What's Wright - Nick Wright reacts to Thunder DOMINATING Timberwolves, SGA's RIDICULOUS foul calls | NBA Playoffs

We talked about it last week that they have the ability to go on these fifteen to two runs without running any offense. That just forces steel, get a lay up, forces steel, get a lay up, force a bad shot, get out in transition, and that seemingly is what happened the entirety of the second half as they beat the Timberwolves seventy to forty in the second half in route to a twenty six point victory. And here is the problem with discussing that game. The Thunder deserve a ton

of credit. I compared them glowingly to the nineties Bulls, the second version of that, those teams that had Pippin and Rodman and Jordan defensively, and that they could just swarm you as you had tried to just move the ball up the court and wreak so much havoc on

defense that they could win games that way. I said on this show and on the TV show back in November after seeing the Thunder in person for the first time this year when I was in LA and watched Lakers pre Luca, Lakers against the Thunder, that I thought

the Thunder were the best team in the league. That what made me pick the Lakers to win the championship was seeing that the Lakers dealt with the Thunders so well in their two regular season matchups at the end of the year when they got Luke a d Ancic, Because I thought the Thunder were the team to beat and I thought the Lakers could beat them. And there last night, even if you remove just remove garbage time, the Thunder played ten guys and got solid contributions from

nine of the ten. Really, Aaron Wiggins is the only one who didn't do much, but Isaiah Joe gave him good minutes. Obviously, Cason Wallace gave them good good minutes. They didn't even play the other Jalen Williams in that

man rotation they were running. So you would like to have this story be a team that has been intelligently built, that has a souper star scoring champ about to be League MVP, a you know, kind of up and coming second and third options in JDub and Chet and this team just absolutely annihilating Minnesota in the Thunder's first conference finals game since KD was there. You'd love for that to be the story, but it's not the story. The

story is and there's no way around it. And I think you guys know from as I interrupt myself my hesitation across sports to blame officials, and I'm not blaming the officials for this one, but the officiating is the story because the dyke between how the thunder Guard, which is awesome playoff physical defense, and the way Shae is allowed to be guarded, and the way Shae courts contact or initiates contact and then reacts as if there were a sniper in the crowd and just flails to the

ground and time after time after time gets rewarded for it is utterly maddening. And we have seen listen, James Harden was different stylistically than Shae, but did a lot of this same stuff. Obviously, maybe this feels more jarring because Harden's teams were not the best defensive team we've seen in a quarter century or at least twenty years. That was on the other end of the court, roughing everyone up. But it is impossible to watch, and I

like it. By the way, the way Caruso and Dort and Wiggins and Wallace and j Dubb are allowed to guard and then see on the other end of the court, how Shay gilgeses Alexander is treated by the refs as if he's playing by a different set of rules. Miles Brown, who is someone I quote a lot on this show because I think he's a smart guy, and I also think he has very funny twitter. He's at Mt Brown.

He tweeted, the way gets to play football on one end of the court and behind museum glass on the other is infuriating, And that is exactly how I feel. And I do think there is a knock on effect from when Shae gets When Shade draws four fouls in the first five minutes of the game, not only does Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert and others get in foul trouble, but and go beart. Listen, go Bert got two fouls early.

One was offensive, so maybe he's the wrong example. He actually didn't fall again after that, but he was kind of seemingly knocked out of the game impact wise after those opening two fouls. But the knock on effect is this, when the refs make it clear immediately we are going to reward Shay's flopping because that's what it is. It

is shameless flopping. Then later in the game and you saw it in the second half, guys feel like, well, I have to give him space or else he's going to draw the foul even if the foul didn't exist, and all of a sudden, shaken totally comfortably step into that seventeen footer that he's the best in the league at and we have the the bad acting, dopey agenda Layden, folks who have been trying to tell you for the last five years the league is dying because the league

had the audacity to be to try to have some type of social conscience. Those folks who've been in hiding this postseason because the ratings have been off the charts, because the games have been great. Those folks obviously have not ign knowledge that the first two rounds of these playoffs, the ratings were some of the best we've seen in more than ten years in this league through the first

two rounds. Now, part of that is the games have just been awesome, but it have that type of rating when Steph really only played around, when Lebron only played around, when Durant didn't make the playoffs at all, when Giannis only played one round is a testament to the fact that the audience has enjoyed the way these games have been played and officiated. That this postseason we are allowing a level of physicality and a level of contact that is so unlike what is allowed in the regular season.

The audience likes it, and the teams have adjusted. And it's not even accurate to say that that has applied to every team, accept the Thunder, because it absolutely has applied to the Thunder's defense. Alex Crusoe's awesome and I give him massive credit. Alex Crusoe was basically allowed to take out a police baton on Nikola Jokic. The refs are like, whatever, man, you're six inches taller than him, deal with it fine. I am not complaining about that.

I thought that was great. But when you compare that to the way the refs are saying you have to guard Shay and these are laughable plays. And credit to Doris and to Richard Jefferson for acknowledging it during the broadcast, but these are Shay. It's not even like the old hard and hook the guy's arm and then go up it. Just take a take a step and act like you got hit and collapse to the floor while tossing up a shot. Some of the most egregious ones yesterday he

actually made the shot while falling. There was one truly egregious one that the Timberwolves challenged in won. But you don't have endless challenges and you don't want to use them early, and it's just unbecoming. And I was one of the reasons I had a level, not huge, but

a level of thunder skepticism. Was I wondered, was Shay going to get the whistle and the playoffs that he got in the regular season and up to this point the answer is absolutely yes, if not a better one, because he's averaging this well, probably about the same whistle his free throws in each game of these playoffs. Seven in the first game of the playoffs, he only played

twenty three minutes because they won by fifty four. In game two of the playoffs, when they won by twenty nine in Game three, thirteen in the deciding game against Memphis, and then nine in Game one against Denver, eleven in Game two against Denver, just five in the overtime loss to Denver, than twelve, then six, then eleven, then nine, and last night fourteen. And this is going to sound und sportsman of me, but it is sports and this

is part of it. If I am Minnesota and this is how they are going to I'll give it game too and see what type of whistle he's getting. But if it's clear any type of contact he is going even if he generates it, even if it's borderline fraudulent, he's just going to get that whistle, then you guys need to decide as a team if we're going to get our money's worth on these fouls, because right now he is getting the best of all worlds. He's living at the free throw line, and he's leaving the game

physically feeling better than he came into the game. Because there's no hard contact. Last night. There wasn't a single foul that was like, oh, that's a hard playoff foul. And I'm not talking about dirty plays. I'm not talking about undercutting him anything like that. The audience knows what I'm talking about here, and I hate that that's the story.

But that's the story of Game one, and it is why people got And I sometimes I say things on the TV show were on here, and I say ahead of time that I know I'm gonna get killed for this. Don't care. It's just how I feel. I owe the audience honesty. So I'm gonna give him honesty. And when I sat on the show yesterday, I think the thunder of the best team, I think they're going to win. I hope the Timberwolves win. Part of it was because I do not like this style of play being rewarded.

I just don't the foulbating, flopping nonsense. And I'm glad I got that takeout prior to Game one because I feel like a lot of America watching that game joined me. And here's the other part of it. He doesn't have to do this, So take later stage, Jimmy Butler, who was not a volume or a good three point shooter who was not a crazy explosive athlete, and in order for him to be peak effective, he had to be drawing fouls. But he drew fouls kind of the old

fashioned way. He would pump, fake, get you in the air, and go up and that can be annoying, but that's not grifting. That is it's a frustrating guy to go against because you're like, just stay on the ground. He's not going up with his first shot, and guys would

have a hard time with it. Shay is just kind of wildly throwing himself into the lane, falling sideways, looking for minimal contact, selling it like Daniel day Lewis, and being rewarded by it in a playoffs when for other guys it has been if you're not bleeding from the nose, it probably wasn't a foul and it's just wildly frustrating. Now, was that again? Was that the reason the Thunder won by twenty six? They outscored him seventy to forty in the second half, So was that that was the story

of the game. But was that the reason the Thunder one. No, And we'll get into the reason the Thunder one right now, which is every single player on Minnesota except for Julius Randall, played poorly, every single one. If you just go down the box score, Jaden scored I think five immediate points to the rest of the way, got in foul trouble,

couldn't be as effective, fouled out. Rudy got two thousand the first one hundred seconds of the game, went to the bench, finished the game twenty minutes, two points, three rebounds, no impact. Conley hit the one big three in the four in the third quarter to I think put them up three, up four. Other than that, nothing A man. I think Ant, I'm gonna look real quick. I think Ant had sixteen in the first half and then finished the game with eighteen. I should have had that in

front of me. But I can get it right now. Series stats for this that game. I want to see what Ant had in the second half of this game. Ant had five points in the second half, so we had thirteen at halftime in the third, yeah, he had zero in the fourth. I mean they were getting blown out, but I mean going into the fourth, No, they weren't getting blown out. That's wrong. They got blown out in the fourth. Going into the fourth, they were down ten

he had, so Ant didn't attack enough. Ant took five two point field goals, and you know, wasn't getting teammates involved the way he had earlier in the postseason, so he wasn't great. Naz Reid has been on I don't I think it's too strong to say he's cost himself a ton of money. I think that's too early, but because he's a free agent this offseason. But nas Reed has had two good playoff games this year, Game one against the Lakers and Game one against the Warriors, which

they lost. He was so big for them in last year's postseason and in this year's postseason, he has just not delivered the way I expected him to. Now, maybe that bounces back, but last night was another game. I mean, he's won for eleven, zero for seven from three. Dante came in hit two big threes at various times when the thunder were running away to kind of keep the Timberwolves attached. But he's three for fourteen, three for twelve

from three. And Nikil Alexander Walker, Shay's cousin, they were just content leaving him wide open and he couldn't make him pay. So nas Dante and Nikile Alexander Walker combine to go what is that five for twenty six from three? The Thunder as a whole go fifteen to fifty one from three. Julius the only one, I mean outside of Julius Randall, they're ten of forty five from three. So that's not gonna be good enough. Obviously, so none of

their guys played well enough. But the story is how honestly unattractive of a game that was thanks to the way, in my opinion, the reps called it with sha and how that impacted how they were able to guard him the rest of the game, how they instantly rewarded it in the opening minutes of the game, and how they didn't then decide, all right, we're just gonna call it super tight on both sides. That's not what happened. And this was a game you can't call it a must

win for the Timberwolves. But when you're more rested, when Oklahoma City's coming off of seven game war, when rust wasn't a factor like it was in Game one against Golden State, you're up for at halftime, to just fold in the second half like that, it does not bode well for your chances because now if you're Minnesota. You either have to win four of the next five or three of the next five plus a game seven in

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with fifty wins. They're eight and two in the postseason, so they are now fifty eight and thirty four. So after starting ten and fifteen, they have gone. They have They're forty eight and nineteen. Is that right? Yeah? That is right. Let me figure out what that is. Over the totality of a season, forty eight divided by sixty seven. That's right, forty eight nineteen. Yeah, that's a seventy one winning percentage. Over the course of eighty two games. That's

a fifty nine win pace. So they have been an excellent team basically for the totality of the season after the first twenty five games, so not the totality of the season. But you guys understand what I mean. Since mid December they've been awesome and since you know, they went into the new year sixteen and eighteen, and so you guys, they have been again playing at almost a sixty win pace for quite some time. And obviously they were awesome in Round one and Round two of the playoffs.

They also have seven guys they really trust and an eighth they'll play in a pinch, not I mean they'll play more than in a pinch, but an eighth and Obi Top and that they're fine with. But Haliburton Siakam Turner, that is in today's NBA more than competent top three. When you have nemhar Nies Smith, Mathin McConnell rounding out your real seven man rotation and Obi Top and when you need him, that's plenty. So I think the Pacers

obviously can win. I, however, do not think that they are better than the Knicks, and I will take the Knicks in this series. I will take the Knicks tonight, and I will take the Knicks in six games for the series. And I do think last year's series against the Pacers for the Knicks is instructive in that that series went seven. Julius Randall, who obviously doesn't play for the team anymore, but he was out for the series, and they didn't have Karl Anthony Towns in that game seven.

Og Ananobi, you know, was attempted to play, made two shots, then could do nothing. You can be like, well, but they don't have Hartenstein like they used to. That's true. But Hartenstein in that game seven was a total non factor. I think he had zero points. And Mitchell Robinson was hurt. And obviously Jalen Brunson got banged up in that series, and in that game seven, the Knicks were in a position in that game seven were precious and Alec Burks

combined for like fifty some minutes. Duce McBride, if I remember, correctly led the team in minutes that game. So they are a very different team. He didn't obviously, didn't have bridges, didn't have towns. Randal was hurt, so you it's not a wash like, well, they didn't have towns, but they had Randall, no the and so I think last year's series of anything should give the Knicks a little more confidence.

I also think that the Knicks' demolition of Boston the way they did in that Game six should give them a little more confidence. And the other thing about that playoff series or that Game seven against the Pacers was the Pacers, if you remember it, were just shooting lightning bolts out there ass the entirety of that game. I don't know if it was like the best percentage from the field of any team in a Game seven. Ever, it was something insane. They scored one thirty, They shot

like sixty five percent from the field. And so I now, maybe that's too much time talking about Game seven, but we haven't seen Game one yet when we're recording this. I like the Knicks tonight. I like the Knicks in the series. And now I will say fair is fair A lot of the foul baiting stuff that we that I just ranted about with Shae if Shae is the gold medalist of it this NBA season. Obviously, Brunson is the silver medalist, but Brunson has not been rewarded this

postseason the way Shay is Man. Brunson didn't have a single game against the Pacers. I'm sorry against the Celtics where he got to ten free throws, shot seven four seven, and and so listen, Brunson will do more of the hardened stuff, try to hook your arm and do it. He'll do less of the I just fell down. But that could be a very annoying and very difficult for the reps NBA Finals if that's what we get, and

I think that's what we're gonna get. I think it is going to be OKC versus the Knicks, and to kind of circle back to where we were on this.

If this is how the rest of this series is going to be officiated, in the Western Conference Finals, you are going to have the incredibly rare event of the casual, uninvested NBA fan or sports fan rooting for the team from New York over the team from Oklahoma City, because that is not going to be something fans in fans enjoy or or want to see rewarded as the champion Now listen. Oklahoma City is now seventy five and eighteen

on the year. They have one of the best defenses in the league has seen in the last maybe the best defense league has seen the last twenty years. They're incredibly deep, and at some point the NBA is going to announce league MVP, and it's going to be Shay and it should be Shay said I said throughout the year when this, you know, once, not throughout the year, but in the final couple months, once there had been real evidence that Shae was the league MVP, and rightfully so.

The thunder are a great, great team. I would just I hope for the rest of the conference finals they're playing by the same rules as everybody else has been this postseason. All right, I'm headed to Indianapolis. I might try to do an emergency show or a reaction show from Indy. I got to figure out what the tech set up in the hotel I'm going to be in is, so like rate subscribe review that way you get these

delivered right to you. But I'll be on TV later today or maybe I already was on TV, depending on when you're watching this. Then I'm heading to indianapolisse first things first, gonna be live from the Indy five hundred, talk to you guys. Then what's right