Hour 3: Hall of Famer Chris Webber Talks LeBron, Giannis & NBA Playoffs

7:20Rich Eisen:Michelle Wee West.

7:21Chris Webber:Yeah.

7:22Rich Eisen:You and Michelle can share stories of your fond memories of her late father-in-law.

7:28Chris Webber:I would love to do that. I would absolutely love to do that. We have so much to talk about.

7:32Rich Eisen:Who's her father-in-law? Jerry West. Wait a minute. How did I not know that? Really? Yes, indeed. Wow, okay. Well, then, yeah.

7:40Chris Webber:She's on our list. I mean, I know that we've reached out to her. I would love to have her on. There we go. Who's on today? We have on the, I'm just trying to think, we've got Portland's head coach, and we have Sarah Ashley Barker, who had that game winning the other day for the historic first win.

7:56Rich Eisen:Okay, very good. That's on Women's Sports Now, Thursdays at 6 p.m. Eastern.

8:01Chris Webber:Alex Sarama.

8:02Rich Eisen:Very good. Terrific. That's later on today. And Tim, keep calling in for suggestions. I love you at the end. We'll do all of that. That was a little awkward. What'd you say? I love you by Tim at the end.

8:15Chris Webber:Oh, come on. He was just showing love for women's sports. I think there's nothing wrong with it. And by the way, at WSN on ESPN, you can go on our Instagram and make suggestions too because we are a fan-friendly show and we want to hear from you.

8:31Rich Eisen:Okay. I have some suggestions.

8:33Chris Webber:Thanks for letting me borrow your real estate, by the way.

8:35Rich Eisen:All right. I believe C-Web is ready. He switched locations. Oh, no. Yeah, he did. He's back in his office. We're going to take him however we can. Well, that gym is so big, it probably is hard for the Wi-Fi to cover the entire space. Here he is. Let's bring him on. There's my Hall of Fame friend, Chris Weber. What's up, C-Web? How are you?

8:51Chris Webber:Hey, what's up? Hey. Sorry, guys. You had a great upgrade on the show today, too. That's my bad friend. It's all good.

9:00Rich Eisen:Sue, say hello to your favorite.

9:01Chris Webber:Hi, Chris. Hi. How are you doing? Beautiful. Great seeing you. So good to see you, too. I was just telling TJ how I used to have to interview in the hallways. down at Staples Center, and I was just revealing him with the old story. Yeah, back in those days when the Cowboys weren't winning in either. That's right. It's been a drought. By the way, I am enjoying

9:21Rich Eisen:this new found development on this program that we have yet another friend of the program with a basketball acumen like Chris Webber's slamming you for being a Cowboys fan. It's just dynamite. It's dynamite. It's something. Right now we got a guy in an orange jacket, right? A guy with a Hall of Famer. And we got another guy who's with his feet up somewhere, probably in New Jersey, his home state of New Jersey, in Carl Anthony Towns, waiting to find out who he's going to play in the Eastern Conference Finals. They both have the same disdain for your Dallas. Great minds to go out. I'm just saying, you know, they hate us because they ain't us, Rich.

10:04Rich Eisen:Chris Weber, what has happened to the Detroit Pistons? What's going on? What has happened?

10:13Chris Webber:You know, man, first of all, they've done some great things, right? They've come back. But I told a friend as an analyst, not as a fan, the other day when they were up 2-0 that I thought they would be in this position.

10:33Chris Webber:it's a difference between offensive minded philosophies and defensive minded philosophies right and if you get a tie game maybe you want an offensive philosophy and I think Big Staff has done a great job over the last nine minutes I believe of that game they were up and you just thought that it was going to be over and so as a player I remember having to have coaches to get me one or two easy ones. Call a play so I can get an easy layup. Call a play to get us involved and move and not just depend on the flow of one player. And so what I think has happened is that in games like this, you always want to get back home.

11:16Chris Webber:That 2-0 lead really didn't mean anything. And the guards of Cleveland started to get a rhythm. They started to understand where they were going to be double-teamed, how they were going to be double-teamed. And then Cleveland went to a smaller lineup. And when Cleveland went to that smaller lineup, you know, your big has to be able to score at a clip to really make the other team fearful and want to change strategies. And if you're not getting that scoring from that position, then that defender, that bigger guy is a mismatch on the floor defensively for the little guy that he should have been going at at the other end.

11:51Chris Webber:And so I just see the strategy having changed and the offensive minded Cavs, you know, are up and, you know, their question is, can they finish it?

12:00Rich Eisen:Well, then that's my question for you. Can they finish it?

12:05Chris Webber:You know, as a commentator, one of my most memorable games is watching Golden State. I think I did it. I know I did it with Marv. Golden State versus Houston. and I remember watching Houston shoot threes and I think they missed 13, 17 threes in a row, something that was just incredible and I remember thinking that whole game, if the philosophy was just to get one layup or if you had a player that wasn't able to shoot threes, could he get in there, get a foul and layup and so I think Cleveland can but when you're playing a defensive team like Detroit, you need to take advantage of every play and your offense is your defense.

12:47Chris Webber:So a bad shot allows a team that maybe is not great at scoring go and get a shot in the fast break and do other things as well. And so if Cleveland with their shot selection is very selective and honors each possession, the way that they're playing, the energy guys off the bench and, you know, from Schroeder to others, a lot of guys aren't, you know, getting enough credit in that team. You know, I don't see how Cleveland, if I'm a Cleveland fan, I don't see how, you know, how we can't win. We got to win one out of two. They should win. They're in a position to win. They're going home as well. So, you know, it should be Cleveland.

13:28Rich Eisen:Yeah, Donovan Mitchell averaging 30 points a game. That kind of helps too. You know, that does not lead to transition buckets for the Pistons because it's going through the hoop. You know what I mean?

13:39Chris Webber:Yeah. Yeah, yeah. I mean, what he's done, I mean, you know, 39 and a quarter, I believe it, or half, I believe it was. But, you know, people wanted to talk all year about how, you know, he and Harden are a liability or he's a poor man's heart. And I heard people joke about that. But when you have guards that constantly put pressure, because one thing, let's get straight, you cannot check one player in the NBA. It's not one player you can check, period. It's can you make them uncomfortable? Can you get them off their spacing? and then maybe that'll affect their shot, but you can't. And so when guys like Harden and others are scoring and you have a guy one-on-one that can do things like he can and he's not selfish, that's what I love about it.

14:21Chris Webber:And the easiest guy to check is a selfish guy, but when he and Harden get the ball in their hands and they start going into that bag of one-on-one moves, if you're waiting in the corner, if you're waiting at the top with your hands ready, you might get a wide-open shot because they attract so much defense. And so I think it's tough because the guards really have done a good job and Mobley as well. But the Pistons, they're going to fight at home. But can they score? We saw them get down to Orlando like this because Orlando was scoring and then they got away from their offensive principle. So I can't count my team out of Detroit.

14:53Chris Webber:But defensively, Cleveland should feel not like they've accomplished anything, but that they're on the verge of getting it done.

15:01Rich Eisen:Chris Weber here on the Rich Eisen Show in his usual spot here. as we're matriculating our way through the NBA playoffs right here on the Rich Eisen Show. So the Spurs can close it out on the road. And the Timberwolves now at home trying to stay alive, kind of a flip of what we just talked about. And Victor Wambonyama coming off of his game in which he was ejected was so dominant and so terrific in 18 first quarter points. So I'm going to ask you a question. I'm assuming you don't know the answer to, which is not my usual style, but he comes off the plane landing in San Antonio, and the first person apparently he sees waiting for him to talk with him is Greg Popovich.

15:46Rich Eisen:You want to take a stab at what you think Pop told him? Chris?

15:51Chris Webber:Well, I've known Popovich a long time. He was my assistant coach as a rookie under Don Nelson, and we've shared a friendship. the man that I know Coach Popovich to be is to hold you accountable and hold you accountable in a space that could be uncomfortable because he wants you to understand and then he lifts you up and puts a battery in your back that you know it's almost like you know being Tyson you know with this great corner man in the corner telling you you could do it or challenging you and so I don't know what was said but I know that, you know, I would bet anything that one, it was an accountability aspect of it.

16:33Chris Webber:There was a joke in between. And then it was how are we going to do this and how are we going to go forward? You know, once we've held ourselves accountable, Popovich is a great man. And that's why, you know, early in the season, San Antonio was my favorite to win the championship because he's in the locker room. You don't have to have the clipboard on the sideline to have an impact. And you can feel his impact, you know, all over San Antonio and throughout the NBA. But definitely when you look at his demeanor, how he keeps the older guys from the team around, you know, those are those are his fingerprints.

17:10Chris Webber:And because what it does is it reinforces your tenants of your organization to new players that come in. They can lean and say, hey, Tim, you've gone through this. Hey, David, hey, Sean Elliott, you know, they're all available. A lot of organizations don't do that. And that's why they have no identity besides one great season or what happened last year. But the identity and the heart and soul of that team in San Antonio starts with Coach Popovich. It starts with hard work, accountability, treating your fellow man right, you know, and kicking some ass. And so I assume he had all those, you know, pieces of conversation, you know, when he landed.

17:47Rich Eisen:Well, it certainly looked like he had a battery put in him, to use your phrase, Chris. You know, like they were talking about they want to upset Vic. They want, you know, a mature Vic. And he, you know, and when Bunyama said, you know, they're not mutually exclusive. You know, I can be both. And not to look over the steering wheel. I'm about to, but what a Western Conference finals matchup that would be with the wagon that is Oklahoma City right now, not having lost in the playoffs just yet. Chris, right?

18:21Chris Webber:Yeah. Yeah, I love OKC. I love how they stand together around after interviews. I love, you know, how they're self-deprecating, how they're cool with each other. So I love that team. But haven't they been setting this up all year? I mean, you know, hasn't it been kind of OKC versus San Antonio and the passion that we've seen in those games? And even when Benyama said earlier in the season, you know, this is how we measure ourselves up against the best and we want to be the best. You know, those are those are silent shots that, you know, we know you had a crown, but we're coming from you coming for you.

18:55Chris Webber:So I would love to see that in a round. I just think when you think about that, to me, again, most people don't get the Fox dynamic like everyone has a system. And the system of San Antonio is to have one of the greatest big fellas in the world and a point guard that can score and get in the paint with speed. And that's who Tony Parker was. He led the league some seasons in point paints with the Shaq because in our league, who, you know, is the most dominant in the paint, but he got in the paint so much because of that quagmire. Do you guard him or do you stop the big fella from pick from the pick and roll or do you come in from the corners and now I can hit the corners?

19:35Chris Webber:And so I think Fox is really going to be an important cog in this because the speed of he and maybe the MVP again is going to be, you know, something special. So that Gilgis-Fox matchup. And so, yeah, I can't wait. Like you said, you can't knock Minnesota out yet, but I can't wait to see if they get to that next round.

19:55Rich Eisen:Which team should trade for Giannis, Chris? Because the sweepstakes are apparently officially open for business. Which team do you think should say torpedoes be damned? And it could be even a team in the playoffs right now, depending on how they finish. You go for it. I'll give you the floor, Chris.

20:12Chris Webber:Yeah, you know, it's interesting. I think New York is going to do some special things, and so I wouldn't want to break up that footprint depending on how they're going. But if I could help your question a little bit, or if I could answer the question. It's your world. Go for it. All right. I'm really intrigued. So I don't know about Giannis. There are a couple teams he can go to, but he's only going championship. And, of course, I think the easiest, or not the easiest, the most obvious is Golden State, right? you know Giannis in the west coast where the game is faster you're gonna have to build a wall for him on every play that may just be an unstoppable combination with him in the post and you know the way that they play coach Kerr and and having you know having having the best shooter ever Curry out there doing his thing but I just want to second just talk about LeBron please I feel that if LeBron the thing that's working against LeBron is his age not how he plays The way he has played the next two years, he's going to be a dominant cog, period.

21:20And I believe that all things being equal, if you have a team that's already established to win a championship, I would highly monitor his situation in L.A. to me there are a lot of great pieces but what you need during this time of the year if you're

21:47Chris Webber:a duran if you're if if if you're a cat if you're any if anyone you need someone that makes everyone better and we can't say lebron's a liability in any era if we're talking about just to win a championship during this time and so i get every all the moves but you know uh i'm not a laker fan obviously but I love to see him back with the Lakers because I think or I love to see the Lakers honor him with the contract that he deserves so he could stay there and keep his legacy going but if that doesn't happen and he gets with the team that is in the top four to win a championship you know I think something special can happen because right now you need your you need your I don't want to say average players but you need your players that play at a certain level to take it to another level and not just because they hit a bunch of threes in two games or got a couple steals but because someone is uh deliberately thoughtfully playing in a certain way that they keep that person valuable even if they don't touch the ball and uh i think that we see that we need that impact every playoffs and forget it because the regular season dominance by the players but right now you need a player that makes players better and so i'm really watching to see what happens with him.

23:05Rich Eisen:All right. Let me see if I'm picking up what you just put down, Chris Weber. Are you saying if there's a team that wants a Larry OB in the next two years, you should go get LeBron instead of Giannis? Is that what you're saying?

23:23Chris Webber:I'm saying in the next two years, as important as Giannis is, they're tied. Yeah. You got to get one of them. He's just as important But you can only get one of them.

23:35Rich Eisen:See, this is Sports Talk Radio, Chris Weber. Yes, sir. Yeah.

23:39Chris Webber:If I can only get one of them, it really depends on the type of team and shooters who I have, what I need. But, you know, if I feel like our team needs confidence and needs IQ, thoughtfulness, and a player that can go get it, I'm going to get Ron for two years. I like playing with the guys that I like playing with guys that have that have more weight with the back of their name on the back, the name on the back of their jersey than the organization. Because, you know, you can trust that the pain of the organization, they're going to feel because he's an organization within himself. The same with Giannis.

24:21Chris Webber:However, if I have players that I need to make better, if I have players that I need to shine the most during the playoffs and have players that are smart enough to get them involved and not just have empty numbers and get us some wins, yeah, I'm going with LeBron.

24:37Rich Eisen:Yeah, I mean, Mark Dagnos said after the sweep that LeBron made his team, meaning Oklahoma City, better by facing LeBron in the second round of the playoffs. That LeBron's iron sharpened the Thunder's iron. And SGA said he was the first name atop their scouting sheet. Now, obviously, Luke is out.

25:05Chris Webber:but I just remember Peyton Manning you know I just I remember those last years of great players that if you gave them enough you know and don't get me wrong he can't be the best player on the team I'm not saying that but I'm saying if you have a team that's ready to win and they're one step away I mean it's kind of even sad to say you know right you know but In a two-year window, not betting the house and trading 50 ,000 people, but in a two-year window, I just don't see who is a more important free agent to a team on the precipice of winning the championship.

25:43Rich Eisen:Yeah, and it's an easier path to LeBron. All you got to do is just sign him. With Giannis, you have to obviously acquire him. That's a different ball of wax. C-Web, I appreciate you joining as always. Love our chats. I appreciate you switching around your great Mance. I appreciate that.

26:04Chris Webber:Mance.

26:07Rich Eisen:And, you know, and obviously, Suze. I appreciate certain things. You want to say goodbye to Chris for us? I mean, what do you want to do?

26:13Chris Webber:I'm just sitting here thinking, is he saying maybe it's LeBron to Golden State for two years with Steve Kerr? You know, so that's a great question. That's actually a tough question because I don't think they're that close yet. You know, I think Golden State more than anyone is kind of the furthest away because you still have Butler. You know, can you trade him for a piece this valuable? You know, you've lost Kamenga. You have some good pieces, but I just think they're furthest away. And I just think, let's just say it's a dead heap of two to three teams that are equal and feel they're going to win a championship.

26:51Chris Webber:One of those three teams, whatever team he decides to go to would win the championship. Chris Webber. Now I can say goodbye.

26:58Rich Eisen:Now I can say goodbye. Yeah. I mean, and it could be Cleveland, obviously, who's on the precipice of the Eastern Conference Finals right now. It could be any of the teams that he's played for.

27:08Chris Webber:I like Cleveland. I didn't think of Cleveland. The reason why I like Cleveland is because he has big guys he can throw the alley-oop to. You know, you need big guys, right? Shooters. Because he gets in the pick and roll. And he has shooters. And he has other guys, you know, a la Kyrie and others that can take over, you know, when he just wants to be Magic Johnson. Then when he wants to be Jordan, he switches and starts attacking. Actually, I think, just right now from this conversation, Cleveland is man, that would be something. And he can go home again

27:41Rich Eisen:and finish. Obviously, staying put here is a possibility to chat next week, Chris. Thanks for the time. Hey, Chris, before you go, I just wanted to say...

27:51Chris Webber:I can't wait to the football season start, because then that's when we'll be texting you at four in the morning, you know, watching SportsCenter, laughing at the highlights.

27:59Rich Eisen:You'll be like, Dallas won again, TJ? Wow. Yeah, and then you'll come in and go, guess who texted me at four in the morning? Chris Webber. I'm going to text him right now. Take care, C-Web. We'll chat next year. Thank you, guys. All right, G. There you go. There's Chris Webber right there. So much to talk about coming off of that for sure. a SoFi personal loan is here to help you achieve something once thought impossible and that's overcoming high interest credit card debt walk the tightrope of your finances with one low fixed rate monthly payment no fees required and as soon as the same day funding that's correct pull off your own debt defying stunt with a SoFi personal loan visit SoFi.com slash trick to learn more Loans originated by SoFiBank NA, member FDIC.

28:47Rich Eisen:Terms and conditions apply NMLS 696891. Back with your phone calls and a little baseball update when we come back on the program. The Rich Eisen Show Podcast.

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29:43Rich Eisen:No purchase necessary. See website for details, including how to enter by mail. Brought to you by PayPal, official peer-to-peer payment sponsor of the NFL. Rich Eisen here. You ever notice what happens when something big rolls into your city? A major tournament, a can't-miss concert, a high-stakes playoff game. Suddenly, fans are everywhere. It feels like everyone's trying to get in. Streets are packed. Hotels book up fast. And finding a place to stay? Not so easy. That's exactly why this can be a smart moment to think about your own space. If you're planning to be away, you can list your space on Airbnb while all of that's going on and earn some extra cash at the same time.

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31:00Rich Eisen:jeffrey in san francisco is back on the program what's up jeffrey

31:05Chris Webber:you there Jeffrey Jason Jason Feller how's it going dude

31:10Rich Eisen:last time well well way to start off that way Jeffrey hey I'm sorry some dude just did the

31:16Chris Webber:same thing and didn't get drugged like I did last week well internally we laughed at him yeah we

31:21Rich Eisen:dragged him internally oh okay I appreciate it we did we did call him out on it though we did We shared a glance. I appreciate it. You might not have seen it on the radio, but we shared a glance. I said something to Jason that I couldn't say on air. What's on your mind, Jeffrey? Thanks, Jack. Hey, listen, Rich. You're a Yankee fan, right? That's correct. Can't confirm. Yeah. I went to high school with a Yankee. Who's that? That's the game, Rich. You want to play a game? I mean, Jeffrey, there's only like 10 ,000 Yankees in the history of the New York Yankees. All right, give us a decade, Jeffrey.

31:57Rich Eisen:Give me a position. A decade and a position. All right. All right, Jeffrey. Uh-oh. Alaska. Alaska. Alaska's not a position or a decade. It's neither a decade nor a position. But he's giving us close. Okay. Good. You're making the rules. Ready? I could not tell you a Yankee that lived in Alaska. I have a guess. I didn't say he lived in Alaska. I said Alaska. Oh, well, that doesn't help us any. I don't know. You better be better at this game, dog. Yeah. All right, give us a decade. Ready? Yeah, I'm very ready. All right, let's do it this way. I graduated. I'm 58. I'll be 59. Okay. Stop brocious.

32:37Rich Eisen:This summer. Rich, you're 65, 66, somewhere in that neighborhood.

32:43Chris Webber:I am 66.

32:47Chris Webber:Hold on, Jeffrey. That's her man, Jeff. She's going to let you talk about her man like that. Don't call him 65 or 66.

32:53Rich Eisen:What the hell is happening? That was for Jason. That was for Jason. That's even worse. He's trying to dig out of it now.

32:58Chris Webber:Yeah, I zig and zag too. I zig and zag.

33:00Rich Eisen:All right, Jeffrey.

33:01Chris Webber:No, it was Mike Messina.

33:03Rich Eisen:Oh. Oh, okay. Why is that Alaska? Moose. All right. That is such a rough one.

33:10Chris Webber:But let the record show that I was at least in the right. Bullwinkle.

33:14Rich Eisen:If it said Bullwinkle, that might have.

33:15Chris Webber:I was in the right zone. Right?

33:17Rich Eisen:You were. I was in the right zone. By the way, I love Jeffrey. Thank you for the call. There goes Jeffrey. I hate Richard, Richard, Richard. Oh, my God. I'm sorry. I got to talk to Susie real quick. Susie. Yeah. Her man's here, Jeffrey. I understand. Did you coordinate the documentary Inside the Mind of a Dog to watch for the family? Because I talked to Rich about that a couple weeks ago, and I don't think it happened.

33:37Chris Webber:No, we haven't done that yet, but I really want to watch that. Is it great?

33:40Rich Eisen:It's good, Susie. I'm telling you. Good, good. This is the second time I'm telling you because it's really, I want you all to see it, get the family. It's great.

33:47Chris Webber:Do you know how hard it is to get our three kids in the room together with us at the same time and want to watch the same thing? it's impossible. Maybe about a dog and if I make popcorn it'll happen.

33:56Rich Eisen:How you train service dogs it's beautiful. Pablo. There you go. Thank you Jeffrey. And speaking of dogs, Golden Tate that's what he was referring to. Right. Because Golden Richards Bullwinkle I would have gotten Moose. You know what I mean? Yeah probably. Alaska. I was looking up Yankees born in Alaska. It's hard to remember things. Suze that was brilliant. like you're just like out of you just took a dark road scott brocious i was like let me go with a really rando yeah oh by the way i have a question i'm supposed to ask what oh god my goodness ask her next time you know i write these things oh don't do that one with me sitting here not the baseball uh suzy word on these streets is that recently you got teed up in Taylor's basketball game.

34:48Rich Eisen:And the question is, did you curse? What did you say? What happened? We need to know. Why did you get teed up at a 12-year-old girls basketball game? How?

35:01Chris Webber:13-year-old girls basketball game. So, TJ, how long do we have?

35:04Rich Eisen:Like, I don't know. A couple minutes.

35:07Chris Webber:So, we were at Goldie's League, which is a great all-girls league here in Los Angeles. No doubt. Amazing league.

35:11Rich Eisen:By the way, I am just, I'm cringing. I'm not cringing. You did tell me to ask her this on May 11. There are other parents. There's the actual officials. It is the greatest league.

35:25Chris Webber:It's fantastic. It's run by our friend Goldie. And every so often, I feel the need, like Steph White did last night at the Fever Sparks game, to talk about the officiating and some plays that are consistently missed. uh i believe that the t rich look at look at poor rich you asked me to come in today i didn't have

35:48Rich Eisen:to go you asked her and you told me to ask her next time i'd see her please go on the long and

35:54Chris Webber:the short of it is the rules are only one coach can talk the sitting coach and the standing coach and at the time i was the sitting coach to coach tony who's my partner and so um i was offended by the lack of a call for a great block that our player ruby had put on the hurt on another player and so I was just furious from the seats because every game matters because I'm from New England and so the long and the short of it is so I'm now vociferously complaining as the seated coach as a seated coach and and the the head ref said excuse me only the standing coach can can talk so I tag teamed my partner out like I would on your wrestling podcast yeah you yeah tag team match and i got up and i had oh is that why is that why he then suddenly sat down and you stood up that's right i remember that moment and i followed the rules and then i gave him a piece of my mind and then it went from two shots to three and i i thought it was i thought it was

36:55Rich Eisen:him telling you that if you want to ask me something you know do it after the game right

37:03Chris Webber:and didn't you say then he said to me something like if you want to have a conversation we can have a conversation and I think I said I want to have a conversation right now.

37:12Rich Eisen:That's what, right, and then

37:14Chris Webber:And then it went to three shots.

37:16Rich Eisen:Went to three shots. Thanks for asking. I mean, you told me. It's in my notes.

37:21Chris Webber:It was a great puck, but we're undefeated. And we went on a 14-0 run after that.

37:26Rich Eisen:14-0 run to end it. It sounds like the ref is just telling you we could talk about this in the parking lot.

37:30Chris Webber:It felt personal. He's a great ref. He is a fantastic ref. He's a leader in what do you say like apologize

37:39Rich Eisen:keep going talk about how great he's a wonderful ref he might be reffing this weekend

37:45Chris Webber:and please don't he loves the Lions he's from Detroit what up

37:49Rich Eisen:doe tell him what up doe tell Eric what up doe but

37:55Chris Webber:we may have sparked a 14-0 run to keep our undefeated record as the champions from

38:02Rich Eisen:last year but I was wondering why suddenly Tony was standing and then you were sitting in there.

38:07Chris Webber:Tag team partners, let's go!

38:09Rich Eisen:Yeah, I've seen many great coaches in the NBA get themselves tossed out of the game to motivate their squad. So she did nothing differently than Pop would have done. Yeah. It was not like Hoosiers where she went out and said, throw me out. Throw me out. Like what?

38:26Chris Webber:Sometimes you have to be a little performative, I think, to rally the troops.

38:30Rich Eisen:As long as you were holding that tag rope when you tagged in, perfectly legal. Thanks for asking Thanks for asking What else do you want to know? What else do I want to know? That's such a great job No, no, stop it Roll your break, get the hell out of here You're going to ask her about that baseball being signed by a Yankee, do it when she's sitting in this chair and I'm not here Was it Scott Brosis? Stop it! It's not

39:03Rich Eisen:The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

39:29Rich Eisen:works without the garbage you don't want. Bucked Up is so confident you'll love their drinks, they're giving away an island vacation just to prove it. That's the kind of brand this is. No purchase necessary. Giveaway ends May 30th. Enter and find your closest Bucked Up at buckedupenergy.com. Grab a Bucked Up and fuel like a million bucks. In a world in need of a hero, one man rises to the challenge in style. He is just driving the kids to soccer practice. Make every day feel epic in an all-new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid with up to an EPA-estimated 619 miles of range on select trims, advanced tech, and class-leading interior space.

40:10Rich Eisen:Because when you're hauling kids' gear, snacks, and backpacks, space matters. And so does comfort. Just make sure they keep their cleats off the seats. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for details. Four! Back here. Hey! great shot honey you can't stop giggling now that ain't you right I like the shot of me staring down a shot that looked like on the part 3 I saw the post pull yourself together over there

40:49Chris Webber:I saw the post and I was like well there were no action shots

40:59Chris Webber:I can't believe you're a clown in this shot.

41:00Rich Eisen:She can't control herself over this.

41:02Chris Webber:Don't ruin the makeup. I got another show to do.

41:05Rich Eisen:Six feet away. I'm going to touch up before women's sports now. Rich, we're going to get that blown up for you and framed. Yes, we are.

41:13Chris Webber:And we're going to put it down here.

41:22Rich Eisen:In a world in need of a hero. Susan Schuster shows up.

41:29Rich Eisen:Put yourself together. One man rises to the challenge in style. He is just driving the kids to soccer practice. Make every day feel epic in the all-new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid with up to an EPA-estimated 619 miles of range on select trims, advanced tech, class-leading interior space. Because when you're hauling kids' gear, snacks, and backpacks, space matters, and so does comfort. Just make they keep their dirty cleats off the seats. The all-new Hyundai Palisade Hybrid is available. Visit HyundaiUSA.com or call 562-314-4603 for details. Speaking of details, Adam Silver, the commissioner of the National Basketball Association, appeared to give some to our friend Stephen A.

42:12Rich Eisen:Smith on his radio program, talking about the new anti-tanking rules. They're calling it the 3-2-1 program. The idea, because there's three ping-pong balls for certain types that aren't tanking, two ping pong balls for people that are doing the right thing as well and one ping pong ball for those who are just flat out not caring and tanking. That's it. They're the one ping pong ball. They go to the people in the relegation zone. That's true. If you finish in the bottom three, that's no good. Avoid that. We call it the relegation zone. You know, we have a lot of fun with that. Adam Silver putting a few more meat on the bone with Stephen A.

42:54Chris Webber:What we've essentially done, and we have a proposal that we're going to be bringing to our team owners at the end of May, and that is to create essentially a system of flat odds so that you have no particular incentive to be bad. That there's even something we're calling draft relegation, that if you're one of the bottom three teams in the league, you'll actually have worse odds than teams that sort of are four through up until teams make the playoffs. We're still playing a little bit with the system there. And also, ultimately, additional authority for the league office, that if we do see that type of behavior where there's a sense that teams aren't going all out to win, that we can actually take away draft lottery balls.

43:36Chris Webber:We can change the order of the draft, you know, that teams have to know it's not just about paying a financial fine, which they may think is worth it in order to get a top pick, but that it will directly impact their ability to get a top draft pick.

43:50Rich Eisen:Again, it's just, it's so weird to hear a commissioner of a major sports league, worldwide major sports league, saying the teams with the worst records do not have the best odds of getting the best help they can possibly get. It's just weird to hear it. But did you notice what he said as well? He called a draft relegation? Not the relegation zone? Maybe he doesn't know. What do you mean he doesn't know? He's a commissioner of the NBA. He should know these things. As Shom said, they're calling it the relegation zone. We even made Hoskins pull a screen grab from Superman 2. That's the relegation zone.

44:35Rich Eisen:That's not a draft zone or draft relegation. Relegation zone is when you get put into an NBA mirror and hurtled into deep space. It's floating. Well, congratulations.

44:47Chris Webber:Come on now.

44:49Rich Eisen:It looks like a Bee Gees album. I think someone needs to... We cannot have that changed. Maybe it was shorthanding it. We call it draft relegation. Yeah, I mean, maybe someone over there needs to do their job. NBA people, please call it the relegation. Come on, man. We've been doing a lot of work over here. That's our take. Brandness. Suze, you went to Sparks Fever last night. We did. Yeah, we went.

45:11Chris Webber:It was great. It was packed. You couldn't believe how many Caitlin in Iowa... Iowa, you know, Caitlin, Fever, Caitlin, Iowa. Jerseys were there. It was a great game to watch because it wasn't the high scoring that we've had in the beginning of the season so far. It was low as 87-76. Right. Fever took it. Caitlin, what, 1-3? Did she have 1-3? Kelsey Mitchell was hitting. A lot of talk about the reffing, though. A lot of conversations. Yeah, Steph White was real chippy about the refs afterwards. about, you know, we're in this kind of interesting time right now in the W where we're kind of leaning into the rule changes that happen in the offseason, the freedom of motion, and yet it felt like they couldn't get flow of the game because they just kept blowing the whistle.

46:00Chris Webber:They've got to let the girls play.

46:02Rich Eisen:Was too short of that the game?

46:03Chris Webber:Hmm?

46:05Rich Eisen:You said blow the whistle. I said it was too short. No, no, no.

46:09Chris Webber:But I have to say.

46:10Rich Eisen:But Kaitlyn Clark had 24.

46:11Chris Webber:she did she was absolutely like precision in the paint and the best part was um she was a class act to taylor after the game that's shook her hand said hello to her and that was really like when you get to meet a hero and the hero is everything you want them to be it was it was a monumental

46:30Rich Eisen:moment for our kid yeah and she came home and she when she came home she extended her hand to me i'm like what are you doing like i want to hug and she goes no do you want to shake the hand that shook the hand of Peyton Clark. She rubbed her sneakers in her

46:43Chris Webber:ball for good luck.

46:44Rich Eisen:Yeah, she had like a basketball that UCLA signed for her. She rubbed her hand on it for good luck. Thanks for listening to the Rich Eisen Show podcast. You can watch and listen to the Rich Eisen Show live weekdays from noon to 3 Eastern on ESPN Radio, Disney Plus, and on the ESPN app. The Rich Eisen Show, the podcast.

47:09Rich Eisen:Psst, it's mushrooms with Matty Matheson. Let me tell you the secret of how to look like you know what you're doing. Use mushrooms. Toss them in eggs. Noodles. Boom. It's delicious. It's not magic. It's mushrooms. Hit up mushroomcouncil.com and get cooking.