WEBVTT - How Many First-Place MVP Votes Did LeBron Want? 0:00:00.920 --> 0:00:04.040 The Sono's Move is the best portable speaker I have 0:00:04.160 --> 0:00:07.520 ever owned, and I am not just being a shill here. 0:00:08.400 --> 0:00:10.760 It's too good to be called a portable speaker. It 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:14.560 chews up in spits out its competition. It is high quality. 0:00:15.040 --> 0:00:17.239 I use the Move as both a stationary speaker and 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:20.480 all around my house, garage, in my outdoor space, and 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:24.040 I've dropped the crap out of it. Regular portable speakers 0:00:24.200 --> 0:00:26.720 can't take kids like the Move. Not sure I should 0:00:26.720 --> 0:00:28.680 be saying this, but I dropped it down the stairs. 0:00:29.280 --> 0:00:31.720 Maybe I should be saying this. I'd be happy to 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:35.040 get a second. Actually I don't need a second. Even 0:00:35.120 --> 0:00:39.280 Sono states don't worry about accidental drops or bumps. Moves 0:00:39.280 --> 0:00:43.080 components are protected by a hardwaring shock resistant case, and 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:45.280 my system, with one I take around my place, is 0:00:45.320 --> 0:00:48.520 working very well. I use my Move as a stationary 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:51.360 speaker a lot. It hangs out on the charging base. 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:53.880 I love that I don't have to plug in a 0:00:53.960 --> 0:00:58.400 charging court. It has an eleven hour battery life, no joke. 0:00:59.120 --> 0:01:03.800 It works with all streaming services, the app or Airplay, Bluetooth, 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:07.600 Amazon Alexa, and Google Assistant. I'm too lazy to be 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:10.200 looking for new music, so I have really loved the 0:01:10.240 --> 0:01:14.680 SOS radio option. Some of my favorite stations are Rare Grooves, 0:01:14.959 --> 0:01:19.679 hip Hop Archive, or just keeping It Mainstream. If you're 0:01:19.720 --> 0:01:22.319 in the move, go to sos dot com to learn 0:01:22.360 --> 0:01:29.360 more and get your son's move Today. 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:35.840 People ask me, don't you feel uncomfortable being with a 0:01:35.920 --> 0:01:42.520 name like the Notorious Big and why should I feel uncomfortable? 0:01:43.240 --> 0:01:44.840 We have a lot in common. 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:57.320 Good morning, sweet girl, and welcome to the Now Dunks 0:01:57.360 --> 0:01:59.160 podcast on the Athletic Network. 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:01.880 It's sad September nineteenth. 0:02:01.880 --> 0:02:02.360 I'm j E. 0:02:02.520 --> 0:02:05.040 Skeets and joining us live here as always. Tas Millis, 0:02:05.080 --> 0:02:07.720 Hey everybody, Hey, tasky, we got the beard one, Trey Kirby, 0:02:07.840 --> 0:02:13.240 Hey out hey who the international mena mystery taking it 0:02:13.280 --> 0:02:19.000 to the Max? Lee ellis friend, and last but not least, 0:02:19.040 --> 0:02:19.840 making the magic happen. 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:22.880 JD. Hello, there he is and here we are. 0:02:23.360 --> 0:02:25.680 Shout out to everyone joining us live on YouTube this 0:02:25.760 --> 0:02:28.600 fine weekend. Much love to everybody listening or watching a 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:30.760 little bit later in the day as well. Keep your 0:02:30.840 --> 0:02:34.680 questions and your comments coming for next week's Beach step 0:02:34.680 --> 0:02:37.399 In podcast. Email Theman No Dunks at the Athletic dot 0:02:37.400 --> 0:02:39.959 com or tweet them in at no dunk sync. We're 0:02:40.000 --> 0:02:43.480 actually we'll slip in a few questions into today's show 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:45.680 because we got so many good ones tasks that we 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:48.079 just can't We can't do fifty questions in a beach 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:50.720 step in podcast and go eight hours long, so we'll 0:02:50.760 --> 0:02:54.200 sprinkle a few in to this Saturday show. Oh, by 0:02:54.200 --> 0:02:57.120 the way, who's who's got the lawn h blower? 0:02:57.160 --> 0:02:59.079 Going? Already here on a Saturday? Who is it show? 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:02.120 Put your hand up? Who oh trick every winds? That's right, 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:03.600 that's right over Saturday. 0:03:03.639 --> 0:03:06.960 You know, I'm recording in the basement now downstairs in 0:03:07.000 --> 0:03:09.400 the bedroom, so just ground level. 0:03:09.440 --> 0:03:11.840 It's perfect. We're gonna be seeing them testing out the 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:12.960 lawnmower four. 0:03:12.800 --> 0:03:17.040 Point zero right back here, the finest technology in the game. 0:03:17.440 --> 0:03:20.680 They've moved from pubic hair to the lawn. They're really 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:24.840 mowing out here. Oh my goodness, this literally blows. 0:03:25.160 --> 0:03:25.520 Yeah. 0:03:25.600 --> 0:03:28.200 Yeah, I used to live at the same building Trey 0:03:28.200 --> 0:03:31.080 lives at. Those guys they like to blow around a 0:03:31.160 --> 0:03:33.680 leaf for two They just move it from one section 0:03:33.800 --> 0:03:36.680 to another, back again, back and forth all day long. 0:03:36.720 --> 0:03:39.120 Okay has forty four acres at his house and he 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:42.120 gets done trimming his lawn faster than they get done 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:43.600 here with all concrete. 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:44.800 It doesn't make any sense. 0:03:45.000 --> 0:03:46.720 So I was done at six am. It took a 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:47.840 nap before this show. 0:03:47.960 --> 0:03:48.440 Wow. 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.480 Wow, all right, so we've got a like I said, 0:03:51.520 --> 0:03:53.120 we got a few beach stepping cues. We'll get to 0:03:53.120 --> 0:03:55.120 We got tweeted the night as always, but we'll start 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:57.560 with Game one of the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers 0:03:57.640 --> 0:04:03.960 roll past the Nuggets in Game one, a deceiving final score. 0:04:03.960 --> 0:04:06.280 If you didn't watch this game, task it wasn't really. 0:04:06.120 --> 0:04:06.840 All that close. 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:10.400 It was a huge blowout. Yeah, and it turned in 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:14.360 the second quarter when from one perspective, you'll hear the 0:04:14.400 --> 0:04:17.279 Nuggets say, whoa, they had twenty four free throws. But 0:04:17.320 --> 0:04:20.760 from the Lakers perspective, they aren't the Clippers. They have 0:04:20.839 --> 0:04:24.000 an identity, Their bench knows what they're supposed to do. 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:27.000 Four guys talk about the lawnmower four point zero. These 0:04:27.000 --> 0:04:31.520 guys blew it open. The four guys region Rondo markis Morris, 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:35.640 Alex Caruso, and Dwight Howard. They come on and they 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:38.440 know they don't have a lot of minutes. They get 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.200 into a track meet. They turned the Nuggets over seven 0:04:41.279 --> 0:04:44.080 times in that second quarter, and that's where the game turned. 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:46.279 And you know, the Lakers have been chopping at the 0:04:46.279 --> 0:04:50.159 bit ready to go. Rugion Rondo already has a haircut 0:04:50.640 --> 0:04:53.279 style change in the bubble. That's how much time he's 0:04:53.279 --> 0:04:57.240 had off just to chill. He's got two hairstyles already. 0:04:57.240 --> 0:05:00.560 But they know that they are not the Clippers. They 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.320 just know what they're doing. There's a hierarchy, and that 0:05:03.480 --> 0:05:08.320 second unit was chomping at the bit, and really, you know, 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:12.279 with the foul calls aside, the aggressors got the calls 0:05:12.279 --> 0:05:14.360 in this one. There are some bad ones against the Nuggets, 0:05:14.360 --> 0:05:17.160 but the Lakers were being so aggressive that they got 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:20.679 some of those whistles, and really the game turned even 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:24.520 before the big players for the Nuggets got in foul 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:27.680 trouble and had to sit, and even when they sat, 0:05:27.839 --> 0:05:31.360 the bench actually held their own for the Denver Nuggets. Really, 0:05:31.360 --> 0:05:33.279 you can argue that the Nuggets would have made a 0:05:33.320 --> 0:05:36.720 bigger comeback if Jokic and Jamal Murray were on the floor. 0:05:37.440 --> 0:05:41.200 But at the same time, the Lakers topped the bottom. 0:05:41.760 --> 0:05:45.120 They schooled the Denver Nuggets there in the second quarter. 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:47.279 They were the better unit, and again they look nothing 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:49.839 like the Clippers because they know what they're doing. And 0:05:49.920 --> 0:05:51.920 a lot of the times we talk about the Lakers 0:05:51.920 --> 0:05:53.960 and who their third best player is, who's going to 0:05:54.040 --> 0:05:56.279 help out Lebron and Ad Well, it's actually hard to 0:05:56.320 --> 0:05:57.919 pick in this game because they had a lot of 0:05:57.920 --> 0:06:01.479 good ones across the board with ACP and Rondo we 0:06:01.560 --> 0:06:04.960 mentioned in Dwight Howard, So I don't think the foul 0:06:05.000 --> 0:06:07.200 calls had anything to do with it. The Lakers just 0:06:07.360 --> 0:06:09.960 stomped the Nuggets in this game. And they watched the 0:06:10.560 --> 0:06:13.800 Nuggets beat the Clippers and the Jazz, and they saw 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:18.080 a team that couldn't well, that found their flow when 0:06:18.120 --> 0:06:21.599 the defense was soft. So in that second quarter, the 0:06:21.680 --> 0:06:25.320 Lakers unit was so tough and so physical and forced 0:06:25.320 --> 0:06:28.719 the restimate calls and they didn't allow Jokic and Murray 0:06:28.800 --> 0:06:31.320 and friends to get into a rhythm. And that's why 0:06:31.360 --> 0:06:33.120 this game was really a twenty point blow up. 0:06:33.320 --> 0:06:34.920 Yeah, there were a lot of fowls on Denver in 0:06:34.960 --> 0:06:37.479 the second quarterly sixteen. I believe it was switch tied 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:41.599 the most by any team here this season. Murray and 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:44.960 Jokic with three before the half. Did the Nuggets let Scota, 0:06:45.120 --> 0:06:47.080 Scott Foster take them out of the game a little bit, 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:49.640 and then sort of the tough whistle there. You know, 0:06:49.680 --> 0:06:51.440 with the Lakers forcing the issue, did they get a 0:06:51.440 --> 0:06:54.159 little flustered with how they were being officiated or do 0:06:54.200 --> 0:06:55.840 you sort of I mean that could be also true 0:06:55.880 --> 0:06:57.000 with just the Lakers dominance. 0:06:57.040 --> 0:06:57.600 What do you think? 0:06:57.800 --> 0:07:01.039 Well, I think there was two controversial calls that I 0:07:01.080 --> 0:07:02.800 thought and they were both whether they were a block 0:07:03.160 --> 0:07:05.039 or a charge on Lebron James, and they both got 0:07:05.040 --> 0:07:08.120 caught a block. And I actually don't mind that being 0:07:08.160 --> 0:07:10.120 called a block. I just want to see that called 0:07:10.160 --> 0:07:12.600 consistently now throughout the playoffs because that's the one of 0:07:12.640 --> 0:07:15.680 those calls where it's a bang bang play and there 0:07:15.680 --> 0:07:18.440 are multiple examples of where a guy it gets called 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:21.200 for the offensive foul in that situation, but it didn't happen. 0:07:21.240 --> 0:07:24.920 And so that's the only real contentious point for me, 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:26.480 is like, Okay, that's fine, if you're going to call it, 0:07:26.520 --> 0:07:28.640 then let's make sure that's the call for the entire series, 0:07:28.680 --> 0:07:31.080 for every player, not just for Lebron James. But the 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:34.000 Lakers came out in this one after that first quarter, 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:36.240 it was almost a bad first quarter for the Nuggets 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:37.840 because the Lakers were like, all right, hey, these guys 0:07:37.840 --> 0:07:40.120 are for real. And then in that second quarter, they 0:07:40.120 --> 0:07:42.760 were just super aggressive, trying to do everything, trying to 0:07:42.760 --> 0:07:45.080 make sure that anytime Nikolae Yerkish got the ball down 0:07:45.120 --> 0:07:47.840 low as well, the Dwight Howard was trying to like 0:07:48.000 --> 0:07:49.680 smash the ball out of the court, you know, like 0:07:49.760 --> 0:07:52.480 Dwight Howard was super aggressive on the defensive end, trying 0:07:52.520 --> 0:07:54.320 to set a tone and trying to make himself relevant 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:57.000 for this series because he didn't play against the Rockets, 0:07:57.320 --> 0:07:59.920 and Javal McGee started there against the Nuggets and Dua 0:08:00.080 --> 0:08:01.440 it was like, listen, this is a series that I 0:08:01.480 --> 0:08:04.600 can play in because athletically he can dominate Nikola jokicch 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:07.200 So I just thought the Lakers, you know, I sort 0:08:07.200 --> 0:08:09.240 of alluded to this on yesterday's show. I think they 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:11.800 didn't want to give the Nuggets any real life in 0:08:11.840 --> 0:08:14.360 this series at all from the start, and you saw 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:16.200 that from every single player who was out there on 0:08:16.240 --> 0:08:17.840 the court, trying to make sure that they were sending 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:19.760 a message that they're for real. The Lakers want to 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:21.679 get this series over and done with it quick as possible, 0:08:21.720 --> 0:08:25.760 so overall, the Lakers outplayed Denver. Denver just didn't quite 0:08:25.840 --> 0:08:27.480 rise to the occasion when they did get in foul 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:29.640 trouble in that second and third quarter, and then of 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:31.600 course by the fourth quarter it was all over anyway, 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:34.760 It didn't really matter. But the Nuggets from that first 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:37.160 quarter have got plenty of things to be hopeful and 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:39.840 optimistic about. They have to understand that the Lakers are 0:08:39.880 --> 0:08:41.920 not the Clippers, and the Lakers are certainly not the 0:08:41.960 --> 0:08:44.840 sort of team that can't counter punch as well as 0:08:44.880 --> 0:08:47.240 they did like in this one in the second and 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:47.800 third quarter. 0:08:48.160 --> 0:08:49.679 Yeah, what did you think of Dwight Howard there? 0:08:49.800 --> 0:08:52.040 TK, I mean, he was pretty damn awesome, like cutting 0:08:52.040 --> 0:08:55.000 for Ali oops, back door, mixing it up with Jokich, 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:58.760 You had the blocks for some steals and just drying fowls. 0:08:59.440 --> 0:09:01.640 I thought that was the worst foul call of the quarter, 0:09:01.720 --> 0:09:04.000 the one where Yokic and him were like tied up 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:06.480 and suddenly Jokic got whistled on that. When I hear 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:08.760 you on the bang bang blocker charge to where Lebron 0:09:08.800 --> 0:09:10.960 sort of barreling over guy, especially to the Jamal Murray went. 0:09:11.040 --> 0:09:13.720 But what do you think of you know, Dwight's performance 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:15.679 pretty impressive after not playing, like Lee said, at all 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:16.360 the last series. 0:09:16.559 --> 0:09:18.679 Yeah, he was ready and he had just an immense 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:22.600 impact both from scoring rebounding. But like you're saying, Skeets, 0:09:22.640 --> 0:09:24.959 he drew five fouls in a quarter. That was pretty 0:09:25.000 --> 0:09:27.480 crazy and it definitely threw the Nuggets off their game, 0:09:28.480 --> 0:09:31.880 picking up a couple of cheap offensive fouls on Nikola 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:34.640 Yokich and once he got that third, and then Murray 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:37.040 eventually picked up his third, and then Paul Millsat picked 0:09:37.080 --> 0:09:38.800 up his third. You're like, uh, oh, this is a 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:41.280 foul fest here. But I like Tessa saying the Lakers 0:09:41.320 --> 0:09:43.560 were the aggressor the entire night, which is why they 0:09:43.600 --> 0:09:45.160 were able to draw so many foul calls. And I 0:09:45.200 --> 0:09:46.880 thought that a lot of that was Dwight. He was 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:48.880 throwing it back to nine. You know, the last time 0:09:48.880 --> 0:09:51.280 we saw the Lakers and the Nuggets in the Western 0:09:51.280 --> 0:09:53.320 Conference Finals, it was two thousand and nine. In between 0:09:53.440 --> 0:09:55.640 Dwight and Rondo, you could have convinced me that it 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:56.640 was two thousand and nine. 0:09:56.640 --> 0:09:56.880 Again. 0:09:56.920 --> 0:09:59.760 They were awesome together, and it was just it was 0:09:59.760 --> 0:10:01.960 cool to see the Lakers making it a point to 0:10:02.000 --> 0:10:04.880 make Dwight feel wanted right, Like every time he would 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:07.360 get mixed up with somebody on the offensive end or 0:10:07.679 --> 0:10:09.960 draw foul, it felt like the next time down they 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:11.280 tried to get him an alley oop. And that's the 0:10:11.280 --> 0:10:13.920 way you keep a guy completely engaged in the game. 0:10:13.920 --> 0:10:16.480 Because he was having a huge impact after basically not 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:19.320 playing during a playoff series. He comes out, has a 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:21.679 great game won, and they just kept going to him 0:10:21.760 --> 0:10:22.880 and having him. 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:24.640 Have an impact. I thought it was great. 0:10:25.400 --> 0:10:27.719 And now if you're the Nuggets, you gotta figure out 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:31.240 a way to get Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee out 0:10:31.240 --> 0:10:34.640 of there so that Jokic can attack Ad. It's tough 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:37.480 out there, man, Ad. How's this guy a top ten 0:10:37.520 --> 0:10:40.640 player in the league and All NBA first teamer and 0:10:40.720 --> 0:10:43.520 he's almost an X factor in this series because it's 0:10:43.559 --> 0:10:46.760 just a terrible matchup for the Nuggets. He's too tall 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:48.800 and too quick for Paul Millsap and then he's just 0:10:48.800 --> 0:10:51.400 too quick period for Jokic. And when he's playing like 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:53.600 he was last night, the Lakers are tough to be. 0:10:53.880 --> 0:10:56.840 Yeah, thirty seven points, ten boards for Ad task. We 0:10:57.200 --> 0:10:59.480 took us like ten minutes. Steven mention him here because 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:01.000 he was having his way with all these guys. He 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.360 scored on Jokic four for six, he scored on Millsap 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:05.600 three for six, plumb lely when he got his chance, 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.120 all right, two for three, you know, in less minutes. See, 0:11:08.440 --> 0:11:09.920 he lit them up. And that was always going to 0:11:09.960 --> 0:11:12.440 be an issue here in the series. I don't know 0:11:12.480 --> 0:11:15.079 really what the answer is for Denver to slow him 0:11:15.080 --> 0:11:17.760 down or stop them outside of him, just hoping he 0:11:17.760 --> 0:11:20.040 he misses his shots. But the guy's like six foot eleven, 0:11:20.040 --> 0:11:23.480 he's hitting step back baseline jumpers. I mean, it's going 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:24.400 to be a long night, right. 0:11:25.240 --> 0:11:27.960 It was a quiet thirty seven. It's a lot quieter 0:11:28.040 --> 0:11:34.360 than that lawmore four point zero. I gotta say, there's. 0:11:33.320 --> 0:11:36.640 Not that much grass here. There's not. They just got 0:11:36.679 --> 0:11:38.320 to blow it around, man. They gotta blow around. 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:40.840 They have a contract, right right. It's like, okay, well 0:11:40.880 --> 0:11:44.080 he's got this you know this building, these grounds to do. Well, 0:11:44.120 --> 0:11:45.760 how many hours we got ah, well you got like 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:47.640 good four or five hours. Well we'll just blow around 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:48.120 some leaves. 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:49.719 Look busy. That's what they're doing out there. 0:11:49.920 --> 0:11:52.439 Get paid by the blow. That's the way it works 0:11:52.440 --> 0:11:56.040 out there. So they're chilling out there at a couple industries. 0:11:56.040 --> 0:11:56.640 That's how it works. 0:11:58.600 --> 0:12:02.959 Anthony Davis. It really they have no matchup. It's totally true. 0:12:03.040 --> 0:12:07.360 Paul Millsap, he's not only too small, but he's also 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:10.120 a little agent's he's going to be a little too 0:12:10.160 --> 0:12:13.920 slow for a d even in his you know, he's 0:12:14.040 --> 0:12:15.800 way too old in his good years. Maybe he could 0:12:15.800 --> 0:12:18.160 stick in front of him. But Nicola Jokic also he's 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:20.920 too slow. This is just a tough matchup. And yeah, 0:12:20.920 --> 0:12:23.760 we mentioned him here now, and I'm sure we'll mention 0:12:23.840 --> 0:12:26.000 him a little later on when Lebron was complaining that 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:27.920 he didn't win m VP a little bit later on. 0:12:27.960 --> 0:12:29.600 You also have a guy in Anthony Davis who's going 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:31.360 to be the leading scorer on this team, night in 0:12:31.400 --> 0:12:34.800 the night out until until Lebron has to turn it on. 0:12:34.880 --> 0:12:38.280 But this was a chill out game for Lebron James, really, 0:12:38.520 --> 0:12:41.600 he was just he was part of the sprint crew 0:12:41.960 --> 0:12:43.600 with the rest of the guys that were getting into 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:47.440 the sprinting up and down the fast breaks, and they 0:12:47.480 --> 0:12:49.560 did a very good job of that. They knew what 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:54.240 they wanted to do, turning the nuggets over. But really Yeah, 0:12:54.280 --> 0:12:56.079 you know, I don't know if Aid is going to 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:58.640 have a bad game. Yeah, you're right, Like, is he 0:12:58.800 --> 0:13:02.640 just going to miss peer? I guess there's a chance 0:13:02.640 --> 0:13:04.800 of that, but that's when Lebron will have to turn 0:13:04.840 --> 0:13:07.840 it on offensively. The guy is just a stud. He 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:10.880 is an absolute stud. And he's wearing that really really 0:13:10.960 --> 0:13:14.199 thick headband. Yeah, it guess seems like it gets thicker 0:13:14.240 --> 0:13:14.920 by the series. 0:13:15.280 --> 0:13:16.080 Yeah for sure. 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:19.640 But you know, we've talked about them banning uh the 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:23.280 karate Kid headband in the bat in the in the past. Uh. 0:13:23.320 --> 0:13:28.000 They're also letting go like uh, Dion Waiters d n 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:30.679 P with a with an injury. He had shorts on 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:37.080 like a casual towel shorts like a yeah, and he 0:13:37.200 --> 0:13:39.480 was out there on the floor basically like they're letting 0:13:39.520 --> 0:13:42.680 guys get out on the floor, almost come out from 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:46.560 behind the that little barrier thing. And and there's no text, 0:13:46.559 --> 0:13:49.200 which is cool, just cool. It feels like an AAU tournament. 0:13:49.200 --> 0:13:51.640 No one's getting upset, no one's calling these dumb texts, 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:54.840 some dumb fowls on the floor, but they're letting some 0:13:54.880 --> 0:13:55.280 stuff go. 0:13:55.800 --> 0:13:58.960 This game, this game felt to me like a big 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:01.600 brother just bully and his young smaller brother, you know, 0:14:01.640 --> 0:14:04.160 his younger brother in a game of pickup like it 0:14:04.520 --> 0:14:07.840 had that vibe to me where Lebron barrels over Jamal 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:10.880 and yeah it might be a charge, but you know. 0:14:11.240 --> 0:14:12.920 Lebron's the big Bro's a get up. 0:14:12.960 --> 0:14:14.719 You know, he's like yelling ann One at him. You 0:14:14.760 --> 0:14:18.640 had Dwight swatten things out of bounds like they were. 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:21.720 You know, these are a lot of vets on this team. 0:14:21.720 --> 0:14:24.080 On this Lakers team, of course, you know, together not 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:26.360 a lot of experience, but they've been in a lot 0:14:26.440 --> 0:14:28.960 a lot of series and the Nuggets this is fairly 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:30.920 new for these guys going this deep. It just had 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:32.800 that feeling to me lee. And that's not to say 0:14:32.840 --> 0:14:34.840 the Nuggets are done. Hey, the Nuggets got the Lakers 0:14:34.920 --> 0:14:37.640 right where they want them. All right, they're down now 0:14:37.920 --> 0:14:41.960 now we can play. But yeah, I I don't think 0:14:42.000 --> 0:14:42.840 they're gonna win this series. 0:14:42.880 --> 0:14:43.360 I'll be honest. 0:14:43.640 --> 0:14:45.640 I know they're the comeback kids, but the Lakers are 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:48.560 not messing around here. If Paul George is saying, well, actually, 0:14:48.640 --> 0:14:51.120 this year was not a championship or bus This season, 0:14:51.520 --> 0:14:55.520 it's a championship or bus season for Lebron every single year. 0:14:55.680 --> 0:14:58.520 That's the problem for the Nuggets right now. He knows 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:00.800 we're not gonna take you lately, and I got to 0:15:00.800 --> 0:15:02.560 get to the finals again from my tenth time and 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:03.480 have him dragging into the ring. 0:15:03.560 --> 0:15:04.840 But so what did you think that? 0:15:05.000 --> 0:15:06.480 Well, yeah, I mean when you look at the Lakers 0:15:06.560 --> 0:15:08.840 whole bubble experience, you know, they didn't do that much 0:15:08.920 --> 0:15:10.920 during those resumption games because they didn't have a lot 0:15:10.960 --> 0:15:12.480 to play for, and then they sort of started off 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:14.920 slow against the Blazers. The Blazers fought them pretty well, 0:15:15.280 --> 0:15:17.360 and then in their last series as well, the Lakers 0:15:17.360 --> 0:15:19.120 started off slow against the Rockets and then so on 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:21.120 a cruise. But now that it's winning time, it's like, 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:22.760 right now it's time to up the ante. And that 0:15:22.880 --> 0:15:25.480 that's what I thought the message was last night. It 0:15:25.560 --> 0:15:27.480 was like, we, you know, now it's the time to 0:15:27.480 --> 0:15:29.680 start playing everyone as well as we can. So we're 0:15:29.680 --> 0:15:32.840 playing well if they make the finals, which they certainly 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:34.840 look like they're on their way to it. But again 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:37.920 I saw enough, you know, positive signs there for the 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:40.080 Denver Nuggets. And this is this is not not not 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:42.560 like a foregone conclusion that it's a sweep or anything 0:15:42.600 --> 0:15:44.960 like that. I certainly the Lakers are favored, and I 0:15:44.960 --> 0:15:47.040 picked the Nuggets to win in six. It's not looking 0:15:47.080 --> 0:15:50.640 all that right now. But again, I just think, you 0:15:50.680 --> 0:15:52.880 know what, Michael Porter Junior missed a couple of wide 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:54.920 open looks there yesterday. Jeremy Grant missed a couple of 0:15:54.960 --> 0:15:57.560 wide open looks as well, and they had that foul trouble. 0:15:57.880 --> 0:16:01.000 And still I thought the Nuggets that ben I think 0:16:01.000 --> 0:16:02.680 it was Trey who sort of as said that earlier. 0:16:02.920 --> 0:16:04.640 They did hold their own. They're a little bit. 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:07.000 There to close out that that second half. It wasn't 0:16:07.040 --> 0:16:10.280 a complete like disaster for Denver in the terms that like, 0:16:10.720 --> 0:16:13.920 they played just badly and were completely outplayed in every 0:16:13.960 --> 0:16:16.440 aspect they had. If those shots go down of Michael 0:16:16.440 --> 0:16:18.240 Porter Jr. And they need him to shoot and score, 0:16:18.280 --> 0:16:19.760 if he can hit a couple of those, and if 0:16:19.800 --> 0:16:21.400 Jeremy Grant can hit a couple of those, they stay 0:16:21.400 --> 0:16:23.520 out of foul trouble and Yokicic can have his imprint, 0:16:23.840 --> 0:16:25.960 then I think the Nuggets are going to put themselves 0:16:26.000 --> 0:16:28.080 in a better position to keep the game closer. Anyway, 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:30.960 So you know, one game certainly a bad one, for 0:16:31.040 --> 0:16:34.240 Denver in terms of the final result. But the series 0:16:34.280 --> 0:16:36.360 I don't think is just a complete whitewash from here. 0:16:36.720 --> 0:16:38.960 Okay, fair enough, Yeah, your kitchen Murray were awesome in 0:16:38.960 --> 0:16:41.800 the first quarter. I mean they scored assisted on basically 0:16:41.840 --> 0:16:44.880 every bucket. And you're right, it had watching this game. 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:48.000 What were the Lakers up at half eleven and it 0:16:48.040 --> 0:16:50.600 felt like they had just completely dominated the game, and 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:53.320 you're like, eleven, that's it. Okay, Yeah, maybe the Nuggets 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:56.000 were within striking distance and then you know, unfortunately for them, 0:16:56.040 --> 0:16:57.880 the Lakers blew that lead up to twenty and it 0:16:57.920 --> 0:16:58.480 was sort of over. 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:02.040 But do you agree to lee here, like you know, okay, 0:17:02.800 --> 0:17:03.440 tough whistle. 0:17:03.720 --> 0:17:06.240 It's game one. Lakers are locked in. We got to 0:17:06.240 --> 0:17:08.480 figure out how to slow a d. But there's something 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:10.400 here that you could see going, all right, they could 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:11.479 make this still a series. 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:16.840 I'm not that optimistic. The Nuggets bench and the Nuggets 0:17:16.840 --> 0:17:18.800 support guys. Yeah, they could hit a couple more shots, 0:17:18.840 --> 0:17:20.320 and they did a decent job at the end of 0:17:20.320 --> 0:17:22.919 the second quarter there. But I think it has to 0:17:22.960 --> 0:17:25.919 start with the big boys, with nikol Jokic having a 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.200 good series, and I think one thing we underestimated. Now 0:17:28.240 --> 0:17:31.200 having watched the first game, I wonder how much of 0:17:31.240 --> 0:17:33.120 an impact he is going to have with his passing 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:35.399 with all the big guys that they have on him, 0:17:35.720 --> 0:17:39.800 whether it's Javail or Dwight or Anthony Davis. He only 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:41.639 had two assists in this game, even though you know 0:17:42.080 --> 0:17:44.000 he's that good that he can score it anyway, but 0:17:44.359 --> 0:17:48.119 at any time. But the passing lanes because they're not 0:17:48.160 --> 0:17:51.639 doubling number one and number two, because these dudes are big, 0:17:52.000 --> 0:17:54.480 he's not going to have the visibility I don't think 0:17:54.880 --> 0:17:57.439 to make all those passes. So if the Lakers are 0:17:57.480 --> 0:17:59.520 ready to play defense and stick with their guys that 0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:02.120 Jokic is going to pass to, I wonder how much 0:18:02.920 --> 0:18:05.000