WEBVTT - What's Wright - NBA Playoffs Reaction: Kawhi goes NUCLEAR, Nuggets/Knicks SHOCKED + Lakers must-win!? 0:00:02.840 --> 0:00:05.640 Welcome in What Driving the Cred Episode three twenty two. 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:11.720 Fresh off a great night of playoff basketball, I was 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:15.320 at the Garden for Nick's Piston, so I did miss 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:20.040 the first quarter ish of Clippers Nuggets, which is just 0:00:20.160 --> 0:00:24.680 going to be an absolute war, and I think every 0:00:24.720 --> 0:00:27.000 game is going to look like the first couple games did, 0:00:27.240 --> 0:00:29.120 where it comes down to the final seconds. I also 0:00:29.240 --> 0:00:33.040 will say this, you know, it's always important in life to, 0:00:33.520 --> 0:00:37.000 you know, stay even keeled, not get too high, and 0:00:37.080 --> 0:00:42.640 not get too low. Last seventy two hours, for the 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.600 first time since I've lived in New York, got in 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:52.479 a car accident. My fault wrecked my beautiful, just work 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.040 of art car that I love so much, and I lost. 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:57.800 I've lost every single bet I've made in these NBA playoffs, 0:00:57.840 --> 0:01:00.720 So you know what, sometimes you need that you need 0:01:01.160 --> 0:01:03.520 to just kind of be brought flying a little too high, 0:01:03.920 --> 0:01:07.120 get brought back down to earth. I did. Everything I 0:01:07.200 --> 0:01:12.360 did this weekend are the exact things I've tried to 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:19.640 counsel Demonsee on not doing distracted driving, check chasing my losses, 0:01:19.920 --> 0:01:23.600 check betting games that I don't really have a feel for, 0:01:23.959 --> 0:01:26.280 just because I'm trying to get even on the other one, 0:01:26.480 --> 0:01:29.720 check all of it, and so you know, it was 0:01:29.800 --> 0:01:32.080 just a really real tour de force. But I'm not 0:01:32.080 --> 0:01:33.600 gonna let that bring me down. Good to see you 0:01:33.600 --> 0:01:34.960 as always, demondse Happy. 0:01:34.800 --> 0:01:38.920 Ladies Easter, Happy Lady Easter. Just stay there. You bring 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:40.000 yourself back out of that. 0:01:40.200 --> 0:01:45.800 Exactly right. And this is a big moment. The next 0:01:46.280 --> 0:01:51.040 nine hours me deciding, you know what, even though I 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:55.920 am certain the Lakers are evening the series, and even 0:01:55.920 --> 0:02:00.440 though I have an opportunity to pull myself out of 0:02:00.480 --> 0:02:03.560 the hole with an oversized Lakers money line, bet I'm 0:02:03.560 --> 0:02:06.080 not gonna do it. Because if I do that, even 0:02:06.120 --> 0:02:08.040 if I you know what, just let's just take a 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:12.239 quick breather. Let's just take a quick breather. Enjoy the games, 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:16.480 you know, reset, you take a survey of the landscape, 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:19.840 because the other thing. You always counsel yourself not to 0:02:19.919 --> 0:02:23.080 do this, but it is so hard not to overreact 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:28.160 to all these games. And so I watch Piston's Knicks 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:30.560 and we're gonna get into a Piston's next game one 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:32.799 and I'm like, ah, the Knicks are just so much better. 0:02:33.080 --> 0:02:36.280 These kids aren't ready. And then I'm there yesterday, I'm 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:40.320 like man, the Pistons have been the better team seven 0:02:40.360 --> 0:02:41.720 of the eight quarters. 0:02:41.360 --> 0:02:42.040 Of this series. 0:02:42.200 --> 0:02:47.280 Like maybe I had that exactly exactly wrong, and so 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:50.480 all of that, here's what missed the cut. Cooper flag 0:02:50.520 --> 0:02:53.320 declares for the draft, we knew that was coming. Jalen 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:58.400 Milroe says he's faster than Lamar Jackson. I don't know that. 0:02:58.560 --> 0:03:02.000 I believe he might be faster than Lamar is today. 0:03:02.160 --> 0:03:04.359 I don't think he's faster than Lamar, and Lamar came 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:08.520 out of the draft. And because our producers are just 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:13.440 so desperately incredibly afraid of aliens and robots, they have 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:18.480 put in there that evidently robots. Ryan Beijing Half Marathon 0:03:18.600 --> 0:03:22.280 reminder to everyone watching in the chat, we greatly appreciate you. 0:03:23.400 --> 0:03:26.760 Like great subscribe review. It's always we always hit a 0:03:26.760 --> 0:03:29.760 bit of a lull. It feels like in subscriptions after 0:03:29.760 --> 0:03:32.280 we hit a big round number, because it's like, well, 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:35.600 we're so far away from the next thing, but it 0:03:35.760 --> 0:03:39.840 really the next milestone wasn't two hundred thousand, it was 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:41.440 two hundred and fifty thousand. It feels like you get 0:03:41.480 --> 0:03:44.600 to one hundred thousand and then a quarter million, so 0:03:44.800 --> 0:03:47.800 we're fifty thousand away forty nine thousand away. We'd like that. 0:03:47.880 --> 0:03:50.880 We also were trying to up the audio subscription, so 0:03:50.920 --> 0:03:53.720 if you're on iTunes Spotify, check that out now. Demand's 0:03:54.200 --> 0:03:58.960 let's get to what has been two classic games in 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:03.000 Nuggets Clipper Thus far, it has more than lived up 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:05.360 to the hype. I think most people thought this would 0:04:05.400 --> 0:04:08.760 be the most competitive Round one series. It has been. 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:10.600 Go ahead. Uh yeah. 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:13.400 Kawhi went off last night for thirty nine. Seemed like 0:04:13.400 --> 0:04:15.960 he was hidden just about every shot, and that was 0:04:16.080 --> 0:04:19.400 enough to beat the Nuggets by three points. Jokic did 0:04:19.400 --> 0:04:22.640 his usual stuff on offense. He had a few turnovers 0:04:22.680 --> 0:04:25.279 that he had seven and his free throw for his 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:27.640 free throws were not hidden. Do you think the Clippers 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:29.440 took control of this series with the last game. 0:04:30.560 --> 0:04:32.680 I don't think anyone's in control of this series, and 0:04:32.680 --> 0:04:34.760 I don't think anyone's going to be in control of 0:04:34.760 --> 0:04:39.680 this series. The Clippers avoided what would have been emotionally 0:04:40.520 --> 0:04:45.040 very tough to overcome, which is two opportunities to win 0:04:45.279 --> 0:04:51.359 on Denver's home court and not and going over to that, 0:04:51.640 --> 0:04:57.719 to me, would have been more devastating than if these 0:04:57.880 --> 0:05:01.800 games it had been in law Los Angeles. Then obviously 0:05:02.800 --> 0:05:06.480 you can deal with it if you're in if you're 0:05:06.520 --> 0:05:10.360 in Los Angeles, and well, I know that's not right. 0:05:10.480 --> 0:05:14.560 They needed to get a split given how well they 0:05:14.600 --> 0:05:18.800 played and the opportunity to steal those games. The story, 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:22.159 of course, is Kawhi Leonard now James Harden. After the 0:05:22.240 --> 0:05:24.440 game comes out and it's like, listen, Kuhi has always 0:05:24.480 --> 0:05:27.080 been disrespected or whatever it is, that's not true. I'm 0:05:27.120 --> 0:05:30.160 not gonna I'm not going to allow for revisionist history. 0:05:30.680 --> 0:05:36.039 I actually think Kawhi Leonard, throughout his NBA career has 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.920 never once ever been underrated. I think he has either 0:05:40.000 --> 0:05:42.960 been properly rated or he had a brief period of 0:05:43.000 --> 0:05:45.599 time right when he signed with the Clippers when he 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:49.919 was a touch overrated. He's never been underrated, and everyone 0:05:49.960 --> 0:05:54.080 has always understood that a healthy Kawhi Leonard is a 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:59.720 playoff monster. The question is has been the last few 0:05:59.800 --> 0:06:02.359 years hasn't even really been a question, just been an answer. 0:06:02.720 --> 0:06:06.520 We're not getting healthy Kawhi Leonard in the playoffs this year. 0:06:06.920 --> 0:06:10.760 Through two games, you're getting it. He was okay in 0:06:10.920 --> 0:06:17.800 Game one yesterday, though, was the first truly great Kawhi 0:06:17.920 --> 0:06:20.400 Leonard playoff moment we've had in a couple of years. 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:25.000 As you mentioned, he couldn't miss fifteen of nineteen from 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:26.919 the field. What was he ten of eleven in the 0:06:26.960 --> 0:06:32.760 first half? Thirty nine points, five assists, Good defense in 0:06:32.839 --> 0:06:36.680 a game in a night that Harden didn't really have it, 0:06:37.120 --> 0:06:41.039 that Norman Powell that the tiny violins were out because 0:06:41.080 --> 0:06:44.839 poor Norman Powell had his all star reserve spots stolen 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:48.200 by Lebron James showing up to the game. Norman Powell 0:06:48.279 --> 0:06:53.560 didn't have it, and Kawhi was exceptional, and I was 0:06:54.720 --> 0:06:58.479 skeptical on what we were going to get from Kawhi 0:06:58.520 --> 0:07:02.720 in this game because of how the schedule fell a 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:05.640 lot of these guys, or a lot of these series, 0:07:05.680 --> 0:07:09.320 I should say, you had two days between games one 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:15.720 and two for Clippers Nuggets. They played Saturday night and 0:07:15.760 --> 0:07:18.880 then to Monday night. And when you had that Saturday 0:07:18.960 --> 0:07:22.400 night game go to overtime, you had and we again, 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:26.280 we did a bonus pod yesterday and we're gonna do 0:07:26.280 --> 0:07:28.440 a bunch of those during these NBA playoffs. So we're 0:07:28.440 --> 0:07:30.600 not gonna do too much on Game one of that 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:33.880 series today because we now have had Game two. If 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:35.600 you want to hear my thoughts on game one on 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:38.040 that series. You can check it out on YouTuber on 0:07:38.080 --> 0:07:42.920 the podcast feed. But game one going to overtime Saturday night, 0:07:43.040 --> 0:07:47.400 and then a quick turnaround Game two at altitude, when 0:07:47.480 --> 0:07:51.680 Kawhi and Harden both played forty plus minutes. I was 0:07:51.760 --> 0:07:57.120 really skeptic or pessimistic is probably the right word about 0:07:57.160 --> 0:08:01.160 how sharp Kawhi was going to look. And while Harden 0:08:01.200 --> 0:08:07.440 looked a little fatigued, Kawhi absolutely unequivocally did not. And 0:08:08.160 --> 0:08:11.160 he was the best player on the court, Which does 0:08:11.280 --> 0:08:19.840 bring us to Nikolejokic, who you do not to. You're 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:24.360 not gonna kill the guy, but fair is fair. He 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:27.560 is universally regarded as the best player in the world. 0:08:29.680 --> 0:08:34.320 That was a game his team could have won, and Jokic, 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:41.120 for the first time, honestly in a couple years, I thought, 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:45.840 had a downright bad playoff game. I guess you could 0:08:45.960 --> 0:08:49.200 argue Game seven again last year against the Timberwolves, just 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:51.959 by virtue of blowing that big of a lead at home. 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:59.920 But Jokich seven turnovers in the fourth quarter, three turnover. 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:03.319 You mentioned the miss free throw late he had By 0:09:03.360 --> 0:09:07.440 the way, he missed two free throws late in game one, 0:09:08.000 --> 0:09:14.240 they were able to overcome it after the biggest play 0:09:14.280 --> 0:09:17.920 of the game in Game one, he trusted and open 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:21.680 Russell Westbrook to hit that three. That was why you 0:09:21.720 --> 0:09:25.880 know that the Clippers were daring him to take. Last night, 0:09:26.640 --> 0:09:31.600 after was a Christian Brown's awful shot, Jokich had Aaron 0:09:31.640 --> 0:09:36.360 Gordon wide open in the corner, the spot Gordon likes instead, 0:09:36.559 --> 0:09:40.319 and it was very uncharacteristic. He took the shot. It 0:09:40.440 --> 0:09:43.840 wasn't even close. He was kind of flopping about throughout 0:09:43.880 --> 0:09:49.079 the night. And that was the first game in a again, 0:09:49.160 --> 0:09:53.000 depending on how you judged, just the game seven team 0:09:53.080 --> 0:09:56.000 wide meltdown. And I know he had a triple double. 0:09:57.320 --> 0:10:00.800 And I'm curious you can put in the the chat 0:10:01.200 --> 0:10:03.720 Daniel that I can see or in this you know 0:10:03.800 --> 0:10:06.160 our notes if you think I'm being unfair Daniel or 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:09.920 resident Nuggets fan and you're allowed to have bad playoff games. 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:12.640 Even the best player in the world can have bad 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:16.480 playoff games. It was just jarring to see him that 0:10:16.720 --> 0:10:20.840 lose with the ball and to see a game that 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:27.520 the Nuggets could have won. But he's got aware that 0:10:28.160 --> 0:10:30.679 he was a big part of the loss. And so 0:10:31.040 --> 0:10:36.160 I think that if you are the Clippers through two games, 0:10:36.200 --> 0:10:39.400 the most optimistic thing for the Clippers through two games, 0:10:39.440 --> 0:10:43.520 other than stealing home court is you're kind of happy 0:10:44.600 --> 0:10:48.719 with how you've dealt with Joker, And I know it's 0:10:48.760 --> 0:10:52.079 a testament to his greatness, But twenty nine to nine 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:57.000 to twelve, Game one on fifty percent, which is about 0:10:57.080 --> 0:11:00.280 as low of a percentage as he's gonna show in 0:11:00.320 --> 0:11:04.400 a game twenty six ten or twelve and ten with 0:11:04.600 --> 0:11:12.480 seven turnovers, again on fifty percent. Game one horrendous defensively 0:11:12.520 --> 0:11:15.040 in the first quarter, and then tighten it up and 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:20.280 Game two really loose with the ball late. So I 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:26.720 think most of us, if you picked the Nuggets like 0:11:26.760 --> 0:11:30.800 I did, the argument and the thought process was with 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:34.000 respect to Zubats, who did as good of a job 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:36.760 as anyone in the league this year guarding Joker. You 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:40.800 thought Joker would be so far and away the best 0:11:40.840 --> 0:11:43.120 player in the series that it would be enough to 0:11:43.160 --> 0:11:46.439 overcome the fact that the Clippers are a deeper team 0:11:47.960 --> 0:11:49.840 up to this point. That has not been the case, 0:11:51.000 --> 0:11:57.760 and it is not something I think will continue. But 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:04.679 it also would be almost disrespectful to his place in 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:09.719 the league to not acknowledge, Hey man, need more from 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:15.920 Joker in a game that's in the balance like last night. 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.760 And here's the other piece that worries me for the Nuggets. 0:12:19.840 --> 0:12:22.440 So Michael Porter Junior, after being put on ice in 0:12:22.520 --> 0:12:26.719 game one, they put him in in Game two. He rebounded, 0:12:26.800 --> 0:12:30.360 He played his thirty three minutes, hit him threes, fifteen points, 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:33.240 fifteen rebounds. He had a few turnovers as well. I 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:35.720 mean the twenty turnovers for the Nuggets just killed them, 0:12:36.360 --> 0:12:38.640 and going fourteen of twenty two from the line didn't 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:42.840 help either. But the other piece of that is after 0:12:42.880 --> 0:12:46.240 the game he talked about injuring I think his shoulder. 0:12:46.840 --> 0:12:51.480 They do not have the depth. This is one of 0:12:51.559 --> 0:12:54.920 the reasons Calvin Booth is no longer employed as the GM. 0:12:55.400 --> 0:12:59.080 They do not have the depth to have any of 0:12:59.120 --> 0:13:05.160 their five startup missed time because you're already you're playing 0:13:05.200 --> 0:13:11.040 your five starters, crazy heavy minutes playing Russell Westbrook, in 0:13:11.120 --> 0:13:17.920 my opinion, more minutes than is really you know safe. Now, 0:13:17.960 --> 0:13:20.920 I know Demons sometimes thinks I'm too hard on Russ, 0:13:20.960 --> 0:13:23.080 and Russ has not been a problem this series. 0:13:24.480 --> 0:13:28.520 La Yeah, what he needed to do, no. 0:13:28.360 --> 0:13:31.760 No, no, and and in game one he hit the 0:13:31.840 --> 0:13:36.200 huge three. He had some amazing offensive rebounds. He also 0:13:36.320 --> 0:13:37.960 had another eternal save. 0:13:39.559 --> 0:13:41.240 Yeah yeah, I mean it was. 0:13:41.160 --> 0:13:44.200 The full game. One was the full Russell Westbrook experience. 0:13:44.640 --> 0:13:49.400 Game two, like twenty minutes from RUSS is about fine, 0:13:49.840 --> 0:13:54.640 But if Michael Porter Junior's out, you're talking forty minutes 0:13:54.679 --> 0:13:58.520 from RUSS. Because Jalen Pickett cannot be in these games. 0:13:58.880 --> 0:14:03.320 Peyton Watson they want to trust, they clearly don't. And hell, 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:06.040 last night you put DeAndre Jordan on the court for 0:14:06.080 --> 0:14:10.120 five minutes like so they just are not deep enough 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:13.880 if Michael Porter Junior is truly banged up. So that 0:14:14.120 --> 0:14:17.560 is up to this point in the playoffs, I thought 0:14:17.640 --> 0:14:21.160 we had a super impactful and it would have been 0:14:21.200 --> 0:14:25.200 an absolute shame of an injury on Easter because I 0:14:25.240 --> 0:14:29.440 thought Jason Tatum broke his hand the way he was reacting. 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:32.240 Yeah, Joe knew he didn't. 0:14:33.200 --> 0:14:40.280 Miss Joe is an insane person. I know that's like 0:14:40.520 --> 0:14:44.560 not breaking news to anyone else, but I used to 0:14:44.640 --> 0:14:50.320 think Missoula's kind of demeanor was a bit. But if 0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:54.440 you guys haven't seen the clip, so Jason Tatum goes 0:14:54.520 --> 0:14:56.000 up for Lea, but it wasn't Did you think that 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:57.920 was a dirty foul? I didn't think it was a 0:14:57.920 --> 0:14:58.440 dirty foul. 0:14:58.520 --> 0:15:01.240 I didn't think it was dirty. I also kind of, 0:15:01.440 --> 0:15:05.960 I honestly did not think that Tatum was about to 0:15:06.120 --> 0:15:08.680 have some long lasting injury after he got up. 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:12.760 So so here's the thing. The foul and the fall 0:15:13.360 --> 0:15:19.600 all looked normal, right, It just everything looked normal, however, 0:15:21.240 --> 0:15:24.280 and you're you're gonna laugh at me. When I saw 0:15:24.320 --> 0:15:27.920 the way he was grabbing his wrist, like his hand 0:15:27.960 --> 0:15:30.880 and his wrist like this, and then I also saw 0:15:30.920 --> 0:15:36.520 the way he fell, I was like, well, that's exactly 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:39.200 how I fell a year ago when I broke my arm, 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:42.920 and exactly when I broke my you know, arm, wrist whatever, 0:15:43.480 --> 0:15:46.680 And it's exactly how I you know, when I fell, 0:15:46.840 --> 0:15:48.800 how I tried to break my fall just kind of 0:15:48.840 --> 0:15:53.240 awkwardly palms down and I was like, I mean you 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:56.240 And so I was like, oh, that certainly is a 0:15:56.320 --> 0:16:01.000 mechanism where and it doesn't even hurt that bad. It's 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:04.040 just like, oh shit, like you know what I mean, 0:16:04.440 --> 0:16:07.200 I just broke my arm, and the way he was 0:16:07.280 --> 0:16:11.120 holding it, I was like, oh no, like this is 0:16:11.160 --> 0:16:16.920 his shooting hand. That it's I thought he was going 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.840 to be out. Who did not think he was going 0:16:19.920 --> 0:16:24.840 to be out was Joe Missoula. The trainer is trying 0:16:24.880 --> 0:16:29.520 to go over to Tatum, and Missoula says, like, stops him, 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:34.640 and then you see him yell, get up like just 0:16:34.720 --> 0:16:35.640 a madman. 0:16:37.160 --> 0:16:39.680 But I think the guy's received that well and and 0:16:39.720 --> 0:16:40.960 I think you I don't want to say he was 0:16:40.960 --> 0:16:43.840 one hundred percent correct for going about it like that, 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:46.200 but at the end of like you saw, Tatum was 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:48.240 not hurt, like is the waist and I think it's 0:16:48.400 --> 0:16:50.200 it's also your arm you could get up. 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:52.840 But yeah, yeah, it was crazy. 0:16:53.760 --> 0:16:56.840 So all right, so let's do a couple follow ups 0:16:56.840 --> 0:17:00.240 for because we're Clippers Nuggets. I the more all of 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:03.320 the story for me just quickly as Michael Porter Junior's injury. 0:17:03.520 --> 0:17:05.399 The reason I even got on the Tatum thing was 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:10.280 if he has to miss time, it's our first significant 0:17:10.280 --> 0:17:14.280 injury of the postseason. And if there's any news on 0:17:14.359 --> 0:17:17.119 that that anybody has just like texted to me or 0:17:17.119 --> 0:17:20.160 put it in the doc. I haven't seen anything other 0:17:20.240 --> 0:17:25.040 than his postgame comments last night, which were somewhat alarming. 0:17:25.080 --> 0:17:26.760 All right, what are our follow ups? Where you get 0:17:26.760 --> 0:17:27.560 to Nick's pistons. 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:30.119 How many players in the league are you taking in 0:17:30.160 --> 0:17:32.320 the playoffs over at healthy Kawhi. 0:17:34.040 --> 0:17:46.680 Joker for sure, Giannis for sure, Luca for sure, I Shay, 0:17:47.040 --> 0:17:55.760 I think has earned it by this regular season, Steph 0:17:56.280 --> 0:18:02.440 lebron Man, and I think that's the So here's here 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:05.040 is the thing. I so, and this is where I 0:18:05.080 --> 0:18:09.240 think we have to be like honest, like we can 0:18:09.320 --> 0:18:14.840 be respectful to what he did last night and you know, 0:18:15.240 --> 0:18:20.359 even odd by what he did last night without kind 0:18:20.400 --> 0:18:27.439 of over stating, you know, the his his game to 0:18:27.520 --> 0:18:32.399 game impact. So like Game one of this series, that 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:38.879 was healthy Kwhi he had twenty two points on fifteen shots, 0:18:38.880 --> 0:18:44.600 good efficiency and seven turnovers. So that is like, that's 0:18:45.400 --> 0:18:48.359 that just is what it is. Now last year he 0:18:48.560 --> 0:18:52.600 was not healthy. In the playoffs. Two years ago, he 0:18:52.760 --> 0:18:55.680 was healthy those first two games. And in Game one 0:18:56.720 --> 0:18:59.639 two years ago against Phoenix, he was a lot like 0:18:59.720 --> 0:19:04.159 he was last night. He had thirty eight points on 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:07.639 fifty four percent from the field in a win, and 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:12.520 in Game two he had thirty one points in on 0:19:12.640 --> 0:19:15.800 fifty five percent and a loss. I So here's I 0:19:15.800 --> 0:19:20.720 guess the point I'm making Healthy Kawhi is an awesome 0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:25.399 playoff performer, and the way he raises his game in 0:19:25.440 --> 0:19:31.000 the playoffs is really the stuff of legends. But we 0:19:31.200 --> 0:19:34.119 don't need to act as if you know that meme 0:19:34.640 --> 0:19:38.200 people put up sometimes like they show you an athlete, 0:19:38.440 --> 0:19:43.159 like there's like four NBA players and they'll show you 0:19:44.119 --> 0:19:49.840 Steph Curry and it's like but with shack size, or 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:54.280 they'll you know, it's like add one attribute to these 0:19:54.359 --> 0:19:58.280 great players. We don't need to act as if the 0:19:58.280 --> 0:20:02.880 only thing standing between Kawhi being, you know, the greatest 0:20:02.880 --> 0:20:05.639 player of all time is his health. Like, Kuhi is 0:20:05.680 --> 0:20:08.879 an awesome player and health robbed him of a bunch 0:20:08.880 --> 0:20:13.320 of great playoff runs. But Kawhi at his peak was 0:20:13.359 --> 0:20:16.880 never the best player in the world. And so a 0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:20.360 healthy Kawhi I am not going to put over Jannis, 0:20:20.840 --> 0:20:24.399 Luca or Joker, all of whom either have been or 0:20:24.440 --> 0:20:27.200 will be the best player in the world. And I'm 0:20:27.240 --> 0:20:30.919 not right now, I don't think Kawhi is going to 0:20:30.960 --> 0:20:33.520 be better the rest of these playoffs than Steph or Lebron. 0:20:33.960 --> 0:20:36.320 And so I understand Lebron had a really bad game one, 0:20:36.600 --> 0:20:38.840 and if we want to argue the Lebron. Think Lebron's 0:20:38.920 --> 0:20:41.480 seven years older than Kawi, that Kawhi has passing, so 0:20:41.600 --> 0:20:44.280 be it. So I think that's right where he lands 0:20:44.359 --> 0:20:48.520 in that hierarchy. I don't think that's disrespectful to him. 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:52.400 I also think it's worth noting that this year on 0:20:52.600 --> 0:20:56.239 his team, James Harden was the best player, so like 0:20:56.680 --> 0:20:59.280 now James Harden's the opposite as far as his playoff 0:20:59.320 --> 0:21:04.439 performance plummets. So I'm not I'm not at all trying 0:21:04.520 --> 0:21:11.679 to take away last night was the best game anyone's 0:21:11.800 --> 0:21:16.359 had in these playoffs so far. I think that's pretty clear. 0:21:16.640 --> 0:21:19.920 Yeah right, there's there's no one I'm missing. With that said, 0:21:19.960 --> 0:21:23.680 there's only been ten games like and so now it'll 0:21:23.720 --> 0:21:25.879 when the playoffs are over, it'll still be one of 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:28.800 the best games. But yeah, so that's that's where I 0:21:28.840 --> 0:21:30.639 have it shake up. All right, One last question here 0:21:30.680 --> 0:21:32.040 before we move on to Nick's pistons. 0:21:33.359 --> 0:21:36.040 Yeah, so, does the series have the potential will be 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:38.640 like six Ers Knicks Round one last year? 0:21:40.080 --> 0:21:43.959 I think it does, meaning every game is you know, 0:21:44.119 --> 0:21:46.280 a bit of something of a classic. I think that 0:21:46.320 --> 0:21:49.840 one only went six right? Am I wrong about that? 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:52.000 You guys can remind me. I think that was like 0:21:52.200 --> 0:21:57.159 six amazing games with amazing finishes. I think it does. 0:21:57.600 --> 0:22:02.879 That might not bode well at all for either of 0:22:02.920 --> 0:22:09.080 these teams. Team right, and so especially with OKC getting it, 0:22:09.240 --> 0:22:11.720 you know, the NBA version of a first round by 0:22:12.480 --> 0:22:15.439 and so they're gonna be have a week plus off 0:22:15.920 --> 0:22:21.280 like if so this if let me look at the 0:22:21.400 --> 0:22:26.119 NBA calendar real quick. So let's just assume OKAC is 0:22:26.160 --> 0:22:29.360 going to sweep Okay just for the sake of argument. 0:22:30.320 --> 0:22:37.080 Game two, uh is tonight. Game three in the OKAC 0:22:37.600 --> 0:22:45.200 series is Thursday, and Game four is Saturday, so they 0:22:45.240 --> 0:22:53.400 could be done on Saturday, April twenty six. If this 0:22:53.520 --> 0:23:00.640 series does go seven, that Game seven is Saturday, May third, 0:23:02.119 --> 0:23:09.400 which would put game one of Round two Monday, May fifth. 0:23:09.880 --> 0:23:14.480 So if the Thunders sweep, they will have nine days 0:23:14.560 --> 0:23:19.359 off in the middle of the playoffs just to rest 0:23:19.480 --> 0:23:22.399 recuperate all of it. Now I understand people will be 0:23:22.440 --> 0:23:25.720 like Rust versus Rest. The Thunder too good for that 0:23:25.760 --> 0:23:28.359 to matter. And these two teams are gonna beat the 0:23:28.359 --> 0:23:31.560 hell out of each other, all right. Speaking of teams 0:23:31.600 --> 0:23:33.000 that want to beat the hell out of each other, 0:23:33.400 --> 0:23:35.320 let's do Nick Pistons from last night. 0:23:35.800 --> 0:23:38.199 Uh yeah, last night you got to watch Detroit in 0:23:38.240 --> 0:23:41.359 person in their playoff drought first playoff win and I 0:23:41.359 --> 0:23:42.040 don't know how. 0:23:41.920 --> 0:23:45.320 Long I heard it was since two thousand and eight. Yeah, 0:23:45.359 --> 0:23:51.720 since two thousand and eight. Crazy. Yes, very happy for them. 0:23:52.119 --> 0:23:55.399 So that series is tied up. Obviously, Kate Cunningham led them. 0:23:55.480 --> 0:23:55.960 Last night. 0:23:56.119 --> 0:23:58.840 New York needed a twenty one oh comeback in game 0:23:58.920 --> 0:24:00.800 one to come back, I can win that one. 0:24:01.000 --> 0:24:02.159 Last night they couldn't do it. 0:24:02.400 --> 0:24:04.440 Are you surprised that the Pistons are hanging with the 0:24:04.520 --> 0:24:06.560 Knicks like this giving them some shits? 0:24:07.080 --> 0:24:12.200 Yeah, so it's weird. I I said before, my pick 0:24:12.280 --> 0:24:16.359 before the series was nix and six, And so you 0:24:16.440 --> 0:24:18.159 might be like, oh, so you thought it would be 0:24:19.480 --> 0:24:23.239 tightly contested, And my answer was no, not really. The 0:24:23.280 --> 0:24:27.520 way I thought it would go would be the Knicks 0:24:27.640 --> 0:24:35.400 win the first two in New York, not easily, but comfortably. 0:24:36.200 --> 0:24:41.000 They then kind of relax a bit and lose Game 0:24:41.119 --> 0:24:45.440 three in Detroit, which typically happens. They then win game 0:24:45.560 --> 0:24:50.000 four to retake control of the series, and then relax 0:24:50.040 --> 0:24:52.760 a bit, lose a game five, and then wrap it 0:24:52.840 --> 0:24:56.480 up in six. So sometimes a six game series there 0:24:56.520 --> 0:24:59.359 isn't a lot of If it goes up to h 0:24:59.720 --> 0:25:03.360 up three to one, winning six, there's not a lot 0:25:03.359 --> 0:25:10.000 of pressure points. And so I thought that the Pistons 0:25:10.600 --> 0:25:14.960 threw their best shot in Game one. The Knicks overwhelmed 0:25:15.000 --> 0:25:17.560 them with that twenty one to nothing run, where they 0:25:17.560 --> 0:25:22.000 looked frazzled, where they looked young, where they looked unable 0:25:22.080 --> 0:25:25.360 to find their offense. I was like, oh, okay, so 0:25:25.560 --> 0:25:30.399 that happened without anyone on the Knicks having this outlier game. 0:25:31.000 --> 0:25:34.000 So now they're just going to get rolled in Game two. 0:25:34.760 --> 0:25:40.280 And I mentioned losing all these bets. I my bets 0:25:40.760 --> 0:25:47.600 on the Knicks were at the game at halftime because 0:25:47.640 --> 0:25:52.920 I was like, oh the Pistons, you know are they're 0:25:53.000 --> 0:25:56.760 up six the Knicks had at that point. I got 0:25:56.840 --> 0:25:59.439 into the free throw line one time. I was like, 0:25:59.440 --> 0:26:02.560 they're gonna get the calls in the second half. Cadi'll 0:26:02.680 --> 0:26:07.840 cooled down, you know that Jalen will get rolling, and 0:26:07.880 --> 0:26:12.119 the Pistons won't have enough offense. And I was kind 0:26:12.200 --> 0:26:15.920 of right that all those things happened, except for Caid 0:26:16.000 --> 0:26:19.000 cooling down. The Knicks got after shooting two free throws 0:26:19.000 --> 0:26:21.760 in the first half, shot seventeen in the second half. 0:26:22.080 --> 0:26:26.879 The Pistons only made six three pointers the entire game. 0:26:28.400 --> 0:26:33.800 There Jalen you know, flopped around, but also you know, 0:26:34.080 --> 0:26:37.400