1 00:00:00,840 --> 00:00:04,120 What's up, y'all is Drewski and I've teamed up with Mountain Dew to produce 2 00:00:04,200 --> 00:00:08,679 a hilarious new basketball podcast called The Due Zone with Drewsky. Learn the backstories 3 00:00:08,679 --> 00:00:11,880 of your favorite balls and celebrities like Jamal Murray. Did you have like a 4 00:00:11,919 --> 00:00:14,720 favorite team? Wasn't the Raptors at the time? Or no, was the 5 00:00:14,800 --> 00:00:19,519 Raptors even started on the topic? Come on tell you like I'm Vifty, 6 00:00:19,640 --> 00:00:22,640 Taylor Rogues, Asian Wilson, and many more. You won't want to miss 7 00:00:22,679 --> 00:00:25,640 this. Listen to The Duo Zone with Drewski on Apple, Podcast, Spotify, 8 00:00:25,679 --> 00:00:33,439 and wherever you listen to podcasts. This is Greg Olsen here to tell 9 00:00:33,439 --> 00:00:36,640 you about my new podcast, t E one. On the show, I 10 00:00:36,719 --> 00:00:40,520 had a chance to talk to my fellow tight ends who have revolutionized the position 11 00:00:40,759 --> 00:00:44,640 from an extra lineman to a dual threat superstar and just like my guests, 12 00:00:44,679 --> 00:00:49,439 have changed the game this year, NFL Sunday Ticket dot DV is revolutionizing your 13 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:54,280 NFL viewing experience. Stream all the live out of market NFL games every Sunday 14 00:00:54,439 --> 00:00:58,920 on your favorite devices and never miss a moment from your favorite players. Visit 15 00:00:59,039 --> 00:01:03,159 NFL Sunday Ticket dot TV and use the promo code Greg eighty eight at checkout 16 00:01:03,159 --> 00:01:07,920 and get fifteen percent off your subscription. That's NFL Sunday Ticket dot TV and 17 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:12,719 the promo code Greg eighty eight. Subscribe to t E one and get NFL 18 00:01:12,799 --> 00:01:32,400 Sunday Ticket dot TV. An Unmatched dual threat. Hello Hardwood Knox family. 19 00:01:32,439 --> 00:01:34,599 This is Adam Promal here with my co host Dan Favallei, and we are 20 00:01:34,680 --> 00:01:40,959 still in the midst of the NBA Playoffs. We have one first round game 21 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,359 left that will be happening shortly after we record this one as the Houston Rockets 22 00:01:44,359 --> 00:01:48,079 in Oklahoma City Thunder battle in Game seven for the right to advance to the 23 00:01:48,079 --> 00:01:52,319 second round. Uh. The other the other teams in the second round are 24 00:01:52,319 --> 00:01:56,480 already set. We have two series already in progress, so we're gonna be 25 00:01:56,480 --> 00:02:00,200 talking about all of it. This is sort of a general we're talking thinking 26 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:05,560 about the NBA Playoffs episode without without as much structure as some of our previous 27 00:02:05,560 --> 00:02:09,439 episodes, So we'll dive right in after a shout out to our sponsors as 28 00:02:09,439 --> 00:02:13,280 always, Bet Online, Dot AG, Door, Dash, and NFL Sunday 29 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,319 Ticket. So, Dan, how are you doing and what are you most 30 00:02:15,360 --> 00:02:21,039 excited about for Game seven tonight. I'm doing well over here. Thank you 31 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:25,599 for asking, And I think I'm most excited for the twitter potential in a 32 00:02:25,719 --> 00:02:29,800 missed Game seven, but also after it. I mean, just picture what 33 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:32,759 the tweets will be like if Chris Paul ends up eliminating the team that traded 34 00:02:32,879 --> 00:02:38,400 him while treating him as the net negative asset in said deal. But also 35 00:02:38,439 --> 00:02:42,960 if the Rockets win, I'm gonna just be here for the probably the troll 36 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:46,080 jobs done by both the Lakers and the Rockets fans, and then they'll They'll 37 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:51,039 probably also be some you know, James Harden like related to Chris Paul memes 38 00:02:51,080 --> 00:02:53,879 coming out, so you know, I love that type of content. So 39 00:02:53,039 --> 00:02:57,840 I am very much looking forward to that. What about you, I was 40 00:02:57,879 --> 00:03:01,879 gonna say that sounds like a very That was a very dann answer. I'm 41 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:07,240 still I'm still riding high from the the experience of the Nuggets Jazz Game seven. 42 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:13,000 It was. It was a sloppy, fatigue laden game, but it 43 00:03:13,039 --> 00:03:16,919 was it was such an exciting finish. It was such a fantastic series and 44 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:23,479 above all else, like I just love how Jamal Murray in particular and Donovan 45 00:03:23,479 --> 00:03:28,199 Mitchell in particular, handled themselves off the court throughout that series. The interviews 46 00:03:28,199 --> 00:03:32,000 that they gave were poignant and meaningful throughout Jamal Murray having the presence of mind 47 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:38,680 and humanity to come and comfort Donovan Mitchell after he collapsed to the floor in 48 00:03:38,759 --> 00:03:43,680 despair after Mike Conley's three point attempt rimmed out like that was. That was 49 00:03:43,719 --> 00:03:47,599 just an incredible human moment, and it's just another example of how the league 50 00:03:47,639 --> 00:03:52,840 is in such a great place moving forward with these these young guys who are 51 00:03:52,879 --> 00:03:57,199 so good on the court and just to get it. So I'm still riding 52 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:00,280 that high. That was a fantastic game sort of to that point before we 53 00:04:00,319 --> 00:04:04,599 get into that with you know, you're talking about specifically Jamal Murray. Remember 54 00:04:04,599 --> 00:04:10,400 he gave that I called it an impossible interview after Game six, and it 55 00:04:10,439 --> 00:04:14,479 was just borderline uncomfortable where I think it should have ended. After the you 56 00:04:14,520 --> 00:04:16,279 know, he had said that the shoes he was wearing, we're giving him 57 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:19,920 life, but I do give him credit for what he was able to piece 58 00:04:19,959 --> 00:04:26,040 together in that moment. We're not talking about the strikes from last week. 59 00:04:26,079 --> 00:04:30,480 We elected not to record after those games were canceled. I think there's enough 60 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:35,240 white males commenting on all of this, and I would recommend just a couple 61 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:41,279 podcasts to check out if people are interested in hearing more about that. The 62 00:04:41,319 --> 00:04:47,040 Dishes and Dime podcast to de fantastic segment on the entire thing. I think 63 00:04:47,079 --> 00:04:50,360 it began around the twenty one forty five mark on their latest episode, So 64 00:04:50,399 --> 00:04:55,079 I would go check that out. That's a great podcast. Zach Low had 65 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:59,120 Malika Andrews and William Rodan on that was a great podcast, talk about it. 66 00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:03,480 And then Howard of the Full forty eight and Bleacher Report for Now I 67 00:05:03,519 --> 00:05:08,040 guess had on Jim Jackson. They had a great discussion on all of this, 68 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:12,439 and so I just wanted to amplify those podcasts or endorse those because I 69 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:15,600 don't think, at least in this particular setting, that we need people who 70 00:05:15,639 --> 00:05:19,120 look like Adam and I commenting on what happened last week. It was just 71 00:05:19,160 --> 00:05:24,120 an incredible stand by the players, and I think we're both comfortable leaving it 72 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:26,879 at that, but it was, you know, Jamal Murray is like so 73 00:05:26,959 --> 00:05:30,000 linked to that is because what maybe the interview is so uncomfortable is like it 74 00:05:30,040 --> 00:05:35,279 felt like we were making a spectacle of black pain. And so while I 75 00:05:35,399 --> 00:05:39,519 credit him for the interview that he gave, it was just it was just 76 00:05:39,600 --> 00:05:43,040 all sorts of moving and perhaps in some I don't know, like the wrong 77 00:05:43,079 --> 00:05:45,079 ways. I don't know if I'm wrong there, But the end of that 78 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:48,920 series in general, the Jazz almost winning on that Mike Conley shot, the 79 00:05:48,920 --> 00:05:51,680 way that Donovan Mitchell and Jamal Murray just seemed to go punch for punch. 80 00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:56,120 Even though Mitchell didn't have that like best last game, it felt like he 81 00:05:56,240 --> 00:05:59,279 recognized what was happening when Gary Harris was in front of him, he was 82 00:05:59,319 --> 00:06:01,560 trying to get rid of the ball. There are you know, I'm interested 83 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:05,439 to see your thoughts on two things. Here would be what do you give 84 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,079 the you know, just because that series is done, like it was epic, 85 00:06:09,120 --> 00:06:12,040 it was great, but like, how do you view this Nuggets Clipper 86 00:06:12,079 --> 00:06:14,639 series that's about to get underway? And I also don't know if you saw 87 00:06:14,639 --> 00:06:17,680 the reaction of Jamal Murray when he found out he had a play on Thursday 88 00:06:18,360 --> 00:06:21,120 after the post game of Sports Center, that was just that was that was 89 00:06:21,160 --> 00:06:25,199 a great moment. But I'm wondering what type of chance you give the Nuggets 90 00:06:25,199 --> 00:06:27,399 there? And then maybe we should just get into a little bit while we'll 91 00:06:27,399 --> 00:06:30,079 try and do specific look aheads for each team's moving forward, Just like what 92 00:06:30,120 --> 00:06:33,040 this maybe means for the Jazz, Like, can they write off this is 93 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:36,839 just what we didn't have going on? Bogdanovich, You know there are shots 94 00:06:36,839 --> 00:06:41,839 that we're going to hit that we wouldn't have And Mike Conley missed the first 95 00:06:41,879 --> 00:06:44,920 two games, but they jumped out to a three to one series lead, 96 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:46,680 So how much does that actually matter? So I'm curious on on that. 97 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:49,879 But first, like looking ahead to this Nuggets Clipper series, how do you 98 00:06:49,879 --> 00:06:55,000 think Denver matches up with LA and do you give them a chance to come 99 00:06:55,000 --> 00:07:01,120 out of this series? I think that you just pray interview is yeah, 100 00:07:01,399 --> 00:07:05,199 yeah, I cringe. I did cringe. I think that Jamal murray interview 101 00:07:05,279 --> 00:07:13,360 is pretty telling that reaction specifically, because I think the Nuggets know that they're 102 00:07:13,399 --> 00:07:17,519 they're about to run into a rested buzz saw and this series took a lot 103 00:07:17,560 --> 00:07:24,480 out of them. It was an emotional, interrupted series. Every game towards 104 00:07:24,519 --> 00:07:28,160 the back end of the series was a battle. Jamal Murray played his heart 105 00:07:28,199 --> 00:07:33,199 out on so many different moments. I think this team is emotionally drained. 106 00:07:33,279 --> 00:07:40,720 I think we saw the level of fatigue that it had a crewed throughout the 107 00:07:40,800 --> 00:07:43,759 series. In Game seven, in particular, there was a stretch in the 108 00:07:43,839 --> 00:07:47,160 third quarter where it seemed like every shot really that both teams were taking was 109 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,279 hitting the front of the rim, which is usually a sign of tired legs 110 00:07:50,439 --> 00:07:57,800 from a jump shooter. I don't think the Nuggets mash up particularly well with 111 00:07:57,839 --> 00:08:01,879 the Clippers, even when they're totally ready to go. I have a feeling 112 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:05,439 that Paul George is kind of licking his chops, waiting to take advantage of 113 00:08:05,879 --> 00:08:11,519 the really shoddy perimeter defense that we've seen from the Denver Wings, and he's 114 00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:16,560 ready to get off the schneide if you will. But yeah, yeah, 115 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:24,360 I just and Murray are are so talented that you have to give them a 116 00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:28,319 shot. But this Clippers team is geared to stop players like Murray and to 117 00:08:28,399 --> 00:08:33,919 take advantage of everyone that Denver has, maybe with the exception of Gary Harris 118 00:08:33,919 --> 00:08:37,559 if he's at full strength. And I don't think it's going to be a 119 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:43,840 particularly long experience for ten for I kind of agree with you that they don't 120 00:08:43,879 --> 00:08:46,840 match up well. I do think that yoga could end up being a big 121 00:08:48,120 --> 00:08:50,559 mismatch in Denver's favor on the front line, just because I don't think that's 122 00:08:50,600 --> 00:08:54,799 a great matchup if you go with Dress at the five or Zubatch really, 123 00:08:54,840 --> 00:08:58,080 I mean, the Zubos has been but that was the thing where I felt 124 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:01,480 like it kind of takes away from the edge because he's just moved his feet 125 00:09:01,519 --> 00:09:05,279 so well in the playoffs coming out of the paint, and so like, 126 00:09:05,519 --> 00:09:09,759 can he neutralize any of what Yokich is doing out of there? I still 127 00:09:09,759 --> 00:09:11,799 think it's just this clear advantage. But even if you go to Yokich in 128 00:09:11,799 --> 00:09:15,080 the post, like, I don't actually think that that's a bad matchup for 129 00:09:15,159 --> 00:09:18,919 Zubots there either, And so I'm not trying to say that that's not a 130 00:09:18,960 --> 00:09:22,799 clear win for Yokich there. But if you take what is in fact your 131 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:28,840 best like mismatch, just because you know that the Clippers have the defensive firepower 132 00:09:28,919 --> 00:09:33,159 to throw at Jamal Murray, you know whether it's gonna be Patrick Beverly's coming 133 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,919 back. So that's another thing Denver has to grapple with. And if they 134 00:09:35,919 --> 00:09:39,120 want, they can put Paul Georgia Kawhi Leonard on Jamal Murray if it comes 135 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:43,639 to that, and so so I'm not gonna say you're gonna take him out 136 00:09:43,639 --> 00:09:46,000 of the game. But then after that it's they match up well if you 137 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,159 want to play Michael Porter Junior. And then on the flip side at the 138 00:09:48,200 --> 00:09:52,960 other end, it's like, okay, so Jeremy Grant, I assume gets 139 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:56,399 the Kawai assignment, and so that's going to be He's going to have his 140 00:09:56,399 --> 00:09:58,519 handsful and Kawai has been playing out of this world as he tends to do 141 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,399 in the playoffs. Is what are you doing with Paul George? Is that 142 00:10:03,480 --> 00:10:07,639 who Gary Harris is playing? Do you have to put Tory Craig out there, 143 00:10:07,639 --> 00:10:11,559 maybe because he's a little bit stronger, like for heavier minutes. That 144 00:10:11,600 --> 00:10:13,200 could end up being the mismatch you just said Paul George was looking as chops 145 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,279 and that just might be. That might actually be. Why so I just 146 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:20,279 don't love this. I think Denver might be okay on offense, but at 147 00:10:20,279 --> 00:10:22,799 the same time because of Jokis. But at the same time, it's like 148 00:10:24,080 --> 00:10:28,159 they just the sheer depth of what the Clippers can do defensively on the perimeter 149 00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:33,080 when they have Patrick Beverly healthy and Marcus Morris is there makes me sort of 150 00:10:33,159 --> 00:10:37,440 uneasy to wear. I'm wondering, if this you know, what's the path 151 00:10:37,519 --> 00:10:39,320 to this going longer than five games? And I'm saying this is someone who 152 00:10:39,360 --> 00:10:43,039 picked the Nuggets to win the title at the beginning of the season or before 153 00:10:43,080 --> 00:10:46,879 the season. You have to stick with it now. But yeah, yeah, 154 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:52,879 I think the other uncomfortable truth here is that as much as the world 155 00:10:52,919 --> 00:10:56,480 seems to want to, like rush to coordinate Jamal Murray as one of the 156 00:10:56,519 --> 00:11:01,919 new superstars in the NBA, like, we might need to temper the expectations 157 00:11:01,919 --> 00:11:05,440 a little bit because as great as he played, and as much of a 158 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,759 rioising star as he is, I mean, he's he's in the third spot 159 00:11:09,799 --> 00:11:13,519 in NBA in NBAMAS player power rankings at the moment, Like a lot of 160 00:11:13,519 --> 00:11:18,879 what he's doing isn't sustainable, and the Jazz weren't always playing great defense against 161 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:22,440 him. I mean, in that seven game series, he hit fifty four 162 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:26,919 point eight percent of his pull up shots and fifty sevenven point one percent of 163 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:31,600 his pull up threes, And no player in NBA history is capable of maintaining 164 00:11:31,919 --> 00:11:37,279 that level of efficiency on those difficult shots, especially when the Clippers are about 165 00:11:37,279 --> 00:11:43,759 to throw even better perimeter defenders at him, so you know it's he's doing 166 00:11:43,840 --> 00:11:50,720 so much good. But this wasn't like the scoring outburst that indicated he's always 167 00:11:50,720 --> 00:11:54,600 going to be this absolute flamethrower. He made a lot of difficult shots, 168 00:11:54,600 --> 00:11:58,039 and kudos to him, but it's going to come back to earth at some 169 00:11:58,080 --> 00:12:03,360 point. It was very much like a Carrion performance to some extent. Yeah, 170 00:12:03,399 --> 00:12:07,039 I mean, forty percent on contested threes in that series, in addition 171 00:12:07,080 --> 00:12:09,159 to his sixty nine effective field goal percent and jump poll up jumpers. Just 172 00:12:09,559 --> 00:12:15,080 an absolutely wild performance. I do think though, this does lend merit to 173 00:12:15,279 --> 00:12:18,919 Denver's immediate future because Jamal Murray has been kind of a roller coaster. He 174 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:22,759 had his moments last playoffs, but there are also these vanishing acts and the 175 00:12:22,759 --> 00:12:26,840 fact that those are fewer and further between. Maybe he's just one of those 176 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:30,360 players that becomes even more valuable in the postseason because they're not going to, 177 00:12:31,320 --> 00:12:33,440 uh, you know, milk him in the way that they do in the 178 00:12:33,440 --> 00:12:37,759 playoffs during the regular season, because I think the knock against him over the 179 00:12:37,759 --> 00:12:39,759 past three years has been like statistically, when you look at his permanent production. 180 00:12:41,000 --> 00:12:43,600 There just hasn't been much change. It's basically been lateral. And so 181 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:48,200 for someone you just gave a five year max extension, that's not necessarily good 182 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:50,200 enough. But if you can play not necessarily like this in the playoffs because 183 00:12:50,240 --> 00:12:56,120 this is not this is not a thing, but just the sentiment that he 184 00:12:56,200 --> 00:12:58,120 can, you know, kind of that like CJ. McCullum factor, where 185 00:12:58,120 --> 00:13:01,440 it's like, you know, maybe he's Portland's third best player when use of 186 00:13:01,519 --> 00:13:05,200 Murkis is healthy you're in the regular season, but he's their second best player 187 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,279 in the playoffs, and maybe that's like the type of Jamal Murray factor there. 188 00:13:07,320 --> 00:13:11,120 That's absolutely huge for Denver and I don't want to write them out of 189 00:13:11,120 --> 00:13:15,240 the playoffs so so quickly, but if they lose to the Clippers, they 190 00:13:15,279 --> 00:13:18,720 do just have some interesting decisions to make because you have Jeremy Grant with the 191 00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:20,399 player option, Paul Mills step is going to be a free agent, has 192 00:13:20,440 --> 00:13:24,360 not been good during the playoffs, and Tory Craig's going to be a free 193 00:13:24,360 --> 00:13:28,159 agent. And then there's the whole what would this team look like with another 194 00:13:28,440 --> 00:13:31,440 entrenched star on its roster, Like what if Drew Holiday becomes available. What 195 00:13:31,519 --> 00:13:37,919 if Bradley Bible becomes available? Are you willing to give up MPJ in prospective 196 00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:41,120 deals for that? Maybe that's not something you even look at, or at 197 00:13:41,159 --> 00:13:45,039 least you don't feel obligated to look at if you put up a real fight 198 00:13:45,080 --> 00:13:48,360 against the Clippers, But if you drop in five games or just sort of 199 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:50,879 six uninspiring games, or of course get swept, like the time is now, 200 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:54,519 Jamal Murray is twenty three, Yokich is twenty five, That they're still 201 00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:58,600 young, they're under long term deals, like their window is now, and 202 00:13:58,600 --> 00:14:01,879 so you do you have to sort of factor that in, And so I 203 00:14:01,879 --> 00:14:05,080 am sort of fascinated to see what happens this offseason. I'd default to Denver 204 00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:09,679 trying to be like prioritizing mostly continuity. My guess would be Paul millsapp is 205 00:14:09,679 --> 00:14:13,120 not back at this point, but you bring back Jeremy Grant. You probably 206 00:14:13,159 --> 00:14:16,120 hold on to Porter Junior and see if he can be your swing piece. 207 00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,679 And that just seems like how they do things there. But it is sort 208 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:22,159 of a worthwhile question to ask because Yokich is a top ten player right now, 209 00:14:22,519 --> 00:14:24,039 and if Jamal Murray is sort of on the come up. You know 210 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:26,519 it's great that Michael Porter Junior is as good as he is, but can 211 00:14:26,559 --> 00:14:31,320 you trust him to stay on the floor defensively against opposing starters as early as 212 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:35,639 next year and then leading into the twenty twenty one postseason. So their offseason 213 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,480 is going to be super interesting, probably more interesting than it typically would be 214 00:14:39,519 --> 00:14:41,720 for a team that has its two best players under lock and key. For 215 00:14:41,759 --> 00:14:46,120 so long, you've counted on restaurants. Now they're counting on you. And 216 00:14:46,120 --> 00:14:48,639 while their dining rooms maybe closed, they're still open for delivery with door Dash. 217 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:52,919 Door Dash is the app that brings you the food you're craving right to 218 00:14:52,960 --> 00:14:56,759 your door. I can confirm this. I've been using door Dash quite frequently 219 00:14:56,799 --> 00:15:01,919 throughout this pandemic that we're all trying to survive, mostly whenever I've just been 220 00:15:01,960 --> 00:15:03,799 jonesing for some wings. Could be the middle of the week, could be 221 00:15:03,799 --> 00:15:07,159 looking for a cheat night. I just I need my wings. Sometimes large 222 00:15:07,279 --> 00:15:11,840 orders I'm talking like fifty wings or more, and I can eat those pretty 223 00:15:11,919 --> 00:15:15,759 much in one sitting. So door Dash has been great. Whether I need 224 00:15:16,240 --> 00:15:18,679 contactless delivery or even if I'm just placing a pickup order. They make that 225 00:15:20,120 --> 00:15:22,360 super easy as well. Just open the door Dash app, choose what you 226 00:15:22,440 --> 00:15:24,879 want to eat, and your food will be left safely outside your door. 227 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:30,600 With a new contactless delivery drop off setting, choose from your favorite national restaurants 228 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:33,600 like Chipot, Late, Wendy's, and a cheesecake factory. Also, many 229 00:15:33,639 --> 00:15:35,879 of your favorite local restaurants are still open for delivery too. That's what I've 230 00:15:35,919 --> 00:15:41,960 been doing, using all these local smaller businesses to get my chicken wing fix. 231 00:15:41,399 --> 00:15:45,559 Door Dash has them all love that that they're all just located on there 232 00:15:45,679 --> 00:15:48,960 and right now, get this. Our listeners can get five dollars off and 233 00:15:50,080 --> 00:15:52,480 zero delivery fees on their first order of fifteen dollars or more. When you 234 00:15:52,519 --> 00:15:56,120 download the door Dash app and enter promo code blue wire all one word. 235 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,080 That's five dollars off and zero delivery fee of your first order. When you 236 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:04,200 gamble the door Dash app and enter code blue wire, don't forget, that's 237 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:07,919 cold blue wire all one word for five dollars off your first order with door 238 00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:14,840 Dash. Yeah, I think a lot depends on who becomes available, and 239 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,440 as we've seen in previous offseasons, it's so difficult to predict which star level 240 00:16:18,559 --> 00:16:22,960 players are going to want out of their current situation or are going to be 241 00:16:22,200 --> 00:16:27,240 actively shopped by their teams. If Bradley Beal is available, because the Wizards 242 00:16:27,240 --> 00:16:30,440 see that they have a limited ceiling even with John wallback on the court, 243 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,159 you give up Michael Porter Junior in a heartbeat to go get him. If 244 00:16:34,279 --> 00:16:38,879 Devin Booker gets frustrated that Phoenix isn't making the playoffs and doesn't see that they're 245 00:16:38,879 --> 00:16:42,480 on an upward trajectory and demands a trade, then you give up Michael Porter 246 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,919 Junior in a heartbeat. If it's a lower caliber player, maybe you stick 247 00:16:45,960 --> 00:16:49,879 with it and move him at the trade deadline if necessary. But I don't 248 00:16:49,919 --> 00:16:55,279 after what we've seen in the playoffs, I struggle to believe that he's going 249 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:59,840 to be a passable defender anytime soon. And he very clearly, just like 250 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:03,079 doesn't, have an immense level of trust from the Denver coaching staff at this 251 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:07,039 stage. And that's important because, as you said, the window really is 252 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:11,240 now, and maybe the window extends further than we typically see for those win 253 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:15,920 now situations, but they are trying to actively win a championship at this very 254 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:22,200 moment, and Porters as talented on offense as he is and as detrimental as 255 00:17:22,200 --> 00:17:26,440 he can be when he plays with too much of a green light and shows 256 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:30,640 a complete lack of awareness on defense, Like he is not the ideal piece 257 00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,920 for that pursuit at this moment. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm been 258 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:37,240 curious though. So you say, Brady Beal that you would definitely do it. 259 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:41,359 What if it's Drew Holiday? I would, Yeah, would, I 260 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:44,720 would include him in that tier as well. Interesting, I almost feel like, 261 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,039 because he's going to be a free agent, not that Denver's gonna have 262 00:17:48,039 --> 00:17:49,319 cap space. It well, I'm assuming he's going to decline his twenty twenty 263 00:17:49,319 --> 00:17:52,200 one player option and not that Denver's gonna have cap space. I don't know 264 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:56,119 if you need like also JJ Reddick as part of that deal, if you 265 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:00,079 can expand it with salary filler. Just I feel like I would call Drew 266 00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:03,400 Holiday, as much as I love him, probably just the baseline because we 267 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:07,079 did see sort some of his limitations in the bubble. If he's going to 268 00:18:07,079 --> 00:18:12,319 be your primary score a primary scoring option, and he's he's in that top 269 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:15,440 twenty five conversation, But I think if you're going to give up on mpg's 270 00:18:15,519 --> 00:18:21,000 upside at this point, offensively, you probably need like that entrenched top twenty 271 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:22,559 or top eighteen. Gun. I know it doesn't sound like a huge difference, 272 00:18:22,559 --> 00:18:26,480 but it but it can be that's a guy who's gonna contend for all 273 00:18:26,599 --> 00:18:30,440 NBA birth versus Drew Holiday, who's just gonna get that like residual All Star 274 00:18:30,880 --> 00:18:33,559 love. And so he might be the base I would consider it, but 275 00:18:33,559 --> 00:18:36,279 he might be the absolute bassline. And maybe it's a situation where you know, 276 00:18:36,359 --> 00:18:37,000 you have to include, you have to figure out how to get JJ 277 00:18:37,079 --> 00:18:42,119 Reddick two. So I think I'm ultimately with you there. And then there's 278 00:18:42,160 --> 00:18:47,079 always I am curious to see if there's just like and maybe this is a 279 00:18:47,160 --> 00:18:49,400 nice segue into the jazz, is there a player that just becomes available that 280 00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:52,599 we're just not seeing right now because you even try and think outside the box 281 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:57,000 and it's still really hard. And then maybe that's how they enter the discussion. 282 00:18:57,519 --> 00:19:00,319 And with the jazz specific we know that player is not going to be 283 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:04,839 Donovan Mitchell because he plans to sign a max extension with Utah. Per Chris 284 00:19:04,839 --> 00:19:08,359 Haynes and now a lot of people were speculating about Rudy Gobert's future, And 285 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:12,519 so I'm curious as to where you fall on this, as to whether you 286 00:19:14,119 --> 00:19:18,039 assign any real value to the behind the scenes tension that there was even before 287 00:19:18,519 --> 00:19:22,200 the whole coronavirus thing, or if you think the Jazz are going to look 288 00:19:22,200 --> 00:19:26,079 at this loss in the playoffs, even though they blew the three to one 289 00:19:26,119 --> 00:19:27,119 lead and say, you know what, we end up going on Bogdanovitch. 290 00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:32,079 This is the first season and we actually kind of went all in on this 291 00:19:32,200 --> 00:19:34,480 roster because you went out and got Bogdanovitch. You traded for Mike Conley. 292 00:19:34,599 --> 00:19:37,960 You also traded for Jordan Clarkson. You should have, unless you opt to 293 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,599 resign Jordan Clarkson at an amount that's just ungodly. You should have the non 294 00:19:41,599 --> 00:19:45,160 tax player's mid level exception to work with while being able to keep him. 295 00:19:45,319 --> 00:19:49,839 Is this a run it back situation? It is one hundred percent a run 296 00:19:49,839 --> 00:19:55,920 it back situation. I don't really care if there's tension between Donovan Mitchell and 297 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,960 Rudy Gobert in the locker room or outside of the arena or whatever it made. 298 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:04,279 And we've seen both of them downplay how much tension there is following the 299 00:20:04,559 --> 00:20:11,279 coronavirus situation. I think the tension that might have existed even before that because 300 00:20:11,319 --> 00:20:15,400 of playing styles and touches and all that is more salient. But either way, 301 00:20:15,440 --> 00:20:18,440 they don't play like a duo that has chemistry issues. Donovan Mitchell is 302 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,559 more than willing to share the ball with Gobert. Gobert is more than willing 303 00:20:22,599 --> 00:20:26,359 to fill his role with a plum and because of that, I don't have 304 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:32,559 any concerns about the long term future for that pairing. So long as Utah 305 00:20:32,599 --> 00:20:37,359 opts to keep it together, I would fully run it back here because the 306 00:20:37,640 --> 00:20:42,519 excuses that you mentioned for this first round defeat are totally legitimate. Losing Boyon 307 00:20:42,559 --> 00:20:47,440 Bogdanovitch, who was their second leading scorer during the regular season, is a 308 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:49,799 big deal. It completely alters the way that they run their offense. It 309 00:20:49,880 --> 00:20:56,119 forces so much more responsibility onto Mitchell's shoulders, which he capably handled, but 310 00:20:56,279 --> 00:21:00,599 it's still a difficult ask and it would have been so much It's easier for 311 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:03,079 him to thrive and somehow be even more efficient had Bogged Donanovich been there. 312 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:07,559 Mike Conley struggled for a lot of the year, seemed to be putting it 313 00:21:07,599 --> 00:21:11,920 together before the hiatus, and then missed the beginning of the playoff series and 314 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:15,960 played really well once he returned. I don't think that he is in an 315 00:21:17,039 --> 00:21:19,440 imminent decline or anything, even if he's a point guard in his thirties. 316 00:21:19,480 --> 00:21:26,519 So I have faith in the upside of this core as currently constructed. And 317 00:21:26,960 --> 00:21:30,799 as you said, I would look to resign Jordan Clarkson at a reasonable number 318 00:21:30,799 --> 00:21:34,319 and then go get another veteran to add to the peripheral. But you don't 319 00:21:34,319 --> 00:21:40,400 need any substantial changes if you're this jazz team with young in their prime stars, 320 00:21:41,799 --> 00:21:44,839 I would mostly agree with you. I would say I don't know that 321 00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:49,319 rueygobartnescessarily loves his role on offense might be the one aspect where I differ. 322 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:53,559 And then his loving next contract I do think has to factor into the equation. 323 00:21:55,359 --> 00:21:57,319 You're definitely not giving him the supermax. You're definitely not giving him the 324 00:21:57,359 --> 00:22:00,079 max, or at least you shouldn't mind. You just can't do that with 325 00:22:00,119 --> 00:22:04,000 a big man anymore who's not I don't even know. You know, people 326 00:22:04,079 --> 00:22:07,519 keep citing like a Christops Porzingis type, like it's basically Anthony Davis and Colin 327 00:22:07,519 --> 00:22:11,599 Anthony Town's like that's the line, now, Like that's the bar for if 328 00:22:11,599 --> 00:22:15,480 you're going to rebuild around a big man, And so that's I'm not even 329 00:22:15,519 --> 00:22:18,480 trying to take a shot at Rudy Gobert. If that's the money it's going 330 00:22:18,519 --> 00:22:21,079 to cost you, I guess you could investigate the market, but I would 331 00:22:21,079 --> 00:22:22,759 still tend to default to what you say, because I don't know what you're 332 00:22:22,759 --> 00:22:26,799 gonna get back for him in a trade, because which teams are going to 333 00:22:26,839 --> 00:22:30,839 be tripping over themselves to give up a ton of equity for this player and 334 00:22:30,839 --> 00:22:33,680 then give him a ton of money in free agency. The other thing there, 335 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:37,680 too is when you're giving up that type of player, it's normally in 336 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:41,599 a selling situation, and Donovan Mitchell is obviously too good for the Jazz to 337 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:45,519 be in that position. Their entire roster just scus toward the win. Now. 338 00:22:45,799 --> 00:22:49,079 I don't know that there's a win now, you know, like return 339 00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,680 out there, and so you definitely keep reg because he's also very valuable to 340 00:22:52,759 --> 00:22:56,480 your team, and if you are worried about his free agency, I would 341 00:22:56,480 --> 00:22:59,160 just chance it. I know there'll be more caps faced floating around in twenty 342 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:03,039 twenty one, but I don't know how frothy the market is going to be 343 00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,480 for him. Maybe there's a team out there that gives him this a max 344 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:11,160 over four years, and the Jazz can decide whether they're willing to go that 345 00:23:11,319 --> 00:23:15,960 high. But I would still be a little bit surprised if that happened. 346 00:23:15,039 --> 00:23:19,119 So you play the market game there and maybe try and capitalize on you know, 347 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:22,079 this one more season. If you guys make it further in the playoffs, 348 00:23:22,079 --> 00:23:25,000 maybe this becomes a non issue. He's happy there, kind of recognizes 349 00:23:25,039 --> 00:23:27,160 his market value. I will be interesting to see where his next contract lands. 350 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:32,160 But if I were the Jazz, if anything, I'd probably gravitate towards 351 00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:36,440 doubling down where I'm not as confident in Mike Conley anymore as long term as 352 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:40,960 you might be. There's definitely better chemistry with Rudy Gobert there played better in 353 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:42,559 the bubble than he did during most of the regular season when he when he 354 00:23:42,599 --> 00:23:45,319 was battling not only the you know, new to the fold issues, but 355 00:23:45,400 --> 00:23:48,920 also hamstring issues. I might look at, you know, does okay, 356 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,160 so you want Conley for Chris Paul, Like that's a deal? Is that? 357 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:53,599 Is there some framework there that's the type of thing. If I'm the 358 00:23:53,680 --> 00:23:57,160 Jazz, I'd still be looking at because I do think it's a knock against 359 00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:02,759 them for blowing a a three to one lead. It didn't help that Joe 360 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:04,920 Ingles didn't shoot too well from three over the final three games? Did o 361 00:24:06,039 --> 00:24:10,200 for Jordan Clarkson. Mike Conley didn't shoot that well, you know inside the 362 00:24:10,279 --> 00:24:12,400 arc those those few games, and so too much of the offensive burden fell 363 00:24:12,440 --> 00:24:15,200 on Mitchell's shoulders. But it's like you said, and as I alluded to 364 00:24:15,279 --> 00:24:18,720 before, if you have Bogdanovich, like that's a little bit different. Maybe 365 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:21,640 he doesn't necessarily give you a ton of extra shot creation, but he's probably 366 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:26,799 hitting threes at a higher clip than you know, really anybody else during that 367 00:24:26,839 --> 00:24:30,799 three game stretch except for you know, Yang, who shot over the final 368 00:24:30,839 --> 00:24:33,880 three games forty five point five percent from deep. So there are some holes 369 00:24:33,920 --> 00:24:37,599 there and if you, you know, having a healthy Bodanovitch would help. 370 00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:40,839 But if you can sort of upgrade anywhere else, like I would look at 371 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:42,400 it all and move again. If it's Mike con leave for Chris Paul and 372 00:24:42,400 --> 00:24:45,000 maybe need to sweeten that up a little bit. Like that's something that I 373 00:24:45,039 --> 00:24:49,079 would consider, or maybe the mid level exception just goes further than I'm giving 374 00:24:49,079 --> 00:24:52,440 credit for right now. I don't think you burn it on a backup big, 375 00:24:52,680 --> 00:24:55,839 which a lot of people said that they should do. You know, 376 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:59,759 it's basically, can you bring in another kind of shot creator in the back 377 00:24:59,759 --> 00:25:03,599 court or just another wing who might might feel that defensively, a guy who 378 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,039 could maybe guard some of the more athletic wings in the defensive matchups. That's, 379 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:10,759 you know, not something that they related to grapple with in this series 380 00:25:10,759 --> 00:25:12,319 with the Nuggets. But if you went up against the Clippers, like, 381 00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:15,319 you don't look at this roster and say, you know, we have a 382 00:25:15,400 --> 00:25:18,880 Kauai and or a Paul George guy that we feel comfortable with no team does. 383 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:21,240 You're like, you're not stopping them even when Paul George is bad, 384 00:25:21,279 --> 00:25:23,920 Like he's still Paul George. Still, you know, a Royce O'Neil joe 385 00:25:25,079 --> 00:25:27,759 ingles Like that's just not going to make you feel great in those and so 386 00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:33,160 can your mid level exception get you someone along those lines? Yeah? Ultimately, 387 00:25:33,400 --> 00:25:37,240 for me, it comes down to the stylistic shift that they underwent last 388 00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:44,200 offseason. They made a concerted effort to move away from the more outdated defense 389 00:25:44,279 --> 00:25:48,359 first more lumbering big strategy, by moving away from Ricky Rubio in favor of 390 00:25:48,400 --> 00:25:52,880 Mike Conley, by bringing in Bogdanovich. Now, these moves were all intended 391 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:57,640 to make Utah more of an offense first team, have more of a potent 392 00:25:57,680 --> 00:26:02,839 offensive upside, and we did not get to see it come to fruition because 393 00:26:02,839 --> 00:26:07,599 of the injuries. They still took a good Denver team to seven games in 394 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:11,799 the first round. Regardless of what happened in the first four versus the final 395 00:26:11,880 --> 00:26:15,240 three, it was still a seven game series. It's disappointing that they did 396 00:26:15,279 --> 00:26:18,160 blow that three one lead, but this was not the team that Utah was 397 00:26:18,200 --> 00:26:22,279 trying to create, and they still have access to the team they were trying 398 00:26:22,319 --> 00:26:26,799 to create without any significant downward swings expected. So yeah, I mean, 399 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,000 I ultimately like, if you can make a move like trading Mike Conley for 400 00:26:30,079 --> 00:26:34,519 Chris Paul, sure do that. If you can make other upgrades around Mitchell 401 00:26:34,559 --> 00:26:37,559 and Gobet, are fine, but there's no need to blow it up. 402 00:26:38,079 --> 00:26:41,160 No, I'm totally with you there. So I'm just more looking at it 403 00:26:41,200 --> 00:26:45,480 through the lens that you still have to reconcile competing with the Clippers and the 404 00:26:45,000 --> 00:26:48,200 Lakers, Let's say, and so I do think that they need to be 405 00:26:48,240 --> 00:26:51,440 souped up a little bit compared to the roster that they actually have right now. 406 00:26:52,599 --> 00:26:56,400 So let's stick in the Western Conference and move on to the Thunder and 407 00:26:56,519 --> 00:27:00,559 Rockets games seven. So I think that the two obvious questions here are one, 408 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:04,799 who's going to win this game? And two does the winner have any 409 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,400 chance against the Lakers in the second round. I don't want to necessarily spend 410 00:27:08,440 --> 00:27:11,039 too much time on who's gonna win, just because it's by the time. 411 00:27:11,319 --> 00:27:15,200 I have no idea. I have zero feel for this series, just because 412 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:18,880 you look at the Rockets. They've been the better team, I think in 413 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:22,680 net because they're two of their three wins were blowouts. And then I believe 414 00:27:23,160 --> 00:27:26,680 and I should have I should have double checked this, but they held leads 415 00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:30,240 inside two minutes to play of two of their three losses, and so like 416 00:27:30,680 --> 00:27:33,119 you could easily say this series it's not could be over, it should have 417 00:27:33,200 --> 00:27:37,000 been over all right now. I mean, if Westbrook could throw an on 418 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,720 target pass, it probably would be and he is a good passer, and 419 00:27:40,799 --> 00:27:45,359 if he plays with any semblance of control. Then you know, like let's 420 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:48,319 draw the conclusion here, right, And so it's more interesting to me to 421 00:27:48,359 --> 00:27:51,480 look at, you know, who would be the better matchup for the Lakers 422 00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:53,279 slash what does it mean for the team that loses? And so let's begin 423 00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,599 with the Rockets there. I think they're just clearly the better matchup for Los 424 00:27:56,640 --> 00:28:00,640 Angeles because they're going to take the Lakers out of their company its own more, 425 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:04,160 whereas Oklahoma City is going to sort of like cooks LA into their comfort 426 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:07,960 zone because they have Steven Adams and that will not only be like fine with 427 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:11,759 Anthony Davis playing minutes at the five, which he's matchup proof anyway, but 428 00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:15,359 they could get away probably with more dual big minutes there because if you want 429 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:19,319 to put Anthony Davis on Daniela Gallinari, like that's absolutely fine, and you 430 00:28:19,319 --> 00:28:22,119 know, a Dwight Howard and Steven Adams match up or ja Val McGee Steven 431 00:28:22,119 --> 00:28:25,680 Adams matchup, you know, you give the edge to Adams, but it's 432 00:28:25,720 --> 00:28:29,960 not like you know, it's just not something that's going to scare the Lakers, 433 00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,119 and which I think the Lakers are still at their best when Davis is 434 00:28:32,160 --> 00:28:36,640 at the five. So I just feel like if you put Houston in there, 435 00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:40,480 it's just such a different play style because you're the Lakers who do like 436 00:28:40,519 --> 00:28:42,480 to run with Duel Biggs for you know, about half the game and now 437 00:28:42,480 --> 00:28:45,519 all of a sudden, like, I don't think you'd get away with any 438 00:28:45,559 --> 00:28:48,079 minutes of having like Javal McGee, Dwight Howard on the floor with Anthony Davis, 439 00:28:48,400 --> 00:28:52,039 and so that's just make it interesting. And because you have that three 440 00:28:52,079 --> 00:28:55,200 point variants with Houston, where you know, we've seen it hurt them, 441 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:56,720 but it can also really help them. And the Lakers just don't necessarily have 442 00:28:56,759 --> 00:29:02,640 those high volume three point guys who can knock those shots down consistently, not 443 00:29:02,799 --> 00:29:07,440 more so than ever without Avery Bradley. That that becomes the more interesting series. 444 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:08,960 To me. There's the you know, pulling out my heartstrings seeing Chris 445 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:12,119 Paul go up against Lebron after Lebron just went up against Mellow. I totally 446 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:18,480 want to see it. And I think you could maybe argue that maybe the 447 00:29:18,839 --> 00:29:21,920 Thunder would still have a fighting chance in that series. But I'm curiously what 448 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:25,240 you think I would say that Houston. While I'm not confident that they're going 449 00:29:25,279 --> 00:29:26,559 to make it out of the first round. I would say that they have 450 00:29:26,640 --> 00:29:30,839 the better chance of really unseating the Lakers than the Thunder would. I'm in 451 00:29:30,920 --> 00:29:37,000 total agreement. I think watching this this Thunder team, it seems like their 452 00:29:37,079 --> 00:29:41,720 floor and their ceiling are like one and the same. The Thunder just the 453 00:29:41,720 --> 00:29:45,160 Thunder, and you know what you're gonna get. It's going to be a 454 00:29:45,160 --> 00:29:47,960 lot of guard heavy lineups. It's going to be a lot of Chris Paul, 455 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:49,480 who is looking to score more than pass for the most part in the 456 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:53,960 playoffs, and it's been working for the most part in the fourth quarter, 457 00:29:55,359 --> 00:29:57,359 especially in the fourth quarter, and he has been one of the NBA's best 458 00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:03,119 crunch time players all season long. Him and him and Yokich basically blow away 459 00:30:03,119 --> 00:30:07,359 the field in those in those last minute scenarios. He is slashing and crunch 460 00:30:07,440 --> 00:30:11,440 time in the playoffs, right, I know, it's three games, but 461 00:30:11,519 --> 00:30:12,480 that's all. That's a hell of a split. It's a hell of a 462 00:30:12,519 --> 00:30:15,279 line, and it's a it's a typical Chris Paul playoffs line too. But 463 00:30:15,359 --> 00:30:21,319 yeah, like I don't know, the Thunder would would remain competitive against the 464 00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:25,680 Lakers in each of the four or five games, But I just don't think 465 00:30:25,680 --> 00:30:30,920 they have the ceiling to get past what is a superior outfit. The Rockets 466 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:36,240 have the high variants results that would at least give them a chance. You 467 00:30:36,240 --> 00:30:40,000 know, sometimes they're gonna miss ninety seven threes in a row. Other times 468 00:30:40,039 --> 00:30:42,000 they're all going to find the net, and they're going to win a game 469 00:30:42,039 --> 00:30:48,000 that is more high scoring than we ever would have expected. The matchups, 470 00:30:48,079 --> 00:30:52,720 as you mentioned, are more intriguing if Houston does win games game seven and 471 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:56,799 forces the Lakers to deviate from from what they typically do because Mike D'Antoni coached 472 00:30:56,880 --> 00:31:02,119 teams do typically win the style of stick battle and force their opponents to adjust. 473 00:31:02,440 --> 00:31:07,000 I don't think they're as good a team as the Lakers. The Lakers 474 00:31:07,039 --> 00:31:11,319 defense has been fantastic for a while and might be able to slow down James 475 00:31:11,319 --> 00:31:14,839 Harden to some extent. But yeah, it's it's just it would be a 476 00:31:14,839 --> 00:31:18,559 far more interesting series because you never know whether Houston is going to shoot itself 477 00:31:18,599 --> 00:31:22,079 in or out of a game. And that's also what makes Game seven so 478 00:31:22,160 --> 00:31:25,599 compelling in this first round series is that we have no idea, like we 479 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:29,079 know what they're going to do. We just don't know if the shots are 480 00:31:29,119 --> 00:31:30,599 going to fall, and that's by design, you know, if it's if 481 00:31:30,599 --> 00:31:33,440 it's a bad game, then all of a sudden, we're talking about Mike 482 00:31:33,519 --> 00:31:40,039 D'Antoni going to coach in Indiana or somewhere else, and whether the microball lineups 483 00:31:40,079 --> 00:31:42,799 can work. And if the shots do fall, then they're in the second 484 00:31:42,839 --> 00:31:47,759 round with a puncher's chance against the Lakers, and D'Antoni might be safe and 485 00:31:47,920 --> 00:31:52,839 they might run this back next season with some improvements on the periphery, and 486 00:31:52,079 --> 00:31:56,599 who knows. Like I'm gonna pick the Rockets in Game seven and then to 487 00:31:56,680 --> 00:32:00,960 lose to the Lakers and like, let's say six games maybe, just because 488 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:04,640 that was my prediction at the start of the playoffs and I haven't seen enough 489 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:08,079 from the Thunder to convince me that it's wrong, even though with this Houston 490 00:32:08,119 --> 00:32:14,279 team it can go in any direction on any given night. Sunday Sunday Sundays 491 00:32:14,319 --> 00:32:17,480 are coming back in the NFL. With NFL Sunday Ticket dot TV, you 492 00:32:17,519 --> 00:32:22,759 can stream every live out of market NFL game every Sunday afternoon on your favorite 493 00:32:22,799 --> 00:32:27,039 devices, plus with Red Zone and Direct TV Fantasy Zone channels. Never miss 494 00:32:27,039 --> 00:32:30,119 your favorite teams and favorite players. If you're like me, you can also 495 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:32,440 actively avoid your favorite teams and favorite players if they happen to be the Jacksonville 496 00:32:32,480 --> 00:32:37,119 Jaguars. No matter where you live, NFL Sunday Ticket dot tv is your 497 00:32:37,200 --> 00:32:40,440 key to the most glorious Sundays evert Use the promo clode blue Wire at checkout 498 00:32:40,440 --> 00:32:45,759 to get fifteen percent off your subscription and visit NFL Sunday Ticket dot tv and 499 00:32:45,880 --> 00:32:51,119 use promo code blue Wire. You could almos say the same about the Lakers 500 00:32:51,160 --> 00:32:53,319 though, too, just there's something it's funny that I feel like we've learned 501 00:32:53,319 --> 00:32:58,119 almost nothing about this team over the course of the regular season that we didn't 502 00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:01,759 know coming in. And that's there supporting cast going to hit enough shots to 503 00:33:01,839 --> 00:33:06,720 be viable both when Lebron is on the court or off the court. And 504 00:33:06,799 --> 00:33:08,400 are they going to have that deficit of you know, secondary ball handling. 505 00:33:08,440 --> 00:33:12,400 Is that going to hurt them? That's going to be something to look at 506 00:33:12,440 --> 00:33:15,759 the series. I wouldn't pick would I would pick them over either the Rockets 507 00:33:15,839 --> 00:33:21,880 or the Thunder though right right, and so looking at the Rockets and Thunder, 508 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:23,519 the fallout should either one of them lose. Actually, I think it's 509 00:33:23,559 --> 00:33:29,559 fairly profound for both teams. So let's say if the Thunder lose. Now 510 00:33:29,599 --> 00:33:30,440 of a sudden, it's like, all right, you guys were like this 511 00:33:31,640 --> 00:33:37,640 cool, quaint, like plucky team that wasn't necessarily supposed to be in the 512 00:33:37,640 --> 00:33:38,960 playoffs, but only because everyone thought you were going to blow it up. 513 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:44,160 And now it's like, well, do you run it back and try and 514 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:46,079 improve the roster, resign Gallo and keep going. It's a lot easier to 515 00:33:46,079 --> 00:33:50,200 make that decision, or it's a lot more likely that you do go that 516 00:33:50,279 --> 00:33:52,599 route if you make it into the second round and then put up a fight. 517 00:33:52,640 --> 00:33:53,519 If you lose in the first round. I think that's when we start 518 00:33:53,599 --> 00:33:57,200 to see like, all right, this team was cool, but it's really 519 00:33:57,240 --> 00:34:00,000 not deep enough to punch at the highest level. And they're not going to 520 00:34:00,079 --> 00:34:04,359 get that much deeper over the off season, at least with proven talent, 521 00:34:04,400 --> 00:34:07,840 because they'll they could resign Gallo and maybe have the full non taxpayer MLI to 522 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:10,719 work with, And that's assuming they're willing to spend on all those things. 523 00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:14,800 And I don't know how much better that makes them. So if they lose 524 00:34:14,840 --> 00:34:17,480 this series, I think it's exponentially more likely that Chris Paul ends up starting 525 00:34:17,519 --> 00:34:23,159 next season on a different team. I have mixed feelings just because this team 526 00:34:23,239 --> 00:34:27,480 wasn't even supposed to be in this position in the first place. I think 527 00:34:27,480 --> 00:34:31,039 we all had the Thunder pegged as a lottery squad going into the season because 528 00:34:31,079 --> 00:34:37,239 we probably undersold Chris Paul's contributions and the impact that he's going to have on 529 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:40,440 the development of guys like Shay Gil, Just Alexander and Dennis Shrewder. But 530 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:45,280 the fact that they're here, I don't know if they lose it should change 531 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:51,280 that much. It ultimately comes down to what the Thunder can do this offseason, 532 00:34:51,320 --> 00:34:54,400 and we just don't know because the market is so topsy turvy, and 533 00:34:54,440 --> 00:35:00,840 the draft is bad, and you know, all those other extenuating circumstances that 534 00:35:00,880 --> 00:35:04,880 they're going to have to deal with. So if they can shop Chris Paul 535 00:35:05,079 --> 00:35:08,159 to the Knicks and get back and intriguing young talent and a draft pick, 536 00:35:08,199 --> 00:35:12,480 then maybe they do that. If they can move him from Mike Conley then 537 00:35:12,519 --> 00:35:15,599 and remain competitive and in the playoff picture, maybe they do that. Maybe 538 00:35:15,599 --> 00:35:21,400 they do run it back, and maybe they go all in for a twenty 539 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:25,119 twenty one title push by moving one of their four hundred and seventeen first round 540 00:35:25,159 --> 00:35:30,920 draft picks in the next few years for another star. The options for the 541 00:35:31,000 --> 00:35:37,760 Thunder and for general manager Sam Presty are seemingly limitless, and they can skew 542 00:35:37,880 --> 00:35:43,920 in so many different directions that I just I think it all depends more on 543 00:35:44,480 --> 00:35:52,800 what the offseason makes available than what happens in Game seven and their first round 544 00:35:52,880 --> 00:35:57,960 or second round series. That's fair. The market for Chris Paul is what 545 00:35:58,039 --> 00:36:00,800 could really turn it either way is like, maybe the Knicks are there, 546 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:02,800 but are they going to be willing to offer more than you know they're they 547 00:36:02,800 --> 00:36:07,440 have technically expiring contracts if they guarantee dumb and are you you know as Kevin 548 00:36:07,519 --> 00:36:12,519 Knox and a like A like I don't even like a second round pick, 549 00:36:12,559 --> 00:36:15,039 Like is that the compensation that you're after? Or they want to give up 550 00:36:15,079 --> 00:36:17,800 one of the Dallas picks in a Chris Paul Trey that seems like an overpay 551 00:36:17,800 --> 00:36:21,400 for a team that's not ready to compete. And then you're looking at Chris 552 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:24,320 Paul and the heat would be fantastic, especially with Groan Dragic entering free agency, 553 00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:28,920 but we know the Heat have designs on twenty twenty one free agency. 554 00:36:28,960 --> 00:36:31,280 And so unless jannat attend to Coupo ends up signing his Supermax this summer, 555 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:34,760 which he could, he might, He probably will. Whatever you want to 556 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:37,000 say, I might pull them out of the running. We mentioned the Jazz. 557 00:36:37,119 --> 00:36:39,400 I think one team that should makeup play for him. I don't know 558 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:45,519 if they would would be Phoenix. Matching salary becomes tough after after you go 559 00:36:45,679 --> 00:36:49,440 from Kelly Wood Brady Junor, who I think is expendable just because of how 560 00:36:49,480 --> 00:36:52,360 well the line up with Kim Johshon at the four played, and now you've 561 00:36:52,400 --> 00:36:54,239 kind of unlocked this Dario sarge at the four stuff. Are you willing to 562 00:36:54,280 --> 00:36:58,519 give up Rubio and that deal? Is that enough of an upgrade because he 563 00:36:58,519 --> 00:37:00,599 played so well for you too. That would be a that might look at 564 00:37:00,599 --> 00:37:01,920 it. But I'm not sure how many teams are going to want to pay 565 00:37:02,000 --> 00:37:06,400 the balance of Paul's deal two years eighty five point six million. I believe 566 00:37:06,400 --> 00:37:12,960 it's at particularly following the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic. I think we 567 00:37:13,039 --> 00:37:16,800 overlook one important point too with this conversation and it's just that Chris Paul looks 568 00:37:16,840 --> 00:37:22,000 happy in Oklahoma City, like he is playing inspired basketball. He seems to 569 00:37:22,039 --> 00:37:27,079 have really connected with his teammates. We've seen it in postgame interviews as well, 570 00:37:27,119 --> 00:37:30,679 where he is more than willing to spend his time in front of the 571 00:37:30,679 --> 00:37:35,159 microphone propping up Dennis Struder after he makes a mistake, or supporting the other 572 00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:37,960 young guys around him. We didn't see that in Houston. We didn't see 573 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:43,760 that at the end of his time in Los Angeles. And if he doesn't 574 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:47,800 want to leave, I'm not sure that the Thunder would want to deny that 575 00:37:47,920 --> 00:37:55,360 request. And I don't think that enough attention is spent on how he has 576 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:59,519 felt in Oklahoma City, or at least seems to feel, since we don't 577 00:37:59,519 --> 00:38:02,320 have any dire insight into into his mentality. But you know, just based 578 00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:06,960 on the way he's playing and talking about his guys, the fact that he's 579 00:38:07,000 --> 00:38:08,880 been so fully committed to a team that people didn't believe in, Like, 580 00:38:09,119 --> 00:38:13,320 I think that matters. It definitely matters. But if you're not going to 581 00:38:13,400 --> 00:38:15,920 bring Gallinari back and you're looking at you know, Shrewder and Adam's gonna be 582 00:38:15,920 --> 00:38:20,280 free agents in twenty twenty one, that's gonna he'll want to play for a 583 00:38:20,280 --> 00:38:22,960 team that's more competitive. And I'm not saying Olhomncy would be completely steering out 584 00:38:23,000 --> 00:38:25,920 of it, but I do think he would ultimately prefer to play for a 585 00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:29,320 contender at this stage of his career. I agree with that. But if 586 00:38:29,320 --> 00:38:31,360 he if he tells the front office, like, hey, bring Gallo back 587 00:38:31,559 --> 00:38:37,199 on a one year balloon deal or something like that, like they should do 588 00:38:37,239 --> 00:38:40,800 that they especially if they win Game seven, I will full agreement with you. 589 00:38:42,280 --> 00:38:44,559 The last team I would mention though for him, and I think it 590 00:38:44,559 --> 00:38:46,519 would depend fully on the market for Chris Paul and I have no idea what 591 00:38:46,519 --> 00:38:50,920 that ends up being, because he was he's All NBA this year, like 592 00:38:50,960 --> 00:38:53,679 he's all second team All NBA is where we both had him. But that 593 00:38:53,719 --> 00:38:57,360 money is so much and we just don't know how teams are going to be 594 00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:00,800 feeling after losing the revenue, specifically from not just missed games but not having 595 00:39:00,800 --> 00:39:05,519 fans, and so is it where you know, can you just get save 596 00:39:05,639 --> 00:39:09,360 money like on balance because then Milwaukee can get involved. Where it's like if 597 00:39:09,360 --> 00:39:14,639 you just accept the poop poop ladder of Eric Bledsoe, Iliasova Lopez, who 598 00:39:14,639 --> 00:39:16,480 is a player option to DJ Wilson. Like that gets you there, and 599 00:39:16,480 --> 00:39:20,599 then maybe Milwaukee can throw in like a future protected first round pick, just 600 00:39:20,639 --> 00:39:22,800 because how does Oklahoma say feel about that bloedso deal? But then it's also 601 00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:25,280 like, oh, you're getting Bledsoe, who might kind of keep us competitive 602 00:39:25,679 --> 00:39:30,079 as well, and his deal does stretch longer than Paul's. You can there 603 00:39:30,119 --> 00:39:32,239 are other permutations, but you would have to include George Hill or brook Lopez, 604 00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:36,559 which I think they'd be against. I wouldn't be against including including brook 605 00:39:36,559 --> 00:39:38,559 Lopez because I kind of have a suspicion that his deal is going to age 606 00:39:38,760 --> 00:39:43,360 pretty poorly, which is a thought for another podcast, and definitely not what 607 00:39:43,400 --> 00:39:46,199 looks Splash Mountain is shooting the hell out of the ball inside in Yeah, 608 00:39:46,199 --> 00:39:50,360 so finally, but that would be the team if I could pick the team, 609 00:39:50,400 --> 00:39:52,599 If I could just pick the team, Chris Paul to the Bucks. 610 00:39:52,639 --> 00:39:54,920 It's just so hard to get him there, But I do I do think 611 00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:59,320 maybe I'm ascribing too much value to Game seven, as you kind of so 612 00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:02,960 I'd have said, but if they end up losing, like I find it 613 00:40:04,039 --> 00:40:06,679 hard to believe that Chris Paul is still there. However, I also thought 614 00:40:06,719 --> 00:40:08,159 it was gonna be hard for Chris Paul to finish the season in Oklahoma City 615 00:40:08,199 --> 00:40:12,639 in the first place. And look what happens. Chris Paul is tough to 616 00:40:12,679 --> 00:40:15,440 predict. That's when it ultimately comes down to and Jimmy Butler cut from the 617 00:40:15,480 --> 00:40:19,840 same cloth, where they are both grading and galvanizing. Yeah, I was 618 00:40:19,840 --> 00:40:22,719 gonna say, like, man like, if if Chris Paul and Jimmy Butler 619 00:40:22,760 --> 00:40:25,800 are both playing in Miami, if you are a even relatively unmotivated teammate, 620 00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:30,519 you better get the hell out of there. Then make a pick for Game 621 00:40:30,599 --> 00:40:36,039 seven. I'm not letting you. I'm not letting you get away. My 622 00:40:36,039 --> 00:40:37,559 head says Rockets, my heart says Thunder, which I think is a good 623 00:40:37,559 --> 00:40:42,239 segue into and I picked the Thunder and the official prediction piece that I wrote, 624 00:40:42,239 --> 00:40:45,159 so you could that's the bricy Like, if you're listening to this and 625 00:40:45,199 --> 00:40:46,800 we're trying to keep this big picture, so it's not actually dated. If 626 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:51,039 the Rockets lose, and this could even be true should they fall to the 627 00:40:51,119 --> 00:40:52,960 Lakers in five games or something, I don't know that they I don't think 628 00:40:52,960 --> 00:40:55,519 that they would. I don't actually think they'll be a bunch of people that 629 00:40:55,599 --> 00:41:02,639 might pick them to win in seven. Still like their situation is precarious. 630 00:41:02,679 --> 00:41:07,280 I would say, particularly again if they lose Game seven, because you're essentially 631 00:41:07,280 --> 00:41:12,239 a tax team next year, because you when you look at what you're going 632 00:41:12,280 --> 00:41:16,559 to pay between Gordon Harden, Westbrook, Covington, and Tucker, you're at 633 00:41:16,679 --> 00:41:21,320 one hundred and nineteen point six million dollars next year. That is going to 634 00:41:21,480 --> 00:41:24,880 be higher than the salary cap. Now. It's going to bring you fairly 635 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:30,039 close to luxury tax territory within thirteen million, and you'll basically be right there 636 00:41:30,079 --> 00:41:35,639 when you're looking if you keep everyone else on your roster. That's I don't 637 00:41:35,679 --> 00:41:39,800 know how you then improve this team. And I like, I'm still trying 638 00:41:39,800 --> 00:41:44,880 to just struggle with the decision to move to make the trade for Russell Westbrook, 639 00:41:44,920 --> 00:41:47,559 and it's like they unlocked a version of him by going super small. 640 00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:51,239 And I don't know if they would have gotten to this point where they played 641 00:41:51,239 --> 00:41:52,800 without a center, should Chris Paul still been here. But I keep thinking 642 00:41:52,840 --> 00:41:55,920 about it, and I'm like, just imagine this team playing small with Chris 643 00:41:55,920 --> 00:42:00,559 Paul instead of Westbrook. And but look, they have Brook, so I'm 644 00:42:00,559 --> 00:42:04,280 not here to relitigate that trade. But it's what can you do with let's 645 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:07,320 say the mini mid level exception or even the full mid level exception, assuming 646 00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:15,000 Tilman Frititha is willing to spend it. And like spoiler alert, but the 647 00:42:15,039 --> 00:42:16,519 other thing for me too is like all of a sudden, that Eric Gordon 648 00:42:16,599 --> 00:42:20,840 extension, which just didn't feel great to begin with, Like he has been 649 00:42:21,360 --> 00:42:24,840 bad in the playoffs and like he's provided some value and like resistance defensively, 650 00:42:25,159 --> 00:42:28,199 but now of a sudden, if you can't count on him to shoot, 651 00:42:28,519 --> 00:42:30,519 we average from three, Like you're at this point where it's, oh, 652 00:42:30,559 --> 00:42:35,360 we need to bring Austin Rivers back, and you know Ben McLamore can come 653 00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:37,679 back because you have them on a non guaranteed salary, but you have house. 654 00:42:38,159 --> 00:42:42,760 This team will be missing something. And it's it's regardless of whether they 655 00:42:42,760 --> 00:42:45,559 fall in Game seven or if they just lose to the Lakers again, if 656 00:42:45,559 --> 00:42:47,880 it's an actual fight, then it's like, oh, maybe they're onto something. 657 00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:52,119 Just a little bit of you know, polish on this team, and 658 00:42:52,159 --> 00:42:57,719 it's fine. But like, because the Westbrook fit just feels still so imperfect 659 00:42:57,960 --> 00:43:00,559 just because of the like you just can't count on his efficiency and he's been 660 00:43:00,559 --> 00:43:04,599 turnover prone for much of, if not all, of his career. And 661 00:43:04,679 --> 00:43:07,960 Kevin o'connord a great piece for the ringer where even he's outlining that you know, 662 00:43:07,039 --> 00:43:10,159 James hard historically is not shot well in the playoffs either, particularly in 663 00:43:10,599 --> 00:43:15,000 fourth quarters. Like their needs there's they're almost feels like there's a substantial piece 664 00:43:15,079 --> 00:43:19,119 missing here, not just a small one, but a substantial one. And 665 00:43:19,159 --> 00:43:22,719 it's like, how do you go about addressing this roster? And I know 666 00:43:22,239 --> 00:43:27,960 the popular or trendy sentiment will be, well they need to blow it up, 667 00:43:28,159 --> 00:43:30,159 and it's maybe not trade James Harden, but everybody else. How are 668 00:43:30,159 --> 00:43:35,519 you blowing up this roster? Because let me just throw some numbers at you 669 00:43:35,639 --> 00:43:39,880 here. Russell Westbrook is owed three years and so he picks up his player 670 00:43:39,880 --> 00:43:45,480 option one hundred and thirty two point six million dollars, while the last year 671 00:43:45,599 --> 00:43:47,840 of Eric Gordon's extension is non guaranteed. So I'll just I'll throw it out 672 00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:52,320 the window. Three years and a guaranteed fifty four point seven million dollars. 673 00:43:52,440 --> 00:43:58,440 Robert Covington eminently movable when he's basically two years twenty five million PJ Tucker one 674 00:43:58,519 --> 00:44:01,880 year eight million. It'd be hysterical if they end up signing him to the 675 00:44:01,920 --> 00:44:06,559 extension here. But you know, James Harden's on the same contract as as 676 00:44:06,599 --> 00:44:08,960 Westbrook basically too, so he's owned similar money over the next three years. 677 00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:13,880 You obviously feel a lot better about that. There's no clear path to blowing 678 00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:15,119 up this team for me, because I think two of the players that you 679 00:44:15,159 --> 00:44:19,440 would need to move for that to happen. I don't want to say removable, 680 00:44:19,800 --> 00:44:23,000 but would be tough to move without including sweeteners, which you do not 681 00:44:23,239 --> 00:44:29,239 really have anymore because you gave up so many vis a vis the Westbrook and 682 00:44:29,280 --> 00:44:32,800 also the Robert Comington trades. You know, I'm realizing it, and I 683 00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:37,760 don't know if it's due to my generally sunny disposition or perpetual optimism that I'm 684 00:44:37,840 --> 00:44:44,159 generally team run it back. I just want to see these these these teams 685 00:44:44,199 --> 00:44:47,599 succeed in the manners that they want to, but particularly with the Rockets, 686 00:44:47,679 --> 00:44:52,639 Like you know, this was not the plan from the start. When they 687 00:44:52,679 --> 00:44:57,000 acquired Russell Westbrook, Clint Capella was still on the roster. They were still 688 00:44:57,039 --> 00:45:00,880 going to play a lot of small ball, but this was not the intended 689 00:45:00,039 --> 00:45:04,480 style that they were going to play. It was a mid season on the 690 00:45:04,519 --> 00:45:07,320 fly adjustment where they realize that, hey, we're not getting as much out 691 00:45:07,360 --> 00:45:14,880 of Westbrook as we could. Let's try to maximize him by shifting way further 692 00:45:15,079 --> 00:45:19,679 in this in this direction and then offload Inclint Capella and bringing in Robert Covington. 693 00:45:19,800 --> 00:45:23,199 So this is a makeshift experiment at the moment, and I want to 694 00:45:23,239 --> 00:45:28,840 see it play out over a longer time period where all the players are even 695 00:45:28,840 --> 00:45:34,119 more comfortable with their roles. They have an offseason to add minimum contract veterans 696 00:45:34,159 --> 00:45:37,039 who can shoot around these guys who can playoff on defense. You know, 697 00:45:37,039 --> 00:45:40,679 there are those players who are going to be available and who are going to 698 00:45:40,760 --> 00:45:45,840 want to play for a team where they're afforded a lot of three point opportunities, 699 00:45:45,880 --> 00:45:52,079 like a lot of three point opportunities. So, especially because it is 700 00:45:52,119 --> 00:45:54,840 so hard to blow up this team for all the reasons that you mentioned, 701 00:45:55,119 --> 00:46:01,119 like, I am fully in favor of seeing with this vision fully playing out 702 00:46:01,440 --> 00:46:06,239 and not just as the result of a mid season shift where they were making 703 00:46:06,320 --> 00:46:08,719 do with their personnel and trying to adjust on the fly. I want to 704 00:46:08,719 --> 00:46:14,639 see what they can do with this vision laid out and then moves more geared 705 00:46:14,679 --> 00:46:21,480 towards maximizing that vision. So I actually I agree with you. I'll say 706 00:46:21,480 --> 00:46:24,559 that, but here's the first I think he might be. Here's where I 707 00:46:24,639 --> 00:46:29,320 might diverge. And so let's just look at the who, assuming that they 708 00:46:29,320 --> 00:46:32,360 are going to run it back. The absolute keepers on this roster, Westbrook 709 00:46:32,440 --> 00:46:37,679 Harden, Gordon fully because you can't move him, Roco PJ. Tucker, 710 00:46:37,840 --> 00:46:40,519 Daniel House, Austin Rivers, even even if he declines his player option. 711 00:46:40,559 --> 00:46:44,400 Let's say they bring him back, You're gonna have Ben Maclamore. I'm gonna 712 00:46:44,440 --> 00:46:46,440 include him and the must keeps just given how well he can shoot the ball. 713 00:46:46,480 --> 00:46:50,719 And let's look the I think what people are forgetting too is that they 714 00:46:50,719 --> 00:46:52,719 signed David Nuaba and so they have the team option on him, and he 715 00:46:52,800 --> 00:46:55,559 is like, he give me a really physical defender, and if he's shown 716 00:46:55,599 --> 00:46:59,360 that he can hit like thirty four to thirty six percent of the spot up 717 00:46:59,360 --> 00:47:00,679 threas in the past, ends up being a huge get because he gives you 718 00:47:01,599 --> 00:47:06,000 against certain teams, he gives you defensive optionality across the one through four, 719 00:47:06,519 --> 00:47:08,519 so he's going to be there. And then you know, at this point 720 00:47:08,519 --> 00:47:13,800 it's even like you guys really might need to bring Jeff greenback. So basically, 721 00:47:13,880 --> 00:47:16,360 I'm asking, with what you've seen on this roster, are they a 722 00:47:16,480 --> 00:47:22,719 Mo Harkless or a Paul millsap away from winning the title? Would be my 723 00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:24,159 question, because I think Jake Crowder would be a great fit for this team. 724 00:47:24,159 --> 00:47:28,239 But my guess is, even if the Rockets can tap into the full 725 00:47:28,239 --> 00:47:30,159 mid level exception, my guess is that Jake Crowder costs more than that. 726 00:47:30,320 --> 00:47:34,480 I just feel like he'll be back to Miami on a balloon one or two 727 00:47:34,559 --> 00:47:37,039 year deal and they'll just figure out how to move him later if it's a 728 00:47:37,039 --> 00:47:40,079 long term contract. And maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't Jake Crowder 729 00:47:40,079 --> 00:47:44,079 will be the best of these three. I think I just feel like he'll 730 00:47:44,440 --> 00:47:47,920 he prices himself a little bit out of their range, unless again, get 731 00:47:47,960 --> 00:47:51,400 the free agency market could be wonky. So if you can get a Mo 732 00:47:51,480 --> 00:47:53,480 Harkless, who would be a good fit. If you can get a Paul 733 00:47:53,480 --> 00:47:57,480 millsapp whoy. Also, you know people think of him as a big which 734 00:47:57,480 --> 00:48:00,639 the Rockets aren't playing. But he's also only six seven since the heights have 735 00:48:00,719 --> 00:48:04,960 been adjusted. So are they a Paul Bill sapp as is because he's thirty 736 00:48:05,000 --> 00:48:08,760 five or mohark is away from winning the title? You know, I think 737 00:48:08,760 --> 00:48:13,079 you can throw some other options in there too, Like they could pick up 738 00:48:13,480 --> 00:48:16,000 a Solomon Hill or a Courtney Leer and each one more. You know, 739 00:48:16,039 --> 00:48:21,679 there are those lower level good shooters, But yes, I think they are, 740 00:48:22,320 --> 00:48:25,599 like because this team has that high variance. If they get hot, 741 00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:30,760 they're capable of beating anyone. And I just I still think that if you 742 00:48:31,039 --> 00:48:37,000 have a system that is designed to not wear out Harden as much throughout the 743 00:48:37,039 --> 00:48:40,920 regular season, and if you can rely on Westbrook being effective and carrying a 744 00:48:40,920 --> 00:48:44,880 heavier load than he did for parts of this season, then you're going to 745 00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:49,199 keep Harden fresher for the playoffs. And I do think they have enough pieces. 746 00:48:49,599 --> 00:48:52,840 It's just they have to stay committed to this vision and not tap out 747 00:48:53,039 --> 00:48:57,760 midway through the process because it is a process. Yeah, I would just 748 00:48:57,760 --> 00:49:00,360 still has with that there might be a different coach there, fear, just 749 00:49:00,400 --> 00:49:05,039 based off everything we've heard about D'Antoni. I think they have a lot riding 750 00:49:05,039 --> 00:49:07,960 on Game seven and their performance against the Lakers should they win it. There's 751 00:49:07,960 --> 00:49:13,480 just I'm just not as I understand and kind of agree with your sentiments. 752 00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:15,760 I'm just not as fully there. And I think it has to do with 753 00:49:15,840 --> 00:49:20,800 I've always just been lower on Russell Westbrook as the consensus, and had you 754 00:49:20,880 --> 00:49:22,760 given him a similar roster like this earlier in his career, just around him 755 00:49:22,760 --> 00:49:25,039 with more shooting, like maybe he's more used to it and maybe getting a 756 00:49:25,119 --> 00:49:29,280 training camp helps. So I don't doubt what you're saying. I just for 757 00:49:29,320 --> 00:49:31,440 me, it's just not as cut and dry. But since we are coming 758 00:49:31,519 --> 00:49:35,480 up on the hour mark here, I want to play the are you worried? 759 00:49:35,519 --> 00:49:38,320 Game? Let's start. Let's start with the Bucks and the Heat. 760 00:49:38,800 --> 00:49:44,639 Are you worried about Milwaukee after losing Game one? Not even remotely, And 761 00:49:44,719 --> 00:49:49,840 that will remain true even if they lose Game two. The Heat are not 762 00:49:49,880 --> 00:49:52,800 even remotely even if they lose Game two. Is a little even if no, 763 00:49:52,960 --> 00:49:54,360 no, even if they lose Game two, I'm okay with it. 764 00:49:55,920 --> 00:50:00,880 This Heat team is deep, it's so talented, it's so well coached, 765 00:50:01,360 --> 00:50:07,159 it is able to play it in multiple schemes. And throw opponents off. 766 00:50:07,199 --> 00:50:14,000 Course, it is way more geared towards slowing down Jannisada Kumbo than an Orlando 767 00:50:14,079 --> 00:50:19,519 Magic team missing Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac was But this Bucks team is really 768 00:50:19,559 --> 00:50:23,360 deep and talented too, and I think that over the course of a series 769 00:50:23,360 --> 00:50:28,480 that Jannis is gonna figure some more things out. We're already seeing Chris Middleton 770 00:50:28,599 --> 00:50:30,800 start to hit more shots. Broke Lopez, as we mentioned earlier, is 771 00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:37,360 starting to hit his shots. The pieces are getting healthier. I just I 772 00:50:37,400 --> 00:50:42,119 believe in the talent of this Milwaukee Bucks team, even if it has to 773 00:50:42,159 --> 00:50:49,920 be tested first. I'm just for whatever reason, and I have little analytical 774 00:50:49,960 --> 00:50:54,239 support for this, because this Bucks squad has really struggled since coming to the 775 00:50:54,239 --> 00:50:59,920 Bubble, not just in the playoffs. I just I believe in the talent 776 00:51:00,079 --> 00:51:02,760 here. It It might just be a gut feeling. Getting Eric Letzo back 777 00:51:04,159 --> 00:51:06,920 might help them. I think if there's a reason for concern, it's that 778 00:51:07,280 --> 00:51:10,360 bam Adebayo wasn't even really the primary defender on Jannis, and the Heat were 779 00:51:10,360 --> 00:51:14,360 throwing Jay Crowder, Jimmy Butler, Andre Goodala at him and it sort of 780 00:51:14,400 --> 00:51:17,360 worked. It wasn't just you know, the honesty's shoot better than four of 781 00:51:17,400 --> 00:51:21,280 twelve from the foul, and like that absolutely needs to happen. But they 782 00:51:21,320 --> 00:51:23,079 limited his looks at the rim and they all like the ball was just out 783 00:51:23,119 --> 00:51:27,199 of his hands more often. I think, you know you mentioned Milwaukee's depth. 784 00:51:27,239 --> 00:51:30,800 I almost feel like it betrays them because like Mike Bundle does with Budenholzer 785 00:51:30,840 --> 00:51:36,000 as coach, she needs to stop like this is not you know, like 786 00:51:36,039 --> 00:51:39,639 this is not. Jannis played like almost thirty seven minutes, was removed because 787 00:51:39,639 --> 00:51:44,760 of foul trouble in the first half of three fouls, and I I was 788 00:51:44,880 --> 00:51:49,320 less against him, like pulling Yannis when he had the three thousand a lot 789 00:51:49,320 --> 00:51:52,440 of other people because everyone's sentiment was that doesn't mean you're gonna get your fourth 790 00:51:52,519 --> 00:51:54,719 and like you could trust your best player to be smart in that situation, 791 00:51:54,760 --> 00:52:00,119 but then just play him the entire second half at that point up, I'm 792 00:52:00,159 --> 00:52:07,000 I don't know like if if they're going to make the necessary adjustments to go 793 00:52:07,639 --> 00:52:09,599 after the heat, and like I do think this is the time where like 794 00:52:09,639 --> 00:52:12,960 you really have to I know a lot of people focused on jan It's not 795 00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:20,199 defending Jimmy Butler on the last possession. Yeah, defender, and that's not 796 00:52:20,239 --> 00:52:22,480 how their system works at all. Right, He's that's your criticism. Then 797 00:52:23,079 --> 00:52:28,400 actually watch a game statistically too, he's spent most of the time on the 798 00:52:28,480 --> 00:52:30,599 number three option this year, just because, like you said, he's the 799 00:52:30,599 --> 00:52:34,119 big man defender and there he's gonna be better as the as the helper in 800 00:52:34,159 --> 00:52:37,840 those situations anyway, So that's not even the big thing. It's is he 801 00:52:37,880 --> 00:52:39,039 going to be Like you know, Kyle Korver. I get why he's there 802 00:52:39,079 --> 00:52:43,519 because you need to spacing, but like you know, Kyle Corver was also 803 00:52:44,320 --> 00:52:46,480 I think he was second or no, he was fourth in shot attempts. 804 00:52:46,840 --> 00:52:50,840 Like Kyle Corver was just on the court. It was only for almost seventeen 805 00:52:50,840 --> 00:52:52,719 minutes, and it felt like too long. He tries on defense, but 806 00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:57,079 he's a liability there and like he didn't shoot super well, Like three of 807 00:52:57,159 --> 00:53:00,400 seven from the arc is valuable, but four of nine from the floor. 808 00:53:00,679 --> 00:53:02,440 Overall, you probably need more out of George Hill. Marvin Williams gave you 809 00:53:02,440 --> 00:53:05,880 big minutes. They have so many options that I almost feel like it might 810 00:53:05,880 --> 00:53:08,559 be disingenuous to what they actually need to do, and that's throw out your 811 00:53:09,000 --> 00:53:13,159 best five, and if you think that that includes George Hill instead of Eric 812 00:53:13,199 --> 00:53:15,360 Bledsoe, I'm absolutely fine with that. Just ride them like this is not 813 00:53:15,400 --> 00:53:20,199 the time to, you know, play it conservative with your rotation. So 814 00:53:20,239 --> 00:53:22,599 I'm not actually worried about them. But the Heat are like really a threat 815 00:53:22,639 --> 00:53:28,760 here. Gorn Dragic is sleeping in fireproof pa jamas right now. They're always 816 00:53:28,800 --> 00:53:31,960 gonna find shooting even if they removed Milwaukee neutralized Duncan Robinson and like, the 817 00:53:31,960 --> 00:53:36,159 Heat just still found shooting because they have Tyler hero Jay Crowder is going to 818 00:53:36,280 --> 00:53:38,960 hit his threes three Butler apparently hits his threes now and takes them a little 819 00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:43,719 bit more deliberately. So I do think they're worthwhile match. I just don't 820 00:53:43,800 --> 00:53:49,480 think the degree like how thoroughly it feels like Milwaukee lost Game one and whatever 821 00:53:49,480 --> 00:53:52,480 happens in Game two, I just don't feel like that's how big of a 822 00:53:52,480 --> 00:53:55,719 threat that the Heat actually are. And so I would still pick Milwaukee to 823 00:53:55,719 --> 00:53:59,039 come out of the series. I think I have them in six if you 824 00:53:59,079 --> 00:54:01,679 need to push that to seven for seeing whatever we have seen. But if 825 00:54:01,719 --> 00:54:05,239 they lose Game two or if they end up losing this series and I'm talking 826 00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:08,400 Milwaukee, like all hell is going to break loose. I don't expect your 827 00:54:08,400 --> 00:54:13,800 honest to request a trade at that point. He might even still sign his 828 00:54:13,880 --> 00:54:16,199 Supermax there, but like, I feel a lot less confident about his future 829 00:54:16,239 --> 00:54:21,639 Milwaukee beyond next season if they don't win this series. If for no other 830 00:54:21,679 --> 00:54:25,039 reason than avoiding all of the honest trade talk and speculation, I just I 831 00:54:25,079 --> 00:54:29,199 need them to win this series. But yeah, it's a you know, 832 00:54:29,239 --> 00:54:31,159 the heat. The heat made a lot of tough shots in Game one, 833 00:54:31,440 --> 00:54:35,679 and you have to make a lot of tough shots to beat this Milwaukee defense, 834 00:54:35,719 --> 00:54:42,400 because yeah, if you execute well, then you're still getting a contested 835 00:54:42,440 --> 00:54:44,760 shot. Maybe it's from the spot you wanted, but it's still going to 836 00:54:44,800 --> 00:54:49,480 be pretty heavily contested. And yeah, I just I think that if they 837 00:54:49,480 --> 00:54:52,039 do go down O two in this series, which is a distinct possibility, 838 00:54:52,519 --> 00:54:59,960 that might be what forces Budenholzer to finally make the changes to his playoff rotation 839 00:55:00,079 --> 00:55:04,639 that he resisted for so long with the Atlanta Hawks and is now resisting for 840 00:55:04,679 --> 00:55:07,199 so long with the Bucks. So if anything like it could be good for 841 00:55:07,199 --> 00:55:12,360 their long term outlook. If they do lose Game two, you would think, 842 00:55:12,440 --> 00:55:14,679 but I don't trust him that much. Yeah, I don't either. 843 00:55:14,760 --> 00:55:17,440 I don't either. He's a fantastic coach who needs someone to be like, 844 00:55:17,480 --> 00:55:21,239 hey, hey, Mike, like, let's let's change it up a little 845 00:55:21,280 --> 00:55:27,199 bit. Here are you worried about the Toronto Raptors after they fall behind two 846 00:55:27,280 --> 00:55:30,159 out of the Boston Celtics on the on the like one to ten scale of 847 00:55:30,199 --> 00:55:36,119 worry, with ten being like way worried, I'm probably at about a six. 848 00:55:37,960 --> 00:55:43,239 And it's more of a testament to how good Boston is than anything Toronto 849 00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:45,960 is doing wrong. They're gonna eventually hit more shots, you know. Fred 850 00:55:46,039 --> 00:55:51,920 van Vliet has struggled with his with his touch in this second round series. 851 00:55:52,159 --> 00:55:55,000 We've seen Pascal Siakam be a bit overwhelmed by all the bodies that are being 852 00:55:55,000 --> 00:56:00,079 thrown at him. But this this Celtics team is excellent and that's what they 853 00:56:00,119 --> 00:56:07,440 do make opponents feel that that pressure from all levels, from everywhere. Jason 854 00:56:07,519 --> 00:56:12,920 Tatum has fully ascended into this superstar level. Jaylen Brown is fantastic. Kemba 855 00:56:12,960 --> 00:56:15,199 Walker is starting to feel it, even if his knee is bothering him a 856 00:56:15,239 --> 00:56:20,880 little bit still. So yeah, I'm I'm a little worried about the Raptors. 857 00:56:20,920 --> 00:56:24,119 I'm not panicking because this team has such good coaching and so many good 858 00:56:24,119 --> 00:56:30,599 pieces and so much usable depth. But they definitely they're They're allowed to start 859 00:56:30,639 --> 00:56:34,239 feeling a little concerned. They in no way need to hit the red panic 860 00:56:34,280 --> 00:56:37,239 button, but they can have removed the glass cover if they feel it's necessary. 861 00:56:37,400 --> 00:56:39,800 Yeah, the well, I think what you could probably point to as 862 00:56:39,880 --> 00:56:45,039 almost encouraging is that they're eight of thirty four through three through two games on 863 00:56:45,079 --> 00:56:49,559 wide open threes, and that's twenty three point five percent. They will or 864 00:56:49,599 --> 00:56:52,559 should shoot better than that. But where I think it really does actually get 865 00:56:52,559 --> 00:56:57,320 a little bit unsettling as you look at the length and size of having Jason 866 00:56:57,320 --> 00:57:00,360 Tatum, Jalen Brown, and Marcus Smart and then that could really gum up 867 00:57:00,400 --> 00:57:04,000 with fred Van Fleet and Kyle Lowry are going to do best, and that 868 00:57:04,039 --> 00:57:07,800 puts so much more pressure on Pascal Siakam to create. And while he still 869 00:57:07,840 --> 00:57:13,119 has that ceiling as the primary creator, he's just not there yet. And 870 00:57:13,159 --> 00:57:15,159 so Boston's defense, I don't think I gave him enough credit for how they 871 00:57:15,199 --> 00:57:22,559 can handle the individual matchups here. That being said, Toronto probably isn't counting 872 00:57:22,559 --> 00:57:27,159 on Marcus mart to go absolutely bonkers from three against him. He give five 873 00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:30,800 three pointers in Game two in a span of three minutes in the fourth quarter, 874 00:57:30,199 --> 00:57:32,679 Like, that's just not something that one of which was ann one. 875 00:57:34,079 --> 00:57:38,480 Yes, so like that stuff, maybe it'll normalize. Perhaps it's because we're 876 00:57:38,519 --> 00:57:44,320 dealing with small sample sizes. There's a chance that it doesn't. And if 877 00:57:44,360 --> 00:57:46,239 Marcus Saul is not in foul trouble in Game two, like maybe the outcome 878 00:57:46,280 --> 00:57:51,199 is different there. So I'm not in full blown panic mode yet. I 879 00:57:51,239 --> 00:57:54,239 am wondering if you know, I'm sure Nick Nurse will explore every possibility because 880 00:57:54,239 --> 00:57:59,039 if anything, what you mentioned about Bud is like what Nick Nurse Bloch actually 881 00:57:59,039 --> 00:58:01,159 do is he's going to use the two O defics as an excuse to get 882 00:58:01,159 --> 00:58:04,679 weird or go off the grain. And you know, are we gonna see 883 00:58:04,679 --> 00:58:07,480 like more Siakam at the five with og at the four? Is that something 884 00:58:07,480 --> 00:58:12,239 that like we might get a little bit more of and in these subsequent games. 885 00:58:12,760 --> 00:58:15,159 I picked Toronto to win this series in seven. I won't back off 886 00:58:15,159 --> 00:58:19,440 of it. I think you know, there's high variants to the shots that 887 00:58:19,880 --> 00:58:23,280 Boston is taking but at the same time, with the way that jam Jam 888 00:58:23,280 --> 00:58:27,199 Brown Jason Tayas were able to get to the rim because of the pressure that 889 00:58:27,199 --> 00:58:30,199 they're putting on him on the perimeter, like that's also making me like a 890 00:58:30,199 --> 00:58:34,320 little bit uneasy with my initial prediction. I think my big lesson so far 891 00:58:34,440 --> 00:58:37,519 is that Boston is better suited to beat Toronto than I really gave them credit 892 00:58:37,559 --> 00:58:43,119 for. So hats off to the Celtics and Kemba Walker is just wow, 893 00:58:43,280 --> 00:58:45,679 Like Kemba Walker's just honestly wow. At the same time, I'm not there 894 00:58:45,719 --> 00:58:49,960 to hit the panic button on Toronto yet. And look, you could say, 895 00:58:50,000 --> 00:58:52,039 well, obviously they lose Game three, like that's when you go there, 896 00:58:52,079 --> 00:58:55,719 you're down three zero, But they're they're players, while Boston's defense can 897 00:58:55,760 --> 00:59:00,920 just be like pesky for what Toronto's try to do, you know, if 898 00:59:00,920 --> 00:59:04,840 they're going to cut off transition opportunities, if they're not going to allow and 899 00:59:04,880 --> 00:59:07,480 then you're in this point we have to rely on Lowry and Siakamm and Fleet 900 00:59:07,480 --> 00:59:09,800 to put pressure on the room in the half court, which isn't really their 901 00:59:09,840 --> 00:59:13,920 games to begin with, and then against Boston's defense specifically, it might not 902 00:59:14,239 --> 00:59:17,519 fly. I still just expect those guys are going to shoot better. I 903 00:59:17,559 --> 00:59:22,559 mean, Kyle Lowry is two of twelve from three through two games. That's 904 00:59:22,559 --> 00:59:25,400 six point three eight point three percent. I think I should just look at 905 00:59:25,400 --> 00:59:30,119 the eight point three percent, and I'm as I decided before they miss so 906 00:59:30,119 --> 00:59:32,960 many their wide open threes, and so that stuff to me, for Toronto 907 00:59:34,039 --> 00:59:37,039 might normalize. It's the question of, like, then what happens at the 908 00:59:37,039 --> 00:59:39,760 other end, Like is Boston going to come down a little bit? I 909 00:59:39,800 --> 00:59:44,639 honestly don't know. I'd expect Mark is smart too, but Jason Tatum, 910 00:59:44,840 --> 00:59:49,360 you know, like he's really just he's adapted to what Toronto's defense is doing 911 00:59:49,400 --> 00:59:52,199 to him. And I'm not necessarily sure that that goes away. This still 912 00:59:52,199 --> 00:59:53,800 feels like a series that's not going to be you know, two to Oh 913 00:59:53,880 --> 00:59:58,239 you suggest like, oh, maybe this ends in five somehow or I still 914 00:59:58,280 --> 01:00:00,840 feel like this is one that's that's going to go the distances. So I'm 915 01:00:00,840 --> 01:00:02,880 not pat I'd be more concerned. I'll frame it this way. I'm more 916 01:00:02,880 --> 01:00:10,880 concerned about Milwaukee against Miami than I am Toronto against Boston. Yeah, the 917 01:00:10,920 --> 01:00:15,920 biggest tidbit of information that pushes me to change. My prediction is that Boston 918 01:00:15,960 --> 01:00:20,760 actually won a playoff game that was officiated by Tony Brothers, which historically just 919 01:00:20,800 --> 01:00:23,679 like doesn't happen. They actually managed to shoot thirty eight free throws in Game 920 01:00:23,719 --> 01:00:29,440 two with Tony Brothers as the leader of free which again just doesn't happen historically 921 01:00:29,559 --> 01:00:32,079 for the Celtics. So it might just be their time. But yeah, 922 01:00:32,119 --> 01:00:37,880 I'm sticking with my original prediction of Raptors in in six or seven. I'm 923 01:00:37,800 --> 01:00:42,480 probably leaning more towards the seven at this point because this Boston team is really 924 01:00:42,480 --> 01:00:45,280 good. Look at Raptors win in six. Oh my god, another fource 925 01:00:45,400 --> 01:00:49,800 just gonna rattle off another four straight victories after falling down to very well cook 926 01:00:50,239 --> 01:00:54,440 they very well could. I am more worried about Toronto than Milwaukee, again, 927 01:00:54,679 --> 01:00:59,880 more because of the Celtics than anything else. Also, but as we're 928 01:01:00,000 --> 01:01:05,840 acording this to Zip is worse than one ZIP that as well. That's a 929 01:01:05,840 --> 01:01:10,639 fair point. But yeah, it's just I just expect some regression in different 930 01:01:10,639 --> 01:01:15,280 directions now. As good as Boston's defense is, Toronto has a bunch of 931 01:01:15,320 --> 01:01:20,480 shot makers and can get offense from so many places that I just don't expect 932 01:01:20,519 --> 01:01:23,679 them to continue shooting thirty eight point five percent from the field and twenty six 933 01:01:23,760 --> 01:01:29,920 point three percent from three point range. And conversely, I don't expect Boston 934 01:01:29,960 --> 01:01:32,440 to continue to hit forty one point six percent of its threes against a really 935 01:01:32,480 --> 01:01:37,519 good Toronto defense. So the game two was so close. It could have 936 01:01:37,559 --> 01:01:40,039 gone either way. Maybe it could have gone a different way, had you 937 01:01:40,079 --> 01:01:45,239 know Nick Nurse gotten his way on the Marcus Smart foul slash out of balance 938 01:01:45,280 --> 01:01:51,320 play on Pascal Siakam's drive. But yeah, I just I look at those 939 01:01:51,400 --> 01:01:53,960 numbers. I look at the way these teams play, and I'm not ready 940 01:01:54,079 --> 01:01:59,760 to throw in the towel for Toronto whatsoever? Do you have anything else that 941 01:01:59,840 --> 01:02:06,880 you need to get off your chest for our listeners? Not really, that'll 942 01:02:06,920 --> 01:02:10,280 do it for us. Thank you everyone for listening. As always, Please 943 01:02:10,320 --> 01:02:15,119 please, pretty please remember to rate, review, and subscribe to us wherever 944 01:02:15,119 --> 01:02:19,360 you're getting your podcasts. Subscribing a downloading every episode helps us out a ton, 945 01:02:19,639 --> 01:02:22,519 even if you're not using iTunes, though, we would kindly ask that 946 01:02:22,559 --> 01:02:25,039 you go to iTunes search Hardwoo Knox, throw us a five star rating and 947 01:02:25,079 --> 01:02:28,960 write a review as well. That stuff helps us out more than we can 948 01:02:29,280 --> 01:02:32,280 describe, so we would really appreciate it if you did that, If you 949 01:02:32,320 --> 01:02:36,760 have done all that word of mouth helps retweeting our promotions. I'm telling your 950 01:02:36,800 --> 01:02:40,400 friends, families, acquaintances on social media, stealing family members phones and subscribing 951 01:02:40,480 --> 01:02:44,400 them to the Hardwood Knox podcast by force. They will thank you later. 952 01:02:44,480 --> 01:02:47,639 We kind of sort of a little bit promise until next time. Though. 953 01:02:49,119 --> 01:02:53,559 We leave you with the shout out to the one, the only, Robert 954 01:02:53,559 --> 01:02:57,639 Williams the third, just just because that was Adams, one of the favorite 955 01:02:57,639 --> 01:03:00,480 players that during the playoffs, and don't think he's been as much of a 956 01:03:00,519 --> 01:03:02,920 factors as Adam was hoping you would be, So shout out to time word. 957 01:03:06,360 --> 01:03:10,039 The weight is finally over. Football is back. You might not be 958 01:03:10,360 --> 01:03:14,239 at a game this year, but you can still be in on the action 959 01:03:14,280 --> 01:03:16,760 at bet online. Bet online is going the extra mile to make sure you 960 01:03:16,760 --> 01:03:21,559 can get in on every possible chance to win this season. From game spreads 961 01:03:21,559 --> 01:03:24,639 and totals to team player and coaching props, bet online gives you more options 962 01:03:24,679 --> 01:03:29,280 to wager on than anywhere else. You can get in on their season opening 963 01:03:29,320 --> 01:03:35,000 bonuses today and start off wagering on wins division odds, championship futures all day, 964 01:03:35,199 --> 01:03:37,559 every day. Head to bet online today and take advantage of all the 965 01:03:37,599 --> 01:03:42,280 great sign up houses. Don't forget to use promo code blue wire all one 966 01:03:42,320 --> 01:03:45,880 word at bet online dot ag. That's blue wire all one word bet online. 967 01:03:45,960 --> 01:03:59,119 You're online Sports book experts Sugar Ray, Leonard, Roberto Duran, Marvelous, 968 01:03:59,119 --> 01:04:03,400 Marvin Hagler, and Thomas Hearns, legends whose four way rivalry define one 969 01:04:03,440 --> 01:04:09,000 of the greatest errors in boxing history, relive their decade of dominance in the 970 01:04:09,039 --> 01:04:14,039 new Showtime Sports documentary The Kings, a four part series premiering Sunday, June 971 01:04:14,079 --> 01:04:15,639 sixth, only on Showtime