Nerd Sesh - Game 1 Reactions: Nuggets UPSET Thunder, Knicks STUN Celtics - Nerd Sesh

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. No, Oh my god, how could he do that?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Watch what Charles Darwin?

Speaker 3 (00:20):
The nerves is where it's at.

Speaker 4 (00:23):
Welcome everybody back into Nerd Sash As always, I'm Carson
Breber and alongside me is Logan Camden, and you already
know the drill. We have two incredible playoff basketball games
to talk about today. We are also going to preview
Timberwolves Warriors on the back half of this show, Logan,
but we have to start with an unbelievable game one

(00:46):
of thunder Nuggets. I am so excited for this series,
and the first game was as good as it could
have been. Aaron Gordon comes through with his second game
winner of the postseason so far. This one a three
to steal this game. But Oklahoma City gave them an
opportunity to steal this game with how they managed and

(01:08):
executed at the end. What did you make of how
they approached the finish of this game and how everything
went down for Denver to end up with a win.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Yeah. I want to get into big picture stuff of
this series in a minute, but I do want to
start with the closing sequence. I thought this was the
best game of the playoffs thus far. I think This
is gearing up to be one of my all time
favorite series. I kind of had that conclusion before this
game ended like this, Like I was thought we were
in for a battle, but I couldn't believe the Nuggets
stole it. The Nuggets looked like they had lost all

(01:40):
hope to win this game when Gordon missed that transition
corner three earlier, Like I felt like that was the
one that they needed every shot, they needed every stop.
Because Hartenstein on the other end, gets that short, little
baby floater, you get some Russ free throws, but Chet
misses a three. After that possession, Jokic big bodies Caruso
just gets to that little easy floater, Gordon gets a

(02:02):
big rebound, then Jokic hits a three, and then again
I thought the Nuggets had sold it when Russ missed
that corner three. We get a little free throw battle
and then Holmgren sells both at the line and Brown
Westbrook up the floor into the transition three for Aaron
Gordon Steele is the right word to me, Carson, because
I don't think you should ever win a game when

(02:24):
there is this large of a shooting discrepancy, and I
don't know what the numbers end up being totally in
this game. It felt massive for a large portion of
this game. But Denver crushed Oklahoma City on the glass
and in all the effort categories, like they bullied them there.
Big shout out to Russell Westbrook, big shout out to
Aaron Gordon, big shout out to Jokic who comes away

(02:47):
with a forty twenty game. But yeah, man, steel is
the right word to me, Carson, this is a game
against a champion. You gotta slam the door like and
I leave this to to this man. I just trust
the thunder More to close out games better than this.
This is one that you just let slip through your
fingers and it feels like a really, really big deal. Man.

(03:09):
You should never lose a game like this, in my opinion.
But credit to the Nuggets, to Jokic, to Aaron Gordon,
to Westbrook. Man, what a game this is. I think
this has been the best game of the playoffs. Man.
I was glued to my seat.

Speaker 4 (03:22):
It was an incredible game, but it was a horrible
choke by the thunder And specifically I put a lot
of this loss on Mark dagnall. I thought that he
terribly mismanaged the end of this game. I understand fouling
up three, but they were fouling so damn fast. So
their first foul on Jokic, they inbound the ball with

(03:42):
like twelve seconds. They immediately foul him off the catch,
so no time comes off the clock.

Speaker 3 (03:47):
You're up three.

Speaker 4 (03:48):
Now Yokis makes two free throws, the burden is back
on you to get the ball in you have to make.

Speaker 3 (03:52):
Free throws again.

Speaker 4 (03:54):
Then what actually ended up happening is Yokicic came out
of the game. They were able to get Sga an
open dunk off the inbound, which was a brilliant opportunity
because he gets to score in live play without a stoppage.
Jokic is off the floor, Denver has no timeouts. If
I'm okay, see in that moment, I'm saying things have gone.

Speaker 1 (04:16):
So Jokic can't come back out on the floor.

Speaker 4 (04:18):
We got our quick guarantee too, and now we force
them to actually create a good three on their last
possession without their best player, who has dominated the fourth
quarter of this game even on the floor. That was
their chance to just play one really good possession of
defense and win the game. Instead, they immediately foul Aaron

(04:38):
Gordon again. He makes both free throws. Then the thunder
or out of timeouts, they barely get the inbound in
to begin with. That was almost a five second violation.
The ball ends up in check Holmgren's hands, who I love,
but he's a seventy three percent free throw shooter. That
is a shit ton of pressure for him to have
to be the guy to make those two free throws.

Speaker 3 (04:59):
Like they were just.

Speaker 4 (05:00):
Prolonging the game so much by fouling that quickly, and
especially when Yolkic was out of the game, giving him
a chance to come back in what I said before
this disaster even happened on Twitter was you're creating too
many chances for something to go wrong. You want to
limit the number of opportunities that Denver has to get
lucky to have these three throws to get a transition chance,

(05:22):
and instead they maximize those opportunities, and that literally cost
them the game, like basically single handedly. At the end,
if they play one good possession of defense for ten
seconds with Yokic off the floor, they win the game.

Speaker 1 (05:34):
Yeah, earlier than that, did you agree with his methodology
to foul or would you have rather him let Denver
try to earn those possessions as well.

Speaker 4 (05:41):
I'm okay with fouling up three, but like I said,
they just went too fast, and especially when Yolkic is
off the floor. And what's even crazier is they're inbounding
the ball. They have to go ninety four feet like
Aaron Gordon isn't going to go into his upward shooting
motion from eighty feet away, Like, if anything, make them
at least ribble into the front court. And then you

(06:02):
foul and you've taken four or five seconds off the clock.
Just way too many chances for something crazy like this
to happen.

Speaker 3 (06:08):
Well, that's exactly what did happen.

Speaker 1 (06:10):
I mean, we can't absolve Chet either. I mean now,
and he misses the free throws, like I think he
has to equally wear this one too, like he absolute
moment and he's a young player, but that can't happen.

Speaker 3 (06:22):
Not only he absolutely does, no question about it.

Speaker 4 (06:24):
And I thought that both he and Jadab did not
play up to the level that they need to in
this game.

Speaker 3 (06:29):
And still, if.

Speaker 4 (06:30):
You just don't create so many possessions in the last
twelve seconds of this game, okay, s would have held
on for a win. That being said, I thought this
was a very impressive game from Denver, and I thought
this was a very impressive game from Yokic, especially the
fourth quarter.

Speaker 3 (06:45):
He was outstanding.

Speaker 4 (06:46):
Eighteen points in the fourth on eighty six percent true
shooting leads such a massive comeback. And by the way,
Aaron Gordon also obviously doesn't just hit the big shot,
but was phenomenal in this game, and it's been phenomenal
in the playoffs. What did you make of Jokic's performance though?

Speaker 3 (07:02):
How huge was that?

Speaker 1 (07:03):
God? Bro, he was the best player on the court
in this game. I felt like, I mean, and here's
my thing, because I said that the Nuggets were gonna
push this seven games and I still feel that way,
and I still am going to take the thunder after
this game, even though they lost, because I expected something
of this formula to happen for Oklahoma City. Now it's

(07:25):
a shame that they waste a really good Alex Caruso game,
but oh my god, he was so great, fantastic in
this game. I was skeptical of Chet and Jalen Williams
to do this every single game, you know what, I mean,
to pull their weight into play up to their level.
I think they're both better than this than what we
saw in this game. But I expected a few games
like this because they are young players. But the thing

(07:46):
with the Nuggets is the fact that you can never
count them out, Like what is the one?

Speaker 2 (07:52):
You know?

Speaker 1 (07:52):
We always like team's identities and what they do. What
do the Nuggets do better than anybody else when all
hope is lost when it's late game scenarios, This to
me is still the team that you want to see,
least on the other end in a late game scenario.
Like Jokic with the ability to get to that fifty
to sixty percent shot with an Alex Caruso on him,

(08:14):
I feel like that shot is boosted to seventy percent.
You know, when he can attack a mismatch at such
a high level in manufacture offense that easy late in
this game, when you can go back to him at
the top of the key in a do or die situation,
and what does he do little jab step boom three
in your mouth to keep them in this ballgame? And
at the end of the game he just gives you

(08:35):
forty to twenty in this one. I mean, I think
that's another edge that Denver has in the rest of
this series. It's not only their ability to generate this
easy clutch offense off of Jokics, it's their ability to
dominate the glass. And I think Jokic deserves a massive
amount of credit for that, along with Russell Westbrook. I
thought did a phenomenal job today two Gordon and the team. Man,

(08:56):
the Nuggets brought it tonight. Like, yeah, Yokic specifically though,
I felt like was the best player on the court
in in crunch time. He was the best player. He
got to all of his looks that they needed. He
never stopped coming, He never he never stopped, man, he
never stopped believing. And that's the thing about this Nuggets team.

Speaker 3 (09:15):
Man.

Speaker 1 (09:15):
I think it's a little corny that they have we
Believe on their shirts because it's like the come on man,
that's the Dubs team from seven, right, Like that's their moniker.
I wish they would come up with something unique, but
it is true. I always believe with Yolkic on the
floor that you can win and that any deficit at
any point in this game. And I also want to
give the Nuggets credit because I thought the Thunder outplayed

(09:37):
them like for the majority of this game. Yeah, they
never put the Nuggets away. The Nuggets kept lingering, I'm
looking up. It feels like a bigger game than it is,
and it's eight points and it's ten points, and it's
really hard to dig the Nuggets grave, man, It's really
hard to put them to bed. Like, that's the thing
we can't forget. Even with his lead to elite as

(09:58):
Oklahoma City is, and I expect him to play way
better in this series, but you can't put him to
bit And a large part of that is to Jokic,
who I thought was absolutely phenomenal in clutch time in
this game.

Speaker 4 (10:09):
I thought the Thunder did a really good job on
him through three quarters, even though he still had his
monster box score production. He was shooting below fifty percent
from the field, like I think. He had twenty six
points on twenty six shots at one point, which is
crazy because he ends up with forty two on twenty
nine shots. Because he wasn't missing down the stretch and

(10:30):
he was getting to the line at an obscene rate,
but they forced him into seven turnovers.

Speaker 3 (10:35):
They went with Chet.

Speaker 4 (10:36):
As Jokic's primary defender, which surprised me. I thought they
would use iHeart to have more of that strength counter
and then so they could have Chet, who is certainly
their best rim protector and help defender blowing stuff up
as a helper as the low man, defending cuts off
of Yokic doubles and all that good stuff. But it
ended up being Chet primarily taking on that assignment, and

(10:57):
I thought that he did a solid job. Like I
think that Chet is an underrated post defender. He's underratedly physical,
super slight obviously, but plays really hard out of the post,
and he's got such insane length and timing as a
shot blocker, the best in the league in my opinion,
that he was able to do a solid job. And
then they also just brought tons of help and doubles,

(11:17):
unsurprisingly specifically with the lowman, where like Yoki just spinning
into doubles and he just wasn't able to get a
lot of easy looks at the rim for three quarters
of this game. They made him work really, really hard
for his points, and then in the fourth quarter he
just started playing absolute bullyball. Knocks down a couple threes,
but he shoots ten free throws in the fourth quarter,

(11:38):
so he just absolutely exploded when they needed him most.
I thought really big mistake. This is just one possession,
but that can make all the difference in a game
like this. They let Caruso guard him on an island,
and he just backed him down and got to a
little seven foot touch shot that is automatic for Jokic,
Like you have to be doubling in those spots and

(11:58):
you have to trust the speed of your defense to
rotate and make anybody else beat you. Even letting Jokic
get one gimme like that can be the difference in
a game like this. And at the end of the day,
he just turned it up and was clearly the best
player on the floor in the fourth quarter. I do
want to give so much credit to Aaron Gordon, though,
because his ability to secure extra possessions was massive. Seven

(12:19):
offensive rebounds in this game. He has been so good
in these playoffs logan, he's averaging over nineteen points per
game on sixty to shooting.

Speaker 1 (12:27):
Has he been their second best player?

Speaker 4 (12:29):
I do think he's been their second best player, and
he's certainly been their second most consistent, maybe their most consistent,
just in terms of playing up to his own level
night after night.

Speaker 1 (12:39):
I can't I don't know, man, I can't underrate how
important it is having guys that. And I don't mean
to disrespect Gordon's skill when I say this, because he's
very skilled as well. But like that experience edge man
like Gordon, just him and Russ really get it, and
it's really valuable having two. Like I think it's taken
Russ a long time to get here, but Gordon's like

(13:01):
his positioning, like his and he doesn't seem to fear
the moment man in these clutch situations, the wing three,
it was in rhythm and he didn't he didn't hesitate,
And I love that, man, because that's the difference. It's
like when the basketball gods gift you that shot, you
don't try to find something else. You shoot it in rhythm.
The clutch free throws in this game, the rebound, I mean,

(13:24):
it's his second game winner, the first game winner that
we saw for him to be in that position, like
he's so poised, he's so experienced, and he's he's a
great basketball player. Man. I just want Aaron Gordon on
my team.

Speaker 4 (13:36):
And it is so symbolic that he wins this game
for Denver by knocking down two free throws and then
knocking down a transition three and by the way, he
makes three triples in this game. Aaron Gordon has taken
such a dramatic leap as a jumpsterter this year literally
went for steve five free throw shooter to an eighty

(14:01):
one percent free throw shooter. His improvement as a jump
shooter has made this Denver offense even more unguardable because
He's always been so great at the play finishing and
the mismatch attacking and the cutting and the offensive rebounding.
But to be as good of a jump shooter as
he is takes him up another level, and he is
playing the best basketball of his life, So he deserves
a ton of credit. On the flip side, where did

(14:24):
you think that OKC costs themselves in this one? We
obviously talked about like that very final sequence. But is
it mostly Chet and Jadub who you're putting the blame
on for this game?

Speaker 3 (14:34):
For Oka see a little bit.

Speaker 1 (14:37):
Definitely rebounding. I think they have to do a better
job on the glass and just limiting extra possessions. I
mean to be honest, I do trust the collective shooting
enough around them that, like I think they can withstand
some off nights from Chet or Jada, but they can't
get beat on the glass like this. That was the
biggest area that I was disappointed in Oklahoma City. And

(14:59):
it's hard, but Denver's a really good rebounding team with
their athleticism and they got dogs, man, they got guys
that just work like I just kind of kind of
glossed over that. I think when I was thinking about
this series with Chet and iHeart, like, I just I
kind of penciled in Oklahoma City with that as a wash.
I think it's advantaged Denver. So that's the biggest area

(15:22):
of concern for me.

Speaker 4 (15:24):
Do you want to see more iHeart in this series
because I think he should play more than he did
in this one.

Speaker 1 (15:28):
I think he maybe less Isaiah, Joe, less jay Will like.

Speaker 4 (15:33):
I know, Yeah, tonight was tough because Caruso was like
the best player on the floor in stretchers, so they
wanted him out there. But I think Hartenstein is the
best option to put on Jokic. Even though the Chet
matchup went fine. Again, I want the dude with the
most strength. I want my best rim protector in that
roamer role that is Chet. I want him more involved

(15:53):
as a helper than just as Jokic is straight up
man defender. And also I think another underrated part is
iHeart is so much much better at keeping Jokic off
the offensive glass. Like there were a couple of spots
to day where Chet had a really good initial contest,
the thunder swarmed him and they forced the initial miss,
but then Yolkic cleans up his own miss. Hartenstein is
really the only dude who can keep him off the

(16:13):
glass physically.

Speaker 3 (16:15):
And then I also thought.

Speaker 4 (16:15):
That Hartenstein was really good offensively in this one. I
thought that his push shot making was really big as
a release valve, and obviously he's just their best rebounder overall.
So they lost that battle convincingly, and it is an
advantage for Denver. But I think the more you play Hartenstein,
the more that you can limit how much of an
advance it is.

Speaker 1 (16:35):
It just makes sense, right, like the yeah, best player
on the opposing team that you're playing the best matchup.
I still think is iheard like Jokic is gonna move
Chet around it will man like, and I think you
saw that in this game, even when they were, you know,
like hand fighting at one point this game, and Yolkic
gave him a shove like I think that's traditionally overplayed
because I think Check can still be super impactful as

(16:56):
a rim protector, but like he's gonna get moved around,
and I'm.

Speaker 4 (17:01):
It's really the length, and then you trust that you're
gonna send doubles. Like their best defensive performance of the
year came with iHeart off the floor. Like the best
game they played was their season opener and that was
Chet on Yell Kitchen. That was a shit ton of doubles.
Like his length is really impactful, but I.

Speaker 3 (17:17):
Still would want to go more. iHeart in this matchup.

Speaker 1 (17:20):
I think I completely agree, and I think they can
do a much better job and early in this game,
I mean the first three quarters, I thought they did
a much better job of that being disruptive of getting deflections,
Like it's really turnovers. Yeah, it's really about finishing the
job for Okay, see the other areas JDub and Chet
have to wear this chet for the end of game
stuff for being inconsistent. Jdubb, I'm just disappointed, Like I

(17:44):
need to see it. And this is why I was
nervous about Oklahoma City, and I don't know to just
chalk it up to inexperience but these guys are way
more reliable in the regular season, and they got to
get comfortable. You know, Denver felt like they were dictating
late and SGA can't do all of this himself. God
blessed Alex Caruso, and once you get out of him,
like you needed that with off nights from them, that's

(18:07):
a simple keys just those guys getting going the other area.
And I thought the Nuggets did a really good job
of this early, but could could even do a better
job of this. That's capitalizing on defense at Denver. I
thought in Oklahoma City had parts of this game where
they were better at it, but just limiting fast break
and transition opportunities. They mentioned it on the broadcast, but

(18:28):
the Nuggets led the NBA in fast break points in
the regular season. And I think a big key is
just which team can capitalize more off of getting those
stops and getting out on the break. You know, they're
both very good at it. Who's going to win the
transition battle, I thought determined portions of this game, and
who's going to implement the zone man. I thought both
of these defenses were most effective when they were in

(18:49):
that zone. Look, so I think it's I think it's fascinating.
Oklahoma City ultimately to me, though, has to do a
better job of closing this game, and they were the
better team for the majority of this game. Let this
one slip through their fingers. So the biggest thing to
me is rebounding and Jadab and Chet, and they aren't
things that I could just pencil in. Again, the pendulum

(19:09):
of basketball normally swings even and so I think these
things are going to even out. That's why I think
this series is going to go the distance. I think
run for an all time classic. I think this is
gonna be one of my favorite series ever. Dude, these
are two Titans. These are great basketball teams.

Speaker 3 (19:25):
Man, I'm so excited.

Speaker 4 (19:27):
These are my two favorite players going ahead to d
They're two of my favorite teams to watch. So I
was very hyped on this series coming in, and Game
one certainly lived up to the hype. I do put
most of this loss outside of Dagnaut just blundering how
he managed the Lake game on Jadab and Chet. I
thought that they both did some great things defensively, which
is where they do consistently have such a high floor,

(19:49):
Like Chet has four blocks and a steal in this one.
Jadab has two steals and two blocks, had what should
have been basically the game winning block on Aaron Gordon
after that offensive rebound, Like that was an incredible play
where you just see his freakish rim protection for.

Speaker 3 (20:03):
Being a wing.

Speaker 4 (20:05):
But I was really disappointed with Jadub, Like chet has
to make more shots, he has to shoot better from
beyond the arc when he gets those open looks, and realistically,
like he misses a dunk in this one. I thought
that he had a very clean look look at a
putback that he just kind of fumbled, and then he
misses the free throw.

Speaker 3 (20:23):
So the shots were there for.

Speaker 4 (20:25):
Him to have a very efficient, clean, just sort of
fit in do your thing offensively check kind of game,
and he just missed a couple looks. Jadob's performance was
more concerning to me, and that I really didn't like
his approach and I really didn't like the looks that
he was getting to. I thought that he was really
bad in this one, which is disappointing coming off of
the best series of his young career and some of

(20:48):
the best basketball he's ever played. He goes five for twenty,
He's one of seven in the fourth quarter. I thought
there were a number of out of control drives from
him where he's forcing some really tough finishes, tough runners,
and he's basically just smothered. He really does not play
through contact very well at all, and I thought that
you saw that on a number of his drives in

(21:09):
this game. And then he's got to be able to
knock down his catch and shoot threes, which he couldn't do.
He's only two of nine. So when Denver is so
consistently outright doubling SGA like they were extremely aggressive after
the first quarter of this game, making anybody else beat them,
Jadob is the guy who has to be able to
step up and take those advantages and knock down the captain,

(21:31):
choot threes and get good looks as a driver, and
instead he was really bad. And other guys actually did
do their jobs. Caruso shot the hell out of the ball,
lou Dort shot the ball pretty well. Jadab was the
one who really struggled and has to be way way better,
especially in the big moments, because I thought SGA was
good in this game. It's not gonna be like crazy

(21:52):
sparkling efficiency, but it was still solid. And he gives
you a thirty three, ten and eight obviously got out
to a red hot start in the first quarter, and
then they were very aggressive with their doubling. There were
a couple picking roles where they just played drop against him,
but for the most part, they were playing aggressively, bringing
true two up to the level and forcing him to

(22:13):
be a playmaker.

Speaker 3 (22:14):
Still, though, I thought.

Speaker 4 (22:15):
Esja was able to get his Like he maybe forced
a couple shots against double teams, but he also made
one or two in those spots, and he created a
ton of shots for his teammates. It's not a bunch
of like wow, dazzling skit passes, but when there's two
on you, like you just got to get the ball
out of there because you have an advantage elsewhere and
you just have to get that machine kick started. I

(22:36):
thought he did that and for him to only have
one turnover with the level of defensive pressure they were bringing,
because I thought Christian Brown brought it in terms of
his intensity and his physicality, and I thought that Jokic
brought it when he was playing up at the level.
Like they did not make life easy on Shay, bringing
so many bodies at him, and I thought that he
still did his job and if the thundershoot a little better,

(22:58):
if Jadub is better, if Chedd is been, I think
that he definitely did enough for them to win this
basketball game. So I do put it more on those
second and third stars, who I'm a big believer in
both of them, but this was an unacceptable offensive performance
from both of them, even though they lost. I want
to make sure that we give adequate love to this

(23:18):
Alex Caruso game because it's one of the all time
role player performances. I think he's the perfect role player.
Say something about it. Don't just stand there, white boy,
say something.

Speaker 1 (23:31):
He's a monster. He's a monster, dude. Caruso had what
like six steals and two blocks in this game.

Speaker 4 (23:38):
I mean, does he have the two best defensive performances
of the playoffs this in Game three against Memphis. Has
anybody had a better defensive performance?

Speaker 3 (23:47):
I don't think so.

Speaker 1 (23:48):
I mean, what are we talking about, like impact lies?

Speaker 3 (23:51):
Yeah, I'm talking about impact disruption. He's insane. He's a madman.

Speaker 1 (23:57):
You wouldn't say like Zoo had one of those games.

Speaker 3 (24:01):
Zoo was pretty great.

Speaker 1 (24:02):
What I don't know, I think it was pretty great.

Speaker 4 (24:05):
The thing is when you are literally getting four to
six steals in a basketball game. Gobert also had some
great performances. These are good shouts, and I agree those
performances maybe aren't as flashy and they.

Speaker 3 (24:17):
Don't have as swing plays.

Speaker 1 (24:19):
Yeah, yeah, like freaking havoc.

Speaker 3 (24:21):
Nobody has done at.

Speaker 1 (24:22):
The level shooting. So the shooting, but what I would.

Speaker 4 (24:25):
Say is, like when you are forcing turnovers at that
rate and you are also clamping and you are offering
rim protection and blocking shots, like you are giving your
team like plus four swings on all these plays because
you're taking away a bucket on one end and then
you're creating a bucket immediately on the other end because
you're getting out in transition. So much him doing this

(24:45):
at that level is so extremely valuable. He's the best
defensive guard on the planet. I honestly don't think it's close.
He steals a rebound from Russ in this game too,
like he's got to chase down. He had three steals
in his first six minutes on the floor.

Speaker 1 (24:58):
Crusos plus thirteen in this game.

Speaker 4 (25:00):
Man, Yeah, he's plus twenty two at some point late
and then okay, Soe kind of fumbled it down the stretch.
But he's just a game breaking player, and then offensively,
like Jokicic was trying to roam off of him and
there was just no way he was going to get
away with that. He was stepping into those shots and
knocking them down, and he was good as a playmaker.

Speaker 1 (25:18):
That is one area Denver's defense cannot concede open looks
to these guys. I thought Dork got way too many,
just like step into easy threes. I thought Caruso did.

Speaker 4 (25:27):
Like, yeah, there were a few were like Jokic is
just not closing out on dudes he has to close
out on because I think he's just thinking, Okay, if
I close out, I'm gonna.

Speaker 3 (25:35):
Get blown by.

Speaker 4 (25:35):
But they definitely did let up some wide open threes.
At the same time, I said this coming in, like,
you can't defend everything at once here. So with them
being as aggressive on Shay as they are, shooters are
going to get open looks. That's just the reality of
this matchup. I'm not saying they can't do a better
job on some individual possessions, but like just at a
macro level, that is a reality. I think they're going

(25:57):
to have to choose to live with. But yeah, but
I mean, coming in like I wanted to see a
lot of Cruso in this series, and I want to
continue to see a lot of Cruso because he was amazing.

Speaker 1 (26:05):
Yeah, I just don't want to do it to anybody
on this team. Like Dort was what like a forty
percent shooter this year. Same thing Caruso. I don't think
had a great shooting year, but he's a great shooter.
Like I he's he's hard, okay, so he's hard to defend.
I think he's a really good one. I'm still really concerned,
are you, Like, are you nervous about the thunder in

(26:28):
the rest of this series? Like, I think the defense
is going to be really great and disruptive. I don't
know about the rebounding. How do you feel, Like, what's
your confidence index level? Like one to ten? One you're
completely out on them. Ten you're you know fully confident
on Chett and Jdubb delivering in this series.

Speaker 4 (26:47):
To a level where okay, see is still gonna win. Yes,
I'm at at least an eight. Like I think that
they're the better basketball team. I think that they have
a few really big advantages that you do see in
this game, like Denver's clear advantage is on the glass
with their overwhelming size, especially when iHeart isn't going to
play a ton of minutes like he did in this

(27:08):
one and they're going with more of those like four
guard lineups. But Okac's massive advantages. Their ability to force
turnovers absolutely insane. It's unparalleled. They force eighteen turnovers. They
take care of the basketball really well. They only have nine,
so that's massive. They're plus nine in that margin. They're
plus fourteen in transition. They were so great in terms

(27:29):
of their transition offense, and I thought their transition defense
overall in this game was really really good against a
Denver team that is so good at pushing pace. In
the first half a loan man, they had three chase
down blocks in transition, they had multiple steals as Denver
was just trying to get the fast break started.

Speaker 3 (27:46):
So those are.

Speaker 4 (27:47):
Advantages that are going to be reliable for them, and
probably the biggest one man in the non SGA minutes.
Okac goes plus fourteen in this game. In the non
Jokic minutes, Denver is minus twelve. Now minutes matted up
almost exactly. Jokic just played a little bit more than Shay,
but they have the same rotation where they play the
full first quarter and then they sit the first half

(28:08):
roughly of the second, and then they do the same
thing with the third and the fourth. But they're just
so much deeper, and they have been so consistently, so
much better in the non shame minutes than Denver has
been without Yolkic, Like there could not be a bigger gap.
Okay See was a plus nine net team with Shay off.
Denver played like the worst team in the league with
Yolkich off, and they're not as bad when Murray is

(28:30):
on and Yokic is off. Then they were just like
a minus two net team this year. But it's still
a big difference that I think okay See is going
to have every game, And if Jado doesn't play an
f game Okayse, he still would have won this one. Like,
I just think they have a lot more margin. I
think some things had to go really wrong for them.
You mentioned the three point shooting, Like, yeah, that favored

(28:50):
okay See, but not by very much, and not mine
more than I would expect in an average game, like
they shot thirty four percent.

Speaker 1 (28:56):
There's something. I think something did swing your and that's
the fact that.

Speaker 3 (29:03):
I don't.

Speaker 1 (29:03):
I'm just like, what's wrong with Michael Porter Junior? Man?
Oh my god, Like, what is wrong with him?

Speaker 4 (29:12):
Well, he does have an shoulder sprain, like that, he
has a brain sprain as well.

Speaker 1 (29:19):
That backcourt would have made me put him on the
bench for good man, Like, indefinitely, I've never ever seen
anything like that. Like, and that wasn't the only fallen asleep.
I don't know, man, I'm just.

Speaker 4 (29:34):
Just gets a rebound taken from him by Jay Will,
Like what is going on with MPJ? There have been
way too many moments in way too many games where
he is not meeting the level of playoff intensity that
everybody else on the floor is meeting. And if you
try that shit against the Oklahoma City thunder Man, you
are gonna get smacked in the mouth because they are
gonna steal the ball from you on a rebound, They're
gonna force a turnover. And when he also can't make

(29:56):
a shot, he goes one of eight from the field
in this game, really really bad. They were minus fifteen
with MPJ. All other Denver starters were at least plus ten.
Like that's crazy. And that's where, once again, Logan, we
have to shout out Russell Westbrook for giving some really
good minutes in this one. I thought he was good

(30:17):
pushing pace. I thought that he was really good as
a cutter. I thought he was able to use his
strength advantage against some of these smaller guards to finish.
I mean, he even has a turnaround where he uses
his strength to create some space against Casey Wallace makes
two mid range jumpers in this game.

Speaker 3 (30:32):
That's crazy.

Speaker 1 (30:33):
I did think Russ had a great game. What do
you think about that corner three at the end? Were
you okay with that shot?

Speaker 3 (30:40):
It's an open look. I think he kind of had
to take it in that moment.

Speaker 4 (30:43):
I tend to agree he can't just pass up open shots,
and Russell Westbrook is not inclined to do that. He
does miss that shot, he does miss a free throw,
so he wasn't perfect, but guess what he does not
force it on the final play of the game, the wing.

Speaker 1 (30:58):
He's doing his job. He did his job. Ex He's
a hustler man and he was so I'm so happy, man.
This is such a good Russ arc and like the
perfect team for him.

Speaker 4 (31:09):
It's so awesome, dude, because like there was a stretch
of the year when Aaron Gordon was out and Jamal
was really struggling, and Russ was bawling that he was
playing as their second best player. And then there were
some rough moments towards the end of the regular season,
but for him to come back and play at this
level in almost every playoff game up to this point,
he's been really good and they've needed him because of

(31:30):
mpj's inconsistency. It's awesome. He is such an energizer, bunny.
I had him on my second team All Motor. He
probably should have been first team. I had Caruso on
my first team. I tweeted this out today. Russ really
is crazy, though, And like when he was younger, I
kind of thought his motor was a little bit overrated
because people kind of conflated like energy with him just

(31:52):
playing super fast and being super athletic, but defensively, Russell
Westbrook in his prime was very disengaged very often. This
Russell Westbrook legitimately is non stop flying around, impact on
both sides the ball and on the glass, and just
filling his role at a really high level. So I'm
super excited for this series. I do think that OKC

(32:14):
can play considerably better I think that a lot of
that falls on Jada, some of it falls on Chet
as well. I do think that they can shoot a
little bit better from me on the arc, but same
goes for Denver. The one guy who I did think
was made to work really, really hard on the Denver
side was Jamal Murray.

Speaker 3 (32:32):
Not efficient. He has four turnovers.

Speaker 4 (32:34):
I do expect that to continue. This is a really
difficult matchup for him. As we talked about, just insane
perimeter defense from Okac, so much physicality, so much athleticism.
He is not going to be able to get to
an easy shot diet in this matchup. But that's a
great win for Denver.

Speaker 1 (32:52):
Last guy, I want a shout out, Yeah, shout out
Christian Brown Man. I thought Christian Brown had a really
good gain too. Man. They just they got dogs in Denver.

Speaker 4 (33:00):
Did some great work on the glass and you're talking
about them having dogs, man, I think that's the most
impressive part of them getting this game. They were in
a game seven forty eight hours ago and Okase has
been resting, and Okase brought their punch. Like if there
was any game where I thought we wouldn't get peak
effort from Denver, it was going to be this one
and like I would understand that, but instead they just

(33:21):
absolutely bring it. Logan, Camden is dead. So I'm going
to address these super chats by myself. Liam Lull fouling
up three as a cardinal sin and was repaid as such.

Speaker 3 (33:32):
I do agree.

Speaker 4 (33:33):
I do actually think that fouling up three should be outlawed.
What I think they should do is an intentional foul
in that spot in the last two minutes. You should
get free throws and the ball. Maybe that's radical, but
that's my take. I think that we should get rid
of fouling up three because I think it's bad for
the sport. But the basketball gods definitely got it back.
Evan Hale just want to give love to my favorite

(33:54):
creators with some monetary compensation, thank you very much. Might
as well ask which of these three upsets the most
weight to you. That's a good question, so, Logan, which
one would you put the most stock into. By the way,
I'm so glad to see that you're alive. I was
scared for a second there, Pacers, Knicks or Denver.

Speaker 1 (34:12):
That's a great question.

Speaker 4 (34:15):
I think there's one obvious addo man out here that
we'll talk about that, I do not put nearly as
much weight in as the other two.

Speaker 1 (34:23):
I think I think the Pacers, honestly, for me, just
because it was the most unexpected, Like I expected Jokic
to get his and dominate, and I still on link
the thunder have a great answer for him in single
coverage or with anybody like Yo D forty and twenty man.
So yeah, I expected the Nuggets to get one. But Indiana.
I was just really shocked at Indiana, even though they're

(34:45):
down Garland, which I guess dings it a little bit,
but I'd probably say Indiana.

Speaker 4 (34:50):
I think I'm actually gonna lean this game. I was
really impressed with Yokic's ability to fight through in that
fourth quarter and reach that level. I thought that they
had the right scheme defensively, and they executed it decently well.

Speaker 3 (35:05):
It's really close.

Speaker 4 (35:08):
The real factor in Indiana's favor that like could swing
my outlook on the series more than this one individual
game is the fact that, like now, these injuries are
piling up for Cleveland and we're not sure if Garland
status Apparently MOBILEI and DeAndre Hunter both might miss Game two,
so that to me creates maybe more of an upset

(35:30):
opportunity for them, but I thought both were impressive Game
one wins that showed where both these teams do have
advantages in their matchups. I wouldn't move off my pick
for either one. I'm still taking both Cleveland and OKC,
but I think that we're in for two great series.
Gabriel does ask do y'all think the mobile Hunter Garland
potential injuries change your predictions for the Cavs series? Depends

(35:52):
on who actually ends up playing and who doesn't like.

Speaker 3 (35:55):
If all those guys.

Speaker 4 (35:56):
Are out, then yeah, the Basers are going to win
the series. But if Garland and Mobley at least are back,
then I think that the Caps still win the series.
DeAndre Hunter, I don't think they need it would be
nice to have him.

Speaker 1 (36:08):
He's a really good war Still, I think.

Speaker 3 (36:11):
Yeah, I would agree.

Speaker 4 (36:13):
Dog Wamee also says, honestly, okay, see is better without
Chet too, Skinny smh, No, no, dude, Chet is so good.

Speaker 1 (36:21):
They can't take white Boy of the Year Chet. Holme
grin out, bro come.

Speaker 3 (36:24):
On, Chet is so damn good. I don't know why
people just don't.

Speaker 1 (36:30):
I'm not even gonna I'm not gonna lie. He kind
of deserves to get ship on after this game, and
he's gonna wear it.

Speaker 4 (36:37):
Yeah, he definitely did not have a good offensive Gamebody's.

Speaker 1 (36:41):
Rim protector and like it's just we keep talking about it.
It's the most it's the most like underappreciated archetype like that.
We always say, man that rim protector role. And once
Chet does figure it out, because Chet's gonna figure it
out in a big way and he's gonna be so
much better offensively. It's just like, okay, y'all, y'all, go ahead,
y'all laugh about you know your Chet home and he

(37:02):
he ha ha. Chet is gonna be a top ten
player in the league one day. And I'm gonna laugh
at all, y'all because Chet's a monster and.

Speaker 3 (37:10):
Cook.

Speaker 1 (37:11):
This is a low moment for Chet, and I really
hope it's one of the lowest in his career. Real
bosses take losses. Chet is gonna take this and he
is gonna grow from it, because that's ultimately how he's
gonna become a better player. He missed the late three tonight,
he missed the two free throws. These are the things
that happen in our lives. You haven't an issue and

(37:33):
you get over it. Chet's gonna work through it. He's
gonna be a better player. Like it comes with growth
and being a young player in this league. Like I
think Chet's gonna get shit on, and rightfully so he
didn't come through in the clutch, but he's also gonna
be He's also a great basketball player already and he's
gonna be so much better. Man. So y'all go ahead
and we can laugh it up now. Chet's gonna be
kicking everybody's ass in a couple of years.

Speaker 4 (37:54):
He also just had an amazing series in which he
played like a top twenty player end to end, and
he's not going to get his credit for that, but
he was so dominant on both ends of the floor
against Memphis, and people are so obsessed with how skinny
he is, man Like, people have literally always hated on
him just for that, and like I think a lot
of people said, oh, he's going to be a must

(38:15):
just because he's so skinny, and it's like, man, he's
an eighty eighth percentile post up defender this year. You
still can't score on him unless you're a freak like Jokic,
who's the best offensive player ever. Because he is going
to contest everything with that insane length and that insane
timing as a shop locker. And I do think that
he is the best technical rim protector in basketball. He's

(38:37):
a uniquely gifted shooting big. He's a uniquely gifted ball handler.
He's uniquely fast for a seven footer. He's so good
in transition, He's a good passer. Chet is a monster.
And I hate the disrespect nor if.

Speaker 1 (38:48):
We're praising Gordon did baptize his ass today?

Speaker 4 (38:52):
That was insane. That was absolutely gnarly. What I will say,
dog Wami, is if you're trying to praise Okay sees
unique lineup versatility and their ability to be great with
iHeart as the loan big, or with Chet as the
loan big, or with the double big, then I would say, yes,
they are great in all of those different iterations. Amazing
Game one. We've talked about it for long enough at

(39:12):
this point, let's talk about the other game one today
that was also down to the wire and really exciting.
The New York Knicks logan steal a win in Boston
from the Celtics. What did you take away from this?

Speaker 1 (39:28):
What a game? I couldn't the most shocking thing to
me about this game was the fact that the Knicks
won this, you know, without a really good Karl Anthony
Towns game. Like I thought he had a good game early,
but he gets in foul trouble and then just puts
up a stinker.

Speaker 4 (39:45):
Like third quarter was one of the worst quarters I've
seen from a star level player this year from Karl
Anthony Towns.

Speaker 1 (39:53):
Dude, it was embarrassing. And it really didn't matter who
they put on him, and if it was Horford, if
it was Holliday, if it was Derek White, like, it
was weird. He was doing really good with some of
the mismatch attacking stuff early, but he gets in, he
gets into foul trouble, he starts getting trapped, and it's
just strange, Like I would have thought for any game.
And shout out Bridges, shout out Anobi, shout out everybody else,

(40:15):
like for picking up the slack. But I thought a
prerequisite for any Knicks winning this series would have been
Cat having a big game, and that was not the case.
I thought Mitchell Robinson did a really good job. I
thought they were better in his minutes than they were
with Cat. You know, he was battling on the glass anyway.
The biggest thing also on top of that was the
Celtics offense. To me, I think their offensive process has

(40:37):
to be much much better. Shout out to the Knicks
for capitalizing and coming up big. Boston misses forty five
threes in this game. That's an NBA playoff record, and
I have been critical of the Celtics offense in the past.
If you go back and listen to any of our
old shows from a year or two ago and how
they can be overly relying on that. I tend to

(40:58):
think that is also when their if it gets overplayed
with his Boston team, because it's a superpower of theirs
where they can make so many of them that they
just completely dominate the other team. But it's also a
feel thing. It's like, sure, that's a superpower, but it's
certain parts in the game. If that shot stalls out,
you've gotta be able to manufacture easy offense from other areas.

(41:18):
And I thought they did a really poor job of
attacking specific liabilities on the court. There wasn't a lot
of process. They're hucking up a lot of threes. But
this is a Knicks team that for the majority of
the time on the court. You're gonna have one of
these three players out on the floor, Jalen Brunson, Karl
Anthony Towns or Mitchell Robinson, all of whom I think

(41:41):
you can attack one on one. What are the Celtics
also great at doing mismatch attacking? Use your superpowers, man,
This is like Superman saying, not fuck it, man, I'm
not gonna use my laser vision.

Speaker 3 (41:54):
I'm gonna actually, I'm gonna try to be fart man.

Speaker 1 (41:56):
Yeah, I'm gonna be fart man.

Speaker 3 (41:59):
Bruh, it's not your brand, which is not your brand.

Speaker 1 (42:01):
What are you doing? You got you're super strong, Just
stop farting exactly. You have Jalen Brunson on the court.
Put Jason Tatum, put jaylenber somebody attack him. You know
you've got Catta Robinson on the floor. Get them out
in space and make them defend you in space. Shout
out Robinson. Though that Lake contest on Tatum when they
did get the switch, but again, Tatum's settling there. Like

(42:24):
I thought, the Celtics offensive process was really bad and
this was just a really really ugly game from the Jays.
Straight up. I expect more from them, and this should
have been a game they put away. Carson, I texted
you midgame. I was like, man, the Knicks are sorry,
They're chopped.

Speaker 3 (42:40):
I wrote them off.

Speaker 1 (42:41):
I thought this game was over and then they stormed
back because Boston just stalled out. So the Jays have
got to be better. But more importantly, their entire offensive
process has to be better. You know again, I think
this is traditionally a narrative that gets overplayed with this team.
This is a really great offense. It's one of the
best offenses in basketball. They've got a lead elite talent. Also,

(43:04):
Porzingis isn't out there on the floor. I think we
have to mention that too. He goes out in this
game with an illness. I think that was a component,
even though he didn't have a great Round one series.
I think it's important to mention. But the process has
to be better. I think they need to be better
at attacking specific things in the Knicks defense, and Jason
Tatum and Jaylen Brown just have to be better straight up, man.

(43:25):
Great win for the Knicks again, and these are swing games.
Game one of the series. This is a big deal.
Shout out the Knicks for stealing this one for not
giving up and shout out Jalen Brunson for doing what
he does best in crunch time, but I think the
Celtics kind of gifted this one to him. Man, this
was a really bad This was a choke from Boston.

Speaker 4 (43:42):
Quite frankly, it was a horrifying performance by the Celtics.
And I do want to give the Knicks credit because
I thought their physicality and intensity defensively really picked up
and was really good in the second half of this game.
But it was an embarrassing offensive performance by Boston. And
I think that you touched on a lot of the
key points. But I've got some specific numbers that really

(44:03):
crystallized just how bad it was. First of all, Boston
missed the most threes in a playoff game in NBA history.
They missed forty five threes in this game logan. They
shattered the previous record, which was actually Minnesota with forty
just a week ago against the Lakers, and they found
a way to win that game. The Celtics did not
find a way to win this one. So the three

(44:24):
ball was horribly off for them, and their stars were
terrible in the second half. In overtime, Jason Tatum was
three of thirteen with three turnovers. Jalen Brown was two
of nine with two turnovers. Like, they were just as
bad as it gets, and you're talking about the offensive process.
They settled way too much. I agree one hundred percent there,

(44:47):
but they were actually targeting those weak points a decent amount.
Like Tatum kept on having Brunson's man screen for him,
and Brunson would show but Tatum was only interested in
hunting that pull up three, and the pull up three
was way off for him today.

Speaker 1 (45:07):
Back him down, Like, that's what I'm saying, dude, Just
like you're almost a foot taller than him, Tatum, what
are we doing?

Speaker 4 (45:14):
And off switches with Brunson, he's hunting the step back three.

Speaker 3 (45:18):
Off switches with the Bigs.

Speaker 4 (45:19):
He's hunting the step back three. I did think Brunson
defended him quite well, actually off a couple switches late
in this game, and was moving his feet well, was
being physical with him out on the perimeter and kind
of forced Tatum to settle for a couple jumpers. But
that's where if I'm Boston, if I get that switch,
I'm willing to reset a bit and try to get
Tatum post position because that's where he really has his

(45:41):
advantage against Brunson with his size and strength. But he
was just doing way too much jacking up threes when
his three was terribly off, Like down to the last
possession of regulation, you're four of fifteen from deep and
that's the look that you hunt. It was just really
really bad process from him. And then Jay Brown. In
the first half he was playing some really nice bullyball

(46:03):
on Jalen Brunson, and in the second half he fell
in love with the three ball. And he's been a
well below average jump shooter all year. We've talked about this,
it's been a consistent problem. He was thirty two percent
from deep, so that's not good offense for him. He
goes one of ten from three, and he couldn't beat
catoff switches like he was settling. He was not getting

(46:25):
good looks, and he had a couple of bad turnovers late.
So I did think the Celtics absolutely could have done
more to exploit their advantages against Cat and Brunson. I
also thought those guys just defended better in the second half,
like significantly better. Boston only got five points off fifteen
isolations in the second half and overtime, so their strategy

(46:48):
of like trying to go at those specific guys.

Speaker 1 (46:51):
But you know what, what's also frustrating about Boston's offense,
it's it's not just that they settle for the threes
and you know that they it was that the offense stagnated.
I felt like, to dude, like nobody's cutting, nobody's moving,
there's no off ball screens, there's no like nuance. It's
literally five out with a guy isolating at the top

(47:13):
of the key, and it's such a I don't know, man,
it's vanilla. It's like, you're not gonna No defense is
scared of that.

Speaker 3 (47:20):
Man.

Speaker 1 (47:21):
They can just stand there and wait for the shot
to get put up. I just thought it got really,
really stale, and I expect more from the Celtics.

Speaker 4 (47:30):
What I would say is normally they are exceptional at that.
I mean, they're as good normally an isolation team, they're
the best.

Speaker 1 (47:38):
But you gotta have a point. I don't know, it's
a feel thing. I just feel like you gotta have
a counter. You gotta have a you know, I'm gonna
go set a pin down or a backscreen for my
boy over here in the corner and we're gonna get something.
Like the offense I would say is stagnated.

Speaker 4 (47:53):
You have to penetrate, like yo, hey, yo, I agree,
though you feel like you're creating separation for your pull
up jumper. Okay, that's fine, but if you're missing every
single one of them, like get the drive and kick game.
Kickstarted by getting past your man and creating an open
catch and shoot, look for a teammates. Those are better

(48:13):
shots than Tatum and Brown shacking up pull up threes.

Speaker 1 (48:17):
Or work it, you know what I mean. Kick the
ball down on the low block and let's get something started.
Like it's just a lot.

Speaker 4 (48:22):
I like them attacking this matches like I can't be
critical of them going at Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony Towns.
They just have to be way better at it and
they have to have more variety in their attack when
one aspect is so terribly off.

Speaker 3 (48:35):
So they melted down, Like.

Speaker 4 (48:38):
I put a vast majority of this loss on Tatum
and Brown for the Celtics. Obviously, nobody shot well from
deep for them, and like their whole shot selection man,
there were a couple of Drew Holiday threes that he
put up that I hated in this game, Derek White
didn't shoot well. Al Horford didn't shoot well, like they
had an exceptionally bad three point shooting game, but their
process also sucked on the flip side, Like you're dealing

(49:01):
with Jalen Brunson in the clutch man, if you're gonna
be this sloppy and let them stick around, I like
Brunson to outplay Tatum and Brown if they are going
to be super stagnant playing isoball settling for their jumpers. Meanwhile,
Brunson is always going to be able to carve out
a pretty good look for himself, and he was awesome
for most of the fourth quarter. He had a couple

(49:22):
turnovers where I thought that Boston threw a couple of
nice looks at him where they confused him with like
some soft doubles, but he nailed back to back step
back threes over Horford kind of torched him off a
couple switches. That's not an easy thing to do, and
Boston was just really, really sloppy. So I do think
if the Celtics just clean up their offensive process and

(49:43):
they shoot better, both of which they can do dramatically,
dramatically better than they did in game one. I think
Boston can win some of these games in a blowout.
But if they're gonna play like this in the clutch,
Jalen Brunson is going to be better, and he was
and that was a big part of the Knicks escaping
with this win.

Speaker 1 (50:00):
Do they need Porzingis to win this series?

Speaker 4 (50:03):
No? No, I think Porzingis would help because I think
this is a really good matchup for him, Like he
torched the Knicks in their last meeting. I think he
does a really good job of punishing Cat for not
being so good guarding out in space, and he's just
such a lethal shooting weapon.

Speaker 3 (50:20):
He wasn't playing.

Speaker 4 (50:21):
Well before he left this game, but like they were
also kind of trying to force some passes to him
against mismatches and they just couldn't really even complete some
entry passes. That to me is an area where he
can be effective attacking mismatches in this matchup. He's normally
great there, but the shooting is really really valuable. But
even without him, Man, I mean, they still have a

(50:42):
great shooting big in Horford who's super switchable defensively, Like,
they should absolutely still win this series comfortably, and if
they don't shoot themselves in the foot as badly as
they did in this game, they will.

Speaker 1 (50:56):
Yeah, the J's in the second half, man, three to eighteen,
two of them fourteen from deep. It was terrible Celtics
get out scored by sixteen points, man, I mean.

Speaker 4 (51:07):
Yeah, it was some of the worst basketball that they
have played all year. I do want to give props
to og Ananobi for shooting the hell out of the ball.
I thought he was excellent. Josh Hart secured the Knicks
a bunch of extra possessions in this game. I thought
that that was big. Deuce McBride injected some bench offense.
So like, the Knicks obviously played well to win this one,

(51:29):
but this one did say more about the Celtics just
playing way, way, way below their level and they have
to clean that up. And I did think, like you said,
they did a really good job on Cat Like they
were guarding him super well with wings, which is doubly
to their benefit because they're guarding Cat well. But then
also that allows their center to roam like, especially when

(51:51):
it's KP if he can be parked in the pain
and helping off of Josh Hart like, he can be
so impactful as that interior defender, so that was great.
They were being super physical with him, they were rattling him.
He was two of eight with five turnovers in the
second half, Like he was just terrible, totally lost his composure.
So that was the one thing that really went wrong
for the Knicks in this one, and I am concerned

(52:13):
about that if I'm them going forward, because we saw
some similar issues with Kat down the stretch of last
series where they're guarding him with Tobias Harris not an
actual big but Tobias Harris is allowed to be super
physical and handsy with him, and you're forcing Kat to
try to beat you consistently as an inside the arc score.
That's where you can get some offensive fouls, some turnovers,

(52:36):
some forced runners that are tough looks for him.

Speaker 1 (52:39):
He's still really inconsistent. I just don't like. That's still
the knock I'd say with Kat man is I just
wish I wish he was more consistent. He just doesn't.
He doesn't have a high baseline. There's a lot of
volatility with Cat's game, and he can give you some
really great performances and this one was just ugly. Like
the way he started, man, I was excited. I thought

(52:59):
we were in a big cat game and then smelts
down one to seven in the second half for him too, man,
Him and Bridges both were off in the second half.

Speaker 4 (53:08):
But I like how we're saying slightly different numbers for
the second half, and it's because my second half numbers
include overtime cats, and that's the sort of detail that
makes a difference in this business.

Speaker 1 (53:16):
Logan, Cat's gotta be better.

Speaker 4 (53:18):
Man, Yeah, he's got to be way better. The Knicks
can't win this series. I'm just gonna come right out
and say that, No, Boston has a way too much margin.
They are still going to be able to get those
mismatches that they like, and I think they're gonna be
able to generate a much better shot quality out of
it going forward by making a more concerted effort to

(53:39):
attack off the dribble, to stop settling. And like, dude,
I mean, if they shoot twenty eight percent from three,
they win this game. And they played an f game,
they played a horrible game and it still went to overtime.
They're just way better as a two way team.

Speaker 3 (53:55):
Like, even though.

Speaker 4 (53:56):
Brunson was impressive, he had to work. Brunson had to work.
He shot four of fourteen inside the arc, and he
had four turnovers.

Speaker 1 (54:04):
Still think, I just don't think the Knicks played their
best game either.

Speaker 3 (54:09):
They shot forty six percent from three.

Speaker 1 (54:12):
I mean, I think Kat and Bridges both can play
much better.

Speaker 3 (54:15):
I agree.

Speaker 4 (54:15):
I also thought that Og was phenomenal, Like, you're not
going to expect that level of production out of him
every night. I just think this was as bad as
a game possibly could have gone for the Celtics. Like literally,
F Tatum game, F Brown game, F shooting game, Porzingis
leaves the game early with illness and we don't know
what's going on with him, Like so many things went

(54:36):
so terribly wrong and it still went to overtime. I
think they should either win four straight from this point
or win four out of five. And like I'm not
trying to disrespect, I wouldn't.

Speaker 1 (54:48):
Be surprised if this went seven to Wow.

Speaker 4 (54:52):
Really, yeah, you saw advantages for the Knicks that you
think are sustained beyond this game.

Speaker 1 (55:00):
Not a Celtics just kind of scaring me.

Speaker 4 (55:02):
Man, they have the propensity to have a game like this, in.

Speaker 1 (55:09):
Fact that it's rare, the fact that KP has not
been anywhere close to the level of player that I
think he needs to be. I think this is a
really tough matchup for Tatum and Brown against both of
these wings in Ananobi and Bridges, like I think they're
going to have to work. I think that kat can
play better. I think Bridges can play better offensively, and

(55:31):
I think the Knicks also have two bigs that can
bang bodies with the Celtics bigs. And I think Mitchell
Robinson and Luke Cornett minutes, I think it's advantaged Nicks
when Mitchell's out on the floor against him. So it's like,
not that I think this is even, but if KP
is going to be off or out of this series,
that changes things for me. And Tatum and Brown have

(55:52):
just been a little bit off and I don't think
this is an easy series for them. So my pick
is still going to be the same, ce Celtics in
I think I picked Celtics in six.

Speaker 3 (56:04):
I think didn't we both pick the movie five? I
would I still think Celtics in five. I'm gonna be honest,
I don't know.

Speaker 1 (56:13):
I wouldn't be surprised if this thing went seven. I'm
gonna say Celtics in seven.

Speaker 4 (56:17):
I would be shocked if this went seven, and I
do not agree that this is not a great matchup
for Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown. Jason Tatum versus the
Knicks this regular season averaged thirty four to seven and
seven on sixty nine percent through shooting, Like he got
whatever he wanted. Jalen Brown also played super well. They
blew them out in three or four regular season games,

(56:38):
and they beat them in every one. They had like
what a one thirty three offensive rating. Like if there's
anything that does encourage me for the Knicks from this game,
it's that Brunson and Cat were able to hold up
decently well on switches in the second half. But I
still think that that is a big advantage for Tatum
and Brown. And like Og is a great defender, absolutely,
he cannot stay attached to Tatum every possession. They're willingly

(57:02):
switching Cat onto him, of course, And I also don't
think that Bridges is a good defender in this matchup.

Speaker 1 (57:07):
Like the game turnover, I thought he played good defense
down the stretch.

Speaker 4 (57:13):
That was a really good play. But I think that
there is a major strength advantage for both Tatum and Brown.
Jason Tatum shot like seventy three percent when all the Knicks.

Speaker 1 (57:23):
I think the Knicks are really feisty and have good hands,
and I think they can get up in Tatum and
Brown's dribble a little bit, and the game I think Tatum,
Tatum scares me. I don't know if he's gonna keep
settling like this and be so passive like and I
don't mean passive is and he's not taking shots, I
mean passive, and he's not being aggressive and getting downhill.

(57:44):
And so that's where I think the Knicks. That's why
I say I'm closer to seven. I still think the
Celtics are gonna win this one, but the Knicks really
really impressed me with this win and how they stayed
in this game.

Speaker 4 (57:56):
I would probably still set the over under at five
and a half. I think that the fact that it
was this close in an F minus minus Celtics game
speaks to how big the gap between these two teams is.
And I didn't see a lot in this game that
changes that, other than the Celtics playing a miserable game
by their own standards. Tatum, it's not the right approach.

(58:19):
He was awesome last series, though, and I think he's
the best he's been and I think that he knows.
I literally saw a postgame quote from him being like, yeah,
I settled too much. I think that that'll change going
forward in the Celtics. We'll be able to get some
really great shots and they'll be able to again make
the Knicks work more on the other side, because I
thought that they made both of the Knicks stars really
work in this one. Two awesome games in what has

(58:44):
been an incredible NBA postseason, and we've got some more
great games and one more great series yet to come
that hasn't gotten started. We're going to talk about that.
On the other side of the break, we're gonna preview
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Speaker 3 (01:01:22):
Logan.

Speaker 4 (01:01:23):
We've got a big series that gets started tomorrow between
the Warriors and the Timberwolves. We did not get to
see these teams play once in the regular season after
Jimmy Butler joined the Warriors, so we have not gotten
any actual look at them facing each other. In the
Warriors current iteration, what is the first key that really

(01:01:46):
stands out to you in this matchup?

Speaker 1 (01:01:49):
Looking at this from Golden State's perspective, I do think
what Warrior defends Anthony Edwards is going to be really
really interesting. Wiggins took on the role in the regular
He's obviously no longer on the team, So you just wonder,
you know, are they gonna try to go to his
zone like we saw against Houston and you know, maybe

(01:02:10):
look to that for a majority of this game. Are
they gonna go Jimmy Butler? Is that the route? Maybe? Moody?
You know, that is a really big key to me
with the Warriors. But the other big key is kind
of interrelated with that. What Warriors lineups are we gonna
get and what role players did the Dubs lean on
the most because we saw a lot of different guys

(01:02:32):
get minutes in that first round against Houston, and they
all provide different you know, they all have different pros
and cons their players with a lot of different archetypes. Unfortunately, Carson,
as you know, my basketball stock portfolio has taken a
really deep dive after I sold all of my Buddy
Held stock and unfortunately, because the Warriors and the Timberwls

(01:02:53):
are two of the few remaining teams in the playoffs,
I had to buy back in on my Buddy Held
stock and I lost it a may you major, I'm down.
I'm down in a big way.

Speaker 4 (01:03:03):
Well you did the classic cell low by high yep.

Speaker 1 (01:03:07):
I got myself. But the Warriors are gonna have to
lean on Buddy Heeld in this series, and unfortunately I
sold all of my stock. I gotta get back in
because the Doves are gonna have to play him a lot.
I think in this series. I think you're just gonna
have to ride the Buddy Heald wave and there's gonna
be some really really low lows with him not locked
in on defense and giving up points on the other end,

(01:03:28):
but hopefully there should be some high highs. I just
think you need his shooting, ceiling and ability. I think
you need a lot of Podzimski minutes. I think the
connective things that he does and his skill set, the cutting,
the activity, the rebounding, the energy, I think you need
him a lot. I think you need a lot of
Moses Moody. I think the defense and the shooting that

(01:03:49):
Moody gives you, it's just a really valuable skill set
with this team. But that's where it gets interesting to me,
Carson beyond that, Like I don't know who the Warriors
go to. Like, we're gonna get a lot of Looney
in this series, having to bang down low with the
big so we're gonna get Quinton Post trying to spread
out this defense and get go Bear away from the basket.
I probably lean on Looney a little more similar to

(01:04:09):
my thoughts on the Houston series. I probably want that
big body guy who can just bang a little bit
more with Gobert on the low block. And I think
it's just gonna be a little grimier with both of
those guys on the floor, and I'm comfortable with that.
But those are the two big keys for me with
Golden State. What looks do you throw at Anthony Edwards
and what guys do you lean on, because again, we
saw a lot of different looks on the Warriors. I

(01:04:31):
ultimately think they figured it out in the Houston in
the final game against Houston what their best look was,
but that obviously changes with the matchup against Minnesota. So
where do you come down on those two issues for
Golden State.

Speaker 4 (01:04:44):
I do think that Moody should start in this series,
and I do think that they should put him on
ant now. He cannot contain Anthony Edwards. Nobody on this
Warriors team can on the perimeter. And I just don't
think that they can have Jimmy in that matchup because
they need Jimmy to provide something of a physical counter

(01:05:06):
to Julius Randall, and they're gonna go with their small
balls starting five. I'm pretty confident just because that's been
by far their best group, and that makes it most
functional to have Jimmy and Drey out there together because
you have more spacing around them. That's when they've been
at their best on both ends since the Jimmy Butler trades.
So that means that you have to have Drey on Rudy.

(01:05:27):
You have to have him as your primary rim protector
on the interior, you have to have Jimmy as relatively
big forward on Julius Randall, and then you got to
put one of your guards on Anthony Edwards. Pods is
a solid defensive player. He's got his bag of tricks.
He's the master charge taker, he's got good hands, he's
a good positional rebounder. He's not somebody who I'm gonna

(01:05:49):
ask to try to stay in front of Anthony Edwards.
They're gonna switch a lot, right, because that's just the
reality of their scheme, being as small as they are,
and I think that they can definitely do a better
job defending the Wolves than the Lakers could, but they're
still not going to be able to stay in front
of Ant. So it's going to be a lot of
the same stuff, right, They're going to have to try

(01:06:09):
to force him to beat them. As a playmaker, there's
going to be lots of trying to shrink the floor.
Maybe they do mix in a zone, but there's going
to be a lot of aggressive help. And the reason
I think they can execute the scheme better than the
Lakers is, first of all, they have fewer flagrant weak
points defensively, and they have a lot more speed to
rotate out to shooters when Ant is playing the drive

(01:06:32):
and kick game or when he's creating an advantage by
passing out of a double. They're just a much faster
defense in terms of those rotations. And they have Draymond
Green and like he alone is just a defensive force
so far beyond anybody the Lakers had, and he's still
an elite rimp protector even at his size, and Jimmy's
a great defensive playmaker. So they're just a better defense.

(01:06:53):
They're going to be able to collectively defend better. But
they're still really small against a team that is really big,
really athletic, they're still going to get crushed on the glass,
And like if Ant keeps making the right reads like
he did consistently last series, he's going to create a
lot of good looks for a lot of really good shooters.

Speaker 3 (01:07:13):
And that's problem for Golden State.

Speaker 1 (01:07:15):
Do you think they start small and do you think
they run with that lineup for the majority of these games?

Speaker 3 (01:07:22):
I do.

Speaker 4 (01:07:23):
I think that we might see some Looney, but their
tendency is definitely to have their hand forced to that point.
I mean we saw that last series. They really didn't
even play Looney until Game seven. They tried playing tjd
over him at one point.

Speaker 3 (01:07:39):
So they want to.

Speaker 4 (01:07:41):
Be small because that's going to be their best offensive look,
and I think that they'll trust their speed and activity
in switching defensively. But Minnesota has a huge size advantage.
Minnesota has every advantage that Houston had in this matchup
in terms of their size and their strength and their
re in their athleticism, and they are a way more

(01:08:03):
talented team, and they are a way better offense. They
have way more shooting. So like the Warriors eked out
a seven game series against a team that had a
lot of those same advantages but was a bad half
court offense with no reliable go to player offensively in
the half court. Now you're going up against a team
that has a guy who's playing at a superstar level,

(01:08:24):
is a superstar and was so good as a playmaker
last series, and he has the weaponry around him.

Speaker 3 (01:08:31):
That's a problematic matchup for the Warriors.

Speaker 1 (01:08:34):
I think so too. I look at the Wolves as
the better team in this matchup, in the team with
more margin and the team who's depth players I trust more.
I trust the role players way more. Wrap up on
the Warriors real quick before we get to the Wolves
on the lineup point. Looking even further down to like

(01:08:56):
GP two Kaminga, Do either of those guys have an
impact in this series? Are you even giving Kaminga any minutes?

Speaker 3 (01:09:02):
Kaminga is a no go for me.

Speaker 4 (01:09:04):
Just can't trust him to make the decisions and make
the shots.

Speaker 3 (01:09:07):
And be engaged on both ends.

Speaker 4 (01:09:09):
He's not ready to be a playoff player, especially in
the Warrior system which is so read and react based
and everybody has to be able to make capable decisions.
GP two may have his moment with his athleticism, with
his feel, but for the most part, I'm leaning on
playing shooters, and I am leaning on playing Buddy healed

(01:09:31):
more like he is just the one dude outside of
Steph who I mostly trust to make outside shots. Not
that he is crazy consistent, but he is a really
good pure shooter, and a lot of the other stuff
is inconsistent. The decision making can be bad, the defense
can be bad. But the defense was solid against the
Rockets in Game seven. It was actually really solid. So

(01:09:53):
I think that Minnesota is probably going to try to
do a lot of the same things defensively that Houston did.
Like they have a psycho elite point of attack defender
who can stay attached to him really well in Jade
McDaniels like Houston had in Amen. They have the ability
to switch one through three with good perimeter defenders like
Houston did. They have the ability to blit Steph with

(01:10:16):
a lot of length and athleticism when he involves one
of their centers in the pick and roll game, and
then they're gonna help off of non shooters. So that's
why I just think you need to maximize your shooting
on the floor as much as you can. If I'm Minnesota,
I would try mixing in some zone like Houston did,
which was so effective until Buddy shot the shit.

Speaker 3 (01:10:34):
Out of it.

Speaker 4 (01:10:35):
But you can keep Rudy in the middle, you can
take away the rim for the Warriors offense basically, and
the Warriors were really bad offense against zone all year.
They were seventh percentile offense against zone. So my approach,
if I'm Minnesota, is continue to force shooters other than
Steph to step up until they prove that they can

(01:10:55):
beat me like that. And if we can run them
off the line, then will overwhelm them with our size
and our length and our athleticism and just don't let
Steph get anything easy, like make everybody else beat you
at all costs. And I think that's a good approach,
and I think they can do that pretty effectively because,
like since the Jimmy trade, the Warriors have been a

(01:11:16):
very average three point shooting team by percentage. They were
sixteenth down the stretch of the regular season. They were
ninth of sixteen teams in the first round.

Speaker 3 (01:11:25):
Of the playoffs.

Speaker 4 (01:11:26):
So like, that's where I think Buddy comes in, and
they really need Moody and Pods to consistently find their shots.
Those guys are key because they're more multi dimensional, especially Pods.
That's a guy who, like you need to have on
the floor. But if he's not making his shots and
he's got no confidence, then he can hamstring your offense.

(01:11:46):
And he's got to be more consistent as an offensive
presence in this series.

Speaker 1 (01:11:50):
Yeah, and for Minnesota, I'm trying to focus on Steph obviously,
I think that's, you know, step number one, if it's
at or if it's McDaniels taking on that lead role,
and then my next goal defensively is to just try
to slow down Jimmy Butler as much as possible, and
specifically defending with discipline, I would try to limit Jimmy

(01:12:16):
going to the line as much as possible. Golden State
really relies on Jimmy as a release valve for Steph,
not only in the sense of just scoring, but like
slowing the game down and getting those easy looks, because
sometimes the Golden State offense can struggle finding shots without Steph,
and Jimmy does a really good job of that. I'm
trying to limit the amount of times that I'm sending

(01:12:36):
him to the line and giving him those free opportunities,
and they're really limited around both of those guys. And
so though that's gonna be my focal point defensively, which,
like you said, with their personnel, I think they can
do a really good job of. And then offensively. The
only concern I think I really have with Minnesota is
their shooting and just how consistent it is. But there's

(01:12:59):
so many contributors here that I think that they're gonna
get an impact from somebody, because, like you know, you
could be skeptical about Jade McDaniels and Julius Randall on
some nights, right, and you could be nervous about Gobert,
is he gonna be hesitant or tentative to night? But
then outside of those guys, it's like, all right, well,
maybe Devincenzo will give me a good game, maybe nas

(01:13:20):
Reed will, maybe Nikila, Alexander Walker will, Mike Connley. Like,
there's just way more mouths that I trust to get fed.
You know, There's way more contributors that I trust to
deliver down the roster. And that's why I have a
little bit more faith, I think in Minnesota and why
they do have that margin. And right, even with those

(01:13:40):
guys that I'm saying that I'm skeptical of, Jade McDaniels
has the potential to have a big game to eat
and transition to make four or five threes. Julius Randall
has the same potential that volatility, I think Minnesota's has
got a lot more margin. And then that's not even
equating in the x fac that is Anthony Edwards that

(01:14:01):
I think he's gonna be the best player in this series.
I think he could very easily outplay Steph Curry. And
that's where I look at this potentially being the beginning
of the Anthony Edwards Ascendants Tour. You know, it started
last year with taking down KD and Devin Booker in
the first round and then slaying the defending champ. This
year it starts with taking out Lebron and Luca, and

(01:14:24):
the next victims could be Steph, Jimmy and Dre. I mean,
it's like a Hall of Fame tour for Anthony Edwards
right now. But I don't think there's a good answer
for Anton. Like you said, man, if he's playmaking well,
if his pull up jumpers on, he's just a really
hard problem to solve. But I think Minnesota's got really
good answers for Golden State. Defensively, I think they've got

(01:14:47):
advantage on the glass and they've got a lot more
margin offensively, where there's just more guys that I trust
for them.

Speaker 4 (01:14:55):
Yeah, the depth is really the difference in this series,
because I think that both and Steph playing at a
super high level right now, and both defenses are going
to have to take the approach of force other guys
to beat us, Like you especially are going to take
that approach against the Warriors because you think those guys
probably aren't gonna beat us, Whereas if you're helping off

(01:15:17):
of nas Reed and Dante de Vincenzo and Nikkeile, Alexander
Walker and Mike Conley, Like this is a team that
was top five and three's made. They were top five
and three point percentage Minnesota was That is a real
collective effort. And the guys who can knock down shots
who I just mentioned, Nikle, Alexander Walker, Dante de Vincenzo,
nas Reed, Jade McDaniels, they're all good attacking closeouts as well,

(01:15:38):
and they're good athletes and for the most part, really
impactful two way players. Like that is a luxury the
Warriors could only dream of. After the top three. For
the Warriors, I don't know what I'm getting from anybody
on any given night, and I look at the Timberwolves'
top eight and I'm like, not everybody is going to
be great every night, but I'm gonna find a group
of five guys who are every night. That's just such

(01:16:02):
a big advantage. They have so many buttons they can
push their lineup versatility is so great, Whereas like the Warriors,
again they don't want to play an actual big no
matter what, they don't have like game changing athletes who
they can turn to. The Timberwolves they can go double
big and they can dominate the glass and they're a
plus eleven net team in those minutes. That could be

(01:16:24):
a big problem for the Warriors. Like it's not like
Nas and Rudy are as dominant a rebounding duo as
Shangun and Adams, but they's still a great rebounding duo
and Nas is such a freak offensively that like, those
lineups have been great for them and they can just
maximize their size advantage. That's the big difference, and that's
why I do think that Minnesota is the better basketball team.

(01:16:45):
Like Steph Curry is still, in my opinion, the best
player in this series. I think it's very close between
him and Ant but like Steph, is a walking advantage
every possession for your offense. The problem is I don't
trust the guys round him, so is Aunt, but Steph
to an all time extent because he's Steph Curry and
he's the greatest shooter player we've ever seen.

Speaker 1 (01:17:07):
I am right now juggling like all four of Luca, Tatum,
Ant and Steph, and you're driving them. What I'm saying
is is that they're going to fall into place wherever
and if Ant wins this series, I think I Aunt
varry Will already could be there and he could prove
it in this series. But the one area where I

(01:17:27):
think Ant is going to prove it and going to
have to prove it, like we already said, the two
variables with him, and it's a freak athlete. He should
be able to get downhill into the rim when he wants.
It's the playmaking. It's the pull up shooting, which is
much much better than it was last year. He's taken
real leaps in both of those categories. To me, it's
also the clutch offense. Steph put nails in coffins at

(01:17:48):
the end of games against Houston, even in Game seven
when he struggled all of the first half, and he
had four points in the first half. He's still the
guy that puts that game away. My red flag about
Minnesota coming into these playoffs. They answered it in the
first round with the clutch offense. Can they do it
against Golden State? When that's like Steph's specialty man still
at this point in his career, even if he's been

(01:18:10):
inconsistent all game long, it's still that ability to hit
all those big shots in the big moments. I'm chomping
at the bit, man, I can't wait. I'm pumped for
I think it's I think that's gonna be really, really
crucial in a lot of these games. I think it's
gonna be close through three quarters. Which team can close
out more effectively and better? To me, that's still a
bit of a coin toss, man, Like I could see

(01:18:32):
Steph and Jimmy winning some of those battles against Minnesota
in crunch time.

Speaker 4 (01:18:37):
Who's more likely to bludgeon the other team in any
of these Minnesota for sure, no doubt.

Speaker 3 (01:18:42):
But yeah, I agree.

Speaker 1 (01:18:43):
If Golden State can keep it close, that's what's deadly.
That's the challenge though as well. Golden State's got to
keep it close because I definitely think Minnesota could win
some beat downs and has way more margin.

Speaker 4 (01:18:55):
That's where the Warriors won the series against the Rockets.
I mean it was really eking out the close ones,
just having that different level of maturity offensively. The difference
is that was one of the worst half court offenses
in the league. They were facing one of the worst
shooting teams. Now you're facing a really good offense with
a ton of shooting with an elite creator leading the charge.
Julius Randall was really good last series. I do think

(01:19:17):
that Jimmy can do a more solid job on him,
but he's gonna have some opportunities to attack some mismatches
off switches, and like, if he just keeps doing the
right stuff, he could play well again. I think he
and Ant would both have to be significantly worse than
they were last series for the Warriors to win, and
I think Steph would have to be like unbelievable. That's

(01:19:38):
why I wouldn't view this as like a battle for
supremacy between Ant and Steph just based on whose team wins,
because in less, Steph is significantly better than Ant. I
really think the Warriors are going to struggle to win
unless I guess the role players could be significantly better
than they normally are. But like the tim rules, role
players are way better. I just think Minnesota is a

(01:20:00):
tough matchup for the Warriors because of all their physical
size advantages, and also just because their depth is way better.
And I think that there are more complete basketball teams.
So I'm gonna take Minnesota in six. I'm not gonna
lie I was closer to five than seven. I have
too much respect for Steph to go Wolves in five.
I think he will find a way to win the

(01:20:22):
Warriors two games by just doing special shit. But it's
really hard when he's seeing two bodies as much as
he's gonna and he doesn't have respectable offensive threats around him.
That's why I like, as key as he is to
this series, the role players are so so key because
you can't win games with the level of defensive attention.

(01:20:42):
I'm expecting Steph to draw unless those dudes make open shots,
and we saw that against Houston. Like role players play well,
you win games four and seven. Role players are awful,
you get blown out in games five and six. That's
the dichotomy, and I trust the Timberwls role players so
so much more than I do the Warriors.

Speaker 1 (01:21:00):
That's ultimately the difference in this series for me. But
I respect the Warriors a little bit more than that.
I'm gonna say Timberwolves in seven, I think we're in
for a battle. I think the Warriors were tuning it
up against Houston. I think we get a better version
of them. I think these veterans lock in. We get Steph,
Jimmy dre All doing their thing. But I do think

(01:21:22):
Anthony Edwards is gonna be the best player in this series.
I think Minnesota's got the better depth.

Speaker 4 (01:21:27):
And if you think Ann outplays Steph, I struggle to
see this going seven.

Speaker 1 (01:21:36):
I think, and I'll play Steph, but I still think
it goes seven. I've got respect for the Warriors man,
and again, I don't want to overlook the fact that
the defensive duo of Drey and Jimmy that's a huge component.
Over sure, I think they have a respect Houston. I
just think that Minnesota I think, excuse me, I think
Golden State can do a better job of disrupting Minnesota

(01:21:58):
a little bit more. I think this is a little
bit better of a matchup for them. So I just
think it evens out. I think this is gonna be
a battle.

Speaker 3 (01:22:05):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:22:05):
I think it's gonna be a really really good series.
But the size and physicality advantage, I lean Minnesota. The
depth advantage, I lean Minnesota. And I think this is
where ants. Ant's doing it. Man, he's the Grim Reaper.
He's coming. I think Ants will do it. And Wolves
and seven. I also I couldn't pick the Wolves to
win in the Bay. I just couldn't bring myself to

(01:22:26):
do it. So I'm gonna say Wolves in seven.

Speaker 4 (01:22:29):
I think you can win at the Chase Center, not
really bringing the same thunder that they were back at Oracle.
As somebody who's frequented the Chase Center, it's not the
same environment as it used to be an Oracle, I
think that you can win there. The Rockets did it
in Game six with no trouble. I do think Minnesota
is better. I also thought they just had an outstanding
first round series that highlighted all their strengths in terms

(01:22:51):
of their lineup, versatility and depth and all this stuff.
And I thought the Warriors' first round series very much
exposed their weaknesses that I think can get exploited by
Minnesota just to a greater degree.

Speaker 3 (01:23:02):
So bums me out. I'm a Dubs fan.

Speaker 4 (01:23:05):
I think the Warriors are really good, but I do
think there's a gap between these two teams.

Speaker 3 (01:23:10):
Right now, we do.

Speaker 4 (01:23:11):
Have one more super chat before we wrap up, Kelvin
says love from Brazil. What a game from Denver. Thank
you Kelvin for your generous donation. That was an amazing game. Man.
I think that this series is going to be awesome.
You knew the Denver offense was going to get him
a game or two, but to steal this one really massive, really.

Speaker 1 (01:23:29):
Really, I mean it's mentally it's got to take a
little bit of toll on OKC. Man, Like, that's that's
one that would keep me up at night. If I
was a player for the Thunder, I'd be having some
some nightmares.

Speaker 4 (01:23:42):
And Denver just did their veteran former champ thing.

Speaker 2 (01:23:46):
Man.

Speaker 3 (01:23:46):
They really came through when they needed it.

Speaker 1 (01:23:48):
Most yoke, that boy yoke, that boy yo.

Speaker 4 (01:23:51):
Came through and that man Aaron Gordon, Dude, that man
Aaron Gordon has been one of the best playoff performers
and really can't give him enough love. What a day logan,
what a sinko tomorrow. What a beautiful day of basketball.
Isn't it so great to be alive? What a gift
this is?

Speaker 1 (01:24:07):
Huh, dude, I think of one. Yes, yes, put that
on a cat poster and hang it up. You know
what's even better, bro.

Speaker 3 (01:24:15):
I do love Cat.

Speaker 4 (01:24:16):
He didn't have his best game today, but I'd get
a poster of I'm sure I.

Speaker 1 (01:24:19):
Get to watch naz Reed play basketball.

Speaker 4 (01:24:23):
Nas Reed plays basketball tomorrow, lock In.

Speaker 1 (01:24:26):
Did you even think about that?

Speaker 3 (01:24:28):
Didn't thought about it? Logan?

Speaker 1 (01:24:30):
That makes me. It makes me even more excited to
wake up tomorrow to see nas Reed play basketball.

Speaker 3 (01:24:36):
I can't wait. And Logan, we're going to be back tomorrow.
Is that true?

Speaker 1 (01:24:42):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (01:24:43):
Yeah, we are going to be back. We're going to
be talking about Timberwolf's Warriors. We're gonna be talking about
a Cavs Pacers game that hopefully features more than half
of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team healthy. And we are
going to keep enjoying these incredible and NBA playoffs and
we hope that you all enjoy them alongside us. If

(01:25:03):
you want to, you know where to find us. All
of our postgame live streams are right here on our
YouTube channel, you can catch them of course live or
after the fact, and you can listen to all of
our full episodes across all audio platforms. You can also
find our video essays and video breakdowns that we do
on our YouTube channel, and you can check us out
across social if you want, TikTok and Instagram at nerd Sash,

(01:25:24):
Twitter at nerd Underscore Sesh. We got all sorts of
our fun, silly little trivia content there and we've also
got some clips and graphics from the show as well.
So with that, as always appreciate you guys. I've been
Carson Braber

Speaker 1 (01:25:38):
I've been loving Camden and this was Nerd Sash

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Logan Camden

Carson Breber

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