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POST-GAME DEBRIEF: The Denver Nuggets STEAL Game 1 · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: All right, ladies and gentlemen, we got to talk about it.
• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: I am not at home, obviously.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: I am at the studio.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: We just filmed our TV show.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you didn't know, I also host a TV show.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: An NBA-related TV show on Tuesdays.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: Don't ask me what time.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: I actually don't know what time it airs.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: But we just wrapped up.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: We watched Denver Nuggets versus the OKC Thunder.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: And there was no way in hell I was gonna drive 30 minutes home and then talk about it.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: I got too much on my mind.
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_00: So let's get into it.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: There's so much you can say about this game, but I think majority of it is gonna boil down to the last 15 seconds of a game.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: We watched 48 minutes, I mean 47 minutes and 45 seconds of a basketball game that like it's not a lot to even really say because the ending of this game was so crazy that I gotta talk about it.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: So um the Thunder decide to foul wallop three.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: Something we see all the time in basketball.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm always very iffy about it.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, not iffy.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: I I I guess I can I can see it from both perspectives, right?
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: You get the time terrible times like tonight where you lose an entire game with this strategy, but I think the numbers say like 91% of the time, this is the best way to do it.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, like again, I completely understand the idea behind it.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: I also don't think the OKC Thunder executed it well enough.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: So we start off with you foul up three, Shea Gives Alexander hits two free throws, boom, they come down and they foul Big Yoke.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: Big Yoke hits two.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: I I thought one of the cool things is because um it's 13 seconds left in the game, by the way.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Jokic is about to attempt his second free throw, and we get like this platoon substitution where Mark Dayton puts all three of his centers in.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's Jay Will, it's Shaq and Isaiah Hardenstein.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: We were watching in the studio, like, damn, they came in like the Avengers.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Jokic hits the second free throw.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Boom.
• 1:37
  SPEAKER_00: Timeout.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: We get some substitutions.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: One of the substitutions is to take Nikola Jokic out of the game.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: At this point in time, Nikola Jokic has five fouls.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, we're going to play the foul game.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: We have to foul them.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: We don't want Jokic nowhere near the ball.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Damn it, we don't want him on the court.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: But what is lost in this is that the Denver Nuggets don't have a timeout.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: But in their mind, we're about to foul immediately.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Boom, the first foul happens, the free throw goes up.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Jokic is right back there.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: He's at the scores table, baby.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: But there was so much of a defensive blunder.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: This, in my opinion, is when the OKC Thunder should have won this game.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: There's so much of a defensive blunder that Shea Gears Alexander walks to the basket, uh, gets rid of like two seconds on the clock, and they're up by three again with 11 seconds.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: And oh my God, because we didn't foul, we didn't get a damn ball, there's no Nikola Jokic checking into the game.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: This should be perfect for OKC in my mind.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: You're running the lineup.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Peyton Watson is closing his game right now.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: No disrespect to P.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I got a lot of love for you, big fella.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have Nikola Jokic, and you're up by three.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: In my mind, as somebody that is not an NBA coach, this is the moment in time.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm not even a reclift coach, I ain't coach a goddamn moment in my life.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: This is the moment of time where we we completely kill the foul up three thing.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: They have a five-man lineup out there that we don't trust to generate a good open three-pointer specifically.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: And they can't get Nikola Jokic, the best player in the world, who look like the best player in the world today.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: They don't have an opportunity to get him in a game.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: Let's play a straight up, and if they hit a three, so be it.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Damn it, we they hit a three without Nikola Jokic.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: But instead, they foul.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: And not only do they foul, they foul without letting any time off the clock.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason why this is important is that the time that we fouled, and I'm saying we as if I'm an OKC guy here, the times that we fouled while up three, we've basically not got any time off the clock.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: So we now are asking our players to hit, let's say, eight to nine to ten free throws in a 15-second span because we are not utilizing the clock to our advantage.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: They foul before Denver can even get the ball a quarter of the way up the court.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: And then you get Aaron Gordon hitting two.
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: And because you you stopped the ball or you stop the play, Jokic is in the game.
• 3:54
  SPEAKER_00: And then things happen.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Westbrook fouls Chet Homer, and I kid you not, I swear I right hand up too.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: We are again, this is me and the guys that we shoot the show with.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Uh shout out to the guys.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: We see Chet Holmger walk up, and I promise you, I say, he's at least missing one.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: He did a shoulder roll, and he did a and listen, I can't say that I've watched every single Chet Holmgan free throw.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: Hell, even remember any other free throw.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: He had two in this game before.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know his free throw team.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: That could legitimately be what he does for every single free throw.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: But this time, I'm like, he's gonna at least miss one.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And not only did he miss one, he missed two.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: They get the rebound, Christian Brown kicks it up to Russell Westbrook, Aaron Gordon, three.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: The second game winner of Aaron Gordon's postseason so far.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: The Denver Nuggets just find a way to win, and you just cannot count them out.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of people I want to give credit to on this one.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I gotta give credit to Aaron Gordon, who not only hit this shot but hit the two free throws previously, um, to keep them in this game.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: He has just been amazing in this postseason run.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_00: Like they call him what Mr.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Mr.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: Nugget for a reason.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: He really is a man of the people, and he really is that impactful of a player that like some nights, like tonight, he is a second best player for the Denver Nuggets, at least in my opinion.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_00: He was the second best player for the Denver Nuggets.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, it's easy to say that after you had a game winner.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: We gotta give credit to Big Honey.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: 42 points, 22 uh 22 rebounds.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: I just love the aggression that we got from him.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody was in foul trouble.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_00: He he got everybody in the foul trouble today.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: It was Chad in foul trouble, it was it was um, of course, Isaiah Hartenstein in foul trouble as well, and they just really didn't have an answer.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: They were loading up so heavily, sometimes he would take the three to keep the mind, and sometimes they got the good switch where it was Caruso or was Ludori, and he was just using that size and and that body, which is seems easy to say, but I swear to you, sometimes it feels like a lost art in basketball.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: I guess I'll previously or at the end of the video talk about the previous game where like Jason Tatum, phenomenal NBA player, obviously, got the switch that he wanted, four possessions in a row, and every single one of them ended up in a step back three.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: Nicole Leoke is like, no, you're gonna put this little dude on me.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: I understand that they load up, or I'm going to back him down.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: They did a good job getting to the passing list.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: Alice Caruso was fucking phenomenal tonight.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_00: It hurts to lose the game where Alice Caruso was that damn good.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: But this is again why the Nuggets have a chance in every single series.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: Big big honey was amazing.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: Russell Westbrook.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: I do believe this to be true.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: There's a there's a version of Russell Westbrook that doesn't hit that ball up to Aaron Gordon.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Recognizing there's three seconds on the clock.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: I am one of the fastest dudes on the court.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: There's one dude to beat.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: There's a Russell, there's a version of Russell Westbrook that does that don't find that guy.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: And instead, he tries to play the time or he tries to play um for the tie, right?
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: But he has the wherewithal, the experience to kick it out to the corner.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: He just continues to be phenomenal.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, he was one of the biggest wild cards.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: There were certain times in that Clipper series where he killed them and then he made up for it by being amazing.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: And I think tonight it was more amazing than killing.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: He had one of the turnovers that were really bad down the stretch, but other than that, he's been phenomenal this run, man.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: And again, with your OKC, you feel awful.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: I know Chad is kicking himself after two missed free throws, but this is what it is.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: It was um it was Lou Williams.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: I think it was Lou Williams who said on running back the show that he hosts over there at FanDuel, that as a player fouling up three, it's it can be scary stuff because the game is in your hand and you just know that of course you have the added pressure.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end of the day, statistics are gonna come into play.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Chet Holmgren, 75% free throw shooter.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: He was two for two going into that free throw.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: Statistically speaking, he's probably missing one of these if we just want to play as averages.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now, damn it, he missed both.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: It ain't the averages, but like you're just asking a lot of your guys to be able to hit these free throws, you know?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: And it turns out to be awful.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: There were times where I was critical of Rick Carlisle specifically.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think that was last year in the postseason.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Rick Carlisle had a lot of games or a few games where they did not foul up three, and the opposite.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_00: I wish I could tell you off the top of my head which games it were, but there are a few games where Rick Carlis didn't foul up three, and you're like, damn, if you foul up three right here, then you just trust your dudes at the free throws.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: And then again, you get this moment in time where not only do you lose this game, you lose home court advantage in a series where, again, you can see this team can hang.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't think Shea Gills Alexander had an amazing performance.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: He had a couple big shots down the stretch.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: A dub did not have a good game.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_00: It really was Alice Caruso and Russell Westbrook via like the most important players on the court for stretching that third quarter there.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, you would hope if you are um the Thunder that this is just one big blunder and that's not an indicative of who you are.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, they spent the week in some change without playing a game of basketball while the Denver Nuggets just came out of a seven-game series.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: You would think advantage to the team that was resting, but like it's an age of question, rest versus Rust.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm I bet there's somebody that made a um or wrote a thesis on this rest versus Rust.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Who ends up winning?
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know the answer to it, but in this case, it was the Rust.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, it was the rest for the majority of it, and then you know, ended up being the Rust at the all at the end of it.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: So, what a game, what a game, what a game.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: I I I love this series, man.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I I felt bad because I wasn't able to do like a preview video for this series, but it's too late now, baby.
• 9:18
  SPEAKER_00: We in the we in the weeds.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, quickly before we get out of here, and I can take my ass home because it is midnight here in Chicago.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the Knicks.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: The Knicks won against a top team.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: This is what I was saying.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: If you're gonna go O of 11 in a regular season against against top end talent, whatever the hell the record is, you would want that first win to be in the postseason.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: Would you rather be 1-10 in a regular season and then 0-1 in the postseason?
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_00: Hell no, lose all those regular season games because the postseason is where it matters the most.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I mean, shout out to the Knicks.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: But I thought this was more of a game where the Boston Celtics just got so very complacent.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: I just, there's there's times when you watch the Celtics, and I'm I'm saying this as a guy that truly does believe that this team is still the favorite to win a championship.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: So what I'm about to say, keep that in mind.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: There are times and quarters and stretches where you watch them and you could not tell that this is a team that just won a championship last year or a team that is favored to win this year.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: For them to get to the point where they shoot and miss 45 threes is insane.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where, like, if the Silver Line, if you're a Boston Celtics fan, we lost by three and we we missed the most three-pointers in NBA history in the postseason.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you know what I'm saying?
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: You don't expect to do that again.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: But it's just time.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I mentioned Tatum earlier where you get the switch that you want.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: You play so hard, you spend 12 seconds trying to get this switch, and that's what we do with it.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Insane.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: Jalen Brown, every we watch this together as well.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: Every time Jalen Brown took a three, Pierre, who's a Knicks fan, is like, yep, that's exactly what we want.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: And that is exactly what they want as a team.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I do got to give credit to Jalen Bronze, who continues to be the clutchest player in the league.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_00: I got to give credit to Ojianobi, who had a couple big shots down the stretch.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: Give credit to Mikhail Bridges with two of the best defensive possessions of this game.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end of the day, it don't matter how you got there, you are up 1-0.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_00: Is Spike Lee the curse?
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Because Spike Lee wasn't at this game because he was at the goddamn Met Gala.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe Spike Lee needs to stay away and they can win.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: No, I'm sorry.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: I got so much respect and love for Spike Lee.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: I do think if there's things that the Knicks can do if they want to continue to win in this series, we gotta find a way to get Car Anthony Towns more involved.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: There's just too many times where he's 30 feet away from the basket.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: I thought one thing that he did early in this game that was pretty interesting is that he was kind of camping down low, waiting for a shot to go up because it's like you got a small defender on me.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_00: I trust myself as an offensive rebound.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: He ended up with four offensive rebounds today.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, they ended up with a ton of hustle plays between him and Josh Hart.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but if you're in the Celtics, you're like, yeah, this is not a great performance.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: We don't know what the hell's gonna go on with Porzingis, but like we're not gonna miss that many shots in a row again.
• 11:50
  SPEAKER_00: But also, it's like you gotta win three games, four games in this series.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta win four games in the next series and four more games.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like there has to be more to this team.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: It wasn't today.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Wasn't today.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so that's it.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna take my ass home because I gotta get up to shoot the other show in the morning.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: Thank y'all.