- 2 days ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00The great John Fanta joins us now. John, welcome to the show.
00:03Welcome to the show.
00:04Good afternoon, gentlemen. Great to be with you, and thank you for that wonderful introduction, Nick. I had a blast.
00:10Was the mayor of the infield at the Kentucky Derby, is that the drunkest person you've ever interviewed?
00:16Wow, it is you, the mayor!
00:20Ever interviewed? Absolutely.
00:23Ever been around? Come on, we've been to the pit and the muni lot enough to see worse than that.
00:28He was able to form words. I don't think they were English, but my goodness, that guy, I want what
00:35he's having.
00:36Yeah, it's funny. I liked your stuff with Portnoy the best.
00:39You know, I like Portnoy, I like what he does, but I thought that was the funniest stuff.
00:44But once we knew you weren't doing the Donna Brothers role, I was trying to figure out how you were
00:49going to make it work, and John, you pulled it off.
00:52Well, thank you, JP. I appreciate that.
00:55You know, it was really fun, guys.
00:57I mean, the thing about it is, there were people from Australia, Venezuela, Hawaii, Alaska, all over the globe that
01:05came to this event.
01:06And when I got out into the infield, we genuinely had multiple segments where we weren't exactly sure what we
01:13were going to air on NBC, which was kind of the fun of it.
01:16Like, it was improv television, where we were tracking down people in the moment.
01:21I was experiencing the derby in real time, and I loved the challenge of it.
01:27Like, you know, I left Fox for NBC last August, had a great time at Fox, but when NBC hired
01:34me, they're like, we're going to expand your horizon.
01:36And I didn't have this on my bingo card, but, like, I just, I loved it because it was so,
01:43it was real.
01:44Very few, very few hits were, like, staged.
01:48We had a couple things prepped, but I just think when people are watching TV, they want to see things
01:54that they can relate to.
01:55And I, I, hopefully they could relate to some of that.
01:58All right, that's enough of that, John.
02:00I do want to know, the Browns this offseason have been pushing this clean slate narrative with Deshaun Watson.
02:10Do you think that is entirely possible to pull off, that in that locker room, in that organization,
02:15after five, four years of failure, going on five, that Deshaun has a clean slate this offseason?
02:24Yeah, that, that to me is ridiculous.
02:27Like, how can you undo what we've seen?
02:31He might have a clean slate with the coaching staff because they didn't previously work with him,
02:36but the film doesn't lie, and neither do the results.
02:42What professional athlete gets a clean slate in anything these days when being evaluated by their play on the field?
02:51Look, you want to criticize Kevin Stefanski and rip his offensive design apart and say that,
02:57that he was part of the reason why Deshaun has faltered?
03:01Okay, that's fine.
03:02Not going to sit here and like get into a fight over that.
03:05But guys, many of the things that, that have limited Deshaun Watson have to do with Deshaun Watson,
03:12in my humble opinion, no longer being a quality starting quarterback in the National Football League.
03:20I hope to God he proves me wrong.
03:22I hope this clean slate thing works out.
03:24But you don't get a clean slate.
03:27It's not how, that's not how anything works.
03:29You have not performed up to standards.
03:33You haven't even performed up to half the standards thus far.
03:37And unless Todd Munkin is a miracle worker, which he would be if Watson is a top 15 quarterback in
03:46the league,
03:46you know, through three weeks of the upcoming season.
03:50But I just, I'm sorry.
03:52The clean slate, get out of here with that.
03:55All right, John, big game tonight for the Cavs, obviously.
03:57What do you want answered the most out of tonight?
03:59I feel like in game ones, we usually get a lot of answers.
04:03Will the superstars show up and ball out?
04:05Well, that's the question I have.
04:07The NBA is a superstar-driven league.
04:10You've got Donovan Mitchell and James Harden.
04:13They've got Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris.
04:16Well, it's time for number 45 to show why he's in Cleveland,
04:23to show why the Cavs show the level of urgency they did at the deadline,
04:27and to go out and function together and lead their team.
04:33Sunday's game seven, I thought Mitchell and Harden did what they need to do to win the game.
04:37But they weren't the reason why the Cavs won the game.
04:39They played a role, but Mitchell didn't shoot the ball well.
04:42Mitchell hasn't shot the ball well in weeks.
04:46Jared Allen's the reason why the Cavaliers won the series and won game seven.
04:52The duo has to perform tonight.
04:54If you're going to pull this off in game one, 48 hours removed from a game seven,
04:59your best guys have to come out and play, and that's the question of the series.
05:03It's now or never.
05:04You figure that if Donovan Mitchell's going to snap this drought,
05:07where he has not been able to climb the mountain of getting to a conference finals,
05:11you're not going to find a smaller mountain than this one.
05:15All right, John, Boston is out.
05:18Should our expectations for how deep the Cavs go in the playoffs this year change now that Boston is out?
05:26Yes. Yes.
05:28The expectation level should be win the Eastern Conference.
05:33It really should be.
05:34Now, New York looks great.
05:36They looked fantastic last night.
05:37But the three of us all know everybody watches one game sometimes,
05:40and then they get into definitives.
05:42Like, oh, you know, that's now, that's the series,
05:45or I don't see them coming back from that.
05:47I'm guilty as charged.
05:48I thought the Cavs had the Raptors beat in five games.
05:50And that series is a prime example of you can't overreact to even the first two games of the series
05:55because the series can change.
05:58So I do think that the expectations should adjust
06:02because as much as the Knicks are a formidable team
06:06and I believe are the best of the four remaining teams in the East,
06:10the Knicks have their flaws.
06:12They do.
06:13And the Knicks have also dealt with different injury issues
06:17where, look at last postseason.
06:20Last postseason, injuries greatly impacted things.
06:23So this is a marathon.
06:24The NBA playoffs are an absolute marathon.
06:27Everybody had the Wolves dead.
06:28The Wolves look like they could very well be representing
06:32in the Western Conference Finals for a third consecutive year.
06:35So my expectations have changed, and they've changed to the degree of, yeah,
06:41like the Cavaliers should be in a series with the New York Knicks that goes into a game five,
06:48God willing, hopefully, where the series is tied up a two and you say, you know what,
06:52this is what it's all about here.
06:54You're fighting for an Eastern Conference crowd.
06:55If they lost to the Knicks in six or seven games, I'm not going to sit here and mope and
06:59have a funeral.
07:00I mean, it'll be hard to take, but they were one of the last four teams standing in the National
07:05Basketball Association.
07:06You start with 30.
07:07But you've got to get past this thing first.
07:09And here's the thing.
07:11Here's another big question.
07:12To win this series, can you win a road game?
07:15Because you haven't proven you can win away from your building.
07:18And at some point, you're going to have to.
07:21Okay, so it sounds like you wouldn't make changes if they go to game six or game seven
07:23with an Eastern Conference Finals appearance then.
07:26No, I would not make – I wouldn't make sweeping changes.
07:29I would maybe make a change, but I'm not, like, blowing anything up or making massive shifts when I got
07:37that far.
07:38I do feel like you settled in between the two answers there.
07:42You started off on Nick's side, and then you ended up on my side by the end of it.
07:45And I don't know how that feels.
07:48No, I think he's telling me to choose a lane.
07:50I don't know how that feels.
07:51Nick Wilson isn't telling me, but Jonathan Peterlin is.
07:53Nick believes the expectations is now NBA Finals.
07:55I say if you make it to the Eastern Conference Finals in game six or game seven, it's a job
07:59well done.
08:01Yeah, I'm on that side.
08:03I'm on the side of make it to six or seven in Eastern Conference Finals.
08:06Let's see how things go.
08:08I'm not of the side of if you don't make the NBA Finals, you now blow it.
08:11Are you suggesting that they would make several changes to their roster if they don't make the NBA Finals?
08:18I think those are two different points.
08:20I'll be disappointed if they don't make the NBA Finals.
08:22I don't know that they'll blow it up.
08:26Well, I think Jonathan, I think, what do you think?
08:28Jonathan Peterlin is going to be cheering if they don't make the, if they don't make the NBA Finals?
08:32Like, oh, job well done.
08:33Good season.
08:34I don't think, I don't think we're arguing that.
08:35I think we're saying there's a difference between them not making the NBA Finals and making significant roster changes like
08:43trading away Evan Mobley and potentially parting ways with Donovan Mitchell rather than just not making it and, you know,
08:53making a change or two.
08:54There's a big difference there.
08:55I think where I'm coming from is I think three years from now, if you haven't won an NBA championship
09:01or been to the NBA Finals, we're going to say 2026, that was our best chance to win.
09:07And for whatever reason, they didn't have the right alchemy to get it done.
09:13I think that that's a fair argument, but the way that the question started was, would you be, would you
09:21make changes, changes, multiple, multiple different things if they do not make the NBA Finals?
09:28And I'm saying if they get into an absolute grind with the New York Knicks, who have won their last
09:34two playoff games by what, 70 points, more than that, that they would, that I'd be disappointed to the point
09:44of I've got to make several structural changes.
09:47I would make changes if they fall flat on their face and lose to the Detroit Pistons in five or
09:52six games because ultimately you didn't prove a whole lot to me.
09:54But you beat the Pistons in this series.
09:57This is the step that they've needed to take.
09:59They have not been able to get to being one of the last two teams in the Eastern Conference.
10:04If they get to the Eastern Conference Finals, would you not admit that they will have proven something to you?
10:11I mean, I think they shouldn't beat Detroit no matter what this year.
10:14I don't respect this Detroit team.
10:17I think they're a paper tiger.
10:18I think they're a one seed in name only.
10:21So then you've got them winning this series in no more than six games.
10:26Sure.
10:27Right?
10:27Sure.
10:28Okay.
10:29Well, that's fine.
10:31But I think there's a difference between taking the Knicks to the wire.
10:38And if they get their butts kicked by the Knicks, we haven't discussed this option, which could happen.
10:44The Knicks could sweep them or beat them in five games.
10:46I strongly consider doing something that's different because I've always been a proponent of that.
10:54I didn't like Garland, and I told you guys, I've been yelling it from the mountains, like they had to
11:00make a change, and they did.
11:02So I'm not saying do nothing, but I'm saying if they go six or seven games with the Knicks, I
11:08think you've got to be strategic about what you do when you've gotten this close.
11:12So, John, if they go six or seven against the Knicks, would the Harden trade have been justified in your
11:18mind?
11:18Because it would have mine.
11:21It would for me.
11:25And you could argue that there's a real case that they'd be sitting at home right now had they not
11:29gotten James Harden.
11:30So, they've got more to prove.
11:33It's not justified if they get flattened.
11:34What part of Harden's first-round performance did you like the most?
11:37Was it the eight-turnover game?
11:40Was it the seven-turnover game?
11:42Was it the six-turnover game?
11:43Which one of those was your favorite?
11:44I think it was the 21-6-5 that he averaged.
11:46Oh, gosh, you scored 21 points.
11:48That's real hard in the NBA now.
11:50Yeah, but he was better than Donovan Mitchell in this past series, in my humble opinion.
11:56I think that's more about Donovan than it is about Harden.
11:59Okay, but then you're sitting at home.
12:01Nick, you're not playing anymore.
12:02If you don't have James Harden, you're not playing anymore.
12:04You are literally eliminated from the playoffs.
12:07I don't know that I agree with that.
12:09Am I plugging in a league average point guard who's also committing the same turnovers?
12:16Is he staying healthy?
12:17Is he playing in all the games?
12:19I mean, Darius was healthy enough for the playoffs.
12:23Well, he wasn't last year.
12:25And I don't know if it's a guarantee that he would have stayed that way in this past series
12:29because it's been hard to fully trust him.
12:32And James did have turnover issues.
12:34And James' turnovers need to be limited because if James turns the ball over in this series
12:39like he did the last one, then they are going to go home.
12:41But I think Detroit is a good defensive team.
12:45But I think James has a little bit of a friendlier matchup against the Pistons
12:50than he did against some of the Raptors defenders.
12:52The Raptors were a longer team.
12:53They had some tough, versatile, longer guys.
12:57I blame you.
12:58We were having a nice little...
13:00Not you, John.
13:01He's pointing at me.
13:02Sorry.
13:02This is where I could have cued you audio-wise.
13:06I blame you.
13:07We were having a nice little interview there.
13:09That's fine.
13:09And then you called him out for flip-flopping.
13:12No, I just gave him some backup, and I knew John would give me that.
13:14And then he became the biggest apologist.
13:16I knew John would.
13:16I forgot, John, when we traded for James Harden, there was the, let's lose to the Knicks in six.
13:23I remember that chant that was going on.
13:26I forgot about it.
13:27No, no, no.
13:29See, I would be disappointed if they lost to them in six games or seven games.
13:35It doesn't seem like you'd be disappointed.
13:39You'd obviously be disappointed, yes.
13:41Are there two different arguments here?
13:43How we feel about it versus what we would do in the offseason?
13:46Because it feels like those are two totally different...
13:48No, Nick is adding in the how you feel about it.
13:51Don't worry.
13:51By the way, that's exactly what I was trying to say earlier, because I'm not doing the blow-it-up
13:57if you, in the third-round thing, that's really only if you lose in this round, or if
14:02you get just absolutely housed by the Knicks, which I'd be surprised by.
14:05What would you do?
14:06If you lost in six games to the Knicks, what are you changing?
14:10I'd be pissed.
14:11That's it.
14:14Well, another caveat in that, though, is then I feel, you tell me if I'm speaking out of
14:18turn...
14:18Caveat?
14:19...is that you would then make the case that the Harden trade wasn't worth it because
14:23of only six games or seven games against the Eastern Conference, whereas John and I are
14:28on the side of you made the Harden trade, and that was justified by going six or seven
14:32games against the Knicks.
14:33That's the impasse, really.
14:34There's pretty much nothing that can do to get either one of you to think that the Harden
14:37trade wasn't worth it.
14:38Agreed on that.
14:39Yeah.
14:39A little fixed position there.
14:40Well, the Knicks don't stink.
14:41The Knicks are also playing just about as well as anybody could play the last week.
14:46I don't know if they're going to continue to play that way, but they have played...
14:49Okay.
14:50That's fine.
14:52That's fine.
14:52But here's the thing.
14:53You've got to get through this.
14:55And the Cavs are a fight dog in this series.
14:58I know you don't respect the Pistons, but if they win this series, it's a big step for
15:02their organization.
15:03I don't care what you think of Detroit.
15:05The Cavs are on the road first two games.
15:07They've got to get one of these two games.
15:08They've got to prove they can win on the road.
15:10And they've got to beat their former coach.
15:11They've got to beat the guy they fired, who they thought could not get them to the Eastern
15:15Conference Finals.
15:16This was always going to be the setup in all likelihood, and now it is.
15:20They've got to get through J.B.
15:21Bickerstaff.
15:22You fired him because you said he couldn't be the guy.
15:25Now you better beat him.
15:27Yeah.
15:28And you unequivocally would not have gotten out of the second round with Darius Garland
15:32because we have three years of experience that says that.
15:35110%.
15:36And this Knick allegiance to Darius Garland makes me want to put him next to Steve Ballmer
15:41at the Crypto Arena out in Los Angeles.
15:43I want him on that wall behind the basket with Steve Ballmer talking it up with Steve.
15:48Ballmer could not handle Nick Wilson at his absolute worst.
15:52We can get you some sweet plant money.
15:54Well, the ray you're going on this interview, the mayor of the infield at Churchill Downs
15:58couldn't handle you either.
15:59Wow!
16:00It's the mayor!
16:02I love that.
16:03John, seriously, buddy.
16:05I know we say this a lot because you've had a lot of these milestones this year.
16:09There's a lot of fun with the Derby.
16:11You took a fun event and somehow made it more fun.
16:14We're very happy for you.
16:15We're very proud of you.
16:16Keep making Cleveland proud, buddy.
16:17You were great, John.
16:19Thank you, guys.
16:20Great to be with you.
16:21This summer, when I come in, I remember the broadcasting camp is coming into town.
16:26Maybe you guys could pay a visit, but I want to do an in-studio visit with you guys.
16:31Is that when I get my damn burger?
16:33Yes.
16:33Because I'll tell the broadcasting crew, I will tell everyone that you've welched on
16:39a burger bed.
16:40I signed Mack Robinson up as a student.
16:42It's going to be great.
16:43I've already sent Mack.
16:45That's it.
16:46That was cold.
16:47That was cold.
16:49I got a good Mack.
16:50Remind me next Tuesday to tell a great Mack Robinson baseball story.
16:53That's for next week.
16:55There's a tease.
16:55All right.
16:56I think everyone's going to be back just for that.
16:58John, be good, buddy.
16:59John Fanta there, NBC Sports.
17:00John Fanta there, NBC Sports.
Comments