B (2:49)

go maybe a hundred?

A (2:50)

Let us know in the comments. Yeah, you know, I think you're watching the 83.

B (2:55)

We can't say a Wilt record was broken. By the way. Wilt still has the record. I just realized this, 100 points, you know.

A (3:02)

Well, just more Wilt Chamberlain related stuff and, and probably more Will stuff when we talk about the Nuggets because Jokic was ridiculous. But, but let's start with the Celtic side of this and then we'll get to, to the Thunder. Look, at the end of this game, actually I, I thought I, I was getting a little bit nervous. The game was kind of getting away from the Celtics. They weren't hitting shots and then they turn it up. They, they kind of get back in the game and it's back and forth. What, what do you think about their, their shot making down the stretch? I mean, Peyton Pritchard hits a big shot over Shea, Jaylen Brown hits this huge rainbow fade away to tie the game up before, you know, they eventually lost. I mean this is the sort of stuff that we usually talk about come playoff time where hey, look at what they've got in their bag. I mean to see it against the Thunder I think was something else.

B (3:49)

Yeah, I mean look, all season they've been one of the best mid range scoring teams in the NBA and that's something completely different than what the Celtics have done in prior seasons. It's what truthfully is like change the dynamic for this Celtics team to be different without Tatum. Yeah, and a lot of that is because of Jalen Brown and Peyton Pritchard. And so those guys I think are some of the best one on one scorers in the NBA. It just so happens that the Celtics were also playing probably the best one on one score in the NBA in Shay Gilchrist.

A (4:18)

Alexander and by the way didn't send a double team against him. They didn't. When you had a lead, I mean

B (4:26)

they, I thought shout out to Hugo Gonzalez because I really like him. Really good rookie. He also had a great game. Like the Celtics wing guys, backup guys, guys. Ron Harper, Jordan Walsh, those guys played really, really good today. But he conceded a switch on one of the final possessions and it was Baylor Scheiman versus sga. And I just, I don't like that matchup as much as I like Hugo who had blocked SGA on a mid range jump shot a little bit earlier in the game. And so yeah, I agree. They. They were letting him cook on an island where you could have probably sent the help. And even on that final play where Chet did get the offensive rebound, Ron Harper went to go and double a little, I'd probably say, to get the ball out of Shay's hands, but it's tough. Those type of moments is just like in instinct and intuition and Yeah, I

A (5:15)

mean, instead of sending a double team, they literally just let Shay get to his spot, to his spots.

B (5:20)

Yeah, you know, you know what it is with sga? I tweeted this, but I'll, I'll throw it at you too. You know how Jokic has this kind of like nonchalant demeanor about him where everything he does feels like he's begrudgingly doing it. SGA kind of has that with scoring where he's just like, okay, you know, I gotta get in my mid range bag. Bang. No problem. You know, like, it just, it feels effortless is what I'm saying this and it just, it's incredible to watch. Obviously the streak has been broken now he is the all time leader for 20 plus point games. But it's just, it goes to show you the level of consistency and perhaps, I don't know, rhythm for everything that he does as an offensive player, he is one of the best scorers in NBA history. I know the free throw conversation ends up being the, the thing for him all the time, but he really, truly is one of the best scorers in NBA history.

A (6:16)

I mean, fantastic. Also had nine assists by the way.

B (6:19)

He did, yeah, you know, like shading and kind of making him be a passer. They were doing that throughout the game a little bit too.

A (6:26)

Yeah, the spurs didn't have Victor women, Yama. They almost beat the Nuggets second night of a back to back for the Nugget. But the Nuggets came back. I mean, they turned it up in the fourth quarter and this is sort of what we expect from the Nuggets. I mean, you know, they're known for, for being able to close out games. They wound up winning 136, 131. Not a lot of defense in the game.

B (6:48)

No, not a lot of defense. No, there was, I think the spurs had like 90 points by the end of the third quarter. It was one of those types of games. The great thing here from the Nuggets perspective was Jamal Murray just completely took over in the fourth quarter and like his shot making against the spurs, point of attack defense. And Stefan Castle who ended up with a triple double tonight, he was really great in this game too. But Murray just completely cooked especially to close this one. I thought Spencer Jones had a really great game shot making wise too. And so they, the Nuggets just got enough, especially on the second night of a back to back.

A (7:23)

They just came, didn't have Aaron Gordon.

B (7:25)

Didn't have Aaron Gordon, no Peyton Watson yet. Like that's, I think that's a pretty good win from the Nuggets perspective. Who also like needed that win more. Given where they are in the standings, what the stakes are for them at this point in the season. Right.

A (7:37)

I thought the spurs, you know, they tried some stuff out. You know, Kelton Johnson was guarding Jokic a little bit. I, I, you know, not to say that they were just tossing the game away. They blew a 20 point lead and you know, you never want to do that even if you're missing your best player. But they still, they showed quite a bit. And this is, you know, they've been successful without Wemby. I think they dropped to 11 and 3 now without him out there. But it's tough, man. Like you're going up against Nicola Jokic and Jamal Murray. They, they combined for 70 points. Jokic had 20 rebounds, 12 assists, three steals, two blocks. And we're talking about him less. Yeah. Like, it's like this guy is, it's video game numbers. Yeah. Just, you know, I don't even know what to do about it.

B (8:20)

Probably another Wilt record broken, by the way.

A (8:23)

Well, it's, it's. Jokic and Wilt are kind of like in the same breath all the time. But you know, when, when he's playing like this and Murray is playing like this, I mean, Murray getting, he has these moments and everybody remembers this from a few years ago, but it's back now where, you know, oh, he just wants to take a shot.

B (8:42)

Yeah. And he, nobody is going to stop him.

A (8:44)

That's right. And he's hunting sometimes that step back at the elbow. Sometimes it's the step back at the top of the key. Two of the toughest shots to hit, by the way. And he's undersized compared to the guys that are usually guarding him. But he hadn't been able to get into that the last few years. I'm not sure, you know, whether it was health or or conditioning or whatnot, but the fact that he's still doing that in March and he's actually been doing it all year, I, I think that we're talking about a guy that is in the running for probably third team all NBA. You Know, there's a lot of guys obviously missed time that that's going to help him. But I mean he made it all star team this year. He looks again like the second best player on what could be a title team. Yeah, like he's back.

B (9:24)

Like we have been sort of ringing the alarm bells over the last couple weeks with the Nuggets. But if there's one thing that should give you confidence in what they're doing this season is the fact that Jamal Murray looks completely healthy and he again looks like an all NBA player, has made the all star team for the first time in his career, is able to score 39 points on any given night against one of the best defenses in the NBA. Like that ability to reach his highest height is there again. And if as long as that's there, they have a legitimate chance of winning the title. That's what makes this also. It makes the Western Conference so hard to predict. Like, yeah, this might be the Western Conference finals. We just talked about OKC Boston being a finals preview. Like the playoffs are going to be awesome.

A (10:12)

Dave. Yeah, it's open. Yeah, I still, I don't know. I mean, you know, we talked about this a little bit. It still. OKC continues to win, continues to not be healthy and Shade go to Salexander plays like the best player in the league. I, I still feel like they're the favorites even though it feels so wide open. So anyway guys, stick around. After the break, we talked to Sam about Bam and we talk a little bit.

B (10:36)

Dave should SGA have scored 19 points.

A (10:41)

All right guys, stick around. All right. It's been a few days and the fallout from The Bam Adebayo 83 point game continues to spread. Our guy Sam Amicking contributed to the conversation this week. How you doing, Sam?

C (11:15)

I'm good, guys. I'm good.

A (11:16)

I know. Hey, Sam, look.

B (11:19)

All right.

A (11:20)

Hey.

B (11:20)

I personally love it. I love it because I don't know how you feel.

A (11:24)

It's.

B (11:24)

It's awesome. It's good to be have the different tastes and it's like hell yeah, dude. Let's see what the best is that.

C (11:31)

I'm just impressed. Not to make this like a marketing campaign but, but Apple like nice job. The phone's not on fire. Like it. It held up, dimensions are burning. But you know the phone still works.

A (11:43)

Listen, in case people listening or watching on YouTube aren't aware, could you lay out, you know that your take on the BAM Autobio 83 point game? Because I do think it's. It's worth listening to. Obviously I know, because we talked a little bit before we started recording and I read your piece, but yeah, yeah.

C (12:02)

So, I mean, quick backdrop, you know, I'm based near Sacramento. I'm at this terrible Kings Pacers game that night, and people start chatting about how Bam is got 31 in the first quarter. And that's crazy, but admittedly, that didn't compel me to lock in and watch. And then you start hearing the numbers getting higher and higher. Fast forward to literally the last three, four minutes, and I'm in the press room at Golden 1 Center. Decide to lock in and watch this thing. I'm on my phone and put the audio on. And that's kind of the key component. So Bam is getting into the mid-70s. You're kind of wondering, like, this is incredible, but they're up 27, almost 30. You know, it's feeling admitted. You know, again, people get mad all they want. This was my experience. This was my reaction to the moment, which was like, incredible stuff. But what are we doing here? This is pretty gluttonous is kind of the word that was in my mind. And then with the audio on, you hear longtime Heat play by play man Jason Reed talk about how When Bam hits 81, he says, oh, you know, Bam's going to come out of the game. One of his favorite players of all time is Kobe Bryant. He'll be honored to share this mark with the late, great Kobe Bryant. And admittedly, and I was telling you guys this off air, I don't normally put my fan hat on. We just cover this stuff objectively. But the basketball fan in me was just like, damn, okay, like, that's pretty cool. Like, regardless of how messy the ending was and all the criticism about how Bam got to 83, which, yes, is like the definition of nitpicking, is the. You're kind of going, all right, I can rock with that. Like, it was like this last off ramp where the optics of all of it I thought were going to be

A (13:41)

good to stop at 81 1. I also was kind of fooled by the broadcast, and it did look like they were pulling Bam for a second.

B (13:49)

Even the wizard, even the Wizards brought. Because I was watching the Wizards broadcast, because I am. I don't know, I want to see people be very miserable, you know? And this Wizards broadcast felt like a golf tournament at this point, the way that they were talking throughout this whole game. But they even thought that he was going to get subbed out at 81. They're like, oh, Pat Riley is signaling for him to get So I will.

C (14:12)

To try to put a little extra substance into our conversation, guys, I. I've talked to a lot of people since writing the column, and in terms of reporting on that moment, you know, I was assured by a Heat official that there was no discussion. You know, Eric Spolster said publicly, I didn't think about pulling him Right. Other folks within the team that run the operation told me that was not discussed. That basically the broadcast just got it wrong. You, I'm sure you did see the Pat Riley video that only he knows. If he was in jest, where he says to Bam in the hallway, I would have pulled you a 70. And he laughs and he says, you did it. But that in terms of the reaction around the league, I heard from a fair amount of people who did not like the way that the 83 unfolded and who also said, how would Pat Riley approve this? You know what I mean? And what did Pat think of this? That was kind of a. And this is take it or leave it. But like Heat culture, if you're going to have that kind of brand, then people are going to look at you differently when it comes to elements of sportsmanship and whatever it might be. But to finish the loop, it's like he keeps going. And I just wasn't enjoying the ending. It was like, what are we doing here? They're extending the game by fouling. They've got Bam's teammates missing free throws so that they can scramble for the rebound and get the ball back in his hands. They're passing the ball into him two feet from the baseline with three guys on him, full court pressing, and you're still forcing it into him. It was, you know, not even remotely organic or in the flow of the game. That was the. The biggest issue I had.

A (15:44)

I mean, that's fair.

B (15:45)

Yeah, I think it's fair to have that. Honestly, the. The take that I've landed on is like, he got to 70 fair and square like, which is impressive in its. Tom had a.

A (15:57)

Had a really good take over Yahoo. And he said basically every 70 plus point game you can throw an asterisk

B (16:04)

on has a little bit of that.

A (16:05)

Listen, even in Wilt's game, they were allowing the other team to score. They were fouling. I mean, you know, there's always some shenanigans involved with one guy scoring that many points in a basketball game.

C (16:16)

Here's my. Because I know we're not going to spend the whole show on this guy. My quick. My quick 2 cents. Because this stuff I have. I have dived Deep down the rabbit hole since writing the column to try to add context, a couple of things with Wilt. You know, Dave, first of all, I'm glad you acknowledged that the game actually happened. Half the Internet doesn't think it happened, but yes, they were. They were, you know, they were trying to let the Knicks score ASAP to get the ball back in Wilt's hands. Definitely shenanigans. And s. You're the. The Toronto guy. Like, Kobe's game was pretty legit. The Lakers were down by 14 at halftime. They needed. He flipped the game in the third quarter, I think 27 points in the third quarter. Was he scoring with 90 seconds left with the game in hand? Yes, but that was a actual basketball game that required his, you know, basketball heroics.

B (17:02)

It was much closer than this Wizards game, for sure. No question. And like, to your point about the, the actual, like, how much they required Kobe to go and score that 80 points, I think probably like 75, 77 of those points were actually required. And then it got to, hey, how far can we take this? Right, with free throws? And so, yeah, you got to 81 points that way.

C (17:24)

But the other thought is, you know, I've had people tell me a couple things, you know, what do you think Kobe would have done? Kobe would have laughed at the idea of Bam stopping at his record. Kobe's a killer. He goes for it.

A (17:35)

Fine.

C (17:36)

Kobe also, and I gotta secure. I keep getting close to the numbers, but he had at least three other times in his career. Sorry, dogs making noise here. When he got to 60 points after three quarters and he sat like some

B (17:50)

people, the 66 point game against the Mavericks.

A (17:52)

Right.

B (17:52)

It was in three quarters and there

C (17:54)

was a 62 point game, too. Yeah, like, he had two in the fourth, I think, like, he. Multiple times and I need to secure the info, but like, this part's accurate. Multiple times in his career, you know, he sat after three quarters and yeah, talking to. Not to try to be the, you know, because I certainly got accused of. Of being, you know, the. The guy trying to carry Kobe's legacy here. But yes, I was in touch with people who not only played with him, were around him, but like, who were pretty close with him. And the frustration was people saying, man, don't try to speak for this dude. Like, he did not do the type of thing that Bam did in getting his record. And he multiple times showed that if we're up by 30 and the actual basketball game is no longer in question, then I will stop playing.

A (18:38)

And that's been the Norm, for a lot of guys, like I think about clay having 60 through three quarters.

C (18:42)

I mean, clay like two.

A (18:45)

Yeah, there's been a lot of those. I wonder if maybe we see a shift away from that against tanking teams and guys. Well, just. Well, a little bit, you know, because the Wizards, well, the Wizards organization should be embarrassed by this 100% because I think like the Miami Heat rubbed their faces in it.

C (19:03)

That's the other part. Dave, as a coach again, I really did enjoy. It was a lot of fun yesterday getting. Because yes, when you write something that makes the rounds like that column did, then your phone is blowing up for people around the NBA and hearing from high profile, respected coaches who basically said, man, I love spo, but the Heat are lucky they didn't run into a different coaching staff. You know, I don't think that was a great look for Brian Keefe and his staff. That there should have been more force in the other direction to say, this is enough. This is disrespectful. This is embarrassing. You guys need to stop.

A (19:36)

Yeah, he.

B (19:37)

Even Brian Keefe said it post game. He's like, that didn't feel like a basketball game at the end. Well, you, you were a part in

A (19:42)

the middle of that. He was in the middle of it. And they didn't make a defensive adjustment in the first half. Right. Like you. I'm sorry. Yeah, you're coaching a tanking team, but you can't do it on cruise.

B (19:51)

This is great. Sam Mitchell was the guy for 20 years to be like, we didn't double

A (19:57)

team college Brian Keefe that. There's a lot of people that follow the NBA that didn't know Brian Keefe's name and they do now, and that's not necessarily a good thing.

C (20:06)

Well, last thought real quick, guys. Down the road we're going to have the annual anonymous player poll that we're currently working on. And it, it, it was also interesting because I, I talked to a couple players yesterday and in real time seeing how a moment like this can impact certain answers. So one of you know, a little sneak preview, one of the answers or one of the questions rather is other than your own coach, which coach in the NBA is the least impressive? And you know, not trying to be mean about it, but like, I know, I think, you know, I think Brian might have earned a few extra votes.

A (20:38)

Man, that's rough. Hey, listen, again, you sign up to tank, this is what's going to happen. All right, Sam, look, we're short on time, but I do want to talk MVP with you.

C (20:46)

Yeah.

A (20:47)

Because it's been a minute and we're closing in on the end of the season now. This is a tight MVP race, sort of. It's tight because of the injury situation. In my opinion. Shay, he's the mvp. He's been the front runner all year. Okc. He's still the best team in the league. And I think he put a stamp on it the other night with that game winner. Sam, disagree with me.

C (21:11)

Go ahead for one. Where are we at? And I should have this. Where are we at in the games, you know, category in terms of.

B (21:20)

Because to me, Shay is on pace to get to 65. Jokic is also on pace, but he's a lot closer to not.

C (21:27)

He's on the knife's edge and Wemby is not as close.

B (21:31)

Wemby actually only has two more games he can miss or one more game. One of those two.

A (21:35)

Yeah.

C (21:35)

So here's where I land. And I'm going to probably try to write something about this tonight for. For Friday. I maybe am OCD because I've always struggled with just the general concept of putting a stamp on it. With 17 games to go, I want to see the rest now. Granted those last six, seven games. Sorry, kids, you know, like, don't end up cannon fodder.

A (22:00)

Yeah. Yes.

C (22:01)

So we're not, you know, we're not that far from me being comfortable to say, yes, it's this guy. But dang, Dave, like, what. What SGA did the other night was just insane. I mean, really, I don't remember. This would be a fun research project too. Like, when was the last time a guy hit two game winners? You know what I mean? Like, yeah, like. Which is basically what he did. And in between having that incredible four point play with Joker hitting the three and then Jamal hitting the free throw, that is also the, you know, the type of thing where you have to. Now, as we get down the home stretch, make sure that you remember. I know it sounds like I'm. I'm Debbie Downer again, but that was one of 82.

B (22:46)

You know what I mean?

C (22:46)

You got to look at the entire thing. Do I think it's SGA right now? I do. Jokers. It's crazy. Just in a vacuum. Joker's individual impact continues to be absolutely remarkable. But the Nuggets not being able to cut into the standings the way that they have not, I think is a big factor. Their defense being as bad as it is. You know, you can explain it. You can talk about Aaron Gordon being out. Peyton Watson doesn't matter like for mvp, like the profile needs to look good. The other thing, I guess something to watch down the home stretch is that I do think that your dark horse here is Wemby and the two way impact and the fact that if we're going to give Thunder, OKC and the Thunder credit, as we should for being 3 and oh against Denver and dominating the Nuggets, let's not forget that the Thunder just have not been able to beat San Antonio but one time in five tries. And so the if here is, is if Wemby continues to dominate down the stretch, if SGA falls off, I will look at that again from there. You know, you, you know, I don't know how you guys list.

A (23:55)

I think there's a good chance Wemby is at least two. Actually, I agree because there's a chance.

B (24:00)

If you think about like the way Jokic impacts the game offensively and you mentioned the on off. Like, like that's what Wendy does on defense, you know, And I, I think that's something that we have to consider when it comes to Wemby's case. And by the way, he's still scoring 23 points a game and they still have a top five offense. Like all of these things still apply to Wemby too. So.

C (24:21)

And I think they're, you know, roughly three games back, two and a half back of the Thunder. That's the other thing is that in terms of the way voters think that I feel confident saying this, like, if the spurs were able to cut, you know, make up that ground and actually win the west, then every voter is going to, out of respect for the spurs, is going to have to take us, you know, sit up in their chair and look at Wemby again.

B (24:45)

Yeah.

A (24:45)

What about Kate Cunningham? I mean, where's he playing this? Because look, they've been the best team in the East. I know they've kind of been scuffling a little lately, but they've been the best team in the east all year. He's been putting up, you know, the shooting numbers are rough, but the other numbers look good. Where's he in the mix?

C (25:01)

Without question, the top five guy. The scuffling late is not good in terms of him trying to shock the world and actually win mvp. The other thing, you know, you. And this is again, it's a little bit like with bam. This is definitely nitpicking is like when it comes to MVP candidates, sometimes all it takes is one or two stats that hit voters the wrong way that don't land well. So for me, one thing that got my attention recently is as man, as great as Cade has been, if you break down the numbers of the pistons like there is an argument to be made that Jalen Duran's value is right there with Cade. You know, it depends on what stats you believe in the most. You got the eyeball test. So we know that Cade runs that team. So let's not pretend that's not the case. But in terms of the on off splits, you know, per, which is, you know, our friend John Hollinger's famous, you know, way of looking at the game. Jalen is. Jalen's absolutely elite. I think he's sixth or seventh in the league. League and pdr. So that cuts into Cade's candidacy a bit. The other one, because you know, I think one guy who had the narrative in his corner in a big way was Jalen Brown.

A (26:14)

Right, right.

C (26:15)

With the Celtics. And that's another one. And I'm sure this is on your guys radar where I had forgotten that there's this just strange, mysterious stat with Jalen where it doesn't like as great as he is, they four years in a row they are better with him off the floor by a significant margin than they are with him on the floor. Doesn't take away from what they've accomplished and what he's done, but it's. These are the little things you're looking at when you're trying to find separation between the candidates.

A (26:43)

Yeah. Meanwhile Derrick White is like the total opposite and you really. It's hard to reckon with when you watch how they play.

C (26:50)

Right.

A (26:50)

Okay, let's. Before we get out of here, who, who do you have favor for the finals right now? Like, like if you just had to pick today, what does it look like it's going to be?

C (26:59)

I got okc. Now I know you can always frame it like if you go OKC or the field. Is that the bet? I'm not a betting guy but like then I'd be tempted to go field. But if I'm picking one team, I think it's okay. See, I know the history tells us it's seven years in a row with no back to back champions. A lot of people that I've talked to around the league think we're going to have another new champion. But you know, almost arguing against myself here guys, because I talked about how that one game was one out of 82. That one game absolutely showed me that OKC is ready for the playoffs, that Shay's level of intensity and Emotion was really fun to watch. And as somebody who has been among that chorus of critics who gets tired of seeing him go to line 20 times a night, seeing him have four free throws and just rip the Nuggets heart out and do it in that fashion is the type of thing that I think should concern the rest of the league. And, you know, yes, the Thunder fell off in a big way after starting 24 and 1, but they. They look pretty damn good right now, and I'd probably go with them.

A (28:07)

Still haven't been healthy all year either.

C (28:09)

Yeah, that's the same. Like, no Jalen Williams the other night, no Chad Holmgren, no Isaiah Hartenstein.

A (28:14)

Like, no Alex Russo even.

C (28:16)

Yeah. I mean, guys, mentally, because the Nuggets are one of their rivals. The Nuggets took them to seven games. How are you feeling if you're joker? Like, man, we got Aaron Gordon back. I know they still don't have Peyton Watson, but basically they're down one guy if I'm. If I'm accurate. And here comes OKC with four of their most important players on the shelf and they still got you. I mean, that's the kind of mental edge that is.

B (28:40)

That's kind of the question. It's like, can this team do it even if Jalen Williams isn't healthy for the rest of the year? Like, is there that much?

C (28:48)

That's why you got sharpshooter.

A (28:51)

They probably got a third one in the back. Check the G League. All right, everybody go and check out Sam. Amy, go. Go. Leave a nice comment. That's right.

C (29:00)

I'll leave you guys with this human nature. Our buddy Mike Borkinoff wrote like the opposite column of what I wrote, where he said there's no shame in Bam's game, essentially. And what cracked me up, if you read all of his comments, it's people who had my opinion yelling at him. And then in the other, it's just, why do people never want to say nice things? If you like, you're more likely to

A (29:22)

leave a bad review than a good one. Right. That's why I'm asking everybody listening to go and leave a nice five star. That's right. Thanks to Sam Amic. Thanks to Espera Henny, as always, I'm Dave DeFore. This has been the NBA Daily. Thanks for hanging out with us.