On The Nba Beat

Brad Botkin, senior NBA writer for CBS Sports and co-author of Olympic gold medalist Dan O' Brien's memoir, "Clearing Hurdles," has strong opinions about this season's Western Conference and he's unafraid to share them. Timing will vary due to dynamic advertising, but here are the approximate time stamps of some of our favorite clips (so many good ones to choose from):7:06-7:28: "I've heard a lot of people say, 'Well that's how Kobe led. That's how Jordan led. He forced the best out of his guys.' Listen, come talk to me when Jimmy Butler is Kobe or Jordan. Jimmy Butler is not the kind of guy that singlehandedly transforms your team. He certainly makes the Timberwolves better. They're in no way a championship contender with him, nor do I think any team is a championship contender with him as a best player."14:42-15:15: "All these big-picture numbers about the Rockets, they're going to look great on paper. Look, [in] playoff games, certainly against the Warriors, if they match up, or the Jazz, if they're in a G