This is cut to It with Steve Smith Senior at production of The Black Effect and I Heart Radio. I'm Steve Smith Senior and I and this is a cut to it bonus episode. Good do It, Good do It. They're getting down to do it, good do it? All right, so we have to breakdown and so Chastie, what we uh, what we're gonna talk about is bubble ball. And in
bubble ball is we want your coach. You also balled, So we want you to break down the finals right now and also breakdown the w n B A and what has gone on inside the bubble and why has it been so successful with everything and unless So let's start off with what I'm trying to figure out because I'm baffled. I'm a football guy through and through. I watched basketball from the couch. I'm coach. I don't know if that's a good picking roll. I just he either made it or he didn't not that's all. I let
the ball go in the basket. My son gets on my nerves with this bull crap talking about pandemic p oh man. I can't stand because I'm a Clippers fan too, so I gets on my nerves. So please explain to me, where are all these young all stars coming from that peak? Like the heat they got, all these guys shooting threes four months ago, these dudes where nobody's then all of a sudden dancing they they shooting threes. Please help a couch basketball fan like myself. Okay, all right, I'm just
gonna cut to it. Preston Steph Curry, who we all love, changed the game with three point shot, and um, I watched the NFL feel the same way you watch basketball, Steve. I'm on the couch, like did he catch it? Like, Okay, that's it. I don't know the like why did he run outside? Why? I'm asking people, why did he just rush straight up the middle? Like? I don't get it?
You know what I'm saying. So Um, basically, the game has changed so much that it's a game made for just and I know people hate for me to say that for three point shooters. Um, back in the day, if you watch the game you had, and I guess the San Antonio's first obviously showed this the best you had inside outside like the three point I hate people say the three point shot wasn't always a part of the game because it's always been a part of the game, but now for me watching the game, it seems like
it's the only part. And so a lot of players that are out there now knocking down threes and playing in the NBA ten years ago wouldn't have made it to the league. But also now be guys you know, like Bam shows he can still score. Those types of players and I'm glad that Miami Heat you do lines as him. But those types of players are overseas, so you don't really have those bigs and people that can score inside or people that can get the old fashioned
end ones. They're pretty much shipped overseas and not in the NBA anymore. So that's why you have this talent pool where people are like, who is this dude? But if he's knocking down threes and um in the NBA system, then he's going to be successful. So that's kind of like where the game is going to now. Do you think, with that being said, do you think that teams are now depending on three point shot more than they used to be. It seems almost as if it is predicated
you run your offense. So you look at like the Houston Rockets, it's it's almost as if it's predicated with the three point shot. Yeah, it's it definitely is, And that part of me bothered me coaching with the Greensboro Swarm. You know, I'm I'm trying to get guys like inside to do just an up and under. You know, there are guys six nine, six ten that could easily average ten and twelve by just making basic moves inside. But they're getting the ball and dribbling to kick it out
to it for a three point shot. I mean, you can see it when you watch the game, and then you'll have guys that can go in and get an N one like I love. I used to love how Stephan Mary Marbury would cut the ball when he drove to the basket against all those big dudes and finish with the A one. You don't see guys do that anymore. Um, Miami Heat has shown it something, but they've just kind of gone away from that. It's like you drive to pitch and that's kind of like the NBA game right now.
But I always say it's a game. It's it's just trendy. So we're gonna it's not anything to hate on. You enjoy it. Some people like it, some people want the old school basketball. But I think it'll trend back to, you know, at least having post score inside and do different things. Or maybe it won't. I don't know, but I missed. I missed the big scorner inside. So I enjoyed watching BAM with the Miami Heat. What has the bubble done for basketball in regards to the restart, I
think it's just made it more neutral. I think once you get the fans out of it and the home court advantage it brings it, it brings back a sense of purity to the game of just you know, we're in the bubble. The guys are in the bubble, and it's just basketball, and it's um. If you played AU or you've played in any kind of tournament like a Thanksgiving turn or whatever, you know, it's just you guys are there, the women are there at tournaments and it's
just the play. Um, you don't know who you don't. You may not have a lot of fans. Everyone can't fit in the GM. At the end of the day, it's just all about basketball and bragging, right. So I think that's what we saw in the bubble, and the bubble is just game in game out. There's no home court advantage. It's just we all slept pretty much in the same bed as the same hotel, eating the same food,
and um, you gotta go out and play. Yeah, A lot of a lot of the players wanted to call the w B A bubble the bubble, so they were getting on me because I still called it the bubble there because I like, I don't like saying wobble. I'm because I'm old school. I'm like, I'm staying the entertaining. I'm a grown woman. You always say wobble. What's what's been your take so far? I know the w n B A is is still in the wobbo and the Phoenix Merker you guys, UM, you know you you guys
are are now out of the playoffs. But what's been your take, UM, on that whole experience so far? You kind of tol us a little bit. What's been your take on the experience so far and now previewing the rest of the playoffs with the w n B A UM. Just as the girls are extremely talented, like UM, shout out to all the w B athletes athletes. They were there with their families, with their kids, UM. Some of their husbands were there, some of their partners were there.
So for me to see the ladies on all different levels UM, day in and day out. UM, just kudos to them. And also the fact they took on their activism role. They started to say her name campaign UM And obviously from a black female's perspective, we felt the Brianna Taylor situation, We felt some of the other things that are going on, UM as far as our concern for not just ourselves but our family and black men.
So for them to carry on that role and be consistent with it as and and also be inside of a bubble away from family and trying to raise a kid or you know, trying to keep a relationship in the bubble as well as UM, give your best effort on the court says a lot about the females Right now. The Connecticut Son and uh, the Aces are battling it out. They will have Game five tonight and the Aces aren't
gonna win without Angel mccatry being a superstar. So she has to be a superstar again tonight or I think the Connecticut Son will win, but no one's gonna beat that well oiled machine. UM. In the Seattle Storm led by Sue Bird and Brianna Stewart and jul Lloyd Um the young Kobe of the w n B A. But at the end of the day, I don't see anyone beaten the Seattle store. Mhm okay, old predictions. Last question, un,
let's bounce back to the man. When no one saw, no one saw that Jimmy Butler in the Miami Heat going until they started playing, and all of a sudden, now we have it. Who do you have Lebron James led Lakers or Jimmy Butler led Miami and y I have Lebron James. Listen, I like I said, I you are smiler. I have a Lebron James fan. Um on so many levels. Um, just because I mean and Steve, you probably could attest this like he just created a blueprint for athletes that I think maybe a lot of
guys are. I don't know that he created. I watched them, but I ain't familiar with that one. You don't think you don't think he created it as far as like getting instead of making his crew like just his crew, you know, he fired his agent, made them hire just guys, teach them the whole teaching the ropes about you know, becomeing agents and the behind the scenes and then just forming a partnership with them and bringing them along as far as like, I had never seen an NBA guy
do that before. You know, Just think about if Alan Iverson would took some of his guys and kind of help them evolve to that point, just what his legacy would have. It would have been double what it is already. Well, I think it's I would say this. Yeah, one, I've
seen it in football. It's called nepotism where the coaches, uh, you know, their kids are around and all of a shodding like a great example of a really good coach right now with the s for Niners, Kyle Shannah and his dad at you know, did that, so he was around football. So one, you have to have a desire and you also have to be teachable. Yeah, I don't know Alan's people, so I'm not gonna I don't think
it's fair for me to say that they weren't. But obviously Lebron's guys wanted and desire to be teachable and learn to become who they are today. Right, So you can always write because how many people, how many players have you been around and now you're a coach, how many coaches, how many male and females have you coached? And you realize at some point this player is only gonna go this far because they're in their own way.
Yeah no, but and I no, I agree to a certain extent, like you do have to be teachable, but at the same time, like Lebron is an eighteen year old kid, Like I'm trying to I'm thinking back to when I first went pro, and obviously I was never on the level of an NBA player or NFL player, But I wasn't thinking that whether I would have had those those those people in my life. Now. I mean, as I look back now, I'm like, you know, I
have friends that went on to become lawyers and financial advisors. Um. And I'm just thinking, like an eighteen right when I went pro, or like at twenty one, if I would have just created my own team, like, how much more powerful I would have been as a professional athlete. So that's why I just I follow a lot. I think a lot of stuff that Lebron has done since an
eighteen year old kid. Um, it just speaks volumes. Like That's why I say I think he's someone I'm sure other people have done it to a certain extent, but he didn't know, not today the revolutionary and what you know his team has been able to do, and how he's been able to put other people on. For sure, I just would have loved if I had, like, if I could go back, I would have done that the
same way. But I wasn't thinking that way. Um. But I don't have any regrets about my pro career or what I did because I did the best that I knew how. I think every athlete could pretty much say that. Um, you know, you don't know what you don't know at the end of the day. But yeah, I think moving on though, I think the Lakers for sure are gonna you know, Lebron will get his four three. UM, I
just don't see the Miami Heat beating them in seven games. UM. I would hope they would make it a series because it's just fun to watch and then you know it's competitive and h for athletes who are super competitive, and um, you know you want to make it. You want you want to seem like, Okay, Lebron may not get this, but I don't think how many how many games? What's your prediction? I do. I do think the Miami Heat will win one game, so Lakers and five sept I
just what I just feel like this. I do feel like the Lakers don't shoot the three ball as well as some other teams, and UM, as a former player and as a coach, that zone just does something to you. I mean, it is what it is. Um. Everyone hates the zone, especially if you don't have great shooters who can bust it wide open. So UM, if they can have a great defensive game and then their shooters can hit for one game, I feel like and it gets it's close, and it comes out to the fourth quarter.
I really haven't been other than Lebron's last game against the Nuggets, I haven't been a hundred percent behind the Lakers in the fourth quarter when it's closed. They have terrible turnovers, they can't hit shots, and so they I don't think they've been the greatest in the fourth quarters. So that's why I feel like Miami maybe able to still one, but there has there has to be a lot of things that go right for them. Jimmy's gotta
be getting and one's the old fashioned way. Uh. The shooters Hero Robinson have to knock down shots and Bam has to be unstoppable and get to the free throw line, and then their zone has to create make them stand um still three point shooters and they have to knock them and they have to miss. So that's why I can kind of see it maybe happen in one game. Um, but obviously all those things have to fall in place. Well, we appreciate that. We appreciate the bubble and bubble talk
and let and breaking that down for us. Thank you for listening to Cut to It with Steve Smith Senior and my co host are a Little John That Beat Me And wherever you listen to your podcast, you can get us on I Heart Radio, also on Apple Podcast, whatever you wherever you need, we are there. Just download us and follow us at cut to It on Instagram and act cut to It on Twitter, and visit our website cut to It Podcast dot Com. New episode every Tuesday.
That's right, every Tuesday. You know why it's Tuesday because guys are off International Football League, so that's why they can squeeze us into their schedule. Not everybody's retired are playing golf sitting around. Cut to It with Steve Smith Senior That is Me is a production of Cut to It LLC, Baltol Creative Media, The Black Effect, and I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you
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