48 Minutes Emergency Pod: James Harden Traded to Clippers

0:00 ... Show open and welcome ... episode #44 honors the great Jerry West who wore that number during his NBA career with the Lakers. 0:39 ... Michael Freer has a story about discovering old movies of Jerry West in the University of West Virginia sports office. 1:55 ... Bruce has a story about a chance encounter with West as a pre-teen at a shopping mall in Brockton, Massachusetts 4:05 ... Bet Online messaging 4:59 ... Bruce's Opening Tip on his frustrating Mother's Day when his car broke down and he had to listen to game 7 of Sixers/Celtics on the radio instead of watching it on TV. 8:37 ... World B's Opening Tip on new Suns owner Mat Ishbia and his confrontations with Nikola Jokic and firing of head coach Monty Williams. 11:11 ... Ross' Opening Tip takes MVP Joel Embiid to task for accepting only limited responsibility for the Sixers collapse against the Celtics in games 6 and 7. 13:11 ... Celtics/Sixers game 7 recap with commentary on how Boston's defense was the key to beating Philly in the final two games.   Joel Embiid was worn down by the "Two Bigs" lineup of Al Horford and Robert Williams III. 14:59 ... Bruce has a surprising fact about Jayson Tatum's scoring in the series. 16:16 ... World B on what game 7 will be remembered for. 18:30 ... The Sixers haven't made it to the conference finals since 2001 22:05 ... Heat/Celtics Eastern Conference Finals Preview and Bam Adebayo's role. 24:49... Can the Heat score enough points to beat Boston? 27:20 ... The Celtics need to be careful with the ball against Miami since they were turnover prone against the Heat this season 32:32 ... Heat/Celtics Predictions ... 33:30 ... Lakers/Nuggets preview 34:38 ... Bruce makes the case (yet again) for LeBron James as the greatest player of all time 36:07 ... Ross mentions the reserves that will have key roles in the Lakers/Nuggets series. 40:11 ... Bruce's number to watch is 5280 ... he will explain 44:22 ... Ja Morant is in trouble again.  Bruce highly recommends Kwame Brown's twitter rant and it's attempt  to talk sense to Ja. 47:05... Monty Williams got hosed in Phoenix by new owner Mat Ishbia 50:57  ... The Julius Randle hatred in New York has reached epidemic proportions and Bruce thinks the people who are down on him are flat wrong. 54:18 ...The crew has thoughts on Tuesday's Draft Lottery and where they'd like to see Victor Wembanyama end up. 55:09 ...  World B only cares about the Draft Lottery if the Mavs slip out of the top 10 and the Knicks get their pick. 56:09 ...Ross wants Wembanyama to go to the Spurs 57:02 ... Ross' "Best Bets" 57:38 ... Bruce's Closing Thought is is on a possible Lakers/Celtics Finals matchup 59:32 ... World B remains impressed with Nikola Jokic and his playoff production 1:00:15 ... Ross hammers Ben Simmons for his social media pettiness about the Sixers playoff loss TRT: 1:01:52

16 Mai 20231h 1min

0:00 ... Show Open and welcome back to Bruce, who is back with the crew after spending a week on the road and missing the last two shows. 2:09 ... Bruce's opening tip on the snake bitten Anthony Davis of the Lakers,  who suffered a hard hit to the head on Wednesday.  His career continues to be plagued by injuries and the timing could not be worse for him. 4:20 ... World B has some very strong feelings about the just announced All-NBA teams and how future selections will be affected by the new rules adopted for next season. 5:40 ... Ross feels Nikola Jokic was robbed of a much deserved All-NBA First team selection thias season. 7:21 ... The Celtics won a tense game 6 against the 76ers on Thursday but in spite of his Celtics winning the game, it was sheer torture for Bruce as he watched the Celtics make many questionable decisions and lose several opportunities to put Philly away before finally prevailing. 8:56 ... Bruce credits Marcus Smart's spirit and aggressiveness for sparking the Celtics to a huge win. 10:24 ... World B and Ross discuss Smart, Jayson Tatum's late scoring surge, and the suffocating Boston defense down the stretch in game 6. 13:12 ... Ross takes issue with a key decision from Philly coach Doc Rivers late in the game regarding an inbounds play. 14:00 ... Bruce has been concerned about the lack of experience of Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla and believes that his game 6 adjustments probably were the result of input from team president Brad Stevens. 16:47 ... World B had flashbacks to Celtics/Hawks in 1988 after watching Thursday's game. 17:32 ... James Harden had a bad game in game 6, but World B feels that the team goes as he goes. 19:02 ... The Suns went into Thursday's game 6 against the Nuggets and it was apparent from very early in the game that it would be a disasterous night for the Suns. 20:24 ... DeAndre Ayton's absence in game 6 left a void that was not going to be filled. 21:55 ... Ayton has been been a virtual "no show" in the entire series against Nikola Jokic.  Ayton has been in somewhat of a funk all season.  It was obvious from the start of the series that DeAndre wanted no part of the Joker and played accordingly. 24:30 ... Ayton may have missed game 6 with a rib contusion, but Bruce believes he also had a case of "Butt Hurt" because of the way he's been dominated by Jokic. 25:29 ... In the Knicks/Heat series, Jalen Brunson willed the Knicks to a win in Wednesday's game 5 and should have been named to one of the three All-NBA Teams. 27:30 ... When Tom Thibodeau sat Julius Randle down in the second quarter, it lit a fire under him as he reentered the game with a vengeance and was a big reason the Knicks won. 30:58 .... The Knicks were the aggressors from the start on Wednesday but Kevin Love and Jimmy Butler played poorly and that will likely change in game 6. 32:01 ... Everyone agrees that RJ Barrett will need to come up big in Friday's game 6 in Miami if the Knicks expect to extend the series to a game 7 on Monday in New York. 34:47 ... World B just can't contain himself when Bruce and Ross give praise to Barrett 35:49 ... Can the Golden State Warriors win a road game against the Lakers on Friday night? 37:22 ... Draymond Green set the tone against LA in game 5 and he is the emotional engine of the Warriors.  He has made some poor decisions along the way, but he is indispensable to the team. 39:13 ... The Warriors have one last chance to extends their streak of 28 consecutive playoff series with at least one road win on Friday.  Bruce and Ross feel that there is a role player that will spark them to victory in game 6. 43:05 ... Anthony Davis is likely to play in game 6 despite suffering a blow to the head on Wednesday.  But Bruce believes Green and Kevon Looney will test him with a physical style on Friday and he'll need to be able to handle it 44:55 .. World B expects a huge game from LeBron James in game 6 ... at least 35 points according to our numbers guru! 46:30 ... Bruce has some stories from his time on the road covering the Warriors/Lakers. 47:45 ... Bruce was really impressed with Lakers coach Darvin Ham and Warriors coach Steve Kerr after interacting with them during three straight pregame interviews. 49:40 ... The Lonnie Walker IV game on Monday night was the most memorable performance Bruce saw in his week of games. 52:18 ... Ross wondered why Bruce didn't do a postgame interview with Kim Kardashian and his answer left everyone blushing.  Hint: Watch it on You Tube and it will make more sense. 53:06 ... World B's final thought concerns West Virginia's head coach Bob Huggins and his homophobic slur on a radio show this week.  Although World B is a huge fan of Huggins, he holds nothing back in his assessment of Huggins' comments. 56:32 ... Bruce discusses "The Two Js" in Boston, Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum and wonders if this Dynamic Duo will follow the career arc of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen with championships or Jerry West and Elgin Baylor who made it to the NBA Finals multiple times but never won a ring together. 58:39 ... Ross' final thought is on the Phoenix Suns' aborted effort to place their games on free TV next season. TRT 59:56

12 Mai 202359min

0:00 Intro 2:32 World B discusses the NBA All-Rookie Team that was announced earlier on Monday 4:12 Ross shares who he thinks should be the next Milwaukee Bucks head coach and why 6:14 World B & Ross give their Knicks/Heat Game 4 Recap & Reactions 18:10 Can the Warriors find another road win? They’ll need one to defeat the LA Lakers 28:37 Sixers/Celtics all tied up 2-2 after James Harden’s cold blooded game-winning triple 38:37 Suns take care of business in Phoenix, series now tied 2-2 heading back to Denver 50:25 Best Bets presented by BetOnline: Ross shares his favorite Suns/Nuggets SGP 51:10 World uses his final thought to discuss the importance of role players & provides examples 53:46 Ross gives a long time Suns fan perspective on the Jokic/Ishbia sequence in the moment

9 Mai 202355min

0:00 Intro 0:31 Special guest Dave Wohl shares what immediately comes to mind on Dirk Nowitzki 2:22 World B tips things off discussing what this Heat/Knicks rivalry means to him 5:13 Dave a former Heat assistant coach gives his opening tip on Pat Riley and the Heat Culture 6:47 Ross uses his opening tip on the Milwaukee Bucks decision to relieve Mike Budenholzer as head coach & opens up the floor for discussion on the decision 14:09 Western Conference Matchup Overviews: LAL/GSW & PHX/DEN 27:50 Eastern Conference Matchup Overviews: PHI/BOS & MIA/NYK 41:45 We ask former NBA GM Dave Wohl to once again put himself in the shoes of other GM’s around the league 52:20 Rapid fire questions for Dave. Would you be surprised if… 55:32 World B gives his final thought on just how much top talent we have in this league & in this year’s playoffs 57:00 Dave provides some insight on why we should all take a moment to appreciate Stephen Curry 58:43 Ross gives praise to the Suns new owner Mat Ishbia’s decision to put future Suns games on free TV

5 Mai 20231h 1min

0:00 Intro 1:57 Bruce shares the vibe working courtside for ESPN at Game 1 of the Suns/Nuggets series  3:56 World B uses his opening tip to discuss Steph Curry’s historic Game 7 in Sacramento 5:12 Ross questions Mike Brown’s lack of adjustments against the Warriors in Game 7 06:58 Philly upsets Boston in Game 1 & the crew breaks it down 18:33 Kings/Warriors Series Recap & Game 7 Reactions 23:43 Lakers/Warriors Round 2 matchup preview with predictions 32:40 Miami Heat stay red hot in a Game 1 win over the Knicks in the garden  41:39 Suns/Nuggets Game 1 recap & thoughts moving forward 50:25 Ross shares his Best Bets presented by BetOnline 50:57 Bruce shares his final thought on Bucks Head Coach Mike Budenhozer’s family tragedy 52:43 World B brings well deserved recognition to Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr 54:22 Ross uses his final thought to bring recognition to the show’s loyal mystery fan in France

2 Mai 202356min

0:00 Intro 0:46 Scott reflects on what he remembers about Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag  2:35 Bruce shares a quick story on Olden Polynice before providing his opening tip on his Boston Celtics 4:50 Scott gives some love to Miami Heat star Jimmy Butler who has been unbelievable in the playoffs 6:04 Ross provides a friendly reminder to the listeners to remain buckled up for a wild ride in this year’s NBA playoffs 7:20 1st Quarter: the guys recap the Heat/Bucks 1st Round Series offering their insights 17:10 2nd Quarter: Knicks bury the Cavs & a Miami/New York 2nd Round Series Preview with predictions 25:46 3rd Quarter: The road Warriors get a big Game 5 win in Sacramento. Will they put the Kings to bed in Game 6? 37:11 4th Quarter: Phoenix Suns/Denver Nuggets 2nd Round Series Preview with predictions 51:10 A fun game of Word Association with NBA Champion Scott Williams 58:22 Scott provides an update on his book & where you can purchase a copy

28 Apr 20231h 1min

0:05 ... Hello and Welcome to "48 Minutes" presented by Bet Online 1:40 ... Bruce's opening comment concerns Dejounte Murray of the Hawks and his ill advised actions after game 4 against the Celtics that got him suspended for Tuesday's game 5. 3:31 ... World B comments on Ime Udoka and his challenges taking over as head coach for the Houston Rockets 5:17 ... Ross is concerned about Joel Embiid's health and whether he can hold up as the playoffs progress 6:48 ... Monday night, Jimmy Butler of Miami dropped a career high 56 points as the Heat took game 4 against the Milwaukee Bucks and put them on the brink of elimination 10:10 ... Ross expresses his surprise that Jae Crowder didn't play a single minute for the Bucks in game 4 12:18 ... The Heat have totally flipped the script against the Bucks as they've gone from a poor offensive team to the top scoring playoff team against a Milwaukee team known for its defense.  Erik Spoelstra has done a masterful coaching job in Miami getting the Heat to this point. 15:27 ... Ross believes the Bucks will take game 5 in Milwaukee on Wednesday and head back to Miami with a chance to tie the series 3-3 on Friday 17:29 ...The Warriors/Kings series continues to dazzle with great performances from DeAaron Fox and others, but Fox broke a finger in game 4 and his status for game 5 is unknown 22:24 ... Draymond Green and Kevon Looney were great in game 4 with combined totals of 20 points, 24 rebounds, and 13 assists 25:41 ... After a great game one performance, Trey Lyles of Sacramento has disappeared but needs to reappear for the Kings to prevail in the series 27:27... Turning to the Grizzlies/Lakers series, we'll comment on Dillon Brooks and his continuing shenanigans that are not helping his team 30:45 ... Dillon Brooks needs to earn his swagger, it is not given.  If you talk and don't produce, you're just a punk. 32:12 ... Kawhi Leonard will miss his third straight game in the Clippers/Suns series and it has thrown the  load management strategy into question 37:08 ... Phoenix needs to carefully manage the minutes of their starters as the playoffs progress 38:23 ... Chris Paul has been BALLING for the Suns and it has to be extra sweet because he's doing it against his former team. 40:50 ... In the Knicks/Cavaliers series, New York has simply been the better team 43:22 ...The Cavs aren't playing 48 minutes, the Knicks are.  Cleveland needs to fix this 44:10 ... The Knicks bench has outclassed the Cavs bench 48:53 ... In Best Bets presented by Bet Online, Ross discusses a same game parlay involving Rui Hachimura 49:45 ... In our "Final thoughts" segment, the crew discusses which team leading its series 3-1 is more impressive: the Celtics of the Nuggets. 55:38 ... Bye until next time TRT: 55:56

25 Apr 202355min

0:00 ... Hello and Welcome 0:32 ... Ross reads BetOnline copy 1:39 ... Bruce's opening tip on Draymond Green's damaging antics 4:30 ... World B's opening tip on the 37th anniversary of Michael Jordan's 63 point game against the Celtics 5:33 ... Ross opening tip on Jamal Murray's great performance for Denver on Wednesday 6:29 ... Can Jonathan Kuminga help fill the void left by Draymond Green in Golden State? 7:19 ... the Warriors' defense will be tested without Green on the court ... 8:33 ... Ross feels the first 6 minutes of game 3 will tell us a lot about the Warriors chances of winning 10:13 ... Game 3 is "Do or Die" for the Dubs and Steph Curry has had to use a lot of energy against the aggressive Kings defense 15:27 ... In the Suns/Clippers series, LA needs contributions from more than Kawhi Leonard 17:25 ... Devin Booker has actually played well at both ends of the court in the series ... on defense his steals and blocked shots have been big 19:16 ... In the Heat/Bucks series, Jrue Holiday led Milwaukee to a huge game two win with Giannis sidelined due to his back injury 23:00 ... Ross asked Bruce and World B whether Giannis should play if he is only at 80% in game 3 ... Bobby Portis filled in admirably starting for Giannis with 15 rebounds and 13 points 27:30 ... Bruce was impressed with Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his handling of Duncan Robinson and Victor Oladipo while understanding the need to reduce the minutes of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo in game two 29:05 ...In game two against the Lakers, Memphis was aggressive from the start and had much better energy than LA. 30:39 ... The Grizz were the more desperate team and Xavier Tillman and Tyus Jones led the charge 31:27 ... Dillon Brooks is doing his best to be "Draymond 2.0," taunting LeBron James 32:29 ... Ross felt Luke Kennard and David Roddy also made great contributions off the bench for Memphis 33:39 ... LA's Anthony Davis was subpar in game two but he will have a bounce back game back home this weekend 34:50 ... LeBron James has been cold from outside and is getting most of his points at the rim, but if he doesn't start making outside shots, the Grizz will load up to stop his drives to the bucket 35:43 ... Minnesota got way behind against Denver in game two on Wednesday and Bruce feels that they had to work so hard in the 3rd quarter to get back in the game that the altitude eventually got to them in the 4th and the Nuggets pulled away 41:37 ... Ross' "Best Bets" sponsored by BetOnline.ag concerned the same game parlays that he's been cashing in on all week. 43:30 ... Madison Square Garden hosts game 3 of Cavs/Knicks on Friday and there is NOTHING like playoff basketball on Broadway. 47:31 ... Bruce's closing comment is on the three 6-4 guards on the Boston Celtics (Derrick White, Marcus Smart, & Malcolm Brogdon) who remind him of another 6-4 Celtics guard who won two rings in Boston: the late Dennis Johnson. 49:10... World B's closing remarks concern Dillon brooks of the Grizzlies and how he's competing with Draymond Green to be the biggest knucklehead in the playoffs. 50:28 ... Ross' closing comment concerns the drama involving Rappers E-40 and "Fitty-Cent" in Sacramento 51:24 ... Bye until next time TRT 51:48

21 Apr 202351min