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Cliff
Foreign.
Logan Murdoch
Real ones. Real ones. After dark, to be exact. We are reacting on Game 3 of the NBA Finals between the spurs and the Knicks where The spurs win 115, 111. Are the spurs back in this? Are the spurs gonna win the series? Are they gonna mess around with the, mess around with the, get down on the. You feel me with the rebound? We get into all of that. Then we get into your mailbag questions. We got Howard Beck alive from MSG giving us the scene of what happened from the Rooter to the tutor. And then we get expert analysis from Raja Bell. Then we get into your mailbag questions and then we have a really, really fun into the pod where I just curse on everyone. It was awesome.
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Logan Murdoch
Logan Murdoch here, Raja Bell there. Howard Beck in the very, very, very, very top of Madison Square Garden. We are talking to you guys after the Knicks lose to the San Antonio spurs in Game 3 of the NBA Finals, 115 to 111. Victor Wimanyama, 32 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists. Probably his best game of the most complete game of the Finals. It's been a long time since we've talked, guys. It's great to see you guys. It's great to do this. I'm going to start with Raja. What, what did you like about Wimby tonight and what was your overall takeaway from the game?
Raja Bell
I like that, you know, they came out and it looked like they were making a real effort to try to get him some baskets that were easy. There was a lot of double drag just putting them in, putting the Knicks in a tough spot when Wimy's rolling to the basket. Just trying to figure out how, how you were going to tag from the weak side or if you were going to give him the lob. So I, I thought they got, they got him going in a way that forced him to kind of score from inside and then work his way out a little bit like he he, he's great at his size, being out there on the perimeter. But I've said before on the pod, I know a lot of other people have said, I like when he gets going from closer proximity to the rim and then he can kind of expand his game and kind of. And go out from there in terms of the game, like, look like that. You know what, you know what I would say about this series and other stuff. I do not like the way this series is being officiated. I don't like it at all. I just, I don't like it. I think it's, you know, they change the tenor of the game mid game. This isn't one way or the other for spurs or for the Knicks, but like, they're really letting them wrestle out there, which, fine, if that's what you're going to let go the entire game. But then there's segments of the game, these little chunks of the game where they stop doing that and now they're blowing the whistle, like, for, for things that have been allowed to happen for the entire game. And that's confusion for players. I. And it's confusion for me as a, as a, as a fan watching the game. Like, I don't know that anyone else sees it like I do, but I'm not enjoying the way this, this series is being reft at all. Either let them go or, you know, call it like you do in the regular season. And neither one I'm fine for. But switching midstream, the way they have in this series from time to time has kind of thrown me a little bit. Love the way Wemby played. Loved how aggressive Stefan Castle was tonight. You know, they, they, they've given Brunson some problems. I know he had 32 tonight, but it's not a pretty 32. It's not an easy 32. Like he's working for that. But generally speaking, I just don't. I, I leave these games not loving the way they're being refed.
Logan Murdoch
I'm sorry, you, you said that at the end of. When we were all. When me and Howard were in mosh pits in Sweden, you were talking about how. And we were talking about. You were talking about how Raja was talking, texting us. Just talking about how I believe it was game two when the officiating wasn't up to par in your mind, and in fact, it made the game closer than ever. Can you talk about the evolution from each game of how you been annoyed about the officiating? Because it's been different parts of it Right. Like it's been. You said the general part of this physicality, but it has been an inconsistency. Can you take us about through your annoyance of the officiating through three games?
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Logan Murdoch
step by step.
Raja Bell
I don't know that I can do that.
Logan Murdoch
Okay.
Raja Bell
I think in a way that would be entertaining for the listener. Look, I don't know. I would, I would, you know, I would just say, like, look, you're. You're watching a game and if you see the, the manhandling of Cat by Wemby or the manhandling of Wemby by Cat on any given possession before they're even near the ball, like those two are in a wrestling match the entire game. And if you're going to allow that, I'm okay with that. But there seems to be, for me, stretches of the game whenever that the whistle starts blowing more frequently than in other parts of the game. I'm not saying there's any conspiracy or anything like that. It could just be, you know, like, we've got to get control of this now before it boils over and so it manifests itself and, hey, we got to make these calls to kind of reign this game back in. So I'm not saying anything nefarious is going on, but what I'm saying is, like, I don't think it's consistent. And as a player, all we wanted was consistency. We wanted to know coming out of the gates, hey, bro, this was going all night long. This is how you were going to allow me to play this preten, you know, this scenario. And if you change that on this midstream, that was difficult. Now, I don't think it's deciding necessarily the outcome of these games, but just watching it as a former player, it's kind of frustrating for me.
Logan Murdoch
What have you thought of the physicality overall though, Raja? I mean, especially this game, it felt like, felt like Wimby was just on a mission to just up Brunson and then it just went snowballed from there.
Raja Bell
Yeah, like, look I, I mean, I don't have a dog in this fight. Right. But you know, I, I again, I think it's kind of crazy that, you know, the, it should have been a flagrant on Wemby early in the game when, when he, when he mushed Jalen Brunson. Right. And then a few plays later. I do not think that that was any kind of like flagrant activity by. What's Big Fell's name, the backup center for the Spurs, Cornett. I don't. I think he ran into Josh Hart after the bucket and then Josh Hart should have gotten attack. He.
Howard Beck
Fuck.
Raja Bell
He kicked him. You could have kicked him out of the game. I was suspended for, for less than that. So like, you know. No, I'm being honest. Like I was suspended for less than that. But you know, I. Again, I think those are, those happen within two minutes of each other and I think it's just an illustration of like, look, you're, you have to have some level of consistency and then, and then they let it become like this street brawl, which I'm for if that's what we're going to do. Like, I love that. But then when you put a team in the bonus in the first like three minutes of a quarter coming out like that's not what we were just doing.
Logan Murdoch
Yeah.
Raja Bell
And that's, and that's hard to, that's hard to make that adjustment like on the fly like that. I, I think, you know, look, Jalen Brunson has a lot of gamesmanship with his like, like flopping and like his, you know, manu kind of like, you know, head, head. He's great at it. But they're beating the living out of him bringing the ball up to court. Like they're, they're.
Logan Murdoch
I mean that's kind of the point, right? They're giving. The Castle's giving him a oomph and then Dylan Harper's giving him a oomph and then he's going into lane. He's getting up.
Raja Bell
Yeah. Like they're, they're beating him up. And so again, I'm good with it. But then we can't be putting people in the bonus on re. Like Rick, you know, just ticky tack stuff with, you know, three minutes into a, into a like crazy quarter that could have decided the, you know, the NBA season. I just don't think, I don't think that's right.
Howard Beck
Yeah.
Logan Murdoch
Howard, you are in our intrepid reporter live from Madison Square Garden at the moment. We just finished the Billy Joel concert that you and Your generation love. So like that was just catnip for your generation. Can you speak to overall environment and maybe how that maybe affected the Knicks tonight, if at all, Just to clarify.
Howard Beck
So they have always played New York State of Mind by Billy Joel at the end of every Knicks game. So this song plays in my head almost on a, on a loop like, like this being here just like triggers it because I've covered like I don't know how many hundreds of games here over the last 20 years. We did have to wait for copyright purposes for Billy Joel to stop playing
Logan Murdoch
before we could start this, much to Raj's chagrin.
Raja Bell
You already know.
Howard Beck
Listen, like, just atmosphere wise. So first of all, obviously atmosphere airs out of the building by the end, of course, because this is the first Knicks loss since April 23, fellas, and their first loss at the Garden since April 20. And those were the back to back losses to the Hawks, the last team to beat them in the postseason. So a sobering moment I think for the fans here, obviously for the Knicks themselves. I think everybody kind of thought this was coming. The spurs were, were so good the first two games, building double digit leads, blowing double digit leads, but building them in the first place, like they showed they can hang with them and they showed clearly the physicality that, that Raja has noted and that is sometimes being called and sometimes not was something that was I think working to the spurs advantage. And it was just a matter, I think, of leveraging that and then just staying cool in some moments. I felt like they, they were a little bit more mistake free. Not mistake free. Few. Just fewer mistakes tonight. Fewer rushed shots, fewer just, you know, dumb looping passes that were going to get picked off. Right? Like just fewer mistakes tonight. Overall for the spurs, they showed their composure to, to. We've talked plenty about this, but like for this team to be this young and obviously already in the Finals, to come into this building to try to save their season, to not go down 3 0, which we know is the death knell, is of all the impressive things that we've seen from Wemby and Castle and Harper and this crew, this ranks right up there. And not for nothing, on a night when the energy in this building was profoundly bizarre, to say the least because of all of the things, and we were talking about this several of us pre game, just the fact that like the Finals have a different energy than any other part of the NBA, than any other part of the schedule, the Finals have just have a strange energy. It's an, it's an intensity. But it's also just strange. Is it like a, just a tension in the air? So you take that, then you take the fact that it's a finals game at the Garden for the first time since 1999, layer that on top of it. And the Knicks fans, New York just ready to explode at the possibility of a championship, and they're already anticipating a sweep. Now, on top of that, throw in the fact that a certain somebody decided to make his presence felt tonight and it, it, it was just a really. And you didn't know where it was going to go. Does that seep into the players? I, I don't know. Like, maybe they're being, being asked that right now as part of the post game pressers that we are not watching because we're potting. Um, but it was definitely a strange energy in the building. I, I don't, I would guess that that had very little effect on how the game actually unfolded itself once we're past all of the hoopla and the weirdness of it all. But it was. Yeah, I've covered a gazillion. This was my 24th finals. I don't think I've ever been to a finals game quite like this.
Logan Murdoch
I would agree, though. Like on television, I mean, they showed Trump the, the man you were referring to. They showed Donald Trump, I think twice on television. Once during the, the national anthem and then another time just during the game. I think it was after a quarter break or something. But other than that, like, it felt like a normal NBA Finals game. That was great. But can you, can you talk to us about like people that weren't in New York, like what New York was like around the Garden, Right. Because they can't have the watch party. It seems like it's like there's gates everywhere. You had to get there very, very early. Can you give us a step by step on just what it was like going into the game and just like a weirdness. Right. Because Finals, Finals games always have a. It's always different than any other game, including playoffs. But then you put this other dynamic that is, that is just unforeseen and then we have to deal with it. Can you just give us a step by step of like, you know, you're walking into the building and then, then from there on give us the play by play?
Howard Beck
Yeah, I mean, listen, I've got the good fortune of being able to get to a subway line pretty easily. That pops me up right into Penn Station, right. So I'm taking the A train into Penn stat. All I have to do is walk up some stairs and make a U turn at. At street level and I can walk in. Except that when I got there at like 4:30, which is the earliest we could get in the building, 8:30 tip, 4:30 was the earliest the media could get in the building. There's already massive lines, fans over here, you know, garden employees over here, media over here, and then a lot of people not knowing where to be. There are barriers the size of which I have never seen in my life just for event control. Right? Like there's these. I think people probably saw it on social media, these really tall gates that they had put up lining like 33rd street and other areas, trying to just wall people off from the entire sector. And that's why they pushed the watch parties away. I'm curious to know if there were watch parties, like, I don't know, five more blocks down, did they find somewhere else to just commandeer the street?
Logan Murdoch
I got to believe there was Bryant park had a, had a. Had a watch party. There was where it went down to.
Howard Beck
There we go. But like, I've never seen security like that, obviously, because I've never been to. In 24 finals that I've covered. I've never been to one where the President showed up with Secret Service and everything else that went with it. There was confusion. I saw reports online confused about by fans who were trying to get into the arena, who had tickets, who weren't sure where to go, the cops weren't sure where to go. There was just a lot of confusion. So it's just, it's this combination to. Thank God it was only 70, 72 degrees today and not like the 90 that it was a couple days ago because we would have just been us and the fans been baking out there. But it's just, it was. It was tense, it was confusing, obviously. All completely unnecessary too, right? Like if a certain somebody just decided not to come.
Raja Bell
You jinxed him. You could say it. You fucking jinxed them, bro.
Logan Murdoch
He did a lot.
Raja Bell
Listen, what are you doing?
Howard Beck
I mean, not for nothing, there was a hell of a lot of talk about karma and bad vibes and bad juju and everything else. The second that that was the certainty that he was coming and people feeling like this is what's going to turn the series and ruin it for the Knicks, it certainly made it incredibly inconvenient for Knicks fans who were coming to the game, not to mention all the Knicks fans who can't afford to come to the game who have been enjoying themselves in these watch parties. On the streets and couldn't do that even. So all of that was a bummer. And cast like a. I was like, has a Paul over it. It's still fucking NBA Finals. It's still great. It was a fantastic game. Um, but it made just for a very strange start to the night for the rest of us. So for the media, we come in, you know, we had more security than normal. Instead of me just having my. My bag go through a conveyor belt, like they hand searched it. I was bracing myself for the full strip search. Fortunately, that did not happen.
Logan Murdoch
Thank God for humanity. Jesus Christ.
Howard Beck
I made sure to shower just in case, you know. But they did not go that far. That part of it all went fair, smoothly. We all got in and then we just had a lot of time to kill. Did catch up with friend of the pod, Ben Stiller for a little bit pregame. Did see Spike pregame on the court. Tracy Morgan. I mean, you guys, I'm sure saw.
Logan Murdoch
Look at. Hey, look at how we're just flexing, man. Look at. Just like that.
Howard Beck
I'm not saying I was like, they're all here.
Logan Murdoch
Yeah, okay. All right, all right. You were hanging with Ben, bro. We're kind of jealous, you know, Podcast. He is. Let's get back to basketball. It seems that that was. Was enough. Razo, like, we haven't talked to you in a sec. Like, what have you thought about the gameplay between both teams in the first two games? Like, what have you. What have you thought about this series so far?
Raja Bell
Yeah, I mean, look, the theme of this series for me is it's just physicality. Like there. This has been a really, really physical series. And I think both teams at times have thrived in the physicality. Howard, you know, you made a good point tonight about San Antonio kind of cutting down on the mistakes. I thought with that. They also came out in the second half and just raised their level defensively. I, you know, like, I thought they were. They had some possessions late in that fourth quarter where they were running people off of multiple shots. I mean, they were on a string, they were flying around. And so, you know, I talked about the. The refs at times, but, like, that's not to. To try to take anything away or diminish like what San Antonio was able to do, you know, defensively at times. So I think it's been a pretty cool. A pretty cool watch. I. It's. There been a final series where the home team has lost the first three games of the series. Like, I don't.
Howard Beck
I'm Going to look right now because somebody I think noted this, but yeah, I think this may be a first.
Raja Bell
Yeah.
Logan Murdoch
Kirtika, what's going on? Like, do we have a stat? Kirtika, what's going on?
Raja Bell
Okay.
Logan Murdoch
All right. Is that typically has all the stats. She typically. Whenever we have a question, it's how we're going to Blue sky and talking. Okay.
Howard Beck
I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure she hit this already, so I'm, I'm, I'm looking. The road team has won three straight games to start the NBA Finals for the first time since 1993, and the second time ever, according to Kirthika.
Logan Murdoch
Thank you.
Howard Beck
You knew she was on it. You knew she was on it.
Raja Bell
93 would have been.
Howard Beck
That would have been festivals. The third of the. The third trailblazers.
Logan Murdoch
No bulls Sons.
Howard Beck
A third of their.
Raja Bell
Sons of their first.
Logan Murdoch
Yeah, okay.
Raja Bell
Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, I don't know, like, there have been three games, man, it's late. I, I don't have a great, like a great breakdown of the three games. But look, if, if San Antonio is going to make Jalen Brunson's life as difficult as they made it, Right. You know, there was a, There was. He had 32 tonight. They had, they had 18 assists, I think in San Antonio had 28. They, they have to find a way to get into what they're doing quicker, in my opinion. There's, There's a, there's way too much of him fighting to get it across half court and then fighting just to get it across the, the, the, the hash, if you will, you know, and he's starting offense at half court. They're at 15, 14 seconds on the shot clock. And their way out there, it doesn't give you a lot of time to find the answer to the problem that San Antonio, on any given possession is trying to throw at you as a defense. And so, like, I just think they got to play a little quicker. And I think, you know, maybe again I said it. I said it was Shay when they, when they played Shea, and they always have him at the top with the ball in his hands. It's, it's, it's a lot easier for a defense to have their five defenders and all sets of eyes kind of loaded. They'll trap you if you're coming off a pick and roll. They got multiple big bodies they can throw at you defensively, so you can't always beat him off the bounce. You need the pick. But that's bringing the second defender kind of organically. Into the play. It's Shea struggled at times. I wouldn't, I don't imagine you're going to see Brunson just going bananas in this series at any given time. Offensively, he's going to have moments, but they're making it really, really, really difficult on him. And so I just like, you have to have games from, from, from Bridges and Cat has. They have to have games. If that's what they're going to do to Brunson, they have to have games.
Logan Murdoch
Yeah, I mean, this has been the story of the series, man. In my opinion, it's basically been spurs of the better team that can't close. I think that's been the story of the entire NBA Finals, right? Where I mean we were watching game one up in Stockholm and it was like, okay, the San Antonio spurs are, are taking control of this game until the third quarter and they just can't finish, right? Same goes for game two where you know, they, they do get a, they. They do drop a lead, but they can't finish because Wimpanyama is messed up down the stretch. They don't really have anyone that can necessarily organize. And you could see that even in the last stretch of this game, right, where you know, before that, that, that Castle bailout three that sealed the game, they were having some trouble, right? There were just costly turnovers from Fox, right? And I know we talked about, we've talked about Fox throughout this series and I know Roger, you pointed out like they. And Howard, like we. They need Fox, they need him to be right, but he isn't that floor general that you need, right? Like they need guys that can kind of organize this offense. And we've seen this throughout the season with San Antonio where, you know, they play cra. Great defense. There was a se. There was a sequence with four minutes left in the game where I think they caught Carl Anthony Towns be behind a three point line. He threw it to Shamon and they got it into the, into the lane and then Wimy just blocks it, right? Just an incredible defensive performance from them. They have the defensive acumen, but they just can't close down the stretch. And that's the thing that's really just been frustrating to watch. It's like whenever I watch the Spurs, Howard, I feel like, damn, I can't wait to see what they are in a few years, right? When Dylan Harper's just not only looking for his own shot, but he can get other people involved and is a little bit more comfortable. And they're, they're just older, right? And I'm like when he when I see so many plays and I'm like, when they're two years older together, they're going to be a lot better than they are right now. And they're just playing on raw. Billy, that's great, but they can't finish. I don't know what you can do with that in this series. They're down only 21 now, but they're trying to figure themselves out in a way. They're trying to get where the Knicks are in terms of chemistry and knowing each other nist, but they're just not there yet. But they have more talent than the Knicks and that's. I feel like that's the conundrum and the two things kind of coming Snoring,
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Logan Murdoch
and add each other during this series.
Howard Beck
I think there's something to that, and I really think that. Because you see these moments from Dylan Harper where it's just like, holy crap, I cannot even believe this fucking kid. He's amazing. And. But it. It is. It is definitely those amazing moments are, I'm gonna go get mine, and then he gets it. And occasionally it's, I'm gonna go get mine, and he gets there, then can't quite complete it. But it's never like, I'm gonna go get it, and, ooh, everybody just collapsed on me, and I'm. I'm gonna hit Vassell in the corner or I'm gonna hit, you know, Dear Fox at the top of the key or something. Like, he's. He doesn't have that vision yet. He's a little bit tunnel vision, which is not a knock. It's totally typical of rookies in this league and of young guys in this league who have an incredible amount of individual talent. And I think, Logan, you absolutely nailed it. There are so many times you're watching this team, and we're in. We're watching them in the NBA Finals. So this is the time to be thinking about the present and not the future. But it is hard not to think, like, oh, man, in another year or two, he's going to see that play, he's going to see that rotation, he's going to see that opportunity, and. And he will. Like, Dylan Harper seems to be, like, a very intuitive and smart basketball player. And same with Steph Castle, like, And. And Wemby's got other. Other places to evolve, too. And I thought tonight, you know, Raja hit this earlier. Like, you could see, like, the clear intent to get him shots closer to the basket tonight, right off the top, and he got him out. They got him on a roll. They had a hard time getting back to that later. Um, I'm. I'm sure, you know, the Knicks had something to do with that defensively, but there are still those moments with Wemby in particular, where you can see, like. Especially when he's out at the arc, it's like, I can knock down this shot, but, like, if he's missed a. A couple of them, then now he's hesitating a little bit, but he's not sure exactly. He says it takes you too long to, to, to turn that into like, oh, they're closing out on me now. I'm going to make a move and blow past them, right? Like, he's just a half a second too long in his decision making and that'll all speed up eventually and, and that when that happens, these guys are going to be impossible.
Logan Murdoch
They remind me a lot of the 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder, right, where they have all of talent, and I'm not sure they were better necessarily than the, the Miami Heat. You can make the argument, I think, that they were going in the series, I don't know. But when you look, when you looked at them going into that series, they had a whole bunch of dudes, right? They had Westbrook, they had Harden, they had Kevin Durant, but they all didn't know how to play with each other as well as the Miami Heat, simply because the Miami Heat year before went through the fire, right? And this, this Knicks team has gone through the fire in a lot of ways. And Roger, we've always talked about, like, throughout this season, like, when is San Antonio going to get tested? Like, who is going to make them work, right, and go to their third or fourth option. And I remember seeing in like Game one in particular, you see San Antonio get out to this big lead, but then you see New York, who knows each other and like, knows everything about how to play together when the chips are down. Also, they're a team that tends to, to rally and you could see that, like, how, what's going to give throughout this series in your mind, right? You've been pretty spot on throughout this postseason. Is it going to be San Antonio's youthful energy that is just. They don't know what the hell they're doing. They're just more talented than you. Or do you think the Knicks still have the edge in terms of. Because they know each other? Do you think they still have the edge in the series going into the next game?
Raja Bell
Yeah, it's interesting because. Well, first of all, let me just like, what San Antonio needs for me. Like, I mean, they'll, they'll, they'll obviously get better as, as they, as they all mature and get older. But like, right now, one of them, they, they lack closing, right? Like, they lack just, just overall closing. So that could be from an organizational standpoint where someone's setting up your offense and getting it going. But like, also, you know, from like a bonafide closer with the ball in his hands, like, who is that going to be? Right? Like. And so if. If these games are going to come down to the wire over and over again, I'm taking New York because they, they close like, they have a closer. They have a guy that, you know, even if you make it difficult for. For him through seven eighths of the game, like, he can close and he'll make big shots at the end. Not the San Antonio has guys that can't ever close, but they don't have that consistent closer like Wemby. He'll never be like, a true post player, but, like, that's a part of his game. Like, you got to develop that. You got to get to where we can give it to you down there, and you can get buckets or get battles. Like, it's critical for you to be seven, whatever you are, and for us to close games, that's where we have to get you the ball. You know what I mean? Like, they, they have to have that. I, I think that emotionally there's going to be, I think, a rebound from the Knicks in game four. Not that there was a letdown from them in game three, but I think you feel that series slipping away from you in a way that game four becomes a must win for you if you're the Knicks. Like, and so they're going to throw everything they have at that. They're going to come out with like a. They're going to come out and punch first. Now, I don't know if that manifests itself in them being up early in a way that they haven't in this series, but, like, I imagine they're going to be like, razor sharp coming out in game four. That's just my gut. I would lean towards them slightly, but I'm afraid for them because the spurs got a taste tonight, and that's what you did not want for a team that probably is mano a mano, like, you know, man to man, like, just better than you across the board. And that taste can be intoxicating. I think, you know, they were loose coming into it. I saw a lot of the press that they were doing, and a lot of the behind the scenes that concerned me. You know, I, I know the Knicks fans were all like, these dudes are locked in, man. These dudes are business cool. But I, I did not like if I was a Knicks fan. I did not like that the spurs looked loosey goosey like that. I did not. That was not making me feel good as a, as. As someone who would have Been cheering for the Knicks. So that would be my concern. I, I think the Knicks win game four. But I, I, I'm, I'm worried for them. They, they had a real opportunity tonight and the spurs, you don't, when, when you have young players that are inexperienced, you got to get rid of them.
Logan Murdoch
Yeah, you've got to get rid of them.
Raja Bell
You can't, you got to get rid of them, bro. Like you just got to use whatever advantages you have, maximize those and get them the out of there.
Logan Murdoch
Is that what you like six years ago against your sons? Is that what, is that how you had to, had to like stave them off? Just like hey, I gotta, I gotta kill you real quick. Is that what you used to do?
Raja Bell
No, I just need to mush them little mofos. But like you got, you gotta get them up out of there. Didn't do that tonight. And so yeah, it could be interesting. I, I, I, I like the Knicks though. And I think again I would just say this, sorry if, if we're going to play in these, if we're going to play in these three minute games down the stretch where someone is up two or three points and every game is going to live in that area, I'm probably taking the Knicks in the series.
Logan Murdoch
The ringer NBA show was brought to you by fanduel. It's all come down to this. Who do you think will be wearing the ring at the end of the NBA Finals? Make your call with FanDuel right now. New customers can hit the court with $350 in bonus bets guaranteed after betting $5 for seven straight days. FanDuel is the best place to bet all of your favorite players during the finals. Bet on their baskets and boards or build same game parlay for a chance at a bigger payout. I don't know man. I think I'm going to take the, I think I'm going to take the spurs this to tie this series up and I'm going to take the over on points and rebounds and assists for Victor Wembanyama. And I'm going to take the over on Dylan Harper. Points and I'm going to take, I'm going to take the under on cap points and rebounds. That's how I feel right now. Just visit bandool.com ringermba to get started. Must be 21 and older and select states 18 and older in DC, Kentucky or Wyoming. First online real money wager only. Minimum five dollar required for seven consecutive days. Bonus issues is non withdrawable bonus bets which expire seven days after receipt. Gambling problem called 1-800- gambler. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org backslash Chad in Connecticut. There's a couple of things here. One, let's start with this. I always say that you get clues for the rest of the series and the final two minutes of each game, right?
Raja Bell
And.
Logan Murdoch
Or I would say maybe final four minutes of each game. And how that relates to what you just said about the spurs, right? You see the big three from Castle, right? It was. It was a bullshit possession. He gets the ball, shoots the three. You see the step back three from Dylan Harper. Then you see the Fox turnaround after he had that. After he had that terrible turnover down the stretch, right? What I'm saying is these young guys are building confidence, right? They're, they're, they're growing. They do this every series. They seem to be growing in front of our eyes. That would scare the shit out of me, right? Where, like, these guys are starting to make shots. They're starting to just kind of find themselves. They're also. There's also like, a comfort in being on the road, right? I think you saw that from both teams because both teams had different set of circumstances that gets them overly amped, right? Like, you saw that in San Antonio, where it's like, oh, shit, this is the first finals we've had of this new era. Like, it's crazy. And they came out swinging. But then I'll say, also got a little lemon booty down the stretch. And then, like, you saw the same thing with the Knicks, right? Man, it's our first final since 1990, since 1999, since the lockout year. Man, we got to really put on for the city. Wow, there's so much going on. Fat Joe and Jadakiss are at our presser. Ben Stiller's at our presser. What the fuck? This is crazy, right? And that. That tends to go into your mind. It's hard to, like, you know, insulate yourself. And the first. And I think, like, the thing that would scare me if I'm the Knicks right now is like, damn. Like you said, Roger, these young guys, they're starting to wake up. Like, they're starting to be like, oh, okay, all that noise is over with. We're actually a better team than you. Like, I'm actually. We're actually better than you. We're younger than you. We got Wimpanyama. We just. All we got to do is funnel him. Funnel you guys into Lane. He's gonna block Everything. And then women. Yama's like, oh, I can actually go to the Cup. Like he wasn't going to the cup the last two games. I have Carl Towns on me. I can go to the Cup. He's starting to like, they're starting to really just kind of wake up now and I would be scared. Howard, do you, do you share these fears?
Howard Beck
You guys hit it earlier. The Knicks have the best closer in this series. One of the best closers in the NBA period of the last several years in Jalen Brunson. Darren Fox did hit, by the way, that fucking huge free throw line jumper. Late Cat was tying up Wemby, like Wemby was trying to get loose and Cat just like was like wrestling him. And I think Fox just like saw like, I've got an opportunity. Just kind of like skirt in behind them. Huge, huge shot by, by Dear and Fox and like that's why you got him in the first place, right? And like, I'm the moron. Who was it earlier this season last summer? I'm like, okay, Dear, Fox is now expendable. They've got Castle and Harper and they've got this young career. They got Bissell. Like they don't, you know, what do you need?
Logan Murdoch
You were on a trade machine.
Howard Beck
Why, why, why we need a max point guard. Darren Fox just showed his, his worth. And obviously he's been hugely critical to them as just kind of a steadying hand of veteran influence. We saw what his absence meant to them in that Thunder series when he was still ailing a little bit. He seems, seems fine now. But I, I think I'd be concerned, to answer Logan's question. I think I'd be concerned with the fact that like Jalen Brunson, despite the number of like clutch shots he's hit first to get them up. 20 in the first place. And then even, you know, some of, some of what he did late Tonight, he's what, 11 for 25 tonight has not shot well in the series. The NBA Stat site is not updated yet. So I haven't been able to like look at his composite for the series. But like he's been, he.
Logan Murdoch
I got you. I got you. Right here he is shooting 37% from the field, 31.8 from three point line, but he's averaging 27. But that's been a tough 27.
Howard Beck
Yeah.
Logan Murdoch
12 shots. 31 shots in the first half.
Howard Beck
12 for 31 in the first game. Yeah, 12 for 31 in the first game. I'm, I'm just now able to pull it up like that, like, it's, it's been a struggle the whole time. And this is what, this was the one thing I said like. And you know, I'm one of the people who thought the spurs would win this series. I think I said spurs and six. In our, in our preview for the ringer. It was in part because I thought the spurs are just so uniquely built with all these big physical guards and then Wemby backing them all up that, that Brunson was going to have a hard time finding space to operate. Now, the guy is one of the best tough shot makers and just finding little seams that there is in the league and he does that and we've seen it over and over in the series, but still the efficiency is way down for him. And if that's going to be the case, then it's got to be okay, how much, you know, what are we getting from Kat? And they didn't get much tonight from Kat. Where are we getting from Mikhail Bridges and Anobi, at least you know, was shooting well tonight for them. But it does put a lot of pressure on everybody else who they can all have those breakout games, but you're not going night in, night out to any of them. That's not the history of these guys. So I don't know, Raja, like, do you like, is there. What's the counter when your best player is. Is. Is being bottled up to this extent?
Raja Bell
Yeah, this was my fear for them coming in. I don't know if you guys remember me saying how similar I saw Jalen Brunson and. And Shea as players, as scorers, as shot profile, like where they want to get to, how they want to score. And San Antonio is like, you know, they're not unique in that. Like there are other teams that don't defend, but with that shadow of Wemby behind, they are kind of unique.
Logan Murdoch
Right.
Raja Bell
Because if you don't have a true number two that is going to just pick up any slack. Like true number twos. When number ones can't eat, they're just waiting to eat. So like once you throw it over to them, they're like, fuck it, I got it. I've been waiting for this. Like Oklahoma City didn't have it and the Knicks are looking for it. Hope you would hope that Carl Anthony Towns would do that. But so far, you know, like when Carl's been, I mean, Carl Townsford first
Logan Murdoch
two games seemed like a go ahead.
Raja Bell
Yeah, but he's in an Alabet. He's in and out and so like that, if, if he's going to be good, they're going to win. Because what the spurs are doing to the. To that driving force of your offense, Shay or Jay Brunson is just making their life miserable. Game plan, stacked floor, Wemby shadowing. So you have to have Cat or Chet or it would have been J Dub or somebody on that weak side when that ball comes out, has to make them pay over and over and over again. And only then would they have to, like, say, okay, we can't employ this strategy anymore. Let's play Shay or Jalen Brunson straight up. But I think even as Cat's been great, like you talked at the beginning of the. Of the pod about like, you. You could make a case. The spurs were like, yo, we fumbled the bag a few times even though Cat played great. So, like, I don't see them switching it up, you know, like, they're gonna let Kat.
Logan Murdoch
Hey.
Raja Bell
Beat us. And yeah, it's, it's, it's. I don't see any real hope for Jalen shaken free in this series again. He's. He's gonna have. He's gonna have moments, dog. Like, don't get me wrong, he's a bad mofo. Like, he's gonna have moments, but, like, it's just really difficult to shake free of what that entire team is doing to you on a nightly basis. It's their only focus. Defense.
Logan Murdoch
Cat was a 4 of 10 tonight. 11 points. Can't have that, you know, especially after when he would. Yeah. 18 and 12, game one, 21 and 13, game two just was a monster, right? I was even. I was joking, I think with Howard or somebody when in. In Stockholm. Just talking about like, damn, like, Chad is looking at. Chad Holmgren is looking at this film like, God damn it. I just missed a golden opportunity to get my team to the finals. Right? Like, it seemed like the. The blueprint was right there. Mikhail Bridges also has to step up. Right. But the problem is, Roger, when I look at this Knicks team, I'm like, aside from Brunson, I really don't know who is going to be a consistent player outside of Brunson. I don't know who's going to be there on night in and night out who can do that, right? Like, I'm not talking about Landry Shammon. Like, I'm. He's going to ball out, but he's not that guy, right? Like, OG is. He might get you some. He might. He could get you 20 on a given night, but are you going to. Can you bank and stamp 20 points from OG I don't know. Can you bank and stamp Mikhail Bridges 20 you in theory you should be able to, but I don't know.
Raja Bell
Yeah, I wouldn't. Oh, OG In a series like this, I would stamp close to like I don't know what he's averaging, but I'd have him high, high teens like to 20. Like I think you could count on that. But it's not winning you games.
Logan Murdoch
Right?
Raja Bell
That makes sense. Right like that. It's not. It's not going to win the game for you. You need to give the ball to Karl Anthony Towns more. I'm just telling.
Logan Murdoch
What have you thought of his defense, by the way? What have you thought of his defense?
Raja Bell
I think he's been great. Yeah, I think he's been pretty good. Like, you can't look Wemby. Wemby got a bunch of shit behind him tonight. Carl Anthony Towns had him bottled up on the perimeter like, you know, Wemby was looking to get to that step back. Cat knocked it away a few times even that last possession where or not the last possession, but when he hit Stefan Castle, I think it was like a. He wanted to hit that hesit pull and Cat was all over that and they made him get off of it. I, I think Cat's been really good. I think he's been physical. But you got, you got to give him, you got to give him the ball more. You got to get that ball out of Jalen Brunson's hands if that's what they're going to do to him. Not saying that he's got to take a back seat, but get the ball moving in a way where Katt can get it with a little bit of time to figure out what's going on and then he can either score or he's very capable, like playmaker. So then let him make the play to get sham it. The easier shots, like if you watch the Knicks tonight, there's a huge difference between the ball moving crisply and me catching it and a lot and allowing myself whatever that beat is on my natural shot. Like, you know, whatever time it takes for me to get that shot up. The Knicks look sped up in the second half in terms of catching, trying to get it up real quick, like catching. Trying to get it up real quick. Like they were, they were just, they were sped up in that way. And so you have to get off the ball earlier. Let. Let Cat because he's the only person on your team that can do that dog, like, he's the only person outside of Jalen Brunson that can be tasked with doing that. Like, it's just. It's what it is. So he's got. You've got to see if he can do it. And. And if he does, maybe, you know, well, you've won two games with him fucking doing it. But, like, if. If they adjust to that now it frees Jalen up to do what you ultimately want to be able to do anyway.
Logan Murdoch
Yeah, no pun. Pun intended. I've been catting off. OG is averaging 20 points per game. But to your point, Raja, I. It's not gonna win you games. That's not what I'm talking about. Right. Like, you need a bonafide just like, dude, to be able to win you games in that way.
Howard Beck
I.
Raja Bell
Damn.
Logan Murdoch
It's kind of distracting. It's popping. It's popping over there. Msg, what's going on right now? It's popping. I'm over here hearing voices that I don't even know, and I'm like, what the is going on?
Howard Beck
I. I think people kind of cleaning up, doing their thing, just like, you
Raja Bell
know, breaking down, baby.
Logan Murdoch
Break it down, break it down.
Howard Beck
I don't. I don't know if there's something here on the off night between games or not either. So, you know, there's work to do. I. I do have from this perch, I can see, you know, Ernie, Chuck, Kenny, Shaq, all doing their thing down on the court down there. So there's. They're still working hard, I can tell you that.
Logan Murdoch
Are you sure they're working hard? I think one person is working. I can guarantee that one person on that panel is working on. Maybe
Howard Beck
Draymond was here. I saw Draymond pregame. I don't see him out there now with them. So I don't know if he's just like roaming. Is he just like. Is he like.
Logan Murdoch
He had a wild, like. I don't know, man. I'm not the best dress in the world, but he had like a wild, like, pink and brown ensemble going on. It was. It was a lot. It was a lot going on. It's if. If Saginaw, Michigan was an outfit. That was what that was. Okay, let's get into. Let's get into quit mailbag real quick before we get out of here. Let's get to an hour. Cliff, what's happening? Cliff, are you there?
Howard Beck
Cliff is falling asleep.
Cliff
I did not feel asleep.
Logan Murdoch
Wake up.
Howard Beck
So are you still jet lagged from Stockholm?
Cliff
No, I was in Riverside Jail real quick. That's. That's what happens when you're in the. In the back. So when you. Riverside Jail. I can't unfree myself, so I needed Ben to free me from Riverside Jail.
Logan Murdoch
So now, did you have those big barriers that Trump had in your jail? Was it like. Like a big glass awning?
Cliff
Yeah, I was a solitary Logan.
Howard Beck
I only saw it because I'm here. I only saw what popped on social media. Did they show on TV where he was basically like. Trump was basically like asleep in the suit?
Logan Murdoch
Yeah, they did.
Howard Beck
And it was hard to tell if Dolan was even awake next to him.
Logan Murdoch
Like, yeah. I'm like, what? Yeah. Yo, that's old and washed, though, bro. Because that just happens, man. That's just that literally, of all the people around their age that just happen. Because this is an exciting game. Wake that ass up.
Cliff
All right, this is a really.
Logan Murdoch
Raja, wake your ass up. Old ass.
Raja Bell
I'm about to say I'm about to fall asleep as we speak.
Logan Murdoch
Right? Yo, just keep a cam on Raja because he's gonna fall asleep right now.
Howard Beck
Almost there, Raja. Almost there.
Cliff
All right, this is a. This is a random question here, so bear with me. This is. Hello, real ones. I have what I believe is an interesting question for you today. Would the current day 2017 warriors be a contender right now? I don't mean import the 2017 Warriors. I mean, we take the current version of the 2017 warriors roster. Let me make the case. You still have two top 10 players in the goat level. Scorers in Stephen KD, a high IQ, all defensive caliber defender in Draymond, and a 38% plus 3 point veteran sharpshooter in Klay. You could also add in Harrison Barnes, a vet contributing to a finals team right now. Let's also say they start in round one of the playoffs and don't play regular season. So what do you think? Thanks for answering, Andrew. This is from Andrew Fan. Very random. But, Logan, it seems like you covered that team. You got some history behind that. I think you'd be perfect to answer
Logan Murdoch
that question right now. Like, this current. This current team right now, can they stay on the floor for three months straight? Can they do that? I don't know. I don't know if they could do that. I'm sorry, this current group. No, I don't think that.
Howard Beck
You're basically subbing in by going back to the 2017 roster. You're basically subbing Katie back in for Jimmy Butler, but everybody is like nine years older.
Logan Murdoch
Yeah, exactly.
Howard Beck
Yeah, no, sorry.
Logan Murdoch
Are they going to go up against J Dub and Shay? Are they going to go up. What is this current. We've seen what the current KD is doing against current women. Yama, bro, like, it's not. That's not happening.
Howard Beck
Like, I tend to be the biggest warrior optimist on this pod and like, no, I'm just. I can't.
Logan Murdoch
We.
Howard Beck
We're not there. That's not happening.
Logan Murdoch
You want. You want to stick up for the ages, for. For the old people, Ross? Stick up for them?
Raja Bell
No, I don't. I don't think. I don't. I don't think people understand the difference between, like, what a. What a really good 21 year old, 22, 23 year old physically has in terms of advantages over even a really good 35, 36 year old. I mean, no disrespect to, like, those are some of the best players on the planet, but you know they're going to have advantages in terms of, like, experience and understanding and probably tricks of the trade, but you line up a. A 22, 23 year old with fresh legs against a bunch of 35. That's not even a. Not a chance.
Logan Murdoch
Yeah, man. Like, I would say even like, if the 22. The 22 warriors and they had all of those people, that would be like the last, like, gasp in terms of, like, the team that would win a title if you put that current version of the roster together, if you could
Howard Beck
get Andrew Wiggins to also replicate what he did that season exactly for them, because he was the one young guy who could actually do something right, and it gave them a little bit of. Of that athleticism.
Logan Murdoch
Hey, man, Jordan won some games too. He won around. He helped win around. Okay. Jesus Christ. I'm not gonna have the eraser. Okay, what's the. What's the next question?
Cliff
All right, this next question is like a week old, so just bear with me because it's still kind of relevant and interesting. Okay, this is Catharsis from Uruguay. Can we stop at the next Dynasty talk? Matthias Prestini. Matthias Prestini. I hope I'm saying that correctly. Hey, real ones. What's up? Logan and Raja? This is Matthias rocking with the show for a long time now, all the way from Uruguay. I'm writing to you guys today because I need to vent a little bit, and I know you two are going to feel me now that the spurs beat okc and I'm. I'm already exhausted by the media narrative that's being shoved down our throats. Everyone is acting like San Antonio is a lock for the next dynasty and that nobody else stands a chance for the next four years against Wemby Company. It feels like. It feels like we never learned our lesson. We had this exact same conversation when Jokic won his first ring. He hasn't won one since. We had the same talk when Giannis won his first ring. He hasn't been back since. We said it about the Celtics after they won. No repeat. We spent the whole year hearing about OKC dynasty, and this year, once again, it didn't happen. We've now had eight different champions in the last eight years. How long is it going to take for people to realize that the game has completely changed? Is it harder than ever in NBA history to repeat, let alone build a dynasty? Parody is real. Injuries happen. Trades happen. NBA is a butterfly effect. Bugle. Nice word. Every year is different, and it's amazing. I'd love to hear your take on this. Keep on keeping it real. Much love, Matthias. Matthias from Uruguay.
Logan Murdoch
I was just gonna say San Antonio. I mean, I. I get the comparisons for, again, to Jokic and Giannis, but Giannis and Jokic were not Wimby's age when they were on the verge of winning their first title. Bro. That's the key difference here. And all those guys weren't as young as the spurs team is right now on the brink of a title. It's just. It just. That's the key difference here. I get what you're saying with OKC and all that stuff, but San Antonio has. The reason why we're now anointing spurs prematurely is because they beat OKC pretty handily and seem to have their number. That's all I really have. I don't have any, like, sweeping things. I just wanted to point out the key differences, and I'm sure Howard's gonna say something way more smarter than I am because. Let me go.
Raja Bell
Before you go, Howard, let me just go. Like, I. I agree with you, Logan. And not only is Wimby a younger player with more probably upside at this point than some of them had, but I think his supporting cast is also. When you look at them, I think you see multiple people that in the next few years, you could make a case for being all. Something in the NBA, right? Like, they, like, you got some real dudes.
Logan Murdoch
Dylan Harper about to be. About to be crazy next year.
Raja Bell
No. So it's. So it's not just him. Having said that, I'm with you, Matthias. I'm with you.
Logan Murdoch
Like, did you just play both sides, Raja? No, I'm not.
Raja Bell
Nope. I'm not playing because I'm telling you where I'm standing. I'm standing with Matthias. Like, I could say all of that and say, like, I see that for the spurs, but recent history suggests to me that he's right. Like, it is super hard to find yourself, no matter what the circumstances are or what your team looks like or what we feel about it, to find yourself back there again. And. And dynasty, I think, is while. While if anyone could do it or looks like they should do it, it would be the Spurs. I think I'm taking Matthias aside on this one.
Logan Murdoch
Do you agree that the NBA is a butterfly effect?
Howard Beck
Bugle, I love that I would just say this. What is that? We all tend to do this thing where if there's even a couple of people, maybe on social media or one podcast or one loud voice somewhere who's saying, oh, this is the thing. This team is going to be the next dynasty, then we react to it. It's not like that was like some consensus thing like, oh, we need to all stop doing this. Some people maybe did at various points, maybe with the Bucs, maybe with the Nuggets, maybe with the Celtics, when they won theirs too. I did not feel that for any of them. But I. And I will just say, as the person who wrote a couple weeks ago, that the whole league is trying to figure out what to do about the Thunder and Spurs, because these two teams are both very young, very loaded, and very flexible with all the cap room and draft picks that they have to. To. To use in the coming years. The reason I wrote that is partially because that's the way the league is talking about them. But not to say that either of them are dynasty. It was not anointing either of them, just saying that, like, when you are that young, with that collection of talent and the ability to keep adding as the Thunder and Spurs both do, it does put you in a position to be a power for a long time. Being a power for a long time, being a contender for a long stretch of time is not the same thing as saying it's a dynasty. So in my own pseudo defense, he wasn't coming after me. But since I wrote that story, I will just say, like, it's about the idea. These teams are going to be have to be reckoned with at a high level for many, many years to come. But it is true. Also, I will agree with him. Like, eight champions in eight years tells us something about the state of the NBA right now. And it was engineered this way, this is what the league wanted. This is what Adam Silver wanted. It is tough to repeat. It is tough to even get back, as we just saw. Once again, there's a. A war of attrition. You're fighting. We keep talking about, or we. We have discussed, like, oh, what if J dub and. And A.J. mitchell had been available? Do the Thunder win that series? Are they now in a position to repeat? The Thunder and they're playing the Knicks instead of the spurs, but there's a war of attrition. They lost those guys because it's hard season after season, especially when you've gone deep. And so, yeah, I agree. We all should take a beat before anointing anybody as dynasties. I do think the spurs in the Thunder, no disrespect to the Knicks at all, who are still up in this series and may yet win this championship, but that the spurs and the Thunder, because of their. Their combination of age, array of talent and picks and flexibility for years to come, are going to be very, very difficult to deal with. All that said, there's a second apron in this league. There's all these other mechanisms to force you to part with talent. And, yeah, that's what's made the league so fascinating and volatile in recent seasons and on some levels, has made it very exciting, for sure.
Logan Murdoch
Let's do one more just so we can make time because I'm also about to fall asleep. Sorry, Ross. It's 51 minutes, dog. One more, dude. We gotta. Gotta make time, dog. Come on. Jesus. You can go to sleep. You know, you just go to sleep. Me and Howard got this one. Just go take it. Take a nap. Take it on.
Howard Beck
We gotta hit it. We gotta wrap, so. Because I gotta get down from here.
Logan Murdoch
All right, thank you, Howard. Wait. Oh, are we done? Wait, one more. Can you got one time for one more or.
Cliff
No, there's not a good one. Yeah, you might as well just. You must just go see, man, I
Raja Bell
got one right here to keep all that.
Logan Murdoch
We just keep it. Hold on.
Cliff
He was just.
Logan Murdoch
Hold on, hold on. Yeah, keep on.
Raja Bell
I got a question. I got a question for you. I got a question. You want a question?
Logan Murdoch
I want a question. Yes.
Raja Bell
How you signing off tonight? There you go. There's your question.
Logan Murdoch
You know what? I'm gonna just say this, man. You know what? I'm gonna just say this. Cliff said there ain't no good questions. I got the. I got the real one's mailbag login right here. And he. And I hate this erasure. And I'm not even going I'm gonna just say Musa you had a great question what's good in the bay you ain't Cliff Howard. I know you gotta leave and that's another edition of real ones. Okay. Hey
Raja Bell
side side pod for was it
Howard Beck
could be the best sign off of all time right there.
Logan Murdoch
Yeah you know what? Hey yeah off everyone this is Moose is saying that Roger that he went to that he saw Roger play his first NBA game and Raja went five of 17 one of 10 from three and the and the sun still won 105101 Roger you're a world one and I hope to see tie in the NBA someday. Someday. But you know what all that Howard we will see you guys next time next pod this has been another edition of real ones. Make sure if you want to like you know we love our fans contrary to what Raja and how Howard and Clifford doing but make sure you tap in real ones mailbag gmail.com realm's mailbag@gmail.com real onesmailback gmail.com we're kicking Howard out of MSG. Roger. You take your ass asleep. Cliff. The marathon continues. Ah all this bye must be 21 years and older and present in select states for Kansas and affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18 and older and present in D.C. conditions Kentucky or Wyoming gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY RESET. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org backslash chat in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelpma.org or call 1-800-327-5050 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-HOPE NY or text HOPE NY in New York. For Louisiana, call 1-877-770-7867.
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Howard Beck
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This episode of "Real Ones" is a postgame reaction to Game 3 of the 2026 NBA Finals, in which the San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks 115–111 at Madison Square Garden. Logan Murdock, Raja Bell, and Howard Beck—joined by producer Cliff—analyze the game, dive into the series' evolving themes (especially physicality and officiating), break down the big performances, and offer on-the-ground atmosphere insights from MSG. Listeners’ mailbag questions close out the episode, touching on dynasties and NBA evolution.
Home Team Struggles & Historical Note
Spurs Defensive Growth
Knicks Offensive Struggles
| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------|------------| | Episode opening, game summary, Wimby praise | 00:06–02:08| | Raja on Spurs’ game plan, officiating issues | 02:08–04:12| | Physicality, flagrant debates | 06:48–08:38| | MSG atmosphere, Trump presence, NYC scene | 09:17–16:29| | Defensive adjustments, Finals history stat | 17:16–18:51| | Spurs’ youth vs Knicks’ composure | 21:06–28:51| | Brunson’s struggles, Towns’ role | 37:38–44:43| | Mailbag (2017 Warriors, dynasty era, randomness) | 47:19–55:54|
The episode’s tone is candid, humorous, and a little irreverent. The hosts blend deep basketball analysis (especially from Raja’s player perspective) with off-beat New York stories and laid-back banter. Listener questions get both thoughtful and playful responses.
"The Spurs have been the better team that can’t close. That’s been the story of the entire NBA Finals."
— Logan Murdock (21:06)
For full context, energy, and the mailbag’s closing hilarity, listening is recommended—but this summary covers the deep-dive insight, memorable moments, and main arguments from the pod’s basketball core.