Nerd Sesh - NBA Playoffs Reaction: Curry CARRIES Warriors past Rockets, Jokic & Nuggets BEST Clippers - Nerd Sesh

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. No, Oh my god, how could he do that?

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Want what Charles Darwin? The nerves is where it's at.
Welcome everybody back into Nerd Sash As always, I'm Carson Breber.
Alongside me is Logan Camden, and you already know the drill.
We have some unbelievable playoff basketball to talk about today.

(00:36):
We've got four games. Two of them were just phenomenal,
down to the wire, thrilling contests with unbelievable performances from
two of the greatest players that we have ever seen.
We got to start with one of them, Logan, and
that is Steph Curry carrying the Golden State Warriors past
the Houston Rockets to take a two to one lead

(00:58):
in this series. Obviously with Jimmy out for this game
with the glute contusion. Just a remarkable performance from Steph
doing this with a shorthanded Warriors team that, as we've
talked about, just doesn't have very much talent without Jimmy
Butler on the floor, but they got it done in
this one. What do you have to say about this performance?

Speaker 1 (01:19):
I'm kind of disappointed in myself.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Bro.

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Last episode we talked about the Dubs and the Rockets,
and you know, we anticipated Jimmy could be out the
rest of the series. And I said with I said
pretty confidently that I thought the Rockets were gonna beat
the Warriors. I gotta stop count now, Steph Curry man
like he's still the best player on the court.

Speaker 2 (01:41):
I don't, Yeah, dude, buy about one hundred thousand miles.

Speaker 1 (01:46):
I just thought we were in for a real shit show.
After the first quarter where he's like one of five,
I'm like, this is not gonna be a good game.
Like both teams got out of the block slow, but
that's not really super uncharacteristic for this Rockets team. And kudos,
we're gonna get this Steph in a minute. Kudos to
the Warriors end to end for their defensive performance in
this game. You gotta start with Draymond Green, who also

(02:09):
I cannot believe can completely transform the defense single handedly
like this. I gotta tip my cap to Quinton Post
in this game for the work that he did on
the glass. I thought his minutes were really really good
in this game. And Steph too, Steph defensively, like people
are gonna talk about this offensive game from Steph. What
an impressive defensive game. This was from Steph as well.

(02:31):
But it is unbelievable to me, Carson, that the Rockets
know exactly what the Warriors are going to try to do,
They know the exact man that they have to stop,
and they still can't like the level of difficulty, in
the degree of difficulty on the shots that Steph is
taking in this game, how he is being guarded. It's

(02:51):
unbelievable that he was almost able to hit forty points
in this game like it is. It's astounding, the playmaking,
the assist at the end of the game. To Gary,
it's like, it's just unbelievable that Steph is still capable
of these performances. And like I said at the top
of the show, Man, I'm disappointed myself, Carson, I think
I wrote the Warriors off a little too prematurely. Obviously,

(03:14):
I think they need Jimmy Butler to go on a
deep playoff run to you know, max out what they
can do in this season. But I think I was
a little quick to write them off against the Rockets,
Man and they read tavoc on this offense. Defense played
an excellent game, and Steph is still capable of giving
you performances like this. Also good game from Buddy Heel.
They got some offensive punch from him, as bad as

(03:37):
he can be defensively, they need some firepower. But like
I just couldn't believe they won this game, Carson, this
was a bad basketball team before Jimmy Butler arrived. This
was a team that was below five hundred. They overcame
the odds in this one. Man. I still think it's
an uphill battle. It's gonna be a long series. I
don't think the Rockets are gonna go down easy. But

(03:58):
I just can't believe the Warriors bounce back such a
big way. They needed this game down Jimmy. I still
hope he can come back, and I still give the
Warriors a chance in this series, but it's just unbelievable
what they were able to do so shorthanded in this game. Man.

Speaker 2 (04:11):
I think he's coming back. I think Jimmy's coming back
at some point. And that's why this win is so
so massive, because with Jimmy on the floor, they will
win this series. I think they are clearly the better
team with Jimmy out there. But like you, man, I
thought that they were facing a really long path to
winning without him, because this team around Steph is so
limited in so many ways, and yet he is just

(04:33):
so unbelievable individually that he is able to propel him
to a win in this one. But he couldn't have
done it without some of the really strong performances we
did get from guys around him, especially on the defensive end,
but also complimenting him offensively. But he's literally creating everything
for this team offensively, Logan Like the fact that he
has had two performances of this caliber already in this

(04:55):
series absolutely blows my mind. Because this series is now
it is a rock fight. It is so physical. The
Rockets are such an athletic team, they are such an
elite defense. Points are so hard to come by, and
there's no other offensive threats on the floor for the
Warriors right now as creators at least, and Steph Curry
through three games is giving you twenty nine point six boards,

(05:19):
seven assists on sixty nine percent true shooting, and even
that under sells the impact that he's having on these games,
Like he is phenomenal as an isolation scorer in this one.
Whenever he's able to attack a one on one matchup,
he's creating space for a pull up jumper and he
is raining them, but just as importantly, he's drawing two
to the ball off every single pick and roll. He's

(05:41):
getting blitzed so often when he's coming around an off
ball screen two players are following him. You think about
Gary Payton just slipping right to the rim for a dunk,
a wide open dunk on that play in the last
couple minutes, Like every shot that the Warriors are getting
that is open is being created by Steph Curry and
his unparalleled shooting threat. It's just so remarkable. And then,

(06:03):
as you mentioned, like also his passing was phenomenal, So
his individual scoring volume and efficiency is like impossibly great
considering the context of this series. Then his playmaking value
as a passer was unbelievable in this one. And then
his playmaking value just with his constant gravity is unbelievable.
So I was just thinking back to our player rankings, Dude,

(06:25):
you were absolutely right to have him where you did
at number six, like I had him at number nine.
This was whatever a month and change ago, because I
was just like, I don't know, he's been phenomenal since
Jimmy joined the team, but I couldn't ignore that earlier
in the year there was some more inconsistency with him
not as efficient on ball as we're used to. We're
now looking at thirty games logan of Steph Curry averaging

(06:47):
over twenty seven points per game on sixty six percent
true shooting. He is one of the most impactful offensive
players in NBA history still, like no doubt about it.
So it's just incredible. And the fact that he is
capable still of giving us moments like this, like what
he did in Game one, like what he did tonight,
like what he did a couple of years ago against

(07:09):
the Kings in the playoffs, giving them fifty in Game seven.
But to do this at thirty seven years old in
the postseason, it's unthinkable for a guard. No other guard
in NBA history has given us.

Speaker 1 (07:18):
That he is one of one skill set in NBA
history that allows him to do this.

Speaker 2 (07:23):
He does, but it's still absolutely ridiculous, and I am
just completely blown away by it. And then Draymond's still
doing this on the defensive end, and I thought he
had an absolute masterclass. Like the fact that these guys
have been doing this for more than a decade. You
don't see that sort of longevity with a duo and
it's just remarkable to do this into your mid to

(07:43):
late thirties to still be top tier players on your
respective sides of the ball. So Draymond was massive on
the defensive end. But the guy who I want to
give the most credit just for playing at such a
high level when they needed him so desperately is Gary Payton.
I just thought his comfort playing off of Steph was

(08:04):
so obvious in this game. And there are times with
GP two where his lack of consistent outside shooting, his
lack of aggression shooting the ball, can be a bit frustrating,
But in this game, he was super decisive, he was
super confident. He knew what he was doing every time
that he was involved in any sort of two man
game with Steph, right faking handoffs on these keep actions

(08:26):
and then getting to the rim, where you just see
he's the warriors best athlete on the floor. He's the
best finisher on the floor. He's the only guy here like, hey,
he might actually be able to pull off a contested
finish in the paint, because that's such a limitation of
this team elsewhere, their size, their athleticism and they're finishing
around the basket. But he's doing that, he's slipping off
the roll with Steph and his phenomenal as a finisher there.

(08:48):
And then obviously he makes two threes which are huge,
and he gets that dunk that I mentioned off Steph
drawing two away from the ball. But he was just
excellent in this one, quintin post as you mean, awesome minutes,
phenomenal on the glass, where I thought he really got
bodied in games one and two, like I thought that
he was not nearly effective enough on the glass, he

(09:11):
was excellent there in this game. He finishes with twelve rebounds,
three of them offensive, creating second chances which the Warriors
needed in that first half. That was really the best
offense that they were getting was those second chance opportunities.
I also thought he was significantly better defensively and honestly
did a really nice job on a men Thompson in
that matchup, just being big as hell and obviously playing

(09:34):
far off of him, but presenting some resistance at the
rim and in the paint. And then I also thought
that he was good as a decision maker. He gets
four assists in this one, has a really nice pass
to Dre off the short roll, so he deserves credit
for stepping up as a role player. And then Logan,
I got to say, last episode, you said you sold
all your Buddy Heal stock. What a disaster. I mean,

(09:55):
just what dis time, dude.

Speaker 1 (09:57):
You know what, I'm not even mad at myself for
saying that, Bro he is gonna do this next game.

Speaker 2 (10:01):
I'm just saying you lost a lot of money. That's
the sad part.

Speaker 1 (10:04):
Yeah, story, I sold it at the wrong time. Man, completely,
I'm not the smartest stock investor. It's it's gonna swing
back my way. Buddy will have a game where he's
horrendous on defense and goes oh of seven from deep.
It's Carson. Buddy Heald is like the Ryan Fitzpatrick of
the NBA, and it's this endless cycle. It's gonna go.
All right, He's on the bench, alrighty is a great game.

(10:26):
He's gonna shit his pants again. I'm waiting on it.

Speaker 2 (10:28):
Looking man, I'm not gonna sit here and hype up
Buddy Heal. I don't think Buddy Heel does.

Speaker 1 (10:32):
Buddy Heeld is capable of having games like this, obviously
because of how great of an all time shooter he is, Like,
he is phenomenal. But I know I know what buddy.

Speaker 2 (10:41):
Heal is, so do I, brother. But what I said
last show when you were saying he can't see the floor,
is like, I understand all your fustrations with him, but
having a dude who can shoot forty from three, this
Warriors team, no doubt without Jimmy, it's so essential because
there are so few players just to do anything at
a high level offensively other than.

Speaker 1 (11:00):
It's horrible and then the first two games in this
series though.

Speaker 2 (11:03):
But he was a hero in this one. All I'm
saying is just the timing of the stock selling. It's
a disaster. You sold low, you sold low, and then
the stock sword. But obviously he's not somebody you trust
to be a high end contributor night after night. But
that's not what you need, Like you just needed somebody
who could make shots in the absence of Jimmy Butler,
because when Jimmy is out, Like, I don't know if

(11:23):
I've ever seen an NBA offense in my lifetime that
is more dependent on one player than this offense is
on Steph Curry. Like there are stretches where you literally
think nobody else can create anything off the dribble, nobody
else can finish at the rim. Nobody else can knock
down an outside shot, and like there are times where
guys are knocking down shots from the perimeter, but everything

(11:44):
is always on Steph in terms of that burden to create,
So Buddy making five threes was really big. Now he
really does need to never dribble the ball. Jimmy joked
about that after game one, but my god, he's got
too bad turnovers just over dribbling in this one. But
still huge minutes from him. Pods gives you a couple
of big buckets down the stretch using that decell step

(12:06):
to get to the line, and then he hits a
big mid range jumper. This wasn't an outstanding game from him,
although he was very engaged in active defensively, but you
just got enough out of the role guys man, and
Steph was able to rise to that absolutely special level
that is such a separator in this matchup, and it's
obviously a huge separator when Jimmy is on the floor.

(12:28):
Then I just think the Warriors, their two stars are
so so much better and so much more reliable than
anybody on the Houston side that you have to pick them.
But it was really the ability of those other Warriors
to step up in Jimmy's absence and execute in their
more simple roles that allowed the Warriors to get this win.
So impressive, man, really impressive.

Speaker 1 (12:50):
The one area that I actually think Golden State can
improve after this game is in protecting the basketball. I
did think this was one of those kind of traditional
sloppy Warriors games for a lot of it where just
bad turnovers, throwing the ball away, guys not being ready
like early on.

Speaker 2 (13:09):
But I thought they really tighten that up and they
ended with only ten turnovers compared to last game. That's
a big improvement.

Speaker 1 (13:15):
It just that's why I had such a bad feeling
at the start of this game, the steff slow start,
which I guess give credit to the Warriors for getting
themselves out of that hole, but yeah, they could clean
that up for more parts of the game, just like
I don't know, man, it had all the hallmarks of
a classic like Warriors collapse where steps off early, they're

(13:36):
committing a lot of turnovers. I thought they were gonna
fall into it, but they didn't. Man, this was a
really resilient win. I got to learn not to count
out the old guys. Man count out experience, because that
is how I feel the Rockets lost this game. Man.
Like you talk about the reliable, that's the exact key
word to me when you're talking about the difference between
both of these teams. Jalen Green gives you thirty eight

(13:57):
points last game, he gives you sub ten in this one.
And that's why I was comfortable having Steph so high
on my list, like just the I get that maybe
you didn't think he was as reliable this year because
of how he looked with down Jimmy, but he's still
capable of having these performances.

Speaker 2 (14:15):
And he's been the fourth best player in basketball for
more than two months now. He has been better than
everybody on the planet other than Jokic Shaean Giannis.

Speaker 1 (14:24):
And specifically him doing this in this matchup is what's
so impressive is that we specifically thought he was going
to struggle a lot, and it hasn't been easy. I
want to be clear about that. But the fact the
fact that he has been able to overcome how difficult
this Houston Rockets matchup is is all the more impressive.

Speaker 2 (14:39):
But I mean, just look at everybody else in the
production that they're putting fourth offensively not even thinking about
the fact that he is drawing too on so many possessions,
that he's getting harassed, that they're being so physical with him,
that he has been fouled on so many jump shots
that have gone uncalled, Like.

Speaker 1 (14:53):
Yeah, who's the next most series that's been pissing me
off though, dudes landing in his airspace and him not
getting calls like, I don't know why Steph doesn't get those, man, I.

Speaker 2 (15:04):
Agree, But the next most productive offensive player, obviously with
Jimmy out of the picture, for either team, is she
Goon giving you nineteen a game on fifty percent true shooting.
Steph is giving you twenty nine to six and seven
on sixty nine percent true shooting. That's the difference one
team as an offensive god the other team doesn't. And
it's just remarkable how much that really can make up for.

(15:26):
But when you were talking about the Dubs starting slow
in this one and how you felt like maybe things
could have slipped out of control for them and gone
the wrong direction, I think that's where you have to
praise their defensive performance in this game so much, because
everybody other than Steph was putting on a clown show
early in this game. Offensively, you put up eighteen points

(15:46):
in the first quarter. They scored zero minutes in the
four and a half minutes that Steph was off the
flour in the first half, they scored zero points in
those four and a half minutes. I should say so,
like the offense was really really struggling, but you only
let up twenty two points in the first quarter. And
that's where Draymond with his three blocks, with his two steals,

(16:08):
that doesn't even capture his full defensive impact on this game.
He made two huge defensive plays at the rim in
the last couple minutes. But I thought also just phenomenal
off of switches, like nobody was getting anything against Draymond
in this game. And then also the Warriors collectively being
able to hang on the glass so much better was
huge in this one. The fact that the Rockets are

(16:30):
only plus five on the offensive boards compared to the
margin in game one, which was twenty two to six
and the margin in game two, Like, if they can
be competitive there, well, then they should win these games.
Especially with Jimmi's on the floor.

Speaker 1 (16:44):
The Rockets lose their advantage, they lose the X factor
that puts him over the top.

Speaker 2 (16:48):
One hundred percent. That is their biggest advantage, and interrelated
with that as their size and athletic advantages, but specifically
just being able to generate so many more possessions because
they need that because they're not a fishing in the
half court.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
And they did generate some extra opportunities, but they weren't
able to capitalize on them in this game. But shout
out Quinton Post and Dre Man like it takes. I
would not want to bang against the Houston Rockets man,
like that just sounds like not a lot of fun. Man,
I feel like you'd be in the hospital after that.
Adams and sengoon for forty eight minutes Like, I'm cool, bro,
I'm gonna just go. I'm gonna head back to.

Speaker 2 (17:22):
The bench like it's miserable for sure.

Speaker 1 (17:25):
You gotta give credit to their effort as well. Man,
I'm this is one of the most resilient wins in
these playoffs and I'm just super impressed. Man, I didn't
know if this iteration of the Golden State Warriors was
still capable of having a performance like this. And again,
the other thing that I want to emphasize too, that

(17:46):
team that I was talking about in the first half
of the season that was a bad basketball team that
was below five hundred still had Andrew Wiggins, and like,
that's still what's so ridiculous about this game to me
is it's like it's not that you're only down Jimmy,
you're also down technically. Like if you're comparing it to
that team, you don't have Wiggins, you don't have Kyle Anderson,
like you don't have Schroeder. Like again, not that those

(18:09):
guys are the biggest difference makers, but they are.

Speaker 2 (18:11):
Higgins is a big difference make, huge difference maker, and
they were still mediocre before the Jimmy trade. That's why
I would probably put this as the performance of the
playoffs so far from Steph. To me, this is a
more impressive overall offensive impact performance than even what Kawhi did,
which was incredible. It surpasses the Yolkic game we saw today,

(18:34):
the Yannis game that we saw in Game three. All
of Jannis's performances have been incredible. She had a phenomenal
game today. Like, there's some good contenders, but when Steph
Curry is able to score with this volume and efficiency,
the impact he is having on every single offensive possession
along with that is just unrivaled, and to be able
to pick up this supporting cast like that just blows

(18:57):
my mind. Dude, I saw somebody in the chat ask
where do Stephen Draymond rake as an offensive defensive duo
in NBA history? My answer would be, if by that
you mean, like literally, just where does the offensive player
rank among the offensive grates and where's the defensive player
rank among the defensive grates, I would say they're the
number one duo in terms of one guy anchoring their

(19:19):
respective side of the ball at that all time level,
because I think Steph's the top five offensive player ever.
I think Draymond's a top five defensive player ever. There's
never been a pairing of teammates like that, so it's
just incredible that these guys are still doing this. Obviously
there are better duos, but if you're just saying no

(19:40):
offensive anchor anchor.

Speaker 1 (19:42):
What about like I guess he wasn't at his absolute apex,
so it's probably not as clean. But like Jordan and Rodman.

Speaker 2 (19:53):
I mean that's decently.

Speaker 1 (19:54):
I mean you even got Pippin in there. Two that
like helps. It's like this is so even this is
more unique to me because it literally is one player
on both sides of the ball.

Speaker 2 (20:03):
Yeah, it's so clean. It's literally like, Okay, one dude's
gonna make us an elite offense when we need it.
One dude's gonna make us an elite defense when we
need it.

Speaker 1 (20:11):
Trees Troy Mont's unreal, man.

Speaker 2 (20:13):
He is unbelievable for the Rockets. I think that this
game is the reason that it's been so hard for
me to trust them in a playoff setting and end
this year why I had so many questions about them,
Like they truly have nobody who you trust offensively against
a defense that is playing at a high level in
a slow down playoff environment. I love him and Thompson, Obviously,

(20:37):
he still has so much work to do as a
half court offensive player you can entrust with like the
sort of responsibilities that they tried to give him in
this game. Like again, you can put Quinton Post on him,
and Post can just play so far off him, and
he's so big that a man is gonna be challenged
at the rim, or you're gonna get him to settle

(20:58):
for some of those short mid range jumpers and push
shots that just aren't super efficient looks for him. They're
okay looks and everything is coming hard for Houston offensively
in this series, so it's not like they're really worse
than the alternatives, but it's still not efficient offense. And
I thought that he had some rough attempts to finish
around the rim in this one. I did think that

(21:20):
when they put the ball in his hands in the
last few minutes and they spread out around him and
they basically just had Shngoon ready who he was given
some of those dump off passes to lay down passes,
and then sheng Goon was getting to his little touch shots.
Like I thought that Amen was really better as a
passer in those situations where he's getting into the paint

(21:41):
and he's finding his teammates, he was pretty good, and
he was good in Game two as well, But the
paint is just so packed by this Golden State defense.
The rockets around him can't space the floor to punish
them for that, and he can't take the top off
of the defense with his own shot, making so like
it's a mixed bag from him. But overall, the guy
shoots five of sixteen and has four turnovers, Like obviously

(22:04):
that's not pretty. And Jalen Green shocker logan shocker, what
he's not a superstar? What are you kidding me? He
doesn't give you thirty eight every night? I mean, just
really really bad stuff from him. Warriors did a nice
job staying in front of him, and the pull up
jumpers were off and he was struggling to finish inside
as well, so he has a bad performance. Fred van
Vliet has his first good quarter of the series offensively

(22:27):
in the first, but then he had nothing going after that.
He just again can't get by people, can't create advantages.
Really tough for him to be efficient, and Shngon is
the guy who is getting to the best looks in
this matchup, like whether he's using his strength to get
to his touch shots out of the post or whether
he is catching a pocket pass or catching a lay
down pass. Like he's getting to looks that feel very makeable.

(22:51):
But although his touch is solid, like I mentioned this
number after Game one, he's only forty one percent in
the paint outside the restricted area this year. So when
that's like basically his whole shot diet, that's not gonna
lead to very efficient offense. So he ends up seven
of eighteen from the field in this one and he
goes one of six from the line was backbreaking. He

(23:11):
couldn't make free throws, so that in totality, I mean,
those are like the four guys who you're looking to
to create offense, and they all have major, major flaws
in the postseason. Tough to win a playoff series like that,
It's really tough. The one dude who I do want
to give credit to who was phenomenal for Houston in
this game was Jabari Smith, not as a creator offensively,

(23:33):
but as a shooter and defensively. I mean, his athleticism
and rim protection has been so impressive in this one.
He's just such a great role player, really a guy
who impacts winning. But if Jimmy gets back out there,
the Warriors are gonna win this series. I'll confidently say
that Jimmy's not back out there, It's still gonna be
hard because you see what it takes. You see that
it takes like an incredible Steph reformer. There's no margin,

(23:57):
zero margin, zero margin. But with Jimmy, now you do
have margin. Now you feel like you can win the
non Steph minutes because they've been great with Jimmy and
the non Steph minutes as opposed in this one, they
lose these seven minutes that Steph is off the floor
by seven points, which was an improvement from last game
when he checked out, and I think they had lost
his six minutes off the floor by fourteen points. Like

(24:20):
they just crater in those minutes without Jimmy, He's such
a stabilizing force. And the dude who they turn to
in the starting lineup in Jimmy's absence, Jonathan Kaminga. I'm sorry, man,
He's just not the answer, Like ever, just doesn't have it.
Just not a smart basketball player, makes mistakes on both
sides of the ball, mental errors, so many out of
control force drives just can't cut it. Just like there

(24:44):
are dudes who's multifaceted impact. I prefer if it's GP two,
if it's Moses Moody, who wasn't shooting the ball really
well but I thought still could have played more in
this game. Kaminga is not the answer. A deeply sky
from Logan Damden.

Speaker 1 (25:02):
Kaminga just doesn't get it, man, I doesn't. I'm just disappointed.
I playing with Stephen Curry should be the easiest job
of all time, and like that's the area where I
really would like to see Kuminga. There's nothing that could
actually make this feasible or possible. I wish there was

(25:24):
like a magic lamp that I could rub and a
genie would pop out, and my wish would be that
Kaminga could be a smart playmaker. But it's literally I
just wish he could weaponize his ability to get downhill
to manufacture shots for other people. And I I really
think Carson and obviously this is not a new take,

(25:46):
and this is probably four or five years too late.
I think the Warriors should probably just deal with Kuminga
in the offseason and yeah, like it's not like his
value is getting any better. Again, We've said this a
million times with the war in their rebuild process. They
should have dealt the pick that was Kaminga. They should
have dealt the pick that was Wiseman. But now that

(26:07):
you have Jimmy, and Jimmy is under contract, and your
new window is now with Steph and Trey, and you
have other players that complement these guys and work. I
think Pods works, I think Moody works, I think Peyton works.
So it's like I've got wings, you know, it's frustrating,
as Buddy healed, as he can provide a valuable role
for this team. So it's like, when I look at

(26:29):
the current state of the Warriors roster, I just don't
see how he slots in with the fully healthy Warriors.
I don't think he fits. I don't think he helps
this team. So it's like, send him to a young team.

Speaker 2 (26:41):
Well, I mean, Logan, they don't have the choice. His
contract's up, he's gone. They're not gonna pay let him walk. Well, yeah,
they're not any give him a contract. You're not gonna
do some signing trade. Somebody's just gonna pay him out
of pocket.

Speaker 1 (26:53):
You're just gonna lose.

Speaker 2 (26:55):
Yeah, you fucked up. You should have traded him as
a draft pick. Bro deal with it. You still have
Steph Curry, so you're raw because he's a basketball god.
But yeah, you really really fumbled this one, terribly fumbled it,
which I've got into a million times over. But we
don't have to complain and bicker tonight, Logan, because Steph
Curry's unstoppable.

Speaker 1 (27:12):
They can't pay him at all.

Speaker 2 (27:15):
What the fuck are they gonna pay him for. He
shouldn't be in the rotation get DNS. If Jimmy's on
the floor, he should get DNPS.

Speaker 1 (27:23):
I mean the way I think about it is you
spent the fourth overall pick on him, so like if
you could get anything back from him, it's like, that's
better than just letting him walk seven.

Speaker 2 (27:32):
It's over. Yeah, that's what they should have done. Now
he's going to be a free agent. It's over. He's gone, Cyonora,
see you later. Should it would have, could have? Man
should it would have could have a couple of years ago.
But anyways, Steph Curry is unbelievable and.

Speaker 1 (27:49):
The Jews, he's.

Speaker 2 (27:50):
Got so much juice, it's just ridiculous. We're gonna take
a quick break and then on the other side, we
are going to talk about the other epic game of
the night, and we will also talk about the two
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(28:13):
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Speaker 2 (30:13):
Sorry, guys, I saw a couple of people in the
chat saying that I was yelling at Logan and it
was upsetting them. I'm not meaning to yell at Logan.
It's just when I have to think about the fact
that Jonathan Kaminga has been a Warrior for four years
and that his trade value only depreciated and now he's
just gonna walk, just makes me a little upset because
I've been pretty consistent on this one over the years.
Have An, I Logan pretty consistently on the trade Kaminga

(30:35):
train and didn't happen, and turns out he just does
not work for the Golden State Warriors. But Logan, you
know who works, and you had it all going tonight,
me kole La Jokic brings the Denver Nuggets a huge
win to even their series against the Clippers at two

(30:55):
games a piece. This is coming off of a blowout
loss in Game three. What was so different for Denver
this time around? How did they get this win?

Speaker 1 (31:04):
Well, I want to start with the ending sequence, and
if you have not seen the ending of this game yet,
you really have to. I mean, this was honestly one
of the best playoff games I've ever watched in my life. Like,
this was so entertaining. But Norman Powell hits these two
back to back huge corner threes to close the gap

(31:25):
to a point. The Clippers go on a thirty eleven
to run and a ten to nothing run in the fourth.
They also go ten to nothing on points off turnovers
in the fourth quarter. This is a Clippers team you're
talking about deficits. They wiped away a twenty two point
deficit to take the lead in the final minute in
this game. Ultimately, I just some crazy stuff happens, but

(31:50):
Bogdanovich strips Jokic off of a rebound to get a
put back. Jokic goes one of two from the line
to just tie the game up, Harden smokes a layup,
Zubats tips it back in to tie the game up,
and then Aaron Gordon with I mean, dude, it doesn't
get any closer than that. That's what was also ridiculous
about this.

Speaker 2 (32:08):
You skipped over the insane Jokic shot.

Speaker 1 (32:11):
I did forget about that. Yeah, Yokic hits a shot
over that was insane. Bro. He spawned like three times
in a row on the right block to get that
one off.

Speaker 2 (32:19):
Like.

Speaker 1 (32:21):
Crazy, crazy sequence. The difference in this game to me,
one Jokic is just unbelievable. Like, I'm Jokic is the
best player on the planet, still dominates in every facet
that Jokic always dominates. It feels like we can become
numb to this sort of thing from you, Like I
just glossed over that shot. It's like, damn man, Yokic
hit so many in the game. Yokic just gotten up

(32:42):
so many people you can't kind of take it for granted.
But Jokic another dominant performance. The biggest difference in this
game to me from previous ones was just Denver's defense
and intensity. Man, Like, Denver came out with a certain
ferocity that I've been waiting to see from them in
this series, and you got it, and they also overcame.

(33:03):
I thought a really horrid Jamal Murray game. Jamal was
better in the fourth quarter, and I'm glad he got
it going in the fourth, but he's got some ugly
moments in this game. He was really bad for the
first three quarters. But I thought the game plan was
really smart. I thought the Denver defense was really great.
I thought the rebounding was elite, and this game that

(33:26):
they played like they kept doubling off of Chris Dunn,
and that was something that I mentioned in the first
two games in this series that I thought the Clippers
may need to turn away from Done in certain minutes
just because of how limited he was offensively and how
he could ruin some of the advantages that the Clippers created.
And I thought that was a huge component that they
were able to kind of exploit that on defense. But

(33:48):
much better defense and rebounding and effort from Denver, and
when you can get those categories going, categories going, and
you have the best offensive player on the planet, you
can win some games. But really surprising they were able
to do this, which such a lackluster game from Jamal
Murray Man, that's not something that traditionally Denver can can withstand.
But really good Yokic game, really great defensive performance. I

(34:11):
was scared, man, Denver. I'm not gonna lie like I
root for Denver just because I am such a big
Yokic fanboy. I thought they were gonna let the Clippers
get this one. Man. I thought the Clippers were gonna
come back and win this one.

Speaker 2 (34:23):
Two twenty plus point comebacks within a few days, obviously
two separate series, but okay, see come back from twenty
nine and then if the Clippers had fully come back
from twenty two down, that would have been crazy, and
they very nearly did it. But in spite of the
fact that the Nuggets definitely struggled down the stretch, and
I do want to unpack why that happened. Jokic was

(34:47):
out of this world in this game. He was just phenomenal.
And the biggest thing was just his aggression throughout this game,
because that's what I've really been talking about throughout this
series with him, like he has to be so utterly dominant,
his volume has to be crazy in this series, and
he has to either punish them as a scorer for

(35:08):
leaving him in single coverage with anybody, even if it's Zoo,
who guards him better than basically anybody else on the planet.
Or obviously if they're going to send two, then you're
going to create an open shot for a teammate and
you just have to trust them to knock him down.
But he was really really going as a scorer in
this one. I've been waiting for this sort of game
from Yokic where he gives you thirty five plus points,

(35:30):
got a couple of easy ones, and transitionally got a
easy little cleanup on the offensive glass. But then he
was really cooking in single coverage. He had a couple
of phenomenal takes against Zoo, a couple of great buckets
on him. But also what I love the most and
what's been the most frustrating part about Yokic's series before
this game to me, was in games one through three

(35:52):
he really wasn't very aggressive as a scorer against the
small ball units when Zoo was off the floor. That
very much changed in this one. He was going at
Ben Simmons. He was going out any switches he could
get in that lineup. Ben Simmons has played a good
defensive series but still Jolkic has a huge physical advantage
in that matchup, so I loved him attacking those groups.

(36:12):
And then I like how the Nuggets were getting him
out and moving in space. He was coming around a
lot of screens in this game. He was great as
a jump shooter. He got a couple of really nice
cuts to the baskets. So I really loved the balance
from him as a score. I loved the aggression, it
was all clicking. And then he was also great as
a passer, Like just a couple moments of manipulating defenders

(36:34):
masterfully with his eyes and he's freeing up somebody off
a cut. So thirty six, twenty one to eight he
gives you in this one. That's basically what they need
from him every night. Like, realistically, they need him to
be utterly dominant in this series. He had it fully
dialed up the aggression in games one through three. He
does in this one, and it helps them get over

(36:55):
the hump. It's one of the best performances we've seen
from any player in the playoffs so far. All that
being said, they did very nearly blow this game, and
the biggest reason for that was two sided. Honestly, they
couldn't score and they couldn't get stops for about ten
minutes of this game. But their offense was really confounded

(37:17):
by the zone that the Clippers threw at them. They
first implemented that zone with ten and a half minutes
left in the fourth quarter. Denver was up twenty, and
then the Clippers started mixing in heavy doses of the zone.
They held Denver to nine points in the next nine
and a half minutes. I thought there were a number

(37:37):
of missteps that Denver had in how they approached the zone.
First thing, didn't get Yokich the ball in the middle
nearly enough. That is where you have to attack a
zone from right. You have to try to get Yokich
the ball at the nail. And when you can get
him the ball at the nail, he's phenomenal because he's
the best touch shot maker ever and he's such a
phenomenal decision maker processor passer. He can dissect the zone

(37:59):
most effective from that area. And they only really got
him the ball there a couple times. Part of that
is also on him. He was roaming out on the
perimeter more so than he was really trying to occupy
that space. Also, I thought everybody around him was too
stagging an off ball. You have to move against his zone.
You have to attack the open space, you have to
be cutting, you have to be spaced properly, and they

(38:22):
just weren't really, and so they ended up settling for
a number of these, like meh above, the break threes
that are like quote unquote open but not the sort
of looks that you should be getting against the zone.
And I also thought they were just very very slow
getting into their offense. They kind of got in that
mode that Denver gets in sometimes because Joki is such

(38:43):
a fiend for eating up clock obviously does the whole
thing of taking up time out of bounds and then
rolling the ball on the ground before the shot clock
starts and all that stuff. And like they were just
getting into their offense kind of late, which makes you
easier to guard, and it's going to force you to
settle for some tougher shots. And then on top of
some bad process against the zone and just some bad shooting,

(39:06):
Jamaal and Aaron Gordon both had a couple of ugly
turnovers against ball pressure, which the Clippers really dialed up
in that fourth quarter. And then you have Jokic getting
called for the offensive vall on Zoo, so like they
weren't getting good shots, they were missing the decent shots
they were getting, and they were turning the ball over
a lot, and then defensively they could not guard the Clippers,

(39:29):
which is another problem. But that was very nearly a
disaster for Denver because of how much they struggled against
the zone. If I'm ty Lou, I would mix that
look in again in a spot where I feel like
I need it in Game five because it was so effective. However,
although I think they're a good team to execute it,

(39:50):
and it's smart to test the Nuggets outside shooting, and
Zoo is just a really difficult guy to score over
holding down the paint in the middle of that Z zone,
Like it felt so different from if you remember in
the Finals a couple of years ago when the Heat
tried a zone look against the Nuggets and Jokic just
absolutely obliterated it because it's so easy for him to

(40:11):
get his touch shots over Bam. That's not the case
with Zoo because he's such a massive human being. But still,
I think if they attack the zone with more composure,
if they get Yokic the ball in the middle more
if they move more effectively around him, the Nuggets should
be fine against it. Like I just think Jokic is
probably the hardest player to play zone against in NBA history,

(40:33):
because a zone who can a big who can pick
you apart from the nail like that, that's so so
valuable against zone. But at the same time, the guys
around him are inconsistent shooters, so I can see the
value in that and end. Obviously, with how much Denver struggled,
it makes sense to at least try it again at
some point.

Speaker 1 (40:48):
Well, I would just switch up the defensive coverages like
they did, just because I don't think it allows Denver
to get really super comfortable. As uncomfortable as you can
make Denver in general.

Speaker 2 (41:00):
They were uncomfortable for that ten minute stretch, that's for sure.

Speaker 1 (41:03):
Yeah, and I think it worked. I mean Aaron Gordon
talked about it in the post game afterwards, like some
of it was sloppy Denver play, but it was really
the different looks that the Clippers threw at them. The
one thing I'm worried about the Clippers moving forward in
this series is really those non Zubots minutes. Like if
the Nuggets can paint them in a corner and they
can get a big stretch of minutes where they're running

(41:26):
small against Yokich. I think Jokic is going to destroy
them every single time he gives you sixteen third quarter points,
and that's when Denver really builds up that lead. So
to me the rest of the series, that's a big
key that I'm looking at. I know that you had
talked about it in the first two games. That was
an area that Jokic needed to be better in. And

(41:46):
it's a double edged sword, right, It's like it's non
Zubots minutes when Yokich is on the floor, And ironically
for the Nuggets is can they survive minutes period when
Yokich isn't on the floor. But yeah, I think that's
an area that Denver can ex Floyd and reliably win
in those minutes because the Clippers don't have a good
bench option for Yokic. He's gonna go through Batoom, He's

(42:08):
gonna go through Ben Simmons like he should cook all
of those lineups and all of those minutes without Zoo
on the floor when he is on the floor.

Speaker 2 (42:18):
Totally agreed, huge opportunity. This was the first game that
they really tapped into that, and I thought that that
was big. I do want to give credit to the
guys around Jokic stepping up and making plays. Though Aaron
Gordon makes maybe the play of his career to win
the game. I mean, just absolutely huge from him, and
he had a pretty good game overall. He was active

(42:38):
on the offensive glass. I thought that he was efficient
as a scorer. He draws some fouls attacking mismatches, so
he was pretty good. The huge performance to me in
this one is Michael Porter juniors. Just seeing that he's
capable of shooting at that level was really really big
because obviously Sprain's ac joint. They keep saying on the broadcast,

(43:02):
normally you miss four to six weeks he's playing, he's
in serious pain. He can't make a shot in game three,
and then postgame he says, I'm playing at like twenty
to thirty percent. So I was like, if MPJ is cooked,
I don't see how Denver wins this series because they
just don't have the depth. And then obviously Russ also
misses this game, but seeing him shoot this well from

(43:25):
deep give you an efficient seventeen, that was a big deal.
And I also thought that Christian Brown played pretty well
in this one. There were a couple moments against the
zone where I didn't think that he specifically was spaced properly.
There was one time where Jokic tried to find him
in the corner and instead he was on the wing.
There was the turnover where it looks like Jamal is

(43:46):
throwing it away, but he's thinking that Christian Brown is
going to stay on that wing where he had space,
and instead he kind of forces a cut. So couple
of mental errors there, but very active on the offensive,
glass cutting pretty well overall, moving the ball pretty well,
pretty darn good defensively, I would say this was his
best performance on that side of the ball. Didn't shoot

(44:08):
well from deep, but overall, like, I thought that four
of the five starters for Denver played really well in
this game, and they needed everything that they could get
from their starters, especially with russ out, because all of
these dudes played forty two plus minutes, so like, you
need everything you can get out of them, and if

(44:28):
you're gonna survive an off Jamal game, then you need
it even more so, and they just got enough. Everybody
else's contributions were able to overcome Jamal really struggling, and
I'm seeing a lot of people ragging on Jamal in
the chat. This was a bad game from him, but
he had been pretty good in games one through three.
Not remarkable, but.

Speaker 1 (44:48):
He's got to be pretty good. He's definitely got to
step up the rest of the way clip Nuggets sure
and be able to get this done without.

Speaker 2 (44:53):
Him, No, for sure. I mean he has to be
way better in this one. This was a bad performance
from him. I thought the biggest key for the Nuggets
defensively was exactly what you mentioned briefly, Logan and something
that you touched on as being a concern after Game one.
Something we touched on as being a concern for the
Clippers a few times previewing this series. We talked about
it when we were ranking them as a contender, and

(45:16):
that is the Chris Dunn dilemma where this dude is
one of the best perimeter defenders, one of the best
guard defenders on the planet, but you are going to
test him as a shooter, and Denver was most aggressive
doing so in this game. We've seen them row him
off of him in stretches throughout this series, but this game,
from the opening possession they were ignoring him, and he

(45:39):
shot one of nine from the field. So when you
have an extra help defender parked in the paint, or
when you can send a double with impunity on any
offensive possession like that is absolutely destructive to a team's offense.
And I thought that was the thing bogging down the
Clippers offense because the second they got him off the floor,

(46:02):
the Nuggets couldn't stop them. Dude. They were minus twelve
in duns minutes in this game. They were plus twenty
two with Bogey on the floor.

Speaker 1 (46:10):
That's what I've wondered, man, with the the skill that
these Clippers players have. Man, if you were trotting out
norm In Bogey and they're hidden, it's like, I just like,
I get that your defense is taking a bit of
a slight hit, right, but you should still be offended.

Speaker 2 (46:26):
Bogy was defended today.

Speaker 1 (46:28):
Bro Bogey's a gamer. I love Bognun man. He's one
of my favorite role players in the league. Dude. I
just like the energy and the fire that that he's
a Yeah, Bogey's kind of crazy. Bogey's a little.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
Bit he is, for sure.

Speaker 1 (46:41):
I really like this the cycle, Bro.

Speaker 2 (46:43):
He hit the three to the dome and stared down
Mellow in the Olympics. He's a crazy person for sure.

Speaker 1 (46:47):
Yes, that's kind of why I like Boguey.

Speaker 2 (46:50):
But he fought his ass off. What I would say
is you feel it out on a game by game basis, Like,
is Chris Done making shots phenomenal? We're gonna play him
thirty plus minutes because he's our best perimeter defender. Is
Chris Done not making shots? Okay, We're gonna have to
sacrifice a little something there to get Batuman, who is
still a real plus defensively, not as great specifically when

(47:13):
it comes to defending guards as like Chris Done is,
but Nick Batum is just such a great shooter. Or like,
if Bogie is as capable defensively as he was in
this one, then yeah, you can close with him. So
I don't think it's like a condemn Chris dunne go
away from him. They just should have gone away from
him in this game because he was being that bad offensively,
and honestly, if they made that switch sooner, I think

(47:36):
they would have won this game because, like I said,
the Nuggets were able to involve an extra helper on
every offensive play, so you are clogging up every Kawhi
in hard and drive and you're mucking up any potential
passes to Zoo. And just like you're making everything hard
on them down the stretch, they're not capable of guarding

(47:57):
hard and Zoo pick and roll two on two, they
have to involve an extra defender, and then you are
bleeding wide open catchingtoo threes. Now to Norman Powell, it's
not Chris dun you're helping off of. It's one of
the best shooters in basketball. Or Harden is just getting
by these dudes in isolation at will down the stretch
of this game, and he's finding Norman Powell over and

(48:17):
over again, or he'd find Zoo, who would find Powell?
Like the Nuggets only stop in the last seven minutes
of this game, Logan, their only stop was Kawhi Leonard
missing an open three. Win a basketball game. When you
get one stop in seven minutes and it's not even
a good defensive possession, that's absolutely remarkable. But I do
think that that's a concern for Denver going forward. It's

(48:39):
a big concern because if you're Tylu, I just think
you'll be more flexible and you'll say, okay, well try
Derek Jones Junior, the guard him the same way. Maybe
he'll shoot a little better. If not, then we'll go
but zoom and we'll go bogie. We'll find the guy
who isn't going to impede our offense, and that guy
is available because the Clippers just have really good depth.
They have a lot of different dudes you can plug
and play on any given night, and I'd be worried

(49:02):
about that if I'm the Nuggets. How much they struggled
down the stretch defensively once the Clippers got like a
major major minus offensively in this game.

Speaker 1 (49:11):
Off the floor, well, I mean that's been bug big
concerned about Denver in this series all along. They can
defend Kawhi, how they can defend Harden? Yeah, the shooting
like Clippers are a damn goa basketball team. Man. There,
I feel like they let them off the hook in
this one though. Man. Denver needed this one though, and
that's they didn't. Final area that I want to hit
on is that this was a backs against the wall,

(49:34):
especially when you lose the way that the Nuggets did
when Jokic had his off night and they were so close,
like you desperately needed to win this game. You couldn't
drop it, and it's it's it's the biggest win I
think in the playoffs so far for any team, like
they desperately needed this victory.

Speaker 2 (49:53):
I think that the two most significant wins were the
two games that we saw in this afternoon evening slate.
I mean, I that was huge for the Warriors and
it was absolutely huge for the Nuggets. I still think
it's just harder for the Nuggets to win games in
this series. I think that they need Jokic to be
a god, and they need their supporting cast to be

(50:14):
as good as they were tonight, and obviously you need
Jamal to be better going forward if they want to win,
and I just think it's a little bit harder for
them to slow down the Clippers offense. Still, what I
will say from this game, Logan is we got this
series back in got first round series talks, cause three
of four games now have just been absolute cinema. Game

(50:34):
three was rough, It was not a good basketball game,
not a good watch, and so the talks had to
die down. We're back, baby. This has been my favorite
series to watch overall, and I hope we get seven
games of it, and I think we probably will if
I had to make a bet. I do think the
Clippers are the better team, but it is pretty darn close.

(50:55):
You know, it was not close. Slogan the series between
the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Memphis Grizzlies, sweep them.
Get out your brooms. It's done in four. It was
done before Rockets and Warriors had even played their Game three.
What did you take away, Logan from OKC dispatching of

(51:15):
Memphis so quickly in this series, and what did you
make of their overall performance?

Speaker 1 (51:21):
I mean, I think the biggest thing from this game
was that we finally got a really good SGA game,
Like he kicked it into high gear games one through
three in this series. He was giving you twenty four,
five and six on thirty five percent from the field,
twenty five percent from deep, a true shooting percentage of
forty seven and a half percent. It was a really,

(51:41):
really disappointing start to this series for SGA, and we
finally saw him get going, gets to the line thirteen times,
knocks down eleven of them, shoots thirteen to twenty four
from the field. It was just the game that we've
been waiting on from SGA in these playoffs and I
think it's encouraging that you get it before a much
more important series, And really surprising was that Oklahoma City

(52:05):
was able to withstand such a poor shooting Knight from
their supporting cast. They only make seven threes in this game.
I thought they shot really poorly. Chet goes for Lugo's
oph Cason Wiggins both go over like really really encouraging
that you can still win a game when you shoot
that poorly. But it's kind of the two hallmarks of
the Oklahoma City season that we're on display in this game.

(52:27):
Just the collective defense to me, and not really as
a team because like Scottie Pippen gets it going, but
specifically how Oklahoma City was able to disrupt Memphisis stars
in this series, all of them. Jah had a really
bad series, Jared Jackson Junior had a abhorrent series. I
am KNIGHTE so disappointed in what we got out of

(52:47):
Triple J and Desmond Dane, like all three of Memphis's
big three drastically underperformed. And obviously I think we have
to mention we're talking about this game that John Morant
was obviously out of course, but Oklahoma City comes away
with it anyway, Memphis could have won this game, but
Oklahoma City out executed. But it's crazy to me, man,

(53:10):
I'm we'll get to Memphis in a minute. We'll wrap
up on OKAC, But I'm so disappointed in Memphis is stars, man,
and I think they have a lot of questions heading
into this offseason about the future their franchise, what they
do with roster construction, and just them in general. Man,
They've got a lot of questions to answer. But really,
good win for OKAC. And I thought their defense was

(53:32):
on display in the series and finally SGA gets it going.
I think this is a sign of things to come
for OKAC.

Speaker 2 (53:41):
They have very clearly been the most impressive team in
the playoff field so far. You think about the fifty
point win in Game one, a dominant performance in Game two,
Game three, the twenty nine point comeback even without Jaw
on the floor, I thought that was just a remarkable
second half. This game not so much. But what is
so consistent throughout this entire series is just the absolutely

(54:04):
dominant level that they are at. Defensively, they forced the
most turnovers per game in this series that we have
seen in any playoff series since two thousand and four
nineteen point three turnovers per game. They are leading the
Playoffs and steals per game at ten point eight. They
are leading the Playoffs in blocks per game at six
point eight. So to have that combination of perimeter speed,

(54:26):
of the ability to cause havoc and turn opponents over,
but then also to be so great protecting the rim
all year, that is what has made Okay See one
of the best defenses in NBA history, and it was
fully on display in this series. The number of excellent
defenders who see the floor for this team is just
absolutely absurd. It is on another level from any other team.

(54:47):
And what they did to Triple J was just vicious. Man,
it is absolutely vicious. He gives you in this series
sixteen points per game on forty eight percent true shooting.
He has twice as many turnovers as assists. I think
he only averaged an assist in a half a game,
but he struggled in literally every single matchup. Hartenstein was
really good on him with his size and strength. But

(55:10):
the one that I think is really gonna give Triple
J nightmares and did give him nightmares his aux Caruso
man and his ability to front him and fight for
position in the post and just make it so difficult
on him to even get the ball with decent position.
And then if he did get the ball, he was
going to pester him so effectively he was gonna swipe
at the ball and disrupt his handle. And then if
Triple J could spin off and feel like, oh, I'm

(55:31):
getting to a pretty decent look, guess who was there
rolling off and waiting to meet him, Chet Holmgren, Like,
it's just so so difficult to score on this OKC team,
But especially for a guy like Triple J, who makes
his living attacking mismatches, there was nobody who he could
attack in this matchup. And then you're literally going up

(55:53):
against the best pure rim protector in the sport. Every
time that you feel like you are going to get
a decent look, it's just insane.

Speaker 1 (56:02):
I mean, dude. The reason I'm so nervous about Memphis
long term and we're looking at them over the next
you know, five to ten years against Oklahoma City is
mainly the fact that Oka see isn't going anywhere and
these players aren't going anywhere, and so when you're trying
to take that leap from a middle of the pack
team to a championship contender. The first thing that you

(56:22):
have to do is evaluate how you match up against
the best of the best in your conference. Right for
teams in the East that are trying to make that leap,
the standard is Boston. For teams in the West trying
to make that leap, the standard is Oklahoma City. And
I don't know, man, Like John Morant is always going
to struggle. I feel like in this matchup against this
elite perimeter defense, Jared Jackson Junior is not going to

(56:46):
have anything easy. He is going to struggle consistently. I
fear in this matchup. And so it's like, now you're
at this point where you ask yourself, just like what
is all this for?

Speaker 2 (56:57):
You know?

Speaker 1 (56:58):
So we run into the buzzsaw that is okay see
every year and just get packed up and sent home.
What is it gonna take to get you to that
next level? What is a contending roster against Oklahoma City?
Look like, I don't know, man. I think Memphis is
one of these teams that is now really really stuck

(57:18):
in no man's land. And unfortunately they don't even have
a head coach leading the charge. Like I hate judging
a guy off such a small sample size and I'll
give him rain next year. Like their coach looked underprepared
in this matchup, and even more of an issue.

Speaker 2 (57:36):
I think that they're gonna give Izallo. Yeah I think
so too, the job because they paid a ton to
bring him in as an assistant. Obviously, they pulled the
plug on Jenkins thinking this is our guy.

Speaker 1 (57:48):
Now.

Speaker 2 (57:49):
Did he deliver the results that you wanted down the stretch?
Absolutely not. But at the same time, I'm.

Speaker 1 (57:54):
Not gonna judge a guy off just half of a
season of basketball.

Speaker 2 (57:58):
And getting swept by the thunder just to be a sweep.
And you know, if Josh Stay's healthy, they probably get
Game three. So but Big there's going to be the
guy for them.

Speaker 1 (58:06):
A bigger issue for Memphis and that is their current
roster construction. And I don't really know what you do
to get better. Just they're in a tough spot. Man.
They've got a lot of really talented basketball players, They've
got a lot of really good depth, but they've got
to make some moves to get more competitive. And I
think it starts by trying to improve the half court
offense as best you can.

Speaker 2 (58:27):
Man, what does that look like?

Speaker 1 (58:31):
I don't know. I wouldn't be afraid to move John Morander,
Jarring Jackson Jr. I'll say it, man, I wouldn't be afraid.
I would be aggressive. I would shop those guys, and
if it means eventually moving to a different timeline, I
don't think that's the worst option.

Speaker 2 (58:47):
I really don't think the Grizzlies are going to do that.
I also think Jaw is going to be very, very
difficult to trade if you were to attempt that, just
with all the injuries and off concerns that people may have,
but above all else, honestly, probably just the availability stuff.
I think that they're going to continue to try to
build around these couple guys. But I'm not optimistic about

(59:12):
the Grizzlies, and I've never been optimistic about the Grizzlies. Honestly.
I did think that this team was going to be
their best yet, and still obviously it ended up being
a rough finish, but I had never believed in any
of their previous teams. I've never picked them to win
a playoff series. So there's always been this hype around
the Grizzlies that like they're this is sending team, and

(59:32):
I just think Jaw, frankly has been really overrated for
years because he's got such an insane highlight reel, like,
he's got such an electrifying play style, and they were
winning a lot of games in regular seasons if you
look back at the twenty twenty two season, for example,
but they were always doing it in a way that

(59:53):
was very regular seasony, Like their half court offenses were
always bad. They were always relying on a lot of
the energy stuff and being as deep as they were
and hanging their hat on defense. But then when you
get to a playoff series, have you ever trusted at
Memphis Grizzlies offense? No? And that's the same story. So
for them to improve, the guy who I'm looking at

(01:00:15):
the most is TRIPLEJ. Because he is the guy who
has taken considerable leaps in the last couple of years,
improving so much as a ball handler, improving so much
in terms of his touch, just getting so much better
as a score. He still has to get way better
as a passer. That was my biggest concern for him

(01:00:35):
coming into the playoffs, and I did think that got
exposed whenever they did send doubles at him. I mean,
he's just like gonna basically force the handle try to
shoot over top. He's a bad passer and that has
to get a lot better, and his handle probably does
still have to get a little better too, because otherwise
I think okay see is a unique defense in the

(01:00:56):
fact that like they can put a crazy feisty guy
like Caruso on and Jadub who are giving up size,
but they're going to still make it really difficult on
you to get position. And then they can have a
big roaming who is Chet Holmgren. So it's not like
a ton of teams can execute that formula of putting
a smaller guy on him, but there are some teams
who can execute that formula. Those are the couple areas

(01:01:19):
that I think that he has to improve, really really,
especially as a passer with John Man. I just don't
really see how he gets better unless it's him taking
a leap as a jump shooter, and we're six seasons
deep now and that hasn't happened at all, Like it
hasn't even gotten a little bit better. He's a really,
really bad jump shooter this year. His touch shot making
was inefficient this year. So until he can consistently punish

(01:01:41):
drop coverage with that, I think that he's going to
struggle against an elite playoff defense like this. And obviously
the other huge problem with Jaw is just the complete
lack of versatility, his inability to play off ball, and
he's not an efficient enough on ball offensive engine to
justify the sort of usage in the play style that

(01:02:02):
he is going to demand. So I'm really really low
on Jaw right now. Triple J I do think is
their best player, but I'm lower on him than I
was in the regular season just because, like, this was
the worst case scenario I envisioned for him. This was
the worst case scenario. All of my concerns came to light,
and not enough of the good stuff came through. And

(01:02:23):
then with Desmond Bane, like good basketball player, but you
felt his limitations in this one, especially as a ball handler.
I think like he's just not somebody who is going
to be able to create off the dribble against a
defense as athletic and quick as Oka sees. I mean, legitimately,
Scotty Pippten is doing way more off the balance in
terms of dribble penetration and finding teammates than Desmond Bane is.

(01:02:46):
So it's going to be really hard for members to
really improve without those three getting better, because I think
so much is already tied up in them, and I
think they believe deeply in that trio, too deeply, in
my opinion, Like this is part of the reason I
thought them firing Taylor Jenkins was crazy. I just think
their expectations are too high, and I think their expectations
have been too high for years. I think the league's

(01:03:07):
expectations for the Grizzlies have been too high. So I'm
not optimistic, Like in terms of where I'd like to
see them improve, I'd love if they could bring in
a big forward who could really shoot. But Triple J
is always going to put you in sort of this
weird position where it's like you want to have a big,
physical center you can play alongside him. So, okay, Edie

(01:03:29):
is that guy you brought him in. I thought Edie
had a good rookie season. I thought Edie protected the
hell out of the rim. Today. He had seven blocks.
Like people try to clown on him. He's totally solid.
He's the archetype you wanted alongside Triple J. You got
a good bench point guard in Scottie Pippen. J You're like,
I think it's just kind of who they are. Man,
They're just like a first round exit kind of team,

(01:03:50):
and without making major changes, I don't really see them
unlocking a much higher ceiling. But I don't think there's
any chance they make major changes, Like I think.

Speaker 1 (01:03:59):
That's scared to make mo oohs just because you're just
tread and water. You're just you're I know, players are
stuck in the mud.

Speaker 2 (01:04:05):
If they traded Jaw or Triple J, would you not
be shocked if they did that this offseason? I would
be shocked. Even as bad as this season went, they
lost nineteen of their last thirty two games, I'd still
be shocked.

Speaker 1 (01:04:17):
Yes, I would be shocked if they got traded. But
I think it's the right and smart thing to do
long term for Memphis.

Speaker 2 (01:04:23):
I see what you're saying. I'm a little more optimistic
about Triple J, even though this was a bummer of
a series for him, And I just think Jaw is
gonna be hard as shit to trade. I really really do.
I don't think you're getting a ton of value back
for him.

Speaker 1 (01:04:38):
What's the biggest drawback? Is it the off court stuff
or is it the play style?

Speaker 2 (01:04:43):
I think it's probably availability as much as anything. I mean,
he's just gonna miss thirty plus games a year. He
played nine games last season, obviously really unfortunate what happened
to him this year, but he wasn't able to finish
the playoff run healthy. I think that it's a co
domination of all those factors, the rigidity in terms of
play style, and you compare that with some of the

(01:05:08):
off court stuff and him missing time, and I just
don't think he's a very attractive trade candidate. I don't
think he's a good building block for a franchise. I
don't really think he is a building block for a franchise.
Like I don't think he's a Number one. I just don't.
So I think this is who the Grizzlies are. Man.
They're a first round exit kind of team, and I
think people have been too high on them. And you
go up against a real big dog like okay see,

(01:05:30):
and you're gonna find out where you stand pretty fast.
And they definitely got their asses kicked in this one.
So I could see them trying to shake some things up,
but I don't think major changes are coming. I really
think they were counting on the coaching switch being that
I think they thought that was going to be their
miracle move. And obviously, you give Izolo a full offseason

(01:05:51):
and we'll see what happens. But I don't think that
this is a scheme thing. Again. I thought that Taylor
Jenkins instituted the right scheme. He improved their half court offense,
and John didn't like it, and bas said, I don't
like you, and so Job made them change things up,
and it didn't make them a better basketball team, just
a weird, weird team. I do want to glaze the
Thunder a little bit more before we move on, because

(01:06:14):
I was talking about their defense. The one thing I
would say is you just cannot underestimate how much better
their defense is than everybody else's and how much of
a weapon that truly is. Because I've talked about this
before with Okay see, but people will nitpick certain things
that they don't love about the offense, and it's like, okay, well,

(01:06:35):
they are top three offensive basketball, and their ability to
disrupt opposing offenses, make them uncomfortable, take them out of
rhythm is at a completely different level than anybody else,
and that is such a special weapon to have in
the playoffs. The other big thing that you saw in
this series is just the level that Chet and Jadu
are at. I mean, night after night. In the first

(01:06:56):
three games especially, they were special. They were clearly the
thunders two best players. And then Shay took over in
this one and Chet wasn't as good offensively. But in
this series, Check gives you nineteen and eight on sixty
two percent true shooting. He's shooting over forty two percent
from deep on six and a half attempts a game
that is massive, that level of comfort, inefficiency and volume

(01:07:18):
from beyond the arc. And he's given you three blocks
a game. And players shot forty two percent against him
at the rim in this series, logan twenty two percent
below their average. This is after he held opposing players
nineteen percent below their average at the rim in the
regular season. It's just one of the great freak modern
rim protectors we've ever seen. He's unbelievable, unbelievably great defensively

(01:07:43):
and playing some of his best basketball offensively. And then
Jada of just his ability to float the Thunder offense
in the non SGA minutes when SGA was off in
this series to give you twenty three to five and
five on fifty nine percent true shooting, his comfort to
his mid range playmaking, attacking and transition, all the while
he was also incredible defensively. They were just like, by far,

(01:08:08):
the two most consistently great players on the floor in
this series for either team, And when you consider last
year's playoff run and the fact that they were not that,
it's such a huge positive indicator. And if they play
like this, I really have a hard time seeing anybody
beat Okay, see if you get this version of Chet
and Jadab, I just think they're too great. Man. That's

(01:08:29):
too much offensive production to deny from a team that
is going to be this insane defensively. And Sja was
masterful in this game. It's really big to see him
just have one of those signature games where he's getting
whatever he wants, which he was. The big thing that
I loved from him was just how incisive he was

(01:08:50):
as a driver, and he was great as a finisher,
but just like that insistence on getting downhill I really
liked because he's gonna see Pact paints in the playoffs.
He's got to try to find a way to still
navigate his way to the rim and get downhill where
he's most effective and he did that. He was also
phenomenal for mid range and those shots are always going
to be there for him. And I really liked he

(01:09:11):
didn't get caught up with hunting the three, which in
games one and two I thought he did. In game three,
he was taken eight three point attempts per game. That's
too many for me with Shay, especially when he's off
as a three point shooter like he was, and he's
just so great inside the arc and that's so dependable.
So he had all that going in this one, and
I really liked his playmaking. So those are just the

(01:09:33):
boxes that I like seeing sga check. I want to
see him dominating inside the arc, getting in the pain
as much as possible, being selfless as a playmaker. And
then obviously when you get your good looks, you got
to make them, which he wasn't really doing in games
one through three, and he was in this one. So
it's a dominant series from Okay. See, the only reason
this game was so close is just they shot so
terribly from beyond the arc. Other than that, I think

(01:09:56):
they could have run away with this one. And I
think it's a very rare, encouraging starts to a potential
title run for the Thunder. Shall we talk logan about
another team that is trying to make a title run
of their own. The Cleveland Cavaliers didn't have Darius Garland
in this game and they won by thirty seven points
nonetheless against the Miami Heat. What did you take away

(01:10:18):
from this one?

Speaker 1 (01:10:19):
I mean, crazier than that, dude. They get a thirteen
point performance out of Donovan Mitchell and they still win
this one with thirty seven points. I mean, that's what's
really ridiculous to me, is that you're missing an all
NBA caliber guard, your other all NBA guard as an
off night, and you just cruise. I mean, this is
as cruise control of a victory as it gets, so

(01:10:42):
impressive from the supporting cast. And that's the one big
takeaway that I would have about Cleveland and something that
I don't know. I'm not surprised that Cleveland did this
and is capable of doing this, because I think Cleveland
Cavaliers are just a great basketball team. And I mean
that's something that we've been harping on all along with
the Calves. It's not one guy, it's not two guys,

(01:11:06):
it's mainly four, but it's also everybody in their rotation.
Everybody on Cleveland can give you great minutes and can
fill their roles most importantly though, and not specific to
this game, but on the whole. The reason that they're
all that they're able to do that is because that
you have such a high floor provided to you by

(01:11:26):
Garland and by Mitchell and by Mobiley in by Allen.
But in this game you don't get that. And that's
where their depth and the talent top to bottom of
this roster truly shines through DeAndre hunter In, Max Shruce
giving you great games from behind the arc, flamethrowing. Those
guys are going to be imperative to a deep Cleveland

(01:11:48):
Cavaliers playoff run Ty Jerome being able to fill in
like that's such a luxury having a guy like that
that can come in and float your offense and given
spurts and again keep you from really suffering when you
have a guy like Darius Garland out Jared Allen and
Evan Mobley, Mobley giving you the offensive production that he does.
Jared Allen still so underrated, it seems, because he gets

(01:12:10):
lost in the mix here, has really good touch and
can fill it up when you need him too. So
it's just like Cleveland's a great basketball team.

Speaker 2 (01:12:17):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:12:18):
That's my big takeaway from this series. And if you
didn't know that coming into the playoffs, I just don't
think you've been tapped in. So if you're now watching
Kaz basketball, yeah, this is a great basketball team. They're
capable of doing this. Obviously, Miami's overmatched. They were always
gonna get dogged in this series, like this wasn't gonna
be close. But down an All NBA guard, you get

(01:12:40):
thirteen points from your best player and he just cruise
to a victory. Cleveland's awesome. Man. This is such a
good morale booster and a good win for them, And
I'm excited. Man. I'm I really hope that we get
Cleveland and Boston in the ECF, and I think it's
gonna be a battle Boston in his yet to really

(01:13:02):
to be clear, I will preface this, I am picking
Boston right now. My pick would be to take Boston
out of the East. Boston has yet to really instill
a lot of fear in me. If I'm Cleveland, Boston
is playing below their standard and I think Cleveland is
really showing you what they're capable of top to bottom.
So I think we're in for real battle in the

(01:13:23):
easf Man, I can't wait.

Speaker 2 (01:13:25):
I can't wait, dude. I mean all year, I've just
been waiting to see those two Titans clash. I think
it's gonna be awesome. This game, to me, is just
a testament to the extraordinary aggregate talent of the Cleveland Cavaliers,
and obviously this Heat team that they beat up on
not super talented. But what I would say, man, is,
don't under sell how difficult it is to sweep a

(01:13:48):
team like what the thunder just did to the Grizzlies,
like regardless of circumstances, that's not easy to do. In
the playoffs. Don't undersell how impressive it is to beat
anybody in the playoff field by thirty seven points when
you are down an All NBA caliber guard. And as
you said, Donovan Mitchell is off just so many good
basketball players. And I'm working on a YouTube video right

(01:14:10):
now which basically dives into the theme of the playoffs
so far. But if you just look at the Big
Three teams, man, it's pretty simple. They've got more good
basketball players than everybody else. It's true for Okac certainly,
it's true for Boston and it's true for Cleveland, and
that shined in this one. Mobley and Allen were both phenomenal.

(01:14:31):
I just think the aggression you've gotten out of Mobley
in the last two games is exactly what you want
to see. I love Max struceman in so many different roles,
offensively screening for another guard and then popping out him
and Isaiah Joe both they were doing their thing as
guard screening for other guards today and I was just
thinking they're probably the two best in the game at

(01:14:52):
that very specific thing. But coming off handoffs, I love
Struce even like running the occasional pick and roll. He
is an elite shooter who was insane from beyond the
arc in this one, and he's a really good passer,
really good passer, underrated there. And then DeAndre Hyder DeAndre
Hunter lights it up, shoots the hell out of the ball.

(01:15:12):
Ty Jerome just picks the defense apart. Thirteen points, eleven assists.
We all know he's the goat, just absolute offensive studs.
So that level of depth is just crazy, man Like,
their offensive firepower is absurd, and it's not just the
talent they have offensively, their ability to play such efficient
smart team basketball. They had twenty points off of cuts

(01:15:36):
in this game. Like just their player movement. They're spacing,
they're shooting.

Speaker 1 (01:15:42):
Everybody just like compliments each other. Man, Like in the
It's beautiful. The lineups are versatile two man, everybody kind
of brings like guys have similar skill sets, but they
kind of bring their own unique like trace to the table. Right,
Like you might prefer s Drewsover Hunter in in a
certain matchup like this series, but Hunter might be more
important than a different one. Or you know, maybe you

(01:16:04):
need you're down in a big way and you need
a spark off the bench and you need some sam
Merril minutes to maybe shoot you back into a game.
Or like we saw tonight Ti Jerome Darius Garland's out
and you just say, hey, Ti Jerome, you're a monster.
Why don't you give us thirty tonight? Like it's and
it's great again in the lineup versatility, man, whoever you
need to go with? Right, Yeah, they've got so many

(01:16:24):
good They've got so many good bodies, man's it's really ridiculous.

Speaker 2 (01:16:29):
I Mean that's the thing that's a huge advantage of
having more good basketball players is in different matchups, You're
gonna want different options. There's gonna be different strengths and
weaknesses of your opponents, different things that you're trying to
attack with them and they're trying to attack with you.
And you just have more different cards that you can play.
And if you're down a guy like the Calves are

(01:16:50):
in this one, well, then obviously you just have more
dudes who can step up. I also thought this was
a really good collective defensive performance from the Caves, which
was good to see because I've been talking about wanting
to see them really tighten things up on that end
in this home stretch of the season. But like you said, Matt,
I mean, Boston's got to tighten things up before they
get to Cleveland, and I think they will. But in

(01:17:12):
a vacuum, I trust Cleveland's offense more than I trust
Boston's offense. I think that Cleveland has such a consistent
offensive process. They have so much skill, they have so
many creators, they have so many dudes who are capable
of knocking down shots and moving the ball. And Boston
I do feel like they struggle more against OKC, for example,

(01:17:37):
than Cleveland would against any defense in basketball. Because I
think Boston's offense, as great as it is, is more
specifically dependent on mismatch attacking. They do have some more
exploitable playmakers who are heavily featured in their offense. Now
I would pick Boston to beat Cleveland, but the reason
for that is I think Boston is the clearly better

(01:17:59):
d defensive team and they have to be sharp taking
advantage of Cleveland's defensive vulnerabilities to win that series. Like
They're not just gonna waltz into it. Because as good
as Boston's defense is and they can make life harder
on Cleveland than vice versa, Cleveland's still gonna put up points.
They're still gonna be a really good offense. So Boston's

(01:18:20):
got to be able to play clean, efficient offensive basketball
and make the most of the advantages that they have.
So I am super excited for that matchup. I think
Cleveland's gonna take care of Miami and four I would expect.
And I really don't have anything to say about the
Heat other than Davion Mitchell is really good and shout

(01:18:40):
out to him. He's a guy I'd want to keep around.
He's a guy I want on my basketball team.

Speaker 1 (01:18:44):
Hey, I mean you know you lose Jimmy, but.

Speaker 2 (01:18:51):
My friendship along the way.

Speaker 1 (01:18:53):
I mean, Toddler Hero had a really good year. He
really improved this season. I mean, I think that's really encouraging.

Speaker 2 (01:18:58):
I think I'm just talking about this game. I think
the heater in a decent spot.

Speaker 1 (01:19:02):
Like I think it sucks for them because like Memphis,
I really think Miami is just kind of trapped in
this playing range. But and they're gonna need another star
to come in here really take them up a notch
and be super competitive. But I like the foundation, and
I've consistently said that, I like the foundation of what
Miami has. It's not not every twenty nine teams are

(01:19:24):
gonna go home disappointed at the end of every season,
and so you know you want to be the team
hoisting a trophy. But Miami, I really like a lot
of the players that they got, and I just I
think it's a it's a positive year for them. Bam
had a much better second half of the season. I
obviously want to see him take a leap offensively because
he can still be he can still be frustrating. But

(01:19:47):
you got khalil Ware in the draft. I think he's
a stud. I think he's gonna be, and I think
they got decent value back for a clearly disgruntled Jimmy Butler.
Wiggins is a really good wing still, so you know,
Miami's still kind of trapped in that no man's land
like Memphis. But I think there are some encouraging things
to take away from this and stuff to build on

(01:20:08):
next year.

Speaker 2 (01:20:08):
Man.

Speaker 1 (01:20:09):
Maybe uh, maybe Daveon continues to get better. Man, maybe
Hero takes another leap. But it's just not all negative.
I didn't want to be completely negative about Miami from this.

Speaker 2 (01:20:21):
No, he's got their ass kakes by a really good team.
Happens the best of us.

Speaker 1 (01:20:24):
And be surprised Cleveland's dominant.

Speaker 2 (01:20:26):
They are they are. Let me ask you two quick
questions that were on my mind today before we get
out of here. They're both about young power forwards. First
of all, I'm gonna start with just a quick question
about my two darling baby boys. Who do you think
has the higher ceiling chedd or Mobley? Check for sure,
I agree, I agree.

Speaker 1 (01:20:42):
I mean the reason for me is one. I just
think the floor spacing is way more reliable with Chet already,
and Chet's just one of the most fluid big men
I've ever seen with the ball in his hands, and that,
to me, the offensive creation edge is the real difference.
Not that I've been impressed with Mobiley, but there's just
a different level of fluidity that Homegron's always had offensively,

(01:21:04):
and I do think Chet's one of the most freakish
rim protectors I've ever seen. His instincts, his positioning, all
of it is, like I want to say, like goat
level stuff. I know Chet's young, but it is truly
like some of the best in the league. So I'm
it's close. Both of those guys are really good building blocks.

Speaker 2 (01:21:23):
But I'd say chat he basically took all the words
out of my mouth. I just think the potential that
Chet has as a score because he is a different
level shooter from the perimeter. He is the better ball handler.
He is significantly quicker off the bounce, Like just the
ways that they use him curling off screens. The ceiling

(01:21:43):
is so so insanely high for him. Offensively and defensively,
They're both absolutely dominant. But yeah, the pure rim protection,
like Chet's in a different tier than Mobley, even though
Mobley is excellent, because like, I just just think Chet's
the best in the league as a pure rem protector.
He's absolutely unbelievable there. So you know me, I think

(01:22:06):
they're both locks to be top ten players. But if
you were gonna ask me who's more likely to be
top five, I would definitely say Chet. Who's more likely
to like be in real MVP conversations, I would say
Check because I can see him being like a twenty
five point per game scorer while he's the defensive player
of the year. I don't quite see that for Mobile,
even though I think he's already a really good offensive
player and it's just gonna get better. Okay, other question

(01:22:28):
I had on my mind, who's better right now? Chet
or Triple J? Chit, Yeah, I think I would say
Chat as well, just.

Speaker 1 (01:22:42):
I hate dogging on guys like I don't know Man.
Triple J is still like uncoordinated and clunky sometimes in
a way that I just never feel like with Chet,
Like there's just a different level of coordination and offensive
control and faith is the word that I would use,
Like I don't know man, Triple J jitimately makes me nervous,
like when he's got the Rocks. It's not every game,

(01:23:04):
but specifically in like matchups like this against Oklahoma City
when they've got a guy. Because I'm gonna be honest
with you. Look, I love Alex Caruso. I appreciate him,
I think he is and credit is the number as
a whole they.

Speaker 2 (01:23:17):
Have to say. You have to say that he's the
best basketball player to ever exist, or else I'm gonna
be pissed because you're gonna be selling him short because
he just had a fucking masterclass of a series.

Speaker 1 (01:23:25):
They've got six all defense caliber players. But like, when
you've got a size advantage like that, like that just
shouldn't be possible in any series. And credit to Caruso
for how e lead of a defender he is and
how he can make life difficult on a guy that big.
If you have that large of a height and weight
advantage on a guy, that should not be something that

(01:23:46):
teams can employ against you in work. It just can't be,
Like you have got to be able to defeat that mismatch.
And yeah, well this is who did I have higher
on my I can't remember. I thought I had Chit
maybe a little higher.

Speaker 2 (01:24:04):
You might have. I had Triple J a couple spots
higher than Chet. And the reason was I do think
that he is still the better scorer between the two
of them. And what you're talking about with attacking mismatches,
I mean, obviously that's so much more essential to Triple
J's game, but also it's like Chet's not good attack
I like to mease, Triple J is great attacking mismatches,

(01:24:25):
but he was really bad at it in this series.
I would take Chet, though, And the reason that I
would take Chet is because even though I think Triple
J does have a significantly harder job offensively, like especially
in these last couple games, he's asked to be the
number one option, he was their number one scorer throughout
this year. He's taking on a different burden there. I

(01:24:48):
think that with the flaws that we saw from him
in that role as a lead scorer and with the
major major issues he has as a passer, I prefer
the overall impact from Chet, who I still think is
significantly more impactful defensively, who I feel way better about
anchoring my defense as the five and stretches. Obviously is

(01:25:08):
great at the four to two, but like the boxes
that Triple J doesn't quite check in terms of being
a great drop defender, Chet does. Chet is not a
great rebounder, but he's significantly better than Triple J. And
I do love Chet's complementary offensive skill set. Like right now,
he's not as equipped to be like a featured score

(01:25:30):
with the sort of volume that Triple J is just
because Triple J's strength advantage is so reliable in most
matchups except for in this one against Okay see. But
like Chet is significantly more involved as a screener and
as a finisher off the role, he's so much better
as a passer and his ability to connect things offensively
there I love. I do think he's a bit better

(01:25:52):
as a three point shooter. So all those things considered,
I would give the not to Chet. Haven't thought it over.

Speaker 1 (01:25:58):
I had Chet at twenty one, one in Triple J
at twenty four. You had Triple J at twenty and chit.

Speaker 2 (01:26:04):
Chat at twenty four. Yeah, I would move Triple J down.
I like regular season he was absolutely but.

Speaker 1 (01:26:15):
I I think I have him in an appropriate spot.
I definitely move him down a little bit though, depending
on I don't think he'd fall completely out of my
top thirty, but I think I would him a few spots.

Speaker 2 (01:26:26):
Yeah, I mean, we're not overreacting to four games, but
at the same time, playoffs certainly test your metal and
it was about as a playoff run as you can
get against an insane insane.

Speaker 1 (01:26:38):
Yeah yeah, but none. No, Memphis really passed the test.

Speaker 2 (01:26:41):
No, they did not. On that note, let's wrap this
thing up. Appreciate all you guys tuning in. Hope you
enjoyed the basketball, and hope you enjoyed the post game
pod if you did. The good news is there's so
much more nerd sesch content. We have been live after
every single day of playoff basketball so far and logan
we're gonna be back tomorrow night too. Isn't that true?

(01:27:02):
Isn't that right? So you guys can look forward to that.
If you want to catch our live streams, they are
on YouTube, or you can watch the full episodes on
YouTube later, or you can listen to the full episodes
across all audio platforms. You can also check us out
across social TikTok, Instagram at nerd sessh, Twitter at nerd
underscore SESSH to see clips from the show, graphics from
the show, and all of our short form trivia content.

(01:27:23):
And you can join our discord if you want to
be part of our community there and chat with the gang.
My eye is now twitching. I don't know if you
can notice, but I am having some muscle spasms in
my eye.

Speaker 1 (01:27:38):
I'm gonna pray for you, Broke.

Speaker 2 (01:27:40):
I don't think I'm gonna survive. I don't think i'm
gonna make it. It feels like there's a demon inside me
trying to come out. So I'm gonna go deal with
that and with that as always appreciate you guys. I've
be Carson Braber and this was Nerd Sash. The police
are coming for you now, by the way,

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Nerd Sesh - NBA Playoffs Reaction: Curry CARRIES Warriors past Rockets, Jokic & Nuggets BEST Clippers

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.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}Nerd Sesh - NBA Playoffs Reaction: Curry CARRIES Warriors past Rockets, Jokic & Nuggets BEST Clippers