Stephen A. addresses Ja Morant’s comments about Memphis 👀 + NBA Finals Game 6 preview 🍿 | First Take

Stephen A. addresses Ja Morant’s comments about Memphis 👀 + NBA Finals Game 6 preview 🍿 | First Take

to basketball though Indiana Pacers guard Tyresese Hallebert in strained uh his right calf in Monday’s NBA Finals game five and is getting an MRI to determine the severity of that injury Hallebertton will likely be listed as questionable or be a game time decision The Oklahoma City Thunder won game five to take a 3-2 series lead and moved within one win of securing an NBA championship All right so now that we know more about injury Stephen A do you feel like OKC is going to end this series I still don’t believe it or not I still don’t And first of all you know good morning to everybody Usually I get you know a good morning but doggy this morning didn’t even say hello How are you Did nothing of the sort I don’t understand Very very rude on his part But we’ll deal with that later Here’s the deal y’all As we sit here in Indianapolis getting set for game six tomorrow night um I understand that Hallebertton is hampered I just think I I I I have to say this This is one of the great great basketball environments the city of of Indianapolis I mean it’s it’s special here It’s make no mistake about it And being in being in this arena with this basketball fan base and recognizing the power that it has to add that extra level of adrenaline and inspire this basketball team I can’t summarily dismiss Obviously they’re going to be uh uh hampered without the services of Tyrese Hallebertton at 100% but we’ve been seeing that because in terms of what he’s capable of doing we haven’t seen him be his capable self for four to five games in this series To be quite honest with you the only game he’s really been impressive has been game three And so you’ve been dealing with that for the longest time Have you gotten to this point It’s hard for me to imagine even with the way Shay Gilis and Jaylen Williams are looking and they look absolutely sensational right now as a dynamic duo It is something special to behold Both of them are averaging over 30 over the last three games in this series with Williams shooting better than 50% from the field and Shay Gil shooting about 46% from the field I mean it’s impressive no doubt But you’re asking me if Indiana can get a game I believe they can I believe they win tomorrow night and they push this to a game seven Brian Yeah So you guys know I’ve been really optimistic on the Pacers for months now I I’ve believed that they were way better than the four seed that they were and I remain in that camp but I’m I’m worried about this one for them You know Rick Carile went on radio here in Indianapolis this morning That’s where we got the possibility of he’s going to be listed as questionable and he’s going to be a game time decision And guys let’s be honest if it’s the elimination game in the finals if you’re listed as questionable you’re going to play because you’re because you’re not going to be able to to to deal with being 50/50 and not playing But and I do also will tell you that part of what happened in this game was that the Pacers were not you know ready to deal with Hallebertton not being at 100% And they and they just they didn’t have a game plan ready and they will have a game plan ready Uh in that case I just think these last couple of games we’ve seen as Stephen A referenced the Jaylen Williams Shay Gildus Alexander machine just get really cranking We’ve just never seen these guys play this way and they’ve got sort of a formula figured out They’ve got the starting lineup back to where it needed to be with the double big They have um stretches of the game that they know they can play with Chad Homegrren as their only big man on the court He’s been terrific defensively I feel like they’ve got momentum Now I will say this This series has completely mirrored the series that the Thunder played with the Nuggets in the second round including blowing game one blowing a big lead in game one and losing at home w going down 2-1 and then bouncing back and winning game four and five in that series They went to Denver and played a very average game in game six including Jaylen Williams who had really his last really bad game of the playoffs He went three of 16 in that game And I that’s in there guys Like that could happen again Um and I do expect um Andrew Nemhart and Benedict Matherin to be better after they kind of weren’t great offensively in game five but I am looking at a Thunder team that I think is really impressive and I just don’t think Hallebertton’s going to be 100% And I think they’ve got the momentum and I think that’s the way it’s going to go All right let’s do a couple of things and I’m going to give this point out because it drives me crazy If you’re injured don’t play If you play you’re not injured So I I don’t want to sit there and be in a situ Jimmy Connor’s line Jerry West played with a torn hamstring in the Celtics series in 6869 was the MVP of the series Willis came out game seven He couldn’t move Made two jump shots Set the tone Uh if you’re So if Hallebertton plays I can’t say “Well he’s banged up It’s not fair.” No no no Don’t play then because I understand you got a CF So I’m not trying to make light of it but you can’t go out there and play Well I gave it a go No no no no no This is the game six of the NBA final That’s number one Number two I’m with Stephen Abbry Uh I think the Pacers will figure out a way They’re not going to win both games but I think they’ll figure out a way to win game six I think Steve hit it right on the head I think the rest of the team will rally You made a good point They have a day and a half two days to figure out what they want to do Have to assume Hallebertton’s not going to play 40 minutes and be in peak condition They did lose game six Oklahoma City did in Denver I have to go back and look by you might know I I Gordon was hurt in that game I don’t know how much he played in it They got basically run over in the second half Oklahoma City is not that good I mean you know everybody wants to make Oklahoma City out to be the 7172 Lakers because they won the 68 game Take it easy They’re not that good So they are beatable Why you have to go back that far Why you have to go back that far You could have You could have said they’re not better than Boston with Bird in them in the 80s You could have said they’re not better with than Jordan and Pippen in them in the ‘9s You could have said they’re not better than the Lakers with Shaq and Kobe in there at the turn of the century You didn’t have to go all the way back to 7071 Why you had to go back that far You had to go back that far doggy Because I just mentioned West That’s why with the hamstring So I was in my head because they won a championship You’re in a cranky mood because you’re going back and forth all over the place with this NBA I’m not in a crank I’m in a very good mood You You’re cranky and so you’re taking it out on me You’re cranky right now First of all first of all I’m not cranky right now That’s number one Number two I don’t know what tan you’ve been rocking Where you been Look like you got a little tan there Number three you got a nice tie this morning You got a nice tie this morning for a change That’s a rare occurrence So I’m very very proud of you with the tie But here’s what I want to get on you about doggy Seriously speaking come on man Could you be nice Could you be nice this morning Like there is such a thing like like I understand if you playing you don’t want to hear but so much but if you’re not 100% that’s it’s not a crime to mention that like we hope that there’s no excuse for Tallebertton to be as bad as he was but it’s not like we should expect him to be like he is when he’s 100% He’s clearly not Could you at least not Could you at least throw that out there You’ve seen even with the the birds the West the Chamberlain the Mikeans the Kareem Abdul Jabbars of the world everybody in between Okay You you’ve seen guys play at less than 100% You know that they’re not themselves I think we could at least give Hallebertton that grace No excuse to look as bad as he did in game five because my lord that was awful And it’s the finals But the flip side is if you’re not 100% we got to at least give him that Oh gosh You giving Hie a pass You guys are so soft Oh you are special Doug what do you what do the P What do the uh Thunder have to do to impress you I I for for a man who knows history If you look at what Williams and Gildas Alexander are doing they’re doing stuff that like Shaq and Kobe did that uh that Michael and Scotty Pippen did that that LeBron and Kyrie Irving did They’re scoring They’re scoring like Durant and Curry Like I don’t know why you’re not impressed with this team They won 68 games They’re showing incredible stuff They’re a each of them are averaging over 30 points in these last three games Like I mean what do they got to do to impress you Well a couple things Can we call an offensive foul in Hallebertton when he pushed off that two with that basket in game four when they were down one with two minutes to go If that isn’t an offensive foul if that’s not a pushoff we should all go back to referee school That’s an Well what Jordan never pushed anybody off I said and how many people in Salt Lake City forever have brought that up with Byron Russell when he pushed off in game six An offensive foul is an offensive foul Steve you know that in your little days playing intramural basketball Winston Salem when you push off it’s an offensive it’s an offensive foul I mean listen how that was the two biggest baskets of this series in game four but the fact that you and everybody out there wants to put OKC on this level if you’re an all-time great team you want to be down seven in the fourth quarter to Indiana at two games to one down Indiana’s a they’re a nice baller they’re a nice little team Nobody’s g But this is not some juggernaut they’re playing in these NBA finals And they go to the Wells in game four Hold on hold on hold on What What I will say is this Wendy their offense doesn’t knock my socks off I mean up until G up until Jay exploded over the last couple of games It was pretty much given SGA the ball in ISO situations and saying “Come save the day.” We’ve seen better offensive fluidity from teams throughout NBA history But Shay Gilis is special Jaylen Williams is special And I think that what we have to acknowledge is that what makes Oklahoma City collectively special as a team is there have been very few teams that can play defense collectively doggy like these guys can play defense They are a special team defensively We got to give them that All right let’s leave it there Oklahoma City is favored by six and a half tomorrow night I take the points I would take a six and a half myself I forgot you are a degenerate gambler So you would be the one to listen to All right guys Let’s keep it pushing here So yesterday we discussed if the Memphis Grizzlies should consider trading their franchise player John Morant Well shortly after the show Jaw hopped on social media and said this talking about the Grizz more than the finals with these sources and then followed up saying “Instead of focusing on the performances we’ve seen from JDub Shay TJ Seakkum how this series is going we say negative about a city team on a national level.” Stephen A To that you say what Oh Lord Um I don’t know why Why Listen I I I found nothing negative about what John Morant had to say My only issue with him is that if if you’re going to quote and you’re going to go on Twitter just quote me accurately That’s all But I took no offense to what he said speaking up for the city of Memphis He has every right to do it He should do it But just to remind Doggy and Wendy of what I had to say could y’all play the sound bite from yesterday please of what exactly it was that I said Let’s just be canon No one wants to play in Memphis It’s not like you going to be able to just get through the draft and like okay we going to get another job or we get another like no one wants to be there And this this kid wants to be there because they embrace him They was doing with him through his tough times It’s a great sports town great fans great people But there’s an element there where cats like Jimmy Butler and others don’t feel it’s the safest environment I’m talking to the local authorities in Memphis You got to clean some of that stuff up because it’s dersive to NBA players You want to reason why that’s important I I do want to expound upon that I I listen John Morant is a sensational talent Um I pointed out how he’s been on the injured list 15 different times just this past season alone Um how he’s missed more than 120 games over the last couple of years or so last two and a half years But I still talked about how if he wants to be there Memphis should want him there because the brother’s box office We know he’s a spectacular talent and I don’t want to hear about these past transgressions People make mistakes Let’s move beyond that Let’s not castigate him you know into perpetuity That’s wrong He doesn’t deserve that So I made sure to make to make that point But if you’re going to be John Morant and you’re going to speak up on the city of Memphis perhaps you need to be careful Uh because it is a problem in that city And I want to let folks in Memphis know I love y’all You know I’m a brother I look at Memphis as as being a city you know you know with a lot of black folks in a red state That’s a tough position to be in That’s just a fact when we’re talking about Memphis But the mayor of Memphis made a comment speaking up for the city and invited me to come Sir I have friends in the city of Memphis longtime friends that I’ve known for decades and I’m in Memphis quite frequently I know a little thing or two about Memphis So let me get that out of the way first But in fairness to the to the mayor Mr Paul Young of Memphis Tennessee I want to throw this out there and I thought it was important Total crimes have decreased by 13.3% Violent crimes have dropped by 19% Poverty crimes have fallen by 20% Total homicide rates have fallen uh as well in the year 2024 Okay So when you’re talking about that violent crimes we’re talking about robberies have decreased So all of that sounds good because it’s moving in the right direction but it’s still recognized as one of the worst cities in America to the point where the head of the FBI has called it the murder capital of this country per capita That’s on the record saying that this is just weeks ago What are we talking about here The poverty rate is at 24 and a.5% in terms of their national ranking consistently ranks within the top 10 most impoverished large cities in the United States of America Big one here Molly Doggy Wendy 40% of the children in Memphis live in poverty And when we’re talking about all of those things and you’re talking about the troubles that exist these are the kind of things that contribute to the city being deemed by some within the NBA community as unattractive Why is that relevant We’ve got a city in like Nashville Tennessee that’s they’re putting a group together trying to get a WNBA franchise that could lend itself towards them believing they’re in a position to get an NBA franchise They’re right in the same state We’ve got cities like Las Vegas and Seattle who want a team We’re talking expansion obviously in that particular situation Adam Silven even mentioned Mexico City The point is when you have these kind of troubles it’s relevant And why did that come up yesterday Because John Morant they had just traded De Des Desmond Bane to Orlando for a multitude of picks and some players And John Morant’s extension is coming up Wendy can elaborate on that because that’s more about basketball than the city itself But when you are a box office attraction you mean a hell of a lot to any city But when you take into account the trials and tribulations the city of Memphis has had and continue to have to endure that makes his presence in the city even more important The reason why all of that stuff came up guys was because the twins along with myself was talking about John Morant and a potential expans extension They were like “Absolutely he deserves the extension.” And what I was saying was the first order of business is that Memphis has to sit down with him and make a decision and make sure he is all in that he wants to stay there because with some of the troubles that the city has and with some of the things some folks within the NBA community have said about the city you want to make sure that if you make that kind of investment this is a brother that wants to be there for the long term If he wants to be there invest in him because he’s a star He clearly cares about the city I took no offense He never mentioned my name He never mentioned First Take’s name but it was clear he was talking about First Take because we were the show that addressed this subject And he was talking about how we should be talking about the NBA Finals instead of that Evidently not watching other segments in the show where all we’ve been doing is talking about the NBA Finals But I get where he’s coming from He was being protective of the city just like the mayor was being protective of the city I want to be protective of the cities because I love my peeps And the bottom line is is that I think the citizens in Memphis I think a lot better can be done for them And John Morant staying put and being the galvanizing force that he can be I think will assist in that That’s what I was trying to say I apologize if anybody was offended by it but facts are facts There are concerns in that city And as a black man in this country who cares about my peeps I’ll be damned if I’m going to be silent when all of these troubles are taking place Although things appear to be getting better statistically anyway Still a problem All right Well focusing on the basketball which is um what’s you know important when it comes to John Mor He one positive that came out of this Stephen A was he affirmed yesterday on social media that he doesn’t want to go anywhere He said I’m dedicated to the 901 the area code there in Memphis So that is important So if it nothing else there was something that that everybody got from him directly um on that Um the thing about it is is I’m a big actions over words person and the actions of the Grizzlies franchise over the last few days is that they did not believe in the core that they had there with the Grizzlies We know this because they traded Desmond Bane in a draft pick ccentric trade Do not want to say anything negative about Kentavius Caldwell Pope He’s proven to be a quality role player on multiple championship teams Cole Anthony is a is a quality player to have coming off your bench But that trade was stepping back from the core that they had And so that makes you wonder what do they think of the rest of the core And one of the things that I found out when as I was talking to executives across the league coming out of that trade was the reason they traded Desmond Bane is because of their core he had the most value You know Jiren Jackson is do a contract extension and because he’s on a short contract he wouldn’t be able to return value If he signs a long-term contract it’s a different story but he hasn’t signed it yet And John Morant doesn’t have a ton of value right now because of the injuries and the offc court issues he’s had And that’s why the the extension is interesting Having J pledge that he wants to be in Memphis is important but the key this summer will be do the Grizzlies feel that way enough to offer him the extension That’s something we’re going to watch Yeah the Desmond Bane trade I thought worked out both ways I mean I you know Bane’s a good player He’s shoot He’s a great three-point shooter They’re a terrible three-point shooting tree team Orlando So I understand why they did it You can analyze the draft picks they got whether it’s significant or not but it’s not like Memphis won two championships with Bane Uh you know they really haven’t done a whole heck of a lot in postseason play I can’t kill him for trading It’s not like they have a championship core anyway I can’t kill him for trading Desmond Bane myself I can’t do that That’s not fair Well I’m not killing I’m not kill I’m not killing them either They just um you know I’m wondering why Orlando gave up so many picks I love Desmond Bane and he’s a shooter He’s exactly what they needed But to give up picks I mean Lord that makes it that makes it a lot tougher because if you’re giving up four picks uh to get a Muel Bridges you’re giving up four picks to get a Desmond Bane who are both not all stars Imagine what Phoenix is going to want for Kevin Durant The other thing that I want to say real quickly before we go to break and end this subject you’re looking at John Morant The Grizzlies have up until October 21st to tack on an additional two years uh to the three years already left on his deal He’s missed 32 games last year didn’t play more than six consecutive games in any stretch this season He was on the injured list 15 different times this season with eight different ailments hamstring shoulder knee foot back hip thigh and an illness Okay And he’s missed and he’s played in 307 of a possible 473 games So his ability is one thing His availability is another And when you’re available and you’re playing and you and Memphis is elevating because of it it contributes to the success which obviously helps not just the franchise but the city And that’s what we’re talking about here Yeah And Jaw just like any player always has an open invitation to join the program anytime

Stephen A. Smith, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Brian Windhorst join Molly Qerim on First Take to debate if the Oklahoma City Thunder can close out the NBA Finals in Game 6. Then, Stephen A. responds to Ja Morant’s comments about media coverage of the Memphis Grizzlies.

0:00 Will OKC close out in Game 6?
6:17 Mad Dog and Stephen A. Smith debate
10:30 Ja Morant comments on Memphis media coverage
11:41 Stephen A. addresses Ja’s comments
17:49 Windy weighs in on the Desmond Bane trade

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