Eddie Johnson, Suns analyst

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Yeah, 25 point win for the suns last night in Memphis, although that game was closed for

three plus quarters here to talk about that.

The game at Orlando and everything, Phoenix Suns, Suns Television, analyst, serious XMNBA

radio host.

The one and only fighting a line, I alone, any Johnson joining us on the Arizona sports

line.

Good morning, Eddie.

Good morning.

I mean, you know, you're feeling sorry for the sun.

They got it back to back.

What about EJ?

We're back to back.

I mean, that a killer.

I mean, I got to work too.

I mean, I had a three hour radio still before the game and then I got to do the game.

I get in at three this morning.

What about me?

I'm 66.

Why don't you make feel good about me?

I feel, I feel, Eddie, I feel those back to backs too.

You know, when they're at home though, I don't have to deal with the road thing.

Yeah.

And you stay.

And you still say, say so handsomety.

Thank you.

I've gone from like three games and three nights when I play.

Yeah.

And now I'm doing two a days, but I'm 60, so I'm 66 years old.

I mean, feel has some compassion for me, okay?

You got it, man.

We will.

You've already get into the suns.

How about you are fighting a line?

A line.

Are you stoked?

Yeah.

Yeah, baby.

You know I'm stoked.

I'm big time stoked.

21 years.

That's the last time we got to a final four.

I think this is the best Illinois team that we've had and that's going back to the slime

and line on and all of that.

And something about balance, right?

Not talent, but just balance.

Yeah.

We got a lot of that.

We got a great chance.

You know, we saw it in the Chicago on Friday.

So EJ, EJ, EJ trying to talk his brother-in-law into driving him down to India and that.

Listen, I can put me in a Illinois jacket and I'll send up in the crowd.

They can look at me like EJ's back in town.

You know, you are a big deal, man.

I won't tell you that.

Well, good luck to the Alina in the final four, Eddie.

Thank you.

We've been talking about this game last night in Memphis and it was another in a string

of recent weird games for the sons.

It was, it was strange for three quarters, that fourth quarter they turned it on and pulled

away.

But what do you make of the son's performance against teams like the Grizzlies and the losses

that they had recently against Milwaukee and Chicago teams that aren't really trying

that hard to win.

But the sons have had trouble with some of those teams.

The older hardest teams to be guys, I'm telling you, they are because, you know, I'm not

saying they don't care the opponent that they're playing, but they're playing loose and

free.

You know, when you don't have pressure on you, you know, you don't tense up.

So it's like they just out there ballin' and that's exactly what they were doing that

first half, man.

They was just out there ballin' and I mean, just attacking them and I, you know, I thought

offensively, you know, we pretty much did everything that we needed to do.

But yeah, on the defensive end, man, they were like running, man, and it was just, it

wasn't pretty at first, but I felt no urgency to make that.

It wouldn't end up the way it did, but yeah, you just got to put teams away like that.

You just can't just nest around with them.

Are you going to get the return of Dylan Brooks tonight?

How long do you think it's going to take him to get back to being that dude and what do

you think his return brings to the team more than anything?

Is it just presence?

Oh, man, I think, you know, what Dylan brings is, he brings everything, you know, it's

just his presence, you know, a lot of times when you just have that cool, uncooled bodyguard,

right?

That guy that, you know, is going to do all the dirty work and will protect you, all of

that.

You want that guy out there and you missed that guy and just didn't put on top of the

fact that the guy is going to give you 20, you know, it's just simply amazing.

What he has done for his team in regards to culture and just how they approach things.

So I am ecstatic that he's back.

Eddie Johnson's on TV analyst serious XM NBA radio host our guest here on Bickley and

Marotta mornings.

We were talking earlier Eddie about, come on Malawatch and what his rookie season has been

about.

There was a time where I thought he, we knew he was green.

He's very young.

He's an experience and he looked that green, even when he got end of game situation minutes.

Now that he's been part of the rotation, very encouraging.

But what happens with Malawatch when Mark Williams is ready to come back in your mind?

Nothing.

I think he'll still get minutes.

I think he is proven that he deserves minutes.

And I think you know, I think the key thing is, obviously, when Mark comes back, not

the overworkings.

So I can see, I can see to it not playing three guys, even when he did it, you know, he's

done it before.

When he had nick riches early in the year.

So I don't think that's an issue at all.

I think, man, man, understands that, you know, he's still got his growth to go.

And it's just people that's in front of him, but that's not going to last long, man.

I mean, this young man is going to be special.

How he truly is and you know, it just gives us, it's more insurance, you know, foul trouble

happens.

Maybe, you know, Mark is not going to play back to back.

So he'll still get his reps.

But, you know, he has to be patient.

But yeah, he has definitely been a surprise in how much he has really grown over the last

few months.

I think there was a great little flex from Jordan out at the end of the third quarter,

a couple of seconds left instead of just, you know, just kind of your losses and huddling

up and coming up for the fourth quarter, he designs a play, book banks in a three and

there you go.

And now this team has got 42 wins, which guarantees them a winning record, which very

few people thought was possible.

As a guy that has seen many, many different kinds of basketball coaches, tell me what you

think of Jordan.

Not.

Well, I think, you know, the key to any basketball coach and I had like 12 of them.

I think it's the ones that just, they let you play, you know, and they let you play

to your strengths, but they expect things out of you that normally you couldn't give

at a high level.

And I think that's what he's doing for his team.

I think they're very relaxed on offense.

You never see any emotion from him.

If somebody takes a bad shot, he just looks at him and they know if it's a bad shot or

not, you know, case in point last night with Colin, you know, he missed his first 12 shots.

I think he's like over 18 over two games.

But yes, you know, after Colin made one bucket, then he looked at me and he made about three

or four more.

He's walking past me right now.

But no, I just think it's that is that kind of energy that I think everybody has on

his terms from Jordan, not that allows them to just play their game.

Seven games left in the regular season, sons, we're looking to keep that, that, well,

they want to move up to six, but it looks like the gap might be too much.

How important in your mind is it, Eddie, for the sons to hold on to that seven spot going

into the play?

It's vitally important.

You want both home games, right?

So if something crazy happens where you don't win the first one, you got a home game on

the second one.

But you know what?

They should not give up hope that they can catch you still or catch, you know, Denver,

whoever maybe gets a Minnesota, you don't give up hope until the end of the season.

And I like that part of it because that means they got to play it out, you know, like some

of these things right now and really no team can like rest.

Oklahoma City can rest the only two games above the San Antonio, so they got to keep

playing it out.

That's why I love the 82 game season.

That's why I kick back on Steve Perne to my shortness season.

But no, like the fact that Oklahoma City now has to play it out the 82 games and then,

you know, what they had to deal with last year going to two games sevens and playing

deep into June.

Once the playoff started, maybe they are fatigue.

We know that beat up.

They're in Williams.

It's like, you know, he doesn't play back the back.

So no, I think this is great, man, it's great for the other teams that at least make

those top teams have to exhaust all their energy, okay, to the end of the season.

Yeah.

And I think that gives you an advantage.

Yeah.

Eddie, great stuff.

As always, we'll be watching tonight in Orlando.

And hopefully we can talk again soon.

All right, guys, always thank you.

Thanks.

Eddie Johnson, son's TV analyst, serious XM NBA radio host.

And yeah, he's working the back to backs too.

We feel you, Eddie.

He's got that three hour serious radio show to do.

Yeah.

So he is putting a lot in which when you're doing that to be at a golf course, when doing that

on the road, that's going to be tough.

Yeah.

How do you're out of your element?

Uh-huh.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We feel you, Eddie.

Thanks, Eddie, for joining us here on the Arizona sports line.

Push that.

Are you sure you're in the state?

That was great.

I love that.

That was great.

I think we're going to hear that sound bite again.

baseball is the one sport where you can have a unique home field advantage.

So why don't more teams take advantage of that?

We got an interesting story for you next, particularly in a lot of mornings.

Arizona sports, the local sports leader.

Summer is close, but April is a great time to get started on your new presidential pool.

For a limited time, get $500 cash back and zero closing costs.

When you finance your new pool now through April 30th, 2026, go to presidentialpools.com.