2025 NBA Playoff First Round Takeaways

Desmond follows up H2DG's loaded Playoff Preview sharing some of his big takeaways from the first round matchups. He discusses the strategies that failed the Milwaukee Bucks in their series against the Pacers, the Timberwolves not-so-upset over the Lakers, his opinion on the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo, and much more. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The twenty twenty five NBA Playoffs are gaining momentum as
the first round matchups are gradually coming to a close,
with all eyes soon to be on the semi finals.
And I know you may have noticed that I didn't
even make an announcement for this episode, and that's because
my initial plan was to kind of just use the
playoffs as a rest period for me and just upload

(00:20):
a bunch of clips from the playoff preview as the
series progressed. But there's just something about the hardwood, that
orange object, and that nylone attached to the rim that
I just can't stay away for too long. So even
after H two DG's hefty playoff preview, I still wanted
to take moments throughout the playoffs to share some updated

(00:41):
thoughts on what I've been seeing as I've been tuning
in and revisit some topics that were discussed in the
original playoff preview. So, even as this episode may or
may not come as a surprise kickback, relax or get hype,
and let's get into some first round takeaways right now
on H two DG. Welcome to Hip to the Games,
the podcast for you the Basketball Junkie and the hip

(01:04):
hop hit. I'm your host, Desmond and I too have
had hoop dreams and enjoy the beautiful genre of hip
hop and its history. Together we will enjoy some of
the greatest albums, songs, artists, players, moments, teams, and so
much more, while even mixing the two on occasion. All
in my hope that you remember why you love both
or either of.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
These to begin with.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
You'll soon understand that Hip to the Games is more
than just a podcast. It's a lifestyle and if you
were looking for a platform that combines both basketball and
hip hop, you've come to the right place. Welcome to

(01:50):
this episode of Hip to the Games. Shout out to
you if you are a loyal listener and are showing
that you are indeed Hip to the Games by listening
on audio platforms or tune in and visually for another week.
Whether you are listening on your favorite platform or watching
on YouTube, I sincerely thank you for your support. If
you do happen to be new to H two DG, though, welcome,

(02:11):
I am happy to have you on board. If throughout
this episode you like what you're hearing, be sure to
hit that subscribe button or that follow button on whatever
platform you're listening to or watching on to stay tapped
in with.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
All things hip to the games.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
And before we really get into today's episode, you already
know the drill. I gotta get my pregame shoutouts out
the way. The first one always goes to the creative
director Jesus Christ for another H two DG episode, as
it's always a blessing to get in front of this
microphone and do what He's placed in my heart to do.
And the second one goes to my nineteen Media Group
family for the opportunity to represent the home team.

Speaker 2 (02:45):
All Right.

Speaker 1 (02:46):
You always see that blue and white logo sitting in
the corner.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
That's my squad.

Speaker 1 (02:49):
So be sure to follow nineteen m Group on Twitter,
nineteen Media Group on Instagram and YouTube to follow everything.

Speaker 2 (02:55):
Going on with the network. All Right.

Speaker 1 (02:57):
We have a variety of shows around sports, culture, education,
and they're hosted by some passionate independent podcasters. And I'm
sure you can find another teammate of mine to support,
whether it's through likes, comments, reposts, listens by and merch.
Any of that support is seen and felt and appreciated.
Now as we get into today's show, if you are

(03:19):
a returning listener, you are familiar with my format that
pays how much to the classic.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Hip hop song structure?

Speaker 1 (03:25):
Right, we get three verses, which represents three topics for
the show. But since I have actually quite a few
takeaways from some of the first Round series, I'm actually
gonna ditch that for today's episode and just run through
and hit on the topics that I felt like discussing,
and right out the gate, I want to talk about
the return of playoff physicality. Man, one of the greatest

(03:48):
joys of watching these games has been the refs letting
these dudes play. I mean, I feel like the refs
might have had some really important meetings ahead of the playoffs,
which I'm sure they do every single year, right, this year,
I think it was a little bit different, Like there
seems to be a general focus of let the game
be the game, and it's the playoffs. It should be physical,

(04:09):
it's gonna get chippy, and it's a product of guys competing.
It's rarely ever personal. And to the referees credit, it
seems like they really took all that to heart this year,
and even beyond foul calls, right when it comes to
texts and things of that nature.

Speaker 2 (04:24):
They've been very.

Speaker 1 (04:25):
Firm on not ejecting guys but given them warnings. A
lot of times in the recent years, we've seen refs
eject guys before anything could really escalate. If you followed
me on Twitter, you may remember that I've always said
Ed malloy had the quickest technical trigger I've ever seen
in all my time watching the NBA. I mean, anytime

(04:46):
he was refing, I just knew somebody is going to
get ejected. And it reminds me even of when I
was a kid and me and my brother were little
and we would get into it playing video games and
our mom would just settle to beef by yell and
turn it off. None of y'all get to play until
I say you can. And I used to hate that
because it was like, come on, my we competitive, let

(05:09):
us hash the beef out on the game, Like let
us use the game to you know, squash our beef.
You know, we might fight, but we never had fistfights
or anything like that. It was just purely competitive, short
term brotherly beef. And I feel like that's how the
refs have been right. It's like, let's just prevent the
problem before it even becomes a problem and eject everybody,

(05:30):
just throw out the guys that started the scuffle.

Speaker 2 (05:33):
But this year they're.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
Letting guys play, you know, they're letting guys talk and
seem to just have that old school understanding of look,
these guys want to win and we understand that. And
even from an entertainment aspect, these scuffles actually make the
playoffs what it is, so it's kind of foolish to
take that out the game. So I've absolutely been loving
the way the games have been officiated. I mean, every

(05:56):
series pretty much was intense. You know, Cleveland and Miami
had their moments, Detroit and the Knicks had theirs. Obviously,
Milwaukee and Indiana was real old school, like they every game,
somebody was in somebody else's face. You know, I think
even John Morant he kind of bumped chet holmgrin one
of the games after really big play. You know, Clippers

(06:16):
and Nuggets they had some moments throughout the series. So
it's just really been awesome to see. And you know,
I alluded to it in the playoff preview. What I
like too, is that there was a time in the
NBA where players had to live with their mistakes, right,
and you couldn't twirl your finger just because the refs
might have missed a call. You know, you had to

(06:37):
eat that and run back on defense, even if you
knew the call was wrong. If you got a turnover
but you felt like it was a reach and foul,
you know, you may have looked at your coach like, hey,
what was going on? But he might be looking at
you like, hey, man, I'm on your side, but tough
luck protect the pill next time.

Speaker 2 (06:53):
You know, get back on defense.

Speaker 1 (06:55):
And in a league that has gotten much younger, more lenient,
more forgiving, it's awesome to see that these young stars
and these young guys in these playoff games have gotten
a taste of that with the officiating this year. It
should make them, i think, more mentally tough and mature
their IQs as they evolve as players, because they can
play through stuff. And then, you know, one last thing

(07:17):
I'll say too, is that to the young fans out there,
if you think these hoops have been good, just imagine
the days when the regular season felt like this too,
and as.

Speaker 2 (07:28):
A result, the playoffs were even more intense.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
Like man, I hope the NBA Officials Association they take
some even some of what they've been doing in this
year's playoffs and bring it into future regular seasons because
the league needs it.

Speaker 2 (07:43):
Man.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
I think everybody's been enjoying the extra competitiveness and just
the chippiness without any severe consequences, you know, just understanding
that it's all for sport, it's all for fun, and
I think it's gonna make for an even better product,
as we have seen evidence of that in this year's playoffs.
So while they often get a bad rep despite their
extremely difficult jobs, shout out to the refs, man, shout

(08:05):
out to the refs. They've been excellent, you know, not perfect.
Not to say that there haven't still been questionable calls
and things that nature, because I know Pistons versus Nicks
was pretty wild. They had a few questionable calls in
big moments. But they have been for the most part,
I think, pretty good this postseason. And you know, to
set that kind of tone in round one is great,

(08:25):
especially as we start moving into these matchups that we'll
see in the semi finals. All right, next up, we
got Heat culture. I wanted to briefly address the Miami
Heat's playoff experience because man, were those last two games
rough on them, especially after some of the trash talk
they had with the Cavs that they couldn't really back up. So,

(08:46):
you know, I've been seeing a lot of people go
straight to the idea of heat culture, right, heat culture
is kind of messing up?

Speaker 2 (08:52):
Or is it a real thing?

Speaker 1 (08:53):
You know? And I think that's a fair assessment, you know,
And I hate I forget who exactly said this. I
wasn't sure if it was Mike Miller or somebody else,
but I know it was a former Heat player, and
I just can't remember who said this, but I recently
heard them say that they felt like the Miami Heat
messed up by marketing Heat culture.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
And I totally agree.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
It was better when it was like this mythical lore
that only those on the inside understood, right, But then
they started throwing it and mentioning it everywhere. It became
a hashtag, it became they put it on T shirts,
they made their city jerseys have the Heat Culture wordmark
on it, and they even put their Heat culture values
on the court last season, and like, unfortunately, it just

(09:37):
became something that was once highly respected, it just got.

Speaker 2 (09:41):
Corny real quick.

Speaker 1 (09:43):
And I even think another contributing factor in this was
how pat Riley handled the Jimmy Butler situation. He clearly
had that old school ownership mentality to a certain degree,
and his stubbornness once again got to the got the
best of them. Think to where now, If I'm being honest,
I wouldn't be surprised if some players, especially black players,

(10:07):
might look at that and say, oh, well, if that
is a part of Heat culture that slips under the rug,
I don't want no parts of that. Obviously, the Heat
have been a very successful organization and pat Riley is
a major part of that. Don't get me wrong, I
definitely ain't putting him in Jerry Jones category. But even
in the past, when you look at how he despised
Lebron James for going back to Cleveland, and how Dwayne

(10:30):
Wade has been so open about how he felt pat
did him dirty and didn't give him the contract he
deserved in the summer of twenty sixteen, I feel like
the blemishes of Heat culture always find a way to
slip through the cracks, Like, yes, they have a great,
hard nosed, championship minded organization, but they also have some flaws,
which morally is understandable. Right, nobody's perfect. We are not

(10:53):
infallible human beings. But I just think, especially this season,
heat culture took a hit to where you realize when
the star the star player gets traded or leaves and
they aren't winning, heat culture.

Speaker 2 (11:06):
Don't look as good. Right.

Speaker 1 (11:07):
But let me stick to the on court part of
heat culture, right point blank. I just think Bam out
of Baio and Tyler Hero have a lot to learn.
They both have expressed their desires to take the Miami Heat,
you know, and and bring them kind of that Dwayne
Wade effect again and lead this team to great heights
and get their jerseys retired, the whole nine right. And

(11:29):
already in their young careers, they've been to multiple NBA
Finals and they've made some deep playoff runs, but they
weren't in the driver's seat.

Speaker 2 (11:37):
And this year was really the first.

Speaker 1 (11:38):
Year where they had much more control and it resulted
in an All Star season from Tyler Hero. And while
Bam out of Baio regressed statistically, he still had knights
where he showed he could lead. But what have I
been saying a lot these last few episodes. You have
to take your ls, and that L is not just
for losses, but most of all, learning experiences. It's gonna

(12:01):
take getting your butt woped by thirty plus in back
to back playoff games to bring out hopefully a different
player inside you. Because again I was high on the
Heat post trade deadline. I just think their issue was
that they had a lot of really good pieces, but
they were simply missing their alpha. They had that with Jimmy,
but clearly from the jump this season he had other plans.

(12:24):
He knew that he didn't want to do that this year,
that that was not gonna be his role. You know,
he wanted to be a piece for somebody else, right,
which turned out to be Stephen Curry. And mind you,
it makes sense why they went on their longest losing
streak in the Eric Spostra era and fell to the
tenth seed in the East and yet still find a
way found a way to make the NBA playoffs. That

(12:46):
is the most heat culture thing they did this year
was going to ten game losing streak and still make
the playoffs through the play in and get an eighth seed. Right,
if it was traditional and if it was up to me,
there wouldn't have been a play in in either conference
this year, right, But the heat, you know it happened
and they were able to get in. You know, you

(13:08):
got a great coach and a hungry team who knows
how to play in high stakes games. That's why they
were able to win two single elimination games. Right again,
this is Heat culture, right, it makes sense they were
able to do that when the stakes was high they
came through, But when the playoffs started they looked every
bit of a lottery team.

Speaker 2 (13:27):
Heat culture got.

Speaker 1 (13:28):
You in, but it Darnshore didn't show for the real thing.
So the Heat have some decisions to make, right, What
kind of player do you want in return for Terry Rozier?

Speaker 2 (13:36):
Do you move on from.

Speaker 1 (13:37):
Haimi Hakez or give him a third season to show
he can overcome some of the some of the ways
he was game planned for this year? Do you finally
decide to trade Duncan Robinson's contract and get some extra
bread to use in free agency?

Speaker 2 (13:51):
Right?

Speaker 1 (13:51):
Do you want to try to bring in a Yannis
or Kevin Durant type of star to pair with Bam
and Hero or should you once again strike out trying
to swing for a Grand Slam superstar talent? Are you
prepared to let Bamm and Hero find their way as
potential leaders of the next wave of Miami Heat basketball.
Those are definitely the questions that Heat have to answer

(14:13):
this offseason, because you know, they don't want to go
through another season like this, right, But I will say this,
part of the beauty of Heat culture is the journey. Okay,
if I'm ending this on a positive note, part of
the beauty of Heat culture is the journey. Everybody wants
Heat culture in twenty twelve, but they don't want to
go through two thousand and eight. Everybody wants to bring

(14:35):
back Heat Culture from twenty twenty, but they want to
duck twenty twenty five. When you hear former players speak
on the Heat one thing about Heat culture is for
certain you can't duck the process. So it's yet another
time for Heat Culture to prove that it's more than
just a cute slogan and from top to bottom, it
is an actual embodiment of their organization. All right, moving

(14:56):
on to the next topic. You know I had to
talk Bucks Verse Pacers because man, that was.

Speaker 2 (15:01):
A fun vintage series. All right.

Speaker 1 (15:04):
First things first, I do want to send well wishes
to Damian Lillard as he embarks on this journey recovering
from his Achilles, which if people noticed, was not the
same leg he was diagnosed with the deep vein thrombosis.
So while the body is certainly a chain, right, I
just think it's just a really rough time for Dame. Man.
So before I continue talking about this series, I definitely

(15:26):
wanted to show Dollar some love. You know, I don't
care what the stats say. I know the timeline was
flooded with people dropping Dame highlights from twenty nineteen to
twenty twenty three, where you could say we're his peak years.
But it ain't over till it's over, and none of
us are God, So I definitely want to encourage Dame
to take his time with his recovery and once again

(15:47):
show us something special by returning from this kind of
injury in his mid thirties. You know you ain't done yet, Dame. Godspeed,
big Bron. It's gonna be a great comeback for you.
But yes, this series was actually a bit better than
and I initially imagined, as we saw Gary Trent Junior
emerge as an X factor those last few games before
seeing the Pacers once again execute the comeback of dreams

(16:10):
in that last game. I mean, come on, man, from
that regular season four point play by Tyrese Halliburton to
managing to play defense without fouling and getting more possessions
to score in a game where it looked like Milwaukee
was gonna live to see another day in the playoffs
at home. This team just continues to leave me speechless.

(16:31):
They continue to leave me speechless. Man. They must have
heard everything that I've been saying about then, because they
continue to do the most amazing stuff on that basketball court.
So you know, I had to give my props, all right,
and especially Tyrese Haliburt. Man, we all know that the
most overrated player just means the most annoying, right. They
hate Lebron because he's so successful. They get on Rudy

(16:54):
Gobert because he found a way to dominate the interior
defensively for multiple seasons. They hate that there's other good
defenders too, They hate that, they hate success. And then
they get on Tyres because he would hit a big
shot and skip across the court, smile in your face,
talk trash, wrap his arms around his daddy and they
both talking trash. He is basically Kevin Martin with some

(17:16):
Reggie Miller in him, all right, and obviously can drop
dimes and handle the rock. Kevin Martin was annoying too.
If y'all the real ones remember, Kevin Martin was annoying too,
because how else is a six to seven, one hundred
and eighty pound shooting guard gonna get the most free
throws in the league. Tony Allen talked about this man,
how he always used to you know, he always used

(17:36):
to ay every time he would get in the lane
trying to sell files. Right, Reggie Miller was annoying because
he was a bad dude.

Speaker 2 (17:44):
None of these dudes were.

Speaker 1 (17:45):
The most athletic, nor were they the strongest, and they
still found success a formula for hate and being dubbed overrated.

Speaker 2 (17:54):
And my thing is Tyrese did it when it mattered.

Speaker 1 (17:58):
Reggie did it when it mattered the playoffs. This is
what the critics say, right, This is what all of
us who well, not me, but you know there's people
out there who get on these microphones and just be
talking juhnk. Right, this is what y'all wanted. Y'all want
people to do this on the biggest stage. And that's
what Tyre's Halliburton did.

Speaker 2 (18:16):
You know. I want him to do it when.

Speaker 1 (18:18):
It counts well he did. He did, and he sent
them boys home in dramatic fashion and was mature enough
to stop settling for threes and use his size to
slither in the lane for those last like two field
goals he had. You gotta give Tyrese his props man
game recognized game, and that boy did his thing. But
shifting gears a little bit. I actually wanted to take

(18:39):
the time to focus on the Milwaukee Bucks. I'm gonna
talk about Giannis later, but I really wanted to discuss
their overall game plan because I felt like there were
some orange flags out there, not quite green obviously, right,
and not quite red because I seen where Doc Rivers
and his staff where they were coming from, and you know,

(19:01):
it's not quite a yellow flag, because I felt like
they were a little closer to a red flag.

Speaker 2 (19:05):
So I just came to the conclusion that it was
an orange flag. A right.

Speaker 1 (19:08):
So Taylor Rooks reported before that last game that Doc
emphasized getting out in transition and not walking the ball up.

Speaker 2 (19:16):
That's what she That's what Taylor Rooks reported.

Speaker 1 (19:19):
Now, obviously this is great, right because, as we know,
the best opportunity to get points is by running in transition. Right,
the defense isn't set, and you can take advantage of
that by getting open threes, layups, dunks, the whole nine.
At the same time, though, anytime you hear a team
say that that is their point of emphasis, it shows

(19:39):
that they either a struggle to create offense in the
half court or b are facing a great half court defense,
and sometimes it's both. So when I heard Taylor Rooks
report that, I'm like, oh, Doc Rivers doesn't have faith
that his guys can execute in the half court, which
is dangerous because winner loss, that's been their bread and butter.

Speaker 2 (20:02):
Again I mentioned this before.

Speaker 1 (20:04):
They were one of the top teams, if not the
top team, in post up opportunities. And even worse, if
you're playing faster than usual, that means you're essentially trying
to match the PACER's pace and you cannot beat the
Indiana Pacers by playing their game. They remind me so
much of the Warriors at the height of their heyday,

(20:26):
because if you get caught up in the environment and
as a last resort effort, try to play the Pacers game,
you already lost. Because they want the game to be fast.
The way to beat the Pacers is to stick to
your game. Okay, I want you to remember that phrase,
stick to your game. It's gonna come up later. But
the way to beat the Pacers is to stick to

(20:47):
your game and make them adjust, and the Bucks simply
didn't do that enough. So while Doc had the right
idea to get his team easier shots, that kind of
game plan was not gonna work against the Indiana paycecers.
It was not the right formula to beat them. And
while he does get a lot of flak, this is
why coaching in the NBA is hard. He had to

(21:08):
pick his poison and live with the results. Either way,
he was gonna get flack, right, So Doc was in
a tough spot there. Now, to the Pacers' credit, the
thing that makes their offense so special. Yes, they have
great ball movement, but it's this core value here. The
Indiana Pacers do a great job treating the basketball like
a grenade. Stephen Curry mentioned this to some young hoopers

(21:30):
in the offseason, how important it is to make a
decision in basketball, especially in a read and react offense
like the Warriors have. He told the kids that you
can't simply hold the ball in the NBA, because, like
a grenade, you only have so much time to make
a decision based on the situation in front of you.
And mind you, there is a twenty four second shot clock,
probably fourteen if you got an offensive rebound. And when

(21:54):
watching the Indiana Pacers, you can tell Rick Carlisle.

Speaker 2 (21:57):
Has a similar philosophy.

Speaker 1 (21:59):
You can see it you watch Tyree's Halliburton. You can
see it when you watch TJ.

Speaker 2 (22:03):
McConnell.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
And I think even Andrew Nemhard, Tyrese is always looking
for the past. His eyes are always up. If not,
he's preparing for that step back three, just waiting on
his defender to make one wrong move and he can
pull that jumper or like rarely is tyree'se Haliburton ever
stationary with the basketball. TJ McCollum same exact thing. Young

(22:24):
players would absolutely need to study TJ. McConnell because these
dudes don't pick up the basketball. He's gonna dribble around
the perimeter, which might even lead to him using the
Nash dribble right dribbling under the hoop, where he just
keeps his dribble alive and doesn't stagnate the offense by
picking it up in an awkward position. He keeps his
dribble alive, and even sometimes he just goes into that

(22:46):
close range pull up or drifter or fade away that
he's kind of perfected the last few years. And so
how do you combat that if they're not if they're
always moving and they never pick up the ball, how
do you combat that? Well, while easier said than done,
you have to make them do what they don't want
to do, sit with the ball. And there were sprinkles

(23:09):
of possessions where I felt the Bucks did that successfully.
The Pacers could not get anything when that game slowed down.
This y'all know, I'm so big on this. They couldn't
get nothing when that game slowed down, especially if Pascal
Siyakam wasn't on the floor. When the ball movement isn't thriving,
they are forced to take impulsive shots that they don't
want to take because they take so much pride in

(23:31):
setting each other up. So you gotta make them hold
that grenade a little longer, right, Get in your stance,
crowd the dribbler, make good hard closeouts, don't fall for
pump fakes, have timely rotations. You know, you and your
defense should be on a string. And like I said, Unfortunately,
the Bucks just didn't do that enough. They did it
in spurts, not forty eight minutes. If they embraced that

(23:53):
mindset a little bit more defensively and in turn didn't
rush on offense when they didn't have to, I think
the Bucks would have performed better in the series, even
if the Pacers still managed to win. You know, again,
the Pacers are just a really good team. They're the
better team, you know, the healthier team, so you know,
the odds are in their favorite either way. I just

(24:15):
thought the Bugs could have handled some of those situations better.
But it will be something I look at as the
Pacers are set to face the Cavaliers next, because the
Cavs can actually match Indies ball movement, shooting, and pace.
But I think they are obviously in better shape than
Milwaukee because they have a guy like Donovan Mitchell offensively,
you know, and defensively, they have a lot of versatility

(24:36):
with guys like DeAndre Hunter, Isaacacorro, and of course having
the defensive player of the year Evan Mobley on the interior.
I expect this to be you know, unfortunately, you know,
given the basketball that we've seen this first round, I
expect this to be the most regular season esque series
that we've had so far, because I think, and at
least I hope, you know, we get the back and

(24:56):
forth slugfest most of us expect because of how similar
these teams are offensively. You know, I would like to
think calves and six. I think that's pretty healthy. If
it goes seven, it's gonna be because similar to the Bucks,
their defense didn't challenge the Indiana Pacers to work extra
to get good looks offensively, but you know, playoff physicality

(25:17):
is back. The Heat might have found themselves frozen, and
the Pacers continue to impress, But how long would it last?
Got any thoughts on these topics?

Speaker 2 (25:27):
You know what to do. Share your thoughts with me
down below.

Speaker 1 (25:29):
If you are watching on YouTube or at me on
the Socials, at Hip to the Games or Desmond Powell Underscore,
to share your thoughts as I would love to know
what you think as well. We are just about halfway
through the topics on my agenda today, but before we continue,
if you like what you're hearing so far and want
to know how you can represent the Hip to the
Games lifestyle, here's how you can do that. As a
fan of Hip to the Games, not only should you

(25:51):
show your love for the podcast, but you gotta express
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it means to be Hit to the Games by clicking
the link in the episode's description to cop some merch
and represent the.

Speaker 2 (26:10):
H two DG lifestyle.

Speaker 1 (26:12):
Welcome back to Hip to the Games, where I continue
with more of my takeaways from some of the first
round series, and next up, I want to talk about
the Houston Rockets and specifically Jalen Green. The matchup versus
the Warriors, for the most part, has unfolded as expected.
I don't think many of us saw the Warriors with
a three to one lead at one point, but we
have certainly gotten the competitive, intense series we all thought

(26:34):
it would be. The Houston Rockets, despite their inexperience, have
thrived defensively, while the Warriors championship level experience has helped
them overcome some of the youth and athleticism that they lack.
You know, there have been plenty of scuffles and shoving
going on, you know, essentially making this a battle of
who can be the most mature and locking in the

(26:55):
midst of the antics and the trash talk. And admittedly
I think both teams have done pretty well, but most
of the conversation around this series has been actually centered
around Jalen Green, because while certainly a player would all
star level talent, he hasn't looked like that in his
first playoff series, and I have some things to say
about that. I think there are some things that a

(27:17):
lot of people are getting right, but I think there
are a lot of things that people are forgetting So
first off, I mentioned in the playoff preview that Jalen
Green has plenty of room to grow in terms of rebounding,
playmaking and general experience slash IQ. I won't say he will,
because every player is different, but that is something he
should get better at as.

Speaker 2 (27:38):
The years go by.

Speaker 1 (27:39):
You know, I've seen posts of people saying, like, Jalen
Green is in year four, he should have it figured
out by now, and I'm like, well, yes, if you
are a generational or franchise altering player, yeah, sure, but
most guys don't figure out this game by year four.
I don't know where that notion came from, that you
gotta have everything to get your fourth year or your

(28:01):
fifth year. Like I'm not sure if you remember, but
let's not forget Kevin Durant had twenty two turnovers and
fourteen assists and shot thirty five percent from the field
in his very first playoff series in his third season,
the same season he became the youngest scoring champion. It
certainly sounded like he figured it out by becoming the
youngest scoring champion.

Speaker 2 (28:21):
So why didn't he figure it out come playoff time?

Speaker 1 (28:23):
Why didn't he have the wisdom that he has now
at the young age.

Speaker 2 (28:26):
Of twenty one?

Speaker 1 (28:29):
Oh right, patience, patience? Ah right, duh, patience right? You know,
And when you think of Kevin Durant, it took him
roughly five to six seasons to noticeably to noticeably improve
his playmaking, right, And I think about some of my
favorite players like Paul George Kawhi, Leonard, you know, DeMar DeRozan.

(28:49):
These are guys that truly didn't become all around players
till at least year eight. If that patience man, patience,
I know a lot of fans get on social media
and get on podcasts and give every single player the
Jordan Kobe standard because suddenly everybody's supposed to be that way.

Speaker 2 (29:09):
But that ain't how it works.

Speaker 1 (29:11):
I absolutely hate that about sports media. We want everybody
to be all NBA players, all defensive players, have the
Mamba mentality, take the game winning shot every time, get
triple doubles, and win multiple championships. But if everybody could
do that, a lot more players would have it. Two
things can be true. Can Jalen Green play better?

Speaker 2 (29:33):
Absolutely? Does he have room to grow? Absolutely? And this
is exactly what I meant.

Speaker 1 (29:40):
In previous episodes when I said the Rockets inexperience was
going to show, and now that it is, folks want
to act shocked. And additionally, the fact that the three
games Jalen Green scored in single digits are the same
three games the Rockets lost is obviously very telling. Everybody
says he needs to impact the game beyond scoring, and

(30:03):
I wholeheartedly agree, don't get me wrong, But what people
miss is that Jalen Green has a Jamal Crawford Jr.
Smith kind of effect to where he gets his rhythm
from scoring. Some guys get rhythm by simply dribbling the ball. Right,
you gotta let them come up and down the floor
a few times and get them those early touches so
they can feel in rhythm.

Speaker 2 (30:23):
Right.

Speaker 1 (30:23):
Some guys need isolations, some guys need post ups. Some
guys need to you know, they need to shoot the
ball first, right, They need to shoot the ball early
to get a rhythm.

Speaker 2 (30:32):
Right.

Speaker 1 (30:33):
Jalen Green is like that. Some guys get rhythm from
defensive stops, right. Everybody's different. Jalen gets his from scoring.
And notice in Game two when he dropped thirty eight,
he had that approach where he I think that I
was watching that game like Jalen Green. If eme Udoka
lets him, Jalen Green is going to shoot the ball
fifty times by himself. Like his confidence was at an

(30:55):
all time high because he had that green light and
the shots were falling. The team is, in some way
or another gonna benefit from his buckets, but understandably so.
The most interesting thing in all of this is that
the last two games, Jalen Green has played under thirty
minutes and the Rockets have looked better because the focus

(31:15):
has seemed to shift from let's play through our most
talented player to let's play through our two smartest players.

Speaker 2 (31:23):
Right.

Speaker 1 (31:24):
So incomes Fred van Fleet right, who in return has
gotten the green light and he's been hooping right. And
then Alprin Sengoon right, even if it's ugly, right, he's
been doing his thing. Also, he hasn't shied away from
anything the Warriors have done. So setting the tone with
those two guys and then having at least one of
either a Man Thompson, Dylan Brooks or Jabar Smith Junior

(31:47):
even as the supporting contributor, has seemed to work best
for the Rockets, which to me was most notable starting
with Game four. They did lose that game, but they
had a nice formula. You know, it's been nice to
see a men get more aggressive and find ways to
get to the rim.

Speaker 2 (32:04):
Right.

Speaker 1 (32:04):
I think he's finally had that approach of like, Okay,
it's the playoffs. I can take a few more risks
than I would in the regular season. I can get
away from the motions and make a play. And dare
I say Jabari Smith could use some more touches because
this formula has allowed him to sneakily become an important
player in a playoff environment. So, unfortunately for Jalen Green.

(32:27):
That means he might not score as much or even
finish games, but it does allow him to again be
that Jamal Crawford or j R. Smith, where, at least
right now in the current circumstance in the current series,
is probably his best role to play. It'll be interesting
to see if the Rockets can tie up this series
or even make a successful comeback from down three to one,

(32:48):
because the Warriors have had a harder time with the
Rockets adjustments, especially in Game five playing his own defense
with Jimmy and or Draymond out, there was something they
should have done from the jump, as the Warriors offense
has always been easier to contain when Steph is the
only source of creation or when he's out the game entirely.
The Rockets forced the Warriors to overpass at times, and

(33:11):
you know, they forced Jimmy Butler to shoot a handful
of late shot clock shots that he.

Speaker 2 (33:16):
Doesn't like to take. Again.

Speaker 1 (33:18):
This is why it's so important for Jimmy to be
a scorer and really hit first right and make those
shots early and be aggressive early. Because the Rockets defense
has been able to eat up that Warriors basketball and
with Fred Van Fleet you know, with with hit him
emerging as the shot maker, the Rockets have seeming you know,
they've seemed to finally supplement their great defense with reliable,

(33:41):
consistent offensive execution, something that not a lot of us
thought the Rockets would be.

Speaker 2 (33:46):
Able to maintain.

Speaker 1 (33:48):
So, of course, the Warriors have a good chance to
win this series at home in Game six. But if
Houston indeed gets Game six and then has to go
back home for a Game seven, it is gonna be.

Speaker 2 (33:58):
Trouble for the Warriors.

Speaker 1 (34:00):
So shout out to Ime Udoka and the Rockets successfully
making some adjustments to aid their comeback effort. And to
everybody giving Jalen Green a hard time. I hear you,
and I get you. But maybe, just maybe he's just
not the player you wanted him or expected him to
be and breaking news. That's totally fine. I said it

(34:24):
on here before. There are plenty of ways, big and
small to be a successful NBA player. I understand trying
to bring out the best and a player, especially somebody
who was a high draft pick, but it would be
a lot better for the overall discourse of the game
if more of us with microphones say, you know what,

(34:44):
he may not be this, but he can be this
kind of player, right as opposed to wanting everybody to
be the next.

Speaker 2 (34:51):
Mike or Kobe. That's just unrealistic. All right.

Speaker 1 (34:54):
Up next is another series that actually came to a
close Wednesday night, the Lakers versus the Timberwell of and
a Man.

Speaker 2 (35:01):
I told you, I told.

Speaker 1 (35:03):
You the Timberwolves were the definition of a playoff sleeper.
And if I had to pick a team that would
do some Cinderella stuff, it would be then and here
they are now. I did pick the Lakers in six, okay,
because I did not think their lack of size on
the interior would be that much of a weakness. But
of course, in poetic fashion, they lost Game five thanks

(35:26):
to Rudy Gobert dropping twenty seven and twenty four. Oh
y'all think I struggled with small ball lineups?

Speaker 2 (35:31):
I bet, I bet.

Speaker 1 (35:33):
I'm happy for Rudy, man. He needed a moment like
that to shut the haters up for a bit. And
I like it, Man, I like it.

Speaker 2 (35:40):
But that's really what it was.

Speaker 1 (35:42):
Man. The Lakers weren't necessarily bad, in my opinion. A
couple of the games they lost were still close. I
just think that they had some holes, most notably on defense,
where the Timberwolves were able to outwork them. Austin Reeves
was solid for them, Luca was really good for most
of the series. Lebron did this thing, and even how
Johnny mentioned in the playoff preview, Ruey Hachimura had some

(36:05):
really nice last two games of the series, stepping up
with twenty three point games. But again, I think most
of us saw it coming. Yes, there's Lebron and Luca,
but there's nobody on that roster close to Ad and
we all know that the Lakers were missing him very much,
especially with Jackson Hayes struggling to find his footing throughout
the series. The te Wolves just punished them inside, taking

(36:26):
advantage of the Lakers weakness. More than half their points
came in the paint. In Game five, they had.

Speaker 2 (36:32):
Fifty six points in the paint.

Speaker 1 (36:34):
And might I add JJ Reddick was essentially running a
seven man rotation, and I don't care who you are,
seven man rotations do not win playoff series. You are
just gonna tire your guys out. That is one of
my biggest pet peeves is watching these coaches. I understand
you might not have a lot to work with But
if the Knicks can run more than a seven man rotation,

(36:57):
you can run more than a seven man rotation, So
you know, I just I'm not with that at all.
You know, and I mentioned this before. I know it
still wouldn't have fixed their glaring issues inside. But I
was just so disappointed that even in a seven man rotation,
JJ Reddick couldn't get Dalton connect any Burn four minutes

(37:18):
in two games of a five game series. The exact
kind of player you want around Luca and Lebron, and
he just can't get minutes an older rookie at that.
This dude just turned twenty four. It's not like this
is some nineteen eighteen year old. He could have contributed
if you asked me, But I get it, you know,

(37:38):
it would have complicated the strategy of what was already
a limited rotation. I understand all that, But the main
reason I wanted to talk about this series was not
to just lament over the Lakers, but it was to
big up the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Speaker 2 (37:53):
But even deeper.

Speaker 1 (37:54):
The main reason, and that or I should should I
say the main player I wanted to give a shout
out to was the guy who finally figured it out
Julius Dion Randall say, man, I'm so proud of Julius Randall,
and I can't help but give some credit to coach
Chris Finch as well, who had worked with Julius when
he was in New Orleans.

Speaker 2 (38:14):
But wow, man, who knew.

Speaker 1 (38:16):
The biggest fear I and I think many of us
had with Julius Randall was that he was going to
get a little over zealous in the offense and succumb
to double teams. But being with a guy like Anthony Edwards,
and I think even around guys who have been bought
into roles like Jaden McDaniels, Dante DiVincenzo, Nikhil, Alexander Walker.

(38:37):
Of course nas reed that all those guys inspired Julius
to do the same, Like, Okay, I can buy into
a role like it actually kind of makes it easier
for me to buy into a role because these guys are.

Speaker 2 (38:47):
So bought in.

Speaker 1 (38:48):
You know, he was efficient for the most part. His
series averages were around twenty three to five and five.
I just thought he did a really good job being
the robin to Aunt Edwards's batman. And I even saw
a quote where he essentially said like he told Edwards like, hey, man,
do your thing.

Speaker 2 (39:05):
When you need me, I'll be ready.

Speaker 1 (39:07):
And that is so refreshing to hear man, because when
you flash back to a couple of his series when
he was in New York, he only shot over forty
percent in one of those series. The others were thirty
four percent and a staggering thirty percent. As a primary option,
he just struggled to find a rhythm and as I
always said, he'd succumbed to those double teams. Playing in

(39:28):
the mid post was kind of shining away from the
bully ball. You know, it wasn't working out. But in
this role, with much less pressure, he had forty eight
thirty nine eighty.

Speaker 2 (39:38):
Four shooting splits.

Speaker 1 (39:40):
Just a drastic difference. There were some moments, I'll admit
in the beginning where I was kind of panicking, and
even throughout the series where he would take contested threes
and I'm looking at my TV like, hey man, don't
you do it? Chill with that Dumelo Ranthony stuff man.
But for the most part, he has thrived and is
bought into this role. And as as much as I

(40:00):
like the Warriors, I can't help but envision the Minnesota
Timberwolves returning to the Conference finals even after trading Carl
Anthony Towns, and that wasn't something I would have even
thought of when that trade first went down. So like
for the story, I would love to see the Timberwolves
get back.

Speaker 2 (40:16):
It's still very early.

Speaker 1 (40:18):
As I said, the Rockets window isn't closed just yet.
And you know, you never know what the Warriors man,
but you never know how much magic they got left
in them. But man, Minnesota has some nice momentum going
into the semi finals. And of course a huge shout
out to Anthony Edwards who has grown and making reads
and letting the game come to him. And you know,
something I questioned if he was gonna be able to

(40:39):
do in a series versus the Lakers, and he absolutely
proved me wrong. So you know, there's a lot of
good things to take away if you are a Timberwolves fan,
as they seem to be trending in the right direction.
You know, they got a lot of selfless guys. They
got guys that play with a lot of heart, guys
that fight, and that is sure to take you a
long way in the playoffs. So as of now, I
love what I'm seeing from min And as for the Lakers,

(41:02):
we already know what their first priority is this offseason,
center depth. It will definitely be interesting to see how
the Rockets versus Warrior series ends and how the Timberwolves
continue to play as they wait for their next opponent.
But in the meantime, what do you think will the
Rockets come back or do the Warriors still have plenty
of magic left in them? Have people falsely imagine Jalen

(41:22):
Green's potential? Can Minnesota indeed pull a bit of a
Cinderella run in the NBA? Be sure to respond in
the comments or hit me on the socials, because I
definitely want to know what you got to say. But
for now, I got two more topics I want to
end with, one revolving around a bit of a coaching
principle I actually hinted at earlier in the episode, and
the other in regards to a certain stars future. I'm

(41:45):
gonna take a quick break here, but you won't want
to miss these topics as this episode of H two
DG continues. Welcome back to H two DG. As I
finish our episode today with some interesting topics. The first
one I want to address is the importance of teams
playing their game. Come playoff time, play your game, and
I know you might be thinking, Dez, what's the big deal?

Speaker 2 (42:07):
Well?

Speaker 1 (42:08):
I mentioned earlier when discussing the Bucks, how some teams
can be guilty of shying away from a strategy that
probably fits best with their personnel in the desperate effort
to come back in a series. Obviously, I felt the
Bucks did that versus Indiana, and funny enough, I fear
his successor, ty Loo did a similar thing versus the
Denver Nuggets. Now, at the time this episode drops, the

(42:30):
Clippers will either be knocked out of the playoffs or
preparing for a Game seven back in Denver. Being that
I was high on the Clippers, I would love to
see them figure it out. But given the results of
Games four and five, I can't help but believe that
the Nuggets have figured out the Clippers now.

Speaker 2 (42:46):
It's interesting.

Speaker 1 (42:48):
Within the first three games of a very entertaining series,
I thought the Clippers did a great job playing their game.
They generally run a slower pace, in large part due
to having two great isolation players in James harder than
Kawhi Leonard, and a low post option in he vitz
A Zubak, but they can also thrive and transition thanks
to a great defense that thrives off getting steals right,

(43:10):
But the biggest adjustment of the series came from the
Nuggets in Game four, where yes, Nikola Jokic had an
amazing night offensively, but it was also the game where
the Nuggets moved their defensive pressure up and forced the
Clippers to initiate their offense sooner. Of course, applying this
kind of defensive pressure can disrupt an offensive flow and

(43:32):
bring discomfort for the players involved. This affected James Harden
the most, as he wasn't able to initiate the offense
cleanly and committed some bad turnovers down the stretch. Sure,
the Clippers almost completed a miraculous comeback that game, even
after the Nuggets big defensive adjustment, but we then saw
how much it impacted the Clippers in Game five, because

(43:52):
to my surprise, it seemed like from the opening tip,
tylu urged his team to play much faster so the
Nuggets couldn't throw off that same pressure, the pressure they delivered.

Speaker 2 (44:02):
The game before.

Speaker 1 (44:03):
But unfortunately for the Clippers, it only resulted in a
game where they struggled to find any kind of rhythm.
Shots seemed to be a bit more rushed. Nobody could
hit a free throw to make matters worse, and there
wasn't much of an emphasis to get Kawhi Leonard the
ball in his spots, I felt like, and by the
time they actually did, it was far too late. The
Clippers just never seemed to be settled the way that

(44:26):
they seemed to be those first few games of the series.
And to his credit, tylu is one of the best
coaches in the league as far as in game adjustments go.
He seemed to take a risk to change his approach
during a tied series, which is admirable, but in what
has generally been a close series, I don't think that
kind of change was necessary at least yet. One good

(44:47):
sign a team is on the ropes in the playoffs
is when they changed their game plan in noticeable fashion.
And I fear that's one reason why the Clippers are
in this position. And that's why I stress the importance
of playing your game. I'm not saying don't make adjustments,
but I am saying don't suddenly change your approach at
the first sign of adversity. I look at the Detroit

(45:08):
Pistons and the New York Knicks, on the other hand,
And these are two teams that have one games, playing
the way they know they like to play. Neither team
looked overly influenced by what the other team was doing.

Speaker 2 (45:21):
Right.

Speaker 1 (45:22):
Look, man, the Pistons lost two winnable games at home,
and what did they do. They walked right back into
MSG for Game five and lived to see another day
playing the exact same way. Do to dirty work, play defense,
get the fifty to fifty balls, take advantage of transition opportunities, right,
Kate Cunningham, Dennis Schroeder, pushing the ball in transition, not

(45:43):
you know, getting those threes to Malik Beasley, Tim Hardaway,
you know, getting those dumpoffs and alleys to Jalen Duran.
You know, Paul Reid, Guys like that. And even in
thinking about this series, there have been times both teams
go on runs and get up ten plus points, only
for the other team to come back and make it
a dogfight again. And that's why, no matter who wins

(46:04):
or loses this series, their efforts are gonna be respected
because they never made a panic move. They stuck to
their principles and it showed. Now I know the Clippers
struggles aren't single handedly because of the adjustment from ty Lou.
In fact, James Harden had a very disappointing Game five,
reviving the narrative that he's a quitter, that out of
nowhere he can just turn his switch off and not

(46:26):
maintain his pulse on the game. As the point guard.
The Clippers are going to need that if they want
to have a deep run in the playoffs like some
of us expected. James Harden knows better. This is why
he stated with the Clippers, I thought all year, this
is what their roster construction was for. He can't keep
doing this come playoff time, homeboys in his mid thirties.

(46:46):
He can't just keep doing this with every team he
plays for. I want to see him and I say
this with so much passion because I want to see
him shake off this narrative.

Speaker 2 (46:55):
Man.

Speaker 1 (46:56):
But right now it just hasn't been looking good. It
looks like he's quick. I want to see him shake
that off. If he can lock in on his role
again and remember what time of year it is, and
if the Clippers can lock back in on what made
them dangerous in the first place, defense and patient hoops,
they should hopefully re emerge as a Western Conference threat,

(47:17):
and you know what's funny. Kawhi Leonard has been running
with the phrase slowest pro right as it stresses the
idea of patience, but the Clippers haven't really stuck to
that the same way they did most of the season. Hopefully,
by the time this episode drops, they indeed stayed alive
for a Game seven and returned to their original values
and game plan. But if not, While there is well

(47:38):
deserved praise for a United Nuggets team, it'll be a
sad ending for a Clippers team that showed a lot
of promise on paper and even in the actual playoffs.
At one point, and finally, I figured I would end
the episode sharing my thoughts on the future of Bucks
superstar Gianni Santetokumpo. After heartbreaking Game five defeating Indie, all

(47:59):
eyes immediately shifted towards the seemingly inevitable change of scenery
for Giannis, who has equally been vocal about wanting to
be a Buck his entire career and understanding that the
NBA is a business and things can change at any time.
I love and respect loyalty. I think it would be
great for a player in this generation to stay with

(48:20):
one franchise his whole career, But unfortunately, the riding looks
like it's on the wall for Gianni's The Bucks have
a lot of expendable talent around him, right most teams
won a Gary Trent Junior and they could use a
Torrian Prince and an AJ Green. Imagine Bobby Porters on
the Detroit Pistons. You know, Brook Lopez is still a
solid rim protector and stretch big and you know, kind

(48:41):
of similar to Al Horford. Might not contemplate retirement just yet.
You know, Kyle Kuzma and Kevin Porter Junior. I think
they are expendable pieces, but although should a rebuild take place,
I could see them stay in put. And obviously, with
Dame missing next season, unless a miracle takes place, it
doesn't really makes sense for Yiannis to stay unless the

(49:02):
Bucks want to run it back with everybody. So I
think Gianna should start looking around, especially because they haven't
returned to the finals, let alone made a deep playoff
run since they won in twenty twenty one. But what
I've had the most trouble with is envisioning Giannis's next situation,
if there is one. I've seen fan made scenarios like
the Lakers, of course, the Clippers, the Warriors, and I

(49:26):
just don't think those are realistic from a basketball perspective.
It sounds sexy and exciting, but I think as fools
goal I don't think people realize how static Giannis is
in a half court offense. If you think he and Luca,
or he and Kawhi plus Harden, or even he with
Steph Jimmy and Draymond is gonna be smooth sailing, I

(49:46):
think you're sadly mistaken. I would advise all these teams
with stars, especially to seriously evaluate their personnel before potentially
making a move for Giannis Intetokumpo, because he will certainly
change how your team is defended. Take it further, Giannis
is very similar to Lebron a few years ago in
the sense that he is an athletic, physical unit right.

(50:08):
He can run up and down the floor all day,
he can get to the rim, at will play defense,
and most of all, he's durable. He plays with the
right attitude, He hustles, he leaves one hundred and ten
on the floor. However, he isn't as much of a
plug and play player as Lebron.

Speaker 2 (50:23):
James is in my opinion.

Speaker 1 (50:25):
Obviously, Lebron is a lot more guard like, so he
can create a shot for himself, and contrary to popular belief,
he can dribble. He can play the point and initiate
an entire offense. Jannis doesn't really have that skill set.
I don't think Giannis is an offensive initiator. He just
draws a lot of attention, if that makes sense. I

(50:46):
don't think he's putting the pieces together. I think he's
just the product of what his game is, if that
makes any sense. You know, Jannis doesn't really have that
skill set. Is he a willing passer, high efficient scorer
and a great rebounder and a great defender. Absolutely, But
I fear that if you pair him with these other stars,

(51:08):
what would he do when he doesn't have the ball.
I think that's one reason why his time with Dame
didn't pan out how we thought based on the idea
of how it looked on paper. And that's also why
I even question if you would consider moving him to
the five as he enters his thirties and potentially plays
with better talent, because, again, like Lebron, if you want

(51:30):
Giannis to be honest, then it's highly likely he moves
to a team where he can still play his way,
and I think that's where a team like the Toronto
Rappers comes into play. I'm not saying that they are
the team, but just for an example, they have a
lot of expendable young talent, but enough to where Giannis
wouldn't be by himself right, they could keep some of

(51:51):
those guys, and with a GM like massai u jury,
you would imagine that they would be able to attract
the right three and D pieces to surround him with.
To me, that's why I don't think these contending teams
are the best places for Giannis. I think the team
that gets Jannis will be a play in or a
non playoff team that will suddenly emerge as a threat

(52:12):
because they acquired Giannis. As always, I could be wrong,
you know, I am not infallible. I could be wrong,
and I have no issues coming back on the podcast
on a future date and admitting that Jannis, you know,
he's indeed a plug and play guy and all that stuff.
But until then, I just think it's better for Giannis
to get a fresh start on.

Speaker 2 (52:32):
An up and coming team who could.

Speaker 1 (52:34):
Actually use his abilities and benefit from the star that
he is on and off the court, as opposed to
joining an established contender and trying to figure out how
he fits in a half court offense where he has
multiple options and they had a system before that they
probably going to have to change because even look at
their championship team. While he could score, Drew Holliday was

(52:56):
the perimeter defender right Chris Middleton was the emergency creator.
His most important job was to get those buckets in
the fourth quarter when the Bucks needed him the most.
Yiannis was the engine. Giannis had the ball most of
the time. It would be a lot different if he
was out there with someone else who needs the ball
almost every possession. So before we get ahead of ourselves,

(53:18):
I think it's really imperative that we consider what an
ideal fit is for Giannis and not just look at
the names that look good next to his. But with
that final topic, we have made it to the end
of another Hit to the Games episode from the Return
of Physicality in the Playoffs the State of Heat Culture,
recapping some of the first round series and potential offseason

(53:39):
moves for one of the NBA's brightest stars. There was
plenty to dive into and plenty to come, but as always,
these were just my thoughts. So now I gotta hear
from you. You can tweet the show at Hip to
the Games or tag me directly on Twitter and ig
at Desmond Powlell Underscore and share your thoughts on any
of the topics discussed today, as I would love to
hear or read your thoughts and I want to say

(54:00):
please say thank you for listening to another episode of
H two DG all for the love of the best
combo there is and of course here's a huge shout
out to you for being Hip to the Games, peace
out and God bless Hope you enjoyed this episode of
Hip to the Games and if you enjoyed this episode,
be sure to hit up the socials at Desmond Power,
Underscore and at Hip to the Games on Instagram, Twitter

(54:22):
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