Welcome in.
We'll driving the Great Episode three twenty six, after another thrilling NBA playoff game, Golden State Warriors escape and take firm and full control of the series. If at some point Jalen Green shows up to the series other than Game two, maybe we'd have one, but we don't. That, however, is not the story of the game. The story of the game is Draymond Green. We will get to him momentarily.
There is a lot to do on today's show. I I want to address Saquon's tweet because I think, well, I just want to address it, and it's probably not what you think I'm gonna say, but I want to discuss that. Also, we did an emergency pod yesterday. We have done on the pod. We haven't done anything related to Shador's slide in the draft, which is it really? Is that really a common tarry about Shador or is that a commentary about the media. Is it a meta commentary on commentary?
All of that.
Demonse, though fresh from his brand new studio with his right eleven Celtics Jersey our YouTube plaque looking great, sound well, I don't know if you're sounding great or not.
Let me hear you good.
To see you, pops. But yeah, we're at a new location. It took me a little bit less time to get here today, but yeah, excited to do it from the old apartment.
Oh well, I wasn't gonna dox you now everyone knows where you're at the now the but no, that works.
So Demansey's got the home setup. I've got the home setup. It's great.
We are by coastal on this show. Before though, we get to Rockets Warriors, Let's get to what missed the cut. We'll miss the cut in today's show, the Commanders returning to d C.
I haven't followed that story. Listen.
The thundersweep the Grizzlies and the Cavs sweep the Heat, and they both those series involved fifty plus point wins. Jah though says he had the Thunder figured out. By the way, for those keeping track at home, the Thunder were eight no against the Grizzlies this year. However, I guess Joe's point is it went from fifty to seventeen to up twenty seven. Had I stayed health, we had a won Game six of that series by ninety points. The trajectory we were on for Oklahoma City and for
Cleveland their rewards as being the one seed. The NBA has never done this before. They did it this year, though, the rewards for the one seed was a bye, a true first round by and so their playoffs will start next week. Also, we typically stay out of this silly internet memory, but this one hundred men versus one gorilla topic is simply too delectable to ignore, so we will
get to that later in the show. A reminder, if you're watching live on the chat, like rate subscribe review and you can ask your questions the subscriptions, ratings reviews. All of that really does help, all right, demanse, Let's get to Rockets Warriors.
Uh yeah, Golden State went up three to one against the Rockets. Despite Steph's somewhat mediocre game, this series has been super chippy and Houston actually had a chance there at the end. Shanghun had a go ahead bucket he missed. Van Vliet had a three in transition missed that as well. You picked the Rockets in this series. In this series, do you think they've officially blown it?
I think they have probably blown it. I real quick, did you think Van Vleet shot was going in? I thought it was going in.
No, he had it exactly in line.
It was just off by, like just short.
Usually when you take those kind of running almost sideways threes, if you miss it, you're gonna miss it to the right. When I saw the line it was on, I was like, holy shit, he made.
Yeah.
I mean there were a bunch of air balls yesterday. Steph had two, Draymond had a couple. Van Vliet had won. But the story of the game is Draymond Green. Because put this game on Draymond's basketball tombstone, just the perfect vintage Draymond Green. Every single reason you love him or every single reason you can't stand him, a true Draymond Green playoff masterclass. And listen, Draymond has consumed a fair
amount of my Draymond Green related media. I hope he sees this and or I hope someone sends it to him, because listen, I don't Draymond Green and I have a lot of mutual not just acquaintances, but close friends that has once put us in the same room in a social setting. It it was nothing bad at all. We were both cordial, but it wasn't you know, warm and I you know, understandable and you know probably sixty forty my fault in that regard. But and I am someone
who has been highly critical. I think fairly of a lot of the Draymond Green nonsense, and at times I poke a little fun at the backpack shots and the triple singles. However, yesterday was the perfect encapsulation.
For why.
This era of Warriors basketball if you remove the supercharged three years with Durant that were its own thing, the pre Durant and post Durant era, even when you had prime Klay Thompson, and now you have playoff Jimmy Butler each and every year, for good or for bad, the second most important player on that team is Draymond Green. And as much as Steph unlocks everyone on their offense,
Draymond unlocks everyone on their defense. And last night was just perfect because Draymond hits his first two shots, then can't hit the broadside of a bar, and the rest of the night, Draymond is flailing and flopping and grabbing and kicking and doing every single thing he can do up to the line to where he gets ejected without being ejected, and he is snarling and spittling and intimidating the rockets and then playing an extra level mind game when he tries to with the free throw line on
the box outline, you know, apologize or make amends with Tarry Esen. And then Amen Thompson comes over and is like, hey, don't be friendly with Draymond. Then Draymond gets into it with Amen, and it's just the full Draymond experience, and it's all wrapped around absolute lockdown, shut down defense on Alpern Shingun who in the minute that Shingoon got with
Draymond off the he scored any time he wanted. I thought Udoka made a significant error in the moment Draymond picked up his fifth ball and went to the bench. He didn't put Shingoun right back in the game. Now, he put him in shortly thereafter, But that needed to be instantaneous. Every single minute Draymond was not on the court, Shingoon should have been on the court absolutely cooking.
And that's ultimately what he did.
Ultimately, he went back in the game, lit him up, and then Draymond came back in and Shingoon was shook and Draymond asked for one on one defensive assignment game on the line. Shingoon makes the shot you're going back to Golden State. I'm sorry, going back to Houston. That's very important. Two games apiece, Shingoon misses the shot and you have a commanding lead on the series, and.
Draymond got him.
And so years ago when the Warriors were at their apex and.
People thought this was.
Anti Kawhi rather than being pro Draymond. But I was on the record that I thought Draymond should have won three consecutive Defensive Player of the Year awards. I thought Draymond's ability to let them play small and to still have a dominant defense was such an underrated element of
the fifteen and sixteen Warriors. What people forget about those two Warriors years pre Durant was, yes, Steph was unbelievable, and nobody forgets the threes and the seventy three wins and Clay's thirty seven point quarter and all of that. What people do forget is they had the number one defensive basketball those two years, and that was Draymond Green. It wasn't just Draymond. Iggy was a great defender, Clay was a great defender, but Draymond Green was the tip
of the spear. And for Draymond at this age, at this point of his career, when a legitimate concern for Draymond was he is already at a deficit athletically. What is it going to look like when he just loses five ten percent of his athleticism, when he's already not the quickest, can't obviously jump, viist any of that.
And the answer is his.
Toughness, his tenacity, his basketball brilliance will overcome all of it. And it is really a remarkable feat what he has been able to accomplish in this series without ever scoring, without ever scoring in double digits. It is.
Absolutely spectacular and it shows a that one of.
The smartest quotes he's ever given is, there's eighty two game guys in their sixteen game guys, and he is the definition of a sixteen game guy. And to be clear, it doesn't absolve him of all the nonsense, and it doesn't make him, in my opinion, particularly enjoyable to watch, but it is the definition of a player who understood, I have one path to being a great player, and that is the path I am going to walk, and
I have respect for that. And it is such a luxury for Steph Curry that Steph can have an off night, seventeen three and three four turnovers. Hit the one huge shot, just a shot that the Warrior has been hitting for ten years. You get a defensive stop, knock the ball out of balance. They got two on the shot clock. You know they're going to Steph for three. You know he's pump faking. You're gonna bite on the pump fake anyway and give up the three late in the fourth.
That was really his only noteworthy.
Moment of the second half, and they can win anyway. Now, speaking of Steph, people got very mad.
DEMANSA.
You saw it coming when we were doing the show on Thursday and I kind of did the impromptu Steph Curry rules mini rant. Yeah, you you could tell that that was going to be an unpopular take. You might have even thought it was a slightly unfair take from the look.
Of Yeah, I thought you were being scenari towards the Curry fans, and that's not necessarily Curry. But yeah, I mean definitely knew that was going to get some engagements.
Yeah, So a few things on that. One is.
People then tried to take my Steph take and remove Steph and put in Lebron's name because now it looks like they're going to lose in round one, which is a unique and interesting turn of phrase and a smart thing to do if you can say with a straight face that there has ever been a single moment of Lebron James's career where he has skirted criticism where it's been like, oh, the media didn't jump on Lebron there. Wow,
people are just missing the boat on this one. People are Wow, they're sure letting Lebron for that early playoff exit slide, Like that's never happened.
So it.
Wasn't to say he's never come up short. It was to say or it wasn't even to say that Steph regularly does. It was to say.
That in regards to.
Steph, the commentary somewhat vacillates between he's underappreciated goat point guard in the goat conversation. That's the upper end, and then the bad game or disappointing game or disappointing playoff performance end is nothing. And I would argue if folks want to do the Lebron comparison there, that the Lebron comp would be the upper end is.
That was amazing.
But here's why Jordan would have done it better, and the lower end is lefraud La Mickey. And here's why, you know what I mean? This is STEP's era or Kobe would have this. So it's just the way it's phrased a little differently. Which is why, even though I have great respect and truly a level of awe watching Steph Curry at age thirty seven do what he's doing, I don't mind, you know the let me interrupt myself here.
You guys remember Batman begins and okay, so the producers there, nerds, they'll they'll remember.
What it was called?
Something of Shadows? Was it the League of Shadows? I feel like this is Daniel right in my ear.
He's got it. I knew it. Daniel was on it.
Uh the so who was that? Who was the actor the main guy for the League of Shadows?
Liam? It was Liam Neeson. That's right.
So Liam Neeson and the League of Shadows basically says I'm not a bad guy. I'm just here to provide balance. When things get out of whack, we come in and even things out. Okay, I sadly would appear, Oh yeah, ros I'll thank you. Sadly it would appear that I have to be that character for some of the Steph Curry stuff.
It's not that he's not one of the twelve.
Greatest players ever, the greatest shooter ever, the greatest small player ever, an all time champion team made.
All of it.
It's that because he is so universally beloved.
That there is no balance. Yes, and so my.
Version of bringing balance to Monsa is sending a you know, somewhat an a Dyninge tweet with a minute left in the basketball game last night that says, really interested in who is and who isn't on the court this possession, because you then saw the Golden State Warriors in the biggest possession defensively of their season, tell Steph Curry sit over here.
Give us a minute.
And then they called time out, got him back on the court, and then the next possession, the shingoon possession, we come out of commercial, and I'm like, oh, I wonder, I wonder if a guy who I am a hater because I won't include in the goat conversation, I wonder if his head coach thinks what gives us the best chance to win right now is either having Steph Curry or Brandon Putjimski on the court, and Steve Kerr was like, let's press the brand and Pajimski button.
And again, I know that that makes me a bad guy. I get it. I can.
I can wear the black hat for this. But as I as I mentioned.
That Curry doesn't receive the same amount of criticism that it's it's not no.
It's not even that.
I would just like an acknowledgement that it happens, that's all, like I. And so I did that top twelve thing, and I put Steph and Shack in the same right outside the top ten bucket. And the reason I thought it was interesting they were eleven twelve again, you know it was. It was lebron Kareem, Michael Magic, Russell, Wilt Duncan, Kobe Bird, a Cheme, Shack stuff that Shaq had a similar thing where late in games when they had a lead and they were on offense, they'd take him out
for free throws. By the way, and I don't really go on Instagram, so I always have dms that I that I missed. But how about this DM that I didn't know how to respond to because I couldn't tell if he was actually happy with it or not. From Doctor Shaquille O'Neill on ig. Thanks Top twelve is nice?
Thanks?
Do we think that was like sincere or he's mad at me because Shaq Shaq does his pod with one of my dear friends, Adam Lefko. I really like Shaq, I don't he He came on first things first seven years ago, picked Deanna up. We have a great picture. I you know, I don't. I don't want Shack.
I first came out with that was like back a couple of years ago.
No, he sent it three days ago. No, it was because of the Steph clip. So that's why I'm worried because the context of that clip is, I'm like, here are the greatest players. Two of them had a flaw that opponents tried to exploit. One of them was Shack. And then he's saying thanks Top twelve.
But he didn't mention that, yes, maybe we're good.
But to get back on track, I watched those games, and during the games when they took Shack off the court, the commentators didn't pretend it wasn't happening, or they didn't act confused as.
To why it was happening.
When the Lakers had a four point lead with forty seconds left and all of a sudden, Shacks coming out of the game. No one was like, oh, interesting call by Phil Jackson. We're gonna get some Sasha Vuya chich minutes here. Hey, Sasha wasn't on those teams. My apologies, or maybe he was on the end, but regardless, nobody, nobody was making those no just saying those things, be like, oh, don't want to you know, Shack's liability of the line.
They want to get him out of the game. And so again, I think that Steph's Game three, which we talked about yesterday, was an all time performance and you saw that in the game, and then you saw it in the talk shows and TV shows yesterday that we're paying homage to it. Steph's Game four performance what you're not going to see, And I'm fine, and you shouldn't because it's it's it's toxic commentary is all.
Steph carried by Jimmy. You're not gonna get that.
And I just and that is it's just a nice goldilock zone in the public consciousness to live. And I thought, I think that right now the Steph where I will in all seriousness and yesterday wasn't a good example of it. But this whole series has been it has been really remarkable to watch the Rockets entire the Rockets, who are a decade younger than the Warriors, with nothing but long, strong defenders to throw at him. Their entire game plan
B just please don't let Steph Curry kill us. And they've really only been able to execute it successfully in one game, like they and they lost it, but the I get well, no, I guess you could say they executed it in Game two as well. That's that's I'm Steph has had two brilliant games. Game one was the best game anyone had played up to that point the postseason. I understand it was the first weekend, and Game three might be the best game anyone's played in the postseason other than the Ants game.
What does that mean for other teams in the West too? If this young and spry Rockets team can't stop Curry, you know, Denver has got some defensive problems. I don't know if they're going to be seeing them.
And well, listen, what every other team has is someone who can score the basketball. Yeah, I mean that's the you're you're right that this will be STEP's heart Now if they get Minnesota. Minnesota is going to be a son of a bitch. Defensively, we're seeing that right now. But what the other teams have is the ability to score, and that brings I mean, I'm I could not be further out on Jalen Green. I was never really in on Jalen Green.
I and.
You know is Jailen I just that is not the style of player I tend to love. But also, being in single digit seven of your last eight games is wild. It's really wild. All right, Let's get to the Lakers Timberwolves.
Yeah, so you said on your show that their season the Lakers ended last weekend, but the series isn't over. How would you explain that? How would they still be alive?
So listen, I think they can. I actually think they can win the series. They obviously need a lot of things to break their way. The reason I said the season's over, and I mean it is because the goal of the season was to make the finals win the championship, and they had a very narrow path to doing that, and one of the parts of that path was winning in round one in short order and definitively not letting round one go seven. Now it's going to take a heroic effort just to get.
Out of round one in seven. But here's the problem.
Demanse starting tomorrow, best case scenario for the Lakers. They play on the following dates April thirtieth, May second, May fourth, May sixth, May eighth, May tenth, May twelfth, May fourteenth, May sixteenth, May eighteenth, May twentieth, May twenty second, May twenty fourth, May twenty sixth, May twenty eighth, May thirtieth, fifty their best case scenario. And I guess really, technically the best case scenario is some of those games are clipped out because they get they get out of this
round and then win in round two quickly. That's so yeah, but that's now we're not really talking realistic scenarios. The point is round one was the only with extra time between games, and you could get that in round two if you win your round one series early. But none of that is happening, and now they are on starting tomorrow and every other day until this season ends trajectory.
And that's hard enough to win when the guy who's playing the best for you on your team is forty years old and at seventy thousand minutes, it is impossible to win when that the guy who's playing the best of anyone on your team is forty years old at seventy thousand minutes, and the coach has made it very clear to the team and the entire world, there's five guys on this team I even want to let look
me in the eye. I mean, that was the other piece of it, like the to to show that little faith in the rest of your squad that early in the playoffs is I just don't know that you can come back from it. And so that's why I said
the season's over now. I think they'll win tomorrow. I think you and I will be on here Thursday, coming off a Lakers win and discussing, well, if they can just win Friday in Minnesota, where they had opportunities to win both of the previous two, then you have a Game seven in Los Angeles, and I'll talk myself into it.
There's no question about.
It, especially given the level Lebron is playing, because what was supposed to be the question going into these playoffs was more about what level would Lebron be at. Instead, he's twenty six, ten and eight with the best defense on the team. He's been by the advanced numbers, the best rim protector in the NBA these playoffs. He's just played forty six minutes and had the energy on defense, didn't have it on offense at the end. So he's been and now he's gonna have two days. So he's
been excellent. And I'll talk myself into that Luca is going to get, you know, back to true Luca form.
But I just don't think they have enough bodies.
And it is true that from a narrative and infuriating media cycle perspective, and folks that you know, take pleasure in my pain, we are potentially staring down the barrel at from annoying and infuriating narrative perspective of a worst case scenario, which is somehow a Lebron slash Luca masterpiece over these next three games serves them up dead, tired and exhausted to a fresh rested Warriors team coming off
a five game beating of Houston. And then we get Steph Lebron in round two, and folks in that series will of course pretend that we didn't get Steph Lebron in round.
Two two years ago.
When folks acted like big stakes on this series. Oh it's finally a fair fight. And then if you remember that series culminated in Steph falling down at mid court, then throwing the ball backwards over his head out of bounds in the deciding game, and the Lakers cruising, everyone will pretend as if that didn't happen, and this is the newest referendum. I would not enjoy those basketball games,
I'll tell you that much right now. And the Lakers have put themselves in a position now with the assistance of Jalen Green and some great Warriors play that we talked earlier of that being the scenario we're looking at. The best case scenario coming in was the opposite. Of course, the Lakers handle business, beat Minnesota in five or six. The Warriors have a seven game war with Houston. And this is why playoff basketball is so great. We are
like three possessions away from that being the case. Lebron's masterpiece thirty eight points in Game three, if Luca just has anything in the tank, they have that. They have a double digit lead in Game four and they have the ball up to with a minute left, everything goes wrong from there that point forward. That's between Lakers being down three to one and up three to one. And last night, how many opportunities did Houston have, most notably just Shingoon shot at the end for that series to
be two to two. But that's the playoffs, man. The Clippers were one hundredth of a second away from planning for Oklahoma City, and now they kind of know deep down we're gonna be playing a game seven at altitude in Denver. We're the best player in the world on the other team. It's just just unbelievable.
All right, the.
Go ahead, it's Shane Goon. Yeah, so Chris is saying.
I cannot believe. I can't believe that no one has gotten to Reggie about this. You are sitting next to Kevin Harlan. He is calling him Shin Goon. He's the best player on the Rockets. He's their only all star. His name is shing Goon. If you were going to mispronounce it because it's an international name and you were just gonna do it the way it's spelled, that would be Singoon. There is no a in the name. You
are calling the NBA playoffs. You are saying his name fifty times, and you won't stop calling him Shane Goon. I don't like. I don't understand it. It is beyond baffling. Beyond baffling.
I've gotten hip to your your Reggie Miller take. I was. I was telling Daniel earlier. I've I've been listening to him. He's it can be a little unbearable, a little annoying.
I mean, it's the it's on. I can't.
I don't know if you noticed yesterday, but Draymond was like he was doing his antics the entire game, and then he goes over to apologize and Reggie Miller is like, yeah, a real vet move by him, and.
It's like, well, acting like I can't, I can't. I it is the combination of.
I again.
People people tweet to me, they're like, why do you dislike Reggie Miller. It's it, It's nothing personal. It's just I am. I love him basketball. He is the number one color commentator on one of the top broadcasts. He has been involved in a disproportionate amount of my favorite sports moments, and I'm sorry to be a jerk. I don't mean to. He's never made a single one of them better. And it's like you can be like, okay, it's just different styles, so be it.
No problem.
You got to pronounce the player's names right, like it's just a level, It's whatever. All right, let's keep moving. We can do some follow ups here.
Yeah. So the last two minute report came out and it said that Luca should have gotten a foul call on him or not on him. McDaniel should have gotten a foul call on him because he tripped Luca. Do you think that this swinging the game more than JJ deciding to play the starting fial.
Well, listen, if they get that foul call that, you know, assuming Luca makes both, which you don't know for sure, the Lakers are in, you know, up one with thirty five seconds left. I I am pretty consistent on this, complaining about officiatings for losers.
And be better.
You're it's gonna you like to think eventually it'll even out.
Uh, I'll be honest.
I was more annoyed by the NBA breaking out the five thousand millimeters of pruder camera to find the foul on Lebron than I was them not calling the.
Trip like that was. That was frustrating.
I But I but where I'm consistent on that is I just don't like replay in sports in general. I think it has made sports worse, but that's another argument for another day. The worst missed call the refs had in that game was the kickball out of bounds on the sideline that would have been Laker's ball with fourteen on the clock. Instead they called shotluck violation. But whatever, like be better. So I'm not gonna and I did not. I understand the last two minute reports said what it said.
I didn't think that was an egregious missed call. That was borderline it. You know, Lucas stepped on his foot, he did stick his foot out. That was whatever be better, and Lebron's got to inbound that ball better. So, like I the I'm not going to blame refs.
I don't.
I don't.
It's not my thing in the reviewing situation. Like I think the time has to be cut down. That's one thing. Reggie Miller is one hundred per correct on that game yesterday. I mean, I think there was like ten minutes of them reviewing a play in Golden Rockets.
Listen, this is an rant for the off season. But if you can't figure it out within thirty seconds, the call on the floor.
Stands stands, right, Yeah, and the only The.
Only scenario where I am okay with them taking all the time they need is the Clippers Nugget scenario where it's game over or not game over, because it that is to what nobody ever talks about when.
It comes to these replays and reviews is fatigue and conditioning.
Being a part of sports, and that it should benefit the more better conditioned team, And so the long replays and reviews skews the fair outcome. With the one exception of something like Clippers Nuggets where it's literally the last play of the game like that, that to me is a different situation everything else. It was put in place so you could get obvious mistakes, right not so oh we called this and out of bounds.
But it turns out when we take the camera from the drone at the ceilings and zoom in and black and white, we see, like, give me a break, let's do the last follow up here about Aunt.
Oh yeah, so last year everybody thought aunt was taking the big He had a lot of traction saying he's gonna be the face of the league, but they kind of died off after the Western Conference finals. So we think that it's a real deal. He's walking down some.
Well, Listen, what's definitely a real deal is he's been the best player in this series and that's a series with Pete Luca it supposed to be and Lebron in the playoffs who will always just be great. And that's remarkable. It's also real that he's twenty three years old. He's knocked Kevin Durant and Devin Booker out of the playoffs. He's knocked Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray out of the playoffs. He is a game away from knocking Luke and Lebron out of the playoffs. And then he's gonna have a
chance to knock Steph out of the playoffs. Like that's that's the path. And now our resident Nuggets fan Daniel, who is a really really sharp guy and a great producer, but has a blind spot for his team, rites in. Didn't Jokic, not Ant knock Ant, Durant and Lebron out? Yes, Daniel, And that's how he became known as.
The best player in the league. Yes, yes, he did.
And that's why we are now talking about if Aunt were to do something similar, what it would mean for him. I get it, you are correct, sir, and and so it's like my Ba and Aunt. Listen, the what the conversation that is starting with Aunt and fair is fair?
Oh?
Is is he The conversation that's starting is is he better than Luca?
And Perk flat out said he is. Listen.
I would still rather have Luca, however, and I don't think it's I don't think we can be so prisoner of the moment d where Luca drastically outplays him and beats him in the conference finals a year ago.
And that is totally that means nothing.
If the opposite then happens in the playoffs this year, that just means they're.
One to one.
However, this year Ant's game has jumped and Lucas didn't. And you know, Anti's a dominant two way.
Player like he is.
I don't know if it's Luca dropping us tier for the time being or Ant rising a tier.
It's a little bit of both. But that is a fair discussion.
The mean, when you bake in the defense with Anthony Edwards, I think is probably I don't know where Kendrick Perkins was talking about or where his points were, but yeah, I think when you factor in the fact that Ant plays actual defense and he can probably average the same amount of points that Luca can.
Well, that's the thing is he hasn't shown he can average the amount of points as Luca can, and he's never where been close to the passer Luca's been, so Lucas is he hasn't been in this series. But Luca is the more well rounded.
Better as series, right, all.
Right, And so there's just but it is listen, the playoffs in the games and the results have to matter, and so like that is that like he is making a claim and we'll see how far he can push this thing.
All right, Let's move on to Dame.
So Dame unfortunately went down with a non contact injury a few days ago. He tore his achilles in game four. You said that it was likely the last time we see Dame play like Dame, and you also said this is probably the last time we see Giannis as a buck. Your thoughts, Yeah, I I hate.
This so much for Damian Lillard, and you know he he he came back faster from and it killed sorry from blood clots than anyone ever and that I don't really understand how he did it. And obviously blood clots are not related to a torn achilles However, him being out and not being able to train and do their play for a month a month and then jumping into playoff basketball. Did that contribute I would have to imagine
it at least could have. And so you just feel truly sick to your stomach that this guy did everything he could to come back as early as possible and now and it was to get this playoff run. And now he didn't get this playoff run, and he's not gonna have next year's playoff run, and he might not have any more playoff runs. So I mean that is a true cruel, cruel turn of events for a great dude and a great player. Yeah, I mean you just
hate it. You hate every piece of it. And you know he has I'm sure so.
Many what ifs in his head.
What if he had just stayed in Portland and just been the legend there forever. It's not like, you know, well if I had done that, I wouldn't have gotten these great playoff runs that those never happened.
So you, oh, you said that, Dame said, like, what if I'd never left Portland? And you're saying, honest might.
No, no, no, no, what I'm saying. I'm just talking about from Dame. I'll get to Giannis in a minute. What I'm saying for Dame is he's just thinking, like I'm sure he has a lot of like, man, what have I never left? I left Portland, which I didn't really want to do because I wanted to compete for a championship. I won zero playoff series in Milwaukee. I would you
know what I mean? Like that that didn't happen. I'm sure he's also thinking, what if they had just traded me where I wanted to be traded to Miami and it was me and Jimmy Butler and bam.
You know what would that have looked like?
And so it's a cruel not final chapter, but close to a final chapter for Dame and then for Yannis. I I don't see how Yannis can stay. And the Bucks are in such a weird spot because they don't control any of their own picks the next six years, so they can't tank, They have no cap space to improve the team, they don't have any young players that you're just super excited about, and so it's gonna be fake trade season with Giannis. And there's two demands that
I made that are really interesting. One is to the Rockets, where you get Hngoon Reed Shepherd, who is a top five pick who doesn't play. Jack Landale. He doesn't play because he doesn't defend, but he was top by picking this year's draft, so he's valuable Jack Landale for salary filler. And then four draft picks, two of which are super valuable, the Phoenix twenty seven and twenty nine first and the
Houston twenty eight and thirty first. That if you're Milwaukee, because keep in mind, you can't tank, so Shingoon makes it so you don't tank. You have those picks to start getting the young players. That to me is a unique,
an interesting one. And then the other one if you just want to go pure young you there is a trade with the Spurs where you offer them Giannis so Jannis and Wimber together, which is terrifying for the league, and they give up Barnes for the salary Kelden Johnson, Rookie of the Year Stefan Castle, and then a litany of picks, the Atlanta and first round pick in twenty twenty seven, the Chicago first round pick in twenty twenty seven, the Boston first round pick in twenty twenty eight, the
Dallas first round pick in twenty thirty, which could be super valuable, and the Minnesota first round pick in twenty thirty, which is okay, And I like, those are.
Real trades and.
I'm interested if they would they would be interested in any of those the are there any other fake trades you want to ask me about?
Yeah, there's what about okay? See, I mean they have picks, and they can obviously trade good players. So you see that working out.
Here's the thing for okay, se First of all, they might win the title this year. If they do that, I can't imagine.
That in this scenario, if they fell off, if they came up short, if.
They Okay, so they came up short, do they?
So they're not trading shit, right, So I'm just trying to see how they could make the salaries work. I guess they could because Hartenstein makes twenty eight million. I'm just trying to put it together on the fly. If you traded them Hartenstein.
And Chet to go and.
Let me find one more guy that you would have like would if you traded him Hartenstein, Chet and Isaiah.
Joe That that makes the salaries work.
And then they have the picks okac has Is in twenty twenty six, Houston's and the Clippers in twenty twenty seven their own, and Dallas in twenty twenty eight Denver Denver's pick, and then they have their own picks the rest of the way, so they don't have have great picks. We thought that Clippers pick would be unbelievable. Do they have swaps? I thought they had swaps with the Clippers and let me look that up real quick, future draft picks Clippers.
So or no, I don't, so let me see.
They so outgoing draft picks for the I should have done the Thunder, but so I don't think that maybe those picks went elsewhere. Sorry, this is not good podcasting, but I just incoming picks.
So they Yeah, they can swap.
With the Clippers in twenty twenty seven, they can swap with Dallas in twenty twenty eight.
Uh, and I think.
That's where that the Paul George trade and all that stuff ends. But Chat would be a real piece. Obviously, Hartenstein's a real piece. So yeah, I don't think the Thunder gonna make that move. Maybe I'm wrong. I think Houston or San Antonio are the more likely outcomes there all right, we're gonna do this. I guess we're gonna try to do some shadoor Thursday because we don't have time for it here, because I do want to I want to have some fun, and I also want to
talk about the Saquon thing. So let's just skip ahead to the saque thing, because this is very simple and I I don't know why people. I do know why people are being disingenuous about this, but it's annoying, so let me do so if people don't know.
Obviously, the Eagles were at the White House yesterday.
Sidebar that for a moment prior to that, sake was chilling with the president and golfing with him. He then tweeted the following, Okay, and we can lol. Some people are really upset because I played golf and flew to the White House with the all caps president. Maybe I just respect the office. Not a hard concept to understand. Just golfed with Obama not too long ago and look forward to finishing my round with Trump.
Now you get out my.
Mentions with all this politics and have an amazing day laughing emoji. Okay, I'm gonna give Saquon the benefit of the doubt. That he's smarter than that.
And this is if you have the intellectual capacity to listen to this in a non partisan manner, I think I think you will.
Agree with what I'm saying. The reason I said I think I thought he was smarter than that is very simple. Choosing to spend time with the world's most famous politician and then being like, why y'all talk in politics here is stupid.
It's dumb behavior.
And if you were photographed hanging out with Bobby Flay and then we're like, hey, why, people drop in recipes in my mentions, like hey man, this is like this is what it is, So like the whole where's this coming from? Guy in the banana costume?
Who did this? Buddy?
You're golfing with the world's most famous politician. So there's that piece of it. Okay, it's not an unfair ask or an unfair assumption, whatever it is. Now here is the slightly more complicated but not actually complicated piece of this.
I do think that athletes get put in tricky spots when it comes to we've won the championship, We've been invited to the White House, because they are then without opting into it, being forced to make what will for many people be a political choice, just the again Obama Trump president. I obviously do not view them the same, but I understand the way I feel about one and feel about the other. Some people listening feel the exact same way, but in the one.
Hundred and eighty degrees. So just stick with me here for a moment. Guys, when it comes to my team's been invited to the White House.
And I disagree with everything the president represents, you're putting a weird spot because if you show up, some people will use that against you. And if you don't show up, as Jalen Hurts is learning right now, some people will use that against you.
And you didn't ask to go.
You're like, I just practiced hard and got great at the sport, my team won a championship, and now I'm I'm making I'm being forced to make a decision either way. I empathize with guys in that spot, truly, okay, and I am everyone's got to make their own decision. But I feel badly when folks who truly want nothing to and I get let me, I'll back up even further.
I get folks that are saying, no, you have an obligation in this moment to stand up for what you believe in is Folks that think there's a crisis, all of it. I get all that, and we can have those discussions at a different time. It's not what I'm trying to do right now. What I'm trying to do right now is make a very specific point, and the specific point the only way to make it is if we just treat all presidencies equal. And I understand that's
not how people feel about any presidency. Okay, and I feel particularly this one, but I know a lot of you guys watching felt like the eight years under Obama were damn tyranny.
So like, again, agree to disagree on that stuff. Stick with me.
On an intellectual level, the White House visit stuff puts guys in a tough spot.
They didn kN opped into. This was not that.
Choosing opting into in your personal time, striking up a personal relationship with the sitting president of the United States.
Is a political decision, flatly.
And when you opt into that arena, folks are going to assume that you either share some values or whatever they think is the most objectionable thing about that politician, that you don't have the same issue with that they do, which is objectively likely true. The folks that thought Obama was the Antichrist cannot believe Saquon Barkley would golf with him. Saquon Barkley, I assume knew that chose to do it anyway.
And the folks that believe the current president is a dictator in waiting or wants to be and thinks that anything other than hardcore disavowal is a endorsement, those folks certainly would not golf with him. Saquan is saying, That's not how I feel. Obviously, as of this moment, we still have free speech in this country, freedom of political expression. He's allowed to think or feel whatever he wants. What you can't do is then play the woe is me? Why is everyone acting like this is a big deal?
Gotta be smarter than that, And Saquan's a smart guy, and so.
I I was.
Disappointed at the where's this coming from? Why are you guys being ridiculous tweet?
When it was.
Totally fair, in my opinion, for folks to see anyone that you are not part of your job, not being made to do, not part of team building, that you are opting to spend five hours of your personal time with hobnobbing on the golf course. That folks might then think you are endorsing that person to a degree, which obviously you are allowed to do. To act shocked by that reaction, it's either naive, disingenuous, or dumb.
And I don't know which one you want to be.
Now to what people come here for? One hundred men versus one gorilla demonse? Finally, snap judgment, because I don't think this is a hard question.
I think it's one hundred men easily. But that's what I've been telling. That's my take on I think I think fifty.
Probably demonse easily. Yeah's one hundred men.
Here's the thing now, I thought van Lathan had the funniest content on this, and I didn't even consume the content. I just saw the tweet. But I'm gonna van Lathan had a whiteboard.
Have you seen this, demanse Uh, I've not seen it.
I'm texting it to you right now. I'm gonna text it to our group chat. I don't know if we can put it up there or not.
I should have told the producers before.
But he's holding a whiteboard, shout out Van Lathan, who I don't know but does good stuff.
So there it is. He's holding a white It.
Says one hundred versus gorilla, and then parenthetical wild average size six feet, four hundred pounds, brolic all underlined. It then has a picture of the gorilla and it would appear he has circled its weak spots, head, skull, brain, throat, neck, chest, heart, lungs, knees, and it looks like it's got his fingers. So he has broken this down into five waves. Wave one meat sacks parenthetical Vince will forks three hundred poundersynthetical bloody mess.
Wave two runners parenthetical Noah Lyles's uh sidebar disorient him. Wave three light brutes for arm kicking. Wave four heavy brutes for sapping the energy parenthetical Aaron Donald. Wave five finishers vital striking throat neck parenthetical John Jones. Then at the bottom in a box, some will die.
And so here's.
The deal, and this is and Van nailed it. And this is why this conversation is so ridiculous if it is understood, guys, the first and hit he had a real strategy. I don't even think you need a real strategy that would be the best way to.
Go about it.
But if the if you have one hundred adult men and everyone understands it's like the old World War One movies where deserters will be shot. You can only go in one direction, and the guys at the front understand I'm probably dying. This thing is not that difficult if the every like the it just the overwhelming numbers of it make it so clear to where if truly no one abandoned ship on this this can be done in relative quick order because of the overall weight and mass.
The reason is such a unique and fun topic is while one hundred humans is obviously the right answer from any sinem emulation standpoint or any standpoint where you get the fake theoretical world that no one abandoned ship, in reality, no one hundred humans versus one gorilla would end shortly like this. The first couple guys get an arm ripped off, three of your first wave feints, another couple wet themselves
or defecate on themselves. A few start trying to actually team up with the gorilla where you're like pushing him into them, and then you have mutiny, Mayheim disorientation, and what you end up with is like six or seven dead guys, some injuries, and guys faking their death and people scattered running everywhere. That's how it really goes.
But if you're.
Asking if you can guarantee everyone is locked in on the goal, you can take the gorilla out quickly and honestly.
If you attack simultaneously minimal death. The problem is.
Who's going to be the guy that's like, all right, short straw, here, I guess not only am I dying, but I'm dying at the hands of a gorilla, and so that's the I. I don't think this is a debate. I know I'm right, and that's how it would go. So, as the kids say, find you a podcast that can do both some very smart non political political commentary and then the only true breakdown using real world factors of one gorilla versus one hundred men.
This one.
I wouldn't think I would like it either, However I found it so it was a fun thought exercise. I also loved when Dragonfly Jones and le Jethro Jenkins Great Pod used to be on the volume.
When they did their beast Bracket. Did you ever see that?
No?
So let me let me try to pull it up real.
Quick, one hundred men versus a grizzly bear, though it's just slightly more complicated.
More complicated because I don't know where the vulnerabilities are and because the grizzly bear has a lot more.
One shot kills.
Yeah, so like the the gorilla doesn't have a lot of like I mean, obviously can.
Strength, and they don't really use their teeth.
Bears are right, but the polar bears got such a wingspan. Again, if the polar bear knew what was up, that's the other piece of this. If the like, if the polar bear knows I got a hundred guys coming at me eventually, and like he's trained for this, he can almost just do like a spinning fist with his claws and no one can ever touch him. That could be a thousand men, it wouldn't matter because he's so big and can just one shot.
Kill you with the faws.
Gorilla's three sixty as well too. I don't know if like they're actually more equipped to do it three sixty.
Yes, but they don't.
But again, the three sixty ends usually with like a brutal punch in that hand, not all disembowelment and so uh okay. Paul just texted in the beast bracket was the idea behind the beast bracket was all of these things demons have. It's the same weight. So one bison versus ten kangaroos. Two tigers against five humans. That's two tigers, you know, like the the final four got you down to. There's fifty Tasmanian devils against twenty five bobcats. Four lions
against fifty foxes and they seated them accordingly. Three silver back guerrillas against two hundred roosters, like these are the things. But I think the final four for this ended up being two tigers against one polar bear.
Who you got two tigers against a polar bear. I'll go with the I'll go with the polar bear me too.
Other side of the bracket, eight jaguars against four lions, well, hold on Sweet sixteen matchup. Four lions against ten wolves. I don't know wolfs four lives, yeah, but I think eight jaguars, I'm not sure, all right. I think this was the toughest one. Two Grizzlies against three Silverbacks.
I'm taking the Grizzlies. The coats on the Grizzlies are just impenetrable and the yeah.
All right, by the way, the shout out Dragonfly Jones, Jethrow Jenkins, great job, that's content from them.
A year ago.
I was super into that. I really enjoyed that bracket thing. Yeah, no, it was great.
By the way.
The NBA eighty two game grind is done. Now the real fun begins. NBA Playoffs are here. It's time for all the high stakes drama, clutch moments, and jaw dropping plays.
Can't wait.
If you're looking to make the playoffs even more exciting, DraftKings sports Book as you covered as an official sports betting partner of the n from the play in games all the way through to the finals. Now's the time to back your favorite players and teams as they chase glory.
All season long.
DraftKings has been the go to spot for NBA player props and that doesn't stop now. Want to make your playoff experience even more intense, Try placing a bet on your favorite players performance. Will they drop thirty forty more? It's your call? Ready to place your first bet? Download the DraftKings sports Book app now lock in your bets. Make this playoff run unforgettable. Here's something special for first timers. New DraftKings customers bet five dollars to get two hundred
dollars in bonus bets. Instantly make it a playoff run to remember with DraftKings Sportsbook. Download the DraftKings Sports Book app. Use code right that's code right Wright for new customers to get two hundred dollars in bonus bets when you bet just 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 DKNG, dot co, slash b ball.
Remember everybody like rate, subscribe, review and we might What is hold on?
What are the games tonight. The big game tonight is Clippers Nugets, So I don't think we're gonna do an emergency pod tomorrow. Uh we could, but I think the Knicks take care of the Pistons. I think the Pacers take care of the Bucks. I think the Celtics take care of the Magic and Clippers Nuggets should be a great game. But it's a game five, so we're gonna have more time for that on Thursday, and then Wednesday night.
Wednesday, by the way, your sister's twentieth birthday to Monday twenty. Yeah, Warriors, Rockets and Timberwolves Lakers, which should be great. Appreciate everybody listening.
Great job Demnday, great new setup, great job Blue Duck volume everybody.
I will see you guys. Oh on with Colin Coward in about an hour. What's right,