This is the baseline discussing the hot button topics of the NBA. Welcome everybody, your tune to the baseline. Cali Warrenshaw discussing the hot button topics of the NBA. And so we have come to this. It is now down to two teams that will be competing for the Larry of Bryan Trophy. It will be the Bosson Celtics taking on the Dallas Mavericks to see who's gonna hold up that chip. So many interesting storylines that it's coming off of this matchup.
But while the focus will be on the finals, we also have to make sure that we have to properly body up the two teams that unfortunately wound up getting waxed by the Celtics and the Mavericks. So this is a full slated edition of the baseline. And as always, let me go and roll out the red carpet. To my right here man Www Dot Shaw Sports at netwikahunap andc my ma and mister warren Shaw repping out of Fort Layda at Florida.
What's good, mister Shaw? What what do you make of And if we go back to the beginning of the season where we did our predictions and everything like that. How are we looking so far in our assessments, our Calstra Damas assessments. I'm doing pretty well all things considered. I think, you know, going back, if we would have thought these would be the two teams in the NBA Finals, one of them we expected or many expected.
Vegas odds included in Dallas is the result of some massive changes at the trade deadline that have actually worked, you know, for a team in the short term. It paid off immediately. So I think in terms of that, you know, Dallas is maybe the surprise team, but by no way in shape or form are they now the team that is. I know there's still the underdogs in this series, but many will be picking them to win because they have what I would say is probably the two best offensive players in
the series, not necessarily the two best players. We can obviously get to that ter on, but obviously Luke and Carie are are are immense to deal with. But this is a great, great situation I think for the NBA to get two of the potential phases of the league, if you will, young guys, and Luca Dunchett and Jason Tatum be going up against each other here for both what would be their first NBA championship. Well, this is a win win situation, and to your point, we'll get into the preview
in a moment. I'm gonna put the big L right on top of my forehead because I clearly put no faith in the fact that the Celtics were going to figure out a way to make it past year, because I had so much faith in the idea that this was the revenge season for the Milwaukee Bucks. But we've already buried the Milwaukee Bucks. We ain't gonna get into that.
I will say though, that because of what the Celtics have been able to accomplish this year and what the expectations are and have been for them through this season, it will enlighten me in the way that I am going with
how we'll be doing our assessment of this NBA Finals. Either way you slice it it, it is gonna be musty TV because to your point, we have arguably some of the most dynamic offensive dynamic offensive players with so many different styles participating in this NBA Finals, and so we'll get into all of that. We'll also get into our coveted autopsy where we'll discuss the Indiana Pacers and
in the Minnesota Timberwolves, you know, two teams respectfully. You know, you could say fought the good fight, but clearly they just ran into a better team, a better seasoned team or players that are better seasoned and are just ready for this and all of the chirpin, all of the you know, the talking and all that stuff can just you can't overlook the fact that they were gonna be tested, and they got tested. So we'll talk about both of those teams as well too in the autopsy report. As always,
we appreciate everybody for hopping on boat with us. Be again my Manshawe as Sports NBA get at me a game face lead the shows, Twitter, NBA Baseline available on all the major platforms. You know where to find us. Go to www dot the Baseline NBA dot com to catch up with this episode and all of our previous episode, and you can also check us out on YouTube. If you see the blue and white logo in the top right hand
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your earlops. Let's get right into it, Shaw, Let's talk NBA Finals preview Buses, Celtics Dallas Mavericks. One of the things that I think really stand out to me, and it's what I just mentioned earlier, is we are basically seeing four very unique styles of basketball played through these individuals between Tatum
Brown, Donkic, and Kyrie Irving. And what may make this an absolutely fun NBA Finals to witness is I think each and every single one of these guys will have their opportunity to shine that the way that each of these teams play, which is very different from each other. And then we also have, you know, supplemented characters, right the Chris STAPs, Porzingises, the
PJ. Washington's, the Derek Lively, the Drew Holidays. There are so many casting parts, and I think it will be foolhardy if people's only focus is just on the star players who are obviously gonna come out and ball. But if they are balling, people need to watch for the supplementary players, the role players, because I think that there is more than enough opportunity for them to get their shine in this year's finals, I would agree with that
one thousand percent. It's interesting because I think, like Dallas, the supporting cast started to I don't know, recess a little bit here in the conference finals, but maybe you'd expect that, and Luke and Curry had to do a lot of heavy lifting. But PJ. Washington wasn't the same guy that he was in the OKC series, and maybe you can't expect him to be
that, right, But Derek Glaveley played a bitter role. And I think this is where for me when we talk about basketball and you and I we have this conversation all the time, like the focus is so much on the offensive side of the basketball, Like we don't talk enough about the intangibles and screen setting and rebound. The Stars to score twenty eight and thirty and thirty five points a game. So Derek Glaveley being a capable passer as a rookie
center is a big situation, you know, for the Dallas Mavericks. Daniel Gafford being a an elite level room protector is a great situation for the Dallas Mavericks. So I think, you know, those that's where this series can be won and lost. I think for both teams. Boston's bench has been i'd say average at best, especially as we've gotten into later rounds. We've
seen less impact from guys like Sam Hauser, Payton Pritcher. I think it's still been relatively hit himself, but a lot of that is because Porzenkis has been out of the lineup for the last five weeks, and so Al Horford, who used to come off the bench, gives you a different, different look and different dynamic as well too. That should shift back, you know, to to normal state to some degree for Boston, whether Porzenkis ends up coming off the bench or Al does going back into his normal role. But
I really do love that point in terms of the bench. Guys will have a lot to say about how this series goes as well. Obviously the main guys here, but it's the Holidays and Derek Whites, and I know they're not you know, they're not role players per se, they're elite starters, but they will have impacts on this series and it won't necessarily just be authensively. We'll get into our predictions in a little bit. Yeah, but I want to highlight a couple of things, not just in what you're saying,
but also where my thought process is going when I first started. The reason why I had brought this up just right off the bat is because this is the kind of NBA Finals that we hope to see, and it's been a while because everything that's been driven over the last i want to say, seven eight years with the NBA Finals has really been predicated on people getting theirs right.
Just like the narrative right now, Kyrie Irvin getting his without Lebron James, Luka Donkic, you know, proving that I mean, he to me had already proven and I had said this, I had predicted this. I thought that the Atlanta Hawks missed in getting Luka Donkic when that trade happened, and that the Mavericks struck Gold Okay, And again it's not a knock on Trey Young. I'm just saying for what the expectations were, this is what
I was talking about. Now, if Luca can sustain this, we're there's gonna be a very very interesting discussion being had going into this next season about where we truly can see the greatness of Luka Donkic. Then we have Jason Tatum right miss this opportunity back in twenty nineteen, twenty twenty, right with the with this I'm sorry twenty twenty two, the opportunity to win a chip Jalen Brown. Okay, all of these guys, wonderful, kudos to them.
The thing that really stands out when I think about this final Shaw is each of these guys and what they do and how they do it is going to determine how big of an impact their role players are if if you really think about it, the Busts and Celtics defensively have the equalizer to what teams
cannot do with a team. How the Mavericks are built. Okay, you arguably have four players that are back court slash front court style players in White, Holiday, Brown, and Tatum. You can interchange alternate and still be able to d up Luca and Kyrie Irving. And I'm not saying you're gonna shut them down. But what I am saying is you have the opportunity to give multiple looks defensively in the course of a game. Where as a coach, you don't have to lean on only Holiday sticking this guy, only White
sticking that guy. You know what, this is an opportunity for the Jalen Browns and Jason Tatums to say, hey let me get that dude, Hey, I'm gonna lock them down on this key possession and have the confidence to
do it. You would think that that would be an advantage for the Boston Celtics because if you look at the rest of the other teams that were participating in this playoff situation, you cannot say with certainty that you had enough bodies or you had enough match from a defensive perspective to be able to hold your own against the team like how the Dallas Mavericks came into this this year's playoffs.
Yeah, there's two points. I want to piggyback off of what you said, right, The stars in essence will help dictate how the how the role players can ultimately play, and that goes That's the case in every series. But I think even more so so if Tatum and Luca get into the next phase of the league, I'm trying to be the MVP of the finals situation, that's probably not great for both teams, right, and I think both teams would not be playing to their what their advantages are in terms of
spreading it around. And then if Luca's in that that means Kyrie's not getting as many touches, you know, being able to be the creative genius that he is with the basketball. So that's something I think that ultimately needs to be to be avoided, like immensely. So so I'm so concerned about that, you know, more from Tatum side, because of all the slanner that
he's had in the Nine Days off here. As Boston leads up to it, people don't know what to talk about, so they're figuring out ways we can, you know, pick apart the Celtics run so far and pick apart in some ways, Tatum and Brown I think as individuals while Luke and Kyrie are on this writing this kind of this media high and this coming of age, and Kyrie just hey, he's the redemption story. Like it's it's a
very different narrative, I think from the are you're looking at it. And I'm not saying media is picking sides per se, because Boston is still favored to win the series, but in terms of the media darlings in this, the fan darlings of this, this is skewed tremendously towards Dallas's favor, which is an interesting I think development overall. That said, going back into you
know the impact of what the role players will be able to do. Yes, Boston has the ability to defend in a way and love what you said in terms of like you know, and Joe Mozula said, two, we can't stop those guys, but you have to make it immensely difficult. You have to give them different books, and I think on the other end, you have to continue to go at them, which is not something Minnesota did a great job of and making Kyrie and Luca ultimately always having to defend on
the other side. And to your point, this is where I fear where the Boston Celtics can give a game or maybe even the series away, because the Celtics are so dogged in the way that they want to execute offensively,
which is let the threes fly. That I think at times you bail out a team like the Dallas Mavericks, who I think you can get them on their heels, who I think you can get them reeling a little bit, get them shifting their energy sort of speak, to be very to be more disciplined in the one thing that we thought was very shaky until the two trades were made in getting PJ. Washington, and then the coming of A and
Gafford, and then the coming of age with with with Lively. You can neutralize these things if you do not just only you know, just chuck the three, you know what I mean. And when I say that, I'm not saying Celtics don't do what got them there them shooting the three and shooting at an effective clip. The Dallas Mavericks are gonna see what a team looks like when they can shoot the three. The Minnesota Timberwells, they can shoot the three when they had to shoot the three, but that was in you
know, on this streak that they were in in the playoffs. This isn't true that their personnel wasn't crafted so that they can be chucking the three like that. What you'll see what the Boston Celtics is, these dudes come in practicing chucking the three. They go to sleep chucking the three, They get up at the breakfast call chucking the three. They wave the taxi cab with
the three. It's all gonna be about the three. But it's the type of threes that the Boston Celtics take that I think make a difference in the
way that they will allow their offense to execute. If they're chucking a three with clean looks and bodies going to the basket because they know who's getting that good shot, the Celtics can out rebound, can give themselves opportunities, They can put themselves in the best position to take possessions away from the Dallas Mavericks or more so, put more pressure on executing every possession that the Dallas Mavericks
have. But if the Celtics do what they were doing in the series against the Indiana Pacers and parts of the Cleveland Cavaliers series, which is then basically kind of like hanging around and watching Brown and Tatum dribble dribble, dribble, dribble the life out of the basketball, then take like a fly out of
nowhere three point shot with nobody crashing the boards. That's gonna be a problem because it'll bail out the Mavericks, and the Mavericks themselves will be in position where their role players can do what they were doing in that series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Yeah. For Boston, right, it's always about the quality looks that they get and are they getting the paint touches and they're getting things
straight back out. From an outsider's point, and maybe even some from office's point, you might say, well, well, Gafford and Lively being somewhat elite at least in the playoffs in terms of the room protection, Boston's going to feel like there's no reason to go in there. But I think that's the exact opposite. You need to go in there. You need a challenge and you need to get those defenses rolling and maybe potentially in foul trouble.
Like neither one of those guys have been there before either, so how do you know that they're going to just step up to the proverbial play? And this is where Porzenis can play such a pivotal role because he can hit that mide, he can post up, and I think you need at least to have that optionality within your offense and be able to switch things up from time
to time, which Mosola is now showing some tendency to do. They have gotten a little bit more creative in what they do, especially defensively, but even somewhat offensively, and that's where Porzingis to me, can really change the narrative from what we've seen even in the first three series with Boston where they have been you know, obviously four or five guys out and then it gets slowed down a little bit too much isolation, et cetera, et cetera.
Porzingis unlocks the vertical threat, he unlocks you know that that that pinch post option if you will to back cut. You know, the driving cut game he had with Jaylen Brown. All those things kind of come back into play that can not necessarily neutralize. Gaffer them loudly, but they can't just protect the rim. They're going to have to be They're going to be involved in action, and I think that's how the Celtics ultimately can impact what is a
much improved Dallas defense on that side of the basketball. Absolutely, your tunes of the baseline Cali warren Shaw discussing the hot button topics of the NBA coming up will give our predictions of who we think is going to hoist that trophy. And then we also got our coveted autopsy rapport. But first, are you ready to elevate your fantasy sports experience? With prize picks, you can win up to one hundred times your money during the most thrilling time of the
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In our discussion NBA Finals preview, Dallas Mavericks Boston Celtics, only one can hoist the trophy, so seaw we spoke about the dynamics, the twists and turns, a lot of the storylines. I want you to give me who you feel to be your X factor for this series. Not the person that you're gonna be MVP. We'll get into that in a moment, But who do you find to be the X factor people should be looking at but probably aren't talking about. Who's gonna be a pivotal key and for both sides,
the Dallas Mavericks and for the Boston Celtics. So I mean, I think we know some of the main players obviously, and I think from Dallas we've spent a lot of time talking about Gafford Lively's impact obviously, Luka Kyrie, I think it's going to be you know, PJ. Washington and Jayden Hardy, Like what are those two guys do as role players coming into this
series? Hardy is somebody who has the ability as Josh Creen like, they have a lot of guys who they may be playing off off this bench, but Washington is obviously the starter here now and somebody who I think has the
ability to explode and can give you fifteen to twenty points a game. You know, if given open looks, if they lock in on the main two, if you will Boston does, Washington will have corner threes open all day not to mention Derek Jones, who's all of a sudden, you know, really kind of comes to life, especially when it comes to those corner threes. So Jason has a lot of weapons there. So but I'm gonna go with PJ. Washington as a guy. But I think Derek Derek Jones Junior,
you know, probably being the secondary guy there. And from the Boston side, listen, I don't have a lot of faith in this bench in this series. And that's because I think if Houser and or Pitcher are out
there, they're just gonna get picked on relentlessly. Uh. And that that gives me a lot of pause, uh to to for Joe Mozula to figure out a way to impact or to have an impact on this game with his bench, and I think it becomes more of a Derek White series, uh, and his ability to defend but also be a two way guy on on on the offensive side and shooting the three and getting guys involved with some level of efficiency. Uh. I would hope to be wrong from the Boston side
about that. I'd love to see Howser and Pritcher specifically have a direct impact on this series, but I am fearful of them just being hunted like dogs every single possession that they're out there where they become just completely unplayable. So to me, Derek Whitet Andrew Holliday obviously become like kind of more of the keys for Boston more so for what they can do defensively while still produce producing
some offensively in an efficient manner. Yeah, you bring up two interesting players, uh, for the Dallas Mavericks. So I was gonna go Derek Jones and PJ. Washington. I think what versions of what they can give you offensively I think are key. Defensively, I think they'll be okay. However, I do know that when you're dealing with you know, with the Drew Hollidays, the Derek Whites or even the Jalen Browns of the world, that they're going to cause problems and the style of play I think can be a
problem for you know, for both Jones and for PJ. Washington. We'll see how discipline they stay out of foul trouble in order for them to be on the floor for maximum minutes for Jason Kids to utilize, you know, his roster the way he wants to. I'm going to say the X factor Shaw and it's not going to be a player. It's gonna be Joe Mizula for the Boston Celtics and how he deploys, you know, his role players
and how he deploys this roster. And the reason why I say this is because we saw in this last series when the Celtics took on the Indiana Pacers, and we saw also again when the Celtics took on the Cleveland Cavaliers that there is clearly a problem with leaving Al Hawford out on an island on the
pick and rolls. And the fact that I found that, to me, this is actually a better matchup for Al Hawford in the way that he's playing his defense that he can actually it will not hurt as badly like if he was playing against, say the Denver Nuggets, if he was playing against the Minnesota Timberwolves, this would be a problem. You know, athletic bigs,
movable bigs. My question is is, you know, if Hawford is going to get extended minutes, right, how badly will the Dallas Mavericks look to take advantage of that of that situation at scenario, this is where I wanted to see Joe Missoula actually throw out Tillman throw out a couple of different other looks, and he started doing that. I want to see how long he rides the Hawford wave. I'm not knocking Halford. I want people to understand
Hawford is a valuable player and he brings value to this basketball team. However, there comes a point in time, and we've seen this all across. If you play sports, just because you're a season vet guy and there's loyalty there and they see you as a team captain doesn't mean that if you're trying to win a championship, you leave somebody out there. So he actually becomes
more of a liability than an asset to your team. And there has to be a point where Jomozula has to recognize where Hawford is actually going to be hurting the Celtics rather than helping the Celtics. Now that you have Porzingis, there should be no reason why you're still leaving him out there in matchups and situations where clearly he compromises what you need defensively then what you're asking of him
offensively. The Celtics got more than enough guys to shoot the three. Not that I don't want Hawford to shoot, but that's all that he does.
He doesn't give you anything down on the blox. So if you need players to go down there and get the opposing team in foul trouble, I want to see Missoula with conviction, pull the guys and put them in there to set up those situations rather than relying on someone that's throw up hail Mary three point shots or throw up three point shots in order to absolve what they're not giving you on the defensive end of the basketball court. That's just me.
Oh, let me just tap in on that one really quickly, because I think we're al can be effective if it's not necessarily you know, if if he too also gets hunted defensively, that's not the thing. Let's not mention Porzingis could also get hunted defensively coming yackly. You don't think Luca's gonna be like, you know, come here, let me see what them leg's about, Like, like there's gonna That means there has to be with Boston trying
to figure those things. There has to be more aggressiveness on it. If over the switch, like to just say, screw the switch. I'm getting over this and I don't care if if if Luca gets down, let him get down, let him get down deep, let him you know what, We'll get to the one last part before we get to our predictions, but
finish your point on that. Yeah, But what I think where Al can be impactful is if he can give Boston extra possessions because while the yes, Boston is gonna shoot a lot of threes, they've got to figure out a ways to rebounance some of those threes. Andrew Drew Holliday, who and Derek
White like those guys can get some of those long rebounds. We've seen Holiday come up with some immense rebounds too, but all specifically, if he can figure out a way to be a plus offensive rebounder in this series, that can be immense for Boston, you know, because I don't think they're going to be overly efficient. You know, we haven't seen the Celtics, you know, fifty three point shooting in the playoffs here, and while I know they are so confident in that they have room to get there, I don't
know that that will magically appear in the NBA Finals. So rebounding as is always key, but offensive rebounding, I think for Boston can really really change the dynamic of the series, and I'll hope for it as a guy who might be able to do just that. So one other thing that I wanted to bring up Shaw and I think this is key and I'm going to say this is a positive negative type situation here is on the Dallas Maverick side. Listen, the magic of Luca and Kyrie is phenomenal to watch, and at
the same time it could also be a tragedy as well too. Those guys are going to have the ball in their hands. Those guys are prone to turn the basketball over. If the Celtics force Luka, Donkic and Kyrie Irving to rush themselves into what they don't want, it opens opportunities for the dollar for the for the Boss and Celtics, you know, to defensively hunker down and force guys who are not ready to take the shot to take the shot.
It's kind of come a little easy because maybe those other teams, like the Timberwolves, you know, like the Oklahoma City Thunder, it came easy for them to to you know, to excuse, you know, hey, they're not gonna hit that shot like that, We're gonna leave them, don't don't think that that's the case. If they are setting their guys up with confidence to put them in the best position possible to shoot the kind of shot
they know that they can shoot, that's exactly what they're gonna do. But if you're the Celtics and you force them to have to make that second or third option to let the clock wind itself down to such a degree without fouling, now to such a degree where they're they're they're hesitance to do the things that they think that they're gonna do. It's almost like the Celtics anticipating what Luca and Kyrie are trying to do. You put them in that type of
situation, they will turn the ball over because great players do that. They have It's almost like it's a trigger in their head of perfection. You know, it's the utopian effect of playing sports. You want everything to fall right in a place because you can see it before it even happens. And sometimes somebody, somehow, some way, the way that the ball swings, the
play itself will will shift that narrative and now you gotta think differently. And for Luca, this is a different animal because it is the NBA Finals. He game close. Now he's in it. And if you think about the numbers between Hey, Tatum, Brown, Holliday White, all of these guys have seen and smelt it what it's like to be in the finals and to come up short or not come up short with Holiday winning the chip. But they know what it's like right to be in that situation. Luca doesn't,
Kyrie does. That's a lot of weight to just put on one dude for him to bring along a guy like Luca and the rest of that team to a situation, to a place that they're unfamiliar with. So it's going to
be an interesting dynamic to see. Yeah, well the Celtics can find a way to have Luca and Kyrie just continue to coin a phrase from Mark Jones and like they're do it yourself kits the entire series where they they lose confidence in those role players and those other guys that plays to the Celtics, you know, p verbal advantages, But I'm just not sure if Boston is going to be able to get enough of good offensive looks. And I think this
series for Boston Standpoint needs to be more in the low hundreds. While they've been a score a team that scores in the one hundred and ten hundred and fifteen or whatever. I don't think you want to get into an offensive, you know, shootout with Luca and Kyrie leading the Helm on the other side of the basketball. But this Dallas team is very well equipped. Jason Kidd
has done an amazing job to get them this far. It takes, you know, big brass balls to be sitting Tim Hardaway Junior down in this situation as well too. He's like just not out of the rotation, and I think, you know, if things were to go arise, it's a it's a card he could play, you know, later on in the series in order to try to get space shot give a different twa Junior doesn't play in the series, I'd be shocked. Yeah, I mean I'm shocked he's not
playing at all. But I mean exactly that too. And I think with Dallas, because in getting Cleber back was was was immense and while he's not quite himself, you know, all this time off should hopefully get him back. I made a joke knowing to believe of Celtics podcast. It looks like he literally has like a like a gun holster on his shoulder. He knows, so he's having a hard time letting that thing, you know, fire. But you know, with this time off, he might be able to
come back there and give them another spacing threat as well too. And then you have three, you know, three you know, six ten seven foot guys who you can deplay out there at all at all times, and that
gives Dallas a distinct advantage. I just don't know if Mozulla will be able to kinteract that and in what way does he because do they go small, you know, just take him play some more five in this series, all those things are I'm I'm I'm eager to kind of watch out and see because I think this is a very evenly two very evenly matched up teams with a lot to prove, especially when it comes to the legacy of some two superstars and Luca Donkins and and Tayson Tatum. All right, what you got now?
Yeah, So I'm dubling this, you know, the finals of legacy and supremacy and uh, you know, I'm I'm gonna go Homerism here. Uh And and I think if things go the way they're supposed to go in terms of Boston's overall depth, uh, they can win this thing in six. Uh, I don't trust them in a seven game series, not not
having the best offensive player on the floor. And again I think Tatum is maybe he's still not the best player player in the series, but I don't think it's as far away as people are saying, because again Lucas Lucas offense is so far superior, but Tatum's defense is a thousand times better than Lucas. So Tatum I think can be one of the, if not the best player in the series. He doesn't need to do that on the offensive offensive
side to prove that. Does that make sense? Yeah, so I got Celtics in six, but you know this is going to be a hard, hard, hard fought series. Yeah, it's gonna be a hard fought series. I have the Celtics in seven. I know that this sounds crazy when people were asking me about you know, wouldn't I want the Minnesota Timberwolves more than I would want the Dallas Mavericks And I just honestly feel like I would want the Dallas Mavericks more not you know, again, there's ancillary things,
you know, the whole Kyrie situation in Boston. It's not about any of that It's about the matchups. It's about where the opportunities are for what your team does so well that that it's priority that they do it well. And it's easy because you know who you're dealing with in order for you to do it well. To me, this has always been about the Celtics defense.
This has never been about their offense. Okay. And the only reason why I excuse me, bitch, and complained about the way that the Celtics operate offensively is because it just feels like there's this laxa daisicalness that tends to also affect what they do defensively. It doesn't make them a good team from a
transitional standpoint when they're just camping around a three point line. I think, because now they're playing in this type of series, almost like it's mirroring what happened to them against the Golden State Warriors, it is going to force them to step up and be engaged every single second minute of this NBA Finals and
to not squander the opportunity. And for me, giving the Dallas Mavericks seven games, to your point, I don't know if I completely trust the Celtics in a seven game series, but I have to trust that in a seven game series, the Celtics, barring anyone getting injured in some freak accidents happening, the Celtics have the horses to put the pressure on a team like the Dallas Mavericks. They have the matchups that they can interchangeably work to their advantage.
And I think that, to me is going to be the key if we want to validate whether or not Joe Missoula deserves to be the head coach he deserves, you know, and if they win, give this man his flowers, because where most of us question whether or not he was making the right call of the right moves, it's got him this far. Now, I think it's going to be ultimately tested against a good head coach like Jason
Kidd. And we can argue about the fact that the Dallas Mavericks may have actually a better depth better like a team more deep when one hundred percent healthy than the Boston Celtics. But if Missoula deploys his players out there, and those guys go out and execute when it matters the most and do the things that are necessary for them to get these wins, I'll ride the Boss and Celtics in this one going seven, All right, well, this is a great matchup. I think for him it's a pick them, it's a prize
pick em, yeah, pick more, pickless for sure. And I do hope. I hope we get a great series, and I hope we don't get too much of the you know, machismo if you will, Like we want to see bravado, right, but we don't want to see it be at the detriment of good team basketball. And I think that's where, you know, I'm slightly concerned from Boston standpoint, because there's there's nobody questioning, like as great as Kyrie is, no one's questioning whether Kyrie is better than
Luca. Kary's not questioning that like Lucas, like the clearly the guy. Just because Jylen Brown won the Eastern Conference MVP is like, oh, we're back to that stage in Boston. Is Jalen Brown better than Jason Tatum, who's more class Again, that's like that there's a lot of noise. There's a lot of noise, unfortunate and it's unfortunate out to get the champions. It's unfortunate noise that's being I think where it's coming from, I think is
the problem sh'all. Like, if it's the fandom, that's one thing. But when it's coming from the main media, the mainstream media outlets, it's almost as if it's like a slap in the face for the people who really truly improperly understand the dynamic of how we get to this point now with the NBA Finals, Look, I'm not disrespecting Jaylen Brown winning the Eastern because he deserved it. He was the best player in that damn series, point blank
period. That does not mean that if the Celtics are going to win this championship, then it has to be on Jason Tatum being offensively effective, efficient and impactful, and he's also contributed on other aspects with rebounding and assists. These are the little things. To me, is why we're talking about this and saying this is such a great series when you match up the Celtics and the Mavericks, because it's not just gonna come down to who's scoring more points,
you know what I mean? Like that, To me, it's gonna come down to all of the other things. The hustle points, the clutch points, all of that stuff, all of the things that we get nerdy about with the analytics. Now is the time that you guys want to feel validated for why these things are even in place while we talk about them. Here's your opportunity and chance, because you're getting it from two teams that have been embedded in it all the way up until the very last series left.
All right, your tune to the baseline. Cali warrens Shaw discussing the hot button topics of the NBA coming up, Sean, I got two teams to body up and our coveted autopsy report. We talked Pacers and Timberwolves. Don't go away, We are back. Cali Warren Shaw discussing the hot button topics of the NBA and our coveted autopsic report. Just finished talking NBA Finals preview between the Celtics and the MAVs. So let's go right into the uh, let's get it. Let's get our hands dirty, Shaw. You know our
hands were pretty clean then when we started talking Finals. Now let's get them dirty with our autopsy report talking Pacers and Timberwolves. So we'll first talk about the Indiana Pacers. Shaw. Look, you could make this the Cinderella story for what they were able to accomplish this season. I don't think anybody expected the type of turnaround when looking in totality the way that the Indiana Pacers just came out of the gate them, you know, getting to the n season
tournament finals, them basically participated in the Eastern Conference finals. Look, man, the future is absolutely bright for the Indiana Pacers if we can see them replicating what they were able to do. They've obviously got a lot to work on, okay when it comes to their their personnel, their roster, and how they are defensively against other teams. But I don't think anybody can question that this style of offense their Carlisle is deployed, is implemented with Halliburton at
at at captaining this thing. This is the kind of offense that I think Indiana Pacers fans faithful and the end of Indiana Pacers themselves gonna be loving for the next few years. And who knows, they might actually draw some free agency attention. They want to come run up and down the court like freaking thoroughbreds, you know, night in, night out through the course of a
regular season. I mean, well, it all starts with them being able to retain Siakam, And you don't figure they don't make that move understanding that he's you know, the wink wink agreement that he'll at least stay there. You know, would probably sign you know, a four, four or five year max as long as that happens. Yes, you know, this team should be right back in the thick of thick of things. I know a
lot of people don't feel like they deserve to be here. And yes, they faced a hobbled Milwaukee team, and then by the time they got out of the Knicks series, the Knicks basically had you and I playing And I understand all of those things, but there's nothing to take nothing away from their ability to score the basketball. Uh. They they they didn't improve defensively,
especially after the n season tournament. Ricarala realized like that was the only way that this was going to be tenable for them to have a deep playoff runt, and those things happened. And they also didn't have Benedict Mathurin, you know, a key wing player for them who they were intended to rely on. So this guy is the limit, if you will, I think for this Spacers team again. Siakam returning, Matthroom coming back healthy, what do
they do with Obi toppin, you know, not quite sure. They're uh, they have McConnell a contract for one more year and them haard to somebody who think they were gonna want to try to integrate more, especially what he saw him do in the last part of the then conference finals there too. And I like Isaiah Smith Isaiah Isaiah Jackson, sorry, and obviously Aaron Ee Smith as well too, So to me, they have the nice balance of role players, all star level talent and coaching that can be a problem in
some conference apps for many a couple of things. I don't know what people are complaining about, you know, with what happened between the Pacers and the Knicks. I agree, you know, the Knicks didn't have enough bodies, but damn it, this is what happens when you have a team that loves to run and a team that really doesn't love to run. Okay, you run them out the gym, you run them into injury, you force the
coach to run them to the ground. Okay, I mean that's unfortunately, that's what happened, and that's part of the dynamics of the different coaching styles in the NBA. So I don't want people, you know, taking away what the Indiana Pacers earned and what they did in that semi finals matchup against the New York Knicks. You know what I'm saying. And if you were the Boston Celtics, you did exactly what you were supposed to do against a
team that lost their top player. You forced the other guys to do what they were not capable of doing. That's what teams do. So I just think that people have to pump the brakes a little bit on whether or not. Now if you want to say what the Indiana Pacers can they do through the course of a regular season. Okay, now with this constructed roster, let's go. But I can guarantee you this there's not gonna be a whole lot of variation from what you saw the second half of the season with Siakam
in this roster from what you will see going into next season. And that's what's gonna make the Indiana Pacers a dangerous basketball team. They've got young legs and they actually have a legit deep roster. They can go one through twelve. It's a question of how does Carlisle make these necessary adjustments. Who's gonna improve come next year? Like take the next leap because because I can guarantee
you something Shaw to me, I think something was raised and elevated. While aaron Ne Smith tough minded kid, love them to death, inst inconsistency shooting that basketball, we saw Nemhart take a step forward as as somebody who might actually be better as a starter next to Halliburton. Okay, and then you've got McConnell in the backup Nie Smith if he figures out a way to be a solid wing guy like could be like that bulldog, you know, and
you can maybe operate with three guards if if necessary. So there's a lot to play with with with with the way Carlock instructure, can you know, can kind of form this this this roster they're starting five. You can even start Siakam at the five, you know what I mean. So there's a lot of ways you can go. And that versatility doesn't come about until you see what you saw from the Indiana Pacers, you know, in this run
that they made. Yeah, I think this is a team that will run it back if you will like this next year, get back in to as a little too. But Miles Turners on the last year, vis Deil going in next year, so they will have some decisions to make and think is that as as well TJ McConnell, as those guys get deals done this year over the course of the summer in terms of those extensions, but uh, they have some time and as since to at least play itself out and say,
like, all right, who are we really? And I like the idea of Haliburt and Nemhard, Matherin and Turner being your starting five next year with you know, with super super great role players. Again we always have about it doesn't be like the most offensive minded guy coming off your bench, but energy guys like McConnell and Nei Smith coming off your bench, Like that's huge for them. And then again you know you get Isaiah Jackson coming off
that bench. Ben Shepard s sold some some some chops here this year as well too. And then if you keep over topping. So I think you have a nice you know eight nine guys who, like you said, allows the pacers to just really come at you in waves and keep the energy up at all times no matter who was out there. Uh, nothing to hang
their head at this year, great great season. You know, hope Haliburton can can stay healthy, you know, moving into the lot of parts of his career here or the next stage of his current lot of parts, but the next age of his career and then getting everybody some other opportunities to continue to shine there. I think Carlisle is an underrated coach. I think everyone knows he's a good coach, but just how good he was to get them
this far. But I know he a lot of a lot of people say Mosula out coach him in the Eastern Conference finals, especially when it came to l late game execution. But those are things too. I think as you're commanding and leading a new team, he'll be better at that, you know, even himself going into next year. So sky's a limit for the Indiana Pacers, man, I think they're gonna be right. One last point, and it's something that I'm very curious of. Clearly we know that this is
Tyre's Halliburton's team. And one of the things that I think really helped Halliburton, you know, elevate himself into super into you know, star status. Right. I'm not gonna jump out yet and just say superstar, but help him come out and star status is this platform of what he basically did against the New York Knicks right like, it's taken him to like another level.
The one thing that I think is going to concern me is let's remember too that the Indiana Pacers really roll the dice and bringing a guy like Pascal Siakam, I think Pascal Siakam in Indiana is a perfect place. I cannot I do not see Pascal Siakam being that kind of guy like ogn Andobi was to the New York Knicks, right like, I see him in a way where in a small market he can really elevate himself and he can run alongside and
help build and fortify what that future could look like. Haliburton has to be very careful that he doesn't he doesn't stargaze himself to the point that he's forgetting the dudes that are riding with him. You know what I'm saying, Like I think he wants to, he just wants to. I'm just saying he should tread a little carefully, you know what I mean? Because come next year, you know, they're gonna be expectations, right, everybody is expecting
the Pacers to usurp the Milwaukee Bucks next year. They think that, you know, the Pacers prove that they can play the Milwaukee Bucks, and we don't know what version of Milwaukee Bucks are going to be coming this coming in this offseason, but I really am going to be interested to see how Halliburton, now on this level, on this tier, really galvanizes and pushes his team, force focuses, get his team focused, and see if all of
them are all on that same page with the expectations of getting right back to the same place that they were that they just got exited out of, which is the Eastern Conference Finals. Because I really think that stardom hits differently, especially in small markets, especially when you have executives making the kind of deals and moves that they've just recently made to really bolster this basketball team. Yeah.
Well, I mean that's a cautionary tale there too, is that I can't remember it Holiburton make the Olympic team because even that, I think, you know, if he has the opportunity, even if it's just to go to the camp in the summer, yeah, I mean, continue to to sharpen his skills, if you will, Those things in terms of being around those guys who are also leaders on their respective organizations, can can trickle back
into what he brings to Indiana next time. All right, Chaw, let's go ahead and move right on over to the next slab, which is the Minnesota Timberwolves. They unfortunately, you know, people could say they ran out of gas. They just were outmatched. They were probably too high on the
hog of knocking off the defending champions. But the Minnesota timber Wolves had to exit stage left against really, you know, one of the most formidable backcourt combinations that we'll probably see in our lifetime or our generation, with Luka Dank and Chikyrie Irving and this Dallas Mavericks team which just played on another level.
And while I give kudos to Anthony Edwards, a kid all but twenty two years old, you know, who basically came out of nowhere and took a team that was arguably supposed to be Karl Anthony Town's team, I honestly feel like, if you are the Minnesota Timberwolves, I think you should be very very leary about how this team is being set up and think about what you're building around. Are you building around Anthony Edwards or are you building around Anthony
Airwards, Karl Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. And I'm gonna tell you right now, if I'm talking to Minnesota timberwol fans and Minnesota Timberwold executives, be careful how I worded that question, because whatever a response you give to me and to anyone who hears that question might actually be the undoing of your team for the next five or six years. Wow. Wow, you know,
Kyle. Here's my thing. So I've had the opportunity to speak on a couple of different platforms more recently here obviously playoffs, picking up or whatever, and the turmber Wolves came up on one show I was on, and it was like, yeah, Timbrels are ef an expensive, you know, one hundred and eighty six million dollars in committed salary. They need to resign. Colin Anderson probably need to resign, you know, Moni Morris as well too, and that pushes them over whatever. Right, But now it's the cat
question. It's Kat really a true number two, etcetera, etcetera, et cetera. My thing is like, what's the difference between Minnesota and Sacramento, right in terms of like they haven't had prolonged success, so now that they finally had a little bit of success, we're talking about breaking them up. I can't get there. I can't. And I understand that Kat didn't perform to the level that many many would have expected a fifty million player, fifty
million dollars year player to do. I get that as well. But Ant is also only twenty two, and I think his ability to step into more of the alpha role, which he's already as you lited to snatch from Kat and Cat had to be like, you know what, Bro, you got it. I think that's something that you need to at least play out, at least for another season. I don't think you're going into the summer say hey, we need to shop Karl Anthony Towns and again, as always,
if you get an offer, you can't refuse. Fine, I get all that, but you haven't made the conference finals in twenty plus years, you know, before this two years ago, he hadn't made the NBA playoffs, you know, and have very many years before that as well too. So I just think it's like, all right, well, once you start to get a little bit of success, now it is my terminology, everyone wants to throw a cellar. Well, now, so what you gotta do?
And you got to do it? This way, you got to do this way, and you could very easily reverse skate by by tinkering too much. And I think, you know, with Towns and Gobert proving everybody wrong from last year, remember that, because I think everyone's forgotten that there's no way this can work. They got to trade one of those two guys. They stilled the course and got to the Western Conference Finals and upset the NBA champions.
So why isn't grace given to the Timberwolves in essence to continue to play themselves out here a little bit at least for another year. So despite the salary that, yeah, I know it's going to command, but if the ownership, you know, if he pulled the contract, he will from from a rod In company, because hey, they were tough about potentially breaking this team up, well that means to me that, hey, you know what they they want to see what this team can ultimately do. And I think
that should be a parted and not just credit. Okay, to make the reason why I ask that question, Shaw is because you have to think about where the hierarchy sits with this team. And the reason why I say that is because if let's just say we use the comparison of the Boston Celtics. You can make the argument that Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown came in hand in hand. They literally were like one year apart from each other when it came to the draft. Okay, so they grew up and went through their growing
pains together. Okay. If we are believing that you're building the team around Anthony Edwards, I'm not saying break up call Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert. I'm saying, make sure that what you're building around is maximizing Anthony Edwards being the guy who is helping and hurt, you know, putting this like helping us, Heather, if you want to say, Mike Conley is kind of like that Drew Holliday for you. I'm all with that. I'm not saying
just totally trash at all. But what I am saying is when you've got guys chirping who don't need to be chirping, when you got guys saying things that really don't need to be saying stuff, that's when you know it's on Anthony Edwards and the rest of those guys is like, Hugh, that's not
how we do this. That's not how this is gonna play. That's not how we got to where we got to, okay, And so the reason why I brought off all of this shaw is because you have to address the situation that will come about when you have Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert on the floor at the same time with the type of matchups now that you're seeing when they play against the Dallas Mavericks, when they play against Listen that was on
the Denver Nuggets and they just had nobody after their starting five. But you can be rest assured if they re up with what they've got for their starting five and they actually add those role players that needs to be on there, are we really going to be having the same kind of conversation about how both Towns and Rudy Gobert executed in what they were supposed to be doing through the course of this run. It's not to say that the Timberwlves didn't deserve to
be here, Sean. What I'm saying is, don't get too high on the hog because of what you did this season that we've seen them go ahead and tail spin their ass right back to where they started from. Remember, it wasn't too long ago the Timberwolves had been in the playoffs, and then they wind up being the second to worst team in their own division the following
season with the same star players. So that's what I'm saying is, if you know who your alpha is, your alpha has to be on these guys to be like, Hey, let's assume that we got lucky, and let's prove the people that this is firm, this is true, you know what I'm saying. And I don't think it's so much is about the money as much as it is the mentality. When it comes to the Minnesota Temberwolves, well, I don't think they have an identity problem in terms of An or
Kat or Gobert or Conley. Connelly understands, Hey, I'm I'm the veteran guy, the stabilizing force, the old head. You know, these young guys are keeping me exactly that. You know, these young guys are keeping me young, you know. And And is the vocal and on the court leader here, and Kat provides some sibilance of perspective as a guy who's been in the league for a little while himself here too, but he knows they only go as Aunt goes. And Ant is going to continue to go further
each year because he's going to see and he has seen. Now, hey, what does it mean to be the guy? What does it mean to be the guy in the playoffs, the conference finals? You know, sweeping Kevin Durant and Devin Booker is a huge accomplishment. Beating the defendant champions is a huge accomplishment. Losing in five games in the Western Conference Final maybe not
a huge accomplishment, but getting there is an accomplishment in itself. And now he has the understanding to me, it is what they were debunking at the end of that Nugget series. I think Vincent Goodwill had asked him, and usually young teams need to go through the and the cat and they're like, well, we've already done losing. They were writing maybe a little bit too
high at that point. Maybe a little bit too high at that point, And now they know what Vincent Goodwoo was starting to ask them in that section, like, hey, we still have some lumps to take, and now we've taken our lumps. My last point is, you know, show how I am about this idea that you got to go and always get players sometimes instead of letting the players mature. I'm gonna say this because I think this
to me is to your point is going to be important. And because they are going to be salary strapped, cap strapped, it's gonna leave very little room. But if you are the Minnesota Sembils, you need to address getting a veteran big guy, a sound defensive big guy who can come in and
can really help both go Beart and both Carl Anthony Towns. And the reason why I say this is because while this team was great defensively, especially in their playoff runs, the foul trouble that both Gobert and Karl Anthony Towns got themselves in. And when I say this, I say this to be respectful because it's what happens. But there comes a point where this no longer is okay. I can do it on my own or they're gonna figure it out.
You need to either put a body on there to show you how it gets done in those situations, or you need a player presence to show them how they should be disciplined in their ability to not foul as much as they had been fouling and the silly types of fouls that they found themselves in during the course of their runs. What I'm saying, Shaw is you're not gonna put any any investment and changing up the dynamic. You definitely have to put
the investment on suring up what got them in trouble to begin with. And again, this is gonna rear its ugly head if you're going to continue to roll out both Go Bear and Towns, the both of them cannot get in the kind of foul trouble that they consistently get themselves in. And this has been plaguing them their whole career so far. This isn't just a one out of the ordinary thing or just because of Dallas Mavericks had the kind of matchups
they've had. This has been a problem that is plagued both Go Bear and Towns through their career. And it rears its ugly head when you're validating them forgetting an award to getting accolades, people are like, why are they getting these accolades? They can't even stay on a basketball court long enough. And to me, that is something that is going to be critical in this offseason
if they expect to take the next step. I will only encounter that with the aspect of like when you have four bigs but he's the same way too. You know, he's the same way too. Like it's just like, I mean, how are they going to play all those guys? And I think if you're using it as an insurance model, then then surely, but it would be difficult, I think, to get all those guys that the records at minutes. Unless you're saying they continue to be in foul trouble,
then you have that more of that rotation going in. To me, Minnesota doesn't necessarily need more defense. They might need more size, but they don't necessarily need more defense as much as they need more scoring. And where I don't care where it comes from, because when when Towns is and when Towns is in foul trouble, then it's just and really just trying to do it by himself. And you know, nos Reed is not creating a whole lot
offense for himself. To me, they need some more wing shooting. But then you're saying, but you're saying and then you're saying they should resign Kyle Anderson and money and and Mini Morris. Why do that when they should really just okay, okay, I thought that's what you're saying, that they're gonna Oh no, but that's what I'm saying, Like in the beginning, you made it sound like you wanted them to get you know, they're gonna have
to resign those like they don't have to resign those guys. To your point, they're gonna need they're gonna need more shooting. But I also believe as well it's easier for them. But what I'm saying, Shan is I don't mind them going out getting themselves a three and D guy if the guy does shoot the three at a high clip. But it's somebody that you can leave on the basketball court because Townsend Go Bear and nos Reed can't keep themselves out
of foul trouble. I don't know if nas Reed has the same Paul trouble that that, but I a cat is by far and away the worst. No, no, no, please, no, I don't know. I didn't found like that. I mean, I'm like, that's definitely and that's definitely his movements for sure. So uh anyway, you know, it's it's
I don't want to tear them down too much. They awesome, Seeds, awesome SA League this entire season, best defensive team in terms of at least on paper and net rating, et cetera, et cetera, UH second and Coach of the Year, Mike County one, Teammate of the Year, more Defensive Player of the Year, a lot of accolades for this Minnesota Timberwolves team. And that's why it perplexes me when some say you but some say, oh, they need to break it up because you know they're never going to
go any further than this. It's like, you didn't think they'd be here. Do you think they'd even be here? So, like, why would they listen to anybody else? This side is with a twenty two year old player like Anthony Edwards, he can keep that together because he can essentially make them better. It's a question of do they want to be better and when they get to a point where they can do it on their own shot, that's what's gonna make the Minnesota Timberwolves a championship caliber team. But in the
meantime, ride that young gun right now. Just ride that young gun and build around the fact that they have to improve on the things that unfortunately failed them in their run to the NBA Finals. It's been an awesome show. My man, good stuff. Man. We covered one we covered two teams alive. We called two live body teams that are still standing, and we covered two dead teams. I'm telling you, man, nobody crosses things over better than us. Maybe Beatle Juice, but nobody crosses a living in the
debt better than this. Man. I'm excited for the NBA Finals over our fends and listeners are as well. Please let us know your predictions, you know, Celtics, MAVs, I'm gon. Let us know your thoughts on the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Innna Pacers and what they should potentially do in the off season. But it was nice to see these four teams being the elite of the elite, while not all of them were expected to be here.
We got what we got and I still think that there's a lot to be taken away from what these teams we're able to do, and that hopefully what will be absolutely man and once again a NBA Finals. Still there all kinds of sports, WNBA and majorly baseball, tennis. There's so much going on, so if you're a person who likes to get in on the action, make sure you go to Prize Picks. Remember use the promo code c LNS and then first Bet one hundred match deposit, so don't forget to do that.
Get in on it, get in with us man. We will probably get down on it as well too, with the NBA Finals just around the corner. For the baseline, Cali Warrenshaw, we appreciate you, guys. Thanks popping on board with us this week. Catch up with you next time.