48 Minutes: Nets fire Vaughn, All Star Thoughts, & Stretch Run Preview

0:00 ... Ross introduction for episode #90, dedicated to Drew Gooden.

0:33 ... Ross live Bet Online commercial read

1:10 ... Bruce's opening comment is on his friend JA Adande, who was named the winner of the 2024 Curt Gowdy Media Award by the Basketball Hall of Fame over the weekend at the All Star Game. He tells a story of JA's interview with Kobe Bryant on ESPN's NBA Coast to Coast during Kobe's final season that featured a very special moment.

3:01 ... World B's opening comment is on a touching moment involving LeBron James and NBA journalist Jeff Zilgitt at All Star Weekend.

4:27 ... Ross's opening comment is on Damian Lillard's successful weekend in Indianapolis which will hopefully jump start Milwaukee's season as we hit the stretch run starting on February 22nd.

6:14 ... The Brooklyn Nets have fired head coach Jacque Vaughn but Bruce feels that general manager Sean Marks is the one who should have been fired. World B understands that the Nets have been in a tailspin but many of their losses came against top shelf teams, so management's expectations might have been really unfair. Ross pointed out that the front office might have thought Ben Simmons was more capable than he appears to be and that Vaughn may have been unfairly blamed for his struggles.

11:12 ... Ross feels that Cam Thomas was an outspoken critic of Vaughn and World B feels like Thomas is a remorseless gunner who should not have as much influence as he may have.

12:25 ... Ross begins the discussion of All Star Weekend with a recap of the Rising Stars Game and the Skills Challenge.

13:23 ... The Dunk Contest was next and Mac McClung impressed everyone with his athleticism and creativity. Bruce was underwhelmed by the rest of the Slam Dunk Contest and would like to see it become a smaller player's (6'5" and under) competition since seeing smaller guys dunk would be more fun. However, everyone agrees that Victor Wembanyama should be allowed to compete as the lone exception if the 6'5" rule is ever implemented. World B points out that the Dunk contest needs bigger names competing. Jaylen Brown was the biggest name this year and everyone was impressed that he chose to compete.

18:54 ... As for the 3 Point Shootout, Damian Lillard won it but it was overshadowed by the "Steph Curry vs Sabrina Ionescu" 3 Point challenge. The guys want Sabrina and Caitlin Clark to be in the Men's 3 point Shootout next year.

21:31 ... Sabrina vs Steph was the highlight of the weekend and the respect between the two was really impressive.

23:33 ... The All Star game itself was a total joke. Since the NBA scrapped Elam Ending this year, they lost the chance for some real excitement as the game devolved into a glorified layup line. Bruce then tells a story he heard from ESPN's Tim Legler about a former teammate who never played much, but kept track of his points in the pregame layup line. Ross and World B agreed the Elam Ending should return. World B was irate about the fact that the players didn't care about the game, so why should the fans?

26:52 ... Damian Lillard was named MVP of the game but everyone agreed that it should have been Tyrese Haliburton.

29:11 ... The guys liked the LED floor and hope to see it again, but not for regular season games. maybe just for All Star weekend and possibly for the in-season tournament games.

29:56 ... Ross and World B discuss whether LeBron James will really want a farewell tour after James was asked about it over the weekend.

31:13 ... Ross and Bruce discuss Jayson Tatum meeting Larry Bird for the first time even though Tatum is in his 7th NBA season with the Celtics.

32:59 ... Ross begins the second half with a discussion of teams the guys expect to peak at the right time. Bruce likes Phoenix. World B wants to see if the Clippers and Timberwolves can do it. Ross feels the Warriors are capable of peaking at the right time. Bruce also feels like Sacramento could very well have a strong "closing kick."

36:33 ... Players to watch? Bruce wants to see Khris Middleton get healthy because Milwaukee become a threat to win the east if he does. World B hopes Julius Randle and OG Anunoby can regain their health so the Knicks can put their best team on the floor and see what happens. World B wants to see Damian Lillard step up too.

39:07 ... Ross wants to see if LeBron James has a burst left as the Lakers struggle to make the postseason field.

41:30 ... Bruce's final thought is on Scot Pollard, the 6'11" former player who needed and received a heart transplant on Friday.

43:06 ... World B's final thought is on the Golden State Warriors and how they're much improved as we approach the stretch run.

45:25 ... Ross teed up a brief discussion on Draymond Green joining TNT's alternate broadcast over the weekend in the wake of his "issues" this season. That discussion segued into some thoughts on how Adam Silver's postgame comments on the court certainly made it appear that he was not happy with how the All Star Game looked to the public.

48:29 ... Ross's final thought is on the "48 Minutes Live" Playback.TV game on Thursday night at 9:00pm ET between the Hornets and the Jazz.

51:00 ... Ross says goodbye ...

TRT 51:16

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