Lakers Tonight - How the Warriors finished off the Nuggets

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It is halfway through the week. I hope all of you guys are having a great week that turned into a much more interesting night of basketball than I expected coming into tonight. Obviously you're thinking to three one series team at home, significant favorite, gonna be a relatively boring night of basketball, you know, the kind of boring night that would lead to folks in Lakers Land leaking defamatory things about their teammates and compatriots and trying to take

advantage of the slow news cycle on today. But what ended up happening was a very very very interesting Game five between Denver and Golden State, and I think Golden State was in a lot more trouble there. People realize we are going to break that down. We're also going to have a what I learned segment about the bulls and the Bucks. We're gonna get into the story that was released on Bleacher Report about some of this Lakers drama, and then at the end, we're gonna do a mail back.

So I need all of you guys who are listening to do a couple of things. Please hit the subscribe button to the Volumes YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of our shows. And then if you have any questions that you can ask literally anything about absolutely anything dropped them in the chat, and if we have time, we will get to them at the end. But let's start with Golden State and Denver. So interestingly enough, this series was starting to take on a little bit of

a feel similar to Toronto and Philly. You know, we did a theme last night and the show that styles make fights. But not just that styles make fights. It's about which style wins the fight, because just because one style has an advantage over another, usually that has something to do with which style is playing better, not necessarily the style in and of itself in a vacuum. Golden State has a bunch of advantages over Denver, particularly in

overall talent and skill level. Right, No one's debating the fact that Golden State has significantly more skilled and capable perimeter players than Denver does. But Denver has a huge advantage in this series too, and its interior size, not just on the interior, actually perimeter size as well. Guys like you know, guys like Will Barton can cause a problem on the perimeter with his length and athleticism. They're a big and strong team. Austin Rivers is another guy

who's very, very good and physical defensive guard. They have physical advantages in this series, and early on in this series, Golden State held up really well under that physical onslaught and had a lot of success and took a three oh lead. But what happened in Game three? It was close, It was very close, and Stephen Draymond each made a key play down the stretch of the game to pull that one out, very similar to a Joel and Be did to the Raptors in Game three. Up in Toronto.

But in those games, Game three in Toronto and Game three in Denver, Denver and Toronto figured some things out and started to inflict their advantages on who they were playing. And then you saw Game four swing the other way, wins for both teams. Right, So now you got a Game five on your home floor. Toronto went into Philly and played the same brand of basketball that they played

at home, and they kicked their ass. Now, Golden State is not, as you know, I'm not even sure the right word to use here, but Golden State is is more experienced, battle hardened, and prepared for something like this than Philly is. And so when Denver came in tonight and did the exact same thing, just playing that physically imposing brand of basketball, Golden State faltered a little bit,

but they had the mental toughness to push through. Tweeted out twice during the game that this was quickly turning into not a must win, but as close to a must win as it could be for a team that's up three one in this series. The reason why is you're heading to Denver next, and these advantages, these physical advantages, it's really difficult to regain control of that situation. Look

at Phoenix last year. Phoenix, very similar situation. They hold up really well under the Janice and Drew Holiday on slot in gains one in game two, right, and then it just started to wear on them a little bit. Everything got a little bit tougher for them on both

sides of the floor. And suddenly Milwaukee had the advantage in their physicality and it was impossible for Phoenix to regain that advantage that because, like we talked another theme from last night, the difference between what's in your control and what's outside of your control. You know, your perimeter skill, guys like Jordan Pool and Clay Thompson and Steph Curry and their ability to create shots off the dribble and

knockdown difficult jump shots. There's a chance element there. Does the shot go in or does it not go in? And if it goes one way or the other, it can swing the outcome of a game. But if you are a physically dominant team, that is a very dependable tool to have in your toolbox. And I thought Aaron

Gordon in particular set the tone. So Golden States starts small and they go with their best lineup, right, the death lineup number two or death lineup, number three, whatever you wanna call it, Steph Clay, Jordan Poole, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins. And on the very first possessions of the game, Aaron Gordon just put his head down and started driving to the basket, draws a foul on on Draymond Green, gets an offensive rebound and draws a foul.

Then he drove to the basket on Clay Thompson and drew a foul. Nicola Yokus was bullying his way inside. Draymond had a foul already almost immediately. Steve Kerr had two audible out of that small lineup and go big. He brings in uh Kivon Looney to try to get some size in there, and it ended up being something they had to navigate the rest of the night. All game long, Denver was being so so aggressive to the basket. They weren't making shots from the perimeter. That wasn't their

advantage in this game. It was just putting their head down and going to the rim. And Steph had a rough game in the first half, definitely got it going and save the day in the second half. We'll get to that in a minute. But Steph had a rough night in the first half, Jordan Pool was having a rough night. You know, everyone on Denver's got it clicking, and next thing you know, it's like we're down ten in the second half. They've been the better basketball team

over the last two and a half games. We might be in some trouble here. And that's why I was saying it was a must win and two Golden States credit. They reached down deep and they got it done. You know, Draymond all night long. I don't remember how many remounts he finished with, but I think he might have had zero or or barely more than that. And it's because all night long he was fighting his ass off on just boxing dudes out, and Golden State was getting killed

on the offensive glass. And you know, there's this interesting dynamic with UH with rebounding that I think led to the key substitution at the end of the game. So I don't know if you guys noticed, but Jordan Pool was absent down the stretch of the game and ended up being Gary Payton that closed. And there were two reasons why. Part of it was Monty Morris drew a couple of fouls on Jordan Pool because he wasn't sliding his feet well on the perimeter, and he was getting

beat to the basket again young guard. Young guards typically are gonna take a while before they really pick up the details of defensive basketball. So I'm not worried about Jordan Pool. In the long run, especially in the Golden State system, He'll be a fine defensive player. But Denver was attacking him, and so they went to Gary Payton. And another big reason why they went to Gary Payton was the rebounding. So if Draymond has zero rebounds because he's locked in box outs all night long, how is

it that you secure defensive rebounds. It's crashing. You gotta have people come flying in from the perimeter to grab rebounds. I thought that was a a big part of why Auto Porter Jr. Getting as much playing time as he did. He was coming flying in and grabbing rebounds. Gary Payton Jr. Coming flying into grab rebounds. And they finally started to get some stops down the stretch of the game. And then Steph was aggressive to the rim, and this was

the key difference in the first half. Denver's defense was super aggressive on the perimeter. Every time they called the ball screen. They were trapping the ball screen and the rollman was wide open, and get Golden State was missing that pass a lot. And then when Jordan Pool and Steph and Clay and all those guys were dribbling, Denver's defenders were pressing up into them and taking away their three point shooting and they had to drive past them.

And part of the reason why the first half was so sloppy was they weren't hitting the roll man and they weren't attacking that overly aggressive perimeter defense. Got a pivotal stretch of the game there in the third quarter, Steph got hot, made some threes, got them back into the game, and then down the stretch of the game, it was Steph Curry putting his head down and going to the rim and he was icing the game at

the rim. But a huge, huge, huge performance from Gary Payton Jr. We've talked a lot about him on the show in recent weeks. I obviously have a personal attachment there. I played against him a bunch of college and have a bunch of mutual respect there. And he he made his living in college as a playmaker. That's what made

him so good. In his second year at Salt Lake and in his year at Oregon State, and he was just the perfect guy to have out there down the stretch because he one was making his wide open threes. Two he could set screens and roll to the basket and make smart decisions because again he's had so much experience as a decision maker. Had another player where he cut along the baseline and had a beautiful shovel passage

Draymond Green for a dunk. Just a monstrously impactful Arguably again, some Golden State fans might disagree with me here, but I thought this game was super pivotal to close the deal tonight, to prevent going up to Denver where you're probably gonna lose because they're playing better basketball than you right now and they're pulverizing you physically. And then a Game seven, anything could happen. And just an absolute lee monster performance from Gary Payton Jr. Now looking forward, because

this is where it gets interesting. Denver pulverized Golden State with a size advantage, but they just didn't have enough skill to capitalize. In the middle of the third quarter when Steph got hot. Do you guys remember Golden State transition to a box in one? They put Clay Thompson on Yokich and then they put basically two guys at the elbow, two guys at the block, and it's a

zone essentially with those four guys. And then Clay Thompson stays glue to Yokas there some wrinkles in there, like if Yoki said a ball screen, they would just switch and then Clay would go into the box and like Wiggins or wherever it was, would then take Yo kis. But during that stretch, the gimmicky defense wasn't working. It was getting stops, but only because Denver was missing shots. They were making fantastic reads out of that boxing one

and getting wide open threes. And during that same stretch when Denver was missing those wide open three, Steph got hot, made some threes, got the game close, and then they were able to close the deal late. But what concerns me is again you saw a match up, a physical mismatch in terms of size. Damn near allow a Denver team that has a significantly they they are, especially on the perimeter, at a massive disadvantage with talent, and they

damn near pushed this series to six games. And so the issue is when you get to a later round, Let's say Memphis next round, when you're dealing with guys like Jaren Jackson Jr. Who's a monster. When you're dealing with guys like Brandon Clark, who arguably stole Game five from Minnesota, offensive rebounding guys like Desmond Baine who are huge at their position. You know, John Moran is skinny,

but he's very very athletic. Memphis is going to present a lot of those same types of size mismatches in conjunction with a lot more talent. And so you know, I'm not I've still am. I would probably I to dive more into this series before I make an actual official pick, and I'm but at the moment, I'm leaning Golden State because I'm gonna always trust their experience and how many times they've been in this type of setting.

And as big as Memphis is, they don't have a Yokich And obviously yo kits was a huge factor in this series in Denver's ability to inflict with their size. But I think that's gonna be a very very close series. Memphis is gonna have a lot of advantages. It's gonna be interesting. But one last shout out, I gotta give it to step Steph had a rough night in the first half. Like I said, everything was trending Denver's way

for basically up until that fourth quarter. For the previous two and a half games, Denver was playing better basketball or two games or so, whatever it was, Denver was playing better basketball, and so things were looking dire. I mentioned on Twitter it was practically a must win, and Steph treated it like a must win and he made all the plays down the stretch to win that game. Just a monstrous sav the veteran refused to die performance from Steph current really quickly. I wanted to touch on

Bulls Bucks just for a minute. That series what just about exactly as I expected, with exception of the random Game two performance when uh DeMar Derozen went absolutely nuclear down the stretch and shot them out of the game. But aside from that, it went basically exactly as I expected. Golden Uh the Bucks gave up a jazillion wide open threes. They gave up I believe, just under twenty two wide open threes per NBA dot Com from games one to

Game four. Um. Obviously they haven't updated the metrics from tonight, but that was the most wide open threes that was given up. In the first round a Game five, they gave up fifty two threes and Chicago was only able to make fifteen of them, which was like in the like or something like that. So what did we say before the series? Chicago is not a good three point shooting team. They're not even good at generating three point shots.

Milwaukee's defense gives up three point shots, what's gonna happen? Well, it went exactly like that. Here's the trick. In the first four games, Chicago shot just overt on wide open threes. Boston shot over on wide open threes against the nets, much more skilled team, a team that's prepared to knock down threes they knocked down. I think of their three is just out of the left corner, which is gonna be the three that they get most frequently in their

offense against against Milwaukee. So this next round is going to put that Milwaukee defense to the test. A Milwaukee defense that succeeds against teams that relentlessly pressure the rim, but don't know how to make you pay from the perimeter. And so I we'll get more into this series at

a later date. But as good as this as dominant as this first down or this first round performance was from Milwaukee, I can't say that I did learn much because it did look like the same defense from the regular season, which was an bridge defense, a defense that dominated the painted area, a defense that dominated on the defensive glass, and a defense that gave up a million wide open threes. And that's why they were an average defense. Well, Boston is gonna take the look at did you guys

see Janice tonight? I think he made ten of his first eleven shots or something, literally just dunking all over them and getting whatever he wanted to paint. Chicago is incapable of making Janice work hard the way that Boston is going to. That's gonna be a much more interesting

series than people think. We will get deeper into both of those series, Golden State Second Round Series and Milwaukee Second Round series as we get further along here in a minute, we're going to talk about this Lakers drama. Before here's a word from our sponsor. The playoffs are here, and you can make every game feel like Game seven On FanDuel Sports Book, an official partner of the NBA. FanDuel is hooking you up with free bets throughout the playoffs.

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bluetoo for sponsoring the podcast. Let's move on really quick to some drama with the Los Angeles Lakers, who, predictably, on one of the slowest days of this first round of the postseason, had some drama release. And again with this kind of thing, you never know who it's coming from or what the ultimate goal is. But Eric Pinkus from Bleacher Report wrote an article today talking about both the Nets and the Lakers and their situations with stars

and their influences on the front office. And obviously the article was targeting a bigger issue with the construction of super teams and NBA superstars playing a very very hands on role in the construction of rosters, and we're gonn to talk about that in just a second, but there was a nugget in there about the Lakers specifically that I wanted to touch on before we get to that point, so from Eric Pinkas quote, but James certainly has a

strong influence on the Lakers decision making. Multiple sources indicate that the team's front office is internally blaming pressure from Clutch Sports group representing both James and Davis for Westbrook, that maybe an epic level of passing the buck. An NBA team should consider it, stars wishes, but ultimately make the best decision for the team. And quote a little bit of a personal opinion there from Pinkas at the

end that I agree with. I cannot take credit for this specific take because it comes from my friend Harrison Fagan at Silver Screen and Roll, but he said it this morning, and I thought it was a perfect encapsulation of this situation. You know, it's fine for the Lakers to take credit when they get the trophy in twenty I didn't see any reporting or any leaks from Rob Polinka or from Genie Buss about how actually it was Lebron and Clutch Sports who pushed for the necessary moves

to build a championship winning roster. But now that things are going south, they're wanting to lead you guys to believe that Lebron and and Rich Paul held these guys at gunpoint to make the Russell Westbrook deal, and that's ridiculous. Now, you guys know how I feel about stars getting involved in personnel decisions. It's the same thing I said about

Rob Polinka during all this drama from the beginning. You know, in order to be a general manager in this league, you have to have a certain amount of dedication to diving into film because player evaluation. It's just like all of you guys as casual fans, if you turn on the right game and you watch Malik Beasley from the Minnesota Timberwolves, you might think he's a max contract player.

There are days where he looks like Bradley Beale out there, but then there are other games when it's not so much. And that's the job of the GM. You have to consume enough total like content of one player to have a clear picture of what they actually are like on a day in, day out basis. You might have to

look at them in different circumstances. It's even more complicated when you're looking at younger players, like before they make it to the league, because then you've got to consider, you know, are they at a college program that's adequately. You know, that's running a professional enough style of program to capitalize on what this player in his talent brings

to the table. It's a difficult job, and so I have a problem with guys like Lebron and guys like k D being more hands on because they don't have time to actually evaluate players properly. So I agree from that standpoint. But at the same time, no one did point a gun at Rob Blink and make him make that deal. You guys made the decision to allow whatever ask Clutch Sports had in this situation, and so as a result, trying to turn the blame on Lebron is ridiculous.

If that's the case, let's go ahead and pull down that banner. Let's take down that seventeenth championship banner. Let's rip it up, Let's make a new one, and we'll put Clutch Sports on it. NBA champions and hanging up in Clutch sports headquarters. Because that's the type of lame mass attitude. This is shirking the blame when things go wrong and accepting the responsibility when things go right, which

I have a huge problem with. But that set this has brought an interesting dynamic to the forefront in this playoff run. You know, you have three major star run supert teams in the league. You've got Kauai and Paul George and what they've done with the Clippers. You have Lebron James and Anthony Davis and what they did with the Lakers. And you have Kevin Duranton Kyrie and what they did with the Brooklyn Nets. And all three of those teams secured precisely zero playoff wins this year. Zero.

So the question becomes, is this mold a failure? Is it time as a league to move beyond that? Mold kind of reminds me in the NFL and a little bit in the n B a of like the coach GM concept. There was a time period where a lot of the top tier coaches in both leagues would demand decision over player personnel in addition to their coaching responsibilities.

And then some years went by and it became pretty clear based on the results, that even the best coaches, the hardest working coaches in the league, simply didn't have enough time to properly evaluate players into make those types of decisions, and they were too intimately involved to be objective, and so as a result, now you don't see that

very often. They're handful of cases around the league. Like I know, Greg Popovich still has some role in player personnel there in San Antonio, but it's rare, it's unusual and more it's more of like a consulting type of role. Should you go ask Lebron, should you go ask Katie what do you think about this? Absolutely, that to me is just getting an additional opinion. Diversity of opinion is a great way to make sure that you don't walk headlong into a terrible decision. I agree on that on

that side of things. You know, Kevin Durant said in his postgame presser after Game four, He's like, I just want to focus on the basketball. I don't want to be involved in player personnel. Now, whether or not that's true is another story. There's a whole narrative controlling side of this thing. But to me, that's the way that it should be. Do what you do best, keep the main thing, the main thing. Get somebody in the chair

and the general management. Edition problem is for the Lakers they don't have that guy either, But get someone in the chair whose job it is every day to dive into the tape and figure things out there, and then the player, you're a basketball player, figure out the basketball. That's all you have to focus on. That keep the main thing the main thing. So then the second question becomes what about the assembly of superstars? Because you saw both teams, the Nets and the Lakers in particular, go

after the third star in sacrifice depth. As part of the process, Lakers send off key pivotal role players from their championship team to bring in Russell Westbrook, and the Nets send off key role players for James Harden that they in turn flip for Ben Simmons, and in that deal they actually got a couple of role players in Seth Curry and Andre Drummond. So for them it wasn't as much of a catastrophe. But you saw that happen, and I think there are two very specific reasons why

I disagree with that strategy. I'm a believer in the two stars great role player depth rather than three stars

and veteran minimum contracts. And the two reasons why I believe in that is one, there's a diminishing return with the third star when you factor in the jobs that players have on the floor in a five man line up, especially when you get to the postseason and everybody bumps up their minutes, and your best players are all playing forties something minutes, there's a diminishing return for number three.

Had Let's pretend everything went great for the Lakers this year and Lebron and Anthony Davis stay healthy and they make it to the first round. There's no way in the world if Lebron and a d are playing forty two minutes a game and a playoff game, that you're gonna have a great deal of on ball responsibility for RUSSA Westbrook. That's just not the way the game works now.

Russ also struggled in a lot of different ways, so I'm not alleviating him of responsibility in any sense in that regard, but strictly in the way that basketball works. Being the third guy, you have less responsive, thus requiring less talent. So does it make sense to have a guy who's overqualified for that position unless you absolutely have to, And so I disagree with that strategy from that standpoint.

That's the first side. The second part of it has everything to do with the way that defenses have evolved and how important it is now to have five guys on the floor that can capitalize on not being guarded. We talked a lot about this early in the playoffs. I said to you, guys, NBA defenses are dangerously close to figuring out how to adequately double team stars and rotate on the back end and take away easy open

shots on the back end. It used to be that you could have a Wesley Matthews, a guy who can knock down spot up threes, but not a whole lot else on that week side corner. But now teams are closing out on Wesley Matthews and getting there in time off of double teams. So now what you need is guys that can attack close outs. You need great offensive

players off ball to capitalize on that attention. And so having a third star and then having really like limited role players around them causes a predicament where now you have guys off the ball that aren't talented enough to capitalize in all that extra attention. This is why having you know, two stars in great depth is a better model. Look at the Lakers. Look at how important k c p was attacking closeouts. Look At how important Alex Crusoe was.

Looking at how important Kyle Kuzma was, Looking at how important Danny Green was having better offensive players in those roles that when every team is throwing the kitchen sink at Lebron and a D, they have lots and lots of opportunity and they're talented enough to succeed in that role. You saw there was a playoff game where Mark Keith Morris made five threes and they could throw the ball to Mark Keith Morris in the right matchup down in

the post. There was a bunch of different ways to go about it, and so I think in addition to the idea of taking control back away from stars in terms of personnel decisions, they simply don't have the time to watch enough film to be educated enough to make those calls. But also get away from this idea that you need to amass high end talent. If you have two guys that you can dependably throw the ball to

to initiate offense, you don't need a third. Those two guys can figure out to give and take, and you're better off allowing them to be decoys half the time and take on the the attention and let other guys go to work. Look at Jayson Tatum, He's just taking double teams most times down the floor. It's guys like Marcus Smart making plays. It's guys like Jalen Brown making plays. This guy like Grant Williams making plays, al Horford making plays off of the attention that Jayson Tatum is grabbing.

It's a really interesting concept. I'm curious to see over the over the course of the next few years, if you see more big threes form, or if you see more teams take on the two star role player type of concept. But that's that's just where I stand with it. I would go with take player personnel decisions away from the stars and build around two high level players and get depth because you need quality players around them to make people pay when they are throwing the kitchen sink

at your stars. Hi, it's Colin Coward. I started the volume to bring you some of the most apathetic voices in sports. While you're here, make sure you hit subscribe. Thanks all right, before we bring Carson on. Oh there he is. Before we're in Carson on, forget just like don't forget, Just like Colin said, hit that subscribe button. Also, we are going to do a mail back, so if you have any questions about absolutely anything, please drop them in the chat. And if we have time, and we'll

get to them at the end. All right, Carson, what do you got from me tonight? Man? We've got a game here called Real Question, Fake Question, Jason, and the way it works is we've got real questions from fans and then we've got questions that I have come up with which we're calling fake, which I don't know if I love the branding there. I think they're just as real. But that's besides the point. So I'll defer to you. Do you want to start with a real question or

a fake question? Let's start with the real one, all right? So this is from Georges on Twitter. Do you think currently it's Boston versus the field in the playoffs? And if so, which remaining team has the best chance against them? Man? That the news from Devin Booker really threw me for a loop. And I am absolutely stunned that they're bringing him back this quickly. First of all, like I I understand the threat of New Orleans, but would you pick against Chris Paul with all of that talent at a

home and game? Like I think they'll be fine. So like I would have I would have been more hesitant to bring Devon back but let's and then also when now that he's back, it makes me nervous because hamstrings are like arguably the most reinjurable injury that an athlete deals with. But let's accept, just for the sake of this question, that Devin Booker is healthy and going to

be fine the rest of the playoffs. Coming into the postseason, I had Phoenix as a definitive number one and then a tear below them that Boston was a part of. So part of me moving Boston up was the Devin Booker injury, but also another big part of it was just how dominant they look on the defensive end of the floor. And so I think it's most likely that

Boston runs into Phoenix in the finals. And then as I start to think about that matchup, like when you think about the way that Drew Holiday and the rest of the Milwaukee Bucks were able to really really shut down Chris Paul, I think Boston is gonna have some similar impact there. Yes, Drew, Yes, Devin Booker showed some amazing shot making versus Drew Holiday in that series last year in the finals, But I think this Boston defense is another level above that. So, like I think i'd

pick Boston over Phoenix too. But if you're asking me which team has the best chance to beat them easily, it's Phoenix. They've got they're the only team that has a talent advantage against them in my opinion. But like, man, like, I know everyone thinks I'm crazy, but like, I think

something special is going on with this Boston defense. I think the story coming out of that first round series was Brooklyn choking or Kevin Durant struggling and all the drama and Brooklyn and Ben Simmons and all that crap. But meanwhile, Boston just seems to be like a team that has captured some serious magic. So you mentioned the son's element of this and the decision to bring book back. You touched on a little bit, but there's a fake

question from me. Give us more of your thoughts on that decision, and do you think that that's just a bad decision flat out? I don't want to say it's a bad decision because you've got a factor in the circumstance. Like, you know, what is it that I think it's is it's Steve Kerr. I can't remember who it is. It's there's a famous NBA coach that always talks about approp fear.

I think it was Steve Kerr actually, But like I think if you have an appropriate fear of the Pelicans, which you should, they're dominating you on the defensive glass or in the offensive glass. Excuse me. A huge part of their offense is brandon ingram And and c J McCollum attacking in isolation. And they had a really bad

game in game five. So there's a version of this story where they go back to New Orleans, they bully you on the glass again, c J and Brandon play better, they win Game six, you'd come back to Phoenix, and then I mean, I think I think, uh, New Orleans got it within seven about halfway through the fourth quarter if I remember correctly last night. So you know, there is I think an appropriate amount of fear here, and

I think that's what's driving the decision. My thing is like, it's kind of like Anthony Davis last year against the Suns, Like rushing him back it almost stands to do more damage psychologically to your team, because what if Devin comes back and plays in Game six and pulls his hamstring again in the second quarter and you have to watch him limp off to the locker room. There's a massive psychological impact that that has is on your team. When Anthony Davis uh gave it a go last year in

Game six and his groin started hurting right away. It was early first quarter, and I don't know if you guys remember, but the Lakers were extraordinarily flat the rest of that first quarter. Meanwhile, Devin Booker got hot, and next thing you know, they were down by like twenty or something like that at the end of the first quarter.

So there's a very dangerous game that you play with bringing back a star that could potentially re injure himself because there's the advantage off and potentially playing and helping your team, but there's the potential disadvantage of the discouragement that comes from him getting reinjured. I sincerely hope that that doesn't happen. It's just something that I'm worried about. You mentioned the appropriate fear. I believe that's a pop

is m but is it. Obviously you are balancing those two factors that you are talking about against each other. But if you were to say this is what has to go right for the Pelicans to actually get out, like if they were to go and in game six and seven, what would sort of the key things be. And I know you say it's not particularly likely, but roughly, how likely do you think it is that they can do that I had them, I would say they have

like maybe a ten percent chance. It's just the thing is is when you know what New Orleans depends on for their offense, which again is brandon Ingram kind of is like a point forward running a lot of io and high pick and roll, and then C. J. McCollum kind of more in the Devon Booker role of just being a guy who's hunting for his shot when you, like Michael Bridges was devastating defensively in game five. Almost everybody that he guarded was not not just shut down,

but shut down in a kind of resounding fashion. And so the concern there is, I don't I would give New Orleans roughly a coin flip chance to win game six. That's fine, but man, the the the chances that New Orleans goes into Phoenix and wins game seven are so close to zero that I think it leaves it pretty

damn low. So I'd say maybe around ten per sam, But the only way that they pull it off as if c J and Brandon catch a little bit of that lebron Kyrie two thousand and sixteen Finals magic where just a couple to three games in a row where they just don't miss, and then yeah, that could be the difference, but it's just very unlikely. Yeah, I will say it felt like to me before Game five it

was more of like legitimate even footing. But part of that was absolutely You're right, they're so overwhelming and dependent on that lead shot making n B. I had been like perfect, you know, I mean, he's thirty a game on ridiculous efficiency and then you talk about Bridges defense changing some of those dynamics. So I'm I'm with you there. Maybe I would put its tall task quick follow up. And this has been the dynamic that I've talked about

all the season. What have I always told you Guys like, yes, Chris Paul and Devin Booker are great, but down the roster, Phoenix is the most talented team in the league, like and guys like Mikhail Bridges and DeAndre and have consistently been playing in roles that are much smaller than what their talent is capable of. And and you compare them to guys like guys like a Herb Jones for instance,

like compare him to like Michael Bridges. Like in a tiny role, Herb Jones and Michael Bridges can have relatively similar impact. Obviously Michael Bridge is a better player, but in a tiny role there can be a relatively similar impact. All of a sudden, with Devin Booker out, Michael Bridges is being depended on more as a shot maker twelve for seventeen, I think he had like thirty four points or something like that. In game five was just a monster offensively, like Herb Jones is not gonna be able

to get to that level. And so at the end of the day, like it's just so many things would have to go right. So many guys with the Pelicans would have to play above their ability, so many guys for Phoenix would have to play below their ability. I think the smart money is on Phoenix there, and I will say, you talk about the talent on this Phoenix roster.

When the book injury happened, one of the biggest concerns that we discussed was that really high level shock creation coming because the book is so clearly the Apex guy and outside of CP there haven't been a ton of guys who have filled that role and who are really in like the prototype of ball handler, score play maker combo. But I have been extremely impressed. I mean you mentioned the Bridge's performance. He feels like, for the most part, the ultimate role player, just so good at fitting in

but really asserting himself. Aidan producing at that level, you know, on that efficiency has been extremely impressive. So you could argue is better than Avalanchunis. Yeah, No, I think that that is. I think you would have to argue against that at this point. I mean, are you talking overall or just like offensive skill, because I think overall two

way center. Yeah, I totally agree, totally agree. Okay, We've got another real question for you here, Jason, and you've touched on this a bit before, but how will do you think Boston's defense will work against Janice? Will he be able to attack it more effectively than Kevin Durant and without Chris Middleton, do they have a chance in that series which is now booked. This is from Almond

Milk on Twitter. So this is this is this is the million dollar question, man, and it's been something I've been thinking about NonStop over of course of the last week. I cannot freaking wait for this series? Did did they tell? Did uh? Why did you check for me while I'm talking when when Game one is? Because I'm so so excited for it. But the the interesting thing here is, you know, Joannice and k D both have very different games,

but they're structured in similar ways. There's like a bread in the butt, there's a bread and butter, and then there's like kind of like supplementary offense, you know. One of the things that Joannice, like KD, for instance, Katie supplements his offense. I did a video about this earlier

in the regular season. Katie supplements his isolation offense with off ball shooting, like movement shooting, does a lot of like fighting for position and coming off of pin downs and taking like these fifteen to seventeen foot wide open pull up jump shots that he makes like like more than half the time. And it's it's way, it's his

way of supplementing offense, his isolation offense with easy shots. Well, Boston completely took that element of his game away, but because of how physical they were and how willing they were to switch those screens and just basically to grab him as he was coming off the screen, so the easy elements of Katie's offense were completely removed. Well, Janice, he gets a lot of easy offense just with his physicality.

So whether that's in transition, just putting his head down and go into the rim, whether that's another it's offensive rebounding, but not just as an off ball player, but like he'll pirouette into the lane and throw up a hook shot and it's not really a high percentage shot, but Janice knows that, and he just continues to bulldoze his way into the lane after shooting, grab the ball and go right back up with it and dunk it because he's so much quicker off his feet than everybody else

on the floor. And and so he has all of those elements. And when I look at that, I think that Janice, I don't think Boston's gonna be able to shut off those parts of his offense. So I think Janice is gonna be able to get better easy supplementary offense.

But in the half court, when the game grinds to the halt, when Boston is in their set defense geared up on Janice, I think Joannice is going to struggle Joe used as much as KAD does, so in summation, I think Joannice has a better series overall because of his supplementary offense, offensive rebaum, putbacks, transition things like that, So I think his counting stats will appear better. But I think at the end of the day, this game

is gonna come down to half court execution. The series is gonna come down to half court execution, and I think people are way too quick to blame KD for how that went and not acknowledge the Boston defense. I think the Boston defense at many points in this series is going to make you, honest, look not ineffective, but significantly less effective than he is going in other matchups, and so that's gonna be the interesting dynamic here. But

overall he will fare better I would. I would be shocked at Milwaukee didn't get one game, but I'm leaning not my final pick yet, but I'm leaning towards Boston in five, and I think it's gonna overall be ugly for you, honest. So obviously, as we look at this matchup, the Celtics are exceptional on how many really high level defensive weapons they have. But I think an interesting in question is who is the primary guy on Janice in this series because you have obviously Tatum is that lead

wing defender. But we've seen teams when they have versatile, quick enough bigs try to guard Janice with those guys, and you do have a Robert Williams or Horford. So who do you think is that guy who Boston should lean on most? Isn't a combination, just what do you think is their best approach in terms of personnel. So you always want to mix up coverage to keep guys off their feet. So I would imagine I would imagine that there will be a bunch of different looks. My

guesses they'll start with Horford. Horford is an excellent positional defender. He's a guy that doesn't reach. He slides his feast defeat, he absorbs contact with his chest. He's kind of like your textbook positional defender. That's why he always does well against really really big players. The trick is it's gonna be I'm really curious to see what Emayduka's strategy is

in terms of double teaming. I think that you know because Jannice goes to a lot of like really aggressive spin moves in like pump makes and pivots and things like that. I'd like to see them do kind of what Golden State did to Yokich a lot in this series and during the regular season, which is double on the counter move. So let him think he's in single coverage. Let him make that initial you know, load up in and and get ahead of Steam and go into Horford.

And then as soon as Horford beats him to the first spot and he counterspins back, that's when you come with the help and attack the ball. I think you know, Boston did an amazing job attacking Katie's handle all series long. That's why Katie had so many turnovers and struggled so much dribbling the basketball. Well, Katie, I mean, it's not it's not some sort of chasm. They're close, but joannice Is is not a fantastic ball handler in traffic either.

So like and it's not necessarily Katie or Jannice's fault. It's a tall guy problem. You're just dribbling the ball further. There's less margin for error there, right, So the thing is is, like I I would test joannice Is, he handled NonStop in this series and see if he can really truly dribble by sending help while he's in the middle of moves. That would be my strategy. I expect him to start with Horford, but I bet you'll see Grant Williams on him. Probably not Robert Williams because Janice

tends to utterly destroy slender centers. Um not that Robert Robert. Robert Williams is bigger than most people think he is. But I just don't think that's the perfect matchup there. I think he'd be better in a help side role. But I'm really curious. I think email you don't is gonna have a bunch of stuff up his sleeve, and and and I'm really interested to see what it is. Well, you mentioned the excitement for the series. It does tip at one Eastern on Sunday and we'll be live that night.

Also a little interesting sound out a pole in the chat. Fifty percent of people say they would take the bucks to win that series right now out of our chat, which I think it's very interesting. I think that's I think that's wild. I'm not saying you guys are wrong, but I vehemently disagree. I think I'm not saying Milwaukee's I'm not saying you guys are wrong. I'm not saying I'm not saying Milah Key doesn't have a chance. They

absolutely do. But again, I think there's a couple of reasons why Boston kind of like the Lakers, not exactly the most well liked team around the league because they're the They're the two winning as franchises, so the other twenty fan bases hate them. So there's a lot of anti Celtics bias. There's a lot of anti k D and Kyrie bias that is leading people to kind of change their analysis of that series and make it more

about them sucking and less about Boston being good. So I think the public perception of Boston is still pretty low. I don't know if you notice this, Carson, but on fan duel, I believe Boston right now is plus four sixty to win the title, and I think they have the third best odds overall behind Phoenix and Golden State,

which I think is absolutely wild. I hopefully this series, if I'm right, which we'll see, I could very well be wrong, and I've been wrong before, but if I'm right, I think in this series people will finally start to understand just how special this Boston team is Yeah, I think you, I mean very aptly identified a couple of the key reasons that people are maybe under selling this team.

I wonder if there's also just sort of a prove it element or maybe that like they don't have a consensus top five guy on the planet who's done it year in and year out. But like, I mean, there's no denying that. Since I don't know exactly what point you would pick, but the last thirtysomething games of the regular season through the playoffs, it Celtics has been the most impressive team in the NBA. And uh, I'm with you. I think it's surprising that their odds are still that low,

especially now that they're healthy again. I mean, they are clicking and they are scary, and I would also take them against the Bucks. I think five is you know, that would be very impressive, But I don't think it's at all out of the question. Really quickly, Carson, I have a question for you. Is Jayson Tatum a top five player? No, I don't think so. I think that.

I mean, we discussed this briefly. When he is playing at his offensive apex, it is like unbelievable peak scoring wings stuff with some of the playmaking and great defensive value, and like that's an in same portfolio, especially when you're dropping thirty and night. I do still think though, that over a full sample size, there are guys who are just more complete sevengines when it comes to the scoring playmaking combo who I would lean on. But also there

are guys who are more easily exposed. I mean, I'm a huge believer and a guy like Yokich and I would never drop him out of my personal top five, But there are things that are more exploitable there. I mean, I I think even there's a lot of guys basically who I think have bigger holes in their game at this point than Jayson Tatum. Like he can do his job on both ends at an exceptionally high level, but I don't think he's top five yet. I think we need to see him sustained, like you said when we

discussed this a bit ago, this level for a longer time. Yeah, I gotta stick to my own rule here. I'm not

a big believer in rushing people up that list. I will say this, though, I would not be surprised if in our wrap up season wrap up pods at the end of June, if we're having a conversation about Tatum Legiti being a top five player, because you're right there there seems to be with his newfound pensiont for playmaking and and kind of absorbing the double team and and staying a threat after giving up the ball, that kind

of thing. There's kind of there's they're they're just they're starting to take shape as a player that doesn't have a lot of flaws. Like he's all, he's not the same defensive player that Kauai was at his peak, but he's already a much better playmaker than Kauai. And and from the scoring standpoint, like he doesn't have the the mid range kind of like back to the basket game that Kauai has, but he's a better off the dribble three point shooters. So he's kind of like, look this

is I'll just leave it at this. He's he's a lot closer to like Kauai than people think. That's amazing that you evoke that comparison, because I was literally about to draw that myself, and I asked, like, what, really, how big is the gap between current Jayson Tatum the level he's been playing at since All Star Break where we've read off the stats before, but it's just absolutely ridiculous scoring and a on absurd efficiency. I mean thirty

plus a night on s shooting into these playoffs. Now he dropped thirty a game against the Nets, and the playmaking was great and the d defense is really great, and it's like Kauai is a top twenty something guy of all time in most people's eyes. And you know, people view that as one of the most impressive individual playoff runs ever. And of course there are differences and there are things certain guys do better, but it doesn't feel like the gap is all that big right now.

So he sustains this level and I I've always thought he was like an all time talented guy. It's just been about making the game easier, you know, getting down hill more, get into the line, more, developing as a playmaker, passing out of doubles, all these things that he's doing consistently being really really high level on the defensive end, and he's like got it all coming together right now. It's really pretty remarkable. I think value of reps man.

I don't know if you guys remember was it last season that Kemba Walker was hurt to start the year in like Boston really flound heard because Jalen Brown and Jayson Tatum became the primary initiators and then they ship Kemba off and they bring in Dennis Schroder, but then they shipped Dennis Schroder off, and like during that time period, Jayson Tatum was kind of thrown in the deep end as the guy who was like the offensive folk rum and it got ugly a lot of the time for him.

But again, it's the value of reps. And and I know we're ready to move on from Tatum, but like we can talk about this guy for an hour because he's such an interesting player. But I I think it was the value of reps. And again, I don't want to give him that credit until he gets the job done. That I do think he's trending in that direction. And

it is fascinating. I mean, there are so many great scoring wings who come into the league as you know, subpar playmakers, but just because of the product of having the ball in their hands so much, they developed, Like we have seen it from Book who was basically had to be a point guard for a couple of years, from honest Janice, all these guys it's just product of, you know, putting pressure on defense, having the ball in your hands a lot. They just improved that almost universally,

and Tatum is a great example of that. Right now, All right, we've got another fake question. Four years have now booked their ticket to the second round. They are still awaiting their opponent. So, Jason, who would give them more trouble the Grizzlies or the Timberwolves. Oh man, that's

a super super interesting question. Well, the problem because, like, just strictly from an XS and O standpoint, I want to say Minnesota because Minnesota is such a good perimeter defense team and but Minnesota is not a great rim protection team, which a rim protection team would cause more problems for a team that likes to slash and attack the rim all night long. But Golden State's not really

like that. Golden State mostly operates with a vacated paint and there's just a ton of congestion on the perimeter, and if they usually can get past that barrier, it's like wide open layups. One of the biggest reasons why uh Steph has one of the best interior finishing percentages for a guard is because he usually is shooting wide open because the defense is so far extended. Well, Minnesota, that's where they're at their best is in perimeter defense.

But the reason why I think Memphis would be a tougher matchup is we just have enough experience watching them against Golden State, and they've consistently given Golden State issues. Like just it's just a bad matchup for them on so many fronts. They don't have great you know, they don't have anybody that can stay in front of jaw. You know, they have a lot of big athletes that can punish them on the offensive glass. They're big on the perimeter, which is a huge part of why Denver

has been so successful. So I think I leaned towards Memphis. That's gonna be a really really interesting series, and it's gonna be nasty, it's gonna be toxic. There's gonna be trash talk, it's gonna be that's gonna be obviously it. I talked before this playoff run about how this particular playoff run was gonna be one of the most interesting

in this era of NBA basketball. But like the second round, fittingly enough, is just gonna have a bunch of super interesting series is and that one's near the top of my list. How much of a chance do you think the Grizzlies have there? Who it's it's it's not because I'm leaning towards Golden State, but it's close, Like i'd probably go like a healthy like it's just the Golden State, Okay, Mike,

we talked about earlier, Memphis is nowhere near serious. Like, in the same way that Golden State recognized the threat of Denver and closed the deal tonight, Memphis is the kind of team that would have lost that game because Memphis has had such a in and out focus through this entire playoff from We've talked about it a lot on this show. So like part of me wants to lean on Golden State and their decision making and their savvy nous, but this is just a horrible matchup for them.

And so the question is is the horrible matchup enough to make up for you know, obviously Golden State having better perimeter talent, it's a good question. You know, we talked a lot about Minnesota having a good half court defense. Memphis also has a pretty good half court defense, with exception of Jaw He's the one kind of weak link on that front. So I think, you know, Golden State's smarter,

they have more experience. I'm gonna lean on them in that regard, but Memphis has a legit puncher's chance to win because of the fact that it's such a bad physical matchup for Golden State. They're bigger and almost every position, and you know, and and again with these kinds of things, Carson, it's always about, like a lot of it has to do with how long this series goes. It's so important for Golden State to steal a game in Memphis and then to win games three and four because they will

need to end this series quickly. The longer these series with Golden State go, the more susceptible they are to physical mismatches, and that's gonna be something that they have to keep an eye on. Yeah, that's a really interesting take on it. I feel like the Warriors are pretty clearly the better back basketball team, but you are righting

that they would be physically an athletic outmatched. I do feel though the level they have been able to reach defensively is so impressive, and just the shotmaking right now out of pool and obviously Steph and Clay, it feels like that's a lot for the Grizzlies to overcome, just because it's like their half court offense, in their high level shot creation. I mean, even compared to the tables, it's like if you were to tell me one team

would be carried by their offensive stars to a win. Obviously, Desmond Bayane has been really tremendous at times in the series, but he's not like that go to bucket getter, initiator

kind of guy you've talked about that. I mean, he's a score within the flow, phenomenal catch and shooter, all this different stuff, and so it just feels to me like that is still an issue with Memphis that can be exploited that if Jaw is an other worldly you know, you're relying on an inefficient Dylan Brooks as a second guy or a Desmond Bayane who you know, it's just not really his natural role. Triple j is still every other offensive posession when he initiates, it feel like he

doesn't really know what he's doing. So I just feel like things are a little smoother or a little easier for the Warriors on that end right now. So I would probably put it closer to like Dubs. Honestly, I feel like there's a bit of a gap there right now,

you're very confident. That's interesting. The offensive fulcrum pieces interesting because like part of the issue in this series Denver has been Yokich's ability to just utterly compromise their defense throughout the entire game, so that even these inferior guards are just getting amazing looks every time down the floor, right, And like not that Jaw doesn't have that capability, because

he does. But I think that Golden State is going to be more equipped and now that will be something as the series goes Alonge that becomes an advantage for them as the smarter team. I think they're gonna be able to figure out more ways to slow Jot down. So that is an interesting angle there. Well, you bring up the Yoki dynamic, and I mean in terms of just making average or media ochre players around him look

good and put them in exceptional position to succeed. I mean, that's all that he's done all year and throughout last year. Once Jamal Murray got hurt, is just ut those guys. We've got another fake question here. Even in defeat, did Yokich shut the haters up with his performance in this series? Okay, quick follow up question. Am I considered a hater? No, So here's where I would classify you, Jason. I think

you're a fair skeptic. I think your criticisms about you know, having to go out and show that he doesn't have these weaknesses that can be exploited compared to other like all time, you know, top five kind of players. I think that's fair. I don't think that you're a hater. I would say haters are people who would like argue that he, you know, certainly didn't deserve m v P, which you didn't do. I mean, he was your m v P. Or I saw Charles Barkley the other day

didn't have him in his top ten players. Like people who I think disregard the context and just blindly make anti yokich ar events. I don't think you fall into that category, but I would hope they would have shut that down. No, I mean I I've always, I've always I've had the respect, the requisite respect of Yoki ever since that Clipper series and like again, and you you guys know how much I value playmaking, Like I think he's in that like exclusive echelon of the top four

playmakers in the league. You know with CP three, Luca and Lebron and I have a great deal of respect for that specific skill. So like my my thing is like I'm kind of sick of this conversation the and I'm not I'm not talking about like the question. I mean like the question, the conversation surrounding like Yokich is a floor raiser, Like I'm kind of sick of that. Like I'm ready to see Javal Murray come back, Michael Porter Jr. Come back, And to see this team with

some real expectations and see what that looks like. And I want to see because because part of the issue here is Yokich keeps losing in the first round because his team has hurt out all the sast year. I guess he did beat that Portland Trailblazers team, but then

he went out feebly against Phoenix. So it's like part of me is like I want to see I want to see Yokis go on a real playoff run like this now again, the you saw the Lakers give him some issues in the bubble with like throwing Dwight Howard at him, and Anthony Davis had some success against him. They were attacking him on the defensive end as well, although the Lakers didn't quite have the personnel to get him out of the paint enough. But like I'm just

I'm ready to see the next challenge for Yoki. Like I've already known that he can raise the floor. I've already known that he can keep a team relatively competitive against the team like the Warriors when he has inferior talent. Like I've already seen all of that. So like, to me,

there's nothing really new from Yokichen here. I would and at this point, like the Barkley types and the guys that don't have him in their top ten, like they're beyond saving, Like they're they're not they're either not watching enough basketball or they're deliberately not paying attention to what they're seeing. It's just to me, those guys are kind of like, uh, nefarious characters in terms of actually trying to talk basketball. Yeah, I agree, I would put absolutely

zero stock into that. I think that this does not change my opinion of Yokis whatsoever, because I think that you're absolutely right. I mean, if you've watched the guy play a lot of basketball, there's never been a doubt about his ability to raise an offensive ceiling, and I think that. I mean, his postseason production is pretty ridiculous. Throughout his career, he's consistently elevated his raw production, and he was thirty one, thirteen and six in this series

on almost fifty eight percent shooting from the field. Let me ask you this, then, I think Yoki is the best offensive player on the planet. I think that your defensive criticism is fair. I think maybe at times I've underrated that. What's your reaction to that. I'll make the case, but just gut instinct, what do you think So the ability to thrive in any sort of individual coverage but also have the ability to play make at such a high level, I think automatically puts you in that conversation.

I I'm always gonna go towards man. The hard part is is like my brain wants to go to like Lebron or a Steph, but they're both aging, so like I want a grandfather. The two of them above Yo kich in that conversation, But I could totally see why you put yokas on that level. My think the reason why I always have thought of Lebron as the best offensive engine in basketball is because of that diversity of

his attack, the diversity of his attack. Like Lebron, just if you're giving him issues on one spot of the floor, he's just going to a different spot of the floor and he can thrive there as well. He can do he has a face up game, he's got a post up game, he's got a live dribble game. He can work at a pick and roll, he can work at isolation, he can score from all three levels. Like that to me, in conjunction with his playmaking, kind of gives him an

extra level of versatility. But it's and it's hard for me to bump Lebron off that spot after he had yet another kind of magnificent offensive season on a garbage team where they were loading up on him just about every single time he had the basketball. But like, I totally see why your Kich is in the running there. But again, it's like, I want to see him go on a long playoff run where he has some ceiling raising potential with a good team before I kind of

bump him to the top of that list. But I'm not. I'm not gonna poo poo your idea here at all. Yeah, I think it's interesting. Another thing that I would say is a dynamic with Lebron that I think has always given him an advantage comparatively over guys like Steph. To me, is the physical imposition element where you know, if things aren't going right from with his jump shot or what have you. I mean, just brutal dominance. I think, yeah, just run him over every time. I think it's really impressive.

I just think, you know, the production with your kich is totally historically unprecedented. The efficiency is totally historically unprecedented. I do think the versatility is also pretty unreal. I mean he does everything. You know. He is curling around screens, he is rolling and popping, He's dominating out of the post, he's pushing in transition. Like, I think he is really in a class of his own in terms of his ability to just play all these different roles on offense.

I agree with you, Lebron also has you know, incredible versatility, But I just think the guy is really really something else, and purely in terms of offense. I do think he's the best. I think he also, for me, might be the best player overall in the world. I know you're not gonna like that take, and I do have obviously some of the same defensive issues I do. At times, they'll just think the offense is overwhelming enough to where it's like, I don't know, everybody has their flaws. Janice,

the half court offenses a flaw. Katie I just don't

think compares as an overall offensive engine anybody. And you know, there's a bunch of guys you can throw into that conversation, Steph, I don't think the conversation is super complicated now, Like I can't wait till after the season kind of get in more into the weed of this with you, because like the truth of the matter is is like it's so up in the air for me because I did I had Janice at like third overall behind Lebron and Katie coming into this run, and and I don't want

to just be like, yes, is the best because I think he's gonna struggle against Boston. So like I'm really curious to see that. Like this is like this whole NBA hierarchy is like a snow globe that just got like shook like a hundred times, and like I'm just really curious to see where it all lands in the

next month and a half, you know, on equivocally. I mean, I cannot remember a time in my brief yet beautiful life that there have been remotely this many guys and the best player in the world conversation, like not even close. You know, it's been so consensus for the most or maybe one or two challengers. So it is really fun and interesting. All right, last question here, Jason, it's another fake one. We talked a little bit about Charles Barkley. He called Kevin Duran a bus rider. You reacted to

those remarks. What do you think the last time was that Charles Barkley wrote a bus? Oh? Like literally or the NBA version, the last time Charles Barkley literally wrote a bus? Oh man, I'm gonna go with like in Europe or wherever it was that the Dream Team went. That's gonna be my guest. Wait, wait, are we counting like charter bus to the arena? Because if that's the case, it's probably happened on a road trip. Yeah, that's a good question. I'm gonna say, No, I don't think that

counts as a bus. Okay, like public bus maybe Europe for the Dream Team, but that's about it. Yeah, was he on the nineties Olympics team. I have no idea. That's a really good question. Now, I think he was dealing with some injuries at that point in his career, so I doubt it because things went downhill fast for Chuck after he left Phoenix, right, well six is when he actually went to Houston, Right, Yeah, I think. I

think it's been a very long time. And honestly, I mean, would there have been a ton of reason for him to be on a public bus. It might go back further than that. Yeah, you're right, I think high school. Yeah, man, well, I don't know, maybe college. I mean, I think he's been living on his palace of Krispy Kreme Donuts for

quite some time. That dude, Charles Charles and Stephen A. Smith, the two of those guys, the clip that they unloaded this last week, it's like, oh, man, and you know me, like, I try so hard to avoid some of that stuff, but I have to to a certain extent because there is, like you have to leve me some legitimate criticism on some of these guys, like I mean, Kad like Katie

has always been one of my favorite players. I thought he was the best player in the world coming into this playoff run and like he had a really bad series. Like I can't just sit there and lie about that, even though I'm a Katy fan, you know, so it's like you gotta be honest about these kinds of things.

But like, man, Stephen A. Smith and Charles Barkley just went for the jugular over the this last week, and they're as performative like take artists there's they're unparalleled, and so like when the two of them get on a roll like that, it's a site to behold. Man, I'm telling you, yeah, I I there was a lot of talk of everybody just the next time that either one of them would get in front of them Mike because they knew what was coming. Apparently Barkley was on the

nineties six team, so maybe that's maybe that's a candidate. Really, that's super interesting. Yeah, alright, guys, that is all we have for tonight. I sincerely appreciate your support. As always, don't forget to hit that subscribe button on the Volumes YouTube channel. Don't forget I also do video breakdowns of almost every game that I watched, So follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason lt so you can get some video content to back up the things that I am saying.

We will be back tomorrow night, not with the live show because we're doing some NFL Draft stuff with the live element of things, but I'm still gonna be recording reaction videos to all three games. So just stay tuned to the Volumes YouTube page and you will see those videos there, and then we will take our usual Friday Saturday off and we'll be back on Sunday for kicking down what's going to be an unbelievably incredible first round

or a first game of the second round. I appreciate your guys supports sincerely from the bottom of my heart, and I'll see you guys tomorrow. The Volume