Nightcap Hour 1: Ant Man RETURNS in TWolves Game 1 WIN + Knicks DOMINATE Sixers in MSG + Chet Holmgren Calls Rui Hachimura the Japanese MJ

Summary

Nightcap – May 5, 2026

Hour 1: Ant Man RETURNS in TWolves Game 1 WIN + Knicks DOMINATE Sixers in MSG + Chet Calls Rui the Japanese MJ

Hosts: Shannon Sharpe (“Unc”), Chad "Ochocinco" Johnson ("Ocho"), Joe Johnson (ISO Joe), & special guest Antoine “Twan” Walker
Main Focus: NBA Playoffs—Minnesota Timberwolves upset San Antonio (w/Anthony Edwards' return); NY Knicks blow out Sixers; banter on strategy and playoff experience.

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Episode Overview

The hosts dive deep into the instant reactions to the night’s NBA playoff action, focusing on Minnesota’s upset win over San Antonio behind the surprise return of Anthony Edwards, and the New York Knicks’ home-court statement by dismantling the Philadelphia 76ers. They debate coaching strategy, playoff experience, and what adjustments losing teams must make going forward. The energy is high, unfiltered, and the basketball smarts come rapid-fire.

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Timberwolves Take Game 1 in San Antonio: Ant Man’s Return (03:34–43:01)

Key Points & Insights

Ant Returns, Timberwolves Snatch Homecourt

• Anthony Edwards returns unexpectedly, coming off the bench: 25 minutes, 18 points on 8/13 shooting, 2/3 from three.
• Minnesota deploys small-ball lineups late, out-executing a tired San Antonio team.
• The panel praises coach Chris Finch for managing Ant’s minutes and creativity on both ends.

Physicality & Strategy vs. Wembanyama

• Victor “Wimby” Wembanyama posts an insane triple-double with blocks (12!), but is held to 5 second-half points.
• Physical, relentless D is key: “You want to be physical with him, bro.” – Twan (07:38)
• Minnesota’s experience and physical edge stand out compared to San Antonio’s rising youth core.

Playoff Experience Matters

• "The Minnesota team has been together for some years now. They've been in the wars...Their core seven-eight guys have been in these wars, played these tough games." – Ochocinco (11:55)
• San Antonio’s in their first deep playoff run, and their late-game inexperience shows.

Small Ball Steals the Show

• Minnesota closes small with Nas Reid at the 5, removing Rudy Gobert for stretches to take away Wimby's ability to roam/shot-block.
• “If he [Wemby] ain't gonna guard Nas Reid…Nas gotta hit him upside his head every time.” – Joe Johnson (12:58)
• Small-ball exposes San Antonio’s mismatches on D; “Now the mismatches start to happen for Minnesota.” – Twan (08:25)

Mike Conley: The Unsung Hero

• Every time Minnesota needed a settling play, “Mike Conley hit a three.” (14:09)
• “They kick it to Mike Con in the corner and he knocks down a three...that’s a huge job right there.” – Joe Johnson (14:10)

Anthony Edwards’ Return: How to Manage Going Forward

• Should Minnesota rest him game 2, given the win? Split discussion:
  • “Now you can be a little cautious.” (15:15)
  • "You want to be greedy...try and get two." (29:03)
• Referencing the Jason Tatum injury saga as a cautionary tale about pushing superstars too far (29:33).

Defensive Battle and Young Wolves’ Aggressiveness

• The hosts praise Minnesota’s defensive communication and edge.
• “They locking down, man... we gotta show them some love on that end.” – Twan (23:00)
• Jaden McDaniels’ relentless defense gets spotlighted: 94ft effort on Fox (23:27).

San Antonio Needs Offensive Adjustments

• Wimby can’t settle for threes (0-8), needs to attack and draw fouls—“He can’t play 40 minutes and only attempt two free throws.” – Joe Johnson (21:51)
• More post-ups, less perimeter play is the consensus for the Spurs’ young star.

Who Closes for SA?

• Confusion over Spurs end-of-game scoring options—“Who is going to be that guy late?” (35:28)
• Ball stuck when Minnesota dials in on Fox; McDaniels’ defense is a problem.

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “When Wemby blocks a shot, it’s almost like Steph shooting a three. That’s the equivalent. The crowd erupts.” – Joe Johnson (14:19)
• “He wants to play in space. He wants to be able to roam. Put a body on him... Find his bony ass and put a body on him.” – Joe Johnson (24:26)
• “Y’know, sometimes this is not a favorable matchup for San Antonio… This is probably the wrong team for them to be playing.” – Chad Ochocinco (39:15)

Key Segment Timestamps

• [03:34] — Game start recap & Ant's Return: panel initial reactions
• [07:38] — Wolves physicality, game plan vs. Wemby
• [13:44] — Mike Conley’s clutch shooting
• [15:07] — Debate: How much should Ant play Game 2?
• [24:26] — How to defend Wemby: “Put a body on him.”
• [27:06] — The value of not turning the ball over on the road

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Knicks Dominate Sixers in MSG: Blowout City (43:05–59:02)

Key Points & Insights

Knicks Obliterate Sixers 137–98

• Jalen Brunson drops 35 on a ridiculous 12/18 shooting; most 35-pt playoff games in Knicks history.
• “I call Brunson the professional scorer. So you trying to play a rookie on him is not gonna work.” – Ochocinco (49:09)
• Knicks shoot a blazing 63% from the field, 19/37 from three. OG Anunoby (18 pts on 7/8) and Mikal Bridges (17 pts on 7/10) light it up too.

Philly: Tired or Outclassed?

• Some panelists note Philly comes off a draining 7-game Celtics series, while the Knicks are rested.
  • “Philly coming out of seven game series, bro. The Knicks been resting...” – Twan (45:47)
• But Ochocinco calls matchups: “This is a different animal, the Knicks. They healthy. The Knicks got a good system.” (54:53)

Embiid vs. Knicks Bigs

• Sixers try to force-feed Embiid, but the Knicks’ big rotation (Towns, Robinson) and depth cause problems.
• “He clogging up the goddamn paint. So if Maxi don't control and be effective and aggressive with Embiid in the game...they gotta call some type of plays…” (50:34)
• Embiid’s health and conditioning are questioned—“He ain't got no lift, Shannon. He can't challenge no shots.” (60:04)

Philly Needs More from Maxi, Paul George

• “Only way Philly can win this series, Paul George has to go from 17, 18 to probably 25 a night. And then Maxi, you gotta get...30.” — Ochocinco (61:50)
• Panel hammers need for Maxi to be the aggressive 1A scorer.

Coaching & Strategic Tweaks

• Philly is urged to start Paul George on Brunson to bring more length and physicality: “If I'm Philly, I'm starting Paul George off on Brunson.” (56:25)
• Worry about “soaking” if Embiid is taken out of the offensive focus (59:23).

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “When somebody gets hot, nobody can miss. OG couldn’t miss. Mikal Bridges couldn’t miss. Brunson couldn’t miss.” – Joe Johnson (52:25)
• “Even if the knicks don’t shoot 63%...If you get OG and Josh Hart to continue playing defense...and Mikal Bridges to play like tonight, the Knicks are gonna win.” (55:31)
• “If the game gets ugly and you didn’t do anything, well, it’s gonna stay ugly.” (51:34)

Key Segment Timestamps

• [43:05] — Knicks–Sixers game blowout breakdown
• [46:26] — Discussion: Rest vs. rust, matchup edges
• [49:09] — The Brunson problem & Sixers’ defensive woes
• [50:57] — Embiid/Maxi balance, strategic frustrations

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Rapid-Fire Hot Takes & Banter (59:03–End)

“Chet Holmgren: Rui Hachimura Is the Japanese MJ”

• Chet Holmgren’s pregame quote: “He’s a talented guy. He plays a little bit like the Japanese Jordan sometimes when you see the turnaround and stuff.” (64:43)
• Immediate laughter and skepticism: “Hey, don’t fall for that, Rui. He trying to butter you up, trying to soften you up for the game.” — Twan (65:05)
• Jokes about Rui’s wild haircut; old-school banter.

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Summary Table of Segment Highlights

| Segment | Timestamp | Highlight | |---------|-----------|----------| | Timberwolves vs. Spurs – Ant Returns | 03:34–43:01 | Minutes limit, small ball takes over, physical D vs. Wimby, playoff experience, Mike Conley’s clutch | | Knicks Blow Out Sixers | 43:05–59:02 | Knicks hot shooting, Brunson’s professional scoring, Embiid’s health, need for more from Maxi & Paul George | | Chet on Rui / General Banter | 64:43–65:41 | Chet’s “Japanese MJ” compliment, panel laughs, locker-room jokes |

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Takeaways for Listeners

• Timberwolves are a deeper, more battle-tested team than given credit; managing Ant’s return is a key story.
• Knicks have the look of a dangerous, well-oiled squad—if OG and Mikal Bridges stay hot, Philly’s in real trouble.
• Playoff experience, coaching creativity, and adjusting to injuries/gas tanks are the real X-factors.
• Fun panel chemistry, with Ochocinco providing heat for his basketball takes—even calling outcomes ahead of time.
• Panel gives healthy respect to coaching moves (Chris Finch, Knicks’ rotation management) and calls out tired old NBA cliches (“the series doesn’t start until someone wins on the road…”).

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Notable Quotes (with timestamps)

• “When Wemby blocks a shot, it’s almost like Steph shooting a three. That’s the equivalent. The crowd erupts.” — Joe Johnson [14:19]
• “He can’t play 40 minutes and only attempt two free throws.” – Joe Johnson [21:51]
• “The Minnesota team has been together for some years now...they’re not going to get rattled.” – Ochocinco [11:55]
• “I call Brunson the professional scorer. So you trying to play a rookie on him is not gonna work.” – Ochocinco [49:09]
• “OG—they got for his defense...now he giving you that [offense].” – Joe Johnson [54:20]
• “Only way Philly can win this series: Paul George has to go from 17, 18 to 25 a night, Maxi has to be that guy—get you 30.” – Ochocinco [61:50]
• "Hey, don’t fall for that, Rui. He trying to butter you up..." – Twan (on Chet’s MJ comment) [65:05]

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For a masterclass in playoff banter, breakdown, and tough love for NBA contenders, this Nightcap hour brings the energy and unvarnished analysis every basketball fan craves.

Transcript

[Host/Announcer]

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[Joe Johnson]

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[Chad Ochocinco]

Thank you. I'm a two time champ. Shannon.

[Joe Johnson]

Yeah, because you won Miami.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Miami and in college and. No, Miami and in college don't get it. Hey, don't do me like that now, champ brother. It's only about 70 of us.

[Joe Johnson]

Thank you guys for joining us. Please make sure you please make sure you hit that subscribe button. Please make sure you hit the like button and go subscribe to the Nightcap podcast feed wherever you get your podcast from. We would like to thank each and every one of you for your support and your continued support. Those looking to purchase a bottle of Shea by Laportier, head over to laportiercognac.com if you cannot find any state or city near you. It is a premium VSOP cognac. The smoothest, best tasting VSOP cognac on the market. Hey, try it and compare it against other cognacs and you'll see that it is the smoothest, best tasting cognac on the market. Please drink responsibly and stay safe. Well guys, the Minnesota Timberwolves snatch home court. The very first game of this series. 104 to 102. They got a welcome surprise. Ant man played. He came off the bench but he played 25. He played 25 minutes, 18 big points, two or three from the three point line. Played tremendous in that fourth quarter. He was sensational. Joe, we're going to kick it off with you, and then we go to you Twine, and then, Ocho, you take it, and then I come home with it. How was Minnesota able to go in there? And San Antonio was playing some very good ball. They closed out Portland, won, what, two straight games. Three straight games, and closed that series out. How was Minnesota able to go in there? Because I don't think anybody had Minnesota to win this game. I don't think no one thought this was going to be a sweep, but I don't think many people had Minnesota to go in and win the first game. How were they able to do it, Joe?

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Resilient. I. I told you and I told you, Ocho. I said, man, listen, these Temple Wolves ain't gonna be no pushover, man. It ain't gonna be as easy as everybody think. They got some dogs, too. They got some guys who can compete, some guys who can move them puppies, you know, play some defense. And then what you want to do with Wimby, Ocho, Twine, you want to be physical with him, bro. You want to be physically. Yep. He had a triple double with blocks. So what. You know what I mean? I think as the game kind of continued to go on, he was, you know, kind of starting to wear down a little bit. But they. Both teams was exhausted, bro. Timberwolves was exhausted at the end, but they did what they wanted to do. Tuan, you know this, man, when you go into a playoff series, bro, your first mindset is okay, we got two games on. They on they on their home turf. We at least want to get one.

[Joe Johnson]

I got.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

You know what I mean?

[Chad Ochocinco]

So I honestly, I think you got to give Minnesota the credit, the culture staff. That was smart. I love the way they did it with Anthony Edwards bringing them off the bench. So he. That forces you now to play them only 25, 30 minutes. You know, he couldn't play a full game. I think that was. That was the check mark, number one thing right there. Bringing him off the bench and playing him in spurts. It allowed the other guys to get into the floor of the game where they not dependent on an. And I think that. And I think that's what really started it. But you gotta give Minnesota credit, man. They was able to play their small. They able to play their small lineup. I think people don't realize if you. When you look. Look at this game again, they played small in the fourth quarter. They didn't have to. They didn't have to play Rudy. So as great as Wimy was defensively, he's gonna have to figure it out offensively because you can't allow them to play small because the Venice goes to Minnesota if they're able to keep Nas Reid at the 5. Because now that, now the mismatches start to happen on the offensive end for Minnesota. So kudos to Minnesota. Big win to go in there and get that. But Anthony Ellis I thought was great. I thought he didn't force it. He played within the system. He allowed, he allowed the other guys to help him out and that's why they got the win tonight. The series has switched. It's going to be a great series.

[Joe Johnson]

I believe it's going to. This series might end up going the distance the second half. This is what Chris Finch did to Wimby. Held him to five points, two or eight field goals, 0 for 3 from the three point line, one or two from the free throw line. He was over eight from the three point line. Ocho watching this game and like I said, I, I didn't think this was going to be a 4 0. I thought it would be, I thought, I thought it would be an extended series because I didn't anticipate Wembley to play. Excuse me, not women. Ant man to play until they got back home, guys. That's why I thought Ant man would come in. But he's progressed so far so fast that they say, you know what? He's able to give us something. And whatever he's able to give us is more than what we would been able to get if he was not on the court. Eighteen points that he gave you and great efficiency, eight of 13, two or three from the three. Now, he wasn't attacking like he normally was because. But you know, hey, that knee still probably looks a little sore. You know what? I still can get my shot. Oh, yeah, but I thought, I thought Chris Finch and the game plan that he had was unbelievable, especially in the second half.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Hey, listen, the goddamn Wolves were resilient, huh? They was resilient. They gave Wimby hell. Okay? Defensively, he had a shitload of goddamn blocks. That still don't change the fact what they was able to do, they kept the game close. Listen, the game was back and forth. It could have went really. It could have went really either way. If you watch the entire game, they was, they were, they were scoring back to back to back to back to back. The game was close the entire time. And Ant coming off the bench, being able to do what he did, even though he wasn't effective as he normally is coming off the Bench giving them boys, you know, some minutes. Not only minute, but some, some effective points as well. That got their McDaniels, that McDaniels, and goddamn Julius Randle with them boys here.

[Joe Johnson]

You know what I was surprised by, guys?

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

What was that?

[Joe Johnson]

Is that when you really look at it and you, you, you look at these two teams, they really don't have an answer for Jude Randall. They had Stefan Castle trying to guard. You ramble in the fourth quarter. Yeah, dude. I mean, I take my hat off to him because he stepped up to the challenge. He ended up filing out, but that's a load. You see, you see 8, 6, 9, 240, 250. Can't deal with him down on the blocks. And you got your starting point guard trying to deal with their power forward because you don't really. Because they like to play small. They like to play Wimby. And in basically threes and twos and ones.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

Because they don't have a four.

[Chad Ochocinco]

And let me, let me add this, guys. You got to think about this. The Minnesota team has been together for some years now. They've been in the wars. Just this is the first trip for San Antonio. You got to think Minnesota's not going to get rattled, that they core seven, eight guys besides Terence Shannon have been in these wars and, and played these tough games. So they got an advantage that way. Nobody's talking about that. Everybody's thinking, because the spurs had a great season, the dips are going to be an easy series. No, Minnesota feel confident. This group has been together. Don't look at the seeds, don't look at being. Because they just succeed and all that. No, this group that Minnesota got has been together for this, probably third or fourth year with this crew. Yeah. When you think about it. So they really kind of got the advantage. When you think about it. They not scared to go on the road. They. Everybody knows their role, and you saw that tonight. If Anthony Edwards can give them that consistently, I don't know how hurt he is. It's hard for us to tell, but. But if he gets anywhere to 20, 25 a night, they got a chance to get this thing over in five. Man, I like Minnesota.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, hey, hey. To piggyback.

[Joe Johnson]

Hold up.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

To piggyback. What Tuan say? I agree with Tuan wholeheartedly. Especially early when he said when Minnesota goes small, San Antonio got a problem, they gotta figure it out because it takes Wimby away from the basket. When you got Nas Reed at the five, you feel. So if he ain't gonna Guard Nas Reed. And he gonna play help defense. Nas gotta hit him upside his head every time. You feel what I'm saying? So I. I like the T Wolves. I don't know if they can win this series, but damn it, they off to a damn good start. And I got faith in them, bro. I got faith in them. Hey, listen, y' all seen them boys out there competing at the highest level.

[Joe Johnson]

They were. They did.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Outside of Wimby, I think Rudy Gobert played some solid defense, gave him some great effective minutes. But outside of Wimby, bro, when he go out the game, man, hey, they get what they want.

[Joe Johnson]

Yes. They got no, because they don't fear. At least think about it. He had 12 blocks, but he had about another five or six alterations. Where you like.

[Chad Ochocinco]

I ain't going there.

[Joe Johnson]

I know what's in. There's problems up in there. But you know who I think. And look, Drew Randall played unbelievable. He was at 5. Offensive rebound. He had double digit. He had a double double. But I think what goes unnoticed is Mike Conley. Because every time they needed a shot to quell the rundown.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

Mike Conley hit a three.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

Remember, Wimby blocked the shot and the blues ball was all over the floor. They kick it to Mike Con in the corner and he knocks down a three.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Blackout.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah, and I.

[Joe Johnson]

And yeah, that. You know what I'm saying? Because now the crowd is in a frenzy. Look, when Wimy blocks a shot, it's almost like Steph shooting a three. That's the equivalent. The crowd erupts.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

And so now the crowd is going crazy. We just shut him down. We go, hey, somehow Minnesota comes up with the ball and they kick the Con in the corner. And old left handed W up right upside the head in the Cadillac. And you know, hey, you. We've all been there, Joe. And you know, you scrambling and all of a sudden.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah, yeah. But you got to play so good tonight. You really don't have to rush IO back. You can kind of. Now IO gets to get now two games to come back. You don't have to rush him back. You think about it. He. He didn't play tonight, and he's playing really good right now.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, I. I agree with that. I think when you think about it, do you. Do you play Ant man in Game 2, though? Or do you let him continue? Do you let him get a little rest?

[Chad Ochocinco]

I would play him. I think. I just think you have to watch his minutes again. I think you put him on a minute count because if you get a chance to steal game two now it's a really, really different series now going back home. So you still want to take a shot at it, but I wouldn't play them extended minutes. You got you. You stole you one. Now you can be a little cautious. Gotta see how we gotta see how you feel tonight, Joe. You know how this thing is. They gotta see how you feel tonight, see how you feel in the morning. If he walking around limping a lot and can't put no pressure on that leg, then maybe you may think about it. But right now I'm going for the kill. I'm looking to go to oh Support

[Host/Announcer]

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[Host/Announcer]

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[Joe Johnson]

you know, I think the thing is, Joe also is that you really he hadn't did any running, so his cardio, he really ain't in the shape that he really needs to to be able to play those extended minutes. So I watch out for that. But I'm going to be surprised if game three or four, he's not in the starting lineup. I'm going to be shocked if they continue to bring now I think one more game. I think the game. What is that? That'll be Wednesday. I think he comes off the bench again. I think when they go home, I'm not going to be surprised if he comes. If he's in the starting lineup, probably so.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, but listen, I, I like how ant man pours confidence into his teammates, bro.

[Joe Johnson]

Yes.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

You know, you, you, you see it especially the young guy, Terence Shannon, obviously always drew Randle McDaniels, but the Terrence Shannon kid, I like his aggressiveness, fellas. I don't know about y'.

[Chad Ochocinco]

All.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

I know the first two, his first two possessions were blocked by Wendy. The second one was a damn goaltender. They miss it, but I like the aggressiveness that he plays with. I like the confidence that they pull when him down the stretch. Meaning handling the Rock, making decisions, bro. They got a nice squad, man. They got, they, they built for this, they built for this San Antonio team.

[Chad Ochocinco]

They built for this run, man. I'm telling you, this team has been together three, four years, man. I'm telling you. They built, they not scared of no situation. I think all them wars with the Denver Nuggets has made them ready for this type of moment. You not San Antonio not going to beat them with trying to get shoot shooting threes and one is going to have to mix it up a little bit. He's going to have to post up a little bit. I know that's not his game. I know he's a more of a perimeter type guy, but he gonna have to mix it up. He's not gonna be able to. Who is it? Because you, you, you allow, you allow them not to play Rudy. If he's gonna, if he's gonna stay at the three point line. You don't have to play Rudy as much now. You play into Minnesota's hands with Nas Reid who can shoot the three and make plays off the dribble. So they're gonna have to make a decision, man. It was not or force Wimby to post up a lot more than he's been doing.

[Joe Johnson]

He's gonna have to because you can't. Wimby, you can't play 40 minutes and only attempt two free throws.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Oh, no.

[Joe Johnson]

Ain't no way. Ain't no way that can happen because now you play right into the hands. Like you said, we're gonna stay small because the advantages that you have is that when Rudy's on the court because Wendy can pull. Wendy can pull him away from the basket. Well, if. Hey now if Wim is going to stay out there and let him shoot threes, he was over eight tonight.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Wow.

[Joe Johnson]

Yeah, I think that's an anomaly. I don't think he'll go over again from the three point line, but he's going to have to be somewhere around. And I'm not saying he needs to be around 12, 14 attempts, but he's got to be 8, 9, 10 attempts a night in order for him to have his impact offensively. Because I don't think he can just hover around like you said. And there are a couple of times I don't know what he's trying to do, bro. Just grab the rebound. He was trying to grab the rebound and all in one motion, shoot it. Which was unnecessary.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Just their first rodeo too. Yeah, y', all, we gotta realize too. We gotta just stay. First rodeo. Just their first time at this group where they. The high sea. Everything's. Everybody expects them to win. So they know some nerves tonight. And they gotta be by a veteran team who've been there before.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah. Hey, you gotta give. Hey, we gotta give Minnesota a lot of credit though, defensively, bro. I'm talking about they locking down, man. Hey, hey, we. We gotta show them some love on that end. And I'm sure coming into this series there was an emphasis, you know, not giving up too many easy buckets. I know late at the end they were dead tired and they gave up some offensive rebounds. But for the most part, man, they battling naked neck with these boys.

[Liberty City Co-host]

That was a good game. That was a really good game.

[Joe Johnson]

And give Jaden J. McDaniels credit. He's doing an unbelievable job on DRM 5, 94ft. He's doing an unbelievable. Because the thing. Now look, he's so. He's so long. Is that because most of the time you're dealing with a guy that's short.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah, he.

[Joe Johnson]

But hey, even if he beat him on the initial move, hey, he can get a poke here, a poke there, a slide, and he's right back where he needs to be. I thought he did a fabulous job on D Fox tonight. Everybody struggled. Now I'm not so sure that they're going to shoot this pathetic again from the floor. But one thing that we do know, Minnesota will lock in. We've seen them lock in against the Nuggets on several occasions. So we know the one thing that Chris Finch is going to hang his hat on. Is going to hang his hat on the defensive end because he said, look, guys, we can't just let these guys just like it's a freeway get up and down. We got to put. Hey, we got to put stop calls in their way. We got to make them slow down. We got to make them stop on occasion. But in all case, we've got to be physical with the big guy.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Oh, yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

If we're physical with him, that is not what he liked. He wants to. He wants to play in space. He wants to be able to roam, put a body on him. If you see a. The shot goes up, find his bony ass and put body on me.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hello. How many times? How many times? How many times did he hit the floor tonight, fellas?

[Chad Ochocinco]

Hey.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah, he hit the floor a number of times. And hey, look, I enjoy watching it because Minnesota understands that. You got to keep a body on him, bro. You got to keep it. You can't let him roam freely, you know, hug his ass on offense when they coming through, when he coming through the lane.

[Joe Johnson]

Yeah.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

You have to be ultra aggressive with him, and I think that'll slow him down.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Hey, listen, and you gotta think about Rudy. Rudy, he had the joker first round. Now you get one. But you gotta think. You gotta give this guy some credit. He got to go against these gorillas. Two are probably the best big men in the game. And Rudy, I mean, Rudy's taking the challenge. We got to give Rudy some credit. I don't want to discredit him.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Chad Ochocinco]

But if Rudy's able to give you 15, 20 minutes of solid minutes and not hurt you, and then they can go to a small ball. San Antonio in trouble.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Oh, yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

So what you think? What you think of. No, Joe, what do you like? So what do you think? What's the counter? What does the spurs need to do to counter what Minnesota did tonight in order to tie this series up? And they're going to need to go home and get one from them. So how do they tie this series

[Liberty City Co-host]

up on Wednesday, man, listen, if Fox got to come, come to come to the party. Wimby. Regardless of how much they pester you, regardless of how aggressive they are defensively, you have to make your presence felt. Offensively, you got to do what you've done all season long. They got to have an answer. They got to have a counter for the great defense that the goddamn Wolves played.

[Chad Ochocinco]

That.

[Liberty City Co-host]

That's. That's the only thing I can think about, Castle. You can't get in goddamn foul trouble so goddamn early. As great.

[Joe Johnson]

Great as you are, you Randall.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Hey, listen, I understand un. But as great as he is defensively and offensively, he can give you. He can on both ends of the court, he can give you something. But you can't be a liability, too. You can't be a liability. At some point you got to pull the reins back and play and play good, sound basketball, not just out there being aggressive, running all over the place with your head.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, but y' all know this how San Antonio has played all season, by commit.

[Joe Johnson]

Yes.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

You know, yeah. Castle and Fox and Wimby, they may explode and have one of those games where they need 30, 35 points, but for the most part, I mean, look, they got six players in double figures tonight. You know, I didn't think that they played bad. I just thought that both teams were great defensively. This was a good backyard old school game, 90s game, you know, to where we lock down defensively. We ain't going to make many mistakes and you going to have to beat us making tough shots. This is going to be a nice series.

[Joe Johnson]

And you think about Minnesota, they on the road and they only turned the ball over nine times. Jew had five of those. So that's the key. That's a recipe for winning games, is taking care of the basketball. When you're on the road, you understand you're in a hostile environment. You know, this team of young, athletic guys that want to get out, what's the quickest way, what's the best way to keep them from getting out? Not turn the ball over, make them take the ball out the net.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Right, right, right.

[Chad Ochocinco]

And then you gotta think, Minnesota's did what they. They did what they wanted. They wanted to get one. I'm pretty sure they wanted to come there and get one. They got that one like you said. Now I got to think about. I'm going to sit down with Ant. How you feel? I mean, do we need to. Do we need to push this? Can you get you two extra days rest, maybe not play you game two and just get that rest, get ready for game three. Those are some of the questions Minnesota needs to think about. I would think strongly about that because a healthy Anthony Edwards, I don't think San Antonio can win this series anyway. So you got to figure out if. How. How Ant feels. If Ant feels good. Damn, man. You can play him in short spurts, but if not, sit them out. You got your one game. You went there and stole and now you got a chance to get them some Rest and get an extra couple days. That'll be huge for them.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

Because if you don't play. If you don't play. If you don't play them on Wednesday, they don't play again until Friday. So now you give him Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and so you. So basically that's almost like four days off because he doesn't play until Friday night.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

I don't think.

[Liberty City Co-host]

And you got to be.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

I don't. I don't think he can get 100, though. Fellas like, he. You gotta understand him. Him dribbling. Yeah, he has some moves to where he could get by a little bit, but for the most part, he didn't look great. I'm talking about exploding by his man. I understand the injury that he's dealing with, and just by him being out there is a blessing for. For. For the Wolves. I enjoy watching the play because he didn't force nothing. Even down the stretch, bro, he let the mother dudes bring the ball. Hey, I'm gonna be the biggest decoy out here. They think I'm gonna. You know what I mean? He went to the corner every time and he just cheered those guys on.

[Joe Johnson]

Yep.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

I think if you. Minnesota, you want to be greedy at this point, you know what I'm saying? You want to try and be great,

[Liberty City Co-host]

you got to be.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah, I know, Joe.

[Liberty City Co-host]

You gotta. You got to be careful. Hey. Hey. Tan and un. Most time when you got players like an. That want to play that come back too soon from injury, they really know they shouldn't be playing. It should take a little bit more time. I think the goddamn Wolves have enough, especially offensively, especially with the way they play defense. Ant man can take a game off. Certain players.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Un.

[Liberty City Co-host]

And you know what certain players you got.

[Chad Ochocinco]

You know what I'm thinking about Chad, though, honestly, I'm thinking about Jason Tatum is just in the back of my head. You know what I mean? That's. That's what I'm. I'm just thinking about Jason Tatum in the back of my head. You don't want to. You don't want to get deep in this series, and Anthony Edwards ain't healthy. Don't get better. You know what I mean? That's all I'm thinking about. Like, you gotta. You got a little. You got a free period right now. This game, too. Whether you. Whether you decide not to play them or you can play them, I'm with you, Joe. I do want to get greedy, but it's almost like, man, we got the one. Now we get a chance to get them three, four days rest, we may have to play game two without them.

[Joe Johnson]

Right, but I, but I, I think the thing is, the problem that JT ran into is that he having to pay those extended minutes late because remember those games Philly stole game took game or what? They took game six. And then all of a sudden now and JT had to play those minutes. What it, take what it, what it, what it was 3:1. So they ended up winning the last three. They went 5, 6, and 7. Right?

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

So now you got to think about it. J.T. playing 40 minutes. He playing 40 minutes. You were hoping that, you know what? We get him up out, we get them up out of here, JT gonna get an off the long rest.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

Where he didn't get that long rest. And you played, you playing those minutes. And then it was right, it was a right Achilles. And I think it was his left ankle, his left knee that started bothering him.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Well, you know, not that it's not about him, but I, I, we all thought I told you this a long time ago. I thought you should have set the whole season out. I mean, he played great coming back, don't get me wrong. But I was, I was afraid that he wasn't going to be 100 anyway. So I just think with ant and you thinking about advancing, you know, you can win this series. I just think you gotta play with caution. You gotta, you got, you got your one game. Hey, take these four days off. Let's get healthy, be ready for game three. But like Joe say, they might want to get greedy.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

They might do. I wonder, I wonder what's the extent of ayo.

[Chad Ochocinco]

They were saying game. They were saying game two or three. IO will be back.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah, man, they could have used him. But hey, listen, they got like, like I've been saying, bro, they got a plethora of guys who they can throw at you and who can have big games. You know, I, I look forward to Minnesota being greedy. Maybe McDaniels play a little better. Obviously he played a good game tonight. But I'm talking about as far as scoring wise. If ant man sit out, you gonna need him or Randall to step up. And one of them gonna have to, you know, play a little above their head a little bit.

[Joe Johnson]

Well, we know Jew is more than cable of doing that. The thing is that he's got a mismatch unless Wimby is on it. But he gonna bang Wimby. The problem is, is that even if he dislodged women just standing there because he had some opportunities tonight. Get that out of here.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Why was he. Why was he trying to shoot the bl. He know he got the kick, man. You get that offensive rebound, you gotta kick that out.

[Joe Johnson]

That man was just thinking his head up there, bro. He right, he right there at the rim. But the thing is, is that Randall is the mismatch, because they don't have anybody. They tried Kept, they tried. Keldon Johnson, they tried. Castle, they tried, but they don't have anybody that can bang with him. So he's on the court and you talk about, okay, you got him and you got Nas Reed. Nas is going to be out there by the three. So now Wimby. Wimby got to play him. He got to stay out there.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yes, sir.

[Joe Johnson]

As much as he want to play halfway in between, he can't. Because Nas Reed is a great catch and shoot free guy, so he can't. Rudy, he wrong. Hey, he like go. Because they're telling, say, look, if he leaves Rudy, you come and you file him. Let's put his ass on the free throw line. We're not going to give him any dunks. If he make get points, he's gonna get them at the free throw line.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah, hey, listen, I agree with you on that. And I do think when Rudy in the game, it makes the game easier for Wimby, because you're right. He don't have to go out there and guard Rudy way out there. He can just kind of sit back. Yeah, he played that free safety. He played that free safety spot to where he can help off any.

[Joe Johnson]

Because he ain't.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

He know Rudy ain't shooting no damn jump shot.

[Chad Ochocinco]

You watch the fourth quarter? They didn't play Rudy much that fourth quarter.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

No, yeah, I know, I know. I'm just saying. I'm just saying throughout the game when, when he did play, I just seen Wimby kind of sitting back like a free safety, playing help defense, getting all these damn blocks. But you're right. In that fourth quarter, when you go with Nas Reed and you go small, Wendy got to pick a side. Hell, he gonna have to guard or he gonna have to help whichever one. You know, we gotta make him pay.

[Joe Johnson]

Yep. And you got guys and, and, and, and, and Reed is more than capable of knocking down those shots. So you got the honor. He was two or three, he was five or nine from the, from the field. He was two or three from the three. He had nine rebounds. They had two guys with 10 rebounds, another guy with nine. But I just think, look, I don't Want to, you know, it's easy to overreact. And I don't want. And I don't want to do that. I want to do that just yet. I think. I think we. I think we're all in agreeance. We should give Minnesota their due. Yeah, this was probably the easiest game because as you guys said, this is a young team. They haven't been this far before. They don't understand as you. Yeah, they did a tremendous job on Portland, but as you go rounds, it ratchets up.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

And teams that have been there, you look at the Lakers, they've been. Ruiz has been in the playoffs. Austin Reeves has been in the playoffs. LeBron has been in the playoffs. Those guys. So you saw the difference. And you see where this comes in. Drew Randall, McDaniels, Gobert, Connolly, Nas Reed. They've been there, they've done that. They understand and sometimes look and they just want to get out and run, but it's okay. It's okay. You know what? Say, you know what, guys, let's slow this thing down. Let's get a good shot. It just seems like these young teams, they want to play in the playoffs. Like they played off this running gun and I don't really know if you can do that.

[Chad Ochocinco]

No, they can't.

[Joe Johnson]

And.

[Chad Ochocinco]

And Minnesota's not old. I mean, these are guys that are in their prime. They're young, but they're not playing against a old team. This is a team that's got some new. Besides Mike Conley. I mean, they got guys that can run, too. So they. They can play just as fast as they want to. But tonight you saw the late possessions. Who's going to be that guy? The one thing I. I couldn't really figure out, who would be that guy. Late San Antonio goes to. In a one or two possession game. It was kind of. It was raggly down at the end. They really didn't get no good shot off.

[Joe Johnson]

It look like if. If I had to get. If I had to surmise, they're going to put the ball. See, they want to put the ball in fox hand. If you saw he got ultra aggressive late in the ball game.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

But he's being defended by McDaniels.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

Which ain't no slouch. It's like, yeah, we want to go to our best receiver, but he got Pastor Tan on him. Yeah. So, okay, now we got to go and what you call him. Castle had fouled out.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

So now we. Okay, Versaille. You see, Versell did his thing. Champagne. He got A couple of offensive rebounds. So that's the problem you're going to have if you come down late. And your best guy that could go one on one, he's being guarded by their best defender in Wimby, I think, you know, hey, maybe you can get into a two man game with Wimby and pick and roll with Wimby and Fox.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

What, what, what? Normally San Antonio puts Wimby on that elbow and they kind of isolate him and let him play. But the way Minnesota defends him, they, he, he got a guy guarding him whose feet is a little quicker than his, so he can't get no blow bys. He has to settle for them jump shots. And I think, I think Minnesota does a great job in keeping guys in front and just contesting, bro. Hey, we gonna have to live with that. Yeah, we ain't gonna block his damn shot when he go up to shoot. We gonna have to pat him on his ass in another way if he make it though, you know what I mean? But one thing we ain't gonna do is just let him get by us and just have an old lady where he just dunking the ball left.

[Chad Ochocinco]

And just to add, you're not gonna, they not gonna beat Minnesota with him going over eighth and the three. They're not. He, he shoots too many of them

[Joe Johnson]

or 5 or 17.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah, they're not gonna win like that. He, he has to either shoot less threes and focus on getting to the basket, being around the basket, or he's gonna have to make sure he go four for eight, you know, three for seven. He's gonna have to make some of them. You can't go 0 for 8 from the 3 because you bell him. You bailing Minnesota out. You're giving them, you know what I'm saying? So he's gonna have to figure out what he want to do.

[Joe Johnson]

But if you look at Minnesota, when teams have dealt a number on them and they made Rudy unplayable in the fourth quarter, they put his ass in the pick and roll. You remember with Dallas, Dallas put him in the pick and roll. When he was in Utah, the Clippers, they put his ass in the pick and roll. Yeah, they said, okay, you see? And now he. Because, hey, he wants to play soft coverage. So guys are getting wide open shots. And when he come up there, he tried to, he though, he tried to dance. They right by him and they lay the ball up. Yeah, your real protector is out there, 20ft from the basket.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Right?

[Joe Johnson]

So if, if they don't have to play Rudy in that situation, you got Nas Reed and you got Drew Randall who have better feet. Now, they're not the real protectors that is, but they're not going to be. San Antonio is not going to be getting shoot around threes like they would against Rudy because Rudy's going to. Because Rudy don't want you to beat him to the basket.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

So he's going to be, he's going to play off.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah. And I think when Nas Reed is in there and you. And they run that pick and roll with McDaniels Garden Fox, they switching all that. Fellas, they switching that McDaniel's gonna get up under. They gonna get up under Wimy and they gonna, they gonna push and shove him. They ain't gonna let him get down to that low block and get to his sweet spots. They gonna make, they making them boys work. Man, this is why that man went 0 for 8.

[Chad Ochocinco]

It ain't.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

You know what I mean? Like, yeah, he got a couple nice looks, but for the most part, hell, they taking them legs away.

[Chad Ochocinco]

No, we always talk about playoffs, about matchup. Y' all know that. And sometimes this is not a favorable matchup for San Antonio. This is probably the wrong team for them to be playing because they got size, they got a guy who can close the game out in Anthony Edwards. They got better players. So they got. And they got active wings that can defend. So this ain't. This probably is not the best matchup for the Spurs. This is probably one that they probably wish they could have avoided. But this is going to be a tough series for San Antonio to get out of.

[Host/Announcer]

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[Martha Stewart]

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[Host/Announcer]

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[Chad Ochocinco]

like Minnesota in this series.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

I do too.

[Joe Johnson]

Man well, the earlier game wasn't much of a game. Oh, oh, oh, oh, now it wasn't

[Liberty City Co-host]

much of a game, huh? Wait, hold on. Let. Go ahead.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Go ahead.

[Joe Johnson]

Blow out. The 76 was 137 and 98. Jalen Brunson 35. Don't say two steel. He was 12 of 18. This is his 15th 35 point playoff game, the most ever by a Knick. OG had 18 on 7 of 8 shooting. Cat had had 17 on 7 of 11 shooting. Mikhail Bridges had 17 on 7 of 10 shooting. They shot the cup off the ball 63%, man. Come on. 53 of 84 from the floor. They shot 19 of 37.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Come on, bro.

[Joe Johnson]

From the three. Plus they out rebound them.

[Martha Stewart]

So.

[Joe Johnson]

If you let Brunson get up to that start right there. It's over.

[Chad Ochocinco]

That.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Hey, that not. No, that's not what y' all said yesterday. Before yesterday, huh?

[Joe Johnson]

What we say.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Y' all were so confident. Uncle Joe, a twine. I asked him, I specifically asked him, who you got in this series? Matter of fact, who you got in game one? Both of them. They picked. God.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Let me finish, Joe.

[Liberty City Co-host]

I said, hey, Twan, I said, are you sure you want to do that? Because I think Cat is going to be able to not be one dimensional. Stay at the 3. But give Embiid and drumming some work. They told me he too, like, he can't do nothing with him being drumming. But what did Cat give you tonight? What he did to you? He gave you 17. He gave you three for five from the goddamn three. Where the rest of the points came from, huh?

[Joe Johnson]

Hey, listen, y'. All.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Y'. All. So just the thing. And they probably. Hey, oh, Ocho. They probably got excited because they saw Embiid play great against Boston. Boston don't have no. Boston don't have no bigs. So let's start with that. The Knicks got real big, big man. So now it's not just they had Jalen Brown Garden Embiid at times in that series.

[Martha Stewart]

You.

[Chad Ochocinco]

You got real. You got real bigs with the Knicks. So it's a different ball game now. He can't just go on a post and dominate those guys. He need that. He need that jump shot working. So if he's not making his jump shot and B don't move the same, so you're not going to do much off the dribble. He's not doing a lot of post moves. It's just a simple jump hook. So they got real bigs that can guard them. So this is a different series. We looking at that Boston series where he kind of had his way to Boston Celtics play small, played a lot of zone. The Knicks don't got to do that. The niche can play you straight up.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

I understand all that, but. But here's my thing. Philly coming out of seven game series, bro. The Knicks been resting a little bit. They got a little rest. Hold up, Ocho, just hear me out. The Knicks got a little rest. This just one game. The Knicks ain't shooting no damn lights out like this. No every damn game, man. Hell, the hell shooting like this every game. Come on. They shot 51 from the 363 from the field. Come on, bro. Everybody on 18 played great. Brunson had 35. I think Philly gonna have to sit in y'. All. Y' all seen they got. They got the brakes. Beat off them in that Boston series in a couple games after game one and then bounce back in one game two. It's just one game, fellas.

[Liberty City Co-host]

See, I tell you what. See, this, this is what I'm talking about, Twan. See, hey, when I was little, you know, my grandma said a hard head make a soft ass. And despite what. Despite what you say, Joe, I understand what you're saying. Obviously, they come off a seven game series. But you're not finishing sitting me say even if they don't shoot from the field like this, even they don't shoot 63, this is the matchup that, you know, the Knicks are probably going to come and come away with. Even in the last series, I. I hyped and beat up.

[Joe Johnson]

I hyped him up.

[Liberty City Co-host]

I talked good about him and he. And he played very well based off what I said. But I knew coming through the series, as great as the Sixers played, this series favors the goddamn Knicks again. Y' all tell me. I don't know, Paul, but every time I say something when it comes to basketball, I'm always right. And here we go again. Joe, you make an excuse.

[Chad Ochocinco]

They are coming off a seven game series. So they'll make some adjustments. It'll be a better game next. But that's a bad matchup for the Sixers when you think about it. The only way the Sixers got a chance in this series, I'm gonna tell you. Can Paul George turn. Turn it back to clock? If Paul George can turn back the clock. And then Maxi, you can't wait. And B gotta get get his stuff. However you got to get it. Maxi, you got. That's right, you gotta. Maxi, gotta lead. You can't wait. Maxi has to go out, you gotta go. It's a reason. You average 30 points a game. You can't get to the playoffs. And now you want to go through and beat as the one option. No, you the one option. You see what, you see what Jalen Brunson did tonight? He's the one option. You don't wait on nobody. Yeah, he gets going. That's what Maxi got to do. If Maxi don't get embiid bogged him down.

[Joe Johnson]

Because if you look, think about it, Twan, you, you enjoy, right? Because if you look at like the first eight possessions, they gave it to him be to what he do?

[Liberty City Co-host]

Nothing.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

Trying to back it. They're like, bro, come on. No, we can get to that at a later date in time. We can always. That's one thing we know. We can always get Joel and B, big ass down on the block. We can get that anytime we want it. But right.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Hey, hold on, hold on, hold on. Too a twine. I'm on the ass tonight. Hold on now. They said we ain't got to worry about big body Brunson. Cause we gonna put Eskimon.

[Joe Johnson]

They tried everything tonight.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Hey, you got damn right they tried. I tried to take.

[Joe Johnson]

They put Paul George on it. They tried every. They tried everything. Hey, guy like that get it going. Once he see a couple.

[Chad Ochocinco]

You can't put that rookie on him. He gonna, he gonna have his way with that rookie. That he ain't the answer. That's definitely not it.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Hey, I tried twine. I tried to tell him I tried it.

[Joe Johnson]

Well, nobody don't answer the night. The problem is he quick enough, but he ain't got enough bricks in his back pocket. You see how, you see how Brunson do? Hit him with. Hit it with that shoulder and dislodge him. Yeah, and turn around and shoot that.

[Chad Ochocinco]

I call Brussels. I call Brussels the professional scorer. So, you know, for his size, he's a professional score. So you trying to play a rookie on him is not gonna work. Paul George can step up to the summon again some length and he's obviously. We know Paul was a great defender early on in his career, so he probably could better job on it. But it's Paul George gonna take that commitment. You know what I mean?

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, by the time, by the time Paul George got on him, hell, he was already fir.

[Joe Johnson]

He already took it over.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, listen, y' all know, especially T, you know, when you playing the game, cuz. Hey, listen, I, I, I, I done been in games where guys caught hot. Then you try to throw me on them. It's too late, bro.

[Chad Ochocinco]

I can't with this guy.

[Joe Johnson]

Keep going, Keep going.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Listen, hey, hey, hey, Unc. I'm with you, though. Like, if it's that, that's my only problem with Philly, because it's like they force feed and be sometimes, and sometimes it's too damn much and it takes away from Maxi. Torn, I like when Maxi play. Like, that's what I'm saying. I. I like. Yeah, I like up and down, yes. I like him putting pressure, getting up, shots, being aggressive. Hell, nine. Nine shots ain't enough for me, bro.

[Chad Ochocinco]

That's why I said he got to be 1 8. He has to be 1A, Nick. He has to let him be 1A. If you're not gonna let him be 1A, they're gonna get swept in this series. Serious. You have to let him be one A and, and B to get his whenever, whenever he can get it. You gotta let. You gotta go behind Maxi, man. It's a reason why he averaged 30 points this season.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah, right.

[Liberty City Co-host]

And you think about it, too. You think about some of those games where maxi average 30. Embiid wasn't even playing and B wasn't playing some of them games. Now, when Embiid is in there, you gotta understand, he clogging up the goddamn paint. So if Maxi don't control and be effective and be aggressive with Embiid in the game, they got the. They got to call some type of plays When Bead is at that goddamn center. He's at the goddamn post. He, in a way, he closed it up.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, listen, I. I ain't tripping on going to Embiid the first, maybe even the second possession, but him and Cat got a little thing going and we don't need. He tried to prove we don't need that right now. We don't need that. We trying to win. We don't need that, bro. You got to get these young dudes going, man. You got to get Maxi down here. You know what I'm saying? You get him in that pick and roll against Cat and let Embiid pop. Maybe take a couple minutes, get. Maybe even get you a three. But just to bog down the first five, six possessions of the game. Come on, man. It's gonna get us out of rhythm. And y' all know once you get out of rhythm, it's hard for a lot of these cats to really get back in rhythm. You know, once the game gets ugly

[Liberty City Co-host]

and you didn't do anything, well, it's gonna stay ugly. Cause I told you what was gonna happen, Uncle Joe. Now, listen, I'm gonna take over this segment because I told y' all before the series even started what it was gonna be like. And even if Maxi wanna come, got them aggressive. We got cats sitting down there. Oh, my God. Yes. That cat, he's sitting down there. He gonna swat that.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, hey. What was Cat at in the first quarter? He picked up them two damn fouls. That's what I'm saying. They can always.

[Liberty City Co-host]

He had to sit down. He had to sit down.

[Chad Ochocinco]

I'mma talk to him.

[Liberty City Co-host]

I'm gonna talk to him, say, listen, we need to be a little bit smart. We need to be a little bit more smarter early in the game.

[Joe Johnson]

And I like.

[Chad Ochocinco]

You know what else I like, too? I like the fact the Knicks are playing small, not starting two bigs, so they saving fouls. So you got Cat starting on them. Then you come with Mitchell Robinson, so they. They saving files for their big man. Not playing those two guys together. I like the fact they're doing it.

[Joe Johnson]

Hey, but you see what they did? You see what Philly did? They had got late the first quarter. They started. Finally, they started hacking a hacker. Robinson and Mike Brown said, get your ass over here. And he put the other big. If it comes, he said, come sit your no free throw ass. Making ass over here with me because you messing up a rhythm. Yeah, I don't know what it is. And you, you know, 20. I'm sure you enjoying games when. When somebody. When the team gets hot, nobody can miss. OG Couldn't miss. Mikhail Bridges couldn't miss. Brunson couldn't miss. Everybody came in. Everybody was 2 for 2, 3 for 5, 3 for 6, 2 for 4, 6 of 8, 7 of 8. I'm like, well, damn.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Well, well, let's remember now, OG is on the heater right now. Played great that first series. Yeah, he's on the heater right now. He playing great ball. And now you get Mikhail Bridges, who didn't play play well that first series. Now he started making shots. Now it gets. The Knicks become even better. Because remember, he didn't play good that first series.

[Joe Johnson]

No, he. I think he might have had one game. I think about the last game where Joe, he had like 24. You know, you can count on Brunson. Brunson gonna give you. Brunson gonna do Brunson things. But if you let that man go, 12 of 18, you not beating the Knicks. If he. If he shoot that percentage, I don't give a damn what anybody else does. You're not beating them.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah, you're not. You're not. Hey, hey, hey. And y' all right. They still hot. Hell, from the last damn series.

[Joe Johnson]

I said damn. As a matter of fact, they just

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

scored 139, man, listen, they still hot, bro. Look, when you look that, man, OG barely even been missing his last two games, boy, he.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Can you believe OG Playing like this on the offensive end?

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hell, no.

[Chad Ochocinco]

No, I ain't never seen this.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, listen, I'm not saying. I'm not saying he can't play because I like his game, but to the way he's shooting the ball, it's like everything he shoot, man, that going in, it's swishing.

[Joe Johnson]

He ain't hitting no rim. He's swishing threes. Hey, he Euro stepping, Duncan. We know. Look, we look at OG they got OG before his defense to be able to deal with Tatum and Brown. Yeah, that's what they got him for. And now he giving you that. And it goes with Brunson. Look, they're gonna be awfully tough now. I'm not. They're not gonna shoot no 63 again. I don't think. Hell, we. Atlanta said that. They're not gonna feel it. Said that. Philly probably said, well, they ain't gonna shoot like they did a Game six against Atlanta. And I'll be damned if they probably did one better.

[Chad Ochocinco]

I'm gonna be honest, man. I think Philly, you know, they got the blessing. And I'm not defending the Celtics. You play. You play Game seven. Jason Tatum not able to go. You able to get out that series. Kudos to them. That was great to be able to. But this a different animal to Knicks. They healthy. The Knicks got a good system. These guys been together now three, four years together. They. They in rhythm, man. It just looks. It looks totally different when you watching. If you just. Just the floor of the game, how the Knicks play. Bronson knows what he. They know what Brunson's gonna do. Cat knows what he's gonna do. And if they give Mikhail Bridges to play at the level he played tonight, it's gonna get ugly. This series could be up with five, man.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Hey, hey, uncle. Even if the goddamn knicks don't shoot 63%, even if they don't have a scoring output from Brunson like they did, Brunson is always gonna get hit, no matter what. But if you get OG and you get Josh Hart to continue playing defense the way. The way he is and contribute a little bit on offense, you get Mikhail Bridges to Play like he played tonight. You get Car Anthony Town to show up. Not staying his ass out on the goddamn arc. Word about threes, but Middies and putting the ball on the floor. Even playing with his back to the basket every blue moon just to let them know I'm not gonna be one. You're not gonna make me one dimensional in this goddamn series. I'm gonna do something nobody else said I can. Hey, look, the gonna win, I'm telling you. Hey, Joe, listen to me, Joe. I know you played the game, Joe, but you got to listen to somebody who didn't play the game that can see the game differently.

[Joe Johnson]

I got you. I got you.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

I'm listening, bro.

[Chad Ochocinco]

I'm listening.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Okay, listen. Hey, listen. If I'm Philly, I'm starting Paul George off on Brunson. Man. Damn that. I'm Paul George on the starting mom.

[Joe Johnson]

You're gonna use, you want to use some height, you want some length to bother him.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah, and I'm gonna put, I'm gonna put edge. Come on heart.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah, yeah, but because heart is active, he gonna office a rebound. He gonna back door cut. So you wanna, you want a young guy running on the floor with him. You want a young, you want a young guy chasing him around, keeping the body on him. That's, that's, that's a good, that'll be a good switch.

[Joe Johnson]

Yeah, but let me ask you a question. When you put. Because you know what they're gonna do? They're gonna run. They're gonna put his ass. They're gonna put Paul George in the pick and they're gonna run his ass off a bunch of pigs. You know, we gonna put him in the blender. He gonna put him in the blend. Picks. Is Paul George. Is Paul at Paul George age and Paul George body and them shoulders. You know he's had shoulder surgery on both of those shoulders?

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

His knees ain't what they used to be. How long can he do it?

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Well, you wanna, you wanna slow him down. I ain't saying he gonna stop him, but to go 12 for 18, 35 points here a week, ain't no way we gonna win. He's shooting them type of percentage you don't think.

[Chad Ochocinco]

You don't expect the game to be a blowout, obviously, tonight. Okay, it's a blowout. But if we get into a possession game, three, three, four. Possession game. I'm going with Joe. I'm gonna try that line. I'm gonna try them defensive changes. I'm gonna try Paul George on them in the fourth Quarter, see if he can get a stop, make it hard for him. So you got to be creative with it, but, you know, when you get blown out, it's this film right here. I don't even know if you can watch this film.

[Joe Johnson]

Like you and Joe say. Now, if I get a 112 possession games now, I can give the ball to Joel Embiid. Now I got an advantage because I don't give a damn about your bigs. They can't do that with him.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Well, MB got to be patient, though. Ocho and Twan, you know, he can't be. He can't be out there too hyped up to where he want the ball every trip down the court, you know, kind of similar. Kind of similar what, Ant, man, How he kind of just playing his role. Like, man, we ain't gotta feature you that much, but when we need you, we need you to come through. You feel me?

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah. I don't know. Can Embiid take that type. Can he play that role?

[Joe Johnson]

No, you gotta get. No.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah, you gotta. You have to. Yeah, you gotta be. You gotta be willing to do that. I. I mean, that's why I give Minnesota coaches so much credit. The coaching staff, they forced that. Hey, we not gonna start you. We're not gonna start you. First of all. That way we gonna sit you six, seven minutes, let these other guys get going, then we'll come in with you. So I thought that was the. The genius move of the night, not start them first of all. Now, can.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Chad Ochocinco]

What can you do with Embiid? Can you tell. Can you tell them that. That, hey, we're not gonna feature you. Let's get Maxi going. Just pick your spots. I don't know that because he had such a good series against the Celtics, he probably started thinking. He probably think he back.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, hey, you got a point with that. But here's the thing.

[Joe Johnson]

If.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

If he was to accept that role, would he still be high energy, give us great effort, you know, pat guys on the back, you know, keep encouraging cats. That's my thing. Because sometimes, bro, you know, our stars in the game, if you ask them to sacrifice a little bit, they start soaking. You know what I mean?

[Host/Announcer]

And.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

And that's. And that's what you don't want from. From MB Man. You want him to really stay upbeat and do whatever it takes for them to win. Hell, it may take for them for him to get 20 rebounds and have 12 points every. Every game. He ain't gonna score 25, 30 damn points. But he can be Effective. He can be effective in other ways.

[Joe Johnson]

Yeah, and he needs to be a defensive presence, too.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Man.

[Joe Johnson]

You remember Joel Embiid used to go. I mean, Joel Embiid was a hell of a defender.

[Chad Ochocinco]

He ain't got no lift, Shannon. He can't challenge no shots.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, that lateral movement ain't the same.

[Joe Johnson]

It's gone. And it seemed like every time. Every time I was like, damn, I see him limping. I'm like, oh, Lord, not again. He come up to court and he's tripped and he ended up tripping on Josh Hart.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Joe Johnson]

I said, lord have mercy. I know this man ain't tripping his damn self.

[Chad Ochocinco]

And then. You know what's crazy? And then. And Joe noticed he. Even though you're not practicing much in the playoffs, I mean, and B, probably not even taking his sweatpants off on the off days. He probably just shoots the free throws. He ain't getting no reps in. He ain't getting no extra work in. He probably just working on his legs so he can play game to game. So you ain't. It's hard to just come out there and. And you ain't in no rhythm. You know what I mean?

[Joe Johnson]

Right? Cause remember, he just came back after that emergency appendectomy, so he was out for two weeks. He ain't doing nothing.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Not. Not. Hey, look, not only is he not in no rhythm, but hell, he ain't in great shape neither, to be. To be able to get up and down with these boys like that. You know what I'm saying? Huh?

[Joe Johnson]

I said he was hurt to begin with. Hell, I go two, three days without lift, without doing cardio. I gained two pounds. I know damn well he came to five, seven, and I beat that. I'll be dead wise and I'm eating healthy, but let me go a couple of days and don't get no damn

[Chad Ochocinco]

cardio in, man, please.

[Joe Johnson]

Ain't no way his weight staying the same as mine.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Absolutely. I know exactly what you mean, but

[Joe Johnson]

they gotta, they, they, they.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

They gotta get more productivity from him. I'm talking about defensively, too, bro. He. You know, MB can't just think by putting his stamp on the game that he's gonna score 25, 30. They. He gotta find other ways to affect the game for sure.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Only way Philly can win this series, Paul George has to go from 17, 18 to probably 25 a night. And then Maxi, you gotta. You got. Maxi has to be the guy gonna get you 30. I mean, I love the fact Embiid is fighting through it and Playing. But those two guys got to carry you, you, you, Maxi got to be that. That guy, he gotta put that Superman cape on and have a couple. A couple nights. So, you know, in the playoff series, your superstar gotta have a couple nights.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah, I agree, I agree. A minus 28 for maxi tonight, bro. They cannot happen.

[Joe Johnson]

Minus 25 for Uber, minus 24 for B, minus 26. Hell, as a matter of fact, when you lose by 39, ain't nobody gonna have no plus. Ain't nobody gonna. Hey, yeah.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Damn.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Y' all gotta start. Yeah, I gotta start listening.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

It's one game, Ocho. One game, brother.

[Liberty City Co-host]

All right. Okay, okay. So when. When the game happened Wednesday. And the goddamn six lose again. What's the excuse gonna be then?

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Well, all they did was hold serve at home. Yeah, a series don't start until somebody wins on somebody else home court.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Okay, okay. So y' all done set another excuse already. Okay?

[Joe Johnson]

That's just the way it works.

[Liberty City Co-host]

Okay?

[Joe Johnson]

Hey, hey.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Minnesota and the spurs, now we got a damn series.

[Joe Johnson]

You hear me?

[Liberty City Co-host]

Yeah, okay. Okay.

[Joe Johnson]

Yeah, Minnesota in the Nuggets. What happened?

[Chad Ochocinco]

Yeah, that's a different Minnesota team, though.

[Joe Johnson]

Minnesota went to Denver, stole one and said, oh, we got something for y'. All.

[Chad Ochocinco]

It's different. That's a different series. Now I see Ant getting better and better IO coming back. This is a different Minnesota team.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, but

[Joe Johnson]

I don't know who, but somebody better turn into Dr. J. Somebody from the business better turn it to Dr. J, and the other one better turn into AI, because if they

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

don't, I got Philly bouncing back, man. They ain't. They ain't gonna get. They ain't gonna get the dog.

[Joe Johnson]

They going out like that, ain't gonna

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

get the dough blew off of them like this in game two, bro. They gonna be a lot better in game two. Watch this. Just because. Look, not only is it matchups, but it's the adjustments that the coaches make, bro. Philly gotta make a few adjustments and they'll be.

[Chad Ochocinco]

I agree with you on that, Joe. I think it'll be a better game. You know, playing a seven game series. I mean, you know, that hangover, you know, you had the substance on your mind, you know, so now you got to readjust yourself and. And figure it out. It'll be a closer game. But I don't. I. I don't see. I think the Knicks. I think the next getting out this series, it may.

[Liberty City Co-host]

See, that's what I'm talking about, man. Somebody that.

[Chad Ochocinco]

They're getting out the series. They're Getting out the series. Philly, we're gonna give Philly, hey, seven game series against, against the Boston Celtics. They had a tough go at it, you know, took seven games. So we'll give them that. We're gonna give them that one game, but game two, we need to see a lot of improvement.

[Joe Johnson]

Yeah, Knicks better go all the way to the NBA Finals because they won't have a smooth. They won't have a smoother path than what they got right now. Chad Holgren calls Rui Hachimura the Japanese Michael Jordan, describing his game. Something about those Gonzaga guys. He's a talented guy. He plays a little bit like the Japanese Jordan sometimes when you see the turnaround and stuff.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Hey, don't fall for that, Rui. He trying to butter you up, trying to soften you up for the game. You better go in there and go at their neck.

[Joe Johnson]

Hell yeah. Hey, I already know it's gonna be a good when I know when I see Rui and he looked the Clippers to his own head and it's all butchered. Ain't no way you pay somebody good money to cut your hair like that. That's your job. That's a huge job right there. So when I saw that, when I saw that cut the other night, we about to go smooth off on these fools.

[Twan (Antoine Walker)]

Yeah.

[Host/Announcer]

Honestly.

[Chad Ochocinco]

Honestly.

[Joe Johnson]

Honestly. No one wants to think about hiv, but there are things that everyone can

[Host/Announcer]

do to help prevent it.

[Joe Johnson]

Things like prep. PREP stands for pre exposure prophylaxis, and it means routinely taking prescription medicine before you're exposed to HIV to help reduce

[Host/Announcer]

your chances of getting it.

[Joe Johnson]

Prep can be about 99% effective when taken as prescribed. It doesn't protect against other STIs, though,

[Host/Announcer]

so be sure to use condoms and

[Joe Johnson]

other healthy sex practices. Ask a healthcare provider about all your prevention Options and visit findoutaboutprep.com to learn more.

[Host/Announcer]

Sponsored by Gilead. I'm U.S. transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. We all get distracted when we drive, whether it's from our phones or kids in the backseat bickering.

[Liberty City Co-host]

But how we handle these distractions can

[Host/Announcer]

be a matter of life or death

[Chad Ochocinco]

before you get on the road.

[Host/Announcer]

For your next road trip, please put

[Liberty City Co-host]

your phones on silent and take a

[Host/Announcer]

mental note to focus on driving. Paid for by nhtsa.

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[Joe Johnson]

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[Joe Johnson]

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[Martha Stewart]

Ever wonder how to make hosting look effortless? Here's a secret when prepping for cooking and baking, get ahead of the mess with new Reynolds Kitchen's countertop prep paper. Just lightly wet the counter so the paper grips. Lay it down and drips and spills stay on the paper, not on your counter. Cleanup is as simple as lifting it away to reveal clean counters. Effortless it is, thanks to Reynolds Kitchen's countertop prep paper. Wet it, set it, prep it. Done. Available in the Reynolds Wrap aisle at Walmart, Target, Amazon, and Costco.

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