Loading summary
Podcast Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast.
Trey Kirby
Guaranteed human onplus nicotine pouches present comfort chronicles a 10 o' clock tee time. How comfortable you show up in stretchy shorts, a breathable tee and maybe no socks. Let the dogs breathe while other sweat and pleated khakis. You're in your comfort zone. Bombing drives and in your pocket. OnPlus nicotine pouches the softest pouch on the planet. Buy a can@onnicotine.com Products for tobacco consumers 21 years of age or older Warning. This product contains nicotine. Nicotine is an addictive chemical.
J. Skeets
Support from this show comes from Quince I'm way overdue for a wardrobe refresh. I'm a podcast host that is very important. I drive a Chevy Trax. I'm a man. I'm 45. Clothes shopping in person is simply not a priority for me, so I usually wear the same stuff till my wife calls me out. For these reasons, I'm pumped to say that Quint has been my new go to. I asked Nora to help me pick out a couple of items, and it turns out she already had a cart ready of things she was planning on getting me from Quince. So I picked up two of the 100% European linen shirts, one striped, one solid. The material feels light and breathable and the stitching looks really well done. They're the perfect type of pieces that feel easy and comfortable but still look put together. And the best part is, I didn't break the bank. In fact, everything I purchased was priced 50 to 80% less than what you'd find at similar brands. Why? Because Quints works directly with the ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen, so you're getting premium materials without the markup. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince.com nodunks for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com nodunks for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quint.com nodunks spring into deals with Stay Green Premium 2 cubic foot mulch 5 bags for $10 plus Stay Fresh with up to 35% off select major appliances and save an additional $100 on select laundry pairs. Our best lineup is here at Lowe's. Lowe's we help you save valid through 56 mulch offer excludes Alaska and Hawaii. See lowe's.com for more details. Visit your nearby Lowes.
Trey Kirby
Do you want to find a stress Free way to buy your next car. Start at CarMax and shop your way. If you want to browse with confidence, get pre qualified online with no impact on your credit score and shop cars within your budget. From luxury cars to family rides, CarMax has options for almost every price range, including more than 25,000 cars priced under $25,000. So, hey, want to get started? Just head to CarMax.com for details and get pre qualified today. Want to drive CarMax?
J. Skeets
Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the no Dunks podcast presented by FanDuel. It's Wednesday 6th, 2026. I'm J. Skeets here in the classic factory and alongside me, as always, Tas Melis.
Trey Kirby
Hey, basketball friends, this one's for you.
J. Skeets
Next to him, it's my top shot, hot boy Trey. Kirby Ayo. Hey, yo. And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer jd Hello. There he is. Here we are. Hello to everybody on YouTube podcast listeners. Hello as well. Five star ratings and reviews. Got some NBA news to dig into on today's pod. Talking Jaylen Brown. We're talking Messiah, jury, and a whole lot more. But we had two more game ones of the semifinals to dissect here. Let's start with the first one that was the more entertaining of the two games last night. Cade Cunningham scoring 23 points. Tobias Harris adding 20. Solid, Toby, solid. As the Pistons beat the Cavaliers 111, 101 in game one of their second round series. Where do you want to start with this one, T.K.
Tas Melis
uh, this is just a nice game one.
J. Skeets
Mm.
Tas Melis
Nice game of runs between our two Midwestern teams here. Turns out Detroit was the team that had the last run in their pocket. Cause I felt like especially in the second half, this was like 6, 0, run, 8, 2 run, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. It definitely looked like the Cavs had taken control of things in the fourth quarter. Stretching out a little bit of a lead. But great resilience by the Pistons. Cade Cunningham finding Jalen Duran for. For three straight dunks. Pretty impressive. He had Noah Eagle screaming. He's got a vendetta against that rim. Couple of drop offs from Cade, really nice play. And then that lefty that he threw from, I don't know, 30ft away finds Duran again. That was pretty cool, but to me felt like a very competitive game. Both teams played well enough to win, but Detroit deserved to win. They were crisper, they were a little bit more physical, and that put them over the top in the end.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, great finish. I thought the Cavs kind Of gave the Pistons their flow in the first quarter. They stuck in that first quarter. They were not playing with fight and scrappiness. They allowed 37 points to get going. There's a bunch of guys. I just didn't recognize that they were playoff ready. On the Cleveland side, like the first time Duncan Robinson got his first three to go, it was a wide open three because James Harden and Dean Wade just miscommunicated. Aren't you ready? I mean, that was a wide open three. It's a practice three that got him going. That's why Duncan Robinson had five threes. Jared Allen, you barely recognize him out there a lot of the time. There's a time where he got the ball. He let Tobias Harris just strip him. Just wasn't ready to hold on to it. Or when he had a pick and roll with Mitchell, Mitchell tossed it to him. Jared Allen kind of just didn't go to it. So they're miscommunicated. He kind of had his head down, went to the bench with three fouls. Was that third foul questionable? Sure it was. It was questionable, but I thought across the board. Darren Mitchell. Darren Mitchell. Mitchell caught another ball, like on the baseline, just standing out of bounds. He just wasn't in the flow. So they allowed 37 points. Then they came back. Dennis Schroeder was great off the bench. I thought just to get the flow going. Max Struse, great off the bench. They lose Sam Merrill because of injury off the bench. But that sort of leads me into game two. If they're going to start game two way better. Do they consider throwing Max Strus out there instead of Dean Wade? I think that's a good question with the energy level he played out there. Although I thought Dean Wade played pretty good against Skate Cunningham for the most part. Just using that height, top blocking, doing a good job. His truth was awesome. Schroeder was awesome. Everybody knew that that second unit coming through was important. I wonder if this. This Samuel injury is kind of a little bit of a blessing. Like this is a Keone Ellis series, I think. And maybe you just know that you can play Jalen Tyson, Keon Ellison, Dennis Schroeder and a couple sprinkle minutes for Thomas Bryant, if you need. Instead of going so deep the way Kenny Atkinson did, he played a lot of guys in this game.
J. Skeets
You just didn't like how they came out. Ready for game one, though, like you said, there was a couple other mistakes, too. Sam Merrill had his pocket picked at half stress traveled. You brought up that one where I think it was that threw it to Mitchell. He was out of bounds.
Trey Kirby
Yeah.
Tas Melis
20 turnovers for Cleveland, which is like you can't win a playoff game with 20 turnovers. For the most part, they were better in the second half. A lot of it was Detroit pressure, like they were picking their pocket at times, but a lot of it was just literally dumb bonehead turnovers. Oops. I did it again. Believing in James Harden. Seven turnovers last night. I think he will be better. You know, I just. They just seemed a little bit out of sorts. You know, both teams are coming off a tough seven game series and the Cavs have a lot of things that they could definitely clean up going forward. So if I'm a Cleveland fan, I'm telling myself we played terrible and we still almost won that game. But you gotta be a little concerned because round one of the most disappointing big men draft. This one goes to Jaylen Duran, who definitely handed it to Jared Allen. Got him in foul trouble right away. Allen basically a non factor, but I still would have rather gone with Allen in the fourth quarter over Evan Mobley, who was given up offensive rebound after offensive rebound, barely boarding on himself, hardly looking at the rim. The only shot I remember him taking was a three pointer. That was way too early in the shot clock for that guy to be shooting. So I don't know if Allen has any sort of impact on Duran in the fourth quarter, but Duran was definitely the big, best big on the court for, I mean, I guess the entirety of this game, but certainly in the fourth quarter.
J. Skeets
Yeah, 11 points, 12 boards for Duran, seven on the offensive glass, four assists, two, two blocks, game high plus 17 and 35 minutes. He contested a game high 21 shots. He was much, much better. Even if you're not seeing a 20 there in the point column of the box score, much more of an impact. I'm with you that, Mobley 3. That was when all those dunks were happening because there was two dunks, little shovel off passes from Cade to Jill and Duran, timeout. They come out of the timeout and that was what they drew up or that was the play. It was Mobley bricking a three. Jill Enduran was contesting that on the perimeter, but I did not love that. And that's when Jill and Duran sprinted down the other end, sealed him, sealed his guy. Awesome pass inside from Cade. And that was the third dunk there in a row really for Detroit to get the lead back. After it was tied. After it was tied and Jill and Duran had a big block on James Harden to start the whole thing, too.
Tas Melis
That was the start of the run, for sure.
Trey Kirby
Yeah.
J. Skeets
Otherwise that would have put Cleveland up because, you know, James Harden, man, what a weird. What a weird player. Like, he has. Like, he just looks like complete garbage at times and then takes over at times. There's a big reason why they got back into this game was the James Harden sort of run he had in the fourth quarter. But once again, having more turnovers than made baskets. Third time in eight games for Harden in these playoffs where that's occurred. He's got 43 turnovers through eight games. He's asked about it after, and he's like, look. Look at my turnovers. A lot of them are just on me. Yep, a lot of them are. A lot of them are just too careless with the ball. I mean, Cade, he had bad, like, feel on the ball for a couple possessions there where Cade just like, popped it away or he sort of fumbled it away. They have to clean up, like you said, the 20 turnovers, even though they're in the game, and then go, oh, we had a chance to win this. But, yeah, they gotta get so much better at just getting shot. Like, you'll live with shots. Get shots up, get shots up. Maybe you get the offensive reel, whatever. It's better than just giving up a fast break where they would always score. It felt like after one of those hardened turnovers.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, Cade was good defensively to get in front of Harden a couple times and use his hands, but Harden was just. Yeah, he's in odd spots a lot of the time I mentioned that Duncan 3, he just didn't seem like he had it at times. But then here he comes, and he looked really good offensively, but too many. Too many turnovers. That's a. That's a James Harden special. I will say another thing that was odd about the Cavs. Donovan Mitchell only going to the free throw line two times, and that's been slowing down recently. Started really well against the Raps, but overall in that whole series, didn't go to the free throw line a lot. And that's tends to be Donovan Mitchell's special. So he's just not getting into the lane a lot. I wouldn't say special, but he's got to get into the lane and drive more. But I don't. We'll see if the Pistons can take that from game one to game two. My worry is for the Cavs. You start down 16 after one quarter, and maybe this just rolls into game two. That's just an odd way to Start a series. I thought just again, too many guys stinking in that first quarter. They needed their bench and thankfully their bench for them came and was a bit of a spark for them.
J. Skeets
Whereas for the Pistons, so many of these guys were ready. TK from the jump all game long, brought up Jalen Duran. Cade's going to be Cade. But like Danis Jenkins, fantastic. I mean, they got like, to me, the Pistons got perfect point guard play in the first quarter. It was either Cade who was hitting his threes, getting that pick up top. He'd go, you can hit him left, he can hit him right. And then when Dennis Jenkins came in, he was like eight points right away. He had a bounce to him, was confident with his little jumper. He can obviously he's speedy and get to his spot around the free throw line, hit a couple of those. But he was good. Duncan Robinson hitting threes. Asar Thompson obviously a terror on the defensive end. So sort of everybody helping out Cade and Tobias Harris as we started this, chipping in his 20. I thought everybody played pretty good for Detroit.
Tas Melis
Yeah, they looked like the home team. They got Ron Holland hit a buzzer beater. Javante Green hit a buzzer beater. You count that out, we're talking about a five point game for Cleveland. Like I can't be too disappointed if I'm the Cavs. Both teams are playing after exhausting series. Detroit should win game one. But you look at 20 turnovers for the Cavs. Got to clean that up. We've talked about how many of them were self inflicted. 16 offensive rebounds. Way too many. They gave up way too many free throws. These are all effort areas where they can be a little bit better. I also think he should get more Dennis Schroeder on the court. Like his ball handling was really important. I thought in them making their comeback in the second quarter. And honestly I would have Donovan Mitchell on the ball way more often. He's playing off ball so much. I think that's a part of the reason why he's not getting free throws. He also complained about it. Going to get fined for it. Definitely saying I got to start flopping more. Yeah, that's pretty funny. But he needs the ball.
J. Skeets
Jalen Brown retweeted the graphic quote of that.
Tas Melis
Yes.
J. Skeets
Just so you know, we'll get to Jalen Brown later.
Tas Melis
But like that was when they would put Mitchell into screen and roll. They got pretty good looks. Sometimes they would have Mitchell set the screen for Evan Mobley. I think that works for the Cleveland Cavaliers as well. So Mitchell had two 30 point games to start off the Raptor series. He's been under since. This is a guy who is one of the top five points per game averagers in NBA postseason history. Get him the ball more. I understand that Harden is your point guard. He gets everybody involved. That's the role he plays for this team. But Mitchell is a deadly score in playoff time. So I would kind of live and die in game two with Donovan Mitchell.
J. Skeets
Yeah, maybe. He had 23 points in game one which ended Donovan Mitchell's NBA record streak of scoring 30 plus points in a game one season open a series opener.
Trey Kirby
Excuse me.
J. Skeets
I remember he had like nine straights or something like that. So they did keep him under 30 there. But yeah, besides the slick swim move that he pulled out a couple times, I don't remember a lot of Donovan Mitchell in this game. And that's credit a big part to Asar Thompson who you obviously can blanket on him. Yeah, so that's tough. He's one of the best perimeter defenders. But I'm with you on getting him more involved.
Trey Kirby
They're doing a good job at times of picking a sar. Thompson and Donovan Mitchell having some freedom, having some space. He was not taking advantage of that. It's an odd one because you have cade hit only six shots in this game and turned the ball over four times. And they still get the win because everybody kind of had the rollover from game seven when they destroyed the Magic come into game one. Those guys, the Danish, Jenkins, the Javante Greens, even Jalen Dern in the end. So I don't think the Cavs change their starting lineup and go Max Druce over Dean Wade because Dean Wade is ready to play. Kate Cunningham just use that length and he's, he's decent at it but he's. He also has to be ready to shoot. I mean he's in the corner, gets the ball and just isn't ready to fire. He's just kind of in slow mo little Kyle Anderson speed. But we shall see Donovan Mitchell, yeah, he, he should be in the ball, on the ball more. I totally agree. And listen, the playoffs are handsy defensively. Guys are getting hands all over them and they have to fight through it. And you really get a call if you do flop. And so we should probably going to see more of that. Refs are just allowing it. If you fall you get the call. I think everybody knows that. You can see it in every single game. We'll get to Shay Gillis Alexander not going to the free throw line all that much but you gotta, you gotta hit, hit the deck sometimes. And I think that's what's happening with Donovan Mitchell. But again, we'll see. I just. It's such. It's so different for the Pistons from series number one, where they stunk in game one and then here to start it this way. So we'll see if it rolls into Game 2.
J. Skeets
Cleveland at some point has to win a road game here too in the playoffs. Yeah, they're 4 and 12 in the Donovan Mitchell era on the road and two of those were last year in the sweep against the Heat where they completely outclassed them. So yeah, against stiff competition. Of course, to win the series, they literally are going to have to win one of these games in the Little Caesars Arena.
Tas Melis
And game one was winnable. It was stealable for them. They played better. I thought Cleveland was better in the second half than Detroit was, except for the closing run by the Pistons was when they looked their best and it was Cade setting everything up. But in general, I thought the Cavs did a pretty good job on Cade. You could stick with Dean Wade if you want. I would personally start Max Stru. I thought he was maybe the best Cav last night from an effort and intensity standpoint. But they got to get something out of their front court. Like this should be some sort of a strength for the Cavaliers. And Allen was a no show. Mobley barely better. So game two, not technically a must win for Cleveland, but I would kind of treat it that way.
J. Skeets
Right, right. Yeah. You kept bringing up like the game of runs and we talked about Decade and Duran there closing it. But I thought there was another good one for the Pistons early in the fourth quarter. That was the Duncan Robinson run where he came out explosive at the start of the fourth quarter. He had a tough little baseline floater that he attacked. Then he splashed an in rhythm three off of a Jalen Duran offensive rebound off a missed free throw. Brutal for Cleveland. And then on the Pistons next possession, Duncan Robinson was. He was run off the three point line by Donovan Mitchell. Not the greatest closeout though. But Duncan put it on the floor, got into the paint and hit a little and one jumper. I think he missed the free throw, but that got him up to 19 points. But that was like that gave him a cushion. Then of course the Cavs came back and tied it up and then, and then the end was the end for Detroit. But I thought he was great and I brought him up. Remember like at the end of game seven, he was just missing shots and he just like These are wide open shots for him. These three pointers that he was getting in against the Magic series. So he was huge. What do you hit? Five last night. Great. That is massive. Five guy.
Tas Melis
Ten for the Pistons.
J. Skeets
Yeah, man. Like you're laughing and they need it to obviously go far in advance and stuff like that. He needs those games where he hits. Yeah. Three to five every game because he gets looks and he's an incredible shooter. He's got to knock him down.
Trey Kirby
What do you mean? Who's a five out of ten? Duncan.
Tas Melis
Duncan Robinson. Five of their ten threes last night.
Trey Kirby
Oh, five of their ten threes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, he was hot. That was five of eight again. That he had a practice one to start and that. Yeah, that, that wasn't a, a great start for them. I, I think Jared Allen hopefully will just be on the basketball court for the, the Cleveland Cavaliers. I'm Mobley at the 5 is a question mark. I thought he gave a decent effort all across the board. A couple blocks, you know, 14, nine and five. Five assists. But Jared Allen would be helpful if he was just on the floor. I mean, he had some just bad body language if you're watching from the get go. So they don't want to play Thomas Bryant a ton.
J. Skeets
No, but then don't play Jared Allen.
Tas Melis
They just came off a seventh grade series. Seven game series. Like that's, that's the. Why the they. Why they played 11 guys. Well, they won't play as many going forward, I don't think.
J. Skeets
No, but I'm also like, you can play a guy when he has fouls too. He didn't foul out. He had two more fouls. So, you know, in a game where you could have stole. I'm with you going back to the end of the game.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, yeah.
J. Skeets
I mean, he played 18 minutes and I get it. He had three quick fouls. Sure, you take him out there, but you can get more action after that.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, yeah. Thomas Bryant was playing because Jared Allen was in trouble and only because Sam Merrill went out with injury did Keon Ellis come in. So I think there's a bunch of reasons why they played so many guys. I, I'm sure Kenny Atkinson didn't like the way Jared Allen looked to start. So he's playing Thomas Bryant out there.
J. Skeets
That is true. In his 18 minutes where he was playing. It's not like he was Dom. He was.
Trey Kirby
No, he's bad. Yeah, he was bad.
Tas Melis
He wasn't 10 in the second half.
Trey Kirby
Yeah. When they made the run. Sure. He was. Was he A part of it. Yeah. Listen, he's. He needs to be a body out there to box out Jalen Duran. When Jalen Duran grabbed that offensive rebound on a free throws because Mobley was lined up with him, unfortunately, I was. I was going back. I was wondering, Thomas Bryant was on the other side. Should we have Thomas Bryant v. Jalen Dern instead? Probably so. Yeah.
Tas Melis
That.
Trey Kirby
That start was just gross. And. Yeah, this question of the Cavs winning on the road, that's a. That's a big question.
J. Skeets
Sure.
Trey Kirby
Yep.
J. Skeets
What else? Any other random notes or any other observations from game one there in Detroit?
Tas Melis
I didn't think there was that many interesting, random things, if I'm going to be quite honest, from this game. The most interesting to me was that the two guys who wanted to fight in this game were Duncan Robinson and James Harden.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Trey Kirby
What was that all about?
J. Skeets
That was weird.
Tas Melis
That was like in Mighty Ducks 2 when Kenny Wu starts a fight and the other Bash Brothers get super excited for it. Like, we didn't know you had it in you.
J. Skeets
Yeah, I guess so.
Tas Melis
But, you know, I think, cool, if you're the Pistons, that Duncan Robinson steps up like that, but if you're the Cavs, you're like, James Harden is the guy on our team that wants to fight. Yeah, that's more concern.
Trey Kirby
Sure. I don't even know if he wanted to fight. That was the most, least consequential fight in NBA history. That wasn't a fight.
J. Skeets
Definitely don't call it a fight.
Trey Kirby
No, no.
Tas Melis
Throwing hands.
Trey Kirby
The most, least, least consequential video review to see if it should be elevated to a flagrant. Not even close. I mean, they didn't even do anything. Nothing. I mean, they kind of went chest to chest, sort of. James Harden didn't even want to. Like, you're saying he wanted to. You kind of was looking the other way. But Duncan is miked up the most out of all these Pistons. And so you can hear him. He is. He's a pretty vocal guy. Talks him trash. It's good stuff for the Pistons. They need that.
Tas Melis
Does he still have a podcast? Duncan Robinson was an early podcaster, but I'm not seeing a lot of his clips out there.
J. Skeets
I mean, he. This is the man to ask.
Trey Kirby
I did go through it a couple months ago. I think. I think. I think he slowed down. I think he has slowed. Slowed down. You know what slowed down? Dennis Schroeder's headband. I was surprised.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Trey Kirby
No, no headband. I went back to last year thinking, okay, maybe Kieran Detroit, where he played last year, and he was a spark in their playoff series. Maybe he didn't wear it. He did wear it, so I don't know. I was just switch from round one to round two.
Tas Melis
I guess he got a haircut too, right? I think his hair was a little bit shorter, which maybe that's why.
Trey Kirby
Maybe. Maybe the headband was Dennis Schroeder, though, sliding down without the hair.
J. Skeets
Oh, he did get a tech. So I take the lead in the instigator draft. Dennis Schroeder still on my team, of course, and that's his second Tech of the playoffs. I also have one from Jalen Brown, who's now been bounced. Oh, man, I wish there was money or points for getting fined on Twitch. I'd be laughing right now. But. Yeah, you and I were tied because you had a couple points with Beast Stew in from the first round series.
Trey Kirby
So I'm done. I mean. Yeah. What do you mean?
J. Skeets
You got Beef Stew on your team.
Trey Kirby
He could do something. He needs to get suspended or something. I don't know.
J. Skeets
I mean, you're down one right now.
Trey Kirby
Well, I made a big. My lost in the third round when I picked Donovan Clingan over Mitchell Robinson. I debated it here I was too busy watching you paint. I just want. I just. I was like clinging. Well, I should have gone with Mitchie.
J. Skeets
That's fair. That's fair. And Trey, you have. You definitely have one point.
Trey Kirby
Yeah.
Tas Melis
Dort.
J. Skeets
Dort.
Tas Melis
That's right.
J. Skeets
Okay, so you obviously thought it's going to play in a lot of games.
Tas Melis
Yeah, Comma. Amen is out.
J. Skeets
Yeah, man. Thompson there last night taking in Asar Thompson. Had the chase down block on Keane Dallas. Did you like the human eraser call on the broadcast? Not bad.
Tas Melis
Could be a good nickname for him. It's not bad. Yeah, sure.
Trey Kirby
Not bad.
J. Skeets
Yeah, I like this moment. I think you got the clip here, JD Kenny Atkinson during intros. Because these broadcasts now. Show us the intros. Well, here's Kenny Atkinson. Trust me. That's Kenny Atkinson. Yeah, he's there. Trust me. Just, you know, all the light show they got going on there in Detroit for the visiting team here are getting the crowd hyped for their team. But this is Kenny Atkinson at the club, just sitting there, just waiting to go home. Yeah, I'll probably do an Irish goodbye real soon here. Made me laugh. I'm with you. I was stretching to find some ra, but I want to get your opinion on this. I saw our guy, Dave DeFore tweet last night. I Don't understand the broadcast. Discussing the free throw disparity in a game without explaining it. The Pistons have been the aggressor, and that is often the reward. And again, Dave brought this up because there was, you know, at the end of the game as well, but early on, Pistons a lot more free throw attempts than the Cavaliers. But if you're watching the game, then you're sort of seeing why I thought. Do you think the broadcast should do a better job of explaining why instead of just sort of just like they throw it out there? Like, it's like, oh, the Cavs are getting a brutal call here tonight.
Trey Kirby
I heard that. Is that all they said was that Pistons had more?
J. Skeets
Yeah. I mean, this isn't just that broadcast crew. You hear this a lot. You know, they bring it up, but you're like, okay, well, what's the context a little bit here?
Trey Kirby
Yeah, they should say, yeah, Detroit was the more aggressive team. That's what Kenny Atkinson said post game. He said, yeah, they were the aggressor. I think he rated it out of 10. He said, energy level, Detroit, 9.5, US 7.3 or something like that. It was like a seven. And he's right. It was accurate. It was either 9.57. It's like, well, how lower you go. I couldn't. Couldn't wait. And I think it was a really weird one, but that was accurate. Detroit had the energy.
J. Skeets
Okay.
Trey Kirby
They had.
J. Skeets
If you got the energy, it's probably going to result in more free throws.
Tas Melis
Just going to give them to you.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Tas Melis
Go out and get them, you know. Yeah, but I mean, same points in the paint. Like, if I'm the Cavs, I'm complaining about it, too. If I'm Donovan Mitchell, I think I should be getting some calls for sure. 44 points in the paint both ways.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, Jimmy, James Harden went to the free throw line nine times. That's a good amount for him. That's what. That's what he should be expecting.
J. Skeets
Anything else?
Trey Kirby
Nothing.
J. Skeets
You feel confident? You guys still in your Cavaliers pick, though? I know. It's just one game.
Trey Kirby
Feel fine.
J. Skeets
Okay. Okay.
Tas Melis
Oh, yeah.
J. Skeets
All right.
Tas Melis
James Harden is going to come through. Just watch. Just you watch skates. Just you watch.
Trey Kirby
Vuori makes soft, and I'm talking extremely soft clothing. I should know. I bought some before this ad came our way. I was wearing my Vuoris and my wife said, what are those? I haven't seen them. I told her, my silky soft Vori shorts, of course. Course they look super comfortable, and they are, but I can Go out in these anywhere. They're designed to look great beyond the gym. Whether you're running errands, heading to the office or meeting up with friends, it works for everything. She felt them and she said, oh, they're like the PJs we buy for our kids. So Vori got my partner's approval just like that. I also told her that vori is a Finnish word meaning mountain. So I felt this. Beautiful, big as a mountain. She didn't really like that, but you'll like this. For our listeners, vuori is offering 20% off your first purchase. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet@viori.com no dunks. That's V U O-R-I.com no dunks. The offer is for new customers only. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions. Amazon Pharmacy Presents Painful Thoughts of course
Tas Melis
I see my co worker in line at the pharmacy.
Trey Kirby
Can you tell I'm picking up prescription hemorrhoid cream?
Tas Melis
I'm probably standing weird.
J. Skeets
Why is he smiling?
Tas Melis
He knows he's gonna call me Hemorrhoid Lloyd tomorrow.
J. Skeets
I know it.
Trey Kirby
I gotta quit my job. Next time, avoid awkward conversations and get fast free delivery. With Amazon Pharmacy healthcare just got less painful.
Podcast Announcer
If you've been sitting on a business idea for a while, consider this your sign to do something with it. You can even make it official today by creating a website with Wix Harmony. Just tell Wix Harmony what you want and it'll create the whole website for you, business features included. But don't worry, you can still change anything by hand. It's your website, your call. Try it@wix.com Harmony that's wix.com Harmony
J. Skeets
support from this show comes from Quince. I'm way overdue for a wardrobe refresh. I'm a podcast host. That is very important. I drive a Chevy Trax. I'm a man. I'm 45. Clothes shopping in person is simply not a priority for me, so I usually wear the same stuff till my wife calls me out. For these reasons, I'm pumped to say that Quints has been my new go to. I asked Nora to help me pick out a couple of items and it turns out she already had a cart ready of things she was planning on getting me from Quints. So I picked up two of the 100% European linen shirts. One stripe, one solid. The material feels light and breathable and the stitching looks really well done. They're the perfect type of pieces that feel easy and comfortable but still look put together. And the best part is I didn't break the bank. In fact, everything I purchased was priced 50 to 80% less than what you'd find at similar brands. Why? Because Quince works directly with the ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen. So you're getting premium materials without the markup. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince.com nodunks for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Quince.com nodunks for Free Shipping and 365 day returns. Quints.com nodunks all right, let's go to the other game from last night. Chet Holmgren, 24 points, 12 boards Thunder routed the Lakers 108.90 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal series. The defending champs, they are perfect here in the playoffs. 5 and oh, let me start with this task. This feels like a bit of a sobering defeat here for the Lakers and here's why. They got off to a good start. They brought the energy from the jump that you were looking for, maybe in Cleveland. LeBron shot was falling 27 points, 12 of 17 shooting. Very, very solid. The Lakers did a great job limiting the reigning MVP and Shay Gilders Alexander, you know, they were forcing him to second guess things. He turned the ball over seven times and you know, you add all this up and they still get waxed in this game in the end. Yeah, it was close. It was like a four point game I think in the third quarter. But obviously the Thunder went on their run. That's got to be a little disheartening is my point here. You know, things went okay for you if you're a Lakers fan, but you still lose by what, 18? What did I say? Yeah, 18 points. And so they covered.
Tas Melis
But Jake LaRavia did hit a three as the last shot of the game cut it from 21 to 18. That's a 14.
J. Skeets
Nice. Tough. But what do you, what do you think here?
Trey Kirby
Well, the couple things that went wrong for the Lakers. Austin Reeves didn't have a good night. He shot poorly. That stunk. They were extremely physical with him and it kind of threw him off a little bit. They did a really good job on him. They also allowed a lot of second chance points and a lot of offensive rebounds. So the second chance points can't be won by the Thunder. 21 11. That's too many. And I thought Chet was awesome. We, we know that. I thought he took his sweet Time. You know, he missed his first shot. I think he missed the second shot. And he took a sweet time getting a pass from A.J. mitchell underneath the hoop that wasn't an incredible pass. Went under his CR. Crotch. He took his time, he slowed it down, and he scored. And that was the beginning of a great night for Chet.
J. Skeets
His first of six dunks, I believe that one.
Trey Kirby
Six dunkers.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Trey Kirby
That's a good amount. So the Lakers have to be perfect, blocking out Chad and Isaiah Hartenstein, who is really, really good as well. And Austin Reese has to be better because Shay. Not a terrific night for his seven
Tas Melis
turnovers game of the season.
Trey Kirby
And they still somehow get by. Seven turnovers, only three free throws. And he was trying to sell it, too, but he. He wasn't flopping all that hard, but he thought he was getting his first two turnovers. He thought he was getting the call when he went up. He thought Austin Rivers was going to bang his arm. Did not happen. And then he did a whoop, whoop, whoop. Like, fell down almost. He didn't. He should have sold it and fell down on another one. He just threw back. So, yeah, all in all, bad, bad. Give up boards and Austin Reeves, maybe he'll have a good night.
J. Skeets
3 of 16 from the floor, four turnovers. His one shot that wasn't right at the rim was like a jumper around the free throw line, and that was it. But this is also a trip. Like, the guy's coming back from injury, so there's that part. Okay. Like, he's played in a handful of games here, coming back from the grade 2 oblique strain. But he also has for a long time now not been able to play well against the Thunder because of the guards that they can chuck at this guy, and they make it very difficult. I thought AJ Mitchell was awesome defensively when he was matched on Reeves. I mean, he did. He did his thing on the other end as well, but he was great. So this is. Yeah, this is tough here, TK There's a big reason why everybody was saying sweep like you, or maybe at most 5. Not a lot of other things I saw where it was Thunder in six or seven or the Lakers winning because they're just. I just don't think they can without Luka.
Tas Melis
Yeah, they're going to have to get lucky to win one game because they had a perfect game plan for Shea. He came out, he said, I'm a little bit rusty. Post game. They were doubling him all the time. He was throwing passes to where guys weren't expect. Expecting to be. I think Chet kind of said, yeah, he's the one who eats all the turnovers. But there were times when we weren't in the right spots either. But The Lakers got 90 points they can't score. They have been under 100 in their last four games. And they're playing against an even better defensive team in the Thunder than the Rockets were. So heading into the series, JJ said, I got to be careful with my timeouts. I call timeouts too fast to stop runs. And he called three timeouts in the second quarter and had none left for the entirety of the second half of the game. And it didn't even really matter. So, I don't know, you just look at the rosters and you see the team that the Thunder put out in garbage time, and you're like, oh, Isaiah Joe would be the seventh man for the Lakers, and he's running around here with two seconds left on the clock.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, they needed that Isaiah Joe help off the bench. One thing that has hurt Luke Canard going to the bench is that he was flowing in that op in the starting lineup in the first series, and he hasn't been good since having to go to the bench when Reeves came back. There's that. You know, you can hope for a better backcourt performance from the Lakers with Austin Reaves and Marcus Smart, who had a bad night shooting the ball. If a couple more of those threes go down for him, he shot 4 or 15 overall, but you got a great LeBron game. Looks spectacular from the tip.
Tas Melis
He was great.
Trey Kirby
Damn. It was. It was pretty stuff from that guy.
J. Skeets
And again, like, this was a four point game in the third quarter. I think Reeves had a good look at a three and you know, that cuts it to one and he hit whatever. But then that's where the Thunder rattled off like seven straight points. It was a Lou Dort 3. It's case and Wallace with a steal and a layup. It's AJ Mitchell having a four point play there in the corner at the end to push it back to 12 as they entered the fourth quarter to give them more breathing room. But, I mean, it was. They were there, they were close. But you never ever in watching it felt like, oh, God, they're. They figured something out here. Yeah, they're doing a good job on sga, but what about all the other guys? Because Chad Holmgren was a beast. And then they were like taking advantages of mismatches all night with him early on, and he did. He was always in the right spot, all the dunks like we said. And then in addition, all the great defense from him, three blocks, a steal. They scored the Lakers 40 points in the paint. You know, that's probably not going to cut it either. So this is a tough team, a very, very good team.
Tas Melis
Yeah. Jared McCain played five minutes per game in a blowout sweep in the first round. So this round, you know, Jalen Williams is hurt. They say, okay, well we can play this, this series. Four threes. Yeah, he would start for the Lakers like, I mean, Luke Kennard, awesome couple of games. He's not going to have a good game in this series too. One dimensional for this series. Probably the layer of competition is just. It's crazy. Like this is, you know, the Lakers had the closest sweep in NBA history against the Nuggets a couple of years ago. I don't think that's going to be this.
Trey Kirby
No, no, it's very different. The Rockets and Thunder are very different scoring wise, period.
Tas Melis
Yeah.
J. Skeets
The Thunder reserves outscored the Lakers bench 34 to 15. You brought up Jared McCain, hit all of his three pointers, checking his nails when he's hitting those threes. Isaiah Joe scored nine. Alex Crusoe did his, you know, normal wrecking ball stuff on both. First injury. That's right, he got popped in the nose. That's right. That was the first injury when we had another one. We'll get to in a second though. And Casen Wallace also contributed. I mean, he. Five points, four boards, three steals, two dimes. You know, it just fills the box score and it's all this pressure defense. These guys can just keep coming in waves here. That's the thing. You survive. You survive the team for a quarter, 16 minutes and then you're like, ah, you're trying to catch your breath. If you're the Lakers, then here comes another wave of guys like they can play full tilt all the time because they have so many guys that they can go to and that's missing one of their old NBA guys who would obviously probably have a bit of an impact on slowing, like a LeBron James or something like that. I'm talking about J Dub, the other Jell Williams. So yeah, they, they have an unbelievable squad here and it's going to be very difficult. The other injury, though was Lakers forward Jared Vanderbilt injuring his pinky finger off the backboard. I can't ever recall seeing this, but we have the clip of the OKC bench seeing his pinky after he smashed it off the glass. Look at them all turning in disgust looking. Oh, no. And yeah, that's That's a bone sticking out of that little pinky. There is what's happening here?
Trey Kirby
Yeah.
Tas Melis
And you can see in the slow mo. His pinky hitting the glass and it looks gross. He's gonna have a Lionel Hollands on his hands here.
J. Skeets
Oh, my God. Gross. And just like, again, weird, the amount of force to like, he smacked that. Smack the backboard with your finger to have it. The bone pop out of it. Apparently they were looking for the other part of his finger at first, like the skin part, because they didn't know it was like hanging under and it's still attached. I know. Sorry, this is a little graphic here. But like, there was a couple people looking for it. Hey, has everybody seen his skin? Yeah, seriously. But then they're like, oh, it's still. It's just hanging on by a thread, I guess. And yeah, it was. Right. I've shared this story before, but I was at a volleyball tournament once and we were. We were just coming in. It was a bunch of teams playing and all these games are going on, and our team was coming into the gym, like in the hallway, and suddenly there was like, from one of the gyms, like just this crazy, crazy reaction. And we're like, oh, my God, what just happened in this game? And like three beats later, a kid came running out of the gym in the hallway right by us with holding, like his arm. And his bone was sticking out through his, like, wrist. I guess he had fallen on it. We didn't see it. But when he came and it was wheel. Oh, my God. We reacted like the thunder did. When you see a bone outside of the body, go, I am not a surgeon, man.
Tas Melis
So it's like I always say, keep your bones in your body.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Tas Melis
The place for them.
J. Skeets
Yeah, that's right. That's right. Anyway, that's what it reminded me of. So I, you know, it's. It's his offhand, it's his pinky. I. I don't. I guess you could play through it. I think tape it up. But God, he was.
Tas Melis
Kobe would play through. It's not gonna mess with his shot.
J. Skeets
No, it isn't.
Tas Melis
It's a non shooting hand. He can't shoot anyways. So I would risk it. Without my fingers. I'd risk it.
J. Skeets
Yeah. I don't think it's gonna matter whether Jared Vanderbilt plays really. At all.
Trey Kirby
But anyway, this is the, the smallest body part. I think that we're where we've seen such a reaction. Right. This is a pinky. Literally a pinky.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Trey Kirby
And so we didn't see any bones. I mean, the best angle of any camera, as I was trying to go through it, I was wondering, how gross am I getting? What. What are these guys looking at? I gotta see. And I tried to get into it was a finger off the side of the backboard. And it's a wiggler, you know, it's one of that. It looks terrible.
J. Skeets
I've seen the Getty image where there's bone.
Trey Kirby
Oh, yeah. Oh, really Getty, huh? Yeah, I think they put it up on.
J. Skeets
Unless somebody did that, and it was a quick Photoshop work. Unless I just got duped, it would look like they were reacting to a bone. His pinky bone coming out of his finger. I believe that's what they were reacting to. They weren't reacting to a bent finger, a Lionel Holland's finger. They weren't doing that. They were like, oh, my God.
Trey Kirby
Yeah.
J. Skeets
They were disgusted.
Trey Kirby
Yeah.
J. Skeets
And he was in a lot of
Trey Kirby
play would make sense.
J. Skeets
And they were covering it. They were doing all the things that I'm pretty sure that bone was sticking up.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, that's.
Tas Melis
Oh, yeah.
Trey Kirby
Oh, a Getty.
J. Skeets
This one.
Tas Melis
This one just looks like a very close crop of a photo to me.
Trey Kirby
Oh, okay.
Tas Melis
That's bone, baby.
J. Skeets
It's a little bone sticking out. It's gross.
Tas Melis
It's okay. Tuck it. Tuck it in. Tape it up.
Trey Kirby
Surprise. With a thousand cameras, I thought maybe one would get something. Just a quick shot that everybody on the bench, including the assistant coaches back there, like, not looking at that.
J. Skeets
No one wanted to see that. Anything else from Thunder over Lakers game one.
Tas Melis
Isaiah Hartenstein hit one of his floaters in the second half. And I love the celebration from everybody. Just like a little angle. Angel wings. And I thought Jalen Williams kind of sold it the most in his pink jacket.
J. Skeets
Oh, yeah, yeah. He was.
Tas Melis
He was really floating.
J. Skeets
And of course, everybody doing, like I said, the Jared McCain celebration when he hits the three and he throws out. Yep, exactly. Although I've wanted him to add, like him. I don't see why you didn't do that.
Trey Kirby
But it's a short jacket from Jalen Williams.
Tas Melis
Very cropped.
Trey Kirby
Yeah. Waist, not barely at the waist.
Tas Melis
Mike Tirico was loving it.
Trey Kirby
Was.
Tas Melis
He said he was on his Met Gala ish. Mike Tirico said that on the broadcast. Met Gala ish.
J. Skeets
Going a little too far with that jacket.
Tas Melis
You can't wear jeans to the Met Gala break, Mike.
J. Skeets
Give me a break. Did you not see Jimmy Butler? Did you not see Dwayne Wade? Did you not see Steph Curry at the Met Gala. I think those are the only NBA guys. There's a bunch of WNBA stars as well.
Tas Melis
Yeah, Ben Stiller was there at one point. Shay, Gilder, Alexander. I think this is pretty late in the fourth quarter. Like the dead ball. He recovers the ball with his foot and does like the soccer dribbling, bouncing up and down on his two feet. And there's a woman in the first row who's like, could not believe that he had the skills to pull this off.
J. Skeets
Look at him do that. And he's a basketball player.
Tas Melis
That was cool.
J. Skeets
These guys got skills. Must be excited for the World Cup. She must be right around the corner.
Tas Melis
All right, and my last Note, a minute 45 left in the game. OKC is up by 17 and the arena is playing I don't care. I love it. And you can see 65 four year old chip England standing behind the bench for the Thunder, bobbing his head.
J. Skeets
Oh, wow.
Tas Melis
Yeah, that's how much they were stressed in this game. Chip England's dancing to I Don't Care. I love it.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, I think they always play that. I think it's part of the.
Tas Melis
When they win. Yeah, run it.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, they're a titanium David Guetta going into the fourth quarter every single game. But yeah, they got the, they got the same, same oldies, you know.
J. Skeets
Well, that's a perfect way to wrap up the conversation with this game. Like that idea. Because that's how I felt. It's like they didn't seem to be taking the Lakers all that seriously, you know, even when it was close early and Shea having a bad game, there was no sweat from this team at all. Because I, I truly believe they're like, yeah, they can't score enough to beat us. Don't worry. And they're gonna have to take their guys off and give them a rest. Don't worry. We have an entire second unit that could. Maybe half of them could start for this team right now with them all banged. Yeah, they were not. They were not concerned. I'll say that about the lakers in Game 1. They're a good team.
Tas Melis
Yeah, they're quite good.
J. Skeets
Let's take a break and then we got a bunch of NBA news. Let's get away from the playoffs for a second. This podcast 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 won't want to miss for from profit boosts. To bonus bets and all. Bunch more. And the best part, it's every single day. So whether you're betting the early game or you're gearing up for the night cap, the last night early starts with those games.
Tas Melis
Quite early.
J. Skeets
Very, very early. Make sure you open the FanDuel app and see what's waiting for you today, because once happy hour hits, it won't last forever. Check for a new reward every single day of the NBA playoffs. And don't miss your shot to get a little extra out of the action. That's fanduel, an official partner of the NBA. Official partner of no dunks. All right. We have talked so much about the playoffs and obviously the games and doing the series previews and all that. There's other things happening here in the NBA world and we're going to tackle them here today. First one NBA fined Celtics forward Jaylen Brown $50,000 on Tuesday after he accused officials of having an agenda against him in Boston's first round loss to the 76ers. The league announced it had fined him for public criticism of the officiating. Two days after Brown, in an appearance on his Twitch stream, wearing what I believe were Oakleys, took issue with the officials, Jaylen Brown was wearing the sunglasses and every other person on that stream in the background were wearing these. Again, I think Oakley's definitely orange mirrored phrase.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, they're sponsored, man.
J. Skeets
They must have. Yeah, yeah, I guess so. Anyway, 50k, second time he's been fined this season. You got $35,000 fine for, you know, same sort of idea, calling out the officials. Any reaction to this from Brown?
Tas Melis
This is a sad state of affairs. NBA players can't go on Twitch and complain about referees anymore. What does our world come to?
J. Skeets
Back in my day, we could do this.
Tas Melis
This one. This is just funny, man. The guy went on Twitch and complained about referees and got fined $50,000. So he should retitle that stream. World's most expensive Twitch stream. And then he should do a follow up. I got fined $50,000 for streaming. Do a face like.
J. Skeets
Right, right, right.
Tas Melis
Views will go crazy, man.
Trey Kirby
Nice.
J. Skeets
Yeah, just keep it going.
Tas Melis
Yeah, exactly.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Trey Kirby
He has been keeping it going this entire season in that he shows up to Twitch every single time. He has been very consistent. He mentioned that he patted himself on the back just like we pat ourselves on the back. Hey, we show up every day and we do our podcast. He does that. He calls himself the only regular twitcher. You know, he pointed out Kyrie used to do it. I don't Know if he still does it. As I was catching up on some clips here, I cut up on some clips. I don't watch the whole thing. And that he made that clear, that if you listen to the whole thing, but nobody does. I did give praise to the Philadelphia 76ers for playing awesome and their coaching staff for playing awesome.
J. Skeets
Yeah, but that's not what the fine is for. It's not about him be flopping. It's about him calling out the officials. Well, he was literally looking at clips going, hey, I got a call for.
Trey Kirby
Oh, I know.
Tas Melis
Hey, Paul, George can do this.
Trey Kirby
No, no, he was. He was giving what. What he said. He was gave praise to the entire coaching staff of the Philadelphia 76ers. Now, I saw, as I was trying to go through the clips, I saw TMAC and Vince Carter, they do their podcast also sponsored by fanduel. I saw him basically saying, I've been hearing that he's just not happy with the coaching staff in Boston. I. I shouldn't say. I shouldn't say that. He said the coaching staff. He just said, like the entire organization. Yeah, the whole. The whole thing in the jig. And that maybe he just ain't happy with that. So there's, you know, that plant to seed. But yeah, when we went through the potential worse things that he said, it was, yeah, the refs, it was the, hey, this was my favorite year when I won a NBA Finals mvp. So he said, you know, a lot of stuff. And then he also shut down the chat for subscribers only because he didn't like what people were saying in the chat. So a lot of stuff happening. A lot of stuff happening on Twitch.
Tas Melis
Celtics fans definitely feel like this was kind of the soft launch of a trade request.
J. Skeets
Yep.
Tas Melis
From Jaylen Brown.
J. Skeets
I mean, I definitely. When McGrady starts saying that McGrady has been sort of his, I don't know, mouthpiece is the right word, but sort of linked with Jalen Brown over the last little bit here. So if he is saying that there might be some truth to that, this idea that there's some butting of heads between Jalen Brown and the organization and this is new ownership and all that coming in. You know, Jaylen Brown for Giannis, there's something there.
Tas Melis
Sounds great for the Celtics.
J. Skeets
It does indeed. Doesn't it? Not bad. Not a bad return for a great player for Milwaukee Bucks. Yeah.
Tas Melis
I was laughing a lot at Bill Simmons saying that obviously the only logical trade is that the Celtics trade away Jalen Brown and get Giannis back. Why would The Hawks possibly be involved in a three team trade where they don't get Giannis.
J. Skeets
Hey, man, he's got to try and get Giannis to his team.
Tas Melis
Yeah, exactly.
J. Skeets
But this whole like the $50,000 fine for the. Again, calling out the officials, this is a vicious cycle that Brown is doing here. Right. Because, yes, he was called for a lot of offensive fouls in the first round. I think he was called for 10 total, which is like more than double anyone else, like your cats and a couple other guys. But he says on Twitch, here he goes. I don't know if it's because I pissed the rest off. I've been critical about them and I called them out a bunch of times. So they were like, you know what? I got you in the playoffs. Watch this. Because that's exactly what they did. So he is. He's actually saying, because I called them out before, now they're coming in with this, you know, vendetta against me.
Trey Kirby
Yeah. He called it an agenda, basically.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Trey Kirby
To go get him.
J. Skeets
But then doing this is just more of that. And then if still your fear theory is right, then aren't you just going to be screwed even more? It's like, yeah, what are you doing, man, with that, with the whole calling the fouls on the offensive foul? I just sort of are calling out the officials, I guess.
Trey Kirby
Yes, I can.
J. Skeets
Right?
Trey Kirby
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It could definitely be a point of conversation with the referees and that they see these clips in general because they ain't watching all the clips, but they hear. I'm sure they hear about this. All the referees in general. I don't know about these three in particular because he's keep. He went at these three and called them all out. Yeah, all three of them. Yeah, yeah.
J. Skeets
He also, after the fine, jumped on, I guess, X, Twitter, Jalen Brown here, quote, clickbait is like flopping for the media. Exaggerating contact. Y' all be safe out here.
Tas Melis
Yeah, so, okay, I, I had a really hard time understanding what he was talking about here.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Tas Melis
Is the. Should there be a period after media? Like, that's. That's two separate parts of a sentence, right? I. I believe clipping is like clickbait is like flopping for the media, period. And thought because it's exaggerating contact another period, perhaps, y' all be safe out here. That part I get.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Tas Melis
The media into exaggerating kind of threw me for a loop here.
Trey Kirby
And this is why he said he started his Twitch, man. I saw a lot of his stream and basically he said, why he started this whole thing was because he's tired of media's media in general just clickbaiting and just going for whatever gets you more dollar slash, clicks slash. And I understand that, I get that. But there's some good media out there too. Jaylen Brown. I'm not trying to pat us on the back, but I mean, there are people who do look for journalism as well. Congrats to Pablo Torre and his award. People do good. People do good work out there. That's all. But I understand where he's coming from. There's clickbaiters out there.
Tas Melis
That's all.
Trey Kirby
That's all. Just to tie in.
J. Skeets
Hold on, hold on. So he is saying in order to. He just hates the media, negate the media who are going to twist what I say and obviously parse out parts and make these tweets and make these posts and all that. In order to combat that, I am going to do a full blown twitch stream where I'm going to say everything I want to say and. And then they will then be forced to quote every single word I say on the twitch stream and not parse out those parts, which is exactly what everybody is doing, where we just find the juicy parts or people find the juicy parts. You're actually, again, making it worse. I think he's just making all these things worse in mind. The officials, this idea of that they're spinning the narrative you're giving them more fuel here to do. They're not going to stop. So the only way, I guess to stop it is just not twitch stream at all.
Tas Melis
It's simply an impossibility, I guess. So there's no way he could do that. He's got one of the biggest chips on his shoulder in the entire league. Whose job is it at the league office to watch this whole stream? Monty McTwitchen.
J. Skeets
All right, we'll see what else comes of the Jalen Brown. Whether it's going to be, yes, more smoke to this fire or this idea of like him wanting to be traded or not, you know, that, that, that's us implying that or people, the media saying that right now. He didn't say that on you. I mean, you watch the twitch stream. He didn't say trade me from the Celtics, did he?
Trey Kirby
I highly doubt it. Okay, again, I didn't watch every minute. I got to be completely honest.
Tas Melis
But if he did, he'd get fined for a public trade request.
Trey Kirby
Yeah.
J. Skeets
All right, next piece of news here. According to our guy, Michael Grange, the Toronto Raptors made a serious push to acquire Jaren Jackson Jr. From the Grizzlies be before the trade deadline but were unable to complete a deal due to the burden of Jakob Poeltl's remaining contract. There was a lot in this article from Michael Grange at Sportsnet. You know it was sort of like a deep dive after the season here for the Raptors and what's next and where do they go with this expensive roster where a lot of guys were injured or coming up short in the case of Jakob Hurdle and where they go from here. But that was slipped in here Tas this idea of that they did try and get get Jaren Jackson Jr. But couldn't get it done. And big part of it's not a lot of demand for Yaka Pertle's contract and he was hurt at the time and all that.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, the Raptors got to get rid of money if they were to get Jaren Jackson Jr. And Pearl's contract is the heaviest of the burden amongst all those contracts. There's four years left on Yaka Purdle.
J. Skeets
Four million.
Trey Kirby
Yeah. Then you know we all debated going into this season does the combination of Purdl and especially Ingram, Barnes and Barrett on the perimeter make sense to go along with Quickly in the backcourt? Quickly's got three years left and Ingram's got two. Barrett just the one now. So there's that's yeah, they couldn't outbid the Utah Jazz essentially is what it came down to. The the Jazz were able to get Kyle Anderson, Walter Clayton Jr. Taylor Hendricks, Georgian Yang and three first round picks. That's the couldn't outbid part of it. The Raptors do have all their picks in the majority of them so they could have but you know those three first round picks weren't just the Memphis Grizzlies picks. There was a Lakers pick, there was a Phoenix Suns pick. So yeah they had to give rid of get rid of money and they couldn't do it. So I understand them. Colin, let's try and make this happen. That would make sense. That's why this Demonta Sabonis possibility is a possibility. They want to get a big who could help out. But the Pearl contract that was signed, you know after Messiah Ujiri who was fired by Bobby Webster is is the worst of them all. Let's be completely honest when looking at that entire landscape of the next four years. Wow.
J. Skeets
Yeah. You're gonna have to 100% add draft compensation to even have a chance of getting off of Pearl's contract right here. The biggest concern to me is On Monday, Pearl said, yeah, my back issue you, it's all good. It wasn't a problem after the All Star break. It's like, oh, at least we had that excuse when you were not maybe playing up to your standard. But now you're saying you're healthy. It's like, oh, okay, go back to saying your back hurts maybe. But yeah, these are big decisions here for the Raps here who had a good, good run, good season, maybe exceeded some expectations for some people and then obviously put up a fight in the first round. But the quickly obviously have Barrett to consider here. Ingram, obviously he has a big deal and then purdelt your thoughts.
Tas Melis
Well, I think that's the question that's basically set up by Michael Grange here because obviously the Raptors didn't get Jaren Jackson Jr. This is a cool story, bro. Like it would have cost them four first round picks minimum. Because if it cost three first round picks to actually get him from Memphis, you got to pay up at least a pick to get off portal. Four first round picks is not worth it for Jaren Jackson Jr. So maybe a bullet dodge there but. But they're going to have to pay to get off the quickly contract. At this point I don't think there's a huge market probably for Brandon Ingram. Ergo, would you trade RJ Barrett? He's got one year remaining on his deal. But he just had an awesome season. He's a Toronto guy. He had an awesome shot in game six. He showed up in the playoffs.
J. Skeets
He's just hitting his prime. Right. He's not old.
Tas Melis
But if you want to remake the team in any sort of way. He's the obvious trade candidate.
Trey Kirby
Yeah. The most tradable of all those contracts. I, I do wonder what the market is for quickly and three years left. I think they want to keep them around. They want to keep the hometown boy and RJ Barrett around. They need a big. That's the, that's the problem.
Tas Melis
They also got to clear some space if they want to sign Mamu back again.
Trey Kirby
Yeah.
Tas Melis
And then so, so would you trade R.J. barrett? Like.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, that's, that's a fair question.
Tas Melis
Or do you want to run it back that those seem like the two main options?
J. Skeets
Kind of. Yeah. You run it back and either build up trade value in these guys. We're saying you're trying to trade be it quickly, Ingram or Portal even maybe suddenly, you know, bounces back, whatever. I think that's more likely. I don't think they're trading RJ Barrett after what he did bring in the postseason here and. And his age. Like, I think I saw Raptors Republic, I thought they put it well for a long time, half a decade, the Raptors have just been wandering in the desert here and they've just been watching all their champions leave, like one by one or two at a time, right? Kawhi, Danny, Green, Surge, Marcus, All, Kyle Lowry, Norman Powell, all gone. Then Van Vliet, then OG and Siakam. So they're all gone. And now it looks like they finally have an idea of, like, what they want to be and who they are going forward. And that is under Darko and led by Scotty Barnes. This sort of defensive identity that they have here and these young guys and Colin Murray, Boyles, Jacoby Walter, Jamal Shedd. And I'm not saying Shedd is like a starting point guard. I'm not saying that. But, like, there's something there. And RJ even thought held up defensively for his shortcomings. So all those guys are under the age of 25. There is a direction, it feels like, but they are just like, unfortunately handcuffed with all these huge contracts. Like, if we just removed one of these big contracts on one of these three guys, we're saying you're feeling a lot better. But I feel like they have to. They do have to probably just take a bath on one of them in trying to get off it.
Tas Melis
So you would include picks on trading,
J. Skeets
I think, like, I mean, Purdl. Yes, I would. I would, but I think I'm more likely hoping he bounces back and it's like, oh, write it off wash of a season and then he plays a little bit better to then convince somebody to take it off. But, man, four years. Holy crap.
Trey Kirby
Yeah.
Tas Melis
The worrisome part is getting more expensive.
J. Skeets
It goes down at the end, doesn't it?
Tas Melis
Yeah, it does dip at the end. Yeah, it does dip at the end.
J. Skeets
Yeah, it's good.
Trey Kirby
It's getting more.
Tas Melis
20, 30 trade deadline. He out of here.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Trey Kirby
Yeah. The worst in part with Yaka Purdel is the back idea. The guy's back is not going to get better. I understand these. He said it that it got better, but in the playoffs it was unplayable at times. He had some good minutes, there's no doubt. But at the same time, he's getting paid a lot.
J. Skeets
Good minutes. He's not even exaggerating. I think he had like six good minutes.
Trey Kirby
Minutes. Yeah. Well, they're super happy that Colin Murray Boyles can come in and be a backup center and be awesome at it. But he is undersized. He's not a starting center for a long period of time. So there's that if you're hopeful and going to next year and I think they're just hopeful that Emmanuel Quickley can come back and play. He played 70 games this season. So going forward into the playoffs, if they, if they think if hey, we got the same team and Quick is playing a guy who can stretch the floor. I say they need a big but they also just need somebody who can hit some shots. That's what they're going to go for. That's what they're going to do this season.
J. Skeets
Let me throw out a trade proposal from our guy Ben Gulliver. He texted me this Brandon Ingram, Grady Dick, TJD and draft assets for Kevin Durant. Here's his thinking. Katie will respect Toronto's young guys unlike Houston. He'll embrace the six, gives the Raps a shot at the east finals. They're already expensive so it's not a huge deal. Ingram, younger and cheaper. Removes the Katy Poison from the Rockets, fills a positional need. Again, that's Ben Gulliver.
Trey Kirby
Hold on. Ingram Dick picks.
J. Skeets
Yeah, basically. It's basically Ingram, Dick and draft assets. I don't, I can't imagine it would be a lot at Katie's age but for basically swap Ingram and Katie and it's going to take. Cost you Grady Dick and whatever draft capital.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, I mean the draft capital part is important but I don't think it's
J. Skeets
four first round picks.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, well, you know I considered the Ingram as the primary part of an Ingram and for Sabonis. So this is definitely. Yes, it's doable. I would do it. Sure. I think Dick is going to be moving on from the Toronto Raptors very soon.
J. Skeets
Yes. That was also in Grange's article here that they're going to likely free up some more money by trading him Grady Dick into maybe another team's cap space
Trey Kirby
7 mil and then they can resize Mamu as you mentioned, who's got a player option. Mamu Kalashvili ain't taking that player option. His agent ain't saying 2.8 much better. I'm better than that. So yeah, I think Grady Dick will probably be the only one to go. I. I don't know if I'm the Raptors front office of course a Durant or Sabonis. I know it's yes, you got to do it right.
J. Skeets
Well, I dropped Ben Gulliver with three of these thinking emojis. Let Me think them. Let me think, let me think.
Tas Melis
What did you come up with?
J. Skeets
I mean, I would do that. Yeah. Hell yeah. Ingram. If it's like very low draft capital. Yeah, let's go, baby. Why not? Yeah.
Tas Melis
I wonder how much it would cost. Probably only one pick. That's what I think.
Trey Kirby
It's one pick.
J. Skeets
That's personally what I think because guy is old. Come on. And who knows what he's going to tweet about your team. Yeah, I think that's the concern.
Tas Melis
Yeah. The biggest question question mark with Ben's proposal is that Kevin Durant would take the Raptors young guys seriously and like, like them more.
Trey Kirby
Right? Yeah.
J. Skeets
Fair.
Trey Kirby
Twitter burner accounts operate different in Canada, though. They can make him block his ass from having any somehow. I don't know how, but yeah, I would do it. Yeah. Yeah. The acapertle. Yeah. Yeah. He just signed that extension. Literally just signed that extension.
J. Skeets
30 years old and they traded a
Tas Melis
first round pick for him. That's. That's a crazy move. And that's why Masai's got a new team.
J. Skeets
Oh, let's speak about Masai.
Trey Kirby
Hey, Masai didn't sign that extension.
Tas Melis
Did he do the trade?
Trey Kirby
Yeah, sure, he did the trade, but he didn't sign that monster, monster deal. Viori makes soft, and I'm talking extremely soft clothing. I should know. I bought some before this ad came our way. I was wearing my vioris and my wife said, what are those? I haven't seen them. I told her, my, my silky, soft Vuori shorts. Of course they look super comfortable and they are, but I can go out in these anywhere. They're designed to look great beyond the gym. Whether you're running errands, heading to the office or meeting up with friends, it works for everything. She felt them and she said, oh, they're like the PJs we buy for our kids. So Viori got my partner's approval just like that. I also told her that viori is a Finnish word meaning message mountain. So I felt as big as a mountain. She didn't really like that, but you'll like this. For our listeners, vuori is offering 20% off your first purchase. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet@vuori.com nodunks that's V U-O-R-I.com no dunks. The offer is for new customers only. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions. Amazon Health AI presents Painful THOUGHTS I. I can't stop scratching my downtown. Yeah, but I'm not itching to go downtown and tell a receptionist I'm here to talk about my downtown. Some things you'd rather type than say out loud. There's no question too embarrassing for Amazon Health. AI chat your symptoms and get virtual care 24. 7 Healthcare just got less painful.
Podcast Announcer
If you've been sitting on a business idea for a while, consider this your sign to do something with it. You can even make it official today by creating a website with Wix Harmony. Just tell Wix Harmony what you want and it'll create the whole website for you, business features included. But don't worry, you can still change anything by hand. It's your website, your call. Try it@wix.com Harmony that's wix.com Harmony
J. Skeets
support from this show comes from Quince I'm way overdue for a wardrobe refresh. I'm a podcast host that is very important. I drive a Chevy Trax. I'm a man. I'm 45. Clothes shopping in person is simply not a priority for me, so I usually wear the same stuff till my wife calls me out. For these reasons, I'm pumped to say that Quints has been my new go to. I asked Nora to help me pick out a couple of items and it turns out she already had a cart ready of things she was planning on getting me from Quints. So I picked up two of the 100% Europe European linen shirts, one striped, one solid. The material feels light and breathable and the stitching looks really well done. They're the perfect type of pieces that feel easy and comfortable but still look put together. And the best part is I didn't break the bank. In fact, everything I purchased was priced 50 to 80% less than what you'd find at similar brands. Why? Because Quince works directly with the ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen. So you're getting premium materials without the markup. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to Quince.com nodunks for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Quince.com nodunks for Free Shipping and 365 day returns. Quint.com nodunks the Dallas Mavericks have hired Messiah Jerry as their president and alternate governor. Messiah Jerry spent 12 years as the Raptors lead basketball executive before agreeing to come to Dallas. Very successful tenure with Toronto, eight playoff appearances and of course the Raptors title in 2019. He did speak to the media yesterday. TK he was asked about The Luka trade. I thought his response was both honest and hilarious is what Masai said. Quote, luca is a future hall of Famer. That's the past. In Africa, we say, when kings go, kings come. And a king went, we have a little prince here that we're gonna turn into a king. We have to start thinking that way here. We can't cry forever. He went on to say, end quote, Messiah Jerry. Which, I mean, the guy's damn good at a press conference, I'll give him that.
Tas Melis
Totally. He's like, suck it up, Mavs fans. That's old. I'm here now. We got the little prince. Definitely call it Cooper flag. I know the Little Prince, but yeah, I mean, cool. That means the Mavs are ponying up for a big name in the front office. Masai did a great job helping build a competitive Nuggets team. Obviously built a Raptors championship team. And he's got his work cut out for him on the Dallas Mavericks because they've got some weird stuff coming up. They did keep their 2026 first rounder by having a poor season this year. Trading Anthony Davis at the deadline. No Kyrie Irving. They also have OKC's 2026 first round pick pick that's number 30, but at least it's something because they do not have control of their 27, 28, 29 and 30 first rounders. But they do have the Lakers 29 and the Warriors 30, which could both be decent depending on how things go for those aging squads out West. So, yeah, I mean, a guy that won a championship, that's awesome. Who else would you want to have a guy you've never heard of? Not if you're the Mavericks, I guess.
J. Skeets
I mean, one thing he can do is build a strong culture. And obviously he has communication skills. And, you know, I think players and people respect Messiah Giri. There's like this level of commitment. So, yeah, this, this makes sense as a hiring. And I'm sure they paid a lot of money to get him there. I mean, he's got a lot of other things going on. He's one of the principal owners of the Toronto Tempo, the WNBA team that's going to start on Friday. So, yeah. Your thoughts on Messiah Jerry now in control of the Mavericks?
Trey Kirby
The guy wants to win championships. That's what he's all about. I loved him building up Cooper flag. Not only the Prince statement, but he also, when talking about how he was approached by Patrick Dumont, he basically said he was ready for this line. He basically said, look, there's there's another five to ten years of Shea out there. There's another five to ten years of Luca out there, five to ten years of Anthony Edwards. He shortened it for Nikola Jokic, like, you know, like three to five of him. Whatever he said, he shortened it. But we got Cooper Flex Flag, and so he's already building that up, which is fantastic for them. But he only takes that job because there is Cooper Flag there, because there is a potential for a championship. Of course, the money is a part of it, but he wants to win. He's all about winning. That's all he does. He said to Ramona Shelburne a couple months ago that he wants to win somewhere else because the way the Toronto Raptors championship happened, where he confronted that police officer in Golden State's arena before jumping up there on the podium, you know, has left him with. With the salty taste and in his mouth. So there's. There's that. I mean, he needs to celebrate another way, and I think he's going to have the. The power and authority to do that in Dallas, because listening to Mark Cuban, I always wanted to hear Mark Cuban and how he regretted the way he sold the team to Patrick Dumont. So having listened to all those interviews, he talked about Patrick Dumont, and he says, listen, that guy sort of knows that the basketball part is above his head. He's trying to learn. And listening to that, I think it's clear Patrick Dumont, number one, wanted a big name to come, but also somebody that he could assign to just do the stuff and not be involved, not be a Mark Cuban. And so I think Messiah's going to have the authority and the freedom to just let it run. And hearing Tim McMahon, who's very in touch with that, he said the same thing. So Messiah's got a great job here and lots of. Lots of dollars to play with, and he'll obviously use those to help out, as you mentioned, Africa and the philanthropy he does. So Messiah likes this job, I think.
J. Skeets
I think by all reports, they were looking for a big name. I think Bob Myers trying to get him sort of out of retirement to maybe run the Mavericks. And then when he said he wasn't going to do that, I think there was talk about Tim Connolly, but it's looking more and more likely he's going to stay with Minnesota. So. So I guess, you know, as they went down, they're like, well, what about. What about Messiah, Jerry? Let's get him on the horn and talk to him. So he takes this role. I. I'm interested to see how much Messiah, like, does strip this team down and maybe trade away older guys or more vets? Because you talk about this idea of building around Cooper, though Kyrie should return, but, like, what about Klay Thompson and P.J. washington and Gafford and Najee Marshall? Will he try and recoup some assets in potentially moving some of those guys? Because they don't control a lot of their draft capital in the near future, 27 to 30, like Trey said. So we'll see. Hey, maybe they'll win the number one pick this weekend. 6.7% chance.
Tas Melis
They got a chance.
J. Skeets
They got a chance. 29% chance moving in the top four. The Mavericks have. Maybe Messiah will be the good luck charm. All right, final piece of news here. The Chicago Bulls have hired Atlanta Hawks senior Vice president Bryson Graham as their new executive VP of basketball operations. Before moving to Atlanta last year, Graham spent 50. 15, not 50. Graham spent 15 seasons with the Pelicans. And there he worked his way from an intern all the way up to gm. He had five roles in between. So young guy. I think he's only 39 years old. TK your thoughts on Bryson Graham?
Tas Melis
Balls are back. Just like that?
J. Skeets
Just like that.
Tas Melis
You hire an unknown gm, I gotta support it, but who knows? Yeah, right. Like this guy. You're like. You're saying his career path is pretty crazy. He started as an intern and worked his way up to being the lead decision maker for an NBA team. You know, they say he's a good scout. He's outside of the Bulls family. These are two things I like. These are two things I liked about Arturis Carnitivas as well. That didn't go so well.
J. Skeets
No, but, you know.
Tas Melis
Cool. They got a new guy, man. He's got a lot of work to do. First order of business, win the draft lottery on Sunday. What kind of luck you got, Bryson? Second, hire a coach. Bulls do not have a coach right now. Sam Amick reporting that Tom Thibodeau interested in a return to Chicago.
J. Skeets
Hello. Wow. Wow. He's one of the top two Bulls
Tas Melis
coaches of all time. I don't know if that'll be the guy. I think they should go with the younger guy. And the roster is a very, very blank slate.
J. Skeets
Oh, man. Who do you have? You have Boozelis and Giddy and Leonard Miller, of course.
Tas Melis
Yep. And Noah Essenge is now apparently seven feet tall. French Giannis confirmed.
J. Skeets
Wow.
Tas Melis
They also got two first rounders. They got $60 million in cap space. Sounds like this is a team that might have Grady Dick on the roster next year.
J. Skeets
Hey, you want to offload a dick,
Tas Melis
send him to Chicago. I don't know. Until he messes up. I like it.
J. Skeets
Anything to add?
Trey Kirby
No, not much. He has draft history, as you said. There's two picks in this first round, you know, one sort of a teen pick. I think that second one's like 15. So he did really well in New Orleans for those deeper picks. Yeah, like Dyson Daniels, I was gonna say.
J. Skeets
His drafting track record is Trey Murphy III, drafted 17th. Herbert Jones, drafted 35th. Dyson Daniels, that's more of a top 10 pick. I think he went eighth, and then Nikhil Alexander Walker went 17th, so that is good. Those are two mips right there, back to back. And obviously some talented guys ahead of them as well.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, yeah. That 15 pick, you'll get more of a Dyson Daniels, I think, in this draft, in that it's. That's very top heavy, you know, somebody who's not a polished player. Anyway, If Auntie Saleh here in Atlanta plucked Bryson Graham to bring him here, that's a good sign.
J. Skeets
Okay.
Trey Kirby
Auntie Sally knows what he's doing. I like that.
Tas Melis
It's too bad that the Bulls didn't hire him last summer, because Graham is apparently the guy who realized how good the Pelicans pick could be, that they were offering it unprotected. And allegedly they offered it to the Bulls as well. And they're like, I don't know how that would work. He knew how it worked.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, it worked pretty good at this point.
Tas Melis
We'll see. I mean, when the Bulls get the number one pick, it won't look quite as good for the Hawks, but still. Wow.
J. Skeets
Wow. Well, he comes to rig it.
Tas Melis
It's honestly time to rig it for Chicago. They've rigged it for so many other teams.
J. Skeets
You already had it rigged for you once.
Tas Melis
Exactly. But that was 18 years ago. Yeah, they rigged it. They had a chance. He blew out his knee. Now it's time to rig it again.
J. Skeets
That's the wheel in Trey Kirby's Vine. Every 18 years, you got to rig for the Bulls. Fair enough. We'll see. We'll see. I can't believe that's this weekend. Snuck up on me.
Tas Melis
Yeah. On a Sunday. Is that normally?
J. Skeets
I think it is.
Tas Melis
Is it? Oh, wait, I thought it was a Tuesday.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, maybe used to be a Tuesday.
J. Skeets
I feel like we've had it Sunday, though, too. Yeah.
Trey Kirby
Was it last year when they changed it?
J. Skeets
Maybe.
Trey Kirby
I do think. I do think they changed.
J. Skeets
Are we doing any sort of predictions I know. Last year we did pickle ball.
Tas Melis
Oh, that was awesome.
J. Skeets
Yeah, that was good. Pickleball shot in the toilet. Yeah, we were wrong. I think we had the. I think the jazz ball was hit. If I remember correctly, they did not win the number one pick. So I don't know if anyway has a suggestion for how we should try and predict the draft lottery by basically tomorrow or Friday. Let us know. Otherwise, I don't know. We'll just guess.
Trey Kirby
Just live stream. There's live stream reactions. Internet just wants reactions. Just put on the cameras just a.
J. Skeets
There. You just did it.
Tas Melis
You're right.
J. Skeets
Just clip that. Clip that and post it immediately after the number one pick is announced. You go and doing that you get clicks.
Trey Kirby
Jalen Brown. That's all you got to do. Just go on your twitch and just yell.
Tas Melis
Just react.
Trey Kirby
Yeah, simply react.
J. Skeets
Oh my God. That team just won the number one pick. Oh my God. Rigged there. That's mine.
Trey Kirby
Good one. Good one.
J. Skeets
Okay, you do yours now. No way. First then there done. Everybody takes Sunday off. So he just a future post that by the time they announce it.
Tas Melis
Let's just record one for every team in the.
J. Skeets
Oh yeah, that's lottery. We could roll it out.
Tas Melis
We'll send all the other ones overseas to somebody. The Indiana Pacers.
J. Skeets
Let's go. That's a great idea. Funny video.
Trey Kirby
Or let's do two games that don't even have picks. Why wouldn't we just save it for next year?
J. Skeets
Yeah, why wouldn't we just record us? I think the Indiana Pacers are going to win this draft lottery. They are due to win. Like we should do it for every team and then we can do the. Oh my God, we called it right.
Trey Kirby
Just scrap the 29. That don't work.
J. Skeets
Lots of ideas here of the night sponsored today by Andrew Rankins. Andrew wrote in Shout out to everyone with Marfan. As someone with Marfan, if you're not familiar, a quick Google search can give you an idea of why I've always gravitated towards basketball. Unfortunately, my NBA dreams did not make it far. But a diagnosis doesn't have to be the end of anything. If you or someone you know is at the beginning of your Marfan journey, the Marfan foundation can help. A full life is still possible and having the right people by your side can make all the difference. Andrew adds, if you're enjoying the spring thaw and looking for fun things to do outside, the foundation is hosting walks for victory all over the country in the coming weeks and months. So check out the Marfan foundation on all your favorite social media sites for information on upcoming walks, ways to donate and ways to get involved. Good sponsorship there from Andrew. Thank you, Andrew. Chet Holmgren gets woah boy team high 24 points in game one's victory. 9 of 17 from the field. Hit both of his threes, only took two, splashed them both. Hit all of his free throws. 12 boards, one assist, one steal three. Three blocks in 31 minutes for Chet. That is his name. Apparently his name is not Chester.
Tas Melis
I need Andrew Schlecht to ask, are you a Chester?
J. Skeets
Okay, Andrew Schlecht, find out because we have for some reason been talking about this here in the office a lot. Is his name just Chet and not Chester like many other Chets?
Tas Melis
Every other NBA. Chet is a Chester.
J. Skeets
Chester.
Tas Melis
So is crazy Chet a Chester as well? Is he a crazy Chester? Let us know. But I like this photo you chose of him.
J. Skeets
Thank you.
Tas Melis
He's got a very like, playful look on his face and I thought. But Chet was like surprisingly giddy last night. He was smiling a lot. He was laughing with Shake. Y' all just Alexander. Like you're saying, Skeets, not a lot of sweat for the Thunder with regards to the Lakers. And it really showed on Chet's face.
J. Skeets
I started round two this year better than last year. They lost game one to the Nuggets. Okay. Of course, different teams here in the Nuggets and Lakers. But yeah, got. Got the streak still going 50 here in the postseason so far. All right, two more games on tonight. Sixers, Knicks, 7pm Start. Timberwolf, Spurs, 9:30pm Start. Look at that. They can do it. Not much overlap there. Tests. By the time that second game starts, that first one should be over. Yep. Any predictions here tonight, guys? Do you see the Knicks and or Wolves extending their lead to 20 in the series or any of these series being tied up. Up. Which one more likely? I guess you're. I assume you're gonna go San Antonio,
Trey Kirby
but I assume so.
J. Skeets
Yeah.
Trey Kirby
I assume San Antonio will play better. Assume Wemby will play better. I assume Darren Fox will play better. Okay, so there's that. We shall. We shall see how Chris Finch plays it all. I assume. I assume it will also be out. I assume that going into the fourth quarter Chris Finch will play it. Potentially the same with Rudy sitting primarily in the fourth quarter to try and get Wemby having to move all over defensively. It's a great question. This is a very important basketball game. But at the same time, Anthony Edwards, who had 11 in the fourth quarter was really great in the fourth quarter. Could have a better game.
J. Skeets
Quiet game. Quiet game. Limited minutes, of course. Yeah, maybe that gets ramped up here a bit. We'll see. That's going to be tough. I mean, it feels, you know, you don't want to go down too. Oh, with both games at home.
Tas Melis
You do not.
J. Skeets
No doubt against a very good Wolves team. And our thoughts on the
Tas Melis
I think the Knicks still win, but we have a real game today between these two teams. Better effort from Philadelphia I have to expect.
J. Skeets
You don't think the Knicks extend their streak of crushing teams by 25 plus continues.
Tas Melis
This one's under 25.
J. Skeets
I'm with you. All right, well, those are on tonight. We will be back tomorrow to break them down. New anonymous player poll dropped on the Athletic. Might talk about that tomorrow. Calling out underrated and. And overrated players and good coaches and bad coaches. I think there's some spicy things in there to sink our teeth into. And if you have an idea of how you want us to try and predict the NBA draft lottery, which is this weekend, let us know. If it's not too, too intense, we can maybe pull it off here.
Tas Melis
J.D.
J. Skeets
i know you don't want to hear that.
Tas Melis
Moving pieces. The Kings.
J. Skeets
No way. Yeah. Or we just do what we said. Yeah. Or we just hit Tankathon. We just do one little.
Tas Melis
I'll give you a spin real quick right here.
J. Skeets
Okay, Here it is.
Tas Melis
Just a quick spin.
J. Skeets
The Kings. No way. Wow. Okay. Congrats to the Kings.
Tas Melis
Way to go.
J. Skeets
Deuce and Mo Kings winning the dry off lottery. We'll see you guys tomorrow. Till then, Clipper Bros. You heard it here first. Have a great time. Turn up. Love you guys.
Tas Melis
Awesome.
Trey Kirby
Thanks for joining us. And remember, see you next time.
J. Skeets
Brace the day, people. Support from this show comes from Quince. I'm way overdue for a wardrobe refresh. I'm a podcast host. That is very important. I drive a Chevy Trax. I'm a man. I'm 45. Clothes shopping in person is simply not a priority for me, so I usually wear the same stuff till my wife calls me out. For these reasons, I'm pumped to say that Quince has been my new go to. I asked Nora to help me pick out a couple of items and it turns out she already had a cart ready of things she was planning on getting me from Quints. So I picked up two of the 100% European linen shirts. One striped, one solid. The material feels light and breathable and the stitching looks really well done. They're the perfect type of pieces that feel easy and comfortable but still look put together. And the best part is, I didn't break the bank. In fact, everything I purchased was priced 50 to 80% less than what you'd find at similar brands. Why? Because Quint's works directly with the ethical factories and cuts out the middlemen. So you're getting premium materials without the markup. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quint.com nodunks for free shipping on your order and in 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com no dunks for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quints.com nodunks I'm U.S. transportation Secretary Sean Duffy. We all seem to be in a
Tas Melis
rush these days, from work to driving our kids around.
J. Skeets
But when you're behind the wheel, please do not speed.
Tas Melis
A few minutes saved by going faster
J. Skeets
is never worth the risk. So follow the speed limit, enjoy the drive, maybe bring some snacks for the kids, and know that along the way you're getting quality time with your family, paid for by nhtsa.
Podcast Announcer
When you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters. But when it's for a hospital system, they matter even more. Grainger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Grainger offers millions of products in fast, dependable delivery so you can keep your facility stocked, safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
Trey Kirby
Fiore makes soft and I'm talking extremely soft clothing. I should know. I bought some before this ad came our way. I was wearing my Vioris and my wife said, what are those? I haven't seen them. I told her, my silky soft Vuori shorts. Of course they look super comfortable and they are. But I can go out in these anywhere. They're designed to look great beyond the gym. Whether you're running errands, heading to the office or meeting up with friends, it works for everything. She felt them and she said, said, oh, they're like the PJs we buy for our kids. So Viori got my partner's approval just like that. I also told her that Viori is a Finnish word meaning mountain, so I felt as big as a mountain. She didn't really like that, but you'll like this. For our listeners, Viori is offering 20% off your first purchase. Get yourself some of the most comfortable and versatile clothing on the planet. Planet@vuori.com nodunks that's V-U-O-R-I.com no dunks. The offer is for new customers only. Exclusions apply. Visit the website for full terms and conditions.
Podcast Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
Episode Title: Pistons Outmuscle Cavs, The Thunder Feel Inevitable & In Masai Mavs Trust
Hosts: J. Skeets, Tas Melis, Trey Kirby, JD
Production: iHeartPodcasts
This No Dunks episode dives into a pair of NBA Conference Semifinal Game 1s—Detroit Pistons vs. Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Lakers—offering detailed recaps, analysis, and banter. The crew also discusses off-court NBA news, including Jaylen Brown’s league fine, Raptors trade rumors, and Masai Ujiri’s move to the Dallas Mavericks. The conversation is rich with insights, playful moments, and memorable quotes, staying true to the podcast’s breezy, enthusiastic basketball-nerd energy.
[03:14 – 25:26]
[27:50 – 43:32]
[44:06 – 64:32]
[44:06 – 52:45]
[52:53 – 62:34]
[65:03 – 71:48]
[71:48 – 75:43]
| Segment | Timestamp | Key Topics | |--------------------------------------|------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------| | Pistons vs. Cavs | 03:14 – 25:26 | Game analysis, key stats, player performance, rotation choices | | Thunder vs. Lakers | 27:50 – 43:32 | OKC’s dominance, Lakers’ struggles, injuries, bench play | | Jaylen Brown fined | 44:06 – 52:45 | Twitch criticism, trade hints, media discussion | | Raptors trade rumors | 52:53 – 62:34 | Failed JJJ trade, roster management, wild Durant scenario | | Masai Ujiri to Dallas | 65:03 – 71:48 | New Mavs vision, Cooper Flagg hype, draft capital challenges | | Bulls hire Bryson Graham | 71:48 – 75:43 | Front office revamp, draft history, Bulls’ future |
A lively, full-plate episode: recaps of the NBA’s second round openers, in-depth pivot to front office shakeups and trade scuttlebutt, and plenty of playful, organic interplay. For listeners, it’s a comprehensive, insightful, and entertaining traverse through what’s happening on and off the hardwood.