1 00:00:00,880 --> 00:00:04,240 What's up y'all is Drewski and I've teamed up with Mountain Dew to produce a 2 00:00:04,320 --> 00:00:08,720 hilarious new basketball podcast called The du Zone With Drewski. Learned the backstories of 3 00:00:08,759 --> 00:00:12,240 your favorite balls and celebrities like Jamal Murray. Did you have like a favorite 4 00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:15,160 team? Was it the Raptors at the time or no, was the Raptors 5 00:00:15,160 --> 00:00:18,879 even started on the topic? Come on, bro Hi, tell you like 6 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,120 I'm Vivity, Taylor Rogues, Asian Wilson, and many more. You won't 7 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:25,239 want to miss this. Listen to The Duo Zone with Drewski on Apple Podcasts, 8 00:00:25,239 --> 00:00:35,799 Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Hello, everyone, welcome 9 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:39,920 to the latest episode of Hardwood Knocks. This is Adam Fromwill here with my 10 00:00:40,039 --> 00:00:44,280 fantastic co host Dan for Valley, and today we've decided to go back to 11 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,880 our roots a little bit. Now, this podcast has been around for like 12 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:52,240 seven years an hour or so, with various hosts and various different iterations. 13 00:00:52,759 --> 00:00:57,159 But when we originally started this, we always went in not really knowing where 14 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:00,280 the episodes were going to go, and just having a general topic and figuring 15 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,519 out from there. And that's what we're gonna do today, just talk playoff 16 00:01:03,560 --> 00:01:08,400 basketball because there have been so many compelling series and compelling games and compelling storylines, 17 00:01:10,120 --> 00:01:11,280 and we just want to hit all of them, or at least as 18 00:01:11,280 --> 00:01:15,680 many as we can. Whatever we do miss, we will probably cover on 19 00:01:15,799 --> 00:01:21,519 Locker Room this Sunday at four pm Eastern, just as we do every single 20 00:01:21,560 --> 00:01:26,040 week. So send us questions to our Twitter dms to the NBA Math account 21 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:30,200 when we inevitably put out a solicitation for your mail bag questions, and check 22 00:01:30,239 --> 00:01:33,920 it out at four pm. That out of the way. How's it going, 23 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,359 Dan? I am spectacular. The energy drink I'm mixed before this is 24 00:01:38,359 --> 00:01:41,159 frozen because I try to get the water called by putting it in the freezer, 25 00:01:41,159 --> 00:01:42,799 but apparently I left it in too long. I blame you for that, 26 00:01:42,879 --> 00:01:47,599 for delaying us by like plastairs those five minutes that made it nice. 27 00:01:47,599 --> 00:01:51,280 How are you doing. I'm good, I'm pretty I'm really digging that the 28 00:01:51,319 --> 00:01:53,319 spider Man cup that you have there. Yeah. I have all these Marvel 29 00:01:53,760 --> 00:01:57,239 like are they just called shakers? Is that what they're called? Drink mixers? 30 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:00,640 Yeah? So I have all these different Marvel themes shakers because I am 31 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:04,719 an adult and that's what. And the Marvels shirt right now? Yes, 32 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:07,000 I dude, look you see me with my hair down too. I'm like 33 00:02:07,040 --> 00:02:09,719 really a mess tonight, tired, exhausted, enjoying the playoffs, though, 34 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:14,000 how are you doing? I'm the opposite. I'm like a little bit dressed 35 00:02:14,080 --> 00:02:17,800 up, which is I do have a colored shirt on, which might be 36 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,639 the first time I've not had a T shirt on, and like, what 37 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:24,000 a year. It's a shame we haven't brought the video element to this podcast 38 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:27,560 yet because you look dapper. If I must say, no hat, I 39 00:02:27,599 --> 00:02:32,360 appreciate that you dressed to them, Haroline, not even the nine. You're 40 00:02:32,439 --> 00:02:37,680 dressed to the Thames. Thank you. I appreciate that. The one thing 41 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:40,520 I wanted to ask you about before, and this is playoff related your thoughts 42 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:45,400 on as we record this, it would be the past twenty four hours of 43 00:02:45,599 --> 00:02:49,599 NBA fandom, someone spitting on Matt and Trey Young and Nicks fan, a 44 00:02:49,680 --> 00:02:53,080 Madison Square garden, someone pouring popcorn on Russell Westbrook as he's leaving with an 45 00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:57,639 injury. And then, of course, I'm sure you saw the report from 46 00:02:57,639 --> 00:03:01,680 Tim McMahon of ESPN about what was said to John Morant's family at the Jazz 47 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:07,840 Grizzlies game, and it was racist, it was misogynistic. It was all 48 00:03:07,879 --> 00:03:12,000 too typical, not just for Utah, for so many fan bases. And 49 00:03:12,039 --> 00:03:15,639 then you have Danny Ainge saying, no players have ever he's never heard of 50 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:20,639 anything racist being said to them in Boston. Again, this happens outside of 51 00:03:20,639 --> 00:03:24,319 Boston. It happens outside of Utah. The ignorance, the whether deliberate or 52 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:28,680 accidental, is off the charts. There. Then you had Marcus Smart saying 53 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:31,719 it happens all the time, and it's disturbing because we know they root for 54 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:36,199 us, and that's it's hard to hear, it's hard to reconcile. This 55 00:03:36,240 --> 00:03:39,000 is gross, it's sickening, it's despicable. As I mentioned, it's also 56 00:03:39,080 --> 00:03:44,199 all too typical. It happens everywhere. No fan base is immune. There 57 00:03:44,439 --> 00:03:47,520 are fan bases that are worse than most. I would argue Boston and Utah 58 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,759 are up there. They're also I would say, look Knicks fans there. 59 00:03:52,039 --> 00:03:54,120 You don't hear about the it happens. You're not gonna hear about the racist 60 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:59,319 comments as much. But they're brutal, and even a place like Philadelphia you're 61 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:01,280 channing, was it fuck Russ or whatever it was, when he's leaving with 62 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:04,800 an injury, Like, come on, he's leaving with an injury, and 63 00:04:05,199 --> 00:04:09,680 how do we not understand that this is a fucking game and they're aligned, 64 00:04:09,719 --> 00:04:13,599 you don't cross. And there's also look, there's the morality human element here 65 00:04:13,639 --> 00:04:15,319 too, where if you're saying that and I won't even I can't even bring 66 00:04:15,399 --> 00:04:19,560 myself to repeat it what we said to John Morant's father or mother, I 67 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:26,319 believe like that's racism. It's just outright flagrant racism. And there is that's 68 00:04:26,519 --> 00:04:30,680 not sports, that's not prisoner of the moment. That is racism, ingrained, 69 00:04:30,120 --> 00:04:35,319 entrenched racism, and it honestly grosses me out. I'm enraged that it 70 00:04:35,439 --> 00:04:40,879 happens so often, so sweepingly, so comprehensively. And you know what, 71 00:04:40,959 --> 00:04:43,519 because it's the playoffs, because now it's caught on video. That's why we're 72 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,040 hearing about it. The fact that players probably don't talk about this more publicly, 73 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,240 I'm sure it happens amongst themselves. It's I don't know how they don't 74 00:04:50,399 --> 00:04:54,040 do that. I don't know how they operate under these circumstances. I know 75 00:04:54,079 --> 00:04:56,439 they get paid a lot of money, and part of that, I guess 76 00:04:56,480 --> 00:04:59,839 is to endure the criticism on social media. You're gonna have fans booing you. 77 00:05:00,120 --> 00:05:02,160 Even John Morant's family said they were having back and forth with jazz fans. 78 00:05:02,360 --> 00:05:04,879 Who you know, Kudos to the Philly fans that singled out the guy 79 00:05:04,879 --> 00:05:08,680 that poor popcorn on RUSS. There were the jazz fans that singled out the 80 00:05:08,959 --> 00:05:14,040 racist piece of shit. Great, and I still would say you remove that. 81 00:05:14,079 --> 00:05:15,720 These players are still under an enormous amount of pressure. I don't care 82 00:05:15,720 --> 00:05:18,399 how much money they'll make. This isn't a matter of getting soft to have 83 00:05:18,439 --> 00:05:21,439 to listen to that trash talk. I would never search my name on Twitter. 84 00:05:21,600 --> 00:05:25,360 Someone could tell me my article was wrong, or point out a granular 85 00:05:25,399 --> 00:05:28,319 point that's incorrect or that they don't agree with, and I'd probably be in 86 00:05:28,439 --> 00:05:30,879 shambles. So there needs to be more of a human element here. The 87 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:33,759 fans that are listening to this podcast, I'm assuming are not the problem. 88 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:35,920 If you are part of the problem, I don't know why you're listening to 89 00:05:35,920 --> 00:05:40,199 this podcast, but it's really discouraging that all this stuff still goes on and 90 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:43,000 it's not look coming. This will be the last thing I'll say before I 91 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,199 throw it to you. This is not the pandemic and isolation at work. 92 00:05:46,639 --> 00:05:49,879 Maybe people are more unruly because they've been inside or not been a sporting events 93 00:05:49,879 --> 00:05:56,800 for so long. This was happening across the board forever. This has just 94 00:05:56,839 --> 00:05:59,959 been going on. It's just crops off every once in a while where we 95 00:06:00,079 --> 00:06:01,759 hear more about it. I will say, I don't remember a twenty four 96 00:06:01,759 --> 00:06:05,839 hour period or so hearing as many stories as we've done right now, and 97 00:06:05,879 --> 00:06:11,279 it is disheartening, even though you knew it was going on already. If 98 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:14,279 I may inject just a little bit of levity here, I will have to 99 00:06:14,319 --> 00:06:17,360 say that that was the longest question I've ever been asked that didn't include a 100 00:06:17,439 --> 00:06:21,120 question. Well, you were like, I watch your thoughts on this. 101 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:27,959 I'm sorry, it's just funny. I texted you was enraged. So that 102 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,360 was me just unloaded a second everything you had to say. I think the 103 00:06:31,399 --> 00:06:36,800 only thing I would add to it is that I'm just I'm thrilled that while 104 00:06:36,920 --> 00:06:42,399 all of this is going on, there is more of an acceptance of athletes 105 00:06:42,439 --> 00:06:46,079 speaking out about mental health. We've seen it for a couple of years now 106 00:06:46,439 --> 00:06:51,319 where guys like Demarda Rosen and Kevin Love and many others have opened up, 107 00:06:51,399 --> 00:06:56,920 have opened up to the public about the struggles that they face in that area. 108 00:06:56,959 --> 00:07:01,199 We've seen the younger generation of up and coming and stars be more open 109 00:07:01,279 --> 00:07:08,160 with their feelings and sharing what they're thinking and what their thought process is about 110 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:12,360 so many of these things, and it's fantastic to see going to a different 111 00:07:12,399 --> 00:07:18,959 sport now. Naomi Osaka just talking about how press conferences are kind of an 112 00:07:19,079 --> 00:07:23,480 archaic institution. I'm sure there's like there's some merit to it, but it 113 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:27,920 feels like you're beating a horse while it's down after a bad match, you 114 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,360 deal with repetitive questions, You're forced to relive your worst moments over and over, 115 00:07:31,399 --> 00:07:34,720 and it's just not good for mental health for some people. And it's 116 00:07:35,399 --> 00:07:43,920 great to see the worldwide and sports wide embrace of that. It's not happening 117 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:47,240 universally, but it is happening, and I think that that is at least 118 00:07:47,319 --> 00:07:51,279 beneficial, because, as you said, all of this is despicable and it 119 00:07:51,439 --> 00:08:00,879 flies in the face of the very basic, bare minimum level of civility indecency 120 00:08:00,920 --> 00:08:05,319 as fellow human beings that we should ask from people who are attending a sporting 121 00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:11,639 event to be entertained by the people that they're berating like it. It's it's 122 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:16,639 baffling that it happens. But at the same time I get it because we 123 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:22,120 live in an uncivil world and the country is very polarized at the moment and 124 00:08:22,199 --> 00:08:26,920 has been for quite some time. And it's it's just it's a shame, 125 00:08:28,319 --> 00:08:31,559 and I don't know what the solution is. I wish that NBA teams would 126 00:08:31,600 --> 00:08:35,840 just say we're permanently banning you, rather than indefinitely banning you, which has 127 00:08:35,919 --> 00:08:43,240 implies redemption, which there shouldn't be. Yeah, I don't I don't know 128 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,879 what you do to ensure that it doesn't happen again, because it's going to. 129 00:08:50,879 --> 00:08:56,320 But stronger steps and stronger actions have to be taken. Like the players 130 00:08:56,360 --> 00:09:01,519 are ultimately human beings who are playing a game and getting paid a whole lot 131 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:05,159 of money to play that game. But there is no amount of money that 132 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:07,759 you can be paid. There's no amount of fame and recognition that you can 133 00:09:07,759 --> 00:09:15,320 achieve that should supersede basic human decency. I can't add anything to that because 134 00:09:15,399 --> 00:09:16,440 it was perfect, and I think it was smart the touch, though the 135 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:20,840 indefinitely stuff bothers me. The implication of redemption there. If you're asking whether 136 00:09:20,879 --> 00:09:24,039 I think a grown adult who's hurling racial slurs at John Rand's family in front 137 00:09:24,039 --> 00:09:30,039 of their child, I believe it said should be canceled. Yes, correct, 138 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:33,799 that's right. I think by canceled you mean have consequences for their behavior. 139 00:09:35,799 --> 00:09:39,080 Concrete consequence is not indefinitely, And I don't know how that one was 140 00:09:39,200 --> 00:09:39,840 raised. So I don't want to misspeak on the Jazz one, but the 141 00:09:39,919 --> 00:09:43,960 Knicks one for sure said indefinitely. It should be permanently. There shouldn't be 142 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,519 a chance for redemption here because there's you know, I don't. It wouldn't 143 00:09:48,519 --> 00:09:50,519 make it any better if it were a child or something. But these are 144 00:09:50,519 --> 00:09:54,279 adults making decisions like you don't. I don't know what the redemption here would 145 00:09:54,320 --> 00:10:00,200 be. Sugar Ray, Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvelous, Marvin hag lare 146 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:05,720 In, Thomas Hearns legends whose four way rivalry define one of the greatest errors 147 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:11,159 in boxing history, relive their decade of dominance in the new Showtime Sports documentary 148 00:10:11,279 --> 00:10:15,320 The Kings, a four parts series premiering Sunday, June sixth, only on 149 00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:20,639 showtime. Nobody builds five G like Verizon builds five G because we're the engineers 150 00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:24,000 who built the most reliable network in America. 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Kind of 156 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:52,639 a heavy shift though, or a heavy start before we shift into basketball. 157 00:10:52,679 --> 00:10:54,159 I do think, while this is going to be very off the cuff, 158 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:58,200 we should start with the three series that will be played on Friday night. 159 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:01,159 For those who will be listening to this, I'll throw it to you between 160 00:11:01,240 --> 00:11:05,120 I can't I can't imagine you're at all interested in net Celtics. So between 161 00:11:05,200 --> 00:11:09,000 Nicks, Hawks, Clippers, Mavericks, you can choose where we go. 162 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:13,960 I mean, we had to do Nicks Hawks right, considering we have a 163 00:11:13,960 --> 00:11:16,679 Hawks fan and the Knicks fan, the fact that we're doing this podcast at 164 00:11:16,679 --> 00:11:22,840 the moment while supporting each other still is a minor miracle pretending to support maybe, 165 00:11:22,919 --> 00:11:28,559 yeah, we're great actors, Yeah exactly. It's been really fun. 166 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:33,399 I think that's the biggest takeaway so far is that both Game one in Game 167 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:37,799 two were really entertaining contests. I do think, and maybe I'm just biased 168 00:11:37,799 --> 00:11:41,559 here, I do think that the reactions of like, we want Brooklyn after 169 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:46,639 the game to win and stuff was kind of hilarious. And I don't think 170 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:50,879 after watching these first two games that the Nicks should be that confident coming into 171 00:11:50,879 --> 00:11:56,200 Atlanta. The game plan against everyone but Trey Young worked really well during Game 172 00:11:56,200 --> 00:12:01,279 two, but the Hawks were white like four of twenty two from beyond the 173 00:12:01,399 --> 00:12:07,440 arc, and those were good looks in catching shoot situations from the shooters that 174 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:13,240 you largely want taking those shots. And it's like the continuation of the Voodoo 175 00:12:13,279 --> 00:12:16,919 Jedi defense that the Knicks played so effectively in the first portion of the season, 176 00:12:18,320 --> 00:12:22,720 where we were questioning the validity of the overall defensive chops and whether there 177 00:12:22,759 --> 00:12:24,480 was just going to be a start progression to the mean, And I feel 178 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:26,879 like we're going to see a little bit of that moving forward. In this 179 00:12:26,919 --> 00:12:33,639 series because the Hawks offensive process has been far better than the Hawks offensive results. 180 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,759 Yeah, I would be totally with you there. They're not going to 181 00:12:37,879 --> 00:12:41,519 and I mean they shot twelve of thirty three from three in Game two, 182 00:12:41,559 --> 00:12:45,000 which is thirty six point four percent. Isn't that low, But the quality 183 00:12:45,039 --> 00:12:46,919 of their looks on there felt like they think it was like four of twenty 184 00:12:46,960 --> 00:12:50,559 two and a second half or something though. Yeah, and I mean, 185 00:12:50,600 --> 00:12:54,240 look, the Knicks played hilicious defense in that third quarter, without a doubt. 186 00:12:54,759 --> 00:12:56,840 But some of this stuff could normalize for the Knicks too, because Julius 187 00:12:56,879 --> 00:13:01,559 Randol has been a non factor for pretty much all of Game one and then 188 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:03,919 a lot of Game two as well. I do agree with you that they 189 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,360 shouldn't be chanting. We want Brooklyn. First of all, it's gonna be 190 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:11,240 Philly or Washington in the second round anyway, if we're talking about what's literally 191 00:13:11,240 --> 00:13:15,000 coming next. But I haven't seen anything that would make me think they stand 192 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:18,639 a chance against by Philly or Washington. I was trying to be courteous there, 193 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:22,720 but yes, it's it's going to be Philly. The Knicks themselves could 194 00:13:22,799 --> 00:13:26,320 oh you know what it was? The Hawks did not shoot thirty six percent. 195 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:28,840 Three was twenty seven point three. I was looking at the wrong team. 196 00:13:28,879 --> 00:13:31,200 They're going to shoot better from three, They're uncontested. Three point percentage 197 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:35,879 in this game was just basement low, sub basement low. Negatives. I 198 00:13:35,879 --> 00:13:39,639 think, yeah, yeah, definitely negatives. I do think the Knicks offense 199 00:13:39,639 --> 00:13:41,360 probably has another gear, but I've been impressed with the way that it might 200 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:45,679 has been able to defend Julius Randalls. Some of the shots he's taking are 201 00:13:45,759 --> 00:13:48,240 normal shots he would make, but the normal shots he would make those are 202 00:13:48,320 --> 00:13:50,960 high variants. Those are really difficult looks that he has taken this season, 203 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:56,039 and you do have to question outside Julius Randall, do the Knicks have enough 204 00:13:56,159 --> 00:14:00,000 shot creation to get by? You have Derrick Rose, you have Alec Burks, 205 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,120 RJ. Barrett to some extent, they're there too. You're going any 206 00:14:03,159 --> 00:14:05,879 big performances from at least one of them every single night, maybe you get 207 00:14:05,919 --> 00:14:09,360 them. They got it from Derek Rose in Game three. This series is 208 00:14:09,639 --> 00:14:13,440 I don't when you look on paper, I don't think it's evenly matched. 209 00:14:13,639 --> 00:14:16,120 I don't think it's a spicy take to say that the Hawks have a lot 210 00:14:16,159 --> 00:14:18,679 more talent than the Knicks, but their defense is gritty and they hustle. 211 00:14:20,519 --> 00:14:24,840 The fact that they lowered the Alfred Peyton minutes by a total of three minutes 212 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:28,120 came two, he was over five. Let's see if they pan that down 213 00:14:28,159 --> 00:14:31,240 even further. Also, the other thing, Reggie Bullock did a hell of 214 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:35,039 a job against Trey Young for parts of that game. I still think Frankie 215 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:39,000 la Keena should see time. Even though he was obliterated on that last play. 216 00:14:39,039 --> 00:14:41,679 You can't ask him to sit on the bench for all but twenty three 217 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:43,600 seconds before that and then bring him in for nine seconds to stop Trey Young. 218 00:14:43,679 --> 00:14:48,200 I will die on that hill. But again, I'm talking about how 219 00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,159 the Knicks have a pathway to being better, and there's it's low hanging fruit 220 00:14:50,320 --> 00:14:54,399 for the Hawks as well. You have to assume Danila Gallinari will probably still 221 00:14:54,399 --> 00:14:58,159 continue to look like Marsine Gore Todd, but he won't shoot like him from 222 00:14:58,200 --> 00:15:03,039 a long distance. That was a good line. He'll get better. Bardanovitch, 223 00:15:03,080 --> 00:15:07,519 who thirteen from three and he's been critical to them navigating the non Tree 224 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:11,480 Young minutes going to be better. Lou Williams is a nightmare. DeAndre Hunter 225 00:15:11,639 --> 00:15:13,720 missed like eighteen shots in a row in the third and fourth quarters. I 226 00:15:13,759 --> 00:15:16,919 know John Collins was in foul trouble, but two shot attempts from him, 227 00:15:18,480 --> 00:15:20,600 you know, missing all of them. That's just a wild game. I 228 00:15:20,639 --> 00:15:24,159 feel more comfortable about my pick, which was Hawks and seven after the start 229 00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:28,759 of the series, but this does almost feel like a if I had to 230 00:15:28,759 --> 00:15:31,960 go one way. It feels like it's fate to complete, to go seven 231 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,399 games. But there's also the element of if there's a team that's going to 232 00:15:33,440 --> 00:15:37,559 pull away out of this and turn it into a shorter series, then we 233 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:41,840 expect right now, I still have that feeling it'll be Atlanta. Yeah. 234 00:15:41,919 --> 00:15:45,519 I picked the Knicks going into the series, and the first two games have 235 00:15:46,039 --> 00:15:50,360 convinced me to switch that. I think I'd be pretty surprised if the Knicks 236 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:54,159 did win this series. As you mentioned, there are definitely pathways to improve 237 00:15:54,159 --> 00:15:58,519 ment Julius Randall most notably, but it doesn't feel like there are as many 238 00:15:58,559 --> 00:16:02,440 of those as the Hawks have. I mean, ultimately, this is a 239 00:16:02,440 --> 00:16:06,200 game that was tied with a few minutes left, albeit with major runs on 240 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:07,639 both ends. The Hawks rup fifteen at one point, the Knicks rup ten, 241 00:16:07,679 --> 00:16:11,600 and the fourth quarter before it was tied. But that happened in spite 242 00:16:11,600 --> 00:16:17,159 of John Collins having the first scoreless game of his NBA career, all of 243 00:16:17,159 --> 00:16:19,399 the shooting woes that we've mentioned, You're not going to shut down Trey Young 244 00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:25,360 at this point. It's remarkable how much more in control of the offense he 245 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:27,399 is. He's always put up huge numbers, but these feel like they're coming 246 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:32,639 more naturally. He's not forcing those super deep looks, he's not committing stupid 247 00:16:32,679 --> 00:16:36,799 turnovers by trying to do too much. He's very much figured it out on 248 00:16:36,879 --> 00:16:40,360 the offensive end, and he's playing a little bit peskier defense than I think 249 00:16:40,399 --> 00:16:44,360 the national audience has realized. He's been playing for a little bit, so 250 00:16:44,399 --> 00:16:48,159 it just feels like there's more upside. And the fact that it's one and 251 00:16:48,279 --> 00:16:52,000 one coming out of the two Madison Square Garden games and could have been two 252 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:56,720 in the Hawks's favor despite those struggles, I think is really encouraging for Atlanta 253 00:16:56,799 --> 00:17:00,679 to maybe d this in like six Andre Young's defense. I think the Knicks 254 00:17:00,759 --> 00:17:06,440 are glorifying that because they're not at first hunted mismatches, and there is, 255 00:17:06,799 --> 00:17:10,039 but he hasn't been a train wreck. The whole season. I mean, 256 00:17:10,079 --> 00:17:12,000 he's still been bad. He's been bad. But if I view it like 257 00:17:12,119 --> 00:17:18,400 I did like Boston Celtics era Isaiah Thomas, where there were serious limitations that 258 00:17:18,440 --> 00:17:21,920 we're going to always prevent him from being a good, even passable defender, 259 00:17:22,279 --> 00:17:26,960 but he played passing lanes and hustled enough that he wasn't just a huge, 260 00:17:26,079 --> 00:17:30,720 glaring liability every time out. My stance would be, though, did Knicks 261 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,799 have to get better at attacking him on defense because there shouldn't be It's criminal 262 00:17:33,880 --> 00:17:38,880 that he's allowed to stand still on certain possessions on guys because they're not going 263 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:41,599 to try and go after him that that hasn't been the KNICKSMO this season. 264 00:17:41,799 --> 00:17:47,240 I totally recognize that. Make it YOURMO at this point. Yeah, I 265 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:48,400 guess like the only way they're really going to do that though, is with 266 00:17:48,480 --> 00:17:52,480 Derek Rose minutes or by getting trade to switch on to Julius Randall, and 267 00:17:52,519 --> 00:17:55,880 the Hawks are going to do everything they can do to make sure that doesn't 268 00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:56,920 happen. Yeah, there's neat Look, if you're going to put him on 269 00:17:56,960 --> 00:18:00,599 Reggie Block, I guess at points then it gets to like are you not 270 00:18:00,599 --> 00:18:03,839 gonna are you gonna use Reggie Block as the screener. You could absolutely use 271 00:18:03,920 --> 00:18:06,200 RJ. Barrett as the screener if you wanted to. I think we're going 272 00:18:06,240 --> 00:18:10,359 to see both of those things happen in Game three. But yeah, I 273 00:18:10,799 --> 00:18:14,400 still you've flipped your pick. I'm still with the Hawks here, have either 274 00:18:14,440 --> 00:18:18,160 of us? I had Clippers in five over Dallas. YouTube commenters were all 275 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:22,359 over me claiming I didn't want I did as well. Yeah, that's fine. 276 00:18:22,480 --> 00:18:26,880 I definitely did watch the Mavericks this year and over the second half when 277 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:30,640 we knew they were better. I was still terribly off base on the pulse 278 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:37,599 of this series. La Trails zero two in this has your pick flip flopped? 279 00:18:37,680 --> 00:18:41,319 Or do you still give the Clippers a legitimate chance of winning this series? 280 00:18:41,359 --> 00:18:45,000 I'm gonna I'm gonna continue picking the Clippers to win the series. Ultimately, 281 00:18:45,279 --> 00:18:51,240 I think that Luca don chich is fucking amazing, first and foremost. 282 00:18:51,519 --> 00:18:53,279 I mean, he's going against a team with Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, 283 00:18:53,440 --> 00:18:59,720 Marcus Morris, and Patrick Beverley and he's torching all of them. And that's 284 00:18:59,759 --> 00:19:03,680 kind of the problem is that they've won these two games, but it has 285 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:11,440 been an enormously taxing set of affairs for Don Chich and I think he's going 286 00:19:11,480 --> 00:19:15,480 to wear down a little bit. There's going to be an off game where 287 00:19:15,480 --> 00:19:18,880 he'll still play like a star because he's a superstar, but they need him 288 00:19:18,920 --> 00:19:26,720 to be that guy every single night. And I think the Clippers depth is 289 00:19:26,799 --> 00:19:30,920 still going to give them a fighting chance in this series, but it's going 290 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:34,759 to go the distance. I'm very tempted to flip to the Mavericks in this 291 00:19:34,799 --> 00:19:38,480 one. I get it like the Mavericks are better than I anticipated in this 292 00:19:38,559 --> 00:19:41,880 setting, now that they have their full complement of players. You know, 293 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:47,400 Christops Porzingis has been more effective than he has been in quite some time. 294 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:52,240 Don Chich is just playing ridiculously high level basketball. Tim Hardaway Jr. Is 295 00:19:52,279 --> 00:19:56,359 playing like he wants a new contract. There are a lot of positive pieces 296 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:00,039 here, more so than I expected. But I just I look at the 297 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:06,920 energy expenditures and I wonder about that for Dallas. And also the other thing 298 00:20:07,039 --> 00:20:11,200 is will Tim Hardaway Junior continue to shoot two trillion percent from beyond the arc 299 00:20:11,279 --> 00:20:15,960 in this series? That's a fair questions. He's fully fantastic basketball this series, 300 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:18,720 But you are right if they get to a point where they need another 301 00:20:18,720 --> 00:20:21,960 shot creator. I don't know if they have it. Yeah, you have 302 00:20:22,039 --> 00:20:23,519 John Brunts and even Tim Hardaway Junior can do a little bit of that. 303 00:20:23,799 --> 00:20:26,759 But if you need a lot of it, if the map, if the 304 00:20:26,839 --> 00:20:29,200 excuse me, if the Clippers are able to force the ball off the Mavericks 305 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,680 hands at all, and they could stand to play Donch it's more aggressively on 306 00:20:32,759 --> 00:20:36,559 defense, They're you know, they elected to play a small lot in game 307 00:20:36,599 --> 00:20:40,240 two. I don't know. Do you think that's the answer is to go 308 00:20:40,319 --> 00:20:44,839 smaller. I'm not sure what the answer is against him right now. I 309 00:20:44,880 --> 00:20:47,480 think you if you want to go smaller, it should be with the intent 310 00:20:47,640 --> 00:20:52,519 to switch everything. And that's when you should get into minutes where you know, 311 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,119 maybe you don't have a real guard on the floor, is it Kali, 312 00:20:56,279 --> 00:21:02,079 Marcus Morris, Paul George, but toomb and man on the court that 313 00:21:02,480 --> 00:21:04,359 that would be if you're going to downsize that much. Otherwise, maybe it's 314 00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:08,359 worth it to use Serge Ibaka a little bit more. I think you have 315 00:21:08,519 --> 00:21:12,480 to. I mean, eighteen minutes through two games for a guy who's that 316 00:21:12,559 --> 00:21:17,559 effective on defense still and who can space the floor with his shot like play. 317 00:21:18,519 --> 00:21:21,799 I want to see more Terrence Man too, But I think Terrence Man 318 00:21:21,880 --> 00:21:23,599 might be more important when you're looking at and they did play him fifteen plus 319 00:21:23,599 --> 00:21:26,440 in game two. It might be more important if you're looking at the scope 320 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:30,440 of defending don Chitch, because with Sergebacca, I would argue he's probably less 321 00:21:30,519 --> 00:21:34,319 adept in space than zoobots, and so if there is a switch, and 322 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:38,599 we've seen needless switches from the Clippers through both games, really he could get 323 00:21:38,599 --> 00:21:41,759 cooked just as much as zoobots, which might be appeal of going small, 324 00:21:41,799 --> 00:21:45,000 but I think at that point, like Patrick Beverley's fantastic, I don't want 325 00:21:45,039 --> 00:21:49,440 to see him or Reggie Jackson match up against Luka. Donchis there and it 326 00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:52,920 still does seem like there and look, I'm not the excess and no Savan, 327 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:55,920 but based off I was reading John Hollinger and then just watching the game, 328 00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:57,759 like, there seems to be a lot of miscommunication going on in Los 329 00:21:57,759 --> 00:22:00,880 Angeles. They definitely do with the town to get out of this. I 330 00:22:00,880 --> 00:22:03,440 think the defense has clearly been their biggest issue. They're good to need more 331 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:08,000 from their supporting cast overall. Kauai was good, was great forty one points, 332 00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,920 four assist, four of seven from three. Paul George was good, 333 00:22:11,039 --> 00:22:14,119 only went one of seven from three. You need him to shoot better on 334 00:22:14,160 --> 00:22:18,559 those, but he was good overall. The Marcus Morris like yet two or 335 00:22:18,599 --> 00:22:22,319 five from three is technically good a disaster. Yeah, he's been buying large 336 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:25,039 not great, and especially in Game one, he really hurt them. Patrick 337 00:22:25,119 --> 00:22:29,720 Beverley has been a non factor for them on offense. You need someone to 338 00:22:29,799 --> 00:22:32,480 really step up here, and I don't Rondo is not, you know, 339 00:22:32,519 --> 00:22:33,920 seven assistant Game two. I don't know that he's having the intended impact. 340 00:22:34,079 --> 00:22:37,359 I might have I said a lot of times this season, I don't think 341 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,960 they need a point guard and this or conventional point guard, pure floor general, 342 00:22:41,039 --> 00:22:44,079 whatever you wanted to call it. I thought that was overrated and that 343 00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:48,279 one was walking that back is they probably did need a different look at point 344 00:22:48,319 --> 00:22:51,680 guard, just maybe it wasn't Rondo was the archetype of player that they need. 345 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:56,279 They need someone who's both a table setter and also not afraid to shoot 346 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,279 or I don't want to say Rondo was afraid to shoot, but who's going 347 00:22:59,319 --> 00:23:02,200 to look for their own shot too? When they're on the ball. So 348 00:23:03,279 --> 00:23:06,400 it's weird that I kind of I feel like I might have underrated that aspect 349 00:23:06,440 --> 00:23:10,240 of this roster construction, and yet they tried to address it, and I 350 00:23:10,279 --> 00:23:12,240 think they kind of went the wrong way there. Would you, and I 351 00:23:12,279 --> 00:23:15,960 don't want to relitigate this too much, would you've rather had Lou Williams or 352 00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,440 Rondo in this series? And this obviously comes with the caw Yeah that Lou 353 00:23:18,519 --> 00:23:22,839 will not playing so hot against the Knicks, I think I'd still rather have 354 00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:27,920 Rondo for this team. You just it's nice to have another creator, but 355 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,880 they have those. I mean, there's no there's no issue for Kawhi, 356 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:37,880 Leonard and Paul George taking over games. It's the defense that has been the 357 00:23:37,880 --> 00:23:41,200 biggest challenge, and Rondo's going to give you a little bit more on that 358 00:23:41,279 --> 00:23:44,079 end. He's still not a great defender, especially at this stage of his 359 00:23:44,160 --> 00:23:48,680 career, but he's going to give you more. What's the fallout or is 360 00:23:48,720 --> 00:23:51,480 there any fallout? That's where I was That's where I was going to go. 361 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:53,640 I was gonna ask you, like, I don't know that I want 362 00:23:53,640 --> 00:24:00,119 to stick to our series by series style too long. So is Kawhi or 363 00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:03,519 a flight risk? I would say no because it feels like this is more 364 00:24:03,519 --> 00:24:07,839 of a location thing for him, And is he gonna force like a sign 365 00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:11,559 and trade to the Warriors of the Lakers unless that's on the table, which 366 00:24:11,559 --> 00:24:15,759 I don't think it would be. I would assume he's back the fallout. 367 00:24:15,079 --> 00:24:19,759 I would imagine if everyone else does Paul George get shopped, it's hard to 368 00:24:19,759 --> 00:24:26,799 figure a more ideal partner for Kawhi Leonard then Paul George. But if if 369 00:24:26,799 --> 00:24:30,000 this doesn't work and you get bounced in round one, this isn't even round 370 00:24:30,000 --> 00:24:32,599 two and you aren't even leading. It's not like you blew a three to 371 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:33,480 one lead. We're like, oh, we would have been bying. It 372 00:24:33,559 --> 00:24:37,759 was just an anomaly. This is gonna be everywhere you bring Serge Ibaka as 373 00:24:37,759 --> 00:24:41,440 a player option. Would he be back? Do you look at trying to 374 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:45,359 trade zoobots and get like a more mobile big do you look at I think 375 00:24:45,359 --> 00:24:48,400 the two things you look at and look there. Here's here's what's difficult about 376 00:24:48,400 --> 00:24:52,039 their situation is it's easy to say, shot Paul George. Who are you 377 00:24:52,079 --> 00:24:56,759 getting for Paul George that upgrade your roster? And there are teams you know, 378 00:24:56,759 --> 00:24:57,720 I saw a theoristrom like, oh, Miami could get him, Like 379 00:24:57,720 --> 00:25:02,720 you throw on tire heat Tyler Hero, Andre Goodalla's salary, go on dragases 380 00:25:02,759 --> 00:25:04,680 salary. How does that make the Clippers better? They're not this team that's 381 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:10,759 looking to rebuild and so picks or a prospect like Hero is not going to 382 00:25:10,799 --> 00:25:14,279 move the needle for them. That's what makes it so complicated. They might 383 00:25:14,319 --> 00:25:18,359 be the ones that do something a little bit more. It's not nuclear because 384 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:19,480 I don't know if they have the assets to do that. But you do 385 00:25:19,519 --> 00:25:22,680 have Beverly's money, you have the Luke Konard money. Now that extension does 386 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,720 not look so hot when he's not even playing DNP coach's decisions in this series. 387 00:25:27,519 --> 00:25:30,599 Can you go out and get maybe an This was thrown on the Hollander 388 00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:34,599 and Duncan podcast this past week. Someone mentioned like, do you use Canard 389 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:41,200 and Beverly is the basis to try and get Kemba Walker from Boston? If 390 00:25:41,200 --> 00:25:45,400 Boston's just looking to trim their overall payroll, I like that might be that 391 00:25:45,519 --> 00:25:48,519 might be the type of fallout we're looking at. Or you could try and 392 00:25:48,599 --> 00:25:53,160 get more mobile upfront with moving on from Zubotzabaka. I don't know what options 393 00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,839 are out there for them though, and that's what makes it so difficult. 394 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:00,839 They don't have the assets to go and make a win now swim and then 395 00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:03,799 they're players that they can move like they have these digestible salaries. I don't 396 00:26:03,799 --> 00:26:08,200 know how interested teams are going to be in Patrick Beverley, in Luconard and 397 00:26:08,200 --> 00:26:11,880 then yes, you can even Marcus Morris on his deal, there will be 398 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:14,440 interest, But what are you getting for Marcus Morris that makes you better? 399 00:26:14,759 --> 00:26:17,519 You get into the element of, oh, they're just trimming payroll, and 400 00:26:17,799 --> 00:26:21,480 I'll go the Paul George stuff, like, is there what's the star for 401 00:26:21,559 --> 00:26:26,400 star swap out there that could potentially make sense, you know, Paul George 402 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:30,599 for Beal, Like that might make sense for the Clippers, but doesn't make 403 00:26:30,640 --> 00:26:33,079 sense for the Wizards because you're probably like Russ and Paul George, been there, 404 00:26:33,079 --> 00:26:37,640 done that in Oklahoma City. So I just don't know what the move 405 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:38,559 would be. You're not doing it, but my point of me, you're 406 00:26:38,599 --> 00:26:41,720 not doing it for picks and prospects that all these other teams, whether you're 407 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:45,200 the Knicks, I saw the Warriors fans getting in on this where it's like 408 00:26:45,319 --> 00:26:48,759 you absolutely after Wiseman in the pick, like that's great, But the Clippers 409 00:26:48,759 --> 00:26:51,960 don't want Wiseman in the pick because they have Kauai. But if they if 410 00:26:52,000 --> 00:26:56,359 they did, like if they were actually looking to blow this up in a 411 00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:02,519 rebuilding style, which again they shouldn't because Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Los 412 00:27:02,559 --> 00:27:06,319 Angeles Clippers. Uh you know, and you might laugh me out of the 413 00:27:06,359 --> 00:27:10,480 room for this one, but you know, who's a super interesting fit next 414 00:27:10,519 --> 00:27:14,079 to Paul George, next to Paul George, like on the Clippers or a 415 00:27:14,119 --> 00:27:17,200 different team, on a different team, like if they're going the true rebuilding 416 00:27:17,279 --> 00:27:26,160 route, Shay Guild just Alexander. That is such a great pairing, okay 417 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:30,559 with hilarious? Would it be right if Okasey's like, well, we have 418 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:33,440 more picks than we expect it now, like, let's shop a couple of 419 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:40,079 If they do move Paul George, it's probably a three team scenario right where 420 00:27:40,079 --> 00:27:41,839 there's a rebuilding team that wants the picks. I think so, but I 421 00:27:41,839 --> 00:27:47,079 want you to acknowledge my PG thirteen SGA Combo. I would love it would 422 00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:52,599 be fun makes sense, except that the Clippers would never do it, obviously, 423 00:27:53,559 --> 00:27:57,039 No, because they'd want Alexander back. Would Shay Giler's Alexander be a 424 00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:00,920 better compliment to Kawai than Paul George? I actually kind of think so. 425 00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:07,039 I probably agree with you. You just get more of that traditional pick and 426 00:28:07,119 --> 00:28:08,200 roll element out of him, even though he wasn't doing a ton of that 427 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:14,279 in Oklahoma City. He didn't have the talent to do it. And ultimately 428 00:28:14,519 --> 00:28:17,680 one of the biggest struggles the Clippers have is an inability to get to the 429 00:28:17,680 --> 00:28:22,160 free throw line, and that's something that SGA can do. Yeah there, 430 00:28:22,200 --> 00:28:26,119 and they can go on runs where they're because they have the Probably is he 431 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,519 the best guy in the league at drawing fouls on jump shots? Has to 432 00:28:29,519 --> 00:28:33,279 be one of the top five in Kawhi Leonard. But yeah, there's that 433 00:28:33,079 --> 00:28:36,640 problem for them. You look at they're not a team that's going to have 434 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:38,799 Rondo. You know, after the surge of Bacca injury, they got to 435 00:28:38,799 --> 00:28:42,680 the rim a lot more. That hasn't necessarily held up in this series. 436 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:48,759 So yeah, there's a ton of issues. Do you think there will be? 437 00:28:49,079 --> 00:28:52,119 Without getting into specifics, like we just went through the scenarios, the 438 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:56,440 two separate questions, what percentage chance would you pag of Kawhi leaving LA, 439 00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:00,480 opting out, forcing a sign and trade whatever, outright leaving if they lose 440 00:29:00,519 --> 00:29:04,680 the series? And two, let's say that doesn't happen, do you expect 441 00:29:04,720 --> 00:29:08,559 some other kind of significant fallout or would it be more likely that they run 442 00:29:08,599 --> 00:29:14,079 this back again. I think i'd put it at like twenty ish percent. 443 00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,680 That's actually feel like he's pretty high. Yeah, I think it's got to 444 00:29:17,759 --> 00:29:22,599 be a little higher than you would expect because Kauai is just notoriously inscrutable, 445 00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:26,359 and I don't want to even pretend that I have any insight to what it's 446 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:33,480 thinking is now. Maybe he is tired of losing because he has won championships 447 00:29:33,519 --> 00:29:37,440 with multiple franchises and experienced what it's like to be at the pinnacle of the 448 00:29:37,480 --> 00:29:41,519 association, But I don't know. I have no idea, and I just 449 00:29:41,680 --> 00:29:47,680 I think because one of the biggest reasons reportedly that he made the decision to 450 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:48,920 go to LA in the first place was to be closer to home and to 451 00:29:48,920 --> 00:29:53,279 be playing in LA, I think it's hard to see a move happening for 452 00:29:55,240 --> 00:29:59,039 actually having fallout from a loss, even if they're swept. I'm not sure 453 00:29:59,119 --> 00:30:02,319 that they're really going to be able to blow it up. Maybe there would 454 00:30:02,319 --> 00:30:04,559 be a desire to, but I think you're still looking more at moves around 455 00:30:04,559 --> 00:30:08,519 the periphery and maybe getting rid of a certain head coach who was carried to 456 00:30:08,519 --> 00:30:15,079 a title by Lebron James WHOA That is a scorching hot take, is it. 457 00:30:17,359 --> 00:30:22,160 I do think d Tyron Lou done as a coach that should put him 458 00:30:22,160 --> 00:30:25,279 in the upper echelon, especially to the point that you get rid of Doc 459 00:30:25,400 --> 00:30:27,160 Rivers. For him, I do think he was touted for his ability to 460 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:30,400 disorder, and there's been closed door stuff under Doc Rivers in the past with 461 00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:34,440 Blake Rybin and CB three. Doc Rivers has still been a little vindicated during 462 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:38,799 this Clipper series. If there's still tension behind the scenes, if we can 463 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:44,720 find out that all this stuff was still happening this year, then maybe it's 464 00:30:44,759 --> 00:30:48,240 fair to reevaluate how tylu But like, how is it I get I mean 465 00:30:48,279 --> 00:30:52,720 it is on him defensive in all series though, Like if somebody came to 466 00:30:52,759 --> 00:30:56,240 you with Tyler's resume, what about it is standing out at this point. 467 00:30:57,200 --> 00:31:03,240 I mean, he's been a pretty old it assistant in the past. Sure, 468 00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:06,599 there are a lot of pretty heralded assistants who are not successful as head 469 00:31:06,599 --> 00:31:08,480 coaches. Wow, that is not where I thought. Do you get rid 470 00:31:08,519 --> 00:31:11,599 of him after one year? Though? And I'm assuming Kauai and Paul George 471 00:31:11,599 --> 00:31:17,079 approved of him, otherwise he's not in LA right now. Yeah, I 472 00:31:17,079 --> 00:31:22,559 would assume that that was the case. But if you can't mess with the 473 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:25,599 roster too much and you don't want to blow it up by trading one of 474 00:31:25,599 --> 00:31:30,400 your two superstars, who's going to be the natural scapegoat? Probably probably Rondo, 475 00:31:32,279 --> 00:31:34,200 yeah, I get it. Maybe Marcus Morris, Yeah, he'll be 476 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:37,640 one of the natural ones. Yeah. I mean, I'm not trying to 477 00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:41,960 put down Tyler's coaching acumen or anything like that. Like, as you said, 478 00:31:41,960 --> 00:31:47,160 he does have a lot of success as an assistant coach, which I 479 00:31:47,279 --> 00:31:51,400 just kind of think he was in Cleveland. That's fair. I am just 480 00:31:51,559 --> 00:31:53,359 I guess I can't imagine anything happening because it's year one, but I guess 481 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:59,680 Nate Yorkin is about to get fired in Indie. So think about someone like 482 00:31:59,759 --> 00:32:06,039 Ron Adams, right, who was just massively successful as essentially a defensive coordinator 483 00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:10,799 on coaching staffs, but there was never any speculation that he was going to 484 00:32:10,839 --> 00:32:16,559 become a head coach because there are so many fantastic basketball coaches like Tyron Lou 485 00:32:17,279 --> 00:32:22,519 who are great in the second chair. I genuinely don't mean this as an 486 00:32:22,519 --> 00:32:25,759 insult to Lou. I think it's going to come across that way. I 487 00:32:25,839 --> 00:32:30,400 just I'm not sure that he's the guy you want in the head coach role 488 00:32:30,519 --> 00:32:35,759 to take a team like this to a title, because ultimately, like Kawhi 489 00:32:35,839 --> 00:32:38,720 Leonard and Paul George are not vocal leaders, the Clippers have had chemistry issues. 490 00:32:38,720 --> 00:32:43,240 You look at this roster on paper and it should consistently be so much 491 00:32:43,279 --> 00:32:46,559 better than it is. There is just an overabundance of talent on paper. 492 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:52,599 See I think the more so two things. I think Tyler has done stuff 493 00:32:52,599 --> 00:32:55,759 for them on offense, where the ball has definitely moved more for stretches, 494 00:32:55,759 --> 00:33:00,240 it's still can bog down than it did Underdoc Rivers if he doesn't adjust more 495 00:33:00,319 --> 00:33:05,279 defensively, like figuring out how to just you either have to force the ball 496 00:33:05,279 --> 00:33:07,039 out of Luca's hands, be quicker with the doubles that you're sending, or 497 00:33:07,119 --> 00:33:12,839 say, you know what Kawai on Luca whole game. No switching done. 498 00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:15,279 That's that's what I would do. I mean, I think you're in that 499 00:33:15,359 --> 00:33:19,039 territory. You could because the argument's fair. He does so much on offense, 500 00:33:19,119 --> 00:33:21,799 you want him to do that on defense. Despite Paul George saying they're 501 00:33:21,839 --> 00:33:24,400 not concerned, the answer is yes, you were at that point, yep. 502 00:33:24,920 --> 00:33:29,440 I think the bigger flaw is relying on the coach to be that voice 503 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:32,480 we're talking about in the locker room and they don't have a guy on the 504 00:33:32,559 --> 00:33:37,359 roster. I know Serge did it in Toronto. He also had Kyle Lowry. 505 00:33:37,839 --> 00:33:40,960 That chemistry. He had Gasol there too, Like the chemistry within that 506 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,880 locker room was off the chart. You had a multiple guys. And then 507 00:33:44,960 --> 00:33:49,039 Rondo has always sort of been a It seems like teammates really enjoy playing with 508 00:33:49,119 --> 00:33:52,960 him and he's his IQ is through the roof. But I don't know if 509 00:33:52,960 --> 00:33:55,839 he's the right player to come in and you him and Sergeibaka and Taylu clashing 510 00:33:55,880 --> 00:34:00,359 heads. That's going to send the wrong message you openately need. I would 511 00:34:00,359 --> 00:34:04,839 say, you know a bunch of Jared Dudley's in your locker room or channing 512 00:34:04,880 --> 00:34:08,920 for eyes whatever, or you need a marquee player yep, and Surge just 513 00:34:09,000 --> 00:34:13,119 isn't that. Rondo isn't even that at this point, and that is the 514 00:34:13,119 --> 00:34:16,360 bigger issue to me. I don't think that can be on Lou specifically. 515 00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:20,760 That feels like the organization setting him or even Doc Rivers up to fail a 516 00:34:20,800 --> 00:34:22,400 little bit. And I'm not trying to look Kawai and Paul George are both 517 00:34:22,440 --> 00:34:29,199 spectacular all NBA players. I do think Kawai is great on both ends of 518 00:34:29,199 --> 00:34:31,679 the ball. But this if we hear another offseason of like a locker room 519 00:34:31,719 --> 00:34:37,159 that he's basically at the forefront of, it's sort of in shambles. The 520 00:34:37,199 --> 00:34:40,679 whole Lebron versus Kawahi conversation was officially ridiculous and never should have taken place. 521 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:45,199 But That's where I'm looking at, and so can you do something to improve 522 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:47,480 the chemistry of this team? But it comes back to what you said. 523 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:52,599 I would vote against seismic changes just because I can't fathom what those would be 524 00:34:52,760 --> 00:34:57,519 unless Kawhi Paul George says that they want out and forced the Clippers hands, 525 00:34:58,079 --> 00:35:00,960 which is again why I think it's just a little bit more likely that you 526 00:35:00,000 --> 00:35:04,960 do see that after one year coaching change, and just to be as explicitly 527 00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:07,760 clear as I can be, like, I'm not saying that Tyler is a 528 00:35:07,760 --> 00:35:10,760 big problem for the Clippers. He's done a lot of good things. He's 529 00:35:10,800 --> 00:35:15,840 more of a neutral in my mind, and that's why I think it's likely 530 00:35:15,880 --> 00:35:19,199 that he's replaced because I'm not sure that he does enough to elevate the team. 531 00:35:19,239 --> 00:35:22,559 But again, like if that came across as me trying to bash Tyler's 532 00:35:22,559 --> 00:35:28,320 coaching ability, like my apologies, and that is not the intent. I 533 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:31,440 don't want to spend too much time on Celtics nets. Boston will losing four 534 00:35:34,400 --> 00:35:37,840 exactly, I think it's the plan. Is it still a poet who we're 535 00:35:37,840 --> 00:35:43,000 watching? It feels like it is there a fallout here for Boston once they 536 00:35:43,039 --> 00:35:46,639 get swept. No, not with Jaylen Brown out, not with Jason Tatum 537 00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:52,239 poked in the eye, and maybe not totally one hundred percent. I don't 538 00:35:52,320 --> 00:35:57,719 think there should be because this is not It hasn't been the team that it 539 00:35:57,760 --> 00:36:00,760 should have been all year because the top seven players I don't have they played 540 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:05,360 one game together this season, and it hasn't even been like I'm serious. 541 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:07,480 I don't think. I don't think the top seven rotation members have played a 542 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:14,320 single game together, even like they go seven. It hasn't even been It 543 00:36:14,360 --> 00:36:17,800 hasn't even been like one season ending injury because Jalen Brown's happened so late in 544 00:36:17,840 --> 00:36:23,400 the campaign. It's just been this steady stream of COVID nineteen related absences and 545 00:36:23,679 --> 00:36:29,559 health and safety protocols and minor injuries and more serious injuries that take a month 546 00:36:29,599 --> 00:36:35,280 to recover from. And we just haven't seen the Boston Celtics that were advertised 547 00:36:36,280 --> 00:36:38,760 through some fault of their own, but not through all fault of their own. 548 00:36:39,519 --> 00:36:44,079 And we're still not seeing we're seeing an even more diminished version now. 549 00:36:44,519 --> 00:36:46,079 So I don't think there should be a coaching change. I don't think that 550 00:36:46,119 --> 00:36:52,719 there should be massive roster turnover and upheaval like this is still a really good 551 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:57,639 team when all the pieces are there. So I'm going to disagree with you, 552 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:00,360 I think pretty significantly here. I don't put this on coaching. I 553 00:37:00,400 --> 00:37:04,239 don't even put it on the players. It's Danny Ains the front office. 554 00:37:04,679 --> 00:37:07,800 They really try to be for the rest of this put they messed this up. 555 00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:12,320 And so I think the fallout is they have set themselves back years because 556 00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:16,599 you don't have a move after this the Kemba contract. I love Kemba Walker. 557 00:37:16,599 --> 00:37:21,960 I would take a bullet for Kemba Walker. Two years and seventy three 558 00:37:22,000 --> 00:37:27,039 million dollars left, that's not eminently movable right now. He has been unspectacular 559 00:37:27,079 --> 00:37:30,840 in the playoffs. What do you do? What's the move You're going to 560 00:37:30,880 --> 00:37:35,000 be by virtue of having Kemba, Jalen Brown, kemb on a Max Jalen 561 00:37:35,039 --> 00:37:37,440 Brown on a near Max Jason Tatums Max kicks in next year, you still 562 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,559 have Tristan Thompson on the books. Marcus Smart, you're going to be in 563 00:37:40,599 --> 00:37:47,800 the tax or awfully close to it for next season. And you're not getting 564 00:37:47,880 --> 00:37:51,239 you know, you're not. You don't have the assets to go out there 565 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:53,920 and do anything because you can build stuff around Marcus Smart if you want to. 566 00:37:54,039 --> 00:37:58,719 But like these these picks have now conveyed into players, and I think 567 00:37:58,840 --> 00:38:02,079 Nie Smith and pretty have shown that they're interesting. They're not like these super 568 00:38:02,119 --> 00:38:07,159 goot members. Yeah, they're not like these super tantalizing prospects that can anchor 569 00:38:07,199 --> 00:38:09,960 a blockbuster. Romeo Langford has not played enough to reach that and has the 570 00:38:10,000 --> 00:38:15,440 injury concerns. Grant Williams like the liners with him at the five, they 571 00:38:15,440 --> 00:38:19,920 can be like a little bit fun, but he's underachieved relative to expectations and 572 00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:22,639 how smart people believe he was. You have Robert Williams. That's great. 573 00:38:22,039 --> 00:38:25,440 He is, It's more than great. Come on, here's the thing. 574 00:38:25,599 --> 00:38:30,559 The value of big men who don't shoot or put the ball on the floor. 575 00:38:30,760 --> 00:38:32,760 Yeah, they're His passing is better than and I look his one on 576 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:37,800 one defense feels like it's gotten a lot better. He's extension eligible this summer, 577 00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:39,159 and so that drives down the value of someone you have to reinvest in. 578 00:38:40,199 --> 00:38:44,320 What is the move? And so it's either you ride this out with 579 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:49,320 a team that unless both Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown make leaps into being top 580 00:38:49,320 --> 00:38:52,760 ten players, I don't see a pathway to them being contenders. Now. 581 00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:55,400 It's a matter of so waiting it out in which case you're not going to 582 00:38:55,440 --> 00:38:59,079 win a title for the next year or two, or can you go out 583 00:38:59,119 --> 00:39:00,159 and make a move. And I think if they do make a move, 584 00:39:00,199 --> 00:39:04,719 it's going to be cost cutting where it's oh, we dumped Kemba, what 585 00:39:04,800 --> 00:39:07,559 did you get back if you got Patrick Beverly and Luke Kennard back for Kemba 586 00:39:07,599 --> 00:39:12,719 Walker. Let's say that's the framework. You don't get better, you don't 587 00:39:13,199 --> 00:39:17,360 you got. I do think this offseason we're gonna see Danny Ainge make a 588 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:24,239 ton I repeat a ton of almost transactions. The least spiciest take. That 589 00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:28,039 bit will never get old. By the way, I never people get mad 590 00:39:28,119 --> 00:39:31,000 on Twitter whenever I pointed out I do not care. That is the funniest 591 00:39:31,000 --> 00:39:37,320 thing to me. I something if they want to be good or if they 592 00:39:37,320 --> 00:39:39,079 want to be title contenders, I think they're at least two years away because 593 00:39:39,079 --> 00:39:43,440 that aligns with some of the contracts. The other interesting thing here is you 594 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:45,199 could sign Marcus mart to an extension, and I know people still have him 595 00:39:45,199 --> 00:39:47,239 as a one way player. I think he does have a little bit more 596 00:39:47,239 --> 00:39:51,320 to offer on offense. It doesn't really matter, but he's at fourteen point 597 00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:53,400 three million next season, not underpaid. Is that. I don't know if 598 00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:58,719 that's enough of a number to extend him at because one twenty percent of that 599 00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:02,960 is what you're looking at it as eighteen million. I guess maybe you cork 600 00:40:02,960 --> 00:40:07,679 off an extension from there so you have to worry about his free agency in 601 00:40:07,679 --> 00:40:10,960 twenty twenty two. You're at a process where you could just be staying expensive. 602 00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:15,320 They really screwed up a window of opportunity here. I think the biggest 603 00:40:15,320 --> 00:40:20,000 misses. I mean you look at you lost Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward, 604 00:40:20,119 --> 00:40:22,960 al Horford and they all turned into Evan Fournier and what's left to that trade 605 00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:28,519 exception. Essentially that's I won't put all of that on Danny Age. Clearly 606 00:40:28,559 --> 00:40:30,519 something was amiss with the Kyrie Irving stuff, and the team has to be 607 00:40:30,639 --> 00:40:35,320 to blame to some extent for that. The al Horford thing, I don't 608 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:38,159 think anyone's regarding them for not matching that contract. The Gordon Hayward ones, 609 00:40:38,719 --> 00:40:42,679 that's the big one, because you ended up getting a trade exception which you 610 00:40:42,679 --> 00:40:45,199 turned into Evan Fournier for that, If you could have had Miles Turner and 611 00:40:45,519 --> 00:40:51,079 a first it sounds like that was the deal. Because here's here's what that 612 00:40:51,119 --> 00:40:52,760 does. Not only does it give you Miles Turner and maybe you think he's 613 00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:58,119 fodder for Joell Eenbid, I don't care everyone's fodder for Joell Eenbid. It 614 00:40:58,199 --> 00:41:02,000 also means you don't sign Tristan Thompson. You used your best spending tool physical 615 00:41:02,039 --> 00:41:07,920 spending tool last year on Tristan Thompson and you ended up giving away giving away 616 00:41:08,320 --> 00:41:12,760 Daniel Tys, who's better than Tristan Thompson. You have our W three, 617 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:15,280 so that's gives you some cover, but it had you had Miles Turner. 618 00:41:15,599 --> 00:41:19,599 You have daniel Tye. You have our W three. Still, the center 619 00:41:19,679 --> 00:41:22,960 rotation is better, and who knows who you signed with that midlevel exception, 620 00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:25,760 then you probably use it on a player who's not Jeff Tigue and a better 621 00:41:25,800 --> 00:41:30,679 ball handler there. Danny Ainge and the front office. I'm trying not the 622 00:41:30,679 --> 00:41:34,039 curse again for this podcast because I was so heated at the beginning of it. 623 00:41:34,159 --> 00:41:37,840 They messed up big time, and I think it's set the Celtics back. 624 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:40,400 You know, if we include this year a total of two or three 625 00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:45,800 years, it's not more, but it's harrowing, but it's also accurate, 626 00:41:46,079 --> 00:41:50,800 right, Yeah, I mean I agree with all of what you're saying there. 627 00:41:51,320 --> 00:41:53,800 My only rebuttal is that I think we need a better nickname for Robert 628 00:41:53,800 --> 00:42:00,280 Williams than Timelord or r W three. Yeah, Timelord, Like I don't 629 00:42:00,280 --> 00:42:01,719 know it just doesn't really like flow off the tongue. Maybe that's a hot 630 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:07,119 take, is dumb. It kind of mocks him, does it not because 631 00:42:07,159 --> 00:42:13,039 he overslept or had a problem with punctuality. He's so fun he and there 632 00:42:13,079 --> 00:42:15,480 needs to be like a good nickname for well, Okay, how do you 633 00:42:15,480 --> 00:42:21,639 feel about boo butt because that's listed on Basketball Reference. Yeah, that's how 634 00:42:21,760 --> 00:42:24,280 I feel. I'm sorry, I'm here for boo butt because that's so just 635 00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:28,760 off the wall. I would like to know the origin story for that one, 636 00:42:28,920 --> 00:42:31,400 if anyone has the boobt origin story. One of my fav because, 637 00:42:31,559 --> 00:42:35,960 you know, I think as I've gotten older and had to do so much 638 00:42:36,039 --> 00:42:38,280 different stuff in the league, I've fallen off. Like I only just found 639 00:42:38,280 --> 00:42:43,039 out after the Raptors Blazers trade about Norman Powell's dogs, I'm not as in 640 00:42:43,119 --> 00:42:46,960 tune with the cultural like the pop culture stuff of the d NBA. So 641 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:51,119 I love going to Basketball Reference and like so even I think it was a 642 00:42:51,119 --> 00:42:53,159 few months ago I went to Jayson Tatum's page and saw that he had the 643 00:42:53,239 --> 00:42:58,559 nickname Taco J. And I didn't know that, did you? He doesn't 644 00:42:58,599 --> 00:43:00,159 have that nickname? Oh, he doesn't. Let me double check. No. 645 00:43:00,239 --> 00:43:04,599 I mean, I'm sure that it's listed there, because everything's listed there. 646 00:43:04,960 --> 00:43:07,880 But I think, like I think, and I could be totally off 647 00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:14,480 base here, but I believe that Basketball Reference adds those if they're like called 648 00:43:14,480 --> 00:43:20,079 it once in a column by like a local paper or by an announcer or 649 00:43:20,119 --> 00:43:24,239 something. So you get a ton of just one off ones that obviously they're 650 00:43:24,280 --> 00:43:29,559 not being called out with any semblance of frequency. Yeah, it is listed 651 00:43:29,559 --> 00:43:32,280 there, though, but there are some great ones like shout out to Big 652 00:43:32,320 --> 00:43:37,480 Penguin, Andre Drummond and stuff like that. And Marcus Smart actually has I 653 00:43:37,480 --> 00:43:40,280 don't know that he's called these, but Cobra and Wolverine those are like I 654 00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:45,719 like those, Yeah, I guess, but like I've literally never heard those 655 00:43:45,880 --> 00:43:50,280 used. Okay, the last Celtics guy who is the best NA don't is 656 00:43:50,360 --> 00:43:53,159 never Google. I actually had an Evan Fourier tweet go off about googling the 657 00:43:53,199 --> 00:43:59,159 other night. Jalen Brown needs a better nickname, JB an old man. 658 00:44:00,519 --> 00:44:02,039 That's it. JB is fine. Actually I don't mind that one. Like 659 00:44:02,039 --> 00:44:07,280 if you called Jason Tatum j bye, j oh, yeah, that's fair 660 00:44:07,360 --> 00:44:09,599 in our text, you guys, Jacob Burne. We will never bestow your 661 00:44:09,679 --> 00:44:14,800 nickname upon someone else. So we need a better name for Robert Williams. 662 00:44:15,159 --> 00:44:17,119 I think we need a better name for Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown. I'm 663 00:44:17,159 --> 00:44:20,920 fine with the Marcus Smart ones. I'll let those stand. I don't know 664 00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:23,519 that Jaylen Brown needs one. There's something about like there are some names we 665 00:44:23,599 --> 00:44:27,960 just don't need a nickname, like Steph Curry, Lebron James. You don't 666 00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:31,480 need nicknames there. I feel like Jaylen Brown is just a really good superstar 667 00:44:31,559 --> 00:44:37,480 basketball name. Kemma Walker is a great superstar bass Kemba and Cardiac is actually 668 00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:39,880 also a good nickname. By the way, I agree, and that was 669 00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:43,719 that dates all the way back to Yukon. That is a legit nickname. 670 00:44:45,320 --> 00:44:47,360 Anyway, Let's move on to a couple other teams before we wrap up here. 671 00:44:49,039 --> 00:44:53,599 Heat Bucks. So, holy crap, the Bucks are now five and 672 00:44:53,679 --> 00:45:00,159 one against the Heat this season. Can you guess Milwaukee's average margin of victory 673 00:45:00,239 --> 00:45:05,440 in those five wins. It's gonna be like seventeen point two points. You 674 00:45:05,519 --> 00:45:08,880 got the decimal right, It's twenty five point two. Wow. Jimmy Butler 675 00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:12,800 didn't play in any of the regular season games, so he's absent two of 676 00:45:12,800 --> 00:45:16,639 those victories. They have still been absolutely slaughtered. During the playoffs. He 677 00:45:17,199 --> 00:45:22,519 really turned it up in or turned to I should say he turned it up 678 00:45:22,559 --> 00:45:24,800 more. It wasn't his best game that we've seen him play. In Game 679 00:45:24,840 --> 00:45:28,519 three seven to seventeen, it felt like he was being more aggressive. Two 680 00:45:28,559 --> 00:45:30,679 or four from three is a great night for him. What is going on 681 00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:34,559 with bam Atabio on this year? He might have had the quietest seven of 682 00:45:34,719 --> 00:45:39,679 fourteen seventeen point eight rebound, four assist night, one block once I've ever 683 00:45:39,679 --> 00:45:43,800 seen. Yeah, I think it's a testament to him that he's still putting 684 00:45:43,880 --> 00:45:49,599 up those numbers while totally disappearing. But it definitely feels like he's totally disappeared. 685 00:45:50,280 --> 00:45:52,840 I just I want to see him. I don't like oversimplifying it to 686 00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:54,719 this and there's other stuff. The Bucks defense has just absolutely been wild. 687 00:45:54,960 --> 00:45:58,840 Let's make that clear, Like, I need to see bam Atibi. I'll 688 00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:00,719 get more than three looks at the bat and he was five of eight on 689 00:46:00,800 --> 00:46:06,519 twos outside the restricted area and still inside the paint. But oh of three 690 00:46:06,679 --> 00:46:09,440 from two's outside the paint. I've said over and over that I don't want 691 00:46:09,519 --> 00:46:13,039 him to be more aggressive. This is not what I meant. Man, 692 00:46:13,920 --> 00:46:16,159 Please stop that. You I pushed back against this, but you know what, 693 00:46:16,239 --> 00:46:19,719 I'm there. Have him run more pick and roll at this point, 694 00:46:19,719 --> 00:46:22,280 do something else with Jimmy Butler to maybe get him moving. I don't know 695 00:46:22,320 --> 00:46:27,519 what they do, are they? The two questions are will they get swept? 696 00:46:28,159 --> 00:46:34,199 And what's the fallout for them? That one's tougher because they hinge so 697 00:46:34,280 --> 00:46:38,400 much of their hopes in this upcoming free agency class that has dwindled and dwindled 698 00:46:38,400 --> 00:46:44,239 and dwindled. My favorite thing to think about is Jannis waiting on purpose for 699 00:46:44,239 --> 00:46:46,360 free agency to play out last year before signing his extension, so that it 700 00:46:46,920 --> 00:46:51,960 messed with the futures of all the teams that were waiting on him. Could 701 00:46:52,000 --> 00:46:55,719 buy that, but yeah, I mean, I just Miami feels like it's 702 00:46:55,719 --> 00:47:04,639 stuck waiting until a superstar are is legitimately available via trade, whether that's Karl 703 00:47:04,679 --> 00:47:07,320 Anthony Towns as weird of a combination as he and vam Adebayo would be, 704 00:47:07,880 --> 00:47:14,239 or the classic Bradley Beal example, or some unknown player who hasn't yet asked 705 00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:19,320 for a trade but might but it doesn't feel like they have any paths other 706 00:47:19,400 --> 00:47:22,760 than that because they're not going to have much draft capital. This free agency 707 00:47:22,840 --> 00:47:28,920 class is garbage relative to previous ones, and this roster just isn't going to 708 00:47:28,960 --> 00:47:32,480 work. I mean, I think we're now realizing just how accurate Jason Tatum's 709 00:47:32,519 --> 00:47:38,039 comment about some players like Tyler Hero being products of the bubble environment and not 710 00:47:38,320 --> 00:47:42,840 necessarily playing like this on a more regular basis. This guard, this guard 711 00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:46,760 rotation is a mess. Goran Dragicich is not himself anymore. He's not going 712 00:47:46,800 --> 00:47:52,000 to be himself given the advanced nature of his age. Tyler Hero is not 713 00:47:52,119 --> 00:47:54,239 going to be a star. Kendrick Nunn is not going to be a star, 714 00:47:54,880 --> 00:48:00,280 and that is a significant problem when you have Jimmy Butler, who, 715 00:48:00,719 --> 00:48:02,320 as great as he is, is a go to scorer. That's not his 716 00:48:02,440 --> 00:48:07,679 natural role. Bam Autobio is not a go to scorer, and that just 717 00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:10,480 necessitates even stronger guard play that they don't have, and they don't have a 718 00:48:10,480 --> 00:48:17,400 path too. Yes, everything you said one hundred times over, Yes they 719 00:48:17,440 --> 00:48:21,280 are what they're saving grace. I don't know how much cap space will matter 720 00:48:21,280 --> 00:48:22,599 this summer because of how you point it out. But they have a path 721 00:48:23,159 --> 00:48:28,000 to you know, getting more than twenty million in cap space while still carrying 722 00:48:28,000 --> 00:48:31,159 holds for Duncan Robinson. I would renounce. Maybe you don't renounce Kendrick Nunn, 723 00:48:31,480 --> 00:48:35,639 but I just don't know what his material value as his team are you 724 00:48:35,679 --> 00:48:38,480 going after like Rashaun Holmes, like, who what's the play with that Max 725 00:48:38,519 --> 00:48:43,880 money? Yeah? I worry that that still mess them up even more because 726 00:48:43,880 --> 00:48:46,519 they're going to overpay someone. It's not going to be Max money because of 727 00:48:47,280 --> 00:48:51,079 it's just not it's under it's it's barely over twenty million. Giving Bam the 728 00:48:51,119 --> 00:48:53,039 extension kind of took them out of the Yanna sweepstakes. You would always figure 729 00:48:53,039 --> 00:48:55,000 out a way to get them, make that clear we're going to sign and 730 00:48:55,000 --> 00:48:58,760 trade or something, but they're not gonna have Max money. I think the 731 00:48:58,840 --> 00:49:04,280 reason you spend on someone this year is just because you can't afterwards, because 732 00:49:04,360 --> 00:49:07,280 I'm assuming they're not going to let Duncan Robinson walk, and I'm assuming Duncan 733 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:13,519 Robinson gets more than Davis Burton's did probably, so you know, maybe they'll 734 00:49:13,519 --> 00:49:15,519 be in the Kui mix. They'll probably in the Kyle lowrymix. You spend 735 00:49:15,519 --> 00:49:17,679 that money just because it's not going to be available to you if you're planning 736 00:49:17,719 --> 00:49:22,000 on keeping Duncan Robinson. The one thing I want to push back on and 737 00:49:22,039 --> 00:49:24,920 Tyler Hero has been underwhelming this year, to put it kindly verging, and 738 00:49:24,960 --> 00:49:30,280 he's been bad in this series. I don't understand why people can't look past 739 00:49:30,320 --> 00:49:34,880 the report that the Heat wouldn't give him up into James Harden trade because the 740 00:49:34,960 --> 00:49:37,320 jokes are funny, but I'm starting to see that people really believe that that 741 00:49:37,440 --> 00:49:42,519 was a real stance when I think what was happening, and pretty clearly by 742 00:49:42,559 --> 00:49:45,519 the way, there were so many other moving parts that the Heat couldn't get 743 00:49:45,559 --> 00:49:50,119 to. Yes, they could figure out the salary matching because of those contracts 744 00:49:50,199 --> 00:49:53,599 for Dragics and Andre Goodala. They had a link at the time too. 745 00:49:53,639 --> 00:49:57,760 They figured out a way to get Oladipot's money there, so like there would 746 00:49:57,800 --> 00:49:59,719 have been a way to do that, but they just didn't have the pig 747 00:49:59,719 --> 00:50:01,880 e need to beat out Phillies offer or we're turned out to be the Nets 748 00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:07,639 offer. Do you think that Houston would have done whatever Miami could have offered. 749 00:50:07,599 --> 00:50:09,880 They would have had to mood some stuff around for picks you're probably looking 750 00:50:09,920 --> 00:50:15,440 at two first and Tyler Hero plus salary filler and maybe precious a chewa whatever. 751 00:50:15,880 --> 00:50:20,079 Are they doing that deal over what Philly had on the table, which 752 00:50:20,079 --> 00:50:22,639 was Ben Simmons and mystery Box after that, or what they got from the 753 00:50:22,679 --> 00:50:25,840 next No, And so if you're the heat, you might as well just 754 00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:30,280 put the idea to bed and say you're not going to include Tyler Hero so 755 00:50:30,280 --> 00:50:35,840 that it doesn't have him. Could be a leverage play as well, like 756 00:50:35,880 --> 00:50:38,480 if you think that you're close, then you could be trying to make them 757 00:50:38,519 --> 00:50:43,480 cave a little bit, because there's always that leverage sign and song and dance 758 00:50:43,519 --> 00:50:45,840 and play. So I don't I don't really buy that narrative at all. 759 00:50:45,880 --> 00:50:49,840 I don't, and I think had they had the assets to actually get hardened, 760 00:50:49,920 --> 00:50:52,440 because I don't think and I think they know that Tyler Hero wasn't going 761 00:50:52,519 --> 00:50:54,119 to get him even if you did view him as the second coming of Devin 762 00:50:54,119 --> 00:50:57,559 Booker is the comp that I've seen, which I never really saw it. 763 00:50:57,599 --> 00:51:00,320 But anyway, let's say Houston assume that that's what he was. That's not 764 00:51:00,360 --> 00:51:02,920 getting you James Harden alone. They just didn't have the other moving parts and 765 00:51:02,920 --> 00:51:06,800 so that is the second thing I wanted to cover there. But I do 766 00:51:06,880 --> 00:51:09,599 think there will be fallout in Miami in the form of I think that they 767 00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:13,480 will be aggressive in free agency with Kyle Lowry. Maybe they even try and 768 00:51:13,480 --> 00:51:15,559 get meetings with Chris Paul if he opts out. They'll definitely try and be 769 00:51:15,599 --> 00:51:19,440 in in a Kauai if he opts out. They'll probably spend the money smaller 770 00:51:19,440 --> 00:51:22,039 scale too, and I wouldn't be surprised to see to maybe try and chase 771 00:51:22,079 --> 00:51:27,159 more trades. With Tyler Hero being more widely available, his value has obviously 772 00:51:27,199 --> 00:51:31,719 created. Though here's the thing. Ultimately Miami is about to be swept out 773 00:51:31,719 --> 00:51:36,039 of the playoffs. Maybe they win one game and then go down in five 774 00:51:36,079 --> 00:51:42,239 games. They don't have many pathways to improvement unless a star becomes available and 775 00:51:43,119 --> 00:51:46,400 they really favor whatever offer is thrown out there by pat Riley in the heat. 776 00:51:46,920 --> 00:51:52,480 And if you look up and down this roster, the only people I 777 00:51:52,599 --> 00:51:57,239 see who I think have even a remote chance of making an All Star team 778 00:51:57,360 --> 00:52:01,280 are Bam Auto Bio and assumed thirty two year old Jimmy Butler. I don't 779 00:52:01,320 --> 00:52:05,639 think there's anyone else on the roster that has all Star upside. I would 780 00:52:05,679 --> 00:52:12,599 agree with you there. That's a huge issue. I think I think the 781 00:52:12,599 --> 00:52:16,159 Heat are just stuck. And maybe it's weird to say about a team that 782 00:52:16,199 --> 00:52:22,480 just made the finals a year ago, but that was also strange circumstances, 783 00:52:22,000 --> 00:52:30,320 benefiting from some fortuitous happenings, didn't go well in the finals, and we've 784 00:52:30,360 --> 00:52:35,679 seen the fallout now, and I just I don't see like they're even With 785 00:52:35,719 --> 00:52:40,840 the Clippers, I think you can piece together a path to something better. 786 00:52:42,840 --> 00:52:44,960 I don't even know what they constructed, you mean, right, Yeah, 787 00:52:45,039 --> 00:52:47,480 I just I don't even know where to start with Miami. Are they Are 788 00:52:47,519 --> 00:52:52,280 you stuck when you have bam Ade Bio, Jimmy Butler and Cap Space? 789 00:52:52,920 --> 00:52:58,039 Were you? I think? So you want to get a third star? 790 00:52:58,679 --> 00:53:02,320 Yeah? I really hate the mentality that every team should be championship or bust. 791 00:53:02,360 --> 00:53:07,159 I think the teams that make the playoffs after years of struggles should be 792 00:53:07,159 --> 00:53:10,559 able to celebrate those accomplishments. I think that the idea that rings are the 793 00:53:10,599 --> 00:53:15,639 only things that really matter, and that every team should either be the worst 794 00:53:15,639 --> 00:53:20,119 team in the league or a true championship contender, I think those ideas are 795 00:53:20,239 --> 00:53:27,079 corrosive to the overall quality of the league and do not reflect well on what 796 00:53:27,119 --> 00:53:34,679 we as a society value. But the Heat are still stuck in that upper 797 00:53:34,800 --> 00:53:38,159 tier of mediocrity for the time being. I think, and like, if 798 00:53:38,199 --> 00:53:43,400 that's okay with you, great, Like, let's celebrate those teams that are 799 00:53:43,440 --> 00:53:46,199 consistently good and don't want to tear it down, which is also not to 800 00:53:46,239 --> 00:53:52,559 discredit those who do want to tear it down. But no matter what philosophy 801 00:53:52,639 --> 00:53:57,840 the Heat organization adheres to, I just don't see the path forward. And 802 00:53:57,880 --> 00:54:02,000 that's something I don't think you can say about any other team where it's like, 803 00:54:02,239 --> 00:54:06,800 if they want to be rebuilders, I don't know what they do because 804 00:54:07,000 --> 00:54:09,760 you're still Are you getting that much for Jimmy Butler at this stage of his 805 00:54:09,800 --> 00:54:15,280 career enough to facilitate a true teardown? I don't think so. Well. 806 00:54:15,880 --> 00:54:17,840 I was gonna say it does get interesting because he turns thirty two in September 807 00:54:19,280 --> 00:54:21,920 and will be a free agent after next year if he declined this player offer, 808 00:54:22,000 --> 00:54:24,079 which I imagine he will. I still don't think they're stuck, but 809 00:54:24,119 --> 00:54:30,360 I get your overarching point. That definitely makes sense. There's they're clearly not 810 00:54:30,440 --> 00:54:32,920 at the level that we thought they were in the bubble. I don't. 811 00:54:32,960 --> 00:54:36,440 I do think a lot of this is a testament to the Milwaukee It's just 812 00:54:36,480 --> 00:54:39,360 a lot different and having true holiday stretches. I also a mistake from Miami. 813 00:54:39,679 --> 00:54:43,400 You should have brought Jay Crowder back. You could have if you needed 814 00:54:43,400 --> 00:54:46,239 the space later. I'm a very big advocate of get the space later when 815 00:54:46,239 --> 00:54:50,039 you need it. Jay Crowder would have been monstrous for this team. They're 816 00:54:50,039 --> 00:54:52,079 just stretched so thin on defense. Now. That's not to say though, 817 00:54:52,079 --> 00:54:54,559 had they gone up against Philly, have they got up against someone else in 818 00:54:54,599 --> 00:54:57,920 the first round Atlanta, New York, if they still wouldn't have necessarily gotten 819 00:54:57,920 --> 00:55:01,239 beat But I yet, I don't think they're that stuck. Because you have 820 00:55:02,000 --> 00:55:06,639 you think bam Adebayo should be a top ten player. There's a chance, 821 00:55:07,000 --> 00:55:09,360 there's a chance that he and Jimmy Butler's windows a line to the point where 822 00:55:09,360 --> 00:55:13,079 they're both top fifteen players next year. You're not stuck when you have that 823 00:55:13,280 --> 00:55:16,280 in cap space and Duncan Robinson. I am very interested to see what happens 824 00:55:16,320 --> 00:55:19,800 with him, because you have to have a little bit. I don't think 825 00:55:19,840 --> 00:55:22,559 anything that he's done. He shot a little worse this year, but it 826 00:55:22,639 --> 00:55:24,880 was still over forty percent, and the level of difficulty on his attempts is 827 00:55:24,880 --> 00:55:29,559 wild, and defenses are more keyed in on him now that they know what's 828 00:55:29,559 --> 00:55:32,199 going on with Duncan Robinson. I think he probably gets between fifteen and eighteen 829 00:55:32,239 --> 00:55:37,840 million a year. Yeah, I think you're probably right, and are you? 830 00:55:37,880 --> 00:55:39,199 If the Heat don't pay that, that's when we start thinking, Okay, 831 00:55:39,199 --> 00:55:44,239 well what's going on here? There feels like there's something more at play. 832 00:55:44,320 --> 00:55:45,480 But I do agree with you. The path forward now is because what 833 00:55:45,599 --> 00:55:49,880 the the question of what do you do now? I think it's harder than 834 00:55:49,880 --> 00:55:52,360 ever, but I don't I think there are options on the table. If 835 00:55:52,360 --> 00:55:53,760 they wanted to tear it down, they could if they want to make a 836 00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:58,960 minor swing Tyler Hero and then you have the Goren deal, you have Andre 837 00:55:59,039 --> 00:56:01,719 Goodalla's team option. I don't know who you can get with that, even 838 00:56:01,719 --> 00:56:06,679 if you're attaching a very distant first round pick. I wouldn't be too surprised 839 00:56:06,679 --> 00:56:08,000 to see Kemba in a Heat jersey next year. But that might be. 840 00:56:08,039 --> 00:56:12,000 That's the thing that might be the play, and that's not you know they 841 00:56:12,039 --> 00:56:14,679 could do that is to push this team over the top. Move though, 842 00:56:14,960 --> 00:56:19,719 if Kemba's Kemba, Yes, Kemba's thirty one and has been on the decline 843 00:56:19,719 --> 00:56:22,280 for a little bit and has a long history of knee injuries. Now the 844 00:56:22,480 --> 00:56:28,039 knee injuries, yes, was he's he was still really good for really good. 845 00:56:28,079 --> 00:56:30,400 But that doesn't mean he wasn't declining with no no this year he was, 846 00:56:30,760 --> 00:56:34,280 he was not great. I'm saying I'm not ready to count him out 847 00:56:34,280 --> 00:56:37,800 off of what I too love Kenba, and I'm appreciative. I'm very appreciative 848 00:56:37,800 --> 00:56:40,400 of you toning down what you were about to say and going with not great. 849 00:56:43,320 --> 00:56:45,599 I saw that hesitation in your eyes. The other thing that they have 850 00:56:45,760 --> 00:56:51,000 here is I don't know if he's slated to play next season with his injury, 851 00:56:51,039 --> 00:56:52,599 but they still have Victor Roll of Deeple on the books. And is 852 00:56:52,639 --> 00:56:58,079 the path forward he gets healthy and hits. I don't it's not a viable 853 00:56:58,159 --> 00:57:01,679 path forward, but like and maybe they'll finish with the fourteenth best record next 854 00:57:01,719 --> 00:57:07,519 year and get the number one pick in the draft. Like we're throwing out 855 00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:10,679 likely scenarios, right. I think the last thing we need to talk about 856 00:57:10,920 --> 00:57:15,920 is there's really nothing to glean from Philly in Washington? Is there gonna Beny 857 00:57:15,920 --> 00:57:20,920 fallout once Washington loses the Bradley Beal's future is going to get interesting because I 858 00:57:20,960 --> 00:57:23,000 don't I know, he said he wants to stay there, and I'm not 859 00:57:23,000 --> 00:57:27,920 a fan of putting words in players mouths, but with free agency coming up 860 00:57:27,920 --> 00:57:30,119 after this year, the front office has to at least have the conversation with 861 00:57:30,199 --> 00:57:32,320 him and be realistic about where it is. Because Russ and Bradley Beale and 862 00:57:32,360 --> 00:57:36,519 Davis Berton's they're taking up most of your cap What are the improvements here? 863 00:57:36,719 --> 00:57:42,000 Rudy hot Chimore has gotten better this year? You have Denny Denny avdal Was. 864 00:57:42,039 --> 00:57:44,840 I think he's better. He's obviously not playing right now, but I 865 00:57:44,880 --> 00:57:47,119 thought he was better than expected this year. Do you have a clear path 866 00:57:47,199 --> 00:57:52,280 forward in the imminent future to be a fringe contender? I don't know that 867 00:57:52,159 --> 00:57:54,400 that conversation heats up until around the trade deadline. I still think they just 868 00:57:54,440 --> 00:57:58,000 try and run it back with because Russ wasn't healthy. He was playing through 869 00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:00,559 a torn quad this year. The series I really wanted to talk about before 870 00:58:00,559 --> 00:58:06,559 we wrap up Memphis Utah it's been surprisingly fun. Yeah, fully press for 871 00:58:06,599 --> 00:58:10,159 sure. They are way friskier than I think anyone anticipated. John Morant talk 872 00:58:10,199 --> 00:58:15,840 about a star turn, he could just get anything he wanted during Game two 873 00:58:15,960 --> 00:58:20,360 and just a joy to watch. Yeah, it feels like he's another player, 874 00:58:20,400 --> 00:58:23,239 where like Deer and Fox a few years ago, Trey Young right about 875 00:58:23,280 --> 00:58:29,519 now like it just it's noticeably slowing down for him, which is pretty terrifying 876 00:58:29,559 --> 00:58:34,039 given his speed and hops. They're super fun, but I don't really expect 877 00:58:34,039 --> 00:58:37,039 this to be that competitive of a series going forward. I don't really expect 878 00:58:37,119 --> 00:58:42,320 John Morant to be able to replicate a forty seven point game. Donovan Mitchell 879 00:58:42,360 --> 00:58:45,199 is only going to get further integrated into this rotation, and Utah is still 880 00:58:45,199 --> 00:58:50,519 just a machine when all of its pieces are there. Like if you send 881 00:58:50,639 --> 00:58:53,920 any sort of help on a pick and roll, Mike Conley or Donovan Mitchell 882 00:58:54,039 --> 00:58:58,079 is going to find the open guy and they're going to make the shot or 883 00:58:58,159 --> 00:59:01,280 swing for an even easier one. This offense, in particular, is a 884 00:59:01,320 --> 00:59:07,239 machine, and the Grizzlies, much like basically every other team in the NBA, 885 00:59:07,960 --> 00:59:10,320 don't really have a way to play. Rudy Gobert off the court that 886 00:59:10,480 --> 00:59:14,320 I looked. The other thing they're picking role of defensing game through was not 887 00:59:14,480 --> 00:59:19,199 existing. Not just bad, it didn't exist the look. I think it 888 00:59:19,199 --> 00:59:21,360 was encouraging. Dono Mitchell. The performance he had, you could tell the 889 00:59:21,400 --> 00:59:23,360 timing was sort of off, and even just looking at his passes like still 890 00:59:23,360 --> 00:59:27,119 getting his feel back. But for a first game after missing a month plus 891 00:59:27,159 --> 00:59:30,360 in the playoffs against the defense like the Grizzlies important. I wonder if it 892 00:59:30,480 --> 00:59:35,159 was Mike Conley's sort of injury problems last year blessing in disguise were didn't play 893 00:59:35,159 --> 00:59:38,159 as much, and now he's just so freaking fresh and fifteen assists, fifteen 894 00:59:38,159 --> 00:59:43,039 assists, he's so good. They were like pin point. This was not 895 00:59:43,199 --> 00:59:46,239 like, all, since we're complimenting Utah, I'll throw out in Utah comparison. 896 00:59:46,280 --> 00:59:53,639 This was not like patting the stat books with John Stockton assists. I 897 00:59:53,639 --> 00:59:57,960 thought you said we were complimenting Utah. I know, and I and then 898 00:59:58,000 --> 01:00:02,880 I said that I could afford to make that paris a little when revicerated one 899 01:00:02,960 --> 01:00:07,800 of their fans just at the earlier of this podst Mike Conley floater game was 900 01:00:07,840 --> 01:00:12,440 just on point, though in that game. Sorry is it? I forgot 901 01:00:12,480 --> 01:00:15,840 to turn the volume off on a video that was next to the shot chart 902 01:00:15,880 --> 01:00:19,280 that I was looking at. Five of nine on two's outside the restricted area, 903 01:00:19,320 --> 01:00:22,239 but inside the paint, five of not five of ten overall on just 904 01:00:22,280 --> 01:00:24,480 two's outside of the restrict area. Still just so good. And I think 905 01:00:24,719 --> 01:00:29,039 I know it's only the Grizzlies, but I think my impressions where I thought 906 01:00:29,159 --> 01:00:31,000 Utah might be. I don't want to say a paper tiger, but I 907 01:00:31,119 --> 01:00:35,280 wasn't. I didn't think they were gonna win the title. And I still 908 01:00:35,320 --> 01:00:39,440 they're not my pick. They're probably more threatened. Still pick that's if they 909 01:00:39,440 --> 01:00:45,320 win the Tiger, you're gonna look awfully good. They're Rudy Gobert is just 910 01:00:45,400 --> 01:00:47,719 dominant. They don't. There's just no what is and what is the team 911 01:00:47,760 --> 01:00:52,880 that can defend Rudy Gobert. Maybe the Lakers if they face the Clippers in 912 01:00:52,880 --> 01:00:53,719 the next round, by the way, they're gonna chew through them with the 913 01:00:53,760 --> 01:00:58,280 way that the Clippers have been defending Dan. I just love that sentence though, 914 01:00:58,519 --> 01:01:02,800 that you've said, how can they defend Rudy Gobert? Because he is 915 01:01:02,880 --> 01:01:07,400 that good on offensive? Well, and I get him all the time, 916 01:01:07,719 --> 01:01:12,320 right, I get why people don't like him all the time because he does 917 01:01:12,400 --> 01:01:15,679 slop. It was it was bad? Oh yeah, it was terrible, 918 01:01:15,960 --> 01:01:20,119 And he does that fairly frequently. You know, the whole touching all the 919 01:01:20,119 --> 01:01:22,840 microphones and shutting down, the whole NBA things and some of the comments that 920 01:01:22,840 --> 01:01:25,880 he's made. Like, I understand why he rubs people the wrong way, 921 01:01:27,199 --> 01:01:31,840 but there is not enough appreciation for just how good he is on both ends 922 01:01:31,840 --> 01:01:36,800 of the floor. And it's about way more than the screen assists, which 923 01:01:37,159 --> 01:01:38,920 you know a lot of people like to make fun of even though they're valuable. 924 01:01:39,599 --> 01:01:44,639 He's a deadly roll man. He's a good offensive rebounder. He is 925 01:01:44,800 --> 01:01:49,840 a very underrated passer. Again, the screens are really impactful. He's so 926 01:01:49,960 --> 01:01:54,679 good on the offensive end despite not scoring that much, he can completely control 927 01:01:54,719 --> 01:02:00,679 the game and still score. Yeah that the Jazz are. They are a 928 01:02:00,679 --> 01:02:02,639 threat, and their path to the let's say, the Western Conference finals at 929 01:02:02,719 --> 01:02:07,000 least looks a lot rosier now because I still think that they I don't know 930 01:02:07,039 --> 01:02:10,719 that they're defending Don Chich will be a problem for them, but like the 931 01:02:10,760 --> 01:02:15,159 Mavericks, defending them might actually be harder than them defending the Clippers right now, 932 01:02:15,199 --> 01:02:16,360 and if they do, for some reason face the Clippers who came back 933 01:02:16,760 --> 01:02:21,400 with the way that LA has defended, They're gonna be minced meat for Utah. 934 01:02:21,480 --> 01:02:24,800 If you was a top five offense all year long, and even forget 935 01:02:24,840 --> 01:02:28,840 that, even when their offense has been bad in playoffs passed not not so 936 01:02:28,920 --> 01:02:32,360 much last year, but Mitchell's first two seasons in the league, they were 937 01:02:32,360 --> 01:02:37,800 still generating really high quality shots. That's what their offense does. Now. 938 01:02:37,800 --> 01:02:39,199 It's just you have so many guys who are going to knock them down. 939 01:02:40,000 --> 01:02:45,920 Between Boyabodanovitch, between Mike Conley, between Joe Ingles, Donovan Mitchell, even 940 01:02:45,079 --> 01:02:49,000 if someone has an off night, there's just like, yeah, there's I 941 01:02:49,039 --> 01:02:52,800 think there's a limit to their real shot creation. Donovan Mitchell is so important 942 01:02:52,840 --> 01:02:54,679 to them to do that, even when you have Conley and Boyabodanovitch and Ingles, 943 01:02:55,000 --> 01:03:00,760 but there's just always gonna be someone else who's making threes anything else you 944 01:03:00,760 --> 01:03:01,679 have. If if people want to hear more about the Grizzlies, we did 945 01:03:01,719 --> 01:03:05,440 do a deep dive in our previous podcast about where they sort of go from 946 01:03:05,440 --> 01:03:07,519 here and get to that next level. That that's certainly worth listening to. 947 01:03:07,559 --> 01:03:10,280 I think it was towards the end of our past podcast. We don't want 948 01:03:10,280 --> 01:03:14,679 to get into any of the other series because they all are two of them 949 01:03:14,679 --> 01:03:16,559 are happening as we speak, and we don't want to date this too hard. 950 01:03:17,000 --> 01:03:20,639 What else are you who? Really? What are you watching for the 951 01:03:20,639 --> 01:03:22,360 rest of the first round? What are you most intrigued by? And why 952 01:03:22,400 --> 01:03:28,000 is it the implosion of the Clippers. I think it's the Knicks Hawks series 953 01:03:28,039 --> 01:03:34,920 and the Clippers Maverick series. I'm assuming that Denver, Portland and Phoenix Los 954 01:03:34,920 --> 01:03:39,239 Angeles Lakers are still off limits because they're currently in progress. Yeah, you 955 01:03:39,239 --> 01:03:42,440 could say that you're still going to watch them. I just hope if we 956 01:03:42,480 --> 01:03:45,239 could get like a full st a seventy five percent CP three performance in Game 957 01:03:45,320 --> 01:03:50,039 four yea, to make this a series. It's that I had sons in 958 01:03:50,079 --> 01:03:53,480 seven. I'll stand by that pick. But Chris Paul some really tough breaks 959 01:03:53,480 --> 01:03:59,320 in the playoffs these past few years, from getting destroyed by Josh Smith in 960 01:03:59,360 --> 01:04:02,280 the fourth quarter with when he was with the Clippers, to the hamstring injuries 961 01:04:02,280 --> 01:04:06,480 with Houston, whatever the hell ended up happening in Houston that following year to 962 01:04:06,599 --> 01:04:10,679 now, this really just blows. But I'm not kind of phoenix out yet. 963 01:04:10,679 --> 01:04:13,960 Just makes that's the series I'm really watching. I was probably most intrigued 964 01:04:13,960 --> 01:04:16,480 by it to begin with, and then Knicks Hawks obviously, well we'll be 965 01:04:16,519 --> 01:04:19,960 somebody to watch the Clippers for the car crash theory. You can't look away. 966 01:04:20,280 --> 01:04:25,320 But I see my pick. I'm not changing my pick yet. Maybe 967 01:04:25,320 --> 01:04:28,599 that's dumb. I totally get. I'm not changing my clippers in five pick 968 01:04:28,679 --> 01:04:31,840 either. I'm sticking with clippers in five. It's not looking good, says 969 01:04:31,960 --> 01:04:34,360 the other guy who picked the Clippers in five. Oh, you had them 970 01:04:34,400 --> 01:04:38,480 in five too, I don't remember it was either five or six. If 971 01:04:38,480 --> 01:04:41,199 it's six, your picks at least still alive. That makes you feel any 972 01:04:41,239 --> 01:04:45,559 better? Yeah, for now, this was fun. If you guys have 973 01:04:45,679 --> 01:04:48,760 not subscribed to us wherever you get your podcast hey, and you're listening to 974 01:04:48,840 --> 01:04:53,360 this, do that rate review and subscribe to us. Wherever you're getting your 975 01:04:53,360 --> 01:04:56,679 podcasts, please go to iTunes throw us a five star rating right reviews. 976 01:04:56,719 --> 01:04:58,719 Those help us out a lot, and I don't think we've gotten one in 977 01:04:58,760 --> 01:05:00,800 a couple of weeks, which is seems bizarre when we know how many people 978 01:05:00,800 --> 01:05:03,800 listen to this podcast, So help help Adam and I out. If you 979 01:05:03,800 --> 01:05:06,719 throw us five stars, you can call us whatever names or insults you want 980 01:05:06,800 --> 01:05:11,599 in the reviews, as long as the rating is five stars. Follow us 981 01:05:11,599 --> 01:05:15,000 on Twitter at Hardwood Knox. Follow the Sports Math the Sports Math Network on 982 01:05:15,000 --> 01:05:20,079 Twitter at the Underscore Sports Underscore Math. That handle always trips me up, 983 01:05:20,079 --> 01:05:24,159 but go follow them until next time. We leave it to shout out to 984 01:05:24,199 --> 01:05:28,760 the one. The only I'm doing this for Adam because he's been championing him 985 01:05:28,880 --> 01:05:32,280 as a fantastic offensive player for so long. Soon to be Defensive Player of 986 01:05:32,280 --> 01:05:42,639 the Year. Rudy Gobert, Sugar Ray, Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvelous, 987 01:05:42,639 --> 01:05:47,039 Marvin Hagler, and Thomas Hearns legends whose four way rivalry define one of 988 01:05:47,039 --> 01:05:51,719 the greatest errors in boxing history, relive their decade of dominance in the new 989 01:05:51,760 --> 01:05:58,000 Showtime Sports documentary The Kings, a four parts series premiering Sunday, June sixth, 990 01:05:58,159 --> 01:05:59,119 only on Showtime