Nerd Sesh - Game 2 Reactions: Lakers GET REVENGE on Timberwolves, Pacers best Bucks

The nerds react to Luka Doncic, LeBron James & the Los Angeles Lakers looking to bounce back vs. Anthony Edwards & the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2, break down Tyrese Haliburton & the Indiana Pacers cooking Giannis Antetokounmpo & the Milwaukee Bucks, and discuss Shai Gilgeous-Alexander & the Oklahoma City Thunder dominating Ja Morant & the Memphis Grizzlies once again.

Timestamps

00:00:23 - Lakers-Timberwolves

00:23:15 - Pacers-Bucks

00:43:46 - Thunder-Grizzlies

#Volume

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
The volume. No, no, oh my god, how could he
do that?

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Don't want what Charles Darwin.

Speaker 1 (00:20):
The nerves is where it's at.

Speaker 2 (00:23):
Welcome everybody back into Nerds Sesh. As always, I'm Garson
Bradbert alongside and he is Logan Camden and you already
know what the deal is. We are going to be
breaking down all of the NBA playoff action that we
saw today, and we're gonna start with the marquee matchup
of the day Logan Lakers Timberwolves LA. Obviously, coming off

(00:44):
of a twenty two point defeat in Game one, they
get their revenge here in game two. What did you
take away from this performance and what changed for LA
to get this win?

Speaker 1 (00:56):
I mean, first, dude, this is just an ugly Nay,
it's the putrid, disgusting basketball game, like real. The Lakers
shoot six to twenty nine from behind the arc. Minnesota
shoots five of twenty five. I honestly think we can
start there. I think one of the biggest differences in

(01:16):
this game from Game one in this series was Minnesota's
supporting cast and their ability to really pull their weight
into make shots. I mean, nas Reed had an amazing
Game one. Jade McDaniels had an amazing Game one, and
both of those guys came back down crashing to earth.
Along with that, I think I have to give the
Lakers credit just for really bringing the energy tonight. I

(01:39):
thought they were swarming. I thought they brought the fight
to Minnesota and they played really really physical. I thought
this was a really physical game just in general. Two,
I thought the refs let both of these teams play
really hard, and honestly, in general, Carson, I've kind of
been really pleased with a level of intensity that the
refs and all of these games across every series. Really

(02:04):
the intensity they've let these guys play with, Like it's
a big difference to me. I don't know if you've
felt the difference, but like even last year, I thought
that they were way more like less, they were way
less lenient. I feel like they're really letting the guys
play this year.

Speaker 2 (02:20):
Well, they're calling fouls at the lowest rate that we
have ever seen in the playoffs. Like I've actually seen
that number put out there, so that is one hundred
percent true, And you just feel how different playoff basketball is.

Speaker 1 (02:34):
Man.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Like I tweeted out some numbers the other day, but
points per game are down by like nine compared to
the regular season. Pace has gone down from like ninety
nine on it, I get other ninety three.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
What do you think about it?

Speaker 2 (02:46):
I love it, bro I love it. Let's get a
little more physical, let's make buckets a little bit harder
to come by. But at the end of the day,
this is still the best offense that we've seen in
the NBA, and that does come through, but it's very balanced.
I like that there's eension on every possession when the
pace is slower, I think it's great. I love playoff
basketball and I think it's fun that it's different from
the regular season, and like the last two years we

(03:09):
have really really seen that because it was basically the
same drop off last year. Pace gets a lot slower,
offenses get a bit less efficient, and more physicality is
absolutely allowed.

Speaker 1 (03:19):
I think it's good for the environment of the game.
But I like that it doesn't it doesn't interrupt the
flow of the game, you know what I mean. Like,
I never feel like it's ever. That's when I feel
like the refs really make me mad is when they
mess up the flow of the game. But I've I've
really enjoyed I've really enjoyed it. That aside, you got
to give credit to the Lakers defense, I thought, for

(03:40):
their physicality night and what they were able to do
on the glass in comparison to Game one. But also Luca,
to me, was the best player on the basketball court
in this game, and that's a huge key. In these grimy,
rock fight type of environments, those kind of games, sometimes
the best player on the court is going to just
drag you through, and that's the way I felt about

(04:03):
Luca in this one. Fourteen points in the first quarter,
just came out blistering hot, comes out and ends this
game with thirty one points, nine assists, and he was
able to consistently generate the best offense for either of
these teams. And even that, I feel like some of
these don't show up in the stat sheet, even though

(04:23):
he does finish the game with thirty one points and
nine assists. There's some plays in this game where he
creates the initial advantage and then you get a swing
swing into a shot for the Lakers. But those are
the real differences. To me, I thought that the Lakers
were the more physical team. I thought they bullied and
beat up on Minnesota. They were better defensively and on
the glass. And I thought Luca was the best player

(04:44):
on the basketball court in this game. Credit to the
Wolves for that hillatious comeback in the fourth quarter to
get it to single digits. You know, they hold LA
scoreless in the fourth quarter for three minutes. But I
expected the series to kind of balance out this Carson,
I think we're in for a six to seven game
series between both of these teams. I think it's interesting

(05:06):
that we can kind of get both sides of the coin,
a little more offensive oriented basketball game in Game one
and more defensive oriented one in this one. But I
think this is a really balanced series. I still expect
the Lakers to pull it out, but those are the
big defense differences, Man, the Lakers defense, and Luca was
the best player on the court.

Speaker 2 (05:24):
I completely agree. And the Lakers won this game in
the first quarter, man, because honestly, for the last three quarters,
the Timberwolves were mostly the better team. It's just LA
was so utterly dominant in that first quarter. They built
themselves such a cushion that they were able to hold on.
And they built themselves that cushion in the exact two
areas that you just laid out. This was a phenomenal

(05:45):
defensive effort, and Luca was clearly the best player on
the floor, especially in that first quarter. The defensive effort
was so impressive, and I talked about how after Game
one I didn't want to see a radical shift in
scheme from the Lakers. I just wanted to see them
execute it better, with more intensity, with more physicality, be

(06:07):
more aggressive on your closeouts, running shooters off the line,
And they did all of those things in this game.
The physicality from them was super impressive. Their willingness to
sacrifice their bodies was unbelievable. I don't know if I've
ever seen that many offensive fouls drawn in a game
by one team.

Speaker 1 (06:24):
Man.

Speaker 2 (06:24):
I mean, they must have drawn seven or eight, and
that's everybody. Austin Reeves draws multiple, Luca draws multiple. So
they were very connected, they were very engaged, they were
very physical. They were running shooters off the line more
and funneling them into help instead of allowing more of
those open catch and shoot looks from three. But at
the end of the day, they stuck to their principles

(06:45):
and they did what they do best. They shrunk the floor.
They loaded up on Anthony Edwards. They had aggressive gap help,
and they dared to beat them as a passer again,
and they dared the Timberwolve shooters to beat them again.
And this was just a complete reversal from Game one
in those respects. Like I thought the Lakers were much

(07:06):
much better defensively executing their scheme. I also thought Anthony
Edwards was way worse as a decision maker, where I
thought that he was super willing as a passer in
Game one and was making all the reads. He has
zero assists in this game, so he's forcing more of
those looks that the Lakers want to bait him into.
If they can get him to settle for a tough

(07:26):
mid range jumper, that's a win every day of the week.
He shoots thirty seven percent on those shots that compared
to him getting all the way to the rim or
him creating three for a teammate and open three off
the kickout pass, like, They'll take those mid range jumpers
every day, and they got a couple of those from
him in this one. So he has to be better.
He has to be a playmaker first for the Timberwolves

(07:50):
to win this series, and the shooters around him have
to be way better, right They were flame throwers. In
Game one, they shot twenty percent from deep. In this
one they got a lot fewer looks from deep. And
I put a lot of that on Ant in his playmaking.
And I give some credit to the Lakers defense as well,
but they were terrible when they did have the shots.

(08:11):
So this is the thing with the Ant's playmaking, Logan, I
know that you are a massive, massive Ant fan. The
playmaking is inconsistent. Man. There are the games where you
feel like he's coming into it with the right approach
and he's pretty surgical and he's diagnosing things quickly, and
then you have the games where you feel like he
doesn't trust his teammates, he doesn't want to pass the ball,
he wants to try to assert himself as a scorer

(08:31):
and sometimes force it. And it felt like it was
one of those games. So Ant has to be better
as a pass with the Timberwolves have to shoot better
from deep to win this series. They didn't do either
of those things. The Lakers were significantly better defensively, and
Luka Doncics is playing at a really, really high level
right now. Man. I've expressed some concerns throughout this season
for him with the Lakers, about him not being the

(08:52):
same as a score compared to the standard that we're
used to, and that was true for a long while.
His first twenty three games with the Lakers, he was
averaging twenty six point eight points per game on fifty
six and a half percent true shooting. That's not Luka
doncc's production. That's not Luca doncrich efficiency. His last seven
games logan thirty four point three points per game on

(09:13):
sixty nine percent true shooting. The three ball is on
fire right now, but he looks so comfortable attacking and
beating switches. I think he's getting by people more. I
think he's getting to the line more. Still not at
peak Luca level of a couple years ago, but improvement
from where he was at a month ago. And that
is massive because if the Lakers want to win this series,

(09:34):
if they want to win multiple series, so much offensive
responsibility rests on Luca's shoulders. He has to be the
guy that we have known him to be over the years,
and he's looking like that guy again. So that's really big.

Speaker 1 (09:46):
I think that's really big. But also the other area
that we mentioned that the Lakers are great and I
think is going to be key to a long playoff run,
and that was their defense. And the thing about the
Lakers defense that I think is so encouraging isn't necessar
arely that they're you know, super matchup proof, because I
do think that like against teams with jumbo size lineups

(10:07):
or really big guys, like they could get beat on
the boards, you know, like they're not fully matchup proof.
But when they are winning defensively, this is a team
that can kill you and just put up a lot
of points in bunches with their transition play because they
get out on the break so quickly and they've got
so many skilled players. But also the fact that they

(10:28):
are a really big lineup across the board where they
can gang rebound, but they're also really really quick and
their rotations are really solid and so everything's clicking, Like
this really is a complete team. But specifically, how they
can turn defense into offense is really what I think
makes this LA team deadly. When Luca and Lebron get

(10:49):
it going like this, I'm I'm excited about the prospect
of a of an LA run, but I am disappointed
in Minnesota too. Man, I'm really disappointed in Aunt Carson,
and I get it's like growing pains with a young player. Man,
It's just gonna take time. Dude. I'm just disappointed because,
like I can see it, you know what I mean,

(11:10):
Like I can see that Ant. I know that Ant's
gonna be one of the best players on the planet
one day. It's just gonna take getting to that level
of consistency. And I just wanted to be here right now. Man.
It's like, uh, I remember when my baby cousin was born, Dude,
I was so excited to have another boy in the family.
And uh I remember Kenny had just been born, Dude,

(11:31):
he was probably like an hour old, and the first
thing that I asked my uncle and aunt was when
can I play with him? And they all just like
busted out laughing because I mean, he's literally a newborn.
Like that's how I feel with Ant, man, Like I
know that I'm gonna get you.

Speaker 2 (11:43):
Want to play with him?

Speaker 1 (11:44):
I I know that we're gonna get there, man, And
I know that Ann is gonna be there. But it's
just frustrating when you have a performance like this after
such an encouraging game, one where it feels like he's
so poised and he knows what's expected of him and
what he needs to do execute, and then you just
get a game like this where he kind of crashes
back down to earth. Especially too, when I thought Julius

(12:06):
Randall played a pretty good game by Julius Randall standards man.

Speaker 2 (12:11):
And considering just how grimy this game was, I agree.
I thought that he was efficient attacking mismatches. I thought
that he was pretty good overall. He was definitely their
best player in this one. So it is a rough
performance from ant. I do want to give credit to
the Lakers in a couple areas in which I thought
they showed big improvement, And you mentioned one of them

(12:32):
on the glass, the fact that they were able to
hang even on the offensive glass and end up plus
seven on the boards overall, just because they missed fewer shots,
they had less opportunities at offensive rebounds. I thought that
that was really big. And their ability to get out
and transition a bit more than in Game one, and
more importantly, their ability to keep Minnesota out of transition,

(12:55):
because it's hard for these teams to score in the
half court, man, and in Game one, Minnesota was plus
thirteen in terms of transition points in this game, the
Lakers are plus seven. They hold Minnesota to just ten
transition points, and they score more transition points in their
own right compared to Game one. You really saw that
in the first quarter where they're turning defense into offense,

(13:17):
and then after that, I'm gonna be honest, I didn't
love the Lakers' offense and I didn't love their offensive process.
I thought that they got a little bit too obsessed
with trying to attack Rudy on switches and Luca was
cooking him early. But Rudy held up pretty well. Man.

(13:38):
He defended nine isolations. The Lakers only scored seven points
on those isolations. So I feel like there's this offensive
ceiling that we can all see with the Lakers when
they're big three is clicking on all cylinders, and like
the spot up shooting is there. But at the same time,

(13:59):
a lot of the POSSESSI in this game are just
them sort of freelancing playing isoball trying to force it
against matchups that I don't think are as advantageous for
them as maybe they do. And so they really didn't
produce good offense for the last three quarters. And like
since Luca joined the team, man they were fourteenth in
offensive raiding down the stretch of the regular season. So

(14:19):
he was great in this game, absolutely, but felt like
some of these possessions were stagnant, not a lot of
organized offense, and I think you still need more out
of Lebron and Austin Reeves going forward. I thought that
Lebron honestly had a pretty similar approach to Game one,
where he's settling for a lot of jumpers, where he's

(14:40):
trying to target the bigs off of switches a bit
too much for my liking, where he's more inclined to
settle for one of those jumpers as opposed to going
after a smaller wing off a switch who he can
play bullyball against. So he ends up not having a
super productive or efficient day. And then Austin Reeves was
okay in this one. I thought he did a better

(15:00):
job of beating switches than he did in Game one.
He blows by Rudy for a big bucket, he blows
by nas Reed for a bucket, and at the end
of the day like his three ball just wasn't really on.
But still, man, I mean, thirty seven combined points from
those guys. It's not the production that I want.

Speaker 1 (15:16):
I think the Lakers offense can be better too, And honestly,
I would just get back to basics. I don't think
they have to do a bunch of complicated stuff with
this Minnesota defense. I'm putting the ball in Lebron or
Lucas hands every possession. We are going to spread you out,
five out, and we're gonna let those guys attack in
space and then when the double comes will kick back

(15:37):
out or I don't get why they don't get back
to just like handoffs and simple shit like that. Man.
Like I think back to when these teams played earlier
in the season before the playoffs, Like that's what was
really working for the Lakers there. And I think they
have such a such a large shooting gap between these
two teams. The Lakers have such an advantage there that

(15:58):
I think that if they just out shooting men soda
and volume, it'll balance itself out. Like they'll just outshoot
them from behind the arc so much in this series,
they should be able to win. Yeah, I didn't get it, man.
They got out to such a hot start and they
just kind of stalled out late here in this game.
Like I mentioned, there's a stretch in the fourth quarter
where they're scoreless for three minutes. That allows Minnesota to

(16:18):
really get back in this game. But I mean, I
think some of it definitely does get chalked up to
the physicality of this game and how just the environment
of the playoffs here. But I fundamentally I agree with you,
and I think maybe this can be enough against Minnesota.
When we start looking past Minnesota is when I really

(16:39):
think that we're gonna need LA's offense to really be
clicking for them to survive.

Speaker 2 (16:45):
I think part of it is Jackson Hayes playing so
few minutes, the fact that they don't have any sort
of vertical spacer. They basically don't have a functional role
man in these lineups. They're not running actually pick and roll.
They're literally just calling somebody up to screen to get
the switch on Rudy, on Nas on whoever they think

(17:08):
that they have an advantage against. And I just think
pick and roll is efficient offense. I think that Luke
is an absolute master of it. And the fact that
they're not able to go to that they only ran
twenty pick and rolls in this game. According to Synergy,
that is a very very low number for a team
to run in an NBA game in twenty twenty five.
Normally that number is like in the mid high thirties,

(17:30):
so it's a lot of isoball, and it wasn't the
most effective in this one, but hey, they were more
effective than the team opposite them. I just think more
pick and roll would be to their benefit, and maybe
Jackson Hayes not getting into such quick foul trouble is
to their benefit there because the five out offense, like
I love in theory, but I think you feel the

(17:52):
lack of a play finishing big to some extent, and
I mean in the shooting benefits don't all offset that.

Speaker 1 (18:00):
It just really sucks not having any guy in that
kind of archetype when you know how successful any player
in that archetype is alongside of Luka Doncic and how
much better he makes them, Like, it's not that hard
of a piece to acquire, and if they had one,
it could take them up a notch already.

Speaker 2 (18:19):
I agree, but I think that Hayes has been decent
in his minutes. It's just to yeah, I mean, he
got in a foul trouble super quick and this one,
and the big thing is they were able to stay
positive on the glass without him. That's a huge achievement
for them, and that's also a problem for the Timberwolves,
like you have to be able to assert your size
advantage there. But the Lakers came with a totally different

(18:39):
level of intensity in this one, and I thought that
that was a huge part of the difference physicality, engagement. Defensively,
they just got smacked in the mouth in Game one
and they were kind of left slack John and they
were like, huh, we weren't really prepared for that this
one again, they did. The offense never really got going
to its peak potential in this one, but they won
the game on the back of their defense. That is

(19:00):
an accomplishment and really really impressive stuff from them. I
think that we're in for a hell of a series here.
I'm gonna stick to my guns and think that the
Lakers have a formula that I trust a little bit more,
especially when they execute like this defensively. But I do
think that we are in for a grind. I think
we are in for some more tough offensive games like this,

(19:21):
and Timberwolves have to execute a lot better. Lakers can
continue to execute better offensively. Both of these teams can
be sharper on that end. But Ant has to be
much better as a decision maker. Timberwles shooters have to
be a lot better. Is there anything else you want
to touch on from this one?

Speaker 1 (19:38):
No, I just AT's got to be better, man, and
it's got to be better. I was. I was really
disappointed with him in this one, man.

Speaker 2 (19:45):
But also everybody outside of Julius Good in this game.
Conley couldn't make a shot, Jade McDaniels couldn't make a shot.
Nas had a couple but wasn't as productive. Nobody could
make a shot for the all of.

Speaker 1 (20:00):
It comes together. Man, it's so bad for Minnesota.

Speaker 2 (20:04):
And that's been my concern with the Timberwolves.

Speaker 1 (20:06):
Man.

Speaker 2 (20:07):
They are a really good basketball team. I would never
deny that they They're an excellent defensive team. That clutch
offense and that offense overall just concerns me a bit.
And they were phenomenal in Game one. They were doing
everything right, getting out in transition, ants making the right decisions,
They're knocking down all their catch and shoot threes. But
I think it's good process to test ants decision making

(20:30):
and test the consistency of their shooting. I think It's
much better process, certainly than like playing Ant one on one,
which I saw some people suggesting they should do, because
there were a couple possessions where they didn't help aggressively
on Ant, they didn't show aggressive help and like he's
getting right to the rim. There were a couple that
he didn't finish that I thought he got fouled on,
and that was just kind of the way that this
game was, like a lot of physicality allowed on both ends.

(20:54):
Lakers end up being the one who step up to
the challenge and get a much needed big win. We're
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(21:17):
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Speaker 2 (23:15):
Logan Tyrese Halliburton came into the game today with most
overrated player in the league, allegations that came out of
some bullshit poll of the NBA put out. He came
into this game with Damian Lillard talking shit to him
the game prior. And what did he do? He delivered
the Indiana Pacers a win. And it's another very nice
collective performance from Indiana as they go up to oh

(23:38):
in spite of Damian Lillard's return to action. What did
you take away from this performance by the Pacers?

Speaker 1 (23:45):
Why are they hating on our boy like that? Man?

Speaker 2 (23:48):
Everybody hates whimsy, everybody hates merriment, like everybody hates selfless
team basketball? God forbid again, get an opportunity for somebody else.

Speaker 1 (23:56):
Oh, oh God, I don't get how you can hate
Tyrese Halliburton anymore. Man, I love how he plays basketball.
Like I don't know, man, I'm that's so baffling to me. Like,
so NBA players don't appreciate Tyrese Haliburton either, Come on, man.

Speaker 2 (24:13):
Well, it's only whatever, like a small percenter of them.
Because you could vote for anybody in the league. He
just got the highest percenter of the vote. It's still
probably like ten percent or something. So yeah, you got
ten percent of NBA players who unfortunately don't know ball.
It's sad.

Speaker 1 (24:27):
It is sad. I mean I was gonna say, like,
I feel bad for him, the guy I do feel
bad for as the guy that you mentioned in a tweet.
I feel bad for Giannis bro don't. I don't think
the Bucks have the horses in this race, man, I
just really don't. I don't think they've got the dogs.
I don't think they've got what they need to beat

(24:49):
Indiana in this series. Like, there is such a large
creation and skill gap from these two teams. It is staggering.
If it's Tyrese Halliburton every possession, if it's Andrew Nemhart
who made huge shot after a huge shot in the
fourth quarter. If it's TJ McConnell, who on any given
night can come in and give you the spark you

(25:12):
need off the bench. There is just such a massive
skill and shooting gap between both of these teams. And
credit to Milwaukee for coming back in the fourth quarter.
That was awesome. They go on a thirteen oh run
to cut a fifteen point lead to a two point
lead at the end. Bobby Portis had an awesome game,

(25:33):
was balling in the fourth quarter. But I just don't
know what can go in their favor and what can
really change enough to I don't even get them a win.
That's at the point I'm at with in Milwaukee. I
don't they can get a game. You know, I'm not
even at like a series thing with them. They need
more from Damian Lillard. They certainly need more from Kyle Kuzma.

(25:56):
I think especially look man, I don't want to close
the book on him just two games into his playoff
career with Milwaukee. I think they have to have buyers
or morse with Kuzma, and wish they had held on
to Middleton, like just what Middleton can give you in
the playoffs as a playmaker, as a high IQ basketball player,
because frankly, I don't think there's anything the Bucks can

(26:19):
do in this series against Indiana to make them uncomfortable
on offense. They just don't have the defensive personnel. And
so you think about the trade with Kuzma, that was
the idea, and sure Kuzma might get you a few
extra boards a game, I would much rather have the
offensive player that I believe in more because they still
have the biggest defensive liability on the court in Brook Lopez.

(26:43):
And as long as you're playing brook Lopez in this series,
you're cooked. The Pacers offense is gonna eat. And so
now what the Bucks are forced to do is play
lineups to maximize their skills. So I think they need
to run a ton of lineups with Portis, a ton
of lineups with Kevin Porter Junior, with Gary Trench Junior,
obviously with Dame and like with AJ Green, they're just

(27:05):
playing from a deficit. Man, And uh, that's where I'm
adding this series, I don't know if the Bucks are
gonna steal a game even with his dominant as Giannis
is and has been and is going to be, I
don't know how they stop the Pacers. Like I'm one like,
do you just stop playing brook Lopez? Do we abandon
that completely? Do we just go Yannis and Bobby is

(27:27):
our front court? Like that's what's so damning. Brook Lopez
is one of their five best players and he's like
completely unplayable in this series. And uh, I just think
the Bucks are cooked man. And it's not even dude,
you know what, I wish all my hater shit. I
wish this could be like some Doc Rivers shit, but
it's not. It's a Bucks don't The Bucks don't have

(27:48):
the dogs. They just don't have the dogs in this race.

Speaker 2 (27:52):
I will say, Old Doc is definitely not doing them
any favors. Like his big plan. His big plan isn't, hey,
let's start this game with Bobby at the five, because
he was actually pretty effective last game. He was able
to switch and that was a much more functional defensive
lineup and Brooke was getting torch on every single possession.

(28:13):
We should just change our starting lineup. His idea is,
what if I take four hundred thousand year old brook
Lopez and we have him switch everything. How's that gonna work? Like, dude,
you've got a pure drop big trying to play against
a Tyrese Haliburt and Miles Turner pick and pop attack.

(28:34):
He can't do it. But the answer is not, Let's
put him on an island with Halle and see what happens,
because he's getting blown by every time. So they only
played Brook sixteen minutes in this game. That's a good number,
but they did dig themselves a bit of a hole
early because he was just getting absolutely exploited defensively. Again,
I thought he was better in game one because when

(28:56):
they put him in the middle of the zone, at
least least he was able to protect the rim at
a pretty high level. He has four blocks in this
game in his sixteen minutes, but still just way too
many instances of him getting brought out into space and
exposed against a team that moves the ball too fast,
it has too many perimeter threats, that has too many
shooting threats. All of their bigs are shooting threats. This

(29:18):
just is not the series for brook Lope as I
said that coming in, and I just feel more strongly
about that each game, each minute, So I will put
that on Doc to some extent. Also, I would like
to see a Yannis at the five lineup at some point.
Now the Yiannis and Bobby frontcourt is really working by
their standards, Indiana's just a better team. But I'm saying,

(29:40):
compared to the alternative, which is Brook being on the floor,
that's been a really good look because Bobby's held up
pretty well on those switches. I do wonder if you
could get a little bit more speed and defensive versatility
out there, and even more shooting around Yannis with him
at the five. But also I understand you don't want
to have too many smaller guards on the floor, say tech, Yeah, like,

(30:03):
if Bobby's gonna play like this, fucking play him thirty
plus minutes because he was so good in this game.
But still not enough. Man, the Bobby portous game is
not enough, and Yannis just walking his way into a
light thirty four is not enough. I really do feel
so bad for Yannis man because he has strolled his
way in to thirty five, fifteen and four on sixty

(30:25):
five percent true shooting through two games of this series,
and like it's not remotely surprising he gets whatever he
wants against the Pacers. I don't think twenty field goal
attempts is enough for him in this game. I still
think he should have the ball in his hands. Even more,
there's one possession where he's calling for the ball coming
down the court and KPJ ignores him and just runs

(30:48):
a pick and roll and misses, And it's like KPJ, man,
what are we doing? Understand the hierarchy, understand that Jannis
is unstoppable, especially in this matchup. Get him the ball.
It just feels like any possession that has run through
anybody else is basically a waste, with the exception of Dame.
But I still think that this team should be playing

(31:09):
Yannis ball more than they're leaning into Dane pick and roll.
Like Yannis is the dude who is the offensive engine
in this matchup, and still it's not enough, and like
he just doesn't deserve this man, He doesn't deserve to
be playing at this level and have a team that
is this far away, And it's been apparent all regular season,
and it was apparent last season, and they haven't addressed

(31:31):
their needs for multiple years. They haven't gotten quicker, they
haven't gotten more athletic, they haven't just gotten better role
players that they desperately need. They haven't really gotten the
personnel to play that Yannis at the five look a
lot that I think could be so effective and so
here you are. You're in this spot. They really can't
slow Indiana down, and nobody other than Yannis has been

(31:55):
reliable offensively. Just a shame because he's the best player
on the floor by so far, and Game one was
the epitome of it. Man, he has nineteen in the
first half and they're down twenty four. Now that you
have Dame back, you think you're gonna be more competitive,
and they were in this game. And I think the
big benefit that you should get from having Dame on
the floor is that he can help carry the non

(32:17):
y honest minutes. But this was a rough return to
action for him. Couple of turnovers where he's bothered by
having two up at the level, little bit sloppy. I
thought Andrew Nemhar did a pretty darn good job on him,
just like being an irritant and being quick, and Dame
shot was off in this one. So he has the
one big deep three. But this was not the performance

(32:39):
they needed out of him. Fourteen points four of thirteen
from the field. I get that he's just coming back, obviously,
thank God that he's good to play after the blood clots,
but they need him to be a lot better if
they want to have a chance, because this series to
Milwaukee is going to come down to them putting up
a ton of points and just slowing Indiana down the

(33:02):
tiniest bit because they're not getting a lot of stops
in this matchup. When they play Brooke, they're helpless defensively.
When they have the Yannie Bobby frontcourt, they're significantly better,
but they're still struggling to consistently generate stops because the
Indian offense is really, really good.

Speaker 1 (33:19):
So is Brook a DNP the rest of the way, He's.

Speaker 2 (33:22):
Not a DNP. He's a DNP if Miles Turner is
on the floor, and he's a DNP for the most
part of Hallie is on the floor, I would say,
because it's just the specific two man game with those
two that exploits him so much. But realistically, his slow
footedness is a problem at all minutes against this Indiana team.
I just think you have to play him some like

(33:43):
just they don't have that much talent. So if you
can get him on the floe.

Speaker 1 (33:48):
Match him with Thomas Bryant minutes, bro.

Speaker 2 (33:51):
Match him with Thomas Brian minutes. Even though Thomas Bryant
can shoot the pill, no disrespect. I'm not nearly as
afraid of him as I am Miles Turner. But it's
got to be a series where Brook just doesn't play
very much. I want to get props Indiana, though, because
this offense is a machine, and it's not just exploiting Brook.
They're just a really hard offense to slow down. Hallie

(34:13):
is the engine behind it, and he was phenomenal in
the first half in this game. He had sixteen point
seven assists, was blowing by everybody. He was killing Brooke
off of switches. But they tried Kyle Kuzma as his
matchup for a few possessions, he was blowing by him.
He was just getting into the lane over and over again,
and he's either scoring or he's creating a great shot

(34:35):
for a teammate. Basically every time down and the three
ball was falling. So his first half was like perfect
outside of a couple turnovers. The second half the shot
just wasn't falling. I thought that he forced a couple more.
But that's the beauty of the Indiana Pacers experience. Man.
You always have dudes who can pick up the slack.
Siakham was excellent throughout this game, especially attacking mismatches. He

(34:59):
gives you twenty four and eleven. He's bullying some of
the slighter wings, the smaller guys like aj Green and
Torrian Prince, and then he's too quick for Brook Lopez
and Bobby Portis. Like Pascal Siakam is sneaky. One of
the hardest dudes to guard on an island in the NBA.
He is just an ISO in post up and inverted
pick and roll machine because he's got such a unique

(35:21):
combination of size, speed, skill, physicality, really really tough cover.
And I thought that you saw that in this one.
And then, like you said, Andrew Nemhart closes that shit out, man.
I tweeted, like right before he hit that dagger shot,
like these pacers guards, man, they gotta stop trying to
go at Yannis off of switches, because he and Hollie

(35:42):
both were like trying to force some shots over Jannis
and I'm like, that's not the matchup for you. And
then of course Nemhart bangs a three in his mouth
because playoff Andrew Nemhart is just liked that man. In
the playoffs, This dude average is fifteen points five and
a half assists per game on sixty six percent true shooting.
Like from the regular season.

Speaker 1 (36:02):
What I like about everybody in the Pacers rotation is
one nobody is overtasked, but everybody also has such a
distinct valuable archetype. Right if it's any of their guards,
they're all really high IQ good playmakers, decision makers, and
really skilled and can shoot from basically everywhere on the floor.
Their wings are really athletic and really good defensively, and

(36:24):
they're either good shooters or they're really you know, high
end play finishers. If it's like an Obie topping and
then they're bigs. You know, they may not be like
super plus is defensively like a Siakam or a Turner,
but they're all really skilled offensively and compliment He's have
such a complimentary roster, man. Everybody fits together. Obviously. Halliburton
is the spoon, right, He's the thing that stirs the

(36:47):
drink for everybody and gets this thing going. But Pacers
are deep, and they're so damn talented. Me and you know,
my boy Jaris Walker is getting some minutes too. Now, man, I.

Speaker 2 (36:58):
Just you had three in this game.

Speaker 1 (37:00):
Pacers are solid. Man. The Pacers are so solid, and
I just think the Bucks are outmatched.

Speaker 2 (37:07):
Yeah, I mean it's just a team that has a
bunch of good basketball players against a team that has
one superstar and very few reliable good basketball players around him.
Nemhart steps up. I just like he's shiftiness man. He's
a tough shot maker, he's a good passer, and he's fearless. Dude.
He lives for those clutch moments. And you talk about

(37:27):
the depth, man, That's what makes this team special, right.
They're just so complete. They have so many positive contributors. Offensively,
all of your starters go for fifteen plus in this game.
They're all efficient, they're all involved. That's Pacers basketball. Everybody
who sees the floor is a good basketball player. You
play with pace, you move the ball, you attack defensive
weak points, you create and capitalize on advantages. I truly

(37:51):
logan have no idea why I had the Knicks over
them when we did our contender rankings with Jason like
the week before the playoffs, and to my credit, I
get I flipped on it before the playoffs even started.
I backed off. I said, I don't know what I
was thinking, but I think maybe i'd been drugged. Man.
I've been advocating for the Pacers ever since they turned
it around. They've been so so good for three quarters

(38:11):
of the year, and that was a mistake into the
state of Indiana. I apologize. I think they're very clearly
the third best team in the East. I like their
offense more. I think they're more versatile. Their depth is
a hell of a lot better.

Speaker 1 (38:24):
I was gonna say, Man, they probably have the most
Unpeople want to say that Halliburton's overrated. I think they
have the most underrated duo in basketball, probably in Halle
and Siagam.

Speaker 2 (38:33):
That's a good shout. I will say. I think that
James Harden and Kawhi give them a run for their money.
Now they're getting their hype and now. But everybody literally
did a one eighty on Kawhi in one day.

Speaker 1 (38:45):
Bro.

Speaker 2 (38:45):
That was literally raziest shit ever.

Speaker 1 (38:47):
I mean, I wasn't surprised by the performance, but I'm
still kind of reeling. That was literally one of the
greatest playoff games I've ever seen played by anybody ever.

Speaker 2 (38:58):
It was dude going back in one watching it, like
the number of times the Nuggets were showing help and
he just shot Anyways, against a contest with a second
defender in the vicinity and he shot fifteen nineteen from
the field.

Speaker 1 (39:11):
I'm surprised when Kawhi misses man.

Speaker 2 (39:14):
I am too. I will say, yesterday we were talking
on the show, how high does he rank as a
playoff scorer? I said, The only dudes I can for
sure take above him are Yokichen Shay. I'm gonna give
some props to Yannis. I would take Jiannis as well.
I just think right now, or of course, he is
so high right now as a playoff scorer, like you
see it, there are just matchups in which Giannis is

(39:35):
completely unguardable and he walks his way to the room
ever he wants. Well, I would take Luke over Kawhi
as well. I think that Luca, when he's getting by
people at a decent rate, gets to the line so
much more than Kawhi, and the three point shooting volume
is just such an advantage. And then ka d is

(39:56):
the one who I think is like right there neck
and neck with Kawhi. That's tough because they're both god
tier shot makers. Kawhi's strength is something I love so
much in the playoffs, but Katie just like is gonna
be insanely efficient as a shot maker no matter what,
and he gets to the line a good bit more.
And I do think he's a better off ball scorer

(40:17):
than Kawhi marginally so so I think there's probably five
dudes at the end of the day, but Kawhi is
right in that range where if you put him anywhere
in that top seven, because like shout out to Steph
as well, I think that he belongs in these conversations.
That's where he is. But I wanted to give Jannis
his respect because like, you can't take for granted when

(40:38):
you expect a dude to score an efficient thirty five
points every single game in a matchup, and that's literally
what I expect from Janis in this series, and it's
still not gonna be enough. Now, I do think they'll
get a game. I think they might get two games.
Like he's just so good and Dame you would think
is gonna have one performance where he really goes off
and hopefully some of the Bucks supporting cast members make

(40:59):
some shots and it's not gonna be about them slowing
down Indiana. It's just gonna be they have a dynamic
offensive performance of their own, like they're capable of that,
especially when the ball is in Giannis's hands for a
vast majority of the game. But that's not what you
want to hear if you're Giannis and you're thirty and
you're playing at this level and things have just gotten

(41:21):
worse and worse around you for several years now, and
your team has no assets to improve it like saying
this man, but I think out of there. He's got
to be out of there. Just as a basketball fan,
I don't want to see him, always want to see
him in Milwaukee anymore.

Speaker 1 (41:37):
I was always really hopeful that it was going to
be Dallas with Luca when, you know, because we've seen
this coming with Giannis for a very long time in Milwaukee,
like the light at the end of the tunnel, and
I think it's gonna be mutually beneficial. I always wanted
them to get paired up together. But I think it's

(41:57):
the right pa. You know who.

Speaker 2 (41:58):
I saw our buddy Tyler Hoop Venue say today who
he said, this is all gonna be so funny when
it culminates in Giannison Hallie playing together in Indiana.

Speaker 1 (42:08):
That would be gnardly. That would be maybe the best
duo in the league.

Speaker 2 (42:12):
That would be so sexual. But there's real beef between
these two teams.

Speaker 1 (42:16):
I'd like to see Giannis with Steph.

Speaker 2 (42:18):
I mean, how greedy can we be as Warriors fans?
Really truly like, hey, point, do we have to let
somebody else get one?

Speaker 1 (42:26):
Am I really that crazy for thinking that Miles Turner
is better than Demontes Sabonas.

Speaker 2 (42:32):
You are crazy for thinking that, But Miles Turner is
really good. Somebody like that into his stat back even
a hell of a jump shooter.

Speaker 1 (42:44):
It's just it really blows my mind when I'm watching
a Pacers game and a seven foot dude will just
pull off a butter smooth left elbow step back jay
in nothing but net Like he's he's a really good
He's a really good shooter. He's a good score.

Speaker 2 (43:00):
He's a really good score of the basketball, no doubt
about that. Shout out to the Pacers, man, shout out
to ty Reese Halliburton, and he mogged Dame. I saw
Jokic Jostar say that, but he did, man, he won,
he played better today and he mogged him. This Bobby
Portis game like, I'm gonna give one more number. Bucks

(43:22):
are plus four with Bobby portis on the floor in
this series, and they're minus thirty one with him off it,
so he clearly gives them a better chance than Brooke does.
And I do want to give props to cous he
opens this game smoking two layups. He was better in
this one. He was aggressive, he got downhill. Wasn't great,

(43:43):
but he was better. Let's talk about them Oklahoma City
thunder logan, shall we? Because a cruise to another win
over the Memphis Grizzlies. Now they don't beat him by
fifty like they did in Game one, but it's a
comfortable victory none the less. What did you take away
from this one?

Speaker 1 (44:01):
Grizzlies are chopped. Grizzlies are chopped. Bro Yeah, they're done.
That's it.

Speaker 2 (44:09):
That's it.

Speaker 1 (44:10):
I mean, I agree, No, I mean, I've got some
some pretty crazy numbers. I'm baffled that Oklahoma City has
dogged Memphis in this way through two games. Like I
expected Oklahoma City to cruise, but these have been beat downs.
Memphis spirit is broken, They're done. Like that's really what
I mean? Like Oklahoma City has snatched this team soul

(44:35):
of corson. What do you think Memphis is posted as
an offensive rating through two games, if you had to guess.

Speaker 2 (44:41):
Oh, I'm gonna say ninety.

Speaker 1 (44:47):
Three eighty eight point one.

Speaker 2 (44:50):
No, Yeah, like you're playing against the four Pistons.

Speaker 1 (44:55):
Yeah, in the Big twenty twenty five.

Speaker 2 (44:57):
Honestly, it's like you're playing against the sixty two Celtics
eighty eight offensive raiding.

Speaker 1 (45:02):
My god, Jaron Jackson Junior in two games versus Oklahoma
City so far is giving you fifteen to five and
one on forty six percent true shooting. John Morant in
two games is giving you twenty three to five on
forty four percent true shooting. I think there's a lot

(45:22):
of encouraging things about Oklahoma City in this game, in
this series so far. One just the collective defense that
we've gotten from Oklahoma City. That's not anything new. This
is a historically great regular season defense. They have given
jaw In Triple J nightmares on ball, like it's just
so hard and especially like especially when you see like

(45:45):
limited role players really have to try to create, Like dude,
Oldama can't put the ball on the freaking floor. Oklahoma
City has taken that the second he tries to put
the rock on the floor, like it's comical. Almost the
really encouraging thing to me about this game was the
fact that Jadub and Chat got going. And that's really
all that I'm looking for in the rest of this series.

(46:05):
This series is done, Memphis is done. Is a franchise.
I wonder if this is gonna make them rethink some
things in this offseason, go back to the drawing board
like they'm When I say they're chopped, I don't just
mean this year like this is a This could be
a franchise altering season for the Memphis Grizzlies when it
looked like they were on somewhat of an ascent coming

(46:28):
into this year. And yeah, that's the most encouraging thing
that I can say about Oklahoma City. And all I
want to see the rest of this way is can
JDub reliably get it going? He's been doing that in
the second half of this season. He does in this game.
Can Chet get it going? And he did in this game?
And you know, can they're shooting sustain? That's really what
I'm looking for in Okay. See, this series is done.

(46:51):
I think they're gonna eat John Triple j up. I
think Memphis is going to crumble in these next two games.
I think that their spirits have been broken. I think
they'res have been snatched. I think Oklahoma City's playing with
house money right now. So I'm really encouraged by what
we've gotten out of Oklahoma City. Man, they're living up
to everything that they were billed as coming into the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (47:14):
They're dominating in spite of Shay playing two of his
worst games of the year. That's pretty damn impressive. It's
in a lot of ways the same story as last game,
where like they are just so overwhelming athletically and defensively,
and they have so many absolute psychos on their basketball team.

(47:34):
Like the level of pressure that they apply to you
is just different. I'll tell you one play that kind
of paints that picture to me. Chet finishes. I think
that somebody gave him a lay down pass or whatever,
and he's like kind of flexing running back on defense.
The Thunder are up eighteen points with a minute and
twenty seconds left. He sees Santi al Damas shrieking down

(47:57):
court with an opportunity in transition jet books it blocks
his dunk attempt at the rim. There's nothing to play
for at that point anymore, and he is still locked in.
He is still that fiery competitor. That's just so emblematic
of the Thunder and who they are as a team.
Their guards had eleven offensive rebounds in this game. Man,

(48:20):
they are first to every ball. They are so fast,
they are so active, they're flying around everywhere. Chet was
phenomenal defensively in this game. He had five blocks. And
the extent to which they are dominating the transition battle,
which their defense is a huge part of, forcing turnovers,
getting them opportunities off stops to get out and run.

(48:43):
I've never seen anything quite like this, Logan. They were
plus twenty three in terms of transition points in the
first game and they were plus twenty four in transition
points in this game. So it's just absurd their ability
to turn defense into Like I said last show, it's
unmatched in NBA history. And there's one specific dude who

(49:05):
I want to give a massive shout out for his
defensive performance and his offensive performance in this one. He
just was unbelievable. That's Alex Caruso. Man, gives you a
thirteen four and three with four stocks everywhere in this game.
Absolute energizer, bunny dude. He is attacking the ball, forcing turnovers.
He's blowing shit up. As a roamer, he blocks jaw

(49:29):
with a rearview, can test out of pick and roll.
Today he full sprints to recover, catch up to John
transition and forces him into a travel. He's attacking the glass,
flying around and winning them extra possessions. Like he's just
such a winner, dude. And that's why the giddy trade
discourse just made me giggle, just made me chuckle, because

(49:50):
it's like, no guys can bring up the box scorers
all you want, if you think there's a chance in hell,
the Oklahoma City Thunder would rather have Josh Kady than
Aux Caruso for their roster. With their needs trying to
win a chainampionship, you're out of your mind.

Speaker 1 (50:02):
No matter how many games Alex Caruso shoots two of
ten or one of eight or you know, one of six,
whatever it is, from behind the arc or front a field,
it doesn't matter, like I will. I will take him
ten times out of ten on my basketball team. And
that's what's so hard about playing Oklahoma City. When you're

(50:22):
playing a defense that's so connected like this, it's just
so hard to get anything going because there they've pre rotated,
they're already in the exact right spot. They're anticipating what
you're going to do. And specifically what I said about
like a guy like Aldama, when you're making life so
hard on a team stars like Jaw in this matchup

(50:43):
against all these great perimeter defenders in Triple J, against
all these great interior guys like Chet and iHeart. The
buck falls on your supporting cast to step up and
to beat the other guys around them. There's no weak point,
you know. So you're asking Desmond Bane to create, You're
asking hol Domina create, You're asking these guys to It's impossible.

(51:05):
It is an impossible task for these guys because of
how great this Oklahoma City defense is, Man, and I
just hope they're getting adequately appreciated now, Carson. I think
a lot of people were really skeptical about Oklahoma City
coming into these playoffs, despite winning sixty games, despite.

Speaker 2 (51:24):
Being a eight sixty eight logan.

Speaker 1 (51:27):
Despite being such a historically great regular season team. And
I'm I'm not surprised at all, Man, I.

Speaker 2 (51:35):
And they can look better.

Speaker 1 (51:37):
They can. That's what's what's terrifying about this team, Man.

Speaker 2 (51:41):
Because Che's not going yet. But I'll tell you the
biggest thing to me, and you mentioned it has been
the comfort level of both Jada and Chet, because where
you think about where things went wrong in the playoffs
last year, a lot of it rested on the shoulders
of those two, Chet being totally off as a shooter
from beyond the arc, Jadob not being the second creator

(52:02):
that the Thunder needed him to be in that mav series,
Jadob has been so great, first of all, absolutely dominant defensively,
absolutely dominant in transition. So that's great because those are
the two areas in which he is most valuable, and
he is getting an A plus in both of those categories.
But he's also looked very comfortable in the half court.

(52:24):
I think he's looked very comfortable out of pick and roll,
getting to his pull up jumpers, making the reads. As
a playmaker, he's relying a lot on the mid range,
as he always does, but the mid range is going
right now, and if the mid range is going that
he's a really, really good offensive player. And with Chet,
a lot of this game was just him stepping into
wide open threes, but he's knocking him down like they're

(52:45):
leaving him wide open off the pop. They are at
times helping aggressively off of him, and I just think
that's a mistake. I think that Chet is an improved shooter.
I think he was already a significantly better she don't
give him just a last.

Speaker 1 (53:00):
Asking to get pummeled.

Speaker 2 (53:02):
I agree, But then he's also aggressive over these two
games off the catch, he was really aggressive in transition
in this game, which I liked, like especially if he
sees Edie is that first defender back, use your speed advantage,
try to beat him down the floor. So he's just
bawling out and like the rim protection from him is
absolutely incredible. So those two are going to be so

(53:24):
pivotal to Okay sees title hopes this year. I've been
very encouraged by how they've both looked in these first
couple games. At the end of the day, the Memphis
Grizzlies are not the ultimate test for the Thunder. They
are food. They were food coming into this series. I
expected a sweep, and after a quarter of this game, man,
I was ready to go on a rant about the

(53:44):
Grizzlies and call them a disgrace and call this a catastrophe.
And like they kind of got their shit together from
that point forward. They didn't get beaten by fifty again,
which is the trajectory that they were on after the.

Speaker 1 (53:57):
First The bar, that's the bar.

Speaker 2 (53:59):
That's the bar for me. I guess giving you a
full on reaming after game two. I'll save that for
after this series because it's coming. I just don't they
have some major, major shit to figure out.

Speaker 1 (54:12):
It's just like I don't know when I was talking
about their spirit, man, it's just it's a really groady,
like nasty feeling when you as a fan or watching
these games and Memphis is wearing the defeat on them,
like they Memphis has this stink about them that they've
already lost this series. And it's really like I can't

(54:32):
blame them because whoever was going to draw OKAYC in
the first round, you're marching to your death sentence. But
like Memphis is wearing it. You can see at any
time they're on your TV screen. It doesn't matter what
player it is like they're all this is just a
team that it's their Their morale has been crushed. Man,
I don't know, Like I don't know where you go

(54:53):
from here, Like because all of my answers and all
of my solutions for Memphis or potential solutions involved drastic
roster reconstruction, and that's just the reality that Memphis finds
themselves in.

Speaker 2 (55:08):
Yeah, well, breaking news, dude, shocker. Taylor Jenkins was not
the problem. Wasn't the problem. They have been losing a
whole lot of games without him, just losing a whole
lot of games down the home stretch of the season.
Jaw was bad in this game. Jaw has been bad
in this series, like both games.

Speaker 1 (55:28):
Like we keep mentioning, the offense has been significantly worse too,
since they've gone back to this Jaw centric offense, and
like that was their genius idea before the playoffs to
jump start this team and to change the tide.

Speaker 2 (55:46):
Jaw's individual production had been a lot better down the
stretch of the regular season. He's just more comfortable playing
with the ball in his hands so much. But in
this matchup, I mean, it's just hell, dude, Like Chet
Holmgren is his nightmare man having to deal with the
rim protector of that caliber. The only time all game
I thought Jall looked comfortable was that stretch in the

(56:06):
second quarter when Chet was off the floor and he's
seeing iHeart out of Drop, who is not the same
to Turrn. He's a good drop defender, but not like
an elite dominant one like Chet. And he was able
to get to some of those floaters more comfortably, but like,
it's really hard for him to finish the rim against Chet.
Joe has to do something special to do so, which
he did a couple times, but overall inefficient at the rim.

(56:29):
The same problems with Jar are going to remain, man Like,
he's not a remotely versatile basketball player. This year proved
beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can't play
off ball because the system was working, but he was
suffering individually, so he said, fuck it, we're not doing
that anymore. Bad catch and shooter and bad pull up
shooter and not a good enough intermediate shot maker. Like

(56:49):
that's the stuff that you need. Man, you have to
be able to beat a team playing drop in the playoffs,
and he can't do it. And like the Thunder are
the best drop coverage you're going to face, because their
screen navigation is insane and their rimp protection is insane.
But it's just like, man, you're not always going to
be able to will your way to the rim and
get efficient looks there defense.

Speaker 1 (57:12):
I'm gonna say something that might be mildly controversial. Uh,
I don't think.

Speaker 2 (57:17):
It's pretty you like the gun stuff. I get it.

Speaker 1 (57:21):
I don't think it's particular. Actually, I actually think the
NBA should be a little more lenient with the celebrations
and stuff like that.

Speaker 2 (57:26):
It's like, well, the grenade was hilarious.

Speaker 1 (57:29):
The grenade's the best selling in sports. We need to
keep it. I mean, it's genius, it's awesome.

Speaker 2 (57:34):
Well, actually, sorry, that's the that's the silencing the hater
celebration or something. Did you see his explanation of that's.

Speaker 1 (57:41):
Just why do we have to He's a grown man.
Why do we have to.

Speaker 2 (57:44):
He's trying to avoid a fine. I get it.

Speaker 1 (57:49):
I would take Tyres Halibert and over John Moran. It's like,
not actually close at all? Oh, brother, close at all.

Speaker 2 (57:55):
It's not close at all, not close at all. But
it's been not close.

Speaker 1 (57:58):
But like, I feel like John Moran supporters would fight
us on that.

Speaker 2 (58:02):
Well, they'd have a hell of a hard time making
the argument right now, man, I mean, you're rigid. Stylistically,
he's not efficient. He hasn't led to efficient team offense
when he is the ball dominant engine that he wants
to be and like, you've got no flexibility, man. I mean, Hallie,
he's just the golden boy of impact in the game

(58:22):
without having to dominate the ball and without having to
put up big scoring numbers. And that is just not
the case whatsoever with Jaw. I think that you have
a pretty hard ceiling if you're trying to make him
your number one, and I think the Triple J is
their best player. But this has not been an encouraging
playoff run from him. I will say this was a

(58:43):
nice ish response, Like he was very quiet early in
this game, but then he ends up getting his numbers
and like puts up twenty six points on sixty six
percent true shooting, using his strength getting to those touch
shots that he's so good on, and he was nailing them.
It's not coming easy against Okacs, coming easy against Hartenstein,
It's not coming easy in any of these matchups. But

(59:03):
at least he was able to produce efficient offense as
a scorer. I will say, if the Thunder wanted to
really give him hell, they should throw more doubles at him.

Speaker 1 (59:13):
Were and he was getting some shots off. But I
completely agree, dude, he looks really overwhelmed when they do it.

Speaker 2 (59:21):
Yeah, I think he is a second percentile efficiency creator
out of the post when doubled hard this year, And
like there's the one where he lost his handle and
it was a jump ball. So I would argue that
they haven't even pushed the real nuclear button when it
currently comes to exposing his potential playoff limitations. So yeah,

(59:44):
like I said after last show Man, the Grizzlies best
guys aren't good enough. They shot poorly in this game,
the whole team did. And I gotta say, Logan, their
depth is kind of fake. It's overrated. At least, they
have a ton of guys who can give you regular
season rotation minutes. And this was even more true before

(01:00:04):
they traded away Laavia and Marcus Smart and like you
were talking about, well, they actually have like fifteen guys
and that's all good and well, and that can keep
you alive throughout the regular season. But how many really
good basketball players do they have? How many really good
role players do they have? Not that many? Man like

(01:00:26):
Scottie Pippen Junior, not a guy really want to be
relying on to create offense in a postseason.

Speaker 1 (01:00:32):
All of them, It's like Canard or Al Dama or like.

Speaker 2 (01:00:35):
A lot of specialists, right, Edie and Canard both have
their strengths, but they also have their limitations. I think
Edie's a better basketball player. I think he's more impactful
than he gets credit for, but still obviously has his
major limitations and exploitable aspects. I just think if you
really look at the supporting cast, what makes the biggest

(01:00:57):
difference is having good ass role players, not how having
a bunch of decent role players and they don't really
have the good ass role play too.

Speaker 1 (01:01:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:01:07):
Yeah, so I don't know. I feel terrible about the Grizzlies.
I think they are in a very very dire state
and big decisions are coming for them. Are you worried
at all about Shay Logan starting these playoffs slow?

Speaker 1 (01:01:22):
Not really?

Speaker 2 (01:01:24):
Yeah, I'm not either. I think if you look at
these first couple of games, he might be forcing the
issue a bit in this game where he's maybe taken
a couple mid range pull ups where I'd prefer a
kickout pass because he is seeing some packed paints. But honestly,
I think he's mostly just uncharacteristically off as a shooter

(01:01:44):
through these first couple games. Like I'm not really seeing
the defense may come uncomfortable keep him away from his spots.
They are loading up on his drive, so he can't
get all the way to the rim as much as
he might in the regular season. But he dealt with
that in the playoffs next year and still dominated because
he's a top two mid range shooter on the planet
and you cannot take that away with any defensive coverage.

(01:02:07):
So he is going to be absolutely fine. It's cracking
me up that people are trying to make this like
an MVP thing, like, ah, well, the thunder are carrying him,
and like, look, they're still dominating even when he's not
playing that well, how can that possibly?

Speaker 1 (01:02:21):
We know, bro, they're a great basketball team.

Speaker 2 (01:02:25):
They're a great team. But also, just like the notion
that he was carried in the regular season is just
very silly, because, like, you want to know how many
games he had in the regular season with under twenty
points like he had in Game one one all regular team,
You're eighteen in one game. Look at you logan. You
know how many regular season games he had where he
shot under thirty five percent from the field like he

(01:02:46):
just did in Game two?

Speaker 1 (01:02:47):
Probably say zero, actually four, he.

Speaker 2 (01:02:50):
Had four of them, but still like he's played two
of his worst games of the year in the playoffs.
He doesn't get a pass for that, Like he's got
to be better. But to act like this was happening
all the time in the regular season, it's just like
so false and like it is a luxury. The thunder
have that they can win games when he's not at
his best and he's got a sharpen up. But this
dude was fucking unbelievable in the regular season. He's going

(01:03:13):
to be unbelievable for the rest of these playoffs. I
really do believe that, like took some time off at
the end of the regular season, think he's getting his
rhythm back. He'll be more than fine because I've always
said man Shay is built to be a dominant playoff scorer.
He is the epitome of consistency. This dude had thirty
plus points in fifty games this year to end the playoffs.

(01:03:34):
Last year, he had five straight games with efficient thirty pieces.
When you can dominate the paint and when you can
dominate that intermediate era area and you can do it
out of isolation, you can do it out of pick
and roll like nobody can take away Shay getting to
the shots that he wants to. He just has to
make them, and I absolutely believe that he will do so.

(01:03:54):
He's very fortunate to have such a talented supporting cast
that they can pick up his slash for these two games.
But he's gonna pick it up. Man, I'm not worried
about him going forward. Look at the thunder Man.

Speaker 1 (01:04:08):
Would you think of these goofy as shirts they were
wearing during the Bucks Pacers game? Man? Did you see those? Bruh? No?
The Bucks win says win for Cream.

Speaker 2 (01:04:18):
And I thought that was about something else.

Speaker 1 (01:04:22):
I did text you that I thought you were gonna
that's weird.

Speaker 2 (01:04:24):
I thought you repose probably confused you that hot they
image I sent you. Yeah, sorry about that.

Speaker 1 (01:04:30):
But yeah, the Bucks say win for Cream, and then
the Pacers say yes sirs.

Speaker 2 (01:04:35):
Oh yeah, I know I saw the yes sirs.

Speaker 1 (01:04:39):
Really, man, Like, I don't like, I don't know. I
think all the college merchants.

Speaker 2 (01:04:44):
And obviously win for cream is absolutely so.

Speaker 1 (01:04:46):
Win for Cream is diabolical.

Speaker 2 (01:04:49):
But I don't know why they're so attached to the
Cream city thing.

Speaker 1 (01:04:51):
Man, Like those are the funniest Jersey children watching the
NBA has to know what they're doing with those, right,
It's like, absolutely, they the only thing I've seen worse
than that. I don't know if you saw this. This
is a story for a minute. They had these new
era hats for baseball, right. They were so lazily designed
that they just put the team's primary logo with their

(01:05:14):
like name across the hat, and then they put their
alternate logo in the middle. And so the Texas Rangers
head says Texas, right, their normal logo is just a
te So the head just said Titas instead. That's awesome,
but it's like, I don't know man scheme that I'm

(01:05:36):
trying to figure out if this if it's deliberate or not.

Speaker 2 (01:05:39):
Like you're trying to find the guy who did this,
and I think I'm looking right at him. I mean
they would probably City is I think deliberate. I think
they're doing it for the gen zers and they're doing
it for the social interactions. But at this they've been
doing it for years. I don't know. Milwaukee people tell us, obviously,
we know how you feel about your cheese and your

(01:05:59):
dairy products in Wisconsin, but do you guys really identify
with being cream city? Let us know let us know
in the chat. On that note, Logan, let's wrap this
sucker up? Is it true? Hold on? Are we gonna
be back tomorrow?

Speaker 1 (01:06:13):
Wait, I'm hearing nerd ssh is gonna be live again tomorrow.

Speaker 2 (01:06:19):
Well, we got to talk about Warriors Rockets game too, man,
So we will see you guys there. Hope you enjoyed
all the basketball today and hope you enjoyed the postgame pod.
If you did, you know where to find us on
our YouTube channel. You can catch all of our full episodes,
and you can watch all of the live streams live.
You can also listen to all of our episodes though
the day after across all audio platforms if you want

(01:06:41):
work very late the night of whatever works for you, man,
or a couple weeks later, a couple of years later,
it doesn't matter to me. And you can follow ascross
social if you want, TikTok and Instagram at nerd sash
and Twitter at nerd Underscore sesh. You can also join
our discord if you want to chat with the gang
and be part of our community over there. So with that,
always appreciate you, guys. I've been Carson Braber

Speaker 1 (01:07:03):
I've been Logan Camden and this was nerd Sash