WEBVTT

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<v Speaker 1>Keith Smith from sport Rack spot Rack rather for a

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<v Speaker 1>long time. You can follow him on Twitter or on

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<v Speaker 1>x at Keith Smith NBA joins us here on ex'es

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<v Speaker 1>and bros. On this Friday morning. Keith, appreciate the time.

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<v Speaker 1>How are you, my friend?

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<v Speaker 2>I'm doing one.

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<v Speaker 3>I appreciate the Beasty boys coming back.

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<v Speaker 1>Yes, I'm bad, let's go. Yeah, it's not bad. It's

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<v Speaker 1>a good way to kickstart the weekend. So they named

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<v Speaker 1>the reserves last night, and you know this, and you'll

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<v Speaker 1>talk to a lot of your colleagues and a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of players about this. Anytime you get these type of accolades,

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<v Speaker 1>these types of votes, you're going to have snubs involved

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<v Speaker 1>all the time. We don't necessarily have to dwell on that,

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<v Speaker 1>although I do think Sabonis got totally jobbed Caid Cunningham

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<v Speaker 1>getting there for the first time as a Piston, in

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<v Speaker 1>the first Piston since twenty nineteen. Why do you think

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<v Speaker 1>he's so deserving like we do here in Detroit.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, he's played really well himself. And obviously part of

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<v Speaker 3>what factors into this with the reserve vote, because the

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<v Speaker 3>coaches vote for that, is his team performance. Fact that

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<v Speaker 3>the team has played pretty well. I know they're on

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<v Speaker 3>a little bit of a slide right now, but they're

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<v Speaker 3>battling around five hundred fighting for a playoff squad.

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<v Speaker 2>He's really earned it.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, he's more efficient, which is shocking. They put

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<v Speaker 3>a roster that makes sense around him, and he's playing better.

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<v Speaker 3>But you know, he's really, you know, taking a major

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<v Speaker 3>step forward this year.

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<v Speaker 1>Why should it matter how well a team is doing

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<v Speaker 1>if a player is getting into an All Star Game?

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<v Speaker 1>Do you think?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 3>I think it's one of those things where it is

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<v Speaker 3>kind of a tiebreaker and by the time you're getting

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<v Speaker 3>down to those last couple of spots in each conference,

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<v Speaker 3>it is all right, we gotta you know, you got

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<v Speaker 3>to do something to differentiate these guys. They all have

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<v Speaker 3>good individual stats, and I think a lot of people

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<v Speaker 3>start looking at and saying, all right, who's winning more?

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<v Speaker 2>You know who.

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<v Speaker 3>Goes and again with the coaches, they value that, They

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<v Speaker 3>value guys that are driving winning. For example, a guy

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<v Speaker 3>like LaMelo Ball, he has great stats, but his team

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<v Speaker 3>is terrible, and the coaches are going to look at

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<v Speaker 3>that and say, yeah, but it's not like he is,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, overwhelmingly great stats that he needs to be

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<v Speaker 3>in the game. So we're we're going to push forward

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<v Speaker 3>with you know, guys who will learned it. There's also

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<v Speaker 3>a sense to with teams, you know, like the Houston Rockets.

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<v Speaker 3>They've played so well in the Western Conference, it was

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<v Speaker 3>going to be very hard to say, yeah, he played great,

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<v Speaker 3>but you don't have a single All Star even though

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<v Speaker 3>you've got the third best record in the league. Like,

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<v Speaker 3>that's going to be very hard. You have to justify.

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<v Speaker 3>So that's part of the reason that happens.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, Devin Booker is another really good example, uh DeVonta Sabonis,

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<v Speaker 1>two teams that as of right now would be on

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<v Speaker 1>the latter stages of reaching postseason play, but they would

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<v Speaker 1>and Booker's got really good numbers. Sabonis leads the league

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<v Speaker 1>in double doubles. That that whole debate rages on. It

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<v Speaker 1>continues in all sports, it's not just the NBA. Keith

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<v Speaker 1>Smiths from Spotrack joining us here on Exes and Bros.

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<v Speaker 1>On this Friday morning. What is it you think is

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<v Speaker 1>important about the NBA All Star Weekend in general?

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<v Speaker 3>It's a chance to celebrate the game. I think people

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<v Speaker 3>kind of have taken it too far that the game

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<v Speaker 3>itself is bad I look at it. So let's let's

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<v Speaker 3>use the Kid Cunningham as an example. Guys are out

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<v Speaker 3>there going to, you know, full hundred percent effort and

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<v Speaker 3>Kid Cunningham suffers an injury. That rest of the rest

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<v Speaker 3>of the Pistons season, no one's going to be happy, right,

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<v Speaker 3>and everything to be like in this game, that didn't matter.

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<v Speaker 3>You know, why were you playing so hard?

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<v Speaker 2>Now?

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<v Speaker 3>It doesn't need to turn into the complete circus that

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<v Speaker 3>it's been, excuse me, the last couple of years. That's

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<v Speaker 3>the problem. So I think what we're seeing is the

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<v Speaker 3>league is trying to find ways to find a happy

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<v Speaker 3>medium there where guys can play harder, but guys don't

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<v Speaker 3>have to go all out and we can have a

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<v Speaker 3>better product. But really it's about let's celebrate the game.

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<v Speaker 3>Let's have a little fun. But you'll get this mid

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<v Speaker 3>season break in and then you'll get back added after

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<v Speaker 3>that and for the start run.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I respect that, and I think you're right about that.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's celebrate the game. It's important going hard. Just that

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<v Speaker 1>type of phrase bothers me a little bit because don't

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<v Speaker 1>expect me to pay one hundred percent for guys who

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<v Speaker 1>are just going to it's just a showcase. That's all

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<v Speaker 1>it is. It's to show off some skills, high high skills,

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<v Speaker 1>and that's fine as long as we admit what it is.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not really a game, and obviously it doesn't matter.

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<v Speaker 1>So I wouldn't want Cad Cunningham, if you're a Detroit

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<v Speaker 1>Pistons fan, to get injured by any stretch. But I'm

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<v Speaker 1>just not sure of the whole purpose for it. I

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<v Speaker 1>think baseball is really the only All Star game that

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<v Speaker 1>is worth the damn anyway, so basketball is not alone

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<v Speaker 1>in that regard. When you see the Pistons from a national,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a high level scope here, What do you

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<v Speaker 1>like about what JB. Bickerstaff has done with this team

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<v Speaker 1>to make them so much better than that god awful

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<v Speaker 1>season of a year ago.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I think this one's really simple.

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<v Speaker 2>They're just more organized on both ends of the floor.

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<v Speaker 3>You don't see all of the kind of chaot a

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<v Speaker 3>defensive scrambling around, running around. Nobody's on the same page.

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<v Speaker 3>Guys are all over the place. And then on offense,

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<v Speaker 3>they are really they know what they want to run,

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<v Speaker 3>they know who they are. They run good stuff. They've

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<v Speaker 3>run good stuff late in games too. That win over

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<v Speaker 3>the Knicks in New York, where kid Cunningham, you know, really.

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<v Speaker 2>Accepted the double team and it was.

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<v Speaker 3>Coming and got off the ball and they got it

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<v Speaker 3>move in and got a couple open.

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<v Speaker 2>Shots like that. Those are the things that are.

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<v Speaker 3>Huge for this team going forward. So yeah, I think

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<v Speaker 3>that's the big thing. They're just more organized. They play

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<v Speaker 3>a more reasonable brand of basketball now, and some of

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<v Speaker 3>that is the roster as well. That they've put better

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<v Speaker 3>shooting around guys, guys that are veteran players who know

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<v Speaker 3>what they're doing. But all around, it's a far better

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<v Speaker 3>product in Detroit.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, Keith, It's interesting. I think if you're not

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<v Speaker 1>following the league in general, and you do, you're watching

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<v Speaker 1>more than just one game. We in Detroit or the

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<v Speaker 1>state of Michigan are probably watching just the Piston play.

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<v Speaker 1>You get a better sense of who the really good

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<v Speaker 1>teams are and why they're that good. We look at

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<v Speaker 1>standings and say, well, Cleveland's number one in the East,

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<v Speaker 1>Oklahoma City's number one in the West, they've got to

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<v Speaker 1>be the best teams. I look a little bit deeper,

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<v Speaker 1>I see some of the other numbers that are associated

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<v Speaker 1>with it. Do you think those two teams are as

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<v Speaker 1>legitimate as their records would indicate, and who would be

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<v Speaker 1>the biggest threats in each of the conference to those

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<v Speaker 1>two teams if you feel that way.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I think they are legitimate. I think those two

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<v Speaker 3>teams have played really, really well and we've seen it

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<v Speaker 3>coming with both of them over the last couple of years.

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<v Speaker 3>Both franchises is kind of taken the traditional path of

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<v Speaker 3>get into postseason kntanting, get into the playoffs, be more

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<v Speaker 3>competitive in the playoffs, and then it advance into being

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<v Speaker 3>real contenders. And that's where they both are right now.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean the Thunder they're doing historic level stuff. Up

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<v Speaker 3>until a couple of days ago where they slipped a bit,

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<v Speaker 3>they had a historic scoring margin that was one of

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<v Speaker 3>the best we've ever seen in NBA history because they're

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<v Speaker 3>just you know, blowing teams out left the right, and

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<v Speaker 3>the Cavaliers aren't far behind.

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<v Speaker 2>All that said, they have come back to earth a

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<v Speaker 2>little bit.

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<v Speaker 3>These are not going to be seventy win teams that

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<v Speaker 3>that feel very clear now. And the teams behind them

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<v Speaker 3>in the East, Boston's right there and they're the defending

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<v Speaker 3>champs and they're going through what every defending champ does,

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<v Speaker 3>which is just get us back to the playoffs. These

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<v Speaker 3>games are you know, we do. We got to get

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<v Speaker 3>through them to get a win, enough of them, but

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<v Speaker 3>get there.

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<v Speaker 2>And then in the West, you've got Denver is.

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<v Speaker 3>Still lurking, the Lakers are there with their star guys,

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<v Speaker 3>the Mavericks are playing better, they're going to get luc

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<v Speaker 3>And back, and Timberwles are finally starting to put it together.

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<v Speaker 2>So there's gonna be challenges.

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<v Speaker 3>To the Thunder. And I think the big thing that

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<v Speaker 3>happens in the NBA, until you prove you can win

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<v Speaker 3>the big series and get there, we're going to have

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<v Speaker 3>a little bit of hesitation, and that's kind of where

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<v Speaker 3>we're at with both the Calves and the Thunder.

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<v Speaker 1>I think what's interesting too in the West, at least

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<v Speaker 1>you're right, the Lakers have come on strong. They've won

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<v Speaker 1>seven of their last ten. They're the only team in

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<v Speaker 1>the top five in the West who have a minus

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<v Speaker 1>point differential. It's very slim, but it's a minus point differential.

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<v Speaker 1>We see the incredible amount of numbers being put up

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<v Speaker 1>by teams in terms of three point shooting, and you've

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<v Speaker 1>written and spoken about this before. What is the biggest

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<v Speaker 1>issue you think the league has fans have and do

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<v Speaker 1>players and or coaches have with the amount of falling

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<v Speaker 1>in love with a three point opportunity.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I think from the player and coach side, I

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<v Speaker 3>don't ever hear any of them complain about its. Lebron

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<v Speaker 3>James had a couple of things to say, but he's

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<v Speaker 3>always kind of been that way because he's never been

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<v Speaker 3>a big three point volume guy himself, even though he

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<v Speaker 3>is starting to take more of them as his career

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<v Speaker 3>has gone along. I think, you know, from the fans side,

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<v Speaker 3>it's to your point, a lot of fans are watching

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<v Speaker 3>one game a night, so one team that there was

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<v Speaker 3>watching issuing a bunch of three pointers. Then they start

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<v Speaker 3>making all these statements, Well, everybody plays the exact same way,

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<v Speaker 3>and this CEO it's boring because it's just a bunch

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<v Speaker 3>of three point shots going off and there are a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of three pointers. I'm not gonna, you know, pretend

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<v Speaker 3>that they're armed. But the problem is, I don't know

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<v Speaker 3>what people are pining for. Do they want people taking

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<v Speaker 3>less efficient shots and missed just as often because the

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<v Speaker 3>spacing and defense is tighter on them. I drew up

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<v Speaker 3>on the NBA of the eighties and the nineties, and

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<v Speaker 3>if you go back and rewatch those games, you're gonna

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<v Speaker 3>laugh at just how bad it is.

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<v Speaker 2>It's, you know, it's a bunch.

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<v Speaker 3>It's seven eight guys all standing within ten feet of

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<v Speaker 3>the paint, and it's it's almost how did we ever

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<v Speaker 3>get a shot off here? And the offense is just

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<v Speaker 3>really really bad. The games were slow paced. It just

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<v Speaker 3>wasn't a super watchable product. A lot of it, I

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<v Speaker 3>think comes down to nostalgia. It's still there. And then

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<v Speaker 3>I think the bigger chunk of it, too, is everyone's

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<v Speaker 3>trying to solve for people not watching as much. People

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<v Speaker 3>aren't watching any sports as much as they used as

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<v Speaker 3>they were a while ago.

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<v Speaker 2>Even the NFL has fallen off now there's so far.

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<v Speaker 1>Not by much, so not by much my NFL and

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<v Speaker 1>the NFL is still there's still the top ten programs

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<v Speaker 1>on those days, not even close, but it's still.

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<v Speaker 3>Less right, Like it's like they can mose a lot

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<v Speaker 3>and not even feel it right. And if that's the thing,

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<v Speaker 3>I think that people are trying to find an answer,

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<v Speaker 3>and some of these things are just they're just a lot.

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<v Speaker 3>There's a lot of other soft to watch in the NDIA.

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<v Speaker 3>It's not a definition viewing either.

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<v Speaker 1>No, it's really it's not that's the problem. No. I

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<v Speaker 1>agree one hundred percent with you, and you bring up

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<v Speaker 1>some interesting things because I can call my cell phone.

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<v Speaker 1>I think self reflection is really important. I was a

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<v Speaker 1>product of the eighties and nineties as well. I thought

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<v Speaker 1>it was better basketball. I thought those guys could shoot better.

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<v Speaker 1>I would rather see you know, George gervin late seventies,

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<v Speaker 1>early eighties. I'd rather see Alex English. I'd rather see

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<v Speaker 1>guys like that shoot than some of the shots that

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<v Speaker 1>are taken. So I think you're right about that though,

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<v Speaker 1>I really do. I think because we're not watching every

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<v Speaker 1>single game like you are. But I would say forty

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<v Speaker 1>eight and a half three point attempts per game is

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<v Speaker 1>a lot, and it's one thing you're shooting him. It's

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<v Speaker 1>another thing if you're making them. And there are certain

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<v Speaker 1>teams that really aren't making them. And I think that's

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<v Speaker 1>where a lot of people it's almost like settling, you know.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think there was a pace of I don't

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<v Speaker 1>look at length of games. So we just had this conversation.

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<v Speaker 1>It's interesting, Keith, because Adam Silver was on Dan Patrick's show,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know if it was this week or last week,

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<v Speaker 1>talking about the NBA and how they're possibly going from

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<v Speaker 1>twelve minutes per quarter to ten minutes per quarter, and

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<v Speaker 1>he used an asinine example of Major League Baseball. When

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<v Speaker 1>Major League Baseball's average game before they changed the rules

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<v Speaker 1>with three hours and six minutes, the NBA average game

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<v Speaker 1>is about two and a half hours. It's still the

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<v Speaker 1>fastest game. Why do you need to change it? Why

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<v Speaker 1>are they always chasing? Why not just embrace who they

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<v Speaker 1>are except who they are and move forward and try

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<v Speaker 1>to like lessen some timeouts if you want, by coaches

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<v Speaker 1>and make fouls more important. Don't have men as many fouls.

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<v Speaker 1>Why do you have to change everything? Or in terms

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<v Speaker 1>of the time and stuff.

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<v Speaker 3>I am one hundred percent with you. I think changing

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<v Speaker 3>to ten minute quarters is it's a joke. That would

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<v Speaker 3>be the equivalent to Major League Baseball saying, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>games are only going to be seven innings now, right,

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<v Speaker 3>like they did for double or something?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, sure, And I kind of gob why in the

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<v Speaker 3>you know, COVID impacted seasons, they did what they did

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<v Speaker 3>with those and all of that stuff. But I'm saying,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, well, we're in our regular environment. But I

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<v Speaker 3>think here's the challenge for the NBA too, is you

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<v Speaker 3>can if you want to shorten the lengths of games,

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<v Speaker 3>not the link of the game itself, but the length

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<v Speaker 3>of the overall time investment. You know, like you said

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<v Speaker 3>timeouts reviews, limit them to sixty seconds. If you can't

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<v Speaker 3>figure it out in sixty seconds, false stands. We move

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<v Speaker 3>on and we play like you know, what the thinks happened?

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<v Speaker 3>You know, And if somebody wants to get down to

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<v Speaker 3>the you know, you know, one hundred million times magnified

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<v Speaker 3>in to see who have all went out of bounds

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<v Speaker 3>off of like what are we doing anyway? You know,

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<v Speaker 3>let's just keep moving on. So I think those are

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<v Speaker 3>the things you can do. A lot of fans said,

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<v Speaker 3>why don't you just simply start.

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<v Speaker 2>Games on time?

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<v Speaker 3>If you say game tips at eight o'clock, why isn't

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<v Speaker 3>tipping at eight fifteen? You know, if that's your worry,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, there it is. You know, there's fifty more

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<v Speaker 3>minutes back. You sure know all this sort of stuff

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<v Speaker 3>without changing the fundamentals of the game. Because the other

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<v Speaker 3>thing is you cut eight minutes off a game you're

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<v Speaker 3>gonna then teams are going to completely approach roster building differently.

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<v Speaker 3>They're gonna say, hey, yeah, we can go super top

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<v Speaker 3>heavy because you know what, we only need six or

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<v Speaker 3>seven guys to get through this, so let's go really

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<v Speaker 3>top heavy, and then we'll you know, never play the

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<v Speaker 3>other guys on the bench. Like it just gets You're

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<v Speaker 3>going to change it too much for me that when

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<v Speaker 3>there's a lot of more simple fixes to accomplish that,

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<v Speaker 3>and if having to fit everything into a two hour

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<v Speaker 3>window too. I had at that part. I you know,

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<v Speaker 3>I'm just not sure why you know that is. I'm

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<v Speaker 3>sure they have, me know, all kinds of metrics that

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<v Speaker 3>tell them that's better, but it just seems like we're

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<v Speaker 3>overdoing it a little bit.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah.

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<v Speaker 1>I agree. If he's going to use the example of

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<v Speaker 1>college basketball, I said, just go to two halves then

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<v Speaker 1>instead of four quarters. They won't do that because of

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<v Speaker 1>the TV money and the number of timeouts. Keith Smith

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<v Speaker 1>from Spotrack joining us here. You can bomb on Twitter

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<v Speaker 1>at Keith Smith dot NBA and he's only got a

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<v Speaker 1>minute left for us. But I did want to ask

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<v Speaker 1>you in general, I want your opinion on why or

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<v Speaker 1>why not the NBA is in a really good place

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<v Speaker 1>right now in terms of the sports land cape landscape.

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<v Speaker 3>Yeah, I think I think one of the reasons why

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<v Speaker 3>is that I don't know that the league's ever been

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<v Speaker 3>more flushed with talent across the board. And again, you know,

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<v Speaker 3>I think, you know, we had super duper stars, you

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<v Speaker 3>know when I was growing up, you know, the guys

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<v Speaker 3>that are all you know, the Hall of Fame legend.

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<v Speaker 3>But if you look across the board, are there bad teams?

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<v Speaker 3>Sure there's bad teams, but there's always been bad teams.

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<v Speaker 3>There's bad teams every year. But you you know, every

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<v Speaker 3>team seem to have at least one or two guys

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<v Speaker 3>that if they're not there already, you can't kind of say,

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<v Speaker 3>all right, they're going to be there in a year

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<v Speaker 3>or two. And that that's great. Where we're in a

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<v Speaker 3>small where there was real worries the Lebron's was moving

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<v Speaker 3>on eventually who's next, And now we've got you know,

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<v Speaker 3>seven or eight guys to pick from. That it feels

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<v Speaker 3>pretty good about that. It's you know, here we go

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<v Speaker 3>and there's more of them coming, you know, including in

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<v Speaker 3>this next draft and the draft after that, So that

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<v Speaker 3>that's a great place. Why is it not in great shape?

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<v Speaker 3>Is Yeah, I think I think the NBA's single biggest

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<v Speaker 3>fundamental problem is they're partners who cover the game on TV,

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<v Speaker 3>which you know drives how a lot of the perceptions

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<v Speaker 3>of the league. They crap on it all the time,

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<v Speaker 3>and that's to me, that is a huge problem when

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<v Speaker 3>you have your partners on ESPN and tn T and

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<v Speaker 3>other places continually dumping on the game and saying it's

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<v Speaker 3>not as good and these guys aren't actually good and

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<v Speaker 3>these teams are all actually bad even when they're winning.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, I've watched the Kendrick Kerkins, you know, say

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<v Speaker 3>the Celtics weren't good all of last season when they

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<v Speaker 3>were historically good. It just doesn't make sense to me

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<v Speaker 3>because if you're going to continually if you tell me, yeah,

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<v Speaker 3>that TV show is really bad, it's really bad, you

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<v Speaker 3>know what, I'm not going to do watch that TV show, right,

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<v Speaker 3>you know, And that's you know, I think a huge

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<v Speaker 3>problem that the weak have to fix it has a

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<v Speaker 3>real opportunity here, and they bring in some new TV partners.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, I think that's a really good point. The way

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<v Speaker 1>to fix that is, don't watch that joke of a station.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the way you fix it, because yeah, because all

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<v Speaker 1>that is you know this, Keith, I'm not telling you anything.

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<v Speaker 3>You don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>All that is is sports talk radio on TV, and

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<v Speaker 1>I am just trying to get clicks and I'm just

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<v Speaker 1>trying to get people to notice me and talk about me.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't truly believe it. If that's how he believed

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<v Speaker 1>last year. And I don't know because I don't watch it,

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<v Speaker 1>But if that's how he believed, then that tells you

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<v Speaker 1>about the credibility. He should not be doing it in

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<v Speaker 1>the first place. Just because you played doesn't mean you know.

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<v Speaker 1>I really appreciate all your knowledge. Thanks for the insight.

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<v Speaker 1>I enjoyed the conversation very much. Have a great weekend

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<v Speaker 1>and continued success for the time, Blake.

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<v Speaker 3>I appreciate it, and thank you so much for having

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<v Speaker 3>me