Historic Collapses For Cavs, Thunder & Celtics + Minnesota’s Offensive Disaster

Summary

Podcast Summary: Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective

Episode: Historic Collapses For Cavs, Thunder & Celtics + Minnesota’s Offensive Disaster
Release Date: May 7, 2025
Hosts: Zach Lowe, Bobby Marks, Ben McMahon

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1. Introduction

The episode kicks off with a lively introduction as Zach Lowe welcomes listeners to the Hoop Collective podcast. The panel, consisting of ESPN insiders Bobby Marks and Ben McMahon, dives straight into discussing a tumultuous week in the NBA, marked by significant collapses from top teams and unexpected offensive struggles.

Zach Lowe [00:54]: "No, not McMahon. Bobby Marks."

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2. Cleveland Cavaliers' Historic Collapse

The primary focus begins with the Cleveland Cavaliers' extraordinary loss in Game Two of their playoff series. The Cavs, leading by seven points in a vital game, succumbed to a dramatic comeback by the Indiana Pacers, marking one of the most remarkable collapses witnessed this season.

Zach Lowe [01:20]: "The game that happened in Cleveland on Tuesday was the most crushing and most inspiring Game two, I think that is possible to have."

Key Points:

• Injuries: The Cavs were missing three of their five best players, including Darius Garland, Mobley, and Hunter, severely impacting their performance.

  Bobby Marks [04:33]: "I thought it was the worst collapse I've seen, and that's saying a lot."

• Pacers' Resilience: For the second time within 11 days, the Pacers overcame a seven-point deficit, defying historical playoff statistics.

  Zach Lowe [03:31]: "Now all of a sudden, that stat has turned to three in 1640."

• Tyrese Haliburton's Impact: Haliburton's clutch plays were pivotal, including a controversial foul on Donovan Mitchell and a decisive three-pointer that sealed the game.

  Zach Lowe [15:18]: "Tyrese Haliburton did the Sam Cassell large testicle dance after hitting the three."

• Cavs' Offensive Struggles: The team struggled to score in the final moments, failing to capitalize on opportunities and making critical turnovers.

  Zach Lowe [09:37]: "The Pacers scored 26 points in the paint."

Notable Quotes:

• Bobby Marks [15:34]: "Tyrese Haliburton could have just gone for the two to tie. He elected to take a step back three to win."

• Ben McMahon [16:57]: "Tyrese Haliburton is putting together a resume as one of, if not the best clutch player in the NBA."

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3. Oklahoma City Thunder's Performance

The Thunder also faced significant challenges, particularly in Game Seven, where strategic errors and foul troubles contributed to their downfall.

Key Points:

• Turnover Issues: The Thunder turned the ball over 18 times, leading to 17 points for their opponents.

  Zach Lowe [36:29]: "They turned the ball over 18 times. You know that this is their Achilles heel."

• Player Performance: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) struggled to find his second scorer, impacting the team's offensive efficiency.

  Ben McMahon [40:07]: "Shai had 33 last night... but he has not been efficient in these playoffs."

• Foul Trouble: Both big men on the Thunder's floor ended up in foul trouble, limiting their defensive capabilities against Nikola Jokic.

  Ben McMahon [38:07]: "Both bigs end up getting in foul trouble."

Notable Quotes:

• Bobby Marks [41:23]: "If OKC, Boston, and now Indiana... what team do you have the most confidence in?"

• Zach Lowe [40:32]: "Shai made 33 points on 12 of 26 shooting but wasn't efficient overall."

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4. Boston Celtics' Collapse & Minnesota's Offensive Disaster

The Celtics endured a historic collapse, allowing a staggering number of uncontested three-pointers, while the Minnesota Timberwolves faced offensive inefficiencies that led to their downfall.

Key Points:

• Celtics' Shooting Woes: The Celtics attempted 45 uncontested three-pointers but missed 32, highlighting significant shooting issues.

  Zach Lowe [49:06]: "The Celtics got 45 uncontested threes and missed 32 of them."

• Coaching Reflections: Celtics' coach Joe Mazzola acknowledged missed opportunities and poor shot selections post-game.

  Zach Lowe [51:03]: "Joe Missoula actually said there might have been eight to 10 shots that were maybe ill-advised."

• Timberwolves' Offensive Struggles: Minnesota's offense was disjointed, with poor three-point shooting and minimal second-chance points, leading to their loss.

  Zach Lowe [30:31]: "Timberwolves won the second chance points game. Timberwolves win the fast break points game."

Notable Quotes:

• Ben McMahon [32:44]: "They have absolutely dominated at Madison Square Garden and they were the best road team in the NBA."

• Bobby Marks [49:10]: "They will make their shots, even if they went through game one and fell apart offensively."

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5. Player Performances and Injuries

Several key players' performances and injuries significantly influenced the outcomes of the games discussed.

Key Points:

• Donovan Mitchell: Despite scoring 49 points, Mitchell appeared exhausted, negatively impacting the Cavs' performance.

  Zach Lowe [14:47]: "Donovan Mitchell has 49 points and plays his behind off but is exhausted."

• Tyrese Haliburton: His clutch performances, including game-winning shots, elevated the Pacers' standing in the playoffs.

  Ben McMahon [17:40]: "He knew he was about to score. He knew he was about to win that game."

• Steph Curry's Injury: The Warriors' Stephen Curry sustained a hamstring injury after an intense game, casting uncertainty on his availability for future matches.

  Zach Lowe [28:07]: "Steph Curry ran 1.99 miles in that game, the most he's ever run."

Notable Quotes:

• Zach Lowe [35:28]: "Chris Porzingis left the game in the third quarter with an illness... that's concerning on a human level and now on a player level."

• Bobby Marks [38:20]: "Chad Holmgren choked at the free throw line and missed two free throws, opening the door for the opponent."

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6. Conclusions and Future Outlook

The episode concludes with reflections on the implications of these collapses for the respective teams' playoff trajectories and potential future performances.

Key Points:

• Cavs' Future Games: Without key players like Darius Garland, the Cavs face significant challenges in upcoming games, with fan frustration mounting.

  Zach Lowe [23:11]: "It's a compounded thing that's going on here. You know, it's one thing if you have one of your All-Stars injured."

• Thunder's MVP Hopes: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's performances might position him as an MVP candidate, but efficiency remains a concern.

  Ben McMahon [40:07]: "Shai had 33 points on 12 of 26... he needs to improve his efficiency."

• Celtics' Strategy Adjustments: Boston may need to reconsider their offensive strategies, especially their reliance on three-pointers.

  Zach Lowe [51:09]: "I was kind of thinking game two is a must-win game for the Knicks if they want to win the series."

Notable Quotes:

• Ben McMahon [42:18]: "The victory came from the fact that Minnesota was absolutely abysmal offensively."

• Zach Lowe [53:03]: "If you don't, if this goes back to New York with a split, the likelihood is Boston steals one of those games."

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7. Closing Remarks

The hosts wrap up the episode by thanking their guests and briefly mentioning upcoming topics, emphasizing the unpredictable nature of the playoffs and the need for teams to adapt swiftly.

Zach Lowe [54:45]: "Thank you to Bobby, thank you to McMahon. Thank you to Jackson, our producer. Thank you for watching listening to the Hoop Collective. We'll talk to you later this week."

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Summary:

This episode of the Hoop Collective delves deep into the unprecedented collapses of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Boston Celtics, highlighting the critical roles of player injuries, strategic failures, and individual performances in these outcomes. The discussion underscores the volatility of the NBA playoffs, where a single game's twists can redefine a team's destiny. As teams navigate through these turbulent times, the panelists emphasize the importance of adaptability, player health, and strategic execution in determining playoff success.

Transcript

[Zach Lowe]

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[Bobby Marks]

Hello, gentlemen. How we doing?

[Zach Lowe]

What a night. What a week in the NBA. Joining us from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he witnessed one of the four home teams to lose to start the second round. Actually, at this point, home teams are.05 in the second round is Ben McMahon.

[Ben McMahon]

Howdy, partners. I only witnessed maybe the, I don't know, third worst collapse in crunch time of the weekend. And it was a bad one.

[Zach Lowe]

Yes. So we're going to start right now with the game that happened on Tuesday night in Cleveland, which will be one of the more remarkable games of the year, I think. I don't know. At this point, I'm going to, by the way, I'm going to say everybody who predicts games, good luck. Good luck to all y'all. You know, like, you know, there's certain things we have to do at espn, like, you know, for various sponsor elements. That's ridiculous. And if you, if you guys are out there actually wagering on these games, I hope you have fun. This is like nothing I've ever seen before. The game that happened in Cleveland on Tuesday, guys, was the most crushing and most inspiring Game two, I think that is possible to have. You can have things like this happen in a game six or seven where you've got so much on the line. I can't remember a game two that had this set of circumstances with Cleveland leading by seven points. I will, I don't know if I would say it was an inspiring performance because they were kind of holding their bleep together with like, you know, it was, it was like guy walking down a hallway, you know, things falling off, you know, like grow, like with grocery bags and things were falling off. I, I don't know if I would say it was inspiring. They were barely holding it together, but, you know, missing three of their five Best players in a vitally important game. They had played really inspired basketball and gotten into a position to win. And for the second time in how many days, Bobby, like 10, 11 days, the Pacers overcome a seven point deficit. Now I'm a little bit confused because when the Pacers did that to the bucks in the first round, we used this stat that said teams were 0 and 1600 and something when they're up by seven or more points in the playoffs, like dating back 20 years, 30 years, whatever. Now all of a sudden, that stat has turned to three in 1640.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, two of them are the Pacers, but they.

[Zach Lowe]

But it was 0 and 1640. So how is it now? 3. But anyway, anyway, two times they've pulled it out of incredible thin air. Both times. Tyrese Halliburton, by the way. Shout to John Halliburton. Imagine, like, imagine there's a video of John Halliburton at, you know, at his house. Watching Tyrese tonight.

[Ben McMahon]

Bet she's doing that same old dance.

[Zach Lowe]

I'll bet he is.

[Ben McMahon]

Shout out Sam cassel.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah, well, there.

[Bobby Marks]

25,000 maybe.

[Zach Lowe]

Auto. Auto. 25,000.

[Bobby Marks]

25. Yep. Well worth it.

[Zach Lowe]

Yes. Tyrese Alberton did the Sam Cassell large testicle dance after hitting the three. Before I go over the, the, the details of it, Bobby, you've seen a lot of basketball. Incredibly crushing loss for the Cavs and the Pacers just doing maximum pacer. And I just want to get your thoughts on it before I go over some stuff here.

[Bobby Marks]

I thought it was the worst collapse I've seen, and that's saying a lot.

[Zach Lowe]

And I've said in the Milwaukee game.

[Ben McMahon]

He didn't make the worst collapse he's seen all week.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah. When the Milwaukee game, remember, the ball bounces off Gary Trent like he fumbles it.

[Bobby Marks]

Yeah. This was based on the worst collapse, based on circumstances. The circumstances that there's no Garland, Mobley, Hunter. I don't know if we'll see them for game three. Mitchell had played, you know, he was basically exhausted. And to be up 119, 112 with 47 seconds left and to lose that way. They got no, they didn't get a shot in the last 48 seconds.

[Zach Lowe]

They couldn't get the ball in bounds.

[Bobby Marks]

I. I listen.

[Ben McMahon]

And when they could, it was like Donovan Mitchell was lucky. Didn't get a flagrant foul for that Hillbota.

[Bobby Marks]

Well, you know, it's for the guy who. For the guy who was so exhausted, I don't even know why he was bringing the ball up. Like I'M thinking like this guy.

[Ben McMahon]

Nobody else can dribble up now the Darius Garland.

[Zach Lowe]

Well, the thing about it is the Cavs actually without four players.

[Bobby Marks]

Yeah.

[Zach Lowe]

Because Ty Jerome was a no show. Yeah, he was horrible.

[Ben McMahon]

I was gonna say, you said they were missing three of their five best players. That meant that you demoted Ty Jerome because you had him in the hall of Fame a couple weeks ago.

[Zach Lowe]

He was, he had out. He's had an absolutely spectacular season. He is one of 14 in this game shooting, and he had several horrific defensive possessions in this fourth quarter. McMahon, I want to hear what you have to say first and I want to go over some things. I just want to just do a couple of broad strokes, but I want to give you a chance first.

[Ben McMahon]

I mean, it's a crushing blow to Cavs corner for all the reasons you laid out and also because they got their butts whooped in game one. They're down 02. They've got three of their top five or six guys out. We. I don't know. Are they going to play in game three? Are they not?

[Zach Lowe]

It's not a good sign for any of them. In all honesty. If, if, you know, this is obviously, I mean, it's not a, it's not an elimination game, but it's an absolute must win game. And if you can't play on an ankle, if the ankle is sprained bad enough that you can't play on it, now it's a significant ankle sprain.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, and if it's turf toes, keeping Darius Garland out for three games, like, dude, it's four games.

[Zach Lowe]

It's four games. Obviously the, Obviously the Darius Garnell.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, four games. My bad.

[Zach Lowe]

Look, there are people in Cleveland who are. Last year when the Cavs went out to the, to the Celtics in the second round, Darius Garland and, and, and Jared Allen were out. Or actually, I'm sorry, Donovan Mitchell was out for a couple of games and then Jared Allen was out and he had a rib. Jared Allen had a rib injury and he was in excruciating pain and didn't play. And there were people giving him the side eye throughout the playoff series. And then Marquis, then Marcus Morris, who was on the team and actually, I think started one of the games in the Boston series, gave an interview where he questioned whether or not Jared. Jared could have done something to play. And Jarrett was very clear that it was an unbearable injury. And he then went ahead and played 82 games this year. A couple of times playing through injuries he shouldn't have because I think he wanted to send a message that he was tough. So the point is, is that there is a segment of the Cavs fan base who is questioning whether or not Darius Garland could play. This injury is obviously severe. He missed a couple of games at the end of the regular season. He has now missed four playoff games. They obviously terribly needed him tonight, and he couldn't play. Like, this is not a guy who's. Who's known for being soft.

[Ben McMahon]

Like, guys get surgery and around months for Turtle.

[Bobby Marks]

I had turto. I had turf toe in college. Playing football, it's one of the most painful things ever.

[Ben McMahon]

Imagine. Imagine being a point guard. Like, if you don't have your big toe, good luck to you.

[Zach Lowe]

Also, I don't know. So on. On Deandre Hunter, at first they called it a frac area, not fractured, a dislocated thumb. And then it's changed on the injury report to sprained thumb. If he's got a torn ligament in there, like with the word sprain is. A is. Is means torn ligament. If it's a partially torn ligament. Okay? But if he's got a torn ligament in his thumb, you can't play with that. You can't grip.

[Ben McMahon]

And look, Cav's the number one seed. They're down 02. They got to go back to Indy. You know, Cav's corners in crisis. We got to make sure though, like, let's give the pace with the problem.

[Zach Lowe]

Okay, hold on one second. Let me. Okay. I just want to take the teeth away from a couple of Cavs whining slash complaints because the fans are going to complain that these guys could be playing. I'm sorry, I just don't believe that that's number one. Number two, the fans are going to become. Are going to complain about a couple of officiating calls that have happened in this. In this series. One was a Ben Matheran play on the. Where actually Hunter got hurt in game one. I'm sorry. They lost that game going away. Even if that play was a. Even if they had called Matheran for a foul on that play, it. Hunter's thumb is still hurt and they still, you know, give the Cavs two more points.

[Ben McMahon]

I thought it should have been a foul, and it did not decide that game, of course.

[Zach Lowe]

Thank you. All right. There was a play late in the game here when Donovan Mitchell was called for a foul when it looked like he went straight up. They're. They're white hot mad about that. I am now going to read you some statistics from the fourth quarter and this fourth quarter Box score that I'm about to read is absolutely devastating for the Cavs and inspiring for the Pacers in the fourth quarter. The Pacers scored 26 points in the paint. 2613 baskets in the paint in the fourth quarter. That obviously for. For math majors, that would be 104. That'd be a pace of 104 points in the paint for a game. And they had 13 free throws. Okay. I've never seen a team have 26 points in the paint. The Cavs were allowing the Pacers. A lot of it was in transition where the Pacers would get the ball and they just wouldn't stop it. And, and you know, Hal, it was Halliburton a lot. It was Aaron Neesmith just. I mean, the guy plays like a maniac. He just throws his body around.

[Ben McMahon]

The biggest one was Niecemith flying in and a flying put back dunk.

[Zach Lowe]

I'll get to it. It should have been a foul on Donovan Mitchell. Yeah, I'll get to it. All right. 26 points in the paint. Okay, fast break points. I'm sorry, second chance points. 11 to 2. 11 second chance points in a vital game in the fourth quarter. Absolutely unrecoverable. Okay, the Cavs started the fourth quarter with the 14 point lead. Yeah, okay. Absolutely unrecoverable. To give up 11 second chance points on six offensive offensive rebounds for the Pacers. Basically every time they got an offensive rebound, they. They scored. And the. The Pacers missed five free throws. By the way, it was CAVS who had 13 free throws in the fourth. Not. Not the Pacers. They had 13 baskets, not 13 free throws. But the Pacers had nine free throws. They missed five free throws. You're trying to come back from 14 points down and you miss five free throws and you still win. And you want to know why they won when they missed five free throws? Because twice the Pacers got rebounds off free throws where the rebound was secured by either a guy, either the guy at the foul line or a guy at the three point line because Aaron Neesmith comes flying in on a missed pass. Gasiakam free throw in the last minute. Donovan Mitchell under, falls asleep, knows he's beat, and like runs into Neesmith from behind, but it's a putback. And then they get. They get. You know, you've heard of eight points in nine seconds. Okay, That's Reggie Miller in the, in the playoffs against the. The knicks, like in 94 maybe. Okay, this is not eight points in nine seconds, but it was four points in eight seconds because Halliburton gets fouled. It was a controversial foul on, on Donovan Mitchell, but whatever. Halliburton gets fouled, misses a free throw with 12 seconds left. And I think Miles Turner got his hand in there. But what all that matters is that Halliburton who missed the free throw got the rebound. So the Cavs allow Aaron Neesmith to come running in from the three point line to get a put back dunk. And then after Halliburton hits a free throw to make it a two point game, he gets his own missed rebound and then hits the three pointer. There's your four point play. And the thing about it is like the Cavs have the ball up three points with less than 24 or less than 30 seconds left. They are about to in I think there's 25 seconds left. They're about to inbound the ball and get fouled and go to the line with a chance to go up five and they never see the ball again. Max Strus throws. It looked like my seven year old throwing. Throwing a pass.

[Ben McMahon]

Don't. Don't disdain like that.

[Zach Lowe]

He threw a. I, I don't know what's going on there. I guess Ty Jerome had Andrew Nemhart kind of sealed but he was still trying to throw a lob to a 6 foot 34 guy. I don't know.

[Ben McMahon]

Anyway, with pale complexion you just can't do that.

[Zach Lowe]

It's. It. The, the circumstances are devastating. One more stat before I hand it over to you, Bobby. The Pacers took 10 more shots than the Cavs in the fourth quarter. I mean that is an unrecoverable set of circumstances. And again it's just as much of a commentary as you said McMahon on the Pacers. Halliburton playing like a banshee. Andrew Nemhardt had six assists in the fourth quarter alone.

[Ben McMahon]

Playoff gamer man.

[Zach Lowe]

And Nismith is flying Niecemith in the course of 12 seconds. I don't know, five seconds of game time. Gets a put back dunk and draws an offensive foul on. On Donovan Mitchell. That could have been a flagrant.

[Ben McMahon]

Mitchell should have been.

[Zach Lowe]

Could have gotten a. An and one on niece Smith on the put back dunk and could have gotten a flagrant. So I'm telling you that like whatever complaint that any Cavs fan wants to have about any officiating. Nice. Smith made two unbelievable plays and could have gotten more points. More free throws in my opinion. And so Donovan Mitchell has 49 points and plays his behind off but is exhausted at the end of the game as you said, Bobby. Okay, I'M gonna hand it over to you because I think I've had enough.

[Bobby Marks]

To say, well, I mean, you mentioned the points in the paint and that's the remarkable thing about the Halbert and three is that he could easily just gone for the two to tie. But he elected to do it, you know, take a step back three to win. Win this thing. And he could have done it.

[Zach Lowe]

What?

[Bobby Marks]

He basically could have done it. One against Milwaukee. The other we're right down the lane there. I think it's.

[Zach Lowe]

Well, he was being guarded by Ty Jerome. I suspect he would have gone right down the lane.

[Bobby Marks]

Yeah. I think I had asked Matt Williams before the game or great stats guy for.

[Zach Lowe]

Because I figured I'm our listeners know Stats Williams well, Bobby.

[Bobby Marks]

So I figured eventually I'm gonna have to write these guys this Cleveland Cavaliers team and it might be, you know, Friday night during that end of your end of my end of the season article, hey, it's two zero and you're all going on the road. And I said, what's. Where did Cleveland rank and miss games this year? Fifth fewest.

[Ben McMahon]

Wow.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah, they had a very healthy season.

[Bobby Marks]

What was Garland and Mobley together on a court 54 and 12 record. And I, and I. If I open my. If I, if I had it right in intro, it's basically the clock struck midnight in this series for these guys.

[Zach Lowe]

In the magical season.

[Ben McMahon]

Yep.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah, but, but. And that's true. And that's great insight. And that's all fair. And, and if you're a Cavs fan, you're thinking your team is cursed.

[Bobby Marks]

You should have won the game.

[Ben McMahon]

Yes, well, they, they should have won the game. One point.

[Bobby Marks]

Yeah. And should have won the game.

[Ben McMahon]

The Cavs blew it and the Pacers took it. And Tyrese Haliburton is putting together a resume as one of, if not the best clutch player in the NBA.

[Zach Lowe]

I mean, well, hold your water.

[Ben McMahon]

Oh, chill out. I'm. I'm.

[Zach Lowe]

Jalen Brunson is still having an okay. Yeah. How many Halliburton has these two game winners. Which are, again, amazing. Jalen Brunson's body of work is pretty damn impressive.

[Ben McMahon]

Okay, look, check out Halliburton's body of work and clutch situations this year. Also, Halliburton's the reigning Cajones factor gold medalist, bro. So don't you know, the man's got two game winners in these playoffs. Three career playoff game winners. Look, he was dancing and he's just thinking, man, which hand am I going to go with first on this? On The Sam Cassell big balls dance because he knew he was about to score. He knew he was about to win that game.

[Zach Lowe]

The thing about it is, is that, is that Halliburton, he, he injured his left wrist in the game. I mean I'm not even sure how that was much. It was affecting him. Obviously not that much. But he only had eight points going into the fourth quarter. He was not having a dominant game. Now he had 11 in the fourth quarter. And I'm pretty sure the other night against Mill, I'm pretty sure the other night against Milwaukee he wasn't having a dominant game either. And then just turned on the jets going down the stretch.

[Ben McMahon]

I mean, dude, there are, you know, he's a very different player than Reggie Miller, but he's got a lot of Reggie Miller esque qualities about him. With the yapping and with the showing up with the game on the line.

[Zach Lowe]

And here's the other thing. Like in all I know that the cavs, they went 8 and 8 down the stretch. They sat some guys, they had pretty much clinched home court and the whole east playoffs. But if you all look, go and look at the last like 40 games of the season, the Pacers were only a couple games behind the Cavs in terms of record. I mean, I'm going to go look at it because the Pacers, the Pacers and the Wolves who got beat tonight, who we'll talk about in a minute, both. There's kind of a comparison there which is that they were conference finalists last year and then had very underachieving starts to the season and people kind of forgot about them for various reasons. And you know, sometimes with good reason, you know, in the case of the Pacers, people thought that they sort of lucked out last year in getting to the conference finals because all the injuries the Knicks had, and I'm sure some people are saying that now, but they flat out took it. But you know, so the Pacers started this season 16 and 18. Okay, that's where they were on New Year's Day, 16 and 18 and they finished with 50 wins. So I'm going to do some math here. That's pretty good though. So down the stretch they were 34 and 14 for the basically the last half of the season.

[Ben McMahon]

That's a 60ish win pace, I believe.

[Zach Lowe]

So, you know, like the difference between them and the Cavs, it seems like, you know, it's 14 games in the standings, it's a 58 win pace. Yeah. So this is really kind of a, of a team that this was really kind of a, you know, an elite team that was masquerading as a middling.

[Ben McMahon]

Seat and a team that had playoff success last year, a team that has won these games before, a team that's won in those clutch playoff moments as a group. And it's exactly what they did tonight.

[Zach Lowe]

Well, Andrew Nemhart and Easmith alone in the first two games of this series, you know, could win X factor of the series, guys. And then you have Halliburton's heroics.

[Ben McMahon]

So, by the way, Tyres, Halliburton in this is behind or tied one possession game in the final minute of games this year, including the playoffs, he has 27 points on 8 of 9, shooting in about nine minutes.

[Zach Lowe]

Bobby, he doesn't have a great, he doesn't have a classically great jump shot. Like, no, you, you, you know, you kind of want him kind of go ahead and try that shot, Tyrese. I mean, he has good size. He's going to be able to get it off, but geez. Oh, man. Look, I, I, I got, I got to know the Pacers well last year, covering their playoff run. I got, I spent a week with him in Paris this year. You guys heard me talk, you guys, you guys heard me talk about how I feel like they can wear teams out over the course of a playoff series. Not in the first two games. Not in the first two games. But that's what happened in the fourth quarters of these two games. They handled their business well.

[Bobby Marks]

You know, it's the funny thing. Some I pulled up that box girl. Also the fourth quarter, they had three guys play the whole quarter. Turner, Nemhard and Halberton. And then they only went six guys. Niecemith and Siakam went nine, eight and nine minutes. They basically rode these guys.

[Zach Lowe]

Well, you, you guys know that I've adopted this Pat Riley rule about, you know, when you, when you get into the nitty gritty in the playoffs, you play eight and trust seven. Without those three guys that the Cavs had, you know, Mobley, Garland, and, and Hunter, the number that you can trust got real, real shallow. And that was up in their face down the stretch of that game, which is why Donovan was doing. And Donovan got to the line 21 times, but by the way, again, he is. His teams are now one in six when he takes over 30 shots and in the playoffs. And, you know, he had a game last year with the Cavs where he took 36 shots in a playoff game and scored 50 points and they lost. That was to Orlando. He scores 49 in this one he had over 30 shots. I don't remember exactly how many he had.

[Ben McMahon]

He had 30 on the nose. So 1 of 7 from 3 point range, 15 of 30 overall.

[Zach Lowe]

That's the other thing. He's 2 of 19 or 2 of 18 on threes in this series. And the Cavs, who were the number one or number two three point percentage team the whole year, I think at the end of the season they dipped on the number two. But for the first 75 games they were number one shooting 29%. So it's a compounded thing that's going on here. You know, it's one thing if you have one of their, you know they've got three All Stars, two of them are injured. It's one thing if you've got one All Star injured, you got one All Star injured and you can't make a three and your sixth man of the Year candidate has gone, you know, a wandering and then your second All Star gets injured and your and your second six man candidate gets injured and you still, you can't make a three. Like it's a, you know, when you.

[Ben McMahon]

Have Hunter ended up winning seventh man.

[Zach Lowe]

Of the year fair. When, when, when there's a collapse and a catastrophe, it's never one thing that goes wrong. It's always a compounding set of circumstances. So it's not over, the season's not over. I'd be, you know, just when you think you might have the NBA figured out, that's when you're going to get embarrassed. But the Cavs are in a very rough position.

[Ben McMahon]

More Hoop Collective podcast after this for.

[Zach Lowe]

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[Ben McMahon]

Yeah. Only 51.

[Zach Lowe]

Okay.

[Ben McMahon]

By the way, teams that won games in the first round by over 50 are now winless in the second round so far. How's that for some ESPN research.

[Zach Lowe]

Another one. Good job. Good job. So the Nuggets go in, by the way, challenging Halliburton for. For cojones factor. You announced Conus Factors is. Is gone on hiatus. You may have to revisit that because Aaron Gordon would like you would like to speak to you. He's had two game winners in the final 2 seconds already in this playoffs. And Halliburton with two game winners in the final 2 Seconds. And then Jalen doing his stuff.

[Ben McMahon]

Brunson missed at the regulation buzzer. I don't know, man.

[Zach Lowe]

I know. And nobody could believe it, including him. Yeah. But anyway, so that's the. That's the Nuggets. They go into Oklahoma City at the game you were at. We'll talk about later. They win. Then the warriors go into Minnesota. Minnesota, I really thought was in a great position to do well in this game. You know, their record down the stretch was almost as good as in Indiana's. They had rest and everything. Steph pulls up in the first half with the hamstring injury. Now, Bobby, you looked up Steph's injury history. What did you find?

[Bobby Marks]

He has missed 245 games since he came into the league. There are no hamstring injuries documented. So this is a first.

[Zach Lowe]

I am not any sort of medical professional or expert. I'm not pretending. I'm not saying that this has anything to do with it. I. I'm just going to state a fact. On Sunday, when the warriors went into Houston in one game seven, Steph Curry ran 1.99 miles in that game, the most that was since we've been tracking, I don't know, a decade. It's the most he's ever run in a game. Now, this guy is obviously incredibly conditioned. He was. It was an amazing performance. He had 10 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, two steals. He had. That was the farthest on record we've ever seen him run. So at age 36 or whatever he is, he has the most running he's ever done and 48 hours later comes up with a hamstring injury. These are. These are two facts. I'm just going to say I don't know if they're connected. I'm not pretending that they are. I'm not blaming anybody. I think it might be relevant, but that happens. He's ruled out for the game. And, Bobby, hamstring injuries, hamstring injuries that are bad enough to knock you out of a game. They don't get better in two days.

[Bobby Marks]

No. And there's no, I think, ohm, had tweeted out. There's one stretch where there was two days between. Everything else is every other day.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, between. I think, I think it's between five and six. They get like a four day break. But other than that, it's every other day even. Yeah, five and six. It's a wind. A Wednesday, Sunday. Look, it's a hamstring strain. His status for the rest of the series is in jeopardy here.

[Zach Lowe]

All right, so I'm gonna again, I'm gonna talk about wonky ass box score stuff here. Steph Curry's in the locker room. All right. The warriors shoot 39% as a team on the road. They turn the ball over 18 times. You know that this is their Achilles heel. They turn the ball over and that's when they melt down. They give up 17 points off of turnovers. That's like the worst situation that you can imagine for them. They only score 99 points. Okay. They give up the smaller warriors that are undersized. They give up 52 points in the paint. The warriors do. They only score 28 points in the paint. And you know, they're not rescuing themselves with the three pointer. Well, they, they had, had. They. They won the three pointer by good. My point is like they're not, they're not exactly shooting great jump shots because only shot 39%. You know what?

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, but they did with the threes. They were 18 of 42. They couldn't score in the paint.

[Zach Lowe]

They were. They shot 40% in the paint. So all that, you know, if I had told you all that, by the way, Timberwolves won the second chance points game. Timberwolves win the fast break points game. I'm like, where is the victory coming from? And the victory is coming from Buddy Heald hitting five more threes and freaking Draymond Green hits four three pointers.

[Ben McMahon]

That's not where the victory came from. The victory came from the fact that Minnesota was absolutely abysmal offensively. But they had to overcome all in the first half. The. The War or the Wolves managed to win and Handley game five in LA despite being 7 of 47 from three. They follow that up with 5 of 29 sub 23 point shooting is going to be problematic in the playoffs. And they can't shoot straight right now. Ant had an absolutely awful first half. He got it going in the second half, but it was too little, too late. This was like. There are times when Minnesota, for a lot of the season, there would be times where their offense looked like, like it was a bunch of strangers mud wrestling. And they got better as the season went on.

[Zach Lowe]

Do, do, do friends mud wrestling. Does that look more. I mean it's a good line.

[Ben McMahon]

I'm just more coordinated. More coordinated.

[Zach Lowe]

By the way, Jackson has mud wrestling teams coming off a seven game series are four and 18 in. In series in the last 20 to 22 times it's happened. 418 in a series and five and 17 in game one. That was, that's including this or before this. Jackson, those coming into this.

[Ben McMahon]

The series has to be going in.

[Zach Lowe]

Going into it. All right.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah. But again, Minnesota lost this. Not.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah. 88 points.

[Ben McMahon]

The defense, they could not score. And again, go bear grabbing every rebound and dunking at home in LA masked the fact they had an awful shooting night in that game. But you know, this is two straight absolute stinker offensive performances by the Wolves.

[Bobby Marks]

5 for 29 from 3.

[Ben McMahon]

Also, let me just point something out to you. You can give Jimmy Butler four third stringers and he's going to like his chances against September world starters. That is a proven fact.

[Zach Lowe]

That's true.

[Bobby Marks]

You know, it's funny, Tim. I'm watching a game and I'm thinking, I'm like, why are these fans booing Jimmy Butler? And I'm like, holy crap.

[Ben McMahon]

It's been a While.

[Zach Lowe]

Jimmy was 7 of 20. He did have 11 rebounds and 8 assists and 2 steals. That helped. He played 41 minutes. He's gonna have to get used to that. They're gonna have to get production.

[Ben McMahon]

Well and, and, and look, the warriors had a, have depth problems when Steph's healthy. Steph's going, we don't know how much time, but Steph's going to miss games. I mean, you don't, you don't just. Like you said, you don't just recover from a hamstring strain that. Well. Dude, he missed the second half. I mean, you don't just recover from a hamstring strain 48 hours and you know, Jimmy played 41 minutes a night. Buddy healed, played 40. Draymond played 35. Probably would have been a lot more than that, but he got, he got in foul trouble there. You know, Pat Spencer with that just 1979 cops movie mustache. You know, he gave him some quality minutes.

[Bobby Marks]

Had the cream hook.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah. Gave him some quality minutes off the bench. You're gonna have to get, you know, old. You know, he, he looks like he's definitely from like a 70s buddy cop movie. Do you know, I just double check.

[Zach Lowe]

Had a funny line. He's like, look, he doesn't look like a basketball player. And the number 61 doesn't help.

[Ben McMahon]

No, he looks like a lacrosse player, which. He was an amazing lacrosse player, I was told. I didn't fact check this. Maybe. I don't know if Stats Williams probably can't help me here. I was told he holds the NCAA record for assist by lacrosse and lacrosse. Sure. He was an awesome lacrosse player who was just like, hey, you know what? I'm going to try to. I'm going to try to play a little college hoops, okay? Damn good at Northwestern. Next thing you know, he's in the NBA, and now they need him to play some minutes, some real minutes in the playoffs, in the Western Conference semifinals.

[Zach Lowe]

He was getting real minutes.

[Bobby Marks]

Yeah. 2, 231. Pat Spencer. There it is. Loyola.

[Zach Lowe]

How did you come up with that?

[Bobby Marks]

I just Googled it.

[Zach Lowe]

All right.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah, he won the T. Warotin. I can't pronounce that. The college lacrosse equivalent to the Heisman Trophy, according to our little producer, Jackson.

[Zach Lowe]

Well, Jackson went to Syracuse, where lacrosse is really big.

[Ben McMahon]

I got a buddy who lives out in the Bay Area who. Okay, Jackson, brutal pronunciation. Turn your freaking microphone on and say it then.

[Zach Lowe]

Award.

[Ben McMahon]

That's what I said. I got a buddy who's in the Bay Area who's actually the best lacrosse player of my high school. Who. Who's. You got to write about Pat Spencer. Like, dude. No, I don't. Well, somebody might be right about Pat Spencer.

[Zach Lowe]

The best. The best. The best player in the Bay Area is Pat Spencer. I think we just established that. I have. No, look, guys, I have no idea what's going to happen in this series, but I. I don't know. What. What do you want me to say? Like, I. I thought Minnesota was in great shape. I think. I thought.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, I still think they are, because I don't know when or if Steph's going to be able to play in this series. And I think it's going to be really hard for the warriors to win three more without them.

[Zach Lowe]

I agree, but I will just lean on the fact that Jimmy. When you count Jimmy Butler out, is when you get embarrassed.

[Ben McMahon]

So, I mean, fair point. And I'll throw Draymond into that discussion as well.

[Zach Lowe]

The game that you were at On Monday night, McMahon, I didn't get to see all of it, but I sure as heck watched the last five minutes at. From the TD Garden. You were at the Paycom center where you watched the Nuggets and Jokic just manhandle the. The number one overall seed down the Stretch, what'd you see?

[Ben McMahon]

And, and there was also, listen, give the Nuggets credit for rallying Aaron Gordon, as you said, hit another game winner. This one a three, not a, a put back dunk. Joker was, I mean 42, 22. I mean the 6 assist. Feel great about that. I think it ended up with more turnovers than assists. But Joker just absolutely a monster. But man, there was a lot of self inflicted wounds by the Thunder and especially in those last 15 minutes. And I understand and agree with the philosophy of fouling up three in the last 15 seconds or so. 100 last, I don't know, 20, 25 seconds, whatever you want to say. 80ft from the hoop though, Bobby, like 0.9 seconds. Come on, dude. And, and, and, and yeah, and it was Alex Caruso and he was doing what he was told on the bench. You know, Caruso, the, you know, a vet, a champion, a guy who had an unbelievable game, who's been tremendously impactful, a smart player. He had two fouls in the last 13 seconds. When they're taking fouls and on those two possessions, 1.9 seconds expired. That's nuts. And then, you know, I don't know if there's a friendly way to say it, Chad Holmgren choked to the free throw line and missed two free throws and suddenly the door is wide open.

[Zach Lowe]

He held onto that ball for that second free throw for a while, bro. I mean, you know, I'm a big chat supporter, but that, that one, he was thinking, you could see it in those eyes. And I wouldn't have thought that, you know, I chat doesn't give a care.

[Ben McMahon]

Type of guy now, but with Chad, I was surprised. Bobby, I'm curious to hear your thoughts on this. I was surprised that when OKC had both bigs on the floor.

[Bobby Marks]

Yeah.

[Ben McMahon]

That Chet was the primary defender on Joker. The first half they played, they played him really well. He wasn't efficient. He only had a couple of assists. He had more tournaments and assists, but man, both bigs end up getting in foul trouble. But I really thought like Chet's jumper looked bad and it was flat. And I asked Mark Dagenault today, like, did you think Chad having a wrestle with that big old monster affected his legs and affected his, his shot on the other end. He kind of downplayed that and said, hey, it's, it's length versus strength and you know, you want to throw different looks and both bigs gotten foul trouble, blah, blah, blah. I just, I don't know that you want to ask Chet to, to Be in those wrestling matches with Joker a whole lot.

[Bobby Marks]

Well, you're right. I mean it's a great point. You know, the. What's, what's interesting from that game, Brian, you said this, either you said it on TV or a production call that nobody was talking about is like, like who's the guy down the stretch? Like when we get down to these like clutch time and Shay, you know, maybe doesn't have it going. Who's. Who's your second guy?

[Zach Lowe]

Well, the thunder. Shay made a basket with four minutes left to put him up 11. Okay. By the way, our probability of win thing that we do, you might have to retire that. That sucker is. Forget about it. But God knows what it said when that happened. Then they went one of eight shooting after that. And you know, this is Bontemps thing. Bon Temps has been talking about this for months about the Thunder. Do you believe in your second scorer? And they just, they couldn't find a basket.

[Ben McMahon]

I mean, and I'm just going to say right now, Shay, I believe will win mvp. He's had one MVP caliber performance so far in these playoffs. I think there will be more to come. But they also need like Shay had 33 last night. 33 on 12 of 26. One of the reasons he's going to be MVP is because he led the league in scoring and he did it in really efficient fashion. He has not been efficient in these playoffs. Jalen Williams got to be the second scorer. He was great against the Grizzlies. He had a rough second round last year when they got booted by the Mavs and he had a rough second round series opener, 5 of 20. I asked Dagenau about that today too and you know, in that context and I thought he gave a really good, interesting, supportive answer. And the, the money line was Dub is a much better player now than he was a month ago, much less a year ago. He's not going to overreact to a game, but there's some pressure. There's some serious game two pressure on obviously the Thunder as a whole, but especially I think on their number two and three guys. And that's Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren.

[Zach Lowe]

Jackson coming with the stat here. The Thunder were 4 of 17 on shots coming off SGA passes. So you know, there's, there's support and there's, you know, dereliction and that was closer to dereliction supporting him in that game. I will say that if you're looking for a reason to believe in the Nuggets, their role players continue to play well, like, this is what we weren't sure.

[Ben McMahon]

Also, they have Nicola Jokic on their team.

[Zach Lowe]

Yes, Right. But I mean, you know, the reason that they're in this, they advance was because of their role players, including Westbrook, including Christian Brown. You know, Michael Porter Jr. Is up and down, but they're getting so much good play from Aaron Gordon that they're able to survive it.

[Ben McMahon]

I tell you, the Russ thing is Russ is a fascinating character for a million different reasons. But coming off of, you know, that was a little bit of a revenge thing against the Clippers. The Clippers dumped him.

[Zach Lowe]

You know, man, that, that dunk that he had at the end of the game where he got the technical and he talked his talk like, you know, he got, he got his money's worth.

[Ben McMahon]

He, you know, now Oklahoma City, there's nothing but love for us. Have you, have either of you guys ever seen an opposing player get a standing ovation during a playoff series? When Russ checked in the game, it was funny. Shea was at the line, so there was MVP chance. And I kind of thought in my head, oh, cute. They remember Russ was mvp and then he checks in. You know, that's when he's at the scores table. He checks in. The entire arena was on its feet. A loud roar of a standing ovation for the guy.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah. You think they'll sign them next summer?

[Ben McMahon]

I do not. I think, I think Russ will resign with Oklahoma City Thunder on a one day deal at some point. More Hoop Collective podcast after this.

[Zach Lowe]

This episode is brought to you by State Farm. You might say all kinds of stuff when things go wrong, but these are the words you really need to remember. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. They've got options to fit your unique insurance needs, meaning you can talk to your agent to choose the coverage you need. Have coverage options to protect the things you value most. File a claim right on the State Farm Mobile app, and even reach a real person when you need to talk to someone. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Make your next move with American Express Business Platinum. Enjoy complimentary access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection and with a welcome offer of 150,000 points. After you spend $20,000 on purchases on the card within your first three months of membership, your business can soar to new heights. Terms apply. Learn [e-mail] Business Platinum AmEx Business Platinum Built for business by American Express.

[Ben McMahon]

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[Zach Lowe]

It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have.

[Ben McMahon]

One of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail].

[Zach Lowe]

Switch upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month required intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail] okay, I'm in Boston. I was at the Three Point Chuckery on Monday night. Never seen anything like it. The The Celtics got 45 uncontested threes and missed 32 of them. And more surprising was that they would run good offense, they would run plays and they would get Jason Tatum on Jalen Brunson, he's got seven or eight inches on the guy and he would just not take advantage of it. And they would get him on Carl Towns who would have who had had some foul trouble from the opening moments because the the Knicks decided to do a switching defense because their drop coverage had been getting obliterated by Tatum. He had Towns in front of him, which is exactly what they wanted. He just let it get bailed out and so that's what was crazy. And you know, the Knicks, basically the Knicks goal in my opinion for this series is get the game to the fourth quarter. And when you get the game to the fourth quarter, get it to clutch time, which is, you know, get it within five points with five minutes and then just hand the ball to number 11 and let him cook. And you know, maybe you're still going to go down, but that's what you're going to do. And that's what happened here. And the Knicks, they got it done. And the two wings that they acquired, Og Anunoby and Miles, I keep saying Miles, Mikhail Bridges were excellent in their roles down the stretch. But I'm just going to say the fascinating thing to me is that after the game, you know, because I've been at a handful of big Celtics games over the last few years where they've gone cold from three point range and they're kind of defiant. They're like, well this is what our process, this is what we're going to do. We don't care what you think, like say whatever you want, we're going to do our thing. They actually had a modicum of regret on their chuckery. Joe Missoula actually said there might have been eight to 10 shots that were maybe ill advised. I mean that to me is him coming way to the middle because this is a guy who was unrepentant about the way he wants his team to play. And so I was like, wow. They actually, you know, Jayson Tatum said that they settled too much. I was like, okay, well, they, they get it. Well, when Joe Missoula slept on it, he took it all back. And at practice on, on Tuesday, he was like, yeah, there might have been two bad shots, not eight. And then he's like, somebody said, well, how did the Knicks make 50% of their threes in the second half? And he's like, oh, you mean they made the open shots. How novel. Which is basically his way of, which is like his way of saying, like, we're gonna make them. And, you know, don't praise the, the, the, the Knicks for making open shots because we had just as many. So Joe Bazula was just fine. Um, the only thing, one other thing that I'll add that is something to keep an eye on, because I don't. And I'll throw it to you. I just want to kind of get stream of consciousness out here, Bobby. But Chris aps Porzingis left the game in the third quarter with an illness. And then on Thursday or on Tuesday, Missoula said that this illness he was dealing with is still lingering from that virus that he had in February and March where he missed three weeks and eight games. And he said he's been doing a really good job, you know, fighting through it, but that he gets hit with these bouts of fatigue and upper respiratory issues, and he was trying to fight through it and couldn't. And that's why he came out and he's day to day and he's listed as probable for game two. So I guess he's going to play. But like, that was. But that's concerning on a human level that he's still battling. By the way, they don't know what it was. He said he's. They didn't know what it was. I, I guarantee you he saw a lot of doctors and they ran a lot of tests. So this is now two months later. This is still bothering him. And I don't, you know, you're worried about him again on a personal, human level, but now you're worried about him because he's such an important player for them. Is this going to be a thing? By the way, he's 2 of 19 on threes in the playoffs. He's shooting like 32%. It's. Something is clearly bothering him. So I, that's something to watch going forward. Okay, Bobby, I'm out of your way now.

[Bobby Marks]

Well, and, and, and you got to watch the Al Horford minutes.

[Zach Lowe]

He was exhausted at the end of the game. I mean, they went to overtime. You know, they hadn't, they weren't prepared for Porzingis to be out, but he was exhausted by the end of the game.

[Ben McMahon]

You said you're out of his way. He said one sentence and then you. But again, this is.

[Zach Lowe]

I'm sorry, I'm gonna mute myself.

[Bobby Marks]

I would say the, the game reminded me a lot of when Boston played OKC this year in, in Boston. And there's a trend when this thing gets. If, as you said, just keep it, keep it within arm's distance. In the fourth quarter, things get a little skittish for that Boston offense where there are some ill advised. I mean, there are two for 12 from three in the last five minutes in overtime.

[Ben McMahon]

Sheesh.

[Bobby Marks]

And they will make their shots. I mean, if they go through a game in a game two and they're 15 to 60 again, I mean, but I would listen. I feel New York winning really didn't do much for me.

[Zach Lowe]

No, I know. I feel bad. I was saying that on TV today and my Nick fan friends were texting me.

[Bobby Marks]

Like you said, it's a great win.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, and you know, but seriously, but seriously, like Indiana winning game one in Cleveland, you're like, oh, I don't know, man, these Pacers are pesky. Denver, a team that won a championship a couple years ago, winning game one with a crazy comeback in Oklahoma City with the three time mvp, like, okay, this, this might be a series. The Knicks pulling off a crazy comeback. You're like, wow, that was an insane game. Can you believe the Celtics lost it?

[Zach Lowe]

Right?

[Ben McMahon]

You know, and, and I get what Mazzola Mazzola saying, he's like, dude, if we get up 63s, we're how often we can only hit 15 of them.

[Zach Lowe]

45 uncontested.

[Ben McMahon]

You know, he's like, if we hit 20, which is not a good shooting night, if they it then, then they win it comfortably.

[Zach Lowe]

I've been saying on T, Let me know what you guys think. I'm gonna workshop something for TV here. No, I know Wendy does.

[Ben McMahon]

Where his training ground.

[Zach Lowe]

I talked about this a little bit today, but I've been, I kind of think game two is a must win game for the Knicks if they want to win the series. And I know that that's the inverse of things that you would ever say that the road team being up one oh, that. You know, you got the split. That's what you need. The Celtics are one of the best road teams in NBA recent NBA history. They've won a road game in 11 consecutive series. And in those series six times, they've won more than one road game. They have absolutely dominated at Madison Square Garden and they were the best road team in the NBA. They had five fewer road losses than home losses this year. So they're going to win a game at the Garden if the Celtics or if the, if the, if the Knicks are serious about, I mean, of course you're serious about it, but if the Knicks are going to pull this off, they're going to have any sort of chance. Here you get game two because by the way, they didn't play great. They played well in the fourth quarter, but the Knicks can play better. Brunson didn't have a great shooting night by his standards. Carl Towns, he ended up with a double double and he had some big plays down the stretch. I'll just be honest with you. And if you watch the game, you're not going to dispute me on this. Carl Towns was not good for 3/4 of this game. So they can play better too. But Boston is so confident away from home. So I'm not where, I'm where I think it's going to be a series yet. But game two, you, you guys, you think I'm crazy.

[Bobby Marks]

No, not at all. Because basically if, if you don't, if this goes back to New York with a split, I mean, the likelihood is Boston steals one of those, you know, one of those games, if not both games.

[Zach Lowe]

Mm. So I, I, you know, I almost think it'd be like the Knicks stealing game at home. The way they're good on the road. I, I feel like I'm, I'm really putting myself out there. First off, I'm covering this series and I gotta deal with this. But it doesn't, you know, I feel like when you're, when you're this convinced of something that this is when you get smashed down.

[Ben McMahon]

But I don't know much more odds on this now. Jackson.

[Bobby Marks]

I bet I'm still high.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah, I, I saw how the odds, the odds reduced for all three of the 60 win teams after they lost game one at home.

[Bobby Marks]

Well, here's a question. If, let's play the hypothetical here. If, If OKC Boston and now Indiana Indian Cleveland. The three teams go. Owen two on the ofer and are down. Oh, two. What team you have the most confidence in?

[Zach Lowe]

Boston. Yeah, right. The defending champs Boston Is is still minus 350.

[Ben McMahon]

I think they were still heavy favorites.

[Zach Lowe]

Yeah, I think they were minus 900, though.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah.

[Zach Lowe]

McMahon. I was disappointed you weren't at the Met Gala on Monday. I guess you had to work.

[Ben McMahon]

Well, my knee's been bothering me a little bit and, you know, a lot of people reached out to me about it and wasn't able to make it this year.

[Bobby Marks]

Did you put out a statement, though?

[Ben McMahon]

No.

[Bobby Marks]

But I didn't see your statement.

[Ben McMahon]

No. No. I haven't been tweeting a whole lot and, you know, I. I just felt like I could let that one pass.

[Zach Lowe]

Even subtweeting though.

[Ben McMahon]

Yeah. Without letting the world know.

[Zach Lowe]

All right, thank you to Bobby, thank you to McMahon. Thank you to Jackson, our producer. Thank you for watching listening to the who collective. We'll talk to you later this week.

[Ben McMahon]

Adios, amigos.

[Zach Lowe]

It.