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The code is Colon for twenty bucks off your first purchase terms apply again. Create the account the redeem code COLI in twenty bucks off. Download the Game Time app today. Last Minute Tickets Loa's price is guaranteed. That is one of the best, most intense NBA games I have seen in years the crowd first of all, the Knicks shot making. I cannot remember a game when I everybody kat in
the first half. Brunson, McHale, bridges og listen, this is a cliche, but you always hear that team wanted it more, and I'm always like, he'll give me a break. I'm sorry that crowd fed that team. I didn't think the Knicks offensively Jason had that half that second half in them. That was an incredible display of shot making to me. Yeah, I was unbelievable.
Wife. My wife was kind of just piddling around walking through the room and she goes that Jalen Brunston, he really has been putting the Celtics away in this series, and I was like, he's been doing this to everybody this entire playoff run. It's like you get into a game with him where it's close late and he just He's one of the most gifted shot makers I've ever watched. Colin.
It's it's like a it's almost like an Alpha like number one version of what Jamal Murray does, where it's just a steady diet of like right shoulder fades, left shoulder fades, stepping back to the left, stepping back to the right, off of movement in a off ball situation, off of movement in a high ball screen. He can just hit so many different types of jump shots from so many different spots on the floor that it gives him like a lot of you know, counter moves so
that he can always get a shot off. And then he's just worked so well towards polishing up his shot making in those situations. It's just remarkable. And I thought also Tom Thibodeau giving Brunson that quick rest. Kind of an interesting subplot in this game was Jalen Brown being in some foul trouble and not starting the fourth quarter.
And what was weird about that is typically that's Jalen Brown's unit, but because Tatum had to lead that early fourth quarter unit, Tatum just kept hunting witches and so it was a lot of one on one from Tatum and Tatum was hitting shots, but no other Celtic was in any rhythm. And what was really a smart move from TIBs. I was joking with a couple of my
Lakers buddies. I was like, is Tom Thibau about to pull a JJ Redick and just play everybody for the whole twenty four minutes, but no. He brings in Duce McBride in the early fourth quarter, and so then they start running action for Michale bridges and McHale catches a heater and starts hitting those little mid range fifteen footers, and the ball's moving around, and OG's hitting shots, and Cats getting a bucket, Mitchell Robinson's getting dunk, and the
Knicks had a bunch of guys in rhythm in that fourth quarter, and so even when Tatum was hitting shots, it kind of felt like it was over because the Knicks just had so many more things going. And I mean even at the time of the Tatum injury. They were up by nine at that point. But I'd be remiss if I didn't say, Colin, I agree with you, that was an unbelievable game, and that Tatum injury is just a huge buzz kill, just a huge buzz kill at the end of.
That Well, yeah, we'll circle back to the Tatum injury, which is absolutely awful, But the game felt like it was over before that. You know, I was thinking about Brunson, and you know, we talk about this in football all the time, where where you land matters. I mean, Mahomes would be great anywhere. He may be the best quarterback ever because he lands with Andy Reid, Like it does matter.
So Brunson's got a little Steve Nash, you know Steve Nash Canada, Santa Clara, goes to the Mavericks, good player, good player, plays with another star, international star, Dirk and you know he goes to Phoenix and just blossoms always talented. You're like, oh my god, he's the most valuable player in the league. This is the best offense that was before the three ball era. Phoenix was scoring one twenty eight regularly like before the three ball And You're like, well,
I knew he was good. I didn't think he was the most valuable player. Brunson similarly, plays in Dallas, has an international cohort. Is very good player. Nobody disputes it. Very good player, goes to New York. They give him, like Nash, the keys to the offense. And I always like Brunson, like Nash, I never saw this. I never saw honestly, he right now and I'm talking the whole league. He's as good of a late game shot maker as
the league has. And you know, you'd watch Nash when he would never touch it with there his right hand, and he do that left and or off the glass like three times a game, and you're like, Okay, that doesn't make any sense. You're six to one, how are you throwing that over trees? And I'm not saying their games are similar, but it just goes to show Jason, when you empower a player who's got a little chip, who's overlooked, you give him the keys to the offense.
He gets the right coach. It's a magical thing.
He's the first guard that I can think of in well over a decade, because that's how long STEP's been doing it. He's the first guard to legitimately make it a debate who's the best small guard in the league Like it used to be Steph forever and it wasn't close. Like every time someone would bring up Dame, You're like, nowhere near the defender, nowhere near the off ball player. Jalen Brunson and this surgical walking teams down over and
over and over again in the fourth quarter thing. It's remarkable. He's turning losses into wins. It's amazing stuff that he's doing. He's doing it in this series against elite on ball defenders, over and over again, shedding Derek White with nasty post spin moves as he fakes him out one way or
the other, hunting the Celtics bigs in space. He is producing offensively at the level of the greatest players in the league, and it's no longer a conversation to me as to whether or not Jalen Brunson could be the best player on a championship team. He absolutely can be, and Colinques have to bring this up because I think this is important in the context of the storyline heading
into the series. One of the themes coming into the series is Boston killed the Knicks in the regular season by hunting Brunson and by hunting Kat, and Cat has been a nightmare defensively in the series, although he did do a couple of better possessions against Tatum down the stretch of this game. But Jalen Brunson has been very good defensively in this series and repeatedly in crunch time in the wins they had in Boston. He got stops on Tatum on an Island. He got stops on Jalen
Brown in an Island. He survived post up mismatches against Al Horford, like he's playing two way basketball too, Like this is a this is one of our better competitors in the league who is demonstrating for the world that he belongs in the conversation with the best players in the league. Like he legitimately has a case to be the best small guard in the league right now. And it's crazy.
Yeah, And I said this, I felt like Ewing was the best nick ever. And I always felt, you know, Mellow was a little overstated because I thought he was a profound offensive talent, but not necessarily a guy, not a great leader. And I said this a couple of years ago, I said, I would take you know, Walt Fraser Ewing, Bernard King Brunson feels like he's in that class. I mean, for as bad as the football teams are, he's like the best cou're back in New York. Like
he is what New York teams should be. New York teams should be tough, they should be resilient, they should be fighters. They shouldn't be you know, they shouldn't be slick. That's for LA teams or Miami teams. It's like New York teams. New York basketball from Syracuse The Pearl, Washington's you know, like Syracuse the zone, the matchup zone defense, the great Nick teams with pat Riley. Walt Fraser was
a great defensive guard. Willis Reid. Like the culture of basketball in New York is tough and physical, and I just watched them tonight and I thought to myself, listen, if the NBA, and I think it's a really smart plan, is going to allow for more physical play. I do think there is a cat issue defensively on this team. That's why Mitchell Robinson is in that game in the second half, Like we'll take cat scoring early. We'll go with Robinson even though he can't hit her free throw.
I do think they have to kind of clean up the pick and roll D defense with Kat at some point in personnel. But the league is allowing this kind of physical play and their ball movement their defense. I don't know. I look at it and I'm like, I don't think i'd screw it up. The chemistry is just remarkable. Like I think Kat is a really nice offensive piece, but Gotti, the well coach teams are going to attack him if if you had to. And I know it's not the night, But I came out of that thinking
they don't need KD. They don't need another shot maker. That was my take.
Do they I don't yet the I think a more reliable version of Mitchell Robinson at the center position would be a really interesting piece. Like you you mentioned the pick and roll defense. Let's say, let's say the results hold, which I believe they will if Tatum's injured. I think the Knicks are going to win the series, and I believe the Pacers will close out the Calves, although that's
not necessarily over. The Pacers are a very very difficult team to guard, and they specifically capitalize on dudes who are slow footed in space. That's that is how they take advantage of you. And the Calves are fast and they're cutting them to pieces. They hung eight, they hung eighty points on them yesterday in the first half. The Calves are the Pacers are playing some special basketball. So a lot of it depends on how next round goes.
If they hold up well and they beat the Pacers, I think it's a much more complicated conversation about the type of move they need to make. But if they get beat by, if they just get flat out beat by the Pacers. I think what you have to look at is Kale Bridges kind of makes sense as a secondary player next to Jalen Brunson. He can run that
action when he's off the floor. Og Ananobi to me, is like the quintessential weak side scoring forward, Like he just scores off the skip passes, the ball gets skipped to him and he shoots at three or he drives the clothes out. Jalen Brunson is proving that he can be that on ball guard that can lead a championship team. Get a kick ass center, get somebody, Get somebody that can really guard, that can really defend in space, that can really do the things that they need to kind
of tie all of that together. And I'm not sure that there's like maybe they can turn around and try to flip Cat towards like you know, maybe they called Dallas and they go, hey, maybe you want a pair Cat with Anthony Davis and we'll take Derek Lively in PJ. Washington for more forward depth or something like that. I could see them making a move centered around Kat if he gets exposed in the Pacers series, But so much of it just depends on what happens in that series.
Hey, so we all make mistakes, but owning up to them is the right thing to do. So you know Degree cool Rush deodorant, right, Well, last year they changed the formula and it did not go over well with their fans. So Degrees the whole thing is it turns up the sweat and odor protection when you turn up the effort, and good thing it does, because cool Rush fans really turned up the effort to bring the original formula back. One guy even started an online petition and
Degree listened. They admitted they fed up. They're bringing back the original cool Rush scent. They're bringing it back and it's exactly how you remember it, cool, crisp and fresh. It's back in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under four dollars. There's a reason that's been the number one men's anti persprint for the last decade. It's the same reason why people were not happy when it changed. So if you've never tried it, it might be a
good time to see what the fuss is about. Head to your local Walmart, Target and try the og degree cool Rush for yourself. Let's talk Boston. One of the things that really jumped out to me first. Credit to Tatum, who played one of his best playoff games as a Celtics. He was aggressive, he was hunting it. He was great. But one of the things I really noticed is the reason, as you noted earlier, the Knicks had such a great rhythm is they were just Brunson. They moved the ball.
I think the Celtics get into this. It's not just the threes. They're a math equation. When they shoot threes poorly, they don't move the ball, and it just becomes you know, Pretcher off a screen. And I feel like some of that's on Missoula. There's a difference between. I mean, again, they shoot a lot of threes, but I go back earlier this season when they were flying through good teams on the road and I would watch them and I'd
be like, God, they're ball moving's exceptional. When I watched in the second half and I'm like, oh, this is just this is like Tatum or Pritchard off a screen. I mean a couple and I thought Tatum played well, but a couple of his shots before the injury are like, bro, that is deep by your standards. And I think part of this series, I think Missoula did not do a great job. I don't think we can just blame it
on missing threes. Why did they have two games where they were atrocious and why in the second half did they struggle. I didn't like their lack of ball movement.
The shots they took in Game three were the same shots they took in Game two's. They just went in And you know, I was actually talking about this in my show today because I was trying to like think about what I've learned from this Nick Celtics series to
this point. And I think we can all agree that the Celtics win Humming are the best team in the league because they have just unbelievable shot making mixed in with like high level read and react stuff for wide open threes, and they're they can be great defensively, like they were so good defensively in the first half of this game they had the Nixon handcuffs. But then there's also this lower floor than we all imagined. And the reason why is they just have never had an audible
like when they don't hit shots. They don't have like a like the the Nuggets, who can be like, okay, the you know, Jamal Murray doesn't really have it going. We're gonna spam low post stuff with Jokic, or Jokics doesn't really have it going, we're gonna go to the two man game with Jamal Murray or Aaron Gordon has this seize mismatch down low, we can just dump it down to him. They won a finals game doing that
a couple of years ago. There's a certain amount of variety that you see in the best offenses in the league, and with Boston it's kind of right now, like Tatum or Brown hunting mismatches and they're driving kick attack, and that's basically all they have in their offensive game, and there is a there is a susceptibility they have to what happened tonight and what happened in the first two games, which is all the other guys are out of rhythm because it's turning into one on one ball at the
top of the key. And the shot yeah from Tatum was remarkable in that third quarter. I mean he hit three or four really turn around fadeaways. But there's a little bit of a fools gold element there if the other teammates are not involved. Drew Holliday, wide open three in the left corner, misses it in the fourth quarter because it's the only catch and shoot three he got for like a twenty minute span of real time. Derek White misses a corner three, even though he had been
hot all night. Because in the late third quarter, the ball wasn't moving around, he wasn't getting touches. He ends up missing that shot. And this is where it's the smart game plan. The Knicks had been using traditional coverages with Kat throughout the series, and there in that second half they were like, just switch and just try to score on Kat. And guess what Kat got scored on. He got scored on something. Yeah, but it turned into a one on one contest and the other guys all
got froze out. No other Celtics cent rhythm. I bet you if you pulled the numbers from the tail end of that game, Tatum probably outscored the entire rest of his team over the final seventeen to eighteen minutes of that game.
Yeah, it was ISO's at the top. Wasn't ball movement. People got cold while the Knicks everybody was getting touches. Josh Harten didn't have a big offensive game, but that didn't mean he didn't touch the ball. And that's the difference poor Zingis was disappointing. I will tell you over the course of the season, Peyton Pritchard's emergence. I don't know exactly what poor Zingis is. I thought tonight he
was in bad position. He had multiple opportunities where he had the best position off a rebound and jumped too early or got pushed out of the way. I don't know. I think that's a movable piece. Like I think they'll come out of this series. My opinion is they'll move Poorzingis.
Well, let's dig into this a little bit, Colin, because I mean, fingers crossed that it's good news for Tatum. But I have a feeling that it's what it looked like and he's probably going to be out for all of next season. And if that is the case, chrisops Porzingis is about turn thirty years old and he's made of tissue paper.
Yeah.
Drew Holliday is thirty four, Al Horford's thirty eight, Derek White is thirty, and Jalen Brown's really good, but he's twenty eight and he kind of is what he is at this point. I think it's possible if the Tatum injury is confirmed to be what it looks like that Boston ends up essentially fire sailing a bunch of these guys this summer, because what's the point You're gonna run back with Jalen Brown and thirty nine year old Al Horford and chrisops Porzingis and like they'd be fine, But
they're not. They're they're all of a sudden like the fourth or fifth best team in the West.
If they sign their first round pick, they have five hundred million dollars on the payroll, new owners who have a new bank note that's not gonna.
Work exactly they need to be if it's again, if it's confirmed, and I believe it will be. I mean the body, which it's just brutal that you could just tell that Tatum's heart was broken. But I think you almost have to look at it like the twenty twenty season for the Warriors after the Kevin Durant injury and after the Klay Thompson injury, where it's like, this is the year to be bad and to get off of money and to bring in the means with which to
rebuild around Tatum and Brown. Because Tatum is twenty seven and he probably will make a full recovery and still be an all NBA level player when he gets back, and so there's an opportunity to kind of like use this year as a gap year to kind of get off of some of this old money. Drew Holliday is gonna be useful to somebody. There's gonna be somebody out there who will look at Drew Holliday and feel like he'll help us win a championship. Orford might even be
that guy for somebody. There's you know, Derek White I think would fetch a super high price right now, although I wouldn't get rid of him unless he fetched a super high price because he's at the age where he
can still help Tatum and Brown. But yeah, their entire outlook fundamentally changes by this because this was already call in kind of a sneaky old roster and it kind of felt like a two to three year window where you had an opportunity to win, and if Tatum's down, there's no opportunity to win.
For the record, nice job, Goldie. Celtics only had fifteen assists, second fewest all seasons. So my eyes in your eyes did not deceive us isoball isolation. Top didn't pass the ball. We were right. They're averaging nineteen assists in the playoffs, down from twenty six in the regular season. So this is Joe Mizzoula. They're not moving the ball. Nice job, Goldie. Yeah, and here's the otter thing I thought about. I'll throw
this at you. Oklahoma City is only getting better. Okay if you look at San Antonio, who has the number two pick and two young stars actually three, only getting better. Yeah yeah, Houston maybe in the Katie or Janna sweepstakes, only getting better. What's interesting is that this may be the nixt year circling back to the Knicks. It's like, guys, the West Cooper flags going west. Dallas now is with that front line is going to be something Dallas, okac Houston,
San Antonio. The argument you can make today they will all be better. Golden State won't, Lakers may not. Those four will be. So it really creates urgency. We know this. Remember the Seahawks, we thought in the NFL were going to have a dynasty. They win one, they get to the second weird play call at the goal line, never get back. That play call did something to the locker room and the culture. They never recovered. I mean, you say all, Boston'll be fine. What if Tatum's out next year.
It's one thing when he misses two games, it's another one he misses eighty two. Poor Zingish, you can't trust. They may be Denver. The Celtics may very well be Denver. The Knicks may end up if they can get to the finals and snag one with all the money and all the greatness of Boston. What if New York's like steals a championship. I mean, that's what's so crazy about this sport is that we're going to run now where
there are no great teams. But it looks like over the next two to three years the West could have more than one. So I want to talk about that for a second. I do feel like Boston's going to be out, Cleveland's out. Well New York matches up with everybody else. I mean, OKC would go into that final as one of the youngest finals teams ever. Are we looking at everything falling for the Knicks?
Watch out for the Pacers, Colin. They are They are reaching a level on both ends of the floor now that is really impressive. Like, I know, the Cavs are banged up. Darius Garland with his toe injury, and Mobley's got an ankle, Donovan Mitchell's got an ankle now, But that team won sixty four games, and let's just this is the best way I could describe it, Colin. The Calvs beat the Pacers in the second half seventy to forty nine yesterday and still lost by twenty. Okay, that's
how bad the Pacers beat them yesterday. So like this Pacers team is, I'm I'm nervous about Karl Anthony Towns guarding in that matchup. That said, as we've seen with Denver in the OKC matchup, if you are facing a team that has some ify shooters that you can help off of, it's an easier matchup for the Knicks. So like, in a weird way, I give him a puncher's chance against an OKC because they'd be able to load up
the strong side and all that kind of stuff. But it's like that Pacers matchup is just such an interesting one with Kat because it's just a disaster for him having to guard in space and Miles Turner's hitting every three he takes right now, which is causing problems for opposing bigs, and the Pacers are just playing at a really high level. So I would like I would look at that Knicks Pacers series. My initial gut feeling is to favor Indiana, to be clear, So that's not an
insult to the Knicks. It's just kind of a matchup thing, and I just am seeing stuff with Indiana that I think is pretty special. They they're kind of like the quintessential team basketball, Like everyone is playing super well on that team. They're defending, they're picking up full court. Rick Carlisle has them playing super hard for forty eight minutes every single night. But this has opened up in the
sense that I'll just put it this way. Con even if the Knicks won tonight, which I mean, we agree they would have, even if Tatum didn't get hurt, I still wouldn't have been surprised if Boston came back and won the series. But now it looks like they're almost certainly going to advance, and if they advance, they certainly have a great chance. Once you're in the conference finals, it's like anything can happen at that point.
Yeah, it was really funny. Tonight was the first night watching the Knicks, and it was late. It was pre Tatum injury, probably seven minutes left, and I thought we'll go back to the beginning. I just think New York's built for this series. I think it means more. I think the officials are letting them play. I think they're winning the coaching matchup and they're underdogs. That's a powerful that's a powerful thing. Well, this has been great, So, folks,
we just broke down Celtics and Knicks. So what we're gonna play next? We did these in inverse order right after the NBA lottery Jason and I jm On surprised, to say the least. So this was great. You and I now will go watch the Warriors. But we take you back, folks, to minutes after today's fascinating and shocking NBA lottery. The NBA eighty two game grind is done. Now the real fun begins. The NBA Playoffs. Love them. They're here. Time for drama, clutch moments, Steph Curry, Lebron
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Now it's time for power Players, brought to you by BMW the Ultimate Driving Machine. This week it's Anthony Edwards Ant whose electric play is charging the way for another Western Conference Finals appearance for the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game three and had twenty eight in the second half alone to lead Minnesota's comeback. When what is it that sets apart these power players from the rest? Bottom linees that are attentioned to detail innovative play styles, relentless drive for
performing at the highest level. The same goes for BMW I X everything you love about the Ultimate Driving Machine electrified? All right, absolutely bonkers. I've said this before Take Games Away. This is one of my favorite nights of the year. I just love it and First of all, I you know, once they you know, I didn't want to see Toronto win it. I'm sorry. I want Cooper Flag to be here.
I didn't want to see New Orleans, Washington, Charlotte. You know, after watching Shooting Guards that documentary, I can't root for the Wizards ever again. I know it's a different group. I was so disgusted by it. But I said earlier today on FS one, I said, if San Antonio wins Stefan Castle Wemby Cooper Flag, I said, oh, poor Oklahoma City. They've done everything right. They had Westbrook, Durant Harden couldn't win. Now they're going to have this SGA Holmegrid Roster, and
they got this train for the next decade. But it's the Dallas Mavericks. You know, it makes me think of this. Listen. I thought the trade Luca the Lakers was terrible, but I said, before the new CBA, he qualified Luca for seventy large, seventy million a year. And I was talking to one of my only friends that ever deals with billionaires. He's in venture capital, and he said, listen, man, he said, people are so rich now, thirty millions a rounding air.
But even for a billionaire, seventy five million dollars for a basketball player. He better play defense, he better be in shape, he better be healthy. He said, they're not paying that to Luca. He goes and that was his whole theory. He goes the pressure on Nico. Some of it was like, okay, seventy five million, he's missed the last two camps. So whether you liked it or not, I did think it was worthy of discussion. They just didn't get enough out of it. Three firsts Ad, Austin
Reeves and another. It's like, okay, now we can sleep on it. But here's what's funny, Jason timpf. Essentially, instead of three hundred million, you get the best domestic prospect maybe in ten years.
Since Ad I mean Zion.
Since A is it not? Did the basketball gods not grant them the greatest gift ever?
You know, I'm not mister the NBA is rigged. I'm not that guy. But if you were that guy, this would be the day to make the case. Because, in addition to the Dallas piece, which we'll get to in just a second, I think that the league has now just tied up San Antonio for the easiest Yannis trade that you could possibly imagine, and we can get into
that in a second. But the the Dallas front is super fascinating because Cooper Flag in many ways is everything that Luca isn't in the sense that he's got this like incredible work ethic, proven, like details oriented, freakish competitor, but what he doesn't have is like just whatever you want to call that magic quality Luca has, which just brings that top side offensively that very few players in NBA history have reached by his age, and Cooper Flag has a little bit of that sort of weakness in
the sense that he doesn't have a singular point of his game that you can point to where it's like, oh, he is like an A plus plus plus athlete, or he is an A plus plus plus shooter or anything like that. But he's just so versatile down the line that he brings an element that Luka Doncic didn't bring. He's such a natural fit next to Anthony Davis, which I really like. There's some big picture questions with Dallas's roster now with PJ Washington, like how does he fit
into this mix? I think, on one hand, I'm just so thrilled that Cooper didn't go to a team that was trying to be bad. I think that that's one of the nice kind of upsides of this is that it prevents that sort of mediocrity being rewarded. And then on the Yanna's front with with San Antonio, what I find super fascinating is there are these three teams that are obviously teed up to be able to go get Yanis,
and that's Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Houston. And Janis going to Oklahoma City would be no fun, Like, that's no fun. They're just gonna kill everybody like that, That's literally no fun. And then Houston, it's kind of an interesting fit. But Houston is like athletic and can't shoot, so they seem to make the perfect sense for a KD team, you know what I mean? Right, And so like ideally Yanni's going to San Antonio makes the most sense.
They have the clear pieces to be able to offer in terms of like they can give Milwaukee both picks and like a really intriguing young prospect like Stefan Castle and a specific pick in this upcoming draft, the number two overall pick where they could hope to get a super high level guard to help in the future. And so with that being the case, like, I think this has broken out just about perfectly for what the league would probably like to see.
Yeah, I mean I think Also, I don't think i'd mess. The only thing I thought I thought if San Antonio won the lottery was Stefan Castle, Wemby and Cooper Flag. I thought Oklahoma City would be like, okay, right, we're gonna move home Groun and seven Picks and lou Dort for Giannis, Like I'm sorry, but this is going to be a freight train for eight years in San Antonio. So I was saying, if you're Oklahoma City, you were rooting against San Antonio. They may not be you next year.
But that was scary. I wouldn't have minded Philadelphia winning, but I feel like it would have been almost unfair because they've really I mean, let's be honest, they held on to m BED too long. They blamed everybody except MBD for all their problems. It's like, that's not fair. But I also think as a sportscaster, when I look at this move for Dallas, is that I said this to a friend the other day, I said, you know, the best trade partner for Dallas. They need to play initiator.
They need Austin Reeves and the Lakers need size, and Dallas has a really deep front line. I said, they're not gonna make that move. Now I think to myself, well, you know, I think what Dallas needs is somebody like Cooper Flag, who let's just say he's Jason Tatum. I still think. I don't think Kyrie is gonna play next year, not until at least the trading deadline. So it's Dallas has some extra size to play with. But good god,
look at this, Jason. The West is already better. Dallas now gets Cooper Flag, san Antonio gets the second best players, the Rutgers kid everybody loves. I mean, I keep looking at this thing. I was talking to Rachel Nichols today. The West is just going to get better, and yannest Milwaukee's not trading him in the East, They're trading him West.
I mean, it's that's that's what I said about Milwaukee today and the honest trait take out Boston if you go and get a chet Home Grin and multiple picks, or go to Houston and get Sheng Goon Jalen Green six Picks and Jabari Smith. I'm throwing names out. Outside of Boston, You're not that far away from being the number two team in the East. In the West, you could not give up a Yanis. It would be decimating Portland. You know, they move off Dame. They have all this talent.
It's they're irrelevant. If you had to guess Janis, who's the best fit. And I agree with you, Houston needs a shooter. Yannis probably isn't the perfect fit.
Yeah. The thing that would be really nice with Yannis as a frontline partner with Victor wembin Yama is their games compliment each other on a bunch of specific levels. So, for instance, Victor Wembinyama is blossoming as this like three point centric center and he very clearly likes to take that shot. It's something he hunts when he's out there.
So there's kind of like a spacing dynamic to where you don't want to have two centers basically playing with each other that both want to work right by the basket, and so there's kind of a natural fit there. But the second piece of it is Wemby has some vulnerability to size and strength and Yannis does not, and so anchoring anchoring Wemby with a six' eleven forward that is one of the most physically dominant forwards of his. Era
is kind of a perfig natural fit. There and, yeah they already have with the Darn fox piece the ball handling, piece so you can actually see this like this like rim protection. Center giannis has always played better next to a center when they when The bucks used to play him at, center they used to have issues because he's not as good at defending pick and roll as he is is like kind of a traditional help side, defender and So wemby can defend pick and, Roll giannis can
be their low man help side. Defender Daron fox is your point of attack. Guard it just has such a natural fit. There and one of the things that was going to get tricky with San antonio and this is this is where that second pick is super. Interesting you get to the question where you're, like, man are we going to have to give Up Stefan castle And Devin
vessel to make this? Happen this the number two pick is probably going to Be Dylan, harper and he's very interesting guard out Of rutgers that has size and has some athleticism and can and really get to the. Basket Dylan harper gives you another piece to include in a deal like, that to maybe keep a, castle or to maybe keep A Devin. Vasselle Devin vesselle is kind of an off ball shooter, archetype so he might be the
perfect guy to. Keep he's also older and a little bit closer to being ready to contribute in a serious. Context and so it kind of just feels like the stars are aligning in that. Way If I'm, HOUSTON i want to bargain serious For. Giannis BUT kd is just such a nice backup plan for them to go to that just fits so nicely. There And i'm so glad you mentioned The Austin Reeves dallas, piece because that deal
will never happened after what. Happened if The, dallas if the mass do another deal with The, lakers their fans might. Revolt but there's such like an obvious Like Gafford Austin, reeves there maybe such something LIKE i think The lakers would need to get more BECAUSE i Think austin's a
better player Than. Gafford but there is like there's a version of that deal they could put together where they where they get some athleticism, back and it makes some, sense and it's just a question of whether or not that type of partnership would ever work. Out the other group THAT i look, at IF i was The lakers With austin is look At brooklyn and see if they can't get like A Nick claxton or something like that and that type of.
Deal, yeah It's, OH i loved it so much. Tonight it just cracked me. Up Dallas San antonio seventy six
ers get the third choice And. CHARLOTTE i will, say there's there's one THING i do think that really works in the NBA's favor when you see a lot of THESE G league guys Like Jalen, green and you kind of put your arms up in the air as AN nba commissioner and, go, wow a lot of these guys who are, flourishing these young guys went to college or they're, international which their academy systems better than our current kind
of g leaksist. Them and it's not that people will push back on THE G, league but with nil money at the top ten programs now, comparable you, know relative to the Ni elmont or to THE G league. MONEY i do think the domestic. Product the draft is going to become less international at the top and more, domestic or at least it won't look like last. YEAR i mean this year is a great. Example it's very domestic, product and SO i think THAT'S i think that really.
Matters i've said this for. YEARS i understood THE G league pre, nil But i've said this About Jalen. Green he has no defined offensive. Game even if you spend a year in college with a with A Dan hurley or A Bill self or A tom is just a year of hard coaching college campus fundamentals. MATURING i think it really. Matters, also playing In, march playing on, television playing in a big ten OR sec, environment whether it's real, pressure bad, game the students give you the side eye
like that's real pressure for eighteen nineteen year. OLD i Mean Cooper, flag you play At, duke you have fifteen games On NATTY, tv and then you Have. March SO i do think college basketball has been a bit marginalized by the. LEAGUE i got it pre, nil but now IF i was a, DAD i would take a little less and go with a marketing advantage Of, Kansas, Syracuse. Yukon would you? NOT i think you're.
Dead on with, This. Colin there is a thing that happens in THE G league where they prepare you for the pro game in a certain, way in the sense that they'll put you in some nbaesque roles where you're either running tie ball, screens or you're behaving as the role man, screener or you're attacking closeouts on the week, side DIFFERENT nba defensive. Concepts all that's, great but you're not going to capture the, intensity the, stakes the overall just like passion and vibe that you get in college.
Basketball it's the closest thing that you're going to find
that REPLICATES nba playoff. BASKETBALL i also think the coaching, matters like you're just gonna give your kid the best access, to you, know real like, intentional detail oriented, coaching because at that level it makes such a huge difference when you're working with those types of, athletes and LIKE i think to your, point having an il incentivizing kids to stay in the college game in addition to just being great for just basketball, culture because to be, HONEST ncaa
basketball is such a huge part of WHAT i grew up rooting for WHEN i was a. Kid, COLIN i barely watched THE. NBA i watched a lot Of, arizona The university Of arizona basketball WHEN i was like sixteen, seventeen WHEN i was going to play high school. Ball those were the kids we. Idolized we idolized the kids playing at the u OF. A it's just it's part of the. CULTURE i think it just needed, this And i'm so glad THE ncaa was willing to just kind of adapt into this era because we needed this for
this sport to. SURVIVE i think it's better for the basketball players in our.
Country, yeah And i've said, THIS i understand THE nba sting with regular season ratings because regular season playoff basketball is about veteran teams and recognizable, players so the numbers go, up plus the intensity regular, season there's a lot of guys you don't. Know there's a lot of bad, teams and those are international players you didn't, watch OR G
league guys you didn't. Watch And i've said. This you, Know i'm On thompson as OBVIOUSLY G league and a great, player but you Watch Jalen green and you're, like, man he could have used. College he could have really used. College he feels Lost Jonathan. MINGA i, mean we're on what, year year, Four i'm still trying to quite figure out what he. Is he can't play with the. VETERANS i Mean San Antonio Golden state's culture is. Classic every young guy,
Struggles every young guy. Struggles it could Be, wiseman it can be Cominga Jordan poole wore out veteran. Players SO i AND i love college, basketball AND i was always MORE nba than college because for a lot of, REASONS i grew up With Bill walton and The blazers and The sonics when they won championships in the. Seventies i'm showing my, age BUT i will say though Those Christian Latner duke, teams The fab five, teams the Five Slama, jama it is impossible to describe to a twenty year
old what college basketball was like thirty five years. Ago you would literally you could pick Up street And smith and you could name the, first, second and third Team All americans off the top of your head because it Was duncan's coming back and. EWING i can remember going
In Las. Vegas there's a grocery store chain Called, smith's and this is like twenty years, ago AND i got this BECAUSE i always get a street In smith like before the college basketball, season AND i looked on the cover they had The All american team and it was four High. SCORORERS i was, like, OKAY i Can't i'm, SORRY i can't do. It SO i just, THOUGHT i Just, god this is. Fun how about The Dallas. Mavericks at
the end of the. Season there's only one team that can call THEMSELVES nba, champs only one player that can call themselves the number one pick in THE nfl. Draft, well there's only one one electric suv worthy of the
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