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Episode 24 - NBA Finals & NFL Draft Recop
6 Plays5 months ago
The Boyz are back with an NFL Draft Recap and Big time NBA Finals preview along with Bold Predictions from your favorite hosts.
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Transcript
Fan Challenges and Excitement for NBA Finals
00:00:00
Speaker
bill is still of the ball down the middle of the team and at this point just move back to New Jersey so I can attend games without paying $50 in tolls. I'm living in the moment for the regular season and I'm enjoying the ride and I'm not gonna have any poopy pants until April or May. He's the kind of coach that players would run through a brick wall for. Well, welcome back. A long break for the wicked smart boys, uh, after the NFL season, uh, tried to get a couple of pods in, but, uh, there's a lot of complications with our busy schedules, but we are excited to bring an NBA finals preview. oo Obviously the Brooklyn Nats are in the font and just kidding the ah Boston Celtics for, uh, our, my partner, Mr. Campbell in the finals for the second time
Boston Celtics' Motivation and NFL Draft Rewind
00:00:49
Speaker
in three years. I want to say.
00:00:51
Speaker
That's right. 22 in this year. This is a big year, kind of a revenge year, I would say, for your team after the devastating game seven loss to the Heat last year. So they kind of are on that sort of a revenge tour. And I think that's how you feel about this team. which is the way they kind of picked apart the teams they played in the Eastern Conference ah playoff so far. so we're going to So we're going to hit that in a couple of minutes. We're going to actually start with a a little quick NFL draft rewind um from about a month ago, a month and a half ago in Detroit. um Both our teams picked in the top six because the Giants and Patriots are both horrendous organizations at the moment, which is why they had those high level picks.
00:01:42
Speaker
right off the top, ah initial feeling about the Drake May selection at quarterback and a month and a half later, how do you feel about the Patriots going into the 2024 season? All great questions. First, before I get to anything, good to be able to catch up. It's been a while since we last did one of these pods. I just want to be able to get that off the bat first.
Quarterback Prospects: Drake May's Potential
00:02:02
Speaker
ah Regarding the draft, I feel like we had to take the best available quarterback, whether that was Jaden Daniels or Drake May. it seems like drake may is going to be you know in theory obviously he's still 22 23 years old he's still kind of raw from what i understand in terms of his footwork and even some of his arm mechanics but i do like just his vast potential i even just like looking at some of the highlights he had at unc know that he didn't really have a whole lot of talent around him seemed like he made the best of his situation there when he was able to obviously impress enough scouts and people
00:02:37
Speaker
to be able to get to be a number three overall pick. Obviously, this is a guy who's six, three, six, four, good size. And obviously, I think ah most Patriots fans would understand that this is going to be kind of a project. I don't think he's going to play much at all his first year. I don't know if he should, especially starting out. That's the reason why they went out and got Jacobi Brissett. I think the team is going to suck anyways, regardless. So it's probably best he's going to sit here. I think the last Vegas prediction I saw for the worst team overall in the league is going to be the Patriots, which kind of sucks. But also at the same time, you know, this is going to be kind of a long rebuild. I think ever since Brady left, we were kind of due for one of these. We all thought there was going to be around Matt Jones. That's a whole story. We've tackled that to death. We've beaten that dead horse. But I think turning the page to Drake May and being able to draft him as the guy at least gives kind of a glimmer of hope for Patriots fans moving forward.
00:03:31
Speaker
So in terms of the number one or the number three overall pick the Patriots got, I liked the way they used it. I'd rather them use it on a quarterback compared to if battle check was still calm the shots. You probably would have taken Joe all or some random guard that no one's ever heard of. So it's a good start. Yeah. The Joe all one. Although that wouldn't have been a terrible pick, I think he probably would have taken like a ah long snapper or maybe even a punter at that number three. Or traded back with getting no value in return. getting a fourth round I actually think if ah if he was in charge still, Bill.
00:04:06
Speaker
Um, there were a lot of rumors about the giants trying to trade up for that spot for that three spot to draft Drake may, which must make Daniel Jones just feel so confident heading into this, uh, make or break year for him every year. thats what he needs Yeah. Every year. It seems like it's a make or break for him. This I think is the final straw. If he's actually going to be an NFL quarterback or not, but obviously the giants also saw something in Drake may, uh, which is why I think the Patriots stuck where they were. They knew if they moved back, I think he was going to get taken. Um, so I do understand why they took him there. Um, the only issue is obviously when you draft a quarterback so high, do you have talent around you? Are you able to develop that quarterback, which is why it kind of makes sense that sounds like former Patriot and now current Patriot Jacobi Percet.
00:04:58
Speaker
is most likely going to start. And he's been a great journeyman quarterback, kind of like a Tyrod Taylor of sorts, just kind of goes wherever he goes, plays at it, you know, above average or average to above average level. potentially a mentor figure for Drake May, if that's how he feels. ah You know, anybody who plays quarterback though thinks they are the guy. um So it is tough for some quarterbacks to mentor and have a guy under their wing. Obviously that never worked out with Joe Flacco and Lamar Jackson, for example.
00:05:32
Speaker
Two completely different style of quarterback, though. I don't think Lamar Jackson was going to learn too much from a guy who stands in quicksand and
Patriots' and Giants' Future: Draft Picks and Coaching Speculations
00:05:38
Speaker
just throws 80 yard passes. Right. So that was is her pass interference. That was never going to work out. Right. But I think that's pretty much been a pocket passer. I think Drake may likes to move a lot in and around the pocket, which is. Probably really exciting for you to have a quarterback who can use his legs as great as Brady was. And as I mentioned, I'm watching that documentary or the 10 part series, The Dynasty. Yeah. what ah like What an insane, just like sociopathic guy you have to be ah to get to that level. Him and Bill both and even Robert Kraft, those three together ah was such an insane combination. ah So you obviously hope
00:06:22
Speaker
to finally, you know, replace Brady because it's been since 2020, essentially 2019 was the last year. So you essentially haven't had a quarterback for four or five years. So I think now is finally, hopefully for your sake, you get to turn the page. So I'm hoping for, yeah, it's, you know, it's uncharted territory for me too. Like I've, you know, I thought Matt Jones could have been the guy, obviously after like a semi promising rookie year, I would have thought that we wouldn't be in this position of like being back in the top five of getting picks and, you know, landing on another quarterback. But that's also like what every team I feel like goes through. It's something I've been kind of spoiled on for quite some time.
00:07:06
Speaker
I think even just understanding just the landscape of the NFL, it's really hard and um next to impossible to like find a guy that a franchise quarterback you can kind of be confident towards. You know, I think it's going to take trial and error. I think it'll really be a disservice to Drake May if the Patriots call it a day and they don't continue to build around them in terms of the offensive line, which is still very much a huge question mark, probably the biggest question mark on the team. And then even some of the receivers they took, you know, I know you wanted to be able to get into the the other picks in the draft. So they took the second ah pick with Jalen Polk, who's the receiver out of Washington, who I like his profile. I like the way he's more of kind of a get up and catch it kind of wide receiver, kind of reminiscent somewhat of like an Anquan Bolden, just not as big or like as bulky as him. But in terms of play style, like that's kind of like what reminded me of him.
00:07:57
Speaker
Also they took this guy Javon Baker out at UCF, fourth round wide receiver. I guess he had like higher talent that uh you know I guess like not not talent but kind of like a higher ceiling than what he kind of got drafted for. A lot of people were expecting him to kind of be taken in the second or third round he's pretty quick he's another kind of guy who's similar to jail and poke and the way he uses his body he's more of like a possession guy not really either receiver is a burner but it they're both good with their hands and they can both catch balls which you know is needed for such a rookie quarterback to be able to develop trust for you need to be able to depend on guys who have good good hands and aren't just burners who are fast um
00:08:39
Speaker
So no, I'm rambling on now, but I guess the the larger point I'm trying to make is I have some reason for optimism for the first time as a Patriots fan, just based off this recent draft and knowing that, ah yeah, we have our guy now in Drake, Maine.
NFC North and East Team Prospects
00:08:55
Speaker
Well, we hope, right? Well, you hope, you know, i'm I'm a little indifferent. I don't mind like a long period of the Patriots not winning. As much as I love Bill Belichick, and loved the what he did for the Giants. But, you know, now that he's gone, do you see, and this is totally off the cusp, do you see him ever getting a head coaching job again? Big bill.
00:09:18
Speaker
I could see it. Yeah. I don't think he's going to get it like within the next few months. I think he's going to sit this year out. I think the one thing that would concern me, though, just to play devil's advocate is just knowing how much of a control freak he's going to want to be. Obviously, he has multiple rings. He's going to want to be able to call the shots. He's going to want to be able to exercise GM duties, which is what he had in New England. So I think naturally, like seeing how he kind of handled the roster the last couple of years, A lot of owners and a lot of other frontout front office executives are going to see that and not wanting to kind of give Bill the the car keys for that. We even kind of saw that with Atlanta. I remember you think we even talked about this, but there's rumor that Atlanta would be interested in Bill Belichick as coach, but they were kind of scared away from, I think, some of his asks. So I think that's the one thing that would work against him, but he's too good of a coach to not be employed. And I know he's on the older side, but he's still sharp as a whistle or sharp as a knife. And I think he'd be able to do pretty well, um at least in theory, coaching if he has a de decent enough roster around him, especially if there's a team that has already like a decided quarterback too on top of it.
00:10:24
Speaker
It's kind of hard to decipher if Atlanta made the right call or not because their decision making is just so questionable when it comes to, you know, hirings and drafting a quarterback eighth overall, when you just played cart cousins, $180 million dollars over the next four years. But, you know, that's obviously kind of a different topic. It just seems like Atlanta, since you mentioned it, it seems like they kind of just make the most ridiculous and strange decisions when it comes to a draft. like They never seem to address the actual need they have. I mean, this is a team who took a tight end fourth overall in Kyle Pitts a few years ago and then didn't draw plays for him. And obviously, now they have a new Arthur Smith is gone. So they have a new leader, Raheem Morris, who is a great defensive mind for the Rams.
00:11:19
Speaker
So it's just an interesting decision they made. I think everybody, that was kind of the shock of the draft when we saw Michael Penix come off the board eighth overall. Yeah. So that was just, I really, I couldn't believe what I was watching. Um, and I can't imagine, I mean, I don't feel bad for Kirk Cousins. He's one of the few quarterbacks who's made like three mega contracts out of his career. Very, very, he'll be okay do that he'll be fine and financially. And if he loses his job, that's probably a good thing for the Falcons. That means they made the right pick with Penn X, but you have to assume if healthy cousins is probably going to be the guy for the next two or three years. Right.
00:11:57
Speaker
You would think, you know, I mean, he's, I gotta be like, what now? 33, 34. I think he was drafted in 2012. He's up there. He was the same draft as RG3 because they actually drafted him in the third or fourth round. And RG3 was obviously a top four pick. Second overall, I think, if I remember correctly. after and yeah Right, so it even could be a case where Atlanta looks at it it as just wanting to draft the best talent available Which I can kind of understand but obviously like you're paying Kirk Cousins all that money It doesn't really make sense from like a checkpoint stamp standpoint, but
00:12:31
Speaker
I mean, think of it this way, like if Kirk Cousins ah is out the door and Penix is your guy, if they're able to decide on that, obviously, there's a lot of hypotheticals here. In theory, you would have Penix, Drake London, Kyle Pitts, and Bijon Robinson under offense, all first round talent. I mean, on paper, that sounds great. Obviously, there is a lot of question arcs that you know would have to be answered leading up to that point, but I can kind of see the vision. It just wasn't really executed that well considering the Kirk Cousins contract. Yeah, especially when you consider the fact Roma Dunsey out of Washington was there ah to be picked and they could have added to that receiver core. And he's considered by a lot to be maybe he may end up being the best out of this class. um Speaking of, I mean, the Bears look like an actual contender for the first time since the
00:13:20
Speaker
Who's the quarterback who's not very good? Rex Grossman, Jay Cutler, Kyle Orton. yeah They may for the first time, really, for the first time ever, basically, even when they won the Super Bowl in 1985, not to bring up a bad memory for you as a Patriot fan who wasn't born. i wasn't born oh But not to bring up that. ah I don't even remember the quarterback then. It was all about the defense. The Bears have always been like a defensive led organization. Jim McMahon and then refrigerator Perry was like that big defensive tackle who ran in a touchdown. But Caleb Williams is considered by a lot to be like a franchise changing quarterback, a guy.
00:14:00
Speaker
who on paper as compared to, do you remember how hyped Andrew Luck was coming out of college? He's considered basically that level of talent and that level of football IQ. So if the Bears actually um land on these picks they've made and their GM seems to be playing chess, everyone else is playing checkers, what he did to the Carolina Panthers was you know borderline robbery. Um, the way he, he moved back eight picks and then the Panthers picked the wrong guy anyway. Yeah. Quarterback. It was very tall or really good. Yeah. and Like town around about Alabama. price on yeah So very interesting. I i could see that NFC North actually being extremely competitive this year. Uh, lions were, you know, a couple of plays away from the Superbowl Packers made the playoffs.
00:14:49
Speaker
The Bears look like they've turned things around and the Vikings may be mini rebuild, but J.J. McCarthy can actually get the football to these playmakers, which there are plenty. ah They signed Aaron Jones out of the from the Green Bay. They have to sign Justin Jefferson. Do you see that? Yeah, this contract in league history. Outside of quarterbacks. Contract. You have Jordan Addison. at receiver, you have T.J. Hawkinson, who's coming off an ACL. That's a scary division, the NFC North, actually, from a talent standpoint. Just real quick, I mean, out of those teams who I mean, obviously it's only June 5th. It's a long way to go. But who would you pick out of that division to win the division, the NFC North? Yeah, that's a good question. I think at this moment in time, I would probably actually take and I never, you know, root for this team, but the Packers.
00:15:41
Speaker
Uh, to kind of take that next step forward. I think we saw Jordan love is it an NFL quarterback last that last year. And yeah, another year under his belt, uh, could do wonders for him. That's a really well coached team, but I could see three teams making the playoffs out of that division. I could see Detroit going back and I could even see Chicago may be taking that next, next step, uh, into the playoffs. The only thing I'm not really sold on is Chicago's head coach, Nagy. who kind of seems like it's kind of like the Robert Sala yeah with the jets, right? It seems like they have everything right on both ends of the ball, but they might not have the right head coach. So that's kind of the deficiency in Chicago, but, and I could see Minnesota being more of like a six or seven one team, team this year. I also could see Sam Darnold starting the first five or six games until JJ McCarthy is
00:16:36
Speaker
You know, ready to roll, but reality is out of these six quarterbacks taken in the top 12, which is bizarre to me. You know, almost, you know, for a fact, two to three of them will probably be busts, you know, just just inevitably mathematically. That's how, that's how it works. So you got a 50% chance that Drake made is the guy. Yeah, that's usually the case though, to be fair. It's just the reality of it. It's the reality of the position. It's the hardest position to try to forecast in sports that in like goalie and hockey. Yeah, a hundred percent. ah But there's some good, ah good draft talk. We'll get football going as we get closer to that ah here in June. Real real quick, Jake, you got to give me your Malik neighbors take too. I mean, you mentioned before, like Daniel Jones needs the confidence boost. Do you think this is enough for him to be able to kind of get his crap together as quarterback?
00:17:29
Speaker
Neighbors also, he's a top three receiver in this draft for a reason out of LSU, which I really like. Those LSU receivers seem to have quite the history. ah Justin Jefferson, Jamar Chase, Odell Beckham Jr., if you want to go back many years ago, who was drafted by the Giants in the in the first round. Yeah, this dude's quick. he sees you know His comparison is Jamar Chase, which is very exciting. um Can we get him to football? That's the issue. Uh, the offensive line has been kind of a disaster. Daniel Jones is coming off an ACL injury, which is obviously never good for a quarterback. And we lost our most talented player last year, Saquon Barkley. So, you know, but like we always talk about the running back position really outside of, I would say.
00:18:21
Speaker
Outside of Christian McCaffrey, outside of Derek Henry. And you could, you could throw sake one in there, but he has so much injury history. Really outside of those top two guys, uh, most running backs are replaceable. Right. And yeah and kind of can be, you know, tossed, tossed aside. So if we can get him the, get him the football, it sounds like Darren Waller's almost inevitably retiring, but he really didn't do anything for us anyway. Uh, he fumbled his marriage. It sounds like you see that. Yeah. He's clearly not in a good place, you know, which you don't like to see. Um, and he really, you know, he, he didn't work out for us. Uh, he's kind of at the end of his career and he's dealt with so many injuries. He's just a guy who couldn't stay on the football field. And if he could, he would have had a really good career for a tight end. Unfortunately for him, it didn't work out here. Um, but I love the pick. I love the fact that we actually got.
00:19:18
Speaker
a real weapon on the outside. But he can also play, I think they're going to use him the way the Rams kind of use Cooper cup, where you just get him the ball in space and see what he can. And, you know, Brian, David was a good play caller. That's what he really that was his, you know, his thing with the bill. So we'll see how much play calling responsibility has this year with a new offensive coordinator. um So I'm not really, I'm kind of like cautiously optimistic about the season, but we still have that giant question mark at the most important position. Um, so, you know, we really, I think they're going to give this regime at least next year's draft to see what happens, especially if we have a.
00:20:04
Speaker
If we have another, if we have a surprising year, like we did two years ago and we make the playoffs, that actually probably complicates things more. Cause then it's like, are we, are we, are we, is Daniel our guy or no? Yeah. You're just a bridge team after that. If you make the playoffs and then get knocked out round one again. So I'm a little nervous about that. If we, uh, I want the team to win though. I don't want to be picking on the top 10 again. It's the worst spot to be in as a franchise too. I feel like just kind of stuck in. not yeah stuck between like playoffs and sucking, but just being average. Right. So I don't know. The NFC East is interesting this year. I think Washington, if they can protect Jane Daniels, although he's, you know, he's not a big guy. there There's a concern about him possibly getting injured the way he plays. And a lot of people are making the RG three comparison, which is never a good thing. Uh, the way that his career kind of,
00:20:58
Speaker
unwound. He started out pretty well. I mean, he looked like he looked like he was going to be the guy. His first year was amazing. Yeah, he was incredible. I think he did. He went rookie of the year. It's very possible. I mean, he was up against Andrew Luck, so he may not have. um But he look around and he just he's a little guy. He might get injured. Just that his style of play also is reminiscent of Lamar Jackson. He wants to make plays with his legs. The NFC East The Cowboys really didn't do anything this year, uh, off season. They, they resigned Ezekiel Elliott. He's there. He's there. Yeah. Um, you know, they, it's still CD lamb. I think they added a receiver out there, but it's probably, I would have to assume Philadelphia is going to win this division pretty convincingly. Yeah. I think they're on a bit of a revenge tour. Uh, the way last year ended jail and hurts. He gets his confidence back is going to be back to
00:21:56
Speaker
being a really good quarterback. So I see us finishing probably third or fourth. It's going to be like it always has been over the recent years, Philly, Dallas, us or Washington. i You know, somewhere in that order. Yeah. And I think the NFC is getting a lot better at this moment in time. It seems like the NFC is improving. they you know Both the Bears, Washington upgraded the quarterback position. um And so yeah the NFC is probably going to make some upgrades this year. Obviously, the AFC has been team to be and the team coming out of the AFC has kind of been the team to beat because it's been Kansas City. yeah Speaking of them, is there a little bit of nerves coming from your side about Kansas City possibly getting a three-peat?
00:22:43
Speaker
A little bit, yeah, a little bit. I'm going to be honest. I mean, especially like with their first round pick being like another speedster
Kansas City's NFL Supremacy and AFC Predictions
00:22:50
Speaker
receiver. That's like another thing that kind of kind of concerns me because that was like their Achilles heel, even though they won the Super Bowl was just like black receiver play all the drops those receivers had. So, you know, I'm not going to sit here and say that he's like Mr. Hands or anything, but like he's a burner. I think x Xavier worthy can run like a four to can very clearly get open, especially with a The other kind of thin receiver they picked up, I think Marquise, Marquise Goodwin, Marquise Brown. and they They got a Hollywood Brown. Hollywood Brown, that's right. He actually changed his name to Hollywood.
00:23:21
Speaker
Oh, is that legal, too? it Yeah, that's like a like a met like a meta world piece kind of thing. Like a Chad Ocho Sinko. I can kind of respect that. I think that speed everywhere. I think Travis Kelsey, like you can kind of see is like the client in some games this this past year. I think he still has a little bit left in the tank. But as long as my home is there, I think they're still the team to be. So, yeah, I'm scared to death that they're going to win a third but the third Super Bowl this year. Yeah, they're already probably in production for the the dynasty, the Chiefs. Uh, they probably have a documentary for already like traveling them around to following, uh, Patrick and Brittany and Taylor Swift. It's kind of bizarre. What, uh, you know, you have, uh, they've got four Super Bowls already, you know, three with this group, but four, including the one, uh, way at the beginning of the NFL. So teams are really, there's a little bit of a fear factor, I think in any stealer and Patriot fans head right now.
00:24:15
Speaker
with the fact that these teams are catching up. um Thankfully for you, the 49ers continue to find ways to not win Super Bowls and they can't get to that elusive number six because they had they've had their share of chances. You know, not even just a segue, but I really hope the Boston Celtics don't turn into San Francisco 49ers. I'm really, really hoping not because that's like the worst fear for me being stuck at banner banner 17 for the rest of my life. But yeah, I like to your point. I don't I don't see I think Kansas City is going to be there in the end. I think it's hard to pick against them at this point. The homes is always going to be like at the top as long as he's healthy.
00:24:52
Speaker
And I think you kind of said it before, like, it feel like it kind of runs through the AFC just in terms of talent, at least for now. I mean, something can always change from, you know, figuring out, but like June 5th, it's hard to pick against champs. Right. And the Bengals are going to be back. Burrows coming off the injury. The one thing I do see taking a step back is probably maybe a step forward long-term, but a step back short-term is the bills. I just, I feel like their window, they kind of missed it. yeah that You're going to look back at 13 seconds against the chiefs in the AFC division all around when they had the lead field goal lead with 13 seconds and the bills kicked it through the end zone. They gave them homes to plays.
00:25:36
Speaker
And he got them into field goal range, tied it, and the Bills never saw the ball again, because the Chiefs won, which is the reason they changed the overtime rule. Chiefs won the toss, received, went down and scored. um And that was kind of, that was the closest they got. It never felt, that, that felt like that Bills team was as good as that Chiefs team, maybe even better at that, at that moment in time, but they missed their window. Yeah, they had, I mean, they had the opportunity and in their hands, but like classic Buffalo Bills, they kind of let it slip through. it Even this past year, I thought was like a winnable game, even though I felt like there was some chemistry issues between digs and the rest of the team. but now that kind of That kind of was validated by the fact he was traded away. Yeah. Yeah. And that's, this was the first time they got them at Orchard Park where they weren't going to Arrowhead and they just
00:26:24
Speaker
They just don't they won't get past the Chiefs until they do. It's one of those things where I won't pick the bills to beat the Chiefs in a meaningful game and just in ah January or February until I see it. um I don't think there's a reason to at this point. It's almost boring, in a sense, the way the Chiefs are winning because like picking against them is like if you're a a in the in ah in a playoff game is almost like just if you're gambling, for example, you're just giving your money away. It doesn't make sense to pick against them because they're not going to lose.
00:26:58
Speaker
Yeah, so Patriots back in the day two under Tom Brady and Bill. I mean, yeah, I get it. But that's like the new standard in the league now. It runs through Kansas City. It runs through Mahomes until proven otherwise, you know, and Joe Burrow did have that one year where they were be able to like come out ahead of Patrick Mahomes in the AFC Championship game. We'll see if that's one and done or if that can maybe even be like a budding rivalry in the AFC moving forward to for all we know. Yeah, I would like to see that. I would also like to see a team like Houston kind of take that next step. Although digs digs going there either either can really help a young quarterback.
00:27:33
Speaker
ah like you did originally for Josh Allen, or he could be a train wreck again. right I mean, this is the guy who's forced his way out of two places already, forced his way out of Minnesota, didn't like her cousins, forced his way out of Buffalo. So, you know, a little reminiscent of Mr. Kyrie Irving, who we'll get to in just a bit, um kind of forcing his way out of places. And now it seems like Kyrie, for example, as I actually You know, matured a lot. So maybe that'll be what happens to Steph Diggs in his third location.
00:28:10
Speaker
You never know, I mean, they also already have a lot of talent at receiver too. Yeah. Nico Collins, Tank Dell, CJ Stroud, obviously at quarterback. So if Degs looks at it as like, I'm going to be the guy again, like I wasn't Buffalo in Minnesota, like it's my birthright, that's going to be a problem. But if he can kind of go in just looking to contribute to like a winning team, that's a big if obviously, because you never really know with some of these diva receivers. But if he's able to play ball in that way, He was to say they can't make a big run. Obviously that's a very wonderful division too on top of that, the AFC South. Yeah. And they grabbed Joe Mixon off the scrap heap. That's right. with them Kind of improved the running back room. Their defense was pretty decent. They've got the young head coach. I'm excited.
00:28:53
Speaker
uh, for the NFL season, not necessarily for the giants, but just for kind of these young up and coming players to see what they are, to see the new quarterbacks, see who kind of makes it and you know, what, what that all kind of looks like. Um, and like one last thing before we head to the NBA, uh, what are your thoughts on the international games?
NFL International Games and Kyrie Irving's NBA Success
00:29:16
Speaker
Uh, just kind of like some of the locations are pretty insane, like a Friday night to start the year. I believe the Eagles and Packers are playing in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Pretty, pretty bizarre. Um, but obviously football is becoming like kind of a universally loved sport, apparently, although it's not necessarily played everywhere.
00:29:38
Speaker
I didn't even know about the Sao Paulo aspect. I know the last couple of years, obviously, they've had like the London games and obviously the Patriots played in Germany this past year, which makes sense that there'd be like a following, you know, german Germany and England, just because it's kind of closer to like the West than it is to, you know, other countries and in comparison. But Sao Paulo is very surprising. This is actually like the first time I've heard that. That's week one, too. Week one. So they're obviously yeah the first game is always Thursday night, and that's Chiefs. Ravens AFC Championship rematch and then the that Friday, I believe, is the Packers and the Eagles. So Friday night football. Wow.
00:30:21
Speaker
I'm looking, I pulled up the international schedule here too. So I didn't even realize the Giants play at the Panthers at the home of Bayern Munich too. We tend. Yeah. I send a Mr. Maxi a text. I don't know. He should go to that match. Oh, I actually did. Okay. I'm connecting the dots now. I did see that. Okay. That makes sense. It was like a context helps. ah Patriots play against Jacksonville at Wembley stadium. I already knew that. Jacksonville plays like four games in England every year. Which is Yeah, they really want them to move to England. england Doesn't it seem like. Yeah, I think it's just one of those things they that's kind of the England team now, like people are actually fans of them because of how often they play there. Sister, it's a random to. It makes sense because they don't have some crazy following here in the US. They're kind of like, you know, this Google County, Florida, that's ah Florida, you know, Florida and the NFL don't always mix.
00:31:17
Speaker
Um, the fans aren't coming crazy. That's Florida's college, a college state, you know, yeah as you know, but, um, yeah, let's, uh, let's grab some MBA. All right. So obviously bread and butter time evening before game one of the NBA finals, Justin. I want to be able to kind of get an outsider's perspective on the NBA Finals. It's got to be kind of like a weird feeling for you seeing Kyrie really succeed with Dallas in a way that, you know, as a scorned team, as the Nets.
00:31:52
Speaker
I can kind of relate with the Boston Celtics and now Kyrie Irving kind of mishandled his last few days, last few months with both teams. up To see him kind of succeed with Luca in Dallas now has to be probably a weird feeling, but I also want to be able to just see like in terms of rooting interest, I feel like you already told me this on Saturday when I saw you in person, but um who are you rooting for out of the series? Because I feel like it's lose-lose either way for you as a Nets fan. Yeah, as as it always is, it's always lose-lose. I still definitely, I do want to see Dallas win. um It's going to be an interesting series. I think that one of the main differences is probably that
00:32:32
Speaker
You can make the argument Dallas has two closers in Luca and Kyrie when it comes to crunch time. I think this series is going to be similar to actually the second NBA finals between the Warriors and the Cavs. The one the Cavs kind of won after Draymond Green had that suspension. I think he got suspended game five or six. Both, I think. Yeah. And Cleveland was able to get it to a game seven. I think Kyrie is on a mission. I don't know ah when you run up against a better team what that's going to look like. The good thing for if you're a Dallas fan and you're you're hoping to pull off this upset in this series is you've pulled up three opposites already. ah You beat the Clippers who I think were ahead of them. They were four seed.
00:33:19
Speaker
You beat Oklahoma City, who was the one seed, but lacked experience. Obviously that showed, and Gordon Hayward apparently was not very happy. He didn't play very much. and Nor Robin Hayward. His wife mayday made a pretty big deal about it. um and then you be And then you beat Minnesota, who I thought after the way they beat Denver in game seven, I was like, I don't know if this team is going to lose again. And then they go out to a 3-0 series deficit against Dallas. So the way Dallas is playing is just, it's really, really tough when you have two guys who can score kind of at will, which is what Dallas has. um Do they run out of gas at this point? It's hard to say. The good thing for them and the good thing for both teams is they kind of made their last, their conference finals pretty simple.
00:34:10
Speaker
They both won in five games. Well, Celtics had a sweep, but they both won it pretty convincingly. So they had tons, they both have tons of rest. I think there's a couple of interesting storylines. Like you mentioned the Kyrie Irving back to Boston situation. I almost forget he played there. Obviously you don't as a fan, but you kind of forget because it was only two years, if I have that correct. You won't forget tomorrow when you watch the game and you hear all the boos from the crowd. I've seen whenever he goes there, he does not get the yeah the nicest treatment. No. Yeah, I do think back to ah game one two years ago, and he was having a tremendous game, Nets, Celtics, Eastern Conference first round.
00:34:55
Speaker
Yeah. I thought the Nets were actually going to win. They had a lead, a one point lead. And then Jason Tatum had that like wide open layup. How he got so wide open was just, and then the series basically was over. Yeah. After that, I really, they didn't really have a shot. Yeah. Whether they did or not, after they weren't going to win the series that day, but they did lose the series that day. So, another storyline, Jason Kidd, who won an NBA Finals for Dallas against Miami, ah the Dirk Nowitzki kind of group back in the... Yep, LeBron's first year down there at South Beach. 2008 or 2009. 2011, yeah. 2011, that kind of group of Mavericks. It was an upset, I felt, the way Dallas won. I think the world was rooting for Dallas.
00:35:41
Speaker
that year against Miami. So that's an interesting storyline. Jason Kidd obviously was the head coach for the Nets. Obviously a great, you know, hall of fame talent in my opinion for the Nets for many years. Always loved Jason Kidd. He didn't work out as coach ah with Brooklyn, but you know. that ah it seems like him and Kyrie have a good connection, Kid and Kyrie, and that's ah big part of this series a big part of that run. i mean Kyrie Urban grew up in West Orange rooting for the New Jersey Nets and like rooting for Jason Kidd.
00:36:16
Speaker
You know, so that's kind of cool to be a guy that you idolized. So can Boston kind of neutralize both those guys if they can, or at least limit the damage and make other guys beat them. It will be a tough series for Dallas. We can maybe get into predictions like before we, we you know, as time goes on, but In order, like as an outside perspective, with all the playoff games you've seen from both teams, all the highlights you've accumulated through this entire postseason run, let's do like a little thought experiment. and Finish a sentence that I'm about to start, Justin. Boston will lose the series if.
00:36:59
Speaker
If Porzingis goes down. Yo, there's a chance they could win with Al Horford riding those center minutes. I think that would be a really tough task. Um, yeah, they son the way this they, the schedule has worked out in their favor. There's no doubt. I think they were going to get to the finals, uh, no matter what this year, I don't think there was a team getting in their way, but it did not hurt. Uh, the fact that they played a kind of a damaged heat team, um, who, who was kind of down anyway from last year they played.
00:37:30
Speaker
Cleveland, who we kind of know are frauds. They really aren't. You know, Donovan Mitchell, the last couple games either. two points not not ah And then Indiana just didn't seem like they were really in this. I mean, after, look, they took that game away and Jalen Brown deserves a ton of credit for making that three. Cause if you lose game one, then people start biting their nails and they're saying, maybe, maybe this is this can't be happening again. right after last year. So they they've stood they stood tall to all the tasks. But I think this is going to be the best team they play in playoffs. I don't think there's really too much of an argument about that. No, it's Andrew Butz by far. done And they've done this without Porzingis. So that's been impressive. But now now we're getting to the meat and potatoes. this is yeah know This is the finals. This is different.
00:38:18
Speaker
I don't think this is Denver versus Miami last year where Miami was shot by the time they got there. I think both teams are coming in and playing really good basketball, which should make for a really good finals. As a semi-neutral observer, I'm not going to say you don't have a rooting interest, but do you feel like this is one of the more competitive finals in recent memory? I think it could be similar to a golden state Boston as far as yeah high level basketball. I'm trying to think of recent finals. I really was not locked in at all when Phoenix and Milwaukee played. I kind of checked out after COVID year. Yeah. After Kevin Durant's foot, you know, ended up being a little too big and Kyrie was injured.
NBA Finals Dynamics: Boston vs. Dallas
00:39:00
Speaker
James Harden was already in Vegas at the strip clubs. My interest in the NBA died the same night that, uh, that three was actually a two pointer from KD.
00:39:11
Speaker
Yeah. I'm, I'm very interested in this final, you know, cause if, if it ended up being Indiana or Cleveland or one of these teams, my interest would be very, very low. But it being Dallas who really doesn't get there that often. And, uh, I think the last time they got there was probably that year against the heat but love and Boston's obviously, you know, the interest is obvious because, you know, you're going to be locked in. It's a, it's a iconic franchise for basketball. So I think the interest level in general should be pretty high amongst anyone, uh, who's kind of watching NBA this year.
00:39:50
Speaker
Yeah, I feel like especially like in your neck of the woods to New Jersey, New York City, New York, especially, there's got to be a lot of people just rooting for Kyrie, considering he's from the area, considering. I was going to say, like, considering playing for Brooklyn, that probably doesn't really apply, though, because he didn't really leave on like the best terms. kind of Yeah, but just kind of like the anti-Boston sentiment. I guess it was trying to paint that narrative, but it it mostly just comes down to like not wanting to see Boston win, I'm sure. And that's probably the same case in California with the Lakers and obviously the state of Texas and even the state of Florida with Miami. So I feel it's probably a lot of rooting interest against Boston for that reason. And when there's a villain in the NBA, you certainly want to be able to watch and cheer that much harder against them.
00:40:31
Speaker
Right. So you now, like for you, going into this series, going into the NBA Finals, first one, well, really only for our second final in three years for the Celtics, what do they have to do different from two years ago against Golden State to kind of I don't know, from a maturity level, from ah a basketball level, how do they, how does this group don't, who doesn't have a finals, who doesn't have a finals winner on the team, right? As far as I know, true holiday one with the bar holiday. Yeah. So that does help a lot, but how does this team outside of him, the guys who don't have that finals championship experience, they played in the finals two years ago.
00:41:16
Speaker
How do they get over the hump from kind of two years ago and last year from the Eastern Conference Final? ah Great question. I think in a lot of ways, this team's DNA is vastly different from that team that was led by Marcus Smart, Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum in 2022. I think the first point being taking Marcus Smart out of the equation this past year. I know the media loves him, especially like around here. He's the hustle player, he's the the heart and soul, the but the backbone of the team, you know, all the euphemisms you can kind of put on that guy, they would probably fit in a lot of ways. so
00:41:48
Speaker
But I think taking him out has really helped Jalen and Jason kind of have more fingerprints over the offense and control over the team and their voices, being a bit louder because of Marcus leaving. I also think like addition by subtraction, like taking Marcus out and replacing him with Drew Holliday, trading Rob Williams in the Drew Holliday trade and getting Christaps Porzingis to be able to replace him. I know he hasn't been healthy lately, but just on paper, that's an amazing starting five, arguably one of the best starting fives in my lifetime. And that was kind of, you know, I'm not going to say like best team of one of the best teams in my lifetime until they win it, if they win it. But at least on paper, one of the best statistically offensive teams we've seen in decades kind of mirrors, they're not going to say they're the 2017 warriors, but if they're not them, they're probably like a notch below them. If I'm being completely honest, I know like the media doesn't really love that narrative because they didn't really have like the hardest walk to the but finals. Obviously, as you just mentioned, but.
00:42:48
Speaker
To answer your to your your first question, I think Jalen, Jason, Drew, Al, Chris Dobbs, they all got to play together. and That's a really cliche thing to say, but I think at times in the last couple of years, we've played ah a lot more isolation ball. We've played a lot more my turn, your turn, my turn, your turn offense, and that's never translated well. I think being able to get enough ball movement ah um on offense is going to be tremendous. I think just having Porzingis down low to be able to kind of have that as a mismatch against Derek Lively and the Daniel Gaffords of the world is going to be really helpful. And even if they want to play five out, I mean, you can have Al Horford, Christoph Porzingis, Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Drew Holliday, and even Derek White too. I haven't even mentioned him yet.
00:43:32
Speaker
Pick your poison. That's five really good shooters on the court of all time. And that kind of negates Lively and Gafford's ability to be able to shop lock down low if you got if you have all those players playing out there. So I think ball movement is going to be really essential in the series. I don't want to see a lot of Tatum isolation unless the situation warrants it. And even then, He has played better in the last couple of series. I know he hasn't had the best shooting percentages so far with this postseason, but if you look at his numbers, he's averaging about 26, 10, and 6 so far this postseason as a 26-year-old. He's only 94 points away, too, from being able to pass LeBron for the most points scored by a player 26 or younger in the postseason in history.
00:44:14
Speaker
So all all, you know, I'm kind of rambling on it now again, but like all things considered on paper, at least it's looking good for the Celtics. And I think especially from a defensive standpoint, not going to say they can stop Luca or Kyrie, but I think they can certainly make it harder for them than the other teams did. I know Minnesota had a really good defense, but I don't know if they had like the best guards or forwards to really match up with Luca and Kyrie. I think we do. I think Drew Holliday can, I'm gonna say easily defend Kyrie, but I think he can make it tough for him. Same with Derek White and his shop locking ability. Tatum on Luca, Jaylen on Luca with their strength and with their bodies. On paper, once again, I can't stress this enough, on paper, it looks really good.
Celtics' Championship Window and NBA Finals Matchup
00:44:54
Speaker
And I'm a lot more hopeful, I'll just say this, I'm a lot more hopeful this year than I was two years ago when Steph Curry was leading the Warriors against us, against a really young Boston team like that.
00:45:05
Speaker
So it might be a bizarre question given the fact they're in the finals, but is Joe Mazzullo's job on the line in this finals? I think it depends on how they go out. If they lose in a sweep or if they lose in five games and he just looks like he's completely pants by Jason Kidd as a coach, I think it makes sense to maybe give him the boot and maybe even giving Jeffy and Gandhi the head coaching job next year, who's already in the Celtics organization. You're making a face. He didn't even know that. So they hired Jeff. I didn't know. I do remember you mentioning that a while ago that he's kind of, which makes sense why he's not on TV. He's consulting for the Southeast this year. There's rumors. much good He was a pretty good head coach for the Knicks, right? Back in the nineties. And I know he moved around a lot.
00:45:51
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Great. Good basketball mind, obviously commentating all those years, but people forget that he led that New York Knicks team in a 99 as the eight seat to the NBA finals and it's a Spurs. Um, obviously lost, but took a Latrell Spreewell team to the finals. That's not a easy feat. Is he the one who got a choked out by Latrell Spreewell or is that PJ Carlosimo? That's Carlosimo. Yeah. Yeah, he was the Nets coach for a little while. Really? Yeah. I remember him always is like the Sox coach. For some reason, that's a sound. really Sonics. But you know what I mean? and um Yeah, I mean, Missoula's on the hot seat. Tatum's on the hot seat, too. I mean, if Tatum loses his finals again, he's going to be like the Buffalo Bills joke in the NBA for this. He did get a monster contract, right? That's Jalen. Jalen got the monster contract. He's still waiting. that He's still playing for a contract.
00:46:40
Speaker
He's eligible for a massive extension this year. And they also just announced the new MBA deal too. I don't know if you saw this with MVC, ESPN, and Prime. It's going to equate to $7 to $8 billion. So I think contracts, once again, are going to be going up. But I don't know if there's going to be more rules or ramifications for teams that have too big of contracts. Um, kind of like what they did with the Warriors when they had like these enormous contracts. yeah Um, and it was kind of getting out of control and they want to be able to make it like with a bit more equity across the league. I don't know if something like that's going to happen again. So my point being like, this is the window. This is the time to be able to win. Everyone is healthy, except maybe poor Zingas, even though he's going to be playing game one, according to all reports. So if they don't get it done this year, I mean, and unfortunately as a Celtics fan, I have to say it, like someone's going to have to pay the price for that.
00:47:29
Speaker
Yeah, and another storyline since you mentioned him, Porzingis and Donchitz apparently did not really gel very much when they were in Dallas together. I wonder if, I mean, obviously, positionally, they really won't match up against each other. ah But I think both those guys will have a chip on their shoulders playing against each other, kind of trying to prove who, you know, if the organization made the right move or not, uh, kind of worked out for both guys. Obviously Dallas is in the final, uh, posing this is a big reason why Boston is here. Um, based on his regular season, obviously he hasn't had a chance to contribute too much in the playoffs. But, you know, if, if that guy's healthy, if that guy's hitting threes and, you know, dunking and, uh, blocking shots,
00:48:17
Speaker
He could be the reason why you're hanging banner number 18, would it be? Yeah, would be, in theory. Yeah, I mean, it's just a lot to ask too, man. I mean, it's been almost a month and a half since he last played. It was game three in the first round against Miami when he kind of tweaked that calf. So, I know he's passed all the workouts and stuff and he's been able to scrimmage. I don't know if he's gonna be on percent. I don't know if he even really needs to be. If he can be- Yeah, at this stage in the year, no one is, right? No one is. No one is dealing with something. Yeah, I think Luca even like answered a question about that of like not being 100% either, which if I was a Dallas fan, that would annoy me. I don't know like what they talk about down down there in Dallas other than like the Cowboys and barbecue. But they literally, they probably do not know in Dallas that the maps are in the finals. They're still talking about the Cowboys season ending against the Packers.
00:49:05
Speaker
They're talking about Jerry Jones and whether he's the guy to be able to lead the franchise on June 5th. They had the Stars almost in the Stanley Cup and the Mavericks and the flight in the finals right now. Texas Rangers won the World Series last year and I guarantee none of that got talked on sports radio in Dallas. It's all about the Cowboys down there. Or like some obscure like D1 high school football team that made it out of like the Round Rock tournament in Northern Texas, whatever the case may be. Yeah, I don't know. I mean, in theory, like they have a pretty good sports fan base. My friend Austin's a big maps fan, so I can't really talk too much about him. But um yeah, in general, it's mostly football, so not a big shocker there.
00:49:46
Speaker
but I would be so annoyed if Dallas won, man. I mean, they got, I'm not gonna say like they won out of a fluke. Cause like, look at that, the Dallas team in 2011 that were able to win it all. Like all the names that they beat, they beat, I want to say the Lakers, they beat Oklahoma City Thunder. They knocked off like the big three in Miami. Like that was one of the most legendary post-season runs in NBA history that Dirk has that no one ever really talks about. And I know this, you know, just because One thing happened many years ago doesn't mean it's going to correlate to today, but like seeing Luca being able to kind of go through the West like that with like relative ease, there's none of the series that went to seven games for him. The heavy hell of an achievement if you're you're able to kind of beat the super squad of the Boston Celtics in the finals. Yeah, it was he he's like 24 years old too.
00:50:35
Speaker
24 25 has already made multiple first round or first team all NBA's. Yep. But you gotta, that's the reality of this is you don't know if you're getting back. um A lot of, a lot of talking heads want to say, Oh, they'll be back. Um, like the way you talk about, if you're a diamond back fan from last year, do you really think you're getting back? I think they know that was their shot. I think You would have to argue a lot of, uh, I mean, when the Nets lost that game, I really felt like that was, that was it when they lost the Bucks. Um, I really didn't have that much confidence that they'd be back. You don't, you don't get those opportunities very often, um, unless you're, you know, the chiefs, but most of us don't get those opportunities very often, uh, where you actually get to see your team in a final. So you better win when you get there.
00:51:24
Speaker
No pressure. I prayed every day, man. this is the This has been the one elusive championship in my lifetime that I've been so patiently waiting for us since 2008 was the last time they won. They had the heartbreaking game seven loss in 2010. They've had multiple injuries that have handicapped them from being able to contend. Obviously, the big three retiring, having to rebuild, getting the Brooklyn Nets trade, which I don't need to remind you of. There's a lot at stake here. you know, and even just looking back at last year, like, I hate to say it, they shouldn't have been in this position to begin with. But like, if Tatum doesn't spray in his ankle in game seven, I think they probably probably would have won at home. But that's neither here nor there. So like, my point being, you said it right, like, this is there for the taking, you have to be able to take advantage of these moments.
00:52:11
Speaker
100%. So with that said, what is your ah finals prediction? Who wins? How many games? And also who's the X factor in the series?
00:52:27
Speaker
Before I've been saying to other people Celtics at six, I'm going to stand by that. I think they're going to close it out in Dallas, which is where game six will be. Obviously, I think it'll probably go one one back to Dallas, I think. Boston wins both games there down in Dallas. Dallas will win one up here. And then I think Boston closes it out in Dallas. I've been playing this kind of narrative in my head the last week since I realized that they, ah once once it was kind of found out that they were going to make the ah finals after they beat Indiana. I think the X factor.
00:53:00
Speaker
I'm probably gonna pick Drew. I know that's not really like a sexy pick just because he's already been there. He's won a chip. He's one of the best defensive players in the league but I think his presence defensively against Kyrie and being able to switch on to Luca from time to time, once again, not not to say that he's gonna be like the stopper for either of them but I think he can make life really tough for them one-on-one. And I think we need to be able to have really, really sound defense one-on-one just because this is such a heavy isolation team between both Kyrie and Luca. I think on the map side I'd probably pick Derek Lively. He's really impressed me as a rookie. I think he's made like all of his field goals so far even though they're just like dunks and putbacks. He's just like an energy guy, gets a lot of rebounds, can block shots. Him and Gafford are a good two-handed monster down low defensively and just had like a good presence about them. So if like picking a maves Mavericks player out would go Lively and I think picking a Celtics player would go Drew. But um
00:53:54
Speaker
I think it's going to come down to just who can make like the the last stops in the last couple minutes of the game. And I think the Celtics are in more positioned to be able to do that. Right. Yeah. I do remember lively at Duke. He was an absolute stud. He was just, ah I mean, Pitt obviously doesn't have any seven foot players. Um, not since Steven Adams, which a certain name drop at this point in time, but yeah, they, uh, yeah, he just blocked the crap out of everyone who tried to shoot on him. Yeah. It is. Yeah. Kind of. Yeah. Crazy seeing him in the NBA kind of doing exactly what he did in college, basically.
00:54:28
Speaker
Perfect fit on that offense to like is able to get lobs and it just seems like Luke and Kyrie really know where he's going to be on all all times in the floor too, right? Yes, Sir, so. I guess for my prediction for this finals, I'm going to make it interesting for you, make you sweat a little bit. I'm going to take, like I mentioned earlier, I feel like this final is going to be very similar to that Warriors Cavaliers from, I don't remember the year, but it was the second time they played, I think they played four years in a row, right?
00:55:05
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. 15, 16, 17, 18. Cause I think LeBron was in the finals eight years in a row, four years in Miami and then four in Cleveland, which is just, you know, not certain. Yeah. But I think based on what I've seen in the playoffs so far, uh, you mentioned kind of late game situations, Dallas having two closers is going to be an advantage for them. I think with Luca and Kyrie, um, and just, you know, I think Kyrie's kind of turned the clock back to the way he played in that. 2016, like you mentioned, NBA Finals, where he really, I mean, LeBron keeps coming out and saying, I wish I had Kyrie still, you know, I wish Kyrie still on my team because he realizes without Kyrie, ah Cleveland doesn't win a championship and his legacy is kind of not, although LeBron had that amazing block on,
00:55:54
Speaker
Iguodala, you know, to kind of save the game there, but the way Kyrie just cooked Steph Curry and hit that three, uh, really unbelievable. Um, and I think based on having those two closers, I think this comes to a game seven back in Boston, tight game, um, tight series overall. And I think having Doncic and Irving is just going to be the one advantage having those two guys. uh, one who has won an NBA finals, one who hasn't been there yet, uh, with Doncic, but I think that's that little advantage Dallas needs, uh, to kind of win this series, but I think it's going seven and it's going to be, you know, within two to three points, like one of the best kind of ending of a finals what we've seen kind of since that Cleveland, uh, Golden State seven game series.
00:56:44
Speaker
As an NBA fan, I'm not even a Celtics fan, but as an NBA fan, I think we're due for a really competitive finals. I don't know if it's going to be... I go back and forth with this because like I have to respect Luca and Kyrie's talent, obviously. like How can you not? There's no way to stop them both, but I also think if the Celtics play their game, think another big caveat in this. If Tatum can even just rise to the occasion and be a top five player in the league, like kind of play in that vicinity, can if he can give you 26 10 six again and like shoot a more efficient vehicle percentage. I think we win this in five or six. I truly do. I think especially knowing that we are kind of a deeper team than Dallas like I know we talked a lot about Luke and Kyrie and we talked about lively being the X factor but
00:57:28
Speaker
Derek Jones, PJ Washington, those guys need to average 8 to 15 points a game for them to be kind of in the driver's seat, to for Luke and Kyrie to kind of take over the wheel once once it comes to like crunch time in the fourth quarter. Right. Yeah, I feel like, like I said earlier, if Porzingis goes down, which I'm not expecting, but I wouldn't be surprised, that that'll hurt. um Obviously, Boston. So, you know, hopefully Ken stay healthy, make the series very exciting. um But I think I hope
00:58:03
Speaker
I hope I'm right about this. I think this is going to be tight. Most of these games are going to be very tight. i just ah way i guess Boston's really pretty much blown through the Eastern Conference. They had that really tight game against Indiana, the tough loss against Miami in game two, and game two against Cleveland, um the game you were at. um Unfortunately, it was the like their worst game of the entire time. The last game they lost, too. Yeah. but um maybe you broke the curse um but yeah i just i really expect a tight series overall i think both teams are gonna lock down and if i had to pick an x factor to be honest uh it's not somebody that's on the court it's gonna be the head coach and i think it's gonna be jason kid i think like you mentioned like um
00:58:49
Speaker
Missoula, he's on the hot seat. You really don't hear about, in a sense, the coaches on the hot seat when they're in the finals. So that shows kind of, and you've been pretty tough on him. You've been pretty fair, saying like, you know, this guy, I think he called him a bird brain once, which is really- That's Kendrick Perkins words. I was just echoing what he said. Yeah. No, yeah his literal quote was, if you take a bird a bird's brain out of its head and then turn it around and then and put it in Joe Missoula's brain, it's going to be, i I'm butchering the quote, but it was like an all-timer. Let me look it up. but Keep talking. No, that's tremendous. so So I think the better coach at this point, I never thought I'd say this the way this guy coached the Nets, but it's probably Jason Kidd. So he might kind of be that X factor, kind of the non off the court, ah you know, from the sideline X factor in the series.
00:59:40
Speaker
I think you could be right. I think, you I mean, he certainly has more experience and even just like knowing he's been in this stage before in the NBA finals a couple of times. Like that's, like I can't argue against that to know that that's like an advantage, but I also want to be able to give Missoula some flowers too. I know that he didn't have like the most, ah you know, devastating personnel he's gone up against with a Jimmy Butler less Miami Heat or like a Donovan Mitchell less Cleveland Cav Wiers team, but You know, there's also only for two games, but I think he's done a pretty good job as yeah as coach so far in the playoffs at least. And now obviously that can always change. But the the the players seem to respond well to him. I think there's a lot of buying factor. And I think from a team like the Boston Celtics, a lot of veterans, that's the most you can hope for. I didn't pull up the quote I want to see real quick yeah about Missoula. You wonder if you take his brain out and you put it in a bird. The bird is going to start flying backwards. Wow.
01:00:33
Speaker
That's pretty good. Cause Kendra Perkins, a lot of time is kind of like, you know, dumb and hard. So the fact he came up with something that funny is pretty impressive for him. Yeah. It was like one of the more funny quotes I've seen than the NBA all year for what it's worth, even though Perkins as a Celtics fan, like driving nuts. Yeah. Yeah. I do remember him on the Celtics. Um, my last question for you before we, you know, close up shop and get ready for game one tomorrow night in, uh, bean town. game on the line. South looks down by two, one or two with 15 seconds to go. Who do you want to have the ball in their hands? Taking that final shot. Ooh. Is this after a timeout or like live ball? They just go either way. Chaos timeout. Either way.
01:01:26
Speaker
It's hard to pick against Jalen Brown, man. yeah That game one shot over Siakam was healthy. He had no angle. He was falling out of bounds. There could have been a foul called even. Yeah, he got, he got like hit on the arm there too by his face. Hard to pick against that man. And I've seen like, and maybe I'm just recency bias, but I've seen so many Jason Tatum isolation fade away threes trying to. you just settle and He He settles way too much. He doesn't need to with his size. Dude, every person says this too. like it's like Groundhog day, every time it's the fourth quarter and crunch time. That being said in Indiana, he had, he hit a few really big shots. There's one three hit.
01:02:05
Speaker
In overtime that also in game three or game four, I think it was game four, he had a three pointer with like 90 seconds left that brought them within three. Without him hitting that, it's probably Indiana that's going to win by like seven, eight points. He also had an amazing play where he's going to the hoop. He like does it ah behind the back past Al Horford for like a wide open three to be able to like tie the game. in that spot, like all-star superstar kind of move that you wanna be able to see at Tatum if we have any chance in the series. So I do have hope as a Celtics fan that he's gonna play it at a much better level than he did in the first time around against Steph Curry and the Warriors. But I have also been traumatized many times, Celtics fans. So I'm trying to be costly optimistic.
01:02:46
Speaker
And if they do bring home banner number 18, will you be in attendance for the parade since it's like outside your house? I would be stupid not to. Yeah, of course I'll be going. I probably won't remember much of it, if you know what I mean, but I'll be there. I'll take pictures. I'll take videos.
01:03:03
Speaker
Well, yeah, I hope this is a great series. You know, best of luck to you and your Celtics in this NBA Finals. And we'll obviously be in touch during the games. Looking forward to catching up after this finals is over. And hopefully it's with you having a big giant smile on your face after ah banner number 18 is raised at the TD Garden. I hope more more so than anything, Justin. I hope you're right. Get talking to you. All right. We'll see you all later. but