NBA Play-In Finishes Up and Previewing All Eight Playoff Series | Game Over

Summary

Game Over with Max Kellerman & Rich Paul

Episode: NBA Play-In Finishes Up and Previewing All Eight Playoff Series

Host: The Ringer
Date: April 17, 2026

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Episode Overview

This packed episode features Max Kellerman and super-agent Rich Paul breaking down the conclusion of the NBA Play-In tournament and previewing all eight NBA Playoff series. The duo dives into unpredictable playoff scenarios, analyzes key matchup dynamics, discusses standout players and X-factors for each series, and offers inside perspective on both the basketball and business sides of the NBA. They also touch on WNBA’s growth, notable off-court moments, and field listener questions with their signature chemistry and wit.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Viral Moment: Rich Paul's Game Face

• [01:20–04:38]
  • Max jokes about seeing Rich trending on social media for sitting courtside at Warriors-Clippers with a stoic expression after a big Steph Curry play.
    • "I saw you sitting there with no expression on your face…they were mad because Steph had just done something incredible." — Max (02:34)
  • Rich explains he’s always impassive, not disrespectful, but seeing the game differently:
    • "If you go to a game with me...I'm watching a different game." — Rich (03:08)
    • Focus was on Brook Lopez failing to anticipate Steph’s movement, not mere fandom.

2. Draymond Green & Steph Curry: More Than the Numbers

• [04:51–08:51]
  • Rich praises Draymond as “impressive,” noting his intangibles don’t show in the stat sheet but are crucial in high-leverage playoff moments:
    • "What he brings to the table does not show up in the stat sheet every night." — Rich (05:00)
    • Draymond’s spatial awareness and defensive IQ are explained—his team impact goes far beyond numbers.
  • Max discusses Steph’s growth as a clutch player, noting his earlier playoff struggles compared to his current killer mentality.

3. NBA Play-In & Playoff Parity

• [12:23–13:41]
  • Both agree the league is far less predictable:
    • "It feels like the league has never been less predictable." — Max (12:29)
  • Historical upsets are recalled; the gap between all-stars and role players is smaller than ever, deepening competition.

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4. Play-In Preview & Team Cultures

Charlotte Hornets: Building a Winning Culture

• [13:41–15:58]
  • Rich: For Charlotte, winning is critical for legitimizing the team and instilling expectations in young players.
    • "Because when you win, you feel like you're playing for something..." — Rich (14:07)
  • Max: Winning fosters management and coaching credibility.
  • Khan’s impact as a rookie and motivational force highlighted.

Orlando Magic: Roster Fit Issues

• [18:04–19:20]
  • Both see Orlando as a talented but mismatched team; question whether Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner can coexist.
  • Lack of a true point guard holds them back, despite Coach Mosley’s strengths.

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5. Play-In West: Warriors’ Ceiling & Future

Warriors vs. Suns

• [19:56–29:50]
  • Are Steph & Dray Enough?
    • Rich: “Yes” for a one-game win, but notes their championship window is narrow and hinges on the right pieces around them.
  • Kristaps Porzingis as X-Factor:
    • Max expounds on Porzingis’ transformative potential for the Warriors—his rim protection, outside shooting, and unique versatility if healthy.
      • "Porzingis was like the original unicorn..." — Max (22:06)
      • "If the Warriors can bump off the Suns tonight...they'll put up a fight...because Steph and Dre, obviously. Porzingis..." — Max (25:39)
    • Both agree Porzingis’ health is the wildcard for Warriors’ success.
  • Suns’ Grit and Booker’s Firepower
    • Both like Phoenix’s resilience, with Rich pointing to Jalen Green as the X-factor for the Suns.

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6. Lakers vs. Rockets & LeBron's Future

• [31:21–41:36]
  • Max: “The Rockets are going to roll. The Lakers are outgunned…LeBron has no one.”
  • Windhorst Clip — Discusses LeBron’s contract/control in LA:
    • "There's a number that LeBron will be able to get more than anywhere. And he doesn't want to leave L.A. anyway." — Windhorst (32:16)
  • Rich gives inside perspective:
    • "LeBron has probably been underpaid his entire career...If the teams took the max contract away, LeBron may have made 2 to 3x." — Rich (35:39)
    • Stresses that negotiation happens after the season, and LeBron’s ultimate value is unmatched.
  • Both clarify: Most likely scenario is LeBron stays a Laker, but acknowledge the complexity and sensitivity of his contract situation.

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7. Role Players & Playoff Margins

• [41:39–45:00]
  • Both emphasize the importance and pressure on NBA role players to maximize limited opportunities—one missed shot or defensive lapse can swing a game.

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8. Awards, Load Management & League Incentives

• [45:21–52:22]
  • Max and Rich debate the league’s new 65-game threshold for awards:
    • Cade Cunningham and Luka allowed award eligibility via special petition; Ant (Anthony Edwards) not.
    • Max explains league is incentivizing consistent effort.
    • Rich: Criticizes votes tying into contracts; sees system as unfair and high stakes for players’ earnings.
      • "I'm all for fighting for the players…in the NBA, it could make a difference of 40 to 50 million dollars in your contract." — Rich (49:09)

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9. Playoff Matchup Breakdown: X-Factors and Predictions

Nuggets vs. Timberwolves

• [52:24–53:59]
  • Rich: Cam Johnson is the Nuggets’ key; Max: Jaden McDaniels for the T-Wolves as defender on Jamal Murray. Both like Denver, but expect a fight.

Knicks vs. Hawks

• [60:43–65:42]
  • Max: “Cat” [Karl-Anthony Towns] is Knicks’ x-factor—needs to impose himself.
    • "Cat's got to dominate. This is the moment in his career where he can flip the script." — Max (61:40)
  • Rich: If Knicks go big (Mitchell & Cat), they’ll control the glass.
  • Hawks: Dyson Daniels’ defense and offense are pivotal.

Celtics vs. Sixers

• [65:42–68:51]
  • Max: Edgecombe is the Sixers’ swing player—needs to step up immediately.
  • Rich: Calls out Peyton Pritchard's bench impact for Boston.

Cavs vs. Raptors

• [68:56–71:13]
  • Max: Scottie Barnes must disrupt Cleveland’s guards defensively.
  • Rich: Harden is the Cavs’ key; expects a tougher series than people think.

Spurs vs. Blazers

• [71:13–74:25]
  • Max: Jrue Holiday (Blazers) as team leader is key for any upset chance.
  • Rich: De’Aaron Fox (Spurs) as closer; thinks Blazers will put up more of a fight than assumed, maybe six games.

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10. WNBA 'Get Rich Quick' Segment

• [54:05–58:33]
  • Rich celebrates agent Jade English and the WNBA’s growth:
    • "Asia Wilson, rightfully so, signed the largest deal in the WNBA with a three year full max contract." — Rich (54:47)
  • Personal stories about representing women’s basketball players and community roots.
  • Both impressed with the league's expansion and rising pay.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Playoff Unpredictability

  • "It feels like the league has never been less predictable." — Max (12:29)

• On Draymond Green

  • "What he brings to the table does not show up in the stat sheet every night." — Rich (05:00)

• On Steph Curry’s Evolution

  • "Nowadays, the minimum Steph does in these moments is stay the same, which is all the way up here. When he elevates, Forget it." — Max (29:27)

• On LeBron’s Value

  • "LeBron has probably been underpaid his entire career..." — Rich (35:39)

• On NBA’s Awards System

  • "Only in the NBA are these players affected by a 65-game rule and a vote from somebody who..." — Rich (50:46)

• On Playoff X-Factors

  • "Cat's got to dominate. This is the moment in his career where he can flip the script on everybody." — Max (61:40)
  • "If the Knicks play a lineup with both bigs, Mitchell and Cat, then you run into a different scenario." — Rich (62:17)
  • "Peyton Pritchard...he makes really, really big shots. He's tough as nails. And so when he's good, the Celtics are really good." — Rich (67:27)

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Listener Q&A Highlights

• On Being Name-Checked in Music

  • "Anytime someone's mentioning your name, you're a cultural reference. You have to be appreciative of that." — Rich (77:24)

• On Knicks' Standards for Success

  • "They got to get to the conference final...Basically neutral is you win a playoff series." — Max (80:59–81:07)

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Lighthearted & Personal Segments

• Fashion and 'Drip' Discussion:
  • Banter about Max’s Burberry zip jacket, Margiela pants, Ferragamo loafers. Rich tells fashion anecdotes and sneaker stories.
• On Social Media Pressure:
  • Comic reflections on behaving in public and going unnoticed vs. getting caught on camera.
• Family Life:
  • Both share about taking daughters to the mall and the “joys” (and stresses) of fatherhood.

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Rich Reacts to Courtside Meme: [01:20–04:38]
• Draymond’s Real Value: [04:53–05:42]
• State of NBA Parity: [12:25–13:41]
• Charlotte/Orlando Play-In Breakdown: [13:41–19:20]
• Warriors Playoff Prognosis: [19:56–29:50]
• LeBron’s Contract and Lakers Outlook: [31:21–41:36]
• Role Players in Playoffs: [41:39–45:00]
• NBA Awards/Load Management Debates: [45:21–52:22]
• Playoff Series Previews (All matchups): [52:24–74:25]
• WNBA Segment: [54:05–58:33]
• Listener Emails & Knicks Talk: [76:11–81:19]

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Overall Tone & Style

Max and Rich continue their mix of insider expertise, humor, pop culture banter, and candid opinions. The tone stays lively, slightly irreverent, but never mean-spirited—a blend of basketball nerdery and straight talk from two veterans who’ve seen every side of the league.

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In Short

This episode gives the most in-depth preview you’ll find for the 2026 NBA Playoffs—packed with analysis, predictions, memorable quotes, personal stories, and the kind of high-level basketball insight only Max Kellerman and Rich Paul can deliver.

Transcript

[Max Kellerman]

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[Rich Paul]

Max.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah. As you're winding your watch, you know what I saw?

[Rich Paul]

What?

[Max Kellerman]

I saw you right there on social media, Rich. I don't know if it's trending or if it's viral, but I saw it.

[Rich Paul]

One of my pet peeves, Max, is when I forget to set the time on my watch.

[Max Kellerman]

Hold on. I imagine, Listen, I've been to your place. I seen. But I imagine there's got to be a room I haven't seen with the automatic watch winders.

[Rich Paul]

You can have a watch winder all you want, but you just like. Sometimes I forget because you're rushing. That really bothers me. But anyway, you saw me trending. What?

[Max Kellerman]

Matter of fact, where's the watch? I saw 60 Minutes. You and LeBron and them gave you a. Gave you a gift. Very, very, very fancy watch.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah. I have great brothers, great friends. Yeah. Papa Smurf.

[Max Kellerman]

Papa Smurf.

[Rich Paul]

That's what the nickname for the watch is, Right? It's really a ceramic, but Papa Smurf,

[Max Kellerman]

you wear it ever?

[Rich Paul]

I wear. Yes. Time to time. Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

Or is that under glass and it's like a museum piece?

[Rich Paul]

No, you have to go and get it out of the. Whatever. But anyway, yeah. Where'd you see. You saw what?

[Max Kellerman]

Social media. So I see you sitting there with no expression on your face, and that made people very upset. You're watching the warriors and clippers and over it. Intuit, right?

[Rich Paul]

Yes. I was at the game, and you're

[Max Kellerman]

in the corner of the shot with no expression on your face and apparently made who upset? Hold on. It was like warriors talk. It wasn't a Warriors page. It was a Warriors fan page. Right. Oh, and they were mad because Steph had just done something incredible.

[Rich Paul]

What else is new?

[Max Kellerman]

Right? And he. Of course. And he. And you were sitting there without what they considered a surprised or excited enough expression.

[Rich Paul]

Was I on my phone?

[Max Kellerman]

They were very upset.

[Rich Paul]

Was I texting?

[Max Kellerman]

No, no, you were watching. And by the way, the dude next to you and the dude next to him, you all had the same expression. But we now live in a day and age where if the expression that you have while you're sitting in a chair, even if it's impassive, it's not good or bad. But if it doesn't match what people think your expression should be, they want to talk about it.

[Rich Paul]

Well, the reason why I actually was on my phone. Was I texting? Is because now that would have been disrespectful to the game. I was watching the game the way I always watched the game. If you go to a game with me, any. Anybody goes to a game with me knows I'm watching a different game. And I think I remember that play you're talking about at the end.

[Max Kellerman]

Yes, they said it was. I don't know if it was, but they said it was.

[Rich Paul]

At the end of the game, I was still focused on the fact that Brook Lopez didn't know that once Steph threw the ball to Draymond, he was coming back to get it. And I was just like, you know, the one thing we know Steph isn't doing, he's not giving up the ball to Draymond and then going to the corner.

[Max Kellerman]

Right. And that's what makes the warriors offense impossible, is that Steph is going to get multiple. He's going to get the back. The ball back multiple times, and he's, you know.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, but. But I never make an expression. I don't. I don't make an expression in game one of the regular season. I didn't make an expression when LeBron got to block in Game 7 of the Finals. Jeff Van Gundy actually has a funny bit on this when he was broadcasting, where he talks about us sitting there like as if nothing happened. I just never get to.

[Max Kellerman]

You mean that you're impassive no matter what's going on?

[Rich Paul]

Yes, but it wasn't the Golden State warriors, because The Golden State warriors know I represent both Draymond and Moses Moody, right? And Dunleavy's my guy. And Joe Lacop happens to be my guy. And Peter Goober, great organization.

[Max Kellerman]

You just brought up Draymond.

[Rich Paul]

I don't know you.

[Max Kellerman]

You just brought up Draymond. What an end of game, especially.

[Rich Paul]

He was so impressive. I text him.

[Max Kellerman]

That was great.

[Rich Paul]

Draymond and I talk a lot. Yeah, we talk about everything. But that night, I text him, I said, man, you were so impressive the whole game. People talk about the last two plays. It wasn't just the last two plays. You gotta understand something. Here's a guy who's undersized, what he brings to the table does not show up in the stat sheet every night.

[Max Kellerman]

By the way, I saw. Pardon for interrupting, but I saw it, I think, this morning on reels, right? Like drinking my morning coffee. Read the papers. The papers. It's all on the phone nowadays, a little bit. Let's check out what's going on on social media. And it popped up. And he says, what I do can't be quantified.

[Rich Paul]

It can't.

[Max Kellerman]

But his explanation was very good. I take space away. It's position defense, where he doesn't mean he's guarding different positions. He means he's taking areas of the floor away where he knows certain guys are more effective from. And that's not. That's going to show up only in team defensive stats. It's not going to show up in his individual.

[Rich Paul]

And the thing that when you watch the warriors play and when you watch Draymond, if you watch in a regular season game, it doesn't do him no justice. You have to watch him when it's something on the line.

[Max Kellerman]

Right?

[Rich Paul]

And when you can prepare and when they're healthy. That's why they're always dangerous when they're healthy. Because as much as your athleticism may go away, you may get older when you have that IQ that a Draymond has, that a Steph has, when Jimmy's out there, that he has. They're always in the game. They're always in the series. Because one. I mean, you look at that last play, when Steph comes off the dribble handoff. He takes a dribble, but the dribble he take is actually. It's not a pointless dribble, but it's a setup dribble. Only to get to his spot. And remember when I told you about great shooters? Watch the play. He gets to the spot. When he gathers and gets to his shooting position, his feet and shoulders are square, right? You're dead in the water. If Steph Curry's feet and shoulders are square, only thing you can do is what I used to do at Cleveland Benedictine on Wednesday when I went to mass, is pray that he miss because you're not. Because if you don't do that, I mean, every shot looks good that he takes. And the Clippers didn't play a bad game. They had some little

[Max Kellerman]

let's get into the Warriors. But all say about praying that he misses is good luck with that too. My analysis of Steph with the money on the line is a lot of people must used to pray for him to miss. You have to because. Because he used to miss in those circumstances much more than he does nowadays. He has evolved into.

[Rich Paul]

Even when he missed, Rich, they all look good.

[Max Kellerman]

Over the course of his career, he evolved from a guy who, when it mattered most, I felt that his production went down. And now when it matters most, he's, he's. Because going into like 16 into the, I thought, oh my God, Steph's about to prove he's the best player in the world. It didn't happen when he, even though he won unanimous mvp. That's why I said the thing about Iguodala, right? But what happened since then, it took him some time and now he's the kind of guy to me that in those moments he's maybe better than he normally is.

[Rich Paul]

And that's okay, Max. But here's what I'll say to that. And I've heard you say this time and time again, and you're not wrong in that respect. But all I would ask you to understand is look at the type of shot he's taken, right? It's from 40ft out. He's going left, he's going right. The guy never stopped.

[Max Kellerman]

But he spoiled us because his regular standard, they were going in fair point.

[Rich Paul]

So if a guy can make a 40 foot jump shot in the 44th quarter of a game that he's been running around, he's been running around all game anyway. And by the way, he's been running around all morning at his home with his kids, he's probably running around. Then when he gets to the, to the, to the warmup, he's running around again. He runs into the locker room, runs back out and then he plays a game.

[Max Kellerman]

I'm gonna save this for what I have to say about Steph. Like people, I think in terms of the all time ranking rank him too high. But remind me, if I don't bring this up because what we said about Draymond's defense is also true about Steph's offense. But we can get to that in the show. You ready to do this?

[Rich Paul]

No, I'm mad at you.

[Max Kellerman]

About what?

[Rich Paul]

Because you did it again.

[Max Kellerman]

What'd I do?

[Rich Paul]

Fridays is supposed to be relaxed now.

[Max Kellerman]

Relaxed?

[Rich Paul]

You're not relaxed.

[Max Kellerman]

Why not?

[Rich Paul]

This is zip sweater. That's not a zip sweater. That's a Burberry zipped jacket.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah, it is a jacket that they don't make.

[Rich Paul]

It only came out. It won't come back.

[Max Kellerman]

Okay, you're like a closed scientist. You know stuff I don't know.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah. What type of pants are those? Who makes those pants?

[Max Kellerman]

Margiela.

[Rich Paul]

See, this is what I'm saying.

[Max Kellerman]

But I'm saying it's not fancy, though. I mean, the fanciest thing is the loafers.

[Rich Paul]

Ferragamo.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

The tassels.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

My lawyer, Fred, Nance, Squire Sanders, I call him Freddy Tassels. He only wears shoes with tassels.

[Max Kellerman]

I never wear shoes. This is very rare.

[Rich Paul]

If he come without the tassels, you might lose the case. He's not coming without the tassels on

[Max Kellerman]

the secret sauces and the tassels.

[Rich Paul]

Well, you know what? You look good today, Matt.

[Max Kellerman]

No, thank you very much. I mean, as always, very sharp.

[Rich Paul]

But if we're gonna be partners, you have to communicate. That's all I'm saying.

[Max Kellerman]

Well, you know who to blame for this?

[Rich Paul]

He don't communicate at all, so I'm not worried about him. But I did mine on my own today.

[Max Kellerman]

Oh, really?

[Rich Paul]

Yes. I went to my guy. I saw Teddy. Yes. You know Teddy from aod. Teddy Santos, maybe?

[Max Kellerman]

No.

[Rich Paul]

Aod. AOD just opened on Melrose in LA today. Today's the opening. But I went to the soft opening yesterday and he laced me with these New Balance here, so.

[Max Kellerman]

Don't you have a New Balance deal? What do you need to get laced for? Shouldn't they just send it directly from the company?

[Rich Paul]

I welcome everyone.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

Yes.

[Max Kellerman]

All swag.

[Rich Paul]

Yes. So it's all good. I'm excited about the show. You ready?

[Max Kellerman]

Let's do this.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah. Game [e-mail].

[Max Kellerman]

game over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul. Go tell your friends. Game over is brought to you by FanDuel. The NBA post season is here, and FanDuel knows the only thing better than watching your favorite team is winning along with them. Let's be honest, FanDuel is the best place to bet the team's players and plays during their playoff run, build a same game parlay or try live betting and jump in after tip off. And don't forget, with FanDuel you get paid instantly when you win. Download the FanDuel Sportsbook app now and play your game 21 and over in select states 18 and over in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. Gambling problem. Call 1-800- GAMBLER, call 888-789-7777 or 7. Visit ccpg.org chatinconnecticut. All right, Rich. We have playoff previews and play in previews still.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

Another good matchup east and west tonight.

[Max Kellerman]

It feels like the league has never been less predictable. Right. Like the one criticism of the NBA where I thought like they almost have this perfect. But the biggest one was you know who's going to win in the playoffs. You really don't anymore.

[Rich Paul]

You used to a lot. Yeah, you're right.

[Max Kellerman]

A lot. You used to know who was going to meet up in the finals. You pro. You knew who was going to win.

[Rich Paul]

Remember when the Nuggets won that series in five and they and Mutombo was on the floor going all the way back. No, I'm just saying those were big moments.

[Max Kellerman]

They wasn't supposed to win almost never.

[Rich Paul]

They actually won when the Golden State team beat that Utah team.

[Max Kellerman]

When the eight seed Knicks got to the finals.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, yeah. But we don't, we don't know today

[Max Kellerman]

it's opposite of the tournament where because it's one and done anything can happen. Cinderella. Oh my God. This team got upset in the NBA because basketball, the best team in the best of seven normally wins. Normally wins. Except now with the variance cause of three point shooting. With the, with the just kind of more even distribution of talent through the league. With the fact that I've always said it, like I've said on this show, the, the gap between all stars and rotation players has shrunk.

[Rich Paul]

Shrunk. Yes.

[Max Kellerman]

There's got a lot of guys can do a lot of things. Hornets, magic. This is what I want to know from you. I have a legitimate question for you. The way you see the game, the way you especially look at basketball IQ and the development of young teams and players. Does Charlotte need to win tonight to legitimize their season like it. To keep them on track to be potentially a championship team if they make the right wins.

[Rich Paul]

I think Charlotte needs to win tonight not only to legitimize their season, but they need to win tonight to continue to build that, that culture that I know. They're, they're, they're yearning for winning in a lot of cases would add to your professionalism because your. Because when you win, you feel like you're playing for something. You feel like there's something, there's a reward. It's not just, I'm getting paid a lot of money and we suck. So I'm.

[Max Kellerman]

And you have to. Even though if you know that intellectually, you got to feel that.

[Rich Paul]

And what happens in winning is now there's expectation that sets in. For many years, there's been no expectation in Charlotte. You don't care if they win. You're not expecting to win nothing. But now the one thing I know that Rick Snall and Gabe, the owners and Jeff Peterson the GM and even Charles Lee the coach are really wanting is the importance of them winning and making the playoffs. Because what that says is everything we've been saying, saying to you all season. Here it is confirmed. Now, here's what I need from you. Whether they win in the. Against Detroit or not, which I do think they would play Detroit tough. Whether they win the series or not, they could win. They could not, not win.

[Max Kellerman]

They could, by the way. They would be. They would have the proverbial puncher's chance. Just because the disparity in just threes attempted is, you know, Charlotte's going to put up a million of them.

[Rich Paul]

Yes. So whether they win or not, great. But what it does is max going into the following summer. Now there's expectation. Now you have to think about it differently. Now what we ask of you, you understand, we're not just talking. What we're asking of you is because we're trying to build something special.

[Max Kellerman]

In other words, management has credibility. The coach gets credibility with these young players.

[Rich Paul]

Yes.

[Max Kellerman]

And by the way, because LaMelo's been there for a grip at this point and they haven't been done a thing.

[Rich Paul]

Well, Miles Bridges been there the longest.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

And I've always said about Miles is he played for the family aau. He's from Saga. He's from Flint. Sorry, he's from Flint. We know Flint. Basketball as well does. Plays very well out of Flint. Then you go to Michigan State and play for Izzo.

[Max Kellerman]

He knows basketball.

[Rich Paul]

He knows basketball, but he hasn't had a chance to play meaningful basketball. What meaningful basketball does to a player, player's career is. I mean, it's a multiplier in so many different ways. And you know what else it is? It's a police officer playing in the locker room.

[Max Kellerman]

You mean.

[Rich Paul]

Yes, in the locker room and externally. Because now all Eyes on you. There's expectation. You don't have this feeling of, it don't matter, it don't care. I don't care. In society, it's the same thing. A lot of kids come outside every day with that I don't give a shit type of mentality. Only thing that does is put you

[Max Kellerman]

in because they don't see a future. Really.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

So if you believe there's a future, that changes everything, that makes a lot of sense. By the way, coach really gambled. Benching con.

[Rich Paul]

I like a gambler at the end

[Max Kellerman]

of that game, but obviously. But the real difference in this team so far, and I think the thing that. Because you said a force multiplier. But there are also these things that can kind of catch fire and then it can grow. Khan's presence and his effectiveness as a player and his willingness to play defense and all that stuff. I think, what's the real difference in the team this year? You parachute this guy in, all of a sudden, they're one of the most exciting, like, kind of brightest future teams in the NBA.

[Rich Paul]

I think his start. I think Khan getting off to a great start motivated the rest of the team in a good way. And sometimes you need that. And I think. I also think Khan's going to have a big game today.

[Max Kellerman]

Man, he won't miss.

[Rich Paul]

He won't miss as much as he missed last week.

[Max Kellerman]

Orlando was one of these preseason teams people liked. When I look at the future, though, Orlando doesn't do it for me. I don't believe in their future the way I believe in Charlotte's future.

[Rich Paul]

Well, two things. Orlando, like.

[Max Kellerman]

It's disappointing to me if Orlando advances because I don't see their future the same way. It's a disappointment, I guess they say. I guess I'm rooting for Charlotte.

[Rich Paul]

Here's the thing. I like Orlando's team. They need to shuffle the deck just a little bit. Franz and Paolo, I don't know if they coexist.

[Max Kellerman]

Right. And by the way, between the two might be Paolo.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

Whoever needs to go.

[Rich Paul]

I don't know if they coexist. Right. They've never really found that true point guard.

[Max Kellerman]

Right.

[Rich Paul]

And if they could have added a true point guard. When I say a true point guard

[Max Kellerman]

instead of a point forward, instead of a big, tall guy who can handle.

[Rich Paul]

Because. Because Jamal Mosley knows his stuff. There's no question about it. I always like coaches that used to be player development guys. He's one of those guys. He's going to work. And once you have that in you as a coach, it never. Once you have player development in you as a coach, that gene never leaves. So now as the head coach, you still have a player development mentality that allows you to have a better relationship with your players because you're in the.

[Max Kellerman]

Because there's some head coaches who don't want young players. They only want.

[Rich Paul]

That's what makes T Lew so good. He's a player development guy to start, so he always has that in him and he looks forward to working with the guys.

[Max Kellerman]

By the way, this is a theme that's going to come up again, but later on in with, with. With the Knicks and, and the. And the. And the Hawks. Right. Because in terms of like a true point guard versus a point forward that might come into play, but we could say that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So warriors at Suns is a plan. This is going to lead to a five minute max, actually. But let me ask you to start

[Rich Paul]

or 55 minute match.

[Max Kellerman]

It'll be five minutes. Are Steph and Dre enough to take this team to the playoffs?

[Rich Paul]

Steph and Dre are enough to take this team to the playoffs because they only have one game to win. But they're probably going to be pissed off because at that point you just. They're just starting their vacation a lot later than they probably would have liked to. In. In reality, I mean, let's just be honest. I mean, they're going up. They would be going. Anybody would be going up against a juggernaut of okc. They're young, they're healthy, they. They have, they have depth in every position on the floor.

[Max Kellerman]

They're the deepest team. They're one of the deepest teams of all time. Actually, no. Every the 12. I've said it. The 12th guy on the bench is really good at basketball by NBA standards.

[Rich Paul]

They can probably call a guy up from the G League right now and he plays well in the playoffs.

[Max Kellerman]

You're saying because of the, because of the.

[Rich Paul]

They just have so much depth in their development and talent and so. But yes, to answer your question, yes. But what I would say about Draymond and Steph is when you see them in a vacuum in the playoffs or like they played in the playoff play in game. I see why Lake up is not just saying, let's start over. They still have rubber on those tires, man. They can still win the race. If you get the right pieces around those guys, they can still win the race, which makes it tough. You can't say that about everybody. You can't say that about every tenured player. But those two guys, they're missing Butler, they're missing Moody, they're missing. I mean, Al Horford turned into Peja Storjakovic, you know, in the fourth quarter, which is. He's a seasoned veteran champion, one of, one of the best guys you can have in your locker room. He's just a great guy. So it's less about this year max. And you can do this in your 5 minute max if you want to, but it's more about the next three years for these guys.

[Max Kellerman]

So, yeah, you took the words out of my mouth. Here's the five minute max. And you didn't mention one guy. And maybe you were saving him for me. But what I saw in that Clippers game was something Steph has never had before. And that's Kristaps Porzingis. If you remember, before the game, I said, hey, is Porzingis available for this game? We'll see if he plays tonight because he's questionable in ankle, right? Like, it's always something with his health. But let me say something about Porzingis and why, if they win this game, I realize what I'm about to say is unlikely because Kerr goes to a really tight rotation, right? And among that in that rotation is veteran players and in Porzingis case, with real injury histories. So I understand that everything has to go just right. But if it does, they could give OKC a hell of a fight. And I'll tell you why. What Porzingis does, and he's become so underrated because of his health. Porzingis is one of these super talls, right? The original unicorn in the NBA. And by the way, unicorn does not mean there's only one of them. There's this conflation because of una. Right Unicorn. It means this one. What it really means is it shouldn't exist, right? But Wemby's a unicorn choice. Chet is somewhat of a unicorn. Porzingis was like the original unicorn, but he's one of those super talls who can bomb from outside and defend the rim. That is a lot. And he's not simply like Brook Lopez, who can really bomb from outside at his best. Bomb from outside, defend the rim, right? It's that plus he has other dimensions to his game. And Brook Lopez is great to have on your team, but he has other dimensions to his game. His pressure presence on the defensive end. People are aware when I. When I said I saw Draymond on his reel about talking about how he takes away space like real estate from players and that affects the Team defense. He said, now, I can't compare myself to Wemby because. But I could compare myself to anyone else.

[Rich Paul]

Right?

[Max Kellerman]

Because Wemby's presence completely alters the way the offense, the other team's offense, thinks about the game. But Porzingis has some level of that effect because he's 7 foot 2 and he knows what he's doing. Steph, in his whole career, has never had a guy he could throw the ball into. Not like this.

[Rich Paul]

No, he's never had a five man he could throw the ball back to right. And they can and they could.

[Max Kellerman]

And it's not just. Of course, it could come back to

[Rich Paul]

Stephen Vogan, but he had.

[Max Kellerman]

As an offensive weapon.

[Rich Paul]

He had looney. Yeah, he had looney.

[Max Kellerman]

It's not the same.

[Rich Paul]

Mo Spaits was the last one that he could possibly make the three seven

[Max Kellerman]

foot two rim defender who can and also make the right pass and also bomb from outside. Now. Now, look, I know he's not Chet in the sense that he can't defend in space the same way, but he's a bigger body. He's better in the post, like all I'm saying. And even when the Celtics won the championship and Holiday was given a lot of credit, as he should have been, but when that Porzingis trade happened, oh, we lose Marcus Smart, but you get Porzingis. I was thinking, oh, my God, if. It's always an if with him. If he could stay healthy and he wasn't healthy through the whole finals, what would he get into? 3, 4 games and played 20 minutes or something? Porzingis changes the Warriors. Now, that's just this year. If the warriors can bump off the Suns tonight and make the playoffs and they'll put up a fight, I don't think they're getting rolled because of. Because Steph and Dre, obviously. Porzingis, who, by the way, also played with Horford, right, they won a championship together. So if. And they could put up a fight, they could take this maybe to six games if things go right. I know they have to thread the needle. Health has to be there. Everything has to go right. But they could put up a fight.

[Rich Paul]

And that's not good for OKC because they actually lucked up in the standings. The way it's working, they won't have to play San Antonio and Denver. But the last thing you want to

[Max Kellerman]

do is to extend yourself heading into grizzly match. And I think it could. I think. I know, I know that the depth is different. I get it. But it could be Stephen Dre's experience. These are all time great hall of Famers who still have something in the tank. You add poor Zingis if you. You stay with that tight rotation. If everything goes right now that I understand, like, okay, yeah, but eventually they're going to lose. But then you look next year and you brought it up. Then you get Jimmy. You add Jimmy Butler to that. Wait a minute. You re sign Porzingis, let's say. But they could. They. Now they have.

[Rich Paul]

What you would want to do is. And that's why it's such a smart trade. Because now you have his bird rights.

[Max Kellerman]

You have his bird rights?

[Rich Paul]

Yes. I don't think you're gonna need to

[Max Kellerman]

use him to go up too high. Cause he's injury prone.

[Rich Paul]

The reason why Boston had to trade him was because of the money that he made.

[Max Kellerman]

Right.

[Rich Paul]

So now they move on from him. But.

[Max Kellerman]

And Atlanta used him as an expiring. Yes, but he's. That's my point. Porzingis is not just an expiring. Porzingis gives you. I'm not saying he's Wemby or Chet. I'm saying he gives you an answer to those guys on the cheap. So now you think of the warriors next year, if it can. If it works this way. Steph, with Jimmy Butler next to him, Draymond and Porzingis.

[Rich Paul]

And see Draymond. Porzingis actually helps Draymond. Because you would look at Draymond as a non shooter in a lot of respect. Retrospect. In retrospect.

[Max Kellerman]

But when you have a five who's a non shooter? Now you only have three shooters, but

[Rich Paul]

in Porzingis case, it balances out.

[Max Kellerman]

Absolutely.

[Rich Paul]

Porzingis can shoot. And one thing he does, you can

[Max Kellerman]

play five out with your death lineup, but your center is now 7 foot 2.

[Rich Paul]

He may not move laterally as good as some other bigs like a Wimby, but the one thing he does just like Wimby does is contest. And what I mean by that is if you get a switch and Porzingis switches off, beating him to the basket. For a smaller player, he can still make up because he has the length.

[Max Kellerman]

He has the length. And even when he doesn't, the thought of the contest changes the shot.

[Rich Paul]

Because now you don't have to just do a step back. You have to do a step back, back, back, back, back to get the shot off. That makes it even more difficult depending on what quarter it is. So he has some effect. But the thing with him is, is he gonna be available?

[Max Kellerman]

Is he even gonna Be available tonight. It's questionable for tonight, but this. That's why I'm saying everything has to go right. I know, I know. And he usually doesn't, but it's not out of the realm of possibility.

[Rich Paul]

But I like this Suns team, too. Yeah, I like this Suns team. They're gritty. Devin Booker is a player.

[Max Kellerman]

We know that he could go supernova.

[Rich Paul]

Dillon Brooks has really stepped his game up on the offensive end.

[Max Kellerman]

There's no question.

[Rich Paul]

Right. The bigs have to play better. You have to get more from the bigs. I think Mitchell, as talented as he is in the playoffs, your reaction time has to be quicker. Your rotations and things like that. You gotta rebound the ball in the playoffs. You have to rebound the ball in the playoffs. And so Goodwin, the young man, Goodwin, who's fought to stay in the league, he's tough as nails. He's tough as nails.

[Max Kellerman]

Who do you like?

[Rich Paul]

Man, I can't.

[Max Kellerman]

I mean, I'm taking the Warriors.

[Rich Paul]

I'm not going against the Warriors.

[Max Kellerman]

Right? I'm taking the Warriors.

[Rich Paul]

I'm not doing it. I'm not going against Warriors.

[Max Kellerman]

When I said. And I'll say it. When I said I want Iguodala, I was referring to the fact that in the biggest moments, Steph wasn't. You have a baseline of how you play. Steph's is way up here. Do you stay the same at least? I did not feel he did. Nowadays, the minimum Steph does in these moments is stay the same, which is all the way up here. When he elevates, Forget it. I like the team with Steph.

[Rich Paul]

I'll say this.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

If Jalen Green has 20 points tonight.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

The Suns win. I don't know.

[Max Kellerman]

Well, we'll see.

[Rich Paul]

No, I'm just.

[Max Kellerman]

I mean, like, I think if. I think if Porzingis plays the. The Warriors, I think it's a 50.

[Rich Paul]

50. I'm not picking either one. I'm just saying, gotta make the pick. I think Jalen Green is the X factor for the Suns tonight, and obviously the warriors are.

[Max Kellerman]

So those are the plans. Game over is brought to you by FanDuel. NBA fans, this is your reminder to check in daily. Because every day during the playoffs, FanDuel is serving up a happy hour. We're talking special drops you don't want to miss, from profit boosts to bonus bets and more. And the best part, it's every single day, including today, check for a new reward every single day of the NBA playoffs. Don't miss your shot to get a little extra out of the action. Head to FanDuel.com game over to get started. 21 and over in select states or 18 and over in D.C. kentucky or Wyoming. Opt in. Required rewards are non withdrawable. Restrictions apply including bonus and token expiration leg requirements and max wager amount. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-GAMBLER call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Chattinconenetic Lakers, Rockets,

[Rich Paul]

who you pick? Who's the X factor?

[Max Kellerman]

The Rockets are going to roll. The Lakers. The Lakers are completely outgunned as usual. When LeBron, the greatest player of his era, goes up against KD, arguably, I don't know if I call him the second greatest player of his era, but the second best player of his era, right? KD's team is more crude up than LeBron's even though he doesn't have Van Vliet. I almost called him Van Exel. Van Vliet, he's still more crewed up than LeBron. LeBron has no one. He's not playing with anyone. He's not playing with a single other average NBA starter. I want, but before we get into all that, I want to play a little clip for you of a guy you may be aware of named Brian Windhorst. You ever heard his name before?

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, Wendy, that's my guy. Why?

[Max Kellerman]

Check it out.

[Brian Windhorst]

I've talked to both sides and I don't hear an answer.

[Max Kellerman]

Do you think he'll be a Laker next year and do you think that would be a good idea?

[Brian Windhorst]

I think that it makes the most sense to be a Laker.

[Max Kellerman]

I do too.

[Brian Windhorst]

The question is, is what is he worth? Is it 25, is it 35? In the 20, 26, 27 NBA landscape, what is his value? Knowing that there's no teams with cap space out there, they're going to come in and say LeBron, here's 35 million to play for us. Yeah, the warriors or you know, the Cavs or Team X would take him for their mid level exception or for the minimum. But there's no team out there that's going to clear 35 million or $40 million out and say lebron come to us. So who are the Lakers bidding against? So I've, I've talked to both sides and I don't hear an answer. I don't know what the number is, but there's a number that LeBron will be able to get more than any than anywhere. And he doesn't want to leave L. A anyway. And so my belief is that they will come to terms, but there could be some hurt feelings between now and getting to that agreement.

[Max Kellerman]

This is also my belief. What are you asking about what he just. I'd like to know your reaction to what different things to what Windhorse just said.

[Rich Paul]

My reaction?

[Max Kellerman]

Well, if he said 10 things, give me 10 reactions.

[Rich Paul]

No, you won't get 10. Here's what I'll say, just to give you a little bit of behind the scenes type of thing that happens here. So Wendy's right? He does he. I imagine.

[Max Kellerman]

Are you pulling to the curtain? Are you taking us back to curtain a little bit?

[Rich Paul]

Yes. Just to help you understand how these things work in these type of situations. I would get a call from Brian Windhurst and he would ask a question. He would not get an answer. Because what I understand is you're always in a negotiation, right? So Wendy's known me a long time. He's known me since I was very young. And he'll tell you, I can call Rich. I won't get nothing, but I will get something. And in this case, he got nothing, but he also got something. I don't know what his conversation is like with the. The Lakers. I do understand why everyone wants to have these conversations because that's just part of the world that we live in. But what happens is he calls, we have a conversation. That conversation. Then he takes on from. That's when he say, I talk to his side. He talked to me. There's nobody else in our circle talking Wendy, about basketball things. Right. And then he may have talked to the Lakers. I don't know what he said. Don't really matter to me. Then the next step in that, I think he said a few other things in terms of cap space and all these type of things. I personally do not like to talk about things like this during the season because it could be a distraction. I think it's unfair to JJ and his organization because you may say something that then becomes a distraction. And it's the playoffs, right?

[Max Kellerman]

They got a job to do.

[Rich Paul]

They got a job to do. It's the playoffs. They're already going into a series on demand, et cetera. But when you mention the word value and I'll just give you a little sauce here. LeBron has probably been underpaid his entire career. He's been a max player his entire career, right?

[Max Kellerman]

What a max salary does is. And what every team is looking for is cap what the best players make. Because if it was a purely free market, the very best players would make much more because they're much more valuable than the max. And LeBron was the best player. He's probably worth if the teams. If you took the Max contract away, LeBron may have made 2 to 3x. 2 to 3x.

[Rich Paul]

Try 5 or 6.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah, maybe, maybe.

[Rich Paul]

Because, you know, if you could charge for the butter and the popcorn, the parking, a percentage of the broadband, from. From a TV perspective, there's a lot of things. When you have that type of value, it's not just a license and check.

[Max Kellerman]

And in fact, when you sign for your jersey, this is why, when you got in trouble for me saying the thing about Austin Reaves, because they're going to have to sign him to a max. My point is not that Austin Reaves is or is not worth the max. My point is, when you sign, when you give a player a max deal, ideally, that player is worth much more than the max. That's how you can optimize your payroll with all the aprons and stuff. And my point about Austin Reaves is simply if he's worth the max, which I don't know, he's a great player, but then it's. He's certainly not worth way more than the max. And you would like to use those contracts that way. But anyway, so.

[Rich Paul]

So then. So you have that part of it. But I will leave you with this.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

Despite what's available. What's not available? Who, what, where. And again, my conversation with LeBron was in August. Enjoy your year. Enjoy your. Have fun. Enjoy. By the way, he's about to get ready to play with his son in a playoff series, which is insanely incredible to think about where my nephew Bronny came from. The scared he had, he had.

[Max Kellerman]

Sure.

[Rich Paul]

And now he's playing some pretty good basketball when called upon. I'm excited for that. I don't even care about all the other nonsense. I'm really excited for that.

[Max Kellerman]

And for people who don't believe. Oh, no. Rich muscle. You think Rich Paul is gonna start pestering LeBron about this stuff, and then LeBron gets mad. He can't use the golf simulator at LeBron's house. Come on.

[Rich Paul]

No, no, no, no. Yeah, yeah. But if you know us, we've never had these conversations. We only talk at the end of the year. I wait, I let the season end. Then I say, okay.

[Max Kellerman]

Is he calling you right now?

[Rich Paul]

No, he comes to me, and then he would say, okay, let's do lunch. Let's talk about this, whatever. At that time, I'm now prepared to talk to him about what I need to talk to him about and we go from there. But what I would say about value, and not just for LeBron but all players, when you have value, there's a saying called where there's a will, there's a way. People find a way.

[Max Kellerman]

Right.

[Rich Paul]

So I'll leave it at that. Are you stuck, Max?

[Max Kellerman]

What wind horses do?

[Rich Paul]

See how great of a job I've done there?

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah, but what I'm saying is this is one of these situations where no one's in the wrong. No one's doing any.

[Rich Paul]

Wendy's doing his job.

[Max Kellerman]

You have a job to do. LeBron wants to. Everyone doesn't want this to be a distraction. You don't even need like Wendy is making. Even if he spoke to no one. Okay, my analysis is, if I didn't even know you, is the Lakers are in the position to give LeBron the most money. He already lives in LA. If you live in LA, it's, you know, LA is a great place to live, families here, the whole thing, playing with his son, you know, like the Lakers are a business. They understand what LeBron means for business. The odds are that he'll be a Laker next year. I mean, just you add it all up. That's not, that's not like wild speculation. That's speculating based on available information that everyone has. Right. You look at what the payrolls are, you look what people can pay to get LeBron, you look at the situation. It makes sense to say Lindy's not there Saying it's definite, LeBron will be a Laker. I spoke to so and so, he's saying, look at the landscape. If you have to say what's the most likely scenario? Lakers. I agree. There are other scenarios I could see wouldn't be so far fetched. The warriors, the Cavs, the Knicks, I could see that happening. But much, much lower percentage than he remains a Laker. I think that's a fair statement.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah. But I would say also not even making this about basketball or LeBron just. I'm going to just make this statement about life when something seems ideal, right? You have. There's two ways to approach that. You can approach that with a respect and a still a career, still an embracing that and an appreciation. Or you can approach that with a disrespect and a non care. And you know, no matter what, you have to do this or we think you have to do this because there's no way you can't do that. And so you just have to really be careful in those type of Situations in life. Right.

[Max Kellerman]

So you're talking about the comportment on your sides. On your side. You're saying the way you have to handle business, the way the other side,

[Rich Paul]

people in general.

[Max Kellerman]

Okay.

[Rich Paul]

If I feel that Max, the way it looks, has to do something, how I approach Max, I see could be.

[Max Kellerman]

Do you feel that Winhorse did that? Respectfully, yes.

[Rich Paul]

But he made a comment in that when he was talking about all these other things. And again, I don't want to get too much into it, but he.

[Max Kellerman]

Because it seems to me he was being respectful.

[Rich Paul]

Yes, yes, he was being respectful. I don't say he wasn't being disrespectful, but I heard something in there that was a positioning somewhat that come. That don't come from Wendy.

[Max Kellerman]

Right. And the messaging, you just have to be careful. Hey, you got to take this deal. We'll be able to. So. Right.

[Rich Paul]

That's all.

[Max Kellerman]

Everything you say now and everything that the Lakers put out there through proxies or whatever. And I'm not saying negotiation, I'm not

[Rich Paul]

saying anymore because here's the other thing. I don't know what the man's going to do, right?

[Max Kellerman]

And then it has depends. It depends what LeBron wants to do.

[Rich Paul]

He may end the season and be like, I'm done. I'm done.

[Max Kellerman]

Hey, I really want to play in Cleveland again. You know what? I never did play in New York. They look like they're ready to win because they ain't winning this year. You know, he may want to live

[Rich Paul]

in Ireland in golf for the next year. I don't know what he wants to do.

[Max Kellerman]

Meantime, you know who I think the key player is in this playoff series? Lakers.

[Rich Paul]

Rockets, actually. Who, Max?

[Max Kellerman]

LeBron James. Like, sometimes you don't overthink it.

[Rich Paul]

Oh, my God.

[Max Kellerman]

I'm not, I'm not.

[Rich Paul]

Anybody could have thought.

[Max Kellerman]

Yes, I'm not giving you anything special, but like, I'm not going to sit here and overthink it. I might in some other series and be like, you know who actually the key player is because you know what you're getting from LeBron? It's LaRavia. He's. Come on, stop. It's LeBron. LeBron has to play the best, like, as, as, as well as he has ever played. Understanding his physical talent has declined a bit, but skills wise and IQ wise has to play the best basketball of his career for them to get past the Rockets because he's not have enough around him.

[Rich Paul]

Max, if no one else ever tells you this, I'll tell you yes. You're a genius.

[Max Kellerman]

Thank you very much.

[Rich Paul]

You are a genius.

[Max Kellerman]

Thank you very much. Let me tell you who's a key player.

[Rich Paul]

The others. Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

Because classic overthinking.

[Rich Paul]

Yes, because it's not classic overthinking. Let me tell you why. Because they have a job to do. You know what their job is? Keep the game close. This is where film sessions all year. This is where opportunities come into play.

[Max Kellerman]

You guys could major in film in college, but when you think.

[Rich Paul]

No, when you think there's garbage minutes. Yeah. Again, you're just trying to make a series. You're trying to keep it close. LeBron has always actually done more with less in his entire career. From the time he plays for Shooting Stars all the way up. Like, he's always done more with less.

[Max Kellerman]

Well, J.J. will have a good defensive strategy and. And we've seen the Rockets struggle because KD doesn't have another playmaker on the floor with him.

[Rich Paul]

Here's what I'm saying. When you are a role player in the NBA, this is why it's so hard. Because I may get three shot attempts. I have to make at least one. I can't go over three.

[Max Kellerman]

Right.

[Rich Paul]

I may.

[Max Kellerman]

Kenard will make all three.

[Rich Paul]

And by the way, one of those shot attempts may be extremely timely. Okay. 50. 50 balls. I cannot fall asleep on defense. Help. Line. Ball. Line. I know a guy cutting back door. I. I cannot forget the box out. I cannot forget when we call a scheme or if they change something up. If we pose a be in zone and you playing man. If we're playing drop and you don't drop, or if we're blitzing somebody. All these things I cannot forget.

[Max Kellerman]

As a role player, you can't be like. You can give them the Hoosier speech. Remember the Titan speech. They're not going to make a difference. They don't have enough firepower.

[Rich Paul]

But here's what I'm telling you. You say that, but as you know, as series prolong. Yeah, you just trying to prolong the series. That's it. All I'm saying is I'm not going to disrespect these players. They're still in the NBA, right? Regardless what the name is on the back, you're playing for the name on the front. Again, you talk about a guy like Rui Hachimori. He shot 44% this year from three solid player, right? Marcus Smart. He. He's been here before.

[Max Kellerman]

Veteran. Yep.

[Rich Paul]

Right. Laravia. You're not asking him to score 20 points a night.

[Max Kellerman]

Nice young player.

[Rich Paul]

What he can do is guard. They may have to lean on a.

[Max Kellerman]

No, I get it. You just named guys on a solid NBA bench. Really? Let's be honest. Like they're not bad. They're rotation but.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, but your eight series, your Jackson Hayes again. Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

He's played well.

[Rich Paul]

Right.

[Max Kellerman]

So do got a good coach?

[Rich Paul]

Do any of us expect them to win the series?

[Max Kellerman]

The answer you're saying prolong the series

[Rich Paul]

but what you should be able to control is if we're going to go out here we're going to be prepared and we're going to execute.

[Max Kellerman]

I'll say I think they can. So long the series. So long series.

[Rich Paul]

Should they make it a three game series then?

[Max Kellerman]

All right, Nuggets and T Wolves, how do you feel about the fact that Cade and Luca petition the league before we get into the actual series so they're eligible for all the awards Even though they didn't play 60, they didn't reach the 65 game threshold. But Ant is not.

[Rich Paul]

I mean I don't, I mean I don't, I don't. I'm a little confused. I mean if you're going to give to two, give to three but is

[Max Kellerman]

each circumstance is different, right?

[Rich Paul]

Well there's only one that was different which is Luka. He had a baby, he missed two. He was short two games and the

[Max Kellerman]

league doesn't want to be like you can't go see your kid.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, right. The other one.

[Max Kellerman]

You ever missed the birth of any of your kids because of work?

[Rich Paul]

No.

[Max Kellerman]

I couldn't imagine the kind of person who would be so career oriented. Me? Oh, I got three kids. I missed the birth of one of them because of work.

[Rich Paul]

Unfortunately it happens. But as far as Cade and Ant goes, they were both in the field.

[Max Kellerman]

I think it's a bigger issue. Rich, I understand why they say no to anti because if you're playing like 20 minutes for X number of games and you are load managing at other times, one of the reasons for this rule is hey, you don't know if you're going to get hurt late in the year. Something's going to happen. Right. Therefore if you're going to, you know, your wife's going to have a baby and you're not going to, you don't know that. So you might as well get all those games in when you can. Don't rest when you don't have to. And the reason I think that they have to make an example of someone like if you took a few games off when you didn't have to or you load managed in terms of your minutes. We're not going to let you slide the way someone who didn't do that and who.

[Rich Paul]

Well, they said the injury didn't happen in the game, right? Which I didn't know that.

[Max Kellerman]

Like here's the issue that the NBA is really facing. This happens in Major League Baseball too with pitchers, injuries. And I don't know what to do about it. But I do know what the problem is. The problem is people are competitive in these leagues. Extremely competitive, which is what you want. That goes from everyone, the owners, the coaches, the GMs, the presidents and all the players. Right. Or you would hope on your team, the players are super competitive. That's how they are as people. That's why they do what they do. One of the reasons. And if you set up a system of incentives, the regular season really doesn't matter. It's all about the playoffs, right? They will focus on the playoffs. But more than that, the game is played so intensely now. The reason every pitcher in the world is seems to need Tommy John surgery nowadays is because in the old days you, you knew you had to pace yourself through the game, right? So you didn't throw your best fastball throughout the whole game. Everything wasn't maximum effort because you knew you had to pace yourself. And what happened over time is they figured out just through competition. Actually, if you play baseball like tournament style where your starter might only go four innings, but they're the best four innings he can throw, you're better off. You have a better chance to win that night, right? Don't pace yourself. So everyone goes super hard. Even from the time they're kids, they're throwing as hard as they can, they're breaking off the curveball as hard as they can. Their elbows eventually give out. Same thing in the NBA. You're guarding on every possession, you're guarding in space now unlike they used to, you're going all out on offense. Not just pace of play, the way we measure it, but the intensity of each game means that some guys you're going to want to rest because they're not going to be able to give that maximum effort on every night. And you don't want them at 75% every night. You're not going to win because the other guy's star is going at 100%. That's the issue. What you do about it, I don't know, but I don't think you can. Just like we'll let Ant slide because if he's load managing even within a Game not playing enough minutes. You want to discourage that if you're the league.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, but what I would say to this is, first of all, I am all for fighting for the players. I think their representation did a good job fighting for them with the nbpa. You have to fight for this. And let me tell you why. Because in the NBA, the NBA is the only league where it could make a difference of 40 to 50 million dollars in your contract. And that's why I'm against the. These voters that has these votes. I don't think that's fair because you may have a personal agenda that we don't know about. From a media perspective. You may not watch the game.

[Max Kellerman]

Like, isn't that an issue of contracts though? If it's in the contract, you know what you're negotiating, you're putting it in the hands of those voters.

[Rich Paul]

No, but you have to have that. No, it's. No, it's not. You're not negotiating that. If you, if there is some of a negotiation.

[Max Kellerman]

But it's third team, NBA, second team, all.

[Rich Paul]

I know, but, but that's. You have to like, you can't not do that. Like that's part of the contract. Right. Some players only have if you gotta make first team all NBA.

[Max Kellerman]

Right.

[Rich Paul]

So if it's in your contract that if I make third team all NBA, I get the escalator and this guy don't like me because I decided to skip.

[Max Kellerman]

But what we're talking about is different with Ant. We're talking about, like, to me, what they're trying to do is incentivize. Play all you can when you can, because you never know. Right?

[Rich Paul]

Yes. But what I'm saying is Only in the NBA are these players affected by a 65 game rule and a vote from somebody who.

[Max Kellerman]

Oh, I see. Both on both ends.

[Rich Paul]

On both ends. So now for Kate. Of course, Kate should be getting an award. He played his ass off. He was arguably one of the best players all year.

[Max Kellerman]

Also one of the best to watch. He's like an old school player.

[Rich Paul]

He's. He turned the team around in Detroit. Whether it happened for him falling on the ball in the game, or whether it happened with him hula hooping in his living room, I don't give a shit. The man deserved the, the off season award. Right. And he deserved the escalator. In Luca's case. He's having a. His, his. The mother of his child. He is having a baby. She's not having it at Cedar Sinai. She's having it in a whole Nother country, right. What you want the man to do, he has to go see that. And in Ant's case. Now wait a minute. I'm out here in war, I'm coming back, I turn my ankle, I come out the locker room, I play. I have this issue with the hip, a toe, a finger, I play a back, a knee, I play, you know, like. It's not like he has a track record of not playing. And when the. When if you're speeding, police pull you over, say max, you've been speeding. They look at your track record. Oh, you know what, you don't really speed like that.

[Max Kellerman]

We're going to give you the max.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, well there must be another max for sure. But we're going to give you a break. Right? But if you are speeding and your track record says you speed is different. It's not like Ant doesn't come out.

[Max Kellerman]

Ant's not dogging it, Anthony.

[Rich Paul]

Never.

[Max Kellerman]

That's a good.

[Rich Paul]

That's the one guy that wants to play 92 games a season.

[Max Kellerman]

So who's your key player in the series?

[Rich Paul]

Where?

[Max Kellerman]

In Nuggets. T. Wilson.

[Rich Paul]

Well, I'll take mine on the Nuggets. I'll say Cam Johnson.

[Max Kellerman]

Okay.

[Rich Paul]

Why Cam Johnson? Because I know what Jamal's going to bring. I know what Jokic is going to bring. I'm going to say Cam Johnson because I think the schemes in the playoffs will be a lot different and they're going to make somebody else beat them.

[Max Kellerman]

He's a scorer and I think that

[Rich Paul]

person would be Cam Johnson.

[Max Kellerman]

So I like Jade for the T. W's. I like Jaden McDaniels.

[Rich Paul]

That's a good one.

[Max Kellerman]

Because when you like when I think about the Nuggets, obviously Jokic, right. When Aaron Gordon's healthy, he's the perfect guy for that role. And Jamal Murray elevates in the playoffs, but actually had his greatest regular season of his career this year. He finally looked absolutely like an all star throughout the regular season.

[Rich Paul]

Yes.

[Max Kellerman]

So to me the killer for that team is like I, I thought in the bubble Jamal Murray was better than Jokic. If you said who's the best player on the team? I would have said in the playoffs it was Jamal Murray. That was a criticism I had of Jokic. You can't be one of the best offensive players ever and then there's a guy on your own team better than you in the playoffs. So Murray is the guy that just makes it impossible when that team is firing on all cylinders. McDaniel's the guy they're going to sick on him. Long, excellent defender, wingspan, the whole thing. I think that's the, I think that's the key for the T Wolves. But, but I do. And I think the T wolves give him a really good fight. They're healthy. I like the Nuggets.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, I like the Nuggets in the series.

[Max Kellerman]

You got to get rich quick for us before we get on to Knicks, Hawks and we get, we go to the East.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, my get rich quick is, is just really giving some props to the wnba. They're free agency. They got their CBA deal done. We're seeing these contracts, I mean, just for us as a company. Jade English, who leads on our women's side, I mean she turned into Mike Tyson. She was knocking contracts out left and right in it from the 80s, Mike Tyson and you know, Asia Wilson, rightfully so, signed the largest deal in the in WNBA with a three year full max contract.

[Max Kellerman]

So what's the number on that? Do we know?

[Rich Paul]

I think it was three years. I think it was 5.5.

[Max Kellerman]

I mean, you think of how far that league has come when first of all their ratings are starting to approach the NBA. But secondly, remember that there was a Simpsons skit about the WNBA making fun of it and back then it was true. It's like they made a joke that there's one fan, that this is why they get paid, you know, $7,000 a year or whatever. The league went from the days where the ratings weren't great and there wasn't a lot of money to multimillion dollar contracts and the arrows pointing up and

[Rich Paul]

you know, we had a lot of people, a lot of, a lot of young ladies sign here. You know, Nas Hillman, Chelsea Gray, Jewel Lloyd. Funny story. So Nas Hillman, right. So her mom is Nashima Hillman. I don't know if you remember, Nashima Hillman played at Vanderbilt back in the day. Okay, so I grew up watching women's basketball. Even in high school. Nashima went to a school called Trinity. She played with Samika Randall who went to Tennessee. And they played against a young lady at Magnificat, Chrissy Falcone. This was like standing room only girls high level basketball. And I played with a girl named Barbara Turner and that was my first pick in seventh, eighth grade. Cause she was a beast. She ended up going to Connecticut. We called her the Terminator. So anyway, I'm not in women's basketball at all. You know, we are really just focused on men's.

[Max Kellerman]

What year you talking about?

[Rich Paul]

This is. I forget what year it Is.

[Max Kellerman]

And you have clutch already.

[Rich Paul]

I have clutch, yes. But when we started the company, we only focused on men's basketball. So, anyway, I get a call from my sister. My sister Brandy. She goes, nashima's trying to get in touch with you. I'm like, oh. You know, Rasheema grew up playing in her yard. Her brother is. Her brother played at North Carolina, and he also played at Saint Edge. Jawad Williams is her brother.

[Max Kellerman]

So hold on. You were literally, like, in her driveway playing.

[Rich Paul]

I'm in her driveway. Jawad is a kid. I'm in between Nashima and Jawad.

[Max Kellerman]

I'm in her driveway in the neighborhood.

[Rich Paul]

In the neighborhood. She lived on Eddie Road. I lived on Edmonton, which is a rock star. I could throw. And her. You know, back then, we're playing the game, and you can't hit her grandmother's car. Cause it's in the driveway, too. So the court is shortened. So anyway, we. So I grew up Nashima, she's like a sister to me. Great. She asked her daughter. I don't. I haven't seen Neshima in so long. Next thing I know, her daughter's playing at Michigan. I know the last name. Hillman. Oh. Happens to be her daughter. Great. But, you know, whatever my sister calls me. Nashima's looking for you. Okay, great. What's going on? Well, her daughter, you know, she wants you represent her. Brandi, I'm not. You know, I don't do. I don't represent the ladies. I would love to, but, you know, I don't what you do now. And I'm like, all right, okay. You know, my sister said. So I had. So I connected with Jade, and we had the conversation or whatever, and Nasheema was great. And I'm so happy for Nas because that's like a little cousin to me.

[Max Kellerman]

And in fact, she gave you a gift. It's like you weren't really doing anything for, like, your sister's. Like, you do now, as though you're doing something for her. But in fact.

[Rich Paul]

Yes. So despite how high on a totem pole you get or whatever or you think you may get.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah. You got to kiss the ring.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

You have to kiss the ring.

[Max Kellerman]

Right.

[Rich Paul]

But no. Yeah. I think his appreciation for the wnba, and I'm glad they was able to get the deal done. And to all the young ladies that signed deals, I mean, they just had their draft, which was great. It's just really exciting time in women's sports. So that was pretty cool to see.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah. I mean, come a long way there's still, there's still ways to go and but that's the thing is the way the league is expanding, they're going to look back at this CBA and be like, remember when it was only this much? It's already in the millions.

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[Max Kellerman]

Let's get to the Eastern Conference.

[Rich Paul]

Okay, Knicks Hawks who do you like in the series?

[Max Kellerman]

I like the Knicks to beat the Hawks. I think it's going to be a very tough series. Okay, I think the key player for the Knicks is Cat. I think here is a time Cat is so much like you know. And I'm thinking about the interview you did like a month ago. Was it Shaq who was talking to him? Someone was talking. I think it might have been Shaq.

[Rich Paul]

No, it was Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter was talking to him before the game started. Oh, no. When Shaq was talking to him after

[Max Kellerman]

the game and Shaq was like, no. He was like, well, we got the team winning this and that. You know how Shaq is, especially with the big man, like, impose yourself. This is like, you know, sometimes doing the right thing in the team thing is imposing yourself and is being selfish that way. Right. Cat's got to dominate. He's got to like, this is the moment in his career where he can flip the script on everybody. Go dominate.

[Rich Paul]

Yes.

[Max Kellerman]

And if he does, if he imposes himself, the Knicks will beat the Hawks. If probably doesn't go seven games. But if Cat is just kind of

[Rich Paul]

fitting in, then they give him a

[Max Kellerman]

chance, it could be a problem.

[Rich Paul]

Well, here's the thing. I would say if the Knicks only play through Cat and Cat plays in the dominant fashion, I still think there's still a puncher chance for the Hawks. I still think they can win. If the Knicks play a lineup with both bigs, Mitchell and Cat, then you run into a different scenario.

[Max Kellerman]

I agree. Meaning it's better for the Knicks.

[Rich Paul]

Yes. Because now the extra possessions are going to kill you. Because Mitchell is just. He has a knack for the ball. He's one of those guys that just have a knack for the ball. And I remember when Tristan was on that Cavaliers team, he was the same way. And those extra possessions they killed kill you. We know what Brunson's going to do.

[Max Kellerman]

People don't really think a lot of times as of defensive players in the NBA as playoff performers.

[Rich Paul]

Oh, yes, they are.

[Max Kellerman]

But Mitchell Robinson is a great playoff. A great playoff performer.

[Rich Paul]

He's a great playoff performer. Okay, six or Celtics.

[Max Kellerman]

Good analysis. Who's your key player on the rock? On the. On the Hawks.

[Rich Paul]

On the Hawks. Oh, mine is Dyson Daniel. Sorry. Dyson Daniel. And the reason why I say is because I think Jaden will be good. He's been all NBA all year. Nikhil Alexander Walker has probably been the most improved player all year.

[Max Kellerman]

Who you sicking? Dyson Daniels on Dyson.

[Rich Paul]

Daniels has to guard Brunson.

[Max Kellerman]

Right.

[Rich Paul]

He has to guard Brunson. And the thing about it is, I imagine the Knicks are going to try to put McCollum in every action. Right. To get the switch. But McCollum's no chump. Right. And he knows he just underplays. He just. Yeah, but Dyson's just a better defensive player.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

If you switch off, they don't want to switch off on the kill and they don't want to switch off on Jalen. That's okay. That's defeating the purpose. So. But on the offensive end, I think Dyson has to be a 12 to 14 point scorer.

[Max Kellerman]

Okay.

[Rich Paul]

Right. Hitting those open shots, getting out in transition, which he can't. He's very capable of doing so. So I'm picking Dyson Daniels for that.

[Max Kellerman]

You know, one thing I'll say about that, Rich and I said I'm going to pay it off because I said earlier in the show I would bring it up when we got to this game. JJ is really a forward.

[Rich Paul]

Yes.

[Max Kellerman]

Who they're running the offense through as though he's a guard. He's always a point guard and he's.

[Rich Paul]

That's a different Hawks team than you once known it.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah, for sure.

[Rich Paul]

They're together. They are. They are together as a team.

[Max Kellerman]

They were playing better earlier in the year when Trey wasn't there, even like before the trade, because.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah. They just.

[Max Kellerman]

But what I'm saying is the playoffs are a little different and JJ has a chance to become like a superstar in this series, but his decision make, like his. His basketball IQ as the guy running that offense has got to be, like, impeccable. He has to make. He has to. The choices he makes on offense are going to determine the series for the. For the Hawks.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, I think. I think the words you're looking for is precise.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

He has to show precision in his delivery of everything. Right. It's like now you take a whole nother level. Maybe Quinn calls a play, maybe you see something different.

[Max Kellerman]

And you have to be more than precise. Decisive, decisive. Because if you like, if you. If there's that hesitation and now you look up, it's late in the shot clock and you know.

[Rich Paul]

And not in the garden. See, here's the other thing that's going to. You're in the garden. You in the one. I mean, the Garden, Philly, those places in the playoffs are a mad house.

[Max Kellerman]

Right.

[Rich Paul]

So you have to know that when these teams are making runs, keep it together. Got to keep it together.

[Max Kellerman]

Celtics and Sixers. You know who my key player in this is?

[Rich Paul]

Who?

[Max Kellerman]

It's actually Edgecomb. And I'll tell you why. You know what you're getting from Maxi, I assume Maxi's a great player. Paul George has not been a great playoff performer. But if he just gives you Paul, like, the reason he's not a great playoff performer is he's still. Okay, he's still pretty good. But he's better in the regular season, even if you just get pretty good. Paul George, that's a good player because he's a very, very good. He's even now. He's a very good player. Edge Combs, the guy who's got to take a leap right now and go from a. And by the way, he did some spectacular things in the, in playing game. You know, he has to take double,

[Rich Paul]

double right 19 and 15, 19, 11, something like that. Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

He has to take a leap right now into going from like a raw. Oh my God, look at the upside to a guy who's like, oh, wait a minute, this is happening before our eyes. If he can do that, they can win.

[Rich Paul]

Well, I think he's learning on the fly. First of all, third pick in the draft. Yeah. But the expectation of you being great. There's no expectation on him. There's there what I've seen all year from him, obviously. I watch a lot of Sixers games. Even what I saw in the last play in game, he took a transition 3 and realized right away that was the wrong shot to take in that moment. Self awareness for Vijay is what will expedite his growth. And if he grows game to game, I think right. He is an impact player because he's a guy that can guard, he can get out in transition. His shot selection is going to be important. Right. You can't, you can't be just kind of free for all type of shot selection, which I think he knows that. So that's not a bad choice. Not a bad choice.

[Max Kellerman]

I mean, they're going to win, but that's their best chance.

[Rich Paul]

My, my, my player is on, is actually on the Celtics and it's Peyton Pritchard. When Peyton Pritchard has a game is not just a game, it's an impactful game because he has this ability to go off. He may run six or eight points straight off. He makes really, really, really big shots. He's tough as nails. And so when he's good, the Celtics are really good. And so you know what?

[Max Kellerman]

Tatum and Brown are to me together. And by the way, I would say Tatum for the Celtics. If Tatum can be Tatum and also like be the Tatum that he normally is in the regular season once again because he's trending in the right direction.

[Rich Paul]

You are a true genius picking Jason.

[Max Kellerman]

But no, but let me tell you why. What you're saying about Pritchard is what it used to be on LeBron James teams when LeBron was playing with another All Star or two and someone else, like if JR started going off, the feeling was okay. If JR is going to do that, you can't win. Right. When you have Tatum and Brown doing their thing and Pritchard starts to go off, it's like you throw your hands up in the air. What are you going to do? Yeah, see, I turned you right around on that. First you had jokes, and then a second later I turned you around.

[Rich Paul]

No, no, no. I give you that. Cavs, Raptors.

[Max Kellerman]

Barnes.

[Rich Paul]

Scotty.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah, yeah, Barnes. Because. Because you are going to have to disrupt the guard play of the Cavs and. And whoever.

[Rich Paul]

He's only one man. He can't guard everybody.

[Max Kellerman]

Right. But. But you have to sit. Like, to me, you said Dyson Daniels earlier, I said Jaden McDaniels. Right. Like, he has to be that. Aside from the offense, which also is a big part for him, but defensively, he's got to be that guy.

[Rich Paul]

I think this is a tougher series for the Cavs than people anticipate, because my players is James. My players.

[Max Kellerman]

Right. See, that's why mine's. That's why mine is Barnes.

[Rich Paul]

They brought you there for this. This reason. Playoff basketball. They didn't bring you there for regular season.

[Max Kellerman]

You brought James Harden in for playoff basketball.

[Rich Paul]

It's. Yeah, I mean, that's what I. That's what I imagine he did.

[Max Kellerman]

Man, I'm rooting for. I'm actually rooting for Harden hard. Like, he's had a great career. You have to tell the truth. He has been less than his best self in the playoffs consistently. He's choked. I don't want that to be his legacy. I would love to see him come through.

[Rich Paul]

Okay, so my players harden, but this is not going to be an easy series because when I look at that Raptors team, they have size at the five spot. They have the ability to switch a lot and make these teams play one on one.

[Max Kellerman]

Ingram's long.

[Rich Paul]

Ingram, who's also going to put pressure on the defense the other way. Who they gonna put on Ingram? They can't put James. They can't put Mitchell. Okay. If you're gonna guard Ingram with Mobley, Mobley's really good defensively, but on the perimeter, that's gonna be tough.

[Max Kellerman]

He could get almost to get. Mobley is my key player trouble.

[Rich Paul]

Well, he's gonna be. So I just think that where the Cavs actually have an advantage is shooting. They have more shooting on that team, and I think quickly, it's not healthy. So you got RJ Barrett, who. Say what you want, but RJ Barrett, he plays.

[Max Kellerman]

Yep.

[Rich Paul]

He's tough. So it's not. I do think the Cavs could probably end up winning the series. And everyone's picking them to win the series.

[Max Kellerman]

A big disappointment if the Cavs didn't win this series.

[Rich Paul]

But I'm telling you, do not sleep on that Raptors team. And they're going to be prepared. So.

[Max Kellerman]

All right, Spurs, Blazers. Let me tell you my. I'm just going to give you my key player for the. For the Blazers. Okay? It's not Abdia. Okay. I think because. Because the Blazers are going to lose to the Spurs. We all know this. They're outmanned. There's not a single thing the Blazers do better than the spurs on either end of the. Come on, let's be honest. Maybe there's something I'm not thinking of, but it's Jrue Holiday for the Blazers. Because the only way for the Blazers to compete is if somehow the hole is greater than the sum of its parts. If everyone is doing their job right. To me, that comes down to the veteran leader on the team. Right. So it's Holiday.

[Rich Paul]

That's a great pick. Finally you done some real work. Mine is Fox. Mine is Fox. Because the closer, when de' Aaron says I'm coming to play, he's tough man on both ends. He is tough on both ends.

[Max Kellerman]

The thing about that series is, are they gonna really need a closer?

[Rich Paul]

That's all I'm saying. See, Matt, I don't. I don't. I think.

[Max Kellerman]

I think the Blazers would be. They'll get put up a fight.

[Rich Paul]

I think you are underestimating the Blazers. I think this Blazer series is going to be the best thing to happen to the spurs because sometimes you get to a place to where it's like, you know what? We did two seed. We feel like we could beat anybody.

[Max Kellerman]

A little cold water.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me have my.

[Max Kellerman]

Also the kind of series where, like you said about okc, you don't want to start getting grinded down against Golden State. If it's Golden State. And then you have to face your other series. But a younger team like the Spurs. Yeah, maybe you want. Not the OKC is an older team, but maybe they're more experienced.

[Rich Paul]

More experienced.

[Max Kellerman]

Maybe you need a little tough series to get ready.

[Rich Paul]

This helps you become a little bit more crisp in areas defensively, your decision making offensively. Look, the Blazers are coming with several wings. That's going to be tough on the defensive end. Don't sleep on Scoot Henderson. Scoot Henderson has been playing football.

[Max Kellerman]

Okay. Scoot Henderson went from bust to That's a real NBA player.

[Rich Paul]

Yes.

[Max Kellerman]

I wouldn't say he's really good yet, but he is a real NBA player.

[Rich Paul]

Here's what I would say to you. You're now starting to see it in a way in which this meaningful basketball being played that he's actually getting the

[Max Kellerman]

opportunity and he's trending in the right direction. But he's still very young.

[Rich Paul]

Before it was the Dame show. He gets there, he goes number three but Dame's there. What can you actually do? I can't play through mistakes. All these different things. Then we go through this turmoil, I'm injured, et cetera. Now here Abia. Yeah, they're playing the offense through him and guess what?

[Max Kellerman]

He's showing out.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, he's getting downhill. He's tough. He's 35 a night. So what I'm telling you is this could end up being a six game series max.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah, I could see. I could see six. I could see six. The NBA playoffs are back and we are excited to kick off the push to the finals. All playoffs long fanduel is your spot to bet your favorite player props and SGPs with the best pricing in the game. And as we close out the play in tournament let's take a sneak peek ahead and talk through some of what I think are the big moments to come. So Eastern conference winner. I know you're sitting there going well, it's Boston. They have Tatum, he's playing well. Boston's plus a buck 55. The value is on the Knicks plus 600. I think that's the value play and Western conference. Oklahoma City's minus a buck 75. San Antonio's plus 330 value on San Antonio all day. Who I just like straight up. Even if you gave me even odds. Finals champion San Antonio spurs. If Wemby stays healthy, that's the best team in basketball. It's the reason that they have beaten and you can see even say dominated OKC head to head in the regular season. It's the reason their record is the best in the NBA over the last, what is it, 30 something games now and finals MVP once again. If he's healthy will be the best player on the planet earth when he's healthy. And that's Victor Wembanyama. He's Wemby's the best player in the world. This playoffs fanduel is your place to bet with tons of markets, great pricing and awesome offers every day. By the way, wemby for finals MVP plus 600 SGA is plus a buck 10 WEMBY's plus 600 all day. WEMBY. All right. Anyway, fanduel, play your game.

[Rich Paul]

Okay. Let's get some emails.

[Max Kellerman]

Let's do it. Rex Kaplan, just checking in, but more concisely. Rich. Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

Are you going to ever let me read an email, please? Jesus, man.

[Max Kellerman]

Well, there was. Here's the thing. This is what I do. I thought you were gonna start reading it if the pause gets too long. I'm just helping out my teammate. I'm stepping in. You know what I mean? You gotta.

[Rich Paul]

If the pause gets.

[Max Kellerman]

In other words, let's get some emails. Okay.

[Rich Paul]

Okay.

[Max Kellerman]

Waited. Beat, beat. Oh, maybe he's waiting for let me

[Rich Paul]

be a better teammate. Max.

[Max Kellerman]

Yes?

[Rich Paul]

Do you mind if I read the first email, please?

[Max Kellerman]

Of course. I'd love you to.

[Rich Paul]

Okay, thank you. I appreciate that. Hey, guys. Rex Kaplan, just checking in, but more concisely. Rich, you know what? I don't want to read this email. You read it. Cause it's to me. It's to me. Okay, well, why do I look reading an email that's answering me the question.

[Max Kellerman]

Rich, I had a random thought. How did it feel the first time you heard your name on Brent's record? That's gotta be one of those moments you don't really process until after.

[Rich Paul]

I felt good. I felt really good. Cause first of all, Brent's my guy. Baby Keene was on that record. And the exact line, you know the record he's talking about?

[Max Kellerman]

No.

[Rich Paul]

He said, am I balling like I'm Rich Paul?

[Max Kellerman]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Rich Paul]

It's a great. It's a great bar. I felt good, you know, look, anytime someone's mentioning your name, you're a cultural reference. You have to be appreciative of that. By the way, Lil Baby has mentioned my name in the record, too.

[Max Kellerman]

We talked about when the quarterbacks were here.

[Rich Paul]

Yes.

[Max Kellerman]

On Wednesday. We asked. I asked Shaq Harris how'd he feel when Richard Pryor referred to him. Because the thing about being a cultural reference is when people use it, the assumption is everyone knows what they're talking about. Right. That means that you have entered. Rich Paul has entered the social consciousness in a way where. And then to be used not only to have entered the social consciousness, but to be used as an example of success.

[Rich Paul]

That's some fly. I can't front.

[Max Kellerman]

Right. That's some fly shit.

[Rich Paul]

I can't front on that. That's fly. That's right.

[Max Kellerman]

Would you like.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah. Max, do we need a shot clock for the emails?

[Max Kellerman]

No, you're Right. I was a little quick off the draw on that one. You're good?

[Rich Paul]

Yeah. Okay, good. Max?

[Max Kellerman]

Yes.

[Rich Paul]

What do we do with Mike Brown if we don't come out the East? Curious how you see it. I believe he should be back regardless. But NYC media is a different animal and things snowball quickly. Go Knicks. And Shohei.

[Max Kellerman]

Shohei. It's a good question. The Knicks roster is not as good as some other teams because their best player is 6ft tall. That's really the problem. If you have a Jalen Brunson on your team, you need at least one other player as good as him who's not 6ft tall. Right?

[Rich Paul]

Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

You got. You need a bigger player who's at least as good as him. They don't have that quality. So Mike Brown's going to get blamed for that if they. When they get.

[Rich Paul]

How is that on Mike Brown?

[Max Kellerman]

That's what I'm saying.

[Rich Paul]

He doesn't pick the players.

[Max Kellerman]

They're going to get bumped at a certain point, most likely, and Mike Brown's going to take some blame. It is. This is not a case where you can look at the coach and say, bad job, coach. You can't. You can't.

[Rich Paul]

I think it's very. Look, if the Knicks get bounced out in the first round, the whole.

[Max Kellerman]

That could possibly happen. It's not impossible.

[Rich Paul]

Well, well, that would be the biggest thing. But no, you can't blame Mike Brown for these Mike. Mike Brown coaches who they put in front of him. He's a damn good coach.

[Max Kellerman]

It's also. He's doing it. And I know it's changed over time. The present regime with the Knicks, the front office is so much better than it used to be. Okay, so Dolan cycled through a whole bunch of those guys and finally hit with a good front office. But Pablo Torre just came out with it, like. And Pablo finds out Dolan has the whole place basically bugged. According to this report, he's listening for, like, he's using that surveillance, like, against Charles Oakley. And, you know, and it's like there's always been, since James Dolan took over, a toxic atmosphere at MSG that works against the best interests of competition on the floor for the Knicks. And they also have to overcome that. And by the way, Mike Brown exists within that. So I actually give him extra credit. Like, in that environment, it's not easy to succeed. Mike Brown's been a steady hand and they are having some success. So you leave him alone. Unless, you know, unless they get swept by the Hawks, you know, who Knows. But they should win the first round series. If they do, Mike Brown should be safe.

[Rich Paul]

Let me ask you this question. Yeah, I said I wasn't going to say that before I asked you a question. So, Max.

[Max Kellerman]

Yes.

[Rich Paul]

What's a failure for the Knicks? It's your team. What's a failure for the Knicks?

[Max Kellerman]

Getting bumped in the first round. They look to me like a. The minimum.

[Rich Paul]

Where should the Knicks get to? Where should they get to?

[Max Kellerman]

They got to get to the conference final or.

[Rich Paul]

What's success for the Knicks? What's success?

[Max Kellerman]

Neutral, but slightly disappointing. But basically neutral is you win a playoff series.

[Rich Paul]

Right.

[Max Kellerman]

Right. A season that you say, okay, but now we need to take next steps. You need to win two playoff series. If that would be, that would be a success.

[Rich Paul]

So they have to at least get to the conference finals to call it

[Max Kellerman]

a success this season. Yes, yes. Because Tatum got healthy. So like if, you know, if the set, if you're not as good, if. Both teams are firing on all cylinders. Celtics have two players, both who are at least as good as the Knicks best player. And they have a great organization and they have a well rounded team, the whole thing. And the championship equals pedigree.

[Rich Paul]

And, you know, I'm excited. I'm excited for playoff basketball. Yeah, I, I mean, yeah, yeah. It's.

[Max Kellerman]

By the way, there's like a, there's an NBA game on every night from like here until the end of time.

[Rich Paul]

Oh, that's paradise for me.

[Max Kellerman]

Last night was like, I. Last night was. Hold on. There's nothing on how this, how this happened.

[Rich Paul]

Paradise. I like watching the games at home.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

Because I can actually go crazy.

[Max Kellerman]

Of course.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

You know how much effort. I don't know how you do it. You know how much effort it is to be seen in public. You can't, you can't pick your nose. You can't do anything well.

[Rich Paul]

Well, I will go to some games, but to be honest, like, my guys don't trip. They like, we know you watching.

[Max Kellerman]

Right.

[Rich Paul]

Because you text me before and after the game and you're talking about. You're all over the place.

[Max Kellerman]

I see you at all kinds of games.

[Rich Paul]

I am all over the place. I mean, I like to go to

[Max Kellerman]

games, but is it tiring to be in public constantly? Because I hide when I can.

[Rich Paul]

No, no. I mean, I don't really care about that stuff. Like, I, you know, I take the approach that obviously if someone wants to take a picture or talk to you about something, I try to give people my time. I don't. It doesn't bother me at all.

[Max Kellerman]

No, I don't mind taking pictures and stuff like that. Just sitting up straight in public and not scratching something for two hours is hard for me.

[Rich Paul]

I mean, you do have to be conscious of certain things because you never know who's. But I don't look at myself. Nobody cares about what I got going on.

[Max Kellerman]

Right. It's not true. They're watching. Dude, you did. So this is coming from a man. We started the show by me noticing that you were sitting there watching Steph Curry, no expression on your face. And for that, someone posted a picture on social media saying they didn't like your expression. You should have been more excited.

[Rich Paul]

But that came from a fan page. And I just so happen to be in the frame of that particular shot. Yeah, I don't think anybody cares if I.

[Max Kellerman]

Apparently someone does.

[Rich Paul]

Okay, well, you know what?

[Max Kellerman]

Apparently they do.

[Rich Paul]

I'll listen to you. I'll stay on point. I'll stay on point.

[Max Kellerman]

I thought you were up. You didn't do anything wrong.

[Rich Paul]

What you got this weekend?

[Max Kellerman]

What do I have this weekend? Oh, what don't I have this weekend? Plenty of stuff. Really, Rich. I got plenty of stuff.

[Rich Paul]

Okay.

[Max Kellerman]

How about you?

[Rich Paul]

It's my daughter's birthday, so I'm celebrating my daughter's birthday.

[Max Kellerman]

Happy birthday.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

So. So we have that.

[Max Kellerman]

That's. That's a big thing.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, big thing. And then playoff basketball. I don't think I'll play golf this weekend. I'm sad about that because you and

[Max Kellerman]

I have something coming up where we're

[Rich Paul]

going to be that's going to be great.

[Max Kellerman]

So. So. So we're gonna, you know.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, I'm saving. I'm saving.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah. I gotta rest up this week.

[Rich Paul]

I'm saving. Yeah, I'm saving. But no, it'll be a good weekend.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah. Take my daughter to the mall, you know.

[Rich Paul]

Well, that's. Take your daughter to the mall. It's like, I'll say a prayer for you.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah, No, I just go to the food court and I sit there and I have something to eat and wait.

[Rich Paul]

Fifteen years ago, I took Dean to the mall with me and my daughter. Yeah, he had a panic attack. He couldn't even understand what was happening. We went to a store called justice, and she was a little girl and she got in this store and was going crazy. And Dean was like, what is going on here? He couldn't even understand what was happening. What was that?

[Max Kellerman]

What was going on? What happened?

[Rich Paul]

Well, you know, you got kids. She wants something, and this person Wants something and they both going crazy, and you have to manage it. And Dean's like, this is my worst nightmare.

[Max Kellerman]

Anytime I go into a store with one of my daughters, they don't want me anywhere near them. They don't. They just want me out of.

[Rich Paul]

Well, not until it's time to pay.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah, right. They want me to go hide somewhere.

[Rich Paul]

So I do go until I get to the register. Then you come back.

[Max Kellerman]

Right? Exactly. Yeah. That's how it works.

[Rich Paul]

That's how it works.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah.

[Rich Paul]

I don't. I don't mind it. I'd rather sit in the car, actually.

[Max Kellerman]

I don't like it when these stores don't have comfortable places to sit. You gotta. Like, if I owned a store, not a hangout, selling clothing, especially, like, women's clothing. You need places for the men to sit down and relax. There should be some comfortable chairs there. You see what I mean? I got to go to, like, the platform where they have the mannequin and sit on the platform because there's no other place to sit at. I'm just driving me crazy.

[Rich Paul]

Yeah. You the guy they want out the store fast. Yeah.

[Max Kellerman]

No, they don't. They want me in the store because who they. Who's paying for all this?

[Rich Paul]

Yeah, well, give the credit card to them and get out.

[Max Kellerman]

Just give me a chair with some air conditioning. That's all I'm really looking for. I'm good here. I can stay here.

[Rich Paul]

You spend enough, they'll get you that.

[Max Kellerman]

Yeah, that's true.

[Rich Paul]

They'll get you your own wing.

[Max Kellerman]

That's right.

[Rich Paul]

You spend enough.

[Brian Windhorst]

Okay.

[Max Kellerman]

All right, listen, have a great week. I'll see you on Monday.

[Rich Paul]

You too. See you on Monday.

[Max Kellerman]

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