Speaker 1: Welcome to this League Uncut in the rule of twenty
Speaker 1: four hour NBA News. This's you, Chris Haynes. It's time,
Speaker 1: work's time. It's so time. This League Uncut is underway
Speaker 1: ten on five.
Speaker 2: This should be a good one.
Speaker 3: Hey, everyone, welcome in to a brand new edition of
Speaker 3: This League Uncut.
Speaker 4: Mark Steign here with Chris Haynes.
Speaker 3: We are taping at lunchtime on the East Coast on Thursday.
Speaker 4: Chris Haynes in Atlanta. I'm in Dallas.
Speaker 3: We've got Chris in a much more optimized Wi Fi
Speaker 3: situation now. So the many, many, many issues that we
Speaker 3: had in the last two episodes, including the near arrest
Speaker 3: of the.
Speaker 4: Star of our show.
Speaker 3: And obviously I'm saying that facetiously, but there was a
Speaker 3: flicker of concern during our last episode when Chris Haynes
Speaker 3: was the only person on the campus of Clark University
Speaker 3: besides curious security guards stalking him and wondering why he
Speaker 3: was doing his pod on an empty campus. But we
Speaker 3: don't have to deal with any of that today, thankfully,
Speaker 3: because it is the morning slash afternoon. After Chris Haynes
Speaker 3: was part of a Western Conference alt cast, I got
Speaker 3: to confess to my podcast partner here, I did not
Speaker 3: watch any of it.
Speaker 4: I wanted to.
Speaker 3: I saw that you as one of the co hosts
Speaker 3: of this alt cast, you were also in charge of
Speaker 3: lining up the guests, and you had Damian Lillard and
Speaker 3: Bobby Portis from the Milwaukee Bucks on, but I did
Speaker 3: not get to see any of it. So tell us,
Speaker 3: how was it, man, how was the alt Cast?
Speaker 2: It's cool, you know, it's a.
Speaker 5: Know, you're trying to strike the right balance between you know,
Speaker 5: podcast format and giving commentary. For the record, I had
Speaker 5: nothing nothing to do with Bobby Porters being the guest.
Speaker 5: He was actually in Atlanta, so he was doing the
Speaker 5: car wash at turn so he he showed up, did
Speaker 5: our shown bonus guest.
Speaker 2: That was a definitely bonus guest.
Speaker 5: He stayed on for quite a while, probably most of
Speaker 5: the first half, and then Dame came on the third quarter.
Speaker 5: Dame stayed with us the entire third quarter, so that
Speaker 5: was cool. Got to catch up on what he's doing,
Speaker 5: how he's preparing for next season.
Speaker 2: You know, he was he was really good. He was
Speaker 2: good in candidate.
Speaker 5: You know, he said, you know, around this time of year,
Speaker 5: he becomes a hater because he usually roots for the
Speaker 5: team that won the championship last year. So new players
Speaker 5: can't win the finals because he doesn't He doesn't want
Speaker 5: a new player, you know him, to the to get
Speaker 5: the titles. So he said, so this one is tough
Speaker 5: because there's going to be a new champion, but that
Speaker 5: it's cool. He gave it update on his achilles injury,
Speaker 5: where he's at the struggles.
Speaker 3: Is he glad he played in that game six because
Speaker 3: like I told you, man, I was. I was scared
Speaker 3: for him when he came back trying to save Milwaukee season.
Speaker 5: Yeah, no, he felt he had to do it and
Speaker 5: he believed that Giannis would have came back for game
Speaker 5: seven had they won Game six. So now he didn't
Speaker 5: he doesn't have any regrets and he didn't. He didn't
Speaker 5: hurt it any further. So that was good news. But
Speaker 5: he's still in the physical therapy stage of his rehab
Speaker 5: and he hopes to be back being able to get
Speaker 5: on the court at some time sometime next month.
Speaker 2: But no, it was cool. Stein's cool.
Speaker 5: Like again, to each to each his own, to each
Speaker 5: his or her own, I should say, you got the
Speaker 5: traditional broadcast on TNT, and then you have an out
Speaker 5: cast on True TV every game during the Western Conference Finals. Again,
Speaker 5: we have fun. We got some you know, have some
Speaker 5: good feedback. We have people that loved it that were
Speaker 5: tweeting out us, emailing us. We have people that hate it,
Speaker 5: you know. So it's it's a balance you're trying to
Speaker 5: strike as far as like how much commentary, how much
Speaker 5: play by play are you giving? We're not doing play
Speaker 5: by play, but it's just it's a lot going on.
Speaker 5: So I don't know if there is a balance, but
Speaker 5: we definitely have fun.
Speaker 3: Well for you though, I mean, you're in Atlanta in
Speaker 3: a beautiful studio. You get to hang out for three
Speaker 3: hours with Vince Carter. That can't be bad. That was cool,
Speaker 3: So it's a good deal for you.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no, it was cool.
Speaker 5: Vince Carter is here, e Donna's Haslom's here, We're all
Speaker 5: standing at the same hotel. Ug is here, and you
Speaker 5: know Brendan Haywood, that's my guy. You know, you you
Speaker 5: have Brendan Haywood in Dallas. I had Brendan Haywood in
Speaker 5: Cleveland his last year in the NBA. You know Channing
Speaker 5: Fries here, So you know, it's good cast of people here.
Speaker 5: So we were connecting, you know, in between times when
Speaker 5: we have the time. So it's cool now, but it's
Speaker 5: cool to stay planet for I'm gonna be here. I
Speaker 5: could be here if this goes Game seven, I can
Speaker 5: be here all the way up until June third. I
Speaker 5: don't think this is going to be a sweep at
Speaker 5: all this series, so it definitely has the potential to
Speaker 5: go to distance.
Speaker 3: A lot of Bucks doing TV right now, which is strange.
Speaker 3: I saw Malik be your guy, Malik Beasley on the
Speaker 3: fan Duel Show today, Bobby and Dame doing your show,
Speaker 3: and then maybe the best news for Bucks fans this morning,
Speaker 3: out of the blue, Yiannis Antetokounmpo tweeting quote, I promise
Speaker 3: you we will get back to where we belong, and
Speaker 3: they're going to give us our damn flowers.
Speaker 4: The tweet started with Milwaukee, thank you.
Speaker 3: So I think Bucks fans were probably a little nervous
Speaker 3: when they read the first few words of the tweet,
Speaker 3: but I know it's Gianni's coming out here to proclaim
Speaker 3: to Brewtown that he wants to come back strong. The
Speaker 3: Bucks are on the forefront of his mind. Probably the
Speaker 3: best thing you could read or hear if you're a
Speaker 3: Bucks fan to hear Janni's proclaiming to the world, I
Speaker 3: promise you we will get back to where we belong.
Speaker 3: So even though I failed you and I did not
Speaker 3: watch the alt cast, I'm guessing you got a similar
Speaker 3: vibe from mister Lillard last night.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 5: No, they're excited and you're honest, and Dame, they will
Speaker 5: get together at some point this offseason, will get to get.
Speaker 2: The training together. So you know they're looking forward to it.
Speaker 5: But as far as you talk about the Bucks media
Speaker 5: tour that they're going on, start it, it's not going
Speaker 5: to stop.
Speaker 2: I'm expected to have Doc Rivers come on.
Speaker 1: Wow.
Speaker 2: So Bucks Bucks media tour is ongoing.
Speaker 3: Can we get any of these Bucks exluminaries on this show?
Speaker 3: Three of those four people have all wait, did Doc
Speaker 3: do this show?
Speaker 4: No, docted my doc.
Speaker 3: Doc did my radio show in Dallas. But obviously we've
Speaker 3: had Dame on, and we've had your favorite NBA player,
Speaker 3: Malik Beasley on.
Speaker 4: Of course he was the first guest in show history.
Speaker 2: We have Bobby Porters too.
Speaker 4: We had Bobby that's right. Yeah, Yeah, we've had we
Speaker 4: have a doctor.
Speaker 2: We have not listen, we have hold on you had Doc.
Speaker 2: You chose to have Doc on your show? That was
Speaker 2: That was.
Speaker 3: Because Doc Rivers was in Dallas and I just got
Speaker 3: a few minutes with him in the arena, my home arena.
Speaker 5: Let's so you get to be forgetting some Bucks players
Speaker 5: on and we've we've actually already had all the Bucks
Speaker 5: players that I had all yesterday.
Speaker 4: I'm why are you moving to Milwaukee? Just let's end
Speaker 4: the charade.
Speaker 2: And just.
Speaker 3: I mean, seriously, how many Bucks games did you go
Speaker 3: to this year?
Speaker 4: And how many Kings games did you go to?
Speaker 3: I'm sure if we counted it up, I think the
Speaker 3: Bucks win the rest.
Speaker 2: That's crazy consider I live in second middle.
Speaker 3: And speaking of races, did I really see footage of
Speaker 3: you recreating Kenny Smith one of a con sprint to
Speaker 3: the TNT video board?
Speaker 4: What was that all about?
Speaker 5: Don? I am impressed? So hold on stime again. The
Speaker 5: only way you saw that, well, not take that back,
Speaker 5: I forgot it was posted a Facebook. Anytime I post
Speaker 5: on Instagram is posted on my Facebook. So you saw
Speaker 5: it on face.
Speaker 4: There's only two way.
Speaker 3: Yeah, there's only two ways that this information can reach
Speaker 3: me because I barely know how to operate Instagram. Either
Speaker 3: my son sees it on Instagram, which does happen a lot.
Speaker 3: My son does tell me, hey, did you see what
Speaker 3: Chris posted? So he's my my son is is is
Speaker 3: an avid follower of your social media activity. But yes,
Speaker 3: there's also a chance that I can see it on
Speaker 3: old man Facebook.
Speaker 2: Old.
Speaker 5: The fact that you're still getting your content, your entertainment
Speaker 5: content through Facebook.
Speaker 4: I really don't.
Speaker 5: I don't.
Speaker 4: I don't like. I don't like. I really don't like
Speaker 4: using that either.
Speaker 3: But there's a you know, like I said, once in
Speaker 3: a while, I will see something on there. I really,
Speaker 3: I really believe me. Twitter is enough man, That's like
Speaker 3: it's enough. And that's why like TikTok, don't even know.
Speaker 4: How to open that.
Speaker 3: I continue to be urged that I need to start
Speaker 3: tiktoking if that is the right vernacular.
Speaker 2: Me too. I'll hold off still, but yes, I hear
Speaker 2: you me too.
Speaker 3: Substack, man, substack is the only that that's where I
Speaker 3: need to be. That's where my food, my attention stays.
Speaker 5: Fuss, that's who pays the bills as of right now, substack.
Speaker 2: But no, yeah, I did recreate that.
Speaker 5: Kenny Smith uh falling on the steps as he's going
Speaker 5: to the board. Our our all studio, our all cast studio,
Speaker 5: is actually the same. It's in the same it's the
Speaker 5: same studio. It's the inside, the inside, the NBA crew.
Speaker 5: It's just that we're turned the opposite way. So I
Speaker 5: was just having some fun at kiddies' spence, That's all
Speaker 5: I said to the kid, and he laughed. He said,
Speaker 5: you ran into the camera trying to play it all.
Speaker 5: I gotta look at what he talking about. I guess
Speaker 5: he think I really failed. But yeah, I was just
Speaker 5: having for so it was cool. I'm enjoying myself.
Speaker 3: All right, Well, let's talk about the game last night
Speaker 3: that you were covering, because that was quite a spicy start.
Speaker 3: I would say to this first round series, where you know,
Speaker 3: the Wolves are widely regarded, I think, as the favorite,
Speaker 3: and look, you can certainly make the argument that they
Speaker 3: deserve that. When you go to Denver and win three
Speaker 3: times in a series, and you also win a home
Speaker 3: game by forty plus points.
Speaker 4: You deserve to be the favorites.
Speaker 3: But Dallas, they went in to Minnesota last night and
Speaker 3: made quite a statement, even though the three ball was
Speaker 3: not there. It is the sixth playoff series of the
Speaker 3: Jason kidd As coach air in Dallas, first time out
Speaker 3: of those six that Dallas wins game one, and Dallas
Speaker 3: has won four of those previous five playoff series under
Speaker 3: Jason Kidds, So they've done it four times in the
Speaker 3: past without even.
Speaker 4: Winning game one.
Speaker 3: Now they go in to Minneapolis and take game one.
Speaker 3: What did you see and what did some of your
Speaker 3: colleagues see when you were watching this game from your
Speaker 3: studio perch.
Speaker 5: I feel like Luca and Kyrie have to be on
Speaker 5: because I feel like the Minnesota have they have more
Speaker 5: offensive weapons and the weapons that Dallas has yo their
Speaker 5: shots are primarily created via Luca and Kyrie. So I thought,
Speaker 5: you know, obviously Minnesota has home court advantage. They should
Speaker 5: have had the advantage in this series, especially early on.
Speaker 5: I was very interested in looking at the matchups. Jade
Speaker 5: mcdames on Luca Dodgets, Anthony Edwarson, Kyrie, and I said this,
Speaker 5: I told you this. I feel like Minnesota has the
Speaker 5: best defense in the league interior and on a PERIMETI
Speaker 5: Lucas showed that it did not matter.
Speaker 2: Kyrie showed that it did not matter.
Speaker 5: Those guys are a problem, and you saw Minnesota at
Speaker 5: times electing to just allow Jaden McDaniels to guard Luca
Speaker 5: and allow Anthony Edwards to go at Kyrie, irving no help.
Speaker 5: Maybe a little bit of trap on the pick and rolls,
Speaker 5: but when it was isolation, they weren't sending doubles. Luca
Speaker 5: Kyrie ate them alive. I was very impressed by Luca
Speaker 5: still being able to get separation. Think about what Luca
Speaker 5: has dealt with in the playoffs thus far. You know
Speaker 5: had he has Jade mcdowells, who was a long defender
Speaker 5: who got a belief second team All Defense this season.
Speaker 2: Congratulations to him. But he's left.
Speaker 5: He has the lyft, he has the quickness, he has
Speaker 5: the foot speed. Luca still finds a way, still can
Speaker 5: use his body to push off and get space. And
Speaker 5: Luca had to deal with Lou Dort in Okay, See,
Speaker 5: somebody who's a physical specimen has the foot speed, but
Speaker 5: he's somebody that's going to bump you and not allow
Speaker 5: you to get to your spots. Luca still found a way.
Speaker 5: Now Luca might be a little bit battered and bruise
Speaker 5: from that experience with Dort, but he's sure that he can.
Speaker 2: It doesn't matter.
Speaker 5: So with that being said, Minnesota has a problem on
Speaker 5: their hands because they cannot stop Luca or Kyrie. And
Speaker 5: if that is the case, there's going to be trouble.
Speaker 5: With all that being said, Minnesota is still a good team.
Speaker 5: I expect this series to still go the distance. But
Speaker 5: I was definitely surprised that Dallas got Game one.
Speaker 3: Well, I think what stands out for me it's just again,
Speaker 3: how quickly this has come together for Dallas. They have
Speaker 3: a completely new identity and it's really come together in
Speaker 3: the space of three months. And you know that I
Speaker 3: love my NBA history, and this is something that I
Speaker 3: talk about on my sub stock all the time.
Speaker 4: In season, trades do not typically lead to championships.
Speaker 3: You have the Clyde Drexler example from nineteen ninety five,
Speaker 3: but those Rockets when they traded for Clyde, they were
Speaker 3: already defending champions. In two thousand and four, you had
Speaker 3: Detroit getting Rashid Wallace and that was obviously Rashid was
Speaker 3: a huge boost to that team and just took the
Speaker 3: Pistons to a new level with his two way play.
Speaker 4: And then more recently twenty nineteen.
Speaker 3: The Raptors were able to get Mark Gasol at the
Speaker 3: trade deadline. But again it's only three examples that I
Speaker 3: can really remember. In the sixteen team playoff Era and Dallas.
Speaker 4: They make the trades for PJ.
Speaker 3: Washington and Daniel Gafford at the deadline, and those are
Speaker 3: not as splashy as the three trades I mentioned because
Speaker 3: Dallas was not getting an All Star or even a
Speaker 3: former All Star.
Speaker 4: PJ.
Speaker 3: Washington had never played in a playoff game before this spring.
Speaker 3: But what those editions have done and the defensive team
Speaker 3: that the Mavericks have become since those additions, Minnesota, I
Speaker 3: totally agree with you, Minnesota, that is the best defensive
Speaker 3: team in the league. But the Mavericks are also an
Speaker 3: elite defensive team and they just continue to prove it.
Speaker 3: And the defense that they play, combined with the flammability
Speaker 3: of Luca and ky it's what makes them dangerous. And
Speaker 3: you know that was the blueprint kind of game you
Speaker 3: get from your two star guards. For anyone who has
Speaker 3: followed the MAVs in these playoffs, you know Kyrie Irving
Speaker 3: has been a second half score this whole spring, but
Speaker 3: last night he came out with twenty four points in
Speaker 3: the first half. Was so aggressive against the coverage of
Speaker 3: Aunt Edwards and the Wolves, and then that set up
Speaker 3: Luca to finish the game with a virtuoso fourth quarter.
Speaker 3: And you know, that's the best that Luca has looked physically.
Speaker 3: You know, he he was ailing and struggling throughout the
Speaker 3: Oklahoma City series. I don't know that he ever looked
Speaker 3: as fluid and dominant as he did in last night's
Speaker 3: fourth quarter.
Speaker 4: But even saying that, even when.
Speaker 3: You focus on Luca and Kyrie again, this Dallas team,
Speaker 3: I just keep saying it. I've been around this franchise
Speaker 3: for twenty five something years, and never in all that
Speaker 3: time have you had to hat tip the Mavericks defense
Speaker 3: like you do now. Even in twenty eleven, even after
Speaker 3: they added Tyson Chandler, which made them a very good
Speaker 3: defensive team, they had Tyson Chandler and Sean Marrian who
Speaker 3: could guard every position on the court. But the identity
Speaker 3: of that team was still first and foremost Dirk Navisky
Speaker 3: and his incredible offensive ability. That was the first, second,
Speaker 3: and third thing you talked about with those Mavericks. I mean,
Speaker 3: this Mavericks team, the way they have defended, and it
Speaker 3: has all come together since the trade deadline and you
Speaker 3: just don't see that very often anymore. Really really impressive.
Speaker 3: And look at it's one game. Not making any declarations.
Speaker 3: The MAVs haven't seized anything yet. Jason Kidd very pointedly
Speaker 3: said to his team after the game, we haven't done
Speaker 3: anything yet. But for Dallas to be able to win
Speaker 3: a game with an almost non existent three ball as
Speaker 3: a team, you can't win a game like that if
Speaker 3: your defense doesn't deliver.
Speaker 5: So stein interesting that you bring up the midseason trades,
Speaker 5: the additions that Dason Mavericks made. So I'm announced right
Speaker 5: here on this show that I I have an interesting
Speaker 5: guest coming on our all cast show Game two Friday,
Speaker 5: MAVs t. Wolves, somebody who has ties to Dallas and
Speaker 5: somebody who contributed to those trades. I have it on
Speaker 5: Grant Williams. Grant Williams would be on talking about the
Speaker 5: MAVs t. Wolves game. Man, I'm pretty sure we'll get
Speaker 5: to see how you felt about how everything went down.
Speaker 4: That's pretty good.
Speaker 3: Well, yeah, and look, you know, the Mavericks gave up
Speaker 3: a lot to get Grant Williams. They gave up a
Speaker 3: pick swap with San Antonio to make that happen. Then
Speaker 3: they pivot, and they had to give up a lot
Speaker 3: to trade Grant Williams to Charlotte to get PJ. Washington, remember,
Speaker 3: a top two protected pick, So this has to work
Speaker 3: for Dallas. They have surrendered control of their first round
Speaker 3: pick from twenty twenty seven to twenty thirty. The MAVs
Speaker 3: don't have it, so this thing had to work, but
Speaker 3: it is. PJ Washington has been fantastic in these playoffs
Speaker 3: after a slow start, which you would have expected a
Speaker 3: slow start because he was new to the playoff stage.
Speaker 4: But PJ.
Speaker 3: Washington has stepped up in these playoffs and he's meeting
Speaker 3: the moment. And Daniel Gafford combined with the rookie Derek
Speaker 3: Lively the second Dallas has a true center tandem now,
Speaker 3: a truly effective center tandem now, much like they did
Speaker 3: back in the championship days with Tyson Chandler and your
Speaker 3: guy Brendan Haywood. So the trade is definitely working for
Speaker 3: the Mavericks. And you know, Luka Doncic is now eligible
Speaker 3: for a five year, three hundred and forty six million
Speaker 3: dollar contract extension after next season. With the moves that
Speaker 3: Dallas has made, you know they're going to offer him
Speaker 3: that extension the first second they can. So they're trying
Speaker 3: to win this long term commitment from Luka Doncic with
Speaker 3: the team they put together in a second run to
Speaker 3: the conference finals in three years. The Mavericks gambled a
Speaker 3: lot at the trade deadline, but it.
Speaker 4: Is working okay well.
Speaker 3: Obviously, we will continue to be talking tons about the
Speaker 3: Western Conference, since that is a series Chris Haynes will
Speaker 3: be covering from his alt cast perch and I will
Speaker 3: be covering some of it in person.
Speaker 4: More details on that.
Speaker 3: To come, but let's talk some about the East, and
Speaker 3: let's try not to jinx ourselves because we are recording
Speaker 3: this again roughly seven hours before tip off of Game
Speaker 3: two tonight in Boston. The Pacers. By now it's been
Speaker 3: covered ad nauseum about the absolutely golden opportunity that they
Speaker 3: threw away in Game one. I ask you, Chris Haynes,
Speaker 3: can the Pacers recover from that collapse?
Speaker 5: Well, when you're thinking about performance wise, they were right
Speaker 5: there Boston, New York top three craziest environments in the league,
Speaker 5: just came from winning a Game seven in New York.
Speaker 2: I think that gave them so much confidence. I think it.
Speaker 5: Prepared them so much for that game one battle in
Speaker 5: Boston that they were in. They should have won that
Speaker 5: game costly turnovers, a few by tyres, just fumbling the
Speaker 5: ball towards the end, couldn't get the ball in bounds
Speaker 5: like they they gave that game game away, you know,
Speaker 5: you know, shout out to Rick Carlo trying to take
Speaker 5: the blame for that. Maybe he should have called the
Speaker 5: time out. Maybe you foul Jalen Brown sent them to
Speaker 5: a line stead allow him to shoot a three in
Speaker 5: which he made to.
Speaker 2: Tie the game. It was mishap beyond mishap. Now can
Speaker 2: they recover that?
Speaker 5: That depends on if if they got over how it
Speaker 5: all collapsed towards the end, you know, because sometimes that's
Speaker 5: all it takes to just get your opponent.
Speaker 2: To falter.
Speaker 5: And so if they if they've gotten over it, cool,
Speaker 5: But they know what they're up against. Boston self has
Speaker 5: been that they've been the most dominant team all season, right,
Speaker 5: so can they persevere?
Speaker 2: And state, of course, I don't. I don't know.
Speaker 5: That's what I'm looking forward to seeing. And usually Boston
Speaker 5: loses Game two at home. That's that's been there trend
Speaker 5: in the playoffs. Thus far, so it's gonna be a
Speaker 5: tough one, but I want to see how they're gonna
Speaker 5: come out. I want to see from the initial that
Speaker 5: first quarter, how the Pacers are gonna come out. That's
Speaker 5: gonna tell me a lot as far as if they
Speaker 5: have gotten over how they completely gave the game away
Speaker 5: those last few minutes of Game one.
Speaker 3: Yeah, you know, normally, I think on the outside, we
Speaker 3: are too quick to say that was so devastating, that
Speaker 3: was such a gut punch loss that team at can't
Speaker 3: possibly bounce back from it. And I think we've seen
Speaker 3: time and time again in the playoffs that that instinct
Speaker 3: is wrong and teams have the ability to flush those
Speaker 3: kind of losses easier than maybe we expect as outsiders.
Speaker 3: But I'm actually and again now I'm setting myself up
Speaker 3: for a jinx if we publish this podcast on Thursday
Speaker 3: afternoon and the Pacers go on to steal Game two.
Speaker 3: But that is one that was so bad that I
Speaker 3: do fear that the Pacers might have squandered their best
Speaker 3: opportunity to win one in Boston because there's just no
Speaker 3: possible way they should lose that game. And look, there
Speaker 3: was a lot of discussion about should Pascal Siakam have
Speaker 3: fouled Jalen Brown before Jalen Brown sinks the corner three.
Speaker 3: I think it was much tougher to foul in that
Speaker 3: situation than advertised.
Speaker 4: But it was the Tyres.
Speaker 3: Halliburton turnover and the terrible inbounds pass before those, those
Speaker 3: two mistakes before the game tying three by Jalen Brown,
Speaker 3: Those were far more egregious to me. And look, Rick
Speaker 3: Carlisle did come out and take the blame, like you said,
Speaker 3: and Rick is great at that. He's always done it
Speaker 3: in a flamboyant manner. Did it in Dallas a zillion times,
Speaker 3: and I think players do appreciate that. But the Celtics
Speaker 3: were rusty. The Celtics finished off Cleveland faster in round two,
Speaker 3: and so that was the Celtics first game after a
Speaker 3: rust stretch. And just again, I think they're going to
Speaker 3: be a lot sharper in this game too, and they're
Speaker 3: probably going to be getting Chris tops Porzingis back in
Speaker 3: game four or the game five range. So again, we'll
Speaker 3: see if I end up looking stupid tomorrow or later tonight.
Speaker 3: But I do fear that the Pacers potentially squandered a
Speaker 3: chance that they will root forever that they gave that
Speaker 3: game one away because it just should have never happened.
Speaker 5: What the Pacers have in their favor is that look
Speaker 5: at last series.
Speaker 2: Yeah, we lost the first two games to.
Speaker 5: New York in New York one, the next two Indiana
Speaker 5: lost in New York again down three to two, and
Speaker 5: they won the last two that series. So you know,
Speaker 5: if you're in that locker room, that's what you're pointing to,
Speaker 5: the fact that we can do this, We can dig
Speaker 5: ourselves out of a hole. The problem is typically as
Speaker 5: you get closer and closer to the finals, as you
Speaker 5: continue to advance, those paths become harder. So while you
Speaker 5: might have been able to do that before, again the
Speaker 5: Boston Celtics, this is the team has been dominating the
Speaker 5: whole season, so it gets harder. But not to say
Speaker 5: that they can't do it, because in Game one it
Speaker 5: definitely showed you that they can't play with the self.
Speaker 3: One other Celtics note before we get to the coaching carousel,
Speaker 3: Jalen Brown did not make the All NBA team that
Speaker 3: was announced on Wednesday. Only four players from the East
Speaker 3: did make All NBA, and yes, this bothers me and look,
Speaker 3: I am a Tyrese Haliburton fan, and he had a.
Speaker 4: Lot of money on the line.
Speaker 3: By making All NBA Tyrese Haliburton, the value of his
Speaker 3: contract extension signed last summer rose by forty one million.
Speaker 4: But I don't know to me, the Celtics.
Speaker 3: If any team deserved two players on the All NBA team,
Speaker 3: it was the Celtics. Jason Tatum, to me, was not
Speaker 3: a top five MVP candidate. Understood why Joe Missoula did
Speaker 3: not win Coach of the Year. But I do think
Speaker 3: the Celtics, because of their regular season, they deserved two
Speaker 3: of the fifteen guys on the All NBA team. And
Speaker 3: it didn't happen for Jalen Brown. And again, huge deal
Speaker 3: for Halliburton because let's face it, he came back probably
Speaker 3: faster than he normally would have to get to the
Speaker 3: sixty five games he needed to be eligible for the
Speaker 3: All NBA team, and in the end it happens Haliburton
Speaker 3: gets enough votes to make All NBA, which is for
Speaker 3: both he and Anthony Edwards an extra forty one million
Speaker 3: added to the contract extensions that those guys signed in July.
Speaker 3: But I can say to you, I didn't love that
Speaker 3: the Celtics only had one player on the All NBA team.
Speaker 3: I thought, Jalen Brown, whether it's you know, obviously, if
Speaker 3: you say that, you got to take someone off. So
Speaker 3: I don't know if that's Halliburton, I don't know if
Speaker 3: that's the bonus.
Speaker 4: I don't know if that's Lebron. I don't know who
Speaker 4: you bump exactly.
Speaker 3: But to me, Jalen Brown deserved a third team spot
Speaker 3: because the Celtics, to me, should have had two players
Speaker 3: in the top fifteen.
Speaker 5: I agree with Jones j Lebrown, definitely. I want to
Speaker 5: ask you about something else. Then, since you have a
Speaker 5: problem with that, let's go to first team All Defensive team.
Speaker 5: You have a problem with four bigs, be a name
Speaker 5: to first Team All d You can just pick. You
Speaker 5: don't have to go by position.
Speaker 3: Now I have to say, I haven't studied that. When
Speaker 3: it's close, but you can meet in the middle. Maybe
Speaker 3: make it positionalless. But do it like the All Star Game.
Speaker 3: Let's have two in the back court, three in the
Speaker 3: front court.
Speaker 4: I don't know. I don't want.
Speaker 3: Four bigs on First Team All Defense. I wanted to
Speaker 3: have some semblance of a basketball team. So again, it
Speaker 3: doesn't need to be two guards, two forwards in a center.
Speaker 3: But let's again, let's do it like the All Star ballot.
Speaker 3: Two in the back court, three in the front court.
Speaker 3: Let's make it look somewhat like a basketball team. I mean, really,
Speaker 3: when you look at the All NBA voting, it seems
Speaker 3: like we ended up getting mostly positions adhered to.
Speaker 4: Even though the All NBA balloting was supposed to be
Speaker 4: completely positionless.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 5: I mean, then the second team all day was primarily
Speaker 5: all guards. It was Alice Caruso, Drew Holliday, Jadah Sutz,
Speaker 5: Derrek White, Jada McDaniels.
Speaker 2: Depends on what you want to consider him.
Speaker 4: I do not like No, I do not a four
Speaker 4: big first team. No, I don't. I don't want that.
Speaker 2: I'm I'm just curious as you're.
Speaker 5: You're an NBA basketball storian, so you've grown a custom
Speaker 5: to seeing things conducted in a certain manner.
Speaker 2: So I wanted to get your feedback on that. Thank
Speaker 2: you for that.
Speaker 3: Before we go, let's talk about the coaching care because
Speaker 3: this morning, before you and I got together to record this,
Speaker 3: the Cleveland Cavaliers made it official and fired JB. Bickerstaff
Speaker 3: and probably should have known this was coming because word
Speaker 3: circulated Wednesday that Kobe Altman, the Calves president of basketball Operations,
Speaker 3: would be doing media Friday. And so now before Kobe
Speaker 3: Altman speaks to the media Friday, JB. Bickerstaff is officially
Speaker 3: out of the job. James Brego and Kenny Atkinson those
Speaker 3: are names already circulating as potential successors in Cleveland.
Speaker 4: I don't think this was a surprise in any way.
Speaker 4: The reality is JB.
Speaker 3: Bickerstaff won a lot of games here over the past
Speaker 3: two seasons, but he has been under pressure, fair or
Speaker 3: not since last season and the way it ended when
Speaker 3: the Calves seated higher than the Knicks, went out very
Speaker 3: meekly in five games the first round to New York.
Speaker 3: There were lots of ups and downs this season. There
Speaker 3: was a near firing in November. Then the Calves went
Speaker 3: on a huge tear in mid December for a month
Speaker 3: after losing both Evan Mobley and Darius Garland to injury.
Speaker 4: But the second half was rough.
Speaker 3: They were taken to seven games by Orlando and went
Speaker 3: down eighteen in Game seven at home. They easily could
Speaker 3: have lost the Orlando series. So I think around the
Speaker 3: league in coaching circles. This was expected because the Calves,
Speaker 3: as we know, they are trying to get a commitment
Speaker 3: from Donovan Mitchell on a contract extension. They are desperate
Speaker 3: to get that commitment and the signals lately you.
Speaker 4: Hear all this chatter.
Speaker 3: The Calves are optimistic behind the scenes about getting Donovan
Speaker 3: Mitchell's name on a contract extension. You know, but that's
Speaker 3: all just talk until it actually happens. It can't happen
Speaker 3: until July. But it's a massive, massive moment for the Cavaliers,
Speaker 3: a team you know well having lived in Cleveland and
Speaker 3: covered them from close range. They've got to get this
Speaker 3: contract extension done with Donovan Mitchell. They have to make
Speaker 3: it happen, and clearly they believe that this coaching change
Speaker 3: is going to help secure that commitment from Donovan Mitchell.
Speaker 3: If they don't get Donovan Mitchell signed to a contract
Speaker 3: extension in the offseason, they're going to have to explore
Speaker 3: trades for him. They can't dare going next season with
Speaker 3: Donovan Mitchell basically possessing a player option to become a
Speaker 3: free agent at the end of the twenty twenty four
Speaker 3: to twenty five season. They can't risk Donovan Mitchell getting
Speaker 3: all the way to free agency, not after how much
Speaker 3: they gave up to get him in the first place.
Speaker 4: So we'll see if this move.
Speaker 3: Is going to help them in their quest to resign
Speaker 3: Donovan Mitchell because just on terms of the job he did,
Speaker 3: I think a lot of people will look at this
Speaker 3: and say that Jabi Bickerstaff got a raw deal.
Speaker 2: You can definitely make that argument.
Speaker 5: I think it was a clear that there was a
Speaker 5: conflict between head coach and management that lingered on for
Speaker 5: a while, because there were points during the regular season
Speaker 5: where we were hearing.
Speaker 2: That coach could be let go during the season.
Speaker 5: So I'm surprised he made it this far with all
Speaker 5: the rumblings that we were hearing. Not to say that
Speaker 5: I'm surprised that they didn't do it earlier because he
Speaker 5: didn't do a good job. It's just based off of
Speaker 5: noise that I was taken in from Cleveland. He made
Speaker 5: it this far. I felt like he did a really
Speaker 5: good job in Cleveland. He was a common force, a
Speaker 5: stabilizer with that organization. Again, when you make a move
Speaker 5: like this, I mean, coming off of the second round
Speaker 5: exit is not bad for a team at the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Speaker 5: But when you make a move like this, Okay, what's next,
Speaker 5: where's that next marquee guy? That is just an outright upgrade.
Speaker 5: You know you can make the case Kenny Akus maybe
Speaker 5: probably anybody other than him will probably be a risk
Speaker 5: at this point.
Speaker 2: But again, they're.
Speaker 5: Trying to do everything they can to put themselves in
Speaker 5: a position to get out of Van Mitchell to commit
Speaker 5: to a long term contract extension.
Speaker 2: So I don't know, we'll see what they have up
Speaker 2: their sleeve.
Speaker 3: And again, the pressure has been firmly on JB. Bickerstaff
Speaker 3: since the end of last season, so he's been coping
Speaker 3: with it for months now. To me, the pressure shifts
Speaker 3: to the front office. They've got so much to figure
Speaker 3: out in Cleveland this offseason. Again, Item A, you've got
Speaker 3: to get the contract extension commitment from Donovan Mitchell, who's
Speaker 3: I believe eligible for a four year deal.
Speaker 4: That's just shy of two hundred and ten million.
Speaker 3: All the recent signals have been that the Calves are
Speaker 3: optimistic behind the scenes that that's going to happen. But
Speaker 3: even if that is how it goes down, then you
Speaker 3: instantly wonder, is Darius Garland going to be traded because
Speaker 3: it just hasn't worked the Mitchell Garland pairing. And I
Speaker 3: wrote this recently on my substack that the suitors are already.
Speaker 4: Lining up for Jared Allen.
Speaker 3: He is incredibly valued by numerous rival teams. The guy
Speaker 3: is playing on an absolute bargain contract at twenty million
Speaker 3: a year over five years, still has two years left
Speaker 3: on that deal, and with the way Evan Mobley played
Speaker 3: without Jared Allen in the playoffs, you would have to
Speaker 3: think that if the Calves are fortunate enough to be
Speaker 3: able to keep Donovan Mitchell, that they're going to prioritize
Speaker 3: a contract extension for Evan Mobley, which could be a
Speaker 3: Max deal, And so the phone is going to ring.
Speaker 4: For Jared Allen.
Speaker 3: There is no doubt about that the Calves are going
Speaker 3: to get trade feelers on Jared Allen, whether they're looking
Speaker 3: to move him or not.
Speaker 4: So this is just a massive summer.
Speaker 3: In Cleveland, so much going on, and it's a team
Speaker 3: that we're going to be talking about constantly. I think
Speaker 3: for the next six to eight weeks. Okay, I think
Speaker 3: we have covered all the bases on this edition of
Speaker 3: this League uncut, but I'm always hesitant to say that,
Speaker 3: just in case there's something that Chris Haynes wants to
Speaker 3: add I do, are we you know I do?
Speaker 2: It's funny you bring that up. Good time and great
Speaker 2: time is done.
Speaker 5: So again I go through great lamps to try to
Speaker 5: make sure I can make our pod appearances. You know,
Speaker 5: whether it's horrible Wi Fi, no Wi Fi, horrible hotspot
Speaker 5: on my phone, whether I'm circling my daughter's school to
Speaker 5: try to steal Wi Fi that.
Speaker 2: Way to jump on the pod. I do what I can.
Speaker 5: Stein, but Stein, after our last podcast, remember I was
Speaker 5: at I was on Clark University campus. Did you see
Speaker 5: the video the surveillance video that I sent you and
Speaker 5: producer Ryan. I don't know if you saw it or not,
Speaker 5: but I sent you a surveillance video of me walking
Speaker 5: into a liquor store around the corner after the pod.
Speaker 5: So just background everybody, after I finished the podcast and
Speaker 5: had this God, everybody have to stay on the campus
Speaker 5: for what about forty five minutes Sten because the video
Speaker 5: has I mean, excuse me, the audio has.
Speaker 2: To upload to the system.
Speaker 5: So even though we finished the pod, the Wi Fi
Speaker 5: worked for us to finish it. Now it has to
Speaker 5: upload and my producer has to retrieve it, and so
Speaker 5: I still have to stay in the area with Wi
Speaker 5: Fi and you guys know, uploading, downloading, it just takes longer.
Speaker 5: So I'm hanging around Clark Campus for another forty five minutes.
Speaker 5: Stein graciously stayed on the line with me just to keep,
Speaker 5: you know, keep me company. Because Stein, when he lead,
Speaker 5: usually when he shows, when the show's over, he goes.
Speaker 5: He does He's always had something to do, so he
Speaker 5: stayed on. So forty five minutes goes by the video,
Speaker 5: I mean, the audio gets uploaded, our producer gets it.
Speaker 5: So now I have to walk back to my daughter's house. Well,
Speaker 5: I'm thirsty, my mouth is dry, and so there is
Speaker 5: a liquor door on the corner of my daughter's house,
Speaker 5: and so I walk into this liquor store because I'm
Speaker 5: gonna get me a sprite and I'm gonna get me
Speaker 5: a water.
Speaker 2: I walk into the liquor store and there are these
Speaker 2: two it looked like teenagers. These two teenagers, they're getting
Speaker 2: there right in front of this liquor store. They're getting
Speaker 2: some water some soda out and they're like in my way,
Speaker 2: So I, lightweight, have to like push them out out
Speaker 2: of my way, and so I pushed them on my
Speaker 2: way head towards the front of the store to go
Speaker 2: get my water in my sprite. And then I noticed
Speaker 2: that the clerk.
Speaker 5: I asked him, do you take Apple pay on the phone,
Speaker 5: and he's just ignoring me.
Speaker 2: He's looking towards the door.
Speaker 5: Well I found out why he was looking towards the
Speaker 5: door because directly behind me is this big old TV
Speaker 5: and he's rewinding and he's rewinding and it goes back
Speaker 5: to those kids. So those so when I walk in,
Speaker 5: the two kids jack a whole bunch of drinks, stuff
Speaker 5: in their bags and take off and I'm seeing it
Speaker 5: all on this surveillance.
Speaker 2: But the thing about it is, I don't know if
Speaker 2: you've seen it.
Speaker 5: The thing about it it looked like I was a
Speaker 5: part of it, because as soon as I walk in
Speaker 5: the store, it's like I shielded deal and they just
Speaker 5: took off behind me.
Speaker 2: Did you see this? And I was able to record this.
Speaker 3: You know what you said it, and I couldn't when
Speaker 3: you said it, I didn't really understand exactly what was happening.
Speaker 3: So this play by play is helping, is helping it explaining.
Speaker 2: I might release it. I'm I don't know if I should.
Speaker 5: Release this, but everybody, I'm looking at it as right now,
Speaker 5: I walk in as these two oh. One is probably sixteen,
Speaker 5: the other maybe thirteen. For it could be sixteen two,
Speaker 5: but he's shorter. But they're they're grabbing drinks. Because I'm
Speaker 5: looking at it right now, they're grabbing drinks. Producer Tim,
Speaker 5: I'm gonna send it to you, Producer Tim, I might
Speaker 5: need you to chime in, Producer Tim, on what you see?
Speaker 5: Does it look like I was an accomplice in this situation?
Speaker 5: I just sent you the video, producer Tim. As soon
Speaker 5: as I walk into the store, they take off because
Speaker 5: there's a narrow pathway in the store and they can
Speaker 5: like kind of chield behind me and get off.
Speaker 6: My question for you is, did did the clerk question you?
Speaker 5: As?
Speaker 4: He did not?
Speaker 2: He did not? He did not that he did not,
Speaker 2: And so he's he's going he's.
Speaker 5: Looking at the surveillance footage and the big TV is
Speaker 5: behind me, so I can see him rewinding.
Speaker 2: He kept rewinding.
Speaker 5: He kept rewinding, and so I'm recording it right while
Speaker 5: he's doing that, and I'm like, wow, I didn't know
Speaker 5: what I just walked into.
Speaker 6: Those people were definitely waiting for someone to walk into
Speaker 6: the store, and it just happened to be you. I
Speaker 6: don't think it.
Speaker 7: Was coincidence that as they left you walked in. They
Speaker 7: were just waiting for somebody that had a dry mounth
Speaker 7: that was recording a podcast at Clark University.
Speaker 6: To get a drink.
Speaker 4: Do you think we'll ever have a normal pod? Right?
Speaker 3: And the show and Chris goes, Nope, nothing crazy happened
Speaker 3: to me this week.
Speaker 5: Look at this man. I mean, the kid has a gun.
Speaker 5: It's a water gun, but it's a gun.
Speaker 2: In his hand.
Speaker 5: It's a water gun in his hand while he he
Speaker 5: has a gatorade, he has a bottle of water, and
Speaker 5: then he goes and takes Yeah, that's the way he took.
Speaker 5: He took the gatorade and the bottle of water, and
Speaker 5: the other kid, I can't tell what he took.
Speaker 6: What are you listening to? Chris, by the way, what
Speaker 6: kind of music are you listening to?
Speaker 2: Here? That is a good question. I don't know what
Speaker 2: I'm listening.
Speaker 6: It just looks like you're in the zone.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm listening to some music, but I am completely
Speaker 5: out of it. Guys, look at this look at what
Speaker 5: the timing, the timing of it all. I had to
Speaker 5: walk in right at that moment, I was questioning why
Speaker 5: the store Clark wasn't questioning me because it looked mighty suspicious.
Speaker 2: And then I got my do rag on and everything
Speaker 2: I'm looking. I'm looking straight hood right there, I'm bleating
Speaker 2: right in.
Speaker 5: I got and meanwhile I got my daughter's graduation shirt
Speaker 5: on doing off.
Speaker 4: The things I do.
Speaker 3: Star Like I said, someday we're gonna have a pod
Speaker 3: where it just wrap it up.
Speaker 4: Hey, put a bow on this episode. Anything going on,
Speaker 4: anything else you want to add.
Speaker 3: Chris, You'll be like, Nope, nothing happened, but that that
Speaker 3: pod has not yet taken place.
Speaker 2: Maybe one of these days, guys, So I'm still here.
Speaker 3: I'm still here, And with that we will put a
Speaker 3: bow on this edition of this League uncut. As always,
Speaker 3: please remember follow us rate the show, review the show.
Speaker 3: How can Chris haynes storytelling alone not merit a five
Speaker 3: star review? The depth and breadth of tales that we
Speaker 3: get from mister Haynes on a twice a week basis
Speaker 3: that alone should be five star rating, even when he
Speaker 3: forgets to unmute his mic chime in.
Speaker 2: I'm releasing the video.
Speaker 4: No, no, no, everybody.
Speaker 2: When we dropped this, everybody, they're going to want to
Speaker 2: see Maybe, no question, I could put a blur. Maybe
Speaker 2: I could put a blur on all the faces.
Speaker 3: Anyone who listens to this show is now going to
Speaker 3: want to see this video because you phiped it up
Speaker 3: so much.
Speaker 7: You could be the reason why why crime scene get solved.
Speaker 6: Maybe someone will recognize them.
Speaker 5: Yeah, I don't know if I want to be that
Speaker 5: guy to Maybe I'll blurt blur off the faces. We'll
Speaker 5: see they're gonna want to see it. After after something,
Speaker 5: I'll think about it. I'll think about it.
Speaker 3: As if I don't have to worry twenty four to
Speaker 3: seven about my two kids.
Speaker 4: I got Chris Haynes contributing to my ulcer yet again.
Speaker 3: Yes, okay, that really does it for this edition of
Speaker 3: this League Uncut. Chris and I will be together again
Speaker 3: very very soon as these conference finals continue. Many many
Speaker 3: thanks to Minnesota Tim for pinch producing today. With producer
Speaker 3: Ryan unavailable at this hour, we look forward to being
Speaker 3: back with you very very soon.
Speaker 4: Thanks everyone for listening, Take care, and.
Speaker 1: That'll do it for us. See you next time.
Speaker 4: This League, UNCUTA and iHeartRadio production Chris Haynes, Good Marks, Time,