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00:00All right, moving on to the Cavs, by the way.
00:02I'm sorry, I got the baseball.
00:03That's why I keep hitting the thing with the baseball.
00:04I'm sorry.
00:07Do you think fans are laying down the challenge right now to the Cavs?
00:11Do you think fans are confident because the postseason is starting?
00:14I have not heard a ton of confidence from anybody.
00:17I'm not finding a lack of confidence from fans.
00:19I just think the gauntlet has been laid by the fans.
00:22The challenge has been laid by Cavs fans.
00:24As well, they should now.
00:25I've been annoyed with a lot of Cavs fans who have been,
00:28wake me up when the playoffs start.
00:30Okay, but we're here.
00:30The playoffs are here.
00:31So now I don't understand if you've been in the wake me up when the playoffs start,
00:36the playoffs are here, and now the next rung of your fandom is,
00:41all right, got to prove it every game.
00:43Like, yeah, it's the playoffs.
00:44That's what we're all in this for.
00:45That's what every team has to do.
00:46No team is celebrating right now championships.
00:51It's about going to play as long as you can
00:54and start to vanquish the opponents in front of you.
00:57And that's what the playoffs are all about.
00:59So in the meantime, it's time to have some fun.
01:01Like, you have the Toronto Raptors should not go longer than five.
01:05And obviously, I'm hoping for a sweep.
01:07And then after that, it's Detroit.
01:10They're the one seed.
01:10I think you're going to be favored.
01:12If not favored, it's going to be 50-50.
01:15See, that's the entire point of what you just said.
01:17You don't even realize it.
01:18When you have expectations of not just winning a series,
01:20but how the series should go,
01:22I think that that's the difference for a lot of fans.
01:25That's why they're challenging the Cavs more than they are lining up
01:28and being excited.
01:29This was year one.
01:30Like, I remember, what was the year they had the play-in game?
01:32They started having the injuries.
01:33And then I remember I watched the play-in game
01:35where I think they got bounced.
01:36They did.
01:37By Trey Young.
01:39Yes.
01:39They were actually like the seven.
01:40Yes.
01:41They were the top seed, and they ended up not making the playoffs.
01:43We lost both games.
01:44We lost to Brooklyn and Atlanta.
01:45The other airport is Midway in Chicago, right?
01:48Okay, because I watched it from that airport.
01:51That was like a fun, hey, we're just getting to the postseason.
01:55We're back.
01:56Finally, we're back.
01:57It's been a while since LeBron's gone.
02:00It's not that way anymore.
02:01Now we've reached this point where the first year,
02:04if you're a Pistons fan, all right, let's let it fall where it may.
02:07I understand that you're the number one overall seed,
02:10but there's a lot of things that can go your way or not go your way,
02:13and it's your first foray into the postseason.
02:15I think it's a lot of house money.
02:16I think fans kind of miss house money as opposed to this is all pressure.
02:21I mean, when you're talking, you just hit it.
02:22When we're sitting here having really big discussions
02:25about how far a first-round playoff series is allowed to go,
02:30you're under a lot of pressure,
02:31and I don't think fans respond very well to the pressure of the Cavs
02:34because the Cavs have not responded very well to pressure
02:38in the past year over the last few years.
02:39No, they haven't, but why I've been excited all year
02:42about this opportunity is I look around at the other teams
02:45at Easter Conference, and I'm like, we can beat them.
02:47We can beat them.
02:48We can beat them.
02:49We can beat them.
02:50And the one team that I am most nervous about, Boston,
02:54like their fans don't know how this is going to go.
02:57Like, yeah, they think they're going to come out of the East,
02:59but they know they're not as good as they were on paper as last year.
03:04All right?
03:04They're not.
03:05Like, they had Porzingis.
03:06They had Holiday.
03:07True.
03:08Porzingis was a unicorn.
03:09Holiday was a champion.
03:10True.
03:10Like, they are not as confident as they were.
03:13So that's why I said at the start of the season,
03:17this is wide open, and here we are.
03:20Here we are on the doorstep.
03:22They're playing Saturday.
03:23The precipice.
03:23We are here ready to embark on a playoff run.
03:26I know that we're going to have some amazing moments,
03:28like Donovan Mitchell, that guy in the playoffs,
03:31has had incredible moments.
03:33Yes, his teams have not gotten past the second round,
03:36but Donovan Mitchell has authored up some of the best playoff moments
03:39in the last six years, seven years in the NBA.
03:42This is a COVID year.
03:43When he was putting up against Jamal Murray and Denver,
03:46putting up 50-point performances.
03:48Like, he's had all these 40-point games in the playoffs.
03:51Like, that's stuff you should get excited to see,
03:53and Donovan Mitchell has said it,
03:55and I'm not telling tales out of school
03:58because Chris Fedor is writing about it,
04:00but he told Chris.
04:02Am I allowed to read what he writes about it?
04:03Sure, absolutely.
04:04He told Chris he thinks this team has,
04:07he's the most optimistic he's been on any of his teams
04:12that he's been in in the NBA about making a deep playoff run.
04:14That's incredible news to hear for a lot of people,
04:16and they should be excited.
04:17Of all the texts that you get, that should be an exciting one.
04:192-1-6-4-7-4-0-0-92.
04:21So what are the expectations for the Cavs?
04:23Are you confident, or are you laying the challenge
04:26to this Cavaliers team as a Cavs fan?
04:29You could be a Cavs fan and be questioning of the Cavs,
04:32even as we go into the postseason.
04:34We've got to allow it for conversation.
04:36I think there's expectations here of what this team should get,
04:38and I think that they are holding them to these expectations.
04:41This is a different offseason than what we've seen in quite a while.
04:44Or, excuse me, a different postseason,
04:46getting ready for a postseason than what we've seen in quite a while here.
04:49And I think that that's going to be a little annoying to you, Anthony,
04:52but he's not in his head like, yep, but I'm telling you,
04:55if they go out there on Saturday afternoon, game time, 1 o'clock,
04:59Toronto Raptors coming to town, not the Hawks.
05:02Thought it might have been the Hawks, and the Hawks played nobody yesterday.
05:04Right, they wanted to dodge you.
05:06The Hawks, guys, you have a team that other teams are trying to dodge,
05:11and yet you guys are down on the team.
05:12Got a whole lot of tough talking Hawks fans in my mentions on Friday,
05:15and they all went away some way, somehow,
05:18when you don't play anybody in your final game of the season.
05:21I understand that everybody is kind of side-eyeing the Cavs and saying, prove it.
05:27Okay, yes, that's what the playoffs are about.
05:29Every team has to prove it, right?
05:31The Oklahoma City Thunder are trying to prove that they can be back-to-back champs.
05:35Everybody's got something to prove.
05:36You're not unique in that regard.
05:38My question is, are you guys, like, watching these games with your arms folded,
05:43sitting down?
05:44Or, like, if you buy a ticket to a playoff game,
05:47are you going to be sitting there going,
05:49why are they playing so much music about these Cavalanches?
05:52Why are they getting excited?
05:54They've got it.
05:55This team has to prove they can win the finals.
05:56I think some people will.
05:57I think some people will.
05:59Are you going to the bars, watching the Cavs' playoff games?
06:02I think some are.
06:04Like, I can't imagine being a sports fan.
06:06Why even watch?
06:07Like, who cares?
06:08I mean, we've gotten to the point.
06:09Why even try to watch?
06:10I agree.
06:11It's gotten a little bit ridiculous.
06:12Like, John came in here before the show.
06:13I was like, well, can they?
06:15Like, he brought it up.
06:17Is it enough to just sweep the Raptors, like, if they win by a combined,
06:23what does he say, 15 points?
06:25Like, he goes, what if you sweep and they win by a combined 15 points?
06:27I'm going, jeez.
06:28So now just winning the games isn't enough.
06:29It's like, guys, we're trying to find anything we can to be negative about this team.
06:33They have to be wire-to-wire winners.
06:34And so, but I have to understand why.
06:36Like, I think that that's how the fans feel.
06:39I can yell at them all I want for them feeling that way.
06:41I want to understand why they feel that way.
06:43And if I find it to be a terrible reason for them feeling that way, then maybe I'll yell
06:47at them for it.
06:48But you go with the history.
06:50And I think a lot of fans, they flip switches.
06:52They've listened to us.
06:53They've been excited.
06:55And then they've fallen apart in the postseason.
06:57And so when they fall apart in the postseason, when you've done it four years in a row, people
07:02are thinking differently about how this team's going to be.
07:04Well, it's up to them.
07:05And by the way, I'm not using the S word when it comes to this team.
07:08I don't think that they're soft.
07:09I didn't think that they lost in a soft way last year.
07:11I think they just got beat by a better basketball team.
07:14That was a tough matchup for them.
07:16That team, it wasn't like that team just petered out in the next round.
07:19They went to the NBA Finals.
07:20They took them to seven games.
07:22And if Tyrese Halliburton wouldn't have gotten hurt, I think they could have won that basketball game.
07:26So they could have been defending champions, for all we know.
07:29So I don't think that that's soft, but there are labels that follow around a team.
07:34Plus, can I tell you this?
07:35Can I share another thing?
07:36They deserve they've earned those labels.
07:38I think, and this is not me calling you guys out.
07:41If I want to call you out, I'll call you out.
07:43I think there's a lot of fans because how many different networks are you playing on?
07:49So I'm serious about this.
07:50All of them?
07:51And what do we all say about the regular season of the NBA?
07:54I don't care.
07:56The NBA regular season, it doesn't matter.
07:59I think there's going to be some people who have watched, who are Cavs fans.
08:02They believe themselves to be Cavs fans, who will probably be watching their 7th, 8th, 9th Cavs game of the
08:09year on Saturday.
08:11I think that there's a lot of folks like that.
08:13Like, they're just going, why should I care about the regular season?
08:16You guys all tell me not to care about the regular season.
08:18To the point where it's becoming a major problem to the NBA about people not caring about the regular season.
08:22They're trying to throw every single gimmick they can at it.
08:25And I think there's a lot of people who consider themselves Cavs fans.
08:28They might have a Cavs jersey.
08:30They went to a game last year.
08:31Maybe even went to a game this year.
08:32And that counts.
08:33And they're probably watching their 7th, 8th, 9th Cavs game of the year.
08:36And so they don't see the ins, outs, and what have you.
08:39They just look at a team that's been a disappointment in the postseason over the last 5 years.
08:43And they have been.
08:44I can't deny that.
08:45They've been soft in the past, even though they weren't last year.
08:47I don't think that they were soft, but they feel one way or another.
08:50And that the Cavs need to go out and prove differently.
08:53And until the Cavs prove differently, they're going to feel the same way on the Cavs.
08:57And to them, that's the Cavs' fault.
08:59That's not their fault.
09:01And Donovan, when he said it himself, Owen's a barometer for that.
09:04When Donovan said it himself, Owen said at the end of last year, that sets up for the next year.
09:08And here we are.
09:09And there's a malaise amongst Cavs fans.
09:10This is not the usual.
09:12I have not gotten one person today calling in, emailing, nothing going,
09:16Cavs just made the postseason.
09:17Why aren't you talking about the Cavs?
09:18And by the way, we've talked a lot about the Cavs today.
09:20But people here, we live in your world.
09:22You don't live in ours.
09:23So if someone gets in the car at 745, they don't hear Cavs.
09:27They're not getting mad.
09:29They're not getting mad.
09:31So it's up to the Cavs.
09:32I can try to rah-rah all I want.
09:34And so can you.
09:35It's up to them to change it.
09:36Because I think that this is a perfect matchup for them against Toronto.
09:39I think, well, it's not perfect because you haven't played them in a long time.
09:42But I think it's a pretty good matchup against Toronto.
09:44They're huge favorites.
09:45I think it's a perfect matchup against Detroit in the next round.
09:48And maybe I'll eat those words.
09:49By the time you get to Boston, you get to Boston.
09:51But I think a lot of people are going, okay, wake me up when you get to Boston in the
09:54Eastern Conference Finals.
09:55Why weren't we talking about Toronto for the last two weeks?
09:57Because there really wasn't.
09:58We didn't think there were that much of a possibility.
09:59We thought it was going to be Atlanta.
10:00There were some people trying to put them.
10:02Last week, they had the five spot.
10:03But in alignment, we brought it up a little bit.
10:06There were people trying to put the fear of God in Cavs fans about the Atlanta Hawks.
10:12I was not one of them.
10:14Again, I was not nearly as worried about the Hawks.
10:17And I'm certainly not worried about this version of.
10:21You also weren't worried about the Pacers last year.
10:24No.
10:24No, I mean, I thought there were some issues.
10:26I was not worried about the Pacers.
10:27He was.
10:28I wasn't.
10:28I came on and said there were some issues.
10:29He said it'd be a tough series, but he said five games.
10:33I thought it'd be a tough five games.
10:34And then, you know, what's funny is some of those games were so close.
10:37Like, they were tough games.
10:38You just blew the lead in the one.
10:40And next thing you know, Darius is injured.
10:43DeAndre Hunter was done after the first game.
10:45And then, obviously, the Evan Mobley injury stuff that popped up.
10:49But needless to say, like, you got to be healthy.
10:51And that's a big part of it.
10:52But there are no excuses now.
10:54There are no excuses for this team.
10:56If they lose to Detroit in the second round to J.B. Bickerstaff,
11:00the guy you fired because you thought he couldn't get you over the hump.
11:02Then you made the Harden trade.
11:04A guy that's 10 years older than the guy you sent to the Clippers.
11:08Like, no, you're done.
11:09Like, guys are going to get fired.
11:10And you're going to be making significant moves.
11:13Understood.
11:13We all know the stakes.
11:15But that pressure is why a lot of people might be going south on him.
11:19But I think it's unthinkable.
11:21Here's what I don't get.
11:21Okay, so, yeah.
11:23Sorry, Owen.
11:23Real quick.
11:24Yes, the pressure is there for this team.
11:27It's on Donovan.
11:28It's on Evan.
11:28We're going to do shows all over Cleveland this week.
11:31Who's the most pressure on?
11:32And then, you know, Brian Wynhorst said last week.
11:35I'm already going to say, Evan.
11:35He said it's Kobe Altman.
11:37Whatever.
11:37We can do the power rankings all week long.
11:39All right?
11:40In the lead up to the game about where the pressure is.
11:42But does that change the excitement level of the playoffs?
11:45No, and that's just.
11:45We're here.
11:46That's where I wanted to get to was I was totally out.
11:49And then they made the Harden trade.
11:50And I came back into it, right?
11:52But now we're finally to the point where Donovan said 82-0.
11:56It wouldn't matter.
11:57Well, we're through that now.
11:58Cool.
11:59We're through it now.
12:00Now it's time to.
12:00For anybody that was cynical, it's time to lock back into them again.
12:05So maybe it takes a week of learning about the opponents, right?
12:08Maybe people don't know.
12:11Honestly, I don't know anything about the Raptors other than we lost to them three times.
12:14And that all happened before Thanksgiving.
12:17Brian Windhorst said it was on Kobe.
12:19Yeah.
12:20Next.
12:20I think he thinks.
12:22No offense to him.
12:22That's kind of a cop-out.
12:23He thinks he's going to lose his job, probably, if he doesn't get past the second round.
12:27Oh, yeah.
12:27But he had to do what he had to do.
12:28Like, I just kind of feel it's a bit of a cop-out.
12:31I mean, I think there's other decisions to be critical of Kobe Altman for in the past.
12:35But, like, what the James Harden, like, he did what you had to do.
12:38Well, I'd say.
12:38But that's a significant move because you got older and the window changes.
12:42Are you going to go further with Darius Garland, though?
12:44No.
12:45Look, I'm on board.
12:46I'm totally on board.
12:47And has anybody noticed, Darius' last six games against four teams actually trying to win.
12:51He is struggling mightily.
12:54And Clippers fans are starting to turn their back already on Darius.
12:56Honeymoon is over.
12:57That's life with Darius.
12:59Love Darius.
13:00Wish him well.
13:01That's what happens when the calendar turns for little Darius.
13:04That's a good point.
13:06You did it again.
13:07What?
13:09I know what you said.
13:11You used a descriptor.
13:13You used a descriptor in there.
13:14And I hope that the aggregators get your name right, not mine.
13:19Todd and Akron, you're first up on the fence.
13:20Hello, Todd.
13:22Hello.
13:22Thank you for taking my call.
13:24Glad to have you.
13:24Go ahead.
13:25I don't know what y'all are looking at, but Toronto should be the favorite.
13:28No.
13:29No, they shouldn't.
13:30There we go.
13:31All right.
13:32Go ahead, Todd.
13:32Why?
13:34Why?
13:35I mean, they beat them three games in a row.
13:37They got the Leafs.
13:38They got the physicality.
13:39I don't see how the Cavs are going to come out the first round.
13:42Not with Toronto.
13:43It would have been better off with Atlanta.
13:45So Vegas has it wrong that the Cavs are minus 650 in the series.
13:50They haven't beaten the Cavs since November.
13:54They haven't played or beaten the Cavs since November 24th.
13:57James Harden was not on this team.
13:58Lonzo Ball was starting.
13:59Exactly.
13:59DeAndre Hunter was starting.
14:00Lonzo Ball and DeAndre Hunter were starting for the Cavs in those games.
14:05Well, we still got to wait to see what James Harden is going to show us, but I still see
14:10the same team.
14:10Oh, so you just heard – so we got to walk those comments back now, don't we?
14:14Just say I walk those comments back and we'll be fine.
14:16What are you scared of?
14:17RJ Barrett?
14:18Is that who you're scared of?
14:18Just say you're going to walk those comments back.
14:20Yeah.
14:21It's not about being afraid.
14:22I'm just – I see clearly.
14:24I didn't say you're afraid.
14:26I didn't say you're too loud to be afraid.
14:28I'm not afraid at all.
14:28I'm not saying you're afraid.
14:29I just think – I think you need to take your comments back.
14:31Are you scared about Yaka Perl?
14:33We don't even know if James Harden is going to show up.
14:36You know what I mean?
14:36You can't guarantee that.
14:38You said that already.
14:39I think you know he's going to show up in games one through five.
14:42If it goes six to seven, you might get a little nervous.
14:44Against Toronto?
14:46Okay.
14:47Just want to make sure that we had nothing else left to say.
14:49He's having fun.
14:50Kyle in Wadsworth.
14:52Hello, Kyle.
14:52I hope so.
14:53Hey, what's going on, guys?
14:54Thanks for having me.
14:55Nothing much, Kyle.
14:56Go right on ahead.
14:58Well, I want to piggyback off Todd.
15:00I get what he's saying.
15:01Man, Toronto, they're not easy.
15:03I don't think we'll sweep them,
15:04but I don't think we need to worry about Yaka Perl at this point
15:07and guys who've never really won a playoff series
15:09other than tailing off Pascal Siakam.
15:14Well, with this Cavs team, man, they just got to get healthy.
15:17That's the biggest thing the past two years.
15:18Like you said, the Evan Mobley injury, DeAndre Hunter going out,
15:21Tyrese Halliburton hit how many game winners in the whole playoff series,
15:25like the whole playoff last year?
15:26I mean, we were a Tyrese Halliburton legendary run away from even making
15:31the conference finals, and we had injuries.
15:36Harden's going to help Mitchell get over the hump.
15:38Mitchell and Harden got the most to prove.
15:40Neither of them.
15:41One can't get back to the second round.
15:42One can hardly make it to the finals.
15:45Their health is obviously of the utmost importance.
15:51Kyle, we all know that.
15:53But we have reached the place now where I can't say –
15:57like if something terrible were to happen in the postseason,
16:00then I guess I've got to recalibrate everything.
16:02But they've got to set up the way they want.
16:04Like I will say to – like Todd, I totally disagreed with.
16:08Toronto shouldn't be favored, right?
16:10You know that.
16:11No, no.
16:11But it is up to them to back up everything that, frankly,
16:16they've been saying, that Anthony and I have been saying.
16:18Like the challenge is there.
16:20And I can't blame a Cavs fan over the last four years.
16:23I can't blame a Cavs fan that sat there and listened to us say this
16:26over this segment and said, yeah, Kenny, you've been saying that for four years.
16:29Yeah, Tony, you've been saying that for four years.
16:31Like there's a lot of stuff where, hey, you wanted it set up this way.
16:34You got it the way you want it set up.
16:36Now you have to go out there and execute
16:37and at least get to the Eastern Conference Finals.
16:39And frankly, they need to make a series against Boston
16:41in the Eastern Conference Finals
16:42because if they get swept in four games at full strength,
16:45you know, that ain't going to go over well either with this fan base.
16:48Couldn't agree more.
16:49And I agree with what you said earlier about the Raptors-Pistons
16:52set up back-to-back series because we've proved we can't beat the Knicks.
16:55We've proved we can't beat the Celtics.
16:57So I'm hoping we can take it to JB and the Pistons.
16:59The Knicks was the deepest Cavs team we've had in years.
17:02You're right about the –
17:03Healthy or not.
17:04Yeah, they are healthy.
17:05Kyle, thank you.
17:05Look, the Knicks, that was a rough series without a doubt.
17:10It was also, you know, a few years ago.
17:12I thought.
17:13But we're a long way since that Knicks team.
17:18And I don't know.
17:19Except for the guys that got beat up by the Knicks are still on the roster.
17:21Yeah, but you know what?
17:22I watched us play them this year.
17:24The last time we played them, I'm sorry.
17:27I wasn't as scared about that Knicks team as I might have been.
17:31I mean, they made their all-in moves,
17:32and yet the Cavs still have better championship odds.
17:35Like, their fans aren't that confident about the Knicks at all.
17:39Okay.
17:40They honestly –
17:41I mean, they've been talking about Mike Brown as a one-and-done.
17:44And everything.
17:44Everything that they do is going to be based on the playoffs, too.
17:47You think that's even –
17:47They're not that confident about the Knicks against the Cavs?
17:50Because I think that changes things for them.
17:52I think it'd be a great series.
17:53I mean, it's not like I'm dismissing the Knicks.
17:55I think if you're any other team in the Eastern Conference right now,
17:58you've got to look at the Cavs and go,
17:59well, they haven't shown you anything in the playoffs the last couple years
18:03that resembles tough and grit.
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