? That's why.

There's not some sort of Irish Western New York. I don't think so. Connection. That's it. It's the McIlroy's.

That's what connects across the pond. Hey, now, good to see everybody here. And so 844204, which is the number to dial here on this edition of the Rich Eisen Show. Hey, everybody, let's sit the way back machine to let me just do the math in my head about a month ago. Oh, it's about a month ago, about three, three something weeks ago.

Hit the way back machine. That was when all Boston Celtics fans were rooting very hard for the Atlanta Hawks. And then two days later, rooting very hard for the Chicago Bulls. Why would they root for the Atlanta Hawks and Chicago Bulls? Because the Celtics. Were the two seed at the time of rooting very hard for the Atlanta Hawks because had the Miami Heat won the first play in tournament game in South Florida.

Miami Heat would be the seventh seed going to Boston the first round. They didn't want a piece of that. Then they want to just root hard for the Bulls, because guess what? They don't want any piece of the Heat. If the Heat made it at all, who knows how far they could go.

Didn't want a piece of the Heat. Because last year they barely could stand the Heat. They made it out of the kitchen, but they could barely stand the Miami Heat that for some reason matches up very well with the Boston Celtics. Wanted no piece of the Miami Heat in the first round. Instead, they got the Hawks and handedly dispatched Atlanta.

It's a little bit of scariness, but eventually got the care business. TCB took care of business. Second round, we all know what happened. They bounced the Sixers in game seven, and Doc Rivers gets bounced. Then last night, guess who strolled into TD Garden?

The Miami Heat didn't want to see him, didn't want a piece of him. And then we found out last night exactly why. Told you guys. Yep. Told you.

Yep. One twenty three, one sixteen. The final score. Jimmy, but pardon me, Jimmy freaking Butler. Hemi Butler.

Hemi Butler, thirty five, five and seven. Bam out of bio and his phenomenal passing with five assists. Caleb Martin had a nice night. The Heat. Went into halftime, into their halftime locker room, down on the scoreboard, but definitely not out. They dropped a forty six piece on the Celtics in the third quarter. That's a franchise record for the Miami Heat in the postseason. Did not miss forty six points. And then Jimmy Butler was just making shots down the stretch.

And here we go. The Miami Heat, just one game into the Eastern Conference finals, now have home court advantage. All they got to do is hold serve when they go back down to South Florida. All they got to do is they playing with house money in the house of the Celtics coming up on Friday night. And then when they return to Miami on Sunday, all they got to do is hold serve over that seventy two hour period. And the Miami Heat have shown up in the Eastern Conference finals with their A games. And that's exactly why Celtics fans were rooting very hard for the Atlanta Hawks and then the Chicago Bulls just get those guys out.

But they didn't. And here the Heat up one game to nothing. And Jimmy Butler last night asked a great question with a phenomenal response. How does this feel to you guys, what you have done so far?

And if you go back all the way to that night against Chicago and the play in, did you think then that something like this would be possible? Damn right. I did. Damn right we did. And the best part about it is we still don't care what none of y'all think. Honestly speaking, we don't care if you pick us to win. We never have.

We never will. We know the group of guys we have in this locker room. We know that Coach Bowe puts so much confidence and belief in each and every one of us.

Coach Pat as well. And so our circle small, but the circle got so much love for one another. And we pump constant confidence into everybody. And we go out there and we hoop.

We play basketball the right way, knowing that we always got a chance. Is that a Hall of Famer? Great question. Guess who would be a Hall of Famer over the next month?

If he wins seven more games. Well, yeah, I think so. Right.

Yep. I agree. I think that's on the line. That's what's at stake. I think that's pretty good.

Pretty good thought there, because every team that he was on, Chicago, Philly, Minnesota. They're out. Guess who's in this guy?

This guy is in. And he is in his own. And Pat Riley, that's what he's referred to, by the way, as Coach Pat.

Come on. What he's built in Miami with Spolstra. Eric Spolstra is a top notch coach in this league. And you remember when he took over there years ago, it's just like, OK, Pat just doesn't want to do it anymore. And this guy's going to coach this guy. Oh, sure. Guess what? Pat's going to be coaching this team in like two months.

Exactly. And then they started nine and eight and everyone was wondering what was going on. They got LeBron and Chris Bosh and D. Wade and what has happened there now? Who's the coach?

They're nine and eight. Cool. Riley's going to win. Riley's going to step in.

Nope. Made four straight final. Damn straight. Two titles. And now he's still there.

By the way, in conference finals every year since Butler's been acquired. Yeah. It's impressive.

It sure is a heat culture. Nobody really knows what that means, but they know what it means. Well, here's what it means.

And it's it works. Here's what it means, because I because I remember Riley, you know, as the Knicks coach. Back in the day.

And by the way, you know, soon to come back to HBO Max or when it comes back, it'll be on something called Max. Just check out winning time. That's how long this guy has been around at the NBA level.

But let's just put it this way. I remember Riley talking about I'm sure he still does something called the disease of more. Do you ever heard that?

Oh, yeah. Disease of more. And he says that's what more is. What can cause a team to rip itself apart that I want more. I want more shots. I want more plays called for me. I want more. Even off season. I want more magazine articles. I want more clothing deals, more money, more money, more exposure. Right.

As opposed to being part of the collective. Now, that's just a different way of, I guess, a triangle offense or what Kerr has been selling successfully. In San Francisco, slash Oakland, the last.

Decade ish. The disease of more, that's what it is, and this team just plays together. If Duncan Robinson's got to make threes, if Streuze has got to make three, so be it, if Taylor Martin's got to do something, Gabe Vincent, Gabe Vincent's got to do something, so be it, out of bio, so be it. But when it comes down to it, it's Jimmy Butler who puts this team over the top if they can make obviously the Celtics have six more games of runway if that's what they need. But man, the heat have shown that they can win this thing this year right now. And it's exactly why you were rooting for the Hawks. And the Bulls, every step of the way and the box. You saw this coming. Get him out.

I knew you could see it coming a mile away. He seems to play it now, what, four times in the playoffs recently. It's unbelievable. It's fun. It's not fun. Sorry.

But it's it's a it's a fascinating watch. Dangerous eight seed, to say the least. Yeah. And you got a dangerous seven seed going at it tonight in Denver, trying to send this thing back to Los Angeles, where they have not Lakers, by the way, lost since late March. That's the last time they lost in the downtown hoops.

Dojo, the crypto, the crypto baby. So. That's the NBA playoffs right now. Himi Butler and Coach Pat and Coach Spoe and the Heatway and the disease of Moore is not in South Florida.

So there you have it. Lots to talk about on this program. Eight, four, four, two or four, Rich being the number to dial here on the show or keeping an eye on the PGA tour. Pardon me, the PGA championship right now. Jon Rahm's on the leaderboard.

I can see that all the way from here without my glasses even. So, yeah, two way top at three under right now. Rich Kazuki Higa is three under and Keegan Bradley, everybody. Very good. There you go. And it's one of those things makes you want to go play golf, which you're going to do this weekend as an actor.

So much golf. There you go. Very good. In the next three days. Very excited.

I'm playing zero golf in the next three days. And then we meet up in New York City. For the sports Emmy Awards. Let's go. Ready to roll. Ready to roll. I'm ready to roll, man. I'm feeling good about our chances. OK, very good.

Hey, ready to roll? Maybe. Maybe we could be the Miami Heat. Miami Heat.

We are definitely underdogs. We're bringing a slingshot in every special. I know.

I know. So at any rate, if you missed Shaquille O'Neal's appearance here on the show yesterday with Suze, it was dynamite and Jimmy Jackson's going to bring the heat, if you will, figuratively talking about the literal heat from Miami. That's coming up. We've also got two guests in studio actor, real actor Josh Duhamel and then real actor Alfonso Ribeiro, now host of America's Funniest Home Videos for several years and now dancing with the stars as well. Should we ask Josh Duhamel? Just tell him that you've been identified as an actor. I think he see what his reaction would be. We'll do that with him. Oh, he knows. Actors recognize each other. There you go.

And Nair model. Very good, as he's known in the ROM celebrity golf tournament where he's now heading to go play in in North Florida and in Jacksonville, Florida. And Mike Tomlin of the Pittsburgh Steelers will talk about about his team finishing strong and how that actually can translate to the beginning of a playing season. Because it's high on my damn agenda. It is. Never gets old. You know, finish it, Rich. Hey, you know what you can also say?

People say that the Steelers never have a chance to win this division this year. There you go. Oh, he doesn't have it. I do. But it's it's buried. It's buried. Oh, no.

What is that label? You should have them all have them already. Let's do that in advance, because he's on and never say never.

But never have them both ready to move. I got so many. Is there is your goal in this interview to get a new drop from Tomlin? Yeah, it should be. Yeah. I'll rain down my judgment and we'll move forward. Yeah, we'll find out. OK, I was saying I was talking to my uncle Buck yesterday, telling him to make sure the watch because Tomlin's on and I was like, I hope we get another drop from him during this interview. We will hopefully get one.

Damian Lillard has chimed in on Twitter about his future in Portland. Oh, yes. Oh, ish.

We've got that coming up. I have that, you know, I was out of the chair when Victor Wembunyama got drafted by this or got he's he's drafted. There's still a chance, you know, someone else could go number one. Is that right? Is that right?

You know, just saying it's not official. There's always a chance the person who the only person who could go maybe number one above Victor Wembunyama is Brian Windhorst's travel agent. So that's a new that's a new, by the way, fantasy team name.

Now, that might be my basketball fantasy team. Good one. That's a good Wendy's travel agent. Wendy's travel Wendy's travel agent. For seven and the Avatar is a two shot and the Avatar is the two shot with him at two thirty a.m.

I love Wendy. It's two thirty a.m. Yeah, we know we see your face like you look tired. No, I mean, I honestly was wondering what we'll talk about it later. Let's be on time remotely for for Jim Jackson.

He will be joining us next to tell us whether he thinks the Heat has as great a chance as we believe to make the NBA finals. That's next. This is the Rich Eisen Show. Back on the air, sitting at the Rich Eisen Show desk, furnished by Grainger with supplies and solutions for every industry, Grainger is the right product for you.

Call click Grainger dot com or just stop by. When I was a kid, I was getting ready for grade school. My my my brother, two years older than me. And that's you know, he was the sports fan in the family. Again, if I followed my dad's wishes, the Rich Eisen Show would be about show tunes every single day. And so I don't know if we'd all be here, to be honest with you.

You know, I don't think we could do a sponsored segment on Brigadoon. But the reason I bring this all up is my my brother is without a doubt the smartest guy I know. OK. And you know Del Tufo and I do know Del Tufo.

So so honestly, he's the smartest guy I know who knows everything about everything and doesn't wear it on his sleeve. He listened to our show open on his way to work here is that the the the. The lawyer to the stars that he is here in Los Angeles, California, he texted me the phrase of Pat Riley is the disease of me, which is not the disease of Moore. He's correct.

I'm wrong again. There you go. So I thanked him for that and text.

And he wrote back, I'm here for America. Oh, so we all give. Thanks, Jeff. We all give.

So. Then let's now be joined once again on the phone line by our friend from Turner is terrific doing what he's doing. Let's talk some hoops with none other than Jim Jackson back here in the Rich Eisen Show. How are you doing, Jim? I'm great, Rich.

I'm great. And your brother sounds I got to talk to your brother, man. He got some little nuggets there. Oh, yes. That's some words of wisdom. I like that.

Absolutely. And if you need any, I heard that from Pat, too. Oh, did you really?

What did you hear? I mean, just in what just playing with Pat, Pat would always drop those kind of nuggets, those kind of with life lessons more than just basketball. Um, sorry. I mean, it was it was unbelievable.

I was blessed. I say this all the time about young players, that they had an opportunity to play for Pat Riley or exposure early in their career, just to lay the foundation of what the game is, how to be a pro and how to look at the approach of being a pro basketball player, how that lays it out for whatever you do post playing for Miami, because you look at things differently at other teams, like, you know, that's really not the way you should approach it. This is really not the way you should do it. And then maybe you'll say, well, no, you know what? It's very similar to what Pat would do for the organization or where they, you know, conduct business.

But it was Pat had Pat was the kind, Rich, that in practice would just beat you up. Right. But then later on, we'll buy you dinner. But then the next day may not talk to you. It just always kept you off balance, man.

OK, I'll pull on that string. What do you mean by that? Give me any I think you just gave me examples, but give me the exact scenario you're talking about. Well, like one time we were we were we were a practice headed to Toronto to play. And I mean, he was just honest, right? I mean, you know, back then we had like two or three hour practices. And I think maybe the game before we didn't play well, and he was just I mean, we were basically doing fundamental stuff, taking charges, patching drills, box out drills, just everything.

And so we, you know, we applied to Toronto and we happened to go out to dinner, a few of us, you know, to a to a tight restaurant called Soto Soto. And Pat was there. Well, Pat end up buying dinner for us. Now, mind you, after he just like beat us down in practice. So we all mean, that's cool. You know, but the next day we go to shoot around and we get on the bus.

He's sitting there, legs crossed, kind of looking at a spring and they didn't say a word to it. And within practice, they're kind of like it's almost like they keep us even keel off balance. You got a relationship, but yet this is professional. It was one of those mind things with Pat that always had to keep you motivated to understand what your job was. But also, if you're going to be a coach, also, if you did when you did your job like a professional, you would be treated the right way.

First class all the way. So Jim Jackson here on The Rich Guys Show talking about Pat Riley back in the day. I mean, has that been downloaded into Spolstra? Obviously, he's his own man because this is the conversation. You know, we had to start the program, Jim, and I think we'll only grow with each passing win by the heat if they do continue as such in this series and then maybe even beyond is the secret sauce of the heap. Three straight conference championship appearances with Jimmy Butler in the fold and then the rest of the team as built with Spolstra coaching it.

What is what is the secret sauce there? Well, it's it's it's a lot more nuanced because Eric was at the time. Eric was our actual film guy.

OK, that's it. So I think by by by starting at that level, what I think what really makes truly believe what makes Eric such a great coach, outstanding coach is he got to see different layers of the game coaching organization and more importantly, players. And what I mean by that, by being in the film, when we got to break down the film and really look at study the game, not that he didn't know it, but he formed some nuances in the game. He had to learn from Pat. He got to be in practice.

He had to be a training camp. He got to be in the room as he elevated in game planning and drafting and personnel. But more importantly, he had the ear of the players. So he got he was able, Rich, to listen to players, what they desire, what they wanted, what they like, what they disliked. You know, all of those things, how to communicate with players, all of that stuff. Think about learning that and then being elevated into a situation where now you're a coach.

So you downloaded all of this information. Now, how you put it together in regards to a game plan and that is something different. But I think being able to be groomed from the bottom all the way through has allowed Eric's exposure to have a keen insight into personalities and how to handle high. I would say caliber individuals like LeBron James and D Wade, stuff like that, to a Gabe Vinson, to a Duncan Robinson, because Eric was in that situation even though he was drafted, but he was in a second round.

You know what I mean? So he can relate to sides of the spectrum and plays and communicate with those young men as well. And I think that's what makes him such an outstanding coach. I don't think people give him the credit as much as they give a pop because pop is pop. But what Eric has been able to do in Miami has just been, I mean, outside of pop, who's the longest senior coach out there?

It's both. Jim Jackson here on the Rich Eisen Show. So then let's talk about the hearing now. What happened last night and how sustainable is it for the Heat against the defending Eastern Conference champs in Boston?

Jim? Well, I mean, the game plan was outstanding. I mean, listen, Boston is a team that shoots about 43 points a game. I think they only put up 29. So that's three-point defense taking something away from what Boston does really well. Boston shot 51% last night overall, but they only were 34% from the three-point line. Across the board, Miami was 54% and 51 from the three-point line. They had 15 turnovers, but they're complementary players. 15 for Stroush, 15 for Benson, 15 for Martin, 15 for Laurie.

Those are the guys on the road that get you over the top. You know, one of the things I think Spoelstra did also too, recognizing this, which was masterful. And that happened on Portland because Kyle Lowry got hurt and was regulated when he was out for a while and Gabe Benson started. Now, Gabe started some games last year as well, so there's nothing new. But you think about this, Rich, in the starting lineup, Gabe Benson can just be Gabe, meaning he doesn't have to worry about running the show and being in the playmaker because you have, like Bam said, one of the best passers there are out there, Austin Passer, but also Jimmy Butler.

So Gabe can be Gabe. What's happened is that you put Kyle Lowry on the second unit, now that stabilizes the second unit because Kyle can run and orchestrate the offense and it's not a big drop-off in regards to execution. So by making that move and staying with that and Kyle allowing that to happen, that gives his Miami team the balance you're looking for to go to a Boston in game one to walk out of there, at least in game one with a W. Jim Jackson, 14-year NBA veteran here on the Rich Eisen Show.

Tonight, Lakers, Nuggets, game two. What happened in the second half, if not the fourth quarter of game one, that had the Lakers really put the scare in Denver and an opportunity to tie the game late? What did you see there that Darvin Ham and the Lakers have no doubt behind closed doors hung their hat on to win game two tonight?

What did you see, Jim? Both coaches are really good at making adjustments, Michael Malone and also Darvin Ham. Darvin felt, I think he saw something with his coaching staff. You remember when Boston played Philly and you put a Marcus Smart on Joel Embiid?

You're like, well, why would you do that? Especially, it works when you're in space and you have the free throw line or outside the box. Well, you do that because now the big, this time Roy Hotchamore guarding Jokic, that allows Anthony Davis to kind of roam and protect the rim. Plus, when the double team come, it's a bigger double team. This Anthony Davis on Jokic and now you're coming with a guard, Jokic can just see over the top of that. But by reversing those roles, now you allow Anthony to patrol the middle for cutters, but you kind of take that away a little bit and even if they cut, he's there to rim protect.

And then you allow him to come if he needs to double a bigger presence. So I think it took Denver out of their rhythm because they could score 34 points in that fourth quarter and they were effective in that. The key is going to be what Michael Malone does with Aaron Gordon when they choose to do that.

Because no matter where Aaron is at on the court, you can always kind of regulate yourself to helping. That's going to be, that little nuance there, what Michael Malone does with Aaron Gordon when they invert that defense like that, is going to be a chess match and Laker shot the ball well from the three point line in the fourth quarter. I think they showed a little something of what they could do, Austin Reeves played well, but the strategical part of this game, Rich is going to be interested from the beginning. I don't think Darwin happened to go with the same line up, the smaller line up with D'Angelo and Dennis Schroeder because they gave him too many offensive rebounds, but I think they found something.

But Denver in these close games, as you know Rich, they still figured out a way to close it out and not allow LA to steal that game more. Well, while we're talking about the chess match, it just seems an interesting chess piece to me is Rui Hachimuro. He's a fascinating chess piece, certainly in this series, more so than what we saw maybe against the Warriors. It seems like it might be his time here, his turn up to play a significant role to get the Lakers to the finals. What did you see from him in game one that you think Darwin Ham and certainly obviously Malone knows, but what about him as a chess piece here in this scenario? I love it.

I love it because of his size and athleticism. Now listen, with yogis you're not, with players like that, Rich, you're not going to stop. Okay, because they're involved in too many offensive sets, you're going to have the ball in their hands so much.

Now, can you make them less efficient? That's, you know, yogis only had two shots in the fourth quarter. Now, it wasn't just Rui who did that, it was a really great team defensive scheme that didn't allow yogis to get those shots, but what Rui gives you, size enough to compete with yogis.

Now, yogis is not posting up, and if yogis was straight posting up, advantage yogis. But out on the perimeter, Rui is quick enough to stay in front, he's strong enough to kind of keep yogis from getting to a spot, and now he's a threat offensively when he gets out and runs and uses that athleticism. That key piece to me with the Lakers when they, you know, made that move first to get Rui, again, he knew he had potential, but he had injury issues in Washington. But that was the chess piece, I think, that elevated the Lakers team, they gave him depth at the wing position, he can score, he can run, he can rebound, a really intelligent player, and he fits what A.D. needs, LeBron needs, and more importantly, the versatility defensively with what Darvin Hand needs. Now, if he starts them tonight and he starts on them, it's going to be interesting to see how Darvin utilizes that, because if you give too much of the same doses to yogic, he'll figure it out, he's been seeing everything, and he'll figure out a way to dissect it. So you've got to give it to him in doses where it keeps him off balance, where he's never comfortable with what he's doing offensively. So what do you think happens tonight, I don't even have a crystal ball, but I'll just throw that in your lap, Jim. I got one that just don't work that well.

I got one over here somewhere, but just put it up for better use. You know, I thought that the Lakers could be able to steal one of the games, I thought it was game one, in Denver. Denver has done a great job, I mean, if you look at Minnesota and Phoenix in game one, they won those games both by double digits close to 20-20, so I'm not surprised that they won it. Now, the Lakers also, in their first two series, they went on the road in Memphis, I think it was in Golden State, and won by a large margin on the road. So they're very capable, of course, of getting game two.

But I do believe, I think the Lakers found something, they're going to tweak some things, and I think they sneak out of there with a W to tie it up one-on-one. Jim Jackson here on the Rich Eisen Show, NBA on TNT game analyst, and of course, a 14-year NBA veteran, few more minutes left with him, jump in on the Victor Wembanyama conversation based on, I believe it was Woj, who said on ESPN, and I think he's giving voice to a lot of people are saying, that Wembanyama is the greatest prospect, maybe in the history of team sports is what he said, and I believe Damian Lillard was giving voice to people who think that's out of pocket because of LeBron. Now, you were in the league when LeBron arrived, and everything that went down. What's your two cents on this conversation here?

Well, it's an opinion piece. You were around, too, and you got a chance to see it, I think, how can you say Kareem wasn't? Now, we weren't there, but based on Kareem's high school and college career, think about it, they took the dunk away in college for Kareem. He's a three-time national player of the year, MVP, three-time champion, lost one or two games in high school.

Come on. Coming into the league, this was like the next thing coming after Will. So it's hard really to say. Now, in relation to LeBron, I think when you look at LeBron coming into the league, it was some questions about maybe could he shoot good enough at that point? You know, he's playing against high school players, would that translate over to the NBA? It wasn't about LeBron and his physical talent, it was about those little nuances. With Victor, because he's been playing overseas against grown men, and he's shown the ability to endure the physicality, but he can shoot it from all three levels, the questions are not as intent about him transferring those skillsets to the league. And I think that's what a lot of people are looking at when they judge him, which is not wrong in that aspect.

You know what I'm saying, Rich? Because if you were to take a 7-4 Victor Nbiyama and an 18-year-old LeBron James with some of those questions, in today's game, or back then, who would you take on size wins? How great LeBron is. So I think those comparisons, and they're looking at that and they're saying what Victor can do, I think they're basing it on a lot of that, because he doesn't really have, outside of being strong and maybe just adjusting to the NBA life, not a lot of flaws in his game early in his career. Wow, you're right, I was around, I was doing sports centers, I think Stuart Scott and I did multiple sports centers after LeBron James' high school games were broadcast live on ESPN. I was there, I was part of, if you will, the hype, and this is exactly similar to it, I mean we're seeing some live games from France, right? So I'll just throw this to you to wrap the conversation, is what was it like in the league when LeBron came in, were you ready to show the kid something, or a bunch of veterans ready to show the kid that you're not in Akron anymore, or is that what Winbunyama's gonna face here?

What do you think? Well, it's always the case, c'mon man, cuz God's got egos, I don't care if you're an established player or not, because Victor LeBron, when he came in, had so much hype, you wanted to see what it was all about. And I appreciate it because being from Ohio, I got a chance to witness and watch him grow as a player in Ohio, and the appreciation for who he was and his background, but of course you wanna, as a veteran, a lot of times you wanna show a younger player, and that's sometimes even a player that comes to your team, let alone somebody that has the hype that these two young men have, or had for LeBron, that this is the league, but a young man like LeBron is special, he can compartmentalize what he needs to do, and how to perform, and not try to live up to that hype, but just be who he is, and I think that's what really allowed LeBron James, that transition to come in and really be effective, because, think about it, he didn't come out and try to be Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant, he just wanted to be LeBron, and that's how he's always played, so that allowed him, and more importantly Rich, his teammates to accept him. See, that's the key, because of all that hype, even your teammates are like, they wanna go at you in practice to see what you got, but if you're a confident teammate, that makes the transition so much more fluid, and easier for you to play the game, because now you have your guys behind you that really support you because of the person you are, and not the hype and the basketball player, and I think that's gonna be very important, that's why culturally, I think it's important where Victor ended up landing, with the culture that'll allow him to grow as a basketball player, mature as a young man, get taught how to play the game the right way, and San Antonio is one of the handful of organizations that's been stable for the last 20, 30 years.

Pop is perfect for it, I mean like, what a perfect thing, plus he also knows how to speak French to a star player, you know, I mean like, that's... Well, he's not a curse in modern French too, you know what I mean, he's real used to that. So get, hey, Victor better get used to that, I'll tell you that right now. I love it.

Because it's coming. I love it. I mean, Pop, you know how it is when you get older, and Pop is at the stage too where he just gives no F's, you know what I mean, he's older now, like okay, what you gonna do, if you don't like it, so what, how it's gonna get done, you know what I mean, so it's gonna be an interesting dynamic with them through this year. Oh yeah, normally you'd think 51 years of age difference is gonna be a problem, but I don't think so, you know, half a century of an age difference, I don't think so at all.

That's funny. I can't wait, it's great for the NBA, from an international perspective, and I think the young man just based on his background, couldn't have more of a perfect fit to come in with an organization like that, to learn how to be a pro, and I think that's what's most important. The skill set is gonna be there, the game is there, but understanding what it means to be a pro at a young age with all of the expectations, to me is one of the most important aspects of the growth of this young man. Jim, thanks for the call, greatly appreciate it, love our chats, you're just great to watch, you and I are a great team, and always appreciate you coming on the show, and as thanks, just to bring it all full circle, my brother, if you need an estate plan, he's a terrific lawyer for that, I can hook you guys up, he's great, he's truly the best in America, quite frankly. I appreciate it, thank you my brother. Take care of yourself, Jim, you be one.

Enjoy it, that's Jim Jackson, everybody. Game two tonight on the worldwide leader in sports from Denver, and then Turner has game two between the Celtics and the Heat, coming up on Friday. Great insight right there on the Heat, man.

Spolster was the film guy when he was there being coached by Pat Riley, who was playing mind games with him. Great insight on why it works for the Heat, super, love making you smarter. When we come back, huge news, monster big news, and as always, with news from me, it's good for you too.

You say you, you mean America, and actually the world, if you don't mind me just going next level, this is next level information coming up. You're on our radio network along with our Roku channel feed, we're thrilled to have us all one happy family together. Now folks who watch us every single day on the Roku channel, we love you, and we try to bring you up to speed about what's happened if you're new to this program, because you're watching on the Roku channel for the first time, even though we've been on the air for eight months plus, we'll bring you up to speed on what I'm about to say, but I think the guys here will know when I say I have received the call here in Los Angeles, California. Oh, I know what you're talking about, boom. I have received the call, and today is the day it happens. Oh wow.

I'm in the dark because I have no clue. I have received the call, I have received the call, I have received the call, and here it is, one of the best things in my life outside of this show, outside of this show, my children of course, my lovely, my lovely wife who sat in yesterday. This is cooler than your kids. This is, yeah, it might be. I have for well over a decade been invited to be part of a group of individuals who sit in an edit bay and get shown way in advance so the team that puts the episodes together know how it all plays out because the show is done mostly improvisationally.

There's a script, but a lot of it is improvised, and they just want to have a new set of eyes to see if everything that they've put on the screen makes sense. That show is called Curb Your Enthusiasm, and in the edit bay is none other than Larry David himself, and Jeff Shafer has been a friend of this program for many years, and the other day, I got the call, today, here in Los Angeles, California, I will, after today's show, see episode one of the upcoming season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Today's the day. Which means my big news for all of you on planet earth means a new season of Curb is around the corner. Breaking news. There you go. You even get the drop.

I can't wait. You guys knew this. You picked up on that.

This was what it was. Oh, yeah. Well, when he says I got the call. Yeah, I mean, like I said, he's been doing this. He's been around for years, TJ.

For a decade. Yeah, yeah. I guess some things just- I got the call. No, I knew immediately.

I knew immediately. You know what I thought the call was? It's the bat signal.

That someone was going to let you host a game show. That's what I thought. No, no. That's what I thought. I was like, oh, cool. That's what I thought it was going. That would have been at the top of today's program. I was going to say that would have led the show. That would have led the show. That was where I thought.

I forgot they eat winning in Boston. That would have led the show. Oh, my God. What a drop.

Please. That would have led the show. That would have led the show. Who texted you or called? Was it Jeff or Larry?

It was Jeff. It was about a week and a half ago. I decided, you know, it could be one of those things, hey, mark off this.

Are you in town? Mark off this time. Mark off this date. Didn't want to say it here because they didn't want to jinx it because these things sometimes get pushed back or whatever. We're not ready yet. But today is the day. I'm going to see it today. We're going to do it today.

It is on and curb is coming back. I don't know if I want I love the I'm not telling you a damn thing. No, no, no, no. You've never have. But I'm saying I don't know if I'd want to.

I want to wait. Oh, I totally understand that. But you know it all. But but you as you know, Mike, knowing me, yeah, I'd love the creative process. And if I'm actually being asked, what do you think in any way, shape or form at any time? That's what Rich lives for.

I do, of course. He only wants to do is give input. That's it. You're an implicant.

You're an implicant. Well, yesterday. Yeah. Whoa. Well, no.

That's more output. I understand. I'm sorry. Wow. Ladies and gentlemen, Mike Deltufa's colonoscopy humor. Wow. On full display. Well, as you know, as Kramer said, the proctologist is the funniest guy in the room.

He's got all the stories. Thanks for asking. I'm sorry. No, it's very it's very important. I'm happy. I'm happy to discuss it. It is very important. Just so I could say, you know, greatest nap ever.

And you got to make sure that you're checked out because you can check out if you leave that unchecked. How does that sound? And I didn't feel a thing.

And you wouldn't either. So everybody, when you're of a certain age, you hit your 40s or your 50s, you know, consult your doctor and physician. Is that better? Well done. Yes. Thank you. Thanks for asking, though.

Yeah. I don't know who's coming up. Mike Tomlin. And let me just say this, everybody.

In the area of Portland, Oregon. If you think this is the same thing with Mike Tomlin in Pittsburgh, if you think you can do better, good luck, because this guy. If Tomlin is ever available, other coaches would see you. Teams would go and grab him. He would be a free agent for two seconds.

So a TV network or a team would pick him up. So if there's anybody out there that actually thinks Damian Lillard should be traded and you should start from scratch with a third overall pick, get out of here. So somebody on Twitter, pardon me, to at Alexa Cooper and Cooper muting all of you that are undervaluing the Blazers number three pick to be traded and insisting on trading Dame. What's wrong with you all?

Do you think we suffer this long to go out like that? Goodbye. And then Lillard retweeted that, saying if the fans want to trade me, start the petition and send it in. So if the calls are coming within the house, get your trade in the Philly, right? Well, TJ, you're not a Philly fan.

Well, this could change things, Chris. Get in the San Antonio. That's true.

That's my problem. Go, New York. Go, New York. Go. Put him in a backcourt with Brunson. See how that goes. I know, you know, similarities exist, and that's the same thing that Scoot Henderson can't be drafted and put in the same backcourt as Damian. No, send Scoot somewhere else.