Welcome in What's Right with Nick Wright Episode three thirty six, our finals preview edition. Apologies for kind of the underdressed nature if you're watching on YouTube. I had a nice fit on, but we're having the AC fixed at the house and so we had to turn all the AC units off in the house, so it is sweltering in here, so I can't wear what I was supposed to be wearing.
You guys don't care about that. I also, one thing you guys seem to care about but you maybe shouldn't, is kind of internescing media beefs and man, there's a tangled web involving metal arc folks, ESPN folks, ringer folks. I'm tangentially involved. The whole thing is such a mess, so let me just address it in chronological order before we get to the show. So I went on Levatard show. He asked me about Pablo Torre and I said, basically, listen,
I'm I'm not a recurring guest on Pablo's podcast. I appreciate him asking me on a bunch, but I you know, it was only so many hours in a day. I'm a recurring guest on Baumani's podcast Lebatards Dan Patrick's and Colin Cowherd. The latter three are my three kind of as a young person media idols. The first one is one of my best friends in the world. Everything else is kind of like, you know, I'll drop in but pop in here and there, but not regularly. Pablo Tuk
didn't take that condly kindly, and he banned me. So I've now been banned from a show that I had no interest in going on again, So no problem. The sad part about that was he banned me with Mina sitting right there. And Mina and I have an odd relationship and by that I mean this. I call her a media arrival because she is. I say I will vanquish her because I'm being tongue in cheek in reality and I'm gonna pull the curtain all the way back in reality. I have massive risk not only respect for
Mina Kimes, but I think she's excellent. I think she's excellent. I also think she is very regularly unfairly maligned in the media or really not in the media but by uh other by other by people on Twitter, and so I was I was ready to, uh let everyone know I'm calling off the media beef with Mina Chimes, especially after I heard for no reason whatsoever, when there's a hundred people to pick from, when Roussillo's making a joke about what inside the NBA is gonna do on ESPN,
He's like, maybe the lad Mina Chimes. Now, maybe it's just a harmless joke. But it was to pick her of everyone when she is the most unfairly maligned person on that network. I think it's crazy. So I didn't love that. I don't know Ryan, but it was. I'm sure he didn't intend any harm, but I didn't love that. I agreed with me on that. And then I heard a clip where Mina compared me to brock Party, to which I say, feud back on to which I say, there is a you know what, I take back all
the compliments. And then in the midst of all that, Simmons and Pablo now all of a sudden seem to have a real thing where Simmons called him a fake journalist, and then Pablo's like, actually, I'm glad to hear from you. I have a lot of questions I like to have answered, Like he's the district attorney, so stay tuned. I'm excited to hear it, Deman, say give your thoughts real quick. I think the dog's attacking the air conditioner, guys, so I gotta get him in here talk.
Oh my gosh, I wonder how they compared with a Rock Party's similar back.
I had to put Dexter in the room. Those poor guys probably freaking out. Dexter things he's a guard dog. He is not a guard dog. He's just barking like crazy. So there's the catch up for everyone on all this. In short, I have no I have no beef with Pablo because the Pablo banned me from a show that I didn't want to have to keep turning him down to go on. So that's fine. I had a fake beef with me in a that is now a vehement
real beef because she compared me to Brock Party. Come on, that's below the belt.
Yeah what what similarities like? You know?
I think she was I think in this context like she was Josh Allen and I was Brock Purty, or it was something like I'm punching above my weight, whatever it was. She was egged on by another person on the pod who was it. I don't want to get it wrong. I think David Dennis. I think it was who I don't know, but I actually like and it was mister irrelevant jokes is none of that. But then in the midst of all this man, oh man, this Jordan Hudson story, it's got a lot of tentacles, all
of a sudden and very ominous sight. So now I'm plugging Pablo's podcast, which I didn't even want to do. So I guess you know what, Pablo and your Harvard degree maybe outsmarted me. Buddy, point to you the polatory show. But what did you say?
I don't know why. I think you show I did it.
I had to pay for my car there and car Beck.
It's costing me money.
He on your show costs me money. I'm not asking to get paid, but my goodness, but somebody can pick me up. Like it's just hey, hey, bully, like hey, I need you to I need you to drive me to the airport. And by the way, I go to the airport every two weeks, Like what a second? All right, all right here, what missed the cut? Timothy shallow May's playoff run comes to an end along with the New York Knicks. Saquon Barkley, named the Madden cover athlete and
the biggest story in the sports world. The Royals call up Jeffrey Allen CAGLIONI. Kaglion is how they're gonna pronounce it. I'm gonna pronounce it CAGLIONI. They call Jack he's going to mash and the Royals, which have the best pitching staff in baseball, now, all of a sudden, are gonna stop losing games one nothing. They played consecutive games this weekend but that they won one nothing and then they lost one nothing. It's like the dead ball or at Kaufman Stadium right now. It's maddening.
So are those the most exciting baseball games that ends one that n one zero? I've been told by an editor on the staff that those are the most exciting games as baseball watchers. Well, in the I mean, I know it means that, like the pitching was obviously phenomenal if the score was super low like that.
But I would say one nothing is better than ten to eight. I do think that because ten to eight to just feel but on and one nothing in the playoffs is gripping, because you feel like you're in jeopardy at every moment. The flip side to that is, I think the best baseball game is probably four to three or three to two, like good pitching but with some
big hits. Right, But that was a I don't know the editor that said that to you, and I don't want to get you, you know, weird work politics, but I feel like he was trying to like be like you, you're not.
You don't know what you're talking about. That's his that's his scheme, that's his.
That's okay, well, okay, well that's the maybe a step far all right. By the way, reminder, like rate subscribe review YouTube channel. The First Thing's first YouTube channel, by the way, seven thousand away from a million. Wow, what's right with Nick?
Right?
YouTube channel seven hundred and ninety three thousand away from a million, So First Thing's First gonna beat us there. Mister Bees just hit four hundred million, so that's probably solid. But you can also like rate subscribe review on Spotify and on iTunes and everything. And by the way, if I seem extra amped up, it's for two reasons. One is I don't know why, but this morning I just I no one else has drank coffee in the house today.
I made a pot of coffee, which is twelve cups worth on the thing, and right before the show, I went to pour myself a cup and there it's all gone. So I somehow drank a pot of coffee this morning. I don't know why, but I have. But the other reason is because I fly to Vegas tonight for the World Series of Poker. I could not be more excited. And so I am amped and ready to go. And we have an NBA finals. Let's get rolling, demanday.
Yeah, So the finals are officially set after the Pacers took care of business.
The other day and set the tip off on Thursday.
Okay, see is minus seven hundred to win it all, while Indiana's plus five hundred. Are you giving the Pacers any chance here?
Not? Really? I will. I will make so here. I don't think it is. It would only be disrespectful to Indiana to not give them a chance if I didn't. Also think Oklahoma City is in the midst of an all time season. So if I thought Oklahoma City was just a good team and I'm not giving Indiana a chance,
that's disrespectful. But I think Oklahoma City, in the current construct of the NBA is really really smartly built knows exactly who they want to be can Aside from Tasha, I believe with stand an injury if it were to happen. It hasn't happened yet this postseason, but they did deal with it in the regular season. They dealt with it well. And they have just a bunch of different ways to
beat you. And over the course of NBA history, the formula of what if the team with the best defense in the league and the team with the leading scorer in the league, what if that were the same team, That's a pretty tough formula to beat. Where you have the guy who is most certain to get you thirty and the rare off night that that guy has the defense can win the game for you. That's historically speaking, a very tough formula to beat. And so here is
how the Pacers would win. Okay, the and again I'm gonna give better the Year here in a minute, and it's gonna indicate that I don't think the Pacers are going to win, and I don't think the Pacers really can win. But here's how they would win. Okay, they would win by their pace being such that Oklahoma City is not able to get it to their set defense
with regularity the way they want to. Now, Oklahoma City's defense is so good de Monse they have great transition defense as well, and so the Pacers aren't gonna be able to just dominate the transition the way they did against the Knicks. Go ahead.
Yeah, no, that's exactly the exact thing that I was saying, because that was what was getting the Knicks is how fast pace they were playing. But okay, see as defense, young guys, and I feel like they could stick with him somow easiest.
Correctly, certainly better than the Knicks did. But the Pacers is still going to try to run, and you're still going to have fewer possessions with your set half court defense than than you've had in any of your previous series. Because Denver wasn't trying to get out and run, Minnesota just felt like was drawing dead. The Grizzlies oddly did want to get out there and run, but the Grizzlies
just were not good enough. And certainly, once Jah got hurt like that series they blew a forty point lead or whatever, thirty point lead whatever they blew like that series was never gonna be competitive. So obviously the Pacers are gonna have to get out and run. I do think, and this isn't an insult to Dagonaal, that the Pacers have the coaching edge. Carlisle is a really great coach who adjusts and changes his style and will adjust on
the fly as much as just about anybody. So I think that part is, you know, one of the few check marks the Pacers have. I also think that oddly this could be a series, well I shouldn't say oddly, for the Pacers to have a chance. And this is gonna surprise you because of what I've said about Shay's free throws and stuff. They need this to be a very tight whistle. And the reason they need it to be a tight whistle is because tight whistle, loose whistle,
regular whistle. I almost added train whistle on there because I'm a dad joke. Shay's gonna get his free throws.
What they need is for the for them to have a real chance, for the refs to early on be like, no, caruso, We're not allowing you to play rugby out here, and I'm not taking I think Oklahoma City is brilliant with how they defend, but what they and someone else made this analogy or used this example, so it's not mine, but they have a similar style to the Legion of Boom Seahawks, which was if we fail you every play, you can't be like, we're gonna set the template early
that we are gonna be that physical as I do that. Uh, and we're gonna set the template early. Uh. That is that we're gonna play and we're gonna make sure the game is officiated on our terms. It I think the they need the refs to kind of disallow that, so to speak, right, So that's so that has to go their way. Siakam's gotta be awesome, and this was something that I think some people have forgotten. It's worth referencing. Siakam in his one career NBA Finals was excellent in
the series. And the I'm pulling it up right now what his full series line was for the series. He was twenty points, eight rebounds, four assists. But what jumps at you is he had two spectacular games. First game of those finals and that was obviously Durant wasn't back yet for the brief time he was back. But what, yeah, Durant, what game did Durant come back for those finals? I think it was Game two that Durant came back. I'm gonna double check that. Uh when maybe that hold on,
Maybe I'm wrong. Let me just double check when Durant came back. It doesn't matter. It wasn't that game. Maybe it was game I don't remember what game it was. Maybe it was game five. Uh, I don't know why. I don't remember. But regardless, someone in the chat or the producers tell me which game Durant came back, It
doesn't matter. Point is game one of that series. Uh. Siakam was fourteen of seventeen from the field, fourteen of seventeen his first career Finals game and had thirty two and in the closeout game in game six, he had twenty six and ten to win the title. So he's gotta be outstanding in that in this series. And it was game five that Durant came back in those finals.
I knew it was. I knew the game was in Toronto, so it had to be game one, two or five because there was the you know, there was the time people were cheering, and it was after he got hurt. It was ugly, so that all has to happen. And then honestly, they've got to get a little lucky. To Manse, what were you about to.
Say, get lucky?
I was about to say, throw on, Shay, you should try to clog up the mid range.
I guess, Okay at three, But but yeah, I feel like it.
And make them shoot threes. I agree, and live and die with non Shay guys killing you. I I agree with all that, and nim hard should be an annoyance to Shay. But Shay has been so I mean, Shane's been so great against everyone all year. But then here's the last part. And and this is the part that makes when I'm about to give you a bet of the year, the only part of me that makes me a little nervous. Chet and Jadub have been excellent this postseason. Excellent.
Will there be some finals butterflies for those guys specifically? Now, you might say, Nick, everyone who plays in this series except for Caruso and Siakam it's their first finals. Anybody can have finals, butterflies, got it? I understand the point. I'm trying to lay out how the Pacers would pull off the upset, and the answer is that Jadub has the type of series like he had against Dallas in Round two last year, and all those other things happen.
So it's a you gotta hit a superfecta of perfect to be this Oklahoma City team four times in seven games, especially when you don't have anybody on your team that is just you can just pencil in for thirty and they can pencil Shay in for thirty. Now, Halliburton's a different type of player. I understand that, But still some of Halliburton's effectiveness relies on other guys hitting shots, and that's not necessarily the case for Shy. All Right, I've been teasing at demons, go ahead.
With the dying to drop your bet of the year exced on TV.
Okay, see minus one and a half games at minus two to seventy five.
Let's hear your logic on this, all.
Right, it's minus two seventy five. I get that that's laying a lot of wood, but that's also a thirty six percent return on your money. And here's how that bet doesn't come through. The Pacers win the series, no bro, or the series goes seven games. I just don't see it. So you win if OKAC wins in four or five or six, and the Daniel is asking is the Is this the perfect leg to throw in a parlay? I'm
not sure. It's very hard. This is the type of bet you typically can't parlay with anything like it's oh, cross sport parlay. Oh I thought you made a different Well, it's no longer better the Year, can I It's no longer bet of the year if you're thrown into parlay. I'm just saying, if you want to have, in my opinion, a great chance to have a thirty six percent return on your money in the span of two weeks, okay, se minus a game and a half is where I would be placing. It's it's it's how I would be
you know, using again gamble responsibly. I always it's always weird. I don't know what the rules are because like what I'm this is I'm just giving you my opinion of and I'm just telling you how I am going to bet. But I'm also I think supposed to be like I'm not providing gambling advice, but like I call it bet of the year. So again, I don't know any of these rules here. Please nobody get mad at me. I don't need the Better Business Bureau coming after what's right?
But this is just for me, how I think how I would play the series. Lay in seven hundred is too much. What'd you say, move of the year, bet of the year.
I don't know, just for.
A Also, I do think, let me think if this, if I have this right, if it's three two Oklahoma City. Now, because you're laying minus two seventy five, there's not gonna be a real like hedge opportunity. You're just gonna have to write with it. But and if you, I mean, if you think Okayc's gonna roll, you can get Okay, see minus two and a half games at like plus money or even money. But I think, to me, this field, here's how I think the beats of this series are
going to go. Demonse, I think it is going to be Game one Oklahoma City and mark this. Let's see, I've gotten a lot wrong in these playoffs. My pre playoff bracket is a travesty, like a true travesty. I had Oklahoma City losing in Round one. I might have had Indiana losing because I'm sorry, I didn't have Oklahoma City losing in round I had Oklahoma City losing to the Lakers. But the team I had winning the championship the Lakers. They lost in round one. That's what I meant.
So my champion lost in round one. And I was so confident that the Cavs would beat the Pacers or the Bucks. I might have picked the Buck just because I wanted to root for Giannis like so I might have had the Pacers out in round one. So my bracket's a disaster. So I need to get something right here. So here's what I'm going for. And this is another one. I I bet, I bet this bet exists. I didn't
even look exact series, game by game result. Oh my goodness, So producers, see if our friends, uh are friends at DraftKings have that? Now I know. I think we have to put a little thing on the screen because I said DraftKings. But see see if see if they have the exact series, game by game rules or a game how how the game is gonna go? Game one? Okay? See game two? Okay? See game three? Pacers? Game four? Oh? Are we gonna have a series? Is it gonna be two? Two?
Is it gonna be the best a three? No? Game four? Okay? See okc Ooh, this is a tough one because they haven't lost, they've been so dominant at home. You know what, give the okac takes their eye off the ball a bit Game five, Indiana Game six, Oka.
See.
I like that, and I also like exactly what I just laid out, with the Thunder winning in five, those would be the two series exactas that I would be interested in. All right, let's keep going, Demnsey.
Which team do you think? Ohs Paul George a bigger thank you?
Well, here's what I think I feel for Paul George these next couple of weeks, because that is going to be a very common discussion point, which is, the Pacers had Paul George, they then traded him to Oklahoma City for Ola Depot and Sabonis. Sabonis is then who they traded for Tyrese Halibert. Oklahoma City then traded Paul George to the Clippers for a bunch of stuff, but primarily Shay and the draft pick that became Jalen Williams. So that is that is the that is the reality of
how these two teams were built. I would, however, like to defend Paul George also in this regard. When it's not an a popular it's not a popular stance. To have right now. So Paul George had a pretty awesome beginning of his career. He was deep in the in UH the postseason repeatedly in one of the forgotten series
of our lives. That Pacers team took peak Lebron heat seven in the conference finals one year, and Paul George went from as a rookie eight points a game, second year twelve points a game, third year seventeen points a game, fourth year twenty two points a game. In year three he was All NBA Third Team, he was the most improved player. In year four, he was All NBA third Team. He finished top ten MVP and Defensive Player of the Year,
and he was All Defensive Team first team. And in that summer he suffered one of the most horrific league injuries ever. It's just what happened at the Olympics, like practicing for the Olympics or whatever. It is, a compound fracture hitting the stanchion, just awful. And he's still, by the way, not only came back from that, but five years later another kind of forgotten season in the year before the Clippers traded for him. Demand here is how
the MVP voting went that year. Yannis won Hardened two Paul George three. He was third in MVP voting in Oklahoma City that same year. Here's how Defensive Player of the Year voting went. Go Bear one, Yanna's two, Paul George three. So he came back from the leg injury and five years later at the best year of his career, and then that summer got traded to the Clippers. Now he has never been post leg injury, in particular a great playoff performer. His best playoff runs came as a
kid in Indianapolis. I understand all of that. And he has some tough quotes, like the Dame Lillard series winner. He's like, I don't care what you say. That's a bad shot.
And he's you know, he's not wrong there. It's a bad shot.
I mean, I know it's not you know, he's a little bit of a sort. I don't want to call him a sore loser for that, But that's a bad shot. I mean, I guess it's Damian lillardy. It's those But like if you look at good shots on the shoe, here's the thing, it's.
All that all that sounds good. He's just like you just can't say you can't. You just can't like and so, and then you know, damn near a decade later, another off quote when he's like, listen, I have an announcement to make. I'm shutting down the podcast to focus on a championship. And then the Sixers just disaster. And I don't know what happened to him this year. I mean he yeah, he was twenty three or twenty four a game for the last four years, went to Philly and
was sixteen A game was terrible. And so again a little, just minor defense of Paul George because he's gonna be the butt of a lot of jokes or unintentional jokes this week. Uh, all right, ask me about TV ratings, please?
Do you think the fans should care about the TV ratings? You know, these aren't big names.
Well, it's not.
Big big cities, big cities.
Here's the thing, I this is a very odd phenomenon that is a social media thing, which is people like I don't even think it's concern trolling, but like, oh man, Adam Silver's gotta be upset like all these things about ratings, and I don't know how it affects anyone's individual life. That's not a television or an ad executive. Here's the
other thing for the NBA. Of all the finals that we're going to have demons for the rest of our lives, this is probably the one where the TV rating matters the least to the league because they just signed a decade long television deal. So like there the ratings, the ratings matter for leagues because it's part of the negotiation process. They're not going to be in negotiation for years and years and years, and so if there was ever a year to have a couple small markets in the finals,
it would be this year. And here would be the argument as to why this finals could be good for the league, other than the fact I think the basketball. If the Pacers can be competitive, the basketball should be really good. It forces the casual fan to get to know Shay and Halliburton, and Shaye and Halliburton each have a ten plus year runway moving forward as opposed to some of the older guys, so I don't I'm not as concerned about that as I think maybe some other
people are. All right, NBA Finals here last chance to bet on the NBA until next season and drafting Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA is pulling out all the stops to make this a finals to remember, one team will be crowned champ and the other will be lost to history. That's rough. Who you got winning at all? Put your hoops expertise to the test. All season long, DraftKings has been the go to spot for NBA player props and that doesn't stop. Now. Who's gonna
carry their team to the chip? Try placing a bet on your personal MVP to drop thirty forty a fifty point finals game. Ready to play. I don't think we've had doing this. Off the top of my head, I don't think we've had one of those since Giannis to win the championship. Maybe I'm forgetting one. Ready to place your first bet, Download DraftKings Sportsbook app. Now lock in your bets and finish the season as a winner. Something
special for first timers. New DraftKings customers. Bet five dollars to get three hundred dollars in bonus bets if your bet wins. Don't miss your last chance to bet on the NBA this season. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app. Use code right WRIIGHD. That's code right for new customers to get three hundred dollars in bonus bets if your bet wins. When you bet five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown
is yours. Gambling problem call one eight hundred gambler In New York call eight seven seven eight hope in why, or text hope in why, which is four six seven three six nine. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling. Call eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in Kansas twenty one plus age in eligibility varies by jurisdiction void in Ontario.
Bonus bets expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see ding dot co. Slash b ball. Yeah, I think the last fifty point finals game was Giannis and the Clincher in twenty twenty one, and I think the last one before that was Lebron Game one of twenty eighteen. There haven't been that many fifty point finals games. Uh so, yeah, that would be that would be Oh.
So this is a seven total in history.
Yeah, you know what, I'm not gonna try to do it. I say fun. It's fun for me. I don't know how fun it is for the audience for me to try to like go back and do it. That's not what we're doing a finals preview. All right, let's go. Let's focus in on the thunder and Shay.
Yeah, with the way that you've been talking about Okay, see, you have thought the final has been over for a while. Now they've got one more round. Still got to play some good basketball. But for Oklahoma City, who do you think has the most to gain the most to lose in this series.
Most of the games unequivocally, without a doubt, Shay, I mean Shae. Shae can argue. I won't necessarily agree with it, but Shae and his fans certainly could argue he holds the belt if they win that it not only because he's would be the league MVP. The finals MVP, there were a sixty eight win team scoring champ, but also I played the guy who has the belt and Joker and my team won and I played, they could argue played better than him. I don't actually think I agree
that in that series Shay was better than Joker. I know Joker had a couple kind of uncharacteristic games. I still think Joker was the most impactful guy in that series, but it certainly would be a fair take to say if they win, to say Shay's the best player. It's again, it's not the take I would have, but you'd have to at least respect it. It also would be Bru and I were talking about this off the air, and
I know Simmons has talked a lot about this. It also would be an all time Guard season, So like, if you remove Michael and Magic, what Guard would have had a better season than the one Shay is having right now. I think if they win the title, I think folks reflexively, I know I reflexively was like, well, all right, Michael had a bunch, Magic had at least a couple, and then of course Stest. Here's the problem.
Steph's best season by far. They lost the Chimp. They lost the finals, So the Steph's years get kind of fuzzy in our memory. But Steph's best year and one of the greatest years any player has ever had, when he scored thirty a game on I mean fifty forty five ninety splits. They lost to Lebron his other MVP year, Demons, I'm gonna put you on the spot here, give me a guess how many points and assists Steph averaged his first MVP season.
Thirty one and nine, twenty four and eight.
Oh jesus, no that, But that's not us, because he did. He averaged thirty two later, and he averaged thirty the next year. So that's the point that I that I was making. That year, the team was unbelievable, and obviously he was great, but that's not like an all time individual season. The next year was the all time individual season. And then the year he had a year when he won the scoring title when they weren't that good in twenty twenty one and they missed the playoffs like that,
you know, So there's the his best year. They didn't win the title. And then people are gonna say, well, Kobe did, did Kobe have a better year than this Shay year? Because here's the thing, Kobe, and this is another one. People are gonna say this is true, but it is. Kobe averaged thirty a game three times in his career, and amazingly, none of the three did they win the championship, And in fact, two of the three, they didn't win a round of the playoffs, so he
averaged thirty a game. The year they were going for the three peat, and that year they lost in did they lose in round two? Yeah, they lost in round two to San Antonio. I'm sorry. Not the year they're going for the three peat. They already had the three peat, obviously, the year they're going for the four pat and then his two insane scoring years thirty five a game and thirty two a game. They lost in round one both years. Both years that Laker team lost in round one, one
year blowing a three to one leading round one. So those years are off the board. The next year, the year they got Pale, he won MVP. He averaged twenty eight six and five, and the Lakers that year won fifty seven games. It's hard to argue that year was better than this year by Shay D. Wade obviously never won an MVP. Isaiah Thomas, as great as he was, never won an MVP. Steve Nash won a couple, never
made a finals. So there is and I don't want to do West and Koozie right now, but even West let me check, because poor Jerry West, I mean Jerry West, was one and nine in the finals, and the one year he won the championship he was not even close to his best individual season. Still pretty great. By the way, again, I don't do people want me to do a Jerry West thing. Okay, I'll do it real quick. Jerry West again,
one to nine in the finals. And if that's not enough, here's Jerry West's MVP finishes fifth, fifth, fifth, third, second, didn't didn't quality, didn't get won for three years in a row, second, second, second. He finished second in MVP voting three straight years while losing the finals like every year.
Just pretty voter voter fatigue must not existed at that time.
No, Wilton Russell won, all of them, kept trading on.
I feel like, once those guys are in second for a long time or get those second and third spots, it comes a year and they're like, all right, we're just gonna give it to him.
Yeah.
I mean, and listen now, Jerry West did win finals MVP the first year they ever gave it out when they didn't win, when his team lost the finals, something but no during West demons, during West prime. Here's the here's the MVPs. Will Russell, Russell, Russell Oscar, Russell, Will Will Will and then unseld Reid Kareem Kareem. It was a big man's award. Oscar won it, but it was
a big man's award again. So Jerry West, like, maybe point is this, if they win the championship, you can make the argument that only Magic and Michael as Guards ever had a better single season than Shay had this year. It's pretty remarkable. And for Okay, see, I don't really I don't really think there's too many guys that have a ton to lose, except let me all add this this.
What'd you say, Jaylen Williams, don't you think it's probably it's really important for him to perform in these finals.
Right, I think out of all the guys outside of Shade.
Yeah, but do you think do you think any show like anybody's gonna kill Jalen Williams if he doesn't like I just don't. He's in that Goldilock zone that we've talked about of good enough to where he's gonna make a ton of money, but not so good to where he gets super scrutinized. Maybe though I think he's like the X factor, super important. I just don't think he's
got you know, people are gonna kill him. I'll add one other person as far as who this person has the most anxiety right now, that's my that's the way to put it for Okay, see, and that's Sam Presty. So Sam Presty took over the Thunder when they were still in Seattle, Okay, and he draft like he took over right after the draft, right before he took over right or like the week they drafted Durant. I don't the I don't know, yeah, no, he he drafted Durant.
Now that was a no brainer once Odin went one, Like whoever whoever didn't go one was gonna go to in the Odin Durant draft. But set that outside Westbrook was not a no brainer. Pick Harden was not a no brainer. Pick a Baca was not a no brainer pick. He just crushed, absolutely crushed after coming from the Spurs, and they are just set up that it's gonna be the you know, the Thunder out West for a generation.
And they made the finals in twenty twelve and have not been back since and hardened they He then trades Harden probably not probably definitely his worst UH transaction as an executive. My guy Daryl got over on him and just been building, building, building, getting trying to get back to this moment. He knows as well as anyone that there these moments can be fleeting and you've got to
take advantage. By the way, if you want to know more about Sam Presty, I don't even know if you know this, Demanse, but you know who wrote a book that Sam Presty is a central character of who Danny Parkins.
Oh, that's what's it is that game Pipeline to the pros, Pipeline to the pros.
Yeah, pipeline to the pros about you know, Division three, pipeline to NBA gm uh. That's a great book. People can get it on Amazon or wherever you get your books. Free plug for Danny's book. All right, let's go to Halliburton and the Pacers.
Sneaky the coach. He probably has the most pressure on him. Huh. Like for okay, I said Jalen Williams.
I'd say the coach over Jaylen Williams, just because I mean, everybody's expecting you to roll the Pacers right now.
You have this good team. If you lose in the finals, that you know what nobody.
Nobody sees that that that that's fair.
I I just don't think daggon Old's not like a celebrity coach, and so for maybe I'm just looking at this more from the prism of what we'll talk about on our shows, and I just don't think we're gonna you know, you're gonna see a topic bar Yeah, yeah, Daggonault to blame fair. All right, Let's go to Halliburton and the Pacers.
So nobody thought Indy would be here. You know, everybody's calling Halliburton overrated. Uh, but they are here. Everybody's you know, looking to write them off, such as yourself. Is there any chance that we're missing something here?
Though?
I mean, I feel like if the Pacers go out and win the first game, this flips the whole thing on its head.
So that's interesting. What do we think if they're if they're plus five hundred right now to win, if they win game one, I still think they're like plus two hundred. I don't like it make the I mean they could listen, the Pacers have this year in the playoffs. They are one and oh in game or three and oh in game ones, three and oh in game two's oh and three in game threes, four and oh or three and oh in game four, and then two and one in
game fives, and they've played one game six. I I'm not trying to write them off, even though I want to pay them their proper respect. And let me say this, the Pacers are following a formula that we have seen champions as of late follow where a clear cut identity, a deep team, two all stars rather than three, and have been building to this moment. And you can't call it a fluke because they made the conference finals last year.
I just think, like, let's say, sorry, Daniel earmuffs lou Dort doesn't hit three straight threes in Game five against Denver and den clips the thunder. And then the Western Amage Finals was Denver and Minnesota. Against either one of those teams, I might pick Indiana given what I've seen from Indiana. It's and that's also I said this on
TV and it sounds dumb, but I think it's true. Like, is the only thing standing between Anthony Edwards and being face of the league lou Dort catching fire from three in a game he wasn't playing in because Minnesota really gave Denver trouble the last couple of years and like all of it. But so I mean, which is also why some of these narratives we do are a little silly. But whatever, it is, what it is. So the point that I am trying to make is I don't want
to be disrespectful of the Pacers. I just think that they are running up against a team that they're not gonna have a lot of answers for. Maybe, I mean maybe, but they're there. Another way to look at it is they're just been the best team a year. They're gonna win the championship. This is another way. You know, who's taking credit by the way, for knowing, Okay, C was gonna win the championship. He'll love this. Your mother, what.
How is she even spinning that? What do you mean?
Because we saw them the day after Thanksgiving in LA and she is claiming that she told me that I should go on TV the next day and say that I think they're the best team and they're gonna win the title. If she did say that, I you know, I think what I would have said as well, they do have the best record, you know what I mean? Like that won't like be a unique take, but she's she is saying that she saw Thanksgiving though it's Giving, and that she was like, oh, yeah, they're the best team.
And now she's also saying she's like, remember that used to be my team because Durant, Yeah, she loved him. So she's like claiming a little okay see fandom case.
Nicks, Rockets Lakers, She's.
Got a lot of she got a lot of as wild as say chips on the roulette wheel. All right, go ahead and ask before we get the finals MVP.
So in a couple of games that Halliburton's played against, okay, see, this year, he averaged eleven three and five and a half.
What do you expecting out of him this year?
He's gotta be he's got to basically double those averages. Yeah, And I mean that's the okay see, just has so many guys they can throw out at Halliburton and disrupt him, and they're gonna try to not let them get out and run. It's just it's a tough matchup for everybody. They're just a tough matchup for everybody. And I here's what I do wonder. I wonder if some people are going to wish they had a little bit of their harsh Anthony Edwards criticism back if Halliburton struggles, Yeah, you
know what I mean, like what if Okac? This is just what they do to opposing guards in particular. All right, let's talk the award he didn't win, which is Conference Finals MVP.
Yeah, so Pascal Siaka won that award, and it seemed like Haliburton might have thought that he was winning it with his mannerisms and stuff before it for going up there.
What about yourself? Do you think that he should have won it? Do you think Pascal rightfully won?
I thought it was fine. I think that if it's close, the best players should get it. I also, you know, last last show, I vehemently dis agreed with Simmons leaving Lebron off his top fifteen players. I will give Simmons credit for this idea. I like the idea of if we're gonna have these conference MVPs things, the Larry birdon the Magic Johnson Award, have it be Eastern Conference Playoffs MVP and Western Conference Playoffs MVP. That way, it's not
just that series, it's like those six weeks. I think that's a cooler idea, and it also probably would open it up to where theoretically, like like two years ago or three years ago, when Luca carried the MAVs to the conference finals, they lost to the Warriors, Like maybe he could you know, he could win win that award, Like you wouldn't have to necessarily be from the winning team. I want to talk about the Halliburton thing though, because
I have a question for you. Okay, do you remember when you your junior year at the basketball banquet when you got team MVP.
Yeah, at what point?
So going into that night, did you know you were like had anyone told you you you would want it? No?
Definitely don't remember anybody telling me.
Okay, I don't think I had like the thought of winning it, to be honest, I didn't, don't.
Okay, So that's okay. So when they started describing the player who was gonna win it, did you at any like, I don't even know if you were paying attention. I don't know if you remember this as well as I do, Like what I don't?
I ad No, I want to hear.
No, you I do.
I was just trying to think and I just wasn't trying to be vain, but I do.
I do think for majority of like junior year into the like my senior year into high school basketball. I figured that I was the best player on the team. So I'm just trying to like imagine how like I would have been think of it thinking of it there, But yeah, I mean I don't don't think that.
I So I remember them describing like the because I was nervous on your behalf because I'm like, ah, he's a junior. I wonder if they're going to just give it to a senior. But then your coach said, he led us in points, rebounds, black, you led the team and everything but assists, and so he was listing, and so it was like, oh, it's they're giving it to demandset because I knew you had led the team and everything. I my when I played high school basketball, I did
not lead the team in anything. And at the awards banquet, they were announcing an award for like leadership, hustle, toughness, and they were describing exactly what I provided to the Yeah, and right before they announced it, I pulled a Halliburton because it was not me.
Wait, how did you pull you tap your chest?
You know we weren't at it. I stood up to walk up to get the award and it wasn't me, and I had to pretend that I was standing up to like.
To collect who got it? Yeah, I did that.
Couldn't Team MVP. I couldn't even get mister Hustle.
I mean, describe your practices and how you went about it. It seemed like that award. Yeah, I mean it up and stuff you think about it.
I got snubbed, all right, guys. So you know what I've been doing a lot lately, uh and seeing all the Tony nominated Broadway shows. I just went to see The Outsiders with my wife and her two sisters who were in from out of town. We went to last Saturday's Mattinee and you know how I got the tickets. Seat Geek, Seat geek right here. And if you, by the way, want to go see The Outsiders today in New York, he's going seat geek. You can see you
right there. Outsiders, Bernard Jacobs Theater. A couple of tickets available And as listen, this is I don't even Oh, what's the next show that I said I was going to see? Gosh darn it, Oh, Hell's Kitchen. I haven't seen Hell's Kitchen yet. That's the next thing I'm gonna see, and I'm gonna get my tickets the way. I get all my tickets through seat geek. And they are a sponsored Today's show, and I want to give them a huge shout out. Over twenty eight million downloads, seat geek
is the number one rated ticketing app. More than seventy thousand events listed on seat geek, including concerts, sports festivals, more Broadway shows. Right now you can get tickets to the MLB season, NBA and NHL playoffs. And as you guys know, I love using seat Geek. I will use it when end of the summer and when I go to the US Open here in New York for three or four days, I will get my tickets on seat geek.
When we went to I probably now I think of it, I probably as my anecdote of when I use seat geek. I probably should have talked about the Knicks playoff games I went to. But more recently, I literally just this past last weekend went to the Outsiders. But I get all my tickets on seat geek. And you guys know, listen, they have your back each ticket, and this is really important,
especially if it's a venue you haven't been to. Is rated on scale of one to ten, so you know if you're getting a good deal, So look for the big green dots. Green means good, red means bad. Plus every ticket is backed by their buyer guarantee. And you know I try to help you guys out where I can. You can use code right my last name wriight ten for ten percent off your next set of tickets at seat Geek. That's ten percent off any tickets with promo
code right ten. Make sure you click the link in the description to download the app and have the code automatically added to your account so you can use it later. Thank you to SeatGeek into you guys, please use promo code right ten. Because there is nothing I like more than when sponsors of the show are products I use all the time. It's why I love having DraftKings as one of our premier sponsors. You guys know I use them all the time. And I my lifetime spend on
seat Geek. You know how some people show like their lifetime spin on Amazon. My lifetime spin on seat Geek has to be insane. Just because I go to a ton of games, I go to a ton of Broadway shows, which I love. Don't care if you guys make fun of me. I love the Broadway shows. Make fun of They're awesome and it's the to me, uh, the best and clearly the easiest and most intuitive way to get tickets. All right, demanse, let's talk future offseason stuff.
You would not go to Broadway shows without your daughters.
Well, hold on, that is true. So here's the thing. I would not have been exposed to them without them, but I love them.
Yeah, so I get right.
Yeah, you're right. I wouldn't have I when I moved to New York, I thought seems ridiculous, and now it is absolutely my favorite things to do. It's like it all right, people are gonna make fun of me. I honestly don't care. It's like having courtside seats to an NBA game. In this regard, you are, you know, a few feet away from the best in the world at what they do, and it's a skill set that I can't imagine having. We went and saw Gypsy about a month ago. I mean that Audra McDonald I think is
her name, her singing it was. It was as alien to me from what I could do as watching the Saquon backwards hurdle. It's like you're a different like you and so no, I think I think right, and so I I think it's great. All right, let's talk Nicks.
So the Knicks couldn't even up the series. So now they're headed a cantcun What do you think New York should do? What should they make any moves? Letten say, people want to come at cat.
If they just run it back. I think that's totally reasonable. Run it back and be like, hey, during the regular season, Tibbs, let's play the bench a little more, not for the reason everyone always says, which is because guys are exhausted, but so you can have more real tests of what lineups. Oh sham, it's better than pain. Oh we like this five man unit. That's useful. So like Tibbs, can you adjust there? Because Tibbs has hit this hard ceiling of
the conference finals multiple times in his career. Now there's one bruns it ay Man, Well, everyone's been focused on Luca's diet. It might be that of the all the players on the twenty twenty two Dallas Mavericks, you were the biggest defensive liability, like moving forward, like, hey, the I know that and Brunson's awesome. He's awesome. He's a great player, legitimate superstar. But Game four for him was really rough on that side of the ball, and it
was the biggest game of their season. So like, can you get a little bit better there? Kat, Can you watch the film from your Game three fourth quarter again and again and again and try to activate that more? If that, you know, McHale's just got to be a little better throughout the year. Josh Hart just just be passable from three. Mitchell Robinson nothing but free throws all summer like those you do those things with the Celtic Sorry, kind of off the chessboard. The East is wide open.
That would be reasonable, I opt.
Now.
As far as transactions, obviously, if you can get Yannis, you get Yannis. I do not think they have the best package to offer, so I think that would be tough. Now, maybe if he demands only New York, maybe Milwaukee will accommodate. I don't know. Let's talk about the Durant thing demonse, because I do think if you traded Cat for Durant, if you offered that, the Sons would say yes. Now,
Durant is six years older, and that shortens your window considerably. However, the argument for it would be twofold one is it is a back door out of what is going to be a really tricky Cat contract situation because Cat's got three years left at fifty three fifty seven six. I don't know if you love that. Is he extension eligible? Let me look, no, hold on, sorry, I want to check that, because that's the other thing. If it's like, hey,
and I also, yeah, he is extension eligible. So it's like you owe him sixty one and three years, and he might be like, and I'd like two more years. On the back end, it's sixty three and sixty five.
Like that's that might be untenable. But the other reason you would do it is if you think Mitchell Robinson can play thirty minutes a game, and you think Durant would just add another layer to your offense, and and here's the critical piece, you think next year has massive additional value compared to other future years because of the Celtic situation. I might do it. You would still you
would get better defensively better. I don't even know if you can say he'd be better shooting because Cat's such a great three point shooter. But better for mid range. Yeah, I mean, like the I don't actually think Durant's a better three point shooter than Cat, like by the numbers and by the volume, but better three level. I I normally would let me check Kat's exact birthday.
Yeah, I was about to say where we rank Katie's defense with Cats. I mean, I know Katie isn't known for his defense, but the way I see Cat moved around, sometimes Katie can get up and down the court faster than that.
Katie's a much better Yeah.
I was about to say, like.
I said, six years older, it's actually seven years older. That's the Karl Anthony Towns turns thirty at the beginning of next season. Katie turns thirty seven at the beginning of next season. So that typically is not a move you want to make. But I guess here how I would look at it if they made that trade, demanse, I think for next year, I'd say the Knicks are the favorites in the East, and now I think KD
might end up in Minnesota. I think there's real smoke there, but the East is so open, and I do think for a playoff run, even though we haven't seen Durant on a long playoff run in a very long time. I think Durant makes you a little bit better. Like, do you think that's crazy?
No, I think that that makes a lot of sense. I think Durant should probably go to the go to New York as opposed to the East too, just to get the best possible chance the supposed to the West. Yeah, just to get another chip. But I mean still end up having to face those guys either way.
But yeah, I like it. I think they should do it. It's a no brainer to me.
I feel like it's got to at least be kicked around. That's the way. That's the way I look at it. All right, Reminder everyone like rate, subscribe, review, do all that. Let's let's jump down to some listener questions and then I can talk a little World Series of Poker if we have time. But let's do again. If you're watching on YouTube, we greatly appreciate it. If you're listening on
the pod, oh, we greatly appreciate it. But either way, please subscribe to the channel, Please subscribe to the pod.
All of that.
It really does help us out quite a bit, all right, go ahead.
Demnseley, Bobby says, the twenty four Celtics against the twenty twenty five Thunder in a seven game series, who would win?
I think it's tough. I think that's very close. If you are getting seven healthy games out of Porzingis, I would go boss. Yeah. If Porzingis is the way he was forget this postseason, even last postseason, where you know he was injured, then I that to me would tilt it to the Thunder. Does that seem fair?
Yeah? Man, that's so unfortunate.
Yeah yeah, yeah, I to me that that that's what I That's where I land on it, all right.
Next Ryan, are the Pacers title hopes riding on game on a game one win?
Yeah? Yeah, yeah, I mean you could.
Well. I let me put it like this again. You guys know how thin I think the Pacers are drawing in this. They have to win one of the first two. You can't go down two. Oh even though ah, the series wouldn't have started a home team had lost it. You gotta win one of the first two.
Next Ohen Michael says, going into the twenty twenty four NFL season, I think there was I think there was a consistent consensus understanding that the AFC was better than the NFC. You think that that still holds.
No, What I think is the quarterbacks in the AFC are way better than the quarterbacks in the NFC. But because of that, because the NFC quarterbacks are not as highly paid you are, you've been able to develop more well rounded teams. And you know the team right now last year that was you know, it gets to call themselves the best teams in the NFC. And the Lions were excellent too. Now the Lions I'm a little worried about and the Frank ragnow retirements not nothing, But no,
I think it's far closer than it was. Let's keep going.
Owen says love from Canada.
Do you think SGA passes Steve Nash is the greatest Canadian player ever with a title win?
Yes? I think he does.
I think one MVP and one title and I think this year from SGA was better than any individual Steve Nash year. Yeah, I think he does pass him as the best Canadian player ever.
Next, Luis says, hey, Nick, since the NBA season is ending, is there any plan to cover summer sports WNBA Cycling, Tour de France, F one tennis until September and the NFL comes back.
So we'll definitely cover some WNBA will definitely cover tennis, you know that. And I have a confession. You know what I did this Sunday. I watched IndyCar in the Detroit Grand Prix because ever since I went to the Indy five hundred, I kind of gotten into open wheel racing a bit, and so I am now considering going back and watching that F one series on Netflix that I was so skeptical of, and US is really back
the F one minute and doing all that. So maybe I'll get into F one because I thought the I thought the Indie Car stuff was really really cool. But we'll also have NBA Free Agency, the NBA Draft. We'll have a bunch of cool stuff, all right, Last.
One Producers, but really, Gabe thoughts on the new Mission Impossible.
I have a shameful confession. I haven't seen it yet.
Now.
Part of that is I've been incredibly busy, and part of that is I haven't been ready to say goodbye to the greatest movie franchise ever. And so no spoilers, please.
I've not seen an the Mission Impossibles.
It's such a bad job by your job by you. Oh no, it's the greatest movie series ever. It's just so good. All right, I am heading to work and I'm going on a plane. I'm going to Vegas for the World Series of Poker this time tomorrow, well not this time, but tomorrow afternoon. I will be in the ten thousand dollars Dealer's Choice. And this is what I'm gonna say. And I'll try to I am not really on Instagram munch. I'll try to update people via Instagram stories.
Is that what I do? Reels, stories, stories. I oddly have a really good feeling. The last time I had this kind of weird confidence going into a poker setting was when I went to play Helm Youth heads up for fifty thousand. Now I did lose that, but I played great for the better part of two hours, had a ninety minute lapse of concentration, and then clawed my way back to where I was in a great position to potentially win and got very very unlucky. But that's poker.
I'm I'm I just feel good about how these next five days are gonna go. So I'll keep you guys updated. I don't want to I don't want to say too much and obviously maybe I'm just gonna you know, below Demonte's inheritance. It's always on the board like Demante, I always is. Demante checks in on me more when I'm in Vegas than anywhere else. And part of that is because he's, you know, looking out for me. But the
other part of that is he understands. I mean the I'm not the only the I mean, he checks in but you tell.
Me you well, yeah, I mean I just know you're you're out there alone.
You know, gotcha money in your pocket, and then you don't got your money in your pocket.
I'm just checking it.
I know, I get it. And event and the way this works is eventually all the literal or metaphorical money in my pocket, one third of that is to month. So like there's there's a he's looking out for me, but trust is all right, Everything's fine. So I'll keep everybody posted.
Uh.
Thank you to Blue Dog, thank you to Draft Games, thank you to Seat Geek, thank you to the Volume. Oh we are doing Thursday show live from the World Series of Poker Ballroom. It's gonna be sick. I think they're gonna put some of our logos in the Giant monitors at the Horseshoe Casino. It's gonna be awesome. I can't wait, so it should be great. All right, everybody, have a great rest of the day. I'll see you guys on TV in a few hours. We'll try