April 23, 2024 • 23 mins
Kevin Gray joins us to preview tonight’s Mavs-Clippers Game 2 matchup!
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(00:12):
In just a little bit. MisterDallas has exciting new news about Dallas,
so stand by for that. We'llget a little fun drive going at the
top of the five o'clock hour.It's about an hour away. But you're
probably wondering, Okay, that's allwell and good, but what's happening now?
(00:33):
What's happening now is this? Thisis the first damn oh my god,
and it is brought to you byour friends at Buffalo Wild Wings.
We're gonna be there Buffalo Wild Wingsin Grapevine this Thursday for our show to
(00:55):
Speakeasy, and then Katie and Iare going to stick around and do an
NFL draft show. That is threepoint fifty west State one fourteen Highway in
Grapevine. That's where we're going tobe. Now, are you thinking that
everybody should bring all their draft geartheir draft boards out there with them and
argue with you guys about where thisthing goes? Yeah? Is that what
(01:17):
you want? Yeah? I thinkthat'd be perfect. Yeah, Okay,
there you go. The gauntlet isthrown down. If you're into the draft
out there and see Jeff KT andargue with them about it, Yes,
show me what you're working with rightnow, let's get ready for Mavericks and
Clippers Game two with our buddy bestman on planet Earth, the great Kevin
(01:37):
Gray, who you'll hear on preand postgame tonight right here in your home
of the Man's ninety seven won thefree Hello, kg, Hello world,
how are we today? Kevin?Hi? Kevin, Kevin? Can you
hear me? Yep, Kelly,Yes, we can hear you and see
you. You're looking good, man, Kevin. Oh, thanks, Mike,
(01:57):
that's sweet, Thank you, Kevin. Let me ask you this,
how much can I don't know ifI heard an official prediction from you before
this series started, but I feellike a lot of us were quite confident
that the Mavericks, despite being theroad team in the series, was going
to beat the Clippers. How muchcan that sort of confidence be altered as
(02:23):
an observer or as an analyst byessentially one half of basketball. Well,
Jeff, if you had listened tomy podcast, the Inside the Maps podcast,
the official Mavericks podcast of ninety sevenwon the Freak, you would have
heard that I predicted the Mavericks towin this series in seven games. So
(02:44):
I thought this series would be along one. But you know, coming
out of Game one. It wasreally kind of an anomaly in a lot
of ways. I mean, youdon't expect a professional basketball team to miss
thirty two of the forty one shotsthat they took from the field and go
two of twenty, you know,something like two of eighteen excuse me from
(03:04):
the three point line. So itwas just dreadful basketball in the first half.
But you saw, you know,in the second half, they looked
much more like a regular NBA teamthat was knocking down shots and Kyrie Irving
scoring what twenty points in that thirdquarter. So you know, if you
could take what you did in thesecond half by you know, hitting actual
basketball shots and start to do thatearly on in the game, you're gonna
(03:29):
give yourself a little bit better ofa chance. So my confidence wasn't necessarily
altered. I just thought, whatthe hell is going on with this team
missing a bunch of shots and canthey find a way to make more in
Game two to make it much morecompetitive? So I guess we'll find out
here in about five hours. Itwas really surprising to see the Clippers essentially
start with we think zoobots posting upis going to be our offensive philosophy of
(03:53):
the night. Uh, is thatsomething from them that you think is sustainable?
Or if Daniel Gafford is awake andtrying his hardest, is that not
a viable option? Like? Whatabout what the Clippers did? Worries you
that, like, oh, theycould do this every time? Or was
it just more of we farted,fell down and decided we weren't ready to
(04:13):
play playoff basketball. Yeah? Ithink for the Clippers, they made a
concerted effort to be much more physicaland set that tone from the beginning,
and Zubox put Daniel Gafford under therim and put him in the basket a
few times, and really from ascoring standpoint, inside the paint really decided
that they were going to be themuch more aggressive team and be the aggressor
(04:33):
at the outset of the game.And we've seen, you know, really
kind of over the last month orso. Now you know, Daniel gafferd
can get into early foul trouble andhe was got two thousand in the first
four minutes of Game one, andthat really kind of altered the way that
the Mavericks, you know, wereable to get after it. From aggressive
standpoint, Derek Lively played a littlebit better you know, as the second
(04:53):
half went on. But it's somethingI'm interested to see if they continue down
this road. Obviously, if whyLeonard, which it appears trending that he's
not going to play again in gametwo, how much more aggressive they're going
to continue to be inside the paintto try to put extra pressure, you
know, on Daniel Gafford. Soyou know, Paul George, who was
(05:14):
eight of twenty in game one,I expect him to be a little bit
better as well from the outside ofthe Mavericks made it difficult for him.
So I'm sure that Chylue will makea concerted effort to get Paul George going
a little bit as well in thisgame. But if you're the Clippers,
the way that James Harden was ableto facilitate offense and really get after you
know, the Mavericks, especially punishingthem on switches, then you know that
(05:35):
may be a continued formula for success. But I think they'll try early on
to continue to establish that physical presence. Side with Zubac, who had you
know, a career playoff I what, twenty points and had fifteen rebounds in
the game as well. So we'llsee if the Clippers continue that same formula
in game two tonight. I wantto get into some stuff about the Mavericks,
but before we do, one otherClippers question for you here, Kevin,
(05:58):
if you don't mind, how doyou see Russell Westbrook's role on this
team? Uh? As a guythat's got a motor, who's gonna come
in and bring in high energy andreally kind of get the crowd into it.
I thought he was excellent in gamein game one, you know,
have a couple, yeah, yeah, yeah, he was great off the
(06:21):
bench. So I mean, youknow, him and Harden had a nice
little connection. You know, Hardenfound him on a dribble drive, you
know, hit him in the cornerfor a three. You know, had
a nice allupe as well. Idon't expect Russell Westbrook, although he only
took four threes, he went fiftypc from three. I don't expect him
to shoot that well from the threepoint line. But what he is going
to do, alongside with Norman Powell, is provide them scoring energy and motor
(06:45):
off the bench, and the Mavericksare going to have to match that intensity
because uh, they simply didn't dothat in Game two. But that is
what Russe that is part of theRussell Westbrook experience now the sixth man experience.
Uh, is the intensity that he'llbring in, the emotional energy that
he'll bring off the bench for them, and he did a great job of
that in Game one. I thought, Evin, what are you hearing like
(07:08):
the Mavericks team and Jason Kidd andthe players kind of saying as they're processing
what happened in game one and whatcan we expect them to try and change
now into game two because a lotneeds to change if they want to even
have a chance. It was aterrible, terrible start to this playoff series.
Yeah, I don't think there's anypanic from Jason Kidd, and that's
(07:28):
kind of been an mo for himwith this team is that he's not going
to get too high and too low. Yeah, that is very very true.
So I think for him then youheard him talk yesterday, you know
the approaches. Look, it's justsomething I got to make shots. And
I don't think they are looking atat Sunday's game as something where that trend
will continue. It was more so, you know, the moment for a
(07:53):
few of them maybe got a littlebit more overwhelming than what they thought,
and you know, I thought that, you know, Mark Stein is to
be on the broadcast with Chuck Coopersteinto and I, you know, made
a great point about the idea of, you know, the amount of rest
that this team got, and maybethey didn't necessarily play well off of all
that rest that they had, andmaybe if they had stayed a little bit
(08:13):
more in rhythm, which is kindof, you know, the opposite of
what you think about when it comesto you know, this time of the
year. You want guys to getrest and be able to have an opportunity
to recover and be ready for thepostseason. But they came out, you
know, a little sluggish and alittle rusty in Game one, to say
the least. And hopefully that rustand that sluggishness is now knocked off and
they can be able to come outin Game two with the kind of energy
(08:35):
and focus needed because the Clippers havea real golden opportunity to take a two
zero series lead, potentially again withoutKawhi Leonard, which will continue to give
them confidence that they can continue tooperate the way that they have been and
try to win this series the waythat they may need to without Kawhi Leonn
playing throughout the course of the series, which Dallas Maverick outside of Luca and
(09:00):
Kyrie. Do you feel like ifyou tell me that that guy had a
big day or was a big timecontributor, could be a predictor of Maverick's
success Because in that game, obviouslyyou got I guess PJ. Washington helped
out a little bit, but somany guys did so little for this thing.
Is there a guy that you focuson and you say, yeah,
(09:22):
if you tell me that that dudewas involved, or that dude played well
or shot well, that they'll they'llfare way better in this thing. Yeah,
I mean, I guess the regularcandidate would be PJ. Washington.
I mean, he had eleven pointsin the game with four to ten from
the field, But I mean he'sasked to do a lot because he's gonna
(09:43):
take the primary defensive assignment, whichyou know, honestly, I thought he
did a good job on James Hardenthroughout the course of the game. But
you know, the Clippers did agreat job of hunting those switches and punishing
Luka Donchets when they got James Hardenswitched on, you know, with Luka
Donchets, and he just kind ofyou know, had his way with him,
so Washington would be the guy forme. But another one that I
(10:05):
think a lot of Mavericks fans arelooking to Derrick Jones Junior. You know,
another guy is gonna be actually doa lot defensively. But the thing
I said coming into the series isthat you know, the Washington's of the
world, the Joneses of the world, Dante ExHAM to a degree, Tim
Hardaway Junior, how are much moreyou may see of him, Josh Green
as well. These others have gotto knock down shots from the outside to
(10:28):
command respect from these Clippers defenders.Because you know, one thing that was
interesting about Game one is that youknow, they allow Terrence Man and others
to kind of guard Luca one onone, but in a lot of ways
they doubled and blitzed Kyrie Irving toget the ball out of his hands and
try to make these other guys,you know, make shots. So at
(10:50):
times the Clippers are gonna live withLuca and Kyrie kind of getting theirs.
It's up to these other guys tobe able to punish the Clippers for leaving
them open and make shots to reallytry to get some kind of measure of
respect for them, because if theydon't make shots, there's no reason to
go guard Maxic kleeb But I rememberat one point in Game one, Maxic
Leebel was on the right wing,no one within five six feet of him,
(11:11):
and he clanked a three pointers.So he don't want to shoot it
well, as I'm saying, So, if guys aren't going to hit shots,
there's no reason for the Clippers tofeel bothered by the idea of these
other guys going to beat them.So if you're looking for one specific person,
you could point to either PJ.Washington or Derreck Jones. But collectively,
(11:31):
the others have got to be bettershooting the ball otherwise it could be
another long night in game two,Kevin, the guy I look at is
Tim Hardaway. What's it going totake for him to get going? I
mean, we've seen a very alot of up and down from him all
season long. Sometimes they'll string acouple of good games together, You'll think
(11:54):
he's finding his stroke once again,and then it goes away just like that.
What are we looking at here,Kevinn Well, apparently, according to
his daddy, they need to runoffense like the Yukon Huskies do as far
as the you know, something likethat, Okay, but no, in
all seriousness, I mean, Hardaway'sgot to be a part of this.
He's got to be on the knockdownshots. I mean it's as simple as
(12:16):
that. We've seen him play wellagainst the Clippers in the past at times,
and we know how streaky Hardaway isfrom the three point line. If
he can have one of those gameswhere he gives you four or five threes
in a game and again that reallystretches the floor and commands the respect to
the Clippers, he can have animpact. Now. I don't know how
much we'll see Josh Green. Ithought played you know well in the second
(12:37):
half when he had his opportunities tobe able to play a little bit.
So we may see a little bitmore Josh Green in this game. But
if Hardaway's going to play, hisrole was simple knockdown threes and do so
at a pretty good rate to beable to provide some extra offense for this
team because he's not going to begood defensively. James Harden took advantage of
him a couple of times in Gameone, so defense is never going to
be the thing with Tim Hardaway,It's going to be about what can he
(13:00):
provide offensively that will help the Mavericksbe able to stress the floor from three
And if he's doing that, yeah, the Mavericks will give themselves a much
better chance of winning this game,particularly in Game two tonight. We're going
to need a lot more from Gaffordand Lively as well, right, Like,
I mean that they were such ahuge part of the turnaround for this
team. And I don't know ifit's just youth or you know, in
(13:22):
Lively's case, his first NBA playoffgame, and obviously he's going through a
lot of personal stuff and he's alsorecovering from an injury. But it just
seemed like maybe they were a littlerattled by the situation. And if this
Mavericks team is going to get backin this thing, they don't you think
that they have to be involved,Yeah, for sure. And you know,
(13:43):
like you mentioned earlier, where gafferdgot to stay out of foul trouble,
Lively you got to continue to dowhat he does. He got a
taste of, you know, playoffaction and what that looks like. And
you're right, he's going through somuch right now. Just even outside of
basketball that I admire him for continuingto you know, push through and continue
to play, you know, withthe intensity that comes with his very first
postseason as a twenty year old rookie. So he is doing a lot to
(14:07):
be able to help this team.And I think you'll see a little bit
more you know, a better playfor him as well in Game two.
But yeah, when this team wasrolling, they were able to get you
know, well over twenty points,well over ten rebounds, and nearly three
blocks you know, per game betweenthe two of them. When it comes
to Gafford and Lively and the Clippers, you know, in game one did
a good job of taking away youknow, the vertical game which allows Luca
(14:31):
and or Kyrie to play and pickand roll with Gafford and Lively to allow
them, you know, to beable to get to the basket. And
I thought the Clippers did a goodjob of neutralizing that, you know,
in game one. So yeah,they'll have to be a big part of
this, particularly on the defensive end, to be able to help erase some
of the things that may happen froma perimeter standpoint at times where the Mavers
weren't necessarily good guarding at the pointof attack, you know, whether it
(14:54):
came to James Harden and others.So yeah, the two of them,
they'll have got to be really goodin Game two and provide the energy and
defensive presence that the Mavericks will needto try to win tonight. Kevin.
Is there anything the Mavericks can doto make sure that what happened with the
Baka the other night does not happenagain? Or is it one of those
(15:15):
things where you look at it andsay, Okay, well, let's just
let it just go out there andplay the game, and if he gets
rolling like he did the other night, we'll figure out something. Do they
take measures ahead of time or howdo you play a guy like that?
Kevin? Kevin, I think theywere a little surprised that they made Zubas
(15:37):
kind of the focal point offensively earlyon to start the game. And I
don't think a lot of folks thoughtthat that was going to be necessarily case.
And I thought it was a directchallenge, you know, to the
Mavericks big men and to the Mavericksthemselves about challenging them with their physicality,
which I think has been an underrateddiscussion about all the things that happened in
Game one was the fact that theClippers looked at the Mavericks has said,
(15:58):
we don't believe that you will havethe physical capabilities of dealing with us versus
the way that you've been able tobully teams in the second half with rebounding
and defense. We think that wecan do that ourselves, and they prove
themselves at least right in game ingame one, and then what you got
from James Harden just added on topof that. So I think, you
know, in the first five minutesor so of this game, I expect
(16:19):
to see a much more physical,much more aggressive Dallas Mavericks team, whether
it be Luka offensively more so gettingafter Zubotch to make them think about it
a little bit, you know,in the paints, you know, with
Gaffer and for Lively. So we'llsee if the Clippers continue with that same
strategy and what that looks like,because it was very effective obviously in game
(16:41):
one, and Zuboch had you know, fifteen rebounds to go along with those
twenty points. It really just tookcontrol of that pain area for the Clippers.
How do you feel about that matchupwhere I feel like coming into the
series, a lot of people thoughtthe Mavericks would have an advantage in terms
of being big and being athletic.And I don't know if you just give
(17:02):
credit to Tyleru as the coach andlike throwing something at you that you weren't
prepared for, or just that theywere more fired up and ready to go.
But I don't know. Do youthink that the Mavericks are looking at
it now and wondering what is ourbest course of action? Big or small?
Do we want Lively and Gafford outthere or is this more of a
we'll play with MAXI and shoot threes. Do you think the Mavericks know if
(17:26):
they have an advantage big or small? Kevin Well, I think the Mavericks
are forced to play small on Sundaybecause they got down by twenty six,
and you know, you're trying toget points in a hurry to try to
get back in the game, andthe way you can do that is make
a bunch of jump shots, especiallyfrom the outside. So I think they
were forced to do that. Ithink they still feel like their advantages with
(17:48):
their size and their ability to reboundand be able to play well defensively,
but they've got to come out witha better start. All this is predicated
on them starting better. I don'tthink you don't abandon who you are just
because things didn't necessarily work out.You know, in the in the first
game, you make adjustments to whichthe Clippers were able to do, and
then try to figure out a wayto utilize your strengths and then be able
(18:10):
to utilize those against the Clippers.But I don't think you get away from
who your identity is as a teamand continue to try and figure it out.
But I thought Tyler did a goodjob of, you know, throwing
a curveball at the Mavericks. Andthis is what the playoffs are about.
It's a series of adjustments, andnow the Mavericks have to respond in kind.
Jason Kidd and his group have torespond in kind to what they saw
(18:32):
in Game one, and we'll seehow TYLERU and his group, you know,
adjust to what the Mavericks will dodifferently. But yeah, I don't
think they abandoned who they are justbecause they didn't work out necessarily in Game
one, because it worked to getthem to this point. We'll see if
they could be better at what theydo starting tonight, Devin Kevin, would
it be changing something up if you'remy MAVs leader, So just punch me
in the face and correct me ifanything that I say here is completely wrong.
(18:55):
But it seems like the Mavericks thevast majority of nights. It's like
we start off with Luca and thento start the third quarter Kyrie's going bonkers.
Would it count as a change upif Kyrie just showed up and said,
no, watch me, I'm gonnago from minute one like no deferring
or is there an element of thatto their game that's just not front of
mine? To me? Well,I think you can find a balance of
(19:18):
both. I mean, both ofthem play with each other long enough now
to know how the other flows interms of gameplay, and when one is
high to win the other one isnot, or both of them. Because
here's the thing. At this point, all these teams are good. So
I can't wait for Luca and Kyrieto you know, play this, you
know on off thing. Both ofthem can be aggressive at the same time
(19:40):
in their own way, but Ithink that makes the entire team better because
when both of them are showing thataggressiveness offensively guys have got to be locked
in and the ball's got to bemoving because guys like Luke and Kyrie can
play well off the ball and onthe ball as well. So I think
both of them will show a measureof attack together tonight that will hopefully set
an offensive tone for the entire team. So I don't think it's about necessarily
(20:00):
Luca getting off to a great start, which I mean you would love to
see as well, But I thinkit's about both of them getting off to
a great start and finding that balancinggameplay throughout the course of the game to
be able to help this team,you know, be able to beat the
Clippers, who are going to haveboth Look, George is I think I
come out a lot more aggressive inthis game. Obviously Harden was able to
do well in Game one. Howmuch more does he, you know,
(20:23):
remain in this series, you know, from a focus standpoint, because he
has, you know, the capabilitiesof disappearing at times. But if you
get the same James Harden that yougot in Game one, both Luca and
Kyrie have got to be in attackmode from the outset of tonight's game,
for sure, Kevin, are theMAVs going to thwack that ass tonight.
(20:45):
Good question. You just make upthat word on the fly? Did you
just make that up? No?No, yeah they got word? Yeah,
they go flack them or is thatgoing to happen. I'll just make
sure you wouldn't gaslight me like Jerrywas all day to day. So you
know, I probably should have donethat to myself like a lot of other
people. But I digress. Cool, that's a great question. I mean,
(21:15):
question the mask. I'm not dodgingthe questions like Jerry and Steven.
Okay, I'm asking and answering thequestions like you know I'm supposed to.
But I'm picking the Maps to winbecause if they don't. And here here's
the thing that you need to know. Teams that go down oh too in
a playoff series lose nearly ninety three. Okay, So you're picking them because
(21:38):
you want them to win. No, I'm picking them because they need to
win because they if they don't,they're in a lot of trouble. I
mean, the prospect of Kawhi Leonardstill coming back in this series is out
there, but at minimum, youhave to get a split in Los Angeles
to give yourself, you know,some confidence going back to your building,
you know, beginning on Friday night. So, yeah, you gotta win
(22:02):
game two. I think the Maverickswill do. So. I think they'll
build off what they did in thesecond half, and I think they'll come
out ready to play from jump,and I think they'll be able to beat
the Clippers tonight to even up theseries at at one game apiece. Kevin.
Thanks Kevin. It sounds like youmight have bitched at Jerry and Steven
on at Kevin Gray Sports on YouTube. Yeah, I let it. I
let him have it, man,I let him have it because I'm look,
(22:25):
I'll say this real quick. I'mtired of those two men playing you,
I Julie, Mike and Mike andothers for stupid when it comes to
how we uh talk about this footballteam. And I'm just I'm just baffled
by the at times delusional arrogance ofthis organization to think that they can look
at you and me in the faceand think that we don't know what you're
(22:45):
talking about and try to put itover our heads. Come on, man,
like we got we got too muchinformation, just too much. Thank
you, Kevin Gray. Love youhear you tonight. Appreciate it. Guys.
Back Kevin. That's Kevin Gray,who you will hear tonight. It
is a nine o'clock tip with Clippersand Mavericks for Dame two. So eight
thirty pre game for stay up thatlate h yeah yeah eight step Yeah.
(23:07):
That's a grown ass man. That'sa grown ass mate. Okay, I'm
just just ripping here. Coming upnext. I saw him farting around out
there. Mister Dallas is going toswing through, help us stay up to
date and keep it moving. It'snext
In just a little bit. MisterDallas has exciting new news about Dallas,
so stand by for that. We'llget a little fun drive going at the
top of the five o'clock hour.It's about an hour away. But you're
probably wondering, Okay, that's allwell and good, but what's happening now?
(00:33):
What's happening now is this? Thisis the first damn oh my god,
and it is brought to you byour friends at Buffalo Wild Wings.
We're gonna be there Buffalo Wild Wingsin Grapevine this Thursday for our show to
(00:55):
Speakeasy, and then Katie and Iare going to stick around and do an
NFL draft show. That is threepoint fifty west State one fourteen Highway in
Grapevine. That's where we're going tobe. Now, are you thinking that
everybody should bring all their draft geartheir draft boards out there with them and
argue with you guys about where thisthing goes? Yeah? Is that what
(01:17):
you want? Yeah? I thinkthat'd be perfect. Yeah, Okay,
there you go. The gauntlet isthrown down. If you're into the draft
out there and see Jeff KT andargue with them about it, Yes,
show me what you're working with rightnow, let's get ready for Mavericks and
Clippers Game two with our buddy bestman on planet Earth, the great Kevin
(01:37):
Gray, who you'll hear on preand postgame tonight right here in your home
of the Man's ninety seven won thefree Hello, kg, Hello world,
how are we today? Kevin?Hi? Kevin, Kevin? Can you
hear me? Yep, Kelly,Yes, we can hear you and see
you. You're looking good, man, Kevin. Oh, thanks, Mike,
(01:57):
that's sweet, Thank you, Kevin. Let me ask you this,
how much can I don't know ifI heard an official prediction from you before
this series started, but I feellike a lot of us were quite confident
that the Mavericks, despite being theroad team in the series, was going
to beat the Clippers. How muchcan that sort of confidence be altered as
(02:23):
an observer or as an analyst byessentially one half of basketball. Well,
Jeff, if you had listened tomy podcast, the Inside the Maps podcast,
the official Mavericks podcast of ninety sevenwon the Freak, you would have
heard that I predicted the Mavericks towin this series in seven games. So
(02:44):
I thought this series would be along one. But you know, coming
out of Game one. It wasreally kind of an anomaly in a lot
of ways. I mean, youdon't expect a professional basketball team to miss
thirty two of the forty one shotsthat they took from the field and go
two of twenty, you know,something like two of eighteen excuse me from
(03:04):
the three point line. So itwas just dreadful basketball in the first half.
But you saw, you know,in the second half, they looked
much more like a regular NBA teamthat was knocking down shots and Kyrie Irving
scoring what twenty points in that thirdquarter. So you know, if you
could take what you did in thesecond half by you know, hitting actual
basketball shots and start to do thatearly on in the game, you're gonna
(03:29):
give yourself a little bit better ofa chance. So my confidence wasn't necessarily
altered. I just thought, whatthe hell is going on with this team
missing a bunch of shots and canthey find a way to make more in
Game two to make it much morecompetitive? So I guess we'll find out
here in about five hours. Itwas really surprising to see the Clippers essentially
start with we think zoobots posting upis going to be our offensive philosophy of
(03:53):
the night. Uh, is thatsomething from them that you think is sustainable?
Or if Daniel Gafford is awake andtrying his hardest, is that not
a viable option? Like? Whatabout what the Clippers did? Worries you
that, like, oh, theycould do this every time? Or was
it just more of we farted,fell down and decided we weren't ready to
(04:13):
play playoff basketball. Yeah? Ithink for the Clippers, they made a
concerted effort to be much more physicaland set that tone from the beginning,
and Zubox put Daniel Gafford under therim and put him in the basket a
few times, and really from ascoring standpoint, inside the paint really decided
that they were going to be themuch more aggressive team and be the aggressor
(04:33):
at the outset of the game.And we've seen, you know, really
kind of over the last month orso. Now you know, Daniel gafferd
can get into early foul trouble andhe was got two thousand in the first
four minutes of Game one, andthat really kind of altered the way that
the Mavericks, you know, wereable to get after it. From aggressive
standpoint, Derek Lively played a littlebit better you know, as the second
(04:53):
half went on. But it's somethingI'm interested to see if they continue down
this road. Obviously, if whyLeonard, which it appears trending that he's
not going to play again in gametwo, how much more aggressive they're going
to continue to be inside the paintto try to put extra pressure, you
know, on Daniel Gafford. Soyou know, Paul George, who was
(05:14):
eight of twenty in game one,I expect him to be a little bit
better as well from the outside ofthe Mavericks made it difficult for him.
So I'm sure that Chylue will makea concerted effort to get Paul George going
a little bit as well in thisgame. But if you're the Clippers,
the way that James Harden was ableto facilitate offense and really get after you
know, the Mavericks, especially punishingthem on switches, then you know that
(05:35):
may be a continued formula for success. But I think they'll try early on
to continue to establish that physical presence. Side with Zubac, who had you
know, a career playoff I what, twenty points and had fifteen rebounds in
the game as well. So we'llsee if the Clippers continue that same formula
in game two tonight. I wantto get into some stuff about the Mavericks,
but before we do, one otherClippers question for you here, Kevin,
(05:58):
if you don't mind, how doyou see Russell Westbrook's role on this
team? Uh? As a guythat's got a motor, who's gonna come
in and bring in high energy andreally kind of get the crowd into it.
I thought he was excellent in gamein game one, you know,
have a couple, yeah, yeah, yeah, he was great off the
(06:21):
bench. So I mean, youknow, him and Harden had a nice
little connection. You know, Hardenfound him on a dribble drive, you
know, hit him in the cornerfor a three. You know, had
a nice allupe as well. Idon't expect Russell Westbrook, although he only
took four threes, he went fiftypc from three. I don't expect him
to shoot that well from the threepoint line. But what he is going
to do, alongside with Norman Powell, is provide them scoring energy and motor
(06:45):
off the bench, and the Mavericksare going to have to match that intensity
because uh, they simply didn't dothat in Game two. But that is
what Russe that is part of theRussell Westbrook experience now the sixth man experience.
Uh, is the intensity that he'llbring in, the emotional energy that
he'll bring off the bench for them, and he did a great job of
that in Game one. I thought, Evin, what are you hearing like
(07:08):
the Mavericks team and Jason Kidd andthe players kind of saying as they're processing
what happened in game one and whatcan we expect them to try and change
now into game two because a lotneeds to change if they want to even
have a chance. It was aterrible, terrible start to this playoff series.
Yeah, I don't think there's anypanic from Jason Kidd, and that's
(07:28):
kind of been an mo for himwith this team is that he's not going
to get too high and too low. Yeah, that is very very true.
So I think for him then youheard him talk yesterday, you know
the approaches. Look, it's justsomething I got to make shots. And
I don't think they are looking atat Sunday's game as something where that trend
will continue. It was more so, you know, the moment for a
(07:53):
few of them maybe got a littlebit more overwhelming than what they thought,
and you know, I thought that, you know, Mark Stein is to
be on the broadcast with Chuck Coopersteinto and I, you know, made
a great point about the idea of, you know, the amount of rest
that this team got, and maybethey didn't necessarily play well off of all
that rest that they had, andmaybe if they had stayed a little bit
(08:13):
more in rhythm, which is kindof, you know, the opposite of
what you think about when it comesto you know, this time of the
year. You want guys to getrest and be able to have an opportunity
to recover and be ready for thepostseason. But they came out, you
know, a little sluggish and alittle rusty in Game one, to say
the least. And hopefully that rustand that sluggishness is now knocked off and
they can be able to come outin Game two with the kind of energy
(08:35):
and focus needed because the Clippers havea real golden opportunity to take a two
zero series lead, potentially again withoutKawhi Leonard, which will continue to give
them confidence that they can continue tooperate the way that they have been and
try to win this series the waythat they may need to without Kawhi Leonn
playing throughout the course of the series, which Dallas Maverick outside of Luca and
(09:00):
Kyrie. Do you feel like ifyou tell me that that guy had a
big day or was a big timecontributor, could be a predictor of Maverick's
success Because in that game, obviouslyyou got I guess PJ. Washington helped
out a little bit, but somany guys did so little for this thing.
Is there a guy that you focuson and you say, yeah,
(09:22):
if you tell me that that dudewas involved, or that dude played well
or shot well, that they'll they'llfare way better in this thing. Yeah,
I mean, I guess the regularcandidate would be PJ. Washington.
I mean, he had eleven pointsin the game with four to ten from
the field, But I mean he'sasked to do a lot because he's gonna
(09:43):
take the primary defensive assignment, whichyou know, honestly, I thought he
did a good job on James Hardenthroughout the course of the game. But
you know, the Clippers did agreat job of hunting those switches and punishing
Luka Donchets when they got James Hardenswitched on, you know, with Luka
Donchets, and he just kind ofyou know, had his way with him,
so Washington would be the guy forme. But another one that I
(10:05):
think a lot of Mavericks fans arelooking to Derrick Jones Junior. You know,
another guy is gonna be actually doa lot defensively. But the thing
I said coming into the series isthat you know, the Washington's of the
world, the Joneses of the world, Dante ExHAM to a degree, Tim
Hardaway Junior, how are much moreyou may see of him, Josh Green
as well. These others have gotto knock down shots from the outside to
(10:28):
command respect from these Clippers defenders.Because you know, one thing that was
interesting about Game one is that youknow, they allow Terrence Man and others
to kind of guard Luca one onone, but in a lot of ways
they doubled and blitzed Kyrie Irving toget the ball out of his hands and
try to make these other guys,you know, make shots. So at
(10:50):
times the Clippers are gonna live withLuca and Kyrie kind of getting theirs.
It's up to these other guys tobe able to punish the Clippers for leaving
them open and make shots to reallytry to get some kind of measure of
respect for them, because if theydon't make shots, there's no reason to
go guard Maxic kleeb But I rememberat one point in Game one, Maxic
Leebel was on the right wing,no one within five six feet of him,
(11:11):
and he clanked a three pointers.So he don't want to shoot it
well, as I'm saying, So, if guys aren't going to hit shots,
there's no reason for the Clippers tofeel bothered by the idea of these
other guys going to beat them.So if you're looking for one specific person,
you could point to either PJ.Washington or Derreck Jones. But collectively,
(11:31):
the others have got to be bettershooting the ball otherwise it could be
another long night in game two,Kevin, the guy I look at is
Tim Hardaway. What's it going totake for him to get going? I
mean, we've seen a very alot of up and down from him all
season long. Sometimes they'll string acouple of good games together, You'll think
(11:54):
he's finding his stroke once again,and then it goes away just like that.
What are we looking at here,Kevinn Well, apparently, according to
his daddy, they need to runoffense like the Yukon Huskies do as far
as the you know, something likethat, Okay, but no, in
all seriousness, I mean, Hardaway'sgot to be a part of this.
He's got to be on the knockdownshots. I mean it's as simple as
(12:16):
that. We've seen him play wellagainst the Clippers in the past at times,
and we know how streaky Hardaway isfrom the three point line. If
he can have one of those gameswhere he gives you four or five threes
in a game and again that reallystretches the floor and commands the respect to
the Clippers, he can have animpact. Now. I don't know how
much we'll see Josh Green. Ithought played you know well in the second
(12:37):
half when he had his opportunities tobe able to play a little bit.
So we may see a little bitmore Josh Green in this game. But
if Hardaway's going to play, hisrole was simple knockdown threes and do so
at a pretty good rate to beable to provide some extra offense for this
team because he's not going to begood defensively. James Harden took advantage of
him a couple of times in Gameone, so defense is never going to
be the thing with Tim Hardaway,It's going to be about what can he
(13:00):
provide offensively that will help the Mavericksbe able to stress the floor from three
And if he's doing that, yeah, the Mavericks will give themselves a much
better chance of winning this game,particularly in Game two tonight. We're going
to need a lot more from Gaffordand Lively as well, right, Like,
I mean that they were such ahuge part of the turnaround for this
team. And I don't know ifit's just youth or you know, in
(13:22):
Lively's case, his first NBA playoffgame, and obviously he's going through a
lot of personal stuff and he's alsorecovering from an injury. But it just
seemed like maybe they were a littlerattled by the situation. And if this
Mavericks team is going to get backin this thing, they don't you think
that they have to be involved,Yeah, for sure. And you know,
(13:43):
like you mentioned earlier, where gafferdgot to stay out of foul trouble,
Lively you got to continue to dowhat he does. He got a
taste of, you know, playoffaction and what that looks like. And
you're right, he's going through somuch right now. Just even outside of
basketball that I admire him for continuingto you know, push through and continue
to play, you know, withthe intensity that comes with his very first
postseason as a twenty year old rookie. So he is doing a lot to
(14:07):
be able to help this team.And I think you'll see a little bit
more you know, a better playfor him as well in Game two.
But yeah, when this team wasrolling, they were able to get you
know, well over twenty points,well over ten rebounds, and nearly three
blocks you know, per game betweenthe two of them. When it comes
to Gafford and Lively and the Clippers, you know, in game one did
a good job of taking away youknow, the vertical game which allows Luca
(14:31):
and or Kyrie to play and pickand roll with Gafford and Lively to allow
them, you know, to beable to get to the basket. And
I thought the Clippers did a goodjob of neutralizing that, you know,
in game one. So yeah,they'll have to be a big part of
this, particularly on the defensive end, to be able to help erase some
of the things that may happen froma perimeter standpoint at times where the Mavers
weren't necessarily good guarding at the pointof attack, you know, whether it
(14:54):
came to James Harden and others.So yeah, the two of them,
they'll have got to be really goodin Game two and provide the energy and
defensive presence that the Mavericks will needto try to win tonight. Kevin.
Is there anything the Mavericks can doto make sure that what happened with the
Baka the other night does not happenagain? Or is it one of those
(15:15):
things where you look at it andsay, Okay, well, let's just
let it just go out there andplay the game, and if he gets
rolling like he did the other night, we'll figure out something. Do they
take measures ahead of time or howdo you play a guy like that?
Kevin? Kevin, I think theywere a little surprised that they made Zubas
(15:37):
kind of the focal point offensively earlyon to start the game. And I
don't think a lot of folks thoughtthat that was going to be necessarily case.
And I thought it was a directchallenge, you know, to the
Mavericks big men and to the Mavericksthemselves about challenging them with their physicality,
which I think has been an underrateddiscussion about all the things that happened in
Game one was the fact that theClippers looked at the Mavericks has said,
(15:58):
we don't believe that you will havethe physical capabilities of dealing with us versus
the way that you've been able tobully teams in the second half with rebounding
and defense. We think that wecan do that ourselves, and they prove
themselves at least right in game ingame one, and then what you got
from James Harden just added on topof that. So I think, you
know, in the first five minutesor so of this game, I expect
(16:19):
to see a much more physical,much more aggressive Dallas Mavericks team, whether
it be Luka offensively more so gettingafter Zubotch to make them think about it
a little bit, you know,in the paints, you know, with
Gaffer and for Lively. So we'llsee if the Clippers continue with that same
strategy and what that looks like,because it was very effective obviously in game
(16:41):
one, and Zuboch had you know, fifteen rebounds to go along with those
twenty points. It really just tookcontrol of that pain area for the Clippers.
How do you feel about that matchupwhere I feel like coming into the
series, a lot of people thoughtthe Mavericks would have an advantage in terms
of being big and being athletic.And I don't know if you just give
(17:02):
credit to Tyleru as the coach andlike throwing something at you that you weren't
prepared for, or just that theywere more fired up and ready to go.
But I don't know. Do youthink that the Mavericks are looking at
it now and wondering what is ourbest course of action? Big or small?
Do we want Lively and Gafford outthere or is this more of a
we'll play with MAXI and shoot threes. Do you think the Mavericks know if
(17:26):
they have an advantage big or small? Kevin Well, I think the Mavericks
are forced to play small on Sundaybecause they got down by twenty six,
and you know, you're trying toget points in a hurry to try to
get back in the game, andthe way you can do that is make
a bunch of jump shots, especiallyfrom the outside. So I think they
were forced to do that. Ithink they still feel like their advantages with
(17:48):
their size and their ability to reboundand be able to play well defensively,
but they've got to come out witha better start. All this is predicated
on them starting better. I don'tthink you don't abandon who you are just
because things didn't necessarily work out.You know, in the in the first
game, you make adjustments to whichthe Clippers were able to do, and
then try to figure out a wayto utilize your strengths and then be able
(18:10):
to utilize those against the Clippers.But I don't think you get away from
who your identity is as a teamand continue to try and figure it out.
But I thought Tyler did a goodjob of, you know, throwing
a curveball at the Mavericks. Andthis is what the playoffs are about.
It's a series of adjustments, andnow the Mavericks have to respond in kind.
Jason Kidd and his group have torespond in kind to what they saw
(18:32):
in Game one, and we'll seehow TYLERU and his group, you know,
adjust to what the Mavericks will dodifferently. But yeah, I don't
think they abandoned who they are justbecause they didn't work out necessarily in Game
one, because it worked to getthem to this point. We'll see if
they could be better at what theydo starting tonight, Devin Kevin, would
it be changing something up if you'remy MAVs leader, So just punch me
in the face and correct me ifanything that I say here is completely wrong.
(18:55):
But it seems like the Mavericks thevast majority of nights. It's like
we start off with Luca and thento start the third quarter Kyrie's going bonkers.
Would it count as a change upif Kyrie just showed up and said,
no, watch me, I'm gonnago from minute one like no deferring
or is there an element of thatto their game that's just not front of
mine? To me? Well,I think you can find a balance of
(19:18):
both. I mean, both ofthem play with each other long enough now
to know how the other flows interms of gameplay, and when one is
high to win the other one isnot, or both of them. Because
here's the thing. At this point, all these teams are good. So
I can't wait for Luca and Kyrieto you know, play this, you
know on off thing. Both ofthem can be aggressive at the same time
(19:40):
in their own way, but Ithink that makes the entire team better because
when both of them are showing thataggressiveness offensively guys have got to be locked
in and the ball's got to bemoving because guys like Luke and Kyrie can
play well off the ball and onthe ball as well. So I think
both of them will show a measureof attack together tonight that will hopefully set
an offensive tone for the entire team. So I don't think it's about necessarily
(20:00):
Luca getting off to a great start, which I mean you would love to
see as well, But I thinkit's about both of them getting off to
a great start and finding that balancinggameplay throughout the course of the game to
be able to help this team,you know, be able to beat the
Clippers, who are going to haveboth Look, George is I think I
come out a lot more aggressive inthis game. Obviously Harden was able to
do well in Game one. Howmuch more does he, you know,
(20:23):
remain in this series, you know, from a focus standpoint, because he
has, you know, the capabilitiesof disappearing at times. But if you
get the same James Harden that yougot in Game one, both Luca and
Kyrie have got to be in attackmode from the outset of tonight's game,
for sure, Kevin, are theMAVs going to thwack that ass tonight.
(20:45):
Good question. You just make upthat word on the fly? Did you
just make that up? No?No, yeah they got word? Yeah,
they go flack them or is thatgoing to happen. I'll just make
sure you wouldn't gaslight me like Jerrywas all day to day. So you
know, I probably should have donethat to myself like a lot of other
people. But I digress. Cool, that's a great question. I mean,
(21:15):
question the mask. I'm not dodgingthe questions like Jerry and Steven.
Okay, I'm asking and answering thequestions like you know I'm supposed to.
But I'm picking the Maps to winbecause if they don't. And here here's
the thing that you need to know. Teams that go down oh too in
a playoff series lose nearly ninety three. Okay, So you're picking them because
(21:38):
you want them to win. No, I'm picking them because they need to
win because they if they don't,they're in a lot of trouble. I
mean, the prospect of Kawhi Leonardstill coming back in this series is out
there, but at minimum, youhave to get a split in Los Angeles
to give yourself, you know,some confidence going back to your building,
you know, beginning on Friday night. So, yeah, you gotta win
(22:02):
game two. I think the Maverickswill do. So. I think they'll
build off what they did in thesecond half, and I think they'll come
out ready to play from jump,and I think they'll be able to beat
the Clippers tonight to even up theseries at at one game apiece. Kevin.
Thanks Kevin. It sounds like youmight have bitched at Jerry and Steven
on at Kevin Gray Sports on YouTube. Yeah, I let it. I
let him have it, man,I let him have it because I'm look,
(22:25):
I'll say this real quick. I'mtired of those two men playing you,
I Julie, Mike and Mike andothers for stupid when it comes to
how we uh talk about this footballteam. And I'm just I'm just baffled
by the at times delusional arrogance ofthis organization to think that they can look
at you and me in the faceand think that we don't know what you're
(22:45):
talking about and try to put itover our heads. Come on, man,
like we got we got too muchinformation, just too much. Thank
you, Kevin Gray. Love youhear you tonight. Appreciate it. Guys.
Back Kevin. That's Kevin Gray,who you will hear tonight. It
is a nine o'clock tip with Clippersand Mavericks for Dame two. So eight
thirty pre game for stay up thatlate h yeah yeah eight step Yeah.
(23:07):
That's a grown ass man. That'sa grown ass mate. Okay, I'm
just just ripping here. Coming upnext. I saw him farting around out
there. Mister Dallas is going toswing through, help us stay up to
date and keep it moving. It'snext
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