00:02and it is time to head out to the
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00:10Hollywood dot com Joe thank you
00:12Woody Ron Rothstein FanDuel Sports
00:14Network longtime NBA assistant and
00:17head coach joins us this morning
00:19Ron I didn't look it up how many
00:21years you end up in the NBA that
00:23pension must be unbelievable how many
00:25years you get
00:31uh I don't know I started uh 40
00:34something years ago I guess man you
00:37maxed it out now they look at you
00:39maxed out that pension man the NBA they
00:42had to put in the Ron Rothstein
00:43pension for you man it's so long that's
00:45good stuff hey Ron yeah well you know
00:48go ahead Joe I'm sorry no no no I just
00:51uh hey we got two personalities we had
00:53maybe our worst loss of the season
00:55against the Pacers and last night I saw
00:58the guys after game said might have
01:00been our best effort all year how does
01:03that happen and it's kind of been the
01:04personality this team that's a few games
01:06over 500 I'm just trying to figure it
01:09out because I love that team that played
01:10last night
01:12yeah well you know desperation brings on
01:16a certain level of uh want okay if you
01:21really care and our guys care you know
01:24we have really good guys and um our guys
01:28care and they were embarrassed and they
01:31owned it yeah plain and simple you know
01:34and then they came back look last night's
01:37game was it was hell of a game I mean to
01:40close it the way we did the last three
01:41minutes like 16 to 2 or whatever yeah
01:44that's that's a great great way to win
01:47basketball games because a lot of games
01:48didn't go down to the wire and to be able
01:50to come through when when needed in the
01:53clutch that that's that's a good sign
01:56you know what Tyler hero last night I I
01:59just thought listen I they're paying
02:01him good money for a reason it's not
02:02like I'm surprised I just love his whole
02:05game going to the basket both hands
02:08finishing and then hits those threes has
02:0912 in the fourth quarter I know this
02:12man kind of thing with D Wade and UD on
02:14this team like you guys got to find a way
02:16to close these games out late and boy last
02:18night with a little Larson in there a
02:21little Hawkins in there really getting
02:23it done as you said that 16 to 2 run
02:26after having a 15-point lead then
02:28they're down for three and a half
02:30minutes but boy they closed it out and
02:32they they look like a playoff team last
02:34night yeah and and Philly have been
02:38playing really well you know they got
02:40Embiid back they got Paul George back
02:42Max he's playing he had been out Philly
02:45has gone through their own yes they have
02:47you know tough luck this season with
02:51injuries but it's a crazy game Joe from
02:56one night to the next you never know you
02:58just never know well you know I like
03:00last night they didn't shoot threes that
03:02well but they're going to the basket
03:04they're good passes the just aggressive
03:06play in the paint last night I think they
03:08end up like 60 points in the paint last
03:10night it was just it was just a great
03:13effort that that you like to see I'm
03:16just curious how do you look at this
03:17team from night to night when you go to
03:19the arena especially for these home
03:21games I'm always curious on on what it's
03:25going to look like well the record will
03:30tell you you never know you're never
03:32going to know the truth of the matter is
03:37we have done very well for the most part
03:40against the sub-500 teams right and we
03:43haven't done that well against the plus
03:46500 teams that's concerning because you
03:50you're not you're not playing any bad
03:52teams in the playoffs or the play-in game
03:54but look you know we got six games left
03:59and anything can happen if you look at
04:01the standings it's just it's just crazy
04:04plus one of the teams that's ahead of us
04:07Toronto we got a two in Toronto next
04:09week right you know that are going to be
04:12huge but every game is going to be huge
04:17because Toronto Orlando Philly Atlanta
04:22Charlotte and us we're all within like two
04:24or three games for one another right so
04:27anything could really happen between now
04:30and the end of next week but the way we play
04:36now with the pace we play at okay it's
04:42just if you do the math it's just there's
04:44going to be more possessions there's going
04:46to be more shots there's going to be more
04:49shots for the other team some other teams
04:53try and slow us down a little bit other
04:55teams who will play with us in our pace
04:59if you're not going to be good offensively
05:02your defense is going to struggle
05:05that's just the way it is in the game
05:08because if you're not good offensively the
05:11other team is rebounding and running back
05:13at you you're playing in transition all the
05:16time historically transition defense is the
05:20weakest part of a team's defense it's not a
05:23great way to go so if you're not having a
05:27good night offensively and if you're
05:30shooting threes and they're not going in
05:32yep and it's a lot of long rebounds the
05:34ball's going the other way so it's been a
05:37bit of a roller coaster ride but if you go
05:41back a couple of years in the play-in game
05:44we almost lost the first the first play-in
05:47game that's right and we came back we went
05:49all the way to the finals you you just
05:52never know when a team is going to click
05:54you know you show up every night every game
05:57has its own identity every team has its own
06:00identity and you you go out to win and you let
06:04the chips fall where they may now having said
06:07that as you know being a pro football player
06:11there's so much that's involved in how your
06:14team plays all the little things okay and a lot
06:18of these little things have been slipping
06:20lately and that's why last night's win was
06:23such a a great mental health win more than
06:27anything else yeah no I uh I can uh listen
06:31spo I I feel the frustration knowing that
06:34especially the way he wants to defend and and
06:37when you give up the 70 points that we've
06:39seen in some of the halves here recently of
06:41uh basketball I'm I'm guessing the frustration
06:44is maxed out hey uh I gotta ask you I'm
06:46always curious you've seen everybody in the
06:48league now um they're gonna be a lot of talk
06:51and all the teams with really good players
06:53are gonna start pumping their guy up for the
06:56MVP and your MVP to this point the guy that's
07:01done the most for his team in this league who
07:04would that be from coast to coast for you who
07:06do you like well if you go back to the
07:10beginning of the season at the start of the
07:12season the team that has the best record
07:15who no one thought would be up there because
07:19Jason Tatum is out is Boston yeah and look
07:25where they are man the guy who's been there
07:27rock is Jalen Brown so I I look SGA is great
07:37Jokic uh he's um these guys are just great
07:41players you can find a lot of them but you
07:45expect it from those guys and they're produced
07:48so yeah you got to think about them but to be
07:52who Boston is to me is sort of amazing I think
07:56it's a it's it's a tribute to that that
07:58organization that coaching staff but they
08:02wouldn't be there without Jalen Brown right
08:03now yeah he's just been he's been
08:06unbelievable and the way Tatum's come back
08:08can kind of fit in I was I was wondering how
08:10that was going to work out I know they lost
08:12to Atlanta uh yesterday but uh but that's a
08:16nice he didn't play Tatum Tatum didn't play
08:18oh Tatum didn't play in the game so he'll be
08:20back and he should be ready to play against
08:22Boston but um this uh that team I'm with you
08:2650 wins so far on the season for them and uh
08:29they got a chance they got a chance to come
08:31out of the east uh what do you like coming
08:33out of the east potentially
08:36well I'm really amazed and I'm a little
08:41surprised how well Detroit is playing without
08:44Cade Cunningham me too now I've seen that
08:48happen I remember um the year after we won
08:52our first championship and uh the first game
08:56after the all-star break uh we're in Houston
09:02and and Dwayne tore up his shoulder and we
09:07lost him for almost almost two months but as
09:12soon as he went out and prior to the all-star
09:14break we had won seven out of eight and I
09:18remember because I was coaching Pat had
09:20surgery so I remember every win I got
09:24there weren't that many oh you're beautiful
09:29you are beautiful wait wait but but here this
09:32is this is I think this is interesting so before
09:35the all-star break Dwayne was playing at an
09:38incredible level just like he did in in the
09:42championship uh series against Dallas the
09:45year before he was averaging like 30 a game and
09:48we were playing really really well and then and
09:51then after the all-star break he hurts himself in
09:55that game he goes down but Shaq had come back
09:58Shaq had been out now Shaq came back and he was
10:01getting rolling we won nine straight without
10:04Dwayne wow but but that reality set in in the
10:09playoffs and he was he was he was far from
10:15being a hundred percent and we got swept in the
10:17first round by Chicago so regular season one thing
10:21playoffs another thing yeah but I am I am really
10:25really surprised uh about Detroit and how well um and
10:29I think I think they beat OKC I didn't stay up they
10:32were ahead of OKC in OKC last night yeah I didn't I
10:37didn't even take a look but uh I'll tell you what Ron
10:40it's gonna be a fun to see how this thing finishes up and
10:43and who shows up as well you know Pat Riley sitting back
10:47watching this whole thing and uh really curious to see how
10:50it's uh all gonna play out by the way I gotta tell you uh
10:53Larson has been a great great story man the way he's playing
10:57quietly he's good like he had 20 points last night just uh solid as a rock
11:04and man he's starting to look like he's been around the league for about
11:06seven or eight years the way he's playing
11:09he is um he's delightful to watch he really is because how hard he plays
11:17and how fearless he is and on top of that he's effective he's efficient
11:23he's our version he's the modern day version of Dan Marley
11:29Shane Battier that kind of guy yeah wow uh maybe
11:36maybe maybe even better I don't know he's only in his second year it's
11:39amazing he came out of nowhere you know and um I remember seeing him in in
11:44summer league the year before and the first thing I thought was this kid
11:49just tries too hard he's gonna hurt himself I didn't think he was very good
11:54uh I was I was told otherwise by some people in the organization
11:59um and uh it it it it's been proven that they're right
12:06I mean he is um he's a glue guy he's one of those glue guys yeah
12:11every team needs yeah he looks and he plays like a starter man like he played
12:15when he's in that starting lineup he looks like he belongs like don't worry
12:19about me my plus minus gonna be good you guys do your job I I agree
12:23hey Ron it's great having you know what yeah you know what one more thing it
12:27doesn't matter if he starts it comes off the bench no you're right
12:30you know he's he he that's not an issue with this kid
12:34yet anyhow but you know that's the way it is he's you know
12:39he's he just just wants to win yeah hey Ron I appreciate always you coming
12:45on buddy thank you so much man it's great talking to you as always
12:49you too Joe stay well you too Ron Rothstein FanDuel Sports Network long time
12:54NBA coach with the Miami Heat as a head coach and an assistant coach we got to
12:59go to a quick break we'll be back in just a moment
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