The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz - Local Hour: How Much More We Gotta Lose?

Episode Date: May 28, 2024

Today's cast: Dan, Stugotz, Chris, Jeremy, Lucy, Mike, and Roy. Angel Hernandez, we will miss you and your truly lousy umpiring. The Celtics have advanced to the NBA Finals, and the Mavericks are now just a game away from sweeping the Timberwolves. Dan, Stu, and the Shipping Container share their greatest takeaways from both series. Have the Timberwolves lost enough yet? Is Luka Doncic in shape? Is he young? Is Jayson Tatum doing enough? Plus, is the Panthers Game 3 OT Loss on Dan's Top 5 Worst Feelings South Florida Sports Fans Have Ever Felt? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Chris, do you think that I'm correct when I say that everyone around here a little bit hides their sports hurt because they don't want America to drink up their tears. So there's a stoicism involved with everyone here when there is hurting. And I noticed it on the way in oddly enough It wasn't even about the Panthers this weekend when I pulled in Stugats waddled out from behind one of the parking garage pillars Yeah, you know, he's confirmed covered in cigarette smoke and it waddled makes me a little bit Sad when I see it in the morning because he doesn't have smile this morning I did smile but I was laughing at how sad it was that

you continue to smoke in a parking garage instead of going and doing it somewhere where there's sunshine but what I saw on you I think hiding behind the Stoicism was heartbreak, but I'm not totally positive because you guys do such a good job of concealing when you're hurting. I saw that your daughter's team was up five or six nothing. They were up six nothing, yeah. And thought they were gonna win easily another championship at Northwestern.

And then next thing I know, Boston College has won the La Crosse national championship by a goal. Second time in I think three or four years, BC has won, six nothing is not a big lead in that sport, especially in the first quarter, but I am hurting today, like that hurt. To see my daughter emotional after the game,

to see her crying after the game, and really, because I've gotten to know her teammates and those families very, very well, that's a terrible way for this season and some of their careers to end. So yeah, I'm hurting today. I don't care, I'll tell you. I'm hurting today, I'm hurting for them, yep.

If you make the final four every year, is it that painful when you lose? I mean, geez. It is, yeah. I cry all the time, so I really don't know what you're talking about. I have cried so many times on camera from both happiness and a lot from sadness too, so I'm not hiding anything.

I would agree that you are less concealed than most, but I think Stugats greeted me today by telling me today's the day we find out whether Roy's actually concerned or not. Because he's always hiding. Yes. I can answer that question right now, no. What? I'm not. Come on, Roy.

If I can speak for the other end of that spectrum, I've been shitting myself every three hours for two days. I can't remember in my entire history covering sports in this market, a non-season ending game that felt as bad as what just happened to the Panthers. It's not that you lost or lost the second time in overtime in as many games.

Derrick White in the Eastern Conference finals last year to send into a game seven. That's a good one. Because I gotta tell you, in my mind, fairly recent example, four outweighs what I felt in game three of Panthers Rangers. It's a good one,

but the reason I wanna talk about this is because usually these things are reserved for game six and game seven. The thing that I was going to say as the qualifier is I've never felt that way that early in a series about anything. Game three, you don't remember any game threes in the history of game threes, none of you do. I've never felt that way that early in a series about anything game three You don't remember any game threes in the history of game threes. None of you do. You don't remember any of them

I love that as a trick. It's a great remember a game trick game three I dare you and then move on like well my head still spinning trying to find a game three because I'm certain over the 20 Years of us doing this show Mike. We have spoken about a big game three Positive it was a member it to Dan's point. There was a Kyle Lowry, a Kyle Lowry full court buzzer beater to force a Raptors Heat series into overtime. And if that's a game three, that's your winner. I have a hard time coming up with one early in a series that felt like that one because it's not just that you lose in overtime you completely dominated the game like the to have that kind of shot advantage in a game hadn't been seen in how many

years in that sport in the playoffs where you don't lose that game a team with that kind of shot advantage never loses that game let's start the show so I can get to my top five most heartbreaking things South Florida has felt. Whoa. This is the Don LeVittor Show with the StuGuts Podcast. Today's episode is sponsored by DraftKings. Stay tuned because you'll hear more about DraftKings and all it has to offer throughout the show. DraftKings, the crown is yours. I meant to address this a couple of weeks ago when Ken Rosenthal, voice for baseball,

said that everyone in baseball was talking about how something finally had to be done about Angel Hernandez. When Ken Rosenthal stakes his voice and bow tie as the voice of baseball on running someone out of the sport, it then happens soon thereafter. So congratulations to all Hispanics who have known that Angel Hernandez has been a blight upon our people with his general incompetence for 30 years umpiring baseball games but it appears that they finally settled they negotiated with Angel Hernandez and one of the most powerful unions in the history of unions not just sports and

they said Angel not one more game this season you are retiring right now you're announcing your retirement we're not even gonna go anymore It's gonna be in the middle of the season. It's not even gonna have any explanation for why it is right now. You're not getting worse. You've always been the worst. And now we're deciding you have to retire in a settlement. I can't imagine how much money that man got.

We're gonna miss that man. I'm telling you right now, it's hard to see it today, but I'm telling you next year, a couple of years down the road, we are going to miss Angel Hernandez on this show. We're gonna miss talking about Angel Hernandez, we are. Put it on the poll please, Juju, at Levitard Show, are we going to miss Angel Hernandez terribly?

And also put on the poll, do you wanna celebrate profound incompetent? Yes. Because I was like Draymond Green with Rudy Gobert. Draymond Green is really celebrating because Jurkic and Gobert are going to get swept, and he's just making the rounds hating everywhere. He is America's foremost hater right now.

Put up the clip for us, please, of him reacting to what is happening in that Minnesota and Dallas series where Everyone is watching the defensive player of the year four-time defensive player of the year get hunted and Get picked on Stu gots in a way that creates great merriment and joy throughout the sport because it would appear that everyone hates go bear and I got to think right, I don't know enough about what has been happening in previous years versus this year as to how it is that go bear gets played off the court, but he's not getting played off the court. They're

just hunting the defensive player of the year which I don't have any precedent for. But they're losing because he's out there. And he needs to not be out there. Did you guys see the face on McDaniel's when they went to the switch on defense, the slow motion face when he just went, oh no, because he realized it was Luka on Gobert. And even Jamal Crawford is telling you before it happens, this is going to be a step back three right in Gobert's face because Gobert hasn't been able to cover

Luka Doncic on any continent that they've played on. Isn't Anthony Edwards like totally skating on this? Yes. I mean, he was pounding his chest about what he did in the previous series to Jamal Murray. I'm out there, I'm a lockdown defender. And the fact that they have to turn to him, granted they're hunting him to a very large degree, but the fact that these highlights don't have Anthony Edwards

draped all over Luka Donjic makes me realize that was a lot of talk there, bro. Well, he did say he wanted Kyrie in the last series. And Steven A. right now is saying on ESPN on the televisions in here that Anthony Edwards is the reason they're losing that series because he's not guarding Kyrie but to me the funny thing about game 3 is Anthony Edwards is in the tunnel getting an oxygen while Lucas smoking a cigarette running up and down the court like put it on the pole please are you sure Lucas in shape. I don't know what to do with Luke because he's one of those

guys you know they said earlier he was injured I don't know if he's injured because because he's one of those guys. You know, they said earlier he was injured I don't know if he's injured because he always looks injured and so I have no idea what to do with Luca Dacic it's convenient now that people aren't talking about the injury because they're up three always playing so well But he is one of those guys then and he annoys me because I have no idea There is no way of knowing not even doctors know whether or not Luca is hurt. He always looks hurt. And he does. I saw a Lucas Stan account tweet out that nobody is holding opposing players to a better field goal percentage from the field. And then I dug deeper and I saw minimum 200 field goal attempts. What great defender has that many, and this was like around game one of the

Western Conference Finals. I don't think any other defender had 200 attempts on them in this post season. But yeah, Lucas, a really strange case study. And even when he was a little bit younger coming out of Real Madrid and in better shape, he still looked out of shape by comparison. I think it's why he didn't go number one. One of the things that I'm going to enjoy so much about these finals, Stu Gantz, because Dallas is as improbable a team as has ever arrived in this position. But if I could get the great good fortune of the greatest Boston team I've seen this century, I'm including their champion in there, playing not only against Kyrie Irving,

but the white guy they've been dying to have throughout eternity in Boston, to have those two players. Well, they had them. Those two players, well, they had Kyrie, and then Kyrie saged the place and stepped on the leprechaun. I was talking to you guys before the show and I was asking about where the Mavericks would rank

on improbable champions, Dugants, because I did not have this being possible. Even seeing after the trade deadline that they were one of the best defenses in the sport. This is a giant surprise to me. I am not used to giant surprises in this sport. For all the people who were talking all year

about who can win the championship, I heard precious little talk about Dallas. Five seeds don't win the championship. You don't have a team that wins just 50 games winning the championship. You had a six seed and the Rockets do it in I think 93, 94. So a six seed got to the NBA finals.

Eight seeds have been to the NBA finals. They heated it last year, right? No, not getting there. Not getting there. Winning the entire thing. Winning it. The Rockets. Wasn't a lot of precedent for getting there.

The only precedent for getting there as an eight seed was a lockout short and Knicks team that was heard all year and wasn't a true eight. So you say, Dan, that you're not used to seeing it in this sport. I'd say the last six years says get used to it. Because the last six years in NBA history seems like a huge historical outlier.

It has changed. The sport has changed because of all the offense. But five seeds are still not champions very often and you just mentioned the Rockets as a sixth seed those Rockets were the defending champion they coasted through the following season they had Hakeem Elijah on it was 93 94 94 95 it was the two years Jordan took off right and it's always they got there and won it with a championship pedigree. It would have been more shocking if it was year one because you'd already seen that nucleus

do it. But I would say, yeah, just comb through the teams that have made the finals and have won the finals in the last six years. The fact that we're not really getting any repeat appearances. The fact that dynasties are dying shortly thereafter or presumed dynasties are dying shortly thereafter. It's a it's a crazy time I can't really wrap my head around it. You just got to take every season as a new thing King carry over Back streets back. All right

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To get Miller Lite delivered right to your door, visit MillerLite.com slash Dan. Or you can find it pretty much anywhere that sells beer celebrate responsibly Miller brewing company Milwaukee, Wisconsin 96 calories per 12 ounces who? Don libertar I just texted my best friend Hannah and asked her who she thinks is gonna win tonight And she has never watched a hockey game and this entire season. She's picking the Rangers and she's an astrophysicist She's real smart. I'll text Joey Dan you know what I found out about Hannah today an anagram Stugats you said Anna or Hannah Hannah. Okay. I don't know and a two depending on how you spell it

Film there's two ends. It's also an anagram same with one in Anna Anagrams are fun. Hey, it's hard a anagram. This is the Don Lebatar show with the Stugats. We had the last five seasons, each of the last five seasons, there's been a three or lower in the finals in basketball and it is at least in part because of how everything has changed in that sport with three-pointers and offense and the way that the game is played. I pose that I love the take we were doing a little cable TV thing I'm like, I don't even think it's the most shocking Dallas Mavericks champion of all time But looking back the the series against Miami Heat in 2011 where JJ

Barea was put on LeBron and he refused to back him down the the Mavericks entered that series at plus 160. I think it's tough to find a line on that right now. You have the line with three teams. Keep in mind the Mavericks haven't actually advanced just yet, but I think it'll settle in somewhere around plus 160 for Dallas. Do any of you listening to this have a comp for what Luca is? Because Paul Pierce's game often confused me but Stan Van Gundy is saying that this is the best offensive backcourt ever and that Luca is the best offensive player that there has been in the history of the sport and I am confounded I understand that after the game when he's shaking hands with

Travis Kelsey you realize he's bigger than Travis Kelsey. And just because he's out there with Giants, you can forget that this is a six, seven thick, strong person who is handling the entirety of the game. But the fact that I can't tell you for sure whether he's in prime shape or not, and Stugats can't tell you for sure whether he's hurt or not. No idea, yeah.

I thought after seeing their first game against the Clippers, I'm like, Luca's not gonna last these playoffs. Like, he's just not gonna be healthy enough. And then all of the other teams break down. The Celtics, I believe, the Celtics have had what? Eight of their 12 victories have come against teams that don't have their number one player. That's right.

And Luca is going through a buzz saw in the West. Like every team in the top four out West, I thought could have won the championship. The one in the top five that I didn't have winning the championship was Dallas. Because I didn't have them getting past the Healthy Clippers team. You fell for the thunder?

I mean. I did, yes. You fell for the thunder? I mean. I did, yes. You did, all right. And furthermore, can you guys get me that sound from a couple of weeks ago, please, of Carl Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards laughing about the idea that a reporter asked them,

hey, you guys haven't suffered enough in the postseason. You haven't done enough losing. And their you haven't done enough losing and their reaction was to laugh at him and say what do you mean we've done plenty of losing note. This is what losing and suffering feels like not losing in the first round. Historically in this sport what's happening to them this year where you go from Anthony Edwards being celebrated for 2 rounds to spending an offseason with hey what happened and we were ready to anoint you and instead Luca came and took your league like took your

league from you Kyrie and Luca took your moment from you. I was not ready to anoint him anyone who anointed him should be should be ashamed of themselves but Dan the Celtics are going through it that's what we're talking about that's going deep into the playoffs and not getting it done and that's what the Celtics are going through and have been going through for the last eight years now. They've been to the Eastern Conference Finals six of the last eight years. They've been to the NBA Finals.

They haven't gotten it done. That's losing. That's going through some pain before you actually hold up the Larry O'Brien. I've heard a lot of people compare Luca to Patrick Mahomes. That seems like an in-vogue comparison. I'm gonna go to soccer and Diego Maradona because his body didn't make sense

for how good he was on the pitch, but he had this motor that wouldn't stop. No one could figure out why that was. A lot of first basements. A lot of first basements on these Luka comps. Yeah, yeah, I agree. Prince Fielder. Yep, John Crook.

I'm talking about basketball where athleticism is obviously required and clearly, Is it? Stugat, clearly this is an enormously athletic person. I mean it was Jokic last year, I mean Luka this year. I mean, athleticism really? It's overrated.

I mean part of the athleticism is also conserving your energy, especially when you're not like of the best wind. Right. Like Luca is, like he's just, he's got a special quality where he can, it's almost as if he's been like out of shape his entire life so he knows how to win within those margins.

And he knows just enough amount of exertion to get a look at the cup. I'm gonna say this again so that you understand what's happening here. In the fourth quarter of the last game, as the Timberwolves are benching Carl Anthony Towns, and everyone's wondering, hey, do you need to bench the defensive player of the year two?

Five minutes left in the fourth quarter in a series that Minnesota has had the lead in every fourth quarter. in the fourth quarter in a series that Minnesota has had the lead in every fourth quarter Anthony Edwards is in the tunnel getting oxygen because of how Kyrie and Luca are beating you down they're beating you down on what's happening at the end of games the things that you that we said before this postseason started we're okay seeing Minnesota can't win not just because they haven't suffered because young teams don't win like that they don't win at the end of games they do

knucklehead shit there there they've got to learn how to do that so still got this is Carl Anthony towns during better times and Anthony Edwards telling us what do you mean we've got to suffer and lose in the playoffs in order to get to the finals we've lost we keep losing in the first round how much what do you mean we've got to suffer and lose in the playoffs in order to get to the finals we've lost we keep losing in the first round how much losing do you want us to do it and usually in NBA history says you have to lose and lose big before you win what is it about this team that says we lost last year yeah but that's different you have to lose at a bigger stage usually. Teams usually lose. It's the playoffs we lost last year. We lost the last two years.

God damn. How much more we gotta lose? How much you want us to lose? We're losing for 20 years. I mean, that's just the truth, dog. God damn. I think he gets it now. Yeah, how much more you gotta lose?

One more game. One more. One more series generally, historically speaking. The reporter wins. I mean, he has to feel vindicated today. Vince Goodwill is the reporter. Ah, Vince. The idea that Luca is wearing them down with his wind

and his athleticism and just his general frustrating, because what the hell are you supposed to do? You can have everything lined up for the two players that they have in their backcourt, and it doesn't matter at all, and they are swamping. Anthony Edwards has the dunk of the year, the play of the year. In this series, he had the dunk of the playoffs,

where you're like, oh. Congratulations to him. He was already a star entering this year, but he's a breakout superstar from the season and the way that the postseason shook out. And Luka just stays even. He's always this confusing guy that finds a way to get buckets or make plays.

And you love scratching your head. And we struggled last year, in the last couple of years with Jokic, but we at least can see like okay he can move inside too, he can get the easy buckets, there's no real hole in his game because if he goes to the line he'll do it. It's really weird to see it constantly on the perimeter and you have like some of the game's most athletic best defenders try to take their shot at cracking this code and no one really can.

There are a couple of things that I find super interesting about this, Dugats. A, Minnesota shut down a Denver team offensively that I did not think could be shut down by anybody, and it doesn't matter when you face this backcourt. And then the other thing that's happening in this series, and this is something that was camouflaged over the first two rounds.

You guys didn't trust Carl Anthony Towns, you didn't. And now you know why. This is one of the worst shooting performances I've ever seen and it is statistically one of the worst that there's ever been. What he's shooting from three is what's getting him benched. His coach is saying it's hard to watch. That it's hard to watch my second best player run around out there and he knows he's not going to make anything. Is he 4 for 32 from 3? I think it's, he is something from 3 that is the worst there's ever been on that many shot attempts from 3. Usually in the postseason people will stop shooting if they're shooting as poorly as Carl Anthony Towns is shooting.

He is 3 of 22. Okay, so I'm going back five games. This is the worst five game stretch we've ever seen from a three-point shooter in the postseason in this league is four, four thirty-two because we're going back a ways. And so the Timberwolves won anyway. They beat Denver anyway with him playing that way. But what a bizarre roster construction for the Dallas Mavericks. Yes. They're dying to get this hard way contract

off their books, they are. Like they can set themselves up nicely. And I know it's not sexy, but they have some bigs that can appear to be really versatile defenders and are huge into their success. And I always have to Google what their names are. The most impressive part about the Mavericks is that they had Luka Donkic and they completely

revamped their roster around him in the last year and a half. They made the trade for Kyrie at the deadline in 2023, and since then they've added Gafford and Washington at this last deadline. They added Derek Jones Jr. and Free Agency. I think it's their second. I can hear your heat homerism through this. This is what the heat should do for Jimmy

Raw I'm the only one that heard the heat analysis there Did you see that they took a star and they put a bunch of things around them to improve the process? What I saw is that he had started to cook. He had put a few things out, he had tenderized a little bit the chicken, he had marinated a little bit, and then you took all the ingredients off

the chicken before. No, I let him go. He was not allowed to cook. Lucy, was he allowed to cook? Did you feel like Jeremy was allowed to cook? No, please just let Jeremy be, okay? Just let him live his life. If he wants to sneak a little heat stuff in there. I felt like I didn't pick up a bit at all. Lucy heard it. Come on, Lucy.

No, I didn't. Lucy heard it. Chris, don't do this to me. I'm bad in confrontation. My parents are divorced. I can't pick again. You mentioned the Mavericks roster construction. Luca's up for five years, $346 million, and Kyrie construction. Luca's up for five years, 346

million, and Kyrie's going to be up for four years, 243 million. So they're about to give $600 million to both of those guys over the next four years. Can you believe we're here with Kyrie? No. Okay, well we got to get him his money. We got to pay Kyrie. This was never the thought. This is a contract that's changed hands several times over. I have seen many times over Well, we got to get him his money. We got to pay Kyrie. This was never the thought. This is a contract that's changed hands several times over. I have seen many times over the years. Alan Iverson was the one that I remember most clearly where we were just crushing him, crushing him, crushing him, crushing him. And then he made it to the finals and we're like, didn't Alan change? And it's like, no, not really.

He's just winning. He's just winning now and when you start winning We will change the way that we talk about you and all of that said Kyrie Irving has been maximum Professional for them since he got there. He was humbled by everything that happened there and this is the most circuitous route He could have possibly taken to I'll show you what I can do when I break free of LeBron James He took the route that was all over the place and got to the place in the most unconventional of ways because all of us would have had it happening in Boston and Brooklyn before it happened in Dallas.

Yeah, but are we forgetting it didn't happen in Boston and it didn't happen in Brooklyn? Like the best Boston team was the team where Kyrie got hurt. They went to the Eastern Conference finals. Then he decided with Kevin Durant to go to the Brooklyn net and it was so bad. They made such a mockery of the entire situation that he was shipped off to Dallas. All of this gets forgotten by the excellence of what you're presently witnessing because there's nothing in sports better than a surprise. There's nothing better than the underdog surprise. And this is what they are. And whether you like him or not,

there is not any disputing that his play has been excellent. He's taking turns with Luca. Why is Luca not tired at the end of games? Because Kyrie is doing shit with the ball handling that Anthony Edwards doesn't have someone else to do outside of, you know, Mike Conley, who you can't trust at 37 to create all sorts of offense. But are we certain that Lucas tired at the end of games?

That's what I'm trying to tell you. We have no way of knowing. Lucas is the most annoying basketball player. He's the guy that walks into the gym. He's complaining about his knee. He's got a knee brace on. He's complaining about the shoulder. He's complaining about his knee, he's got a knee brace on, he's complaining about the shoulder, he's complaining about everything,

he looks like he's hurt, he can't jump, and he lights you up for 40 points. I can't stand that guy. With a cigarette in his mouth, you should love that. Luca had 21 in the fourth, Kyrie had 21 in the fourth, the Timberwolves had 20 in the fourth. You can combine their two points. Yeah, when you put them together,

together, excuse me, when you're Luca and Kyrie together had 21 points in the fourth. They've been alternating what they're doing in the fourth quarters. Dugats. Yeah, but Kyrie was supposed to be a number one and he's not like Iverson did that as a number one with

Eric Snow. Like that's who Iverson did that with. He got to the NBA Finals. Kyrie has never been a number one and led a team to an NBA finals or an NBA championship. You're going to find ways to criticize Kyrie Irving the way that he's presently playing. Because he attaches himself to these guys

and then he becomes the number two. And then we praise him when he wins a championship or he gets the NBA finals. Kyrie's been an utter disappointment his entire career. I don't want to hear about Kyrie. I don't. You're going, you. What? Are going to complain about someone else being a number two. Yeah. I mean, he's supposed to be a number one. I'm supposed to be a number two. Kyrie is supposed to be a number one. That's what I'm saying. And he's not. He's

never been a number one. The Cavs were awful until LeBron came back put him in a position to hit one of The biggest shots in NBA history. I mean seriously Hall of Fame, I mean It's an odd take. It's my take I mean Kyrie's gonna be talked about as one of the more confusing players Especially if he if he wins this one because he can be both things He could be arguably the game's greatest number two ever outside of maybe Kobe Bryant and Scottie Pippen,

but also he's had the opportunities to be the number one and he's nuked franchises. Like he's killed coaches and nuked franchises. Okay, but in the history of players that size, almost none have ever been a number one who wins a championship at that size. Like, okay, congratulations on picking the one. Steph, Steph's bigger than he is.

Kyrie's number two the last year before LeBron came back to Cleveland was Dion Waiters. So bad what you're doing. How can you turn this into criticizing Kyrie Irving? Like how can you... LeBron got to the finals with worse, I'm just saying. Okay, okay! Yeah, LeBron's pretty good, he's pretty good at basketball. He's not LeBron James. Congratulations, Dugat, you get to be right. Thank you. Kyrie Irving is not LeBron James.

Consensus. Yeah. Feels good on a Monday. No one can take that one apart. What a weird take from you. James consensus yeah feels good on a Monday no one can take that one apart weird take from you but only a few weeks left in the NBA playoffs no matter which team you're rooting for there's nothing like witnessing history in person use the game time app today and locking your tickets to check out one of the teams that will lift the trophy at the end of the NBA finals this season did you know that the prices on the game time have actually go down the closer he gets the tip off?

It's true, I've seen it with my own eyes. Game Time also has killer last minute deals. You can save up to 60% off buying last minute tickets for sports, concerts, comedy shows, and more. The feature that I love the most on the Game Time app is the ability to see the views from my seat. You get a panoramic view from your seat in the app before you buy. Or you can save even more when you choose a section and let Game Time choose the seats for you. Game Time also has the lowest price guaranteed. With two taps you'll see the all-in pricing so there aren't any surprises at checkout. Take the guesswork out of buying NBA Finals tickets for Game Time. Download the Game

Time app, create an account, and use code Dan for $20 off your first purchase. Turns apply. Again, create an account and redeem code D-A-N for $20 off your first personage. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. Don LeBretard! Yeah, enjoy a long and fruitful run, Dan. What was that voice? A Celtics fan. That was a Celtics fan?

Well, it was me. Stugats! It's amazing to see the mask pulled off and to see you so clearly. You were in such good disguise and I didn't know it was you. It's to me, as Celtics fan. This is the Don LeVatar Show with the Stugats. It was very difficult, studots, to win Gas Bag of the Week this week because Bill Simmons got knocked out as Gas Bag of the Week, even though we have audio here of him saying he preferred Gabe Vincent's contract to Kyrie Irving's contract, but we have something better than that. Here is Metal Lark's old expert.

Gas bag of the week. Gas bag of the week. What happened there? Amin Elhassen is our gas bag of the week because of his analysis when the Celtics traded for Drew Holiday. Going out and get Damien Lillard for Drew Holiday's corpse and some toenail clippings isn't making the team significantly better. What do you mean, what am I doing? I mean, what are you saying? You're calling people crud and toenail clippings and you just called someone a corpse.

No. You think Drew Holiday is at his peak right now? No, there's a difference between being in your peak and being a corpse. No, you think Drew Holiday is at his peak right now? No, there's a difference between being in your peak and being a corpse. There are a lot of stops between those two things. Man, it ain't that many more stops. A corpse? A corpse? Against the Pacers.

The highest I've ever heard your voice. Against the Pacers, Drew Holiday, 18 and a half points per game, seven rebounds per game, six assists per game. So he had the game winning steal in game three three and according to Stat Mamba on Twitter, he's the first player to average 15-5-5 with a true shooting percentage, over 75% in a conference finals series. The rear sweep, that could have been a sweep the other way. Rob Brendemore is probably watching at home saying, that's what I was talking about over there. The Pacers had a 90% win probability in late in those games and three out of the four.

But the Celtics are doing all the things we questioned about the Celtics headed into the postseason. They're playing great. They're doing it late. And they're doing it late. It's just not the person that we want to see do it late. So it's a little confusing. But yeah. And if you're a Celtics fan, you don't really care if Tatum's the one doing it you just want to get there. Being a corpse! It's very strong to call somebody a corpse who could have won Eastern Conference Finals MVP over Jalen Brown like could have won it over it. Being a corpse! This is sneaky because it's not really, when people were talking over the course of the regular season, when they were giving their opinions on what we might see in the NBA Finals,

Boston was always in that conversation, but no one really gave Dallas a chance. And if the Celtics finally going for a high definition NBA title isn't enough of an appeal to get you into the tent, Kyrie going back to Boston, a place where he's been videoed, saging. I mean, this is amazing drama for a sport that has kind of lacked that drama, and it's what the NBA does so well. So I'm in on this NBA finals. I might have been out on the playoffs, but if it's Dallas-Boston,

every game, with Soundon. Wow. Wow, the highest compliment. Soundon. When Mike Ryan says that the Celtics are confusing, here are a couple of things that are going to be hard to get your head around. Right now, Jason Tatum is on pace to have the second most postseason points ever before he's done, because he's always there and he's scoring a bunch of points.

And I do believe people are generally reluctant to give, to confer greatness upon this Celtics team, at least in part because they're somewhere in our expectation. I don't know what we're doing here. I don't think it's fair. No, Derek White, I don't want you hitting the important shot with Jalen Brown setting it up. I want Tatum to do it. I want your best player to have to bail out the team in big moments and be better than everybody. And I don't think history cares or remembers any of that stuff.

I don't think it ends up mattering. Just like history doesn't remember the injuries to God. Kawhi Leonard and Toronto have a championship forever. Nobody cares that Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant were hurt in those finals. So if the Celtics win the championship, it'll simply be one of the best teams ever. But I do wonder whether or not people will remember it that way because it's a new sport. They play the game differently than it's been played. And this team has mastered. Yeah, but easy paths to Gantz. I mean, It's been an easy path. And this team has mastered, yeah, but easy paths, Stugatz.

I mean, it has been. It has been an easy path, but it's not like, they've gone 12 and 2 in an easy path. They've lost two times. They have 20 losses headed into the NBA Finals. And there aren't a whole bunch of teams in the sports history that have had 20 or fewer losses headed into the NBA Finals. That's like the

Bulls, the Golden State Warriors, those types of teams. They they heat in 2013. They have this. This is what I will say about the Celtics, which is a weird thing to say. They will if they win the championship empirically, they will have one of the most dominant seasons that any team has ever had and it will not be remembered that way And that's just how the sports changed. I don't have a better explanation for you, right? I think that the offensive numbers probably just skew everything right now

So you can't actually apply the the proper historical prism. It was like it's it's it's before integration in some sports like Like the gulf between where the game was in, say, the 90s and where it is now offensively, it's an unrecognizable sport. You have to talk about like pre-merger. You have to talk about it in those terms, pre-merger terms. Only Kobe Bryant, Stugats, has more playoff points by this age than Tatum. And he does a lot of

scoring of 35, and then you're like, and show me all the ones you remember. Show me all the ones at the end of games. Show me all the ones where I had to see him tested. And I was like, oh, you went face to face with Luca. I know Luca's got it. Whatever that is, I know he's got it. He's not afraid of anything. But Luca has just come and stolen out of nowhere. Stugats, the thing we were talking about with suffering, he suffered. Like he has been hurt in the playoffs. We think. He's been emotionally hurt in the playoffs, physically hurt in the playoffs, and now he sneaks in through the side on, oh, wait a minute, is it going to be the young players that take

over the league? Because I don't think of Luke as young. I think of him as 39. That guy. I think of him, I don't think of him as, he is a young player, but I don't think of him as a young player. He's 25. His body's not.

There's a lot on that odometer. That's what I'm saying. Think of him as a young player. He's 25. His body's not. There's a lot on that odometer. That's what I'm saying. He's 25, but there are 100,000 miles on the odometer, and three or four of the lights are on. Three or four of the lights you don't recognize are on. How is he 25? I'm not buying it.

It can't be. Put it on the poll at Levitard Show. Is Luca a young player? He's younger than Tatum. Historically, the NBA prime is right around 27 years old. So he still hasn't entered his prime, although his body probably changes the math. Will he make it?

It'll be the rare 50-50 poll on is he a young player. It's not that bad, is it? I mean, he does look boxy. Like when they show the graphics of the conference final players to promote on the lower third, it does, his body looks different, but I guess it's, I have a very similar build, so I'm like, I don't see it.

I'm 25. That's how old I am. We are not the same age. We are not the same.. We are not the same. Lucy, congratulations by the way. I saw that Awful Announcing voted you as one of the rising newcomers in the American sports media. Nice.

I salute you. Nobody else around here won the award handed out by Awful Announcing. I'm 35. You're 35? I'm actually 37. just cuz 25 I was not a newcomer Jeremy just gave you a side eye right now because he thinks he should be one of the up-and-coming media I mean obviously newcomers I don't have

an Emmy so hmm okay some point it's not a competition except it is well you just made it why do you always do that I mean it is a competition I didn't do it I didn't give her the side eye. Jeremy gave her the side eye when I saluted her for getting an award. No, no, no. Then you also threw in no one else around here. Yeah.

Has done that. That's the look. You went at Chris. I think you and I are done winning newcomer awards. Yeah. I'm sorry for being so successful. I don't know what you want from me. Quickly apologize for your 20 years of success, Stu Gatz.

I am now going to get to the promised list of the worst that South Florida sports fans have ever felt, top five. And I'd like to see if you guys could come up with any more nominees. And these are all season-enders, okay? Because I'm telling you that I felt some of what gets felt when a season is closed in that Panther game, specifically Stugat, because they're the best third period

team in the league. They had 30 shot attempts in the third period. They came back from 4-2 in the third period. They had an advantage on shot attempts of 108 to 43, and then they lose the game and it's in a pathetic way. It's Bobrovsky like calling for, please, it's Bobrovsky, the goal's behind him. We gotta- I can't see.

Yeah, we gotta mill about here to see if they go to review and give us a freebie as Bobrovsky whimpers allowing his fifth goal that somebody gave him an elbow when nobody gave him an elbow and it wasn't any kind of interference. And it was just, it just made me terribly sad for Panther fans. They're down two one against the Rangers.

No, but Dan's so right. We're down four two going into that period. We get two goals, so you could think, but you could think right there, this is a good period. I'll take over time, but no, the final 10 minutes, the amount of chances, the deflation that we felt from not getting that go-ahead goal in that third, I felt like we lost right there.

The place was ready to erupt. Here's what you have happening in this series. Well, half the place because half of the season ticket holders made a decision over the weekend and I'm not thrilled about it. It wasn't half. I mean, they needed the money. It was a lot of Ranger fans.

Sounded like half. There was a lot of money. There were a lot of Ranger fans. Sounded like half. There was a lot of money. There were a lot of Ranger fans. Yeah. I thought up one nothing, and you're in New York, and the games tied one one, and there's just a beautiful give and go to Barkov right in front of the net,

and from there, the Panthers have done nothing but lose. Barkov somehow missed. I was not expecting him to miss. Never expecting him to miss. And ever since Chris Cody took this photograph in New York, a lot of people are pointing out that the Panthers have done nothing but lose since Chris Cody attached his particular brand of stink to the Panthers run. Mike Fuentes, dead to me. Unnecessary tweet. So it's your fault.

I mean, you enjoy your 37 retweets with that, buddy? Whoa. Jesus, flashing out to me. It's a great tweet. No, he knew what he was doing there. He's like, oh, this is gonna crush. This will be good. And what, you care about my feelings, though?

Nothing? How's this gonna make Chris feel? I bet that didn't cross his mind. No. Jerk. Do you feel like you're a jinx and a poison and that you're spoiling everything that fell only a road game Don't don't do this to me. I have a good home record. I've been to a lot of games I was at game three. It's my new Kachuk jersey. That's oh and two that things not getting worn tonight Yeah, I'm like that too. Yeah, right my Re. My Reinhardt jersey's 0-2-1. I'm not wearing that thing again.

I almost burnt it. You should. Put it on the Poll Juju at Lebatard Show. Will you superstitiously toss the wearing of a jersey after you've lost an important game? We're going red, Captain C. Barkov today. I'm going Old Faithful Kachuk Shurzy, because that thing's about 10 and 2 this year.

Yeah, that one suits some dugs. Yeah, yeah. I'm going that one seems to be Doug's. Along with this hoodie. Jackings. I find it fairly amazing that adult human beings in my employ think that a shirt they put on during a game changes the result of the game. Who called for that New Yorker after a game of Levitard? Who went to Tampa? Sample size, 0 and 2. They were overtime losses by the way.

Shirts don't matter. That's just the overtime numbers even and out for Florida. My jersey's never lost in regulation. Chuck is out there and the only part of his body that works is his navel. And you guys are like, I know, I'll get it out of my dresser and this is what's gonna win this game. Yeah, yeah.

Yep. Yeah, you're welcome. And no one thanks me. When I pull the jersey, that's 2-0-1. You should get a ring, I mean. I should get a ring. What are you talking about? Given how much Chris sweats through some of that stuff, I imagine there is a ring around like the collar of it. stuff I imagine there is a ring around like the collar of it. With only a few weeks left in the NBA playoffs, no matter which team you're rooting for, there's nothing like witnessing history in person.

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