May 2, 2025 • 42 mins
The playoffs are heating up, and Trysta’s joined by the OG of ball Jermaine Womack, AKA Chilltown Hoops to break it all down.
They dive into Ant and the Wolves bullying the Lakers, the Bucks’ full-on meltdown, and what’s next for Giannis and Dame. Plus, weird coaching moves, a Pacers-Cavs preview, vintage playoff Harden, and all the latest playoff chaos across the league.
Follow Jermaine:
TIkTok: @chltwn32
YouTube: @ChillTownHoops
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to the Hottest the Hottest. It'd be a
podcast out here. I said what I said.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
It's the Heat Check.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
It's just a cut, Okay.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
I don't usually do the intro with the guests on
the line, but a little glazing is in order for Jermaine.
When I started Heat Check back in the day, actually
it was this league I was working at another place
and they frankly didn't like basketball that much. So I
had to build a TikTok following and it was a godsend.
(00:37):
And at that point, the person who stood out to
me was this guy Chill Town Hoops, and he was
so positive. You could tell he had an encyclopedic knowledge
of the game, and anybody could ask him anything about
old hoops, new hoops, comparative hoops, and he'd be like,
(00:57):
that's a great question. Let me tell you and then
let me break down why you're wrong about this, but
in the most positive, informational way and from a place
of true love with a super deep.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Understanding of the game. He's blown the fuck up. I
knew he was gonna blow up.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
He had like five thousand followers when I first started
watching him, and he didn't Gatekeep. He's not condescending. And
now he's on TNT. He's got a big youtuboe following.
He's got multiple shows that he's on. Former Hooper apparently
had kind of some hops thirteen Juco All American, he
(01:35):
was bouncing. So anyway, he's got about nine hundred thousand
followers today. He's also teamed up with my guy Now
You're More Fluent for the Fluent and Chill podcast. I
was just on it a week ago, so I figured
let's run this thing back.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Welcome to the show, Jay, that's your.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Main I mean, Dan, I don't know how much better
you can get an intro as Dad. I mean, that's
pretty big time right there. So thanks for having me,
trist This is awesome, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Absolutely, I'm super super pumped to do it.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
I want throughout the playoffs to have more of these
free flowing conversations. And really, because I was on you guys' show,
it really sort of changed the format of how I
want to do conversations around the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
So thanks for inspiring me. Where do you Where do
you want to start? You want to talk Lakers.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Wolves, Well, let's talk about the Giants, Slayer. I'm down
to do that. Sure, let's that's one do that.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Last week.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Last week you said, what do you think where do
we put in If he slays Katie, he slays yok,
he slays Lebron and Luca and he did it.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Now we got a situation. Now we have ourselves a situation. Now,
don't get me wrong with Tris. You know you can't
keep playing at that level because you got to win
at some point, all right, So you can't keep not
It's like being a boxer. So I'm a heavyweight contender
and you know, I don't know, I'm the fifth contender.
I can't keep dropping the number one contender, the number
(03:04):
two contender, and the number three contender. I got to
win the belt at some point, right, I can't keep
just dropping these guys and then losing to get to
the belt. But with that also being said, it's pretty
impressive what Aunt has been doing, you know, dealing with
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, smoking those guys in round one,
dealing with Joker, dealing with him and dropping him, and
(03:25):
then this year dropping both Luca and James. Now, you know,
we can put some context to it, but I don't
think that there's much that needs to be said. I mean,
this kid is everything. This guy, Anthony Edwards is everything
that the NBA wants and needs. Like when you talk
about the face of the league when they turn on,
when you turn on the TV, and this is what
(03:47):
the NBA is, This is what the NBA represents. And
you see this good looking guy with a great game, charismatic,
the giant Slayer is what I call them. And his
game goes with it. Is his game one hundred percent
goes with it. And he's he's a he's a he's
a positive influence on his guys. You know, he's never
talking down to his guys. Not only is he not
(04:07):
talking down to his guys, he's talking up to them,
which would explain why they raised their level of play
in the playoffs. You saw what Julius Randall did over
these courts of these players.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
He hasn't been there.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
He elevated Julius Randall in a big way.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Absolutely, Trista and and and you need that as a ballplayer.
You need Boudini Brown in your air.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Yo.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
This guy can't cover you. You the baddest you know
what on the court, this guy can't see you. In
order for us to win, you gotta do you gotta
be you, and I'm with you, and I think that
Ant has instilled that in a lot of his guys.
I picked the Minnesota to go to the NBA Finals
before the year started, and they didn't look like it.
So I had to come off of that because they
looked like they weren't gonna make the playoffs. At one point,
(04:46):
I was thinking, man, I might have made a mistake
with this crew and I had picked Oklahoma City instead.
I'm still sticking with Oklahoma City, but this this Minnesota team,
they look like they're gonna be something serious. I am
the biggest Rudy Gobert advocate that you'll meet. I'm a
I love Rudy Gobert and I love everything about him
going into these playoffs is.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I love Rudy Gobert.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
And the reason why I love Rudy go from number
one trist I'm a big I'm a big man merchant.
I love a big guy. I think that the big
guy is some of the best players to ever play.
With that being said, I know how important Rudy is
to the success of his team, and I don't think
people give him nearly enough credit. For what he does
on both sides of the ball. I mean, somebody lying
to me. I don't know who it is. Trist If
if somebody's lying to me, one minute, you tell me that.
(05:30):
You know, Rudy's making fifty percent of his layups. But
then like last like seventeen games of the season, you
know he's scoring in fourteen of those seventeen. Yeah, thirteen
of those seventeen games, he shooting over sixty percent. At
the he's shooting over sixty percent. Now, you and I
both know Rudy does not play on the perimeter. Rudy
doesn't shoot threes. Rudy isn't a one on one player.
(05:50):
What is Rudy? He's a catch and dunk guy. That's
what he is.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
So if he's catching the dunkin guy.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
That's who he is. He's a put back guy. He's
a catching and dunking guy. So if this guy is
shooting sixty how is he shooting fifty percent on layup?
Something's going on. I'm missing something here that somebody lines.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
I think we need to redefine what a layup is.
Then obviously Matt Champs is just the up and under.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yeah, it's it's crazy. To me, and I.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Think the the Rudy Gobert slander really took a hit
that last game, because you can't have a game that
Rudy Gobert had in that magnitude twenty something rebounds, twenty
something points and in a close out game on the road,
in a place where you're wondering, okay, like what is
(06:37):
this guy gonna be?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
And he was played off.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
The floor, and Chris Finch was more than happy to
play Rudy Gobert and put his ass on the bench
in crucial minutes. But what do you think, what do
you think it is about this team that makes them
so dangerous?
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Their toughness more than anything. And when you have a
group that is as tough as they are and they
do the things necessary in order to win. So we
live in a place in the NBA where everybody is
trying to do one thing. Everybody thinks that, Okay, the
long ball is what's prevalent, so we all have to
shoot the long ball. Okay, well, Minnesota's doing that. But
(07:16):
Minnesota does the other things too, which make them such
a good team. They're one of the best defensive teams
in the game. I think they were they were right
outside the top five in defense this season. They're one
of the better rebounding teams in the game. You need
your dirty work guys in order to have a chance
to win. It's it's not just gonna be with Anthony Everitts,
not just gonna be with Julius Randold. It's gonna be
(07:36):
with the multitude of guys, those guys doing the other things.
I've always felt like this, when you got a team,
you got your star. What I equated to trist is
I equated to a singing group. Okay, we got to
write the songs for somebody, but somebody got to be
in the back of the microphone doing this.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Who is Michael Jackson?
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Who is the guy?
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Right? Who's who we write the songs for.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Okay, we writing the songs for this guy, but who's
the one in the back singing background.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Who's the one in the back that's dancing? Okay?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And then when it's time for him to step up
to the microphone and sing, who is that guy? And
I think I think the Minnesota Timballs have a multitude
of guys who do a bunch of different things.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
They got eight nine guys. You got Neil Alexander.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
You got Alexander Walker, who's a great long ball shooter,
who's really good at putting the ball on the floor.
He'll compete on defense, nas reed, one of the best,
if not the best, rotation player in the game, one
of the better bigs who I think Minnesota is gonna
lose this offseason because it's gonna get paid. So I
think they're gonna end up losing him in the offseason.
But as of right now, he's one of the best
rotation players in the game, and he gives you everything
that you're looking for, not just him, but the other lead,
(08:41):
the other players that they have.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
When I think about when I think about.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
McDaniels, I immediately think about, well, just one of just
one of the best wing defenders in the game, and
who's just a quiet assass and I just go out,
I do my job and I don't say much, and
I love everything about him when he does that. So
this Minnesota team, you got seven, eight, nine guys that
are all on the same page. I mean, that's a
recipe for success. And after Houston, after Golden State handles
(09:09):
Houston tonight, they got their hands full with Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
They on their hands.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Way wait, wait, wait, you think it's a wrap. You
think Golden State is going to win.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The night, Tristan, that was a throwaway game last night.
They left in the third quarter, which I love the
fact that Steve Kurr did that. By the way, I
love the fact that Steve Kerr got his guys out
and I love the fact that he went with that
rotation and everybody was screaming at Steve Kerr when they
got back in the game. They had cut it. At
one point, they had cut it to nine. I think
they were down by thirty at one point. They end
(09:38):
up cutting it to nine, and everybody was screaming at
Steve Kerr. I thought that was great that he stuck
with those rotation guys because that's a confidence booster for
the next game. They know that this guy has confidence
in us. He looked at his starters. There's a reason
why he took them out of the game. There's the
reason why he put his rotation guys in. Those guys
played hard. Those guys got on the glass, they got
on the floor for loose balls. They ended up outscoring
(09:59):
I think they outscored Houston starters. They outscored Houston starters
and got back in the game, got it down to nine,
and everybody screaming, yo, get just get your starters back
in the game. Nope, because come tomorrow night when they
play up in the Bay Area, those guys, not only
are his starters gonna be ready, but the confidence that
he has in that rotation, those guys are gonna be
(10:19):
ready even more. And guys like Davis, not just Davis
just they got eight nine guys. Pazimski, who I love,
by the way, which I'm still having an issue with
why Lorie Marketing wasn't traded, but that's another that's a
that's another conversation for another day.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
But I feel like they got eight nine guys.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
With Jimmy Butler now back in the lineup, He's exactly
what they need, right, He's exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
What they need.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Houston's off just isn't good enough overall to beat them
four times in the week. And the most important piece here,
which is the main reason why I picked Golden State,
is that damn Steph Curry trister. That's what it is,
more than anything.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Before we circle back to the Lakers, because we got
so much to say about at them. But are we
where are we at? Because last week when we talked
about it, you are.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
You were team Jalen Green.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Where are we at with one really good Jalen Green
game and a bunch of not so good Jalen Green games.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
I remember who we're dealing with now, Tristan. Now, I
understand what the numbers are. He shoots thirty five percent
in the mid range. I do get that part. I
do get the fact that, you know, he's not very
good in terms of his field goal percentage from the
floor throughout the course of the year. But remember who
we're dealing with. We're dealing with a guy who this
is the first time he's been in the playoffs. This
is some twenty three years old. I've never been in
the playoffs before.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Never been really in a winning situation in general.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
That's exactly where I was going. Remember, Trista. Two years ago,
we were at the bottom of the Western Conference. We
were it was animal house where we were. We were
swinging from.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Stephen Silas was trying to call plays from the iPad.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
He had no idea what he was doing. Zero, He
had no idea what he was doing. We had no idea.
They were They were the worst fourth quarter team in
the league. They had given up the most fourth quarter
leads in the NBA A two seasons ago. It was
a reason while they were at the bottom of the West,
he may Udoka walks in the door and he makes
it clear, you sit down, you sit down, you sit down,
and you sit down. This is what you're gonna do.
If you're not gonna do this, then you're not gonna
be here. And they bought into what he was doing.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Right.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Jalen Green is still trying to figure it out. But
we live in a society where everything is right now,
and it's gonna take some time to get this kid
to where I think he can be. And I think
he can be an All Pro. I think he can
be that good. I don't think he can be I
don't I don't think. I don't think he can be
just an all Star. I think he's good enough to
be an All Pro. But it's just gonna take some time.
(12:34):
But I don't think that. I don't I don't think
that society's gonna allow it. I think that the impatience
of society is gonna get Hi ran out of there.
Even though Houston one hundred percent is on track to
building something special. Considering what the CBA is. I think
they're on track to building something special. So I like
what I'm seeing from from from this kid Jalen Green,
considering this is his first time in the playoffs. He's
(12:56):
gonna have his bumps, he's gonna have his bruises. It happens,
But I really hope that they stick with him.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
I do.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Fred van Fleet said some good things about him too,
But onto the Lakers, because we saw we've seen a
lot of like very odd coaching decisions so far in
this playoffs. Obviously, David Adalman, the Denver Nuggets interim head coach.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I don't think he'll stay around.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
But he had to play his starter's forty something minutes
and against the Clippers, and they ended up winning that
game on a crazy sort of put back sort of
off of an airball dunked by Aaron Gordon. But nobody
talked about David Adelman because they won that game. And
then JJ Reddick played all of his starters the entire
second half they lose to the Wolves, and then here's
(13:43):
where it's sort of interesting is then he decides again
in the closeout game to put in Maxi Klaba, who
hadn't practiced at all and then puts him in with
four minutes left to go in the fourth quarter, when
I think it was like a three or four point game,
and then they're asking him questions after that JJ, and
(14:04):
he's getting mad at them like they're the ones that
are under scrutiny and walks off to the press conference.
Do you think it was JJ's inexperience that cost the
Lakers the series or do you think they were just
outmatched in general?
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I think it's a combination of both. I think that
they were overmatched. I think that the Minnesota Timblewells front
line dominated them. In fact, when I talked about this
series before it started, I thought that both Julius Randall
nasried and not both. So with Julius Randall nasried and
Rudy Gobert, I thought that they would be the difference
in this game. Trist to remember the lineup that they
had on the floor. We got Austin Reeves and Luca
(14:41):
in the back court. In the front court, we got Dfs,
we got Ruey, and we got James at the five.
That's your rem protector, that's your.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Rebound insane, insane five.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
That's not gonna work and He's stuck with that five,
by the way, for the entire second half. So it's
no wonder that Rudy Gobad went for twenty four rebounds
in twenty eight points.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Right.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
So with that being said, this group, I think that
they were overmatched in terms of their front court. I
was so locked in with James that I thought that
if this thing went six to seven, I wasn't betting
against James. I couldn't do it considering what he had
done in the past. I mean, we're talking about a
guy who hadn't lost the game seven since two thousand
(15:22):
and eight, seventeen years.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
So I'm thinking Minnesota. If Minnesota is going to get rid.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Of these guys, they have to do it quick, because
the longer the series lasts, the more I don't like
them just off experience alone from James. So with that
being said, I do think it was a combination of
the two. Remember Tristan, when I saw when I saw
Max Kleeber come into the game, I was number one
(15:47):
thought he was on the roster. I forgot he was
on the roster when I saw him coming.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
The game, I think MAXI Klaybluff forgot he was on
the roster. As well.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
How bad is Jackson Hayes must he be if he
can't get any burn.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
It's incredible how quickly we flipped because because this is
the same Jackson Hayes who Luca was, Luca made him
look like he could potentially be one hundred million dollar
man just catching lobs, kind of like what was going
on with Clinton Compella and James Harden. I'm like, wait
a minute, this might work because we clearly can't go
to him for buckets. Okay, all we need you to
do is rebound, dive to the rim, run the floor.
(16:22):
On offense, dive to the rim, run, run the floor,
and on defense.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
Rebound and just try to do that. Why didn't they
just try to do that?
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Well, the reason why they tried, the reason why they
couldn't do it was because he was clearly overmatched, and
because he was clearly overmatched, he couldn't stay on the
floor right he was. He wasn't the presence in the
paint that they thought. When you go up against a team,
for example, like the Minnesota tim Wolves, who as big
as they are on their front line, they're gonna mismatch
hunt too, and going after guys like Jackson Hayes. You
(16:53):
got Rudy, you got Julius Randall going after him, you
got nas Red dragging him away from the basket. And
just like you just meant about playing Rudy off the floor,
Jackson Hayes now gets played off the floor where he
can no longer play. Like I remember talking to some
people about like the difference between like when I grew
up and the game back then, Like you can't be
(17:14):
relegated to just be in one thing today. You have
to be able to score. You have to and if
you can't score, if you can't score, you will get
played off the floor unless you do something elite like,
for example, what Rudy does, rimpitects, rebounds, runs the floor,
it's really good around the basket. You have to be
able to do that, and if you're not able to
do that, you're gonna get played off the floor.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
And I think that's what happened with Jackson Hayes.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Before we move over this Knix Piston series, because it's
just a delight. I'm sorry to I'm sorry to have
to put salt in the wounds, but mann does it
feel like the Knicks are somewhat just giving opportunities the
Detroit left and right.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
But I saw this today and I wanted to get.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Your thoughts on it, just from like a historical perspective
and just like a roster building perspective. Is the Zachlow,
who I really respect, said that he doesn't see any
permutation with the calf space that the Lakers have where
they can build a championship winning team with Luca and Lebron.
What you think that's valid or do you think there's
(18:17):
other ways that you could build up like guys on
the fringes, kind of like what you've seen Detroit do
and Houston.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Well, that would be that I think that that would
be the case if you had the necessary capital to
do it. So if the Lakers had pieces to trade
that would entice people, Like let's just say, for example,
you know, you picked up the telephone and you called
up the Celtics and you check their temperature on Porzingis
and you said, I got Ruie and I got DFS
(18:47):
and I got them for a little bit of money.
You're trying to get rid of Porzingis's contract. How you
feel about them these days? That's something that could possibly
work maybe, But the problem is that the Lakers, for
what they have right now. Unfortunately they can't. And on
top of that, Trista, this second apron in this new
(19:07):
CBA rex teams. It doesn't hurt teams, it wrecks them.
So for those of you guys who don't know so
in the second, when we get to the second apron,
number one, I can't sign any mid level exception guys.
Having mid level exception guys are huge when you're trying
to win a championship. Having those middle guys, I can't
bag anybody in the buyout market. That's how the Miami
Heat were able to get Kevin Love. They bagged him
(19:29):
in the buyout market. Well, I can't do that. On
top of that, which is the most important thing, Trista,
when I'm over the salary cap today as opposed to
what it was before, not two. So for every dollar
that I'm over, I owe three dollars. For every dollar
I'm over the salary cap, that's gonna cripple us. We
can't sustain that, which is why you see teams like
(19:50):
the Detroit Pistons, like Houston teams that are building through
the draft.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Me.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
I mean, Detroit's got six guys, it's on Rookdale's of
free agent deals, six of them. So I mean, there's
really not much else to say about that except I
think that they're doing it the right way, and I
think that this is the future. Because if we being honest, Trista,
when you saw that Detroit team last year and I
told you that they're bringing in Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley,
(20:18):
Tim Hardaway Junior and Paul Reid, did you care because
I know I didn't know.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I said, what's this about to do? What's this about
to do? It turns out it did a lot. That's
what's so crazy, do you think?
Speaker 4 (20:31):
And the thing is crazy to me too, is if
you look at the ratings, the ratings are higher than
they have been in twenty five years, Jay, and that
I think is due to the competitive parody because even
when these games were, even when the series was for
zero ok SE, outside of those first two blowouts, we
(20:52):
had really tight, contested, down to the wire games pretty
much all the way through the playoffs, we've had highly competitivemes.
You can't build these super teams in the same way
where you just maul through the rest of the league
and everyone tunes out.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
You agree, absolutely absolutely, and not only that to your point,
somebody lining to me, somebody is definitely lying to metristal
because on the one hand, like you just said, ratings
have been the highest in almost two and a half decades,
but then you tell me that ratings are down. So
how all of a sudden are people now watching but
they weren't watching like three months ago. There's no way
(21:27):
that people don't care about the regular season that much,
and then all of a sudden, here they all come.
So somebody lining in me, we got to get that right.
Number one. Number two, It so much helps that you
have the Lakers, the Knicks, the Celtics. The NBA needs
for those teams to be good because if they're not,
(21:47):
then there's not that interest. So for example, this series
with the Pistons, this series would actually be a good
series if it was Milwaukee, but it means even more
if it's the Knicks because of that media market, because
of that draw there, it just means a lot more.
In addition to that, these are two damn good teams,
two damn good teams, And I think that the fact
(22:08):
that we have that kind of parody because we have
those media markets in the game and in the playoffs,
it helped so much.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Where are you at with Tibbs right now?
Speaker 4 (22:19):
Because I feel like if they don't beat the Pistons
in the series, maybe they're the next team to have
a coaching switch up considering some of the ways that
Tibbs has been coaching right Like, I know, he probably
shouldn't have used the timeout, the second timeout to get
Brunson and Heart back in the game, But you lost
two minutes. You lost two minutes with your two best
(22:41):
players in crunch time off the floor, and that's the reason.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
That you lost.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah, don't I won't argue that point. That was definitely
a coaching blunder from him. And I mean, Jalen Brunson
is already banged up as it is, and we already
know what.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
TIBs coaching philosophy is.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Like you just made to me trist about uh jj
Reddick playing his team the entire second half. We completely
forget just a year ago the Knicks are playing the
seventy six is Game six. Just so we clear, Jalen
Brunston sits downs for two minutes and fifteen seconds in
the second half. Hartenstein sits downs for three minutes. These
(23:19):
are his starters.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
The rest of those guys played the whole second half
just just just so we clear. But they ended up winning.
So it didn't matter, right, nobody really nobody it did.
It didn't really matter. But the same thing to your
point about about Denver. But I think that we live
in a time where Tis will Tips, will play his guys.
(23:42):
The difference with that, though, Trister is Tims Least is short,
like he's gonna put in campaign. He's gonna give he's
gonna give me, he's gonna give Miles McBride some run,
he's gonna give Shammerck some run. He's gonna put pressures
that you are in. I know what, You better do
something while you on the floor because that hook is
gonna be quicker than showtime at the Apollo Sandman.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
The Samman is coming, The Sandman is coming.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Trist and yo ass is getting a hook and you're
getting off the stage and you're not getting back in.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
So he will play his guys. He'll do that.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
So I think that this, this, this could be even
though I don't think de Troit's I don't think Troit's
beating the Knicks in Game seven. I do think that
they're winning tonight, But I don't think that they're winning
Game seven, and I don't think that they're winning Game
seven off the stremp that offensively. As good as Kate
Cunningham is, I love the fact that he's introduced us
to him because I think his game is built for
(24:32):
the playoffs. I think that this Nick team, and I
think that atmosphere in New York, I think that's going
to be too much for the Detroit Pistons.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Did you I.
Speaker 4 (24:41):
Don't know if you noticed this, but Kate Cunningham gets
blocked a lot.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
He gets his ship swatted.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
I looked at this and I think that's the one
big knock I have on cade. And do you find
that it's surprising that he is the second most blocked
player in the league.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Now, remember remember where it is to Trista, because he's
also one of the best transition guards in the league.
So those block shots, those block shots are at the rim,
like in the half court, where his game is a
little bit slower. When he gets the ball off the
glass and he's getting downhill and he's getting to the rim,
he's finishing with the best of them, right with the
weekend with the strong hand, he's doing that. But when
(25:23):
we get in the half court and now he's breaking
the guy down. It's not as fast, it's not as
it's kind of methodical. It's kind of slower, and he's
not really hopping over guys. I think his athleticism is
at its best when he's in the open floor. It's
not like that when he's in the half court. So
I'm not surprised. No, I'm not surprised at all. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:43):
I noticed, actually to your point, that the offense was
running better in the first half when Cade was on
the bench and Tobias Harris was running it, just because
it had.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
More pop to it.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
You're getting the ball to Dennis Shooter, You're getting the
ball down the League Beasley, You're getting the ball to
Tim Harday, Tobias is figuring out a way to break
down Karl Anthony Towns, or maybe you see a Auser
Thompson backcut in du a lob. What I feel like
Cade sometimes wants to do is that dribble handoff, dribble handoff, give.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
It back to you, You give it right back to me.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
We know I'm going into the paint, and all of
a sudden, you got somebody like Ojan Andobi snuffing his shit.
That was what I found to be super problematic with
the offense of the Pistons, which they're going to have
to figure that out.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Well.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
One of the main reasons why that is is because
of what you just said. You found Ognnobi who probably
wasn't on him, or you find Michale Bridges, and the
reason why is because those guys are guys who are
helping off from Don't get me wrong, Malik Beasley one
of the best long ball shooters in the game, right,
Tim Hardaway Junr. One of the best long ball shooters
in the game. But when you're relying on those guys
to just shoot the long ball, you don't have another
(26:51):
go get it guy. You don't have another guy who
can just put the ball on the floor and go
get it. So because you don't, yes, it's I'm more
likely to be able to drag into the paint in
block shots from time to time. No, I don't want
to leave Melite Beasley open on the regular. No, I
don't want to do that. No, but I am able
to get decide and help off of help off of
Tim Hardaway Jr. Or Maliite Beazy, who I think it
(27:11):
was games. I want to say Game three where he
went one for eight. When he's shooting like that, then
now I'm more likely to be able to help when
he switched on the Brunson or when he switched on
to og Anobi when he's getting in the lane. So
I think it's a combination of those things. But I
still feel like Tristan his game is predicated for the playoffs,
and I love the fact that he's introducing us to that.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
Yeah, I love him too. What did you think about
the end of the Pacers Buck series and how that
all went down? It felt like Giannis was at peak
frustration and Tyre's Halliburton really found a way to say, listen,
I'm maybe not as overrated as you guys think I am.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Yes, that's a fact. Well, to be honest, Trista, and
I've said this already. I love Nip and Tuck games.
I do. I think that they're awesome. That back and
forth action is great. Tristan, I can't handle watching teams
go to pieces, man, I can't handle it. I can't
handle watching teams. Some people are amazed by Gary j.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
The Gary Trent Junior melt was the seven points eight
points you gave up in like forty seconds.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
I mean I was cringing, Jy cringing.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Tristan, I like I said, I love the what do
you got? Okay, what do you have? Now?
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Okay, stop them here. I love that kind of action.
But to watch a team just melt right in front
of you, I get horrified by that stuff, Tristan. Like
a lot of people talk about the forty seconds, just
so you clear it was. They had the ball, They're
up three possessions with thirty four and a half seconds.
They need Indiana to score, get the ball back, score,
(28:52):
get the ball back and score again. That's what they need.
All you need to do in this particular situation. And
I hate to simplify things, but this is that particular situation.
Make make free throws, don't give up threees, and don't foul,
and let's get our asses and let's get out of
it and take honestly.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
Just foul up eight, though they can foul up seven.
Foul up seven.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Yeah, they got to do that too, because now they
have to do that. They're not getting the ball back.
Just foul.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Now. Of course, there's gonna be some people who are
gonna who are gonna blame this on Doc. You know
this is Doc rivers fall. Okay, first of all, when
Gary Trent turned the ball over Tristan the first time,
when he turned the ball over, just so we clear
ladies and gentlemen, he just they just came out of
the huddle, which means we just went over this. This
isn't something that we're scrambling and going, oh ship, what
do we do? No, we literally just got out of
(29:43):
the huddle, literally just got out of the hole. He
turns the ball over. Okay, no problem, no big deal.
We don't want to turn the ball over. But we
turn the ball over. That's first problem. Then they come
down Tyre's Halliburton goes right down the gut and what
does aj Green do? Foul them, which we don't want
to do. We don't want to foul him. And on
top of we don't get to the free throw line.
A recipe for disaster. What are we doing in I can't?
(30:04):
I can't, Trista.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
I tried to honest, is Yiannis done in Milwaukee?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
He's got to ask out, Tristan. I'm not trading him.
He's got to ask out. I'm not moving off of him. Nope,
he's the he's my money maker, he's the guy on
the Moniker. So unless he asks out, I'm not moving him.
Speaker 4 (30:22):
No, you would rather have a team that you know
is not gonna do anything of any significance. And you
owe Kyle Ku'sma twenty something million, you owe Brook twenty something,
thirty something million, you owe Dame fifty something million. He's
not gonna play for another year and change. You've got
just a bunch of random collection of guys like AJ Green,
(30:44):
Oshee to AJ Green. You would rather that team with
no picks till twenty thirty one, just to make the
money off of Jannis. That's what you That's what you're saying.
If you're the owner of the Bucks, that's that's your
only move.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Okay, remember where we are now, Tristan. We're not in Miami,
in Los Angeles. And what do I have Because again,
if I if I move off for Gianni's, I gotta
start this whole thing over again. I just I got
Yianni's twelve years ago. What's the likelihood that I'm gonna
get Giannis again? I can tell you what the likelihood is,
I can get him in another twenty five years from now.
Because that's what kind of player. He's a generational talent.
(31:19):
He's not a good player, he's not a great player.
He's a generational talent, which nobody cared about because he
was the sixteenth pick in the first round, right, nobody
really cared about. So I'm trying to hold on Gianni's
for as long as I possibly can and see what
I can do with those other guys, because, as you know, Trista,
a lot of people won't A lot of people.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Won't acknowledge this.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
You know, bad trades have never happened, like I can't
get I can't put Kyle Kuzma because I'm reaching here,
because I'm trying to I'm trying to come up with
ways I can't get Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis. I
can't put those guys in a package and see if
I can get a first round pick for them because
no team has ever done that before.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
They've never give the they've never given away picks before. Yes,
they have.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
So I'm reaching here, I am because it looks really
bleak in Milwaukee.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
It does.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
So to answer your question, yes, I'm holding on the
Giannis for as long as I can.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
You think you think Dame, Dame's getting up out of there,
or you just wait, you just say, all right, we'll
see you in eight twelve months.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
We's in fourteen to sixteen months.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
He has no value, Trista, Like, what am my? First
of all, he'll be thirty five in July. He's got
a torn achilles. I don't know what he's gonna look
like when he comes back. Can he even forget him
getting back to the level that he was at when
he got hurt?
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Can he even play? Like?
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Am I looking at another John Wall situation where he
can't even play anymore? Am I looking at that? And
on top of that, he's got two more years left
on his deal at fifty seven million and sixty two million? Tristan,
Who's this is peak?
Speaker 3 (32:49):
This is peak depression for Dame. Because Dame didn't want
to even be there.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
Jay I was just talking about sending him to Houston
last week with y'all, that would have been the best
case scenario for game. Go to a real contender with
no state tax, go to Miami. Now you can't even
move that man. He's just got to sit there.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Eating cheese kurds.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Hoping to restore some semblance of chemistry with Giannis that
they do not have. Do you think, I guess we'll
move forward onto this Pacers Cassie.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
How do you see that playing out? Because there's a
lot of people who think that the Pacers are just
going to get stomped.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
I'm one of those people. I think that they beat
them in five games. I think that everything you guys do,
we do it. Not only do we do it, we
do it better than you guys do it on both
sides of the ball. You're a great offense, You're a
great transition team. We're a great overall defensive team, including transition,
one of the best transition defenses in the game. You're
a good rebounding team. Well, we're an elite rebounding team.
We got one of the best rebounders in the game
(33:47):
in Jared Allen. We got one of the best rebounders
in the game. And Evan Moby, who I think is
the best defensive player in the game. And it wasn't
just because he won Defensive Player of the Year. I
think he's the best defensive player in the game. I
think he's the most switchable big on. On top of that,
you got the best two guard in the game. Who's
one of the best playmakers. You got the best pick
and dive defense. You got the best picking pop defense,
best picking pop offense, best picking dive offense. In the game,
(34:11):
you have Indiana struggles in the half court. Your half
court offense isn't very good. You run a few sets,
but your half court offense isn't very good. So now
you want to couple that with a great defense going
up against you guys, and on top of that they
have a great offense and your defense. It is good
because I love them Hart, I love them Hart, and
I love this kid and I love this Kidney Smith.
If Nemhart, I think if he played enough games, I
(34:32):
think we'd be looking at him as an All League defender.
But I think that just like with the just like
Minnesota and the Lakers, I think Indiana can take advantage
of their front line. And I think Darius Garland. In
terms of getting the best of Tyre's Halliburton, I'm not
gonna go that far, but I do think that he
can match a lot of what he does. I think
that I could get eighteen and nine from him. I
think I can get twenty and eight from him on
(34:53):
top of what I get from on top of what
I get from on top of what I get from
all the rest of the those guys.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
So with that being said, I also.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Have eight guys, nine guys in my rotation something maybe
even ten. Your bench doesn't go nearly that deep with
that quality of player that you have. You don't have
tiede your room on your bench, or hunter on your bench,
or a choral on your bench, or or or why
am I joining a blank on not Max Strews because
Max Strus is a starter, but the long balls shooter
in Merrill, right in Samuel or right Samuel or Dean
(35:26):
Wade like guys like they got ten guys. I feel
like everything that Indiana has, Cleveland has it plus more,
and they're gonna do everything kind of like what Orlando
did with the Celtics. They're gonna do what they can
to junk the game up a little bit, to try
to throw them off. And then when when when Indiana
realizes that they can't do that with Cleveland. I think
this series is a wrap. I think Cleveland beats them
(35:47):
in five games.
Speaker 4 (35:49):
I think Indiana is deeper than you make a sound,
but they're they're not as deep as Cleveland. But The
thing about about Cleveland's bench is it like I never
know what I'm getting from a Coral. I never know
what I'm getting from DeAndre Hunter. I feel like I
could get more at of Obi Toppin.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Do you mean from a bucket standpoint? Do you mean
from a bucket standpoint?
Speaker 4 (36:12):
Okay, Okay, Yeah, that's what I mean. I mean, I
know that you're gonna get defense from a Coro and Hunter.
They're really good perimeter defenders, but like TJ McConnell is
like a little bit of a microwave you're gonna get
Sometimes you get twelve sixteen points out of Obi Toppin.
Sometimes you end up getting, you know, twenty points out
of Andrew Numhard Ben Matherin. So I think the entire series,
(36:34):
for as long as it goes, I think it's gonna
be super back and forth because they both want to
play really.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Fast, right.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
So Ben Matherin is one of my favorite rotation players
in the game who I really like, no doubt about that.
And I think TJ McConnell one of the reasons why
I'm not really bothered with a Coro as a bucket getter,
because I got plenty other bucket getters and long ball shooters.
Even though Acral has stretched the defense this season, I
think he is one of the better defenders, and I
think that's what you're gonna need Topping is one of
(37:00):
those guys who, to your point, you can probably get sixteen,
You could probably get eighteen to twenty out of him
in the game. You know what else, you can give
him trista zero like you can completely take them out
of games. You can get him taken right out of
games because on defense he is completely utterly inefficient, Like
we can go I've seen teams hunt him and go
after him. So that's a huge problem with him. And
so the fact that he's only a bucket getter from
(37:23):
that aspect, and then I can't really rely on him
on defense. I think we can take him out of
the series.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
You know who got taken out of the series. But
we finally got the vintage playoff James Harden game.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
I knew it was coming.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
I had asked, I had asked the guys. I said, listen,
because we were talking about the Clippers. I said, guys,
I know that I might be out of line here,
and I know you don't want to hear this, but
you guys know what's coming. I don't know when, but
you guys know that it's coming here. I don't know
when it's coming, and I'll be damn, I'll be damn.
Speaker 4 (37:55):
This is crazy because it feels like the Clippers should
have already won this fucking series.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
How has it happened?
Speaker 2 (38:03):
Can't we say the same thing about Denver, Like Denver
could have bounced them in five like this, he could
have been like it. It's both sides of this coin.
The Clippers could have very well swept these dudes. They
could have won Game four right the game. You could
have won Game one, they won Game two. They had
them on the ropes in game they were up twenty
and they ended up coming back on the thirty to
nine run, which also drove me nuts.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
To watch that.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
I was I bet you hated that.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
I'm watching this and all Denver did, all the Clippers did,
was going to a zone and I'm thinking, Okay, Denver,
you never played against his zone before? Is that what
I'm understanding. You've never been you've never seen the tooth,
you've never seen the two three zone before. Is that
what's going on? And by losing my mind, Oh my goodness,
it was it was it was it was driving Malone.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
Michael Malone would have been able to handle this.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
I think he would have. I think he would have.
Speaker 3 (38:51):
He would have been screaming.
Speaker 4 (38:52):
And Kawhi is now recently kind of regressed a little
bit after games won two and maybe three, four and
five have been not pedestrian but not great.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
Twenty two, ten and six, which is good, but we.
Speaker 4 (39:07):
Kind of need more from Kawhi, and we definitely need
Zubox and Harden to play at elite levels, even though
I feel personally this is just a better a better team,
a team that I think could make life more hell
for okay see than say the Nuggets can. Despite the
fact that somehow Jamal Murray has just finally become bubble
(39:30):
Jamal Murray.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
Again, that's the curse of Kawhi Leonard, because he's been
so good and strength in the time that he was healthy,
So when you see it again for a short period
of time, it's kind of like we expect it.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
He's back.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Yes, he's back, only except he's leveled out, Like this
is actually who Leonard is at them, Like we keep
forgetting he's thirty four years old, right, so he'll be
thirty four years old in July, so well, I think
late June, so like, this is kind of who he is,
Like he's a twenty twenty two game guy in the playoffs,
but we see flashes of him, so we expect, you know,
(40:05):
remember that dude in twenty nineteen in the playoffs, how
good he was, Right, remember the guy in twenty six
Remember that guy, how good he was?
Speaker 1 (40:14):
And we so want him back.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Why do you think that we still, Trista, Why do
you think we still keep talking about the nineties Because
we missed Jordan so much and we missed.
Speaker 4 (40:21):
It and we listen to two thousands R and B
Jermaine because that's when it was the best.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
Right, We missed those guys so much, and we won
him back. So when you see a guy like Kawhi
Leonard and you see flashes of what he used to be,
it's like he's back, when in reality, I just want
to enjoy him being here. Trist This is the first
time that I've seen him in the playoffs in almost
five years. This is the first time that I've seen
him in the playoffs in almost five years. Right, I
(40:46):
knew that I was going to get that James Harden game.
The thing that I wanted more than anything was I
just wanted to see Kawhi Leonard upright. Whatever he gave me,
that's something completely different. I just wanted to see him
on the floor.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
That was it.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
Whenever I got I got it. I just wanted to
see him get through the playoffs. And it looks like
I'm gonna get that.
Speaker 3 (41:06):
Well probably unless this thing goes seven. You never know what.
Speaker 4 (41:09):
Kawhi could always come to a screeching halt. My battery
is coming to a screeching halt. Jermaine, and I got
you fifteen minutes longer than you said you had so
because we got we gotta get up out of here.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
We gotta do this again soon. I'll come on to
your spot as well.
Speaker 4 (41:31):
Check him out on TikTok c h L tw N
thirty two. He said no vowels, He's not doing the
vowel thing. On TikTok, no eyes, no O's so Chill
Town thirty two, No vowels, and on YouTube find him
listen to him. He also does some stuff with playback.
I mean, he's just in a million different spots. Thank
(41:52):
you so much, brother for coming on.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
They always I don't got a lot of time for
a lot of people, Trista, but I definitely got time
for you.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
Thank you very likewise likewise dot so fucking fun.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
No doubt, Absolutely that was great.
Speaker 3 (42:05):
Go Nicks. That's all the time that we have for
this episode of the Heat Check.
Speaker 4 (42:11):
Come back on Tuesday for all only episode and check
out the feats for Pat's episodes. Do not forget to
follow the Heat Check all playoffs long. That means download, subscribe,
and tell your friends, even the ones you haven't talked
to in years. Follow us on TikTok and at this
heat Check actress to Creek on Twitter, Instagram and threads.
And also big shout out to Jermaine for coming on
(42:31):
the pod, and big shout out for Wyatt being at
a late night stretch recording editing.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
That's my guy. See y'all next time.
You're listening to the Hottest the Hottest. It'd be a
podcast out here. I said what I said.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
It's the Heat Check.
Speaker 3 (00:12):
It's just a cut, Okay.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
I don't usually do the intro with the guests on
the line, but a little glazing is in order for Jermaine.
When I started Heat Check back in the day, actually
it was this league I was working at another place
and they frankly didn't like basketball that much. So I
had to build a TikTok following and it was a godsend.
(00:37):
And at that point, the person who stood out to
me was this guy Chill Town Hoops, and he was
so positive. You could tell he had an encyclopedic knowledge
of the game, and anybody could ask him anything about
old hoops, new hoops, comparative hoops, and he'd be like,
(00:57):
that's a great question. Let me tell you and then
let me break down why you're wrong about this, but
in the most positive, informational way and from a place
of true love with a super deep.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Understanding of the game. He's blown the fuck up. I
knew he was gonna blow up.
Speaker 4 (01:14):
He had like five thousand followers when I first started
watching him, and he didn't Gatekeep. He's not condescending. And
now he's on TNT. He's got a big youtuboe following.
He's got multiple shows that he's on. Former Hooper apparently
had kind of some hops thirteen Juco All American, he
(01:35):
was bouncing. So anyway, he's got about nine hundred thousand
followers today. He's also teamed up with my guy Now
You're More Fluent for the Fluent and Chill podcast. I
was just on it a week ago, so I figured
let's run this thing back.
Speaker 3 (01:48):
Welcome to the show, Jay, that's your.
Speaker 2 (01:50):
Main I mean, Dan, I don't know how much better
you can get an intro as Dad. I mean, that's
pretty big time right there. So thanks for having me,
trist This is awesome, no doubt.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
Absolutely, I'm super super pumped to do it.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
I want throughout the playoffs to have more of these
free flowing conversations. And really, because I was on you guys' show,
it really sort of changed the format of how I
want to do conversations around the playoffs.
Speaker 3 (02:15):
So thanks for inspiring me. Where do you Where do
you want to start? You want to talk Lakers.
Speaker 2 (02:20):
Wolves, Well, let's talk about the Giants, Slayer. I'm down
to do that. Sure, let's that's one do that.
Speaker 3 (02:27):
Last week.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Last week you said, what do you think where do
we put in If he slays Katie, he slays yok,
he slays Lebron and Luca and he did it.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Now we got a situation. Now we have ourselves a situation. Now,
don't get me wrong with Tris. You know you can't
keep playing at that level because you got to win
at some point, all right, So you can't keep not
It's like being a boxer. So I'm a heavyweight contender
and you know, I don't know, I'm the fifth contender.
I can't keep dropping the number one contender, the number
(03:04):
two contender, and the number three contender. I got to
win the belt at some point, right, I can't keep
just dropping these guys and then losing to get to
the belt. But with that also being said, it's pretty
impressive what Aunt has been doing, you know, dealing with
Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, smoking those guys in round one,
dealing with Joker, dealing with him and dropping him, and
(03:25):
then this year dropping both Luca and James. Now, you know,
we can put some context to it, but I don't
think that there's much that needs to be said. I mean,
this kid is everything. This guy, Anthony Edwards is everything
that the NBA wants and needs. Like when you talk
about the face of the league when they turn on,
when you turn on the TV, and this is what
(03:47):
the NBA is, This is what the NBA represents. And
you see this good looking guy with a great game, charismatic,
the giant Slayer is what I call them. And his
game goes with it. Is his game one hundred percent
goes with it. And he's he's a he's a he's
a positive influence on his guys. You know, he's never
talking down to his guys. Not only is he not
(04:07):
talking down to his guys, he's talking up to them,
which would explain why they raised their level of play
in the playoffs. You saw what Julius Randall did over
these courts of these players.
Speaker 1 (04:15):
He hasn't been there.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
He elevated Julius Randall in a big way.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
Absolutely, Trista and and and you need that as a ballplayer.
You need Boudini Brown in your air.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
Yo.
Speaker 2 (04:25):
This guy can't cover you. You the baddest you know
what on the court, this guy can't see you. In
order for us to win, you gotta do you gotta
be you, and I'm with you, and I think that
Ant has instilled that in a lot of his guys.
I picked the Minnesota to go to the NBA Finals
before the year started, and they didn't look like it.
So I had to come off of that because they
looked like they weren't gonna make the playoffs. At one point,
(04:46):
I was thinking, man, I might have made a mistake
with this crew and I had picked Oklahoma City instead.
I'm still sticking with Oklahoma City, but this this Minnesota team,
they look like they're gonna be something serious. I am
the biggest Rudy Gobert advocate that you'll meet. I'm a
I love Rudy Gobert and I love everything about him
going into these playoffs is.
Speaker 1 (05:07):
I love Rudy Gobert.
Speaker 2 (05:08):
And the reason why I love Rudy go from number
one trist I'm a big I'm a big man merchant.
I love a big guy. I think that the big
guy is some of the best players to ever play.
With that being said, I know how important Rudy is
to the success of his team, and I don't think
people give him nearly enough credit. For what he does
on both sides of the ball. I mean, somebody lying
to me. I don't know who it is. Trist If
if somebody's lying to me, one minute, you tell me that.
(05:30):
You know, Rudy's making fifty percent of his layups. But
then like last like seventeen games of the season, you
know he's scoring in fourteen of those seventeen. Yeah, thirteen
of those seventeen games, he shooting over sixty percent. At
the he's shooting over sixty percent. Now, you and I
both know Rudy does not play on the perimeter. Rudy
doesn't shoot threes. Rudy isn't a one on one player.
(05:50):
What is Rudy? He's a catch and dunk guy. That's
what he is.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
So if he's catching the dunkin guy.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
That's who he is. He's a put back guy. He's
a catching and dunking guy. So if this guy is
shooting sixty how is he shooting fifty percent on layup?
Something's going on. I'm missing something here that somebody lines.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
I think we need to redefine what a layup is.
Then obviously Matt Champs is just the up and under.
Speaker 3 (06:12):
Yeah, it's it's crazy. To me, and I.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Think the the Rudy Gobert slander really took a hit
that last game, because you can't have a game that
Rudy Gobert had in that magnitude twenty something rebounds, twenty
something points and in a close out game on the road,
in a place where you're wondering, okay, like what is
(06:37):
this guy gonna be?
Speaker 3 (06:38):
And he was played off.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
The floor, and Chris Finch was more than happy to
play Rudy Gobert and put his ass on the bench
in crucial minutes. But what do you think, what do
you think it is about this team that makes them
so dangerous?
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Their toughness more than anything. And when you have a
group that is as tough as they are and they
do the things necessary in order to win. So we
live in a place in the NBA where everybody is
trying to do one thing. Everybody thinks that, Okay, the
long ball is what's prevalent, so we all have to
shoot the long ball. Okay, well, Minnesota's doing that. But
(07:16):
Minnesota does the other things too, which make them such
a good team. They're one of the best defensive teams
in the game. I think they were they were right
outside the top five in defense this season. They're one
of the better rebounding teams in the game. You need
your dirty work guys in order to have a chance
to win. It's it's not just gonna be with Anthony Everitts,
not just gonna be with Julius Randold. It's gonna be
(07:36):
with the multitude of guys, those guys doing the other things.
I've always felt like this, when you got a team,
you got your star. What I equated to trist is
I equated to a singing group. Okay, we got to
write the songs for somebody, but somebody got to be
in the back of the microphone doing this.
Speaker 3 (07:52):
Who is Michael Jackson?
Speaker 1 (07:54):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (07:54):
Who is the guy?
Speaker 1 (07:56):
Right? Who's who we write the songs for.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
Okay, we writing the songs for this guy, but who's
the one in the back singing background.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
Who's the one in the back that's dancing? Okay?
Speaker 2 (08:04):
And then when it's time for him to step up
to the microphone and sing, who is that guy? And
I think I think the Minnesota Timballs have a multitude
of guys who do a bunch of different things.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
They got eight nine guys. You got Neil Alexander.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
You got Alexander Walker, who's a great long ball shooter,
who's really good at putting the ball on the floor.
He'll compete on defense, nas reed, one of the best,
if not the best, rotation player in the game, one
of the better bigs who I think Minnesota is gonna
lose this offseason because it's gonna get paid. So I
think they're gonna end up losing him in the offseason.
But as of right now, he's one of the best
rotation players in the game, and he gives you everything
that you're looking for, not just him, but the other lead,
(08:41):
the other players that they have.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
When I think about when I think about.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
McDaniels, I immediately think about, well, just one of just
one of the best wing defenders in the game, and
who's just a quiet assass and I just go out,
I do my job and I don't say much, and
I love everything about him when he does that. So
this Minnesota team, you got seven, eight, nine guys that
are all on the same page. I mean, that's a
recipe for success. And after Houston, after Golden State handles
(09:09):
Houston tonight, they got their hands full with Minnesota.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
They on their hands.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
Way wait, wait, wait, you think it's a wrap. You
think Golden State is going to win.
Speaker 2 (09:17):
The night, Tristan, that was a throwaway game last night.
They left in the third quarter, which I love the
fact that Steve Kurr did that. By the way, I
love the fact that Steve Kerr got his guys out
and I love the fact that he went with that
rotation and everybody was screaming at Steve Kerr when they
got back in the game. They had cut it. At
one point, they had cut it to nine. I think
they were down by thirty at one point. They end
(09:38):
up cutting it to nine, and everybody was screaming at
Steve Kerr. I thought that was great that he stuck
with those rotation guys because that's a confidence booster for
the next game. They know that this guy has confidence
in us. He looked at his starters. There's a reason
why he took them out of the game. There's the
reason why he put his rotation guys in. Those guys
played hard. Those guys got on the glass, they got
on the floor for loose balls. They ended up outscoring
(09:59):
I think they outscored Houston starters. They outscored Houston starters
and got back in the game, got it down to nine,
and everybody screaming, yo, get just get your starters back
in the game. Nope, because come tomorrow night when they
play up in the Bay Area, those guys, not only
are his starters gonna be ready, but the confidence that
he has in that rotation, those guys are gonna be
(10:19):
ready even more. And guys like Davis, not just Davis
just they got eight nine guys. Pazimski, who I love,
by the way, which I'm still having an issue with
why Lorie Marketing wasn't traded, but that's another that's a
that's another conversation for another day.
Speaker 1 (10:35):
But I feel like they got eight nine guys.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
With Jimmy Butler now back in the lineup, He's exactly
what they need, right, He's exactly.
Speaker 1 (10:42):
What they need.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Houston's off just isn't good enough overall to beat them
four times in the week. And the most important piece here,
which is the main reason why I picked Golden State,
is that damn Steph Curry trister. That's what it is,
more than anything.
Speaker 4 (10:57):
Before we circle back to the Lakers, because we got
so much to say about at them. But are we
where are we at? Because last week when we talked
about it, you are.
Speaker 3 (11:06):
You were team Jalen Green.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
Where are we at with one really good Jalen Green
game and a bunch of not so good Jalen Green games.
Speaker 2 (11:16):
I remember who we're dealing with now, Tristan. Now, I
understand what the numbers are. He shoots thirty five percent
in the mid range. I do get that part. I
do get the fact that, you know, he's not very
good in terms of his field goal percentage from the
floor throughout the course of the year. But remember who
we're dealing with. We're dealing with a guy who this
is the first time he's been in the playoffs. This
is some twenty three years old. I've never been in
the playoffs before.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
Never been really in a winning situation in general.
Speaker 2 (11:39):
That's exactly where I was going. Remember, Trista. Two years ago,
we were at the bottom of the Western Conference. We
were it was animal house where we were. We were
swinging from.
Speaker 4 (11:47):
Stephen Silas was trying to call plays from the iPad.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
He had no idea what he was doing. Zero, He
had no idea what he was doing. We had no idea.
They were They were the worst fourth quarter team in
the league. They had given up the most fourth quarter
leads in the NBA A two seasons ago. It was
a reason while they were at the bottom of the West,
he may Udoka walks in the door and he makes
it clear, you sit down, you sit down, you sit down,
and you sit down. This is what you're gonna do.
If you're not gonna do this, then you're not gonna
be here. And they bought into what he was doing.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
Right.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Jalen Green is still trying to figure it out. But
we live in a society where everything is right now,
and it's gonna take some time to get this kid
to where I think he can be. And I think
he can be an All Pro. I think he can
be that good. I don't think he can be I
don't I don't think. I don't think he can be
just an all Star. I think he's good enough to
be an All Pro. But it's just gonna take some time.
(12:34):
But I don't think that. I don't I don't think
that society's gonna allow it. I think that the impatience
of society is gonna get Hi ran out of there.
Even though Houston one hundred percent is on track to
building something special. Considering what the CBA is. I think
they're on track to building something special. So I like
what I'm seeing from from from this kid Jalen Green,
considering this is his first time in the playoffs. He's
(12:56):
gonna have his bumps, he's gonna have his bruises. It happens,
But I really hope that they stick with him.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
I do.
Speaker 2 (13:02):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (13:03):
Fred van Fleet said some good things about him too,
But onto the Lakers, because we saw we've seen a
lot of like very odd coaching decisions so far in
this playoffs. Obviously, David Adalman, the Denver Nuggets interim head coach.
Speaker 3 (13:18):
I don't think he'll stay around.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
But he had to play his starter's forty something minutes
and against the Clippers, and they ended up winning that
game on a crazy sort of put back sort of
off of an airball dunked by Aaron Gordon. But nobody
talked about David Adelman because they won that game. And
then JJ Reddick played all of his starters the entire
second half they lose to the Wolves, and then here's
(13:43):
where it's sort of interesting is then he decides again
in the closeout game to put in Maxi Klaba, who
hadn't practiced at all and then puts him in with
four minutes left to go in the fourth quarter, when
I think it was like a three or four point game,
and then they're asking him questions after that JJ, and
(14:04):
he's getting mad at them like they're the ones that
are under scrutiny and walks off to the press conference.
Do you think it was JJ's inexperience that cost the
Lakers the series or do you think they were just
outmatched in general?
Speaker 2 (14:19):
I think it's a combination of both. I think that
they were overmatched. I think that the Minnesota Timblewells front
line dominated them. In fact, when I talked about this
series before it started, I thought that both Julius Randall
nasried and not both. So with Julius Randall nasried and
Rudy Gobert, I thought that they would be the difference
in this game. Trist to remember the lineup that they
had on the floor. We got Austin Reeves and Luca
(14:41):
in the back court. In the front court, we got Dfs,
we got Ruey, and we got James at the five.
That's your rem protector, that's your.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
Rebound insane, insane five.
Speaker 2 (14:52):
That's not gonna work and He's stuck with that five,
by the way, for the entire second half. So it's
no wonder that Rudy Gobad went for twenty four rebounds
in twenty eight points.
Speaker 1 (15:01):
Right.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
So with that being said, this group, I think that
they were overmatched in terms of their front court. I
was so locked in with James that I thought that
if this thing went six to seven, I wasn't betting
against James. I couldn't do it considering what he had
done in the past. I mean, we're talking about a
guy who hadn't lost the game seven since two thousand
(15:22):
and eight, seventeen years.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
So I'm thinking Minnesota. If Minnesota is going to get rid.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Of these guys, they have to do it quick, because
the longer the series lasts, the more I don't like
them just off experience alone from James. So with that
being said, I do think it was a combination of
the two. Remember Tristan, when I saw when I saw
Max Kleeber come into the game, I was number one
(15:47):
thought he was on the roster. I forgot he was
on the roster when I saw him coming.
Speaker 3 (15:51):
The game, I think MAXI Klaybluff forgot he was on
the roster. As well.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
How bad is Jackson Hayes must he be if he
can't get any burn.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
It's incredible how quickly we flipped because because this is
the same Jackson Hayes who Luca was, Luca made him
look like he could potentially be one hundred million dollar
man just catching lobs, kind of like what was going
on with Clinton Compella and James Harden. I'm like, wait
a minute, this might work because we clearly can't go
to him for buckets. Okay, all we need you to
do is rebound, dive to the rim, run the floor.
(16:22):
On offense, dive to the rim, run, run the floor,
and on defense.
Speaker 3 (16:26):
Rebound and just try to do that. Why didn't they
just try to do that?
Speaker 2 (16:31):
Well, the reason why they tried, the reason why they
couldn't do it was because he was clearly overmatched, and
because he was clearly overmatched, he couldn't stay on the
floor right he was. He wasn't the presence in the
paint that they thought. When you go up against a team,
for example, like the Minnesota tim Wolves, who as big
as they are on their front line, they're gonna mismatch
hunt too, and going after guys like Jackson Hayes. You
(16:53):
got Rudy, you got Julius Randall going after him, you
got nas Red dragging him away from the basket. And
just like you just meant about playing Rudy off the floor,
Jackson Hayes now gets played off the floor where he
can no longer play. Like I remember talking to some
people about like the difference between like when I grew
up and the game back then, Like you can't be
(17:14):
relegated to just be in one thing today. You have
to be able to score. You have to and if
you can't score, if you can't score, you will get
played off the floor unless you do something elite like,
for example, what Rudy does, rimpitects, rebounds, runs the floor,
it's really good around the basket. You have to be
able to do that, and if you're not able to
do that, you're gonna get played off the floor.
Speaker 1 (17:36):
And I think that's what happened with Jackson Hayes.
Speaker 4 (17:38):
Before we move over this Knix Piston series, because it's
just a delight. I'm sorry to I'm sorry to have
to put salt in the wounds, but mann does it
feel like the Knicks are somewhat just giving opportunities the
Detroit left and right.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
But I saw this today and I wanted to get.
Speaker 4 (17:53):
Your thoughts on it, just from like a historical perspective
and just like a roster building perspective. Is the Zachlow,
who I really respect, said that he doesn't see any
permutation with the calf space that the Lakers have where
they can build a championship winning team with Luca and Lebron.
What you think that's valid or do you think there's
(18:17):
other ways that you could build up like guys on
the fringes, kind of like what you've seen Detroit do
and Houston.
Speaker 2 (18:24):
Well, that would be that I think that that would
be the case if you had the necessary capital to
do it. So if the Lakers had pieces to trade
that would entice people, Like let's just say, for example,
you know, you picked up the telephone and you called
up the Celtics and you check their temperature on Porzingis
and you said, I got Ruie and I got DFS
(18:47):
and I got them for a little bit of money.
You're trying to get rid of Porzingis's contract. How you
feel about them these days? That's something that could possibly
work maybe, But the problem is that the Lakers, for
what they have right now. Unfortunately they can't. And on
top of that, Trista, this second apron in this new
(19:07):
CBA rex teams. It doesn't hurt teams, it wrecks them.
So for those of you guys who don't know so
in the second, when we get to the second apron,
number one, I can't sign any mid level exception guys.
Having mid level exception guys are huge when you're trying
to win a championship. Having those middle guys, I can't
bag anybody in the buyout market. That's how the Miami
Heat were able to get Kevin Love. They bagged him
(19:29):
in the buyout market. Well, I can't do that. On
top of that, which is the most important thing, Trista,
when I'm over the salary cap today as opposed to
what it was before, not two. So for every dollar
that I'm over, I owe three dollars. For every dollar
I'm over the salary cap, that's gonna cripple us. We
can't sustain that, which is why you see teams like
(19:50):
the Detroit Pistons, like Houston teams that are building through
the draft.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Me.
Speaker 2 (19:55):
I mean, Detroit's got six guys, it's on Rookdale's of
free agent deals, six of them. So I mean, there's
really not much else to say about that except I
think that they're doing it the right way, and I
think that this is the future. Because if we being honest, Trista,
when you saw that Detroit team last year and I
told you that they're bringing in Tobias Harris, Malik Beasley,
(20:18):
Tim Hardaway Junior and Paul Reid, did you care because
I know I didn't know.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
I said, what's this about to do? What's this about
to do? It turns out it did a lot. That's
what's so crazy, do you think?
Speaker 4 (20:31):
And the thing is crazy to me too, is if
you look at the ratings, the ratings are higher than
they have been in twenty five years, Jay, and that
I think is due to the competitive parody because even
when these games were, even when the series was for
zero ok SE, outside of those first two blowouts, we
(20:52):
had really tight, contested, down to the wire games pretty
much all the way through the playoffs, we've had highly competitivemes.
You can't build these super teams in the same way
where you just maul through the rest of the league
and everyone tunes out.
Speaker 2 (21:07):
You agree, absolutely absolutely, and not only that to your point,
somebody lining to me, somebody is definitely lying to metristal
because on the one hand, like you just said, ratings
have been the highest in almost two and a half decades,
but then you tell me that ratings are down. So
how all of a sudden are people now watching but
they weren't watching like three months ago. There's no way
(21:27):
that people don't care about the regular season that much,
and then all of a sudden, here they all come.
So somebody lining in me, we got to get that right.
Number one. Number two, It so much helps that you
have the Lakers, the Knicks, the Celtics. The NBA needs
for those teams to be good because if they're not,
(21:47):
then there's not that interest. So for example, this series
with the Pistons, this series would actually be a good
series if it was Milwaukee, but it means even more
if it's the Knicks because of that media market, because
of that draw there, it just means a lot more.
In addition to that, these are two damn good teams,
two damn good teams, And I think that the fact
(22:08):
that we have that kind of parody because we have
those media markets in the game and in the playoffs,
it helped so much.
Speaker 3 (22:17):
Where are you at with Tibbs right now?
Speaker 4 (22:19):
Because I feel like if they don't beat the Pistons
in the series, maybe they're the next team to have
a coaching switch up considering some of the ways that
Tibbs has been coaching right Like, I know, he probably
shouldn't have used the timeout, the second timeout to get
Brunson and Heart back in the game, But you lost
two minutes. You lost two minutes with your two best
(22:41):
players in crunch time off the floor, and that's the reason.
Speaker 3 (22:45):
That you lost.
Speaker 2 (22:46):
Yeah, don't I won't argue that point. That was definitely
a coaching blunder from him. And I mean, Jalen Brunson
is already banged up as it is, and we already
know what.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
TIBs coaching philosophy is.
Speaker 2 (22:59):
Like you just made to me trist about uh jj
Reddick playing his team the entire second half. We completely
forget just a year ago the Knicks are playing the
seventy six is Game six. Just so we clear, Jalen
Brunston sits downs for two minutes and fifteen seconds in
the second half. Hartenstein sits downs for three minutes. These
(23:19):
are his starters.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
That's it.
Speaker 2 (23:21):
The rest of those guys played the whole second half
just just just so we clear. But they ended up winning.
So it didn't matter, right, nobody really nobody it did.
It didn't really matter. But the same thing to your
point about about Denver. But I think that we live
in a time where Tis will Tips, will play his guys.
(23:42):
The difference with that, though, Trister is Tims Least is short,
like he's gonna put in campaign. He's gonna give he's
gonna give me, he's gonna give Miles McBride some run,
he's gonna give Shammerck some run. He's gonna put pressures
that you are in. I know what, You better do
something while you on the floor because that hook is
gonna be quicker than showtime at the Apollo Sandman.
Speaker 3 (24:00):
The Samman is coming, The Sandman is coming.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Trist and yo ass is getting a hook and you're
getting off the stage and you're not getting back in.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
So he will play his guys. He'll do that.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
So I think that this, this, this could be even
though I don't think de Troit's I don't think Troit's
beating the Knicks in Game seven. I do think that
they're winning tonight, But I don't think that they're winning
Game seven, and I don't think that they're winning Game
seven off the stremp that offensively. As good as Kate
Cunningham is, I love the fact that he's introduced us
to him because I think his game is built for
(24:32):
the playoffs. I think that this Nick team, and I
think that atmosphere in New York, I think that's going
to be too much for the Detroit Pistons.
Speaker 3 (24:40):
Did you I.
Speaker 4 (24:41):
Don't know if you noticed this, but Kate Cunningham gets
blocked a lot.
Speaker 3 (24:47):
He gets his ship swatted.
Speaker 4 (24:50):
I looked at this and I think that's the one
big knock I have on cade. And do you find
that it's surprising that he is the second most blocked
player in the league.
Speaker 2 (25:01):
Now, remember remember where it is to Trista, because he's
also one of the best transition guards in the league.
So those block shots, those block shots are at the rim,
like in the half court, where his game is a
little bit slower. When he gets the ball off the
glass and he's getting downhill and he's getting to the rim,
he's finishing with the best of them, right with the
weekend with the strong hand, he's doing that. But when
(25:23):
we get in the half court and now he's breaking
the guy down. It's not as fast, it's not as
it's kind of methodical. It's kind of slower, and he's
not really hopping over guys. I think his athleticism is
at its best when he's in the open floor. It's
not like that when he's in the half court. So
I'm not surprised. No, I'm not surprised at all. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:43):
I noticed, actually to your point, that the offense was
running better in the first half when Cade was on
the bench and Tobias Harris was running it, just because
it had.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
More pop to it.
Speaker 4 (25:55):
You're getting the ball to Dennis Shooter, You're getting the
ball down the League Beasley, You're getting the ball to
Tim Harday, Tobias is figuring out a way to break
down Karl Anthony Towns, or maybe you see a Auser
Thompson backcut in du a lob. What I feel like
Cade sometimes wants to do is that dribble handoff, dribble handoff, give.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
It back to you, You give it right back to me.
Speaker 4 (26:16):
We know I'm going into the paint, and all of
a sudden, you got somebody like Ojan Andobi snuffing his shit.
That was what I found to be super problematic with
the offense of the Pistons, which they're going to have
to figure that out.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
Well.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
One of the main reasons why that is is because
of what you just said. You found Ognnobi who probably
wasn't on him, or you find Michale Bridges, and the
reason why is because those guys are guys who are
helping off from Don't get me wrong, Malik Beasley one
of the best long ball shooters in the game, right,
Tim Hardaway Junr. One of the best long ball shooters
in the game. But when you're relying on those guys
to just shoot the long ball, you don't have another
(26:51):
go get it guy. You don't have another guy who
can just put the ball on the floor and go
get it. So because you don't, yes, it's I'm more
likely to be able to drag into the paint in
block shots from time to time. No, I don't want
to leave Melite Beasley open on the regular. No, I
don't want to do that. No, but I am able
to get decide and help off of help off of
Tim Hardaway Jr. Or Maliite Beazy, who I think it
(27:11):
was games. I want to say Game three where he
went one for eight. When he's shooting like that, then
now I'm more likely to be able to help when
he switched on the Brunson or when he switched on
to og Anobi when he's getting in the lane. So
I think it's a combination of those things. But I
still feel like Tristan his game is predicated for the playoffs,
and I love the fact that he's introducing us to that.
Speaker 4 (27:32):
Yeah, I love him too. What did you think about
the end of the Pacers Buck series and how that
all went down? It felt like Giannis was at peak
frustration and Tyre's Halliburton really found a way to say, listen,
I'm maybe not as overrated as you guys think I am.
Speaker 2 (27:50):
Yes, that's a fact. Well, to be honest, Trista, and
I've said this already. I love Nip and Tuck games.
I do. I think that they're awesome. That back and
forth action is great. Tristan, I can't handle watching teams
go to pieces, man, I can't handle it. I can't
handle watching teams. Some people are amazed by Gary j.
Speaker 3 (28:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (28:11):
The Gary Trent Junior melt was the seven points eight
points you gave up in like forty seconds.
Speaker 3 (28:20):
I mean I was cringing, Jy cringing.
Speaker 1 (28:24):
Tristan, I like I said, I love the what do
you got? Okay, what do you have? Now?
Speaker 2 (28:29):
Okay, stop them here. I love that kind of action.
But to watch a team just melt right in front
of you, I get horrified by that stuff, Tristan. Like
a lot of people talk about the forty seconds, just
so you clear it was. They had the ball, They're
up three possessions with thirty four and a half seconds.
They need Indiana to score, get the ball back, score,
(28:52):
get the ball back and score again. That's what they need.
All you need to do in this particular situation. And
I hate to simplify things, but this is that particular situation.
Make make free throws, don't give up threees, and don't foul,
and let's get our asses and let's get out of
it and take honestly.
Speaker 3 (29:09):
Just foul up eight, though they can foul up seven.
Foul up seven.
Speaker 1 (29:16):
Yeah, they got to do that too, because now they
have to do that. They're not getting the ball back.
Just foul.
Speaker 2 (29:21):
Now. Of course, there's gonna be some people who are
gonna who are gonna blame this on Doc. You know
this is Doc rivers fall. Okay, first of all, when
Gary Trent turned the ball over Tristan the first time,
when he turned the ball over, just so we clear
ladies and gentlemen, he just they just came out of
the huddle, which means we just went over this. This
isn't something that we're scrambling and going, oh ship, what
do we do? No, we literally just got out of
(29:43):
the huddle, literally just got out of the hole. He
turns the ball over. Okay, no problem, no big deal.
We don't want to turn the ball over. But we
turn the ball over. That's first problem. Then they come
down Tyre's Halliburton goes right down the gut and what
does aj Green do? Foul them, which we don't want
to do. We don't want to foul him. And on
top of we don't get to the free throw line.
A recipe for disaster. What are we doing in I can't?
(30:04):
I can't, Trista.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
I tried to honest, is Yiannis done in Milwaukee?
Speaker 2 (30:10):
He's got to ask out, Tristan. I'm not trading him.
He's got to ask out. I'm not moving off of him. Nope,
he's the he's my money maker, he's the guy on
the Moniker. So unless he asks out, I'm not moving him.
Speaker 4 (30:22):
No, you would rather have a team that you know
is not gonna do anything of any significance. And you
owe Kyle Ku'sma twenty something million, you owe Brook twenty something,
thirty something million, you owe Dame fifty something million. He's
not gonna play for another year and change. You've got
just a bunch of random collection of guys like AJ Green,
(30:44):
Oshee to AJ Green. You would rather that team with
no picks till twenty thirty one, just to make the
money off of Jannis. That's what you That's what you're saying.
If you're the owner of the Bucks, that's that's your
only move.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Okay, remember where we are now, Tristan. We're not in Miami,
in Los Angeles. And what do I have Because again,
if I if I move off for Gianni's, I gotta
start this whole thing over again. I just I got
Yianni's twelve years ago. What's the likelihood that I'm gonna
get Giannis again? I can tell you what the likelihood is,
I can get him in another twenty five years from now.
Because that's what kind of player. He's a generational talent.
(31:19):
He's not a good player, he's not a great player.
He's a generational talent, which nobody cared about because he
was the sixteenth pick in the first round, right, nobody
really cared about. So I'm trying to hold on Gianni's
for as long as I possibly can and see what
I can do with those other guys, because, as you know, Trista,
a lot of people won't A lot of people.
Speaker 1 (31:36):
Won't acknowledge this.
Speaker 2 (31:37):
You know, bad trades have never happened, like I can't
get I can't put Kyle Kuzma because I'm reaching here,
because I'm trying to I'm trying to come up with
ways I can't get Kyle Kuzma and Bobby Portis. I
can't put those guys in a package and see if
I can get a first round pick for them because
no team has ever done that before.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
They've never give the they've never given away picks before. Yes,
they have.
Speaker 2 (32:00):
So I'm reaching here, I am because it looks really
bleak in Milwaukee.
Speaker 1 (32:04):
It does.
Speaker 2 (32:04):
So to answer your question, yes, I'm holding on the
Giannis for as long as I can.
Speaker 4 (32:10):
You think you think Dame, Dame's getting up out of there,
or you just wait, you just say, all right, we'll
see you in eight twelve months.
Speaker 3 (32:17):
We's in fourteen to sixteen months.
Speaker 2 (32:19):
He has no value, Trista, Like, what am my? First
of all, he'll be thirty five in July. He's got
a torn achilles. I don't know what he's gonna look
like when he comes back. Can he even forget him
getting back to the level that he was at when
he got hurt?
Speaker 1 (32:32):
Can he even play? Like?
Speaker 2 (32:34):
Am I looking at another John Wall situation where he
can't even play anymore? Am I looking at that? And
on top of that, he's got two more years left
on his deal at fifty seven million and sixty two million? Tristan,
Who's this is peak?
Speaker 3 (32:49):
This is peak depression for Dame. Because Dame didn't want
to even be there.
Speaker 4 (32:53):
Jay I was just talking about sending him to Houston
last week with y'all, that would have been the best
case scenario for game. Go to a real contender with
no state tax, go to Miami. Now you can't even
move that man. He's just got to sit there.
Speaker 3 (33:08):
Eating cheese kurds.
Speaker 4 (33:10):
Hoping to restore some semblance of chemistry with Giannis that
they do not have. Do you think, I guess we'll
move forward onto this Pacers Cassie.
Speaker 3 (33:21):
How do you see that playing out? Because there's a
lot of people who think that the Pacers are just
going to get stomped.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
I'm one of those people. I think that they beat
them in five games. I think that everything you guys do,
we do it. Not only do we do it, we
do it better than you guys do it on both
sides of the ball. You're a great offense, You're a
great transition team. We're a great overall defensive team, including transition,
one of the best transition defenses in the game. You're
a good rebounding team. Well, we're an elite rebounding team.
We got one of the best rebounders in the game
(33:47):
in Jared Allen. We got one of the best rebounders
in the game. And Evan Moby, who I think is
the best defensive player in the game. And it wasn't
just because he won Defensive Player of the Year. I
think he's the best defensive player in the game. I
think he's the most switchable big on. On top of that,
you got the best two guard in the game. Who's
one of the best playmakers. You got the best pick
and dive defense. You got the best picking pop defense,
best picking pop offense, best picking dive offense. In the game,
(34:11):
you have Indiana struggles in the half court. Your half
court offense isn't very good. You run a few sets,
but your half court offense isn't very good. So now
you want to couple that with a great defense going
up against you guys, and on top of that they
have a great offense and your defense. It is good
because I love them Hart, I love them Hart, and
I love this kid and I love this Kidney Smith.
If Nemhart, I think if he played enough games, I
(34:32):
think we'd be looking at him as an All League defender.
But I think that just like with the just like
Minnesota and the Lakers, I think Indiana can take advantage
of their front line. And I think Darius Garland. In
terms of getting the best of Tyre's Halliburton, I'm not
gonna go that far, but I do think that he
can match a lot of what he does. I think
that I could get eighteen and nine from him. I
think I can get twenty and eight from him on
(34:53):
top of what I get from on top of what
I get from on top of what I get from
all the rest of the those guys.
Speaker 1 (35:00):
So with that being said, I also.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Have eight guys, nine guys in my rotation something maybe
even ten. Your bench doesn't go nearly that deep with
that quality of player that you have. You don't have
tiede your room on your bench, or hunter on your bench,
or a choral on your bench, or or or why
am I joining a blank on not Max Strews because
Max Strus is a starter, but the long balls shooter
in Merrill, right in Samuel or right Samuel or Dean
(35:26):
Wade like guys like they got ten guys. I feel
like everything that Indiana has, Cleveland has it plus more,
and they're gonna do everything kind of like what Orlando
did with the Celtics. They're gonna do what they can
to junk the game up a little bit, to try
to throw them off. And then when when when Indiana
realizes that they can't do that with Cleveland. I think
this series is a wrap. I think Cleveland beats them
(35:47):
in five games.
Speaker 4 (35:49):
I think Indiana is deeper than you make a sound,
but they're they're not as deep as Cleveland. But The
thing about about Cleveland's bench is it like I never
know what I'm getting from a Coral. I never know
what I'm getting from DeAndre Hunter. I feel like I
could get more at of Obi Toppin.
Speaker 2 (36:09):
Do you mean from a bucket standpoint? Do you mean
from a bucket standpoint?
Speaker 4 (36:12):
Okay, Okay, Yeah, that's what I mean. I mean, I
know that you're gonna get defense from a Coro and Hunter.
They're really good perimeter defenders, but like TJ McConnell is
like a little bit of a microwave you're gonna get
Sometimes you get twelve sixteen points out of Obi Toppin.
Sometimes you end up getting, you know, twenty points out
of Andrew Numhard Ben Matherin. So I think the entire series,
(36:34):
for as long as it goes, I think it's gonna
be super back and forth because they both want to
play really.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Fast, right.
Speaker 2 (36:39):
So Ben Matherin is one of my favorite rotation players
in the game who I really like, no doubt about that.
And I think TJ McConnell one of the reasons why
I'm not really bothered with a Coro as a bucket getter,
because I got plenty other bucket getters and long ball shooters.
Even though Acral has stretched the defense this season, I
think he is one of the better defenders, and I
think that's what you're gonna need Topping is one of
(37:00):
those guys who, to your point, you can probably get sixteen,
You could probably get eighteen to twenty out of him
in the game. You know what else, you can give
him trista zero like you can completely take them out
of games. You can get him taken right out of
games because on defense he is completely utterly inefficient, Like
we can go I've seen teams hunt him and go
after him. So that's a huge problem with him. And
so the fact that he's only a bucket getter from
(37:23):
that aspect, and then I can't really rely on him
on defense. I think we can take him out of
the series.
Speaker 4 (37:28):
You know who got taken out of the series. But
we finally got the vintage playoff James Harden game.
Speaker 1 (37:35):
I knew it was coming.
Speaker 2 (37:36):
I had asked, I had asked the guys. I said, listen,
because we were talking about the Clippers. I said, guys,
I know that I might be out of line here,
and I know you don't want to hear this, but
you guys know what's coming. I don't know when, but
you guys know that it's coming here. I don't know
when it's coming, and I'll be damn, I'll be damn.
Speaker 4 (37:55):
This is crazy because it feels like the Clippers should
have already won this fucking series.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
How has it happened?
Speaker 2 (38:03):
Can't we say the same thing about Denver, Like Denver
could have bounced them in five like this, he could
have been like it. It's both sides of this coin.
The Clippers could have very well swept these dudes. They
could have won Game four right the game. You could
have won Game one, they won Game two. They had
them on the ropes in game they were up twenty
and they ended up coming back on the thirty to
nine run, which also drove me nuts.
Speaker 1 (38:25):
To watch that.
Speaker 3 (38:25):
I was I bet you hated that.
Speaker 2 (38:28):
I'm watching this and all Denver did, all the Clippers did,
was going to a zone and I'm thinking, Okay, Denver,
you never played against his zone before? Is that what
I'm understanding. You've never been you've never seen the tooth,
you've never seen the two three zone before. Is that
what's going on? And by losing my mind, Oh my goodness,
it was it was it was it was driving Malone.
Speaker 3 (38:45):
Michael Malone would have been able to handle this.
Speaker 1 (38:47):
I think he would have. I think he would have.
Speaker 3 (38:51):
He would have been screaming.
Speaker 4 (38:52):
And Kawhi is now recently kind of regressed a little
bit after games won two and maybe three, four and
five have been not pedestrian but not great.
Speaker 3 (39:04):
Twenty two, ten and six, which is good, but we.
Speaker 4 (39:07):
Kind of need more from Kawhi, and we definitely need
Zubox and Harden to play at elite levels, even though
I feel personally this is just a better a better team,
a team that I think could make life more hell
for okay see than say the Nuggets can. Despite the
fact that somehow Jamal Murray has just finally become bubble
(39:30):
Jamal Murray.
Speaker 2 (39:30):
Again, that's the curse of Kawhi Leonard, because he's been
so good and strength in the time that he was healthy,
So when you see it again for a short period
of time, it's kind of like we expect it.
Speaker 1 (39:42):
He's back.
Speaker 2 (39:43):
Yes, he's back, only except he's leveled out, Like this
is actually who Leonard is at them, Like we keep
forgetting he's thirty four years old, right, so he'll be
thirty four years old in July, so well, I think
late June, so like, this is kind of who he is,
Like he's a twenty twenty two game guy in the playoffs,
but we see flashes of him, so we expect, you know,
(40:05):
remember that dude in twenty nineteen in the playoffs, how
good he was, Right, remember the guy in twenty six
Remember that guy, how good he was?
Speaker 1 (40:14):
And we so want him back.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
Why do you think that we still, Trista, Why do
you think we still keep talking about the nineties Because
we missed Jordan so much and we missed.
Speaker 4 (40:21):
It and we listen to two thousands R and B
Jermaine because that's when it was the best.
Speaker 2 (40:25):
Right, We missed those guys so much, and we won
him back. So when you see a guy like Kawhi
Leonard and you see flashes of what he used to be,
it's like he's back, when in reality, I just want
to enjoy him being here. Trist This is the first
time that I've seen him in the playoffs in almost
five years. This is the first time that I've seen
him in the playoffs in almost five years. Right, I
(40:46):
knew that I was going to get that James Harden game.
The thing that I wanted more than anything was I
just wanted to see Kawhi Leonard upright. Whatever he gave me,
that's something completely different. I just wanted to see him
on the floor.
Speaker 1 (40:58):
That was it.
Speaker 2 (40:58):
Whenever I got I got it. I just wanted to
see him get through the playoffs. And it looks like
I'm gonna get that.
Speaker 3 (41:06):
Well probably unless this thing goes seven. You never know what.
Speaker 4 (41:09):
Kawhi could always come to a screeching halt. My battery
is coming to a screeching halt. Jermaine, and I got
you fifteen minutes longer than you said you had so
because we got we gotta get up out of here.
Speaker 3 (41:26):
We gotta do this again soon. I'll come on to
your spot as well.
Speaker 4 (41:31):
Check him out on TikTok c h L tw N
thirty two. He said no vowels, He's not doing the
vowel thing. On TikTok, no eyes, no O's so Chill
Town thirty two, No vowels, and on YouTube find him
listen to him. He also does some stuff with playback.
I mean, he's just in a million different spots. Thank
(41:52):
you so much, brother for coming on.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
They always I don't got a lot of time for
a lot of people, Trista, but I definitely got time
for you.
Speaker 3 (41:57):
Thank you very likewise likewise dot so fucking fun.
Speaker 1 (42:02):
No doubt, Absolutely that was great.
Speaker 3 (42:05):
Go Nicks. That's all the time that we have for
this episode of the Heat Check.
Speaker 4 (42:11):
Come back on Tuesday for all only episode and check
out the feats for Pat's episodes. Do not forget to
follow the Heat Check all playoffs long. That means download, subscribe,
and tell your friends, even the ones you haven't talked
to in years. Follow us on TikTok and at this
heat Check actress to Creek on Twitter, Instagram and threads.
And also big shout out to Jermaine for coming on
(42:31):
the pod, and big shout out for Wyatt being at
a late night stretch recording editing.
Speaker 3 (42:39):
That's my guy. See y'all next time.
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