Speaker 1: You're tuned into Heat Check with just a quick.
Speaker 2: On this episode of the Heat Check, the Denver Nuggets
Speaker 2: are the NBA Champions of twenty twenty three, doing it
Speaker 2: in just five games.
Speaker 1: Sinko. We break down Game five, which should have been
Speaker 1: a Miami Heat win, and I really really wish it
Speaker 1: would have gone to overtime because I would have won
Speaker 1: a bunch of money. But Nikola Oakis is also the
Speaker 1: best player in the world right now. It's not even close.
Speaker 1: Remember when we were like, oh, how do we feel like,
Speaker 1: will we take Joel Embiid or will we take get
Speaker 1: out of here? Get out of here. We also get
Speaker 1: into some other news from around the league, including how
Speaker 1: Toronto and the Raptors have a new coach, new Intel,
Speaker 1: and how to keep Zion healthy uh without having to
Speaker 1: hire more porn stars, and how the coaching carousel actually
Speaker 1: works in the NBA. So much to get into, So Nit,
Speaker 1: do me a favor and drop that generic gas beat
Speaker 1: the shit be Rihanna. We got a new NBA champions
Speaker 1: search and their name is.
Speaker 3: The Denver Nuggets.
Speaker 1: Get your little baby chariot flow on, because Nikola Jokic
Speaker 1: and his little infant are gonna be hopping on it
Speaker 1: for the parade. Who saw this coming?
Speaker 3: Who did the NBA media see this coming?
Speaker 1: No? Did people outside of Denver see this coming? Largely No,
Speaker 1: anyone with functioning eyes and a lack of small market
Speaker 1: bias did they see this coming. Yes, from the halfway
Speaker 1: point of the season until the end of the playoffs. Well,
Speaker 1: here's the deal. Really, it was like the last two
Speaker 1: months of the season and Denver Nuggets mailed it in
Speaker 1: because they knew they could. But the playoffs were dominant
Speaker 1: time for the Nuggets. The crucial month like one to
Speaker 1: month four. Awesome for the Nuggets. They were not just
Speaker 1: better than anyone else in the league, they were much
Speaker 1: better than everyone else in the league. It really wasn't close. Miami,
Speaker 1: give it to them. They were scrappy as hell. They
Speaker 1: kept these finals much more interesting than they probably should
Speaker 1: have been, given that Tyler Hero was injured and Gabe
Speaker 1: Vincent was injured and Jimmy Butler was injured, and Game
Speaker 1: five was one of the ugliest badger in a box
Speaker 1: type of games you're ever gonna see. How ugly was it? Well,
Speaker 1: at one point in the fourth quarter, the over the
Speaker 1: total was set at one hundred and seventy nine and
Speaker 1: a half points, which would be some quick math. That's
Speaker 1: ninety points basically per team. That is a number that
Speaker 1: you have not seen in an NBA Finals since about
Speaker 1: nineteen eighty seven. That I don't even know who was
Speaker 1: the best artist in nineteen eighty seven, but I don't
Speaker 1: even think rap music existed when the last time we
Speaker 1: had seen one seventy nine and a half the final
Speaker 1: was ninety four eighty nine. But the game was much
Speaker 1: closer than that. The Heat probably should have won this game,
Speaker 1: but like the rest of the games, they shot nine
Speaker 1: for thirty five from three. Yeah, the one thing that
Speaker 1: they could count on for the entire playoff run literally
Speaker 1: deserted them at the last moment. And also, let's be real,
Speaker 1: what the fuck were those last ninety seconds. It was
Speaker 1: almost like Miami decided, Yeah, we don't really want to
Speaker 1: go back and play game six, you know, like that's
Speaker 1: the point this is. We gave it the college try,
Speaker 1: We were up all games, and like, let's just let's
Speaker 1: just lose it. What would have if we just decided
Speaker 1: we're just gonna lose. Miami played like they had never
Speaker 1: seen a fourth quarter crunch time before. Down three fourteen
Speaker 1: seconds left. No, let's start before that. In the thirties
Speaker 1: seconds left, Jimmy Butler dribble drive penetration throws it directly
Speaker 1: to cantaviious callwell, Pope, easy steal, have to foul? What
Speaker 1: the fuck? Max Streus just stands there waiting to get
Speaker 1: picked off. What are we talking about? So then down
Speaker 1: three fourteen seconds left, Jimmy Butler decides early in the
Speaker 1: shot clock he's gonna turn have a step back turn
Speaker 1: around three over a six' Ten Aaron. Gordon do you
Speaker 1: think he made that? Shot? No, no WHAT i would
Speaker 1: CALL i hate high quality decision from a guy who's
Speaker 1: been incredible in the. Playoffs as it turns out that
Speaker 1: he could not keep shooting like they were shooting in
Speaker 1: the rest of the. Playoffs it turns out that when
Speaker 1: people said could they continue this heater of fifty percent from,
Speaker 1: three turns out the answer was. No The, nuggets of,
Speaker 1: course got exactly what we expect from nikoliokch was just
Speaker 1: a dominant performance no matter what's.
Speaker 3: Going on around.
Speaker 1: Him twenty, eight sixteen, four even though he was mobbed
Speaker 1: the entire. Time give it To eric spolsterra hell of a. Game.
Speaker 1: Plan people need to shut up about THE mvp. Race
Speaker 1: M b so clearly did not deserve to win THE. Mvp,
Speaker 1: now in, Hindsight nikoliokic decided he would take his foot
Speaker 1: off the gas, because let's be, real he cares about
Speaker 1: nothing else besides his child and his. Horses so does
Speaker 1: he give a shit about a third STRAIGHT Mvp when
Speaker 1: when embiad's crying about it every day on national, Television
Speaker 1: when When Nicole it just keeps taking my MVPs, AWAY
Speaker 1: i deserve to win. One he's, like, fine, kid have.
Speaker 1: IT i don't. CARE i really just. Don't i'd rather
Speaker 1: have championship. Anyway this is What Yoker jokic twelve for
Speaker 1: sixteen in a closeout? Game what?
Speaker 3: What?
Speaker 1: That? WOULD i Love Joel, embi but there would be
Speaker 1: no scenario Where JOE lmmb would be twelve for sixteen
Speaker 1: in a closeout. Game they're just like he would be
Speaker 1: two for seventeen in a close out. Game let's be.
Speaker 1: Honest he shot fifty eight percent for the entire. Series
Speaker 1: in the, Finals jokic forty two percent from. Three these
Speaker 1: are outrageous. Numbers here's what we're not gonna. Do AS
Speaker 1: i take a sip of my. Drink we will never
Speaker 1: say that Nicola jokic is boring. Again we will never
Speaker 1: say That Nicolai okic is not an athlete ever. Again
Speaker 1: we are not going to say That Nikolai okic is
Speaker 1: overrated ever. Again he has earned every accolade he's going to,
Speaker 1: deserve pretty much every other accolade that he hasn't. Gotten
Speaker 1: and guess. What he Won FINALS Mvp Western CONFERENCE, mvp
Speaker 1: and he won the BEST mvp trophy that there. IS
Speaker 1: i Bet Joel embiid would trade his regular, season little
Speaker 1: scrappy third BEST mvp for that FINAL'S mvp trophy every
Speaker 1: day twice On, Sundays, Denver we're just A buzzsaw took
Speaker 1: out The timberwolves in the first, round and five had
Speaker 1: a hard FOUGHT i guess not, Really let's be. Honest
Speaker 1: we never were scared of The, suns even though it was.
Speaker 1: SIX i thought it was. Five they swept The lakers
Speaker 1: in The Western conference finals and beat a cockroach team
Speaker 1: The Miami heat in, five a gentleman's. Sweep not any
Speaker 1: of those series were particularly. Close they just never felt,
Speaker 1: close and people were, like, well they beat they beat
Speaker 1: an eight seed and then they beat were what were
Speaker 1: the sixth, seed and then they beat a seven seed
Speaker 1: and then they beat an eight. Seed but let's be
Speaker 1: real honest about what it. Was they Beat Karl Anthony
Speaker 1: towns And, aunt they Beat Kevin durant And Devin. Booker
Speaker 1: they Beat Anthony davis And Lebron, james and then they
Speaker 1: Beat Jimmy butler and Bam. Adebayo that's what it really.
Speaker 1: WAS i don't care about the, seeds like the duos
Speaker 1: they just slayed are fucking sick scoring. Phenoms. People The
Speaker 1: nuggets were fifty three and twenty nine in the regular
Speaker 1: season and sixteen and four in the playoffs for sixty
Speaker 1: nine nice and thirty three. Record that is a sixty
Speaker 1: eight percent winning. Percentage and you, know the thing THAT
Speaker 1: i didn't write, down BUT i do want to say
Speaker 1: is That Michael, malone when he was still going By,
Speaker 1: MIKE i feel like When mike turned Into, michael that
Speaker 1: was when he stopped being. Insecure because there was a
Speaker 1: time When Michael malone thought he would never coach. Again
Speaker 1: he had just been jettison from The Sacramento kings for
Speaker 1: no reason, really and he told, People i'm never gonna
Speaker 1: get a shot as a head coach. AGAIN i worked
Speaker 1: my whole life just to get, fired AND i am not.
Speaker 1: Employable he got fired from The Cleveland cavaliers before that
Speaker 1: as an assistant and wasn't getting any head coaching, Looks
Speaker 1: Michael malone is a tremendous success, story now a, champion
Speaker 1: one of the best coaches in the, league continuously gives
Speaker 1: us gold from the, podium and is the perfect fit
Speaker 1: for a team that has been pretty much overlooked and
Speaker 1: underrated for the entire time that they have been in.
Speaker 1: Existence we're gonna have a lot more to say about
Speaker 1: this on OUR nba wrap up, show but for, now
Speaker 1: congratulations To, Nacoleokic, Jamalmray Michael, Malone Denver, Nuggets Kentavious, Call Will,
Speaker 1: Pope Aaron, gordon and you know what not to Mediocre Porter.
Speaker 1: Junior twenty twenty THREE Nba champions has a nice ring
Speaker 1: to it AND i cannot wait for more dominance from
Speaker 1: them to.
Speaker 3: Come the File donro fell in THE nba.
Speaker 1: World As Mashai yuzuri and The TORONTO i don't know
Speaker 1: WHY i said it like. That Massai yuzuri and The
Speaker 1: Toronto raptors went in an unexpected direction and picked a
Speaker 1: guy WHO i have to write out how to pronounce
Speaker 1: his fucking name on my. SHEET i don't know, HIM
Speaker 1: i know almost nothing about, him AND i love THE
Speaker 1: Nba Darko. Ryakovich who who is? That? Exactly so The
Speaker 1: raptors interviewed everyone under the, board ranging FROM Jj, Reddick
Speaker 1: what a joke? Interview To Steve, Nash what a joke?
Speaker 1: Interview and then they ultimately went with a young assistant
Speaker 1: with a lot of a success on some. Teams he's
Speaker 1: A serbian. National he's been coaching since nineteen ninety, six
Speaker 1: first in his home country and then since twenty twelve
Speaker 1: in the league At, okay See Phoenix. Memphis Why, darko
Speaker 1: let's dig into. It kind of. Fascinating why you do
Speaker 1: a little research and it all boils down to swag
Speaker 1: to swag to. Swag. Okay according to friend of Show Demarcael,
Speaker 1: cole who covers The, grizzlies H darko's buzzword is. Swag
Speaker 1: and that's kind of, funny as he, says because every
Speaker 1: time someone mentions the word swag with the, players you'll
Speaker 1: get a laugh out Of Jaron Jackson, junior Or Desmond
Speaker 1: bane or one of those guys and they're, like oh my.
Speaker 1: God darko says this all the. Time Apparently darko loves
Speaker 1: the word. Swag he is going to be taking over
Speaker 1: a team That Nick nurse pretty much stripped all the
Speaker 1: swag out, of so he's gonna have his work cut
Speaker 1: out for. Him The raptors are not a team like
Speaker 1: The grizzlies doing the. Gritty The raptors are maybe an
Speaker 1: anti swag, team not with this. Roster in, Fact The
Speaker 1: athletic dropped in an article today about what went wrong
Speaker 1: at the end Of Nick nurse's, tenure and the problem
Speaker 1: turned out to be That Massa jujeri felt That nurse
Speaker 1: was not as good as developing young talent as some other,
Speaker 1: people which turns out to be one Of darko's best
Speaker 1: traits with draft picks at a premium in the near.
Speaker 1: Future The raps currently are now losing a top six
Speaker 1: protected and three second rounders in twenty twenty. Four they're
Speaker 1: going to need someone who can judge talent and develop
Speaker 1: talent very, quickly Especially european, talent And. Darko darko has
Speaker 1: been scouting his little last off since he was seventeen years,
Speaker 1: Old so what does this mean really going forward for
Speaker 1: The Toronto. Raptors let's be. Real if he likes, swag
Speaker 1: there's going to be a lot of roster movement Because
Speaker 1: fred Van fleet's got. None he just opted, out which
Speaker 1: means he's certainly. Gone the team's already all but said
Speaker 1: That Gary, trent or their swaggiest, player is almost. Gone
Speaker 1: siakam And og could also be on the, move leaving
Speaker 1: this team with only one returning starter Aka Scottie, barnes
Speaker 1: a man WHO i don't think swag is the first
Speaker 1: thing that comes to mind WHEN i hear. Him so
Speaker 1: we have no idea really what to expect going forward In.
Speaker 1: Toronto no one has any idea what this team's gonna
Speaker 1: look like on opening. Night no one has any idea
Speaker 1: How darko is going to. Coach all we know is
Speaker 1: that he's going to be the, coach and, that's to be,
Speaker 1: fair not the most encouraging news if you're A raptors.
Speaker 1: FAN i am reserving. Judgment, However Kevin, Young Charles, Lee
Speaker 1: Sam cassell probably would have felt better about any one
Speaker 1: of those. Three let's move. On of, course the non
Speaker 1: final subject de jure in THE nba Is. Zion he's
Speaker 1: been getting into some trouble. Lately the tweets just keep,
Speaker 1: coming And zion just keep sending this spitch more money
Speaker 1: to get her to shut the fuck, up which makes
Speaker 1: her tweet even. More, zion delete your. Account Mariah mills
Speaker 1: just will not, stop can't, stop won't. Stop, Rockefeller Bang,
Speaker 1: bang come. On BUT i am not here to talk.
Speaker 1: About THAT i want to talk about is the multitude
Speaker 1: of articles that have come out About. Zion and there's
Speaker 1: one anecdote THAT i want to concentrate. On that Is
Speaker 1: zion's connection To stan Van, gundy his coach for one
Speaker 1: season in twenty twenty In New. Orleans you would probably
Speaker 1: assume That zion would have absolutely hated working With Van.
Speaker 1: Gundy Van gundy if you, REMEMBER i remember it like
Speaker 1: it was. YESTERDAY i was watching It twitter live video
Speaker 1: press conference Of stan Van gundy where he banged his
Speaker 1: fists on the, desk railing on his, players AND i
Speaker 1: knew his days were. Numbered he was talking bad About,
Speaker 1: lonzo he was talking bad About Eric, bledsoe AND i
Speaker 1: said to, myself this is a man who's. Frustrated He's
Speaker 1: Bobby knight style chair, throwing ass throwback. Coach makes your.
Speaker 1: Run he's like the Meaner Tom, thibodeaux the, meaner more,
Speaker 1: cantankerous like More i'm gonna throw you under the bus
Speaker 1: to the, Media Tom. Thibodeau he loves all day. Practices
Speaker 1: and for a guy Like zion who's not known exactly
Speaker 1: for his work, ethic a guy who struggles with his
Speaker 1: conditioning and, wait you, KNOW i wouldn't think that Stan
Speaker 1: Van gundy's style with jive With. Zion Jackson hayes is
Speaker 1: on record saying that practices that lasted forty five minutes
Speaker 1: Under Alvin gentry were regularly three. Hours Understandan gundy his,
Speaker 1: philosophy Stan An gundy were THE nba, players not my,
Speaker 1: opinion his. Opinion So i'm just gonna make SURE i
Speaker 1: say that that we're. So Stan Van gundy BELIEVED nba
Speaker 1: players need to be run like thoroughbreds in order to
Speaker 1: be in playing. Shape like the anti load. Management Van
Speaker 1: gundy took over during THE nba pandemic. Season he got
Speaker 1: pissed because the team wasn't practicing enough and often, enough
Speaker 1: clashed with the head trainer who was a big proponent of, caution, caution,
Speaker 1: caution and in the end, result Stan Van gundy, won
Speaker 1: and this was literally the first time in his entire
Speaker 1: Lifetime zion played a complete. Season Understand Van, gundy mister
Speaker 1: three hour practices, himself mister, listen no more cake, bitch
Speaker 1: no more wee. Bitch, no you're spending all your time
Speaker 1: with me Idle hands or The devil and the cakes
Speaker 1: playground sixty one of seventy two Games zion. Played he
Speaker 1: was a. FORCE i Believe zion was An All star that.
Speaker 1: Year and guess, what that's eight more games Than zion
Speaker 1: has played in his other three seasons. Combined sir fucking.
Speaker 1: Insane you might ask yourself, why But Van gundy has an,
Speaker 1: answer AND i think the answer was. Fascinating fascinating to,
Speaker 1: me AND i think we'll be fascinating to. You Keeping
Speaker 1: zion in shape was. Paramount so this is What stan
Speaker 1: Van gundy. Said WHEN i got the. JOB i called
Speaker 1: coach k At. DUKE i remember him saying to me About. Zion,
Speaker 1: stan the best way to Get zion in shape and
Speaker 1: get him ready is he needs to. Play he needs
Speaker 1: scrimmage in, practice he needs to play in. Games he
Speaker 1: needs to. Play Keeping zion in shape by making him
Speaker 1: practice hard seems to have had the only Result zion
Speaker 1: has ever. Gotten let's be real in, fact, like if
Speaker 1: you're practicing forty five minutes a day And zion's housing
Speaker 1: five thousand calories at, breakfast what you think is about to?
Speaker 1: Happen Although Van gundy got shit canned in the end
Speaker 1: of that season and he's held a grudge over since
Speaker 1: Over New. Orleans on a broadcast this, Year stance, said
Speaker 1: The pelicans have to figure out what they're doing wrong
Speaker 1: that they can't keep their players. Healthy, stan what would you?
Speaker 1: SUGGEST i bet you all of my coke zeros in
Speaker 1: my fridge and all of the plethora of color full
Speaker 1: socks in my cabinet. DRAWER i bet. Anything he says
Speaker 1: three hour, practices five days a. Week and the wild
Speaker 1: thing is That Van gundy's probably not even. Wrong the
Speaker 1: only way to Save zion from, Himself the only way
Speaker 1: to make Sure zion is in good enough shape not
Speaker 1: to injure himself while playing is to have him. Playing
Speaker 1: always something to think about moving, Forward As shams dropped
Speaker 1: the bomb today and announced that The New Orleans pelicans
Speaker 1: are going to aggressively pursue a trade to get either
Speaker 1: the number two or number three pick so they can
Speaker 1: Get Scoot. Henderson they are very interested in moving up
Speaker 1: Because scoot fits. Perfectly so what does that? Mean it
Speaker 1: could mean major, changes right BECAUSE cj McCollum would have
Speaker 1: to take on a two guard, rule which, means now
Speaker 1: you have issues WITH cg might be on the move
Speaker 1: BECAUSE cj can't play, two can't play defense as a,
Speaker 1: two and he will need to be a two in
Speaker 1: order For scoop to be a one and get those,
Speaker 1: minutes and then they can't play them both at the same.
Speaker 1: Time AND cj just got an. Extension and what it
Speaker 1: really might mean is that it could mean That zion
Speaker 1: is on his way. Out. Now it seems crazy to
Speaker 1: think that that could be the, case but that's been
Speaker 1: in the rumor mill for a while. Now the front
Speaker 1: office is a little frustrated With zion and The pelicans
Speaker 1: can't count on them to be healthy with all the
Speaker 1: negative press surrounding. Him with The Mariah mills thing that
Speaker 1: might be the thing sends them, over might be the
Speaker 1: thing that sends them. Over we could see some major
Speaker 1: changes In New orleans moving. Forward we're gonna be On
Speaker 1: pelican watch for the entire. Offseason it would appear that's
Speaker 1: all the time that we have for the Heat. Check
Speaker 1: THE nba season is, over but the league is going
Speaker 1: to keep popping because now we got, draft got free,
Speaker 1: agency we got the summer league right around the. Corner
Speaker 1: so check out the feed for past episodes and many
Speaker 1: episodes which. Drop not almost every, day they just, Happen
Speaker 1: so don't forget to, download. Subscribe please tell your, friends
Speaker 1: every single one of, them and follow us on socialide
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Speaker 1: we will see you On, friday