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The Ringer NBA Show
The Wolves Finish Off the Lakers, and the Rockets Nearly Blow a Blowout | Group Chat
01:02:35
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- [00:00]
Justin Variano
You're listening to the Ringer NBA show presented by FanDuel, America's number one sportsbook is the best place to bet on the NBA because not only does FanDuel have all your favorite player props, but now you can even check out stats and recent performance trends right in the app before you make your picks. Just download the FanDuel sportsbook app today to get in on the action. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available and listen to the end of the episode for additional details. Must be 21 plus and present in select states. Gambling problem. Call 1-800- GAMBLER or visit rg-help.com this episode is brought to you by State Farm. Basketball fans know that a great assist can change the game and there's no greater assist than one from State Farm. State Farm is here to help you navigate the right coverage for your home car and more. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. State Farm, Bloomington, IL coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability and eligibility vary by state. This episode is brought to you by gnc. GNC knows that you're not always feeling it at the gym, but don't get down, get lit and get more out of every workout. Beyond Raw lit is a clinically dosed pre workout that flips the switch and gives you more energy, focus, intensity and pumps the perfect combo for a killer workout. Plus, it's got incredible flavors and thousands of five star reviews so you know it's good. Pick it up at gnc stores or gnc.com hello and welcome to Group Chat. I am Justin Varior and joining me, Rob Mahoney. Big Waz Waz. It looks like you fixed your smoke detector. We're all very pleased.
- [02:00]
Rob Mahoney
Oh well, you know, it was a one day thing. I thought it was my carbon monoxide joint which is like electrically built in and not like some battery you can buy. But it ended up being the other one which was battery situated and it got it fixed.
- [02:18]
Big Waz
But you are alive. You survived fires and potential carbon monoxide.
- [02:22]
Rob Mahoney
I am alive. I'm good people dealt with some beeping goes on.
- [02:27]
Justin Variano
What's funny is like I remember hearing the beeping during the podcast but like you know, when you're in the flow you don't, you don't really get caught up in those things. If you listen back it's, it's, it's pretty prominent.
- [02:38]
Big Waz
So we, we keep moving though. You know, we put one foot in front of the other where it's playoff time, we have no choice but to persist.
- [02:46]
Justin Variano
That's right. Unfortunately, the Lakers will not be persisting past this point. So in this game in which the Wolves closed out the series against the lakers, we had 40 missed three pointers from the Timberwolves. We had Rudy Gobert looking like Wilt Chamberlain, and we had Julius Randall looking like one of the best playoff closeout guys. In crunch time on a court with Luka Doncic was Anthony Edwards with LeBron James, Rob, what the hell did we just watch?
- [03:18]
Big Waz
It's all very normal stuff. And somehow this was the less weird game of the two weird games we had tonight. But credit to the Wolves, who just ultimately, Rudy Gobert in particular broke the Lakers like he literally broke their formula. He broke the series open completely change his game with his rebounding in particular, but also just his ability to catch and finish, which had been in a disastrous state over the first four games of this series. And honestly, it felt like, you know, the Lakers made their big, much ballyhooed, much anticipated lineup change as far as their starters go. Playing the only five guys that J.J. redick was comfortable playing in game four to begin with as starters in game five. It sure felt like Minnesota was ready for it. It sure felt like they had had film sessions, team meetings about getting Rudy the ball in specific spots, and most importantly, him being positioned to just clean up nine offensive rebounds in this game. Just and most frustratingly, not a single Laker putting a body on him at any point outside of, I would say maybe a two minute stretch in the second quarter where they were actually physical. And outside of that, they seem pretty content to just let this happen.
- [04:23]
Rob Mahoney
Yeah, generally speaking, when teams go small, right, the idea is that you're going to spread the opposing team's defense out and, you know, create driving lanes for yourself. It's this idea, I'm going smaller, I'm going to be better in space, I'm going to be quicker to the punch than my opponent is. However, the Lakers not only went small and got bludgeoned and bruised on the block, you know, and on the boards, they could not dribble past anybody. So they were small with all of the disadvantages and pretty much none of the advantages. They literally, Minnesota was like, we have no problem switching our big guys onto your wings and keeping our defensive shape. Like they, they played them straight up. They never had to contort themselves into weird pretzels because they were in a bind guarding the Lakers. They were like, no, we can guard these guys just fine. We never spring any major Leagues, we never have to panic and put our guys in, like, horrible rotational spots. And on the other end, we get to enjoy all of the blessings and advantages that come with being way bigger, way stronger than your opponent. So, yeah, it was just a terrible matchup for the Lakers and they got exposed.
- [05:46]
Justin Variano
It's a lot of desperate acts from the Lakers in this game.
- [05:49]
Rob Mahoney
Oh, my God.
- [05:50]
Justin Variano
First and foremost, with the pregame press conference from JJ Redick, where he seemed on edge, not only to the assembled media, but even it seemed like in the tnt, like, separate meeting they have, like, even Reggie Miller was like, yeah, this guy. I had to tell him to, like, kind of calm down a little bit. We got Maxi Klaber out of nowhere. First, like, time he was even eligible to be on a court since January 25, he gets more minutes than Jackson Hayes, the starter practically since the Luca trade there. But they were practically, like, selling out on trying to stop the drive so much that they were allowing the Wolves to take all these threes. I guess that was the better option when they were missing so many, but then it just let Rudy Gobert get whatever he wanted down in the paint. So it just seemed like they had so many disadvantages here. They were just trying whatever they could in order to dig themselves out, but here they are losing a game that they probably should have won, considering how poorly the Wolves played throughout.
- [06:45]
Big Waz
Totally. I mean, it was a really competitive game down the stretch in terms of the margin. It just never really felt that way because for the bulk of the game, Minnesota was getting basically any open three it could want. And, you know, guys like Dante DiVincenzo, guys like Nikhil Alexander Walker were not hitting at all. Anthony Edwards. I've been pretty resistant to the idea that Ant was taking too many threes in the regular season. There is zero doubt he was settling for way too many bad threes here during some critical stretches of this game. They managed their way around that because of the offensive rebounding. They managed their way around that because they were getting enough stops, and they managed their way around that because Julius Randle was getting every crucial bucket off of a drive off of self created, like, isolation offense. I never expected to be here, but I am a Julius Randle believer. Like, this was an incredible series for Julius as a playoff performer. Guarding LeBron, guarding Luka, holding up in switches, holding up in space, creating in a way that never really felt like he was off the rails, or if it did, it would at least be while he was being aggressive, going downhill.
- [07:50]
Rob Mahoney
Right.
- [07:50]
Big Waz
Like, he was driving and maybe Got a little off balance. But ultimately, in a game like this where you need that sort of downhill momentum, that's not a bad thing. That certainly beats the alternative of Ant taking, you know, and missing his 12th three of the night.
- [08:02]
Rob Mahoney
So to me, Ant had a bad quote, unquote game. I don't necessarily see it that way. Especially when you look at that second quarter where the Wolves, you know, put together this nice double digit margin. Yeah, the entire point of telegraphing the most basic freaking double team God has ever invented is that you have absolutely zero confidence that any of you guys could stay in front of this dude one on one. So in order to even avoid the situation when I talk about the pretzel that the Lakers weren't forcing upon Minnesota, that's exactly what the Lakers were doing on defense. They were literally telegraphing these hapless ass double teams to Anthony Edwards on the ball. Then two less than three passes later, they were ending in layups when they weren't ending in outright threes. And you know, I think the game ultimately came down to the fact that the Lakers could do nothing going downhill. Like towards the end of the game, LeBron wanted no parts of Rudy Gobert in the paint. He got nothing. No shots in the paint. Same for Luka and the Wolves. Julius Randle was living in the paint. And even on that Mike Conley, you know, basically Dagger 3, it's Ant Edwards on the. He forces this extreme amount of help by the basket from Austin Reaves and just sprays it out to a guy for a wide open shot. Austin Reaves was barely within 4ft of this guy when he let go of the ball. So even if Ant's not scoring, you know, efficiently on his own, it's him that's dictating the terms of what the Lakers can even try to do on defense.
- [09:47]
Justin Variano
Yeah, it was, it was, it was a real tale of two halves. I guess at first he was just making the right plays. Cause they were sending doubles, he was hitting wide open shooters. They were just missing. Toward the end of the game when Luca was clearly hobbled, he obviously had a back issue. Dante DiVincenzo kind of struck him. What seemed to be like on the neck region, but that shoulder. Yeah, kind of tweaked his back. Didn't seem like even LeBron and JJ Redick were surprised when he came out after halftime. It seemed like Edwards was reticent to attack against him in the second half and was setting for a lot of threes. But you saw as soon as, like they got into the Paint how things opened up like Randall after those, like, I think it was like three offensive rebounds called for the ball against Reeves takes them all of a sudden, bucket. And then there was another play where Ant did drive against Luca, caught Connolly in the corner for the Open 3. It's just like that's when things started to flow there. But it just kind of almost underlined how easy things were for the Wolves if they could just get a little of something. The Lakers just didn't have any answers no matter where they were looking.
- [10:48]
Big Waz
Well, just how easy it was if they could get a shot on the rim because then Rudy was cleaning everything up again. It's like all of these decision making quirks are much more palatable when you're rebounding everything and getting second and third and fourth and fifth chances, frankly, on some of these possessions where the various wolves were just digging it out of the dirt. Long rebound, short rebounds, it didn't really matter at all. Just a no show from the Lakers in that particular regard. And this was, this was something we kind of talked about a bit down the stretch of the regular season with the Lakers size that for all the size that they have in kind of having a lot of power forward shaped bodies in their lineup, it's kind of fake size. Like it didn't, it didn't manifest as you, as you mentioned, was in terms of you're not beating people up inside, you're not crushing people on the glass. Like it maybe made you more switchable where you can handle different kinds of, you know, pick and roll coverages and things like that. But ultimately they don't play like a big team and they certainly didn't feel like it once. Luka was really slowed down and I think did about as much as a person can do when hobbled with a back injury and was creating a fair bit and taking contact and try to be, trying to be like a full participant in this game. But by that point, Minnesota had already kind of set the tone and Luca frankly can't do everything.
- [12:00]
Justin Variano
You know, if you had told me after the Luca trade that this was how the Laker season ended, I would probably be like, oh, that probably makes sense. They didn't go out and get a center. They were trying to just figure this out on the fly. We didn't know that Reaves would play this well at the end of the regular season. Obviously didn't equip himself too well in this game and did okay throughout this postseason. Um, but if you just told me like, you know, first round series against a Tough opponent, I believe it was. You think like we talked ourselves into the Lakers just because they had such immediate.
- [12:30]
Rob Mahoney
Absolutely did. Um, when the trade was made, uniformly everything you read, everything you listened to, everything you watched on TV was like this was a trade made for the future. For the next five years. The roster is now extremely imbalanced and the Lakers are not like materially better. Even if we think way high more highly of Luka than we do Anthony Edwards. This is what all of us said. And then in the regular season like, oh, this might be better than we thought it was. And we talked and you know, we fool ourselves with this. The little number next to the seed, next to the team name, it's like, oh, they're the third seed. So they're clearly materially better than the Wolves. When we knew obviously from stuff like point differential. Just watching the Wolves down the stretch that they were not a meaningfully better team than Minnesota, I just thought they'd be able to get by on guile and Minnesota just traditionally being a knuckleheaded non executing ass bunch. But you know, this goes to shows that playoff experience actually matters and Minnesota was just executing on a much higher level than they have in previous postseason. Just being way less boneheaded I think. But like, yeah, just look at their rock. Like they were playing moxie Cleber. This is nuts. Okay.
- [13:49]
Big Waz
I love that he came in and does what Maxi does with all due respect, every time he plays, which is he is an ostensible stretch five. We'll catch at the three point line. Won't shoot it. Just we'll pass it up. Re reset with four seconds left on the shot clock. Like let's just keep it moving. This is the responsible thing to do. I guess I, I was baffled that he was out there. But, but we, as we mentioned it speaks to the Lakers desperation and like trying to find bodies that could be like viable in this game. And you know Jared Vanderbilt gave Vincent. They actually got a little bit more burned tonight. You can see why they were kind of questionable in the rotation to begin with and why JJ Redick basically tried to excise them when push came to shove in game four. Ultimately like this isn't a team yet and like this is kind of why we had to be sold on them down the stretch of the season was is like they don't have a fully conceived roster. That makes sense. They were leaning on Jackson Hayes as a propped up starting center when he is not that, not even really a rotation level center on most teams. If we're being Honest. But they were able to get by because they have Luka, because they have LeBron. And now we'll see kind of how they get by when they can actually build this team in the image of what it's going to be, which is a Luka led team at the end of the day, and one that also features LeBron very heavily, but in a, in a variety of roles.
- [15:04]
Rob Mahoney
So I want to ask you guys related to the trade and the expectations on the, you know, the constantly evolving. Is Nico Harrison a complete idiot who shouldn't be allowed to have the job of dog catcher?
- [15:22]
Justin Variano
Like, he's the electric fence guy.
- [15:25]
Big Waz
He might trade your dog. I wouldn't, I wouldn't let him catch or walk my dog in any capacity.
- [15:29]
Rob Mahoney
What grade would you give Luka Doncic in this series?
- [15:34]
Big Waz
I mean, defensively, quite poor, I would say overall, for the series.
- [15:37]
Rob Mahoney
I would say offensively, the Wolves were never really that worried about him. Their defense never behaved as if they were.
- [15:44]
Big Waz
This is true. The Wolves are uniquely suited to challenge Luka in that way, especially when he's not playing his best basketball. Like, he just was not at the level that he was in last year's Western Conference finals, really, at any point in this series. He had some hot shooting stretches. He was successful in some stretches relative to others. But like Jaden McDaniels, I think did a really great job up until tonight when he was in foul trouble. Hell, for basically the whole game.
- [16:08]
Rob Mahoney
Yeah.
- [16:08]
Big Waz
And, and frankly, irresponsibly. Like, I think some of that was Luka baiting him into stuff, but some of it was just Jaden overrunning and swiping at things he shouldn't have been doing. But then in comes to kill Alexander Walker, who's right in Luca's jersey and doing a really good job. I, I would say grade wise for Luka, I would give him probably like a B. I, I like, I think the creation is still super high level. I think the shot making is still elite. The defense was not there ultimately as far as like being good enough to carry a cohesive playoff level offense. He just didn't really hit that gear in this series.
- [16:40]
Justin Variano
What's the scale like? Are we comparing it to past Luca performances or just like normal people? Because against normal people, he had 37, 38. Like he still play. He had that one shot where he just kind of took J. I think it was Jaden McDaniels, like in the paint and scored on him on a step back with like what seemed like a. Just no mobility whatsoever. And so he could still do that, but overall, yeah, like B minus or so. He just. He wasn't dynamic enough in order to overcome so many of the issues that we talked about with the Lakers. And they were kind of banking on him doing everything. That's what we talked about even going into this series. Like, oh, Luca is the trump card if he's going to be the best player in this series. If he could make magic happen, then maybe. But the Wolves had so many different advantages, and, like, you saw this one bear out with the size one. And we should probably talk about Rudy Gobert, because, like, in the midst of this game, I was wondering where I should get Rudy Gobert's face tattooed on my body, because this guy is just on another fucking level. Was this his best playoff game of his life? This was offensively.
- [17:38]
Big Waz
This was the most dominant offensive game he's ever had, period.
- [17:42]
Rob Mahoney
Dominant on offense, Guys.
- [17:44]
Justin Variano
Like, he dunked everything in sight. Like, I mean, he wasn't Iverson out there, like, just, like, hitting step backs. But like, a monster was.
- [17:54]
Big Waz
He had 27 in the first quarter. He was scoring as much as Luka and LeBron combined.
- [17:58]
Rob Mahoney
He was dominant on the offensive boards.
- [18:01]
Big Waz
Wait, what was the dominant. On the what boards?
- [18:04]
Rob Mahoney
Offensive.
- [18:05]
Justin Variano
Oh, those.
- [18:06]
Rob Mahoney
He was.
- [18:06]
Big Waz
Yeah. Yeah.
- [18:07]
Rob Mahoney
And he deserves a lot of love for that. He created absolutely zero, zero offense for.
- [18:13]
Big Waz
Himself, and he dominated the game while not creating any offense.
- [18:17]
Justin Variano
I don't know.
- [18:18]
Big Waz
I don't know what to tell you. That's what happened.
- [18:20]
Justin Variano
He could barely catch the ball half the time. So if he got this far, like.
- [18:24]
Rob Mahoney
This is a rating on a Curve.
- [18:26]
Big Waz
He had 27 and nine offensive rebounds. Like, listen, that's a dominant game.
- [18:33]
Rob Mahoney
He was the beneficiary of a bunch of assisted dunks, y'all. Like, like, I'm sorry, a 7:3 guy catching and dunking is not offensive dominance, in my opinion. Like, nobody on him. His ability to do that on people.
- [18:51]
Big Waz
Guys, I hear you. Wide open dunks, you're not wrong. But his ability to catch and finish.
- [18:57]
Rob Mahoney
In that way, catching the ball, that's a huge step.
- [19:01]
Justin Variano
I mean, catch the ball again.
- [19:04]
Big Waz
That's what. That's what JJ Redick dared him to do, and he did it like, fair enough.
- [19:10]
Justin Variano
You know, I would love to join you here, but even I can't.
- [19:13]
Big Waz
Can't because look, look, he was awesome.
- [19:15]
Rob Mahoney
He had a great Rudy Gobert game. But for me to say this guy is dominating on offense, I think is a bit, you know, much for me.
- [19:26]
Justin Variano
Someone's snacking on freedom fries over there. And Just can't even appreciate the brilliance of our Frenchman.
- [19:32]
Big Waz
Yeah, Woz, what can you tell us about the fall of Saigon.
- [19:38]
Rob Mahoney
Bro? So interesting. A lot of times we will try to prop up, like, you know, these regimes that we think, like, all right, they'll be favorable to our sort of aims and demands or whatever, but what ends up happening is just a dependency. And the second we get out of there, the second we're not doing everything for them, it just completely collapses. And, you know, the Viet Cong just went in and those guys actually believed in their cause and they actually would, like, felt like they were fighting for somebody and just kicked these South Vietnamese guys asses up and down the battlefield and culminating in their ultimate defeat.
- [20:18]
Big Waz
So the Viet Cong are the wolves.
- [20:20]
Justin Variano
Why are you still going?
- [20:22]
Big Waz
And our dependency as a media apparatus on the Lakers. Like, I'm starting to see the parallels here. Also, if you think this is far afield, I guarantee you it is not. Because waz's home viewing experience is apparently watching this game in real time with a podcast overlaid, talking about the fall of Saigon. Waz, what are you doing?
- [20:43]
Rob Mahoney
Yes, literally, I'm like, instead of listening to Reggie Miller, who, you know, at times I. I can enjoy. I was like, no, I really. Because I think it was, like, the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, and so, you know, just checks out.
- [20:58]
Justin Variano
Have that one on my calendar.
- [20:59]
Big Waz
I'll be honest.
- [21:02]
Justin Variano
Do you still call it Ho Chi Minh City, or are you still calling it Saigon?
- [21:06]
Rob Mahoney
No, we could call it Saigon. It's all good. I think the relations have been patched up between Vietnam and the west enough that we could call it Saigon and keep it pushing.
- [21:16]
Justin Variano
What about Myanmar? You calling it Burma or.
- [21:19]
Big Waz
Jesus Christ.
- [21:22]
Justin Variano
Just keep moving.
- [21:24]
Big Waz
We're not touching that.
- [21:25]
Justin Variano
Well, I'll say this. I think Mark Williams, former in air quotes, Lakers center, would appreciate Rudy Gobert's performance. He sent out a very coy smiley face immediately after this one, which I have to say was. It was a. Was a nice touch on things. But if they had him, things might have looked different. I was on the side when the trade got rescinded. You didn't want to blow your powder on a guy who had some deficiencies. Yes, he was younger, could grow with the team, but we talked at length about, you know, defensively, injury history, yada, yada, yada. Definitely could have used them tonight.
- [21:59]
Big Waz
In some ways, yes. Mark Williams, also not a good pick and roll defender. And if he had been on the floor, they would have put him through the blunder. All night. And I think he would have been just alone all night, just like anyone.
- [22:09]
Justin Variano
Who over seven feet.
- [22:10]
Big Waz
That would certainly help, especially to Woz's point. A lot of these possessions were just like, can you get Rudy, Rudy Gobert, the ball with his arms above his head where no other Laker can reach him? And, yeah, like, that strategy would have been at least challenged if not foiled.
- [22:25]
Rob Mahoney
I don't know, man. Watching the playoffs this year, watching the work that Zubac is doing, Obviously, Jokic, we know. I think having a serviceable center is really important. And Draymond Green's ability to play center credibly, there's a credibility to his defense. Like all comers, he's going to guard these guys on an island, not need a crazy amount of help and be able to, like, switch out on the guard. Like, this is nuts, right? Like, what he's doing. I think having credible play at the center position is like, you know, we spent a decade basically pooh, poohing the entire existence of these guys, these big men. And I'm more convinced now than ever that is, man, it's about as crucial outside of having a guy who can create with the ball, man, you need a big man who can actually stand up to scrutiny in the postseason. Like, I'm truly a believer in that, man.
- [23:32]
Big Waz
We're so back. I love it.
- [23:34]
Rob Mahoney
We are. The bigs are back.
- [23:35]
Big Waz
The bigs are back. But, you know, Justin, for the Lakers, how do they get such a big man? Like, what are even the avenues for them going forward in terms of you're going to replace Jackson Hayes? I think that's the natural avenue to try to improve this roster, to make it more luca friendly, to make it more balanced. But what do you actually do to get those players?
- [23:56]
Justin Variano
Before we flip to the Lakers off season, can we take a second to appreciate Julius Randle just a little bit more here?
- [24:01]
Big Waz
I would love to.
- [24:03]
Justin Variano
I'm just baffled because even in the first half of the season, we got bad Julius Randle. And then something happened when he came back from injury. He just found the most streamlined version of himself, which is one thing, but then translated that immediately to the postseason. After having just not even a checkered postseason pass, just like a fairly awful run in the postseason with the Knicks. The fact that he was the steady hand so often in this series is a goddamn miracle. And honestly, it portends so well going forward because it does feel like the Wolves have the safeguards in place that you need around ant when you need them. Am I wrong? I just. It Feels like the Wolves are like, maybe on the precipice of something potentially pretty special in these postseasons.
- [24:49]
Big Waz
Could be.
- [24:50]
Rob Mahoney
I'm going to pump the brakes just a little bit. Like you will notice if you go back and watch the tape. These drives were coming up against Austin Reeves and Luka Doncic a lot of the times, like, look, you beat the man that's put in front of you, and he deserves love for that. But I think as the playoffs go on, there's going to be a little bit more resistance to the strengths of Julius Randle. But I like that you use the word streamline because he's just got no fat to his game right now. He's like, I know the matchups, I can completely dominate. And I shouldn't say that. Like, he did do his thing against LeBron on some big buckets, too. I don't want to pretend like it was all chumps, but like, the Lakers presented a lot of chumps for him to feast on. And when he was creating advantages and the Lakers sent extra help, he's whipping it out as fast as possible and he's guarding the hell out of people. Like you mentioned at the top of the show, Justin, that to me is just making his shot diet so much more nutritious and healthy and giving you the effort and the physicality on defense and on the boards. You know, he deserves his flowers for that.
- [26:01]
Big Waz
I think the effort is not a small part of that. And that's where, you know, earlier in the season, especially on defense, you could spot so many plays in routine regular season games where he's just kind of standing on the weak side, kind of on the perimeter, not really guarding anybody, even in crunch time of some kind of closeout games that the Wolves were trying to push and finish just like, was not locked in then you see him in a game like this and he's so physical and he's all. He's flying around the court, he's going after loose balls, and it's just a completely different player. To the point that on balance, and I say this not as an insult to this counterpoint, but as strictly praise for Julius Randle. I think there's a reasonable argument that he just straight, like, straight up outplayed LeBron in this series. Like he.
- [26:42]
Justin Variano
He may.
- [26:42]
Big Waz
May have made more impactful plays than LeBron James in a playoff series. That's fucking insane. Just like, for us to get that to that point with Julius Randle and it's such a high bar Even with LeBron in, you know, like, I Think relatively mortal form by the end of this series at the end of the day, but still making plays on both sides of the ball. Still so like, so effective. Roundley. And there's Julius Randle matching him glow for blow, going one on one against LeBron. Coming up with all these enormous momentum shifting plays in a closeout game against the Lakers in la. That's, that's an insane turn of events.
- [27:17]
Rob Mahoney
Watching the end of the game again. I've watched so many LeBron playoff games during the broadcast. I think it was Harlan who was like, this man has played more post season basketball than anybody in the history of the NBA. Um, and just LeBron's just not, he's just straight up not doing the Julius random Randle thing. Matchup hunting, putting his nose down and getting in the paint, getting fouled, living at the free throw line like the old LeBron man. Or even I would say like 2020 bubble. LeBron was still a threat one on one against any matchup, any team. You know, you could count on him being giving defenses problems and having to be accounted for. This LeBron is just like, yo, he's settling for jump shots. He's like, even when he gets like Nikhil Alexander Walker on him, he's not like backing this guy down and putting him under the rim. Like he's selling for step backs against that guy. It's just, you know, the guy's 40 years old. Like at a certain point it is what it is. But like watching Randle and Ant be like, you know what, when we desperately need things, we're going to go downhill. And LeBron just being like, ah, I guess I got to go for a step back. Three on a Rudy Gobert switch. Like, that's just, you know, to me, that's emblematic of what the difference was in this series.
- [28:37]
Justin Variano
This episode is brought to you by Degree original Cool Rush deodorant. So remember last year when people got really mad when Degree changed their Cool Rush formula? One dude even started a petition. Well, guess what? ° listened, admitted they messed up and are bringing the original Cool Rush scent back. You've got to love when a brand can own its mistakes. And it's in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under $4. Grab some and find out why it's been the number one men's antiperspirant for the last decade. The original Degree Cool Rush is back and it smells like victory for all of us. The LeBron Randle comp is applicable because in a lot of ways, LeBron has aged into looking More like Randle, where a lot of it is getting to where he wants to go based on old man strength and just bullying teams. And you really can't bully the wolves to a certain extent, especially Randall, especially McDaniels. There's just so many long, big bodies out there. It's just hard to get where you want to go. So he had to play an ancillary role, which is just, you know, not what he's used to at this point. I think the question as we kind of flipped to the offseason here is like, what's LeBron going to be now in age 41? And like, what. What might they need to do in order to maybe safeguard against that? Like, obviously, Luka, if he. If he decides long term he wants to be there, LeBron reaves, there's stuff in place. I guess the question is, is it just the center? Do they need anything more in addition to that one piece? Like, Rob, if we're assembling our war room here yet again? Oh, we're back. Yeah, we're back. We're back in the war room, but we're different people now on Pelinka.
- [30:15]
Big Waz
Saigon has fallen.
- [30:19]
Justin Variano
We all have green hats with the stars on them here. Who are we targeting here or what are we targeting is probably the bigger question.
- [30:30]
Big Waz
I think you absolutely need a big. So there are multiple needs, but you start with the size. That just absolutely wrecked the Lakers in a game like this. And it doesn't need to be a dominant player. It just needs to be one who can withstand some playoff scrutiny and who can make you competitive on the boards and can guard some of these other really high level bigs on occasion. I think for that you're like, maybe this is foolish of me in a world where the Lakers just kind of wind up with Luka Doncic. But there's certain players who are kind of in the ether that I don't think are realistic for what the Lakers have to offer. And that's guys like Walker, Kessler and Yeka Kongwu. Like, I think they're probably a little outside of the Lakers range. And so realistically, the guys you're talking about, you want someone who's a lob threat, who can play with Luka. You want someone who can protect the rim, you want someone who can clean the glass, like Luka's former teammate Daniel Gafford is sitting right there. You, I think you could, like, plausibly go get him. Nick Claxton, also featured in Trade Conversations all the time. A little bit of a different vibe you know, not as, as big a body, but more switchable than some of the other bigs you might get and so allows you to lean into that style if you want to. I also wouldn't hate if they kind of leaned in a different way. Maybe a more maxi cleba adjacent direction and like a Kelly Olenek kind of player could be really good for them. I, I, I think that could be a really good fit.
- [31:48]
Rob Mahoney
I, I don't think it's a good fit for the defense that I just watched.
- [31:51]
Big Waz
Well, no, that, that part, not, yeah.
- [31:53]
Rob Mahoney
I, I think they, but this was.
- [31:55]
Big Waz
An offensive struggle too. Like, the Lakers honestly had problems on both sides of the ball.
- [31:59]
Rob Mahoney
So to me, I think a lot of your problems get solved if Luka is able to reach his previous form.
- [32:08]
Big Waz
Yes.
- [32:09]
Rob Mahoney
Which I personally think is still in question. Like, I know there's just like, oh, he's, they keep saying he's 26. I'm like, all right, cool. He don't look it. He doesn't move like he's 26.
- [32:20]
Big Waz
He's coming back off a weird stilted season, off an injury, off of now a stomach illness. Like, I'm just. All right, all right, Nico, relax.
- [32:30]
Rob Mahoney
I just like to see it. I would just like to see, I think, I think if Luka is an MVP candidate, you can go with these sort of defensive oriented kind of pieces because Luka is going to take care of the offense because he can be so dominant. Um, if he's not, then I think we're having a moot conversation. Well, sure, they're just so far, talent wise, from being the kind of championship team that, you know, the Lakers and their fans expect to be if this guy's not an MVP candidate. Because the bottom line is LeBron's gonna be 41 years old at a certain point. It's like, yeah, he could probably be as good as Aaron Gordon is, you know, for the Denver Nuggets. And people might say, oh, that's an insult. Like, bro, he's not creating offense anymore. He's not dominating possession. You're not just like, yo, here, LeBron, take me home. Like, here's take, here's the ball. Take us home. He's just not going to do that. He's going to be really good at a bunch of shit, but he's not going to dominate your offense. LeBron by himself is not, you know, the sort of roadmap to offensive efficiency the way that we've known him to be for the bulk of his career. So who does that have to be. That has to be Luka, like, and around him because we know of his deficiencies. They gotta get guys that could really be physical, that are athletic and can guard people. That's what they need.
- [34:01]
Big Waz
Can I be a guy just asking questions on a podcast for a second?
- [34:04]
Rob Mahoney
Sure.
- [34:05]
Justin Variano
Always.
- [34:06]
Big Waz
Are we a thousand percent sure that LeBron is going to be a Laker next year? Like, are we a thousand percent sure he's going to opt in? Are we a thousand percent sure he's going to resign with the team? Like, I'm just saying we're all taking it as a point of fact that he's going to be there and they're going to kind of continue to build this project with him and Luca. That ends whenever LeBron says it does. And I don't. We haven't had any indication that he's leaning that way. But I'm just saying, like, there's a decision up in the air that's in his court that he, like, he gets to decide what happens.
- [34:34]
Justin Variano
Well, he was shocked when he was at dinner that this trade went down.
- [34:38]
Big Waz
He was. He had never. He hadn't heard anything about it.
- [34:40]
Justin Variano
No whispers whatsoever. Was caught off guard.
- [34:46]
Rob Mahoney
I. From the scuttlebutt that I've heard, yeah, this is that LeBron is signing an extension.
- [34:53]
Big Waz
I believe it.
- [34:54]
Rob Mahoney
In the off season with the Lakers.
- [34:56]
Big Waz
This seems like overwhelmingly what will happen. I'm just saying, like, I'm seeing him on the cap sheet not locked in because he has this option.
- [35:04]
Justin Variano
Here's the question. What's the other option? I think if we can come up with something that made sense, perhaps. But the only thing on the board, it's like the hypothetical Steph reunion. And I don't know. That just got really muddy with Jimmy there. So.
- [35:17]
Big Waz
Yeah, I don't have an alternative.
- [35:20]
Rob Mahoney
Yeah, no. I think LeBron just straight up is his priority, is just getting paid. So I think the Lakers among us was. Are going to pay. Hey, man, I think the Lakers are going to pay him and that's just going to be that.
- [35:38]
Justin Variano
Now question, would he take a pay cut?
- [35:41]
Rob Mahoney
That's what I'm saying. Is LeBron a max player still? No, but that's throughout his entire watch tonight. It was a max player.
- [35:51]
Justin Variano
No, but he's been adamant not to do so, if only for the precedent it sets for other players behind him.
- [35:58]
Big Waz
Yeah.
- [35:58]
Justin Variano
And because he wants to make the most he can, because he deserves it. I would be shocked if he did. But I think that is something that should be broached at the very Least it's a pretty fair conversation to have.
- [36:10]
Big Waz
I think LeBron is still a max player. Like he had an all NBA season. He's one of the 10ish best players in the world. Like that's a max guy as far as I'm concerned, history be damned, like present tense. That's a max player.
- [36:23]
Rob Mahoney
And maybe this was just a bad matchup for him.
- [36:26]
Big Waz
I do think it was a bad matchup.
- [36:28]
Justin Variano
That's true. I think we're, we're kind of circling the tension point of this entire thing, which I think is Austin Reeves, because I think if you want LeBron and Luca insurance, we saw Reeves do that in the regular season. And I do think if you're hoping to build track for a post LeBron future, whenever that is, when it is just Luca Reeves is the guy that the organization has obviously loved. They love finding him. He's basically the shining star of the past, like five years of team building for them. On the other hand, he is the key to getting a different type of player around all those guys. It's a little complicated because his contract is such a bargain that salary matches. Like you couldn't go out and trade Reeves for KD for instance, but if you wanted to go big game hunting or if you just wanted to get a veteran center that you know could run immediately, Reaves is the guy. And so I think the question is like, would you be willing to talk about Reeves in any of these trades?
- [37:24]
Big Waz
It has to be pretty juicy. I'm going to be honest with you. Like I, I think Reaves has put himself in a different category of consideration where he's, he's not just like an also ran on this roster. He's a really capable creator in score. Even if he is one that maybe is best suited to being the second or third guy on a team like this. I think between the timeline and who he is as a shot creator and how well he plays in most instances alongside Luka and LeBron, that's not a player I'm like eager to give up now if you're going to bowl me over with a great big who makes this team feel more complete, that's a conversation we can have. But I, I think that's going to be a hard trade partner to find.
- [37:59]
D
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- [38:55]
Justin Variano
This episode is brought to you by Brooks so my friends at Brooks sent me the new Glycerin 22 and after using them for a these are my thoughts. So I really like the give that they have on these shoes. There's a big old cushion on the sole, but not to the point where we're talking about a platform shoe, which is what I think you see. A lot of modern shoes kind of lean toward. They're not chunky, more of like a running silhouette, which I really appreciated. And also I think they're kind of stylish but in a way that like an old guy like me doesn't feel uncomfortable wearing. A lot of shoes can be a little ostentatious I would say, but these have a nice color. I got the London Fog ones. I highly recommend those, so go to BrooksRunning.com to learn more. This episode is brought to you by Acura's all new adx, a compact SUV that isn't just built for one thing. It's precision crafted for everything, like hitting the road with available all wheel drive and staying connected thanks to Google built in. Plus you hear your music at its best with an available Bang and Olufsen premium sound system. The all new Acura ADX crafted to match your energy. Visit acura.com ADX to learn more. Google is a trademark of Google LLC.
- [40:07]
Rob Mahoney
I'm open to trading Austin I like. I don't know why getting out of here Austin Reaves is untouchable.
- [40:13]
Big Waz
I like he's not untouchable, he's just really good.
- [40:15]
Rob Mahoney
No no no, he is really good but like yeah, if the right sort of. Especially again if Luka is my offense. This guy is expendable. He's in the office.
- [40:26]
Big Waz
The goal is that he's not just your offense. Like, if you have Austin Reaves in theory, Luka doesn't have to be your whole offense. Right. Like, that's another really capable creator from the second side that can make a difference for you.
- [40:38]
Rob Mahoney
I know, but to me, that's like getting cute where it's like, oh, I have this luxury outside of Luka's creation. Meanwhile, playing these two together makes my defense so easy to target, man. Like, that's why I'm just like, Austin Reeves could get traded. Like he get traded, especially if it's going to make you more athletic either on the wings or with a big.
- [41:09]
Big Waz
This was an underrated part of the Kyrie Luca duo as well. Because Kyrie just, especially during his time in the as a maverick, was just a really credible defender, did his job, worked his ass off. Yes, he's small and he's just going to get worked over in some matchups. But like, he stood his ground in a way that Austin just frankly does not. So yes, the, the defensive concessions are very.
- [41:32]
Rob Mahoney
But he's scrawny and just gets bowled over.
- [41:36]
Big Waz
He tries, but in that way where he's like more active than effective.
- [41:40]
Rob Mahoney
Yeah.
- [41:40]
Justin Variano
You know, Kyrie at the game tonight and LeBron at one point just outright pointed at him after like dunking the ball. Thought that was pretty curious. Although Kyrie has been getting around on some of these games. I think he was at one of the Clippers games as well, but like, not that curious.
- [41:55]
Big Waz
It's LA.
- [41:57]
Justin Variano
Free agent this off season.
- [41:59]
Big Waz
Well, he's got a long recovery ahead of him. I don't think Kyrie is the answer to any of the Lakers problems.
- [42:04]
Justin Variano
The flip side of that is like, what about kd? Are we. That's the other question here where it's like, are you leaning into the now or saying no? Why no? You're not being a helpful assistant GM right now.
- [42:20]
Big Waz
Shoot me down.
- [42:22]
Justin Variano
I'm sorry. Exchange of ideas.
- [42:24]
Big Waz
There's no bad ideas. Except for the Lakers getting Kevin Durant. That is a bad idea. I think the combination of one timeline, like the whole point of getting Luka is that you now have this long Runway ahead of you that makes a player like Austin Reaves make a certain kind of sense. Right. As a long term fixture in the franchise and make someone like Kevin Durant not. There's also just like dealing with Kevin Durant is a very unique undertaking that only certain kinds of franchises want to do. And I'll say the Lakers are probably historically one of the kinds of franchises that would. But now that they have Luka, why, like, why would you bother, like, why would you take on that when you're already dealing with everything that's going on with this team?
- [43:02]
Rob Mahoney
So you watch what happened in Phoenix this year and you're like, what the Lakers need is to hollow out their roster even more than it already is in order to bring KD in there.
- [43:16]
Justin Variano
Well, here's the thing. I don't know if KD is necessarily disruptive. If anything, he's not disruptive enough and assertive enough in like what he wants. If anything, he's just kind of moody and sulking a lot while he's just trying to do his own thing.
- [43:30]
Big Waz
Now I'm seeing what's happening here. Like, it's really. You're mounting a self defense and I appreciate the effort, but I don't know.
- [43:37]
Justin Variano
I just suggested that they might trade for a Hall of Famer and you guys are like, no, it's not.
- [43:43]
Big Waz
It's not trading for a Hall of Famer. It's this hall of Famer.
- [43:46]
Rob Mahoney
It's this team specifically. Like, they don't have some like deep reserve of, you know, the sort of role playing pieces that we know you need. You know, like you need Nas Reed, you need Nikhil Alexander Walker. Like, you need these guys, you need Jaden McDaniel. Like, you need these type of players to fill out a roster. People that you're like, yo, they're credible on both sides of the ball, right? The Lakers don't have that. So, like, what's bringing KD gonna do?
- [44:26]
Justin Variano
I'm just, I just want to have a conversation, literally what a podcast is, but no. Okay, I feel it.
- [44:34]
Rob Mahoney
I just, Yeah, I don't like for the Lakers, but, you know, maybe Houston will fall into that trap.
- [44:41]
Big Waz
Yep.
- [44:42]
Justin Variano
Anything else here? Oddly enough, this is a weird off season of flux. Even though the Lakers made their big move at the trade deadline. LeBron, as you guys mentioned, player option Luca, you would assume that we're going to start seeing signs of whether or not he will long term sign or if something else will kind of upend that or at the very least, like the Lakers are kind of on the clock to prove to him that there is a long term Runway here. Reeves, we should also mention, is extension eligible. And so as cheap as he is, as much as that is a big part of his kind of come up in the value across the league at this point, I do think he's going to get more expensive fairly quickly as a player option for 2627. So that's going to complicate things and.
- [45:23]
Big Waz
We should say just more complicated mechanically to trade once he does sign that extension. Yes.
- [45:29]
Justin Variano
So there's actually a lot of wiggle room here, a lot of expirings so they could get something done here. But you're right, it would kind of gut out their entire depth here. And as we saw, I mean, that was one of the main advantages for the Wolves. I will say, just to put a bow on this series, I do kind of like it that you can't easy bake a contender so quickly that you can make a trade deadline trade for Luka Doncic and still win a title. Like, there's too many good teams and too many good deep teams in this league that like you're not beating the walls because they go eight deep with guys that are just quality up and down.
- [46:02]
Rob Mahoney
Yeah, I think it's important more than ever to bring pieces in not via trade, not via having had given up a bunch of stuff to bring somebody in, like obviously drafting and a shrewd free agent signing and you know, some undrafted guy who nobody thought that you unearthed and developed. Like now more than ever, bro, like, you absolutely need to do this so that, you know, like a Boston who drafted their two core guys, you know, they bring in Derrick White on a nice deal and all of this stuff like when they have to pull the trigger on like a poor Zingis or even bringing Al Horford back or any of this other stuff is like we're not putting together like these insane packages that drastically change the nature of my team to do so, you know, and like the Lakers, they just don't have that at the moment in terms of a bunch of homegrown, homespun kind of stuff. Like we love Austin Reaves, but like they needed more like Carusos and stuff like that in order to have a roster that's more ready made to contend.
- [47:19]
Big Waz
This is why you see so many younger teams especially wait and wait and wait and wait before they make their big trade. Because once you make it, not only are you on the clock with whatever star you get, but the best assets you have as you're talking about Waz are like, okay, now we now we have to improve our team materially every year with the 24th pick in the draft and whatever we can scrounge up using the mid level exception, like that's kind of all we have to improve once we make that big jump. The difference with the Lukas, one, the Lakers were already good and two, this is A once in a lifetime trade that just fell into their lap. And honestly they were pretty upfront about that as it happened of like this is the kind of thing you just do and you work out the details later. And now we're seeing what work out the details.
- [47:58]
Rob Mahoney
Looks like Rob Fellinga going to earn that extension boys.
- [48:01]
Big Waz
He certainly is going to earn that executive of the year honor, I'm sure.
- [48:05]
Justin Variano
All right, let's flip to the potential matchup awaiting the Wolves. Rockets Warriors. Probably the dumbest game I've seen in a very long time.
- [48:16]
Big Waz
Speak on it. Tell us about it.
- [48:18]
Justin Variano
So with 234 left to go in the third quarter, warriors pulled their starters and Woz tweets out without any accompanying text. A link to a YouTube video entitled why stir fry is better in restaurants and how to do it at home. What did you learn?
- [48:40]
Rob Mahoney
That's my guy. That's my guy. Eric is my bro.
- [48:45]
Justin Variano
And do you in your defense it was like Austin, it was excuse me, Reed shepherd and just guys at the bottom of the Rockets bench didn't play Cam Whitmore which I thought was just the shade of all shade against got frankly guys I had never heard of for Golden State Warriors. Brandon Key.
- [49:05]
Big Waz
Yeah, we were like gotta be a two way Braxton key not Brandon Key. We were, we were a Braxton key layup away from this being a real game. And unfortunately he missed like seven layups.
- [49:16]
Justin Variano
And that's the other side of this dumbass game is that the scrubs of of Spencer Braxton Key. Moses Moody on an absolute terror. Kevin knox on his 20th team in the past 10 years. And trace Jackson Davis actually stormed back so much that they had to play their starters again. This is unbelievable. But ultimately the Rockets won this one. And so going back to Golden State.
- [49:41]
Rob Mahoney
This felt like the ultimate veteran. Like we not trying this game. We're up 3:1 on the road. Like we gonna let these young boys, they don't want their season to end. Good for them. But they did not try. As evidence, I think the Rockets had like 80 points at halftime.
- [49:58]
Big Waz
They were lighting it up.
- [50:00]
Rob Mahoney
This was not a series in which the Rockets have been lighting it up. And at halftime they had 80. Which lets you know everything you needed to know about Golden State's effort and the amount of energy they were willing to exert to try to close this thing out. And then Steve Kerr matched the energy by clearing his bench with 16 minutes left in the game.
- [50:23]
Big Waz
And it almost worked.
- [50:25]
Justin Variano
You know, Steph had to put his braces back on Buddy Hield. Had to play minutes at the end of his game for whatever, come back in.
- [50:31]
Big Waz
Starter Buddy Heald had to trot back into this game. That was uncalled for. I want to give the Rockets some credit up front about what you're talking about because I agree Golden State came out flat. They did not come out with a ton of energy, but the Rockets did. And I think it was the kind of thing where the warriors see the energy that the Rockets are exerting and they're like, oh no, I'm not. We don't need to do that from their perspective and we don't want to participate in that tonight. And so it was this like initial show of force that almost to me to warded a bunch of veterans off a little bit where they then, you know, like, Steph's missing some of his early shots. Jimmy Butler, frankly, even energy level aside, just still looks quite injured. Very immobile, very idle out there, like in a way that I know we just saw him sky for a clutch rebound. I know we just saw him make huge plays in crunch time. His ability to do that over the course of a full game is still kind of suspect at this point. And so there's still some things to watch. There's still some, some concerning areas for the Warriors, I think overall, including like their inability to be the zone defense for long stretches. Even as they were trying to be vaguely competitive in this game, it just, it was not their best effort by any stretch.
- [51:39]
Justin Variano
I'll say this, I can't wait for the Rockets inevitable trade that's going to happen and not necessarily because of whomever they will get. And I'm sure we'll talk about that at length over the off season. But just to see Amend Thompson do what he's doing now.
- [51:51]
Big Waz
Holy fuck.
- [51:51]
Justin Variano
In the context of much higher level basketball, he had five steals in the first half. In 16 minutes of gameplay, he had five steals.
- [52:00]
Big Waz
And how many of those were just ripping Steph at half court? Like it was. It was genuinely batty. Like just watching him in that capacity and I'll say watching him find himself offensively over these last two games I think has been really reassuring for the Rockets and kind of inspiring as far as like his arc getting used to playoff basketball. We all know how Golden State is guarding him and the amount of space that they're giving him and like, frankly, the way they're challenging him with disrespect. Right. With that inattention, I think he's really seized that opportunity and he's found ways to cut. He's found ways to get involved. He's also. He and the Rockets both, in this game in particular, like, ran so hard in transition that they didn't always get, like, easy, fast break points out of it, but they created cross matches that then they could exploit, and then there'd be, like, Fred Van Vliet wide open in the weak side corner. And now, all of a sudden, you're getting great shots, right? Like, you're getting great, consistent shots for an offense that in the half court is just not going to do that. And Amen. And really, this team's collective speed and athleticism is what enables that.
- [52:58]
Rob Mahoney
Yeah, they came out like they didn't want their season to end, which sounds like, oh, they're professional athletes. Like, we've seen plenty of playoff series where, you know, they teamed down three, zero, Game four. It's just like we didn't even try.
- [53:14]
Big Waz
You know, it was like, cough, cough, Miami Heat.
- [53:16]
Rob Mahoney
Exactly. One, two, three. Cancun. Yeah, all day. Justin, your face froze on, like, a really funny facial expression just now.
- [53:26]
Big Waz
But, hey, Cancun can wait. Turks and Caicos can wait. Like, these guys are ready to fight.
- [53:30]
Rob Mahoney
Like, these. These dudes all season long, pretty much since last season. They play like a scrappy bunch, man. Like, these guys play with a lot of pride, and that's what they came out and did in this game, and I'm happy for them. I'm proud of these young guys to be like, look, man, like, we get it. Like, the odds are definitely stacked against us, but that doesn't mean we're not going to come out and give it, you know, 115%. And, you know, they were rewarded with a nice, comfortable victory.
- [54:00]
Big Waz
Yeah.
- [54:00]
Justin Variano
Yeah, we got two good examples of that back to back. Because Giannis also was ready to die on his shield in that tragic loss against the Pacers the other day, but he played his fucking ass off. And in this one, we saw Dylan Brooks having to play mediator for Amen Thompson because he almost bit Gary Payton II's head off. And then Brooks was the one who had to step in and tell him, no, don't get into a tussle, which was something I don't think I've literally ever seen that. Speaking of Brooks, though, we do have to talk about one thing, because it seemed like Steph's finger is becoming an issue. I don't know if you guys saw the photos of him getting on a plane. It looked.
- [54:39]
Rob Mahoney
Yeah, it looks grotesque.
- [54:41]
Big Waz
Pretty gnarly.
- [54:42]
Rob Mahoney
Yeah.
- [54:42]
Justin Variano
Yes. And so I think the Rockets also saw it too. Because apparently the. I want to say the warriors broadcast maybe was making. Was pointing it out that the Rockets defenders were hitting Steph's hand as he was shooting it, perhaps intentionally. Kerr addressed it after the game. He's like, yeah, I think that's what's going on. And actually, we need to weed this out of the league. Brooks basically had a non answer about it where he was kind of like, oh, if I had an ankle injury, I'd expect people to go at it. I'm gonna cite that one a little bit more. But I think if you have a concern about the Rockets, in addition to just the ferocity that. Excuse me. For the warriors, in addition to the ferocity of the Rockets, just Steph's hand is. Seems like it's hurting.
- [55:27]
Big Waz
Like they desperately need him to be more or less fully functional. Steph Curry, in order to overcome Houston's defense. And I think part of that, too, is another kind of takeaway I had from this game in particular, in contrast to the previous ones, like Curry at. When he's going, he kind of makes you forget who you are. Like, he makes you forget your team identity because you're constantly scrambling to get after him to the point that IME Udoka was taking out some of the best lineups the Rockets have. Taking size off the floor for the sake of, like, trying to match up with Steph. And you saw him go back to the too big a little bit more in this game. You saw him keeping Steven Adams on the floor even before the game got out of hand. Like, things that really matter to the Rockets ecosystem and let them play the way that they play. And if Steph can't shoot, we're all in the mud together, you know, then. Then you're playing Houston Rockets basketball, and that's where things can get. Like, if Steph's shot is off because of his hand and Jimmy Butler is hobbled because of his injury. I mean, that's. That's about as dire a state as the. The warriors offense could be in. We'll have to see if that's the case, you know, coming in, coming into this next game. But that's a. That's a pretty tough sign. That's a pretty bad omen.
- [56:32]
Justin Variano
Stephen Adams, another one of those centers just bringing them back rules in the postseason. What if it was 100 Stephen Adams versus one gorilla?
- [56:42]
Big Waz
I just assume Stephen Adams was, like, in place of the gorilla. Like 100 people against Stephen Adams. How would they.
- [56:48]
Rob Mahoney
Yeah, 100. Stephen Adams might be able to do it for sure.
- [56:52]
Justin Variano
What if it was a hundred robs, we're.
- [56:56]
Big Waz
We're toast for one guy's.
- [56:58]
Rob Mahoney
I know I'm toast. I ain't. I ain't going near no damn gorillas.
- [57:02]
Big Waz
I already know I'm toast because, guys, I'm already. I'm already on the playoff ir. I already broke my hand days into the playoffs, basically.
- [57:10]
Justin Variano
How did we just see this?
- [57:11]
Big Waz
Yeah, look, I've been trying to fight through it, but try to soldier through. I played some basketball.
- [57:17]
Rob Mahoney
You injured yourself playing pickup basketball.
- [57:19]
Big Waz
Yeah, I tried to play defense. It was a bad idea. Don't worry about. Won't happen again. I promise you that. I'm not gonna. Not gonna stick my hand where it doesn't belong.
- [57:27]
Rob Mahoney
Danny Glover. I'm getting too old for this shit.
- [57:30]
Big Waz
Seriously.
- [57:31]
Justin Variano
For the audio listeners, Rob just put within camera range his hand, which seems to be in a air cast.
- [57:38]
Big Waz
No, we're. We're fully hardcasted up at this point. But yeah, the gorilla is just gonna pre one armed robs. It's not going to go great for us.
- [57:46]
Justin Variano
101 armed robs. So it's not.
- [57:50]
Big Waz
It's not ideal.
- [57:51]
Justin Variano
Wow. What are we talking about, like a. A break or. What do we got here? Do you want to.
- [57:55]
Big Waz
Yeah, just. Just a straight up break right down the middle finger.
- [57:58]
Rob Mahoney
So wait, you got to have a surgery?
- [58:00]
Big Waz
No, no, no. It's thankfully very stable, but it needs to be immobilized in a way that, you know, it's not so friendly for us typing professionals. I'm out here trying to take notes and it's not going well.
- [58:11]
Justin Variano
Wow. I didn't get that injury report, so I was unaware. Look at your potting. Potting through the pain.
- [58:17]
Big Waz
We didn't want the Vegas lines to move on it. You know, when people find out about your injuries, the bets swing, the markets change. We don't want to have that kind of effect on the world.
- [58:25]
Rob Mahoney
Rob is the Viet Conga podcast.
- [58:27]
Big Waz
No, I did not say that. That's big. Wasn't he Lambre who said that now?
- [58:34]
Justin Variano
Oh, waz you want to. Before we go, anything about stir fry, Is it better in restaurants or.
- [58:40]
Rob Mahoney
Dude, yeah. So there's a method that they use at the Chinese spots called velveting, which will tenderize pretty much any meat that you throw in there, whether it's chicken breast or even, you know, a more lean beef cut. Like you use egg whites, a little bit of baking soda, some cornstarch, and like, you know, there's like alkaline. And obviously the baking soda and the egg whites and it like, tenderizes this shit when you marinate it in that mix. And that's why you get that smooth, like, really juicy texture from restaurant quality chicken and broccoli, beef and broccoli, et cetera, et cetera. So, yeah, watch that tutorial. You will learn how to velvet your protein for beef and broccoli or chicken and broccoli.
- [59:36]
Big Waz
That does sound wonderful. I have a counter proposal, though, which is, you know, go, go shop at small businesses. Keep your local Chinese restaurants open.
- [59:43]
Rob Mahoney
Make sure you keep going and eating over there. For sure. It's just, I just like to do, just to test myself, like, could I make a bangin, you know, beef and broccoli at the house? And, you know, just. It's just fun like that.
- [59:57]
Justin Variano
To be determined, your new YouTube series, Woz Cooks, just I'm ready.
- [60:03]
Big Waz
Hell out of Shane would absolutely watch.
- [60:05]
Rob Mahoney
I'm ready.
- [60:06]
Justin Variano
All right. We'll talk to some mucky mucks and.
- [60:08]
Rob Mahoney
See if we can tell Uncle Bill I'm ready.
- [60:12]
Justin Variano
On that note, we'll be back over the weekend. Thank you to Isaiah Blakely. Thank you to Ben Cruz. We'll talk to you next time.
- [60:21]
Rob Mahoney
Foreign.
- [60:30]
Justin Variano
Must be 21 plus and present in select states. For Kansas in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino or 18+ and present in D.C. gambling problem, call 1-800- gambler or visit rg-help.com, call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.orgchath in Connecticut or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit gamblinghelplinema.org or 800-327-50 for 24. 7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8-HOPE NY or text hopeny in New York.