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Encore: Fresh Legs (w/ Tim Legler) · Stugotz and Company

0:04
Speaker 1: The great and very busy Tim Legler is with us
0:07
Speaker 1: here ESPN Cavs Pistons tonight. He is on the call
0:11
Speaker 1: of the game, Legs. Do you like calling the games?
0:13
Speaker 1: I know you've been doing it for two years now.
0:15
Speaker 1: Do you enjoy the calling of the games? Because you
0:17
Speaker 1: seem busier than ever right now?
0:19
Speaker 2: Love it? Absolutely, love it.
0:20
Speaker 3: Man.
0:21
Speaker 2: There's just you know, look, I've always approached my job,
0:24
Speaker 2: whether I was doing studio or calling games as like,
0:27
Speaker 2: you know, the ability to teach, Like that's what I
0:29
Speaker 2: love to do, is teach, like hopefully in some way
0:32
Speaker 2: make the viewer just smarter, like the next time they
0:35
Speaker 2: watch a game, or find something interesting in the game,
0:38
Speaker 2: maybe that you didn't even realize was interesting. So studio
0:40
Speaker 2: work is different because it's either like pre game so
0:42
Speaker 2: you have a chance like really think about it and
0:44
Speaker 2: then do this pre produced piece or whatever, like you
0:47
Speaker 2: put a lot of thought into or after the game
0:50
Speaker 2: it's like what just happened, let's talk about it. Doing
0:52
Speaker 2: it in real time and being able to teach while
0:56
Speaker 2: it's happening is the greatest challenge in the industry. So
1:00
Speaker 2: that comes with that and the energy in the building.
1:03
Speaker 2: There's nothing like it man. So, yes, this has been
1:05
Speaker 2: incredible last couple of seasons. Being like a full time
1:07
Speaker 2: game analyst has been great.
1:09
Speaker 4: Well legged, you're very good at it, and as somebody
1:11
Speaker 4: like I stopped doing my sidelines I think in twenty three,
1:14
Speaker 4: and I'm super jealous because I wanted to overlap with you.
1:17
Speaker 5: I wanted because you're.
1:18
Speaker 4: One of my favorite analysts of all time, and so
1:20
Speaker 4: it's just like, man, when you do color, it's very good.
1:22
Speaker 4: So just wanted to drop that compliment in your lap.
1:25
Speaker 2: With shit that man very much.
1:28
Speaker 6: I was gonna say, is there a question in there?
1:29
Speaker 6: But go ahead? Is he No?
1:30
Speaker 4: I was going to follow up with you did Game
1:32
Speaker 4: four right of Knicks, and yes, I think six er
1:35
Speaker 4: flows out game. What are your thoughts on the Knicks?
1:38
Speaker 4: And they're sort of odd to say this in the
1:40
Speaker 4: playoffs evolving offense.
1:43
Speaker 2: Well yeah, it's gone from evolving to peak level in
1:47
Speaker 2: a very short period of time. Like that to me
1:49
Speaker 2: is what's incredible about the story. They tweak their offense
1:53
Speaker 2: during the season and then a bigger tweak in the
1:55
Speaker 2: middle of the Atlanta series and are down to one
1:57
Speaker 2: and you know the pressure cooker that New York represents
2:01
Speaker 2: and what that team was facing, what Mike Brown was facing,
2:04
Speaker 2: And basically they made the determination that Karl Anthony Towns
2:08
Speaker 2: he's a power player, but he wants to play at
2:11
Speaker 2: the elmost top of the key a lot. That's where
2:13
Speaker 2: he's comfortable. So rather than call set stuff which Mike
2:16
Speaker 2: Brown does not want to and trying to get him
2:19
Speaker 2: touches in areas of the floor that he's comfortable because
2:21
Speaker 2: it's just not what Mike Brown wants to do. He
2:22
Speaker 2: wants to play organically in the flow. Well, then how
2:25
Speaker 2: about we create some options offensively that take advantage of
2:31
Speaker 2: where he likes to catch it and his size and
2:34
Speaker 2: really skill as a passer that was not really appreciated,
2:38
Speaker 2: valued or utilized to that point. And that's really what
2:41
Speaker 2: they did in the middle of the Atlanta series. It
2:43
Speaker 2: opened up their offense Brunson as a screener on the
2:46
Speaker 2: baseline and then coming out to get the basketball. It's
2:49
Speaker 2: like a total wrinkle they put in that Atlanta could
2:52
Speaker 2: not solve. It completely flipped the series on its head.
2:55
Speaker 2: It continued into the Philadelphia series and now when you
2:59
Speaker 2: ended up was a team to down two one verge
3:03
Speaker 2: of like just catastrophe to this team's never played better
3:08
Speaker 2: in a matter of six games. But literally, that's what
3:11
Speaker 2: we're talking and that really is what we're looking at.
3:13
Speaker 2: This is the best the Knicks offense has looked since
3:17
Speaker 2: the day they got Jalen Bronson. And what that does
3:20
Speaker 2: is it energizes your defense even more. When you're having
3:24
Speaker 2: that kind of success and everybody's included offensively the way
3:27
Speaker 2: they are now, your defense is actually now playing at
3:29
Speaker 2: its highest level. So you have this team that right
3:31
Speaker 2: now is an absolute buzz saws. Certainly they have been
3:34
Speaker 2: for the teams that they played, and that's that's basically
3:36
Speaker 2: what played out at the end of the Philly series.
3:38
Speaker 2: They were limited, had some injuries. Coming off to Boston
3:41
Speaker 2: seven Gamer, they ran into this team that is just
3:44
Speaker 2: playing with so much force, confidence and rhythm. That's what
3:48
Speaker 2: it looks like when you get those two things collide. Legs.
3:51
Speaker 7: How important is og An Andobi coming back for the
3:54
Speaker 7: Knicks and him being that potential X factor whether it's
3:58
Speaker 7: the Pistons or the Caves and that series.
4:01
Speaker 2: Critical because you know, right now, like this is probably
4:05
Speaker 2: the best I've ever seen o Jana know we play
4:08
Speaker 2: his defensive impact always been there. The offense, he's been
4:11
Speaker 2: really good. He's been good since he got to New York.
4:13
Speaker 2: His role expanded leaving Toronto, and he's like, wow, he's
4:16
Speaker 2: a better offensive player than your thought. But like what
4:18
Speaker 2: he's been doing lately, and like the consistency with which
4:21
Speaker 2: he's produced, he's never done that. So yes, it's a
4:24
Speaker 2: massive loss. I do think they avoided a real problem,
4:28
Speaker 2: Like everybody kind of was waiting holding their breath that
4:31
Speaker 2: next morning to see what was the result going to
4:34
Speaker 2: be free Jenning now, but it sounds like it's a
4:36
Speaker 2: lot less than it could have been day to day.
4:39
Speaker 2: They certainly weren't going to play him in game four.
4:41
Speaker 2: The Phillies Aerias didn't need him. They might not even
4:43
Speaker 2: have played him in game five if they needed a
4:45
Speaker 2: Game five back at home, just rest them as long
4:48
Speaker 2: as you can. We're all gonna wait and see what
4:50
Speaker 2: this looks like at the start of the series. But
4:52
Speaker 2: he is. He is a force man. He can guard
4:54
Speaker 2: anybody on the floor. And now you combine it with
4:56
Speaker 2: this guy that's getting to twenty plus every night, shooting
4:59
Speaker 2: at the way he is from three point line, you
5:01
Speaker 2: have like, this is what an All Star player looks like.
5:05
Speaker 2: You know, an All League caliber player looks like what
5:07
Speaker 2: he's doing right now. Now, I will say this, some
5:09
Speaker 2: of his loss has been tempered by the fact that
5:11
Speaker 2: Mikal Bridges found his offense towards the end of the
5:15
Speaker 2: Atlanta series that carried over into the Philly series and
5:18
Speaker 2: he's on a heater of all heaters right now. What
5:21
Speaker 2: that guy is shooting over the past five games is
5:24
Speaker 2: mind blowing and it has helped offset in the short
5:27
Speaker 2: term missing ogn Nanobi. But long term, when the East
5:32
Speaker 2: win a title, you're going to need og Annobi out
5:34
Speaker 2: there playing the way that he was.
5:37
Speaker 6: Les.
5:37
Speaker 1: Where are you on rest versus russ Because the Knicks
5:39
Speaker 1: are playing so well offensively. I know they get to
5:41
Speaker 1: wait around for the winner of the of the Pistons
5:44
Speaker 1: and the Cavs series, which is a great position to
5:47
Speaker 1: be in, But that team is playing so well. When
5:49
Speaker 1: the sixer series was over, I wanted them to play
5:51
Speaker 1: the next day. I don't like them waiting around here
5:54
Speaker 1: for seven.
5:54
Speaker 6: To ten days. Yes, yes, exactly.
5:57
Speaker 2: Well, I feel I'm always going to lean on the
6:01
Speaker 2: on the side of rest always, And if you want
6:04
Speaker 2: like the most conclusive argument to that, take a look
6:07
Speaker 2: at what Oklahoma City does to people in game one
6:11
Speaker 2: of the next round when they typically make short work
6:14
Speaker 2: of the of the previous round and they're sitting there waiting.
6:17
Speaker 2: It looks a lot like if you threw like a
6:19
Speaker 2: whole tuna into a piranha tank. That's what it looks
6:23
Speaker 2: like with Oklahoma City. So like, to me, that's the
6:25
Speaker 2: greatest example of like, what, here's the thing. There is
6:30
Speaker 2: no substitute for fresh legs. There just isn't because rhythm,
6:36
Speaker 2: rhythm will come back pretty quickly to a team that's
6:40
Speaker 2: been sitting around for a while. You cannot find fresh
6:44
Speaker 2: legs if you never get an opportunity to recharge them.
6:47
Speaker 2: So for me, it's always about rest. It's always makes
6:50
Speaker 2: you better and more energize, even if the shot making
6:53
Speaker 2: isn't great. At the start of the next.
6:54
Speaker 1: Round, I smiled when he said fresh legs, So did
6:58
Speaker 1: is he? I have no idea why I smile, just
7:00
Speaker 1: had to be names right, yeah.
7:03
Speaker 2: Pros And then we got it's such an easy thing
7:06
Speaker 2: to work into any basketball segment, is it?
7:08
Speaker 3: Like?
7:09
Speaker 2: It's just so easy?
7:11
Speaker 1: You no, Timmy, hold on, I understand what he's saying here,
7:13
Speaker 1: is he but but legs when he played when he
7:15
Speaker 1: was on fire.
7:16
Speaker 2: Like Legs wanted to stay.
7:17
Speaker 6: In the gym.
7:18
Speaker 1: He didn't want to leave the gym and get rest.
7:20
Speaker 1: He wanted to shoot more. And I guess that's all
7:21
Speaker 1: I'm saying on the Knicks. I want them to play.
7:23
Speaker 2: Here's what here's real quick, here's what I'm going to
7:25
Speaker 2: say to you. Like you're talking about a different category
7:27
Speaker 2: player role players. Absolutely, man, let's keep playing. If I
7:31
Speaker 2: got it going, please let me play tomorrow and I'll
7:33
Speaker 2: play every day. If I'm playing twenty twenty four minutes
7:36
Speaker 2: a game, the guys that have to play thirty to
7:38
Speaker 2: forty minutes a game have a lot more on their plate, really,
7:42
Speaker 2: on both ends. No, your team is going to be
7:45
Speaker 2: a hell of a lot better if those guys feel
7:47
Speaker 2: a little recharged.
7:48
Speaker 4: Legs, I am I wrong. I've got you as a
7:50
Speaker 4: Philly guy. Are you a Philly guy?
7:52
Speaker 2: I'm well. I get called that all the time because
7:55
Speaker 2: I went to college in Philly, but I grew up
7:57
Speaker 2: in the Baltimore like DMV area, DC, Richmond, like I
8:00
Speaker 2: played high school basketball in Richmond. I went to Philly
8:03
Speaker 2: to go to college and then just basically established roots
8:06
Speaker 2: there forever and so yes, it's always Philly got, Philly got,
8:09
Speaker 2: I Philly got. Until people realize when football comes up
8:13
Speaker 2: and how much I loathed the Eagles and how much
8:16
Speaker 2: I love the Commanders, That's when it starts to hit
8:18
Speaker 2: home for people. I'm not a Philly guy, I guess,
8:21
Speaker 2: but I love the city.
8:22
Speaker 3: Man.
8:23
Speaker 2: All of my closest friends are up there and my
8:24
Speaker 2: children are raised up there.
8:25
Speaker 4: So yeah, the reason I asked is because I was thinking, like,
8:28
Speaker 4: Tobias Harris has not looked like this since like maybe
8:31
Speaker 4: five six years ago with Philly in the postseason, I
8:33
Speaker 4: didn't think he was capable of being a reliable number
8:36
Speaker 4: two score.
8:37
Speaker 5: For the Pistons.
8:38
Speaker 4: Is he enough for them to get past this round
8:42
Speaker 4: the next round even or is this kind of exactly
8:44
Speaker 4: what we feared if Tobias Harris is your second leading
8:47
Speaker 4: scorer or.
8:47
Speaker 2: Sounded an incredible option. Yeah, aie, it's kind of incredible
8:51
Speaker 2: to think what this guy has done in the postseason, because,
8:53
Speaker 2: by the way, UT's go back to Philly. He had
8:56
Speaker 2: he did have one postseason with Philly that was the
8:58
Speaker 2: only only year that's surpassed the numbers he's putting up now.
9:02
Speaker 2: But for the most part, when the season would end,
9:06
Speaker 2: or even a game within a series, the first place
9:10
Speaker 2: that everybody would go on sports talk radio and Philly
9:12
Speaker 2: or the media or the fan base was Tobias Harris.
9:14
Speaker 2: Let's just go in on Tobias Harris, right, Because he
9:17
Speaker 2: had that big contract, they thought automatically, that's supposed to
9:20
Speaker 2: lead to X numbers every night and as at Yeah,
9:25
Speaker 2: he's a consummate pro. If you really look at his
9:28
Speaker 2: career postseason numbers, sixteen points, eight boards, just under fifty
9:33
Speaker 2: percent from the field, forty percent is from the three
9:36
Speaker 2: or a little bit like pretty damn good numbers. But
9:40
Speaker 2: he had moments in series that was so important to
9:43
Speaker 2: two series. Game five, here comes a one for eleven.
9:47
Speaker 2: Let's go in on Tobias Harris, right. So for him
9:50
Speaker 2: to do this eight straight twenty point games, he had
9:54
Speaker 2: a thirty point game seven. If he doesn't play the
9:57
Speaker 2: way he's playing with j Ellen Durant going through these
10:01
Speaker 2: offensive struggles, if he doesn't pick up the slack hit
10:04
Speaker 2: the extent he did, I got news for you. A
10:06
Speaker 2: sixty win one seed would have lost to an eight seed.
10:11
Speaker 2: Tobias Harris Ky Cunningham was a spectacular, but they still
10:14
Speaker 2: don't win this series if you don't get the offense
10:16
Speaker 2: from somewhere on an offensively limited team. Jalen Durrant's production
10:20
Speaker 2: has been cut in half in the postseason. Where's it
10:23
Speaker 2: going to come from? There's your answer, Tobas Harris hasn't
10:26
Speaker 2: missed a turn around jumper in this postseason. It feels like,
10:29
Speaker 2: so John's give the guy all the credit in the world.
10:32
Speaker 2: It's incredible, like the way this guy has played, and
10:34
Speaker 2: he may need he may need a couple more of
10:37
Speaker 2: those to survive this round with the calves that it's
10:40
Speaker 2: now two two and you know Game five to night's
10:42
Speaker 2: going to be just incredibly dramatic to see what happens.
10:45
Speaker 2: Ken Cleveland finally win a road game in the postseason
10:47
Speaker 2: their own five, six, and oh at home. I don't know, Ken,
10:50
Speaker 2: can Detroit get another one of those games out of Tobias,
10:52
Speaker 2: because if they don't, they might lose Game five? Go
10:54
Speaker 2: get closed out on the road in Game six. That's
10:56
Speaker 2: what's on the line tonight.
10:58
Speaker 1: I think in Detroit legs team should nick fans be
11:01
Speaker 1: rooting for to face in the Eastern Conference Finals?
11:03
Speaker 6: Wading which team do they match up better with?
11:05
Speaker 2: The Piston to the cast, well, clearly Cleveland for two reasons. One,
11:10
Speaker 2: if it's the Calves, the Knicks have home court, So
11:14
Speaker 2: that's a bit, that's a big deal. That's big, you know,
11:16
Speaker 2: just like just like in the last series, like you're
11:18
Speaker 2: sitting there watching the Philly Boston and you're going, well,
11:21
Speaker 2: if Boston wins that series, the Knicks go on the
11:23
Speaker 2: road to start the series. Instead Philly wins game seven. Oh,
11:27
Speaker 2: you're sitting there watching the game. If you're a Nick
11:29
Speaker 2: and you're that coaching staff, all of a sudden, you
11:31
Speaker 2: go from going on the road to play Boston game
11:33
Speaker 2: one too, we're hosting now to Philadelphia seventy six ers
11:36
Speaker 2: in game one. Like that's what's at stake in this
11:38
Speaker 2: series as well. If Cleveland wins, New York hosts the
11:41
Speaker 2: Eastern Conference finals. And that's one reason. The other reason
11:44
Speaker 2: is that Detroit Pistons just absolutely physically dominated the Knicks
11:48
Speaker 2: in the regular season. And so that to me, look,
11:53
Speaker 2: and they're gonna always say, you're always gonnay, oh, we
11:54
Speaker 2: don't care who we play, but just look at to me,
11:57
Speaker 2: those two reasons alone, even if even if the business
12:00
Speaker 2: didn't do that to you, the fact that you'd get
12:02
Speaker 2: home court will be enough to kind of secretly root
12:05
Speaker 2: for the Cavaliers to pull this out.
12:08
Speaker 4: Speaking of the Calves, I'm sure you've had plenty of
12:10
Speaker 4: opportunity to have the James Harden discussion over the last
12:13
Speaker 4: few weeks. Just wondering where you land because it Chris
12:16
Speaker 4: cracks me up to him where people just like, oh,
12:18
Speaker 4: he had a good game. Now, everybody's shut up. Now
12:21
Speaker 4: he had four terrible games. And it's just one of
12:25
Speaker 4: those deals where it's like, hey, what is James Harden
12:28
Speaker 4: right now? Is he this guy who's still, you know,
12:30
Speaker 4: all star level type of player, or is the guy
12:32
Speaker 4: that maybe you shouldn't have give that much responsibility to
12:35
Speaker 4: because he's lost a step.
12:37
Speaker 5: Where do you stand on James?
12:38
Speaker 2: I just think that, Look, I go back to the
12:40
Speaker 2: trade they made, I said at the time, and I
12:42
Speaker 2: believe it. The risk was worth it, you know. Over
12:45
Speaker 2: Darius Garland Arris Scot's a really good player. He's been
12:47
Speaker 2: an All Star in this league. He's a different type
12:49
Speaker 2: of player. James Harden can do things physically to a
12:52
Speaker 2: defense that Darius Garland could not. He can make plays
12:55
Speaker 2: for other people. Yeah, his size, strength that he could
13:00
Speaker 2: put on the ball to shooters on the weak side,
13:02
Speaker 2: the lob threat that he represents to their bigs, like,
13:06
Speaker 2: that's not Darius Garland's game, And so for me to
13:09
Speaker 2: add that other element to their team offensively, I said,
13:12
Speaker 2: you know it's worth it to make that trade when
13:15
Speaker 2: they made it. Now with that, you have to understand
13:19
Speaker 2: there are going to be some playoff moments where you're
13:22
Speaker 2: just you need more out of James Harden. And he's
13:25
Speaker 2: already had some of those for Cleveland in this postseason.
13:28
Speaker 2: But and he's had him throughout his career, and he's
13:30
Speaker 2: gotten beaten up for it when he's had those nights,
13:33
Speaker 2: and he'said he had him in Houston, he had him
13:35
Speaker 2: in Philadelphia, had him in Brooklyn. You know it was
13:37
Speaker 2: hurt more often in Brooklyn than not. But I look
13:39
Speaker 2: at Philly and Houston more than any he had those moments.
13:42
Speaker 2: We're like, man, we really needed more out of him
13:44
Speaker 2: tonight to win this game. Having said that, if he
13:47
Speaker 2: gets it done, then we need to pack this guy
13:50
Speaker 2: on the back. In the last two games, he came
13:52
Speaker 2: through late in Game three, they lose that game. If
13:55
Speaker 2: he doesn't have eight critical points in the fourth quarter
13:58
Speaker 2: of that game, and now they're down three other not
14:00
Speaker 2: winning the series. They win the game. Then he goes
14:02
Speaker 2: back with twenty four and eleven in Game four, and
14:05
Speaker 2: then obviously Mitchell was the story thirty nine points in
14:07
Speaker 2: the second half. He went off at the same time.
14:09
Speaker 2: But they're not sitting here too too without James Harden
14:11
Speaker 2: the way he's played the last two games. So it's
14:13
Speaker 2: really at the point is he where you kind of go,
14:14
Speaker 2: I don't know what which version we get tonight. What
14:18
Speaker 2: I Here's how I've always described James Harden for me
14:21
Speaker 2: for a superstar talent, which he absolutely is. His floor
14:26
Speaker 2: to ceiling variance is too great. In other words, you
14:32
Speaker 2: might get a great player that's a twenty point scorer,
14:35
Speaker 2: he'll get to twenty, but he took twenty four shots
14:37
Speaker 2: on a given night and you're like, Okay, had a
14:39
Speaker 2: bad night. He still got to twenty. Like hard would
14:42
Speaker 2: have nights in Philly Ards Houston, Philly particular, where you know,
14:46
Speaker 2: three for ten. He's not even the same player. He's
14:48
Speaker 2: not aggressive. He with six turnovers, like his floor was
14:52
Speaker 2: so bad it didn't give you a chance to win.
14:54
Speaker 2: That's how I've seen him throughout his career. But I'm
14:56
Speaker 2: gonna give him all the credit in the world because
14:58
Speaker 2: he always carries that going into every playoff game. People
15:01
Speaker 2: just waiting to jump on James Harden to not play well.
15:04
Speaker 2: So when he does like he did the last two games,
15:06
Speaker 2: we need to pass this guy in the back man
15:07
Speaker 2: and give him credit because they're not sitting here at
15:09
Speaker 2: to two with a chance to win this series potentially
15:13
Speaker 2: and get to the Cororence Final without what he did
15:15
Speaker 2: in the last two games.
15:15
Speaker 5: Now, I've got the problem in these vaulted ceilings.
15:18
Speaker 1: Just yes, well no, And the problem with patting him
15:21
Speaker 1: on the back is you know the floors right around
15:23
Speaker 1: the corner.
15:23
Speaker 2: I mean that's right, that's the problem, right, I mean yeah,
15:27
Speaker 2: look again, you don't know from night to night. Now,
15:30
Speaker 2: where I've always where I've always liked James Harden the
15:33
Speaker 2: most is in this lane, which is, yes, it'd be
15:38
Speaker 2: great if he plays well because it can make them
15:40
Speaker 2: almost unbeatable if he and Mitchell both play well. Right,
15:43
Speaker 2: But the fact that he's got Mitchell, he doesn't have
15:47
Speaker 2: to necessarily play great right spots because you've got this
15:51
Speaker 2: other guy that's gonna get a lot more discruity look
15:53
Speaker 2: a Mitchell is going to go from you know, nineteen
15:55
Speaker 2: twenty shots in the regular season to twenty four to
15:57
Speaker 2: twenty five in playoff games. One thing about Don Mitchell,
15:59
Speaker 2: He's not gonn to disappear in terms of his aggressiveness.
16:01
Speaker 2: He might have a bad shooting night, He's going to
16:04
Speaker 2: actually up his aggressiveness because that's what's required of who
16:07
Speaker 2: he is. So for Harden to be in this lane,
16:10
Speaker 2: I like him better here where he can have moments
16:14
Speaker 2: that really matter, but he doesn't necessarily have to go
16:17
Speaker 2: get thirty and ten the way that I felt he
16:20
Speaker 2: did in Philly or Houston.
16:22
Speaker 7: Like switching to another Mitchell in the postseason. Aj Mitchell's
16:26
Speaker 7: emergence in OKC, where you're looking at some of the
16:30
Speaker 7: Thunder contracts coming up, dort Hart and Stein have club
16:34
Speaker 7: options this offseason, is any part of you thinking that
16:37
Speaker 7: the Thunder should explore trade for Jalen Williams before you
16:40
Speaker 7: have to pay his super max.
16:43
Speaker 2: I think that all that's on the table for that team.
16:45
Speaker 2: You just can't pay everybody. You can't pay everybody, And
16:48
Speaker 2: when they give those three their three best players, got
16:50
Speaker 2: you know something clostal billion dollars guaranteed. You know, the
16:54
Speaker 2: money that they gave those three guys and their age
16:57
Speaker 2: and the fact that they win. They're great guys, high
17:00
Speaker 2: character guys. It all fits great, Let's do it. That
17:02
Speaker 2: means you're not gonna go to pay everybody else, So
17:04
Speaker 2: they're gonna have some tough decisions to make. There's no
17:06
Speaker 2: doubt in my mind that Aj Mitchell going forward, at
17:10
Speaker 2: some point will be a starting point guard on a
17:14
Speaker 2: team that is a legit solid playoff team to upwards,
17:18
Speaker 2: maybe have a contending team. He's that good. Dylan Harper's
17:22
Speaker 2: gonna be in this boat down the road, you know,
17:24
Speaker 2: unless you keep Dylan Harper and Win be together for
17:25
Speaker 2: ten years, and that could be an incredible combination. But
17:28
Speaker 2: you've got Fox there, You've got Castle there already, these
17:31
Speaker 2: guys that are like coming off the bench, these young
17:34
Speaker 2: guards that are so good, at some point the opportunity
17:37
Speaker 2: has to change for them. And that means really that
17:40
Speaker 2: won't be for Harper. Harper's gonna be a superstar. Aj
17:43
Speaker 2: Mitchell is definitely going to be a starting point guard
17:45
Speaker 2: and a really good team. When that happens, I don't know,
17:48
Speaker 2: but it means tough decisions on their current starters or
17:51
Speaker 2: on Mitchell going forward for that organization. There's other guys too, Caruso, Hartenstein,
17:55
Speaker 2: Dort like all those guys, there's gonna be decisions made
17:58
Speaker 2: on legs.
17:59
Speaker 6: Is every other team playing second place?
18:00
Speaker 1: It seems like Oklahoma City is just gonna run away
18:02
Speaker 1: with the NBA Finals here is Are we all playing
18:04
Speaker 1: for second place?
18:05
Speaker 2: Here? I mean, I do think they deserve the respect
18:07
Speaker 2: to say that they're definitely on a different tier. You
18:10
Speaker 2: have to give them that. Man, They're not only defending champs,
18:12
Speaker 2: they're they're they're they're unbeaten, they haven't been super chest tested.
18:16
Speaker 2: You get a Phoenix team in the first round, you
18:18
Speaker 2: know you're supposed to do that to them. You get
18:21
Speaker 2: a Lakers team, but that Luca, you should do this
18:23
Speaker 2: to them. So their big test is coming. And San
18:27
Speaker 2: Antonio clearly, you know, assuming they win this series, but
18:29
Speaker 2: they got work to do. I'm not going to rule
18:31
Speaker 2: out Minnesota, but it looks like San Antonio Oklahoma City
18:33
Speaker 2: is sort of headed for this collision course. If you
18:35
Speaker 2: get that, that's gonna be their biggest test to this point,
18:38
Speaker 2: and then you're gonna have to obviously win the NBA
18:39
Speaker 2: Finals there are. They deserve to be given the credit
18:42
Speaker 2: because of how clean they play, how good they are
18:45
Speaker 2: in both ends their depth for me, that and you
18:48
Speaker 2: know how exceptionally well coached they are that you have
18:50
Speaker 2: to give them the respect that say they should be
18:53
Speaker 2: looked at as the favorite. The road is going to
18:56
Speaker 2: get tougher for them from this point on. Obviously there's so.
18:59
Speaker 4: Much talk about Wemby when it comes to the Spurs.
19:01
Speaker 4: Obviously he's transformational. But you just mentioned dearon Fox and
19:05
Speaker 4: even that name kind of gets lost in my head
19:07
Speaker 4: because I'm like, man Stefan Castle, Man Harper's really good.
19:10
Speaker 4: They've got so many good players, and it just makes
19:13
Speaker 4: me wonder, like, do you think that they're that they're
19:15
Speaker 4: ready now, even if Wemby himself might not be ready,
19:19
Speaker 4: the team as a whole is ready now to start
19:21
Speaker 4: their championship run.
19:22
Speaker 2: Perhaps, Yeah, to be honest with you, is he I'm
19:24
Speaker 2: more likely to give them like the just even the
19:28
Speaker 2: benefit of the doubt that they could win it this
19:31
Speaker 2: year because of the rest of the team, right, not
19:34
Speaker 2: even about Wemby for me, as great as he is
19:37
Speaker 2: and what he's going to do to this league, for
19:39
Speaker 2: the for the next ten to fifteen years. We all
19:42
Speaker 2: know what that looks like, the fact that they're this
19:44
Speaker 2: good around them, But this is just I mean, find
19:48
Speaker 2: a better trio of guards in the NBA than what
19:51
Speaker 2: they have Darren Fox. People remember dere Fox Ever's twenty
19:55
Speaker 2: five points a game multiple times in Sacramento, Okay, didn't
19:58
Speaker 2: have a lot of playoff experience because he was a
20:00
Speaker 2: team that couldn't compete. This is a guy that has
20:03
Speaker 2: sacrificed offensively until you get to this point in the
20:06
Speaker 2: year and he can do things. What he needs to
20:09
Speaker 2: within the game is to find cast a Rookie of
20:10
Speaker 2: the Year. One of the best physical specimens I've seen
20:13
Speaker 2: come into this league at the guard spot in a
20:14
Speaker 2: long time, just physically dominant on both ends. And then
20:18
Speaker 2: you have Harper, who I've already described as a budding superstar.
20:22
Speaker 2: It's and it's Vassal, It's it's Kelden Johnson sixth Man
20:25
Speaker 2: of the Year, and the toughness he brings. It's They
20:27
Speaker 2: went out and picked up Luke Cornette, such a great
20:29
Speaker 2: addition as a backup to Wemby. Like, I just love
20:31
Speaker 2: the depth of their team, how complete They already beat
20:34
Speaker 2: you on both ends of the floor, and it's more
20:35
Speaker 2: for me about the supporting cast than it even is
20:38
Speaker 2: about Wemby. Honestly, if they didn't have those guys, I'm
20:41
Speaker 2: not sure Wenby would be ready right now to take
20:44
Speaker 2: this across the finish line. That supporting cast means maybe
20:48
Speaker 2: maybe they are ready already, which is scary for the league.
20:52
Speaker 1: Do you think do you think the referees are having
20:55
Speaker 1: difficulties officiating Wenby because they've never seen anything like Wemby.
20:59
Speaker 5: Definitely with the black shots calls.
21:01
Speaker 6: Yes, well, look.
21:03
Speaker 2: He's I think that he's so long that like you
21:07
Speaker 2: have guys now that are big players that like their
21:10
Speaker 2: top of their head is hitting him right in the
21:12
Speaker 2: middle of his chest, and so like they're where their
21:15
Speaker 2: center of gravity is. It's like just different, Like they're
21:18
Speaker 2: used to putting a forearm into another big to hold
21:20
Speaker 2: them off on a box out or or post them up,
21:23
Speaker 2: and they're putting the norm used to putting that elbow
21:26
Speaker 2: right into somebody's chest. They're putting their elbow like into
21:29
Speaker 2: his waist and it's it's and even even boxing them
21:32
Speaker 2: out like, so it's different where he's absorbing the contact.
21:37
Speaker 2: It's different to officiate a guy like this, and I
21:39
Speaker 2: just think in general, like the playoffs are so difficult
21:44
Speaker 2: to officiate in general, because which is what we all want,
21:49
Speaker 2: the what you allow just becomes so much greater because
21:52
Speaker 2: that's what that's what fans want to see. They don't
21:54
Speaker 2: want to see a parade to the foul line. They
21:55
Speaker 2: want to see guys who play through contact. But I'm
21:57
Speaker 2: telling you right now, like I you, there are literally
22:00
Speaker 2: multiple fouls being committed on every trip up the floor
22:05
Speaker 2: that aren't that would be called definitely in the regular season.
22:08
Speaker 2: And so now you add into the component this guy
22:10
Speaker 2: at seven foot five and you know, a couple hundred pounds,
22:13
Speaker 2: and it's like, this looks different. I don't know. It's
22:16
Speaker 2: just like with Shaq used to play because he was
22:17
Speaker 2: a unique one of one, right, and you're like, You're like,
22:20
Speaker 2: this guy's getting hammered, but it doesn't seem to be
22:22
Speaker 2: knocking him off balance, so maybe we shouldn't call that. Then,
22:25
Speaker 2: I like, why, yes, it was Leamby. It's it's kind
22:29
Speaker 2: of like the same thing, like he could maybe really
22:33
Speaker 2: get displaced with a little bit of contact. And you're like,
22:36
Speaker 2: I was, you know, was that enough or is it
22:38
Speaker 2: just because of how little he weighs. So it's a challenge. Man,
22:42
Speaker 2: There's no doubt he's He's an incredible force man, incredibly
22:47
Speaker 2: entertaining and is so unique to.
22:48
Speaker 1: Watch the NBA Finals that Tim Legler thinks would be
22:52
Speaker 1: the most competitive is Blike.
22:55
Speaker 2: Oh, man, look, I think I think it's gonna be
22:58
Speaker 2: right now, the way that the Knicks are playing, I
23:01
Speaker 2: just think that that is the team that's the closest
23:04
Speaker 2: to the best version of themselves. And they've got an
23:06
Speaker 2: incredibly talented starting lineup. So whoever would come out of
23:11
Speaker 2: the West, and you know, whether that's okac or if
23:14
Speaker 2: you think it's going to be okay see san Antonio, Like,
23:17
Speaker 2: it's going to require that to give us the best
23:21
Speaker 2: version of an NBA Finals against whoever comes out of
23:24
Speaker 2: the Western Conference. So right now, that would be the Knicks.
23:26
Speaker 2: I just think the Knicks are playing as well as
23:28
Speaker 2: anybody in this league. And I think there was a
23:31
Speaker 2: time when I thought, you know, earlier in the season,
23:33
Speaker 2: I thought it's a foregone conclusion, whoever represents the East
23:37
Speaker 2: they can't beat whoever wins the West, Right That's kind
23:39
Speaker 2: of how And I actually at the time I was
23:41
Speaker 2: putting Denver into that category as well with Oklahoma City
23:44
Speaker 2: and San Antonio, and I think the Knicks have kind
23:47
Speaker 2: of changed that narrative then. The way they're playing, the
23:49
Speaker 2: way that they finished these last two series. Man, it's
23:52
Speaker 2: like wow, Like, how do you slow that down? The
23:55
Speaker 2: rhythm they have?
23:56
Speaker 6: Right.
23:56
Speaker 1: I don't want to put words in his mouth, Tailor,
23:58
Speaker 1: but it seems like Tim Legler feels like the Knicks
24:00
Speaker 1: match up very well with Oklahoma City.
24:02
Speaker 6: I mean, how about that.
24:03
Speaker 5: It's hard to tell, Tim, but Taylor's never been more excited.
24:05
Speaker 6: Yes, I also don't want to get ahead of myself.
24:07
Speaker 6: They have another series to play, but this is exciting.
24:10
Speaker 2: Well, look, you think about you think about this and
24:12
Speaker 2: whether it's whether it's Cleveland Detroit or obviously Nick's are
24:16
Speaker 2: already in the Commerce finals, So whether it's Cleveland Detroit
24:19
Speaker 2: with Kate Cunningham, Donovan Mitchell Slash, James Harden or Jalen Brunson,
24:25
Speaker 2: you know, and if it's Oklahoma City that ended up
24:27
Speaker 2: being the finals against sag gils Is Alexander. I mean,
24:30
Speaker 2: you know, it's like the best of the best at
24:32
Speaker 2: that position. Yes, you know, it's it's it's just like,
24:35
Speaker 2: you know in a way that those guys control everything
24:38
Speaker 2: for their teams. But look, I'm not getting ahead of myself, man,
24:41
Speaker 2: you know, and calling games means you're it's you're let
24:44
Speaker 2: a lot less likely to get ahead of yourself. You're
24:47
Speaker 2: in studio. You can say whatever, and then tomorrow I'll
24:49
Speaker 2: say whatever else, and the next day I'll say something different. Yes, yes,
24:53
Speaker 2: colleing games is a little bit different because you go
24:54
Speaker 2: into them giving teams a benefit of the doubt, right,
24:56
Speaker 2: and you want to you don't know how it's about
24:59
Speaker 2: to go, and we have we have the knicks already
25:01
Speaker 2: sitting there. I don't know who's gonna win this Detroit
25:03
Speaker 2: Cleveland series. I don't know who's gonna win San Antonio
25:06
Speaker 2: and Minnesota either. Man, there's work to be done for
25:09
Speaker 2: San Antonio to even get the the good fortune of
25:12
Speaker 2: playing Oklahoma City. And then obviously tonight is Tonight is
25:17
Speaker 2: I think is like the pivotal game obviously in this series,
25:20
Speaker 2: with Detroit Cleveland as big as the game too.
25:23
Speaker 1: But Game two to me is the second most important
25:26
Speaker 1: game of the series. Like, so what do you think, Well,
25:28
Speaker 1: we all know, we all know Game two. I mean everyone,
25:31
Speaker 1: how many champions in history did not win Game two? Yes, yes,
25:36
Speaker 1: I mean it's a game that can really dictate the
25:38
Speaker 1: rest of the series. You're down one oh, and that
25:40
Speaker 1: Game two becomes, you know, vastly important. You know, That's
25:43
Speaker 1: why Game two there's so much effences, and if you're
25:45
Speaker 1: up one oh, you can end the series on a
25:47
Speaker 1: game two.
25:47
Speaker 6: How about that.
25:48
Speaker 2: I think if you went and really charted all of this.
25:50
Speaker 2: The second inning in baseball, like game two of a
25:53
Speaker 2: hockey series, the second round in boxing. Yeah, it's all
25:57
Speaker 2: of these things are very determined, and who ends up
26:01
Speaker 2: ultimately winning. I think Game two in the NBA at
26:03
Speaker 2: the top of the list important must have.
26:06
Speaker 1: Well, thank you, Legs, I appreciate that. Keep your eye
26:08
Speaker 1: in the second hole the PGA Championship this weekend. Guys,
26:11
Speaker 1: it's a big hole.
26:11
Speaker 6: I'm telling you.
26:12
Speaker 5: It's exactly what he's going to do all of this.
26:14
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, Taylor has aid, get Legs out of here
26:19
Speaker 1: just a second.
26:19
Speaker 6: Taylor is a quick boy. Go ahead, Taylor.
26:21
Speaker 7: Yeah, I was just gonna clarify. I haven't been this
26:23
Speaker 7: excited about the Knicks to since they won the NBA Cup.
26:27
Speaker 2: Right, listen, you think you thinking about it? Man, you
26:34
Speaker 2: got you know, a team that this this that a
26:37
Speaker 2: city that loves basketball this much, franchise like the Knicks
26:42
Speaker 2: fifty three years, that's what we're talking about. Yes, I
26:45
Speaker 2: think since those glory days went four straight Eastern Conference Finals,
26:49
Speaker 2: I think from seventy one to seventy four, two finals
26:52
Speaker 2: appearances since then, I think this is their seventh Conference
26:56
Speaker 2: finals appearance. They've been to the finals a couple of times,
27:00
Speaker 2: have not been able to get it across the finish line.
27:02
Speaker 2: I think the way this team is playing right now,
27:05
Speaker 2: I think all Nick fans feel exactly the same way.
27:08
Speaker 2: They feel like this could be the end oh this drought.
27:12
Speaker 4: I don't know what I would do if the Dolphins
27:14
Speaker 4: won a Super Bowl, but I imagine it's close to
27:16
Speaker 4: what Taylor feels like right now, because this is as
27:18
Speaker 4: close as he's ever been.
27:20
Speaker 2: Well, think about this guy, he was there a year ago.
27:22
Speaker 2: The Commanders are my squad. As everybody knows, it's been
27:25
Speaker 2: been since ninety one. So you're talking about thirty five
27:28
Speaker 2: years and guess what you got to tackle on eighteen
27:31
Speaker 2: more to get to the Knicks. I mean, so this
27:36
Speaker 2: is how long this has been.
27:37
Speaker 3: Man?
27:38
Speaker 6: Yes, yes, yes, we're starting work.
27:40
Speaker 4: Go ahead is we've been talking a lot of playoffs.
27:42
Speaker 4: So I was looking because I was like, man, you
27:44
Speaker 4: were in a playoff series that I loved. And then
27:46
Speaker 4: I realized that's your only playoff series in your career.
27:48
Speaker 2: You was man like, not your fan, No, no, And look,
27:51
Speaker 2: it's honestly that the course of my career changed when
27:55
Speaker 2: I you know, at the height of my career, when
27:56
Speaker 2: I was twenty nine and I thought I was the
27:58
Speaker 2: best shooter league and I my knee out man badly,
28:01
Speaker 2: and I just I never really recovered from that. I
28:03
Speaker 2: retired at a younger age or else. You know, you
28:06
Speaker 2: never know where your career would lead you, what team
28:08
Speaker 2: you could go to later in your career and compete
28:10
Speaker 2: for a championship. It wasn't able to happen for me.
28:12
Speaker 2: But it's it's it's okay, So it's too.
28:14
Speaker 5: I don't know if you remember this series.
28:16
Speaker 4: This was Chris Weber, Juwan Howard, cal Shaney, Rod Strickland
28:20
Speaker 4: on that team against of course the Bulls of ninety three.
28:25
Speaker 2: Ninety ninety six, ninety seven, ninety seven.
28:27
Speaker 4: Ye and it was three games, so it was a
28:30
Speaker 4: sweet h man, What was your favorite memory of that
28:33
Speaker 4: and why was it Michael Jordan dropping fifty five.
28:36
Speaker 2: Fifty five in Game one? I believe it was.
28:39
Speaker 6: That was certain memorable, but it was for me. It
28:41
Speaker 6: was it was of course big game.
28:42
Speaker 2: Going into the arena at home when the series shifted
28:45
Speaker 2: first first two, we're in Chicago, we go to Washington
28:48
Speaker 2: and we go into the arena and just like like
28:51
Speaker 2: played there for four years, I never felt anything like
28:53
Speaker 2: the electricity getting even to the arena that night, Like
28:57
Speaker 2: it was like the Bulls were in talent for a
29:00
Speaker 2: playoff series. That was the best home environment that particular
29:05
Speaker 2: night I ever experienced when I was playing in Washington,
29:07
Speaker 2: and we took them right to the wire. I think
29:10
Speaker 2: Scottie Pippen had a three point play and inside of
29:12
Speaker 2: a minute to go that gave them the lead and
29:15
Speaker 2: they were able to hold on it beat US three straight.
29:17
Speaker 2: But after the game, Michael Jordan famously said the Bullets
29:22
Speaker 2: are the next team to look out for in the
29:24
Speaker 2: Eastern Conference because of all of the young, big talent
29:27
Speaker 2: we had. And then we proceeded to trade it all
29:30
Speaker 2: away after that.
29:35
Speaker 3: Watched Yeah, yeah, we traded Weber, we traded we had
29:38
Speaker 3: already traded Rashid at that point, after one year, we
29:41
Speaker 3: traded Ben Wallace away, we traded Weber, everybody left man.
29:48
Speaker 1: Well, hold on, we'll get to that in a second.
29:50
Speaker 1: When Jordan says you're close, what you do is you
29:52
Speaker 1: trade away all your best players.
29:53
Speaker 6: That that's what you do. We'll let Tim get out
29:55
Speaker 6: of here at just a second. Taylor has a theory here.
29:57
Speaker 1: The only way that Lebron can catch Jordan is if
30:00
Speaker 1: he go if he does something that Jordan couldn't do,
30:03
Speaker 1: go to Washington and win an NBA title.
30:06
Speaker 6: How do you feel about that if he were to
30:07
Speaker 6: pull that off.
30:09
Speaker 2: I think everybody would probably put him there if he
30:11
Speaker 2: pulls that off. I mean, that's just looking at where
30:14
Speaker 2: they are right now. They've already had a bunch of
30:16
Speaker 2: lottery picks. They just added the number one pick in
30:18
Speaker 2: the draft. But there's they're so young, they seem so
30:21
Speaker 2: far away. If Lebron Arey would go there in one
30:23
Speaker 2: year and do that, pairing up with ad again, yeah,
30:27
Speaker 2: I think a lot of people would put Lebron there.
30:29
Speaker 4: It looks like they got a hole in the small
30:30
Speaker 4: forward spot. I think it's perfect for him.
30:34
Speaker 6: They got to hold the power forward he's always injured anyway, Listen,
30:38
Speaker 6: it's the right thing to say.
30:40
Speaker 1: Just say yes because he knows Lebron's not going to
30:42
Speaker 1: do it, meaning go to Washington.
30:43
Speaker 6: That's not where he's gone.
30:44
Speaker 1: All right, Yes, Game five tonight, Calves and Piston. Tim
30:48
Speaker 1: Legler is on the call. He is excellent. He knows
30:51
Speaker 1: more basketball than any person I know, by a lot,
30:54
Speaker 1: except for Israel. Goodyearra's close second. Tim, Thanks for the time.
30:57
Speaker 1: We appreciate We're you nervous before that game too in
30:59
Speaker 1: the playoffs?
31:00
Speaker 6: Were you nervous?
31:01
Speaker 5: You know?
31:02
Speaker 2: Always? Game two?
31:04
Speaker 1: You know that, all right, Like we we appreciate the
31:09
Speaker 1: time during a busy time. Thank you for doing this, man,
31:11
Speaker 1: you got
31:12
Speaker 2: It anytime, guys,