The Dan Patrick ShowUS Open Champion JJ Spaun joins the show and admits the rain delay on Sunday was a huge help in turning his round around. And former NBA player and current analyst, Brian Scalabrine stops by to break down what we saw last night in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
You are listening to the Dan Patrick Show on Fox Sports Radio, so.
Have an hour to go. The US Open champ JJ spawn will join us coming up. Also, Brian Scalabrini, NBA analyst, will stop by look back on what happened. Did Rick Carlyle make the right decision? I know we could look at the results, but Tyree's Haliburton playing in the second half where he was nowhere near one hundred percent that times it looked like he was barely fifty percent. But Sga and Jalen Williams were incredible. They combined for seventy one. If you combine assist and scoring, they combined for one hundred and three. Oiler's Panthers Game six, as they like to say, the cup is in the building tonight. If the Panthers win, they go back to back, back to the thunder against the Pacers. Even with Tyre's Halliburton scoring four points, he didn't score a basket. It was a two point game with eight and a half minutes to go, and Rick Carlile defended being Tyrese Haliburton in He's not one.
Hundred percent, it's pretty clear, but I don't think he's gonna miss the next game, and you know, we were concerned at halftime, and he insisted on playing, and I thought, I thought he made a lot of really good things happen in the second half.
But he's not.
He's not one hundred percent, you know, And there's a lot of guys in the series that aren't.
True, but he was the one limping. Guys are going to be banged up, but he was noticeably limping there. That's the difference. Yeah, I don't know why.
It cracks me up the way he clears his throat in that clip though, but he's talking.
That they should have a cough button up there. Yeah, we have cough buttons here. We don't always use that, but there was like no attempt to, like normally what should do.
It's like talking to you and go off right, play it again, Marvin.
He's not one hundred percent, it's pretty clear. But I don't think he's gonna miss the next game. And you know, we were concerned at halftime, and he insisted on playing, and I thought, I thought he made a lot of really good things happened in the second half.
But he's not.
He's he tried to hold off.
I have no idea. I have no idea, yes to Could that.
Be a little bit of a nervous tick kind of coffe where you're talking about something that maybe you made a mistake somewhere and it's not the hottest topic you really want to get into.
I'm not sure. I'm not sure.
Age seven to seven three DP show email address Dpadanpatrick dot com, Twitter handle the TP Show.
Good morning.
If you're watching on peacock, it's a streaming partner, or just listening on the radio like the old days, Mike and Washington, Hey Mike, what's on your mind today?
Well?
They uh, just step in the past six to two doing damage at one. I just want to say, man, I've been listening to guys for a long long time, and like the best shows there are always when the really good interviews are on, and when I'm fortunate enough to watch it on TV, you can see Dan kind of swivel in his chair and turn so he's almost like a one on one interview, like he almost like forgets the camera. You guys have been doing a great job for a long time. But I mean, just a little advice like everybody else does. Whenever the show starts to go poo poo, just start talking about Lebron and the Cowboys? And do you think have guys have a great day?
Oh okay, I think there's a compliment in there.
Was he suggesting that we start talking about Lebron and the Cowboys?
Yes?
Tom, I think he was just taking a shot out of another network.
Oh okay, okay. Who is Todd most like Lebron or the Cowboys? Ooh, underachiever or m the hot one? Yeah?
Or best Arrow was in the nineties. It's actually pretty close. He actually really we had to really make that one work. I think you're more Lebron than the Cowboys.
Yeah, I mean, I never thought I'd be asked that question today, but I'm glad somebody did. They finally asked me that question. Mick and Reno. Hey Mick, what's on your mind?
Dan?
Mick?
Dan, Mick? Perfect perfect show today.
Well we still have thank you, Thank you, Mick. Still have fifty five minutes waiting for JJ Spahd to join us. Jay in North Carolina, Hi, Jay, what's on your mind?
Hey Dan? A big fan. I love Todd and I was worried when you guys got the gong that was going to be too much. But I'm thanking today. You haven't used it enough.
I think Todd survived the gong after the first two hours that there was only one gong, and I gonged a listener. So I'm trying to I'm trying to use it sparingly so when it does happen, it warranted. Yeah, gong worthy. Do you think I should have used the gong on you at all today?
I don't think so.
Okay, I was just expressing my point, like I both do. Okay, thank you about.
The perfect game thing.
He just won the US Open. He's JJ Spahn getting ready to join us on the program. I mentioned this yesterday at when we were at Pebble a couple of years ago. He came up and introduced himself and I thought the line was just so oh, there he is JJ spawn official introduction here, JJ Spawn US Open champ joining us on the show. Do you remember how you introduced yourself to me at Pebble Beach a couple of years ago?
Exactly?
No, but I do remember being there with you.
Yeah, you walked up and you said on the other black guy on tour.
Yeah, yeah, I remember that now. I remember that.
Congratulations give me the second favorite shot that you hit at Oakmont.
The shot on seventeen on Sunday.
But that was the risk and the reward there was. I mean we've seen guys die in the rough there around seventeen, but there was no hesitation.
No, I mean, that was the strategy all we long is to send driver up there and just try to get up and down and actually hit almost an identical shot in the practice round on Tuesday where I flagged it to about twenty feet away. But it's a blind t shots. You can't see the green. You could just see like the top half of the pin. And you know, that was the one shot that got me the lead and you know, led me to victory.
But also you're listening for the crowd's reaction to it. Since you can't see it, you can kind of differentiate between, oh that was a good shot, that was a great shot, that was an unbelievable shot.
Exactly, and that's exactly what happened. You know, you can't see anything, but there's tons of people up there, big grandstands, and I you know, once I hit it, the ball kind of you can see it one hop and then it disappears and all you hear is just this growing roar the stands, and you know, you can tell, like a clap would be like, okay, that's probably somewhere near the green. And then all of a sudden you hear whoa, and you're building up like it's going in. Like I literally thought I was going to make this shot, and then it was like the oh like adjustment. So I knew it was relatively close before I got.
On the green.
How do you pay back Victor Hoblin for giving you the read on eighteen?
I gotta give him a nice bottle of wine or something, whatever he wants. That was a nice teach, and I think that was just one of those things that has to go your way to win not only a championship, but a major championship. And I'm just happy to have capitalized on that little advantage.
How surprised were you that it went in? Though?
Oh?
Stunned? I would.
I mean, you can tell by my reaction that that putt going in. You know, my lab hot, My lab putter was so hot. I had to toss it, you know, with that back nine finish. But I did, you know, I didn't. All I was trying to do, obviously, was get it to tap in. I didn't even want like a three footer, But when I hit it, I knew it was good pace. I just didn't know if it was the right line. It was raining and misty. It couldn't even really see the hole from that far away. And you know, I'm glad I didn't have to tap in a little three footer for the win.
Do you retire that putter?
Heck?
No, Dan, Come on, that thing's been so hot for me. My lab putter has been like one of the best kind of components of my game. That's always been a part of my statistically my game where I've struggled, but I think it's been a great equalizer now and it's kind of helped keep rounds going, whether it's making a clutch six footer to keep momentum going in the right direction during a round, or making a sixty four footer to when the US open.
Talking to JJ spawn US open, chant, let's clear up the overnight CBS trip for your sick daughter. What exactly happened and why can't you send your caddie to CBS.
I know.
It was a crazy sort of Sunday morning, early Sunday morning where the tournament had a daycare provided for all the players, and she must have caught some sort of stomach bug from one of the other kids running around in the same classroom as her, And all we can hear in the other room next to us was her just kind of puking up stuff and crying. So we kind of tended to her, made sure she was okay, but she wasn't trying. She couldn't hold anything down. She's crying for water. Poor things. She's two years old, and you know, little does she know any sip of water kind of you know, makes her feel worse. But yeah, I was up at three thirty. I was looking for twenty four hour pharmacies. You know, did my best to get her what she needed. You know. Fortunately, you know, we we got her some PDA light and we just tried to, you know, help her get on the mend. And she's doing a lot better.
Now though I smell a sponsorship there pd A light.
Yea.
How important was the rain delay?
Maybe that sounds strange to say, but was it a great opportunity for a reset?
It was huge, you know, I think if if things were going the other way, where I was like really hot starting off and kind of all of a sudden leading. That would be kind of the last thing you want. But it's almost like, you know, being down twenty points going into the the halftime, you know, break an NBA final to kind of regroup, you know, get a game plan reset. I even changed my clothes. I was like, I want to feel like a completely different person going out there. Because I had ten holes to play. I was still four shots back. But it's the US Open, you know, like people aren't running away with this tournament in the field kind of tends to come back. But my team, my caddie, we all said, hey, if you were four back going into the back nine at the US Opened on Monday, knowing that you would take it, so don't worry about your start. Let's just go back out there and try to execute our game plan.
Okay, but was there a point when you bogie five to the first six where you go, well, I had a good run.
Yeah, I think on number number six when I couldn't I've made one par on a par five and it was still a grinding par. But I'm hitting flag sticks, spinning off the green, hitting rakers, rakes that are bounding just outside the bunker where I can't even hit the ball. I was just like, Okay, I guess it's not meant to be. But maybe that kind of helped me. You have the right mental aspect to where you know if it's meant to be to happen. If not, then I'll just take what it gives me.
Congratulations, a lot of fun. As rich Lerner said on the Golf Channel, that you beat the best, but you beat the beast as well.
That was Oakmont.
I love that.
Thank you, Dan, I'm so honored.
Congrats Thanks Dan, thank you JJ Spahn us Open champ. I like how he changed his clothes during the rain delay, almost like let me get out of this. This isn't good and let me just try something different. I don't know if he's superstitious, but you can't change your closed mid round anyway, so you do need a rain delay, so it's not like he goes, oh, that's what I normally do.
It's a.
Pretty impressive though, when you bogey went five of the first six and then you're thinking I can't win this? How do I win this? And then the rain delay and it just felt like there was a reset there. And he's won only one other time. He did have that Monday playoff against Rory at the Players Championship this year. But by all accounts has a great swing, and you know, he says, you're not going to retire that putter. That putter was pretty unbelievable there. All right, we'll get some more phone calls coming up, David Arkansas, Hi, Dave, what's on your mind today?
They call me bird days and I have to stand up for Todd, But I want, I want to compare to your group to a wolf pack. Everybody knows the alpha wolf, the leader of the back. Damn, that's you. But there is also an omega wolf. The AMaGA wolf sets the pattern of the ranking of the coast. So there has to be somebody down at the bottom for everybody to jab at and pick on, and that all sets the ranking of the other wolf. Todd is an a maga wolf. I am a magel wolf. One of the friends I am around. I get picked on a lunch, so I have to stand up for Toddy's the maga wolf. But hey, we're in it together.
All right, Well, thank you, Dave. All Right, Todd, you're the omega wolf.
Okay, we're in it together, Dave.
Mm hmm uh RJ And Colorado.
Hey r j Okay pay are you with me? Great to be back on. I called in and Tyler thought I may have been thrown back in prison. So apparently I need to make this more frequent than it has been. But got a thought and a story to tell you about some golf stuff here. I'll start with the story. The best interview I've ever seen was a guy asked a patron at the Oakmont US Open, said, hey, what do you think you'd shoot this week?
On one round?
And he goes with or without a caddy? Sir, he goes with a caddy one hundred and eighty six? What would you shoot without a caddy? Out to quit? This is too hard? Yeah, So best interview I've ever seen. And I want to get your thoughts on what do you think about YouTube golf and where it's beginning to play into the golf world as far as like Grant Horvat and even Phil Mickelson diving into what's going on in their head and how they're playing.
Well, I guess you're talking about the videos, the self help videos that you'll find, Thank you, Orgia. There's just so much and I think if you talk to anybody who's taken a lesson, your head gets filled with too many things.
You really have to streamline it.
And anytime I've taken a lesson, I always say to the person giving me a lesson, give me one or two things to work on.
I don't need three, four or five because you can't remember them.
But if you're seeing people on YouTube giving you lessons, giving you tips, great wherever you can get information, but you have to be able to get information that then you can apply to your game and if it works, great. But not all advice is good advice. Not all advice is applicable to your swing. And that's what you have to understand. You have to find somebody who communicates with you that you know I can do this or I can't do that, because you'll have professionals who go, you know what, at the top of the swing, you want to bow your hand, I have no idea how to do that well when you take it back, and then there's just all these things, whereas I just want, what's one thing on the takeaway, one thing on the downswing, or if you're getting a putting tip, what's the one thing I have to remember when you chip? What's the one thing I have to remember the problem is if you go through Facebook or YouTube, you're going to find twenty five people telling you different things. Now a lot of them have the same principles, they use different language, but still you can look at Jim Furick swing. No one would ever teach Jim Furich swing, but they would all teach how he is when he gets to the ball, when he's getting ready to hit the ball. That's what matters, you know, Lee, Trevino, Ray Floyd. There's so many golfers where you go that doesn't look good. It's when I show you where he is, you know, at address when he's ready to hit the ball, and I show you Nicholas or Tiger or Tom Weiskow or I mean all of these guys, great golfers, ball strikers, Norman, they're all kind of in the same area. That's the most important thing. Where you are backswing, takeaway all of that. Where are you when you're ready to hit the ball? That's is the club based square. Are you moving forward? Are you getting rotation? That's what I'm kind of looking for. When we come back, we'll talk some basketball. Brian Scalabrini, NBA analyst, former NBA player will join us. We're back after this on the Dan Patrick Show.
Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio dot com and within the iHeartRadio app. Search FSR to listen live. A listener asked a question last hour. Has a team ever been an underdog in every single game in the finals and gone on to win the championship? Well, there's betting data that goes back to two thousand and eight, so since then, no team has been an underdog in every game of the finals and won the championship. Twenty nineteen, the Raptors underdogs in four games, and they won three of them. They won the series four to two. The twenty twenty Heat underdogs in all six games, but lost the series four games to two. Twenty fifteen Cabs underdogs in all six games, they lost the series four games to two. The Spurs in twenty thirteen underdogs in six games, they lost the series four games to three. Bryan Scalabrini's Celtics analyst and co host of the Starting Lineup on Sirius XM NBA Radio, won a title with the eight Boston Celtics. Help Me understand when a player is hurt. I don't know if he's injured, but he's hurt Tyrese Haliburton, and he hasn't played well, and you know you're going to play a game six back in Indiana. Why have Tyre's Haliburton go out there and played the second half last night?
Yeah, I don't. I think that's up in the air or injured. Right If a guy is hurt and it's the NBA Finals, you can't punt on a game. So you just got a roll with it. I mean they got it within two They there could have been a few things that could have happened. I know he wasn't playing well, but his impact was still there. Even if you look at the play that Nemhard turned the ball over, they were still face guarding Tyreese Halliburn thirty forty five feet from the basket. So he was impacting the game. He was on a run. He's had those heroics throughout the playoffs. You got to roll the dice on that.
Yeah, I just I know, I get another game. I want him to be really good in Game six. I just don't want him to be kind of average the way he was last night and the bench was unbelievable, Like I would have stayed with that. And look, I'm sure Rick has far better intel than any of us of how Tyree's was really feeling.
He couldn't even get shots off though, Brian, Yeah.
He couldn't get by people. But Dan, you saw what he has done throughout the playoffs. If you're banking on a guy to help you, you if it's a close game, that's what you're banking on. And by the way, like it wasn't him, like the Nemhar turnovers, that little sequence right there, that was it and they had it. I mean, they did a great job of cutting that back. TJ McConnell did a great job of like just to you know, bring in the energy. But you know, I just think with a guy like Haliburt, you never know. Listen, Michael Jordan during the Flu game, he was out there playing and you know he kind of figured it out as you win. I'm not comparing the two, but it's just one of those things, right, You never know. And I don't think you can ever just say, like, well, live to fight another day, especially when TJ McConnell and that group, that bench group got him back into the game. I would have done the same thing with Haliburton.
Seems like Okac is going against the analytics because they're not about shooting threes. Yeah, I don't know what they're going to basketball. They may ruin basketball as we know it because they're not firing up threes.
Or they could be saving basketball. And I mean they won a game when they made three three pointers. You know, it's a copycat league. I think the pendulum kind of swung too far. Everyone trying to copy the Boston Celtics. It would be really interesting to see if there's a few teams out there. You've noticed that the Orlando Magic just acquired Desmond Vane and they're not a great three point shooting team, but they are a great rim attack team and they are a great defensive teams. So you know, maybe we should look at that team a little bit differently now now that teams are doing a much better job of guarding the three and taking the three away.
You're a part of the Celtics broadcast team. What kind of changes any big changes in the offseason for Boston.
Yeah, I mean I think the it was one of those moments like when Tatum went down with the injury I think their path would have looked very different this year than when now that like we don't know if he's going to miss the entire year. But the clicktive bargaining agreement, the second apron, the punitive repeater tax, like they just don't make it feasible to keep these teams together anymore. So I don't know who's the game. I don't know if it's Holiday or Perzingis or both or Brown, you know, like, I don't know what's going to happen. I just know that the Celtics are going to make a conscious effort to get underneath that tax, and we'll kind of kind of we'll see what they end up doing after that. But it kind of gave them a natural reset with Tatum getting hurt.
Is Kevin Durant still that attractive Dan.
It's hard when you have so there's a few things right, So they're in the second apron. You can't aggregate salaries unless the team has space, so you have to take a young team with cap space. And yet if they have cap space, they usually have like a few good players. Yeah, Phoenix wants those good players. So like when you add it all up and if Kevin Durant was thirty, it'd be very different. But when you add it all up, it's going to be a weird trade and the Phoenix Suns are not going to get the value they need and the teams are going to say, we're fine, we don't need Kevin Durant. You better take what we give out there. It's it's it's not anything we've ever experienced before. Remember those trades nine players for two, Like those things can't happen anymore with the way the rules are so complicated. Yes, talk to general managers or scouts or all these people that know the cap Like it's there's not as many options out there for Kevin Durant where he could pick his pick and choose where he wants to go, and then Phoenix doesn't have to send him to the places he wants to go. So I think this trade is very, very complicated.
And it feels like nobody cares about draft picks anymore. They do, they do if you're in the lottery, you care after that?
All right? So do you feel Dan that the East is wide open with any Ndam making this run? Wouldn't you say, like yes, okay, Like no one picked Indiana to win a championship. I mean maybe one person have one hundred, right, So I just think that that puts a lot of pressure on these other organizations. And what do you want, Like, let's the Desmond Bain deal. Is a pick this year, a pick next year at two players that probably can't help you win a championship. Let's just throw that out there. At Coldwell, Pope, you would think yes, but he misshot, So let's just say no. Well, that could end up being like forty million dollars of salary the next two years, and you're not sure that those guys are going to help you get over the hump. Now, you could send all thats in a couple more assets, and you're getting a guy like Desmond ban where you feel like you can. So I think the teams because of Tatum's injury, because of what Indiana did, maybe the fact that you don't need all this three point shooting. I think teams think about Nie Smith and Nemhar like second round pick and a guy that Celtics traded are starting in the NBA Finals and they have a chance to win a championship. I think it fast forward to a lot of timelines out there.
Yeah, I agree the East is open. I don't know if I could say the Knicks are, you know, going back to the Eastern Conference finals. If the Celtics were healthy, then they don't get there, Cavaliers. It feels like, you know, all things fell into place for the Knicks. I still believe, though, Brian, that the Knicks we're going to fire Tom Thibodeau before the playoffs started, they were going to fire him. Then all of a sudden, you have success, which you know, the optics were bad, like, oh my god, he got you to the Eastern Conference funds. I just think he he won his way into good favor with the fans of the reaction, but management wasn't going to keep him, and then they don't have a successor that's what's surprising right now.
Yeah, the whole thing is strange. And the goalpost was classically moved here. You got to beat Detroit or you're going to get fired. Oh you can't get blown out by the Celtics, or you're going to get fired. Then you beat the Celtics and somehow all of a sudden, like we look at the Pacers, I think we all can agree, like no one has analyzed that team correctly. They're really good. They guard, they move it, Tyri's Halliburn's good. And when they lost to the Pacers, somehow like they management spun it, like the Pacers weren't a good basketball team. So I just like, I think, I think you're right. They had it in their mind and they were just looking for a reason to do it.
Brian Scalabrini, Celtics analyst for NBC Sports Boston, co host of the Starting Lineup on Sirius XM NBA Radio. Give me your non white guy comp for Cooper Flag.
Oh oh, I don't do the white guy. I think I think it's Lebron James. But he's without having to be like two hundred and sixty pounds and like a freight train. Cooper Flag is a supercomputer, a super dan. He's a super computer. Everything you tell him, within twenty four hours, he figured it out, and next time you tell him something else. I was working him Mount in Maine. On day two. I pretty much came to him and his parents and said, listen, I can't help you anymore.
You need to reach out explain how this happened.
So his trainer and me are really close friends. When Cooper was not even a high school student yet. He was a freshman, but he hadn't a high school game. Cooper came down to play in my pickup game down here in Boston. You know, it's about a three hour drive, maybe four hour drive. He came down and he wanted his trainer wanted me to get my eyes on Cooper, and he told me I got a thirteen year old that could play against you Maine kids and he could hold his own. And Dan, I'm I don't believe that for one second. It's another over exaggeration of a kid. But after seeing him, I totally believe it. And he said it would always be the same thing. He'd kind of take like fifteen twenty minutes to figure it out, and then he's like right there neck and neck with twenty three year old twenty two year olds when he's thirteen years old. Right. I saw it for myself. It was the same thing when he came down and played with us, and from then on, like I kind of like made some phone calls like John Shire and USA Basketball to like, no, I don't think you guys understand this guy is like I've never seen anything like that before. And over time I've been close to him and worked him out and stuff like that, and they got to a point where I just couldn't help him anymore. He was just too good. He just picked things up. Workouts are supposed to be challenging and you're supposed to push guys to do something better than they normally can, and he just kept mastering every single thing. And you talk around around the NBA and you talk around about guys, they're always saying Lebron is like that. Like Lebron can act like he's not paying attention to shoot around, and he can call every action, every play and what they're trying to get and how they got this on with four thirty six to go at this much in the fourth quarter, so watch out for it. And he's kind of like not even engaged. So I'm not saying Cooper's like not engaged, but I'm just saying I've never met and I've been around a lot of players, I've been around Hall of Fame players, I've never met someone that just can pick up things at such a high rate. And I think that that's when people talk about NBA players, they wonder how this guy make it? And this guy's six to eleven, and he's long and he's athletic, but he doesn't make it. A lot of it has to do with their computer, their processor, and he just processes on a that I've never seen before. So I'm only assuming that it's like Lebron James.
What's the best performance you ever witnessed in person?
Probably Lebron in Game six against the Celtics when they were down three to two against in Miami, and he just came in and like forty five thirteen and nine and he didn't even break a sweat. It was probably that I saw Paul Pierce when I was playing with the nets. He had a subpar first half and he dropped forty eight in the second half in overtime, and I couldn't believe it. I could not believe what I was watching. And I didn't think like Chamberin could score one hundred points in the game. I thought that that's crazy. Then I watched Pierce score in a second half forty eight in overtime, so that was up there. And then I think that Vince Carter eight minute flurry of like twenty five points or something like that in the first quarter, and I was on his team at that time like other worldly performances.
It's weird when I watched Paul Pierce because I don't know if he does anything, he did anything really well other than score, Like he he's just meant to be a scorer. And I watch SGA and now SGA can get to the hoop in mid range Jumper, but there's no highlights there. They're just certain guys who are scores who do it in a methodical way that you know what's happening. It's not I'm going above you know, I'm the rim or anything, you know, crossing you over. Crazy and Pierce in SGA kind of remind me of each other.
That's funny that you bring that up, because I actually he reminds me a lot of Jalen Williams, like the guy who just scored forty last I'm like, it's Jalen Williams, like a more athletic Paul Pierce. But Dan, it comes down to this, and SGA's in this category, and there's a few guys that are in this category. It's the ability to navigate space with people on your body, like typically when you are you know, like you are playing defense and you have a guy on your body and you can dictate them, right, That's what we do for a living, Like, that's how we guard. But Paul was never affected by that no matter. He like almost looks and seeks out contact and encounters contact. And that's what makes those guys, like you said, they're not. When you're on a guy's body, it's hard to elevate way above the rim, like it happens with separation. Michael Jordan the greatest player ever because he separates, and because that when he separates, he can elevate. Well, those guys don't separate, but they stay connected, but they can navigate their space while connected. That's what makes those guys special, but also doesn't create super highlights.
Who's the best scorer? Who is the worst defender?
The best scorer, who is the worst defender? I mean, it's gotta be some guy that doesn't.
Play well no, like you know, Barkley wasn't a good defender, or Larry Bird wasn't a good defender.
It's going to be based off of size.
Like Iverson didn't you know really play them?
Yeah, you can't throw the ball anywhere near his vicinity, you know what. Like I'll tell you a guy that I covered in this. I don't want to be disrespectful to Isaiah Thomas, but he was a six scorer and it's not like he didn't try. He did try, but he's like five to nine, right, I think it's more about that. Like people talk about James Harden teams hard as big as hell, and he has quick hands, so you could say he doesn't defend or anything like that, but he's long, he's big. His size comes into play most of the time in the NBA. When a guy can't defend, it's hard to even pick up. It's the cumulative effect of one hundred possessions of a guy being short with short arms that becomes an issue. But those those big, strong guys like Barkley was the defensive rebounder. You can give him credit for that, right, There's a lot that goes into it, but being an undersized guard, it's really challenging.
Yeah.
I brought that up, you know, Kendrick Perkins brought up that the Joker wasn't a good defender and therefore he shouldn't be the MVP whenever. That was a couple of years ago, and I said, that's silly, because it's called a defensive rebound.
Yeah, yeah, and he's a really good rebounder.
Yeah, but all of a sudden, Joe ell Embiid should win because apparently he played more defense I guess than Joker.
I just find it.
We pick and choose on who plays defense and who doesn't, or we're going to call them out because they don't play defense. Steph Curry doesn't play defense. I mean he plays the passing lanes.
Yeah, I mean he's he's not awful. He's in world class shape and he's strong as hell. So I think I think the limitations for these guys are going to be based off the size. Like Jalen Brunson in the playoffs.
You know, now he's not a good defender, but.
It's just based off of size, Like it just adds up over time. Every pass is not as contested, every rebound, everything adds up when you are dealing with guys who are small. But it's also credit to those guys how remarkable they could be as players.
Okay, wait, how about Karl Anthony Towns. He can't play defense. I don't know, Go watch the go watch the Denver series last year. He's pretty good.
That year, I know, but putting giving him dancing in a pick and roll with Tyreek Calivern.
I know you gotta be careful because you know I don't be careful.
I'm saying like, like it's one of these things that Rudy Gobert last year. Here's a great example of that. Rudy Gobert and Luka Doncic. Everyone is killing Gobert on that. Gobert is one of the most defense the best defensive players of our generation impact wise, but he gets isolated two times on Luca and they think he's terrible. Like that's that's a small snapshot of what a guy does. His size is a factor.
So it's like Luca doesn't play good defense.
No Luca or his size, he doesn't play good defense. And you know what, Finally he just came. You know what, Dan, you just saw the equation. He's probably the best scorer who doesn't guard.
There you go.
There.
We eventually got around to it. All right, Hopefully I didn't get you in trouble.
I probably will be every time I'm on your show, trouble.
Thank you, Brian.
All right for you.
That's Ryan Scalabrini, Celtics analyst and co host of the Starting Lineup on Sirius XMNBA Radio won a title with the eight Celtics. I was going to work him. I was going to eventually get that answer out of him. Take a break, Last call for phone calls.
After this, be sure to catch the live edition of The Dan Patrick Show weekdays at nine am Eastern six am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio WAPP.
Last call for phone calls? What we learned, What's in store tomorrow? Shoho Tani threw twenty eight pitches, his first outing since August of twenty twenty three, gave up a couple of hits in a run. More importantly, the Dodgers had to win over the Padres through one pitch over one hundred miles an hour and the other one just under one hundred. Also went two for four with two RBIs. That's why when you go, oh, how'd you pitch? Okay? How'd you it okay? A couple of couple of RB eyes. Not many pitchers get that opportunity to go. I didn't pitch very well, but boy did I hit well. Let me see Danny in Virginia. Hi, Danny, what's on your mind today?
How are you listening to? Your last bit? With Brian and you're trying to jam him up over who can shoot but not play defense? He could have shut it down immediately. The immediate answer is who can shoot and not play Dan defense? Is Dan Patrick.
I chose not to play defense, Danny. Yah, it was a conscious decision. But but yeah, we were talking about NBA players. But thank you, Danny ran on the bit too.
You did pretend to play defense when you scored a basket?
I did. Who's not?
Hey plays all play man?
What nobody tries to play or looks like they're going to play better defense than the guy who just scored it. As you go down the floor and you're telling your team and hey, pick him up, get him over there? Come on, now, come on, pick up? Mean while, if you missed the shot, you don't say anything. Can't do it all myself. Guys, let's go everybody in.
Yeah, come on, who's got them?
Who's got come on?
Shooter?
Well for sure, I know this day and sports history. Paul got a couple for you here.
Ted Williams home run five hundred, nineteen.
Sixty Oh murrayded.
A new one for Ted. Nineteen seventy six, it was announced that the NBA and ABA would merge.
Oh the O. J.
Simpson Bronco Chase was tonight Hello Twitter, same night as Rocket's Knicks.
Right, yeah, I'm stare at the Garden. Yes, yeah, I was there.
In twenty twelve, Dale Earnhardt Junior won at Michigan.
On this state.
Nineteen ninety two, Charles Barkley traded to the Phoenix Suns. Jeff Hornseck, Andrew Lang and Tim Perry. How did that work out? Horny four ABA teams, the Nets, Pacers, Nuggets, and Spurs all merged into the NBA. That was nineteen seventy six. I love the ABA. It was so much fun. Three point shot, red white and blue ball, and you did have some big time stars there. It was fun, fun to watch that style of basketball. But I also liken it to the AFL because they had to be different. The NFL was kind of stodgy, you know. It was three yards and a cloud of dust. Maybe you'd throw the ball fifteen times in a game. And even the NBA, I mean, the NBA had great players, great teams, but it wasn't as exciting as the ABA was. And then the ABA got a couple of these guys, you know, doctor j was there. David Thompson. David Thompson could have been one of the greatest players ever. You know, had personal problems, but watching him against UCLA and Bill Walton and that guy. You know when you see somebody have a forty inch vertical and Walton is seven feet and David was probably six' Four and he wasn't a great, shooter but he was a great. Scorer and he went to The, nuggets played in THE aba and he had he nearly won a scoring.
TITLE i think he lost out To Ice.
Gurvin But David thompson was one of those guys that you watch and you, go, damn he's.
Different, Yes, MARV i knew he was.
Different When Michael jordan Asked David thompson to present and present him into The hall Of, fame.
M i was.
It.
Damn.
Yeah.
Yeah there's certain players where you watch and you're just You're you're lucky you got to see. Them AND i pointed this out on numerous. TIMES i got to See DOCTOR j in THE A B a and he was great in THE, nba but he was different in THE A B a that he was before everybody won a great. Shooter he was a great scorer and dunked in. Traffic it was just end to. End he was get him out in the you, know running and THE aba was about running and, gunning and that's what made it so much. Fun let's go around the room see if we learned anything, Today, todd you learn anything?
TODAY i?
DID jj.
Spawn appreciate the nice teach From Victor howin on. Eighteen we'll send him a nice bottle of wine or.
Something main't?
Cheating what about you at Jjspwon good, Dude Marvin todd isn't A. Karen he's just a. Ram, yeah not a Full. Karen it's just the r En. Paulie would you Learn.
Paul pierce once had forty eight in the game where he had two at?
Halftime, todd what DID i? Learn on Today's award Nominated, Progress.
Ryan scalbrine Describes Cooper flag as a. Supercomputer show him something and he figures it out right.
Away thanks for joining. Us we'll talk to you. Tomorrow
