Todd Monken's Mindset and James Harden's Defense

0:00We got something to give away, ladies and gentlemen, we're looking for a winner and the code word home, H-O-M-E home at 923 the fan.com before 10 a.m. for your chance to put a pair of tickets to the R&B tour starring Usher and Chris Brown July 7th at Huntington Bank Field tickets are on sale now ticketmaster.com it's all from Live Nation and Sports Radio 92 3 the fan Usher and Chris Brown that's a night out last night. I never called a much Aram and I call much rain Usher Raymond because it's R&B Raymond and Brown. I don't know you're right. End of the word home H-O-M-E Usher Raymond and Chris Brown if you have two kids maybe you'll have a third after that night it's a hell of a concert and they're a hell of a performer. Both of them. Hell of a performer. What? It better be great. You know why you put that music on? Hell come on now. It

1:01better be a great night. You ain't gonna believe a bleeper on me ain't gonna happen. I like Todd Munkin so much don't take this the wrong way. There's two things I want to get off my chest before because we got to get cabs and everything like that. There's two things I got to get off my chest. One he is so affable that it makes me want to make one of them stupid pony guarantees. Like you or two people are tweeting about the horses the whole time which by the way he fully understands the NFL policy on gaming. Trust me on that. I'm gonna go out of my way. He fully understands so don't floreo if you're out there and turn right on back around and go smoke a cigar in the barn okay buddy. Second now I got three things to get off my chest. Second of all so many people have been said in horse memes now it's like you know they make the playoffs what if I do what if I just say if they make the playoffs I'll get one of those like Tony soprano the him with the horse but I'll have up but I have Todd Munkin with pyo my like on my shoulder on my back on my arm something like that because if

2:02they make the playoffs for me what the hell right in already say I was gonna get some sort of other tattoo by accident once I'm just getting tatted up all over the place. You said if they end up with archmaning next year you were tied to the scores of week 17 and week 18 on your body on my body. I didn't say where but I'd say somewhere on my person thank you for remembering that so boy I already got that going on me. Well either way I might end up with a with a tattoo all right then I'm not gonna make that tattoo brother. I'm not gonna make that guarantee. I mean I'm gonna be 40 this summer what the hell do I have to hide anymore. I mean I got past the whole tattoo phase when you're a younger guy and I'm like I'm not gonna get to my eyes will get a tattoo who cares who cares 2026 about to be 2027. Nobody cares about that stuff anymore. Second of all don't take this the wrong way. Such an affable guy that it sucks that they got to kick off this fall. I don't mean to just drop a great big turd in the middle of the room you understand what I'm saying. I benched like I don't want to have to sit

3:05there and judge him. Oh yeah. Like I don't want it like they're not gonna win some games and there's gonna be some people very upset and I'm gonna go have to go yeah you're right that was totally mishandled. Yeah you're right that was totally bad. Yeah you might be right maybe he made a terrible decision and picking the Sean Watson over Shadour Sanders like that part sucks that part sucks like I'll be honest with you I I get so nerd like when you know coaches like there's a couple of programs out there when it comes to college like I will be open and honest like I don't like watching life because I get nervous like there's two on the west coast one of the east coast obviously one in in a mid-Atlantic state now that I don't watch him during the game because I'll get nervous on a Saturday. And now I'm gonna be even more nervous because I'm wanting this gotta work out even if I didn't like him I'd want him to work out but now I like I liked him and I like him now I really like him now and I really want him to work out and I'm like you know what I want the honeymoon to last forever I want the offseason last forever because eventually they're gonna kick off and this is gonna get real and nobody is going to give a damn about any horse stories or any nice thing he does not speak in cliches so there is no

4:09cliches but any niceties at all any fun lines or anything they are not gonna give a damn they're only gonna care about what the scoreboard says then there's gonna be some Sundays going into Mondays for I'm gonna be having some drinks and I'm gonna know that tomorrow is gonna be a beaten but he said that's that's you get paid the big bus for that's that's why it's you know life changing money when you get these jobs one of 32 and I think he just thinks he is he is so damn blessed that this happened at all right that that he could have gone his whole life without ever getting a crack to be a head coach in the NFL and now he's got his chance and so at his age like he's not worried about missteps he's not worried I and I think this is one difference and it's kind of logical between him and Kevin you know when you're Kevin Stefansky and you get that job and you grew up in a in a high level sports family like he did you're making sure and I by the way patch humor was the same way also similar look at look up the lineage I don't want to create the big missteps that could hurt me in the future Todd Munkett is not

5:13care Todd Munkett's like yeah this could be it and you know what I want this to be my last job ever but either way I'm gonna go down I'm gonna go down my way so I'm gonna at least give it a chance I'm gonna learn from all the people that I have observed above me that have succeeded and maybe more importantly have failed and I do not care I got the job you guys didn't get the job that other guy didn't get the job that guy Jacksonville didn't get the job I got the job I'm not going to be worried and walking on eggshells every step of the way well and that is a freedom that comes along with it and in dead serious I mean he can't not be himself he got the job for being himself I mean you guys know we had to dump him twice during the interview so he's definitely himself which is awesome so he can't be anybody but himself because if he's anybody but himself this thing's definitely gonna fail because he is him no matter what all right calves play the Toronto Raptors tonight I think some people are saying some things that might be a little bit disrespectful at Toronto not that there's any you know and you could say because I don't believe in any of the hocus-pocus when it comes to basketball gods

6:13and things like that I don't think George Mike in is up there almost said George Marathon I think he's still with us I don't think George what's fine now all right here we go George Marathon you're is he alive or hey Mura son is a lie he's alive he's 55 hill we go baby the great day wait that's great day for you my friend all right George Marathon the grass was family hell yeah congratulations have a wonderful day my friend okay I don't think George I don't think George Mike in who is definitely dead I like George Mike in is up there doing some thing to tell us we can't if we don't throw respect on the Toronto Raptors okay that pointed out I just think some of us are coming off as fools I think a lot of fans respect the Toronto Raptors I think some of us when we're saying well calves can only beat themselves and it's not just one show in particular I know that they'll take on bridge with it or one host will take on bridge with it buddy a one just you I've been clicking around and seeing it on TV

7:17even seen from some of my co-workers over there over at the TV stage we're like what I go whoa you guys are journalists I'm just a loud mouth let's let's be respectful here or responsible here I should say Toronto has put you in hell a couple of times that ball pressure that ain't just because of you okay that's because of what they've done now you have to do it it takes to overcome it and that's part of the reason why I have like James Hardin so much yeah he's turned the ball over a bunch yes he has he's also been one of the leading scorers on this team he's also created offense for everybody and as you saw as you highlighted earlier in this show has he or has he not been one of the best defenders if not the best defender on this basketball team throughout the first five games of this series well I'll I'll tell you this that um they wouldn't be here playing today I think had they not have made this trade for James Hardin who I agree I really believe that and I know um it was lobbed at me yesterday on the afternoon show and I was listen it was great stuff I was listening to Johnny uh get into it with Nick about Hardin's role and I get it Nick couldn't get past the careless turnovers they're hard to get past because the

8:22live ball turnovers the James commit they turn into buckets and when every possession matters to be that careless with the ball at times it hurts but then he got asked why does he have the ball in his hand so often and he has the ball in his hand so often because he's one of the only guys it's able to create on this team you know unfortunately this isn't the regular season when guys you know like Max Truce can can can you know run the screen of role game to perfection like the playoffs are different okay they allow hand checking they allow physicality that they don't allow in the regular season so you need guys to sometimes force the issue a little more than you're comfortable with and I think a lot of that that's James Hardin that's been his whole career he's going to turn the ball over the question is can he make up for those turnovers and I think he has and I have validation too I mean I went after a little bit in a nice way Zach Lowe one of the arbiters of these things when it comes to NBA punditry and he in a throw-away comment said that the defense from James Hardin in that game that he was a no-show and I kind of

9:25went back at him I pushed back and I said I I don't find that to be the case at all I thought he had lively hands I thought his defensive rebounding was monumental in a game where you have to keep the raptors off the board something they were unable to do in Toronto and James has been a much much superior defensive rebounder than his predecessor than Darius the numbers are all baked in he has 21 defensive rebounds in this series you got to go like four playoff series add them up in totality to get to 21 for Darius Garland so that's big that's that's preserving possessions all right also the lively hands harden has been credited I think with four blocks in this series but he's had a few deflections and he's had steals that stuff adds up those are winning plays that I think can make up for the bad turnovers and then there is something that I just think you have to put a premium on and it is his willingness to take shots I know that sounds silly anybody can take a shot well I just take the ball and I can shoot it and that's not smart in basketball parlance in the playoffs but it is needed when you've got guys that are a little gun shy going up against the

10:29long arms and the athleticism and the bodies that you're seeing defensively with Toronto you need somebody who can create those shots and he came out in that first quarter and he said I don't care about all the misses and all the turnovers I'm going to try to to will this team to the next round and I think James Harden was a huge part of that yeah I I totally agree and I exactly came back and agreed he looked at the film and said you know what you're right I'll be nice about it take winning defensively I'll be nice about it I was defensive of Daria Scarlin for the last few years of his career here while he while he needed to be defended at times I thought this team was better with Daria Scarlin before this before the trade obviously I give there were people wanted to move on from Daria Scarlin I'll just say this the team is better with James Harden than it is with Daria Scarlin because I don't think that they'd be in the position they are if they did not have James Harden on this team or they just had Daria Scarlin on the team that's not me taking shots I think that's me talking about common sense and I think you're right the defense has been there yes there have been turnovers I think that there's a lot of explainable things which might

11:31be excuses to some people but I think that this is a formidable opponent with the Toronto Raptors now that all being said the runway is there we spoke about this and about last night Boston is any three three series with the Philadelphia 76ers now Joelle and bead I'm obviously concerned about him I would still be concerned about the Celtics if we ended up playing the Celtics there in the Eastern Conference finals Detroit they have their hands full with Orlando they got Cade Cunningham Cade Cunningham is a fantastic player they might not have much else than him and I think that maybe they're being exposed by Orlando but that being pointed out if you get past Toronto tonight then you have a whole different set of circumstances what this points out though is that this is not the type of tough thing that we thought it was going to be so if you take care of your business tonight I think that that can do a lot for the psyche of calves fans out there and for the confidence of calves fans out there as we start to go through the playoffs here and hopefully get to the second round starting tonight in Orlando coming up at 9.45 please keep your comments within the boundaries of good taste coming in hot at 9.45 I know we got one guy out there you better be careful I'm

12:38going to have my finger on that dump button so you better be ready to 16474 to below 92 that's for 9.45 for coming in hot coming up in five minutes if you asked me all I did was ask questions to the NFL commissioner that I thought the fans really wanted asked we'll go over that because I'm getting made fun of and probably rightfully so in five minutes on the fan