The Drop | Pacers Crush OKC To Force Game 7, Baby

Summary

No Dunks Podcast Summary: "The Drop | Pacers Crush OKC To Force Game 7, Baby"

Release Date: June 20, 2025

Hosts: Jay Skeets, Tess Melis, Trey Kirby, and JD

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Introduction

In this episode of No Dunks, hosted by The Athletic's original basketball podcasters Jay Skeets, Tess Melis, Trey Kirby, and JD, the team delves into an exhilarating analysis of the Indiana Pacers' decisive victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, which has set the stage for a thrilling Game 7 in the NBA Finals.

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Game 6 Recap

Pacers' Dominant Performance

The Pacers delivered a near-perfect performance in Game 6, defeating the Thunder with a commanding score of 108-91. This victory forces a decisive Game 7, their first in the NBA Finals since 2016.

Jay Skeets [02:58]: "Obi Toppin scored 20. Nemhard scored 17. Four other Pacers scored in double digits to help Indiana force the game seven by rolling past the Thunder 108 to 91."

Defensive Strategies and Turnovers

Indiana's defensive prowess was a cornerstone of their victory. The Pacers controlled the pace, dominated the turnover battle, and showcased exceptional defensive teamwork, especially against Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA), who ended the game with eight turnovers.

Tess Melis [04:56]: "Miles Turner grabbed that board, who I thought probably had his best, the best one make game of NBA Finals history."

Key Players' Contributions

• Tyrese Halliburton: Despite being injured, Halliburton played a crucial defensive role, altering SGA's shots and contributing 14 points with 5 assists. His determination was inspirational for the team.

  Tess Melis [05:00]: "That was when Pascal gets the block where Shea said, hey, come on, that's goaltending."

• Miles Turner: Turner excelled on both ends, securing offensive rebounds that set up crucial baskets and defending SGA effectively.

  Jay Skeets [04:58]: "He played great defensively."

• TJ McConnell: McConnell had an outstanding game with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals, demonstrating his vital role off the bench.

  Tess Melis [13:27]: "McConnell was amazing again. Yeah, it's wild. I mean, he's getting TJ chants first off, this guy should run for mayor of Indianapolis when it's all said and done."

Crucial Plays and Momentum Shifts

Several pivotal moments shifted the game's momentum in favor of the Pacers:

• Halliburton's defensive hustle steal leading to a 13-point run.
• Siakam's fast break dunk and spinning fadeaway jumper that energized the Pacers.

Jay Skeets [06:09]: "This was the Pacers' season on the line and they played a damn near perfect game."

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Anticipation for Game 7

Predictions and X-Factors

As both teams prepare for the decisive Game 7 on Sunday night at 8:00 PM Eastern on ABC, the hosts discuss potential game changers:

• T.J. McConnell: His ability to control the game with his ball-handling, assists, and defensive plays makes him a critical factor.

  Jay Skeets [46:58]: "TJ McConnell has to come off the bench and hit a few threes and basically take on the role of TJ McConnell in OKC."

• Alex Caruso: Expected to provide energy and crucial plays from the bench, possibly starting if needed.

  Tess Melis [46:58]: "I think Alex Caruso is key... he has been very, very, very good."

• Pascal Siakam and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA): Both leaders are poised to make significant impacts, with Siakam's all-around play and SGA's scoring ability.

  Jay Skeets [50:35]: "He's going to have to have a big game for the Pacers tonight."

Balanced Scoring and Team Depth

The Pacers' balanced attack, with eight players scoring over 200 points in the postseason, showcases their depth and versatility, potentially giving them an edge in the high-pressure environment of Game 7.

Jay Skeets [19:38]: "They've eclipsed that now with eight. Because of all these guys that we've talked about, you know, with TJ and Toppin and stuff."

Strategic Considerations

Rick Carlisle's coaching decisions, such as managing player rotations and defensive schemes, will be pivotal. Additionally, the handling of turnovers and three-point shooting could determine the game's outcome.

Jay Skeets [12:24]: "OKC's worst offensive game of the season. That's how locked in the Pacers were and making them uncomfortable."

Final Thoughts

Both teams bring unique strengths and pressures into Game 7. The Pacers' relentless defense and balanced scoring contrast with OKC's high-powered offense and home-court advantage. The episode builds excitement around the potential for an unforgettable finale.

Jay Skeets [45:44]: "We want an entertaining game. Thanks for joining us. Until Monday, Clipper Bros. You heard it here first."

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Additional Highlights

While the episode primarily focuses on the NBA Finals, the hosts engage in light-hearted segments, such as rapid-fire questions and discussions about favorite fast-food chains, adding a relatable and entertaining layer to the analysis.

Tess Melis [58:32]: "They should be on NBA TV talking about the game and building it up into a younger fan base."

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Conclusion

This episode of No Dunks offers a comprehensive and insightful analysis of the Indiana Pacers' strategy and performance in Game 6, setting the stage for a highly anticipated Game 7. With detailed breakdowns of key players, strategic decisions, and team dynamics, listeners are well-prepared for the upcoming climax of the NBA Finals.

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Notable Quotes:

• "Tyrese Halperton could have let Shea score on that basket pretty easily, but he recovers from the corner to alter the shot extremely well." — Tess Melis [05:00]

• "McConnell was amazing again. Yeah, it's wild. I mean, he's getting TJ chants first off." — Tess Melis [13:27]

• "Game seven’s going to be watched... it's our 20th game seven in NBA finals history." — Jay Skeets [33:01]

• "TJ McConnell has been amazing here over these last couple of games. It just completely changed the games, even in ones where they didn't win." — Jay Skeets [49:22]

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Stay tuned to No Dunks for a live show at Summer League in Las Vegas on July 11th and join the hosts as they continue to break down the NBA Finals excitement!

Transcript

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[Jay Skeets]

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[Tess Melis]

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[Tess Melis]

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[Jay Skeets]

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[Tess Melis]

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[Jay Skeets]

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[Tess Melis]

No pressure, just help. But for now, just relax.

[Trey Kirby]

Race the rudders. Race the sails. Race the sails.

[Tess Melis]

Captain, an unidentified ship is approaching. Over.

[JD]

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[Jay Skeets]

Mm, a scone.

[Tess Melis]

Don't mind if I do.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, so fucking dry. It's delicious. Good morning, sweet world, and welcome to the no Dunks podcast on the Athletic Network. It's Friday, June 20, 2025. This is the Drop. I'm Jay Skeets here in the classic factory and alongside me as always, Tess Melis.

[Tess Melis]

Basketball lovers, this one's for you.

[Jay Skeets]

Next to him, it's the bearded one, A top shot hot boy, Trey Kirby.

[Tess Melis]

Hey, yo.

[Jay Skeets]

And over yonder, making the magic happen, super producer jd.

[JD]

Hello.

[Jay Skeets]

There he is. Here we are. Hello to everybody on YouTube. Love to see you hit the like button. Subscribe Share the show Podcast listeners, five star ratings and reviews. It is the drop. We'll have some rapid fire fun at the end, but we start by handing it over to Zaza.

[Unknown Speaker]

We going to game seven, baby. Game seven. Game seven.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, that's right. Zaza. My goodness. Obi Toppin scored 20. Nemhard scored 17. Four other pacers scored in double digits to help Indiana force the game seven by rolling past the Thunder 108 to 91. We're going to have our first game seven in the NBA finals since 2000 2016. That'll be on Sunday night, 8:00pm Eastern.

[Unknown Speaker]

Start all right, don't show up at 8:37.

[Jay Skeets]

That's all I'm saying. I really want to point that out for everyone. They get a little started a little bit earlier there on Sunday night, but, man, this, this series deserves. It feels like a Game seven. So we've got that and we'll preview that and predict that a little bit later on. But we got to like dive in here to game six, which was just an incredible all around performance from the Pacers.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, they saved their best game for game six. And it's just so many good storylines within it because Tyrese Halliburton, he's banged up. Are they going to be able to do it? They don't start well. They're down 10 2. But I thought Tyrese Halberton on the defensive end was a key to getting this thing going because I was worried about him on the defensive end. But when it was 10 7, there was a play where Shay was going to get to the rim. He got by. Basically everybody got by Pascal and he was going. The only people still in the way, where Shea was in the corner with Lou Dort and Shai kind of just let. Excuse me. Tyrese Halliburton could have let Shea score on that basket pretty easily, but he recovers from the corner to alter the shot extremely well. Sold. That's when Pascal gets the block where Shea said, hey, come on, that's goaltending. Either way, they turn it around. But Tyrese Halpern was alive. Everybody doing these defensive things. And on the offensive end, Tyres Harper did not have an incredibly good game. I mean, he did score 14 points, but I thought offensive plays like Miles Turner being able to get an offensive rebound to set him up for his first make was monstrous. Tyres missed his first four shots of this game. But Miles Turner grabbing that board, who I thought probably had his best, the best one make game of NBA Finals history. The guy had three points.

[Unknown Speaker]

He had a great one make game. Actually.

[Jay Skeets]

He played great defensively.

[Tess Melis]

He shut down, chat shit, traveled, got blocked by him. Travel just gave the ball away because Miles Turner was all over him. So shout out to Miles Turner, who also, I think even though he only had four rebounds, kind of shut down OKC and what they did offensive rebounding wise from game five to game six, they had 19 in game five and only four in game six. But I thought the defensive end was really where it happened. As you mentioned, Obi Toppin led this team in scoring off the bench. It doesn't. It didn't matter. But I thought While OKC was trying to get it back in game in the second quarter where they were trying to play their pace a little bit, they were trying to slow it down. Cause the Pacers were speeding it up. And finally they were. And it was a 10 point game and Shea just went to the free throw line. Things were looking good. And after the initial play where Pascal kind of shut down Isaiah Hartenstein, what a great freaking play that was. Another Halliburton hustle steal. And then the Pacers get on a break to make it a 13 point game. So Halliburton was key defensively, I thought even though he only had 14 points, everybody clicking on the defensive end was extremely important. And the way they shut down Shay, very important.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, I mean, I'm sure we'll get into all that, but this was the Pacer season on the line and they played a damn near perfect game, right?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Like they could. They controlled the pace. They dominated the turnover battle. They won the three point contest like they did. Check, check, check, check, check.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, the first half Pacers were awesome because OKC comes out, they throw the first punch right, getting up 10, 2 early. Awesome by the Pacers to respond. But then OKC kind of stops turning the ball over, actually getting into some offense, scoring a little bit. You got J Dub and Shea kind of taking turns scoring baskets in the second quarter. And then next thing you know, TJ McConnell checks in and things go insane for the Pacers. But I'm super impressed with Halliburton. Like 14 points, 5 assists, 1 turnover. The numbers are a little low cause he didn't have to play the fourth quarter, but I thought he played a splendid game. He gives the inspirado that the Pacers needed. Seeing him out there ready to go. I saw Dr. Brian Suterer said there's probably even some blood in his toradol stream because whatever they did to get this guy ready to play completely worked. I don't know what H waves are, but I want H waves all over me. Because he came out. He was a little bit of a decoy in the first quarter. Let Nemhard bring the ball up. Nem hard scored eight straight to really get the Pacers back in the game. That was huge, I thought, in the first quarter. But then Halliburton had a sense for the moment in the second quarter as the Pacers are starting to break things open. He checks back in, eventually ended up scoring or assisting on nine of the Alaska 11 points for the Pacers in the second quarter. He hit that lefty floater. Skeets, I know you were loving it. Seeing a guard run down the court saying, look it, I made a shot with my left hand.

[Jay Skeets]

That's impressive though, on the floater.

[Unknown Speaker]

That was nice.

[Jay Skeets]

That was really impressive.

[Unknown Speaker]

That was nice.

[Jay Skeets]

It's one thing when you do a layup. He hit a floater man in traffic.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. But I just thought, you know, for all the question marks about him coming back and even playing in this game, it looked like he had no effects from the calf strain coming in this one. And I think the Pacers seeing their leader out there saying, I'm not going to just sit this one out. He said, if I don't look like myself, pull me. And he looked like himself the entire night. So that's certainly inspirational for everybody else on Indiana. And then they just all played their best game. Like, I'm making my notes this morning. I was like, oh, yeah. Haliburton played great. Nemart played great. Seal him play great.

[Tess Melis]

How many guys he had two back to back threes.

[Unknown Speaker]

That really helped break the game over. Turner, like you're saying the offense is just not going to happen for him, it seems like in this series. But he did everything else. Then you get into the bench, guys. So Toppin McConnell, Tony Bradley had a good six minutes in this game. I thought. So outside of like a mah, maybe incredible performances for the Pacers, nobody was expecting a Indiana blowout.

[Tess Melis]

No, no. And I thought those guys just really helped out Halliburton recover offensively because again, he missed his first four shots. Maybe he was too open on his first attempt where he kind of bobbled it into his hands and shot that three ball. But again, he didn't look great offensively to start this game. But Miles Turner set him up. Everybody else sent him up. We would be talking about the Halliburton not having a great offensive game if they didn't have all those guys ready to go, you know, sideline to sideline to play incredible defense. Again, what they did to Shea, I thought a couple times when he got below the free throw line, they sent the double at the exact right time. There was a TJ McConnell steal and an Aaron Neesmith steal for a couple of his turnovers. Then a couple of guys just stole it from. They punked it from him. Miles Turner, Andrew Nempart. So there's. Those are four turnovers, like doing it in just different ways against him. And then Siakam not following him, backing off. TJ McConnell forcing an offensive rebound. So there was or an offensive foul. Excuse me, on Chase. So that's six turnovers. I think his other two turnovers which he was given in the box score just guys couldn't catch the ball. I thought Hartenstein and Casen Wallace. So I think he should have had six turnovers, not eight turnovers really. But obviously they did it in so many different ways. Right in Shay's face. It was, it was Great.

[Jay Skeets]

It was OKC's worst offensive game of the season. That's how locked in the Pacers were and making them uncomfortable. And you went through some of those turnovers, like 20 plus turnovers for OKC. Shea with eight. Whether it should have been six, seven or eight, whatever, it's eight in the box score. He's only done that one other time this season. It was a game back in November against the Nuggets in a close game that they lost the. That he had that many turnovers. But I loved, like you said, I mean it started early too, right. SGA tried to split the Pacers, sort of like the pick and roll action there and he like, he had it low and I think the Pacers were ready. Like get your hands down low, we'll deflect it. That was like Siakam and Nemhard to get in that one. Then he lost it on the next possession. He was trying to post up nem hard. Just great hands there from Nem hard to like swipe at it. And then he like got caught in the air once. He didn't know what to do. Cuz Siakam was playing that great D like you said. And then the one I really loved was like he did post up nem hard. Sort of had his back turn. Here comes TJ McConnell, dug down, got at it and they're going the other way. So like, yeah, they had him uncomfortable. I also thought another thing they did that was interesting. Hell of a coaching move from Rick Carlisle was like they didn't full court press. Like suddenly they switched it up and even OKC talked about it like, yeah, that was like a little weird. We weren't really ready for that. Like they backed up and it worked. Like they were just like. I don't know if it helped them have a little more energy in the defensive sets or. Or what, but nice wrinkle there to keep them on their toes because there was not a lot of like picking guys up 70 or 80ft. So cool move.

[Unknown Speaker]

No, that worked for the Timberwolves as well in the one game they won against the Thunder. So smart for Rick Carlisle to go back into the tape and say, hey, we can do this. They were also a lot smarter about doubling him. Shade yell, just Alexander. I'm talking about anytime. He would go around to pick and roll, Nemhard would fight over and rather than switch back, he would just stay with Shay. And Shay wasn't expecting that. This is the most he's been doubled, I think maybe this entire season. I think Caitlyn Cooper had the stat on that one. Pacers won this game scoring 109 points. They broke the streak here because their defense was so good. First half, 12 turnovers for OKC, they were 1 for 11 from three. Those are all bad numbers, including the 11. Like to get back in a game, you got to be able to chuck some threes and the Thunder were never able to open those ones up. The playmaking opportunities weren't there. Siakam did a great job. He switched on to Jalen Williams, took him out of the game after J Dub started pretty hot in this one. And then between the defensive pressure there and the health defense that he would bring, the Pacers were looking like the Thunder with all the turnovers they were forcing. Every time OKC got it inside, there was just hands everywhere. It made it really, really tough to find their shots. And then obviously, if you're missing, the Pacers are able to turn defense into offense. And they were great at that last night too.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, it definitely helped that you had six threes pretty early right from Nem Hard Halliburton, when you add them all up, I think through the first 20, 21 minutes of the game, those guys were hitting threes. The Thunder didn't hit their sixth three pointer this game until there was like eight minutes or nine minutes left in the game. It was Jalen Williams, the tall one in garbage time. So like, yeah, they were just another night here where they were just brutal from deep. And they've been terrible on the road really like for a while now in the postseason when it came to shooting the three ball game seven back in their barn where they've shot it a lot better and again, we'll get to that. But like, that was a huge part of this game too. Just threes going down early for that home team and they were not dropping for okc.

[Tess Melis]

It's true. We look zoom out and you think this was an amazing TJ McConnell game and it ended up being that way. But he started poorly. I mean, he was scoreless in the first quarter, missed both of his free throws, but that's just another one thing that he was able to recover from every single Indiana Pacer was able to recover from after losing in okc. To bounce back like this, it's just an incredible performance.

[Jay Skeets]

McConnell was amazing again. Yeah, it's wild. I mean, he's getting TJ chants first off, this guy should run for mayor of Indianapolis when it's all said and done. But like 12 points, nine boards, six assists, and then the four steals. And this is like his third straight game here where he has, like been pretty dominant for stretches of the game and helped blow this game open.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, he's actually the leader for the deli award as the most energetic white guy out there. Alex Caruso had it through the first four games, but McConnell has subbed in to be the guy. In the second quarter. It felt like he was involved in 100% of the plays. Like, nine rebounds is a crazy number for the smallest guy on the court. The spin move works every time. Apparently when he's going to the hoop, of course he was hitting his little fadeaways, but he had. He got things started really early when he checked in, right, the backwards steal on the outlet pass for Jalen Williams. He finds Obie Toppin, knocks down a three. Toppin comes in on the next couple of possessions later, hits another three. Obi Toppen got chance last night as well. 20 points for him. I thought he was great. But McConnell really flipped the game in the second quarter. Gave the Pacers a lot of momentum. And then once the starters came back in, they kept rolling.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, and that's when it was. It was a 10 point game with like 440 to go in the first half. And then it ballooned to 22 there. And that was like all these huge plays. The Siakam monster fast break dunk. You had the Halliburton left hand floater. Bunch of threes were raining down. And then Siakam ended it off with like an insane spinning fade away jumper to go into half. But that, that really sort of put the game away, though. I will say, start of the third quarter, I mean, nobody could score. Like there was an opportunity for OKC to make this a game. The Pacers didn't score for like four minutes. The problem was OKC couldn't either.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, they didn't score for seven minutes.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. So, yeah, that was a pretty decent chance to maybe cut it to, you know, you know, single digits or at least get it around 10 or 11, whatever. But they just never could.

[Tess Melis]

No. Yeah. And looking back, it just didn't because it ended up being a blow. I didn't think it Was that close after the first quarter. I mean, it was really only a three point game. It was super close, but OKC was hitting frigging shots. But yeah, it was the McConnell effect. It is incredible what he does in that arena. He goes into the first row and starts high fiving people. I mean, he will never buy another meal from the. What's the horseradish place? St. Elmo's Place.

[Unknown Speaker]

One restaurant in all of Indianapolis.

[Jay Skeets]

It's the only one we reference every time.

[Unknown Speaker]

I can't think of another one.

[Jay Skeets]

We to.

[Unknown Speaker]

We were there for multiple days. We ate multiple meals, but we only talk about one.

[Tess Melis]

Well, we ate multiple our meals at Elmos for sure. No, we've gone twice.

[Unknown Speaker]

Nonetheless. Nonetheless. Nobody can name a second restaurant. But anyways, they probably have one there.

[Tess Melis]

He's never buying anything in the rest of his.

[Jay Skeets]

That man's never paying for horseradish ever again.

[Tess Melis]

No, he's not.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, what a game. They were just like OKC again. Just beaten to every loose ball. It felt like every like 50, 50 rebound opportunity. Like they, they just were all going to Indy because they were fighting for their lives. I mean, they played like that. And especially Siakam. Again, I want to gloss over here.

[Tess Melis]

No, no.

[Jay Skeets]

What a. An awesome game from him shutting down J Dub after. You're right. It started like Jdub have two. He had a dunk, he had another great drive and it was like, oh. And then Siakam gets switched on him. Like you barely heard from him for the rest of the game. He's a minus 40 guy. Goes for 40 in the game before and so now is minus 40 in game six. So that's a lot of Siakam and. And then just all those 50, 50 plays. And that big dunk too. Oh my God.

[Unknown Speaker]

If they win this, that's going to be an all time sequence. NBA Finals wise, 16 points, 13 rebounds. Had the dunk off the Halliburton. People are calling it a no look. I would say it's more of a look away pass. Nonetheless. A lot of sauce on it. Follows it up with the fadeaway jumper at the end of the second quarter. I was hooting and hollering. There's no doubt about it. It was hype at that moment. I mean, if they play in the fourth quarter like Siakam's talking about a 20 and 15 game in the finals when they absolutely needed it, we tabbed him as like he's going to have to have a big game for the Pacers tonight. If Halliburton comes in Limited. Now, Halliburton wasn't looking limited at all, but none the. But Psiakam still brought it tonight on both ends. He was running the court. I think his first basket was a fast breaker where he got fouled and just somehow chucked it up and it went in. We'll see him being possessed before the game, but you could tell he was totally locked in and doing everything the Pacers needed, contributing everywhere on the court.

[Tess Melis]

He was bringing the fight. I thought even really super early in this game, you could see the Pacers were ready to get physically involved because before an inbound happened, Pascal Siakam just came down the court and pushed Isaiah Hartenstein. Smart move because Isaiah Hartenstein rolled into somebody else. So Hartenstein was called for the foul. Like they're just bringing the thunder. The same thing happened with. Was it Aaron Neeson bringing the thunder? They're bringing it, man. When Aaron Neesmith hit Alex Caruso like by the mid court line and Alex Caruso just got a little angry and fired back at him and he was called for the foul. The Pacers were ready for this thing. And you know, we. I think we. I've gone through many, many plays. Pascal Siakam is almost named in every single one of them because he's just so involved in so many of these fricking plays. Like it's. There's just too many plays to go through for. For Pascal. I mean, he does so much on this floor.

[Jay Skeets]

There is no tougher task here in the NBA Finals than trying to close out a team on the road nonetheless. And yeah, India was not going down without a fight. Surprised me. I was definitely one of these people thinking last night was going to be the season was going to be a wrap. OKC was going to take care of business. The exact opposite happened, especially there when that game got blown open in the second quarter at the end of that first half and then again just continued into a party really for the rest of the game. Like when Ben Shepard hit the three at the end of the third quarter and they were up 30, it was like, okay, I think Degnalt's going to wave the white flag here. And we saw a lot of garbage time from both these teams, but the Pacers becoming the first team in NBA history to have at least eight players score at least 200 points in a postseason. So, like just showing off that balanced attack that has made this run really magical. Pretty special if they can pull it off of Game 7, the 93 Blazers and the 23 Heat had seven guys with 200 plus points in a postseason run. So they've eclipsed that now with eight. Because of all these guys that we've talked about, you know, with TJ and Toppin and stuff.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah. How many players are on the Pacers that no one expected to be really good players? I mean. Yes, exactly. Like players who had teachers say, well, they'd never amount to nothing. Like Andrew Nemhart.

[Unknown Speaker]

It was all a dream.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, man. Second round pick Andrew Nephard plays really good in the regular season, becomes a new player in the postseason and is an incredible guy to shut down other teams. Great players. Aaron Eastmith, let go by the Celtics now, he's the prototypical guy you want on your team in the playoffs to play defense because he is a pest and he can shoot the ball. Exactly. I mean, Obi Toppin is a new player since he was on the New York Knicks. He looks like an entirely new player and they've got him going perfectly. TJ McConnell, he is the best American player in the NBA. Best American player in the world. I mean, I thought they would trade him last year because he is sort of getting older and they're getting younger. They got Benedict Mathur coming in, but he's just made this team absolutely perfect. They're endless. The number of guys on this team that other teams said. Yeah, but they are perfect on this team.

[Jay Skeets]

Speaking of Nismith, he went 2 for 6 on threes in Game 6. In doing so, he has 59 triples. In the 2025 NBA playoffs, he surpassed Reggie Miller for the most three pointers in a single postseason in Indiana Pacers history last night. I know it's a different game. I know Reggie would have taken twice as many threes. I get all that to. That's still pretty wild. Reggie Miller, one of the greatest three point shooters of all time in attendance. We'll show you him later. But he had 58 threes in the 2000 playoffs. Excuse me. Ne Smith now at 59 with a game to go.

[Unknown Speaker]

Hit two of them, like back to back. He obviously saved Game 1 against the Knicks in the conference finals. He's a good player. I'm guessing this is the most games the Pacers have ever played in a playoffs run.

[Jay Skeets]

It's gotta be.

[Unknown Speaker]

I don't know what they're.

[Jay Skeets]

It's gotta be close, if not the most. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anything else from the actual game itself? I know we have a ton of random notes from this one. And again, we will preview game seven and talk about X factors and predictions, but anything else?

[Unknown Speaker]

I think Just in general, the Thunder looks tight and the Pacers play with no fear at all times. If they are up 15 or down 15, they're playing the exact same style. If they are up 30 or if they're down 32 in a series, they're going to play the exact same style. Everybody is empowered to shoot on this team. Felt like Shai was forcing things at times, I thought in the first quarter. Bunch of turnovers in the first half as well. Ended up with five in the first half. A lot of that is the Pacers defense. But it just felt like Indiana's like we got nothing to lose and the Thunder felt like we have a championship to lose. And when you're playing like that, it played out the way it did last night and super impressive by the Pacers. Anytime it feels like the chips are down for them, they play their best.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, we, we've talked about this before. I don't know if it was here on camera or not, but like the Pacers play and this is a, I mean this as a pro, like they play like it's just a regular season game. Like they just don't veer away from who they are. So like they're just like, let's just go about our business. Ball's going to zip around. I mean, they have so many more passes in this finals than the OKC Thunder. Like it's like 700 plus more passes in the totality of the finals. Shout out to Tom Hab for that stat. But like they just don't get tight. They just continue to play. Like you said, whether they're trailing in the game, trailing in a series up, they're going to play Pacers ball. And it's like really different than a lot of teams you see where things change and yeah, they get a little tight. So that's dangerous. To me. If I'm a Thunder fan, I know we're playing game seven at home, our role players play better there. But like this team's going to come in with the nothing to lose attitude and you assume just going to play their style and they either win or they don't. But like they're not going to be tight, I don't think, because they just don't take on that Persona.

[Tess Melis]

To me, no, it looks like they're locked in. I assume Tyrese Halliburton will feel even better. Couple days off, only had to play 24 plus minutes. That's a good sign.

[Jay Skeets]

Huge.

[Tess Melis]

I thought an interesting move by Rick Carlisle was basically keeping Ben Matheran locked in not playing a lot. Only five real minutes before the fourth quarter when the game was sort of over. I just had played as other guys. Yeah, Big Ben in that three pointer at the end of the third quarter sealing it. That was a blast. I don't know if this is anything but Alex Caruso having two bad games in a row. It probably is absolutely nothing because Alex Caruso will pick it up. But through the finals, two, two bad games for Caruso here in four and five, he also had another one. So you know, you know, at home it will be different. But we all expected Caruso to bounce back after a two point game. He has zero in this one. 20 to start the series, then an 8, then a 20 again. Now two bad ones in a row. DBD. I'm sure those guys will perform.

[Jay Skeets]

If you're playing the Thunder and you don't hear a single word on the broadcast, really, if we're being honest, where Caruso's name's not mentioned, Lou Dort's name's not mentioned, then you're feeling pretty good and you're probably in the game or if not up. I don't remember. They were barely talked about like they'd had bad, bad games. Both of them now. So did Chad Holmgren. I thought he was pretty rough. This was his worst game of the finals. At least, you know, Jdub after the hot start, didn't do anything sga like it was a bad game from him. As we went through with all the turnovers, nobody played particularly well for okc. So you just like rip that one up, throw it away, and now it's a game seven for the championship, which is awesome.

[Unknown Speaker]

Tremendous.

[Jay Skeets]

Amazing.

[Unknown Speaker]

Tremendous.

[Tess Melis]

What's also amazing? I maybe I'm reading a little too much into this. I loved how the broadcasters called out fouls that were called that weren't fouls. A couple times, like Pascal Siakam, a tiny little bump on Jalen Williams, them saying quote, not a lot there though. I mean when they see the replay, they're just saying, come on, Vin, don't call that thing. Shay got a call from Obi Toppin not touching. And broadcasters again pointing that out. Come on. Even on the challenge, which was not a foul that Miles Turner bumped legs, they were analyzing that a little too much. Is there a foul on the leg bump? I did think they did a decent job. They all did. Doris Burke also pointing out that they weren't pressing. They did a good job. They did a good job. I think Doris was better than Richard. Are we going to rank the broadcasters.

[Jay Skeets]

Sounds like you are.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, Breen was awesome. The quote apparently we told we are told there are 800,000 cows in the state of Indiana, but the most scrutinized calf in the entire state belongs to Halliburton. And so far, so good.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's pretty good.

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[Josie Santee]

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[Jay Skeets]

All right, well, let's continue with that trend here. Let's get into some random notes. Random before we get to the video, I I thought Kelly Dwyer had a good question. Quote what would you rather do Can a jump shot in an NBA Finals game or be canned from an NBA Finals game with one shot? And he is alluding to James Johnson getting ejected with just under a minute to go after the aggressive body shove the weird box out on Thunder guard Dylan Jones? Which one would you prefer? Like, let's say you're an end of the bench guy. Would you have preferred a hit a jumper in the NBA Finals probably in garbage time? Or would you prefer what James Johnson did and get actually ejected in front of your home crowd and then like going nuts?

[Unknown Speaker]

He's done both, right? I think he got a basket at the end of maybe game two. I guess that was the only other game that was kind of stretched out at all. So he really gets to choose. And look, we're talking about the ejection more than we're talking about his basket. So that's clearly the answer. If you're on the team as a tough guy and you get tossed for being a tough guy, it's perfect.

[Jay Skeets]

I agree.

[Tess Melis]

That's literally what he was signed up for, so that bodes well. Going to game seven, we we got everybody Is given an effort, including James Johnson. So. Yes, good question, Kelly.

[Jay Skeets]

Good question. Let's start with the clips here. This one had Twitter going nuts. Pascal Siakam pregame huddle, man possessed. I mean, we showed you Chet Holmgren when he got dunked on the other day with his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Here's Siakam. Same thing going full Undertaker. And he kept it for a while, just seeing the. The, you know, the white of his pupils here. And I guess this is something he does is what Pace reporters are saying. He does it sort of every pregame, but we caught it here on camera.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, the Internet isn't great for everything. It's great for that. It's also because he did that. There was a play where Jalen Williams was kind of bending backwards in front of Pascal Siakam, and they were saying, is Pascal Siakam in the body of Jalen Williams? They threw that up there. That looked pretty cool. But it's happening. Aaron Neesmith was in the body of Chet Holmgren. We saw it earlier. But people are possessed in the finals, man. That's what happens, I guess.

[Unknown Speaker]

Do you think Halliburton is encouraging this from Siakam? He's like, you should do it, man. It looks like the Undertaker. I saw that.

[Jay Skeets]

He loves wrestling.

[Unknown Speaker]

He deleted everything about social media off his phone for the finals, but he still hops on to check WWE News. How crazy is that? I guess he's in the game, right? Like, he's in the new WWE game. I think Jaylen Brunson just got added. So maybe Sekim is making his bid to be like, the other Undertaker.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay.

[Unknown Speaker]

Not Kane. The other. Other Undertaker.

[Jay Skeets]

Right, right. Gotcha. I got you. I'm following. What did you guys think of Indiana's pregame intros? Because we obviously had a taste of okay sees in game five, and we got it here in game six. Do you think it was better? Equivalent? Not as good. I thought it was. I thought it was better. I thought their player intro video was better because Indiana, like, just went playoff highlights. Now they have a whole lot to show you. So you can make one hell of a hype video where I feel like OKC was more of their regular season one. I could be wrong. Maybe OKC fans will tell me different, but I thought the video itself was really, really good.

[Tess Melis]

You're right. The music was better. I was vibing with the music. I wasn't doing that in OKC.

[Jay Skeets]

Did we get a little 50 cent?

[Unknown Speaker]

Rick, Carlile, many Men.

[Jay Skeets]

Well, he plays a lot of guys.

[Unknown Speaker]

Many men. That's a great point. Yeah, he does play a lot of guys. Also, Rick Carlile, oldest coach in NBA Finals history.

[Jay Skeets]

That one blew my mind.

[Unknown Speaker]

Why did they wait until game six to bust that one out?

[Jay Skeets]

Well, did he just achieve it?

[Unknown Speaker]

No, because they said. Well, at first Mike Breen said that rick Carlisle was 100 years older than Greg Popovich when he coached in 2014, but then Richard Jefferson's like, what, how old am I? 100 days older. So, you know, I mean, the finals didn't does last a long time, but not 100 days worth. That was shocking to me.

[Jay Skeets]

I did. That did surprise me with the whole. With the whole intro thing. I loved the Pacers PA Announcer's name Troy Pepper. Good voice on Troy Pepper was like, pretty impressed. Yeah, I didn't know his name was Troy Pepper. I pop for that. A little Pepper. That's a great day. I love this, too. You guys saw what's his name, Boomer, the Pacers mascot dropping from the. The catwalk from the arena ceiling. And I loved who was there to help them out. Here, catch. Keep your eye on this. It's going to be Pacers bench player Obi Toppin is going to help Boomer, who looks stuck for a second. I got a little worried, frantic. But here he comes. Here. Obi's got him. I got you. I got you, cat. And then he dabs with them. All right, beautiful.

[Tess Melis]

So that's why we need these pregame videos. We get to see stuff like that.

[Jay Skeets]

Exactly, exactly.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. You learn more about the mascots if they're on a big stage like this. I didn't know Boomer was so hyperactive. Yeah, if something like if the Pacers foul, mostly on the defensive end. If the Pacers foul and Boomer's right there underneath the basket by the stanchion. It almost looks like he's challenging the Thunder player to a fight, as if he were a wrestling guy in the tag team who's behind the. Like behind the rope waiting for a tag. And he's like. And then like, actually, we'll just go shoot free throws. But appreciate it.

[Jay Skeets]

He does go nuts. I've noticed that he's got a lot of energy that catches. I also love this pre game when they're showing us sort of like how we got here with the series. I felt like Tasmel is spotting this. Keep your eye on referee Zach Zarba at the bottom of your screen here. We're gonna spot shadow him. He's practicing his jump ball toss now. I think that one. Ooh, not really good. I thought it went a little forward. This second one I think he nails here. Good stuff, Zach. Right? And that is stepped up there. And then it was a good throw. Yeah. Here it is again.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, that one goes a little forward. This one's very straight up and down.

[Jay Skeets]

He fixes. Is it so look at that. Taking his craft seriously.

[Unknown Speaker]

I played in a men's league on Wednesday and the referee threw the jump ball so high that the other referee started laughing. They weren't warming up pregame.

[Jay Skeets]

Were you in the jump circle?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

And. And it went way the other way. Oh, okay.

[Unknown Speaker]

I think I have a O for lifetime on jump balls.

[Jay Skeets]

Really?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah. I'm not a quick jumper man.

[Tess Melis]

But you can time it.

[Unknown Speaker]

You got a quick jump. I gotta jump early. That's the key.

[Jay Skeets]

That's the key. We. We've infamously have no wedgies this finals or really for most of the playoffs. But we have been tracking Rick Carlisle, the oldest guy ever in the finals, and is spitting. And we had people, oh, my God, they were sliding into the DMs last night. Let me know. Good. Rick Spit second quarter, right after the challenge. And it was great camera work here. He's gonna go find his spit and cup. And then it's so, so much. He had to wipe it away. He had one later on.

[Unknown Speaker]

He looks like Dr.

[Jay Skeets]

Evil right there, so. And then Rick Smith's in attendance too. With Rick Spitz doing this. Yeah, a lot of fun.

[Unknown Speaker]

Makes you want to re watch the whole finals just to see if we can catch every single spit again.

[Jay Skeets]

There was another one later in this game. People were saying I. I didn't worry about going to get it, but he's up to like six or seven shots of him sitting here in the finals.

[Tess Melis]

I want to confirm something. I want somebody in the arena to confirm this. It feels like the Pacers have like, baseball intros almost where they each have their own song to come out to. Like, I may be mishearing it. My speakers aren't pumping the way they used to.

[Jay Skeets]

But always blaming it on your speaker.

[Tess Melis]

I gotta blame it on something just.

[Jay Skeets]

For fun down here. Look at your speakers.

[Tess Melis]

It's the broadcast, man. It ain't me. But how many songs they go through if Rick Carlisle is having a 50 cent song play for him. I imagine Halburn has his own song. Nuth has his own song.

[Jay Skeets]

I thought they played one song for the guys coming out, but then. Then pivoted to Manny Men at the end of it when they showed Rick that's what I remember.

[Tess Melis]

There was a little Drake in there, I feel like.

[Jay Skeets]

So you're saying they played basically six songs?

[Tess Melis]

They should.

[Unknown Speaker]

Wow.

[Tess Melis]

Like 10 seconds of each song. They can like their girl talk like.

[Unknown Speaker]

They'Re your boy, Brian.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah. You play a little chorus, fade in, fade out. You got it.

[Jay Skeets]

Anyway, I love this shot of this Thunder fan sitting or standing, I guess, by himself amidst the indie crowd. I always love a shot like this and I love when the cameras find it. This guy, I like thinking, drove like 12 hours to this game. Just like, God damn, we're getting crushed here.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, this is.

[Jay Skeets]

This is when nobody could score. This is basically right after nobody could score for about four minutes. Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

You think of the guy in the blue, button down, sitting a seat to his left. You think they came together?

[Jay Skeets]

I think so, yeah. Why wouldn't he have?

[Unknown Speaker]

Shirt looks perturbed.

[Tess Melis]

A little bit of Steven Adams. Is that a 12?

[Unknown Speaker]

It does look dated with the Adidas logo on it and the wide sleeves to it.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

There's no love on that jersey.

[Unknown Speaker]

Tabo. I bet that's a tabo. Cephalosa.

[Tess Melis]

Oh, number two.

[Unknown Speaker]

Is that what number he was for the Thunder? I think it might have been. It could be the right era.

[Jay Skeets]

Good call.

[Unknown Speaker]

That would be a deep pole. A tabo cea jersey on the road.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah. Adam Silver was in the house. You think he's excited for game 7? Ratings are going to be high.

[Jay Skeets]

I do.

[Tess Melis]

All that talk about small markets not getting ratings. Game seven's going to be watched.

[Jay Skeets]

And who do you think's going to be officiating game seven?

[Tess Melis]

Oh, no.

[Jay Skeets]

I can't believe it. I bet you it's going to be Scott Foster.

[Tess Melis]

There's talk about that.

[Jay Skeets]

Rick Carlisle, you smart son of a.

[Unknown Speaker]

He was not on the crew last night, right?

[Jay Skeets]

He wasn't.

[Unknown Speaker]

It was Tony, Zack and.

[Jay Skeets]

David.

[Unknown Speaker]

David. David Guthrie?

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

Our referees are first name guys.

[Unknown Speaker]

We're good friends with them. Now, James and David, he's ref bay.

[Jay Skeets]

Right? David Guthrie.

[Unknown Speaker]

Oh, yeah, yeah. Yes.

[Jay Skeets]

Conception.

[Tess Melis]

Scott, that makes no sense to start the series in Game 4. That's been his only game to show up in game seven.

[Jay Skeets]

Look, I don't know for sure. We won't find out till Sunday morning again, but I. I'm. I am pretty confident Scott Foster is going to be on the game seven closer. Yeah. Any other random notes from the guys?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, I got a couple for you. Tony Bradley. I loved his six minutes. Back to back offensive rebounds and a layup got the crowd going crazy. Blocks a shot, then Runs the fast break, and somebody hits him for a layup attempt. He missed one free throw, made the other one, and then got a technical in the second half for pushing Isaiah Hartenstein, making Tony Bradley look like the strongest guy on earth because Hartenstein went flying. Smart move to sell the technical for sure. But a lot was going on in six minutes for Tony Bradley. But I thought he played pretty well.

[Jay Skeets]

He did.

[Unknown Speaker]

Just another guy who was good last night. I also loved in the second quarter. The Pacers, beautiful game. Fast break where the ball did not touch the floor on the fast break. It's a Halliburton steel. He saves it to Miles Turner, who passes it back to Halliburton, who finds Siakam in the middle, who finds Neesmith in the corner for a three. Bingo Bango. Just beautiful stuff like that spurs Ian in the way they were playing that one. And that's exactly what you expect to see from the Pacers. And then my last note. Enjoy. B Ball mentioned it. We talked about Benedict Matheran. It was his birthday last night. Didn't play very well.

[Jay Skeets]

Nope.

[Unknown Speaker]

But the last four players that have played an NBA Finals game on their birthday, they've all won.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

It was Mahen last night. Drew Holiday, 2024. Jake Crowder, 2021. And you, Donis Haslam in 2023.

[Jay Skeets]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker]

So do we have any birthdays? Whatever. Sunday is the 22nd.

[Jay Skeets]

I'll have to look it up.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Wow. Okay. My final random note, and it is extremely random. I'm watching this game with Nora. She's got her eye on it a little bit. And Halliburton missed a three. And Nora said, quote, back to the pawn shop, no coins for you. I said, what the hell are you talking about? I literally was like. It stopped me in my tracks. I had to pause the tv. Back to the pawn shop, no coins for you. I said, why did you say that? And her reasoning was in the Pacers intro video that I talked about that I did. Really? Like, they had, like, a lot of, like, gold flair to it. And she's like, what is that? And I'm like, well, their color is gold. And she's like, oh, it looks like coins. And so I think that's why she got that idea to say, back to the pawn shop, no coins for you. Which is now one of my favorite sayings, because it doesn't make any sense.

[Unknown Speaker]

Either, but it seems like it does.

[Jay Skeets]

I am definitely gonna say it when you miss a three at our run, and I am gonna drop it on you at some point. Back to the pawn shop. No coins for you.

[Tess Melis]

There can be that negative correlation. Like, you stink. You miss shots, you're not gonna get a contract. Go to the pawn shop and get some money. Yeah, or something like that.

[Jay Skeets]

But I. I guess. But I think when I think of pawn shops, I think of coins. So why am I going back to the pawn shop to then not be given coins?

[Tess Melis]

Well, yeah, you don't have. Yeah, you don't have a contract anymore, so the only money you're going to make is selling stuff at the pawn shop.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay, Okay.

[Tess Melis]

I mean, I'm trying to find it. I'm trying to find some coins for you. No coins for you.

[Jay Skeets]

Back to the pawn shop, to the boss shop. No coins for you. Is a fun thing to say. Do you got anything else from this one? We can talk about game seven.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, we need a video to be created with our favorite guy, Oliver Stone. What was the commercial?

[Jay Skeets]

Mr. Cashman.

[Tess Melis]

Mr. Cashman, wait. Yeah, there's coins all over.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

Oh, yeah, my bad.

[JD]

Russell Oliver.

[Tess Melis]

Russell Oliver. Sorry about that. My Olivers got. Got mixed up. And I even probably mixed up Shea and Tyrese Halliburton's defensive effort at the beginning of this show. Listen, it's been two months. I don't have a great performance every game, and this one probably wasn't. I. I think, like Halliburton, it's too long. The playoffs are too long.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, don't you get better as we.

[Unknown Speaker]

All have down games.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, we all do. We all do.

[Tess Melis]

You can't get better. Alex Caruso just had a bad game, man. Some guy. You don't have a perfect playoffs. Nobody has a perfect playoffs.

[Unknown Speaker]

I think you're gonna bounce back.

[Jay Skeets]

All right, game six is done. That's enough on game six. Let's look ahead to game seven again, Sunday night, 8:00pm Eastern. It's on ABC. I can't believe it. We got a game seven. First time since 2016. It's our 20th game seven in NBA finals history. Home team pretty strong. 15 and four in game sevens of the NBA finals. But the last one, Cavs obviously on the road. How did we get here? Just quickly. Game one, Halliburton game winning jumper seals the stunning victory for the Pacers. Just gave us a series that was going to be awesome right from the jump. Game two, Thunder used like really suffocating defense. Kept Indy at bay. That was the big Caruso game. That was the big Wiggins game. Game three, it was the Benedict Matheran game. Coming off the bench, scoring what, 27 points. In limited minutes. Game four, that was Shay Gilders Alexander activating MVP mode down the stretch of the fourth quarter. Really close game. Game five, the Jalen Williams game. Guy goes for 40 in that game looking like Scottie Pippen. And then game six here, Halliburton playing through the calf injury. Pacers just run OKC out of the building. I think you put it well there, TK Pacers looked like the Thunder there in Game six. So we're at game seven. What's one thing you've got your eye on here that you're going to be watching for on Sunday night?

[Tess Melis]

Well, I don't want to say this, but it could be one of those games where we see a lot of clankers.

[Jay Skeets]

Sure.

[Tess Melis]

I think, I think really, other than that, none of the past matters. None of the past matters when it comes to game seven. I know you've got Pacers fans saying, hey, you see what we did last year in the second round? We won game six and then we go into New York and we win in game seven to send us to the conference finals. And you've got Thunder fans saying, hey, did you see the second round? We took care of that when Denver won game six. We took care of game seven. I don't think any of that matters. I think we will just see some clankers. And it's how you respond to that that's the important part. Because there'll be some missed shots in the first quarter. Like those first several minutes of the third quarter that we were talking about. Everybody missing. Yeah, like that had a flashback to game sevens in the past. Like Celtics, Lakers, like, oh boy, I'd like a shot to be made. But everybody, everybody recovered, obviously. And these two teams will both recover.

[Jay Skeets]

Even though shots get clanked then to jump in. Like, I mean, rebounding is super important in those situations where everyone is a little tight on their jumpers and the defense is elite. But like, who's going to go get those balls and who's going to give your team a second chance on the offensive glass? And like we talked about in game six, like, it felt like, hey, whoever wins the big battle might come out on top. And like Pacers definitely.

[Unknown Speaker]

Oh yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Especially helped by Obi Top and hitting all those threes and Chet having a garbage game and Hartenstein not doing much. They outplayed them, so the glass could be a factor. What are you watching there, TK?

[Unknown Speaker]

Who's going to go to the pawn shop and get their coins? Three point shooting is what I'm talking about, of course. OKC. 40% from three at home in this series. Oddly enough, The Pacers are shooting 39% in Oklahoma City. They went 18 of 39 in Game 1, so definitely that helps. But we just did this tears thing looking at all the past finals from the year 2000 on, 26 finals, and there's just names littered throughout that. You're like random three point shooting nights. Robert Orey, Danny Green, Mike Miller, Derek Fisher, Gary Neal. I forgot Gary Neal had like a huge finals game at one point. So there's going to be one random dude who can make shots.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

And who's that guy going to be? What if it's Miles Turner or Chet Holmgren? Like, they haven't played very well shooting from the perimeter. Chet did have a pretty good game, too. I think shooting the ball. He's due for a big game. Turner is due for a big game. But there's going to be somebody who actually can knock him down. And whoever that is probably takes the win.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. Game seven. X factors. Is there another player or two that could decide this for you?

[Tess Melis]

I think Alex Caruso is key. He probably was the X factor before this series started. He has been very, very, very good. But he just has to come off the bench and hit a few threes and basically take on the role of TJ McConnell in OKC. Be that guy going into the front row, getting high fives, just being the energy guy just to do the dumb things. You know, those little teeny tiny things, the swimming on the floor as he did earlier in the series, those type of things. And it doesn't really matter to me if he hits a lot of threes or if the Thunder hit a lot of threes, because this is one of those series like Nuggets Heat two years ago, where the Nuggets had 15 fewer threes than the Heat in that series, but still one in five games. And now the. The Thunder have 18 fewer threes right now. So they just have to have these guys doing these. These little things.

[Jay Skeets]

You say come off the bench. Do you think there's any possibility that Caruso starts?

[Unknown Speaker]

I think so.

[Jay Skeets]

In Game seven?

[Unknown Speaker]

I think he probably will, yeah. Which is pretty weird because he was a minus 33 in Game 6. But he got the start in the second half. And that's been. The Dagnalt thing is like when our backs against the wall, we're rolling with Caruso in a one big lineup. Their back is against the wall for the entirety of Game seven. So I think he'll start Scott Foster, obviously, as an X Factor. Oh, they're saving Scott. Everybody wants to see him. Everybody is expecting Scott Foster to be there for game seven, but I think the bench has kind of played it out the cliche so far as in your role players play better at home. OKC's bench at home is 34 points per game on 45% shooting, 47 from three. Like we had a big Wiggins game at home. Alex Caruso's biggest game was at home. The swimming on the floor case. And Wallace shot the ball the best he has in game five as well. The Thunder even dusted off Isaiah Joe last night. Like gave him some more run, you know, as things were getting a little bit out of hand and they had to kind of get some three pointers up. I wonder if he's a guy the Dagnalt calls upon. But the Indiana bench has been pretty solid in OKC. 39 points per game, 48 from the field, 44 from three point as well. You know, TJ McConnell and Obi Toppin aren't going to be getting their names chanted from the OKC fans, but they can still have the same impact. So benches are going to be big. There's going to be like six guys that you can rely on on both teams. It really feels like when the pressure is building. And who is going to be like the sixth guy that does something interesting?

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, I have as the next factor is T.J. mcConnell. This guy has been amazing. The Thunder need to figure out how to try and stay in front of him, try and prevent him from getting into the paint for his crazy little jump shot or obviously kicking out two guys. He's just been amazing here over this last couple of games. It just completely changed the games, even in ones where they didn't win. So that's got to be a focus for them. I know he's like coming off the bench and it's like, oh, we got to worry about Halliburton, but man, when that guy's in there, somebody shut him down. Like Wiggins was getting cooked by him for a little stretch and then they switched it up and it didn't matter. TJ was still dominating. Now again, that's home. He's playing off the crowd. It's different in OKC, but this guy's averaging 11, three, four and a half assists, two and a half steals. He's shooting 54% in the finals. He's tied for sixth among all players when it comes to scoring. He's tied for second in assists and he's tied for first in steals. He's playing 19 minutes per game. Like, I don't think TJ McConnell's winning finals MVP, but I almost want him, if the Pacers win in seven to like get one of those votes or something like that. Like almost deservedly. Yeah, because it's going to be probably. I don't know. Who do you think is going to be the front runner right now if the Pacers pull off a Game 7 win? Is it Siakam, Halliburton or TJ McConnell?

[Tess Melis]

Great question.

[Unknown Speaker]

I think you would get a vote spread. I think so too. I think, I think Siakam is the leader. I think, I think so too.

[Jay Skeets]

I think you get majority. I mean, it depends what happens in Game 7. I think it's like there for the taking if Indiana wins monster Halliburton game, monster Siakam game, maybe Monster TJ McConnell game. But then obviously on the Thunder side, it feels like it's, it's probably SGA and then a bit of a drop off and then Jalen Williams and that's it. Yeah, for Finals mvp.

[Tess Melis]

Maybe we need a second type of finals MVP award, you know, for the guy off the bench even or just.

[Jay Skeets]

The A six man of the Finals.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's good.

[Tess Melis]

Actually have three. There's, there's deserving guys as you mentioned, all three of them. I, I do want to see a good Jalen Williams game because his numbers, they, they fall off on the road a little bit. I, I know I'm being pretty specific about the numbers, but only one turnover at home, almost four on the road. 35% from three at home, 11% on the road, five assists at home, 2.3 on the road. Now a lot of that is his teammates as well. Just moving the cutting. We'll see what happens. That's why I wonder if Isaiah Hartenstein stays in that starting lineup. Because the passes, man, the passes are so important. The flipping the screens are so important. I can't wait. I can't wait.

[G]

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[Josie Santee]

Hey, this is Josie Santee from the Every Girl podcast, and this episode is brought to you by Nordstrom. Summer's here, and Nordstrom has everything you need for your best dressed summer season ever. From beach days and weddings to weekend getaways in your everyday wardrobe, discover stylish options under a hundred dollars from tons of your favorite brands like Mango Skims, Princess Polly, and madewell. It's easy, too, with free shipping and free returns in store order, pickup and more. Shop today in stores [e-mail] or download the Nordstrom app.

[Unknown Speaker]

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[Tess Melis]

Wait, did I say job title yet?

[Unknown Speaker]

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[Jay Skeets]

Okay, game seven predictions. You know, what's the score, you know, obviously who wins and maybe who's the finals MVP or who's like, an unsung hero? Have at it, TK I'm going to.

[Unknown Speaker]

Go with the Pacers.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, wow. I love it.

[Unknown Speaker]

They've answered the call every single time they've been called during the postseason. But, like, down seven with a minute left, doesn't matter. They've done it three times on the at home. They need a win. They've got an injured star. They win by 30 points. You know, I mean, it didn't end up being that, but it felt like that. So I don't know. I was just impressed with how free the Pacers played. I feel like all the pressure is on OKC right now. I mean, it's a Game seven. The pressure is literally on everybody. But OKC had a chance to end things. They're thinking, we're fine. This is exactly the way the Denver series played out. They blew out Denver in Game 7. I don't think that's going to happen to Indiana. So I'm abandoning my prediction. I'll go with the Pacers to win Game seven.

[Tess Melis]

I'm taking the Thunder. I just feel like they have to. They have to play better. They're one of those teams that reacts really well to losing, and they just played so poorly. They didn't have life. You know, they had these small, teeny, tiny things they did. But I think Being on home court is very, very important here in game Sevens. And the Pacers obviously have that advantage of going into New York and doing it last year in a game seven situation. It's a tad different now being that it is Oklahoma City. But I'm, I'm just writing that they're going to play better and their bench guys have to play better. That is, that is so key because TJ ain't going anywhere, Obitop. And although he didn't have a great game five, I feel like they're gonna, they're gonna be solid there. Can OkC's bench respond?

[Jay Skeets]

You've said this before. A lot of people have pointed out how OKC feels like they're just replaying that second round series versus the Denver Nuggets. Because when man, you lock or you put that series to this series side by side, it's like eerily similar. You had the heartbreaking last second loss in game one. You had the comfortable win in game two. You had another blown fourth quarter lead in game three. Then you had sort of those gut check wins in games four and five. And then you had the double digit loss in game six. And what happened in that Denver series? They destroyed the Nuggets by 32 at home. Now I don't think that's going to happen here on Sunday night. I hope it doesn't because we want a close game and game Sevens. Yeah, they're usually rock fights, but they're generally like tightly contested affairs as well. Like you got to go all the way Back to like 1974 for a Game 7 of the Finals that was more than double digits victory for the winning team. So I don't think it's going to be a 32 point victory. But man hasn't really gone by that playbook, which is why I do go. I do think they're going to bounce back and I think OKC wins in a close one though on Sunday night. And man, just like it's fun to think of. Like I know there's a lot of basketball still be played for a lot of these guys, but like the legacies on the line, just like this game here, like, like be it SGA could have a monster game or Halliburton does something special again, or Siakam or J Dub. Like that's exciting man, really exciting. But I also agree with you Trey, that it does feel like there feels like more pressure on OKC. Like you had this dominant season, 68 wins, one of the best ever, one of the best defenses we've Ever seen. Had a, you know, had a chance, obviously close it out and got crushed. And like here come the Pacers, this team of destiny. But can't wait. Very excited, but I'll go Thunder in a close one.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, it helps that their leaders are pretty chill bros in Shay and Jalen. You could see it. They will be calm going into 8:00pm Eastern. More like 8:08 Eastern. Is it about 10 minutes after?

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

Start.

[Jay Skeets]

I mean it's. And you know what? I don't care. Now once we get the player intros and all the hype, it's not as bad as sitting through six minutes of commercials.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's a great point.

[Jay Skeets]

That's great. Can't wait. We'll obviously be here on Monday morning to break it all down and talk about our eventual champion, either the Thunder or Pacers. Okay, let's hear your predictions in the stream team, let's hear them in the comments and you can tweet at us at no Dunks Inc. Before we go, let's do some rapid fire fun. Trey, you got the questions? We got the answers.

[Unknown Speaker]

Mark Walter just bought the Lakers this week for a valuation of $10 billion.

[Jay Skeets]

That.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's my Rick Carlisle impersonation. If you guys had Mark Walter money, what would you buy? And you can't say a sports team.

[Jay Skeets]

Can't buy a sports team.

[Unknown Speaker]

Can't buy a sports team.

[Jay Skeets]

Can I buy a sports network?

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay.

[Jay Skeets]

I'm buying NBA tv.

[Unknown Speaker]

You got money left over?

[Jay Skeets]

I do. And I'm putting us back on it and I'm bringing it back to life. I'm saving NBA tv. Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay.

[Jay Skeets]

Absolutely. There's no reason this should not be one of the best channels out there for sports fans. Basketball fans, of course, agree. And it's lacking and we love a lot of people that work there. But like, I turn it on a lot. I'm like, what is this? What are we doing? We'll be doing so much more.

[Unknown Speaker]

So NBA tv, you're gonna have to use some of your money to buy back the broadcast rights. Yeah, they use.

[Jay Skeets]

Well, yeah. Yeah, that's good. That's true.

[Unknown Speaker]

What do you want to bring back? Outside of the starters, obviously Bring back.

[Jay Skeets]

I actually don't want to bring back a lot. I want to create some new content.

[Unknown Speaker]

How about. Okay, here's some things I think could stay Diesel's Dunks in 3D together. Hoop Camp.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay. Bones in 3D.

[Unknown Speaker]

Bones in 3D. Yeah, just 3D. Falling asleep. I like it. Shooters Paradise. I don't know.

[Jay Skeets]

Players only, Baby Paul.

[Unknown Speaker]

Players only. For sure. Come back for sure.

[Jay Skeets]

We're bringing. We're bringing back NBA tv, but we're like, my. My. I'm thinking, like, is like. Like, look at all these incredible content creators that are doing awesome stuff.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Like, there's. They should be on NBA TV talking about the game and building it up into a younger fan base. So anyway, that's what I'm buying.

[Unknown Speaker]

I like it. Rick Hamill, you're coming back as well. What'd you buy in Tassie?

[Tess Melis]

I would create a titan. So submersible that gets to the Titanic. Have you seen the doc?

[Jay Skeets]

I did watch it.

[Tess Melis]

Yes. Yeah. That's an unfortunate result. But it could happen with $10 billion. It's got to get there.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. There's a part in that doc that I did not feel good where they're, like, obviously, like, bolting them in, and I. It's like the woman, like, dropping the pieces, dropping the bolts. It's like, oh, my God. A lot of confidence in this. Like, it's all right. We got other ones.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

No, thanks. I would never do that. You know, you couldn't pay me, Walt. You couldn't pay me, Mark. Walter. Money.

[Tess Melis]

To do what?

[Jay Skeets]

To do that. To put it together in one of those.

[Tess Melis]

Oh, again, in one submersible tanks or.

[Jay Skeets]

Whatever and go down. Like, I'm afraid of the ocean as it. It is. Being that.

[Tess Melis]

Oh, yeah, so am I.

[JD]

Not even Tassies. He's spending a $10 million.

[Jay Skeets]

Sorry, I. Not a chance. I have no. I also have zero desire to go down. Yep. Titanic.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, that's it.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. It's got a bunch of LG on it. Yep. Yeah, it's pretty dark down here.

[Tess Melis]

No one's Couldn't care less. I don't know if I would want to get in it, but I would create it for others to get to the Titanic. I don't feel as good as you in the water, JD Either. I'm not much of a swimmer like you.

[JD]

I'm not great after 100ft. You know what I mean?

[Tess Melis]

Yeah. This thing goes down like nobody. Nobody's surviving. Not the best of swimmers aren't surviving, but it is. It is amazing.

[Jay Skeets]

So just down, like 3,000, 4,000 meters at least.

[Tess Melis]

4,000Ft.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

It is an amazing dock, though, how they go back and they include those parts where you're just hearing these cracks.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, that's terrifying.

[Tess Melis]

It is terrifying.

[Jay Skeets]

That's normal.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

No, no, it's not.

[Tess Melis]

No.

[Jay Skeets]

Because they made it out of carbon. Right. That was the whole thing.

[Tess Melis]

Carbon fiber yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Because it was, like, lighter, cheaper, and. Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

Anyway.

[Jay Skeets]

And it was a death shock.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay. Imagine there's a Mark Walter out there who, instead of making a Titan, a Titan submersible, makes a whole new Titanic. Would you go on?

[Tess Melis]

It makes all this.

[Unknown Speaker]

Recreate the actual Titanic.

[Tess Melis]

Interesting.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

We're doing what the Titanic was supposed to do.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

Oh, 100%. I go on.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's what I'm getting on.

[Jay Skeets]

There's no icebergs left.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's a great point. The icebergs are melting.

[Jay Skeets]

I'm on.

[Tess Melis]

I mean, people go on cruises. It's. To me, it's so similar.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

It is true.

[JD]

You know, I mean that actually, hilariously, that's my answer. I would buy a cruise ship.

[Trey Kirby]

Really?

[JD]

Hello. Because I've never been on a cruise. Rachel, my wife, she gets seasick very easily. So she's. I'm not getting her on a cruise ship. But I've always sort of been fascinated and also repulsed by the idea of a cruise. But if I owned the boat, just fully staffed, massive cruise ship, and then I would just invite people on as, you know, like, we were talking about a Survivor Cruise off the air the other day. There's a. They're having a Survivor. Survivor cruise. Am I interested in going? Not really, but if I could have, like, my select, you want to know, Survivor people. Yeah. Or a no Dunks cruise. Or, you know, or, you know, for my adventurous friends, we're. We're doing the Drake Passage. You know what I mean? Like, yeah, a cruise would be awesome if you had the entire boat to yourself.

[Tess Melis]

Yourself.

[JD]

That's what I'm saying.

[Unknown Speaker]

Where to go?

[JD]

Yeah. Shows still happening. Cruise director, the whole thing.

[Tess Melis]

They get crowded.

[JD]

Yeah, exactly. And I don't want that.

[Jay Skeets]

Would Rachel really be seasick on a cruise ship?

[JD]

I mean, look, it's like, I don't.

[Jay Skeets]

Think there's a lot of movement on these things.

[JD]

I've heard both. I've heard both. And here's the thing. Like, I'm not spending thousands of dollars to get on the boat and then find out, like, four days on this thing, you know, and she's just, like, laid up the whole time, so. Yeah, but if I had my own, you know, we could just dry dock it, too. Just come on the boat, guys.

[Jay Skeets]

But why wouldn't. Okay, hold on. What? Wouldn't you rather just have a super yacht instead of a crazy.

[JD]

No, I want the full huge. That's what the 10 billion is for. Like, I want. I want to be able to, you know, if I want to do laps. I want to, like, run, you know, a mile and like, two laps or whatever.

[Jay Skeets]

Sure.

[JD]

You know what I'm saying?

[Jay Skeets]

This guy wants to play pickleball. That's a pickle ball court.

[JD]

Obviously indoors, of course, because the wind and all that.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, yeah.

[JD]

But yeah, like skating rink and stuff.

[Tess Melis]

It's amazing, the whole thing.

[JD]

Yeah. Full broad Broadway shows at night. A comedy club, of course.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, yeah, yeah. They got it all.

[Tess Melis]

They do have it all, but I've.

[JD]

Never experienced it and I would. I would like to.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[Trey Kirby]

So do you.

[Unknown Speaker]

Would you. Do you have a name for your ship?

[JD]

Oh, great question.

[Unknown Speaker]

We come back to that.

[JD]

Wasn't the belligerent probably or something?

[Unknown Speaker]

After game four of the finals, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle vehemently defended Scott Foster, saying he's a great official and quote, he's done a great job in these playoffs. And I like that video of him lip syncing in the car. Guys, what's something you've said before? Just to be nice.

[Jay Skeets]

Cute kid. Not to you guys, but I've definitely dropped a cute kid on a kid that was not cute.

[JD]

Yeah, but you know, beautiful baby.

[Tess Melis]

Oh, baby, she's gorgeous.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

But there's straight up ugly kids. Yeah. Yeah. And you can't say it.

[JD]

Not everybody's beautiful.

[Jay Skeets]

No, no, no, no. That's my answer.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, I tend to disagree with that.

[Jay Skeets]

I think every kid is beautiful.

[Tess Melis]

You never know. You never know.

[Jay Skeets]

I'm looking at it. That's an ugly kid.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, but they turn into something entirely.

[Jay Skeets]

I didn't say they wouldn't. Yeah, I didn't say that kid's gonna. Oh, that kid's ugly. That kid's gonna be ugly forever. Right. That kid might become a good looking person. I didn't say that.

[JD]

They're not like puppies. All puppies are cute. And then they, you know, grow up. And some of those. Some of the dogs are ugly.

[Jay Skeets]

Interesting.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

It's like a reverse piggy.

[JD]

I would say most babies under the age of 6 months are not attractive humans. That came out wrong.

[Tess Melis]

That came out very wrong. Attractive. Yeah. Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

They're just not.

[JD]

They're not cute. Shriveled up.

[Jay Skeets]

I think it's like. I would put it like eight of every ten. I'm thinking kids, let's call them like toddlers to babies. I think 8 out of 10 are completely normal looking and cute.

[Tess Melis]

Wow.

[Jay Skeets]

And I.

[Tess Melis]

20% you're going high. Are not.

[Jay Skeets]

Not. I think you see a handful, you're like, yeah, it's unfortunate.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

That's my opinion.

[JD]

Unfortunate.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[JD]

It's like. It's a beautiful baby.

[Jay Skeets]

And that's why they, like, they, like, they jump out at you. You're like, oh, you're, like, looking around all day. Cute kid, cute kid, cute baby, cute baby.

[Trey Kirby]

Like, whoa.

[Jay Skeets]

No.

[Tess Melis]

Many make. You could do that, that's for sure. I'm going with a kid angle on mine as well. When I'm too nice, when I say, oh, my kids, who are very young, they show you something that they drew, and I say, oh, that's so cute. That's a good one. No, you did so well. That's a beautiful one. We all know.

[Unknown Speaker]

Those kids. Drugs suck. Babies are ugly.

[Jay Skeets]

Fridge or you got everywhere?

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, you got to keep them.

[JD]

Yeah, yeah.

[Tess Melis]

I got no room anymore. Anymore. Yeah, I'm a hoarder a lot. Yeah, I've got them everywhere. Yeah, my car is full of them. If we go outside, it's covered. I can't see out of my windows on my windshield. It's covered.

[Unknown Speaker]

JD what's something you said? To be nice.

[JD]

Yeah. Every time I play pickleball, I'm complimenting my partner and. Who definitely don't deserve compliments. You know, it's stupid, too. Like, oh, good idea, you know, Good idea.

[Jay Skeets]

Good idea to hit it out of bounds.

[JD]

Well, you know, you say, you know, that they're, you know, they're trying to go for this, you know, to hit the paint on the other side, and you're. So that's a good idea. Next time, execute, maybe that kind of thing, you know?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, I'm with you. Good idea is a Hilarious.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, you hear it a lot.

[Unknown Speaker]

Say to somebody, I know what you were trying.

[JD]

Yeah, exactly. I get it a lot. I get it, you know, because I stink. So people say that to me. Oh, I saw what you're doing there. It's a good idea. Good idea. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, you hit it into the next court. Yeah, I know. You want to keep them back. I get it. I get it. But next time, maybe in the fucking court. How about that?

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[JD]

But I'm guilty of it myself.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, good idea. Okay.

[Unknown Speaker]

On TikTok this week, Giannis Antetokounmpo Blind ranked his favorite fast food places. His top four were Chipotle, Chick Fil? A, McDonald's, and Wendy's. So, guys, I want you to rank these four restaurants one to four.

[Jay Skeets]

The four you just gave the four.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of Giannis's top four.

[JD]

I had the picture, but it's. No, it's missing, but okay. Yeah, okay.

[Unknown Speaker]

Give me the four again, smiling. Giannis.

[JD]

Yes.

[Unknown Speaker]

With a list of 10 restaurants. And at the top are Chipotle, chick fil a, McDonald's and Wendy's. Top.

[Jay Skeets]

So I'm ranking those four.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yes.

[Jay Skeets]

I am team McDonald's. I do love it. And then Chick Fil A and then Wendy's, and then Chipotle. Chipotle is not fast food to me. These other ones are garbage. Fast food in the best way imaginable. Okay.

[Unknown Speaker]

Fast casual maybe is where it ranks. Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

And my problem with Chipotle, I know people love it, but, like, I got Chipotle at home, man. Like, I do. Nora can make. Okay, Mom, a great Mexican bowl or a great burrito. But, like, we shave. Making me good McDonald's.

[JD]

Right.

[Jay Skeets]

Or good chicken sandwiches. That's my. Look at it. So it's like, I want that crappy good food. So I got McDonald's, chick fil A, Wendy's, Chipotle.

[Tess Melis]

You can make a Mac sauce. You can do it, man. Come on. You can stir that. Stir that little chopped pickle in it.

[Unknown Speaker]

Your bird. Your burgers at home should be better than McDonald's burgers.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

We don't need. We don't want these burgers at home. Yeah. Yeah. Almost never.

[Tess Melis]

Okay, I agree. I'm not sure if Yanis had these called fast food places, but they're not fast food. Chipotle is not fast food.

[Jay Skeets]

Whoa.

[Tess Melis]

It's not fast food.

[JD]

I disagree.

[Jay Skeets]

It's fast.

[JD]

It is definitely fast food. Is Subway fast food?

[Jay Skeets]

Yes. Yeah.

[JD]

Then Chipotle is fast.

[Tess Melis]

If it needs a drive through. First of all, it needs a drive through to be fast food.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay. Okay.

[Unknown Speaker]

You have to walk in.

[Tess Melis]

You have to walk into a Chipotle and ordered it. Is that fast.

[Unknown Speaker]

Not every Chipotle, they do have some drive thrus nowadays.

[JD]

Wow.

[Unknown Speaker]

Y. I once got stuck in one for over an hour. It was the slowest Chipotle I ever got in my life.

[Jay Skeets]

Maybe they were like, oh, it's a bad idea.

[Unknown Speaker]

They do exist.

[Tess Melis]

They should remove the word fast from it. Then it's just food.

[Unknown Speaker]

A drive lane. Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah. Although Chick Fil A drive thrus now, some of these in the south are amazing.

[JD]

Oh, yeah.

[Tess Melis]

What they have done.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, they've mastered it.

[JD]

Yeah, totally.

[Jay Skeets]

There's.

[Tess Melis]

There's some walkouts for the people who work there. Like, it's double door. They literally just able to walk out. Yeah. It's phenomenal. So I mean that, to me, that's the best of the best in the fast foods.

[Unknown Speaker]

Chick Fil A.

[Tess Melis]

Yes.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

So rank them.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

So Chipotle, it's a restaurant. It's number one for me. Oh, it's got it all. Then Chick fil A, then McDonald's and Wendy's for me. Yeah, okay. You know, McDonald's, the Mac is too good. I go back and forth on this. The Wendy's chili, very good. You don't get that at McDonald's, do you?

[JD]

Wendy's chili, do they have that in the States?

[Jay Skeets]

I always like drive by a Wendy's and to be honest, can't believe it's still holding on.

[Tess Melis]

Right.

[Jay Skeets]

That's like my feeling about it. Like, I don't know, it's like, wow, you're still here, still doing it. I respect people like it.

[Unknown Speaker]

You got your square burgers, you got your Frosty. I got your chili, I think.

[Jay Skeets]

Don't they stay open like dumb hours too?

[JD]

Hey, they definitely do back home.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah. In Canada. I remember they were always open later than a lot of the other ones.

[Unknown Speaker]

Baked potato still?

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

Oh, wow.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

Offerings for sure.

[Tess Melis]

And sour cream on that baked potato. But yeah, just have it. I think they should just serve chili, nothing else.

[Jay Skeets]

Chili drive through I love is amazing.

[Tess Melis]

They're still cooking. Yannis did great with this, by the way. I think he did pretty good.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh man, I love how serious he took it.

[JD]

He forgot about Chick.

[Jay Skeets]

He forgot about Chick Fil A. Cuz I don't think he maybe thought it was going to be in the mix. I don't think it was weird.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

I was like, oh, he's going to put chick fil A1. But he put chipotle one, right?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, yeah, put chipotle one.

[JD]

Yeah. Okay, well mine, chick fil A is number one. Service alone. For service alone, look, you know, unless.

[Jay Skeets]

You'Re hungry on Sunday.

[JD]

Well, yeah, okay. They close on Sunday. Okay, fair enough. But. But yeah, they. You can order a milkshake at any time except for Sundays. And it's it all. The ice cream machine is never broken. Our McDonald's over here, forget it. Like crapshoot. You want to make flurry maybe? Probably not. So. So it's Chick fil A. It's McDonald's which I actually prefer. The food at McDonald's and then Wendy's. Wendy's is fine. It's serviceable. I hate Chipotle, though. That's number four. I hate it. Yeah, it's the most overrated fast food.

[Tess Melis]

So you hate the rating?

[JD]

Yeah, it's just lame. Like it sucks.

[Unknown Speaker]

No, that is. Chipotle is by far the best of these Hot take.

[Jay Skeets]

That is a hot take.

[JD]

There's so many Mexican restaurants around here that I can get a burrito way cheaper and way better.

[Tess Melis]

We're not comparing it to Mexican restaurants. I know.

[Unknown Speaker]

I'm just saying McDonald's and Wendy's.

[JD]

Okay. With all these restaurants, these four restaurants, three of them actually have unique things about them. You know, square burgers, Frosty's chili. Well, I don't know.

[Jay Skeets]

Like, it's.

[JD]

You got the Big Mac, you got the nugs, you know, you got the broken ice cream machine, and then you got Chick Fil? A. Awesome service, great chicken sandwiches. Chipotle is. It's a fucking burrito literally anywhere.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah, yeah. Because Chipotle exists.

[JD]

That's why there are other Chipotle restaurants, because Mexico exists.

[Unknown Speaker]

What are you talking about? Well, okay. You can go and get a square burger at any place you want to.

[JD]

Well, could you?

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

When do you think Chipotle.

[Unknown Speaker]

For me, please?

[Jay Skeets]

When do you think Chipotle was created? Founded?

[Unknown Speaker]

Bet it was late 90s.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

In Denver. I've been to the original.

[Jay Skeets]

It is in Denver. You're close. It's a little earlier. 93.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah. But now they have, you know, air quotes. Become fast food because they're owned by McDonald's, essentially.

[Jay Skeets]

Right, right.

[Tess Melis]

McDonald's made the purchase, and now they're. They're everywhere. And. Yeah, I think they've had some guacamole problems in the past. They had some avocado problems. What was their problem? They had a.

[Unknown Speaker]

They had a listeria outbreak once upon a time.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[JD]

But days.

[Unknown Speaker]

The day that they said it's okay to eat a Chipotle again, I ate it in airport Chipotle. I'll risk it that hard.

[Jay Skeets]

He had so much confidence.

[Unknown Speaker]

Didn't even care.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah.

[JD]

Okay.

[Jay Skeets]

All right. How would you. How would you rank him?

[Unknown Speaker]

I would go Chipotle, McDonald's, chick fil, a, Wendy's.

[Jay Skeets]

Poor, poor Wendy's coming in.

[Unknown Speaker]

I mean, Wendy's is just lucky that of where it came in on Giannis's blind rankings.

[Tess Melis]

Oh, yeah.

[Unknown Speaker]

Wendy's in the top four.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, it's a solid fry. I like their fry.

[Unknown Speaker]

Okay.

[JD]

It's fine.

[Jay Skeets]

I do agree. Agree.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, I know.

[Jay Skeets]

I feel. I don't even mind their nugs. But it's. It's always like. It's. It's literally like sixth or seventh or eighth on anyone's list. You know, like, when you're like, I'd rather go here. I'd rather go here. You're like, okay, Wendy's is right there. Should we do it?

[Tess Melis]

I get a deli sandwich at Wendy's last time.

[Jay Skeets]

When are you ordering at fast food places? He's ordering chili.

[Tess Melis]

There's nothing good at Wendy's. You gotta order something.

[Jay Skeets]

The point of it, you're supposed to order garbage food nuggets, burgers, fries. Not chili and deli sandwiches.

[Tess Melis]

Yeah, well, their burger, Arby's. I guess their burger ain't that great. Yeah, the best thing at Arby's, their deli sandwich. It's true.

[Jay Skeets]

Well, I love it. Wow. Good stuff, Giannis. Great content.

[Unknown Speaker]

Thank you.

[Jay Skeets]

Thank you so much.

[Tess Melis]

Thank you.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay, we'll call it there. That's rapid fire. Not so rapid. That's the drop. Hopefully a classic, entertaining game six. Let's hope we get a really close game seven on Sunday night. We'll be here on Monday morning to break it all down. Can't wait. Hope you join us then hit the like button. Subscribe podcast listeners, five star ratings and reviews.

[Unknown Speaker]

Of course.

[Jay Skeets]

Before we go, I want to say no Dunks will be doing another live show at Summer league in Las Vegas. It's coming up in a couple weeks.

[JD]

Yeah.

[Jay Skeets]

Is it two weeks this Friday?

[JD]

Yeah.

[Tess Melis]

Today you look to the ceiling.

[Jay Skeets]

Well, hold on, I thought it was three weeks. It's two weeks from now. No, three. Three, three, three, three.

[JD]

Still not a lot of time.

[Jay Skeets]

That's okay. We'll be doing a free show. It's free, it's free. What do we got to worry about?

[Tess Melis]

Still not a lot of time to plan it. Is that what you said?

[JD]

That's what I'm saying.

[Tess Melis]

Y.

[Jay Skeets]

So yeah, so we don't have the exact spot nailed down, but it's probably going to be at the Mandalay Bay. Yes, it is going to be free. And it's going to be probably like earlier on Friday night. Like call it five, six, something like that. Okay, so come on out. Put it on your calendar. Friday, July 11, I believe is the date. If you're going to summer league or you're in the area, come see your boys. We'll have a blast. Wendy's on the house.

[Unknown Speaker]

Wendy's deli sandwiches. It's gonna be 115 degrees and we're all eating chili. There's gotta be a Wendy's on the Strip somewhere. Oh, yeah, that's where the post show party will be. We've done a Tabasco show. Now you're getting a chill. But anyway, the stream team, by the way, game seven. Yeah, what you got? 65 are picking the Thunder Pacers oh.

[Jay Skeets]

People love, they love the story.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's, that's too, that's too high. I think on the pacer side of things.

[Jay Skeets]

Yeah, okay. I would have flipped that, but yeah, sure. Okay. But look, we just want an entertaining game. Thanks for joining us. Until Monday, Clipper Bros. You heard it here first.

[Unknown Speaker]

Have a great time.

[Jay Skeets]

Turn up.

[Unknown Speaker]

Love you guys. Awesome.

[Tess Melis]

Thanks for joining us. And remember, blind rankings are fun. I'm already blind ranking the things at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The aquarium. The aquarium is so good.

[Jay Skeets]

Okay.

[Tess Melis]

You sort of walk underneath. You know how you walk under aquarium sometimes they got sharks. Second the gold plated windows. I think just the outdoor look is cool.

[Jay Skeets]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tess Melis]

I don't know much else about Mandalay Bay, but I like the sports book room where we will be.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's a good top three.

[Tess Melis]

Top three.

[Unknown Speaker]

That's all.

[Tess Melis]

That's all we got.

[Jay Skeets]

Brace the weekend, people.

[G]

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[Unknown Speaker]

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