WEBVTT - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Knicks STUN Pacers, KAT Explodes, Thunder VULNERABLE On The Road, Caitlin Clark Is A “Billion Dollar Athlete” 0:00:01.440 --> 0:00:05.400 The Volume. At the end of the season, there's only 0:00:05.440 --> 0:00:08.200 one team that can call themselves NBA Champs, only one 0:00:08.240 --> 0:00:10.160 player that can call themselves the number one pick in 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.320 the NFL draft. Well, there's only one electric suv worthy 0:00:13.320 --> 0:00:17.960 of the title, the Ultimate, the All Electric BMWIX. What 0:00:18.040 --> 0:00:20.400 I love about the IX is that it delivers legendary 0:00:20.440 --> 0:00:24.919 BMW performance I've had several while its sleek design exudes 0:00:24.960 --> 0:00:28.280 innovative style from the inside out, not to mention how 0:00:28.360 --> 0:00:32.360 much space and utility it provides over seventy five cubic 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:35.559 feet of cargo space. The IX is completely changing the 0:00:35.600 --> 0:00:38.600 game with an all electric suv. The greatest legends of 0:00:38.600 --> 0:00:40.959 sports never compromise any part of the game, So why 0:00:40.960 --> 0:00:44.000 would you settle for anything less from your suv? After all, 0:00:44.040 --> 0:00:49.120 there's only one ultimate, the BMWIX. Everything you love about 0:00:49.159 --> 0:00:52.680 the ultimate driving machine Electrified BMW. 0:00:58.080 --> 0:01:00.120 All right, welcome to hoops today here at the Volume 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:02.360 Heavy Sunday. Everybody. Hope all of you guys are having 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:05.319 a great weekend. Well, Colin Coward was very kind to 0:01:05.400 --> 0:01:08.759 join us tonight with his time, and this time two 0:01:08.880 --> 0:01:12.080 days ago we were looking at a what looked like 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:15.240 the Indiana Pacers on their way to potentially a sweep 0:01:15.240 --> 0:01:17.280 to go to the finals. We're talking about trading Karl 0:01:17.319 --> 0:01:20.280 Anthony Towns. Everyone's blowing a bunch of smoke about the 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:22.480 Thunder and how they're the all time great team. And 0:01:22.840 --> 0:01:25.080 now we're sitting here on Sunday evening and both series 0:01:25.120 --> 0:01:28.520 are two to one and very very different Colin. My 0:01:28.640 --> 0:01:31.760 initial read was just simply that this is more or 0:01:31.840 --> 0:01:34.240 less where the Eastern Conference Finals should be at this 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:36.800 point in that I thought the Knicks looked like the 0:01:36.840 --> 0:01:39.600 better team in Game one and they blew it, And 0:01:39.640 --> 0:01:41.679 I thought the Pacers looked like the better team tonight 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:43.360 that I thought they let their foot off the gas 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:44.959 in a lot of ways. The Knicks did find some stuff, 0:01:45.000 --> 0:01:47.960 and we'll get into that, but Carl Anthony town steals 0:01:48.000 --> 0:01:50.400 this game just like Aaron Nesmith stole Game one, and 0:01:50.640 --> 0:01:52.560 it kind of feels like we're supposed to be two 0:01:52.560 --> 0:01:54.520 to one Indie and here we are two to one Indie. 0:01:54.840 --> 0:01:57.320 Yeah, I mean, they are really different teams. At one point, 0:01:57.360 --> 0:02:01.000 the Pacers had a sixteen to nothing fast break points advantage. 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:04.160 I mean, you can tell Indiana always wants to push 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:07.120 the pace, but tonight it was basically in the half 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:10.880 court Carl Anthony Towns with Jalen Brunson off the floor 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:13.720 for most of it. He had one of these Carl 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:17.080 Anthony Towns games, and I think I've told you this before. 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:20.120 It was a weird thing. I swear to god. I 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:22.800 went to about six NBA games. He played in five 0:02:22.880 --> 0:02:24.960 of them. There was this stretch in LA. Every time 0:02:25.000 --> 0:02:27.400 I went to a game he was playing, and he's 0:02:28.000 --> 0:02:30.280 in all of them. He had a quarterway. He was 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:32.520 the best player on the floor by long shot. And 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:36.880 he does this and you know for a guy his size, 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:40.800 like his first step for a guy his size, like 0:02:40.919 --> 0:02:43.560 he is quick and then he gets by you and 0:02:43.639 --> 0:02:48.079 he's long and he's angular and he's a handful. He's 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:52.600 a handful for a big and I've just seen him 0:02:52.639 --> 0:02:54.920 do stuff like this before. But I thought with Brunson 0:02:55.000 --> 0:02:58.720 off the floor, you know sometimes when you're when you're 0:02:58.720 --> 0:03:00.840 a really gifted player and you play with a ball 0:03:00.880 --> 0:03:04.880 centric great player. This was Brunson in Dallas, you know, 0:03:04.919 --> 0:03:07.400 like he would be like it was Luca's show. And 0:03:07.400 --> 0:03:09.280 then you put him in New York and this is 0:03:09.280 --> 0:03:11.040 one of those were in a weird way. It was 0:03:11.080 --> 0:03:13.280 like Karl Anthony Taw. The team was just looking for 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:16.760 him to lead, and we both know that he can 0:03:16.840 --> 0:03:20.280 do this. He doesn't sustain it, he gets in foul trouble. 0:03:20.320 --> 0:03:24.120 He can be inefficient, he's flaky. But and then I think, 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:27.720 to your point, I think I think they just they 0:03:27.760 --> 0:03:30.280 had a series of really the Pacers had a series 0:03:30.320 --> 0:03:33.280 of really bad offensive possessions, and you look up and 0:03:33.320 --> 0:03:37.960 you're like nine seven, four to two lead. So this 0:03:38.000 --> 0:03:40.480 is what happens in the NBA. This isn't college Like, 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:44.640 there's just things happened quickly in the NBA, and you 0:03:44.680 --> 0:03:47.480 looked up and you're like, oh, New York has total 0:03:47.520 --> 0:03:50.800 control emotionally, they just felt like they were going to 0:03:50.840 --> 0:03:53.480 win the game. With about four left, You're like, Indiana 0:03:53.640 --> 0:03:55.720 can't get out of its own way here offensively. 0:03:56.640 --> 0:03:58.920 Yeah, even when it was a two or three point 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:00.720 game with Indy still in the it kind of just 0:04:00.760 --> 0:04:02.800 felt like New York was gonna win at that point. 0:04:02.840 --> 0:04:05.520 Basketball is such a confidence and rhythm sport that, like, 0:04:05.560 --> 0:04:09.000 when the momentum shifts as dramatically as it does, it 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:12.960 can be difficult to reassert control of the situation. Very similarly, 0:04:13.000 --> 0:04:14.760 that happened to New York. All of a sudden, their 0:04:14.760 --> 0:04:17.760 offense bogs down. In Game one, other offense bogs down. 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:20.080 Suddenly Aaron E. Smith's hitting every single three he takes. 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:22.760 It just kind of changes the psychology of the game. 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:25.400 I thought things really turned around in that late third quarter. 0:04:25.400 --> 0:04:27.320 It was so funny because stan Van Gundy goes like, 0:04:27.680 --> 0:04:29.560 I'm not sure I like this lineup. It's a bunch 0:04:29.560 --> 0:04:31.520 of guys who can't score and they need to score. 0:04:32.080 --> 0:04:33.640 And then he goes He's like, who's gonna be the 0:04:33.640 --> 0:04:35.800 guy who brings the offense for the Knicks and ended 0:04:35.839 --> 0:04:37.640 up being deuced McBride and they went on like a 0:04:37.680 --> 0:04:39.359 seven to zero run and it cut it down to 0:04:39.440 --> 0:04:41.000 ten going into the fourth quarter, and that's what they 0:04:41.000 --> 0:04:42.360 were talking about. They're like, they just need to get 0:04:42.400 --> 0:04:44.280 it down to ten. And then as soon as they 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:48.200 got into the fourth quarter in striking distance, Karl Anthony 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:51.599 Towns gets going. It's the three point shooting. It's the 0:04:51.760 --> 0:04:53.599 like you mentioned, the first step. And then once he 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:56.000 gets that first step, the bigs all try to catch 0:04:56.080 --> 0:04:58.120 up to him, but he's just so good at powering 0:04:58.240 --> 0:05:01.359 through with that battering of a left arm as he 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:04.039 goes to the rim and once he got going, this 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:07.640 is the most interesting part you mentioned it, Colin, Indy's 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:11.359 offense got shook. This is the first time in a 0:05:11.400 --> 0:05:15.960 long time I've seen Indy's offense get their foundation shaken 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.640 the way that the Knicks did. And what it really 0:05:18.640 --> 0:05:21.000 came down to is that stretch with Brunson out. You know, 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:23.200 it's been so fascinating, Colin, because it's different than the 0:05:23.240 --> 0:05:26.599 Celtics series. In the Celtic series, Cat and Brunson were 0:05:26.640 --> 0:05:30.800 asked to defend one on one, very different kind of idea. 0:05:30.839 --> 0:05:33.960 The Celtics succumbs to their switching and they just tried 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:36.320 to attack Brunson and Cat one on one and they 0:05:36.320 --> 0:05:39.919 did a good job. But in this series, the job 0:05:39.960 --> 0:05:42.880 for Brunson and Kat is much more sprinting in rotation, 0:05:43.279 --> 0:05:45.640 getting back in transition defense. It's a lot of like 0:05:45.720 --> 0:05:49.600 mental focus and energy related stuff, and those guys have 0:05:49.680 --> 0:05:52.320 been rough in this series in that department. But in 0:05:52.360 --> 0:05:54.719 that fourth quarter stretch with Brunson off the floor for 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.920 most of it, it's Duce McBride out there, a substantially 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:01.160 better defensive player. Kat was giving the requisite effort in 0:06:01.279 --> 0:06:03.880 rotation and one of the things with this Pacers team, 0:06:04.440 --> 0:06:08.479 Siakam and Halliburton can play one on one, but that's 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:12.760 not necessarily what they do at a superstar level, right, 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:16.040 And so if you rotate and you make them take 0:06:16.080 --> 0:06:18.600 contested shots, they might just go cold and miss them all. 0:06:18.960 --> 0:06:20.720 And that's what happened in this game. They don't have 0:06:20.800 --> 0:06:24.520 a Brunson, a guy who's just an indomitable one on 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:27.680 one force who can step in and get great shots, 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:29.240 and so like that, that really is the key if 0:06:29.240 --> 0:06:31.359 there's any hope for New York in this series. And 0:06:31.400 --> 0:06:33.560 I still feel pretty strongly that Indiana is gonna get 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:35.839 it done. But like, if there's any hope for New 0:06:35.920 --> 0:06:39.080 York in this series, it's they gotta fly around and 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:42.640 rotate and they got they gotta match Indiana's speed and 0:06:42.720 --> 0:06:46.080 pace and energy as much as they can in this series. 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:48.800 Yeah, I mean it's it's one of the reasons Indiana 0:06:48.839 --> 0:06:51.280 plays with pace is because Rick Carlisle knows that's when 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:54.240 they're at their best, because Turner can run, Siakam runs 0:06:54.240 --> 0:06:57.080 the floor really well. But they got into us, Indiana 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:59.040 got into about it, and it wasn't like two minutes, 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:00.720 it was like six minutes. So they got into a 0:07:00.760 --> 0:07:04.120 six minute stretch where McConnell's getting He got one short 0:07:04.120 --> 0:07:07.359 look and then he forced one and then you know 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:10.280 again they have like Nie Smith can get hot, but 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:12.680 he's not going to beat people off the ball, and 0:07:12.720 --> 0:07:14.880 you're just watching it and you're like, oh, this is mud. 0:07:15.040 --> 0:07:19.080 This doesn't work at all. It's and you know it's 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:22.920 I think the Pacers are a better team. I I 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:28.680 think there's certain things the Knicks need to do. I 0:07:28.720 --> 0:07:32.120 think what happened to the Pacers tonight can happen to 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:35.080 the next more often where they feel a little stock 0:07:35.160 --> 0:07:38.520 if Brunson's not hitting. And if I recall, I think 0:07:38.520 --> 0:07:40.760 Halliburton was out for a little bit. He was out 0:07:40.760 --> 0:07:42.360 of it when they got out of rhythm. Then he 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.480 came back in and he was sort of asked to hey, 0:07:44.720 --> 0:07:47.280 kickstart the rhythm, and it's like and he did hit 0:07:47.320 --> 0:07:50.840 a three, But it's weird when when he is whereas 0:07:51.040 --> 0:07:54.360 Brunson doesn't control the pace, he controls them scoring. Halliburton 0:07:54.360 --> 0:07:56.760 can control scoring and the pace. So when you take 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:00.520 him out and then you insert him back and it's like, okay, now, guys, 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:03.440 I'm gonna change the pace of this, and he tried 0:08:03.560 --> 0:08:06.760 and he does, but it just didn't. It felt clunky 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:11.040 and it felt like they were playing uphill. Yeah. 0:08:11.080 --> 0:08:11.440 I just. 0:08:13.680 --> 0:08:16.480 This is a hard series to officiate. Just give me 0:08:16.520 --> 0:08:19.800 a minute on this. Siakam had a great block on McBride. 0:08:19.800 --> 0:08:21.120 They call it, they called the foul in it, and 0:08:21.200 --> 0:08:25.800 I'm like, oh, good God, that's ridiculous. The Biggs, I 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:33.040 mean Turner and Cat and uh Siakam, especially Siakam and Cat. 0:08:33.120 --> 0:08:38.440 They're aggressive offensive players with a nice touch. There was 0:08:38.640 --> 0:08:42.320 so many calls going against the Knicks in the second half, 0:08:42.400 --> 0:08:45.240 third quarter. I'm like, oh, this is this is They're 0:08:45.240 --> 0:08:47.520 gonna blow a gasket here. And then I thought a 0:08:47.559 --> 0:08:50.720 couple went against the Pacers late. I think this is 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:54.720 a hard series to officiate. New York's a good defensive team. 0:08:54.840 --> 0:08:58.600 Indiana is an underrated defensive team. And the Bigs move 0:08:59.200 --> 0:09:02.880 and they collide and I don't know. As I watched 0:09:02.880 --> 0:09:04.679 this game about and I'm not a guy that bangs 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:06.520 on officials, but I was like, man, there were a 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:09.200 lot of calls going against the Necks for a stretch 0:09:09.200 --> 0:09:09.640 in this game. 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:13.240 I thought, no, absolutely, That's why I wasn't upset about 0:09:13.280 --> 0:09:16.400 the Siaka one, Like Siaka block Deuce McBride clean. That 0:09:16.480 --> 0:09:18.520 was a great defensive play, should not have been a foul. 0:09:18.520 --> 0:09:21.880 But there were like three or four calls against against 0:09:21.920 --> 0:09:25.120 the Knicks in that fourth quarter where I was like, yeah, 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:27.440 to the point you're making, what makes this series so 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:29.640 hard to officiate is on the one hand, you've got Brunson, 0:09:29.679 --> 0:09:32.439 who's one of the most gifted foul grifters in the NBA. 0:09:32.520 --> 0:09:34.920 And then on the other side, the Pacers just play 0:09:35.120 --> 0:09:37.960 so fast and there's so much running that you kind 0:09:37.960 --> 0:09:39.680 of have to put your body in the way you 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:41.640 have to. If you don't, they're just gonna cut you 0:09:41.679 --> 0:09:43.240 to pieces. And so there's a lot of these like 0:09:43.320 --> 0:09:46.160 kind of bang bang contact plays where a dude comes 0:09:46.160 --> 0:09:48.679 flying downhill or tries to turn the corner on a 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:51.320 drive and you try to position yourself in front and 0:09:51.360 --> 0:09:53.720 take the contact, and they're getting called for fouls in 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:55.760 a lot of those situations, and it is a very 0:09:55.760 --> 0:09:59.080 difficult series to officiate. But what causes those fouls, to 0:09:59.120 --> 0:10:01.880 your point, is the speed in the pace. And if 0:10:01.920 --> 0:10:03.880 there's one thing to credit the Knicks for in this 0:10:04.000 --> 0:10:06.800 fourth quarter that, like you said, there was a six 0:10:06.840 --> 0:10:09.880 minute stretch there where You're like, why is Aaron Nesmith 0:10:09.960 --> 0:10:14.280 trying to play bully ball against joshuar Ojananobi, Like o 0:10:14.440 --> 0:10:17.960 Jananoby's you know, four inches taller than you and at 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:20.839 least thirty pounds heavier, Like you're not gonna go through 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:23.079 his chest to get to the rim. And there was 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:26.320 a little bit too much of like siakam Iso, a 0:10:26.360 --> 0:10:29.320 little too much of like Tyrese Halliburton dribbling out of 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:31.760 ball screens instead of passing out of ball screens like 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:34.520 he always does. I thought Indiana kind of lost their 0:10:34.679 --> 0:10:37.320 identity for a minute in that fourth quarter. By the way, 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:39.319 like that's a credit to Karl Anthony Towns. I'm a 0:10:39.320 --> 0:10:42.000 big believer in this colin I'm I think basketball is 0:10:42.040 --> 0:10:44.520 more art than science. I think there is a lot 0:10:44.640 --> 0:10:48.319 of like psychological dynamics at play in any given moment. 0:10:48.360 --> 0:10:51.400 And like when Luca rolls up into your building in 0:10:51.440 --> 0:10:55.160 the first quarter in an elimination game and scorees seventeen 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:58.840 points and hits three logo threes, it just SAPs you 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:02.080 of all your energy. Like even I thought Brunson and 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:04.640 kat both kind of were succumbing to that over the 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:06.840 course of this game. Brunson was having a rough night. 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:09.640 Cat was having a rough night. What happened in that 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:13.000 fourth quarter was Kat threw one hell of a punch 0:11:13.200 --> 0:11:16.640 and he's dunking on everybody and hitting step back threes, 0:11:16.720 --> 0:11:19.680 and you could tell Indiana was just shaken at that. 0:11:20.280 --> 0:11:21.920 Yeah. I mean there was a point in the first 0:11:21.960 --> 0:11:25.520 half when Indiana and by twenty and they got into 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:31.040 this like six or eight transition run where it was 0:11:31.080 --> 0:11:34.000 like three fast rates, bang bang, and I'm like, all 0:11:34.000 --> 0:11:35.880 the game's over. The series is over. I mean, I 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:38.319 would have bet my four oh one kid at that moment. 0:11:38.360 --> 0:11:41.120 I'm like, Okay, the series is over. It's done. The 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:44.560 body language Brunson didn't seem engaged, and I'm like, okay, 0:11:44.559 --> 0:11:47.520 this it's done. So i mean, you got to give 0:11:47.559 --> 0:11:50.200 the next credit. I you know, it's just it's I 0:11:50.200 --> 0:11:54.520 think to your point, it's probably the series now probably 0:11:54.520 --> 0:11:56.559 closer to what it should be. So you go back 0:11:56.559 --> 0:12:01.480 to Game one, the Knicks absolutely outplayed him, and and 0:12:02.200 --> 0:12:04.560 going even into this game, I was with friends tonight 0:12:04.640 --> 0:12:06.880 in the in the first quarter, a little cookout at 0:12:06.880 --> 0:12:09.960 their house. We were watching the game, and it was 0:12:10.080 --> 0:12:13.600 like it was one of the people there was not 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:15.920 a basketball fan, and I said, oh, this series has 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:17.800 just come down to the last six minutes. I said, 0:12:17.800 --> 0:12:22.240 one team's great defensively, one's very good offensively. There's about 0:12:22.240 --> 0:12:24.800 six really good players combined. I said, it'll be close. 0:12:24.880 --> 0:12:27.680 It'll be a four point game. I thought Indiana would win. 0:12:28.440 --> 0:12:30.520 But I also think one of the things that was 0:12:30.559 --> 0:12:32.920 good for the NBA tonight is that you're seeing a 0:12:32.920 --> 0:12:35.880 lot of road teams win playoff games. They've been a 0:12:35.960 --> 0:12:41.680 ton I mean Indiana obviously, my entire life, even as 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:43.720 an NBA fan, I always felt like the home team 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:48.120 got the whistle, and I just like seeing road teams win. 0:12:48.480 --> 0:12:50.360 I think it just I think it's just better for 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:52.840 basketball when the road team wins. I mean, I think 0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:55.480 it's just funny now that the Knicks can't win it 0:12:55.600 --> 0:12:59.000 home and the Basers now are winning everywhere but home, 0:12:59.480 --> 0:13:02.160 and I think it's just good. It makes the series captivating. 0:13:02.240 --> 0:13:07.640 I'm interested to watch the Pacers come out in Game 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:11.120 four because my take is they're gonna try to push 0:13:11.200 --> 0:13:13.880 the pace again because they they walked into that locker 0:13:13.960 --> 0:13:16.520 room and they're like, we lost our way at home 0:13:17.200 --> 0:13:18.880 in a game that could have clinched the series, Like 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:22.280 they just lost their way credit the next defense, But 0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:24.880 that was as bad as Indiana's looked offensively for a 0:13:24.960 --> 0:13:26.920 six to eight minute stretch the entire series. 0:13:27.720 --> 0:13:31.160 Yeah, you know, the most interesting thing looking back at 0:13:31.200 --> 0:13:34.800 this is the Celtics series looks so weird in retrospect 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:37.360 now with the Knicks having won that series and then 0:13:37.400 --> 0:13:40.439 looking bad for you know, the majority of this series. 0:13:40.480 --> 0:13:43.800 Because I'm with you, like I think Indiana is. I 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:45.720 think Indiana is gonna come out in Game four and 0:13:45.760 --> 0:13:47.640 throw their best punch, and I think it's gonna be 0:13:47.640 --> 0:13:49.840 a very difficult game for the Knicks to win. That 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.040 Like the game I pointed to is the Calves Game four. 0:13:53.240 --> 0:13:55.800 Calves went into Indiana in Game three and blew them out. 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:58.800 And that's not a that's not that's a sixty four 0:13:58.960 --> 0:14:03.760 when Leyden roster that went into Indy and suffered one 0:14:03.800 --> 0:14:06.680 of the most humiliating blowouts that we've ever seen in 0:14:06.720 --> 0:14:09.400 the NBA when they were trailing eighty to thirty nine 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:11.560 at the end of the first half. So Indiana is 0:14:11.559 --> 0:14:13.400 gonna come out and they're going to throw their best punch. 0:14:13.760 --> 0:14:17.360 What's fascinating to me is coming into this series. I 0:14:17.600 --> 0:14:20.400 mentioned to you on your show that I thought the 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:23.240 Pacers were better on offense and better on defense than 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:24.680 the Knicks, and that was why I thought that they 0:14:24.680 --> 0:14:27.480 would win the series. But interestingly enough, this is a 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:31.440 Knicks team that's kind of had mediocre results for the 0:14:31.480 --> 0:14:34.400 majority of this season, and they beat the Celtics. And 0:14:34.720 --> 0:14:37.200 what's fascinating to me now as I look back on 0:14:37.240 --> 0:14:39.880 this all is there's kind of a range of outcomes 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:42.560 for all of these teams, and the Pacers are a 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:45.560 team that pretty consistently hits their ceiling. They're not like 0:14:45.600 --> 0:14:47.880 what you saw tonight was very out of the out 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:50.920 of character for them. The Knicks, I've seen them a 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:54.320 half dozen times each in this postseason look like a 0:14:54.400 --> 0:14:57.680 putrid defense and look like an awesome defense, like at 0:14:57.760 --> 0:15:01.280 multiple different points in this postseason, they've kind of oscillated 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:04.000 back and forth between those two ideas. They just have 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:07.080 a wide range of outcomes. And so we've all known 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.520 that the Knicks can have defensive stretches like they had 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:11.760 in that fourth quarter tonight. They did it to Boston 0:15:11.840 --> 0:15:15.320 multiple times. They can fly around in rotation and contest 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.800 shots and do all of that stuff. They just can't 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:20.280 sustain it. And so Ultimately, as you zoom out from 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:22.760 the series, the Pacers are up to one and they 0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:26.360 are more likely to sustain their peak level of play. 0:15:26.480 --> 0:15:28.720 Yes moving forward, and it makes some assaye for Bet 0:15:28.760 --> 0:15:29.400 to win the series. 0:15:29.440 --> 0:15:33.520 At this point, the NBA Finals are almost here and 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:35.880 every play could be the one that changes everything. This 0:15:36.000 --> 0:15:40.040 is the NBA Playoffs. Heroes rise, Legacies are built. The 0:15:40.080 --> 0:15:42.760 action never lets up. And with DraftKings Sportsbook and official 0:15:42.760 --> 0:15:45.040 sports betting partner of the NBA, you don't just watch 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:47.240 them mad as you live it. 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Additional terms and responsible gaming 0:16:49.920 --> 0:16:52.880 resources see DKNG dot co slash audio. 0:17:02.320 --> 0:17:07.000 Okay Western Conference Game three pretty much unwatchable blowout and 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:11.080 and you know there's a there's a way Minnesota has 0:17:11.160 --> 0:17:13.320 to play to beat Okay. See and they played it. 0:17:13.560 --> 0:17:18.240 They did a lot of It's what's funny is it's 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:22.159 hard to find anybody that likes watching OKAC play. You know, 0:17:22.240 --> 0:17:25.280 they're they're kind of hovering defense where they kind of 0:17:25.760 --> 0:17:29.720 they swarm on you. I think you said it's almost 0:17:29.760 --> 0:17:32.760 collegiate looking the way they play defense, and then it's 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:36.760 a lot of you know, drawing fouls s J. I 0:17:36.800 --> 0:17:39.440 don't think they're a fun watch. I just think they're 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:43.320 really athletic and really deep. Do I am I supposed 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:48.360 to take anything beyond just a desperate, well coached team 0:17:48.359 --> 0:17:51.920 in Minnesota ant crazy and it was just a young 0:17:52.040 --> 0:17:58.320 team lessen really feeling their oats and just got overwhelmed 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:01.480 and just packed it it. I mean, it is anything 0:18:01.560 --> 0:18:02.160 more than that. 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:05.400 I think there was some more in the sense that 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:08.720 I think that Oklahoma City's a better team than Minnesota, 0:18:08.720 --> 0:18:10.439 but I also don't think they were the type of 0:18:10.440 --> 0:18:12.440 team that should blow them out multiple times in a 0:18:12.520 --> 0:18:14.240 row the way they did in Game one. In Game two, 0:18:14.840 --> 0:18:18.400 Chris Finch was running what I thought was an extremely 0:18:18.560 --> 0:18:21.920 foolish game plan through the first two games. The gist 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:24.119 of it is, if I asked you what Shae Gildes 0:18:24.200 --> 0:18:28.600 Alexander's strongest traits are as a basketball player, you'd say 0:18:28.600 --> 0:18:32.280 he's probably the best driver of the basketball in the league, 0:18:32.480 --> 0:18:35.480 and he's just like the best isolation player in the league. 0:18:35.480 --> 0:18:37.520 He was like of all isolation players who attempted at 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:39.159 least three hundred shots. He was number one by a 0:18:39.200 --> 0:18:42.879 mile this year. And so what Chris Finch was doing 0:18:43.119 --> 0:18:46.080 was picking up Shay at half court and letting him 0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:48.439 play one on one, staying glued home to shooters. And 0:18:48.520 --> 0:18:52.840 it was just like gift wrapping Shae, the perfect environment 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:55.400 for him to thrive on. And it was hilarious juxtaposed 0:18:55.560 --> 0:18:58.080 with a Denver series where we saw the exact opposite 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:01.440 game plan with lesser defense of personnel have a great 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:04.760 deal of success. Now they won by forty because yes, 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:07.520 there was an urgency gap, and they shot a lot 0:19:07.560 --> 0:19:10.159 better and there were a lot like Anthony Edwards was 0:19:10.240 --> 0:19:12.720 hitting shots over triple teams in the second half, Like yeah, 0:19:13.400 --> 0:19:15.280 that was what it caused it to manifest in a 0:19:15.359 --> 0:19:18.919 destructive blowout. But right away to start that game, one 0:19:18.920 --> 0:19:21.600 of the reasons why they were able to quickly assert 0:19:21.720 --> 0:19:23.719 control and hold Oklahoma City. I think they held him 0:19:23.720 --> 0:19:26.240 to fifteen points in the first quarter. The reason why 0:19:26.400 --> 0:19:30.320 was they immediately dropped back to Denver's game plan. They 0:19:30.400 --> 0:19:34.240 had Jaden meet Shay inside the three point line because again, 0:19:34.359 --> 0:19:37.720 if you ball pressure a player, it's the easiest time 0:19:37.760 --> 0:19:40.720 to drive past them because you're being forward aggressive as 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:42.879 a defender, so of course she's going to go right 0:19:42.880 --> 0:19:45.520 around you. He's literally the best. He drove to the 0:19:45.560 --> 0:19:48.879 basket more than two hundred times more than the second 0:19:48.880 --> 0:19:50.680 best driver in the league this year, Colin. That's like 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:53.560 almost four times a game. He's far and away the 0:19:53.600 --> 0:19:56.440 best driver. You can't pick him up that far. He's 0:19:56.440 --> 0:19:59.520 gonna go right around you. Jaden sat back and then 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:02.520 they start pack in the paint off of shooters, and 0:20:02.560 --> 0:20:04.960 so as a result, it looked like the Denver game, 0:20:05.000 --> 0:20:07.600 and all of a sudden, it turned into Oklahoma City's 0:20:07.680 --> 0:20:10.960