48 Minutes with Ryan Ward on the Lakers and Much More

0:00 Intro 1:18 Steven Adams set to miss the entire NBA season 3:55 Terry Stotts decision to leave the Milwaukee Bucks coaching staff 7:22 Reactions to Giannis Antetokounmpo signing a 3-year extension with the Bucks 9:36 Which Eastern Conference team will be a surprise this season? 13:34 Eastern Conference Finals matchup predictions 16:29 Eastern Conference Champion predictions 18:35 Which Western Conference team will be a surprise this season? 21:46 Western Conference Finals matchup predictions 26:33 Western Conference Champion predictions 28:50 MVP Award predictions 30:43 Defensive Player of the Year Award predictions 32:28 Rookie of the Year Award predictions 33:43 Sixth Man of the Year Award predictions 35:54 Coach of the Year Award predictions 37:40 Most Improved Player Award predictions 39:55 Predictions on which head coach will be the first on the hot seat 41:55 One random thought/prediction to look out for this season 45:10 Final Thoughts: Which team is crowned the 2024 NBA Champion Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

24 Okt 202348min

0:00 ... Hello and Welcome as Ross dedicates show #72 to Jason Kapono who wore #72 in Philadelphia 0:59 ... Bet Online live commercial read 1:41 ... "World B" discusses James Harden in his opening remarks and how Philly needs to make a move before the start of the season 3:22 ... Bruce's opening remarks are on Jeff Van Gundy joining the Boston Celtics and how it reminded him of another former coach that joined the Celtics front office in 2012. 5:00 ... Ross discusses the trade that sent Kevin Porter Jr to the OKC Thunder along with more draft assets.  Ross then explains the unbelievable package of future picks that the Thunder have been accumulating. 6:30 ... Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo finally took the court together over the weekend and the crew discusses how they looked and what we can expect moving forward. 7:43 ... Bruce loves how Giannis and Dame provide a combination that will almost never be completely stopped, but they may want to fine tune a few things before the opener next week. 9:19 ... World B is not worried about Lillard adjusting to his new teammates with the Bucks and how he will do his thing as he always does. 11:27 ... Ross asks Bruce about Khris Middleton's readiness to accept his new role as the third option on offense. 12:50 ... Ross suggests that the Bucks should watch what Phoenix is doing in getting their new "Big 3" in sync for the season. 13:12 ... World B comments on how offense has taken over the NBA and that Middleton will make a huge contribution as the "third guy," just as Chris Bosh did in Miami and Kevin Love did in Cleveland on championship teams. 16:45 ... Ross introduces the discussion on the yearly NBA General Manager's survey and Bruce found the Luka Doncic rankings (#2 point guard and #3 small forward) mark him as a "position-less superstar." 18:11 ... World B found it interesting that Anthony Edwards was chosen as the #1 candidate for top "Breakout Player" while Bruce wondered if the GM's noticed that Edwards actually "broke out" last season. 21:17 ... Ross took issue with some of the GM's ranking of the teams that made the best off-season moves.  The Dallas Mavericks were rated highly and the crew questioned whether they deserved it.  And Ross was surprised that the Phoenix Suns didn't rate highly in this category. 26:15 ... What can we expect from LeBron James in his 21st NBA season that begins next week?  Bruce puts his 19th and 20th season performances into perspective along side others who played 20 seasons like the late Kobe Bryant and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 28:53 ... World B believe the Lakers are a 50 win team and a legit title contender, but they may be on thin ice over health concerns for LeBron and Anthony Davis.  World B describes him as a "freak of nature." 31:41 ... Ross has been impressed with D'Angelo Russell's pre-season performance as of now. 34:10 ... Ross and Bruce had a chuckle over Russell's admiration for Derrick White of the Celtics. 34:45 .... The guys debate which first year player will win the Rookie of the Year Award.  The candidates are Victor Wenbanyama, Chet Holmgren, and Scoot Henderson. 36:24 .... World B thinks Wembanyama is the choice for top rookie 38:15 ... Bruce talks about the "Scoot Henderson Rookie of the Year" bandwagon and how Wemby and Chet are both worthy .... but Scoot will win it. 40:14 ... World B makes a pitch for Brandon Miller as the top rookie. 41:47 ... Bruce's final thought is on how the Israeli team Ra'Anana Maccabi, which played three NBA teams this week is providing hope and inspiration for their fellow Israelis as they go to war against the terrorist group Hamas. 43:03 ... World B's final thought is on the GM Survey on the best coach in the league.  And he is surprised that Tyrann Lue didn't finish higher. 45:37 ... Ross concludes with some thoughts on Payton Watson in Denver and how Nuggets GM Calvin Booth thinks Watson will make people forget the departed Bruce Brown TRT 47:49         Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

18 Okt 202347min

0:00 Intro 1:36 Bruce provides his opening tip on Jaylen Brown’s embarrassing moment 2:39 World B pays his respects to longtime NBA coach Brendan Malone 4:24 Ross shares a friendly reminder that the preseason is not just a warm-up for the players 5:41 NBA Stars on new teams 5:56 Jrue Holiday & Kristaps Porzingis make their Celtics debuts 10:16 Brad Beal shines in his Suns debut 15:34 The clock has yet to start on Dame Time in Milwaukee through 2 preseason games 19:51 Preseason Rookie Debuts highlighted by the Wembanyama vs. Holmgren matchup 24:05 Jarace Walker 28:14 Ausar Thompson 32:44 Potential breakout candidates 33:01 Payton Pritchard 34:22 Jonathan Kuminga 36:08 Grayson Allen 39:00-39;41 SHORT SEGMENT 39:49 Which NBA team can come out of nowhere this season 39:58 Charlotte Hornets 42:38 Houston Rockets 44:55 Indiana Pacers 47:03 World B provides his final thought on Barry Melrose 49:27 Bruce on the scheduling of Game 1 of the WNBA Finals 50:51 Ross shares his NBA conspiracy theory to close out the show Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

11 Okt 202352min

0:00 Intro 1:03 Bruce teases who the special guest will be on the show 1:20 Bruce introduces special guest Roland Lazenby 2:12 Roland discusses his new book titled “Magic” The Life of Earvin “Magic” Johnson set to be released next month 3:55 Bruce asks Roland to share a fact about Magic Johnson that even the biggest Magic fans probably don’t know 4:50 Roland elaborates on whether or not Magic Johnson should be considered the ultimate “Citizen Athlete” 8:40 Roland discusses the timeline he documented within his latest book on Magic 12:27 World B asks Roland to compare Michael Jordan to Kobe Bryant 17:12 Bruce shares a personal story on his time with Magic Johnson & Roland elaborates on Magic’s special ability to build relationships with others 19:20 Ross asks Roland his thoughts on HBO’s “Winning Time” & whether he thought Jerry West was portrayed unfairly 28:18 World B shares a quick story on how he first discovered how good of a player Jerry West was before Roland digs deeper into Jerry West 34:24 Bruce asks Roland to discuss the Chicago Bulls & of course gets his thoughts on ESPN’s “The Last Dance” 42:37 What surprised Roland the most about Kobe Bryant while writing his book on “The Mamba” 48:08 How Kobe connected with other people and touched the lives of so many Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

7 Okt 202354min

0:00 ... Hello and Welcome 0:26 ... Bet OnLine Live commercial read 1:08 ... Bruce starts out by giving credit to the "48 Minutes" crew for setting in motion several moves that reshaped three NBA franchises: the Bucks, Celtics, and Blazers. 1:46 ... Bruce wanted Holiday on the Celtics from the moment he was traded by the Bucks to Portland.  Holiday teams with Derrick White to give Boston an incredible defensive duo on the perimeter. 2:57 ... Ross asks World B to compare Holiday to the departed Marcus Smart and World B feels Jrue is a significant upgrade for Boston at that position. 4:26 ... Bruce feels the addition of Holiday is a "win now" move for Boston.  He feels that White and Holiday will be among the league leaders in forcing turnovers and that opposing teams will have a lot of trouble getting into the paint against the Celtics. 5:50 ... World B explains that Boston was already a top two defensive team (last season) and now the Celtics and Bucks are clearly the two best teams in the east and possibly the two best teams in the entire league. 7:16 ... Ross asks Bruce about Boston's front court depth and Bruce feels they need one more big on the roster to play behind Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford.  Among the possibilities Bruce mentions are Andre Drummond of the Bulls and three available free agent bigs. 9:15 ... Bruce cites some other depth issues for the Celtics 9:58 ... World B points out that Porzingis played well last season for the Wizards when paired with fellow big Daniel Gafford and we should not be surprised if Porzingis and Horford play significant minutes together at times. 11:13 ... Moving to Milwaukee's situation, Ross wonders if the Bucks will regret freeing up Holiday to join Boston.  World B feels that the Bucks would not do anything differently in dealing Holiday to get Damian Lillard. 12:59 ... Bruce feels the Lillard acquisition was essential for the Bucks since they often struggled offensively late in games and Dame solves many of those problems. 13:19 ... Bruce points out that Lillard joining Giannis has echoes of Clyde Drexler joining Hakeem Olajuwon in Houston in 1995 and helping "The Dream" win his second NBA title.  Bruce also points out that in a Bucks/Celtics playoff series, Holiday and Lillard will be a fascinating individual matchup as they'd likely guard each other. 14:39 ... Ross points out that the Bucks acquired Cameron Payne on Sunday as their backup point guard and all the guys agreed it was an excellent move. 17:26 ... The guys pay tribute to the Portland Trailblazers general manager Joe Cronin for his off-season moves and how he turned what looked like a situation where Lillard might have to be traded for "pennies on the dollar" into a major haul of talent and future assets.  Bruce feels he is the early favorite for next season's NBA Executive of the Year. 19:49 ... World B gives Cronin a grade of A+ for his Lillard dealings. 21:13 ... Ross feels that Cronin's great achievement might be if Scoot Henderson wins Rookie of the year. 22:11 ... Ross leads a discussion on whether the Blazers might use Deandre Ayton and Robert Williams III in a "Twin Towers" setup and if so, who would play the 4 and who would play the 5. 26:03 ... Ross leads a discussion on the "lost" off-season of the Miami Heat.  Bruce cites the aging players on Miami but predicts that they'll continue to develop undervalued players on their roster with some surprise contributors emerging.  Bruce also thinks Heat GM Andy Elisburg should call Cronin and see if Brogdon is available in a trade because he'd be an upgrade at point over "soon to be 38 year old Kyle Lowry." 28:30 ... Ross asks World B how he feels (as a Knicks fan) about Miami's off-season difficulties. 29:56 ... Ross is curious as to what the Heat will be able to do to upgrade the team as the season rolls on. 30:39 ... Ross bye until next time TRT 30:57         Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

2 Okt 202330min

0:00 Intro 1:28 Bruce introduces our legendary special guest Marques Johnson 2:27 Bruce shares a quick story 3:55 Marques shares his initial reaction to hearing Damian Lillard was traded to Milwaukee 7:08 Marques on the Dame/Giannis duo & the Bucks championship window 11:09 Marques discusses how this trade changed the landscape of the NBA heading into the season 14:38 Marques addresses the Bucks loss of Jrue Holiday 17:42 How big was it for the Bucks to show they’re “All-In” heading into Media Day on Monday 19:58 Can the Milwaukee Bucks win the NBA Championship next season? 22:01 Jrue Holiday's in Portland but likely on the move & the Bucks keep Dame away from Miami 23:36 Where could Jrue Holiday end up? 25:48 Marques addresses the state of the Miami Heat after losing out on Lillard 28:43 Is Milwaukee an underrated sports town? 31:17 Marques’s thoughts on the Phoenix Suns after being involved in this trade Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

29 Sep 202334min

0:00 ... Opening Animation, Hello, and Welcome 0:16 ... BetOnLine live commercial read 1:15 ... Bruce introduces special guest Mike Brown of the Sacramento Kings 1:54 ... Bruce asks Mike what the staff is focusing on as we head into the new season and physicality is at the top of the list 3:38 ... World B asks Mike about the special relationship between the Kings team and their very passionate fan base in Sacramento and Mike explains how tight and authentic those connections are 5:50 ... Ross asks Mike about the viral clip from last year's training camp where Mike sprinted down the court demanded that his team "turn on the jets."  Mike then tells a funny story about how it spontaneously went down and how he worried about hurting himself after he took off. 9:08 ... Bruce asks Mike if his philosophy changed regarding the balance between offense and defense during his time as Steve Kerr's assistant in Golden State and Mike explained how Steve's philosophy rubbed off on him. 12:22 ... Ross asks Mike about the addition of Euroleague MVP Sasha Vezenkov, who Mike praises as one of the best shooters he has seen. 14:02 ... World B asks Mike if there were any players on the Kings roster who surprised him last season and he singled out Kevin Huerter, Malik Monk, and had high praise for several other players like De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. 17:54 ... Ross asks about the importance of two nationally televised games from last season that the Kings won.   Mike responds that winning those games really was huge for the team's psyche because it showed that the organization had something really good going on and boosted the prestige of their players. 20:21 ... Bruce asks Mike about being hired by Gregg Popovich as an assistant coach for the Spurs in 2000.    Mike tells the story of how Pop wasn't sure if he was ready to sit in the front row on the bench but was soon convinced that he was and what convinced Pop that he was. 22:48 ... Bruce asks Mike how coaching LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Stephen Curry, and Tim Duncan made him a better coach and Mike explains what they all taught him. 24:47 ... Ross thanks Mike for joining us and before Mike says goodbye, he asks Ross a funny question about "turning on the jets." 25:46... Closing animation TRT 25:50 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

21 Sep 202325min

0:00 ... Hello and Welcome ... Ross introduces the panel ... teases our content 0:28 ... Bet OnLine live commercial read 1:15 ... Opening discussion on Giannis and how his presence has set off an avalanche of attention for the show ... 1:30 ... Bruce credits Ross for getting Giannis ... Reaction to seeing ourselves on ESPN's NBA Today 2:12 ... Giannis made news on the show, especially about his future in Milwaukee ... 2:48 ... World B's reaction to the passion that Giannis showed in answering our questions ... lots of fans in Milwaukee are feeling a bit nervous 3:43 ... Bruce discusses how much civic pride the city of Milwaukee has for Giannis and how he is recognizable around the world as a "one name" person ... and while he'd like to stay in Milwaukee if the team is competitive, he does have options.  Ross chimes in on the reasons he feels Giannis and Milwaukee are a good fit. 5:53 ... World B sizes up the Bucks situation, singling out Jrue Holiday and the other veterans and understands that their championship window won't stay open indefinitely. 6:50 ... Ross tees up a discussion of Giannis' comments about the NBA champion not being the "World Champion."  This was a very controversial take by Giannis and we examine the pros and cons of his position. 8:50 ... Bruce feels the American fans and the International fans are clearly divided on the topic.  There are other leagues around the world that could lay claim to calling themselves "World Champions," but don't. 10:12 ... Ross points out that Giannis never speaks without thinking first and Ross agrees with him on the issue, even though he was previously on the fence. 10:59 ... World B agrees that part of the issue is the American fans' attitude and he points out that it's now up to the US to send a team to the Olympics to back up the boasting. 11:38 ... Hakeem Olajuwon discussion and why Giannis has always been Bruce's "Hakeem 2.0"  Giannis also broke the news that he'd be working out with Hakeem before the season starts, which resonated "big time" around the hoop world. 13:41 ... World B on the excitement in Milwaukee over the Hakeem/Giannis future workout 14:15 ... Ross on comments from fans ... we love them ... keep them coming 14:48 ... Thoughts on the growth of our listeners from around the globe ... 16:22 ... Ross expresses his feeling that helping hoop fans get to know Giannis through this show has been gratifying for him. 17:10 ... Next week's guest will be Mike Brown, the head coach of the Sacramento Kings and we examine some of his accomplishments and why he is such a winning individual.  Everyone discusses what they hope to learn from Coach Brown. 23:41 ... Ross asks for listeners to send us questions ... Bruce and World B share their social media handles for listeners questions and Ross adds his at the end. 26:30 ... Bye and see y'all next time   TRT 27:00       Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

14 Sep 202327min