Well, that was interesting.
From the "Talks too much" studios, let's cut out the monkey business.
From a slew of you folks
"What did you think of Game 4 - or some various form?"
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry and Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and guard Matthew Dellavedova, left, go to the floor for a loose ball during the second half of Game 3 of basketball's NBA Finals in Cleveland, Tuesday, June 9, 2015. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya) Gang -
Well, it was disappointing. Not because we are pulling for the Cleveland LeBrons, but because the game was over early in the fourth.
Here's a list of our takeaways (feel free to offer yours):
Steve Kerr earns a lot of street cred. He hid his cards from the media before the game about his lineup changes. (In fact he flat-out lied - as he should have - and admitted as much afterward.) He juggled the lineup and went small, and more importantly he stuck with it after a fast 7-0 Cleveland start. He even said in the most revealing "Wired" moment ever that the Cavs were feeding off the crowd and for his players to relax and score.
The Warriors are a completely different team when they run. Period.
Andre Iguodala was awesome. And if you think that when the NBA salary caps adds about $20 million per team, every one of the elite teams is going to look to add a former All-Star/role player/stud like Iggy, well your right. In fact, the added salary cap money is only going to add to the divide between good teams and bad ones. (Side note: Smart teams would make a hard play for Hawks free agent to be Paul Milsaps.)
Shaun Livingston running the point is a scary matchup for the Cavs because a) he's much taller than Matty Dellavedova and b) it allows Step Curry and Klay Thompson to run on the wings and run off screens.
Golden State Warriors' Andre Iguodala celebrates after scoring against the Oklahoma City Thunder during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, Dec. 18, 2014, in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot) LeBron got frustrated and settled for too many perimeter jumpers.
Also, some one needs to pull Dellavedova aside and remind him that he's Matty Dellavedova. The Magic Johnson-back-down-isolation play with Matty Ice is not Matty Nice.
The Cavs simply can't win long-term with J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert playing that poorly.
The best prediction of the week belongs to Stewwie, who said earlier this week "And if Joe Crawford gets to ref, you can bank on a Warriors win." (Side note: Joey Crawford - the turtle without a shell - was in Chuck Barkley's words TURRRRible last night. He needs to hang up his whistle. No one pays to watch the refs Joey. Not even your family members.)
And finally, we've harped on this all series - the Cavs' lack of depth was apparent last night. They looked tired.
That said, if there's one plus for the Cavs, the fact that it was such a blow out, James got to sit a good chunk of the final quarter.
So it's tied at 2, and we stand by what we said Thursday: We think the team that wins Game 4, will win the series.
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Former University of Florida assistant Matt McCall is now the new head men's basketball coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
From Jomo
Jay- for mailbag, could you call Matt McCall and get his take on the new men's basketball rule changes ? And how it effects Matt's Mocs and future recruits he is targeting, etc. ?
- and -
How about a "Mole Hill" of coaches turned analyst ? got to start with Bob Knight, he is HORRIBLE, Lou Holtz cant understand what he is saying. John Thompson, he cant stop talking about the old days and he is boring, . . . . but what if they hired Joe Kines ?
Jomo
Since it was your birthday this week, we felt you deserved both questions. Happy birthday. How many is that now, 72? We kid, we kid.
We were happy to oblige your request and track down Coach McCall. We will have a column on him in Saturday's TFP.
But for you, loyal 5-at-10 readers, here's what he said about the rule changes.
Said McCall: "I think for those of us that like to play fast and get up and down the floor, I like the shot clock change. I think it helps those teams that like to run.
When asked if he thought the shot clock could have gone lower to say, 28 or 24, he said: "That's pretty quick. That would make it hard to set up anything on defense and it would be tough to run any (offensive) actions or sets. I think this is a good change and probably where it should be.
Matt McCall mingles after being announced as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's head men's basketball coach on April 14, 2015, at the UTC University. McCall on the charge circle being widened to 4 feet: "The lane charge circle is well, that's one of the most inconsistent calls in the game. I'm not blaming the officials because it's a tough call. But anything they can do to make it more consistent I'm all for and hopefully this will help that."
When he was asked about recruiting, McCall said the rules did not come into play and that he's looking for players and "people" that will help the program reach its potential.
As for our thoughts, well on the rules, we like almost all of the changes.
We like the two mentioned above about the shot-clock change and the wider charge circle under the goal. We laos are in favor of fewer timeouts and the fact that coaches can't call live ball timeouts. We also are strong believers in not reseting the 10-second backcourt countdown if the offense calls a timeout.
As for our thoughts on the new UTC hoops coach, well, we believed David Blackburn hit a home run when he hired Will Wade. We believe Matt McCall will be a walk-off grand slam.
As for our Mole Hill of former coaches who are the worst analysts, Bobby Knight is far left. He's dreadful. Lou Holtz is bad. We have the utmost respect for Tony Dungy as a dude, but the next insightful thing he says will be the first. And Ditka is a cartoon character. (Sorry Super Fans.)
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From Les
Press Row is great. I listen every day.
I tried to get in on the Rushmore of worst SEC football coaches this week but the lines were full.
Have you ever done the Rushmore of best SEC coaches?
Les -
South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier reacts during a game in this 2011 file photo.Thanks for the kind words and for listening to the show.
We have kind of set on one that has been shaped - and it's gotten the David "SEC Rainman" Paschall approval - so there's that.
It's Gen. Robert Neyland, Bear Bryant, Nick Saban and Steve Spurrier.
Thanks again for listening and if you can't get through on the phones, you can follow us on Twitter at @jgreesontfp.
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From Johnny
Did you the Mad Max remake? It was great.
Now with a new Jurassic Park and others, my buddies and I wanted to know what's your Rushmore of remakes?
Johnny -
"Star Wars" helped launch the careers of its three leads: Mark Hamill, then 25, Carrie Fisher, then 20, and Harrison Ford, who was 34, from left.We have not seen Mad Max, but have heard great things.
With kids 7 and 5, unless it's animated or Star Wars related, well, there's little other movie options.
That said, praise be to The Man that Star Wars has emerged.
Quick side Rushmore: Most profitable fiction ideas - Mickey Mouse (which is the king of the category), Star Wars, Harry Potter and probably James Bond
As for remakes Rushmore, well, that's tough. We'll go Magnificent Seven (remake of Samurai Seven), The Departed (remake of a Korean film called Internal Affairs), Scarface and The Fly.
Great question.