And we continue on Fred Rogan Rodney Pete on five to seventy LA Sports the return of the Dubber this hour. It's been a long time. We'll explain who the Dubber is and why he will be here. Is coming up?
Yeah, please explain. Oh I mean I can't wait. I'm waiting with baited breath.
For the Dubber.
Yes, all right, So the Dubber will join us later this hour. But now let's bring on the host of the Clipper pregame postgame halftime show, The Saulty A Adam Ouslin.
Hello, Adam, what's good guys. Good to see you guys, rough couple of days. What good to be with you?
Double A double A All right, man, I'm good for here.
I'm here.
Clippers are four and four. You know they're hanging in there, tread water. Lakers now four and four after getting off to a hot start four and four.
But are we h is that a good for and four? Mediocre for and four or scary for and four? What kind of four and four are we talking about? For both teams?
Adam?
I think what the Lakers is disappointing because they started off three to zero and now injuries are creeping up. Some of the same bad habits from last years are showing themselves. I mean the loss to Phoenix where you're up eighteen, and then the loss on the road to Detroit. Those are bad losses and that's where they've always struggled on the road the last couple of seasons, and they're right back to those bad habits, and JJ Reddick drop
on the mic because he's upset. I think with Reddick right now, he's getting the taste of it's not just about scheme, it's not just about strategy. It is about keeping guys motivated with effort each and every night, where I think he's a little bit surprised by that because he feels like that should be the base line. They have to play hard, and so he takes a shot. The rest of the guy's saying, Lebron's almost forty and he's playing hard out there, what's wrong with the rest
of you? And then you see DeAngelo Russell not play the last eighteen minutes. We'll see how he responds to that tonight against the Philadelphia seventy six ers. So these are kind of the growing pains. I think it was a young coach in the NBA just finding out these guys don't always play hard every night.
You gotta motive at adam, you know, more so in the I think in the NBA than any other professional sports league. And I've heard this from you know, some current guys and some some retired guys have been try retired for a while, and some retired guys that have just retired that the NBA is in a I don't know what you call it, but but they're in a situation.
Right now where.
Guys that just don't don't care enough, Guys don't don't necessarily work as hard. There's so much money involved in the NBA right now with guys and it's a shorter rosters and all the other sports that they've got their money and the work ethic and everything attached to that is not as important as some of the other things that they've got going outside of basketball and I and it feels like that is.
Starting become more and more of a problem.
If you don't have the right environment as a franchise and as an organization, it's it's not going to help you, and it's gonna nip you in the button and it's gonna be you know, a situation where it gets worse. But from a player standpoint, it is like the players are hated, are running everything as opposed to the coach. And JJ Reddick, I think is feeling that because it's a different time from when.
He played player em Era.
Yes, right, let me say this. Let me say this.
So d Angela Russell makes like eighteen million I think this year, right, Yeah, Okay, And d' angela Russell is exactly d'angela Russell exactly. And really, if you break it down from when he first came here, he's a little better than he was then because then his attitude was just awful and he had this incredible sense of entitlement all the talent in the world, moments of incredible brilliance, but then not so much so now he sits again doing the exact same thing. Let's not make excuses for
him anymore. Let's not, there are none. This is who he is. Maybe he's up, maybe he's down, maybe he's good, maybe he's not. That guy's making eighteen million dollars a year, all right, When you're making that kind of money, they either be good bad, have an attitude, don't have an adorantee guarantee guaranteed. When you've got that money, what do you care? Ultimately, you only care when people get on you, and if they get on you enough, then maybe you
play the way you can. You exert that effort. I think it's an incredible sense of entitlement. And when you are paying twenty four to twenty five year olds who really have not had to do much but play basketball, all of a sudden they make eighty million dollars, they haven't gone through it. They're not Michael Jordan, they're not Kobe Bryant, they're not Lebron James. They're not guys that have sacrificed and busted their rafts and worked every day. Yeah, and given an enormous paycheck early.
I wouldn't say just because they aren't as good as those guys doesn't mean they haven't maximized their abilities and
put in the work. These guys are grinders. I mean, if you look at a lot of the data and some of them, If you look at a lot of the data and what the doctors are saying why there's so many guys injured nowadays, it's because they go into specialized sports at such a young age, trying to get that lottery ticket, trying to get to the league and trying to make millions, and they do grind and playing every day in the AAU ball stuff. People talk about
the friendship part of it, but they're playing year round. Guys. Back in the day, we're not playing year round. Michael Jordan's agent said he didn't pick up a basketball till September. He'd go off in the offseason and just play golf. It is different, The level of competition is different. To get to the league. Now you can say, are they resting on their laurels?
Now?
I don't know. D'Angelo Russell is just like this. He's an offensive guy. What he does isn't defense. We've known this his entire career. And JJ Reddick's trying to set a tone. Now you give up that wide open three early in the third quarter, and I'm gonna bench you the rest of the game. Because we talked about this over and over again.
You shouldn't be on the roster. And Adam, let me ask you this, what is the bottom line here? These guys play AAU ball and they work their whole life. They want to get to the league. They want to get to the league. By the way, when they get to the league, none of them are any good.
It's almost like.
You know, half the guys get to the league and it's like, Okay, I got my contract.
That's it, Rodney.
See my point is this, they want to get paid. They're not gonna be what they are. They're not what they're gonna be. Yeah, can they play, sure, but they're not gonna have an enormous impact unless you're when Baiana or a great rookie of the year, and those are few and far between.
I think this is a bit of an over simplification.
I don't think so at all.
These guys work their asses off.
Go talk to the guys in the paid to get paid.
And how many of them show greatness in the playoffs. Still, that's not just about getting paid. That's about performing under the bright lights. Come on, now, you think Anthony Edwards is resting on his laurels because he got paid, We're not saying that. There's plenty of guys. Look at a guy on his team like Jade McDaniels, do you know who that is? He got paid, he still plays his ass off and there's plenty of guys like that.
Point to Rodney's point and I think it's valid. To Rodney's point, it seems a certain way, it seems that's the feeling. It's not every single person. But I think from the totality and the thirty thousand foot view, Rodney, I actually think you're right. Yeah, I think I think it's I mean, I've heard it that that you know, from a from a practice standpoint, from a given effort standpoint to caring standpoint, it's it's not the same. It's not the same.
Where you have twelve guys on the on the on the bench on a given night that is all about one particular thing, and that is winning and working as working their ass off to get it done. You've got guys that will do it. Don't get me wrong. When you point out certain individuals, you know, Adam, I think you're right. I mean, there's Anthony Edwards of the world that wants to be you know, it's aspiration. It's a beyond money. It is I want to be the best ever. I want to be Michael Jordan, I want to be
better than that. But I think for to a large extent, there are there are too many guys I would say it like this, too many guys that feel like I got my money, I'm entitled, and I'm gonna I'm gonna go out there and do what I can and I am not going to be, lack of a better phrase, one hundred percent committed to doing the little things that is going to make us win and make us better and sacrifice for the team.
You want to know what, I honestly think older generations say this about younger generations and as cyclical, and we always get this stuff. Charles Barkley, I remember, I got a long memory said they don't pay me to play defense. I've been hearing this same stuff, and if you go and watch tape, you're gonna see they're a good team back then, and good teams and guys who gave effort who were superstars, and guys who were superstars and didn't give effort. This stuff has been going on forever, and
I don't think there's anything new under the sun. I honestly don't. I see defensive schemes that are more complicated now than they ever have been, because you have to guard way more space because guys can shoot thirty footers with ease.
Now.
I don't think it's as simple as guys don't care anymore. I think there are some guys that don't care, just like there were guys back in the day that didn't care when they got paid. And there's nothing new.
All right.
Do you think because you've watched basketball for a long time, you think the games were better to watch six years ago or they're better to watch today.
I think the aesthetics of the game, its beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It is up to each subject. It is subjective. For me, I like a little bit more variety in my game. I can understand where people are saying that there's too much three point shooting out there, but I know why they're doing it.
It's smart. Guess who just won the championship the team that attempted the most threes in the league, and we see it all the time now, the Boston Celtics, now they were still an elite defense, just like Golden State was when they were winning. People don't realize how good they were on the defensive end. It wasn't just hot shooting a three point shooting.
What is defense? Out of what is defense? What is defense?
That is effort, that is commitment, that is doing that, that is being unselfish, right, but and so you know, to that point, it doesn't feel like the modern NBA, at least from a majority standpoint, is committed to that as opposed to get mine and I'm gonna get mine, but I'm not gonna be committed to the team philosophy of let's just let's win any way we can.
So there weren't any male contents back in the day.
No, no, no, no no.
I'm not gonna do it absolute and say there were none, because there certainly was.
You think there's a higher authority.
Because of the because of the salaries, and because of the committed money, and that everything is guaranteed that it's not a requirement. Pat Riley could bench somebody and shut down their career if they didn't give effort. I mean, the pat Riley coaching wise, of the of that age, you know, Papa Bitch may be the only one left
that can kind of do that. Maybe maybe Steve Kerr a little bit, But there's not many of those coaches that have that power to be able to discipline their guys in a way that you don't play defense, you don't play.
I don't know.
I saw many Williams not playing I saw him now he's getting paid because he went to Detroit and got eighty million dollars then got fired after a season because I don't know he stopped caring. So I guess it goes both ways.
He stopped caring or you think he didn't get the guys to care.
I think there was some very interesting decisions that he made there, and a lot of people feel like he checked out after he got his eighty million dollars and got all that money from Detroit. But I'm going to say check out.
I want to hear this.
His rotations were not out there to optimize lineups. It seemed like at times he wasn't playing the best guys to win games. That's part of the story with that, asked Rob Parker, Detroit. Guy, if you want more on the situation with Monty Williams, I guess, But I'm just saying this stuff happens. I mean, I can give examples, just as I just did with DeAndre Aiden getting benched because he didn't have the right attitude and now he's up in Portland like it still happens. You don't have
to be pat Riley to do this. We're talking about JJ Reddick doing it in his eighth game as a head coach to D'Angelo Russell, it still happens. It may like if you want to say there's more malcontents at a higher percentage now, maybe I don't know if it's provable, but I would say for the most part, things are the same as they ever were were. There were guaranteed contracts in the nineties and eighties too. I mean, what are we talking about. Guaranteed contracts have been around forever.
Yeah, yeah they have.
But but but guaranteed contract to the tone of life changing, generational type of contracts, we're not there with.
How much is that?
But the Jordan, the Jordan era, the Jordan era there was that was completely different than what we're looking at right now, Adam. And you gotta know what you can't and in a lot of ways, First of all, it was it was more of a a team aspect than if you look at if you look at Steve Kerr and the way he coaches now and and talking about his players now as opposed to where the Bulls were in the nineties and the way Phil Jackson handled certain things. Yes, he let Dennis Rodman go to Vegas, and he let
Dennis Robin do his thing. But at the end of the day, it was it was completely completely about the team. And now it feels like there's so much katieing to these guys, and the coaches have less power than they did in the nineties or the eighties because these guys are making so much money and they can dictate whether I leave or play or not.
Or when I show up or whatever.
You know, whatever I do, it doesn't matter because they can't get rid of me.
Hey, I don't know. I saw Scottie Pippen not check into a game at the end of the nineties because he didn't like the guy that he wasn't.
I'm talking about it in general, I mean, but I'm.
Just saying I can bring up specific example. If that happened in today's game, where a star player didn't check in because he wasn't getting the ball for the final shot, let me know the last time that happened, it was Scottie Pippen.
It goes to practice at him, It goes to practicing, It goes to the commitment and the offseason. It goes to a lot of different things that is different than was you know, back in the nineties and eighties and I'm trying to be an Odhead and Gold and the.
Way we used to do it back in today is different.
I'm hearing this from current guys. I'm hearing this from current guys that have just left the league, that that that certain guys the commitment to the team and to winning is not what it once was.
I just feel like everybody wanted to celebrate the era when they were in their prime. Everybody has a little bit of that Golden Age syndrome to them. I have it too, So I don't know. I think there is something to player empowerment, Rodney. I think there is something. Don't get me wrong, because it's new information. We've all been saying forever. It's a players league, and those who
have the superstars have the power. So every franchise, of course, is going to cater to those guys because it's because it's so important to winning. And we've learned that over time. So we have new information now we didn't have back then. If they had the same information now that they had back then, we probably see the same stuff going on. So I don't know. I don't take that is the league has completely changed. There are still guys out there sacrificing.
There are still guys out there playing basketball the right way, and I think you see the same good teams every year that are doing it, and the bad teams aren't just like back in the day.
All right, well, Adam, thank you for sharing today. That was that was quite insightful.
Wait wait, wait, guys, those clouds up against you that you're yelling up above you? Are you yelling at? I don't know. It may start rating soon, you.
Know, Adam, Normally I think you're right. Today I think you're wrong.
Well you've You've made a hell of a case, Fred just saying I'm wrong and not actually backing it up.
But okay, Adam, where did Clippers go from here? Adam?
Where did the Clippers go from here?
Yeah?
Well they're going to Sacramento tonight. And look, I heard you guys yesterday. I thought you made some great points. They still don't have Kawhi Leonard. They're still struggling, but Foreign four is about where they should be right, Bourn four is about where they should be without Kawhi Leonard. I said the first ten games. If they're fine five and five and they're treading, we're okay. They can move forward. From that, they're a very good defensive team. They struggle
at times on offense. But you see that game against Paul George and the Philadelphia seventy six ers. Oh yeah, and Norman Palace going off and he gets twenty five points, you know, and he's averaging twenty five on shooting fifty three percent from the floor right now, And it's just like, well, if they can get enough from their guys offensively, with their defense and the way they've leaned into that defensive identity, they're in games. It's funny. Their defense keeps them in
every game. Their offense keeps the opposition in every game because they're just not that good on that ends. They don't have enough high end talent offensively. But I think they do have a direction. You know, Kevin referenced that article from Sam Amck and where this franchise could be moving forward. It's about flexibility. It's about being competitive and then having that flexibility with the cap situation and staying
opportunistic for any time. I don't know, disgruntled Superstar, one of these young players we've been talking about that doesn't like the situation they're in, tries to flex and use that player empowerment, and the Clippers can jump on an opportunity like that. So I think they're actually in a really good spot where over the next couple of years they're gonna have a lot of money to play with because they didn't double down with Paul George and go all in with him freed.
But so at the end of the day, to let you go at him, the Paul George move, not to sign him for what they what he wanted, actually will ultimately be a good deal.
I think I'd rather have a guy like Norman Powell making twenty million over the next two seasons and if he can put up over twenty points per game, and I think he's capable of that, then having Paul George making over fifty million for the next four seasons and having them over the second apron where you're all in to a point where you can't make moves on the margins at all, and you better win a championship. And we still don't know where Kawhi's health is at, and
that's so disappointing because they can't. If you resigned Paul George and Kawhi is still hurt, you're still not a content, right right, So you can resign Paul George all you want, it's still dependent on the health of Kawhi Leonard. And if he is going to be available, he's the hammer. He's the guy you needing a playoff series. So just having Paul George and James Harden obviously wasn't enough. They
got beat by Dallas in that first round. So it really comes down to the health of Kawhi Leonard and we don't know when he's playing again, hopefully sooner than later.
Bringing it always was that thanks.
I love you guys. I know it's been a rough couple of days. I missed you guys.
All right, we're all here, We're all good, all right, boss the Dubber, the return of the Dubber. Oh lord, yes, so we'll come back Rodney Alfillion on the double and then we will bring the dubber on.
Come on, now, let's keep this thing moving. Got lively.
Thank you to the salty A double A Adam Austin bring it all, the thunder, the heat or whatever he was bringing he was bringing it. We love having Adam on because he's got the insight to the to the not only the Clippers, but he's a great, great NBA analyst, and we appreciate him. Rodney pet Fred Rogan on a Friday where we don't care, We really.
Don't, all right, So Rodney. Jerry Weinstein is the director of the Laker broadcast for Spectrum Sportsnet, and he has always been a huge Rams fan. Also likes the Kings, but the Rams have always been his baby. So when you watch a Laker game on Spectrum, Jerry's a director, all right, but he's a huge Rams fan. And when I was on at the Beast, we would used to bring the dubber on and the dubber would do our RAM reports because nobody's more plugged in.
Than the dubber.
So the dubber was plugged in. The dubber's plugged in. So I saw the dubber recently, so why can't I come back on? I went, all right, dubber, we're gonna give you a shy of the dubber. I mean, I've to people understand who the dubber is. Are you going to do that going forward? I just want to know because I have no idea who the dubber is. The dubber will explain who the dubber is, Okay, all right, So Now let's bring on Jerry Weinstein the Dubber, to talk about the Rams.
Hello, Jerry.
Dubber, what's up, fellas?
What's going on? Jerry?
Now?
Why are you the Dubber? Now I know.
Because my initials are j W J.
Dub the dubber makes total sense.
Now I know. I heard the voice and now I know.
Okay, yes, all right, all right, So Jerry, let's get into the Rams. Now they're four and four and uh, early on you thought they were left for dead. Now they got a playoff shot. What do you think.
That win on Sunday was the most siding win the Rams have had since the Super Bowl. I mean, that was an incredible game, a nice comeback. The defense is really starting to pick it up now. The offense has been a little so so they have their guys back cou gun Cup. Now they got to start clicking on all cylinders on offense to match the defense, which we could not say earlier in the season.
So they got to match it. So what kind of shot do the Rams?
Because we talked about talked about the history of the Rams and a few years ago them selling the fans that they had no shot to make the playoffs. And just to be patient because we're rebuilding right now. But now, as you look at this Rams team in the middle of the season, what are their chances of going and making a deep run.
In the playoffs.
I think the chances are really good. The schedule lines up perfectly for them. They have a big game this week on Monday Night against the Dolphins. They got to take care of a business that's so far where they haven't lost this year yet. Actually they did lose to the Packers, my bad, but then they have at New England, which is a totally winnable game. I think this team has a chance to go eleven and six still realistically
and make the playoffs. And their defensive line right now is the best defensive line in the league.
And let me tell you something.
They lost Aaron Donald this year, so no one thought that the Rams defensive line was gonna go off like they have. But the rookies Jared Verse and Braden Fisk have like stepped it up and they are like literally one two for rookie in the year right now. And Jared Verse is gonna be the defensive rookie of the year. You mark my words on that.
Okay, Well, let me write that down. You gotta pen. We're gonna we're gonna mark your words on that dubber.
We're gonna mark mark the words. Put some money in Vegas. What are you talking about? Mark words?
You better pay money.
There's a saying NDTD. It means never doubt the Dubber.
For the second time today, Kevin, for the second time today. Look all right, Dubber, we hit you really late and we're showing on time. But do you have any thoughts on the Kings, because you're also the world's biggest Kings fan Before we let you go, Well.
Let me tell you something, Fred.
What I love about your show is you always make room for the Kings, and no other shows do that. The Kings have started the season pretty well. We left them kind of for dead. They had a terrible off season through Dowdy got hurt in the preseason.
They've had a good start.
They've had a couple of injuries in the last game, but they've really played well. The rookie Brant Clark is a really good prospect. I love the looks of this guy. The team has to score a little bit more goals, but I'm telling you this seems a little bit more exciting than last year. And I'm really excited about the start they've had.
I think we could actually make the playoffs.
When the season began, I was like, We're not even a playoff team. But I'm going to be there tomorrow night to root my kings on for sure.
All Right, Dubber, Ronnie, are you good with the Dubber. I love the Dubber Dubber.
Hey, that big time rubber brings it man, the dub.
Dubber. That's what I'm talking about. Man, you bring it in multiple sports, multiple.
Bring my own drop too. You know you like my drop drop?
Yeah, we like your drop. Your drop is good. The Dubbler.
For weekly.
We got to go back to a weekly segment like we used to do on the old show. You know, develop the little fan base.
We'll talk, we'll take out under Dubber.
I'm a fan, man, I'm a fan. I became a I always like you. I heard you before, but I like you now, Dubber. I'm a fan.
That's what I'd like to hear. Rodney.
All right, Jerry, have a good week n goodbye.
All right, fella's take care all right?
There he goes Dubble Kevin or you are right. I'm doing amazing.
Looking forward to wrapping things up and get ready for a great weekend for it.
Okay, we'll be back to wrap it up.
Come on, come on, winding down on a Friday, Be careful out there as you drive home from work, as you head out for the weekend, just be careful, Be careful.
Rodney, Pete, Fred Rogan, we love you. Come on all right, so as we get ready to go, it's been an interesting week.
We did a lot of Dodgers this week, and you should know we're going to continue to talk about the Dodgers because we understand now that normally there's not this quick of a transition at a turnaround to getting out of the winter meetings and when people start signing contracts as free agents. So we are going to stay all over this. The tailor Hernandez story is something we are not going to rest on. We will stay on top of that. And also then Rodney, just the who could
be that pitcher? And I think we'll learn more once we get these winter meetings underway. I think we'll have a pretty good idea of what direction they're going to go. But it seems to me it all rests on what they do with Hernandez.
Yeah, I believe so.
I think Tayo is the number one guy that they want to figure out what they're going to do with. They gonna either you know, bring him back or is he you know, priced too high. We've heard numbers, but we haven't heard anything from Tayo in terms of what he wants and and so that that remains to be seen. But I think and wishful thinking for the Dodger fans and for us that he was a valuable and almost
invaluable peace for the Dodgers winning the title. What he did not only on the field and become a clutch hitter, a clutch performer, but also intangibles of what he did in the clubhouse and befriending show. Hey, and the sunflower seed celebration was just a big deal throughout the season, and he always had a smile on his face. So we love Taale and hopefully that works out. Have a terrific weekend, Ronnie, thank you for a great week. Kevin
is always truly appreciated. Short show for us on Monday, just twelve to two, but Rodney Eric Dickerson will be here the entire way.
Have a good Rod home