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Speaker 1: On today's show, Damian Lillard is playing at such a

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Speaker 1: high level right now, but will we even see him

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Speaker 1: for a full playoff series? The Miami Heat know how

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Speaker 1: to stop Joel and beat what is that possible? And

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Speaker 1: Yanistetokumpo almost pooped on the court his words not mine.

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Speaker 1: So many games with playoff implications, and I've got an

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Speaker 1: announcement at the end of this show. I'm tas Malis

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Speaker 1: and this is what you need to know in the

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Speaker 1: NBA for Friday, May fourteen. Happy Friday, everybody. It's going

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Speaker 1: to be a wild weekend in the NBA. Almost every

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Speaker 1: single one of the twenty teams that will play beyond

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Speaker 1: Sunday's regular season don't know which seed they'll end up with,

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Speaker 1: and we still have twenty one teams alive for those spots.

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Speaker 1: Let's start with easily, what was the game of the

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Speaker 1: night from Thursday and its playoff implications. It's from the

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Speaker 1: Western Conference, where it's guaranteed to be a bloodbat once

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Speaker 1: these playoffs get going. Not much you can guarantee in

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Speaker 1: the NBA, but you can't argue that number six seeded

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Speaker 1: Portland at number two seeded Phoenix look like the Suns

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Speaker 1: had this game late. Cameron Payne, good little story, good

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Speaker 1: little guard, representing for all the little quick guards out there,

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Speaker 1: almost out of the league at one point, came off

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Speaker 1: the bench and gave the Suns eleven fourth quarter points.

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Speaker 1: He had twenty one overall. Suns up nine midway through

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Speaker 1: the queue as they try and catch Utah for the

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Speaker 1: one seed. But then Damian Lillard with some wild shot making,

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Speaker 1: seriously wild stopping starting floating shots in from twenty four feet,

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Speaker 1: the hesitation type stuff. We have got Dame in that

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Speaker 1: serious playoff mode, going hard on both ends defensively as well.

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Speaker 1: He played the whole second half and went nine to

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Speaker 1: ten in the fourth for twenty four points in the

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Speaker 1: fourth alone, twenty four big ones. The bubble in Portland's

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Speaker 1: strange season last year prevented us from seeing this Dame.

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Speaker 1: But we're getting him now late this season. But will

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Speaker 1: he be in the play in turn? Will will we

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Speaker 1: only see him for a game or two? Well, sit

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Speaker 1: down and bite your nails. As I explained the end

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Speaker 1: of this game, which has crazy playoff implications for the Blazers.

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Speaker 1: They could have sealed their spot to get out of

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Speaker 1: the play in tournament, but bad free throw shooting on

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Speaker 1: both sides made it crazy. Phoenix's Dariosarich missed three of

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Speaker 1: four free throws in the final minute, but he was

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Speaker 1: bailed out by another free throw misser the Blazers, Robert Covington,

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Speaker 1: who missed two with five seconds left, so that opened

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Speaker 1: the door. Phoenix down one. Devin Booker Drove got a

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Speaker 1: questionable call with point nine seconds left. The Blazers challenged,

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Speaker 1: it was upheld and Booker hit two free throws to

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Speaker 1: get Phoenix the one point lead. Then the refs added

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Speaker 1: time to the clock after that was all done and

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Speaker 1: made it two point four seconds. Portland lost their time

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Speaker 1: out on the challenge, and Terry Stotts, head coach the Blazers,

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Speaker 1: said he wouldn't have challenged if there was two point

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Speaker 1: four on the clock, keeping a time out. The two

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Speaker 1: point four wasn't enough for a great shot from the

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Speaker 1: end of the floor. Phoenix wins. Dame had forty one.

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Speaker 1: The Blazers can't finish lower than seventh, and maybe that's

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Speaker 1: one change we'll see in the format for next season.

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Speaker 1: Maybe the tournament is just there to see who gets

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Speaker 1: into the eighth spot, and maybe I'm just looking at

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Speaker 1: the Western conference and how it's all playing out, because yes,

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Speaker 1: I would like to see whether it's the Blazers or

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Speaker 1: the Lakers or the MAVs who will finish seventh. I'd

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Speaker 1: like to see them for a full playoff series. And

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Speaker 1: it gives a little bit more value to the regular

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Speaker 1: season if you have all seven teams that finish the

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Speaker 1: top of the conference make it into the playoffs, but

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Speaker 1: you still get your play in tournament if it's just

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Speaker 1: for the eighth seed. Just a thought. With Portland's loss,

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Speaker 1: the Lakers can still avoid the play in tournament. That's

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Speaker 1: if the Lakers beat the Pacers Saturday, and then they'll

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Speaker 1: go into Sunday with the chance to jump into sixth

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Speaker 1: or fall to seventh in the play in tournament. If

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Speaker 1: they beat the Pelicans and the Blazers lose to the Nuggets.

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Speaker 1: They need all that to happen. But does Nikole Jokic

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Speaker 1: play in that game against the Blazers on Sunday. The

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Speaker 1: Nuggets are currently fourth and would need help from the

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Speaker 1: Clippers losing to move up to third, But the Nuggets

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Speaker 1: may be happier to finish fourth and likely face the Mavericks,

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Speaker 1: and the Clippers may not even give that help by

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Speaker 1: winning out versus Houston and Oka see a wild weekend

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Speaker 1: to come. What about in the East, The Sixers had

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Speaker 1: a chance to clinch the number one seed but were

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Speaker 1: mopped by the Miami Heat on National TV. The Sixers

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Speaker 1: will clinch it over the weekend when they just have

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Speaker 1: to beat Orlando in one of two games at home.

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Speaker 1: The more worrisome part for the Sixers was how the

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Speaker 1: Heat were able to take Joel Embiid out of the game.

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Speaker 1: When Joel Embiid got the ball in the post area

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Speaker 1: and out to the mid rage, he had a guy

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Speaker 1: in front of him, a guy under the rim ready

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Speaker 1: to help, and then a guy up top already leaving

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Speaker 1: his man a little bit ready to dig. Jimmy Butler

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Speaker 1: doing that in the photo we're showing if you're watching

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Speaker 1: on YouTube, the Heat. We're begging Embiid to pass with

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Speaker 1: that defense begging him, and they're a special team that's

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Speaker 1: ready to scramble. But that defensive format can also limit

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Speaker 1: his free throw opportunities if he does pass out instead

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Speaker 1: of taking a guy one on one and drawing fouls,

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Speaker 1: and that's where he lives most games at the line.

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Speaker 1: He had only one free throw in this game, the

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Speaker 1: Heat problems the bubble Heat are alive as well as

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Speaker 1: they fight to try and get into fourth in the

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Speaker 1: Eastern Conference. Incredible part of this game, forty year old

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Speaker 1: eighteen year man Eudonis Haslem made his season debut now

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Speaker 1: with three games left, and his three minutes on the

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Speaker 1: floor he just played three minutes were even more amazing.

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Speaker 1: He got a standing ovation from some fans and Heat

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Speaker 1: executives as he entered the game. He hit his only

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Speaker 1: two shots and then he got into it with Dwight

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Speaker 1: Howard and was ejected. The true six fouls or just

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Speaker 1: get ejected type guy, the eudonnas hasm really got into

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Speaker 1: it with Dwight Howard. Heat culture gonna be tough to

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Speaker 1: beat this team in the playoffs. Eudonas Haslm has embodied

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Speaker 1: that for his eighteen years in the NBA. Gotta love him.

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Speaker 1: The Heat stayed alive in that battle for the four

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Speaker 1: seed and home court advantage with the win, but the

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Speaker 1: teams they are battling with also on the Hawks control

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Speaker 1: that spot. They beat the Magic handily Thursday and just

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Speaker 1: have to beat the league worst Houston Rockets to lock

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Speaker 1: into that four seats and get a home court series

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Speaker 1: where they've been so good. They've won ten straight and

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Speaker 1: eighteen of their last twenty at home. I might go

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Speaker 1: down for a playoff game. What sounds weird coming out

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Speaker 1: of my mouth. I almost don't believe it. Almost don't

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Speaker 1: think it's gonna happen. The Knicks are still alive in

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Speaker 1: that four or five six trio of spots with the

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Speaker 1: Heaton Hawks that'll be decided this weekend. They were able

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Speaker 1: to hang on to the Spurs in a finish where

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Speaker 1: Julius Randall got a favorable whistle on a late play

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Speaker 1: didn't like to call. He's a tough guy to officiate

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Speaker 1: as well as he initiates a lot of contact. The

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Speaker 1: whistles may lessen a bit for him in the playoffs

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Speaker 1: when refs tend to allow more contact, and he'll probably

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Speaker 1: Julius handle it well in his first playoff appearance. He's

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Speaker 1: been too good all year. The Spurs to the next

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Speaker 1: beat are now locked in as the West's final play

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Speaker 1: attorney team with the Warriors and Grizzlies, and then one

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Speaker 1: of the Lakers, Blazers or Mavericks, who control their own

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Speaker 1: destiny with games versus the Raptors. And Timberwolves this weekend.

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Speaker 1: They can do what they want. The Dallas Mavericks can

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Speaker 1: strange aside. Here about the Mavericks, I don't know if

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Speaker 1: you read this story because it didn't get a lot

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Speaker 1: of coverage, but their owner, Mark Cuban on Dallas Radio

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Speaker 1: a couple days ago implied Thats Porzingis and Luka Doncic

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Speaker 1: weren't great friends off the floor and they had a

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Speaker 1: couple of dust ups as well. That was implied anyway,

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Speaker 1: Comparing it to Dirk and Jason Terry is what Mark

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Speaker 1: Cuban did, saying those guys weren't the best of friends initially,

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Speaker 1: but then they became friends. And then Porzingis had to

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Speaker 1: respond saying he didn't know what Cuban was talking about.

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Speaker 1: Maybe it's not a big story. Maybe that's why it

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Speaker 1: didn't get big coverage because it's not much. It strikes

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Speaker 1: me as weird, I guess because I'm listening to Shattered,

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Speaker 1: the podcast about the next Recent History and how Kristaps

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Speaker 1: Porzingis asked out of New York. Just found it an

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Speaker 1: odd thing to say by Cuban because he is so

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Speaker 1: supportive of his stars and so smart, having done this

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Speaker 1: for so long. I'm really looking forward to watching Porzingis

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Speaker 1: in the playoffs. In the East, the Bulls are the

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Speaker 1: only team alive on the outside looking in in either conference.

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Speaker 1: They beat Toronto to keep their hopes alive, but they'll

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Speaker 1: need to win out out and have the Wizards lose

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Speaker 1: out over the weekend in order to take Washington spot.

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Speaker 1: The Kings lost to the Grizzlies Thursday, and that means

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Speaker 1: the Kings have now missed the playoffs for fifteen straight years.

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Speaker 1: That ties the longest postseason drought in NBA history with

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Speaker 1: the Clippers from seventy seven to nineteen ninety one. The

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Speaker 1: Clippers beat the Hornets and Nick Buttumb's returned to Charlotte.

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Speaker 1: Their battle with the Nuggets for third in the West

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Speaker 1: will go into the weekend. And Yannistetgumpo had forty points

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Speaker 1: for the Bucks in a win over Indiana, and that

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Speaker 1: forty included a big donk where he flax and it

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Speaker 1: kind of looked like he was trying to push something out.

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Speaker 1: Then Yannis took to social media after the game to

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Speaker 1: add the caption to the photo I almost pooped. Yannis's

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Speaker 1: girlfriend Mariah announced they are having their second child soon

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Speaker 1: and one of the marvels about being a parent, as

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Speaker 1: Yannis knows, is watching a child push out their poop.

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Speaker 1: So maybe Yannis was in dad mode right there thinking

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Speaker 1: about his son. Liam and I have an announcement as well.

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Speaker 1: This will be the episode of what you Need to

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Speaker 1: Know for the season. I wanted to thank all of

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Speaker 1: you out there for listening and watching, thanks to JD

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Speaker 1: who has put in the work with me here every

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Speaker 1: single morning. We've done ninety two episodes since January. I'm

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Speaker 1: sure it's been a part of everybody's morning who've watched

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Speaker 1: the show anyways, It's been really really fun to do

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Speaker 1: so thanks to everybody involved, along with the No Dunks,

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Speaker 1: Cruise skeets making the thumbnail every day and the other

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Speaker 1: guys supporting the show. The reason we're stopping well, I

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Speaker 1: don't really think it makes as much sense going into

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Speaker 1: the playoffs, where I'll be able to dig into the

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Speaker 1: daily show a lot more and get in depth into

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Speaker 1: the playoffs, and also we get to sleep a little

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Speaker 1: bit more. JD. Let's be honest, a little transparency here,

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Speaker 1: and also I want you guys to provide feedback on

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Speaker 1: the show and what we do here at No Dunks

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Speaker 1: going forward, so please email us No Dunks at the

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Speaker 1: Athletic dot com, tweet us, tweet me personally, hit me up,

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Speaker 1: do read them all, and I do want all of

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Speaker 1: your feedback. So thanks to everybody involved. Make sure you

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Speaker 1: check out the full No Duck's episode here on Friday

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Speaker 1: the Drop. Thanks for watching and listening, everybody,