The nerds react to Anthony Edwards, Julius Randle and the Minnesota Timberwolves' attempt to close out the Golden State Warriors without Steph Curry in Game 5, then they break down how Jaylen Brown led the Boston Celtics to a huge win over the New York Knicks without Jayson Tatum.
Timestamps
00:00:23 - Timberwolves-Warriors
00:36:42 - Celtics-Knicks
#Volume
The volume. No, Oh my god, how could he do that?
Don't watch what Charles Darwin. The nerves is where it's at. Welcome everybody back into Nerds Sash as always. I'm Carson Breber and alongside me is Logan Camden, and you already know the drill. We have two playoff basketball games to start about today. One team, Logan, went down. Their season is now over, but another team, backs against the walls, stayed alive. Unfortunately, the Golden State Warriors were not that team. Both of these teams that were fighting for their lives today were without their best player. One team found a way, the other team did not come close. The Warriors go down in a very routine five games to the Timberwolves. They had Steph Curry for thirteen minutes of this series. We'll talk about what's next for them and where they go from here. But before we do that, Logan, I don't think if there were a ton of revelations in this game. But what do you take away from Minnesota coming out of this series and how do you feel about them going forward?
I think they're the second biggest threat to win the NBA Finals. I'm going to take whoever comes out of the Western Conference to win. Like, I'm honestly really pleased that we're at this point in the season. That not that the way things broke, but I think it's really fascinating that the teams that are left, like Indiana has a real shot now Nicks, just with the way things have broken. But I think Minnesota is the second biggest threat behind Oklahoma City. I think i'd pick them, but they pose a really interesting challenge to Oklahoma City, I think with just how physical they can be with this team, the really high defensive level that they can reach. But most importantly to me, it's the success of Julius Randall. It's the fact that he has been playing such phenomenal basketball in these playoffs. That's exactly what this team needed. Like, I could have very easily seen this team being a great defense, which I thought they were tonight throughout the playoffs. Okay, we can check that box. I could very well see Anthony Edwards being a superstar, which I think in the big moments of games, and he had some weird stuff at the end of this one with some turnovers, but for the most part in big spots has come through and been a killer. The biggest variatable. Meet to me about the Wolves was really two things. The clutch offense, which they've looked really good in in a lot of these games. But more importantly, he was Julius Randall. And not only has he been you know, good, he's been great. I have loved everything that we've gotten from Julius Randall in these playoffs, the decision making most importantly, like just making smart decisions time after time. Him and Aunt have such a potent two man game, and he has done such a great job of just finding him for easy looks, and so I'm just really encouraged. Carson. I was completely wrong. I've said this a multitude of about the Timberwolves trades. I was completely wrong about the Gobert deal. I was completely wrong about the Julius Randall deal. I will apologize for those transgressions against the Minnesota community until the day I die, because frankly, I have to, you know, it's just my moral responsibility. But I don't see any reason why the Timberwls couldn't win the championship. Like again, I'm not picking that, but I think the Timberwolves are here, man, and I don't think that there's any boxes that they don't check. Man. I think this team is really deep. I trust their Tier one superstar and they can play defense and man the boards. Man, I think Minnesota is really complete and I was too low on them coming into the playoffs. Now I wish we had seen them against Steph like. This series unfortunately wasn't a real test. But they're gonna have to prove themselves next round. But back to back, man like, back to back Western Conference Finals appearances is massive, massive for this franchise and it's amazing. Man, I'm so happy for Timberwolves fans. You guys deserve this.
Yeah. Yeah, there's not too much that you can really take away from this series because you're going against a team that you wouldn't sniff the play. And that being said, I think that you feel encouraged if you're a Timberwolves fan about what you've seen from your team through two rounds of the playoffs. Like you said, the biggest X factor has been Julius Randall being so damn good and you've apologized a million times. All apologize a million more times. I mean, they say, Logan, the apology needs to be as loud as the disrespect. And I don't know if my disrespres player has ever really been louder than it was for Julius Randall. I think that his process throughout these playoffs has been phenomenal. I think he has been so brutally efficient as a mismatch attacker. He has been so composed playing out of isolation and out of the post. He's been consistently making the right reads and making the right passes. He has been really good as a jump shooter throughout this postseason so far. So just an a plus postseason from him up to this point. And this entire series just flipped after Game one, and the Timberwls never looked back. And it all started with an Randall just getting their heads screwed on straight again after what was really a terrible Game one from both of them, confounded by really good Warriors defense, but nevertheless their decision making was just really really bad. Once they started attacking this defense properly, they were generating good offensive results consistently, and the Warriors obviously just didn't have even competent offensive personnel to keep them really competitive in these games, like they kind of hung around in a few of them, but Minnesota was clearly going to cruise two way victory also thought at was really good. Rando is the guy you leave this series. In both of these series. Most impressed with, in my opinion, but Ant's ability to take over as a score in second halves of these games. He really got the pull up three going in the second half of this series. He had some really nice playmaking moments, and like just the entire collective team and the really impressive go Bear's defense has been absolutely outstanding all playoffs. Jade McDaniels has been consistently awesome for this team and is playing the best offense of his life. You look up and down this roster top to bottom, and when their stars are doing the right things and they're making good decisions and they're playing up to their potential, this is a team that really is built for playoff success because they have such elite size, They have such elite overall athleticism. They play with such great physicality and set the tone physically, which is so valuable in the playoffs. They're going to be great on the glass. They have so much collective shooting around their couple of stars. Their lineup versatility is really exceptional. Their ability to go three guys deep in the bench and know that all of them are studs and give them a bunch of different looks like this is all stuff that we really learned in the Lakers series, more than we learned it in this one, because again they didn't need to pull out all the stops. But I still think that they have all of those advantages that they showed in what was a really impressive series win against La So I think that they post very distinct challenges to either team who they could see in the Western Conference Finals. They've proven that they can beat both of them. Obviously, they've owned Denver. They beat them in seven in the playoffs last year, but they swept them in the regular season this year and really produce incredible offensive results. They couldn't guard ant, they were able to create a bunch of really good looks from three. They took advantage of the nuggets lack of imp protection. Now that defense has been a totally different beast in these playoffs than it was in the regular season. Denver has improved dramatically there, but still the Timberwls feel good about that matchup, and they beat the Thunder twice this year, and they do have the physicality edge, they do have the Julius Randall bully ball factor. I do think the Thunder can do a lot to really challenge their offense.
Would you give them the experienceage two over OKCE or do you think that's kind of a wash?
Yeah? I think that you give them the experience edge, but it's not significant. And with how we've seen the Thunder grow into themselves within this Nugget series, like a lot of the concerns about oh, are they going to look shaky in the big moments, and they washed away with how they've played in these last two because the Nuggets are the team that has the experience, They're the team that's won the title. They're the team that is so great in terms of clutch offense. Okay, see, answering that test, to me is a bigger challenge than Minnesota when it to the experience front.
For sure, I think the biggest challenge is just gonna be the physicality that Minnesota can play with whoever team they face in the Western Conference Finals. Is just dealing with that batteran which you're gonna take every night, because for sure, Minnesota can just impose their will on teams.
They can. What I would say is, if you're talking about the bully ball on the offensive end. Look at what Okc's done to Yokicchen this series. I think that they have such tremendous defensive personnel. We'll talk about the particulars of that matchup when we get there, but I do think there are a lot of interesting things they can do to challenge Randall. They're going to be super physical with him, and they don't necessarily have like that super big forward Martinstein on him.
Him and ant handles are gonna have to be tight. That's probably the thing that I'm worried about most with them, just with all those really good perimeter defenders and you know, they got all got great hands.
And finishing at the rim is going to be extremely difficult. Like I think that the thunder defense can pose a lot of problems for the Timbruls, But their physicality, their athleticism, their death, all these things are very very real and they do make them a really high level playoff basketball team. You think that they would rather see Denver right if they had their pick between the heartedly.
I mean, they I think they just got their number straight up. Like I don't think like I'm not thinking Denver's gonna go down easy or anything like that. Denver never goes down easy, but I don't know if they can get their mojo back against his team. Denver always looks like they their confidence is completely shot. At least it was this year when they played Minnesota like they just folded like a lazy boy. It seemed like every team every time they met up, and I just think Minnesota has like the perfect counter to them now. I honestly, I still even though how they dominated them in the regular season this year, I still think I prefer last year's iteration in terms of how they matched up against Denver, just with kat and how specifically he matched up against Jokic. But I do think they'd rather see Denver. I just think okay See is the better team.
Yeah, I agree, I totally agree. I think that Okac is the better team, and I also think that Denver is specifically the better matchup for Minnesota. I do think that Denver's playing way better than they did in the regular season. I think that to a couple of those Minnesota games, like they didn't even show up. I mean, just pathetic defensive performances that I really really don't think you would get out of them in a playoff series with how they've been defending, but I do think that they would rather see Denver. Congratulations to the Timberwls back to back Conference finals appearances. They've done it with some of the really same strengths, but also they did it while swapping stars. And like, I was pessimistic about this trade, not just because I thought the cat was better than Randal, but also because I thought that, like, there would be an adjustment period trying to integrate a new star, and when they were so close last year, I was like, why would you shake that up? And instead, I think that you've seen the tremendous value that Randal does have here as a mismatch attacker, as a playmaker, and obviously it's working.
I mean, on top of that, not only was it a home run fit, they have given themselves a lot more flexibility, you know, down the line. Now you have to there is another side of this. You are gonna have to bring Randall back, and that's very important. I think he's got a player option after this year.
Correct, I believe he does.
Yet, I believe Randall has a player option, So you're gonna hope that he opts into that, which actually with the way Randall has been playing, I think is a decent bargain for what he's giving you.
Yeah, I don't know if he opts in. I think he's just probably going to try to get himself a long term contract.
I don't blame him. So that is a new challenge that has been presented by this as you're gonna have to bring back Randall, But I think they're going to be able to. And I mean, with the success that they've had this season, I don't see why he wouldn't come back. But now they also have the flexibility to bring back nas Reed and to bring back Nikhil Alexander Walker, which was really the crux of the Karl Anthony Towns team is they didn't want to lose those elite, elite role players, and who knows, maybe they also could lose. It's not guaranteed that they're gonna get all those guys back, but they at least have the salad and a little more maneuverability to try to make those things happen.
It's a great point, and that was like the one part of the vision that I really did understand and like did support when they made the trade is just Randall is half of the dollar value of Cat and so like you are allowed more flexibility. But when Randall is also just playing this well and he has been this good of a fit, I mean, that just makes it a home run because now you're getting everything that you want, you're getting that star value, You're back in the Western Conference finals, and you like your flexibility and your future in terms of team building a little bit more. Shout out to Tim connolly man. That guy knows what he's doing. Let's talk about the other side of this logan. Obviously, it's a very disappointing end to the season for the Warriors because Steph Curry is not able to suit up. I just think it's such a bummer that he wasn't able to play in this series. What do you take away for them? If anything from the series, you.
Got to get better, I mean that's my take. You got to see extended looks of Steph without another star, and you got to see an extended look here in the playoffs of Jimmy without Steph, and so it's like, you just don't have the guys around this team right now. I think to get it done. It was always a long shot even if Steph was healthy, and I don't think they go down easy against Minnesota. I think it would have been a seven game series if Steph was healthy. That I mean, he still impacts the game at such a high level. So there's one big positive that comes out of this season, and that is the fact that the Warriors finally nutted up and they made the move to go out and get Jimmy Butler. You had to do it, and so that's encouraging. Next season is going to be a full year presumably and hopefully all things go right. But presuming health, you're gonna get a full year of Steph Curry Jimmy Butler in Draymond Green, which should not only mean that you have a very high seed, that you should be really really successful. Like I think this team could be one of the best teams in the West next year if they bring it, But I don't think they're close enough with how many other great teams there are in the West to be like a title front runner and they're in that top pack of teams. If I'm being honest with you, I don't know, man, Like I might even have Dallas now that they're gonna get Cooper Flag all things considered, Like they might be in the same tier as Golden State or something like that, like San Antonio's acending. I just think the Golden State is going to be in the mix. And so what that says to me is they just need to do everything in their power to find complete role players and guys that work here. And I'm not talking like what they did last year, because I actually liked a lot of the things they did last year, getting Melton, getting Anderson and things like that, and some of that actually helped them make the Jimmy Butler trade, so it was positive. But I mean in upper echelon to that, ideally, guys were playoff rotation guys, yes, solid where in the playoffs you're going to a eight or nine guys tight rotation. We're not getting tjd in Pat Spencer playoff minutes, man, like we just need That's my big takeaway is Golden State made the move to get them close now, right like they this was their approach shot this season to get Jimmy Butler. Now we're chipping onto the green. If I'm using a golf analogy, which I don't know if it's ever been done here on NERD sets before, this is groundbreaking.
It works for me.
Man, We've approached, We've got the mid range shot down. Now we got to chip onto the green and so that's the next step I think for Golden State pretty simply is get the final pieces, get the role players and find them and do whatever you have to. Carson, We've said this a million times about the Dubs. There's no future out there. Steph after post Steph, as ps post Steph. This era doesn't matter. It is completely irrelevant. He's the greatest player in your franchise's history. So is Draymond Green. They are still excellent, winning basketball player. Now you have Jimmy all In, I'm talking all the chips. Let's go make some moves. Get this team as competitive as they can be in this window.
Yeah, the Jimmy Butler trade was an excellent move, but it wasn't a cure all. It wasn't going to automatically fix everything that ailed what was a very mediocre basketball team before the Jimmy trade. Now, it did fix a whole lot. It made them a significantly better basketball team on both sides of the ball. And they went twenty seven and eight when Steph and Jimmy both played, which is why it is so brutal that they don't even get a crack at it because I picked the Wolves to win this series. But I think you're crazy if you don't think that the Warriors absolutely could have won this series with Steph Curry out there. If you don't think that that's at least a possibility, I don't think you have a full appreciation for Steph Curry's impact on this basketball team. They had a ninety two offensive rating with him off the court in these playoffs, they had like a one to fourteen offensive rating with him on the court. He completely transforms their offense. They are more reliant on him, arguably than any other offense is on any individual player in the entire NBA. So we didn't really get to learn much in this series. Like, if anything, it just exposed the flaws that we already knew were very clearly there. Like on a night tonight basis, you cannot trust anybody outside of your Big three. You don't know what you're getting from any of these Warriors role players. It is always just sort of a Verlett wheel of who's going to play tonight, who's going to contribute tonight. Brandy Pujemski has a really big game tonight. Good for him. He was really really bad for a majority of this series. Buddy Heel is not a guy who you want to be relying on as one of your better offensive players. All of the like wings and forwards in the bench rotation, Quentin post Gi Santos, Scary Payton, the second Moses Moody, Like, none of these guys are actual playoff rotation players for basically anybody else in the.
Field, you don't think Moody would be.
Brother Moody wasn't even in the Warriors rotation. I mean, I believe in his skill set theoretically more than these other guys he was playing.
I think I think Moody would have gotten a little bit more.
Burn No, I don't think so at all. I think he had more opportunity to get burned without Steph. I think the fact that he couldn't make a shot outside of one game in the Rocket series was what kept him out of the rotation.
Like, I still think Moody's a good defender.
He's a solid defender. He's inconsistent. Man, all these guys, what is he for the does their eighth guy? Well, I don't know. I mean he was starting for a majority of the season. The Warriors don't even have a hierarchy like that. Man, it's whoever the fucker is going to play in any given night is going to play. And guess what, They're all mediocre as shit. They're all not good enough role players to lead to a deep playoff run in my opinion, and the only way to overcome that would be Steph being special, Dre being special, Jimmy being really good. And I do think we have to put some accountability on Jimmy Butler for just not being able to ever turn the dial up in this playoffron because that was my concern with him throughout the regular season. I was like, I love everything that he is doing to connect this team up both sides of the ball, and is he going to go out there and be the assertive number two score they needed to be in the regular season, much less number one score with Jimmy being the lone guy available with Steph out and he averages nineteen points per game on fifty six percent true shooting in these playoffs. Just like consistently, night after night, you felt he doesn't have the gear and maybe the glute has something to do with that. But that is concerning, and that did eliminate any chance that the Warriors had of stealing one of these games, which then maybe gives Steph an opportunity to come back in Game six and at least gives them some life. Probably the most significant thing to come out of the series is that Jonathan Kaminga has driven his value way up on the market. I think just the pure upside that you see with him athletically, with the scoring potentially he has, with his ability to pressure the rim, and also his jumper was kind of falling in this series, Like that's going to intrigue some team to pay him more than I think he would have gotten before the playoffs. Now, as I've explained before, that does not mean that he should have been playing for the Warriors when Steph Curry was out there, because then entirely different things are required. You need a guy who is going to buy in play a role knockdown three is consistently defend, make good decisions within the offense, not things that Kminga does. What Kaminga brings you is spark scoring, potential, upside, athleticism, things that the Warriors didn't need with Steph out there because Cominga's floor is lower. There are guys who were safer, more reliable contributors, even though none of them are really that good. Still, Kaminga could be really costly playing alongside Steph. But somewhere else, I think he's going to get a little bit of a bag. I don't know how much it's going to be, but I can't blame somebody for being like, all right, Kaminga, we'll pay you twenty million dollars. He's a talented basketball player. The Warriors were always a really bad fit, and it was a terrible timeline, and the system wasn't right for him, and it was stupid that they didn't trade him. But he is a talented basketball player, I think, and maybe there's something there in the right spot.
I think it's best for both sides. Kminga goes to get some experience somewhere or somewhere he can actually play, have the ball in his hands, grow as a basketball player, just have some opportunity. Yeah, I think he's probably gonna be a wizard.
Maybe a wizard, I think, probably a net Honestly, this is brutal for Steph because you are thirty seven years old. You were playing like a top five player down the stretch of the season, he averaged twenty seven points per game on sixty five percent through shooting. After Jimmy joined the team, you saw what he did in Game one against Houston. You saw what he did in Game three against Houston. You saw how much he transforms this entire offense, and you just don't know how many more chances you're gonna get. So that's why I do think the Warriors need to be very aggressive in terms of improving this roster, taking them up a level from good playoff team they can win a series to a team that I would feel more confident in making a deeper playoff run. I have a slew of moves that I'll walk you through here. Logan, you tell me what you think about this as sort of a Warriors offseason outline. So, first thing, I think the Kaminga is obviously gone. Maybe they can execute a sign in trade so they get some asset back for him. I'm just not sure that that's gonna be feasible. I kind of think some team like Brooklyn, who as an insane amount of cap, will just sign him out right and then the Warriors are not in a position to do any negotiating there. I mean, theoretically they could match, but if the dollar value is too high, then they won't be able to match. And I think if there's a real, real possibility that they just lose him. And the reason that I bring up Brooklyn specifically is and then multiple people come to me and be like, oh, well, I think a Kaminga sign and trade for Cam Johnson is the move. I just don't think that. Again, if Brooklyn wants Kaminga, the Warriors are going to be able to make it a sign and trade. They're gonna sign Kaminga out right. However, I do think Cam Johnson is an excellent target for the Warriors. I think he checks so many boxes that this team needs because obviously their offense is bad in every way without steph Okay. They desperately lack ball handlers. They desperately lack shooters. They desperately lack big athletes who can finish. This team needs more size. They need more shooting, they need more creation, they need more ball handling. They need all those things. Cam Johnson is a big wing who shoots the shit out of the ball, is a special shoot of the basketball, is a solid, versatile defender I think would slot in beautifully to a front court with Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green. I think that also, I mean his ability to shoot off movement, come around screens, Like there's a lot of Klay Thompson in his offensive game, which I think makes him an excellent fit. So my proposed trade would be Moses Moody, Buddy Healed, and the Warriors twenty twenty seven and twenty twenty nine first round picks for Cam Johnson. What do you think of that? I think that you view Moody and Buddy as zero's. I think that they are zero assets. I don't think anybody cares about them at all. So it's basically two firsts and contracts to match.
This has had nothing to do with Kaminga at all.
No, I think you have to assume that Kaminga's gone.
I don't hate it. I'm just trying to think about if Cam has worth two first.
I think he is for the Warriors, what else do they holding one to that pick?
Yeah?
Yeah, because also, like if they're going to make a splashy move, they don't have the cap to bring in on a contract. Has to be a guy in that twenty million dollar range. That's right where he is.
I think that's enough. If I'm the Nets, I would do that just because it's like, you have no incentive to keep Cam. He should be a competitive player and a playoff rotation like he is in the prime of his career. You have no need to have him on your team. Your timelines don't work. You're getting two first. It actually could be.
Good kicks, really good first depending on.
Where Golden State is, Like, I would do that if I was Brooklyn, that would definitely be enough for me. If I was the Brooklyn GM, Yeah.
I think that it's a good deal. I also think that, like, the more that Brooklyn sits on their hands, the more that Cam Johnson's value is going to go down, because right now you're only getting two years of him, and then you don't want to get to a point where it's like, Okay, you're only getting Cam Johnson for a year and a half. I think you want to maximize the asset. And I do think he showed more ability to create this year running pick and roll. He showed growth as a passer, and he is such a phenomenal, complimentary offensive piece who slots into a position of need for them in the front court, so I would love that. I'm not done, though. Another thing that the Warriors need to address is they need to upgrade the center position. I love the small ball looks. I think that they are super effective, but there are certain teams that are so big and so strong and so physical in the front court that can go double big, and the Warriors have run into a couple of them in these playoffs where it would be really nice to have a look they can counter that that doesn't involve either playing Trace Jackson Davis or as much as I love him, Kevon Looney real minutes. So I say they trade Trace Jackson Davis their second rounder this year and their second rounder in twenty thirty for Goga Batadze. Okay, it's not a name that maybe is gonna make you ooh in aw but they have to be making moves on the margins.
You think Orlando would be, Okay, we don't.
Play him in the playoffs? Why not? What are they stashing him for? Let him get out.
I mean, Goga is awesome. I think Goga is a great player.
I think Goga's good. I think that Goga is a really good rim protector. I think that Goga has decent passing feel. I think that he has good interior scoring, touch and skill. He's got great size, Like he's a very solid center.
Like I just think that's a really valuable archetype that kind of gets undervalued. Like it's like, yeah, sure you can have a guy in that mold, but is he really that good in that mold? Right, your big body rebounding. But Todd Like, it's like Looney's a really good rebounder. Okay, Quentin Post is a really good floor space. Right, They're giving us these different looks, But but Toadze gives you the two most valuable things, in my opinion, that you can get in a simple big man, a rotational guy. He can protect the rim and he can rebound at a high level. And but Tozzi's really solid. I've wanted to see him get more burn and more Yeah, just just more opportunity out there on the floor because he is kind of buried in that or deep or land in front court. So I love that for the Warriors if they can make that happen. I like, I really like both of those players as assets.
But Toadze and Cam, like, that's a guy who can play twenty minutes a game for you. That's a guy who can start in a pinch. Neither of the war Warriors current centers, and maybe you can include Quintin Post as a center. Like all of those guys are so so flawed, they're not sniffing anybody else's playoff rotation. So those would be my first two moves. Then their last chip to bargain with here is their mid level exception, or really their last piece to use, which I think is gonna be fourteen million for them, and I think with that they have to target another capable offensive guard, maybe a Ti Jerome. Maybe he's tanked his value, I still think he's gonna end up getting more than that, and I think he's gonna get something multi year, more long term. So that's like a dream scenario. I just think he'd be a great fit. But I think that it's very reasonable that they could use that mid level exception on multiple guys like Gary Trent Junior and Luke Canard. Gary Tren Junior played for the minimum this year. If you bring those two guys in, those are two excellent shooters of the basketball. Luke Canard is a guy who can handle for you. Who can make capable decisions, and like, you can't overstate how much of an upgrade bringing in actual professionals like that to this Warrior rotation is.
I was gonna say, like, as great as Buddy could be on a given night, I feel like Trent and Canard are more consistent and honestly shout out Buddy. I was wrong about Buddy and his value to this team. He still had a lot of really crippling, crushing just defensive moments. Oh yeah, Like, bro, come on, dude, just don't fall asleep. Like, just how many times I gotta see Buddy Heal get back How many times does Buddy Heald have to get back cut until it he like stops letting it happen.
Man.
So these are all great moves that I think would make things warriors like tangibly better.
And I want to be clear, You're not solving anything defensively bringing in a Luke Canard. You're not really solving anything defensively bringing in Gary Trent. I just think, guy, they're better guys in the same archetype. Like it's actually a better shooter than Buddy shooters.
Ever, statistically, I mean, I think he's like.
Almost got his third time leading the league in three point percenters this year, and he can actually handle and pass in a way that Buddy cannot. And like, again, you're just trying to put together a relatively deep group, not twelve deep where it's like, hey, maybe we play Pat Spencer tonight. Like I'm talking about actual eight deep, with dudes who you trust to fill their roles at a capable level. So here's how that roster would look next year. And I don't think that any of those moves are unreasonable for the Warriors to pull off. You go into next season with Steph Curry, Brandon Pajemski, Jimmy Butler, Cam Johnson, Draymond Green as your starting lineup with Gogobadze, Luke Canard, Gary Trent Junior, Quinn Post and G. Santles will still be around. Maybe you can get back Gary Payton the second or Looney on the minimum, maybe they take a team deal, or honestly, I just don't know if anybody else in the league is gonna pay those guys like they're such Warriors merchants.
The one position that I'm looking at, in the one archetype I feel like this team needs is a bench ball handler, like a more reliable, like yeah, floor general kind of guy, which is where they could get a Ti Jerome. I think he's worth getting. I think he's super valuable just in terms of what he can do to float your offense without the stars.
I agree, And realistically, Pods just has to get better and Pods has to become more consistent because this year was such a roller coaster with him. The shot was inconsistent, but particularly the inside the arc scoring can just be really, really difficult for him. He has no confidence finishing at the rim, and that can really be a struggle, and he can just lose confidence in his game overall for stretches, and then he can come out and for times it's like he's red hot and he's knocking down all of his threes and he's making good decisions as a passer, and I always praise all the little things that he does, but he is so wildly unreliable. I would love them to upgrade that role. That's where it's like maybe a Canard is taking on some of those ball handling responsibilities. I'd like for them to get more of an actual bench creator, like a Ti Jerome. I just don't know if all of that is going to be possible this offseason. But either way, like that team that I laid out, I would feel a lot better about. Is that still the most low did team?
Know what?
I still like to maybe be bigger and more athletic, Sure, but you would upgrade at center, you'd upgrade your front court by a ton with Cam, and you would upgrade your overall shooting and offensive competence around Steph a ton, so teams can't zone up and keep two on Steph at all times and do all the stuff that the Rockets were able to do. And just like ignore a number of your offensive players because this year there were just way too many non threats on the floor for the Warriors and way too many guys who you frankly couldn't trust to do anything. And still maybe they would have made the Western Conference finals. If Steph Curry just plays healthy like he's that good, Dre is that good, Jimmy is that good? They make this team still really good. But they need to do more. They owe it to Steph to upgrade, and they have the opportunity to do so. They have picks to use. They still have a couple small mid size contracts to use. They'll have their mid level exceptions. So if they're not aggressive, if they stand pat, I'm gonna be pissed. Because as good as their record was down the stretch, this roster is not one that I feel really good about going into a playoff run next year because there's just so many exploitable, unreliable players outside of the Big three.
I completely agree, But the Warriors have set themselves up to make this last window with stuff as competitive as possible if they make the right moves on the margins. Here again, this is the These are the small, little, detailed, the final touches. You know you've already got the We got the foundation laid, we've got the rough draft. What are we going to turn in?
I'm you're a lot on the analogies.
I'm optimum. I'm optimistic. Man. I really liked that. I'm just glad that Golden State didn't waste another year. They made the Jimmy move. I agree, And we're here now and this has been the that was the elephant in the room. Are they ever gonna get that guy? They waited, They were patient, and honestly, I think they did the right thing. As much as I wanted them to rush and make a move. Maybe the only other move I would have really wanted them to make was the Siakam just because I think Siakam would have worked really well in this system as well. And we talked about a market in for a while. But I think they were right to be patient. I don't think they gave up a whole lot to get Jimmy. I just think it worked out.
They weren't right to be patient. They should have traded James Wiseman as a pick. They should have traded Johnson coming as a pick.
That wholeheartedly. I'm just saying, Hey, we were talking about the sunken cost Man. They didn't they didn't keep piling in. They didn't wait on it. They they did something.
And they eventually did something. They waited on it for a long while. I mean, I'm not giving the Warriors a pass. They still fucked this whole thing up. But JA did manage to get Jimmy Butler at a discounted price. I know they got Jimmy after wasting a couple of year twenty twenty three and twenty twenty four and half of the twenty twenty five seasons, when again they could have gotten stars for those picks five years ago. But they did get Jimmy Butler.
They did it.
Yeah, I mean they took a huge step forward with that alone. And now is the opportunity to really round out this roster in a way that they couldn't do at the mid season point. And I'm hopeful that they are able to do that because Steph is playing at a level where you can win the title with him as your best guy. I mean, no doubt it. What he did down the stretch this year was special and can't wait to see him back out there. We're gonna take a quick break for some words and DraftKings. On the other side, we will talk about the Boston Celtics scrapping and dominating today really to stay alive even without Jason Tatum. The NBA eighty two game grind is done, and now the real fun begins. The NBA Playoffs are here and it's time for all the high stakes drama, clutch moments, and jaw dropping plays. I can't wait. If you're looking to make the playoffs even more exciting, DraftKings Sportsbook has you covered as an official sports betting partner of the NBA. From the play in games all the way through to the finals. Now's the time to back your favorite players and teams as they chase glory.
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We do have a few super chats that I want to get to before we start talking about this Celtics Knicks game. First of all, Indie Merchant Sam says nos Reed Logan.
Nos Reed, nos read read a man of culture, A man of culture.
Nos Reed. Gabriel says it's deaf too early, But how much more does Antony to pass KG as franchise goat?
He did it? He did it?
Are you being serious?
He did it?
Are you being serious?
And did it twice.
I mean, look, beating the fucking G League Warriors.
KG is the all time leader in points, rebounds, and assists.
But like bro, if steals and blocks.
If gets him to the finals, it's over.
I just don't know what we really mean by franchise goat. I guess because Kevin Garnett at his peak with Minnesota was so much better than Anthony Edwards is right now, like not even.
Remote, but it's only inevitable. And to Anthony Edwards is better. Man.
Yeah, I'd be pretty impressed if Anthony Edwards was ever better than Kevin Garnett. Man, I mean, let's respect the top fifteen player to ever play this.
It's gonna be top ten.
Okay, I don't know if you're the most reliable source on this. What I'll say is like, when you think about franchise goat, how much is that just purely how great you were at your peak? Because nobody's touching KG there yet, maybe Aunt someday can get there. He's not there yet, versus like the significance of a specific accomplishment. For example, if Aunt does win the title that's never been done in Timberwolve's history, does that make him like their so called franchise goat, just because he was the driving engine behind that moment for them, the most significant thing that's ever happened to them. Maybe, but he does not compare to Kevin Garnett as a player what Kevin Garnett did with teams that frankly were not suited for the NBA, for an organization that had never done anything, that hadn't even been able to pick first round talents alongside him for years, like can I tell you something, still one of the all time great Kerry jobs, even though they were only winning forty something games year after year, it's still one of the more remarkable things that we've seen an individual player do in this league.
Anthony Edwards is going to bring a championship to Minnesota.
Man, someday. I think it's quite likely.
I think it's I think he's gonna do it.
They have done a really good job of building.
I just think Ant has and has already reached such a special level right now, and I just feel like he still has so much room to grow as a playmaker, as a decision maker, like little nuanced things that over time, I just think Ant is gonna I couldn't be higher on and dude, I literally think anything'd be one of the greatest players ever. Bro. I'm it's it's definitely probably not right now if we're looking at this rationally, just because KG his peak I still think is higher than what Anne is right now, and he did go to the Western Conference Finals. And what I always think is important when we're talking about these historical conversations, specifically with Kevin Garnett and some of you guys in the chat are bringing this up, and it's an important point. It's just how limited the cast was around KG and how bad that team was, Like you just mentioned the.
Worst we've ever seen. I'm great to deal with three stripped prime.
They stripped all those first round picks away from Minnesota like it was such. It was just impressive. The KG even went to the Western Conference Finals with that team, you.
Know, incredible on the head. Back to back years two thousand and three and two thousand and four, we had an on off differential higher than twenty. The only other guy to ever do that is Yokic. Like, let's give some respect to the all time franchise leader in every major category, as we just mentioned, who was a three time top two MVP finisher, who won MVP, who was indisputably one of the three best players alive for about a half decade in there like it ant gets a ring. Okay, we can have a conversation. It's still not going to be about them purely as basketball players, but in terms of just like the significance of what they did for the franchise, that would be a huge, huge feather and enants cap But as you said, Gabriel, it is definitely too early for this conversation right now in my opinion, Kaylee says, can I get an oh, shout out Julius Randall? That was small b Thank you man? You like that?
Shout out? Julius Randall?
Are howling?
You're a confirmed furry?
WHOA Where does that come from? First, of all, the things that I talk about over afternoon Tea don't necessarily all have to come out on.
The podcast with a negative connotation.
Man, No, there isn't, No, there isn't. In fact, my favorite musical artist Carci Dadress Will Toledo lead singer known furry really mm shout out. Bet you didn't read that in the morning paper, but it's true all the same. Shout out Julius random man. I mean, just really and truly what a phenomenal level he is playing at right now and the story of the playoffs for the Wolves, really how good he's been. We have one more super chat also from indie merchant Sam. Thank you for your generous donation. As always, Derek White saved my life dad, he did. If you're a Boston Celtics fan, I mean, just a Derek White masterclass and a massive win for the Boston Celtics to stay alive, cut their series deficit to three to two. What did you take away from this game?
Logan great bounce back game for Boston man, And I've should have seen it coming, Like I feel like they had the emotional edge in this game. Like I've got to give them a ton of credit for just bringing it.
Like it's always gonna go one of two ways, though, like you don't really know you lose your an Achilles there exactly. It's either gonna break you or it's gonna embolden you and bring you together. And it did the latter.
I don't even want to talk about caps.
I know we'll get to that way.
So mad at KP. There's three Celtics that I think deserve the most credit in this game. One Derek White fourteen point first quarter, was spraying threes all game. That dude is such a nasty shooter. The I love just the demoralized look that Derek White gives his opponents, Like I kin't. It's so funny just watching. You can have an one hundred percent contest and it doesn't matter. Derek White is still gonna hit the shot. It's ridiculous like that is such as he's one of the best shooters in basketball. So shout out Derek White. Shout out Jalen Brown. Consistently getting downhill. I thought he had some really impressive playmaking moments. He threw a couple of dimes to Luke Cornett in the dunker spot that just made my face a crunch up a little bit, man like, just nasty passes. I really thought he was really aggressive, and I thought the Celtics did a really good job as a team being really aggressive downhill in the third quarter after they got into the bonus and just continually getting to the free throw line. They didn't settle for threes. That was huge. And then I gotta give a shout out to Luke Cornett who no ball played a has played way better than I've seen Christas Porzingis play all playoffs. I mean, Cornett was ridiculous in that third I think he had five blocks alone in the third quarter. I think he ends this game with six total seven seven. I mean, Dad, look Cornet man rebounding his ass off, great positioning, being in the right spot, in being a hell of a to turn around the rim, and they brought the fight to the Knicks two. I also thought that it was hard for the Knicks in the third quarter when they had Brunson in foul trouble and they had Karl Anthony Towns off the floor. I thought their offense really stalled out during that stretch and that was kind of the part of the game that decided it. But those three guys I think deserved the most credit for Boston today. White, Brown and Cornet all stepped up in a big way and just hard to do man without Tatum, this team has been really good, surprisingly without Tatum. I think I want to say that the broadcast that at the stop at the top that they were eight and zero in their last eight home games without Tatum or something ridiculous like that. I think they were undefeated, so they've done this before. But there's a big pressure spot, man. I mean, your back is literally against the wall. That's do or die situation if you lose your seasons over and Boston stepped up to task. Man, I'm really proud that they're not going to go down with that a fight. I thought I was worried, man, I was worried this team could come out flat and just maybe get smacked in the mouth by New York. But they gave them there all.
I'll tell you should be worried now. You should be a little concerned the Knicks, the New York Knicks. Man to use Logan Camden terminology, they should be a little skurg should be a little scurt of these Boston Celtics. Man, Boston was way better tonight. And it wasn't like oh fluke shooting performance whatever, Like nothing about what happened tonight was lucky. They were the better basketball team by considerable margin. And this series is not over. Man. Are the Knicks still in an advantageous position. Of course they are. But you have to give credit to the collective basketball team that the Boston Celtics are. They're sixteen and three without Jason Tatum over the last two years, which is really impressive. Now there is some context needed. A lot of those games are against softer teams, or they've deliberately rested Tatum because they knew they could get away with it. But over a much larger sample size, they had a plus eight point three net rating in all minutes when Tatum was off the floor this year. So the point there is obviously not, oh, they're as good without Tatum whatever. There's like a number of things that go into those numbers. Most of the time when Tatum's off the floor, they're going up against bench units, etc. But the point is they're still a good basketball team without Jason Tatum, and they've shown an ability to still win games and still produce good results without him in a way that is rare for a team down their best player. And when Jalen Brown plays like this and their offensive process is as good as it was and they're shooting is as good as it was, like, they can absolutely beat the Knicks. And I do regret saying that they couldn't win three straight without Tatum. Now I said they can definitely win a game, maybe two, But I didn't think that they could pull off three straight without Tatum, just because that is such a difficult thing to do, and it still is a very difficult thing to do. But I don't think that it was right of me too right off that possibility, because that's not how I feel after this game. And the biggest reason for that is the play of Jalen Brown, because earlier in the series he was really struggling. I didn't like what I was seeing from him, and I was skeptical that he was just going to turn things around at the drop of a hat, and that's exactly what he did in this game. I mean, he was just fantastic, and I honestly think even better than Derek White, as great as White was, and he scores thirty six points in this game, Like Jalen Brown was so fundamental to their entire offensive approach. He had the pull up jumper going in a big way. He was able to get some really great shots for himself going at the small guards. Jalen Brunson induced McBride. But the highlight of the game by far is he's playmaking like it might be the best passing game I've ever seen from him, and I was a little worried about him taking on that lead playmaking, lead ball handling responsibility. But he aced the test man and they did a really nice job of having Derek White and Peyton Pritchard's screen for him then popping open for three. Jalen was finding them. They were getting great shots. He was really good in the drive and kick game. He was finding cutters when he drew help. He had a beautiful law to Luke Cornett. He created twenty three points off of fourteen pick and roll, so he was just leading to extremely efficient offense. He was making really good decisions and it's just such stark contrast to last game where he was like out of control and turning the ball over and forcing the issue a lot. He was in total control offensively, and he set the tone defensively, and he set the tone with his energy. I mean, I feel like the defining possession is when he strips Jalen bruns and then dives to save that ball. That was just the exact sort of energy that you need from your best player in this game. Now that you're down your best player and you're fighting for your life. Jalen Brown brought it. I also just thought that he defended Brunson at an incredibly high level consistently in this game and just clearly approached this one with the right mentality. He knew that he had to set the tone. He knew that he had to be that lead playmaker and sharp decision maker and get others involved and not stagnate and not just try to hammer the ISO ball that the Celtics really had gotten trapped into being overly relying on early in this series. It was just a super impressive performance from Jalen Brown. And by the way, when Jason Tatum is out in his career, since Tatum joined the team, he averages twenty seven to seven and four on fifty nine percent true shooting. Those are impressive numbers from Jalen Brown. He has stepped up under these circumstances before. He did it again today and if he keeps playing like this, they definitely have a chance. Derek White, though, was also phenomenal. I mean, he's just such a great basketball player, just such a special weapon for them to have lethal in transition as a shooter, it's ridiculous. He just needs a sliver of an opportunity and he's going to pull and he's one of the best shooters in basketball. As you said, I also thought that he was great out of pick and roll. I trust him so much as a ball handler. He's been impressive as a driver getting downhill and defensively. I thought that he did a really good job on Brunson when he was in that matchup too, And just collectively, everything that they were doing offensively was smarter. The process was better. They really went away from the ISO ball that had not been generating good results from them. They weren't good at time hacking brunts, and they weren't good attacking cat These things that had been very effective for them in the regular season just were not in this series. Through Game four, but they had been averaging thirteen isolation possessions per game, not including passes. They only had six in this game. It was easily their lowest total of the series. And so the offensive approach from them was just so much more fluid. It was less stopping the ball, forcing up some shots that you don't love because these guys feel like they have a good matchup, but really they're struggling in it. It was getting easy offense where you can like they scored way more points in transition than they had in any other game in this series, role men scored more points than they had in any game, Like the ball handlers are doing a nice job of finding the bigs off the roll. They scored more points off cuts. Players had more points coming off screens than they did in the rest of the series. Kim bining just like some of those off ball actions. It was a much more diverse, composed, smart offensive attack from Boston. I really really liked it. And also like guys made shots. They make twenty two threes in this game. I loved a lot of the looks that they got. But Peyton Pritchard, his shooting was a weapon. You got Sam howserback he makes a couple threes, Orford was really good offensively.
I always feel like when you get downhill, you're just gonna generate better shot quality from behind the arc, and Boston did that. I wanted to ask you, do you still think Brown and Tatum's skill sets are a little redundant? And the only reason I asked that is because you're talking about this isolations thing, and I feel like maybe you could attribute that to sometimes guys wanted to go out and get theirs because they don't get to touch the ball as much. But Also, I think you see Jalen Brown can do this a little more easily and is okay comfortable playmaking because he's more in rhythm because he's touching the ball more so. Not that like I think they should break these guys up or something, or you know, like they work together. Clearly they won a championship, but it's just like, I don't know, man, I wonder, I really do wonder sometimes what Jaylen Brown would look like as a league guy somewhere or something. And I want to give him a ton of props to do because I thought this could be a game like you mentioned, where he gets exposed or something like that, or his handle looks off or he didn't. Jaylen Brown played an excellent basketball game today.
No, he really did. I mean the passing is the most impressive point. Yeah, that's just where I really had some questions to your question about the fit. They've never been an ideal fit. The Celtics just built such a great team that was so talented around them, and that was able to cover up for some of their deficiencies just with the playmaking. The ball handling you got from Derek White to some extent from Drew Holiday last year that's really diminished, and just being so insanely stacked on both sides the ball, having so much shooting, having so much defensive versatility. They were just too good. They were too good for anybody to beat them last year going forward, as they're going to lose some of these other core pieces Christopsporzingis, Drew Holliday, I hope to God not Derek White. But do I think that they are like the ideal duo to build from scratch with? No, I don't, And that's why if I were, the Celtics would be open to trading Jalen Brown also just because I think his contract is so massive and it's trickier to have a contract like that on the books with the new CBA and the new Capitals. But we don't need to go there because the Celtic season isn't over and Jalen Brown made damn sure that it wasn't. But also, dude, Luke Cornette, like you said, it was a big three for Boston this one, and he was part of it. One of the best rim protecting performances of the season. I don't think anybody else has had seven blocks in a game in these playoffs in New York shot thirty three percent inside the arc. Luke Cornett was a huge part of that. And in comparison to Christops Prezingis man. I mean, the difference is massive. Cornett, first of all, just plays so much harder. He's so much more active. He is significantly better on the glass. He's protecting the rim much better right now. He rolls so much harder, just knows where to be. He's just playing smarter, better basketball on both sides of the ball. And the Prezingis problem is very very real.
And Bro, he sucked in his He's sucked in his Bruh. You could tell he was gonna be bad from the first quarter. He gets uh, he gets stripped by Jalen Brunson in the post, and it's like, all right, getting stripped is one thing. One he had a smaller defender on him and could have just gone up with the rock. But two, he saw him coming and didn't even do anything. You just let him get stripped. And then like two possessions later, he just misses a point blank layup.
Why and the two three is that he jacked up. I didn't like either one of them.
I think the Monstars took his powers or something man.
Literally, Bro, it's like that extent of this dude cannot do a single thing right on the basketball court. Right now. He has an offensive foul like he was minus twelve in a game where all the other starters were in positive double digits and most of the other starters were like plus twenty or better. That's remarkable to achieve that he was that destructive in his minutes. And thank god that Missoula didn't go back to him. Our buddy Dell's for pick aside set it right on Twitter. He said, you get him one shift in game six, and if that goes poorly, you pull him. I mean that leash has to be tight as can be. And I think that is absolutely correct because Cordet's really solid. He's been really solid for them all year. He's so improved, and he's just doing all the fundamental things right. The cap he is finding ways to catastrophically fuck up. If KP hasn't gotten a line in these playoffs, he has straight up been a disaster. The perimeter shooting has been a disaster, the interior scoring, the posting up man, I mean, he hasn't had a post a possession that I've liked from him all series. Maybe he's had one, like I mean, it's just consistently bad shots. Every time he puts the ball on the floor, I'm like, please, God, don't do that. He's just so badly out of rhythm. His confidence is clearly so shaken. Like even the free throw shooting has been well below his level. Nothing is right, Nothing is going remotely well for christophs Porzingis. And I understand the illness, and I empathize. But whatever the cause, whatever the reason for this struggle is how much of it is the illness. We don't need to litigate, like, all that matters is the result. He is playing such horrible basketball that unless it somehow changes fast, and it hasn't. For two series, he's been consistently bad, you are just better off with him not out there. So it's incredibly disappointing. I've spent the last three years buying up Porzingis stock since he was in Washington. I used to be low on Porzingis, and then I thought that he really really improved, and he did, And now that stock is plummeted, i'd sell it all. But it's already gone negative. Man, So at this point I might as well. Just ride out the dip and we'll see what his future holds. But yikes, look, Cornette has clearly been better than him. He's been their worst rotation player.
I should have sold it at the end of the year when we falsely inflated all of it.
Man, I know, I know, that would have been such a great rug pull. The problem is we've actually rug pulled ourselves. We inflated the stock because we bought so much of it, and everybody else got out before we. We got caught. Hold in the bag. One other thing that I do think Boston should feel really good about in terms of their potential to pull this thing out, which is still going to be very difficult to do without Jason Tatum. But outside of Game four, Boston has defended New York so well in this series. The Knicks have a one to eleven offensive rating, and again, a lot of the juice there is coming from one game. Outside of that, it has consistently been a struggle for New York, and like they're relying on pulling out sort of these clutch miracles in the fourth quarter or in Games one and two. Obviously, Boston's offense melting down simultaneously og has been very unreliable. Two of his last three games, he's been a zero. Mckel has made some huge clutch shots, but he lived on a very tough shot diet, very very jump shot heavy. He's been inconsistent, he's been inefficient overall, and Jalen Brunson has struggled to be super productive or afficient outside of Game four. Like he's got it going in the clutch. I trust him the most of any player on the floor in those spots, absolutely, but the Celtics have done a hell of a job on him. That was the case again today. Kat also was just not that much of a factor today. So like their best offense in this game was Josh Hart wide open threes that the defense was deliberately conceding and Mitchell Robinson generating extra possessions. Nothing was coming easy form many of the guys you think of as their best players, and that's not an outlier. In this series. It's been a struggle for New York. The games that they have won have really been on the back of their defense and then their clutch offense, but not their overall offense through four quarters. So the Knicks really have no margin here in terms of individual games. They built themselves a margin by going up three to one, but all of their wins have required these dramatic comeback efforts because it's really hard for them to generate consistent offense. And I do think that that's gotten lost. And I've kind of been hammering that point recently about the Knicks offense because I think that perception of it has kind of gotten inflated. It hasn't been easy for them to generate offense throughout these playoffs.
I mean, Og was bad in this one, Bridges was bad in this one, and like I said, Brunson and Kat took that extended rest in the third quarter that really just killed them. I mean they had no offense going during that stretch. And also Cornett was just phenomenal against that bench unit. Like we've been talking about too, I would be nervous. I am nervous. I was nervous watching this game because now, ironically for Boston, the pressure is off. You have nothing to lose at this point. And so for me, I know not every player is like this, but when I'm putting in a situation like this, I feel like I can play looser than ever before because it's like all right. Well, I mean, if we lose this game, were gonna go home. We have nothing to lose. And so ironically, now that the Celtics have won this game, the pressure has been put back on the New York Knicks shoulders and they got to overcome that. I don't this Celtics team is not gonna fall apart man, And like I said, man, they got house money. This is house money. We ain't got. Tatum back is against the wall. I think the Celtics are gonna give them everything they've got. And like you said, if the Knicks don't finish this in Game six, I'm scared TD Garden would be rocking. In a Game seven.
I'd pick the Celtics to winning Game seven. If they get back to Boston, I'd picked them to win. Now, the formula for New York is gonna be getting to a clutch game and then it's okay, Bruns and do your thing. But when the Celtics have won in this series, they've won comfortably. They've won convincingly, and it's because the offensive process has been good. In the shooting has been that good. Jalen Brown is the X factor here because Jalen Brown has to keep doing this, he has to keep getting into the teeth of the defense and making the right decisions. But if he does that, I don't really see what the Knicks counter is. Like. You can try to test to more as a playmaker. Maybe you start out right blitzing him, but I don't know. Man, every time that he was drawing extra bodies, he was making the right passes, So I guess you continue to put that pressure on him. But if he steps up to the task and it seems like he was very mentally prepared for what he needed to do in this game, Boston still has a lot of firepower man. Peyton Pritchard is firepower, Derek White is firepower. Sam Hauser got some firepower out there. It's a really, really talented basketball team. They are so much more than just Jason Tatum, as great as he was this year, and I do think that this showed for them in this one. At the same time, I do think that this is really bad for the Knicks. Man, Like, the Knicks should not lose a game by twenty five when Jason Tatum is off the floor, and I do think that you definitely see some of their flaws exposed in this one. The defense not being as stellar as it was in Games one and two. Again the offensive issues that we already talked about, Like there's a lot of Knick type going around, and I get it, because it's incredible if they beat Boston and they took a three to one lead with Jason Tatum on the floor, But I do think it's important to acknowledge how much of that in Games one and two was the Celtics melting down, and like, when I just look at them as a basketball team and I think about, not what happened in this series, some of the crazy stuff that might have gone down, and I think about going forward, like I don't see a team that can win the title here, And I do see that in Indiana. I do see that. In Minnesota, I absolutely see that, and Okay, see I do see that in Denver. All the teams remaining, like I do view as more of an act actual threat to win it All than the Knicks. And I'm seeing a lot of like the Knicks are going to the finals with the Knicks are gonna win it all takes and I just think we really need to pump the brakes on those. And also the longer this series goes the harder it gets on the knicks bodies, and like, these dudes play crazy hard. They're all great competitors.
Indiana's kicked up defeat kicked up.
No, I'm not even talking about Indiana. I'm just talking against Boston. You're going up against the team that is really comfortable going eight deep and bench. That is what I'm talking about, And obviously it leads in the next series. And Indiana's the nightmare because they're insanely deep and they play insanely fast, and like, if anybody is ever going to wear you out over a series, it's them. But even a more immediate threat I do think should be something of a concern for the Knicks. So I don't want to be all doomed day with them. But this is not a secure situation, Like they got to get the job done. They got to go out there and slam the door, and they need Brunton to play a hell of a game. They have to knock down their shots off the catch for some of the supporting guys. Now that they got a lot of great looks. I mean, it's not like he missed a lot of good shots in this game. I don't know the Celtics just really were able.
To dictate or I thought played really well. He had five threes in this game. I mean after he got busted open in the first quarter. I mean that like flipped a switch in him where he played really well.
Yeah, I mean crazy phrasing, but that was wow. There was a lot of blood. I got a little wheasy.
I say, you got busted open. Yeah mm hmmm, bro, you man, you need to chill out.
I'm just saying that was crazy.
I couldn't believe. I think they had to get his uh. I think he got his eyebrow or his eye.
I think, yeah, I know, it looked like his elbow just like barely clipped him on the replay. You couldn't even really see it in real time, but he definitely got him good. All right, pet christops porzingis he's washed?
He might be washed.
Obviously the sickness is a factor, but the problem is when everything that he is doing is also dumb, when he's making all the wrong decisions, that's not a sickness thing. You can talk about fatigue, And obviously he can't play more than fifteen minutes, hasn't been able to in this series. And I think that the sickness is a big part of that and the rhythm. Okay, you can say he's not consistently getting his minutes all that stuff, but like, I hate how he's approaching these possessions. Whenever they try to get the ball to him, things go catastrophically wrong. It's either a turnover on entry pass, or they're miscommunicating off the roll, or he's getting stripperor he's putting up a bad shot. It's just a lot of really really bad stuff from Chris stops porzingis logan. We got the granddaddy of them all tomorrow Game six Nuggets Thunder. We will be here and we hope that you guys will all be here with us, because I cannot wait for that one, hoping for another great installment of what has been just an incredible second round series. Congratulations to the Minnesota timb Rules. Congratulations to the Indiana Pacers. Two small markets. Minnesota is in a tiny market, but in the scope of NBA history, they've been one of the least successful franchises. And to do this now back to back conference finals where you have your rising suit superstar who is stamped as a superstar but still has so much room to grow, and you found a new star who compliments him, and you've built out such a great roster with so much depth and so much lineup versatility and so much two way talent. That's an achievement and it deserves to be given adequate praise. So shout out to Minnesota and shout out to all of you guys. We do hope that you'll be back here with us tomorrow. We will be planted here. We don't have a choice. We are both tied to our respective radiators, chain to our radiators and monitor twenty four hours a day. And if you want to join us for that experience, you can find it on our YouTube channel. We've got all of our full episodes here, all of our postgame live streams. We also do the occasional video essay video breakdown that you can find here, and you can watch all of our shows back after the fact, or you can listen to them after the fact across all audio platforms. By the way, should shout out that we were on Players Choice today. That was a ton of fun. If any of you guys want to go and check out that three hour bonanza that we did with those guys, who are the best. And we also got surprised with a Joel from pick A side appearance, which just made me grin ear to hear. You know, the reason that I would hope that the Knicks win is for that man, because I would just love to see him happy and I'd love to see him continue on this generational run that he's going on.
He's cooking, he's cooking, man.
That being said, the Boston Celtic they're not going down without a fight. They're not going down without a fight, Logan. So you can find us there if you want. You can check out that episode we did with those guys, and you can follow auscross social if you want, TikTok and Instagram at nerd Sash and Twitter at nerd Underscore sessh. You can also join our discord if you want to chat with the gang be part of our community over there. So with that as always appreciate you guys. I've been Carson Braber, I've been Logan Camden and this was Nerd Sash