Pacers and Nuggets Even Series, Mavs Thunder and Celtics Cavs Previews

a little bit. Last night you have the Denver Nuggets getting back into a little bit of their their defending champion form as they beat Minnesota one fifteen, one oh seven, even up the series and New York Knicks lost the Pacers in Indiana one twenty one to eighty nine. Let's first go touch on that Denver Minnesota game, because it

felt like things really shifted. It was close game, back and forth, but closing out the half, the last twenty four seconds of that second quarter, things just changed in terms of momentum. How Denver was able to make a push. Anthony Edwards was spectacular last night. Forty four points, five rebounds, five assists, two steals, five of eight from a three

point line. He hit a three that pulled Minnesota within seven with about a minute to go, and then it was a series of events, some turnovers, ended with a Jamal Murray half court shot that then changed the complexion of things put Denver back up by fifteen. They got compliments of a lot of players contributing, including Aaron Gordon, who did a little bit of everything the entire night.

What he was doing on the offensive end twenty seven points, knocked down some three point shots, six assists, two blocks. His defense on Karl Anthony Towns has been exceptional. Nikola Jokic with thirty five seven seven and three steals. Jamal Murray despite everything that happened in game two did not get the suspension. These last two games, it's looked more of the Jamal Murray that we've been accustomed to seeing when you break down this game and where things are at.

Because after those first two games, Minnesota just dominated Denver. I think you had a lot of people thinking this could have in some ways been a sweep or been a very short series, and now it looks like it may go the distance. What stood out to you most about the way Denver played and started to handle that Minnesota defense in their win last night?

round in five games. They weren't able to recover when they eased into those games in Denver, and I think that that reality really hit hard for the Denver Nuggets. You know, they had played, they had played hard down the stretch, of the season with an eye on the number one seed, and they did not get it. So there was a little bit of failure. But then when they lost, you know, the first two games in this round, they were looking get a lot of failure and they

weren't ready for their defending championship season to end. To me, a couple of things yesterday just it. It reminded me that, you know, we talk about playoff series and the adjustments from game to game, and a lot of times, you know, we talk about how, well, yeah, the defense gets tighter and they can clamp down and take away options, and the coaches have to be more creative in terms of the players to whom they turn for, you know, to

generate the scoring they need. But I think Denver's defense has has uh, they've been they've been fine, But I think offensively, you know, they have they have done things differently in terms of disrupting that great Minnesota defense, just screens and angles and things to you know, get the Timberwolves a little out of sorts on that end of the floor, and that's been as dramatic as as anything.

And then I look at Jokic and he seemed play with as much energy as I've seen him play now, I have voted for him for MVP three years, so I know he's very good. Whether he seems all that energetic or not, but he just seemed to have an urgency about him yesterday, whether he was willing to grab a rebound and head up court, you know, attack the basket,

put up some shots. I just thought that Jokic refused to let that team fall into a three to one hole, and you know that that was striking And maybe Dendro has found itself and the Timberwolves are sort of back where they were when the series began, having to navigate high altitude and figure out a way to win there.

they're initiating getting into their offense. I think it's a lot of little things like that that just shift the dynamic of how Minnesota is playing defense, where they're gonna come at him, because they were absolutely smothering those first two games. It felt like there was six players on the floor, which how much ground they were covering, the

way that they could pressure the ball. I also think it was just some solid minutes, whether it was from Holiday coming off the bench, Brown doing a good job, it was just a good kind of push of Michael Malone of who he had and when and how those combinations were working that I thought was really impressive. But I think this is long from over, as we know, and I think for the Timberwolves too, just kind of the experience there, the environment, the extraordinary environment. I know,

you're accustomed to it. To Ash, you've seen it, you've been a part of it. In Minnesota, I.

Pacers did what they liked to do. They ran, and they got to go in transition. Their ability to get stops allowed them to get run outs. They had thirty eight transition points, six players in double figures, Tyre's Burton with twenty. But they also did a good job just pressuring up the floor. Aaron nee Smith second straight game that he has been defending Jalen Brunson and just been extremely physical with him, bumping him, doing everything he could.

I thought that the game changed in some way the tenor of it, and it typically does when TJ McConnell enters. He had fifteen points, ten assists. But there was something different just with how Indiana was able to play early in extend leads. And the Knicks haven't been a team throughout the course of this postseason that have necessarily been great in the first quarters, but it felt like Indiana was just able to shut the door with how they

continued to play. Brunson finished with eighteen points, five assists, and you got a wonder too the sore foot that he hurt in Game two. He has played in both of these last two games, but oh five from the three point line, he just didn't quite look the same. Josh Hart just two points one to six from three. The only other double figure players were Miles McBride off the bench with sixteen points and Alec Burk's with twenty points.

Got twenty three minutes because at the end of the third quarter, Tom THIBODOVII pulled pulled the plug and said okay, and the guys finally got some rest, not in a way that he probably wanted them to. You saw the bench play and everyone play a lot of minutes in a manner that the Knicks, certainly we're not looking forward to.

But now that this shifts back to Madison Square Garden for Game five with the series tied up after New York won those first two close ones, what's your expectations after seeing that, after watching that, for the Knicks to refresh, rebrand, rebound, and start to look like the team in some of the ways to spite those high minutes despite the high usage here in game five.

They took this one and can move on, you know, one day in between games. Now it's better than the regular season. It's not as good as maybe the first round could give you, where you have two three days between games. The Knicks need as much time as possible to recover and rejuvenate. But yeah, I think they'll be I think they'll be a better team for this. You just wonder about the attrition O g Annobi. To me, that's a huge loss if he's not available to play.

They were a different team when they did have him after he arrived from Toronto. And to say, well, and I heard Tibbs quote, you know, well he missed a lot of time during the season too. Yeah, well you at the same team when he wasn't there. He makes a difference. He gives you bonus offense and you can put him on just about anybody you need to defensively at a given moment. So you know that, to me, is is the greatest problem right now. And of course Brunson.

You know, Brunson is less than one hundred percent. I mean, he can be effective. If he's less than eighty percent, you've got a problem. There was a reason that he was on a lot of our MVP ballots, and it's that sense that he is their engine. Without him, you know, that team is a lottery team, you know, so that would be unfortunate if he's not able to get back up, you know, to play at a high level of his potential.

But yeah, Indiana, you know, they have to stick with what's what's working, and they have to play that game that's theirs. McConnell has earned the right to play in at the end of games. I mean, Carlisle, you know, has a habit of going back to his starters, and I just think McConnell is troublesome enough. He's able to bother New York at both ends. And I was surprised. I mean, he's fifteen and ten came in the fewest minutes ever in an NBA playoff game. I think he

played twenty minutes and generated that sort of production. So you know, he's he's extremely valuable in a certain smaller digest level way. He does for that team. What Brunson does all game long for the Knicks, I mean is a he's a driving force. He's pesky, he's difficult to defend, and he's rising to the occasion. I'm not saying he's been an underused star or anything like that, but it's almost like remember JJ Barrea in the twenty eleven final, Yes, I do, that's what this reminds me of.

But yeah, but I think the Pacers did get back to playing and the way we saw them play throughout the course of the season, the high powered offense sometimes as their best defense, but they're doing just enough at that end, so to me, more of it is going to be interesting to see how the Knicks look and if that attrition does actually start to factor in at this point of the postseed and with the minutes and

with the usage that they have been playing. As we're going to get to work you are at in Cleveland, as we got two game fours taking place tonight on TNT Boston at the Calves and the Oklahoma City Thunder at Dallas as they tried to even things up as well. Get to that right after the RT Welcome back to NBA Paul Sarahkustak, joined by the great Steve Asberner and Ash Boston at Cleveland. Cleveland got one, but it looks like the Celtics are continuing to put things together. They've

been playing without Christaps Porzingis. For Cleveland, Donovan Mitchell has been exceptional, but just not quite enough help, especially with the compliments of how Boston can play on both ends of the floor. They had a nice win on Saturday one,

six ninety three in Cleveland. They will play tonight at seven pm Eastern on T and T. As I had mentioned, what do you have your eye on here for this matchup tonight is Boston tries to in some ways take a even more command of this series than can Cleveland. Even things up here.

and not responding well. And that's why the Celtics you know, got taken into the woodshed a little bit after that game. But Cleveland did a better job. I think the way they had Mitchell sort of feel out the game and get his teammates going. He scored six points in the first half on his way to twenty nine by the time it was over, and it seemed like a pretty good formula. But that didn't happen in game three. Game three, he was looking to score, teammates were not getting going.

He didn't have a lot of help. You know. Evan Mobley does what he can, but he tweaked an ankle again, so that limited him a little bit. And Boston woke up and said, you know, we were better team than this, were the better team in the series, and they took care of their business. I just you know, it just seems like they follow their leader. Jason Tatum. Extremely talented. I mean, there's so much he can do just smooth.

But he's not He's not a fire iron, you know, he's not somebody who you know, he's not ruthless on the floor like as I wrote, I mean, he's not Kobe Bryant. He's not Michael Jordan. He might not even be Anthony Edwards when it comes to that killer instinct. He's just so good he can get away with, you know, maybe floating through some games or periods of games. But

he also has tried to do multiple things. His shooting has been off, but he has looked for teammates and he has rebounded the ball, and his stats overall are pretty good except for the percentages. I just think Boston is that that sort of team. They know they have the talent, they know they have the depth, and at this level, at this at this round, they probably have taken things a little lightly and they are without Porzingis. Let's not you know, let's not overlook that he's a

pretty important piece to what they want to do. I just don't think they particularly need him until the finals, assuming that they can get there.

how he'll be hampered by that. Jared Allen is also questionable on the injury report, which is a positive sign for Cleveland because obviously the fact they've been playing without him throughout the course of this early part of the series has not helped in ways in which he could be impactful, in particular on the inside. What's your pick for tonight?

he feels this thing. Yeah, so hard to play in those circumstances. Yeah, it would surprise me if Cleveland is able to tie up this thing and make it a best of three.

What do you expect out of this one here tonight with the MAVs looking to open things up a little bit or if Oklahoma City can even up this series.

wearing a little bit down. He doesn't seem as effective against and again it could be a matchups thing. But with Daniel Gafford and with Derek Lively, you know, he's got his hands full there. Are sort of two sides of a coin. And you know, home Grin doesn't have a lot of tall help on that team. I think they are a little bit undersized there. Fun to watch jam all all credit, but this is about where they

seemed likely to max out. And I just think when you've got Irving and Docicch, you're covered if the game is close, and you know the way Dallas has played, I'm not even sure that we'll need that much, you know, close game prowess, because I just think that if they've found themselves, adding Washington and Gafford during the season transformed that team here and here, and so we're seeing the results of that now.

played and how they would fit. And I don't know if it was you who I was talking to her at some point when that trade was I have always been high on PGA Washington and just the versatility and adaptability that he brings on both ends of the floor and those guys have been special for this Dallas team

and impactful. And I also think that it gives you a little bit of leeway with Derek Lively coming off the bench and just how you can use him and work him in being a rookie being as young as he is, So no question, it is going to be fun to see how this continues to play out. Ash have fun in Cleveland. I hope you get a good one, safe travels to your next stop, and as always, we appreciate you your time and we look forward to talking with you again.