Reflecting on the Knicks Franchise

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We are down to four teams. take you note to go down, take a shot with Fandle getet closer to the action. And as you know, I've been telling you for years, Fandal, the best place to bet the teams players and players during the NBA post season So the same game parlay for a shot at a better payout or try live betting and jump into the accent for tip off Or just follow me and my pigs because every once in a while I'll put them on social Download the Fando sports book app R now player again een plus se states are eighteen plus DC Kentucky Wying Game problem called one hundred gamer call eight, seventy nine, seven seven, seven seven or visit cPG dot org slash chat in Cnecticut. Bill Simmonss podcast live here on Netflix, Zach Low is here. You can hear his pie. He just put one up last night Post game reaction to Nick Calves Uh, your Tuesday mornings, Thursday mornings. I have rewatchablesles coming Monday, last comedy movie that we that we did for Mth Bay Animal house Wow Classic. Really good. a lot of great lines had a great time. So that's coming. you can watch all of those movies on Netflix. All right, we are coming off Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Game four. I love Game fours. Game fours are always great Tame for us are always like We've had three games of feeling each other out and then game four is the awesome game did not happen But there's a certain but there's a certain buzz for game fours because if it's a forget the three game fours like we're going to see tomorrow, the two one game fours, it's the fork in the road game. It's either this is going to be an epic potential seven gamer or three one and it's going to have to be a crazy comeback to get it to seven. Now or at least we're looking, just I'm just cancel your Saturday plans now because wouldouldn't you be surprised at this point if we go like It doesn't feel like one of these teams is going to take the next two games consecutively counter Okay Are we getting Jaylen Williams the rest of the way here And if we don't get him and we don't get AJ Mitchell, the thing that jumped out tonight was just All of a sudden, OKC had one creator. And San Antonio, you knew they're going to guard shade differently tonight. I think that was the easiest prediction to make. Basically like knock yourself out We're going to guard the hell out of you get thirty five great We're not letting these other guys get get good shots. We're not letting them get going, which is what they did But you could really feel the lack of a second creator in this game. So you lose Jayen Mitchell. I mean, Jalen Williams, but then you also don't have AJ Mitchell either Now all that goes on McCain, who's stunk tonight And you know, in the fourth quarter, A Aaron Wiggins was running offense for them. It was just weird. All of a sudden they feltpleted. Well, the whole fourth quarter was kind of a slow motion give up by the Thunder. I mean, know Chet came back in the game, but SJA didn' it. But yeah I mean, there are game fours where you feel like Uh oh Did one team solve the other team? Even if it's a two two series with did what the poster series for that is the twenty fifteen finals when the Warriors went small played the death line up and everyone was like, uh oh, is this is this just a rap even though it's too too and we should feel tense about it I'm not like I agree with you that something happened tonight gave me a glimmer. of that sensation. and it was the combination of softening the double teams on Say to the point that we're just not doubling you high on the floor. If you get to within fourteen feet, we'll start darting guys at you, stunting guys at you maybe a hard double here and there, but it's going to come late and it's going to come suddenly and it's not going to come every time and it's going to be a much more confusing defense for you to pick apart because they were picking apart the traps and the combination of that plus point the lack of your second and third best creators to play off of to throw the ball to And it felt like urn And I spent the second half of the game trying to think like, if I now know this is coming And I don't have Jalen Williams in AJ Mitchell. What is what is adjusting to this look like? Like Sake can get by anybody off the dribble and get into the eighteen foot range. But what does life look like after that? How am I recreating the open threes and the good shots that we got if they're not just throwing guys at me and I don't I don't know the workorhopping some answers, but I don't have any good ones yet Well, and you didn't even mention, they're also losing all the transition stuff. They're losing the fast break stuff because he's the only guy I really felt a good hands. It was not a good Not a good night for the CQisson Wallace worth thirty million a year agent strategy Listen Game three I thought shay in game two and, I didn't get to do anything after game three. I just thought Sha was just so good in those two games and picking them apart in the way he was using his teammates. It was about as good as you can play the guard position, right? So they knew they couldn't Do whatever they did defensively again Um It was notable like his stats Terico mentioned that near the end of the game. hisis stats aren't that good in this series for how well it seemed like he played those two games. Like I think he's under forty percent for the series now I mean, Weemby was the best part in the four, which now makes two games where here' the best part in the four and we're at two, two. which is kind of where we thought we were going to be anyway So I look at it like game two. I didn't love the officiating. I thought it really affected the game Game four was the other way. I thought the officiating affected the game for San Antonio's favor, Dorton Carusso, D had four thousand nine minutes. Caruso had four thousand twelve minutes and it's just like they weren't allowed to have the same physicality that they've had in some of these other games. There was big free throw advantages for San Antonio That was one thing Wendby had a superstar game And then I thought Castle two way game he played and the stuff he was doing defensively, I just thought he was awesome tonight Cash is flat out awesome The loudest thirteen point six assist game, like possible, I think at all none of the guards U Harper seven points in twenty one minutes Fox, twelve points in thirty one minutes. Castle thirteen and thirty. It doesn't like jump off the page and any of them played great. I thought Fox looked pretty good with the ankle stuff and Harper had a couple of explosive plays that are pretty encouraging for how he's feeling U But just the presence of them twelve turnovers for the spurs. That's thing. That's a winning recipe and just a calm to the offense and on the other side, the thunder finished with thirty three threes attempted, but they only had eleven at halftime. and I thought that number what really stood out is like they're just not creating open shots against his defense right now and Wemy He wasn eleven for three for them by the way. Yeah. he wasn't just the best player in the game for the second time in the series He was the best player by a mile in the in a game for the second time in the series. And like that's also kind of alarming for the Oloma City Thunder that he's the best player by that much in half the series now Did you think the half court shot was going in? Be I that did So I was like that's going in. So I knew it was going in. sound like LeBron. I'm like, I knew when he took it, I knew it was going in, but it really was like he's going to make this. I knew it was going in But I only knew because I was about two minutes behind in the game and our text thread blew up and y' all ruined it for me. Like my friend ruined Tyrone Taylor's three run tying home run against the Yankees last week by texting me before I'd seen it. So I knew. I knew I knew it was just a bunch of wows. So I knew something was going to happen and then obviously that was it. I want to talk about Wenby in one second. You mentioned something about the guards, and none of the box scores were spectacular So too me, the turnovers was the big thing Be that's what killed them you know, in especially in game two U, But Fox, even though Fox wasn't amazing, at least he can take care of the ball That allows Castle to be more of a two way like freelancer guy And I just felt like their team seemed like their team tonight. It was the team that we watched Oh yeah. know there's some weird stuff happening We see this happen in a series where you just start losing guys you can trust as the series goes along I no longer think champagne shots are going in I no longer think Calin Johnson shots are going in Those are two two pretty big guys for them during the season that now feel like they're in like a major major funk. And I'm wondering like If we get to like a game six, game seven like really like these seven minutes are going to dermine our season. It feels like it's going to be the three guards with Bll and Wey will be the lineup that It's kind of like, this is it. These are our best five What is it for OKC Like if we don't have Jaylen Williams again I assume Carusso's out there with SGA and probably Chet, but what like is it just a feel for the game or do you even feel like they have a best five at this point? I think it's a feelield for the game and it starts with Um Do we feel better with two bigs? one big If it's two, is it Hartenstein, Hartenstein rather and Chet who were minus twenty eight, I think coming into this game, but you know, Hartenstein was carrying the offense early on with like one ridiculously high flow. That's unbelievable. Just one of the great stretches of random shot making and recent playoff history He leted them in shots tonight, I think B No, shake caught him at the end. D shake catch him? Yeah. He was tied for second with Aron Wiggins, not a great Just not a great statistical indicator.or So which two big guys do you want or is just one big guy? And then if it's one big guy, you're really like you're you're scraping the end of your perimeter. ill out guys that we really trust with. you know, Kaseason Wallace would probably been in there with Caruso and then like Dort has done pretty much nothing this series except Fall and mysteries And and yeah, the other guys are injured, you know Yeah, if he's just going to found mst Thes, at least like get some cheap shots in and try to change the tenor of the series. whatever he's doing has not worked. They played a eleven guys plus Topach at the end They put eleven guys for real during the flow of the game but also didn't have J and also didn't have AJ Mitchell. This Thunder team is so bizarre to watch in the playoffs. There's been all these Cool stats about all the lineups they use It's almost like watching a hockey team And he's constantly mixing and matching, But sometimes I wonder like At some point as the playoff series goes along, I need to figure out who my five are Whoom my six are? Who my seven are It's just like Wiggins like Wiggins hasn't played really all playoffs and tonight it felt like they actually needed him. So I don't know. it's this has been a weird one because I felt like after each game I became convinced that the team that won was in great shape and then it just flips, which I guess is the point of a seven game series. But now I honestly think San Antonio has the advantage I have no idea. I'm going to wait if those two guys are out the whole series, Mitchell and JW and the spurs injured guards could play at this level then I agree with you. San Antono despite having only one home game left has probably an edge in the series because of what we saw Um tonight and I think the Thuers best five The lineup I've been waiting to see and I think they've been waiting to use. Well, two of the five are are not playing right now and it would the lineup would have been Jay. Mitchell Caruso JW Chet and I think that's the best five that they can put out. It did not play much in the regular season. It got unleashed early in this series And just as soon as we saw it, it's gone and Certainly the lack of any clarity on timetables for either guy has me a little concerned right at this moment, late at night on whatever night this is, but maybe we'll get an encourag upd tomorrow I don't know The Mitchell one seems more concerning ' calf strain is just automatic, you're out for at least a week. We don' If they if they' given it the You know, when you're reading the uh The injury stuff. like the mild calf strain twweak That kind of this was like capf strain. So capalf strain to me means seven to ten days which probably takes him out and he didn't look right even before he got hurt. you could tell like there was something up The JW thing I have no idea. This has been The longest hamstring injury, I think in league history It feels like this is just his body has not been healthy. What do they say he's Fish two two playoff games or something out of the three rounds. Well, and it's weird because when he comes back, he looks good. Like it's not like he's' in game one. Yeah. He's an induid. he looks seventy percent. He looks. pretty pretty close to all NBA JW and it does change their team And you were reminded like, oh, having a giant wing who can do all of these different things on both ends of the floor super valuable And then it just he just can't kick it And it might be one of these things U that just requires a little bit more sustained off time to just disappear work itself out and obviously they don't have the luxury of that right now They' minus two hundred fifty to win the series Oklahoma City, which I just completely disagree with That's when when that's updated now. That's on Fando, yeah, minus two hundred fifty I do not agree with that. because I thought Harper, Harper looked back to me tonight. He'd that one dunk in traffic where he exploded. likeike he seems okay Fox you can tell is you know, seventy five, eighty percent speed, but is still able to point card and run the offense that stuff. I have an important question for you Who do you think the rest of the league is rooting for in this series competitively and like long term big picture I I think I think Both of these teams are looked upon as Oh boy We got to deal with this for the next however, many years. And there would almost be the easy answer is the people are rooting for the Spurs, right? becausecause of all the officiating stuff and the Thunder getetaway with Fous and the flopper like they're just straight up hitting sha with the flopper chant in San Antonio, which very good performance by the Spurs fans all around. like you got to be if you're going to chant like that You just got to get right to the point and be as mean as possible. and it's a one word chant and it does the job But I will say there there even even though the OKC is the correct answer for like who teams are rooting against, I guess the rest of the leeague is rooting against There would also be like a W, Victor's already here. like if they win there's like they're already in the finals. like that seems that seems fast. Oh my Godd, but I think I think OKC is the answer You know who's rooting for OKC to lose Mwaukee Backs and we're going there We're going right there.'re just speering right in there. Just becomes a quick honest painetration. right away. You think that is something I'm not ready to I'm not ready to contemplate it yet. I'm just I'm just not I mean, it's totally against their playbook and we go through All of this they won the championship last year Here they are two two in the Western confonerence finals against another sixty plus win team And it's already like, well, if they lose two out of the next three games, we got to upend everything. I know the salary stuff. I know the consolidation st. got it. Like we're already going there. mayaybe we are I don't know, Dudy. Here's why we're going there. Yeah. Okay That's it here's why. I'll go for a drive. Let's go for a drive. Now here's why. this is it If I'm I OKC and I lose this series to a sppurs team that's this young and isn't even close to being the team they are yet And Wby is the difference. And I just have no answers for him What do I do if I'm okay see the rest of the decade? Do I just like, a, we had some bad luck or or do I look at it differently and go, okay Almost like how Minnesota when Tim Conley went there it was like, I have to build a team to beat the joker And I think the question for OKC would be, we thought we werere going to dominate the decade. That's not going to happen Um How do we construct the kind of team generational freak And do we have the right team right now? W that Was that just a weird two weeks? or do we have the wrong roster to beat this guy And that's where you have to think about Yanis, I think. You better know the answers to that question is we just don't have the right roster with a thousand percent certainty if after all the success you've had, you are willing to throw the throw not throw it away, but mix it up to that extent based on the result of a few games and that extent is going to be but minimum one of JW and Set and a bunch of picks and role players and everything you've got it's the last big move. You've got for a thirty one year old who has not gotten through a playoffs healthy in quite some time. You just you just got to be sure. like yep, he broke us like we got to try something now because we'll never beat him again. You got to really be sure I agree with that and said be that sure But here's the here's the wrinkle Heart and Hartenstein I think it's a team option for next year, right for a lot of money combined with they're going to have three max guys And they have the Dort team option and they have the case in Wallace Um extension This was their best like roster. the way all the money work chance to compete against a Wimb team If they're going to lose already with and the money is about to go up When they have all these picks, when they have the twelfth pick in place I just feel like you have to look at it holistically and be like, okay, this is it's reset time. Like because the other thing they could do is just bring back Hartenstein at that at that price if they they if they don't pick it up. He's going to go to Frageent. He'll get twenty plus million from, I think a bunch of different teams. There's teams that have capap space and trade exceptions and all kinds of things. like I promise you the Celtics would be in on that with the giant trade exception they have So there's just It's a weird one and it's a weird spot to be if you're OkayKC. We're like, wow, I thought we were going to dominate the last five years. Now it's two two What do I do? Flipside, San Antonio' fine Winner lose this series. They're like, whatever. L we're happy to be here. U Yeah, we could probably tweak around it. We'll figure out in February. they're not there' be no panic at all. Okay, see, I'd have to wonder if they panic a little is not panic. Well, well done, thank you for mentioning the last thing because I was I had two editorial comments for you after that. N one Really good job bringing up the Celtics, even though they haven't played in three weeks. I mean no contractually I had to. Do you want to do a deep dive on Vuevich in his market and whether any capapspace teams will want him? We know his market. It's called the it's called the Vetteran minimum. And this I was going to say before you I was going to say I have to we have to strike a deal now. I mean, I won't even be your guest on the next podcast because that's how this works, but the deal was going to be If the Thunder win game five and go up three two, you are not allowed to go through Spurs packages for honest. You're not allowed to do it. You're banned for it we can't react that way to one Spurs loss. Is that a C we make that deal or you to go off the on that way? What about what about Traay Murphy Fine. That's fine. That's reasonable that that's allowed. I will agree Can we all agree Yonis and Wemby just is too weird and probably doesn't make any sense whatsoever Weird is what you're going for, right? Like weird is what the jazz are going for. Weird is what you have to go for if you think this is the insurmountable alien mountain that we just can't climb and like we got to try something different. That's different. Those two guys together on defense, even though Yanis isn't the same guy he has been defensively as a help defender around the rim, those two guys together It's something. I don't know what it is on offense, but it's something What do you think happened in WemBy on game three in game three now that we just saw game four, what Was he tired? Did they just have a bad strategy? I thought it was really weird watching in real T time. I know you talked a little bit about it last night, but Um I didn't understand the stay the strategy at all. I didn't understand why he was so far away from the basket. I didn't understand why they weren't playing with pace He seemed Um, a little sluggish to me and it was Really making me wonder did that double OT game Was that just a huge tax for both teams, but especially with him having played that many minutes Benny looked fine tonight, so You know, two two days later, you throw it out the window. But what do you think happened to him in game three? wasas it Pressure Was it too much adrenaline? Did OKC do something? Like what was your what was your take on that I mean, without being in his head, I assume there's a little bit of all the like unquantifiable stuff you're talking about, right fatigue. You know, this is a guy whose minutes have been pretty monitored throughout his career and now it's just balls to the wall, you got to play forty nine minutes in game on whatever it was Pressure, home, playoff debut, Thunder, chet, the whole thing. But I also think it took them some time to adjust to after six what five regular season games and then the game one of Thunder pretty much exclusively guarding him one way And then they will scrap everything all of that and guard them another way with big guys with the single minded goal of We're not letting you get loobs at the rim and offensive rebounds. We are going to take your shot selection and shove it outside He that A they executed well. I think their initial reaction was the sppurs were a little back on their heels and Victor was a little bit back on his heels and he kind of like went along with that and tonight was going to be like both he and the guards and I thought Castle set them up on a couple of early picking rollles really well There was just not going to be any denying that he's going to the basket. evenven if it's not all the way there. I'm just going to take one little dribble and reach and it's going to be a hookshot or he tried to throw the ball off the back booard to himself two times like it was just he was just not going to settle look, his first three shots were still jumpers. He took a fair amount of jumpers in the game, but there was just a different mentality and aggression level to his game. And I think that's just I think that's just feeling out an elite defense who threw A monkey wrench into your plans halfway through, you know, the series or whatever I agree with that. I think there's one other piece. It seemed like they were really trying to attack can get to the basket and get in the paint and get to the rim. I don't I haven't seen the tape right after these games in But I would guess the stats for them and the paint were a little bit different in this game And it felt like they were like, just let's attack Throw the ball near the room for Weemby. Let's just like go downhill a little bit more because ack Game three was just weird to watch them. It always felt like they were either going backwards or sideways and never like Go going toward the rim Peace though He made our MBA today What's what's our collective level of remorse for Jill and Dur and over Scottty Barnes at this point after the play me zero. I'm not taking any shit for that. I'm voting centers every year for each team and until as long as I have a vote, I'm not changing because we decided to make this like littleittle League where everybody gets a participation trophy to be in an OMBA team I'm not throwing away seventy five years of history because they stupidly decided to change the rules. I want a senter or somebody who can resemble center. I want each of my teams to kind of look like a basketball team. Okay. I don't want to detour down Jill and Dur and I'm just saying but It's a regular season award. I have no regrets Now let's talk about Sed. I thought he was a little better than this and maybe he's in a funk But I really was more of a believer than what I'm seeing. And I don't mean to do the you know, the morning TV show, Sit Home Gid's gotta step up. L I'm not doing that. I just honestly thought he would have more of an impact than I'm From watching him this season, I really thought he had rounded into You know, Dad ey three point shooter. U really, really severely impactful defender. Elevates your team in all these different ways and it feels like Weimby's in his head. Like I don't even like his body language. The only other time I remember his body language like this was in the Indiana series felt like You could feel him sliding a little bit a couple times in that series where the pressure, you could just kind of see it. he was carrying it I thought he said that and now it feels like Weby's in his head. Now in his defense, Weemby iss a seven foot seven alien who came out of UFO U So I get it I'm just saying I honestly just thought he would play better than this. But I think we're going to do some sort of pressure L we did that after the break. Yeah. I mean, not to spoil What are my potential picks depending on draft order Jed Holgrren has forty five points in four games in this series. He took one three tonight despite the fact that the Spurs are playing a good chunk of each of these games in like a hybrid zone defense where Someone is going to be over from three Yeahah The guy closing out to you in the corner is going to be the alien and I get it. And we're going to hear a lot of like, well, this just isn't a chet series. This just isn't a chet series. the matchup stuff for him. the That's not acceptable This is the team they have to beat for next t. exactly what I'm going to say this is exactly what I was going to say at some point you reach a stature where Every series has to be your series and Chet is at that now defensively, he's infallible. The guy' amazing. He's going to bring that every game Um He just asked like there was just one there was one play tonight where they're guarding him with wings the whole game That's just what they're doing. for the most part And he just sort of faced up and burrowed his way to like the dotted line against Devin Visll Drew some help and kicked out to Caseason Wallace for the only three that Caysason Wallace made in the game It's like, well, I mean, like what we can't get a little when you're when Shay's game is off when the whole offense is clogged up, you can't do like we can't get a little more of that. I know he's we do this with mobly too, right? Like he's not going to put his head down and post up and get us twenty five like any big man, but like forty five points in four games. It just is not enough. I mean, pecially when you're starting to lose scores on your team game by game.'s just We just think it's been a weird series. All right, we're gonna to take a break and we're gonna come back and we're gonna do pressure rankings for what might end up being an awesome seven game series right after this. This episode is brought to you by Eedia Family vacations are the absolute best. I think my favorite The place that I've been to a bunch of times with my family is Hawaii place that we could not go to when I lived on the east coast ' it was too far away and we went to the west coast And now it's like, just close enough Really fun. suun's out every day, nice hot sun, just happy get teed fish. 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No. I would want somebody else, but I did just do a chet thing. So we'll pretend my first pick I would know I first Yeah. I'll take chet first. Okay. I think Ched has the most pressure. and the biggest spotlight on him now as we head into the rest of this series of Where is it? He just especially on the heels of the LMA thing I need to feel you more in this series, Ched Home Gom You know, we talked about this with Evan Mobbley too and I do feel like I know they're down through nothing. but I do feel like Evan Mobbley went up like a half level as the playoffs went along. and I just felt like defefensively Put it this way, the position there and it is not Evanoby's fault, I don't think And I thought he rose to the occasion. I would like to sit out from Chet. So what would be your first pick for the Pressure rankings? Well, I'll just steal your thunder and go straight to the top Shehay has had an okay series. Oh He's shooting thirty nine percent through four games Yeah and less than thirty percent on threes U He's his turnovers are up. He had four turnovers tonight and a bunch of them are the same kind of like I'm just going to kind of bulldoz my way into traffic and oh my go, all these guards are awesome defensively. I just fell over and I don't have the ball anymore turnovers And I look, I get it. It's Victor Wam Minyama, right? They there the Surs have the one guy who can fuck up all the shit you're trying to do all the stuff that works against every other team. And you get into the lane, you get into all your sweet spots and all of a sudden it's it's it's there's a guy right behind you messing with your airspace back there and this guy over here Um He's just going to have to problem solve his way out of this and have If they're going to win this series, win two of the next three games and JW is going to be out and Mitchell's going to be out and we don't know, but let's just say I think he's going to have to have two efficient games. They're not going to be like the crazy sixteen of twenty three. Oh my God. this is the best guard we've seen since Michael Jordan or whatever you want to say. Uh, but like ten of twenty eleven of twenty two. I just think he's going to have to dig his way out of this and problem solve it, especially if we like we talked about before Spurs aren't going to kind of half give him the answers by trapping him at half court with his where his decision t becomes a little easier I You know, look, we were talking about a guy who' a two time MVP now back to back fininals NVP last year. We've talked all season about all the historical stuff that he's on the precipice of. Well, this is the precipice. The precipice is digging out of this series. and I'm not saying he's got pressure on them like I'm going to think differently of him if they lose this series or he's been a flopping fraud the whole time or anything like that. but it's just like This is it. This is the moment where if The all time grades find a way to dig out whatever Viictor Wominyamo is doing to you. I like how you frame that. and if he has a chance to be an all time great It's moments like this when you don't have the same team that you started the playoffs with and you're playing of Ferocious opponent. likeike the best example ever this is Jordan in the ninety eight playoffs is those make the same comp Yeah, Scottty's back goes out Radman's doing whatever. He's getting drunk every off day. he's going to Vegas and Jordan just is like, all right. and just You know, but that's the greatest basketball pour we've ever had. There's been other good examples likeike my favorite bird season was eighty seven when Cail hit the foot Parish had an ankle, DJ had an ankle. Bill Walton couldn't play Bir just kept kind of throwing people on his back Fes like we're there with SGA. I think one thing there's one of the narratives from coming out of this game into game five will be the officiating and that OKC got hosed on calls and their fanbase and I don't blame them. theirir fan base is going to say, you guys complain about us that we get all the calls, we get the foul, we flop We didn't get any calls in game four And Um and SJA got banged around by Castle and they didn't call it, but Windby got banged around and they called it And And we want more fair treatment for MVPs. So that'll be a whole narrative the next two days Um With that said I'm just not really that afraid of leaving some of the guys open that were out there I'm okay with Wallace wide open I'mkay Lou Dort Caruso is the Josh heart of this team. It's like you're gonna to live with it until he makes a couple. You know, they head Williams was Kenrick Williams was out there at one point hitting corner threes, but I just don't know who I trust on that team Isaiah Joe seems like their instant three guy, but they don't seem to go in that often anymore. And then Wigs would be the other one, but Um, I just think they're going to guard him the same way they did tonight and he's going to have to be awesome. Well if you're doing if you're doing same game parlays, like The SGA points with the OKC win would be the reliable one, I think for game five. I think those Kenridge Williams Cner Threes are really interesting place to go back and rewatch because The Spurs found a bit of a roadmap tonight. and look The roadmap is having Victor Webigama, but this roadmap was Say, you pick your match upp at the top of the arc, like thirty five feet away. You want to run a screener roll and get champagne on you or visell on you or someone you feel a little more comfortable with, Fox. Th you do Harper, Castle fine. We'll give you the switch You're gonna beat that guy off to dribble. cool likeike beat them off to dribble We're our two. We're not going to double you. We're not even take your two. Because if you beat a guy off the dribble one on one, it's not like that guy disappears. He's going to be right on your hip that the Kate and Se plays. and then you're going to get to sixteen feet And when you get to sixteen feet couple of things are going to happen Think number one is the alien is going to be in your airspace a little bit. Th number two is there might not be a double team, but you're going to see the guy on your right and the guy on your left Kind of on their toes half stunting, getting into your field division messing with messing with your mind And those reads, those moments, I don't know what the answer is. when you're in that kind of sandwich of like four guys all around you and one of them Victor Wimbinyama. Yeah And you haven't been given a trap thirty feet from the rim which just unleashes the past past past thes they've gotten. But that's where those Kenridich Williams threes in the right corner came out of is that moment just like that And maybe the answer is the Thunder are just going to have to play all their shooters and hope that they make enough of those threerees that they get San Antonio out of that because I don't know what Says supposed to do in that airspace or how to get him in a different airspace against that defense. Like there was that one floater he took where you could see him thinking like I'm shakeous I was inner. I got to get something in this space. And it was just this moonball, one handed right handed moonball that had no shot at going in and it was like Yeah, you don't see a player of his skill set look that Um likeike unleash a shot that like is a no chancer from thirteen feet away. Jayen Williams. Not the injured one. The center. One for seven from three to n Caine was over for five A Ajo was two for seven. Dort was over for one. Caruso took one shot, I think, right Chet was off one. Yeah, Carusso L one too many greatest role players ever segments for him on podcasts and TV shows last Todays, The gos had to like. to like ding him with the with the hammer And But those shots I thought for the most part were pretty open And they just didn't make them. When you they miss thirty one of their first thirty five threes, right? D D has fifteen points in the whole series. And I know we're not going to him for I think he has two threes. And I know we're not going to him for points. like that's not what he does The Thunder when they're rolling and when they won the championship There's just a lot of Lou Dort two for five three for seven kind of games where he just makes just enough to make it hurt and he has two in four games That's somebody that I don't feel like will be in the Thunder next year Team option They've got to put money somewhere. It's a different conversation. All right, my next pressure pick You know, you just took the best guy on OKC. I was going to say I've left you with not much to do with. Yeah it really has to be Wimby And normally I would say, a, he's twenty two and playing with house money at this points this is this point h have already been a massive win for him But A, they have a chance to win the title M We saw him get a little in game three, I felt like or whatever was going on with them. So it's not like he's. we know he's human because if he wasn't human, he would just be rolling through the league every game U, But I wonder as we get closer and closer to the end of this spotlight gets bigger His tendency is the hotter the spotlight, the better he plays So we'll see, but It just feels like if he has a game like he had in game one or even a game like he had tonight, then they're going to win the series with the injuries on OKC side But your ex one. Yeah, if he's the best guy by a significant margin, obviously that's a That's a big one. I was going to cheat and just go the collective of Fox Harper Castle and only because guard crew The guard crew only because Keeping the turnovers down is the single best way to get yourself into a game against the Thunder. They did that tonight and it's been a little up and down throughout the series because two of those guys have have played limited minutes in a couple of games and Castle's been overtaxed. Like I mean, you would want to single out Fox because he's the vet, the experienced guy, but I just think the three of them together have to have a very clean game. To more very clean games Yeah, I would have taken Castle with my next pick for Um, because of some of the stuff I talked about on my pod on Thursday about The Westbrook two thousand eight to twenty sixteen U that side where he's just You love everything he does, but there's There's a couple of times he gets a little out of control a little sloppy. Now that fox is there. it feels like that goes away. My next guy would be McCain because it Mid showow and then have Jalen Lams and I thought he He just didn't have it tonight. He was terrible U And this was after a weekend of everybody shitting on Darl and oh my God, and I can't believe they traded him. So where didd you stand on that trade when it happened I was surprised I was certainly surprised that it was the way Philadelphia chose to save money Um I was I just I wouldn't give up a player that had showed me what he showed in albeit twenty, whatever games as a rookie I was kicking myself for not anticipating the Thunder being the team to overpay and get him. It was just such a perfect trade and such a perfect fit. He's sort of like there per duper version of Isaiah Joe, not the shooter that he is, but someone who with a lot more ball handling juice and kind of moxy. to his game Um I underood I understood why the Sixers did it. Yeah and that they got more return than they were going to get ever trading Jared McCain because he was not playing for their team. which is also their fault and that he was trapped behind those two guards who are going to be their franchise mainstays, But I don't know. it seemed like an unnecessary gamble to me Yeah, so He wasn't playing for them and I think the case was that his stock was only going to get worse. and you're cashing in on these picks that are easier for try. We've heard the arguments My The question remains to me is why wasn't he playing more? It's not like he was on the eighty six Celtics And Maxie was playing forty minutes a game and Edge Cin was playing like thirty nine. So even if you're say, well, who's behind those guys? it's like, well, so work You still have ninety six guard minutes per game You still have an eighty two game season plus playoffs with You know, injuries and all the wear and tear of a season. like Why wouldn't you want to have three good guards? It's just it felt like Nurse probably probably quit on him a little bit and it was onlybe at worse And it's like, well, we get to the off season, we won't even be able to get a first forum I just it was a weird one because he did so well last year as a rookie You know, it's not it's not like it's oh, this it wasn't like a cam readdish thing. It's like o Oh, he's got so much potential. He was so good in high school. Like Jam McCain was good last year before he got hurt. So So we're traded and I get it that they wanted the assets, but be suspicious to you if OKC was like, we love Jared McCain Here are a bunch of picks for him That would be a fucking red flag. It's like Maybe we should keep this guy. Presty really wants him. Like like should we be reevaluating this Yeah, you wonder if Sam Price say, know, he's Probably not could be in a rotation but it's a nice flyer for us. Hey, look, we have all these extra picks take some of our picks. We'll take them off your hands. And here he is in the rotation, but to your point three point shooting is kind of cooled off even in his big game in game three. It was mostly two and he took a ton of shots, which is fine. They needed guys take a ton of shots. It's a good pick. that's because if it's not those two guys, the JW and AJ then It's got to be it someone among this group is gonna to have to give you eighteen to twenty two points. Like it's just it's go, okay, well, Caysason Wallace was five of eight from three. It's going to have to be one of those guys What do you have for your next pick Do you anybody left? Well, look, I mean, I don't know if you haven't taken a coach I mean One coach just won the championship a year ago and the other coach is a, you know, was a former interim now permanent fill in for one of the greatest coaches of all time and just team won sixty, whatever games. I don't know, I don't think there's any I don't think any seats are getting hot I'll go, I'll go like This is going to be near and dear to your heart. Um I don't know if the nuns can go to every game, but I just I just it's not his fault. It's not his fault But Luke Cornet minus nine and thirteen minutes. I will just put him in as theb the symbol of Even in this blowout game The non Wemby minutes are just are it's it's yokachci now where it's just like I don't know what the best lineup combination is. Do we throw all the guards out there? but I'll put him in as the unfair standalone symbol of those minutes Cornet was okay ca. He was good. This was the best game of the series I think 'm going with the To ladies who Their bodies from the neck down were just on camera behind Mitch Johnson And there's there was some commotion about them on the internet getting into the game. Yeah, this wasn't the first time U and and I think it's going to become a talking point. And I think people are going to be looking forward to game six, certain types of people on the internets that enjoy these things. but it was certainly u It' certainly interesting every time they c to Mit Johnson What was going on behind him So you're saying they're they're under pressure They're under pressure. Yeah, because now people are expecting it for game six. like the sppurs are up three two Did you see, u I know you're a fan of watching we can we like with with the way we watch games, we see the in arena entertainment sometimes during the commercial breaks. Did you see Mark Henry's appearance tonight I did not. Well, I mean, if you want to talk about someone who's under pressure I would nominate Rumble Rumble the Weisten, the Thunder mascot was at this game in San Antonio and one unless I took acid and hallucinated it in one of the commercial breaks They had Mark Henry come out from the stands and I was like, I don't know. like what's Mark Henry doing here is what's going to happen And he chairhotted Rumble the Bison And and then kicked them a little bit on the ground while the Spurs cooyote like freaking Jimmy Hart with the megaphone was like jumping around taunting Rumble the Bison. So my question for Rumble the Bison is Why'd you agree to this? Why are you at this game? You're losing the Mark Henry. You didn't You didn't think Like, o, the spurs are being so nice, inviting me to the game. My mascot friend must really love me. You didn't think the setup was in play. And how are you gonna respond? Is the coyote getting? Is the cooyote getting kidnapped? Like how are you gonna to respond to this? You can't just let this stand Maybe they're doing a home and home Is that possible? now he has to go to OKC couple couple side note things Th then I want to ask you who you thinks going to win game five So there's a lot of role play Carusso where he stands in the role player all time rankings, all that stuff. is see the best role player of the twenty twenty best role player of the century Reggie Miller in the pregame show was talking about how important role players are and then proceeded to list multiple guys who weren't role players who were actually just really good players who were like border that OMBA guys. I didn't He was going backwards. And he was like twenty twenty four, Derek White. And then And it was like,h, Derek White's not a roll part. I just There's a specific type of role player Mount Rushmore that I think we have to discuss And And the first person who has to be mentioned anytime the conversation happens is Robert Hori. I just want to say that as a PSA To everybody who likes basketball, everybody has a platform Robert Ho has to be the first person you mentioned. It can't be Alex Garusso, it can't be Derek Frisher. It has to be Robert Horory won seven titles. This was I put them in my pyramid in my basketball book Um he's the only world player that made it because He had so many big moments that I wrote this thing about and And I was like, if I told you the Robert Horre game is on ESPN Classic You wouldn't know what game I was talking about. seven gam. have the way G me the team and I'll try to guess what game it is. So Robert Hory has to be first and he's the perfect example of a rope player where it doesn't matter if he's getting his stats He always has a knack for getting better when it matters. He's always doing the dirty work and that's to me, a definition Derek White's like, star likeike he's a really good player. Iguadal is an interesting one We're on Golden state Golden State Iguadala became a role player, like an overqualified role player the four best Aur hori? Iguidala until Caruso. and I want to have the Coriso comba really quickly. Fori Warriors E Guadala. U Derek Fisher and Michael Cooper. Now I'm not this is my lifetime. So I'm not doing Casey Jones, Satch Sanders, people like that. But I think those are the four. and then apologies to Um Bobby Jones, who I think was better than a role player. I actually think he was like a notch above Mary Ellie is definitely there. Dan I know where to put him. kiss of death Mario of Mario Elli iss one of my all time favor role players. He's in there and then and then Caruso, but does Caruso crack the top four? for you like post merger 'ause he's got the title in the Lakers. he's got the title the O, so he has a chance to win another one. you get free like you're really in a different conversation You know as three with three different teams is Danny Green. also a very good te Dy Green is another of recent vintage. Yeah. I'm going add him to the list. That's a great one. I think we need parameters to your point about Derek White and even Andreke Gudala. Derek White received all NBA votes Today, the balloting came out. you've received a few third team all NBA votes I don't know if a role player can receive all NBA votes and Eguidal is an all star. Like do are we allowing all stars like one time two time all stars. Drew Holiday Is he a role player? we got to throw them out Well, so I guess the question is, if you're one of your best four players on your team are you a role player the fourth best player. could be in a lot of cases a quote unquote role player. I think it has to be five through nine That's I'm fine with that. I'm just saying like Iguadala was a twenty point scorer in an all star. I believe he made an all star team in his early one maybe in his sixers era. mayaybe I'm like Jay Mon Green's another one, not a role player. likeike don't put him in this. It has to be like Aera Ellie The team could win with or without the person. they could probably survive, but the person is the cherry on this Sunday Who's your favorite random role whover I mean who a guy who just never who never really landed on the right team. Josh Hart, by the way, has another role player Mount Rushmore potentially, but he hasn w in title. But he that's good one. Yeah. he's He's right at the point though, is he too good for role player status. I hes he's not a top four guy in his team But is there a guy that you were like, man, if he'd only just landed on the right team All right, I'm gonna just throw three names at you. just that you no preparation. youre just I didn't prep it U Trevor Aza U Well Trevor isa w one one though. He gets one for zero nine. so he gets to at least be in this little club. Okay SNO five timers club. You get the jacket at least. He might He had better years than this because of the teams he was on, but I just had the softest of soft spots for Lafonzso Ellis Um Oh, interesting. I. It same era, same team I just like late nineties me was like, man, These teams should be trying to get Veshaun Leonard on their team. He's like just he's just a random like a Mario Ellie kind of guy tough like he, you know, they he got him at one point. I just for some reason, I just love Veshawn Leonard. This just again, random names I have a one that never gets mentioned anymore and should is James Posey Oh, yeah Two out of three years won the title, doing awesome role player stuff There's other versions of it, right? There's the Eddie House type I wouldn't I wouldn't say that fits for this. Fisher was an amazing one. Fisher had Just one of the most bizarre careers ever was just in a million I think he's like second or third most playoff games ever on all of these different teams, even when OKC who's basically a dead body on OKC, you knowK he's like well, it's still Derred Fisher. Maybe still has it. And they were still wrong with them. Okay can I can I throw another name wor you name some guysy territory Yeah. did Nick Batum ascend beyond this at his Portland prime? Never won the. Yeah, well, he he's a classic. never. Did he even make a finals I don't think so U All right. well we named some guys. that was fun Peter. shhout out P Saan Leter. Oh, Teeshaan Prince is a fantastic. He counts, right? Oh my god, he counts. yes. Okay Who do you have winning game five Thunder in seven I'll pick the Thunder w in game five. I don't I don't someone asked me this. I was at the Nicks game the other day, game two and people are like, do you thinks's gonna win? do thinks win? I'm like, me, let's just go through what's happened in the last two weeks Cleveland with a chance to close out the pistons at home in game six gets their asses kicked by a million points. and it's like all the pistons have all the momentum. They're going home for game seven. They lose by thirty points. L the individual games, I don't know I'm just going to say the thunder because I picked the thunder, but I will say somethingomething in my You know what? No, forget it. Spurs. Spurs figured something out tonight in the Thunder Rat. I'm going to go sppurs Iking with Thunder and seven, them I'm sticking with thunder and seven I think Spurs I could lean toward them game five because of the injuries. I don't think it'll mean they win the series. That's whered lland Um It's we're almost time to bring Sean Fenassey in to talk about the next Before as we as we as Sean warms up in the bullpen Um, Whaty on a scale once to ten What are you prepared for with Cleveland in the offseason if they get swept I mean, everything, anything I mean, I don' D they have one person? you'd be like, no way they're trading that, dude Um Do you? So if they brought me in as a conciliary I would Moby would be my one keeper I'd wanton another year with him. I liked how he played in the playoffs and I just feel like I hang nothing on him. And if I'm giving up Mby, I have to get somebody offse back. I'm not trading Mby for Yonis That's an absurd trade. There's no way they should do that. It's crazy because last year I suggested that would be the trade all the bucks I just wouldn't do it. I don't think Yanis is changing the destiny of the cals winning the title. I don't think that was their issue. Their issue is that they have a backcord of Don ofan Mitchell and James Harden, who can't guard any guards? Well, I'm not I was just playing Devil's ey because the argument for it, which you can find people who would make, I would be very hesitant to do it too and probably not because then I've just made myself in two deals, I've made myself so much older all of a sudden Yeah, But I do I do now have an interesting two year three year window with Donovan Mitchell. and honest, that's interesting, but I don't know that I've seen enough from this team to be like, well, we're, you know, we're so close. if Brooklyn called and said, we'll give you the six pick in our twenty twenty nine first. for Mitchell would just take them off your hands. O no way, no way. No way for who You're doing that is Cleveland. I mean, look, you like not even blinking. you like all those guys at six, twenty twenty nine first. I'm assuming Brooklyn is I mean, look, all the pick values are going to change. And I save fifty million and all the luxury tax stuff and do I think Mitchell is going to be on my team two years from now? Is he going to stay I'm doing that. Well Okay, so You gave your fure you gave your conigary self knowledge of Donovan Mitchell's plans that I personally don't have. And he said all the right things about Cleveland and I wanted to stay in Cleveland. He signed extensions there before Yeah you know, there is an interesting conversation to be had of like, Up with all these guys, really? Like is the next contract going to be worth it Um I' resetting. I made a run at it. It didn't happen I have a chance to get an OMBA guy in this draft. I keep mobly. I reset, I reset my tax. U I lick my wounds and I get ready to make another run at it with a younger team I would is where I would land I would love to still have Darus Garland in that scenario, but alllas This episode is brought to you by State Farm countless hours in the gym, a thousand shots before tip off day after day in the same court The state fararm stanchion right there That's right. the best players put in the work and state Farmms is the same way with insurance experts put in the work as well, whether you get a digital quote or reach out to a local agent State Farm is there to get to know you and help you select the right coverage that fits your life and your budget Putting the work is what separates the good players from the great and that's why you want stay fararm. on your team So get the coverage that's right for you Like a good neighbor, state fararm is there. Coverage options are selected by the customer, availability and eligibility vary by state This episode is brought to you by LinkedIn. For small business, every hire matters, but the time and resources required to hire write are limited Luckily, LinkedIn Hiring Pro is built for that reality. It's your hiring partner designed to help you hire with confidence by surfacing On the right candidates without turning hiring into another full time job Hiring pro streamlines the entire process from drafting your job to shortlisting candidates and conducting AI powered screening interviews Conversational interface lets you describe what you need in plain language, no recruiter jargon needed. Nearly sixty percent of hires find a candidate to interview within a week. With hiring Pro, you spend less time searching and more time connecting the right talent. higher r the first time Get started by posting your first job for free at linkedIn d. com slash Simmons. That's linkedIn d. com slash Simmons terms and conditions apply But alas, you know who we do have is Sean Fenessey. Oh boy Yes. What's up So I owe Sean Fantassey thisappearance Because we've known each other for fourteen years. I've made a hundred million nix jokes. He's also come on my pod many times after sad Nick events I feel like almost exclusively. almost every time you've come on something terrible has happened the next. They've had a bad loss. They've done a dumb trade Now everything's flpp So you have the floor. Just tell us how it feels. Not today, Bill It's Memorial Day weekend. I've been drinking I'm feeling really good right now, man We do it. I feel like I want to go get a glass of wine come back and just really sa really savor this. Well you know, it's funny, the last time I was on was the last Bad moment I've had As a fan of this team. It's amazing. I came on after Whatas was it game three of that Hawk series and We could not have been more low To brutal one point losses And look at us now. we're flying, Bill. tenen in a row. some interesting stat Zack with his ten in a row and the point differential stuff about Tams like if they pull up the sweep tomorrow, teams that have only lost twice heading into a finals Pretty interesting teams on the list To me Whever won this West series is winning the title And now you see the attrition both sides in this West series. I don't even know who's going to be playing next week whereas the Kicks are going to be nice and rested and It's just feeling pretty magical. I don't know Z, where's your head out with this next thing? You talked about it a little last night I said it after the Philly series. they can win the championship. U you know Spurs is a coin flip. I think full strength Thunder is I think I said like twenty five, thirty percent chance that Nicks could win Obviously the Thunder RrN at full strength. I think this is a legitimately really good team that has found whatever they needed to find and are in this zone now that I don't think they're coming out of it. I don't think there's a crisis around the corner all of su They lose their rhythm or you know, towns all of a sudden wants more shots or whatever it is that would disrupt their rhythm. I don't I don't think that's coming. I think this is the team And this is the level of play we're going to see going forward. And I think they're just a strange they're a strange team. like Brunson is a strange guy to game plan for Towns at the five is a really interesting, tough look to do with. and when they put shamid in, it's really tough to do with. They're just They're an unusual team that plays at an unusual cadence and I think they're going to sustain this level of play. I they can win. I said after the Philly sereries. they can win. This is not this is not, you know, I was at game one Nick Cabs And it was the day after Game one spurs Thunder And there was like some snickering going around about from some of the people, you know, some of the league figures, agents, et cetera in attendance, not people with the teams yeah that was a nice win by the Kicks a nice comeback. but like the real finals is happening over there. and I was like, I don't think that's true. I just don't think that's true anymore. I think they can win. Sean's heads to explod I I've been turning this over in my head, obviously a lot. And I was just in Europe for ten days and like watching games at two o'clock in the morning and trying to wrap my head around what was really going on here. And I was afraid to come back to the United States, to be totally honest. I was nervous that if I came back, things would go awry and then I just watched Yesterday's game. in normal Pacific time and everything, again, just They just seemed different. And I remember watching them in February, and Bill, we probably were texting about it back then When they just seemed not together, it was unclear what Towns' role really was on the team He was doing the same dumb defensive lapses and stupid fouling that he's been doing for the first decade of his career And things came together near the end of the season. They started playing better in the last ten or fifteen games of the year. They did win the NBA Cup. It's not like they did win fifty games and you know, it's not like they weren't consistently good this year But u You know, I think also some things broke right for them in the playoffs. I think it's nice that U The Celtics had to play an incredibly inspired sixers team who were desperate to beat the Celtics pistons, I think were a paper tiger all season, but they also did not particularly have answers for the two teams that they played And I gotta give it up to Mike Brown, man. I don't know how much you guys have been talking about it, but He's done stuff with his team that Tibbs was not doing And it was controversial, especially New York whether or not Tiff should have been fired. And it's a huge freaking relief to me that he was, even though I think he's responsible for rebuilding this franchise in a lot of ways because Mike Brown is flexible man and he plays the bench and the bench has been a huge part of this run. The fact that they're so deep. I remember I was talking to CR before the Sixter series and he was like, well, you guys aren't deep. And I was like, that's wrong. Like this team routinely plays eight guys, sometimes nine guys in playoff games And I don't know if you guys have been watching Landry's shamit for the last three weeks, He looks like an elite bench player in the NBA. Yeah it's been amazing. Kyrie completely quit on him and when he was in Brooklyn, I remember feeling like he was on his way out of the week. I was looking So this has been a ten game Odyssey to get to the point they got to yesterday. I was so impressed by how they played yesterday. and you look at the box score And it's like if you were just drawing on a map, what the ultimate NX box score would look like Brunson had thirty. OG Bridges had twenty three and twenty one and Bridges was eleven for fifteen and you felt him the whole game Right. He was just He was either running the floor or he was running in little open spaces in the half chord. He was just You felt him, whereereas like most of the season, it felt like he was just in the corner with his hand up or not doing anything. Towns was thirteen, eight and seven with zero turnovers It was twelve nine and five with four steelals And Shamot had fourteen off the bench. They were eleven for twenty eight for threes. They shot fifty five percent. And they had actual ball movement And he's looking at, it's like these six guys make sense together and then you throw them at Bide and mitch, now you have eight It was Watching this I was like It's felt a little two thousand four range pistons to me which is interesting because I think that was the model for how they built this team. Like it was Leam Rose and Worldwide West. West was a huge pistons guy. Like he was a Detroit guy and that modotel of like just bringing competitive veterans guys like hitting the right points of their careers guysuys who are going to sacrifice U, and you go through the moves they made Pistons They they had Ben Wallace. They signed Billips and traded for Hamilton in the same summer. They drafted Tehan, But then the big move was they fired Rick Carllyle and hired Larry Brown. the next did with tips, right? then the Rashid Wallas deadline trade was the other one The next They had some luck U Dallas fucking of the Brunson thing That was a four for fifty five Zack. Brunson Thas could have locked them down There's a whole I don't think we have time to dig into the whole Jail in Brunson who said what when, what was offered when, whyy wasn't it offered when just that Dallas lost him.es There was a time where they could have locked him down for that. And if they had been a little more proactive, I think they probably could have So They signed Hartenstein, who was like a stopgap. But the other big lucky break for them was the Mitchell, Utah trade which I forgot the details. Do you remember what the holdup was on that trade sh No, what was the holdout The jazz really wanted grimes in the trade And the Kicks wanted quickly in the trade and it became like, well, it's either three un prrotected first or two first and are protected depending on who is in it. And then they said, fuck you and took the Cleveland trade Zach, if they have Mitchell and Brunson, does that team make sense to you? Plus you don't have all the extra picks to trade for brridges? I was also going back and rereading Donovan Mitchell trade stuff for different reasons, but I remember thinking at the time And Ian Begley was is and was the most plugged index guy at the time. and he had a lot of the details about Well, this offer was made here at this timeline and was there a pick here? And it's just like it just made me think Did Nicks really want to do this? L R They want to do it on their terms almost versus actually wanting to do it because they they knew The question you just asked me about like these two guards, small score firsts Like is this actually going to work? And if we use all these assets here, what do we have left for stuff down the line? I'm sure there was part of their front offic that really wanted to do it and there was debate internally about this pick, that pick, but The bottom line is they did not go as all in as they needed to go all in and I think it unquestionably save them. It unquestionably the roads not taken for them are that are andbed and obviously Janis is the one that happened to Seaan's point halfway through the season All the discourse was while they blew it with McKillbridge. they don't have picks forree hon us. They're hopeless. and you know, they're just kind of stuck And I was rel listening to The live show I did in Brooklyn because I felt at the time it was midmarch And I felt like the whole show was me giving Ns fans a pep talk like, no, you guys are You guys are third in offense, six in defense. Yeah. I know it's been a little rocky, but like who who's beating you in the East And because it felt like Nick fans needed a pep talk I like I don't Sot everyone. I could tell you that much I didn't have huge expectations for the playoffs. I thought they should definitely beat the Hwks and then after that I thought it was a crap shoot because I thought any any of those top five teams. A lot of things also like the magic, not having to deal with the magic and then the magic kind of falling apart was another thing that went their way. There were a million things that went their way. So the point about Donvan Mitchell Um If they had acquired him and they tried to pair them together, I think it might have been a somewhat similar situation that Brunson had to contend with through the first four seasons of his professional career essentially playing behind Lukca And so you could say like the MBs mismanageed that scenario or maybe there was nothing they really could have done by just having a superstar backup point guard behind single best backcard player in the sport But You just can't under like overstate who and what Brunson is. there's just there has never been a New York Nick like him. There are very few players in the NBA like him. I think like maybe now finally NBA fans who like even if they deep down hate the Kicks, like you can't watch him for nine consecutive fourth quarters and consistently watch him just take over games and be unguardable. his shot making He's been doing this since he came to the Ns. This is not new. It's like it's the supporting cast that you just described, Bill. It's those guys, those pivotal moves that they've made, acquiring OG, acquiring Mcale, you know, building up Robinson so that he could play sixty five games in a season, acquiring Cat. All of that stuff has changed. Brunson's been basically the same guy. who scores twenty seven points a game who is fearless down the stretch, who always puts the team on his shoulders. And when the team isn't going well, we can point to him and say, oh, well, you know, it's it's ISO ball and it's all Brunson and he's taking nine of thirteen shots in the fourth quarter When they're going good and when the supporting cast looks good That works and it's going to it has been working throughout this playoffs and I genuine, you know, you can talk about like Walt Clyde Fraser, you know like there's there's Rl Monroe. it's a very short list of guys that he is now getting into the conversation with after just five seasons Yeah. I don't know. It's making my head sppin.'s just when we picked him up, I was not against the move at all. It was obviously a very savvy contract Never in my wildest dreams that I ever think you would become this person to the franchise We all like Brunson. I think the Nicks felt like he could be this guy. I do think Leonna West did feel that way. I thought that was crazy. L I clearly thought he I might have even said it in the pods. likeike this guy could be one of the best three guys I know Final fourteen. there's no question I didn't think he could be what he became. L you're talking about Like for an entire generation of Nicks fans, well multiple generations, but if you're talking about like thirty and under Nicks fans They this is like their David Ortiz basically they win the title, he becomes David Ortiz Whatne are things about how they put the team together Throw it a couple of times The town's trade was cutthroat Like that like Randall was like their guy. likeike they brought him in. They gave him a big extension. they went and signed Deoncenzo Um they traded I think would they trade Tppen to have the deep Genzo money Dova guy This is our crew now and then they had a chance to get tos and they just like their throat basically went got towns. That was cutthroat and then the the tips straight the tips firing kind of have to do that sometimes. You know, there's a difference between being desperate and cutthroat. Those were two moves that were probably the right moves. But it's still like, I don't know if all teams make those moves, No it's like what we talkking about earlier where OKC is like check can't defend Weemby We're trading him. and it's just like, we're cutting his throat. Sometimes won't do it No, the town's one was was a risk. And it's one that has has gone up and down I like halfway through the season, it looked like, did Minnesota like kind of win this trade? Cats all over the place and like Randall's playing really well and Dven Chenz was essential. And now it's like swung Totally the other way, but it was a b on it was a ceiling bed. It was a We need to take some risk of absorbing this contract because if it works ur ceiling goes up a level that Randall and D Vinenzo just can't They need a center C can't you needed a center and you need a five who can shoot Um And yeah, I mean, they've been and adobbe was a guy they clearly just targeted and Brunson I remember I was with you guys. I mean, I remember vividly doing on my old podcast like That deal was slammed Re unpopular contract in a lot of corners. And I remember saying don't I don't love it, but it's like a BB plus. likeike Jayalen Bronsson's a really good player and like it's a lot at that time. but like it's a BB plus contract. obbviously in retrospect, it was an a plus plus plus What was was it four for a hundred? What was it? a little four for one hundred six. Yeah one of six. I was on the bullish side for it, but I also was like, yeah, it's guys career average is eleven points a game You know, it's It's definitely in the higher end I do think we're all overlooking just a huge story here and a huge fly in the ointment. Um, Chalme No, even even more dire than the celebrity fandom of reteturn of Chalamay to being on TV and stuff. Which my dad by the way hates. He's like I don't understand. Do they pay for their tickets? Why do all these rich people get free stuff? I don't like it. Even more dire and Sean, I think you need to be worried I think you need to be on high alert Oh no. I don't know if you know this, but the cabs have won the shot quality battle through three games in this series And I won. I think I think you guys are actually on the ropes here. I think if you look at the track look at the tracking data, it's neck and neck, but the cats have a slight edge in shock quality And let me tell you I think the league is going to retroactively go back and look at the shock quality and flip the results of these games. And you might be down to one tomorrow morning. like I wouldn't get too excited about the finals just yet or the c It's aion Deceiving three O Sean Don't Don't get comfy I did see that interview with Kenny Atkinson today, which was very amusing. Let's just say it's been passed around amongst Nick Nick's fans Listen, arere you scared, Sean? Are you scared of what the four games pretend because of this? What I don't want is to say something stupid and then all of a sudden this series is three, three and I'm getting clipped by like cavs busting genius, you know, on X dot com Um I I I'm very excited about how well they played. And you know what? as as a dork who looks at exit Vilo and hard hit rate and baseall like that I do I do like trick myself into thinking that that shit matters But like look, the cavs just haven't been able to hit threes in this series, but also the Kicks play great defense. So Both things can be true. Look if you played those games one hundred fifty thousand times, it might be a different result. Unfortunately, Seaan, this is the result that actually matters and it's threez And the fact is that Timothy Salamay was courtside for two of those games. So maybe he's in Donvan Mitchell's head. Have we considered that? Maybe he's in James Harden's head possible. Here's the other thing U Game four is already over because there was a play at the end of game three that made me convince the Nixer sweep them. Jalen Brunson hesitation layup When all five calves just decided they weren't going to move anywmore. That's the kind of thing that happens when you're going home in two days. I don't think they come back from that. They kind of quit in the is they quitting is what was going on. Yeah Yeah I think the Nicks can smell it and the Nicks I mean, San what this is the Prologue of my book, The seecret The next part of the problem with them during the season is everybody was having to sacrifice stuff and There were all these different times when people didn't seem that happy about the sacrificing. Those guys are all locked in now. I don't know how it happened over these last ten games, but it happened and that's the great thing about sports when you watch it happen in real time. I think obviously OG was unstoppable until he got injured, but the secret is what you already talked about, which is that Bridges shooting seventy five percent from the field and being back to that mid range guy and also being really comfortable as basically the second option offensively Yeah has just totally transformed the offense for them. The early story was cat being point cat, but that has kind of moved out Recently and Bridges just having much more usage in the offense makes them way more dynamic and scary. I mean, they're going to match up totally differently though with either of the two teams in the West, assuming they go forward. Like it's going to be a different looking offense and it's going to be harder, I think, for Brunson to get some of those baskets that he's been getting in the last two series. But I have to enjoy this. I mean, it's fifty three years since the Kicks have won a title. It's twenty seven years since they've been in the NBA fininals It's forty years since a team that I root for of the three major sports won a title forty years. like this is very rare and it's extremely rare to watch a team that I care about motherfuck teams. I mean, it's just amazing how they're just dominating for the last three weeks. And so I'm such an embittered and cynical sports fan. likeike I really just gott to look myself in the mirror and be like, Have some gratitude, you asshole, because this is super special. This episode is brought to you by PayPal We've seen some legendary athletes don the number four jersey Now I can't name names You guys know who I'm talking about. In fact, if you look at my studio There's a framed picture of one of my favorite number fours. He played hockey. Anyway, you know what else is game changing for? Pal paying for No fees, no interest, no impact on your credit score, justust the flexibility to pay the way that works. for you And it's available at millions of online stores, Pay in for PayPal Subject to approval, learn more at payPal d. com slash pay in for PayPal Inc N MLS nine one zero Four, five, seven. This episode is brought to by Uberz. This summer soccer is here. The watch parties will be back and going and going and going for I think six straight weeks. Don't worry. 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Something quicked They went on this crazy one ten one the rest of the way in the West. almost every Mavsp at the moment, Berea, Chandler, Pesia, even Dishhan, Stevenon He beat the villains in the league the heat without home court The Nicks have a chance to do something similar if they take out OKC. They actually win it. with this championship be as universally beloved as the twenty eleven Mavs run This is an interesting one becauseuse it's a New York team Dallas everybody loved her including Zach Low. Everybody had kind of given up on him having a moment like that. and then he just fucking went Clint Eastwood on the twenty eleven playoffs and series by series just took people out. And then they took out this heat team that everybody was annoyed by. Do you see the parallels If it was Okay see during this whole flop thing that this moment they're having the back to back and then this next team that comes out of nowhere Do you think it would be as beloved as that Maps title? Well, it's interesting you asked that because I saw Ethan Strauss right this callum this week about like basically, why is this not a bigger story that this team in the biggest city and the biggest market is doing this? And I'm like, maybe I just live in the wrong place because it's like the defining story of my life. like it's a massive story. twenty four hours a day Um So I think it could be, I mean there' Like the Kicks don't a dirk who's like been just beaten down and been close to the mountainop and shoved off and is like entering the back nine of his career and this might be his last chance. And that was also a collection of events Um Brunson is as like the small guy underdog and small guys aren't supposed to win titles kind of No I' just'ming I'm giving you the counter is before I hammer. And the other counter is like there are just some some people who don't like New York City and don't like New York and it's too big and all the famous people I think it would be if not as universally beloved almost so and like such a rapturous moment around the league because it is New York, because it is the Kicks And it may depend a little bit on who they play in the finals because the Thunder have a whiff of different kind of villainousness to them at least in the way they're perceived around the league. not the same as that Miami team, but Yeah L there are just some parts of the country fans in parts of the country who h hate New York and they're like, oh boy, the big bad Kicks and we have to listen to everyone talk about New York and the Yankees will probably win the World Series and we'll do it all again. Well that would be terrible. But I but I think I think the Kicks are their own unique thing in New York City because of the sport. It's the city's game They're the city's team and it's been so goddamn long that I think It would be as raptuous as the Bab's one I think there's one other component to this too, which is if this had happened last season, it might have felt a little bit different because It would have felt like they were vanquishing teams that they had not beaten before Obviously that Boston series Sorry Bill was like euphoric for Kicks fans because we were underdogs in that series for real. Yeah that was a really triumphant series win. And then they got their their their hearts ripped out and game one of the Pacers series. and that series was effectively over. And obviously the Pacers have given the Kicks fits over the years in the playoffs. And so if they had gone to the finals after that run, it would have felt different than this where they're basically dispatching a bunch of teams that they've already beaten before. You know, the Kicks have three years ago beat the cavves in the playoffs, the Kicks two years ago beat the Sixers in the playoffs. bothoth of those teams were seated lower than the Kicks are. It doesn't feel like as triumphant and stunning a run to the finals. And so maybe that's part of the reason why it's not getting these incredible national headlines. At the very beginning of this season, I think most undits felt like the Kicks were the most talented team in the conference and probably should be at least in the Eastern conference finals. In fact, the Kicks owner basically set a mandate for Mike Brown and the team that they had to make the finals that the expectation was the NBA finals. So it's not pretty ordained per se, but this has just been talked about for sixteen months as a possibility. So it doesn't feel as stunningly special. And also, I think Zach's right that New York teams are just hated, like the Kicks are kind of a fumbling franchise over the last half century, but they're just not beloved and whatever success they have had especially in the nineties was for a kind of like brute force, unlikeable style of play. And so I think for older fans, that's also burned into their brains is like, this isn't a team that I love watching. Yeah, true This team though, this season I mean, this playoffs, they've been a lot of fun to watch. I think. offensively they're pretty exciting Yeah, so Dolan in the two thousands ten out of ten train wreck And then the twenty ten s ten out of ten train wreck. that's twenty years, one fifth of a century A complete train wreck as an owner beforefore COVID, all Star weekend in Chicago, I think Zachlow is there. state He skipped it. I skipped it becausecause I didn't want to get COVID Somehow I went. I went to Sundance and all star weekend in the Oscars and h for three and CoVid. San Seaan went one for one I went to suundance and have never been more sick in my life. So pleased to have been a patients. I got it at the Sloan C confference two weeks later. so it's not like it's not like my discipline sustained Yeah. So they hire Leon and West three weeks before COVID And then post COVID, they've just turned into a completely different franchise And Dlan's been a good owner. likeike he's He's let those guys do their thing. Supposedly he was the one that's like, we have to fire tibs. You guys are being too loyal to him. He's not good enough. Get rid of this guy Um he's paid for a lot of money. like it's been impressive. and you think with that the sphere which has been like one of the most successful entertainment things that has has launched probably this century Stonan's back, man. You gott to hand it to him. I made a lot of jokes about him I made a lot of jokes with my colum and on the pod that you gott to hand it to the dude, man. He's a good job But like when was he when did when was he originally go here here. I thought I really thought for a second that you were going to draw some connection COVID to Dolan arrives before. I thought there was going to be some. I wasn't goinga that was going to frighten me. My scream was just going to go black. like the connection was going to get lost. Well, as Sean knows, I don't really remember anything from twenty twenty or twenty twenty one. And there's a chance All of us are dead right now and this isn't actually happening with the Kicks. It's possible I love the idea of this being your projection. COVID dream state. Yeah, that's really exciting. James Dolan became a good owner, But you got to hand it to him man. he's doing a good job M The New York thing is interesting because this is such a beloved team Like if you just like basketball, I just really respect how they play. I think Brunson is just one of the most admirable guys we have in the league, but it is a New York team. And there are a ton of New York fans and You know, I don't need to tell you, Sean, when it's going well for New York fans, they have a way of letting everybody know about that So I'll be interested to see how everybody handles this over the next four weeks I'll just say this is the first public comments I'm making since this wind streak started. I've been trying to keep my mouth shut throughout this.'s a great way to do it. I don't want to jinx it and I'm also super grateful. However, ike we deserve this. come on. fifty three years. deserve it just for the last twenty. Yeah, it was the two thousands were fucking tough, man. That was a really hard because in addition to being inept on the court They were entrenched in controversy and scandal nonstop. I mean, it was a very ugly time to be a fan of that team. This just feels different. and I said this to you the last year or so Bill, but They're just Normal now. They just win like fifty two games every year They have one or two players who are in the conversation for All NBA. They're just like a legitimately good NBA franchise. The other thing I'll note is that Leon Rose does not speak to the press ever ever, ever And that is also so strange. And so we don't even really know very much about the architects of this team through this six year period. We just know that they're making the right moves and I would say Six of the eight big moves that they've made since this new administration came in. When they happened, I was like, that's not a good idea. It was like my old you know, mixed reflexes kicked in where I was like trading Randal and Div Vinenzo, I don't get that. I hope OG is a good deal, but like he's really injury prone. We're getting older in that deal. that doesn't make sense. Oh, we missed out on Katie and Kyrie and we backfilllded with Julius, Randall as a free agent. Oh Four years for Brunson and that this is at the expense of getting Donvan Mitchell, like all of those times because Nicks fans are so beat up. You could have been like, well, we're going to get the short end of the stick on this one E single one worked out. E bridges, which that trade was was was pilloried as recently as April. How about a month ago? Yeah That's what I'm saying L like it was like way too many picks. and now all of a sudden, two playoffs in a row were like, noope He's essential. He might even be the second best player on the team And that's astonishing. That's like the fact that all those moves that those guys made worked out and they never once got in front of the public and were like, well, we did this, or trust us. They don't say anything. It's crazy. Well one of the reasons you know they're good is besides Brunson, the next best three guys in the team have all had moments when they've seen like they're clearly the second best guy in the team And that's when you know you have a good team. but they' Sack. I remember doing this in the twenty twenty four finals with Celtics Dallas when was Celtics were favored, but maybe not as much as they should have been favored considering the dispar the disparity with the records and stuff And at some point it just became math. It's like the Celtics have been this team for eight months. This is kind of who they are You look at the A addvanced stats for the playoffs And the Nicks have their plus eighteen point five for thirteen playoff games. That's like a small sample size. It's three different series And it includes them being down to one in the first one Um they have The second best offensive rating. best offensive rating and they have the point differential. They have all this mass stuff in their place. We've always learned that thats should be a bigger factor when you're trying to figure out what's going to happen than we give it credit for. So I assume if they blow out the cabs tomorrow or even just win Those numbers will still be pretty good. Do you pay attention to that those act those those post season addvanced metric shit. Sure. I mean again, it's a small sample and it's so opponent specific that, you know, it can be a little you have to be careful. but I mean, when you are, I mean, I don't even care what the numbers are. when you're like I haven't even looked when you're this dominant and you're winning by this many points every single game Like I've seen some people, well, who have they played? They played the Hwks, who fattened up against all these lottery ps are pretty good. But didn't hear a lot about that when it was two one Hawks. Oh they played theixers who, you know, they're injury prone and Jell couldn't sustain. By the way, I do have to give you this as a Celtics person You got The like the week that the sixixers became the full fledged Sixers was against you Similarly Five seasons ago, you got like the week that the harden Kyirri Durant Nets became the full fledged Durant Nets also against you guys. It's true. But like I don't want to hear about any of this because if you beat three playoff teams by this much, this many times It says something about the group that you're in. and oh by the way They were third in offense and seventh in defense in the regular season and seventh in defense with this roster is quite an accomplishment. Like it was sitting there. They were they were now what they've done in the playoffs is a completely different thing, but They're just a really good team a couple small breaks, but every team gets breaks every year. Tatum and Hallalberurt getting hurt Janis and B breaking down And that's happened. That's that's wherear and Terra was scheduled year after year. The one real break I thought they caught was Detroit kind of choking at the Detroit deadline, not doing anything. Det Troit was the one team that felt like they like going toe to toe with the Kicks. They really had their number during the regular season. and you know like whyy didn't they get the extra guy? And if I'm a Detroit fan, I'm going crazy right now that we're not in the easastern finals. See, I get it Um three ero Detroit in a regular season I was I would have picked the Nixon six M p the next ten without even thinking that hard about it. And I would not have thrown away the regular season stuff, but I just would not have read too much into it and I think the Nicks were just qualitatively a better team Detroit because I've seen why Leonard was on the pistons. Well, okay, I mean, I've seen a lot of like, oh, Detroit I don't know I don't they would got a regular season and boy they blew it against Cleveland. I just like I didn't like the way they were playing in the playoffs. I like the way the Nicks are playing in the playoffs. I don't read too much into those games I guess you can't get too comfortable because analytically you're losing two to one That's going to be feel really bad when when they when they sweep and they've lost they they've lost three games to one analytically That's going I don't know you're gonna sleep tonight, man. this like u You don't understand the mth Sean's had. He goes to Cann for the first time ever is there for like a week and a half as that's happening in the Kicks go on the fucking all time Ketater Wm at the Chesterfield just whipping the Russians for twenty four straight hours. Yeah, but they're not cheating. That's the thing I remembering. No mechanic work, no dealing from the bottom of the deck. wish I wish the Mets would cheat, by the way, Sean as long as're I'm in for anything.. Don't get me started. don't get me out in the back. whatever you gott to do, because I, you know I will burn the franchise to the ground. Whatever the Kicks are doing, the Mets need to drink some of that juice because what the fuck dude. Like absolute Listen you guys complain about baseball when my my owner has just thrown away baseball in Boston All right, fair. We we traded a possible Sing guy this year for a guy who' sitting one hundred and sixty one. Yeah, and he got you like three titles. Yeah, and then he's like he's four F off And then he's like, you guys should be more appreciative. I should be able to do what I want. I mean, he's right. I don't none of us feel that way. just sell the team. The Ms are way more embarrassing. First of all, they haven't won in forty years. Second of all, they spend four hundred million dollars on their payroll and they have the worst offense in the sport. I want to jump off a building thinking about them. It's insane. Thank God for the Kicks. But like if you spent money like that in basketball, your team would be good You would just that would just mean you have really good players. In baseball, you can spend money on Bet and then he could just immediately turn into the worst short step of the National League He makes forty two million dollars a year. I'm s sorry I did that I'm sorry. it's my. Why do we bring this up?'s my fault You know why I brought it up, You know why I brought it up because I spent part of the day with my daughter who's now a big Mets fan. We went shopping together and she said the Mets playing this afternoon. Let's check the score. And it was seventh inning. This is we're at the freaking mall. We're at the Stanford Mall on a Sunday. This is my Mall. This to be my heyday place. Checking the M score seventh inning. and I said to her, you'll never guess how many of the runs the Mets have in the seventh inning. It's zero, zero. And we drove home. we drove home, listeneding to the game on the radio Bottom of the ninth, Marlins are up. We pull into the driveway, guys are on base. We turn on the TV and airbender gives up a fucking walk off grand slam right in our face. Wh. That's why I brought it up because I had a day with it I want to hear a little bit more about Bill's hyday place, the Stanford Mall. What went down there? Here was the highlight. First of all, state for Mall was unbelievable. But one summer, Woody Allen was filming scenes from Mallr Wall. Yeah. with Bet Midler and they were just there and they were directed by T Mzerski. Sometimes they're on the top floor It was just such a big deal for them all. Did you approach Woody and say I love your work? Thanks for everything? didn't approach Woody They had a great AW. They had a good music Ely Ely friends at theNW were NW. You could do you could do a Sam Goody and AW are right next to other the seventh floor, you could get some CDs and go get some curly fs. to Walden Books was times. Yeah just going guys're getting into trouble. a couple camps hanging out on Stanford Mall. beer float. One of my great cinematic memories, Sean Fantasy of the Big Picture is waiting in line two and a half hours for the opening night of nineteen eighty nine's Batman at the Stanford Mall. That's how big that how is how big that movie was a bunch of eleven to twelve year old guys are like we're we're camping out basically to get into this movie That's beautiful I saw a lot of great ones. I don't even know if they have a movie theater there anymore. Is the mall still nice U it still looks the same. A lot of the stores are closed. A lot of them have become arcades basically. and one of the anchor stores, I don't know where it might be Sacks has become the allegedly the nation's largest pickleball facility out there. My God, that's the worst thing I've ever heard That's like this guy who bought the Trailblazers is like the biggest investor in Pick. I tell you a pickleball story Yeah, go ahead Game two Ns A team official who should not be named says hi to me introduces me to a guy who knows Joe House So Hey, I know Joe House. Sam is a good starter. I think his name is Sam Porter. And u He is the owner or founder or something of The biggest professional pickleball league And he looked me straight in the eye and he said, I really I really like what you guys do on the NBA podcasts. You know, you and Bill have great chemistry psych. I can't listen as much anymore And I said wisely, I can't take Bill's slander on pickleball. It's just too much. I can't do it. So you've lost the listener because of your anti pickleball takes I'll be on the right side of history. If we lose a couple listers along the way, it's fine Pickle boss sucks What was the best movie you saw, Cana all C club kid. U stars Jordan Furman who is Rachel Sennet's friend from the TV show, I loveove L.A. It's his directorial debut. He plays as a guy who was a club promoter in New York City who wakes up one day and he's in his thirties and he has no money and no insurance and nothing to show for it. ten year old kid shows up on his front door and he is like You're my dad. And he's like what the fuck are you talking about? becausecause Jordan Fman's character is gay in theil And it was funny and heartwarming and like old fashioned and beautiful. And I was like, this is like a Barry Levinson movie, orr like it was kind of like big daddy, the Adam Sandler movie And u Honestly Stole my heart. I had a great time watching it, didn't expect it. It was great So it's like gay Kramer versus Kramer across with Big Daddy. Exactly. That's exactly what it is. good idea. Yeah. and it's funny and sweet and excellent Seaan's Projections newsletter about movies thaty launched a couple weeks ago. getet your get your juices watered to maybe start your own version. I'm N type thing. I'm a subscriber. It' It's It's been an idea I've been kicking around. I'm a little scared, I forgot how to do it. I will say I was doing a chat. on the substack and literally someone asked me I signed up for for your thing. I'm really glad you're here, but I really need you to get both Zach and Bill righting again. It's really important to me. And I said, I'm doing my best. So Billy can't just pass the buck to Zach. It goes to you too I sent like a one hundred and eighty word text today Thats got me going What was it about Camera and the two fingers getting going What was it about? I don't know. something it was about graduation plans. Okay Well, that's not exactly like writing about the NBA, but it's a start. I mean, my daughter's been home for the last two weeks and you guys have younger daughters than my daughter. Um she's twenty one now and we go out and she can't wait to get carded and order a drink and just But you know what's coming for you guys down the road