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Speaker 1: This is Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.

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Speaker 2: What is up, Straight Firefire. It's me Jason McIntyre, Straight

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Speaker 2: Fire for Thursday, May the twenty ninth. If you're checking

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Speaker 2: into the podcast This Lovely Morning expecting a coronation, well

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Speaker 2: I'm not gonna give it to you, but based on

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Speaker 2: what Rob G and I were talking about before the pod,

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Speaker 2: he might. Folks. We've got one team officially locked into

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Speaker 2: the NBA Finals and that is the Oklahoma City Thunder.

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Speaker 2: They beat the Wolves by let me see here, twenty

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Speaker 2: four plus six thirty points in a beatdown. It was

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Speaker 2: over in the first quarter. I mean, I can't believe

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Speaker 2: the line opened eight and a half. That was stunning.

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Speaker 2: It was never a game. It was never interesting the

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Speaker 2: Thunder Steam World and blah blah blah. So this is

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Speaker 2: there's really no discussion about the Thunder and the the

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Speaker 2: series sucked. It was terrible. I can't really find anything

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Speaker 2: interesting to talk about about the game. What is interesting

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Speaker 2: is the discussion around the Thunder. It is getting hostile

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Speaker 2: on both sides. You have people losing their minds defending OKAC.

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Speaker 2: They are historically great. I'm on text chains where people

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Speaker 2: are saying this is the best team since the twenty

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Speaker 2: seventeen Warriors. Look at the point differential. Oh my gosh,

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Speaker 2: it's Sga. He's a super I just I want everybody

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Speaker 2: to take a deep breath and let's just pull back

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Speaker 2: for a second. Yes, Sga is a tremendous basketball player.

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Speaker 2: He won MVP. He's definitely a top ten player in

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Speaker 2: the league, as Robb g laughs and says, always top five.

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Speaker 2: He's a top top ten player, undeniably. In the close out,

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Speaker 2: he had thirty four on twenty five shots. He finally

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Speaker 2: shot above fifty percent, which was nice. Thirty four, eight

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Speaker 2: and seven. I mean, there's no Tyrese Haliburton, right, but

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Speaker 2: he was excellent, undeniable. He's got a good team, young team.

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Speaker 2: They're good, no doubt about it. I guess my issue

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Speaker 2: with OKAC is the narrative that they are some incredible

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Speaker 2: juggernaut because this the numbers say, well, hey, look this team,

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Speaker 2: they just beat the shit out of everybody, and and

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Speaker 2: they kind of swore to do. But I think it

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Speaker 2: needs context, and I'm gonna I'm gonna piss some people

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Speaker 2: off when I reference Michael Jordan in the nineties for context.

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Speaker 2: So let's remember Michael Jordan could not get by anybody

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Speaker 2: in the East until everybody wore down. Larry Bird's back

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Speaker 2: was broken, Isaiah Thomas was cooked, suffered the Achilles. That

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Speaker 2: was that. Magic Johnson retired due to HIV after the

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Speaker 2: Bulls beat the Lakers. Yes, Michael Jordan was obviously a

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Speaker 2: massive superstar. He was incredible. But at the same time,

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Speaker 2: out side forces, the end of Magic, the end of Larry,

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Speaker 2: the end of Isaiah all basically culminated at the same time.

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Speaker 2: Plus the expansion era kicked off, and you had a

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Speaker 2: watered down NBA. You had expansion teams. I believe four

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Speaker 2: expansion teams came between like eighty nine and ninety six,

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Speaker 2: and might have been six, I should double check that.

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Speaker 2: But you had all these expansion teams added, and you

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Speaker 2: had diluted talent. So not only are the superstars from

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Speaker 2: the eighties who carried the league, Magic, Larry and Isaiah,

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Speaker 2: I'm pretty sure they were the only ones to win

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Speaker 2: titles from like eighty after the Sixers wont it with

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Speaker 2: Moses Belone, I'm pretty sure for like a nine year

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Speaker 2: span it was just Pistons, Lakers, and Celtics. All those

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Speaker 2: teams kind of at the same time evaporated and folded,

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Speaker 2: and that's when Jordan rose. So yeah, obviously Michael Jordan

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Speaker 2: was great, but he was doing it against a weakened league.

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Speaker 2: Fast forward to Oklahoma City Thunder right now, we know,

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Speaker 2: and this has been written about and talked about, that

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Speaker 2: the NBA was unhappy with the super team era. Okay,

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Speaker 2: they were not thrilled that Lebron was joining forces with superstars.

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Speaker 2: And you had a super team in Miami, you had

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Speaker 2: the superteam Warriors, Superteam Celtics. Obviously the Lakers were in there.

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Speaker 2: I don't know that they were a super team, but

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Speaker 2: you know, Kobe and Gasol were kind of like right

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Speaker 2: before the super team era. But you basically had a

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Speaker 2: handful of teams just dominating the league. The league was

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Speaker 2: sick of that, and the player movement was annoying the

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Speaker 2: small markets. They're like, we can't keep we can't keep

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Speaker 2: our stars, what the hell? And the league institutes new rules. Aka,

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Speaker 2: hey man, if you are gonna stay with the team

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Speaker 2: that drafted you, Boom, you get paid way more than

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Speaker 2: leaving to go to another team. And if you're a

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Speaker 2: player on one of those teams, that makes all NBA

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Speaker 2: well shit, you're making super MAXI money. They don't want

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Speaker 2: you leaving the small markets. Now. I know SGA wasn't

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Speaker 2: taken by Oklahoma City, but it's less about how it

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Speaker 2: benefited the thunder and more about how it's weakening everyone

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Speaker 2: else okay, and diluting the talent so you don't have

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Speaker 2: super teams. Then you also add the second apron and

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Speaker 2: the punitive tax policy that's happening around the league now

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Speaker 2: that hasn't even kicked in, but teams are running scared

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Speaker 2: because of it, and they're like, oh damn, I'm gonna

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Speaker 2: have to pay ready to check for three hundred million.

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Speaker 2: I'm getting out of this. I'm unloading superstars. You've got

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Speaker 2: those outside forces and rob Let's be real. Lebron is

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Speaker 2: a fossil. Kevin Durant is old as dirt. You had

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Speaker 2: major injuries this year to Steph Curry eliminating him in

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Speaker 2: the playoffs. Luca missed like thirty five games. He was

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Speaker 2: not the same player he was the last year when

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Speaker 2: he went to the finals. You had Jason Tatum go

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Speaker 2: down for the Celtics. You had Kyrie Irving pop his achilles.

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Speaker 2: Just massive injuries around the league, all leading to a

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Speaker 2: diluted league where the Oklahoma City Thunder. Yeah, they were

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Speaker 2: healthy as hell. I'm calling up their roster. And if

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Speaker 2: folks you want a fund stat look at the stats

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Speaker 2: for Oklahoma City in the regular season. Look you want

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Speaker 2: to guess how many games SGA missed six Yes, chet

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Speaker 2: Hoolmgrin missed some games, but they were fortunate enough that

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Speaker 2: j Dubb barely missed any games. Wiggins missed six games.

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Speaker 2: Isaiah Joe Like, they have a great deep team and

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Speaker 2: all these guys are barely missing games. Chet Holmgren was

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Speaker 2: the only guy to have like a major injury. Hartenstein

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Speaker 2: missed twenty five games. They're two bigs, but in a

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Speaker 2: league were big, no matter, they were fine, so they

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Speaker 2: weathered the injuries. Everyone else is getting hurt. The league

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Speaker 2: is kind of going away from super teams, and it

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Speaker 2: feels like the perfect storm at the right time for

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Speaker 2: Oklahoma City and boom, here we have this juggernaut that

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Speaker 2: everybody's saying as an all time great team and SGA's

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Speaker 2: oh my gosh, he is just the best team since

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Speaker 2: the Warriors, and SGA, oh, this guy's taken over the league. Yes,

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Speaker 2: they're really, really good and sometimes I'm slow, as Rob knows,

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Speaker 2: to react to greatness. I was slow to crown Jokic.

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Speaker 2: Remember I needed to see it. I told you I

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Speaker 2: need to see it with Oka. See I'm seeing it.

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Speaker 2: They're getting They're really good. Do I think they were?

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Speaker 2: I can't say that because you guys will get angry

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Speaker 2: with me. But we've talked about on the pot. I

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Speaker 2: think the Lakers were a nightmare matchup for OKAC. I

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Speaker 2: think Boston was better than OKC. Now, of course, you

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Speaker 2: know Tatum goes down, but I don't know. I just

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Speaker 2: it feels like the perfect storm for OKC. And this

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Speaker 2: team is all of a sudden a juggernaut and they

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Speaker 2: look amazing. I mean, I'm still shocked Minnesota knocked out

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Speaker 2: the Lakers, robbed like Frankly, this Minnesota team they get

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Speaker 2: by a wounded Warriors. We know they weren't great. I'm

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Speaker 2: the idiot who thought Minnesota would take down Okay. See,

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Speaker 2: it was not competitive at all. So yes, Oklahoma City's

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Speaker 2: very good. If you asked me to rank the teams

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Speaker 2: since the KD Warriors KD Curry Warriors won the title,

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Speaker 2: I still think last year's Boston team was vastly superior

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Speaker 2: to this team. I don't know about the Nuggets or Bucks.

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Speaker 2: I'd have to do a little more digging, But I

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Speaker 2: don't think this is the best team since the two

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Speaker 2: thousand Warriors or the twenty seventeen Warriors. And I don't

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Speaker 2: know that SGA is Like, if you're asking me who

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Speaker 2: j who you taking SGA or Luca to start a team,

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Speaker 2: I'm still taking Luca. That's not even close. Who are

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Speaker 2: taking Yokich or SGA? I'm taking Yokich the Jannis, you know,

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Speaker 2: like SGA's it up there. Obviously Tatum makes it difficult

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Speaker 2: because he's out now for a year. But I would

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Speaker 2: have taken Tatum before the injury over SGA. I don't

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Speaker 2: think that's like a hot take. SGA very very good player,

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Speaker 2: Thunder excellent, and Rob you're not happy with my take, I.

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Speaker 3: Mean I'm not gonna I'm not happy with it because

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Speaker 3: it is your show. So I'm just gonna COASTGN with

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Speaker 3: everything you say. I can't say bohemianly disagree with you.

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Speaker 3: And at some point we're gonna have to wrestle with

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Speaker 3: the fact that everything that's anti OKC, which a lot

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Speaker 3: of your rant was, has become from a point where

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Speaker 3: it's we're putting our feelings above facts because our brains

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Speaker 3: cannot comprehend that a team this young, this upstart in

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Speaker 3: the middle of nowhere, is on par with Stephen Kati's Warriors,

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Speaker 3: Lebron and Ads, Lakers, Shaq and Kobe you know, Showtime

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Speaker 3: Jordan's Bulls, like whatever metric you like, the Oklahoma City

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Speaker 3: Thunder are either at the top or near at the top.

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Speaker 3: In the regular season, you mentioned it, highest point differential

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Speaker 3: in NBA history plus twelve point nine per game. They

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Speaker 3: had the fifth most wins in a regular season NBA history,

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Speaker 3: sixty eight. They broke the record for the most double

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Speaker 3: digit wins with ten. Okay, they had the best record

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Speaker 3: any team has ever had ever against the opposing conference.

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Speaker 3: They went twenty nine to one in these playoffs. They

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Speaker 3: have now accumulated sixty one double digit wins when you

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Speaker 3: factor in regular season in postseason. That's more than Stephen

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Speaker 3: Kd's Warriors. That's the most in NBA history.

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Speaker 2: If you look at their roster.

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Speaker 3: Sga is now a three time consecutive first team All

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Speaker 3: NBA player. He's finished in the top five of the

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Speaker 3: MVP three times. He just won one. J Dubb was

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Speaker 3: an All NBA player and chet Holmgren, before in fluke injury,

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Speaker 3: was considered by many as the best big man prospect

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Speaker 3: of his class and one of the best we had

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Speaker 3: seen in a decade. But because it happened so fast,

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Speaker 3: because they're doing it at a time when we were

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Speaker 3: told coming into these playoffs that this is the most

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Speaker 3: loaded Western conference we had seen in fifteen twenty years,

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Speaker 3: not since when you had you know, Kobe's Lakers and

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Speaker 3: Dirk's MAVs and and uh, you know Harden's like all

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Speaker 3: these guys, all these teams were so like there was

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Speaker 3: eight to fifty win teams. Everybody was with the number

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Speaker 3: everyone used. Well, you know, if you just look at it,

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Speaker 3: look up and down, you got you know, Steph's a

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Speaker 3: seventh seed. You know, how are you gonna deal with

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Speaker 3: anything with Yoki is a four seed? You know? The

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Speaker 3: James Harden a choir, Like there's so many pitfalls in

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Speaker 3: their way and all they do is run through and

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Speaker 3: run over everybody that's in their path. I saw a

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Speaker 3: stat in the wee hours of Wednesday and a Thursday.

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Speaker 3: In nine home playoff games this year, Oklahoma City is

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Speaker 3: winning those games by an average of twenty five points

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Speaker 3: per game. At some point we have to say, I

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Speaker 3: know it's weird, I know it's you know, it doesn't

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Speaker 3: feel right that a guy like Jalen Williams, who most

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Speaker 3: people couldn't pick out of a lineup unless you're a

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Speaker 3: diehard NBA fan, that you know he's their second best player.

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Speaker 3: That SGA and Chet had this really stupid commercial that

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Speaker 3: was played throughout the NBA season, and most people didn't

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Speaker 3: know who Chet was. They knew he was this tall,

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Speaker 3: lanky guy with his other guy I know, and people

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Speaker 3: don't really know who Sho'shay is. But the fact is

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Speaker 3: this team is great. They are historically great, and it's

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Speaker 3: gonna be just like Tatum's Warriors that she mentioned last

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Speaker 3: year had all the same metrics coming into the playoffs.

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Speaker 3: Everybody said, the numbers say this team is historically great,

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Speaker 3: but until they actually do it, I'm not gonna believe it. Well,

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Speaker 3: right now, OKC is doing it and doing it well.

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Speaker 3: Shout out out cool J.

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Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in

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Speaker 1: the nation. Catch all of our shows at foxsports radio

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Speaker 1: dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search f S

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Speaker 1: r to listen live.

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Speaker 2: So you really believe this team is that good? Huh?

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Speaker 3: How can you argue against it at this point?

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Speaker 2: Well, listen, I mean there are obviously the numbers. Say

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Speaker 2: one thing like they're historically great.

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Speaker 1: S g A.

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Speaker 2: You know, the free throw merchant. I'm sorry, I still

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Speaker 2: like that. I don't think I can take credit for

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Speaker 2: that a lot of people because I said it one

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Speaker 2: day on the herd and people came after me, and

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Speaker 2: some people thought it was funny. I got it from

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Speaker 2: one of those AI videos. I think I told you

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Speaker 2: about it right when I first saw it. It was hilarious.

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Speaker 2: You know these AI videos where the Lebron does a

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Speaker 2: press conference and then they somebody writes up some stuff

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Speaker 2: and AI spits out what they want Lebron to say.

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Speaker 2: Say that it's really funny, and the somebody called SGA

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Speaker 2: free throwers, and I just thought it was freaking hilarious,

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Speaker 2: and so I just I just kept saying it, and

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Speaker 2: it's become a thing. They were chanting it in Minnesota.

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Speaker 2: I mean, two things can be true. Like he is

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Speaker 2: annoying the way he gets every foul call, he throws

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Speaker 2: his body acts like he's been shot. He's acting like Kramer.

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Speaker 2: Remember Kramer when he was hit with the spit in

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Speaker 2: the Keith Hernandez episode. That's right, Yeah, yeah, that that's

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Speaker 2: SG is always doing that nonsense and it's just so annoying.

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Speaker 2: I'm gonna ask you this. Do you find the OKAC

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Speaker 2: team fun to watch?

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Speaker 3: Yes?

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Speaker 2: Do you find their personalities engaging in fun?

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Speaker 3: No conversation?

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Speaker 2: If I called the yeah, I know. If I called

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Speaker 2: them boring, your reaction would be everything.

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Speaker 3: But their play is boring.

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Speaker 1: Yes.

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Speaker 2: So Game one of the Finals is a week from today.

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Speaker 2: Your wife says, honey, we gotta go out with my

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Speaker 2: friend from Warwick and her husband. We gotta go out

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Speaker 2: to dinner. Do you say, okay, bet, let's do it.

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Speaker 2: Or do you say, hey, it's Game one of the finals.

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Speaker 2: I can't miss it.

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Speaker 3: That's a tough question.

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Speaker 2: Now, let me let me flip it a little bit.

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Speaker 2: Let's say Game one of the Finals it was Lakers

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Speaker 2: and Nicks, Lakers, Celtics, Lakers, whoever.

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Speaker 3: I'm locked in.

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Speaker 2: You're not. You're not going to honey, I can't do

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Speaker 2: the dinner of fake and illness whatever? Right? Yeah, And

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Speaker 2: my guess is nationwide, we're gonna not see a collector's

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Speaker 2: shoulder shrug. I of course I'm gonna watch. I like it.

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Speaker 2: Of course it's okay for me to kind of bash

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Speaker 2: Pacers Thunder while also watching it. Can I not do that?

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Speaker 2: Is that not allowed?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? I don't know how that became. Like I saw

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Speaker 3: your tweet and it got the last I checked, like

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Speaker 3: five hundred retweets.

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Speaker 2: Bro.

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Speaker 3: It's it's like you were trending at some point.

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Speaker 2: Oh no, no, that's not.

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Speaker 3: And I'm like, I work with Jason basically every day

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Speaker 3: for what three or four years now that in terms

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Speaker 3: of your hot take, ay, but I mean on this

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Speaker 3: podcast right basically on the ranking of Jason's like hottest takes,

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Speaker 3: that's probably like a three two.

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Speaker 2: Like, I don't know what you said.

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Speaker 3: That's controversial And for anybody, what of our rare listeners

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Speaker 3: who doesn't follow you on Twitter or it doesn't recall

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Speaker 3: what you're talking about, I'm gonna read it to you

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Speaker 3: and you tell me what is so incendiary about this

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Speaker 3: Jason mcintyretoot about the upcoming NBA Finals. Okay, again, we're

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Speaker 3: anticipating that Indiana's gonna get it done and it's gonna

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Speaker 3: be Pacers Thunder. Yeah, here it is Indiana Pacers versus

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Speaker 3: Oklahoma City Thunder NBA Finals. Adam Silver and the owners

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Speaker 3: wanted these matchups. They got them.

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Speaker 2: Shoulder shrug, nine hundred and fifteen thousand impressions as I

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Speaker 2: watch it right now, this is what the owners want.

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Speaker 2: They don't want Lakers, Bulls, Nick Seuth, they don't want

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Speaker 2: that stuff. They want the small guy to have a chance.

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Speaker 2: They want socialism. Now, people in still will go to

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Speaker 2: the NFL. Oh, look, the New Orleans Saint's gonna stop NFL.

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Speaker 2: It's not even close. NFL's totally different. There's seventeen regular

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Speaker 2: season games, that's it. NFL has a roster of what

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Speaker 2: fifty three guys. NBA is like fifteen. It's not even

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Speaker 2: remotely close. Anybody who says, well, the NFL, No, it's not.

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Speaker 2: Even If you want to look at a sport that's

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Speaker 2: even remotely close, look at Major League Baseball and look

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Speaker 2: what's going on there. They just had a Yankees Dodgers

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Speaker 2: World Series, and I'm fairly certain it was one of

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Speaker 2: the highest rated, most in world series that generated the

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Speaker 2: most interest in a while. Okay, and it's not only

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Speaker 2: that robe, but it's like they don't have a salary

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Speaker 2: cap where the Yankees and Dodgers spend millions more than

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Speaker 2: the Pirates and the Marlins. Occasionally those small guys will

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Speaker 2: break through, but baseball knows, hey, man, let the rich

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Speaker 2: spend away. Let's just let it happen. The Yankees are

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Speaker 2: always gonna be in the mix. Sure, sometimes we'll have

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Speaker 2: the Astros pop through and you know whoever. But by

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Speaker 2: and large, you spend money, you're gonna win. And they

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Speaker 2: just don't want that in basketball because the Lakers have

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Speaker 2: a bigger TV deal than anyone else in the league,

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Speaker 2: or maybe the Knicks have a big one, I don't know,

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Speaker 2: and the big markets have a huge edge. I mean

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Speaker 2: I saw in stat rob that in TV market wise,

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Speaker 2: the Knicks have like eight million TV there's eight million

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Speaker 2: TVs in the New York market some number like that. Meanwhile,

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Speaker 2: there's like eight hundred thousand in Oklahoma City. So like, obviously,

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Speaker 2: and again I don't the ratings aren't a huge deal

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Speaker 2: to me. I love hoops, I'll talk about it, I'll watch,

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Speaker 2: but like I just think for the casual fan, Like

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Speaker 2: my brother is a fan, but he I can almost

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Speaker 2: guarantee you he can't name like five guys on the Pacers.

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Speaker 2: He's not gonna definitely tune in. Do you have friends,

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Speaker 2: Rob who are itching to watch this or talk about it?

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Speaker 3: I mean other than my friends who are like diehard

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Speaker 3: sports fans.

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Speaker 1: No.

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Speaker 3: And that's again I don't think that's controversial. That's an

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Speaker 3: NBA problem. The NBA for decades now, going back to

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Speaker 3: Magic and Larry, has built its popularity on superstar and

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Speaker 3: big markets. That's what they've done. That's what they've historically done,

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Speaker 3: and it's been a very successful model for them for

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Speaker 3: a long time. One issue that they ran into this season,

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Speaker 3: and you can say it's been its way for a

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Speaker 3: couple of years now, is they're kind of hanging on

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Speaker 3: by a thread to this Lebron Steph kd Era, Like,

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Speaker 3: whatever we got to do to keep these guys relevant,

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Speaker 3: We'll put them on national team a bunch of times.

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Speaker 3: We'll market the hell out of the Team USA as

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Speaker 3: this is their swan song together, like that's what they've

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Speaker 3: been trying to do, and it hasn't really paid off

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Speaker 3: because none of those teams have really been competitive the

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Speaker 3: last few years. As a result, they've done a really

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Speaker 3: poor job of marketing guys like Sga.

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Speaker 2: Hold on, is it possible that they've tried to market them?

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Speaker 2: I mean Sga is the face of Converse shoes. You know,

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Speaker 2: he's in national TV commercials. That's commercial disrespect to Converse.

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Speaker 2: But well, but what do you want? Like Nike's not

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Speaker 2: signing him, you know. So it's like I think they've tried.

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Speaker 2: Now you could argue, well, they're not putting them on

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Speaker 2: Christmas Day? Well they want they want big numbers on

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Speaker 2: christ What do you want? So it's a double edged sword,

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Speaker 2: like is it possible, Rob, that they're concerned in the post?

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Speaker 2: So after Magic and Larry washed out, they had Jordan still,

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Speaker 2: but then Jordan left and there was nobody to really

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Speaker 2: take the mantle. Kobe and Shack kind of masked some

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Speaker 2: of it for a couple of years. Then that blew

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Speaker 2: up and then that what they have. That's when they

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Speaker 2: had like the New Jersey Nets San Antonio Spurs finals

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Speaker 2: and it was like ninety one, seventy four, eighty six,

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Speaker 2: seventy eight. Those were like final scores. Go look it up,

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Speaker 2: and it's like that's when they had to like change

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Speaker 2: the rules. Do you remember that, Rob? I do? It

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Speaker 2: was like it was a horrible basketball. Alan Iverson was

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Speaker 2: supposed to be the guy, and then he wouldn't go

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Speaker 2: to practice, you know, and they just didn't have anybody

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Speaker 2: to carry the torch. I don't know that they have

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Speaker 2: someone to carry the torch. If Lebron Tomorrow says I'm

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Speaker 2: done and he's retiring, I don't think that'll happen. But

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Speaker 2: if he does, Rob like, is the NBA in trouble year?

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Speaker 2: I mean, you've still got Luca in La, still got Curry,

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Speaker 2: You've got ascendant stars. But I don't know that they're

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Speaker 2: in trouble. I just think it loses luster a little bit,

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Speaker 2: if that makes sense.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think that they need do a better

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Speaker 3: job of ensuring that these young crop of guys like Shay,

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Speaker 3: like Anthony Edwards. I know this series is not being

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Speaker 3: a good selling point for him, you know. Unfortunately Jason

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Speaker 3: Tatum's injured, but there are a number of guys who

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Speaker 3: they could get behind. They just either I think it's unwillingness.

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Speaker 3: You think it's ineffectiveness, but whatever it is, it's not working.

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Speaker 2: Well. Okay, define get behind because I think Tatum's been

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Speaker 2: in some national commercials, hasn't he?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, but Tatum is mostly being pitched as the Celtics.

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Speaker 3: It's not come watch Jason Tatum. It's come watch the

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Speaker 3: Boston Celtics as they run rough shot through the NBA,

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Speaker 3: shooting seventy five threes a game. You know, he has

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Speaker 3: a Ruffles commercial and and you know he has some things.

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Speaker 3: But you know, and you work on a forward facing

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Speaker 3: television show, one of the best shows in all the

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Speaker 3: sports media. Jason Tatum on his own is not necessarily

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Speaker 3: a talking point. Like, if you have a talking point

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Speaker 3: about Jason Tatum, it's why is he boring? Why is

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Speaker 3: there nothing memorab about him?

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Speaker 2: Why hold on time out? Let me, let me, let

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Speaker 2: me out, let me shift it. Okay, Before Lebron left

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Speaker 2: the Caves for the Heat, was Lebron like face of

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Speaker 2: the league type guy or not? Or was he more

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Speaker 2: like a Tatum, a winner but couldn't get over the hamper.

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Speaker 2: I'm trying to think, and that's tough to go back

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Speaker 2: and look at. But when Lebron's with the Cavs, they

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Speaker 2: won a lot, but never never like won the finals.

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Speaker 2: When did it start? When did Lebron hit going to hyperdrive?

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Speaker 3: When you joined the Heat?

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Speaker 2: Yes, super Team correct, So maybe what the league needs

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Speaker 2: is super teams. I don't. I don't. I'm guessing because

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Speaker 2: just now listening to you, I was like, wait a minute,

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Speaker 2: Lebron what like she was in a million commercials and

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Speaker 2: he was super popular. But he wasn't Lebron global superstar,

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Speaker 2: was he?

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Speaker 1: No?

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Speaker 3: At that point, it was still Kobe, because you forget,

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Speaker 3: right before Lebron joined the Heat, Kobe and Powe had

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Speaker 3: been to the finals three straight years and won two

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Speaker 3: of them. They played Boston in two of those finals.

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Speaker 3: So that's why even if you look at the cursery,

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Speaker 3: look at the ratings before Lakers Celtics and eight Spurs

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Speaker 3: Calves did a six point two million, they went up

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Speaker 3: thirty percent immediately the next year. Right then when they

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Speaker 3: meet again, it goes up another fifteen percent from their

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Speaker 3: previous meeting. And then at that point the heels come together.

427
00:23:43,600 --> 00:23:46,240
Speaker 3: There's a team everybody loves to hate. There's a villain

428
00:23:46,280 --> 00:23:50,840
Speaker 3: on the street. They maintained solid double digit ratings all

429
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,040
Speaker 3: the way through until the very end in twenty fourteen,

430
00:23:53,760 --> 00:23:57,880
Speaker 3: and then, thank the basketball gods, we get Steph versus

431
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:01,560
Speaker 3: Lebron in twenty fifteen, sixteen seven, and for all that

432
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:03,800
Speaker 3: I saw people tweeting like, oh, nobody wanted to see

433
00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:05,760
Speaker 3: that Warriors team. They was ring rushed off through the league.

434
00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:08,840
Speaker 3: It was it was for gone conclusion. You want to

435
00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:11,040
Speaker 3: know what the ratings were. I know it's in the

436
00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:15,720
Speaker 3: minutia for Warriors Calves when during the Kadi Steph era

437
00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:22,800
Speaker 3: eleven point three, ten point zero, eleven point four, you

438
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:25,439
Speaker 3: know what it was. When he left, we got the

439
00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:28,600
Speaker 3: Bubble Championship of four point zero. We got Bucks Sons

440
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:30,880
Speaker 3: five point two. The only problem with the Bubble rob

441
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,240
Speaker 3: was because they moved. It wasn't it during football, Okay,

442
00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:35,640
Speaker 3: so yeah, but take that out. Okay, the next year

443
00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:37,160
Speaker 3: Buck Suns five point two.

444
00:24:37,240 --> 00:24:38,200
Speaker 2: That was terrible.

445
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:42,480
Speaker 3: Warriors six, Celtics six point six, Nuggets Heat six point one,

446
00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,960
Speaker 3: Celtics MAVs five point eight. So yeah, it definitely helps

447
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,920
Speaker 3: to have big marketable stars, juggernauts, super teams that everybody's

448
00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,240
Speaker 3: rooting against. And maybe as we bring a full circle

449
00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:56,320
Speaker 3: with this current run, maybe okay see becomes that team,

450
00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:01,800
Speaker 3: Maybe they maybe SGA becomes you know, this generation's version

451
00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:03,919
Speaker 3: of Curry where he's in the finals three out of

452
00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:06,520
Speaker 3: four years, four out of five years, and they become

453
00:25:06,560 --> 00:25:08,000
Speaker 3: a team that everybody's looking to hunt for.

454
00:25:08,560 --> 00:25:11,480
Speaker 1: Fox Sports Radio has the best sports talk lineup in

455
00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:14,879
Speaker 1: the nation. Catch all of our shows at Foxsports Radio

456
00:25:15,040 --> 00:25:19,119
Speaker 1: dot com and within the iHeartRadio app search FSR to

457
00:25:19,200 --> 00:25:19,879
Speaker 1: listen live.

458
00:25:20,640 --> 00:25:23,639
Speaker 2: You know, it comes back to something A couple of

459
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,240
Speaker 2: the big tips I got when I started out radio

460
00:25:27,320 --> 00:25:29,720
Speaker 2: way back. I think Rob g was my second radio

461
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:34,080
Speaker 2: producer ever. Number one was play the hits when you

462
00:25:34,200 --> 00:25:38,360
Speaker 2: went in doubt, talk about Lebron, Kobe, Cowboys, blah blah blah,

463
00:25:38,400 --> 00:25:42,640
Speaker 2: whoever's on top. But the second one was you want

464
00:25:42,680 --> 00:25:45,879
Speaker 2: the audience to love you or hate you, agree with

465
00:25:45,920 --> 00:25:48,480
Speaker 2: you or disagree with you. You don't want them being like,

466
00:25:48,560 --> 00:25:51,560
Speaker 2: oh yeah, that's not bad. Well I kind of agree.

467
00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:53,480
Speaker 2: You don't want that. You have to have a take,

468
00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:55,120
Speaker 2: and you want that on one side of the take.

469
00:25:56,119 --> 00:26:00,360
Speaker 2: And it feels like the Denver Nuggets are they love

470
00:26:00,400 --> 00:26:04,600
Speaker 2: hate Team Rob? I don't think so. People like Jokic,

471
00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:07,520
Speaker 2: I don't think anybody loves Denver. I don't think anybody

472
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,520
Speaker 2: hates them. Why would you hate them? Now? You look

473
00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:16,200
Speaker 2: at like the Yiannis Bucks, Definitely not love, Definitely not hate,

474
00:26:16,280 --> 00:26:20,200
Speaker 2: right like you love Chris Middleton come on now, okc Rob,

475
00:26:20,280 --> 00:26:21,720
Speaker 2: do you love them or hate them?

476
00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:23,960
Speaker 3: I'm indifferent exactly.

477
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:28,040
Speaker 2: That's terrible, right, And they might be a good collection

478
00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:31,760
Speaker 2: of players, but they're not a super team. So if

479
00:26:31,760 --> 00:26:33,880
Speaker 2: people if they're not a super team, and people don't

480
00:26:33,920 --> 00:26:36,920
Speaker 2: love them or hate them, like why am I tuning in?

481
00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:42,480
Speaker 2: And I think they're kind of boring? Can make a

482
00:26:42,480 --> 00:26:42,960
Speaker 2: good argument.

483
00:26:43,000 --> 00:26:46,200
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think you did the thing what the NBA needs.

484
00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:47,760
Speaker 3: If they're not gonna go up these starts, they're gonna

485
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:51,400
Speaker 3: need OKAC or India or whoever the next team is

486
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:54,320
Speaker 3: to make two three straight finals.

487
00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:54,440
Speaker 1: In a row.

488
00:26:54,880 --> 00:26:57,159
Speaker 2: That would get that. That's what ascended to Jordan, right,

489
00:26:58,119 --> 00:26:59,560
Speaker 2: we went three in a row. Oh my gosh, this

490
00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:05,479
Speaker 2: guy must amazing. Or or or Yannis makes a big frickin'

491
00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,840
Speaker 2: move this summer. I mean, what if Zion lands with

492
00:27:08,840 --> 00:27:11,560
Speaker 2: the Clippers and they tried like some sort of lob

493
00:27:11,600 --> 00:27:15,040
Speaker 2: City part duh, you know, Yannis to the Knicks, the

494
00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:17,600
Speaker 2: honest to the Rockets. I know people don't want to

495
00:27:17,600 --> 00:27:20,840
Speaker 2: see it, but that's what really works for the NBA.

496
00:27:20,920 --> 00:27:24,000
Speaker 2: They found what works. I think super teams and player

497
00:27:24,040 --> 00:27:26,800
Speaker 2: movement is great. Are you pro pray a movement.

498
00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:28,040
Speaker 3: Absolutely.

499
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:32,760
Speaker 2: Yeah, Like, do you still remember where Kawhi like spurned

500
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:35,000
Speaker 2: the Lakers? Asked him and then he was like, now,

501
00:27:35,040 --> 00:27:36,520
Speaker 2: fuck that, I'm going to the Clippers and I'm gonna

502
00:27:36,520 --> 00:27:37,560
Speaker 2: bring Paul George. Remember that.

503
00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:43,480
Speaker 3: Yeah, there was unsubstantiated reports, but people you know down

504
00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:48,399
Speaker 3: in Vegas swear there was a minor earthquake in one

505
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:51,040
Speaker 3: of the casinos when the news broke that the trade

506
00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:53,200
Speaker 3: was going down, and it was Kawhi and Paul George

507
00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:55,160
Speaker 3: both going to the Because that was during summer League.

508
00:27:55,160 --> 00:27:57,840
Speaker 3: You're a call. So those guys were all on the

509
00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:00,800
Speaker 3: casino floor. They said they could feel the floors because

510
00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:02,440
Speaker 3: everyone got the textler at the same time.

511
00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:05,320
Speaker 2: It was listen, man, that that's the kind of stuff

512
00:28:05,359 --> 00:28:08,200
Speaker 2: like instantly you're like, Kawhy said no to the Lakers

513
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,720
Speaker 2: and he's bringing Paul George. Bands screwed those guys. Nobody

514
00:28:10,760 --> 00:28:13,879
Speaker 2: instantly didn't like him. Instantly, It's like, fuck, damn, come on.

515
00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:17,919
Speaker 2: So I don't know, I mean, listen, I'm hopeful that

516
00:28:18,320 --> 00:28:20,399
Speaker 2: this is a good series. Whether it's the Knicks comeback,

517
00:28:20,440 --> 00:28:21,679
Speaker 2: I don't know, what's the next chances to come and

518
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:27,640
Speaker 2: backrop Uh, wow, that seems highly like gonna say.

519
00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:29,159
Speaker 3: Like three, Well they got two two to three at home.

520
00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:31,240
Speaker 3: If they consume they make it that far, that's a

521
00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:31,680
Speaker 3: big deal.

522
00:28:32,280 --> 00:28:34,600
Speaker 2: That would be nice. Hey, listen, that would be excellent

523
00:28:34,600 --> 00:28:36,640
Speaker 2: if they made it interesting. But it feels like it's

524
00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:39,640
Speaker 2: gonna be Pacers. By the way, I think Pacers give

525
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:42,440
Speaker 2: the Give the Thunder a better series than the Knicks,

526
00:28:42,440 --> 00:28:42,760
Speaker 2: don't you know?

527
00:28:43,040 --> 00:28:45,880
Speaker 3: If you are a hoops fan, this would be one

528
00:28:45,880 --> 00:28:47,760
Speaker 3: of the better matchups you could have hoped for.

529
00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:48,640
Speaker 1: Yeah.

530
00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:52,280
Speaker 3: Yeah, you have a historically great defense, historically great offense

531
00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:57,680
Speaker 3: going head to head, and that just the way they play.

532
00:28:58,240 --> 00:28:59,880
Speaker 3: And I don't want to get deep in the minutia.

533
00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:03,480
Speaker 3: It is like basketball Nirvana. Ball moving player, movem quick decisions,

534
00:29:03,520 --> 00:29:08,720
Speaker 3: like everything is pure Basketballah.

535
00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,400
Speaker 2: We could talk about it next week. I'm just surprised

536
00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:15,000
Speaker 2: it took people this long opponents to realize, Oh, when

537
00:29:15,040 --> 00:29:17,240
Speaker 2: Brunson and Towns are on the floor, we can just annihilate.

538
00:29:17,880 --> 00:29:19,760
Speaker 2: How did the Celtics not see that? How did nobody

539
00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:22,520
Speaker 2: see that? I don't remember one band see it.

540
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:24,000
Speaker 3: They went up by fifteen every game and then they

541
00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:25,640
Speaker 3: just gave it all up, so they did see it.

542
00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:29,560
Speaker 2: Well, did they see that or did they just go

543
00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:31,520
Speaker 2: up by fifteen every game? I don't think. I don't

544
00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:32,840
Speaker 2: remember them hunting Brunson.

545
00:29:32,960 --> 00:29:34,960
Speaker 3: No, because they played their way, and their way is

546
00:29:35,760 --> 00:29:38,280
Speaker 3: penetrating pitch three, three threes, three threes.

547
00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:42,000
Speaker 2: But it definitely feels like something was unlocked with by

548
00:29:42,040 --> 00:29:45,400
Speaker 2: okay se against Minnesota. Hey, man, pack the lane. Nothing

549
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,920
Speaker 2: for aunt. We don't care about the other guys. Sure,

550
00:29:49,040 --> 00:29:52,560
Speaker 2: Jaden McDaniels and de Vincenzo, they're gonna have occasional hot streaks.

551
00:29:53,760 --> 00:29:58,640
Speaker 2: But it's almost like, damn, they had two rounds to

552
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:02,240
Speaker 2: watch Minnesota. Can you imagine if Reddick faced Minnesota later

553
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:04,120
Speaker 2: and the Lakers did that defense, they would they would

554
00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:06,480
Speaker 2: have easily rolled. You don't even need a center to

555
00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,360
Speaker 2: stop them. Lakers don't have one. They just didn't play

556
00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:11,760
Speaker 2: it right, and nobody saw it until after two rounds

557
00:30:11,760 --> 00:30:15,520
Speaker 2: of ant dominating. Oh let's try this man NBA playoffs,

558
00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:18,240
Speaker 2: they have been well, all right, we are back tomorrow. Hey,

559
00:30:18,240 --> 00:30:20,560
Speaker 2: I'm hopeful for the next baby, but I'm also a realist.

560
00:30:20,680 --> 00:30:21,240
Speaker 2: Talk to you then,