USA Basketball takes down Serbia
Tatum controversy?
Is Water Polo the hardest Olympic sport?
MLB trade deadline talk
Mac on sports
USA Baseketball starts with a bang, MLB trade deadline
On today's episode of Macon Sports, we talk team USA's win over Serbia and the questionable controversy with Steve Kerr not playing Jason Tatum. And my thoughts on that, we talk some other Olympic events. It has been absolutely electric watching the Olympics so far up to this point. The MLB trade deadline is this Tuesday. We talk about the trades that have went down and who is willing to still make some moves as they make their push into the second half of the season heading to October for a playoff push. If you want to sit back and enjoy, let's ride! [MUSIC] Oh, sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah. I get a feeling that I never know, I never know, I never know, I never had people. No, no, I get a good feeling, yeah. Oh, sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah. [MUSIC] What is going on guys, happy July the 29th. And here we are, USA takes down Serbia in game one of the Olympics for the United States national men's basketball team in a game that had a little bit of everything. It had a slow start for the USA when they were down 10-2 and had to call a timeout to start the game. We've talked about in their exhibitions leading up to this in London, where they just weren't great coming out of the gate. They came out and look, it's the Olympics, it is a sprint, it's not a marathon. The NBA is a marathon but not a sprint. The difference there is the Olympics, you have to bring your A game each and every single game in this tournament. When you have the NBA, you can have your off nights, you can have your nights, you're not feeling it. But when you look at these other countries that are going to go up against the US basketball team, they're going to come out and they're going to play with the competitive fire. They're going to make a statement, this is their time to shine. They don't care who you are, where you're from, that USA basketball has been the absolute standard in international basketball for years and years and years, basically forever. They don't care. They're going to come out and they're going to play their ass off. And you saw that leading up to this Olympics where the US had a scare against South Sudan, had a slow start against Canada, had a slow start against Germany, had a slow start virtually every single game that they played in leading up to this tournament. And then for them to come out and drop 10 to 2 against Serbia and have to use a quick time out, it is just a lack of preparation. Look, Joel Embiid in my opinion shouldn't be in the starting lineup. This guy slows down the offense. What I love about FIBA rules compared to the NBA is let's be real. It's not soft. They don't do soft shit in FIBA and international basketball. They're going to let you put hands on each other and play through contact. There is no foul baiting when it comes to international basketball in the Olympics and the international rules. They don't do that. What does Joel Embiid make a living off of? Foul baiting, living at the free throw line, getting his points that way, creating contact, even if there is no contact and flopping. That's just what he has done. And you saw him struggle, brutally so, in the awakening of Game 1 against Serbia. Nicola Yochich, he's the best player in the NBA, I think we can all agree on that, he's the best player in the NBA and he was given the fits to Embiid. The US had to find a way to make adjustments, Derek White coming off the bench, I thought is a unbelievable, just, a lot of people weren't happy that Derek White kind of took Kawhi Leonard's spot on this roster. For me as a Celtic fan and me that gets to watch Derek White on a night to night basis through an NBA season, what you know you're going to get out of Derek White is you are going to get a competitive spirit, you're going to give 110% effort and you're going to get a guy bust his ass off. That's what Derek White does and that is what makes Derek White so fun to watch. He is an ultimate glue guy. This guy is going to come in, he is going to, like I said, work his ass off and you need a spark, you need a momentum shift. Derek White's your guy. That's what he does so special and I thought he came off the bench provided a spark but if you're going to talk about the best player on Team USA today, that would have been Kevin Durant. Kevin Durant went in and he came in with a chip on his shoulder, did not play in any of the lead up games coming up to this because of that calf injury, he looked good and healthy, ready to go in game one against Serbia because he came off the bench when the US was lacking a little bit of a, they were lacking an offensive spark and just an offensive energy. They truly, truly struggled and you go out there and you bring in a guy like Kevin Durant, a bucket getter, a generational score, he went out there and had 23 points in the first half alone shot like six for six, seven for seven from the field, he created that spark when the US needed. I thought the second unit, they were phenomenal. I think the second unit, all these games and the lead ups to these games have kind of been the backbone for USA basketball. I don't think the starting lineup has been getting the job done, they haven't been came out from the jump with some intensity and I think what makes this team so special is they are a good 12, 13, 14 deep. Every guy on this roster is an elite caliber player of course. That was a big win for the United States, you know a game where Serbia just kept clawing and fighting the USA had to find a way to win it and it was close around the half but the second half the US were, they were done, they were done messing around and they put their foot on the gas and like I said Kevin Durant led the way, I thought he was unbelievable. I thought LeBron had some big time takeovers in that second half where LeBron wanted to put team on his back, he will put the team on his back and that's exactly what he did on Sunday afternoon against Serbia and kind of put the icing on the cake with an an one that really brought the energy to USA basketball and that kind of a game where look you were 12 and a half point favorites a game that should not be anywhere close towards the end they did not have to sweat it in that second half but what's the biggest storyline that comes out of this game, it's Jason Tatum look Tyrese Haliburton didn't play and I'm sure Tyrese will get his minutes of course in the Olympic action but nobody comes on to talk about oh you know that's not going to get the clicks that's not a conversation starter this is a guy Jason Tatum who I want to be completely straight with you it's completely ass night that he didn't play he wasn't sick he wasn't injured it was a straight up coaching decision by Steve Kerr and I think it is absolutely ridiculous if I'm going to be completely honest with you I think it's absolutely ridiculous look the USA won by 25 plus and it's all about if the USA wins at the end of the day right that is exactly what matters that's all that that's all that matters that's all that matters as USA basketball gets the win at the end of the day and that's exactly what they did so that is the most important thing but Steve Kerr his quote that he said about why he was a coach's decision on why he was not going to play Jason Tatum was I went with the combinations that made sense that was for tonight he handled it well and he will have his mark so Steve Kerr saying he wanted the combinations that made sense as a reason for you know did not playing didn't the coaches decision not playing Tatum when one of his greatest strengths is the fact Jason Tatum is matchup proof and works anywhere in a lineup one through five is very funny to me I think there's more to this story because you don't put a guy who made all first team NBA not to see the floor in game one of the Olympics when I look at the NBA all first team this past year four of the guys that made this team are international and not from the United States but the one us player that did make all first team NBA Jason Tatum the only player on team USA who made an all NBA first team this season he didn't play a single minute he didn't play a single minute and look the team matters the team matters of USA wins that's all that matters I understand that but also this is kind of look Jason Tatum is a pros pro Jason Tatum is not going to maybe maybe this upcoming season he'll hold a grudge on Steve Kerr and when they play gold state don't be surprised Tatum drops 50 but right now as being a team player and putting your country first Tatum is going to be a pros pro about it but everybody is human and at the end of the day we all have emotions and as a coach you have to find a way to push your certain guys buttons the right way I don't think benching Jason Tatum assuming he wasn't sick which he said he wasn't personally he said he wasn't and he is not injured personally he said that too too basically just going out of the way to bench Jason Tatum a guy who yeah if we're we're not talking about talent all time we're talking about this past season if we're talking about this past season Jason Tatum all NBA first team it lies in the stats it literally is saying it right in the stats was the only American to make all NBA first team which are the five best players in the NBA it is wild to me that you would do that and you hope he keeps his head straight because he is a good team player but if he is mentally pissed off about it that's just that we're all human so we'll have to keep an eye on that but I think it is absolutely incredible to me that Jason Tatum was benched and yeah look I don't know if it's because the Celtics beat the Warriors 140 to 88 in the regular season and Steve Kerr is not over that I'm just joking but still it's ridiculous I think it is absolutely wild to me and yeah you know it is it's incredible because you play guys like Joel and Bead which you want to talk about matchups quote unquote Jason Tatum can guard one through five great what can Joel and Bead do well he struggled and team USA at one point is outscoring Serbia in that game 30 to 11 when Joel and Bead got subbed out the first time when Joel and Bead was on the floor the USA got out scored 10 to 2 I mean it's rocket science it's not crazy so look USA turn their page they're gonna go play I believe it is South Sudan next who gave the USA a run for their money back in London last week where the US won by one so they took down Puerto Rico in game one two so they got some guys they can play with the US you're gonna need all hands on deck and I would expect Jason Tatum to get minutes else now we got a problem on our hands because now that there's something more than that's being said but look as a Celtic fan one I don't want the just the Celtic guys to play okay I want team USA to win but when it comes to Jason Tatum that is kind of an unbelievable thing not playing him it is what it is but it's absolutely ridiculous but as a fan I kind of deep down love it I kind of deep down love it you got Grant Hill and team USA Basketball Committee not wanting to pick Jalen Brown because of politics that's a story for a different day but let's be real Jason or Jalen Brown did not make team USA and it's not based off talent because Jalen Brown 100% could find himself on this roster and be a contributor don't get that wrong Jason or Jalen Brown is a phenomenal basketball player he's not on this roster because of politics because he's outspoken that's not how it should be that's a shame that's a shame that's a shame how soft we have came in the sports world that a guy can't speak his feelings and you're gonna hold it against him it's a Jalen Brown versus Nike argument it's a shame and Grant Hill is a joke that's a fact so Jalen Brown is going to come into this next NBA season with a chip on his shoulder and he is going to be pissed it's going to be beautiful Celtics are going to get a guy that is absolutely driven and locked in on a different load for this upcoming NBA season and you're going to get a guy in Jason Tatum that has something to prove because yes the Celtics just won the NBA championship do they get the respect they deserve absolutely not you see it with Jalen Brown not making a team and now you're seeing it with Jason Tatum not even getting minutes in game one even when you're up 20 plus against Serbia not even a couple minutes it's disrespectful to the two Celtics stars and I will be putting a bet on the Celtics to go back to back next year because they're coming out with a chip on their shoulder it wasn't on my bingo card personally but the Boston Celtics are going to run through the NBA next year because yes they were just champs but they don't get the credit that they deserve it's wild to me so I I think it is something to keep an eye out on but I think look the Celtics are not Celtics team USA basketball yeah they came out against Serbia and man it is fun to watch it is fun to watch Kevin Durant when he's going he's going Anthony Edwards when he's cooking he's cooking I love it I didn't think the bigs played well I thought MB Davis and BAM didn't really play great but look when you have LeBron and Kevin Durant man is it fun and it is so fun to bring these stars back together because you remember the Tokyo Olympics LeBron I believe didn't go curry didn't go see which by the way did not realize this was Curry's first Olympics but here we are in 2024 and it is but yeah seeing the best players team up with each other it is absolutely electrifying and they're taking this personally and I would expect this to be the start of a journey for the US men's Olympic team on getting to that gold medal match so what a game and what a day of Olympic sports I sat through water poloing and let me just say I think water polo might actually be the hardest sport in the world I sat through the US Italy water polo game and man man oh man I mean first of all you're treading water for 30 plus minutes you have the opposing team like trying to drown you and then you have to swim from one side of the pool to the other side of the pool I think it is absolutely incredible and I tip my cap to those athletes because those guys are some badasses I don't have the cardio to go on a treadmill and run for 20 minutes straight I mean I can it's what I do on a daily basis but full sprint I feel like I want to die these guys are doing a full cardio workout every day in the pool playing 110% water polo is an unbelievable sport I tip my cap there to the water poloing team unbelievable sport watching the like canoeing thing in the ocean or water with like the big ways it's like white water rafting absolutely electrifying absolutely love that sport swimming didn't realize the US and Australia have such a deep hated rivalry for each other but here we are and that's what makes the Olympics so incredibly sick sitting down watching sports that you would probably never ever watch and just watching it for two weeks and it is a perfect perfect time we are at July 29th right now man and what makes this so special is it is just this is kind of a binding period until we get football right look the Thursday night game next week is the Hall of Fame game technically preseason football is back it's back but the real stuff starts at the end of August and every day that goes by in the early days of August in the end of July are just an extra day with these Olympic sports that we don't have to worry about football and it gives us something to watch until football is around the corner it's the perfect thing to put right in that you know area before football season just to kind of buy some time and then get you really really excited for football so thank god for the Olympics now yes the opening ceremonies was very controversial and it was certainly something I will say that but yes yeah that's where we'll leave that it was certainly something it made and made news headlines for good reasoning because it was quite the performance to say the least but yep so that is our Olympic talk let's talk about some major league baseball so we have the trade deadline coming up this Tuesday tomorrow at six o'clock I believe if I'm not mistaken and when we look at some of the big trades that have went down we talk about Randy O'Rough's arena probably the biggest name that is going on so far off the board from the Tampa Bay Rays to the Seattle Mariners I don't understand this at all not one single bit when you look at the Rays and you look at the Mariners they are both literally right behind each other in the wild court standings with just a couple games in between them there is still a fight between both of those teams on trying to get to the playoffs one I don't understand why you would trade Randy O'Rough's arena your franchise player to a team that you are competing against and two why would you trade a remarkable guy in Randy O'Rough's arena in Tampa this is a guy and this is everything that is wrong about the Tampa Bay Rays organization they get stars they make them into high-end players and then they ship them off and trade them yes they went to the World Series a couple years ago they were like the cheapest team in the MLB but hey it worked for that one year you got guys like O'Rough's arena where yeah you traded him to Seattle where was he the next night he was in the crowd with the fans watching the game that is a guy who loves Tampa who wants to be in Tampa and who didn't really want to get traded and who traded him to a team that you were competing with for the wild card is wild to me look the Rays are over 500 they're not out of the playoffs completely not terribly yet they're trading Randy O'Rough's arena and then on Sunday afternoon to go out and go and trade another high-end player I mean they have gone full rebuild mode I mean Isaac Paredes was getting interest from the Dodgers and a couple other teams and he ended up going to the Cubs he ended up going to the Cubs which by the way not really sure why the Cubs are buying they are five six games under 500 about six out of the wild card ten back in the division don't really understand the philosophy there from the Cubs but hey they're going for it but Tampa on the other hand a team over 500 who's in that wild card jockey race giving Ray O'Rough's arena and Paredes I don't really understand the thought process there with Tampa but that's just how their ownership is that's just how their ownership is it does not make any sense to me whatsoever what they do but it is what they do they're cheap and they sell when they can you know they they gave away a reliever and Jason Adam one of the best relievers now they got an absolute fortune back from San Diego but I just do not understand the philosophy when it comes to the Tampa Bay Rays and how they run their organization you have a couple other trades here you ended up having um jazz chism of the Miami Marlins get shipped out to the New York Yankees that's a big one the Yankees are on a horrible streak I believe they are lost eleven out of their last twenty three or they're eleven and twenty three eleven and twenty three in the past month not good they are playing losing baseball at a historic level yet they're still in contention here they're still in contention to one win the A.L. East and two fight for that best record in the A.L. when you look at this Yankees team they got off to a red hot start they were the best team baseball and it wasn't even close and then they hit a bad funk and it was a really really bad funk but when I look at this Yankees team I look at Juan Soto and I look at Aaron Judge and they are difference makers but there's not much in the lineup that else has that it factor now look jazz chism has not been great but when he was at his best he brings an absolute electricity to him and what the New York Yankees need is they need electricity questions about his concern or his character questions will he be a good fit in that locker room I don't know but the Yankees seem to do things the right way and Aaron Judge will put him in place if he doesn't I think um you're gonna see the New York Yankees find something in jazz chism and they're gonna be fun to watch they're gonna be fun to watch the Mariner or Marlins are complete complete sellers as they should try to build up their form system I feel like the Marlins have been sellers for years and years and years and years you remember they had Ozunya they had Yellich they had Giancarlo Stanton all in that outfield and yet they never got anything out of it so the Miami Marlins are just a joke in an organization but the New York Yankees they need more they got jazz chism it's certainly a start but look as I'm doing a podcast there will be more trades there will be more trades okay we're gonna talk about it on Thursday show because the trade deadline ends Tuesday but where we are at right now on a Sunday night those are kind of the big ones we've not really had a groundbreaking trade uh to say the least I think when you look at some of the names on the market we know the white socks are gonna be sellers we know that Garrett Crochet who's already been the best pitcher in baseball this year he wants a big time extension or he's not gonna pitch in the playoffs uh look I get that like yeah like go get your money but if you have a chance to play in the playoffs and pitch in the playoffs go for it but that's kind of been some teams hesitant you know you're gonna have to give them that long extension just for him to be able to pitch in your playoff rotation teams like the Dodgers are linked to them because the Dodgers are rich and they never have a spending problem to say the least and they are gonna be in playoff contention and they can use a little bit of pitching so keep an eye on where Garrett Crochet goes he could go to Baltimore they have a farm system for days they can get rid of a ton of prospects to Chicago for a guy like Crochet we saw Baltimore already go out and get Zach Eflin so that's a decent pitcher to have in your rotation down the stretch where's Louise Roberts gonna go from Chicago the Dodgers the Phillies the Braves all those teams make sense for a guy like Louise Roberts and um what are some teams gonna do I mean you look at the Atlanta Braves what are the Braves gonna do it's no question and it's no shock that this has been a disappointing year for the Atlanta Braves it's a team that only expects to win division titles they expect to get to a World Series yearning year out Spencer Strider Tommy John surgery Ronald Acuna torn ACL you can go down the list it's something I've never seen before but their team has been absolutely destroyed of injuries and they just had to fight and live another day the Braves are not a fun team right now but they find themselves as the number one team in the National League wild card spot and when you are in the chance to get to the playoffs anything can happen let's look at the Arizona Diamondbacks last year they were a wild card team and got all the way to a World Series so anything can happen right you saw the Philadelphia Phillies wild card team they got to the NLCS so you get yourself an opportunity to get into the playoffs and you have an opportunity to go and win the World Series what I'm very intrigued with with the Atlanta Braves is when you look at the back stretch of this team down the stretch Michael Harris comes back from injury you're gonna get some pitching back in max freed in Ronaldo Lopez you have prospect or not prospects you have a bunch of high-end starters that are coming back from injury down the stretch which could make this Braves team a dangerous dangerous dangerous team come October it's all about getting healthy and it's all about getting healthy at the right time so it's something to keep an eye out it's something to keep a watch of and we're just gonna have to see what the Atlanta Braves are capable of when it comes to the playoff push and what they're gonna do they need outfield help it's no it's no surprise I mean Eddie Rosario bats 180 Adam Duvall bats 185 Ramon Le Rondero bats 183 those are all around average numbers it's terrible it's absolutely horrible they can't do that on a day-to-day basis they can't all the albies is out eight weeks there's another guy they're gonna get back at some point he's out eight weeks with a fractured wrist not Joe Alvarez is batting like 0.07 0 like 70 he's not been good number five prospect it's gonna take time he's 21 years old he's not even supposed to be in the MLB yet but they've had to rush him up because they don't have a choice so I don't know what they're gonna do will they stay put or will they be buyers we should have to wait and see and yeah so that is our MLB trade deadline talk we will talk a lot about it on Thursday that's for sure so I'm excited but I will see you guys on Thursday for an MLB trade deadline show and we got a lot to talk about love you guys peace out I know it's my day I'm sure you're not. 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