DeMar DeRozan: NBA Has ‘a Lot of Sorry Motherf-----s’
1. A quick note before we get started: Please send me any and all questions you may have for this week’s SI Media Mailbag, which will be posted later today. You can send your question via Twitter or email me at Jimmy.Traina@si.com. Thanks.
Back in March, LeBron James caused a little bit of a stir when he sent out this tweet.
Bulls star DeMar DeRozan recently backed up LeBron's point on Paul George's podcast. And DeRozan did so in a more colorful and damaging manner. Not only did DeRozan call out players for not being good, he also claimed many players don't love playing basketball.
"We do got a lot of sorry motherf-----s in the league, I'm gonna be honest," said DeRozan.
“Being in the league so long, you realize how many motherf-----s don’t love the game of basketball, who take it for granted, who feel so entitled, who just want everything that comes with it, but don’t want to put the work in. It’s so frustrating. You know what I mean? Like, we played in an era where you had to earn everything, so you got so many guys coming in thinking they just should be playing because their homeboy told them they nice. And it’s like, Bro, you’re not good, so I definitely got Bron’s standpoint.
George weighed in to back up DeRozan’s point, saying, “There’s a good, what is it, 450 of us. There’s a good 75 to 100, stinks.
I'm not sure the league loves hearing this, but DeRozan and George deserve props for being honest and not trying to sugarcoat things for fans of the league.
2. Despite having all these players who stink, the NBA has serious ratings momentum going into the conference finals that begin tonight.
Game 7 of the Sixers-Celtics series on Sunday was completely unwatchable after three quarters, but the game still managed to draw 8,441,000 million viewers, making it the most-watched semifinals game on ABC in 12 years.
Game 6 of the Warriors-Lakers series on Friday, which was also a stinker, drew 8,640,000 million viewers on ESPN. It was the most-watched semifinal game on any network in 12 years.
3. Based on some tweets I've gotten over the past 24 hours, I know many of you are expecting me to rant and rave about the NFL putting a playoff game exclusively on Peacock. I'm going to save the ranting and raving for this week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast and this week’s SI Media Mailbag, which comes out later this afternoon. I’m just going to use this space to say, I told you so.
4. Last week, I posted video of Josh Allen hitting bombs at a charity softball event. The Bills quarterback was at it again Monday night. This time he was going deep during batting practice before the Blue Jays game against the Yankees.
5. The video below of a Little Leaguer getting engulfed in something called a “dust devil” while at home plate is wild. The kid explained how scary it was for him in this story.
6. This week's SI Media With Jimmy Traina features an interview with ABC-ESPN lead NBA play-by-play man Mike Breen.
Breen, who is about to call his 18th NBA Finals, talks about how wide open this year’s playoffs have been, his longtime partnership with Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson, and the impressive depth of NBA broadcasters across the networks.
Breen also discusses what his relationship is like with LeBron James and James’s still going strong at 38 years old, whether he ever thinks about giving up calling Knicks games, his signature “BANG!” and “WAY OFF” calls, how he used to hook up Knicks fans at Madison Square Garden and much more.
Following Breen, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, Sal explains the disaster he had to deal with while trying to watch a Knicks playoff game. We also read recent Apple reviews listeners left for SI Media With Jimmy Traina.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.
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7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: Ten years ago today, May 16, 2013, The Office aired its last episode ever. While we should all pretend Seasons 8 and 9 never happened, the finale was a very good episode.
Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
