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- [00:00]
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Dave Dufour
If you're like us on the show, you're always on Triple Double Watch. That's why we were impressed when we learned that Apple Card was posting numbers of their own.
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That's right, with Apple card, you can earn 3% daily cash back at Apple and 2% back on everything you buy.
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Using Apple Pay, not to mention 1% back on everything else. That's a stat line that any fan can appreciate.
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Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app on your iPhone today and start using it right away with Apple Pay.
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Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City Branch terms and more at applecard.com as we head into the playoffs, it's safe to assume there will be a few calls made by the refs that will be hard to accept. But you know what isn't hard to accept? Discover. Believe it or not, Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your wallet and get discovered. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more at discover.com creditcard as you've probably heard by now, we've teamed up with BetMGM. This season we'll be using BetMGM lines to make all of our picks and we'll have special offers for our listeners each week. If you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet, use bonus code TheAthletic and you'll get a one year subscription to the Athletic plus up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager with BetMGM. Here's how it works. Download the BetMGM app and sign up using bonus code TheAth Athletic make your first deposit of at least ten dollars. Place your first bet on any game and claim your voucher for a one year subscription to the Athletic. See betmgm.com for terms. U.S. promotional offers not available in D.C. mississippi, New York, Nevada, Ontario or Puerto Rico. Gambling problem call 1-800- gambler available in the U.S. call 877-8-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY 467-369 In New York, call 1-800-next step in Arizona, 1-800-327-5050 Massachusetts 1-800-bets off in Iowa, 1-800-270-7717 for confidential help in Michigan, 1-800-981-0023 In Puerto Rico, FirstBet offer for new customers only in partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. Don't forget if you haven't signed up for BetMGM yet. Use bonus code TheAthletic and you'll get a one year subscription to the Athletic plus up to a fifteen hundred dollar first bet offer on your first wager.
- [02:26]
Dave Dufour
Good morning and welcome to the NBA Daily. Coming up, we had some crazy finishes in the playoffs over the weekend and a bunch of teams are down 3 1. Some playoff hopes are dead. Good morning everybody. Good morning.
- [02:44]
S
S. Good morning. Good weekend of great weekend. Yeah.
- [02:50]
Dave Dufour
No, Xena today, she took. Took the day off. We'll just say congratulations and. And that's it. We'll just leave vague for you guys as we had another great weekend of basketball. This playoff run for us has been awesome with all of the hours and hours of basketball that we watched over the weekend. It's funny that we're going to spend all this time talking about about 15 seconds from three games because we had controversial slash exciting finishes in multiple games. I happen to be in the building for the Clippers Nuggets game four. And as I had a perfect angle, you know, the media seats, they like to put you on the corners and oh yeah, it's good for scouting because you don't have to turn your head when you're watching. Right, right. I don't have to move. I can see everything. I can see both, you know, all four corners. It's very easy to see the action. And I was across from the spot where Jokic not only made the Sombor shuffle, you know, with like whatever it was 30 seconds left to tie the game up, but also had the perfect angle across from Jokic to see him miss the, the last shot perfectly and to see Aaron Gordon grab it. The initial reaction in the building was shock. Number one into a dome is extremely loud. I don't know how that comes across on tv, but.
- [04:13]
S
No, it did sound loud. Yes.
- [04:15]
Dave Dufour
Two nights the, the two playoff games that I've attended there were just, I mean it was amazing how loud the crowd was. And then it went dead silent when, when Aaron Gordon caught that ball and put it through and we're all, you know, on press row we were running to the, to the replay review basically, you know, right there on press row. And we're all watching and we don't know the rule. And I mean, look, I, I coach the sport, I don't know the rule. I'm thinking to myself, well, it's through the cylinder. Maybe it's good. Turns out that his hand was also off the ball. So it was good. What an incredible turn of events because that Fourth quarter, the story there was the Clippers. You know, the Nuggets were running out of gas, the Clippers fought back. You know, everyone looked incredible, and it felt like they had all the momentum. And then Aaron Gordon makes the play of a lifetime.
- [05:02]
S
My goodness, man. If you think about it, at halftime, right before halftime, right there was that fight, okay? Aaron Gordon, James Harden, and that comes back to bite the Clippers a little bit in the butt because it ended up being Aaron Gordon who gets the game winner. And to me, I think about stuff like that when we're only talking about the final 15 seconds of the play.
- [05:23]
Dave Dufour
Right.
- [05:23]
S
Final 15 seconds of the game. Because there's so much more that can determine that outcome for you through the last 47 minutes to your point. Jokic was incredible in that third quarter. Basically carried the the Nuggets to a massive lead. And then the Clippers answered back just because the Nuggets ran one lineup for all of the third quarter and they just got exhausted towards the end of the four. And that allowed the Clippers to come back. That'll actually be something similar to this Lakers gamers game. Yeah, but that's how the Clippers got themselves back in this game. And the Jokic stuff was just incredible all throughout. You saw him being aggressive as a score, the ability to, as Jokic does, get his teammates involved. I thought Christian Brown was great in this game. And the minute totals for these guys, like all of their starters played massive minutes because that's what they needed. With Westbrook out and injuries and not being able to trust rotations, the Nuggets pulled off a massive win and they got pretty lucky with that Gordon shot.
- [06:29]
Dave Dufour
Well, it's one of the best games I've ever seen from Christian Brown. Both sides of the ball. Right. Like, I mean, he. He was making shots, but also defensively, there was a reason Harden was angry when he fouled him. I mean, it wasn't just that foul, which was hard, but, you know, I think Harden only had six points in the first half, and a lot of that was because Christian Brown was in his ribs. I mean, he was all over him. Also, MPJ Michael Porter Jr. Fantastic game. And especially when you consider he's pretty much playing with one arm. I mean, you know, we talk a lot about this guy's inconsistency, but, you know, one of the things that David Adelman talked about pregame was just how tough Michael Porter Jr. Is. I mean, I've never had any surgery, much less a back surgery, but it does seem like that guy has to go through a lot to play and you know, has a pretty serious shoulder issue, but huge game from him, dude, massive game.
- [07:21]
S
That same shoulder injury that he's playing through. I've watched both RJ Barrett and Jacoby Walter for the Raptors miss months because of that same injury. And he's playing through it like that is a testament to the amount of fight what the playoffs mean. And I think it was just a massive gritty performance. This man was shooting basically with one arm and made four threes and shot and ended up with 17 points. Hit some massive shots. The broadcast like Reggie Miller was talking about it the entire time. It's like this man is shooting with one arm. How difficult it is to take the shots that he's taking without that one shoulder helping him out. It was an awesome gritty performance from Denver. And now if you're looking forward to game five, you've got home court advantage. It's a best of three series and man. Yeah. You wonder if the Clippers, like, that's it.
- [08:12]
Dave Dufour
Oh, right. We'll see.
- [08:13]
S
We'll see.
- [08:14]
Dave Dufour
Hey, if you're the Clippers, you're not feeling great, right? Because game one was yours. Yeah. Game four, you felt like you maybe had a chance at it. I mean, you know, 100 potentially like a sweep instead of.
- [08:24]
S
I think this ending up being a seven game series.
- [08:28]
Dave Dufour
Oklahoma City Thunder, by the way, had a great weekend. You know, they close out Memphis and we're, you know, they closed them out pretty, pretty easily and basically get a week off waiting for the winner of this series. Let's talk Pistons, Knicks. Before we get to the Lakers and Wolves again, another game that it's gonna, we're gonna talk about the last play and, and the missed call. But really like the Knicks, they, they mounted a comeback in the fourth. And I would put the blame for, for the Pistons loss on coach J.B. bickerstaff. I know we've given him a lot of credit for getting this team turned around, but the truth is, you know, Tobias Harris picks up his fifth foul and they make the decision to take him off of Carl Anthony Towns. And Carl Anthony Towns just abused Jaylen Duran. That, that final stretch. Cat had a huge close to this game and so did Jalen Brunson after he came back from injury. But the final play s. It's not a great look when the referees, you know, in their two minute report, I mean, before, it wasn't even the two minute report, it was a pool report. The pool report.
- [09:30]
S
Yeah.
- [09:31]
Dave Dufour
Before Jalen Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns even get to the podium. We know that the refs are admitting to missing a call, which frankly, in my opinion, I'm glad. But that's not a foul call we want to see in the playoffs. That's the, that's the foul call that was supposed to have gone the way away when they said unnatural shooting motions matter, you know, in this whole thing. But the refs admit to missing a call, the Knicks get a win. They're up 3:1. I don't know, man. What do you think about it?
- [09:58]
S
Look, I, I, you know me. The Pistons have been a very, very fun story to cover. Right. And this sucks for Pistons fans all around because you could have been tied two two, right. You could have taken back home court advantage. You could have been headed to a best of three series. Right? That's the way you, you look at it from the Pistons fan perspective. And from that perspective, you should be livid at them missing that call because ultimately it just, it completely changed the game. The result of the game could have changed. Tim Hardaway Jr. Very good free throw shooter. He's knocking down at least one of those three, three point attempts that he could have made. So from that perspective. Yes. The other thing is this game was insanely physical. I mean, it looked like a fight throughout the 48 minutes and to call that foul would have been sort of out of place compared to all the non calls that we saw throughout. I mean, there was a portion of.
- [10:52]
Dave Dufour
This play underneath the right. Yeah. Like there was a lot of contact. Yeah.
- [10:57]
S
Tons of physicality. And we've been saying that throughout this postseason for basically every playoff series. But they're letting it fly. Right. And I just don't think that that made sense. That call would have made sentence in that moment. But the officials kind of shoot themselves in the foot here by reporting on these things.
- [11:15]
Dave Dufour
Right.
- [11:15]
S
You can't, it feels like a half measure to do the pool report, to do the last two minute report eventually when they come out with it. Because at the end of the day, like what are you going to do? You're not going to give this win back to the Pistons. It's not going to, that's not how it's going to work. To me it just, it doesn't make sense process wise.
- [11:34]
Dave Dufour
It erodes faith in the institution, actually. Right. What you're doing, and I understand there's this idea that being transparent means they're going to try to be better. But the truth is, I mean, personally, I didn't even feel like you missed the call and if they would have just given the old old marginal contact line that they've done dozens and dozens of times when they've actually missed a call, it wouldn't, it wouldn't blow up in their face like this. That being said, the game was, was excellent. You know, it's going to get lost because of this last play. But you know, I think that the Knicks themselves showed a lot of grit. You know, Jalen Brunson again playing hurt, that ankle clearly is, is going to bother him I think going into the next game. And then Carl Anthony Towns, just some of the shots, the shot making from Karl Anthony Towns really won the game for the Knicks.
- [12:26]
S
Yeah, that fourth quarter in general from Brunson and Towns was incredible. I mean Brunson ended up with 15 points in that fourth quarter. Towns only ended up with eight. But those eight points were massive. The huge three point shots. He had two threes in that fourth that were huge. And then it was very similar to game three cat where he hit the turnaround baseline fade away. It was the exact same shot, but it was just more absurd. It was over way more content. And I just thought like this is why they have this two headed monster offensively, that when the going gets tough, when it's extremely physical, when it is, hey, you have to get a bucket. Jalen Brunson can do that for you. He's the clutch player of the year. That's exactly what he's there for. And I think Carl Karl Anthony Towns, Katie showed that he could do it too. It was, it was exactly what the Knicks wanted. Kind of confidence wise heading into round.
- [13:21]
Dave Dufour
Two of maybe, maybe eventually they'll figure out a way to use each other to get open. I, I mean it would be amazing to see them play together. Let's talk Wolves, Lakers. The, the Wolves pick up a huge win. Anthony Edwards. Before we get to the finish of this, I want to talk about Anthony Edwards because this is, it's not a breakout for him because we already knew that, that he was a, a big game player, but I mean he's been the best player in this series. He puts up 43 points, has nine rebounds, six assists. He plays both ways, right? Like, I mean he makes defensive plays. To see him actually take over this game down the stretch for the wolves and beat LeBron and Luca, I, I think that this is, this is one of these things where when it's all said and done, like we'll probably talk about this playoff series as him sort of taking the torch. You know what I mean?
- [14:12]
S
Yeah, yeah. No he is taking a leap right before our eyes. And Dave, you actually highlighted this a couple of weeks ago before the playoffs started, where you said Anthony Edwards is making a little bit of a playmaking leap. You can see that his decision making is a little bit better. He's more decisive. He's learning how to leverage his pull up shooting to be able to make openings for other teammates. And you see that in this series going back to game three, he had some massive plays to in that fourth quarter to really separate the Wolves. You think about that kick out pass to Nas Reed for the three, just constant pull up shooting to be able to, you know, really like leverage that as an isolation score to create shots for his teammates in game four. It was exactly the same thing. And to your point, he's also making plays on the defensive end. So not only is he locked in defensively, but he's making those reads. It's not like he's making complex reads like luka Doncic or LeBron James, but just making the right play. And also being this incredible scorer for the Wolves, you can see him leveling up, but also matching the exact same intensity, matching the level of what Luka can get to. And that from a Wolves fan perspective, that's huge. That's bigger than anything you could have got from this series.
- [15:24]
Dave Dufour
He's controlling the pace of the game. And that's what the great ones do, right? It's what LeBron does, it's what Luca does, it's. It's what Shea does, it's what Jokic does. Doesn't get sped up. And then the other thing is he has excellent footwork. You watch how he gets into some of these. It's like a jump stop and then a sidestep for the little mid range. That's, I mean, that's something that he's added this year. And it's, it's really hard to guard. I mean, he, he's one of the most unguardable guys. One on one. The. The play of this game that you've likely seen over and over and over again required the Hawkeye view camera. They had to literally break out the, the NBA equivalent of a spy satellite to figure out that LeBron fouled Anthony Edwards on a drive late in the game. I mean, to me, look, yeah, hands part of the ball, wrist part of the hand. That's how, you know, we grew up playing it. Yeah, it's a foul by this spy satellite footage. And Ant goes to the free throw line, hits two free throws and you know, basically the Wolves get to hang on from there. I mean, you know, again, I hate to see a game swung on this sort of level of pedantism, you know what I mean? Like, it's just.
- [16:33]
S
Yeah, yeah.
- [16:34]
Dave Dufour
Well, that's what people are going to talk about, right?
- [16:36]
S
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [16:38]
Dave Dufour
It's a fast sport. You know, it's hard to call.
- [16:40]
S
There are so many missed calls in NBA games. And I think that's actually something that you can look for with all the three games that we talked about today, right? Knicks, Pistons, Nuggets, Clippers, Lakers, Wolves. There are so many missed calls throughout that it's hard to look at the last 15 seconds and say, well, that is why we lost the game. Maybe Pistons fans can say that, right? But for the most part, it's very hard to say that is why we lost that game. There's actually a reason I think the Lakers lost this game. They, they had a pretty massive lead. I think it was about nine or 10 points in that fourth quarter. JJ Redick played one lineup for the final 24 minutes of this game. LeBron James rested for a total of a minute and a half in this game. Luka rested for two minutes in this game. Okay, that's right there. And by the way, they were a great lineup. Lakers small ball lineup. We've talked about it. The ability to create shots, all of that. Their offense was awesome, especially against the drop defense the Wolves were playing. Once the Wolves went to switch, different story. Lakers offense dried up, but also their shots started to come short.
- [17:48]
Dave Dufour
They were dead.
- [17:48]
S
They were, they were, they weren't rotating as well as they used to. And we've talked so much about how the Lakers defense, defense is exhausting.
- [17:57]
Dave Dufour
You have.
- [17:57]
S
Watching them is tiring. So like in the fourth quarter, when you know everything is on the line, it's just. They didn't have their legs under them. They were tired.
- [18:07]
Dave Dufour
The craziest thing is, is LeBron. We get blocked by James from Mike Brain, right? He makes a great block on Devon Chicken, incredible play. He makes two great strips on defense, defensive play. So he was still able to muster up the, the defensive energy. But look, Jared Vanderbilt and Gabe Vincent, I thought played pretty well in the first half, right? Like, they didn't, it didn't seem like they should have just not been out there.
- [18:33]
S
They could have played spot minutes at the very least.
- [18:37]
Dave Dufour
I'm, I'm lost by the, by the, the idea of playing five guys 24 straight minutes, I've just obviously never seen it before. Never had in the playoffs.
- [18:49]
S
It's a it's a must win. So I get it. From that perspective you're riding your best group. They've been one of the best five man lineups in the NB since they added Luka Doncic. But at the same time you saw Luca getting blown by on rotations and the the rotations weren't crisp enough on the defensive side and so that just opened up tons of opportunities for the Wolves offensively. At some point you got to get these guys just spot minutes here and there, get Gabe in there, get Jared Vanderbilt in there just so they can get some rest. And yeah, that I think that is the reason you could look at from a Lakers perspective and say that's probably what ended up losing them this game.
- [19:26]
Dave Dufour
Yeah, guys, stick around after the break. I'm gonna ask S if some of these three one series are over or if we've got some comeback potential.
- [19:38]
Sponsor Voice
This message is brought to you by Apple Card.
- [19:41]
Dave Dufour
If you're like us on the show, you're always on triple double Watch. That's why we were impressed when we learned that Apple Card was posting numbers of their own.
- [19:48]
S
That's right, with Apple Card you can earn 3% daily cash back at Apple and 2% back on everything you buy.
- [19:55]
Dave Dufour
Using Apple Pay, not to mention 1% back on everything else. That's a stat line that any fan can appreciate.
- [20:02]
S
Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app on your iPhone today and start using it right away with Apple Pay.
- [20:08]
Sponsor Voice
Subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch terms and more@applecard.com as we head into the playoffs, it's safe to assume there will be a few calls made by the refs that will be hard to accept. But you know what isn't hard to accept? Discover. Believe it or not, Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. You heard that right, 99%. So make a good call for your wallet and get Discover. Based on the February 2024 Nielsen report. Learn more@discover.com credit card right now the.
- [20:45]
Dave Dufour
Home Depot has spring deals under $20. So what are you working on? If you're planning on cooking out this season, head to the Home Depot so you can fire up the grill with deals on charcoal. Right now, get two 16 pound bags of Kingsford charcoal for only $17.88. Was $19.98. Don't miss spring deals under $20 now through May 7th at the home Depot. Subject to availability. Valid on select items only. Okay guys, time for the game. That's sweeping the nation. Is it over or not? S. Let's start with the series we just talked about. Pistons, Knicks, now 3:1, going back to New York. Is it over or not?
- [21:39]
S
Yes, I think it is. And look, I just think, going to msg, the Knicks smell blood in a certain way. And I. This is just credit to the Pistons and how close they've gotten in this series. It's been incredible. But yeah, I would say. I would say it's over. Just.
- [21:55]
Dave Dufour
They smell blood because this series is very.
- [21:57]
S
Has been bloody. Yes, exactly.
- [21:59]
Dave Dufour
Yeah. Wolves, Lakers. We talked about the heartbreaking loss there for. For the Lakers. 3 1. Going back to crypto. What do you think?
- [22:09]
S
I actually don't think this one is over. I think LeBron, Luca and those guys will. Will end up winning at least one more game to bring it back to Minnesota, and then we'll see what happens.
- [22:20]
Dave Dufour
Minnesota gets it done in game six. I see. I see where you're leaning there. The Bucks down 3 to 1 against the Pacers after losing last night. They also lost Damian Lillard. It's unconfirmed at the time that we're recording this, but it seems pretty apparent from the initial reporting that it's an Achilles injury for. For Dame, so no expectation that. That he's going to come back. And, and, you know, as. Look, this is a series that, in my opinion, was already. There was a little bit of a talent mismatch there, and obviously Dame wasn't even in game one because of the DVT diagnosis from. From earlier in the season. So the Bucks have kind of been up between a rock and a hard place as it is. They're now down 3 1. The Pacers look like they're just gaining momentum somehow. The role players look like they're playing even better. This one feels done to me. What about you?
- [23:13]
S
Yes, it is done, but it's deflating to even talk about this just because it's such a bad way for this series to end.
- [23:21]
Dave Dufour
Right? Yeah.
- [23:22]
S
Dame and. And what he's kind of had to go through with the blood clot situation coming back and being able to, you know, kind of play in the playoffs and try to be effective only for this to happen to him. You think about the injury history between Giannis and Dame over the last three seasons, and basically every season that him and Giannis have been together in Milwaukee, there has been an injury that stopped them from getting, you know, really a consistent run going. So that's, that's why this feels deflating. And now you look at the Buck situation and it's like it's not only over in this series, it might be over over, right. Yeah.
- [23:57]
Dave Dufour
They don't own any of their picks. They owe swaps until like 2030 and frankly, like the window is shut. I mean, it's not just, it's not just that. That they're not good and they're going to be out of the playoffs this year. They have no path to a rebuild. I mean, they just, yeah. Don't have the assets. And you got to start thinking, and we're not going to do that today, but because we'll have plenty of time this summer. But you got to start thinking, when's that Giannis trade coming? I mean, it just, it's just staring us right in the face, unfortunately.
- [24:26]
S
It seems almost inevitable. But you're right, we're going to have a summer to be able to basically.
- [24:31]
Dave Dufour
Talk about depending on what happens with the Nuggets over the course of the next week. I'm going to start the, the Giannis to Denver campaign. If we start hearing the rumors of Giannis being on the move, the Celtics.
- [24:43]
S
It'S going to be the Lakers somehow with Austin Reeves and a second round pick or something. You know, that's, I don't know.
- [24:49]
Dave Dufour
It depends. Can, can Austin Reeves play a little bit better than he has the last couple games? We'll see. The, the Celtics are now up 3 to 1 on the Orlando Magic. This, the Celtics looking more human in this playoff run so far than they did last year, partially just because of injuries. You know, Jason Tatum's got the wrist. Jalen Brown had the knee. Now Drew Holiday's missed the last two games. They, they probably feel pretty lucky to leave Orlando up three one. You know, they lost game three. Orlando has been mucking it up quite a bit, being very physical and they're big, which is, you know, one of the things that you can use to your advantage against the Celtics. But, you know, 3:1 lead, it feels likely that, I mean, they're going to win the series. You think they close it out here in game five?
- [25:36]
S
I do. I do think they're going to close it out in game five. I, I think Tatum had a master class in game four. Was just incredible. 37 points, 14 rebounds, three assists. Like he was just sur the way he closed the game right, like huge was massive. And by the way, like, the Celtics have gotten two games, two massive games from their stars in this series. You think about Jalen Brown with this big game and now Tatum with this one. I think that's how you lean Celtics will be able to win this series. I will say from the Magic side, they've played it closer than you'd imagine. And I think part of that is Franz and Paulo playing better basketball. It's just you have to find more offensive weapons next to those guys. I know they're not fully healthy either. They're missing Jalen Suggs and and Mo Wagner. But thinking into the off season, find these guys some offensive help. Give these guys more weapons around.
- [26:29]
Dave Dufour
You know, they need similar guy. It's similar, but different to what Houston deals with. But they, they really need like a point guard who can stir the drink and get these guys going. Somebody that they can play off of a little bit.
- [26:40]
S
Yeah, I agree. Yeah, I don't know who that is. And look, who knows who will end up becoming available this summer. I know there's going to be tons of names floated around, but Orlando should get in the mix because you look at how they're competing against Boston, it does feel like they're one of those types of players away from being really competitive.
- [26:57]
Dave Dufour
And they've got some guys that, that they could move like some young guys that they could maybe put together with some of their picks and bring some stuff in before we get out of here. Our bet. MGM pick of the day Warriors Rockets Game four. The warriors win Game three without Jimmy Butler. Much to our shock. I, I was just completely floored by the fact that Houston did not, did not pick up this win. Jimmy Butler is still questionable. We don't know if he's going to play or not, but man, I kind of feel like he's going to because Jimmy Butler just wants it more. Yeah. How do you feel about Warriors Rockets Game 4?
- [27:34]
S
I feel very, very good for the warriors just because it feels like they've sort of figured out how they want to beat this team. Steve Kerr.
- [27:43]
Dave Dufour
Steve Kerr coached his tail off in Game three.
- [27:47]
S
Yes. Credit to Steve Kerr for rolling with Gary Payton. The second, especially in that fourth quarter, opened up so many things. Xena has mentioned this, but just like the ability to occupy space. A guy who's a roller who can just do a bunch of different things for you. He fit in perfectly with that closing lineup. And then Steph having just like an incredible performance.
- [28:08]
Dave Dufour
The Rockets amazing to have a six three point guard, running pick and roll with a six two center.
- [28:13]
S
With the six two center. Yeah, that's true. Yeah. And look, the Rockets, the offense is an issue. We've talked about it all season. It showed up in Game 3. They shot 40% from the field sengun basically didn't make a single shot around the basket other than a dunk, one dunk that he had. So I think part of that is Draymond. I think the defensive masterclass that put up in game three, looking into game four, once they add Jimmy, that spells trouble for Houston for sure.
- [28:41]
Dave Dufour
Take away Jaylen, Jaylen Green, right? You take away his open looks and what he did against him in game two, and all of a sudden now it's Amend Thompson and Fred Van Vliet that you're depending on to make shots.
- [28:53]
S
They need more from those guys.
- [28:54]
Dave Dufour
That's not been good for Houston this year. Right. Like, especially here in the playoffs, like those guys. I. I think Steve Kerr is basically bet on the right thing. I don't think Fred Van Vliet can beat the Warriors. I don't think Amend Thompson can beat the Warriors. Definitely not with a jump shot. And so if you just turn the water off for those other guys, it's a win. I think the warriors pick up game four. I think they go back to chase up three one, and, man, I mean, it's looking like we're going to get Wolves, warriors in the next round.
- [29:24]
S
That's going to be a really fun series. I mean, you think about Anthony Edwards, you think about Draymond, the defense of the warriors versus the Wolves, Rudy Gobert versus Draymond. Forgot about. About that aspect. That. That's gonna be wild, but that's gonna be. Yeah. The warriors and Wolves still have to close it out. I will say that's still what you.
- [29:41]
Dave Dufour
Got in game four.
- [29:42]
S
I like you said, Jimmy's coming back. I think they're gonna handle this one. Warriors are gonna win in game four.
- [29:47]
Dave Dufour
There you go. Well, that's gonna do it for the show, folks. Again, playoffs, man. So much fun.
- [29:52]
S
The best.
- [29:53]
Dave Dufour
Yeah. Having a great time for Esperahenny. I'm Dave Dufour, and this is Ben the NBA Daily. Thanks for waking up with.