Final Draft Predictions and Closing Thoughts

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Which I think if the Kicks lost, we were going to dub the Trump game. And yet After watching watching what the Spurs did today. I got to say, I have no dog in this race I'm so impressed by the spurs. I actually thought There was a real possibility they were going to do this today because there were so many good signs from the first two games This is a team with a lot of pride Um a lot of a lot of Hutzpa. It's the second youngest finals team we've ever had. The first youngest finals team came back from oo two and one in the seventy seven finals. U They showed them in the huddle before the game Rb And they seem loose. they're doing their dancing stuff and it was like just unintimidated by the moment. Meanwhile, every single celebrity on the planet is there evenven though this turned into a rock fight I was wildly impressed So let's start there. Where are your spurs thoughts coming out of the gate? I also thought they could win this one. I mean, games one and two were so tight. It was a classic case of this is the MA finals. So there are huge takeaways from very, very slim margins. The turnover at the end of game two was catastrophic. L that could have been a career altering play. could still be a series altering play. We'll see how it all shakes out. But they were there that close to begin with. They were doing enough positively to be super competitive over the first two. And I thought in this one in particular came out with a lot of clarity in their offensive game plan in terms of The Kicks have been playing incredible defense, but even the best defensive game plans come at a cost. Like you're giving up something somewhere. and you could see, I would say with Castle and Fox specifically they knew the weak side read before it even really sprang open. And so that gave me a lot of confidence like, okay, this team knows what they're doing. The moment I shook up a little bit is that end of second quarter Nick resurgence where I was like, oh, no. is it just going to be like this where New York scores at the end of every like late clock opportunity where they have responses for every conceivable run Thats who they've been in these playoffs Fortunately for the sppurs, they got, I mean, absolutely saved by a late Stefan Castle three and Darren Fox going one on one against OG Anadobbe, which is like playing Tug War with a Doberman. Like I don't I want no part of that matchup or anything related to it. Yeah, the it turned into a rock fight near the end And I couldn't tell if it was the tension of the crowd and the energy of the building and just how long the night was, you know, and everybody taking so long to get in there and every piece of that how hard everyone was playing U, but it felt like neither team could get any shot they really the sppurs were starting plays with six seconds left, forty five second forty five feet for the basket U you mentioned there were the I wrote down that the Castle lucky bailout three was in my notes Monster. It was after two San Antonio Blacks Brunon scores And it feels like, oh my go. This is we've been here before the Ks and Brunson. I mean, Castle Bails him out there and then Fox, So I texted you with eight minutes left. And I asked, do we see Fox again? because he had come out and they were playing Harper with Castle. I think they're playing Bll and Champy and Weenby. Yeah. I was fifty fifty whether we would see Fox again. He wasn't seemed like he heays lost confidence in his three Um wasasn't really attacked in the basket like he usually does. And I didn't know if we'd see him again, but we saw him again and then he made the biggest shot of the game Never found confidence in the three though. And for a moment, I thought the defining play of him coming back was that possession where he passed up an open three to drive into OG and fall over. And it was like, all like that was where you could feel some of the tension. You could feel some of the potential spurs implosion But not only did he come up with that huge shot, he had like a possession saving block on Kat during that one like m position that wouldn't end and they kept maybe maybe fouling, maybe blocking Kat, who's to say. And then also I thought he had some really good drive and kick stuff for shots that just didn't fall. Like some of the cleanest looks and spurs ended up getting down the stretch were triggered by Daron Fox of all people There's some weird sppurs coaching stuff still that I don't really totally understand, but the thing I love that they did today, they staggered the timeouts. I' Almost positive Wemby didn't come out of the fourth quarter And there was, I think att least two challenges. There was a timeout that he took right after a challenge. and I think he was just trying to use the timeouts So he never had to take Weemby out And that fourth quarter felt like it went on for forty five minutes U Wendby ended up finishing with the thir thousand two eight and six with the three blocks and I thought seemed pretty fresh down the stretch. Now the Nicks in the second half I think they had at least ten offensive rebounds because there was a For the first like hour of this game, each team only had one offensive rebound because everything was going in. And then it turned into more of a rock fight and the Nick started to really hurt them. But I thought Wendby seemed a lot more fresh downown the stretch. I still think fundamentally The fact that the spurs had that pad really they were always up six, eight Five, seven, ten, six and So when their offense really went sideways, it was okay. I wonder what happens in a game for If this is a two point game with three minutes left. I still don't really know what the spurs play is in that situation. Like what do you see from them when it gets really slow down half court Cowd standing. What's their play ' we know what it is for the next I would say Some of the most successful stuff for them to just dial up has been like pretty simple, like staggered screens. Wemby and a second screener and Castle or Fox can come off of that action. And you'll see like multiple nicks when that happens end up gravitating toward Wemby and then like D Vell be wide open in the corner on the wing So you can get like good action out of that. and frankly, I think it's like a little cleaner for them than some of the other stuff that they try to draw up or I mean, the possession that led to that Stefon Castle bailout three was just, they were just trying to run a handoff with Viictor Webinyama. and He got jammed up This was not like the best cat game or the most sterling cat game But I thought he did as well challenging Wemby's jumper Like in this one that maybe from anyone I've ever seen defend Victor Webinyama. how many possessions do we see Wby leave his feet and have to just pass out to somebody because he couldn't get the shot off over Kat. And so they were able to jam him up in a way that I don't think you can just run ISO for Wemby or dribble handoff for Weenby. I think it has to be slightly more complicated than that whichich is what happened at least three times down the stretch where it seemed like he just had the ball with thirty feet from the baskum undernder ten seconds left figured out. and really think he's that kind of player. Castle You know, who who was huge who answered the usage rate critics. Myself included in the first half. was like seven for eight, but he was attacking the basket And I wrote that in my notes in the first half like Sometimes this will happen with players when they're awesome early. This always used to be the Celtics with Marcus Smart If Marcus Spart was awesome in the first quarter, it's like,h arere we going to pay for that later Maybe when he's taking ten field goals in the fourth quarter because he was hot two hours ago. But Castle, I thought for the most part played played a much smarter game than I thought he played in game too. I still think he has the ball Just more than I want If I'm a Surs fan when you have these other two point cards that have great handles and are real point cards, but this is how they do it. Well how do you want it to shake out then? Because our confidence was wavering in Der and Fox at points in this game. We were just talking about how you can't just give the ball to Viictor Webinyama thirty feet from the basket. I guess it's Dylan Harper by default that you want a little bit more of Who wasn't perfect today, even though I thought he swung the game in the second quarter in the second half he he got a little ag gotacy and had a couple like strives I think he finished with thirteen, but his rebounding I mean, he does so many good things. I feel One of the things I noticice, I've noticed this when I used to play picku upp U When leftfties guard other leftfies, they kind of, it's like they have the kryptonite for the other lefty because they know all the Lfty moves And I think with Harper When he defends Brunson, he he just seems really comfortable on him. and I wonder if we're going to see that more because Castle has done a good job on him too But How many minutes did Harper play today? To me, he has to be, so he was thirty two. And thirty two seems to be where they've landed with him Um I'll be interested to see if they bump that at any point because they tried Carter Brian out. he came out Guns Blazing. was Garden cat, which I wanted to see, Bed three And then all of a sudden turned into a human bowling ball. So he only played three minutes. The guns werent always blazing with Carter Bry. Like he really only has the one gear Carnet played nine minutes minus three, which is really good for him five rebounds And Kelvin Johnson, they tried to get going. He was plus fourteen. He was at least down being physical, but Harper is really, I think the only bench guy they can trust and then We didn't mention this yet and we should because I can just tell you from all the text fans I was getting from my Nick fan friends furious about the officiating Like asking me knowing I'm a neutral observer. like, are you watching this? Are you seeing this I thought Wemby throwing Brunson down was bad. I wasn't believe they didn't call that. It's worth mentioning that every time the next challenge a call, it's in their favor because it was a bad call Um, so that's definitely happened U For the most part, I thought it was pretty even. I don't what did you think This was yet another incredibly physical game. and if you're going to point in any game in the series where the Kicks got a raw deal officiating wise, I would say it's game two. This one other than the Wby shove on Jalen Brunson I don't I don't remember a ton of plays that were incredibly egregious. I'm sure if we go back with the microscope that we can find some, but I thought a lot of people were being held and shoved and pushed basically at all times Yeah. That's just kind of the game it was. My buddy Jim Grady, who I've known since I was fifteen years old Um NBA fucking sucks. The reps are doing everything in their power for the sppurs. W't be throwing elos is annoying? just really like this was every Nick fan I know is sending me some bearish in the same thing. They did go under the penalty Almost immediately in the fourth quarter. Yeah. L there was one moment. They had five fous and the Spurse had zero and if that had been the Celphix, I would have been losing Surean. But U But how much of that was frustration too. like the Nicks Yeah. they came on the fourth quarter I mean, really for most of the second half, their offense, everything was so difficult. The Spurs were picking up Brunson really high. They were making him work every step of the way And you could just tell not even by like Brunston's shooting efficiency, which is fine. likeike his scoring was fine. It's more about how many dribbles, how many moves, how much did it tax him just to create literally anything And he has to do so much for the Kicks Yeah, when he came out, so that was the second de of forty two point second quarter the next He comes out It's thirty three twenty two after the first quarter But Alvorado and Clarkson coming together shift the energy and it's a two point game. and I thought they were Really effective. and they got the crowd into it in a different way. And as you said, Brunson centric, which is usually Everybody's least favorite version of the Kns and not to blame him, but it was just it was just a lot of dribbling. Yeah The fourth quarter was different I didn't feel like it was as Brunson centric. I just thought Bers played I thought the level they went to defensively And if you're going to complain about the reps, I get it, I would do the same thing for the Celics, but Just know that the reason the Spurs won that game was their defense was out of control in the second half. I thought It went higher and higher and higher and it was even like They were they were trapping towns with two guys getting over to the corner guy, getting over to the corner pass to the other side. like it was fucking crazy to watch. So I think that's fair, right? The defense won the game. Okay. compleompletely connected, completely on a string And I'll say this too for the Spurs, like it's not a coincidence that Julian Champanny is not on the floor for critical stretches of the fourth quarter. He's like the closest thing that Jayalen Brunson has to a target out there I thought even he did fine. and really across the board, the spurs in switches were so competitive and so physical with Brunson where yeah, he's going to get his points and like Jayalen Brnts has become one of the most inevitable scores in the league They did such a great job with the high pickup point with the constant pressure, just wearing down, wearing down, not just him but the flow of the offense and The Kicks are better than pretty much anybody at continuing to find stuff late in the clock But if you just make them pull rabbits out of the hat over and over and over, like eventually they're going to come up empty Yeah, you after the second quarter you have u OGi and Hart have thirty points combined. They're ten for twelve. Yeah The Nicks are up seven And it felt like they only played well for like five minutes and I'm at halftime going holy shit. This is going to be a sweep because there's was talking to somebody today who mentioned the Spurs Lakers two thousand one Where First two games are in San Antonio, I think Um Re close games, Spurs lost both of them And then in the last two games, the Lakers just ascended and pummeled them and kicked their ass. And the question is like Are we going this way Or we go in you know, the seventy seven Blazers comeback way. I did a thing on my pod yesterday about when a series flips Usually there's some sort of trigger for the flip What was the trigger tonight for you? What changed Other than the sppurs just actually took care of business in the fourth quarter. Did you feel like something was different about the game I think a lot of it was the Spurrs offense. I think It wasn't constant and I don't think the spurs are going to be that kind of team in the series at any point. The Nicks defense is too good. The sppurs are still too young and a little bit imprecise, but I thought they did a great job Really establishing and looking for and being patient with getting Wimby around the basket early with being a little bit more deliberate as far as what the Nixs we were giving up on the week side, like we mentioned earlier, And then also like There were just moments in this game where for the first time all series, it felt like the Nicks defense was actually behind in its rotation whereere the Surs were getting ahead of it and you could tell the Nicks were just like a step or an entire rotation behind and guys were getting pretty clean wide open shots because of the Spurs ball movement. that felt really new. And that's the kind of thing where Sometimes over the course of a series, you just pick up on the patterns, right of like how teams are defending, how they're rotating, what they're giving up I think the sppurs might be a little more in tune with that right now But even that stuff can change pretty quickly. I agree with everything you said, I would add this. It felt like after playing this Nick style for two games They did a much better job on the fast brerake transition stuff tonight They just were more ready for it. It felt like they were back and it just felt like the Nicks, even though the game was more high scoring It felt like the shots and the points the Nicks were getting were just kindind of harder shots. like Like An anobbe heart heart, they were basically allowing to shoot. If I'm in the sppurs And I'm looking at that second half, especially thought they missed a lot of wide open shots I don't know what the what were they twelve for thirty six from Telve for thirty four from three of this spurse How many of those were contested Harper miss Har I don't know how many how many heart threes did Harper take? He tooakes One for eight Fox was O for five. So it's thirteen threes twelve of those were wide open. And so the castles too like they're giving all three of those guards a lot of room to fire if they want to Yeah. So if I'm the spurs, I'm like, dude, we won that game and we didn't we didn't even K all the open threes we had we actually have a level to go higher than the level we played If I'm the next, I'm looking at the officiating U And Maybe that with the from a Brunson standpoint, say is thirty five minutes, but How do I not put as much miles on him during a game? I mean, part of it was his fault because when Castle with that play reviewed when he knocked Brunson over, which was not a flaggrrant. castle really I've Brinceon really tried to sell it And he kind of almost hurt himself with an exaggerated flop. like He flew back so hard. He like landed on his tailbone. I was like, Ohh my, this could be our first semi flap injury. N not the castle been fallen U, But I think they have to figure that piece out. Let's talk about the crowd and the Trump stuff Um So I had I knew a bunch of people out there. they said Definitely loud crazy, especially the end of the second quarter And then some quiet moments too There's a lot of people at that game that probably That might have been one of their few games of the year. S of the prices I think we saw happen during the wararrior stretch as we hit the Curry era, you've that incredible old warriors crowd would kind of shake was still really good, but not as good. They went from the, you know, the Oracle warriors to the VC warriors pretty quickly. prettyt quickly. Very different energy Yeah, so the crowd seemed like it was good, but it wasn't I didn't think the spurs were affected. And this was one of the things I said last night, like And The OKC crowd where it's just It's at this for three hours. like You're not going to beat that from from a loud standpoint. So attmosphere was great, but the me the sppurs, even though they're young, answered the questionss like We like it. We're fine. We're here And if anyone looked tense out of the gate, I would say it was the Kicks with some of the early turnour like they took a minute to settle in and they certainly did But the Spurs didn't miss a beat. Like they seemed ready to compete. They seemed ready for it. We're not daunted by you know, celebrity row, all the pageantry with President Trump there, like, I gott to say the gettingetting booed so loudly mid national anthem when they put Trump on the jumbo tron. I've never seen it before God bless you, MissG. come on. we're really doing it So the the Kicks fans in general I think felt like they were invincible after game two and this was This was the unnatural act that could flip the game That Trump was going as much as the circus that comes with that and people having to get their hours and hours for the game and It's basically disrupting the entire process of a finals game, which is usually pretty chaotic anyway. We've both been bunch finals, It's abnormal. It's you have to get there super early Everything's tougher All the security stuff is way bigger. like warm upps, there's a million people on the court. It already feels like a circus. So that definitely added. I was I did wonder if that was going to affect the flow of the game What it seemed like to me, which you said earlier was like the Nicks, I don't think they seemed nervous, but They had so much adrenal and they almost didn't look like the Kicks for like the first quarter. like they just seemed kind of kind of overcharged. And then they settled down probably more out of character moments within this game for them than at any point in this series so far. And so if you're thinking that this could be a sea change moment for the Spurs That would be the proof of it right there. that you finally kind of rattled the seemingly unrattleable team. Well, they know, they know they have six guys they can trust They have figured out this Wby time out strategy to kind of keep them on the floor a little bit more when it actually matters They know they're getting wide open threes. Um, So I think they now they're just going to compare and they use they did some stuff with towns that I thought was different than what they did the first two games. L they did use Castle on them. Y They tried Brian on them a couple times. They tried different people. Kell they trapped them. seemed to me like they kept trying to mix things up on him so that he never felt really comfortable The Bridg' thing was huge for them though, because he got the two thousands almost immediately, never got going. twenty eight minutes, two points Um, and that was their best, you know, their best shooter U Which game is that game one or game to He had that one I think he was was great He was great in game two two as well though, like playing with the bench and gave them some a really critical lift in that one. likeike They need Michhael Bridges. It I know that's a pretty straightforward thing to say, but partarticularly during those stretches where Brunson andor toowns are out He's one of their most reliable ball handlers. It can't all be Jose Alvarado and someomehow Jordan Clarkson. like I'm still right shocked that we got honest to goodness positive Jordan Clarkson minutes in the NBA finals. LeBron James couldn't get that out of him in the finals. yet here the Kicks are I wouldn't bet on that happening again. likeike they need Mcale in those stretches more than anything to be a ball handler, to be a shooter, to be a facilitator for their offense too T get two days from now we're playing again Wednesday Who does that help more I don't know If you see a tilting advantage just based on that timeline, I feel like that's a pretty neutral one The only thing I would say is the Wimby piece Um just from what we saw in the last series with when there was the one day rest between the games Like he had a couple games that okay, C series, which were just strange where he just seemed Yeah Like he had concrete sneakers on. I thought he was incred I mean, we probably should have talked about him earlier than just now. I thought he was really good to yes. Like he was because the Nicks now know not to challenge him on certain things. So whatever had three blocks, but They're just so aware of him at all times. and I thought he was prowling. They really figured out a way to kind of unleash them all over the place. They were hiding them on different guys I think they learned their lesson with trying not to put them out twenty five feet from the basket on towns too much U And then offensively he was near the basket the first three quarter is way more than than he used to be. So I thought he actually could add had even more than thirty two points. He missed. they had the three taken away He missed a couple shots around That easily could been a forty point game for him I think not only the timeout stuff you mentioned in terms of just finding ways to keep him on the floor for longer stretches But finding ways to decrease how much he has to do all the time. turned out to be really important. Like you saw the Spurs mix in a little zone. you saw like experiment, which is like what happens if we have W beyond Landriry Shamot in the corner, Michael Bridges in the corner. OGN and Oi in the corner. How do we keep him out of the action? And then on offense How do we make it so that when he goes to set a screen, he doesn't have to go from the block all the way up to half court every single time to set a high ball screen because Stepfan Castle' having a hard time getting it across the line or whatever. L Those are little things, but when you pile them up over forty minutes of a sudden you'reresher in theth quarter. All ofdden he has more to give you down the stretch and he can be more assertive gettingting to the basket over and over and over because you make these other parts of his life a little bit easier Brunson. eightighty three points, eighty one shots in three games Pretty fucking good I did find myself a little surprised by Cat has been awesome. prevalence of Carl Anthony Towns should be the finals NVP if the series ended today coming off of one and two. I get it. I understand the logic I just don't know how we fall into it so soon. after like the Andre Iguadala stuff stuff, where it's like Do you reward the guy who drafts off the attention or do you reward the guy who creates the attention? And Jayen Brunson draws Everyone's eyes, everyone's focus when he's on the floor. Like he's scoring this much Bite. being Clearly the number one item in the scouting report and getting all of the defensive focus, but also the traps that we've seen throughout this series. Like I don't know how he does this, frankly. And I remain just shocked and amazed at how impressive he is night to night You were preaching Rh. I'm glad. on two topics One Look, I know we all have to be content. We all to both angles and do topics We cannot have segments about who's the finals MBP after two games in a for in a game we have to win four to win the series, not to mention series might extend past four games. I'm just it's unacceptable. You could say Wow Towns is playing like a finals MVP, but you just can't do it. So that's one thing. J stop. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to engage with it. stop Second What you just said about Brunson and the Kuregudawa thing. is one of my passion points in life. The best part should always win finals NVP unless something fucking crazy happen., right? Kure Gudal is a good example Kurry should have won it either way, but it's like All they're doing is worrying about him for six games. There's all these positive effects that just come from having this guy that's this good out there You have to be the Nv. I felt the same way about Tatum two years ago D Brown took it, but Tatum did the most on the Celtics. likeike he should have won finals MBP. He was the best guy in the deciding game. and had the biggest responsibility and for some You know, the dumbest was when Parker won in zero seven. I think that one actually makes me madder than Nguudawa where Duncan's just the best guy. He's the reason they won on the title. He's the reason they've Parker had a hot series against crappy finals team. It's like our finalsal NBP is Tony Parker. It's like Tim Dunc's the most important guy of the league. What are we doing? That's probably some offense defense bias too with, you know, like the guard who's driving a lot of stuff naturally gets a lot of attention as those things go. So there's there's a lot in play with Tony Parker for sure. Yeah.'s let's settle it now Brunson and Weenby are the two best guys in this series. Yeah and whoever wins they should win the NVP. I mean, if I'm not mistaken, Carl Towns, I'm not trying to drag Cath through the mud. He's been amazing. thought he' great defensively again today despite Weeny getting some impressive numbers. I don't think he has scored basket in the fourth quarter for the entire series yet. Is that true? certainly certainly scoreless in the fourth tonight and I believe he was in games one and two as well Ironically, Finals MVP has not moved, Brunson and Wimby are the two favorites, Brunsons even for the series itself The Nicks are now minus one hundred and eighty four on andal So Stame for Wednesday night, which was going to be exciting either way. It was either going to be the classic, somebody's up to one Game fours are always amazing. They're usually my favorite game of the series unless there's a game seven Um so we either had the Kicks trying to win their first finals and three years or we have This awesome setup for If you had to guess biggest tweak one of the two teams is going to make, what is it ' I' probably leaning toward the next side on the tweak. I don't know that we're going to see any dramatic tweaks, though. Like we're in. These are our cards. I think these are mostly the cards. I think the lineups are going to remain the same. I think the coverages and the matchups are going to remain mostly the same. It's going to be little stuff, right? It's going to be like Like one little tweak in this game that I thought made a big difference was in the first quarter especially when Weenby would go up to set ball screens, he would actually set a screen versus doing his little like, I'm going to hold out my hands and sort of hip check you maneuver. And it turns out making contact on a screen really helps. And then all of a sudden the first the guards are getting downhill and it's driving the entire offense. So there's going to be something like that, right? Like little things that pop on film In that regard, I would think for the Nick specifically, it is How do you create some airspace for Cat during those stretches where the offense comes up. How do you make it so I mean, this is this is what's hard when you want to give the ball to towns and run off this off ball action that's been working so well for the Nicks in these playoffs If the defense and the spurs are good enough to do this can somehow baton down all the hatches and keep all those guys under wraps, you're just like bleeding clock as he stands there with the ball sometimes. And so it's like how do you get a little more free and clear movement where there's something popping up and you're not driving all of those possessions into twenty plus seconds on the shot clock Yeah that makes sense. I would say Shamit, twenty three minutes tonight was a minus twenty was one for eight, one for seven from three Probably a quicker trigger for him next time would be I was really surprised Bridges didn't play more in the fourth quarter And I thought I actually thought he had five fouls. And I was texted with Nick's fan friend of mine who said he had five And I looked it up and he had four and he finished with four But u I don't know. I think I think game four to me is a ride with our guys game This is all five of those guys are going to be at forty or around forty minutes with and then the bench will fill in the rest. But I think that's that would be my prediction with the especially two days off and the Saturday game. I think it makes total sense to ride with your guys at this point. I would just argue that Lander Shamond is one of their guys. Like he's he's a hero of New York. He's earned the right to be on the floor in these moments Yeah, I wouldn't say this was his best game by any stretch, but They do need his gravity. They do need the attention that he draws McKaail can do a lot of those things too. And so if that's the trade offff, yeah, I agree. it can be a little steep sometimes. So what would you tell the Nick fans right now who were up to nothing in the finals comoming off a miracle winning game two with an emotional game three that was the hardest ticket probably in the history of VMBA, I'm guessing Um And now it's two one and game for is on Wednesday and All those old skeletons are starting to p off out of the pole Tice pole again. What would be? How would you calm them down I would tell the Kicks, not that they need this reassurance, but in any game, I expect in any close game, I expect them to win. Like I expect Jayalen Brunson to pull every like crazy one footed fadeaway that he needs to make in order to keep these games competitive. OG Ananobbe had a crazy corner three to trim this thing to win aable late The Spurs needed both the Castle jumper and the Fox jumper just to win this one Yes, the margins are thin, Yes, crazy things can happen under those circumstances, but Every indicator says this is a very, very close clutch time kind of series, and the Kicks are the clutch time kings of these playoffs. So what reason would we have to doubt them even after a game like this That's fair. And if I'm the sppurs Iought my spurs fans. I know a few of them too And The series should be one and half to one and a half I don't think it works that way Well, it doesn't. So you you lost the half. you're down to one. Yeah. You were up double figures in all three games You had the lead in the last two minutes of all three games Y your young team actually kind of came through with some big moments and ramped up the defense in a really, really special way in the second half. and feels like it's getting better and is now used to the speed of the Kicks and the finals and just all of it and seems like just in a better place than they were in game one when they just seemed like, whoa, The finals is fast. Wow Look at this. I thought they handled the speed the right way today. So I'm this person like fuck it man. we have five and seven at home We just need to get back to seven somehow. We just need to win two the next three and then sevens at our house. We just we need a two two all road wins going into a game five. L that's all we can hope for. Whatnder if that's ever happened Well, I guess that's happening seventy seven because that's what Oh no. That's what happened in u seventy seven Portland won the Second to Oh no, that was important though. Yeah, no, I don't think that's I don't think that would ever have happened Seems pretty unlikely I mean, there's been plenty of like O two series that have flipped and reverse course in the NBA finals, like Michale Bridges has been part of one of them. You know, the Maps did it against the heat in zero six. they were up two o and blew that series. So it's like it has happened. But usually you're home for the first part Eactly. That's the thing. It's all road wins for now three and potentially four games, but even that's getting ahead of ourselves I've been saying this all playoffs, Rob. I don't think home court matters like it used to even though it's to go to the game homeome court, even I don't Mariskca Harit's home court. even when you have Larry David sitting next to Bob Kraft and Ari Emmanuel and Mark Shapiro and then you have Would you have Chalamne next to Mikey with Safie Yeahah, this was this was a real This BSPod rewatchables murder. Tina Feay was there. Yeah, there was incible. Tina Fe's next to Tracy Morgan. I was I thought for sure we'd get Lauren Michaels tonight mayaybe for game four. I saw Irving Azof under the basket. It was like all the OGs and then you You know, Dolan, who I think usually watches from the stance. If Trump's like I'm coming President. Yeah kindind of can't say no Um so now he's in a suite and I'm sure he's like I would had better luck if I was in my seats, but gettingetting cucked in your own building to go sit with Donald Trump is tough. It is tough But I think from the home court standpoint I don't know what's different about it. I always felt like when I was growing up and especially like being a Celtic fan and some of the games we had, like I just felt like if it was a Muswin game we were winning. and we would we could affect the refs. U It's just you would have the momentum. it was just the way it went. and the stats back it up. like for years and years, it was ninety, ninety five percent And now we see all this time. You just go into somebody else's house and you can win whenever you want. I don't really understand it I don't know what is tilted. otherther than clearly, there's just like a lot of great competitive balance and talent around the league, but why that would explain the shift in homeome court advantage. I don't exactly know. Maybe it is just like travel as Is that the three pointers? I think the threes help. But this didn't feel like a game that was swung by Spurs hot shnt. you know? I'm just trying to think of all the different reasons that could swing. Three pointers would be one. Yep. the travel being so much better you know, than it was in the seventies, eighties and really through the nineties The fact that we know more about our bodies when you're on the road and things to do and not do maybe don't have you know, steak and fried chicken and cheeseburgers at three third in the morning. M be part of it. We know that stuff. You think Doorash has saved has squashed homecourt advantage? It's like it's too reliable to get a Chipotle bowl now. You can't You have to worry about the Michael Jordan like stomach virus from pizza anymore. Right. Well, you have that. And then you have You know, when you think about the way all the shooting motions were different, in the seventies and eighties and your guys doing this now Everybody's off in assembly line with the way they shoot. nique is more reliable than it used to be. I mean, the thing that almost killed the sppurs tonight were the free throws. Oh my gosh. Down the stretch they went ten for ten. And then Castso, I wish we had mentioned this earlier And We've both been in the building when somebody has huge, huge free throws. The most famous ones I ever remember from this was to that Kawi had during rightpe for the Ray Allen shot. Oh ye. missed the first one he made the second one. Sometimes when it's like you have to make both of them and you're on the road And the crowd can go to this level and it almost feels like they're invading the guy's body. It's so loud And you're when you're in there watching and you're like I don't understand how he's gonna make these. Like this is the most pressure I've ever seen anyone in my life and Casso who they rin the play for U They inbatted a Fox. He threw right back to castle. That was their guy and he fucking drained them. and it was awesome I feel like we we have mentioned a lot the shot that he hit to kind of like give the sppurs the winning cushion and maybe not enough about I mean, his physicality on these drives is unbelievable. And he's so elusive like he's kind of constantly in a state of euro step as he gets to the basket. like ye Al decelerating, always kind of challenging you to stay down and not jump so he can bait you into a foul I just thought his drives were exceptional, especially in the first half, butate they needed him too. L they needed somebody who could bust through even tough competitive perimeter defense. And when the game is officiated this way, Stevan Cas going absolutely do that. Like he will dish out as much punishment as he will take and he will somehow convert a lot of those opportunities. He does this one move that I'm not positive. I've ever seen anybody do consistently before. When he goes right, he drives right in the chest and takes a step and usually you stop because there's a guy there. Yep But then he just takes like this delayed second step and just puts it up anyway. And like one time they blocked it today, but there are other times when they just I don't know how he does it But he's just You can't he's almost like a running back who moves the line forward every time he goes into the line. U on those drives, he's never losing the contact. He's always like going to the bask. I thought he was great today. I was a little concerned about his twenty eleven twelve range Westbrook range kind of. He's got a little of that. Oh like I got this guys and it's like no, no, not this time, you know, but he was great today. And not just that I got this guys, but he is good right now. He's playing he's playing tremendous defense on Brunson in particular ball Really, really high level stuff and he'll come up with huge rebounds, huge hustle places, doing all that He will also, at one point in literally every game, commit one of the dumbest fowous against a three point shooter you have ever seen in your life. And so like you just have to live with it and you just have to accept that in the balance OG and Oobbe's going to get three free throws, but you're going to get all this great defense and this great driving and this important scoring. He just does so much for them Yeah, it's like I feel the same way about My dog, Murph, we were having a great day today. Yeah preparing. I was preparing for rewatchables tomorrow taping, preparing for this pod Sos wonderful day and then all a sudden, he just walked right into the pool And it's like, whyy'd you do that? And he's like, I don't know. I don't know why I did it But it was a special day and I didn't let it marr the day for me. There go So yeah, I think we hit everything. Prediction for game four Do we have to if we've just been wrong in these entire playoffs? I did not make an official prediction. I did bet on San Antonio today, but I had a fando bet, which I think I lost because I think Harper missed the steal I didn't honestly had genuinely had no idea what was going to happen tonight There was Like five different scenarios and I would have believed all the scenarios, including San Antonio just getting waxed. Yeah And at halftime I wasn't exactly racing for liab at the Spurs, right down seven. It felt like the Kicks kind of had it. So And So there' be no Trump. It'll be a lot easier to get into for Um a lot less of a circus and If on the Ks, I'm hoping Wendby's a little more tired than he was today. Could be If forced to pick I think the Kicks will win game four Uh, I don't feel great about it. I think they will win game four As someone who would love to see a two two game five, I hope that's not the case, but I don't know. I just I have come to respect so much about the way New York answers basically any challenge and their resourcefulness in terms of their playmaking and the way that they will tap into I just fully expect Mica Bridges to come up with like eighteen critical points in game four and Kat to be a really important playmaker again, and Andandrew Shamon shooting to come back on track. It's just kind of what they've done. So If if I have to choose, I think that's what's probably going to happen But honestly, who can trust any of our predictions at this point pour one out. I'm not gonna to actually pour one on my desk for the next April twenty third was their last loss. That's now bl June eighth fifteenth anniversary of the day we launched, Grantland, by the way, shout out to June eighth. Congrats. Thanks. No longer exists, but it was a great site that I love very much Um But yeah, april twenty third to june eighth Legendary streak Here's this is not a prediction This is what I think will be the key to game for I think that Spurs open Threes are going to be even more opening game for. I think from what you've seen when you look at U What do we have? We had Foxo for five, Castle two for five, Harper one for eight Keldon Johnson wouldn't shoot any of them Champan and vessel were six for eleven I just think they Give those guards those threes and play off the ball go way under the picks. And guys, we don't think you can make these. knock them down for us. And if the spurs knock them down, they're they're going to go back to two. and if they don't knock them down, they're down three one. Yeah That is kind of the crunch when the Surs do play their three guards together and they they seem to like closing that way at least for part of the fourth quarter and crunch time, if not the entireall handling. a lot of ball handling But if all three of those guards are not defended, and I would say at minimum, they're not defended in the way that Vaselle and Champnene are. Like the Kicks hug those shooters a little bit more than they do Fox and Harper and Castle But having two of those guys off the ball if you're going to play all three guards together That's that's a lot of crunch. I do I don't think it's an accident that the sppurs, even though they have all that ball handling and they were able to make some things happen also didn't have any real flow in terms of like getting an actual downhill drive that then kicked out into something on a lot of those possessions And they were playing way off Harper was kind of in front of the Nick bench down the stretch. they're just playing way off him and they didn't really care if he shot and they wanted to funnel him toward talents anyway. Spurs only eight turnovers and twenty eight assists. That's the one. I think the sixteen turnovers in game two All that driving, all of that play like working through pressure, eight turnovers is It's just unbelieable stuff for. Shout out to Steve Kerr, who loves nothing more than a lot of assists and low turnovers on a box score. I'm sure he's gonna to look at this tomorrow and be like, wow. twenty eight and eight. That's wonderful. I love it Uh But yeah, if they're going to have less than ten turnovers. Um And they're going to have thirty two free throws 're probably gonna to soon never win. All right, Robahoney, what TV show am I What TV show? Oh, Doc Rivers texted me and wanted to mention that they' pulled the Wby on Josh Hart. He was pushing for that f series. What TV show should we watch between game three and game four? Definitely Widows Bay, which is great, although it seems like you have more mixed impressions so far. I'm gonna give it one more episode. I'm two in. You know what's starting right now though, that definitely has my attention is this Cpe fear remake on Apple TV. Sw both, saw both episodes. Oh just you wait for three Uh ye, things things are getting very spicy, very interesting. If you like a little bit of trash in your TV, which Cape Fear certainly is I just think you're going to have a great sweaty Georgian time with it. So come along for the ride for that Well, we're doing from Hell reewatchables right now. And the show does check some of my boxes most importantly, the reallyally stupid Either father, mother or both And in this case, both of them are really stupid and just seem oblivious to a lot of things that are happening, which I always enjoyed. Youb You got dumb parents, you got outright stalking, you have a lot of like ominous dead animals. I mean, what more could you ask You've severed digits? Yeah, it's good. I would When I saw they were making it and I was like, ah, why? Wh are we? come on. Wh? but then Sorses is an EP. Yeah Um, they got, uh, they got U Anton Saggar the lead guy. Good to see him again. He must have survived the car accident U But yeah, no, it was good. I liked the first episodes. All right, Rob Mahoney This was a a true pleasure and a privilege to stay up late with you game three. We're going to take a break and we're going to come back with your friend Kyle Mann. We're going to talk about NBA draft right after this. This episode is brought to you by Miiclob Ultra, the official Beer partner. of the NBA My favorite NBA finals moment ever, wife two One was when I was six years old and I went to the famous tririple Over timeime game in nineteen seventy six, Boston versus Phoenix at the Celtics won and became I still think the most famous NBA game of all time It's either that or one of the Jordan games I like to claim it as the most famous since I was there, but the other one was Game five, ninth and and four finals two two Laker Celtics And it is so hot in the Boston Garden passing out in the stands, everyveryone's sweating all over the place. The Lakers are taking oxygen on the bench and Larry Bird Unfazed. I think he had thirty five points. twenty rebounds was just awesome and won the game gave them a three two lead. they won in seven and that is my favorite finals game ever There's a lot of great moments. I There's a lot of great moments in the court, but the best ones are served cold, just like Mcloob Ultra right here Beerod light beer that's only ninety five calories. Yeah. ninety five calories. Even better They're getting people closer to the game with the chance to win tickets, custom merch. much more Michola Btrra appears worth playing for ent her now at mclobe ultra. com slash court side Biggo b of courordide twenty five to twenty six, no purchase necessary open a U.S residence twenty one plus. Begins on october first, twenty twenty five ends on june thirtieth, twenty twenty six Multiple entry periods. see official rules at makelobe ultra. com slash courttside for free entry entry deadlines and prizes and details It's finally here, the NBA finals, Spurs versus Nicks. each game. I've been looking at the matchups and sharing my favorite picks from Fandal Sports book on my Twitter feed ussually a same game parlay, usually tied to If you think one of the sides is going to win here is what I think the roadmap would be. So We'll see. I definitely have forty eight hours to think about what happened in game three and how that might effect game for. stay tuned on Wednesday for the pick when I bet fan of a brand I trust it's easy to build. and B bets onfandle, suuper breezy Easier each year. twenty twenty six, the easiest year it's ever been. I know I'm getting great ods, payouts on my parlays boosts every day And I'll get my winnings instantly fandle playayer game All right, Jaco Man is here from the Ringer. He is on the Rger NBA show He is one of the M good people that help with our Ringer NBA draft guide, which I love two weeks away plus a day. P in Um This is some draft. I've changed my opinion on the order of the top four seventeen times I have no idea who's going fifth or picking fifth I have no idea what OKC is going to do with twelve and seventeen We have no idea if the bucks are going to have ten and thirteen if they trade Yonest in time Um What what's the biggest up in the air subplot to you that's not one of the top four picks Oh, I mean, Yeah, you said you've changed yours seventeen hour. I'm probably going to if I can be shy of like twenty five changes at the top, that'll be good. But aside from that, because I'm going to state some strong opinions that I have that might still change. I think the biggest thing and I think this is probably you've been doing this longer than I have, but inevitably you start you start thinking about the playoff lens Yeah. specifically if you think of, you know, being in the NBA as, you know, a poker table where there is a buy in, you know, like what does it cost to sit down at this table? What is it what does it take? I think that these playoffs, specifically like if you just watch the thunder and the spurs and you imagine those teams are going to be around for How long some form of those teams dominated by these big guards incredible rangey bigigs I think how this affects these guards at the top because we have talked about this. This assumed order where we're like, well, you know, the next guys that you got to take and you look at every mock draft, it's like, you got to take one of those guards. You have to do it. There's a gun to your head. And the more that I watch these playoffs, and I see guys like, you know, Shay or Stefan Castle or Dylan Harper bulldozing every living breathing human in front of him. I'm like who who who is not going to get picked on is a question that I've asked myself a lot When I watch these guys, when I watch a Kingston Flemings, who I love, when I watch a Lber and Fylon, who I love when I watch a Darius ACuff, you know, who I like a lot.. I have problems with A cuff we can talk about, but that's the biggest thing I've been thinking about is like who's not going to get picked on because in the playoffs man, the links of your chain, if you have one that's weak You got a big problem and that's kind of what's been on my mind with these guards lately And also where have we gone wrong in the past? And I think Castle is a great example. where you only have one year to watch a guy. He's on a great team that didn't really need his offense that much. He was relegated to a role People overlooked some stuff with him, especially the pedigree and he ends up going forth, which is just nuts when you go back and look at that traraft now. It's insane Um I look at Mara like that The center which I've seen in different mock drafts It'll be in like the mid teens and some and like people will be like, well,. I just don't think there's any way he's not a top ten pick with what we're watching with how many Guards are in this draft, and you can't tell me that every team needs a guard At some point, somebody from eight to ten is either that's picking in those spots or is going to try to trade up to those spots because they don't really need a guard. likeike OK C is a great example. OKC doesn't need another guard They need somebody like Mera is somebody that could actually potentially play for them and give them Hartenstein insurance. So I just feel like he's going eight to ten And I feel like one of these guards is going to drop because this is what we've seen. The cluster theory Um, I've seen I looked at a mock today. I think it was it was Sam Vestini on is Vestiny or Vassini Sam I'm sorry Sam. Unless hasn't corrected me his forg. that that's my pronunciation dyslexia. Um, San Vassini had filing, I think dropping out of the top fifteen. It's going to happen with one of these point guards and we're going to think It's crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, think about it. how many teams are like, all right this is an awesome draft This is a real pedigree pick and I don't need a guard. Why do I have to take Phylon I don't know. I just think weird stuff's going to happen when we get out of the top four. And that's before we get into all the trade up trade down stuff, which I think is really in play this year Well this might interest you because then you're the you're one of the basketball reference filter, you know, aficionados. I know you love to go on these dives. I did on I went on last five playoffs. So going back to, you know, the warriors Sorry to bring this up by the Warriors win over the Celtics in twenty two I hope I'm not fired for doing that. But over one hundred minutes played for guards are six two or under someome of these guys were listed at like six four and we saw that there was some, you know smoke and mirrors with that. The players who are productive at that size in the playoffs for multiple games for a heavy minute load It's not a long list. You're talking about guys who kind of get cups of coffee who are quick in and outs. I mean, you could go down into the Srooters into the Monte Morrises into the, you know, Fred Van Bleitz, but really you're talking about high impact players. It's Steph Curry Obviously, it's Payton Prichchard you know, Jayalen Brunson, Donoan Mitchell, Tyes Maxie, John Mrant. And if you kind of go through and look at those guys, it's like, well, what's the common denominator there? I think it's that you if you're going to be that size, you need to have a superpower. I mean, and the question I've been asking myself is like Could we see those superpowers when these guys were coming out or did we just miss them? You know, with Bruunson, I think there were some things that we missed even though I liked him, like some of the things that were going to translate for him. Peayton Pritchard, I think I missed a lot of with him. his ball handling. You as a Celtics fan, what do his handling really is his superpower, right? He's become a good shooter. Is there anything else that you would say I would say the one on one skills I just think we fucked up the Brunson thing and'm ninety nine point nine percent sure I went kind of haywire about it during the draft that he fell out of the first round just because He was just a pure awesome point card. Like you couldn't tell me he wasn't a rotation guy for somebody. And I like that just seemed like a classic overthink. but I see your point with the size though. A Cry I wouldn't count because I think curry is at least I've stood next to him. He's at least six three I don't know what he's listed at, but I don't know. I thought was at least two I thought he was at least two inches taller than me, but I also feel like he's a little stronger, like I don't ACuff to me is the one for this conversation. becausecause if you're taking him, you better think He is a really, really high end special offffensive guard That's the only way you can justify putting him in the top seven. Youd to think he's like a twenty five E forty percent three point shooter Um Really uncoverable at end of games teams were going have to trap. That would be like the roadmap for him being worth that pick because defensively it's not going to be there Well, I think the line of question you have to go into with ACuff is We all kind of know about the defensive stuff that's been well documented. If you watch him there you could pick at him for the physical issues where it's like, I've kind of wondered if he's laterally very mobile, if he's going to he's not like a super vertical athlete. things like that. He's going to get attacked. You know, Brunson is good of a player. Brunson's very competitive defensively and he still gets attacked. He does what he can. You kind of have to ask yourself, is this you know, something that was a bug of of this Arkansas team this past year where he carried one of the biggest offensive loads in the country. They He was the only guy on their team that was capable of making like a consistent good decision. He ran that team and did he have to kind of rest on on defense at times De Bona kind of had the same thing going on a BYU Yeah Or is it something that he could just choose to and we're overrating this You know, we're maybe leaning into this too much. Now we're not overrating it. We're not overrating it Just add questions. Yeah, yeah, no, I think it's a fair question, but the question is Is the other stuff so good? You just put on the side. Everybody's got some flaws, right? Castle. Even Casso who I love has that kind of Westbrooke side where he's a little out of control at the worst possible times and that's his flaw Um I get more worried about a guy like Brown. And Brown has like f up He's creeped up to five in the conversation for the Cippers because the Cippers are basically like, we're not taking point card. We just went all in on garland So unless we trade back It's either Waggler or Brown or Burrds. It's going to be one of those three And you're hiring Brown the most You like I don't know you seem like you at least really like the ceiling Are you doing a loable thing to me? Oh, you like the idea of him I just by you you alsoso recognize the red flags U. I've kind of like worked through my cautious optimism with him through this off season because this the regular season was just weird. man. I mean, like he was you could go into the speculation about why that stuff happened. I'm not willing to like openly just like you if you're going to do that, you have to like throw people personally under the bus. I'm not going to go that direction likeike right now, but like if you watch him his consistency as a shooter Can he get to the riim and score? I mean, those are the two basic things. And if you're going to be the player type that he is and have big struggles in that area. and then also are you going to be, you know, vulnerable defensively? I think those three things are very much up of the air with him right now. And if you if you look at u I've compared him to he's he's definitely in the like phylum of Anthony Simons inQuante George for me, which is your face set a lot there. If he's going to be an inefficient skinny guard who can't get to the room and he's streaky from three That's an archype that's you're going at best going be like be like the third scorer on a team, I think, right? It's hard to be the primary if you're going to be that that type of player. My weaknesses when I and I feel like I've been good at evaluating the draft over the years. I think my I've had more hits than misses. My two weaknesses are when there's not enough of kind of data slash tape on a guy and you're projecting like somebody like Wiseman. I just completely missed on Wiseeman. There was basically didn't play any games You're just basically looking at the prototype of him versus what he actually did The other one that kills me over and over again is the raw talent Ko withith the wayay guy I just tend to discount those guys. They make they make me nervous. Like to me, I would just I know Buris is going to be good. I'm positive I don't know how good he is I don't know if he can be a lead guard that can run your offense because we would have said with Casle Even the stuff he was doing in the two OKC games without Fox and with a compromiseed harper, like I don't think anybody would have predicted he could have done that two years ago. And I wonder with Buris like I know that's like he's a protypical to. Is he ever going to be able to beat people off the dribble? I'm just betting on that, dude. I'm betting on the competitiveness. I think he has the right size And I think we always forget this with these young guys. like the stuff they're missing now might not be stuff they're missing five years from now. You know, they're going to work on this and they're going to try to get better and better at the things they're not good at I'm betting on that guys. So if I on the Cippers And it's between Wagler and Burris. and I know Wagler has the higher pedigree. I would just rather trade picks with Sacramento and pick up an asset and take Burris at seven. I think that's a smarter move Yeah, if you look at these finals and you look at the Western conference finals, I've circled back I've like Bur' the whole process, but Ive felt pretty validated in liking him a lot and having him high watching these playoffs because I think if you just if you look at how you're building teams, I mean, if you have any kind of a weakness If you look at just even like the Kicks and the sppurs, the Spurs have a few weaknesses that that the Kicks are picking at, you know, and the spurs came into this series looking at the Nicks think thinking there were some weaknesses that have turned out not to be. So I just think and I've watched Burryess and looked at these series and thought to myself, I could see I could have seen him logging big minutes, not just minutes, like being seriously on the floor a lot in that Thnder Spurs series or this finals. And if you look at some of these other guys, I'm not sure about that with Mikeael Brown, you know, I'm not as sure about that with Darius. It could happen because Brunson is kind of in the same Mld is is u as as Darry say cuff, but I'm pretty sure about Burryes being on the floor and me major. I'm all in on Burrs. And A cuff, the problem with him is You worry that twenty years from now, his a D is a cuff was a problem He's one of those guys and he basically played in five playoff games the first five years of his career but has this incredible fiveive minute Twitter. Our roll battery is the same It's like castking ev full socer players are the same Take Messi, the most decorated player ever. Is there any other player who has achieved that? No, just him. Now take Duracl. Is there any other battery with power boost ingredients inside? No, just Duracl. Remember, goats only trust goats because they're built different, and Messi only trusts Duracl I'm Manning. I'madisoninner, I'mv Yov. I'm Coria Moore. want to train like a Red Bull athlete. Tell us your fitness goals this summer to enter the Red Bowl Athlete challenge. You'll get to try each of our workouts for a chance to win an ultimate Red Bowl experience. Th you have what it takes This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web. Like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a fifty page restoration block or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online makes sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responsse is set upp required compatibility and availability varies eighteen plus Um I think the center I was really impressed by him in the tournament. I think his tape' really good His passing is pretty special for his son. Mara. Yeah Oh yeah Like his pated' pretty special They get unusual U I just like him and if Like if I'm at Landa at eight. I'm really thinking about it Um, because I don't really I just committed to uh Committed to Dyson twenty five million a year. I paid Alexander Walker have Jayen Johnson. So at that point I'm either If I go back in and I resign McCumn which I think they're probably going to do really need a point guard Combined with the fact that the point guard hitter misrate is pretty high whereas like a center I felt the same way a couple of years ago with Kling in who everybody seemed just hesitant to take in the top ten for some reason. It's like, why? this guy's You know, this guy' a potentially a premier rim defender and a really good reboundnder. like worst case scenario. this is a guy that's to be a twenty five million dollars a year prayer if he pans out. And I feel the same way about Mara. just I just can't see him dropping out of the top ten with how few centers are. Yeah, he's he's one of those there's this funny phenomenon that happens whenever phenomenon. It's just a funny thing that happens whenever I'm watching player a c like today I was watching Bruce Thornton from Ohio State who's a little puck scoring guard that you may learn about. you may not he's one of these guys that may make it we'll see, but he's kind of a bowling ball, but they were playing in Michigan. and I was keeping an eye on Bruce Thorton and I kept getting distracted by Mara. Yeah like I was trying to focus on Thnton, but there was a play where Mara was on the short corner on the right side and he got double teamed and he reached blind around the double team and whipped it with his left hand to the opposite corner on a dime. and I was just like God, like it's hard to focus when it's seventven three And you talk about Klinging Mara's bigger than Kling and. He's huge. So if it's we've entered this time to where You know, I always say with Windby you can't fight fire with fire with him because there're just is no one his size. But Mara is Bet mover than I think he gets credit for He tries to dunk everything. He's not he's got kind of a He's got kind of a shot put you know, baby hook thing that he doesn't run the room, but he tries to dunk everything. He's defensively, really competitive I think for the Hwks you'd be presenting some like spacing spacing questions because you'd have Daniels out there and Jaylen Johnson and you know But they'd be big and they would just kind of bludgeon people. So I mean, and defensively, I think he's going to be pretty good. So I'm with you on Mar. I havem in the teens right now, but that could change, but how how high before it becomes offensive to you Like anything higher than eight is would be pretty stupid, I think, right That'd be tough. I think it's just Yeah, it's around there because there's, I mean, it's not a sure thing because we talk about Malaatch last year who had I had big reservations about and it's like he had some moments this year, but it's not a sure thing with him. It's it's those guys how well they move in space because I think Klingon didn't get enough credit for how well he could sit down and move in space either. So is Mar going to be that good I'm not so sure, but it's tricky for those guys to survive in space. Better in college. Vance the guy is going to go five to seven picks later than he should and it's going to be stupid. and he's going to have a big chip on his shoulder. I'm just telling people that's going to happen now. And The Tennessee kid has been circulating in the top ten. And again, as you were trying to provoke me over text with that the other day. Well as always, these kids are right around the age of my my son and my daughter and I'm more sensitive than ever about being mean about NBA prospects. Like there was a Brooklyn story the other day about they might be interested in And amen is as high as six and I just think that would be insane. And I get it. It's pedigree from high school, He was one of the top guys headading into college, season wasn't as good as you thought, but I just I can't picture him in the in either of the three Either of the two conference finals we watch or the finals we're watching now. I just don't think he plays No, Yeahah, him getting he's a perceived shot maker who's incredibly streaky. Can he get to the spots he likes to get to? He's really, really rough around the room. and I was shocked by that report On the one hand, I was shocked and when I saw who it was attributed to in terms of the team that was thinking about it, I was like, this makes no sense. I would not do this, Greated there thinking that. Okay, that makes sense The thinking of putting him to Jagor who I like with conditions. like I like Jaggor in certain narrow conditions. like if you're going to have a guy who can And I want to get guys who are as unconditional as possible. likeike you would fit in as many situations as are possible. I don't want to have a role player that I have to have these very narrow circumstances that they work in. And if I'm going to take five playmaking players who are all rough shooters one year and then take a six nine guy who can't get to the rim and it's a shaky space spacer the next year, I don't understand because that was in the tweet, wasn't it? that Yor and Nate Ayman like fit together. I don't see that at all.t I don't think makes sense at all. Don't use your picks this year to make up for Some weird strategies of the year ago. I do think that's a trade down team with OKC, though. and I don't know what their appetite is for trading backwards, but If I could get twelve and seventeen and I could get more stuff from OKC beyond that basically make them pay one hundred and forty cents on the dollar, I would really think about that because I like this draft a lot and I think as we said, like there's going to be a couple guys that fall. And at twelve and seventeen, you might get a guy who one guy at least who ends up better than The guy at six. I normally don't like those trades, but I think this is such a unique draft as long as you're not trading out of the top four Anywhere from five, seventeen, like who the fuck knows? It's going to be like every other draft Um, the big things that are shifting is there's booz of momentum in a real way now he might end up just going first I think as everybody looks at these tapes and the advanced metrics comparisons to guys from over the years. It's just like All right Maybe we don't overthink this. This guy is a twenty three and eleven pros for ten straight years. What's wrong with that Yeah. well, I was going to ask you, talk to me through your Friday night when I initially that to you and Tayate and House where I was I was sitting over dinner and I just did like a thousand yard stare where I was thinking for a minute My wife', you know, waving her hand in front of my face. likeike what are you thinking about? I was thinking about Boozer where I had this epiphany where I was like, man, if the wizards want to be a serious team in short order and make all the not that you need to think about the players you have always, but in this case, you would check both boxes. U he would make every player that they have right now better instantly, I think. He'd help Sar. I think he'd make Tray Johnson, Kasha George, Bob Carrington, all those dudes. he'd make them better. Well, I mean, that was the conclusion I came to. initially, did you were you feeling that way and then you came to it or how did that go down I didn't love the Marchmadness watching him where it just felt like he was one of those let me put my head down and ram into the door over and over again, guys Right. They were there I didn't understand why he didn't have a fifteen footer yet, But then the more I thought about it is, well, in three years from now, he probably will So we've seen him be able to like bully his way to different spots We've seen him be able to shoot from distance and he'll probably add the other thing The playmaking, the rebounding, like the feel for the game, like he's always in the right spots and he's just It's a weird thing to say. it's a weird thing to say is like a scouting report thing, but He just feels like a guy who's just been in big basketball games, like his entire fucking life He's just seen it all. He's not a, you know, there's some late bloomer guys that make it. but in his case like I just don't think he's going to be phased. I could totally see him in the last month of basketball we watched and all of these different things. Like you could argue like Soses on the spurs. that's Perfect guy you would want for them at the fore next to Wenby, right? So I've been thinking a lot because I do think the Bance is going to go first regardless of how we try to talk the boozer thing know. I just think he's going to go first Um I think Danny's such a wild carded second And there's no way to predict it and it's going to come down. He's going to take all the input from everybody, but it's ultimately come down. he's going to be watching these guys And he's going to hone in on some sort of specific thing that he's been able to do over and over again. He did it with Tatum, he did it with Brown. He did it when he was going to take the rant. Um, he over and over again, he looks at like the high end talent guys and just is able to project them And You would think it's going to happen with Peterson, but I think there's too many red flags. I don't I think he's going to stay away from Peterson and I could see him taking boozer or two would be my That would be like my my Y S one hundred and thirty bet right now I might be wrong.e But I really think they're gonna take Boozer. I do. I can't explain it. I think they're gonna take boozer too You think the jazz are going to take boozer be interesting way based on what because that would be going what we were talking about like just taking a guy because you like him because at three four, five, the jazz When mean you went out of your way to get Jereon Jackson and you have Larry Markganin, you have Kessler, you have, you know, Ace Bailey. I was going thinking about Ace Bailey though What do you think the comparing contrast there is situate like his situation last year at five I mean, remember it's easy And what did you do? They went for your talent, right? And they were just they were like,h, yes, we know there's a lot of noise around that. Ainge just has a way of just being like, I'm not I kind of feel like he has a way of being is bothered by some of that stuff, right? Like he just kind of was weren't there kind of questions about Tatum having distraction around him too when he was coming in where people are like I don't know, you know, you you probably remember that better, but I feel like I remember hearing things about that with Tayatum when he was coming in. Well, think when they he. But think about when they did the Tatum move. They already had Jaylen Brown and they had Haywward So It's like and when when they did their trade down and they werere going to take Tay and it was like, well, this is weird They're gonna take another wing? How many wings do you need? but His attitude was this is where basketball iss going. I don't think you can have enough wings Um We're going to have awesome wings out there all the time. We'll have at least two. We'll play three together and that's how we're going to think. So that's why with the boozer thing. I can't shake the feeling I have in my gut that he's just going be like, well, we have too many forwards and like we don't have enough guards Well Is it a bad thing to have size and shooting all over the place and interchangeability and You know, if Marketing would be the piece that I guess you would you could potentially trade or move or move for a guard, but I think it's way harder to find good forwards and good guards right now Yeah. I mean forwards with the skills that Boozer has skill forwards is a premium, you know? His dad also is Well, that's the other thing. they're under the hood with Boozer. They're under the hood with Boozer and Deabana. They know those kids They know the families like they they know those guys would be happy in Utah, which is a whole other piece Peterson's like such a wild card and the season he had was weird. What am I bringing in? What if he doesn't like it here? What happened to him last year? What was that creatent thing You know, they if he takes Peterson then that will make me think Peterson is going to be awesome because that would mean Danny's like, I've overlooked all these other red flags. I'm not going to take this guy that I know is going to be good because I think this guy might be Kobe Right So if he if they take him second, I feel like he would have to have landed on that. And I know it's like his son's there, Austin and The owners there. I know it's not to be Danny's call, but they're going to He's too good at this. Like at some point if he if he's convinced on a certain guy, that's going to, I think be the guy they take think of the top three guys. I mean, Peterson's personality on his team and his dynamic with his teammates is obviously the most in question. And this year, you know, after the year that we just saw Boozer, you never hear a word about him as a teammate. DeBana, I mean, Dbana, I haven't heard anything like that. I mean, you know, I know his dad's really involved. He's a real no nonsense dude, but I haven't heard anything like You just don't hear the same things about those two guys as opposed to Peterson. So I mean,' hearing bad stuff about Peterson, there's just like, yeah This is The way that was make a bd. I think Folz who's a completely different story and a complete different guy is a good prison to look at this. You missed that false pick and don't take Tatum. that set you back five years. You know, and you're betting on somebody that wasn't physically a hundred percent and you know, maybe wasn't wired the same way Tatum was and it worked out the way it did. So with Peterson, I think the Peterson one is the toughest dilemma in a long time with the high school tape versus what happened in the past year. And I don't know I don't think there's a right answer I don't think somebody can be five years from now. like I told you like There's no way to know. it's two separate Becauseuse that high school tape we've talked about is some of the best high school tape I've ever seen of a guard And and maybe Danny would watch that and go, o The thing is If Boozer goes two. Is Memphis really going to take Peterson three Because that would be weird too I think that I really think there's a chance Peterson go for. and we and Givonei was on somewhere was saying like Peterson is the best prospect in this draft. He should go first I don't know. I could see him going forth too. It's such a hard one to target I'd gon't take him if I'm Memphis. I mean, you think about Howard and Peterson together? Why not? What's is there something that you? What are you worried about with him? I mean, he could come in and be your best player the way he wants. They have some guys there already. I mean . Is Wilson the most Memphis guy possible other than maybe Boozer. I would say Boozers the most Memphis gu guysy. I think a gu has a lot of Memphis to him too. Yeah Ugh Wilson doesn't strike me. I mean, we're just we're, you know,' putting the personality of our franchise on a guy. I mean, Wilson doesn't strike me as much as as Memphisy, but Wilson is the interesting one because you'llar people Well, I was talking with Wils, I was just talking about the guy fucking gives a shit and tries his ass off and that's like kind of the culture they've tried to build over the last twenty years. I some guys do though, it's that's the thing. It's just I think you know, Peters about Peterson that that's, I mean He was just dis He was just leaving games and not coming back. like I don't know. I know weird shit was going on physically, but that's still a red flag for me. And I polled some people about the Createen thing and they acted like that was not kind of flimsy. I heard some really responses to that. Yeah He's the most talented shopmaker in the draft and I think he's the most talented scorer in the draft. I it's not close but that like we've talked about, you know, he You can't just draft a guy for talent because if we were just drafting people for talent, it's your personality, your how you jive with your teammates, All those things matter Um, you know, and so You know, I watched in Kentucky at a high school event, I watched AJ and Darren go head to head and Darren was better like pretty clearly, not even close. I mean, kind of dominated and and you hear stories from people who have watched many of those matchups and said Darren won every single time What do you think about that? you know? It's like he's he's going to be an elite dribble pull up shooter. I think he'll be able to play off the ball. He is great middle game. He's a great athlete. Is he like a super duper elite athlete? I don't know, but he's a very good one And I think he's a good passer. I think at times guys have to make shots for your numbers to look good at times think you're back in on him Well this is this is the this is the maddening thing about these this top four is that I have gone back and forth over and over again. R right now, I'm kind of sitting it I kind of think I would take boozer one I know House wants his his shot making, you know, sexy score. Something to be excited about for the future. I think the most I'll say it again. I think the most efficient direct straight line way for the Washington Wizards to be a great basketball team is to take Boozer first and I think they'd be good. Theyd be serious. They'd be like playing possibly by next year. I think that that could be possible for them Wow You don't agree No, I Banerlass I'm at the mode now with the research where I'm like doing reclassifying research. how de Banceer reclassified after eighth grade. And he's actually, I think he's ten or eleven months older than Flag I think they're like a month apart. if I'm what it is so then. Yeah. flag fllags deecember two thousand six. Oh You're right Flag August Flags a month older than De Banson. Yes. That's what I said. Okay U Do you worry about that much though because I'm, you know, as As a parent littleittle boys. I mean, I, you know, we You have that conversation about when you start because I used to think that was a big deal and you talk with their kindergart teachers. It's just lamer than you think. It's not some people, I mean, if you think your son's going to be an athlete, may I guess it depends on when they move them from grade to grade I don't know.'m like Burry's is a little bit older. That doesn't mean Yeah Burs is a second year guy. But people are holding that against Buress. If he were if he were a sophomore, would you give a shit? Like I just don't I don't care about that. Like I, you know, it's not like they're gast. I didn't say I carered either way. I'm saying I'm at the point of the research I'm doing the deep dive on other guys that have reclassified over the years. and it's like I see And it's like u o, Josh Jackson He was a reclassifier I meanm alternative similar to to Josh Jackson, right? I mean or not Joshackson I'm thinking of Josh Smith, Josh from the Hawks, a little similarity there. Pays cheheckout is offered by your banks and credit unions. So when you shop online at participating merchants, your cards appear in one place, ready to use and kept up to date. And the best part, your actual card number isn't shared when you check out because boundaries are healthy. Like no work emails after six. One small step for boundaries, one big leap for check out. Pace. It checks out. Activation required. See pace d. com to learn more. Terms and conditions apply.. Your summer weekends fill up fast, but Crocs has your back. Road trips, beach days, last minute getaways, whatever's on the agenda, swing by your local store and find your new goat too Try it, style it, make it yours. becausecause the right pair doesn't just show up It shows off Walock out ready for whatever's next. Visit your nearest Croux store today Well Regardless I I would be excited to have the fourth pick in this draft and I don't normally say that. because U You're getting the chip on the shoulder guy and other people are making the decision for you and you might end up with the best guy anyway. And this has to be one of the only drafts I can remember like that. Like I wouldn't even felt that way with the A palo Cechibari draft. U This one, it's like px. you might be a idit for Washington takeen boozer a one would be the funniest outcome for a variety of reasons Not to mention the bance are going to Utah too immediately And then nobody knowing what's going to happen after that. Your predictions one through four right now twow weeks away. But he have what what will happen? but my opinion. Pict sure the topob for I think Ajogo first. I think the Jazz will take Peterson. I've heard they like Peterson. I've heard Danny likes Peterson. I mean, we'll see how cred well they is. I don't believe that because I don't Danny doesn't reveal anything Okay. And then let's So Peterson, Utah and then you would have Boozer third M this Yes, he makes so much sense with the grizzlies too. That's an unbelievable outcome for outcome for Memphis coward Loser, Ey Spencer like that It's hilarious that I'm saying came Spencer forth. But no, I mean, they got an interesting group of guys. likeike I think that'd be fun. Um, and then Caleb with the Bulls is blast. I like it. Caleb with the Bowalls is really fun R right him Bzealous and and giddy just kind of going up and down Unfortunately, all the guards that they let go in February would not be there Um What about our guy Yaxle at eleven with Golden State You might not make it to eleven I've heard I mean, I've heard talk of him is as high as like seven. So I mean, that could I haven't checked Sam's latest one. I don't know where he had him, but people like he would They have a lot of fours. I mean, that's that's the thing with Golden State. He could shoot the ball. He would fit the way that they like to play. I could see that happening. Be I think No I was thinking Mara would be a great one for them if they ended up with eleven ' The passing to me makes it makes me think that The pass thing the in the pedigree of being in big games U makes me wonder the way to fit with them. Yeah. and you have you have to think about who you're going against because They do think they have a chance to get LeBron in July, which I think they will That's still my prediction. stood by it for two months. Then you have to think like What do we need Yxle for a We're going to have LeBron playing like that same kind of three forward type of minutes So Um, anybody dropping for you, Flemings So a chance he drops out of the top ten or is he right where he was before He's climbing for me actually. I liked a lot of the stuff with him and and At the end of the day You bet on people? That's kind of that gets lost in this. you know, these these guys these guys are as much as people love to throw the analytics out there and, you know, live life in a spreadsheet when it comes to the draft. You listen to Kingsson Fleming's talk, I've just been blown away impressed with how sophisticated he is. I'll say who he reminds me of a little bit. It's not one to one, but he gives me some real Hallaliburton vibes when I listen to that kid talk And he look the way he gets on and off the ball. speed They like we're not quite sure how he scores at the next level stuff that was talked about with. He's not the same level passer The odd shot. There are a lot of parallels between those two guys and he just seems like he'd just be a quality add. He's really strong You might get picked on, but I like Ks and Fimmingings. he's climbing for me People like Johnson too is the other one that everybody likes and the interviews and the workouts who seems like he's climbed into the mid teens. And then Lopez has dropped Lopez was being thrown around in like that seven and eleven range for a brief second and now it seems like he's out of the lattery. Well, we'll see what happens. Maybe next week come back on We could discuss again. o. We'll see if anything changes. This is right around I feel like there's going to be a big trade too soon because be honest, I just think that gets suuper close to the draft. My guess is if there's a big trade probablyro be after game four before game five. I think the league likes to clear out the first four games of the finals and it's kind of a wink wink with the teams Um But I feel like if there's going to be a big trade, I could see it be closer to the end of this week and then You know, Milaukee having a chance to get potentially ten and thirteen Not too m muchention some of those other Miaming guys like that's not bad in this draft. They might You know, they two swings at it here. The other one that I forgot was that Charlotte is fourteen and eighteen That's that's a big deal, right? Especially with the guys who might be there. Yeah. So you could either say, fuck it, we'll just stay here and we'll get two swings of this or tryry to move up if you're excited about somebody. All right, Kyle, man. we'll see how this goes. We've been enjoying the playoff. repard this before game three A minus B plus, which your grade for the playoffs U I would say my excitement level specifically for you know These last three series has been up there with some of my highest excitement This finals in particular, I'm just like moon walking around during the day, just can't wait just because I don't 't I'm not a fan of either team, so I have nothing to lose and I just get to enjoy it. So yeah, it's been it's been great. I think start It's been really fun to watch the Kicks and San Antonio just as basketball teams for different reasons. the Kicks because they played so beautifully together and San Antonio I just like the guys in their team. I really enjoy the experience of watching them, which I haven't always said with the contenders I had I thought of something on a walk today that I wanted to run by you because you I think you mentioned it in the mail bag It's really strange that like the top six guys. I went back and was looking at the teams. We have young coreps where guys are like really clustered together in terms of age You the historian, how common is it to have a core all hitting their prime at the same time. They're like the next gu. Yeah The top six guys. I looked at it are like a they're all born within a year and four months of each other or two years and four months of each other for that not Yeah, yeah They're all hitting their prime. That's really I don't feel like that happens a lot. Pretty unusual. All right I don't remember what the ages were with the Kicks in the late sixties, early seventies, but I feel like they were all around the same because their careers seemed to end all around the same times. But usually you end up with like a situation like Dallas where you have You know, you have vets, you have like the older Jason Kid type, but then you have like chain learnure around that same time and Yeah, but there's a little bit more of a mix. that The weird thing with with San Antonio the cluster of the younger guys, like even somebody like Carter Bryant being nineteen being like the ninth man on the team You know, they don't have like that thirty four year old old guy Bring him out to O Gunslinger or like even like the Steve Karr on two thousand three. they don't have any of those guys Fox seems like the vet and Fox's twenty eighteen draft, you know? So Yeahah, it is pretty unusual Part of it is ' they didn't make the trade in February that I think they maybe would have made if they felt like this was going to happen. Like I I do feel like they probably would have gotten some sort of physical stretch for just some sort of flexibility at that spot that they just thir your way Yeah. All right, Kyle, man. we'll see you before the draft. Thanks for coming up All right, that's it for the podcast. Thanks to Rob Bahoney. Thanks to Kyle Man Thanks to Gahow and Eduardo as well. and I'm going be back with you live afterfter Wednesdays Game four with a very special guest. See them Must be twenty one plus in President select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino. Or eighteen plus in P president DC, Kentucky or Wyoming Game a probleom call one hundred gambler or one eight hundred My reset. callall eight eight sevenenty nine seven seven seven seven or visit CcpG dot org slash chat in Connecticut or MDgamblinghelp dot org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelp line mA dot org or call eight hundred three two seven fifty fifty for twenty four seven support in Massachusetts or call eight seven seven eight NY or text hope NY in New York for Louisiana callall eight seven seven seven seven zero seven eight six seven