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Nick Wright breaks down everything from Round 2 of the NBA Playoffs, starting with Anthony Edwards' Minnesota Timberwolves upsetting the San Antonio Spurs and Victor Wembanyama breaking the blocks record. Then, Nick weighs in on Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks' hot streak continuing against Joel Embiid's Philadelphia 76ers, and what to expect out of LeBron James' Los Angeles Lakers against Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. After, Nick debates whether the eliminated teams should blow up their cores, or run it back. Later, Nick and Damonza answer your questions. #Volume
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome in What's Driving the Great Episode four fifty four.
After a historic night on a couple of fronts in
the NBA, after an awesome weekend in the NBA playoffs,
awesome week and by the way, in sports overall, Kentucky
Derby was sick. I went to just an unbelievable boxing match.
(00:25):
David Benavidez. It was spectacular. You guys don't care as
much about that, but it was pretty remarkable. I found
out at the how about this a little bonus good
morning demanse So at the you know, good seats at
a boxing match, it is an eclectic crowd, particularly depending
(00:48):
on who the fighters are. Like, you know, boxing brings
out a wide spectrum of you know, the rich, you know,
cultures around the world. And I am at the match
happened to end up in line next to the guy
(01:10):
in the drink line, next to the guy who was
sitting right behind me, so he also had six seats,
and he and I are chatting and he's like, hey man,
He's like, you know where your show is huge. I'm
like tell me. He's like prison, bro. I'm like yeah,
(01:33):
I'm like yeah, and he's like yeah. He was uh,
he's like I did. I did five years in federal
prison in Texas back when you were on in the mornings,
and he was like every day man, it was you
guys didn't first take and then we argued about it.
He was like, it was like the real it was
honestly like touching. I'm not gonna lie. He was like,
(01:53):
he's like, he said, one of the few things. Yeah,
one of the few things we could look forward to. So,
you know, shout out to that fella, wish him all
the best. Seems like he's doing well. He's in real
estate now, so you know what, his second chances go
kill and so that was fun. Last night was great.
So we'll get into all of that. Also, maybe most notably,
(02:17):
one of our best staff members on the Blue Duck team, Victor,
back from paternity leave h just had a beautiful baby
girl and in one of the most unique coincidences ever,
Demonse in November had a baby girl named Mila, and
(02:39):
Victor a few months later had a baby girl named
I want to say it right, Mila, Mila not spelled
the exact same, but Mila and Mila, who are damn
near the same age. The What Right family continue to
expand so congrats to everyone involved. All right, a ton
(03:01):
to do because here's the other thing. And again, I'm
a Weirdoh I get that, But I ten days ago,
I'm watching Game three Lakers Rockets, Lebron get the steal
and shot to tie the game, force overtime, basically win
(03:24):
the series. And as thrilled as I was about it,
there was a little part of me that's like, god,
dog it, this is happening on a Friday night. So
by the time Monday Sports TV is on, they will
have played again. Things will have changed. It won't be
like the lead story.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Then three days ago, four days ago, after you know,
I'm watching the Lakers dismantle the Rockets, when everyone said,
awe be are you nervous? How scared are you? What
if they blow?
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Want?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Did they get reverse swept? And Lebron just masterpiece twenty eight,
seven and eight, controlling every aspect of the game. And
again I'm like, god dog it, it's a Friday. By
the time Monday rolls around, they'll have been game sevens.
We'll be on to the next thing. So I say
all that to say this, at some point in today's show,
(04:21):
I might do a little game six recap because somebody's
got to do it. But before we get to any
of that, let me remind you guys. This episode of
What's Right with Nick Wright is presented to you by
boost Mobile. And let me also remind you guys, we
are doing a mail bag this week, So get those
questions in. You can put them in the chat now,
you can put them on our post page on YouTube.
You can send them on Twitter or ig or wherever
(04:44):
to the show page. We'll see them there straight voicemail.
Brought to you by boost Mobile. Golden Tempo comes from
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to one place and seventy to one show, which means
(05:05):
the trifecta for the Derby a one dollar trifecta ticket
paid eleven thousand dollars. I was in Vegas, I was
betting the Derby. I did not have that trifecta. The
mavericks Hire MESSI U, Jeri and Patrick Mahomes is on
track for OTAs. As I've told you guys all along,
(05:26):
Patrick Mahomes is going to be dancing at Travis Kelsey's
wedding and starting week one for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Reminder to everybody like rate subscribe review to the show
Demon's let's get to one of the games of the playoffs.
Last night Timberwolve Spurs.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, so the Timberwolves just keep doing it with less.
Aunt came off the bench and they still got it.
Wimby what could have possibly gotten a quadruple double last night,
he had twelve blocks. Do you think that it's time
to take Minnesota seriously as a contender moving forward?
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Listen, Ifvan's healthy, they can win the time, and he's
clearly not fully healthy. But Saturday morning, the Minnesota Timberwolves,
let me just get a little context. Saturday morning, the
championship odds, the thunder were minus money favorites. The Spurs
(06:23):
were the second biggest favorites at that point. I think
the Celtics and Knicks were right around the same. The
Celtics weren't out yet and we hadn't had the game sevens.
The Timberwolves Saturday morning were two hundred to one to
win the championship. Context on that Orlando Saturday morning, which
(06:48):
had a Game seven pending, and we were ten hours
removed from the single worst half of basketball that's ever
been televised. I'm not talking about the NBA. I'm saying
that was the worst half of basketball that's been on
TV ever. They're four thirty seven in the second half
in a closeout game. Orlando was four hundred to one.
And I looked at it and I said, how are
(07:11):
you telling me Minnesota that was already in Round two
and that I believed Aunt could come back. You're telling
me they're only twice as likely to win the championship
as Orlando, which was as dead as any team I've
ever seen going into a Game seven. So I thought
for Minnesota the path would be Aunt, come back game
(07:33):
three or four and see what the hell happens. And
let me a little added context. I watched five years
ago Jannis suffered the exact knee hyperstinct extension Anthony Edwards
(07:55):
did during the Eastern Conference Finals, and it looked like,
oh my god, did he blow out his knee. Then
it's reported it's just a hyper extension, but he's gonna
be out weeks, and he missed eight days started the finals,
(08:15):
and in those finals averaged thirty five, thirteen and six
on crazy efficiency, culminating in a fifty piece for the championship.
And I just stared at that. Minnesota too, and drum
like Ant's gonna come back at some point. The Spurs
are a really good team, but they're not unbeatable. The Timberwolves,
(08:38):
we feel like they're so banged up because hey, Io
has the capstrain, Ant has the knee hyper extension, Dante
tore his achilles. But there's a real chance that by
Thursday it's just Dante who's out, and as it turns out,
(09:02):
Ants back even faster. Ant was listen, he's still laboring,
he's still dealing with some of it. He also yesterday
was huge for Minnesota in the second half of that game,
and they just have I mean, Terrence Shannon Junr Is
out there fearlessly getting buckets. They give a few minutes
(09:25):
to Jalen Clark, he gets a steal. I'm not a
huge bones Highland guy, and I'd really like Io to
get back so he can take those minutes. Mike Conley throw,
you know, really turning back the clock. And this team
is fearless.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
They will never lose off of not trying. It will
never effort. I like that, and they.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
I think the so I think the Spurs should wake
up this morning very nervous because last night Aunt only
played twenty five minutes. Jaden was instantly in foul trouble
(10:15):
and in foul trouble throughout. At some point you would
imagine those bones minutes are gonna go to ioh and
all of a sudden, Minnesota, despite the injuries, will be
back to being eight deep. And I think Chris Finch
(10:39):
has some really interesting ideas on what to do with
the Wimby problem, because here is the interesting part going
into the series. I talked about this on the show
and then you saw it Deman's play out yesterday. Rudy
(10:59):
can absolutely give Wimby real trouble when the Spurs have
the ball. He is stronger than Wimby. He is you
know of anybody who has the length to bother Wimby.
I don't know if anybody does, but if anybody does,
it's him. He also, you know, has known him since
(11:22):
he was a kid. It's pretty crazy that it might
know that. Well. They're both yeah, I mean, I mean
they're both French. They're both like the great French basketball players.
It's really wild that you might have, you know, a
combined ten Defensive Player of the Year awards come from
France four via Rudy, and however, many Wimby wins, So
(11:47):
Rudy is a tough matchup for Wimby when the Spurs
have the ball. However, because Rudy is a nun existent shooter,
when Rudy's on the court, Wimby is able to do
exactly what he did yesterday, which is guard no one
(12:12):
just patrol the paint and basically cut off the paint entirely.
And so it's a given a take throughout the game.
Do we want to hurt the Spurs offense by having
Rudy out there, but also get Wimby's shot blocking on
steroids to the tune of breaking Andrew Byham and a
(12:34):
Keeams record for playoff shot blocks in a game. Again,
the real record is wilt with sixteen, but the written
record was ten, and I understand. Listen, I think about
four of those were goaltends, and I think that they'll
the NBA. The refs will be more on alert for
the goaltends in the next game. But still, Wimby was
altering everything early on, but he also could get nothing going.
(13:02):
I mean, he almost missed out on a triple double
because he didn't have the points. It was a dunk
with less than a minute left that got him the points.
And the other thing that though happened to Mons in
the fourth quarter was they benched Rudy. They went with
a lineup where everyone on the court can shoot because
(13:27):
Julius Randall can shoot, Nasrid can shoot, and it forced
Wimby to actually have to if they go five out
out on the perimeter. And now the lane's open, and
so it'll be very interesting to see which and what
(13:47):
Chris Finch leans into. But this Minnesota seems not messing around.
And Julius Randall, if he it's matched up with Wimby
in the post, is gonna make Wimby feel it. He
just is. And Naz Reid is gonna make him feel it.
(14:09):
And Rudy Gobert has sharp elbows and is gonna make
him feel it. And they're gonna push him around. And
what you saw yesterday was and this is this is
my where I pumped the where I've pumped the brakes
on some of the Wimby best player in the world stuff.
What I have said time and again nights when his
(14:33):
three isn't falling, he is not yet a consistently great scorer.
And you saw that play out in real time yesterday. Again,
he's all of these things. That's great for his size, obviously,
but I'm sorrying about compared to the other best players
(14:53):
in the world, he's not yet a consistently great scorer.
And he had trouble on that end of the court
yesterday and then and again. Not to relitigate old debates,
but when people were arguing with me, no, Whimby's right.
(15:17):
Defense is half the game he just had. He just
had a playoff game where his team lost a close one.
He set the all time record in blocks and really
struggled on offense. I watched Michael Jordan once. I didn't
watch I was too young. Michael Jordan once in a
(15:38):
playoff game, set the all time record for points, had
zero blocks and his team lost. That game felt a
little more impactful than this one. The sixty three piece
with zero blocks still feels like it has a little
more impact than the twelve blocks with eleven points. So,
(15:59):
and here's the other thing about that. I think Minnesota
recognized about not being afraid to have their shot blocked.
The block shot doesn't always end the possession like a
couple times yesterday it led to Minnesota threes. He got
(16:20):
blocked off the back border, he got blocked, they kept
the possession going. You then add to it demands a
Fox really struggled and he's gonna have to be way better,
way better in order for them to win this series,
(16:42):
which right now, right now, this moment, if ANT is
available the whole the whole series, I think Minnesota is
gonna win. And I just don't think anybody there's no
team in the league playing with more confidence than them.
(17:03):
Then the fact that go ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Okay, what percentage of ANT do you think they need
in order to beat the Spurs and make a run?
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Well, I think they can beat the Spurs with ANT
at this level. I think that they suck that they need.
Ant's going to have to be one hundred percent for
them to beat the Thunder.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Okay, like the I think that right now. Shit, it
looks like sixty sixty Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
I just but he is. So here's the other interesting
thing about it. I Ant was not at one hundred
percent in the playoffs before he hyper extended his knee,
(17:56):
but it was the other knee that was bothering. So
and the hyper extension bone bruise they say is really
purely a pain threshold thing. Okay, So is it possible
that in the time he missed with the hyper extension
of one knee, the other knee that was bothering him
(18:18):
because he couldn't play got a lot better. You don't
say what I'm saying, because like, he looked more active
last night than he did in the playoffs before this
injury when the other than the runner's knee, whatever the
hell it was, was really giving him trouble. I just
think I'm really really interested in how they deploy Gobert
(18:45):
in this series, because having Gobert on the court really
unleashes the Spurs' maximum defensive potential but also Stemy's Wimby's
offense in a way that Nasried and Julius Randall can't
(19:05):
and in a way that you know, those guys can
get in foul trouble all of that, but taking him
off the court can neutralize a lot of Wimby's rim protection,
which I think is super interesting to watch. I might
use a lot of Gobert in the non Wimby minutes
(19:26):
and like in the Cornet minutes, and then kind of
split the Wimby minutes between Gobert and the five out lineup.
And speaking of minutes, like Wimby played forty last night
and the Spurs, to their credit where they won those minutes.
(19:47):
There were plus five in those minutes, and man, the
Timbrels almost blew it at the end badly. They're up
seven late. It's hard for me. I was stunned Anesota
didn't call time out. I'm sorry san Antonio didn't call
time out after the Julius Randall miss. But it's hard
(20:07):
to criticize because they got a great shot, they got
the their leader in threes got a wide open three
to win the game.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I also think try to go and go and take
the mid range shot higher percentage. Hey, man, go and
take the get take the two. Tied up to me.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
So here's the thing on that. That's it. The argument
for the three is, if you make the three in
that spot, the game's over. If you make the two,
you have to in order to if you're down too
(20:48):
and you're taking a buzzer beater, you can win by
making the three, or you can win by making a
two and then also winning a mini five minute game
and over time. So most of the time, your better
chance of winning is the three, particularly in this case
where it was a wide open three by a good shooter.
(21:10):
With that said, yesterday's game, specifically now Castle had fouled out,
so that, you know, that changes it a bit. But man,
it felt like that if the Timberwolves had blown that
seven point lead and it had gone to overtime in
San Antonio, that the Spurs were gonna win that game,
(21:30):
that the overtime would have heavily fixed.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Yeah, and got the injuries Aunt probably couldn't have played
in overtime.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
I imagine, Oh that's it, you know what. I didn't
even think about that ants minutes restriction piece of it.
But they listen, they just they just went. And it
was also interesting to me that Wimby was like never
in the play, he got the rebound, kicked it out
and then by the time you see him next to
the shots going up. But this is now, and this
(22:02):
will be a real good test because Wimby talked about
his energy levels and those things. We're now every other
day until games uh through game five, play the sixth,
the eighth, the tenth to twelfth. They didn't have two
days off before game six, on the fifteenth, and then
Game seven on the seventeen, And if Wimby's gonna be
(22:25):
playing forty plus minutes, I it is. This is gonna
be an awesome series. But right now I lean Minnesota.
If they had lost last night, I think it would
have been far too devastating. But right now I lean Minnesota, and.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I am wait, well, way more experience, And I just think,
and this is nothing against Mitch Johnson, I just think
the I think Chris Finch might just be a flat
unbelievable coach.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Him in like the coaches in the NBA hierarchued.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
I mean, I'll be prisoner of the moment, but right
now it's hard to say he's not the best coach.
I mean, Spoe and Kerr have all the you know, accolades,
but right now he feels like he might just be
the best coach. And listen, I think that team really believes.
(23:32):
And Chris Finch said a few weeks ago, yeah, my
guys told me they just didn't care about the regular season.
They'd be ready to go for the playoffs, and that
he didn't know whether or not he could believe him,
but he believes them and what they did in round
one and Tim Connelly who built this team being down
(23:56):
that many guys and beaten up Denver. Sorry Dan, and
now this to pretty impressive stretch they're on. They've won
five of their last six games, all against Denver San Antonio,
and they have not been at full strength for any
of them. Pretty good. Today's show's brought to you by
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All right, demanse, let's go to Nick Sixers.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
The nixt dominance continues. They spanked the Sixers last night.
You announced the Sixers as your new pick in the East.
If embeat is healthy, do you still stand there?
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Listen? So here's the deal. I picked the Sixers and
said I thought they'd lose Game one. Yeah, I just
thought that the Knicks chilling while the Sixers have a
three to one comeback, wildly emotional. Game seven, that was
a to me, a pretty obvious loss spot. I didn't
(27:04):
think they were gonna lose by one hundred and the
Knicks just keep annihilating people. I could not believe this
stat The Knicks just became demons, the first team in
playoff history to win three straight games by twenty five plus.
(27:28):
Think about what that means, But that that means like
Peak Shaq Kobe never had in Round one, or Jordan's
Bulls or the Heatles or Katie's Steph Warriors. None of
those teams, even in Round one sweeps had three straight
(27:51):
just Laugher wins twenty five plus.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
The Knicks just did it and they figured out.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I mean, well, the last two of the last three games,
Brunson's been out of his mind and the one in
the middle everyone was out of their mind, and Atlanta
was as bad as can be in down fifty in
the first half. But I do think there is something
(28:21):
to I and this is what I'm gonna watch. And
one of the one of the reasons I picked the
Sixers was I was wondering who on New York can
guard Maxie like that. The Knicks built their team to
deal with Boston's wings. They don't have anyone that can
(28:42):
deal with Maxie's speed. But maybe I should have spent
more time wondering who on the Sixers can deal with Brunson.
And I mean the thought process was it would be Edgecomb.
He obviously had more than his hands full last night,
and it's a lot to ask twenty year old rookie.
But I mean, the Knicks just beat them up from
(29:06):
the opening jump. That was not uh competitive game at
any point.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
We'll get it out then.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
So here's the thing I am. I'm not panicked because
for a couple of reasons. One is, the Sixers did
just come back from three to one down on Boston.
I understand the Boston damtatum in Game seven, and we'll
talk more about that in a bit. And so they
(29:40):
they have. You know, I don't think that they will
take this loss, as embarrassing as it is to lose
by thirty nine, as more than just a loss, and
you deal with it. The question is did it reveal
a real flaw or was it what a lot of
us thought going in, which was one team exhausted coming
(30:01):
off this massive emotional you know, Catharsis and the other
team resting, chilling, getting ready for it. So Game three,
Game two tomorrow night in New York will give us
a real gauge on are the Knicks just, all of
(30:22):
a sudden, a terrible matchup for Philly or was it
a one off? I lean one off, not that I
like the Knicks can't win the series, that would be ridiculous,
but I still think Philly win fully healthy demons, which
they are right now.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Dudes, Yeah, they really do. Got some dudes on the squad.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Now they they don't have depth, but they have eight.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
It's a problem.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
The no, the I mean the former Tobias Harris cooking
with the pistols. Yeah, uh, he used to be cooking
with the sixers back in the day. No, but they've
got I mean they're big, Maxie, Embiid, Paul George, Edgecombe
(31:19):
is a strong top four, and then Oubray, Grimes, Drummond.
I mean that's the end. But the problem thing is this,
I think I said eight, it's seven. That's the end
of their rotation. They are gonna play seven guys, and
one of them's Andre Drummond, and so you know he
(31:42):
has you know, limited utility. So they are those guys.
The only bright side for Philly is this was such
a laugher. They didn't have to put real minutes on
their guys and they you know, they can just get
ready for Game two. But that top four for can
go toe to toe with anyone's top four if they're healthy.
(32:04):
Paul George is playing the best basketball he's played in
a couple of years. Maxie is a legit superstar Embiid
was unreal in the Celtics series and Edgecomb talk, by
the way, talk about a top four of a draft. Cooper,
Dylan Harper, Edgecombe, con Kinipple like, Yeah, all those guys
(32:29):
look like future, if not already stars. So I'm not
I am not going to overreact to Game one. But
if you're a Knicks fan, I do think that right
now you are feeling as good as you have felt
(32:53):
about your team. Well you you know what, let me,
I don't want to Probably the best Knicks fans have
felt about their team in the last twenty years was
after they beat Boston in Round two last year. But
this is because you thought you were gonna beat the
Pacers and go to the finals. This is creeping up
on that and listen and you should, all right, demanse,
(33:17):
let's go to the Lakers and OKC and other Lakers stuff.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Chances are if you had Houston over Lakers, you probably
have OKC over Lakers. JJ Reddick called them one of
the greatest teams ever. To make things worse, it sounds
like they're gonna bet without Luca, at least in the
early part of the series. What chance are you giving
Lebron and the Lakers to go up against the Thunder.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Listen, if Luca doesn't come back in short order, They
they it would be one of the most stunning upsets
in the history of the NBA if they were to
do this. They looked like it looked like it'd be
a stunning up set if they had Luca. I mean,
they got annihilated by the Thunder every time they played
(34:03):
them this year. I mean, Lebron is the Lakers are
fifteen and a half point dogs tonight. It's the biggest
underdog Lebron's ever been in the history of not just
playoff history, in his whole career. So I'll talk more
(34:24):
about this series in a moment, but I do want
to spend a few minutes here and a reminder everybody,
by the way, like rate subscribe review. I guess we
have a poll in the chat couple of them who
will win the West Thunder forty six percent, Timberwolves thirty
four percent, Lakers ten percent, Spurs ten percent. That feels Listen,
that feels a little low on the Spurs. I'll be
(34:47):
totally honest with you, even though I like the Timberwlves
chances in this round. And who will win the East
the Knicks with a resounding seventy one percent, six ors
fourteen percent, of the Pistons Cabs the Forgotten Series ten
and five percent, respectively. But yeah, it helps U out.
You like rate subscribe with you, so please do that.
(35:07):
So I want to talk a little Lakers Rockets, and
I want to tell you guys something that I haven't
I haven't told anybody. I haven't well, I haven't said
it on this and I haven't said it on the air.
So last week, when I kept saying, there is simply
(35:29):
no chance that Lebron allows what could be the final
any playoff series Lebron plays, could be the final playoff
series of his career, and I said, there is simply
no chance that Lebron allows what might be his final
(35:53):
time in the playoffs to end with the first ever
blown three to zero lead. And I really made it
as simple as that. I gave no equivocation. I gave
no But if it happens, keep in mind they were
huge dogs, or you know, had they just not stolen
(36:13):
Game three and they were only up to one, no
one would have killed him for it. I really put
all the chips in that part of the table. It's
not happening. Lebron won't allow it. And I had folks
reach out to me, not folks, not like folks close
(36:39):
to Lebron, not like Lebron's people, but just athletes that
are Lebron fans and colleagues, saying, Nick, I can't believe
you are butchering this strategically. I can't believe you are
(37:05):
setting yourself and by proxy, Lebron up that if they
were to do it. You are saying it's impossible. You
are basically saying it would be a huge blemish on
the resume. You are giving real ammo to the folks
that if the Lakers blow this, will use that to
(37:27):
try to disqualify him from any goat discussions. They'll bring
this up, you know, first and foremost, or in short order.
And my response across the board was I don't care
that I am because it's impossible that it happens. And
(37:48):
that is the part that made Game six so fun
to watch was it was a little reminder that even
at age forty one in year twenty three, unless he
(38:12):
is up against a truly great team, Lebron is still
one of the only athletes in the world who can
say not today, maybe tomorrow, but not fucking today. And
(38:34):
for him to put up twenty eight, seven to eight
while controlling every aspect of the game, being the defensive
coordinator essentially, and the Rockets score seventy eight points, and
Lebron is in such control and such a flow state
(38:58):
of the series that he led both teams in points,
both teams and assists. And he is right now by
a mile leading all playoff players in mimeable on court moments.
Whether it's telling shingoon everyone's allowed to complain about, flopping
(39:21):
butt you not you, Whether it's the moment with the kid,
all of it, he just whether the clip of right
before he got these series, flipping steel and then three
to tie it in Game three, telling his teammates lock
(39:41):
the fuck in, I'm locked in. I know it sounds corny.
I don't care. You are watching the last moments of
all time greatness from the greatest athlete to ever live.
You want to argue about who the greatest NBA player is.
(40:04):
It's a dumb argument. People won't believe it was an argument.
In thirty years. People will think it's laughable that this
was such a hot button issue. But go ahead and
argue it. So not argue about who the greatest athlete is.
This guy's still as fast as anybody on the court,
as strong as anybody on the court, and has more
(40:25):
athletic stamina than just about anybody on the court. Oh
but Nick, he's wearing down all the games every other day. Now,
who looked more tired? Himmer Shingoon? Tell me who looked
more locked in him? Or with respect? And I like
the player Jabari Smith Junior who couldn't stop talking about
(40:47):
how much better his.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Team was always looks tired.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Well, he's not supposed to. And I'm gonna say one
other thing here, Demons about that series. I'm really bummed
Luca's hurt, and I do think the Lakers at full
strength could have been interesting. But I always say I
owe the audience honesty, and so I will give them honesty.
(41:15):
Watching that Lakers Rocket series, I did find myself a
little grateful that we got to see at least one
more time because I don't know where Lebron's playing next year.
I don't know what the circumstances will be, and at
forty one years old and year twenty three, anything can happen.
(41:38):
Injury wise where you don't play again. And I found
myself so grateful that for one more playoff series we
got to see Alfa Lebron. It's my team, it's my show.
(41:59):
I will dictate every repossession and it's win or lose.
It's gonna flow through me. Because if it wasn't for
the Austin and certainly the Luca injuries, what we would
have seen this playoff run, and maybe it would have
been a longer run, and maybe it would have been
cooler in a different way to see him take on,
(42:19):
you know, really embrace that Swiss army knife role. It
would have been that way over qualified third option Lebron,
which was cool to watch, and I give him credit
for accepting. But seeing one more series where it was
(42:42):
all all run, everything on offense, guys, follow me. Something
we've been watching in the playoffs for nearly a quarter
century now, just as a sports fan, was absolutely and
I loved it, and I you know, there are little
(43:09):
moments where the what does Wendy always say? Gosh darn it.
Brian Windhors has a great line. It's not actions speak
louder than words, but it's a it's a better line.
(43:29):
It's one that I heard from him, But it means
the same thing. It means actions speak louder than words,
and there are a little actions over words, is what
he says. Like the teams can say, players can say things,
but then see what they actually do and just like
(43:50):
folks can you know, try to convince themselves. Oh, Jordan's
not worried about Lebron. Jordan's not worried about this that
we all know that Jordan agreed to them making the
last dance the day of the Cavs Championship parade in
twenty sixteen. It's like, yeah, there's a little something there.
(44:10):
I also get a little warm and fuzzy. I'm not
gonna lie over the fact that this playoff run and
Lebron throwing alley oops to his son and hitting series
ending essentially threes has been the thing where Skip just
(44:35):
couldn't take it anymore. He's like, fuck that, I'm back
on TV Friday. Me and Steve like me, like, you
know what, you know what? What's that after game two,
Game two of thunder Lakers, Lebron's gonna be down two. Oh,
somebody get me to Bristol. I gotta do it. It's
(44:57):
so funny it's so good. I mean, and watching watching
these folks when they thought the Lakers had no hot
shot in round one, you know, saying, oh, yeah, if
Lebron does that, then finally maybe I'll consider him the
go and then while he was doing it, then being like, actually,
(45:22):
change of heart, not that impressive. The Rockets are just
a travesty. And then another change of heart when they
thought he might lose the series, like, you know what,
new Lean, Lebron must win and if he doesn't, disqualified.
And then when he does win, it all right, how
(45:43):
about this? That was more about Kevin Durant and the
Rockets and whatever. Go beat the thunder. Let's see you.
Let's see you go beat the thunder, big fella. It's
just so. And then and then in as an added bonus,
when asked for some okay, well let's just say somehow
(46:07):
they do beat the thunder, the response is no. Even then,
still not the goat. It's it's inconceivable.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
This one would be impeachable. You can't.
Speaker 1 (46:22):
No, this is impossible. I don't want to call it impossible,
but it would be. This would be in line with
(46:43):
anything uh he's ever done in his career, not just
any non championship, any championship as far as the impressiveness
of it.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
But yeah, this would be Would this be greater than
the three you want to come back to the Warriors?
Speaker 1 (47:05):
It was, it would be in line with it, it'd be,
I mean, just because the Thunder are such a great
team and Luca is not there. Now. Listen, this is
the Lakers path if they have one, is winning tonight,
(47:31):
winning tonight and then Luca being backed by game four.
To me, those are both prerequisites to anything that there
is a bit of. The Lakers are rested, but not
you know, but they they played Friday the Thunder, I
haven't played in a week that you know, they may
(47:53):
be it's that would be the path, But Luca doesn't
look like he's anywhere close to being back. If I
were the Minister of Spanish medicine, I'd be considering suing
Luca for how much he's hurt our country's reputation. Everybody
thought he was going over there to just you know,
be quick back. Instead, Boston Reeves stayed local. He's playing
(48:17):
Anthony Edwards. We watched his nego backwards. He just hung out.
He's playing, and so I'm just I think that this
is probably it's probably OKAYC in five, that's probably what
it is. But I'm excited to see how Lebron attacks tonight.
(48:46):
And I'm excited to see how JJ. This is a
great JJ Reddick moment as well, like, hey, you are
outmanned and out gone, bro, Let's see how it goes.
Speaker 2 (49:01):
All right?
Speaker 1 (49:01):
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(49:35):
per month as long as they remain active on the
boost Unlimited plan. All right, demons, I'm gonna toss to
you here your actual team, my adopted team for the year,
the Boston Celtics. Yep, they blew a three to one lead. Yeah,
your thoughts on how it happened, why it happened, and who,
(49:58):
if anyone your most ag agree with.
Speaker 2 (50:03):
I guess it was just I'm most angry with. It
would have to be Miszoulla, I imagine, because it's like,
we got to change up the game plan. Maybe not
the line up, just change up what it is that
we're doing the players. It's a little frustrating too, because
I mean, you could have just go to the bucket.
Three to one to Philly is bad. But with the
full team that they have, the seventy six ers, I
(50:27):
think it's it's I'm not sick about it. It's going
to force them to change something. They got to make
some changes. I think the system will change up. We'll
come back next year. But but Jalen Brown, I'm just
gonna go ahead and get to like that. I a man.
I don't know about that guy, and I don't know
if I wanted to be on the Celtics moving forward.
(50:47):
It's just like no offense, dude. But you just say
too much stuff and it's like, what are you talking about?
How was this year possibly your favorite year? You guys
won the finals A couple of years ago and you're
running was recovering from his torn achilles. How could this
possibly be your favorite year? But yeah, I think that
something needs to change, and I think that we get
(51:08):
some stuff for Jayleen Brown. I don't know how the
contracts and all that stuff works.
Speaker 1 (51:11):
Like I said before, Well you I'll tell you. I'll
tell you one a trade that let me just tell
you a very very simple one that I set on
TV yesterday. No picks, no extra players, one for one.
Tell me if you'd be interested. Jalen Brown for Giannis.
Speaker 2 (51:30):
Oh what what? Yes?
Speaker 1 (51:35):
Awesome? Okay, all right, I mean that's the So here's
another another trade that for the Celtics effectively works the
exact same, because there's a possibility that the Bucks are like, yeah,
we don't We're actually not trying to, you know, be mediocre.
(51:56):
We need to bottom out and rebuild. Yep, Jalen Brown
to Atlanta, who I think would he would be a
perfect fit there and they'd be really good. Atlanta sends Dyson, Daniels,
Ree Sachet a bunch of picks to Milwaukee, including Atlanta
(52:19):
controls Milwaukee's pick next year, so Milwaukee gets their own pickback,
which is valuable, and then Jannis to Boston. That to
me is a really interesting setup. And I so I
want to talk about all of this for a minute.
(52:41):
Will do Brown, then we'll do Missoula, then we'll do Tatum.
I Jalen Brown is like such an interesting NBA character
because he is an incredibly right guy. He is an
(53:02):
incredibly thoughtful guy. The off court causes that he cares
about I think are hugely important, and I think he
does really like impactful, smart things. I think all of
that's true. I also think he says some of the
(53:25):
goofiest stuff I've ever heard, Like in that stream he
talked about how it's just very clear to him the
NBA has an agenda out to get him personally with
the pushoffs because he's criticized the refs in the past
(53:49):
like that. Obviously there's not a big conspiracy against Jalen Brown.
So I thought that was weird. I thought the decision
to do that Twitch stream with those dudes just standing
silently behind you for a lot of it all where
(54:10):
like who, no, I mean just who it was just
one of them is like a Celtics Twitter guy. That
was that was odd, And your point about him saying
it was his favorite year ever. All year long, he
really leaned into how much Funny was having. It felt
(54:32):
like maybe he was leaning into it a touch too
much given the circumstances.
Speaker 2 (54:37):
Yeah, it's like, dude, the guy tore his a kid, Like,
what's going on? Man?
Speaker 1 (54:41):
So like even if deep down you did feel like
you know what, I knew I could be the number
one option, even if deep down he's like, man, I'm
better than Tatum. I was here first. I've sacrificed for
such a smart guy. You've got to know, don't say
that shit, don't do that.
Speaker 2 (55:02):
Like the it kind of seems like it seems like
he wants Hew, like he he might want some change
himself on his own team. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (55:10):
I think it's absolutely on the board. I think it
is absolutely on the board. He wants his own team.
And by the way that I wouldn't I wouldn't blame
him for that. Like some day he's like, uh, I'm on,
you know, I've made all the money. I'm gonna keep
making the money. I've won a championship, I've won a
finals MVP. Like I'd like to go try to But
(55:31):
it's just I think the way he's handled it is odd.
I also don't I don't think he is quite as
good as he thinks he is. Does that make sense?
Like I think he is. Again, don't put this, don't
do one of like our list things on Twitter here
(55:53):
because I'm really doing this top of my head. But
if I were like ranking players in the league, you
have your big five foreign guys in Shaye, Jokic, Luca, Wimby, Yannis,
that are the five best guys. And then again not
(56:17):
the order, but Aunt Tatum, I think Cade, Brunson, Maxie
you know, are in that next group mix. And then
after that is when I would start to consider Jalen
Brown in the Steph and bid Lebron.
Speaker 2 (56:43):
Is he better than Stephen Curry right now?
Speaker 1 (56:45):
Yes, just and it's tough like but in that Kawhi
in that mix of guys, so you know, somewhere from
eleventh to seventeenth or something again, a great player. I'm
saying you might be able to trade him straight up
for Giannis. But I you know, he said he's the
best two way player in the league other than Wimby,
(57:05):
and I think that's too much. I think that's too much.
I just don't think that's true.
Speaker 2 (57:10):
On the stream. I hear that part.
Speaker 1 (57:12):
No, he said that back in January.
Speaker 2 (57:14):
Okay, I think.
Speaker 1 (57:16):
He said I'm the best two way human being, which
was because he was calling Wimby an alien. Yeah, and
so I so there's that. Now. I want to do
Missoula because there's two pieces. First one was this, There
(57:37):
is simply no no explanation whatsoever for starting Ron Harper junior.
And I'm not picking on him, but starting him in
Game seven of a series. He started a lineup that
had played zero minutes together all year. That's bizarre, especially
(57:57):
to Mon's A. One could argue there might not have
been a team in NBA history that should have been
more prepared for a Game seven without their best player
than this year Celtics, who played the whole damn year
without their best player. They had plenty of reps of
not having the best guy. And then the stylistic three
(58:21):
is worth more than two stuff. I I just if
you are running the Celtics, you do have to ask yourself,
are we doing our team a disservice by adding this
(58:42):
much variance to how we play in the playoffs? Because
this team had been living in the conference finals seventeen
conference finals twenty eighteen Conference Finals, twenty twenty Conference Finals,
(59:06):
twenty twenty one or twenty twenty two, pardon me, NBA Finals,
twenty twenty three Conference Finals, twenty twenty four Conference Finals,
and last year they lose in round two. This year
they lose in round one. Under Missoula, they have a
(59:26):
championship where they kicked everyone's ass and they deserve huge,
huge credit for it. They also have the first year
under Missoula, struggling round one with Atlanta, are down three
(59:47):
to two in round two to Philly, and then lose
the conference finals to and eight seed where they're down
three to zero. Last year shockingly upset by the Knicks
after leading games one and two by twenty points each
and never stopping shooting threes, and now this year blowing
(01:00:08):
a three to one lead. That's on the resume, And
so that part has to be I think, looked at.
And then I want to say the Tatum piece. So
(01:00:31):
so I'm very fond of Jason Tatum, and I have
found myself, particularly with how he has handled this injury
and the vulnerability he has shown in being totally transparent
about the process and all of that, to be incredibly
(01:00:53):
endearing and very unique, and I have found myself really
really rooting for him. It's probably one of the reasons
I picked Selics win the title was I I thought
it would be an unbelievable story, and I obviously thought
they could. During that game seven Demanse, I realized while
(01:01:18):
I was watching it, even though I had bet Boston
to win the championship, I had picked him. I was
kind of rooting for Philly because I didn't. Once I
heard Tatum's other calf was sore, I got very nervous
(01:01:42):
on his behalf. Yeah, that something truly catastrophic was gonna
happen if the Celtics advanced that he would, you know,
be back in the playoffs. It's the other leg. And
then it that to me was confirmed somewhat when he
said afterwards He's like, yeah, one leg is only eighty
(01:02:05):
percent as big as the other and all of that,
And so I do think there is if you're a
Celtics fan, a you know again that Cormack McCarthy quote
that I bring up all the time, never underestimate the
awful luck that your bad luck saved you from. It
(01:02:26):
feels like bad luck that, Oh my god, Tatum misses
Game seven, Prichard misses that open corner three, we blow it,
and our season's over. Maybe it's not. Maybe now, getting
your best player and your franchise player five months to
(01:02:46):
get to true full strength and get all the way
back to where he is seeing with.
Speaker 2 (01:02:52):
That play style'll get you. I don't know. Yeah, the
bound to do something different, I imagine I would.
Speaker 1 (01:02:59):
I think that that's right. And I also and then
here's one other critique of Missoula. I didn't you know,
I didn't visually clock the difference in the look on
Tatum's you know, size of his legs. But obviously the
Celtics knew every step of the way where he was
rehab wise, and he was playing great. But if you
(01:03:22):
know he's he's like, he's literally not far enough along
to where his you know, his leg has regained its
full size. The fact that since April first, he's fifth
in the NBA in minutes per game, it's pretty wild.
(01:03:43):
And that he was playing forty minute games, you know
that they didn't ease him in more. To me, it
was stunning how good he was and how much close
to one hundred percent he looked. But that was probably
a mistake as well. All right, Demanse, let's talk about
some of the teams that lost and what their paths are.
Speaker 2 (01:04:04):
Yeah, so these teams got some big decisions to make
after their first round exits. So my Celtics have the
problems that we just discuss with keeping the Jalen Brown
Jason Tatum together. Shams has reported that Jokic is the
only untouchable player in Denver. Houston has a Kevin Durant
decision to make. In Orlando obviously just fired their head coach.
Who do you think should blow it up? And who's
(01:04:25):
running back?
Speaker 1 (01:04:26):
All right, Orlando, they played the single worst half of
basketball I've ever seen, the four for thirty seven in
a closeout game. I also think that they are just
you know, they're gonna run it back with a new
head coach and hope guys evolve offensively, that Franz gets healthy,
(01:04:47):
that Pallo, who's good, gets a little better. So Orlando
is just gonna run back with a new head coach.
I think Boston's gonna make major changes, And I to
your point what we were just discussing. I think a
Jalen Brown t is very on the board. Houston cannot
run it back, and I don't know what they do
(01:05:12):
because here's the tricky thing. Who is like, you know
what sounds fun? You know what I want to do?
Take my ride on the Kevin Durant roller coaster.
Speaker 2 (01:05:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:05:29):
Still a great player and a player I like, but
the fact that he is just so unhappy everywhere and
it does create a bit of a toxic work environment.
(01:05:52):
I don't know who's going to convince themselves we can
change him. And so if he doesn't have huge trade value,
then do you just punt on the young guys and
flip shingoon and go do that. I don't know. I'm
sure they will consider trading for Yannis, but I just
(01:06:17):
I and maybe Yannis is such a good leader that
would you know, that would be enough and KD can
take on maybe his ultimate role, which is the most
overqualified number two of all time, and that's where he's
been his best. But I think they're in a tricky spot.
(01:06:37):
And Denver might be in the trickiest because they had
a seven year championship window and they only came close
the one time they won it. Twenty twenty. They're in
the conference finals. They are not, but they're the windows
open with the Lakers, you know, kill him in that series.
(01:07:00):
Twenty one playoffs, Jamal Murray blows his ACL so that
playoffs is dead and twenty two is dead. Twenty three
you win the title, twenty four you probably should have
defended your title, and the Timberwolves absolutely stun you at
a home game seven. Twenty twenty five, you're not as
good as the thunder and twenty twenty six you go
(01:07:22):
out sad, and so they need to retool it. They'll
also I bet Demon's call. I bet there is a
Jamal Murray Jalen Brown discussion. But I don't think the
Celtics take that. I don't think the I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:07:44):
I don't think that necessarily honestly, but I wouldn't hate it,
just not the fact that I don't think Jalen Brown
wants to play on the team. So it's like, whoever
we get over there, it's like, I'll.
Speaker 1 (01:07:54):
Take it again as long as right, as long as
there's a But I just don't think Jalen Brown. I
do think is he's certainly more available, and he's more
you know, as far as injury wise. But I think
the sorry Daniel, I think the Nuggets are in a
very precarious spot. They are the best player in the world,
(01:08:14):
but they're in a very precarious spot, all right. The
oh they're reminding me so oh. The hard Rock's got
the Laker odds, Lakers thunder and a gentleman's sweep is
plus two ten. I will not be betting against the Lakers, guys.
(01:08:37):
I can tell you what I think is gonna happen,
and I will be rooting like hell every single night
to be wrong. Uh, And so I appreciate that. I
mean that is again, if I was a soulless better
that was just trying like that's probably the direction I
would take on it. But no, all right, so tonight
(01:09:01):
we've got calvs. Pistons. Very interested in if both of
these teams look more like their regular season selves than
their playoffs selves, because neither of these teams has looked
inspiring this postseason. And then Lakers Thunder, where you see
if lebron can pull off a miracle. Austin did look
(01:09:23):
a little more spry in that game six, which is
something to watch for. All right, great job demands great.
Thank you so much to hard Rock Bet and to Boost.
Thank you so much to Blue Duck and volume. I
gotta go do Coward Show. Also, by the way, not
to promote other podcasts on this podcast, but I'm on
(01:09:44):
Simmons tonight and so that'll be all that'll be on
tomorrow morning. And I am again. I don't know if
Bill's listening or watching right now. It's early out West,
but I am going to demand that he reconvenes the
Ringer one hundred and makes them keep voting until they
have Lebron ahead of all the old guys who are
(01:10:07):
not still playing in the playoffs. Seeing Lebron behind Durant,
Kawhi and staff all year long, enough is enough. I'm
gonna demand Bill fix that, so you guys can check
that out tomorrow morning. All right, talk to you guys later.
Speaker 2 (01:10:21):
What's right,
Welcome in What's Driving the Great Episode four fifty four.
After a historic night on a couple of fronts in
the NBA, after an awesome weekend in the NBA playoffs,
awesome week and by the way, in sports overall, Kentucky
Derby was sick. I went to just an unbelievable boxing match.
(00:25):
David Benavidez. It was spectacular. You guys don't care as
much about that, but it was pretty remarkable. I found
out at the how about this a little bonus good
morning demanse So at the you know, good seats at
a boxing match, it is an eclectic crowd, particularly depending
(00:48):
on who the fighters are. Like, you know, boxing brings
out a wide spectrum of you know, the rich, you know,
cultures around the world. And I am at the match
happened to end up in line next to the guy
(01:10):
in the drink line, next to the guy who was
sitting right behind me, so he also had six seats,
and he and I are chatting and he's like, hey man,
He's like, you know where your show is huge. I'm
like tell me. He's like prison, bro. I'm like yeah,
(01:33):
I'm like yeah, and he's like yeah. He was uh,
he's like I did. I did five years in federal
prison in Texas back when you were on in the mornings,
and he was like every day man, it was you
guys didn't first take and then we argued about it.
He was like, it was like the real it was
honestly like touching. I'm not gonna lie. He was like,
(01:53):
he's like, he said, one of the few things. Yeah,
one of the few things we could look forward to. So,
you know, shout out to that fella, wish him all
the best. Seems like he's doing well. He's in real
estate now, so you know what, his second chances go
kill and so that was fun. Last night was great.
So we'll get into all of that. Also, maybe most notably,
(02:17):
one of our best staff members on the Blue Duck team, Victor,
back from paternity leave h just had a beautiful baby
girl and in one of the most unique coincidences ever,
Demonse in November had a baby girl named Mila, and
(02:39):
Victor a few months later had a baby girl named
I want to say it right, Mila, Mila not spelled
the exact same, but Mila and Mila, who are damn
near the same age. The What Right family continue to
expand so congrats to everyone involved. All right, a ton
(03:01):
to do because here's the other thing. And again, I'm
a Weirdoh I get that, But I ten days ago,
I'm watching Game three Lakers Rockets, Lebron get the steal
and shot to tie the game, force overtime, basically win
(03:24):
the series. And as thrilled as I was about it,
there was a little part of me that's like, god,
dog it, this is happening on a Friday night. So
by the time Monday Sports TV is on, they will
have played again. Things will have changed. It won't be
like the lead story.
Speaker 2 (03:44):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
Then three days ago, four days ago, after you know,
I'm watching the Lakers dismantle the Rockets, when everyone said,
awe be are you nervous? How scared are you? What
if they blow?
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Want?
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Did they get reverse swept? And Lebron just masterpiece twenty eight,
seven and eight, controlling every aspect of the game. And
again I'm like, god dog it, it's a Friday. By
the time Monday rolls around, they'll have been game sevens.
We'll be on to the next thing. So I say
all that to say this, at some point in today's show,
(04:21):
I might do a little game six recap because somebody's
got to do it. But before we get to any
of that, let me remind you guys. This episode of
What's Right with Nick Wright is presented to you by
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(04:44):
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Reminder to everybody like rate subscribe review to the show
Demon's let's get to one of the games of the playoffs.
Last night Timberwolve Spurs.
Speaker 2 (05:42):
Yeah, so the Timberwolves just keep doing it with less.
Aunt came off the bench and they still got it.
Wimby what could have possibly gotten a quadruple double last night,
he had twelve blocks. Do you think that it's time
to take Minnesota seriously as a contender moving forward?
Speaker 1 (05:58):
Listen, Ifvan's healthy, they can win the time, and he's
clearly not fully healthy. But Saturday morning, the Minnesota Timberwolves,
let me just get a little context. Saturday morning, the
championship odds, the thunder were minus money favorites. The Spurs
(06:23):
were the second biggest favorites at that point. I think
the Celtics and Knicks were right around the same. The
Celtics weren't out yet and we hadn't had the game sevens.
The Timberwolves Saturday morning were two hundred to one to
win the championship. Context on that Orlando Saturday morning, which
(06:48):
had a Game seven pending, and we were ten hours
removed from the single worst half of basketball that's ever
been televised. I'm not talking about the NBA. I'm saying
that was the worst half of basketball that's been on
TV ever. They're four thirty seven in the second half
in a closeout game. Orlando was four hundred to one.
And I looked at it and I said, how are
(07:11):
you telling me Minnesota that was already in Round two
and that I believed Aunt could come back. You're telling
me they're only twice as likely to win the championship
as Orlando, which was as dead as any team I've
ever seen going into a Game seven. So I thought
for Minnesota the path would be Aunt, come back game
(07:33):
three or four and see what the hell happens. And
let me a little added context. I watched five years
ago Jannis suffered the exact knee hyperstinct extension Anthony Edwards
(07:55):
did during the Eastern Conference Finals, and it looked like,
oh my god, did he blow out his knee. Then
it's reported it's just a hyper extension, but he's gonna
be out weeks, and he missed eight days started the finals,
(08:15):
and in those finals averaged thirty five, thirteen and six
on crazy efficiency, culminating in a fifty piece for the championship.
And I just stared at that. Minnesota too, and drum
like Ant's gonna come back at some point. The Spurs
are a really good team, but they're not unbeatable. The Timberwolves,
(08:38):
we feel like they're so banged up because hey, Io
has the capstrain, Ant has the knee hyper extension, Dante
tore his achilles. But there's a real chance that by
Thursday it's just Dante who's out, and as it turns out,
(09:02):
Ants back even faster. Ant was listen, he's still laboring,
he's still dealing with some of it. He also yesterday
was huge for Minnesota in the second half of that game,
and they just have I mean, Terrence Shannon Junr Is
out there fearlessly getting buckets. They give a few minutes
(09:25):
to Jalen Clark, he gets a steal. I'm not a
huge bones Highland guy, and I'd really like Io to
get back so he can take those minutes. Mike Conley throw,
you know, really turning back the clock. And this team
is fearless.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
They will never lose off of not trying. It will
never effort. I like that, and they.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
I think the so I think the Spurs should wake
up this morning very nervous because last night Aunt only
played twenty five minutes. Jaden was instantly in foul trouble
(10:15):
and in foul trouble throughout. At some point you would
imagine those bones minutes are gonna go to ioh and
all of a sudden, Minnesota, despite the injuries, will be
back to being eight deep. And I think Chris Finch
(10:39):
has some really interesting ideas on what to do with
the Wimby problem, because here is the interesting part going
into the series. I talked about this on the show
and then you saw it Deman's play out yesterday. Rudy
(10:59):
can absolutely give Wimby real trouble when the Spurs have
the ball. He is stronger than Wimby. He is you
know of anybody who has the length to bother Wimby.
I don't know if anybody does, but if anybody does,
it's him. He also, you know, has known him since
(11:22):
he was a kid. It's pretty crazy that it might
know that. Well. They're both yeah, I mean, I mean
they're both French. They're both like the great French basketball players.
It's really wild that you might have, you know, a
combined ten Defensive Player of the Year awards come from
France four via Rudy, and however, many Wimby wins, So
(11:47):
Rudy is a tough matchup for Wimby when the Spurs
have the ball. However, because Rudy is a nun existent shooter,
when Rudy's on the court, Wimby is able to do
exactly what he did yesterday, which is guard no one
(12:12):
just patrol the paint and basically cut off the paint entirely.
And so it's a given a take throughout the game.
Do we want to hurt the Spurs offense by having
Rudy out there, but also get Wimby's shot blocking on
steroids to the tune of breaking Andrew Byham and a
(12:34):
Keeams record for playoff shot blocks in a game. Again,
the real record is wilt with sixteen, but the written
record was ten, and I understand. Listen, I think about
four of those were goaltends, and I think that they'll
the NBA. The refs will be more on alert for
the goaltends in the next game. But still, Wimby was
altering everything early on, but he also could get nothing going.
(13:02):
I mean, he almost missed out on a triple double
because he didn't have the points. It was a dunk
with less than a minute left that got him the points.
And the other thing that though happened to Mons in
the fourth quarter was they benched Rudy. They went with
a lineup where everyone on the court can shoot because
(13:27):
Julius Randall can shoot, Nasrid can shoot, and it forced
Wimby to actually have to if they go five out
out on the perimeter. And now the lane's open, and
so it'll be very interesting to see which and what
(13:47):
Chris Finch leans into. But this Minnesota seems not messing around.
And Julius Randall, if he it's matched up with Wimby
in the post, is gonna make Wimby feel it. He
just is. And Naz Reid is gonna make him feel it.
(14:09):
And Rudy Gobert has sharp elbows and is gonna make
him feel it. And they're gonna push him around. And
what you saw yesterday was and this is this is
my where I pumped the where I've pumped the brakes
on some of the Wimby best player in the world stuff.
What I have said time and again nights when his
(14:33):
three isn't falling, he is not yet a consistently great scorer.
And you saw that play out in real time yesterday. Again,
he's all of these things. That's great for his size, obviously,
but I'm sorrying about compared to the other best players
(14:53):
in the world, he's not yet a consistently great scorer.
And he had trouble on that end of the court
yesterday and then and again. Not to relitigate old debates,
but when people were arguing with me, no, Whimby's right.
(15:17):
Defense is half the game he just had. He just
had a playoff game where his team lost a close one.
He set the all time record in blocks and really
struggled on offense. I watched Michael Jordan once. I didn't
watch I was too young. Michael Jordan once in a
(15:38):
playoff game, set the all time record for points, had
zero blocks and his team lost. That game felt a
little more impactful than this one. The sixty three piece
with zero blocks still feels like it has a little
more impact than the twelve blocks with eleven points. So,
(15:59):
and here's the other thing about that. I think Minnesota
recognized about not being afraid to have their shot blocked.
The block shot doesn't always end the possession like a
couple times yesterday it led to Minnesota threes. He got
(16:20):
blocked off the back border, he got blocked, they kept
the possession going. You then add to it demands a
Fox really struggled and he's gonna have to be way better,
way better in order for them to win this series,
(16:42):
which right now, right now, this moment, if ANT is
available the whole the whole series, I think Minnesota is
gonna win. And I just don't think anybody there's no
team in the league playing with more confidence than them.
(17:03):
Then the fact that go ahead.
Speaker 2 (17:04):
Okay, what percentage of ANT do you think they need
in order to beat the Spurs and make a run?
Speaker 1 (17:11):
Well, I think they can beat the Spurs with ANT
at this level. I think that they suck that they need.
Ant's going to have to be one hundred percent for
them to beat the Thunder.
Speaker 2 (17:25):
Okay, like the I think that right now. Shit, it
looks like sixty sixty Yeah, I mean.
Speaker 1 (17:34):
I just but he is. So here's the other interesting
thing about it. I Ant was not at one hundred
percent in the playoffs before he hyper extended his knee,
(17:56):
but it was the other knee that was bothering. So
and the hyper extension bone bruise they say is really
purely a pain threshold thing. Okay, So is it possible
that in the time he missed with the hyper extension
of one knee, the other knee that was bothering him
(18:18):
because he couldn't play got a lot better. You don't
say what I'm saying, because like, he looked more active
last night than he did in the playoffs before this
injury when the other than the runner's knee, whatever the
hell it was, was really giving him trouble. I just
think I'm really really interested in how they deploy Gobert
(18:45):
in this series, because having Gobert on the court really
unleashes the Spurs' maximum defensive potential but also Stemy's Wimby's
offense in a way that Nasried and Julius Randall can't
(19:05):
and in a way that you know, those guys can
get in foul trouble all of that, but taking him
off the court can neutralize a lot of Wimby's rim protection,
which I think is super interesting to watch. I might
use a lot of Gobert in the non Wimby minutes
(19:26):
and like in the Cornet minutes, and then kind of
split the Wimby minutes between Gobert and the five out lineup.
And speaking of minutes, like Wimby played forty last night
and the Spurs, to their credit where they won those minutes.
(19:47):
There were plus five in those minutes, and man, the
Timbrels almost blew it at the end badly. They're up
seven late. It's hard for me. I was stunned Anesota
didn't call time out. I'm sorry san Antonio didn't call
time out after the Julius Randall miss. But it's hard
(20:07):
to criticize because they got a great shot, they got
the their leader in threes got a wide open three
to win the game.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
I also think try to go and go and take
the mid range shot higher percentage. Hey, man, go and
take the get take the two. Tied up to me.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
So here's the thing on that. That's it. The argument
for the three is, if you make the three in
that spot, the game's over. If you make the two,
you have to in order to if you're down too
(20:48):
and you're taking a buzzer beater, you can win by
making the three, or you can win by making a
two and then also winning a mini five minute game
and over time. So most of the time, your better
chance of winning is the three, particularly in this case
where it was a wide open three by a good shooter.
(21:10):
With that said, yesterday's game, specifically now Castle had fouled out,
so that, you know, that changes it a bit. But man,
it felt like that if the Timberwolves had blown that
seven point lead and it had gone to overtime in
San Antonio, that the Spurs were gonna win that game,
(21:30):
that the overtime would have heavily fixed.
Speaker 2 (21:34):
Yeah, and got the injuries Aunt probably couldn't have played
in overtime.
Speaker 1 (21:37):
I imagine, Oh that's it, you know what. I didn't
even think about that ants minutes restriction piece of it.
But they listen, they just they just went. And it
was also interesting to me that Wimby was like never
in the play, he got the rebound, kicked it out
and then by the time you see him next to
the shots going up. But this is now, and this
(22:02):
will be a real good test because Wimby talked about
his energy levels and those things. We're now every other
day until games uh through game five, play the sixth,
the eighth, the tenth to twelfth. They didn't have two
days off before game six, on the fifteenth, and then
Game seven on the seventeen, And if Wimby's gonna be
(22:25):
playing forty plus minutes, I it is. This is gonna
be an awesome series. But right now I lean Minnesota.
If they had lost last night, I think it would
have been far too devastating. But right now I lean Minnesota, and.
Speaker 3 (22:44):
I am wait, well, way more experience, And I just think,
and this is nothing against Mitch Johnson, I just think
the I think Chris Finch might just be a flat
unbelievable coach.
Speaker 2 (23:02):
Him in like the coaches in the NBA hierarchued.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
I mean, I'll be prisoner of the moment, but right
now it's hard to say he's not the best coach.
I mean, Spoe and Kerr have all the you know, accolades,
but right now he feels like he might just be
the best coach. And listen, I think that team really believes.
(23:32):
And Chris Finch said a few weeks ago, yeah, my
guys told me they just didn't care about the regular season.
They'd be ready to go for the playoffs, and that
he didn't know whether or not he could believe him,
but he believes them and what they did in round
one and Tim Connelly who built this team being down
(23:56):
that many guys and beaten up Denver. Sorry Dan, and
now this to pretty impressive stretch they're on. They've won
five of their last six games, all against Denver San Antonio,
and they have not been at full strength for any
of them. Pretty good. Today's show's brought to you by
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All right, demanse, let's go to Nick Sixers.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
The nixt dominance continues. They spanked the Sixers last night.
You announced the Sixers as your new pick in the East.
If embeat is healthy, do you still stand there?
Speaker 1 (26:40):
Listen? So here's the deal. I picked the Sixers and
said I thought they'd lose Game one. Yeah, I just
thought that the Knicks chilling while the Sixers have a
three to one comeback, wildly emotional. Game seven, that was
a to me, a pretty obvious loss spot. I didn't
(27:04):
think they were gonna lose by one hundred and the
Knicks just keep annihilating people. I could not believe this
stat The Knicks just became demons, the first team in
playoff history to win three straight games by twenty five plus.
(27:28):
Think about what that means, But that that means like
Peak Shaq Kobe never had in Round one, or Jordan's
Bulls or the Heatles or Katie's Steph Warriors. None of
those teams, even in Round one sweeps had three straight
(27:51):
just Laugher wins twenty five plus.
Speaker 2 (27:53):
The Knicks just did it and they figured out.
Speaker 1 (27:58):
I mean, well, the last two of the last three games,
Brunson's been out of his mind and the one in
the middle everyone was out of their mind, and Atlanta
was as bad as can be in down fifty in
the first half. But I do think there is something
(28:21):
to I and this is what I'm gonna watch. And
one of the one of the reasons I picked the
Sixers was I was wondering who on New York can
guard Maxie like that. The Knicks built their team to
deal with Boston's wings. They don't have anyone that can
(28:42):
deal with Maxie's speed. But maybe I should have spent
more time wondering who on the Sixers can deal with Brunson.
And I mean the thought process was it would be Edgecomb.
He obviously had more than his hands full last night,
and it's a lot to ask twenty year old rookie.
But I mean, the Knicks just beat them up from
(29:06):
the opening jump. That was not uh competitive game at
any point.
Speaker 2 (29:13):
We'll get it out then.
Speaker 1 (29:15):
So here's the thing I am. I'm not panicked because
for a couple of reasons. One is, the Sixers did
just come back from three to one down on Boston.
I understand the Boston damtatum in Game seven, and we'll
talk more about that in a bit. And so they
(29:40):
they have. You know, I don't think that they will
take this loss, as embarrassing as it is to lose
by thirty nine, as more than just a loss, and
you deal with it. The question is did it reveal
a real flaw or was it what a lot of
us thought going in, which was one team exhausted coming
(30:01):
off this massive emotional you know, Catharsis and the other
team resting, chilling, getting ready for it. So Game three,
Game two tomorrow night in New York will give us
a real gauge on are the Knicks just, all of
(30:22):
a sudden, a terrible matchup for Philly or was it
a one off? I lean one off, not that I
like the Knicks can't win the series, that would be ridiculous,
but I still think Philly win fully healthy demons, which
they are right now.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Dudes, Yeah, they really do. Got some dudes on the squad.
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Now they they don't have depth, but they have eight.
Speaker 2 (30:52):
It's a problem.
Speaker 1 (30:54):
The no, the I mean the former Tobias Harris cooking
with the pistols. Yeah, uh, he used to be cooking
with the sixers back in the day. No, but they've
got I mean they're big, Maxie, Embiid, Paul George, Edgecombe
(31:19):
is a strong top four, and then Oubray, Grimes, Drummond.
I mean that's the end. But the problem thing is this,
I think I said eight, it's seven. That's the end
of their rotation. They are gonna play seven guys, and
one of them's Andre Drummond, and so you know he
(31:42):
has you know, limited utility. So they are those guys.
The only bright side for Philly is this was such
a laugher. They didn't have to put real minutes on
their guys and they you know, they can just get
ready for Game two. But that top four for can
go toe to toe with anyone's top four if they're healthy.
(32:04):
Paul George is playing the best basketball he's played in
a couple of years. Maxie is a legit superstar Embiid
was unreal in the Celtics series and Edgecomb talk, by
the way, talk about a top four of a draft. Cooper,
Dylan Harper, Edgecombe, con Kinipple like, Yeah, all those guys
(32:29):
look like future, if not already stars. So I'm not
I am not going to overreact to Game one. But
if you're a Knicks fan, I do think that right
now you are feeling as good as you have felt
(32:53):
about your team. Well you you know what, let me,
I don't want to Probably the best Knicks fans have
felt about their team in the last twenty years was
after they beat Boston in Round two last year. But
this is because you thought you were gonna beat the
Pacers and go to the finals. This is creeping up
on that and listen and you should, all right, demanse,
(33:17):
let's go to the Lakers and OKC and other Lakers stuff.
Speaker 2 (33:22):
Chances are if you had Houston over Lakers, you probably
have OKC over Lakers. JJ Reddick called them one of
the greatest teams ever. To make things worse, it sounds
like they're gonna bet without Luca, at least in the
early part of the series. What chance are you giving
Lebron and the Lakers to go up against the Thunder.
Speaker 1 (33:41):
Listen, if Luca doesn't come back in short order, They
they it would be one of the most stunning upsets
in the history of the NBA if they were to
do this. They looked like it looked like it'd be
a stunning up set if they had Luca. I mean,
they got annihilated by the Thunder every time they played
(34:03):
them this year. I mean, Lebron is the Lakers are
fifteen and a half point dogs tonight. It's the biggest
underdog Lebron's ever been in the history of not just
playoff history, in his whole career. So I'll talk more
(34:24):
about this series in a moment, but I do want
to spend a few minutes here and a reminder everybody,
by the way, like rate subscribe review. I guess we
have a poll in the chat couple of them who
will win the West Thunder forty six percent, Timberwolves thirty
four percent, Lakers ten percent, Spurs ten percent. That feels Listen,
that feels a little low on the Spurs. I'll be
(34:47):
totally honest with you, even though I like the Timberwlves
chances in this round. And who will win the East
the Knicks with a resounding seventy one percent, six ors
fourteen percent, of the Pistons Cabs the Forgotten Series ten
and five percent, respectively. But yeah, it helps U out.
You like rate subscribe with you, so please do that.
(35:07):
So I want to talk a little Lakers Rockets, and
I want to tell you guys something that I haven't
I haven't told anybody. I haven't well, I haven't said
it on this and I haven't said it on the air.
So last week, when I kept saying, there is simply
(35:29):
no chance that Lebron allows what could be the final
any playoff series Lebron plays, could be the final playoff
series of his career, and I said, there is simply
no chance that Lebron allows what might be his final
(35:53):
time in the playoffs to end with the first ever
blown three to zero lead. And I really made it
as simple as that. I gave no equivocation. I gave
no But if it happens, keep in mind they were
huge dogs, or you know, had they just not stolen
(36:13):
Game three and they were only up to one, no
one would have killed him for it. I really put
all the chips in that part of the table. It's
not happening. Lebron won't allow it. And I had folks
reach out to me, not folks, not like folks close
(36:39):
to Lebron, not like Lebron's people, but just athletes that
are Lebron fans and colleagues, saying, Nick, I can't believe
you are butchering this strategically. I can't believe you are
(37:05):
setting yourself and by proxy, Lebron up that if they
were to do it. You are saying it's impossible. You
are basically saying it would be a huge blemish on
the resume. You are giving real ammo to the folks
that if the Lakers blow this, will use that to
(37:27):
try to disqualify him from any goat discussions. They'll bring
this up, you know, first and foremost, or in short order.
And my response across the board was I don't care
that I am because it's impossible that it happens. And
(37:48):
that is the part that made Game six so fun
to watch was it was a little reminder that even
at age forty one in year twenty three, unless he
(38:12):
is up against a truly great team, Lebron is still
one of the only athletes in the world who can
say not today, maybe tomorrow, but not fucking today. And
(38:34):
for him to put up twenty eight, seven to eight
while controlling every aspect of the game, being the defensive
coordinator essentially, and the Rockets score seventy eight points, and
Lebron is in such control and such a flow state
(38:58):
of the series that he led both teams in points,
both teams and assists. And he is right now by
a mile leading all playoff players in mimeable on court moments.
Whether it's telling shingoon everyone's allowed to complain about, flopping
(39:21):
butt you not you, Whether it's the moment with the kid,
all of it, he just whether the clip of right
before he got these series, flipping steel and then three
to tie it in Game three, telling his teammates lock
(39:41):
the fuck in, I'm locked in. I know it sounds corny.
I don't care. You are watching the last moments of
all time greatness from the greatest athlete to ever live.
You want to argue about who the greatest NBA player is.
(40:04):
It's a dumb argument. People won't believe it was an argument.
In thirty years. People will think it's laughable that this
was such a hot button issue. But go ahead and
argue it. So not argue about who the greatest athlete is.
This guy's still as fast as anybody on the court,
as strong as anybody on the court, and has more
(40:25):
athletic stamina than just about anybody on the court. Oh
but Nick, he's wearing down all the games every other day. Now,
who looked more tired? Himmer Shingoon? Tell me who looked
more locked in him? Or with respect? And I like
the player Jabari Smith Junior who couldn't stop talking about
(40:47):
how much better his.
Speaker 2 (40:48):
Team was always looks tired.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
Well, he's not supposed to. And I'm gonna say one
other thing here, Demons about that series. I'm really bummed
Luca's hurt, and I do think the Lakers at full
strength could have been interesting. But I always say I
owe the audience honesty, and so I will give them honesty.
(41:15):
Watching that Lakers Rocket series, I did find myself a
little grateful that we got to see at least one
more time because I don't know where Lebron's playing next year.
I don't know what the circumstances will be, and at
forty one years old and year twenty three, anything can happen.
(41:38):
Injury wise where you don't play again. And I found
myself so grateful that for one more playoff series we
got to see Alfa Lebron. It's my team, it's my show.
(41:59):
I will dictate every repossession and it's win or lose.
It's gonna flow through me. Because if it wasn't for
the Austin and certainly the Luca injuries, what we would
have seen this playoff run, and maybe it would have
been a longer run, and maybe it would have been
cooler in a different way to see him take on,
(42:19):
you know, really embrace that Swiss army knife role. It
would have been that way over qualified third option Lebron,
which was cool to watch, and I give him credit
for accepting. But seeing one more series where it was
(42:42):
all all run, everything on offense, guys, follow me. Something
we've been watching in the playoffs for nearly a quarter
century now, just as a sports fan, was absolutely and
I loved it, and I you know, there are little
(43:09):
moments where the what does Wendy always say? Gosh darn it.
Brian Windhors has a great line. It's not actions speak
louder than words, but it's a it's a better line.
(43:29):
It's one that I heard from him, But it means
the same thing. It means actions speak louder than words,
and there are a little actions over words, is what
he says. Like the teams can say, players can say things,
but then see what they actually do and just like
(43:50):
folks can you know, try to convince themselves. Oh, Jordan's
not worried about Lebron. Jordan's not worried about this that
we all know that Jordan agreed to them making the
last dance the day of the Cavs Championship parade in
twenty sixteen. It's like, yeah, there's a little something there.
(44:10):
I also get a little warm and fuzzy. I'm not
gonna lie over the fact that this playoff run and
Lebron throwing alley oops to his son and hitting series
ending essentially threes has been the thing where Skip just
(44:35):
couldn't take it anymore. He's like, fuck that, I'm back
on TV Friday. Me and Steve like me, like, you
know what, you know what? What's that after game two,
Game two of thunder Lakers, Lebron's gonna be down two. Oh,
somebody get me to Bristol. I gotta do it. It's
(44:57):
so funny it's so good. I mean, and watching watching
these folks when they thought the Lakers had no hot
shot in round one, you know, saying, oh, yeah, if
Lebron does that, then finally maybe I'll consider him the
go and then while he was doing it, then being like, actually,
(45:22):
change of heart, not that impressive. The Rockets are just
a travesty. And then another change of heart when they
thought he might lose the series, like, you know what,
new Lean, Lebron must win and if he doesn't, disqualified.
And then when he does win, it all right, how
(45:43):
about this? That was more about Kevin Durant and the
Rockets and whatever. Go beat the thunder. Let's see you.
Let's see you go beat the thunder, big fella. It's
just so. And then and then in as an added bonus,
when asked for some okay, well let's just say somehow
(46:07):
they do beat the thunder, the response is no. Even then,
still not the goat. It's it's inconceivable.
Speaker 2 (46:16):
This one would be impeachable. You can't.
Speaker 1 (46:22):
No, this is impossible. I don't want to call it impossible,
but it would be. This would be in line with
(46:43):
anything uh he's ever done in his career, not just
any non championship, any championship as far as the impressiveness
of it.
Speaker 2 (46:56):
But yeah, this would be Would this be greater than
the three you want to come back to the Warriors?
Speaker 1 (47:05):
It was, it would be in line with it, it'd be,
I mean, just because the Thunder are such a great
team and Luca is not there. Now. Listen, this is
the Lakers path if they have one, is winning tonight,
(47:31):
winning tonight and then Luca being backed by game four.
To me, those are both prerequisites to anything that there
is a bit of. The Lakers are rested, but not
you know, but they they played Friday the Thunder, I
haven't played in a week that you know, they may
(47:53):
be it's that would be the path, But Luca doesn't
look like he's anywhere close to being back. If I
were the Minister of Spanish medicine, I'd be considering suing
Luca for how much he's hurt our country's reputation. Everybody
thought he was going over there to just you know,
be quick back. Instead, Boston Reeves stayed local. He's playing
(48:17):
Anthony Edwards. We watched his nego backwards. He just hung out.
He's playing, and so I'm just I think that this
is probably it's probably OKAYC in five, that's probably what
it is. But I'm excited to see how Lebron attacks tonight.
(48:46):
And I'm excited to see how JJ. This is a
great JJ Reddick moment as well, like, hey, you are
outmanned and out gone, bro, Let's see how it goes.
Speaker 2 (49:01):
All right?
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(49:35):
per month as long as they remain active on the
boost Unlimited plan. All right, demons, I'm gonna toss to
you here your actual team, my adopted team for the year,
the Boston Celtics. Yep, they blew a three to one lead. Yeah,
your thoughts on how it happened, why it happened, and who,
(49:58):
if anyone your most ag agree with.
Speaker 2 (50:03):
I guess it was just I'm most angry with. It
would have to be Miszoulla, I imagine, because it's like,
we got to change up the game plan. Maybe not
the line up, just change up what it is that
we're doing the players. It's a little frustrating too, because
I mean, you could have just go to the bucket.
Three to one to Philly is bad. But with the
full team that they have, the seventy six ers, I
(50:27):
think it's it's I'm not sick about it. It's going
to force them to change something. They got to make
some changes. I think the system will change up. We'll
come back next year. But but Jalen Brown, I'm just
gonna go ahead and get to like that. I a man.
I don't know about that guy, and I don't know
if I wanted to be on the Celtics moving forward.
(50:47):
It's just like no offense, dude. But you just say
too much stuff and it's like, what are you talking about?
How was this year possibly your favorite year? You guys
won the finals A couple of years ago and you're
running was recovering from his torn achilles. How could this
possibly be your favorite year? But yeah, I think that
something needs to change, and I think that we get
(51:08):
some stuff for Jayleen Brown. I don't know how the
contracts and all that stuff works.
Speaker 1 (51:11):
Like I said before, Well you I'll tell you. I'll
tell you one a trade that let me just tell
you a very very simple one that I set on
TV yesterday. No picks, no extra players, one for one.
Tell me if you'd be interested. Jalen Brown for Giannis.
Speaker 2 (51:30):
Oh what what? Yes?
Speaker 1 (51:35):
Awesome? Okay, all right, I mean that's the So here's
another another trade that for the Celtics effectively works the
exact same, because there's a possibility that the Bucks are like, yeah,
we don't We're actually not trying to, you know, be mediocre.
(51:56):
We need to bottom out and rebuild. Yep, Jalen Brown
to Atlanta, who I think would he would be a
perfect fit there and they'd be really good. Atlanta sends Dyson, Daniels,
Ree Sachet a bunch of picks to Milwaukee, including Atlanta
(52:19):
controls Milwaukee's pick next year, so Milwaukee gets their own pickback,
which is valuable, and then Jannis to Boston. That to
me is a really interesting setup. And I so I
want to talk about all of this for a minute.
(52:41):
Will do Brown, then we'll do Missoula, then we'll do Tatum.
I Jalen Brown is like such an interesting NBA character
because he is an incredibly right guy. He is an
(53:02):
incredibly thoughtful guy. The off court causes that he cares
about I think are hugely important, and I think he
does really like impactful, smart things. I think all of
that's true. I also think he says some of the
(53:25):
goofiest stuff I've ever heard, Like in that stream he
talked about how it's just very clear to him the
NBA has an agenda out to get him personally with
the pushoffs because he's criticized the refs in the past
(53:49):
like that. Obviously there's not a big conspiracy against Jalen Brown.
So I thought that was weird. I thought the decision
to do that Twitch stream with those dudes just standing
silently behind you for a lot of it all where
(54:10):
like who, no, I mean just who it was just
one of them is like a Celtics Twitter guy. That
was that was odd, And your point about him saying
it was his favorite year ever. All year long, he
really leaned into how much Funny was having. It felt
(54:32):
like maybe he was leaning into it a touch too
much given the circumstances.
Speaker 2 (54:37):
Yeah, it's like, dude, the guy tore his a kid, Like,
what's going on? Man?
Speaker 1 (54:41):
So like even if deep down you did feel like
you know what, I knew I could be the number
one option, even if deep down he's like, man, I'm
better than Tatum. I was here first. I've sacrificed for
such a smart guy. You've got to know, don't say
that shit, don't do that.
Speaker 2 (55:02):
Like the it kind of seems like it seems like
he wants Hew, like he he might want some change
himself on his own team. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (55:10):
I think it's absolutely on the board. I think it
is absolutely on the board. He wants his own team.
And by the way that I wouldn't I wouldn't blame
him for that. Like some day he's like, uh, I'm on,
you know, I've made all the money. I'm gonna keep
making the money. I've won a championship, I've won a
finals MVP. Like I'd like to go try to But
(55:31):
it's just I think the way he's handled it is odd.
I also don't I don't think he is quite as
good as he thinks he is. Does that make sense?
Like I think he is. Again, don't put this, don't
do one of like our list things on Twitter here
(55:53):
because I'm really doing this top of my head. But
if I were like ranking players in the league, you
have your big five foreign guys in Shaye, Jokic, Luca, Wimby, Yannis,
that are the five best guys. And then again not
(56:17):
the order, but Aunt Tatum, I think Cade, Brunson, Maxie
you know, are in that next group mix. And then
after that is when I would start to consider Jalen
Brown in the Steph and bid Lebron.
Speaker 2 (56:43):
Is he better than Stephen Curry right now?
Speaker 1 (56:45):
Yes, just and it's tough like but in that Kawhi
in that mix of guys, so you know, somewhere from
eleventh to seventeenth or something again, a great player. I'm
saying you might be able to trade him straight up
for Giannis. But I you know, he said he's the
best two way player in the league other than Wimby,
(57:05):
and I think that's too much. I think that's too much.
I just don't think that's true.
Speaker 2 (57:10):
On the stream. I hear that part.
Speaker 1 (57:12):
No, he said that back in January.
Speaker 2 (57:14):
Okay, I think.
Speaker 1 (57:16):
He said I'm the best two way human being, which
was because he was calling Wimby an alien. Yeah, and
so I so there's that. Now. I want to do
Missoula because there's two pieces. First one was this, There
(57:37):
is simply no no explanation whatsoever for starting Ron Harper junior.
And I'm not picking on him, but starting him in
Game seven of a series. He started a lineup that
had played zero minutes together all year. That's bizarre, especially
(57:57):
to Mon's A. One could argue there might not have
been a team in NBA history that should have been
more prepared for a Game seven without their best player
than this year Celtics, who played the whole damn year
without their best player. They had plenty of reps of
not having the best guy. And then the stylistic three
(58:21):
is worth more than two stuff. I I just if
you are running the Celtics, you do have to ask yourself,
are we doing our team a disservice by adding this
(58:42):
much variance to how we play in the playoffs? Because
this team had been living in the conference finals seventeen
conference finals twenty eighteen Conference Finals, twenty twenty Conference Finals,
(59:06):
twenty twenty one or twenty twenty two, pardon me, NBA Finals,
twenty twenty three Conference Finals, twenty twenty four Conference Finals,
and last year they lose in round two. This year
they lose in round one. Under Missoula, they have a
(59:26):
championship where they kicked everyone's ass and they deserve huge,
huge credit for it. They also have the first year
under Missoula, struggling round one with Atlanta, are down three
(59:47):
to two in round two to Philly, and then lose
the conference finals to and eight seed where they're down
three to zero. Last year shockingly upset by the Knicks
after leading games one and two by twenty points each
and never stopping shooting threes, and now this year blowing
(01:00:08):
a three to one lead. That's on the resume, And
so that part has to be I think, looked at.
And then I want to say the Tatum piece. So
(01:00:31):
so I'm very fond of Jason Tatum, and I have
found myself, particularly with how he has handled this injury
and the vulnerability he has shown in being totally transparent
about the process and all of that, to be incredibly
(01:00:53):
endearing and very unique, and I have found myself really
really rooting for him. It's probably one of the reasons
I picked Selics win the title was I I thought
it would be an unbelievable story, and I obviously thought
they could. During that game seven Demanse, I realized while
(01:01:18):
I was watching it, even though I had bet Boston
to win the championship, I had picked him. I was
kind of rooting for Philly because I didn't. Once I
heard Tatum's other calf was sore, I got very nervous
(01:01:42):
on his behalf. Yeah, that something truly catastrophic was gonna
happen if the Celtics advanced that he would, you know,
be back in the playoffs. It's the other leg. And
then it that to me was confirmed somewhat when he
said afterwards He's like, yeah, one leg is only eighty
(01:02:05):
percent as big as the other and all of that,
And so I do think there is if you're a
Celtics fan, a you know again that Cormack McCarthy quote
that I bring up all the time, never underestimate the
awful luck that your bad luck saved you from. It
(01:02:26):
feels like bad luck that, Oh my god, Tatum misses
Game seven, Prichard misses that open corner three, we blow it,
and our season's over. Maybe it's not. Maybe now, getting
your best player and your franchise player five months to
(01:02:46):
get to true full strength and get all the way
back to where he is seeing with.
Speaker 2 (01:02:52):
That play style'll get you. I don't know. Yeah, the
bound to do something different, I imagine I would.
Speaker 1 (01:02:59):
I think that that's right. And I also and then
here's one other critique of Missoula. I didn't you know,
I didn't visually clock the difference in the look on
Tatum's you know, size of his legs. But obviously the
Celtics knew every step of the way where he was
rehab wise, and he was playing great. But if you
(01:03:22):
know he's he's like, he's literally not far enough along
to where his you know, his leg has regained its
full size. The fact that since April first, he's fifth
in the NBA in minutes per game, it's pretty wild.
(01:03:43):
And that he was playing forty minute games, you know
that they didn't ease him in more. To me, it
was stunning how good he was and how much close
to one hundred percent he looked. But that was probably
a mistake as well. All right, Demanse, let's talk about
some of the teams that lost and what their paths are.
Speaker 2 (01:04:04):
Yeah, so these teams got some big decisions to make
after their first round exits. So my Celtics have the
problems that we just discuss with keeping the Jalen Brown
Jason Tatum together. Shams has reported that Jokic is the
only untouchable player in Denver. Houston has a Kevin Durant
decision to make. In Orlando obviously just fired their head coach.
Who do you think should blow it up? And who's
(01:04:25):
running back?
Speaker 1 (01:04:26):
All right, Orlando, they played the single worst half of
basketball I've ever seen, the four for thirty seven in
a closeout game. I also think that they are just
you know, they're gonna run it back with a new
head coach and hope guys evolve offensively, that Franz gets healthy,
(01:04:47):
that Pallo, who's good, gets a little better. So Orlando
is just gonna run back with a new head coach.
I think Boston's gonna make major changes, And I to
your point what we were just discussing. I think a
Jalen Brown t is very on the board. Houston cannot
run it back, and I don't know what they do
(01:05:12):
because here's the tricky thing. Who is like, you know
what sounds fun? You know what I want to do?
Take my ride on the Kevin Durant roller coaster.
Speaker 2 (01:05:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:05:29):
Still a great player and a player I like, but
the fact that he is just so unhappy everywhere and
it does create a bit of a toxic work environment.
(01:05:52):
I don't know who's going to convince themselves we can
change him. And so if he doesn't have huge trade value,
then do you just punt on the young guys and
flip shingoon and go do that. I don't know. I'm
sure they will consider trading for Yannis, but I just
(01:06:17):
I and maybe Yannis is such a good leader that
would you know, that would be enough and KD can
take on maybe his ultimate role, which is the most
overqualified number two of all time, and that's where he's
been his best. But I think they're in a tricky spot.
(01:06:37):
And Denver might be in the trickiest because they had
a seven year championship window and they only came close
the one time they won it. Twenty twenty. They're in
the conference finals. They are not, but they're the windows
open with the Lakers, you know, kill him in that series.
(01:07:00):
Twenty one playoffs, Jamal Murray blows his ACL so that
playoffs is dead and twenty two is dead. Twenty three
you win the title, twenty four you probably should have
defended your title, and the Timberwolves absolutely stun you at
a home game seven. Twenty twenty five, you're not as
good as the thunder and twenty twenty six you go
(01:07:22):
out sad, and so they need to retool it. They'll
also I bet Demon's call. I bet there is a
Jamal Murray Jalen Brown discussion. But I don't think the
Celtics take that. I don't think the I don't know.
Speaker 2 (01:07:44):
I don't think that necessarily honestly, but I wouldn't hate it,
just not the fact that I don't think Jalen Brown
wants to play on the team. So it's like, whoever
we get over there, it's like, I'll.
Speaker 1 (01:07:54):
Take it again as long as right, as long as
there's a But I just don't think Jalen Brown. I
do think is he's certainly more available, and he's more
you know, as far as injury wise. But I think
the sorry Daniel, I think the Nuggets are in a
very precarious spot. They are the best player in the world,
(01:08:14):
but they're in a very precarious spot, all right. The
oh they're reminding me so oh. The hard Rock's got
the Laker odds, Lakers thunder and a gentleman's sweep is
plus two ten. I will not be betting against the Lakers, guys.
(01:08:37):
I can tell you what I think is gonna happen,
and I will be rooting like hell every single night
to be wrong. Uh, And so I appreciate that. I
mean that is again, if I was a soulless better
that was just trying like that's probably the direction I
would take on it. But no, all right, so tonight
(01:09:01):
we've got calvs. Pistons. Very interested in if both of
these teams look more like their regular season selves than
their playoffs selves, because neither of these teams has looked
inspiring this postseason. And then Lakers Thunder, where you see
if lebron can pull off a miracle. Austin did look
(01:09:23):
a little more spry in that game six, which is
something to watch for. All right, great job demands great.
Thank you so much to hard Rock Bet and to Boost.
Thank you so much to Blue Duck and volume. I
gotta go do Coward Show. Also, by the way, not
to promote other podcasts on this podcast, but I'm on
(01:09:44):
Simmons tonight and so that'll be all that'll be on
tomorrow morning. And I am again. I don't know if
Bill's listening or watching right now. It's early out West,
but I am going to demand that he reconvenes the
Ringer one hundred and makes them keep voting until they
have Lebron ahead of all the old guys who are
(01:10:07):
not still playing in the playoffs. Seeing Lebron behind Durant,
Kawhi and staff all year long, enough is enough. I'm
gonna demand Bill fix that, so you guys can check
that out tomorrow morning. All right, talk to you guys later.
Speaker 2 (01:10:21):
What's right,
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