The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Former NBA Player Stephen Jackson

Episode Date: January 30, 2020

Former NBA Player Stephen Jackson

Much larger than life. Yeah. Lunch timers. Is the Matt Thomas show. 12 o'clock. Yes, sir. Or a little bit after here on Sports Talk 790. Normally.

And he was in here right now in Miami on Radio Row. Ross Villarreal, it is the Matt Thomas show without Matt Thomas. We're getting a Port Arthur, Texas man right here. Michael Connor is there. Yes. What's up? Family, y'all family. It's a PA representing right now.

Stephen Jackson is in the broadcast in Houston, Texas. Stephen Jackson. How are you? How y'all doing, man? Thanks for having me. We're good. Sign that helmet? Yeah, sign that helmet, absolutely.

We left the basketball back in the hotel. I played football too. We are the home. Oh, you did? What did you play? I played receiver. Really? Oh, you're tall enough.

Yeah, I was pretty nice. You can just throw it up to you in the corner and you got it, right? I tried to play a ninth grade basketball coach pulled me off to the trial. I was like, no, we know, we know you're going to the NBA. your butt down over here, bro. It's probably good move. So we're the home of the Rockets. What have you made of the rocket season to this point with the transition into the Russell

Westbrook area? He's been playing his butt off this month, but James is going through something right now where he's just, he doesn't look like himself. But what have you made other season overall to this point? It's kind of hard to predict. If they can get on the same page where Russ is averaging the Triple-Dubber and James is still getting his 30, that's the team we want to see. Yeah.

But it's going to be hard to get to that. because it's only one basketball. That team has definitely not been the same since Trevor Areza has been gone. That's hurt the defense. They got to, and then to me, honestly, Dan Tony's not the coach. You know, they need a different coach.

Donnie is not the coach for those guys. And when has he ever won crickets? Every time I ask that question, it's always crickets. He's never won anything, but he's one. Coach of the year, but he's not a championship. Right, you know what I mean? So I honestly don't think he's the coach, but I think when Russ and James can get to playing

how they both play at the same time, then that's when that team going to be the team that they need to be. How do they get to that next level during a season? We're watching Russ right now in the middle of the season change the way that he plays by, he's stopped taking three-point shots. And he's been extremely effective getting to the rim

and getting a bunch of points. And James is not getting his typical numbers. Would the Rockets be better off as James is scoring 30 a night and Russ is doing what he's doing now, or James still scoring the 36 and Russ doing a little less? Well, I think they need to try something that they haven't tried before. Because with James, just scoring all the points

of dribbling the ball, that hasn't won you a championship. So obviously, you need to kind of take some of the responsibility off James and let Russ take over at times. But like I said, they have to find the fine balance where they're both doing it at the same time. You know, the Lakers are good because Anthony Davis and LeBron dominate the whole game. They both dominated.

I think when they can find a way to do that, and not just on offense, because James don't play no defense. If they can find a way to dominate on offense and defense, then the Rock is a bit better But they sugarcoat too much stuff, bro. They sugarcoat too much stuff over there. They don't hold James accountable for us bad defense. You know, and you wonder why you're not winning.

You know, it's just fact that they don't want to, that they want to cater to people, but they want to speak to real facts. They're not winning because Dan Tonys not the coach, and James have to be a better defender. You are two guard in the league. You guard the best players every night. So you have to learn how to defend them. And that's just the truth that they don't want to address.

I think he's just not, I mean, me personally, I think some, like, I think the criticisms were a lot, more fair a few years ago when the videos were coming out. He's just like losing guys on the perimeter, which he still does. But to me, he's better just because of the way he's built. He's 6'5, but he's just like an ox. And so when he gets switched on to the post, he does a lot better defensively there. I think he's just a guy who's not a good perimeter defender just because the way he is.

A lot of guards, they get him switched like last night. Damien Lillard was switched on to him. He can't hold Damian Lillard even if he tried. That's just not the way he's built. I think the defense, it's, and one of the way, you were talking about the Trevor Rees in the 2018 defense, they were switching everything. And he ended up in the post, and he was doing good that year. Yeah.

It's just on the perimeter. It's just, I just think he just doesn't have that skill set. I think, well, and then, too, you have to realize that defense effort. That's true. You can't teach defense. It's just effort. So when you're not playing defense, you're not playing hard. And the people don't want to say that.

I've been in the NBA 14 years. I've seen it. I've been on teams with guys. They just go through the motions. And a lot of guys, especially a lot of some guys, that make a lot of money when they know they're going to be in the team anyway, they don't play defense. But nobody never say something.

I was always on team where from the top player to the worst player, everybody was held accountable. And that's something in the NBA that they don't do now. They don't hold each other accountable at all. Long time NBA veteran. Port Arthur, Texas native, Stephen Jackson. All day. Bunn was on with the ND the other day. He comes up to our studio sometimes.

You're with us here at Radio Row in Miami. Click Capella. Yes. What do you think about Clint Capella? It's been a weird year for him. The pick and roll game has been gone, basically, from the Rockas on the offensive side. He's not a guy that you're going to pound it. In today's game, you're not pounding it down to the post, but what do you think of Capella's game and where it's been?

He seized his opportunity. He, I mean, without James, what would he be? I think James needs to get half his contract. I mean, where would Capella be without James? Just be real. Where would he? D-League. I'm just being real.

He's not bad bad. How many guys? It's guys in the D league that can do what he does. Facts. There's guys in college you can do what he does. The kid that's supposed to be the number one draft pick coming from Memphis. He's better than him right now. So it's all situations.

If he wasn't with James, we wouldn't even be talking about him. But he's a side. Like I said, he sees his opportunity. He played well at the right time, got his contract at the right time. But if he was on any other team, he would not have a hundred million dollar contract. And that's just the facts, man. Y'all don't have to like it. It's just the truth.

Hey, no, it's your repeat. I'm talking about the fans. Yeah, absolutely. Respect your opinion. You're a long-time guy in the NBA. Absolutely. In the West, who's the favorite to you right now? Well, especially with everything happening to Kobe.

I feel sorry for the NBA. LeBron from to be on the tear. They're already the best team in the league. I think he really going to turn up and make it a point to play harder and give more effort just to bring that championship home back to L.A. Obviously, they still have to go and win it. You know, I can say this until I'm blue, but they still have to go out there and play the game,

but I got the leg is pulling it on. I see them making another move too. For who? Jamal Crawford. Jamal Crawford. He's sitting at home, right? That's easier a move to make. You don't have to get rid of nobody.

It's an easy move to make it. If they're clicking at their best, though, who's the better overall team, them and the Clippers? Defense win championships, so I'll go to Clippers. Okay. I think I'd be with you there. In the East, do you give anybody a chance over there? Besides the Bucks? No.

Philadelphia, they got worse since they lost Jimmy. Butler. You see how better Miami got since they had you? Yeah, they top four team in the East. Nobody's beating up Milwaukee though. They just rolling right now. Kobe Bryant, you mentioned it. It's been a hard week for the sports world in general. A moment for you as a player in the league with Kobe that stands out more than any of the others and just what he meant to you as a player? You know, I just, I hold the high school days. McDonnell's All-American game, ABCD campus stuff. like that when a lot of people had nobody knew he Colby was but we knew he was going to be great

at that time you know even my mom my uncles everybody was taking pictures with him when he was 16 17 because he just had that aura of greatness you know he carried himself like mj as a teenager and the one thing i hold tight is every last three times i seen him he told me the same thing because i was one of those guys when i play basketball i get a lot of technical files and i play like i'm angry he's always he told me this after we shot the last show a couple weeks ago and he told me this before I saw him when I was playing. He was like, Jack, whatever you do and make sure you enjoy it. So I'm holding on to that for the rest of my life. Everything I'm doing, I'm going to make sure I'm enjoying it.

And that's just the person he was. He wanted to see everybody happy. He wanted to help as much as he could. And he was doing great things after basketball. And I just hate people not going to be able to see that same tenacity that he brought to the court that he was going to bring to after basketball. Is basketball missing mentalities like Kobe right now in this world of the game today? You know why it's good as good as you asked me that question. It's easy to see that because you have so many players.

Mamba mentality, mama mentality. You got to be born with that. You can't just be, you can't just wake up and see, oh, I'm going to put pound mama mentality and I'm a habit. It don't work like that. You have to be born with that. Kobe was born with that. Kobe didn't make that up. He had it as a teenager.

Kobe had a kill list at 13. That's different. That means you're different. What do you mean? Yeah, that's a different level. I'm just thankful I wasn't on it. Okay? He had a kill, I don't know any other basketball player that had a kill list of 13.

That shows you how dedicated he was to game basketball. Stephen Jackson with us here at Radio Row down in Miami. So with all the rockets, though, that we're talking about, and, you know, if we're looking to a spot where the team needs something in the middle of the season, what's the best place for them to get some sort of addition to possibly give them a chance to beat a team like the lake? What team they did they get from? What kind of player? What are they missing?

They need a small ford that can defend and knock down a wide open shot. That's what they need. It's too much pressure on PJ Tucker. There's too much pressure on him trying to stop the best player. When they was rolling, him and Areza was taking turns on the best guy. It's too much pressure on the PJ Tucker, and they need another guy that they can throw the ball down to it, like a small for it, that they can post up. And when James and Russ is doing it, ISO, he can spot up at him to three. that's what they need.

I don't think it's wrong. I don't know who it is. Yeah. Those don't grow in trees, unfortunately. You got any game left? Oh, no. Man, hey, man, I'm 24-hour cannabis guy. I might not even play Big Three this year.

I don't know if I had that left. So what's going on with you? I mean, just hanging out and doing the TV stuff. Yeah, all the smoke, of course, and I'm in the cannabis business with Al Hanson, with Viola. We released, I released my first movie called Candy with, My guy Boomtown is on Amazon Prime. Wow.

And that's it, man. I got a couple movies I'm going to do this year. Matt Barnes got a movie he's in. And that's it, man. I'm full time with this All the Smoke show.