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NBA Play In Reactions and Predictions for the 1st round of the NBA Playoffs! · The So-Called Sports Analysts

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Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, Welcome back to another episode
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of the so called Sports Analyst, Episode number forty two. Josh, how
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you doing. It's been a long day, long busy day for me,
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but you know, we gotta get back, get some episodes in for you,
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especially with the playoffs coming around. Got to get the content rolling out
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so y'all can stay updated. So pretty excited to get into this one,
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yes, sir, of course. But before we start, you guys could
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follow us on Twitter at Flying Garcia one hundred and Underscore Alfonso zero three.
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Whatever. You listen to it on spreakers, Spotify, our Heart radio,
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or any other platforms. We appreciate it and make sure you share it to
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anybody who likes sports. But all right, like you mentioned, Josh,
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let's go and get straight into it, in which we're gonna talk about the
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Western Conference to play in between the seven and eight and the nine ten,
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and first we're gonna go over the Lakers versus the Pelicans game. So anything
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surprising that stood out to you right there? Lakers and Lakers and Pelicans game.
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Honestly, I think I'm gonna go with I guess it's not pretty surprising.
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But Zion's performance in that game was was kind of a little surprising.
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He's, don't get me wrong, like he has all the hype coming out,
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but to put on that type of performance in that game kind of kind
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of sucks. Seeing him go out in the third quarter, going out in
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the fourth quarter like that, yeah m hm, yeah, it sucks and
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he was baling. It just shows the potential that he has to actually become
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a generational type talent. But I think the natural letdown it it happened.
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Like I talked about earlier in the week, the natural leadown. As far
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as you blow out a team, the next thing you know, you you
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think, oh, well we got this team. We got this team no
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worries, and that's why the Pelicans they were able to hang hang in late.
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But I think the biggest thing that stood out here is the guard play
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from d'anzel, Russell, Austin Reeves and gave Vincent. If those guys can
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play like that consistently against this next series, which we're gonna talk about soon,
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then they're gonna have a damn good chance against anybody, because you know,
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Lebron and ad are gonna be there. But you want to go and
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move on to this next game right here. Yeah, we can move into
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the next one, all right. So this next one it's between the Warriors
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and the Kings, in which the Kings beat down the Warriors one eighteen to
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ninety four, and the Warriors they got eliminated from the playoffs. Josh,
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I know you picked the Warriors here, So how surprised were you? On
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a scale of one to ten, I'm gonna be honest, I was probably
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about an eight or not a nine, because throughout the season both these teams
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played each other fairly close, and in this game, the Kings just didn't
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let up. The entire basketball game, wait for, everyone in the world
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probably thought, yeah, the Warriors are somehow pick it up. Stephan Curry
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is gonna somehow pick it up, and it just never happened. And it's
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kind of hard to happen when everyone just kind of doing their job on the
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Kings. Like Keegan Murray stepped up in a big way in this game.
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I don't know how many let me check how many threes he knocked down,
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but it was pretty obvious that he that he was hitting eight threes in this
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game, eight for thirteen on a ten for twenty shooting from Keegan Murray.
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That makes that gives him thirty two points on the game. He he popped
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out on the screen in a big way in this game. He he.
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I believe his performance really catapulted the Sacramento Kings team to kind of blow out
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the Warriors in the fashion that they did. Mm hmm yeah, no,
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definitely. But just like you picked the Warriors, I picked the Warriors too.
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But one thing that we've been overlooking is Steph Curry hasn't been the same
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player down the stretch. So Josh, these last twenty five games, Steph
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Curry was averaging twenty two point eight points per game, four point eight rebounds,
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five point eight assists, forty eight percent shooting and thirty six percent from
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three. Any other player, that's good stats, but if you're Steph Curry,
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if you're a top five, top ten player in the league, that's
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not acceptable. And for a twenty five game stretch that showed that's a big
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chunk chunk of the season. And we're not even gonna get over or mention
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Klay Thompson going over ten that it was unacceptable there. But Josh, I
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just want to stay on this a little bit longer because Draymond Green. I
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believe he really killed the Warriors' chances. Not necessarily this game, but he
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missed twenty two games without injury due to suspensions, and whenever he played there
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were thirty four and twenty one. So what do you think the Warriors they
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should do here, Josh? Do they run it back, trade away Klay
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Thompson, try to get another piece in. And they have young players that
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actually played pretty well throughout the So what do you think they should do?
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I think actually having those young players maybe the reason why they don't run it
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back. I do see Klay Thompson being on a different team next season.
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It's gonna be completely different to see coming from with Klay Thompson being on a
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different team in a different uniform. Yeah, but I think it's he's pasted
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it already. He's pasted the system over ten Opra six from three, Like
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we're not that's just something that shouldn't happened from probably the second greatest shooter to
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ever live, if we're being honest. So it's just it's just not working
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anymore. Draymond. I don't know what they're gonna do with him because he's
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such an anger defensively, But the off to the court antics, I mean,
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not the off the court, the on the court antics is what really
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hurt him quite a bit. He's perfect off the court, but how much
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longer can the Warriors take of that from him? I don't know. I
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don't know if he's gonna go to another contender or if they're gonna run it
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back with him, But I don't see Klay Thompson coming back next season.
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Yeah, and then you have to figure out what you're trying to do with
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Chris, Paul Andrew Wiggins. Those are big contracts too, So maybe maybe
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you go, maybe you go get a Paul George or cause he's going to
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be a fragent this year, maybe a Pascal Shackam somebody like that. But
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I still don't think it's going to get them over the top due to these
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next few teams that we're going to talk about a little bit later and how
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good they've been playing. But I know you shouted out Keegan Murray, but
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Kean Ellis he did a damn good job throughout this game as far as shutting
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down Steph Curry and keeping him uncomfortable the entire time. But did you want
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to say anything else before we move on to the Heat and Sixers. Now
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we're about to get some more Kings action here in a minute. Yeah and
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all right. So this next game that happened, it was in the Eastern
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Conference, a seven eight seed, was a Sixers versus the Heat, in
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which the Sixers won one oh five to one oh four, and a kind
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of a big story here. Jimmy Butler got hurt early in the first quarter,
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played the route, but clearly wasn't the same Josh. Does this prove
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the Sixers they're legit? Right here? Does it? I think what we
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saw from the seven six Ers was kind of an off game from them.
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I will sit here and say that because the whole first half it almost seemed
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like none of the team was in it. Tyrese Maxey was missing shots,
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Joel Embid was definitely not playing up to par how he usually does, and
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it just didn't look like the same Sixers team we can we see offensively,
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and the Heat were kind of taking advantage of that for the most part for
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a little bit. But at the end of the day, you can only
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hold together certain good players to hold down good players for so long. But
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I do think Jimmy Butler getting injured in this game did kind of hurt the
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Heat a little bit, because I really do think if he was healthy,
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they were healthy in his full strength most of the game. I do think
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this game have been a whole different outcome. I don't know if you feel
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the same way, but that's how I feel. And then Tyler Harrow,
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I think this he also hurt the Miami Heat in this game. I understand
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he had twenty five points, but he went nine for twenty seven and four
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for fourteen from three. You make two of those shots, you win his
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basketball game. You make one of those shots, he win his basketball game.
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Just missing missing eighteen shots in this game just does not help your team
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out at all. Mm hmm. Yeah, and I agree with you.
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I think that the Heat they would have won this game fairly easily because even
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in the first half they were dominating. And yes, this was the off
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game for the Sixers, but when it came down to crunch time, you
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need your stars to make a play, and Joel Embiid that's exactly what he
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did, hitting those two big threes, getting that offensive rebound, going back
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up to the foul line, and also shout out to Nicholas Batoum. We
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want him in in the fourth quarter. I know only few people they're gonna
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get that, but Nicholas Beteen. I'll send you the video afterwards, Josh.
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But yeah, we're not gonna really talk so much about this one right
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here, because again we're gonna talk about one of these teams coming up.
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But let's go to move on to the Hawks and Bulls game in which the
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Bulls they dominated and ran the Hawks off the floor and they won one thirty
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one to one sixteen. Josh, anything you took away from this one,
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I think you should give your opinions first, all right. I was trying
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to be humble a little bit, you know, I was just trying to
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be a little bit humble. But fuck that, I said, Kobe White
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was gonna have thirty five plus points, forty fucking two, forty two.
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Oh, that most improved player over there, Tyree Smasey. Oh what the
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hell did he do? Huh? Yeah, that's what I thought. In
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a do or die situation, Kobe White stepped up and he's shown flashes of
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not a superstar, of becoming a young star in the league. This is
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barely his fourth year and also another thing, Io Desumu, Ioassumu, He's
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progressed so much throughout this year, and he just hit big shot after big
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shot after big shot. And obviously Deebo and Vusovich they did their thing.
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But one thing I'm just really excited about is these young guys and as far
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as the future, what's gonna be looking forward to? So this made my
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week weekend. We're not gonna I'm not gonna get into this next game right
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here, but yeah, seeing the Bulls actually show up in a primetime standalone
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game, it was nice to see. But as far as from the Hawks,
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Dejonte, he was on fire in the first shoft but guess what straps
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straps from Io de Sumu. But all right, I'll let you go,
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Josh. I'm done. I'm done. I'm done right in here. I
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think what happened in this game is that the Bulls. Kobe White had an
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amazing game. Kobe White's a good player. I love Kobe White. But
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I just think the team as a whole showed up in this game. It's
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not just one man getting a job done. It was the whole starting five.
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It was But if Alex Cruso didn't go down early, dude to Andre
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Drummond running into him, he would have had a big game, and he
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was on his way to having a good game. I really do think he
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was. But the Mardarroz in twenty two, Nikola Vushevich twenty four, Kobe
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White forty two, I you'd soon moved nineteen. It's just it goes a
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long way. And they were shooting fairly efficiently in this game, going fifty
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six from the field as a team, so fifty six percent from the field
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as a team. So it was just a great team effort all the way
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around. And you know what come in the Chicago Bulls because I feel like
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a lot of people didn't expect him to be in this position with all the
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injuries that they accumulated at the beginning during the season. And on the on
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the flip side for the and the Hawks, I really do think we're gonna
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see one of the two point guards and de Jontey or Trey Young in a
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different uniform next year. I'm not sure where, but I do I do.
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I do wonder like why they thought this experiment would be good in the
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first place. In the beginning, having two ball dominant point guards played on
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the same team with each other, and it just obviously didn't work out for
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them, and I'm just I just want to see what it's what this team's
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gonna look like next season. And one thing I want to say before we
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move on is that I personally me I would prefer de Jontay Murray over Trey
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Young because there's been stretches throughout this year where Dejontey Murray he had this Hawks
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team actually rolling and they were pretty competitive. With Trey Young, he is
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a liability defensively. Yes, he may be younger and have the quote unquote
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more potential, but there's a ceiling that there's a ceiling that Tray Young has
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where de Jontay Murray he's already at. So that that's where I'm I'm at
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an I stand on that. So I don't know who you would prefer the
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Hawks to keep. You know, I'm gonna pick the San Antonio boy every
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single time. I mean, We're gonna be honest here, de Jonte is
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the better I think all around player than trade. Yeah, I'm gonna stay
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here and say Trey Young's a great passer, but I think Dejonta can do
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a lot of the same things facilitating wise, but defensively it's so much better.
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It's night and day a completely different de Jon say Mary's probably one of
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the best, if not maybe the best point guard fender in the entire NBA
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because his length, his his speed, athleticism, He's able to do it
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all on the defensive end, and then plus he's able to get his own
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shot whenever when he wants his jumper make could use a lot of work,
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But getting to the rim in mid range, that's where he that's where he
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kind of kind of makes his money. Yeah, exactly, But did you
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want to say anything else before we move on to the now? Can we
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can move on? All right? So now that we got done with the
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first set of playing games, we're gonna go into the next part. Where's
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the elimination fact factor? Which the first one it was the Bulls versus the
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Miami Heat with no Jimmy Butler the Heat they win one to twelve to ninety
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one and dominate the Bulls from the very get go. So, Josh,
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anything you take away from this one, honestly, I think it's just Eric
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sposure of being master class. If we're all, if we're gonna be completely
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honest Heat. He sets people up where they need to be. And even
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without both these games, and both these games, the winners came out on
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top that we probably didn't think we're gonna come on top because of a superstar
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missing from their team and Jimmy Butler missing from the Miami Heat basketball team is
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a big loss. It's nothing to be like, oh, it's just Jimmy
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Butler. No, this is a big loss for the Miami Heat. And
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who knows if he's even gonna be ready for the first round. But knowing
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Butler, he'll probably force his way to play. So yeah, we'll find
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out how how that goes. But on the in this game, it was
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kind of a turnaround. I think Jimi Yakis Junior really stepped up for the
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Miami Heat in this game, scoring twenty one eight for sixteen from the field.
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He didn't take too many shots, but even Tyler Harrow didn't take twenty
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seven shots in this game. He only took seventeen, went eight for seventeen
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and scored twenty four points, so a more of an efficient night. And
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I think that goes a long way for your basketball team and having success and
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even off the bench. Kevin Love had sixteen points. He turned back the
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clock a little bit, knocked down ten free throws though, so he really
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got to the foul on in this one. I think that's what made the
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world of the difference to the Miami Heat. And then on the other side,
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it was just it was just a hard night all around. The shots
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weren't falling, thirteen for forty three from the three point range, thirty five
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for ninety two all around on thirty eight percent field goal percentage. As a
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team, that's just not gonna win you basketball games. It was just a
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rough night. The ball wasn't falling into the hoop, and that's why the
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Bulls didn't walk away with this one. So after I talked all my shit
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against after the Hawks, I was super confident, Jimmy Butler's out. No
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way we lose. There's too much momentum that's going on. And the Bulls
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they still find a way to disappoint me after I didn't expect anything from them
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all season. They did, and like you said, they just later did.
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The shots weren't falling. But I'll say this, what we did against
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the Hawks was more of an aberration. We're not a three point shooting team.
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This looks more like the Chicago Bulls that I've been watching, or I
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watched sixty games of the of the regular season. This is the Bulls that
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I see, and it's just the Miami Heat. They're just a playoff veteran
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team and they know what it takes to win, and that's exactly what they
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did. As far as the status with Jimmy Butler coming back, like you
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said, he'll probably force himself to come back. But another big fact here
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is Terry Rozier. He didn't play either. So again we're not gonna get
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into that because we're gonna talk about it just in one second here. But
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yeah, the Heat, they just find a way to win. And it's
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just props to Eric Spolstra and just the young guys stepping up. But did
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you want to mention anything else before we move on to this next topic?
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Now we can move on to the next game. All right, Well,
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let's go ahead and move on to this next game right here, in which
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it was between the Sacramento Kings and the New Orleans Pelicans where Zion he did
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not play and the Pelicans won one oh five to ninety eight. Josh,
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any reactions here from this one the score is gonna look a lot closer than
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what it actually was in this game, and it's really surprising not having Zion
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for the Pelicans and they were able to do this. But I think a
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lot of the reasons why I maybe had doubts about the Kings is their interior
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defense. They have no interior defense. De Montas Saboni is one of the
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worst defensive players. When it comes to the interior, he all he's all
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world offensively, nothing is. No one has taken that away from Demontas Sabonis.
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He's one of the best offensive players in the entire NBA pick and roll
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passing, getting to the rim, shooting, setting his teammates up as a
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big man. But when it comes to his defense, dude, it's just
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he just got dominated in this game by Jonas Valentini's. I'm just gonna put
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it out there flat. Jonas Valentina's had really had his way with them in
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the interior. I understand he went eight for sixteen, but when you watch
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the game, it just popped out like it just it just didn't look like
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he was able to hold him. And I think that's what really made the
18:38
difference in this game. The the Pelicans were really getting inside and they were
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they were scoring, scoring good buckets. And then plus for the Kings,
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they lived and died by the three in this game. They just could not
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stop taking threes. They went eleven for forty one and twenty six percent from
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the field for three point percentage, and when they came off the last game
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going forty six percent from the three point line. Forty six percent from the
19:03
three point line. So they just had it. Just wasn't their night.
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Outside of the Aaron Fox and Demontres Sponus doing his offensive things, everything else
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wasn't wasn't clicking for the for the Kings this night. Yeah. And to
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add on to what you were saying, Yeah, the Kings, they they
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just lived and died by the three. And yes, Dearon Fox, it
19:23
looked like he got his thirty five points if you look at the box,
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Yeah he was. He was getting clammed up the entire time. So,
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Josh, a quick quick stat for you here. So whenever brandon ingram Herb
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Jones, Jonas Valentunas, CJ. McCollum, and Trey Murphy are all in
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the same starting lineup, they have the second best net rating defense in the
19:45
entire NBA, and that's and that's about fifteen games worth, so that's not
19:52
a small sample size. So they just showed up, and they just showed
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up defensively and set the tone after that Lakers game where they kind of got
20:03
bullied. They did exactly that to the Sacramento Kings. It's just they have
20:07
too many perimeter defenders and just bothered dearon Fox the entire time and talk about
20:12
a team teamwork. So yes, Brandon Ingram, he had twenty four,
20:17
but nineteen from Valentuna's, sixteen from Trey Murphy, eleven from Larry m Natz,
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eleven from Na Marshall, and then you had ten from Jose Alvarado,
20:26
who's looking more and more like a key factor to the Pelicans and potentially what
20:33
they could do in the playoffs. But as far as with the Kings right
20:37
here, do you think they're missing something in particular because you have dearon Fox,
20:42
you have the bonus Keegan Murray's showing some flashes. So do you think
20:48
there's a specific move the Kings need to do to get over the hump?
20:53
Bring in a true defensive big man that can get it done on the interior.
20:57
Both offensively and defense and be able to have a mid range shot.
21:02
I think that's what they need. I think that they need that badly.
21:04
Like I understand, you can't get Rudy Goberts from everywhere on it, but
21:08
you kind of need a player like Ruddy Gobert on this team because if if
21:12
they're gonna be this bad on the interior defensively, especially with Demonstra's bonus not
21:18
really making any progress in that area because he is on the smaller side for
21:22
a power forward. If you really look at don't compared to some of the
21:23
other people in this league, even at center. You're at the center position
21:27
cause that's where he majority plays. So yeah, it's it's kind of hard
21:33
to win games without defense, and that's what they need, any defense on
21:37
this team. Sure, they have all the offensive weapons, the two man
21:41
games, three point shooting, mid range shooting, get into the rat Kevin
21:45
Hood and Malik Monk both injured, but it's just more than that. You
21:48
need more than that. You need to dominate the boards. You need to
21:51
dominate the interior, and that's what they need to really target. They need
21:53
to target a big man this offseason in the draft, whether it's in the
21:56
draft or free agency or trade wise on the market. Yeah, So anything
22:03
else you want to bring up before we move into playoff picture. Hum.
22:10
Nah, We're probably get into some more of it when we when we start
22:11
picking some teams. All right, Yeah, that's that's exactly what we're gonna
22:17
do. So yes, this episode, it may not be as long,
22:19
but we're gonna go into depth as far as the playoff picture. We just
22:23
wanted to get this out before Game one or Game two came out before we
22:30
started recording. So you know, our initial thoughts you're not gonna see after
22:34
we see them play each other several times or once. So let's go ahead
22:40
and start in this Western Conference here, Josh, as far as with the
22:44
one seed Oklahoma City Thunder versus the eight seed New Orleans Pelicans, So who's
22:51
winning this series and why, Josh? For me, it's gonna be the
22:53
Oklahoma City Thunder. It's easy to say they're the one seed, but also
22:59
not having Zionilliamson is not gonna cut it against Oklahoma City Thunder because the Sacramento
23:04
Kings are not the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Dokahmasity Thunder have everything you need
23:10
on a basketball team. Besides maybe a dominating defensive presence in the interior.
23:15
But what they do have is linked all the way around, great defense and
23:19
great offense, plus a strong leader in SGA who's also a great defensive player.
23:25
So it's just the matchup I think probably benefits the Thunder quite tremendously.
23:30
I understand both teams kind of are built a little bit the same, but
23:33
I do think the Thunder, the Thunder having j Dubb, having chet Holme
23:38
Grand SGA is really gonna is really gonna propel them forward in this in this
23:44
in this, in this series. Yeah, I agree with you one hundred
23:49
percent. I think the Thunder they're gonna dominate this even if Zion he does
23:53
come back. They have the bodies. They have the bodies to try to
23:57
hold up Zion. And what's the weakness for the Pelicans interior defense? That's
24:03
exactly what Shade thrives on him. And then you have all the shooters around
24:08
him. It's a five out offense. So I feel like Shaye he's gonna
24:12
court the entire time. Yeah, I feel like Shaye He's gonna be getting
24:17
his the entire time. I wouldn't be surprised if this is a five to
24:21
six game series and Shae averages well, he's been doing it all season,
24:25
but in the playoffs it's different. Averaging thirty plus points in the playoffs.
24:29
I think that's how dominant the Thunder they're gonna be. And even though they're
24:33
one of the youngest teams in the league, I think twenty two or twenty
24:37
three is an average age. They're they're gonna show why they're they're the one
24:41
seed and they've been one of the best teams, if not the best team
24:45
in the NBA so far. So I'm a I'm gonna make it official.
24:49
I'm gonna say the Thunder they're winning in five. I feel like Zion whenever
24:55
he does come back, if he does come back in this series, they
24:57
could they could get one game maybe home. So I say Thunder and five.
25:02
And as far as for an X factor here, I'm gonna say I'm
25:07
gonna have to say chet Holmgren because he's gonna have Yonis valentiunas. He's gonna
25:11
have to have him away from the basket in order for Shade to cook,
25:15
and he needs to knock down those threes where he could be contested or they
25:18
could be guarding him. So do you have an X factor for this one?
25:25
I'm gonna take the the Thunder and six sixth in this series, but
25:29
for as far as an X factor, I'm gonna have to probably go with
25:37
Jalen Williams in this. In this one, I'm probably gonna have to go
25:41
with him. I understand he's he's probably their second best player, but it's
25:45
also who's gonna guard him. He has a he has a unique frame,
25:49
a unique size advantage compared to some players because he's not too he's not overly
25:55
big, but he's big enough to where your power forwards are too slow to
25:57
guard him, your sinners are too slow to guard him. But then also
26:00
your small forwards, I mean your power the power forwards are too big,
26:03
so because he's quicker and your small forwards are too small. So I think
26:08
he's gonna be the main X factor in this in this series, especially without
26:11
Zion on the court, and if Zion does come back, he can match
26:15
him. So I I do think it's gonna he's gonna be a big advantage
26:18
for they Oklahoma City Thunder. Yeah, So any other key talking points or
26:23
anything else you want to you wanna take away from this before we move on
26:27
to the next series. Now, let's move on to the next one,
26:30
all right. So yeah, this next one, this one's gonna be really
26:34
damn interesting in which it's between the two seeded Denver Nuggets and the seventh seed
26:41
Los Angeles Lakers. So, Josh, I'll let you give your opinions here
26:45
first. Who's winning? So the Denver Nuggets, they have to the defending
26:52
champions. They have Nikola Jokic. They have Jamal Murray hopefully he's healthy going
26:57
into this series at full health, full strength. They have the role players
27:00
that they usually have within Aaron Gordon, Contavious Caldwell, Polpe, Michael Porter
27:06
Junior. They have the key pieces Christian Brown coming on strong. But with
27:08
all that being said, I'm gonna go with the Los Angeles Lakers in this
27:11
series. I'm gonna tell you what, I think they're playing their best basketball
27:15
at this very moment. I think they're probably playing even better basketball than the
27:18
different Nuggets. I do think Anthony Davis being coming into being healthy going into
27:23
this series being healthy, Lebron James being healthy, gave Vincent being ready.
27:29
I don't know is Jared vnda Bilt Vnderbilt gonna be available. No, No,
27:33
Well they still got Riy hot Chamara, Austin Reeves and D'Angelo Russ are
27:37
playing big right now. They're knocking down shots. I'm gonna go with the
27:38
Los Angeles Lakers in this game, and I'm gonna do it in six oh,
27:44
in this series in six See, I was very tempted to take the
27:48
Lakers here, I really am, because I feel like this is a very
27:52
different playoff series from last year. Because it's completely different because last year the
27:59
Nuggets, they were making just shot after shot after shot what you need on
28:03
a championship run. And the Lakers last year were a defensive minded team.
28:06
This year they're a pure offense. They don't give a fuck about defense.
28:10
They they have stretches where they can't play play defense, but they score like
28:15
crazy, and I'm gonna steal. I'm gonna still stick to it, but
28:22
I'm I'm leaning on the fence. I wouldn't be surprised if the Lakers win,
28:26
but I'm saying the Nuggets they win in seven games. Here they do,
28:30
and I just think nobody can stop the two man games successfully of Jamal
28:36
Murray and Nikola Jokic, And even if you do. You have to stop
28:41
the key role players in Contavious Caldwell, Pope, Michael Porter Junior, Aaron
28:45
Gordon, and I just don't think you could do it for a seven game
28:48
stretch or four games. So that's where I'm why I'm gonna have to go
28:53
with the Nuggets. And as far as for an X factor here, I'm
28:57
gonna have to say, Michael Porter Jr. If Michael Porter Junior he's hitting
29:03
the shots. I forgot you brought up that stat the other day. If
29:07
Michael Porter Junior he has over thirty plus points, the Nuggets are undefeated this
29:11
season. So if Michael Porter Junior can do that once or twice throughout the
29:17
series, then they're gonna definitely be able to win this series convincingly. So
29:22
do you have any X factors for the Lakers? Well, my X factor
29:25
is gonna be D'angela Russell, and I think it's for almost the exact same
29:29
reasons. But the thing is deangel Russell can also facilitate. He's gonna pass
29:33
the ball, he's gonna get rebound, he's gonna do everything. I mean,
29:34
Michael Porter Junior gets his rebounds. Let's not lie. Let's not say
29:37
here, not like he attacks the boards, because he does attack the boards.
29:41
He just doesn't pass the damn ball once. If he's getting it on
29:44
the three point line and he has an ounce of space, he pull him
29:48
every single time. But the Angela Russell has that same dog in him also.
29:52
But at the same time, he can he can facilitate, he can
29:56
get teammates, teammates involved because he is a point guard. But I think
30:00
he's the X factor going to the series. If he has a big series,
30:03
then the Lakers have a big series and they're gonna win this series.
30:08
I'm gonna say this. I know we're only giving first round predictions, but
30:12
if the Lakers beat the Nuggets, They're going on to win the championship.
30:17
I'm just saying I think they'll get to the championship. But we'll see,
30:22
we'll see. Yeah, we haven't got that. I want to see what
30:25
the shapes out as first. Yeah. Yeah, all right, so yeah,
30:29
Josh has Lakers and six. I have Nuggets and seven. Well,
30:33
let's go and move on to this three and six matchup, which is the
30:36
Timberwolves versus the Suns. Here, who do you have winning? The Sons
30:42
have Kevin Durant. The timber Wolves have Anthony Edwards. I do think this
30:48
series is probably the hardest one to pick for me. I'm gonna sit here
30:51
and say that out of the Western Conference, I understand the Clippers and MAVs
30:55
are a little bit more probably a little close for a lot of people,
30:57
But for me, I think this is the closest one only because the strength
31:00
of these two teams are completely different. But you've got the Timberwolves being a
31:04
defensive team and the Sun's being offensive. Completely melt doubt about it. So
31:14
I'm gonna have to go with the Minnesota Timberwolves in seven, and I'm gonna
31:18
tell you what, I do think they are playing completely different this year with
31:21
Rudy Gobert. I do think that the missing of Kat doesn't bother them at
31:26
all. I do think he's just a at this point in his career.
31:29
I do think Cat's just a glorified role player, So right right now,
31:34
I don't think they're missing him very much, especially how nas Reed has stepped
31:38
up. And as far as the seven the Suns, I understand they have
31:42
a great offense, but I the Timberwol's have the number one defense in the
31:48
entire NBA. They're gonna, they're gonna, they're gonna hold them a little
31:51
bit. I understand, you've got KD, you've got Devin Booker, two
31:52
of the greatest offensive players of all time. But so defense can hold down
31:57
other players. And the thing is, can you stop the tim Wolves on
32:00
the other side with Anthony Edwards I'm handling the rock, I don't think so.
32:05
So I'm gonna I'm gonna go with the Minnesota Timbwolves in seven in this
32:07
series. So I like that we have different opinions here. I feel like
32:14
we rarely, we rarely disagree with each other. But I'm gonna say the
32:17
Phoenix Sons they win this series in six games, and I'm and I'm gonna
32:22
tell you why. The Phoenix Sons, how they played down the stretch.
32:28
They actually played some damn good basketball. And I feel like this isn't necessarily
32:34
the Sons. They're a championship team. They just have a favorable matchup against
32:38
the Timberwolves. That's that's all it is. And they're gonna, I'm telling
32:45
you this from the very good go. They're gonna try to make Anthony Edwards
32:47
a passer and they're gonna try to make Mike Mike Conley a score, and
32:52
they did that in the in the past several games. I know Mike Conley,
32:57
He's efficient, but he's he doesn't like to shoot the ball as much
33:01
that that's his biggest problem. And the thing is, I don't know.
33:07
I've seen Mike Conley do some crazy things offensively before. I understand he's older.
33:12
He's older now, you know the same Mike Conley used to where he
33:15
knocked the Spurs out when they were the eighth seed, and a couple of
33:19
years after that he did almost he did pretty much the exact same thing from
33:22
the seventh or sixth seed. I forgot, but I've seen him go crazy.
33:25
I've seen Mike Conley go crazy before. I don't know if he's the
33:29
same guy anymore, but if he can turn back the clock a little bit,
33:31
it's gonna be a little scary for the Phoenix Suns. Yeah, I
33:35
get that, but I believe that they could be able to do that throughout
33:40
the entire series. And again, yes, they have the best defense in
33:45
the league, but you have Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Bill
33:50
who's been playing great basketball as of late. And has become one of the
33:53
better defenders, primter defenders at the last or the back half of the All
34:00
Star break. So I think that's just gonna be too much. And the
34:05
Phoenix Suns, they just have too much superpower and they're gonna just be able
34:08
to get it done. They're just that damn good. And also another thing,
34:13
Rudy Gobert, what happens to their defenses in the playoffs or Rudy Gobert's
34:19
defenses in the playoffs. They've always melted down these past few years, and
34:23
I don't see that trend stopping. So yeah, I have the Sons in
34:27
six. And we're the same guy that was saying it was different this year.
34:31
You were the same guy saying this last week. I'm just saying no,
34:35
no, no, no no no no no no no, no no
34:36
no. I was talking about for the top ten, if if he could
34:40
do it, unless I'm not remembering right, Yeah, yeah, yeah,
34:44
no, we're going over the top ten, top ten. As far as
34:46
potentially, I don't mean I believe that for shit, I'm just saying it
34:52
could be. But as far as for X factor here, I'm gonna have
35:00
to say, Bradley Bill, I think Bradley Bill. Yes, he is
35:02
a third option here, but I think it's gonna be really important as far
35:07
as for him scoring often and early because it keeps the defense honest and it's
35:14
gonna have that whole Minnesota Timberwolves defense in a blender. And so, yeah,
35:19
Bradley Bill, he's my X factor. I don't know if you have
35:22
an X factor for this one. X factors for me is gonna be nasrit
35:32
or No, let's go with Ridy Gobert. Ridy Gobart is gonna be the
35:36
X factor in this series because he is the X factor. If he has
35:38
a great series, If he can hold out the fort they're gonna win this
35:43
series. If he can't, they're gonna lose this series. But I hope
35:49
a belt out defensive Player of the Year is gonna gonna hold it down for
35:52
his team. So I kind of hope he does. All I'm just saying
35:58
is I know we bring this guy up every single week. If Wimby was
36:01
on the timber Wolves, we wouldn't have no discussion as far as who's winning
36:06
this series. If Wimby was on the Temple Wolves, he'd be in discussion
36:09
for MVP this year, not with the same stats, but definitely all NBA
36:17
I would say that. I don't know. I don't know. I think
36:22
it would have been different having Anthony Edwards on your team. Yeah, that's
36:25
true. But all right, last matchup in the Western Conference. Here it's
36:30
a Los Angeles Clippers, the four seed versus a five seed Dallas Mavericks.
36:36
I think we were I'm pretty or actually I'm one hundred percent sure we're both
36:40
going to agree on here. But who's winning this The Dallas Mavericks, for
36:45
me, are winning this series. I don't know if you what you think
36:49
about that. I agree one hundred percent. Yeah, go ahead. I
36:52
just it's just Kawhi Leonard blamed on the Spurs about as nagging knee as your
36:59
just hoppens. Six years later, he still has the same injury on his
37:02
knee and can't go away. It's just not gonna go away. And without
37:06
Kuilonard at full health or even maybe missing some time in this series, it's
37:10
gonna hurt this Los Angeles Clippers team tremendously. I understand, you still have
37:14
the other stars. You still have a Paul George, you still have a
37:15
Russ Westbrook, you still have a James Harden, But it's kind of hard
37:20
to do that when your defensive anchors off the team and you have no interior
37:22
defense, and you know who you have on your team. Two of the
37:27
best gets to the rim scores out at the point guard positions of all time,
37:32
and if not the best in Kyrie Irving, and he's gonna stop them.
37:36
I don't think anyone is. It's just I don't know the way the
37:39
Mavericks are playing right now as a whole, I just don't see anyone stop
37:44
in this freight trend going in until they meet up with the with the one
37:47
of the Nuggets or Lakers teams. So it's just gonna be I don't know.
37:54
I just don't get the same. I just can't trust the Clippers when
37:57
it comes to playoff time. They have all the talent every single year.
38:00
Is just I think this is gonna be a different year for Luca and the
38:04
Kyrie Irving and the Kyrie Irving experience in Dallas. And one thing that you
38:08
didn't mention is that Luca he's been this dominant in the playoffs and he's never
38:15
had and he's never had a true number two. I know people that are
38:19
gonna say Jalen Brunson. But this wasn't Jaylen Brunson. Jalen Brunson was not
38:23
doing this on the Mavericks. He was not. And and Kyrie Irving,
38:29
he he's shown countless, countless times that he is a playoff performer. And
38:37
I don't know if you gave as far as a certain game prediction here,
38:42
but I'm kind of going bold here. I say the MAVs they sweep the
38:45
Clippers. Here, I think I think it's pretty convincing. And the MAVs
38:51
they they've only lost, Yeah, sweep, I say five. I'll give
38:54
it five. So I say there's two main reasons why the Mavericks are going
39:04
to win this. Reason one, they've been one of the best defenses in
39:08
the league. Reason number two the Los Angeles Clippers as far as perimeter defense
39:15
wise, yes they have Paul George Kawhi Leonard, but they have not been
39:21
consistently able to slow down the Dallas Mavericks. They haven't been. It's just
39:25
a bad matchup for him. It's all as far as a matchup game with
39:29
the whole Western Conference. Here. You may be able to beat this team,
39:32
but when you play this other team, they have your number, and
39:36
the Mavericks they just have the Clippers number, and that's what it is.
39:39
And you mentioned Kawhi Leonard, he has Knie Swellen. We've been talking about
39:44
this for the past two weeks. Look what happened last year in Phoenix.
39:47
He played one game, balled out, then after that was out for the
39:51
rest of the rest of the series. And I could see that happening again,
39:55
and that's why I have the MAVs win. As far as for an
39:59
X factor, I'm gonna have to go PJ Washington here. PJ Washington as
40:06
far as he's gonna be the main one guardian Paul George or James Harden here,
40:12
and that's where they get most of their offense. And if he could
40:14
do a damn good job, then it's gonna be a pretty quick series.
40:19
My expected for me is gonna be Daniel Gafford. I think we're saying both
40:22
the guys they traded for midway through the season. But if Daniel Gaffick can
40:27
control the boards, get the rebounds and dish it out to the two guys
40:30
in Luca and Carrie Irving, this series is over. If he controls the
40:35
boards, and he has been very terrific on the boards with the move to
40:38
Dallas, So if that continues in the playoffs, it's gonna go a long
40:43
way for the Dallas Mavericks. I agree with you one hundred percent. I'm
40:47
just I'm writing down our predictions as far as numbers wise. So you said
40:53
maps and five, right, yep? Okay, yeah, So all right,
40:59
let's go in move on to this Eastern Conference here, in which again
41:02
we're gonna start with the one seed, the Boston Celtics versus the eight seed
41:07
Miami Heat, a rematch of the Eastern Conference Finals. Josh, Who's winning
41:12
this? No Jimmy Butler. If Jimmy Butler is not at full health,
41:17
it's gonna be the Boston Celtics pretty easily for me. They need him in
41:21
this series. They need him badly. The team's too young. They're gonna
41:23
be playing probably a juggern not in the Boston Celtics this season. With the
41:29
count they have on this roster, the defense they have on this roster,
41:31
the three point shooting they have on this roster. I hope Jason Tatum and
41:37
Jaalen Brown can pull something out because Alfred is gonna be pretty disappointed in the
41:40
group chat if they don't, and I'm gonna be pretty happy about it.
41:44
So it's just gonna have to be. It's not to be the Boston Celtics
41:47
for me. And four. Yeah, okay, so we're on the same
41:52
playing field here. I say Celtics in five. I just give him one
41:57
game due to just Spoe just having that one game where he could just shut
42:01
down the Celtics. But this one's gonna be fairly easy. Let's not cap
42:07
here. Yes, the Heat they beat the Celtics last year, but the
42:10
Celtics are an entirely different team this year. They've been on a different level
42:15
and I don't think it's gonna stop. But as far as for X factors,
42:22
this may be the basic answer for me. But I'm gonna say Jalen
42:24
Brown. How Jalen Brown's been playing since an All Star break. If he
42:29
could continue that into the playoffs, there's not gonna be no real threat till
42:34
the finals. So it's time to prove your contract. It's time to prove
42:38
you're all NBA worthy. So it's time for you to show up. It's
42:42
playoff time. My X factor for me is gonna be christophs Persingis and I
42:46
think he's probably my X factor probably the entire playoffs for the Boston Celtics,
42:51
because he is their big man. He is their big man that can score.
42:55
If he can continue that against good big man such as Bam on defense,
43:01
it i'll when he's on, when he's on offense, If he can
43:04
continue to get his it's gonna go a long way for that Boston Celtics team,
43:07
especially when Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown may have an off night or maybe
43:12
off just a tad bit in a quarter where they need him where they need
43:14
some scoring. If Christoph Perzinis can step up, this Boston Celtics team is
43:19
gonna run through the run through the playoffs fairly easy. Yeah. I agree
43:22
with you one hundred. But this next series right here, Josh, I
43:27
think we might be conflicted here, But I think this one's gonna be the
43:31
best series besides Denver in LA. But the two seed in New York Knicks
43:37
versus a seventh seed Philadelphia seventy six ers. Who's winning this series? Well,
43:45
the Philadelpi sani six series. They have Joel and Bid coming back.
43:49
I do think he's gonna shake off a little bit of that rust and Tyres
43:52
Max. He's playing at a high level, being the most improved player probably
43:55
this year than Kelly Ubray has been getting his sorry go ahead. As much
44:00
as I give them crap about only relying on Jalen Brunson, I'm gonna take
44:05
Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks in this series, and I'm gonna do
44:09
it in six games. I do think Jalen Brunst is gonna have one of
44:15
these all time playoffs that we've ever seen, and people who are gonna remember
44:19
the name Jalen Brunson when it's all said and done after these playoffs. I'm
44:22
not saying he's winning the championship, but he's gonna have some big games in
44:25
this one, and I think he's gonna come out with the bang versus seven
44:29
Philadelphia seventy six ers, and we're gonna keep having We're gonna have to keep
44:32
trusting the process or maybe get blown up in the offseason. Why do I
44:37
feel like that that speech right there about Jalen Brunson, that's kind of slided
44:43
towards my dad right there, as far as you're gonna remember the name Jalen
44:47
Brunson, that that sounds a lot like what was going on in the text
44:52
message. Hey, I don't know. These old heads just be righting their
44:55
guys, even though I don't know. Derrick Rowse was for kind of it
45:00
was from our time. So it's just I don't know. Jalen Bruhs is
45:04
just different. Dude. You just got to accept it. Well, you
45:09
have the Knicks and six I know I've I've been on the Knicks train since
45:15
the All Star break. But yeah, and I'm flipping to the Philadelphia seventy
45:22
six ers here and I think that Joel Embiid they're nine and oh when Joel
45:27
Embiid has played ever since he got back, and he's only gonna be getting
45:30
healthier and gonna be in more condition. I know the Miami Heat game,
45:36
it looks scary as far as how he looked, and he kind of quote
45:40
unquote crumbled under the pressure. But I think that you cannot stop what Joel
45:47
Embiid he's been doing, and if he could even play up to that level,
45:52
it's gonna be fairly easy. But I don't think that's gonna happen.
45:55
I'm not trying to get into a game by game, but I could see
46:00
the Knicks winning Game one, then the six is still in home court,
46:04
and then going from there they just trade back and forth. And then and
46:07
then the last game, Joel Embiid and Tyree Smacksey show up, and like
46:12
you said, it's Jalen Brunson and others. Jalen Brunson and friends. No
46:17
disrespect to any Knicks players, they're good players obviously, but then you have
46:22
Joel Embiid, who's better than Jalen Brunson even when injured in my opinion,
46:27
and then you have Tyree Smacksey and others. So that's my main reasoning why.
46:34
And as far as an X factor here, this one simple. Joel
46:37
Embiid. Can Joel Embiid do what he did late in the regular season and
46:44
be dominant like he usually is? That that's my X factor. Well,
46:50
my X factor is gonna be the only X factor that Knicks had is gonna
46:53
be Jalen Brunson. I could go Dante DiVincenzo and say if he has a
46:59
big series, but blah blah, because he has to have a big series,
47:00
But yeah, it's gonna have to be Killan Brunton every every game.
47:07
He's gonna have to be the X factor. He's gonna have to be the
47:09
All Star. He's gonna have to be the Superstar, First Team, All
47:12
NBA, Second Team, All NBA, whatever he whatever team he's on,
47:15
he's gonna have to be that players game in and game out. Yeah.
47:19
So all right, let's go ahead and move on to this next series right
47:21
here. And what it's the three seeded Milwaukee Bucks versus the six seeded Pacers,
47:27
where Giannis for sure, it's looking more and more likely he's not gonna
47:31
play Game one, but it looks like he could miss up to Game three.
47:36
So Josh, who's winning this and why? Because this becomes an interesting
47:38
series. Now, it does become an interesting series. And I do think
47:43
it's gonna go to seven games because of that, I really do think it
47:45
is. I just do think I'll go to six games. I do think
47:50
Tyris Halliburton has enough talent in his in his in his bones to get it
47:53
done. Let's get some games done for the Indiana Pacers, and I do
47:58
believe in him. But with Gianni's being out, I understand it. It's
48:01
it's probably it's the biggest loss of the whole entire playoffs if he's not playing
48:07
it probably is. He's on the Jokic and Joel Embiid level. If either
48:10
Luka Doncics, if any of their guys are missing from their team, it's
48:15
a big loss. But what the other teams probably don't have is a Damian
48:17
Lillard, you know, So I think you bring Damian Lillard. If Damian
48:22
Lillard wants the championship, that bad. He's gonna get the championship. He's
48:24
gonna fight his hardest. And if Damian Lillard don't show up in those two
48:28
games that they don't have GI honest, it's it's gonna suck. But I'm
48:31
gonna take the Bucks because of Dame Dollar and I have it in six bucks
48:36
and six mm hm. So I I guess we're I guess we're just disagreeing
48:43
a lot today. So I'm actually flipped the opposite of you, and I'm
48:47
gonna say the Pacers are winning this series and the upset of the first round.
48:55
So the reason why I say the Pacers they're gonna win this series is
49:01
first and most important, Giannie is going to be out two games, and
49:07
all they need to do is still one game from the Bucks at home,
49:10
and after that you have three home games to finish the job, and I
49:14
think that's exactly what's gonna happen. And even to mention the Pacers, there
49:20
were three and one against the Bucks this year where they were fully healthy.
49:24
So the Pacers, they're just a bad matchup for the Bucks. And the
49:29
Bucks are one of the slowest teams in the NBA. Pacers are one of
49:32
the fastest. I know it's playoff time, tempo usually slows down, but
49:37
I think the Pacers having Tyre's Halliburton at the helm, he's still going to
49:43
be able to find the right man. Pascal Siakam, he knows what it
49:46
takes to get it done. Andrew nim Hard he's been damn good. So
49:51
they have all these pieces here. And I think just having Dame and Chris
49:57
Middleton who hasn't been the same yet, and Brooklowe is kind of taken a
50:00
drop drop down, it's gonna be like one of the Portland teams where he's
50:05
taken to the playoffs. So it's a it's a fair matchup now until Jannis
50:08
gets back, and even when Giannis gets back, the Pacers they may have
50:14
too much momentum. And as far as for an X factor here or I'll
50:19
let you say your X factor first, then I'll fix my pick my X
50:22
factor on my X factors, Damian Loark, he has to be the X
50:25
factor in the first game, a couple of games without Giannis. But this
50:30
is where your legacy is made. This is where you're you become remembered because
50:34
are you gonna be the player that me and Fonso remember? Are you gonna
50:37
be the player that my kids remember because they saw your highlights on YouTube one
50:43
day, because people were talking about you at halftime while watching a basketball game.
50:47
Are you gonna be that guy? Are you gonna be the guy that
50:50
Alphonse's dad still still still defend going twenty years after they played it. So
50:58
I think this is where you make your name. You have to you have
51:00
to close out series, especially making a move to the Milwaukee Books and chasing
51:06
a championship. This has to fall on your shoulders and you have to be
51:08
the guy to do it. Yeah. So as far as from my X
51:12
factor here, I was debating between the two, but I'm gonna say Pascal
51:16
Siakam again. They they traded for this guy in the middle of the season
51:22
and he's been paying dividends and this is this is why you get a guy
51:28
like Pascal Siakam because he's been in the playoffs countless of times, and whenever
51:31
Giannis does get back, he's gonna have the Yiannis assignment. So he's gonna
51:37
be pretty damn vital to this to this Pacers team. And if if Tyree
51:45
Halliburton has a bad game, Pascal Siakam he could step up. And I
51:49
think that'll happen at least a game or two during this series. But all
51:52
right, and the last but not least game is the Cavs versus the Magic
52:00
the four and five seed here, so two pretty young teams. Josh,
52:05
who wins? I think I know where you're going with your pick in this
52:09
series, but I'm gonna give you mine in seven. I'm gonna go with
52:12
the Cleveland Cavaliers. I believe in Evan Mobley, I believe in Jared Allen.
52:15
I believe in Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell. It just comes down to
52:21
how you fishing. Are they gonna be offensive? How you fishing? Is
52:22
Donovan Mitchell gonna be offensively? That's the main question. Because Donovan Mitchell takes
52:27
a lot of shots. He's gonna keep shooting the basketball, but can you
52:30
make him at a high rate. I think that's gonna be the biggest thing.
52:31
Darius Gollan's gonna get his guys facilitated. Evan Mobley and Jerry Allen are
52:36
are gonna control the ports no matter what I feel. And defensively they're there.
52:40
They They're some of the best defenders in the NBA. I do think
52:46
Max Streuss is gonna have to play a big role in this series, coming
52:50
with that playoff experience from last year, knocking down some big shots for this
52:52
Cleveland Cavaliers team. And that's what I'm gonna go with. I'm gonna go
52:55
with the Cleveland Cavaliers in this in this series. How many games did you
53:00
say? Seven? Yep? Okay, So I know you thought I was
53:06
gonna pick the Magic. I was tempted to, but I'm not. I'm
53:07
gonna go with the guy, bro. I know, I know Polo ban
53:12
Carrol, he's my guy, but I can't. I can't yet. So
53:16
I think the Calves are winning this series in six. And here's the main
53:22
reason why. The Calves. They have playoff experience compared to the Magic,
53:27
who don't, and the Magic they have a bad half court offense they do.
53:31
It's Paddo ban Carrol or nothing. And he takes mid range shots,
53:37
which yes, he makes them half of the time, but it's one of
53:39
the most inefficient shots in the postseason. The Calves they have just more firepower
53:45
offensively and defensively, even though the Magic statistically have the better defense. And
53:52
yeah, I think you're having a pissed off Calves team here. After that
53:57
they got embarrassed by the Knicks in the playoffs last year. They're gonna be
54:00
coming back for vengeance. So yeah, no, I say that Cavs win.
54:05
And as far as for an X factor, I'm gonna have to I'm
54:08
gonna have to say Donovan Mitchell here because Donovan Mitchell last year, late in
54:13
that series, he became real inefficient and became somewhat of a liability. So
54:19
Donovan Mitchell, he's gonna have to be big in this series. And that's
54:22
my X factor. No, I completely agree. That's my X factor.
54:24
Also because everyone else on the team is gonna get their own I feel like
54:28
they are. I feel like Darius Garland does his role night in, night
54:31
out, Evan Mobley night and night out, Jared Allen night in and night
54:35
out. Donovan Mitchell is the guy that if he sometimes he really is because
54:38
the type of player that he is, he's not he's not a great he's
54:43
not the greatest defender, and he's not the greatest passer. But what he
54:45
does do is score at a high rate and if he can, and sometimes
54:50
he's up and he's down. And this series he's gonna have to be a
54:52
lot more up than he is down. So yeah, and that's the whole
54:55
playoffs and so he is gonna be the X factor for me also, mm
55:00
hmm, Yeah, I agree with you. And man, it's gonna be
55:02
interesting, fun round. I feel like there's not gonna be no other than
55:07
a couple. Maybe there's always a couple that are very easy, but I
55:12
feel like other than that, all of these are gonna be pretty pretty interesting.
55:16
But which one are you? We never know where it can go.
55:19
Yeah, exactly where it can go. That's the beauty of sports. Mm
55:23
hmm, exactly. Okay, just a quick question out of one series,
55:29
which which series is gonna be every single game you're gonna be sitting down on
55:32
the couch and you're gonna be watching that game. Gets versus Lakers, No,
55:37
doubt. Mm hmm. So I could go with the same exact answer,
55:42
but I'm gonna go Nick Sixers here. No, that'd be my second
55:45
one. Yeah, yeah, they're those two. They're the most interesting ones
55:50
right there. And I And which one do you think is underrated? An
55:53
underrated series that you think nobody's gonna watch that they should. I I kind
56:01
of feel like I'm gonna go with two if that If that's okay? Yeah,
56:07
Caves of Magic, probably because the names Cleveland Cavaliers and Orlando Magic,
56:13
two names you never thought you would hear it together in a playoff series.
56:16
If you've been around back, have you've been following basketball for your whole life,
56:21
Probably two teams that you've never expected to see play against each other.
56:23
And I do think a lot of players, a lot of people that are
56:27
casuals may not know players on these teams. Like you have some great player
56:30
Jalen Slug, Jalen Slugs, Jalen Suggs, Caro, Evan Mobley, Darius
56:36
Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Jared Allen, Franz Wagner, Franz Wagner, there's
56:43
some good players on this court, good team basketball happening. So I do
56:47
think and Jonathan Isaac, let's not forget about the defensive. He's a great
56:51
defensive player, Jonathan Isaac, let's let's not for I think a lot of
56:53
people are gonna overlook that series quite a bit because of the teams, because
56:58
of the names that they don't know. But you're he's some good team basketball
57:00
if you watch those teams, two teams play. And then on the flip
57:02
side, the Bucks and Pacers. People are always gonna tune in and watch
57:06
Giannis and Dame. But get you get you watch them Tyres Halliburn and watch
57:10
how magnificent that guy plays basketball. Silky smooth, great passer, good defense,
57:15
he he's a dog. So I do think those are two underrated series
57:20
that people should tune in and watch. And if you are listening to this
57:23
podcast, go tune in to watch and watch some of those players play.
57:27
Yeah, exactly, so that's exactly where I was gonna go to the Bucks
57:31
and Pacers that one. I feel like that's gonna be high scoring games.
57:36
Both of these teams. They don't give a damn about defense, especially with
57:39
Yannis out these first two games, so you're gonna see some very high scoring,
57:45
fun games. A lot of points being on the board here. But
57:49
all right, one last question or no, two more? If you had
57:53
to pick one of your series out of all of these, which one is
57:57
a surefire lock that you know it's gonna go into the second round. But
58:00
who's gonna move into the second round? The Lost Angeles Lakers? Hoh ho.
58:09
That's that's bold. That that's bold. All right, Well, I'll
58:15
give mine real quick before I ask this next question to go big or go
58:17
home on this podcast. Baby, Hey, yes, sir, that's what
58:22
you gotta do. Well, mine's gonna be the safe one here. I
58:24
think MAVs over Clippers. I think this one's pretty easy. Again, I
58:29
said this one's gonna be a sweet so I think I think they're just too
58:34
damn good and just too great. And okay, last question before we wrap
58:37
this up. What series is one you're iffy about, you're not sure about
58:44
you think you could easily see it going the other way? I think it
58:47
has to be the Temperwolves and Sons probably. I do think it could go
58:51
either way. I did say in seven for both of these teams, it's
58:54
just they're polar opposites, you know, we never we don't know who's gonna
59:00
be the one to come out on top in reality, because the Suns do
59:04
have the starting lineup, but the role players are they gonna are they gonna
59:08
step up? Where the Timberwolves kind of have a deeper, a little bit
59:12
deeper of a team, not too deep, but Neil kill anik A,
59:16
Nikil Walker, Alexander coming off the bench, and then you have you have
59:22
a little bit of a deeper a deeper, a deeper, a deeper roster
59:24
a little bit. So I don't know, it's just gonna be It's gonna
59:30
be a fun series to watch. I do think it's gonna be one of
59:31
the most awkward series to watch, just how different these two teams play.
59:35
But I do think that that one I'm super iffy about. So I could
59:40
easily go all the Knicks, all the Timberwolves, Oh, Lakers Nuggets,
59:46
but I'm gonna go Cavs magic. I really wanted to freak the magic.
59:52
I really wanted to pick the magic in here. I'm a big polo guy.
59:55
I wouldn't be surprised if Paulo he just ends up just banking these caves.
1:00:00
But I don't know that's that's what's all about. That's what playoffs is
1:00:05
about. But once again, yes, this is a shorter episode. This
1:00:09
is gonna be a trend from now on because we are gonna be getting more
1:00:14
episodes out, but we're gonna be going more game by game basis since the
1:00:17
playoffs have started. It's gonna be a very interesting time. And Josh,
1:00:22
do you have anything else you want to say before we wrap this up?
1:00:27
No, just sit down and watch the playoff basketball ladies and gentlemen, really
1:00:32
indulge in just some of these players that that you're not. You're some of
1:00:37
these great players that we were able to watch in today's NBA. But also
1:00:40
get ready for the NFL Draft. It's coming up. We're gonna come out
1:00:44
with some more information. Uh. It's one of my most it's one of
1:00:46
my favorite times of the year seeing seeing some seeing who the Chiefs pick up,
1:00:52
and seeing who's gonna win the next Super Bowl for us this year.
1:00:54
So it's just gonna it's just gonna be nice. You know, it's just
1:00:57
gonna be a real ceremonious thing, you know, just drafting future Hall of
1:01:00
famers left and right. And I've just been blessed, you know, So
1:01:05
it just' you'll just sit back watch it we pick. Just know he's gonna
1:01:07
be a Super Bowl champion by the end of the next season, and just
1:01:12
just just be ready for our next part that comes out when we pre draft.
1:01:16
Man, I can't even say nothing because because most likely you're gonna be
1:01:21
right, I can't say it about it. But yeah, no, NBA
1:01:25
playoffs, NFL Draft definitely an exciting time next week. It's gonna be a
1:01:30
great week, So make sure you guys tune into that. But before we
1:01:34
get out of here, you guys can follow us on Twitter at Flying Garcia
1:01:37
one hundred and Underscore Alfonso zero three. If you made it this par far,
1:01:42
we appreciate it. If you listen to it on speakers, Spotify,
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who likes sports. But we're gonna go ahead and get out of here.
1:01:52
We'll see you guys soon. You guys, take care,