On this episode of the Bob Ryan & Jeff Goodman NBA Podcast, Bob, Jeff, and Gary Tanguay discuss all the biggest stories around the game of basketball. Are the Cavaliers legitimate contenders in the East? And could they give the Celtics a run for their money? Will the 76ers improve, or is this a lost season in Philly? Plus, the Lakers honor Pat Riley with a statue, and the "Inside the NBA" crew makes the switch to ESPN. All that, and much more!
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SportsTranscript
00:00Hey, it's that time for the Bob Ryan, Jeff Goodman, 10-Way Along for the Ride pod, brought
00:23to you by Price Picks, the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the CLNS Media Network.
00:28Pick more, pick less with Price Picks.
00:30Okay, guys, at the time that we're getting together, this evening the Cavaliers will
00:35be playing the Celtics, so we have a time-sensitive situation, but I have both of you here, and
00:42your schedules are tight this week, so I want to get your thoughts.
00:45Bob, just again, your thoughts on the Cavaliers and the way they have come out of the gate
00:48this year.
00:50The interesting thing about them is that often when these teams in the Celtics are Exhibit
00:55A, because it's happened twice since the 21st century, there's some prominent addition
01:03that has juiced the team, that changes things and enhances the situation.
01:08There isn't a prominent addition to this team this year.
01:11This is the same bunch, except there is one prominent addition.
01:15It's the coach, and he's getting a lot of credit in the world right now for what's going
01:20on here.
01:21Now, let's go back.
01:22This team has been good since 21-22.
01:25They were 44-38, followed by 51-31, followed by 48-34 last year, and gave the Celtics a
01:32lot of trouble, even without a key player.
01:35They've been knocking, they've been hanging around, knocking on the door there, and now
01:41they've got a coach to tie it all together.
01:43That's the interesting thing about them.
01:45Their backcourt right now, Mitchell and Garland, is averaging a combined 45 points a game,
01:52and reminds me of the situation with the 71-72 Lakers, when Goodrich and West each
01:57averaged 25 a game.
01:58We haven't seen anything like that since.
02:00But this is the most potent backcourt in the league, in terms of pure scoring.
02:05I wouldn't trade them for our backcourt, you know, no, but these guys must be honored.
02:10So that's the thing about it, is that, is it just, and I'm going to throw this into
02:14Jeff's lap now, is it, Jeff, is it just Kenny Atkinson that's got some secret juice to these
02:20guys, or what's going on?
02:22I mean, I think that's part of it, you know.
02:24I've talked to some people in the organization, close to the organization, that will say,
02:29like, Kenny Atkinson, what he's done, he's mellowed out over, spent the last couple years
02:36on the bench with prominent guys who have done it before, you know, Steve Kirby and
02:40one of them.
02:42He's mellowed, you know, from his days with the Nets, and I think he has learned how to
02:47handle some of these guys, right?
02:49Like every little detail isn't quite as important to him, you know, a guy maybe showing up late
02:56for a flight or a bus or whatever it is, like that, from what I'm told, that used to really,
03:03really get under his skin and he couldn't handle it.
03:06Now he's matured and understands how to deal with the egos and the personalities on this
03:12team.
03:13And frankly, there aren't a lot of egos.
03:15That's the beauty of this team that Kobe Altman and Mike Gansey put together.
03:19I know all these guys.
03:20Like Donovan Mitchell's the biggest ego you got, and he's not that big of an ego by NBA,
03:26you know, star standards.
03:28Evan Mobley doesn't say two words, like the easiest dude ever.
03:32Jared Allen's a little bit eclectic, but like a good guy.
03:37Max Strews, George Niang, we know them.
03:40Darius Garland, like you go down the list, this is similar in some ways to the Celtics
03:47guys in that they don't have a lot of assholes.
03:52I'm not sure they have an asshole on the team.
03:55I think in a way they don't have any issues to deal with.
03:59And now you've got Darius Garland happy again.
04:01Remember a year ago, there was some rumblings from the agent, from Rich Paul, that Darius
04:06Garland wanted out because he didn't want to play alongside Donovan Mitchell.
04:11That has been rectified and now they're humming, man.
04:15They are humming.
04:17And I know you are a charter member of the Evan Mobley fan club, right?
04:21Love him.
04:22Yes.
04:23Love him.
04:24Hey, did you see this stat the other day?
04:26I tweeted it.
04:27The winningest player over the last, I don't know how long it was in the NBA, is none other
04:33than Methuen's own George Niang.
04:36I love that.
04:39That's great.
04:40And we must say, and one time podcast guest of ours.
04:43We got to get him on again.
04:45We'll try to get him on again at some point.
04:47But yeah, I just, again, I'm not sure the Cavs are, I know they're not at the Celtics
04:52level.
04:53But Kenny Atkinson has been the breath of fresh air that this group needed.
04:58They're playing faster.
05:01And again, the name we haven't mentioned, guys, that's been huge off the bench is Ty
05:05Jerome.
05:06He's been awesome for Cleveland.
05:08Well, I mean, let's look at it this way, guys.
05:10I'm sorry, Bob, but I was going to say, you know, we talked about the Knicks quite a bit
05:15leading up to the season.
05:16We're going to get to the Sixers.
05:17They're struggling.
05:18Hey, Cleveland wasn't in the conversation, and Jeff's right.
05:20I mean, no one is at the level of the Celtics, but can they keep this up?
05:27Have the Cavs shown us enough, Bob, for us to believe they deserve a seat at the table
05:32when we discuss contenders at the end of the year?
05:35Well, they're leading the league in scoring and in point differential.
05:39I mean, this has been a really impressive performance.
05:42And let's be honest.
05:44It's one of the four greatest starts in NBA history.
05:47So I think attention must be paid.
05:48I mean, I'm going to just got my attention 15 and 0.
05:52And this is one of the only one of four teams ever done it.
05:56And so.
05:57That's crazy to me.
05:58Isn't that crazy?
06:00Think about that, Bob.
06:01Yeah, I'm thinking about it.
06:03And I mean, you know, this is that I'm impressed and I like it.
06:09And we've identified that they seem to get it.
06:13The way the Celtics got it.
06:15They got it.
06:16They are playing to win basketball games, not to, you know, please themselves and are
06:24getting another nice, consistent nightly contribution off the bench from Levert and Jerome.
06:30With Levert's averaging 11.8, Jerome's averaging 10.7, which matches his career high, by the
06:35way.
06:36And I remember, here's a guy.
06:39I loved him in college.
06:40I remember he caught my eye at Virginia and, you know, Levert's been a quality scorer.
06:45Levert has twice scored 20 points a game in this league, you know.
06:48So they got some that that's that bench is.
06:53That's all you need.
06:54You got two guys like that.
06:55That's that's damn good.
06:56And so you don't have guys.
06:59Max Struis has been hurt so that he hasn't played yet.
07:04So like their bench is going to be better than the Celtics bench when Max Struis comes
07:08back.
07:09Better than the Celtics bench.
07:10I know that may be great.
07:11Now, again, obviously, Porzingis isn't back yet.
07:14So that's that's the difference.
07:16But I would take Cleveland's bench in its depth of the bench over the Celtics bench.
07:23When when everybody's healthy, the difference is obviously, you know, the Cavs don't have
07:30Jason Tatum, that Donovan Mitchell is not Jason Tatum.
07:34And that's that's the biggest difference for me.
07:36I don't think the Cavs can win the whole thing with Donovan Mitchell as your number one guy.
07:42It's hard to win when your best player is a guard.
07:46It's hard.
07:47We've talked about this previously.
07:49The one like a six to guard, not a Kobe, right?
07:52Like if you have a six, you know, Kobe and Jordan's there, there's yeah, yeah.
08:00We've talked about this to go back 45, 50 years into one example.
08:04You might be able to cite as Isaiah Thomas with the Pistons, you know, that as a, you
08:10know, small guard who was the true guard, not a swing man type of yeah, yeah.
08:14And that's the one example that other than that, you can't find one.
08:18John Stockton couldn't do it.
08:20The other guys that nobody else has been able to.
08:23But he's been able to.
08:24Robertson, Big O needed Kareem, right?
08:27Well, Big O was 6'5 and he was also a triple doubling rebounding, you know, force.
08:35He wasn't just a, you know, that he's not in at this guy.
08:37We're talking about, you know, the, like the Iversons of the world, Iverson didn't do it
08:41either.
08:42Right.
08:43Put up some staggering numbers.
08:44He couldn't do it.
08:45It's hard.
08:46And it's very hard.
08:47And if your best player is, is, is your point guard, who is at six point or two, it's never,
08:51it's very, very difficult.
08:52So, but I just love the balance.
08:54I keep staring at these numbers here, 24.6, 21.4, Mobley, 18.1, Allen, 14.5, Levert, 11.8,
09:01Jerome, 10.7.
09:03That's where they are as we speak.
09:04And that's, that's really, really exemplary balance.
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10:51All right.
10:52Well, let's move on to the Sixers because we go from one team that's on their way up
10:56to one team that's really struggling.
10:57At the time of this recording, they're a mess, but Jeff, when is it, you know, it's early.
11:05We understand that, but we didn't think it would be this bad as far as developing chemistry
11:09and with the injuries, you know, when's the drop?
11:15When's the deadline?
11:16You know, that they got to get it together.
11:17Christmas?
11:18Yeah.
11:19It's ugly.
11:20Well, it's ugly because of obviously now you've got Joel Embiid sitting out all these games
11:24and in Philly, the one thing you can't do is appear soft because if you appear soft,
11:31those fans are done with you in Philly.
11:34And I said it when they got Paul George, like I just didn't like it.
11:38I didn't like that addition.
11:40And I feel like, you know, to me, the biggest problem, you know, is putting together these
11:49teams and Daryl Morey's been known to do this, guys.
11:54It's like he plays like fantasy basketball, right?
11:57He just throws guys together and hopes that the chemistry works and hopes that the pieces
12:01fit.
12:03And that's not how you build a championship team.
12:05That's how you build like content.
12:06Yeah, you can be a contender.
12:08You throw these dudes together, but Paul George at this stage of his career, it's not going
12:13to work in Philly, guys.
12:14It's just not.
12:17I thought they had, you know, quietly enhanced their depth, but they're getting minimal contribution
12:24from these guys that I thought were going to help them, namely Eric Gordon, Reggie Jackson,
12:29and even, of course, Kyle Lowry's up there now.
12:32But they're getting, you know, I thought those were sneakily good things, but the one guy
12:36that's given them something is Drummond, who can still rebound.
12:40He's averaging nine rebounds a game in 22 minutes.
12:43He still can do that.
12:44But I thought they had, you know, I thought they had a good offseason, quite frankly.
12:50But then you start, but I wasn't as down on George.
12:53I wasn't really down on him at all, as you are.
12:56And then there's this whole Embiid thing and the way Embiid has gone off the rails personally,
13:01as well as it's a myth.
13:03In case everybody doesn't realize, you have people, you know, they're 2-11.
13:07They're tied with Washington for the worst record in the conference.
13:10I know.
13:11I mean, that's how bad it is.
13:14And they're last in scoring in the whole league.
13:16They are last.
13:17And Bob, here's the thing.
13:19We both love Tyrese Maxey, right?
13:21But if Tyrese Maxey has to be the guy and he doesn't have help, he's going to shoot
13:2841 percent from the field and 29 percent from three, which is what he's shooting right
13:32now.
13:33And there's too much on him.
13:34There's weight.
13:35He's a great number two guy.
13:37He can't be your number one.
13:38No, you're right.
13:40I got it.
13:41To be specific, he's shooting 2-8-6, 2-8-6.
13:45And what's Paul George shooting?
13:47What's Paul George shooting?
13:48Not much better, I bet.
13:49No, no.
13:50It's not good.
13:51Surprisingly, they're a mess.
13:52I'd say it's, I mean, I can't imagine the atmosphere down there in Philly.
13:58Oh, it's not good.
13:59Well, I mean, there's been a lot of...
14:01But what do you do?
14:02What do you do, Gary?
14:03Do you just stay, you know, like you said, at Christmas?
14:07I would trade him B. I mean, I just don't think it's going to work.
14:11For whatever reason, they haven't been able to put it together down there.
14:15He had a run in with a reporter.
14:18I just don't think, I think he's a great player.
14:22I think it's, and I know that they're paying him a ton of money.
14:26He needs a new environment.
14:28He needs a new coach.
14:29I don't know how it works, but I would deal him.
14:32If I'm out with you, I would want to be traded.
14:35I would too.
14:36I would build around Maxie and see if somehow you can tank this year.
14:40Right.
14:41Honestly, I would tank this year.
14:43Yeah.
14:44Get picks.
14:45Right.
14:46Tank.
14:47Try to get Cooper Flagg.
14:48Or, again, this draft, guys, isn't all about Cooper Flagg either.
14:51This is a very, very strong draft at the top with Ace Bailey at Rutgers.
14:57You got a kid at Texas, Trey Johnson, who's terrific.
15:01You got Vijay Edgecombe at Baylor.
15:03There's a lot on the table at the top of this draft.
15:06So if I'm Billy, it's kind of like the Patriots for me.
15:10Like if I'm a Patriots fan, you want to lose every single game.
15:13Absolutely.
15:14There's no doubt.
15:17It's interesting to me.
15:18Whenever I hear Pat Riley's name, I see him.
15:20I always think of Bob Ryan sitting at Paul Westfall's pool, sharing libations, as the
15:27great Sean McDonough would say, drinking beers with Pat Riley and the rest of the Sixers.
15:32I mean, Sons in 1976.
15:35I grew up hating the Lakers, Bob.
15:38I have immense respect for Pat Riley.
15:40And I know he's not perfect.
15:42I know he's got a big ego, but I go, man, what that guy has done with multiple organizations
15:49really is something else.
15:51And he's getting a statue in Los Angeles, and it's about damn time.
15:56And quite frankly, I think he's a forgotten man when it comes to the Lakers, and I don't
16:00think it's fair.
16:01Well, you know, it goes way back.
16:05I mean, into the into the 80s, and so I can understand that.
16:11But his contribution to that team at the time that he took over, you know, he went from
16:19not being in basketball, he's a carpenter off in the offseason at one point, to sitting
16:23next to Chick Hearn, to then getting the job and presiding over Showtime, and bringing
16:33a whole spirit and attitude and wisdom to the job, absolutely.
16:41And the most amazing thing about him, though, to me, is the total reinvention of his style
16:47from the Showtime to the thug ball in New York.
16:51And I still maintain, I did once ask him, and he didn't want to go all the way there.
16:55But I'm sorry, that one play changed his entire life.
16:59And that was Kevin McHale taking down Kurt Rambis.
17:02And Celtics going from that point on to win that series by out physically, you know, that's
17:08the verb, but out muscling, pushing around the Lakers.
17:13And I'm sure Riley vowed, it ain't ever going to happen again under my watch for anywhere.
17:18And it hadn't, it never did.
17:19And of course, in New York, it went to the point where they were the extreme aggressors.
17:24But anyway, he reinvented himself.
17:25And not a lot of guys can do that, in any coaching in any sport, the way he did.
17:30And he did.
17:31But he's an interesting guy, you know, his background, you know, in Albany, he's the
17:36son of a minor league manager, you know, his father was a baseball lifer.
17:41And he was a overachieving 6'2 tweener, who jumped center for Rupp at Kentucky, by the
17:51way, and, you know, had the journeyman career in the NBA and got a ring with the 71, 72.
17:56Anyway, no, but I'm rambling.
17:59He's a very interesting guy.
18:00And then went and ended to go to become the executive he did in Miami.
18:04I mean, he's one of the most intriguing figures in the whole history of the National Basketball
18:08Association.
18:09Yes, absolutely.
18:11And he does deserve to be commemorated in LA.
18:13Yeah, I mean, you know, I just think so many kids these days have no idea what Pat Riley
18:22was as a coach.
18:24Like they just think about him building the Miami Heat, right?
18:27Like my nephews, like they don't know who Pat Riley was the coach.
18:33And I still kind of think back to like, if this guy had continued to coach, which I don't
18:40know what, why did he decide to be an executive instead of, because he, he was like in his
18:46early 60s, I think when he, when he did that, right?
18:49Yeah.
18:50You know, I don't know what that was all about necessarily.
18:52No, I don't.
18:53But yeah, but he was such a good coach.
18:57Like people, again, I guess what I'm trying to say is like the younger generation has
19:01no idea what this guy did as a coach.
19:04They think of him as, which he's done an incredible job of, right, building the culture in that
19:09Miami Heat organization to where as it lasts, no matter who's there, right?
19:14No matter what the name of the players are.
19:18And they've done an incredible job of developing players as well.
19:21I mean, who thought Spolstra, I mean, was anybody championing Spolstra?
19:25To me, look, he had great players in LA.
19:28We all know what he did.
19:30But to me, his greatest achievement was Eric Spolstra's the guy and we all went, huh?
19:36No, he identified, no, no question.
19:39He identified that young man at the time and Spolstra, who's now, you know, he can start
19:44preparing the speech someday in Springfield.
19:47He's going to Hall of Fame and Riley identified that he gets full credit for that.
19:52There's no question.
19:53I think back to Riley and the fun we had with him and his way of phrasing things back in
19:57the, you know, when he was in his glory in LA and helped us look at the game a little
20:03differently.
20:04And he talked about hidden agendas, remember that?
20:06That's his.
20:07He talked about the disease of me, you know, that you can't have the disease of me.
20:12He talked about how games are decided and these little outbursts, you know, of flurries,
20:18which he called skirmishes.
20:19Now, that conjures up little battles in the Revolutionary War to my head, you know, skirmish
20:25and a skirmish.
20:27But, you know, he was creative in that regard.
20:30And that's why it's a wonderful copy.
20:32Good.
20:33It was, of course, we all rhapsodize those of us who were around about how great the
20:3880s were.
20:39Just another example of how great the 80s were.
20:41We had we had Pat Riley to deal with.
20:43There's nothing like seeing a game live.
20:44I mean, watching it on TV is great.
20:45We have all the technology.
20:46We have our phones.
20:47We have access to everything.
20:48But being there in person is definitely the way to go.
20:52Game time has a new feature called Game Time Picks that makes getting tickets to see your
20:56favorite teams play live even easier.
20:59Game Time filters out the fluff to show you only incredible deals on great seats.
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21:19What time is it?
21:20It's game time.
21:22Some media news that we want to get to.
21:25I cannot remember if this has happened before, but inside the NBA with Ernie, Kenny, Charles
21:33and Shaq from TNT, we'll be moving to ESPN.
21:38What happened was, and I'm not going to get caught up in the minutia of all the legal
21:41aspects of Turner and ESPN going after the NBA, but what they said was, is Turner's going
21:48to get international games and then inside the NBA, which is a Turner product, is going
21:53to be shown on ABC and ESPN.
21:57I mean, Bob, this is, this is unprecedented.
22:02I'll be honest with you.
22:05They're good, but are they that good?
22:07Yes.
22:08Yes.
22:09Yes.
22:10Yes.
22:11Yes.
22:12Yeah, they are, Bob.
22:13Tell me.
22:14Tell me.
22:15What am I missing?
22:16Why?
22:17They're so entertaining.
22:18Like, if I watch NBA, whatever it is, Countdown or whatever on ESPN, I'm bored.
22:22I'm ready to fall asleep.
22:23I'm tired of listening to some of those dudes.
22:26I like Bob Myers, but I can't listen to Stephen A. I can't.
22:30He's not funny and he's not giving me anything.
22:33He's not giving me any information.
22:35Like Chuck, Shaq, Kenny, yes, they don't know all the names of the players, but I mean,
22:42they're just icons and they have fun with each other and they will be, you know what
22:47it is too?
22:48They don't give a shit.
22:49They will say exactly how they feel.
22:52Absolutely.
22:53I don't know about it, Bob.
22:56I get it.
22:57Like, yeah, I know what I'm saying, but you know, you know what guys, the TV guy will
23:03tell you, here's the key to it all.
23:06Kenny anchors it, right?
23:09Like Charles will say something and Ernie's got the greatest job in the world.
23:13He's the best.
23:14And he's the best.
23:15He's the perfect guy for it.
23:16Yes.
23:17And he's a very nice man.
23:18He's the perfect guy for it.
23:20But like, so Shaq and, you know, and Charles will do the thing, but whenever Kenny makes
23:25a point, you go, oh, okay.
23:30Very rarely is Kenny wrong.
23:32Yeah.
23:33And Chuck will say what, like, part of it is to, you know, again, I can't remember where
23:41you stand with Chuck.
23:42I feel like, Bob, you don't love Chuck over the years, but I will say this.
23:47He's like the nicest human being when you meet him in the world.
23:50He has time for anybody and everybody.
23:54And he says it the way he believes it.
23:57Now he's wrong on a lot of stuff.
24:01But at least I know, I know there's generally not much of an agenda.
24:08It's just, it's the way he, which is what I'm all about.
24:11I'm wrong about plenty of stuff too, but I'm going to let you know how I feel.
24:15I just have more respect for that than the guys that are up there trying to kiss ass.
24:22And Stephen is not bad.
24:23He's not always, although he's got an agenda.
24:25He's got an agenda.
24:26The agenda is him.
24:27Right.
24:28Let me tell you guys, I did a halftime show for 10 years with the Celtics.
24:32They're there for one reason, to play commercials.
24:35They're there to play commercials.
24:36I mean, they are.
24:37And, you know, I love Donnie Marshall.
24:39He and I had a blast together, but we all knew as soon as that buzzer went at the end
24:44of the half, everybody's going to the John, everybody's going to the fridge, nobody's
24:48sticking around.
24:49Right.
24:50And these guys make you stick around.
24:52They make you stick around.
24:53Now the post game's different.
24:55You know, the post game, if something big happened and they're good at this, if Bob's
24:59right, like if you're, if the post game, something went down, you better be ready to explain
25:03something.
25:04And they'll, they'll do that.
25:06But halftime is, it's all for commercials.
25:09I'll tell you.
25:10It's all for commercials.
25:11Well, I know two things.
25:12Number one, Jeff, I know I like Charles.
25:15I've always liked Charles.
25:16I'll never forget one time I wrote something back when he was with the Sixers and, and
25:21I couldn't believe that he knew about it.
25:23You know, this is the old days, you know, and, and, and, and thank me for saying something
25:28nice.
25:29I say he was the best all-around rebounder in the league at the time and he's barely
25:33six feet four.
25:34And anyway, I like Charles and I wanted him at the, at the hall of fame and he's always
25:40gracious.
25:41No, he's okay.
25:42I was just going to say something else, but he's okay.
25:45I like that.
25:46Well, no, I mean, I remember this story.
25:49I mean, Gary, Gary, this is, this phenomenon is, it is noteworthy.
25:57The idea of the, the, you know, the, what has taken place here, you know, you, you,
26:03you know, in the old days of the, when the studios ruled the movie world, you know, actors
26:09or actresses could be loaned out from one studio to the other for certain productions.
26:13I don't, you know, under what basis, you know, this is like calling back those days.
26:17This is it.
26:18This is the 2024 TV answer to what MGM and Paramount would have done in, in 1953 swapping
26:26or, or, you know, or Warner brothers.
26:28And I mean, it's amazing.
26:29I, it's a more power to, if they're that good, Hey, I missed, I'm going to, you know what?
26:34They're making me pay more attention now.
26:36What have I been missing?
26:38I, I'm, this is so okay.
26:40Yeah.
26:41It's, it's, I mean, real quick, I just remember on Charles, when Red Auerbach died, he made
26:50a point.
26:51He walked over and he went over to Tommy and he offered condolences, sat, offered condolences.
26:57He's just a good human being.
26:59He is.
27:00Yeah.
27:01But he's, he's not going to do that.
27:02He's not going to do the film where Kenny does.
27:04That's why Kenny has the pictures.
27:06You are tight on time, Jeff.
27:09Would you, do you have something to say about LeBron James?
27:11And then if you want to duck out, let's go, let's give Bob, let's give Bob the floor.
27:17Bob Love.
27:18Okay.
27:19Let's do that.
27:20Bob Love.
27:21And I've heard one of the, one of the many joys of doing a show with Bob Ryan is I get
27:27to hear him talk about all the teams that I grew up watching when I was like 10 years
27:31old in Rumford, Maine.
27:35The Bulls were one of them.
27:37And Bob Love was always one of those guys that played the Celtics and just could never
27:41get over the top.
27:42But he passed away, Bob, at 81.
27:45Bob Love was a 6'8 forward who in the category of all time players, he wasn't a Hall of Famer,
27:54but he's in the next level.
27:55He's the Hall of Very Good, right at the top of the list of the Hall of Very Good.
28:01And maybe he's, maybe he was underrated.
28:03Maybe I'm wrong.
28:04But let me just say, he had a six year run from 1969, 70 to 74, 75 of 20 points plus
28:10a game for six years in a row.
28:11I wonder how many guys in the league, be interesting to find out how many guys in the history of
28:15the league could say that, to have six straight years of 20 points a game or more, peaking
28:19with 26 in the 71, 72.
28:21Those Bulls teams, you know, he was the other, the other four was Chet Love, the guards were
28:25Sloan and Wendler, and the center was Tom Boerwinkle.
28:29And they, they were a methodical team coached by Dick Motta that, that ran a methodical
28:34offense and tight defense, and they were, they were miserable to play.
28:39You know, they were, you, you were going to be in for a grinding night every time you
28:43played them.
28:44Love was a wonderful scorer, mid range shooter, of course, nobody needed the three in those
28:48days.
28:49And, and, you know, he was very efficient then, that offense centered around those forwards.
28:55Just for people to know, those Bulls teams, starting in 1970, 71, they went 51 and 31,
29:00they lost to the Lakers in seven.
29:02The next year, they went 57 and 25, they lost to the Lakers in four.
29:06The next year, they went 51 and 31, they lost to LA in seven again, and then seventh game
29:10was a three point game, 95, 92.
29:13So you can imagine how frustrated they're getting at this point.
29:15The next year, they're 54 and 28, they, they're swept by Milwaukee.
29:19The next year, they're 47 and 35, and they lose to Golden State in seven, then game seven
29:25was a three point game.
29:27You talk about knocking on the door, like the Buffalo Bills, but they're not, but they
29:32were, they were a special group.
29:34I believe Dick Motter should be in the Hall of Fame.
29:36But anyway, Bob Love, now one thing I'll quickly, I didn't know when I was my first year covering
29:43and I went into the locker room to talk to, in the Bulls locker room to interview him.
29:49And I didn't know he was a colossal stutterer and, and he, but he, he was willing to try
29:54to work with you.
29:55But, you know, I was awkward.
29:57I was young.
29:58I was awkward.
29:59I was, I was, I was embarrassed that I had, you know, done this.
30:01I didn't, I should have, I wish I had known.
30:03I didn't know, you know, maybe you don't bother, want to bother Bob Love because he would,
30:09but he was a known major stutterer.
30:13And by the way, nickname Butterbean came from a childhood affinity for, as I said, for Butterbeans,
30:19but he should be remembered.
30:21It was a good guy and, and he was a really efficient player.
30:25And you know, so RIP Bob Love.
30:29Bob Ryan, you're the best.
30:30Jeff Goodman.
30:31Until next week, my friend.
30:33We will talk later and you've been brought to you by PrizePix, the exclusive daily fantasy
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30:41Gentlemen, see you next week.