Nick Wright breaks down the thrilling comebacks in last night's NBA games, starting with Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks' stunning comeback against Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. Later, Nick breaks down Nikola Jokic's 42-point performance and Aaron Gordon's game-winner in the Denver Nuggets' win over Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder. After, Nick previews the Round 2 series between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors, and decides if Anthony Edwards can eliminate another legend in Steph Curry. Later, Nick discusses the Indiana Pacers Game 1 upset and previews their rematch with Donovan Mitchell and the Cleveland Cavaliers!
0:00 - Intro/Missed the Cut
4:56 - Knicks crazy comeback in BOS
23:34 - How do NYK and BOS match up?
29:17 - Is Nick rooting for Jokic?
35:20 - Nuggets improbable win vs OKC
50:48 - Battle of the MVPs
57:11 - Better legacy: Harden or Westbrook?
1:02:37 - Nick picking against the Warriors AGAIN!?!?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome in What's drive in the Great episode three twenty
eight after, for my money, the single best day in
the NBA all season. Those two games last night were
absolute theater and it We had talked for the last
(00:24):
month or so of the regular season that we could
get some absolute classic round two matchups if the brackets
held that we could get OKC potentially in round two
against Joker. We're getting it a Nick Celtics matchup, which
(00:45):
seemed like we knew we were getting that in round
two starting four months ago. And then maybe Pacers, I'm sorry,
Calves Bucks, Calves, Pacers, And then I thought, of course
we'd be getting Lakers somebody, but we didn't get that.
But that one hasn't started yet. And three round two games,
(01:09):
three road victories, three huge underdogs, all nine plus point
underdogs winning, and I thought the Nick Celtics game was
arguably the game of the playoffs, or were on the
very short list, and then it might not have even
been the game of the night. So we will get
(01:29):
to all of that demand. Welcome in great to see
you return from the met gala, which Demanse was in
attendance for last night. Back in La overnight flight, your
Mom and I actually went to a met gala like
pre dinner. That was a really nice, cool event that
(01:52):
I was probably not the best date for because I
was just watching Nick Celtics on my phone for the
first half and then got out of there in time
to be home to watch the close of that game
and then the entirety of Nuggets Thunder, which I thought,
(02:13):
Knicks Caves could be a game. I'm sorry, Nickscaves nick
Celtics could be a game. I thought it's weird because
I thought Nick Celtics could be a good game one,
but didn't really give the Knicks a chance in the series. Meanwhile,
I thought Thunder Nuggets that the Nuggets had a real
(02:37):
shot in the series, but thought Game one would be
a giveaway game the Nuggets coming off a seven game series.
The thunderfully rested all of that. So it turned out,
obviously that that is not how that went. And did
Game one of Nick Celtics change my thoughts on the series.
(02:58):
We'll get to that in a moment, but first, what
missed the cut? Mitch Johnson is replacing Greg Popovich in
San Antonio. Evidently Aaron Rodgers had a wedding band at
the Kentucky Derby. I saw that story, I did not
click on it. And Lebron misses the MET Gala because
(03:19):
he got hurt. Now, listen, I understand in some corners
of the internet, Lebron's not allowed to suffer injuries, even
injuries we see on camera, injuries we watch happen. It's
then all phony and fake. But look, you're shaking your head,
what do you mean?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Like you're saying he's not allowed to be injured. But
like he went on and he tweeted that he wasn't
gonna make the met Gala because he got injured in
the playoffs. I think people were just like big whoop,
you know, like you're not making the met gallup.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Well he was where this is where it's important to
you know, actually understand things. Sorry, demon say I do
this to you, and not just go with what the
internet saying. He was one of the chairs of the event,
so it wasn't just like I'm he's here. It was
just this year, so he was supposed to be there.
(04:11):
I don't know that he's ever gone to a Met
Gala because his team's normally still in the playoffs and
he was. But regardless set that aside. The story is
not lebron and the met Gala. And by the way,
you know how much tickets for that thing cost? Give
it a guess.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Is it like the How is it how it would
be in a stadium like Closer, I'd say, like, no, it's.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Just uh, seventy five thousand dollars a seat. Now it
all goes to charity. But it's seventy five thousand dollars
a ticket and you really can't get single tickets. You
can only buy tables. It's quite the event. Reminder to
everyone out there. For all your Met Gala and NBA
Playoff coverage, like rate subscribe review to What's Right with
(05:00):
Nick Wright and Demonse. Let's get Demonse.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Two.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
The Knicks against your beloved Celtics.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
The Knicks pulled off the upset last night. Yeah, pretty embarrassing.
I don't know what was going on. The Celtics were
relying on the three. The Knicks are down by as
much as twenty. They mounted the comeback with Brunson on
the bench. You call Game one a must win for
New York?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
How are you feeling about the series? Is there anything
I should be worried about? Being a Celtics fan.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Well, here's what I so. I'll get into the game
in a second. But here's why this series to me
is so fascinating and so interesting. The Knicks built an
entire team with this two week period. In month they built,
they made massive changes, fired all their draft pick bullets,
(05:49):
traded away Julius Randall, broke up the Villanova crew before
they could ever play a game together. They trade four
McHale Bridges, but then trade away Dante And it was
with one series in mind, can we put together our
version of Boston, meaning five excellent starters. Can we build
(06:15):
a team where for your Jason Tatum, we have Jalen
Bronson for your Jalen Brown, we have Karl Anthony Towns
for your Chris STAPs Porzingis. We have Mikhale Bridges for
your Derek White, we have og A Nanobi for your
Drew Holliday, we have Josh Hart. That's the idea. Five quality, switchable,
(06:42):
good starters who most of which can shoot, four of
them can defend, and that that is that's what we're
going to do. And then all year long it looked like, okay,
cool story, bro, but you can't beat any of the
good teams. Ever, and after getting blasted by the Celtics
(07:05):
in their first three matchups, the Knicks had the ultimate
moral victory loss in their final regular season matchup when
they took the Celtics to overtime and at least had
a little something to hold on to, like, well, maybe
maybe we can compete with these guys, Because once a
(07:27):
month into the year, when the Cabs raced out to
that one seed, it was very clear the Celtics were
content with the two, the Knicks were going to be
the three, and that this was gonna be our Round
two matchup. And then for two and a half quarters
it went about as poorly as it could have for
the Knicks, despite the fact that Boston couldn't hit a three.
(07:51):
I shouldn't say couldn't hit a three, because they made
fifteen of them, which is a fine number, but despite
the fact that Boston seemingly only wanted to shoot three
of their ninety seven field goal attempts, sixty were threes.
In the third quarter, seemingly every field goal attempt was
a three, they missed forty five of them, but it's
(08:12):
still at seventy five twenty five with five forty seven
left in the third quarter, and then and I tried,
I was gonna tweet it in real time, but I
was watching in the car on the way home on
my phone, so you can't watch the game and then tweet,
uh it. The Knicks turned a twenty point deficit into
(08:39):
oh we're fine faster than I can ever remember a
team doing it. They went from down twenty to down
six in five game minutes, from five forty seven left
in the third to twenty eight seconds left in the
(08:59):
third and now the Celtics still. They did hit a
three at the very end of the fourth third quarter
to give themselves a little breathing room back up to nine,
But in that moment, the Knicks felt like, we're fine.
We were going to get blown out. We now have
made it a game again, and if it's close late,
(09:22):
we trust our closer more than we trust your closer.
And I know Brunson missed the layup to win the game,
but I and I was shocked he missed it. He's
been so good in those spots all year and all
postseason that once Tatum took the terrible dribble dribble tie
(09:46):
Game three, that I thought, oh, the Knicks are just
gonna flat win this in regulation, they of course don't,
and normally demanse if the other team is BA better
than you, and it takes a furious comeback, and then
you have a chance to win the game in regulation
(10:08):
and it ends up going to overtime. That is such
so emotionally deflating that then the better team water finds
its level, the better team wins in overtime. And instead
the Knicks raced out to a six point lead in overtime, and.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Celicia's didn't do anything in overtime.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
No, well, they made two baskets. I think they made
two baskets in overtime and still had a chance potentially
for a game tying three. And the Michale Bridges, who
did not have a good game at all offensively, just
took the ball from Jalen Brown. And now the Knicks
are here saying we're in the fight, guys, the I
(10:55):
the Knicks. I'm sure this isn't how they're looking at it.
But the way I would look at it is because
you stole game one, now you simply have to win
one of the next three. By winning one of the
(11:18):
next three, you guarantee yourself you are getting a Game
six in the Garden, which will be if the Knicks
win one more game in the next four, but really
in the next three, that Game six in the Garden
(11:40):
will be the biggest game played in Madison Square Garden
this century. It will be the biggest game the Knicks
have been involved in in their building since the ninety
nine season with spree Way in Houston and that magical
(12:02):
run to the finals as an eight seed. That's what
it's that's what we're looking at here and for it
not to be a night where and we can say
the Celtics just didn't have it. And I understand the
forty five miss threes are an absurd number, an absurd number.
(12:26):
I get that we held the Timberwolves in their victory
over the Lakers in Game five, I think tied the
record for missed threes with forty when they went seven
of forty seven. But they it.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Took all that to go to overtime win by a
couple of points. I think the Celtics will game plan
and maybe not rely on the three as much when
it's not hitting and takes them inside shots.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
I listen, I get that mindset that this is it
took a historically inefficient shooting night for the Knicks to
escape in overtime. I get that, But what you also
though have and the reason I called Game one a
(13:17):
must win is for the Knicks. I don't care how
confident athletes are and how sure of themselves to get
to where they are they had to be. If a
team beats you five times in a row and every
single time in a season, it's very hard to convince
yourself not only can we beat them, but we're about
(13:40):
to beat them four of the next six, right, And
that's the position the Knicks would have found themselves in.
I also I thought, I thought Tatum settling at the
very end of regulation.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
You got Mitchell Robinson Garden. You was just a big stake. Yeah,
the game. It's not like we were down like that.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
That that's that's the problem there. So I down two
at the end of you know, in the waning moments,
the math is very very clear that shooting a three
is better than basically any option other than a wide
open layup, because down to a two only gets you
(14:27):
an extra five minutes, as opposed to a three that
can win the game but obviously down one or in
this case, a tie, game drive to the basket, you
know what I mean, put some pressure.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
They get it with a second left or something.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
But yeah, and so I don't think they could let
me double check that, I don't think they could hold
for the last shot there if if I'm almost certain
of that, because if they could that no, it was
like four second there was like four second different. Yeah,
so you can't listen if he would have gone early there, that's.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
A that's a exact dangerous.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
He didn't go early, but at least I mean a
couple seconds early. But the Knicks were going to get
another shot no matter what. And so that part I
totally that, that part's fine. It's just when you are
in that moment, if you're Jason Tatum, you are what
was he from three? I mean he's finished four for fifteen,
(15:28):
so I don't know what he's shot in overtime, but
in that moment, it's not like his three. And so
that to me was a mistake. And you know, obviously
should be noted they got nothing from Chris STAPs because
Christaps left the game with an illness, and so you know,
(15:49):
thirteen minutes zero points from Chris STAPs is you know,
and Luke Cornett having to play seventeen minutes, Horford having
to play thirty four minutes. That's not really on your
Bingo card. I understand that. And White, Tatum, and Brown
combining to go doing this on the fly twenty of
sixty one from the field, none of that's on your
(16:12):
Bengo card either. However, the Knicks built a team to
defend Boston, and it just feels like last night, the
only chance we had of getting a series is the
(16:32):
Knicks winning that game. And when they're down twenty twenty
midway through the third quarter, it feels like, Okay, Boston's
just head and shoulders better than them, and the Knicks
found a way to come back and steal it. I said, I.
(16:53):
Now there's a couple other Knicks pieces I want to
get to here, which is I am imploring coaches around
the basketball world. If you have a player on your
team that you want to play, that you want to
give minutes to, but the other team is going to
(17:17):
do the hack of player strategy, and he's so bad
at free throws, you are going to blink and take
him out of the game. If they do that, then
you must adjust your rotation patterns so that player gets
a disproportionate amount of his minutes at the very end
(17:39):
of quarters and at the beginning of quarters. So the
Knicks want to play Mitchell Robinson, and they did play
him twenty one minutes and the Celtics, and there's another
reason why the numbers can be misleading. The Celtics and
Tatum saying, you know, we should play without refts and
basically about the physicality. And then the Knicks shot thirty
one free throws, the Celtics only shot twenty six.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Still that said play without refs. I'm sorry, did Tatum
say that for the game?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Tatum said that. Yeah. Tatum was like, it's so physical,
you might as well just want into.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
The refs up the court to get a call.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Man, correct, that's yeah. But what I was saying about
the free throw discrepancy is the free throw numbers are
misleading because eight of the knicks thirty one free throws
were hacka Mitch Robinson, you know what I mean? Like
that that those were those were fouls you wanted called.
(18:34):
But the point I'm making is Tibbs needs to adjust
the rotation where Mitch is getting minutes at the start
of the second or it's you're probably not gonna start
the half with him at the start of the fourth
because nobody goes to hack a player when you're at
zero team fouls. They're not gonna just burn five team fouls.
(18:57):
Put you in the bonus get the guy at the line.
Where you get in trouble is when you put him
in with five minutes left in the quarter. The other
team's already at four team fouls, and then they can
just put him on the line. But Mitch, despite the
free throws, being brutal was useful for them. Listen, they decided,
(19:20):
I implored on the show, see if Miles McBride Duce
McBride can give you some minutes. He did. They couldn't
guard in those minutes as the problem. And I do
wonder if Precious becomes more of a featured player in
this game, if they feel they can't in this series,
if they can't play Mitchell Robinson. But you just play
(19:43):
Mitchell Robinson, like if his stint is we're putting him
in with two minutes left in the first when you
can't foul away from the ball, and he is continuing
that stint into the first five minutes of the second,
when you're not in the bonus, you don't have to
worry about the hack of strategy and then do the
(20:04):
same thing the third into the fourth, and now all
of a sudden you have fourteen Mitchell Robinson minutes where
the hack of strategy is totally neutered. Like that, to
me is something I'd look at if I were tips,
And so I'm listen, I am going to try to
go to Game three at the Garden. Those I looked
(20:26):
it up. It is the the prices of these games
at the Garden are so outrageous, so the same and
I'm not talking court side, but I like fifth row,
so really good seats, but not courtside. Those seats for
(20:47):
Game one Timberwolves Warriors and the Warriors are either the
biggest of the second biggest straw in the sport in
Minnesota are like twelve hundred ticket. Those exact seats at
MSG for Game three are right now selling for eleven
(21:08):
grand a ticket. They have listed courtside seats for fifty
grand a ticket. It's that the games at MSG, playoff games,
the prices are just and it literally is cheaper to
fly to Boston, get a hotel, and it's not like
(21:30):
Boston It's not like Celtics don't have great fans and so,
but I want to go to game three.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Experience man, and.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
I mean your mom and I went to game two
of Nicks Pistons. This would be something else. And so
shout out to the Knicks. That was a great win.
And can you win one of the next three and
guarantee yourself you're getting a game six at MSG and
(22:01):
then if all of a sudden you're in a game seven.
The lesson every few years about a game seven is
some random might have the night of their life. Buddy
Heal did it over the weekend. You and I were together,
de Monsay watching Grant Williams do it. Hit to Milwaukee
(22:23):
in twenty twenty two, game seven of the thirteen Finals,
the game after the Ray Allen game. If people remember
it because Lebron had thirty seven and twelve and the
Heat went back to back. What people forget about that
game is Ray Allen and Chris bosh in that game
(22:43):
combined for zero points. And the reason the Heat were
able to stay ahead of the Spurs route was because
Shane Battier off the bench hit six threes. The you
know what I mean, the random role player. Oh yeah,
Danny Green did it, not in the game seven, but
(23:05):
Danny Green did it in the finals. But the random
role player that just catches fire, and it's like, holy shit,
this is how my season's going to end. Like again,
the Knicks are drawing incredibly slim, but they would be.
They would have been drawing dead had they lost last
night and they didn't. You've got a couple follow ups
(23:28):
here and then we can move on to So.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
I mean, for the way you talk, I could assume
that you think the Knicks are the worst version. But
you said that the Knicks are the version of a
repeated version of the Celtics.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
Do you think that they're the worst version?
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Yeah, well, listen, they're not as good. They're clearly not
as good, but they built the team with the Celtics
in mind, and it is it's just like a every
at every step, it's a slightly worse version, you know
what I mean. So, like, Brunson is awesome, and listen,
(24:05):
maybe we'll feel differently after the series, but Brunson is
just a tick beneath Tatum as a player, Karl Anthony
Towns because of his lack of consistency, and you know,
He's a very different player than Jalen Brown, but he's
a level below Jalen Brown. Now, those other three guys
(24:26):
Bridges annobe Hart versus Chris STAPs White Drew Holliday, depends
on the night, those guys can kind of be playing
each other even But then when we get to the bench,
Horford's a far better back up big than Mitchell Robinson,
(24:47):
and Peyton Brichard is a way better energy off the
bench shooter than Deuce McBride. So it's just it's Kevin
O'Connor's said this to me about I forgot what we
were talking. Oh yeah, we were saying Joker to Shngoon
(25:08):
to Sabonis. He said, is the Pokemon meme the shars are.
I don't like where it's like three different versions of
the same Pokemon, but they just get stronger and stronger.
I don't know Pokemon, so I don't the I'm butchering that,
but that's kind of what the Knicks are to the Celtics.
The question is, for two weeks, can Jalen Brunson out
(25:31):
play Jason Tatum. For two weeks, can Karl Anthony Towns
play Jalen Brown to a push like can they do it?
Probably not, But now they've got Now, now they're more
than a puncher's chance. Go ahead, We've got a little,
a little bit of life. And for me, selfishly, I
(25:53):
want to say something I I would intense joy because
I'll be honest, I don't have a lot left to
root for in these playoffs. I have stuff to root against.
The I already the the the will. The take that
(26:18):
will age better than any of my takes is the
when the Warriors win, steps in the goat conversation, and
when they lose, nobody you know it, nobody cares, and
as evidenced by yesterday morning on ESPN, were served up
steph is three series victories away from being in the
(26:39):
goat conversation Like okay, uh fine, so be it. The
after the Buddy healed game, I got it. So I
get like, I I guess I'm rooting against that. I
historically am not a big Celtics guy, So I guess
I'm rooting for the Nicks. Your mom's claims to be
(27:00):
a Knicks fan, now, all this stuff. Oh, but here's
what I'm truly rooting four in this postseason. Selfishly, all
last year I had to I'll go back two years.
(27:20):
Two years ago, at the end of the regular season,
Kevin Wilds was just like the Bucks. Here's the reason
why the Bucks are the best team. They and this
one I didn't totally disagree with them on They would
(27:41):
have gone back to back, but they dealt with injuries.
It's so obviously and clearly the Bucks, and then they
get popped in Round one last year. All year long,
Wild's is only consistent take, No one's beating Denver in
a seven game series. Denver is so obviously the team
(28:05):
that won the championship last year. They are the champs,
they're the best. No one's beating them, and then they
blew a Game seven at home in Round two. All
this year, Wilde's take has been his Denver take from
last year, except it's about the Celtics, the team that
won the championship last year. They're the best. No one
(28:27):
can beat them in a seven game series. If in
back to back years that team gets clipped in round two,
it will just be so gratifying, and then we're probably
gonna have to listen to next year. No one's beating
Oklahoma City in a seven game series. But so that
(28:49):
really is at this point my rooting interest is paying
for Wilds, primarily the Steph conversation not getting really untenably annoying. Uh.
And I'd like the Knicks to do well because I'd
like to be able to go to as many playoff
(29:09):
games as possible here and in the West. Going into
last night, I would have said in the West, I'm
rooting for Aunt. But in one of the most shocking
turn of events, turns of event I don't know turn.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Of events in my sports fan life, I am finding
it harder and harder not to root for Joker.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
I know nobody. I know nobody expects that from me
because I was a Joker skeptic years back. But I
find him to be so likable and so God dog good.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Where you been at?
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Say it again, at Man, this is crazy. No, I
It's just listen and we'll get to the nuggets in
a moment. I we don't have to relitigate the MVP
stuff and where I was on it and how I
thought he was being anointed to a place he had
(30:20):
not yet earned when other guys had to prove it.
Set all that stuff aside. For the last two years,
two years, I have been firmly in the it's very
clear Jokers the best player in the world and an
all time great camp And you can say I was
(30:41):
two years late to it, fine, but when you say
where you've been at, like what what propelled it? I
think the added responsibility he's taken on with that team
post Malone being fired is so special of him running
(31:03):
these huddles, of him, you know, being you know, basically
a player coach along with Dave Adelman and then seeing
what they've been able to do is it's it is
and this is as high of praise as I can
(31:25):
give it. This that game, it's Lebron s where it's like, Okay,
we don't have a perfect team. We don't have you know,
there's we fired our coach mid season and I have
(31:46):
to take even a bigger responsibility and don't worry about it.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
With Jokicic is like his character type and his personality.
I think it's even bigger that he's doing what he's
doing right now. Yes, Lebron is obviously different from you, Kic,
and I feel like is more comfortable taking that.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Role correct and it feels like Joker would almost rather not.
But it's like, okay, if this is what we need
to do. And before we get to that game, one
one piece if you were watching the very end of
that game that I found incredibly endearing and I really liked,
(32:21):
and it might have been a big reason they won
the game. They put Joker in to guard the inbounds
on the possession where Chet missed the free throws. Okay,
and this it was an interesting decision because he had
five fouls, so he obviously couldn't you know, once the
(32:44):
ball gets inbounded, he has to stay away, but they're
racing against the clock. Joker initially starts guarding the inbound
and then immediately turns his back, but then also like
flails about yeah, which it was strategically and basketball wise
(33:05):
very smart. I ain't get. Just made it a little
bit harder to get the ball unbounded where the Thunder
wanted to and ended up going to Chat instead of SGA,
which was ended up being a massive, massive event in
that game. I think a lot of NBA super duper
stars wouldn't have done that because they look so goofy. Yeah,
(33:29):
like I really I know that sounds silly, but I
really believe that, And I put that in the same
bucket of Joker being the the opposite of the field
goal percentage savings club. He takes every single end of
quarter heave. He'll even like volleyball slap it like it
is really uh. The pure dedication to like what can
(33:54):
help my team in this moment, I find really endearing
and so I don't know, Wow, who knows? Maybe I'm
a Nuggets guy. NBA eighty two game grind is done.
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(34:17):
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(36:08):
we talked about it a bit there, but we didn't
really get into the nitty gritty of it. Let's do
Thunder Nuggets.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Now, speaking of improbable second round wins, mane Denver coming
off a game seven series with the Clippers, go in
and battle the rested.
Speaker 4 (36:23):
Really they coming off like a week plus arrest. Oh yeah,
once see.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
The Okids drops forty two points, he had twenty two rebounds.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
Gord hit the game winning.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Three after okayse he's late foul backfire. How do you
feel about that game?
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Yeah, So everyone's gonna talk about the fouling up three,
and there's also gonna be some real criticism about the
final foul by uh by the Thunder because Joker wasn't
in the game, and it's like in Denver didn't have
(36:59):
time out, wasn't gonna be able to get get in
the game. I disagree with that criticism the way it's
being phrased. They were gonna be able to get Joker
back in the game, because what the Nuggets were going
to do in that spot was rape. If you don't foul,
race down the court, try to get a quick two,
(37:20):
and then foul themselves, and when you foul yourself, then
Joker can come back in where they Where I thought,
and the broadcast pointed it out as well. Where I
thought the thunder screwed up was the instantaneous fouling and
not letting any time go off the clock. I thought
(37:43):
was a strategic error, like you in the The first
time they're doing it, the Nuggets are inbounding with thirteen
point two. They foul at two twelve point two, so
they within a second they foul. The next time they
(38:06):
do it, the Nuggets are inbounding at eleven point zero.
They foul at ten point one. So when you do
that and it's a three point game, what you are
flatly saying is we're not going to miss a single
free throw. We in Oklahoma City are fully confident we
(38:28):
are not missing one free throw. And the problem with
that is you miss two. And I want to get
to Joker in a second, But my my bigger takeaway
(38:49):
from a lot of moments of that game, and it's
not just that game, to be totally clear, it's a
lot of what we've seen up to this point in
what has been If we're being honest, a slightly underwhelming,
(39:09):
not bad, but underwhelming. First few years for Chet is
I was exactly right, which is a player that physically
weak is going to have some issues. And at the
(39:33):
very end of that game, there were a lot of
moments where a stronger player could have made a more
impactful play. There was an attempted put back he had
where he got bumped, missed the put back and then
lost the ball. In the waning moments. There was the
(39:56):
Aaron Gordon offensive rebound after the Russ miss. Now Gordon
ended up missing the putback himself, but where he got
bumped around, and so that is going to be and
he's not going to get And this was the point
I made about Chet coming out of school that either
(40:19):
of the two explanations for why he was that thin,
neither one of them should have made you optimistic about
his ability to put on weight. Explanation one was the
(40:40):
one we were given. He works out like a madman,
eats like crazy, hits the weights, just can't put on
the weight. Okay, then his body's just not built for
it to put on weight. The other explanation is the
guy doesn't care, like he didn't care, like he didn't try. Well,
that's not great either, because it's the old It was
(41:00):
the only like glaring weakness for him as a college star.
And I think that you saw it in the waning
moments last night. And then it got compounded by him
missing two free throws and then getting lost in transition defense.
And that was a transition spot where man, credit where
(41:25):
credit is due, Demonse, you know who made the right
basketball play, Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook, the whole world thought,
and I'm sure you did too. Russ is just going
(41:47):
to just haphazardly crashed towards the basket in this transition
opportunity and probably missed this layup with more velocity than
any mislayup we've ever seen. And instead he calmed himself.
(42:09):
Found Aaron Gordon and another credit where credits due. Aaron Gordon,
who let again he's not a young player. I mean
he's twenty nine, but like he's a veteran. Aaron Gordon
last year twenty nine percent from three to sixty five
percent from the line. Aaron Gordon this year forty four
(42:34):
percent from three to eighty one percent from the line.
He confidently, I mean for a player just real quick
going into this year was a career thirty two percent
three point shooter, sixty eight percent free throw shooter to
in year eleven, up his three point percentage on way
(42:59):
higher volume than he was shooting last year, almost double
the threes, up his three point percentage twelve and a
half points, and up his free throw percentage twelve and
a half points. Is really impressive and he deserves massive
credit for it. And he hit the biggest shot of
the Nuggets season. Well, no, the biggest shot of the
(43:19):
Nugget season was his dunk in Game four. But he
now has two playoff game winners essentially, and it is
so that is to me, just as.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
If for Russ is playing good basketball, watch out man
Denver is scary.
Speaker 4 (43:40):
I feel like I feel like Russ of the X Factory.
Michael Porter Juno scored two points last night.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
Lest Well, that's the thing. Truss had to play well
because Porter didn't have it and the other guy credit
to him, Peyton Watson. Now the Ayde Watson's numbers are grizzly.
He's played fifteen minutes in a game his team won.
(44:07):
They were minus twenty two in those fifteen minutes, which
is means in the thirty three minutes he wasn't on
the court. They were plus twenty four. So I'm not
acting like Peyton Watson had this remarkable game, but when
he was on the court down the stretch, he did
have some He adds some length and some athleticism that
(44:31):
that team at times feels like it's missing when you
have a Jamal Murray Christian Brown backcourt and you're just wondering,
you know who those guys can guard. And so that
that sequence at the end puts for the a Thunder
(44:53):
team that really has had no pressure on them at
any moment all season, Demanse, they now face what I
think is fair to call it an absolute, unequivocal must
winning game two. Yeah, they can't go down two to
(45:13):
Ozho at home. They just can't. And so and by
the way, right now this moment, if I had to
pick a champion, I would pick Oklahoma City, I thought,
And again maybe I was dead wrong. I thought the
Lakers presented unique problems for Oklahoma City.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
But I just talking Western Conference or like totality or
the no well I.
Speaker 1 (45:37):
Thought I thought the Thunder weren't gonna get to the
finals because I thought the Lakers presented unique problems for them.
The Lakers, you know, couldn't get out of their own
way in round one. I think Oklahoma City presents unique
problems for Boston and you know, and again we don't
know who's going to be there in these so I'm
(45:58):
not at all writing off Oklahoma the city. What I
am saying is that they have to win Game two.
And now I want to talk about Nikali Jokic because
that was an all time performance, man, and that the
(46:18):
sequence that will be lost to the history of the
crazy finish was because keep in mind, they're down nine
with two and a half minutes left, like they they had,
they had made it a game, but it was still
(46:41):
the Thunder were infirm control. They're down nine with two
and a half minutes left. Joker draws a foul after
being oddly shaky at the line this postseason, makes both
free throws. Okay, next time down, Hartenstein miss Russ gets
(47:04):
to the line, goes one of two, not six point game.
Two minutes left, Chet misses a three. Joker takes his time,
takes his time, gets in for a little five footer.
Now it's a four point game. Shay misses uh nineteen footer.
(47:27):
This is where Chet I think had the offensive rebound,
lost it got bumped, Gordon gets it, Nuggets time out,
and that next possession, Joker has Hartenstein up at the
top top of the key. Hartenstein's doing this whole crazy
(47:48):
thing with his hands, putting one hand right. Yeah, de
Monse should doing it too, but he was. It wasn't
just one hand demonse. He was like alternating, I'm doing
like I'm not gonna get I'm not gonna foul, but
I'm gonna try to distract you. And Joker very calmly
surveys the situation. In that moment, Jokers one for five
(48:10):
from three and just nails a three, and now all
of a sudden, it's a one point game. Next time down,
Uh the nugget. The Nuggets get another stop they get
Joker finds Russ for an open three miss, Gordon gets
(48:31):
the rebound, kind of forces it, and then it's like, ah,
did they miss their opportunity? And then all the free
throw shenanigans happen and that we talked about already. But
Nikola Jokic, the seven turnovers not great. You can deal
with it when he has forty two twenty two and
(48:51):
six on better than fifty percent efficiency ten of thirteen
from the free throw line and was doing it a
lot of it, sitting on five fouls knowing, and I
was nervous for him because it seemed like the thunder
(49:15):
weren't too worried about Caruso or guys that size getting
matched up on jokicchen the post, and I thought that
might be because one of these guys when Joker does
the turn yet exactly right that they're going to that
they're gonna flail back and he's gonna get a cheap
(49:38):
sixth foul. But he was very sharp to avoid it.
And the Nuggets just in this three point era, they're
just total refusal to commit to shooting threes. Maybe it'll
be the death of them, but I mean they they
made ten last night, which is fine for them. They
on they only shot thirty two. I with there has
(50:04):
been this ongoing theory, so to speak, in NBA Twitter,
and I kind of like the theory that because of
the apron restrictions and the new CBA and the depth
of talent in the league, that we have moved past
(50:24):
an era of like who's the best player in the series,
who's got the best duo in the series, and instead
it's more about what they called it is the weak
link era that it's more about, is my worst player
that I play better than your worst player? Do you
(50:44):
have someone I can exploit and I don't have someone
you can exploit? And the Thunder and the Celtics and
the Caves and the Knicks are all kind of that
have built their team with that in mind. Week links,
you know, like, we're gonna have five quality players on
(51:04):
the court for crunch time out all times. The Nuggets,
it's more about, yeah, but we got that fucking dude
and you don't. And I know Shay's gonna win MVP,
but Joker last night and Shaye, by the way, was
really good last night. The you know, Jalen Williams wasn't great,
(51:27):
Chet was bad, Shay was excellent, and Crusoe was excellent, excellent.
Speaker 2 (51:33):
I like, do you think that Yolk is trying to
prove a point here against SGA, you know, with the
whole MVP thing.
Speaker 1 (51:41):
I don't know that he was trying to prove a point.
But Demons, you should go back you after the show
or sometime today, you should just type into YouTube a
keem Olajuan David Robinson MVP playoffs. So nineteen ninety five
(52:04):
is the playoffs, it's in ninety four ninety five, I
think it's ninety five. A Keem is the defending champ,
the defending MVP, and I want to make sure I
get this exactly right, but I'm sure I have it right.
(52:26):
And it's him and David Robinson basically for MVP. And
I wonder what the voting was. I'm gonna look it
up real quick because it ends up going to David Robinson.
And a team was another guy, an international player. You know,
maybe people didn't totally get his personality at all times,
(52:49):
but insanely competitive. So a Teme that year, by the way,
didn't even That's the part I had wrong. I knew
I had some of it wrong. A team came in
fifth and in VP voting because that year the Rockets,
as the defending champs, were not very good in the
regular season and then added Clyde Drexler and turned it
on in the postseason. But that MVP voting when David
(53:12):
Robinson won, shack to Karl Malone three ewing for a
team five. By the way, what a different league was
many or the top five or centers with the other
one being Karl Malone. So the NBA used to they don't,
I don't know if they. They used to always give
(53:32):
out the MVP award on the court before a playoff game,
and they were able to do it because the MVP
was always on like the one of the two seed,
and you knew they would be alive late in the playoffs.
And a team watched David Robinson before Game two of
(53:54):
this series get the MVP award and it Keem put
him in an all time torture chamber and the highlights
of a Keem doing his dream shake and his footwork,
and it all culminated Demons in just a vintage a
(54:18):
Keem game of forty one, sixteen four, three and.
Speaker 4 (54:23):
Two almost identical stats to Yokis.
Speaker 1 (54:26):
Yes, yes, yeah for real and the and and also
in that game, I mean, David Robinson was fine, but
everyone remembers it for what it. I mean, David Robinson
more than final he had thirty two and twelve, remembers
it for what a cheme did to him.
Speaker 2 (54:44):
And it was I mean, that is kind that makes
it very juicy.
Speaker 4 (54:49):
Given the MVP award.
Speaker 1 (54:51):
Right there and there, it's like, all right, yeah, I'm
watching it. And the only part of that story I
might have wrong is did they give Robinson the MVP
before for game one? I'm now starting to think maybe
they did because Game one because the way I remember it,
a Keme was awesome and Robinson really struggled. Game one
of that series, Robinson was five of seventeen from the
(55:13):
field and a team had twenty seven, eight, six and
five blocks. But regardless, point is a Keem watched David
Robinson win an MVP that he thought should have been
his and then beat him to go to the NBA Finals.
And in that series to beat him, he averaged thirty five, thirteen,
(55:38):
five and four blocks, just a you might have the trophy.
I'm the best damn player alive. And that was you know,
that was the year Jordan came back at the end. Whatever,
spend too much time on the ninety five Western Conference Finals,
I mean, and the you should watched the highlights. Toying
(56:03):
he seems to be toying with Robinson. It's really and
a team's blocks in that series by game five, two, five, three, five, five. Again,
I go to the What's Right YouTube page like great
subscribe review for the full video on a Keem Olajuan
time as of late, one of the most underrated players
(56:26):
in NBA history. He then went on to the finals
and swept Shack and thoroughly outplayed Shack young athletic Shack.
He scored thirty plus in every single game of that series,
and in those finals averaged thirty three, twelve and six
(56:47):
with two steals and two blocks a game to win
his back to back championships. And people have the audacity
to say that Jordan would have won eight straight man
not with a Kim Olajuan sitting across from the other comperence.
Speaker 4 (57:03):
Say it again, I mean all that turned into well.
Speaker 1 (57:06):
Because it's it's so One of the reasons a chem
is so disrespected is people act like those rings didn't
count because for the first year Jordan was playing baseball
and for the second year, he.
Speaker 4 (57:19):
Came in midway through the season.
Speaker 1 (57:21):
And so but so, and I'm just here to tell
you those rings counted. But regardless, the reason I'm saying
all this is, I gotta think they announced Shay as
MVP before Game two. I think that's what's gonna happen.
And if it's not before game two, it'll be before
Game five. Either way, I gotta think we're getting a
(57:47):
thirty years later potentially the same type of thing. So yeah,
I mean it is. I'm excited to see it. All right,
let's go to some of the Games seven stuff that
we weren't able to get to.
Speaker 2 (58:02):
Uh So, yeah, you went off on your on your
show yesterday, you called James Harden the biggest choker in
modern sports history?
Speaker 4 (58:11):
Was that what you called him? Yes? Do you think
that's you think that's fair?
Speaker 1 (58:16):
Who else is in the argument? Just tell someone. I
just need someone to tell me who the other contenders are.
And here's the deal. I'm going to pull up these
I'm going to pull up these numbers real quick. So Harden, Lebron,
Steph Durant, those are the four guys of the era.
(58:42):
And as far as just having uh okay, sure, yeah,
maybe I should have included Chris Paul, but I didn't.
But that's and that that's a fair one. But I
just want to give you these numbers career playoff games.
(59:02):
Demonse less than four made baskets, Durant has two, Steph
has three, Lebron has five. Give me a guess for Harden.
Speaker 4 (59:20):
Just give a number Harden. All right, So you said
those guys numbers, I'll go.
Speaker 1 (59:24):
Nine thirty five.
Speaker 2 (59:28):
Yeah, and those guys have obviously played a lot more
than well.
Speaker 1 (59:32):
I don't Harden's played a bunch. I don't think Lebron's
played a lot more. But yeah, but you know Harden
was Okay, hold on, that was so again, thirty five
career playoff games with less than four maybe.
Speaker 4 (59:46):
How many of those were on? Okay?
Speaker 1 (59:47):
See, uh a hand a decent amount. But again he
the the only one you can really throw out is
the like his for want to throw out you know,
ten of those games because it was young, young James Harden,
but he was you know, sixth Man of the year
(01:00:09):
and going two for ten in the finals. All right,
hold on, I got a couple more for you. Career
playoff games with under five made baskets. Again, I'll give
you the numbers for everyone else. KD four, Steph eight,
Lebron nine, James Harden fifty five.
Speaker 4 (01:00:32):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:00:33):
And then last one career playoff games where you have
at least as many turnovers or more turnovers than made
shots Durant seven, Steph thirteen, Lebron seventeen, James Harden.
Speaker 4 (01:00:52):
More turnovers than made shots.
Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
Yes, all right, yeah, seven, steph thirteen, Lebron's seventeen, James
Harden forty two, forty two. It's more turnovers than made shots,
It's the biggest one, right there. Or as many turnovers
(01:01:14):
as made shots, as many or more. Uh So, here's
the thing. So even if you want to be like, well,
those first two stats were about you know, he wasn't
playing as many minute he's off the bench. That that
clears that up. And it's just demons. I used to
be the biggest hardened defender. He had such a horrific
(01:01:36):
Game six against San Antonio in twenty seventeen when Kawhi
and Tony Parker were out and the Rockets lost by
thirty nine points that I said, I thought he had
an undiagnosed concussion.
Speaker 4 (01:01:51):
It's just.
Speaker 1 (01:01:54):
And so there is there is no comp for it.
And so oh if people want to, we don't have to.
It's just at this point who he is, the moment
gets too big.
Speaker 4 (01:02:07):
It was turned around there for a second.
Speaker 1 (01:02:09):
He always has these moments and then it's the game
six or a game seven, and he takes seven shots,
he takes eight shots. He has he has I think
six playoff games where he was two for ten, two
for eleven, or two for twelve from the field, ask
this follow up about Russ, and then we'll get to
(01:02:30):
the Warriors.
Speaker 2 (01:02:31):
So who do you think will end up having a
better legacy when it's all said and done between Russ
and Harden?
Speaker 1 (01:02:37):
So I think this is really it depends on what
your value. So Harden's a better all time player, and
like he has, he's gonna have better numbers on better
teams more of a part of winning. They both won
one MVP. But Russ is gonna be an icon and
(01:03:01):
Harden is going to be uh a placeholder for choking
like people are comparing you to like the choke artists
and future right, and so the answer is Russ, Like,
the answer is definitely Russ. All right, this we went
(01:03:22):
longer than I was supposed to go here, so we
got to hurry up through the end here. So let's
do some Warriors T Wolves.
Speaker 4 (01:03:28):
Warriors and Tea Wolves are facing off.
Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
They start today, They're both they start today, and they're
both coming off of Round one upsets you in the
past have picked against the Warriors.
Speaker 4 (01:03:38):
Do you plan on doing it here?
Speaker 1 (01:03:40):
Yes? And in fact, thanks to my friends at DraftKings,
uh and I man, I thought I gave out a
great winner on Twitter for the Game seven, I had
under for Harden Nuggets to win this for Clippers Nuggets
Game seven, I had under for Harden Nuggets to win
(01:04:01):
and then a Joker triple double, but the Nuggets blew
them out so much Joker didn't have to play all
those minutes and then it on eight assists. But I've
got I've got a series bet. I like a lot,
which is Minnesota to win Game one and the series
that's almost even money minus one p fifteen. Of course,
(01:04:22):
line's an odd subject to change, and we're out here
moving line, so you know that could change quickly. But
I ain't the Warriors. I understand this is not how
some of the other series have played out where we
just saw it with the Nuggets having all this energy.
But I think the Warriors are gonna be a little
(01:04:42):
out of gas after that seven game rock fight with Houston,
and I think Minnesota is gonna come out rested and
fresh after their series ended almost a full week ago
against the Lakers. So I love Minnesota tonight, and I
love Minnesota in the series. I just think Minnesota. I
(01:05:04):
thought Houston presented real problems for the rock for Golden State,
and we saw it and that series. Listen credit, Steph
was brilliant in Game one, in Game three and then
had was awesome in the second half of Game seven,
and all of that plus Buddy Healed, plus the fact
(01:05:25):
that Jalen Green is not a serious person, and okay,
well I'm sorry. First of all, I'm not sorry. I
don't think he's a serious person, and he's not a
reliable basketball player. And Shingoon got shook by Draymond. Legit
shook by Draymond, and you add the Buddy Healed game
(01:05:47):
and the Warriors win the series flip sided. All that
is all that could have happened. And if Shingoon could
have made that twelve footer in Game four, maybe it's Rockets.
And six. I thought the Warriors loss in Game six
in their building, letting go of the rope the way
they did was wildly concerning, and eying Minnesota can present
(01:06:09):
a lot of the same size, strength, length problems for
the Warriors that the Rockets did, except they also have
guys that can make baskets. An ant is not gonna
do what Shingoon or Jalen Green did, as far as
getting shook, here's the other element of it. Obviously, Draymond
(01:06:31):
and Rudy have a history. Draymond also is already flirting
with a potential suspension. Draymond got very lucky the refs
gave him a technical and not a flagrant for hitting
Fred van Vliet in the face. I thought they did
that because technically it was after the whistle. But then
(01:06:53):
last night Joker got a flagrant for the exact same thing.
He got fouled and flailed and hit someone I forget
who in the head and so. But Draymond is sitting
at four technicals or three technicals, four technicals I think
(01:07:13):
three more and you get suspended. And he is sitting
at two flagrant foul points four hit loudor that's who
it was. He's sitting at two flagrant foul points four
you get suspended. So if he gets one flagrant two
in this series, he will be thrown out of that
(01:07:35):
game and suspended for the next. If he gets two
flagrant ones, he will be suspended for the next game.
Which is to say this, If I'm wrong and the
Warriors advance, Draymond is a lock to be suspended for
a playoff game again, there is no chance he can
(01:07:55):
make it through the next month. Committing only one flagrant
fault and getting two technicals. There's no chance. So he's
already you know, started that clock. I also just feel
like we are very likely to see something very similar
demonse to what we saw from the Warriors in twenty
(01:08:19):
twenty three. In twenty twenty three, they got a bigger
fight than they expected from the Kings. From the Kings,
and they needed a heroic Steph Curry Game seven the
fifty points to get to the Lakers. And then in
(01:08:39):
that Lakers series, they were pretty out of gas and
Stephan the series was fine, he was twenty seven, five
and seven on forty four thirty four splits, but they
lost Game one. They then went down three one on
(01:09:00):
and then let go of the rope in Game four.
In Game six, and I just think Minnesota present we
saw really like whatever Steven Adams problems he caused, Go
Bear is gonna cause more, and Go Bear is feeling
better than he's ever felt in his basketball life after
(01:09:21):
that Game five, and he's gonna get an opportunity to
get revenge on Draymond for trying to choke him out
and it's gonna be able to say I've beaten everybody.
So yeah, credit to the Warriors. I was wrong about
them in that first series. I picked Rockets and seven
of his Warriors and seven.
Speaker 4 (01:09:39):
Now they get got this. It's this round.
Speaker 1 (01:09:41):
This is the round. Do you think you think I'm wrong? No?
Speaker 3 (01:09:45):
I didn't.
Speaker 4 (01:09:45):
No, I agree with you. But I just think that's funny.
Speaker 2 (01:09:48):
It's like, yeah, the Rockets are It's like, all right, now,
gonna get him.
Speaker 1 (01:09:53):
And guess what if I'm wrong, I'll probably pick against
him in the next round. So I'm just letting you
guys know.
Speaker 3 (01:09:59):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (01:10:00):
I don't think the Warriors are that good. I don't.
Maybe I'll be proven wrong. I don't think the Warriors
are that good. That's a great spot to finish the show.
Like great subscribe review if you put questions in the chat,
listen to either the bonus show we might do tomorrow
or Thursday scheduled show. We'll get your questions there. That
we went too long. I have to get to work.
(01:10:22):
Appreciate Blue Duck, Appreciate the volume. Appreciate DraftKings. See you
guys on with Colin in about an hour. See you
on First Things First Brew back from jury duty at
three o'clock. What's right
Welcome in What's drive in the Great episode three twenty
eight after, for my money, the single best day in
the NBA all season. Those two games last night were
absolute theater and it We had talked for the last
(00:24):
month or so of the regular season that we could
get some absolute classic round two matchups if the brackets
held that we could get OKC potentially in round two
against Joker. We're getting it a Nick Celtics matchup, which
(00:45):
seemed like we knew we were getting that in round
two starting four months ago. And then maybe Pacers, I'm sorry,
Calves Bucks, Calves, Pacers, And then I thought, of course
we'd be getting Lakers somebody, but we didn't get that.
But that one hasn't started yet. And three round two games,
(01:09):
three road victories, three huge underdogs, all nine plus point
underdogs winning, and I thought the Nick Celtics game was
arguably the game of the playoffs, or were on the
very short list, and then it might not have even
been the game of the night. So we will get
(01:29):
to all of that demand. Welcome in great to see
you return from the met gala, which Demanse was in
attendance for last night. Back in La overnight flight, your
Mom and I actually went to a met gala like
pre dinner. That was a really nice, cool event that
(01:52):
I was probably not the best date for because I
was just watching Nick Celtics on my phone for the
first half and then got out of there in time
to be home to watch the close of that game
and then the entirety of Nuggets Thunder, which I thought,
(02:13):
Knicks Caves could be a game. I'm sorry, Nickscaves nick
Celtics could be a game. I thought it's weird because
I thought Nick Celtics could be a good game one,
but didn't really give the Knicks a chance in the series. Meanwhile,
I thought Thunder Nuggets that the Nuggets had a real
(02:37):
shot in the series, but thought Game one would be
a giveaway game the Nuggets coming off a seven game series.
The thunderfully rested all of that. So it turned out,
obviously that that is not how that went. And did
Game one of Nick Celtics change my thoughts on the series.
(02:58):
We'll get to that in a moment, but first, what
missed the cut? Mitch Johnson is replacing Greg Popovich in
San Antonio. Evidently Aaron Rodgers had a wedding band at
the Kentucky Derby. I saw that story, I did not
click on it. And Lebron misses the MET Gala because
(03:19):
he got hurt. Now, listen, I understand in some corners
of the internet, Lebron's not allowed to suffer injuries, even
injuries we see on camera, injuries we watch happen. It's
then all phony and fake. But look, you're shaking your head,
what do you mean?
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Like you're saying he's not allowed to be injured. But
like he went on and he tweeted that he wasn't
gonna make the met Gala because he got injured in
the playoffs. I think people were just like big whoop,
you know, like you're not making the met gallup.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
Well he was where this is where it's important to
you know, actually understand things. Sorry, demon say I do
this to you, and not just go with what the
internet saying. He was one of the chairs of the event,
so it wasn't just like I'm he's here. It was
just this year, so he was supposed to be there.
(04:11):
I don't know that he's ever gone to a Met
Gala because his team's normally still in the playoffs and
he was. But regardless set that aside. The story is
not lebron and the met Gala. And by the way,
you know how much tickets for that thing cost? Give
it a guess.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Is it like the How is it how it would
be in a stadium like Closer, I'd say, like, no, it's.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Just uh, seventy five thousand dollars a seat. Now it
all goes to charity. But it's seventy five thousand dollars
a ticket and you really can't get single tickets. You
can only buy tables. It's quite the event. Reminder to
everyone out there. For all your Met Gala and NBA
Playoff coverage, like rate subscribe review to What's Right with
(05:00):
Nick Wright and Demonse. Let's get Demonse.
Speaker 3 (05:02):
Two.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
The Knicks against your beloved Celtics.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
The Knicks pulled off the upset last night. Yeah, pretty embarrassing.
I don't know what was going on. The Celtics were
relying on the three. The Knicks are down by as
much as twenty. They mounted the comeback with Brunson on
the bench. You call Game one a must win for
New York?
Speaker 1 (05:22):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (05:22):
How are you feeling about the series? Is there anything
I should be worried about? Being a Celtics fan.
Speaker 1 (05:27):
Well, here's what I so. I'll get into the game
in a second. But here's why this series to me
is so fascinating and so interesting. The Knicks built an
entire team with this two week period. In month they built,
they made massive changes, fired all their draft pick bullets,
(05:49):
traded away Julius Randall, broke up the Villanova crew before
they could ever play a game together. They trade four
McHale Bridges, but then trade away Dante And it was
with one series in mind, can we put together our
version of Boston, meaning five excellent starters. Can we build
(06:15):
a team where for your Jason Tatum, we have Jalen
Bronson for your Jalen Brown, we have Karl Anthony Towns
for your Chris STAPs Porzingis. We have Mikhale Bridges for
your Derek White, we have og A Nanobi for your
Drew Holliday, we have Josh Hart. That's the idea. Five quality, switchable,
(06:42):
good starters who most of which can shoot, four of
them can defend, and that that is that's what we're
going to do. And then all year long it looked like, okay,
cool story, bro, but you can't beat any of the
good teams. Ever, and after getting blasted by the Celtics
(07:05):
in their first three matchups, the Knicks had the ultimate
moral victory loss in their final regular season matchup when
they took the Celtics to overtime and at least had
a little something to hold on to, like, well, maybe
maybe we can compete with these guys, Because once a
(07:27):
month into the year, when the Cabs raced out to
that one seed, it was very clear the Celtics were
content with the two, the Knicks were going to be
the three, and that this was gonna be our Round
two matchup. And then for two and a half quarters
it went about as poorly as it could have for
the Knicks, despite the fact that Boston couldn't hit a three.
(07:51):
I shouldn't say couldn't hit a three, because they made
fifteen of them, which is a fine number, but despite
the fact that Boston seemingly only wanted to shoot three
of their ninety seven field goal attempts, sixty were threes.
In the third quarter, seemingly every field goal attempt was
a three, they missed forty five of them, but it's
(08:12):
still at seventy five twenty five with five forty seven
left in the third quarter, and then and I tried,
I was gonna tweet it in real time, but I
was watching in the car on the way home on
my phone, so you can't watch the game and then tweet,
uh it. The Knicks turned a twenty point deficit into
(08:39):
oh we're fine faster than I can ever remember a
team doing it. They went from down twenty to down
six in five game minutes, from five forty seven left
in the third to twenty eight seconds left in the
(08:59):
third and now the Celtics still. They did hit a
three at the very end of the fourth third quarter
to give themselves a little breathing room back up to nine,
But in that moment, the Knicks felt like, we're fine.
We were going to get blown out. We now have
made it a game again, and if it's close late,
(09:22):
we trust our closer more than we trust your closer.
And I know Brunson missed the layup to win the game,
but I and I was shocked he missed it. He's
been so good in those spots all year and all
postseason that once Tatum took the terrible dribble dribble tie
(09:46):
Game three, that I thought, oh, the Knicks are just
gonna flat win this in regulation, they of course don't,
and normally demanse if the other team is BA better
than you, and it takes a furious comeback, and then
you have a chance to win the game in regulation
(10:08):
and it ends up going to overtime. That is such
so emotionally deflating that then the better team water finds
its level, the better team wins in overtime. And instead
the Knicks raced out to a six point lead in overtime, and.
Speaker 4 (10:27):
Celicia's didn't do anything in overtime.
Speaker 1 (10:29):
No, well, they made two baskets. I think they made
two baskets in overtime and still had a chance potentially
for a game tying three. And the Michale Bridges, who
did not have a good game at all offensively, just
took the ball from Jalen Brown. And now the Knicks
are here saying we're in the fight, guys, the I
(10:55):
the Knicks. I'm sure this isn't how they're looking at it.
But the way I would look at it is because
you stole game one, now you simply have to win
one of the next three. By winning one of the
(11:18):
next three, you guarantee yourself you are getting a Game
six in the Garden, which will be if the Knicks
win one more game in the next four, but really
in the next three, that Game six in the Garden
(11:40):
will be the biggest game played in Madison Square Garden
this century. It will be the biggest game the Knicks
have been involved in in their building since the ninety
nine season with spree Way in Houston and that magical
(12:02):
run to the finals as an eight seed. That's what
it's that's what we're looking at here and for it
not to be a night where and we can say
the Celtics just didn't have it. And I understand the
forty five miss threes are an absurd number, an absurd number.
(12:26):
I get that we held the Timberwolves in their victory
over the Lakers in Game five, I think tied the
record for missed threes with forty when they went seven
of forty seven. But they it.
Speaker 2 (12:44):
Took all that to go to overtime win by a
couple of points. I think the Celtics will game plan
and maybe not rely on the three as much when
it's not hitting and takes them inside shots.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
I listen, I get that mindset that this is it
took a historically inefficient shooting night for the Knicks to
escape in overtime. I get that, But what you also
though have and the reason I called Game one a
(13:17):
must win is for the Knicks. I don't care how
confident athletes are and how sure of themselves to get
to where they are they had to be. If a
team beats you five times in a row and every
single time in a season, it's very hard to convince
yourself not only can we beat them, but we're about
(13:40):
to beat them four of the next six, right, And
that's the position the Knicks would have found themselves in.
I also I thought, I thought Tatum settling at the
very end of regulation.
Speaker 4 (13:56):
You got Mitchell Robinson Garden. You was just a big stake. Yeah,
the game. It's not like we were down like that.
Speaker 1 (14:06):
That that's that's the problem there. So I down two
at the end of you know, in the waning moments,
the math is very very clear that shooting a three
is better than basically any option other than a wide
open layup, because down to a two only gets you
(14:27):
an extra five minutes, as opposed to a three that
can win the game but obviously down one or in
this case, a tie, game drive to the basket, you
know what I mean, put some pressure.
Speaker 4 (14:41):
They get it with a second left or something.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
But yeah, and so I don't think they could let
me double check that, I don't think they could hold
for the last shot there if if I'm almost certain
of that, because if they could that no, it was
like four second there was like four second different. Yeah,
so you can't listen if he would have gone early there, that's.
Speaker 4 (15:04):
A that's a exact dangerous.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
He didn't go early, but at least I mean a
couple seconds early. But the Knicks were going to get
another shot no matter what. And so that part I
totally that, that part's fine. It's just when you are
in that moment, if you're Jason Tatum, you are what
was he from three? I mean he's finished four for fifteen,
(15:28):
so I don't know what he's shot in overtime, but
in that moment, it's not like his three. And so
that to me was a mistake. And you know, obviously
should be noted they got nothing from Chris STAPs because
Christaps left the game with an illness, and so you know,
(15:49):
thirteen minutes zero points from Chris STAPs is you know,
and Luke Cornett having to play seventeen minutes, Horford having
to play thirty four minutes. That's not really on your
Bingo card. I understand that. And White, Tatum, and Brown
combining to go doing this on the fly twenty of
sixty one from the field, none of that's on your
(16:12):
Bengo card either. However, the Knicks built a team to
defend Boston, and it just feels like last night, the
only chance we had of getting a series is the
(16:32):
Knicks winning that game. And when they're down twenty twenty
midway through the third quarter, it feels like, Okay, Boston's
just head and shoulders better than them, and the Knicks
found a way to come back and steal it. I said, I.
(16:53):
Now there's a couple other Knicks pieces I want to
get to here, which is I am imploring coaches around
the basketball world. If you have a player on your
team that you want to play, that you want to
give minutes to, but the other team is going to
(17:17):
do the hack of player strategy, and he's so bad
at free throws, you are going to blink and take
him out of the game. If they do that, then
you must adjust your rotation patterns so that player gets
a disproportionate amount of his minutes at the very end
(17:39):
of quarters and at the beginning of quarters. So the
Knicks want to play Mitchell Robinson, and they did play
him twenty one minutes and the Celtics, and there's another
reason why the numbers can be misleading. The Celtics and
Tatum saying, you know, we should play without refts and
basically about the physicality. And then the Knicks shot thirty
one free throws, the Celtics only shot twenty six.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
Still that said play without refs. I'm sorry, did Tatum
say that for the game?
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Tatum said that. Yeah. Tatum was like, it's so physical,
you might as well just want into.
Speaker 4 (18:11):
The refs up the court to get a call.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Man, correct, that's yeah. But what I was saying about
the free throw discrepancy is the free throw numbers are
misleading because eight of the knicks thirty one free throws
were hacka Mitch Robinson, you know what I mean? Like
that that those were those were fouls you wanted called.
(18:34):
But the point I'm making is Tibbs needs to adjust
the rotation where Mitch is getting minutes at the start
of the second or it's you're probably not gonna start
the half with him at the start of the fourth
because nobody goes to hack a player when you're at
zero team fouls. They're not gonna just burn five team fouls.
(18:57):
Put you in the bonus get the guy at the line.
Where you get in trouble is when you put him
in with five minutes left in the quarter. The other
team's already at four team fouls, and then they can
just put him on the line. But Mitch, despite the
free throws, being brutal was useful for them. Listen, they decided,
(19:20):
I implored on the show, see if Miles McBride Duce
McBride can give you some minutes. He did. They couldn't
guard in those minutes as the problem. And I do
wonder if Precious becomes more of a featured player in
this game, if they feel they can't in this series,
if they can't play Mitchell Robinson. But you just play
(19:43):
Mitchell Robinson, like if his stint is we're putting him
in with two minutes left in the first when you
can't foul away from the ball, and he is continuing
that stint into the first five minutes of the second,
when you're not in the bonus, you don't have to
worry about the hack of strategy and then do the
(20:04):
same thing the third into the fourth, and now all
of a sudden you have fourteen Mitchell Robinson minutes where
the hack of strategy is totally neutered. Like that, to
me is something I'd look at if I were tips,
And so I'm listen, I am going to try to
go to Game three at the Garden. Those I looked
(20:26):
it up. It is the the prices of these games
at the Garden are so outrageous, so the same and
I'm not talking court side, but I like fifth row,
so really good seats, but not courtside. Those seats for
(20:47):
Game one Timberwolves Warriors and the Warriors are either the
biggest of the second biggest straw in the sport in
Minnesota are like twelve hundred ticket. Those exact seats at
MSG for Game three are right now selling for eleven
(21:08):
grand a ticket. They have listed courtside seats for fifty
grand a ticket. It's that the games at MSG, playoff games,
the prices are just and it literally is cheaper to
fly to Boston, get a hotel, and it's not like
(21:30):
Boston It's not like Celtics don't have great fans and so,
but I want to go to game three.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Experience man, and.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
I mean your mom and I went to game two
of Nicks Pistons. This would be something else. And so
shout out to the Knicks. That was a great win.
And can you win one of the next three and
guarantee yourself you're getting a game six at MSG and
(22:01):
then if all of a sudden you're in a game seven.
The lesson every few years about a game seven is
some random might have the night of their life. Buddy
Heal did it over the weekend. You and I were together,
de Monsay watching Grant Williams do it. Hit to Milwaukee
(22:23):
in twenty twenty two, game seven of the thirteen Finals,
the game after the Ray Allen game. If people remember
it because Lebron had thirty seven and twelve and the
Heat went back to back. What people forget about that
game is Ray Allen and Chris bosh in that game
(22:43):
combined for zero points. And the reason the Heat were
able to stay ahead of the Spurs route was because
Shane Battier off the bench hit six threes. The you
know what I mean, the random role player. Oh yeah,
Danny Green did it, not in the game seven, but
(23:05):
Danny Green did it in the finals. But the random
role player that just catches fire, and it's like, holy shit,
this is how my season's going to end. Like again,
the Knicks are drawing incredibly slim, but they would be.
They would have been drawing dead had they lost last
night and they didn't. You've got a couple follow ups
(23:28):
here and then we can move on to So.
Speaker 2 (23:31):
I mean, for the way you talk, I could assume
that you think the Knicks are the worst version. But
you said that the Knicks are the version of a
repeated version of the Celtics.
Speaker 4 (23:40):
Do you think that they're the worst version?
Speaker 1 (23:42):
Yeah, well, listen, they're not as good. They're clearly not
as good, but they built the team with the Celtics
in mind, and it is it's just like a every
at every step, it's a slightly worse version, you know
what I mean. So, like, Brunson is awesome, and listen,
(24:05):
maybe we'll feel differently after the series, but Brunson is
just a tick beneath Tatum as a player, Karl Anthony
Towns because of his lack of consistency, and you know,
He's a very different player than Jalen Brown, but he's
a level below Jalen Brown. Now, those other three guys
(24:26):
Bridges annobe Hart versus Chris STAPs White Drew Holliday, depends
on the night, those guys can kind of be playing
each other even But then when we get to the bench,
Horford's a far better back up big than Mitchell Robinson,
(24:47):
and Peyton Brichard is a way better energy off the
bench shooter than Deuce McBride. So it's just it's Kevin
O'Connor's said this to me about I forgot what we
were talking. Oh yeah, we were saying Joker to Shngoon
(25:08):
to Sabonis. He said, is the Pokemon meme the shars are.
I don't like where it's like three different versions of
the same Pokemon, but they just get stronger and stronger.
I don't know Pokemon, so I don't the I'm butchering that,
but that's kind of what the Knicks are to the Celtics.
The question is, for two weeks, can Jalen Brunson out
(25:31):
play Jason Tatum. For two weeks, can Karl Anthony Towns
play Jalen Brown to a push like can they do it?
Probably not, But now they've got Now, now they're more
than a puncher's chance. Go ahead, We've got a little,
a little bit of life. And for me, selfishly, I
(25:53):
want to say something I I would intense joy because
I'll be honest, I don't have a lot left to
root for in these playoffs. I have stuff to root against.
The I already the the the will. The take that
(26:18):
will age better than any of my takes is the
when the Warriors win, steps in the goat conversation, and
when they lose, nobody you know it, nobody cares, and
as evidenced by yesterday morning on ESPN, were served up
steph is three series victories away from being in the
(26:39):
goat conversation Like okay, uh fine, so be it. The
after the Buddy healed game, I got it. So I
get like, I I guess I'm rooting against that. I
historically am not a big Celtics guy, So I guess
I'm rooting for the Nicks. Your mom's claims to be
(27:00):
a Knicks fan, now, all this stuff. Oh, but here's
what I'm truly rooting four in this postseason. Selfishly, all
last year I had to I'll go back two years.
(27:20):
Two years ago, at the end of the regular season,
Kevin Wilds was just like the Bucks. Here's the reason
why the Bucks are the best team. They and this
one I didn't totally disagree with them on They would
(27:41):
have gone back to back, but they dealt with injuries.
It's so obviously and clearly the Bucks, and then they
get popped in Round one last year. All year long,
Wild's is only consistent take, No one's beating Denver in
a seven game series. Denver is so obviously the team
(28:05):
that won the championship last year. They are the champs,
they're the best. No one's beating them, and then they
blew a Game seven at home in Round two. All
this year, Wilde's take has been his Denver take from
last year, except it's about the Celtics, the team that
won the championship last year. They're the best. No one
(28:27):
can beat them in a seven game series. If in
back to back years that team gets clipped in round two,
it will just be so gratifying, and then we're probably
gonna have to listen to next year. No one's beating
Oklahoma City in a seven game series. But so that
(28:49):
really is at this point my rooting interest is paying
for Wilds, primarily the Steph conversation not getting really untenably annoying. Uh.
And I'd like the Knicks to do well because I'd
like to be able to go to as many playoff
(29:09):
games as possible here and in the West. Going into
last night, I would have said in the West, I'm
rooting for Aunt. But in one of the most shocking
turn of events, turns of event I don't know turn.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
Of events in my sports fan life, I am finding
it harder and harder not to root for Joker.
Speaker 1 (29:43):
I know nobody. I know nobody expects that from me
because I was a Joker skeptic years back. But I
find him to be so likable and so God dog good.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
Where you been at?
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Say it again, at Man, this is crazy. No, I
It's just listen and we'll get to the nuggets in
a moment. I we don't have to relitigate the MVP
stuff and where I was on it and how I
thought he was being anointed to a place he had
(30:20):
not yet earned when other guys had to prove it.
Set all that stuff aside. For the last two years,
two years, I have been firmly in the it's very
clear Jokers the best player in the world and an
all time great camp And you can say I was
(30:41):
two years late to it, fine, but when you say
where you've been at, like what what propelled it? I
think the added responsibility he's taken on with that team
post Malone being fired is so special of him running
(31:03):
these huddles, of him, you know, being you know, basically
a player coach along with Dave Adelman and then seeing
what they've been able to do is it's it is
and this is as high of praise as I can
(31:25):
give it. This that game, it's Lebron s where it's like, Okay,
we don't have a perfect team. We don't have you know,
there's we fired our coach mid season and I have
(31:46):
to take even a bigger responsibility and don't worry about it.
Speaker 2 (31:50):
With Jokicic is like his character type and his personality.
I think it's even bigger that he's doing what he's
doing right now. Yes, Lebron is obviously different from you, Kic,
and I feel like is more comfortable taking that.
Speaker 1 (32:00):
Role correct and it feels like Joker would almost rather not.
But it's like, okay, if this is what we need
to do. And before we get to that game, one
one piece if you were watching the very end of
that game that I found incredibly endearing and I really liked,
(32:21):
and it might have been a big reason they won
the game. They put Joker in to guard the inbounds
on the possession where Chet missed the free throws. Okay,
and this it was an interesting decision because he had
five fouls, so he obviously couldn't you know, once the
(32:44):
ball gets inbounded, he has to stay away, but they're
racing against the clock. Joker initially starts guarding the inbound
and then immediately turns his back, but then also like
flails about yeah, which it was strategically and basketball wise
(33:05):
very smart. I ain't get. Just made it a little
bit harder to get the ball unbounded where the Thunder
wanted to and ended up going to Chat instead of SGA,
which was ended up being a massive, massive event in
that game. I think a lot of NBA super duper
stars wouldn't have done that because they look so goofy. Yeah,
(33:29):
like I really I know that sounds silly, but I
really believe that, And I put that in the same
bucket of Joker being the the opposite of the field
goal percentage savings club. He takes every single end of
quarter heave. He'll even like volleyball slap it like it
is really uh. The pure dedication to like what can
(33:54):
help my team in this moment, I find really endearing
and so I don't know, Wow, who knows? Maybe I'm
a Nuggets guy. NBA eighty two game grind is done.
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(36:08):
we talked about it a bit there, but we didn't
really get into the nitty gritty of it. Let's do
Thunder Nuggets.
Speaker 2 (36:14):
Now, speaking of improbable second round wins, mane Denver coming
off a game seven series with the Clippers, go in
and battle the rested.
Speaker 4 (36:23):
Really they coming off like a week plus arrest. Oh yeah,
once see.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
The Okids drops forty two points, he had twenty two rebounds.
Speaker 4 (36:30):
Gord hit the game winning.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Three after okayse he's late foul backfire. How do you
feel about that game?
Speaker 1 (36:37):
Yeah, So everyone's gonna talk about the fouling up three,
and there's also gonna be some real criticism about the
final foul by uh by the Thunder because Joker wasn't
in the game, and it's like in Denver didn't have
(36:59):
time out, wasn't gonna be able to get get in
the game. I disagree with that criticism the way it's
being phrased. They were gonna be able to get Joker
back in the game, because what the Nuggets were going
to do in that spot was rape. If you don't foul,
race down the court, try to get a quick two,
(37:20):
and then foul themselves, and when you foul yourself, then
Joker can come back in where they Where I thought,
and the broadcast pointed it out as well. Where I
thought the thunder screwed up was the instantaneous fouling and
not letting any time go off the clock. I thought
(37:43):
was a strategic error, like you in the The first
time they're doing it, the Nuggets are inbounding with thirteen
point two. They foul at two twelve point two, so
they within a second they foul. The next time they
(38:06):
do it, the Nuggets are inbounding at eleven point zero.
They foul at ten point one. So when you do
that and it's a three point game, what you are
flatly saying is we're not going to miss a single
free throw. We in Oklahoma City are fully confident we
(38:28):
are not missing one free throw. And the problem with
that is you miss two. And I want to get
to Joker in a second, But my my bigger takeaway
(38:49):
from a lot of moments of that game, and it's
not just that game, to be totally clear, it's a
lot of what we've seen up to this point in
what has been If we're being honest, a slightly underwhelming,
(39:09):
not bad, but underwhelming. First few years for Chet is
I was exactly right, which is a player that physically
weak is going to have some issues. And at the
(39:33):
very end of that game, there were a lot of
moments where a stronger player could have made a more
impactful play. There was an attempted put back he had
where he got bumped, missed the put back and then
lost the ball. In the waning moments. There was the
(39:56):
Aaron Gordon offensive rebound after the Russ miss. Now Gordon
ended up missing the putback himself, but where he got
bumped around, and so that is going to be and
he's not going to get And this was the point
I made about Chet coming out of school that either
(40:19):
of the two explanations for why he was that thin,
neither one of them should have made you optimistic about
his ability to put on weight. Explanation one was the
(40:40):
one we were given. He works out like a madman,
eats like crazy, hits the weights, just can't put on
the weight. Okay, then his body's just not built for
it to put on weight. The other explanation is the
guy doesn't care, like he didn't care, like he didn't try. Well,
that's not great either, because it's the old It was
(41:00):
the only like glaring weakness for him as a college star.
And I think that you saw it in the waning
moments last night. And then it got compounded by him
missing two free throws and then getting lost in transition defense.
And that was a transition spot where man, credit where
(41:25):
credit is due, Demonse, you know who made the right
basketball play, Russell Westbrook. Russell Westbrook, the whole world thought,
and I'm sure you did too. Russ is just going
(41:47):
to just haphazardly crashed towards the basket in this transition
opportunity and probably missed this layup with more velocity than
any mislayup we've ever seen. And instead he calmed himself.
(42:09):
Found Aaron Gordon and another credit where credits due. Aaron Gordon,
who let again he's not a young player. I mean
he's twenty nine, but like he's a veteran. Aaron Gordon
last year twenty nine percent from three to sixty five
percent from the line. Aaron Gordon this year forty four
(42:34):
percent from three to eighty one percent from the line.
He confidently, I mean for a player just real quick
going into this year was a career thirty two percent
three point shooter, sixty eight percent free throw shooter to
in year eleven, up his three point percentage on way
(42:59):
higher volume than he was shooting last year, almost double
the threes, up his three point percentage twelve and a
half points, and up his free throw percentage twelve and
a half points. Is really impressive and he deserves massive
credit for it. And he hit the biggest shot of
the Nuggets season. Well, no, the biggest shot of the
(43:19):
Nugget season was his dunk in Game four. But he
now has two playoff game winners essentially, and it is
so that is to me, just as.
Speaker 2 (43:36):
If for Russ is playing good basketball, watch out man
Denver is scary.
Speaker 4 (43:40):
I feel like I feel like Russ of the X Factory.
Michael Porter Juno scored two points last night.
Speaker 1 (43:45):
Lest Well, that's the thing. Truss had to play well
because Porter didn't have it and the other guy credit
to him, Peyton Watson. Now the Ayde Watson's numbers are grizzly.
He's played fifteen minutes in a game his team won.
(44:07):
They were minus twenty two in those fifteen minutes, which
is means in the thirty three minutes he wasn't on
the court. They were plus twenty four. So I'm not
acting like Peyton Watson had this remarkable game, but when
he was on the court down the stretch, he did
have some He adds some length and some athleticism that
(44:31):
that team at times feels like it's missing when you
have a Jamal Murray Christian Brown backcourt and you're just wondering,
you know who those guys can guard. And so that
that sequence at the end puts for the a Thunder
(44:53):
team that really has had no pressure on them at
any moment all season, Demanse, they now face what I
think is fair to call it an absolute, unequivocal must
winning game two. Yeah, they can't go down two to
(45:13):
Ozho at home. They just can't. And so and by
the way, right now this moment, if I had to
pick a champion, I would pick Oklahoma City, I thought,
And again maybe I was dead wrong. I thought the
Lakers presented unique problems for Oklahoma City.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
But I just talking Western Conference or like totality or
the no well I.
Speaker 1 (45:37):
Thought I thought the Thunder weren't gonna get to the
finals because I thought the Lakers presented unique problems for them.
The Lakers, you know, couldn't get out of their own
way in round one. I think Oklahoma City presents unique
problems for Boston and you know, and again we don't
know who's going to be there in these so I'm
(45:58):
not at all writing off Oklahoma the city. What I
am saying is that they have to win Game two.
And now I want to talk about Nikali Jokic because
that was an all time performance, man, and that the
(46:18):
sequence that will be lost to the history of the
crazy finish was because keep in mind, they're down nine
with two and a half minutes left, like they they had,
they had made it a game, but it was still
(46:41):
the Thunder were infirm control. They're down nine with two
and a half minutes left. Joker draws a foul after
being oddly shaky at the line this postseason, makes both
free throws. Okay, next time down, Hartenstein miss Russ gets
(47:04):
to the line, goes one of two, not six point game.
Two minutes left, Chet misses a three. Joker takes his time,
takes his time, gets in for a little five footer.
Now it's a four point game. Shay misses uh nineteen footer.
(47:27):
This is where Chet I think had the offensive rebound,
lost it got bumped, Gordon gets it, Nuggets time out,
and that next possession, Joker has Hartenstein up at the
top top of the key. Hartenstein's doing this whole crazy
(47:48):
thing with his hands, putting one hand right. Yeah, de
Monse should doing it too, but he was. It wasn't
just one hand demonse. He was like alternating, I'm doing
like I'm not gonna get I'm not gonna foul, but
I'm gonna try to distract you. And Joker very calmly
surveys the situation. In that moment, Jokers one for five
(48:10):
from three and just nails a three, and now all
of a sudden, it's a one point game. Next time down,
Uh the nugget. The Nuggets get another stop they get
Joker finds Russ for an open three miss, Gordon gets
(48:31):
the rebound, kind of forces it, and then it's like, ah,
did they miss their opportunity? And then all the free
throw shenanigans happen and that we talked about already. But
Nikola Jokic, the seven turnovers not great. You can deal
with it when he has forty two twenty two and
(48:51):
six on better than fifty percent efficiency ten of thirteen
from the free throw line and was doing it a
lot of it, sitting on five fouls knowing, and I
was nervous for him because it seemed like the thunder
(49:15):
weren't too worried about Caruso or guys that size getting
matched up on jokicchen the post, and I thought that
might be because one of these guys when Joker does
the turn yet exactly right that they're going to that
they're gonna flail back and he's gonna get a cheap
(49:38):
sixth foul. But he was very sharp to avoid it.
And the Nuggets just in this three point era, they're
just total refusal to commit to shooting threes. Maybe it'll
be the death of them, but I mean they they
made ten last night, which is fine for them. They
on they only shot thirty two. I with there has
(50:04):
been this ongoing theory, so to speak, in NBA Twitter,
and I kind of like the theory that because of
the apron restrictions and the new CBA and the depth
of talent in the league, that we have moved past
(50:24):
an era of like who's the best player in the series,
who's got the best duo in the series, and instead
it's more about what they called it is the weak
link era that it's more about, is my worst player
that I play better than your worst player? Do you
(50:44):
have someone I can exploit and I don't have someone
you can exploit? And the Thunder and the Celtics and
the Caves and the Knicks are all kind of that
have built their team with that in mind. Week links,
you know, like, we're gonna have five quality players on
(51:04):
the court for crunch time out all times. The Nuggets,
it's more about, yeah, but we got that fucking dude
and you don't. And I know Shay's gonna win MVP,
but Joker last night and Shaye, by the way, was
really good last night. The you know, Jalen Williams wasn't great,
(51:27):
Chet was bad, Shay was excellent, and Crusoe was excellent, excellent.
Speaker 2 (51:33):
I like, do you think that Yolk is trying to
prove a point here against SGA, you know, with the
whole MVP thing.
Speaker 1 (51:41):
I don't know that he was trying to prove a point.
But Demons, you should go back you after the show
or sometime today, you should just type into YouTube a
keem Olajuan David Robinson MVP playoffs. So nineteen ninety five
(52:04):
is the playoffs, it's in ninety four ninety five, I
think it's ninety five. A Keem is the defending champ,
the defending MVP, and I want to make sure I
get this exactly right, but I'm sure I have it right.
(52:26):
And it's him and David Robinson basically for MVP. And
I wonder what the voting was. I'm gonna look it
up real quick because it ends up going to David Robinson.
And a team was another guy, an international player. You know,
maybe people didn't totally get his personality at all times,
(52:49):
but insanely competitive. So a Teme that year, by the way,
didn't even That's the part I had wrong. I knew
I had some of it wrong. A team came in
fifth and in VP voting because that year the Rockets,
as the defending champs, were not very good in the
regular season and then added Clyde Drexler and turned it
on in the postseason. But that MVP voting when David
(53:12):
Robinson won, shack to Karl Malone three ewing for a
team five. By the way, what a different league was
many or the top five or centers with the other
one being Karl Malone. So the NBA used to they don't,
I don't know if they. They used to always give
(53:32):
out the MVP award on the court before a playoff game,
and they were able to do it because the MVP
was always on like the one of the two seed,
and you knew they would be alive late in the playoffs.
And a team watched David Robinson before Game two of
(53:54):
this series get the MVP award and it Keem put
him in an all time torture chamber and the highlights
of a Keem doing his dream shake and his footwork,
and it all culminated Demons in just a vintage a
(54:18):
Keem game of forty one, sixteen four, three and.
Speaker 4 (54:23):
Two almost identical stats to Yokis.
Speaker 1 (54:26):
Yes, yes, yeah for real and the and and also
in that game, I mean, David Robinson was fine, but
everyone remembers it for what it. I mean, David Robinson
more than final he had thirty two and twelve, remembers
it for what a cheme did to him.
Speaker 2 (54:44):
And it was I mean, that is kind that makes
it very juicy.
Speaker 4 (54:49):
Given the MVP award.
Speaker 1 (54:51):
Right there and there, it's like, all right, yeah, I'm
watching it. And the only part of that story I
might have wrong is did they give Robinson the MVP
before for game one? I'm now starting to think maybe
they did because Game one because the way I remember it,
a Keme was awesome and Robinson really struggled. Game one
of that series, Robinson was five of seventeen from the
(55:13):
field and a team had twenty seven, eight, six and
five blocks. But regardless, point is a Keem watched David
Robinson win an MVP that he thought should have been
his and then beat him to go to the NBA Finals.
And in that series to beat him, he averaged thirty five, thirteen,
(55:38):
five and four blocks, just a you might have the trophy.
I'm the best damn player alive. And that was you know,
that was the year Jordan came back at the end. Whatever,
spend too much time on the ninety five Western Conference Finals,
I mean, and the you should watched the highlights. Toying
(56:03):
he seems to be toying with Robinson. It's really and
a team's blocks in that series by game five, two, five, three, five, five. Again,
I go to the What's Right YouTube page like great
subscribe review for the full video on a Keem Olajuan
time as of late, one of the most underrated players
(56:26):
in NBA history. He then went on to the finals
and swept Shack and thoroughly outplayed Shack young athletic Shack.
He scored thirty plus in every single game of that series,
and in those finals averaged thirty three, twelve and six
(56:47):
with two steals and two blocks a game to win
his back to back championships. And people have the audacity
to say that Jordan would have won eight straight man
not with a Kim Olajuan sitting across from the other comperence.
Speaker 4 (57:03):
Say it again, I mean all that turned into well.
Speaker 1 (57:06):
Because it's it's so One of the reasons a chem
is so disrespected is people act like those rings didn't
count because for the first year Jordan was playing baseball
and for the second year, he.
Speaker 4 (57:19):
Came in midway through the season.
Speaker 1 (57:21):
And so but so, and I'm just here to tell
you those rings counted. But regardless, the reason I'm saying
all this is, I gotta think they announced Shay as
MVP before Game two. I think that's what's gonna happen.
And if it's not before game two, it'll be before
Game five. Either way, I gotta think we're getting a
(57:47):
thirty years later potentially the same type of thing. So yeah,
I mean it is. I'm excited to see it. All right,
let's go to some of the Games seven stuff that
we weren't able to get to.
Speaker 2 (58:02):
Uh So, yeah, you went off on your on your
show yesterday, you called James Harden the biggest choker in
modern sports history?
Speaker 4 (58:11):
Was that what you called him? Yes? Do you think
that's you think that's fair?
Speaker 1 (58:16):
Who else is in the argument? Just tell someone. I
just need someone to tell me who the other contenders are.
And here's the deal. I'm going to pull up these
I'm going to pull up these numbers real quick. So Harden, Lebron,
Steph Durant, those are the four guys of the era.
(58:42):
And as far as just having uh okay, sure, yeah,
maybe I should have included Chris Paul, but I didn't.
But that's and that that's a fair one. But I
just want to give you these numbers career playoff games.
(59:02):
Demonse less than four made baskets, Durant has two, Steph
has three, Lebron has five. Give me a guess for Harden.
Speaker 4 (59:20):
Just give a number Harden. All right, So you said
those guys numbers, I'll go.
Speaker 1 (59:24):
Nine thirty five.
Speaker 2 (59:28):
Yeah, and those guys have obviously played a lot more
than well.
Speaker 1 (59:32):
I don't Harden's played a bunch. I don't think Lebron's
played a lot more. But yeah, but you know Harden
was Okay, hold on, that was so again, thirty five
career playoff games with less than four maybe.
Speaker 4 (59:46):
How many of those were on? Okay?
Speaker 1 (59:47):
See, uh a hand a decent amount. But again he
the the only one you can really throw out is
the like his for want to throw out you know,
ten of those games because it was young, young James Harden,
but he was you know, sixth Man of the year
(01:00:09):
and going two for ten in the finals. All right,
hold on, I got a couple more for you. Career
playoff games with under five made baskets. Again, I'll give
you the numbers for everyone else. KD four, Steph eight,
Lebron nine, James Harden fifty five.
Speaker 4 (01:00:32):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (01:00:33):
And then last one career playoff games where you have
at least as many turnovers or more turnovers than made
shots Durant seven, Steph thirteen, Lebron seventeen, James Harden.
Speaker 4 (01:00:52):
More turnovers than made shots.
Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
Yes, all right, yeah, seven, steph thirteen, Lebron's seventeen, James
Harden forty two, forty two. It's more turnovers than made shots,
It's the biggest one, right there. Or as many turnovers
(01:01:14):
as made shots, as many or more. Uh So, here's
the thing. So even if you want to be like, well,
those first two stats were about you know, he wasn't
playing as many minute he's off the bench. That that
clears that up. And it's just demons. I used to
be the biggest hardened defender. He had such a horrific
(01:01:36):
Game six against San Antonio in twenty seventeen when Kawhi
and Tony Parker were out and the Rockets lost by
thirty nine points that I said, I thought he had
an undiagnosed concussion.
Speaker 4 (01:01:51):
It's just.
Speaker 1 (01:01:54):
And so there is there is no comp for it.
And so oh if people want to, we don't have to.
It's just at this point who he is, the moment
gets too big.
Speaker 4 (01:02:07):
It was turned around there for a second.
Speaker 1 (01:02:09):
He always has these moments and then it's the game
six or a game seven, and he takes seven shots,
he takes eight shots. He has he has I think
six playoff games where he was two for ten, two
for eleven, or two for twelve from the field, ask
this follow up about Russ, and then we'll get to
(01:02:30):
the Warriors.
Speaker 2 (01:02:31):
So who do you think will end up having a
better legacy when it's all said and done between Russ
and Harden?
Speaker 1 (01:02:37):
So I think this is really it depends on what
your value. So Harden's a better all time player, and
like he has, he's gonna have better numbers on better
teams more of a part of winning. They both won
one MVP. But Russ is gonna be an icon and
(01:03:01):
Harden is going to be uh a placeholder for choking
like people are comparing you to like the choke artists
and future right, and so the answer is Russ, Like,
the answer is definitely Russ. All right, this we went
(01:03:22):
longer than I was supposed to go here, so we
got to hurry up through the end here. So let's
do some Warriors T Wolves.
Speaker 4 (01:03:28):
Warriors and Tea Wolves are facing off.
Speaker 2 (01:03:30):
They start today, They're both they start today, and they're
both coming off of Round one upsets you in the
past have picked against the Warriors.
Speaker 4 (01:03:38):
Do you plan on doing it here?
Speaker 1 (01:03:40):
Yes? And in fact, thanks to my friends at DraftKings,
uh and I man, I thought I gave out a
great winner on Twitter for the Game seven, I had
under for Harden Nuggets to win this for Clippers Nuggets
Game seven, I had under for Harden Nuggets to win
(01:04:01):
and then a Joker triple double, but the Nuggets blew
them out so much Joker didn't have to play all
those minutes and then it on eight assists. But I've
got I've got a series bet. I like a lot,
which is Minnesota to win Game one and the series
that's almost even money minus one p fifteen. Of course,
(01:04:22):
line's an odd subject to change, and we're out here
moving line, so you know that could change quickly. But
I ain't the Warriors. I understand this is not how
some of the other series have played out where we
just saw it with the Nuggets having all this energy.
But I think the Warriors are gonna be a little
(01:04:42):
out of gas after that seven game rock fight with Houston,
and I think Minnesota is gonna come out rested and
fresh after their series ended almost a full week ago
against the Lakers. So I love Minnesota tonight, and I
love Minnesota in the series. I just think Minnesota. I
(01:05:04):
thought Houston presented real problems for the rock for Golden State,
and we saw it and that series. Listen credit, Steph
was brilliant in Game one, in Game three and then
had was awesome in the second half of Game seven,
and all of that plus Buddy Healed, plus the fact
(01:05:25):
that Jalen Green is not a serious person, and okay,
well I'm sorry. First of all, I'm not sorry. I
don't think he's a serious person, and he's not a
reliable basketball player. And Shingoon got shook by Draymond. Legit
shook by Draymond, and you add the Buddy Healed game
(01:05:47):
and the Warriors win the series flip sided. All that
is all that could have happened. And if Shingoon could
have made that twelve footer in Game four, maybe it's Rockets.
And six. I thought the Warriors loss in Game six
in their building, letting go of the rope the way
they did was wildly concerning, and eying Minnesota can present
(01:06:09):
a lot of the same size, strength, length problems for
the Warriors that the Rockets did, except they also have
guys that can make baskets. An ant is not gonna
do what Shingoon or Jalen Green did, as far as
getting shook, here's the other element of it. Obviously, Draymond
(01:06:31):
and Rudy have a history. Draymond also is already flirting
with a potential suspension. Draymond got very lucky the refs
gave him a technical and not a flagrant for hitting
Fred van Vliet in the face. I thought they did
that because technically it was after the whistle. But then
(01:06:53):
last night Joker got a flagrant for the exact same thing.
He got fouled and flailed and hit someone I forget
who in the head and so. But Draymond is sitting
at four technicals or three technicals, four technicals I think
(01:07:13):
three more and you get suspended. And he is sitting
at two flagrant foul points four hit loudor that's who
it was. He's sitting at two flagrant foul points four
you get suspended. So if he gets one flagrant two
in this series, he will be thrown out of that
(01:07:35):
game and suspended for the next. If he gets two
flagrant ones, he will be suspended for the next game.
Which is to say this, If I'm wrong and the
Warriors advance, Draymond is a lock to be suspended for
a playoff game again, there is no chance he can
(01:07:55):
make it through the next month. Committing only one flagrant
fault and getting two technicals. There's no chance. So he's
already you know, started that clock. I also just feel
like we are very likely to see something very similar
demonse to what we saw from the Warriors in twenty
(01:08:19):
twenty three. In twenty twenty three, they got a bigger
fight than they expected from the Kings. From the Kings,
and they needed a heroic Steph Curry Game seven the
fifty points to get to the Lakers. And then in
(01:08:39):
that Lakers series, they were pretty out of gas and
Stephan the series was fine, he was twenty seven, five
and seven on forty four thirty four splits, but they
lost Game one. They then went down three one on
(01:09:00):
and then let go of the rope in Game four.
In Game six, and I just think Minnesota present we
saw really like whatever Steven Adams problems he caused, Go
Bear is gonna cause more, and Go Bear is feeling
better than he's ever felt in his basketball life after
(01:09:21):
that Game five, and he's gonna get an opportunity to
get revenge on Draymond for trying to choke him out
and it's gonna be able to say I've beaten everybody.
So yeah, credit to the Warriors. I was wrong about
them in that first series. I picked Rockets and seven
of his Warriors and seven.
Speaker 4 (01:09:39):
Now they get got this. It's this round.
Speaker 1 (01:09:41):
This is the round. Do you think you think I'm wrong? No?
Speaker 3 (01:09:45):
I didn't.
Speaker 4 (01:09:45):
No, I agree with you. But I just think that's funny.
Speaker 2 (01:09:48):
It's like, yeah, the Rockets are It's like, all right, now,
gonna get him.
Speaker 1 (01:09:53):
And guess what if I'm wrong, I'll probably pick against
him in the next round. So I'm just letting you
guys know.
Speaker 3 (01:09:59):
I don't.
Speaker 1 (01:10:00):
I don't think the Warriors are that good. I don't.
Maybe I'll be proven wrong. I don't think the Warriors
are that good. That's a great spot to finish the show.
Like great subscribe review if you put questions in the chat,
listen to either the bonus show we might do tomorrow
or Thursday scheduled show. We'll get your questions there. That
we went too long. I have to get to work.
(01:10:22):
Appreciate Blue Duck, Appreciate the volume. Appreciate DraftKings. See you
guys on with Colin in about an hour. See you
on First Things First Brew back from jury duty at
three o'clock. What's right
Host
Nick Wright
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