1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:04,360
Speaker 1: Welcome to this League Uncut in new world of twenty

2
00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:05,480
Speaker 1: four hour NBA news.

3
00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:12,879
Speaker 2: This you, Chris Hans. It's time, work's time. It's so time.

4
00:00:17,160 --> 00:00:21,840
Speaker 2: This League Uncut is underway. It on fire. It should

5
00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:24,000
Speaker 2: be a good one.

6
00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:28,640
Speaker 1: Friends, Hello, thanks for joining us for the latest edition

7
00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,000
Speaker 1: of this League Uncut. Had to get on the mic

8
00:00:32,920 --> 00:00:37,479
Speaker 1: this Monday night after what we just witnessed late on

9
00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:41,920
Speaker 1: this Memorial Day. Gotta put a bow on the wildest

10
00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:48,760
Speaker 1: Eastern Conference Finals roller coaster. Anyone can remember my pal

11
00:00:48,880 --> 00:00:51,919
Speaker 1: Chris Haynes. He's in transit tonight as I record this,

12
00:00:52,000 --> 00:00:54,760
Speaker 1: So this is going to be a rare solo mission.

13
00:00:54,920 --> 00:00:57,520
Speaker 2: And just man, when it was over.

14
00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:05,600
Speaker 1: When it was finally over, Miami's Jimmy Butler handed the

15
00:01:05,720 --> 00:01:09,679
Speaker 1: Larry Bird MVP trophy in Larry Bird's City on the

16
00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,160
Speaker 1: Celtics floor, And it just as easily.

17
00:01:14,480 --> 00:01:16,000
Speaker 2: Could have been Caleb Martin.

18
00:01:16,440 --> 00:01:19,920
Speaker 1: That turned out to be the close call in this

19
00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:26,280
Speaker 1: improbable game seven Jimmy Buckets winning ECF MVP in a

20
00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:32,160
Speaker 1: narrow five to four vote over his undrafted teammate Caleb Martin.

21
00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:37,160
Speaker 1: Twenty six clutch points for Martin in this clincher, The

22
00:01:37,240 --> 00:01:41,880
Speaker 1: game itself not close. Jason Tatum tweaked his left ankle

23
00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:47,319
Speaker 1: on Boston's first possession, The Heat took control early, never

24
00:01:47,360 --> 00:01:53,200
Speaker 1: relinquished it, and Miami ends up winning by nineteen that

25
00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:53,960
Speaker 1: fourth quarter.

26
00:01:54,080 --> 00:01:56,960
Speaker 2: Let me humbly say, didn't feel that close.

27
00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:03,080
Speaker 1: Just a Game seven masterclass from Miami clinching a sixth

28
00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:07,520
Speaker 1: trip to the Finals under Eric Spolster as coach. Six

29
00:02:07,600 --> 00:02:10,440
Speaker 1: trips to the finals for Spoe have to give infinite

30
00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:13,720
Speaker 1: credit to the heater. Seriously, I picked them to win

31
00:02:13,760 --> 00:02:16,560
Speaker 1: this series in six and I remember a lot of

32
00:02:16,600 --> 00:02:19,200
Speaker 1: readers at the time telling me I was crazy, but

33
00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:20,919
Speaker 1: I ain't gonna act smart now.

34
00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:21,520
Speaker 2: No way.

35
00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:24,960
Speaker 1: I was going out on a limb and predicting them

36
00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:30,880
Speaker 1: to take Game seven in Boston. After the way the

37
00:02:30,919 --> 00:02:34,320
Speaker 1: guys from South Beach, the way they lost that absolutely

38
00:02:34,400 --> 00:02:37,680
Speaker 1: soul crushing Game six. What is it about number eight

39
00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:40,120
Speaker 1: seeds from South Florida?

40
00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:42,240
Speaker 2: This spring? The Boston Bruins.

41
00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,320
Speaker 1: I'm a Buffalo Sabers fan, so even saying those words

42
00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,120
Speaker 1: hurt me. The Boston Bruins, they were the best regular

43
00:02:49,200 --> 00:02:52,799
Speaker 1: season team in NHL history. They go out in Round

44
00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,919
Speaker 1: one to the Florida Panthers the same Florida Panthers now

45
00:02:56,919 --> 00:02:59,320
Speaker 1: in the Stanley Cup Finals and then in the NBA

46
00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:04,400
Speaker 1: seated Miami Heat. They take out Mighty Milwaukee in five

47
00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,840
Speaker 1: games in Round one, and they follow that up by

48
00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:12,519
Speaker 1: winning three of four in Boston for the East Crown.

49
00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:16,920
Speaker 1: The Heat they summon this steal. They glued themselves back

50
00:03:16,960 --> 00:03:20,639
Speaker 1: together after losing three games in a row, and they

51
00:03:20,720 --> 00:03:25,119
Speaker 1: looked in serious danger. It looked like Miami was going

52
00:03:25,160 --> 00:03:27,400
Speaker 1: to become the first team in NBA history in one

53
00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:31,880
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty one tries to fail to advance in

54
00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:34,840
Speaker 1: a best of seven NBA series after taking a three

55
00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,760
Speaker 1: to zero lead. Remember, and this was only the fourth

56
00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,160
Speaker 1: time that we got to a Game seven from three

57
00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:43,200
Speaker 1: to zero after a three to zero start in a

58
00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:45,680
Speaker 1: best of seven series, and this was the first time

59
00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:47,920
Speaker 1: that the team coming back from three to zero down

60
00:03:48,240 --> 00:03:49,480
Speaker 1: had the home court.

61
00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:53,280
Speaker 2: Advantage in Game seven. Not enough for Boston.

62
00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:55,560
Speaker 1: I have to say, though, and I really want to

63
00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,080
Speaker 1: be careful here. I do not want to diminish Miami's

64
00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:03,480
Speaker 1: night after a pomplishment like this, because you can't overstate

65
00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:06,280
Speaker 1: how huge of a win this was. But let's face it, people,

66
00:04:06,920 --> 00:04:10,800
Speaker 1: Monday Nights co winners, maybe the winners of the evening

67
00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:16,320
Speaker 1: are still the Denver Nuggets. Yes, the Nuggets are going

68
00:04:16,400 --> 00:04:20,320
Speaker 1: to have to chip away nine full days off without

69
00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:25,080
Speaker 1: a basketball game of rust when they play host to

70
00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:28,280
Speaker 1: Game one of the NBA Finals on Thursday night.

71
00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,240
Speaker 2: You're going to read a zillion.

72
00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:35,360
Speaker 1: Rest versus Rust stories on Tuesday and Wednesday into Thursday.

73
00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,800
Speaker 1: But the Nuggets now have home court advantage in the

74
00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:41,760
Speaker 1: championship round because it's the Heat in the finals, not

75
00:04:41,839 --> 00:04:44,920
Speaker 1: the Celtics. The Heat the lowest scoring team in the

76
00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,960
Speaker 1: league during the regular season, a forty four and thirty

77
00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:53,800
Speaker 1: eight team with a negative nightly point differential during the

78
00:04:53,839 --> 00:04:58,320
Speaker 1: regular season. Miami made it this far inspite of all that,

79
00:04:59,279 --> 00:05:02,280
Speaker 1: but the Heat al so squandered multiple chances to end

80
00:05:02,279 --> 00:05:04,839
Speaker 1: this season earlier. I mean, at three to zero with

81
00:05:04,960 --> 00:05:07,440
Speaker 1: a Game four at home, I was sitting there. I

82
00:05:07,440 --> 00:05:11,839
Speaker 1: couldn't stop thinking about Miami and Spoe and pat Riley

83
00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:14,560
Speaker 1: and plotting how soon would they get to Denver to

84
00:05:14,960 --> 00:05:17,320
Speaker 1: get an early jump on getting used to the famed

85
00:05:17,400 --> 00:05:19,640
Speaker 1: Rocky Mountain altitude.

86
00:05:19,880 --> 00:05:23,080
Speaker 2: Incredible opportunity. If they win in four or even finish.

87
00:05:22,880 --> 00:05:28,200
Speaker 1: Us off in five, the Heat, I fear they will

88
00:05:28,279 --> 00:05:34,359
Speaker 1: lament dearly lament missing out on that prep time. However,

89
00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:39,400
Speaker 1: if we are going to talk about regret, that focus

90
00:05:39,520 --> 00:05:42,839
Speaker 1: has to stay squarely on Boston. This is two straight

91
00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:47,760
Speaker 1: springs now where the Celtics were not just deep and

92
00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,680
Speaker 1: versatile and dangerous, but they looked like they had such

93
00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,640
Speaker 1: an inviting pathway to a championship.

94
00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:56,760
Speaker 2: And now after.

95
00:05:56,520 --> 00:06:00,200
Speaker 1: Failing to beat Golden State in last season's finals and

96
00:06:00,279 --> 00:06:05,240
Speaker 1: fumbling this golden opportunity with the Bucks out of the way, early.

97
00:06:06,600 --> 00:06:09,320
Speaker 2: Chances are in this new NBA world.

98
00:06:09,000 --> 00:06:12,000
Speaker 1: That's coming, the Celtics are not going to be this deep,

99
00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,800
Speaker 1: this versatile as we've seen these last two seasons. All

100
00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,920
Speaker 1: the questions about rookie coach Joe Missoula and Joe Maz's

101
00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,800
Speaker 1: future when the Celtics went down three to zero, it's

102
00:06:24,839 --> 00:06:28,560
Speaker 1: all shifted. Now it's all on the pairing of Jason

103
00:06:28,600 --> 00:06:34,480
Speaker 1: Tatum and Jalen Brown. Does Boston elect to keep this

104
00:06:34,600 --> 00:06:35,320
Speaker 1: duo together?

105
00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:38,120
Speaker 2: Tatum and Brown they've gotten.

106
00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:41,080
Speaker 1: As far as the conference finals four times in their

107
00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:43,880
Speaker 1: six seasons together, one trip to the NBA Finals, but

108
00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:48,520
Speaker 1: no championships. And now, as we've talked about on this pod,

109
00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:51,760
Speaker 1: as I've written about on my substack numerous times. It's

110
00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:55,240
Speaker 1: going to cost the Celtics six hundred million or in

111
00:06:55,279 --> 00:07:00,839
Speaker 1: that neighborhood to keep these guys together. Jalen Brown eligible

112
00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,680
Speaker 1: for five years and nearly three hundred million this summer.

113
00:07:05,960 --> 00:07:10,240
Speaker 1: The following off season, it's Tatum six hundred mili to

114
00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:12,840
Speaker 1: retain this tag team.

115
00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:15,440
Speaker 2: In the new NBA, We've.

116
00:07:15,240 --> 00:07:18,960
Speaker 1: Got a much more onerous labor agreement coming in. It's

117
00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,400
Speaker 1: going to be tough, much harder on the league's biggest

118
00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:26,680
Speaker 1: spenders to put depth around him. It's going to be

119
00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:29,760
Speaker 1: more important than ever once this new labor deal takes

120
00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:33,760
Speaker 1: hold on June thirtieth, and the most onerous restrictions will

121
00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:36,360
Speaker 1: be phased in over two seasons. But it's going to

122
00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,960
Speaker 1: be more important than ever for teams to get their

123
00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:45,000
Speaker 1: two star tandems right. Three star constructions are going to

124
00:07:45,040 --> 00:07:49,960
Speaker 1: be really hard to afford. Teams are going to be

125
00:07:50,000 --> 00:07:54,160
Speaker 1: focused on getting that twosome right and building around it smartly,

126
00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,240
Speaker 1: and the questions about the Tatum and Brown ceiling now

127
00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,560
Speaker 1: are going to be louder than ever. On one hand,

128
00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:05,880
Speaker 1: we're talking about two way wings, all NBA ers who

129
00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,280
Speaker 1: play at both ends, and we are in an era

130
00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:12,080
Speaker 1: in the NBA two way wings have never been more valued.

131
00:08:12,320 --> 00:08:15,440
Speaker 1: But there is just no escaping that Tatum, Yes, bad

132
00:08:15,440 --> 00:08:19,360
Speaker 1: ankle cannot overlook that the man was hurt on the

133
00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:21,440
Speaker 1: game's very first possession.

134
00:08:21,840 --> 00:08:22,840
Speaker 2: We can't overlook that.

135
00:08:23,000 --> 00:08:28,600
Speaker 1: But fourteen points in this game seven, well shy of

136
00:08:28,640 --> 00:08:33,160
Speaker 1: the fifty one that he put up against Philly in

137
00:08:33,200 --> 00:08:37,200
Speaker 1: Game seven in the last round. And you know, Brown,

138
00:08:38,240 --> 00:08:40,520
Speaker 1: I'm a huge Jalen Brown fan, but I mean, he

139
00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:45,480
Speaker 1: shot a miserable sixteen point three percent from deep in

140
00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:47,760
Speaker 1: this series, and I do have to respect him for

141
00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:50,800
Speaker 1: saying after when it was over, I mean, Jalen Brown

142
00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:52,560
Speaker 1: took a lot of the onus, a lot of the

143
00:08:52,559 --> 00:08:53,520
Speaker 1: blame onto himself.

144
00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,800
Speaker 2: Quote we failed. I failed. We let the whole city

145
00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:58,160
Speaker 2: down end quote.

146
00:08:58,679 --> 00:09:00,679
Speaker 1: The Celtics as a group, they were I'm just so

147
00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:04,200
Speaker 1: three happy in Game six, in Game seven, sixteen for

148
00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,719
Speaker 1: seventy seven from deep in the last two games. They

149
00:09:07,760 --> 00:09:11,880
Speaker 1: miraculously win Game six on Saturday night because of the

150
00:09:11,920 --> 00:09:14,200
Speaker 1: Derek White follow basket at the buzzer.

151
00:09:14,280 --> 00:09:17,320
Speaker 2: That is still hard to fathom now. I was actually

152
00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:17,920
Speaker 2: in San.

153
00:09:17,720 --> 00:09:21,559
Speaker 1: Antonio on press row in nineteen ninety nine, long time ago,

154
00:09:21,720 --> 00:09:24,959
Speaker 1: many years and pounds ago when Shawn Elliott found a

155
00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,120
Speaker 1: way to stay in bounds sink the shot known in

156
00:09:28,240 --> 00:09:33,319
Speaker 1: South Texas. That's the NBA's original Memorial Day Miracle, Elliott

157
00:09:33,400 --> 00:09:36,600
Speaker 1: shot beating Portland, keeping the Spurs on course for the

158
00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:40,280
Speaker 1: first championship in franchise history. I was not in Boston

159
00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:44,840
Speaker 1: in person on Monday night. I was nowhere near the

160
00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,200
Speaker 1: very despondent looking Bill Simmons in the stands. I'm guessing

161
00:09:48,240 --> 00:09:50,360
Speaker 1: you've seen the photo by now of Bill that's already

162
00:09:50,400 --> 00:09:53,560
Speaker 1: all over Twitter with the Memorial Day miracle. This time

163
00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:56,559
Speaker 1: it belonged to Jimmy Spoe and Co.

164
00:09:58,000 --> 00:09:59,920
Speaker 2: And the aforementioned pat Riley Ryan.

165
00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:03,240
Speaker 1: I was going to the finals for a nineteenth time

166
00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,400
Speaker 1: as an executive coacher player, and doing it at the

167
00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:13,320
Speaker 1: Celtics expense. I'm sure Riley can hardly contain his glee

168
00:10:14,000 --> 00:10:17,760
Speaker 1: this league, as those of us on this podcast have

169
00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:21,120
Speaker 1: been known to say, I mean tonight again, we're recording

170
00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:25,120
Speaker 1: this right after the game. Derek White getting repeated MVP

171
00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:28,679
Speaker 1: chants in this Game seven as he tried to keep

172
00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:34,400
Speaker 1: Boston in it. Caleb Martin again, Caleb Martin almost beating

173
00:10:34,400 --> 00:10:39,480
Speaker 1: out Jimmy Butler, for that Larry Bird Eastern Conference MVP Trophy,

174
00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:44,920
Speaker 1: this league, this series, this season, this postseason.

175
00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:48,120
Speaker 2: I guess when you really think.

176
00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:52,079
Speaker 1: About it, Miami winning a Game seven on the road

177
00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,719
Speaker 1: after squandering three chances to close this thing out, it's

178
00:10:55,760 --> 00:11:01,640
Speaker 1: actually a fitting outcome to slam home yet again, how

179
00:11:02,200 --> 00:11:05,560
Speaker 1: form my seat. I can't speak for Chris, but for me,

180
00:11:06,120 --> 00:11:10,480
Speaker 1: this has been the strangest season of my thirty seasons

181
00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:15,120
Speaker 1: covering this league, the strangest results wise. If we have

182
00:11:15,200 --> 00:11:19,840
Speaker 1: to throw out the unprecedented COVID imposed logistics of the

183
00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:23,600
Speaker 1: twenty nineteen twenty twenty season that had to be completed

184
00:11:24,320 --> 00:11:27,040
Speaker 1: in a Walt Disney World bubble in Orlando, where Chris

185
00:11:27,040 --> 00:11:30,120
Speaker 1: and I were both residents of the bubble, if you

186
00:11:30,240 --> 00:11:35,360
Speaker 1: allow me to throw that out and the conditions, this

187
00:11:35,520 --> 00:11:41,880
Speaker 1: really has just been a circus of a season unlike

188
00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:45,400
Speaker 1: any other. All Right, everyone that will do it for

189
00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:50,240
Speaker 1: this solo audio dispatch, Chris and I promise we're going

190
00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,360
Speaker 1: to be back together soon, back for more later this week,

191
00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:56,320
Speaker 1: and I should pass along how mister Haynes reported on

192
00:11:56,360 --> 00:12:00,920
Speaker 1: Twitter tonight after Miami clinches its place in the NBA Finals.

193
00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,400
Speaker 1: Chris is reporting the Tyler Hero remember the broken hand

194
00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:08,719
Speaker 1: he sustained very early in Miami's Round one against Milwaukee.

195
00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:12,760
Speaker 1: Chris reports that Hero is ramping up his workouts and

196
00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:18,800
Speaker 1: targeting a Game three return in the finals when that

197
00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:22,760
Speaker 1: series with Denver shifts.

198
00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:22,800
Speaker 2: To South Beach.

199
00:12:23,240 --> 00:12:24,960
Speaker 1: Chris and I will get into all of that in

200
00:12:25,000 --> 00:12:29,640
Speaker 1: our next episode of This League Uncut, and I promise

201
00:12:29,679 --> 00:12:32,760
Speaker 1: we will also get into all the latest from the

202
00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:37,040
Speaker 1: coach in carousel. Since we last potted, Milwaukee has hired

203
00:12:37,080 --> 00:12:41,280
Speaker 1: Adrian Griffin as its new coach. Philadelphia has hired Nick

204
00:12:41,400 --> 00:12:46,080
Speaker 1: Nurse as its new coach. Detroit, Phoenix, and Toronto all

205
00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:50,760
Speaker 1: still with openings to phil On Tuesday, Warriors president of

206
00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:53,960
Speaker 1: basketball operations Bob Myers is meeting the media at three

207
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:58,320
Speaker 1: pm Eastern noon Pacific. I wrote Monday that my prediction

208
00:12:58,559 --> 00:13:01,800
Speaker 1: the vibes I'm getting, I think this is it. I

209
00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:06,079
Speaker 1: expect Bob Myers to walk away and take a break

210
00:13:06,200 --> 00:13:10,600
Speaker 1: from the front office world. We'll see if I'm proven

211
00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:16,160
Speaker 1: correct with that prediction. In the meantime, everyone please remember

212
00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:22,360
Speaker 1: to rate, review, and subscribe to This League Uncut via

213
00:13:22,440 --> 00:13:26,680
Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your pods. We'll be

214
00:13:26,760 --> 00:13:33,240
Speaker 1: back in short short order NBA Finals Thursday night in Denver,

215
00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:40,000
Speaker 1: Game one, Jimmy Butler Nikola Jokic. Which of these guys

216
00:13:41,400 --> 00:13:43,920
Speaker 1: wins their first NBA Championship rank?

217
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:48,080
Speaker 2: Let's hop and that'll do it for us. See you

218
00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:57,840
Speaker 2: next time this league. Uncut it and iHeartRadio production. Christine

219
00:13:58,160 --> 00:13:59,040
Speaker 2: Good march tyme