WEBVTT - Underdogs Even Up Series In Philly And Phoenix 0:00:00.320 --> 0:00:02.880 If you're tuned into Heat Check with Trystal Quick. 0:00:06.360 --> 0:00:10.840 On this episode of the Heat Check, James Harden goes 0:00:10.920 --> 0:00:14.160 from stink mode stink mode. 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:16.799 To god mode. Had another legendary game. 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:20.119 Now the Celtics are tied up with the Philadelphia seventy 0:00:20.239 --> 0:00:21.560 six ers, who would have sold that. 0:00:22.239 --> 0:00:24.840 Son's also even it up with the Nuggets. 0:00:25.160 --> 0:00:29.200 Jokic maybe might get suspended for shoving an NBA owner. 0:00:29.880 --> 0:00:32.479 It's true. That's a real sentence. Crazy. 0:00:32.560 --> 0:00:32.800 I know. 0:00:33.000 --> 0:00:33.839 We'll get into all the. 0:00:33.800 --> 0:00:36.360 Storylines from around the league, and I'll break down the 0:00:36.440 --> 0:00:39.559 All NBA Rookie team and what makes no sense on 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:41.959 that list as well. Let's get right into it, Nick, 0:00:41.960 --> 0:00:44.000 There's a lot to do, so let's drop that generic 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:54.840 ass beat that should be Rihanna. Let's start with the 0:00:54.880 --> 0:01:00.640 Philly Boston series Sixers tied things up to Tod Azer 0:01:00.840 --> 0:01:04.320 thin margin of going down three to one. I don't 0:01:04.360 --> 0:01:08.000 know why, but Marcus Smart is now in charge of 0:01:08.120 --> 0:01:12.120 hitting or just missing or just taking game winners. 0:01:12.360 --> 0:01:13.280 That's just what his. 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:16.000 Role is now on this Boston Celtics team. Never Mind 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:18.720 that there's Jason Tatum there. Never mind that there's Jalen 0:01:18.760 --> 0:01:22.000 Brown there. Never mind that he's just one of the 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:27.119 all time greatest chucker inconsistent shooters in the league. One 0:01:27.240 --> 0:01:29.880 miss three that could have won the Boston Celtics the game, 0:01:30.120 --> 0:01:34.880 and another May three of Marcus Smart's in overtime that 0:01:34.920 --> 0:01:38.800 he actually got off after the buzzer, so it went in. 0:01:39.160 --> 0:01:42.800 It was very close and it was not good. That 0:01:42.959 --> 0:01:45.759 was very very razor thin. But the biggest story, I think, 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:50.040 to me, feels like James Harden. James Harden as a 0:01:50.160 --> 0:01:54.840 roller coaster is in full effect this playoffs. Usually we 0:01:54.880 --> 0:01:58.800 can somewhat expect a level of consistency for him in 0:01:58.840 --> 0:02:02.120 the playoffs and it's usually not great. But he has 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:06.840 made headlines all series long. His fashion whatever, the kind 0:02:06.840 --> 0:02:10.240 of electric factory type fashion that he has, going to 0:02:10.360 --> 0:02:13.600 Vegas during an off day for a little baby party. 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:16.440 Like James Hard and little Baby are like the best 0:02:16.440 --> 0:02:18.799 of friends. Like they're a little too close, if you 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:20.639 know what I'm saying, Like there's nothing wrong with it, 0:02:20.680 --> 0:02:23.040 but they are like white on rice. They are peas 0:02:23.080 --> 0:02:27.000 and carrots. James Harden and little Baby. And then to 0:02:27.080 --> 0:02:30.480 putting up the best and worst games of his playoff 0:02:30.560 --> 0:02:33.520 career in the same series, back to back to back 0:02:33.560 --> 0:02:38.120 to back. Yes, forty five points Game one without MBID 0:02:38.360 --> 0:02:41.400 at that point was probably his single best performance of 0:02:41.440 --> 0:02:45.400 his playoff career, which he then followed up with the 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.760 two worst shooting performances of his entire career playoffs and 0:02:48.880 --> 0:02:53.280 regular season combined. That's true as well. And then how 0:02:53.280 --> 0:02:57.240 did he follow that up? Forty two points, eight rebounds, 0:02:57.480 --> 0:03:03.720 nine assists, four steals, one block, and a corner three 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:07.080 to win the game? Catch and shoot, James Harden? 0:03:07.280 --> 0:03:08.000 Who are you? 0:03:08.200 --> 0:03:12.840 James Harden? He had a game tying three in regulation 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:16.320 and a game winning three in overtime, So two best 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:19.960 games of his career bookending the two worst shooting performances 0:03:20.040 --> 0:03:23.239 of his career. That is the James Harden experience, folks. 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:26.320 Another fun fact about James Harden he has now hit 0:03:26.360 --> 0:03:29.880 two game winners in the same series, which is absurdly 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:32.120 rare and the only other player to do that. The 0:03:32.200 --> 0:03:36.320 last player to do that was Boo his teammate, former 0:03:36.360 --> 0:03:40.880 teammate Kevin Durant back in twenty twelve against the LA Lakers. 0:03:41.680 --> 0:03:44.880 Been that kind of playoffs for James Harden, And the 0:03:44.920 --> 0:03:48.800 funniest part to me was that James Harden got the 0:03:48.920 --> 0:03:53.240 strangest inspiration for that performance from none other than Doc Rivers, 0:03:53.480 --> 0:03:57.560 in the form of an inspirational song sent to him 0:03:57.760 --> 0:04:00.760 via text message before he got to the ear an 0:04:00.840 --> 0:04:04.880 eight minute gospel song sent to James Harden. I didn't 0:04:04.920 --> 0:04:07.120 think James Harden was into that kind of thing, but 0:04:07.240 --> 0:04:11.000 I guess whatever works, right. Harden said he was in 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:16.400 the car with his friends, probably a little baby, and 0:04:16.400 --> 0:04:20.920 and got the text message from Doc Rivers and then 0:04:21.480 --> 0:04:24.360 asked his friends to put the song on. Hey, let's 0:04:24.400 --> 0:04:26.200 just put the song on. Let's listen to the whole 0:04:26.240 --> 0:04:30.040 thing through was a little baby driving. It gets unclear 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:33.880 does he have a chauffeur, because nobody who's driving asks 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:35.760 their friends, hey, let's just put this on. They just 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:37.400 put it on, right, That's just what you do when 0:04:37.400 --> 0:04:40.359 you're driving. Anyway, All these things run through my head. 0:04:40.560 --> 0:04:42.800 So he listens to it all the way through. 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:45.320 And he thought at that point, and he said this 0:04:45.360 --> 0:04:47.240 in his postgame presser, that he thought that this song 0:04:47.320 --> 0:04:50.960 had to have some good juju. Then, as we know, 0:04:51.120 --> 0:04:54.040 he went on put on a show, game tying three, 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:57.120 game winning three, and PJ. Tucker said it perfectly in 0:04:57.160 --> 0:04:59.440 the postgame presser with James Harden, you better play that 0:04:59.480 --> 0:05:04.440 fucking song again before Gay five because whatever that song did, 0:05:04.800 --> 0:05:08.160 it got it. Which brings us to PJ. Tucker, one 0:05:08.160 --> 0:05:10.760 of the more fascinating glue guys I think in the league, 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:15.440 big time dog, I would say, one of the biggest 0:05:15.440 --> 0:05:18.680 dogs in terms of the role player position. Like if 0:05:18.720 --> 0:05:20.480 you have the he's got that dog in a meme, 0:05:20.560 --> 0:05:23.960 that's PJ Tucker and a guy that the Sixers have 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:26.960 desperately needed in the post Jimmy Butler era, because as 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:30.720 we know, Jimmy was that guy that instilled confidence and 0:05:30.800 --> 0:05:33.400 grit and once he left, the team got soft as 0:05:33.440 --> 0:05:36.680 baby shit, right, So it is time that we do 0:05:36.839 --> 0:05:39.599 break down a little bit of PJ Tucker. I asked 0:05:39.680 --> 0:05:44.160 Philadelphia podcaster Ryan Rostein. I was asking him, Hey, like 0:05:44.440 --> 0:05:48.320 tell me about PJ Tucker and how impactful he is 0:05:48.800 --> 0:05:53.960 on this team. His response, in my opinion, was fascinating everything. 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:59.200 But points it's you know, he's it was frustrating in 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:02.880 the regular season and because he did that often and 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:06.960 the value couldn't be seen in the regular season because 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:09.839 you know, those games don't matter and the style is 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:11.120 significantly different. 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:14.440 But he brings everything to this team. He brings toughness, 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:17.880 he brings leadership. I look at PJ Tucker as the leader. 0:06:18.880 --> 0:06:21.560 I talked about it for years about how this Sixers 0:06:21.560 --> 0:06:24.320 team lacked leadership and Beans not a leader, and Bean's 0:06:24.360 --> 0:06:27.000 not a grab your shirt, what are you doing? Let's 0:06:27.000 --> 0:06:30.160 go guy like he's not raw raw, He's not gonna 0:06:30.200 --> 0:06:33.880 say anything or lead. Neither really is to Bias or Harden. 0:06:34.040 --> 0:06:38.800 So Tucker's providing leadership and toughness that this Sixers team 0:06:39.680 --> 0:06:41.320 has been lacking for a long time. 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:45.640 Facts has been lacking for a long time. And of 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:49.120 course PJ. Tucker went out and did what PJ Tucker does. 0:06:50.080 --> 0:06:56.080 Six points, three rebounds, one assists, four fouls, impactful, probably 0:06:56.120 --> 0:06:59.040 hard fouls, still managed to be a plus one in 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:03.039 thirty one minutes in a game they won by checks 0:07:03.080 --> 0:07:07.400 notes one. That seems absurd, but no one has crazy 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:09.920 stat lines like PJ Tucker. You look at Game one 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:12.760 when there was no embiid, when the Sixer stole Game 0:07:12.800 --> 0:07:15.679 one and TD Garden Tucker in that game thirty seven 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:21.920 points without attempting a single field goal, ubsurd, five and one, 0:07:22.080 --> 0:07:25.680 two steals, and in a four point win, PJ Tucker 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:30.920 was a plus six, exactly the amount that they're winning 0:07:30.960 --> 0:07:34.920 by PJ. Tucker is a plus of that same amount. 0:07:35.320 --> 0:07:38.520 That's how impactful and important PJ Tucker is. I think 0:07:38.560 --> 0:07:41.800 what we call PJ Tucker is Jimmy Butler if Jimmy 0:07:41.800 --> 0:07:42.800 Butler couldn't score. 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:44.160 That's what he is. 0:07:44.680 --> 0:07:47.080 He does all the same things that Jimmy Butler does, 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:49.840 except for put the basketball in the hoop. One minute, 0:07:49.840 --> 0:07:52.040 he's deflecting a pass. The next sea's in b ball 0:07:52.040 --> 0:07:57.040 Paul's face imploring him, uh, just furiously telling him YO 0:07:57.200 --> 0:08:01.360 play defense, get some rebounds. One of the best moments 0:08:01.440 --> 0:08:05.000 I think that highlights PJ. Tucker in this particular instance 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:08.920 is so Joel Embiid has been known to be a 0:08:09.000 --> 0:08:13.040 little lazy in all moments, not just regular season moments. 0:08:13.280 --> 0:08:18.600 Joel Embiid sometimes doesn't have the most consistent motor in 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:22.480 the fourth quarter when they are razor thin in the fight. 0:08:22.640 --> 0:08:24.880 In the thick of the battle with the Boston Celtics, 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:28.240 he watches Joel Embiid take multiple plays off. 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.120 So what does he do. He gets into. 0:08:31.080 --> 0:08:36.520 Inside of Joel Embiid's asshole, just reaming him, just yelling 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:40.120 at him, grabbing onto his jersey, like like, that's not 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:43.400 the MVP, and they ask him about it after the game, 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:44.840 and this is what he had to say. 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:47.920 No Viking guards oh, one on one. There's no way. 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:51.760 I'm sorry. It's not the Spected or anybody else about 0:08:51.800 --> 0:08:54.920 guard him for a lot of years and when he's 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:58.360 aggressive in assertive, it's impossible. And I've seen him two 0:08:58.440 --> 0:09:01.520 or three plays in a row not do that, and 0:09:01.600 --> 0:09:04.440 we can't add it. We can add it now with 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:05.959 a season on the line, we can't have it. 0:09:06.480 --> 0:09:10.480 Can't have that he's taking plays off. Can't have that, No, sir. 0:09:11.000 --> 0:09:14.640 Joel Embiid one of the most dominant scores, physically imposing, 0:09:14.840 --> 0:09:17.680 has some of the best footwork you'll ever see, like 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:20.400 very light touch around the rim, hits, his free throws, 0:09:20.480 --> 0:09:23.200 can shoot threes. You're not stopping that, man. The only 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:27.000 thing stopping Joel Embiid is Joel Embiid's motor. So if 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:29.920 the motor is going at full blast, Sixers could win 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:30.360 a title. 0:09:31.280 --> 0:09:32.120 And that is what PJ. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.120 Tucker is there to wind a little Joel Embiid up 0:09:35.360 --> 0:09:38.720 and to get the motor to restart in critical moments 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:44.080 when he is taking time off. Also listen if he 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:45.960 didn't do that. Sixers are probably down three to one. 0:09:46.600 --> 0:09:50.800 That's just the fact. One final point though about the Sixers, 0:09:50.880 --> 0:09:54.920 Doc Rivers, I ever thought i'd say it, folks. Doc 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:59.400 Rivers has been really good. His coaching has been on 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:03.320 tippy top shape, the type of Doc Rivers coaching that 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:05.800 we thought he was when he was in Boston, right 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:10.120 handling things perfectly, adjusting the lineup to make up for 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:13.040 no and beating Game one, keeping some of the players 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:15.760 out from the lineup that we thought might get significant 0:10:15.760 --> 0:10:19.319 minutes using Harden in a catch and shoot situation. 0:10:20.480 --> 0:10:22.000 What has James Harden ever done that? 0:10:22.600 --> 0:10:24.520 Looking at the film to get this team to have 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:28.199 better spacing, better ability in the pick and roll Game four, 0:10:28.600 --> 0:10:31.720 you see this changing. He is having some of the 0:10:31.760 --> 0:10:36.880 best coaching playoffs I've ever seen, obviously sending Harden the 0:10:36.960 --> 0:10:40.960 eight minute long gospel song. Something has gotten into Doc Rivers. 0:10:41.160 --> 0:10:43.040 I don't know if it's just because of how bad 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:46.199 Joe Mozula is, but Doc Rivers is coaching circles around 0:10:46.320 --> 0:10:50.480 Joe Mizula. Another thing that's impressive in terms of Doc's coaching, 0:10:50.720 --> 0:10:52.880 he is doing something very underrated. 0:10:54.400 --> 0:10:56.360 Kerr does this, Spoe does this? 0:10:57.040 --> 0:11:00.280 Even after a win. He's just moving the chess piece 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:04.480 calling out the refs, getting very mad because Jason Tatum 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:07.680 pushed off on a three point that he made that 0:11:07.840 --> 0:11:10.959 could have lost the Sixers the game to set up 0:11:11.320 --> 0:11:14.119 more favorable calls in game five. 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:19.120 Jason Tatum's three was awful. That that wasn't called awful? 0:11:20.400 --> 0:11:23.160 Did you did you think it was a push off? 0:11:23.280 --> 0:11:25.720 I'm asking you no, no. 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:26.760 Be committed. 0:11:26.840 --> 0:11:28.280 Did you think it was a push off? 0:11:29.440 --> 0:11:30.400 It was a push off? 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:30.839 You can't. 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:34.040 And the reason that it bugged me because at the 0:11:34.200 --> 0:11:36.000 end of the game, they were the touch files. You know, 0:11:36.080 --> 0:11:42.520 Jason Tatum has a three sixty foul, Marcus Martin Tuck 0:11:42.600 --> 0:11:45.720 gets tangled up touch foul, So we're gonna call it 0:11:45.720 --> 0:11:49.680 that way. Then you have to call that to me 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:51.520 that you got to call that play. I know it's 0:11:51.520 --> 0:11:53.920 a big play, and I'm a big fan of refs 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:56.800 not deciding, but that could have decided the game. 0:11:57.280 --> 0:12:00.320 That could have decided the game. Good job, Doc, Is 0:12:00.360 --> 0:12:00.760 he wrong? 0:12:00.920 --> 0:12:01.040 No? 0:12:01.240 --> 0:12:03.560 That was an absolute push off. And I love the 0:12:03.559 --> 0:12:07.200 fact that Doc Rivers forced the reporter to also admit, 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:10.959 do not be going both sides of the line with me. Reporter. 0:12:11.240 --> 0:12:12.880 Did you think it was a push off or was 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:16.880 it not? Okay, Doc is on one in this series. 0:12:17.040 --> 0:12:18.800 Is that enough to put him over the top? I 0:12:18.800 --> 0:12:22.600 don't know, Probably maybe. Joe Mizula continues to be asked 0:12:22.640 --> 0:12:25.840 at the end of games and came out and admitted that, yeah, 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:28.400 I fucked up. At the end of game four, he 0:12:28.480 --> 0:12:29.760 had this to say after the game. 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:31.719 Hindsight is twenty twenty. 0:12:31.920 --> 0:12:33.800 I should have called the time out at the end 0:12:33.800 --> 0:12:36.680 of ot to help us go for a two for 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:40.920 one situation for a couple more possessions. Obviously, fourteen seconds 0:12:41.000 --> 0:12:43.320 left down one. You want as many chances as you can. 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:48.719 So definitely learn from that. Ooh, Joe Mizula, how Mike 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:54.240 Budenholzer of you. That is something else, especially considering that 0:12:54.320 --> 0:12:57.400 Joe Mazula literally just after game three came out and 0:12:57.480 --> 0:13:00.720 was like, what about those adjustments? What about those adjustments? 0:13:00.760 --> 0:13:02.880 I had wow while. 0:13:02.720 --> 0:13:04.959 Walking out the door. Not just the end of the 0:13:05.000 --> 0:13:07.720 game management. It's what Marcus said also last week. 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:12.440 Uh yeah, speaking of Booonholzers, sounds exactly like Booonholzer here too. Yeah, 0:13:12.520 --> 0:13:15.079 most of our offense is just random. We're just getting 0:13:15.160 --> 0:13:19.959 random out here. That's why Jalen Brown's postgame comments were 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:21.520 so telling. 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:25.680 I guess I got to demand the ball a little 0:13:25.720 --> 0:13:28.080 bit more. I thought good things happened when I had 0:13:28.120 --> 0:13:30.240 it in my ass, But I thought our offense was 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:31.560 was was. 0:13:33.440 --> 0:13:33.800 Okay. 0:13:33.960 --> 0:13:36.480 I thought we we may, we chipped away, we made 0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:39.120 big time shots, we got great looks all game long, 0:13:40.880 --> 0:13:42.680 and we just came up short. 0:13:42.720 --> 0:13:46.120 And that give me the fucking ball. 0:13:46.960 --> 0:13:49.600 Jalen Brown should like not be only shooting the ball 0:13:49.640 --> 0:13:52.240 through three times in seventeen minutes of any game, very 0:13:52.480 --> 0:13:55.880 very like clearly let alone in a winnable game to 0:13:55.920 --> 0:13:58.320 go up three to one and take the sixers and 0:13:58.360 --> 0:14:01.480 put them to sleep. That is on the offense, and 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:05.840 that offense is directed by who Joe Missoula. If this 0:14:05.920 --> 0:14:11.080 series comes down to who's coaching better, Doctor Joe. I 0:14:11.160 --> 0:14:13.840 hate to say it because it is a wild thing 0:14:13.880 --> 0:14:16.760 for Doc Rivers to have a coaching edge in any series, 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:20.480 in any playoff series at all, but listen, I think 0:14:20.520 --> 0:14:23.880 Doc is heading shoulders a better coach right now than 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:26.720 Joe moi Azula. So that means Boston may be out, 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:29.560 and that is saying a lot about the Eastern Conference. 0:14:47.440 --> 0:14:51.080 I thought Phoenix was gonna get swept, didn't you. I did, 0:14:51.160 --> 0:14:53.520 I really did. I thought it was it was over. 0:14:53.880 --> 0:14:58.400 They were getting their asses beat multiple games. The ghost 0:14:58.440 --> 0:15:02.120 of Chris Paul just pulled his groin and then the 0:15:02.160 --> 0:15:06.960 series flipped on its head. Truthfully, everything changed. Phoenix now 0:15:07.000 --> 0:15:10.240 ties the series with the number one seed Nuggets behind 0:15:10.400 --> 0:15:13.400 the usual suspects. Of course, we wanted big performances from 0:15:13.400 --> 0:15:16.840 Devin Booker. We got thirty six from him. Of course, 0:15:17.120 --> 0:15:20.320 you get thirty six from Kevin Durant and then. 0:15:20.720 --> 0:15:22.880 Nineteen from Check's notes. 0:15:23.240 --> 0:15:30.480 Landry Shammitt's Landry Shammitt four four threes in the final 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:34.480 quarter of action, just nail in the coffin. 0:15:34.800 --> 0:15:36.640 After nailing the coffin. 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:42.240 Forced the Denver Nuggets himself two big threes, two separate 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:45.680 timeouts called by Denver like, oh shit, we cannot be 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:49.920 letting Landry Shammitt's little last be sending us home, and 0:15:49.960 --> 0:15:55.600 he did. Shammitt was just in absolute sniper mode. Every 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:58.840 time Denver got close. Landry Shammitt pulled up from deep 0:15:58.960 --> 0:16:02.920 and it was wet. I don't understand it, and the 0:16:02.960 --> 0:16:05.600 bench showed up for the first time. Pretty much all 0:16:05.640 --> 0:16:10.440 series scored forty. The bench scored forty. They were getting 0:16:10.440 --> 0:16:14.520 like four points off the bench before Chris Paul got injured. 0:16:15.160 --> 0:16:17.720 All of the bench was in plus numbers. All of 0:16:17.760 --> 0:16:21.360 this Sun's starting lineup was negative. Wild that the series 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:27.240 was saved by its shallow bench, But props to Jock Landell, TJ. Warren, 0:16:27.600 --> 0:16:31.480 Terrence Ross, and of course Landry Shammitt. Landale was an 0:16:31.520 --> 0:16:36.040 impressive plus sixteen for the game. He was ballin', which 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:37.480 brings up an interesting point. 0:16:37.720 --> 0:16:38.360 I need to know. 0:16:39.560 --> 0:16:42.560 Is this Phoenix Sun's team better without Chris Paul. I 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:44.560 don't mean it in a stephen A. Smith way. I 0:16:44.600 --> 0:16:48.280 actually mean this. I actually think this team is better 0:16:48.680 --> 0:16:52.080 for whatever reason, MANI would not go to Terrence Ross, 0:16:52.160 --> 0:16:54.880 he would not play them. He would not play Landry, 0:16:55.000 --> 0:16:58.000 he would not play Campaign. He was running out six 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:02.240 deep getting no produce. I think Landry had like two 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:06.240 minutes in game one. I think Terrence Ross got a DNPCD. 0:17:06.520 --> 0:17:11.680 I think our man TJ. Warren DNPCD. And then all 0:17:11.760 --> 0:17:14.199 of Monnie's plans went to hell in a handbasket, and 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:16.720 now he had to make adjustments and find some guys 0:17:16.760 --> 0:17:18.920 on the bench who he knew could score buckets and 0:17:18.960 --> 0:17:22.280 now it's tied to two. It might have saved Monny's job. 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:26.399 Chris Paul's injury might have saved Monny's job. And I 0:17:26.440 --> 0:17:29.040 think it's this is why Chris Paul is a turtle. 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:33.639 He is slow, Let's be honest. His playoff pedigree is 0:17:33.720 --> 0:17:37.439 built off of slow, playing it up the floor, putting 0:17:37.440 --> 0:17:41.399 his butt into someone's chest when he's backing him down, 0:17:41.520 --> 0:17:44.800 even ninety four feet away from your rim, and just 0:17:44.840 --> 0:17:50.160 setting up this offense slow, methodical point god shit. But maybe, 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:54.280 just maybe that makes the Phoenix Suns worse. Maybe just 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:56.840 maybe they need to be playing faster, They need to 0:17:56.840 --> 0:18:01.159 be getting easier buckets in transition. Maybe Dean thrives in 0:18:01.200 --> 0:18:04.879 a faster, up tempo offense. Same thing with Devin Booker, 0:18:05.040 --> 0:18:05.639 same thing. 0:18:05.520 --> 0:18:06.280 With Kevin Durant. 0:18:06.440 --> 0:18:11.040 Maybe half court offense is hard because the defense is set. 0:18:11.359 --> 0:18:14.439 They have had all this time to settle their defense 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:16.560 down and figure out what you want to do. But 0:18:16.600 --> 0:18:19.920 the big story, though, really revolves around Yokic and this controversy. 0:18:20.080 --> 0:18:20.960 Have you heard about it? 0:18:21.200 --> 0:18:21.640 Uh? 0:18:22.000 --> 0:18:22.920 He put up fifty three. 0:18:23.240 --> 0:18:27.520 He was incredible, twenty of thirty from shooting, but he 0:18:27.600 --> 0:18:32.000 also managed to get himself squarely involved in some conflict 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:35.879 that could possibly affect the entire series. With two and 0:18:35.920 --> 0:18:38.080 a half minutes left in the first half. Is what happened. 0:18:39.040 --> 0:18:41.320 Jokic was scrambling out of balance for the ball. 0:18:41.960 --> 0:18:45.480 Jokicic tried to get the ball, which happened to fall 0:18:45.520 --> 0:18:46.840 into a fan's hand. 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:49.920 The fan refused. 0:18:49.440 --> 0:18:52.440 To give up the ball, literally was holding onto it 0:18:52.480 --> 0:18:57.439 like it was his baby. Jokic grabbed it, pulled it 0:18:57.480 --> 0:19:01.880 away from him, shove the fan down, tried to get 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:05.400 the ball thrown to him, squirt it into another fan, 0:19:05.840 --> 0:19:08.280 tried to get the ball. Then that first fan got 0:19:08.280 --> 0:19:11.640 into his face and Yokic seemed to put his shoulder 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:12.360 into him. 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:15.480 And the fan flew to the ground. Who's a flop? 0:19:15.600 --> 0:19:17.040 It was an egregious flop. 0:19:18.200 --> 0:19:20.920 In other words, the video showed that he maybe sort 0:19:20.920 --> 0:19:25.920 of kind of went into the stands and malice in 0:19:25.960 --> 0:19:27.879 the palace them, you know what I mean, just a 0:19:27.920 --> 0:19:31.960 little shove in the stands, put his shoving into the guy. 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:36.920 Who was this fan that Jokic shoved This guy a 0:19:37.119 --> 0:19:43.440 matthew Ishbia. Turns out matthew Ishbia is the new billionaire 0:19:44.160 --> 0:19:48.440 owner of the Phoenix suns. So Jokic shoves an NBA 0:19:48.560 --> 0:19:51.520 owner courtside for refusing to give the ball up and 0:19:51.600 --> 0:19:54.919 get out of the way, and that owner, matt Isshbia, 0:19:55.080 --> 0:19:57.440 flopped like a La Liga forward dating one of those 0:19:57.440 --> 0:19:59.240 supermodels that never smile. 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:01.200 It was a very soft move. 0:20:01.560 --> 0:20:05.120 I respect the hell out of matt Ishbia, former spartan 0:20:05.440 --> 0:20:08.399 for pulling that. That's something that only Tom Izzo can teach. 0:20:09.440 --> 0:20:14.479 Matt Ishbia, Draymond Green, same guy, same guy. The big 0:20:14.560 --> 0:20:16.480 problem though, is that the league's kind of fucked because 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:19.320 they're not gonna want to suspend Jolkic for that bullshit. 0:20:19.520 --> 0:20:22.320 But it was against the rules. It was The rules 0:20:22.320 --> 0:20:24.600 are very clear. You can one not go into the 0:20:24.600 --> 0:20:28.160 stands period. You cannot put your hands on a fan 0:20:28.480 --> 0:20:32.040 for any reason. There's a tiny bit of wiggle room 0:20:32.080 --> 0:20:34.680 because they say that Jokic wasn't really in the stands, 0:20:34.920 --> 0:20:37.680 he was court side, he was on the sidelines. 0:20:38.160 --> 0:20:40.400 Very thin argument. He did kind of sort of push 0:20:40.440 --> 0:20:40.760 a fan. 0:20:42.359 --> 0:20:44.600 Even Ishbia was like, Hey, I'm not trying to get 0:20:44.760 --> 0:20:46.159 I want us to win with Jokic. 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:47.959 We don't want him to get suspended. 0:20:48.280 --> 0:20:50.280 But I am not sure what the league is going 0:20:50.320 --> 0:20:53.199 to do. It is a conundrum. The question is what 0:20:53.280 --> 0:20:56.360 would have happened if it was Draymond and not Jokic. 0:20:57.840 --> 0:21:00.199 Booker said after the game, when asked about it, he 0:21:00.240 --> 0:21:01.080 got us a point. 0:21:01.320 --> 0:21:05.160 He did his job, he did. It was a technical foul. 0:21:05.000 --> 0:21:06.720 And they got a point out of it. In a 0:21:06.800 --> 0:21:09.480 series that could be swayed very easily by a suspension 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:12.359 by a star player. But listen, those Yoks non Yoks 0:21:12.440 --> 0:21:16.400 minutes are rough. A non Yoks game is pretty much 0:21:16.440 --> 0:21:18.679 a win for the Phoenix Suns, and we got some 0:21:18.760 --> 0:21:20.800 drama on our hands and it's not been on the court, 0:21:20.960 --> 0:21:24.600 and that is a shame because after two ugly gross 0:21:24.720 --> 0:21:27.960 first two games, this series has gotten very fun, very fast. 0:21:28.280 --> 0:21:30.520 So no one wants to see the Joker suspended. But 0:21:30.600 --> 0:21:32.560 it is all in Adam Silver's hands now and we 0:21:32.600 --> 0:21:35.919 will see what he does. The other two games are 0:21:35.920 --> 0:21:38.760 on Monday night, which is when I am recording right now. 0:21:38.840 --> 0:21:40.919 The games have not gone underway yet and I am 0:21:40.960 --> 0:21:43.040 not sure what is going to happen, so I'm going 0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:46.080 to keep my comments very general until we get back 0:21:46.119 --> 0:21:50.080 into the studio. Nick's heat, I think the Knicks are 0:21:50.160 --> 0:21:53.800 very much in trouble. I think that this team cannot shoot. 0:21:54.280 --> 0:21:59.080 If they come out in Game five and shoot like 0:21:59.119 --> 0:22:01.720 the snipers that they wanna be, then maybe that changes, 0:22:01.760 --> 0:22:03.200 but I don't think so. A lot of this has 0:22:03.280 --> 0:22:06.480 to do though, with Julius Randall. He didn't single handedly 0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:09.240 lose the game on Saturday for the Knicks, but. 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:10.040 He was not great. 0:22:10.359 --> 0:22:12.000 He was not who they need him to be if 0:22:12.000 --> 0:22:14.399 they want to win and move on. He's injured. I 0:22:14.440 --> 0:22:16.719 know that he's injured, but you can't shoot thirty five 0:22:16.760 --> 0:22:19.879 percent from the field from the field from the field 0:22:19.960 --> 0:22:24.000