June 10, 2025 • 45 mins
Sean Brace and Sean Barnard talk all things #NBAFinals as the series shifts to Indiana for #Thunder vs #Pacers Game 3.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Picks and roll, handicapping the hardwood with sixers insider Sean
Bernard and Sean Brace.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Anyway we go in a good morning, it is raining
yet again here in the Delaware Valley. I just I
don't know, man, I really don't know anymore. I get it.
It's not summertime. But it feels like somebody's playing a
joke on us this year, the amount of rain that
we have gotten. And you know, you just want to
wake up, start your day with some sun shining and
(00:28):
be able to go outside in that back deck and
have a cup of coffee and then get your day started.
But that has not been in the equation for these
last couple of days here. Hopefully it's a little bit
better where you're at, Sean. But how are we doing, sir? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
No, it's been up in the sticks of Lancaster up
here right now, and it's been coming down strong all morning.
So it looks like it's clearing up a little bit,
so maybe a bit of a better day. I'm supposed
to do a little mini golf in this afternoon, so
hoping to fit that in, but right now the weather
has not been promising.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I dig it, I dig it all right. We got
a lot to get too, of course, all things NBA,
all things NBA Finals, a little bit of draft conversation,
a little bit of this, a little bit of that,
and uh oh yeah, a little preview for our Wheel
of Misfortune coming up tomorrow for NBA Finals Game three. Now,
Sean and you and Sam got together yesterday. Great listen.
(01:18):
We had that on the air yesterday at five o'clock.
Of course, and everything is podcast at FOXPHL Gambler dot com.
But let's go ahead and dive a little bit more
into what you took away from game two. And from
my standpoint, I said this start the show yesterday, and
it's kind of where I'm at still today just a
day later. Why would it changed. I haven't played a game.
(01:40):
I just feel like I just felt like that there
was no way okayse was losing that game number one
eleven points spread a little bit different, but it felt
like that OKC was just never going to take the
foot off the pedal. And oh, by the way, I
think you got to start mixing this into the equation.
How many more times can we count on the Indiana
(02:02):
Pacers battling back down by twenty? Like I made the
joke at halftime, like, I wonder what they're saying. Wait,
we've been here before. At what point does it get exhausted? Exhausting?
You know, like the mental fatigue of like dude, we're
down twenty again, we got to do this again. And
it felt like that. That was more so evident in
(02:24):
game two. Then obviously it's easy to say it because
they didn't come back. But that's where I was during
that game. You know where I was before the game.
I was saying, man, I don't trust okay, see to
give eleven. You turned the ball over twenty five times
in game one and you lose that game, Like, dude,
there's something demonic going out with Pacers, but a little
bit of gas pedal, pedal to the metal. Okay, So
(02:45):
he was not losing that game. A and then B
Pacers were just like dude, this is just ridiculous. Here
we go again.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah. I mean, the number one takeaway to me is
for sure that the Thunder learned their lesson for needn't
keep the foot on the gas for all forty eight
minutes against this team. I mean, the Pacers led for
zero point three seconds in all of Game one and
managed to come out with the victory there. They led
for less than two minutes in Game two and nothing
after about midway through the first quarter there. So the
Thunder really kept their foot on the gas. They utilized
(03:14):
their timeouts whenever there was a little bit of momentum swinging.
But we know that Oklahoma City is the better team.
We know that defensively they can impose themselves, and they
really made it clear that they were not letting that
game be opened up for the Pacers to have one
of their miraculos come back. So we'll see what happens
with the series returns to Indiana. The books giving the
most respects that they have to the Pacers to this
point with a five and a half point spread four
(03:35):
game three there. Obviously we've been significally more up there
for the first two games of this series from a
spread perspective there, I do think that's a bit telling
if Indiana is gonna grab another one. I do think
it is game three, and that's the direction I'm leaning
for this matchup. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Look, Julian Edlough, I put this out yesterday. This is
another moment in NBA Finals, NBA playoff run here that
we're seeing a little bit of history in the conversation,
and it doesn't do any favors for the Indiana Pacers,
that's for sure. But trying to find Edlo's tweet from yesterday.
But essentially here it is that over the past twenty
(04:10):
five years, teams that are road teams that were laying
points in Game three. You don't see that often. Of course,
you know, it's still pretty historic to be priced as
a road favorite in Game three the NBA Finals. Only
previous examples over the past twenty five years. Durant and
Curry's Warriors were favorite in Game three in Cleveland in
(04:30):
twenty seventeen. Twenty eighteen, won and covered. Both Shaq and
Kobe's Lakers were favored in Game three Indiana Philly and
Jersey two to one, straight up, one and two ats
under our five and a half. So here we go,
man again history staring at the Oklahoma City Thunder. And
it's just crazy because, like, is it the fact that
(04:50):
okayc is that dominant or the Indiana Pacers don't belong?
Speaker 3 (04:54):
I think that Oklahoma City is that dominant? Is the
full takeaway here. I still think the Pacers are still
not quite given as much prospectives they deserve from a
pure team perspective here, but the Oklahoma City is the
real deal. This is a straight up historic defense that
can impose themselves really limited the Indiana from getting anything
kind of in their genuine flow of offense. They still
haven't been able to push the pace or play at
(05:15):
the tempo that they really prefer to, and I think
that's been pretty clear, particularly in Game two. There is
basically none of that from a fast fast break perspective there.
So I do think the thunder of the real deal
we're seeing this team grow up right in front of
our eyes. That they've always even very efficient and very
calculated in the way that they've built out this roster
with all the youth and all the draft capital that
they did have there, and they solve all these other
(05:37):
attempts and swings that they can take from a movement forward.
So this is going to be a team that's a
problem for a long time, but they've arrived right now
and or the gold standard for basketball I think for
the next several years.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, that's troublesome to hear because it's the reality of
the situation. You look at what they have as far
as draft capital is concerned. You look at what they
have currently on the roster as far as names, You
look at what they have when you get a little
bit more into the details as far as contracts are concerned,
this team is set up for a few years to
come and look, like you said about growing up right
before our eyes. I feel like we saw a different
(06:10):
team in game two. And I know we've watched a
ton of Oklahoma City over the season and then some
because it was a team that had a pretty good
season last year as well. But you know, you had
five Thunder players scoring in double figures, which is a
little bit different than Game one, Guys that really took
advantage or said that you need a little bit more
be aggressive, Guys like Chet. Of course Williams didn't have
(06:32):
the best game, but still I thought from the jump
you saw a team that was a heck of a
lot more aggressive than the Pacers.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Yeah, and Chet, I think is the number one improvement
there that he really struggled in game one and they
took away his minutes way more than I expect to
be the case. He clocked twenty four minutes in game
one there, which is significally below what his average There
in particular, like Oklahoma City, not even did the sacrifice
home run in favor of Hartenstein that they were playing
the no center lineup for stretches there. I did think
(06:59):
that was a mistake. Indiana out rebounded them by seventeen
rebounds in game one there, and that obviously changed in
game two. I think that mostly is a credit to
Chet for basically just stepping up and being the version
of himself that we've kind of known to be the
case at this point. That even in the early parts
of this game, I thought that he looked a little rushed.
I thought he looked a little uncomfortable, and I even
got a little text for Mark Henry saying that the
(07:19):
lights look a little bright for Chet Holmgren. I was
kind of surprised for that to be the case, but
credit to him, he settled in. I thought he was
really effective in that second quarter, third quarter, and second
half of that game and made a huge impact for
this Thunder team. So when Chet is playing his best basketball,
you can make an argument he's the second best player
on this Thunder team. They still haven't gotten that at
that consistent of a level during his NBA Finals run,
(07:40):
but he certainly made an impack in game two.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Yeah, look, you know Chet I thought could be the
X factor again. You know, just we discussed this series
every which way. To say that Chet Holmgren's an X
factor is kind of I don't know if that's the
right definition for it, but just somebody that you thought
could take a step up with all eyes on shay,
it don't matter. Sga is incredible, dude, He is unbelievable.
(08:08):
To watch him play basketball as a privilege for all
those all those you know, casuals that had an issue
with this series, Dude, there he is. There's your number
one reason why you need to tune in, because he
is delivering. The expectations are there. It feels like we
always move goalposts. We know that, but it's like when
we talk about these superstars and you know Lebron this,
(08:29):
and you know Kobe that or Durant this and modern
day players. Dude, SGA came in with like they lost
game one and you couldn't say anything because of his performance.
What else could Shade do except for make that final shot.
Other than that, the guy went off and then he
backs up and delivers with a point total of thirty one,
goes over both days like this, Dude is insane. What
(08:53):
are we talking about with that SGA in his future?
I mean, is there something he can improve on? Is
the sky the limit for him? Where are we at
with that conversation?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Yeah, I mean, he's certainly in a position where he
can rake up quite an impressive resume. He's already in
the process of it. Obviously, winning MVP this year, he'll
be the first players, assuming that the thunder Do go
on to win a championship at this point, he'll be
the first player since Shaquill O'Neal to win a scoring
title on an NBA championship in the same season. Here,
he obviously has a long term supporting cast behind him,
with the guys like Jalen Williams, chet Holmgren and even
(09:26):
the future draft picks still coming incredibly young here, and
they're gonna be able to build around him forever. So
the sky is the limit for what she can actually
put together. But purely as a basketball player, I mean,
his bag is so polished in the way that he
gets to his spots. He has every shot in the
arsenal there. He can hit in every direction, every which
way get to whatever spot on the floor. He wants to.
(09:46):
And then defensively, he's probably the thunder Is worst defender
and he's still, i would argue, within like the top
fifty ish defenders in the NBA. He's that like the
real deal on that side of the floor. And I
thought against Haliburton he was particularly excellent in Game two
he ate a couple of strips whenever Halibert was kind
of snaking the lane and trying to attack the pain
a little bit. So Sja sets the tone on both
(10:07):
sides of the ball for this Thunder team. And having
a star that you can't just single out is so
advantageous from a team standpoint. Think about what other hurdles
teams like the Knicks had to, you know, juggle when
you have a guy like Jalen Brunson or Karl Anthony
town So you can go down the list of how
many stars James Harden We've seen, like how many stars
can't hold their weight on the defensive side of the ball.
That is not the case for shee Ghos Alexander whatsoever.
(10:29):
He sets the tone in that area too. So could
not be more impressed with the way that he's really
put everything together from a career perspective.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Seventy two points through two games. He has the most
points ever through two games in the NBA Finals by
a player making his Finals debut. I think when we're
talking about removing the finals debut, I think it's a
I and Kobe or no Jordan. It was it was
MJ because the ESPN had it. That's what it was.
It was Ai and MJ. As far as most points
(10:57):
through two games in an NBA Finals history, it's just,
you know, like, he's incredible. He is absolutely worth the
price of a mission. He's living up to the billing,
the hype, and then some thirty six points per game,
five rebounds per game, five point five assists. You can't
stop him, Sean, like you just you hope that he misses,
and even then if he misses, it feels like those
(11:20):
guys are gonna get the rebounds down low. Although it
didn't happen in game one. All right, So yeah, we
don't need to spend too much time as far as
who's the MVP of the series. Yeah, I guess the question.
I guess the question that would have is even if
they lose, he might still win.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Numbers wise, you can make the case even Carlisle last
after last game, was like, you can just pencil him
in for a thirty four game, which which is crazy
in an NBA final setting there, But that's the story
with Shay there, So I mean, I don't think they
would do that. If the Pacers find some miraculous way
to win this series, that I would guess. There's some
pretty heroic performances on the part of either Tyrese Halbern
or Pascal Siacom or whoever else may be the man
(11:57):
to step up there. But yeah, I mean from a
Thunder per there's pretty much no doubt that Shake gotess.
Alexander is the head of the Snake and both from
a straight up impact standpoint and serve a symbolic standpoint
for what he means for this team. Being kind of
the era, this era of Thunder basketball, the Claire Face fit,
I didn't think it's important for him to be recognized
as such. So yeah, he will be a lock for
(12:17):
MVP in the series.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
All Right, you know who my runner up MVP is.
If we took Sga out of the conversation and I
feel like i feel like I'm styling like him these days,
you were about to say it, Yeah, Alex ch CHRISA,
Yeah right, you're damn right. That boy is balling. And
you know, look, there were a few times in that
(12:40):
game that from a point spreader perspective, let's just talk
about it in that manner, like they were never losing
the game. But it was eleven and a half. It
was eleven point spread. There was one moment where it
was seventeen. There was another moment where it was kind
of like nineteen eighteen ish whatever it was, and Cruisi
hit two open three pointers. Right, it felt like the
Pacers kind of defended a little bit differently and maybe
(13:02):
maybe to a point the Pacers were a little bit
heavy legs, or not heavy legs, but like lack of
desire to a point, like there were moments that they
had some wide open three pointers. Okay, so you did
and it was just like, dude, you gotta get out there,
like this is d NBA Finals and these guys are
gonna knock them down. And credit to Oklahoma City Thunder.
(13:24):
They did hit those shots, and that's why that twenty
point lead never went away, never dissipated, and that's why
they won. Credit to Alex Scruso though again, I know
I said a lot there. Crusoe is my runner up
MVP right now at twenty.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
In game two, Yeah, I do think we saw a
little house money defense in the second half of Game
two there that I think the Pacers they recognized as
such that you can't view it any other way that
it being a massive win for them to split that
series for the first two in Oklahoma City there. It
would have taken a really special effort for them to
be able to go up to zero against this thunder team,
and obviously it did not prove to be the case
(13:54):
for as far as like how they're defending. It's kind
of interesting like Indiana throughout this playoff run has really
like committed to the concept of we're basically gonna live
with the stars, are gonna get theirs for stretches. We
saw Jalen Brunson put these ridiculous shot totals off Donovan
Mitchell in the same thing during that Cavalier series, him
averaging over thirty points per game across that. But the
reason that they kind of live with that is they're
(14:16):
not allowing what a guy like Shake Guilds Alexander typically
does best, which is attack, draw multiple defenders, and collapse
the entire defense. When you then have a defense sort
of running on its heels, where you're spinning around the
perimeter creating open looks, that's where a defense sort of
fully falls apart. And that's what the Pacers have done
a nice job avoiding. I thought they did a far
better job of that in game one than was the
case in Game two. There and like Shay obviously was
(14:39):
still the head of the stake from a scoring perspective,
but it did feel like there was more that he made.
I mean, he went from three assists in game one
to eight assists in game two as sort of an
example of this. So I think the Pacers need to
get back to what got them there and sort of
you're gonna have to live with Shake Gildess, Alexander getting
his numbers, but don't let these open looks for the
Alex Carusos, the Isaiah Joes, the Aaron Wiggins, Jalen Williams.
(15:00):
These guys will all punish you, so don't give them
the opportunity to do So.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Yeah, they shot thirty five percent from Downtown to Patient
that it just had that vibe, especially in the second half.
It was like, Eh, all right, we're gonna keep it
moving here. And look, even if they played their a game,
even if they brought it, I still didn't think that
they were winning that game. So right, we'll see what happens.
As far as moving forward, we will discuss that here.
(15:26):
Anything else from a game two perspective that that you
want to get off your chest at this point in time,
Anything that you're taking from the first two games and
applying it to Game three from a points from a
player prop perspective, is there, you know, top and I
know people were talking about and I feel like people
get enamored by the lower numbers. They're like, oh, yeah,
that's that's capable. A guy like TJ. McConnell is definitely
(15:48):
somebody that has my attention because McConnell continues to get
those minutes, especially if it's late in games and they're losing,
so he's not scared to drive to the basket, and
he's very shifty and quick. So I expect it when
it comes to players like that. I understand why you
would target some of those players, but I feel like
we get trapped a little bit too much because oh,
it's only nine and a half, he can get there, No,
(16:10):
is it a good play, you know, don't take it
just because it's a lower number and it's obtainable if
it's a blowout. No, Like, I want to know whether
or not Pascal Siakam's going for twenty plots. Is Halliburton
going to finally get it going? Is it seventeen and
a half?
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yeah? I mean Pascal Siakams where my head continues to go.
I want to see more from him in these playoffs,
and he still hasn't been in like a full aggression
mode the way that I hope to see. I do
think we'll get at least one Pascal Siakam game in
this series, sort of like last round where he popped
off for thirty nine and a matchup there. I think
that's coming. He hasn't been in full aggression mode, and
I think Game three might be the spot where that
is the case. Just from a matchup standpoint. I still
(16:45):
have my doubts about Haliburt and seventeen and a half
is a little bit too low for me to rock
the under there. I have written about it in games
one and two that that was where my head went,
that they just have so many different defenders they can
throw his direction. I think he has a really hard
time with sort of the increased physics from players like
lou Dort and Caseon, Wallace and Carus So that really
get under the skin there. So I'm sort of avoiding
(17:06):
the Haliburton conversation, but Siakam is where my head goes that.
I do think Game three is probably the spot where
he can kick it into gear. He just hasn't played
in attack mode, his numbers sitting at eighteen and a
half or nineteen and a half typically there, I think
he clears that we get his first twenty plus point
performance in this series.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
All right. Also from games one in two in Oklahoma,
crowd was rocking blue shirts. Pretty cool the floor. Let's
talk about the graphics, Let's talk about the details. Let's
talk about what is going on.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Hot topic.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah, it is a hot topic. It is weird. And
they went out there and super imposed like that's first
and foremost. It starts and ends there. The conversation starts
and ends there because of the fact that they can
sell the advertisements on the floor YouTube. There was another bank.
You know, these are huge deals that are rolled into
(18:01):
So I guess less is more from that perspective. League
working together with ESPN whoever broadcasts and says, hey, blah
blah blah blah blah, this is you know, gonna be
too much. We need to open the floor up for
the opportunity that we could put our graphics there. I
get it, money talks, but there are people going like, dude,
(18:22):
you guys put way too much effort into the nd
season tournament and then when the NBA Finals come around,
like there's zero creativity. Like the lack of creativity is
very evident to the naked eye, to the just to
a casual fan, and then you compare it to back
in the day and it's just like they're missing the
mark on it. So I think I'm glad that they
(18:43):
understood and they hear it, but there's gonna be no change.
And I'm definitely not a fan of the superimposed trophies
on the on the floor, Like come on.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Man, Yeah, the NBA is very clearly to me the
easiest league to bully from a fandom perspective there, because
that is all the conversations wearing Game one, where's the trophy?
How horrible is this? And then they obviously super imposed
for Game two. They also released a statement about like
our fear for players safety and that's why there's no
you know, something put down in the court which is
(19:12):
just insane there, Like we've seen this on so many occasions,
the n Season tournament a prime example, Like you put
stuff on the court. So it's just an excuse there.
But yeah, I mean I'm not as fired up as
passionate about it as a lot of people. But I
wouldn't prefer if there was a trophy. And do you
think it's crazy? They're kind of running from it all right.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
As always, we take questions, comments and concerns from anybody
that wants to tune in and join us here. Rob
checking in anyone feeling a duel trade with the Bulls
for Voos, Zach, Collins, Horder and the twelfth pick, all
expiring contracts if Dwelt. If a Dwell trade happens, I'm
thinking the Sixers, Uh, select the big man from Duke Malowac.
(19:49):
Let's just start with this. It can't happen, right, Yeah, Yeah,
I don't see any world two is Rob, all of them?
Are you trading for Joel Embiid? Rob, Rob, you're the
general manager of the Bulls. Are you trading for Jewell Embid?
Come on, man, why he can't play? He hasn't shown
(20:10):
you anything. He played thirty How many games did you've
been playing? Thirty games? And all of a sudden he's
got surgery and now you're gonna go in trade for
them and know, by the way, give up all that,
Like the Bulls aren't anything the right home about. But no, man,
put yourself in the general manager's shoes from the Chicago Bulls.
That's that's that's a trade that's not happening. And I
don't believe that can happen because of the contract. Correct.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
I would have to do the math on each of these.
I think we're in the vicinity ht Jewel embiid.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Can joellenbid be traded?
Speaker 3 (20:37):
He can be, can be that was all of last season,
not because the extension as of this summer, like he
legally can be. I don't see anywhere where it happens
for the same reason that you just mentioned, like the
injury concern and everything. All these other teams see the
same exact situation that the Sixers are dealing with here,
I will say, and I don't think we're there yet,
But if we were to get to the spot where
(20:58):
like the relationship is completely shack. There is no future
with Joel Ebid. I do think it is a team
sort of like the Bulls that would be willing to
take that chance, even a team like the Wizards or
something like that that it's like, we'll roll the dice,
will bring some excitement. I don't think we're there yet though,
by any any level of it.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Well, we're not there from a Wizard or a Bulls perspective. Correct,
Like it starts there, Joell Embiid can't play. Why would
I trade for a player that can't play?
Speaker 3 (21:25):
I think if this were to happen, the conversation starts
with Joel Embiid saying I don't want to be here anymore,
Like he's still like you still got to kind of
treat him as your guy. You're financially committed to him.
For formal Do.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
You think a team would trade for Joel Embiid.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Not remotely in the ballpark of what he's worth, but
just yes or no? Would a team take him? I
think probably still.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yeah, And then it gets into the conversation of like,
hey man, if you are the seventy six orally just
trying to dump him, like right, which.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Is where we that's where the conversation stops. To me,
is like when you think about how Daryl Morey used
the trade here, Like, obviously you want to maximize your
assets here, and you're certainly selling at the low point
on Joel Embiid conversation as low a point as I
honestly think we could get to. So I don't see
anywhere where it happens, largely because of that, because the
best case scenario of what you could possibly get out
(22:19):
of Joel Embiid if things break right next year, is
so much higher than what anything you could possibly get
into trade return.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yeah, you're right, I guess, and Rob, thanks for bringing
it up. I guess if Joel Embiid did come out
and say that's something I'm not factoring here. If he
did come out and say I'm out, time for me
to move on. I need a new new spot. Like
the fans are sour on me. I've played here, I've
given it my all. I want to try a new place. Okay,
(22:46):
that's a different discussion, But I don't believe Joell Ebid
is saying that a b. Joel Embiid just got a
brand new deal. We've seen superstars say like you know
what it's time for me to go and the deal
or no deal whatever, so it wouldn't be a shock.
I just think joell Embid is a different case. He's
just a different monster when it comes to this discussion
(23:08):
and the Sixers view him, whether they're right or wrong
or you want to agree, they want to keep him
in a Sixers uniform for the rest of his career.
They don't want to They don't want to ever let
Duellenbiid leave. And you know, if joellenbie can play, I'm
all for it. But if he can't play, then I
think you had to eventually look to do something different.
(23:29):
And maybe in your world, Rob, we are right and
I'm wrong. I just if I'm an NBA general manager,
there is no way I'm trading for joell Eenbiid right now.
And then I guess the fine line too with that
would be so if he plays thirty games in am I
trading for him at and the trade deadline? I don't
think the Sixers would make that move at the trade deadline.
(23:51):
If joell Embiad's healthy plays thirty games, they're not going
to trade him. I don't know. It's an interesting, interesting discussion.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
You seem more negative on the injury outlook that I
think I've heard you before. What's your honest prediction for
what we get out of Joel with this?
Speaker 2 (24:06):
So you know what I said last year and who
was right?
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Okay then? And I still think he is a big
dude that has bad knees, bad legs, lower bottom problems.
It's not a good not a good equation at this
point in time. And I don't think anything is going
to change. And you can spare me on the Sean Livingston,
you could spare me on whoever else. Joel Embiide is
(24:33):
a monster compared to those guys. He is a he's
a He's just a massive human being. And you know,
I just don't I have zero positive I was a
very little positive feelings about this upcoming season with Jewell Ebie.
When it comes to health, I just think it's going
to be more of the same.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Yeah, I mean it's tough to argue it. It's not
like I'm super tend toes down that I'm I'm hoping
for or expect think a full bounce back season. I
think it's fair to assess like the MVP version of
Joel is probably come and going to this point, I
still think there's a world where he can be like
a productive NBA player and very important to winning on
the Sixers team. It all starts from a health perspective
(25:14):
that he physically has to be out there and moving
around correctly. That to me was probably the greater concern.
And even the lack of availability last year is like,
what the biggest thing that I took away from my
concern is what has been true throughout his career is
regardless of the other four guys around him, if Jowell
and beats on the floor, you're gonna have a top
ten defense. That was not the case last year. That
he to anchor the anchor the defense, protect the rim,
(25:37):
move on the perimeter in the same way. And if
that stuff is not coming back, that's when I begin
to hit the panic button. There, we'll see, he got
another surgery. We can only hope for the best. He said,
plenty of time to rest this summer. But yeah, I
mean that ultimately will sink or swim what the outlook
is for this season in the next couple of years.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Really, Yeah, that's that's just not good. It's not a
good recipe right now in my mind, that a lot
revolves around him. You know where I stan. I want
to just hand the keys over to the boys. Let's go.
Get me Grimes back, get me Grimes back in the
Sixers uniform. I want McCain to take that next step.
I want Maxi to be a focal point. Paul George
(26:16):
is thirty five years old. If Paul George could play,
come on, baby, let's go. I want you know, dwell
embat if you can roll and you can give us
thirty five games next year, come on, big dog, let's go.
But the focus needs to be on those guards. And
I'm not talking about winning an NBA finals. I'm not
talking about winning the NBA Finals. Would dwell and beat
and Paul George I wasn't last year, and I'm certainly
not doing that right now. I just want to be competitive.
(26:38):
I want to have fun watching this team. I want
to be able to get home and tune into a
game without wanting to put my head through a television
like I did last year. That's where I'm at. The
bar is low and for all Sixers fans that want
to sit there and say like it's gonna be your
championship or bus like dude, are you watching? Are you watching?
Do you not see the difference when you see Oklahoma City,
(27:00):
when you see Denver, when you see the Knicks, when
you see like the Celtics, who will be without Tatum,
the Calves, Like we are so far away from those
teams it's it's not even like fun to discuss.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
So I don't think as far like really they're gonna be.
They're gonna be a playoff team next year. Absolutely will
be a playoff team next year.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
How look at all right, all right, what's a playoff team?
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Like there'll be a top six seeds.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
I know, but everybody makes the playoffs. Do they win
a series?
Speaker 3 (27:34):
It depends on the matchup. A lot of these same
facts we talked about, like and and for your message
about like the youth, I think the organization has already
done this to an extent, Like the focus is very
clearly good. They've quietly built up a very nice young
core in a way that I think like people have
to give them a little bit more credit. Jared mccamon iyres, Maxi,
Quinton Grimes, Justin Edwards, a den Bona, whoever they're gonna
(27:56):
draft with this third picker, whoever they walk away with
in the draft. This is a nice start to like
the next generation. And that's why I think, like, like
I was, they were doing a draft over on the
Ringer of the worst situations from a franchise perspective they ranked,
and this, this is some Sixier hating stuff at its core.
For sure. The Sixers dead last, and this I think
you take away Emban's situation completely. And I'm still feeling
(28:20):
better about the Maxi McCain grimes. The third pick. Then, like,
take a look at the Brooklyn Nets or the Chicago
Bulls who we just mentioned here, you feel great about
your direction. They're the Wizards, like you can go down
the list. I think the pendulum has swung a little
bit too far on just this skepticism of the Sixers
organization that there is kind of a future plan beyond
(28:40):
just all the eggs in the jewell and beat basket good.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
It has to be. It has to be, And I
don't know if who will be making those decisions. You know,
I assume Darryl Morey is in good faith right now
with with Josh Harris and they like him, or else
they probably would have moved on from him. But then again,
he made all these deals so the right guy to
get out of this. I don't know. We'll see how
this one plays out. I do know this much. Next
(29:05):
year turns out anywhere like this year did. Everybody's got
to go, everybody's got to go, and everybody will go. Right.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Yeah, yeah, that all one hundred percent happened. I do
think that they showed some nice leniency to give Daryl
one more season here and I see Chuck on at
our guy Danny Small's comment, well done here by by Dan.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
That's a good one, Danny Nice.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
That's all.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
I'll stay on that one. Yeah, he's right, he's right.
As I did see the Hawks signs or hired somebody
from the Sixers, I was cracking up.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Peter Dowity, What do you know about him? I I
don't know much about him, to be honest. I know
he's referred to as a little bit of like Daryl's
right hand man and a guy who has gotten some
respect for him. The organization quite a bit of turnover
inside the Sixers facilities. Even while we're speaking about sort
of the key faces being like still kept in place,
there's been a lot of changes on a ton of personnel.
(29:57):
So I think that's at least worth noting in this conversation.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Yeah, we talked about that last time we went live
last week where there was a tweet that slid underneath
the radar from Keith POMPEII and they got rid of
a lot of people in house, and yeah, you know,
look there was some leaks and if they if people
are going to leak stuff, and you know, like I
put myself in that perspective from I put myself in
those shoes, and I try to have the perspective from
(30:23):
being in the house where you know, the confidentiality about
health of my players is number one, right, and you're
leading somehow or an other people are finding out Joelle
and b this and the team meeting that, and it's
like wait a minute, man, Like we got a we
got a problem, we got a rat, and I'm not
going to turn this into the departed here trying to
figure out who it is. So I it sucks, but
(30:45):
I respect it at the end of the day because
you got to keep that stuff in house because that
stuff definitely will reck a locker room A and make
life more difficult b and and.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
We're very well did both those things last year.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Yeah, exactly, all right, we got a lot to discuss
as far as the NBA's concerned. I want to get
some thoughts as far as the draft is coming up
and anything changing on the horizon there. But NBA Finals
Game three once again tomorrow night, we will be live.
The Gambler Gang will be live from the Gambler Lounge.
(31:18):
We're calling it formerly known as the Duncan Lounge, and
we're gonna change things up. So my goal was to
create with everybody involved, Sean and the Gambler get included,
was to create a little bit more of an emphasis
on the now. When we do these live wagering shows,
it's great, you're watching the games with us, we're getting involved,
(31:40):
we're going back and forth. Cool, But I felt like
we were missing the mark of like, how can we
turn this into a fun show that's different that the
bets are made then and are paid off now, right,
And one of the ideas we came up with was
(32:00):
let's slow things down, let's keep it, let's get let's
make it more fun for the people that are watching,
and let's have some sort of structure to it so
the payoff they will know, the viewer will know when
it's coming. So with that we created the idea of
the Wheel of Misfortune, and the wheel of misfortune is simple.
(32:22):
On the wheel, there will be about sixteen total bets
repercussions that you will pay off to a losing wager. Now,
it could go from one of them. I'm not gonna
give them all away now, but one of those bets
on the wheel is the loser of this bet has
to talk like Steven a from the rest of the game.
(32:44):
One of them on the wheel is a nasty It's
probably the most disgusting one on the wheel. Do you
like to Steven I like to Steven Stevens.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Yeah, yeah, I'm hoping somebody like with good like I
think Sam Oustrien could probably kill that.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
That's my most hysterical Sam has to talk like Steven
a from and that's it. That's point blank for the
rest of the game. So it could happen in the
first quarter, it could have been in for the quarter
hopefully whatever. Hopefully that is one one of the nasty ones.
There's only like a few that are like like, oh man,
I gotta throw up. Is the mystery smoothie So we
(33:18):
go to the iHeartRadio fridge which is locked or it's
just stocked, excuse me. And we took three ingredients and
I picked them out yesterday. I will make the smoothie
tomorrow so it'll be fresh. But it's disgusting. A little
bit of ketchup. We'll just say that yet little ketchup,
little creamer. Now we're already talking. Plus a little third
(33:40):
history ingredient coming, so that's gonna be fun. And then
I'll give you one more from the the exercise component
of the board of the wheel, and it's a burpie bet.
And if you don't know what a burpie bet or
burpie is, a burpie is you jump up and then
you hit the ground, push up, I'm back on your legs.
(34:02):
That's one. And you have to do a burpie for
every point. So there's a chance that somebody gets that
at the end of the first quarter and has to
do eighty burpies. And let me tell you, if you
have to do eighty burpies over of course of three hours,
what you're gonna feel like the next day. It's gonna hurt.
Speaker 3 (34:17):
It's gonna second fit. We're getting fit out here.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Getting fit, baby, let's go. That's what we do with
the Gambler Gang. So look there's sixteen. I think bets
are repercussions on the board. So we're gonna have some
fun and then how we're gonna figure out who's who
and what's what. We're going to have a box of
bad beats, all the names in there. Who's gonna be participating? Boom,
you pull your name out, You're going head to head.
(34:40):
Let's say we pulled Sean Bernard one, Sean Brace two,
We're going head to head. I pulled Shan Bernard's name first,
he picks the category. Let's say Sean says Shay's points
thirty one and a half. The guy who the second
person picked now has to choose between over or under.
So to take the over on that one, Sean is
(35:02):
now locked in the SGA's under, so he's hoping he
rolls his ankle, And uh, of course we're gonna have
some fun with that. We're gonna do it more so
on the quarter perspective, but there will definitely be game
wagers as well, and we're gonna have some fun. It's
gonna be stupid, and uh, the playoffs will be there
happening on the stream. That's the best part.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
Yes, yeah, I'm very excited. For tomorrow. It's gonna be
it could go really bad. It could go really poorly
for any one of us as well. So we're gonna
have to have trash can ready. We're gonna have to
be stressed. See how things shake out there. But yeah,
I'm fired up for the game and think it's gonna
add some really cool lighters to it.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Also, we're gonna have to put our sportsbook hats on
two as well because the those bets. You know, as
a group, we're gonna have to say, okay, second quarter starting,
not all those lines are available.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
That's true.
Speaker 2 (35:52):
So if somebody's gonna say, you know what, like I
want points for Pascal Siakam this quarter, us as the
group Oop, the Gambler Gang, gonna have to set a number.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
Okay, we gotta think on the fly.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
We gotta do that. We gotta think on the fly,
and again at the end of the day we'll know
what's a fair number or not. It's gonna be a
tough number. Nine and a half. Okay, well let me
see it might be over on that one. So but
it's gonna be fun. We're gonna act up, gonna be stupid.
All streaming on socials at Fox Phal Gambler once again
live from the Gambler Studios tomorrow, and uh tip off
(36:24):
is that what eight o'clock tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (36:25):
I believe so eight o'clock. And I will say I'm
hoping the Amazon trucks speed up a little bit, as
I have an article of clothing that as of yesterday
was projected for a nine pm arrival tomorrow. Gotta get
here in time, gotta get here in time, so hopefully
the rain didn't slow them down.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Any Actually eight thirty five, so we're gonna eight thirty
start time, So we'll probably go live about like a
ten eight fifteen, go over the rules, spend the wheel
a few times, have some fun, and then we're live,
Baby Gambler Gang in the building for all things. Game three.
With that being said, where are you at right now?
Five and a half? Okay? See or the pacers.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Eide with the Pacers' money lines, where my head's at
right here? I think if they're gonna get another one,
it's gonna happen Game three, And that's how I think
plays out that. I do think it is thunder and six,
and I think Indiana Steal is another one here. So
with the home crowd behind them. I think it's going
to be pretty unbelievable in that building. There certainly will
be some passion from the fan base and energy in
the air. And I still think that we haven't had
(37:20):
a game where things have gone fully right for this
Pacers team. Even Game one, which they won, they really
struggled and didn't play their best basketball. So I think
this is the game where things click a little bit.
With the home crowd behind, they're able to get out
and transition a little bit more. Push the pace, run
the fast break. I like the over, and I like
the Pacers on the money line for Game three.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
All right, great stuff, Sea Bnard. We do have a
lot to discuss when it comes to all things game three.
We will be hitting on it a lot tomorrow on
the daily Ticket, and of course today as well. I
do notice much the wheel of misfortune is going to
be rolling tomorrow, so make sure you tune into that.
Tell a friend nobody's doing what we're doing. It's gonna
(37:59):
be a lot of fun, it's gonna be stupid. A
lot of people are gonna be in the building. Oh
by the way, A potential special guest who oh by
the way, is like I don't know. One of the
coolest dudes I can think of in the music industry,
Philly Cat and like. From a DJing perspective, shout out
(38:22):
to Ryan Beef Coyle beefa front DJing on Saturday. You coming.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
I can't swing at Saturday unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
I know you came last year, you can't come this year?
Speaker 3 (38:32):
Yeah, drafting, come do that?
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Come on, man, I gotta I got internet.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
Yeah maybe maybe probably.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
Not, but all right, well yeah, Beef upfront. From a
DJ perspective, I love this dude. I love everything about
this dude. And then all of a sudden, somebody hits
me up and says, Yo, such and such might be
in the building, and I told him about the watch party.
He might want to swing by. Yo, he's got an
open chair. So just tune in. You don't know what
(39:00):
you're gonna see tomorrow night for the Wheel of Misfortune.
And that's another rule too, whenever we say it, everybody's
got to say it together. Wal Oh Misfortune. I like it.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
I like it. Yeah, we won't spoil the name and
hope this comes together obviously, but yeah, this would be
pretty something, pretty special and one that is worth of
tuning in. For for sure.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
You know, if the dude rolls through, it would just
be insane. I think that this is going to be
insane no matter what. But if dude rolls through, it's
definitely gonna raise things up a little bit. So yeah,
we'll see it, and it's realistic possibility, a realistic possibility.
So looking forward tonight. Shout out to Buster from q
on two. He's gonna be hanging with us tomorrow. We're
(39:44):
gonna be rolling deep, man, So tune in once again.
We'll be starting about eight o'clock live on the Gambler
Stream YouTube from the Gambler Lounge Wheel, Oh Misfortune. Final
thoughts Sham and are wrapping it up, Cat.
Speaker 3 (40:00):
I het you we want more before you get out
of here. Yeah, Jason Kidd, a lot of buzz about
this next conversation. I had a little back and forth
with Sam Ostri and as you might expect, we don't
see eye to eye on the next conversation here. If
you're just a normal head coach, we can take Jason
Kidd out of this as an example here, which roster
would you rather coach next year? The Knicks or the Mavericks?
Speaker 2 (40:24):
Why?
Speaker 3 (40:24):
Jason Kidd from the next perspective, I think because it's
a sexy name and they just kind of want to
make a splash here. I think Jason Kid's a fine
head coach. I don't think he's like anything super special here.
I like Jason Kidd, Okay, I mean, and clearly clearly
the Knicks do as well. I don't really see the
full vision of them going this direction, but I once
(40:45):
again think if I am in Jason Kid's shoes, I
think I would prefer to coach this Mavericks team next year.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Yeah. Look, when you bring it up and you have
to weigh it out, I don't know if one's weighing
more than the other, because I think there's positives on
both sides. The Knicks are in a week East. The
Knicks are in a weak East. Notatum next year, you're
playing at the Garden. You got Brunson, who's an absolute stud.
It's it's fun to be a Knicks fan right now.
(41:13):
It would be fun to be a Knicks coach. To
leave Dallas with the overall number one pick Cooper flag,
adding to a healthy Kyrie and hopefully a healthy Anthony
Davis and the size that they have. I just feel
like Dallas, there's there's more of an opportunity to grow
(41:35):
less must win now. You know, all eyes are on
that general manager, not on you the head coach. That
could change in an instant, though, I would I would
stay in Dallas. I would stay in Dallas. Got to
an NBA Finals again, Healthy, Kyrie, it's Klay Thompson's still there, Like,
that's a good team. That's a good team, win healthy,
(41:57):
Can you count on him?
Speaker 1 (41:58):
No?
Speaker 2 (41:59):
But Man to go coach the next that'd be a
lot of fun. Like I said, I don't think like,
oh Man, Dallas is just buch better. No, I think
it's pretty even Sean, Like I could talk myself in
to coaching the Knicks. That would be an awesome gig.
But I'm probably staying in Dallas if I'm kidding.
Speaker 3 (42:15):
Yeah, I think they're somewhat close for sure. But I
don't think it's like the Knicks is that much better
of a job that I would uproot myself from a
pretty good situation that he's in, Like Cooper, Flag certainly
changes the game on this entire conversation pretty notably here.
And let's also note like you'd be signing up to
now go coach for an organization that just fired their
head coach after their most successful season in twenty five years,
(42:35):
Like that leaves a little bit of a bad taste
in my mouth if I'm Jason Kidd there, So I
don't know. I think we're just going roster for roster
right now. You're right about the East being weaker obviously,
but just like a pure like peak what this team
could get to. I did't can see the Mavericks very
much being a championship contender next year, and I think,
like to walk away from that would be something pretty crazy.
Speaker 2 (42:55):
Tell you what, if the East is so weak, brace
Sixers better make the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (43:00):
I'm saying that's my optimism for there being a playoff
team is way less rooted in, like, you know, straight
up belief that Joell Ebids canna be healthy, Like how
many wins are the Bulls gonna get? How many wins
are the Hawks gonna get? How many winds are the
heat gonna get? Like the Sixers are gonna be in
that mix.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
But the problem is with Jowell embiid around and he
gets hurt, like it takes the team down a path
that they cannot allow to happen next year. They just can't.
And I don't know how you avoid it. I don't
know how you avoid that. I really don't like unless
Tyree s Maxi ultimately becomes the dude that, like some
(43:38):
are saying, is possible but very very minimum. Like I
think Tyer Smasey can continue to grow, but I don't
know if he can become that guy. I just feel like, man,
Joelle Embiid's gonna step on that floor and then it's
gonna be all about the big man, and he's gonna
miss time, and then it's gonna be more about the
big man. It's just like, here we go again.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
Did you think Jalen Bronson could become that guy? Because
I didn't. I certainly did not think he can. I
believe I. I think I'll stick to this take and
it looks horrible after this year, but I think Tyrese
Maxie there's well where he can go to a better
basketball player than Jaalen Brucktor.
Speaker 2 (44:14):
Well, that's that's on brand for you, Sean. I would
just say, but what we know now with like Brunson
is incredible. Dude, he's a freaking closer.
Speaker 3 (44:25):
Well, let's never get how Tyrese Maxie was talked about
twelve months ago here. It was bad season. Everything went wrong,
and Maxy the least.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
And he had he had his moments where you're like,
all right, I see a Tyrese. He had a sluggish
start and it wasn't up to where we needed to be.
It wasn't that bad, but you're right. I just feel
like everything came from him. It was a snowball last.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
Year, definitely, And again I think Maxi's like the least
of those problems here that you can point to Paul George,
you can point to Joel Embiid, you can point to
a ton of things that did go wrong, and Maxi
certainly wasn't perfect last year. He had his rough stretches, definitely,
but there's also a stretch mid season where he legitimately
looked like one of the best cars in the NBA.
I think he's gonna be back on that path full
time starting this year, and that everyone last season will
(45:06):
serve us a little bit of a wake up call
to everyone there. So I'm not selling any Tyresemaxi stock
is my only message here.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
Me neither me neither. I'm all in on tyre Speccy,
but better than Bronson whoop.
Speaker 3 (45:17):
Not right now, not right now, but book out this
when he's twenty eight, twenty nine.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
I'm just melting that keyboard over there. I love it. Seanmanard,
fantastic stuff. We will be live tomorrow. Makes you tune
in for the Wheel of Misfortune. As always, if you
miss anything, Foxpchlgiler dot com. Good look at your place,
Go birds, we'll talk.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
The pix and Roll podcast can be found on Foxphlcambler
dot com
Picks and roll, handicapping the hardwood with sixers insider Sean
Bernard and Sean Brace.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Anyway we go in a good morning, it is raining
yet again here in the Delaware Valley. I just I
don't know, man, I really don't know anymore. I get it.
It's not summertime. But it feels like somebody's playing a
joke on us this year, the amount of rain that
we have gotten. And you know, you just want to
wake up, start your day with some sun shining and
(00:28):
be able to go outside in that back deck and
have a cup of coffee and then get your day started.
But that has not been in the equation for these
last couple of days here. Hopefully it's a little bit
better where you're at, Sean. But how are we doing, sir? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (00:42):
No, it's been up in the sticks of Lancaster up
here right now, and it's been coming down strong all morning.
So it looks like it's clearing up a little bit,
so maybe a bit of a better day. I'm supposed
to do a little mini golf in this afternoon, so
hoping to fit that in, but right now the weather
has not been promising.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
I dig it, I dig it all right. We got
a lot to get too, of course, all things NBA,
all things NBA Finals, a little bit of draft conversation,
a little bit of this, a little bit of that,
and uh oh yeah, a little preview for our Wheel
of Misfortune coming up tomorrow for NBA Finals Game three. Now,
Sean and you and Sam got together yesterday. Great listen.
(01:18):
We had that on the air yesterday at five o'clock.
Of course, and everything is podcast at FOXPHL Gambler dot com.
But let's go ahead and dive a little bit more
into what you took away from game two. And from
my standpoint, I said this start the show yesterday, and
it's kind of where I'm at still today just a
day later. Why would it changed. I haven't played a game.
(01:40):
I just feel like I just felt like that there
was no way okayse was losing that game number one
eleven points spread a little bit different, but it felt
like that OKC was just never going to take the
foot off the pedal. And oh, by the way, I
think you got to start mixing this into the equation.
How many more times can we count on the Indiana
(02:02):
Pacers battling back down by twenty? Like I made the
joke at halftime, like, I wonder what they're saying. Wait,
we've been here before. At what point does it get exhausted? Exhausting?
You know, like the mental fatigue of like dude, we're
down twenty again, we got to do this again. And
it felt like that. That was more so evident in
(02:24):
game two. Then obviously it's easy to say it because
they didn't come back. But that's where I was during
that game. You know where I was before the game.
I was saying, man, I don't trust okay, see to
give eleven. You turned the ball over twenty five times
in game one and you lose that game, Like, dude,
there's something demonic going out with Pacers, but a little
bit of gas pedal, pedal to the metal. Okay, So
(02:45):
he was not losing that game. A and then B
Pacers were just like dude, this is just ridiculous. Here
we go again.
Speaker 3 (02:52):
Yeah. I mean, the number one takeaway to me is
for sure that the Thunder learned their lesson for needn't
keep the foot on the gas for all forty eight
minutes against this team. I mean, the Pacers led for
zero point three seconds in all of Game one and
managed to come out with the victory there. They led
for less than two minutes in Game two and nothing
after about midway through the first quarter there. So the
Thunder really kept their foot on the gas. They utilized
(03:14):
their timeouts whenever there was a little bit of momentum swinging.
But we know that Oklahoma City is the better team.
We know that defensively they can impose themselves, and they
really made it clear that they were not letting that
game be opened up for the Pacers to have one
of their miraculos come back. So we'll see what happens
with the series returns to Indiana. The books giving the
most respects that they have to the Pacers to this
point with a five and a half point spread four
(03:35):
game three there. Obviously we've been significally more up there
for the first two games of this series from a
spread perspective there, I do think that's a bit telling
if Indiana is gonna grab another one. I do think
it is game three, and that's the direction I'm leaning
for this matchup. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
Look, Julian Edlough, I put this out yesterday. This is
another moment in NBA Finals, NBA playoff run here that
we're seeing a little bit of history in the conversation,
and it doesn't do any favors for the Indiana Pacers,
that's for sure. But trying to find Edlo's tweet from yesterday.
But essentially here it is that over the past twenty
(04:10):
five years, teams that are road teams that were laying
points in Game three. You don't see that often. Of course,
you know, it's still pretty historic to be priced as
a road favorite in Game three the NBA Finals. Only
previous examples over the past twenty five years. Durant and
Curry's Warriors were favorite in Game three in Cleveland in
(04:30):
twenty seventeen. Twenty eighteen, won and covered. Both Shaq and
Kobe's Lakers were favored in Game three Indiana Philly and
Jersey two to one, straight up, one and two ats
under our five and a half. So here we go,
man again history staring at the Oklahoma City Thunder. And
it's just crazy because, like, is it the fact that
(04:50):
okayc is that dominant or the Indiana Pacers don't belong?
Speaker 3 (04:54):
I think that Oklahoma City is that dominant? Is the
full takeaway here. I still think the Pacers are still
not quite given as much prospectives they deserve from a
pure team perspective here, but the Oklahoma City is the
real deal. This is a straight up historic defense that
can impose themselves really limited the Indiana from getting anything
kind of in their genuine flow of offense. They still
haven't been able to push the pace or play at
(05:15):
the tempo that they really prefer to, and I think
that's been pretty clear, particularly in Game two. There is
basically none of that from a fast fast break perspective there.
So I do think the thunder of the real deal
we're seeing this team grow up right in front of
our eyes. That they've always even very efficient and very
calculated in the way that they've built out this roster
with all the youth and all the draft capital that
they did have there, and they solve all these other
(05:37):
attempts and swings that they can take from a movement forward.
So this is going to be a team that's a
problem for a long time, but they've arrived right now
and or the gold standard for basketball I think for
the next several years.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, that's troublesome to hear because it's the reality of
the situation. You look at what they have as far
as draft capital is concerned. You look at what they
have currently on the roster as far as names, You
look at what they have when you get a little
bit more into the details as far as contracts are concerned,
this team is set up for a few years to
come and look, like you said about growing up right
before our eyes. I feel like we saw a different
(06:10):
team in game two. And I know we've watched a
ton of Oklahoma City over the season and then some
because it was a team that had a pretty good
season last year as well. But you know, you had
five Thunder players scoring in double figures, which is a
little bit different than Game one, Guys that really took
advantage or said that you need a little bit more
be aggressive, Guys like Chet. Of course Williams didn't have
(06:32):
the best game, but still I thought from the jump
you saw a team that was a heck of a
lot more aggressive than the Pacers.
Speaker 3 (06:39):
Yeah, and Chet, I think is the number one improvement
there that he really struggled in game one and they
took away his minutes way more than I expect to
be the case. He clocked twenty four minutes in game
one there, which is significally below what his average There
in particular, like Oklahoma City, not even did the sacrifice
home run in favor of Hartenstein that they were playing
the no center lineup for stretches there. I did think
(06:59):
that was a mistake. Indiana out rebounded them by seventeen
rebounds in game one there, and that obviously changed in
game two. I think that mostly is a credit to
Chet for basically just stepping up and being the version
of himself that we've kind of known to be the
case at this point. That even in the early parts
of this game, I thought that he looked a little rushed.
I thought he looked a little uncomfortable, and I even
got a little text for Mark Henry saying that the
(07:19):
lights look a little bright for Chet Holmgren. I was
kind of surprised for that to be the case, but
credit to him, he settled in. I thought he was
really effective in that second quarter, third quarter, and second
half of that game and made a huge impact for
this Thunder team. So when Chet is playing his best basketball,
you can make an argument he's the second best player
on this Thunder team. They still haven't gotten that at
that consistent of a level during his NBA Finals run,
(07:40):
but he certainly made an impack in game two.
Speaker 2 (07:42):
Yeah, look, you know Chet I thought could be the
X factor again. You know, just we discussed this series
every which way. To say that Chet Holmgren's an X
factor is kind of I don't know if that's the
right definition for it, but just somebody that you thought
could take a step up with all eyes on shay,
it don't matter. Sga is incredible, dude, He is unbelievable.
(08:08):
To watch him play basketball as a privilege for all
those all those you know, casuals that had an issue
with this series, Dude, there he is. There's your number
one reason why you need to tune in, because he
is delivering. The expectations are there. It feels like we
always move goalposts. We know that, but it's like when
we talk about these superstars and you know Lebron this,
(08:29):
and you know Kobe that or Durant this and modern
day players. Dude, SGA came in with like they lost
game one and you couldn't say anything because of his performance.
What else could Shade do except for make that final shot.
Other than that, the guy went off and then he
backs up and delivers with a point total of thirty one,
goes over both days like this, Dude is insane. What
(08:53):
are we talking about with that SGA in his future?
I mean, is there something he can improve on? Is
the sky the limit for him? Where are we at
with that conversation?
Speaker 3 (09:03):
Yeah, I mean, he's certainly in a position where he
can rake up quite an impressive resume. He's already in
the process of it. Obviously, winning MVP this year, he'll
be the first players, assuming that the thunder Do go
on to win a championship at this point, he'll be
the first player since Shaquill O'Neal to win a scoring
title on an NBA championship in the same season. Here,
he obviously has a long term supporting cast behind him,
with the guys like Jalen Williams, chet Holmgren and even
(09:26):
the future draft picks still coming incredibly young here, and
they're gonna be able to build around him forever. So
the sky is the limit for what she can actually
put together. But purely as a basketball player, I mean,
his bag is so polished in the way that he
gets to his spots. He has every shot in the
arsenal there. He can hit in every direction, every which
way get to whatever spot on the floor. He wants to.
(09:46):
And then defensively, he's probably the thunder Is worst defender
and he's still, i would argue, within like the top
fifty ish defenders in the NBA. He's that like the
real deal on that side of the floor. And I
thought against Haliburton he was particularly excellent in Game two
he ate a couple of strips whenever Halibert was kind
of snaking the lane and trying to attack the pain
a little bit. So Sja sets the tone on both
(10:07):
sides of the ball for this Thunder team. And having
a star that you can't just single out is so
advantageous from a team standpoint. Think about what other hurdles
teams like the Knicks had to, you know, juggle when
you have a guy like Jalen Brunson or Karl Anthony
town So you can go down the list of how
many stars James Harden We've seen, like how many stars
can't hold their weight on the defensive side of the ball.
That is not the case for shee Ghos Alexander whatsoever.
(10:29):
He sets the tone in that area too. So could
not be more impressed with the way that he's really
put everything together from a career perspective.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
Seventy two points through two games. He has the most
points ever through two games in the NBA Finals by
a player making his Finals debut. I think when we're
talking about removing the finals debut, I think it's a
I and Kobe or no Jordan. It was it was
MJ because the ESPN had it. That's what it was.
It was Ai and MJ. As far as most points
(10:57):
through two games in an NBA Finals history, it's just,
you know, like, he's incredible. He is absolutely worth the
price of a mission. He's living up to the billing,
the hype, and then some thirty six points per game,
five rebounds per game, five point five assists. You can't
stop him, Sean, like you just you hope that he misses,
and even then if he misses, it feels like those
(11:20):
guys are gonna get the rebounds down low. Although it
didn't happen in game one. All right, So yeah, we
don't need to spend too much time as far as
who's the MVP of the series. Yeah, I guess the question.
I guess the question that would have is even if
they lose, he might still win.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Numbers wise, you can make the case even Carlisle last
after last game, was like, you can just pencil him
in for a thirty four game, which which is crazy
in an NBA final setting there, But that's the story
with Shay there, So I mean, I don't think they
would do that. If the Pacers find some miraculous way
to win this series, that I would guess. There's some
pretty heroic performances on the part of either Tyrese Halbern
or Pascal Siacom or whoever else may be the man
(11:57):
to step up there. But yeah, I mean from a
Thunder per there's pretty much no doubt that Shake gotess.
Alexander is the head of the Snake and both from
a straight up impact standpoint and serve a symbolic standpoint
for what he means for this team. Being kind of
the era, this era of Thunder basketball, the Claire Face fit,
I didn't think it's important for him to be recognized
as such. So yeah, he will be a lock for
(12:17):
MVP in the series.
Speaker 2 (12:19):
All Right, you know who my runner up MVP is.
If we took Sga out of the conversation and I
feel like i feel like I'm styling like him these days,
you were about to say it, Yeah, Alex ch CHRISA,
Yeah right, you're damn right. That boy is balling. And
you know, look, there were a few times in that
(12:40):
game that from a point spreader perspective, let's just talk
about it in that manner, like they were never losing
the game. But it was eleven and a half. It
was eleven point spread. There was one moment where it
was seventeen. There was another moment where it was kind
of like nineteen eighteen ish whatever it was, and Cruisi
hit two open three pointers. Right, it felt like the
Pacers kind of defended a little bit differently and maybe
(13:02):
maybe to a point the Pacers were a little bit
heavy legs, or not heavy legs, but like lack of
desire to a point, like there were moments that they
had some wide open three pointers. Okay, so you did
and it was just like, dude, you gotta get out there,
like this is d NBA Finals and these guys are
gonna knock them down. And credit to Oklahoma City Thunder.
(13:24):
They did hit those shots, and that's why that twenty
point lead never went away, never dissipated, and that's why
they won. Credit to Alex Scruso though again, I know
I said a lot there. Crusoe is my runner up
MVP right now at twenty.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
In game two, Yeah, I do think we saw a
little house money defense in the second half of Game
two there that I think the Pacers they recognized as
such that you can't view it any other way that
it being a massive win for them to split that
series for the first two in Oklahoma City there. It
would have taken a really special effort for them to
be able to go up to zero against this thunder team,
and obviously it did not prove to be the case
(13:54):
for as far as like how they're defending. It's kind
of interesting like Indiana throughout this playoff run has really
like committed to the concept of we're basically gonna live
with the stars, are gonna get theirs for stretches. We
saw Jalen Brunson put these ridiculous shot totals off Donovan
Mitchell in the same thing during that Cavalier series, him
averaging over thirty points per game across that. But the
reason that they kind of live with that is they're
(14:16):
not allowing what a guy like Shake Guilds Alexander typically
does best, which is attack, draw multiple defenders, and collapse
the entire defense. When you then have a defense sort
of running on its heels, where you're spinning around the
perimeter creating open looks, that's where a defense sort of
fully falls apart. And that's what the Pacers have done
a nice job avoiding. I thought they did a far
better job of that in game one than was the
case in Game two. There and like Shay obviously was
(14:39):
still the head of the stake from a scoring perspective,
but it did feel like there was more that he made.
I mean, he went from three assists in game one
to eight assists in game two as sort of an
example of this. So I think the Pacers need to
get back to what got them there and sort of
you're gonna have to live with Shake Gildess, Alexander getting
his numbers, but don't let these open looks for the
Alex Carusos, the Isaiah Joes, the Aaron Wiggins, Jalen Williams.
(15:00):
These guys will all punish you, so don't give them
the opportunity to do So.
Speaker 2 (15:04):
Yeah, they shot thirty five percent from Downtown to Patient
that it just had that vibe, especially in the second half.
It was like, Eh, all right, we're gonna keep it
moving here. And look, even if they played their a game,
even if they brought it, I still didn't think that
they were winning that game. So right, we'll see what happens.
As far as moving forward, we will discuss that here.
(15:26):
Anything else from a game two perspective that that you
want to get off your chest at this point in time,
Anything that you're taking from the first two games and
applying it to Game three from a points from a
player prop perspective, is there, you know, top and I
know people were talking about and I feel like people
get enamored by the lower numbers. They're like, oh, yeah,
that's that's capable. A guy like TJ. McConnell is definitely
(15:48):
somebody that has my attention because McConnell continues to get
those minutes, especially if it's late in games and they're losing,
so he's not scared to drive to the basket, and
he's very shifty and quick. So I expect it when
it comes to players like that. I understand why you
would target some of those players, but I feel like
we get trapped a little bit too much because oh,
it's only nine and a half, he can get there, No,
(16:10):
is it a good play, you know, don't take it
just because it's a lower number and it's obtainable if
it's a blowout. No, Like, I want to know whether
or not Pascal Siakam's going for twenty plots. Is Halliburton
going to finally get it going? Is it seventeen and
a half?
Speaker 3 (16:23):
Yeah? I mean Pascal Siakams where my head continues to go.
I want to see more from him in these playoffs,
and he still hasn't been in like a full aggression
mode the way that I hope to see. I do
think we'll get at least one Pascal Siakam game in
this series, sort of like last round where he popped
off for thirty nine and a matchup there. I think
that's coming. He hasn't been in full aggression mode, and
I think Game three might be the spot where that
is the case. Just from a matchup standpoint. I still
(16:45):
have my doubts about Haliburt and seventeen and a half
is a little bit too low for me to rock
the under there. I have written about it in games
one and two that that was where my head went,
that they just have so many different defenders they can
throw his direction. I think he has a really hard
time with sort of the increased physics from players like
lou Dort and Caseon, Wallace and Carus So that really
get under the skin there. So I'm sort of avoiding
(17:06):
the Haliburton conversation, but Siakam is where my head goes that.
I do think Game three is probably the spot where
he can kick it into gear. He just hasn't played
in attack mode, his numbers sitting at eighteen and a
half or nineteen and a half typically there, I think
he clears that we get his first twenty plus point
performance in this series.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
All right. Also from games one in two in Oklahoma,
crowd was rocking blue shirts. Pretty cool the floor. Let's
talk about the graphics, Let's talk about the details. Let's
talk about what is going on.
Speaker 3 (17:37):
Hot topic.
Speaker 2 (17:38):
Yeah, it is a hot topic. It is weird. And
they went out there and super imposed like that's first
and foremost. It starts and ends there. The conversation starts
and ends there because of the fact that they can
sell the advertisements on the floor YouTube. There was another bank.
You know, these are huge deals that are rolled into
(18:01):
So I guess less is more from that perspective. League
working together with ESPN whoever broadcasts and says, hey, blah
blah blah blah blah, this is you know, gonna be
too much. We need to open the floor up for
the opportunity that we could put our graphics there. I
get it, money talks, but there are people going like, dude,
(18:22):
you guys put way too much effort into the nd
season tournament and then when the NBA Finals come around,
like there's zero creativity. Like the lack of creativity is
very evident to the naked eye, to the just to
a casual fan, and then you compare it to back
in the day and it's just like they're missing the
mark on it. So I think I'm glad that they
(18:43):
understood and they hear it, but there's gonna be no change.
And I'm definitely not a fan of the superimposed trophies
on the on the floor, Like come on.
Speaker 3 (18:51):
Man, Yeah, the NBA is very clearly to me the
easiest league to bully from a fandom perspective there, because
that is all the conversations wearing Game one, where's the trophy?
How horrible is this? And then they obviously super imposed
for Game two. They also released a statement about like
our fear for players safety and that's why there's no
you know, something put down in the court which is
(19:12):
just insane there, Like we've seen this on so many occasions,
the n Season tournament a prime example, Like you put
stuff on the court. So it's just an excuse there.
But yeah, I mean I'm not as fired up as
passionate about it as a lot of people. But I
wouldn't prefer if there was a trophy. And do you
think it's crazy? They're kind of running from it all right.
Speaker 2 (19:28):
As always, we take questions, comments and concerns from anybody
that wants to tune in and join us here. Rob
checking in anyone feeling a duel trade with the Bulls
for Voos, Zach, Collins, Horder and the twelfth pick, all
expiring contracts if Dwelt. If a Dwell trade happens, I'm
thinking the Sixers, Uh, select the big man from Duke Malowac.
(19:49):
Let's just start with this. It can't happen, right, Yeah, Yeah,
I don't see any world two is Rob, all of them?
Are you trading for Joel Embiid? Rob, Rob, you're the
general manager of the Bulls. Are you trading for Jewell Embid?
Come on, man, why he can't play? He hasn't shown
(20:10):
you anything. He played thirty How many games did you've
been playing? Thirty games? And all of a sudden he's
got surgery and now you're gonna go in trade for
them and know, by the way, give up all that,
Like the Bulls aren't anything the right home about. But no, man,
put yourself in the general manager's shoes from the Chicago Bulls.
That's that's that's a trade that's not happening. And I
don't believe that can happen because of the contract. Correct.
Speaker 3 (20:30):
I would have to do the math on each of these.
I think we're in the vicinity ht Jewel embiid.
Speaker 2 (20:36):
Can joellenbid be traded?
Speaker 3 (20:37):
He can be, can be that was all of last season,
not because the extension as of this summer, like he
legally can be. I don't see anywhere where it happens
for the same reason that you just mentioned, like the
injury concern and everything. All these other teams see the
same exact situation that the Sixers are dealing with here,
I will say, and I don't think we're there yet,
But if we were to get to the spot where
(20:58):
like the relationship is completely shack. There is no future
with Joel Ebid. I do think it is a team
sort of like the Bulls that would be willing to
take that chance, even a team like the Wizards or
something like that that it's like, we'll roll the dice,
will bring some excitement. I don't think we're there yet though,
by any any level of it.
Speaker 2 (21:14):
Well, we're not there from a Wizard or a Bulls perspective. Correct,
Like it starts there, Joell Embiid can't play. Why would
I trade for a player that can't play?
Speaker 3 (21:25):
I think if this were to happen, the conversation starts
with Joel Embiid saying I don't want to be here anymore,
Like he's still like you still got to kind of
treat him as your guy. You're financially committed to him.
For formal Do.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
You think a team would trade for Joel Embiid.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
Not remotely in the ballpark of what he's worth, but
just yes or no? Would a team take him? I
think probably still.
Speaker 2 (21:51):
Yeah, And then it gets into the conversation of like,
hey man, if you are the seventy six orally just
trying to dump him, like right, which.
Speaker 3 (21:59):
Is where we that's where the conversation stops. To me,
is like when you think about how Daryl Morey used
the trade here, Like, obviously you want to maximize your
assets here, and you're certainly selling at the low point
on Joel Embiid conversation as low a point as I
honestly think we could get to. So I don't see
anywhere where it happens, largely because of that, because the
best case scenario of what you could possibly get out
(22:19):
of Joel Embiid if things break right next year, is
so much higher than what anything you could possibly get
into trade return.
Speaker 2 (22:25):
Yeah, you're right, I guess, and Rob, thanks for bringing
it up. I guess if Joel Embiid did come out
and say that's something I'm not factoring here. If he
did come out and say I'm out, time for me
to move on. I need a new new spot. Like
the fans are sour on me. I've played here, I've
given it my all. I want to try a new place. Okay,
(22:46):
that's a different discussion, But I don't believe Joell Ebid
is saying that a b. Joel Embiid just got a
brand new deal. We've seen superstars say like you know
what it's time for me to go and the deal
or no deal whatever, so it wouldn't be a shock.
I just think joell Embid is a different case. He's
just a different monster when it comes to this discussion
(23:08):
and the Sixers view him, whether they're right or wrong
or you want to agree, they want to keep him
in a Sixers uniform for the rest of his career.
They don't want to They don't want to ever let
Duellenbiid leave. And you know, if joellenbie can play, I'm
all for it. But if he can't play, then I
think you had to eventually look to do something different.
(23:29):
And maybe in your world, Rob, we are right and
I'm wrong. I just if I'm an NBA general manager,
there is no way I'm trading for joell Eenbiid right now.
And then I guess the fine line too with that
would be so if he plays thirty games in am I
trading for him at and the trade deadline? I don't
think the Sixers would make that move at the trade deadline.
(23:51):
If joell Embiad's healthy plays thirty games, they're not going
to trade him. I don't know. It's an interesting, interesting discussion.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
You seem more negative on the injury outlook that I
think I've heard you before. What's your honest prediction for
what we get out of Joel with this?
Speaker 2 (24:06):
So you know what I said last year and who
was right?
Speaker 3 (24:10):
Sure?
Speaker 2 (24:11):
Okay then? And I still think he is a big
dude that has bad knees, bad legs, lower bottom problems.
It's not a good not a good equation at this
point in time. And I don't think anything is going
to change. And you can spare me on the Sean Livingston,
you could spare me on whoever else. Joel Embiide is
(24:33):
a monster compared to those guys. He is a he's
a He's just a massive human being. And you know,
I just don't I have zero positive I was a
very little positive feelings about this upcoming season with Jewell Ebie.
When it comes to health, I just think it's going
to be more of the same.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
Yeah, I mean it's tough to argue it. It's not
like I'm super tend toes down that I'm I'm hoping
for or expect think a full bounce back season. I
think it's fair to assess like the MVP version of
Joel is probably come and going to this point, I
still think there's a world where he can be like
a productive NBA player and very important to winning on
the Sixers team. It all starts from a health perspective
(25:14):
that he physically has to be out there and moving
around correctly. That to me was probably the greater concern.
And even the lack of availability last year is like,
what the biggest thing that I took away from my
concern is what has been true throughout his career is
regardless of the other four guys around him, if Jowell
and beats on the floor, you're gonna have a top
ten defense. That was not the case last year. That
he to anchor the anchor the defense, protect the rim,
(25:37):
move on the perimeter in the same way. And if
that stuff is not coming back, that's when I begin
to hit the panic button. There, we'll see, he got
another surgery. We can only hope for the best. He said,
plenty of time to rest this summer. But yeah, I
mean that ultimately will sink or swim what the outlook
is for this season in the next couple of years.
Speaker 2 (25:54):
Really, Yeah, that's that's just not good. It's not a
good recipe right now in my mind, that a lot
revolves around him. You know where I stan. I want
to just hand the keys over to the boys. Let's go.
Get me Grimes back, get me Grimes back in the
Sixers uniform. I want McCain to take that next step.
I want Maxi to be a focal point. Paul George
(26:16):
is thirty five years old. If Paul George could play,
come on, baby, let's go. I want you know, dwell
embat if you can roll and you can give us
thirty five games next year, come on, big dog, let's go.
But the focus needs to be on those guards. And
I'm not talking about winning an NBA finals. I'm not
talking about winning the NBA Finals. Would dwell and beat
and Paul George I wasn't last year, and I'm certainly
not doing that right now. I just want to be competitive.
(26:38):
I want to have fun watching this team. I want
to be able to get home and tune into a
game without wanting to put my head through a television
like I did last year. That's where I'm at. The
bar is low and for all Sixers fans that want
to sit there and say like it's gonna be your
championship or bus like dude, are you watching? Are you watching?
Do you not see the difference when you see Oklahoma City,
(27:00):
when you see Denver, when you see the Knicks, when
you see like the Celtics, who will be without Tatum,
the Calves, Like we are so far away from those
teams it's it's not even like fun to discuss.
Speaker 3 (27:14):
So I don't think as far like really they're gonna be.
They're gonna be a playoff team next year. Absolutely will
be a playoff team next year.
Speaker 2 (27:24):
How look at all right, all right, what's a playoff team?
Speaker 3 (27:28):
Like there'll be a top six seeds.
Speaker 2 (27:30):
I know, but everybody makes the playoffs. Do they win
a series?
Speaker 3 (27:34):
It depends on the matchup. A lot of these same
facts we talked about, like and and for your message
about like the youth, I think the organization has already
done this to an extent, Like the focus is very
clearly good. They've quietly built up a very nice young
core in a way that I think like people have
to give them a little bit more credit. Jared mccamon iyres, Maxi,
Quinton Grimes, Justin Edwards, a den Bona, whoever they're gonna
(27:56):
draft with this third picker, whoever they walk away with
in the draft. This is a nice start to like
the next generation. And that's why I think, like, like
I was, they were doing a draft over on the
Ringer of the worst situations from a franchise perspective they ranked,
and this, this is some Sixier hating stuff at its core.
For sure. The Sixers dead last, and this I think
you take away Emban's situation completely. And I'm still feeling
(28:20):
better about the Maxi McCain grimes. The third pick. Then, like,
take a look at the Brooklyn Nets or the Chicago
Bulls who we just mentioned here, you feel great about
your direction. They're the Wizards, like you can go down
the list. I think the pendulum has swung a little
bit too far on just this skepticism of the Sixers
organization that there is kind of a future plan beyond
(28:40):
just all the eggs in the jewell and beat basket good.
Speaker 2 (28:43):
It has to be. It has to be, And I
don't know if who will be making those decisions. You know,
I assume Darryl Morey is in good faith right now
with with Josh Harris and they like him, or else
they probably would have moved on from him. But then again,
he made all these deals so the right guy to
get out of this. I don't know. We'll see how
this one plays out. I do know this much. Next
(29:05):
year turns out anywhere like this year did. Everybody's got
to go, everybody's got to go, and everybody will go. Right.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Yeah, yeah, that all one hundred percent happened. I do
think that they showed some nice leniency to give Daryl
one more season here and I see Chuck on at
our guy Danny Small's comment, well done here by by Dan.
Speaker 2 (29:23):
That's a good one, Danny Nice.
Speaker 3 (29:27):
That's all.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
I'll stay on that one. Yeah, he's right, he's right.
As I did see the Hawks signs or hired somebody
from the Sixers, I was cracking up.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Peter Dowity, What do you know about him? I I
don't know much about him, to be honest. I know
he's referred to as a little bit of like Daryl's
right hand man and a guy who has gotten some
respect for him. The organization quite a bit of turnover
inside the Sixers facilities. Even while we're speaking about sort
of the key faces being like still kept in place,
there's been a lot of changes on a ton of personnel.
(29:57):
So I think that's at least worth noting in this conversation.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Yeah, we talked about that last time we went live
last week where there was a tweet that slid underneath
the radar from Keith POMPEII and they got rid of
a lot of people in house, and yeah, you know,
look there was some leaks and if they if people
are going to leak stuff, and you know, like I
put myself in that perspective from I put myself in
those shoes, and I try to have the perspective from
(30:23):
being in the house where you know, the confidentiality about
health of my players is number one, right, and you're
leading somehow or an other people are finding out Joelle
and b this and the team meeting that, and it's
like wait a minute, man, Like we got a we
got a problem, we got a rat, and I'm not
going to turn this into the departed here trying to
figure out who it is. So I it sucks, but
(30:45):
I respect it at the end of the day because
you got to keep that stuff in house because that
stuff definitely will reck a locker room A and make
life more difficult b and and.
Speaker 3 (30:55):
We're very well did both those things last year.
Speaker 2 (30:58):
Yeah, exactly, all right, we got a lot to discuss
as far as the NBA's concerned. I want to get
some thoughts as far as the draft is coming up
and anything changing on the horizon there. But NBA Finals
Game three once again tomorrow night, we will be live.
The Gambler Gang will be live from the Gambler Lounge.
(31:18):
We're calling it formerly known as the Duncan Lounge, and
we're gonna change things up. So my goal was to
create with everybody involved, Sean and the Gambler get included,
was to create a little bit more of an emphasis
on the now. When we do these live wagering shows,
it's great, you're watching the games with us, we're getting involved,
(31:40):
we're going back and forth. Cool, But I felt like
we were missing the mark of like, how can we
turn this into a fun show that's different that the
bets are made then and are paid off now, right,
And one of the ideas we came up with was
(32:00):
let's slow things down, let's keep it, let's get let's
make it more fun for the people that are watching,
and let's have some sort of structure to it so
the payoff they will know, the viewer will know when
it's coming. So with that we created the idea of
the Wheel of Misfortune, and the wheel of misfortune is simple.
(32:22):
On the wheel, there will be about sixteen total bets
repercussions that you will pay off to a losing wager. Now,
it could go from one of them. I'm not gonna
give them all away now, but one of those bets
on the wheel is the loser of this bet has
to talk like Steven a from the rest of the game.
(32:44):
One of them on the wheel is a nasty It's
probably the most disgusting one on the wheel. Do you
like to Steven I like to Steven Stevens.
Speaker 3 (32:53):
Yeah, yeah, I'm hoping somebody like with good like I
think Sam Oustrien could probably kill that.
Speaker 2 (32:57):
That's my most hysterical Sam has to talk like Steven
a from and that's it. That's point blank for the
rest of the game. So it could happen in the
first quarter, it could have been in for the quarter
hopefully whatever. Hopefully that is one one of the nasty ones.
There's only like a few that are like like, oh man,
I gotta throw up. Is the mystery smoothie So we
(33:18):
go to the iHeartRadio fridge which is locked or it's
just stocked, excuse me. And we took three ingredients and
I picked them out yesterday. I will make the smoothie
tomorrow so it'll be fresh. But it's disgusting. A little
bit of ketchup. We'll just say that yet little ketchup,
little creamer. Now we're already talking. Plus a little third
(33:40):
history ingredient coming, so that's gonna be fun. And then
I'll give you one more from the the exercise component
of the board of the wheel, and it's a burpie bet.
And if you don't know what a burpie bet or
burpie is, a burpie is you jump up and then
you hit the ground, push up, I'm back on your legs.
(34:02):
That's one. And you have to do a burpie for
every point. So there's a chance that somebody gets that
at the end of the first quarter and has to
do eighty burpies. And let me tell you, if you
have to do eighty burpies over of course of three hours,
what you're gonna feel like the next day. It's gonna hurt.
Speaker 3 (34:17):
It's gonna second fit. We're getting fit out here.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
Getting fit, baby, let's go. That's what we do with
the Gambler Gang. So look there's sixteen. I think bets
are repercussions on the board. So we're gonna have some
fun and then how we're gonna figure out who's who
and what's what. We're going to have a box of
bad beats, all the names in there. Who's gonna be participating? Boom,
you pull your name out, You're going head to head.
(34:40):
Let's say we pulled Sean Bernard one, Sean Brace two,
We're going head to head. I pulled Shan Bernard's name first,
he picks the category. Let's say Sean says Shay's points
thirty one and a half. The guy who the second
person picked now has to choose between over or under.
So to take the over on that one, Sean is
(35:02):
now locked in the SGA's under, so he's hoping he
rolls his ankle, And uh, of course we're gonna have
some fun with that. We're gonna do it more so
on the quarter perspective, but there will definitely be game
wagers as well, and we're gonna have some fun. It's
gonna be stupid, and uh, the playoffs will be there
happening on the stream. That's the best part.
Speaker 3 (35:21):
Yes, yeah, I'm very excited. For tomorrow. It's gonna be
it could go really bad. It could go really poorly
for any one of us as well. So we're gonna
have to have trash can ready. We're gonna have to
be stressed. See how things shake out there. But yeah,
I'm fired up for the game and think it's gonna
add some really cool lighters to it.
Speaker 2 (35:37):
Also, we're gonna have to put our sportsbook hats on
two as well because the those bets. You know, as
a group, we're gonna have to say, okay, second quarter starting,
not all those lines are available.
Speaker 3 (35:51):
That's true.
Speaker 2 (35:52):
So if somebody's gonna say, you know what, like I
want points for Pascal Siakam this quarter, us as the
group Oop, the Gambler Gang, gonna have to set a number.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
Okay, we gotta think on the fly.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
We gotta do that. We gotta think on the fly,
and again at the end of the day we'll know
what's a fair number or not. It's gonna be a
tough number. Nine and a half. Okay, well let me
see it might be over on that one. So but
it's gonna be fun. We're gonna act up, gonna be stupid.
All streaming on socials at Fox Phal Gambler once again
live from the Gambler Studios tomorrow, and uh tip off
(36:24):
is that what eight o'clock tomorrow?
Speaker 3 (36:25):
I believe so eight o'clock. And I will say I'm
hoping the Amazon trucks speed up a little bit, as
I have an article of clothing that as of yesterday
was projected for a nine pm arrival tomorrow. Gotta get
here in time, gotta get here in time, so hopefully
the rain didn't slow them down.
Speaker 2 (36:40):
Any Actually eight thirty five, so we're gonna eight thirty
start time, So we'll probably go live about like a
ten eight fifteen, go over the rules, spend the wheel
a few times, have some fun, and then we're live,
Baby Gambler Gang in the building for all things. Game three.
With that being said, where are you at right now?
Five and a half? Okay? See or the pacers.
Speaker 3 (37:00):
Eide with the Pacers' money lines, where my head's at
right here? I think if they're gonna get another one,
it's gonna happen Game three, And that's how I think
plays out that. I do think it is thunder and six,
and I think Indiana Steal is another one here. So
with the home crowd behind them. I think it's going
to be pretty unbelievable in that building. There certainly will
be some passion from the fan base and energy in
the air. And I still think that we haven't had
(37:20):
a game where things have gone fully right for this
Pacers team. Even Game one, which they won, they really
struggled and didn't play their best basketball. So I think
this is the game where things click a little bit.
With the home crowd behind, they're able to get out
and transition a little bit more. Push the pace, run
the fast break. I like the over, and I like
the Pacers on the money line for Game three.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
All right, great stuff, Sea Bnard. We do have a
lot to discuss when it comes to all things game three.
We will be hitting on it a lot tomorrow on
the daily Ticket, and of course today as well. I
do notice much the wheel of misfortune is going to
be rolling tomorrow, so make sure you tune into that.
Tell a friend nobody's doing what we're doing. It's gonna
(37:59):
be a lot of fun, it's gonna be stupid. A
lot of people are gonna be in the building. Oh
by the way, A potential special guest who oh by
the way, is like I don't know. One of the
coolest dudes I can think of in the music industry,
Philly Cat and like. From a DJing perspective, shout out
(38:22):
to Ryan Beef Coyle beefa front DJing on Saturday. You coming.
Speaker 3 (38:27):
I can't swing at Saturday unfortunately.
Speaker 2 (38:29):
I know you came last year, you can't come this year?
Speaker 3 (38:32):
Yeah, drafting, come do that?
Speaker 2 (38:35):
Come on, man, I gotta I got internet.
Speaker 3 (38:38):
Yeah maybe maybe probably.
Speaker 2 (38:40):
Not, but all right, well yeah, Beef upfront. From a
DJ perspective, I love this dude. I love everything about
this dude. And then all of a sudden, somebody hits
me up and says, Yo, such and such might be
in the building, and I told him about the watch party.
He might want to swing by. Yo, he's got an
open chair. So just tune in. You don't know what
(39:00):
you're gonna see tomorrow night for the Wheel of Misfortune.
And that's another rule too, whenever we say it, everybody's
got to say it together. Wal Oh Misfortune. I like it.
Speaker 3 (39:12):
I like it. Yeah, we won't spoil the name and
hope this comes together obviously, but yeah, this would be
pretty something, pretty special and one that is worth of
tuning in. For for sure.
Speaker 2 (39:23):
You know, if the dude rolls through, it would just
be insane. I think that this is going to be
insane no matter what. But if dude rolls through, it's
definitely gonna raise things up a little bit. So yeah,
we'll see it, and it's realistic possibility, a realistic possibility.
So looking forward tonight. Shout out to Buster from q
on two. He's gonna be hanging with us tomorrow. We're
(39:44):
gonna be rolling deep, man, So tune in once again.
We'll be starting about eight o'clock live on the Gambler
Stream YouTube from the Gambler Lounge Wheel, Oh Misfortune. Final
thoughts Sham and are wrapping it up, Cat.
Speaker 3 (40:00):
I het you we want more before you get out
of here. Yeah, Jason Kidd, a lot of buzz about
this next conversation. I had a little back and forth
with Sam Ostri and as you might expect, we don't
see eye to eye on the next conversation here. If
you're just a normal head coach, we can take Jason
Kidd out of this as an example here, which roster
would you rather coach next year? The Knicks or the Mavericks?
Speaker 2 (40:24):
Why?
Speaker 3 (40:24):
Jason Kidd from the next perspective, I think because it's
a sexy name and they just kind of want to
make a splash here. I think Jason Kid's a fine
head coach. I don't think he's like anything super special here.
I like Jason Kidd, Okay, I mean, and clearly clearly
the Knicks do as well. I don't really see the
full vision of them going this direction, but I once
(40:45):
again think if I am in Jason Kid's shoes, I
think I would prefer to coach this Mavericks team next year.
Speaker 2 (40:51):
Yeah. Look, when you bring it up and you have
to weigh it out, I don't know if one's weighing
more than the other, because I think there's positives on
both sides. The Knicks are in a week East. The
Knicks are in a weak East. Notatum next year, you're
playing at the Garden. You got Brunson, who's an absolute stud.
It's it's fun to be a Knicks fan right now.
(41:13):
It would be fun to be a Knicks coach. To
leave Dallas with the overall number one pick Cooper flag,
adding to a healthy Kyrie and hopefully a healthy Anthony
Davis and the size that they have. I just feel
like Dallas, there's there's more of an opportunity to grow
(41:35):
less must win now. You know, all eyes are on
that general manager, not on you the head coach. That
could change in an instant, though, I would I would
stay in Dallas. I would stay in Dallas. Got to
an NBA Finals again, Healthy, Kyrie, it's Klay Thompson's still there, Like,
that's a good team. That's a good team, win healthy,
(41:57):
Can you count on him?
Speaker 1 (41:58):
No?
Speaker 2 (41:59):
But Man to go coach the next that'd be a
lot of fun. Like I said, I don't think like,
oh Man, Dallas is just buch better. No, I think
it's pretty even Sean, Like I could talk myself in
to coaching the Knicks. That would be an awesome gig.
But I'm probably staying in Dallas if I'm kidding.
Speaker 3 (42:15):
Yeah, I think they're somewhat close for sure. But I
don't think it's like the Knicks is that much better
of a job that I would uproot myself from a
pretty good situation that he's in, Like Cooper, Flag certainly
changes the game on this entire conversation pretty notably here.
And let's also note like you'd be signing up to
now go coach for an organization that just fired their
head coach after their most successful season in twenty five years,
(42:35):
Like that leaves a little bit of a bad taste
in my mouth if I'm Jason Kidd there, So I
don't know. I think we're just going roster for roster
right now. You're right about the East being weaker obviously,
but just like a pure like peak what this team
could get to. I did't can see the Mavericks very
much being a championship contender next year, and I think,
like to walk away from that would be something pretty crazy.
Speaker 2 (42:55):
Tell you what, if the East is so weak, brace
Sixers better make the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (43:00):
I'm saying that's my optimism for there being a playoff
team is way less rooted in, like, you know, straight
up belief that Joell Ebids canna be healthy, Like how
many wins are the Bulls gonna get? How many wins
are the Hawks gonna get? How many winds are the
heat gonna get? Like the Sixers are gonna be in
that mix.
Speaker 2 (43:16):
But the problem is with Jowell embiid around and he
gets hurt, like it takes the team down a path
that they cannot allow to happen next year. They just can't.
And I don't know how you avoid it. I don't
know how you avoid that. I really don't like unless
Tyree s Maxi ultimately becomes the dude that, like some
(43:38):
are saying, is possible but very very minimum. Like I
think Tyer Smasey can continue to grow, but I don't
know if he can become that guy. I just feel like, man,
Joelle Embiid's gonna step on that floor and then it's
gonna be all about the big man, and he's gonna
miss time, and then it's gonna be more about the
big man. It's just like, here we go again.
Speaker 3 (43:57):
Did you think Jalen Bronson could become that guy? Because
I didn't. I certainly did not think he can. I
believe I. I think I'll stick to this take and
it looks horrible after this year, but I think Tyrese
Maxie there's well where he can go to a better
basketball player than Jaalen Brucktor.
Speaker 2 (44:14):
Well, that's that's on brand for you, Sean. I would
just say, but what we know now with like Brunson
is incredible. Dude, he's a freaking closer.
Speaker 3 (44:25):
Well, let's never get how Tyrese Maxie was talked about
twelve months ago here. It was bad season. Everything went wrong,
and Maxy the least.
Speaker 2 (44:32):
And he had he had his moments where you're like,
all right, I see a Tyrese. He had a sluggish
start and it wasn't up to where we needed to be.
It wasn't that bad, but you're right. I just feel
like everything came from him. It was a snowball last.
Speaker 3 (44:44):
Year, definitely, And again I think Maxi's like the least
of those problems here that you can point to Paul George,
you can point to Joel Embiid, you can point to
a ton of things that did go wrong, and Maxi
certainly wasn't perfect last year. He had his rough stretches, definitely,
but there's also a stretch mid season where he legitimately
looked like one of the best cars in the NBA.
I think he's gonna be back on that path full
time starting this year, and that everyone last season will
(45:06):
serve us a little bit of a wake up call
to everyone there. So I'm not selling any Tyresemaxi stock
is my only message here.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
Me neither me neither. I'm all in on tyre Speccy,
but better than Bronson whoop.
Speaker 3 (45:17):
Not right now, not right now, but book out this
when he's twenty eight, twenty nine.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
I'm just melting that keyboard over there. I love it. Seanmanard,
fantastic stuff. We will be live tomorrow. Makes you tune
in for the Wheel of Misfortune. As always, if you
miss anything, Foxpchlgiler dot com. Good look at your place,
Go birds, we'll talk.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
The pix and Roll podcast can be found on Foxphlcambler
dot com
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