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The NBA Conference Finals are Set! · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode of Small Ball with Kenny Beachum.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: We got game sevens.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: We got previewing of game ones.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: That's gonna be a great one.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: And so much more on today's episode.
• 0:16
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, I will address the elephant in the room.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: I am not dressed up like this because I'm so excited for OKC versus Spurs, which I am that excited.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm dressed like this because my boy D.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: Mills just got married today.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: So I had to do what I had to do.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: You know, we in the wedding at such a great time.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Love is great.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, such such a vibe.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: But I, you know, I told my boy D.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Millie weeks ago, we're gonna have a wedding on a Sunday, just know that unfortunately I will have to leave that wedding at some point just to shoot small ball.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: So I did, boom.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't leave during the vows or the or anything that was super important.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: They was listening to Drop It Like It's Hot when I walked out that door.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: A great song that we're gonna get back to.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: But um I did some movie magic, so don't be surprised that after this first break, you see me in a different outfit because I filmed the majority of this episode this morning.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: But I knew I wanted to have this first part of the show talk about game seven because how am I gonna sh have a basketball podcast and not talk about game seven?
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Game seven is what we live and we die for, y'all.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, just know that there's gonna be a little bit of movie magic.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: You're gonna see me in a white t-shirt next block, and then at the end of the show, I'll be dressed like this again.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's just editing.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: You know, editing is this.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: So game seven for the appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: The Cleveland Cavaliers go into Detroit, hostile territory, and blow Detroit out.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: 125 to 94 being the final score.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: It was pretty pretty pretty good for the Cleveland Cavaliers, pretty dominant from the Cleveland Cavaliers very early on.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I was very, very critical of Donovan Mitchell after game six.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the reasons I was so critical of him is because he is one of my favorite players in the league.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: And I saw last game as an opportunity for them to put a lot of the potential playoff demons behind them.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: I'll talk about Donovan and James Harden and Jared Allen with those quotes from like four years ago.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: This is an opportunity where you're on your home court going against a really talented and great effort team, and you came out there and laid an egg.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: Even Eudonis Haslum on the Amazon Post Game show was talking about how nobody in Cleveland looked like they were ready for a game to close out game six.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: I didn't have a ton of confidence for them going into game seven, considering it was on the road again, and they just laid an egg in game six, but they came out and shut all of that up.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: A team that has struggled to win on the road all postseason long just won two against the Pistons, and I read right as I was leaving the wedding, this is the first time the Pistons have lost back-to-back home games all season long.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: Timing just super unfortunate.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Critical of Donovan Mitchell and his processing over the course of the series.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: He had a really ridiculous half a couple games ago.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: We had 39 and a half and shows you what the ceiling of Donovan Mitchell really can be.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_00: But the games, the quarters, the halves around that hadn't been the Donovan Mitchell that it just got released today.
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_00: Got MVP votes.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: Like not first, first MVP or even second MVP, we got third place MVP votes this season.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: We hadn't got that level of processing.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: His assists were down.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Three assists in the first quarter, two of them being easy looks for Jared Allen, one of them being a really easy look for Evan Mobley.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I do like that it seems like the Cavs play a little bit better brand of basketball when those two big fellas are engaged very early on, and they were very engaged.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Evan Mobley had a ridiculous game.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Emo.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: One of my biggest criticisms for what Don Vom Mitchell had done in that previous game was he just felt like he didn't have his legs.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: If it wasn't them getting the mismatch that they wanted, they were if they weren't getting Dana Jenkins or Duncan Robson when he was in a game or Tobias Harris, it felt like Donovan Mitchell was just getting off the ball.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: In this game, yeah, they did do their hunting because that's that's what a bulk of the offense turns into when you have multiple or even one bad defender on the court.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: But I love there are multiple times in this game where he looked at the person in front of him, if even if he was a uh third in DPOY this season and said, I know you can guard me.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: And a couple of times it led to easy possessions for him or easy possessions for his teammate.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: One of the times he's been guarded by a Sar Thompson, he gets past a Sar Thompson on the initial action just to dish it off slightly to Evan Mobley.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's a win, man.
• 4:25
  SPEAKER_00: That type of playmaking, that type of passing is what opens the game up so much more for your individual offensive game.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: And Don Vinchu knows all these things, but throughout the course of the series, he had to struggle with that.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think part of it is that between, you know, the Pistons and the Raptors, he's basically seen A-plus perimeter defenders for the entirety of these two series.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it be when you know Scotty Barnes is switched on to him when Scotty Barnes is on the court when there is no James Harden, whether it be an Asar Thompson who was attached to his hip the entire time, he was being dog.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Like all of the energy drained out of him as he's been pushed up full court and it's hard to create.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I want to give my boy a little bit of leeway in next series.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he ain't got Scotty Barnes, who's gonna make all defensive first team, I would assume, and Asar Thompson, who's gonna make all NBA first defensive first team out soon.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: He do potentially have some like OG Ananobi possessors here or there, but for the most part, it won't be that aggressive, in my personal opinion.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: But that's a conversation for another day.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: We can preview that series down the lab.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: But I just want to give a big thumbs up to Don Vomitsu and his performance, even got the full what 40-foot jump shot that went in at the end of the quarter.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: Evan Moley.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: A game like this is what makes you potentially so frustrated with Emo because you know that dog is in there.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't know.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: How do you get it out?
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever they did pregame to get this man hyped up, they need to do it before every single game.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: They always call him what 18 and 8 man.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_00: Now, tonight it was 21 and 12.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: And don't forget those six, uh, six assists.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that, you know, a lot of the games they end up winning in the series, they allowed Evan Mobley to pass out of that role.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: And I think he's been so great in that.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: So great in that, especially if it's not leading to turnovers.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: Happened to a couple high-low actions between him, Ducky ins to Jared Allen, easy, the one one of the big winners of the day is Sam Merrill, who just comes in and have that level of shooting.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: And Cleveland made their first conference finals without LeBron James since 1992, right?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: So, regardless of what happens in the next series versus the New York Knicks, a game like this from a role player and Sam Merrill will forever be remembered by Cleveland Cavaliers fans.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if that man will ever have to pay for a meal by himself, especially if they go on to beat the Knicks.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Where to have a game seven, you always wonder who's gonna be that random role player to pop off.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: And in this case, it was Max Struuss.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_00: And I was at the wedding while this game was happening, as I said, and it's so interesting that like when you have a wedding where a lot of the people there are hoop heads.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: Derek, if you don't watch my other shows, is one of my co-hosts on the numbers on the board podcast, so he's a hoop head as well.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, you know, all the things happen, the reception is going on, and then tip-off was happening, and you just see a bunch of people like while everybody's eating dinner looking at their phone.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: Then eventually, after everybody was done eating, we went outside and we like all around watching a game on a single phone, which is so funny.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: Eventually, people start to foul out because this was a goddamn blowout, so you're like, okay, I'll rather go back in there and dance, or I'd rather go do this, or rather go do that.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: But it is just funny to see a bunch of hoop heads at a wedding be like, obviously, we're here for the moment, we're here for family, we're here for love, but also there's a god dang game seven to happen right now that we do need to tune into.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: Because I mean, Derek is about to go on his honeymoon.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, shout out to them and the the love that they they showcase today.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: But the rest of my co-hosts who were there, they got a podcast we're shooting today.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: So they they gotta they got a like there.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Uh so yeah, shout out to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: It's like to see you know what the next series looks like.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: I want to go back and re-watch some of their games between them and the New York Knicks before I make like a pretty formal prediction, but off the top of mind, based on the way I've been seeing this whole postseason, I would lean Nixon like six, honestly speaking.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: I do think it will be would be weird if the Cavs won.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't mean weird as it's like disappointing, but because even though they just won this game seven, they haven't looked great all postseason long.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: So for them to potentially represent the conference shows you how ridiculous that ceiling can be at times.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: Because before this series started, I picked them in seven.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, I thought that their offensive talent would just be a little bit too much, even for a great defensive team in Detroit.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: And there's only a few times in this series where he the he and or them, they look like that offensive juggernaut they can be.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: And tonight was one of them nights.
• 8:42
  SPEAKER_00: That's even with James Harden having another stinky game seven.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: He was two of ten, and my goodness, that he gets saved today by his teammates.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: The James Harden teams are so interesting because you will have a game like this where he shoots two of ten, all of six from three.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um but all of the the team is just dramatically better with him on the court even when that ball is not going in the basket.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Today he did not turn the ball over time.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: I think that goes a long way.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, uh Donovan Mitchell, we talked about his process and his passing, uh, because earlier in the series, his assist to turnover ratio was like a one.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: He was struggling to what get three to four assists a game.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: So to have that backcourt go against this super aggressive Detroit Piston team that does nothing but put pressure on ball and play passing lanes and duck in steals for them to walk out of there with their two-star guards who hold 90% of the offensive responsibility for them to walk out of there with one turnover collectively, I think goes a long way.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: But it is funny to watch James Harden have like these stinky score nights and be like, I mean, I guess it didn't matter too much.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I mean it's a whole, whole different story.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: A whole different story if they end up losing Max and certain to the star lineup for Dean Wade, who had struggled to shoot.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: I thought Dean Wade gave them good minutes off the bench.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: So time will tell what that next series looks like.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm really excited for both conferences.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, give us six to seven games.
• 10:02
  SPEAKER_00: When we come back from this break, let's get into previewing OKC versus the San Antonio Spurs.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: It is finally here.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: The most anticipated series, for me at least, in a very, very long time.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: The OKC Thunder, our defending champion, led by now just announced MVP, two-time MVP, Shea Gibbs Alexander, are going against the San Antonio Spurs, the DPOY, one of the runner-ups to MVP and so on and so forth, two 60-win teams seeing each other with a battle, two teams with top three players in the world?
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Come on, man.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: This has got to be a classic.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I do want to say, if for whatever reason one of these two teams wins in four or wins in five, my goodness.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_00: Hypothetically, if it is OKC winning in four or five, again, gonna be one of the greatest individual runs for a team ever.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: And if it happens to be the Spurs winning in four or five, everybody else in the league, all 29 of the teams, should be very, very afraid.
• 11:04
  SPEAKER_00: Because if they are able to do that to our defendant champion the first time they made the postseason, who knows how many more championships they could potentially win?
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_00: There will be a lot of people that will tell you this is the NBA Finals, right?
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: Whatever team comes out of this is gonna squeak through uh or the Easter Conference team, whoever the hell that may be.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: And though I kind of feel that, I won't say it because I felt that way last year.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been watching the show for multiple seasons, you know that at the end of that Denver versus OKC game, I said that the OKC Thunder just won the NBA championship because those in my mind were the top two contenders of everybody that was left.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: And though that did end up happening, the Pacers were right there.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: The Pacers were two quarters away from changing history, right?
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't want to just say that whoever wins this is gonna kill the Eastern Conference team because as we've seen, at least a few of those Eastern Conference teams are pretty damn talented and could potentially win the series.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: But these two teams are amazing.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll remind you that in the regular season, the San Antonio Spurs won four of the five matchups when Banyama will tell you that they basically dominated OKC, and that that is the case.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_00: Some of these games are not close completely.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_00: One of the wins ended up being when OKC didn't play anybody, so maybe you want to say they were three and one uh when it when it all mattered, but you know, some players are missing on both sides.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: So though I went back to to watch a lot of these games and a lot of these matchups, I want to remind people that so much has changed since the times they played against each other that it can't be like, oh, the Spurs won in the regular season, so that therefore they're gonna win in the postseason.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: And they could win in the postseason.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Do not get me wrong.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: I I believe this is like a I'm like 55-45 okay C way.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's how much respect I have for the for what the Spurs have been able to do.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_00: But I I think it may have been the Christmas Day game where I personally came to the realization that the Spurs team could win it all.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, Kenny, that's a bit late.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_00: They had been pretty good for two and a half months at that point.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: And you're absolutely right.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_00: I like to look at the history of the league because I do believe that the history of the league can tell you about the future of the league.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And let me explain.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: The San Antonio Spurs are a young team and their top three players, if you ask me.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_00: No disrespect to Darren Fox, but their three most impactful players, at least in this postseason run, are all what 23, 22, 21 years old.
• 13:11
  SPEAKER_00: And even the experienced guys, when it comes to how many years they've been in the league, don't have a ton of postseason experience.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: So we've seen teams before be led by a young player, and they could win 55, 60 games, and then we get to the postseason, we say, hmm, this team needs to earn their stripes.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_00: This team needs a couple scars before they can eventually win the championship.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Think about OKC from two years ago.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_00: Number one seed, they went against a guy in Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks, and that team won, and that was the first scar for OKC, and then boom, they have this experience, they go on to win a championship the next season.
• 13:46
  SPEAKER_00: So until Christmas, even though I respected the hell out of what Miss Johnson was doing, what Mid Yam was doing, and so on and so forth, I did look at them and say, hmm, they need some scars first.
• 13:54
  SPEAKER_00: But that went on Christmas changing.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I said, even with their lack of experience, they could still get it done.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think that maybe me looking through history is gonna change when it comes to predicting the future because so many things have shifted over the last decade or so from uh no jump shooting team can win a championship to no team with a star less than 27 years old can win it, but we just saw it happen with Shay, and we might see a hero wimbi.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: So again, it has its place when it comes to predicting it and everything, but it can't be the end all be all.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that leading up to that point, it was like, ah, they're young, they can't do it.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they no, this team could definitely go out there and do it.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna talk about some two, a a couple uh points of contention that I'm looking for when it comes to the series.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: I will tell you right now, my overall prediction is Oklahoma City Thunder in seven.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: But like I said, I'm 55-45 with it, man.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: Both of these teams are that damn talented, and both of these teams are ready for the moment.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm I'm gonna give the slight ads to defender champion.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: So here's what I'm really thinking about: Shea Gilge's Alexander versus Stephon Castle and the different coverages that they can throw at Shea.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_00: If you remember just last series, you know, uh Anthony Edwards, who was dealing with some leg issues and so on, saw so many different things.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_00: They were throwing two at him, and you know, he was making right plays more times than not, but it did mess up his potential flow in the entirety of the series.
• 15:15
  SPEAKER_00: He had a couple great quarters and a one great game, but for the most part, the different coverages that the Spurs are able to throw at them is different.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think that, you know, selling out to throw two at a superstar player can be a very dangerous game.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_00: You throw two at Luca, you throw two at a prime LeBron, you throw two at some of these really good playmakers, and Shay's a really solid playmaker, but they're not on the level of those two guys I just mentioned.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: It can be a dangerous game because if he makes that pass and get out of this double team, yes, we were successful at getting the ball out of his hands, but now the Oklahoma City Thunder are playing four-on-three.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_00: But the reason it is different for the San Antonio Spurs is their four-on-three isn't in the literal sentence four-on-three, but it's not because that big fella on the back end covers so much ground.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: So, how will Shay slash the Oklahoma City Thunder adjust to when, not if, when the San Antonio Spurs start to throw two at him?
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: One thing I remember last year in the postseason when teams threw two at Shay was that they got him off the ball early on, so it ends up being the dub bringing the ball up the court or a casing or whatever.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now they have AJ Mitchell who's blossoming to a to, I won't use the word star, but an amazing ball player in itself, that Shay starts to be used as a secondary option in the sense that he's coming off screens and things like that instead of being the initiator at the top of the key, and that can get him going.
• 16:35
  SPEAKER_00: But Stefan Castle defended Shea very, very well in the regular season.
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's gonna, that's gonna that's gonna matter.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_00: And I wonder how often they throw two at Shay when it is no Wimby on the court.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, I don't know how how much they're gonna mirror the minutes between Wimbanyama and Shea, but when there's no Wimby on the court, do they feel as confident throwing shoot two at Shea if it is Luke Cornett, who's a really good rim protector as well, but obviously not on the other worldly level that is Victor Wimbadyama.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_00: So that's the first thing I'm looking for.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: The second thing is the three-point shooting as relief for both of these teams.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: Like we mentioned, four-on-three, what does that normally mean?
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody's going to be open for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't I don't remember which game it was.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: It might have been their Christmas Day game where Caruso shot so many open threes, just hoping, just hoping and praying to keep them honest, keeping the Spurs honest because they did have Victor Wimanyama just roaming off of him.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's defined.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: Castle is also gonna get those exact same looks as you might see a Chet or IHAR be his primary defender.
• 17:32
  SPEAKER_00: You just saw in game number six versus the Minnesota Timberwolves at the end of the series.
• 17:36
  SPEAKER_00: Chrissy Finch and company decided that we're gonna let Rudy Gobert roam off Castle, and Castle hit what, five of seven threes.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: And Castle, you gotta give you credit to him over the entirety of the postseason.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_00: He's been electric when it comes to three-point shooting.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: That wasn't the case in the regular season.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I wonder if the Oklahoma City Thunder are gonna bet on the regression from his three-point shooting.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 17:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think he's like 45% from three.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, the whole San Antonio Spurs team has not missed a three-point shot.
• 17:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I think him specifically is 40, he's 45% from three in the postseason.
• 18:04
  SPEAKER_00: So I wonder if, yeah, if they bet on the fact that that's fake, and in this series, he might struggle.
• 18:08
  SPEAKER_00: Caruso, uh Dor, these are guys that are gonna get so many open looks, and I don't want to let it boil down to that, but I do think that at the end of the series, when it is whatever team wins in six or seven, whatever it may be, that we'll look back on the percentages from three and be like, oh, the team that shot better from three is the team that ended up winning the series.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Which I I would hate if that was just that simple, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_00: So I was sticking with Stephon Castle.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm curious about what his foul trouble will look like.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: Y'all know him there or y'all know this postseason.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's been three pillars of goddamn, get out of foul trouble.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Asar Thompson, Jaden McDaniels, and Stefan Castle.
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_00: All three of these dudes are super important to their team successes, but they always are in foul trouble, and that's a point to their physicality, and that's a point to sometimes them just doing a little bit extra.
• 18:55
  SPEAKER_00: So I wonder what the whistle will look like overall for this series, right?
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because y'all know OKC has a favorable whistle in a lot of cases from their defensive side of the ball.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: I wonder if the refs will allow the San Antonio Spurs to play with a similar uh piece of physicality.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_00: Next one is J Dub's readiness from all accounts, he will be ready for game one, which is perfect, but he hasn't played in quite some time.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I do believe if OKC is going to win the series, they may not need 100% J Dub, but damn it, they need close to it.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: They need dub to look like another all-star.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: They need dub to look like an all-NBA player.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_00: Because I'm just I'm just super fascinated.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: Let me see if I could quickly look this up before we go into our break here.
• 19:31
  SPEAKER_00: Of the lineups offensively, that is Shay Dub and AJ Mitchell.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: Again, in the postseason, I'm sure these guys have not played because you know we got some injuries early on from Dub.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: They've only played 50 minutes together in the regular season.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, it was a net negative of a minus six.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe that's not something they go to a ton.
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_00: But I am intrigued with having that many creators on the court with Shay if the San Antonio Spurs are sending two.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: Because now if it's a four-on-three when it is, you know, uh AJ Mitchell or it is J Dub on these wings trying to create out of that.
• 20:03
  SPEAKER_00: My goodness, I think that opens up a possibility of a lot of different things, maybe long mid-range pull-ups, which we'll get to, I guess, next.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: Because I got a lot more things to talk about when it comes to previewing this series.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_00: Stay tuned.
• 20:20
  SPEAKER_00: Before we get back into previewing the series, I want to say thank you to our sponsors over at DraftKings.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: You may know all about DraftKings pick six by now, where you can pick more or less of different players' stats for the upcoming games.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Tonight we have one game.
• 20:32
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it's a conference finals, one game this day, one game that day.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great time to really, really lock into these games.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: I do want to say play responsibly, but the way I usually play DraftKings pick six is to look for some of my favorite or least favorite players, look at their points, rebounds, assists, storm into my pick set, decide more or less, and sit back, relax, and see if I made the right decision.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: We do have that game, that San Antonio Spurs at Oklahoma City Thunder for game number one.
• 20:58
  SPEAKER_00: As if I'm recording this, the line.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, let me double check this because they have been pretty proactive when it comes to this.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm opening up right right here, live.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Right here live.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'm opening it up and let's see what these numbers are at.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_00: And they're not up because reminder, I'm filming this before game seven of the Clipper.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, the Cavs versus Pistons.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_00: So they have that, those lines up, but not tomorrow's line.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: So all good.
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: This is what I'm gonna tell you.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_00: Again, without knowing the lines, these are the things that I'm looking at when it comes to potentially putting together a pick set.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_00: Last round of the postseason versus the LA Lakers, I'm gonna use the word struggled, but I think the Lakers did a pretty good job of making it super difficult on Shea Gilders Alexander.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think the Spurs could replicate some of that.
• 21:42
  SPEAKER_00: But I do think game one is such a such a place to set the tone in a series like this and recognize that in the regular season, this team did have our number.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna go more on Shay's points in this one.
• 21:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's gonna be tough to get there, but if there's anybody that could do it, it is our two time MVP, Shea Gildes Alexander.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: On the other side, might as well go go superstar from superstar, Victor Wimbenyama, depending on what his line is at.
• 22:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'll be thinking about more on his points as well.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: Y'all know he loves the matchup versus Shat Homgren.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe Chet Homegren doesn't love it as much.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: And we'll talk about that after our next break.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_00: So more on points for Victor Wimbenyama and Shea Gildis Alexander.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: Now, with it being just a one-game slate, I'm not the type to put in seven different things in the pick set on one game.
• 22:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I'll just give you one more.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm curious to see what type of minutes we get from Isaiah Hartenstein.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: The minutes in the regular season where these two teams went against each other was I heart on the court by himself, No Chet and Wimbenyama, those minutes did not favor Isaiah Hartenstein.
• 22:44
  SPEAKER_00: And if you remember some of these games, the Oklahoma City Thunder ended up going small down the stretch.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna look at what Isaiah Hartenstein's rebounds are and potentially, depending on where the number is at, potentially go less on the rebounds.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: And that's it.
• 23:00
  SPEAKER_00: Those are my three picks for today's pick set.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: More on points for the two MVP candidates and less on rebounds for Isaiah Hartenstein, all contingent on what those numbers end up looking like.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: When we come back, we'll get into some more previewing of the Western Conference Finals.
• 23:18
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• 23:22
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• 23:26
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• 23:30
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• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: So don't be afraid to get in on the action right at the upside with pick six.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_00: How they handled that physicality is the next thing I'm looking for in game one of this one.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you look at the matchups they had, you they've gone against some, I would say decently physical teams between, you know, what the Portland Trailblaze are able to do on the perimeter and the Minnesota Timbulls are able to do, but none of them, none of them are as handsy as the point at the point of attack than the Oklahoma City Thunder.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: And both of these teams really do count on their dribble penetration and finishing at the rim as a core piece of their their winning of basketball games.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: And Oklahoma City Dunder does a they do a great job preventing guys from getting to the basket.
• 24:28
  SPEAKER_00: But I do want to say, like, I don't I don't remember what Dylan Harper's production was in the games they played in the regular season, but he's just so much better today than he was last time they played against each other.
• 24:40
  SPEAKER_00: That whatever he averaged in a regular season versus the Oklahoma City Thunder, I don't think about that one bit.
• 24:44
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's been in the playoffs, he's been in the playoff games this year where he's like the second best player on the court, which is nuts to say allow.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, in these games, yeah, he wasn't he wasn't playing up more than 20 minutes a game.
• 24:57
  SPEAKER_00: He got a 12-point game, yeah, 12-point game, four-point game, eight-point game.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, yeah, I would expect him to be better than that in this one.
• 25:04
  SPEAKER_00: But I do wonder if Dorick, Caruso, Kayson, you know, all those guys at the point of attack could slow that three-headed monster down from getting downhill.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, y'all know the rim protection for both of these guys, Chich Chatt and Victor Wim and Yama is elite in this own right.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_00: So, with again, both of these teams being reliant on getting to the basket and finishing and opening up the offense that way.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_00: I'm looking to see how you can pull Victor Wim and Yama away from that rim.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the way you do that is the others make three-point shots.
• 25:32
  SPEAKER_00: I'm wondering how you can pull Chet Holmgren away from that rim.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I think the way you do that is the others end up taking and making three-point shots.
• 25:40
  SPEAKER_00: So far in their matchups, at least this season, the 2025-2026 season, Chet Holmgren has not been good offensively.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I think that so far in the postseason, he's been amazing.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: Like he's been uh release valve for a team that was missing another All-NBA player in J Dub.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think if the Oklahoma City Thunder want to win the series, you're going to need to get a good version of Chet on the offensive side of the ball.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: Not saying that he needs to average 30.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: He don't need to average even 25, but we need a few of these games where you look at and say, oh yeah, that's why when they first got in the league, that Adam Silva was trying to make this a rivalry between these big fellas because Chet is that talented.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: Now, we know there's levels to this, but Chet is a really good ball player and you need him to step up offensively.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: One of the last things I had for Oklahoma City Thunder, if they want a chance to be able to score in bunches like they were able to do versus a few of the teams they played in the first two rounds of the postseason, they need a way to get going before the San Antonio Spurs defense is set.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's going to be a key, key factor in this one.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_00: Both of these teams do a really good job of not turning the ball over, which hinders each other, right?
• 26:47
  SPEAKER_00: OKC is a team that can turn turnovers into gold, and the Spurs have been able to do that over the last couple series as well.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: So protecting of the ball and not allowing points off turnovers or fast break points are really things I think both of these coaches are going to talk about a ton leading up to this series.
• 27:04
  SPEAKER_00: As I said, I am rocking with the San Antonio, I'm sorry, the Oklahoma City Thunder in seven.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_00: But my goodness, I'm I'm so ready for the moment.
• 27:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so ready to just have one game on and just be laser focused on this, thinking about rotations, because that was something I feel like I haven't been great at this postseason because sometimes you do have two to three games on the postseason at the same time.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_00: Looking at what lineups teams are throwing out there, this is one of the more ones where I think that both coaches are going to experiment quite a bit in this first one or two games to figure out who can really play in the series versus who can't.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: I know Mark Dayton is a guy that really goes with his guys, but there is a bottom of that rotation that you ask yourself which one of these men will be ready for this.
• 27:47
  SPEAKER_00: Jeremy Cain's added three-point shooting could be really, really valuable in this series.
• 27:51
  SPEAKER_00: But on the other side, if he is not making three-point shots, does that mean that another guy gets some of those minutes?
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think that Jay Will can be a really important part of this series because of his three-point shooting ability.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: Um, on the other side, Champney's able to hit, I don't know, I think he's shooting like 48% from three in the postseason.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: He cannot miss.
• 28:09
  SPEAKER_00: So all of these different players are gonna have to show their true value in this.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't I don't know, man.
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_00: I don't look at the Spurs as a team that would that would shy away from this big time stage.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: They really are that talented, and they got a monster up front that's been telling us that he can win championships early in his career.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: Why cannot win a championship early?
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm him, and damn it, he is.
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: So it should be cool.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: Should be cool, should be fun.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: What would it mean for the league, for whichever team?
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_00: Did we mention that already?
• 28:38
  SPEAKER_00: Man, if the Spurs can make it to the finals with this young core, my goodness.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_00: If OKC can be the first team to go back to back in quite some time, my goodness.
• 28:47
  SPEAKER_00: And that's gonna lead to our next topic, which is the Minnesota Timberwolves.
• 28:50
  SPEAKER_00: Minnesota Timbows lose to the Spurs in their their sixth-game series, and they put up a good fight, all things considered.
• 28:57
  SPEAKER_00: Dante goes out in the first series.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: Anthony Etwards is has this lingering leg slash knee slash whatever issue.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: I would assume who misses a few of the games.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: And this like this was a hard-fought series by a team that was definitely depleted at points.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_00: But now that they're eliminated, you try to take a bigger picture approach to their team and their team building, and they have done the same thing.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_00: Their reports about what their core, what they value as their core, being Anthony Everett, Jaden McDaniels, Nas Reed, and Yawn Berenge, leaving our guy, Rudy Gobert, out to dry, leaving Julius Randle out to dry, leaving everybody else out to dry.
• 29:34
  SPEAKER_00: And I can't even call them crazy.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: I loved what I saw from Rudy Gobert in that first round versus the Denver Nuggets.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_00: My goodness, that was his best playoff series of his life.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: I think that he truly did look at a three-time MVP, and I won't use the word shutdown, but he gave Jokic the toughest time we've seen Jokic have individually in the postseason in his career so far, in his MVP caliber career.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: But then we get to the second matchup, which is Women Yama, which is vastly different of a player than a guy like Nikola Jokic, both super talented in their own right, but so they play so differently.
• 30:09
  SPEAKER_00: And in this one, I truly think that he got, I don't know, exposed.
• 30:13
  SPEAKER_00: I guess is the right way I can explain it.
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: And the best thing as a Rudy Gobert fan is that he has so much goodwill from the NBA audience based on the first round that nobody's really talking about the fact that he stunk in the second round.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: So whew, sigh of relief for me as a Rudy Gobert super fan.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: But it was bad.
• 30:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think game five was like, my goodness, like like as a fan, watched him with one eye open.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: It was like a horror movie all over again.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, nah, this ain't the matchup for him.
• 30:38
  SPEAKER_00: And well, he is on the older side.
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think it was interesting they drafted you on Baron Jay last season.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think it was interesting that he was untouchable in the trade in the trade talks about Iota Zumo.
• 30:48
  SPEAKER_00: They really do believe in the kid to be their future starting center, which makes sense.
• 30:52
  SPEAKER_00: And the limited amount of time we got from him, the rim protection, it could be really good.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think he rolls very well, sets hard screens, and I can see that being a really valuable player.
• 31:00
  SPEAKER_00: And for whatever reason, if you could have him, again, this is this is a hard ask for a year two player of a guy that didn't play much in his first year, but if for whatever reason he can be your starting center on a rookie contract, it opens the game up so much more for the possibilities of team building.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: But I do think it's interesting that everybody that went to that post-game press conference for the Minnesota Timbulls basically said the same thing about the moodiness in the locker room, about them not being ready.
• 31:30
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the reasons why OKC and the Spurs are where they are as such a young team is that they all play for each other.
• 31:36
  SPEAKER_00: And though they didn't say any names and it didn't they weren't gearing it towards anybody, it's hard for me as a fan and people that listen to these as a fan to not think about Julius Randle.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: So over the last 24 hours, I've been thinking very hard about what the move could be.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I know some Minnesota fans have hit me up saying there's a 0% chance he's even on the roster, so much so that they're thinking about even salary dumping, which is a dangerous game to play when you are you do have a guy and Anthony Atwoods who's a top what seven player in the world, and he is young still, but prime young, if that makes sense.
• 32:13
  SPEAKER_00: Salary dumping a quality player in Julius Randle.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: I just don't I just don't know if that benefits you other than getting rid of that salary.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_00: You still do want to be competitive next season.
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: But also on this the opposite side of that, I can't find a suitor or trade for Julius Randle that makes me feel like the next year's version of the Minnesota Timberwolves will be able to compete with the Spurs of Oklahoma City Thunder.
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: There's reports that they open up the doors again to a potential Giannis trade.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_00: And I, in real time at the deadline, where they were trying to make these moves, they trade Mike Conley a way to do this or do that.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_00: The whole time I'm thinking, what the hell do they have to give up that will be equivalent to acquire Giants Denacumpo?
• 32:52
  SPEAKER_00: Unless the Giannis market ends that bear, then it can be salary filler and the two tradable first-round picks they got.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: I don't I don't know how you can acquire.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_00: And listen, they said Young Berger's part of the future.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: If Giannis is coming through the door, guess who I'm asking for if I'm the Milwaukee Bucks?
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, Yon Berger gotta be in the trade.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know how they make that happen.
• 33:13
  SPEAKER_00: I read that they are also kicking the cans to potentially look at other guys like Jamarant or James Harden, pretty much every big name that could become available, they'll even think about.
• 33:25
  SPEAKER_00: And I just don't know how to feel.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: I do think that, especially with Dante DiVincenzo being out for the bulk of, if not the entirety of next season, that lead guard play, point guard play could be beneficial, and maybe John Morant's value was lower than some of these other guys.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: But I read something the other day that said the the lack of market for John Morant is um is over talked about when there really are teams and suitors that are willing to give up an asset or two in order to acquire.
• 33:57
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, he's not looked at as a salary dump.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: So I just don't know how Minnesota gets it done.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um maybe there are teams that will really be able to value Rudy Gobert even in this old age, and maybe you turn him in a couple picks to something that it's tough.
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: It's tough.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_00: I ain't seen a single drawn-up Julius Randle trade that I thought made sense for both ways.
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_00: He's such a polarizing player, but he's such a good floor raiser for a team, whether it be the New York Knicks team that he helped lead to the first playoff berth in quite some time, or even this Minnesota team that, you know, had struggled to make the playoff consistently.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_00: And granted, Anthony Edwards has now arrived, but like Julius Randle has helped this team be a good regular season team more than anything.
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: So there might be some teams that are interested in that, even if they know that in the postseason he might drop off or drop off quite a bit.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: I say that to say I'm opening up the conversation to y'all.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a Julius Randle trade that you think makes sense, hell, if you're a fan of another team and you'd want Julius Randle on the roster, send me the trade.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: Twitter, Instagram, wherever, I'll be looking out for it.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: Uh when we come back, we'll answer some of some of your questions.
• 35:02
  SPEAKER_00: Stay tuned.
• 35:09
  SPEAKER_00: All right, so I did open it up to say, ask me some questions, man.
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: Ask hashtag ask KB.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: I guess we ain't used that in quite some time.
• 35:17
  SPEAKER_00: Honestly speaking, the questions that I picked from are questions that we didn't get to on numbers on the board.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: But I'm assuming that since I am one of the hosts of Numbers on the Board, you also want to hear my opinion on these questions too.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: First of course, Mike, he said, would you rather have a great coach and good players or good coach and great players?
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I was trying to figure out uh examples for both.
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: An example for great coach, good players would be like a 2023 Miami Heat, right?
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: Or even a 2020, not 2020 Miami Heat's probably better than that, but 2023 Miami Heat, amazing coach and their exposure, good players, and some of those players got really hot at the right time, but good players nonetheless.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_00: And it's hard to go good coach, great players.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: You want to know why?
• 35:58
  SPEAKER_00: Because when teams win, and I mean win at the highest level, championship team, it's hard to figure out how much of that is equated to the players versus the coach.
• 36:07
  SPEAKER_00: I think you you obviously go very heavy player, but like Joe Mazzula, we're gonna look at and say, great coach, even though he just got flamed out in the first round.
• 36:16
  SPEAKER_00: Mark Dayton, great coach.
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: These are championship level coaches.
• 36:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't know if there's a championship level coach, and I'm like, mm-hmm he's actually just a good coach and not a great coach.
• 36:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because in order to win four playoff series, I do think you have to be great with the X's and O's.
• 36:28
  SPEAKER_00: I do think you have to be great when it comes to your rotations and knowing who to play and when to play and all.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I say that out to say I think it's pretty easy for me good coach, great players, because the players are the ones that do have to make the shot.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_00: And uh making shots is a lot easier when you're great.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_00: So give me the great players.
• 36:45
  SPEAKER_00: The next one comes from Dalton who says, What sophomore season are you most excited for and why?
• 36:51
  SPEAKER_00: Love this one.
• 36:52
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the first one is gonna be Dylan Harper.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: You know, he was obviously projected to be a star player when he's drafted second overall in the in the in the draft class with Cooper Flag and all.
• 37:03
  SPEAKER_00: But based on his, I truly do believe that this man has got better and better and better every single month of his NBA career.
• 37:10
  SPEAKER_00: So full NBA offseason ahead of him, coming off of conference finals or NBA finals appearance.
• 37:16
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how that's gonna play just yet.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think that next season we're gonna be like, oh my god, is Dylan Harper jumping into a top 10 point guard in the entire league?
• 37:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, that's how great his rim pressure is.
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's how great his three-point shooting has been for like sneakingly like four or five months now.
• 37:29
  SPEAKER_00: Dylan Harper straight up just been hitting his three-point shots.
• 37:32
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
• 37:33
  SPEAKER_00: After a slow start, and I guess not the greatest three-point shooting at Rutgers, he's turned into a really good three-point shooter.
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I just I look at it and I say, damn, that that that guy who's mentioned before has true superstar potential in this league.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: And Wimby is already a top three player.
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe you got him at number two, maybe you got him at number one, and they're about to add a like a guy that's gonna continue to progress and progress and progress.
• 37:56
  SPEAKER_00: So he's number one on my list.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: Number two on my list will be Noah and Senge.
• 38:00
  SPEAKER_00: I gotta play my bias play.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um, Noah and Senge played a total of like zero minutes.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: Let me see what the actual minutes was.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: If I had to guess, it was like six minutes of his NBA career.
• 38:08
  SPEAKER_00: Noah and Senge, he played a total of six minutes.
• 38:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, six minutes played.
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: He didn't score no six minutes.
• 38:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but in his defense, he only has three shot attempts.
• 38:20
  SPEAKER_00: So leave him alone.
• 38:22
  SPEAKER_00: He's got a steal though, so stop messing with my boy.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um there's reports that he is about seven foot now, which is kind of crazy near seven foot, because he listed six eight at the combine.
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_00: So in one year, he grew three inches.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, he he was the the youngest guy in the entire draft, so maybe, but I find it I kind of find it hard to believe.
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I guess time will tell.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_00: But he went into it, you know, his rookie season, played in quotation marks under Billy Donovan, who very rarely plays his younger guys.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_00: And then unfortunately for us, once we got done and we wanted to start to lose games, knowing Senge had already tore his labor.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_00: So there would have been a lot of opportunity for him to play the second half of the season, but it didn't happen.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just saying him because he is the only lottery pick that did not play this season.
• 39:07
  SPEAKER_00: So I just I don't know what I what we have in him, right?
• 39:09
  SPEAKER_00: He could be the greatest player of all time, he could be awful.
• 39:12
  SPEAKER_00: I remember um Spreadsheet fan club was a huge fan of him going into the draft.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_00: So hopefully they're they're right.
• 39:18
  SPEAKER_00: For the first time ever.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_00: No, I'm joking, I'm joking, I'm joking.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_00: The next name we got is obviously Cooper Flag.
• 39:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, just like I said with Dylan Harper, I do think that Cooper Flag has got better and better and better throughout his NBA career already.
• 39:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um they used the words generational with him going into the draft, and I don't watch him enough in college to agree or disagree with it.
• 39:34
  SPEAKER_00: But as I watched him at the NBA level, yeah, I'm seeing I'm seeing a lot of that.
• 39:39
  SPEAKER_00: Um I'm really intrigued by his defense, you know, not necessarily point of attack, not necessarily rim uh protector, but what he's able to do as a defender on the weak side and all the high IQ plays he's already been able to have as a young player who reclassifies who's actually younger than most of the people in his own draft class.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_00: So really excited to see what he turns into.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_00: And mostly, I guess, mostly excited for the Dallas Mavericks.
• 40:00
  SPEAKER_00: I think this offseason could be pretty interesting.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_00: Got a top 10 pick, got a new front office guy.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_00: How much will Masai and his team over there go into this offseason and say, hmm, we're gonna be buyers?
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: Will they sell a little bit?
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: I have no idea.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: Anything could really happen with this team.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, so I'm excited for that.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: And then the next name I got is Trey Johnson.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_00: Trey Johnson was one of my favorite prospects in this draft when I was doing my month of research leading up to it.
• 40:23
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that his shot making and deep three-point shooting would be translatable to the league and be a valuable asset to have in the league.
• 40:29
  SPEAKER_00: But I did think that he had potential to do a lot more than just be a three-point shooter.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: Hell, you don't just take a three-point shooter with a top, what, six pick in the draft or whatever.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_00: But the reason he is on this list is because as they have acquired Trey Young and they've acquired Anthony Davis, and they acquired the first overall pick with some some draft luck.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to him.
• 40:47
  SPEAKER_00: I just look at their young core between Will Riley, Balau Kula Bali, Keyshawn Jordan.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like the list goes on and on.
• 40:54
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody's going to be gets get squeezed out.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_00: And one of the things, the one dark downside I had about them acquiring those two guys and Trey Young and Anthony Davis, even though there wasn't a lot of value thrown out the door and make it happen, is that it will limit maybe some of the growth for some of their few players?
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: It will limit the touches that Trey Johnson is going to get.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, maybe he goes into camp and he's so damn good that he's just gonna get those reps regardless.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: But I wonder, like, with them adding a uh Darren Peterson or AJ DeBonson in a month's time here, will Trey Johnson just have to turn into a guy that's a spot up shooter and just get a little bit off the bounce?
• 41:33
  SPEAKER_00: And is that good for for his progression?
• 41:36
  SPEAKER_00: Now you're like, Kenny, this team's been terrible for so long.
• 41:39
  SPEAKER_00: They shouldn't be out here waiting for Trey Johnson.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_00: You're absolutely right, but also, I don't know, man.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_00: I really do like this brother's play.
• 41:46
  SPEAKER_00: So I would just be kind of sad if he did just like end up being a guy that's gonna spot up.
• 41:52
  SPEAKER_00: And the spot up is gonna be what he's gonna be doing.
• 41:54
  SPEAKER_00: It's like, ah man, he could be doing so much more.
• 41:57
  SPEAKER_00: Other guys that are on my list, um, I I I do have Cedric Howard.
• 42:01
  SPEAKER_00: I guess it depends on what happens with the third overall pick, whether they go a boozer or they go a Caleb Wilson.
• 42:05
  SPEAKER_00: Either way, I think Cedric Howard's gonna be pretty pretty exciting.
• 42:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yorn Barranjay is on this list, obviously, especially if they decide that Rudy Gobert is going to get moved on.
• 42:15
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I've seen enough from him to think that he could be a starter as soon as next season.
• 42:20
  SPEAKER_00: He will only be, I guess, 20 years old at the start of next season.
• 42:24
  SPEAKER_00: So let's pump the brakes on that a little bit.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_00: Also, also, Nas Reed, and I don't know.
• 42:30
  SPEAKER_00: I just read it, I didn't hear it.
• 42:31
  SPEAKER_00: I guess Nas Reed did say that his favorite position to play now is small forward.
• 42:35
  SPEAKER_00: And obviously, he got off the dribble bounce.
• 42:37
  SPEAKER_00: He, I mean, he's jelly fam.
• 42:38
  SPEAKER_00: He can he got some of the best handles for somebody his size.
• 42:41
  SPEAKER_00: But him saying I want to play small forward, even if it was a jokey joke, is just funny.
• 42:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I guess they could technically make it habit, but anyway, um, the last name that I have when it comes to the younger guys, um is Walter Clayton Jr.
• 42:57
  SPEAKER_00: I was a fan of him.
• 42:58
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, he got he's one of the rookies that got traded in the Jaron Jackson Jr.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: trade.
• 43:03
  SPEAKER_00: When he ended up getting to Memphis, he was averaging 10 points per game.
• 43:06
  SPEAKER_00: The shooting efficiency wasn't that great, but I did see a lot of the cooler stuff that you saw at the end of his uh playing career at Florida kind of looking solid.
• 43:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I I wouldn't be surprised if he's one of those dudes next season.
• 43:18
  SPEAKER_00: They're like, oh, he shot 38% from the field his rookie season.
• 43:21
  SPEAKER_00: He's now shooting in 45%, and he's been taking care of the ball a little bit, just with that extra experience.
• 43:26
  SPEAKER_00: I guess a lot of this is contingent on like what the hell happens with John Morant.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_00: Did I just give up two Grizzlies?
• 43:32
  SPEAKER_00: Grizzly Nation, y'all up, man.
• 43:34
  SPEAKER_00: Y'all up.
• 43:36
  SPEAKER_00: Last question I got is from Jacob that says, or is it Yakub?
• 43:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's spelled Yakub, but ain't you ain't had no accent marks on it.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, how much credit do you give rebuilding teams who have their given draft position and win with the talent given to them?
• 43:50
  SPEAKER_00: Does luck play wait, does luck downplay what success teams have on the court?
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_00: So the full context of this is the conversation that's happening with the San Antonio Spurs.
• 43:59
  SPEAKER_00: San Antonio Spurs.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_00: Have three top five picks in back-to-back seasons.
• 44:02
  SPEAKER_00: They have picked one and win with Yama.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_00: They have picked two.
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_00: They end up being a Dylan Harper last season and pick four.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_00: That was Stefan Castle the year in between that.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the question is, is the Spurs greater team building, or did they just get favorable positions?
• 44:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that some of the time you don't get credit for drafting the consensus one, right?
• 44:19
  SPEAKER_00: Whether it be him, whether it be Palo, whether it be Braun, whether it be, you know, these guys that went into it that there was not even a.
• 44:25
  SPEAKER_00: I guess Palo did have a fake conversation.
• 44:27
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know how much of that was market moving versus not.
• 44:29
  SPEAKER_00: But a lot of these guys you go into and it's a number one pick regardless.
• 44:33
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think you get credit for drafting Women Yama, because he was the first pick regardless of the 30 teams that could have got that pick.
• 44:40
  SPEAKER_00: Even Dylan Harper at number two, uh, many people saw it as it was a one Cooper Flag, two with Dylan Harper, no matter the organization.
• 44:48
  SPEAKER_00: Dylan Harper was so good of a prospect that even though they had Stephon Castle, who told the world he wanted to be a point guard, and they already had De'Aaron Fox, they said we don't care.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_00: He's that good.
• 44:56
  SPEAKER_00: So I don't think you get credit there.
• 44:58
  SPEAKER_00: I think you probably get some credit for the Stephon Castle.
• 45:00
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to do no revisionist history, but I don't remember him going super low in a lot of people's mocks or super more much more higher than where he is now.
• 45:08
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe some three spots over over there in Houston.
• 45:12
  SPEAKER_00: But I think you you deserve credit for when you do like a, oh no, we really like this Jason Tatum kid.
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_00: We got the first overall pick.
• 45:18
  SPEAKER_00: Let's trade down to number three.
• 45:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's a dangerous game to play.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_00: And it works out sometimes.
• 45:22
  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes it don't work out.
• 45:24
  SPEAKER_00: We really like this Trey Young here.
• 45:25
  SPEAKER_00: Let's move down from number three to go get Trey Young and give up Lukadic.
• 45:29
  SPEAKER_00: I think you get the most credit when you're when you're swinging, when you're getting players who get contracts, you're making trades at the right time.
• 45:35
  SPEAKER_00: Not necessarily about, you know, drafting generational prospects and players.
• 45:46
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, it's me again, uh, Kenny with the suit and not the Chicago Boys t-shirt.
• 45:51
  SPEAKER_00: We're in that time of the season where obviously we're down to our last four, we're down to our last four teams, which is crazy to think about and crazy to say aloud.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: Um, which means that there's 26 other teams at the crib, and we're starting to get more and more rumors about potential players being on the market.
• 46:07
  SPEAKER_00: We already talked about what Julius Randle market could look like earlier in the episode.
• 46:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um and though I vowed, hey, wedding themed, though I vow to not talk about the Giannis thing again, it does feel like based on not just the Shams rumor, but based on the governor of the Milwaukee Bucks basically saying that if we are gonna get it done, it's gonna be sooner rather than later.
• 46:29
  SPEAKER_00: I'm seeing a lot of conversations pick up, and I would just be surprised if if something didn't happen before draft night.
• 46:41
  SPEAKER_00: And then you look across the association and you say, hmm, Detroit could definitely use some some increase in something, but I don't know if that it don't make sense to put all the chips in for a Giannis at the Kumpo.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_00: Boston is truly, I think, a real destination based on just the assets and made-up stories that we all have for Jalen Brown, where like people are like, oh, he won his own team.
• 47:03
  SPEAKER_00: What Jalen Brown has probably just said multiple times, I am completely okay with being where I am.
• 47:07
  SPEAKER_00: I want to be here for 10 plus seasons, but everybody's like, no, you remember he did say this, so he might want his own team.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_00: He said he's cool, but everybody got him in mocks.
• 47:14
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, okay, I can see a potential some song going on, make it a three-team or so on.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_00: I don't think the Knicks are in their sweepstakes again.
• 47:21
  SPEAKER_00: They're in the conference finals again without him.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_00: And I just don't think they're gonna break up the synergy they got right now because they're playing great.
• 47:26
  SPEAKER_00: I thought that the Cavs could have been a suitor, but now that they've in the conference finals without again knowing if they could win it, or will if they will win it, it don't feel like a thing, you know, because if they got eliminated in the second round here, you could definitely be like, hmm, what's the best individual player you could get for Giannis along with other assets?
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_00: Like Evan Mobley could be the best individual player you could get for Giannis, but it don't like that's gonna happen.
• 47:49
  SPEAKER_00: Emo had a great game seven, and now they're storming away to the conference finals.
• 47:53
  SPEAKER_00: Unless they get dog walked in the conference finals, I just don't see that happening.
• 47:56
  SPEAKER_00: The Toronto Raptors are always gonna be somewhat linked to Giannis, but I don't think they have the assets to make it.
• 48:02
  SPEAKER_00: So you see, I'm going line by line.
• 48:04
  SPEAKER_00: Atlanta definitely has the assets.
• 48:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's more of like which of the assets would they give in that?
• 48:08
  SPEAKER_00: And if they think that they could still be competitive with giving all of it up, I can't see like a 76ers or Orlando, even though like a Palo thing is interesting.
• 48:17
  SPEAKER_00: They don't got no picks, though.
• 48:19
  SPEAKER_00: Uh Charlotte got all their picks and some younger players, but no, they don't feel right.
• 48:23
  SPEAKER_00: Miami is always gonna try to be in the sweepstakes, but I just don't think they got a good enough trade package for them.
• 48:28
  SPEAKER_00: You know, some people are speculating that the Giannis, the value of Giannis maybe continues to get lower and lower the the longer this draws out.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_00: So maybe the Miami actually do have a pretty solid package to put together for Giannis if that value keeps dropping.
• 48:43
  SPEAKER_00: OKC no.
• 48:44
  SPEAKER_00: San Antonio no.
• 48:45
  SPEAKER_00: Those two teams are about to battle out to go to the NBA Finals.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_00: Denver just can't.
• 48:48
  SPEAKER_00: The Lakers just can't.
• 48:49
  SPEAKER_00: The Rockets have the assets to do it, but will they want to do something like that?
• 48:53
  SPEAKER_00: Put another 30-plus year old player in that locker room to accelerate that timeline.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_00: Minnesota has said that they're interested.
• 48:58
  SPEAKER_00: You just can't find that trade.
• 49:00
  SPEAKER_00: You don't know how to put together that trade.
• 49:01
  SPEAKER_00: The Phoenix Suns don't got it.
• 49:03
  SPEAKER_00: The Blazers have all the assets in the world to make it happen, but they I don't think they can convince Giannis to sign an extension, so they're probably not in that sweepstakes.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_00: But they do got what, two of the Milwaukee Bucks' picks?
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_00: That should be enough to help them reset their rebuild if that's what they want to do.
• 49:18
  SPEAKER_00: The Clippers have pick five.
• 49:21
  SPEAKER_00: Pick five plus sign and trade.
• 49:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm making stuff up.
• 49:25
  SPEAKER_00: The Warriors are always gonna say they're interested, but I just don't think they got it.
• 49:28
  SPEAKER_00: So what does that look like?
• 49:30
  SPEAKER_00: Masai just got hired over there in Dallas.
• 49:32
  SPEAKER_00: You know, him and Giannis are always gonna be attached to each other, just like I said with the Raptors.
• 49:36
  SPEAKER_00: I think most of that is geared towards Masayu Jiri.
• 49:39
  SPEAKER_00: They don't really have anything either, though.
• 49:41
  SPEAKER_00: And we know that the Jazz, the Kings, and the Grizzlies not gonna be in it.
• 49:44
  SPEAKER_00: So where does he go?
• 49:47
  SPEAKER_00: That is the age old question.
• 49:49
  SPEAKER_00: Where does Giannis Atheda Kumpo go?
• 49:52
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe that means he stays.
• 49:55
  SPEAKER_00: Nah, I highly doubt that.
• 49:56
  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully enjoyed this episode of Smallball.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um appreciate my team on the back end, my editors and everything for being flexible as I go through this day of love.
• 50:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm gonna get my ass back to that wedding, get a couple, get a couple dances in with my missus.
• 50:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, leave a like, subscribe.
• 50:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see y'all next time.