KGMZ-FM / 95.7 THE GAME
  • 7 hours ago
Transcript
00:00Bob Fitzgerald is making his return to Willard & Dibbs on 95.7 The Game.
00:05Which is probably the biggest of all.
00:07Easily.
00:08And this will happen right here on the River Islands Guest Line.
00:11Hello Bob, how are you?
00:13I was hoping you guys could help me out with something.
00:16I saw Steph Curry speed away from Chase Center yesterday and toss out a
00:22Steinmetz, Franklin and Marshall jersey on the street.
00:24Do you know anything about that?
00:26Yeah, well we did have a conversation about whether or not it would make it
00:29out of Chase Center and which garbage can it would end up in.
00:33But it sounds like you're the one who has the clues that we should be following.
00:38Yeah, I mean, I just, you know, I think someone said,
00:40Hey, Steph, give me a jersey.
00:42And they weren't specific enough and he just gave them Steinmetz jerseys.
00:45So if you see Franklin or Marshall rocking around Thrive City, you'll know where it happened.
00:49It makes sense that he probably threw it into a trash can from 23 feet,
00:53nine inches and it was, you know, absolute bombs, right?
00:57Exactly, exactly.
01:00Ghibli for the win.
01:01Very good.
01:02That was excellent.
01:03Um, all right, Bob, what about, uh, what about Cominga tonight?
01:07What do you, what do you think this is going to look like?
01:09Okay, now I need you guys to just all, let's, you know, put our hands together
01:13and like one little team huddle.
01:15Okay.
01:15And everybody take a breath about Jonathan Cominga coming back for the love of God.
01:22He's missed two months.
01:24He's missed 33 games.
01:26They're 12 and two year.
01:28He's going to play what, you know, six, seven minutes, a half.
01:32And you're going to eat this guy back in.
01:33I mean, come on.
01:34That's everybody take a breath here.
01:36It's like, maybe you think Wilt was returning or something like it's great to have Cominga.
01:41The Warriors are better.
01:42He's a dynamic player, but let, you know, talk to me two weeks from now when he's,
01:47you know, back in rhythm and the team's figuring out how to play with them.
01:50And he's going to be in the second unit with Jimmy and all that kind of stuff.
01:53I don't expect anything spectacular tonight,
01:56other than a few less minutes for a loony or a GP two or something like that.
02:00As Steve kind of eases them back in.
02:02Well, Bob, no, I think we're with you there.
02:04I mean it more in terms of like, from a predictive standpoint,
02:08how do you look rusty as hell?
02:10Well, no, I'm not just talking tonight.
02:13I'm not just talking tonight.
02:14I mean, like, as Steve's put it to us earlier this week,
02:18he's rejoining a completely different team.
02:21So, I mean, it's fair to wonder how and in what way his game fits in.
02:29Well, yeah, it's totally fair.
02:30I'm just teasing you guys a little bit.
02:32The difference in the different team is that with the second unit before,
02:37Cominga was, they were running stuff through him because it was sort of like,
02:41give the ball to Cominga, get the hell out of the way,
02:44hope he can go to the rim and get fouled.
02:46And, you know, if he's triple team, throw it out to Buddy Heal,
02:48but he'll shoot a three or something.
02:49That was kind of the previous second unit.
02:53And so now you have Jimmy Butler as the handler and the initiator.
02:58You have Quentin Post as one of the spacers.
03:00You have Buddy Heal as one of the spacers.
03:03So now you can run two-man game with Jimmy and Cominga.
03:05You can put Cominga on the block.
03:07You know, when Butler and others get rebounds,
03:10Cominga can be that one-man fast break.
03:12You know, Pudzemski might play with that second unit at times.
03:15So now you have a second connector and a second ball handler.
03:18Like, J.K.'s coming back to a way better second unit opportunity,
03:23and he should make the most of it.
03:24Just play off of Butler and do what he says
03:28and watch him and just let him spoon feed you.
03:30So the whole idea of give it to Jonathan and, you know,
03:33get out of the way and hope things work out versus
03:36now you're playing with a higher IQ unit
03:39and Quentin Post is now a factor with another floor spacer.
03:42Like, that just gives more opportunity for Cominga to do damage getting downhill.
03:46So it's super exciting.
03:47It is, and I can't help but think about what Steve Kerr said to us
03:51earlier this week when we had him on the show
03:53and he talked about, you know, hustle plays and intangibles
03:56and all the other little things.
03:57Do you think that Jonathan is going to be ready, too?
04:00And I know tonight's going to probably be, like you said,
04:0312 minutes, maybe 14, whatever.
04:05But as he graduates into a more full-time role again,
04:09does he have it in his bag to contribute the way
04:12that they're going to need him to contribute?
04:15Well, you know, that's always a different learning curve
04:17for all young guys, Dibs, is that look at how Moses Moody is playing right now.
04:22And I'm going to steal from Steinmetz, actually.
04:24You guys said both shows were so good yesterday,
04:26having Steph out of chase and having different guys on.
04:30He said, you know, Moses Moody previously,
04:33it was all a barometer of how well he shot threes.
04:36You know, he came in and was like, okay, if he hit threes, what a great game.
04:38And if he didn't have threes, you know, what did Moody really do tonight?
04:42Now you watch Moody.
04:43He is a demon defensively.
04:46He's Mr. DeSantos part two in terms of hustle plays.
04:50He's out there on ball defense.
04:51He'll cut without the ball and get, you know,
04:53dunks and layups from Butler, and then he'll still hit threes.
04:57But you just see Moody's minutes and like, you know what?
04:59When he's out there, stuff's productive and stuff is good.
05:02And that's what you want to see with Kaminga is that
05:05I don't really care what his numbers look like at all.
05:08I just care if he's contributing and making winning plays.
05:12And the one area that I think is growth for him,
05:14not just this year, but just in his career, who can box out Jonathan Kaminga?
05:19Like if this guy had an offensive rebounding mindset, my God,
05:24he could crush things on the glass.
05:27And when you see him rebound and kick in,
05:30you're like, man, that makes the Warriors doubly dangerous
05:33because he's flying in with tip follows and slams
05:36and getting fouled on loose ball situations
05:39and going in and getting rebounds and laying the ball back in or dunking.
05:43Like those don't have to be plays or anything.
05:45That's just hustle in your own energy.
05:48And I steal from Jerry Sloan all the time.
05:51They've asked my Greg Oster tag.
05:53Oh, I'm not getting enough touches.
05:55We miss half our shots.
05:56Feel free to rebound and dunk any of the ones you want to.
05:59Go ahead.
06:01And that's true.
06:03Half the shots are going to be missed.
06:05Why is Kavon Looney such a great rebounder?
06:07Like, is he because he's such a big leaper and he's so quick?
06:11No, the guy's just relentlessly working to go after every rebound.
06:15Same thing with Keith Santos.
06:17So at this juncture, everyone that's playing,
06:20play like Podjemski, play like Keith Santos, play like Draymond,
06:24play like Jimmy Butler, because when the Warriors play like that,
06:28they're tough to deal with.
06:29And that gets you excited if they kind of push for the playoffs
06:32is that this energy level and the grit and the fortitude
06:36they're kind of playing with is exciting.
06:38And it's resulted in winning basketball.
06:40So, Bob, like, what is the big challenge with getting the guys to do that?
06:45And I say that as a dad of teenagers who understands
06:47that people don't just do what you tell them to do.
06:50But like, I know that Steve hammers that home to the guys.
06:55What's sort of the challenge in getting them to think more that way?
07:00Well, I mean, that's where you have such a good staff,
07:02like with Anthony Vereen and Jacob Rubin and our development coaches, Seth Cooper,
07:07is that you don't tell guys now today as much as you show them on video.
07:13You know, if you're ever there super early,
07:15each coach has an individual warm-up guy, an individual development guy.
07:18Bruce Frazier is Steph's guy.
07:20People see Bruce all the time.
07:22But in that warm-up routine, they'll go through shooting
07:24and they'll go through spots on the floor
07:26and they'll go through some skill development
07:28and warm up and just how you feeling.
07:30Then they sit down with a laptop
07:32and it's basically like, here's your last minutes
07:35or here's the plays we're running.
07:37You think you're playing hard or you think you're boxing out
07:39or you think you're getting back on defense
07:41or you think you're going to the glass?
07:43The video doesn't lie.
07:45It doesn't lie.
07:46And so when you show guys that,
07:49if you have any kind of competitor within you
07:52and you have any kind of personal ethos of wanting to be a winner,
07:56if the video isn't what you think you're doing,
08:00then you better ramp it up.
08:02You know, and I think that's the,
08:04and you find out, I mean, you see guys that are super competitive
08:08and the super competitive guys are winners.
08:11You know, 90% of life is showing up,
08:13but 90% of sports is playing to max effort.
08:18And that's the one thing with Kaminga coming back.
08:20It's another part of a deeper team
08:23where you can play with max effort.
08:25And if you're worn out, there's another warrior to check in for you.
08:29And you see GP2 playing so well.
08:31Buddy Heald has games where he's up and down, right?
08:33But the other night, Buddy Heald sprinting all the time,
08:36opened up the Warriors four game,
08:38and then Buddy was making shots and Buddy himself had seven assists.
08:42The one thing that Buddy Heald, good, bad, or indifferent,
08:44he always is playing hard.
08:47He's always, he's the first guy sprinting every single time.
08:51And that's a part of what you need to do all the time.
08:54So that's where Kaminga, I think, can fit in is,
08:58these guys aren't playing at 35 miles an hour anymore.
09:00These Warriors are winning.
09:03They're getting chased by teams in the playoff spot.
09:05They've moved from the 10th spot up to the sixth spot.
09:08Like there's no time for missteps right now,
09:11two or three losses in a row.
09:12And you're back in the play-in tournament like at nine or 10.
09:16And that's why tonight the Knicks, Denver, Milwaukee,
09:20like this stretch right now,
09:22this is going to be pretty rugged in the next couple of days.
09:26No doubt, Fitz.
09:27And you're right now in a flat tie with Minnesota,
09:29your percentage points ahead,
09:31but the margin for error is almost non-existent.
09:34But when you look at this team and you've got 17 more to go
09:38and hopefully a long playoff run,
09:40what about this team right now makes you wonder
09:43if it's going to be good enough to really advance deep?
09:47Well, I think you phrased it perfectly.
09:50And if you watch Denver and Minnesota last night,
09:54you got a good look at what the West is
09:56if you're not named OKC.
09:59OKC, Cleveland, and Boston aren't a different plane, okay?
10:03So let's just leave them aside.
10:06Memphis, Houston, Lakers, Minnesota,
10:10Denver, Warriors, Clippers,
10:13they could all beat each other.
10:16And so the scenario I look at is
10:19three-six matchup or four-five or whatever.
10:21The Warriors go on the road
10:23and they split the first two in Memphis
10:25or split the first two in Denver
10:27or split the first two in Houston.
10:31That will give them a chance where,
10:33wait a minute, they're 1-1 coming back to chase
10:36and it seems like we have to beat Steph Curry
10:38and Draymond and Jimmy Butler four times
10:40in the remaining games and stuff.
10:43Like that's the puncher's chance the Warriors have.
10:47And then if you can get there,
10:49you meet a team that's on a different plane right now
10:51and OKC, and then you gotta, you know,
10:54who's healthy, someone rolls an ankle,
10:56something's different,
10:58Steph has a 56-point game,
10:59like, you know, that's the choice.
11:01But there's no,
11:03I can throw a blanket over six teams in the West
11:06and tell me this team beat this team
11:07or this team beat the other team,
11:08but nothing is gonna be surprising
11:10as close as these games are right now.
11:12That's interesting.
11:13Okay, so you set aside OKC,
11:16but is anyone else in your mind
11:19like a matchup that you'd kind of like to avoid
11:22if you could in round one?
11:25No interest in playing the Lakers in round one.
11:27Yeah, yep, yep, yep.
11:28None.
11:30Even with Anthony Davis gone,
11:31like he was the guy that was such a tough matchup for them.
11:35Okay, now let's, you know,
11:36just the three of us talking here.
11:38Let's do it.
11:38Let's just, let's all live in the real world.
11:42Have you seen the officiating
11:43when it involves the Lakers
11:45with LeBron James and Luka Doncic
11:47in games that matter?
11:48Tell us about it.
11:49I don't want any part of that.
11:51Yeah, I don't want any part of that.
11:52That's an interesting way to put it.
11:54That's interesting.
11:55That's interesting.
11:56You know, I mean, it's like LeBron
11:58has the PA announcer foul him
12:00and shoot two free throws in a game.
12:01Like what happens to Steph
12:04where he's treated as a pinata,
12:06but then if you have a bad breath foul
12:08in the Lakers,
12:09Austin Reeves is going to the line again.
12:11Like, I'm sorry.
12:12I just, I want no part of that
12:13in the playoffs early on.
12:15Bob, why is that?
12:16You'll deal with it if you have to, but.
12:18No, but beyond the obvious,
12:20if we sound like homers here, whatever,
12:22like why would Steph Curry
12:24not garner the same protection
12:27that LeBron James gets?
12:29But it's not, it's not protection per se.
12:32It's reputation.
12:34And then Steph has never been
12:36and Clay wasn't either
12:37what you'd call a foul baiter,
12:40you know, where I'm going to snap my head back
12:42like James Hardener.
12:43I'm going to bump into somebody
12:44and act like I'm electrocuted
12:46and fall down and stuff.
12:47I mean, Steph plays basketball,
12:49you know, but the difference is
12:52off the ball guys,
12:53bear hug Steph Curry all day, every day.
12:57And that should be a foul all day,
13:00every day.
13:00And it never is.
13:02And why you're allowed to hug him
13:04and grab him and hold him all the time
13:07versus the level of contact
13:09that's not allowed for
13:10a lot of other quote superstars.
13:13I have no idea.
13:15I just know now that he's 26
13:17all time and scoring 25,000 points.
13:20And as the fewest free throws
13:21of any other elite score
13:22in the history of the sport.
13:23So, you know, it's not
13:25because he doesn't drive, by the way,
13:28that he doesn't go on the lane.
13:31Yeah.
13:31You know, go back to the three hit
13:33against New Orleans,
13:35you know, in the first championship run.
13:37And Anthony Davis lands
13:39like a building on top of them.
13:40That's not a man.
13:42One made three.
13:43Like, what were they
13:44looking at half the time?
13:46Yeah.
13:46And I do think that, you know,
13:48when he goes to the basket, Bob,
13:50the the way that he draws contact
13:52is such that referees are
13:55more likely to just let it go
13:57because he is more slight of build.
13:59And like you said,
14:00he doesn't snap his head back.
14:02And I just was looking
14:02at the all time list
14:04and he's 123rd all time
14:06in free throw attempts.
14:08He just passed Kevin Love,
14:09which good for him.
14:12Yeah, I just I just think for Steph,
14:15it's been something and it's,
14:17you know, the whether he's
14:19fouled shooting and this
14:20and that is one thing
14:21just tonight or any other night
14:23or if you happen to get to a game,
14:25watch Steph Curry off the ball
14:28and just watch him
14:29be absolutely mugged
14:31and held and bumped
14:33and knocked around all the time.
14:36And there's no other guy in the league
14:38that is treated that way, none.
14:41And if you wanted to,
14:42you could call 14 fouls
14:43on the first six possessions.
14:45When a team is trying
14:46to guard Steph Curry,
14:47but that would be
14:48really bad basketball.
14:49And we'd have what
14:50we had the other night
14:51against Detroit with 59 fouls
14:53and 77 free throws
14:55and wouldn't be that artistic.
14:57But, you know,
14:58you'll see stuff.
14:58I mean, like,
15:00look at the Brooklyn game
15:01where he got
15:02the intentional offensive foul.
15:04He did that because he had him.
15:06I don't know what Brooklyn
15:07was doing the first
15:08eight minutes of that game,
15:09but they're just bouncing
15:11all over the place.
15:12And Brooklyn played
15:12the first 12 minutes
15:13without being called
15:14for a single foul.
15:17The whole team.
15:20Shockingly, the Warriors
15:20were down 20.
15:22Yeah, then they, you know,
15:23then they came in.
15:23Basketball resumed
15:24and then the Warriors
15:25won the game.
15:25But, you know, I'm just saying
15:28teams are going to foul him
15:30until they're penalized.
15:31It's what loose.
15:32It's what Nick Saban did
15:33with Alabama's offensive line
15:35in the playoffs.
15:36I'm going to hold every play
15:38until they throw
15:39a holding penalty.
15:41And if they, if you can
15:43play stuff that way
15:44and it's not called,
15:45why would you stop?
15:47That's the whole issue.
15:50You know, his biggest
15:50scoring game was against
15:51Portland when he had 62.
15:53What was different
15:54about that game?
15:54He shot 18 free throws
15:56in that game.
15:56Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
15:58You know, but he doesn't
15:59have games like that.
16:00But if he was having 10,
16:0111 free throws a game,
16:03if he was Shea Gildas,
16:04Alexander or Harden
16:05or Luca or these guys,
16:07Steph would have 35 points
16:09a game, especially since
16:10he's a 93% free thrower.
16:13Um, Bob, great stuff,
16:14great stuff.
16:15And, uh, Warriors
16:17and Kings tonight
16:17will be a really,
16:18really fun one.
16:19Uh, the homestand
16:20gets really juicy,
16:22uh, the rest of the way.
16:23So looking forward to it.
16:24Thank you so much.
16:25Always good to hear you.
16:27And if we find the guy
16:28with the Steinmetz,
16:29Franklin and Marshall jersey,
16:30do we turn it in?
16:31Do we pay the guy off?
16:33Do we take it for ourselves?
16:34What do we do with it?
16:35Um, yeah, I think a selfie
16:38and then dealer's choice.
16:40Hey, when are we going to splash?
16:44You guys got to buy drinks.
16:46We're going to,
16:46we're going to be there
16:47next Thursday,
16:48doing our show,
16:49leading into the game
16:50against the Raptors.
16:51Come early and get some nachos.
16:56Wait a minute.
16:56Coletta and Fitz are
16:57liquored up at splash pregame.
16:58Is that,
16:59that's going to be the storyline?
17:01At least not showed up.
17:02I mean, that's,
17:03that's legal, isn't it?
17:06All right, guys,
17:06have fun tonight.
17:07Great hearing your voice.
17:08Right on, Fitz.