Episode 64: Bucks/Suns Game 2 And The Brooklyn Nets Hit Piece

I thought it was kind of predictable as well. But yeah, it's fun series and it's cool to kind of dive back, dive back into the basketball of it. Yeah, you know, I've had a really good read on this series. Um. You know, for the record, we're all anybody who makes predictions is wrong a lot of the time, and I personally am wrong a lot of the time. This, however, so far through two games, has been a series that I've really had a good read on between the two

teams and just the way the matchups work. Um, I've made a good amount of money on this series so far. I bet Phoenix in Game one and then I bet the Bucks first quarter yesterday and then I bet I rolled all of that into the Suns to win the game, and uh and and did well on that. I just have a good feel for this Phoenix Suns team, obviously just as a Lakers fan, having watched them so closely

in that previous series. And I just really believe in their defense, and I really believe in their offensive system and the way that it works. And I think they're one of the best jump shooting teams that I've seen in terms of like a high end, elite physical defense that can also shoot the ball. And I I just am so incredibly impressed by them. Um, I think Milwaukee's gonna win Game three, but I think that's the only game they're gonna win. Uh, just zooming out after two games?

Has this gone kind of the way you thought it would go? And did you expect more from Milwaukee? Where are you at kind of macro at this point? YEA thought this is kind of how it would go. I thought Bud would kind of punch second, and I thought, like, I don't know if you would agree. It felt like in that first quarter they were super aggressive. Um, they had like a game plan like we're gonna stay off

a Jay Crowder, We're gonna stay at mckel bridges. And then those dudes hit four threes and like the first five minutes and all that kind of went to hell. They went right back to let letting Brook Lopez switch on a Chris Paul you know, putting that like super deep drop coverage on them. And to me, like this series still kind of boils down to like Drew Holiday and Chris Milton. Drew Holiday especially has to be better, especially as a shotmaker. Again, he just could not make

a shot last night. I thought he impacted his aggressiveness and I guess like going home should help them, right, But guys like and I think Bucks fans have talked about it, Middleton's like home and road kind of splits are pretty bad for a player of his caliber. Through Holiday, I guess just shoot better, But I don't like the shots that I get, Like I feel like Phoenix's rotations

are so good. You talked about their defense, like the honest drives they help on that they help on the guy cutting and all of a sudden again I talked about I don't like the green light that Pat Connachon and Bred Forbes have so like the ball gets swing to them and it's like a contested three and they fling it and that's their offense for a lot of the night. So I feel like the but the Suns

are pretty much in control of this series. I know most teams like, you do your job when you win your first two home games, right, but yeah, it just feels like I mean, I think the Bucks will win Game three as well, um, but just feel like the Suns know what they're doing. They know exactly like how to defend this team and how to get the shots they want. Man, Chris Pond Devin Book are a way too comfortable for me. Chris Paul shot ten for twenty.

I think last night, like that's that's too efficient for him, Like he's he can't be this comfortable in my opinion, and they need to switch things up. Yeah, I agree. You know it's funny, I had, uh. You know, when you're young and you're watching NBA games or any any sporting event for that matter, you lack perspective and you start to like I remember when I was a teenager and I would watch one of my favorite teams play

and they'd lose. I get like almost emotional. In a regular season game, I'd be like, I can't believe they lost to the Mavericks on a Tuesday or whatever it is, you know, because you lack perspective. And then the more basketball you watch over your lifetime, you start to kind of get a feel for the flow of a season,

in the flow of a playoff series. Well, you know, I, I really I like, I've I've seen a lot of playoff series in my career in my time watching basketball, and and the way it tends to go is, you know, the better team wins game one, and then the lesser team comes out guns blazing in Game two, and sometimes it's enough for them to steal one, and sometimes it's not.

And you know I And it was interesting because you also get to feel get the feel for the adjustments, right, Like, you know, Trey Young completely lights the Bucks on fire in game one. It was super predictable that Trey Young would have a rough game too, because the Bucks adjustments would be geared towards slowing down Trey. Well, that's pretty

much what happened again last night. They the Bucks over helped on Booker and Paul in their isolations and in their picking rolls and left a bunch of guys open on the backside, i'd i'd i'd a buddy of mind calling me before the game, who's not a huge NBA fan, but a lot of Arizonans are getting into the Suns now just because that's the goal when a when a

team becomes relevant again. And he's like, what's your feel on tonight's game, And I'm like, I think the I think the Bucks are gonna throw the kitchen sink at Chris Paul and Devin Booker and it's gonna be about

whether or not guys can make shots on the back end. Well, they made eight threes in the first quartering, so like that's exactly That's exactly what happened, and and you know, and and over the course of the series, the Bucks will continue to make adjustments like they went to Janice at the five a whole lot in that game, which, as you and I have discussed, is basically that like that's there, that's their nuclear option, and they're all already

in the first half of Game two. They had to go to their nuclear option, you know what I mean. But again, to get back to your original point, like, I'm so impressed by the Suns and they remind me so much of the two thousand fifteen Warriors in the sense that they're a team that is almost becoming underrated because of the fact that they're having, you know, uh, such such good luck along the way that the people are forgetting the fact that they're actually extremely talented up

and down the roster. Michael Bridges, everyone says like Brandon Ingram looks like Kevin Durant. To meet, Michal Bridges looks like Kevin Durant in the way that he can kind of float into the lane and takes that super high release point. Obviously he's not Kevin Durant. I'm just saying, like some of that facts simile that you see in him. He's he's what their fourth best player, and he's unbelievably talented.

Like the Sun's team, it feels like one of those teams that is gonna win the title and everyone's gonna underrate them because they got lucky, and then they're going to continue to just kick everyone's ass next year. That's

kind of the way it feels like to me. Yeah, and I've been tweeting four years hundred for Bridges, like every single game because I just feel like that's where he's gonna get You don't get three and D wings like that that can attack close outs, know how to cut hits threes, like he catches on in transition three. He has a weird shot right, it's kind of like pulls it up from the left side, kind of Lonzo ball like, but like he hits some percent. He's just

a really great player. Watching these two teams, I don't know what you think, Jason, but it feels like one team is like trying to shape shift on the fly, Like the Bucks are like trying to figure out who they are, and while the Sun's just know exactly who they are. There's no like I know, I know, Um, Darius Harch went out and people are saying it was gonna be a bunch of Kaminsky minutes. Um, I never thought that was really gonna happen. I think they really

went with like Tory Craig at the five. Um, they're comfortable playing small against the Bucks because only really post presence is Broo Lopez and then you have like Bobby Portis on the bench who also didn't really play that well. But yeah, I feel like the Suns know exactly who they are man, and you know those like their actions are run and so Crisps like eighton comes and says the screen for Chris Paul. Devin Booker does that little back screen Spain action and like that's tough to defend.

And then Cam Johnson comes in, knows exactly where his shots come from. He comes in, I think it's two and three three two to three three's. Um, they just know what they're doing. Like it. It's fun to watch it. It reminds me a little bit of the Lakers last year, like who got a healthy roster, knew exactly who they were, Um, and it's fun to watch them. Yeah. I like the comp of the Warriors as well. Um, just too high level shot creators, just too comfortable in my opinion, and

they know what they're doing. Devin Booker Like, I remember Mike Green kept saying tough shot, tough shot. I'm like, these are shots he's going to. This is what he wants. Like Mike Green's like he does a little jap stick on Brook Lopez fadeaway switch and Mike Green's like, oh, that's a tough shot. I'm like it is technically, but that's what he's going to. It's fun to watch them. Um and Monty Man it is so good, and I don't I don't think you could go down too out

to this team, Like I think they're too good. They're they're too well coached. So I don't know, what do you think the Bucks can do kind of in in game three and four? Where where's your adjusting me here? I guess other than just drew holiday shoe better, which is kind of a simplification. So for starters, you uh, like you have often you and I both have often talked about how you can't trick off playoff games. Well, the operate the opportunity to steal a game in Phoenix

was game one. I thought, just because there is you can kind of catch them off guard in that regard. But here's the problem. So if you're the Bucks, you're like, Okay, we lost game one, We're gonna go forward in game two. And game one, by the way they tricked off with their coverages, they let Chris Paul and Devin Booker be way too comfortable throughout the game, which any average Joe off the street would have said that was a bad idea. But and they made the exact same mistake last series

against Atlanta. But the thing that was interesting is like Okay, so you come out in game two, you're the more aggressive team. You're guarding Chris Paul and Devin book are much better, but you get burned by a really hot shooting night. You know that that almost happened to the Lakers in their Son's series because campaign went absolutely absurd

absurdly hot in game two. When you trick off a game, you open up the door to falling even further behind because of something like an outlier shooting performance, which nearly happened. Now a couple of things. You know, you and I were on this as well. We talked about how Janice was going to start having these clear out post ups where they make it so that when he spins back they can't have help on his backside because there's the

entire side of the floor is clear. Well, if there's one silver lining, it's they figured out how to get Jhannice going. You know, it kind of reminded it reminded me of that Anthony Davis game against the Suns in the regular season. You know, Janice is a matchup that the Sun's just can't mess with, like they you know, throughout the game, I kept I was watching the game with my father in law, and I kept looking over at him. I'm like, they cannot touch this guy. They

literally can't touch this guy. Like they can't keep him off the glass, they can't keep him keep him from getting to any spot. He was making his mid range jump shot consistently. It was just an all time physical dominant performance. So if you can get anything at home out of Middleton and Holiday and Janice continues to have the matchup advantages he's having, you're probably gonna be in a position where you can win. I thought they defended

actually pretty well overall. The tricky thing for them was when they went to Janice at the five. They tried to get Janice involved in screening actions away from the basket so that he gets switched onto a wing or a guard, and then DeAndre eight and killed them on the offensive glass. And so that's gonna be something they'll have to counter adjust. And you can do stuff like you know, uh, switching before the screen comes. You know, it's like a it's like a preventative switch to try

to make sure that Janna stays underneath the basket. There are a lot of things that they can do to try to keep that from happening. But at the end of the day, Janice at the five was their best lineup. They were positive with your Honie on the floor yesterday. There there's some stuff to cling to their ride, the home court energy, you'll have the the you'll have the motivational advantage. I think game three is a great opportunity for him, the walk, you to kind of get on

the board. Yeah, And I think Janice was amazing last night, Like he was really great, got to the ram um, really scored, was aggressive. Um. I think he hit I'm not sure how many of his free throws he get. Um, he was eleven for eighteen at the line. I mean, I think they'll take that. But those one legged kind of fade away jumpers, Like I think the Sun's win in that, Like just in that scenario, like if the Honest goes to that, I thought he took like some

pull up threas in transition. Um, it just feel like everything is like I don't know, it looks like that's tiring for him to just continue to attack Aiden's chest every time, Like that must wear on him. What do you think that wears on him? Kind of like is that fine for him to to for his offense to be that pretty much because I feel like they're gonna

live with those one leg fadeaways. UM, They're gonna help a lot more off of p J. Tucker, I think as we go even more into this series, UM trying to bring Jake Crowder down to trap even earlier I saw like eight and kind of talking about that UM while they were while they were playing. But I don't know, I just feel like that's a tough thing to just your offense, be honest, kind of trying to run through Eating because I feel like they're living with that UM.

Eating is fine, just standing there being vertical waiting for him at the rim. They're going under all these screens, They're going to live with any jump shot he takes UM and kind of live with his numbers at the

line as well. So I'm just wondering, do you think that that's something that wears on him, like him like trying to just go through Rating's chest every time they try to score, because that feels like what their offense is there is an eye so for you honest on the left block and daring them to help UM and and just having him trying to go through eight instead

of around him as he can most players. Yeah, I mean it's so easy for guys like us on the couch to be like, oh, go to the basket, go to the basket, go to the bat restaurants, get better shots. It's something that has always driven me nuts. Watching Lebron in his career is just people saying like, well, why

doesn't he go to the basket every time? It's a fatigue and Janice has a lot on his plate, Like Janice was un freaking believable defensively last night, in credible like just just one of the honest honestly, one of the better the Finals performances I've ever seen from a wing like that. And you know, at the end of the day when he takes those little fadeaways and one like they of ways and stuff. I don't like the one legged ones as much as his like more traditional turnarounds.

His more traditional turnarounds, he seems to make it a higher clip. But at the end of the day, those are fatigue shots. That's that's textbook like, if I get to this shot, it's gonna save my legs type of deal. Um, I'm with you. That like when he physically dominates eight and it's more of a of a fatiguing play that he can't go to as often over the course of

the game. But you know what's funny is he's got you know, he's got actually pretty good at those that specific little turnaround from ten feet and then he had quite a few. He had quite a few of these, like kind of big sweeping hooks through the lane. Uh. He had a few of them in the second half where like he kind of gets the defender on his left shoulder and just takes a power dribble into the semicircle and then just kind of elevates over the top with like a one handed hook. It's kind of a

shot that Anthony Davis. It's an Anthony Davis type of shot that he uses all the time. But that's one of those ones too that kind of saves your legs but is less intense on the uh, it's less intense on the on the fatigue side of things. And and you know, and it's easier for him to knock down. It's not a shot that's gonna gonna be overly difficult

for him. But at the end of the day, like, you know, how are you going to continue to run it through Drew Holiday and continue to run it through Chris Middleton when they're not making anything, Like you have to run the offense through na if he's the only guy who can generated quality shot. So I don't know what you do. I think you just hope that at home, those guys get it going. Yeah, And I thought, like we talked about it in the after game one honest.

I mean, Chris Midleton got the same exact shots that he usually gets. Um, he just missed his open looks. Same with Drew Holiday. Um. Those those guys get the same looks every night. Right. Chris Milton is a little mid range jumper right right after coming off pick and roll, that's his shot he just missed. Um, But he doesn't get to the rim, doesn't get to the line, doesn't play make so when he's missing shots, like, he's not impacting the game, and it's just really tough to win

that way, man. And I think he'll shoot better at home, like I think Chris Milton Drew Holiday will shoot better at home. Um. But I don't know where the kind of bucks go from here other than like their small ball lineup actually got killed last night. I was looking at the minutes here, they were like a minus thirteen in their minutes. Their starting lineup actually did play well. UM. But again, like we talked about, I think those brook Lopez minutes just you just can't play him as much.

Like I wonder if Bud goes to that. UM. But I thought someone made a really good point on on the timeline. I forgot who, but they were saying, like they need brook Lopez is scoring, but they can't like defend with him on the floor. So that's kind of

the conundrum with brook Lopez. Um, would you just start your honest at the five in Game three or d still because I think the brook Lopez lineups actually played well, Um, I still think they're kind of fools gold though, I think Chris Paul and Devin Booker are too comfortable with him on the floor. But I don't know, just Bud start your honest at the five and just say we'll

just go full small ball here. I think he'd be willing to go to that option later in the series, like late late in the series, like a Game six or Game seven. But Coach bed strikes me as the guy who would never in a million years take brook Lopez out out of the way at this early. Um, you know, something you mentioned, you know, you're talking about, you know, Chris Middleton getting to his spots and Drew

Holiday getting to his spots. To be honest, like it kind of feels to me like the Phoenix defenders are sitting on Middleton's jump shot like they're they're they're kind of like favoring with their defensive positioning to lean forward into him rather than leaning backwards being prepared for the drive. And I, honest to god, don't like part of the reason why Middleton and Drew Holiday aren't playing well in my opinion is I don't think they're getting super high

quality shots. I don't think they are. And this is something that I mentioned in the in the pot on Wednesday, is like I don't know how much of a factor Drew Holiday is gonna be in this series when he's not a great three point shooter, not a great mid range score, and not a great at the basket score, who's getting lower quality shots than he has all season, Like like he's the guy who's gonna probably get a

go in Game three? Is Middleton just because he's he's he's got the height, and he's got the the the quick release and all. And you know, the Sun's defense is probably gonna take a step back in Game three, just from a motivational standpoint. So I think Middleton is the one who will get it going. But I don't know, dude. I mean like everyone, you know, Jackson Frank the you know, I think he covers the Sixers, but he's been covering. He tweeted this out out last last night and he's

percent correct. He's like, you can talk about coach Bud, you can talk about scheming, you can talk about all these things, but the real problem here is that the second and third best players on the Bucks are underqualified for what you're asking them to do. Uh. You know, it's a different era of NBA basketball when you're looking at the top of the league. All of the best teams in the league have extremely talented one, twos and three's on their roster, and look no further than than Phoenix.

And the fact that what you're getting out of Devin Booker as the second best Phoenix Sun or first best or Chris Paul whenever you want to consider the set the number two in their lineup is significantly better than what you're getting out of the number two. And from Milwaukee and then what you're getting down the roster from Eton and Michael Bridges and from Campaign, what you're getting from those guys is higher talent, higher level shot higher

level shot making, higher defensive intensity. You're getting more out of them. This is a talent issue and as a result, you you can have a superhuman Janice game like you did last night, and it could not be enough to win the game. Yeah, I feel like that kind of I don't know that that kind of gets Drew and Milton off the hook too easily in my opinion, Like, like Janice is having superhuman games like that should be

your your level of advantage, right. The people who picked the Bucks would saying they have the clear best player, not just the best player, the clear best player in the series. They have the two time at m VP, defense player, or whatever accolades you want to put next to honest name. He has a full list of them you can put there, Like, he should be the best, he should be the best player in the series, and I think he played like it last night. Chris Paul

is what thirty five. I mean, he's playing ridiculously well, but still honest. I mean, Chris, Milton and Drew are asked to be like Dwayne Aid or Kobe. They're just asked to be themselves in a little bit more of like a consistent way. I think Chris Milton could easily be a little bit more efficient. He's just not playing well, and I feel like that just gets him off the hook.

I saw that tweet as well from Jackson. Um. I think he also followed it up by saying like the Lakers and other people also didn't have enough help or something like that, Like and then Bucks fans, I'm I agree with them. They're not asking Milton and Drew to be these crazy shot creators and I as seking them to be Devin Booker. They're asking them to hit open shots and asking them to do what their have to be. They have to be better themselves, and I think they

I think that lets them off the hook too easily. Um. We we we always talk about Bud and you know both of us have our issues with Bud and all that. But again, like this is on the players as well. I think Milton has to be better. We talked about it too. Now every shot is the same. I don't know how much mckel bridges back pressure impact Chris Milton. I don't know, like what what's going through him, but he has to be better. I feel like the no help thing is is too easy to just throw out there.

It's too easy of a calm. This is a good Bucks team. I know they're missing to Devencendo, but this is a team that's won a bunch of games the last three years. These these dudes are playoff experience more than the other side. This is Devin Booker's first playoffs campaigns, first playoffs. Deondre etan like this. This is no excuse to me to to say like they don't have enough now because you're here. This is a Sun's team that was nowhere expected to be here, Like you should have

the talents at least not yet destroyed in the series. Uh, which is what it's looking like it's going to be. Yeah, if your honest plays that well, it needs to be a closer game. Do you do you agree with my assessment that that Middleton doesn't even attempt to get to the basket. Oh yeah, Like I think he really kind of him and Drew I think you talked about as well, they try to get going with their jump shot. I thought Drew was super aggressive early and he took like

four jumpers right away. Um Middleton as well. Um they I don't know, maybe they think they're not getting the call, but yeah, he just does not get to the rim, does not get to the line. That's just the kind of player he is. He gets going through his like mid range jumper and then kind of works out there. So I agree with you that they have to kind of attack more. But I mean it's kind of packed

in the paint too. They're not really guarding p J. Tucker Eightan's waiting there with uh with the honest, waiting for your honest at the rim. It's just I don't know where these like paint space comes from other than going with the honest at the five. I guess, um to kind of get him going. Maybe they that's what they do. Maybe they go honest at the five to get Milton going, get him a little bit more space. Um, it just feel it's like it just feels like the

paint is kind of packed. I think the Bucks were like up four for fifteen or something from three uh for a while in that game last night. Um, they couldn't hit their shots either. So I agree with you him and true they don't They don't get to the rim as much as I think they can. They're they're talented enough. These are these aren't All star, multi time All Star players. I'm not sure it's Drew it's multi All Star, but Chris Milton is an All Star as well.

I just don't like the the no help thing that's happening already, um with the bucks down to oh yeah, you know. It's interesting because, uh, this is something that Zach Low talked about on his podcast after Game one, and basically the idea that when you be honest, is a nonshooter. So if you play Janice alongside another player in the lineup that you don't necessarily have to guard closely, in this case a p J. Tucker, you put yourself

in the position where the entire spacing is murdered. It's something that the Lakers dealt with in their first round series as well. And and so I think the best option there is to put Janice at the five and try to make sure that you're you have enough shooting around. Because the other thing, too is you notice p J. Tucker he crashes the boards when they're when the team isn't guarding him. Well, I think he got maybe a couple.

I have to look at the box score, but he wouldn't getting getting a ton of offensive rebounds, and then there was one that he got and then he just threw up a crazy hook shot and missed the heck out of it. Like PJ is just not really helping you right now, so you almost have to opt for more shooting. You know. The thing with Middleton, It's fascinating to me because, like you know, you you look at tendencies, like I remember when I went to when I was

playing at Arizona Christian University. Yeah, I was a more more of an offensive weapon the previous year in June your college. When I went to Arizona Christian, I was playing with two All American guards, so they kind of turned me into like a Trevor Reads a type of due to guard the other team's best player, and we use synergy, which is, you know, basically every single clip

of every single game that these guys would play. So they would just send me the synergy clips from the guy that I had to guard, and I would watch his counters and like, what, okay, does he he drives right?

This percentage of the time he drives left, this percentage of the time when he drives right, you know x percentage of his possessions and at the rim x percentage of those possessions and in a turnaround this way, it feels to me that when Chris Middleton makes a dribble move to the right and he gets separation, that his initial instinct is to immediately turn his back and turn it into a post up. Like even when he gets separation on a drive, he's using it to get post position,

not to get all the way to the rim. Whereas you watch like Paul George, Paul George does a really good job if as soon as he gets that separation he almost goes into a gather and does like that James Hard thing where he sticks his arms out and tries to get all the way to the rim and

draw foul or finish at the rim. Well, literally, Chris Middleton is missing that entire side of his game, and as a result, he's in a position where Phoenix is sitting up on the jump shot and they're fine with him getting to the post and go into these turnaround

jumpers because of how big Milwaukee's wings are. These he's just not getting fantastic looks and it's it's so it's it's it's hard for him to get going the way he did against Atlanta, you know, when when he could get better matchups, and so that that's one of uh, you know, that's one of the advantages they have to figure out how to gain, is how to get Chris Middleton in a situation where he's getting higher quality shots. I I don't know how much you can continue to

run through Drew Holiday. He just seems like he seems like he's underqualified for what they're asking him to do at this point. Middleton, I think is the one they've got to figure out. Yeah, And I think Middleton's bag is a little deeper than he decides to go into. Like he has that floater that he gets to and I feel like that's a high percent of shots for him when he comes off the screen, it's a little

floater in the lane, like he can go to that. Um. He's just a more like developed score than should be relying on just his jump shot to get going, in my opinion, and they need him to be the number two score. There's just not enough scoring, um, not enough shot creation, and Withdrew Holiday struggling as he is, Drew Holliday is gonna play better in my opinion, Like he's not gonna play this bad. You know, I think Chris, Milton and Drew were like four tonight, um at half

or something like that. Yeah, he just can't. You just can't survive with with that kind of scoring. So but I think you're right with Milton. He can get going a little bit more. Again, I think like it's just too it's just giving them off the hook saying the talent with the talent disparage e. Um, he can get to the line, he can get floaters. Um, he's pretty well sized, not like he's a small dude. Um, So he can get his shot off anytime. It just feels

like sometimes it's rushed. Um, and he loses confidence in it. Um. He's a guy that like gets going in games. He takes a while. I think you were talking about it. He kind of takes a while to get going. Um. So we'll see if he gets going in Milwaukee. But uh, but they're gonna need a Uh. I don't see the bus going down. Oh three though, do you like? I think I think Game three, Yeah, they'll definitely won Game three and try to try to prolong the series. But

those guys have to be better. They can't be outplayed by like Campaign and all those dudes, like they just cant they that they have to be better, And I think it's okay to like recognize that as well. Milwaukee is a four point favorite in game three. Can you believe that? Yeah? That feels like too much to me.

I expected it to be around to pick them, which is wild because to give you to give you an idea of Phoenix was a four and a half point favorite in game two, So they're basically saying yeah, So they're basically saying that that that Milwaukee at home is every bit as good as Phoenix is at home in this series, which is pretty crazy. Um. One last thing on Phoenix before we Um, A'm still there? Yeah you do? Okay? Cool? Uh? One last thing on Phoenix before we before we move on.

I want to pay Chris Paul a compliment because, Uh, this kind of reminds me of a lebron last year in the sense that you can tell Chris Paul smells blood. You know, when you're there's this like scar tissue that builds up from losing, uh, and it exists at every level, like even even within you know, just average Joe's playing at your l a fitness. When you get sick and

tired of losing, a scar tissue builds up. And that's why in your average men's league at your city, the older team, as long as they have enough talent, the older team is extremely difficult to beat because they do all of these little things well. They box out extremely well, they help defense so extremely well, they all the extra effort plays because they've lost so many basketball games in

their lifetime that they have that scar tissue. Well, you can tell that Chris paul is just made up of just tons of scar tissue from every single failure in his career. And he smells blood in the water, and and he's just just taking control all of these games in a way that that is extremely impressive to me.

And you know, there, I've seen lots of comps. It reminds me of Dirk in two thousand eleven a little bit um that, like I said, Lebron last year, in a lot of ways, he's very like he's not the best player on the floor Janice is, But I you could argue that Chris paul Is is every bit as impactful in his ability when the game reaches like, okay, eight point game here in the fourth quarter, Janice is going crazy, But Chris Paul is just gonna make a play.

He's gonna make a play here, he's gonna make a play there, and he's gonna and he's gonna put it away. And and I just you know, everyone has always asked every one of us, like who you who you're rooting for? You know who you're rooting for, and you know, I would say that I was probably rooting a little bit from Milwaukee, which is crazy because I'm from Arizona, but because I find Chris Paul to be a little unlikable.

He's kind of a dirty player. He's he's heavy on the heavy on the extra stuff, you know how verb begrudgingly, I'm I'm he deserves to be a champion and and he's playing like it, and he deserves to get finals MVP if they win at this point, and I will, I will, I will be able to handle the fact that he's a champion because I'm gonna feel like he

deserves it, if that makes sense. No, absolutely, I didn't get to watch this game fully live, so I rewatched at like two in the morning, and even my notes here. I think I wrote like Chris Small, Chris Paul smells blood, because absolutely it showed in that fourth quarter. I think he was just he knew exactly what was doing. You could tell, like it's fun watching a player like him, Like he's not holding anything back anymore. So you could tell like he's in full like go time. There's no like,

hey there's another season. The season's not ending, like I gotta kind of know. It's like I'm getting to this spot, I'm raising up, I'm hitting this mid range pull up. He was in full control. I thought every time the Bucks made a run, he hit the biggest shot um eating got like offensive rebound kicked out. He had like a big time three. It's just cool to watch him. Like I started really watching hoops in like oh eight, and then in OH nine, I wanted to go to

my first game. First Laker game I went to was Hornets Lakers oh nine in Staples. This is the team that wins the title that year, that Laker team they were won the first top Chris Paul and the Hornets come in. Man, watching Chris Paul in person is just a totally different experience. You see all the little ship

he does when it's not super great. It was that like David West, Tyson Chandler, like people think of Chris Paul is just traditional point guard, but he kind of started that like double screen where the big roles and one big pops, you know what I mean. And like David westtrop forty five, that's night, Chris Paul had thirty five and fifteen some crazy number and they beat the Lakers.

I remember just watching him and he was the most annoying player to watch, but he was so good in the crowd understood that it was cool to watch him. And now it's like twelve years later or whatever, thirteen, but yeah, it's cool watching him. I always thought like he was one of the best point cards ever and it's he looks like he's gonna get his due here. But yeah, definitely smells bud, not just blood. He smells the whole damn shark right there. Like he he knows

he smells everything in the water right now. So he's ready to go, and you could tell he's just he's putting everything out there, and uh, I think he's the finals MVP. Through these first two games, it looks like and uh, I feel like he's gonna win it. So it's cool to watch him kind of a kind of go after this. Now, Yeah, I agree, And and like I said, not not rooting for him necessarily because there

are some there's Chris Paul is just a lot. He's just he's like I like, he drew an offensive foul on Jhannice last night in the in that transition play, and everyone's like, oh, it was a good call. Yeah, it's a good call, but screw that guy and that like that's literally yeah, and like damn near damn you're injuring Yournice on that play, and like it's just one of those things where like but at the same time, like I sympathize with it because you know, you know,

I'm lucky. I'm I'm six six and I have the six ten wingspan, I wait, two thirty pounds, Like guys usually bounce off of me when I when I go running into him. Chris Paul is a little guy. Like for his entire career, he's had to fight and scratch and claw for every little advantage that he's had. Every you know, from from the day that he was in high school, you know, playing against the local prospects that are you know, giant wings and bigs and stuff like that.

He's had to be the guy that's elbowing them in the thigh and pulling on their jersey and you know, like and screwing with them and stuff, because that's how he gained advantages. And so I understand why he's wired the way that he's wired. Doesn't mean I have to like it, though, Like I have a problem with you trying to yank Lebron's shoulder out of its socket or or trip who was it Kyle Kuzma that one time, Like I have a problem with that kind of stuff.

But at the end of the day, I get it, Like I I sympathize with the plight of the little man if that makes sense, No, for sure, And I don't think he's like malicious in his intent. It's just like he's so in the game and he's like so like we need to win, you know, like that. I think the biggest personification was like I don't forget what came. It was like someone had their shirt tucked in or or not tucked in, and like he's like, hey, that guy's shirts not tucked in. Ref gave him a tech

and they won the game. With that, Like, that's so Chris Paul like just getting every advantage you can and uh like yeah, sometimes sometimes exactly, and it's over the lines sometimes, Like it gets annoying. It's not Patrick Beverley level to me, Like I feel like that's an even that's an even more extension of what what Chris Paul tries to do. But uh, yeah, like he just tries to get any advantage man, And uh it's annoying, you hate it, but when he's on your team, you kind

of root for it. So it's that's the Chris Paul experience and he's one of the best point cards ever. So he should get his do with this finals. Yeah, and and last but not least for Game three, Like I think it's I think it's textbook. You got to continue that same amount of pressure that you're putting on Chris Paul and Devin Booker, but you've gotta be better

in your backside rotations. You've got to figure out how to do a better job off of the double team rotating the shooters so that at least the looks that Michael Bridges and Jake Crowder are getting are a little bit more contested. Uh, just so that they're not making eight in the quarter and then and then uh if if your honest is going to be at the five,

you got a gang rebound um. There was a play at the end of the game where DeAndre and got an offensive rebound where Drew Holiday tried to jump with him. He he was he had inside position, tried to jump with him eight and just reached over the top and kicked it to a shooter for a three. That kind of ended up being the dagger on that play. Drew Holiday just needs to get in the squat and back him out of the paint, like just box him out.

You're not You're not gonna out jump DeAndre Atan and then just pray that one of your teammates comes flying in like there's they need to as a team compensate for the fact that they lack size as as a rebounding team, which is something that they can do. They're capable of doing it. They can they can be better at the things that with the same strategy that they had last night, and they can get a win. I genuinely believe they can. I think Game three is the

is the one that they'll get. And that was like the biggest play of the game in my opinion, like that that that was the one where Aidan got the rebound. I think they cut it to seven that point, and then Aidan kicked it out for Chris Paul he at the three, and that was like six minutes left and they went up ten. But yeah, it's funny like going to Game three, I feel like Milwaukee's gonna play well. It feels like a game where Milwaukee is gonna go up like ten in the first quarter and then it's

gonna be like tied at halftime. Everyone's like what happened? And then they win like a close one. That's what it just feels like to me. Um. But yeah, hopefully, I mean, I think they can get some momentum going. Um that crowd. It's always weird with home crowds. You

can kind of feel the nervousness as well. Um in the in the air Milwaukee is a really uh kind of like oh, we're kind of expecting something bad to happen kind of arenas we'll we'll see, but that they should be rocking and I think they'll win win Game three. Game three is the crazy emotional back against the wall crowd's going crazy type the game like, there's just so many examples in NBA history of the team down oh two, coming coming home in Game three and getting one, and

I believe they will. That spread is weird though, I don't like four points. That seems too much to me. But we'll see, we'll see. I'll probably end up betting it anyway. Um, all right, so we're gonna talk about this, uh this podcast. So let me pull up the gentleman's name so I don't completely butcher it, but so his name is Matt Sullivan. So a little bit of backstory, dude from dude from Bleacher Report. Uh. He goes and basically covers behind the scenes the Brooklyn Nets for two

full seasons, basically ever since they signed Kyrie and Kevin Durant. Uh. And then he releases this book and it's basically like a tell all type of deal um and all sorts of negative stuff about Kyrie and negative stuff. There's positive stuff in there too, a lot of stuff about Kyrie irving being super generous and and being very like doing a like giving out out absurd amounts of money to people without telling anybody. And this guy is basically the first guy to to to put some light on it.

He said positive stuff about Kevin Durant and his commitment to the game of basketball and all. So it wasn't all had but there was a lot of let's just call it dirty laundry that was being aired out. And you know, the first thing that I wanted to talk about with it is just like how uncomfortable it makes me that that this kind of stuff exists. Like, I get it that this is part of journalism, is shining a light on stuff that's happening behind the scenes. It's

also not the first time this has happened. We've seen, like I'm reading a book right now called The Jordan Rules, which is basically this exact same type of deal that happened surrounding the Bulls. It was kind of a hit piece of sorts on Michael Jordan and how much of a jerk he was to his teammates and how overbearing

he was and all of those kinds of things. So I get that this is part of it, but this one is even weirder because the Jordan Rules one was this guy was just around the team and he was reporting what he heard. This guy, this Matt Sullivan guy, interviewed everybody, he conducted thousands of interviews, and he kept saying, as as you pointed out when you and I were talking before the show, he kept saying like I I earned their trust right and told them that I was

gonna be reporting all this stuff. But it kind of felt like he was saying stuff that was probably off the record. You know, so exactly how how did you feel just about the whole overall premise of the idea of a dude getting this close to NBA players and then airing out all their dirty laundry. It felt like me the reason why NBA players are very like um like particular with who they let in because of stuff like this. That guess and now I don't know his

relationship with Katie Kyrie. I don't know. I'm not I just listened to that one podcast. I haven't read the book at all. It just felt very strange the way it was put out, kind of like a like he got it's kind of like he was pretending, not pretending, but like you know, like hey, let's be friends, kind of be open and then just he's like, yeah, you can't see the book until it's out. You can't know

what's in it. Um, So it's kind of weird the kind of parameters he created with these with these superstar players who don't need his media to release their information. Keim Durrant has his own media company, Like he can release any kind of story he wants, Like he doesn't need some guy to like write this kind of stuff about him. Um and again, like it's stuff that like

I'm not really surprised at. I feel like the main kind of thing was the like Kim, Katie and Kyrie, I mean, I'm sorry, Katie, Kyrie and James Harden kind of met up in this gym in California and then kind of created a power play to kind of play together, and Katie and Kyrie made roster's decisions, which again, all of that I feel like isn't shocking to me, Like

those are That's the new NBA we're in. These superstars not only picked their team they want to player to play for, They picked the team they pick who's around him. You don't think Lebron has a little influence and who comes on the Lakers. Of course he does, He's Lebron James. Uh, that's just how you don't need Dame like has a saying who comes to the Blazers of course he does. He's Damian Lars, So, like, I don't think too much of that shocking. It was just weirdly said. The the

amount of like, hey, yeah, look at me. I got close to them, like I want, I got close to them, these other beat reporters, all they talk about his exs and os, but I got deep with them, and then you released all this information that probably they don't want out. It's just like again, it probably puts another like another thing in the in their mind about why the Katie, I mean, Kyrie has been public about how he feels

about the media. They already the media, they already do all of them exactly, and I feel like this just perpetuates that. I just I didn't understand the need for it. I mean, I'm sure this book will do numbers. I mean, I'm sure in the summer when we have nothing to do and there's no basketball on, it will kind of grow on people. But I just didn't under It's just

the premise of it didn't feel right to me. It didn't feel like he was authentic with them or us because he kind of played both sides here, and I just it made me feel weird. Even if the the the information seems all true, Like everything he talked about seems factual. Was he the one that got the Steve Kirk quote as well? The the uh yeah I was him too, Okay, Yeah, yeah, he had it all and he corroborated everything with everyone. You're right, like it was

all it was all true. The thing the thing that was weird and I'm sure you picked up on this, and I'm not big on like overly being personally critical of people, but at the same time, like there there was a little bit of an arrogance with that guy. And it was interesting to me because, like you know, there's there's a huge difference between confidence and arrogance. Like anybody who's good in in their specific field is going to have a certain amount of confidence. That's that's to

be expected. But yeah, the the the entire interview was dripping with like that arrogance where it was like all of these other Beat reporters were only asking about xs and ohs, and I was asking them about you know, X, y Z or this and that and this and that, and it was like it was very like I'm it was very like light years esque, like I'm the one doing it the right way and everyone else is screwing up, and it's like, actually, dude, it kind of feels like

you're playing dirty and everyone else is playing clean. And that's kind of the way that it feels to me. And and it was very like he was very quick to just air everything out, Like there was a sequence where like Dan Lebotard was like, tell us something that we might not know about, and then he just came right out and was like no hesitation. Was just like he smoked so much weed, Like it was very weird because for starters, I would imagine the vast majority of

NBA players smoke weed. I personally have absolutely no problem with it, and especially dealing with what they deal with out on the road and dealing with the pain in their bodies, I have absolutely no problem with it. And the and so just being like making it seem like Kevin Durant is like this dude out there is just trouble stoner while everyone else is doing their own thing. That's that's that's bullshit, like like like all of these

guys are doing it. And so it just felt like it felt like he was sitting on it and he just couldn't wait to say it. And everything that like Stugts was giving him crap. At the end of the interview, He's like, I don't need to read the book anymore. You just told me everything, you know, And he kind of did, like that's not how you're supposed to handle book interviews. You're supposed to kind of leave some teasers in there to to get people to read the book.

Like it was, it was such a bizarre interview. It had me completely captivated the whole time, and all I could think was is, like, this guy's kind of a scumbag. But what did you what did you think about the like you know? Uh, like for instance, they he said that Kevin Durant basically had made up his mind he was going to play with Kyrie during the finals like that he was while he was playing in the finals,

he had already made up his mind. Like did you did that just strike you as part for the course? Did you find it unusual? Like where were you at

with all that? Yeah? I think that's such a weird like kind of thing because we actually we don't no, But I mean, Katie and Kyrie are best friends, and that's something that was actually reported if you remember at the All Star Game of I believe that twenty was Africa seen was a year before he went around, and yeah, like him and Kyrie were kind of really together during that weekend, and people have pretty much said, like, oh, yeah,

it's pretty clear those two want to play together. I don't think that was a secret um any means, and maybe they did, like but would never know. I don't know. Uh, he seems like a competitive dude. I don't think he's already like oh um or maybe like maybe he had in his mind that he was going to leave. I think Draymond also talked about this as well, that Katie was already kind of had in his mind that he

was going to leave Golden State. Um. But again, like him and Kyrie are best friends, so you never really really know. Maybe they wanted to play together. I just think that's kind of the new league we're in. This is like players can choose, players can talk, make decisions. My favorite thing was like the James Hardening because that has such ripple effects. Right if them three decided there in the California gym they wanted to play together, Katie

and Kyrie already on the same team. James Harden is the top five level player going to a billion dollar franchise that thinks he's committed to them. In the beginning of the year, he plays two weeks plays like he doesn't want to be there. Has this ship trades it, it changes the whole landscape of the league. That's moren't fascinating to me, um the kind of new lead. These guys understand that they're the main attraction here and they're the main power than the main guys in power, and

that's just how things work now. I think that was interesting. But yeah, that that we part, it was so weird to me because he said it in like a negative connotation. That's the part that and Dan Labatori and Stu Gods are really good at not being the story they're they're really good at They're good I think is one of the best of the people in our business. Like so that he never asked too much. He asked like the exact amount, like to where the other guy can really,

you know, say what he wants. And I think he really put a really open door and I thought he was gonna say something interesting like, oh, yeah, you don't know Katie actually you know likes to do this on his free time, or you know, or something like Katie is a super interesting person, one of the most fascinating dudes probably in the league, who like understands his superstar but also it's like super humble in a way, like he'll just tweet back and forth with you, like he's

an interesting dude. And for that to be the little tidbit you give, it's just that, I don't know, it felt like a very weird interview to me. Yeah, it was, there was there was there were so many little things unpacked, Like you know, I remember when the when the big crisis what went down last year with Bamer and oh yeah, you will notice that I was conspicuously quiet during that time.

And the main reason why is because I just have kind of accepted the fact that that's how this stuff works, like and I don't expect any sort of punishment to come down for the Clippers, at least nothing significant, because I just understand that the owners probably know that there's a half dozen of them that operate like this and they don't want to have that all come down, and like you know, so basically, and again you should listen to the podcast, but the uh uh they were talking

about how basically Brooklyn has been picking up the tab on just about anything that those guys want. If they need a girl to get a hotel room in a specific place, they just pay for it, like they if they if they needed a specific piece of equipment there, if they needed an upgrade or any sort of anything, they just fit the bill and they just took the

took over the bill. And like they were saying that, like the team accountants kept coming up to them and being like, what's the deal with all this money, and they'd be like, you just gotta figure it out for the superstars, you know, and that you know that, you know. There's the only part that I really had an issue with is like they were saying that Kyrie Irving was kicking dudes off the team just because they disagreed with

him and like their war. And it's like, dude, Kyrie, like your worldview is is pretty far in one direction, Like there's gonna be some people that disagree with you. It's kind of a ridiculous reason to kick someone off a team, you know. But outside of that, I'm just kind of like, this is the way that the world works now. I and if and here's the reality of

the situation. If if Brooklyn was healthy, they would have won the title this year and uh, and they're probably going to be the favorite to win it all next year. So are you gonna look at the Brooklyn Nets upper management and tell them they were wrong to give Kevin Durant and Kyrie the keys, because I would argue they're doing a pretty good job in terms of putting together a basketball team that can win the title, And isn't that the goal of all of this at the end

of the day. I think my my favorite part they ToView was the guy was releasing that information right about the like, uh oh, yeah, the team puts the bill on a bunch of things, like he gets uh, he gets people rooms what they need of I think. I think Libtar was like, I think that's capture convention, Like I don't think that's allowed. I was like, yeah, the guy, the guy is so in his own like want to release like this like gossip and tidbit, that he doesn't

even see that as a story. He just wants to get this like, hey, I got to hang out with Katie and Kyrie, let me release the separation. Meanwhile, so like land Lembotard gives them the story of the year, He's like, I think that's captain and the guy's like, oh, well, yeah, you might be right about that. And I just think that was like just a perfect capsulation of like him, what he's trying to get out of it, and like what it actually like what if he wanted a story,

that's like a story can go to. But like, I just think it's interesting that he didn't want any that he just wanted it looked like, to release some information about about the Nets. And I don't even think this really I feel like this is I think the Nets are super fascinating team last year. I think you could have really dove into some interesting things if you got

that kind of access like he says he did. I just don't see the point of like sharing stuff that like, hey, these rich dudes do things that rich people do, Like I like that that kind of stuff doesn't really matter to me. Or these athletes smoke like that we're in one that's not a story actually took the way drug

testing they don't give a credit. Yeah, It's just that was so weird for him to like he's like, oh, you have no idea how much Kevin dur asked smokes and downline, which I was like, oh, um, okay, like both a little awkward. Yeah, yeah, I asked them too. They're like they're like, hey, like, are you worried about

repercussions from this? Oh? Yeah, like and and that that that would be Honestly, that's where I would, you know, And you know, I'm a genuine believer in the fact that, like, you know, the way you operate, let's just simplify to cliche. What goes around comes around, you know, Like I've worked

in sales my whole career. I did. I worked at Verizon for years, and now I saw real estate like I operated clean business because I would rather sell less and have the good karma of repeat business than to chase the quick buck and to get yourself in some trouble. And the problem here is like, if you're an NBA player and this Matt dude comes around, now, are you even are you even talking about anything? Or you like, get the heck away from me, buddy, Like I know

what you are, you know what I mean? Like it seems to me like he burnt down a lot of bridges with his ability to access players in chase of this one book with Bleacher Report. Maybe he'll make so much money on it. That he'll never need anything else. But it just it just struck me as like a guy, a guy playing by a different set of rules, and it made me a little uncomfortable. And to be honest, man, I felt bad for Katie and Guyrie. I felt like I felt like they're doing the same thing Lebron and

a d are doing. They're doing the same thing Kauai and Paul George are doing. They're doing the same thing that all these stuff Lucas probably doing the same damn thing in Dallas, and and you demonize them and made them seem like they were playing above the above the rules, which I like, I had a problem with it. It's

all I'm trying to say no for sure. And my issue kind of was like this guy doesn't seem like he's really interested at all in the Like you don't have to be fully interested in the basketball, but like it felt like this wasn't in like even a Katie Kyrie story. It was kind of just two superstars and they wanted to kind of he wanted to expose something that I don't think there was anything to really expose. It's like this was all kind of public knowledge. We

know that superstars get a little more leeway here. We know they get some perks here. It's just how the world works. That's just how it works nowadays. And I think we know that. And again, like you get this kind of access like you He's like, oh yeah, I have their number. He was like, I have their phone numbers. I text them. I don't just go to the Zoom meetings.

I actually text them back and forth. There's a really weird thing to show all there, you know, And again probably perpetuates their belief and like, oh yeah, this is how most media and members act when you give them kind of this kind access. And why Kyrie gives these one word answers sometimes why Katie's like, you know, stop asking me that, or you know, just like stuff that they do when they're annoyed with media, And again it just further separates this gap between the media and the

athlete when both of them should be working together. They have the same goal. They want to grow this league, and they both actually need each other in a little bit in some way, and and that gap keeps to separate because of stuff like this that comes down again, I haven't read the book, so I don't want to give like a full kind of stamp on it. Just hearing that podcast was very kind of uncomfortable. He offered enough information that you are you and I are not

jumping to conclusions here now. He he went on that podcast and thoroughly revealed who he was. I genuinely, I genuinely believe that, And like, you know, what's you know what's hilarious is there's a reason why it's not that big of a story. It's because everything he revealed in reality wasn't all that shocking. Okay, so NBA player smoke sweet who cares? NBAS stars making decisions on behalf of

the franchise? Who cares? NBA stars? Planning where they're going to go away in advance, and then pretending like they don't know who cares? NBA teams providing secret financial benefits behind the scene, Who Cares? Like all of that was very much to be expected. So it was kind of like a look at all the stuff I found out, and it was kind of like a, well, we kind of already knew that, but you know, grats and and I hope, I hope NBA players will will talk to

you again, because they might not, you know what I mean? No, Yeah, for sure, I forgot who it was, but he was on the low Post um and he got to sit down with Katie for a while um and do like an interview with him, And I forgot who it was who we talked to. It was a writer of the book who wrote like the book on the Oklumba City thunder and all that, and he got to really sit down with Katie. He was on the low Post not too long ago. And uh, and like, I thought that

story was interesting. It was about how Katie kind of sees I think we actually might have talked about it on the pod, but it was like Katie, how Katie kind of sees all of us as like the same And like the guy was asking Katie about like, hey, what do you think about people saying you team up with other stars? He's like, we're on the same league. We're all trying to grow this we're all trying to grow the same league and kind of give like a

picture of what Katie is on the outside. This just didn't tell me anything, and at least this podcast, it's just this felt like just trying to tell all trying to peek behind the scenes of stuff we knew was going on anyway, it was trying to make a picture of it, and I just I'm not sure what this did. I don't know what this book is going to do as well. Maybe again, maybe we're all bored. We kind of dive into it, but it it didn't really didn't

really tell me anything. Yeah, if we run out offseason content, maybe well maybe we'll read this book on a on a final note before we get you out of here, Like I'm so just as an homage to to Kevin Durant because I actually think he's the best player in the world right now in terms of just the guy who deserves to be recognized as such. Um you know.

There there there was an interesting thing in the interview where basically the guy strongly hinted at the fact that Kevin Durant's dad thought that Katie was to be whole olden to Kyrie, and that in that Kevin Durant's family wanted him to go to the Knicks, but that Katie he wanted to go with Kyrie, which, for the record, in terms of basketball success, he made the right decision. Um yeah, he would have been a bigger, you know, fan base behind him if he went to the Knicks.

But the Nets are probably the most talented team in the league by a significant margin. So you know, he made the right decision. But like there was some stuff there about whether or not he was beholden to Kyrie. But the truth of the matter is is like since oh, and like that whole thing was Steve Kerr in in the in the in the dinner. You know, he kept saying, like, you know, Kevin Durants the same guy he was in Golden State. Kevin Duran's the same guy in Golden State.

I think he's wrong. Like Kevin Durant has leaned into his real self outside of Golden State and I and and that to me is a is a compliment to him because in Golden State he was kind of trying to be something he's not. Now he's being Kevin Durant. Like he does like to talk on social media, he does like to to be just an average guy who's who can hop into a space Twitter spaces with a bunch of average Joe's and just act like one of the guys talking hoops and not and not trying to

have a superiority complex. He is a guy that that is fun to chill with and and and is way more. I would say he's more down to earth than like a Lebron type of guy. And and I think that

that's what makes him so likable. And I think that in a weird way, him leaving Golden State and just kind of leaning into who he is as a person has made him, uh gained him support from a lot of people, Like I have a ton more respect for Kevin Durant now than I used to, and because I know he's not trying to be something he's not, and and honestly, like I think he represents kind of like a new trail for a superstar, as like a guy who's doing things a different way and I and I

respect the hell of it out of it, honestly. And in addition to the fact that I think he might be the best basketball player in the world right now. Yeah, and I think, like it's kind of funny, like you kind of see now why people I guess from mad that when he went to Golden State, because this is how damn good Katie is. Like he literally is this good. He can carry a team and all that, and just even from off off the basketball, it's just cool to

like hear him talk and interviews. He could tell like he's really at peace with himself, Like he's at peace with who he is, like his decisions, and he'll like go as someone he's like, hey, your rings are fake.

He's like, dude, what you're talking about, Like, I'm just sitting here chilling playing two K like going, Joe, go enjoy your life, and so like, it's just really cool to see him reply to people like that, and uh, a guy that he feels accessible more than like other star players, right, And I think that's what's cool about it.

It feels like you can talk to Katie and he'll reply back, and that's a really awesome trait for someone who's probably not as accessible as he is, but like he makes you feel like he is just the way he talks, and it's cool and just he's an amazing player. And yeah, I mean he's probably the best right now,

Lebron might. I mean, those are all conversation. I always differentiate between what you who you call the best and who, yeah, the best, Like Kevin Durant looked better than everybody at the end of the season, so I think he does to be called that. That's kind of what I'm saying. Yeah, And it was cool to watch him just blow up against the nets. Just I can get like forty eight

in that Game seven, just watching him play again. Um, after we lost like two years of Katie or like a year two one and a half year something in Katie playing basketball, So it was joy to watch him this year. And yeah, that that story didn't tell me nothing. And I don't think they're texting that but that guy back anymore. So fel like he burned that bridge, he burned that better savior message history with those stars, because it's gonna be the only text messages you read from

them anymore. Buddy. Um, all right, man, Well let's see Game three is on Sunday, so we'll be going again on Monday morning if you're up for it. Yeah, it's not, isn't it not tomorrow? I think it's Sunday. So this series is weird from every every game until Game seven now has a two day off break Sunday, and then they don't they don't play till Wednesday, and then they don't play until Saturday. Oh that is that's really strange. Yeah, okay, I'm done. Let's do it alright, brother, have a good day.

I'll have the recording of this up shortly and I will see you on Monday. This sounds good. Thanks everyone, M