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Speaker 1: This is the Action Network podcast, so you can hear the

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Speaker 1: chatters from the crowd. We have a big chance, a

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Speaker 1: big chance to link a question big box three pointer? Fine,

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Speaker 1: Oh what a man. Welcome to the Action Network Podcast,

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Speaker 1: NBA Conference Finals Edition. My name's Matt Moore. I'm just

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Speaker 1: seeing your NBA writer for the Action Network and I'm

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Speaker 1: very excited to be joining today by Ryan McDonough for,

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Speaker 1: formerly front office executive in the NBA, known for his

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Speaker 1: work on the Odyssey. He's all over the place. You

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Speaker 1: can catch him on Twitter. We'll have the link for

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Speaker 1: you too is Twitter. In the episode of description, Ryan,

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Speaker 1: how you doing today.

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Speaker 2: Madam doing great. Always good to be on with you,

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Speaker 2: especially with the Conference Finals starting, the lottery upcoming. I

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Speaker 2: feel like we had a lot to talk about us always,

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Speaker 2: and I think for guys like you and I NBA junkies,

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Speaker 2: this is one of our favorite times a year.

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Speaker 1: Is the lottery. How nerve wracking? Is the lottery for

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Speaker 1: front office executive? Like, like is it? You? Just kind

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Speaker 1: of like, wow, whatever happens, because oftentimes I'll talk to

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Speaker 1: execs and they'll just be like, well, look it's out

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Speaker 1: of my control and I can only control whatever but

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Speaker 1: it's such a big deal. What's that day like for executives?

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Speaker 2: I think it depends on where you're slotted. I've been

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Speaker 2: on all sides of it. When I was gam with

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Speaker 2: the Suns, we were slotted fourteenth and ended up with

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Speaker 2: the fourteenth pick, and the twenty fourteen draft we ended

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Speaker 2: up taking TJ. Warren with that one. In twenty eighteen,

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Speaker 2: four years later, we slotted one and ended up being

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Speaker 2: number one. It took DeAndre eight and that one. So

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Speaker 2: it's it's really you know, I guess if you're at

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Speaker 2: the top, you feel more pressure, if that's the right word. However,

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Speaker 2: I you know, I would say in drafts that are

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Speaker 2: relatively flat, or unless there's one transcendent star in the

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Speaker 2: draft who's obvious, I like, say a Lebron James, you know,

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Speaker 2: maybe Tim Duncan somebody like that, it can be a

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Speaker 2: blessing and a curse. And you know, I'm part of

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Speaker 2: the one of the victims. I guess of that. Matt.

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Speaker 2: You know, look look at the twenty eighteen draft. You

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Speaker 2: go back a few years and I was with the Suns,

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Speaker 2: Bloody d Bach with the Kings, Donny Nelson with the MAVs,

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Speaker 2: and so on and so forth. Chris Wallace with the

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Speaker 2: Memphis Grizzlies. None of us are still working for those

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Speaker 2: teams with the top four picks. So it can be

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Speaker 2: a blessing and a curse. But it's one of those

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Speaker 2: things that you tell yourself you're not gonna worry about

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Speaker 2: it if you're an executive, slotted AD or near the

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Speaker 2: top of the draft. But then I guess, just human nature,

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Speaker 2: as you get closer to draft night or lottery night

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Speaker 2: and the ping pong balls start bouncing, you get nervous

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Speaker 2: and you don't want to know. You feel like you

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Speaker 2: can will it to happen, even though it's just random chance.

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Speaker 2: In reality, you have nothing to do with the outcome.

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Speaker 1: Let's talk about some conference finals. Thought's talk about the

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Speaker 1: basketball on the court. So we're recording this on Tuesday afternoon,

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Speaker 1: a couple hours before the Eastern Conference Finals tip off,

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Speaker 1: and I do want to get your thoughts on the

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Speaker 1: series as a whole, regardless of how Game one kind

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Speaker 1: of tips off. For me, I look at the series

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Speaker 1: and I think it's just gonna be a slug fest.

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Speaker 1: These are two teams that are great defensively. I think

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Speaker 1: Bam out of Bayo. Honestly, he was the front runner

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Speaker 1: for Defensive Player of the Year back in early March

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Speaker 1: and then a late surge by Marcus Smart. I think

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Speaker 1: BAM's been absolutely amazing the season. This has been one

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Speaker 1: where more than ever, I've kind of appreciated what BAM's

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Speaker 1: brought to the table. Defensively, You've obviously got the Celtics

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Speaker 1: with the defensive player of the year Marcus Smart was

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Speaker 1: questionable and then this game, but should play at some

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Speaker 1: point in the series. These are two switching defenses, Heat

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Speaker 1: us a lot of zone. I just feel like this

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Speaker 1: is going to be a very It's going to be

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Speaker 1: close no matter what, just because of the style of

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Speaker 1: how these two teams play, where they're so good at

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Speaker 1: I've kind of described it as taking away your ceiling offensively.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, two very well coached teams, two very deep teams,

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Speaker 2: and that was the thing that I think I missed, Matt.

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Speaker 2: I'll be honest, I've been lower on the Miami Heat

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Speaker 2: all year than I should have been. You know, they

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Speaker 2: didn't get a lot of attention I guess nationally, you know,

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Speaker 2: relative to what Miami's got in the past. Obviously when

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Speaker 2: they had Lebron and d Wade and Boston. Those guys,

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Speaker 2: they were the team I've talked about this year. I

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Speaker 2: feel like even though there was a number one seed

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Speaker 2: in the Eastern Conference, they flew somewhat under the radar,

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Speaker 2: typical Miami. They didn't have a whole lot of drama,

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Speaker 2: although they did have some pretty significant injuries to their

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Speaker 2: top players. Jimmy Butler, bam Adebayo miss time, Kyle Lowry

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Speaker 2: is now banged up. He is out for Game one.

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Speaker 2: So I think it's gonna be a heck of a series.

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Speaker 2: I completely agree with you. I think it's gonna go

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Speaker 2: at least six games, potentially seven games. And you know,

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Speaker 2: two elite coaches, I mean supposed to is that we

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Speaker 2: know that he's maybe the best coach in the league.

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Speaker 2: But Emio dooka what he was able to do in

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Speaker 2: terms of turning Boston season in season without a real catalyst. Man,

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Speaker 2: That's that's what surprised me. And when I was thinking

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Speaker 2: back for my two decades or so affiliation with the NBA,

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Speaker 2: I can't really remember a season flipping as significantly, especially

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Speaker 2: from bad to good, as the Celtics did without a

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Speaker 2: big trade. So I'm looking for for a heck of

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Speaker 2: a series. I think it's going to be, you know,

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Speaker 2: a hard fought, long series, very physical, as you mentioned,

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Speaker 2: and yeah, BAM's gonna have you know, his his his way,

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Speaker 2: I think in certain aspects. But Robert Williams looks like

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Speaker 2: he's gonna play for the Celtics. So the teams are

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Speaker 2: getting healthier, and really, for me, this is kind of

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Speaker 2: a coin flip because these two teams are so evenly matched.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's interesting to look at They're stylistically

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Speaker 1: very similar to right, You've got Butler on one side

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Speaker 1: and Tatum on the other. You've got Jalen brown Is,

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Speaker 1: I think, kind of a tier above who Miami's got

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Speaker 1: as a secondary player. They got Bam in the front court.

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Speaker 1: Like that's a big advantage there, as good as I

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Speaker 1: think Robert Williams is. And Al Horford, who's been absolutely

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Speaker 1: just amazing in these playoffs as a big Al Horford guy,

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Speaker 1: it's great to see him once again having a great

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Speaker 1: postseason run. He's been tremendous for them, and Grant Williams

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Speaker 1: giving them these huge minutes. I'm trying to figure out

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Speaker 1: who the other guys, the unseen, the guys that were

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Speaker 1: not going to expect to have these series that they

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Speaker 1: have the deciding ones. I think for the Bucks, you know,

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Speaker 1: Bucks fans, I think we'll look back and go man.

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Speaker 1: Grant Williams killed us in that series. Whether it's Max Strus,

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Speaker 1: which is Augusty's starter, Gabe Vincent, who actually have been

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Speaker 1: pretty impressed with his on ball work as of late.

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Speaker 1: Is there a guy on either team that you see

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Speaker 1: having a big impact relative to kind of expects in

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Speaker 1: the series.

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Speaker 2: Yeah. I lean toward Boston to win the series because

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Speaker 2: I think they have more good players. And I think

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Speaker 2: that's one of the trends Matt, and it sounds overly simplistic.

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Speaker 2: It is overly simplistic. But if you have foul trouble

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Speaker 2: or injuries and you can go to your bench and

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Speaker 2: not really have a significant drop off, not really a

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Speaker 2: weak link in the chain, I think in today's NBA

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Speaker 2: that that is so important. You know. I think Phoenix

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Speaker 2: some extent had that at least until it's till Game

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Speaker 2: seven with the meltdown. But you know, good good talent,

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Speaker 2: good depth. I think Golden State has that ability, and

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Speaker 2: I think Boston in the Eastern Conference, to me, stands

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Speaker 2: out where you mentioned Robert Williams, he goes down, you know,

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Speaker 2: looking at the matchup last series against Milwaukee, said holy

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Speaker 2: how are they going to stop Giannis without Robert Williams

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Speaker 2: at the at the rim, Well, Al Horford really stepped

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Speaker 2: up in Boston. To their credit, they went out and

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Speaker 2: got Daniel Tice in season. So the Celtics have a

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Speaker 2: lot of depth, and I think that'll be one of

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Speaker 2: the adjustments that I'm looking at for Imoodoka this series.

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Speaker 2: I know they gave up a lot, Boston gave up

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Speaker 2: a lot to get Derek White. What in the last

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Speaker 2: series Peyton Pritchard out played Derek White for the Celtics,

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Speaker 2: So I wonder if they'll be a quicker hook this time.

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Speaker 2: We'll see, you know, Adelka is a young coach. He's

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Speaker 2: obviously never as a rookie's never coached in the conference finals,

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Speaker 2: and he's against an elite tactician on the other side.

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Speaker 2: So I'm looking at some of those things. But yeah,

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Speaker 2: I like Boston to win the series. I just think

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Speaker 2: they're a little bit better. I think they're getting healthier

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Speaker 2: now with Williams returning the lineups. We'll see what Robert

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Speaker 2: is able to give the Celtics, and then from Miami

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Speaker 2: Lowry being out. I think those things, you know, you

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Speaker 2: can overcome that the first round or two, Matt, but

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Speaker 2: as you get up the pyramid, as the competition gets

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Speaker 2: tougher and tougher, it's a fine line between winning and losing.

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Speaker 2: And I think Lowry's out, you know, for Game one tonight,

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Speaker 2: if he continues to miss time, or even if he

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Speaker 2: plays and he's limited. I just think the Celtics have

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Speaker 2: a lot of talent, a lot of depth. And the

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Speaker 2: final thing I'll say about that, as you mentioned Jimmy Butler,

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Speaker 2: you mentioned Tatum, two of the best in the league.

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Speaker 2: Jimmy's maybe been the best player in the playoffs, but

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Speaker 2: then you go to the secondary guys. Jalen Brown has

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Speaker 2: a significant advantage against some of the guys you mentioned PJ. Tucker,

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Speaker 2: you know, gave Vincent some of the Miami. I think

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Speaker 2: that's kind of the difference for Boston. I expect Jingalen

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Speaker 2: Brown to have a big series. We'll see if Tyler

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Speaker 2: Harrow can neutralize that for the Heat. But I leaned

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Speaker 2: toward the Celtics just as they look at player by player,

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Speaker 2: matchup by matchup. I think Boston's a little.

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Speaker 1: Better when you've got coach like Ime who, like I

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Speaker 1: was covering him back on the twenty twelve finals right

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Speaker 1: when they were twenty thirteen, rather with it when it

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Speaker 1: was heat versus Spurs and the word that he did

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Speaker 1: in San Antonio conaw that system. And then he's been

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Speaker 1: obviously in Philadelphia. He's had so many stops along the way,

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Speaker 1: like he had, He's worked for some great coaches and

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Speaker 1: made deep playoff runs as an assistant. In your experience,

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Speaker 1: how much does that translate. Does the assistant work help

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Speaker 1: with making that leap to being the guy the head

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Speaker 1: coach having to make the call on those adjustments as

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Speaker 1: the series get later and more serious.

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Speaker 2: I think maybe having been there helps a little, But

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Speaker 2: I think most assistants who get hired as a head coach,

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Speaker 2: guys have been around the NBA for a while, have

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Speaker 2: been in that position, either as a player and or

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Speaker 2: as an assistant coach. You know you have deep playoff

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Speaker 2: runs really matter. That's a long window way of saying

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Speaker 2: I don't think anybody anything fully prepares you for that.

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Speaker 2: You know, they talk about that move eighteen inches, but

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Speaker 2: I know for me, going from assistant GM and the

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Speaker 2: Celtics front office work for Danny Ainge to GM of

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Speaker 2: the Suns. It's a different job. It's a different level

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Speaker 2: of pressure, responsibilities. You have so many more people who

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Speaker 2: we don't want something from you or who you know,

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Speaker 2: you need to be the bad guy to some extent.

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Speaker 2: And what I mean by that is if you're an

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Speaker 2: assistant coach, assistant GM, whatever, you know, it's easy to

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Speaker 2: be very popular, right if popular are the players the

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Speaker 2: other teams, Hey, you're my guy. You knows. As the

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Speaker 2: decision maker or certainly one of the top decision makers

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Speaker 2: in the organization, you're the one has to say no,

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Speaker 2: this guy's gonna sit, I'm gonna take this guy out.

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Speaker 2: I'm going to call time out. We're not going to

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Speaker 2: run plays for that guy. That's a difficult, cold job

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Speaker 2: and difficult role. And it's a different job and different

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Speaker 2: role than what Udoka had before. He's done very well

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Speaker 2: with it, you know, obviously we've seen. One of the

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Speaker 2: things I thought that was underrated in Game seven against

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Speaker 2: Milwaukee was him sticking with Williams because Grant played very well.

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Speaker 2: As the game went on, he did not get off

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Speaker 2: to a very good start Matt in that game. As

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Speaker 2: you know, you go back and watch the film, Grant

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Speaker 2: Williams missed some shots early. You could feel the pressure

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Speaker 2: intension mounting in Boston. I think it'd be easy for

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Speaker 2: a coach to tell him, I don't know, don't shoot,

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Speaker 2: drive it, or just take him out of the rotation.

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Speaker 2: He's stuck with Grant Williams. That decision paid off, but

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Speaker 2: again he's going against one of the best, I mean,

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Speaker 2: spolsers going to the Hall of Fame, will go down

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Speaker 2: as one of the great head coaches in NBA history.

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Speaker 2: He'd also have home court advantage in this series, so

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Speaker 2: I'm expecting a tremendous series. I think Udoka will be ready.

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Speaker 2: But as I mentioned, for the players, it gets harder

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Speaker 2: every level you go up the pyramid. It also gets

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Speaker 2: harder for the coaches every level you go up the pyramid,

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Speaker 2: because they're only elite coaches remaining of the four playoff teams.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, I suppose record is a home favorite is pretty outrageous.

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Speaker 1: His winning percentage of somewhere north of seventy percent in

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Speaker 1: the playoffs is a home favorite. It's really kind of ridiculous. Now,

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Speaker 1: some of that's obviously tied to had Lebron James, Dwayne Wade,

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Speaker 1: and Chris Bosh. That helps. I think if you're trying

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Speaker 1: to win home games. What is it though around the

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Speaker 1: league that really like Spulture's reputation because I think I

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Speaker 1: think media in particular, this has been something that's frustrated

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Speaker 1: me where we talk about I've joked that the way

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Speaker 1: that media talks about coaches is always a great coach,

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Speaker 1: and it's like, all right, do you play zone? Yes,

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Speaker 1: all right, he's a great coach. And then it's well,

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Speaker 1: he made great adjustments. What do you do. Well, you

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Speaker 1: saw how they won that game. It's okay, but that

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Speaker 1: just winning the game doesn't mean that you made any adjustments.

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Speaker 1: What are the things that SPO's kind of known in

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Speaker 1: NBA circles for being really great at.

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Speaker 2: I think the obvious one for me is maximizing individual talent.

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Speaker 2: That may sound simplistic, but if you look at some

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Speaker 2: of the players who have contributed in recent years, Duncan

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Speaker 2: Robinson undrafted even mid season this year with injuries to

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Speaker 2: Bam and others. Omer year seven, going back a little while,

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Speaker 2: Hassan Whiteside, Tyler Johnson, getting guys who were just available,

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Speaker 2: any team in the league could have had them sign them.

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Speaker 2: And that's not just young players. So even veteran players

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Speaker 2: like Wayne Ellington or they bring into the system and

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Speaker 2: you know, have their best years. So I think it's

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Speaker 2: a number of factors. Certainly, the organizational continuity helps people

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Speaker 2: underrate that. And it's kind of a chicken or the

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Speaker 2: egg debate that in the NBA, which came first. Well,

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Speaker 2: does Miami's organizational stability allow it to be successful or

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Speaker 2: are they successful because they have organizational stability. You know,

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Speaker 2: you could argue both sides of that. But either way,

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Speaker 2: that grouping pat Riley, Andy Ellisberg, Adam Simon in the

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Speaker 2: front office, Eric Spolstra and his staff, they've been together

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Speaker 2: for a long time, so they look for a certain

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Speaker 2: kind of player, they put that player into the system.

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Speaker 2: And also one of the things that's unusual, as you know,

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Speaker 2: even among the good teams. We saw what happened this

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Speaker 2: year in LA with the Lakers and in Brooklyn with

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Speaker 2: the Nets. Everybody who goes into that building, in that

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Speaker 2: locker room knows who's in charge. Right, Nobody is running

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Speaker 2: roughshot over pat Riley and our expulsive that's just not

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Speaker 2: going to happen. So there you have a choice. You

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Speaker 2: either get in shape, you fall in line, you play

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Speaker 2: your role and listen, or you're gone. And that's not

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Speaker 2: the case in every NBA franchise, is you know, with

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Speaker 2: teams seemingly a lot of them bending to the whims

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Speaker 2: of star players. Think it's all of that, all that combined.

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Speaker 2: But for me, if I were to pick out one

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Speaker 2: strength for Spo, it's maximizing individual players. And that's a

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Speaker 2: credit to him because, like I said, those guys are

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Speaker 2: available before the Heat signed them. They play well in Miami,

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Speaker 2: and then a lot of times, frankly, you watch them

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Speaker 2: play outside of Miami and they don't look nearly as good.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, that's for sure the case. There's so many guys

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Speaker 1: that have come through, and I've kind of got to

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Speaker 1: the point where I worry for teams that they signed

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Speaker 1: Miami guys. At this point, I'm like, you gotta be

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Speaker 1: real sure if you're going to sign a Miami guy

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Speaker 1: before we go to the West. So you said you

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Speaker 1: like the Celtics in the series, Do you have a

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Speaker 1: pick for games six, seven, five? How long do you

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Speaker 1: think the series will go between the Celtics and the Heat?

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Speaker 2: I think it's a long series. I have the Celtics

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Speaker 2: in six. Game six would be at the TD Garden.

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Speaker 2: I'm just you know, it's a coin flip, but I

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Speaker 2: leaned slightly toward Boston with their toughness. That's one of

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Speaker 2: the things that stands out Matt watching the playoffs, watching

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Speaker 2: all sixteen teams. Now we're down to four. The Celtics

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Speaker 2: have some pretty rugged, physical dudes up and down their lineup,

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Speaker 2: starting in the backcourt with Marcus Smart, Jalen Brown, Jason

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Speaker 2: Tatum on the wing, Al Horford in the front line.

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Speaker 2: And the reason I bring that up is because, as

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Speaker 2: you know, Miami at times over the years has beat

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Speaker 2: teams into submission with their toughness and physicality. Jimmy Butler

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Speaker 2: is one of the great alphas we have currently playing

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Speaker 2: in the league. They're not going to do that to

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Speaker 2: this Boston team. They're not going to physically beat them

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Speaker 2: up and take the Celtics out of what they're doing.

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Speaker 2: Boston's kind of built for that rugged, physical series. So

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Speaker 2: I think Boston and six. I think Lowry's injury contributes

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Speaker 2: to that. Again, take it with a grand assault or

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Speaker 2: what you will. I've been wrong on Miami all year,

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Speaker 2: and I wouldn't all be surprised if they win the

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Speaker 2: Eastern Conference and advance to the championship. But I think

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Speaker 2: since the calendar flipped from twenty twenty one till twenty

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Speaker 2: twenty two, keep in mind the Celtics just before New

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Speaker 2: Year's We're sixteen and nineteen, and I grew up in

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Speaker 2: the Boston area, mat I worked for the franchise for

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Speaker 2: over a decade. We're lucky to have some success when

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Speaker 2: I was there. And I preface this that way because

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Speaker 2: I don't know if I've ever seen a Celtics fan

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Speaker 2: base is down on the team as they were from

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Speaker 2: October to December, but really, you know, didn't like the team,

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Speaker 2: you know, didn't not just that the team was mediocre,

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Speaker 2: like actively dislike the team. So I bring that up

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Speaker 2: in terms of how it's flipped in twenty twenty two.

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Speaker 2: Since the New Year hit, they've been probably the most

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Speaker 2: dominant team in the league. Defensively, they've been incredible. I know,

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Speaker 2: you know, know the number is better than anybody, but

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Speaker 2: they were blowing teams out at historic margin with the

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Speaker 2: point differential. So I think this year twenty twenty two,

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Speaker 2: they've been the best team. They just beat the defending

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Speaker 2: champs with the best player. So I think, you know,

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Speaker 2: if I were betting it, I'd go with Boston in

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Speaker 2: six games.

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Speaker 1: Yeah, Celtics in six in particular, you can get a

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Speaker 1: bet Rivers for plus three hundred. I bet Heat plus

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Speaker 1: one and a half on the win spread line, just

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Speaker 1: because I think there's a good chance that they get

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Speaker 1: to that they can push this to seven or win,

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Speaker 1: and they'll probably had in game six because well, I'm

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Speaker 1: a serial header now on too Sleeper. Sleeper is the

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Speaker 1: conditions apply. See Sleeper's terms of use for details. Let's

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Speaker 1: go to the Western Conference and talk about the Mavericks

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Speaker 1: and the Warriors. Fascinating series, just really fascinating, you know, Ryan,

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Speaker 1: when I watched that Sun series, I went back and

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Speaker 1: I've watched their losses in game three, four, six, and

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Speaker 1: seven multiple times trying to find like, what is it

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Speaker 1: the Mavericks did, Like, what did they do? And there's

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Speaker 1: kind of been again with some of my frustration with

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Speaker 1: how we cover these things. Oh well, the MAVs did

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Speaker 1: this and they won, so this is why this is

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Speaker 1: what worked. And I just can't really get there. They

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Speaker 1: applied blitzes to Devin Booker. Devin seen blitzes before, like

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Speaker 1: he's He's run into those a lot, like they blitz

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Speaker 1: them off dribble handoffs, Okay, but he handled them fine

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Speaker 1: in games one and two, he handled them fine. In

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Speaker 1: Game five. Chris I think definitely was worn down by

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Speaker 1: them attacking him off the switches. That's that's absolutely for sure.

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Speaker 1: But so much of it with the Suns was just

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Speaker 1: they just seemed disconnected. And that's one of those ephemeral things.

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Speaker 1: I don't think you can really you can't quantify what

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Speaker 1: went on with the Suns. Now, don't get me wrong.

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Speaker 1: A fifty eight point seven offensive rating in the first

401
00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:15,520
Speaker 1: half of Game seven goes a long way towards showing

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00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:18,320
Speaker 1: how bad they were. But when I look at that,

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Speaker 1: I just I have to come away with it the

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00:18:20,160 --> 00:18:23,320
Speaker 1: thought that they just disconnected at some point. And it's

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Speaker 1: not that I don't want to give them mavers credit,

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Speaker 1: because I think they're a really good team and they've

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Speaker 1: lived up the expectations, and Dorian Finniey Smith has played awesome,

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Speaker 1: and Jalen Brunson was incredible in the first series, and

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Speaker 1: Luca is that guy. But I do look at this

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Speaker 1: matchup and I think it's a little bit different. They

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Speaker 1: faced two extremely heavy pick and roll teams in rounds

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Speaker 1: one and two. Like that is bread and butter for

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Speaker 1: Utah and Phoenix is pick and roll over and over

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Speaker 1: and over again. Warriors run a lot more motion, They

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Speaker 1: run a lot more off ball cut screens. They want

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Speaker 1: to get you confused on those switches. The Dallas is

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Speaker 1: going to try and run and I do think that,

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Speaker 1: even though Golden State's been inconsistent that I think Dallas

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Speaker 1: is going to have a hard time with how much

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Speaker 1: more complex and inside out the Warriors offense kind of is.

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Speaker 1: And that's one of the reasons Island towards Golden State

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Speaker 1: in the series. What you read on Mavericks Warriors, I.

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Speaker 2: Agree with just about everything you just said, Matt. I

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Speaker 2: leaned toward the Warriors as well. There are totally different

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Speaker 2: offense in terms of preparation one of the underrated elements

426
00:19:20,080 --> 00:19:21,560
Speaker 2: of it. And keep in mind, I was a GM

427
00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:23,639
Speaker 2: in the same conference, in the same division during the

428
00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:27,119
Speaker 2: height of the Warriors reign from twenty fourteen to twenty eighteen,

429
00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:29,320
Speaker 2: so I know what they're capable of, especially an old

430
00:19:29,359 --> 00:19:32,359
Speaker 2: Oracle arena. I have PTSD about watching them, you know,

431
00:19:32,400 --> 00:19:34,840
Speaker 2: splash threes and backcuts you. And one of the things

432
00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:37,200
Speaker 2: that really stood out to me, Matt with those teams

433
00:19:37,200 --> 00:19:39,040
Speaker 2: and this team has some of that ability, is just

434
00:19:39,280 --> 00:19:40,800
Speaker 2: how quickly they could end a game.

435
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:41,040
Speaker 1: You know.

436
00:19:41,040 --> 00:19:42,680
Speaker 2: It was like a fighter who just kind of would

437
00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:44,919
Speaker 2: you know, throw trade punches or whatever, and then when

438
00:19:44,920 --> 00:19:46,600
Speaker 2: they wanted to knock you out, it was boom boom

439
00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,320
Speaker 2: and it was over, you know, quickly, with a Curry

440
00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:51,840
Speaker 2: flurry as I call it, you know, eleven zero steph

441
00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:54,320
Speaker 2: run or you know Steph contributed run, like in about

442
00:19:54,320 --> 00:19:57,760
Speaker 2: two minutes. So I think this will be Dallas's toughest test.

443
00:19:58,000 --> 00:19:58,160
Speaker 1: Now.

444
00:19:58,320 --> 00:20:00,320
Speaker 2: I do think Dallas has a chance because as I

445
00:20:00,359 --> 00:20:03,080
Speaker 2: look up and down the Warriors roster, I don't know

446
00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:06,240
Speaker 2: who guards Luca. I mean, you know, the mckel Bridges's

447
00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:07,639
Speaker 2: He's my guy. We brought him in when I was

448
00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:09,680
Speaker 2: gam of the Suns runner up for Defensive Player of

449
00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:12,480
Speaker 2: the Year. He just physically couldn't handle Luca. I think.

450
00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,920
Speaker 2: I think that's what a lot of people underestimate about Lucas,

451
00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,080
Speaker 2: just how big and strong he is. And the guy

452
00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:19,000
Speaker 2: in his prime who would have had the best chance

453
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:21,639
Speaker 2: to guard Luca, matt Is Andrea Gudala big Widal has

454
00:20:21,640 --> 00:20:24,040
Speaker 2: been injured and is nearly the same player he wants to.

455
00:20:24,200 --> 00:20:27,200
Speaker 2: So from an individual betting perspective, I think Luke Luca

456
00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:28,760
Speaker 2: is going to have a monster a series and that

457
00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,080
Speaker 2: probably goes without saying, given not only what he's done

458
00:20:31,080 --> 00:20:33,159
Speaker 2: in this playoffs, but what he's done prior to this

459
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:36,400
Speaker 2: against really good wing defenders and in La and Paul

460
00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,240
Speaker 2: George and Kawhi Leonard than those guys. So if you're looking

461
00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:42,199
Speaker 2: for individual bets, I don't know what the over under is,

462
00:20:42,200 --> 00:20:44,159
Speaker 2: but I just blindly picked the over on all of

463
00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:46,119
Speaker 2: them because that's that's what I think he's gonna do.

464
00:20:46,880 --> 00:20:50,040
Speaker 2: But but defensively, uh, the Warriors now with the emergence

465
00:20:50,080 --> 00:20:52,560
Speaker 2: of of of Pool, Like when you guard the Warriors

466
00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:55,720
Speaker 2: their ability to backcut, they're they're them adding that third

467
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:59,320
Speaker 2: elite shooter in Pool around Stephan Clay and then Draymond

468
00:20:59,320 --> 00:21:01,840
Speaker 2: with his playmaking ability, I think they're gonna get a

469
00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:04,280
Speaker 2: lot more at the rim than Phoenix did. That may

470
00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:07,080
Speaker 2: seem counterintuitive, but Phoenix didn't really go to eight and

471
00:21:07,119 --> 00:21:09,080
Speaker 2: a whole lot. We can question whether that was a

472
00:21:09,080 --> 00:21:11,480
Speaker 2: good decision or not. Golden State's not going to go

473
00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:13,040
Speaker 2: to anybody at the room. They don't have that option.

474
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:14,600
Speaker 2: But the floor is going to be more spread and

475
00:21:14,680 --> 00:21:16,800
Speaker 2: more open. Draymond's gonna have the ball at the top

476
00:21:16,840 --> 00:21:19,400
Speaker 2: of the key high post, and if you overplay those shooters,

477
00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:21,560
Speaker 2: watch for the back cut. So I think I think

478
00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:23,800
Speaker 2: Golden State gets a lot at the rim based off

479
00:21:23,800 --> 00:21:26,240
Speaker 2: of that, based off of Draymond's playmaking and the off

480
00:21:26,280 --> 00:21:29,439
Speaker 2: ball cutting of Steph Clay, Pool and those guys on

481
00:21:29,480 --> 00:21:32,400
Speaker 2: the overplay for the perimeter from Dallas's defenders.

482
00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:35,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think it's an interesting question because, all right,

483
00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:37,959
Speaker 1: if a team's gonna switch, usually the idea is, all right,

484
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:39,240
Speaker 1: if they're going to switch. I mean, this is what

485
00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:41,639
Speaker 1: Dallas did, right, is like Dallas said, all right, you

486
00:21:41,680 --> 00:21:43,840
Speaker 1: want to switch, that's fine, We're gonna hut Chris Paul

487
00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:46,520
Speaker 1: into oblivion, Like we're just gonna go at Chris Paul

488
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,119
Speaker 1: over and over and over again. And we've seen that

489
00:21:49,119 --> 00:21:53,760
Speaker 1: another series right where honestly, the MAVs did the Suns

490
00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:55,919
Speaker 1: a lot of what they did to the Jazz. The

491
00:21:55,960 --> 00:21:58,679
Speaker 1: Suns tried to run drop and Luca was hurting them

492
00:21:58,720 --> 00:22:00,439
Speaker 1: so bad, They're like, all right, let's try and switch it.

493
00:22:00,560 --> 00:22:02,680
Speaker 1: And then when they did that, they spaced eight and

494
00:22:02,840 --> 00:22:05,959
Speaker 1: out all the way out of it and they ran

495
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,919
Speaker 1: a lot of honestly, guard guard, pick and roll, so

496
00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:09,720
Speaker 1: that Aiden wasn't even part of the equation. Like, if

497
00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,480
Speaker 1: you don't have aid and protecting the room, it's a

498
00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:14,160
Speaker 1: real problem. It's one of that. I think the strong

499
00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,119
Speaker 1: points of the Warriors is they don't necessarily need to

500
00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:19,200
Speaker 1: do that, Like they're comfortable being like no, no, Like we're

501
00:22:19,200 --> 00:22:22,600
Speaker 1: not relying on our room protection. We don't need to

502
00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:25,440
Speaker 1: play drop here. We don't have to play Cavan Looney

503
00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:27,200
Speaker 1: if we don't need to, like they'll play loony And

504
00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:30,199
Speaker 1: I think Lucas probably gonna go pretty thermonuclear in those

505
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,640
Speaker 1: minutes when Luney plays, Like part of my equation here

506
00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:35,320
Speaker 1: has been I like the overs in this series. I'm

507
00:22:35,359 --> 00:22:37,160
Speaker 1: starting out with a bet on the over in game

508
00:22:37,200 --> 00:22:39,680
Speaker 1: one for a lot of reasons. One, the trend leans

509
00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:41,760
Speaker 1: towards the over in game ones when the team comes

510
00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:44,480
Speaker 1: off of game seven, pretty predictable, right, like your legs

511
00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:46,840
Speaker 1: are tired, you're caught off guard, home crowd, et cetera.

512
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:50,040
Speaker 1: But I think the other reason that I kind of

513
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:51,280
Speaker 1: belian is is that the Warriors are gonna win. I

514
00:22:51,280 --> 00:22:53,560
Speaker 1: think they're gonna have to win with offense, because you're right,

515
00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,240
Speaker 1: I don't think there's anyone that can stop Luca. I

516
00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:58,600
Speaker 1: always kind of wonder about this question though, of Okay,

517
00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:01,840
Speaker 1: you know the questions like, well, who's gonna guard Luca

518
00:23:01,920 --> 00:23:05,399
Speaker 1: and does anyone? Does anyone like you just kind of

519
00:23:05,400 --> 00:23:07,760
Speaker 1: have to bake in like Luca's over runner. You mentioned

520
00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:09,960
Speaker 1: you like the overs. His points total is thirty three

521
00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,040
Speaker 1: and a half, and I'm with you, that feels soft

522
00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:15,720
Speaker 1: to me, Like this feels thirty six thirty seven a night,

523
00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:17,880
Speaker 1: Like I would not be surprised if Luca's averaging thirty

524
00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,200
Speaker 1: plus in the series, just because I think if you're

525
00:23:21,200 --> 00:23:24,240
Speaker 1: a Golden State, you are kind of programming and saying, look,

526
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:27,320
Speaker 1: we want to switch everything, stay home, make Lucas score

527
00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,240
Speaker 1: sixty to beat us, because if that's the tactic you

528
00:23:30,280 --> 00:23:32,320
Speaker 1: want to take. And a lot of this honestly gets

529
00:23:32,359 --> 00:23:36,439
Speaker 1: back to that twenty eighteen series between Houston and Golden

530
00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:39,240
Speaker 1: State where Houston switching everything and they're making a tough

531
00:23:39,240 --> 00:23:41,480
Speaker 1: on Kevin Durant, who's not playing in the flow of

532
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,120
Speaker 1: the offense. Then that was a tension point, Like Draymond

533
00:23:44,200 --> 00:23:47,119
Speaker 1: was mad at Kevin Durant even in that series for

534
00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:52,200
Speaker 1: not moving the ball and basically playing into what Houston wanted,

535
00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:55,119
Speaker 1: which is play isolation basketball one on one. If you

536
00:23:55,160 --> 00:23:57,119
Speaker 1: watch a lot of Dallas, they're not just playing switch

537
00:23:57,200 --> 00:24:00,639
Speaker 1: like they're aggressive. They're so high up, they're not collapsing

538
00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:02,480
Speaker 1: down and kind of like keeping an eye on the paint.

539
00:24:02,640 --> 00:24:04,600
Speaker 1: They want to keep everything on the perimeter, and they're

540
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:08,399
Speaker 1: willing to basically dare you to get behind them. Again,

541
00:24:08,440 --> 00:24:10,520
Speaker 1: That's where I think, like Golden State's so good at passing,

542
00:24:10,600 --> 00:24:14,000
Speaker 1: they can do it, but turnovers is the kind of

543
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:16,960
Speaker 1: the countermark there of if you're backing Dallas, it's because

544
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:19,399
Speaker 1: you think Dallas is just gonna be able to wreck

545
00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:22,920
Speaker 1: the Warriors with points off of turnovers. I personally always

546
00:24:22,920 --> 00:24:26,280
Speaker 1: get to a point whenever it's turnover stuff that I say,

547
00:24:26,840 --> 00:24:29,320
Speaker 1: even with a team like Golden State that's so sloppy

548
00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:30,960
Speaker 1: with the ball and they are like they just that's

549
00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,800
Speaker 1: inherent to how they move the ball, and Dallas is

550
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,440
Speaker 1: so good at creating them. It's still under Golden State's control.

551
00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,480
Speaker 1: So like as the series goes on, they should get

552
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,439
Speaker 1: sharper at anticipating those reads from Dallas on the passing lanes,

553
00:24:44,800 --> 00:24:47,520
Speaker 1: being able to figure out counters for that, staying out

554
00:24:47,520 --> 00:24:50,159
Speaker 1: of trouble, and ultimately if you if you do not

555
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:53,320
Speaker 1: turn the ball over, that takes away a big asset

556
00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:56,600
Speaker 1: for the opponent for you. When you look at a series,

557
00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,240
Speaker 1: can turnovers really be the difference in deciding who who

558
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:03,520
Speaker 1: wins and who loses? If we're not talking about like

559
00:25:03,520 --> 00:25:06,080
Speaker 1: a coin flip series, because I don't view this as such.

560
00:25:06,760 --> 00:25:09,320
Speaker 2: You make great points, and I think the difference as

561
00:25:09,359 --> 00:25:12,320
Speaker 2: I look at Golden State versus Phoenix and how they're

562
00:25:12,320 --> 00:25:14,600
Speaker 2: gonna match up with Dallas, I think the difference is

563
00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:16,520
Speaker 2: all year with Phoenix, and as you know, they were

564
00:25:16,720 --> 00:25:20,320
Speaker 2: historically good offensively, defensively, they have everything you want from

565
00:25:20,400 --> 00:25:23,480
Speaker 2: a championship favorite. But I think the difference was in

566
00:25:23,600 --> 00:25:26,439
Speaker 2: terms of what Dallas did with the perimeter pressure. Is

567
00:25:26,480 --> 00:25:29,840
Speaker 2: all year teams were worried about the Sun's Biggs eight

568
00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:31,600
Speaker 2: and and McGee in particular, and then when they got

569
00:25:31,600 --> 00:25:34,080
Speaker 2: Biambo getting behind them on the pick and roll, so

570
00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:36,720
Speaker 2: it's dropped job, drop drop, and then Chris Paul and

571
00:25:36,720 --> 00:25:39,120
Speaker 2: Devin Booker two the midrange guys in the league could

572
00:25:39,119 --> 00:25:40,680
Speaker 2: just eat in that area. You know, they could just

573
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,439
Speaker 2: go nuts and they were incredibly efficient at those shots

574
00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:45,959
Speaker 2: in the regular season. And Dallas so we don't care

575
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,240
Speaker 2: about you know, if if you throw it up to

576
00:25:47,280 --> 00:25:49,240
Speaker 2: the rem we're just gonna pressure the ball. We're going

577
00:25:49,320 --> 00:25:52,240
Speaker 2: to try to take away vision. We're going to be physical,

578
00:25:52,280 --> 00:25:55,200
Speaker 2: we're gonna wear down Chris Paul. As you mentioned, if

579
00:25:55,200 --> 00:25:56,760
Speaker 2: you throw it to the rim, you're throwing to thirty

580
00:25:56,760 --> 00:25:58,720
Speaker 2: five feet over two defenders in your face. You know,

581
00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:00,359
Speaker 2: it's not like we're gonna let you come off slowly

582
00:26:00,440 --> 00:26:02,720
Speaker 2: and get to that right elbow CP and just float

583
00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:05,440
Speaker 2: in shots. We're not doing that. I think the difference

584
00:26:05,440 --> 00:26:07,520
Speaker 2: Matt is Golden State is you know, I don't know

585
00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:09,600
Speaker 2: if they're set play calls or not. I think they're

586
00:26:09,600 --> 00:26:11,600
Speaker 2: more reads. But the back door stuff is part of

587
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:13,640
Speaker 2: their offense. I mean, that's what it is. And when

588
00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:16,399
Speaker 2: you have Steph Curry and Klay Thompson on your team

589
00:26:16,440 --> 00:26:19,040
Speaker 2: and Draymond Green as the triggerman for a lot of it,

590
00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:21,560
Speaker 2: you're used to overplays. I mean that's how teams play

591
00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:24,440
Speaker 2: gold Steph Curry has no room. As you know, if

592
00:26:24,440 --> 00:26:26,640
Speaker 2: he runs over half court, there's a guy shadowing him

593
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:29,359
Speaker 2: in game thirty seven in the regular season. That's just

594
00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:31,920
Speaker 2: what it is. So Golden States I think more equipped

595
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,040
Speaker 2: to handle that. I think they have a better playmaking

596
00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:37,840
Speaker 2: big in Draymond and that's just part of their offensive system.

597
00:26:37,920 --> 00:26:40,119
Speaker 2: So yeah, I think that's going to be the adjustment

598
00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,800
Speaker 2: for Kid and the MAVs. Kid and the staff have

599
00:26:42,840 --> 00:26:45,960
Speaker 2: done a phenomenal job throughout the playoffs. You know, can

600
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,840
Speaker 2: they still be aggressive, but not quite as aggressive where

601
00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:50,760
Speaker 2: we're going to sell out because keep in mind too,

602
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,560
Speaker 2: you know, Chris Paul's maybe six feet tall. It's easier

603
00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:56,240
Speaker 2: to get into him, get physical the ball than you know,

604
00:26:56,680 --> 00:26:58,600
Speaker 2: Steph is not huge, but he's six to three. Clay's

605
00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:00,840
Speaker 2: like six seven six eight, Yeah, you know, so you

606
00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:02,439
Speaker 2: try to get into those guys they're bigger, they can

607
00:27:02,480 --> 00:27:04,199
Speaker 2: make the pass over the top, and then you have

608
00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:07,680
Speaker 2: Draymond's usually as the release valve. Playing four and three

609
00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:10,760
Speaker 2: behind the defense without a rim protector. That's the recipe

610
00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:13,440
Speaker 2: for disasters. So I think the turnovers could hurt Golden

611
00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:16,399
Speaker 2: State to some extent, but I trust their decision making

612
00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:19,560
Speaker 2: when it matters under pressure, and I also trust the

613
00:27:19,560 --> 00:27:22,199
Speaker 2: fact that they have three elite shooters and maybe the

614
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,199
Speaker 2: best playmaking big man in the league and Draymond. So

615
00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:27,359
Speaker 2: I think they'll be fine. And I just that's that's

616
00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:29,119
Speaker 2: why I'm like you, I leaned toward the Warriors. I

617
00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:31,000
Speaker 2: think they'll figure out a way to solve what Dallas

618
00:27:31,040 --> 00:27:33,560
Speaker 2: has done so far defensively in this year's playoffs.

619
00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:37,080
Speaker 1: This series in particular, I've kind of gone a number

620
00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:40,119
Speaker 1: of ways on the way I've described it in my

621
00:27:40,160 --> 00:27:43,000
Speaker 1: preview was I don't think it's a great matchup for

622
00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:44,920
Speaker 1: Golden State. I don't look at this and go like, oh,

623
00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,520
Speaker 1: this is excellent for them, because look, they are going

624
00:27:47,640 --> 00:27:49,320
Speaker 1: they are going to you know, switch everything, and that's

625
00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:52,359
Speaker 1: shown to mess up the Warriors in previous series, like

626
00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:54,679
Speaker 1: that slows down the ball movement and makes it harder

627
00:27:54,720 --> 00:27:57,600
Speaker 1: if you if you can catch them likes. If the

628
00:27:57,600 --> 00:28:01,119
Speaker 1: communication isn't clean on those, you're in trouble. But the

629
00:28:01,119 --> 00:28:03,240
Speaker 1: maps are really good at it. Luca is a tough

630
00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:06,880
Speaker 1: matchup for literally any human being on the planet. He's

631
00:28:06,920 --> 00:28:10,080
Speaker 1: a tough matchup for everybody. So I don't think it's

632
00:28:10,080 --> 00:28:11,520
Speaker 1: a great I only look at this to go, oh,

633
00:28:11,520 --> 00:28:13,840
Speaker 1: Golden State matches up really well here, But I also

634
00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:15,640
Speaker 1: don't wind up going like, oh, this is a really

635
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:17,800
Speaker 1: bad matchup for them, Like I liked Memphis a lot

636
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:20,520
Speaker 1: because I felt like Memphis could play in chaos and

637
00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:22,920
Speaker 1: job was such a singular athletic talent. He could break

638
00:28:22,920 --> 00:28:24,879
Speaker 1: a lot what they did, and we saw some of

639
00:28:24,920 --> 00:28:26,480
Speaker 1: that and then being able to push at the six

640
00:28:26,520 --> 00:28:29,840
Speaker 1: before jaws injury. I think as we evaluate how close

641
00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:31,920
Speaker 1: the series though, is one thing we talked about on

642
00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:34,240
Speaker 1: the Buckets podcast, which if you're listening you can download

643
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:37,320
Speaker 1: right now wherever you get podcasts, is there was kind

644
00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:39,920
Speaker 1: of a consensus of if this series goes long, kind

645
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:42,280
Speaker 1: of it's towards Dallas, because that means that Dallas has

646
00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:45,760
Speaker 1: figured out something with Golden State. They figured out how

647
00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:48,400
Speaker 1: to not get you bowled over by those flurries that

648
00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:51,440
Speaker 1: you talked about getting hit by those runs. They've stayed

649
00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:53,560
Speaker 1: in it, and there's kind of a consensus that right

650
00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,400
Speaker 1: now Luca's the best player in the series. Do you

651
00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:00,240
Speaker 1: agree that as the series goes on, it may a

652
00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:02,480
Speaker 1: little bit more in favor of Dallas. That doesn't mean

653
00:29:02,520 --> 00:29:04,720
Speaker 1: Golden State can't close it out, because you know they're

654
00:29:04,760 --> 00:29:06,520
Speaker 1: up three to one. They can obviously just win one

655
00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:08,840
Speaker 1: of the final games and be done with it. But

656
00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:11,080
Speaker 1: do you kind of agree that if Golden State's gonna

657
00:29:11,080 --> 00:29:13,400
Speaker 1: win this, they probably need to build an early lead

658
00:29:13,520 --> 00:29:15,600
Speaker 1: and not have to be chasing Dallas from behind.

659
00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,400
Speaker 2: I guess I'm thinking about it a slightly different way

660
00:29:18,520 --> 00:29:21,160
Speaker 2: I would from a betting perspective. In Game one, I'd

661
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,320
Speaker 2: like Dallas. I think Dallas has the optimal amount to cover,

662
00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,479
Speaker 2: maybe not to win. I know Golden States I think

663
00:29:27,480 --> 00:29:29,360
Speaker 2: a five and a half point favorite last night I saw,

664
00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:33,320
Speaker 2: but I think Dallas has the right combination of rhythm

665
00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:36,160
Speaker 2: and rest. Now that, yes, they just did play seven games,

666
00:29:36,560 --> 00:29:38,240
Speaker 2: but keep in mind Luka was on the bench the

667
00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:40,840
Speaker 2: entire fourth quarter, and then they had two days off.

668
00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:42,840
Speaker 2: You know, I don't I think one days with travel

669
00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:45,200
Speaker 2: is way too quick. But then I think you get

670
00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:48,520
Speaker 2: past the point of I don't say diminishing returns map,

671
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:50,080
Speaker 2: but if you get beyond you know, four or five,

672
00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:52,400
Speaker 2: six days off. I worry about Rust coming into a

673
00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:53,920
Speaker 2: game one where a team's just sitting and the other

674
00:29:53,960 --> 00:29:56,640
Speaker 2: teams in rhythm, you know, in that first game in particular,

675
00:29:56,800 --> 00:30:01,880
Speaker 2: So I like Dallas to cover in game one. But

676
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:03,880
Speaker 2: I think as the series goes on the way I'm

677
00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:07,040
Speaker 2: thinking is Luca is great, and he's historically great, but

678
00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:10,160
Speaker 2: he's gonna have to do so much at some point

679
00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:12,080
Speaker 2: is he going to slow down and wear down a little,

680
00:30:12,280 --> 00:30:14,400
Speaker 2: you know, just a little bit, uh, you know, just

681
00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:18,920
Speaker 2: given that you know it was they handled Utah relatively easily,

682
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:20,920
Speaker 2: though I think that one was what six games matter?

683
00:30:20,960 --> 00:30:23,240
Speaker 2: Right in the first round. Then you get a hard

684
00:30:23,240 --> 00:30:25,480
Speaker 2: fought seven games series. At least the first six games

685
00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:26,080
Speaker 2: were hard fought.

686
00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:26,479
Speaker 1: Uh.

687
00:30:26,800 --> 00:30:29,720
Speaker 2: Against Phoenix, at some point does it catch up with him?

688
00:30:29,720 --> 00:30:31,920
Speaker 2: I know he's great, but he does take a lot

689
00:30:31,960 --> 00:30:35,480
Speaker 2: of contact. And Golden State, you know that you mentioned

690
00:30:35,520 --> 00:30:38,120
Speaker 2: that they have some big bodies. They have Draymond, they

691
00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,880
Speaker 2: have Looney. They'll try some different looks at him. He'll

692
00:30:40,920 --> 00:30:43,080
Speaker 2: still do his thing, but at some point does he

693
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:45,960
Speaker 2: wear down and uh, you know, Dallas, the way they're

694
00:30:45,960 --> 00:30:48,240
Speaker 2: set up, are they if there's any slippage in Luca

695
00:30:48,280 --> 00:30:50,800
Speaker 2: against this opponent, I just don't think they're able to

696
00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:51,320
Speaker 2: exploit it.

697
00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:51,560
Speaker 1: Now.

698
00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:53,240
Speaker 2: One thing we haven't discussed to keep an eye on

699
00:30:53,240 --> 00:30:55,240
Speaker 2: that I've been tracking that. You may know more about

700
00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:57,560
Speaker 2: this than I do, but I find it very interesting

701
00:30:57,640 --> 00:31:00,280
Speaker 2: that the Maps have not ruled out Tim Hardaway Junior. Yeah,

702
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:03,560
Speaker 2: you know they in the Phoenix series. Every game it said,

703
00:31:03,680 --> 00:31:06,320
Speaker 2: you know, like shortly before the game, Tim Hardaway Junior

704
00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:09,120
Speaker 2: is not available tonight, you know. So it seemed to

705
00:31:09,160 --> 00:31:12,120
Speaker 2: me like that was somewhat strategic. I don't know if

706
00:31:12,160 --> 00:31:14,880
Speaker 2: it was to inject a little doubt in the mind

707
00:31:14,880 --> 00:31:17,800
Speaker 2: of the Suns coaches and players, or if it was just, hey, look,

708
00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:19,560
Speaker 2: this guy may come back at some point. We're going

709
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:22,000
Speaker 2: to be close lipped about it. But obviously if he's back,

710
00:31:22,040 --> 00:31:25,720
Speaker 2: another shooter score for Dallas. Dinwiddy stepped up runs and

711
00:31:25,720 --> 00:31:28,640
Speaker 2: stepped up. But I think that's something that could certainly

712
00:31:28,640 --> 00:31:31,440
Speaker 2: give the Maps a better chance against this opponent if

713
00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:33,280
Speaker 2: Hardaway is able to come back and just give them

714
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:35,080
Speaker 2: something at some point in the series.

715
00:31:35,400 --> 00:31:37,960
Speaker 1: That'd be a huge swing all my confidence in Golden State.

716
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:40,880
Speaker 1: Would we get pretty shook if TSJ suddenly comes back.

717
00:31:40,920 --> 00:31:43,560
Speaker 1: Great stuff from Ry McDonough. Make sure to follow him

718
00:31:43,600 --> 00:31:46,600
Speaker 1: on Twitter at mcdee NBA. We'll have the link in

719
00:31:46,640 --> 00:31:49,080
Speaker 1: the episode description. Make sure to keep it tune here

720
00:31:49,120 --> 00:31:51,840
Speaker 1: on the Action Network podcast all week and all off

721
00:31:51,880 --> 00:31:54,680
Speaker 1: season long and get more NFL news, win totals, all

722
00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:58,200
Speaker 1: that stuff. Hockey playoffs obviously going on. Love the NHL playoffs,

723
00:31:58,320 --> 00:32:00,680
Speaker 1: all sorts of stuff. Make sure download the Bucket podcast

724
00:32:00,880 --> 00:32:03,560
Speaker 1: if you're wanting more coverage of the NBA. Ryan, thanks

725
00:32:03,600 --> 00:32:04,840
Speaker 1: so much for joining me any time.

726
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:05,120
Speaker 2: Matt