Speaker 1: Welcome in into NBA Polster production of iHeartRadio in the NBA.
Speaker 1: I'm Sarah Kustak, NBA analysts for the Yes Network, and
Speaker 1: today is Monday, April fifteenth. From our extraordinary core group
Speaker 1: of NBA journalists, we're joined now by NBA dot Com
Speaker 1: senior writer Sean Poll. And Sean, we're starting to see
Speaker 1: things come into the picture of what the playoffs will
Speaker 1: look like. We have things set in terms of who
Speaker 1: will be in these seven, eight, nine, ten playing games
Speaker 1: and some of these interesting matchups. I know we were
Speaker 1: talking a little bit before the pod. I'm about to
Speaker 1: be I'm about to be locked into a lot of
Speaker 1: two seven matchups I think when the postseason begins. But
Speaker 1: let's start with an interesting game last night. So as
Speaker 1: we knew, all thirty teams were in action yesterday, shockingly,
Speaker 1: which kudos to the NBA in just the way things
Speaker 1: have worked with these playing games. Twelve of the fifteen
Speaker 1: games had an packed on the playoff standings, but one
Speaker 1: that was intriguing was a New York Knicks Chicago Bulls
Speaker 1: in the Eastern Conference. With so much up for grabs,
Speaker 1: we knew that Chicago had already locked themselves in do
Speaker 1: that nine ten playoff playing game against the Atlanta Hawks,
Speaker 1: which we'll get to in a little bit. But the
Speaker 1: New York Knicks were kind of floating. There was an
Speaker 1: opportunity of which they have now found themselves in to
Speaker 1: be in the number two seed, but it could have
Speaker 1: swung anywhere from two, three, four for them, and over
Speaker 1: time against the Chicago Bulls, who would have thought, and
Speaker 1: as a lot of the other games started finishing up,
Speaker 1: it looked like, okay, you have a chance to be
Speaker 1: that two seed and likely play which the seventy six
Speaker 1: Ers had beaten the Brooklyn Nets a significant lead by
Speaker 1: that point, that they would end up being the seventh seed,
Speaker 1: playing the Miami Heat in the eighth seed, and likely
Speaker 1: be the Philadelphia seventy six Ers, who Joel Embiid is
Speaker 1: now back in the fold. So certainly with the complements
Speaker 1: of their full roster, look at a peer to be
Speaker 1: that of a seventh seed. The third seeded Bucks, which
Speaker 1: it turned out to be, will play the six seeded
Speaker 1: Indiana Pacers. What's going through your head? And I'm just
Speaker 1: posing this to you, what is going through your head
Speaker 1: if you are a fan of the New York Knicks,
Speaker 1: You're in overtime and you think, huh in our in
Speaker 1: our playoff matchup in the first round, we could potentially
Speaker 1: see the Indiana Pacers, or we could potentially see a
Speaker 1: team that is now full full go and looked very
Speaker 1: good in the beginning parts of the season with Joel
Speaker 1: Embiid Tyree Smaxy and was said to be a title
Speaker 1: contender as you began the season here in the first round.
Speaker 2: Well, first, I want to paraphrase what Lebron James said
Speaker 2: a few years ago, who was the genius in the
Speaker 2: NBA who thought of the playing tournament. I think I
Speaker 2: think Lebron used a few a few stronger terms, but
Speaker 2: I think we need to underline that word genius because
Speaker 2: you had a day where it was nothing but meaningful
Speaker 2: games all over the map, and you would not have
Speaker 2: had that. It just brought so much drama to April,
Speaker 2: whereas before you're sort of sleepwalking for the most part
Speaker 2: through this part of the season, and it created scenarios
Speaker 2: in which you raised, particularly with that NXT game against
Speaker 2: Chicago and overtime. Chicago really didn't need the game, and
Speaker 2: by then the Knicks knew what was happening around the
Speaker 2: NBA Milwaukee was losing to Orlando, and so you see
Speaker 2: Philadelphia right there lurking, look Sarah. I would like to
Speaker 2: think that I'm a winner in life and all that stuff,
Speaker 2: but I would have been a loser. I would have
Speaker 2: been a loser that game. I would have been a loser.
Speaker 2: I'm sorry. I would have sat Jalen Brunson in overtime.
Speaker 2: I would have said, hey, pal, pretend you have a
Speaker 2: cramp or something. And I know you've been a hero,
Speaker 2: been a hero for us off season, but you're going
Speaker 2: to take a breather right now. And you know, people
Speaker 2: could have hated me. I wouldn't care, but I would
Speaker 2: not want to see Joe and b or for that matter,
Speaker 2: a refreshed Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and the Miami heat
Speaker 2: depending on you know who wins that. Ye, so what
Speaker 2: Miami did last year, you don't want that that Jimmy
Speaker 2: Butler smoke. And I know, you know Miami had a
Speaker 2: kind of a tough or rough stretch this season. But again,
Speaker 2: if my choice is getting you know, the the three spot,
Speaker 2: I mean, look again, like I said, I'd like to
Speaker 2: think that I'm a winner in life. I'm sorry, I'm
Speaker 2: taking the big l I'm you know, I proved myself.
Speaker 2: You know, the Knicks had a fantastic season, and they
Speaker 2: had played a fantastic game up to that point. Overtime.
Speaker 2: Hey god, we need to rest up for the playoffs, right,
Speaker 2: you know, sit out these last five minutes.
Speaker 1: So you went to play Dante Devincenzo nearly fifty three?
Speaker 2: Would I would have looked far, looked far down that bench.
Speaker 2: I said, oh, hey, guys, you want to play, come
Speaker 2: on in.
Speaker 1: Oh Josh Hart Brunson and those numbers more than forty minutes,
Speaker 1: I absolutely would have suggested you be the one to go.
Speaker 1: Tell Tom Siveno the scenario that needed to take place.
Speaker 1: But it was an awesome game. And to your point,
Speaker 1: the New York Knicks now in that number two seed
Speaker 1: and opportunity to host at Madison Square Garden. What they've
Speaker 1: done this season has really been nothing short of inspiring,
Speaker 1: fun team to watch, and with the Chicago Bulls that
Speaker 1: was at a great day. Nicola Vucevich with twenty nine
Speaker 1: and eleven Kobe White with twenty six points, they will
Speaker 1: be in that nine ten game. As I had mentioned that,
Speaker 1: we'll get to it a little bit but let's first
Speaker 1: look at what that looks like in terms of the
Speaker 1: seven eight seeds in the Eastern Conference, because you mentioned
Speaker 1: this is a fun one and this is interesting to
Speaker 1: consider how things will play out with the seventy six
Speaker 1: ers Miami Heat. They will play on ESPN on Wednesday
Speaker 1: night at seven pm Eastern. Joel Embiid, as I mentioned,
Speaker 1: he's been back. He's been back for a stretch. He
Speaker 1: did not place Sunday just for maintenance on that knee.
Speaker 1: But you've got a Heat team that, for as much
Speaker 1: as they've been counted out and were last season, they
Speaker 1: were in the same position. Do you count out to
Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler, bam Adebayo and Eric Spolstra when it comes
Speaker 1: down to playoff time? What do you think about this
Speaker 1: matchup in particular a one game scenario between these two
Speaker 1: teams for an opportunity to avoid the Boston Celtics and
Speaker 1: have a shot at the New York.
Speaker 2: Next Well, I really don't see a lot of stress
Speaker 2: in this game because I think the loser would be
Speaker 2: a heavy favorite over the winner against of the Bulls
Speaker 2: Hawks game. So I think both of these teams will
Speaker 2: eventually capture the last two playoff spots. Of course, if
Speaker 2: you lose and you have to beat the bulls of
Speaker 2: the Hawks and you finish eighth, you're going to see
Speaker 2: the Celtics in the first round. So I think from
Speaker 2: that standpoint of seeing potentially seeing the Celtics one to
Speaker 2: eight matchup or the Knicks and the two to seven matchup,
Speaker 2: I will take my chances on the Knicks and the
Speaker 2: two seven.
Speaker 1: Uh.
Speaker 2: And when I look at this matchup again, uh, you know,
Speaker 2: I just think Philadelphia right now is the one team
Speaker 2: in the East, probably even in the NBA that has
Speaker 2: a high ceiling, and that's because they're welcoming back a
Speaker 2: very important piece in Joe o Embiid. I think he well,
Speaker 2: you'd like to think that he's recharge and rested during
Speaker 2: this layoff and not rusty. I think he can come
Speaker 2: in uh and play very well. Obviously, you know he'll
Speaker 2: be going up against bam Adebayo, but Joe O Embiid
Speaker 2: against pretty pretty much any center in the NBA other
Speaker 2: than maybe Yo Kic is going to be pretty much
Speaker 2: a favor. So I see the Sixers uh pushing through uh.
Speaker 2: And I do see a close game. And and again
Speaker 2: I don't think there's all that much of an urgency
Speaker 2: for the loser, because I just think that they're just
Speaker 2: going to be such a heavy favorite in the next
Speaker 2: game playing against a winner of nine to ten.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and I feel what you're saying in I do
Speaker 1: agree with that. In terms of getting into the playoffs,
Speaker 1: I think there's gonna be a tremendous amount of urgency
Speaker 1: of facing the New York Knicks, which, again, they I'm
Speaker 1: a huge fan of their team, love how they play.
Speaker 1: I am very, very curious to see what their postseason
Speaker 1: run looks like. But I think the difference between playing
Speaker 1: them and playing the Boston Celtics is massive, in particular
Speaker 1: in the first round. And I think a team like
Speaker 1: Philadelphia who came in with aspirations of winning a title,
Speaker 1: where Joel Embiid is at both in terms of the years,
Speaker 1: the miles on his body, what things have looked like.
Speaker 1: You get him back healthy, which was a question mark
Speaker 1: at the middle part of the season, You've reinforced yourself
Speaker 1: with some three point shooting, bringing in Buddy Healed, and
Speaker 1: how Tyrese Maxey has been playing some of the depth
Speaker 1: of that group. Nick Nurse here in his first year.
Speaker 1: I think this is a team that thinks, hey, if
Speaker 1: we can get in, we can make something happen. And
Speaker 1: so I imagine despite Miami and all that they have
Speaker 1: often pulled out in the postseason, and I do think
Speaker 1: that they will end up being the eighth seed. I
Speaker 1: think they have looked different this year, some of the
Speaker 1: pieces that they lost from last year, and just in general,
Speaker 1: I think that the seventy six ers will take this seriously.
Speaker 1: They're playing at home, and they will understand the implications
Speaker 1: that it could have farther down the line. But either way,
Speaker 1: it's going to be a ton of fun. Another one.
Speaker 1: It was fascinating yesterday as you watched the Los Angeles
Speaker 1: Lakers playing the New Orleans Pelicans in New Orleans one
Speaker 1: twenty four one toweight win, and I'm not even sure
Speaker 1: that does justice to how commanding the Lakers were in
Speaker 1: this win. In particular, Lebron James just sparkled. He was
Speaker 1: extraordinary twenty eight points, seventeen assists, eleven rebounds, Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: thirty and eleven although he had exited the game late.
Speaker 1: Still wait to make sure and hear about his health
Speaker 1: status and what that looks like for the playing game
Speaker 1: that will take place tomorrow on TNT seven thirty pm Eastern.
Speaker 1: They are the early game, but they've had New Orleans
Speaker 1: number all season long, and New Orleans had an opportunity
Speaker 1: to stay out of the play and be in the
Speaker 1: sixth seed. They have a nice run to close out
Speaker 1: the season, but just could not get past the Lakers
Speaker 1: that have not been able to get past them in
Speaker 1: the season. Z Ion Williamson, who had been playing really
Speaker 1: well down the stretch of the season, just twelve points,
Speaker 1: eight rebounds, eight assists. It was CJ McCollum who had
Speaker 1: another big game. What do you make of this game?
Speaker 1: Lakers will stay right there in New Orleans, don't need
Speaker 1: to pack their bags, don't need to go anywhere, coming
Speaker 1: off of a win where they should feel very very confident.
Speaker 1: How do you kind of frame the perspectives of both
Speaker 1: of these teams in this one?
Speaker 2: I think this should be pretty much a layup for
Speaker 2: the Lakers. They've dominated the Pelicans pretty much all year,
Speaker 2: and you have two big factors. Number One, Anthony Davis.
Speaker 2: Ever since he was traded from the Pelicans of the Lakers,
Speaker 2: he's pretty much owned his former team. Seems to really
Speaker 2: get up to play in New Orleans, and you know,
Speaker 2: remember he wore that shirt. That's all folks, But pretty
Speaker 2: much you can probably use as a headline every time
Speaker 2: Anthony Davis plays New Orleans. That's all folks. And and
Speaker 2: Lebron James obviously he is playing well. Now, the problem
Speaker 2: I had for the Lakers is this is not the
Speaker 2: second game of the play in, you know, scheduled tomorrow.
Speaker 2: If this was the second game, and if you knew
Speaker 2: Sacramento beat Golden State, then I would know I wouldn't
Speaker 2: be all that enthusiastic about beating New Orleans for the
Speaker 2: same reason Sarah you raise about Philadelphia, because you know
Speaker 2: if you come in seven, you're gonna play the Denver Nuggets.
Speaker 2: So if you're the Lakers and you look up and
Speaker 2: down the rest of the West and you say, I
Speaker 2: know I can beat Oklahoma City, Minnesota Clippers, you can
Speaker 2: go on and on with Phoenix, Suns, Denver Nuggets. I
Speaker 2: don't know. Oh, And I just think that the Lakers,
Speaker 2: for the same reason as you said with Philadelphia, if
Speaker 2: they avoid that team, that one team, and that one
Speaker 2: team is Denver, they could end up back in the
Speaker 2: Western Conference Finals. But again, you would run the risk
Speaker 2: of playing with fire. If you say, well, we're not
Speaker 2: gonna we're gonna arrest Ad, We're gonna wrest Lebron James
Speaker 2: a little bit and take our chances, you know, playing
Speaker 2: the winner of nine to ten, then you put up
Speaker 2: in it in a very precarious situation. Anything could happen
Speaker 2: in again, the ball bounces badly, someone gets hurt, and
Speaker 2: all of a sudden, your season's over. You're eliminated. I
Speaker 2: don't think the Lakers will play the Fire, but it's
Speaker 2: just a very unfortunate position that they're in. Because they win,
Speaker 2: and I think they will, then you've got Denver in
Speaker 2: the first round. Look, it'd be compelling, a compelling first
Speaker 2: round matchup, but I just think it's gonna be a
Speaker 2: quick eggres for the Lakers. That's the one team they
Speaker 2: don't want to see.
Speaker 1: Sean. I do not like fire. I do not like
Speaker 1: playing with the basketball gods. I think the Lakers will
Speaker 1: come in and just absolutely take care of business as
Speaker 1: they have and I'm curious, like I am. More of
Speaker 1: my curiosity comes in the response of the New Orleans Pelicans.
Speaker 1: I think this is a team that has put together,
Speaker 1: as I had mentioned, a really nice. There's been ups
Speaker 1: and downs, which what team don't you say that about?
Speaker 1: But the recent stretch that they've had to close out
Speaker 1: the season been really impressed with. They were as high
Speaker 1: as fifth, you know, fifth seed, and have dropped because
Speaker 1: of all these you know, different movements among a lot
Speaker 1: of the games and the teams, and how tight this
Speaker 1: race has been. But I think this is a tremendous
Speaker 1: test for them, and a test not just about their
Speaker 1: performance and a play, but maturity in what type of
Speaker 1: group they have and maybe giving some answers in that manner.
Speaker 1: With that being said, though, I also don't think the
Speaker 1: gap between are the Nuggets my favorite absolutely what I
Speaker 1: want to avoid them at all costs, absolutely, I have
Speaker 1: a ton of faith and they'll Alma City thunder. And
Speaker 1: how do you think the gap between those two teams
Speaker 1: are not quite as vast as it may appear, despite
Speaker 1: the experience of the defending champion Denver Nuggets. I think
Speaker 1: Oklahoma City has just got all the pieces, They've got
Speaker 1: the right vibe right now, and they are a team
Speaker 1: that I also would not want to see. So again,
Speaker 1: it's gonna be interesting to continue watching, but we got
Speaker 1: some fun ones coming up. And as I mentioned, it's
Speaker 1: not just a but the playing games with what that
Speaker 1: means for some of these playoff matchups in the first round.
Speaker 1: We're gonna take a quick break and come back and
Speaker 1: look at these nine time games. Welcome back to NBA.
Speaker 1: Paul Sarak Whostak joined by the great Seawan Poll and
Speaker 1: Sean nine to ten matchups. The intriguing one, I think
Speaker 1: maybe a little bit more intriguing because the implications it
Speaker 1: may have with some of the star power and those
Speaker 1: we have seen in the playoffs for a really long time.
Speaker 1: On Western Conference on Wednesday. Tuesday, Tuesday, tomorrow nine ten
Speaker 1: game taking place on TNT ten pm, Eastern Sacramento Kings
Speaker 1: Golden State Warriors. We're going to see a rematch of
Speaker 1: that first round series from last year. We're also going
Speaker 1: to see what this Warriors team has. Can Steph Curry
Speaker 1: keep them rolling? Who will they see if they do
Speaker 1: in fact win this game? What are you looking for
Speaker 1: out of this King's Warriors game on Tuesday?
Speaker 2: I see pretty much a not a carbon copy of
Speaker 2: Game seven last year when these teams played, but the
Speaker 2: similar result. I think Steph Curry. Steph Curry had a
Speaker 2: fifty piece in that game. I think he's going to
Speaker 2: be brilliant again in this game. I think the Warriors
Speaker 2: will prevail for a few reasons. Number one, I think
Speaker 2: this team is starting to come around. They finished the
Speaker 2: season pretty impressively, and you saw more glimpses from Klay
Speaker 2: Thompson that now he's not going to be the old
Speaker 2: Klave Thompson, but he can be close enough. He had
Speaker 2: some very wild and inconsistent swings, but when he was
Speaker 2: on and left open, uh, he could hit that shot.
Speaker 2: And I also think some of the Warriors young players
Speaker 2: have sort of grown and yeah, this is their first
Speaker 2: real chance at the playoffs or not the playoffs or postseason,
Speaker 2: shall we say. But I think they've come through for
Speaker 2: the most part all season for this team. When you
Speaker 2: put Steph Clay Draymond, you put them in a game
Speaker 2: of this sort of urgency and importance against the Sacramento
Speaker 2: Kings team which is frankly is much more It's not
Speaker 2: the same team as last year, fairly disappointing. You don't
Speaker 2: have Kevin Herder, you don't have Malik Monk. Harrison Barnes
Speaker 2: has been, you know, showing his age there a little bit.
Speaker 2: Now de bonisim Bonus has been playing well, but Draymond
Speaker 2: Green tends to neutralize that a little bit. So I
Speaker 2: think I think the Warriors will win this one. I
Speaker 2: think for the King just for a steep fall from
Speaker 2: last year. You know, they had their revelation they cracked
Speaker 2: the playoff code for the first time in many years.
Speaker 2: But the league just got better between last year and
Speaker 2: this year, and I think they're going to see that
Speaker 2: in this game. And again it's going to be a
Speaker 2: similar result. Maybe not a similar game because that was
Speaker 2: a close game seven last year, but I see a
Speaker 2: similar result in this game. But the Warriors beating the
Speaker 2: Sacramento Kings.
Speaker 1: I feel you. I feel you on all of those things,
Speaker 1: and it has just been the way you've seen Sacramento
Speaker 1: finish off this season that I think puts puts a
Speaker 1: lot behind that, and just the pieces are missing what
Speaker 1: Monk had meant to them at certain points of the season. Obviously,
Speaker 1: Herder Bullshawks are the late game on Wednesday on ESPN
Speaker 1: nine to thirty pm Eastern. Any chance that they end
Speaker 1: up in the playoffs that whoever wins that game will
Speaker 1: be able to win the next game. The loser of
Speaker 1: the seven eight seed and make it into to have
Speaker 1: the great gift of playing the Boston Celtics.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that would be probably the upset of all upsets.
Speaker 2: First of all, again, both teams are missing key players,
Speaker 2: are hurt and you know you talk. Zach Levine obviously
Speaker 2: is out for Chicago. The Hawks are missing a few
Speaker 2: rotational players that can make a big difference. They're not
Speaker 2: missing any of their stars. Trey Young and de Jontey
Speaker 2: Murray will be there. But look, I look at these
Speaker 2: two teams and for one reason or another, they've struggled
Speaker 2: during the season, whether it's injury, whether it's just inconsistent play,
Speaker 2: whether it's just that other teams have simply passed them by.
Speaker 2: The Hawks, they do get Trey Young back, and that's
Speaker 2: going to happen to Joney. Murray was very good while
Speaker 2: Trey Young was out with injury. But again, there's a
Speaker 2: front court, backcourt and balance on that team. Defense has
Speaker 2: always been a prop with the Hawks, and they'll be
Speaker 2: playing on the road in Chicago. As far as the Bulls,
Speaker 2: I just think they're kind of fortunate just to be
Speaker 2: in this position. Again, this is a team that you
Speaker 2: had some sort of expectations for not great, but some
Speaker 2: sort of expectations, a veteran team trying to incorporate some
Speaker 2: young players. And you saw sort of like a coming
Speaker 2: out with Kobe White this year, but that was pretty
Speaker 2: much the lone bright spot other than DeMar DeRozan. I
Speaker 2: think Chicago probably has enough to win this given the
Speaker 2: home court advantage, but it would not shock me if
Speaker 2: the Hawks won it. It doesn't matter either way. I think,
Speaker 2: you know, for that next spot, that team that gets
Speaker 2: the eighth spot, first of all, if they get the
Speaker 2: eighth spot, because even if the winner still you know,
Speaker 2: has to play the loser of Philadelphia Miami and they
Speaker 2: will be a big time underdog in that game. And
Speaker 2: again if they luck out and they win two straight
Speaker 2: games and they playing the Boston Celtics, I just see
Speaker 2: just a treacherous road ahead for either of these teams,
Speaker 2: and I think the it's going to be rather quick
Speaker 2: for whoever emerges.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah, well regardless, Sean, we've got a fun postseason
Speaker 1: ahead beginning with these playing games. It's been something we've
Speaker 1: been waiting for all season long. We know how fun
Speaker 1: these matchups are going to be, So thanks for breaking
Speaker 1: it down, and we'll continue to watch, read all of
Speaker 1: your stuff NBA dot com, and be a TV And
Speaker 1: until next time when we can get into what these
Speaker 1: playoff matchups look.
Speaker 2: Like, Appreciate you, Sarah.
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