April 21, 2023 • 30 mins
Chris and his radio partner Tim "The Capper" Capstraw review game 3 of the Brooklyn Nets' first-round series against the Philadelphia 76ers.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Hey, what's going on. It's Chris Carrino.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
This is the Voice of the Nets podcast, joined by
my radio partner Tim Kapstraw. As we go through Game
three and preview Game four. But certainly an eventful Game three,
if not ultimately deflating for Nets fans. And we'll get
into that as we go along. But Kapper, I just
(00:35):
thought it ends in disappointing fashion. But it was great theater,
great playoff theater last night at Barkley.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
It sure was, Chris, I mean, and it didn't waste
any time getting into the first act, you know what
I mean. It was ready to go to it two
minutes and change into the game, and it was here's
an awful lot going on in that one last night.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah, but I thought the atmosphe was electric like it
should be in the postseason, even though you know, you know,
fans are are coming in there and thinking, well, you know,
this is an uphill grind right now, this is no
one gave the Nets a chance.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
They're down two games to none.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
You know how a lot of times Philadelphia fans can
can flock to the New York area, But that wasn't
the atmosphere. The atmosphere was charged behind the nets, they
were waving the towels.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
It was it was ready to go.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
So I think that kind of heightened atmosphere maybe perchance
led to that thing we saw two minutes into the
game where where Nick Claxton, who you know, we pointed
out in the in the pregame, Tim that was. That
was one of the points that we emphasized was that
Claxton had not been a huge factor in the series
(01:49):
and he was going to have to find a way
to be a factor, especially on the offensive end.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
And right off the bat right a lob.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
They finally connect, he scores, and then Embiid goes down
at his feet. He tried to step Bulbraum and b
throws the kick which apparently missed the target that would
have gotten him thrown out of the game. Apparently if
it had been an inch or two to the left
of the right, maybe he's thrown out of the game.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
We don't know, but we could speculate.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
We're not going to belabor the point, but certainly, even
watching it over and over again and even hearing others
talk about it who are on the other side, I mean,
we talked to Tom McGinnis. You're talking to him. You
went right after the time out, you went down the
table and talked to him. That play by play voice
of the Sixers kind of thought it could have been
a flagrant too, but that added kind of that added
(02:36):
to the atmosphere right off the bat last night.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Yeah, no, it was. It was dramatic. You know what
happens in a playoff.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
You know how young you ever hang around with people
that annoy you, you like to think, bug you all
the time. The last thing you want to do is
see him the next day. And that's what happens in
playoff games.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
To talk about me and you.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
No, thank goodness twenty one years now, but the but
you know what I mean, somebody guy gets under my skin.
You know, he bugs him, he's annoying. Oh no, we
gotta we gotta see him tomorrow again. And then we
got to see him again and then and then or
it's that relative it's just can't.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
Oh, come on, he's gonna come over. It's Thanksgiving, but
then he's gonna stay. That's what the playoffs are like.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
And I just think it kind of kind of hit
home last night between a few guys and I see
the intensity, the animosity would be a good word, and
it came to the forefront and added to everything that
went on in the game.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Last night, I.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Got flashbacks to twenty nineteen in the playoffs where yes,
you know, but in that series the Nets in one
game won. But remember there was the em beat elbow
on Jared Allen and then him and you know Ben
Simmons was his teammate at the time. They're on the
podium laughing about it after the game, and that kind
of wrankled the Nets. And then it comes back to
Brooklyn and Jared Dudley gets into that scuffule. Like you know,
(03:58):
it was it was very know, not not as contentious
as that, but it was.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
It was similar.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
And I you know, this is why you play these
games out and these series out until you lose four
because you never know.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
What could happen.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I mean, I thought the Sixers caught a break and
Ebid did not get a flagrant two there, and that
could have very easily cost him the game. And it
would have it would have been two to one. You know,
you could say Embid didn't play great. You could say
that the Nets are able to really take him out
of his game throughout Game three, and that's ultimately not
why they lost, but his his specter. You know, his presence,
(04:35):
especially on the defensive end, has been such a factor.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
You know, I really do think the.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Nets have done a really an excellent job with their
game plan on Embiid offensively. We saw in game one,
maybe didn't execute it the way they needed to, but
it's worked. You know, the guy averages thirty three points
a game. He had fourteen last night, only took thirteen shots.
Other guys have had a step up and do it.
And we'll get into Tyres Maxi a little bit. But
(05:03):
this is why you play these series out, you know,
even three to zero. This is why you're going to
try to win the game and extend the series because
you never know when a guy makes a knucklehead move
and gets ejected from a game and now gives you momentum.
You never know a player could you know he was
hobbling around last night. You never know when a guy
(05:25):
can get you know, injured and then be that costs
him a game. So that's why you got to keep
just playing these things out.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Last night, yeah, absolutely absolutely, there were a number of
occasions where you saw Joel Embiid well, at one point
you know his back was was legitimately bothering him. Then
he was hobbling with his knee. Things can happen in
a series. I think I couldn't agree with you more.
I think the game planning for the Nets has been
very good. They've put themselves defensively in a position out Now,
(05:54):
mistakes tend to stand out. And you said, because when
you're rotating and you're hustle and you're not playing conventional defense,
the mistakes can be magnified because within those rotations the
number of guys can drive and dump the ball.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
Or make plays.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
But if you look at the overall numbers and the
Nets defensively have done the job well enough to put
them in position.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
To have a chance to win.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
And then last night was another a great, a great example.
I mean, if you're up five points with two in
change remaining in a game, you're you're in pretty good shape.
And uh, you know, sixers made plays. Obviously the Nets didn't.
They don't come away with the victory. And you're right
about Mbido. I mean, even when you don't a lot
(06:42):
of times you don't notice his defense because it's intimidating
and you just kind of adjust things. But you notice
the big play at the end of the game last night,
and Spencer didn't who was driving the ball and he
came out of nowhere for that rejection.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Well, well, let's start at the end because obviously that
is the is the deflating part of this is then
are up five with just over two minutes to go
in the game, Sixers end up outscoring eleven to one.
Down the stretch, Maxie, you had another huge game. Twenty
five points makes a big three to put him up.
We know the the Nets had the ball with eight
(07:16):
seconds to go with it with down three, and there's
the turnover. I described it on the radio as it
was like a quarterback to a receiver. Bridges did a
down and in and the quarterback O'Neil threw it for
a down and out and it ended up being a
loose ball and a steal and they go to the
other end and.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
It was Melton who ends up getting the bucket there.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
But you know, so O'Neil had a time out left,
he didn't need to panic and inbound that ball. So
a lockup. Maybe a little lack of poise right there.
Bridges sewed again his leadership. He took the blame afterwards,
saying that he should have just gone to the ball
and not worried about trying to make a cut there
(08:02):
because I think he saw an opportunity to maybe get
it going toward the basket right, which is always what
you'd rather do. But again, guys haven't played together for
a year. I mean, these are guys that are just
new teammates basically, not to make excuses, but they you know,
they strewed the pooch there, Capra, as you would say,
on that final inbound and turned it over. So whatever
(08:24):
last ditch effort they had there at maybe getting a
three to try and tie, the game goes awry and
they lose the game. But when you're looking at those
last two minutes, and we know this has not just
been a game three thing, this has been a last
two months kind of thing. The Nets have had difficulty
closing out these games, these late game situations.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
In the fourth course, Yeah, they have ninety six ninety one, go,
let's just go right through it right now. I mean,
it was an awful lot of tyresse Maxi, but it
wasn't defensive rotations and a ball wasn't hitting Embiad's hands
and everybody rotating. No, it's kind of it was kind
of dribbling the basketball. And the first possession out of
you know, the last couple of minutes, Maxi's guarded by Bridges.
(09:06):
There seems to be a subtle like embid's going to
come over the screen and there's a little subtle confusion
between Royce O'Neill and mchl Bridges and his hand is
down and Maxi just gets some separation and is able
to knock down a three. So all of a sudden,
you go from ninety six ninety one to immediately ninety
(09:27):
six ninety four.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
That changes. That changes an awful lot, doesn't it. I mean,
that makes that makes things, you know, really interesting.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Let's go down on offense and next possession, right, they're
down and they're kind of slow getting into things, and
you don't like when they're passing around a perimeter. But
then the ball is reversed to Royce O'Neil and Royce,
you know, Riyce is going to be frustrated, not only
at the last play of the game where he turned
it over, but he also had one of a similar
type of pass where he went to pass the ball
(09:55):
to the corner I think Cam Johnson or mckel Bridges
wasn't good spacing, and I think that was part of it.
The guys were you know who was he thrown into,
tried to pull the ball back and then Matt he
turns the basketball over, Max he takes it.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
Scores tied. So then we have a whole new game.
Right ninety six all is going on.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Right there is about a minute minute twenty I thought
there was a wild possession and Bridges then missus.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
There was, but there was another possession about fifty seconds
to go. Remember when Dorian Phinney Smith.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Got called for that foul when the ball went out
of bounds into the bench area bench right in front
of the next bench. As I review that play, you
know it could have easily PJ Tucker could have been
called for given him a.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Push into d Anthony Melton prior to that, So that
that was a tough you know, a tough break right
there for you.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
But had to also point out it points out another
issue with this series is the net inability to rebound
the defensive glass.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
I mean they've made too many offensive rebounds.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
PJ Tucker last night, who actually left the floor in
the third quarter, He saw him, you know, run to
the locker room. We thought he was maybe just a
bathroom break or something. But it took him a long
time to come back out. But when he did again,
he made he made his mark on the offensive glass.
Another three offensive rebounds last night they had not. Ultimately
they ended up on eleven offensive rebounds.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah, his physicality. Then again, chasing down the ball is
part of that. I don't know, he created a little
bit of confusion. I thought he bumped him some. I
don't know if you call it, but they were gained possession.
They don't scoring that possession. Bridges is involved, missus a
shotover Mbi during that run. And then again it's it's
(11:47):
Maxi coming down and he's matched up with mckel Bridges
and he's kind of eyeing them up, you know, he's
eyeing him up, and then all of a sudden, he
puts it in his face, right, he puts it in
his face, And yeah, miss he missed the shot prior
to that, but it comes back down the next time,
he's in front of in front of Bridges and he
knocks it down another big, big three.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
So it's ninety nine to ninety six.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Then and then we go into the late game drama
of the ball you know, didn't with he getting the
ball getting you know, going down the other end and
then Embeedd coming out of nowhere. I have a little
bit of confusion there, but you get the idea. Yeah,
Maxy was heavily.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
He was the guy.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
It was obvious NETS were matched up with him with
your best defender. There wasn't wasn't great on one of
the possession factor was confusion.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
But Maxy made huge shots. Nets didn't. They didn't execute.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Game over bottom line, last two minutes there, you're up five. Really,
all you need is to score.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
I mean you just yeah, you needed.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
To score some you needed to execute. One team did
and one player did Maxi Nets weren't able to do that.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
So the other part of how the frustrating part of
it for Brooklyn.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
And not only having that lead there is you know,
go back a little bit further into the third quarter,
James Harden gets ejected. But I do say this, and
we said it at the time. Even though hard Harden
was playing fairly well, you know, it's interesting he hadn't
gotten to the free throw line the first couple of games.
He only attempted three free throws last night, so it's
(13:25):
a different kind of Harden. He had made some shots,
you know, he made three threes last night. But I
didn't think they lose much when they go to when
it's Maxie and Melton in the back court. I really
didn't think so that, you know, Harden getting ejected late
in the third quarter, I felt like.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
That wasn't as big a.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Break for the Nets as as people that aren't really
into the series might might have thought. Because I thought that,
you know, not only he talked about Maxie and gone
down what he's done, but the Anthony Melton has been
to rip on both ends of the floor in this series,
and he was a There were plus twenty four with
him on the floor last night.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Thirty minutes.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Yeah, very very good, great decisions are really great.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Speed defensively next morning, as open as they'd want to
be because of the combination of those two speed and
but I yeah, and it changed, but it does change
the game, and it does mean that the primary ball
handler becomes Tyrese Maxi. And we're talking about the last
two minutes of a game, and Tyrese Maxi made every play,
so things did work, you know, talk about it wasn't
(14:33):
much of a drop off.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Well, heck, I don't know that Harden would have done
all that. Harden would have had the ball.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
In his hands quite a bit, and it ended up
working out really well for the Sixers, although not shocking.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
TEXTI MAXI excuse me? Is that good of a player?
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Yeah? Acutely at thirty three in Game two twenty five
last week, Let's go way back.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Now, let's go back.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
We talked about the start of the game, and we
talked about the the incident with Embiid and Claxton.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
The Nets are up and they're up eight in the.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
First quarter, and it played, you know, using that the
energy from the crowd, the environment that that dust up.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
You know, they listen when that thing happened two minutes
into the game. I was fired up.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I can imagine what it was like for those guys
on the floor and Nick Claxton, who was finally emerging
and being a factor in this series and the Nets
are up eight.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
I think if you will really.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Want to go back to ultimately where you know, the
Nets changed, the game changed negatively for the Nets. It
was there, I mean, because the Sixers end up closing
out the first quarter with a four point lead. What
was the seat change there in the first quarter.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Well, offensively, Nets, for real, their pace was outstanding. They
were getting stops or getting a.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Ball up the floor. Their attack was early.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
They had twenty one points in the first five and
a half minutes of the game, and then really got
you know, got stagnant, got you know, got stale. I
think we brought it up a couple of times during
the night. There's a real tendency to talk about the
Sixers and then beat offensively and their entire team if
you forget they're a top ten defensive team also, and
if the Nets get bogged down and they're not executing
(16:18):
at the level or able to get it out and
really move it, hit or scratch the paint with the
ball and then swing it, they you know they can,
you know they can get stale offensively, and they sure did.
And then the Sixers just progressively just just warre them
down and went into halftime with a very good lead,
with a solid lead.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Well, yeah, eleven point, eleven point lead.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
They held the Nets to nineteen points in the second quarter,
so it's eleven points coming out of the locker room break.
And now we go to the third quarter, which the
Nets played one of their best third quarters of the year.
It was their best third quarter in playoff franchise history.
They outscore the Sixers thirty five to eighteen. I Initially,
(17:02):
the Sixers come out, get the first basket of the
third quarter and they're up thirteen points, which was the
high point for them. That was their biggest lead of
the game. And then the Nets hit a run and
ended up taking the lead there midway through the third quarter.
And you know, then Harden gets ejected late in the
third quarter, and then we've already you know, talked about
(17:22):
what happened in the fourth quarter, but certainly if you
were going to bottle something for the Nets, it would
be that third quarter. They're easily their best quarter of
this series.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Yeah, it was outstanding.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
I mean if their energy defensively, I think the four
seven turnovers in that quarter, they're getting after it. They're
a hustle and scrambling, knocking down shots, playing with confidence,
and uh, just a great and obviously did not give
up on the game, and we were able to really
turn everything around with their outstanding effort determination. And that's
(17:54):
why you have a hard time being angry about this team.
If you're watching this team play, you know, they're playing
their hearts out. You know what they have to do
defensively to compete with the superior team.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
You know how long the rotations.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
I think about the extra mileage guys are putting in
just just rotating around the half court defensively as they're
scrambling out of place. So that's just a fantastic job.
I almost think, and you know, maybe I'm greedy. Nets
score thirty five points in that quarter.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
I don't know that they.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Shouldn't have had forty or so. I saw some open threes.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Guys like Joe Harris, guys you know with Cam Johnson,
they made a lot of threes, but they also got
a lot of threes, and you could have almost gotten
greedier to say that they could have expanded that lead
even more. And I think that's kind of a little
bit of the theme I have with this Net team.
Even in the fourth quarter, Chris, as we go to
the if you go to that, I think the Nets
(18:57):
had looks. You know, in that five it's minute mark,
you got Cam Johnson or during Finney Smith with the.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Ball going in, and I think this group is built.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
They have to have a.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Comfort zone going into the last few minutes because they
don't have that.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Well, Bridges is good and all that, but they don't
have an abundance of guys that are going to create
and make a play, and you don't necessarily have closers.
I wish the Nets had a little bit more of
a comfort zone because they you know, they shot the ball,
what ten of thirty thirty three percent they're capable of,
you know, I mean we say, be to the superior team,
you got to really you got to use that three
(19:34):
point line and you got to have success.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
You know, Could the Nets have shot.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Thirty eight thirty nine as opposed to thirty three might
have given them the comfort and the you know, the
pad they need to care to bring home a w.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
The thing about the three point shot is that they're
not all the same, not not in terms of how
you get them, but they're momentum shwinging, and they're so
often in this series. In Game two and in game three,
Game one the Jet Nets just got outplayed and and
(20:09):
and didn't deserve to win that game. But Game two, uh,
when you know they had the lead at halftime. Game three,
when they're up in the second half, and late in
the fourth quarter. There have just been so many opportunities
not to single any one guy out, but there have
been so many opportunities to make just momentum threes, especially
(20:35):
late in the game, and they just haven't done it.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
You know, Maxie, we're talking about Maxie.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
He's made those momentum threes, offensive rebounds that have led
to second chance threes. Those are backbreakers, and the Sixers
have done that too often in this series. The Nets
just have they you know, I don't I gotta you know,
look at their percentage for the series from three. It
might not be, you know, incredibly, but it's not great.
(21:02):
But just those plays where you go, oh, you know,
here they are they got they just need another bucket
to keep a big lead, or and it swings and
it's open and it's just missed from guys you expect
guys that often make them. They're just not making those.
And that's you know, playoffs. You have to go out
and win playoff games. They don't give you them, and
(21:22):
they just haven't made They've played hard, and they and
they've fought and they've had a good game plan against him.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Bead. It's just those those those series winning plays. They're
just not making well.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
And you could expect them not to be able to
be a super creative beat somebody one on one, have
great moves, get to the spot, do a step back
and drain a shot from fifteen feet.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
You don't expect them to do that.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Although bridges can or cam guys can, that's not really
who they are to close.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Out a game.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Therefore, when they have a quality, good possession in the
ball ends up and with the ability to shoot a three,
that that's when you those are kind of your your closer,
you know, your closer games, you know, you know, closing
plays for a team like the Nets right now and
they haven't been able to do it.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
But not even not even closing, but like you know,
you're if you're you know, you're up five in exactly
in the early in the fourth coreter, the crowd's going
and the ball swings and a guy's wide open.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
He doesn't make it, and now they come down and
cut it to three or cut it to two. You know,
that's just.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Those are the winning plays, you know, and it's just
agree it's been tough, and you know before the game,
Jacques one, yeah, his his his slogan. You know, he
always has a phrase he hits this width in the pregame, Uh,
we gotta we can't, we gotta. We gotta grow up,
not give up, you know, don't give up, grow up here,
and he emphasized that again.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Uh afterwards.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I don't want to get into a post mortem yet,
because again, like I mentioned, that's for when you lose
four series. Ain't over to lose four games, and you
know that, you know, sometimes something can happen that breathes
life into back.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Into a series.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
You know. Again, I thought the Sixers got a break
last night that that could have easily happened two minutes
into the game, but it didn't for them, and they
hung on and they ended up getting a win. But
anything can happen that can breathe life back into a series.
So you're never done until you do not have any
more breath. So we'll get into a post mortem on this,
but I but I do. I am encouraged about the
(23:27):
way this group that's going to be the core for
the Nets going forward, whether or not they add somebody
or not next year. It's growing as the series goes along.
They have grown up as this series goes along.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Yeah, but you also have to understand that you're looking
across at the Sixer team, who's one of three teams
that are you know, a number of teams are better
than you in the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
And you've thought about the record of the NBA also, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Well, you've got to be able to say to yourself that, Okay,
what do we got to do to get better? And
I don't know that You're not just going to grow
up with this group right now. You've got to you
you can evaluate in the play You've got to be
able to evaluate in the playoffs what you need.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
And that's how guys.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Do that.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
I bet you know Bob Myers talks about that with
the Golden State waras he goes, I don't I evaluate
talent in the playoffs. That's when I evaluate where we're at,
and that's how I evaluate other players. And I think
the Nets done a terrific job of adjusting in a
really difficult situation this year. But I think everybody knows
(24:37):
they've got to be creative and figure out ways to
be able to compete with the Sixers, the Bucks, the Celtics,
the Cavs, everybody out there. And it's just growing with
this group They're not twenty and twenty one right now,
they're twenty six, twenty seven. This is a not win now,
but it's pretty darn close to it. So I'm curious
(24:58):
to see how everything involved.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
But also Zat pointed out before the game he thinks
that the only team in the playoffs that doesn't have
a guy, doesn't have a player has been to an
All Star game.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
Yeah, well, I mean yeah, I and you can. You can.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
You can tell that, And that's why, guys, it's difficult
down to stretch of a game to feel like, Okay,
we'll get the ball in this guy's hands, get out
of his way.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
You can't play that way.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
That's why you got to play, keep attacking, keep moving it,
keep screening, and keep making plays and be a little
bit more equal opportunity. Although Bridges got a couple of
looks down the stretch of the game that he could convert,
he didn't do.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
What you can see though, again and again, I made
this the comment about them not having an All Star,
but I do think what it is is they have.
You can make the case for multiple guys that are
growing to that level where they will be, the point
being that they're not there yet so it's growing. And
(25:52):
you know, you talked about Bridges, and you know, is
he the guy that can be the guy that takes.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Over a game late. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
I don't I don't know if he's going if that's
his ceiling. But again we're talking about the impact that
Embiid has on the defensive end. I think you're seeing
it with Michel Bridges a lot. He's scoring, but he's
fading away. He's not you know, he's trying to stop
and pull up. It's hard. Embiid is in everybody's head
(26:20):
right now in terms of trying to attack the paint
for the nets. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Yeah, but Chase, that's that he had the big block.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Last night that sealed the game, by the way, on
didn't we That's.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
Why you need greatness to be a team near the
top of the conference. You can't.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Goodness ain't gonna help. It's gonna get your Okay, You're
gonna be good. You can cheer for the team, You'll
be happy. I love the way how they compete. You
need to get to the next level. You're either the
talent you have has to improve and you have to
fortify that. You have to build on what you have
right now by by acquiring the right type of players
(26:57):
to go along with this group.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Well or I mean again, I'm trying not to get
too too much into the future here.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, but you know.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Because if you're you know again that this is this
is going to be a conversation probably for postseason in
terms of.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
The direction you go.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Is it going after a star again or is it
trying to let this group develop and then draft young players.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
If we think their nets are in a kind of
a limbo period, that's I think a conversation for another time.
I think I really am curious to see the approach
of this young net group in game four. Psychologically, you know,
you're down three to oh. No one comes back down
three to oh. But what's their approach, what's their attack?
(27:45):
And can they get a win and extend this series
because when you extend the series, you never know what
can happen.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
You never know what can happen. And there's one thing
we've been really impressed by this group. The character of
this group is through the roof. I mean, these are
high character individuals. Collectively, they are a joy to watch compete.
That's why this defensive game plan has given them a
chance because of a how hard and how together they are.
(28:12):
I am curious. I think tomorrow is going to be
an enjoyable game. Game four is going to be enjoyable
because I think the Nets are not going to just
go away. We've seen teams down three to zero that
kind of go I would be shocked if they didn't
give the same sort of effort that they gave in
Game three and if they can catch a break here
or there then come away with the victory.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yeah, there was also you know, possibly I brought it
up in the post game. I think you said they
you'd be shocked to see it. But then listening to
some stuff today and reading some stuff, I think it's
been out there that you know, could joellenbid be suspended
for Game four?
Speaker 1 (28:50):
You don't know.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
And again again that's why you play out the series
because you never know when things can happen, and you
know we'll see I would be surprised if that happened,
but you know it's a possibility, and then you'd have
to go play a Game five in Philadelphia, And I
think if you're the Sixers man, you're just trying to
get this series over with. You don't want to let
this thing linger because you've got you know, they've got
(29:12):
their eyes on a championship, and you've got to make
any series where you can make it as easy as possible.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
You got to do that.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
And that's why I thought it was really they I
think that from a sixers, you know their stuff. They
think Hey probably was shaking their head ed and be
two minutes in, like what are we doing. We're gonna
make this you breathe life back into this series here
so early. So that's just the other side of it.
Cabra Game four Saturday, one o'clock. We've got an extended
(29:44):
pregame show. If you're out and about you want to
tune in. We're going on the air twelve twenty five,
some special guests and well we'll talk a lot of
big picture stuff and we'll get into Game four and
we'll have it for you right on the fan and
on the Brooklyn Nets app on the FM side of
the fan in the Brooklyn Nets app on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
It's a tip will be just after one.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
O'clock, so good recap here Capra on Game three and
look forward to seeing you for Game.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Four on Saturday.
Speaker 4 (30:14):
Already look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
That is the Capper, Tim Capstraw. I'm Chris Carrino by
thanks to Steve Goldberg, Isaac Lee. This has been the
voice of the Nets. We'll talk to you after Game four.
Either we'll do we'll do a recap of Game four
with a preview to Game five, or we'll take a
couple of days and then we'll do a season in
(30:36):
review with Capper and maybe some other special guests as well.
So that's all coming up. Thank you for tuning in subscribing.
This has been the voice of the Nets.
Hey, what's going on. It's Chris Carrino.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
This is the Voice of the Nets podcast, joined by
my radio partner Tim Kapstraw. As we go through Game
three and preview Game four. But certainly an eventful Game three,
if not ultimately deflating for Nets fans. And we'll get
into that as we go along. But Kapper, I just
(00:35):
thought it ends in disappointing fashion. But it was great theater,
great playoff theater last night at Barkley.
Speaker 3 (00:42):
It sure was, Chris, I mean, and it didn't waste
any time getting into the first act, you know what
I mean. It was ready to go to it two
minutes and change into the game, and it was here's
an awful lot going on in that one last night.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
Yeah, but I thought the atmosphe was electric like it
should be in the postseason, even though you know, you know,
fans are are coming in there and thinking, well, you know,
this is an uphill grind right now, this is no
one gave the Nets a chance.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
They're down two games to none.
Speaker 2 (01:15):
You know how a lot of times Philadelphia fans can
can flock to the New York area, But that wasn't
the atmosphere. The atmosphere was charged behind the nets, they
were waving the towels.
Speaker 1 (01:25):
It was it was ready to go.
Speaker 2 (01:27):
So I think that kind of heightened atmosphere maybe perchance
led to that thing we saw two minutes into the
game where where Nick Claxton, who you know, we pointed
out in the in the pregame, Tim that was. That
was one of the points that we emphasized was that
Claxton had not been a huge factor in the series
(01:49):
and he was going to have to find a way
to be a factor, especially on the offensive end.
Speaker 1 (01:54):
And right off the bat right a lob.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
They finally connect, he scores, and then Embiid goes down
at his feet. He tried to step Bulbraum and b
throws the kick which apparently missed the target that would
have gotten him thrown out of the game. Apparently if
it had been an inch or two to the left
of the right, maybe he's thrown out of the game.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
We don't know, but we could speculate.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
We're not going to belabor the point, but certainly, even
watching it over and over again and even hearing others
talk about it who are on the other side, I mean,
we talked to Tom McGinnis. You're talking to him. You
went right after the time out, you went down the
table and talked to him. That play by play voice
of the Sixers kind of thought it could have been
a flagrant too, but that added kind of that added
(02:36):
to the atmosphere right off the bat last night.
Speaker 4 (02:39):
Yeah, no, it was. It was dramatic. You know what
happens in a playoff.
Speaker 3 (02:44):
You know how young you ever hang around with people
that annoy you, you like to think, bug you all
the time. The last thing you want to do is
see him the next day. And that's what happens in
playoff games.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
To talk about me and you.
Speaker 3 (02:56):
No, thank goodness twenty one years now, but the but
you know what I mean, somebody guy gets under my skin.
You know, he bugs him, he's annoying. Oh no, we
gotta we gotta see him tomorrow again. And then we
got to see him again and then and then or
it's that relative it's just can't.
Speaker 4 (03:15):
Oh, come on, he's gonna come over. It's Thanksgiving, but
then he's gonna stay. That's what the playoffs are like.
Speaker 3 (03:20):
And I just think it kind of kind of hit
home last night between a few guys and I see
the intensity, the animosity would be a good word, and
it came to the forefront and added to everything that
went on in the game.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Last night, I.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Got flashbacks to twenty nineteen in the playoffs where yes,
you know, but in that series the Nets in one
game won. But remember there was the em beat elbow
on Jared Allen and then him and you know Ben
Simmons was his teammate at the time. They're on the
podium laughing about it after the game, and that kind
of wrankled the Nets. And then it comes back to
Brooklyn and Jared Dudley gets into that scuffule. Like you know,
(03:58):
it was it was very know, not not as contentious
as that, but it was.
Speaker 1 (04:02):
It was similar.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
And I you know, this is why you play these
games out and these series out until you lose four
because you never know.
Speaker 1 (04:10):
What could happen.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
I mean, I thought the Sixers caught a break and
Ebid did not get a flagrant two there, and that
could have very easily cost him the game. And it
would have it would have been two to one. You know,
you could say Embid didn't play great. You could say
that the Nets are able to really take him out
of his game throughout Game three, and that's ultimately not
why they lost, but his his specter. You know, his presence,
(04:35):
especially on the defensive end, has been such a factor.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
You know, I really do think the.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
Nets have done a really an excellent job with their
game plan on Embiid offensively. We saw in game one,
maybe didn't execute it the way they needed to, but
it's worked. You know, the guy averages thirty three points
a game. He had fourteen last night, only took thirteen shots.
Other guys have had a step up and do it.
And we'll get into Tyres Maxi a little bit. But
(05:03):
this is why you play these series out, you know,
even three to zero. This is why you're going to
try to win the game and extend the series because
you never know when a guy makes a knucklehead move
and gets ejected from a game and now gives you momentum.
You never know a player could you know he was
hobbling around last night. You never know when a guy
(05:25):
can get you know, injured and then be that costs
him a game. So that's why you got to keep
just playing these things out.
Speaker 3 (05:31):
Last night, yeah, absolutely absolutely, there were a number of
occasions where you saw Joel Embiid well, at one point
you know his back was was legitimately bothering him. Then
he was hobbling with his knee. Things can happen in
a series. I think I couldn't agree with you more.
I think the game planning for the Nets has been
very good. They've put themselves defensively in a position out Now,
(05:54):
mistakes tend to stand out. And you said, because when
you're rotating and you're hustle and you're not playing conventional defense,
the mistakes can be magnified because within those rotations the
number of guys can drive and dump the ball.
Speaker 4 (06:09):
Or make plays.
Speaker 3 (06:10):
But if you look at the overall numbers and the
Nets defensively have done the job well enough to put
them in position.
Speaker 4 (06:19):
To have a chance to win.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
And then last night was another a great, a great example.
I mean, if you're up five points with two in
change remaining in a game, you're you're in pretty good shape.
And uh, you know, sixers made plays. Obviously the Nets didn't.
They don't come away with the victory. And you're right
about Mbido. I mean, even when you don't a lot
(06:42):
of times you don't notice his defense because it's intimidating
and you just kind of adjust things. But you notice
the big play at the end of the game last night,
and Spencer didn't who was driving the ball and he
came out of nowhere for that rejection.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Well, well, let's start at the end because obviously that
is the is the deflating part of this is then
are up five with just over two minutes to go
in the game, Sixers end up outscoring eleven to one.
Down the stretch, Maxie, you had another huge game. Twenty
five points makes a big three to put him up.
We know the the Nets had the ball with eight
(07:16):
seconds to go with it with down three, and there's
the turnover. I described it on the radio as it
was like a quarterback to a receiver. Bridges did a
down and in and the quarterback O'Neil threw it for
a down and out and it ended up being a
loose ball and a steal and they go to the
other end and.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
It was Melton who ends up getting the bucket there.
Speaker 2 (07:40):
But you know, so O'Neil had a time out left,
he didn't need to panic and inbound that ball. So
a lockup. Maybe a little lack of poise right there.
Bridges sewed again his leadership. He took the blame afterwards,
saying that he should have just gone to the ball
and not worried about trying to make a cut there
(08:02):
because I think he saw an opportunity to maybe get
it going toward the basket right, which is always what
you'd rather do. But again, guys haven't played together for
a year. I mean, these are guys that are just
new teammates basically, not to make excuses, but they you know,
they strewed the pooch there, Capra, as you would say,
on that final inbound and turned it over. So whatever
(08:24):
last ditch effort they had there at maybe getting a
three to try and tie, the game goes awry and
they lose the game. But when you're looking at those
last two minutes, and we know this has not just
been a game three thing, this has been a last
two months kind of thing. The Nets have had difficulty
closing out these games, these late game situations.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
In the fourth course, Yeah, they have ninety six ninety one, go,
let's just go right through it right now. I mean,
it was an awful lot of tyresse Maxi, but it
wasn't defensive rotations and a ball wasn't hitting Embiad's hands
and everybody rotating. No, it's kind of it was kind
of dribbling the basketball. And the first possession out of
you know, the last couple of minutes, Maxi's guarded by Bridges.
(09:06):
There seems to be a subtle like embid's going to
come over the screen and there's a little subtle confusion
between Royce O'Neill and mchl Bridges and his hand is
down and Maxi just gets some separation and is able
to knock down a three. So all of a sudden,
you go from ninety six ninety one to immediately ninety
(09:27):
six ninety four.
Speaker 4 (09:28):
That changes. That changes an awful lot, doesn't it. I mean,
that makes that makes things, you know, really interesting.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
Let's go down on offense and next possession, right, they're
down and they're kind of slow getting into things, and
you don't like when they're passing around a perimeter. But
then the ball is reversed to Royce O'Neil and Royce,
you know, Riyce is going to be frustrated, not only
at the last play of the game where he turned
it over, but he also had one of a similar
type of pass where he went to pass the ball
(09:55):
to the corner I think Cam Johnson or mckel Bridges
wasn't good spacing, and I think that was part of it.
The guys were you know who was he thrown into,
tried to pull the ball back and then Matt he
turns the basketball over, Max he takes it.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
Scores tied. So then we have a whole new game.
Right ninety six all is going on.
Speaker 3 (10:14):
Right there is about a minute minute twenty I thought
there was a wild possession and Bridges then missus.
Speaker 4 (10:24):
There was, but there was another possession about fifty seconds
to go. Remember when Dorian Phinney Smith.
Speaker 3 (10:30):
Got called for that foul when the ball went out
of bounds into the bench area bench right in front
of the next bench. As I review that play, you
know it could have easily PJ Tucker could have been
called for given him a.
Speaker 4 (10:45):
Push into d Anthony Melton prior to that, So that
that was a tough you know, a tough break right
there for you.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
But had to also point out it points out another
issue with this series is the net inability to rebound
the defensive glass.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
I mean they've made too many offensive rebounds.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
PJ Tucker last night, who actually left the floor in
the third quarter, He saw him, you know, run to
the locker room. We thought he was maybe just a
bathroom break or something. But it took him a long
time to come back out. But when he did again,
he made he made his mark on the offensive glass.
Another three offensive rebounds last night they had not. Ultimately
they ended up on eleven offensive rebounds.
Speaker 3 (11:26):
Yeah, his physicality. Then again, chasing down the ball is
part of that. I don't know, he created a little
bit of confusion. I thought he bumped him some. I
don't know if you call it, but they were gained possession.
They don't scoring that possession. Bridges is involved, missus a
shotover Mbi during that run. And then again it's it's
(11:47):
Maxi coming down and he's matched up with mckel Bridges
and he's kind of eyeing them up, you know, he's
eyeing him up, and then all of a sudden, he
puts it in his face, right, he puts it in
his face, And yeah, miss he missed the shot prior
to that, but it comes back down the next time,
he's in front of in front of Bridges and he
knocks it down another big, big three.
Speaker 4 (12:08):
So it's ninety nine to ninety six.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Then and then we go into the late game drama
of the ball you know, didn't with he getting the
ball getting you know, going down the other end and
then Embeedd coming out of nowhere. I have a little
bit of confusion there, but you get the idea. Yeah,
Maxy was heavily.
Speaker 2 (12:26):
He was the guy.
Speaker 3 (12:27):
It was obvious NETS were matched up with him with
your best defender. There wasn't wasn't great on one of
the possession factor was confusion.
Speaker 4 (12:36):
But Maxy made huge shots. Nets didn't. They didn't execute.
Speaker 2 (12:42):
Game over bottom line, last two minutes there, you're up five. Really,
all you need is to score.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
I mean you just yeah, you needed.
Speaker 3 (12:49):
To score some you needed to execute. One team did
and one player did Maxi Nets weren't able to do that.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
So the other part of how the frustrating part of
it for Brooklyn.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
And not only having that lead there is you know,
go back a little bit further into the third quarter,
James Harden gets ejected. But I do say this, and
we said it at the time. Even though hard Harden
was playing fairly well, you know, it's interesting he hadn't
gotten to the free throw line the first couple of games.
He only attempted three free throws last night, so it's
(13:25):
a different kind of Harden. He had made some shots,
you know, he made three threes last night. But I
didn't think they lose much when they go to when
it's Maxie and Melton in the back court. I really
didn't think so that, you know, Harden getting ejected late
in the third quarter, I felt like.
Speaker 1 (13:46):
That wasn't as big a.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Break for the Nets as as people that aren't really
into the series might might have thought. Because I thought that,
you know, not only he talked about Maxie and gone
down what he's done, but the Anthony Melton has been
to rip on both ends of the floor in this series,
and he was a There were plus twenty four with
him on the floor last night.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Thirty minutes.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Yeah, very very good, great decisions are really great.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Speed defensively next morning, as open as they'd want to
be because of the combination of those two speed and
but I yeah, and it changed, but it does change
the game, and it does mean that the primary ball
handler becomes Tyrese Maxi. And we're talking about the last
two minutes of a game, and Tyrese Maxi made every play,
so things did work, you know, talk about it wasn't
(14:33):
much of a drop off.
Speaker 4 (14:34):
Well, heck, I don't know that Harden would have done
all that. Harden would have had the ball.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
In his hands quite a bit, and it ended up
working out really well for the Sixers, although not shocking.
Speaker 4 (14:43):
TEXTI MAXI excuse me? Is that good of a player?
Speaker 2 (14:46):
Yeah? Acutely at thirty three in Game two twenty five
last week, Let's go way back.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Now, let's go back.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
We talked about the start of the game, and we
talked about the the incident with Embiid and Claxton.
Speaker 1 (15:05):
The Nets are up and they're up eight in the.
Speaker 2 (15:07):
First quarter, and it played, you know, using that the
energy from the crowd, the environment that that dust up.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
You know, they listen when that thing happened two minutes
into the game. I was fired up.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I can imagine what it was like for those guys
on the floor and Nick Claxton, who was finally emerging
and being a factor in this series and the Nets
are up eight.
Speaker 1 (15:32):
I think if you will really.
Speaker 2 (15:33):
Want to go back to ultimately where you know, the
Nets changed, the game changed negatively for the Nets. It
was there, I mean, because the Sixers end up closing
out the first quarter with a four point lead. What
was the seat change there in the first quarter.
Speaker 3 (15:50):
Well, offensively, Nets, for real, their pace was outstanding. They
were getting stops or getting a.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Ball up the floor. Their attack was early.
Speaker 3 (15:56):
They had twenty one points in the first five and
a half minutes of the game, and then really got
you know, got stagnant, got you know, got stale. I
think we brought it up a couple of times during
the night. There's a real tendency to talk about the
Sixers and then beat offensively and their entire team if
you forget they're a top ten defensive team also, and
if the Nets get bogged down and they're not executing
(16:18):
at the level or able to get it out and
really move it, hit or scratch the paint with the
ball and then swing it, they you know they can,
you know they can get stale offensively, and they sure did.
And then the Sixers just progressively just just warre them
down and went into halftime with a very good lead,
with a solid lead.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Well, yeah, eleven point, eleven point lead.
Speaker 2 (16:40):
They held the Nets to nineteen points in the second quarter,
so it's eleven points coming out of the locker room break.
And now we go to the third quarter, which the
Nets played one of their best third quarters of the year.
It was their best third quarter in playoff franchise history.
They outscore the Sixers thirty five to eighteen. I Initially,
(17:02):
the Sixers come out, get the first basket of the
third quarter and they're up thirteen points, which was the
high point for them. That was their biggest lead of
the game. And then the Nets hit a run and
ended up taking the lead there midway through the third quarter.
And you know, then Harden gets ejected late in the
third quarter, and then we've already you know, talked about
(17:22):
what happened in the fourth quarter, but certainly if you
were going to bottle something for the Nets, it would
be that third quarter. They're easily their best quarter of
this series.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Yeah, it was outstanding.
Speaker 3 (17:31):
I mean if their energy defensively, I think the four
seven turnovers in that quarter, they're getting after it. They're
a hustle and scrambling, knocking down shots, playing with confidence,
and uh, just a great and obviously did not give
up on the game, and we were able to really
turn everything around with their outstanding effort determination. And that's
(17:54):
why you have a hard time being angry about this team.
If you're watching this team play, you know, they're playing
their hearts out. You know what they have to do
defensively to compete with the superior team.
Speaker 4 (18:06):
You know how long the rotations.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
I think about the extra mileage guys are putting in
just just rotating around the half court defensively as they're
scrambling out of place. So that's just a fantastic job.
I almost think, and you know, maybe I'm greedy. Nets
score thirty five points in that quarter.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
I don't know that they.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
Shouldn't have had forty or so. I saw some open threes.
Speaker 3 (18:35):
Guys like Joe Harris, guys you know with Cam Johnson,
they made a lot of threes, but they also got
a lot of threes, and you could have almost gotten
greedier to say that they could have expanded that lead
even more. And I think that's kind of a little
bit of the theme I have with this Net team.
Even in the fourth quarter, Chris, as we go to
the if you go to that, I think the Nets
(18:57):
had looks. You know, in that five it's minute mark,
you got Cam Johnson or during Finney Smith with the.
Speaker 4 (19:03):
Ball going in, and I think this group is built.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
They have to have a.
Speaker 4 (19:07):
Comfort zone going into the last few minutes because they
don't have that.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
Well, Bridges is good and all that, but they don't
have an abundance of guys that are going to create
and make a play, and you don't necessarily have closers.
I wish the Nets had a little bit more of
a comfort zone because they you know, they shot the ball,
what ten of thirty thirty three percent they're capable of,
you know, I mean we say, be to the superior team,
you got to really you got to use that three
(19:34):
point line and you got to have success.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
You know, Could the Nets have shot.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Thirty eight thirty nine as opposed to thirty three might
have given them the comfort and the you know, the
pad they need to care to bring home a w.
Speaker 2 (19:47):
The thing about the three point shot is that they're
not all the same, not not in terms of how
you get them, but they're momentum shwinging, and they're so
often in this series. In Game two and in game three,
Game one the Jet Nets just got outplayed and and
(20:09):
and didn't deserve to win that game. But Game two, uh,
when you know they had the lead at halftime. Game three,
when they're up in the second half, and late in
the fourth quarter. There have just been so many opportunities
not to single any one guy out, but there have
been so many opportunities to make just momentum threes, especially
(20:35):
late in the game, and they just haven't done it.
Speaker 1 (20:38):
You know, Maxie, we're talking about Maxie.
Speaker 2 (20:40):
He's made those momentum threes, offensive rebounds that have led
to second chance threes. Those are backbreakers, and the Sixers
have done that too often in this series. The Nets
just have they you know, I don't I gotta you know,
look at their percentage for the series from three. It
might not be, you know, incredibly, but it's not great.
(21:02):
But just those plays where you go, oh, you know,
here they are they got they just need another bucket
to keep a big lead, or and it swings and
it's open and it's just missed from guys you expect
guys that often make them. They're just not making those.
And that's you know, playoffs. You have to go out
and win playoff games. They don't give you them, and
(21:22):
they just haven't made They've played hard, and they and
they've fought and they've had a good game plan against him.
Speaker 1 (21:28):
Bead. It's just those those those series winning plays. They're
just not making well.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
And you could expect them not to be able to
be a super creative beat somebody one on one, have
great moves, get to the spot, do a step back
and drain a shot from fifteen feet.
Speaker 4 (21:47):
You don't expect them to do that.
Speaker 3 (21:49):
Although bridges can or cam guys can, that's not really
who they are to close.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Out a game.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
Therefore, when they have a quality, good possession in the
ball ends up and with the ability to shoot a three,
that that's when you those are kind of your your closer,
you know, your closer games, you know, you know, closing
plays for a team like the Nets right now and
they haven't been able to do it.
Speaker 2 (22:13):
But not even not even closing, but like you know,
you're if you're you know, you're up five in exactly
in the early in the fourth coreter, the crowd's going
and the ball swings and a guy's wide open.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
He doesn't make it, and now they come down and
cut it to three or cut it to two. You know,
that's just.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
Those are the winning plays, you know, and it's just
agree it's been tough, and you know before the game,
Jacques one, yeah, his his his slogan. You know, he
always has a phrase he hits this width in the pregame, Uh,
we gotta we can't, we gotta. We gotta grow up,
not give up, you know, don't give up, grow up here,
and he emphasized that again.
Speaker 1 (22:53):
Uh afterwards.
Speaker 2 (22:53):
I don't want to get into a post mortem yet,
because again, like I mentioned, that's for when you lose
four series. Ain't over to lose four games, and you
know that, you know, sometimes something can happen that breathes
life into back.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Into a series.
Speaker 2 (23:07):
You know. Again, I thought the Sixers got a break
last night that that could have easily happened two minutes
into the game, but it didn't for them, and they
hung on and they ended up getting a win. But
anything can happen that can breathe life back into a series.
So you're never done until you do not have any
more breath. So we'll get into a post mortem on this,
but I but I do. I am encouraged about the
(23:27):
way this group that's going to be the core for
the Nets going forward, whether or not they add somebody
or not next year. It's growing as the series goes along.
They have grown up as this series goes along.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
Yeah, but you also have to understand that you're looking
across at the Sixer team, who's one of three teams
that are you know, a number of teams are better
than you in the Eastern Conference.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
And you've thought about the record of the NBA also, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
Well, you've got to be able to say to yourself that, Okay,
what do we got to do to get better? And
I don't know that You're not just going to grow
up with this group right now. You've got to you
you can evaluate in the play You've got to be
able to evaluate in the playoffs what you need.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
And that's how guys.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
Do that.
Speaker 3 (24:16):
I bet you know Bob Myers talks about that with
the Golden State waras he goes, I don't I evaluate
talent in the playoffs. That's when I evaluate where we're at,
and that's how I evaluate other players. And I think
the Nets done a terrific job of adjusting in a
really difficult situation this year. But I think everybody knows
(24:37):
they've got to be creative and figure out ways to
be able to compete with the Sixers, the Bucks, the Celtics,
the Cavs, everybody out there. And it's just growing with
this group They're not twenty and twenty one right now,
they're twenty six, twenty seven. This is a not win now,
but it's pretty darn close to it. So I'm curious
(24:58):
to see how everything involved.
Speaker 2 (25:00):
But also Zat pointed out before the game he thinks
that the only team in the playoffs that doesn't have
a guy, doesn't have a player has been to an
All Star game.
Speaker 4 (25:07):
Yeah, well, I mean yeah, I and you can. You can.
Speaker 3 (25:10):
You can tell that, And that's why, guys, it's difficult
down to stretch of a game to feel like, Okay,
we'll get the ball in this guy's hands, get out
of his way.
Speaker 4 (25:18):
You can't play that way.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
That's why you got to play, keep attacking, keep moving it,
keep screening, and keep making plays and be a little
bit more equal opportunity. Although Bridges got a couple of
looks down the stretch of the game that he could convert,
he didn't do.
Speaker 2 (25:31):
What you can see though, again and again, I made
this the comment about them not having an All Star,
but I do think what it is is they have.
You can make the case for multiple guys that are
growing to that level where they will be, the point
being that they're not there yet so it's growing. And
(25:52):
you know, you talked about Bridges, and you know, is
he the guy that can be the guy that takes.
Speaker 1 (25:57):
Over a game late. I don't know.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
I don't I don't know if he's going if that's
his ceiling. But again we're talking about the impact that
Embiid has on the defensive end. I think you're seeing
it with Michel Bridges a lot. He's scoring, but he's
fading away. He's not you know, he's trying to stop
and pull up. It's hard. Embiid is in everybody's head
(26:20):
right now in terms of trying to attack the paint
for the nets. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Yeah, but Chase, that's that he had the big block.
Speaker 1 (26:27):
Last night that sealed the game, by the way, on
didn't we That's.
Speaker 4 (26:30):
Why you need greatness to be a team near the
top of the conference. You can't.
Speaker 3 (26:34):
Goodness ain't gonna help. It's gonna get your Okay, You're
gonna be good. You can cheer for the team, You'll
be happy. I love the way how they compete. You
need to get to the next level. You're either the
talent you have has to improve and you have to
fortify that. You have to build on what you have
right now by by acquiring the right type of players
(26:57):
to go along with this group.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Well or I mean again, I'm trying not to get
too too much into the future here.
Speaker 4 (27:03):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, but you know.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Because if you're you know again that this is this
is going to be a conversation probably for postseason in
terms of.
Speaker 1 (27:12):
The direction you go.
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Is it going after a star again or is it
trying to let this group develop and then draft young players.
Speaker 1 (27:20):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
If we think their nets are in a kind of
a limbo period, that's I think a conversation for another time.
I think I really am curious to see the approach
of this young net group in game four. Psychologically, you know,
you're down three to oh. No one comes back down
three to oh. But what's their approach, what's their attack?
(27:45):
And can they get a win and extend this series
because when you extend the series, you never know what
can happen.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
You never know what can happen. And there's one thing
we've been really impressed by this group. The character of
this group is through the roof. I mean, these are
high character individuals. Collectively, they are a joy to watch compete.
That's why this defensive game plan has given them a
chance because of a how hard and how together they are.
(28:12):
I am curious. I think tomorrow is going to be
an enjoyable game. Game four is going to be enjoyable
because I think the Nets are not going to just
go away. We've seen teams down three to zero that
kind of go I would be shocked if they didn't
give the same sort of effort that they gave in
Game three and if they can catch a break here
or there then come away with the victory.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
Yeah, there was also you know, possibly I brought it
up in the post game. I think you said they
you'd be shocked to see it. But then listening to
some stuff today and reading some stuff, I think it's
been out there that you know, could joellenbid be suspended
for Game four?
Speaker 1 (28:50):
You don't know.
Speaker 2 (28:50):
And again again that's why you play out the series
because you never know when things can happen, and you
know we'll see I would be surprised if that happened,
but you know it's a possibility, and then you'd have
to go play a Game five in Philadelphia, And I
think if you're the Sixers man, you're just trying to
get this series over with. You don't want to let
this thing linger because you've got you know, they've got
(29:12):
their eyes on a championship, and you've got to make
any series where you can make it as easy as possible.
Speaker 1 (29:19):
You got to do that.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
And that's why I thought it was really they I
think that from a sixers, you know their stuff. They
think Hey probably was shaking their head ed and be
two minutes in, like what are we doing. We're gonna
make this you breathe life back into this series here
so early. So that's just the other side of it.
Cabra Game four Saturday, one o'clock. We've got an extended
(29:44):
pregame show. If you're out and about you want to
tune in. We're going on the air twelve twenty five,
some special guests and well we'll talk a lot of
big picture stuff and we'll get into Game four and
we'll have it for you right on the fan and
on the Brooklyn Nets app on the FM side of
the fan in the Brooklyn Nets app on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
It's a tip will be just after one.
Speaker 2 (30:06):
O'clock, so good recap here Capra on Game three and
look forward to seeing you for Game.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Four on Saturday.
Speaker 4 (30:14):
Already look forward to it.
Speaker 2 (30:16):
That is the Capper, Tim Capstraw. I'm Chris Carrino by
thanks to Steve Goldberg, Isaac Lee. This has been the
voice of the Nets. We'll talk to you after Game four.
Either we'll do we'll do a recap of Game four
with a preview to Game five, or we'll take a
couple of days and then we'll do a season in
(30:36):
review with Capper and maybe some other special guests as well.
So that's all coming up. Thank you for tuning in subscribing.
This has been the voice of the Nets.
Host
Chris Carrino
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Therapy Gecko
An unlicensed lizard psychologist travels the universe talking to strangers about absolutely nothing. TO CALL THE GECKO: follow me on https://www.twitch.tv/lyleforever to get a notification for when I am taking calls. I am usually live Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays but lately a lot of other times too. I am a gecko.