WEBVTT - What's Wright - Game 7 Reaction: Thunder BLOW OUT Nuggets, Jokic window CLOSED? Pacers-Knicks preview 0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:04.480 Welcome in. We'll drive into great episode three thirty two 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:08.440 on a Monday, doing a live show. So this week, 0:00:08.560 --> 0:00:10.119 by the way, this is a great time and a 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:13.640 great reminder to like, rate, subscribe, review, do all that stuff. 0:00:13.680 --> 0:00:17.000 The reviews just help us, as do the likes, but 0:00:17.200 --> 0:00:21.239 the subscriptions hopefully help you guys this week as well, 0:00:21.280 --> 0:00:24.919 because we're gonna have an odds schedule because we're doing 0:00:24.960 --> 0:00:30.000 the show today. Tomorrow, I am buying my house, and 0:00:30.040 --> 0:00:34.000 then Wednesday I head to Indianapolis for the Indy five hundred. 0:00:34.440 --> 0:00:37.160 It's kind of the timing's crazy. I live in New York, 0:00:37.200 --> 0:00:39.880 the Knicks are playing the Pacers I had to Indy 0:00:40.640 --> 0:00:43.080 for and I'm gonna be in Indie for games one 0:00:43.280 --> 0:00:45.559 and two, which are in New York, and then I'm 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:47.960 gonna come back here and in games three and four, 0:00:48.040 --> 0:00:49.800 which are in Indy, I will be in New York. 0:00:49.840 --> 0:00:52.440 So at all, if the Pacers just had a better record, 0:00:52.720 --> 0:00:54.680 I could potentially go to the first four games to 0:00:54.720 --> 0:00:56.440 the Eastern Conference Spinals. Instead, I'm gonna be able to 0:00:56.480 --> 0:00:59.200 go to zero of them. But the point is, I'm 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:01.240 not sure exactly when we're gonna be on the air 0:01:01.280 --> 0:01:03.520 this week emergency shows, whatever it is. So the way 0:01:03.560 --> 0:01:06.559 to make sure you don't miss anything, subscribe on YouTube, 0:01:06.600 --> 0:01:11.280 subscribe on iTunes and Spotify and everywhere else. Let's get 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:14.000 right into it, Demonse, So here is what missed the cut. 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:16.440 This was a story that missed the cut, and I 0:01:16.480 --> 0:01:20.520 missed my radar entirely. This Bill Belichick spending five grand 0:01:20.560 --> 0:01:23.360 on milk for Tom Brady has an Antonio Brown wrinkle. 0:01:23.400 --> 0:01:25.840 I do not care lebron wins the shack and the 0:01:25.920 --> 0:01:29.240 fool MVP. I missed that as well. And Caleb Williams 0:01:29.959 --> 0:01:32.560 is he happy in Chicago? The answer to that question 0:01:32.680 --> 0:01:36.000 is I hope. So the bigger Caleb Williams question is this, 0:01:36.440 --> 0:01:39.080 was he right about every single one of his concerns? 0:01:39.200 --> 0:01:43.959 Turns out yeah, was he right about? Man? I wonder 0:01:44.000 --> 0:01:46.920 what I'd look like if I was in Kevin O'Connell's 0:01:46.959 --> 0:01:49.720 offense on that team. And the answer as well, Sam 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:52.480 Darnold had fourteen wins and through for four thousand yards, 0:01:52.480 --> 0:01:56.520 So probably pretty damn good Caleb Williams instincts through the roof. 0:01:56.800 --> 0:02:01.240 That was my takeaway from that article. Caleb nailed everything. 0:02:01.400 --> 0:02:04.280 He got everything right. Demon say you're laughing, showed me 0:02:04.320 --> 0:02:05.559 the lie. As the kids say. 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:08.000 I mean, that's fair, but you know you're a rookie, 0:02:08.120 --> 0:02:10.560 just go and play for whatever team they throw you on. 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:10.720 You. 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:13.440 Well, that's what he ended up doing. That's literally what 0:02:13.520 --> 0:02:16.280 he ended up doing. But I'm just saying his instincts 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:21.880 were correct, all right, Game seven last night legacies made 0:02:21.919 --> 0:02:24.359 in a Game seven except for a Game seven leg 0:02:24.440 --> 0:02:27.120 last night, which was a game for about a quarter 0:02:27.160 --> 0:02:27.639 and a half. 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.519 Go ahead, Okay, So he took care of business last 0:02:30.600 --> 0:02:33.680 night against the Nuggets, backed him by thirty two points. 0:02:34.720 --> 0:02:38.200 Denver was obviously dealing with injuries with MPG. With MPG, 0:02:38.840 --> 0:02:43.040 they were now they were neutralizing Yo Kic. Do you 0:02:43.080 --> 0:02:46.040 think that this has any implications with the MVP debate? 0:02:46.320 --> 0:02:48.360 What is where as your head after this series? 0:02:48.760 --> 0:02:53.079 Well, so listen, it doesn't have any implications for who 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:55.760 should have won it or whatever, because it's an obviously 0:02:55.880 --> 0:02:59.120 regular season award, But it is a good time to 0:02:59.240 --> 0:03:03.880 stop and take stock of what the two MVP candidates 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:06.600 did in this series. And so I want to start 0:03:06.960 --> 0:03:09.480 on the thunderside, then we'll get to the joker side. 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:15.160 This was a sorry to be cliche, but a coming 0:03:15.160 --> 0:03:18.280 of age moment for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and it's 0:03:18.360 --> 0:03:21.360 one that I think they needed. I don't think it 0:03:21.400 --> 0:03:25.280 would have been good for them to cruise through Round 0:03:25.400 --> 0:03:28.600 two the way they cruised through Round one, because there 0:03:28.720 --> 0:03:32.320 is going to be adversity at some point in the playoffs. 0:03:32.360 --> 0:03:35.360 Now they have faced it, and they faced down the 0:03:35.400 --> 0:03:38.720 best player in the world and blew them out in 0:03:38.800 --> 0:03:41.960 a Game seven in their building. And there aren't many 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:47.880 places with a legitimate home court advantage left in this league, 0:03:48.160 --> 0:03:51.000 but Oklahoma City might be one of them. The college 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:54.440 like atmosphere, how loud it gets, it reminds you a 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:58.600 bit of the Old Oracle where nobody you know won 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:01.400 playoff games there for five years that wasn't named Lebron 0:04:01.480 --> 0:04:09.160 James and there is. So they needed a real test 0:04:09.800 --> 0:04:13.640 and they got one in the form of the Denver Nuggets. Shae. 0:04:13.960 --> 0:04:19.680 Here's the thing. Shae was good in last year's Round 0:04:19.720 --> 0:04:24.640 two when Luca and the MAVs beat him. It was 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:28.360 his co stars who were not good in that round, 0:04:28.760 --> 0:04:32.799 and you were worried that was happening again this year. Shae, 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:36.960 and Round two this year gave you basically right around 0:04:36.960 --> 0:04:41.360 his regular season numbers, he was thirty six and six 0:04:41.800 --> 0:04:45.640 on fifty three thirty three splits. So Shae didn't you know, 0:04:47.160 --> 0:04:49.680 he didn't raise his game to a new level, but 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:54.080 it didn't drop off. The worry was Jalen Williams, who 0:04:54.160 --> 0:04:58.599 was bad in last year's Round two, was playing poorly 0:04:58.760 --> 0:05:02.160 in this year's Round tw two. And then in the 0:05:02.200 --> 0:05:04.600 second in the quarter that you know, I don't want 0:05:04.600 --> 0:05:07.680 to say saved the Thunder season because maybe without that 0:05:07.800 --> 0:05:10.440 quarter they still win the game. But in the quarter 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:14.200 that ended last night's game or yesterday afternoon's game, and 0:05:14.279 --> 0:05:17.880 in the biggest quarter of their season up to that point, 0:05:17.960 --> 0:05:21.680 the second quarter of Game seven, Jalen Williams showed up 0:05:21.720 --> 0:05:24.559 to the party. Now, Jalen was really good in game 0:05:25.200 --> 0:05:27.240 was a game tour Game three, I don't remember of 0:05:27.279 --> 0:05:30.640 this series, but overall in this series he had been terrible. 0:05:31.440 --> 0:05:35.000 Despite the game, uh what was it? It was Game 0:05:35.040 --> 0:05:40.159 three performance. He was still shooting like thirty two percent 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:43.680 from the series, less than twenty percent from three and 0:05:43.800 --> 0:05:47.200 struggling massively. And then last night he has twenty four 0:05:47.400 --> 0:05:51.360 five and seven has you know in the mid teams 0:05:51.440 --> 0:05:53.679 in that second quarter and the game was never close 0:05:53.720 --> 0:05:57.359 again and Now, if you're den if you're Oklahoma City, 0:05:58.400 --> 0:06:04.479 you feel like you are more than prepared for a 0:06:04.520 --> 0:06:09.039 little bit of adversity in round three against Minnesota, a 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:13.480 Minnesota team that I think is super live. Now, you 0:06:13.520 --> 0:06:20.080 guys know, despite Demonds's scurless allegations of team hopping by me, 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:26.120 once my championship pick, the Lakers was eliminated were eliminated, 0:06:26.640 --> 0:06:29.440 I said, I think Oklahoma City is going to win 0:06:29.520 --> 0:06:33.240 the title. I have not strayed from that. I had 0:06:33.279 --> 0:06:37.039 no choice but to change championship picks. My champion got 0:06:37.160 --> 0:06:41.839 clopped in round one. So I still think Oklahoma City 0:06:41.920 --> 0:06:46.440 is going to beat Minnesota. But I think Minnesota is 0:06:46.480 --> 0:06:51.400 going to present very different problems for Oklahoma City. To 0:06:51.520 --> 0:06:55.040 the tune of that you are going from playing a 0:06:55.080 --> 0:06:58.679 four man team in Denver to an eight man team 0:06:58.720 --> 0:07:01.919 in Minnesota and a team that wants to run with you. 0:07:02.480 --> 0:07:06.520 What Oklahoma City reminded everyone of yesterday is they have 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:13.280 the ability to go on a fifteen to two run 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:17.440 unlike any team in recent memory. Because they're fifteen to 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:21.440 two run is not predicated on getting hot from three. 0:07:21.800 --> 0:07:25.880 Their fifteen to two run is predicated on getting hot defensively. 0:07:26.560 --> 0:07:31.520 And just all just sending wave after wave of young 0:07:31.760 --> 0:07:37.480 plus Alex Caruso athletic defenders at you and wreaking havoc. 0:07:38.040 --> 0:07:42.920 And if you guys remember the day after Thanksgiving, I 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:48.000 went to Lakers Thunder in LA, and I came on 0:07:48.240 --> 0:07:54.560 here and said, Man, Oklahoma City's ability to just go 0:07:54.600 --> 0:07:58.400 to whoever they want on their bench and those guys 0:07:59.000 --> 0:08:04.400 being plus plus defenders is just a pitch no one 0:08:04.440 --> 0:08:07.680 else in the league hass. And so the fact that 0:08:08.560 --> 0:08:11.640 you get, you know, twenty plus minutes off the bench 0:08:11.680 --> 0:08:16.840 from Cruso, who was unbelievable, Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins, 0:08:16.840 --> 0:08:20.800 who were both good defensively even if they struggled offensively. 0:08:21.760 --> 0:08:24.760 You don't even play Isaiah Joe. You don't really even 0:08:24.840 --> 0:08:28.960 have to play Jalen Williams. That's ten guys plus you're 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:36.640 starting five, obviously. And so I thought Shaye was outstanding yesterday. 0:08:37.160 --> 0:08:43.440 I think Shae has now proven, over his relatively limited 0:08:43.440 --> 0:08:46.800 playoff career, but still a playoff career, that he's not 0:08:47.040 --> 0:08:54.959 the dreaded playoff dropper, which wasn't. Anytime a guy makes 0:08:55.000 --> 0:08:58.720 so much money off the free throw line, you worry 0:08:59.400 --> 0:09:02.920 is that you is he going to have the Harden 0:09:05.000 --> 0:09:10.160 embiid playoff drop and in now back to back postseasons 0:09:10.480 --> 0:09:10.839 go ahead. 0:09:10.880 --> 0:09:12.520 So he's still getting pretty good whistles. Though. 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:16.000 Yeah, I was about to say the whistle didn't really 0:09:16.080 --> 0:09:18.720 taper off like we finally felt it would in the postseason. 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:21.559 I feel like he's been getting pretty consistent whistless. 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:25.800 One hundred correct. In fact, he is. In the regular season, 0:09:26.400 --> 0:09:29.640 he averaged eight point eight free throw attempts per game 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:35.560 in thirty four minutes per game. In the postseason, he's 0:09:35.600 --> 0:09:39.320 averaging eight point seven free throw attempts per game in 0:09:39.440 --> 0:09:42.240 thirty six minutes per game. So the free throw attempts 0:09:42.240 --> 0:09:46.360 are basically identical. The minutes are slightly up, so he's 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:49.960 maybe getting, you know, on a per minute basis, like 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:54.720 five percent less calls. But he's still it's it has 0:09:54.880 --> 0:09:58.480 not been that. Oh he hasn't been able to get 0:09:58.520 --> 0:10:02.160 to the line, which I thought my own I had. 0:10:02.360 --> 0:10:07.320 I guess three pockets of OKAC skepticism. The first one was, 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:11.160 is Shay gonna get the same whistle he has thus 0:10:11.200 --> 0:10:15.640 far for the most part. The second one was are 0:10:15.720 --> 0:10:19.800 the co stars going to be co stars? That one 0:10:19.840 --> 0:10:23.079 looked like it could cost them this series, and then 0:10:23.120 --> 0:10:25.760 it didn't, and now you've got to feel like Jalen 0:10:25.760 --> 0:10:29.720 Williams is going to go into the next round super 0:10:29.840 --> 0:10:33.640 confident and Chet Listen, I don't think Chet is ready 0:10:33.720 --> 0:10:35.600 yet and I don't know if he's ever going. 0:10:35.400 --> 0:10:39.640 To be uh but to be Jalen Williams. Though, say 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:42.040 it again, say he's been more consistent than Jayalen Williams. 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:45.760 He's been more consistent, but his peaks haven't been to Like, 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:50.199 I just don't think Chet's ready to be the second 0:10:50.240 --> 0:10:54.800 option on a champion. Like, You're totally right about his consistency. 0:10:55.120 --> 0:10:59.320 You can basically pencil him in for thirteen to nine 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:03.600 foreen and ten every night, but we're now ten playoff 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:06.280 games in. He doesn't have a twenty five point game 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:09.000 in this series. He didn't have a twenty point game. 0:11:09.320 --> 0:11:13.800 So I just don't think checks ready to ascend past 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:17.480 Jalen Williams as the number two. But he's been fine 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.319 fine as the number three, and his rim production is legitimate. 0:11:21.679 --> 0:11:24.720 So that was the second concern, And the third concern 0:11:24.880 --> 0:11:27.720 was less of a concern and more of a I 0:11:27.720 --> 0:11:30.240 don't know analysis question, however you want to put it 0:11:30.880 --> 0:11:35.040 how valuable was the depth going to be when rotations 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:39.520 get shortened, And the answer is it was super valuable 0:11:40.040 --> 0:11:46.760 because you aside from the overtime game, demanse Shane never 0:11:46.840 --> 0:11:51.240 played forty plus minutes. He never like they were able 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:54.439 to give Shay real rest. And you saw it, Listen, 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:58.840 Denver was gonna lose that game even without this happening. 0:11:59.400 --> 0:12:03.040 But you saw yesterday when Denver tried to give jokicch 0:12:03.120 --> 0:12:05.280 a break, it was an eight to zero run in 0:12:05.360 --> 0:12:11.040 forty five seconds. It was just like all the Cleveland 0:12:11.080 --> 0:12:15.800 years with Lebron, where you try to steal him minutes 0:12:16.280 --> 0:12:18.720 of rest at the end of the first or the 0:12:18.720 --> 0:12:22.079 beginning of the second, and whatever lead you built up 0:12:22.120 --> 0:12:25.920 with him on the court gets evaporated in ninety seconds. 0:12:26.200 --> 0:12:30.680 It is still beyond me why no team has coached 0:12:30.720 --> 0:12:34.839 their no team that is so reliant, and we haven't 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:40.800 seen anybody as relying on one player the way the 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:47.720 Nuggets are on Joker since Cleveland era Lebron. It is 0:12:47.840 --> 0:12:53.200 baffling why the strategy is not while our guy is 0:12:53.280 --> 0:12:58.800 on the bench, we want to play as slow as possible. 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:04.040 That way, there are we are minimizing the number of 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:08.400 possessions that occur, while our guys out Denver didn't do 0:13:08.440 --> 0:13:11.360 that yesterday. They give up a basket race down court, 0:13:11.800 --> 0:13:14.840 Russ throws it away, give up another basket race down court, 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.360 Russ misses a shot. All of a sudden, it's a 0:13:17.400 --> 0:13:19.840 six to zero run. We're not even at the eleven 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:24.840 minute mark of the second quarter. So listen, credit to OKC. 0:13:25.880 --> 0:13:29.199 It would have been really cool if the NBA had 0:13:29.240 --> 0:13:34.280 taken my advice and given Shay his MVP award before 0:13:34.360 --> 0:13:38.280 that game. It would have added a little more Jenna 0:13:38.320 --> 0:13:40.760 Sae quad to it. They didn't do that. Instead, I 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:44.600 would imagine he's gonna get his MVP award before Game 0:13:44.679 --> 0:13:49.240 two of the Conference finals. And you bet your ass 0:13:49.320 --> 0:13:52.800 man Anthony Edwards, even though he was nowhere close to 0:13:52.840 --> 0:13:56.600 the MVP conversation, will take that personally, and I'm excited. 0:13:57.000 --> 0:13:58.320 I'm excited to see that. 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:03.040 Okay, see why to cracked the code with with guarding 0:14:03.120 --> 0:14:06.280 Jokic maybe showed it show in the NBA a little blueprint. 0:14:07.160 --> 0:14:09.520 So let's talk about because you're talking about with Cruso. 0:14:10.120 --> 0:14:12.760 Yeah, he did really good on him, he did. 0:14:12.920 --> 0:14:17.520 Now listen, Crusoe is a great defender and very strong. 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:22.280 And remember when it seemed like and it seemed like 0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:25.640 I was only picking on, uh, white guys, but I 0:14:25.680 --> 0:14:28.960 was talking about NBA guys with bad bodies, and about 0:14:29.000 --> 0:14:32.640 how it there's it irritates me, and how there's no 0:14:32.760 --> 0:14:35.960 excuse to not have you know, defined arms when you're 0:14:36.000 --> 0:14:39.280 an NBA player, unless you're an Eastern European guy, in 0:14:39.320 --> 0:14:39.960 which case. 0:14:39.800 --> 0:14:40.440 I'll allow it. 0:14:41.680 --> 0:14:46.280 Caruso is a great example of the opposite of what 0:14:46.320 --> 0:14:50.760 I'm talking about. Go look at clips of Caruso when 0:14:50.840 --> 0:14:54.320 he won a championship with the Lakers. Go look at 0:14:54.320 --> 0:14:59.560 what Alex Caruso's body looked like early in his career. 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:02.840 And by the way, Crusoe sneaky old. Do you know 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:04.840 how old Crusoe is. I'm not just giving away by 0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.280 his kids saying sneaky old. Say it again, thirty thirty two, 0:15:08.360 --> 0:15:11.800 thirty three, Yeah, thirty one. But the like that is 0:15:12.120 --> 0:15:15.320 he doesn't feel thirty one because it took him so 0:15:15.480 --> 0:15:17.800 long to get to the NBA and it felt like 0:15:18.120 --> 0:15:21.080 we've only seen him really for five six years. But 0:15:21.120 --> 0:15:23.040 he was twenty six years old when he won that 0:15:23.160 --> 0:15:28.360 championship with the Lakers. But at twenty six Kruso was 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:32.840 he didn't have the exact Austin Reeves body, but it 0:15:32.960 --> 0:15:38.760 wasn't that dissimilar. And now he's jacked. Yeah, I mean 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.680 you see it in what his traps like you. And 0:15:42.040 --> 0:15:47.520 that allowed him to play a stut a physical style 0:15:47.640 --> 0:15:51.480 on Joke, on Jokic. That prevented Joker from getting to 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:54.440 his spose and so he just had to catch the 0:15:54.440 --> 0:15:56.880 ball a little further out. Sometimes he denied to catch 0:15:56.880 --> 0:16:04.280 it fully and and and when Joker did get the ball, 0:16:04.600 --> 0:16:07.320 he had to worry about Chet or someone else coming 0:16:07.360 --> 0:16:09.440 from the weak side. So Crew, I don't know that 0:16:09.520 --> 0:16:11.800 they cracked a code because I don't know how many 0:16:11.840 --> 0:16:16.760 teams having Alex Caruso, but they obviously gave Joker some 0:16:16.840 --> 0:16:20.040 trouble and he was not good. Listen, I laid out 0:16:20.080 --> 0:16:26.800 on Thursday show the Lebron game six and seven, down 0:16:26.880 --> 0:16:31.000 three to two to Boston going forty five and then 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:35.040 thirty five. I'm talking about that. You might be like, 0:16:35.040 --> 0:16:37.400 which time when Lebron did that against Boston. I'm not 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:40.200 talking about twenty twelve Lebron with the heat, talking about 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:45.880 twenty eighteen Lebron with when that when that team it 0:16:45.920 --> 0:16:49.840 was a similar situation to this, and that you didn't 0:16:49.880 --> 0:16:52.120 have that much talent on your team to begin with. 0:16:52.360 --> 0:16:55.080 Your second best player got hurt and I thought that 0:16:55.160 --> 0:16:59.080 was a heroic effort by Aaron Gordon just to be 0:16:59.160 --> 0:17:02.320 out there and he gave you real minutes. It's it 0:17:02.480 --> 0:17:06.840 was so heroic that I am going to be everyone. 0:17:08.640 --> 0:17:14.240 Everyone in Unison was like, how is Aaron Gordon doing 0:17:14.280 --> 0:17:18.560 this with a Grade two ham string string? It should 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:23.040 be impossible to do this with a grade two hamstring string. 0:17:23.640 --> 0:17:32.760 Ham strange ham string string. And everyone was saying that 0:17:33.520 --> 0:17:38.360 as if they all had personally reviewed the MRI. Here 0:17:38.520 --> 0:17:43.480 is here is my you know, just gut feeling on 0:17:43.640 --> 0:17:47.560 Aaron Gordon's Grade two ham strained string. God doug it 0:17:47.920 --> 0:17:53.560 ham string strength a grade one. Just my gut, just 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:57.200 my gut that he didn't he wasn't actually out there 0:17:57.240 --> 0:17:59.920 playing with an injury that knocks you out one month. 0:18:00.600 --> 0:18:04.280 I think he was playing with the same injury. Again, 0:18:04.400 --> 0:18:07.560 maybe I'm wrong, but the way he was moving everything, 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:09.720 I thought he was playing with the same injury that 0:18:09.800 --> 0:18:13.680 knocks Steph out of round two. And by the way, 0:18:14.640 --> 0:18:17.359 this whole like, so you're saying Steph couldn't give us 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:22.159 a minute. No, like they're drastically different players asked to 0:18:22.240 --> 0:18:29.200 do drastically different things, and I I and there was 0:18:29.320 --> 0:18:32.800 to me demands if I just the Gordon versus Steph thing, 0:18:32.880 --> 0:18:36.480 there were a lot of qualifiers where I think people 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:40.639 were being unfair again when it comes to Steph Curry dialogue. 0:18:40.880 --> 0:18:43.960 I'm ros algoul. I'm just bringing balance to the universe, 0:18:44.280 --> 0:18:46.360 and this is an instance where I think we need 0:18:46.400 --> 0:18:48.960 to balance out on the You gotta be kidding me 0:18:49.000 --> 0:18:54.040 with criticizing Steph here side of things, because first of all, 0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:56.680 Aaron Gordon is not asked to run around one thousand 0:18:56.760 --> 0:19:01.840 screens again. Second of all, Aaron Gordon did not suffer 0:19:01.920 --> 0:19:05.480 this injury in game one of the series. And so 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:08.640 do I think if stuff is Steph so I can't 0:19:08.640 --> 0:19:14.160 talk today, if Steph suffered his injury at the end 0:19:14.200 --> 0:19:17.240 of game six, I do think. I do think that 0:19:17.280 --> 0:19:20.600 if Steph suffered his injury at the end of game six, 0:19:21.160 --> 0:19:25.480 there's a real possibility that he would have gone out 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:29.480 for Game seven, almost as a decoy, see what it's like, 0:19:29.600 --> 0:19:34.280 whatever it is. But that wasn't that wasn't the case, 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:36.480 and it didn't make sense for him to do that 0:19:37.080 --> 0:19:40.440 in Game two when it's like, Okay, if I reaggravate this, 0:19:40.760 --> 0:19:44.000 then I'm definitely out for the postseason. And then they 0:19:44.040 --> 0:19:49.119 never got with you know, within reaching distance of Minnesota. 0:19:49.160 --> 0:19:49.600 I mean, did you. 0:19:51.520 --> 0:19:55.640 Well, yeah, and the right a huge age difference, there's 0:19:55.680 --> 0:19:59.679 just there now. I also, so, the only thing that 0:19:59.720 --> 0:20:03.000 I think is the same between Stephan Gordon's hamstring injuries 0:20:03.359 --> 0:20:05.240 is I think they were the same grade. And if 0:20:05.280 --> 0:20:10.280 Aaron Gordon really did have a grade two hamdstring, I can't, 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:12.960 you know, Hammy, I'm just gonna call it hand a 0:20:13.040 --> 0:20:16.480 grade two Hammy, Uh, then that's one of the most 0:20:16.560 --> 0:20:18.800 remarkable things I've ever seen in my life. But I, 0:20:18.880 --> 0:20:22.399 you know, unlike everyone on Twitter, I didn't personally review 0:20:22.440 --> 0:20:27.359 the MRI. I just read what Sham's tweeted, and I'm like, so, 0:20:28.080 --> 0:20:28.680 I'm not sure. 0:20:29.720 --> 0:20:33.800 Blending Vice's signature dynamic storytelling with the high octane world 0:20:33.800 --> 0:20:37.280 of sports, VICE Sports brings an exciting and diverse range 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:40.040 of programming that goes beyond the game, from action packed 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:43.280 live events to gripping behind the scenes documentaries, to hard 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:48.240 hitting investigative pieces and in depth profiles of athletes, coaches, teams. 0:20:48.760 --> 0:20:51.919 VICE sports captures the raw energy, drama, and passion that 0:20:52.000 --> 0:20:55.840 makes sports truly unforgettable. Catch live events and other exclusive 0:20:55.840 --> 0:20:59.879 sports programs only on Vice TV. Go to Vice TV 0:21:00.960 --> 0:21:02.760 to find your cable channel. 0:21:05.280 --> 0:21:10.480 Now back to what I was saying about the opportunity 0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:14.399 Joker had in front of him. It was a missed opportunity, 0:21:15.600 --> 0:21:21.960 missed in that he is, what he is chasing is 0:21:22.119 --> 0:21:28.159 such legendary status. I'll give you a four instance. Somebody 0:21:28.359 --> 0:21:33.600 over the weekend tweeted a picture of five centers and 0:21:33.640 --> 0:21:36.000 they left out the old timers, so they left out 0:21:36.040 --> 0:21:40.199 Wilt Russell and Kareem But it was basically like, you 0:21:40.240 --> 0:21:43.840 know who's who's not making the cut here, and it 0:21:43.960 --> 0:21:49.679 was a keen shack Joker, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing. That 0:21:49.800 --> 0:21:52.520 was the list. And to me, by the way, that 0:21:52.680 --> 0:21:54.639 was a very easy cut and he was one of 0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:56.560 my favorite players growing up at The answer to that 0:21:56.600 --> 0:21:59.880 is Patrick Ewing, and then like five four, three two 0:21:59.840 --> 0:22:04.200 on that five and four are simple Patrick, who was 0:22:04.280 --> 0:22:07.880 a great player, but unlike the other four guys, has 0:22:07.960 --> 0:22:11.240 no MVPs and no championships, so that one's a pretty 0:22:11.280 --> 0:22:15.040 easy you know X number. The next guy you're getting 0:22:15.080 --> 0:22:17.919 rid of is David Robinson, who is a great player, 0:22:18.080 --> 0:22:22.920 one MVP, a couple championships, only one where he was still, 0:22:23.040 --> 0:22:26.720 you know, a super impactful player, the three Spurs title. 0:22:27.040 --> 0:22:30.840 Robinson was a you know, super role player. And then 0:22:30.880 --> 0:22:34.480 it gets interesting Joker Shack in a team. I have 0:22:34.680 --> 0:22:42.200 Joker still pretty solidly behind Shaq in a geam. That 0:22:42.280 --> 0:22:46.760 could have changed this postseason, Right, that's a fair thing 0:22:46.840 --> 0:22:51.000 to say, Like had he carried this team to the 0:22:51.160 --> 0:22:56.240 NBA Finals, much less to a championship, how does that? 0:22:57.040 --> 0:22:57.280 You know? 0:22:57.359 --> 0:23:00.720 Then? How do we do Jokers resume of three two 0:23:00.800 --> 0:23:05.480 rings versus Shack one MVP, four rings a team one MVP, 0:23:05.720 --> 0:23:09.560 two rings a team. The greatest defensive player ever, Shack 0:23:09.920 --> 0:23:14.320 the most dominant at his apex, maybe players certainly sinner ever, 0:23:14.680 --> 0:23:18.680 Joker the best passer connector all that stuff. So it's 0:23:18.680 --> 0:23:23.080 a missed opportunity, not in that. I do not think that, Demons, 0:23:23.200 --> 0:23:26.160 where do you sin on this? I do not come 0:23:26.200 --> 0:23:31.760 out of this series feeling like, well, there's an argument 0:23:31.840 --> 0:23:34.600 now sha' is the best player in the world even 0:23:34.640 --> 0:23:35.960 though he just you. 0:23:35.840 --> 0:23:39.199 Agree, no, no, no, yeah, I agree that that's not 0:23:39.400 --> 0:23:41.320 That was not a thought that crossed my mind after 0:23:41.320 --> 0:23:42.320 the series, I still. 0:23:42.119 --> 0:23:45.840 Think yog me too, That's what I'm saying like that, 0:23:46.440 --> 0:23:53.119 And I understand that Joker, like Shay just beat Joker 0:23:53.160 --> 0:23:57.199 in a series, and you could argue outplayed him. Like 0:23:57.320 --> 0:24:01.760 Joker's numbers in this series were good, and they were 0:24:01.800 --> 0:24:06.880 great by regular All Star standards. They were good by 0:24:06.920 --> 0:24:11.600 his He was twenty eight, fourteen and six on by 0:24:11.640 --> 0:24:16.520 his standards, not that efficient forty eight slash thirty three. 0:24:17.040 --> 0:24:21.359 So again, that's a really good series. It's but he 0:24:21.440 --> 0:24:26.200 needed a legendary When you are chasing legends, you need 0:24:26.359 --> 0:24:32.520 legendary series. And for him, the tough part is going 0:24:32.600 --> 0:24:41.800 to be this, are there going to be how many 0:24:41.800 --> 0:24:50.600 more during the remainder of his prime? How many more times? 0:24:50.760 --> 0:24:54.040 How often is he going to have a team better 0:24:54.119 --> 0:24:56.119 than the one he had this year? And your answer 0:24:56.200 --> 0:24:58.720 that might be that team was not that good this year. 0:24:58.960 --> 0:25:03.800 They fired their and that's totally true, and MPJ got 0:25:03.880 --> 0:25:06.800 hurt and Gordon got hurt at the very end of 0:25:06.800 --> 0:25:09.840 that series. But I don't think just like and we'll 0:25:09.880 --> 0:25:12.680 talk about this later now that we saw the totality 0:25:12.680 --> 0:25:16.480 of Nick Celtics, I don't think Tatum, you know, tearing 0:25:16.520 --> 0:25:20.280 his achilles changed the outcome of that series. I don't 0:25:20.280 --> 0:25:23.959 think Aaron Gordon's straining his hamstring changed the outcome of 0:25:24.359 --> 0:25:28.399 that game and therefore that series. So you might say, oh, 0:25:28.480 --> 0:25:32.080 we should have a bunch of teams better than this one. 0:25:32.480 --> 0:25:38.080 How though, Like that's the tricky part for Denver is 0:25:38.640 --> 0:25:43.760 everyone everyone talks about. Oh, well, obviously you trade Michael 0:25:43.800 --> 0:25:48.399 Porter Junior. I don't know what great assets you get 0:25:48.440 --> 0:25:52.240 back for Michael Porter Junior at this point, forty million 0:25:52.280 --> 0:25:59.200 a year for a guy who I there's no other 0:25:59.240 --> 0:26:01.359 way to put it. At this point, he's like a 0:26:01.720 --> 0:26:08.520 very poor man. Zach Levine just tall. Oh wow, I 0:26:08.520 --> 0:26:12.719 mean Zach Levine's a good I like Zavin a lot too. Yeah, 0:26:12.840 --> 0:26:15.000 that's Zack Lavine is a good player, you know what. 0:26:15.119 --> 0:26:18.399