Spurs vs. Thunder Game 7 instant reaction

Summary

The Athletic NBA Daily: Spurs vs. Thunder Game 7 Instant Reaction

Date: May 31, 2026
Hosts: Dave DuFour & Andrew Schlecht

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Episode Overview

In this episode, Dave DuFour and Andrew Schlecht deliver an instant reaction to Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, where the San Antonio Spurs triumphed over the Oklahoma City Thunder. The discussion centers on how the Spurs’ exemplary young core, defensive execution, and clutch performances contrasted with the Thunder’s injury woes, shot creation struggles, and roster questions heading into the offseason. The episode also previews the upcoming Spurs-Knicks Finals matchup and reflects on the broader impact of these playoffs on team-building and NBA evolution.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Spurs' Breakthrough & Young Core (02:10–06:37)

• Spurs’ Maturity & Poise: The hosts marvel at the composure of San Antonio's young players in a high-pressure Game 7.
  • "Why does a rookie like Dylan Harper look like a seven year vet in a game seven?" – Dave (02:28)
• Crowning the New Young Core: The Spurs beat the Thunder—previously considered the league’s best young core—in a fitting symbolic victory.
• Unpredictable Series Flow: Both agree the series was erratic and hard to predict, with momentum swings in almost every game.

2. Thunder’s Shortcomings: Injuries & Creation (03:42–09:57)

• Missing Pieces: The Thunder were plagued by the absences of Jalen Williams (J-Dub) and A.J. Mitchell, crucial to their shot creation.
  • "You felt the absence of A.J. Mitchell and J-Dub... because, like, the Thunder, like, grabbed the lead a couple times... but then the Spurs... allowed them to just pop the game wide open again." – Andrew (03:42)
• Role Player Reliance: While Casen Wallace and J.J. Will contributed, key players like Caruso and Dort struggled to make an impact, exacerbating OKC's offensive issues.
• Shea's Heroics, But Not Enough: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (SGA) had a signature performance, but lacked enough support.
  • "Shea was ridiculous... just the shots he was making with the defense just draped all over him and he just didn't quite have enough." – Dave (05:05)
• Controversy Over Lineups: Starting Lou Dort proved problematic, and lineup adjustments didn't yield enough offense to withstand the Spurs’ depth and defensive strength.

3. The Spurs’ Depth and Defensive Identity (06:37–09:57)

• Offensive Balance: San Antonio had seven players scoring in double figures, compared to OKC’s two.
  • "That's the difference... the Spurs, remember when it didn't look like they had the depth to hang in this series and then it just flipped." – Dave (08:01)
• Impact Players: Dylan Harper’s health and playmaking were pivotal, supported by steady contributions from Wembanyama, Julian Champagnie, and others.
• Chet Holmgren's Disappearance: Chet was largely invisible offensively in Game 7, calling into question his current role and development.

4. Thunder Offseason & Roster Futures (09:57–12:24)

• Core Players Identified: Shea, J-Dub, Chet, and A.J. Mitchell are seen as the core four. OKC faces decisions on Casen Wallace’s extension and several team options (Dort, Hartenstein, Kennard).
• Draft Capital: The Thunder hold picks 12 and 17—potential ammo for trade or building further depth.
• No Panic: Despite the loss, the mood around OKC is confident; the team does not view the Spurs as unbeatable and expects continued internal progress.

5. Playoff Perspective & Luck (12:53–14:17)

• Health as Deciding Factor: Both note that playoff success often comes down to luck and health, with the Spurs and Knicks among the healthiest and thus most successful teams this year.
  • "You need luck and you need health. And right now it's the Knicks and it's the Spurs that were the healthiest, luckiest teams." – Andrew (13:54)

6. Spurs vs. Knicks Finals Preview (14:17–16:24)

• Knicks’ Dominance Surprising Nobody: The Knicks have been methodical, as expected for an elite team, while the upstart Spurs are "arriving early."
• NBA Cup Rematch: This Finals will be a rematch of the NBA Cup, with the Knicks attempting a historic “double.”
  • "They really should be, like, marketing this as the Knicks going for the very first double in the NBA." – Andrew (15:48)
• Youthful Confidence: Spurs played Game 7 with a certain looseness, knowing a loss would be seen differently compared to the Thunder’s heavier expectations.

7. Series Surprises & Player Standouts (16:44–19:36)

• McCain’s Emergence: Jared McCain surprised as a “playoff riser.”
• Dylan Harper's Poise: Not a total shock, but his ability to control the floor and create stood out.
• Stephon Castle’s Defense: His defense on SGA was “maybe better than I’ve seen anybody defend Shea.” (17:48)
• Champagnie’s X-Factor Game: Julian Champagnie, sometimes almost unplayable, exploded for 20 points on 10 shots in Game 7, swinging the result.
  • "If he doesn't catch fire... we might be sitting here talking about the Thunder." – Andrew (17:51)

8. Defensive Versatility & Spurs’ Outlook (19:36–22:14)

• Elite Defensive Backcourt: Castle, Harper, and Fox provide an unprecedented defensive and creative trio on the perimeter.
  • "This is going to be the best defensive backcourt in basketball next year—I'm assuming." – Dave (20:16)
• Draft Luck & Team Building: The Spurs capitalized on their lottery luck (Wembanyama, Harper, Castle) and smart roster moves (trade for Fox, finding role players).

9. Role Player Evolution & Roster Philosophy (23:04–26:22)

• Devin Vassell Comparison: Vassell has grown into a Danny Green-plus, a steady two-way contributor with more offensive polish.
• OKC Adjustments Needed: The Thunder may need to shift toward a more offense-focused lineup (A.J. Mitchell at SG) and diversify creation beyond SGA to contend going forward.

10. Closing Thoughts & Next Steps (27:44–30:03)

• Spurs-Knicks Finals Anticipation: Both hosts look forward to the chess match between the confident Knicks and the suddenly formidable Spurs.
  • "I think that the Knicks have some confidence against this Spurs team... It'll be fascinating to see... the chess match between these two teams." – Andrew (27:44)
• Playoff Evolution: The hosts reflect on the evolution of the sport, praising the quality, competitiveness, and lack of controversy in Game 7.
  • "This series was everything that we thought it would be and then a little bit more. I, I feel as if we really got a chance to see the sport evolve a little bit over the last two weeks." – Dave (29:07)
• Final Shoutouts: Humorous close with a nod to Carlos Delfino’s surprise appearance behind the scenes.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dylan Harper:
  "Why does a rookie like Dylan Harper look like a seven year vet in a game seven crucial moments?" — Dave (02:28)
• On Thunder’s lack of creators:
  "The Thunder have great role players, but they're really not equipped to handle what the Spurs defense throws at them." — Andrew (04:47)
• On Julian Champagnie’s big night:
  "Julian Champagnie... scores 20 points on 10 shots tonight. Six of ten from three. Yeah, like, that's a huge deal for them. If he doesn't catch fire... we might be sitting here talking about the Thunder." — Andrew (17:51)
• On defensive versatility:
  "The Spurs... have three guys that can credibly guard one-on-one. The MVP is pretty incredible. This is going to be the best defensive backcourt in basketball next year." — Dave (20:16)
• Reflecting on the playoff journey:
  "This series was everything that we thought it would be and then a little bit more. We really got a chance to see the sport evolve a little bit over the last two weeks." — Dave (29:07)
• Previewing Finals as NBA Cup rematch:
  "They really should be, like, marketing this as the Knicks going for the very first double in the NBA." — Andrew (15:48)

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Key Timestamps

• 02:10 – Spurs’ victory + instant reaction
• 03:42 – Thunder’s missing playmakers and series unpredictability
• 05:05 – SGA’s Game 7 heroics, lineup decisions
• 08:01 – Spurs’ balanced scoring, Dylan Harper’s health impact
• 09:57 – Thunder’s offseason outlook and roster build
• 14:17 – Comparing Spurs and Knicks, Finals preview
• 16:44 – Biggest surprises from the series
• 17:51 – Champagnie’s clutch performance in Game 7
• 20:16 – Spurs’ defensive identity and future outlook
• 27:44 – Final thoughts, Knicks-Spurs Finals chess match
• 29:07 – Series legacy and playoff evolution

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Summary

This fast-paced, insightful episode recaps a dramatic Game 7 where the Spurs’ young core cemented their rise, and the Thunder confronted roster and health limitations. The conversation dives into player performances, critical coaching decisions, offseason directions, and the rare opportunity for the Knicks to achieve an NBA “double.” Rich in insider perspective and sharp analysis, it sets the tone for an eagerly awaited NBA Finals.

Transcript

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[Dave DeFore]

All right, there it is. Game seven is in the books. Spurs win. Thunder are done. Andrew select is here. I'm Dave Dufour. Andrew, who could have seen this coming?

[Andrew Select]

Just. Just one. Dave DeFore could see this coming.

[Dave DeFore]

Hey, listen, man, these guys are so impressive. The spurs and this game seven to me was an example of all the reasons why they've been so impressive this season. Yeah, why does a rookie like Dylan Harper look like a seven year vet in a game seven crucial moments? You know, fourth quarter, it's a close game and he's just out there making things happen. I can't wrap my head around this stuff. They have the best young core in basketball, which they just beat the team that I think we've been saying that about for the last couple years. Kind of a fitting, I would say a fitting like crowning moment for the Spurs. You know, they, they had to do this by beating the Thunder if they were going to do it. And they pulled it off.

[Andrew Select]

Yeah, they. They were awesome. You have to give the spurs credit for the way they played in this series. It was a very odd series. It was a really kind of unpredictable up and down series that I just didn't ever, like, have a feel to it. Like, a lot of people are asking me pregame, what do you think's going to happen? I'm like, I really have no feel for what's going to happen in this game, which is. It's bad to not have like a very strong take in our industry.

[Dave DeFore]

Really. It's a game.

[Andrew Select]

I didn't have one. I didn't have one. I thought this was like a nice representation of what I thought could happen. Like, it was a close game, really. It came down to the fact that, like, the Thunder just didn't have enough creation, right. And like, Casen Wallace did like his best job that he could down the stretch, but like, you felt the absence of A.J. mitchell and J Dub in really the start of the game and then in the fourth quarter, right, because, like, the Thunder, like, grabbed the lead a couple times and then like, once they had it, it was like the creation of the spurs that like, allowed them to just like pop the game wide open again. And so I, I think that, you know, with JDub, who is like by far their second best player, you know, I think there was like, some questions, like, could Chet be their second best player? I think we saw throughout this playoffs that really it's. It's J Dub is their second best player. And then AJ Mitchell, I will tell you, has like risen in the ranks of like, in like the Thunder to be probably like their fourth most important player. Harrison Barnes making a. Making an appearance here.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, See?

[Andrew Select]

Yeah, thanks a lot, Harrison. But yeah, I, I think without those two, it's just really tough. The Thunder have great role players, but they're really not equipped to like, handle what the spurs defense throws at them. Right. Have really just one real long ball creator.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, the spurs defense just had an easier time. Shea was ridiculous. You know, for. For all of the talk that we had about Shea and his playoff run and how he hadn't had like a signature game for it to come in a game seven, where they lose, I think probably is a little bit surprising, but I mean, he had just the shots he was making with the defense just draped all over him and he just didn't quite have enough. They. They definitely were at least one guy short. Probably two, to be honest. You Mentioned the start of the game. Like the Lou Dort getting the start in game seven that it was is a massive mistake. I think Mark Dagnault kind of boxed himself into a corner a little bit by. By setting his team up to have a slow start. They come out of the. The second. In the second half and they don't start Dort, they start Jaylen Williams. I think that that was a pretty good move. Gave him a real chance. But ultimately, like the spurs, just every single time they had to make a play, they made one. Kelton Johnson, who hasn't been able to hit the broadside of a barn in this series, hits back to back fourth quarter threes. You know, what are you going to do when, when that happens? Like, there are just times where I think the basketball magic kind of wears off on for one team and the other team is able to grab it. I think that's kind of what we saw in this game seven. And really it started the beginning of game six. I mean, it was just a different series from that first quarter, you know, through the end of this one.

[Andrew Select]

Yeah, and there's I think, about moments that were kind of like 50, 50 where like Isaiah Hartenstein gets a steal and like goes to dunk it and Luke Cornett blocks him at the rim. Amazing turns a four point. It would have been a four point game had Isaiah been able to finish that. It's just like little moments like that that the Thunder were not able to grab hold. There were just some silly turnovers, especially in the first half from Shea. I think he only ended with three, but like all three were pretty loud in the first half. And then like Alex Caruso was not good in this one. He played 38 minutes. He was 3 of 14 from the field, 1 of 6 from 3. He's a guy who they had like really counted on to be kind of their second guy and like another creator for them. And then like outside of Shea, it's like Casey Wallace had a nice game. I think J.J. will was really probably one of their best players. He was a plus 10.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, he had a good series.

[Andrew Select]

Yeah, he was good. I thought McCain was good in the first half. Did not play well in the second half. Yeah, and that kind of about it. Like they didn't get. We'll talk about Chet didn't get much from him. Lou Dort played 15 minutes in this one. Hit, one shot. Hartenstein was effective defensively, offensively, wasn't there, you know, like they just did not at the end of the day, have enough, like shot Creation to. To keep up with San Antonio spurs

[Dave DeFore]

had seven guys in double figures. Seven. Only one other starter for, for the Thunder, and that was Casen Wallace, who hit five threes, had double digits. I mean, that, that's the difference in the game is that the spurs remember when it didn't look like they had the depth to hang in this series and then it just flipped. Harper getting healthy. You know, whatever the, the adductor issue was, it doesn't look like it's bothering him. He's an absolute game changer and he is the, the guy that really, you know, look, Wemby had a really good game and he affects the court constantly. But the guy that puts him over to the top in the series is Dylan Harper. I think that, you know, Wimby obviously the most important player, but I think the mo. The guy, or excuse me, most impactful player, but the most important guy has been Dylan Harper and just his ability to attack any single guy that, that was on him. Again, the spurs just all of a sudden found out they have a lot of guys and I, I think, you know, the Thunder just ran out. Let's talk about Chet, though, because Chad is supposed to be one of the guys. This is like one of the foundational pieces of the Thunder. He's a big part of the title team. Last year. It's, you know, and he's a complete no show in the entire series. 1 1. He had one decent game. Game seven, pretty absurd. He didn't take a shot for the last three quarters of the game. Takes two shots, four points, had a couple blocks, four rebounds. I mean, he, he just no impact whatsoever. And when we're thinking about the NBA and where the league is heading, it feels like OKC now is going to have to beat this spurs team to win another title. And it's going to be this spurs team for a few years. I don't think Chet's the guy. And I, I wonder when we're looking ahead to the Thunder summer, like, what does that mean for the Thunder?

[Andrew Select]

Yeah, I think, I mean, we have to remember that like, the spurs team is young. The Thunder team is young too. And they'll have like, internal development. That'll happen. They're also going to make some changes to the roster. They're not going to be big, sweeping changes. They're not going to be trading for Giannis this summer. They're not going to be doing these giant changes. I think that they're moving forward with their best four players being Shea, J. Dub, Chet and A.J. mitchell. I think like that's like your core four for OKC and then it's about, okay, Casey Wallace is extension eligible. What do you do there? He looked like he was ready for the moment. Lou Dort has a team option. Isaiah Hartenstein has a team option. There's also a team option for Kenneth Williams. I don't know what direction they move in with all three of those guys. Now we're going to be dealing with like apron issues and things like that, but I can tell you that, like talking to players and people around the team, I don't feel like they think that the spurs are like some mountain that they can't conquer. I think that with J.U.B. and A.J. i feel like they think they line up well with them. They're going to have to get better internally. And you know, they have the 12th pick in the draft too, which I'll be interested to see. They have 12 and 17. So, like, what do they do with that? How do they. Do they parlay that into a better player in this draft? Do they parlay that into a player that's ready to help them now? That'll be really interesting to see. They'll be aggressive with those picks, I can tell you that. But they'll find guys. You also have like the development of a guy like Nikola Topic and Thomas Sorbert. Like, there's just like a lot of things that are like, set in motion that don't have a ton of clarity yet for okc. I will say though, that they have a lot of really good players, a lot of tough players. This season shouldn't be seen as a failure by any stretch. I just think that as we look like through the course of NBA history, the injury bug got them and you know, it. It gets too teams along the way. So yeah, that's just. That's just kind of how this goes. It was kind of the Thunder's turn to get bit by the injury bug at the wrong moment. We saw it happen like Denver last year, Aaron Gordon, that happened, you know, right before game seven. He tried to give it a go. Couldn't go. Tyrese Haliburton on this court, right over here.

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[Andrew Select]

You know, Torres Achilles. You know, like, it just, it happens. It sucks to lose guys like really important players in the middle of a, of a run. But like you, you need luck and you need health. And right now it's the Knicks and it's the spurs that were the healthiest, luckiest teams of like, of the best teams. And like, that's just kind of like you need both.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, well, the Knicks have made a lot of their own luck, man. You know, just like just absolutely wipe the floor with teams that they should be destroying. I mean, what the Knicks are doing is exactly what they ought to be doing. And the spurs, hey, their first time here and we always talk about they haven't done it before, what's it going to be like? Like we, I thought that Game 5 was such an experience win for the Thunder and game six, that bounce back. I thought that was a youth win, actually. I thought that was, you know, the spurs ability to bounce back from a disappointing loss. I think a lot of that is about being young, right? Like, it's easier. You've got a lot of failure ahead of you. These, these early ones probably don't feel the same, and I almost feel as if they played with less weight on their shoulders in the game seven. If the spurs lose in the game seven, I don't think that people are going to react to them the same way that we're going to hear the reactions to the Thunder tomorrow and Monday. You know, the. I don't think anyone would say that this spurs team should go out and get Anyone, you know, oh, go get. You got to get Giannis to win or anything like that. Part of that is just the youth, but also I just think that they just have so much talent already that it seems like a team that's inevitable. And now they arrived early. The NBA cup, by the way, once again, just proving.

[Andrew Select]

Here we are.

[Dave DeFore]

It's the proving grounds for the playoffs. I mean, look at this. We've got a. We've got a rematch of the NBA cup final. I mean, who could have scripted this?

[Andrew Select]

Yeah, they really should be, like, marketing this as the Knicks going for the very first double in the NBA. Like, why have we not heard that? Why do we not hear about that? They mod. They think so much about, like, international soccer. Right. And they have these, you know, they call it a double. Is that what they call.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, it's a double. Yeah.

[Andrew Select]

Aren't we talking about a double here?

[Dave DeFore]

Well, we are.

[Andrew Select]

Adam. Adam Silver. Do you even care about the cup, Adam? I don't think he cares.

[Dave DeFore]

I'm not sure if he does or not.

[Andrew Select]

That's my take. That's. That's the clip. Adam Silver doesn't care about the cup as much as we do.

[Dave DeFore]

I mean, it's true. It's true. Keep the cup right here over my shoulder to remind me of how important it is. What were your biggest surprises in the series? I mean, you know, you were there. I think you. You saw how many games? Five out of seven?

[Andrew Select]

Yeah. Five out of seven.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Select]

Yeah.

[Dave DeFore]

What were your biggest surprises?

[Andrew Select]

I mean, some, like, to me, like, some of the biggest surprises were. Honestly, I thought Jared McCain was a big surprise. I think that he's kind of like, proven that he's a guy that can be a playoff riser. I was not really expecting that. Um, I think, I don't know if it was a surprise that Dylan Harper was as good as he was when he was healthy. But like you mentioned him earlier, he's just. He, he's got obviously tremendous size. The way he moves around the court is really special.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Select]

And I am just kind of blown away with the kind of player that he's going to be. And so to me, like, that's. That was a pretty big surprise. The way that Stefan Castle guarded Shay was maybe better than I've seen anybody defend Shay. Yeah, like, he. That guy's got it. Whatever it is, he has it. And then Julian Champagne, for all the hand wringing about him, I'm sure this spurs fans were. Did not love everything they saw out of him.

[Dave DeFore]

He was borderline unplayable. At times in the series.

[Andrew Select]

There were times where you're like, should you pull him from the starting lineup? What should happen here? What do we need to do? He scores 20 points on 10 shots tonight. Six of 10 from three. Yeah, like, that's a. That's a huge deal for them. Like, if he doesn't catch fire, if he kind of like, you know, maintains status quo for him, we might be sitting here talking about the Thunder. Like, he played a huge role. Yeah. For them. Because the Thunder decided basically, we're going to cover Wimby. Obviously, the Thunder did a great job on him. I thought throughout the series, we're going to make sure that Castle and even Fox, we're going to cover those guys. But Champagne is where, like, swing, swing, it's going to hit Champagne. And he was just much better than, like, that guy the Thunder had. And that guy ended up being Lou Dort on many occasions. Whereas, like, swing, swing hits Dort's hands. That ball just was not going in. And same for Caruso tonight. Caruso, I mentioned earlier, one of six from three. Three or four team from the field. He just wasn't good enough in this game.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Andrew Select]

He probably played over his head for a majority of the series offensively outside of game four. But I would say that, like the fact that Champagne was able to show up in game seven of the Western Conference finals and the biggest game of the entire season.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Select]

And Champagne is the second leading scorer for your team behind Victor Wembanyama. I would say that's a pretty big surprise. Like, the way we talk about Castle and the way we talk about Harper and all these guys, you would think that they were the ones that carried the low, the scoring load, but it was really. Julian Champeni was just a guy that the ball hits his hands and he was, you know, ready for the moment. Got to give him a ton of credit.

[Dave DeFore]

I want to go back to Castle and the defense. The. The big thing in this game was that Shea was on fire and they started to have to send a double team. And the Thunder, that was where they were going to have their best chance to win the game was during those moments. And just no one else could do anything. They. They just couldn't squeeze any offense out of anyone. But the ability to like to have three guys that can credibly guard one on one, The MVP is pretty incredible. And the Spurs, I mean, they're just set up for success. This is going to be the best defensive backcourt in basketball next year. Yeah, I'm assuming.

[Andrew Select]

Yeah. They're special. And the fact that, that they're also creators too.

[Dave DeFore]

Right.

[Andrew Select]

Like, that's a, that's a game changer because a lot of times when you're talking about the best defenders in basketball, it's, it's been guys like Lou Dort and Marcus Smart.

[Dave DeFore]

Caruso.

[Andrew Select]

Yeah, Caruso. Like guys that played point guard in college. And then when you get to the league, like you're really more of like a hybrid guard. And then they kind of like turn into more like three and D players and they do anything else with like a little bit of creation. Like those guys are like straight up creators.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Select]

And like it's a game changer when you have guys that are that tough deep as, as they are defenders and then can create on the other end

[Dave DeFore]

so well, then they rebound. You know, Dylan Harper and as the fun Castle are two. Just dogs on the glass too. The spurs are very impressive. Incredibly impressive.

[Andrew Select]

They're, they're, they're very special. The fact that, you know, and like, it's funny that we're like entering like this 3, 2, 1 lottery, you know.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Select]

Like part, I think part of the reason is because of this team. Because they had Wimby number one, they got Harper number two, they had Castle number four. It four, five. I think it was four, four, four or five. Like, yeah, like the credit the spurs for picking those guys. But when you pick in the top five three times, sometimes they nailed it. Sometimes you wind up with teams like this. You know, like you get. You had the ultimate luck in the entire world in getting Victor Wimanyama. It was a no brainer. The minute that those lottery balls hit, you could have go ahead and put a Spurs jersey on him. There was no, there was no discussing.

[Dave DeFore]

There's photos of him when he was like 12 years old in a Spurs jersey. Right.

[Andrew Select]

Like it was.

[Dave DeFore]

Listen, I'm not saying this is the one that people should be saying it was fixed. And, and rightfully I would have, I've said this many times. I would have fixed that lottery.

[Andrew Select]

Yeah. He goes, if you go to Victor and his people and be like, all right guys, face of the league, where do you want to go?

[Dave DeFore]

You're right.

[Andrew Select]

Because you're not going to be like, you're not going to risk him going to like Sacramento or something, sorry, Kings, where it's like, like, we can't screw this up. We know, we know for sure somebody's not going to screw this up. That's R.C. buford is not going to screw this up. Like R.C. is not. And R.C. will throw you a bone. We'll give you the second pick when you're really supposed to pick seventh or whatever it was. Yeah, I mean, like the, the construction of this team and then the fact they traded for Fox, you know, very little for him. Picking up guys like Champagne, developing Devin Vassell, who's become like a very good role player. Bringing in Luke Cornette, you know, in the off season.

[Dave DeFore]

Vesel is a little bit like the Dort story for the Thunder where he was like, there first and he got a lot of those bad reps out of his system early. And he has become, I mean, again, he doesn't really foul on defense, which is amazing because he runs around screens. I mean, he's. He's such a good player and. But the streaky shooting, you know, if he hits one, you always got to worry it's going to be three or four in a row, but he might miss four or five after that. If he was a less streaky shooter, I think we would talk about him a little bit more as far as, like, the top role players, but he's sort of like, they're Danny Green. You know, if we're going to just compare these guys to spurs does everything that you want.

[Andrew Select]

He's a little bit Danny Green, plus. I don't know if I can say that to you.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, he can dribble. He can dribble three times.

[Andrew Select]

He's got a little bit more wiggle than Danny Green.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah, a little bit.

[Andrew Select]

Got to give me that. You gotta give me that.

[Dave DeFore]

I. Oh, he is. No, no, he's a better player probably, like, if we're being completely honest. And Danny Green was amazing. It's just, you know, know, different sport now. There's no such thing as 3 and D anymore. You just get tested.

[Andrew Select]

No, you can't really be those kind of guys. You have to have. You have to be able to attack a closeout basically, if you can't. And I got guys like Lou Dort even showed, you know, throughout the series that, like, he. Maybe he just doesn't have enough when it comes to being able to attack.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Select]

You know, and, you know, the. The Moon Ball 3 did not deliver for them the. This time around. And to, to me, the. The Thunder started AJ Mitchell enough this season to. Where you just wonder if it's time to just slide him in as like, the starting two next to Shay and like, have like, a more offensively focused team because it. It is really tough to play a lot of defensively focused players that are can be zeros on offense, you know, on, on many occasions. It's just really tough.

[Dave DeFore]

Makes for long nights, you know, I mean, if, if you're not able to score. I mean, look at the spurs in this series. The nights that the three goes in, it's a completely different world for them. And so I. Yeah, I think that that's probably something that I'm looking at them to do next year, either starting A.J. mitchell or even McCain. I mean, I think that McCain and his movement shooting is just so valuable, a guy who, who moves that much. I, I don't know that they, that they see him as a starter, but I think that he could be a guy that, that gets starter minutes because that's the stuff that OKC misses. Like. Yeah, when he's not on the court, it feels like everyone's job is a little bit harder. And, and frankly, I wonder if we don't see some philosophical changes to the way they play offense. Like getting Shea off the ball, especially during the regular season, is just going to save his legs. You know, you got to get to a point where this is a team that's going to be going for titles and they're deep. I think you got to use that depth. And, and some of the stuff that I think with Shay that, you know, you take away from this series is that maybe he does play with the ball in his hands too much and it does make things. What happens when he makes the pass when the double comes know, is he able to turn that into offense?

[Andrew Select]

There's a lot of people converging over here.

[Dave DeFore]

I see what's happening.

[Andrew Select]

I think one of the things that will fix everything you're talking about is like, could the Thunder add a all NBA, all defense forward, you know, in the off season?

[Dave DeFore]

Possibly. I don't know. We'll see. I mean, I guess it depends on those hamstrings, you know.

[Andrew Select]

It does. I know it was a bummer. It was a bummer to see him give it a go in game six and then really just not have it at all in, in game seven. I don't know what's happening. Oh, you know what it is? It's the NBC people doing their photos.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Aramco Announcer]

How about that?

[Dave DeFore]

And seeing here first on our live stream. There's. There's the whole crew.

[Andrew Select]

Yeah, I was like, what is happening behind me? It's the NBC crew.

[Dave DeFore]

I, I think it goes to, it goes to ABC for the final. So I think that they're done for the, for the rest of the year. No more round ball Rock.

[Andrew Select]

That's a shame. Yeah, that's a shame.

[Dave DeFore]

Okay, anything else before we get out of here? I mean, I will. I'm sure that there's going to be a huge down to dunk coming and we'll be talking Thunder off season for sure. A lot. We'll also have a finals preview out for Monday morning, so everybody watch for that. But Andrew, any, any closing thoughts on. On the series?

[Andrew Select]

Yeah, I, I think that, you know, Nick, spurs is going to be really interesting. I think that the Knicks have some confidence against the spurs team. This is. They've, they've been a foil to them at spots in the regular season, certainly in the NBA cup. And if the cup means anything, then, you know, we'll have to, we'll have to find out if the cup is really means everything. If they can get the, get the first double in the history of the league. Yeah. For the New York Knicks. So yeah, this will, it'll be fascinating to see. Just, just like the, the chess match that will exist between these two teams. The, the Knicks are a lot different. The Knicks hit a lot of threes.

[Dave DeFore]

Yes, they do.

[Andrew Select]

And they have a, they have a lot of guys that they can trust and take and make a lot of threes. So I'll be really interested as opposed to like the Thunder, who just found really creative ways to go completely cold during stretches of this series. So. But yeah, no, I appreciate being able to do podcasts from this spot many times this season. It was an absolute blast. Super thankful to all the listeners and people that tuned in this season. We obviously have a ton more coming at you. We have a lot of draft coverage coming at you. We'll have all the finals coverage coming at you. But this will be it. This will be the last time you'll see me here in this spot in OKC until next season.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. For me, look, this, this series was everything that we thought it would be and then a little bit more. I, I feel as if we really got a chance to see the sport evolve a little bit over the last two weeks. And it's interesting that in a Game seven where so much of the series was dominated by conversation about referees and flopping, there was none of that noise in Game seven. That Game seven that gave us everything. It was amazing. I'm, I'm really happy that we got this series out of this playoff so often that, you know, we, we talk about the disappointments. So, you know, we don't get a big series in the east, but at least we got this one. So all Right.

[Andrew Select]

We've also got Carlos Delfino over here if you're interested in a Carlos Delfino.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Select]

Guest appearance.

[Dave DeFore]

Do we have the. Will this go on as IMDb or. I don't know.

[Andrew Select]

I think so. I think so. There he goes.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah.

[Andrew Select]

Shout out to Carlos Delfino. Storied buck.

[Dave DeFore]

Yeah. Anspur. All right, guys, that's gonna do it for the stream. Thank you, Andrew, for hanging out. Everybody listening. Really appreciate you guys hanging out with us all year. We're gonna try to do more of these streams during the finals. We'll see what happens. But big finals preview coming up on Monday, so look out for that. Give us a like, subscribe. Leave us a nice 5 star review if you listen to us as a podcast.

[Andrew Select]

Oh, seven. Listen, I, I, I can't focus when Carlos Delfino's in the shot. All right. Yeah, I still can't, I still can't focus right now. Can't do it.

[Dave DeFore]

All right, guys, we'll catch you next time.

[Andrew Select]

What a beautiful man.

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