It's @HowardBeck on NBA Playoffs action, what teams he is dialed in on + more

I know of a forever warranty. You mean forever, Yes, one hundred thousand miles, one hundred and fifty thousand miles, one hundred eighty thousand miles. Your car here has a warranty on powertrain stuff. You just got to come down, talk to Josh, talk to Tyler and see what they can set you up with your new or your used car. Rather your car you're driving down the freeway with it just went up in value due to market forces here in the United States. So come in and see what

you have to work with. Howard Beck of the Ringer stops by to close out the four o'clock hour, as he does each and every Friday. Howard always good to chat with you appreciate your time, my friend. How are you doing well?

kind of the most intriguing series. What's had your attention in that regard Warriors Rockets?

interesting is now. Of course we've got Jimmy Butler questionable because of that heart fall the other night, so that's kind of a bummer. Let's hope he plays in Game three. You want to see everybody at full strength as much as possible. But that one's, I mean, already been pretty entertaining.

Like that one's lived up to its billing. I think Nick's Pistons to Go to My Backyard has lived up to the billing as well, And I think the Pistons have been every bit as feisty and confident, a little shaky and crunch time in the two losses that they've had, but you know, we're seeing them learn on the fly in real time against the next team that's got you know,

a thousand times more playoffics experience. But I feel like the Pistons have been, for the most part up to the task, and you know they're they're now facing I feel like, you know, we're we're getting to that point now right where everybody's almost everybody's played these two games and we're getting a lot of the more Game three tonight, but we're now heading into the second weekend where okay, it's put up for shut up time for certain teams, and like the Pistons have to win Game four or

it's pretty much over. They go down three to one, it's probably over. I don't know if it's must win time yet for the Warriors, but you know, they're they're going home, and they're you know, they stole home court

advantage right off the bat in that series. But you know, how far can they push it with a with either a banged up Jimmy or maybe no Jimmy, Clippers Nuggets, you know, I feel like has kind of lived up to the building, although the Nuggets with each passing game look a little bit less up to the task, and I think have serious concerns. But we've got you know, like throughout the one eights, because the one aights are always kind of a bummer series. We've got a really

good two seven with Warriors Rockets. The other two seven is you know, I don't really care much about Celtics Magic, but we've got plenty of good series and I'm really interested, uh to see how this this week's second weekend goes.

in that series? And do you think that the Wolves can stick with the Lakers and and ultimately win it?

I had anticipated. I'm a little concerned for them right now against the wolves in that you know, there are moments where Lebron looks his age a little bit. There are moments where it's a little bit too much of the Luca Show, And I feel like, as much as those two guys play well off of each other, there's still kind of a process going on where they're trying to figure out how best to keep everybody involved and

thriving on the timberal side of it. You know, this is a big you know, the latest version of a big test for Anthony Edwards. Don't like that he got into it with fans the other day and got films saying and doing other things that were not great for a family audience and then draw you know, yet another fine. I think we all keep waiting for the moment where Anthony Edwards turns into the star that we expect them

to be. Like, the production is there, the highlights are there is the maturity, There is the is the leadership. There is the ability to be great every single night, which is the real test of greatness in this league. Like there's a lot of guys who can put up twenty five thirty on a given night, but it's consistency and an efficiency with that that matters most. And so you know, Anthony Edwards going up against you know, two

generational stars in Luca and Lebron. It's interesting. I also think the other night and you knew that the Lakers were going to get right back in the series, but like all the role guys suddenly fell off a cliff for the Wolves, you know, suddenly like nas Reed, Jade McDaniels, all these guys like who were so effective in Game one just looked suddenly, you know, clumsy, not not quite on their games. So but series have a way of

swinging back and forth. And I that was when I expected to go seven from the start, and I still kind of expect that.

almost confused by what the Lakers were doing defensively. He said, you know that they were doing what he called a confusing kind of zone when he had the ball, and you know, it's that kind of you know, he's still young, but it's that kind of game recognition that I don't think that he has at the highest level that you know, like Lebron does or you know, even like a Dwayne

Wade did ten, fifteen whatever years ago. Like it's just he is so talented and so athletic, and you know, the jump SHOT's been amazing this year, but it's just not quite there. You're right to be a the the man in a playoff series to ultimately like drag you to Western Conference finals wins for example.

And I think Andy that like to your point, like that's what we're not seeing yet from Anthony Edwards, and like, you know, look, not everybody's going to be a Luca or Lebron. You can be great in this league in various ways, and you don't have to average, you know, eight to ten assists a game, but it's nice if you can get there sometimes and if you can really recognize when your teams are in an advent or when your teammates or in an advantageous position to get them

the ball. You know you're assists. You're assist rate should go up over time, and I think Anthonyaviers has become a better playmaker over time. But I think there's still more growth to come there that it's not just about whether you can jump over everybody or get to the rack yourself. You're going to be doubled and you're going to be tripled, and you've got to find ways to leverage your teammates.

Zubach has been. What can the Nuggets do to flip the script there? It seemed like the conversation we had earlier with Zach Harper. You know, you just hope that that Nikola Jokic can kind of carry you to the Promised Land as he did. You don't have the surrounding characters that you maybe did a year or two ago. What can the Nuggets do to stay in that series? Because it does feel like it's an uphill battle, and the Clippers are close to maybe maybe a shortened this series in the next game or two.

more guys you could just rely on. Period. The Nuggets rely so much on Jokic elevating everybody, and they don't have enough guys who could just kind of, you know, carry their own, you know, and it's eroded over time since the championship, and you know Russell Westbrook giveth and Russell Westbrook taketh away like he's not an easy, you know, guy to plug in and you just never know what you're going to get from him. They really need Jamal Murray to be the kind of player we've seen the

in postseasons passed and especially in their championship run. Nobody else is really creating for themselves or others on that team, aside from Murray and Jokic. But I just the rotation has gotten and the overall depth of the roster's gotten so thin. I just don't know that they can keep up. Like I hate to say this because it's twisted. Their best hope is that Kawhi Leonard comes up with a

bad knee again. Like the only reason the Clippers have not been a perennial power is because of Kawhi's health. And right now he looks like you know, Toronto Raptors. Kawhi the guy they got back in twenty nineteen. And as long as the Clippers are at full strength, I don't think the Nuggets are beating them.

I sort of understood it, but also not like I get that if you think that Michael Malone has lost the locker room as well as obviously the classes between him and the front office with Calvin Booth, you fire them both. I sort of get it. I understand that was a cloud hanging over them, but it's it also just it's a the stabilizing thing to fire your coach has been with the team for ten years and presided

over a championship just two years ago. To fire him, which is days to go, whatever the status was, whatever the issues were between him and the front office or him and the players. I just don't see how that, you know, benefits you to remove the coach at that stage and then to plug in an assistant coach and David Adelman, who you know, is very highly regarded and has been around the league a long time, has been with that team a long time and is the son

of Rick Adelman, a great coach himself. Like, I get all that, but was David Adelman ready to be thrust into this role with the playoffs on the horizon? Like I just there was a lot of risk baked into that. And maybe they'd be in this place anyway right now against the Clippers, because I think the Clippers are just

a better team. But it certainly doesn't help when you've got a rookie head coach, you know, rookie interim head coach going up against you know, a team coached by Tron lou who's one of the best in the league.

Dallas Mavericks did with Luka Doncic incredibly unexpectedly. Do you think that is a realistic or plausible dream for the Jazz to have with their first round assets or do you think it is the more advisable and realistic solution to just build moroop the draft over the course of a number of years.

or whatever it may be. But if you if you're on a shorter contract, you can also then convey where you don't want to go, and you can dissuade teams from trading for you because by just saying I'm not going to resign, I'm not going to sign an extension or I'm not going to resign on a free agency and you know, Utah has not generally been a destination, so I might my temp I'm tempted to just say that that the only way they're going to build again

is through the draft, and and the drafts smartly. You know, over the cult course of multiple years, that's probably the move, But you never know. The other problem the short term here is so let's say the Bucks, you know, continue this crash and burn that appears is happening, and let's

say Yannis does that ask out. You know, the whole league is going to be coming for him, and so it's now it's a matter of what's the best deal Milwaukee can get for itself first and foremost, but somewhere in there is also going to be where does Giannis want to be and will he resign after him. Like, I mean, maybe the Grizzlies will trade Ja Morant or something, but I don't know that that's the move that's going

to turn around the Jazz or anybody else. I don't know how many teams think that they can tie their future to Jamrant or maybe LaMelo Ball, same caveats, different different issues, but like, I'm not sure who else is going to shake loose in the near term.