0:00 ... Ross Geiger hello and welcome .... introduces co-hosts Bruce Bernstein and Michael "World B" Freer and teases our guest Peter Vecsey. This week's show (#142) is dedicated to former Mavs player Maxi Kleber, who will now be a Los Angeles Laker.

0:59 ... Ross live commercial read for BetOnline.

1:39 ... Bruce introduces Peter Vecsey and mentions some of his memorable nicknames.

2:45 ... Peter discusses his best nicknames and shares a great story about Joe Barry Carroll, whom he dubbed "Joe Barely Cares." Peter famously dubbed Larry Bird "Larry Legend."

4:35 ... Ross asks for Peter's reaction to the Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis trade and how none of the newsbreakers who cover the league had any clue it was happening.

10:32 ... Considering the principals in the deal, Peter shares his thoughts on some of the other deals that were historic but he feels than none were ever bigger than this one.

12:54 ... Peter tells why Dallas MAY have traded Luka and tells a story about how former Mavs coach Rick Carlisle left the Mavs because he did not like coaching Luka.

16:13 ... Why did the Mavericks want the often injured Anthony Davis?

17:15 ... The Lakers needed a big man, so naturally they traded their Hall of Fame big man.

20:12 ... Peter reacts to DeAaron Fox going to San Antonio and why he liked Fox prior to this season but has soured on him this year.

24:15 ... Bruce makes a joke about how the players for Archbishop Molloy H.S. in Queens (Peter's alma mater) were big time ballers and he joked how he was ahead of his time as a high school player.

24:53 ... Bruce takes a shot at Zach LaVine, who was traded from the Bulls to the Kings and how Sacramento's GM seems clueless. Peter goes on to discuss Billy Donovan, his first NBA interview that was done for SportsChannel at Hofstra University where Bruce also worked.

27:26 ... On being inducted into the Hoop Hall of Fame in 2009. Surprisingly Peter has little regard for the Hoop hall and Jerry Colangelo who is the boss.

31:23 ... Peter is annoyed that K.C. Jones is not in the Hall as a coach when he was voted one of the top 15 coaches of all time. He relays a great story Larry Bird told him about how K.C. got through to Dennis Johnson when other coaches could not.

36:22 ... Bruce asks about Michael Jordan and John Stockton and their 2009 Hall of Fame speeches. Peter tells a great story about how he took a big gamble during an interview with Stockton that he did for NBC where Stockton was tight lipped but how Peter eventually got him to open up.

39:21 ... World B initiates a discussion of the top players of all time ... Peter takes exception to the suggestion that MJ and LeBron are the two best ever. Peter ticks off many others who are up there.

41:42 ... Kobe is also right up there and Peter shares some moments from their discussions over the years. Their relationship was very close and he tells the story of how Kobe got his unusual first name.

44:44 ... Ross asks about the 65 game rule for postseason awards and Peter is in favor of it. Peter is NOT in favor of Adam Silver's idea for 10 minute quarters.

46:47 ... Bruce asks about the new All-Star game format and how the event has become unwatchable. Peter thinks the new tournament format may help make it more appealing. He is not impressed with the new women's 3 on 3 league but transitions into a story about how K.C. Jones allowed him to work out with the Celtics teams of the 1980s and play full-court 4 on 4.

50:12 ... World B asks Peter who his favorite interview subject was ... and it was Larry Bird. Of course, there's a couple of good Bird stories there! And there's a great story about how Bird signed a photo for Peter's son as a birthday gift. Peter truly misses being around Larry.

53:17 ... Peter shares some Bill Walton stories and how he helped Bill get into TV at NBC. We exchanged some Walton stories.

55:10 ... Bruce asks about the MVP race and how Nikola Jokic probably won't win it this year due to voter fatigue but that Shai Gilgeous Alexander is deserving. Peter feels OKC's record this year helps SGA. Peter goes onto discuss Lu Dort, whom he watched at Arizona State and is a key reason for OKC's success.

58:48 ... Peter predicts OKC will win it all this year ... he praises Isaiah Hartenstein of the Thunder and can't believe how good he has become.

1:00:06 ... Ross thanks peter and says goodbye

TRT 1:00:51

0:00 Intro

1:06 Downright Shocking News: The Dallas Mavericks trade Luka Doncic to the Lakers

1:27 World B provides his initial reactions when he first saw the news

2:25 Ross provides his initial reactions to seeing the big news drop

2:48 Ross provides all the specific details of the 3-team trade

3:24 Why do we think this trade went down?

11:07 Ross provides his thoughts on the mystery team the Mavs called prior to dealing Luka to LA

13:57 The impact of this trade on the Lakers moving forward

22:59 The Dallas Mavericks moving forward with Anthony Davis aboard

30:27 Is this the biggest trade in NBA history?

32:43 NBA Trade Machine gurus are loving life right now

34:25 Who won the trade? Luka for AD?!

35:40 De’Aaron Fox traded to the San Antonio Spurs!

37:11 What’s this trade mean for the Spurs?

38:54 Can the Spurs possibly contend as soon as this season with Fox?

41:02 Are we sure Chris Paul will still be on the Spurs after this year’s trade deadline?

42:55 What’s this trade mean for the Sacramento Kings moving on from De’Aaron Fox?

49:37 What’s in store for the Chicago Bulls moving forward?

0:00 Intro

1:30 The Cleveland Cavaliers have now hit a rough patch in their successful season

7:14 The Memphis Grizzlies are on fire entering this week’s action

12:01 Stock Up & Stock Down! The 48 Minutes crew starts up with their Stock Up Teams

12:12 Milwaukee Bucks

15:54 Indiana Pacers

19:51 Houston Rockets

24:44 Denver Nuggets

28:51 Phoenix Suns

32:34 Stock Down Teams

32:35 Orlando Magic

35:54 Dallas Mavericks

40:03 Golden State Warriors

43:29 San Antonio Spurs

46:13 Atlanta Hawks

49:45 Bruce provides his final thought on the Philadelphia 76ers

51:03 World B provides his thoughts on the NBA’s All-Star selection count

52:46 Ross shares a friendly reminder of next week’s exciting guest on the show!

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?