Nightcap - Hour 1: Rockets Force Game 7 vs. Warriors + Gregg Popovich Steps Down as Spurs Coach

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Hello ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us for another episode of Nightcap. If you play, if you love sports that has a series, the most important word you can have game seven. Everybody loves game seven. If you're a basketball, baseball, hockey, something that has a series. In the playoffs, game seven is where it's at. Thank you for joining us for another episode of night Cap.

Y'all know me.

I'm your favorite Uncle Shannon Sharp, my partner and co host the Liberty City Legend, the Bengal Ring of Fame, Artery the pro Bowler, all pro laced out like he just got off of playing from Hawaii. That's Chad Ochotgo Johnson and the guy that's joining us tonight five times NBA Chamir Big Shop Bob from the University of Alabama, Shouston Rocket Phoenix SIY had little brief stay over here.

I mean he had a couple of coffee feeding.

But y you all though I been loving from his stint with the Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. Here, your lady and gentlemen, Big Shop Bob, mister Robert Ory, thanks for joinining.

Man, Thanks for having me, un But you know what I gotta correct you dog change man, right, I forgot about the Rockets.

I was just thinking about the Lakers and the Spurs kicked.

Yeah, you know, like my favorite saying one morning your favorite player.

Man. We really appreciate that.

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Get your tickets now seven the Rockets. Yeah, the Rockets are going back home thanks to a definitive Now, don't let the score fool you.

One fifteen to one oh eight.

But when they emptied the benches, I think, if I'm not mistaken, they were down by like fifteen. But the Rockets did an unbelievable job. They got great performances. Fred van Fleet played forty minutes. He was six or nine from the three, nine or nine from the free throw line, twenty nine big points. Shungoon had twenty one and fourteen

You don't expect it now.

I don't know if this is the most points that Steven Adams has ever scored in the game. I know it's not the most rebound or the most blocks, but this might be the most impactful game that he's played his entire career. And he's played a lot of playoff basketball game. He's played a lot of games. But tonight I believe he was the difference maker because he got rebounds, he kept possessions alive, he blockshot. He changed it when they went to that big lineup with him and Shandon

You know. The one thing you can't teach the size. And I say that all the time. You know, you just say your your favorite team just went down because they elected not to use their size. And when you got a small team those the State is a small team very and you know, and we know how strong

He made like two or three buckets with the shot clock winding down. He had two big threes. He were one stree. He got up off the floor. There was a scrabble for the ball. Brand Fleet gainst it and kicks it back. He gives up off the floor Hill. I thought it was Ray Allen for just a Second's not just kill of the game. But he gives up off the floor and he cans the three as Golden State was trying to make that move, trying to create a turnover. I thought the bench was out standing for

Hey man, listen the Warriors. The stars showed up. That showed up. Obviously, we didn't. We didn't see the Steph Curry were used to seeing.

Obviously, he had twenty nine points, but it took twenty three shots to get there. Jimmy Butler had twenty seven. But listen, some goom but young Bulls Special, Young Bullet Special and Van Fleet showed up the night and then what he needed to do at being the veteran presence that the Rockets do have. Listen, them young boys, them young bulls looked like they wanted it more. Yeah, the intensity they played on both both sides of the floor.

Spacey was really good.

And that goddamn Steven Adams Listen, he was probably the difference makeup when you when you talk about the size in which the Rockets have and how small, how small the Warriors are, I think it comes down to making more shots because those those those second those second what do you call it second when you get the second attempts? Yeah, bingo, that's that's what he's trying to say. That the second attempts that the Rockets had is the reason why they

You gotta believe what they what they are. Never Rudy T.

Never underestimate the heart of a champion. These rockets on the champions. But that's what Rudy T carting to play coin to praise and his stuff. I think the thing is that when they went to that big lineup, because Draymond is undersize, you can't play lonly because it gives you nothing on our fence. Post wasn't hitting any shots, so you can't play him. So you're really trying to say, Draymond, I need you to keep seven foot three hundred pounds Stephen Adams off the glass. I need you to keep

You know. For me, I knew war was in trouble from jump because any time you change your lineup, yeah, that's like a sign to the other team like, oh, we don't know what to do with you now.

The rockets you.

Know there when you're that young, anything can give you emotion, get the sparked and your energy. They are like, oh, we got him scared. And you think about this. They changed the line and then look what happened Jr. There because they wanted somebody to slow vamp feet down. Why you know they don't why change it because you just talked about offense. You know that's no offense right there. And then you got Buddy Hill. We all know Buddy Hill is not a defensive player.

But the one thing that's that Kurr is gonna He's gonna do the same thing that JJ Redick did and by himself in the butt with it by not playing him coming here because you need size and you need athleticism go up against this this rocket leting because athletic.

Yeah, but you're gonna because you mad this dude. I don't know what's going on. If you curse him out or something, he won't plan. But this is your third leading scorer on the team. He was his secondly go on the team until you got butt of the Butler. But now you're not playing them, so I don't know

You go with I think what I think for the words obviously going into Game seven, what's going to have to happen regardless of what the Rockets do. I think it's gonna have to be Jimmy Butler and the it's going back to Curry. Curry findings to be a little bit more efficient from the field to overcome all the things that the Rockets do, whether they go big, whether they go small, the only thing to do is put the goddamn ball in this bucket and have more points

In Houston, Toyota, Toyota. That's the only way it's gonna happen. Yeah, I think. I like what Yadoka did.

He went to a zone and every time Steph got the ball, they trapped him. They said, Nah, Bron, I don't care if you. I don't care if you at the time, like we gonna get that ball out of your hands. Somebody else is going to be this. We don't believe in a moment like this here because you know, there's a difference between hitting shots in game one, two, three, four, five, Because this is an opportunity for advance.

And now you're gonna be like Ojo said, You're gonna.

Have to rely a little bit more on Curry and Butler because a lot of these guys haven't been in moments like this, Draymond asked, But I'm not counting on Draymond to give me a whole bunch of points. I've counted on him to give me somewhere between four and eight points. He'll give you six seven rebounds, five six seven assists. That's what I'm expecting for him. But your production is gonna have to come from Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry, guys that have been in this moment.

But I thought you don't. He did a great thing. He went to the zone.

He said, look, do not get back picked, because they're gonna try to come and sit that backpick and have Curry floating. And they kept their eyes on them. They gave up a couple of you know what back door cuts because you know they got I got eyes on Steph.

And guys snuck behind him.

Draymond got one, Jimmy Butler got one couple of guys.

But I give you that.

The one thing I don't want to have happened is Steph Curry hit a couple of threes, and he hit a couple early, and he got the crowded to the game. I want to keep the crowd at bay as long as I possibly can, and then the longer you kept them at bay, and then come the fourth quarter, they couldn't buy a bucket. Steph had some great looks, Jimmy Butler had some great looks, and it just wouldn't go down for him.

But hey, yeah, hey uncle, hey Rob.

I mean you could probably attest to this, obviously being in that situation. I consider pressure situations obviously planning in the playoffs going into a game seven. But one of the things, just from me watching from the naked eye, took three things that the word can clean up. For One, the turnovers. They had sixteen turnovers a night. They filing, they had, god damn there thirty to thirty files. And then under pressure, let's say he make goes to the zone

See Steph gotta hit the shots. Two six to sixteen from three ain't gonna cut it, you know. Sometimes I know Steph is considered the best shoot they ever played his game.

A lot of his threes to me were bad threes.

I know we said, oh, that's not a bad three for Curry, but you can today was a bad threes. You can get off the ball because you can move so much and the Rockets is only gonna play.

Defense for so long, you can get a better shot. You know.

That's the one thing about in the playoffs, And I'm always harping on you want to, okay, shot a good shot and a great shot. I know every time Steph touches the ball from anywhere in the gym, it's usually a somewhat great shot. But when you got the long defensive team like the Rockets, those turn into good shots, don'kay how great a shooting you are.

And for me, that's one of the things they gotta do.

And for me, Draymond got to keep his cool because you don't know the little anthics you do that as to as other teams spark too. And so for me, he going going into Houston, know they're gonna be boring him. He's gonna get amped up he's gonna have to play under control. Jimmy Buck's gonna have to play under control. But they're gonna have to go back to they starting lineup because that's how that that's the rhythm they have.

I just learned how to play with this guy. It's little intricacies.

Is like that that coaches don't think about that players need to know because I know, like I know what route you're gonna run on the quarterback, And that's what that think about that. Now Jimmy's out there being the quarterback and all of a sudden, you got a guy that's not gonna run to his point.

Mean you know, it's like, okay, what I do now? It messes up the rhythm.

So Nobby is gonna ask Rob obviously, listen, you can attest to this, especially the game situation like this, and you got an athletic player that can match up very well against the Rockets.

Do you thin think Kurr plays coming of this game a little bit more being that he No, I.

Don't think he's gonna play him at all. I don't know what that situation is, but it's been bad. You think about it since the three games left in the season he had, he played him, and he played him on the reason the other night because he needed someone. And you know, you think about if he didn't play him to night and then in garbage minutes to try to let him get some type of rhythm, he play in game seven.

So you rather what does it? You know, despite he rather despite whatever situation.

They got going on, you rather chance losing game seven based on what you saw tonight and not make the necessary changes to give you give your team the best chance to win.

I wouldn't do it.

I've been playing in regardless because you know, for me, when you that talent, that athletic, I know that you got to play him. Man, Because so many coaches get pissed off at players, they're like, oh, I'm gonna show you. No, you're showing yourself because you only hurt your team. And you know, and I think that's one of the mistakes

That wasn't my original plan, but let me try to find something else to go instead of being bullheaded. Well I said I wasn't gonna play this guy. Well I'm not playing this guy. Hey, it doesn't work like that. If you're gonna be a coach, you gotta be a coach at all time, and sometimes you have to swallow your pride as a player, as a coach, whatever the

But now it's condensed Draymond. Draymond is not a thread that the'll give Drake.

If you notice, like the last three games, Draymond tak the first shot, they'll give it.

That three.

You you're not gonna make enough of those to put fear ain't. Nobody will say, get a hand up, don't even worry about it. Let him have that, Let him have that shot. I'm not getting. I don't want open looks for Steph. I don't want open looks for Buddy Hill and Pozimski. But here's the thing. He gave you zero to nice So yeah, Buddy gave you nothing. You said, h Steph. I think the state will make Steph so dangerous.

By you're in trouble. You and you're in trouble.

That start happening because he feels it and now there is no bad shot. If he's see a couple of them, faiths go in. Rob Ain't no bad shot for the rest of the night. Yeah, but they'll go in. He's six and sixteen, yeah, yeah, yeah, he needed Look, well, you got great production from him and Jimmy Butler. Jimmy Butler twelve or fourteen for the free throw line. That's what Jimmy does. He's gonna put pressure on you. Now he's gonna attack.

Uh. They needed one other player.

Draymond gave him a buddy, gave him nothing GP the second game, gave him five points. That's not enough. I thought Moody. I thought Moody would get more minutes because he came in here's a big three. I thought Moody would get more minutes Rob than what he hasn't been to twenty minutes that he got twenty two.

You know, it's weird because Moody has been playing very well in this series. You're thinking about you want a guy that's gonna give you twelve to thirteen points and is active like he is, and he hasn't gotten as much play as I thought he would. You know, for me, you want to start, keep him in the starting lineup, do something that let Buddy Hugh be coming off the bench all you keep coming off the bill off the bench.

You carry us. And that's one of the things that Jimmy.

Butler's really good at too, because he can get it going and he would defer to other people. But that's the one thing about Steph though. Stephan is not a guy that really defers because he doesn't have to. But I think when he goes to Houston and now Houston crowd and he not knocking down them shots, he's gonna have to be a facilitator because he ain't gonna be of.

Doing on his own.

You know, people forget the Rockets or a defensive team because you.

Got he made back there.

You got a lot of guys that know how to play defense at long, the athletics, so you're going to have to share the basketball if they want to try to come back and win this series.

Yeah, you got Thompson who's long and athletic, Delan Brooks and one of the defensive stopper Easton Steven Adams.

I mean, they got guys that can pressure the basketball.

But if I'm doing everything I possibly can to not let stuff get going early in that game seven, that's the last thing I wanted to do. Have like ten to twelve points in the first quarter. Now he gets an extended rest for the second because you got to think about it to night. He played forty two minutes. Steps don't normally play those kind of minutes.

That's a lot of minutes for a guy at his age. People don't people talking about Lebron. He runs because he's perpetual motion.

He's not a guy that's taking a lot of break because he has to work. He's working to get his shot. So he's from sideline to the baseline to baseline.

And then you forget it's not two games to rest days. No, he's lay off play. So he only got one day arrest, twenty four hours back on that court. So that's and then he got a fly yeah. Yeah, and it's a three hour flight maybe four because you might not take off a Francisco all that damn fog sometimes, so you.

Can't get out of that. Fred van Fleet is, now, what'd you say? You said something?

No, I was gonna say the good thing.

The good thing about Steph the chances of him having a game like this like tonight where it takes him so many shots to even get to twenty nine, twenty seven, whatever the points he had, he ain't gonna ain't gonna double that. He's not gonna have another game like that. I think he's gonna be much more efficient. Buddy Hill probably gonna be much better, and they probably gonna get Buddy Hill, Buddy Hill going early. And I really, for some reason, I don't know why, where Kerr really understanding.

We need a little bit more help, we need a little bit more size.

You know, you got to do something and get community in there some kind of way before we be sitting at home and god damn can.

Coon I've had to rock out what they did for They put a lot of pressure on them. They shot forty six free throws, Bob, they shot forty six free throws. It's been a while since our team to see the team shoot forty six free throws. But sixteen of those with the Steven autos and a lot of that had to do it connected. They would hack Adams and you know Donald Stretch, he made them pay for that.

He was mad.

It's one of the things where you try that, you know, that's all that Pops Doug Mimry Pop did that against Shack and you know the hacker Shock. And you gotta think about some of these guys. You make one, you make two, you got to go away from it because that guy has a little real You know, sometime you want to trust the process. You talk about following your game plan. There's certain game plans you have to scrap.

You know.

Steven Adams is you know, you know she his free throw percentision might be bad, but the dude, you look at his form, the way he approaches it, everything is fundamentally sounds so he can knock him down. He just don't knock him down because he don't shoot it a lot. So it looked like a percentage. You're bad, right the Rockets, excuse me. The Warriors shot twenty two free throws. All of them came from three guys. Draymond was one for two, Jimmy was twelve or fourteen, and Steph was five or six.

So that tells me they're not nearly aggressive enough.

When you only got three guys to take your free throw attempts, that means But but the thing.

Is, that's not that's what you tho. That's not that's what you get from a jump shooting team. When you shoot jump shots, you don't to the free throw line. And the thing about you know, you talk about analytics or basketball shooting threes. I've always had the mindset, if you're shooting the threes, you're playing soft. Why because you're not trying to create shots. You're not trying to get to the rack. So you're taking the easy way out. So I'm just gonna pull a full three. Think about that.

He's really good at that.

And yeah, and I hate when he does that because a lot of times when he does it, he's not even concentrating on the shot.

He's concentrating on the file.

Just take the damn shot to make the shot if you get filed so bit.

Hey, hey, Rob, I got I just want to say one thing about you talk about Curry being able to put the ball on the floor and create his own space in his own shot. You mentioned Anthony Edwards, joh Moran can do it as well. But you have to think about it. When you look at the landscape of all the teams in the NBA, including those in the playoffs, it's only maybe one or two players on each team that can do that, that can go iceo, that can put the ball on the floor and create their own shots.

So it's not that many of them. So once you take that.

When you trap a player like a Curry and they have to facilitate, then now you've got to get everybody that's involved, and.

It puts pressure on them that I didn't. I didn't know.

There's still a game of basketball and everybody, like I'm told me before, everybody didn't have the green light to shoot the ball. That will Well, no, I just learned that. I'm thinking, well, hell, if I'm open, just shoot. You learn that every.

Head. That's why you have.

They go play the percentage they gonna let you take that shot.

You guard you. Yeah, I ain't ain't all that.

Brad van Fleet last three games he had twenty nine points. He has six threes. Tonight twenty six points, four three, twenty five points eight May three. So his last his last three ball games, he's got eighteen mad threes, more points and threes than stuff he's been. Look, he's the veteran presence on this team. He's the guy that's been

Yeah best, yes, better than yes, yes, yes.

What did you talking? Yeah?

Jaicular Greens only had one good game so far in his playoffs.

Yes, he was.

Three of eleven, one for six. He had twelve points. Shan God is an all.

I'm just I'm I'm just talking about I'm talking about you, I know, single in the All Star and I'm just saying Jayleen Green is supposed to be that next up and coming, that boy in Houston.

Or am I mistaken?

No, You're not mistaken. But we up we're talking about right now. We are talking about what you okayou yourtality is still the best player. Because he's rebounded, he's uh, he's going points, he's getting assists. Jalen Green is just a high flyer right now, and that's all he's lopping off of. He got to do more than try to you know, that's the one thing that but I've watched the NBA. Now there are so many guys that have become showman. Instead of playing the damn game. They want

Gonna be Jalen Green. Yeah, Shin Gooon has taken over Shing Goon.

He leads to rockets in points, rebounds, assists, and steals in the playoffs.

Jaylen Bronson game went over the Pistons. What a shot? What the moment?

The next window series rob you one of the great clutch shot shooters.

Let me ask you this.

I think for our audience, they want to know in that moment, are you thinking, like, man, if I make this shot, him a hero if I miss it, or you just going through the It's the same whether the moment is there or not. It's just like if it was the first quarter, the second quarter, third quarter. What goes through your head when you're taking a shot that could potentially win you the game or lose you the game.

Yeah, I think about anything, man, because it's just like when you're in a gym, you're taking all these shots and prepare for this moment. He put the reps in and that's what you gotta do. That's why you see guys. You know you take Kobe fences. He's been a gym twenty four to seven, so everything came easy. And if you put in the time and the work and the sacrifice, these moments like this, you don't even think about it.

He does a great job rob as you mentioned, but he gets his body in such a position to shoot that shot because like you said, he's the left handed player, and most left handed players are left hand dominant.

They're trying to get to that left side. They want to go left.

He did that, and then if you notice, he stepped back and squared himself and let it go. He get a shrewter. He got an a one on shooter and he got a tough step back. He I mean the way he can like get his body in position to take and make tough shots for a guy his size, he is not a big guy. I mean his body of mean, you know what I'm saying. He's you know, he got a little little gird to him. You know he got some but he I mean what you think six foot I think he about six six.

One hit that h but his ability and he's stronger than you think for a guy his size, because the.

Way he can like put that that showed in your chest and get that shot off in the square and the knock be shots down.

He was sensatial.

They couldn't buy basket for the first nine ten minutes of the ball game, and then all of a sudden, he said, man, just give me the ball. What y'all doing every shot that needed to be taken and made. Now they got a huge campend by Bridge and somebody missed the shot and they didn't block out and Bridges got the.

Tip that tied it up.

But you know, once they missed that shot, boy, y' y'all been to get this ball. Because Thompson had just made a great defensive playoff like two possessions earlier, he got a shot clock violation on the copy. He went to go up and he stripped him with the ball. He's like, yeah, Brusse, I got something for you. I got something for you.

Hold that, but hold on, I got a question you for for for rob Man for you and Unk.

Right.

As great as Jalen Brunson's was in this series, as great as he's been obviously being a very very clutch player. Hell, he's just one NBA cuss Player of the year, right, yeah, obviously showing this offensive prowes tonight with forty. Is there any chance y'all giving the and in this series against the Celtics any chance?

No?

No. And the reason I say no is because when you look at the Celtics, they got six guys that can score. And every time I look at the Nicks, they remind me of Ai. You know, they got this one guy that does all the scoring and everybody else does two or three things really really good to make that pie hole. And do you take out Bridges, who one of my favorite players. When they use him and he's able to score, they're a totally different team. But

But you think about, you.

Know, White, Holiday, even Brown, these guys are fucking good defenders. And so they got bodies to throw at Bronson a little short sail and so that's gonna be hard.

And you know, going back to Bronston.

The one thing that makes it really good is this is gonna sound really crazy, is left handed players are always, uh have that ability to get to the line and do things because you're not used to that. You hardly ever run across the left pendent player. You think about Mono, do you know we're gonna play with He was so good because you think he's about to do someone is right here, like, oh shit, he's left handed. And by the time you think about it, it's too late. And because

Uh, they're loaded. You we know j T can defend if they have to, but he can score. J BE can score, Derrick White can score. They got scores, and they got defenders. So they're always going to have a bare minimum to quality defenders on the court at all times. And so when you have that, when you got two guys that can defend. But look what they start with. So if they start Holiday, you got Holiday, Derrick White, JP Al Horford.

Honestly, I'm gonna tell you this, I liked the Nickson winning at least three games, winning three games. I got them winning three games. I mean, hey, raw, you want to you want to you want to best some on it. You want to throw a little throw ways on that.

What do you want to? Bet? Said?

Make it?

Said, make it light to yourself. Bet fifty two hundred. That's very specific way, he said, Yeah, trying.

I'm trying. I hold fifty two hundred. So I'm just trying to I'm trying to make it up some other kind of way. I'm trying to break you.

Let me ask you this, of all the game winners that you hit, what's your favorite one?

Uh, Lakers against against the Kings that.

Game without a game and that was game four, Game four. You know we lose that game, we go down three to one. And the reason is my favorite because if you look at most of my game winners, they've all done on the road, and so this one was done at home and enjoy with the crowd.

Yeah, I got it.

I grew up a huge Lakers fan, right, I grew up a big Magic Johnson fan.

You know, you wouldn't never be and a Laker. You used to them chanting Kobe, Kobe or shot.

You know, when you get a chance to knock down a big three and you get him chant your name like that. Man, it's the best feeling ever, I think for me, it's probably outside of Kobe's last game. Is the greatest moment in Stable Slash Crypto. And if you every time I see the shot from above and when I'm making and the crowd just jumps up and cheers,

Up, Yeah, that's the what I was That's what I was thinking. Yet.

Yeah, but you know, it's something you know, we as an athlete, we all got that ego, we all got that pride. You want to hit them fans chant your name. But I tell you what, I only have like one picture up. I don't even have that shot up in my house, but I do have the picture of me making that shot against the Pistols because I just like looking at the faces of the people in the crowd.

You got some.

People like you know, you got one guy him in the crowd, and it's like because he knew it was going in.

People I don't know if people realize this, Rob, but before those black injuries, you are hot flower. You were doing I mean you were punching on folks.

I mean you were on the top.

People look at you and they're like, man, all he did was you threes no no, no, no no.

When you came in.

I mean, I don't know what it is about them, the Alabama guys.

You would been nice.

All the guys had up the way up.

And I don't know if.

People realize that, but you wore a hot flower, a six teen guy that finished above the rim. And then you turned yourself. I think it was the back injury that you turned yourself in more of a shooter. You still could punch your folks, but not like you could when you first.

Got Now it's so weird when you come in to lead funny stories. Like my middle son, he came to me one time, like, Daddy, you don't ever dunk anymore.

You can't even dunk.

And there's that one dunk in the playoffs against the Detroit Pistons that I dunked on real Pemilton while I took out outside the bank and I said, see your dad, I can still dunk.

I just don't have to.

But you know, the weird part about it is when I got to the Lakers, they was like, oh, we don't want you to, you know, they said, we need you just spot up. And the worst thing as an athlete, if any athletes listening, is don't let coaches limit to limit you in what you can do.

And I think you know this day and age is a little bit different.

Back then, it was a little bit more I need to do this, this and this, and so in my mind became, Okay, this is what they want me to do, spot up and shoot.

Threes and all this concept.

But I I showed my my my youngest son, Christian, who's that you said?

Last?

Let me show you something, man, Come sit down, And I showed them my highlights, I mean rockets when I used to dunk.

He looked at me like, damn you had ups.

It's like, yeah, I just stopped doing it because they didn't want I didn't have room to do it because Shaq wasn't the damn way.

That's dope. That's lie. Hey, ay, Rob.

With some of those some of those clutch shots you hit, were you ever did you ever keep any of the.

Balls, especially, I mean you got.

Some really really really good moments, and for me, I would want to keep those. I would I personally want to keep those balls.

And you know you don't have.

Any, you know, I really I have.

I have one.

Okay, I have one from it's actually the Game seven ball against the Knicks.

I have that.

And the only reason I have that because I told the guy said, because the first two points of Game seven was me dunking on Batch and I was like, I.

Wrote that ball.

So I have that ball, and I wish I had the one I made against the Kings because ship if I lost it, if I betted you and lost, I just sell that and give me a lot of money to cover that.

So I know Comfarens will love that ball. So hey, but.

Speaking of you talking about balls and being able to sell the ball and get you a lot of money, Listen, I got a prize possession. That's what I'm gonna say. I'm supposed to have it in closed in the case, right, uh huh. But I got the I got the game ball when Lebron hit his fiftieth point fifty thousand Yeah, like listen, fifty thousand points and that's something that you would think, you know, Yeah, so it's a fifty thousand point ball right now.

He see fifty thousand point and Lebron signed the part. Yeah yeah. I mean, if if I ever fallow a hard times, man, it's this hit gonna come in handy.

Do you fallow a hard time to try to see that ball?

You're gonna stay on hard times? Exactly? You? You might, you might real hard times. Greg with them to deal.

Greg Papavic stepped out of the coach of the San Antonio Spurst Today Indy, a nearly three decade run that saw him lead the team to five championships. He's the all time winning his coach uh at NBA history, and he's a three time Coach of the Year, and he's a Hall of Fame, won a gold medal, and he's inducted to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Rob, you played for Pop? What what was it about Pop that made him special? What was your what's going to be your lasting memory of playing for Pop?

I think for me, it's just his how genuine he was, and you know he he was one of those coaches where he's one of those coaches where he had yelled at you and then take you to have some nochi and some wine, you know, his two favorite things. And for me, I think I tell this story all the time. The one thing that really made me fall in love with the.

Guy was my daughter who passed away.

Was really sick my last year with the Spurs, and she went into the hospital at the beginning of the season and he was like, don't don't come back until she's out of the hospital. And I sat in the hospital with her for like three weeks and then she probably go out of the hospital and I came back like a day after.

He says, she out a hospital.

Like yees, she got home like two days ago, he said, she and out of the woods. Yet get back, go back home. You know, we don't really need you right now. And I looked at him, like, are you trying to get rid of me on the slide? He said, no, Man, family first, you know, family first, And that's what That's

Like?

Yeah, I don't even ask me no question like that. He said, you know, it's it's just about the family. It's about doing things, and a lot of teams wouldn't let you do that. You know, it's because that members was remember the Lakers back and the day you say he can't get the flight back now was liability, you know, insurance thing.

I'm like, what is this a flight hole? What?

So? But pot was He's he was really really good about man, if it came down to your family, you do whatever it's necessary for your family. Everybody talking about the relationship that they had with Duncan because I think Duncan was the lynch pin because you could coach him Duncan hard, you can coach everybody else arm and Timmy was receptive.

And that's what you have to Timmy.

Timmy was one of these superstars that if you didn't watch the game, you would never know he was a superstar. He didn't dress like a superstar. Hell, I'm be showed up. What you pick up an M D P Trover with flip flopping shorts?

So like.

What Walder swing on George.

Ball?

Yeah, jeans choice? David Third like, hey, but that was Timmy?

What was it about Coach Pop and Tim's relationship that made it so unique and special?

I think we're gonna back this up a little bit because you really have to credit David Robinson, Okay, because you think about he had David Robinson when Tim came and David was like, Yo, this is what we do here, and Tim just follow suit. You know, Tim is just that type of guy. He doesn't say much. You can talk. If you talk about cars, he'll talk to you talk about video games. He'll talk to you talk about poker, those three things, and he'll talk about that.

He ain't gonna really talk to you.

For us, you know, we it took me a year just to get him. Said a couple of words to me, and but he is just a he. He is a type of guy who's really focused. We don't you know, we always talk about Kobe's worker. I think we talked about. But this dude was always in the gym shooting jump shots. You know, I'm always trying to get to perfect that bank shot.

If you know.

He was famous for shooting a lot of free throws because you know, that was one of.

His down when he came in. Yeah, and he just he worked hard.

But he was just he if you talk about guys who you know, I used to. I had to get on to him one time, like, dude, can you fucking yell at somebody? Man, you sitting up there like with your mouth closed, you know, you yell at someone, you're gonna be like, yeah, fucking everybody's gonna perk up and listen. So he was just he was very mild man anyways,

You mentioned the Twin Towers because David Robinson was there, but when David was, I mean they won them championship with David, but David was on the tail end of his career. That was that was I mean, basically Tim Dunkett team from the time he walked in the door, it was he was just that good. And he was one of the last guys that was a true senior that was the number one overall. Kenya Martin was the last one, I think in two thousand, but Timmy was what ninety eight.

I think the ninety eight draft was Timmy's first year.

But he was the last, the last of those guys that went four years of college and came out. So he was more than ready, more than prepared for the grind because basically he was a grown man when he wasn't eighteen, he wasn't seventeen. Tim Dunckant was a twenty two year old grown man when he got.

To the NBA. You tell me something I did not know. I thought he came out earlier.

You just so you see everybody coming up earlier, you know, thinking about and that's the one thing I hate about the NBA.

I know, these dududes.

Are freaking twenty one when they get to college now, but I just wish that that that that I was about to say David Stern that Adam Silver put like two years onto it. Because these guys, you can tell by the way these guys play. Now, that's why so many threes are being shot because they don't know how to play. They're doing what's easy. It's taking the threes

But it's just it's just it's just a lot.

Of bad basketball being played because guys don't know how to play. You know, do you think about tonight washing the game? Like, dude, the first thing you learned in high school and college is how to beat the damn zone.

The zone is the easiest freaking thing to beat. And you can't beat the zone.

It's like go to the Oprah spots, go to the Dunker spot, go back door. And it just shows you right there that the guys aren't learning anything because they all just trying to, you know, get to the next level to the league without learning something. M Rob, you played with some of the greats. I mean, you was on team with him, Duncan. You was on a team

History, MVP's Finals, MVPs, Defensive Players of the Year. When you got when you got to the Rockets, what was it about the Dream that you know, okay and this gout special?

What set him apart? Shit?

I knew he was special when I watched him in high school in college because when I was coming.

Out, I want to play alongside this guy.

You know, I was praying that I went to the Rockets and the guy was and I did because you could just see his work ethic, you know, you watch him. You know, guys always talking about going into the lab. Dream would be in the lab and we didn't even know it. He would be working on stuff and then he'll just all of a sudden in the game. You know, you think about ninety five high annihilated David Robinson. Yeah, because he said they took the game. Yeah, all that

Oh yeah, you know he had that toughness. You know, you l on him.

He was he was because only a fifty dollars fires, you know, push him in the face, and so he had that toughness and he just had that.

The one thing about Dream though, is.

We talk about how hard guys plays, like how hard Yannis plays.

How hard Bronze and place, how hard he's got.

Dream played hard each and every night, and you know, people would talk about who's the greatest center, who's this?

Who is that?

Dream to me is always gonna be top three centers because if he needed to shoot threes, he could have shot threes. He didn't because he had us out there and you couldn't stop him in the paint any damn way.

So he's just gonna kill you that with you. So he was just you know, he was just.

A hard worker and the more important great guy because he taught me about the business of basketball.

He was like yo.

I remember one time at a Christmas part he took me outside and said, listen, listen, you're gonna be on this team. Now, let's talk about, you know, things outside of basketball. What you're doing with your money. You know, how's the family? You know, are you investing? Do you have the right people? He was just a good guy. You know, a lot of guys now you know they won't They won't come to you and be like, yo, man, you need to check your findance.

You need to do this. They like, fuck you.

I learned it on my own, you know, and so I just that's one of the things I loved about dreams. He taught me about the business of basketball. So you leave Houston and you go to the let well you know you have you didn't gonna right and go there.

Man, you got to talk about the signs.

Mantle you have a little Piers started saying it and feed it. You have a couple of coffee at the airport, got right back on the plane and went to l A.

So you get to l a shock.

And Kobe mm hmmm, You're like, damn, got SHOQ, Got Kobe? What what what y'all.

Need to be to do? Yeah. You know what's weird.

When I got there, man, I'm looking at the team. We had Nick ban X at the point. Yep, we had Eddie Jones at the two. I said, okay, I can play the three. You know, back then I was a three man. And I said, we got a young guy like this. You know, everybody's like, oh, you got to see this rookie Kobe Bryan. I'm like, who. And then you can get to the practice. You see how

That was Kobe's rookie year, wasn't it. That was Kobe's rookie year. Yeah, yep.

And then and then and then ninety nine, you know, we got beat We got beat by the Spurs, lost the last game in the form to the Spurs. And then that was when we got new coaches, and we said we got rid of Nick, we got rid of Eddie, and we bought in defensive minded people. You know. He brought in Ron Harper, We bought in b Shaw, we bought in Rick Fox.

We did all these things. Brought in a C. Green and it was that glue who was whole.

Grant did a whole great only came.

For the last hope.

Grant was on the second champion in two thousand and two thousand and one.

Right, yeah, so, and it was just weird, man.

You just and it goes to show you when you got too much talent, but when you got when you got enough talent and you got guys who mature, and you can you can tell Kobe and Shot to shut up and sit you ass down and do what you're supposed to do. They gonna they gonna, you think about it. We used to tell Kobe, all, dude, you ain't doing that at night a Shack, you ain't doing that.

And they would listen to us because we are veteran guys.

You know.

Now you got this going on.

Guy, you know, respect us and we had a lot of respect for one another, and it was no animosity. And people always ask me about the Kobe Shaq thing. I was like, man, I must have been fucking blinded because they never had beef in front of us. It was all in the papers man, you know, And that was the weirdest thing. When people like, we'll talk about it, I'm like they in the locker room, laughing and joking. They the first people to hug after a championship. I know.

On the team.

Absolutely, And so that's why I was like, men arriving says, oh, they're decent.

I'm like, when where? So it was just weird to me. How cool with Shaq?

You look at Shack and I tell people I would pay people realize how athletic Shock was. When Shaq got to the league, like Shaq first five or six years when Shaq was like seven one three twenty five and can move like a dear. We're never going to see that again. Yeah, you never got your size with that kind ofigility. You're just not Now. You might have like Yoga's got the footwork and Joel of me got footwork, but I'm talking about your raw athleticism and power.

Yeah, you're gonna again. Never, yeah, never.

You know, you think about if he always tell if you start a team, if I could take the two thousand, the nineteen nine nine, two thousand shock, the MVP shack and have him that shack and put him on, that's my first person, Not Jordan, not Dream, not Kareem. That's the first person I'm picked to start my mind, if I can get that shack because he was just so dominant, he was just so strong, so athletic.

You thinking about this, this guy can bring.

The ball down, cross your spin, take from outside the paint, then monkey dunck on your ass and then you can do it.

You know, And.

You go back and look at a lot of tape and I've heard this out of Reugh mouth, so I'm sitting there. You can hear all you is on him and he's not getting the call. He's like, oh, he's too big, he should be able to handle that. I'm like, dude, it's a freaking file. He's slapping his show. Y'all say all right, y'all gonna piss him off, and then I'm gonna get out of the way cause hes gonna start elbowing people. And you can tell when he got frustrated,

If I can get that guy each and every night, okay, Kobe, Kobe. If a seventeen, he gets there seventeen. Now by the time they start to win championships, he's the Kobe. He's he's become what he became, and you get to see it on full display. He can still elevate over the top. He got the minute he could up. Oh he had he had the package. And if you need him to sit in the chair for forty minutes and take the polling team's point two.

And three best player and he wanted that challenge. And you know, you, you know, I know you think Lebron is the greatest of all time. And you people talk about, uh, MJ been the greatest of all time. Why don't you think you when you watch Kobe Bryant, he did every freaking thing like MJ. And he probably took it to another level because Kobe. You know, when Kobe first came in the league, we used to laugh and joke him like you can't shoot threes?

He just shoot threes like MJ. But he we would like joke with him.

So that dude been in the gym every morning at five o'clock shooting number threes and now he can shoot threes. And it's things like that that why he was great. You could tell him he was not good at something, he would prove you wrong by going and working on it and added to his game. This dude, you know, God rest his soul. Was the hardest working dude I've ever seen in my life. And you think about where

Man.

So I hate when we talk about the goat and we never bring him up like because it's like, you know, to me, the.

Goats are.

MJ, Kobe, Lebron, and Kareem. Those are the goats. And why do we have to put one, one, two, one, three and four? Those four guys right there? Why Gay camps? Just four ghosts? That's the mount rushmore right there?

Why why didn't playing on that team alongside Shaq and Kobe?

Why didn't they win more individual MVPs?

Kobe didn't win one until later late like two thousand and one, I think two thousand and nine to twenty and.

Ten, he won the MVP.

Why didn't they win if Why didn't Shaq win more MVPs? Why didn't Kobe win MVPs? Did they cancel each other out?

I don't think they counted each other.

I just think you know, if you if you look at the league back then, it was hard to win back to backs unless she was a white guy.

I mean Steve Nash.

And so you know, you think about that second Steve Nash have it for real though.

So it's so many things you can look at it. It's just weird. You know. You think about MJ when he was in the league.

He didn't win it every year, you know, it's always someone different. And like you think about this year, even though Jokic is having the best freaking career, best year of his career, he.

Ain't gonna Wina, you know, and and and it's just how they do it.

And I don't know why, but I think Kobe should have probably run at least three.

Shack should run at least that's just actually won at least two.

You know, I think I say, the year he wanted he should have won it, and then the following.

Year he should have won it. Okay, you know.

Other than that, I think, you know, because you think about his third our third championship, he wasn't as dominant as he was. He was still effective, he just didn't bring that you think about it, he wasn't the Shack before that, and that's what they based off. They always say, Okay, we're gonna take your last year. What did you do better than that year. And I think he was just consistent. He never like went up a little bit to another level.

Uh, Jim Duncan. Yeah, Tim Duncan had one of the great games. He had a damn near quadruple double. He was two blocks away from a quadruple double in an NBA Finals game when he played when he played the Nets, uh that year, I think he had twenty one points, twenty rebound hit, a fists and eight blocks.

Yeah, but that's a nets man in this We had just swear and just swept.

The next year before that or whatever it wasn't next was like, you know, poor poor Jason, Richard Jefferson, that crew. You know, you were the beast in the East. But when it came to playing teams used to wear it. You was just like you like the legs and the clippers, just a little brother. So it was it was they made it a good challenge. But you go back and look at the East. Back then East was terrible man and so but Tim Duncan though, that goes to show you when he wants to take over, he can take

It's gonna start a fast break.

All right, your Mount Rushmore teammates. You get four teammates on on Mitt Rushmore. Who you going with?

Dream Shaq, Kobe Clyde.

Damn, you ain't cloud over Timmy.

You know what this is the one other things you know, I love Timmy. I'm going with Clyde. Clyde, my boy man. You know, sometimes personal feelings get in the way. So hey, I'm doing to Steve Kurr right now. Hey, But you know, people don't. I think people forget how good Clyde was.

I mean, he come, he took a kind of a backseat roll when he got to Houston. But but but Clyde, Clyde, I remember, hell, I remember what he was dunking on everybody at five Slamma Jaman in the.

University of Houston. But he used to Clyde used to elevate.

Yeah, you know.

And another reason I ain't put Tim in that because I remember, you know, I'm Washington Hall of Fame ceremony and watch Rudy T getting inducted. And then when Rudy T gave me a shout out for the Hall of Fame and they're paying through the crowd, and Tim then clapped. So that's why I ain't on my right because I just got I thought it comes to motherfucker, I saved. You don't answer two thousand.

And five excuse about life like you better get your hands up and clap.

Damn.

They Spurns got some cap space.

They got it. They got to night Day.

They got Stefan Castle's Rookie of the Year. Wimby was the previous rookie of the year. They got do they would you make the move for y honest? Would you try to package some pieces for y? Honis that's the thing you got? You forgot about Darren Fox?

I think.

That's that's hard to say. I would because you can't pass them. Oh, I think that's gonna be the hottest commanded this summer. Everybody's going wrong with the great treat because he's that type of player. You know, I missed him really how hard he played. So this is gonna be really interesting to see where he goes. If Milwaukee

It boils down to a bigger market. I haven't talked to Greek freak, but I talked to the powers that be. We're gonna do everything we can to get him down here in Miami.

I'm told. I'm told that already.

I'm not sure why he continues to add that question. Hey, Rob, I've sat down with Mickey Harrison. I sat down with pat Riley. Patts is willing to change some of his ways and and let the reins go a little bit on the way he conducts himself and to.

Come to to the entity that is known as the Miami Heat. So uh, and we also wanna get John wrong too. They don't want that dog.

Yeah, I'm just telling you, telling you he would fit in great in Miami. But you're gonna have to give up, you know, a lot to get him to Miami. That's fine, That's that's fine.

We want to get it. But if you give up stuff, you're gonna be right where the Phoenix Suns are. You give up all that.

You got three guys making one hundred and fifty million, but your bench sucks. Yeah, left the nuggets. He went to the next but what he wanted to play with. They ended up going to going to Denver, and then you had to trade those draft picks. So now you there, you basically by yourself, like you when you were in them in Denver.

We're gonna we're gonna make it. We're gonna make it work.

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