Music. Good morning, folks. It's the Dudes of Davie. It is Monday, April 22nd, and we are ready to roll into the NBA playoffs. As usual, I'm here with my co-host, Lonnie Greenberg, and our reoccurring, call it NBA professional, specialist on the ground in New Orleans, Andrew Geiger. Welcome to the pod, Andrew. What's up, dudes? Good to be back. Beautiful spring day here in New Orleans. That's good to hear. That's good to hear. It looks like we're going to get some rain here in Florida today.
It's been about a month since we had rain and all of our grass is brown, so that'll be cool. So gentlemen, crazy weekend, a lot going on. NBA playoffs obviously were the number one thing that everybody was watching. You had a little bit of NHL playoffs too, but we're here to focus on the NBA with Andrew. So I thought the best thing we should do is let everybody know that we all made predictions and we did do them before the game started.
So I thought we would start with you, Andrew, with your predictions. All of these were sent in via email by 1111 on Saturday morning. We have confirmation of that. And I'm sure you'll hear by our picks that we definitely did not wait for the games to start. So that is really good when you're not that correct. So why don't we start with you, Geiger, and let us know what your thoughts were on each series and and who you thought you had moving forward.
Yeah, thanks for that intro, Stefan. I think that's absolutely right now that I look over my predictions. But we'll start in the West. In the first round, I had the Thunder over the Pelicans. I have the Lakers over the Nuggets, the Suns over the T-Wolves, and the Mavs over the Clippers. Then in the semis, I have the Mavs over the Thunder and the Lakers over the Suns with the Lakers emerging in the West.
I should let everybody know that Andrew, who's obviously personality is one equipped with sarcasm and quip, decided to, instead of saying the Lakers in his email, he just called them LeBron. I love that. That was my favorite part. And you know what? I put my picks in and I was teetering on the LeBron Lakers all the way through. And then I was like, it's so hard to go against Denver. It's just really hard. And then when I saw Andrew Geiger's picks, I was very excited.
I was happy that somebody did it. I just knew that if I did it, Stefan would have killed me. It's fair. Yeah. I mean, and I know Miller has his issues with LeBron. I am a LeBron supporter, to say things lightly. But here's the deal why I picked the Lakers over the Nuggets is just because, well, first, obviously, the LeBron factor, but really the LeBron and AD factor.
And I thought that, I mean, obviously, game one, the Nuggets did precisely what I was hoping they wouldn't do, which is basically, you know, Joker dominated in the post. And I thought that AD would be able to slow that down. I thought that the Lakers would learn something from their playoff loss to the Nuggets last year. But it seemed like it was the same thing, again, just a repeat of really the playoff series last year. So I'm not abandoning that pick just yet.
I still think the Lakers have a lot. I think D'Angelo Russell, he missed everything in game one. I saw the Lakers beat the Pelicans twice last week, and Russell was huge from outside. He really didn't miss. And I think that if he can just do a little bit better, they'd have a good shot. I mean, they were winning at halftime. They were close somewhat in the third quarter, and then it just got away from him.
Yeah. I mean, I think just on the heels of that, the Lakers have lost nine in a row to Denver. And that's pretty remarkable in this day and age. It's hard to lose that many games in a row to a team, whether it's injuries or a streak, whatever you want to call it. And I think with LeBron and AD both logging over 40 minutes, it wasn't like they weren't going all out. They were going all out. Russell couldn't hit anything and he's been hitting everything for the last few months.
So I do agree that it should turn. The question is, is it going to turn in time? Because now it's in his head. Now it becomes a mental thing and he's not exactly the, you know, it doesn't have the mental fortitude as a lot of these other, you know, shooters. Yeah. And I was a bit surprised to be honest us that the Lakers kind of stepped on the gas the way they did to beat the Pelicans in that playing game.
You know, it seems pretty odd. As a Pelicans fan here in New Orleans, the last thing I wanted for the Pelicans was to face the Nuggets in the first round.
And it seems just like you said, Steph, given the Lakers' recent history with Denver, that that's something they would have want to avoid too right so look i'm a big laker support lebron supporter as well between the lines i don't i i'm starting to go down stefan's path off the court however like when he's playing and he's playing at a high level it first of all it's insane what he's doing at 39 like beyond but,
yeah i mean i think the lakers actually really do have a shot if they can get some help. Ad healthy right he he can he can go with yokich to a degree lebron's an x factor i mean jamal murray like he's obviously i think he's obviously the biggest x factor if he can just if he continues to be just ridiculous like playoff jamal but they do need d'angelo russell just not to make that many mistakes and miss so many shots and you know austin reeves kind of showed up a little bit but not really.
But I still think they have a shot. I think if they can come out in game two, it will set the tone a much different way. So I have no interest in continuing down the LeBron path. We can have a separate pod about LeBron and all that stuff. And look, he's an amazing player. I will never understand, though, and there's multiple examples of this, but I will never understand how in game one, he checks into the game with about nine minutes remaining right after a rest and gets fouled.
I think goes to the hoop and gets fouled. he does not take another shot, literally another shot, until under a minute left in the game. Now, I don't care who you are, but if you're top three, top five, top two greatest players ever, and it's game one of the playoffs on the road, and you look like you have a chance to win this game, why in the world would you continue to be passive and continue to pass the ball to Russell, who clearly could not hit a shot, to Reeves, who just seemed very timid?
I don't understand the strategy. I'll never understand the mentality. I don't know. In the playing game against the Pelicans, it was sort of the same way. That game, they were up by 15. LeBron was dominating in the first half. In the fourth quarter, Zion started leading the team back. The game was tied in 96 when Zion got hurt, but LeBron really played that facilitator role in the fourth quarter. And to be honest, the shots that Russell and Reeves and Hachimura and all these
guys are missing, they're wide open shots. They are. So I don't really fault LeBron because he's getting his teammates open. That's the thing. But I hear what you're saying. At some point, though, you have to be like, arguably in my mind, I'm the greatest player ever. So if Russell and Hachimura and Reeves aren't hitting tonight, obviously, I just need to do bully ball my way to the net and get short shots,
layups, fouls. I just need to get, I mean, there were periods of time where the Lakers couldn't hit anything. But again, LeBron's done this his whole career. He's made a point of coming out in the first quarter of the second quarter and been a more of a facilitator to his team. He did on the calves, he did on the heat and on heat, he had a couple other, you know, arguably stars to defer to who could, you know, take over the game and run it for another quarter.
But so, so it's, it does follow his MO. I just think at some point you have to like you know turn that off and go straight on to i'm just going to take this over and win the game right because it does it does look like he can do that every play back somebody down find a way to get to the hoop get fouled but you know he views himself as like a magic you know like he does really he doesn't view himself as much as like a jordan kobe he views himself more as like a magic johnson
who is a better scorer right so like i don't know i mean It's an interesting thing. I guess he realizes that there's no chance he's winning this on his own. He doesn't have the ability to do that. So like he's got to start trying to give these guys confidence. He also views it, I think as like, they're not supposed to win any of these games in Denver. Winning in Denver is like a super hard thing to do, obviously.
So if they can get one, maybe he's, he realized that they're not coming back in game, game one and get them going in game two. So I think, so Geiger, so we got your picks and predictions. Lon, why don't you lay yours out and then I'll lay mine out and then we could start to, you know, go into them, some of them. So I did, I just did first round and then conference champions and then the NBA champs. So in the West, first round, I did pick OKC. I did pick Denver, Suns, and Dallas.
In the Eastern Conference, I picked Boston. I did pick the Knicks over the Sixers, Orlando, and Milwaukee. I think the Western Conference champ, which is not looking great at the moment, is Dallas. Eastern Conference champs are Boston. And then I think Boston, this is their year. So I think after I give my picks, we probably should dive into the Dallas Clippers because I think that all of us probably had the same reaction as much of the country, which was what's happening here.
Because when it was 56-29 Clippers in the second quarter, I'm not sure anybody knew what was happening. So for my picks, in the East, I did the Knicks, the Celtics, the Pacers, and the Magic. In the West, I did the Nuggets, the Mavs, OKC, and the Wolves. So I did diverge there. In the Eastern Conference Champs, I made Boston. Western Conference Champs, I had Dallas as well. And the Champions, I had the Celtics to finally get over the hump.
But I think we should take this straight to the fact that all three of us chose Dallas, is if you know that's correct and yeah I think you know what were your thoughts Geiger on you know I'm sure you got a score update at some point you know yesterday during that game you know what are your thoughts on game one Clippers Dallas is it an aberration do you think the Clippers are going to take the series what are your thoughts.
Very surprising, obviously. I think, well, first of all, every home team in game one emerged victorious, right? So in theory, you shouldn't be that surprised that the home team wins game one. But to your point, there are a few series here that we're a little bit surprised that those game one outcomes, the biggest one perhaps being the way that the Clippers dominated Mavericks. I thought Dallas was one of the hottest teams to end the season.
I thought that Luka and Kyrie finally figured it out, how to play with each other. And then the Clippers obviously going to game one without Kawhi, you'd think that Dallas would have a huge advantage there. That was a shocking final score. And not even just final score. Like you said, Steph, and the game was over by halftime. So I don't think this is the way the series is going to go, however. And I think Dallas will win this series. but that was an eye-opener.
Right. I mean, I think the Clippers are a smorgasbord of guys, right? Like at different phases in their careers. And yes, they played well in game one. Like James Harden can play well in games here and there. Like this goes six or seven, which I expect it to at this point. You know that more guys on the Clippers are not going to show up than guys on Dallas. So, I mean, I still feel like Dallas will take this series, but look, they still have.
A lot of these guys are still, they have several Hall of Famers on their team, as much as it's painful to say, they do. You know, James Harden still has a little left. Paul George can play well, really well at times. And then look, they still have some help there. So I think it's going to be an interesting series, an entertaining series, a lot of good players on the floor, but I just don't think the Clippers have it to take it all the way home.
I mean, I'll echo the sentiment, which was Luka really didn't have a good game. I mean, he shot 11 to 26 from the field. He looked like he wasn't prepared for the intensity that Ty Liu's team was ready to bring. You know, I think we all underestimate. It's amazing that we still do this because we've all been watching basketball and we played basketball and we've all been watching basketball for, you know, two and a half decades at this point.
When a team doesn't have one of their stars, in this case, the Clippers not having Kawhi, you know, first of all, they're used to not having Kawhi over the last few years. So it's not like he factors too much into their game plan. It's almost like if they have them, it's an enormous bonus. But I think when you take a team like this, Harden and Westbrook, ex-teammates, apparently they still get along very, very well.
I'm sure the two of them were like, apparently the amount of money and the odds flip so dramatically over the 48 hours going into Sunday's game that it went from the Clippers being favored to win the series to the Mavericks being favored to win the series. So that's pretty incredible over the course of 48 to 72 hours. And I'm sure Harden and Russell were like, Like, sounds great. We've been here before. We know what to do.
And then what I was really surprised at, and I did not watch the game, but I certainly watched some highlights, is that, you know, our old friend Zubac on the Clippers completely dominated the post. And really made the, you know, Gafford and Lively look exactly how you think they really are, which is, you know, below or at average big men. I mean, Zubac could do whatever he wanted in the post. So... Do I still think the Mavericks win this series? I do. I think to your point,
Lon, I think it's in seven. I think this is a seven-game series. I'm still going to stay with the Mavericks. I still think they were playing the best basketball from a couple months. They looked like they had found their mojo. I'm hopeful that Luka sort of shakes off game one. I still don't understand how you can be a superstar in the NBA top five, top seven, and not be prepared for game one of the playoffs.
But I guess that's a whole separate conversation when you start to talk about the superstars of today versus the superstars of yesterday. Luka always has that, though. Like, in the back of my mind, I always view Luka as absolute superstar. Him and Embiid, amazing in the regular season. But there's just a little something missing in the playoffs. Like, there's that killer mentality that I think is kind of missing from both of them a little until I see differently.
I mean, I don't even know what you do if you're the Mavericks. I mean, again, one game, let's not overreact. But if the Mavericks lose this series, after playing the way they were the last couple months in the regular season, I don't know where you go from here. I mean, so again, I think we all agree. Are we all going to stay with our Dallas pick? I'm sticking. Okay. Okay. So Lon... Well, let me just say, I think Mark Cuban
would be happy with his move. He's out. He's out. He made billions. He's good. So Lon, which series do you want to go to now? I mean, I think we have to go to Nick's Sixers. My man. I mean, why not? Yeah. Let's do it. Let's get dirty right now. Before we switch conferences, I think the Suns-T-Wolves one is also interesting because I think that's one that perhaps we all picked Phoenix. And that one went the other way in game one, right? So I picked the Wolves.
Okay. Yeah. So that one is interesting to me because Phoenix was the team in the offseason, the Bradley Beal acquisition, you have the big three and how they come together. And the T-wolves had a miraculous season. This year getting the two seed, right? They are the two. No, they're three seed. They're the three seed, but they're, you know, they could have been the one. I mean, they're basically battling right through the final week.
I think, you know, my pick, picking Phoenix over Minnesota was basically that discounting anything that Minnesota had accomplished this season and simply putting a lot of faith in Durant, Booker and Beal turning anything is around in the playoffs and being the superstars that they are. I'm not sure that's the case. I think now after watching game one, the Rudy Gobert factor is a big one. And he was kind of maligned last season, but this season looks primed to win defensive player of the year.
And he looked great in game one. And I think that's going to be a big problem for Phoenix is overcoming the size advantage that Minnesota had. The other thing too, is like Minnesota, obviously Anthony Edwards, clearly what he did in game one, but Minnesota has some sneaky players that Phoenix doesn't have, right? Like the Mike Conleys, the smart guys, the veterans, they do have a mix of that. You know, they have some guys that will get a little bit dirty, right?
They'll, they have some of those pieces you need to go along with, with star players. Obviously, KD, transcendent superstar. But look, Bradley Beal. I know, I know. He's transcendent. Yeah, the last two franchises he's gone to, he's been transcendent. You know, on this point, I agree with Steph. I don't see that with KD. I don't see the transcendent superstar in Kevin Durant. He's not. I mean, he's a top 15 player of all time. When we do the list, he won't be on my top 15. He definitely is.
Look, I think Bradley Beal is... We'll have a whole nother pod. We'll do our pyramid. Yeah, I mean, I think Bradley Beal is what's pulling them down to a degree. How about this, Lon? If the Suns lose this series to the T-Wolves, you still have Kevin Durant in your top 15 players of all time? I think so. So even after the Brooklyn Net debacle and now the Phoenix debacle, we're just going to keep on giving him credit, right? Like just rack up as much credit as you need to on this card.
Well, look, I think he... And where's the credit? Riding Curry's coattails? I don't know. By the way, that's a tough comment because Lon loves Steph Curry. No, I love Steph Curry. Look, I think with OKC, I just think he doesn't have the right guys with him ever. I think he likes the wrong guys on his team. Maybe he should go to China or Greece. I mean, he's gone to every... How many teams do you want to go to? Look, he had Westbrook on his team.
Westbrook is like the anti-second guy that you want like at the end of a game, right? Like when they played the Heat in the NBA Finals, I wanted Westbrook to take shots at the end of the game. For some reason, he likes the Kyries, he likes the Hardens on his team. It's like, what's he doing here? But just to be clear, so Durant picked the players on the Brooklyn team, so maybe we won't make him a GM, and then he decided that he told the Nets the only team he wanted to be traded to was the Suns.
So, I don't know. I mean, I think if the Suns flame out in this series, I don't know how you look at him and say, no, no, no, you're still top 15. We're just, you know, we're going to just, you know, excuse you for the last several years. I don't know. Yeah. I mean, look, I hear you. I do. But, like, he's, I think he's a special player. I could tell you right now, from Minnesota, obviously, Chris Finch, you know, Coach of the Year candidate.
But when you have Towns, Gobert, and Nas Reed, that is a really an incredible amount of athleticism and height to have to battle night in and night out and it's funny the matchup of phoenix against them if phoenix is not getting a full throttle effort from their big three that's the problem right so booker was i think five of 16 and you know no offense to booker but booker isn't exactly you know a rebound assist machine so he's either going to score a bunch of points or not and then you
have bradley beal who I mean, I think he's got to be one of the funniest contracts and players in the history of the NBA. I just don't know how Phoenix is going to pull out this series. I think Minnesota is too hungry. I think they're too athletic. I think this series could be over in five or six. Bradley Beal is what's killing us. J.J. Daniels on the T-Wolves is one of those guys, Lonnie, that you mentioned, those scrappy guys.
And he can, I mean, if he shuts down Booker, Phoenix is going to be in trouble.
Right, that's the thing. is like you do need some of these like these gritty guys and it's like everything's locked up in three guys three awesome scorers right Beal is probably dropping off to a degree but awesome scorers but they need a little bit more like it's not enough well I think I remember even texting with you last summer yeah when they got Beal and then you know we saw it they traded for Durant and they gave up all their picks for like the next six years right
we know we were just laughing being like, who's on the bench? And then they made some moves, and they were decent, but it just didn't seem like that they were gonna have enough at all. No, no, and that's a new owner trying to make a splash. Obviously, he got more people in the seats with KD. I do, this is a whole nother conversation, but team construction, yes, it does matter, but you do need a transcendent superstar and maybe Duran isn't.
I personally think he is, but he may be proving, I mean, this might be the nail in the coffin, honestly. Here's what's really funny, and we won't even go down this path, but it might be a good segue into the Knicks Sixers. There's a ton of talk and smoke that if this flames out this year, and it's a first or second round exit that Durant would seriously consider going to the Knicks. Oh, God. And the funny thing is, according to the Knicks, no interest at this point in time.
Very little interest to take a much older Durant at a crazy contract. So we'll see how that all works out, but it should have come earlier. So should we dive into Knicks Sixers? Is there anything else in the West we wanted to cover? I mean, you know what? No, I think that's good. No, I mean, do you want to talk a little about OKC and the Pelicans? I think we should. It was a great game last night. I think we should finish the West, yeah.
Yeah, you know, I think as a Pelicans fan, it was a frustrating game just because, well, two things. Number one, you know, again, the Pelicans are in a position to enter the playoffs, and they're without one of their best players.
So the constant thing that has played the pelicans over the past five years in the zion era has reared its ugly head once again and here we are in the playoffs no zion which is more frustrating this year than any other year was because he finally played 70 games this season showed everyone the player that he could be the last game that you saw him play this season he He was electric. They finally get a matchup against the Thunder, who I think are relatively vulnerable as a one seed.
They battle with Ingram and those guys, and they just come up short. And it's been the Achilles heel of the Pelicans all year has been their inability to finish games. They're something like 0-23 in games where they're trailing entering the fourth quarter, which I saw is like an NBA record for teams that have finished with a winning season, a winning record in a season, having that record heading into the fourth quarter and their clutch points rating or whatever they metric.
Do you want to metric? You mentioned that stuff by is like one of the worst in the NBA. And you saw that last night where they, they battle throughout, they finally take like a two point lead in the last three minutes. And then the offense goes away and a team like OKC that will suffocate you defensively and grind for points. That makes all the difference in the end. So that was, to me, that was a really frustrating game, but it was a microcosm of their whole season.
And if you're going to grab a game, that was probably it. And I think if they don't get swept, maybe they take one. That's why my pick was the Thunder. It's unfortunate that last night, you know, obviously I watched some of the game that, you know, Ingram, who's being covered by Lou Dort, you know, Ingram really had a rough night. I think he was like five of 17, five of 18 from the floor. And then Herb Jones, who I had just texted you a couple of days ago, who I'm a big fan of, was two for 10.
I mean, either one of those guys, I mean, I know this sounds cliche, but makes a couple more shots, the Pelicans win that game.
So it it's there it's going to be a battle i do i give the pelicans a lot of credit they they really do normally fight night in and night out every once in a while like you know they'll have a stinker but they play hard they play good defense but to your point i mean it's really it really sucks that this series doesn't have zion in it look i've certainly shared my view on zion over the last couple years but i was really i mean the nba is so much better off to have him healthy.
And he was the whole season. And he's putting up tremendous numbers. And I don't know. I mean, actually, Lon, you asked me earlier, is he out for the entire series? Supposed to come back May 1st, possibly. He's going to be reevaluated in two weeks. But look, he injured his hamstring last year and was out for two months. I mean, he's just not, with a body type like that, this is not a quick healer.
Right. Even if he comes back game five, it's not like he's back to where he was in the the play-in game, right? This one actually does. I agree. This one hurts. This is not on Zion. I feel bad for them because I think they could have really given OKC the full. I think they could have won, honestly. I think, to your point, Lon, I think this could have been like a seven-game series. Yeah.
Whoever's going to make the shots, is Shea Gillis going to prove that he's MVP-worthy in game seven and carry his team? So with Zion in it, it would have been just an awesome matchup. Yeah, big picture, a couple of things on the Pelicans. Number one, the Zion and Ingram pairing on the court doesn't work. Analytically, I think their plus minus is way horrendous when they're on the floor together. So they're going to need to figure that out moving forward.
And then number two, on the OKC side, I don't recall a more vulnerable one seed in a long time. Well, the average age of their starters might be 24. four. So, I mean, this is like the youngest team, if not the youngest, one of the youngest teams in the NBA. So that's a very good point. They are by far the most vulnerable one seed we've had in a long time. But I think that's also why we all, I mean, you know, we were picking either, you know, LeBron's Lakers or Dallas.
Right. We didn't see OKC even making it. Right. We're going with talent and momentum right now.
And not talent, we're going with experience and momentum at the moment so but okay i mean shig i haven't watched shay gill just so much but every time i watch him even last night it's like he is amazing like really like amazing he always takes a good shot too and they do they do play really good defense but i mean they are they are really young they're gonna have some issues going up against you know an experienced team but yeah i think they win that series i think i mean i think it's
it's pretty clear now yeah and to your point also just to close the brandon ingram loop he's got a very tradable contract i think he's due about 36 million i mean it all depends on what you view as tradable but i mean 36 you know it's amazing that 36 million sounds like a bargain but uh he's got a very tradable contract and i think to your point it does seem like it's it's it's not working the the way that they thought it might.
So, you know, and plus they, you know, both teams, I mean, OKC and New Orleans, they have tons of picks. So they certainly have plenty to use in this offseason to tinker with their roster and tweak it. But, you know, I think for now, you know, OKC is going to continue to move forward with this young core and see what they can do. There's talks about them trading Giddey in the offseason. You know, Giddey is one of those players that, you know, you like him, but you don't love him.
So see what they could fetch for that. But I think the Pelicans are definitely going to who have no choice but to make some more significant roster tweaks if this is a one series and out. Yeah, and I think, not to make this a bunch of Pell's talk, but you saw Trey Murphy yesterday step in, and he's at the point in his career where he's going to be a starter moving forward. So they can move Ingram and start Trey Murphy, and I don't think they'd lose that much. I agree.
I agree. Good point on Trey Murphy because he really, I mean, he's starting to shine night in and night out, which is great for them. All right, should we finally segue to the East? All right. We're out of the West. We're into the East. Knicks, Sixers. All right. I got my Knicks. We're going to watch this game tonight together. We are. This is going to be fun. What does that involve? You sit next to each other on a couch? That's pretty much it.
Well, maybe we'll start Passover early. We'll keep the game on a little bit louder so we can hear a little bit during the four questions. One of the four questions is Embiid healthy. Right. That's the only question. I mean, look, obviously, I grew up in Philadelphia. Sixers were my first love. This team frustrates me to no end over the last decade. Just all the moves that they've made, all the things that they've done, MB drives me insane.
I do love Tyrese Maxey. I will tell you that. He is keeping my interest.
But i do i mean look i like the knicks i mean i think the knicks are going to win this series, i just think that they have i think they have a lot of the pieces to get it done are they good enough to compete with boston probably not milwaukee i don't know that might be tough but i do think the knicks win this series from what i've seen and just the pieces that they have and the sixers team and i don't it's not even mb healthy too healthy is obviously number one
But then he just really doesn't show up the right way. Like you still see at the end of games shooting fadeaway jumpers and shooting threes with four minutes to go. And it's just really frustrating because he's so dominant down low. He still doesn't know his like full role in clutch time when it matters. I mean, he's an incredible regular season player, but I've seen this enough in big games. Yeah.
Yeah, look, I mean, obviously, Embiid's a terrific player, but I was rooting, you know, actually, Andrew knows this. I was rooting pretty hard for the Sixers because I prefer playing the Sixers than the Heat. The Heat, they just, you know, they just make you, they just make it painful. Even if you win, they make it painful. And I just felt like even though Nick Nurse is a exponentially better coach than most of the coaches the Sixers have had over the last 15 to 20 years, He is.
When he was on the Kings and also too, when he was on the Pacers. So I think that I do think the Knicks win the series. Listen, I don't know. Embiid, if he's not healthier and he doesn't, you know, if he's only playing half a game or three quarters of game, this series could be over in four or five. If he somehow is able to play through and can play three, three and a half quarters, Maxie is phenomenal.
I think that, you know, So I don't understand Tobias Harris, probably the luckiest player in the league to have played as long as he has and made as much money as he had. He just, he's never shows up like ever. It's interesting because none of us understand either. I'm sure. We're like, is he, I didn't even know he was still on the team. I was like, is he seriously still on the team? Have we seen enough of this? I mean, how long, he's been on the team, what, seven years now?
At least. Eight years? Yeah, at least. He was on the team when we had Butler. Right. He's been on the team forever. Right, right, right. Right, I know Butler's famous, you chose him over me. It's one of the greatest lines ever. So yeah, so listen, I thought the first game was a great win because I don't think the Knicks played their best basketball whatsoever. And I think Mitchell Robinson was tremendous in the fourth quarter on Embiid.
Granted, a fatigued, semi-injured Embiid, but he was still really, I mean, Embiid was 0-5 in the fourth quarter. And that was all in large part to Mitchell Robinson. And so, yeah, I'm feeling pretty good. I'd like to win tonight to take a tool stranglehold lead and protect home court, which we apparently we decided to go for in the last couple games of the season. So, yeah. What about you, Geiger? I know you have some Knicks fondness, even though you're still a Pels guy.
Well, yeah, I mean, you guys are certainly more Knicks Sixers experts than I am. But a couple things. Having been in New York City this past weekend, it was cool to see on the streets. You know, the city really embracing the Knicks. And you couldn't really go very far without seeing someone in a Brunson jersey or something like that, which was awesome. It reminds me of back in the day in the 90s when the Knicks were everything. And so that was cool.
As far as the series goes the problem for the knicks is really it looked like maxi was getting anything that he wanted i i had rarely seen someone get to the hole so easily i mean i don't know many how many of his shots were just right at the rim but it it was almost too easy to the mb point it seemed like he was lumbering and fatigue towards the end like you said line and taking a bunch of outside shots i think if you have a physical guy like mitchell robinson that's going to bother him,
correct he doesn't see that much in the east correct on a nightly basis so i for the knicks to win a game where brunson was clearly off game one i think it bodes very well for them the rest of the way well apparently and obviously i did not pick up on this while watching i mean you could sort of see it but you know people know a lot more you know the people who analyze these games night in and night out that nick nurse decided to do like a one three one and the
moment that Brunson would come across, they'd throw two people at him. What Nick Nurse didn't anticipate, which I'm sure he still won't anticipate, is McBride and Josh Hart making every single one of their shots. So they're probably going to try that method again, because it certainly made the game... I mean, the Sixers had control of this game in the second quarter, and then the Knicks went to the free throw line 10 times in a row.
And Nick Nurse was quick to let the press know that he's never seen that many free throws that that quickly in a game. So we'll see how the second game is whistled. It certainly could be different, but I think they're going to try the same defensive approach to contain Brunson. That 1-3 by Hart was so insane. I was just going to say, the emergence of Jalen Brunson as an MVP candidate is really quite something.
To go from, I guess, Luka's second fiddle in Dallas to the Knicks and now being the biggest star on the biggest stage in basketball has been pretty cool to see. Yeah, I mean, obviously, you, Geiger, you know as well as I do.
It's been a really long time since the knicks had a starting point guard to run the floor i mean if we're being really transparent and honest it was mark jackson that was the last one i mean sure chauncey billups was cool for a year and a half it definitely wasn't cool with charlie ward so i just think that 20 years plus and apparently this is exactly what brunson wanted he wanted of the main stage. He's been working his whole life for this moment.
And now, I mean, you can't even explain Dante DiVincenzo shooting over 40% this year from three-point range. I mean, the Golden State Warriors never would have let him go if he was doing that on that team. So I think the Warriors right now are probably scratching their heads being like, we had this guy. And then the Knicks signed him for four years and 50 million, which will go down in history as maybe the greatest contract of the last five years.
Well, the Warriors only had so many perimeter shots to go around with those guys. But the Knicks point guard point is pretty interesting because I remember in the 90s, the run with Sprewell and Houston, they had Chris Childs. Yeah. Even the Ewing era towards the end, Derek Harper, Doc Rivers.
Just so you know, there was one summer day, I want to call it July, right after the NBA trade deadline was live and active and free agent signings and they signed alan houston chris childs and charlie ward all in the same day and i legitimately started crying on the bus to work because i knew that was the end of it all right so i have one final point on the knicks and i think i've said this a couple times on different pods but you know jalen bruntz obviously starts with him, DiVincenzo, Hart.
Those guys are winners. I mean, they are. And you saw it on a very high stage, a really big stage of Villanova. They've played in a lot of big games. They're not afraid of this stuff. That's... I heard Bob Myers say on a telecast the other day that's like, you know, when we looked at players and we were trying to figure out who to draft and who to bring in, you look at like all the tangibles, right? You say, okay, you know, what's their shot, you know, and all the analytics and everything.
But winning is a skill, right? And the three of them have that. It's hands down, they'll do whatever it takes to win. I mean, Devin Chenzer literally won the national championship game for us, right? Like it was for Villanova. And Brunson, Brunson's been running these teams forever. Brunson was amazing in high school, you know, running major teams. He's been doing this forever. And his dad played in the NBA, so he's got good tutelage.
So I would not be surprised to see the Knicks, I've said this before, in the Eastern Conference Finals. I really wouldn't be. You have been consistent in that prediction. I just think that they're winners. I think they're not afraid of this. And by the way, not to spend too much time on this, but he's been consistent in this prediction as well as the prediction that the Knicks are better off without Randle than with him.
I don't disagree with that either. I think in the East, I also had the Celtics over the Knicks in the conference finals. I think, unfortunately, with all these teams in the East, and we can almost gloss over some of these series like Cleveland, Orlando, and to an extent, I even think Pacers, Milwaukee, just because I don't think any of these teams are going to beat Boston. them.
Correct. So I'll pose this now. So we'll switch to a different series, but we'll talk more about one team than the other. Why can't or won't Milwaukee with a healthy Giannis and Lillard and Middleton, right? Why won't that team make more noise against the Celtics if they're in the Eastern Conference Finals or against the Knicks? Oh, yes, Andrew.
We have a question in the back yeah simply because of drew holiday yes and holiday is going to shut down lillard, and then they're done i mean i think it's a i think first of all it's a great it's obviously the key point which is they lost milwaukee legitimately traded top two top three defensive players in the nba despite losing a little bit of a step right he's getting older right but they traded him for a pure scorer and a streaky one at that, by the way. Listen, I know Dame's a great scorer.
I know everybody loved Dame time and I get it all, but he made it to the Western Conference Finals once. I know he carried a couple sort of semi-weak teams in Portland to the second round of the playoffs, but he really is just a scorer. That's all he does. So I would agree that, but do you also think it has to do, and we don't have to go through it, but do you also think it has to do with doc rivers as the head coach? Do you think that's a net positive or a net neutral? What do we think?
You are the president of the anti-Doc Rivers family. Yes. But I really liked... I'm not sure what I could possibly say here. I liked him as an analyst or I liked him as an interviewer. I don't know. I think it helps that they have a guy like Doc Rivers who has been through the playoffs and has won a championship. Blah, blah, blah. But at the end of the day, it comes down to roster construction. And their roster compared to Boston, it's just not a good matchup. And I don't know.
It wouldn't make a difference if it was Pat Riley coaching them. All right. All right. By the way, I mean, just another note, and no one, you can't expect this the same way the Warriors didn't expect Dante DiVincenzo to have the year he's had on the Knicks, especially shooting above 40%. I'm pretty sure that Milwaukee did not envision Grayson Allen shooting above 44% from three-point range on the Phoenix Suns.
So just really interesting how those moves, you know, come back to bite you 20, you know, less than 12 months later. Right. So I'm not sure, by the way, that Milwaukee gets by Indiana. I mean, there's only one game. I still think the Pacers are a really tough matchup for them. They're just so bad defensively. They're so bad. I mean, I agree with you. I don't think the series is over, but... I'm going to take a slightly different route here.
I think Milwaukee has a small chance to win the Eastern Conference. A small chance. Just because Giannis is a top three player in the league Dame does create a little bit more space for Giannis to roam because like even if drew holidays on him you still have to guard Dame 30 feet out especially if he's getting a little bit hot right now like that's that might change things a little bit he is a great score.
He is fairly clutch. I think that we might be discounting Dame a little bit in the sense that, yeah, Drew Holiday, amazing perimeter defender, but Dame is still, he can still score against him. And look, if Middleton's okay and he can play, Middleton opens up the floor a little bit too. They have a couple of grinder defensive guys with Portis.
They can do some things to frustrate Boston if they play I personally think this is Boston's year I just think that they have all the pieces Porzingis, Healthy, all of them they've been so close now they continuously make it deep but I think there is a world where Milwaukee can win, in the Eastern Conference Finals if that's what it is but I think central to that analysis is, Giannis being Giannis and we have no idea, number one, when he's playing, and then number two, what he's going to look
like when he gets back on the court. No doubt. No doubt. I mean, I'm assuming a peak, healthy everyone. Mm-hmm. All right. So should we shift to what we believe to be at least our collective choice for the Eastern Conference champion, the Boston Celtics? So Celtics have the heat. They have a heat without Terry Rozier and without Jimmy Butler, which I do believe if both players were completely healthy. I do not think, first of all, I think they beat the Sixers in that game.
And I would not want to play the Heat with a healthy Butler and a healthy Rozier, even though I think Tyler Hero is a pile of rocks. I can't believe he's still playing on the Heat. I think his trade value is plummeting. He was terrible in the play-in game and he was pretty bad against the Celtics yesterday. He ruins the flow. He just does. I mean, I mean, there's games where he'll play. Look, he is the epitome of streaky.
But you saw the Heat last year without him. They played the way that you would have expected them to play. I mean, a very healthy Heat team playing Boston. I still don't think they win this year. But they always, I mean, every year they play Boston, right? And every year they're able to kind of grind it out, no matter what the seeds are. So I think they would have had a small chance against Boston, very small. They would have at least tired Boston out for the next rounds.
But now I think it's, I mean, I don't think the Heat have a chance. No. I mean, I also think the Celtics. Yeah, I was going to say, I agree. I think it's the Heat. The Boston learned a lot from the series last year. And I don't think a repeat was in the cards this year. I think what's more interesting for Miami is how they look next year and what they do this offseason. Because the reality is, I don't consider Jimmy Butler a superstar.
I know that his postseason last year was otherworldly, but I still think they could add someone to. With Butler, whether it be a, I don't know, Donovan Mitchell or someone like that, some all-star caliber player that could make them more dangerous next season. I mean, I completely agree. I mean, let's assume the Cavs, who were Geiger's secret favorite team this year, and Coach Pickerstaff, who was Andrew's pre-selective choice for coach of the year, which apparently that's not going to pan out.
But let's assume the Cavs don't advance very far. Donovan Mitchell wants to exit Cleveland probably pretty quickly. And we all know that the Heat, you know, wanted either, you know, Lillard or Mitchell. So I think the package that goes to Cleveland obviously includes Tyler Hero. I think it might have to include either Jaquez or Jokic. I think it's gonna be a real package. And I think the chances of Don Mitchell being a Miami Heat are very strong, you know, I would say in short order in July.
I love Jaquez though. Well, he's not even a rookie. I mean, he looks like a fifth year player. Yeah, he's awesome. And he, you know, it's so, it's so amazing too, because he's, he was a winner at UCLA too. You could see that, like that, that is something. It's like, it's really an amazing thing. I could never put my finger on it, but like you do have to look at like what these guys do at different stages outside of the tangibles and just look at
how they win. I mean, that matters. It's such a big deal. Circling back to my Cavs for a second there, Steph. Sure. I know that the Cavs Magic Series isn't sexy and Game 1 was difficult to watch, but assuming the Cavs beat the Magic... Is there a world in which the Cavs give Boston a little bit of a run? No. No. You know what? Before I say that. No. Jared Allen and Evan Mobley.
Yeah. I've seen them play really well. I mean, everybody thought Evan Mobley was going to be, you know, the next superstar until he wasn't this year. Everybody thought Jared Allen. I mean, how could the Nets throw him into that trade, right? And then Jared Allen looked like, that seven footer looked like he was 5'11 against Mitchell Robinson. But to your point though, it's an interesting personnel matchup with the Celtics, right?
Because the Celtics do not have bigs. They have one big who likes to shoot threes. So I'd love to see what Joe Mazzulla, who I do not believe is any type of incredible strategist, even though I think he's benefiting incredibly from having Sam Cassell as one of his assistant coaches because Sam Cassell was one of the smartest players in the 90s. But what are you going to do to guard Allen and Mobley when Garland and Mitchell, sure, you want to put Tatum and Brown on Garland and Mitchell?
Okay, that's cool. Or one or the other. But what are you going to do in the post? And Strews is there now too. Yeah. You're familiar with. I mean, so he's something you've got to deal with, at least on the perimeter. You have to guard him. To an extent, yeah. I think, obviously, I don't think Cleveland's going to beat the Celtics. And I'm not sure Cleveland beats Orlando. But I'm just suggesting that I think that could be a more interesting of a series than we might think.
I think to your point, it definitely, it's one of those series where people might say it's four or five and it ends up definitely being six. And you're like, how did, you know, Cleveland got a couple games. You know, they played the matchups well. I would agree with that. I think it's, that becomes more of a matchup, you know, series than anything else. Right. Mitchell can win one on his own.
Right like so like if you think it's going to be a five game series then mitchell can win one he did on utah right no i mean it was i mean he it was him versus jamal murray he's got that capability like that's the thing is like if the teams are fairly evenly matched then you would say okay mitchell can get you one maybe two okay what about nicks bucks healthy honest i think it's I think it's too much. I think Healthy Giannis is likely too much. I think it's a very exhausting series for the Bucs.
Because if you look at their personnel and their roster, sure, Bobby Portis is going to play big and he's going to want to battle and he's got a little snarl and a little dog. That's a Miller guy. Sort of, sort of, sort of. The eyes really throw me. Yeah. But I do think that, I think that series, I think it's like Bucs over Knicks in six or seven. But I will tell you, though, that if Middleton is off, and he has shown you
from series to series and game to game, he's not the same guy since that injury. He's not. And so I think if Middleton is off at all and Brunson catches fire or DiVincenzo or Bogdanovich, it's weird, but the Knicks roster, I mean, knock on wood, besides the regular season where injuries were crazy, Right now, they're fairly healthy, besides Randall. Milwaukee does have Pat Beverly out there. It's true. To annoy the crap out of anyone on the perimeter.
As a Knicks fan, the Pacers... I mean, we traded the Pacers most of our players that we didn't like, so no. Yeah, no. I don't think – I mean, look, I have a lot of respect for Rick Carlisle, but I think he might be a little bit overrated as an actual in-game coach. And so, you know, look, I think the Pacers' Knicks, though, they have almost like a blood feud going back a long ways.
And so I still think that'll be tested again. And I think with Miles Turner and, you know, some of these guys, I think you'll see some little bit of, you know, chippiness. I really do. But I think the Knicks would beat the Pacers in six. And by the way, I mean, we didn't even talk about it yet, but everybody last year, including myself, so if I'm going to be really honest, you know, thought Halliburton was the second coming of, you know, of Jordan.
And Halliburton has had a really, like, average year.
You know, his shooting percentage is way down. His three-point percentage since the All-Star break is like plummeted well since since his hamstring injury yeah yeah agree before that he was tremendous he was he was great up until the all-star game but now it's been but i mean it's you know january so it's february march april so maybe maybe to that point maybe it's he's he's operating at 80 and it's just not enough because he's really not you know he
doesn't look the same so to your point maybe next year he looks right back at that you know level because he i think he He is that guy. It's just been weird the last three months to see him not put up the same numbers, especially the three point number. Let me throw another one out. Other than Denver, which team in the West can beat Boston? Ooh, I don't think anyone, honestly. I don't think anyone. So I'll go out on a limb because shit happens. I think the T-Wolves could beat Boston.
I think the T-Wolves, first of all, I think Chris Finch is about as underrated as it gets as a coach. I think they have three big men that are actually really good. They're good at a lot. They're good at rebounding. They're good at block shots. They're good at defense. And they all can score, with Nas Reed being the third scorer on that list. And you want to tell me that Jalen McDaniels and Anthony Edwards aren't going
to get excited to take down Brown and Tatum? wow i think that would be a a really fun series to watch and you never know what about you. I guess I kind of agree just based on roster construction and potential matchups, the two wills do pose a problem.
And as you were talking about the two wills and I'm looking at the West, I'm wondering, are we in an era now moving forward that the two wills and the thunder, and I guess the nuggets until Joker leaves, I mean, are they going to be the top seeds in the West for the foreseeable future? Dallas. I think, I think they'll, they'll put a couple more pieces together going forward too.
But yeah, I mean, probably but like look i gotta see how they do in the playoffs now you know it's like i'm i'm never sold on the regular season like ever and these are these are young teams all of them outside of denver young teams and denver needed time in the playoffs figured out i mean denver went through two years of two or three years of hell right i mean it was heartbreaking losses and crippling injuries i don't know if minnesota is like mature enough to get all the way even if
they got to boston i think boston had boston's been through the fire enough now they've they've had so many like tough i mean their series against curry is just painful they've had a bunch of tough ones against miami i think they've been in the eastern conference finals like five years in a row or four years in a row yeah so i think boston's tested now i i haven't seen enough from i mean towns and gobert in the playoffs is not i haven't seen enough
from them yet and it's a young guy he's great but he's young guy yeah i mean if i'm just going down the west teams the thunder, like we said younger than the north carolina tar heels this year so they're not going anywhere the pelicans curse franchise that should probably be relocated lebron and ad not getting any younger, this they're on their way down the nuggets so long as joker's there they're going to be good But to Phoenix, I don't think that's going to work.
The Wolves, like you just said, I think they're ascending. If the Lakers get through Denver. My problem with Dallas, though, Lonnie, is that how many years do Luka and Kyrie have left together? I mean, Kyrie could blow it up overnight. Right. I mean, he's gone. That's a very fair point. I guess I have some recency bias, but yeah, I forgot about that entire storm before. Yeah, I mean, that can be volatile in a heartbeat. Just one night on Twitter, that's it. That's all it takes.
So I'll pose a question to the two of you. And we were talking about this a year ago. So the Knicks beat the Sixers. Nick Nurse, I mean, I think is a tremendous coach. You have Maxie, who's getting to become a borderline superstar. I mean, he took over 25 shots in game one. Now it's time to trade Embiid.
The Sixers have decided to trade Embiid. What teams do you think take that risk and do the Sixers end up in a position where they not only get back one or two starters, at least one starter, one good bench player, plus, you know, what, four firsts? And I mean, it could be the type of move that puts the Sixers in a position to consistently compete to get to that Eastern Conference. Because, I mean, look, we all believe that the Eastern Conference is certainly different than in the West, right?
The West seems to be, you know, has all these teams, but when you start to break down the West, I'm not sure all those teams, you know, have as much, you know, on their roster and with free agency and health and age, it feels like you got the Celtics, right? You're always going to have the heat. You've got the Knicks up and coming, and the Sixers are going to be in a really unique position to make a very important decision. They can't trade Embiid. They're just not going to. Why?
I'd love it, but they're just not going to. But even if they lose this round yeah i mean if mb even shows let's say i would say if they lose this round and then b plays all of those games and he is still taking bonehead shots at different points in the games that are like that he needs to be clutch then it's a different conversation but if he has like a couple injury games or injury-ish games they're gonna be like oh you know he's he's hurt again you know but he's amazing in the regular
issues the other thing is mb fills the seats to like people, people love him in the regular season. But, yeah, I mean, I don't know. I find it hard to believe that they would trade Embiid. I would love it, just obviously depending on who they get. But I don't know who. Well, that's the second part of the equation, which is what teams want him will deploy him and utilize him the right way and can afford him in terms of what they're going to have to give up. Yeah, I don't know. Dallas.
I thought that a little bit, yeah. They could trade all of their young bigs. Right. Give him Lively, give him Gafford. All of those guys. Give him Hardaway Jr. All of it. Yeah. Although Philly still remembers trading Barkley for a handful of guys too. So there is a little bit of that going on as well. And then Embiid goes on and wins a title in Dallas or goes to the NBA Finals or whatever. It's like, oh my God. That would be... Was Andrew Lang involved in that trade?
Yes. It was Cedric Sabalis, Andrew Lang, and was it Hornacek? Maybe Hornacek, too. Yeah, that one wasn't fun. But yeah, I mean, I don't know. It's frustrating. It's frustrating. Well, look, we have a lot of basketball left, right? Every team has only played one game. The second games are going to be played tonight. So we're certainly looking forward to what's going to be predictable and unpredictable over the next couple months.
So final thoughts. Let's go around the horn. I think we've all said who we think is going to win the finals, but let's put it out there and give your reasoning as to why and what's the one thing that could happen that could change everything. I mean, I think Boston's been the best team in the league this year, and I think they're on cruise control.
I don't see any team in the East giving them even seven games in a series, which is kind of why I was wondering in the West who you guys thought would give them that challenge. I guess I'd like to see them play Denver in the finals, even though in my predictions I have LeBron beating Denver. So really I'm just hoping for a competitive series, whoever comes out. And I'm really, really interested in seeing what the Knicks can do the rest of the way.
Yep. I think if the Lakers can beat Denver, which is going to be tough, obviously, I think they could be that team to come out of the West. Because if they beat Denver, that means they're really clicking. You're going to see some monumental performances from AD and LeBron, and then a couple other guys, you're just like, wow, they're playing at all-star levels. That's the only way they beat Denver. And then I think that carries. And LeBron is just so motivated, because he knows this is it.
This is really the last shot for him to possibly do something. I'm still... I like that prediction, Geiger. I mean, it's a hard one, but I think it's the only plausible one. Before the season started, we did a pod where I predicted it was going to be Lakers, Celtics, and the finals. But that was also assuming that people like Jared Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent were going to be having real meaningful, call it bench minutes and contributions. distributions.
It just hasn't happened yet. And I'm sure from LeBron's standpoint, it's hard to believe. He really thought he had all these role players that were going to be additive. Listen, I'd love to see the Lakers lose in four. I mean, I'd love to see them lose in four every time they ever play. But it would be cool if they, you know, if those role players were to step up and make this a real series.
I don't think Denver's going to sweep them, but it's really hard to see how they close a game without AD or LeBron being on fire and being on the court for 40 plus minutes. I mean, I think, you know, you start to look at these plus minus ratios, you know, when Brunson's on the court versus Brunson's off the court with the Knicks. I think the plus minus with LeBron and AD with the Lakers, it's got to be staggering,
which is why now they've shrunk. And, you know, they've taken it from like a nine minute window to like a seven minute window to now it's like a two minute window. I mean, so I just think it's going to be, look, the human body is what it is. Nobody takes better care of himself than LeBron. So, you know, he's got two months now of straight basketball where he's going to have to be, he's going to have to carry the team.
He's he's gonna have to do something that heroic yeah i mean he's he's gonna have to look like, lebron against golden state right to to do this for most of the next two months and ad has to play to ad standards and then they need one or two other guys but yeah but and austin reeves can't score seven points no you know there's certain things that just can't happen again and denver's Denver's beatable. I mean, Jokic is so unbelievable.
It's amazing to me what he does on the floor, but they are beatable. I would agree. Denver's beatable. I think the one matchup I really want to say that I'm rooting for is Knicks-Celtics. Really just because, obviously, two storage franchises, but just watching those games in the garden is unbelievable. There's nothing better than Knicks-Celtics at MSG. Street.
So if the Knicks, if the Knicks Sixers make it to game, end up in game seven, I will be flying up to New York with that game to see that game. And if the Knicks advance to the second round, I will be taking my son Brennan to his first Knicks playoff game against whomever the opponent will be. So I would agree. Well, you could also parlay that into a Rangers game too. I actually thought about... It's been a minute. It's been a minute.
They both have been playing at the same time. I've actually thought about this past weekend. I thought about doing the hat trick, which would have been Nick's Rangers and Yankees in a four in a less than 48 hour window. So there's, there's some preliminary planning and pencil for that. That's beautiful. It's beautiful stuff. Before we go real quick, Regular season awards, just high-level ones. Who's the MVP? Jalen Brunson.
Brunson should be. I bet he's not even in the top five, but he should be. He is. Is he? Yeah. He's in the top five. I think he's actually going to end up being three or four, believe it or not. Really? I think, in my opinion, real quick, I think the MVP will probably be Luka. I think, legitimately, it should be Brunson or SGA. I think that's correct. Correct. I think it should be Brunson or SGA. I think Luka will win it. Probably. Probably. And probably Joker's going to win it.
I don't think they'll give it to Joker because I think that for the NBA purposes, for marketing, I think they have people who are just as good from a statistical wise this year. And I think if Luka were to win it or Shea were to win it, it really helps with the branding of the game.
Of the game yeah if you keep on giving it to the same guy in the same city you know it's like at some point you know it definitely it starts to hurt the award right yokich is like duncan like he's just he just kills you you have no idea how it happened i love i love that comp by the way and it's not like that exciting but he's like you know what else he's like he's like like when we go outside and play basketball with our kids it's like him
out there like he's just you know it's The old man dad moves. They always work. But it's a great comp, though. Holding the ball up, passing to whoever's open. I think that you should have a Tim Duncan and Jokic, like a poster. Yeah. I mean, I love them both. They're both incredible. What about you, Geiger? Who's going to win it? Yeah, I mean, I think Luka should get it. The reason why all of us really were so high on Dallas in the postseason is
the way Luka played this year. just the statistical marvel this year. So I agree. I would hope that he would get it instead of someone like Joker again. Yeah, I think, right. I think the tie goes to him for sure. What about Rookie of the Year? Can we all agree on? That's over. The freak, the alien. Okay, so Wembe Yama. Just a remarkable season for Wembe. To think how high the barrier was and he exceeded it.
It's really scary to think about what he might become. If he stays healthy, I hope he does. I also would vote for him for Defensive Player of the Year over Gobert. Did he lead the league in blocks? I think he led. I think Wemby on the league in blocks. I think he did, yeah. Yeah, I wouldn't give it to him. Not so much just that. There were so many times where guys would have like a fast break, like a three-on-one when Wemby would be the one, and they'd have to like pull
it back and like... That play against Memphis is... I've never seen anything like it. It was insane. It was insane. It's insane. I mean, his ability to hit step-back threes is like, you feel like you're watching like a movie, like a weird movie. Like, it's unbelievable. It's a video game. Yeah, it's a video game. I do want to see him in person next year. He's worth seeing. He's absolutely amazing. He's what you would have thought he would be. Which is?
Which sounded so ridiculous when they were talking about him. It's true, 100%. And then what else we got? That's it. That's it. Those are pretty much the big awards. Yep. Well, Mr. Geiger, a pleasure having you as always. I think this was great. I think we're going to have some amazing basketball over the next couple of months. And I think we'll have to have you on maybe right before the finals because it could be really funny depending on who's in the finals.
Yeah. When it's Cavs and T-Wolves in the finals, I guess we'll have something to talk about. Yeah. I was going to say something like, you know, Pelicans versus the Magic. Yeah. It could be wild. Oh, God. But, you know, thanks for having you, man. It was It was really great, and we'll talk to you soon. Thanks, Andrew. All right, guys. Take care. Okay. Well, that's it for us today. We appreciate you listening. If you really enjoyed the episode, please follow us. Please share it with whomever.
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