48 Minutes: Knicks Lead Celtics 3-1, Draft Lottery Reaction, & Giannis Latest

0:00 ... Ross hello & welcome ... introduces panel and dedicates episode #156 to Stephen Curry for his 56 point game against Orlando in February.

1:23 ... Ross tees up discussion of the Knicks big win over Boston on Monday night, giving NY a 3-1 lead in their playoff series.  World B feels it was one of the most impressive Knicks games in more than two decades.

3:32 ... Bruce felt that even with an 11 point lead at halftime, the Celtics were not in great shape because the Knicks stayed attached the entire game.

5:04 ... Jayson Tatum played great until he injured himself in the final minutes but it appears to be a serious injury and it sure looks bad for his return on Wednesday. for game 5.

8:00 ... Bruce appreciated Tatum's scoring heroics in game 4, but took issue with some of his shot decisions and how they helped stifle the Celtics ball movement, thus playing into New York's hands.  World B points out how Boston plays a lot of isolation ball and when they don't penetrate into the paint, they can be successfully defended.

10:46 ... With Tatum likely unavailable in game five, the guys discuss who might step up for Boston.  Jrue Holiday might be ready to have a big night.

13:08 ... Ross and World B discuss the pressure NY may feel if Boston can somehow take game 5 on Wednesday.  World B has lots of praise for Tatum and how much he respects him.

15:08 ... Ross is concerned that Kristaps Porzingis may be physically unable to step up in to help fill the void that Tatum leaves in game five.

15:39 .... The Cavaliers are being curb stomped by Indiana as they also trail their series 3 games to one.  They may not be dead, but they're close to dead.  The Cavs are lucky that Sunday's blowout only counted for one loss.

22:30 ... Bruce puts Bennedict Mathurin on notice that moves like his bush league punch in game 4 will get him extra scrutiny from the refs if the Pacers move on.  World B feels like Indiana has exhibited some punk-like behavior in the series.

23:59 ... The Thunder and Nuggets are tied at 2 games each out west and OKC's defense has carried the team with their offense not looking especially sharp.

25:15 .... Bruce predicts that Shai Gilgeous Alexander will received his MVP Award on Tuesday night before game 5.  Bruce feels that OKC's defense wore down the Nuggets in game four and in the final quarter caused the Nuggets to "drop their hands" like a boxer who absorbs too many punches to the ribs.  Ross predicts a Nuggets win in game five and a seven game series ... World B agrees and has high praise for Aaron Gordon of the Nuggets for his performance.  Ross feels Gordon is their 3rd most important player.

32:33 ... Game four of Timberwolves/Warriors was underway as the show was being recorded on Monday night and none of the guys felt that Golden State would come back to take the series.  Julius Randle was having another big game and has found his playoff groove in Minnesota.  With Steph Curry injured, they just need more scoring than they can muster right now.

36:14 ... The Draft Lottery took place on Monday night and the guys respond to the Dallas Mavericks beating the odds and earning the right to draft Cooper Flagg in June's NBA Draft.  Bruce was thinking that when the Spurs made it into the top four, they might once again get the 1st overall pick as they did with Victor Wembanyama, Tim Duncan, and David Robinson in previous NBA Drafts.

37:50 ... The saddest teams in the league have to be Charlotte, Washington, and Utah, all of whom were hosed in the lottery and missed out on the #1 overall pick.

41:08 ... The guys take issue with ESPN's star NBA journalist Shams Charania claiming that Giannis Antetokounmpo discussed leaving Milwaukee for the very first time this weekend when he actually did it on our podcast back in September of 2023.  We playfully demanded an apology but offered to kiss and make up if