June 4, 2025 • 35 mins
This week on the Daly Dose Sports Podcast, we're diving deep into the championship matchups!
NBA Finals Preview: Small Market Showdown
The NBA Finals are set, featuring a clash of small-market powerhouses: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. We'll break down this unexpected matchup and reveal our pick for who will hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy. Can a "small market" series still deliver big excitement? And will anyone actually tune in? We'll tackle these questions and more.
Stanley Cup Final: Canada's Chance?
The Stanley Cup Final kicks off tonight, pitting the Florida Panthers against the Edmonton Oilers. We'll predict who will win Lord Stanley's Cup. Can the Oilers bring the cup back to Canada for the first time in over 30 years?
NBA news: The Knicks and Pelicans could be inviting bad karma
The New York Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau and the New Orleans Pelicans are not getting the player they had hoped for in Zion Williamson.
NBA Playoff Reflections: Winners and Losers
We're looking back at the NBA Playoffs so far, highlighting the players who have undeniably been winners and the NBA analysts who have been, without a doubt, massive losers.
Daly Dose Top 5: Small Market FinalsOur Daly Dose Top 5 counts down the last five times two small-market teams faced off in the NBA Finals. Get ready for some historical context as we assess if this year's matchup can still be a fun series.
NBA Finals Preview: Small Market Showdown
The NBA Finals are set, featuring a clash of small-market powerhouses: the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Indiana Pacers. We'll break down this unexpected matchup and reveal our pick for who will hoist the Larry O'Brien trophy. Can a "small market" series still deliver big excitement? And will anyone actually tune in? We'll tackle these questions and more.
Stanley Cup Final: Canada's Chance?
The Stanley Cup Final kicks off tonight, pitting the Florida Panthers against the Edmonton Oilers. We'll predict who will win Lord Stanley's Cup. Can the Oilers bring the cup back to Canada for the first time in over 30 years?
NBA news: The Knicks and Pelicans could be inviting bad karma
The New York Knicks fired head coach Tom Thibodeau and the New Orleans Pelicans are not getting the player they had hoped for in Zion Williamson.
NBA Playoff Reflections: Winners and Losers
We're looking back at the NBA Playoffs so far, highlighting the players who have undeniably been winners and the NBA analysts who have been, without a doubt, massive losers.
Daly Dose Top 5: Small Market FinalsOur Daly Dose Top 5 counts down the last five times two small-market teams faced off in the NBA Finals. Get ready for some historical context as we assess if this year's matchup can still be a fun series.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Wednesday, June fourth, twenty twenty five, you are listening to
the Daily Dose Sports podcast and I am your host,
Clinton Daily, coming to you from the my High City
here in Denver, Colorado, and we are back for another
week of talking sports with a dose of common sense.
Happy Wednesday to you. Yes it is already June. We're
in the world of the month of mag Seems like
(00:28):
that just started, didn't it, Birdy in June. Hey, I
hope that your week is going well. I hope that
you had a good weekend. I hope that you, your family,
your friends are all staying strong and healthy right now.
And you know, we talked a little about it last week,
but the NBA Finals are now set as we are
(00:48):
going to have the top team in the NBA, the
number one seed in the Western Conference. Yes, I'm talking
about the Oklahoma City Thunder who will be facing the
number four seeded and somewhat surprising Indiana Pacers. Yeah. You know,
(01:08):
the most amazing part about this is we actually get
two small market teams facing each other in the finals.
That just doesn't happen very often. Game one is tomorrow
night in Oklahoma City, and hey, why not just jump
in and preview. How this is going to go right now?
The Oklahoma City Thunder got here by routing the Minnesota
(01:30):
Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference Finals. Oklahoma
City's appearance in the finals is their first since they
had Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and James Harden and
they went there in twenty twelve. Over in the East,
the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks reignited that rivalry,
(01:51):
and the Patiers overcame the Knicks in six games. Indiana
is back in the finals for the first time since
back in two thousand. Hey, we have two small market
teams in the finals for the first time, says two
thousand and seven. And that is somewhat exciting news for
small markets. But here is who that is not good
(02:13):
news for the NBA because we all know ratings have
been on a steady decline since Michael Jordan and I
don't know if this is going to help. Okay, so
who is actually going to win this series? And when
I look at this, I'll be honest, this feels very
(02:33):
David versus Goliath to me. Not that it can't happen,
but I'm just concerned that it would happen. Hey, we're
going to get that very efficient offense of Indiana against
that very physical and very talented defense of Oklahoma City Patrios.
Guard Tyrese Halliburton, he is a past first point guard,
(02:53):
but he can score, and he has been playing so
well this postseason. However, he has not seen anything in
the Eastern Conference remotely close to what he's going to
see against the Thunder. Because Shay gilges Alexander alex Crusoe,
they are going to be a pain and they're going
to jam him up in ways that Nick scar Jalen
(03:15):
Brunson could not do because he was just too small.
This is going to be very, very different. But there
are a couple of key things I want you to
watch in these NBA Finals that are going to kind
of tell you how this is going to go. And
one of the biggest keys is going to be the
bigs inside. Hey, the Pacers are talented, They've got Pascal
(03:35):
Siakam and Miles Turner, but they are going to be
a bit undersized and that's going to be a problem
against the Thunder because the Thunder have those bigs Chet Holmgren,
Isaiah Hartenstein and even Jalen Williams will play in there
a little bit. The other aspect I want to watch
(03:56):
is can Indiana go out and just play fast, pace,
hectic basketball, Because if somehow they can and the Thunder
don't transition that, well, then maybe this gets interesting. I
just don't know that they're going to be able to
do that. Another key aspect in this series is the
(04:16):
fact that I really liked Indiana's depth in the postseason.
It has been a big reason for better success. You
could see against the Knicks. Knicks go to their bench,
Indiana goes to their bench. Suddenly Indiana takes a big lead.
Here's the problem for Indiana. I actually think the Thunder
have more depth than they do. Now. I do believe
(04:38):
Indiana coach Rick Carlyle is absolutely proving that he is
one of the best coaches in the league, one of
the best coaches of this era. I mean, he's now
taken his second team to the NBA Finals. The problem
is coaching can only fix so much, and I think
that deck is stacked against him. Here. Okay, so who
(05:02):
am I picking in these NBA Finals. Well, I'm gonna
take the Thunder this week or straight now. I'll be nice,
I'll be nice. I'll go Oklahoma City in five games.
I'm gonna really stretch it out. I'm gonna go Oklahoma
City in five games. I just think they have way
too much. Hey, remember you should be stopping by Dalodo
(05:22):
sports dot com every week. Check out the new things
we have going on over there. We have links to podcast,
we have links to new articles each week. In fact,
one went out this week, but University of Colorado head
coach Dion Sanders. You might want to check that out.
You could also email the podcast at dalodosports at gmail
dot com. We would love to hear for you. And
remember you can pick up some Daily Dose gear over
(05:44):
a Dalodo sports dot com. Maybe you need a T shirt,
a hoodie, sweatshirt, a baseball cap. They have at all
for you and you can pick the color that you want.
Just stop by daily doosports dot com. Hey. Today on
the Dose, we are going to be taking a brief
look at the NBA playoffs so far, the biggest winners
and who have been the biggest losers. Plus we will
(06:05):
have a Daily Dose Top five for you today. Like
we mentioned, the NBA Finals this year features two teams
from smaller markets and as you will see from our
daily dose top five that doesn't happen very often. But first,
of course, it isn't just the NBA that has reached
the final series of their season for the second consecutive year.
(06:26):
We are going to be seeing the Florida Panthers versus
the Edmonton Oilers in the final round of the Stanley
Cup Playoffs. Now, look, we all know that most sequels
are not as good as the original, So what I
want to see is would this one be like an
(06:47):
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade sequel, which is great,
or will it be like the Godfather of Three which
was hot, flaming garbage. Last year, the Panthers beat the
Oilers in seven games, but it was a really weird series.
Remember they went up three nothing on the Oilers and
then Edmonton won three games in a row and we
(07:07):
got a game seven and the Panthers scraped out a
win and won the Cup. Now are they capable of
winning it all again? Or more importantly, can the Oilers
win it this time and end the drought for Canadian
teams winning a Cup. A drought I might add that
goes clear back to nineteen ninety three. It has been
(07:30):
a while since our moose riding brethren have won a
Stanley Cup. The Oilers have the two best players in
the series in Conor McDavid and Leon Drysidel, and that
can lift that team almost nights. But it isn't just
that dynamic duo. No, this team has depth. Goalie Stewart
Skinner is red hot right now. Edmonton is going to
(07:53):
be a handful. However, Florida is not going to back
down from anyone. They have their own with Alexander Barkoff,
Matthew Kachuck, Brad Marshawn. The Panthers can play physical and
you know what they specialize in doing. They make things
rough and shut down those potent offenses and their superstars.
(08:15):
They've done it all playoffs. I kind of think they
can do it again and for that reason, I'm going
to take the Panthers to repeat. But I think it's
going to be a tight series. I will take Florida,
let's say in six. I'll take the Panthers in six.
One insane story in the NBA that we do need
(08:35):
to touch on. The New York Knicks are firing head
coach Tom Thibodeau. That is what the team announced yesterday. Now,
Tibodeau helped the Knicks of their first Eastern Conference Finals
in twenty five years. They made the playoffs in four
of his five years, and he led the team to
consecutive fifty win seasons for the first time since the nineties. However,
(08:58):
team president Leon ro had this to say, our organization
is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans.
This pursuit led us to the decision to inform Tom
Thibodeau that we've decided to move in another direction. We
can't thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul
into each and every day of being the New York
(09:19):
Knicks coach. Tom will always be part of our Knicks
family and we truly wish him nothing but the best
in the future. Now, remember, the Knicks had just extended
Thibodeau last summer on a three year deal, and he
finishes his time in New York with the fourth most
wins by a coach in franchise history. Hey, I know
(09:42):
we've talked about this before. There are basketball gods out there,
and I am telling you right now this moved by
the Knicks. Oh, it is going to anger. The basketball
gods have you learned nothing from watching the football gods.
Do you remember when the Chargers fired Marty Schottenheimer after
(10:03):
taking the AFC Championship. They haven't gotten near anything since. Hey,
it might not be this next year, but trust me,
bad voodoo is coming for the Knicks. Hey, Thibodeau, I
questioned some of the things he does. I think he's
way too hard on his players as far as what
he asked them to do physically, and yet all he
(10:25):
does is win. All he did with the Knicks was
win and you fired him. Oh yeah, bad bad voodoo
coming for the Knicks. And by the way, if you're
trying to make Knicks fans happy, Knicks fans are the
biggest idiots on a planet. Really, that's what you're trying
to make happy. These are morons walking around like downtown
(10:45):
in New York with a snake wrapped around them and
a Knicks hat on the snake. That's the idiot you're
trying to keep happy. Bad bad voodoo for the Knicks
right here. One other bit of news this week that
I do want to touch on. A woman has a
He used New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson of rape
in addition to sexual, physical, emotional, and financial abuse over
(11:10):
the span of a multi year relationship. That is, according
to a lawsuit submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court
last Thursday, a woman who identifies as Jane Doe is
accusing Williamson of a continuing pattern of abusive, controlling, and
threatening behavior over the course of a relationship that started
(11:32):
during Williams's freshman year at Duke and then lasted from
two thousand and eight until twenty twenty three. Now, I'll
be honest, the details of the accusations are pretty gross,
and I don't really want to read them here because
then I'm going to need to take a silk wood
shower and we'll see how all this plays out. But
(11:53):
whatever happens, I think we can agree that this is
not what we expected from Zion when he came out.
Remember when he was at Duke coming into the NBA.
That kid looked like a can't miss prospect. With his explosion,
with his size, with his strength, with his touch around
(12:14):
the basket. It looked like Zion was going to be
the next big thing. Turns out the only thing any
of us got right was the big part. Why you're
so big? Look, we're used to duke stars consistently underachieving
at the NBA level that I'll be honest, Zion Williamson. Yeah,
(12:37):
this might be the biggest one of all. So the
NBA postseason is now coming to a close, and the
NBA Finals do begin tomorrow night in Oklahoma City. But
we've already seen a number of both winners and losers
from these playoffs. I'll show you what I mean right now.
I'm gonna start out. I'm going to hand out a
(12:58):
winner to the winner of the NBA's Most Valuable Player award. Yes,
I am talking about Oklahoma City Guards Shay Gildess Alexander.
Don't get me wrong, I do not agree that he's
the most valuable player, but he has looked like the
best player on the best team in the postseason. So far.
In the playoffs, Sga is averaging twenty nine point eight
(13:23):
points per game. Hey, dude is scoring at a pretty
high pace. He is averaging five point seven rebounds per game,
and he's handing out six point nine assists per game.
SGA has led the Thunder to a twelve and four
record so far in these playoffs, and he has looked
dominant in doing so. Do I think he've loops too much. Yeah,
(13:48):
and I'll be honest. Sometimes his style of play it
can be tough to watch, but there is no question
SGA has been a winner in this postseason. When it
has gotten tight, when they have needed him to, he
has stepped up. And not only is he the season MVP,
I mean he's a heavy favorite to be the Finals MVP.
(14:09):
Now I'll pick him for the Finals MVP right now,
a day before we begin. SGA has been a winner.
I'm gonna hand out our first loser, though, and I'm
gonna hand it to the defending NBA champion, Boston Celtics.
Here's what's crazy to think about. Even with some of
the terrible teams out there, like the Wizard or the Hornets,
(14:31):
is there a fan base right now that is more
miserable than Celtics fans. Yes, I know. They went sixty
one to twenty one this season. They were the number
two seed in the East. They plowed through Orlando in
just five games. They looked like they were still the
team to beat, but then it all went bad. It
went very, very bad. They faced the New York Knicks
(14:55):
in the Conference semis and they absolutely flamed out. Not
only that they lose to the Knicks in six games.
They gave up massive second half leads, and then in
Game six, which ended the series. It somehow got even
worse because superstar Jason Tatum went down with the blown achilles.
(15:19):
Oh that's horrible. That is going to take a full
calendar year to come back from. Now you're gonna be hearing. Oh,
he could be back for the playoffs. No, he won't,
not at the level he was. He may never be
the same, but he sure won't be back playing even
close to the level he was next year at this
time in the playoffs. Hey, if you're a Celtics fan
right now, you don't have a whole lot to feel
(15:41):
great about. You just don't. Which is crazy to think about,
because a few weeks ago we would have never believed that.
We all thought, well, the Celtics will still roll, they'll
still be solid in the East. No, they're still gonna
be really, really good. That went horrible for Boston. I'm
gonna give a winner, and I'm going to give it
to a guy he already spoke about today, and that
is Indiana paces guard Tyrese Haliburton. Hey, this kid has
(16:07):
not led the Pacers to the NBA Finals, right after
he had been voted the most overrated player in the
NBA by his peers in the NBA. Look, I don't
know if that's jealousy. I don't know why guys wanted
to dog him out like that. But when they issue
(16:29):
that little poll among players in the NBA, who's the
most overrated player, Haliburton won by a landslide. Not only
did he have to come off with that, he also
had to overcome his idiot father going out on the
court after the Milwaukee series and getting suspended from attending
games for a while. You don't think that wears on
(16:51):
a guy's head. It does. I've seen at the youth
and high school level, got a loud male parent up
in the stands, kids just down there wishing they shut up. Yeah,
you know, Tyrese felt that. But the Pacers, who went
in just fifty to thirty two, they were the four seed,
have now gone on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks, who
(17:11):
they were an underdog against, and then they beat the
top seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, who they
were an underdog against. And then they beat the New
York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hey, and in
those games, Halliburton is averaging nearly nineteen points a game,
six rebounds per game, and ten assists per game. Hey,
(17:35):
that three point shot against the Knicks in Game one
win That game, by the way, was absolutely over and
then sent the game into overtime and they win it.
That is going to be remembered in NBA crowds for
years to come. Tyrese Haliburton, no matter how the finals goes,
is without a doubt, a winner in this NBA postseason. Okay,
(17:57):
I've got to give out another loser for these NBA playoffs,
and I have got to give it to Minnesota. Timberwill
start Anthony Edwards, who, for the second year in a row,
about out in the playoffs without really that much of
a fight. You know, everyone keeps wanting to annoyt ant
as the next face of the league. The problem is
(18:19):
that he's just not really producing all that much. In
crunch time, Guys want to say, oh, he looks a
little like Jordan, Oh he can score it will let
Jordan sometimes. But after averaging twenty six points per game
against the Lakers in the first round this year and
averaging twenty six points a game again against the Warriors
(18:39):
in the second round. Ant struggled against the Thunder in
the Western Conference Finals. He averaged twenty three points per game. Now,
that doesn't sound that bad, except here's the problem. He
scored thirty two in game two, which is a loss,
and then scored thirty in Game three when Minnesota actually
blew the Thunder out. That sounds good, right, Yeah, here's
(19:01):
the problem. Game one, let's set the tone. We can
hang with these guys. Let's go out beat them on
our floor and we can prove that we can beat
the Thunder. He comes out and scores eighteen. Okay, so
they lose games one and two, they get to blow
out in Game three, and in game four at home
(19:22):
in Minnesota, down two to one in the series, Ant
has sixteen points on five of thirteen shooting. That's not great.
They lose again, and then on the brink of elimination
in game five, Ant scores just nineteen points and Minnesota
is gone. Now, after the elimination game, when the Thunder
(19:45):
take them out, Aunt talked about how no one's going
to work harder than the offseason than him. Bro, you
got taken out by the Mavericks in just five games
last year and you got torched defensively over and O
and you said that again back then. He also talked
last week about how he was actually making the right
(20:07):
plays in this series against the Thunder because he didn't
shoot as much. Since the Thunder, we're doubling him and
taking him away. Yeah, welcome to being a superstar, Anthony.
Do you think that MJ and Magic and Bird and
Kareem and Kobe and Doc do you think they weren't
getting doubled and tripled and quadrupled. Stars make plays and
(20:31):
Anthony Edwards isn't making them when it matters the most.
He has to be a loser for this postseason to
give a winner, and I'm going to give it to
the villain Nova Wildcats. Yes, I realized that Nova is
no longer a college hoops powerhouse like it was when
they had head coach J Wright. But think about what
those players from that era are currently doing in the NBA.
(20:55):
I mean, Jalen Brunson might honestly be the most clutch
player in the game today, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart. They
are also big contributors for those New York Knicks. Dante
DiVincenzo is a key player from Minnesota. That Villanova era
was absolutely incredible. And that's not even counting guys like
Colin Gillespie who's with Phoenix, Cam Whitmore, who's with Houston,
(21:18):
Jeremiah Robinson, Earl is down with New Orleans. Hey, Villanova
went on an amazing run, and we are feeling that
era of Villanova hoops in the NBA right now. Big
winner to Villanova. Oh and by the way, they also
just got their own pope elected, so that's a big
one too. We'll give that a loser, though, and I'm
(21:40):
going to give it to the older generation of NBA
players Now. I want you to think about this for
just a second. Lebron James, Steph Curry, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Durant,
James Harden, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Draymond Green,
Kawhi La, Janna, Sanna Decompo, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Damian Loward,
(22:04):
Clay Thompson, Jimmy Butler. Not a single one of them
got past the second round this year in the playoffs.
That's honestly amazing. Those guys have not just dominated the
league year in year out, they have dominated the postseason
and dominated being in the finals. Not one of them
got past the second round of the playoffs. I mean,
(22:26):
we kind of forget it. Father Time is undefeated. And
here is more proof. These guys were dominating the league,
going to the finals every year, winning titles. Not that
they can't still have success, but that generation of players,
they are no longer the primetime players. The younger generation
(22:46):
is taking over without a doubt. I will give our
final NBA playoff winner to the NBA on TNT crew
of Ernie Johnson, Kenny, the Jets Smith, Charles Barkley, and
Shaquille Neil who finished their run with P and P
and now they will be moving, they say, at least
a little bit to ESPN and then trying to do
(23:10):
I don't know something on TNT, like just a studio
show or something. I don't know, but that group, honestly,
they have the most entertaining studio show going and some
of the reason why is because they're honest. Hey, if
the game is terrible, they will say it. They are
not just shills for the NBA. In fact, some of
the NBA players take offense at their criticism and they're like, oh,
(23:33):
they should be more supportive. Lebron's like, Oh, they shouldn't
be criticizing us all the time. But you know what,
you know what Lebron doesn't say, He doesn't call him
liars because they're absolutely accurate. Here is hoping that when
they go to ESPN, ESPN doesn't screw this up and
try to muzzle those guys because they have a track
(23:53):
record of hiring idiots. This crew is the best crew
they've had in quite some time. Don't screw it up, ESPN.
I have to give the NBA on TNT guys a big,
big winner which brings us to our final loser in
the NBA playoffs so far. And for that I will
name ESPN's NBA prognosticator Kendrick Perkins, who has never had
(24:19):
an intelligent thought enter his skull. Honestly, I can literally
listen to this fool and just believe the opposite of
anything he says. I have no idea how he has
a job. It's actually unreal. Remember two years ago he
was telling us that Joel Embiid deserve the MVP over
(24:39):
Nikola Jokic, and he claimed the only reason Yokic would
win was because of a racial bias by voters. Yeah,
that age like milk. This year, Perkins tried spinning that
Jokic has more help than Lebron and he needs to
do something with it. After Game five of the n
(25:00):
Series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Perkins dropped this little
gem on x Bron gets tired at forty years old
and people question his greatness, but Jokic gets tired, and
it's he needs more help. We got to stop moving goalposts. Okay,
here's some facts about that game. In Game five, in
the fourth quarter of that game, Nikola Jokic went four
(25:21):
of six from the field for thirteen points. His teammates
went one for fifteen with six points. Why did Jokic
double what his teammates put in and still got criticized
by Perkins? Make it make sense? Please? Look, I get
he hates Nikola Yokic. I understand. I don't know why.
I have a few theories, but I don't know why.
(25:44):
But at least try to do some research. And you
know what, it's not just me that thinks this. Charles
Barkley actually called him out about some of his dumb takes.
Here's a clip from that T and T crew, and
it is kind of what makes them so great? Barkley,
just step up and kill it right now. I saw
a fool idiot on TV talking about the Lakers, save
(26:05):
the NBA, save the MBA. Yeah, yeah, he's an idiot
of food. But you know who he is? What's his name? Jack?
Which what you're talking about? Ken had a kid Chuck.
By the way, Perkins also said he would have locked
Joker up back in his day. Honestly, what is he
talking about? Did he sustain a head injuries that I
don't remember during his playing days, like an acme safe
(26:26):
falling from the ceiling on his head. I don't make
this next state, but lightly I've thought about it. Let
me be clear and concise. Kendrick Perkins might be the
dumbest man in ESPN history and not my friends, is
really saying something now as we do so many weeks
here at the Daily Dose, we need to get over
to our daily dose top five. Yes, as we have
(26:53):
been talking about this week, the NBA Finals will begin
tomorrow in Oklahoma City as the Thunder will face the
Indiana Pacers. But do you realize that this will be
the first time that we have not had a large
market team in the finals in you know twenty years. Hey,
it doesn't happen very often. Now. I know there are
(27:15):
conspiracy theories out there that the NBA favors large markets
over small markets, and I'll be honest, I'm here for it.
But for reference, here's how we're defining these markets. Large
NBA markets means you have a city of over two
million hometown fans. Okay, those are large. Then you have
(27:38):
mintal markets from one point five million to two million
in your hometown. And then you have small markets that
have under one point five million hometown fans in that city. Well,
I mean between Boston and LA and the Bay Area
and New York, the NBA Finals have been dominated by
(28:00):
large markets. Well, today our daily dose Top five is
counting down the last five times that two non large
market teams met in the finals, and I will warn
you it hasn't happened that much. We started up at
number five. Wow, And we have to go clear back
to the year two thousand and seven for the most
recent example of two smaller market teams meeting in the
(28:23):
NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs had been eliminated the
previous year in Game seven by Dallas, and now they
were on a mission, Tony Parker, Mona Genobli, and Tim
Duncan rolled to a fifty eight and twenty four record.
They plowed through the Nuggets, the Suns, and the Jazz
in the playoffs before going to the finals and meeting
the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now the Calves were being led by
(28:47):
a very young Lebron. James Lebron didn't that much help.
He had guys like Drew Gooden and Daniel Gibson. But
I mean, the Eastern Conference was hot, flaming garbage. So
the Calves made it to the finals and then they
got to San Antonio and it wasn't really close. The
Spurs swept the series for nothing, and they held the
(29:09):
poor Cavaliers to just eighty points per game. Tony Parker
was named the series MVP, and the series was not
a hit with TV viewers. It pulled just nine million
fans per game, the lowest series numbers at that time
since they had started being kept. The Spurs versus Cavs
series in two thousand and seven was the last time
(29:31):
we had a small market finals and it comes in
today at number five. We moved next to number four,
and we go back just two seasons prior to that
to two thousand and five. Once again, the Spurs were
a powerhouse during these years with Duncan, Parker and Genobili
and they went to the finals six times from ninety
nine to twenty fourteen. Well, in two thousand and five,
(29:54):
the Spurs had beaten the Nuggets big surprise, the Seattle
SuperSonics and the Phoenix Suns, and ate it back to
the finals. On the eastern side, we got the Detroit
Pistons with Haunci Phillips, Rip Hamilton and Rashid Wallace. This
was a battle of two really good defensive teams. Well,
the series win all seven games, with either team only
(30:16):
breaking the one hundred point barrier one single time. The
Pistons scored one oh two in Game four, but in
the end it would be San Antonio beating Detroit eighty
one seventy four in Game seven. Once again, and the
TV ratings were not great. That series pulled just twelve
and a half million viewers per game. Tim Duncan was
(30:37):
the MVP and the two thousand and five NBA Finals
comes in at number four. Now at number three, we
have to go back a bit further to the year
just prior to Michael Jordan taking over the NBA Finals
for a few years. We go back to nineteen ninety.
We're got Detroit Pistons. We're god defending champions and they
(30:58):
were the bad boys with Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Lambier,
Vinnie Johnson, Dennis Robin john Sally Hey, head coach Chuck
Day great last name, by the way, had a team
for the Ages. Pistons had beaten the Pacers, they had
beaten the Knicks, and yes, they had beaten Michael Jordan's Bulls.
(31:19):
You might remember this was the infamous Game seven Migraine
game for Scottie Pippen. But awaiting the Pistons would be
a Clyde Drexler led Portland Trailblazers team. Now Drexler had
your own Cursey, he had Terry Porter, he had Buck Williams.
It was a tough team, but not quite good enough.
The Pistons were on another level. They beat Portland in
(31:41):
five games and Isaiah would be named the MVP of
the series. However, for being a small market Finals, the
TV ratings weren't bad. They pulled over seventeen million viewers
per game. You can have small market teams. They just
need to be interesting. The nineteen ninety NBA Finals comes
in today on our list at number three, So we
(32:02):
arrived at the number two. Last time we had two
small market teams make the NBA Finals, and this time
we've got to go way back, and I mean way
back to nineteen fifty five. The Syrahcuse Nationals would eventually
become the Philadelphia seventy six Ers in the early sixties. However,
(32:22):
at this time they were still a small market team
in Upstate New York. And at this time, because of
some shakeups in the league, there were actually nine teams
in the NBA. Now, the Nationals had gone forty three
to twenty nine under big Man Dolph Chase and a
guard that would eventually become the play by play radio
(32:43):
commentator for the Chicago Bulls, the guy by the name
of Johnny Kerr. In fact, he would actually call Michael
Jordan's game winning shot against the Cleveland Cavaliers in nineteen
eighty nine, but the Nationals faced the Fort Wayne Pistons,
and the Pistons, of course, would later move to Detroittionals
beat the Pistons in a game seventh thriller ninety two
(33:03):
ninety one, and Dolph Shase would be named the series MVP.
Of course, we have no TV numbers as they weren't
being kept yet and a lot of people didn't even
own TVs. But the nineteen to fifty five finals between
Syracuse and Fort Wayne comes in today at number two,
so we reach the number one. Last time we had
(33:23):
two small market teams make the NBA Finals, and we
go back, well actually just one year previous to our
number two entry to nineteen fifty four. Once again Shaes
and the Syracuse Nationals were there and they would face
the Lakers for the title. Now, why do I have
the Lakers on this list? We know LA is a
huge market, well because they were in LA. Yet the
(33:46):
Minneapolis Lakers were led by big man George Micn and
they had won titles in forty nine fifty to fifty two.
Mican would lead the Lakers in scoring with eighteen points
a game, but it would be a guy by the
name of Jim Hollered that would lead the Lakers to
a game seven win with twenty one points. Once again,
there were no TV ratings, and once again, the city
(34:09):
of La somehow claims this title as their own, even
though it was nowhere near California or the city of
Los Angeles. Hey, it hasn't happened much in the history
of the NBA that we have seen not one, but
two small market teams meet up in the finals. It
doesn't mean it will be a bad final. It just
means you need a few guys to step up and
(34:30):
make things interesting. And if they do, you can still
get strong TV ratings. You can still have an entertaining
NBA Finals. But I'm warning you right now it won't
be easy because we know those big cities they do
bring big TV ratings. Hey, all I'm hoping for is
we get an entertaining NBA Finals. I would be thrilled
(34:50):
to be wrong. Hey, Indiana, make this close, make it tight,
take it to six seven games. I'm not believing it,
but I would enjoy it if it actually happened. Hey,
next week on the does we will of course be
keeping you up on all the sports news going on
right now, including those NBA finals and the Stanley Cup finals.
So be sure you check out the daily dose and
be sure you let a friend know do the same. Hey,
(35:11):
I want to say thank you to each and every
one of you for listening to the Daily Dose every week.
Thank you for the emails, thanks for the text, thank
for the tweets, but more than anything, thank you for
sharing the show. Thank you for sharing the videos and
for sharing the articles with someone that you know. We
absolutely love it when you do that. I said thank
you to Jess P. Could not do any of this
without you. I will see you all next Wednesday. Have
a great week and enjoy those NBA and Stanley Cup Finals.
(35:39):
Why your Bailey so big?
Wednesday, June fourth, twenty twenty five, you are listening to
the Daily Dose Sports podcast and I am your host,
Clinton Daily, coming to you from the my High City
here in Denver, Colorado, and we are back for another
week of talking sports with a dose of common sense.
Happy Wednesday to you. Yes it is already June. We're
in the world of the month of mag Seems like
(00:28):
that just started, didn't it, Birdy in June. Hey, I
hope that your week is going well. I hope that
you had a good weekend. I hope that you, your family,
your friends are all staying strong and healthy right now.
And you know, we talked a little about it last week,
but the NBA Finals are now set as we are
(00:48):
going to have the top team in the NBA, the
number one seed in the Western Conference. Yes, I'm talking
about the Oklahoma City Thunder who will be facing the
number four seeded and somewhat surprising Indiana Pacers. Yeah. You know,
(01:08):
the most amazing part about this is we actually get
two small market teams facing each other in the finals.
That just doesn't happen very often. Game one is tomorrow
night in Oklahoma City, and hey, why not just jump
in and preview. How this is going to go right now?
The Oklahoma City Thunder got here by routing the Minnesota
(01:30):
Timberwolves in five games in the Western Conference Finals. Oklahoma
City's appearance in the finals is their first since they
had Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and James Harden and
they went there in twenty twelve. Over in the East,
the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks reignited that rivalry,
(01:51):
and the Patiers overcame the Knicks in six games. Indiana
is back in the finals for the first time since
back in two thousand. Hey, we have two small market
teams in the finals for the first time, says two
thousand and seven. And that is somewhat exciting news for
small markets. But here is who that is not good
(02:13):
news for the NBA because we all know ratings have
been on a steady decline since Michael Jordan and I
don't know if this is going to help. Okay, so
who is actually going to win this series? And when
I look at this, I'll be honest, this feels very
(02:33):
David versus Goliath to me. Not that it can't happen,
but I'm just concerned that it would happen. Hey, we're
going to get that very efficient offense of Indiana against
that very physical and very talented defense of Oklahoma City Patrios.
Guard Tyrese Halliburton, he is a past first point guard,
(02:53):
but he can score, and he has been playing so
well this postseason. However, he has not seen anything in
the Eastern Conference remotely close to what he's going to
see against the Thunder. Because Shay gilges Alexander alex Crusoe,
they are going to be a pain and they're going
to jam him up in ways that Nick scar Jalen
(03:15):
Brunson could not do because he was just too small.
This is going to be very, very different. But there
are a couple of key things I want you to
watch in these NBA Finals that are going to kind
of tell you how this is going to go. And
one of the biggest keys is going to be the
bigs inside. Hey, the Pacers are talented, They've got Pascal
(03:35):
Siakam and Miles Turner, but they are going to be
a bit undersized and that's going to be a problem
against the Thunder because the Thunder have those bigs Chet Holmgren,
Isaiah Hartenstein and even Jalen Williams will play in there
a little bit. The other aspect I want to watch
(03:56):
is can Indiana go out and just play fast, pace,
hectic basketball, Because if somehow they can and the Thunder
don't transition that, well, then maybe this gets interesting. I
just don't know that they're going to be able to
do that. Another key aspect in this series is the
(04:16):
fact that I really liked Indiana's depth in the postseason.
It has been a big reason for better success. You
could see against the Knicks. Knicks go to their bench,
Indiana goes to their bench. Suddenly Indiana takes a big lead.
Here's the problem for Indiana. I actually think the Thunder
have more depth than they do. Now. I do believe
(04:38):
Indiana coach Rick Carlyle is absolutely proving that he is
one of the best coaches in the league, one of
the best coaches of this era. I mean, he's now
taken his second team to the NBA Finals. The problem
is coaching can only fix so much, and I think
that deck is stacked against him. Here. Okay, so who
(05:02):
am I picking in these NBA Finals. Well, I'm gonna
take the Thunder this week or straight now. I'll be nice,
I'll be nice. I'll go Oklahoma City in five games.
I'm gonna really stretch it out. I'm gonna go Oklahoma
City in five games. I just think they have way
too much. Hey, remember you should be stopping by Dalodo
(05:22):
sports dot com every week. Check out the new things
we have going on over there. We have links to podcast,
we have links to new articles each week. In fact,
one went out this week, but University of Colorado head
coach Dion Sanders. You might want to check that out.
You could also email the podcast at dalodosports at gmail
dot com. We would love to hear for you. And
remember you can pick up some Daily Dose gear over
(05:44):
a Dalodo sports dot com. Maybe you need a T shirt,
a hoodie, sweatshirt, a baseball cap. They have at all
for you and you can pick the color that you want.
Just stop by daily doosports dot com. Hey. Today on
the Dose, we are going to be taking a brief
look at the NBA playoffs so far, the biggest winners
and who have been the biggest losers. Plus we will
(06:05):
have a Daily Dose Top five for you today. Like
we mentioned, the NBA Finals this year features two teams
from smaller markets and as you will see from our
daily dose top five that doesn't happen very often. But first,
of course, it isn't just the NBA that has reached
the final series of their season for the second consecutive year.
(06:26):
We are going to be seeing the Florida Panthers versus
the Edmonton Oilers in the final round of the Stanley
Cup Playoffs. Now, look, we all know that most sequels
are not as good as the original, So what I
want to see is would this one be like an
(06:47):
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade sequel, which is great,
or will it be like the Godfather of Three which
was hot, flaming garbage. Last year, the Panthers beat the
Oilers in seven games, but it was a really weird series.
Remember they went up three nothing on the Oilers and
then Edmonton won three games in a row and we
(07:07):
got a game seven and the Panthers scraped out a
win and won the Cup. Now are they capable of
winning it all again? Or more importantly, can the Oilers
win it this time and end the drought for Canadian
teams winning a Cup. A drought I might add that
goes clear back to nineteen ninety three. It has been
(07:30):
a while since our moose riding brethren have won a
Stanley Cup. The Oilers have the two best players in
the series in Conor McDavid and Leon Drysidel, and that
can lift that team almost nights. But it isn't just
that dynamic duo. No, this team has depth. Goalie Stewart
Skinner is red hot right now. Edmonton is going to
(07:53):
be a handful. However, Florida is not going to back
down from anyone. They have their own with Alexander Barkoff,
Matthew Kachuck, Brad Marshawn. The Panthers can play physical and
you know what they specialize in doing. They make things
rough and shut down those potent offenses and their superstars.
(08:15):
They've done it all playoffs. I kind of think they
can do it again and for that reason, I'm going
to take the Panthers to repeat. But I think it's
going to be a tight series. I will take Florida,
let's say in six. I'll take the Panthers in six.
One insane story in the NBA that we do need
(08:35):
to touch on. The New York Knicks are firing head
coach Tom Thibodeau. That is what the team announced yesterday. Now,
Tibodeau helped the Knicks of their first Eastern Conference Finals
in twenty five years. They made the playoffs in four
of his five years, and he led the team to
consecutive fifty win seasons for the first time since the nineties. However,
(08:58):
team president Leon ro had this to say, our organization
is singularly focused on winning a championship for our fans.
This pursuit led us to the decision to inform Tom
Thibodeau that we've decided to move in another direction. We
can't thank Tom enough for pouring his heart and soul
into each and every day of being the New York
(09:19):
Knicks coach. Tom will always be part of our Knicks
family and we truly wish him nothing but the best
in the future. Now, remember, the Knicks had just extended
Thibodeau last summer on a three year deal, and he
finishes his time in New York with the fourth most
wins by a coach in franchise history. Hey, I know
(09:42):
we've talked about this before. There are basketball gods out there,
and I am telling you right now this moved by
the Knicks. Oh, it is going to anger. The basketball
gods have you learned nothing from watching the football gods.
Do you remember when the Chargers fired Marty Schottenheimer after
(10:03):
taking the AFC Championship. They haven't gotten near anything since. Hey,
it might not be this next year, but trust me,
bad voodoo is coming for the Knicks. Hey, Thibodeau, I
questioned some of the things he does. I think he's
way too hard on his players as far as what
he asked them to do physically, and yet all he
(10:25):
does is win. All he did with the Knicks was
win and you fired him. Oh yeah, bad bad voodoo
coming for the Knicks. And by the way, if you're
trying to make Knicks fans happy, Knicks fans are the
biggest idiots on a planet. Really, that's what you're trying
to make happy. These are morons walking around like downtown
(10:45):
in New York with a snake wrapped around them and
a Knicks hat on the snake. That's the idiot you're
trying to keep happy. Bad bad voodoo for the Knicks
right here. One other bit of news this week that
I do want to touch on. A woman has a
He used New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson of rape
in addition to sexual, physical, emotional, and financial abuse over
(11:10):
the span of a multi year relationship. That is, according
to a lawsuit submitted to the Los Angeles Superior Court
last Thursday, a woman who identifies as Jane Doe is
accusing Williamson of a continuing pattern of abusive, controlling, and
threatening behavior over the course of a relationship that started
(11:32):
during Williams's freshman year at Duke and then lasted from
two thousand and eight until twenty twenty three. Now, I'll
be honest, the details of the accusations are pretty gross,
and I don't really want to read them here because
then I'm going to need to take a silk wood
shower and we'll see how all this plays out. But
(11:53):
whatever happens, I think we can agree that this is
not what we expected from Zion when he came out.
Remember when he was at Duke coming into the NBA.
That kid looked like a can't miss prospect. With his explosion,
with his size, with his strength, with his touch around
(12:14):
the basket. It looked like Zion was going to be
the next big thing. Turns out the only thing any
of us got right was the big part. Why you're
so big? Look, we're used to duke stars consistently underachieving
at the NBA level that I'll be honest, Zion Williamson. Yeah,
(12:37):
this might be the biggest one of all. So the
NBA postseason is now coming to a close, and the
NBA Finals do begin tomorrow night in Oklahoma City. But
we've already seen a number of both winners and losers
from these playoffs. I'll show you what I mean right now.
I'm gonna start out. I'm going to hand out a
(12:58):
winner to the winner of the NBA's Most Valuable Player award. Yes,
I am talking about Oklahoma City Guards Shay Gildess Alexander.
Don't get me wrong, I do not agree that he's
the most valuable player, but he has looked like the
best player on the best team in the postseason. So far.
In the playoffs, Sga is averaging twenty nine point eight
(13:23):
points per game. Hey, dude is scoring at a pretty
high pace. He is averaging five point seven rebounds per game,
and he's handing out six point nine assists per game.
SGA has led the Thunder to a twelve and four
record so far in these playoffs, and he has looked
dominant in doing so. Do I think he've loops too much. Yeah,
(13:48):
and I'll be honest. Sometimes his style of play it
can be tough to watch, but there is no question
SGA has been a winner in this postseason. When it
has gotten tight, when they have needed him to, he
has stepped up. And not only is he the season MVP,
I mean he's a heavy favorite to be the Finals MVP.
(14:09):
Now I'll pick him for the Finals MVP right now,
a day before we begin. SGA has been a winner.
I'm gonna hand out our first loser, though, and I'm
gonna hand it to the defending NBA champion, Boston Celtics.
Here's what's crazy to think about. Even with some of
the terrible teams out there, like the Wizard or the Hornets,
(14:31):
is there a fan base right now that is more
miserable than Celtics fans. Yes, I know. They went sixty
one to twenty one this season. They were the number
two seed in the East. They plowed through Orlando in
just five games. They looked like they were still the
team to beat, but then it all went bad. It
went very, very bad. They faced the New York Knicks
(14:55):
in the Conference semis and they absolutely flamed out. Not
only that they lose to the Knicks in six games.
They gave up massive second half leads, and then in
Game six, which ended the series. It somehow got even
worse because superstar Jason Tatum went down with the blown achilles.
(15:19):
Oh that's horrible. That is going to take a full
calendar year to come back from. Now you're gonna be hearing. Oh,
he could be back for the playoffs. No, he won't,
not at the level he was. He may never be
the same, but he sure won't be back playing even
close to the level he was next year at this
time in the playoffs. Hey, if you're a Celtics fan
right now, you don't have a whole lot to feel
(15:41):
great about. You just don't. Which is crazy to think about,
because a few weeks ago we would have never believed that.
We all thought, well, the Celtics will still roll, they'll
still be solid in the East. No, they're still gonna
be really, really good. That went horrible for Boston. I'm
gonna give a winner, and I'm going to give it
to a guy he already spoke about today, and that
is Indiana paces guard Tyrese Haliburton. Hey, this kid has
(16:07):
not led the Pacers to the NBA Finals, right after
he had been voted the most overrated player in the
NBA by his peers in the NBA. Look, I don't
know if that's jealousy. I don't know why guys wanted
to dog him out like that. But when they issue
(16:29):
that little poll among players in the NBA, who's the
most overrated player, Haliburton won by a landslide. Not only
did he have to come off with that, he also
had to overcome his idiot father going out on the
court after the Milwaukee series and getting suspended from attending
games for a while. You don't think that wears on
(16:51):
a guy's head. It does. I've seen at the youth
and high school level, got a loud male parent up
in the stands, kids just down there wishing they shut up. Yeah,
you know, Tyrese felt that. But the Pacers, who went
in just fifty to thirty two, they were the four seed,
have now gone on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks, who
(17:11):
they were an underdog against, and then they beat the
top seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, who they
were an underdog against. And then they beat the New
York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Hey, and in
those games, Halliburton is averaging nearly nineteen points a game,
six rebounds per game, and ten assists per game. Hey,
(17:35):
that three point shot against the Knicks in Game one
win That game, by the way, was absolutely over and
then sent the game into overtime and they win it.
That is going to be remembered in NBA crowds for
years to come. Tyrese Haliburton, no matter how the finals goes,
is without a doubt, a winner in this NBA postseason. Okay,
(17:57):
I've got to give out another loser for these NBA playoffs,
and I have got to give it to Minnesota. Timberwill
start Anthony Edwards, who, for the second year in a row,
about out in the playoffs without really that much of
a fight. You know, everyone keeps wanting to annoyt ant
as the next face of the league. The problem is
(18:19):
that he's just not really producing all that much. In
crunch time, Guys want to say, oh, he looks a
little like Jordan, Oh he can score it will let
Jordan sometimes. But after averaging twenty six points per game
against the Lakers in the first round this year and
averaging twenty six points a game again against the Warriors
(18:39):
in the second round. Ant struggled against the Thunder in
the Western Conference Finals. He averaged twenty three points per game. Now,
that doesn't sound that bad, except here's the problem. He
scored thirty two in game two, which is a loss,
and then scored thirty in Game three when Minnesota actually
blew the Thunder out. That sounds good, right, Yeah, here's
(19:01):
the problem. Game one, let's set the tone. We can
hang with these guys. Let's go out beat them on
our floor and we can prove that we can beat
the Thunder. He comes out and scores eighteen. Okay, so
they lose games one and two, they get to blow
out in Game three, and in game four at home
(19:22):
in Minnesota, down two to one in the series, Ant
has sixteen points on five of thirteen shooting. That's not great.
They lose again, and then on the brink of elimination
in game five, Ant scores just nineteen points and Minnesota
is gone. Now, after the elimination game, when the Thunder
(19:45):
take them out, Aunt talked about how no one's going
to work harder than the offseason than him. Bro, you
got taken out by the Mavericks in just five games
last year and you got torched defensively over and O
and you said that again back then. He also talked
last week about how he was actually making the right
(20:07):
plays in this series against the Thunder because he didn't
shoot as much. Since the Thunder, we're doubling him and
taking him away. Yeah, welcome to being a superstar, Anthony.
Do you think that MJ and Magic and Bird and
Kareem and Kobe and Doc do you think they weren't
getting doubled and tripled and quadrupled. Stars make plays and
(20:31):
Anthony Edwards isn't making them when it matters the most.
He has to be a loser for this postseason to
give a winner, and I'm going to give it to
the villain Nova Wildcats. Yes, I realized that Nova is
no longer a college hoops powerhouse like it was when
they had head coach J Wright. But think about what
those players from that era are currently doing in the NBA.
(20:55):
I mean, Jalen Brunson might honestly be the most clutch
player in the game today, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart. They
are also big contributors for those New York Knicks. Dante
DiVincenzo is a key player from Minnesota. That Villanova era
was absolutely incredible. And that's not even counting guys like
Colin Gillespie who's with Phoenix, Cam Whitmore, who's with Houston,
(21:18):
Jeremiah Robinson, Earl is down with New Orleans. Hey, Villanova
went on an amazing run, and we are feeling that
era of Villanova hoops in the NBA right now. Big
winner to Villanova. Oh and by the way, they also
just got their own pope elected, so that's a big
one too. We'll give that a loser, though, and I'm
(21:40):
going to give it to the older generation of NBA
players Now. I want you to think about this for
just a second. Lebron James, Steph Curry, Kyle Lowry, Kevin Durant,
James Harden, Anthony Davis, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Draymond Green,
Kawhi La, Janna, Sanna Decompo, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, Damian Loward,
(22:04):
Clay Thompson, Jimmy Butler. Not a single one of them
got past the second round this year in the playoffs.
That's honestly amazing. Those guys have not just dominated the
league year in year out, they have dominated the postseason
and dominated being in the finals. Not one of them
got past the second round of the playoffs. I mean,
(22:26):
we kind of forget it. Father Time is undefeated. And
here is more proof. These guys were dominating the league,
going to the finals every year, winning titles. Not that
they can't still have success, but that generation of players,
they are no longer the primetime players. The younger generation
(22:46):
is taking over without a doubt. I will give our
final NBA playoff winner to the NBA on TNT crew
of Ernie Johnson, Kenny, the Jets Smith, Charles Barkley, and
Shaquille Neil who finished their run with P and P
and now they will be moving, they say, at least
a little bit to ESPN and then trying to do
(23:10):
I don't know something on TNT, like just a studio
show or something. I don't know, but that group, honestly,
they have the most entertaining studio show going and some
of the reason why is because they're honest. Hey, if
the game is terrible, they will say it. They are
not just shills for the NBA. In fact, some of
the NBA players take offense at their criticism and they're like, oh,
(23:33):
they should be more supportive. Lebron's like, Oh, they shouldn't
be criticizing us all the time. But you know what,
you know what Lebron doesn't say, He doesn't call him
liars because they're absolutely accurate. Here is hoping that when
they go to ESPN, ESPN doesn't screw this up and
try to muzzle those guys because they have a track
(23:53):
record of hiring idiots. This crew is the best crew
they've had in quite some time. Don't screw it up, ESPN.
I have to give the NBA on TNT guys a big,
big winner which brings us to our final loser in
the NBA playoffs so far. And for that I will
name ESPN's NBA prognosticator Kendrick Perkins, who has never had
(24:19):
an intelligent thought enter his skull. Honestly, I can literally
listen to this fool and just believe the opposite of
anything he says. I have no idea how he has
a job. It's actually unreal. Remember two years ago he
was telling us that Joel Embiid deserve the MVP over
(24:39):
Nikola Jokic, and he claimed the only reason Yokic would
win was because of a racial bias by voters. Yeah,
that age like milk. This year, Perkins tried spinning that
Jokic has more help than Lebron and he needs to
do something with it. After Game five of the n
(25:00):
Series against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Perkins dropped this little
gem on x Bron gets tired at forty years old
and people question his greatness, but Jokic gets tired, and
it's he needs more help. We got to stop moving goalposts. Okay,
here's some facts about that game. In Game five, in
the fourth quarter of that game, Nikola Jokic went four
(25:21):
of six from the field for thirteen points. His teammates
went one for fifteen with six points. Why did Jokic
double what his teammates put in and still got criticized
by Perkins? Make it make sense? Please? Look, I get
he hates Nikola Yokic. I understand. I don't know why.
I have a few theories, but I don't know why.
(25:44):
But at least try to do some research. And you
know what, it's not just me that thinks this. Charles
Barkley actually called him out about some of his dumb takes.
Here's a clip from that T and T crew, and
it is kind of what makes them so great? Barkley,
just step up and kill it right now. I saw
a fool idiot on TV talking about the Lakers, save
(26:05):
the NBA, save the MBA. Yeah, yeah, he's an idiot
of food. But you know who he is? What's his name? Jack?
Which what you're talking about? Ken had a kid Chuck.
By the way, Perkins also said he would have locked
Joker up back in his day. Honestly, what is he
talking about? Did he sustain a head injuries that I
don't remember during his playing days, like an acme safe
(26:26):
falling from the ceiling on his head. I don't make
this next state, but lightly I've thought about it. Let
me be clear and concise. Kendrick Perkins might be the
dumbest man in ESPN history and not my friends, is
really saying something now as we do so many weeks
here at the Daily Dose, we need to get over
to our daily dose top five. Yes, as we have
(26:53):
been talking about this week, the NBA Finals will begin
tomorrow in Oklahoma City as the Thunder will face the
Indiana Pacers. But do you realize that this will be
the first time that we have not had a large
market team in the finals in you know twenty years. Hey,
it doesn't happen very often. Now. I know there are
(27:15):
conspiracy theories out there that the NBA favors large markets
over small markets, and I'll be honest, I'm here for it.
But for reference, here's how we're defining these markets. Large
NBA markets means you have a city of over two
million hometown fans. Okay, those are large. Then you have
(27:38):
mintal markets from one point five million to two million
in your hometown. And then you have small markets that
have under one point five million hometown fans in that city. Well,
I mean between Boston and LA and the Bay Area
and New York, the NBA Finals have been dominated by
(28:00):
large markets. Well, today our daily dose Top five is
counting down the last five times that two non large
market teams met in the finals, and I will warn
you it hasn't happened that much. We started up at
number five. Wow, And we have to go clear back
to the year two thousand and seven for the most
recent example of two smaller market teams meeting in the
(28:23):
NBA Finals. The San Antonio Spurs had been eliminated the
previous year in Game seven by Dallas, and now they
were on a mission, Tony Parker, Mona Genobli, and Tim
Duncan rolled to a fifty eight and twenty four record.
They plowed through the Nuggets, the Suns, and the Jazz
in the playoffs before going to the finals and meeting
the Cleveland Cavaliers. Now the Calves were being led by
(28:47):
a very young Lebron. James Lebron didn't that much help.
He had guys like Drew Gooden and Daniel Gibson. But
I mean, the Eastern Conference was hot, flaming garbage. So
the Calves made it to the finals and then they
got to San Antonio and it wasn't really close. The
Spurs swept the series for nothing, and they held the
(29:09):
poor Cavaliers to just eighty points per game. Tony Parker
was named the series MVP, and the series was not
a hit with TV viewers. It pulled just nine million
fans per game, the lowest series numbers at that time
since they had started being kept. The Spurs versus Cavs
series in two thousand and seven was the last time
(29:31):
we had a small market finals and it comes in
today at number five. We moved next to number four,
and we go back just two seasons prior to that
to two thousand and five. Once again, the Spurs were
a powerhouse during these years with Duncan, Parker and Genobili
and they went to the finals six times from ninety
nine to twenty fourteen. Well, in two thousand and five,
(29:54):
the Spurs had beaten the Nuggets big surprise, the Seattle
SuperSonics and the Phoenix Suns, and ate it back to
the finals. On the eastern side, we got the Detroit
Pistons with Haunci Phillips, Rip Hamilton and Rashid Wallace. This
was a battle of two really good defensive teams. Well,
the series win all seven games, with either team only
(30:16):
breaking the one hundred point barrier one single time. The
Pistons scored one oh two in Game four, but in
the end it would be San Antonio beating Detroit eighty
one seventy four in Game seven. Once again, and the
TV ratings were not great. That series pulled just twelve
and a half million viewers per game. Tim Duncan was
(30:37):
the MVP and the two thousand and five NBA Finals
comes in at number four. Now at number three, we
have to go back a bit further to the year
just prior to Michael Jordan taking over the NBA Finals
for a few years. We go back to nineteen ninety.
We're got Detroit Pistons. We're god defending champions and they
(30:58):
were the bad boys with Isaiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Bill Lambier,
Vinnie Johnson, Dennis Robin john Sally Hey, head coach Chuck
Day great last name, by the way, had a team
for the Ages. Pistons had beaten the Pacers, they had
beaten the Knicks, and yes, they had beaten Michael Jordan's Bulls.
(31:19):
You might remember this was the infamous Game seven Migraine
game for Scottie Pippen. But awaiting the Pistons would be
a Clyde Drexler led Portland Trailblazers team. Now Drexler had
your own Cursey, he had Terry Porter, he had Buck Williams.
It was a tough team, but not quite good enough.
The Pistons were on another level. They beat Portland in
(31:41):
five games and Isaiah would be named the MVP of
the series. However, for being a small market Finals, the
TV ratings weren't bad. They pulled over seventeen million viewers
per game. You can have small market teams. They just
need to be interesting. The nineteen ninety NBA Finals comes
in today on our list at number three, So we
(32:02):
arrived at the number two. Last time we had two
small market teams make the NBA Finals, and this time
we've got to go way back, and I mean way
back to nineteen fifty five. The Syrahcuse Nationals would eventually
become the Philadelphia seventy six Ers in the early sixties. However,
(32:22):
at this time they were still a small market team
in Upstate New York. And at this time, because of
some shakeups in the league, there were actually nine teams
in the NBA. Now, the Nationals had gone forty three
to twenty nine under big Man Dolph Chase and a
guard that would eventually become the play by play radio
(32:43):
commentator for the Chicago Bulls, the guy by the name
of Johnny Kerr. In fact, he would actually call Michael
Jordan's game winning shot against the Cleveland Cavaliers in nineteen
eighty nine, but the Nationals faced the Fort Wayne Pistons,
and the Pistons, of course, would later move to Detroittionals
beat the Pistons in a game seventh thriller ninety two
(33:03):
ninety one, and Dolph Shase would be named the series MVP.
Of course, we have no TV numbers as they weren't
being kept yet and a lot of people didn't even
own TVs. But the nineteen to fifty five finals between
Syracuse and Fort Wayne comes in today at number two,
so we reach the number one. Last time we had
(33:23):
two small market teams make the NBA Finals, and we
go back, well actually just one year previous to our
number two entry to nineteen fifty four. Once again Shaes
and the Syracuse Nationals were there and they would face
the Lakers for the title. Now, why do I have
the Lakers on this list? We know LA is a
huge market, well because they were in LA. Yet the
(33:46):
Minneapolis Lakers were led by big man George Micn and
they had won titles in forty nine fifty to fifty two.
Mican would lead the Lakers in scoring with eighteen points
a game, but it would be a guy by the
name of Jim Hollered that would lead the Lakers to
a game seven win with twenty one points. Once again,
there were no TV ratings, and once again, the city
(34:09):
of La somehow claims this title as their own, even
though it was nowhere near California or the city of
Los Angeles. Hey, it hasn't happened much in the history
of the NBA that we have seen not one, but
two small market teams meet up in the finals. It
doesn't mean it will be a bad final. It just
means you need a few guys to step up and
(34:30):
make things interesting. And if they do, you can still
get strong TV ratings. You can still have an entertaining
NBA Finals. But I'm warning you right now it won't
be easy because we know those big cities they do
bring big TV ratings. Hey, all I'm hoping for is
we get an entertaining NBA Finals. I would be thrilled
(34:50):
to be wrong. Hey, Indiana, make this close, make it tight,
take it to six seven games. I'm not believing it,
but I would enjoy it if it actually happened. Hey,
next week on the does we will of course be
keeping you up on all the sports news going on
right now, including those NBA finals and the Stanley Cup finals.
So be sure you check out the daily dose and
be sure you let a friend know do the same. Hey,
(35:11):
I want to say thank you to each and every
one of you for listening to the Daily Dose every week.
Thank you for the emails, thanks for the text, thank
for the tweets, but more than anything, thank you for
sharing the show. Thank you for sharing the videos and
for sharing the articles with someone that you know. We
absolutely love it when you do that. I said thank
you to Jess P. Could not do any of this
without you. I will see you all next Wednesday. Have
a great week and enjoy those NBA and Stanley Cup Finals.
(35:39):
Why your Bailey so big?
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