Welcome to Bullyball, presented by DraftKings. I am Rachel Nichols, as always, mister DeMarcus Cousins, still in Taiwan, and greetings my friend Isaiah Thomas. Always nice to have you back. Gentlemen, I just want to say, one of us is supporting over here with the outfit, and one of us isn't. So you know very much, this is your this is a team you're currently playing for.
Oh man, I appreciate that. I need I need some gear too, I get a hat or something.
Love, you're rocking the nice fitted today. You got theirs. You want a good place, and I now will get it.
I gonna say you're good, You're good. I I just want you to know, even though you're far away, but we're with you.
I appreciate you. Rachel.
You did miss well, you didn't miss it because I know you watched them from over there. But man, some amazing game seven's happened over here in the States yesterday. Two road teams winning, I mean, just not what we would expect. And I want to start with what happened in the West Minnesota, erasing a twenty point deficit, taking down the champs in a game seven. On the road, Minnesota outscored Denver sixty to thirty seven. In the second half.
Six players were in double figures. Carl Anthony towns Man, I just want to stop for a second and give him his due, because he could have easily this year just checked out with the way Anthony Edwards ascended on that team. There are so many other players and we've seen it over and over again where the guy who had been the unquestioned number one would just take his ball and go home and wouldn't participate in the same
way anymore. And I think Carl got better. Actually, I think that he not only bought in that he worked on his game and he's the best he has ever been as a player. And I've just been so impressed twenty three and twelve last night. And he is the reason, by the way, to me, that they were even able to have a comeback, because in the first half almost no one else was doing anything, and Carl was the one who was over and over against showing up for that team in the first half kept them just close
enough to get there and then have that great comeback. So, you know, I just want to make sure people recognize his part of this as well, and then the defense overall was exceptional. They held Denver to forty one percent on field goals, twenty four percent on threes, Yoki Chi Murray only two in double figures. Everybody else was struggling to score. So look, I can't say enough about how impressive Minnesota has been, but I want to know from you guys, did you expect this When it was halftime?
Were you like, this game is over? What did what did you think going into and during this game?
I would definitely say, you know, towards halftime, it looked as if, you know, Denver kind of had this in the bag. You know, obviously Denver is a tough place to play. You got the altitude against you, and obviously they're there defending champs. The experience is there. This is a team that's been there time and time again. They've seen the ups and downs of the playoffs. So I feel like at halftime everything was pointing towards them coming out of this series successfully.
But man, Man's dogs.
There's some dogs on the other end of that floor, man, And there's some young dogs.
They full of hard, they're full.
Of energy, good energy, and you know, obviously that starts with you know, the young Cat Anthony Edwards. But you know you said it first, Rachu call Anthony Towns performed greatly, He's been a great sport about you know, becoming a number two option.
And I mean for me on the.
Outside looking you know, looking in, when you have a talent like Anthony Edwards, that's not a hard decision to make. I mean, I know we want to give him his credit, but this ain't some bumb we're talking about. That's the number one option like this, this is this is a future Hall of Famer. We can all sit here and say that he's that good. He's the real deal. He's a superstar and in my opinion, the new face of
the NBA. So you know, I don't think that was a hard decision for for Cat and you know, Hoopers respect Hooper's when when you know it's a talent, it's easy to you know, fall that line. And you know, I think Cat made the right choice with you know, being cool with this and you know, falling into that second option, which which I think will help extend his career.
And not only that, I.
Think he'll become a better player from this because you know, me and I taking both you know speak on this being that number one option is hard like and and it's it's a responsibility that comes with that every single night to where you know, you get to blame for everything, and that ship can start to you know, it can
get it can get to your mental you know. So kind of sliding into that second option, you know, it's it's it's a little less responsibility, but it's it's a more it's more of a comfort level there and you can you can be more of yourself, which I feel like Cat has now become. So I think that was an easy choice for him. But for me, the biggest, the biggest X factor in this entire series that isn't getting the credit I feel.
He deserves is Jay mcdame's Seattle.
Kid, by the way, my bad, bad, I know it's the difference, but I don't think he's getting the the shine that he deserves. And when we talk about the defensive anchor, you know, obviously the narrative is Rudy Gobert, but that kid is the defensive anchor of this team, and I think he's shown a time and time again, and for some reason, we highlight every you know, every word that Anthony Erwits says obviously, So I mean he's entertaining. He says all the right things. You love to hear
him talk, but he's not just talking to talk. When he speaks, his facts facts behind it. And he said it in Round one interview Kevin Durant, he said, well, we got j McDaniels and it's the reason.
He said that, and this kid.
In the post postgame interview last night. But yeah, I don't know if you get I don't know what you what you broadcast you get over there. But last night on the T and T broadcast, they interviewed him and Ali asked some version of you know, what's who's the reason you won this game? And he just answered right away, he said, Jim McDaniel's like.
I'm definitely not getting the T and T product, but he's one hundred percent correct. He's the defensive anchor at this Minnesota team, and I just want to make sure he gets the credit he deserves because not only is he their best wing defender and defender in general, he's
also playing on the offensive side of the ball. He ended the game with twenty three points, So I think this kid's future is going to be really Bright and he's definitely on his way to a big payday, So I just want to make sure he gets the credit he deserves.
And your guy nas read Boogie, who has been championing since October.
I love.
He put it up, man, I mean he was he was amazing. I just didn't know if you could talk a little bit more about the defensive effort from the Wolves and what that did to the Nuggets, because they just the Nuggets looked dead by the end of that game. I mean, they look so tired. What did you see and how is that when you're on the court facing.
That they just warmed down?
I mean you see at the Everards was having a tough game in the first half, even the start of the third quarter, but he just stayed picking up Murray for a court even though Murray had a great first half, he just stayed at it warmed down. He possession by possession and you see that in the box score as well.
With the with the Denver Nuggets, like they usually have five or six guys in double figures, they had two Like that That says a lot about them taking away the role players and also making it tough on Joker and Jamal Murray. So they just stayed with what they knew, and that was they laid their hat on the defensive end. They obviously was able to make some big plays offensively,
like you just mentioned. Nas Reed was huge in the fourth quarter, like play after play, Golbert was huge on offense, like he got a few and ones had the fadeaway jump shot, like you knew it was something when he hit the.
Fadeaway buzzer beater, like and it was all net and then at the.
Edwards still exactly and then just ran back like that was just in his like that was in his bag. So you just seen You've seen a lot from a Minnesota Timberwolves team that you wouldn't expect, Like they looked like they had championship experience. They were never rattled, even though they were down twenty at halftime, like they took it possession by possession, and you've seen it like and then when the energy turned and the momentum turn, it was like it was all she wrote like that that's
the definition of a team. You could tell those guys. Those guys don't just like playing with each other, they play for each other. And that's the definition of what they got going over there, and it's it's energy on a ten at all times. So like, you got to tip your out into a team like that that came in to the defending champs home court in a Game seven and turned the whole game around in the last twenty four minutes of the game. So that team is
special and they got something. They got something good this year for sure.
Yeah, and said in the press conference after the game, someone asked him when did you know you really had this? He's like, oh, when Rudy hit that turnaround fair, He's like from then on, he's like, I'm I'm good. You know, it was interesting you make the point about who had double figures or not. Denver did not invest in its bench this offseason. You know, they let guys go, they didn't replace them. They have a very young bench, and you know, I just remember when Lebron and Dwayne those
heat teams that were winning finals. You know, one of the backbreakers that cost them an additional third title together was Mike Miller was not brought back because ownership decided it's going to cost us too much and they could have within the salary cap, but they would have had to pay more luxury tax things like that, and I just think when you have a team that has won, that is the time to pour your money in it
to it. It's not the time to pull back. We've seen it a couple of times now, and I do think that that was a huge part of why Denver lost this series. It's also the sixth year in a row that the defending champ has not advanced past the second round. I mean, that's crazy. The last team to do it was Golden State in twenty nineteen. I don't know if that's exhaustion or what do you think, Bog Is that just something about how much more competitive the league is now?
Nah, that's that falls on ownership. Cheap ass owners. Let's just call it a book. There's no reason you shouldn't.
Have you mean in general, not you mean in general, not Devers we're talking about.
We're talking about Denver because the last year I was there, we were literally practicing around a bucket where it was a leak in the ceiling. So like, it doesn't even make sense, So we're gonna call it out. It's a cheap ass owner. There's no reason you shouldn't have brought Bruce Brown back after the way he contributed to that championship team. He I would say outside of Jokis and Jamal, he might have been the third most important piece of.
That championship team. For sure. It is. It's no reason for him not to have been brought back.
Yeah, the bench was And I'm not going to go out on a limb and say that bench was trash because I don't want to shit on anybody, but it's something.
It smells something similar. And with that.
Being said, it was just so inexperienced. Outside of Reggie Jackson, you don't really have a lot of experience. DeAndre Jordan didn't really see minutes and obviously so with being behind Jokis, but you know, you got young kids like Peyton and Chris Brown and they just don't have the experience to play, you know, at a championship level and actually contribute.
So that falls on ownership.
And like you said, after a team wins a championship, that's the time to go all in. That's when you want to spend because obviously you're going to get that return back. So that falls on ownership being cheap and you know, stepping around exit.
So it works. If you want to win, you gotta spind Yeah, yeah, you definitely.
Like you said, if I'm winning the championship, I'm doing everything i can to bring back my main guys. They contribute to the championship, whether it costs money or not. Like you gotta if you're trying to repeat, that's hard to repeat with new guys on that bench. They haven't really been in those situations. They haven't really had those experience with this type of team. So you've seen it. You've seen it fall down on them in Game seven, like like we said, they're a team that's usually five
guys in double figures, everybody's sharing the sugar. They really went two on five the last twenty four minutes where like nobody was really getting shots, nobody was capitalized on anything.
It was really the Joker and Jamal Murray show, which they just died down.
They're human, Like we've seen it in the other series too, over on the East Coast, Like, guys just died down. And that's going to happen when when the guys are playing heavy minutes and every possession is is for them to make some happen like that, that has definitely gonna happen.
Yeah, for sure. And look I do think the competitive balance in the NBA is a thing, and we've talked about it a lot the last few weeks, that the international players really being such forces in the league. It's it's not something. Look twenty years ago, it certainly wasn't the case, and I'm not sure it was even the case seven years ago. You know, you have a team where I mean, you have teams, these teams led by guys like Jokic, like Yannis By, you know, even Shake
Gilgers Alexander is not American. I mean, you've got guys around the league who are raising the level of other teams game. And I just think we do have more teams that you could say, oh, they could win, they could win a title, Luka Duncich, they could win a title. And I do think it makes it harder for everyone else and more exciting for the fans, because anyone can win on a given day. What do you guys think with that?
Right?
I got one more thing, Right, I got one more thing. Shout out to Tim Connolly, right, he yeah, he built Minnesota to beat Denver. Like he looked, he looking like this, he and the crowd was like this. He was probably like, yeah, say something, everybody was, you know, shipping on them about making the trade for Goldberg at one point and saying it wouldn't work. Like he really slowly built the team to beat the defending champs with the team he had built previously. So we got to give a shout out
to Tim Connelly. He doing something right over there, man.
I mean, look, he built both teams.
Exactly, exactly slowly built. He built that ship in a year. Oh yeah, yeah, quick, quick, it was right off.
He knew, he knew the plan right away. So definitely shut up to Tim Connor, still pissed at you.
Yeah yeah, but it's all good. You know how that goes.
Have you ever wondered if Chet Holmgren might be a descendant of Abraham Lincoln or if a UFC fighter could beat an alien in a fight. Well maybe you haven't, and that's okay. But Shay Serrano and Jason CONCEPSI own from six Trophies. Well they certainly have. If you're like me and you'd like to listen to as many good basketball podcasts as you can after you're done listening to Bullyball,
you gotta listen to six Trophies every week. Shay and Jason serve up the biggest moments from around the NBA with their patented mix of joy banter pop culture side quests.
They also hand out six pop culture themed trophies for six basketball related activities, stuff like the Denzel Washington and Training Day Trophy that's given out to a player or team having the best week around the NBA, or the Lauren Hill You might win some, but you just lost one trophy for the team or player that just can't get it together, plus a bunch more trophies for all the good, bad, or just plain head scratching moments around
the NBA. So follow Bullyball, but also follow six trophies on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts, or you can listen to add free by joining Wondery. Plus. Let's talk about the team that Minnesota's gonna face next, the Mavericks. Look, that was a hard fought series, came right down to the very end of the very last game. They beat the Clippers, they beat the thunder from the position of being a five seed, and I just I don't know what do you guys make of that series coming up?
Yeah, it's gonna be It's gonna be a good series. You see, uh, you see Anthony Erras already say, you know, my matchup is Kyrie, so I'm gonna see what he can do.
He can do. It is so like that type of energy.
Look, look, that type of energy rubs off on your teammates. Like if your head leaders already saying something like that, you're like, all right, let's get it cracky. So it's gonna it's gonna be a good series. Luca and Kyrie's gonna be something special. In the Western Conference finals, you've seen that they pulled that together against a tough and well coached okay see team. But it's like it's something with them Timberwoods, Like they're.
Not afraid to say anything.
They're not afraid to rub anybody's feathers wrong, Like they're not trying to be nobody's friend, Like they really accepting the challenge of anybody and everybody. And they're standing on business like they're they're they're standing on business when it comes to the talk and talking to talk, but walking the walk.
But you you definitely got to know it's gonna be tough.
It's not gonna be easy because the Dallas Mavericks are well coached they got some young guys that are playing out of their mind and Lively and PJ. Washington guys has never seen the playoffs. It's taking advantage of their opportunities. So I got Minnesota. But I think it's gonna go six to seven games for sure. It's gonna be back and forth and a lot of good action in this series. Like I can't wait for the I can't wait for the competition for sure.
I think I think with one, I'm a firm believe and.
You know, defense wins championships, and obviously I feel like the best defensive team coming out of the West is the Minnesota Timberwolves. Once again, I spoke on the kid earlier. I think Jada McDaniels, this is another opportunity for him to display his defensive talent. I think I think that match up between him and Luca will explain a lot. I think he'll make the game very tough for Luca a sixty eleventh frame. I don't think Lucas used to
that type of a defensive matchup. I think that I think what helped Dallas, you know, getting through this last series, outside of their start playing Kyrie and Luca was the big man matchup. I think their bigs just had way more experience than a young check Holt. That's not necessarily the case when it comes to Minnesota's big Like Minnesota bigs, they're a real deal, so I don't think they're as dominant when it comes to you know, Rudy Gobert, a naj read and the.
Calling Anthony Towns.
I think I think their responsibilities will become, you know, a lot tougher this this round. So for me, I see Minnesota coming out of the West. I think I do think it'll be the games will go to a six or seven game series.
But for me, I see Minnesota pulling out this series.
I think that's going to be an amazing playoff series. I am going to be glued to my television. You're totally right about the defensive efforts. And Anthony Edwards when he wasn't shooting last night, played great defense. And the ability to do that is such for young player. I think we don't see that that often. We don't see them buckling down and being like great, what else can I do? They get a little obsessed with their shot, they keep trying to force it, and instead he played
great defense. So that matchup between him and Kyrie, which I mean, it's just unbelievable.
Look, it's got to be box shopping. It's going to be box office. That's how you can tell nobody's calling Kyrie Irving out like nobody that nobody's accepting that talleting like that defensively. So there's something in the water over in Minnesota, like them boys is ready not saying he's going to stop Kyrie, but like to have that type of confidence. It's like, let's get it cracking. So that's that's big time of a twenty two year old to do something like that.
Yeah, it's twenty two year old to call out a future Hall of Famer and be like, and by the way, one of the best guy around the hoop that we've ever seen for sure, you know, great handles, the whole nine. So I just for him to do that, and I'm curious how Kyrie will respond, because especially the back half of that series with Oklahoma City, you know, he was
the whole series. He was never able to have a breakout game because the under I mean, they are a legit defensive force and the team defense they play is really strong, and they were able to buckle down on Kyrie in a way that he really hadn't seen in these playoffs. He had some breakout games against the Clippers that did not happen in this last series. So the
defense is only getting better. Minnesota the number one defense in the league this year, anchored by the defensive Player of the Year, and I know the controversy over that, but you can't argue with where Minnesota finished, and I just think it will be a very different series for them.
I do think, though, that that team is so finely tuned and built around Luka Dancic, and I think that we need to give Nico Harrison credit for that because first time GM there was some criticism of some of his early moves, obviously the Jalen Brunson thing, and I honestly don't remember if Nico was there for that, but it was a move from ownership that you know, there's been criticism of what Dallas has done with their personnel over recent years, and the fact that they were able
to make the trades at the deadline, have confidence in those trades when not everybody did, and get those role players playing as well as they did. I just I don't know. I think it's going to be a great, great, great series. I'm very excited about it. Do you want to, by the way, just call out before we move on to the east.
Uh.
You mentioned Derek Lively and he posted on Instagram last night about his mom, who died of cancer earlier this year. I think she was just fifty two, just really really sad and difficult, and he just basically said, you know, I love you, I miss you. Just sit back and watch mama. And I was, you know, to be able to play the way he does, considering some of the personal stuff he's gone through and who he's playing for, I think is really touching and effective.
For sure, he's doing his thing. You're in a tough situation he's doing He's doing his thing.
So shout out here for Isaiah. You know all about that. I mean, you are dealing with the death of your sister and sometimes, you know, those tragedies can undo you or they can power you. And what he's been able to do is has been exceptional, just like with you. So I'm very impressed.
You know, being around your teammates in these hostile environments, that just only makes it, you know, that much a little a little easier because you got your brothers around you, supporting you, helping you through those tough times. I'll be feeling like, especially when I was going through it, it's like when you get back to the crib, that's when that's just tough.
When you're around your teammates.
And around the arena and all that love, that's like, that's like helping him out as much as as much as it can. So, you know, shout out to him, prayers to him and his family. You know, good luck moving forward as well.
Absolutely for sure. All right, let's move on to the East Indiana. A historic offensive performance versus a shorthanded Knicks team. I mean sixty seven percent from the field that has literally never been done before. I mean that is bananas in a play I think it's in any playoff game, certainly in a game seven, fifty four percent from three
six players in double figures. Halliburton, who has had an uneven series drop twenty six, Yakam drop twenty and I just want to give them their due first, because I know we're going to talk about the Knicks health and
the NIXT or the team everyone talks about. But to walk into Madison Square Garden in a game seven and be a young team that most of the guys have never played in a Game seven in that situation before, and stand up the way they did, I don't care who's on the other end and how beat up they are. I thought that was super impressive. The confidence that they came in with the belief and the activity. You know, game sevens in some ways are can kind of be crazy and all over the place, and they kept their
focus and concentration. They played their game, the pace of it, the way they were playing. So I just want to make sure people appreciate that this was a very hard thing to do, no matter what was going on with the Knicks. And then, of course, on the other side, the Knicks had some health problems to under the understatement of the year. When og And and Obi came out for warm ups, it did not look good. And then when you get to when the game started, he just couldn't defend.
And he scored five points in the first few minutes and gave them a little boost on offense. But when the Pacers went at him on the other end, they were four for four against him and he had to come out. So I don't know what do you guys make of that game? Overall and sort of how the Pacers won.
I think they played through their strengths, which is, you know, their youth and their speed, and I think they realized that this Knicks team was starting to wear down, so I think they continued to put their foot on the gas and you know, they made the best of their situation, which led to them being successful. Obviously, coming into this series, I thought the Knicks were the favorite to come out. But I mean, you hate to kick a man while
he's down. But this is a typical TIBs movie. Like it's like it's like going to see a Fast and the Furious move. You know exactly what the funk's gonna happen at the end of movies watch but you know exactly what's gonna happen.
Bro.
So yeah, it's like, man, I think I felt like this series was the next to Wind. It's just you know, history repeats itself, which we said before, it's just not a recipe for success. I mean, playing seven guys an entire playoff run, that's that's really really hard to do. And at the end of the day, these guys aren't machines. They they're human beings. Like we wear down that's that's just that's a natural thing. It's natural instinct. Like your body wears down, your energy wears down.
It happens.
And you know, Tim's gotta figure out a new recipe, man, Like you can't. You can't keep cooking out of the same cookbook, bro and expecting you know, a different flavor. Like it's it's gonna be the same thing over and over and over again. So you you obviously you want to give credit to this Pacers team. But I think I think the Knicks lost this series. I don't think the Pacers win won it. I just think the Knicks win and lost this series. And that's how it played out.
For sure.
I give a shout out to the Pacers. Oh they You know. The crazy thing about Game seven is it's like the NCAA tournament like that one day, y'all, Like somebody can be on fire, like somebody can have a career night career like those Game sevens are so tough because anything can happen, and it's one game. And that's what Indiana did, like they stuck to what they were
great at. We're gonna push the pace, try to score one hundred and thirty points, which they did, and then see if see if the Knicks can keep up, like Indiana hit shots, and I think that's what gave them their energy. And they knew the Knicks was down bad. They knew, like at the end of the day, like books said, like they're human, like we gonna see if they can play catch up the whole game. We're gonna see if they can run run with us the whole game. And they did that, and it just it backfired on
the Knicks. Obviously they had injuries, but like that's tough to do what they did, Like they got to make some real adjustments. They got to add I feel like they got to add a star player to take some responsibility off of you know, Jalen Brunson, because he had a lot like he did his thing in the playoffs, but he played a lot of minutes, and like like we've seen time and time again, it just it doesn't
last as long as you need it to. Like even if they won that series and was going to play the Celtics, I was going to be tough to play six to seven guys that many minutes against a team well equipped like them.
So at some point it.
Was going to die down, and it just it just bit them in the behind. Game seven at home, Like you never thought the Knicks would lose a Game seven at home with all those with all those celebrities in the building like they like you thought it was Game seven of the NBA Finals. How many people in the building. So it was a tough situation for the Knicks to
go out like that. But we always said like it was going to end like that at some point, just because those guys are human and they they they got no rest, and they have some major injuries, like some pivotal injuries that you you just can't you can't fight through.
And to piggyback off of that, like sorry, Rach, but to piggyback off of that, you know, you don't want to sit here and just put this narrative on TIBs like he injures his players. But the fact that the matter is one, when you play guys that many minutes, it obviously increases the risk of injury. Like so that's just how they go hand in hand. On on top of that, Timms has this is no knock outside of Jalen Bronson. Tims has a team full of role players, like so it's only so far those guys can take
you to expect. And I love Devin Chanzo. He was a teammate of mind. He's a great teammate, he's a talented work he is, but he's not a twenty point per game score like that's that's not who he is. The offensive bag just isn't deep enough and expect him to average twenty twenty five on top of being a guy playing forty eight minutes. Jalen Brunston playing forty eight minutes, he has to average forty just for you to have a chance at winning the game.
Those just aren't that's that's not realistic. Like so.
The point I was going to make, I do like this next team. I do think they have a great foundation right now, and I do think they have a bright future. But I think going into the offseason, they're going to have to make some important changes, not just.
Like draft, they have to make important changes.
And I think it's some guys out there that that fit into that, you know, that culture, in that style of play, and I think it starts with a wing. You know, a wing scorer to take some of the pressure off Bruston. You got guys like Bradley Beal and even though he has, you know, a trade clause in his deal. I'm pretty sure he'll be open and going to the next to play there. And you obviously got a guy and Jimmy Butler is not. I don't think the paradise is shining as much as it was in
Miami at one point. You know, pat Riley came out with some pretty wild, you know comments. Jimmy Butler has a history with TIBs, so you can see a guy like that fitting in well. So I do think they can make some you know changes in the offseason that will get them over the hump and improve his team drastically. But you know it's gonna take them making some really important decisions this offseason.
Well, look, when you look at the TIBs factor and the injuries and all of that, I think it's both is the answer. Because TIBs has not made the conference finals since twenty eleven, thirteen years, and he's only missed one year of that coaching, so clearly there is something about the way he plays guys because he's an excellent X and O coach. The adjustments he made throughout the series were great.
You know, he.
Just has had a reputation with running those players into the ground. It's why he is voted again. I think it was the third year in a row when they did the players survey, he was voted the coach that players who don't play on the Knicks currently would least like to play for Now. His team loves him. That's kind of all you need. But around the league, I think guys see the minutes that he puts on these guys during the year and they don't want to have
their careers affected by that. So that's all real. However, I want to make the point that these injuries this year, I don't think they had much to do with being run into the ground. Julius Randall hurt his shoulder when someone fell on him. We had, let's see, I'm going to go through these, mister Robinson. As we saw with the Joel Embiid incident. That's not an overuse injury, right, Julius Randall got hurt after taking a charge. I'm by
someone fell on him. Even in this last game. Jaylen Brunson broke his hand in this game when he was trying to make a steal. That is not an overused injury. Now, og Ananobi hamstrings, those are overuse so you can point to that one, but I do think that there was just a lot of bad luck with how a bunch of these guys got injured, and that's why he ended up playing these guys so much in the playoffs, because there just wasn't anyone left, you know, he had to
kind of put everyone out there. And I just think we have to keep that in mind when we talk about the Knicks this year and Tibbs and his reputation and what he did or didn't do. Most of those injuries came with things, incidents that happened on the court, not sort of that overused thing where we saw og just kind of like him give out on a play and that that's different. But I think we have to remember how a lot of these guys got hurt. So there's that, and then you guys talking about what the
Knicks need going forward. T what do you think Julius Randall's role on this team is going to be once he gets healthy.
I'm not sure, Like you know, how quick the NBA turns on you.
It's tough, Like he's an All NBA type of guy, all Star, but it's like if we got this far without him, like you think we could push it a little further, Like I'm not sure what they got in mind for a guy like Julius Randall. You know, hopefully he stays and he's still in the mix with the Knicks because he definitely makes Like if they had him, I think it would have been tougher.
For Indiana to win for sure.
But you just never know how how they look at it, Like Julius Randall is a special talent, but you know how the teams are, like it's like, what have you done for me lately?
Especially if you've been injured.
It can be that we might have seen him play his last game in the nixt uniform. You just never know, Like I'm not you know, I'm not guaranteeing that, Like I know he does make the Knicks better, but is that in the next future plans, Like so.
I'm not sure what they do.
Like like Book said, like you definitely need to I feel like you definitely need a wing score and a guy that can defend as well, and to get take some responsibility off of off of Jalen Brunson because he has to do everything. And like Buog said as well, I don't want Dante and Josh Hart to have to do all these things that they're doing, Like their games ain't meant to play forty seven minutes and get twenty to twenty five points in games.
That's not what they're built to do.
Obviously they can do that, but for you to be a championship caliber team, those guys don't need to be doing those things at it on a nightly basis.
So the Knicks have a lot of decisions to make.
You know, hopefully Julius Randall is in the plays because he's a hell of a player, all star caliber player, but you just never know what their thoughts are moving forward.
You think he plays for the next next season.
Book No, oh man, Like I Tea said, the NBA moves quickly, and they turned.
On you quickly. We've both experienced it. One day. You can be at the mountaintop.
The next day you know you're you're out of their plans, or you know we're moving in a different direction, or you don't.
Really fit the style of the team. So I definitely think he is.
Obviously there's a chance he could be back, but I feel like he's in a great area right now. And I don't think the Knicks really know what they want to do moving forward yet, But.
I don't think they're in the worst situation.
Obviously, you have your star in Jalen Brynson is I think this team, I think they do know who they want to build around, which is the more important decision, which is Jalen Bronson.
But who you put around him is going to be very important.
And that's why I said they have some very important decisions to make this off season.
Well, look, some of the guys you brought up would have to come through trade. You didn't mention any free agents. So maybe Julius Randall gets thrown into one of those packages. We'll have to see. But it's going to be an interesting off season.
It might it might be better for It might be better for him to get up out of there too, would I think, you know, it might be a better situation for him, So yeah, I think so fighting against being the leader of the team, fighting against being the man. And then he's been injured the last two years, like season India injuries. So like you might you might want a new fresh you know, some some fresh air somewhere else.
But you, like like you guys say, you never know, you never know what's going to happen.
Yeah, we'll see.
I just want my guy to be healthy. I just wanted to be healthy and get back right.
Yes, yes, absolutely, I want to move on to the Eastern Conference finals. The teams still playing and it I don't know how you feel. You consider them your Celtics, you know at this point in your life. But I assume you're rooting for them, uh as they go forward here and just it's going to be an interesting matchup to see. Look Indiana as an underdog, there's no other way to say it, and it's going to be interesting to see if they can assert themselves in this series
or not. And then the Celtics. You know, I have sympathy for Celtics fans and the Celtics themselves because they kind of feel like they're damned if they do and they're damned if they don't. You know, if they beat a team by twenty, it's like, oh, you haven't really had any real competition. And if they struggle against the team,
it's like, why are you struggling against this team? It's been true, by the way, because you know when they struggle or they drop a game to Miami that has you know, doesn't have a bunch of their key guys. You drop a game to just a team that doesn't have Dnavan Mitchell out on the floor because you're sitting on the bench. I mean, I understand the criticism, and
I also understand the frustration of the Celtics players. You can only play who is in front of you, and they have one indominant fashion, and there will be no matter what happens in the series, people saying, oh, the easiest walk to the finals ever. You can only play who's in front of you. And I just think it's going to be interesting to see whether Indiana can assert itself here. What do you think.
I'm gonna be polite and say that's a gentleman's sleep. All the way in my heart is telling me you're sweet, But like I said, I'll be polite and say a gentleman's sweep. I think I think the persons will be able to pull off, you know, win in their first home game. The energy would be crazy, all of those things. But this Celtics team has been dominant all year. They've
been dominant throughout the playoffs. The only time they really lose is when they get bored or uninterested, which is crazy to even say in the NBA setting, but it hasn't really been a matchup for them in the Eastern Conference this entire year. And it's not gonna start now. This team has been here time and time and ship. They've been here since I t was doing this thing there.
And this team is full of experience.
They've been here, They've they've been locked in for the entire year. They're built for this moment. They have probably one of the most well constructed rosters I've.
Seen in a long time.
Just the Pacers overachieved this year, and I think they should be very happy about that. They they know they have something to build, you know, their future on They found them for down their foundational pieces. You know, they they got their coach. Everything is moving in the right direction for this pass team. But I think I think they they hit their stride like this, this is this is the end once they meet up with the Celtics team.
And I'm trying to be you know, I don't want to, I don't want to on them.
I'm just it's more oh it's no, not to the Pacers, but more credit to the Celtics. They're just that dominant And we've been calling the Celtics to be at this moment all year long, since you know, the beginning of the season. So, like I said, it's not gonna change now.
So you know, I think they'll get a game and you know that's that'd be good for them.
Yeah, I agree with you.
Like the Celtics are definitely the the more dominant team in this series. I got them winning it, but I do got Indiana. I don't think they're gonna blow them out every game.
Boston. I think they're gonna it's gonna be.
It's not gonna be blowouts like we think, but I think it's gonna be. For one, I think Indiana will win one game at home. They've been exceptional at home all playoffs. They're gonna have some good energy. But Boston is just especially if Porzingis comes back at some point. You never know if he's gonna come back or not. But I just think they're the better team overall and there they're going to get to the finals again for sure.
Yeah, thank you. Thing.
The Holy Road thing is real. I mean that's going to be a little rubber meets the Road thing for this series. Because Boston has been foreign two at home, it's not as bad as everyone thinks. It's not fifty to fifty. I know that over the last three years they were five hundred at home blah blah blah blah on the playoffs. But this playoffs they're foreign two at home, which is respectable, but they are four and oh on the road, and Indiana is six and oh at home,
two and five on the road. So those games in Indiana, where the Celtics have had so much success on the road and the Pacers have had so much success at home, I think are going to be pretty interesting, a little bit tooth and nail, so we will see what happens. I have tremendous respect for both teams and think the Celtics are going to be pretty dominant, so we'll see. All right again, I'm wearing my shirt here I want. This is a cute logo. By the way, I think this is like their secondary logo.
I can't even really see it. I can't see it, all right.
All right, I'll send you a picture afterwards. But uh, we got to take a peek at what you have been doing over there. We've had the Chronicles of Boogie, which we've got to watch last week. I don't know if you caught it, but I want to show you, guys chapter two. Take a look.
I want to, you know, learn this is find on my legs, find on my wind, pushing myself, helping my condition.
I do it in chemistry with the guys, guys.
Allowing them to learn me, figuring out tendencies, figuring out what the coach is looking for.
You know, I want to come in and fit in and push this thing in our hearts.
Well, I think the main challenge that we don't have a lot of time and I'll see us playing with him is you know, it's a blessing and it's our job to make sure that works seamlessly and in a short period of time. But you know, you need elite talent to win championships, and I think, you know, Bookie definitely brings us closer to that.
It always feels good to you know what I mean. So victorious day, I left out the shooting champion.
Today we want to fight for home court advantage in the playoffs. With Boogie coming in the last three games of the season, that that adds a different, different threat that we didn't necessarily have.
Well, he's obviously a phenomenal talent.
He's an enormous body with with unbelievable hands, the ability to shoot, to pass, to play on the block, to dominate people physically, and I don't think there's a talent, you know, anything close to that in the league right now.
So you know, you you you have to learn how to play through that, because he's obviously in a great position to be a go to guy for us and someone we can play through because he can, you know, get us some buckets, but he can also be really in selfish and make everyone around him better, which is his unique ability.
In my opinion, I know it would be a process.
So just to see account of unfold when you start to shortly happen for me, everything's coming together at the right time. We do a more serious number. This is the point, you know, where we lock in. We right there, felas we got a little bit more to go. Seven wins, that should be we should have that number seven wins, you know, the.
Seven wins times forty eight minutes. It's roughly three hundred.
And fifty minutes of basketball where we have to show ergency in every position.
We do that, we're champions in.
The what's about every man fighting for the next man Game one shows a after the game.
You know, we have the leading scorer, beating assist person per game player and Hassan and then now we had to book him to that train.
You know.
I like our chances like coming down, like like we can subverbly talk to the other made playing by yo, why to come off with strange pop if he don't look back him, It's like defenders looking like, man, he right, what can I do?
You know what I'm saying.
So it's like that's the kind of like advantage I feel like we have on this team with it.
This is what real move is enjoy when it comes to the game play off basketball.
M h, I love it.
I love it. But last week we saw a lot of you off the court, going to the zoo, getting lost on your way at a restaurant, all that kind of stuff. I love that we got so much on the court in this one, and the clip of you talking to the team leading the team, I would expect nothing less, and the dominance you're showing on the court, I firmly believe you should be on an NBA roster
right now. But I also really love the fact that if that didn't happen this season, you still get to go hoop and you have those crowds screaming your name and all of those sort of things that come with the champagne, soap, locker room and those experiences. You know, wherever in the world they are are pretty cool and it's fun to see that everywhere.
Oh I appreciate that, right, Oh yeah, I had to come to that point. But you realize it's so much basketball out here, so many more experiences to make, and you can still enjoyed his game wherever you decide to play.
So that's where I'm just and just that smile, that smile you know how this ship is.
Don't matter if it's the YMCA, it don't matter. I mean, you get that feeling, that same feeling you got as a kid. So I'm embracing and I'm having fun with it. And you know, I'm loving where I'm at in life. So it's all good.
Keep doing.
I love it. I love it well. Also, I t you you getting back on a roster and getting back in the league is inspiring story in itself and for both you guys. I just think you got bad turns by injuries and some management decisions after that, And I love the way both of you have just sort of continued to hoop. It's again super impressive. A lot of guys just check out and either one of you did that, and I think it's great. So there you go. Appreciate I'm ready for the finals. I'll be cheering Boogie to
see it. There you go, everyone out there. You can catch all of the episodes of bully Ball on the Draft Kings Network, which is very cool, on the All the Smoke Productions YouTube channel, and of course you can listen to us wherever you get your podcast. Rate us, review us, tell us how much you love Boogie, tell us how much it his brunt of the show. We want to hear all the good comments. Tell me what you think of my shirt, which I expect to only be awesome. Thank you very much. We will check in
and catch you next week. See ya.
Thanks