0:00 ... Ross hello and welcome .... intros co-hosts Bruce Bernstein and Michael "World B" Freer

0:41 ... Episode #140 is dedicated to Kurt "Crazy Eyes" Thomas, who wore #40 in his NBA career

0:53 ... Ross teases teases special guest J.A. Adande who will join the show to reflect on a solemn basketball anniversary.

1:30 ... Ross does the Bet Online live commercial read.

2:06 ... Bruce introduces J.A. and shares some of his legendary achievements

3:20 ... J.A. points out that Bruce's son Mitch Bernstein was also a close friend and roommate during his internship in LA a number of years ago.

4:03 ... Bruce asks J.A. about the fires in his native Southern California and how they have affected the psyche of the entire region and J.A. has great perspective on the catastrophe and how it affected many who were close to him.

6:49 ... Ross teases the deep dive on Kobe Bryant but asks J.A. about being honored as the winner of the Curt Gowdy Media Award from the Basketball Hall of Fame and what it was like to be considered an all-time great in basketball journalism.

9:12 ... World B asks J.A. about those who influenced him the most as a writer. J.A. mentioned Jim Murray, David Aldridge, Mike Wilbon, and many others.

11:17 ... Bruce raises the name of Chris Ramsay from ESPN.com, a mutual friend of J.A. and Bruce's who was a key person in J.A.'s success.

13:00 ... Bruce asks J.A. about all the ESPN people who have won the Gowdy award and if they had anything in common regarding the way they covered the league. Fellow winner Marc Spears gets a shout out for his wise counsel at Hall of Fame weekend.

16:10 ... World B asks J.A. what it was like to be a prominent panelist on ESPN's Around The Horn and how it had a powerful impact on his life and career.

18:47 ... Ross and Bruce provide some stats about Around The Horn and Ross receives permission from J.A. to mute his co-hosts as Tony Reali has done to ATH panelists for many years.

19:57 ... Ross points out that January 26th is the 5 year anniversary of Kobe Bryant's death and J.A. shares where he was when he heard the news and his immediate reaction upon hearing of Kobe's death.

23:55 ... J.A. puts into perspective why Los Angeles loved Kobe the man as much as they loved him as an athlete. The way he embraced LA and knew all the different neighborhoods were huge reasons.

27:03 ... Kobe was known to do research on people he would meet for the first time in order to put them at ease. But while J.A. never witnessed that, he praised Kobe for the way he handled his relationships with members of the local media. J.A. said that in the age of social media, modern athletes put less emphasis on those relationships.

29:19 ... Kobe and Michael Jordan were similar in many ways and J.A. explains that it was both a conscious effort on Kobe's part and simply a matter of MJ and Kobe being cut from the same cloth. J.A. feels that eventually Kobe came to regret those comparisons.

32:16 ... Was there one moment from Kobe's career that stood out to J.A.? Well ... there were a few! The game 7 comeback vs Portland in 2000 was memorable because of Kobe's giddiness.

35:24 ... Bruce's favorite Kobe/J.A. moment was from an NBA Coast to Coast show in Kobe's final season and J.A. describes what happened that night. J.A. uses that incident in his current job as a journalism professor at Northwestern as a teachable moment for his students.

38:49 ... Bruce asks about LeBron James and whether he has begun to mentally check out now that he has played an NBA game with his son Bronny. J.A. thinks it is possible because there is really nothing left to achieve.

40:30 ... J.A. makes his predictions for the rest of the season .. OKC wins the west, Boston wins the east, and Boston wins the championship.

42:19 ... Bruce asks J.A. if he is getting the "1995 Rockets vibe" about the Celtics where a defending champion looks less than dominant in the regular season but ends up repeating due to their "heart of a champion?"

43:43 ... Ross wonders if J.A. has any feeling on who the next "American face" of the league might be ... or even if there will be one?

47:58 ... If J.A. were starting his career over again, which player would he want to cover the most? LeBron James might be the guy. Michael Jordan too.

50:33 ... Ross thanks J.A. ... who thanks Bruce for helping him make some money working in TV! And we'll see you next week!

TRT 51:17

0:00 Intro

1:26 The 48 Minutes crew starts the show off discussing something much bigger than basketball

2:48 2 NBA teams are going streaking!

2:56 The Sacramento Kings are surging so far with Doug Christie as head coach

8:06 The Indiana Pacers extended their winning streak to 6 games win their win over the Cavs in Cleveland on Sunday

13:41 What’s going on with the Boston Celtics recently?

19:28 Paolo Banchero has returned for Orlando, can the Magic hold onto the 4th spot in the East with a tough week ahead?

24:26 A first half of the season reflection

24:38 How many true contenders are there in the Eastern Conference?

28:33 How many true contenders are there in the Western Conference?

32:21 Other than the Cavs, which team has been most impressive in the Eastern Conference this season?

34:33 Other than the Thunder, which team has been most impressive in the Western Conference this season?

36:32 Which team has been the most disappointing in the Eastern Conference?

39:17 Which team has been the most disappointing in the Western Conference?

42:06 Who is our first half of the season MVP?

44:39 Who is our first half of the season Coach of the Year?

47:12 Quick final thought on NBA pop culture!

48:08 Bruce gives us a sneak preview on next week’s guest JA Adande

0:00 ... Ross says hello and welcomes the panel.

0:37 ... Episode #138 is dedicated to 38 year old Jeff Green, who is still ballin' at his advanced age.

0:55 ... Ross live commercial read for Bet OnLine.

1:34 ... Bruce is back after missing the past two shows and explains his absence.

2:10 .... The show begins with a discussion of Sunday's game between the OKC Thunder and the Boston Celtics. Bruce felt that OKC played the best half of defense that any team played all season in the second half.

4:13 ... World B feels that there are no longer any question marks about the Thunder after their huge wins over the Celtics and the Knicks earlier in the week.

7:55 ... Ross wonders if Bruce is ready to give up on his Boston/OKC finals prediction but Bruce isn't ready to do that. World B feels that OKC clearly looks like the best team in the league.

11:17 ... The Jimmy Butler drama continues and Bruce said this divorce was totally predictable. When Pat Riley criticized Butler during last season's playoffs, the handwriting was on the wall for the divorce. World B feels that very few GMs around the league will be knocking down the door with offers for Butler.

13:47 .. Butler isn't Miami's only problem. Bam Adebayo has had a tough season and looks worn out after the Olympics and Ross feels part of Bam's struggles are the result of not having a real point guard. Ross also feels that a third team might need to be involved in order to facilitate a Butler trade.

16:49 ... Kawhi Leonard is back after being out for 253 days. His return bolsters a Clippers team that has overachieved in his absence. His defense is a given but World B feels the Clippers really need his offense. They're a talented but aging team and the question is "do they have one more run left in them?"

21:14 ... The Cleveland Cavaliers are a league-best 31-4 and are currently on a 10 game win streak. It's their second double digit win streak of the season and we're still a month away from the All Star Break. World B said the Cavs remind him of the 2019 Raptors when Toronto fired coach Dwane Casey and brought in Nick Nurse. The Cavs did something similar when they fired JB Bickerstaff and hired Kenny Atkinson over the summer. Will Cleveland win the NBA Championship like Toronto did?

26:00 ... Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama faced off twice over the weekend with Denver and San Antonio splitting the two games. The epic matchup featured incredible performances from both big men. Joker is a three time MVP and Wemby will probably be the Defensive Player of the Year. The crew was incredibly impressed with both guys.

31:22 ... Anthony Edwards has had a frustrating season and Ross wonders if he is "thinking the game" properly. World B thinks some of his recent comments were silly and are the result of his frustration. Bruce thinks that the Karl-Anthony Towns trade has been a major reason for AntMan's frustration.

36:02 ... The Warriors have lost Jonathan Kuminga for at least three weeks with a severe ankle sprain. World B is concerned that the depth on the team is already shaky and losing Kuminga is a big blow. And since the defense is not that good, losing Kuminga's offense really hurts.

39:11 ... Ross wonders if Jimmy Butler might be a candidate to join the Warriors since he was always on their radar screen. Bruce doesn't feel Butler would work salary-wise, but Ross think that Golden State might make the move to help Steph Curry continue to be successful in the twilight of his career.

40:56 ... Final Thoughts ... Bruce's appreciation of Derrick Rose, who was honored in Chicago over the weekend. Ross has his own memories of Rose from when Ross worked for the Bucks.

43:19 ...Ross's final thought is on Immanuel Quickley of the Raptors who is back healthy after a lengthy injury absence.

44:00 ... Ross says goodbye

TRT 44:23

0:00 Intro

1:17 Movers & Shakers Around the Association

1:30 The Sacramento Kings cut ties with Head Coach Mike Brown

6:27 Was Doug Christie the right selection to become the Kings interim head coach?

8:15 Did the Kings signing DeMar DeRozan factor into the pressure put on Mike Brown?

11:32 The Lakers trade away D’Angelo Russell for Dorian Finney-Smith

16:32 Nets GM Sean Marks had a very busy month of December making moves & what’s next?

20:31 Dorian Finney-Smith’s impact & the Lakers moving forward

25:29 Team Talking Points

25:32 The Phoenix Suns continue to struggle. Ross has some long term questions!

30:02 Are the Memphis Grizzlies the Orlando Magic of the Western Conference?

35:23 World B chimes in on whether or not it’s time to panic in Phoenix with the Suns

37:59 Will Devin Booker make the All-Star Team this season?

39:53 Can the Detroit Pistons sustain their recent success out East?

42:43 Which Pistons guard steps up in Jaden Ivey’s absence?

44:54 No Final Thought, but a Final Question for World B!

0:00 Intro

1:25 The Milwaukee Bucks are NBA Cup Champions! The Championship game recap

3:20 Do the Oklahoma City Thunder need to address their perimeter shooting prior to the trade deadline?

6:34 Giannis put on an absolute show in Vegas winning the NBA Cup MVP, where does he rank for the season MVP?

9:35 Will winning the NBA Cup MVP help Giannis’s case with MVP voters?

11:30 Key role players on the Bucks have stepped up big time recently, has the team turned a corner?

14:53 The Bucks are right on the Magic’s tail out East in the standings, can they catch Orlando?

18:24 Would the Magic benefit from making a trade to improve their roster prior to the deadline?

21:31 Karl Anthony Towns makes his first return to Minnesota & the Knicks pounded the Wolves

23:24 Mikal Bridges is finding his groove offensively with the Knicks

25:12 Ross provides his insights into the unselfishness of this Knicks group

27:35 Christmas Day Game Previews!

27:54 Wemby & the San Antonio Spurs visit Madison Square Garden to face the Knicks

30:12 “Anta” Claus & the Minnesota Timberwolves head to Dallas to take on the Mavericks

32:49 The Boston Celtics host Joel Embiid & the Philadelphia 76ers

35:57 LeBron James & the Lakers head to the bay to battle Steph & the Warriors

38:32 KD & the Suns cap off Christmas action in Phoenix against Jokic & the Denver Nuggets

41:10 Coach Bud’s defense in Phoenix isn’t as good as usual, is the roster to blame?

43:28 Final Thoughts: NBA viewership is down, but why?

0:00 ... Ross says hello and introduces co-hosts Bruce Bernstein & Michael "World B" Freer.

0:34 ... Ross recognizes this week's show (episode #135) as it falls on the second anniversary of our very first show. We've never missed a week since we started, so we consider ourselves "Ironmen" of sorts, not unlike the great AC Green, formerly of the Lakers who played in an NBA record 1192 straight games.

1:51 ... Ross does the live read for Bet Online

2:23 ... Ross tees up the NBA Cup Special and begins with the Atlanta Hawks, who battled Milwaukee in one of Saturday's semifinal games and seem poised to make a nice run during the remainder of the NBA season. Trae Young has improved his playmaking and players like Dyson Daniels and DeAndre Hunter are really stepping it ip.

9:19 ... Our focus shifts to the Milwaukee Bucks, who rode the stellar play of Giannis Antetokounmpo to a win over the Hawks and a spot in the championship game on Tuesday. Giannis has gotten a lot of help in recent weeks with the return of Khris Middleton and some more production from Damian Lillard. Age and health remain concerns for the Bucks.

24:32 ... Ross tees up a discussion of the Houston Rockets, a young team that battled the Thunder but has major offensive struggles. The Rockets are dynamic on defense but they struggle to score in the halfcourt and that holds them back against great teams like the Thunder.

30:05 ... Our conversation switches to the OKC Thunder, a team with championship aspirations that will battle the Bucks in Tuesday's championship final. Bruce feels like Shai Gilgeous Alexander plays the game as a guard like Nikola Jokic does at center. He plays at his own speed, he will not let defenses speed him up, and he gets to spots on the floor at just the right time and has a knack for always being where he should be. Ross feels that defensive wizard Lu Dort of the Thunder will actually guard Giannis frequently on Tuesday night.

38:23 .... Bruce, "World B," and Ross all make their predictions for the Bucks/Thunder matchup on Tuesday night. Bruce doesn't feel OKC can stop Giannis, "World B" also likes the Bucks, but Ross is picking the Thunder. Bruce "accuses" Ross of using reverse psychology since he is our resident Bucks fan but Ross insists he is concerned about Damian Lillard's ability to score on OKC's perimeter defenders.

44:27 ... Bruce's final thought concerns his desire to see Jimmy Butler traded from Miami to Houston.

45:39 ... The final thought from "World B" concerns the suddenly healthy Memphis Grizzlies and how Ja Morant needs to clean up his act and grow up.

46:56 ... Ross's final thought is on the two early trades that took place this week. Dennis Schroeder to Golden State and Thomas Bryant to Indiana.

47:57 ... Ross says goodbye

TRT 48:10

0:00 Intro

1:27 Ross introduces tonight’s special guest Zaza Pachulia

4:07 Drafted in 2003, a lot of international big men at the time were considered soft entering the NBA, but not Zaza!

7:18 Coming into the league at 19 years old, what were the biggest challenges he faced as a rookie?

9:46 Was there any kind of language barrier for Zaza at the start of his career?

12:52 Has Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze asked for him for advice throughout his young career in the NBA?

16:11 Being from the same NBA Draft class as LeBron James, Zaza provides his thoughts on how LeBron James continues to impress

19:48 Zaza reflects on the 2008 Hawks/Celtics Playoff Series & his battle with Kevin Garnett

26:31 Zaza shares some stories on his former teammate & close friend Al Horford

29:01 Zaza on what he remembers from his 2015-2016 season with the Mavericks when he nearly made the NBA All-Star team

33:01 Was the Golden State Warriors Dynasty Team is the best NBA team ever?

40:21 The unfortunate Kawhi Leonard closeout became known as “The Zaza Rule” does it bother him that an NBA rule is named after him?

43:07 Being close friends with Klay Thompson, Zaza talks about him joining the Mavericks & his recent return to the Bay for the first time

46:38 Zaza shares some memories out at sea with Captain Klay

48:31 Word Association with Zaza!

48:47 Draymond Green

51:22 Steve Kerr

55:56 Giannis Antetokounmpo

57:49 Dirk Nowitzki

59:48 Stephen Curry

1:03:36 Zaza shares a special message to his fellow Georgians

0:00 ... Ross hello, welcome, and introduces the panel.

0:37 ... Ross dedicates episode #133 to Toumani Camara of the Portland Trailblazers, who happens to wear jersey #33.

1:04 ... Bet Online Live Commercial Read

1:41 ... The show begins with a recap of the strong week by the up and coming Atlanta Hawks. Head coach Quin Snyder is in his second full season and really seems to be getting his program established with a young team.

6:29 ... The Cavaliers beat the Celtics on Sunday to remain on top of the eastern conference with a 17-3 record. It appeared to be a "statement win," but was it really? Bruce has his doubts. Ross expressed concern over the recent struggles of Jrue Holiday.

12:50 ... Boston may have lost to the Cavs on Sunday but they've been bolstered by the return of Kristaps Porzingis, who missed the first 17 games of the season after having off-season surgery. The guys discuss what his presence means for the Celtics. Bruce feels Neemias Queta did a great job while Porzingis was out and his presence should help Al Horford stay fresh for the playoffs. Ross loves KP as a "first basket" betting option for those who like to wager.

15:46 ... Sunday night's battle between the OKC Thunder and Houston Rockets featured a gritty win by the Rockets, who are playing tremendous defense under coach Ime Udoka. OKC misses Chet Holmgren and even with the return of Isaiah Hartenstein, the Thunder are struggling to rebound effectively. World B reminds everyone that Jalen Green of the Rockets needs to shoot a higher percentage from the floor if the Rockets are to make noise in the playoffs.

23:01 ... Our NBA Cup breakdown begins with Group A in the East ... Will the Knicks get past Orlando on Tuesday night and clinch a spot in the knockout round? The crew is split on who will emerge. World B concludes with a very bold prediction about the Magic.

28:49 ... Group B in the east comes down to the winner of Detroit vs. Milwaukee on Tuesday night. Our crew likes the Bucks but the Pistons can clinch the wild card even if they lose ... as long as they don't lose by more than 5 points.

32:48 ... Group C in the east has already been clinched by the Hawks. The Celtics could emerge from the bracket as the wild card team, but they'll need help from Orlando and a large margin of victory (7 points or more) between the Pistons and Bucks regardless of which team wins.

33:55 ... Group A in the west has already been clinched by the Rockets so the Blazers and Clippers have a shot at the wild card, but both teams will need help from elsewhere in order to advance. The Clippers have a slightly better chance than Portland.

38:03 ... Group B in the west has the most intrigue on Tuesday. The Thunder clinch at least a wild card if they beat Utah on Tuesday. The Spurs clinch the group with a win over Phoenix but if San Antonio loses, there's no path to the wild card and it opens the door for Phoenix to possibly grab the wild card if Dallas lays an egg against Memphis.

40:42 ... Group C in the west has been clinched by Golden State. Dallas grabs the wild card with a win over Memphis. If the Grizz beat the Mavs and the Nuggets beat the Warriors, both Memphis and Denver could theoretically advance to the wild card, but there are many scenarios that would have to take place for that to happen.

43:22 ... Final Thoughts: Bruce feels there could be a new "Batman" in Memphis with Jaren Jackson Jr emerging as Ja Morant's virtual equal.

45:08 ... World B's final thought is on the Magic and how they'll become a real threat to do damage in the playoffs if they regain their health. They may even be Boston's toughest matchup in the playoffs.

46:18 .... In Ross's final thought, he surprisingly sees a good future for the Toronto Raptors if Scottie Barnes and Immanuel Quickley get themselves rolling to go along with RJ Barrett, who has played well.

47:23 ... Ross says goodbye

TRT 47:40