48 Minutes: NBA Playoffs After One Week

0:00 ... Ross hello, welcome, and introduces the crew.

0:35 ... Episode #154 is dedicated to Sandro Mamukelashvili, who was drafted #54 in the 2021 NBA Draft

1:19 ... Knicks/Pistons discussion which includes a breakdown of the controversial "non call" at the end of game 4 which may have cost the Pistons the series.

3:25 ... Bruce feels like the Pistons should get every 50/50 call in game 5 to try and make up for the non-call in game 4 and he also was super impressed with Jalen Brunson's 4th quarter performance in game 4.  World B has massive praise for Karl-Anthony Towns.

7:50 ... Celtics/Magic discussion which includes Bruce's feelings that Orlando's toughness really tested Boston and helped prepare them for their upcoming series by forcing them to find ways to score other than with 3 point shooting.  World B feels like the Magic have played really well but lack the offensive firepower to defeat Boston.

11:47 ... Bruce asks Ross and World B if the Knicks have the type of personnel to play Boston the way Orlando has.  Ross and World B differ in their responses.

14:36 ... Bucks/Pacers discussion ... the big story is that Damian Lillard tore his achilles tendon on Sunday and will likely miss most of next season.  Bruce is worried that Giannis Antetokounmpo will ask to be traded now that Lillard is on the shelf and suggests that Oklahoma City has the assets needed to make the Bucks a solid offer for Giannis and that Milwaukee should be on the phone pursuing a deal.  World B feels like the Pacers are really clicking and are back to their hot January form.  Ross credits the Pacers defense for their success.

19:38 ... Lakers/Timberwolves discussion ... World B feels like LeBron James and Luka Doncic may have what it takes to win 3 straight games and dig themselves out of a 3-1 deficit, but the Timberwolves are playing like a team that can handle their business and move on.  Bruce felt that the Lakers were worn down by the Wolves in Sunday's 4th quarter as LA coach JJ Redick used just 5 players in the final quarter.  Bruce praised Naz Reid's work and nicknamed him "Nuclear Naz" because of his explosive play.  Ross with an amazing fact about Redick's historic "non use" of his bench in the second half of Sunday's game.

24:45 ... Clippers/Nuggets discussion ... Aaron Gordon's dunk on Saturday will go down in Nuggets lore and will be talked about forever, but the guys were also impressed by the way Gordon stood up for his teammate Christian Braun when the Clippers took exception to a foul Braun committed just before halftime.  World B feels it has been a great series that will go 7 games and thinks the Clippers can win another road game in Denver.

28:09 ... Bruce wants James Harden to come up with a monster game in game 5, which is something he has never really done in the playoffs.

30:08 ... Bruce asks his co-hosts if Nikola Jokic is now on the very short list of the 5 greatest centers of all-time?  And can he be considered the greatest International player of all-time?

31:13 ... Thunder/Grizzlies discussion ... the guys discuss whether the long layoff that OKC has earned after sweeping Memphis will negatively affect the team at the start of their next series.  Ross feels that Chet Holmgren will benefit the most from a long layoff between series as he'll need to have maximum energy against either Jokic or Ivika Zubac in the next round.  If the Nuggets advance and play OKC, we'll see the top two MVP candidates squaring off with Jokic vs Shai Gilgeous Alexander.

35:22 ... Cavaliers/Heat discussion ... Whatever happened to Heat Culture after being swept by the Cavs and losing game 3 by 37 points and game 4 by 55 points?  Bruce feels like the Heat roster will look a whole lot different next season after the way they flamed out this season.  While the Cavs had it easy against Miami, everyone expects t