NightcapNightcap - Hour 1: Unc, Ocho, Iso, & Jermaine O’neal react to Thunder evening the series 1-1!
Shannon Sharpe, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, Iso Joe, and Jermaine O’neal react to the Oklahoma City Thunder beating the Indiana Pacers to tie the series 1-1, the New York Knicks are looking to make a momumental run for Giannis this offseason and much more!
03:00 - Pacers v OKC
55:12 - Knicks preparing to trade for Giannis
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The volume and hello, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us for another episode of Nightcap. As you watch the OKC Thunder even the series up one one with a one twenty three one oh seventh victory over the Indiana Pacers that got back on the winning track. Now they're gonna go back go to Indiana on Tuesday and see if they can snatch home court back. Thank you for joining us. Y'all know me, I am your favorite UNC. It's Wednesday Wednesday, my bad Wednesday Wednesday. I am your favorite AUNC Shanna Sharp, my partner and co host member of the Nightcap team, Liberty City's own Benga Ring of Fame honoree Pro Bowler, All Pro Chad o Cho Senko Johnson, our third member of the Big Three, joined us during the basketball season. Now he's doing an excellent job begging about bringing this man off for football.
He knows so much about football.
You know, all things are no good time now, argusas David University of Arkansas love I saw Joe Joe Johnson and joining us to break down tonight's game. He's a former member of the Indiana Pacers. He's a seven. He's a six time All Star, three time All NBA selection from Old Claire High School out of Columbia, South Carolina area is Jermaine O'Neill.
Let's get right into it.
Ok See, they won the most games in the regular season really with the exception of the Nuggets. They kind of breezed through the playoffs. We knew they were gonna bounce back, and they did this in convincing fashion. Joe, I'm gonna start with you, then I'm gonna kick it to you. Jamaine, what did you like about what you saw from OKC tonight? I thought OKAC was, you know, relentless and their approach knowing that you know, there's no way they can go back there, they can go to Indiana down two. You know, I thought they came out played with a sense of desperation and they kind of continued, you know, pretty pretty much throughout the entire game. And for me, you know, I think when when you watch this final, especially knowing what what OKC have done, you know, pretty much throughout the whole season, which has been the best team. I thought they put their stamp on the game to day and they never took their foot off the gas.
I thought they were great yeah, they jail for me.
I thought they did a lot of the same things they did in the first game. I think defensively, we see what they are. They make every possession tough. You got to really earn it. Uh. They you know, they kept for the most part, they kept the Pacers out of that transition offense. And you know, when you look at game one versus tonight, you know, every time the Pacers try to make a run, they responded by getting stops, they responded by getting a score. So I thought that was the difference because getting Game one, it was only the Pacers only led one possession, right, and that was the end of the game, right, And so they did a really good job defensively of controlling tempo and controlling the outcoming the game.
Ojo Yeah, I mean, I'm piggyback off of what Jo Jao said obviously that the Thunders. The Thunders pressure defensively is relieved. They had ten steals. They hear Halliburton's hell, you only had five assists. The Pacers really couldn't find any type of rhythm and they couldn't get into any any early any early offense. The Thunder played, and but the sense of desperation and understanding that we can't go down oh two and oh ship. That's just back just about what happened.
Baby Indiana thought they could play the same way they played the first game, and when this ball game they will sloppy. The first three quarters of the ball game. If you look at the turnovers, Halliburton had six assists. He had five turnovers. So you know it's going to be a hard because Halliburton is not a turnover guy. It's many assists, Jail and and and and and Joey's you know, O Joe. You know he's a guy who's had fifteen assistant no turnovers. He's had nineteen assistant no turnovers, twenty assistant one turnover. So you see him have six assists and five turnovers. That lets you know they're struggling to get into their offensive sets. They did a great job. Okay, see this game they got on the glass. Remember we talked about Joe, how many second chance points they allowed any out of the get not this game. They beat him on They beat him on the offensive end. They beat him in the rebounding stats. Shay was a lot more efficient level of twenty one. The other game he had thirty eight, but he took him thirty shots. Tonight he had thirty four on twenty one shots. Chad Hongeren decided to come to the party. He was invited to Game one. He decided not to show up till late, and it wasn't enough.
Pacers. Look, I hope the Paces.
Don't think, oh, we got what We're good going home, because okay, see is a very good road team. They are a very good road team. There's a reason why they won the most games. There's a reason why they have the MVP. They have an all they have another player than Jayalen Williams who's an All the NBA defensive player and All NBA. So, guys, I don't know. I look and you can see the frustration on coach Carlile's face.
Yeah, hey Jo.
He used like three tirebouts in the matter five minutes because he felt the game starting to slip away from him. Me like, no, I gotta I gotta quell some of his momentum and he wasn't able to do it. Give the Thunder credit tonight because I thought they played it really well. And it's not so much what the Pacers didn't do is what Okay, did do okay see? Did do okay? See forced them to play this style of a ball game? I thought, I thought, okay, see, you know, played great in the first game as far as defensively, but tonight, you know, they pretty much had control defensively, keeping guys out the paint, making it tough for him. And I'm curious to hear what Jayo got to say man about Hallen Burton, especially you know early in the game. Jao. For me, you know, when I watched it, I knew in the fourth quarter he was going to try to sert himself a little bit and try to, you know, get him back in the game. But I think he's so passive, you know, to start the game, and it kind of it gets him out of rhythm, and I think it takes away from you know, what he does. I know he's a great pass a great facilitator, but this is the biggest stage. I think, you know, he has to come out and give him something, you know, because for me, it's like, oh, Joe, when he when he catched the ball, he come up to pick and roll, he's not even looking at the basket.
Yeah, he's looking the past. He looking he look at the pass.
He's looking where his next pass is going to be, versus putting pressure on the rim and trying to make a play. And I just think, you know, obviously I think he'll play a lot better when they go home. But for me, I'm kids to hear what Jayo got to say about that. Yeah, and you didn't nobody. I think the one thing with Terre's Halliburton is you know, when you look at the last game, right, he got bailed out because he hit the shot, right, he.
Only had he finished in fourteen, right, and he looking.
In tonight again, you know, he inserted itself late in the fourth, but they were down twenty.
Look at the rest of their roster. They had seven double figure scores today. Right.
That's the difference between you know the Pacers really really you know, staying in the game and really have an opportunity to win. It's him, right, Yeah, go back to the Knick series when he had the triple double. I actually talked to him right before you know, tip off, and he said he was about to get after it.
He saw it in his eyes from day one.
When he could penetrate, touch the paint, he create opportunities, He opens up his opportunities and he's aggressive.
I do not and Joe, you know, you know, does very well.
You're playing a dangerous game when you're trying to wait into the fourth to help your team, right, You're not going to continue to make those shots, right, and then you gotta at least give you your team a chance to have an opportunity to make to be in the game, you know, come fourth quarter.
And you know he didn't do a very good job of that today.
And obviously you know, okay, see, you know had had you know, answers with Aaron Wiggins had huge games and eighteen and Caruso had twenty.
Right, you know, the stars got to be stars. We all know that in every league. And if you can't be a start and you your team is you know, dulnerable to lose a game, and tonight they did.
It's it's kind of funny though, honestly, when you think about it, Holly Burton in the first game, his approach to the game the first game was the same way. He was very passive, you know, allowed the rest of his team to get their shots here and allowed them to be in rhythm and that kept them in the game. Unto those final moments and then he decided, you know what, all right, I'm going to take over and take this last shot. Yeah, just in the day's game, he tried that same approach, but it didn't work because they were down.
They were down to damn.
And I will say this O Joe one thing about and I think people it's this crazy thing where he's learning to be a star.
Right.
You know when people say superstars, superstars are already they already know how to carry a team. I think he's he's a starter, is learning to try to be a superstar as pass first point guard. Right, so you know that team needs him to be high motive from start to finish. If he can't do that, then I don't think they can beat the whole case. You thunder he's not aggressive, right, hey hey hey, oh and they kind of piggyback on Aunks say, uh, I think, oh, you got to give okay see credit because they play a great defense.
See they able to keep.
Hallenburg out of the paint. Now a lot of times when he get in the paint, he's not necessarily scoring. He's kicking it out, firing out for threes. And they wasn't getting them easy. They wasn't getting them easy three tonight. You know, I know they made some, but for the most part, I thought, okay, see, he's done a great job of keeping guys in front, making it tough on them and not giving them the easy penetration to where they got the libs or the layups or you know, just wide open threes.
So you got to give ok okay see some credit.
When you drive, when you drive the lane against the thunder, you better keep you out on your luggage man, because.
They go into your pocket. They going into your pockets, jail.
I mean you see Halliburton, he like he, oh, I got me a layup and Shane's said, no, you don't. And you think you got a layup and lou Dorr said, no, you don't, Caruso. They dig it in your pocket. And so you basically if you got something in your back pocket, you got this ball behind you? Oh this get did they dig it out? You got better be like a New York on the subway. You better keep everything in your front pocket. Hey, but cause if you don't, and look, you should surprise us. Though they've been what the best defensive team pretty much the se So when I see them playing great defense, like this, It doesn't surprise me. This is kind of actually what I expect. Yeah, yes, And the thing and the thing I thought. The thing what they did tonight is that they hit those shots. Remember they got out to that they had a fourteen point lead in the fourth quarter, but they kept their foot on the gas. They didn't let up even when Indiana went on that ten oh run. It's like, guess what, they follow them back. They come right back and going to nine or running themselves there and bill a Lee right back to where it was.
So I just and I agree with you guys.
I think Tyre's Halliburton is gonna have to be aggressive and guys are gonna have to hit open shots. I thought past Gal was a little a little tenanty tonight. Three of eleven. That's not a whole lot of shots. I mean, look at all the guys that had as many shots as he had. Nie Smith had more shots, or obviously Halliburton had more shots. My Alturner had more shots. They didn't shoot the three ball well, but they allowed uh okay see to shoot forty nine sent from the floor. They shot thirty thirty nine percent from the three. You let them shoot thirty three free throws. Okay see, they're a good free throw shooting team, Jail and guys, it's gonna be hard to beat them when you let them shoot that many free throws. You let them shoot that percentage from the from the field and from the three point line. Unless you play excellent ball. You get Halliburton doing what he normally does. It's heroics, Pascal doing what he normally does, and Nie Smith and them hard.
You're not beating you.
Let okay see shoot forty nine percent from the floor, shoot thirty three free throws. It's gonna be hard for you to beat them because they play really really good defense and they normally don't let you shoot in the high forties.
So they got the work cutout for them.
I hope they don't think like I said, okay see, was one of the better road teams. Yeah, we know what they are at home because of that crowd. But you don't win sixty eight games, but just by winning forty one at home?
Right, No, Right, And I think I'm gonna be honest.
I think, you know, I gotta I still got to give up, you know, give the pacers and keep finding a way, you know, And this is to me, it goes back to the coaching, right, they hasn't They always haven't prepared, you know, shout out to Miles Turner, h Obie Toppings, team Bryant.
Nobody thought that they would hit.
You know, come, I think they eight or nine threes, last name big threes, right, yes, and les Miles Turner. They have fourteen points, and I think they're doing their job from a perspective. They just need the you know, they need Haliburton to really take control of it, set the temple, get into that pace. They're dangerous when they're flying up and down that court. I thought they played a little bit slower than they would like. And honestly, okay, see has a lot to do with that with them picking up full and got them you know, you know, got two all defensive, you know, guys on you know on the roster. Yeah, you know, if the Pacers can get home and and get into that pace, Ali Burton become the machine and make them go.
Uh, I think they have a shot on really, you know, taking game three.
Hey, look, we remember last time, Joe we talked about not before you'll let you go, Joe. The last time we talked about remember the Pacers jail they had three guys with double dj rebounds and they had another guy that had nine, so they had fifty two rebounds. In the first game they had thirty five, So that's minus seventeen. That all of a sudden, now and they were really good on the glass getting second chance opportunities. They're gonna have to do a better job of that. They're gonna have to do a better job of getting on the glass getting second chance opportunities because you know, BEI gonna they did, and they did a poor job of taking care of basketball this game too. They did a much better job in Game one. I mean, well, you think about it, they had twenty five turnovers and they win. Rick Carlos, like, guys, we don't have fifteen turnovers, but you had those turnovers when you were down and you were trying to make your run. And now all of a sudden, they still a couple of the possessions where you could have probably it was fourteen, you might have could have cut in the eight or who knows even lower than that. But now all of a sudden, the fourteen goes back to twenty when you could have cut it. The underdouble figures go ahead, Joey and then you look you look at I think everything reversed back to Hallenberg because look look at it. Look at his free throw attempts. He didn't he didn't know, he didn't get to the line today. No, that's and that's you know, part of being aggressive. Man. This is the biggest stage. They need him to get in that paint and make plays. Whether it's creating for himself, but he definitely has to create for others. And I think if the better he plays, We've seen it throughout this postseason, the more dangerous they are as a team, the better them other dudes around him play when he's aggressive and assert himself. So I look for him to be a lot better in Indiana And obviously, okay see is a great team on the road. I still think, you know, when you look at Indiana still has the edge right now. They want one, and okay see, they just got to take care of home court.
Yep.
But you know, okayc is coming in because the same thing happened with Denver. Denver stole game one, they ended up blowing him out in game two and then guess what, okay see, he came right in in game three. In Game three and smuck it promo. You don't want you don't want to, you don't want to see that. You want to do do everything you possibly can and stop spotting these teams. Look it's good, jay, Hey we got that a bit. Man, we could track somebody down. Man, you don't want to say you don't want to spend you don't want to spend thirty eight forty minutes trying to play from behind, because now all of a sudden, do I still do I have enough to get over that hump? And tonight, okay, see understood the assignment. They knew they couldn't go down two and then get on the road and try to win. And now we've got to beat them four out of the next five games. That's asking an awful lot for a team that they go get two on the road. They're gonna be playing with a lot of confidence. And that's what Okay, that's what Indiana normally does. We saw what they did against Cleveland. They went over there and got those two at home on the road. They're like, oh, yeah, we're good. Now we're good. Yeah, And jel think about this, man, and this is the thing I think that me Indiana a really good team and this is not me being a homer.
But this is just facts.
Right when you look at that their running the playoffs, they have somebody different or a couple of people different every game. That's the big, right, That is a hard thing to defend. And man, they got players across the board that are ready to help their team win. And I think that's that's really their their calling card. Obviously, you have to have ahead of a snake, and we talked about, you know, the up and ups and downs of terre'se. Halliburton, but man, you know, we gotta we gotta commend other boys coming off that bench being ready and you know and make big shots. Oh yeah, because look for me, I love TJ McConnell and what he brings. I love Thomas Bryant coming off. I know Obi Topping didn't really give him what he gets in the game one. But you know, Mattherin has been aggressive playing well, So they gotta play the guys who can really step up and help them win the game. Yeah, you kind of need one or two of those guys to explode, and tonight they just didn't have it. I mean, Pascal played, he played decent, but three four eleven, you know that's gonna be tough. They need you know, they need their big guns to be to be great in order for them to win on this stage.
Because it's tough.
Yeah, yeah, listen, they're gonna they gonna win the next game. They want win the next game, Wednesday, put something on it with you who said that that was your Joe?
Where you already.
Anyway?
But I know I had a burden after after watching Once they go back watch film, you understand, Okay, you know what I got, assert myself a little bit more understanding they're going to be aggressive. Then I'll then be passed allow my teammates to get into a game. If I see the game slipping away at any point, you know you can. You're supposed to be the head coach. You're supposed to put the points, supposed to understand, like see the flow of the game and how the game is going, and knowing when to shart yourself and win not to It's okay to be passive, but I think he really wants to get his other players involved because if they're hitting.
These shots and then he decides to insert himself and pick.
And choose win to be aggressive, I think that's what getting the best chance, and the fact that they're playing at home despite what the thunder Dead and how many wins they had.
And being off for a good team playing on the road.
I think they're gonna be alright and they probably gonna win the series Steer regardless of what we all tonight.
But you gotta get okay, see credit because you look at Carusso, you look at Wiggins.
They got thirty eight points from those guys.
Yeah, Caruso couldn't miss a corner. Three Wigives got a lose ball and drained it and then came right back down and got it again and boom, drained it again.
So you get thirty eight.
You get thirty eight points from two guys off the bitch who you look at Matthew Bathroom was four or seven.
TJ.
McCallum was five or seven. There was two or three from the three point line. They gave you twenty five. But you get two guys that gave you thirty eight quality thirty eight, and both of those guys played outstanding defense as well. Go ahead, Jails, I guess the question that we should look at you. This is a this is a strange finals, right. Typically you know at this point you will see the star of Stars.
Right.
Yes, GA has been been SGA for you know, for the most more efficient this game.
But this series gonna come down to me seems like the other guy role yep, the role players long.
Players, because I mean you haven't you know, you lose by twenty and it's strange the Pacers lose by I think almost twenty and they got seven double figure scores. Yeah right, and then you know, then you have the Aaron Wiggins, the crusos.
I thought Jayden William Williams is pretty good tonight. He was a lot better. He had nineteen. He's obviously he's the starter. But it just like, where's the like, what's the winning tool to this because.
It's like every game, like you know, somebody else is stepping up big and it's not like the traditional superstars taking over games. It's gonna be interesting to see these next these next you know three or the next three games. They normally there, but paces are a committee team and that's what makes them so difficult because they don't have that superstar that you know, that can go, that can consistently go get you thirty. You pencil a man like you look at SGA a SGA gonna get thirty a game. Yeah, you already know that. You play an he's gonna get you thirty. You play one of these teams that have one of these superstar players, they're gonna get you that number. What the Pacers do is that they nickeling down you. They're gonna have five, six, seven guys in double figure. They might have one guy with twenty five jail in joke, and then they're gonna have a bunch of teams seventeen, eighteen, fifteen, fourteen thirteen. That's where they hurt you at. And guys normally make timely shots. If you go back and look at the first game that they stole, they stole from the Knicks, Nie Smiths came up the bench in his sixth threes in five minutes. He might not ever get that hot again, but he was that hot that night. You look at some of the other games that they've played, and they've been down just like last. Just like the first game, guys making shots. So the thing is it, despare yourself. You gotta stop falling behind by fourteen to twenty jail. You asked, you asking an awful lot to contact because as you go further and further the teams get better and better. You're playing the best team pro stats wise, record wise in the NBA. In the OKC Thunder, because Shae was the MVP, they have all defensive player in lou Dort, they.
Have an All.
NBA player Jayla Williams to go along with Shae, and dak Now is a very good coach. So you can't keep getting for a Well, you saw what we did against the Knicks. We went down and we beat them. Well, we know we man, we went down nineteen against the Cows. That's the The OKC Thunder are entirely different animals.
Eight they are.
They are tired, entirely different animal I think you know when your big guns are playing well. And I'm gonna speak on Shae. He was very effishing tonight, and yeah, get Caruso and Wiggins who had great games. But man, when y'all look at Shae, look at the pressure that he's putting on the defense, you have to send another guy, which is giving Caruso them wide open threes, or you running pick and roll and Wiggans wide open on the wing. I don't know, if you're Indiana, do you trap him? Try to get the ball out of his hand because he keeps splitting. I would o Jo and as a perimeter guy, I want to split the pick and roll so I have as many options as I can. Versus if I come off to pick and roll and y'all trap me and make me give it up to make some of these other guys make plays. But if I split the pick and roll and I got four five options to shoot my float to get to the cup, or to spray out the three or throw alive to check, then y'all in the huk a buck. There's no way you're gonna be able to stop that. So I feel like they gonna probably have to trap him man and make him get that thing up so and make these other guys make plays. I would trap in jail doctor, y'all let you go after this. I would trap him. As long as Jayalen Williams is struggling. He's still struggling, I'm goa trapp him because the only guy that's really shooting the ball.
Officially, it's really like the night was Caruso and Wiggins.
But if you go look at chet chat with six and eleven the first game, he didn't play well. He's six and eleven, so he's but Jayalenuis was five or fourteen. He didn't shoot the ball well. The first game you look at lou Dort one of three, he got Caruso and Wiggins got most of his minutes tonight, and then who's the other guy, Wallace.
Wallace got twenty three minutes. He was two or four.
So yes, as long as Jayla Williams is struggling, I'm gonna trap it.
I'm gonna make him give it up. But it is a dangerous thing.
If you do, though, you better be right because at the way and uh that these guys are shooting threes, man, you will pay the ultimate price, you know, trapping. If you're not getting to that rotation fast enough, you're gonna be burnt. And the thing that really when watching this game, and I can't remember this many corner three has been given up. Man, I've seen corner three is the easiest three on the basketball George distance right, the shortest distance, and it is corner threes galore right, you know, on the floor, and it's just strange. So I think that's probably the reason why they aren't aren't trapping because everybody's shooting the three.
But you know, you just gotta be right.
You got to make sure that if you're gonna trap, you gotta get those rotations down. But if you look at it, guys, Caruso and Wiggins, they're not of eighteen from the three. The rest of the guys was five of eighteen. So I'm gonna take my chances. I'm look at some point in time, Jail, you gotta give up something, Oh Joe, you know this. If you take something away, you gotta give up something. And let's see if they can consistently do that. Because this is a big stage. This is not a regular season game. You're not playing Orlando, you're not playing Sacramento. You're playing the NBA Finals. You have the whole NBA world undivided attention on you. I'm gonna see if somebody chant was one of three. Jalen Williams was one of five, Shae was one of four, Lou Darrt one of three, Wallace was all two. So when you go back and look at it, with the exception of Caruso on Wiggins, everybody else was horrible shooting even three point shot. I'm gonna make you. I'm my adjustment is I see Shae. Shae's averaging thirty six points of damn game. Nobody let me take that back. He's average thirty seven of the game. I got it. I gotta do something. I gotta do something, jail, because he thrown be aggressive because if the worst come to worst, he'll throw caution to the win and says, I don't give a damn about efficiency. I'm gonna get these shots up and I'm gonna make you file me. I mean, but I guarantee they didn't think Wiggins will go for eighteen and cruisers and go for twenty, And I thought, no. I mean, I get what you're saying about trapping him and trying to make somebody else beat him. First of all, I think it's he's too crafted. They those like they was trying to hard hedge a couple of times with him, he was. They were splitting the defense and doing those things. So he's a very difficult trap and very difficult contained. But again, when you go for thirty eight between two people, that that's uncounted for right. I can guarantee that wasn't any game playing that Crusoe Wiggins would have won for thirty eight. So you know he's Damn if you do, Damn if you don't.
I guess all right, Hey, look I.
Agree with Jo And to my point, when you look at Shade, you know he goes and when he when he when he brings the ball up on the wing and he goes into that magic justin back down and he get into that back down. That's hard to stop for any of them, dude, So they have to send another guy, which is why they're able to give up these corner threes. And you see guys like Wiggins and Caruso having great nights. It's because of the success of Shake Gilgris, who is you know, putting a lot of pressure on the defense because if you don't come double, he's gonna get a foul or he's gonna score it. It's just paid point blank, what a problem that you have it? Hey, go ahead, o't Joe.
Now, I was gonna say, I think he got you got too many tools in the tool about.
Regardless of what the game plan is when it comes to playing Shade, you might want to just say, you know what he gonna get here, nobody what to do. Sometimes you go into go to a game unk and you know you have a studdin receiver. You say, you know what, we're gonna stop him, but you know you can't stop him. You can only hope to contain him and hope he misses the plots. They just have focus on the other four folks, on the other four, allowing them not to get in rhythm, allow them not to get their shots if they do, allow him to get their shots in rhythm, allowed to be minimal, and then spurts and that that's that's really the only way, because that god.
Damn Shay gonna get whatever you want.
Whether you're trapping, whether iso, whether you pick him up from half court, it doesn't matter.
He gonna get his. But if you can contain the other four and manage them, then you what, that's the problem that you ran into.
You let Shakee get thirty four and then you let the other guys go get thirty eight jail, So you've done nothing.
You can't I see if you got.
If you if you take the shade and you say, you know what, shade, you gonna get twenty to twenty four and those other guys go get thirty eight, I can live with that. I can't let the man get above his average and still give up that.
Couse.
If I give Jordan, if I let Jordan get his forty, and I let Steve, if I let Paxston go get eighteen or Steve Kerr go get fifteen, what am I done? Now? I'm really at his mercy because Jordan. Now I'm worried about Jordan going off, and now I got these other guys just just just shooting not me. Hey, I agree, I agree, But I think I think you gotta mix it up with him.
Oh no, I'm not giving him steady die.
I think the thing is they get they let one guy guard him too long, then let them play too much one on one jail Damn. That's what I'm saying. Like they got him in this little soft catch, and it's like, man, he coming off, he got him, He got him at at his wheel. Like I think sometimes you kind of you gotta go on though a couple of times, maybe a couple of times, you gotta give him, mix it up, give him different looks to make him second guess when he's coming off them picking up out because if you don't, he gonna figure you out. And once he figured you out, it's a wrap.
Yeah.
I think that in the big sometimes are too low even if they're up, Yeah, way too low with the guy, that crafty man. He and he is even though they're picking him up full court because they're doing you know, they're doing a really good job on picking them up full court. Yeah, they trying to wear a bath and he's just he's switching gears. Man. It's it's almost it's magical to watch him, you know, watch him play like that. And again, I just think that the way this game is being played right now, you just can't allow. And I agree with you on you cannot everybody, I mean, get everybody, can't you know, they can't get everything. They can't get the bitch going off, They can't get SGA going off thirty plus.
But I know that's why it seems like this. It's a strange finals, to be honest, you robber.
You look at Oho. If somebody come with you the Jewish store, what we gonna eight? Are we predicted to die in the watches or were worried about or we worried about your necklaces and the bracelet we got. Hey, we're gonna pick two things that we ay, the diamonds and the watchers. Hey we got that. If they take them braceles. They take the necklaces, the hell with it, But we got a hold fanst on the diamonds. Then they let Shade go get thirty four. They let two guys come off the bitch gone them eighteen from the three. They like Shade like okay. And the thing is is that when the big when he put him in the pick and roll, they saw far so far back trying to head you catch it.
Now he even with him, that's a file. You followed him.
He's going to the basket. He's not once he gets even with that big, he's not looking to pass that ball. Guys, he's looking he put pressure on the rim and you gonna file it.
Yeah, it's really that simple. I agree. I agree, a lot of tough fakes getting into that.
Yes, hey, I'll tell you what them diamonds better being sure because they can have it. I'm getting out the way. They I'm getting out the way. Listen. Uh. The pressure that shape puts on the defense man, it's it's believe. But like I say, guys, I think you got to mix up these defensive coverages, man, because he looks extra comfortable out there. And yes, I know they picking him up for a court like they did Brunton and kind of wear trying to wear him down, and they probably hoping by game four he's a little tied. But man, when you look at shape, look at his body type, and look at his makeup, he is in the elite shape he got. He's not a lot of these guys who I had got this very high in body fat. You know, he looks like a guy who's out who really takes lean. I'm being honest. Yeah, he's super lean and for me, he don't look like a guy who's going to wear down.
Yeah, And I say, this is the one thing that people want to talk about.
You. You always hear about all the threes and how many how many threes people taking? But he is killing in in the mid in the mid MIDI mid mid mid post. He is killing. And what that has done, it that has opened up everything else. You talk about the Carusos and the Wiggings going for you know, open jump shots. He's getting in there, he's drawing the entire defense and he's kicking it to people and there knocking down shots. Absolutely, he's been efficient from the mid range game all season long. Hey, hey guys, he's been He's been one of he's been probably what one of two or three guys who shot over fifty percent for a season from the field, like he's been.
At the guard position, he at average thirty. I mean he and.
Mike Yeah, I know, I know you think about a guard. Yeah, a guard that's tough. Jo and scoring thirty. Yeah, that's tough. Now. I know some of the efficiency has kind of went out in this postseason, but for the most part, you know, he's been very consistent and he's been.
A load to deal with.
So, uh, whatever they decide to do, they gotta kind of mix these things up a little bit. I mean, he shot twelve free throws to night. He was eleven or twelve from the line, So it lets me know he understood the assignment meaning coming out being aggressive. Hey listen, guys, don't worry. I put you all on my back to night. We are not going to Indiana down O two And it was fun to watch the night a.
Hey, yeah, you know I was going to say a peace back and look fit off for the what Joe said, He's been like this all season, right, you say he shot throughout the season, Yeah, he shot like yeah, YO talked about well when you put that ball on the floor and decide I'm for to get to that mid range depending on what you want to do.
And he's consistent of doing it over and over.
So no matter what you throw at him, even if you say you want to try, even if you say you want to confuse him to make make shots contested, then they use Uh. He's a he's a foul merchant. He's always did the free throw line. But here he two steps ahead of you. No matter what you want to do, he's already telling you. Whatever your game play is, I got something to counter that, and he's showing it. He's been showing it all season long.
So if somebody comes out and all they play a single high safety you're gonna make, you're gonna eat that up. If somebody come all they're gonna player is cover too. All they gonna all, they're gonna plays quarters. You've got to disguise it. You've got to give a guy. If you give a guy a steady diet of anything, no matter the medicine you bill of resistance to it, there's.
A reason why they give you.
Ex Abody says, okay, take take these and do you wing yourself off it? But if you just give them steadied out, you will even at the bodies. Whatever the medicine is, at some point in time, you're gonna have to fluctuate the doses that you take. So if you just let nim Hard take him and let him play one on one, Okay, okay, hey niece, Smith, you got it. Okay, Mathren, you got it.
Hey.
Hey. As a matter of fact, when he comes to the pick and roll, hey, guys, both of y'all popping. We gotta make him get make him give it up, especially Hartstein. If Hartenstead, come.
On, hey, you know what he gonna do to you? Now, look at everything you just said. It's gonna I can do.
It's gonna be like a woman at work at the Bunny Rams Vegas. He gonna run through everything. He gonna run through it. Whatever you whatever, you.
Sit at him.
It's like you play Lamar Jackson. You just talked about all those different coverages. You gotta show him something different. You play patch the homes. It'll matter what you's showing, mom, it don't matter. He goes slicing dice because these two steps ahead, even understanding what's coming.
I gotta I gotta I gotta make him think about something, because there might be at one time that I throw to look at him and I get to put my helmet in the back. Yea, yeah, Hey, there gonna be one. They're gonna be one thing. Look, we don't like to chase ghosts, and guys when we played football, we used to call it chasing ghosts. We're gonna prepare for what we've seen on tap. Now they're they're big. They'll play eighty percent of discoverage. They play ten percent of this coverage. They play five percent of discoverage, three percent. Now, I'm not gonna prepare for something that we haven't seen. I ain't chasing ghosts. But this is what I do know. Shay gonna be the He's gonna take the lion's share of the shots. He's looking to play one on one. And if you let him play one on one when that big is retreating, he gets even with him. He's not looking to pass, so I don't care. He doesn't care if somebody does come at that point in time. How can I get to the rim or how can I get this shot off? Because like you said, he will stop you jump, he jumps it to you and he's looking to get an AM one, So I'm gonna give him a stick. I'm gonna give it. I got to change it up. Look, he's the m v P for a reason, but I got to do something. Well, Ultimately, this series may come down to really really two people that they don't talk a lot about. Right, you got one coach and OKC that said they gonna play they style play no matter what, Right Rick Carlile, Who's the king of adjustments?
Right?
Yeah, Well that mindset from OKC, you know, win of the finals or will you know Rick Carlile's genius of being able to adjust when the NBA finals, you know, for the you know, for the paces.
To me, that's what's gonna come down to.
We've seen Rick throughout the playoffs make these you know, sole adjustments that allow you know, the paces to you know, to win these series. And I think ultimately that may be the difference making in this Serianes, Yeah, I agree.
I agree.
Hey, look when you look at when you look at Wallace and you look at Hartenstein, they didn't have great games offensively, but we talk about the second chance points. Uh, Wallace was a what plus twelve and the plus Hardenstein was a plus seventeen. But the second chance points of Hartenstein tipping the balls out, tipping the balls back out.
A getting second chance three offensive rebounds.
I think for me, that's kind of like what we were talking about in game one. You know, coming laid down the stretch, you're playing that small ball, and this game it was a lot different. Now. Obviously they had more control in game two and they didn't let those runs happen that happened in Game one. But for the most part, I see, okay, see, they gonna play their way. They still gonna start with hungreds at the five, and I guess they gonna see what comes from that. Obviously, they played a great game to night, so I'm sure they gonna go with the same lineup start in game three. Sha follows up his game won thirty eight point Game one with thirty four to night. It's the most points ever by a player in his first two career NBA Finals games. Seventy two Wiggins we mentioned eighteen points in twenty one minutes. He was five or three from the three point line. He was plus plus twenty four. He's leading the Finals in plus minus. So he did what he Al Caruso twenty points, six to eleven from the field, four to eight from the three point line, tied for the most points ever in a playoff game. But look, Caruso has been here. Remember in the bubble, Remember how well he played for the Lakers. Lebron loved playing with him. God guess what they had defensive presidents out there? You have ad to protect anything. You had KCP that can hound, you had Caruso that can hound, and say hey we good.
Yeah.
So you look at what they have defensively. That's what makes them so good. Jalen Williams can play defense at an elite level. You got Wiggins, you got Wallace, you got Dor, you got Caruso, you got Chet and Hartenstein protecting the rim. They are a very very good team. And they can rotate multiple times a lot of times. Got Jail and Joe. You know this. A lot of tech teams can only rotate one. If they can rotate multiple times, yeah, I agree. Basically they young, They're still the youngest team, and so one rotation, two rotation, three rotations, and they can still get back and know it if you get them, if you beat them to the whole. They got Chick put it over, Sam Foot put it over six to eleven, Heart and stick and test. You look, hey, look, I agree, I agree a j O. And my thing is when it comes to Indiana, their rotations were so late to night, especially getting out to those threes, and I think it cost them too. It cost them throughout the whole entire game. And okay, see it's great and coming out of traps or coming out of double teams and spreading out to the three, getting to those guys, they not giving many wide open shots. So you know, I think Indiana has to They got to get on their horses when they come out of there, them traps, when shape posting up and they just leaving guys wide open. Man, you got two three seconds before a guy even run out there and try to get a hand up.
Right.
Yeah, well you know, I think But in the end of going back home and playing in that building, I think pace is going to be a deciding factor for them. Yes, you know, they played with a lot of energy, great fan based energies crazy inside that building. So I think them getting back get even on scores, getting the ball off fast. Thinking about in the in the previous and the clinching games. Oh yeah, make me Yeah there, God, Pascal, I mean, that's the fastest I've seen him run, you know since I've been watching basketball, and I gotta believe that Pascal Siakame, it's going to be a difference maker. Oh he has to be a difference maker, you know, come game three in his own building, right with that crowd behind him, because the passiveness that he had to start this game. And I don't know again was the mindset. Hey we got us one right, and we all know in sports somebody can roll, they damn ankle or something can happen, and you.
Know everybody, everybody is an injury a way.
You got to stay greedy, man, and you got to take what you can take and not and not expect that things gonna happen at home because you know, you never you never know. And so I just believe, like if they can get back into that pace, that pace and pace that they play at that which is fast and aggressive, you know, you know, kicking and you know and driving that basketball to have a good shot at winning US.
I like what Okase is doing.
If you notice, guys, they're getting to the outlets, so you know how they normally get to have an outlet right there.
Those guys they're not.
Going all the way back and said, nah, we're gonna stop these outlet passes because we know what y'all want to do.
You want an outlet.
One pass it outlet and the next thing you know, you got Hallett Burton euro stepping and laying the ball up. You got over topping euros stepping and dunking the ball. So what we're gonna do. We're gonna take away the outlets. Dribble it up, Hallee, dribble it up in them hard. No, we're not giving you no quick no quick bunnies. That's not gonna happen. Weezy had some advice from Hallett ahead of Game two.
This is what he tweeted.
He said, halle you have to sweep these boys to get some real respect from these folks. Y'all clearly walking on water and they act like y'all surfing. Hang ten dude and make him ride you wave or drown. Ain't that a beach?
Hmmm? I Like?
I mean, look, sometimes you could be a think about it, you could be a great something and just happened to be in the wrong era. There's a lot of great NFL quarterbacks. But if you played in the Manning the and the Tom Brady era, you ain't gett no credit. If you played in the joint you were a guard. What guard? Credit in the Jordan era in the eighties and that what god other than magic in the eighties and it wasn't he hit the nine and he wasn't nobody talking about nobody else but him. That's it. You look at the and Halle is an unbelievable player. But when you got Luca and you still got Steph, and you got Shade, I mean, you got Bruns and doing his he wrote it's like it's Jao, you know how it is in there. You played kind of like the tail end of the big era. I mean, look at all the big but when Shaq were doing what he was doing, man, you ate unless you was a Lijah Won or Robinson, but there was a really quality big. But you don't get credit because these other guys are playing so well. Steph Curry, James Harden is still in the league. Steph Curry is still in the league. You got Luca still in the league. So it's gonna be hard or I think for Halle to get the credit that he deserves. Even if he wins, I still believe it's gonna be hard for people to look at him as like I still would take.
Luke over him. I will still take Steph. I will still take the X, Y, Z and T.
Well. The only reason why that is right, and we talk about you know you heard this overrated stuff, right, A lot of it is is the big game than the disappearance. Yes, that is the only reason. Now we having a whole other conversation. Is he come out tonight and he has twenty plus yo, twenty twenty plus points.
That was that really mattered? Right? If you look in the fourth quarter of the twelve that he's scored in the fourth quarter through again over empty calories.
Right, I think from a respect, I do believe he is learning, right because if you look at his body expressions on the bench, right, he's welcome to himself. Right, you gotta go through that experience, right of people gonna take Luca, they're gonna take Steph because they're gonna give you those those twenty thirty forties.
On every night. Yeah, he's trying to really, it's almost like he's trying to find himself without deteriorating who he truly is, which is it past first point guard? And so we gotta get a give a little bit of grace. I just need him to be more aggressive to start and let the cars fall as they may as the game progress.
You know who was the past first point guard, Magic Johnson until he got his ass in the NBA Finals against You're filling up your seventy six ers and he went forty two fifteen, Excelf. You say, the hell with that pass? He says, And sometimes that's what you have to do. I mean, you know, Lebron is really a path. But at some point time, at some point, you gotta faure you know what that hell with this right, I'm gonna get mind y'all rebound and put it back in the hole if you can't get it back out.
And I think that's what Halley's gonna have to do. That's the approach he's gonna have to take. And it's all on it's all on knowing when he hit that switch. Magic knew when he hit that switch. Lebron knew when he hit that switch.
It's all about Halle understanding when he hit that switch, especially doing it before before your team goes down fifteen before your team goes down twenty.
It seems like he comes out and uh, he looks for those other guys to kind of get them going. Yes, him, like he has to understand he is him, you know, like he has to come out, set the tone, set the pace in which they want to play, to be aggressive, because, like you say, they won game one, so they did kind of seem a little like, Okay, we don't feel a little faster scene content. Yeah, they seem a little content. So I expect the different paces team to show.
Up in Game three.
Guys being at home, playing in front of their own crowd a lot more confidence. These guys will probably play at a much faster place. They only had what nine fast break points to night. They ain't gonna get it for them to win. We know they've been a great fast break team the entire season. Yeah, it's gonna be hard to be Okay, see at a half court sent they got too many, they got too many great defenders, they got their hands are too good, Shaye. Look, Shae had what for force steels the night Shae had.
For steels the night.
Points. But people you talking about this, they got remember coming through high school.
They got the one kid that don't do nothing but run around with you. He shots.
They got door out there, boy, door out there. He is shadow with these boys right now. And I think people don't talk a lot about him. He's all defensive, defensive team, first team. Yeah, that is major. When you can take somebody and say, look, he ain't playing to night right right, you run around with him, and that is to me, and that does I feel like that does have a little bit of an impact on what we see with Tyres Halliburton early.
Right.
They're not letting them get a rhythm. They're not letting him get to his spots. They say, Okay, y'all gonna play four on four while me and you over here, you know, run around.
Hey, may I agree?
I agree with you, And I love lou Dork for that because his game isn't predicated off making shots or scoring.
You know, that's the plus if he's giving you that.
But he's in there strictly to be disruptive, to be a pass defensively and take out your best player ultimately him, him and Wallace. That's why they're in the starting lineup. They not necess saying that now if they explode for fifteen to twenty points. Okay, we're gonna pat him on their back. It's gonna be hard to beat them if they playing like that. But they're both from there for defensive purposes, and they've been doing their job, especially the night yep, this is what Isaiah said. Rick Carliles has been a coach for the past twenty three years. He could be the right man to elevate Halliburton's game and the Pacers to a championship caliber team. Isaiah Thomas said, you went to an NBA finals, but you didn't win a championship until you met Phil Jackson.
Zeke told shack tonight.
Kobe Bryant didn't become Kobe until Phil Jackson got there.
Jordan didn't win until Phil Jackson got there.
You got a coach in this series by the name of Rick Carlile, sixty five years old, and we saw him the other night run triple stagger, and none of these OKC players had seen that before.
Rick Carlile is bringing some old school stuff.
This is a different style of style of basketball that OKC ain't used to playing against. Well, you have to have come out with something else, because I don't know what he read tonight, but they ate that up. I don't know what that was, Joe, but okay, see, okay see was.
Ready for that.
Yeah, they had to they I mean they at home, best team in the league, they lost Game one. They had no choice but to come out and play desperate like they did tonight. But I look, I'm not putting them past the Pacers. Man. They've shown, they've shown up and proven to me this whole entire postseason that when you count them out, them boys are gonna bounce back and they give you a great game. So the Pacers are still in control, guys. You know, you just got to protake a home.
Court, you guys.
I had a chance to play for Red Carl out on Indy, right, and so I know the love of coach he is. I remember being in the huddle sometimes and he was just after the firking to get the two horns. The first horn come and he's just sitting there looking And as soon as he had that first horn, he starts to draw up sets right that we typically you know, like in game situations.
Right. And that's the type of coach he is. You know, he's a savant.
He's a basketball savann and That's why I'm picking and willing to put away on the Pacers in game three.
Damn, I'm Yoe. What you're trying to do, Joe?
What we're doing?
Jail? Little Friendly?
Bet Hey learn? Let me tell y'all something. And it's kind of conflicted for me because General Parko, my I'm talking about my best friend, one of my best friends. He's an assistant coach for the Pacers. So I'm and then you know, I got some former razorbacks playing for the thunder South.
Conflicted.
But if you want to put a little something on the Jayo, you know, little Friendly, nobody had ever complicted by money. You notice that, Joe, Hey, you noticed about jail. Nobody ever complicted by money on Yo. Ain't no conflict, no conflict at all about that. What you gonna do about it?
I mean, you know what I'm saying.
Whatever we're gonna do.
But we both got zel.
You know what I'm saying. The cashe ain't something. Look, it ain't gotta beat nothing to make it nervous, Jayo, just a little light hunted or two. We ain't gotta act like that.
Now they got damna, They got damna.
Joe. I feel good, about the Pacers, bro, I would do you yeah, you feel good about them going home playing in front of their home craw Absolutely. I ain't gonna lie do too, but I just think I think, Okay, see, man, they've been great on the road, fellas, they've been great on they going home gets over that country kitchen, Jay, Oh, they're gonna get some of you know, neckbone and fine. Can't fish the wings that maca cheefe? Hey, jay, O know Jo, you know you can? You do have Some teams do have a tendency to kind of let their guards down when they get home. Know, they sleep in their own bed, you know, they get they relaxed a little bit. They got you got fifteen twenty people coming in town because they want to see the finals. So now you got to entertain and oh no, next thing, you know, yeah, next thing? You know? Hey, you tied?
How much? How much? How much? How much NBA Finals tickets costs? Oh?
Man, listen, I was checking the daycause I will take my son like second and third rows fifty six hundred per ticket?
Hey oh the type of the only the only fifty six I know is Lawrence Taylor.
That's about it.
Hey, Hey, by them super Bowl tickets beat they Hey they head cracking. Now, man, them su bow tickets be going fifteen, twenty thirty, forty fifty five. Hey, look you gotta look at the money these dudes making. Now, yeah, well that's one game, right you talking about what i'd like to like? The front Road the floor seats was almost twelve thousand per se. But but jayo, think about how high you up? How high you in the stadium? At least at least you could yell something. They can hear you. You so high, I'm paying four fives and five six thousand dollars. Ain't nobody hear you? But du next, don't you just man stop on the damn yelling the thing man and check this out. Let me do what y'all think about this. The Knicks are reportedly preparing to make a tsunami type offer to a Quai Yannis from the Buck. Y'all who's sports are reporting the New York uh Nick would receive you honest, Milwaukee would give them. Called Anthony Towns Tyler Colic Washington's twenty twenty six protected first round draft pick, two first round pick swaps twenty six and twenty thirty.
Nah, hell nah dagn enough who how about sue no me?
Who's the second? That ain't even damn brain drop? Listen, holo, holo, let me read that again, because baby, it's beat jay I will get you a Joe.
What y'all thinking about this? Okay?
The Knicks will get Yannis and in return, Milwaukee would get called Anthony Towns Tyler Colic Washington's twenty twenty six protected first round pick, a first round picks and two pick swaps in twenty six and thirty. That ain't no so su su nami?
Look, no disrespect, but who was the second? Dude? You said, I don't even know who that is?
I don't know hey nah no no no no, no, no no, I don't know who that is? Jayo, what what they doing there? Soon? Now? They ain't no sue noami? But or listen, if the Knicks pull that off, we.
Yig, I mean you ain't gonna hap them.
That's a tough one, man, because right now, any mega trade you gotta give up, you gotta give up some core, right yeah, we gotta make sure one of the things I think is unvalued is the other the other players right to support system. Right, you start piling out a way to go get a mega player. Then then you know you're gonna be in probably the same place or worse. You know, by the time the mecca players get there.
So I didn't listening to that deal.
I didn't hear anything that will bring value back to Milwaukee, right, No, So I mean, so you're gonna another word I don't give you. That's not a tsunami, that's ribaly.
Hey, So let me get this right.
I'm gonna give you Yanni's and I ain't gonna get I ain't gonna try to get Michael Bridges.
I'm not gonna try to get o g Anoby.
I ain't gonna try to get none of them, because you gonna give him a championship. If you give him, ain't gonna be in the Eastern Conference finals for shure. Think about it. You think about so. Now you've got a defensive team with y'all as that can protect you. Got Josh Hart that can defend O g that can defend Michel Bridges, that man, stop it. Whoever proposed this trade, y'all be hey, that's not even a tsunoma.
That's not even a ripper. That won't But you know that's not happening.
That was That was just to create a distraction, you know, to let you know, so what's going on behind the scenes can go under the radar.
That's all that was.
But I give credit they put hey, we're gonna get y'all cat. They put the head like cat first, and I agree with you. I'm like, hold on, Tyler Kolek, who is he? I protected? No that twenty twenty six. He needs to be unprotected. Man. Yeah, I don't understand that. If you're gonna if you're gonna make a trade like that.
Was it the coach or is it the rosteruse it both.
I think the thing is when they want when they beat the Celtics, now because you get what you call expectations of jail. Because so now you beat the Celtics, everybody said, b man, they're gonna they're gonna they're gonna run through the pacers. And they was supposed to be in the NBA finals and when it didn't happen, Hey, love, listen, if the niggas get Yannis man, they can put me ahead. Coach, I promise you, we're gonna win some games. Hear me, We're gonna make it. We're gonna make it to these conference finals for sure. You get Yanni's playing with all them the other dudes, and you only giving up Cat and the other dudes you talking about. I'm fine, I don't even know who that is. But boy, listen, it ain't gonna take much. I definitely think there are other teams that have more, could give up more. Hell go to Houston and ask, Okay, give me Shoan Gooon, give me Jalen Green, give me two a couple of But now that's better than Cat and this other cat. I mean, come on, Jay, get I mean, bro, even swamp ain't no swindle. I feel you trying to swindle me. Hey listen, but what about this? What if what if Johannis don't want to go out west? What if you want to stay in the East because the East will be a lot smoother firstus the west. He said he wanted to what's being reported. He wanted to go somewhere where they don't have any state taxes. Texas doesn't have state tax, Florida doesn't have state tax. Hey, there you go. I think Tennessee doesn't have state tax. You go to New York, Ohio doesn't have state Ohio have state tax was.
One of the worst New York and l a to the worst.
Yeah, you're already listen, you already told you where he wanted to go.
Uncle. You got to do is read between the lines, that's all. But I mean the.
Question then is, you know you kind of look at the Lakers right right, the Lakers is they made the beach you know, make the Beach trade and just you know Anthony Davis basically for uh Luca. But they're making so much money between the two, you don't have enough money to construct the team at you need to write and so you know the Apron the new tax Apron deal just kicked in this year.
Oh, your team's a little bit more bootstrap.
So the question is where wherever Y'allnis goes, wherever he lands, do they have enough given away whatever you have to give away to compete for the championship. Absolutely well, if they're only giving up Cat and Colic, that's who all your screen. You see the guy that's Tyler Kolik on the screen right there, that ain't having any coach. Man, ain't no way y'all just sitting meet Cat and this cat.
No, I ain't going but Tyler, Tyler nice with it. Tyler got some game. Oh here he go.
That man, don't know where that is talent?
You know you don't o Joe.
But but Jao, if all you've given up and cat in this gentlemen that you see on the screen they loaded, This is a lie.
There's no way they're doing that, brou They just they just talking. Brother.
They try to get some tweets and you know there's some lights and some refolds. There's no way they do. Now you have to give up. You go, you gonna lose o g or Michel Bridges. You're gonna lose one of them. But then that's that's kind of defeating the purpose. If you're Jannis right, if I'm going to New York, man, I at least want to keep one of them, dudes, if you're gonna get yeah, you keep one of them, but you ain't keeping both of us. Okay, I can see that. But you can't take both of them because now you take our grid and grind away and everything is left up the Jianna said, and brustling to do out of dirty work. Hey, you could have one, but I ain't letting you keep both of them.
So what what is it? Which one.
Which one you want jail, you want O G H, you want Michel Bridges, But I'm getting one of them. I'm getting away with Michel Bridges. Okay, I think O G O G just does he does a lot more. I mean, yeah, he does a lot more offensive indefensively.
But I don't know. Crazy, I like kat, I like him.
Do rethink Janni's and Brunson can play together because Brunson is a ball They so much alike. They both need the ball a lot, So I don't know. If you make that you give, I don't know. I mean it don't look good because both of them usage Drake, what is what is brustl usage?
Drake?
What's Gianni's usage rate? Because both of those got to have the ball in order for them to function. I don't think either guy is really good without the ball.
Yeah, I agree, is not great without the ball.
He's he's most effective when you know he has a ball in his hand coming downhill, whether it's off a rebound or what have you. But making plays, spreading out the guys for threes and getting to the basket, putting pressure on the rim, that's when he's at his best. Yeah, Jannis was first of usage with thirty five, bruntly with thirteenth at twenty nine. Yeah, so you got two guys with high usage. And I don't think what brunting and and and Yanna. I don't think brunsing is that good without the ball now he's he's not that great, but he can play without it. On like he catching shoot as opposed to Janni's. He's not a catching shoot person at all. So if you running a pick and roll, he ain't a shoot person, damn catching the shooting. He ain't a shoe person. He lay up a layup and don't type person. Right, So listen, if you running a pick and roll with Jannison buruntsing, that don't scare me versus you know, Cat and brunts in because Cat can picking pop picking pop. So the big Yanna Saint picking pie poppy ish, Yeah, he ain't. So the big on always stay low and let Yanna shoot that jumper all day long.
All day long. That's why I don't like. I don't like.
I don't like them trading Cat though, because at least Cat mean, I get it. He doesn't defend as well, but he's different from anything else that they have, right, And if He really really looked in the mirror and said, look, every time I take my ass to that box, I'm working them right right every time he just works on the then he just go back out to the three point line and stand on the three point line. If he really just get to that dominant form, man, he could be everything to Knicks me obviously adding a couple more pieces here in there.
But I like I like Cat with the Knicks. I don't like Gianni's with the Knicks.
I like Cat to JL, but it's less resistance out there on the perimeter form versus if he in that paint. It's just this a doggy dog world. Know, it's great grind, you know what I mean, it's a lot. They're bumping the grind down there. He ain't want that, He wouldn't looking for it. You gotta be you gotta be in some least shape to be able to, you know, take that bumping grind night in and night out. And I think that's why he always drifts back out to the three because, like you say, not, it ain't gonna be no resistance out there. Like it's you know, guys, he could just sit out there and just kind of shoot jumpers.
But Joe, let me ask you a question though. I mean, I'm sitting trying to think who the hell outside of him? And be the hell down there? Yo, she ain't better.
We're just talking about it ain't about yes, yeah, it ain't. But like four or five a week, if kat is Joel embiid uh is yo kic if Shung Goon Rudy Gobert. But and he ain't really post him, right, he really knows that, right, bonus or you take some bonus. Yeah, So to me, it ain't it ain't the it ain't the it ain't the grinding the post. To me, it got to be his condition and how in shape he is, absolutely, you know, and I are you know every every night it is a power for right, you know down there you spin off one, there's another one there, right they talking about the two bigs from tonight.
That was normal. Yeah.
But so now when I look at it, he typically when he's playing that post, he's bigger than everybody.
Yeah, maybe the exception three or four of the people in the lead. He got the skills to score down there.
So to me, I think he got in a little bit better shape, right, to have a little bit more endurance, he can mix the match out, he wants to play his game. He'd be a lot better. But you know it's a hard rockster to see him get up trying to get him down the court at that age. You know what is he twenty eight now? Twenty can't probably that twenty nine, Yeah, he didn't.
He looked like he labored. He especially in the Yeah, ended up and down that floor.
The volume
