Wolves Level Series, Must Wins For Cavs & Celtics? + Thunder Big Response

Summary

Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective: Episode Summary

Episode Title: Wolves Level Series, Must Wins For Cavs & Celtics? + Thunder Big Response
Release Date: May 9, 2025

In this episode of Brian Windhorst & The Hoop Collective, hosts Ryan Reynolds, Tim Bontemps, and Ban McMahon delve deep into the current NBA playoff battles, analyzing key performances, strategic moves, and player conduct that could influence the outcomes of several pivotal series.

---

1. Wolves vs. Warriors: Series Tied

The hosts kick off the discussion by examining the Minnesota Timberwolves' significant victory over the Golden State Warriors, which leveled the playoff series.

• Tim Bontemps highlights, "The Timberwolves tied the series after a robust performance, especially with Julius Randle securing a double-double." [02:31]

2. Impact of Steph Curry's Injury

A central topic is the absence of Warriors' star Steph Curry due to injury and its ramifications on the team's performance.

• Tim Bontemps notes, "The Warriors have a 92 offensive efficiency without Steph Curry, indicating their struggle to maintain high-level play without him." [03:19]

• Ryan Reynolds adds, "If the Warriors win one more game, they might bring Steph back for Game Six, but his current rehab status remains uncertain." [05:42]

3. Warrior’s Key Performances

The episode delves into specific player performances that have shaped the Warriors' recent games.

• Tim Bontemps observes, "Jonathan Kuminga hit his first eight shots, spearheading the Warriors' brief resurgence." [03:32]

• Ryan Reynolds emphasizes, "Without Curry, the Warriors don't need A-plus basketball, but their scoring punch is noticeably limited." [05:47]

4. Defensive Play and Jimmy Butler’s Influence

The discussion shifts to the defensive dynamics when Jimmy Butler is on versus off the court for the Warriors.

• Ryan Reynolds states, "With Jimmy Butler on the court, the Warriors' offensive rating was 100, but it plummeted to 84.4 without him." [06:41]

• Tim Bontemps adds, "The Warriors need to defend better, as the Timberwolves made 16 open three-pointers, the most since ESPN started tracking in 2014." [08:12]

5. Draymond Green’s Conduct: A Controversial Element

A heated segment focuses on Warriors' Draymond Green's recurrent technical and flagrant fouls, sparking frustration among the hosts.

• Ryan Reynolds vehemently criticizes, "Draymond's antics are a joke. He's consistently committing fouls and acting out, which is embarrassing for the league." [10:29]

• Ban McMahon concurs, saying, "It's ridiculous. Draymond has seven flagrant and technical fouls combined in nine games. It's an embarrassment." [14:19]

• Tim Bontemps mentions Draymond’s response, "He apologized to the team, but his behavior on the court remains problematic." [14:49]

6. Celtics vs. Knicks: Jayson Tatum’s Struggles

The hosts analyze the Boston Celtics' challenging series against the New York Knicks, focusing on Jayson Tatum’s performance and the Knicks' defensive strategies.

• Tim Bontemps critiques, "Jayson Tatum is shooting 29% in this series, mirroring the Celtics' overall poor shooting performance." [25:14]

• Ban McMahon attributes the struggle to the Knicks' defense, "With OG Anunoby and MaA Tomas Bridges stepping up, the Celtics can't find consistency." [27:00]

• Tim Bontemps adds, "The Celtics are displaying the same bad habits over and over, making critical mistakes in clutch moments." [28:12]

7. Thunder vs. Nuggets: Defensive Adjustments

Shifting focus to the Western Conference, the discussion covers the Oklahoma City Thunder's strategies against the Denver Nuggets, particularly in defending Nikola Jokic.

• Ban McMahon explains, "Mark Daagenault adjusted the Thunder's defense by having Jalen Williams physically engage Jokic, aiming to disrupt his rhythm." [43:47]

• Tim Bontemps supports the adjustments, stating, "Jalen Williams played a significant role by being physical with Jokic, which is crucial for the Thunder's defensive efforts." [48:56]

8. Cavs vs. Celtics: Must-Win Scenarios and Injuries

The episode also touches upon the Cleveland Cavaliers' urgent need to secure wins against the Celtics amidst injury concerns.

• Tim Bontemps highlights, "The Cavs have three key players listed as questionable, including Darius Garland, whose injury could significantly impact their performance." [52:26]

• Ryan Reynolds suggests, "Without Evan Mobley, the Cavs need to focus heavily on offense to counter the Knicks' defensive strength." [58:20]

• Ban McMahon concurs, saying, "Isaac Okoro’s defensive contributions are vital, but the Cavs need to bolster their offensive strategies to win the series." [58:30]

9. Ticket Prices and Fan Reactions

The hosts briefly discuss skyrocketing ticket prices for crucial playoff games and the resulting fan sentiments.

• Tim Bontemps remarks, "Ticket prices are reaching unprecedented levels, with nosebleeds costing up to $700 each." [35:07]

• Ryan Reynolds adds, "It's clear that the excitement around these playoff games is driving demand, but it’s making it inaccessible for many fans." [35:25]

10. Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Wrapping up the episode, the hosts express their anticipation for upcoming games and reflect on the series' potential outcomes.

• Tim Bontemps asserts, "There's still hope for the Cavs and Celtics, but they need to overcome their current deficits quickly." [57:14]

• Ban McMahon emphasizes, "The Thunder remain strong contenders in their series, especially if they maintain their defensive adjustments against the Nuggets." [42:43]

• Ryan Reynolds concludes, "The Celtics look poised to advance if they can stabilize their shooting and leverage their strong performances in earlier games." [62:46]

---

This episode provides an in-depth analysis of several high-stakes NBA playoff matchups, offering listeners expert insights into team strategies, player performances, and the dynamic shifts that could determine the championship landscape.

Transcript

[Ryan Reynolds]

Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same Premium Wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities. So do like I did and have one of your assistant's assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to [e-mail].

[Tim Bontemps]

Switch upfront payment of $45 for three month plan equivalent to $15 per month.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Required intro rate first three months only.

[Tim Bontemps]

Then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See full [e-mail] Foreign welcome to the HOOP Collective podcast. We talk about the NBA which we are doing on Thursday evening. Joining me from down the street here in New York City, back from a brief hiatus and with a special guest is Tim Bontemps.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Hello everybody. It's very nice to be back. We got a lot of really awesome wishes over the past week or so from everybody. Listen to the pod, which we appreciate. And we got, got, got young Mr. Bontemps here and he's got a gift from some friends that we wanted to show you here. If you could see in here.

[Ban McMahon]

You see that the poop Collective.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I love it. Collective, yes. Some friends of ours, including the laugh track. I think longtime fans of the pod will know who we're talking about. Sent that along for a little guy. So wanted to say hello to everybody and say thank you for all the super nice wishes over the past week. But we're doing great hanging out.

[Tim Bontemps]

They got him a shirt, a matching shirt that they want Tim to wear.

[Ban McMahon]

This is just messed up because this is like a human shield. I can't really go after Bonten so he's got the cute little baby in his hands.

[Tim Bontemps]

This is, this is, I think he just handed him off to Mama Sweet. That rat right there is joining us from Oklahoma City. Oh, you're. That's right. Joining us from Denver. You relocated. Joining us from Denver is Ban McMahon.

[Ban McMahon]

Howdy Partners. It is a pleasure to have Bon Tims back. And I've been telling folks this is like, you know when you, you know those T shirt cannons are like circulars. Like there's like two layers on this on the circular cannons and you just shove all the little T shirts in them and then they start firing them off into the upper deck. That's bomb temps with his NBA takes. He's just, he's got the, he's got the takes cannon loaded and ready to roll.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, I think we finally had a kind of a normal night in the NBA playoff world on Wednesday night, the Timberwolves. I thought for a minute the, the warriors made a run in the second half behind Jonathan Kuminga being reanimated. But I thought for a second we might have another 20 point comeback. But order was restored and the Timberwolves tied the series. I don't know what to predict on that. I, I do. You know, I don't know if we're going to, how many close games we're going to get without Steph, but I do know this ESPN stats and info tells us that the warriors have a 92 offensive efficiency, 92 points per 100 possessions when Steph Curry is not on the court in the postseason and he is not on the court right now.

[Ban McMahon]

And have they given you Jimmy on Steph off? Because Jimmy did miss that game. I don't imagine it's pretty, but I hope it's better. 92.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, I watched this game today and Jonathan Kaminga came on to the court. He was, he, he got some extra minutes off the bench as Steve Kerr, by the way. Steve Kerr. I wouldn't say he was searching. He played 14 players in the first half.

[Ban McMahon]

He played Jonathan Kaminga. He was absolutely searching. Kidding me.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He played 13 players in 14 minutes. I think that says all you need to know.

[Tim Bontemps]

He, anyway, Kaminga hit his first eight shots which is what led that brief flourish. Warriors are just, I, I don't, I don't know what they're going to do here. I mean they, what they, what they need to do is somehow find a way to win one game out of the next three to try to get it to game six, which would maybe enable Steph to come back. That would be about I think 11 days off the injury. Who knows? I don't know how he's going to feel in 11 days. He gave an interview today where he said he's still very much in the, our rehab process. Forget about doing anything with basketball wise. And he doesn't know when he's going to be able to come back obviously. But you know, the, the, the, the conventional wisdom is if he can get to that three day break next week between five and six, which means the warriors can get another win. And you know, I mean I don't want to take, but maybe they sweep the games in, in Oak, in. I almost said Oakland in San Francisco, but I, I don't like their chances. But if they somehow could do that, I don't want to take that off the table. But if they get one more win, they can get to Game six. And maybe Steph can come back, but who knows what condition he would be in when he came back. So the Wolves had to win this game tonight under the circumstances, they got off to a big early lead. Julius Randle had a great game, a double double with I think 11 assists, 20 points and 11 assists. And Edwards maybe the most resilient physically guy in the league. Now, like LeBron had to give that title up. And now an Edwards turns his ankle, gets leg whipped, gets rolled up on in this game, got landed on his foot. Trace Jackson Davis landed on his foot. He couldn't put any pressure, barely on his foot going off the court. And we're in our group chat going, oh, my God, is it a high ankle sprain? Is it a contusion? Is it worse? And he started the second half.

[Ban McMahon]

Of course he did. And honestly, he missed, what, the last, like, six minutes and change of the first half. Usually he'll go back and it's like he's back in three minutes later. So the, the fact he missed the whole last six minutes. Oh, you know, there's some mystery, there was some, some concern there. He came back in the second half, he was fine.

[Tim Bontemps]

I know he. He is. He is not shooting the ball well. I think he's like three of 20 on threes, three of his last 20. But without Curry, the Warriors, you know, you don't maybe need A plus basketball for man Edwards, but the warriors, having won game one, save their bacon in this series because that will buy them some, some time. All right, Bon sense, we've been waiting for. We've been waiting for a week plus to hear from you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Have you been. I'm not sure that's true. I. I just was looking up stats while we were sitting here. And in Tonight's game, in 34 minutes, Jimmy Butler, when he was on the court, the warriors had a 100 offensive rating, which is not good. In the 14 minutes that Jimmy Butler was not on the court, the warriors had an 84.4 offensive rating, which is really bad. And I mean, look, it's like you said, Brian, they have to win. If they can win one game, they have a chance probably to get Steph Curry back for game six at home in San Francisco and give Steph a chance to do that. It's hard to bet against Steph Curry, right? But that game one, the Wolves were just abject in every way. And in this game, like, they were okay. They weren't great. They were okay, and they dominated the game. So it's going to be A pretty monumental challenge for an older warriors team with a already beaten up Jimmy Butler and not a lot of scoring punch. I mean, like you said, Jonathan Minga comes in and goes 8 for 8 and has 16 points right off the bat. And the game's still not that competitive. He's probably not doing that again. And the other. Well, and, well, the other thing we have to talk about too is this latest insanity with Draymond, because the entire time I've been out, I've been watching Draymond.

[Tim Bontemps]

Hold on.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Before you go to that game, before you go to.

[Ban McMahon]

The USWB is just starting to flow.

[Tim Bontemps]

I know, I know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's all good.

[Tim Bontemps]

I know.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But I know we're getting to it.

[Tim Bontemps]

I just want to say one thing real quick. Just because we're talking about warriors performance stats, Williams has this. So the wolves did make 16 threes in this game, which is one of the reasons why they, you know, they've been ice cold from three point range. They made all 16 threes. Were classified as open looks, the most open three pointers by any team since ESPN started tracking games in 20, 2014. So if the warriors are going to have any chance to win anything here, they're going to have to defend better. And that was really their, you know, the reason they won Game one was because of defense. I suppose Minnesota is just being. Well, they only go up 88 points. I mean, they had to defend a little bit.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But they lost game one because the Wolves were abject. The Wolves lost that game.

[Ban McMahon]

That's how Bomb Timps is back. The USWB's got a double abject and we're just a few minutes in. Listen, I would like to know how many of those threes in game one were classified as wide open because good defense is you, you can say it's okay. Hey, they scored so many points the other team, they held the other team so many points. If they're missing clean looks at threes, it's not good defense. It's good luck.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, so on to Draymond. I'll go ahead.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, I mean, look, the entire. So I was. I've been home, not the hospital, watching games for, I don't know, 10 days. Last 10 days. And I think every single time I've seen the warriors play over those 10 days, Draymond Green has either gotten the flagrant foul, the technical, or both. And this, this, these antics today in the second quarter were unbelievable. First of all, the guy elbows Naz Read in the head. It is an obvious, obvious technical Foul.

[Ban McMahon]

It's the exact same thing he did to Fred Van Vliet in game seven.

[Tim Bontemps]

Exactly.

[Ban McMahon]

Fouled. You flail, you smack the guy upside the head.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's right.

[Tim Bontemps]

You can't do that again by the letter of the law, That's a technical, not a flagrant.

[Ban McMahon]

Because it's a dead ball.

[Tim Bontemps]

But it happened when it wasn't a dead ball. It would have been a flagrant. Right, and both of those flagrants would have gotten him suspended. Not the actual. Not the actual flagrant.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He'd already be at four flagrant, five points. So he flails. He elbows Nasrid in the head. The most obvious, as you said, literal, definitional, technical foul ever. He stomps to the bench. Can't believe why they're reviewing it. Doesn't understand what's going on. Tony Brothers, veteran official, reviews it for four seconds, says technical foul because it's a dead ball. Technical foul, as it always is. Draymond now has five. As we have talked about, man, you are the master of all technical recordkeeping. Seven technicals. You then are suspended for a game. So he's already up to five. You have him, then walk onto the court. Our friend of the pod, Tyler Ford, is standing there. He walks up to Tyler Ford and says to his face, that's bleeping BS to the guy's face.

[Tim Bontemps]

Oh, Draymond might have to. Draymond might have to have another apology session with the warriors teammates.

[Ban McMahon]

Well, hold on, hold on, hold on. I want to praise Tyler. Big T. Tyler Ford want to praise him. He's five foot three in stature, but six foot three in temperament. Now he's grown up before our eyes, because if he was. If he was a wee little fella, in this instance, boom. Another T. Oh, that's two. See you later, buddy.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, listen, I wish Tyler had ejected him, because this nonsense with Draymond, I'm beyond over it. It's.

[Tim Bontemps]

It's truly.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's truly embarrassing the way the league has allowed this to fester to the point where this guy just walks around and acts like he is aggrieved every second he's on the court while he's committing a flagrant or a technical foul every single game to the point where Stephen Curry has to come over to him and say, hey, man, I'm already out. We can't have you doing this. And then Steve Kerr has to take him out of the game because they think he's going to get himself thrown out of the game in the second quarter like we.

[Ban McMahon]

We.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's nine years since this guy cost his team a title in 2016 and we are still dealing with this absolute garbage on a day by day basis. It's a joke. And the league has allowed this to turn into a circus where this guy can threaten the refs and domineer at the refs and do whatever he wants. And when he gets one technical, he knows that they're not going to want to throw him out of the game because they want the best players on the court, which is a. A admirable goal for everyone to have. And then he just acts like a crazy person and it's just, it's. I'm so tired of it on every level.

[Ban McMahon]

They want the best players on the court. Unless it's a 51 point margin and Nicole Y says, I'm going to take a shot here. Get me the hell out of here. I know I've got five fouls. Please. Listen, man. Oh, it's good to have bon tips back. Wendy. Did you see those T shirts? They were landing high in the three hundreds. Folks, in the nosebleeds. You better be ready. They're coming to you. Those takes are getting fired. But this is a good, strong take. Bon temps. I can't even disagree with you to act like this is. I can't believe you're reviewing this. What are you. Bro, you flailed and smacked a guy upside the head, which was the exact same thing you did to Fred Van Vliet in game seven. Like, what are we even talking about here?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Nonsense.

[Ban McMahon]

And, and this guy. Like, dude, it's not, it's not an. If Draymond's going to be suspended during his playoffs, it's when? Because I don't think he can. I know. Maybe. Maybe the only way, the only way I'll be wrong is if Golden State loses in five, maybe he can go three more games without getting at least two more TE's or two more Flagon foul points. Yeah, two more points maybe. But, but, but I. But, but, but the numbers aren't in his odds.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The guy has seven flagrant foul and technicals combined. Flagrant crow points and technical fouls in nine games.

[Ban McMahon]

It's ridiculous.

[Tim Bontemps]

But he apologized. He apologized to the team. Yeah. After the game, Steve Kerr was asked, hey, was this disappointing? You know, he, he'd. He'd shown poise the last two games. And what, and what did Steve say? You have. You haven't heard what he said? Because I just listened to it. While you guys are going back and forth. What do you think he said? I'll bet. Just guess what he said.

[Ban McMahon]

Draymond's passion is part of his greatness. That whole crap.

[Tim Bontemps]

That's exactly right.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. He excused it away. The warriors have been excusing us away for years. This guy sucker punched his teammate, and then his teammate was turned into the villain. So, look, I give up with this whole thing, but I just. That entire. All those histrionics in the second quarter were a joke, and the whole situation is ridiculous in every single game. Now, we're talking about every time the warriors play, we're talking about some incident with Draymond and something like this happening, and he's constantly acting like it's everybody against him.

[Ban McMahon]

Well, and again, when is that going to stop? Draymond, Absolutely. Like, yes, Draymond helped hang four banners that can never be taken away from 100. But.

[Tim Bontemps]

But.

[Ban McMahon]

But, dude, come on, man. Like, it's every single game, and you managed to come back and you beat the Rockets, but your antics throughout that series were. Were a distraction and were a problem. And honestly, I thought he should have been tossed in game seven. This thing where you get fouled and you're embellishing the contact, but you're doing it with your elbow or your forearm upside the guy's head. Dude, I'm sorry. That, to me, it's a flagrant. It's a flagrant, too.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Or.

[Ban McMahon]

Or it could be considered, like, I'm sorry that that, to me, is an objectionable offense.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Right. By the letter of the law, it is a dead ball technical, which is why they keep calling it that. However, it is a flagrant act every time he does it. Yes, it's. And look, these playoffs have been amazing. I've been ready to talk about them for 10 days. It frankly makes me angry that we spent all this time talking about Draymond, but we have to, because it's a joke.

[Tim Bontemps]

Draymond has just commented.

[Ban McMahon]

Oh, great. What'd he say?

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do we got?

[Tim Bontemps]

I'm gonna listen to it again here to make sure.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, while you're doing that, all I will say is McMahon and I. Well, McMahon was working at Ispahn. I was working at the Washington Post. It wasn't quite here yet. Back in 2016, we were in Oklahoma City for Thunder Warriors. In that entire series, we spent going to morning shootarounds and practices talking about the placement of Draymond's foot in relation to Stephen Adams private parts, which led to the.

[Ban McMahon]

My favorite quote that I've ever heard, which was, it's not that big a Target mate.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I knew what you were going to say before you said it, because that. That whole class is incredible. And that quote was right near the top of the whole list.

[Ban McMahon]

Steve Adams is a. Is a. Just obviously an all timer, but that, to me, is the best. I don't know. That. Or the one he gave to Wendy about his hometown smelling like farts. Those are the best Stephen Adams quotes.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, and I missed a lot of those that first round, but it was great to see Stephen Adams back and. And playing great for the Phase three Rockets. That was. That was very fun to see. All right, Brian, we filibustered enough, I think, for you to listen to this. So.

[Tim Bontemps]

I have a great family. I'm great at basketball. I'm great at what I do. The agenda to make me keep making me look like a demon.

[Ban McMahon]

Oh, God.

[Tim Bontemps]

Is just crazy. And then he walked away. And then he.

[Ban McMahon]

You know what? Go away, Draymond. Shut up, dude. Do not play victim here. Don't play the victim here. Stop doing. Stop doing.

[Tim Bontemps]

I'm sick of crazy and stupid stuff.

[Ban McMahon]

We're sick of you doing stupid flagrant crap on a regular basis. It's not an agenda, Draymond. You get break after break after break after break after break, and you keep on pushing the line. It was not an agenda to make you look angry when you punched your teammate in the face. It was not an agenda to make you look angry when you grab Rudy Go Bear and put him in the sleep hold. It was not an agenda to make you look angry when you punched or smacked or whatever the hell you want to call it. Yusuf Nurkic upside the head, dude. And then, you know, this is why, honestly, I love. I love Om. Om is great at his job, but when Om came on here and talked about, like, the kinder, gentler Draymond, and he's really embracing this counseling. Draymond is full of crap. He's just. He's so full of crap, his breast stinks. Like, what are we talking about here, dude, please.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The end of the Steve Kerr Draymond quote. The competition is so meaningful to him that occasionally he goes over the line. And by occasionally, like. Yes, by. I was gonna say, by occasionally, we mean what occasion a game? Just enough to keep him on the court.

[Ban McMahon]

Why is Draymond the only one in these playoffs when every time there's a foul that he wants to embellish, he ends up smacking the defender upside the head? Why is he the only one? What is. Am I. Am I missing, like, this rash of forearms to the head of guys who just commit a foul, a little touch foul out on the perimeter. Have I missed the rest of them? Or is this only Draymond doing Draymond?

[Ryan Reynolds]

I would say to wrap this up very succinctly, if you. If there is one common denominator over a 10 year period in dozens of instances and it's the same person every single time, perhaps it is not an agenda. Perhaps.

[Ban McMahon]

Well, I just look forward to the next Draymond podcast where he whines and cries and complains about how everybody's out to get him. I mean, this.

[Tim Bontemps]

Honestly, dude, he'll be tonight.

[Ban McMahon]

He's embarrassing himself. He. This is an embarrassment. We all have eyeballs. No one's trying to portray you as something. You're doing this. You keep doing stupid things that hurt your team and you refuse to take any accountability and you're going to get suspended. Your team's going to lose that game. And then you can go do a podcast from Cancun.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, which.

[Ban McMahon]

We should have a live show there sometime, by the way.

[Tim Bontemps]

Listen, if we're going international and I'm speaking to my followers, my followers @seals are listening.

[Ban McMahon]

The cult leader here.

[Tim Bontemps]

I was gonna say bow down before me. If we're gonna go international with. With a live show, it's gonna be to Manila.

[Ban McMahon]

Okay, let's go.

[Tim Bontemps]

I got all my Filipino friends. It's a long flight, Jackson. It's a long flight.

[Ban McMahon]

Yeah, but you. But you. You could probably get us pj.

[Tim Bontemps]

I'm. I'm guessing that that's going to be a big topic of conversation on the shows tomorrow. This is. This is how I'm thinking. I'm thinking I am now on get up and first take tomorrow. That.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, this is going to. This is going to be the only topic tomorrow.

[Ban McMahon]

Hold on. That was a subtle. He's become subtle. These. That was a subtle windy sleep update. Yeah, go on.

[Tim Bontemps]

It's actually not too bad tonight because the game, you know, the game didn't.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Go so late and we just had to wait for an hour for big man's technical difficulties. The Young King. The Young King almost didn't make it to the pod because of.

[Ban McMahon]

Yeah. And there. And there was an Uber trip. I was just, you know, eating pizza.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Anyway.

[Ban McMahon]

Enjoying some basketball, some nuggets.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Anyway, let's. Let's get off a Draymond to talk about fun stuff.

[Ban McMahon]

Lordy. More hoop collective podcast after this.

[Tim Bontemps]

For men, dealing with Ed can be uncomfortable, which is why HIMSS provides access to a comfortable solution with an all online process and Personalized Treatment options HIMS is changing men's health care by providing you with access to affordable sexual health treatments from the comfort of your couch. HIMS provides access to a range of doctor trusted ed treatments like chewable tablets, Viagra and Cialis and their generics for up to 95% less. The process is 100% online so there's no need for uncomfortable doctor's visits. Just fill out an intake form on their site and a medical provider will determine the right treatment option. If prescribed, your medication ships directly to you for free. No insurance is needed and one low price covers everything from treatments to ongoing care. With hundreds of thousands of trusted subscribers, HIMSS can help you find the EDI option that works for you. Start your free online Visit [e-mail] hoop that's H I M S.com hoopp for personalized ED treatment options. Hisss.com the featured products include compounded products which are not approved or nor verified for safety, effectiveness or quality by the fda. Prescription required. See website for details, restrictions and important safety information. Price varies based on product and subscription plan. La Quinta by Wyndham is deeply grateful for military members, veterans and their families. La Quinta understands the dedication, sacrifice and hard work that comes with serving our country. As a thank you, La Quinta is offering 12% off its standard rates. Upgraded Wyndham rewards gold status memberships and preferred parking. La Quinta wants to make sure your stays are as comfortable and rewarding as possible and is proud to serve those who serve tonight. La Quinta tomorrow you shine. Visit lq.com to learn more about special military perks and discounts. Restrictions apply if you want tools that stand the test of time without testing your wallet. Harbor Freight is the place for you. Expert engineers design and rigorously test Harbor Freight tools to bring you top quality, whether your next project is big or small. Harbor Freight carries a wide selection from hand tools to power tools to automotive tools and welding equipment with prices lower than other top brands but with the same top quality. You're getting more for your money at Harbor Freight. There are over 1,500 Harbor Freight stores in the U.S. so come see for yourself. Whatever you do, do it for less at Harbor Freight. All right? I don't know how how much fun it is. Jayson Tatum did speak today after he didn't speak last night because there was the fire alarm.

[Ban McMahon]

I don't know which was fitting for the Celtic situation.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh my God. What? What an absolutely fitting way for that train wreck of a night to end. You guys all getting Ushered out of the building because there's a fire alarm that gets put off in the middle of Postgate media.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah. So I will say this about Tatum. First off, he spoke today. I mean, it wouldn't have been unheard of if he didn't speak today. There's two days off. I'll give him credit for that. And you know, he said, quote, I take full ownership of the way that I've played in this series and can't sugarcoat anything. I need to be better and I expect to be a lot better. He said that. You know, I've been working really hard on my game and my craft and prepared to be in these moments to hit these shots. And it just hasn't happened the last two games. But you can't lose your confidence. So he is shooting, by the way, 29% in this series. 12 of 42 and a 5 of 20, 25%, which is exactly on pace for the Celtics because they're 25 of 100.

[Ryan Reynolds]

As we know. No, I was just going to say, as we know, the reason the Celtics are down or two in the series is the introduction of, of my son into the picture. As you, as you correctly pointed out last week, I almost know his name.

[Tim Bontemps]

Which is still secret. I almost said his name. He knows. He knows nothing but wicks. But wicks. He knows nothing but Nick's being winners. His only thing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's all he knows. Lakers losers and Knicks winners. That's all. It's been a week and it's all he knows.

[Ban McMahon]

Speaking of the. Yeah. Oh my gosh, you took like 12 hours of paternity leave. Anyways, speaking of the Knicks being winners, Wendy, you've watched every second of this series. You cover anything. How much of Jason Tatum struggles are just, hey, you know, Tatum's off right now. Like the shots aren't falling, whatever. Versus the two big time wing defenders that the Knicks went out and got over the last year and a half. OG Anunoby and Maau Bridges. Maau bridges. The cojones factor. Defense player of the year, at least defense player of the playoffs so far because all he does is get steals to seal wins. How much credit do you give them versus saying, hey, Tatum's not playing well right now?

[Tim Bontemps]

It's both. By the way, they had Bridges and Anobi during the regular season and Tatum averaged 34 against them. I know these games are obviously way more important, but it's not like, you know, I mean, it's not like he has not been able to solve them. The Celtics are Definitely playing poorly. They're definitely having some questionable decisions. And they also are on a preposterous cold streak.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I mean, guys, the Knicks, The Knicks didn't play well in either one of these games.

[Tim Bontemps]

I know that, like, that's the crazy part.

[Ban McMahon]

That's how you fall down by 20.

[Ryan Reynolds]

But it's like they. Even the comebacks that they had, like the Celtics, again, this goes. It's sort of. I use the line about Draymond, like for several years now, we have had the same conversation about the Celtics over and over and over again where they're just not quite consistent enough. And so they get themselves in these spots and make their lives more difficult than they need to be. Over and over and over again. And they in particular kick away games at home and then come back and win on the road. They've done that over and over and over again because they go on the road, they lock in, they focus, and they play better. And in both of these games, all of the bad habits that we have talked about a million times all came up again. And that all comes back to Jayson Tatum, their best player, who's a phenomenal player, deservingly a first team all NBA player. There's a reason his teams always do these same things. He's just not quite on the same level as the Nicole Yokiches, the Shakers, Alexander's, the Giannis Tennikos. McMahon has called him a what post?

[Ban McMahon]

Top of the second tier.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I mean he's. He's a phenomenal player. Top five to 10 player in the league. But the Celtics are always just like a half a turn off when things are not going great and it, it all comes back to Tatum. No, but I just mean except for.

[Ban McMahon]

When they cruise to a championship last.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, but that's, that's what I mean. When the Celtics, when the Celtics are out front in open air, they're unbelievable. They look like the greatest team of all time. And when they get stuck in the mud at all, run into trouble and look, here's the thing. I think the Celtics are going to win this next four games in this series. I wouldn't be surprised if they win them all by double digits.

[Ban McMahon]

Wait, wait, hold. Hold on. That tells me something.

[Tim Bontemps]

Reload that T shirt guy.

[Ban McMahon]

Hold on. I'll tell you. Hold on, hold on. I. I got to do a little investigative reporting. Bon Temps. Are you still on paternity leave from actually covering games? I don't think you're showing up to MSG with those kind of takes, baby.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I, I will probably Be at MSG on Saturday. We will see. We'll see. Kon. Kon is. Kon is pushing me to go be in the atmosphere at msg, in part because she's mad that she didn't go to any games this year and shows it to me. But, but look, here's the thing. If the game is close with five minutes to go, if it's a clutch time game, it's a massive advantage for the Knicks.

[Ban McMahon]

Yeah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Because Jalen Brunson is the clutch player of the year for a reason. And not at the playoffs.

[Ban McMahon]

But not at the playoffs. Go on.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, listen, whatever.

[Ban McMahon]

Go on.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And the Celtics, we have seen over time repeatedly mess up in those spots, including at the end of game two, including in overtime in game one. And like, the Knicks, are not as good as them. They were dominated by them, frankly, for the vast majority of the six games they've played this year. But they're up to O in the series because the Celtics fell apart in the final five minutes of the game. And the Knicks have the best clutch player in the league. And that's the formula for the Knicks. If they can have it be close at the end, they're going to feel like they can win any game. And it's just a matter of whether the Celtics will allow them to do that or not.

[Ban McMahon]

Listen, things are going so well for the Knicks that when he's doing solo pods being interrupted by amorous affairs in the hotel room next door, just chit chat about how, how great those Knicks are.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Amorous. That is not how you say that word.

[Ban McMahon]

Amorous.

[Tim Bontemps]

I guess I, I can only assume. I can only.

[Ban McMahon]

Spanish for love. I know that.

[Tim Bontemps]

I think, I think, I think you, I think Jackson, cut that out of the podcast and now you've just alerted all of our listeners that I will just say that my neighbors in the hotel last night in Boston, I believe, were Knicks fans. I can't say for sure. Probably a safe bet, although they might be.

[Ban McMahon]

They may. They, they might be efforting to get one of those little poop collective onesies.

[Tim Bontemps]

After all the, after all the prices that they, that they inflated the prices of those hotels. I think they thought, you know, even if they're Celtic stands, they got to make the best of the evening. Joe Mazzulla was asked today. I thought this was a very good question. Because they're shooting so poorly, do the Knicks, do the Celtics need to really lean into other things besides shooting because of variance? In other words, should you, should you, should you do something more than just shoot three pointers And Joe Missoula said, we shot more free throws. We got 10 more shots than the Knicks did. We got 10 more layups than they did in game one. We got 16 more offensive rebounds and we got 25 points off turnovers. Which is basically his way of saying there's no way we should be losing these games.

[Ban McMahon]

And how many threes did they take in game two?

[Ryan Reynolds]

40.

[Tim Bontemps]

40. 40.

[Ryan Reynolds]

They were 15 for 16. Game one. They were 10 for 40 in game two.

[Ban McMahon]

Yeah, 40 is not an egregious number at all.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, here's the thing. They are. They also are defending. They're defending.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The Knicks are not playing well. The Knicks offensive rating in these two games is 100. It would be worst in the league this year by five, almost six points behind the Wizards. The problem is the Celtics offensive rating is 99 and a half. Like the Celtics, the Celtics imploded in the final few minutes of these two games. Like, you know, it's. And again, we have seen this story a thousand times this year. They were up 25 to 3 on the Cavs and lost. Right? Like, this is what they.

[Ban McMahon]

I don't know that we saw it a thousand times.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I don't know a lot of games. Well, yes, but they go up by 20 regularly and then they give the lead back regularly. They do this over and over again. This is what they do. They don't. They just go through very up and down stretches. And part of that is because they're not. They aren't a team that typically is really going to be attacking the rim. I think there's a reason why Mitchell Robinson's plus minus was as strong as it was. I thought it was weird. The amount of questioning of him, of Joe Missoula doing the hack on Mitchell Robinson, I thought was weird. Like when he's not in the game. We saw on that second to last possession when Jason Tatum just blew by Carl Towns and got about the easiest layup in a off a dead ball timeout that you're ever going to get in the final 20 seconds of a playoff game. Like, if Mitchell's not out there, there's no protection at the rim for the Knicks. And the Celtics should be able to get to the rim repeatedly with the amount of shooting they've got on the perimeter. Having Mitchell Robinson out there is going to change the geometry of the court. And he had a real impact in the game. And also, look, it really can't be overstated that the Knicks go into the switching defense, which Tom Thibodeau very rarely has Ever employed. This is exactly why the Celtics got Chris Esperzingis and the fact that he is under the weather and dealing with this illness he's been off and on dealing with for a few months now. It's had a huge impact on the Celtics because this is exactly the moment when they'd be getting him the ball in the mid post and giving them a plan B to attack teams with offensively and without that they then resort to a lot of this three point shooting and it gets them in the same rut We've seen him get into a lot.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yes. I just want to point out that as bad as you said you said about the offensive rating a second ago, as bad as they have shot the ball and there's all these stats that say this is the worst two game run for Jalen Brunson and Jason Tatum, it's the worst two games of the season for the Celtics, blah blah blah.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I assume that Jalen Brown and Jason Tatum, you said Brunson just make a treatment. Yeah, I was making treatment.

[Tim Bontemps]

By the way, Brunson hasn't been good shooting.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, I knew he hadn't been either.

[Tim Bontemps]

I'm sorry. Too many Jalens in my life.

[Ban McMahon]

Not enough sleep.

[Tim Bontemps]

That's right. They lost the one game by three in overtime and the other game by one. So. But I will say this, this game on Saturday, the ticket prices are lunacy. Prices here are lunacy.

[Ban McMahon]

I was talking, what's the get in the building price? Do you know?

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's currently 700 for the nosebleeds. Oh my God.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, I talked, I talked to a guy today who, who paid thirteen hundred dollars a seat and he's like, I was like, I was actually pretty happy with that. I think I got a pretty good deal. And I was like, my God.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Like that the Garden is going to be, I mean you could make an argument this is the biggest game in Madison Square Garden in a quarter century.

[Tim Bontemps]

I mentioned that in my Solopod last night. I, I, oh, I was debating this Alan Hahn who covered the Knicks, he works for MSG network now and ESPN and he's covered the Knicks for, I don't know, 15, 20 years.

[Ryan Reynolds]

20 years. Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

He said the 2013 series against the Pacers. I disagree. They got upset by the Pacers in the second round. I covered that series after game one. I was convinced the Pacers were winning.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, here's the other thing. Here's the other thing. LeBron James on the other side of the bracket, right? Like if the, if the Knicks can somehow beat this Celtic team, which, again, I think they're probably going to lose the next four games. But if the Knicks. If the Knicks can win two more games and beat the Celtics, this was the team all year we said the Knicks have no chance to beat because they played him four times. They got smoked. So if they win, they go into the conference finals, they've beaten the Celtics. Everybody here. I'm not saying this is correct, but everybody in New York is going to be preparing for the finals, and that was not the case in 2013. They were going to lose to. To the Heat.

[Tim Bontemps]

If the Pacers get two wins over the Cavs, two more wins over the Cavs, the Knicks. And the Knicks get two more wins over the Celtics, the Knicks will have home court in the conference. Yeah, Jackson, I don't know if this is easy to look up or not, but earlier today, the Knicks were favored to win the series, but the Celtics were still favored to win the East.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I can look it up in B. I can look it up in BPI and see there's. There's been some weird stuff with bpi.

[Tim Bontemps]

But this is for. This was on ESPN bet for betting lines, which I know that is. Obviously doesn't make sense, but I think it's indicative of how this series being two zero nicks doesn't make sense. And I think it shows that the sports books and the betters don't know where to put their money either, based on the lay of the land here. Because the Cavs and the series is easy. Celtics are down.

[Ban McMahon]

Ooh. But Celtics are favored for the conference title. Disrespect. Disrespect to old. Doing the big ball dancing that cruise.

[Tim Bontemps]

By the way, did you see that? He didn't get fined.

[Ban McMahon]

Listen, I think that we should rescind all the fines that have been levied for that particular.

[Tim Bontemps]

We know you're pro cajones. We know that.

[Ryan Reynolds]

So do you guys want to guess by ESPN bet percentages what the. What the percentages are for the Knicks and Pacers to win their respective series up too? Well.

[Ban McMahon]

Well, I think the Knicks are even since Jackson just told us, however, earlier today.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm talking about bpi, not in. Not an espn. Talking about our internal numbers.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, well, BPI is not. I would not say it's the greatest metric ever invented.

[Ban McMahon]

Well, I'm just saying.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What do you. What do you think it is?

[Ban McMahon]

Wendy versus the nerds. That's like, oh, my goodness.

[Ryan Reynolds]

What. What do you guys think it is?

[Ban McMahon]

Talk. Talk about a pillow fight. I'm gonna guess. Knicks are 45%.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The Knicks are an 80% favorite to win.

[Ban McMahon]

Okay.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And the Pacers are a 79% favorite to win the series.

[Ban McMahon]

I didn't even get to guess. I was gonna say 79. I was gonna. That's what.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's exactly. I'm sure you were.

[Ban McMahon]

Actually, I was going to say 90. I was going to say 90 because.

[Tim Bontemps]

To me, the first time anyone's ever accused McMahon of thinking like a computer.

[Ban McMahon]

I don't know what that means. I can't even get my computer to think for me enough to turn on the damn WI fi.

[Tim Bontemps]

He's on his phone right now. Because he can't. Because the IT department is not on the road in Denver. And he can't get his computer attacked attached to the hotel wi fi.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Knowing Mr. Bontes may have had more luck with the. With the computer situation.

[Tim Bontemps]

I hope your computer attaches to the WI fi at ball arena tomorrow.

[Ban McMahon]

All I'm gonna say, big ball arena, by the way.

[Ryan Reynolds]

We got to see a lot of McMahon and our power Ramona Shelburn on the TV. Which we were we sitting in the bontem's house. We're happy to see them looking. Looking good.

[Ban McMahon]

A lot of compliments for that suit that I had on. Shout out to my. My guy. Etiquette Dom takes care of.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Here we go.

[Ban McMahon]

Sharp. Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

He had a pocket square in.

[Ban McMahon]

It's a built in. Put right in the suit. Just give a little yank and wow.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's a built in. Of course it's a built in. Everybody should know that. This guy could not have a pocket square in his suit. He can't get on the WI fi.

[Tim Bontemps]

He was gonna. He was gonna look up the technique for folding a pocket square, but he couldn't get on the WI FI to watch on YouTube.

[Ban McMahon]

But you know what I can do? I can watch YouTube TV while I'm in an Uber. I can watch a game, sit right in the back seat.

[Tim Bontemps]

I know, but when I watch YouTube TV or any. When I watch any video in a New York City cab, like tonight, it makes me car sick. I can't.

[Ban McMahon]

Okay?

[Tim Bontemps]

It's too much.

[Ban McMahon]

You know what else I can do? You know what else I can do? I can watch games. Sit right there. My airline seat. Oh, I've watched a lot of basketball sitting in an airline seat. Can you? I don't think so.

[Tim Bontemps]

I'm not sure. I can't get this magical airline WI fi that you get. You're like, oh, yeah, I'm streaming all these games. I'm lucky if my I'm with you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

He's flying 2,000ft to Oklahoma City from Dallas. So that's just got the 5G all the time.

[Ban McMahon]

Hate to tell you boys, but I've flown to other places than Oklahoma City this year. Many, many other places. And I've watched many basketball games while I'm on. I've been on those flights.

[Tim Bontemps]

You've got something special going on because that I cannot this this is a whole nother world for me. People are allegedly streaming stuff on on.

[Ban McMahon]

Airplane, wi fi More Hoop Collective podcast after this.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I think you're on mute.

[Ban McMahon]

Workday starting to sound the same. I think you're on mute.

[Tim Bontemps]

Find something that sounds better for your career on LinkedIn with LinkedIn job collections, you can browse curated collections by relevant industries and benefits like Flexpto or Hybrid workplaces so you can find the right job for you. Get [e-mail] jobs finding where you fit.

[Ban McMahon]

LinkedIn knows how.

[Ryan Reynolds]

This episode is brought to you by Disney's Lilo & Stitch only in theaters this Memorial Day. A reimagining of Disney's animated classic, Lilo and Stitch is the wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl, Lilo, and the fugitive alien Stitch, who helps to mend her broken family. Lilo and Stitch crashes into theaters May 23rd. Rated PG. Get tickets now. This episode is brought to you by Loom by Atlassian Are you feeling stuck at work?

[Tim Bontemps]

Get your team unstuck with Loom video.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Messaging and move work forward. Use Loom to simultaneously record both your.

[Tim Bontemps]

Screen and yourself to share a quick.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Update, provide feedback, train a colleague and everything in between. Plus add Loom AI to your meetings. For instant written notes and recordings, try.

[Ban McMahon]

Loom [e-mail] that's L-O-O-M.com however, the series.

[Tim Bontemps]

That you are covering McMahon we didn't get to talk to you last night because I wasn't waiting till 3 in the morning. I'm not sure what you make of last night's game other than the that the Thunder are still good.

[Ban McMahon]

Yeah, listen, the Thunder's still good. The Thunder aren't like they're not going over like it was a butt whooping. Obviously the Thunder aren't going overboard. Like, oh, that shows how dominant we are. Like they know. Look, they played well. The Nuggets did in the series just won one. The Nuggets got to split out of their trip to Oklahoma City. The Thunder still have to regain home court advantage. Now I think it it was a reminder that the Thunder Are the heavy favorites in the series and in the Western conference. And in this series, the majority of the time, the Thunder of led by double figures. They just blew a lead down the stretch of game one. And they, you know, we. We've. We don't need to go back over the. Just the ways that they botched the final minute of that, but that, you know, they blew game one. Now, I. It was the. To me, one of the most interesting things about this game two is Mark Dagenault was very adamant. You know, the. The defensive schemes didn't change. It was the same plan. Okay. There was an adjustment, though. Chet Holmgren was not the primary defender on Joker, and, you know, he wasn't the only primary defender on Joker in game one, but he spent the majority. He spent more time than anybody else on him in this game. Hartenstein started off on him. They tweaked the rotation. Jalen Williams, J. Will, the third big, came in early so he could bang with Joker so he could take that matchup. And Chet was on him a little bit, but not much. That, to me, was a pretty significant adjustment, one that made sense. Frankly, I was surprised that Chet was on him as the primary guy in game one because you would much rather have him being able to roam and have the bigger, more physical guys dealing with the, you know, the most physical task in the NBA, which is trying to keep Joker from getting to his spots. Now, having said all that, Joker's not gonna. I. I highly doubt Joker will have another 6 of 16, 6 turnover type of performance.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, that. Look, those guys got what they needed in the first game. It was fine.

[Tim Bontemps]

Fifth game in nine days for the Nuggets.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah. Six and 11 for game three.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, yeah. They play six guys, seven if they're lucky.

[Ryan Reynolds]

That's so It's a lot. Yeah.

[Tim Bontemps]

It sounds surprising that they may be a little bit flat. So, you know, what's.

[Ban McMahon]

This is not necessarily, like, basketball relevant, but it is pretty fascinating to me, the Russell Westbrook deal in the series. So when Russ first checked into the series, it was funny because he's sitting in the scores table and there's MVP chance. And it was because Shay Gilgis Alexander was at the free throw line. But I'm thinking. But, you know, I'm kind of.

[Tim Bontemps]

Russell's like, they still love me here.

[Ban McMahon]

In my sarcastic little mine. I'm like, hey, they remember us. Won an mvp. This is cute. But then he checks in. The entire arena gave him a standing ovation.

[Tim Bontemps]

I know, I heard about that.

[Ban McMahon]

Right? The entire arena. It was Cool on his feet.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's really cool.

[Ban McMahon]

Loud standing ovation. Like Russ really always going to be a legend in Oklahoma City. We all know his. His number zero is going to be in the rafters right next to his white man can't jump partner, Nick Collison. But he was booed. They booed him in game two and he got into it. He got into it with one particular big, ugly, bald headed, tattooed fan feller named Big Rich. And Russell back and forth. Oh no. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Russ was standing on. It was Big Rich's seats. You know our buddy Big Rich. When are you ever met his acquaintance? But you don't have any need for the scholarship that a bar owner could give you. Bond Timps knows him well. Anyways, his seats are right behind the Thunder bench, like two or three rows behind the Thunder bench. And Russ was, he was on the other side of the court. But this is early, like right after Russ had checked in and they were going back and forth, you know, they were. And they know like Russ knows Big Rich a little bit, you know, like he's hard to miss in Oklahoma City. Anyways, they were going back and forth to the point where security came over to Big Rich and was basically like, hey, you need to calm down. And Russ, right after the next time out was coming over to inbound the ball right by there and he turned around and winked at. He. He winked at our old Buddy Rich. But they, you know, that's Russ's way of saying like, hey, I get it. I'm the enemy now. You know, let's go. But it's been a, it's an interesting little subplot to this series. And Russ is a fascinating character. It has been a fascinating season, a roller coaster season for him. Playoffs, playoffs, season, career, post Oklahoma City for sure. But you know, if Oklahoma or if Denver is going to have a chance to pull off what would be a significant upset, Russ is going to have to play awfully well in four games. He's he and he did it in game one. They've got to have three more of those type of performances to have a chance.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, the other one other thing I'd like to see the Thunder do some more of too is we've already seen Lou Dort and Joker get into it multiple times in the first couple games. I'd like to see Lou Dort on Jokic a little bit more.

[Ban McMahon]

No, no, no, you don't. Why?

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, two reasons.

[Ban McMahon]

No. You need him on Jamal Murray.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, two reasons. One, you have Alex Caruso, you Have Kayson Wallace, you have 17 other guys you can throw at Jamal Murray. I'm not saying you have door down in the whole game, but Lou Dort is a human tank and can stand up to Joker physically and he's a pest and will get into him and will frustrate him. And I just think that having him on him for stretches of the game and just maybe getting Jokic off his game mentally a little bit is a wrinkle. I would if I was the Thunder, I'd be trying to throw at him.

[Tim Bontemps]

The Clippers had some success. Success in quotes, success with putting a smaller defender on Jokic and on a switch on switches of course. And then they would sometimes bring double teams, late double teams because if you double team Yoka Charlie with two small guys, he'll pick you apart. But it was some, there was some success that they had.

[Ban McMahon]

Okay, but, but, and when I say Joker had a, a down series, it's by three time MVP standards. It's by a guy, by the standards of guy averages a 30 point triple double. His numbers were down a little bit in that series. Why would you say it was the number one reason?

[Tim Bontemps]

Zubots.

[Ban McMahon]

Yeah, you've come come along in the pronunciation. Exactly. You've got to be able to put big physical defenders on, on Joker for.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm not saying I haven't got him for 35 minutes of the game, but I, I just think having them on him for stretches, different points to just sort of get into them and body them and be physical with them. It's something I would consider if I were them.

[Ban McMahon]

Well, I, I, I think Jalen Williams, Jay Will the, the third big served that purpose in, in game two. And again they tweet. He was the, he went from barely playing in game one to being the first guy off the bench in game two. I don't have the minutes in front of me because of my wi fi challenges. I can't look it up right now. But he played a significant role. And like the fifth foul the Joker got what happened. He got upset because Jay Will is getting into him and look and Aaron Gordon kind of spoke on this like there were certainly instances of Joker getting called for the second foul, the first foul not being whistled. And this was one of those cases where even though I was surprised because they reviewed this, but J. Will like he was fronting him and being physical on that, like kind of boxing out almost and then reached around and kind of hooked him and then Joker did like a belly flop on top of him. I mean it was A pretty, A pretty violent belly flop. But again it's, it's being physical, it's being a pest. It's getting underneath him, it's getting on his, on his nerves. And so I think they've got a guy who they can come in and do that and then like for, for a 10th man, this or 10th or 11th man, whatever the hell you want to say. Jalen Williams is in the Thunders rotation. He's really good, like he's a really good backup big. Every time, every time they tried to, you know, every time the league wanted to find him for sitting everybody, they got to have a triple double aid win. But most importantly, in a series like this, he can be physical with Joker and he's a three point threat. He spaces the floor and it's just, you know, it's catch, it's shoot. He's got a pretty quick release. But. And so if you're going to leave Joker on him, you know, you're spacing the Nuggets out. So I think, I think that's a guy who's going to play a key role in this series and he's going to do the things that you're asking them to do with Lou Dort. And I just think Lou is so valuable as a on ball perimeter defender that you don't want to take him out of that responsibility.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, before we go, take a look at what's going on in Indianapolis on Friday night.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The Cavs corner we're not even going.

[Ban McMahon]

To mention Shea was a plus 51. That was 34 points on 11.

[Tim Bontemps]

I was cover. I was covering a game that was 91.90 and I saw the Thunderhead 87 points in the first half.

[Ban McMahon]

Yeah, okay. A record for points and a playoff half. By the way.

[Tim Bontemps]

Shay was a big part of it. More to come on that Cows in a must win game on Friday listed their three injured players as questionable. They always list guys as questionable in the playoffs. I think it's questionable they list them questionable, but I don't think I saw.

[Ryan Reynolds]

This last year with Jared Allen. We've now seen him for a few games with Darius Garland.

[Tim Bontemps]

Right. Jared Allen, his reputation with the fans was damaged because he was listed as questionable every game of the Celtics series and he didn't play and it made it look like he was not willing to play through anything. And I think the Cavs were just trying to keep the Celtics off balance or off guard. I don't think it really matters. But they do have DeAndre Hunter, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland is questionable. Garland has now missed over almost three weeks and he first suffered the injury at the end of the regular season. He's. This is a significant injury. I mean, if he plays on it, you know, he's clearly not going to be anything close to 100%. I'm not sure I, I have heard that Hunter's thumb has made the most improvement of the three injuries.

[Ban McMahon]

And I don't love this, like people pouncing on Darius Garland and basically calling him out. Like, dude, you haven't examined this injury. You don't know how bad it is. And to act like turf toe is not a serious thing. Like people get surgery and get sidelined for months for these injuries.

[Tim Bontemps]

The Pacers have played absolutely awesome basketball up and down their lineup. They have deserved to win these games. No, no, come on. Halliburton is. Halliburton is throwing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Brian, listen, listen. They scored like 12 points in the first quarter of game two and they had to have a completely miraculous comeback because Calv's corner imploded.

[Ban McMahon]

So it'll take a little start.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Game one. Game one, they were great.

[Tim Bontemps]

Nemhardt has been strong, nice. Smith has been making plays all over the place. Nemhardt had 13 assists in game two. Halliburton hasn't scored a 37 point game, I'll give you that. But his shooting percentage is way up there. He's.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I thought they were phenomenal in game one. I just think they, you know, the Cavs really outplayed them without three guys for the vast majority of that game and just imploded.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, they didn't play great in the first half, I'll give you that. But they were pretty darn good down the stretch. The pace.

[Ban McMahon]

They.

[Ryan Reynolds]

They were.

[Ban McMahon]

And the Pacers took it from them. They did. They did. You know, people have to do that. Halliburton had a lot.

[Ryan Reynolds]

100 people.

[Tim Bontemps]

The people in Cleveland are furious because in the last two minute report, the officials admitted they missed lane violations on the two rebounds that the Pacers got off of missed free throws in the last minute.

[Ryan Reynolds]

The lane violations were bad and they should have been called. However, here's an idea for the Cavs. Inbound the ball.

[Tim Bontemps]

Oh, how about don't give up 13 baskets in the paint in the fourth quarter.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, that too, but just in the final minute of the game. Just inbound the ball.

[Ban McMahon]

I can't believe. I can't believe Kenny Atkinson won coach of the year and he hadn't thought of any of these things.

[Tim Bontemps]

Well, Kenny Atkinson just said they were Too exhausted to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, and I will say to get.

[Tim Bontemps]

Open, not to inbound the MA team.

[Ryan Reynolds]

In the stretch, I was out. The Pacers had two of the three comebacks from down seven, 40 seconds ago with a history of the sport, which is unbelievable.

[Ban McMahon]

The stretch, the stretch. You were out blinking. We missed it.

[Ryan Reynolds]

My God, the way they, the way they play and as frenetically as they play and frankly, when they score, they're immediately keeping the other team from easily inbounding the ball. Like it's a strategy that I think more teams should be trying to do if they can, if they have the ability to, bodies wise. Because like, we've seen it work twice in the last 10 days. Like the Pacers really can get teams out of sorts by just making them have to work for every inch of the court after they've played a long game and their guys are really tired and you know, it's, it, you know, obviously it's hard to put a lot of, you know, planning out of a crazy comeback like that, but the fact that they did both of them, I do think there's some, some truth to the way they play. Having a, an impact on how these teams are playing in the last few seconds of games.

[Tim Bontemps]

Definitely a strategy meant to wear you down in each game and then in a series. A lot of, a lot of discussion has been involved about how poorly the Celtics have shot in the first two games. The Cavs have had their two worst three point shooting games and back to back games. Now they've got some shooters that are out, but Pacers get credit for that. But you know, that's been shooting variance has been. Again, you know, The Cavs have three key players injured, had their worst 3.2, 3 point shooting games and still were ahead in the fourth quarter of both games. And so.

[Ban McMahon]

Oh, is that, is that your way of saying there's still hope in the land?

[Tim Bontemps]

Yes. I mean, you know my belief, there's always time. I don't think, I don't, I don't think there's a lot of excitement with the, with the injury report, but obviously if the Cavs lose on Friday night, that series is going to be cooked.

[Ryan Reynolds]

There's not a lot of time if Evan Mobley can't play. They desperately need him because. And here's the other thing I would say I'm curious what your take is as the leader of Cavs corner, Brian, your cult following. Oh, followers, I, I do not understand why Kenny Atkinson is playing Isaac Koro so many minutes. The, the Cavs don't Well, no, but listen, you. You laugh at me. He played 29 minutes in game one. He took two shots, right? Like he's a nice on ball defender who's a complete zero on defense. And, and the other team doesn't guard.

[Tim Bontemps]

You make a complete zero on offense. Not a complete. You said.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I'm sorry, I said it backwards. He's a complete zero on offense. And to me, in this series, especially if Evan Mobley is not 100, whether he plays or not, right. We've talked about it all year. Evan Mobley deserved to win defensive player of the year. Had a great year. Jared Allen, great interior defender. Right? Really good defensive, big. The Cavs don't really have any. You could argue they don't have another average defender on the team. They might have some average guys, but they've got. They're. They're a pretty limited team, particularly on the perimeter.

[Tim Bontemps]

And I don't. Why do you say DeAndre Hunter is. Is average defense?

[Ban McMahon]

I don't want to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

It's not above average.

[Ban McMahon]

I don't want to.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I don't want to get into that. The point is.

[Ban McMahon]

Well, hold on. Isaac Okoro is there other above average defender?

[Ryan Reynolds]

All right, that's fine.

[Ban McMahon]

So you're asking why is he playing so much? You can't. You can't do both. You can't say they need more defense and then wonder why he's playing.

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is they're not going to be able to stop the Pacers anyway. So to me, they should be fully indexing on offense. Like Sam Merrill to me, is a adequate defensive player who can light it up from threes. One of the few guys who hit shots in game one, in Game two, Jackson.

[Ban McMahon]

I need some research assistance. What's Sam Merrill's plus minus in the series and. And what size? Of course. Please. Thank you.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I mean, I don't really care what his plus minus is. He was on the court the entire fourth quarter as the game imploded and they had. Most of the time they were running out of gas on offense. Like, I just don't think he should be playing. He should not be a featured player in the series is what I would say. He should be a bit player at best because the Cavs are going to have to win the series on offense.

[Tim Bontemps]

That's all. Fine. They're not losing this game. They're not losing the series because of Isaac.

[Ban McMahon]

If they were defending the fourth quarter in game two, the series would be tied.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, and he was out there the entire time. So maybe they should have scored some more basket. I don't know. And yes, they do have. They do have adequate defensive players. I misspoke for. But the point is they're not an overwhelming defensive team outside of their two bigs. And if one of the bigs is compromised, if not out, to me, you've got to be going all in on offense because the Pacers are going to score. They don't. They don't have the horses to slow down the Pacers. So play Sam Merrill even more than they did. You got to get Ty Jerome going. Gotta have Max Drew, keep shooting. Donovan Mitchell.

[Tim Bontemps]

That's an understatement.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I mean, that. That, to me, is what the Cavs have to lean into.

[Ban McMahon]

Hold on. That thing just flashed the bottom of my screen. Well, what was that? What were those? Plus minuses. Can you read those, Sam?

[Ryan Reynolds]

You can read them?

[Tim Bontemps]

Sam Merrill. No, it's not. It's off his screen. He can't get it back. Sam. He's on his cell phone. Sam Merrill is minus 10. Isaac Okoro is plus 4 for the series.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Oh, wow.

[Ban McMahon]

It's almost like that's not the problem. Which one of those guys is on the floor? It's almost like playing a Coro is not the reason the. That they're losing the series instead of playing Sam Merll. But I. I could. I. I could be wrong and so could, like, facts and things.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right, the. The get up conference call is in. Is in five hours.

[Ban McMahon]

And when D. Sleep update, 23 minutes.

[Tim Bontemps]

Greenberg expects attention. And on Fridays on that call, I'm in trouble.

[Ban McMahon]

So listen, skin's looking. Skin's looking good. Hair's looking sharp. You got those big fat knots in the tie. You got a lot going on right now, Wendy.

[Tim Bontemps]

Yeah, I got a lot going on. All right. All right. Mr. Bontemps, we're so happy to have you back.

[Ryan Reynolds]

I don't know if I believe that.

[Tim Bontemps]

But we're so happy. And we're so happy.

[Ban McMahon]

I don't. I don't believe it. I don't.

[Tim Bontemps]

We're so happy to have Mr. Master Bontemps, which I believe you call someone who's under age. Master Bontemps, the boy king. The boy King of the Upper west side.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, once again, we got a lot. I got a really, a lot of nice notes from listeners and people around the league, and everybody's been great over the past 10 days. So very much appreciate it. It's been very nice. Everybody's doing great.

[Tim Bontemps]

Who only knows Nick's victories.

[Ban McMahon]

Hold on. We gotta get. I gotta do some reporting. Have you gotten sprayed yet?

[Ryan Reynolds]

What?

[Tim Bontemps]

Oh.

[Ban McMahon]

Have you gotten sprayed?

[Ryan Reynolds]

No, no, not.

[Ban McMahon]

Not a one, not a one or a two. Yeah, wait till you get sprayed with a curveball. Hey, nothing like that. That's when you're. That's a rite of passage for a. For a parent.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Yeah, not yet.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right. Whaley experiences the first blowout.

[Ban McMahon]

That's right.

[Ryan Reynolds]

We have had some of those.

[Tim Bontemps]

And I ain't talking about. I ain't talking about what happened in Oklahoma City.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Not a thunder blowout. That's for sure. That's for sure.

[Tim Bontemps]

All right. Thank you to Jackson, thank you to McMahon special thank you to Bond temps, and a special special thank you to young Bond temps and to K. Bond temps. Thank you for watching and listening to the hoop collective. We will talk to you next week. Will the Cavs and the Celtics still be alive when we talk? We'll see.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Well, like, the Celtics will be for sure.

[Tim Bontemps]

The cast, if they're down three zero, they're going to be dead. I'm going to declare them dead. Three zero.

[Ban McMahon]

The teacher cannon's empty.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Calling all fun lovers and memory makers, Texas invites you to cheer from our.

[Ban McMahon]

Stadiums.

[Ryan Reynolds]

And dance like no one is washing. Culture seekers can find the art that truly inspires. And from our shopping hubs to our chic boutiques, fashionistas will never leave empty handed. Texas is an unforgettable experience that's waiting just for you.

[Ban McMahon]

Visit traveltexas.com and plan your trip today.

[Ryan Reynolds]

Let's Texas.