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NBA #nba 🏀 Finals Preview - New York Knicks vs San Antonio Spurs #nbabasketball
17 Plays6 days ago
NBA #nba 🏀 Finals Preview - New York Knicks vs San Antonio Spurs #nbabasketball
Featuring Bobby G (YouTube @TheAudiblePodcast)
+ YouTube @19mediagroup Cal Lee (IG @Baseline_NBA)
& Desmond Powell (IG @MidPostPod)
#sports #nba #nbabasketball #nbafinals #nbachampions #newyorkknicks #sanantoniospurs
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Transcript
Introduction and NBA Finals Preview
00:00:17
Speaker
It's that world heavyweight float. Championship belt wrapped around my waist, yo. I got that Ric Flair fake and bow.
00:00:30
Speaker
Slam me on the page, then that's why they call me street pro. Create heat on me, flow. Like Jordan, after for the second time, he three-feated four. You came prepared, now get ready for the show.
Podcast Welcome and Event Announcements
00:01:04
Speaker
Yo, yo, yo, what up friends? Welcome back, Ball and Buds. We are here again for you and it is going to be a beautiful week. A beautiful week.
00:01:15
Speaker
Tonight we have our NBA basketball finals preview. What are you talking about right now? San Antonio Spurs, New York Knicks, rematch of 1999. Yes, we're going talk it all, baby. And I got some of my favorite basketball insiders, NBA insiders with me tonight.
00:01:40
Speaker
So first of all, make sure you subscribe to Ball and Buds, B-A-L-L-A-N-D-B-U-D-S. Handy QR code up there at the right-hand side will take you to our link tree. gets you to all our social medias. Make sure you subscribe on YouTube. Follow on Instagram. It's a big week in Nashville, y'all.
00:01:57
Speaker
We got the Country Music Festival coming to town, and you know your boy is going to be covering it all. I'll be at Country Box
Live Coverage and Guest Introductions
00:02:03
Speaker
tonight. We got two title fights, the WBC USA Super Middleweight title and the NBA Women's Featherweight title.
00:02:11
Speaker
I will be there live on YouTube, so you make sure subscribe to Ball Buds. And then this weekend, I'll be around the country music festival. I'll be covering everything. I have interviews with my boy Clayton Q and all the country music superstars. So make sure that you stay tuned. But for now, let's kick this bad boy off NBA basketball.
00:02:30
Speaker
Yeah, let's bring in my boys. First of all, from audible sports, always joining me on my basketball programs. And a Cleveland Cavaliers fan, be a little easy on him. He's still ah hurting a little bit. My brother, Bobby G. What's good, homie?
00:02:50
Speaker
What's happening, man? I ain't hurting bad as you think, but we're going to get into that. We're going to get into that. Appreciate you having me, bro. Hey, letting them know where they can find you.
Guest Insights on NBA and Podcasts
00:02:59
Speaker
Hey, right there, you know, if I'm your ex, if you want to have a little, you know, back and forth convo at official underscore Bobby G and right below that, the YouTubes at game time underscore 216 being big Mike talking all things Cleveland and at the audible podcast. Me, Wildcard, Mark, April, Jess, girl talking football on Thursdays, talking a little bit of everything else on Friday. So, you know, plus Thursdays, ESPN, 690 AM Jacksonville.
00:03:24
Speaker
from four to six Eastern. So let's fucking go. so I will never let my boys down there ESPN, baby. When you get there, you have to be congratulated every second you have because you have reached the pinnacle of sports talk.
00:03:44
Speaker
So shout out to BG and the rest of the rec room crew. We appreciate you joining us today. Brother, thank you so much. And as well, hey, Friday's my favorite show for Audible. Y'all tap in.
00:03:56
Speaker
Wildcard, Mar, Bobby G, they do their thing. It's awesome. And next coming out, 19 Media Group always be supplying us with the best talent.
00:04:06
Speaker
Y'all make sure you go to 19 Media Group and tap in with them boys, YouTube, Instagram, and the likes. And we got to bring them in in order. ah Warren could not join us today. Shout out to our brother out there doing that
Cavs vs. Knicks Analysis
00:04:19
Speaker
Yale men's work. but From the baseline NBA podcast, my hip hop brother in crime, Mr. Cal Lee. What's good, brother?
00:04:32
Speaker
What up? What up? What up? Bobby G. Yes, sir. What's good, fellas? How are you feeling today, my friend? I'm feeling all right. you know, yeah very, very mellowed out.
00:04:45
Speaker
I'm sure, I'm sure something will be said here that will amp me up. So I was going to say, you seem a little too mellow for me. Let the people know where they can find you. Everybody knows the, knows the deal. Baseline NBA podcast, been doing this thing 13 years and running, man.
00:05:01
Speaker
You know, and with pride, know I'm saying? People might call us OGs of it and stuff. And, good with that, but we're still continuing to talk that talk and hopefully continue to walk that walk. So any any of our newer listeners, you know we encourage y'all go to 19mediagroup.com on the YouTube channel.
00:05:20
Speaker
And not only can you find us, but you can also find the great content of family creators that are part of the 19 media group family if you have something that you want to throw at me you can always catch me at uh game face lee and my man shaw at d warren shaw and the show's twitter handle at nba baseline so available on all the major platforms man um that's how we roll man you know i'm saying like to like to make sure that we're getting our peoples on and and i know that you're gonna uh roll out the red carpet quite lovely for our next dude man because you know i'm saying he is uh
00:05:53
Speaker
He's, what do we call this? He's the future of the franchise, so to speak. That's what we like to say, man. You know what mean? The Wemby, Wemby of the franchise, they may call him. He will be the Area 51 of this conversation, I'm sure, man. So.
00:06:09
Speaker
Okay. That is some high, high praise for our next guest, also part of 19 Media Group and host of the Mid-Post Podcast, our brother, Desmond Pow. What's good?
00:06:30
Speaker
What's good? Bobby G, the professor. I'm back. Cal, I appreciate the kind words. You know what it is, 19 family. He outlined it so well. You can find me at Desmond Pyle underscore or at MidPulsePod on all platforms, whether that's Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, any announcements you can find on there. But of course, the 19 Media Group YouTube channel for the MidPulse Podcast.
00:06:57
Speaker
Yeah, there. And make sure you tap in with everybody at Instagram as well. Thank you to everybody tuning in. Hey, shout out to Yoron YLZ. We really appreciate it. Shout out to Macy Oaks.
00:07:09
Speaker
Hey, we are doing just beautiful today. Thank you for tuning in to everybody. Make sure you subscribe to Ball and Buds, B-A-L-L-A-N-D-B-U-D-S, and everybody else here in the podcast. We are to have a fun night this evening. Now, gentlemen, there's a little bit of background music. Can you hear it?
00:07:25
Speaker
Is it bothering you? Is it too loud? I'm good. All right, cool. Well, let's keep it moving. All right, thank you again. Let's kick this bad boy off. We had a hell of a conference finals round.
00:07:39
Speaker
I mean, let's talk about it, Bobby G. We coming to you first. I told you you was going to eat that pie. Your Cleveland Cavaliers got absolutely swept away.
00:07:52
Speaker
I mean four games to zero. And I remember last time you were on this program, you said your Cavs still had a chance to win.
00:08:03
Speaker
Talk to us. Yeah, they did. They had a chance to win, but they didn't. And as a matter of fact, I shouldn't be eating the pot. I should be serving Because I remember correctly on that same edition, who did I pick to go the finals?
00:08:15
Speaker
Yeah, I believe it was the Spurs. You still said y'all had a chance to win. but who still said But who did i pick to win? But why did you not win? Why did your Cavs not win this series?
James Harden's Role Debate
00:08:27
Speaker
Well, all postseason we struggled with turning the ball over. That didn't stop in that series. And let's face it, give a shout out a huge shout out to Coach Mike Brown. The adjustment he made in making Carl Anthony Townsmore facilitator, taking a little bit of the the weight off of Jalen Brunson's shoulders has made a huge difference. They have not lost a game since he's made that adjustment.
00:08:47
Speaker
So it's not just the Cavs. He pretty much it was he swept Philly, did sweet Philly. And obviously, once he made that adjustment, made quick work of the Hawks. um Let's face it, they are playing the best basketball in the NBA right now, including what we saw from Spurs. We'll get to that. But um yeah, it's it's coaching. People who who don't think coaching matters,
00:09:07
Speaker
see what's going on in New York. It absolutely does. Even the adjustment that they made, once they knew they had us on the ropes, they made another adjustment. They start they they start getting in the transition off made shots.
00:09:20
Speaker
And that that just, you know, the they kicked us while we were down, saw we had no legs, we played back-to-back seven-game series. And after that, it it was just over. But so, you know, again, I'm not down like...
00:09:33
Speaker
The goal for the Cavs, if you ask any Cavs fans at the beginning the season, hey, what's your goal for the team this year? 95% would have said, make the conference finals. We did that.
00:09:43
Speaker
Now the press is on Kobe Altman. You know what needs to be done to get to the next level. Get it done in this offseason.
00:09:52
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, no doubt about that. They definitely need some fixes. Let's check out how James Harden is feeling right now. Is that James? is Is James Harden walking down the street right there? Who we got here?
00:10:05
Speaker
Is this James Harden? Somebody checked him out in the middle of New York. I think he's straggling around. Oh, he's hurting. He's hurting since the ah conference final. Not for real, though.
00:10:19
Speaker
I mean, look. i mean i mean look Ray J got knocked out and then and then had the nerve to call the other dude out for saying he had a plan.
00:10:33
Speaker
So now the FBI is going to be on both of y'all motherfuckers for fraud. Y'all are both dumb. Ray J and Super Hot Fire. Y'all are both idiots.
00:10:43
Speaker
Take y'all fraud asses to jail because that's where y'all both going. Anyways, Cal... I know you United Cleveland fan. How'd you feel about the, uh, the conference finals last, uh, last month?
00:10:58
Speaker
I mean, I think that, um, we would have probably had a different conversation about this, about that Eastern conference finals had the Cavaliers won that game one.
00:11:08
Speaker
I think that the way that they, it's not even the fact that they lost the game. It's how they lost that game. And I think, um, i I'm somebody that just doesn't look at the numbers. I also look at the overall landscape of how a team competes and performs.
00:11:26
Speaker
And you can clearly tell that this run that the Cavs made while I agree with Bobby G. Right, like if you ask what the goal was, obviously is to get to the conference finals and I had said that the Cleveland Cavaliers would have finally got over the hump and actually get themselves to the and NBA finals because I think there was for the last few years, it's been way too many, too much expectations about the Cleveland Cavaliers advancing like they've had enough talent.
00:11:52
Speaker
um But then it was they didn't have the right coach. Then it's, you know, they they needed to to tweak the roster a little bit because everybody saw that the dynamic with Mitchell and Garland just wasn't working.
00:12:03
Speaker
So you bring in a guy like James Harden and James Harden, you know, gives you flashes of, you know, why he is being in the conversation as being, you know, first ballot Hall of Fame type player, offensive, proudest and all this other great stuff. who But then you see, but then you see other aspects to why people don't want to play with James Harden.
00:12:25
Speaker
And it was just so blatantly obvious. When you have a team like the Cleveland Cavaliers where there are a lot of guys on there, who basically are coming from the mud and are, you know, maybe in other places they wouldn't even get a shot.
00:12:39
Speaker
They were given an opportunity, a chance. There's a build, a chemistry, a bond that's there and they all want to elevate and they realize, hey man, this this may we may never get this again. This is not promised.
00:12:51
Speaker
And James Harden sided with a team that he knew had a good opportunity for him to get to the finals. And I think all that was expected of him was to show like he cared. And at least at the very least, geez, I think that that I think and And look, I'm not putting this just on James Harden.
00:13:11
Speaker
A lot of this responsibility goes on on Kenny Atkinson as well too. You're the head coach. When you clearly see that the players, the roster, or the rotation that you have is not good, you gotta do something else.
00:13:26
Speaker
And there were just way too many instances in that double digit lead in that game one where he should have pulled James Harden. He shouldn't have even been playing in the fourth quarter. He gave you no effort on the defensive side of the basketball. And I don't care anybody tells me.
00:13:40
Speaker
No matter how great you may think an offensive player is, what I'm saying is is that he's he wasn't even trying. And I think that's the part that frustrated a lot of people. It's not something that, oh, we know that he's going to be a great defender. It doesn't have to be
Cavs Postseason Performance
00:13:53
Speaker
like that. eat Jalen Brunson is the smallest guy out there, but he tries.
00:13:57
Speaker
And everybody else around him will pick him up, especially when they know that they need him. You what I'm saying? so So it's about the optics of things. And I think, you know, all that being said, the Cleveland Cavaliers' heart's soul was ripped out of knowing they got awesome performances from most of their role players and guys fresh off of a game seven.
00:14:17
Speaker
This would have been a tone setter to make it a competitive series. And the way that they went about losing that game, they never recovered from that. And there's nothing that Kenny Atkinson, Altman, nobody was going to be able to tell them differently or otherwise and even as And listen, Donovan Mitchell performed great as well throughout that series. But oh he can't do that, right?
00:14:39
Speaker
Mobley, no show. You know what I'm saying? Jared Allen, lost in a sauce. No level of physicality, which to me is just uncommon of a team that you achieved what a lot of people were questioning whether you'd get to. You get there, and then you let the Knicks do that to you. i Listen, I still had the Knicks winning after...
00:14:59
Speaker
you know the predictions but just how they lost the way that they competed that there was so there was something just so sorely missing from then I think that was the part that was disappointing if if anything and I just I don't know I can't find any other particular reasons outside of saying that game one really really really impacted the rest and the tone and the tenor of how the Cavs were going to compete in that series.
00:15:24
Speaker
Yeah, that first game, as you just mentioned, was not only the tone center, but the momentum changer. It was what it was. The Cavs were never the same after that first game.
00:15:37
Speaker
And real quick, Dez, I dont i would want you to jump in too. Kudos to the New York Knicks. Kudos to the New York Knicks because once they snuffed out, that the Cavs had no heart after giving up that game one.
00:15:51
Speaker
They did not let their foot off the gas. They kept their foot on the Cavaliers neck and forced them to step up and the Cavs couldn't do it. And look, the Knicks were a more talented team. They're playing on a high.
00:16:04
Speaker
But it's it's how you go about handling your business is why we're actually going to have the conversation about who we think may win this NBA Finals. And I think if you are a New York Knicks fan, you should feel you should feel good knowing that you have a team that at any given moment, if they explode on whoever their opposition is, that that team has got a very, very big team.
00:16:28
Speaker
hill to climb, to even get to a point where they may believe that they can still win. And there may only still be one team that's capable of doing it. But I'm gonna tell you this right now, they cannot afford to play slow in the NBA Finals when a team like the Knicks are playing at this kind of optimal level on both sides of the basketball.
00:16:46
Speaker
You can't do it because I guarantee you the effort to get yourself back in those games is going to take a lot more out for you to finish it. And then you still have to deal with probably one of the best closers in the games in Jalen Brunson.
00:16:59
Speaker
And that to me, again, is is part of the the conversation that's going to be had when we start talking about teams moving forward about how you're building out that roster. It can only be exemplified when you see a team go out and actually execute and do exactly what they say they do and don't stop doing it.
00:17:17
Speaker
Well, talk about fired up. It didn't take very long for Cal to get fired up. Hey, Macy, hit us with your question whenever you're ready. Real quick, Tyler McDowell, shout out Blakett495, says better backcourt Brunson and Hart or Powell and Lee?
00:17:36
Speaker
um Obviously, I think this is a little bit of a sarcastic one. going to go more frontcourt. i thought I thought I was more frontcourt, but that's okay. yeah I see you as a point guard. I see you as a point guard. Hey, Bobby G, Hot Take, shout out to Hot Take S5, says, Spite is overrated. tried to Time to trade him.
00:17:54
Speaker
Slightly better than Iman Shumpert. Wowzers. What do you guys say Have another drink, bro. but Have another one Wow. Come on. Slightly better than Amon Shepard. Amon Shepard has never carried a team to any kind of postseason anything.
00:18:10
Speaker
that That's just ridiculous, man. Have another drink. Honeypacked-C3W. I need the Knicks to lose. Got my rent money on it, brother. I hate to tell you one thing. You're not going to like my prediction, but stay tuned.
00:18:24
Speaker
DrewBush699 says they shouldn't have traded for Harden. Look, I don't think anything else that needs to be said. I think we have described why. And let me go ahead and put a little bit of this on here if you can see it.
00:18:36
Speaker
Is that a Trash Cone Harden? Is that what that is? Is that Trash Cone Harden? Look at him. Just standing in there. Just getting dribbled by. Just no no hands up.
00:18:48
Speaker
Just a... just a cone with a beard is that a cone with a beard i'm confused uh bobby g you got a lot of things to talk about this offseason this old guy um anyway i mean for all that i'll tell you what we wouldn't have made it out of the first round without james ardent though so i mean i i he's gonna catch a lot of flack for what happened i'm gonna rock with you on that yeah but like the the cavaliers You know, again, and this is what happens, you know, you got what you, you essentially got what you paid for. You needed somebody to help you win, you know, a game or two.
00:19:23
Speaker
And obviously it spoke more to what you're not getting from guys like Evan Mobley. And, you know, remember you still are playing with Sam Merrill and Max Schuess and they can only give you so much and only do so much.
00:19:35
Speaker
To me, I really think that this comes down to whether or not Evan Mobley is that guy. And I think people have been waiting and waiting and waiting. I understand that there's comments about how Spider Mitchell is overrated. I don't know. You find me another two guard that did did did did did what he was capable of showing you.
00:19:52
Speaker
If he had even a little bit of help from the front court position. you know And Jared Allen, he's not that kind of player, right? But that was why you brought James Harden. Because he makes guys like Jared Allen look like Clint Capella.
00:20:06
Speaker
You know And so that to me is where that dynamic should have played. And again, that goes back on Kenny Atkinson and scheming and and understanding how he you know has to put the personnel out that's out there.
00:20:18
Speaker
I wasn't expecting James Harden. People are are asking James Harden to be you know James Harden you know in his you know mid 20s, early 30s. That was never going to be him. But in situations where he's going to help facilitate.
00:20:32
Speaker
Is he a
Knicks' Playoff Strategy
00:20:33
Speaker
different player? He's been the same player his whole career. He's not a different player. No, no, no. it's a devil Right, exactly. I think people are people are misconstruing this idea that he's supposed to be, that people are making it sound like he's supposed to be outscoring ah ah Donovan Mitchell. Right. No, that's not. that's They didn't bring him not to score. They didn't bring him not to score. Yes, we did. we do First of all, we just needed a bigger guard.
00:20:58
Speaker
the double you brought You brought James Harden in to be a pure point guard. is that what you're telling me? You brought him in to be John Stockton. Is that what you're telling me? You're going listen? And yes, thank you for saying that. Yes, we brought James Harden in, number one, because he's bigger.
00:21:13
Speaker
and actually available more than Darius Garland. Second, we needed someone to help get the role players involved. why do you why You saw the jump and soon in the regular season when we got there.
00:21:24
Speaker
Jared Allen went from like 15-7 like almost 18-9 a game. We needed somebody who could control the ah offense, control the pace of the game when Donovan wasn't in the game.
00:21:37
Speaker
Like, and if you watched it we didn't need James Harden to score 30 points. We saw it in in game one. Like, he set the floor for the Dean Wades, the Sam Merrills, the Max Strews.
00:21:48
Speaker
That's why we got up to a 20-point lead. And game one is all on Kenny Atkinson. We didn't need to watch. He sent James Harden out of the game and went with a defensive unit. We're up 20 points.
00:22:01
Speaker
Maybe I was raised in a in a different game of basketball. But if I'm bringing James Harden in, on this I'm expecting him to score 30 fucking points a game. That's the reason I bring him in.
00:22:13
Speaker
That's not his game. Then don't bring him in. Don't waste your time. You had a bench better, younger team that would have put more effort in defensively, in my eyes. Had they made it this far before?
00:22:24
Speaker
No, that's a good point. Thank you. But if you're not going have James Harden scoring at that level, then what's the point of getting to that point? He scored when he needed to. Again, he won two games against the Raptors. He won two games against the Pitsons.
00:22:37
Speaker
Desmond, it's been 22 minutes. wait My you've been waiting, my brother. Talk, talk, talk, baby. I just think it's a matter of what they say about playing the game the right way, right? Like at some point, sometimes the right way is – scrapping everything and doing what you know you can do and i think the cavaliers had a lot of miscommunication with that i think both of you guys mentioned that earlier like it was kenny atkinson not making some of the right rotational decisions i think it was donovan mitchell sometimes looking at james harden like hey i need you to turn back the clock right now and then james harden's looking at donovan mitchell like no don't want this rock that's what you're here for like I'm 36 35 30 whatever years old like I'm not trying to do that anymore so I think it's it's a lot of that I think it was a matter of the heart issue like Cal was saying earlier that was something that I said on my show a few weeks back like that was the biggest thing with the Cavaliers did they necessarily have the heart of a champion to really do what they needed to do in the Eastern Conference that was seen as wide open before the season and it was very unfortunate to see how they kind of
00:23:43
Speaker
how game one was really like the domino effect for how they played the rest of the series, especially in home games, not having an effort. It's one thing to kind of do that in the garden, in the Mecca and MSG, but to not give your best effort at home in front of your fans, that's just absolutely draining. So yeah, very
Thunder vs. Spurs Series Recap
00:24:01
Speaker
disappointing for the, for the Cavs and they definitely got some things to figure out. And listen, credit to the New York Knicks though. Yes. The New York Knicks.
00:24:08
Speaker
And they, and and and again, this, this is what, I'm speaking to this as a Celtics fan, which is hard to stomach and fathom, right? Like, so I just want people to understand, like, i you know, I'm not trying to make this sound like this is coming out of thin air or nothing.
00:24:23
Speaker
What I'm saying is, is that the New York Knicks, Flat out said they knew exactly what they were doing here. we we Once they saw that James Harden was not trying to play defense, they started hunting for him.
00:24:36
Speaker
You know how some teams get cute. They try to do certain things. They still want to try and go with their plan you know plan A you know and executing and stuff. They continue to keep going at it until either Kenny Atkinson said no mas or someone on that team from the Cavaliers said no mas.
00:24:56
Speaker
And they never stopped it. They never stopped it. Never tried to stop it. And, you know, even if even a hard foul, something, something to get people to make them feel like, hey, we understand the gravity gravity of the moment. We understand what may happen if we wind up losing a game that we're up by more than 20 points going into the fourth quarter or at least three or four minutes into the fourth quarter.
00:25:17
Speaker
Like I said, it's like it's it's the magnitude and and the impact of how that game played itself out that really resonated with. It seems like the Knicks know what it is that they want to do, and they're going to do it until a team forces them not to do it. And they're going to continue to act that way throughout the course of this conference finals.
00:25:36
Speaker
And it's up to the Cleveland Cavaliers to make that adjustment, change, change their demeanor, change their attitude, change their whole perspective about how important it is to not squander these chances because you're going to have so few of them in a course of a seven game series.
00:25:50
Speaker
And we just again, it's like night and day. And listen, I'm going to give credit to Mike Brown. We talked about that earlier. This was to me that that the the quote unquote question mark, X marks, you know, x X factor kind of thing is when Mike Brown sees that his team is not performing or executing, is it a matter of him making an adjustment from an X is an O standpoint? Or is it a matter of adjustment in what he's asking or commanding of his of his players?
00:26:19
Speaker
And clearly those guys are willing to ride with Mike Brown. They're not just riding with LeBron James and the rest of it. They're hit riding with Mike Brown.
00:26:30
Speaker
Mike Brown is showing them. Mike Brown is teaching them. They all bought into it and everybody did their part. Everybody looked like a superstar in that series, which is frightening, right?
00:26:41
Speaker
Like the people that we're probably going question in this finals matchup, you're probably going to have to question them as it relates to within themselves as to what they they're capable of doing against the San Antonio Spurs.
00:26:52
Speaker
And that to me, that comes down to how you're coaching those guys up. He's got them locked in. They see the writing on the wall. They see the prize at the end of that tunnel. And it's going to be a tough battle for the city the San Antonio Spurs have very little room to make mistakes when a team like the Knicks is going to be playing like this.
00:27:11
Speaker
And that I think with people need to understand that. Like is as is awesome as it is to see what the Spurs have done and what they're capable of, they cannot afford to play the way that they played in that series against the Oklahoma City Thunder and not suffer the repercussions because that Knicks team is fully locked and loaded. Everyone is healthy, everyone has had time off, and everybody's coming in on an uptick, not questioned on an uptick.
00:27:40
Speaker
So it's gonna be up to the Spurs to defend them and bring them down levels. And i don't I don't know how you can do that when your starting rotation is going to be able to operate the way that the Knicks have operated through the Eastern Conference of ah Finals into the NBA Finals at this point.
00:27:56
Speaker
Yeah, and let's go ahead and talk about that. First of all, let's get some comments real quick. I apologize, Desmond. I thought it would move up, but it doesn't. Chip says Nick's going to fall hotter harder than the Titanic. We're going to talk about that in just one second. Don't worry about that. AP, shout out my brother AP, our brother.
00:28:14
Speaker
As a Cowboys fan, I want the Spurs to win to watch Stephen A. Smith emotionally break down. Hey, I'm with you on that one.
Thunder's Shooting Weaknesses
00:28:21
Speaker
K-Team. Shout out my brother Canteen from the Bottom Line Sports. Y'all make sure you tap in Bottom Line with him and Flo.
00:28:27
Speaker
Just waiting on the predictions. We'll be there in just a second. But let's talk about it. Let's talk about that former round between the Oklahoma City Thunder, the former defending champions, and San Antonio.
00:28:39
Speaker
A lot of people, including all of us here, had the Oklahoma City Thunder beating San Antonio. But Wemby may be just an alien that was needed to disrupt all of the NBA.
00:28:51
Speaker
Desmond. We left you on a read for about 22 minutes there, brother. I apologize. night You ain't get to say one damn word. You ain't even get to introduce the Midpost podcast. So from the Midpost podcast on IG, my brother, talk to us.
00:29:08
Speaker
No, I, hey, I know my role, man. I was just waiting in the corner. That's it. I'm waiting in the corner. But no, I think what, what, it's something that Cal said just now. Like, I think what the Spurs faced eventually with the Oklahoma City Thunder was just,
00:29:25
Speaker
The Thunder had a really stagnant offense. They knew eventually as that series went down and they were suffering from injuries to J-Dub and A.J. Mitchell and and Chet Holmgren just not being assertive. They realized, oh, is they're a good defensive team, but it's really just a bunch of Alex Caruso's out here. we can We can rotate and we can do a lot of different things. But if if your name isn't Shea Gildress Alexander, I'm not really worried about you. So I think over time for a seven-game series, the Spurs were able to creep up the way they did. And it helps when you got somebody like Wimby who is is willing to to hit first and ah be aggressive out the gate and understand when he does have quiet games, that next game is is his time to bounce back and and put his foot on the neck of his opponent. So it it didn't surprise me that the Spurs won the way that they did because over time it just showed that the Thunder just did not have –
00:30:16
Speaker
any kind of offensive dexterity to keep up with the Spurs in a half-court game. And especially because of that, not having J-Dub, their best player who turns defense to offense, absolutely killed them. The minute I realized they were not getting not only good half-court looks, but they weren't getting their signature transition points, all that series was over with.
00:30:36
Speaker
That's over with. And that's what the Spurs are going to have to worry about with the Knicks being a more offensive, a better offensive team in terms of dexterity. So... I mean, look, you ain't wrong about that. And what I will say is one thing that Oklahoma City needs to get better at if they're going to do anything is have more shooters. And I think all of us know that, right? You can't have your best player, SGA, averaging 30% from three points. And then at the end of the game, when you need a three-pointer, he's passing it off to Kaysom Wallace or he's passing off to Alex Caruso.
00:31:10
Speaker
Alex Caruso, he ran out of gas, I guess, the the last two games. He had nothing. He was missing everything. And it's like when you don't have three-point shooting in this league today, when you see a team like the Celtics that all they do is three-point shoots, and don't don't get me wrong, I lament that.
00:31:28
Speaker
Kyle laments that. Warren laments that. We don't like that. But when you have that sort of league, Desmond, I'm coming right back to you, where you have a team that doesn't shoot well from three-point land, aside from a couple players, you know, every once in a while, how are you going to get over that hump of the San Antonio?
00:31:47
Speaker
Yeah, that you know, that's ah that's a great question. I
Spurs vs. Knicks Finals Preview
00:31:50
Speaker
will say that the Thunder were actually, the last couple years, have been statistically at least a better three-point shooter than a lot of us give them credit for. But to your point, it's when they get into some of these deeper rounds, you see a lot of these flaws. The clutch situations.
00:32:06
Speaker
Exactly. I think last year it was the same exact thing. Yeah, they held the trophy. But if you watch that Pacers series and even the Denver series, it was like, wait a minute. They don't know how to get Shea the Rock when he's hounded off ball.
00:32:18
Speaker
They don't know. that Chet Holmgren doesn't isn't assertive in the post the way that he is sometimes kind of shows flashes of in the regular season. I mean, and and even just while I'm on that, I don't understand.
00:32:30
Speaker
especially in this era. This is why I always say, I know it's a three point league. I know the game is totally different, but this is why your front court players have to have something to go to in these moments. It is the playoffs in these deeper rounds. Chet Holmgren didn't know if he wanted to get to the post move or nothing. He turned into a seven foot Alex Caruso. I cannot give you anything but spot up shooting because I don't have a post move. I don't have...
00:32:58
Speaker
shoot, they weren't even doing picking pops or picking rolls with him. They weren't even looking at him when he did picking pops. So I'm like, you if you if you're showing that you don't have anything that you can get to in the half court, you are not going to be able to help your team in the playoffs. And that that's another reason why the Thunder crumbled.
00:33:14
Speaker
And let's integrate this into the argument, Cal, because I'm coming to you next. When you have a team like that, that can't necessarily shoot the three-pointer, can't defend in the post. I mean, Hartenstein, for the first three games, was getting demolished. Now, he did play better at the end of the series. I have to give him credit.
00:33:32
Speaker
But when you have Wemby down low that is so much bigger than all these other players, OKC has to be able to shoot from the outside. Talk to me, Cal. Look, I'm gonna put it like this. The very thing that we were just questioning about Evan Mobley, we're questioning the same thing about Chet Holmgren.
00:33:51
Speaker
Right? Now, I'm not saying that that is going to turn the series around, but just think about it. If you got some semblance of front court presence for either of these teams, we might be having a different conversation about the offensive efficiency or the lack thereof that both of these teams exhibited.
00:34:12
Speaker
And maybe some of that could be augmented if you're the Oklahoma City Thunder when you had AJ Mitchell and you had J Dub if those guys were healthy, but I still would make the argument that this came down to what your front court players were doing.
00:34:27
Speaker
This comes down to when teams want to shoot the basketball, I would rather have an easier shot at three because the team has to respect what I'm doing in the frontcourt than having a guy like Wemby affecting not just the paint but also affecting the three-point line, essentially. Because he's just all over the place. He can afford to go all over the place because he knows that whoever is guarding him or taking him They're not an offensive threat. That's how they're that's how they're looking at it.
00:34:57
Speaker
And so part of that is also how do you scheme to get him out of there, right? So guys like Alex Caruso, guys like Kaysen Wallace only become effective if you're playing in transition. And you clearly saw that the that the thunder And Shaw, I think um um my my co-host, my my partner in crime, Shaw, even alluded to this.
00:35:16
Speaker
He hated the pace of play from the Oklahoma City Thunder because it just felt like, oh, we'll get into our offensive set when yes it's not about the offensive set. It's clearly about the personnel and what it's going to take to get them in rhythm.
00:35:30
Speaker
Some of these guys need to move. and and keep it moving. You could clearly tell Caruso either had no legs or he was out of sorts. Case and Wallace, it took a while for him to have an impact.
00:35:41
Speaker
So, you know, listen, this was a perfect example. When we look at the boy that the finals was played on When you take care of your front court guys, they will take care of you. They will take care of your star players. They will open up things in the floodgates for your star players to get better looks and also your role players who you want to score the basketball to give you better looks as well too.
00:36:02
Speaker
And having a presence isn't just about a guy like Chuck Holmgren coming out and scoring 20 points, but he should have been the second best scorer. for the Oklahoma City Thunder, right? And he never established that. He never showed you that.
00:36:14
Speaker
So now you have more questions and answers about what he can contribute, right? yeah He's clearly not consistent enough to be your second best scorer, so you're gonna have to go back to J-Dub and whoever else gonna fall down that line.
00:36:26
Speaker
and so that you know to me you don't have to worry about that with the two remaining teams that are left in the and nba finals you know where the hierarchy of your scoring is and even when one of even if one of them falls down the next one looks like they're ready to step up that's what's going to make this an intriguing matchup when these guys do uh do battle for each other for the chip Yeah, and the the Thunder have a lot to do in the offseason. Let's get that straight. They're about to hit that super max level, that luxury tax level, and they're going have to make a decision between Chet Holmgren and Jalen Williams. And i all think I think we all know where we would all go ah with that decision.
00:37:07
Speaker
Wildcar Marr, shout out to your brother, ah PG. said this on his show two weeks ago that he would trade Chet Holmgren immediately. And they're going to have to either trade Chet or Jalen Williams. You know, one of the two is going to have to be traded with the new NBA, you know, luxury tax and all of that stuff. And when you have competing positions, you're also going to have to look at a Lou Al Dort. You know, do you keep him?
00:37:34
Speaker
um you know do you ah would What do you do with you know the the the upcoming contract education? Wallace, who is on his rookie deal, but only has one year left. So these are all things that need to come into play when you're thinking about it. BG, hit us.
00:37:49
Speaker
I mean, Calvin Desmond pretty much said everything. I just have a question for you guys. and There's something, a comment that I made a while ago that I stand on, and I actually stand on what I'm about to ask you guys. so keep everything the same just tell me if you guys agree or disagree this is something i believe keep everything the exact same that happened in game seven shots to put every single detail swap sga for anthony edwards do the thunder win that game what version what what version of anthony edwards okay because this year
00:38:27
Speaker
this shoot I need more three-point shooting. I need more three-point shooting to win that game. i He's a better he's a better shooter. Yeah, he's a better three-point shooter. yeah But not that much better. will say, though, the thing about Shea, he did make a lot of good reads even as that series progressed. His team just didn't execute. Just game seven.
00:38:51
Speaker
Not the series, just game seven. No, no, yeah. In that game seven, I know people are looking at, you know, he scored 30-something points and stuff, but he probably could have had 13 dimes in that game had had he got at least a semblance of offensive execution from the from from the role players. And he knew that.
00:39:09
Speaker
You know what I'm saying? was Listen, people were ragging him about turning the ball over. He had to turn the ball over because these guys were not making shots. So ultimately, he was trying to take it upon himself.
00:39:19
Speaker
to to to open uh you know to to to score the basketball at times and i'm not i'm not saying he he should not be absolved from that he did make some some critical turnovers and things that nature but i'm saying when you clearly can see that guys are just not feeling it you know i'm saying caruso's missing point blank layups in transition you i'm saying like i just he got way tired he was missing everything the last two games Yeah, he was like one for five for three or whatever.
00:39:46
Speaker
What I'm saying is is that like at some point, especially when you see the writing on the wall and the clock you know clock is is t dwindling and you know you you don't have that many opportunities and chances and and the Spurs are not giving you that many opportunities and chances.
00:39:59
Speaker
Shea Gildas Alexander is trying to take it upon himself. I was saying it's a hero ball, but he's actually trying to save the team as best as he possibly can, knowing that the rest of the team is just not up to snuff.
00:40:10
Speaker
I will say this to your point, Bobby. i would I would say what version of Anthony Edwards am I getting? Game one, Anthony Edwards of a conference series or game seven? Because the only thing that I question about Anthony Edwards, and Des used the word perfectly, dexterity.
00:40:29
Speaker
His ability to give you that kind of performance from game one all the way through game seven. We have seen where as the series gets longer, he gases out.
00:40:41
Speaker
You know what I'm saying? It's not like James Harden gassed out. I'm saying he physically is gassed out, and it's just like you're not going to get the best of him from that. And I've seen already that Shea Gilgers Alexander has proven to me he he's a clutch guy. Like, he he he paces himself. I think he does that shit intentionally.
00:40:59
Speaker
He paces himself knowing that if we're in striking distance in the full quarter, I own you. You know what i'm saying? So I would still go with SGA. But if you're telling me give me game one,
00:41:10
Speaker
Anthony Edwards in a game seven? Oh, then I would take Anthony Edwards, no question. Well, i might question that too, though, because Anthony Edwards, and this was undercut in the playoffs, with eight minutes left to go in the game when they were completely beat by San Antonio, he walked over to San Antonio's bench and dapped them up.
00:41:30
Speaker
I don't know what kind of NBA we're playing in now, but this is this is the bad boy Pistons and the Bulls back in the 90s. I remember the bad boy Pistons walking off the court because they didn't want to shake hands. Who started that, though?
00:41:46
Speaker
Come on now. you're You're a fan. Who started that? Who started what? what you What you're dismissing that for? Who started Shaking shaking up point of his hands? No, no, no. Yeah, go a year earlier. What happened a year before that with the bad I don't know.
00:41:59
Speaker
I don't know. Kevin McHale daffed up the fucking pistons before he walked up. Don't do that. No, you don't do that. That didn't happen. Don't try and clear your Celtics good name. Oh, no, you're not doing that.
00:42:09
Speaker
damn damn it bobby i smoked too much i can't remember that he hit
Knicks vs. Spurs Finals Analysis
00:42:14
Speaker
dumars with the hard dap up too like yeah hey go get them lakers was that after he beat bill lambier's ass was that after that yeah there was still like five minutes left in the game that's good bobby can talk to us about oklahoma city and san antonio uh That was it, that's all I had. I mean, Kelly and Desmond said it all, they covered it all. Okay.
00:42:39
Speaker
I mean, Chet Holm was worse worse than every movie. Well, let's start- The invisible man. Well, let's start with you then. We got the NBA Finals, the New York Knicks, and the San Antonio Spurs, a rematch of the 1999 Finals ah when San Antonio and Tim Duncan handily took care of the New York Knicks. Now, as we know,
00:43:09
Speaker
The New York Knicks are set around two players, Jalen Brunson, a bulldog that the Dallas Mavericks should never let go over Luka. You got Carl Anthony Towns.
00:43:19
Speaker
ah Look, he calls himself the best three-point big man shooter of all time, and maybe he is. I'm not here to dispute that. I'd say Larry Bird, but we will go ahead and say Carl Anthony Towns. The fact of the matter is that they are going up against the San Antonio Spurs, and the San Antonio Spurs are led by a superstar.
00:43:41
Speaker
Neither yale Jalen Brunson nor Carl Anthony Towns are a superstar. They are stars. Wemba Yama is a superstar. Superstars win championships. You can give me the Knicks pick and roll. You can give me all this shit. They got the right roster constructed. And look, I'm a hater.
00:44:02
Speaker
I'm a Celtics fan, so you already know where I'm going. So it don't even matter. That's why I'm not going to give my opinion. But I'm going let you know how I feel right now about that Knicks and the constructed roster against the San Antonio Spurs and a roster that I think is constructed much, much better.
00:44:22
Speaker
Bobby G, talk to us about how you feel about this finals. They say styles make fights, and this is a bad fight for the Spurs. Facts. um Oh! Yeah, oh yeah yeah you caught that at the end. Let's talk. so It's a bad fight for the Spurs. Let's talk about it.
00:44:38
Speaker
Everything you knew to defeat the Spurs, the New York Knicks can do. Wimpy's not going to be able to dominate the paint on defense. It's Carl Anthony Townsend keep him outside. On top of that, he can take him inside. He can score on the mid-side.
00:44:48
Speaker
On the defensive end, and this is going to hurt a lot of people. I'm not hating this. just a fact. Victor Wimbignano has no post game. It's not his fault. He's been playing from the outside his entire life because of his skill set and people trying to utilize him that way. And normally it takes big men years to develop once they get to the NBA.
00:45:06
Speaker
He's not there yet. That's why when he's down low, if he can't nine foot tall you, He's not going to score down there. Carl Anthony Towns has just enough enough defense to stop him, ah let alone Mitchell Robinson. Mitchell Robinson, I believe, completely shut him down in the post.
00:45:22
Speaker
So going see Wimby playing from outside a lot. I believe the Spurs are the deepest team in the NBA. Hopefully it comes in, but the Knicks are just on fire right now as a team. If you take Mitchell Robinson off the team,
00:45:34
Speaker
They're almost, they're like three free throw points away from shooting 50, 40, 90 as a team wow is in this year's playoffs. You got Deuce McBride who's playing like the microwave. Like he is not missing anything. If he's open, it's going in.
00:45:51
Speaker
The Knicks are playing with extreme confidence, let alone they've beaten the Spurs twice this year, including for the the NBA Cup. Yeah. Yeah, it's just a bad matchup.
00:46:05
Speaker
And so bad, I think I got the Knicks in Not yet. Not yet. Not yet. got the Knicks in 14. There you go. Knicks in 14. Knicks in 14. No, you're good. We'll save the picks for the end.
00:46:18
Speaker
Let's do the analysis now. Shout out to brother Robert Harris tuning in. Said Brunson's second team All-NBA is a joke. Complete disrespect. Obviously a Knicks fan here. Look, Brunson is one of the best in the league. I'm not sitting here trying to deny that.
00:46:34
Speaker
at all i would love to have a bulldog like brunson on the celtics but the fact of the matter is that when bum yama and other players that are superstars are better stars than jalen brunson in my opinion uh that being said let's go ahead and move it down to cal what you got on this finals baby Yeah, so this is going to be a compelling matchup no matter how you slice it. I think Bobby G illustrated a lot of great points and I know Dez is going to throw out some excellent points as well too.
00:47:06
Speaker
um This comes down to a couple of things and I think a couple of the comments were made, you know, as we were all discussing. The Spurs have not had, like I said earlier, the Spurs have very little margin of error.
00:47:20
Speaker
right they They're going to have to play about as good as basketball as they could possibly play to give themselves the chance and opportunity that I think they've afforded themselves throughout this run.
00:47:32
Speaker
So with that being said, it's it's possible, right? They're going to have to really play great defense. What about the Knicks rest? What about the rest that they have?
00:47:44
Speaker
Is that going to hurt? i don't think I don't I think the rest is actually a good thing for the Knicks. Okay. Right. Because for the Knicks to be able to run with the San Antonio Spurs and let's not get it twisted. The San Antonio Spurs are the youngest team Facts.
00:47:59
Speaker
To get to the NBA Finals. They've got some thoroughbreds there. These guys, they want to get out on the open court and they want to run you down. And if I'm the New York Knicks, while still relatively young, they don't want to be running that kind of race with the Spurs, right?
00:48:17
Speaker
Because if you speed things up for the New York Knicks, the New York Knicks will be prone to turn the ball over. Hence the reason why when they made the adjustment of making Carl Anthony Towns a primary point, they now established a more formidable half court game.
00:48:32
Speaker
You've seen where at times the San Antonio Spurs will struggle in their ability to score the basketball from the half court. Because they're not a great perimeter shooting team, but they're good.
00:48:44
Speaker
Give them enough opportunities though, they'll become dangerous. Part of that is them turning or forcing the other team to turn the ball over, which is what they did against Oklahoma City Thunder. If the New York Knicks play with the offensive proficiency that they've shown you already at this point,
00:49:01
Speaker
the Spurs are going to be in trouble because they're not going to be able to outscore the New York Knicks like that. It's just not going to happen that way. But what about Wemby in the post? Because they can't score in the post if Wemby's going to be there all day.
00:49:15
Speaker
Yeah, but Wemby shoots a ah remarkable three. He can stretch out towns if he wants to. he could It doesn't matter if Mitchell Robinson is going to flank out to him when Wemby is going to want to shoot the three.
00:49:27
Speaker
Where it becomes key is guys like Vassal, guys like Castle. remember they actually have the advantage when with their guards being bigger than the combination of brunson and hart but that can only be mitigated when castle and vassal take smart shots when they take advantage of those mismatches and that's going to be on miss johnson to scheme it up listen there is going to be a point in this series because like you've been mentioning victor women yama like 50 million times oh and that's no disrespect because he is a superstar I mean, I'm sorry, I don't know what you want me to say. But just like this, let's go back to that game seven against the Thunder.
00:50:11
Speaker
When you look at the numbers that Victor Wominyama put up, they were not superstar numbers. There was nothing absolutely impressive about what he did. What was impressive was he made shots when it counted and he impacted the game in different ways that the stat sheets didn't dictate or determine.
00:50:29
Speaker
And that to me is going to be part of the question that we have about the Spurs. Can they continue to carry this maturity when you're now playing with a team who's already beaten you a number of times, especially for that Emirates Cup?
00:50:41
Speaker
But I really think that both of these teams are in different spaces right now. I'm not even counting what happened in that Emirates Cup because if you think about it, If you are the San Antonio Spurs, you have the better record, meaning you have the first two games at home.
00:50:55
Speaker
You have to send a statement and you have to take advantage of home court advantage. You have to do it. If you let the Knicks come in and take game one, you let them come in and take game two, you are putting yourself in a world of hurt because it is going to be a completely different atmosphere knowing that you could be up 2-0 going to the Garden rather than being down 0-2 or going 1-1 and then having to play in the Garden.
00:51:20
Speaker
It is going to be a completely different atmosphere because Knicks fans have been waiting 50 something plus years to actually have a conversation about them winning a championship.
00:51:31
Speaker
And I don't know whether or not this Spurs team, even though they're they got the daredevil in them, no fear. I don't know if whether or not that magnitude they're ready for. I don't know if they're ready for that level just yet, but we're going to find out though.
00:51:45
Speaker
Hey, New York. a
00:51:51
Speaker
soaking this no He's just loving it. cannot wait to soak in those New York Knicks salty-ass tears. I'm drink that shit all up. Let's talk about it. Canteen says 13 straight wins in the playoffs. It's actually 11, Canteen. But your sports professor's fact for the Knicks' 11 wins is that they have won those games by ah an average margin of victory 5%.
00:52:17
Speaker
23.8 points, which means the Knicks have been whooping ass the last 11 games, which they are undefeated. Talk to us, Desmond.
00:52:31
Speaker
Well, actually, i agree with everything Bobby G and Khali said about the New York Knicks wholeheartedly. I mean, every point I agree with. But I also want to take a minute to be the one to big up the Spurs a little bit because I think that...
00:52:47
Speaker
stefan castle dylan harper de aaron fox all being able to attack downhill in any situation whether it's transition high pick and roll i know that there are concerns with uh stefan castle's turnover turnover uh he's turnover prone so that's going to be something where again the points off turnovers are going to be really important for the new york knicks because Mikael Bridges is going to get in the passing lanes. OGN Noby's going to get in. you know He's great at picking people's pockets. So if they can if if the Knicks can do that, yeah, their chances are great. But the Spurs, I do think they have a lot of dexterity with those guards, no matter who's on the floor.
00:53:25
Speaker
like Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle, who cares how young they are? They have shown to make some big shots. And I know they haven't had perfect games, but they're guys that can... contribute on offense and on defense guys that won't be scared to guard a Jalen Brunson even Carter Bryant coming off the bench not going to be scared to take a Jalen Brunson or whoever uh Mitch Johnson decides to put him on but I think that it's it's the age thing right like we keep saying experience and all these things but the Spurs have shown that they don't care and and Stephon Castle didn't
00:53:57
Speaker
staying on him isn't a great shooter but for some reason has made some big shots in this playoffs Dylan Harper you didn't expect him to hit wow hit daggergger thirty yeah you didn't expect Dylan Harper to hit that big three late in game seven versus the Thunder but he did I think these kids are growing up before our eyes and and I think to Cal's point Devin Vassell has been the ultimate x-factor for the San Antonio Spurs all season long this is going to be his ultimate test to show that Not just my catch and shoot game, but my off the dribble game is good enough to overcome a team like the New York Knicks who have good defensive wings on their roster.
00:54:36
Speaker
ah So I think it's not just Wimby, right? I think it's the the Spurs having a lot of options that they can go with to contend against a team like the New York Knicks. I think, again, it makes sense why this is the finals because...
00:54:47
Speaker
yeah there's there's great interconnectivity going on with the new york knicks right now but the spurs are going through the exact same thing and i don't want people to sleep on that either no absolutely absolutely well said dp yeah that was that was greatly said hey shan jason Oh, yeah, go ahead real quick. Shout out my brother Jason. Says OG not making first defensive team wasn't all joked. And also says if jeff Josh Hart is hitting threes, then Wemby won't be able to stay in the paint. I don't know about that, brother. yeah Bobby G, go ahead.
00:55:19
Speaker
Three points. with that kind Are you saying that Wimpy's going guarding Josh Hart? Because if he is, Cass will murder you in the face. That won't happen. But two points. Stephon Castle, yeah, he's been playing great. But he showed a little little weakness in it it up here.
00:55:35
Speaker
If you let out ah Adam Caruso bother you, Josh Hart is about to piss you off. Especially once he starts getting handsy. If you know what to ask Jalen Bronson. ah Second, people forget.
00:55:49
Speaker
Mike Brown learned a lot from Steve Kerr. But remember, originally, he's a pop disciple. He knows he knows Mitch's move. He's going to know a few of Mitch's moves. So ah the coaching the coaching battle is going to be interesting to watch.
00:56:05
Speaker
Yeah, and I think one of the things, too, that I'm looking for, I'm looking forward to see how De'Aaron Fox works. um Yeah. the high on brains I don't think enough emphasis has been put on De'Aaron Fox's leadership and what I think a lot of people were still expecting the Spurs to be at at this particular juncture because De'Aaron Fox is still a speedy guard.
00:56:27
Speaker
He's a guy that can break defenses down. And let's remember, it wasn't but like three, four years ago, he was awarded Clutch NBA Player of the Year, right? Could he? See, this is the reason why I'm saying like, I understand the focal point is going to be on the star players for these teams respectively, but this really is the game.
00:56:46
Speaker
where the X factor, you know what saying, players, the guys, the persona non grata dudes are going to actually have an opportunity to shine. The OG Ananobis, Mikael Bridges, the Josh Harts, the De'Aaron Foxes, you know what I'm saying? um you know Guys like them, Castle,
00:57:04
Speaker
Basile, those guys, they're going to be crucial because it is going to give opportunity for those superstars to flourish where they flourish the best, right?
00:57:15
Speaker
Like we want to talk about Victor Wemanyama having one of those all great performances. Sure, he can have that kind of impact, but will it be enough if the Knicks are shutting everybody else down, right?
00:57:27
Speaker
um Jalen Brunson, right? Will it matter that he's going to be a fourth quarter stalwart if they're down by 20 points? and And then one last thing I'm going say about this, which I think is also key.
00:57:38
Speaker
The San Antonio Spurs, when they get out in leads, I don't know what their record is so far in the playoffs, but it is a pretty high percentage when they are the ones who are ultimately winning first and third quarter.
00:57:49
Speaker
right? They ultimately win. When they get off to good starts, put teams on the bat on their heels. And while teams fight to get back into the game, they make a couple of clutch baskets or you have the equalizer when Binyama will go out there and get you easy baskets or easy buckets or get you a defensive stop or something that's going to turn the game on its head.
00:58:09
Speaker
If the Spurs the type of team to put a team like the Knicks on their heels early, I don't know if the outcome of like what happened when the Knicks, you know, saying came back against the Cavaliers or when they did that against the Philadelphia 76, I don't know if they're going have the same, they're going to be able to walk a team like this version of the Spurs down that easily, which is why it's important that each team establishes their presence early and often throughout the course of this series for them to ultimately Well, to answer your question, because you know I'm very good at the digital stuff, San Antonio Spurs record in 2026 playoffs after leading at halftime. They have won
Conclusion and Audience Engagement
00:58:46
Speaker
every single goal one of their games after leading at the half.
00:58:51
Speaker
Wow. So if you're down to San Antonio halftime, kiss your ass goodbye because you're about to lose, sucker. Desmond, let's go ahead and get out of here. Oh, first of all we got a couple more comments. Matthew MJ from IOW Sports.
00:59:07
Speaker
Walker Mars Brothers says, what's good? Nixon Six says, shaming off the bench has been lights out. Well, let's find out who everybody else has. Let's give our predictions and get out of here. Desmond, who you got?
00:59:21
Speaker
ah Yeah, I'm going to stick with my pick ah that I shared on the baseline pod just recently. And going to stick with Spurs and Six. I do think that they have the depth to contend with the Knicks. And I think to to a lot of what we said, it's those X factors that can, I think they have a just slightly, we more x factors to work with than the new york knicks and i think that's going to be the difference because part of me is like i think the knicks have been so stinking good that they're really going to be tested now like the if sham it i
00:59:55
Speaker
playing great probably not going to shoot 90 from three you know if Mikael Bridges how does Mikael Bridges bounce back from some of you know he's been shooting well too OG and Anobi some of them games where he's in single digits I think you know I really think that the Spurs can can give them a ah really good fight all right there we go Kyle what you got Well, in my predictions on the of our of our show, I said, Nixon six.
01:00:23
Speaker
I'm not going to change on that. ah Even though being on your show, I could have very easily you know switched up. But i don' i' I don't do that, man. I own i own my picks. You know what saying? i'll I'll swallow my pride. And it's hard to even mention the word Knicks.
01:00:37
Speaker
Knicks and stuff like that. But I'm i'm also a person, you know i'm saying? I see a team. And I said, if the Knicks play at least relatively decent defense with what they're bringing offensively, there's no reason for them to not win the championship. And right now, wow I believe a little bit more in the Knicks offense.
01:00:55
Speaker
Wow. And I also believe a little bit more in their defense when I see a team like the Spurs. i Again, I could be very much wrong in this. I said Knicks in six or Spurs in seven.
01:01:07
Speaker
So, But I'm going to go with Nixon 6. I just think that they they just got enough of either side of the basketball that's going to create problems for the San Antonio Spurs. I just don't know if they'll have enough in the tank. Boom, boom, motherfucker. I wish that was a Celtics chant because I would like it better. Shout out to Nems, though, a rapper from New York who came up with that. That's tremendous. Bobby G, who is your prediction, my friend?
01:01:32
Speaker
Yeah, I got the Knicks in five. um Like I said, they're just playing the best basketball out of in this playoffs. um I think Mike Brown made made great adjustments. I think he'll make more in the finals.
01:01:44
Speaker
And the Spurs are going be the first team in the history of the NBA to have home court advantage and not have home court advantage at the same time. That arena in San Antonio is going to be like 55% Knicks fans.
01:01:56
Speaker
So I hope they're ready you know to hear noise throughout every game. But I'm giving Wimby one. Wimby will get you one. I mean, look, I don't know what these opposing fan bases are doing, but if you're trying to keep opposing fans out like Cleveland kicking out Fat Joe, you apparently ain't doing a good job. Because I see see Timothee Chalamet in every game. I see all these New York fans. I see Patrick Ewing. I see Walt Clyde Frazier in your stadium.
01:02:30
Speaker
That means New York is taking over. But it don't matter how much they take over, and they should know from as many times as the Celtics done whooped that ass in the 80s and 90s, the New York Knicks are going to try those salty New York Knicks. Kid, go New York, go New York. This is me. This is me on the New York teat. I'm just sucking the teat of the New York salty. I'm sucking the teat of the salty tears the New York. I'm going section of show under the pause category. because That was pause-like shit because probably look worse than I thought it did. very I apologize. This is a very warped...
01:03:10
Speaker
segment of the boy. I meant to teach. It was the twow supposed to be a titty, not a penis, but it is what it is. Let's move it on. ah Matthew says, good call, man.
01:03:24
Speaker
Let's go. oh Jason's going to be at the Knicks Madison Square Garden game too. Let's go, baby. I know you're going to be there, my brother. I think Jason's trust fund. What's up with that?
01:03:36
Speaker
Hey, Jason got a lot of money. I know that boy. Nixon 7 says Canteen, and I am going to go with the San Antonio Spurs in 7. I think the Knicks are good enough, but I could never in my life utter the words of the New York Knicks. swear but Life on the line. Your life is on the line.
01:04:01
Speaker
San Antonio Spurs all day. Oh, you're going to San Antonio. Well, see, my man, he works. Jason played in I'll be in San Antonio.
01:04:12
Speaker
But the thing is, he works for an airline, so he gets free flights everywhere. So that's why. Don't let him trick you. He has free flights. some Hey, I'll take you shut up.
01:04:23
Speaker
I'll see you to on Thursday night for Total Evisceration. And tomorrow night I may be on, I don't know, I'm trying to go get a new tattoo, so I may be gone tomorrow, but I may be on tomorrow night before the, oh,
01:04:37
Speaker
Yes, they do. You're all right. We talked about that. San Antonio does have home court benefits of having an ad. Shut up. You live in Virginia. My fool. I've loved you my whole life from Virginia. Let's get out of here. I got a bit of country box.
01:04:50
Speaker
Bobby G, let him know where you can find him. All three right there. Just to answer your question from earlier, no, it's not a North Carolina A&T hat. It's actually a Cleveland Browns tertiary logo.
01:05:01
Speaker
It's a bulldog. so By the way, how do you feel about Miles Garrett getting traded? Talk to us. Sad to see him go. I understand the move. I love the return. Jair versus a dog.
01:05:12
Speaker
He's an adequate replacement. We'll still have his top a top eight defense. so Yo, to get Jared first back, though. It wasn't like it wasn't like ah Miles Garrett was like, oh you know, forcing out, you know? so not to me I mean, but it doesn't make your team that much better, though. You still got to figure out quarterback. Is Deshaun Watson starting? That's what I heard.
01:05:34
Speaker
It's a bad, it's a fair battle. They're having a QB battle in the media song. Who's it doesn't matter. You won't know until at least a joint practices, but I think. Should do it still there.
01:05:47
Speaker
Cal talk to us, let them know where they can find you. Hey, baseline NBA podcast, um, YouTube channel, 19 media group family, uh, you know, continue to check out, um, you know, our coveted autopsy reports talk about the teams that just died. I'm sure.
01:06:02
Speaker
There'll be some familiar things that have been said about the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Oklahoma City Thunder. But yeah, man, we're getting it in. And, you know, as always, man, it's always ah it's always a privilege and a blessing to be on the show with you, my brother.
01:06:15
Speaker
Hey, I appreciate you, my brother. Thank you so much for blessing the stream. Desmond, hey! You did amazing today, my brother. I'm sorry you didn't get on for the first 20 minutes, but you killed it the rest the time. You all good. You all good, man. Uh, shout out to you guys for always inviting me on, man. This is always a blast. Uh, same thing as Cal, uh, 19 media group. That is the home team, uh, YouTube, the mid post podcast. Uh, every Tuesday, been in a little funk lately, but trying to get back. And I know that the finals will definitely help me with that. Uh,
01:06:48
Speaker
at DesmondPyle underscore Twitter for sure. Because i if I'm not podding, I'm tweeting. So definitely follow me on there. um And at MidPostPod on all those platforms as well.
01:07:01
Speaker
Yes, sir. Please, hey, make sure you tap in with all of these gentlemen here and all of their channels. Look, all of us content creators, we spend a lot of time. We practice, we prepare, you know, we do all the things that you do for your regular job for this.
01:07:16
Speaker
to make sure that you get the best information, that you get the best time possible. And I appreciate and love my time with my brothers. So I am so appreciative of Bobby G. You make sure you tap into Audible Sports. Tomorrow they got him, Avril, Wild Car Mar talking NFL.
01:07:32
Speaker
Friday, you don't want to miss that. That's my favorite show of the week, Audible Sports Friday. Make sure you should tap in. cookout bracket yeah we're doing the cookout bracket they do brackets they like movies and they had denzel versus eddie the other week it was great um also tapping with the 19 media group they're a great partner of ours baseline and nba podcast warren shaw wasn't able to be here shout out to my brother bakali was able to represent for them as well from 19 media group post podcast make sure you tap in with desmond powell all of my brothers thank you so much for coming on tomorrow night I will have my Professor Semino Mente. Shout out, Canteen. Thank you. We appreciate that. Cottage 81FP18C, we appreciate you turning in. I see you, Mets fan. Hey, we are down.
01:08:23
Speaker
We are down. But, hey, we won four in a row and we lost last night. It's okay. The Mets can still come back. The Braves, Canteen's Braves are running away with the NLEs. But maybe we can win a wild card.
01:08:36
Speaker
We'll see. Either way, I got country box tonight. If you're at Ball & Buds, watch me. I'll be live streaming from the boxing event here in one hour. Catch me at Ball & Buds. B-A-L-L-A-N-D-B-U-D-S.
01:08:49
Speaker
Make sure you hit that like button watching now or on the replay. hit Make sure you hit that notification bell. Let's you know when we go live to all my brothers. Thank you and enjoy the NBA season. We will be back in two weeks after the finals. We'll be back to review the finals to all my brothers. What we got.
01:09:08
Speaker
Oh, we got a question. Anybody want to answer this? you I think this is a troll in in my opinion. I think Mike Brown is the much better coach, but anybody else? Yeah.
01:09:22
Speaker
Gotta give it to Mike Brown. mike mike brown yeah Mike Brown. Mike Brown. Shout out to Dwayne Casey, man. He did his thing with the Raptors, bro. absolutely that was that was that was his That was his resurrection.
01:09:35
Speaker
RIP Rick Adelman. Oh, yes. RIP. Hey, we'll leave on that. Holla. 5,000. It's
01:09:46
Speaker
that world heavyweight float. Championship belt wrapped around my waist, yo I got that Ric Flair faking boat Slam you on the pavement, that's why they call me Street Pro Create heat on B-Flo Like Jordan after the second time he three
01:10:28
Speaker
Yo, thank you, brother.