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What Should Eliminated Teams Do? · Small Ball with Kenny Beecham

0:04
SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode of Small Ball with Kenny Beachum.
0:08
SPEAKER_00: Playoff basketball is here.
0:10
SPEAKER_00: The first round is almost over.
0:11
SPEAKER_00: We have one game seven and one game six later tonight.
0:14
SPEAKER_00: And I want to remind you that the Enjoy Basketball team, we have this somewhat of a basketball universe.
0:21
SPEAKER_00: Let me break it down for you.
0:22
SPEAKER_00: You got the Kenny for Real channel where I give you nearly nightly recaps of every single playoff game.
0:28
SPEAKER_00: Then you get numbers on the board, which what we're going to do tomorrow is give you the previews to the next round series, a second round series.
0:34
SPEAKER_00: And then you get this one where we're talking about the six eliminated teams.
0:37
SPEAKER_00: So I'm hopefully you're tuning in across the world.
0:40
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know what the hell Pierre did the other day, but Pierre is also talking hoops on a weekly basis.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: Just tune in, baby.
0:44
SPEAKER_00: We got a lot going on.
0:47
SPEAKER_00: I I had a ridiculous last 24 hours.
0:51
SPEAKER_00: If you watch the Kenny Freel channel, I, you know, after the Lakers got eliminated, it's very late at night.
0:55
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, yo, I gotta wrap this video up.
0:57
SPEAKER_00: I gotta, I gotta flight in the morning.
0:58
SPEAKER_00: I got a flight in six hours on my way to catch my flight.
1:03
SPEAKER_00: Was in a car accident.
1:06
SPEAKER_00: Was in a car accident.
1:07
SPEAKER_00: Like, um, luckily everybody was okay.
1:09
SPEAKER_00: But the paramedics scared the hell out of me.
1:12
SPEAKER_00: I wasn't driving, I was in an Uber.
1:13
SPEAKER_00: And he says, Well, how do you feel?
1:16
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, Oh, you know, my neck hurts a little bit, you know, but I'm I should be okay.
1:19
SPEAKER_00: My flight is starting to board in about 30 minutes.
1:22
SPEAKER_00: I got pre-checks, so I'm trying to just get through and bored.
1:25
SPEAKER_00: He says, uh, you know, if for whatever reason you have some type of brain injury like a concussion, getting on that highly pressurized plane might not be the smartest of decisions.
1:36
SPEAKER_00: I'm already a paranoid guy to start off with.
1:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm already an anxious guy to start off with.
1:40
SPEAKER_00: So this paramedic is saying that maybe you shouldn't get on the flight, damn it, that was enough for me not to get on the flight.
1:44
SPEAKER_00: So um I didn't end up making my flight.
1:46
SPEAKER_00: I didn't end up making my shoot.
1:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, luckily we we made some workarounds because Zoom exists, but but it was a weird 24 hours, man.
1:54
SPEAKER_00: If there's only if there's one silver line into it all, I said I got to watch basketball last night.
1:58
SPEAKER_00: You know, that trip that I was going on was a one-day turnaround.
2:01
SPEAKER_00: I would have been flying while, you know, the Knicks were beating the Pistons.
2:05
SPEAKER_00: I would have been flying as we saw James Harden and Kawhi Leonard come back to force a game seven.
2:11
SPEAKER_00: So if there's any silver line into it all, um, I get to talk about those teams a little bit more in depth today versus not being able to.
2:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, again, everybody that was involved in this two vehicle collision was okay.
2:23
SPEAKER_00: I was the only person that went in.
2:24
SPEAKER_00: That's to paranoid me.
2:26
SPEAKER_00: Um, but again, I'm okay.
2:27
SPEAKER_00: My neck hurts a little bit, but they gave me some patches and I got a patch on right now.
2:30
SPEAKER_00: Not like a now that I think about that, I hear patches automatically thinking like nicotine.
2:35
SPEAKER_00: It's like a lighter cane patch, so it's supposed to like numb up the area.
2:38
SPEAKER_00: Anyway, are y'all ready for some basketball talk?
2:40
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully you are, because we got some eliminated teams.
2:48
SPEAKER_00: The Grizzlies got absolutely smoked by the OKC, but damn it, John Morant said if he would have played, it would have been a 2-2 series.
2:55
SPEAKER_00: The Lakers, everybody on the ESPN panel, everybody on the numbers on the board panel said the Lakers are gonna win this series in five, six, or seven.
3:02
SPEAKER_00: They lost in five.
3:03
SPEAKER_00: You got the Magic who nobody really thought they were gonna win their series, but they actually impressed me a lot more than I anticipated.
3:09
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna talk about that.
3:10
SPEAKER_00: We got the Pistons, another team that a lot of not a lot of people didn't have a bunch of faith in.
3:15
SPEAKER_00: The youngest team, one of the youngest teams with a team that won 14 games last season, took the Knicks to a game six, and they were one shot away from forcing the game seven in Madison Square Garden.
3:24
SPEAKER_00: We got the Bucs.
3:25
SPEAKER_00: We got to talk about what the hell is next with the Bucs because Damian Lillard is out in the Killys.
3:28
SPEAKER_00: Get will soon.
3:29
SPEAKER_00: And Giannis's future with the Bucs might be up in the air.
3:33
SPEAKER_00: Congratulations to the Ante the Kumbo family.
3:35
SPEAKER_00: I saw that they introduced their fourth child to this world.
3:37
SPEAKER_00: So congratulations.
3:38
SPEAKER_00: Me and my wife are expecting in a few months, Giannis.
3:40
SPEAKER_00: So I'm expecting you to give me congratulations in a little bit.
3:44
SPEAKER_00: And then lastly, the Miami Heat.
3:46
SPEAKER_00: One of the teams that let's start there.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, the Miami Heat had an interesting season.
3:53
SPEAKER_00: Their star player, one of their greatest players in franchise history, basically tanked the season.
3:59
SPEAKER_00: You don't want to pay me, you want to talk all this crap.
4:02
SPEAKER_00: Pat Riley, well, I want out.
4:04
SPEAKER_00: Then we get this this tug of war of Pat Riley being one of the most stubborn players in sports or persons in sports, and then Jimmy Butler being one of the more stubborn players in sports, it's give and take.
4:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you're gonna suit up.
4:15
SPEAKER_00: Actually, you're not gonna suit up.
4:16
SPEAKER_00: You're gonna come to this shoot around.
4:18
SPEAKER_00: Actually, you're not gonna suit up today.
4:19
SPEAKER_00: We want you to start.
4:20
SPEAKER_00: Never mind, we want Hayward Heist Smith to start.
4:22
SPEAKER_00: It was a lot of turmoil, if you will.
4:24
SPEAKER_00: And the Miami Heat are not known for that.
4:26
SPEAKER_00: The Miami Heat have been this team that we've trusted to put together championship quality teams.
4:31
SPEAKER_00: And me and the guys have had this conversation a few times around, where you know, the Miami Heat had the 2020 championship run when Jimmy Butler was bent over the stanchion and exhaustion.
4:40
SPEAKER_00: Then they had the 20, is it 2022?
4:43
SPEAKER_00: 2022, I want to say, where they go from the play-in team to the NBA finals.
4:47
SPEAKER_00: And as amazing of runs both of those were, they turned out to be somewhat fool's goal, where the the guys in charge kind of look at the roster and say, hey man, we were three games away from being NBA champions.
4:58
SPEAKER_00: We don't need to do anything too dramatic.
5:00
SPEAKER_00: And that became one of the downsides to this, the end of the Jimmy Butler era.
5:05
SPEAKER_00: And now we get to the point where they go against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and it's just nasty.
5:10
SPEAKER_00: You know, uh, they completely rolled over in that last game.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: They were ready to get the hell out of there.
5:14
SPEAKER_00: They were ready for that season to end.
5:15
SPEAKER_00: And I can't really blame them, um, but it was really bad.
5:19
SPEAKER_00: And I was talking to the guys, and I was like, okay, what is next for this team?
5:23
SPEAKER_00: Because Tyler Hero had an all-star season.
5:25
SPEAKER_00: We got to the postseason, and we basically saw what Tyler Hero was able to do, what made him be so good in the regular season, get shifted in the postseason.
5:32
SPEAKER_00: We saw they uh teams go after his neck, uh the Cleveland Cavaliers go after his neck, and now you have to think about well, what really can we be if Tyler Hero is our best player?
5:40
SPEAKER_00: Bam Abayo had a disappointing offensive season, full stop.
5:44
SPEAKER_00: Um, and maybe we're asking a bit much from Bam because he is still one of the best defensive players in basketball.
5:49
SPEAKER_00: And I was listening to um, or I saw a clip of um it was Zach Lowe's podcast, and Pina um was basically saying that Bam Abayo is one of the amplifiers in basketball.
6:02
SPEAKER_00: And I didn't really know what the context of that was because again, I didn't listen to the full show.
6:06
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Zach Lowe.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I heard that or saw that clip, and I'm like, damn, that is a good way to describe Bam Atabayo, where he can give you all-star type of production, but his real, real role is amplifying the team.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: His real, real role is being the one of the best switchable bigs in all of basketball and covering up for guys that aren't necessarily great on that side of the ball.
6:29
SPEAKER_00: He's an amplifier.
6:31
SPEAKER_00: And I thought this season he was overtaxed with trying to be a little bit more.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: But then you ask yourself, okay, if if Tyler Hero is a really good go-to scoring guy, but maybe not the best scoring guy you can get, go-to scoring guys you can get, Baminabayo is an amplifier.
6:44
SPEAKER_00: How do we get the guy to make them fit in their role?
6:47
SPEAKER_00: And again, Jimmy Butler was that for a little bit, but they didn't pay him, and that was enough for him to pretty much ask out.
6:53
SPEAKER_00: And then the guy's like, you know, there's going to be stars on the market this offseason.
6:57
SPEAKER_00: I just I look at who the Miami Heat are and what they have on the team and the tradable assets they have, and I just don't know how they get into the star market.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: They always are in the star market, right?
7:07
SPEAKER_00: Whether it be Damian Lillard before he was traded to the Bucs, um, whether it be Paul George for a little bit, whether it'd been Kevin Durant when he was on his way out of Brooklyn, they always find their way to be talked about when it comes to these star players.
7:19
SPEAKER_00: And now I just don't know how they acquire that guy.
7:23
SPEAKER_00: For a long time, it was like, oh, if the Damian Lillard trade happens, it has to be Tyler Hero.
7:26
SPEAKER_00: And then the Portland Spreadplay's like, we already got Sharp.
7:29
SPEAKER_00: We're about to draft School Henderson.
7:30
SPEAKER_00: We don't need a guy like Tyler Herrow.
7:32
SPEAKER_00: Hell, he's on a contract that at that moment in time a lot of people saw it to be a bad contract.
7:36
SPEAKER_00: But now, if you're going to acquire this all-star talent, let's say it's uh Kevin Durant, you need Tyler Hero if you want to continue to compete.
7:45
SPEAKER_00: The younger guys on the team, Khalil Ware is a good player.
7:48
SPEAKER_00: But something tells me, listen, I think the word untouchable has been thrown around a lot on NBA Twitter over the last couple days as we talk about the Houston Rockets and some of the players on their team.
7:56
SPEAKER_00: I definitely don't think Kaleel Ware is an untouchable piece, but damn it, he's so good alongside Bam Manabal that you, in your mind, try to do everything in your power to keep him on the team.
8:03
SPEAKER_00: A guy like Jame Haquez, who was really highly touted as a trade prospect uh last year, basically couldn't play down the stretch and in the postseason, really.
8:13
SPEAKER_00: So I just don't know how they get into that the conversations for the start player.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: And if they can't get into the conversations for the start player, is the other way the better option?
8:23
SPEAKER_00: I don't really know.
8:25
SPEAKER_00: A weird, weird, weird Miami Heast season.
8:28
SPEAKER_00: Um, I got the utmost amount of respect for Pat Riley and what he's been able to build over the last 40 years in basketball, 50 years in basketball.
8:36
SPEAKER_00: But right now, I just my trust in him is just a little bit lower than what it was, let's say, three to four years ago.
8:42
SPEAKER_00: So I don't know exactly what happens next.
8:44
SPEAKER_00: I thought they did really well with the Davion Mitchell pickup, but on the other side of that, Andrew Wiggins didn't do anything in the postseason.
8:50
SPEAKER_00: I was genuinely excited.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: Go back and look at my NBA draft or my NBA uh trade deadline episode.
8:56
SPEAKER_00: I'm like, hey, all things considered, considering Jimmy Butler had asked out and he was he was uh wearing different color hair or dyeing his hair different colors to match the teams that he wanted to be traded to, them getting back Wiggins, it's not that bad of a constellation prize.
9:10
SPEAKER_00: He ain't Jimmy Butler, but he was averaging 20 something points.
9:14
SPEAKER_00: It's not bad.
9:15
SPEAKER_00: He's look he looks like a guy that will be able to come to Miami and embrace that type of culture and actually be pretty good.
9:20
SPEAKER_00: He was just an all-star two years ago, not even close to that.
9:24
SPEAKER_00: Postseason came around, and I'm looking at him like, damn, can where's Hayward Highsmith?
9:29
SPEAKER_00: Can he can he play and stay at?
9:31
SPEAKER_00: It's not where you want to be.
9:32
SPEAKER_00: Davion Mitchell was a good pickup.
9:34
SPEAKER_00: Khalil Ware was a great draft pick.
9:36
SPEAKER_00: That's kind of it.
9:37
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know what happens next with the Miami Heat.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: So boom, that's the uh the Miami Heat eulogy.
9:42
SPEAKER_00: Uh, get well soon.
9:43
SPEAKER_00: Um, I hope you end up getting better.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: Because I do believe that the NBA is better when the Heat are good, uh, but right now they aren't very good.
9:51
SPEAKER_00: Um yeah.
9:52
SPEAKER_00: The Cavs make them look really silly.
9:55
SPEAKER_00: And one thing I've I've been trying to figure out as we transition to our next team is was it the Cavs being ridiculously dominant as they were in the regular season, or were the Miami Heat really just that bad?
10:06
SPEAKER_00: And I had the same uh thought process when it comes to OKC versus the Grizzlies.
10:16
SPEAKER_00: The Grizzlies, I know they they walked their way to the finish line to end the season.
10:20
SPEAKER_00: They were not good for the last month or two.
10:22
SPEAKER_00: Um, obviously they they got rid of their head coach with nine games left of the regular season and all.
10:28
SPEAKER_00: But I'm looking at them like, damn, are the OKC Thunder really that dominant, or were the Grizzlies just shit?
10:34
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know the answer to it.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: Um John Morant continues to have the utmost amount of confidence as he should, like he's an NBA player.
10:41
SPEAKER_00: I don't think you make it to the league without being overly cocky and overly confident.
10:45
SPEAKER_00: You kind of have to have that chip.
10:46
SPEAKER_00: He thinks that this series would have been longer if he didn't get hurt.
10:49
SPEAKER_00: And I mean, he has a conversation, I guess.
10:51
SPEAKER_00: Maybe they end up winning that game when he goes down.
10:53
SPEAKER_00: I mean, damn it, they did have a 29-point lead.
10:56
SPEAKER_00: And you think that if he doesn't go down, he's able to prevent Desmond Bain from shooting four logo threes on back-to-back possessions.
11:03
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I'm exaggerating, but that's what it felt like.
11:06
SPEAKER_00: You would think that some of those post touches that went to Jaron that uh Alice Caruso snuffed up would just be John Morant creating something instead.
11:14
SPEAKER_00: So he has an argument to maybe take a game, but OKC was that good.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: The Grizzlies have been pretty damn good at talent evaluation and acquiring uh misfits that are really good.
11:27
SPEAKER_00: But they would where they struggled at is obviously the health part of things.
11:30
SPEAKER_00: Their star player John Morant has not given us a fully healthy season in quite some time.
11:35
SPEAKER_00: And kind of putting it all together, they had so many bodies and and and so many contract decisions that this team, that at one point was a two-seed, gave up a first-round pick for a salary dump in the middle of the season.
11:48
SPEAKER_00: And it's just rare for a competing team to dump a salary of a player that could have contributed at least a little bit.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: Let's be real.
11:55
SPEAKER_00: John Moran goes down with this injury in the postseason.
11:57
SPEAKER_00: Having Marcus Smart of the team could have helped.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: Just could have helped.
11:59
SPEAKER_00: Marcus Smart's not changing the goddamn series, they still would have lost.
12:02
SPEAKER_00: But I'm just saying having that type of player could have helped them.
12:05
SPEAKER_00: And I'm not trying to act like Marcus Smart was even really good this season.
12:08
SPEAKER_00: He actually wasn't.
12:10
SPEAKER_00: But is it Marcus Smart or is it John Contrar checking in?
12:13
SPEAKER_00: No disrespect to Giddy.
12:14
SPEAKER_00: But you know what I'm saying.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I just don't know.
12:17
SPEAKER_00: I think they have to make some look themselves in the mirror and make some really big decisions.
12:20
SPEAKER_00: Because let's let's assume that next year they have health, and I'm hoping they do, because I'm not wishing um bad luck on anybody.
12:26
SPEAKER_00: Let's assume that they have health next season, and their top three players are able to play 70 games each, and they get to the postseason, there's not a scratch on Desmond Bain, there's not an ankle tweak on John Morant, and Jaron Jackson Jr.
12:38
SPEAKER_00: is getting a rebound, right?
12:40
SPEAKER_00: I still don't know how this team would be able to compete with the OKCs of the world.
12:46
SPEAKER_00: I just don't.
12:47
SPEAKER_00: So if you look yourself in the mirror and say, hey, we have three really good players.
12:50
SPEAKER_00: Two of them should be perennial all-stars, and one of them has the ceiling to maybe be an all-star one day, and we still don't have enough, maybe we should make some tough decisions.
12:59
SPEAKER_00: Jaron Jackson Jr.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: has a possibility of making an all-NBA team.
13:02
SPEAKER_00: As I've been looking through the tracker, because some people, I love y'all by the way.
13:06
SPEAKER_00: Some people track, listen to the podcasts, and read the articles of everybody that has an NBA vote and say, hey man, this is who I don't even know who has votes nowadays.
13:16
SPEAKER_00: This is who Ryan Rossillo has in this all-NBA team and he's gonna jar it down in a spreadsheet.
13:21
SPEAKER_00: Right now, Jaron Jackson Jr.
13:22
SPEAKER_00: has a chance to make an all-NBA appearance.
13:24
SPEAKER_00: And if he makes all NBA, then his next extension gets kind of ridiculous.
13:29
SPEAKER_00: Just like with um um Evan Mobley winning DPOY, he went from making$220 million to$260 million over a course of five years.
13:37
SPEAKER_00: Something like that when it comes to extension eligible, eligible Jaron Jackson Jr.
13:42
SPEAKER_00: is gonna happen.
13:44
SPEAKER_00: Like, man, we love Jaren.
13:46
SPEAKER_00: He is still really good defensively.
13:48
SPEAKER_00: He does have his holes in this game, he's not a great rebounder.
13:51
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes having a smaller, more feistier defender on him, like we saw with Alex Caruso, could give him trouble.
13:58
SPEAKER_00: Do we want to pay him that much money?
14:00
SPEAKER_00: Do we want to be in that type of business?
14:02
SPEAKER_00: Because if we're in the business of that, hey, we already extended Desmond Bain.
14:05
SPEAKER_00: Hey, we already extended Sean Morant on a uh rookie max, kind of pigeonholing ourselves a little bit.
14:11
SPEAKER_00: So they have to make some big decisions.
14:12
SPEAKER_00: And I don't envy the guy that has to make those decisions.
14:14
SPEAKER_00: Is it Kleiman?
14:15
SPEAKER_00: Is it Kleiman over there?
14:16
SPEAKER_00: He's got to make some really tough decisions.
14:18
SPEAKER_00: And I truly do believe no matter what he decides to do, fan bases will not be happy about it.
14:22
SPEAKER_00: It's just one of those things that you kind of have to trust the process and trust the people that are in charge.
14:26
SPEAKER_00: And before we uh filmed today's episode, started today's episode up, we got the news that Greg Popovich was stepping away from coaching officially and take a team president role.
14:36
SPEAKER_00: And I just got the nut notification that Mitch Johnson did win the head coaching job.
14:41
SPEAKER_00: That's surprising to me.
14:42
SPEAKER_00: I definitely believe that Mitch Johnson deserved a chance to continue his role from interim to head coach.
14:48
SPEAKER_00: But like, this is one of the best head coaching crops that we have as far as um openings go between Jenkins and Mike Brown and you know all of these guys.
14:59
SPEAKER_00: Bud, I don't know if Bud is coming back to the NBA this season.
15:02
SPEAKER_00: But just a little Mike Malone.
15:06
SPEAKER_00: Did I say Mike Malone?
15:07
SPEAKER_00: Um some of those dudes come from the Greg Popovich tree, too.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: So I'm surprised that they didn't get to the point where they were interviewing and they just gave it to Mitch.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: So shout out to Mitch.
15:14
SPEAKER_00: I'm excited for him.
15:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, excited for Spurs basketball in general, but that that's breaking news.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: And I don't even know if I can give a five to ten minutes on Greg Popovich.
15:23
SPEAKER_00: It's just one of those things where I was driving over to the studio and it broke, and I'm like, damn.
15:29
SPEAKER_00: For as long as I've been in this world, Greg Popovich has been a staple in the NBA.
15:36
SPEAKER_00: He's been in a phenomenal coach, as we all know.
15:39
SPEAKER_00: We the championship speaks for themselves.
15:41
SPEAKER_00: But also he's been, by all accounts, I've never met Greg Popovich a better person.
15:48
unknown: Right?
15:48
SPEAKER_00: Speaking out on the things that he believes in.
15:50
SPEAKER_00: And it just so happens that me and Greg Povich kind of align on a lot of those issues in the world.
15:55
SPEAKER_00: Um I'm happy that he's not going away from the game completely, right?
15:58
SPEAKER_00: We definitely not gonna get many um interviews of Greg Popovich on the sideline where he's giving you one-word answers, which we all thought was pretty cool.
16:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, so he's not stepping away from the game completely because it said he still has so much to give to this game.
16:12
SPEAKER_00: But it is, I don't know, weird to say that we're about to have a season or then for forever for the rest of the game, not gonna have Greg Popovich on the sidelines.
16:21
SPEAKER_00: You know, we saw him get through a lot of different errors in basketball, and the Spurs happened to be good in 99% of those errors.
16:29
SPEAKER_00: Even after they traded a franchise player and in Kawhi Leonard for stuff, they still found a way to be competitive.
16:36
SPEAKER_00: They weren't no championship level team.
16:38
SPEAKER_00: But like you looked at that team's like, okay, it's some stuff here.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: DeMar DeRozan evolved as an NBA player under Greg Popovich, where he was looked at for a long time in his career as this black hole, and he was going from a place where he couldn't win in Toronto to another situation and he turned into just a really well-rounded player as a playmaker.
16:55
SPEAKER_00: They ended up getting Lamarcus Aldrich right before that as well.
16:58
SPEAKER_00: And again, those teams weren't breaking down the doors, but like Greg Popovich helped them be at least decent.
17:05
SPEAKER_00: You um have one of my favorite teams of all time, the 2014 San Antonio Spurs.
17:10
SPEAKER_00: I think everybody, if you enjoy the game of basketball, that is one of those teams for people.
17:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, one of the most selfless teams in history.
17:17
SPEAKER_00: And I want to make sure that I'm getting my years right, but um 2014 Spurs, 2013, 2014 Spurs is the year I'm thinking about.
17:25
SPEAKER_00: Okay, so this is the year they do win a championship.
17:27
SPEAKER_00: And I do want to showcase or point out how difficult it is to do what they did.
17:33
SPEAKER_00: Reminder 2012-2013 Spurs, they sweep the Lakers, they beat the Young Warriors in six, they sweep the Grizzlies, they get to the finals, and then the Ray Allen shot happens.
17:45
SPEAKER_00: They go to seven and they end up losing, right?
17:47
SPEAKER_00: Ray Allen shots happen in six, they go to OT, they lose an OT.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: So for them to have that's such a heartbreak, it was so much of a heartbreak and so a phenomenal of a moment for the Miami Heat and for the league at large that as Ray Allen is about to hit that shot where Chris Boskiss is offensive rebound, they're wheeling in the Larry O'Brien trophy because in their mind, this game is over.
18:11
SPEAKER_00: And I'm sure in the Spurs fans' mind and in the Spurs front office and the Spurs players and the Spurs coach and stuff thought that this series was won.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: We just did it again.
18:21
SPEAKER_00: We just won another championship after a season where we lost to the young OKC team in the conference finals.
18:27
SPEAKER_00: Damn it, we here, and we're about to get another ring.
18:29
SPEAKER_00: And then the shot happens and it's demoralizing.
18:32
SPEAKER_00: Then in game seven of the series, it was a it was a yes, yes, this is the Braun 40-point game or near 40-point game.
18:41
SPEAKER_00: To come back from that season and say, hey, we're we're still a champ, we still can win a championship.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: The mental toughness that you need to have as a team is basically what I'm pointing out.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: To have that taken away from you so effortlessly and to come back next season and say, no, no, no, no, no.
18:58
SPEAKER_00: We still here.
18:59
SPEAKER_00: And to go against that same Miami Heat team and smoke the hell out of them.
19:03
SPEAKER_00: They won 62 games that season and smoke them.
19:06
SPEAKER_00: Smoke them.
19:07
SPEAKER_00: Five game series.
19:08
SPEAKER_00: I remember LeBron James walking off the court after it was all said and done.
19:10
SPEAKER_00: It was like, damn, that that really is it.
19:13
SPEAKER_00: And then we get like, you know, a couple other years after that, where um let me see which year this was.
19:20
SPEAKER_00: This is a year where they were nearly perfect at home and they were about to set some records.
19:26
SPEAKER_00: This is um 2016.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: This is Kobe's year.
19:28
SPEAKER_00: The 2016s make my favorite season of all time.
19:30
SPEAKER_00: You have the 73-9 Golden State Warriors, you have the finale of Kobe Bryant's career, and then you had the Spurs, who were just low-key in the background being nearly a perfect team.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: Now they lost in the second round to OKC and all.
19:43
SPEAKER_00: But yeah, just Craig Popovich, greatest NBA coach of all time, if you ask me.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: No disrespect to um Phil Jackson and some of the older guys um that were well before my time.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: He's gonna retire as an NBA head coach with a 62% win percentage.
20:00
SPEAKER_00: That is insane.
20:03
SPEAKER_00: Um shout out to Greg Povich.
20:05
SPEAKER_00: That's not what this episode is supposed to be about, but damn it, we love Greg Povich around here.
20:13
SPEAKER_00: Uh, let's go to the next team here.
20:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, talk about the Pistons.
20:17
SPEAKER_00: The Pistons season officially ended yesterday.
20:19
SPEAKER_00: And I'm gonna give them the utmost amount of uh respect and credit because it ended up being a six-game series, and they were, again, one shot away, a Jalen Brunson's shot away from taking it to game seven against a team that had all of the experience in the world.
20:33
SPEAKER_00: And I'm so very proud of them.
20:34
SPEAKER_00: And I think Pistons fans probably share that sentiment that this is a team that nobody expected to be here.
20:38
SPEAKER_00: And not only were they there, you know, some teams end up getting there, and it's a it's just a good story that they're there, that they're there.
20:44
SPEAKER_00: No, this team had a real chance.
20:47
SPEAKER_00: And this series was a dogfight, it was physical as hell, and there were times where this young Detroit Pistons team really got under the skin of the veteran Knicks team.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: Yesterday they went on this stretch where the Knicks, I like I like to call it Looney Tunes basketball, but then I remember Looney Tunes basketball is actually lit.
21:08
SPEAKER_00: Looney Tunes versus the Monstars.
21:10
SPEAKER_00: Them boys could hoop, so I need to get away from calling it the Looney Tunes basketball.
21:13
SPEAKER_00: I need to call it like three Stooges hoops or something like that, where the ball is just flying and nobody's doing anything and people look scared.
21:19
SPEAKER_00: They had a moment in that game last night where the Knicks were that team.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: They were playing three stooges, five Stooges basketball.
21:25
SPEAKER_00: Where it's like, where's Jalen Brunson?
21:27
SPEAKER_00: Can he save us?
21:28
SPEAKER_00: He did eventually.
21:29
SPEAKER_00: Um, but it's just moments in time where the Pistons did that to the Knicks, and vice versa, too.
21:35
SPEAKER_00: I mean, game one, 21-0 run for the Knicks.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: Like that is Looney.
21:39
SPEAKER_00: I'm sorry, three Stooges basketball from the Detroit Pistons.
21:42
SPEAKER_00: Hey, they came out of the third quarter into the fourth quarter and got a five second violation.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: How the hell did that happen?
21:48
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
21:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, but for what it was worth, it was a really good showcase for the Pistons.
21:53
SPEAKER_00: And now they go into the offseason feeling pretty good that they found the culture.
21:57
SPEAKER_00: And you know, people are sending me tweets like, okay.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: This team was so good this season.
22:01
SPEAKER_00: Is there a world they can acquire this guy?
22:03
SPEAKER_00: Could they go get Devin Booker?
22:05
SPEAKER_00: Could they go get this other star player?
22:08
SPEAKER_00: And I I always want to say, just let's just pump the brakes on that a little bit.
22:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, I I do believe that there's talent here that can grow internally where you don't need to empty out your asset toolkit in order to go get a guy right now.
22:21
SPEAKER_00: Devin Booker is a Michigan native and he would fit perfectly on the scene, don't get me wrong.
22:27
SPEAKER_00: But I just I would rather just take a year back and just really continue to evaluate the young talent that is actively on the roster before we make some type of big, big decision.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: Kay Cunningham had his first playoff series of his career, and you know, there was uh ebbs and flows, right?
22:44
SPEAKER_00: There were times where he looked phenomenal, where he would take over a game, and there was other times where you can tell that this was his first playoff series.
22:50
SPEAKER_00: And I thought that there were a couple major pillars in Kay Cunningham's game that I think that he would spend a lot of time in this offseason getting better at.
22:57
SPEAKER_00: And again, I thought he had an all NBA caliber season.
23:00
SPEAKER_00: So nothing that I'm about to say about Kay Cunningham is is like me shitting on the guy because he's an amazing player.
23:06
SPEAKER_00: But as a 20, what 22-year-old, how old is Kay Cunningham nowadays?
23:10
SPEAKER_00: As a 23-year-old player in his first playoff series, you have to recognize that, yeah, there's some things that we can get better at.
23:16
SPEAKER_00: In the series, he averaged 25 points per game, eight rebounds, about nine assists with a roundup for UK, 42% from the field, and about 19% or uh 18% from three.
23:26
SPEAKER_00: When we go back and look at my predictions and my show, like me uh previewing the series, I was saying that, hey man, in the regular season where the Pistons took advantage and beat the Knicks three times out of four, I think the number was, Kay Cunningham shot like 45% on pull-up three-point shots.
23:44
SPEAKER_00: In a regular season, he was closer to 30.
23:47
SPEAKER_00: So the question is in this postseason, will he look like the normal version of himself or the superstar Knicks version?
23:52
SPEAKER_00: And the reality was he looked, well, worse.
23:55
SPEAKER_00: He looked even worse than his normal version.
23:57
SPEAKER_00: And I do believe that pull-up three-point shooting has to be near the top of the list for Kay Cunningham going into this offseason.
24:04
SPEAKER_00: He has been better at it every single year of his career.
24:06
SPEAKER_00: So there's there's um light at the end of the tunnel to think that, you know, he he has worked on this time and time again.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: In another offseason, he could get better at that.
24:14
SPEAKER_00: But I thought that we saw two different versions of great point guard play yesterday.
24:20
SPEAKER_00: Version A was Jalen Brunson, where at the start of the fourth quarter, I don't have him in my notes here, but if I'm not mistaken, he started off like two of nine in the fourth quarter alone after dominating the first part of this game.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: But what Jalen Brunson didn't do was get away from the things that he knows that he works on time and time again.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: There's one thing to be two for nine on bad shots, and there's one thing to be two for nine on shots that I know I can make.
24:48
SPEAKER_00: And that's what the latter part of that is what Jalen Brunson was.
24:52
SPEAKER_00: And then we get to the point where he gets to his spots and he hits the game when it's shot.
24:57
SPEAKER_00: He didn't steer away from who he is as a player because he started off so slow.
25:02
SPEAKER_00: And I thought on the opposite side of that, we saw the first year in the playoffs, 23-year-old K Cunningham, say, oh shit.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: Am I really 0 for six on pull-up threes?
25:12
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I don't, I don't think that's the real number, but I'm just thinking about it that way.
25:16
SPEAKER_00: I should go to something else.
25:18
SPEAKER_00: I don't think that has to be the case, Kate.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: And again, I understand that you didn't shoot the ball well, and people always say, hey man, there's a shot not going in.
25:25
SPEAKER_00: You got to find other ways.
25:26
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes in my mind, when you are a Cade Cunningham in this world or you are a Jalen Brunson in this world, we're talking about top whatever in the league, you trust the work.
25:35
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I might be bad at it right now.
25:37
SPEAKER_00: I may have missed my last six shots here, but I know this is a shot that I practice, and I know this is a shot that I could get to.
25:43
SPEAKER_00: And there were times where he played right into the Knicks' hands down the stretch, because I think they got up by seven, if I'm not mistaken, and they didn't score for the rest of the game.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: They didn't have a field goal for the rest of the game.
25:52
SPEAKER_00: And I thought that K Cunningham got away from the things that he trusted.
25:56
SPEAKER_00: And again, I think that's partially just him being in his first playoff series and him getting into his own head just a little bit.
26:03
SPEAKER_00: So that is number one.
26:04
SPEAKER_00: Uh, number two is something that we've pointed out for K Cunningham the entire career is the turnovers.
26:08
SPEAKER_00: Um, in this series, he had 32 turnovers in the six games.
26:11
SPEAKER_00: It's just something that he needs to work on.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: Um, I've been watching a lot of um the series that I want to replicate at enjoy basketball somewhere or another.
26:20
SPEAKER_00: I just don't know how he do it.
26:22
SPEAKER_00: Um was it quarterback school with Gruden over at Barstool?
26:26
SPEAKER_00: I'm not even a football guy, but he does an amazing job of breaking down the footage and with incoming quarterbacks.
26:33
SPEAKER_00: If you it's a Barstool show.
26:35
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I was watching an episode with um Jackson Dart, who got they the Giants traded up in the first round to draft him.
26:43
SPEAKER_00: Um and one thing that Gruden kept saying is like, you you like to throw into those tight windows, don't you?
26:50
SPEAKER_00: That's Kay Cunningham to a team.
26:52
SPEAKER_00: Pick and roll play.
26:53
SPEAKER_00: There's there's this much, there's this much space for that ball to fit through.
26:57
SPEAKER_00: K Cunningham is gonna try to make that pass.
26:59
SPEAKER_00: And when it goes through and it's Jalen Duran on the other side of things, boom, it's a slam and it's electric, and we're at home and the crowd is going crazy.
27:07
SPEAKER_00: But there are times with this much space to fit that ball through is just not enough where you're going to get 6'8, uh, OG Ananobi or 6'5 with a 99-foot wingspan, Mikhail Bridges, or um things like that.
27:18
SPEAKER_00: Just not enough space, and it turns to a live ball turnover, and that live ball turnover turns into a layup or uh a made three on the other end.
27:25
SPEAKER_00: That is just something that he needs to work on.
27:29
SPEAKER_00: Turnovers are one thing, and something live ball turnovers are the thing that bother me the most.
27:34
SPEAKER_00: It's just this.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: And it's not just Kay Cunningham thing.
27:37
SPEAKER_00: Hell, all the players do this, but finding a way to protect that pill just a little bit better next season.
27:43
SPEAKER_00: Well, I think Calipole, um, Kay Cunningham, who's already gonna be an all-NBA player to a whole another level.
27:49
SPEAKER_00: He averaged 4.5 turnovers per game in the regular season.
27:51
SPEAKER_00: And then he had a seven-turnover game, a six-turnover game, a five-turnover game, another five turnover.
27:56
SPEAKER_00: It's just tough.
27:58
SPEAKER_00: And part of that is him being overtaxed, is like the only one of the only creators on the court.
28:02
SPEAKER_00: And I think that Dennis Schroeder being added to this roster at the deadline definitely helped.
28:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, but that's the next thing.
28:08
SPEAKER_00: And the last thing is some of his finishing I thought was a bit weird, but I don't even, I'm not somebody that can even attest, talk to it because I don't even know what I was seeing, but I did have in my notes.
28:18
SPEAKER_00: Kate, Kate's, Kate's finishing is just a little bit weird right now.
28:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what that means, but those are the three things that I would definitely focus on for Kate Cunningham because I think that the ceiling for this Pistons team is is ridiculous because you saw what Asar Thompson could do defensively.
28:31
SPEAKER_00: I love that Jalen Bronson went to his post-game interview and said, Hey man, I told Asar to his face that like what you did in this series made me work more than like almost any time in my career.
28:41
SPEAKER_00: And Jalen Brunson's been in a ton of playoff series.
28:45
SPEAKER_00: Asar Thompson, he got he checked out the game like three minutes left, and I'm like, no, JB, what are you doing?
28:51
SPEAKER_00: And eventually he put him back on the court.
28:52
SPEAKER_00: But I thought that was a real moment in time.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: Uh, because JB had a really tough time trying to balance things out.
28:57
SPEAKER_00: Do we go with the the shooting and the offense of Malik Beasley, who had his ups and downs in the series, his highs are really high, then his low was letting the ball slip through his hands to end the series, or do we go with Asar Thompson, who the defensive numbers look insane, but our offense suffers.
29:10
SPEAKER_00: And he was just swinging, he was swinging and swinging, and you don't really know.
29:14
SPEAKER_00: Um, and sometimes he had to go with the scoring, and sometimes he had to go with uh the defense.
29:18
SPEAKER_00: So Asar ceiling, I know Amon gets a ton of credit as as the NBA's like next big star, um, and it's understandable, but Asar Thompson's not too far behind considering Asar Thompson missed the last couple months of his rookie season with a clotting issue, and then missed the first couple months of this season with a clotting issue.
29:36
SPEAKER_00: And what we have learned over the last, I don't know, since the clotting issue has happened to three three players in the NBA over the last year and a half, two years, is that when you are on that medication, you can't really work out.
29:48
SPEAKER_00: You can't really even do cardio.
29:51
SPEAKER_00: So Asar had an entire summer where he couldn't really be in the gym.
29:56
SPEAKER_00: And what you saw in this playoff series is him without that.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: So now he's going into an offseason where he will be able to hoop.
30:05
SPEAKER_00: He will be able to get better, he will be able to round out his game a little bit more.
30:08
SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, he will be able to practice his goddamn free throws.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: Asar, man.
30:13
SPEAKER_00: Front rim every single time is kind of crazy.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, he's he's a he's a star.
30:19
SPEAKER_00: He's a he's a future star in this league.
30:21
SPEAKER_00: Jalen Duran gave me a lot of ups and downs as well.
30:24
SPEAKER_00: I thought that um he had some game, game number five.
30:27
SPEAKER_00: He was absolutely incredible.
30:29
SPEAKER_00: But there's other games in the series, so I'm like, damn, Isaiah Stewart, I wish you were here.
30:33
SPEAKER_00: So the future is bright.
30:36
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what happens next with Jay Nivey, who hasn't been able to play because of his leg issue over the last couple months, but just just curious about it.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: Just curious about it.
30:45
SPEAKER_00: Um the future is really bright with that team, as you know.
30:52
SPEAKER_00: Let's talk about the magic.
30:54
SPEAKER_00: Last year's Magic team surprised the world, ended up being a 5C, losing seven to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and we're really high on them.
31:00
SPEAKER_00: They end up acquiring or signing Catavius Carwell Pope, a guy that was supposed to come in and shoot the ball and at an efficient level.
31:06
SPEAKER_00: He's never been a high volume three-point shooter, but boy, has he been efficient throughout his career.
31:11
SPEAKER_00: And that signing turned out to be not that great.
31:15
SPEAKER_00: Uh, this season, he averaged eight points per game, two assists, two rebounds, and he shot 34% from three.
31:23
SPEAKER_00: I want to mind you, the years before that, he was 40, 42, 39, 41, uh, 38.
31:31
SPEAKER_00: His career low.
31:32
SPEAKER_00: Not his career low, I'm sorry.
31:33
SPEAKER_00: His rookie season in Detroit, he shot 30%, but that was on two attempts.
31:37
SPEAKER_00: A career low year for him.
31:38
SPEAKER_00: He just didn't provide what they anticipated for him.
31:41
SPEAKER_00: But even at all being said, with them having a disappointing season, Jalen Suggs is out with injury.
31:46
SPEAKER_00: I mean, Palo and France both missed a decent chunk of the season with their um abdominal injuries.
31:54
SPEAKER_00: I thought in the playoffs, they played the Celtics as good as almost anybody.
31:59
SPEAKER_00: I know it was a short series.
32:02
SPEAKER_00: But for the Celtics to be the best and the highest volume three-point shooting team in basketball, and then go into this series and shoot 20 less threes a game than what they're used to is insane scheming from Jamal Mosley and execution defensively from the Orlando Magic.
32:19
SPEAKER_00: Unfortunately, they have two players that know how to put the basketball in this in the cylinder thing, you know, the objective of the game.
32:24
SPEAKER_00: They only got two players in their roster that can do that, and that's Paolo and Franz.
32:27
SPEAKER_00: And they do it so differently, and neither of those guys are shooters.
32:32
SPEAKER_00: So obviously, you know, I think the big thing for them is to acquire some type of shooting, some type of catch-and-shoot players, um, some type of rhythm shooting guys, because they don't really have that on a roster at all.
32:45
SPEAKER_00: I think having Jalen Suggs back on the team puts them back into like, not, yeah, we're not a play-in team, but maybe a real playoff team again.
32:52
SPEAKER_00: But again, I thought that for all it was worth, a short series versus the Boston Celtics, they played them very well and maybe showed a blueprint for some teams to try to replicate.
33:00
SPEAKER_00: And I'm looking at the next series.
33:02
SPEAKER_00: Can the Knicks replicate that?
33:03
SPEAKER_00: I don't think they have the personnel to replicate it or the coaching to replicate that because Tom Thibodeau is Tom Thibodeau.
33:08
SPEAKER_00: But like, there has to be something there.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: There has to be something there.
33:12
SPEAKER_00: Um, this is good, this is maybe.
33:15
SPEAKER_00: Do we want to be hyperbolic?
33:16
SPEAKER_00: Let's be hyperbolic.
33:18
SPEAKER_00: This is maybe the most important offseason they've had in a very long time.
33:21
SPEAKER_00: Has to be, bro.
33:22
SPEAKER_00: Because this is not been a team that has been at the forefront of making big decisions and making trades.
33:28
SPEAKER_00: I'll just say that.
33:28
SPEAKER_00: They've made a few when they traded away Aaron Gordon and Aaron Fournier and they traded away Vucevic and reset.
33:34
SPEAKER_00: That was perfect.
33:35
SPEAKER_00: They acquired a first overall pick.
33:37
SPEAKER_00: One of the picks they ended up getting in the Vusevich trade ends up being their secondary star, Franz Wagner.
33:41
SPEAKER_00: You know, but other than that, they haven't really done much trading-wise to make the team better.
33:45
SPEAKER_00: They've drafted relatively well, obviously, and that's been kind of it.
33:49
SPEAKER_00: It's time to pick up their phone and say, hey man, what's Kobe White's value?
33:54
SPEAKER_00: Hey, man, what's Anthony Simon's value?
33:56
SPEAKER_00: Hey, man, what's uh who's another guy that can shoot the ball?
33:59
SPEAKER_00: What's Cam Johnson's value?
34:00
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
34:01
SPEAKER_00: Just something like that.
34:02
SPEAKER_00: They need people that can create and need people that can shoot.
34:05
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what the hell happens with the center rotation.
34:07
SPEAKER_00: There were times in the series where I thought Wendell Carter looked great.
34:10
SPEAKER_00: There was other times in the series where I'm like, get the get this man off the court.
34:13
SPEAKER_00: Nobody's guarding him.
34:15
SPEAKER_00: So uh yeah, it's it's a bit of a dilemma because they have when healthy, three at least decent centers, even though Goga wasn't very good in this series.
34:23
SPEAKER_00: You have Goga, you have Wendell, and you have Mo when he's healthy.
34:26
SPEAKER_00: That's like a nice center rotation, but none of them is blowing the doors off the opposing team.
34:32
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Goga for being ready, though.
34:33
SPEAKER_00: I love that he's always ready.
34:34
SPEAKER_00: Before we get into maybe the two most interesting teams, the Lakers and the Bucks, I want to tell you that FanDuel is offering a no-sweat same game parlay throughout this weekend of the NBA playoffs.
34:44
SPEAKER_00: Just build your parlay, activate the no-sweat token and lock in your bets.
34:48
SPEAKER_00: And if it loses, FanDuel will refund you in bonus bets.
34:52
SPEAKER_00: Sunday, or I'm sorry, Saturday, we have some pretty big games going on.
34:56
SPEAKER_00: We have game seven as of right now.
34:59
SPEAKER_00: Uh the only game seven of the postseason, first round.
35:02
SPEAKER_00: And I put together a little saying game parlay.
35:04
SPEAKER_00: And what you can do is tell me, or you can create your own.
35:07
SPEAKER_00: Create your own.
35:08
SPEAKER_00: Um here's what I cooked up.
35:10
SPEAKER_00: This is a game seven, man.
35:11
SPEAKER_00: We're gonna need stars to be stars, and just so happened, my parlay has nothing to do with stars.
35:17
SPEAKER_00: Uh, I got Jamal Murray for 20 plus.
35:19
SPEAKER_00: Actually, postseason Jamal Murray is a star.
35:21
SPEAKER_00: What he did in game number five was maybe the best game of the postseason um so far.
35:27
SPEAKER_00: I got a Zubotch double double, killer glass, get some get some points.
35:31
SPEAKER_00: And while we there, a zubotch 15.
35:33
SPEAKER_00: So I got him going for 15 and 10, minimum, and it's game seven.
35:37
SPEAKER_00: And then lastly, I know that this guy has been dealing with this shoulder injury, but Michael Porter Jr.
35:43
SPEAKER_00: for two threes.
35:45
SPEAKER_00: It's just two threes.
35:46
SPEAKER_00: And he's Michael Porter Jr., damn it.
35:48
SPEAKER_00: So tap into fanduel.com slash Kenny.
35:50
SPEAKER_00: You can tell me or build your own.
35:52
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to FanDuel again.
35:54
SPEAKER_00: Um sweat, same game parlay is kind of crazy.
35:58
SPEAKER_00: They they they put it together.
35:59
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36:24
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36:31
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36:34
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36:40
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36:51
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36:55
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37:04
SPEAKER_00: All right, last two teams.
37:05
SPEAKER_00: The most interesting teams.
37:06
SPEAKER_00: Um, I say for last because I got accused on Twitter the other day of turning into a Lakers-only creator.
37:16
SPEAKER_00: What?
37:19
SPEAKER_00: Me?
37:20
SPEAKER_00: Cut it out, man.
37:22
SPEAKER_00: I have made it my mission throughout the LeBron James Lakers era to actually not talk about them.
37:28
SPEAKER_00: But now Lucas on the team and it's hard not to talk about them.
37:31
SPEAKER_00: Let's be real.
37:32
SPEAKER_00: But we have to talk about them because they ended up losing in five to the Timberwolves, who just looked incredible for the majority of this series.
37:37
SPEAKER_00: They had the best player on the court, um, and Anthony Elwertz in almost every game.
37:41
SPEAKER_00: Rudy Gobert had his best game of his NBA career.
37:44
SPEAKER_00: Salute.
37:45
SPEAKER_00: Uh Julius Randle, great, great, full stop, just great this series.
37:50
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then you have the chipans of Jada McDaniels having a big game here there.
37:53
SPEAKER_00: Dante DiVincenzo hitting some big shots, and then Nas Reid hitting some big timely buckets in game number three or four.
38:01
SPEAKER_00: Um, or damn it, all of them.
38:02
SPEAKER_00: How about that, Nas?
38:04
SPEAKER_00: Um, just dominated the Lakers.
38:06
SPEAKER_00: The Lakers were trying different stuff.
38:08
SPEAKER_00: Jackson Hayes, yeah.
38:09
SPEAKER_00: Jackson Hayes, no.
38:10
SPEAKER_00: Maxi Kleba, welcome.
38:11
SPEAKER_00: The Banshees, you can't play.
38:12
SPEAKER_00: Sorry, Jerry Vanderbilt, Gabe Vincent, and Jordan Goodwin.
38:16
SPEAKER_00: We we really were excited for you to play in the series, but you just can't.
38:20
SPEAKER_00: You can't hit shots, and nobody's guarding you, and your defense is not that game-changing to keep you on the court.
38:26
SPEAKER_00: LeBron gave us some poor fourth quarter performances.
38:29
SPEAKER_00: Luka Doncic had a poor performance compared to what he would normally give us.
38:33
SPEAKER_00: And overall, the Lakers ended up losing.
38:35
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I said it once, I've said it again.
38:38
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna remind people that this team was not built around Luka Doncic.
38:43
SPEAKER_00: It was built around LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
38:45
SPEAKER_00: But Luka Dontich happened to fall into their lap.
38:48
SPEAKER_00: And this is a real offseason for Rob Polinka to try to make the things to turn this into a team that works well alongside Luca.
38:57
SPEAKER_00: How does he do that?
38:58
SPEAKER_00: They have Don Connect, who I'm assuming is going to be somewhat valuable across the market one way or another.
39:03
SPEAKER_00: He's not about to be the crown jewel of a superstar trade, but like if you're talking about acquiring a center, Don Connect is probably a good player that could be moved in that.
39:12
SPEAKER_00: If you're talking about acquiring more size on the wings, Don Connect will maybe be able to do that.
39:17
SPEAKER_00: Um, they have two tradable first-round picks, and I think one swap.
39:20
SPEAKER_00: So they do have a little bit of an asset pool, but it will be really tough.
39:25
SPEAKER_00: It just will be really tough.
39:27
SPEAKER_00: Um, people are doing like a victory lap for Nico Harrison, and I just wouldn't go there that that far just yet.
39:33
SPEAKER_00: It is apparent that the defense was a problem for Luka Doncic.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: He was targeted on a nightly basis, and I just thought that for maybe the first, second time in his career, opposed to um the set series last year in the finals, his overwhelming offense didn't offset the bad defense.
39:49
SPEAKER_00: And that's a that's a scary spot to be if you're Luka Doncic, right?
39:52
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I thought that he was more of a negative on defense than he was a positive on offense.
39:57
SPEAKER_00: But for what it was worth, they as a team just couldn't score in this series.
40:02
SPEAKER_00: They just couldn't score in the series.
40:04
SPEAKER_00: And let oh, is am I signed into Twitter on this computer?
40:08
SPEAKER_00: No, I'm not.
40:09
SPEAKER_00: Damn it.
40:10
SPEAKER_00: Um the creator of B-Ball Index, and I want to give him his credit, so I'm gonna do something I never do, which is look at my phone in the middle of a podcast taping.
40:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I want to give him his credit.
40:21
SPEAKER_00: Um Cranus McBasketball.
40:26
SPEAKER_00: Tim at Tim underscore MBA.
40:30
SPEAKER_00: He is the founder of B-Ball Index and a big Lakers fan, I would assume.
40:35
SPEAKER_00: The entirety of this postseason run, damn it, he's been tweeting like crazy even today, this morning.
40:40
SPEAKER_00: He's been basically showcasing the Lakers' offense like seven times a game.
40:46
SPEAKER_00: Basically showing that, hey, when they have this organized level of basketball, they're averaging this many points per possession versus when they play isolation and have no scheme whatsoever.
40:56
SPEAKER_00: And they were just better when they were running sets and running stuff.
41:00
SPEAKER_00: And I thought that, and he thought that down the stretch, JJ Redick and the Lakers went way more into Luca isolation ball or Braun isolation ball, when that hasn't hadn't been the real recipe to create anything of substance against the Minnesota Tim Bulls team.
41:15
SPEAKER_00: So I think there's gonna be a big off-season for the Lakers for Rob Plink.
41:18
SPEAKER_00: I think it's gonna be a big off-season for JJ Redick as he tries to go into year number two as a head coach.
41:24
SPEAKER_00: And big offseason for Luka Doncic to now listen to what Nico Harrison and they them said, and to now listen to his new coach say, hey man, we not anybody specific, we have to be more in playoff shape.
41:40
SPEAKER_00: I mean, if it if it smells everywhere you go, you know what I'm saying, Luca?
41:46
SPEAKER_00: Um and maybe he will do that.
41:49
SPEAKER_00: Maybe he will.
41:50
SPEAKER_00: Only time will tell.
41:51
SPEAKER_00: Uh I just don't know exactly what happens next.
41:53
SPEAKER_00: I just don't know what happens next.
41:54
SPEAKER_00: Um, from all reports from Shams and Windhorse, LeBron is at least going to play another season, which is great.
42:01
SPEAKER_00: I I I am a guy that believes that when LeBron James does officially call it quits, he will want a farewell tour.
42:06
SPEAKER_00: I know he said five years ago, ten years ago, he doesn't want a farewell tour.
42:10
SPEAKER_00: For us, Bron, let us give you a farewell tour.
42:14
SPEAKER_00: One thing that I regret is not going to see Kobe his last time when he was in Chicago.
42:19
SPEAKER_00: My boy Kyron did.
42:21
SPEAKER_00: Kyron paid like$900 to have some seats to watch Kobe's last game in Chicago, and he doesn't regret it one bit.
42:30
SPEAKER_00: I would spend a lot of money to watch Braun for one last time.
42:34
SPEAKER_00: So you got to let us know.
42:35
SPEAKER_00: You can't you can't just pop up like, oh, I think I'm done.
42:39
SPEAKER_00: Because I'm not paying that$900 for another random LeBron game.
42:43
SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
42:43
SPEAKER_00: It has to be the last one.
42:46
SPEAKER_00: Because watching the Lakers live is expensive as hell.
42:48
SPEAKER_00: It don't matter what city you wear, but especially in Chicago.
42:52
SPEAKER_00: When I was a seasoned ticket holder, I was like, man, should I sell these tickets?
42:55
SPEAKER_00: You tell me I can get a band?
42:58
SPEAKER_00: I can get a band right now.
43:00
SPEAKER_00: Um, I didn't sell the tickets, by the way.
43:02
SPEAKER_00: Very rarely do I sell my tickets.
43:04
SPEAKER_00: I more mostly gave them away when I didn't want to go.
43:07
SPEAKER_00: Um, I'm a man of the people, damn it.
43:09
SPEAKER_00: People shouldn't have to pay resale value for tickets to watch their favorite team play, especially if it's Chicago Bulls who suck.
43:15
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
43:16
SPEAKER_00: I was paying a lot of money for let's take a setback.
43:18
SPEAKER_00: I was paying a lot of money to watch a bad basketball team.
43:22
SPEAKER_00: Why would I upcharge somebody?
43:25
SPEAKER_00: I had the group chat.
43:26
SPEAKER_00: Hey man, anybody want anybody want to go watch 76ers vs.
43:29
SPEAKER_00: Bulls tonight?
43:30
SPEAKER_00: No?
43:32
SPEAKER_00: Anybody on Reddit want to go watch 76ers vs.
43:34
SPEAKER_00: Bulls tonight?
43:35
SPEAKER_00: And I was just giving them out.
43:37
SPEAKER_00: Um what a great moment that was in my career.
43:40
SPEAKER_00: When the that was when the Bulls and first, that was the first time the Bulls embraced me as a creator.
43:44
SPEAKER_00: I got nothing but love for the Bulls.
43:46
SPEAKER_00: I just don't like the direction they're going as a basketball team, but as an organization, they've tiptoped, tip top um as far as like putting me involved in stuff.
43:55
SPEAKER_00: But that was the first time they ever did where they had Jen.
43:57
SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Jen.
43:58
SPEAKER_00: Um Social media posts are like, hey, Kenny, yada, yada yada.
44:02
SPEAKER_00: Oh man, what a moment of time that was.
44:04
SPEAKER_00: And I was like, damn, man, this is this is my life right now.
44:06
SPEAKER_00: My favorite team is showing me love.
44:08
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, they won 32 games last year, but man, this is fun all of a sudden.
44:13
SPEAKER_00: Uh the last team that has been eliminated as today is the Milwaukee Bucks, who um we saw the Damian Lillard injury a few nights ago.
44:21
SPEAKER_00: And uh I didn't re I didn't think that in real time that it was an Achilles.
44:25
SPEAKER_00: He falls down.
44:26
SPEAKER_00: He he does grab his ankle, but it looked like he was grabbing the front of his ankle.
44:29
SPEAKER_00: And every time we've seen somebody go down with an Achilles, it looked like they're holding the back because that's of course where the Achilles is.
44:34
SPEAKER_00: He didn't do that, so I'm thinking this is an ankle tweak, and maybe he'll be back.
44:39
SPEAKER_00: And then um Chris Hayes comes out and says that they feared that it might be an Achilles, and the next day, Shamsharrani officially reported that it wasn't Achilles, and you know, it's a sad moment in time, not just for Bucks fandom, but for NBA fans.
44:51
SPEAKER_00: Damian Lillard, he was a 76 top 76 player of all time.
44:55
SPEAKER_00: You know, he snuck him to the list, and he had been just a joy to watch for the majority of his career, all of his career, damn it.
45:00
SPEAKER_00: And for him to be closer to 35 and a smaller point guard, it's just not a lot of history that shows that we'll get the normal version of Damian Lillard ever again.
45:10
SPEAKER_00: Um, so I'm wishing him a speedy recovery, but it does open up the can of worms of this offseason for the Milwaukee Bucks.
45:19
SPEAKER_00: I said it, I'll say it again.
45:20
SPEAKER_00: I would rather Giannis plays his entire career in Milwaukee.
45:24
SPEAKER_00: It is good for the sport that one of the best players in the league is true to a small market.
45:30
SPEAKER_00: But if you're Giannis and you're in his team, I think you have to look at what is going on and make a decision on whether or not you want to be around as this team's trends transitions.
45:43
SPEAKER_00: Because there's not a trade or a group of trades that they can do right now that will put them into contention.
45:49
SPEAKER_00: So you would have to have the utmost amount of confidence and horse to get an extension while they were down 3-1 in the playoffs, by the way.
45:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, you would have have to have the most amount of respect and confidence that he can have a two to three year plan to make us contenders again soon.
46:06
SPEAKER_00: And if I'm Giannis, who I think just turned, did he just turn 30 or did he just turn 30?
46:11
SPEAKER_00: Well, he just turned 30.
46:14
SPEAKER_00: Do I want to spend two years of retooling?
46:17
SPEAKER_00: Do I want to spend three years?
46:18
SPEAKER_00: Because if you tell me we have two years of retooling, sometimes retooling still doesn't work.
46:24
SPEAKER_00: So do I want to sit here and wait for you to maybe not even make the right decisions?
46:30
SPEAKER_00: As much as I love Milwaukee, I may have to talk to my representation and say, hey man, it might be time.
46:39
SPEAKER_00: And even if you're the Milwaukee Bucks, and I truly do believe that they would never do this unless Giannis asks for it.
46:46
SPEAKER_00: I think they should look at themselves in the mirror and look at the roster and say, we don't believe we can build around Giannis right now.
46:54
SPEAKER_00: And we will be doing him a disservice if we told him to sit around while Kal Kuzma's contract expires.
47:01
SPEAKER_00: That's rough, man.
47:03
SPEAKER_00: And now you add on the fact that Damian Lillard is out for at least the next eight months, because that's the lowest amount of time.
47:11
SPEAKER_00: I think somebody came back within eight months.
47:13
SPEAKER_00: I forget who it was.
47:14
SPEAKER_00: So that puts us into December.
47:16
SPEAKER_00: And usually these Achilles injuries, those guys have to ramp their way back up to being great.
47:20
SPEAKER_00: And again, we're praying and hoping that Damian Lillard can be back to being great.
47:24
SPEAKER_00: That's a lost season, too.
47:25
SPEAKER_00: And then it comes out a day ago that before the Achilles injury, they were going to talk to Dame about maybe trading him away.
47:34
SPEAKER_00: And now it's not really a likelihood anymore.
47:38
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what the hell they could do.
47:40
SPEAKER_00: It's been a weird season, man, where there were times you're like, okay, I can I can squint a little bit and see.
47:45
SPEAKER_00: I can squint a little bit and see what they are trying to build.
47:48
SPEAKER_00: And other times it's like, damn, bro, this is it.
47:52
SPEAKER_00: This is what's left of that championship team a few years ago.
47:55
SPEAKER_00: Granted, a lot of these guys are just older.
47:57
SPEAKER_00: A lot of the guys they've traded away.
48:02
SPEAKER_00: I I sometimes I question, like, as an NBA fan.
48:06
SPEAKER_00: Again, that's that's on that's the only thing I am.
48:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm just an NBA fan that happens to talk in on microphone for an hour a few times a week about the game.
48:14
SPEAKER_00: Is there something we're missing?
48:18
SPEAKER_00: Because we complained for two years basically.
48:21
SPEAKER_00: The Dame and Giannis pick a roll does not happen enough.
48:25
SPEAKER_00: And then I watch Knicks versus Pissons, and I'm thinking the Jalen Brunson, Carl Anthony Towns pick a roll doesn't happen enough.
48:36
SPEAKER_00: What what is what do those coaches know?
48:39
SPEAKER_00: Because for what it's worth, Tom Thibodeau and Grant, no, not Grandpa, and Doc Rivers know more basketball or forgotten more basketball than I know.
48:49
SPEAKER_00: What is happening that they can't go to that bread and butter?
48:51
SPEAKER_00: I don't know.
48:52
SPEAKER_00: I would love to ask them.
48:53
SPEAKER_00: Why is that not incorporated more?
48:55
SPEAKER_00: We got some teams in basketball that that is what they do.
48:57
SPEAKER_00: K Cut and them, Jalen Duran, that is what they do.
49:00
SPEAKER_00: Jamal Murray and Jokic, that is what they do.
49:02
SPEAKER_00: But other teams that you feel like you got the idea, that you got the piece to make it work, aren't doing it.
49:07
SPEAKER_00: Why?
49:08
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna find Tom Thibodeau one day and I'm gonna ask him.
49:11
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if I'll ever be able to find Doc Rivers.
49:14
SPEAKER_00: But I can find Tom Thibodeau, I think.
49:17
SPEAKER_00: Well, it might be easier to find Tom Thibodeau because we know he's going to be in Boston in a couple days.
49:22
SPEAKER_00: Doc Rivers could be anywhere right now.
49:24
SPEAKER_00: He could be in Cabo, he could be in Milwaukee.
49:27
SPEAKER_00: No, he's not.
49:27
SPEAKER_00: He could be anywhere, so it's gonna be tougher to find him.
49:30
SPEAKER_00: Um but that's raps for the the teams that are out right now.
49:34
SPEAKER_00: Maybe tonight it ends up being the Rockets, or maybe the Rockets force a game seven.
49:38
SPEAKER_00: I like game seven.
49:40
SPEAKER_00: So dare I say go Rockets?
49:42
SPEAKER_00: Greg is not here to jump in on me saying go Rockets, but maybe go Rockets just because I want to see a game seven.
49:48
SPEAKER_00: Um, but yeah, let's let's get into your favorite segment, my favorite segment, Ask KB.
49:58
SPEAKER_00: All you gotta do is hit us up on Twitter and Instagram with some questions, and I'll try my very best to answer them.
50:04
SPEAKER_00: The first one comes from Brandon Burvis.
50:10
SPEAKER_00: Brandon Purvis, I think he just changed out the first letter of his first and last name.
50:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, which team has the best home court advantage in the playoffs?
50:20
SPEAKER_00: That's a good question.
50:21
SPEAKER_00: Um OKC is probably one.
50:25
SPEAKER_00: OKC be, man, this has been the case for 15 years now.
50:30
SPEAKER_00: OKC's fans will put on the shirts, they will stand up to their first basket, go in, and they will be electric.
50:36
SPEAKER_00: So they're probably number one.
50:39
SPEAKER_00: Number two, this is tough.
50:43
SPEAKER_00: Maybe Indiana.
50:45
SPEAKER_00: Because Indiana's arena is like a Coliseum.
50:49
SPEAKER_00: Well, I've been there twice now, I think.
50:51
SPEAKER_00: And I love sitting, like there's very few arenas where I'd rather sit higher versus lower.
50:56
SPEAKER_00: That is one of the ones where I'd rather sit higher.
50:57
SPEAKER_00: The way it's built, all of the, if you're a listener, I'm moving my hands.
51:03
SPEAKER_00: Um the audio circles around and it becomes like an audio tornado.
51:08
SPEAKER_00: It's beautiful.
51:09
SPEAKER_00: It's like a college basketball um experience.
51:12
SPEAKER_00: So maybe they're number two.
51:15
SPEAKER_00: My number three has to be Minnesota, I think.
51:19
SPEAKER_00: I think Minnesota fans have been electric these last couple seasons.
51:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, and there's a reason why they've been able to take care of business at home.
51:28
SPEAKER_00: My number four, maybe it is the Intuit Dome.
51:33
SPEAKER_00: Small sample size, right?
51:34
SPEAKER_00: These other teams, they've been in playoffs over the last couple years, so we have a bigger sample size.
51:37
SPEAKER_00: The Intuit Dome is new this year.
51:40
SPEAKER_00: And um, I forget who it was from the Nuggets that gave it a ton of credit.
51:46
SPEAKER_00: Maybe it was Adleman.
51:47
SPEAKER_00: I think it might have been Adleman talking about the wall and how um intimidating it can be at the free throw line.
51:54
SPEAKER_00: And the numbers say that teams shoot worse against the wall from the free throw line.
51:58
SPEAKER_00: And then we get to like some of these Hollywood places, I don't feel like they have a great home court advantage.
52:05
SPEAKER_00: I don't think, even though it is no, you know what, I'll take that back.
52:08
SPEAKER_00: Knicks home court can be cool.
52:12
SPEAKER_00: It's allowed, but if I'm not mistaken, the Pistons have been able to go in there and get wins, right?
52:20
SPEAKER_00: So I don't know.
52:21
SPEAKER_00: It can be fun.
52:22
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna leave it at four.
52:23
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna leave it at four.
52:25
SPEAKER_00: Um, and then the Warriors.
52:26
SPEAKER_00: I mean, it could be better.
52:28
SPEAKER_00: They them they don't put on the shirts.
52:33
SPEAKER_00: They don't put on the shirts.
52:34
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, maybe I'm neglecting the Knicks.
52:37
SPEAKER_00: I love being in Madison Square Garden.
52:39
SPEAKER_00: Um Cat is our producer today.
52:42
SPEAKER_00: She said the Madison Square Garden is the greatest arena in the world.
52:45
SPEAKER_00: I feel like it's reverse for the Knicks sometimes.
52:48
SPEAKER_00: People get excited to play there because of its history.
52:50
SPEAKER_00: I can feel that.
52:51
SPEAKER_00: I mean, I remember when Braun had his game and he was like, um, every time it feels like he plays in the garden, he posts on Instagram of him center court king in the garden or whatever.
53:00
SPEAKER_00: Uh so yeah, I can I could feel that for sure.
53:02
SPEAKER_00: Um, what about the worst?
53:04
SPEAKER_00: Let's have some fun with the worst.
53:06
SPEAKER_00: Miami.
53:08
SPEAKER_00: I thought that the last game for the Rockets was bad, but I think that was because it was like a 5.30 tip off local.
53:13
SPEAKER_00: It's like, how the hell do you expect people to get off work and come to a basketball game if it's if it's that late?
53:18
SPEAKER_00: Um The Nuggets have like a home court advantage because they're 5,280 feet above sea level.
53:28
SPEAKER_00: So they have a like a built-in home court advantage, and their fans are amazing too.
53:32
SPEAKER_00: I was there when they their ring ceremony.
53:34
SPEAKER_00: Um I didn't do them justice either.
53:37
SPEAKER_00: I think the worst might be the magic.
53:39
SPEAKER_00: There were so many Celtics fans in that series, man.
53:42
SPEAKER_00: It was ridiculous.
53:44
SPEAKER_00: Like envy, I hate.
53:45
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I'm I am 5'7, 139.
53:50
SPEAKER_00: Hey, I put on four pounds since the last time I told you my weight, by the way.
53:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm working.
53:56
SPEAKER_00: I'm not a fighter.
53:59
SPEAKER_00: But sometimes you gotta have some pride as a fan.
54:02
SPEAKER_00: If the opposing player on the on the team is at the free throw line getting an MVP chance, you got a square row.
54:07
SPEAKER_00: You're not doing this in Arena.
54:09
SPEAKER_00: You can't.
54:10
SPEAKER_00: You can't.
54:12
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you you tap the dude next to you to fight if you're not a fighter like me.
54:15
SPEAKER_00: You you hear them saying that?
54:17
SPEAKER_00: Let's go.
54:18
SPEAKER_00: Next question comes from Chapine.
54:20
SPEAKER_00: Hope I pronounced that right too.
54:22
SPEAKER_00: After seeing players like Tobias Harris and Julius Randle have strong uh performances after being considered playoff droppers, who do you think could benefit the most from a change of scenery of role and get their value up?
54:32
SPEAKER_00: I do want to give so much credit and so much props to those two guys, man.
54:36
SPEAKER_00: Tobias Harris, you know, was hated in Philadelphia for the end of his career in Philly, where I think he gave us zero points on whatever.
54:45
SPEAKER_00: He was so ready to get out of there.
54:46
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I thought he was phenomenal in this series, all things considered.
54:49
SPEAKER_00: You know, there were times where he held his own against Carnthony Towns.
54:52
SPEAKER_00: There were times where he was one of the offensive engines.
54:54
SPEAKER_00: And yeah, him being great, and we already gave our flowers to Julius Randle.
54:57
SPEAKER_00: Who is a guy?
55:00
SPEAKER_00: Who is a guy that can be that as well?
55:03
SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I don't know.
55:06
SPEAKER_00: This is how crazy it is in the NBA.
55:09
SPEAKER_00: I know we get the word, excuse me, I know we get the the name playoff droppers all the time.
55:18
SPEAKER_00: Um, but they it is really is just like a small amount of people that fit into this.
55:24
SPEAKER_00: Um historically, according to the numbers.
55:27
SPEAKER_00: This is not me.
55:28
SPEAKER_00: According to the numbers, um, James Harden in 2017 was a huge playoff dropper.
55:34
SPEAKER_00: James Harden in 2018 was a huge playoff dropper.
55:37
SPEAKER_00: No, I don't want to give it to James Harden a hundred times.
55:41
unknown: Damn.
55:43
SPEAKER_00: Um Damn.
55:46
SPEAKER_00: In history, according to the numbers, here are the biggest playoff droppers in history.
55:51
SPEAKER_00: I'm saying this to say I don't know if there's an answer for 2025.
55:53
SPEAKER_00: I think James Harden's probably the biggest one.
55:55
SPEAKER_00: He just gave us a huge game six.
55:56
SPEAKER_00: We'll see if he can do it in game seven.
55:57
SPEAKER_00: Um, but I don't think he needs to change the senior.
55:59
SPEAKER_00: I just think he needs to continue to play well because I thought the game before that he was pretty ass, and then he followed up with this game.
56:05
SPEAKER_00: According to the numbers, here are the biggest playoff droppers.
56:08
SPEAKER_00: Um Paul Pierce.
56:13
SPEAKER_00: But they've only given it one season.
56:16
SPEAKER_00: Derrick Rose one season, Alonzo Morning in one season, Jack Sikkiman one season, Pal Gasol in one season, and then James Harden in five.
56:29
SPEAKER_00: I don't like that, James.
56:32
SPEAKER_00: Alright, this is the last one we got.
56:34
SPEAKER_00: Uh comes from Git Rex.
56:35
SPEAKER_00: Which playoff riser do you love watching the most?
56:38
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think my favorite playoff riser um before the season was Luca.
56:44
SPEAKER_00: Uh but Luca didn't rise this season, which is fine.
56:48
SPEAKER_00: It happens, it happens.
56:49
SPEAKER_00: You can't be Superman every day.
56:51
SPEAKER_00: I think Clark Kent probably took days off.
56:54
SPEAKER_00: Um he still had to go to work and everything, which is like still one of the craziest things in in superhero comics.
57:01
SPEAKER_00: And if I am Spider-Man, I'm sorry, I'm not delivering pizzas.
57:06
SPEAKER_00: I'm not writing for the day daily bugle if I'm Superman.
57:11
SPEAKER_00: Like, I just I'm sorry.
57:14
SPEAKER_00: Can I be a government employee, please?
57:19
SPEAKER_00: Just just you don't need to know who I really am.
57:22
SPEAKER_00: But please, please pay me, bro.
57:24
SPEAKER_00: Please.
57:24
SPEAKER_00: Delivering pizzas?
57:26
SPEAKER_00: And I just got rid of Doc Ock for the seventh time.
57:29
SPEAKER_00: And oh my god, now this piece is free because I was 12 minutes too late.
57:34
SPEAKER_00: Um, what was the question?
57:35
SPEAKER_00: Oh, play of risers, my favorite play of risers.
57:38
SPEAKER_00: Um historically, or you're talking about this season?
57:43
SPEAKER_00: Historically, there's nobody better than Braun.
57:46
SPEAKER_00: I know, I know this season wasn't that, but he also is 40 years old.
57:49
SPEAKER_00: We're talking historically.
57:51
SPEAKER_00: Um, Braun is easily number one.
57:55
SPEAKER_00: I thought that when Shaq got to the postseason in his prime, again, I'm eight, nine years old, so I can't act like I was doing this then.
58:03
SPEAKER_00: But when Shaq got to the postseason, it was it, it I understand why Kobe was pissed off basically.
58:09
SPEAKER_00: Because, bro, if you did this every single season, dog, there's no way you would end your career with one MVP.
58:17
SPEAKER_00: But he got to the playoffs, and it was like, how many centers do you have?
58:22
SPEAKER_00: Because they're all been gonna be a foul trouble.
58:24
SPEAKER_00: I hope you have seven centers that could just come in and give me fouls because I can do that.
58:28
SPEAKER_00: Let me see.
58:29
SPEAKER_00: Some of these stats.
58:29
SPEAKER_00: Where are these stats for his playoffs?
58:32
SPEAKER_00: Um, and I'm on I'm really talking about once he ended up in LA.
58:36
SPEAKER_00: Not no disrespect to his Orlando run, where he ended up in the finals once and everything, conference finals once, and then he got his ass beat by um the greatest of all time.
58:45
SPEAKER_00: In the finals in 2000, um, in 2000, 38 points per game, 17 rebounds, three blocks, two assists, six-game series.
58:56
SPEAKER_00: Then we get the finals the year after that.
58:59
SPEAKER_00: 33 points per game, 16 rebounds, five assists, three and a half blocks.
59:06
SPEAKER_00: Then we get to the finals after that.
59:08
SPEAKER_00: 36 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks.
59:14
SPEAKER_00: It just is insane.
59:17
SPEAKER_00: I think, again, I might be team Kobe here.
59:20
SPEAKER_00: The fact that Shaq was only doing it like to win one MVP is kind of crazy.
59:26
SPEAKER_00: Because when I think about the most dominant player of my lifetime, Shaquille O'Neal is in a league of his own.
59:32
SPEAKER_00: And I think a lot of that comes with the postseason play.
59:35
SPEAKER_00: Because in the regular season, he was still giving you like 28 to 30, but for that to jump up to 38, 36, for them blocks to get that high, it's insane.
59:44
SPEAKER_00: All right, I think that's where we wrap up today's episode.
59:47
SPEAKER_00: I appreciate everybody for watching and listening.
59:50
SPEAKER_00: Again, tune in to the Enjoy Basketball universe, where there be small ball here, teed up with Pierre, numbers on the board, the Enjoy Basketball YouTube channel.
1:00:00
SPEAKER_00: And I was gonna I was gonna lie.
1:00:03
SPEAKER_00: I was gonna act like we had another show premiering.
1:00:06
SPEAKER_00: We don't.
1:00:07
SPEAKER_00: I just like give people hype, man.
1:00:09
SPEAKER_00: If you hype, then I'm hype.
1:00:11
SPEAKER_00: So you know what?
1:00:11
SPEAKER_00: We do got another show um starting up relatively soon.
1:00:15
SPEAKER_00: Um, and this is not an enjoy basketball property, but go show some love to my boy D.
1:00:19
SPEAKER_00: Mills.
1:00:19
SPEAKER_00: He's been really dedicated to his wrestling podcast with um with Reese.
1:00:23
SPEAKER_00: Um, again, not something that's under this umbrella, but it's one of my best friends.
1:00:27
SPEAKER_00: So show him some support.
1:00:28
SPEAKER_00: Damn it.
1:00:28
SPEAKER_00: Even if you're not a wrestling fan, Derek and Reese's chemistry continues to get better and better with every episode.
1:00:34
SPEAKER_00: Hell, I'm not a huge wrestling fan.
1:00:36
SPEAKER_00: Actually, my way to catch up with wrestling is through their podcast.
1:00:41
SPEAKER_00: So be it.
1:00:42
SPEAKER_00: I did watch WrestleMania though, and that was decent.
1:00:45
SPEAKER_00: Decent.
1:00:46
SPEAKER_00: All right, love y'all.
1:00:46
SPEAKER_00: I'll see y'all next time.