April 25, 2025 • 15 mins
Longtime Pistons beat writer -- now covering the Knicks for the Athletic -- James Edwards III joins the show to break down the series thus far and preview what's to come.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
So happy to reconnect with James Edwards. He's just a
great dude.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Man.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
I really enjoyed his stuff in Detroit. Miss him. Miss
his stuff in Detroit. But you at least you can
read it in the Athletic. He is the senior writer
covering the Knicks for the Athletic, and he joins us
here on Exus and Bros. And I know it's been
an early morning for you because it was a late
night for you, but great stuff is always. How are you,
my friend? How are you and your family?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'm doing well, Seth. I appreciate you having me on. Yeah,
everybody's good. It's funny how this worked out. Happy to
be happy to be home and get to see my
family and friends. It's been a little bit.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah. I hope you had a chance to spend some
time with your friends. It's awesome. I love hearing those
stories and I love reading your stories. I'd like your
take before we get to game three. I'd like your
take on how effective you think Tom Thibodeau's complaints of
the referees after game two was four games.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yeah, I mean I thought I think he was just
sticking up for his guy. I think Jalen was frustrated.
It was clear he was frustrated, and I think he
kind of let out his frustration and trying to debate
some of the Pistons guys into fouls. And I think
Tom was just being a guy who loves Jalen and
he's known Jalensen. Seeing the kid, I'm just sticking up
(01:16):
for it guy. Obviously, Jalen was not as trying as
eager to draw contact last night, so to me, that
was just the further sign of him being frustrated in
game two.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
I think you're right about that, and I think it's
important people know, no matter who you are, you have
to expect coaches to stick up for their players. You're
sticking up for your own players, so why wouldn't the
coach do it? So it makes a lot of sense. Then,
the difference last night, I thought was New York's aggressiveness.
I thought Detroit was much more aggressive in game one
(01:49):
and game two, I thought New York did the same thing,
kind of turned the tables on the Pistons last night.
What was your overall takeaway from game three and why
New York was two points better?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, new York sept its tone early. I mean the
Pistons did miss some easy shots early on, but the
Knicks capaloe. They got out in transition. They played fast,
they found that and he let the ball fly and
they were able to set the tone early. They were
the Pistons had digged themselves out of a hole early,
and then they had just The Knicks had just enough
defense and bunches different pockets of the game, and they
(02:25):
were able to close it out. I think four guys
for twenty points. Josh Hart was the only starter that didn't,
but he had nine assists and eleven rebounds. So the
advantage that Knicks had coming into this was they were
they were deep with proven talent, and I thought last
night was the first night that they actually like imposed
their will with that. Even though Brunton didn't have a
great shooting game, he closed the game late.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Do you think defense wins championships? And if so, do
you think New York's defense is good enough to do that?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
No? I don't think it is, simply because what wins
this game gets the honor of playing the Boston Celtics,
and Boston is just heading shoulders better than either one
of these teams right now. Boston obviously can guard across
the board. They have five guys who can shoot. They
have five guys and more than five guys who can shoot,
they have five starters who can put the ball down
(03:17):
on the floor and create a shot. I mean, I
do think defense you have to at least be a
good defensive team to win the championship at this level.
But I just think there are certain teams that are
that are still playing, that are a little bit more,
a little bit more impactful on both them the floor
than these two teams.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
James Edwards, who is the senior RD covering the Knicks
for the Athletic you can fall them on Twitter at
j L Edwards three or the third with us here
on X's and Bros. Has anything surprised you in the
first three games of this series so far? And if so,
what would it be?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Not like a constant team through three games. I will
say that there are things in different games that surprised me.
I thought up until last night, the Pistons were the
more assertive team. I thought they were consistently better than
the Knicks for two games. Obviously, they lost Game one,
but that was rooted in a twenty one over run
in the fourth right and but if you look at
(04:17):
the rest of the quarters, I thought Detroit handled themselves well.
They were just as good, if not better than the next.
Malik Beasley has really struggled, obviously shooting the ball the
last two games, and Detroit can't afford. They're not going
to win many games if he's not at least shooting okay.
And obviously if he gets a couple of the fall
last night, maybe things changed. Obviously they lost by they
(04:37):
lost by one, but you never know how games are
impacted when you look at it in hindsight. But he
certainly like they need a little bit more from him.
I'm surprised that he's struggled the way yet because he
is such a big time player in terms of the crowd,
Like he's a guy who seems to be a showman,
right like, and you think he would expect him to
(04:58):
to be a little bit more consistent in those moment.
I'm sure he'll be fine, But yeah, I mean, it's
been a really good series, Like I've really enjoyed it.
I think these two teams are the antithesis of one another,
and it's shown and it's been a great fight. Like
fights make styles make fights, and I think we've seen
that in this series.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
I agree one hundred percent. I thought this would be
the best series in the East in the first round,
and I thought the Clippers Denver series would be the
best in the West. I don't know if that's based
on their seedings or not. I just think the way
these two teams are built and the way they play
seem to be very similar, at least in in a
willingness to defend, and that's not always an easy thing
(05:39):
to do. When you look at both these two teams, though,
what needs to be better for the Knicks in in
order for them to close out this series eventually, and
what could Detroit do better to close out New York
and surprise everybody, I.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Think, and I wrote about it before the series, and
he saw it kind of manifest last night. The Knicks
third team that they don't play super fan so when
they're able to get stops and get out in transition
they can be that's when they're at their most deadly
as an offense. So their ability to get stops last
night I think is the blueprint. Whether it's og and
Michale at the point of attach, they were really good
(06:13):
in the second quarter. Whether it's rebounding and getting and going.
The Knicks has to find a way to be able
to play fast and I think they did that last
night and Detroit they just need a couple more guys
to make shots. I think obviously the thing with this
team is they didn't really have a true number two
outside of Cade. Dennis Shrewder has risen to the occasion.
(06:34):
Tim Hardaway has been good, but they need one more
guy to be a little bit more consistent with their
shot making. And this can be Uh, this could be
an interesting series. I think it has been going forward.
And I think obviously the Pistons miss Isaiah Stewart too.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Yeah last night, Yeah, somebody brought that up. And I
think Paul Reid's played very well over the last two games.
I mean, if they didn't miss Isaiah Stewart in a
win and you said, and I agree with you, by
the way I said, I think Detroit's been the better
team in six of the eight quarters going into Game three. Anyway,
if they didn't miss him in Game one, they didn't
miss him in Game two. Why did they miss him
(07:10):
last night? And what could he have done differently that
would have altered the outcome?
Speaker 2 (07:14):
I don't yeah, I mean I think Isaiah won. He's
one of the best room protectors in I mean he
is the best room protector by metrics in the NBA.
I think he is even better in space in terms
of guarding guys out near the perimeter. And Carl got
going last night and Duran, while he was really good
in game two, I thought he lost towns a few times.
(07:36):
In Game three there are a few times and Brunton
drove and Darren stuck with Josh Hart, who isn't a
shooter and probably should have collapsed on Brunson. I remember
a layup late specifically, like I think Isaiah would have
been would have been a good player to have closed
that game last night, just because of his defensive instincts.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
That's well said. I love that analysis. You've covered Caduningham.
You thought he was going to be a really elite player.
How has he gotten better? I know you're you're looking
at him more now that you're in New York, But
when you see him, who has become he's going to
be an All NBA selection. I don't know if it's one,
two or three. It's probably three, but either way, you
(08:17):
can't take that away from him. How have you seen
his game grow the most? Do you think?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, I think it's just a guy who's been able
to grow confidence in what he's able to do now.
I that he never left confidence, but being able to
see results play it off right, like they're winning games
with him being the guy. I think Cad has played
Tad's game. I think now they've just added shooters around him.
He's improved as a playmaker. He's just doing what he's
(08:43):
always done. I just think he has a little bit
more talent around him and it benefited him and it's
made the game easier for him. I also think he's
improved this year defensively, like on the ball, I think
he's been really good for this Pistons team this year.
And I think he's risen to the occasion in terms
of the moments when he's darning. Brunton has done a
good job trying to slow him down when when he's passed.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
With that, you tweeted this out last night, you got
some some pushback from people in New York, which I
think is you know, it's ridiculous, you know, and then
just because you covered the Pistons doesn't mean that you
have a rooting interest one way or the other. You're
your objective. You can write about what a team does
well and what a team does poorly. But you tweeted
out about the Jalen Brunson the inbound to him. Did
(09:26):
you get an explanation on that? Because JB. Bickersff had
something to say about it afterwards as well. And I
think there are some people confused a little bit on
why that wasn't an over and back.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yeah. Amari Sanakopo was the poor reporder last night and
he talked to zach Arba, and apparently the rule is
if a player's momentum is going that way, he doesn't
have full possession of the ball, it's not over and back.
So I mean, you can obviously argue if Jalen caught
the ball and went backwards or his momentum was heading
that way, right, But yeah, I think everybody live that's
(10:01):
honest with themselves question if that was an over and back.
I think in talking to some of the people with
the knicks, even they were they they were worried that
it might have been over and back when it happened.
But the officials claimed the acknowledge the rule, and in
their eyes it wasn't and that's all that matters.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
I guess I think going into this series, I think
this happens in every sport. By the way, James, I
really do you really start to appreciate players who you
haven't seen all the time, Like we see the Pistons
every single game, so we appreciate certain guys, but we
also recognize their awards. The same thing happens when like
(10:38):
we appreciate the Knicks, but you saw him choppiness throughout
the throughout the year. You saw them four times, but
it wasn't in consecting. When you're seeing a team over
and over and over a game, you either become a
little bit more admirable toward their game or they frustrate
you a little bit more. You know what it's like
for Detroit because they're watching Jalen Brunson and they feel
like there is a quote unquote floppiness to his game.
(11:01):
Do you believe that is the case? Is that who
he is? How do you defend his actions in game
two less in game three?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yeah? I think Jayalen is just like I said at
the top of the show, I thought Game two was
more of an anomaly than it was, like he is
a guy that obviously uses other players' momentum against them
and their physicality against them. I mean, listen, he's six foot,
he's not the fastest, like, he has to do what
he has to do. I just thought that Game two
(11:31):
was more frustration, and then he saw in Game three
he was able to score thirty points and didn't really
do any of the things that obviously drive the Pistons
fan's crazy. He's a guy. I just think he's a
smart basketball player. He has physical limitations in terms of
his height, right and his speed, but he finds related
(11:54):
to win. He's a tremendous basketball player, and I think
anybody who suggests otherwise is wrong. But I understand the
frustration in a playoff series when you're seeing a guy
that many times and your team is known for being physical, right, Like,
I definitely understand the frustration there. But I think it
should be mentioned first and foremost. Jalen Brunson is one
(12:17):
of the best basketball players in the in the NBA.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
One of the best basketball players in the world. And
that's that's well said. And I concur one before I
let you go give me the other series that is
intriguing most to you I mean, Oklahoma City came from
twenty nine points down and beat Memphis last night. That
series has got to be over. You don't recover from
something like that, at least not as a team like
Memphis against the number one seed. Overall, what other series
(12:42):
is intriguing to you? And why.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
You mentioned that the Clippers Denver. I'm very high on
the Clippers. Like if you told me that the Clippers
find themselves in the Western Conference finals, like, I wouldn't
be surprised. Kawi as healthy and playing tremendous. James Harden
has been great this year. Norman Powell has been great
this year. They added Bogdanovich from Atlanta at the deadline
and he's been good. And I've always been a huge
(13:07):
fan of Tyler. I think he's one of the two
or three best coaches in the NBA. So they're healthy,
they have scoring, they have defense. Zubac has been really
really good for them at the center position. Like that
Clippers team, I don't know if they get past Oklahoma City,
but I think they can give Oklahoma City a run
for their money.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Sounds like you like Boston in the East. Is that
a fair conclusion?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I do Boston or Cleveland. I still go back and forth.
Cleveland is super impressive. They play bad, they defend, they
get shots up. I'm one of those people that like
to give the champions their respect. You have to show
me you can beat them. But I think Cleveland and
Boston if they meet in the Eastern Conference Final, that's
a six to seven game series.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah. Evan Mobley named Defensive Player of the Year. Last thought,
Who's coach of the year? Do you think?
Speaker 2 (13:54):
So?
Speaker 1 (13:54):
I love JB. Bickerstaff, I really do. Man. I said
this from the very beginning. I said, I think he's
a hell of a coach. I think he's going to
be perfect for Detroit. And I said, I think he's
got a track record of developing younger players. I don't
know if he's coach of the year. I'm glad he's
in the conversation. What's impressed you most about what he's done?
And who do you think is coach of the year.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, I think it's him or Kenny Atkinson's. It's feelers' choice.
And obviously they're connected and in a way that I'm
sure is weird for JV right, but certainly, like I mean, listen,
the distance tripled their win total. Now, is that more
of an indictment of the coach before JB or a
(14:35):
praise for what he's done. I think it's I think
it's a little bit of both. Majority for the praise
for what JB has done. He's got he's got this
team to buy in. He's established a culture, the players
love to play for him. They're a top five defense,
top ten defense, whatever it was. Like, he's been tremendous
and he deserves that award if he's the one that
(14:55):
gets it. And thing with Kenny Atkinson right like, he
unlocked a lot of stuff with his Cleveland team that
has allowed them to be one of the surprises of
the NBA. I don't think anybody expected them to be
this good. So I think it's a dealer's choice there.
But certainly I think Joka is another guy who's not
getting enough credit. I think he could be a top
(15:16):
three finalist. Mark dagnoll, I mean, listening to the team
won sixty four, sixty five games. There's some really good
coaches in the NBA this year.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yeah, miss you, man, But keep up the great work.
That's good stuff you too, man. Yeah, it's been it's been.
It's been really fun to follow your career. It doesn't
surprise me one damn bid. But it's fun to follow
your career. I'm glad you're doing so well. All right,
and be safe, and I hope you get a chance
to see your friends again. Good stuff, man, All the
best to you and your family.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Okay, you as well, Schep. I really appreciate it. Man. Yeah,
let's let's talk to him.
So happy to reconnect with James Edwards. He's just a
great dude.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Man.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
I really enjoyed his stuff in Detroit. Miss him. Miss
his stuff in Detroit. But you at least you can
read it in the Athletic. He is the senior writer
covering the Knicks for the Athletic, and he joins us
here on Exus and Bros. And I know it's been
an early morning for you because it was a late
night for you, but great stuff is always. How are you,
my friend? How are you and your family?
Speaker 2 (00:23):
I'm doing well, Seth. I appreciate you having me on. Yeah,
everybody's good. It's funny how this worked out. Happy to
be happy to be home and get to see my
family and friends. It's been a little bit.
Speaker 1 (00:34):
Yeah. I hope you had a chance to spend some
time with your friends. It's awesome. I love hearing those
stories and I love reading your stories. I'd like your
take before we get to game three. I'd like your
take on how effective you think Tom Thibodeau's complaints of
the referees after game two was four games.
Speaker 2 (00:54):
Yeah, I mean I thought I think he was just
sticking up for his guy. I think Jalen was frustrated.
It was clear he was frustrated, and I think he
kind of let out his frustration and trying to debate
some of the Pistons guys into fouls. And I think
Tom was just being a guy who loves Jalen and
he's known Jalensen. Seeing the kid, I'm just sticking up
(01:16):
for it guy. Obviously, Jalen was not as trying as
eager to draw contact last night, so to me, that
was just the further sign of him being frustrated in
game two.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
I think you're right about that, and I think it's
important people know, no matter who you are, you have
to expect coaches to stick up for their players. You're
sticking up for your own players, so why wouldn't the
coach do it? So it makes a lot of sense. Then,
the difference last night, I thought was New York's aggressiveness.
I thought Detroit was much more aggressive in game one
(01:49):
and game two, I thought New York did the same thing,
kind of turned the tables on the Pistons last night.
What was your overall takeaway from game three and why
New York was two points better?
Speaker 2 (02:00):
Yeah, new York sept its tone early. I mean the
Pistons did miss some easy shots early on, but the
Knicks capaloe. They got out in transition. They played fast,
they found that and he let the ball fly and
they were able to set the tone early. They were
the Pistons had digged themselves out of a hole early,
and then they had just The Knicks had just enough
defense and bunches different pockets of the game, and they
(02:25):
were able to close it out. I think four guys
for twenty points. Josh Hart was the only starter that didn't,
but he had nine assists and eleven rebounds. So the
advantage that Knicks had coming into this was they were
they were deep with proven talent, and I thought last
night was the first night that they actually like imposed
their will with that. Even though Brunton didn't have a
great shooting game, he closed the game late.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Do you think defense wins championships? And if so, do
you think New York's defense is good enough to do that?
Speaker 2 (02:56):
No? I don't think it is, simply because what wins
this game gets the honor of playing the Boston Celtics,
and Boston is just heading shoulders better than either one
of these teams right now. Boston obviously can guard across
the board. They have five guys who can shoot. They
have five guys and more than five guys who can shoot,
they have five starters who can put the ball down
(03:17):
on the floor and create a shot. I mean, I
do think defense you have to at least be a
good defensive team to win the championship at this level.
But I just think there are certain teams that are
that are still playing, that are a little bit more,
a little bit more impactful on both them the floor
than these two teams.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
James Edwards, who is the senior RD covering the Knicks
for the Athletic you can fall them on Twitter at
j L Edwards three or the third with us here
on X's and Bros. Has anything surprised you in the
first three games of this series so far? And if so,
what would it be?
Speaker 2 (03:55):
Not like a constant team through three games. I will
say that there are things in different games that surprised me.
I thought up until last night, the Pistons were the
more assertive team. I thought they were consistently better than
the Knicks for two games. Obviously, they lost Game one,
but that was rooted in a twenty one over run
in the fourth right and but if you look at
(04:17):
the rest of the quarters, I thought Detroit handled themselves well.
They were just as good, if not better than the next.
Malik Beasley has really struggled, obviously shooting the ball the
last two games, and Detroit can't afford. They're not going
to win many games if he's not at least shooting okay.
And obviously if he gets a couple of the fall
last night, maybe things changed. Obviously they lost by they
(04:37):
lost by one, but you never know how games are
impacted when you look at it in hindsight. But he
certainly like they need a little bit more from him.
I'm surprised that he's struggled the way yet because he
is such a big time player in terms of the crowd,
Like he's a guy who seems to be a showman,
right like, and you think he would expect him to
(04:58):
to be a little bit more consistent in those moment.
I'm sure he'll be fine, But yeah, I mean, it's
been a really good series, Like I've really enjoyed it.
I think these two teams are the antithesis of one another,
and it's shown and it's been a great fight. Like
fights make styles make fights, and I think we've seen
that in this series.
Speaker 1 (05:17):
I agree one hundred percent. I thought this would be
the best series in the East in the first round,
and I thought the Clippers Denver series would be the
best in the West. I don't know if that's based
on their seedings or not. I just think the way
these two teams are built and the way they play
seem to be very similar, at least in in a
willingness to defend, and that's not always an easy thing
(05:39):
to do. When you look at both these two teams, though,
what needs to be better for the Knicks in in
order for them to close out this series eventually, and
what could Detroit do better to close out New York
and surprise everybody, I.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
Think, and I wrote about it before the series, and
he saw it kind of manifest last night. The Knicks
third team that they don't play super fan so when
they're able to get stops and get out in transition
they can be that's when they're at their most deadly
as an offense. So their ability to get stops last
night I think is the blueprint. Whether it's og and
Michale at the point of attach, they were really good
(06:13):
in the second quarter. Whether it's rebounding and getting and going.
The Knicks has to find a way to be able
to play fast and I think they did that last
night and Detroit they just need a couple more guys
to make shots. I think obviously the thing with this
team is they didn't really have a true number two
outside of Cade. Dennis Shrewder has risen to the occasion.
(06:34):
Tim Hardaway has been good, but they need one more
guy to be a little bit more consistent with their
shot making. And this can be Uh, this could be
an interesting series. I think it has been going forward.
And I think obviously the Pistons miss Isaiah Stewart too.
Speaker 1 (06:49):
Yeah last night, Yeah, somebody brought that up. And I
think Paul Reid's played very well over the last two games.
I mean, if they didn't miss Isaiah Stewart in a
win and you said, and I agree with you, by
the way I said, I think Detroit's been the better
team in six of the eight quarters going into Game three. Anyway,
if they didn't miss him in Game one, they didn't
miss him in Game two. Why did they miss him
(07:10):
last night? And what could he have done differently that
would have altered the outcome?
Speaker 2 (07:14):
I don't yeah, I mean I think Isaiah won. He's
one of the best room protectors in I mean he
is the best room protector by metrics in the NBA.
I think he is even better in space in terms
of guarding guys out near the perimeter. And Carl got
going last night and Duran, while he was really good
in game two, I thought he lost towns a few times.
(07:36):
In Game three there are a few times and Brunton
drove and Darren stuck with Josh Hart, who isn't a
shooter and probably should have collapsed on Brunson. I remember
a layup late specifically, like I think Isaiah would have
been would have been a good player to have closed
that game last night, just because of his defensive instincts.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
That's well said. I love that analysis. You've covered Caduningham.
You thought he was going to be a really elite player.
How has he gotten better? I know you're you're looking
at him more now that you're in New York, But
when you see him, who has become he's going to
be an All NBA selection. I don't know if it's one,
two or three. It's probably three, but either way, you
(08:17):
can't take that away from him. How have you seen
his game grow the most? Do you think?
Speaker 2 (08:21):
Yeah, I think it's just a guy who's been able
to grow confidence in what he's able to do now.
I that he never left confidence, but being able to
see results play it off right, like they're winning games
with him being the guy. I think Cad has played
Tad's game. I think now they've just added shooters around him.
He's improved as a playmaker. He's just doing what he's
(08:43):
always done. I just think he has a little bit
more talent around him and it benefited him and it's
made the game easier for him. I also think he's
improved this year defensively, like on the ball, I think
he's been really good for this Pistons team this year.
And I think he's risen to the occasion in terms
of the moments when he's darning. Brunton has done a
good job trying to slow him down when when he's passed.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
With that, you tweeted this out last night, you got
some some pushback from people in New York, which I
think is you know, it's ridiculous, you know, and then
just because you covered the Pistons doesn't mean that you
have a rooting interest one way or the other. You're
your objective. You can write about what a team does
well and what a team does poorly. But you tweeted
out about the Jalen Brunson the inbound to him. Did
(09:26):
you get an explanation on that? Because JB. Bickersff had
something to say about it afterwards as well. And I
think there are some people confused a little bit on
why that wasn't an over and back.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
Yeah. Amari Sanakopo was the poor reporder last night and
he talked to zach Arba, and apparently the rule is
if a player's momentum is going that way, he doesn't
have full possession of the ball, it's not over and back.
So I mean, you can obviously argue if Jalen caught
the ball and went backwards or his momentum was heading
that way, right, But yeah, I think everybody live that's
(10:01):
honest with themselves question if that was an over and back.
I think in talking to some of the people with
the knicks, even they were they they were worried that
it might have been over and back when it happened.
But the officials claimed the acknowledge the rule, and in
their eyes it wasn't and that's all that matters.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
I guess I think going into this series, I think
this happens in every sport. By the way, James, I
really do you really start to appreciate players who you
haven't seen all the time, Like we see the Pistons
every single game, so we appreciate certain guys, but we
also recognize their awards. The same thing happens when like
(10:38):
we appreciate the Knicks, but you saw him choppiness throughout
the throughout the year. You saw them four times, but
it wasn't in consecting. When you're seeing a team over
and over and over a game, you either become a
little bit more admirable toward their game or they frustrate
you a little bit more. You know what it's like
for Detroit because they're watching Jalen Brunson and they feel
like there is a quote unquote floppiness to his game.
(11:01):
Do you believe that is the case? Is that who
he is? How do you defend his actions in game
two less in game three?
Speaker 2 (11:10):
Yeah? I think Jayalen is just like I said at
the top of the show, I thought Game two was
more of an anomaly than it was, like he is
a guy that obviously uses other players' momentum against them
and their physicality against them. I mean, listen, he's six foot,
he's not the fastest, like, he has to do what
he has to do. I just thought that Game two
(11:31):
was more frustration, and then he saw in Game three
he was able to score thirty points and didn't really
do any of the things that obviously drive the Pistons
fan's crazy. He's a guy. I just think he's a
smart basketball player. He has physical limitations in terms of
his height, right and his speed, but he finds related
(11:54):
to win. He's a tremendous basketball player, and I think
anybody who suggests otherwise is wrong. But I understand the
frustration in a playoff series when you're seeing a guy
that many times and your team is known for being physical, right, Like,
I definitely understand the frustration there. But I think it
should be mentioned first and foremost. Jalen Brunson is one
(12:17):
of the best basketball players in the in the NBA.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
One of the best basketball players in the world. And
that's that's well said. And I concur one before I
let you go give me the other series that is
intriguing most to you I mean, Oklahoma City came from
twenty nine points down and beat Memphis last night. That
series has got to be over. You don't recover from
something like that, at least not as a team like
Memphis against the number one seed. Overall, what other series
(12:42):
is intriguing to you? And why.
Speaker 2 (12:45):
You mentioned that the Clippers Denver. I'm very high on
the Clippers. Like if you told me that the Clippers
find themselves in the Western Conference finals, like, I wouldn't
be surprised. Kawi as healthy and playing tremendous. James Harden
has been great this year. Norman Powell has been great
this year. They added Bogdanovich from Atlanta at the deadline
and he's been good. And I've always been a huge
(13:07):
fan of Tyler. I think he's one of the two
or three best coaches in the NBA. So they're healthy,
they have scoring, they have defense. Zubac has been really
really good for them at the center position. Like that
Clippers team, I don't know if they get past Oklahoma City,
but I think they can give Oklahoma City a run
for their money.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Sounds like you like Boston in the East. Is that
a fair conclusion?
Speaker 2 (13:31):
I do Boston or Cleveland. I still go back and forth.
Cleveland is super impressive. They play bad, they defend, they
get shots up. I'm one of those people that like
to give the champions their respect. You have to show
me you can beat them. But I think Cleveland and
Boston if they meet in the Eastern Conference Final, that's
a six to seven game series.
Speaker 1 (13:50):
Yeah. Evan Mobley named Defensive Player of the Year. Last thought,
Who's coach of the year? Do you think?
Speaker 2 (13:54):
So?
Speaker 1 (13:54):
I love JB. Bickerstaff, I really do. Man. I said
this from the very beginning. I said, I think he's
a hell of a coach. I think he's going to
be perfect for Detroit. And I said, I think he's
got a track record of developing younger players. I don't
know if he's coach of the year. I'm glad he's
in the conversation. What's impressed you most about what he's done?
And who do you think is coach of the year.
Speaker 2 (14:14):
Yeah, I think it's him or Kenny Atkinson's. It's feelers' choice.
And obviously they're connected and in a way that I'm
sure is weird for JV right, but certainly, like I mean, listen,
the distance tripled their win total. Now, is that more
of an indictment of the coach before JB or a
(14:35):
praise for what he's done. I think it's I think
it's a little bit of both. Majority for the praise
for what JB has done. He's got he's got this
team to buy in. He's established a culture, the players
love to play for him. They're a top five defense,
top ten defense, whatever it was. Like, he's been tremendous
and he deserves that award if he's the one that
(14:55):
gets it. And thing with Kenny Atkinson right like, he
unlocked a lot of stuff with his Cleveland team that
has allowed them to be one of the surprises of
the NBA. I don't think anybody expected them to be
this good. So I think it's a dealer's choice there.
But certainly I think Joka is another guy who's not
getting enough credit. I think he could be a top
(15:16):
three finalist. Mark dagnoll, I mean, listening to the team
won sixty four, sixty five games. There's some really good
coaches in the NBA this year.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Yeah, miss you, man, But keep up the great work.
That's good stuff you too, man. Yeah, it's been it's been.
It's been really fun to follow your career. It doesn't
surprise me one damn bid. But it's fun to follow
your career. I'm glad you're doing so well. All right,
and be safe, and I hope you get a chance
to see your friends again. Good stuff, man, All the
best to you and your family.
Speaker 2 (15:41):
Okay, you as well, Schep. I really appreciate it. Man. Yeah,
let's let's talk to him.
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