ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill Talks NBA Playoffs, Magic Firing & More with Rich Eisen | Full Interview

0:00 joining us here on the Rich Eisen Show,

0:01 kind enough to to zoom in um here uh on a Monday program,

0:06 even though he's um outside the Philadelphia area,

0:09 we're still allowing him on the program.

0:12 [laughter] Uh Vincent Goodwill here on the show.

0:13 Good to see you, Vincent.

0:14 How are you, sir?

0:15 Good to see you.

0:15 Finally.

0:16 Finally, what's going on, Rich?

0:18 How are you?

0:18 Good to see you, man.

0:19 Thanks for taking the time here.

0:21 Um what's your takeaway from this weekend's um action?

0:25 We'll go macro first.

0:27 What's your takeaway at at now that the first round is in the books, Vincent?

0:31 Man, it was long, wasn't it?

0:32 It felt like the first round started like a month ago for one.

0:36 Got to do something about that.

0:37 But I I think it's the first round of surprises.

0:40 I think maybe the pendulum is swinging back as opposed to three-point shooting.

0:46 All the great three-point shooting teams are gone.

0:48 And even though that's a great thing

0:50 for the league from an entertainment standpoint,

0:52 maybe we're looking at it and saying it doesn't win.

0:54 Uh also 3-1 deficits are not as difficult to come back from as they used to be.

1:00 I feel like now with the way that the seven-game series work

1:04 out and injuries and everything else and sometimes just talent catching up.

1:07 I heard you talking about Jamal Mosley and the Orlando Magic.

1:11 That was kind of predictable to me.

1:13 The Philadelphia 76ers coming up back from the Boston Celtics was not.

1:17 So I just think there's a lot to take away from the first round as a whole.

1:20 I'm just kind of excited that we can get to the eight best

1:23 teams in the league now and kind of have it the adult conversations now.

1:27 Well, I mean, you take a look at the the way that the Sixers advanced um

1:33 and the way that the Sixers and Knicks hammered

1:36 each other the last time they made the playoffs, this is a fascinating matchup.

1:41 Uh I'll give it uh you the the floor

1:44 about what you think it comes down to, Vincent.

1:47 Well, hopefully that's why ESPN put me on this Knicks uh

1:51 76ers series that I'll be chronicling uh for hopefully seven games.

1:55 The rivalry part of it I think is is really interesting.

1:58 The Joel Embiid Karl-Anthony Towns of it.

2:01 The Joel Embiid Mitchell Robinson of Remember a couple of years ago,

2:04 Mitchell Robinson getting dragged down by Embiid on the floor,

2:06 winding up missing the rest of that series.

2:08 Embiid has had some really big games against the Knicks in the playoffs.

2:13 Don't forget about this.

2:14 Paul George, a new [clears throat] equation

2:16 to this whole 76ers Knicks rivalry along with B.J.

2:20 Armstrong.

2:20 Like Tyrese Maxey has put up big numbers against the Knicks as well.

2:24 I know a lot of people are looking at the 76ers and saying,

2:28 "This is the most talented team in the Eastern Conference." Like top to bottom,

2:31 you know, especially from the top line,

2:33 the top four or five guys, especially if Embiid is healthy.

2:37 But I wonder do they have enough sweat equity?

2:40 I wonder if the grind of the playoffs is going to catch them.

2:44 There is no additional days off, Rich.

2:46 You get your playing seven games in 14 days and you're

2:50 still wearing the cologne of the Boston Celtics right now.

2:54 I wonder about the emotion of coming back from 3-1 and every game

2:58 being an elimination game and then having to start over with a new

3:01 team in your face that's been waiting and has been and has been

3:05 playing markedly better starting from game four

3:09 of that series against the Atlanta Hawks.

3:10 The Knicks are being as confident as they

3:13 could be coming into a series like this.

3:15 And Philadelphia to me,

3:17 I wonder how their emotional tank is it going to be filled?

3:20 Is it going to be full?

3:21 Or are they still going to be wearing

3:22 the residue of that great comeback from that series?

3:25 The first two games,

3:26 I'm not sure if we're going to know anything about either one of these teams.

3:30 I think we're going to find out something about games three and four.

3:33 [clears throat] Well, I I appreciate to use your analogy, Vincent.

3:36 Uh the cologne that the Sixers are wearing um the um the cologne,

3:41 I guess, according to Jaylen Brown is called flopper that [laughter]

3:45 that Embiid is wearing.

3:47 A little bit of here, a little bit there.

3:48 Um and and on behalf of Knicks fans,

3:51 it's great to have that placed in the mind's eye uh or in any way,

3:56 shape, or form with the officials calling this series.

3:59 And I'm sure that will be part

4:01 of the pregame conversation uh before game one tonight.

4:05 What's What's your opinion of of Jaylen

4:07 Brown's statement based on your conversations

4:10 with folks around the league that flopping

4:12 has become a massive issue in the NBA.

4:15 Now as And the NBA's got to be sitting around going, "Great.

4:18 Now the regular season's over.

4:19 We're done with tanking.

4:20 Now we're on to flopping." Um but what

4:22 What do you make of those comments, Vincent?

4:25 It It It is, Rich, an everyday conversation,

4:28 an everyday discussion that officials have with the league office,

4:32 that the players have with each other,

4:35 that the, you know, officials for teams have with its players.

4:38 Like I I said on Get Up this morning that part of this is us.

4:43 And by us, I don't mean me cuz I'm only 41.

4:45 I'm talking about the people older than me who thought basketball was

4:49 too physical and who thought that the NBA needed to clean it up.

4:52 And what has happened is the pendulum has swung so

4:55 far in the other direction that the players have realized,

4:58 "All I have to do is pretend I got touched and like

5:02 a sniper hit me and go down and the official will

5:04 call the foul just because they want to keep the game

5:06 in order." You want to get guys to the free throw line.

5:08 You want to get guys scoring.

5:10 You want to keep that scoreboard moving because

5:12 they were under the belief that fans wanted offense.

5:16 Fans wanted competitiveness.

5:19 And I think that's what was a slight miscalculation on the league's part.

5:23 That's why I think you see, Rich, basketball in the regular season looks

5:27 like an exhibition compared to the playoffs.

5:30 It looks like a completely different sport in the way that it's played,

5:34 in the way that it's officiated.

5:35 And yes, Jaylen Brown has started this unfortunate conversation.

5:39 Though nobody really likes having Well, put it like this.

5:42 Nobody wants to hear that from the Boston Celtics.

5:45 Nobody wants to hear that from Jaylen Brown

5:47 in the aftermath of blowing a 3-1 lead.

5:49 Nobody wants to hear that from the team that takes far more threes than twos.

5:53 What would they know about somebody flopping?

5:54 They sit outside the three-point line all day.

5:56 That's what people would be saying.

5:58 Not saying that Jaylen Brown doesn't have a case because Joel Embiid hits

6:01 the floor a whole lot when it seems like there's very minimal contact.

6:05 And for the sake of your New York Knicks, Rich Eisen,

6:08 it is a great conversation to be having and that with Madison

6:12 Avenue in Olympic Tower right down the street from Madison Square Garden.

6:15 Vincent Goodwill right here on the Rich Eisen Show prior

6:18 to the Knicks and Sixers series that he's covering for ESPN,

6:21 the NBA senior writer here on the Rich Eisen Show.

6:24 Now uh a lot of folks for weeks,

6:27 months Spurs and the Thunder are going to be in the Western Conference finals.

6:31 You could put that in Sharpie.

6:33 However, now that we have reached the second round,

6:36 you've got a Lakers team and a Timberwolves team that were

6:39 without stars to potentially uh throw a wrench into all of that.

6:45 What's the scoop with Luka and Anthony Edwards?

6:48 Uh and are the Lakers and Timberwolves, respectively,

6:50 going to have to go through the second round without them?

6:55 Well, I think the Lakers and Timberwolves

6:57 are in two totally different situations.

6:59 I don't think Luka Dončić is close at all to getting back on the floor.

7:03 My colleague Brian Windhorst said that they haven't

7:05 even begun the ramp-up phase of Luka Dončić.

7:09 And when you're talking about a hamstring,

7:10 you got to be very, very careful about it.

7:13 I know we don't think of the hamstring in the way

7:15 that we think of knees and some other ligaments,

7:17 but the Lakers have to make a 10-year investment in Luka Dončić.

7:22 And there are some players throughout the course of history who,

7:24 once they messed up their hamstring and they tore it,

7:27 they never got that quickness, that pop back.

7:30 So I think the Lakers have to be careful there.

7:32 For Minnesota, Anthony Edwards coming back is a little bit

7:36 of the raisin in the potato salad for people who

7:38 want to see the Spurs and the Thunder play

7:41 in the Western Conference finals cuz I think they can be spoilers.

7:45 I think the Timberwolves have made the Western Conference finals.

7:48 Once I think, I know.

7:49 They made the conference finals the last two years.

7:51 Usually when that happens, that means we're expecting you to take the next step,

7:55 especially when you have a superstar

7:58 as great and as charismatic as Anthony Edwards.

8:01 And as much as he looks like

8:02 a certain ball-head superstar that we've seen decades ago,

8:06 usually the pressure would shift, but somehow it hasn't,

8:09 probably because of that 7-foot alien.

8:11 But when you look at the Timberwolves,

8:13 the fact that they play the style that they play,

8:16 they beat up on the Denver Nuggets, a team that we thought was going to give

8:20 the San Antonio Spurs the the requisite second round tune-up.

8:25 They've once again outplayed a more favored

8:29 opponent in the first round or second round.

8:31 They've always seemed to be in this underdog status.

8:34 And I don't think that they're too uncomfortable with going into San

8:37 Antonio in this series with a hobbled or recovering Anthony Edwards and feeling

8:42 like we can steal a game or two and make this really

8:45 uncomfortable for them because they have the requisite experience to do so.

8:49 I don't think they're nervous at all.

8:51 Well, apparently he might be pushing to play a little bit earlier.

8:53 Our colleague Shams is saying he's at a shootaround on this very morning.

8:57 And by the way, in case you're wondering,

8:58 I did understand that food reference that you just recently made.

9:04 [laughter] Rich, I I wouldn't say it if I did not think you could catch it.

9:08 I figured you would catch it what I was putting down.

9:10 I I caught it and why are you laughing, T.J.?

9:13 You know I would going to catch something like that.

9:14 Well, I believe I had some effect on you to understand what it is.

9:18 Okay.

9:19 Um and I guess last one for you uh before we we get out of dodge here,

9:24 um the Jamal Mosley firing,

9:26 you're saying that that's something you could have seen coming.

9:29 Um and I understand Giannis is Giannis.

9:33 But is there you take a look at what the Magic are building,

9:37 would you say the Magic is potentially a more attractive

9:41 job and could Golden State's job come open as well, Vincent?

9:46 What do you think?

9:47 That is an interesting thing.

9:49 I think on a number of levels.

9:50 Let's talk about Golden State for one.

9:52 I wonder if Steve Kerr wants to go year to year.

9:54 And if the Golden State Warriors franchise if if Joe Lacob,

9:58 the owner, wants to have a more firm commitment,

10:01 Steve Kerr could want to go year-to-year to line himself up

10:03 with Stephen Curry's contract and his age that has a year left.

10:07 Draymond has an option.

10:08 Like, those are the things I don't think

10:10 Steve Kerr wants to go through an extended rebuild.

10:13 Let's say Steve Kerr only wants to go year-to-year.

10:16 Let's say the Golden State Warriors don't want that.

10:18 They want to have more stability.

10:20 That's where some friction could happen.

10:22 Ultimately, I think both sides will line up with at least one more year.

10:26 Now, the Orlando Magic is an interesting one.

10:28 Usually, when you fire a coach a day after being

10:32 eliminated in the playoffs where you're without your second best player,

10:35 where you took an unexpected 3-1 lead against the best team in the conference,

10:39 and you start to rebound a little bit and give team give the league

10:43 the impression that you were the team

10:45 that people thought you were in the preseason,

10:47 usually that means the organization want to fire you.

10:49 And they didn't fire you because you lost a 3-1 lead.

10:52 They fired you because they wanted to.

10:54 They fired you because this was all in the plan,

10:56 and there was probably going to be very little

10:58 to nothing Jamal Mosley could have done about that.

11:02 I know that it probably put a strain on J.B.

11:04 Bickerstaff cuz that's one of his, if not his, best friend.

11:07 But that's the business of basketball,

11:08 and I do think Jamal Mosley will be in high demand

11:12 when the next coaching cycle comes around for teams like New Orleans,

11:16 and who knows what happens with Dallas and some of these other teams.

11:18 I don't think he'll be out of a job long.

11:19 I do think Orlando with their young players,

11:22 I do think that's an attractive job or more

11:24 attractive job than Milwaukee because you don't know Giannis' future.

11:28 You don't know about his health.

11:29 You don't know about the direction of the organization.

11:32 So, usually when you want to take a job, you want to take a job that's trending

11:35 upward rather than a job that's treading water.

11:38 Did I get all that in for you?

11:39 Right.

11:39 It's great.

11:40 Awesome.

11:40 And I really appreciate you hopping in here, um,

11:43 you know, in the first hour of the program.

11:45 I'd love to have you back on, certainly,

11:46 as this series keeps going and and the playoffs keep going.

11:50 As As you know, when a when a guest cancels,

11:52 it's like bacon in the matzo ball soup.

11:54 Um, and you know, What?

11:57 I've seen Seinfeld before.

11:59 I I I got you.

11:59 [laughter] I got you.

12:00 Just making my own He's seen Seinfeld.

12:03 food reference.

12:04 Okay.

12:04 Uh, Vincent you.

12:06 So [laughter] sorry sorry sorry, Rich, that it looks like I'm in a padded room.

12:10 No, no.

12:11 I assure you I'm not a hostage anywhere.

12:13 No, you're not.

12:13 I just [laughter] The void.

12:14 No, no, again, you're just not you're just not from the Philadelphia area,

12:18 so you're not allowed to be in that series.

12:21 Oh, I'm told it's in New York, so it doesn't matter.

12:23 Okay.

12:24 Uh, is that real, though?

12:25 Did the Sixers really do that?

12:26 Where they're like, you you can't be from if you're outside of Philadelphia,

12:29 you can't buy tickets through us?

12:31 They did that.

12:32 Yes, they absolutely did.

12:33 But guess what, Rich?

12:34 What?

12:35 There's called a secondary market.

12:36 And in the words of the Million Dollar Man, everybody's got a price.

12:42 [laughter] Vincent Goodwill, everybody, right here on the show.

12:43 Thank you, Vincent.

12:44 Really appreciate having you.

12:46 Appreciate [laughter] you guys.

12:48 Vince Goodwill, go follow him.

12:49 Hey, you made it all the way to the end.

12:51 Thanks for that.

12:52 Check us out every single day streaming live on Disney

12:55 Plus and the ESPN app 12:00 to 3:00 Eastern.