Speaker 1: Welcome into the NBA Polster production of iHeartRadio in the NBA.
Speaker 1: I'm Sarahkusak, NBA analyst for the y S Network, and
Speaker 1: today is Thursday, May thirtieth. From our extraordinary core group
Speaker 1: of NBA journalists, We're joined now by NBA dot Com
Speaker 1: Senior writer Sean Pyle. Sean, you are there, you are
Speaker 1: in Minneapolis. You are getting set for the Timberwolves and
Speaker 1: the Dallas Mavericks to go at it again tonight at
Speaker 1: eight thirty pm Eastern on TNT for Game five. Minnesota
Speaker 1: staved off elimination in Dallas. We thought it might have
Speaker 1: been two sweeps, both in the Eastern Conference Finals in
Speaker 1: the Western Conference Finals, but the Timberwolves had some other plans,
Speaker 1: some really solid big games from Anthony Edwards. Karl Anthony
Speaker 1: Towns made his appearance here in the Western Conference Finals
Speaker 1: in a big way that helped Minnesota get that win.
Speaker 1: And it was an off night for you know, pretty
Speaker 1: much everyone. You look at Dallas playing without Derek Lively
Speaker 1: the second I know you will find out soon and
Speaker 1: we will all find out if he will be available
Speaker 1: to play tonight. Has been a key component for this
Speaker 1: Mavericks team. Luca had twenty eight, fifteen, and ten, but
Speaker 1: was just seven and twenty one from the field and
Speaker 1: pretty quiet night. As I said, for a lot of
Speaker 1: the others on the Mavericks team, you get set here
Speaker 1: for tonight. Sean, I know you've been locked in with
Speaker 1: this series. What's your expectations of what you're going to
Speaker 1: see from both of these teams given the fact that
Speaker 1: a little unusual circumstance here or Minnesota having an opportunity
Speaker 1: to go back home in a Dallas team that has
Speaker 1: been so good in the closing minutes, despite the fact
Speaker 1: that this series has been so close in each and
Speaker 1: every game.
Speaker 2: Yes, sir Sarah, you know you're back here in Minnesota,
Speaker 2: home of Bob, Dylan and Prince, and you're wondering if
Speaker 2: this series will sing a different tune now that you're
Speaker 2: back here and the Timberwolves have a little bit of
Speaker 2: juice going for them. Look, the bottom line is this
Speaker 2: this series really has been close. Even though it was
Speaker 2: lopsided three to zero in favor of Dallas and now
Speaker 2: it's three to one. Every game of this series pretty
Speaker 2: much has come down to crunch time and the team
Speaker 2: that had enough, I would say, creators, shot makers, things
Speaker 2: like that. That would be Dallas. You know, now they're
Speaker 2: back home, they'll have the crowd obviously behind them. Is
Speaker 2: it possible for the Timberwolves? Now, remember, you know this
Speaker 2: is a team that you know doesn't really hasn't really
Speaker 2: lost that many home games, and they lost the first
Speaker 2: two games at home in this series. They really gonna
Speaker 2: lose three straight at home? You rarely rarely see that
Speaker 2: in the NBA playoffs. I definitely give that. I've said
Speaker 2: it's fifty to fifty and if you asked me to
Speaker 2: pick a team, I would say it's any Minesota number one.
Speaker 2: We're not so sure really about Derek Liveny even even
Speaker 2: if he plays, will he be one hundred percent? Will
Speaker 2: they have him on the court for that long? And also,
Speaker 2: you know, did we see the worst of Carl Anthony Towns?
Speaker 2: And now is he ready to turn a corner? Have
Speaker 2: we seen the worst of the worst of Anthony Edwards?
Speaker 2: Is he ready to turn a corner? Because again, it
Speaker 2: comes down to those two core players that's the bulk
Speaker 2: of their offense. This is a team built on defense,
Speaker 2: not really an offense. So when those two players aren't
Speaker 2: hitting those shots, it puts a lot of pressure in
Speaker 2: their defense to hold the opposition to you know, under
Speaker 2: forty percent shooting and whatever. Well, when you've got Kyrie,
Speaker 2: when you're defending Kyrie Irving, you know, and Luca Dantis,
Speaker 2: that's awfully tough to do. Sarah, that's tough to do
Speaker 2: because when those guys aren't making shots themselves, they're excellent
Speaker 2: at running lobs and finding the open man. So in
Speaker 2: a nutshell, I would say I kind of even favored
Speaker 2: the timber Wolves in this one. Number one, there had
Speaker 2: the home crowd. Number two, I think their core players
Speaker 2: have shed that funk that they had in the first
Speaker 2: three games. And I look forward, I think the series
Speaker 2: is going to go back to Dallas.
Speaker 1: I'm curious to see exactly what changes adjustments are made
Speaker 1: on both sides. And in the part of Jason Kidd,
Speaker 1: we saw Anthony Edwards. He had been guarding Kyrie Irving
Speaker 1: for much of the early part of the series. Last
Speaker 1: game he was on Luka Doncic. You had McDaniels on
Speaker 1: Kyrie Irving, adding length and just kind of switching up
Speaker 1: the looks in the coverages they were seeing and in
Speaker 1: some way surprised that maybe didn't happen earlier in the series,
Speaker 1: but I'm interested to see if that's something that Chris
Speaker 1: Finch and Mike and Norry continue to stick with here
Speaker 1: and what changes that adds to Jason Kidd his coaching
Speaker 1: staff how they approach things. I'm with you, I'm torn,
Speaker 1: like you say, fifty to fifty, and that's exactly how
Speaker 1: I feel, because I think overall just how series has been.
Speaker 1: I think for all of us who want more basketball,
Speaker 1: we're glad to see that it did not end in
Speaker 1: a sweep, but that certainly wouldn't have been indicative of
Speaker 1: the play on the floor. However, Sean, I have a
Speaker 1: hard time thinking that Luka Danci and Kyrie Irving will
Speaker 1: both be as off as they were in the same
Speaker 1: game inability to execute in the same ways we saw
Speaker 1: down the stretch. There was a killer mentality I felt
Speaker 1: like from both of those guys in those first three games,
Speaker 1: and obviously close out games. There's a reason that saying
Speaker 1: goes it's the hardest games to win, but I think
Speaker 1: somehow Dallas finds a way to pull it out. And
Speaker 1: you talk about Minnesota being at home, but I do
Speaker 1: think there's a different type of pressure that comes from
Speaker 1: being at home. What do you expect for Minnesota to
Speaker 1: do if it all any changes with how they defend Luca,
Speaker 1: how they defend Kyrie, and what they continue to throw
Speaker 1: at them in terms of trying to make the others
Speaker 1: beat them. As we've seen some solid games from guys
Speaker 1: like PJ. Washington, like Derek Jones Junior, how they continue
Speaker 1: to combat that.
Speaker 2: I don't think they have any wholesale changes. Again, if
Speaker 2: you're in Minnesota for the most part during the regular
Speaker 2: season and through the first two rounds of the playoffs,
Speaker 2: you kind of played it the way you know, the
Speaker 2: blueprint was drawn up back in training camp. I mean,
Speaker 2: when you're the number one defense, you really don't I mean,
Speaker 2: with a few exceptions, you really don't stray from what
Speaker 2: got you there, and you really put it on the
Speaker 2: other team to make adjustments to you. You're right, if
Speaker 2: carl If, Kyrie Irving and Luca are hitting the shots,
Speaker 2: I mean, look, that's a very tough team to beat.
Speaker 2: I think Anthony Edwards has done probably about as good
Speaker 2: a job as anybody's going to do on you know,
Speaker 2: defending you know, Kyrie Irving, Luka Dancis. What are you
Speaker 2: going to do. He's number one. He's an expert at
Speaker 2: drawing files. He's that'xpert of hitting the shots with range
Speaker 2: and finding teammates. I mean, some of his passes cross
Speaker 2: court passes, you know, just unbelievable. Only he can well
Speaker 2: maybe him and Nikola Jokic can really do that. But
Speaker 2: look and look again, it's a make or miss league,
Speaker 2: and I think Minnesota is going to stick with a
Speaker 2: defensive game plan. They just got to play better defense
Speaker 2: in the clutch. I think their defense through first three
Speaker 2: and a half quarters has actually been pretty decent. You know,
Speaker 2: it's only been those last three or four or five
Speaker 2: minutes when the game is you know, pro grabs, and
Speaker 2: they've had a lapse here, a lapse there. You saw
Speaker 2: Kyrie Irving hit a key three point shot in Game three.
Speaker 2: You saw what Luka Dontins has been able to do
Speaker 2: down the clutch. If Jade McDaniel, if noz Reid, if
Speaker 2: he's on the court, by the way, I think Nazview
Speaker 2: should be playing more. But that's just me. Anthony Edwards,
Speaker 2: Carl Anthony Towns, if all these guys can lock up
Speaker 2: for those last three minutes, again, very tough task, very
Speaker 2: tough ask for anybody, even the top righted top rated
Speaker 2: defensive Minnesota. But if they can do that, I see
Speaker 2: the series going back to Dallas.
Speaker 1: Nas Reed, you, you and the entire Minnesota Timberwolves Target Center,
Speaker 1: Arena City. The love of nas Reed is real and
Speaker 1: he's obviously been big at times when Karl Anthony Town's
Speaker 1: maybe he has not been playing up to the standard
Speaker 1: that we anticipate. Waiting on the other side, we feed up,
Speaker 1: kickback on the couch, getting a lot of rest before
Speaker 1: the finals begin. Or the Boston Celtics. They closed out
Speaker 1: Indiana in a sweep on Monday. They will have nine
Speaker 1: days off until the finals begin on June sixth on
Speaker 1: ABC Sean. This Celtics team, they've been here before, they've
Speaker 1: they've done it before. We have a lot of talk,
Speaker 1: of dialogue of whether it's a synergy between Jason Tatum
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown, whose team it is. There's all sorts of discussion,
Speaker 1: narrative in thoughts on this team that achieved so much
Speaker 1: and has achieved so much so early, but just has
Speaker 1: missed out on the ultimate ultimate prize of winning the title.
Speaker 1: What do you think this time off, this layoff and
Speaker 1: regardless of whether it's Minnesota or Dallas. What do you
Speaker 1: think this will do for the Celtics team as there
Speaker 1: is so much on the line with their pathway, with
Speaker 1: their competition to finally find a way to get the
Speaker 1: one thing that they have been missing out on.
Speaker 2: Well, the big question is what does this layout do
Speaker 2: for christ af Razingis there's a guy who really hasn't
Speaker 2: played for like a month. I suspect he probably would
Speaker 2: have been in the Indiana Series had it been a
Speaker 2: little bit more suspenseful, and it wasn't. But having that
Speaker 2: much time off is that good for you? Sarah? I'm
Speaker 2: not so sure, particularly this late in the season. You've
Speaker 2: got to wrap yourself back up after playing what seven
Speaker 2: months you had, all that long stretch of inactivity, do
Speaker 2: you lose your basketball edge? You know? You know all
Speaker 2: the little instinct little things that are only sharpened or
Speaker 2: kept sharp through repetition and you know practice, you only
Speaker 2: can go so far with that. Having said all that,
Speaker 2: I think he's a bonus for him. I don't think
Speaker 2: he's a necessity. This is not Jason Tatum sitting out
Speaker 2: for a month. This is not Jaylen Brown sitting out
Speaker 2: for a month. It's not true holiday. You know, you know,
Speaker 2: those are key key players for them. Christas Perzingis at
Speaker 2: this point is a luxury. He's a bonus for a
Speaker 2: team that really didn't need a bonus for a team
Speaker 2: that actually, if you look at the way they played
Speaker 2: and who they played in the first three rounds, it
Speaker 2: was the other team that was missing key pieces. I
Speaker 2: don't think we've seen the true Celtics team yet. In
Speaker 2: addition to Porzingis being out, I just don't think they've
Speaker 2: been tested. I think they've kind of got a little
Speaker 2: bit lucky here. And look when you were and you
Speaker 2: can go back and everybody's championship run for the last
Speaker 2: twenty whatever how many years you want to go, and
Speaker 2: there was a measure of luck. Some teams have more
Speaker 2: luck than others, but there's been a measure of good
Speaker 2: fortune or luck. You know, the opposition made a bone
Speaker 2: head play, had a key player out or whatever, and
Speaker 2: it helps you go a long way. And I think
Speaker 2: the Celtics right now to this point have been the
Speaker 2: definition of that. They have benefited from the other team
Speaker 2: being heard and they will benefit at least we think
Speaker 2: of getting Chris STAPs wersuing is a key piece, a
Speaker 2: guy who can get you twenty points, who can stretch
Speaker 2: the floor, play some decent interior defense, getting him back
Speaker 2: for the NBA Finals.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree wholeheartedly with all the things you said,
Speaker 1: and you know, there's not much you can control when
Speaker 1: you're just continuing to win games, play the competition in
Speaker 1: front of you, and that's where the Celtics are at.
Speaker 1: But I do think this long of a layoff at
Speaker 1: this point of the season, and when it's systematic and
Speaker 1: you're in a rhythm and you're trying to continue that
Speaker 1: type of momentum and stay at the level, use the
Speaker 1: word edge, and I think that's a perfect way to
Speaker 1: describe it, of making sure there's no slippage when you
Speaker 1: are getting back to that. However, again, this is the
Speaker 1: way the things lay out, and for the Celtics hopefully too,
Speaker 1: it doesn't provide too much time to overthink and overanalyze
Speaker 1: how you've been playing, what this means, what this moment means.
Speaker 1: But regardless, they will soon find out who their opponent
Speaker 1: will be in the finals. But in the meantime, get
Speaker 1: set for Game five here tonight in Minnesota at thirty
Speaker 1: pm Eastern on TNT.
Speaker 2: Sean.
Speaker 1: We're going to take a quick break and then get
Speaker 1: into some coaching news that has come up over the
Speaker 1: course in the last couple of days. Don't go anywhere.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to MB Paul Sarahkustak, joined by the Great
Speaker 1: Sean Poll and Sean. A couple moves made around the league.
Speaker 1: The Washington Wizards officially named Brian Keith their head coach
Speaker 1: after he had the interim tag through the latter part
Speaker 1: of last season. The Los Angeles Clippers inc to Iron
Speaker 1: lou to a long term contract extension. I know that
Speaker 1: was something that was in a lot of discussions in
Speaker 1: someone they desperately wanted to keep and wanted to have
Speaker 1: running the show. There, of course, the championship coach of
Speaker 1: that twenty sixteen Cleveland Cavaliers team and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Speaker 1: That's been the big question we've heard about the candidates
Speaker 1: and the individuals that they've continued to interview, but the
Speaker 1: one at the top of the list has been JJ Reddick,
Speaker 1: who will be calling the finals for ESPN ABC along
Speaker 1: with Mike Breen and Doris Burke. Sewan your thoughts if
Speaker 1: in fact JJ Reddick, who has a podcast with Lebron James.
Speaker 1: And obviously we know about his resume playing in the league,
Speaker 1: and you can hear it in the way he speaks,
Speaker 1: the way he analyzes the game, just his basketball acumen
Speaker 1: and his desire to be in a coaching position. What's
Speaker 1: your perspective if the Lakers do, in fact, after the
Speaker 1: finals run is over, named JJ Redick their new head coach.
Speaker 2: Look, I would be a little surprised, and I would
Speaker 2: probably hedge on this not working out very well. And
Speaker 2: I say that no disrespect for JJ Reddick, But when
Speaker 2: the last time he's been a coach, never, never right,
Speaker 2: and all of a sudden, didn't we just go through
Speaker 2: that with Darvin Ham, who was never a head coach.
Speaker 2: You put him in a situation where there's a lot
Speaker 2: of pressure. You know, Laker fans, you know Lebron James
Speaker 2: is on the clock. You've got Anthony Davis, who you
Speaker 2: know he had blessed with good health, and you're asking
Speaker 2: this team to win a championship with a guy who
Speaker 2: has never in any capacity high school, middle school grade.
Speaker 2: I think he coaches.
Speaker 1: I think he coaches his sons. I think you know
Speaker 1: what sons great.
Speaker 2: I take all that. I take all that back? How
Speaker 2: dare I for you? Why? But now? I mean really seriously,
Speaker 2: you're gonna give this to JJ Reddick And let me
Speaker 2: just ask you. If he wasn't you know podcast paths
Speaker 2: with Lebron James, would he have would he even be
Speaker 2: in a running for this job. I am just absolutely
Speaker 2: shocked by this in this situation. First of all, here's
Speaker 2: the other thing. You only have gonna have Lebron James,
Speaker 2: what two more years? Three tops? You know at this
Speaker 2: match or whatever. Don't you want to give this job
Speaker 2: to someone who knows and Tyler? I think first of all,
Speaker 2: Tyler should thank the Lakers for having that opening because
Speaker 2: that leveraged him to getting more money with the Clippers.
Speaker 2: But that would be the perfect guy. But try to
Speaker 2: get TYLERU. He knows Lebron James, He's championship tested and true.
Speaker 2: That's the guy you need coaching the Lakers, not JJ.
Speaker 2: I'm really surprised by this. I don't think it's going
Speaker 2: to work out. I could be wrong. I could be
Speaker 2: totally wrong, Sarah. I just don't see how this is
Speaker 2: going to work out.
Speaker 1: I'm curious. I'm curious. I know JJ, I think a
Speaker 1: lot of us do again, I think we understand just
Speaker 1: how much he studies the game. I hear you on
Speaker 1: the first year head coach, but I do think there's
Speaker 1: something to be said about a locker room with Lebron
Speaker 1: James and the presence and the voice that he will
Speaker 1: always have regardless of who the head coach is. And
Speaker 1: for the Lakers, you said that the time is kind
Speaker 1: of towards the end here for who knows how much
Speaker 1: longer Lebron will play, but you want to make sure
Speaker 1: that you are getting everything out of that in terms
Speaker 1: of competing for a title, in terms of potentially thinking
Speaker 1: outside the box. And maybe this is the outside of
Speaker 1: the box thinking that they want. I know too, as
Speaker 1: reports have come out, it's not just about now, it's
Speaker 1: not just about I think we're focusing a lot about
Speaker 1: on Lebron James, their relationship, what that will be like
Speaker 1: first year head coach. I think in many ways for
Speaker 1: the Lakers, they look at it too as a long
Speaker 1: term play and they realize that this could be someone
Speaker 1: that you start young, you bring in early, and what
Speaker 1: it looks like not just now, but years from now,
Speaker 1: and someone that can grow into that position. And I
Speaker 1: know that's a contrast of what you would think with
Speaker 1: the Lakers and think with what they want to do
Speaker 1: right now and winning right now with Lebron James. But
Speaker 1: I think in some ways it could be parallel tracks
Speaker 1: and kind of twofold of an individual that you think
Speaker 1: is bright, has got a brilliant basketball mind, can resonate
Speaker 1: and relate with players, and so what that looks like
Speaker 1: in the growth process down the line. So either way,
Speaker 1: I think all of these things interesting decisions, tough decisions
Speaker 1: to make. But I do think the indication of Lou
Speaker 1: in committing to the Clippers and what that looks like
Speaker 1: some of the names out there, I do think there's
Speaker 1: a lot of writing on the wall that this may
Speaker 1: be the move that they ultimately make. So we will see.
Speaker 1: You mentioned Toron Lou wrote briefly them. Just in terms
Speaker 1: of the Clippers, what will happen with the extension, Kawhi
Speaker 1: already signing that extension, what happens with Paul George? How
Speaker 1: do you think this potentially impacts the way the Clippers
Speaker 1: may be shaped into the summer.
Speaker 2: Well, first of all, good for ty Lou for getting
Speaker 2: some security, I mean ever since he's been with the Clippers.
Speaker 2: But I think with the exception of one year was
Speaker 2: I'm not even so sure as one year he's had
Speaker 2: a superstar hurt. You can't finish the season and you
Speaker 2: would look I'm a big Tylu fan, good guy, good coach.
Speaker 2: I just think he has just been saddled with bad luck,
Speaker 2: and to see him be able to work with a
Speaker 2: completely I don't know if that's ever going to happen,
Speaker 2: by the way, because if Paul George signs elsewhere, then
Speaker 2: he loses his star, right, and then you're stuck with
Speaker 2: Kawhi Leonard, who again all NBA player Team USA. All that,
Speaker 2: I'm not here to question quite Leonard's body of work.
Speaker 2: I definitely am here to question Kwhi Leonard's body. There's
Speaker 2: a difference, right, And so all of a sudden, if
Speaker 2: you're Tyl Lou, you lose Paul George, how are you
Speaker 2: going to be playing some old James Harden, old Russell Westbrook?
Speaker 2: Are you starting from ground? And you're going to a
Speaker 2: new arena as well? So the Clippers, obviously we're smart
Speaker 2: to lock him up. But I just wonder if Tyleru
Speaker 2: missed his window of championship opportunity with this team, because
Speaker 2: of all those injuries.
Speaker 1: Going to be a fun, interesting summer that we still
Speaker 1: don't have to jump to just yet, Sean, because we've
Speaker 1: still got basketball left to play in this season game tonight.
Speaker 1: We will look forward to reading, seeing, watching all of
Speaker 1: your coverage on NBA TV, NBA dot com until the
Speaker 1: next time.
Speaker 2: Enjoy, until next time, Thank you.
Speaker 1: NBA Pulse with Sarahkustack is a production of the NBA
Speaker 1: and iHeart Radio. Please rate, review, and subscribe on the
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Four