The Matt Thomas Show with Ross - Rockets Legend Vernon Maxwell Joins The Show Before Game 5 of NBA Playoffs

Episode Date: April 30, 2025

Rockets Legend Vernon Maxwell Joins The Show Before Game 5 of NBA Playoffs 

It is exactly 1030 here on the Matt Thomas show with Ross. A friend of the show, Rockets Legend, University of Florida, championship team 1994. Still the best lockdown two guard I've ever seen in my playing, especially against Michael Jeffrey Jordan, is Vernon Maxwell. He's on the show. Mad Max, you're going to beat the arena tonight early, aren't you? Definitely, yeah, we're going to be there. I need everybody to show up early unless show out. Everybody's going to wear their Vernon, Max.

Well jerseys for tonight's game. Is that correct? I hope so. I don't know how many jerseys they have on in the arena. But yeah, that's a Port-O mad match. But we definitely need, we need a win. That's the most important thing. We've got to get a win. I know. It's one of the, I hate that term must win, but we've got to go to it at this point. Hey, what would you do if you were able to pull Jalen Green aside for tonight's game? What would you? What would you, what would you, what kind of a great guidance would you give the young man?

just go out there and play and do what you've been doing all year you know because it works you know and you know don't think it's you just play the game when you think the game so much you know tend to you tend to play like a robot just go out and play the game free like he always been playing on every since he's been a kid and and everything else to take care of itself just play free It is incredible how a little bit of difference in this series, a few intangibles. We were talking about there's a nine-point discrepancy between the rockets and the warriors in these four games. And that can be free throws. And that certainly has been a huge part of that.

I was telling the audience, and maybe you can back me up on this as a former player. You can go to a practice facility. You can go to game day on shoot around and shoot 500 free throws and make 498 of them. It's a different animal when you got 18,000 people screaming at you, is not? Absolutely. that's a good out of space. Yeah, but no, that's true. That's a lot of pressure, you know, in the playoffs especially.

You know what I mean? Every point counts. And, I mean, like you say, it's a little detailed things that matters the most in the playoffs and the turnovers and making air free throws and things that. I mean, right now, you know, we just need to go out and play, man, get us a win, man, and just play free and down the stretch just make some shots, man. We've got to make shots down the street and get stuff. off the stretch.

So what have your emotions been during this series with all these games being as close to they have? I mean, I don't know if you're a guy that can sit still, if you're jumping around, if you're swearing in people on them. What's been going through your mind these days? A lot of swearing up and down, man. It's been up and down for me because, you know, I mean, one minute we're playing well and playing like we, you know, like, uh, Udoca got a lot like him to play. And then the next minute we plan like we tight, like we're trying to like play.

like play just to preserve just to hold on to the way but not. You got to keep doing what you did to get the lead. Just keep playing. You know what I mean? If that means blowing somebody out and then playouts, just keep playing.

Don't stop playing. Just keep playing the way you play to get the lead. There's a happy hour going on. Do you know what the specials are? Don't need to find out for myself. Man, we got hot dogs, Coca-Cola. We got half a lot.

No, we got everything. You know what happened. Let's come out and join old Mad Max and old Stephen Franchise. It's going to be a good show. It's going to be a good thing tonight. We're signing autographs. Let me have a little party. And get everybody ready for the night's game.

Why don't you play a one-on-one game right now? We'll set up a makeshift quarter on the promenade somewhere. I don't think that will work for me because I'm 60. You know, I'm 60. So I think Stephen Franchise can have that. let him have that. I hadn't played ball and probably about, I shoot around, but as far as

playing, like, competitively, oh, no, I don't do that. Game of horse, then. Okay, no, I don't work now. I'll do that. Now, that's a good show. That'll be something I would love to do. But that plan, I wouldn't do that. I can't play anymore. I'm just

a shooter now, catching shoot back. All right, Max, we're on a FCC family radio stations. You've got to be careful on this. I'm going to give you a question. Give me some thoughts about Dremont Green. He just does whatever it takes for his team to win. You know what I mean? I love that about him.

You know what I mean? I wish he was on our side, you know, in this series. But unfortunately he's not. But we got to do it. Like I keep saying, it comes down to we have to do whatever we got to do tonight to get this victory. But one thing I need, though, for real, though I'm just saying that. Now, I need all our fans.

I needed them to show up early, man. I need to, so last time I was here, I mean, fast was coming. They came in late. I needed to come in early. I need to be in the seats early tonight.

You know what we should do? We should get everybody that's going to the game tonight, get their phone numbers, and then you get it to them, and then you call them at like at 445, say, where are you at right now? Let's go get inside this building. That'd be a way.

That'd be easy to do it. Make it happen. We're going to make it happen. Let's do that. You don't have to make 18,000. thousand full calls you're not that busy these days you're 60 remember you told us that oh hey man you're right i'm just telling you're just telling you you're absolutely right you're absolutely right i'm just telling unless i got the podcast going i'm free yeah man your podcast is spicy my man what's

going on with that you're going to be careful with that language occasionally don't you don't you well no we're uncensored so that's why that's why that's why that's why that's why that's why that's why that's why do so well with that because you know I can pretty much say what I want to and it's nothing nobody's like to like to recommend and tell me all knowing the back over there way while I'm live telling me no you

can't do that you can't say that so no that's when I'm at my best when I can pretty much say that word I always use a lot. I know I know are you doing that with is that with Matt Barnes are doing that podcast with who else you working with on that?

Yeah Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes on all the smoke. So yeah, yeah. It's a great. I was glad to be able to join those guys. All right. Last question for a let you roll, Max. I want you to close your eyes unless you're driving. And give me to paint the picture for the Houston audience right now, how this game's going to go down tonight. All right. Okay, we know it's going to be a tough game. It's going to be all the way through. It's going to go back and forth all the way through.

But just down the stretch, I just got to rock. It's winning. by a slim margin but we're going to win because like I said all the time you know I think this year every game that I came to we had a loss so and so I'm here now so

and but I think going down to stress we just got to make shots I'm stressed and get some stops you know and I mean and just keep our composure and that's hard for me to say I know we got to keep our composure too out there

you know, because, you know, we got, this is going to be a real hostile game. And I know the guys coming out there wanting to fight and get that, get back, you know, but we just got to keep our composing, just go out there and do what we've been doing all years. And that's why, yeah, and that's why Max, Draymond scares me, because I think he knows they're up 3-1. He's got all sorts of wiggaroons so far. He's going to do whatever he can to get the rockets out of their psyche at this point. Absolutely.

He's going to be dirty Raymond tonight. So everybody better get used to get ready for it. So that's what's going to happen. You're going to legal screens and whatever you've got to do. Get up on somebody skin and get somebody kicked out. So, I mean, so. But we just got a whole lot of composure, man, and just go out and do what we did.

They're going all year. Max. And going on on Wednesday. You guys, that's right. Max and CB Franchise are going to be at the arena tonight beforehand doing autographs, hanging out in the Corona area. I guess you can be all bumping around the arena. Go find him.

Go say hello. He'll take a picture where he's got a sweet smile and he still can hit a mid-range jumper like nobody's business. That's Vernon Maxwell. Max, it's a pleasure to have you on. show today. Thank you very much for coming on with us.