I'm back, y'all.
Guess what we've got second round action, as Denver has already taken a two to lead the Lakers stole game.
One up in the Baby Billy did the same in Boston. We love to see that on this show.
Meanwhile, they're starting to feel fan service at this point. It's starting to feel like the NBA is just writing to.
Us for Yeah, I love it. You know what, Silver, keep these results coming. Mean while the Nicks and Heat are battling out for all of our nineties nostalgia, it's a really good one to see for all of us who were living in the nineties. And we're gonna get into all of that with the SB Nation, NBA manager and Fantastic podcast host Harrison Fagan on today's episode, I'm Miles Gray and I'm Jack O'Brien, and this is miss here's your indeed driving Spinny.
Curry a three pointer.
Steph Curry from downtown again. Yes, look out, shut time you go.
Yes, Harrison Vegan, SB Nation, NBA manager, co host of the Rewind and Reconsider and Lakers Lounge podcast. Welcome to the show, Harrison. How are you living, how are you feeling, how are you doing?
You know, I'm doing great. I'm you know, much like you. I think, you know, floating a little bit off of that, off of that win last night. You know, Yeah, you have a lot more fun to stay up past midnight for games like that when, uh, you know, the team that you're covering, or the team that you're rooting for in my case, wins.
Yeah, right, I mean yeah, that's uh, well, we'll get to that. We'll we're gonna get to the Western Conference. But hey, up top Jack, we should mention who is the NBA MVP MBDP Joel your boy? Joel your boy? Did you see him reacting to it when he found out?
I did not. Was he surprised? He was?
Yeah, when they said when they go and it's from the Philadelphia seventy six ers, and like he just like collapsed and he was just like he got real emotional. And then James Harden is hugging him, and I think maybe Tyree's Maxie was.
Like he crying. I don't know.
I'm not very happy for Joel Embiid. This debate and conversation is stupid, like uninteresting to me. So but I'm glad that he got it. Like there's a lot of people who are like Sixers fans bullied us into voting for him, and it should have been Jokic because he's not hurt right now, which leads into this whole thing that like just the fandom and a lot of the like podcasts and the culture around the NBA is like
so weird right now. It's so like just negative and like they everyone's just like so mean to players who get hurt. They're like they stick, they're unreliable. It's it's street clothed.
Yeah, it's a wild time to.
I don't know, like even after this is like going back always, but like after the Milwaukee Bucks game Jimmy Butler Games four and five, like those were two of the coolest things I've ever seen a human being do on a basketball court. What Jimmy Butler did in Games four and five like just bent the laws of physics and basketball to his will out of nowhere.
Just seemed to be able to have complete control.
And then like I like I tuned into the Zach Lowe podcast, like because he always has like interesting insight, and.
Like the whole hour and a half.
Was just him just talking about like how was a Bucks collapse and like a Bucks choke job and like just mentioned that Jimmy Butler had a good game in passing, Like it just I don't.
Know what it is.
I think because it's just like our human desire to like point and laugh, and it just like it gets out of control. We're now like our conformation bias is said to well, who took the l yeah, rather than like man, Jimmy Butler, Like wow, how about that?
And I think like nobody knows anything, nobody knows who's gonna win. But like I think they feel like they have to predict everything, and so like when they get something wrong, like the Bucks losing, like their feelings get hurt and they feel like they have.
To you blew it. Yeah, you let me down.
It's just like, yo, like this is like a sport we watched for fun and that was like one of the most fun things to watch, and like you have to like just focus on like structural bureaucratic problems within the Milwaukee Bucks franchise and like what are they gonna do with these contracts? And it's like, yo, just like wax poetic about how amazing what you just saw was a friend?
So Jack hit on exactly sort of like where all of this comes from. It's from the fact that I think a lot of NBA discussion and look as like somebody who is a blogger who oversees like I'm not blameless in this, I've contributed to this. There's a lot of fan interest in player movement, in trades and free agency,
in all of this stuff. And I think that like that has so shifted the way that we talk about basketball as much as like as much as like dunking on people and like laughing at people has like online has shifted it. I also think a lot of it is like, okay, you know, like this team that was the favorite that a lot of people cared about, that a lot of people thought was really good loss, Like
what can they do to get back? Instead of talking about you know, sort of like because there's a desire from people to listen to that, Like they want to know, okay, wait, Jannis loss in the first round, Like are the Bucks doomed? Like what can they do? You know, they have like this Milton thing, you know, where he is going into free agency but looked like a shell of himself. You know, Drew has been charitably up and down in the playoffs.
I think depending on which end of the floor he's playing, and it's just like is the Bucks coach going to get fired? You know, there's like all that's all people want to hear about. And so I think that it almost like in some way ways has overtaken the basketball just broadly.
Maybe I'm weird because I just like did not want to hear about that. I did not care about that at all, and just yeah, just across the thing, like the Bill Simmons podcast, which I think like he knows a lot about basketball. He can be really fun to listen to, like a lot of the time, like it's just like so negative.
Well Jack, let's bring the vibes back up, because I do want to show you the moment Joel Embiid does find out that he is a keya NBA.
MVP, so he puts his head in his hands. So anyway, yeah, good times, good time.
Anyways, he stinks he's hurt.
Uh, he's the best.
That's what he said right at that party. I think, you know, so he's back, Yeah, he's back.
I do appreciate that he said that. And then the Sixers are like, well, you know, he's doubtful for Game two. I don't know, I don't know if he's going to play word right he says. He says a lot of things. Who's to say what I'm back means he could be back anywhere. That doesn't mean back in the game.
You know, I'm sorry.
I meant my back pulled something back there.
Fright commercial He was cracked up all behind him, like, right.
Right, But shall we move to the Eastern Conference matchups just to kind of give ourselves a state of play? Here Heat Nicks, they're squared up. Yeah, like I was loving to see Like everybody else, I love seeing the Knicks in the postseason. I just feel like it makes me feel like a kid again. The heat there too was great, although I felt like man Spolstra was he did a job on them yesterday even though they lost. I was like, does Tims know how to like adjust
at all? It felt like a very It felt like a master class from Eric spolsive to despite the lost.
Absolute master class mates.
Yeah, Eric Spolster is one of the great coaches of all time. It feels like at this is he.
Everyone coach of the year. I was about to ask that I don't think he has pop never won it. Phil Jackson's never won it. It's like these guys that aren't the kind of one offs where it's like unexpected number. With all due respect to Mike Brown, He's won Coach of the Year like three times, Like he should not have three times awards. Yeah, yeah, Like again, I think Mike Brown did a great job this year, very deserving
of Coach of the Year. But it's like in the playoffs, we see a year after every single time the heater in the playoffs, we we don't see them lose because of Spolstra. You know, like Heat fans maybe the one fan base in the entire NBA that does not complain about their coach. Maybe the Spurs too, Yeah, they got good one.
Yeah, I mean all these awards are about narrative and the narrative going into every season as Heat culture, they're gonna be good. So you can't really do anything that exceeds that narrative that much. Right, same with Popovich. Right, people are just like the Spurs are rock solid, what a great franchise, So how do you exceed that all that much? This is gonna be super fun series to
keep watching, especially if Jimmy Butler makes it back. Like I said, you know, since we last recorded, he had the Game five against Milwaukee that was you know, it wasn't as good as Game four where he you know, was scoring at will, but like he had that game winning like tippin' and then.
His Game one.
I don't know, He's doing something that I feel like we've never seen where somebody just wills themselves to be more dominant in the postseason, like in ways that don't make sense, Like it shouldn't be a matter of will that you suddenly are able to make threes. But he just like is like, no, I actually just try really hard to make the threes in the postseason.
It's wild.
You know, he doesn't care that much during the regular season, Like hey, he's like, you know, all just toss this up here. Who cares about my following through? My mom's not even looking in the.
Regular season, I'm not even looking shoot three. See me on media day, I wore a wig that is still.
He closes his eyes during the regular season before shooting, just to make it a challenge.
You know, it's just oh, yeah, I open what's your secret? Oh I open my eyes now in the playoffs?
Yeah, oh, you could play the whole regular season with your eyes closed. Then you know, things just really open up in the playoffs, like, yeah.
The wig is such a great Like still, despite the fact that I'm saying like these are some of the greatest playoff games I've ever seen a player play, the wig is still my favorite.
Thing he's done this season.
Oh yeah, the fake hairs, absolutely it was. It is what we all needed, especially for me as somebody who's like.
Man, I would love to wear a wig in an.
Official capacity for me day, Yeah, you are one of the great wig whears.
I know.
I am like just for the official pictures wearing the wig, and then was like, yeah, I'm never it's good, I'm never wearing this again. And then now every single official broadcaster it's like, basically he pranked the NBA broadcasters. You know, I'm all in on. I think that's like one of your troll jobs we've ever seen from an NBA player.
Yeah.
Yeah, And I was really concerned going to Game two. I mean, look, they could have used him in Game two, but I mean, how what's his his the ankle injury in game one?
How long is he set to be out for now?
We don't know. I mean they're playing the best.
The only injury update that he keep giving is they're like, we'll tell you before next tame if he's playing or.
Not, because we literally have to.
Yeah, yeah, I mean Game two of the Sixers Celtics is, you know, a couple hours after we record this, we don't know if MBAT is actually playing. They haven't made an official announcement at this point, like they're going to wait till the last possible moment, because why wouldn't they.
Yeah, but super.
Producer Jabbari did a cool thing and like just looked at Vegas odds for all these series heading in, like when it was zero zero, and like, this one's interesting because it's like Keat win series four to two and Knicks win series four to three are like tied as the most likely, but this one's basically a complete mix where it's right could go either way. Nicks winning four to two is the next most likely, then Heat wins series four to one is the next most likely, and
so this is a super interesting series. Like you said, it's so fun to have basketball back in Madison Square Garden and I just can't wait to see who loses this series so we can start talking trash about how they're in free fall and choked.
Yeah, Jimmy should have taken photo day more. Seriously, that's my take. If the Heat lose, you know, I'm just gonna say, like I wasn't you know, he wasn't focused on the game all year. He spent all training camp trying to prank the league broadcast partners.
You know.
It's just like it's that lack of focus that costs the Heat in the end. I'm gonna I'm gonna write that article if if the Heat lose, exactly you go. You know who else wears wigs to work? Clowns?
Yeah, okay, Jimmy, Jerry Butler was not focused enough on the playoffs.
That's my headline.
And if I that's what I would have told him, you're a clown friend.
You found Jimmy, get big old clown's guys, he's a clown.
What's he doing? Another six or Celtics six ers? One? Game one? I'm not sure there's much to say about this one. Should we move on to the Western Conference?
Nothing to say because it's like it's a wrap there. All right, Well, we'll take a quick break, we'll come back.
We'll talk about our two teams series is and how we're feeling we'll.
Be right back, and we're back.
The Vegas odds heading in first of all, when the series was zero zero, This one.
Was not mixed.
The top four most likely outcomes according to Vegas were Celtics four one, Celtics four oh, Celtics four three, Celtics four two. A sweep by Boston was the second most likely scenario. Celtics fans are reacting to the Sixers getting a single game off of them as the apocalypse.
Yeah, it's there's some there's some feelings, big feelings, as we say to our children, have big feelings about this.
I love it.
I'd love to see Celtics fans having gigantic feelings about this.
But I'm very petty.
But yeah, I see, I see how they might feel a bit aggrieved.
Yeah, so game one and beat his out, Big Game. Jim Harden came to play big game, big pants.
Big game, bigger pants, bigger pants. Do you watch what he wore to the game?
Like?
It was on on the level with like Jimmy Butler's wig like it was it had to be a bit I think, yeahs like.
He skinned the cookie monster, ye like, and to wear him as pants.
It was half mascot costume, like the bottom half seemed to be like made of mascot costume.
Yeah yeah, he actually thought the Sixers were going to be eliminated by now that was his met Gala out. He's just like, well, I can't waste it, like I'm just gonna you know, thround the right time year, I'm gonna use that.
Yeah right.
I hope he wears something more ludicrous to Game two, like to keep getting it clearly worked. Just like maybe he should go full mascot coffee the game too, like show up in like a full cookie monster suit, you know, and going into Boston.
Like how like baseball players do like a postseason beard, you know what I mean. Like he needs to be like, as long as I'll keep winning, the pants better get bigger.
Yeah yeah, I want to see him in like the inflatable Halloween pants by like game three, you know, like the costumes that like blow up with air game.
Where he's in a full parade float just like inside.
They're just like pushing a parade balloon through the walk in tunnel hallway pants. But he put up.
Forty five, his greatest performance in the postseason of all time for somebody who has traditionally been defined as like, you know, somebody doesn't come to play in big games in the postseason. This was kind of an ideal situation because they were ten point underdogs, which is pretty uncommon for a second round game, Like people aren't usually double digit favorites at that point. But you know, obviously they were missing the MVP. It was in Boston, and Boston
has completely had their number this season. So the things that are making me feel good about, like as a Sixers fan, beyond the fact that they won, is that the Celtics like have these inexplicable losses and have for a while, and it's like not I've heard like Zach Lowe and like Brian Scalabriney who like does their games and has watched every game like.
Talk about this.
I've witnessed it with my own eyes, and like nobody has given me a good explanation of like what happens, like where they are just like the better team, they're getting much easier shots like that. The thing that was most remarkable to me about that game, other than like when the Sixers put it together and like pulled it out.
Was how easy the shots were for the Celtics.
They were like it was like truly a layup line, like truly the most open layups I've ever seen, to the point that I was like, is this their strategy that they give them so many open twos that then the Sixers try and like shoot themselves into it by like shooting threes and just being like, yeah, but those are only worth two points. But it was very strange that they lost that game, Like I still don't fully
understand why they lost it. And there's also like a weird thing where there were just these moments in the lead.
Up to the series.
The confidence of Celtics fans heading in was just I don't know, it felt like the confidence that you hear from teams fans who are like are about to like just they were like just with every pride before the bulletin board because like they were breathing, exhaling bulletin board material, which I just feel like in any sport postseason, that's like never a good sign.
That said, I think it could very easily.
Be a gentleman sweep, like the fact that it was a hard and out of body and out of mind performance. I've seen him have those before. They don't usually come in clusters the way they do with some other players. Like, it's rarely a thing where it's like and now he was great for you know, the rest of the postseason,
it's he can be a little spotty. The fact that it was with embiid out, And obviously I'm not saying the Sixers are better without embid, just that like it's sort of an off speed pitch that worked this time. Because like, one of the reasons the Sixers don't match up well with the Celtics is they spread the floor so well and having a center be the most important playing our team can be a little I don't know, it can be a liability against a team that's as
quick and spreads and shoots as well as Boston. And then just the fact that it's Doc Rivers and Doc Rivers teams tend to get worse as the series progresses, as opposed to you know, figure things out to get better. So those are the things that are making me feel like this is not yeah, good and bad. That's where I'm at as a toxic Sixers fan.
Can I distill what you said?
I think first you said Celtics lose inexplicably, the pride that the Celtics fans had feels like it's Pacific before the fall Joel and Beat, Yeah, yeah, and then you have said Joel and Beat is terrible.
I think he called him a regular season merchant. But he just said he's more interested in m vps than winning. I think that would be quote. I think that was okay. I just want to make sure I have that.
I don't know.
I won't feel safe in this one until the Sixers have four wins and there there's a press conference going on afterwards talking.
Maybe talking with the Celtics plan. They're like, well, we can't. We're gonna let him get up three to one because then we're gonna week yes, yeah.
Because yeah, Joe Mozula, he did save his quiz Lick cards for that scenario. R.
You remember that one was not in the quick that was he wrote that one down on physical paper.
You know.
He's like, man, I put all my energy in being out there, guys, I am upside down on this scouting report.
Bias Harris are gone. I'm sorry. I just I don't I don't even know who that is, Like, who's that hey, Hey, hey, hey, Jason, who's that guy?
Who's that guy Tyrese MAXI, Yeah, yeah, yeah, what do you know about him?
Dude? What I forgot? There's I had a lot of notes on a lot of guys.
Guys.
I'm really sorry, and I'm sorry.
What was your name?
I know they call you time lord, but what's your real name?
Buddy? He doesn't even know the players? Man?
All right, Uh, well we'll see how all this works out. The Nugget Sons, like people think it's a rap at this point. Yeah, Nuggets up two. Oh, they looked a lot better, uh than the Sons and kind of both games for I think all of the quarters, like eight quarters, they just seemed better. And now Chris Paul is out injured for at least the next three games.
I think they think, yeah, I didn't see a timeline on that, but yeah, groin injury. You wouldn't think it's going to be a quick return back. Yeah, at least now. Only describe it as you can't put weight on that leg. You're like, oh, that's I mean, either of you have ever had a groin injury, but like they don't. It's not a fast healing thing. You know, you kind of you need your growing to walk. It's it's kind of an important thing. It's hard to rest it.
You know.
It's crazy that doctors say I have one of the most impervious to injuries growings of all time.
So I've actually never impervious to injuries growing Yeah.
Yeah, I am built different. The doctors also have said I have that dog in me, uh so, which can be a good thing and bad thing. But the I just feel like this is another one where everyone has gotten a little bit ahead of themselves and are like just burying the Suns and Denver's a hard place to play. The Suns are still figuring things out rotationally, like Katie figuring out how to get involved. I think he will
be like, by necessity, much more involved going forward. And I don't know, I just don't think it's a rap at this point.
Yeah, I think it's like a couple of things. Like for me, it's like hearing Chris Paul get injured, KD not playing as well as he can, Like in my mind,
my shorthand it's like a thought killing cliche. In my mind is like, well then they're done, And I think that's how I'm looking at But I mean in that second game too, they're like, what if we just make Jokic score and see what he does there, and that completely did not work out, And I'm like sort of like, well, hmm, I'm starting to see maybe how this all comes together.
But uh, you know, at the end of the day, I don't know.
If if we get out of our if we get.
Out of this round, I don't know if I want to meet up with the Nuggets.
So that's for sure.
Yeah, I think the Nuggets are gonna win at this point, But I would also say that I don't think Kd's going to play that bad. Again. I don't think it's going to be a sweep. Like you know, the Sun's strategy is also sort of a tough one to do in Denver, where it's like we need to play all our stars like forty five minutes a game to have a chance because our bench is terrible. Let's do it in one of the cities where it's hard to breathe
as you're walking around. You know, like they're probably going to I think, you know, be a little better in Phoenix and a little less gas, you would think, even though you know, again there's like some cumulative probably from like having to play them that much just to beat that horrible Clippers team in the first round, and then you know, like having to play them that much in two losses, you know there is going to be a
cumulative toll there. I think the Nuggets sort of have the advantage when a're probably going to take this series, but I would imagine, like I still think it probably goes you know six, Like the Suns are not as terrible as they've looked in Dend so far, and the Nuggets players probably won't continue to shoot this well, you know, like in Phoenix on the road. That's just like it's
a cliche, but it's true. Like role players just generally do not play as well on the road, and so you'd think like, uh, like Phoenix would get some level of boost from sort of those home confines.
Yeah, so we'll see. I mean, they're they're extremely thin.
Depth matters, Depth especially matters in a series where four of the games are played in Denver.
But yeah, yeah, not everyone's like the Lakers and can just overhaul their roster the deadline and be good immediately.
Its just has that never happened with a team to this effect.
Let's take a quick.
Break and come back and talk about that. Warriors, Lakers, series, which I think has to be the most exciting Round two series I can remember.
Right, like dramatic undercurrents. Yeah, yeah, for sure. All right, let's take a quick break. We'll be right back.
And we're back, and so are my hopes for the Lakers. It's time to talk about this matchup in the Western Conference. Yeah, the Lakers stole game one up in the Bay. I mean, look, during the regular season, I know a lot of people were like, oh man, Lakers took three out of four, and I'm like, that doesn't like Lebron didn't even didn't even play half of them. So I wasn't really taking that to heart or helping that make me feel more confident going into it.
But do you think the Lakers are better without Lebron? Is what you're saying.
I think the Lakers are better without Lebron and Anthony Davis.
That's where I'm at, Jack, That's how you know. Yeah, I think he can do against defense, right, But yeah, I.
Mean I think us being able to carry the momentum from that Grizzly series into this game. That's been the biggest thing for me and be like, Okay, Anthony, you're doing it, baby. Let me see you. I was texting. I was texting you and Jabbari during that like the game six. Now it's just like I want to marry Anthony Davis.
Yeah, it was like getting weird.
We weren't even like giving the haha like response like tap ax.
And then like I was sending photoshops images from my actual wedding where I put Anthony Davis's head on my wife's head. Yeah, and I was like, yeah, we look good. Yeah, yeah, that's how much I'm shipping us. But no, it's been unbelievable watching how just just him dominate, especially in that first game.
I was, who, I'm heartened, I'm hart I'm.
Yeah, it's been heartening.
It's been cool to see him do what feels like we always felt like he could do the same. Question him and James Harden to him less than James Harden because there's less of a body of work, of like disappearing in the postseason, but just like that first round, it really felt like when Anthony Davis was playing well, the Lakers were unbeatable in that series, and then in the games where it was like wait, why why isn't Anthony Davis playing? Oh he is, He's just not like really doing anything.
They would lose.
So it really feels like that's kind of what we're dealing with. It's just as Anthony Davis goes, so go the Lakers' fortunes. But yeah, all that said, the supporting cast was awesome in Game one and has been awesome. Yeah, this is truly an amazing like revival from where we were mid season.
It is wild that the Lakers are this good, to.
The point where, like it's funny how like even with among Laker fans, the people were just mostly talking about Vanderbilt's performance, and I'm like.
Let's also talk about you know, Dangel Russell's also coming out like showing arguably.
Yeah, but yeah, it was I mean, yeah, Harrison, what was it like for you?
How are you feeling going into that?
Because I know Javari and I we were talking to Jack, were like, let's see how they do in the first quarter before we get excited, and see what version of the Lakers show up. And I'm happy to say that I liked what I saw, But how are you feeling?
Yeah, they certainly got the good version of the Lakers last night. I think they came in with a good game plan, I think we saw that they have some guy like, you know, the whole idea of a star stopper, you know, like the Ruben Patterson, Kobe stopper, your lebron stoppers. You know, you're these guys, your Steph Stoppers, Like those guys don't actually exist. Except for Ruben Patterson, he does exist.
He was not a Kobe stopper. But you know, the Lakers don't have Steph stoppers, but they have guys who they can change up defensive looks on Steph. They can make him at least sort of think about things, you know, make it a little harder on him, make it more difficult. You know, he had a pretty bad game last night. I don't think that until the fourth quarter, really like he was not all that efficient. And so I don't think that that's going to continue for the entire series.
I don't think like, you know, Jared Vanderbilt is just gonna I don't think that we've suddenly discovered that like Steph was just unstoppable until he ran up against Jared Vanderbilt from the postseason and.
You got to contest his shot from the side, like Cobe, yes, yeah, you got Like but between Van do and you know, Dennis shrewder as like sort of a different on ball pesky, like make him pick up his dribble, give up the ball type of Look, you got Austin Reeves to chase him over screens and sort of do things that way.
You know, you at least have some you know, options to make Steph think about it. And then you know, on the other end of the court. One of the things going into the series that like, for the Lakers to have a chance, it was going to have to
be an Anthony Davis series. He was going to have to be their best player because the Warriors have guys to throw at Lebron, especially this version of Lebron where he is clearly still at least a little limited by that kind of foot injury that he said that he was going to have to get surgery on until German doctors came through and did whatever magic you know, German doctor they did to his foot to allow him to play. But you know, between Wiggins Draymond, like, that's two pretty
good guys to throw at Lebron. Put a body on him, make things harder, Gary Payton the second even to some degree, but on Anthony Davis Draymond is a guy who has traditionally frustrated him a little bit, and so I would say, like as somebody who's rooting for the Lakers to win this series, like I was heartened by the fact that Ad was able to impose his will even in those minutes. I wasn't really that worried about him being able to
get going against Kevon Looney. You know, obviously Draymond coming with double teams, they were going to try and get
the ball out of his hand sometimes. But the Lakers have been really He's Ad has been really great on the boards on both ends, and the Lakers guards have been especially d Lo with his sort of height, has been really good at getting the ball over the top of defenders to Anthony Davis and being able to sort of see those passing angles and get it into him in a position where he's not having to post up, survey the floor, wait for a double whatever, Like he's
just going up and scoring almost immediately. And both Delo and Austin Reeves have been I think, really smart about when they are driving, they are looking to see you can tell and you could see them looking to see
does Ad have his guy on his back? Or not, and if he does, then they're just putting up a shot because either they make that little mid range you know, like jumper, or Ad is in a perfect position to just put it right back in with his long sort of inflatable tube man arms and so you know, and then just we're talking all this about offense, but he's just a monster defensively. I don't know that I've ever seen a single player completely wall off the paint like
he has. These last couple of games for the Lakers where you know, it's one thing to do it against the Grizzlies, where they just don't really have shooting and their entire strategy is just like we are going to throw ourselves at the rim as hard as we possibly
can and hope that something good happens. But like against the Warriors, where they have this horrifying level of shooting around the perimeter to be able to still sort of you know, contest guys enough that they're still thinking about maybe driving in, and then they get there and then it's like, oh my god, Like Anthony Davis is way too tall and mobile and I don't want to do this. Please get the ball to Jordan Poole I don't know, just somebody else do something with it.
He is.
This is the most dominant defense I think I've ever seen him play over a sustained stretch.
There is a point like in the early in the game where Jef Van Gundy was like, and the problem for the Lakers is gonna be that like Anthony Davis can't leave or no, I think it was actually Charles Barkley after the first half was like they like something about how like Kevon Looney and like his inability to like leave him is going to make it hard for him to defend and like.
He just I don't know, he just left him. And they're hoping that other guys can do a good enough job boxing out in me too, and and Looney made them pay for it a couple times. Like he's a really good offensive rebounder. He's super smart about cutting and crashing the second that ad rotates away from him. So
they're gonna win some of those battles for sure. But the idea that like Anthony Davis has to stay attached at the hip to Kevon Looney and it is not going to be able to defend the paint was not realistic to me.
It's been one of the best defensive performances I think I've ever seen, like just the this postseason. I am king of recency bias, but like that, that's what makes me so excited, is like, yeah, the Jimmy but or what he's done on offense and what Anthony Davis is doing on defense. Even in the games where he's like not showing up a lot on offense, it's still a real problem for anybody trying to score around the room.
Yeah, although I'm I am I'm nervous to see what the response is in the Warriors, because man, they are I mean, as much as I want to be, like, as much confidence that it instills in me, I'm still like Steph's also put a fifty when he needed to, and he's very capable.
And so did you gotch what play said after the game last night? No, he he was like he's like, we had an off night. We typically respond well to those. It's like, dude, you got shot like fifty percent from three? What do you mean you have? Ye night?
Right? Right?
Like this is they're gonna they're gonna shoot seventy percent the next game, Like if this is if this is actually true? And yeah, like Steph is not gonna go on. Did he go Like I think it was like six for sixteen from three or something like that. It was somewhere around there. But like he was not super efficient. He's going to be more efficient. That was not just the Lakers defense. Some of that legs from playing, you know, dropping fifty in a game seven two days ago. He's
going to be better as the series goes along. And you know, I said this on Twitter last night. I'll say it again here, like rooting against Steph is already after one game like a top five most horrifying sporting experience of my life. Like, I don't know how Cavs fans are still alive. I don't know how they did this for four years. Like every single time that guy shoots, I think that he is. I think it's going in. It's just oh yeah.
And also like it's it's just his demeanor too, because you're like it doesn't change.
He's so icy all the time, that never hesitates. It's yeah, it's.
Yeah anyway, but no focus on the positive, focus on the positive. Yeah, we took that game one.
Let's go Lakers in one, all right, let's see all just changed the rule. Sorry, it's over. It's go home, all right? Shall we move on?
Yeah?
I think it's time is a time. I think it's time enough messing about with Harrison. Harrison, get ready hold on to your butts, as Sam Jackson said in Jurassic Park, because it is time for the rap It's not for the rapid fire round of questioning.
Now you know how this works.
We're gonna ask you a question, don't think on it, just give us a rapid response. Don't extend your answer, because it's on you to keep this segment moving because it is the fastest moving question answer segment in all of sports podcasting.
Okay, I'm ready pray for the people at double speed. Here we go.
Suck the clock.
Jack Should we go first? Or well, you know, sometimes Brian can't hear me and I have to raise my voice.
Uh heart, do you struggle first? You go first?
You go?
Let me go first? Okay, thanks, but a gentleman, Harrison.
Eleven of the last twelve NBA finals have featured at least one of Lebron or Steph. Which one of them has the best chance of keeping that amazing trend alive.
I'm gonna go Lebron.
Thank you.
And we don't got to go. We don't have say much more about that. I'm not nervous.
It's not crazy. Eleven to last twelve the NBA Finals.
Yeah, it's called dominish domination, domina, dominatin, dominatin. Rather you even to touch on dominating, but dominating he was not.
Steph won most of those, so yeah, yeah, true that he also ha kdi for a few of them who he does not have anymore.
Oh yeah, I guess that's a good point.
For the funds now apparently, guys sticking.
It up Paris, is there a single NBA player you would take right now over the chance of taking Victor him being Yama was the first pick.
I'd still go Yannis just because we've seen it for so long, and uh, you know, Wenby, as great as he looks like he is going to be, we still don't for sure know and has shown like a level of durability, I'd still go Yannis.
Did you not hear at one where you I thought you were here for act one when we talked about how Yanna stinks and he's a choke artist who can't do it in.
The failure life his life and career and just in every aspect because he lost Jimmy Butler a horrible back injury and the yeah game, it looked like you could move put up like you know, almost forty and twenty. But yeah, failure.
Yeah, staying finished, Yeah, finished, Harrison, What is your favorite NBA city to visit and what's your must have meal in that town?
I'm very hungry. This isn't a question we wrote. I just wanted to ask, right, Yeah. I mean, I'm a vegetarian, so I'm a bad person to answer the second part of this question. But I'm gonna go. I'm gonna go New York just because it's one of the NBA cities that I've went to and had the best time there. Yeah, since I can't name Los Angeles, which I also love and live in. Wait, so what would you?
How?
Okay, but what would you? What would you eat in New York? What's your must have meal over there? I don't know, have you ever had There's a lot in New York? Yeahmorrow, it's great.
Yeah, right across from Madison Square Garden.
Yeah, the real New York's flight my favorite New York pizza joint? Yeah, I went, I don't know, I went to some Italian place that I'm forgetting the name of there. That was like incredible, but yeah, a ton of good food in New York. Yeah, okay, I'm sorry, Harrison. We got to keep this movie, man.
As much as you know, I like to hear about the jokes that reference the Office and your love of Sparrow, we do have to keep this moving, Jack.
Do you want to answer the next Yeah, is Jalen Rose's hair too good to be true?
M hm, yes, yeah, that's yeah, that's not fair.
Yeah, okayeah, but do we think it's being painted? I mean, there there are definitely parts of it that are being painted on. I think we've learned since the last time you were co hosting Miles that there there are pictures where it seems clearly to have been put on with a stencil of some sort.
Right, I mean, he's what fifty, There's no there's no way it can be like that perfect at that age, Like, right, I feel the same way. And I don't say that as a bitter bald guy.
Right, But he's on some.
Hair. Yeah this in general, you know what I mean. But he's saying boozer or no boozer, not a full boozer. You know, it's not all I think of all, but it's all spray on. That would be like the level of the like painting layers.
Just to get it up, Harrison, you can take any former Laker and put him on this current team. Which former grade are you choosing to make a run in today's NBA and especially in this postseason?
Yeah it's Kobe. They Yeah, mah predictable, Jabar said, Big Killers Anthony jam I wanted to go Nick van Exfel for you, but they already have Dennis and that's Saint Nick fan excellent. Yeah, absolutely, imagine Shaq and Anthony Davis three,
you know, Lakers in two. Yeah, I just want to see the mythical Shack versus Draymond match up because people talk like you talk during those guys like could they beat the Shack of Kobe Lakers, Like, I mean maybe with threes and stuff, but the idea that Draymond could have guarded Shack in any way, like Draymond would have been out for the series after Game two, like from being dunked on too hard, too many tights.
This is secretly what I'm wishing that the Sixers do is just like do what they did in game one stick em bead in the middle, but just treat embid like the Shack that he could be just right around the rim, just nothing but dunks right.
Just feeding feeding them like that Wu tang In.
He is the biggest body since Shack. I think, like when you watch how people bounce off of him. I mean, I don't know anyway, Yeah, Harrison, we got to keep this movie. Man, I'm Harrison, Come on, man. Uh final question, Jack or Miles?
Easy, Miles. I can't I can't pick. I can't pick a Celtics fan in this like that. You know you're a Celtics fan. He's not a Celtic. Is that how it came off? As a Celtics fixer?
Uh?
But all right, thank you, I'm back, thank you, thank you. And I have all my propaganda gear in the background.
You hear that Celtics fans who say that I'm too mean to the Celtics. This man just recorded an entire podcast with us and thought I was a Celtics fan.
Yeah, find a new angle. It's a normal sized collar, normal sized collar.
Yes, find a new angle.
Haters, oh Man, Harris and Fagan, thank you so so much for joining us this week. Iles and Jack got mad boost these. Yeah, man, where can people find you and support you and do all that?
You know?
Just check out sp Nation NBA. You know, if you have a team, we have a team site most likely, and you know silver screen role where I'm going to be blogging about Blakers throughout the duration of the playoffs.
All right, and got to shout out all of our mad Boosties Twitter followers. I'll follow us on Twitter at mad Boosti's m ad bub st i ees uh. We posited the question which player would maintain the finals trend that we were just speaking about, and sixty one percent of our listeners are very intelligent because it said Lebron is most likely to continue this trend.
Thank you so much. I will use that trend to go to sleep tonight and until I have to reconcile that with reality.
Also, we have a show called The Daily Zeich guys that one of our what of our listeners seem to like, they were like this NBA show should like comment on this like political thing, news and culture?
Yeah, well yeah, so we we also have.
A political show that we do ten times a week that you could go check out called The Daily's Like if you're not aware.
Yeah, check out where you can just listen to this.
This a bit that person thought they had invented a genius idea. I love these guys. They should comment on more news and suther things. Yeah you don't say, you don't say, but yeah, we're doing that over there, so check that out, all right, y'all.
Well, thanks so much for listening to us on this edition of Miles and Jack Got Mad Boostie's. We'll be back and our spirits will be lighter or heavier, we don't know, but that's the fun of the show.
Because we check back in with you all. So until then, nowhere to go.
Bye.