The Ringer NBA Show - The Clippers Get Absolutely Waxed in Game 7. Plus, the Biggest Questions of Round 2 and Game 7 of Rockets-Warriors. | Group Chat

Episode Date: May 4, 2025

Justin, Rob, and Wos are here to give their thoughts on the Clippers getting embarrassed in game 7 against the Nuggets. Then they preview some of the second round series. Then they wrap up with a game 7 Rockets-Warriors preview (52:50).Thunder-Nuggets: (32:10)Celtics-Knicks (38:23)Cavs-Pacers (47:52) The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Hosts: Justin Verrier, Rob Mahoney, and Wosny Lambre Producers: Isaiah Blakely and Cameron Dinwiddie Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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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 dash help dot com and welcome to group chat i am justin verrier and joining me rob mahoney big wads guys the two best words in NBA playoff podcasting probably sagon's fall but right after that i don't I would say game seven in most circumstances. I wouldn't say this game seven

is going to go down in the inals. And if it does, it's probably for the wrong reasons for the clippers. Go down in the what? These are the anals. It's the annals,

bro. This guy is... You're bringing Clippers energy to this podcast. And we're going to bring Nuggets energy. That's right. I know.

That's got to stay in. We're just trucking on through it. The people need that. this was quite a competitive first half. And then the Clippers absolutely fucking collapsed in the third quarter, which we could talk about,

I want to give the nuggets they're due. But for the Clippers to lay down in the fourth quarter of this game, I don't care how much the deficit was. I don't care if it was 50. I don't care if it was 60. To pull Kauai Leonard and James Hardin at the top of the fourth quarter

when there's literally nothing else to do beyond this, was putrid. We got Devin Eubanks minutes. In the middle of the fourth quarter of this game, I cannot believe how embarrassing this was for the Clippers. This was awful. Well, Drew Eubanks, if we're being specific about it, but I think of all the things that the Clippers can be embarrassed about,

this is not super high on my list. Like how they played in the third quarter is what they should be embarrassed about, the way they got absolutely shut out of this game, while ostensibly going to their better lineups, right? they trimmed all the fat out. They said, we're not playing Chris Dunn and Derek Jones anymore for this stretch of time. We're putting Nick Batoon back on the floor. Teno Nuggets run coming out of the gate.

Like just gave up the game right there. And I would say to your point, had been pretty competitive in the second quarter, pretty competitive in the first half. I thought Denver kind of shifted the energy of the game going zone in the second. And they just never gave it up the rest of the way. I mean, why did you see, like, why do you think this happened? Like, why did the Clippers not have the life to compete in a game seven? I can't put my finger on it. I think Denver, to their credit, executed at a really high level,

offensively and defensively, to be honest, man. Kauai Leonard was doing some, like, incredible Kauai Leonard shit. But that was about the only thing that they could get going at all. Whereas Denver on offense, they just were super sharp, precise. you know, most of their baskets were assisted. Like, I just think they executed at a crazy high level. And for whatever reason, the clippers just could not match the moment in terms of their intensity and just in attention to detail.

Like Denver went to a two, three zone at one point. And these, you would have thought that these guys added a six and seventh man to their defense, the way the clippers just straight up looked completely lost by the time the they did that. And so, like, even watching the second quarter where Denver outscores them by 15 points, I'm watching, I'm like, it doesn't feel like they're killing these dudes, but then they come out and score 17 straight to open up the third. And it's like, wow, this game is basically over for all intents and purposes.

It's inexplicable, honestly. I mean, maybe the James Harden part isn't in the sense that it's like, it's almost like a fast and a furious or final destination at this. point. It's like, this is like part 90th of this series of James Hardin, um, not showing up in the biggest moments for his team. But I'm honestly, I had a loss for words for how bad the clippers ended up being from the first quarter, which was hyper competitive. They go with, like, they're playing great defense. They're up by five. It's like, okay, this is about to be a slug fest, basically the way the entire series was. And then for it to just go so haywire the next two quarters is

it's something I will be confused by for a while. We've talked about the death disparity between the two teams and how much of an advantage the clippers have that simply because they have guys beyond five players. Unfortunately in this game, minus like a couple early good minutes from Derek Jones, Jr. and a couple late buckets from Derek Jones, Jr., the bench completely was a non-factor. Bogie was awful, Batum wasn't hitting shots like he has previously. there just wasn't much to really go from there. And on the flip side, yet again, you get so much verve, so much energy, so much hustle from Christian Brown, from Russell Westbrook, from Aaron

Gordon. It just like it seemed like it almost overwhelmed at a certain point. Like that has time and time again in the biggest moments of this series been such an advantage for Denver that those guys are just busting ass, are kind of giving them an athletic pop that the Kleppers can just not match. And it just felt like something just completely subsumed the clippers the point where Norm Powell was dribbling off his foot in that third quarter. It was just like, it was just like a perfect storm. It was a perfect storm. I mean, I think that synergy, that collective playmaking, clearly that's difficult for any team to overcome when Denver really has it going. When the nuggets are also playing this level of defense, like you mentioned was, like it's, it's kind of a non-starter,

even if you're a team that's as theoretically talented and theoretically as deep as the clippers. I think those Derek Jones minutes early and those baskets early were kind of a double-edged sword, to be honest with you. Denver was leaving Jones and later done even more aggressively than they had at any point in the series. I was speaking specifically about the first couple of minutes. Right. Yes. Eventually Derek Jones Jr. stopped making threes and he was an odd factor. I mean, even in those early minutes, like he had seven really quick points.

But then you look up and it's like, Derek Jones is taking half of the Clippers shots. Like he's just. So they were giving them. Right. They're surrendering these shots to Derek Jones and later surrendering these shots. that's DeKendrick Nunn when he's on the floor. And it's like, if those guys aren't going to hit and they didn't hit enough, not nearly enough, you're just not going to be able to create enough stable offense that way.

And then you see the Clippers scrambling to find the bodies, to find the right combinations. But honestly, I thought that stretch in the first alone also kind of pulled some of the life out of the Clippers' offense. Like they were able to scrape by with enough points to stay in the game, but it already felt like they were losing grip on the rope. And another thing that I noticed today, there was just a certainty that Murray and Yokic played with. Whereas, like, early on in the series, Murray especially, but even Yokish, like, there were just times where they just felt unsure. And they were turning the ball over and they were taking shots at the end of the shot clock.

And there was just an uncertainty to how they attacked. Whereas today, Murray just looked comfortable. Like, he knew what he wanted to do when Dunn was guarding him. He knew what he wanted to do when, you know, he got hard on him or he got, you know, or bogey on him. any of that stuff. Yokish, the same thing. It's like, oh, when they went to that sort of take Zubach off of him and guard Yokic with a

guard or a wing and have Zubach kind of roving, he knew exactly how he wanted to attack that. And that's kind of the nature of most playoff series, right? Like, it's the teams that can adjust to things that are bothering them and sort of bring out a different golf club, if you will, and, you know, still be able to execute. So that's another thing that stuck out to me. And also, yeah, Russ, when he came in, that was nuts. He completely dominated the game when he came. He just changed the tenor with his energy, man.

And he's making shots and he's doming people up and he's getting in passing lanes. He's leading the brain. It's just unfathomable that we're here with Russell. He's hanging from the rim and teeing himself up. Like, I'm glad he got that moment. That was genuinely awesome. Dude. Yeah.

Like, just I don't know. I thought this game. was going to be so close. Like so many of these games in this series has been, and for it to end up being, you know, a 33 point deficit, but like 10 minutes to go on the fourth is just gobsmacking. It's just crazy because I go back to those three guys yet again,

because Russ was spectacular in this game and to come up with one of the, like, two good Russ games you're going to get in the seven game series is in the biggest moments is pretty spectacular. Brown has just been such a consistent source of steady, play on both ends in a way that the clippers are constantly cycling through other guys. It just feels like the clippers are just so much more relying on and everybody else beyond Hardin and Leonard in order to get past what the Nuggets have. And once again, Hardin like vomits up.

One of the worst performances we've seen. He was a minus 29 in this game. He was spraying it a little bit, but just like he could not get past anybody. It was just, it was ridiculous. It was really tough. I think Christian Brown ultimately played bigger than basically any clipper. Like cutting into the lane, pump faking guys, finishing through contact in a way that you flash to the other side of the court, no clippers are really doing that. Short of Kauai, kind of lowering his shoulder and creating some space against some guys. Like him being able to do that, there were so many players in this game where I wondered kind of what we were going to get from them. You know, James Hardin, Michael Porter, Jr., even Kauai, given kind of how up and down he's been in this series as a score. I'm not really sure

what to expect from those guys. There was one player I just did not have that feeling about, and it was Aaron Gordon, who always shows up in games like this. Like always is a huge factor in exactly this sort of situation. I thought was again. And you can see it sort of across the box score, which a lot of like various nuggets with four or five rebounds, four or five assists, like sharing responsibility, sharing the ball.

And as you mentioned, Jamal Murray's place in that, too. I think this was like, Jamal Murray had 16 points and two assists. I thought he played kind of a perfect game. Like, I don't remember a single possession where he tried to do too much. I don't remember a single possession where he looked off Yokic after Yokic got hardened on a switch in the pick and roll. He did his job to a, like, a finely tuned perfection in a way that no one on the clippers really did. Yeah. What Gordon was doing, especially early on, where he is just carving out of space on the block and he's, you know, drawing fouls, drawing help.

he's just playing with a level of, you know, aggression that Denver obviously needed today. And I think it just set a tone for the team. They were just physical today. Like Yolkich had a block at the rim, you know, where he's like on help side. And he shuffles his way over and is, you know, like he's Akeem Olajuwona getting blocks. It was just collectively these guys were so ready. And, you know, even when they were down in the, first quarter. They still looked, you know, like they were patient and was like, all right,

we're going to find our spots. We know where the soft spots that these defenses are. And, you know, the, the strategicness with which they left guys open, you know, whether it was done or Derek Jones, Jr. Again, that wasn't always there in the early parts of the series. And so, yeah, man, I thought that hard in pick and roll with Zubotch would be a thorn. in Denver side the entire series. It turns out that it didn't have to be. And, you know, and Hardin, too, like the telltale sign when Hardin is doing

one of his BS playoff things is when he's doing the flailing and the foul drawing. Instead of just, you know, rising, firing, trying to can a jump shot. He's trying to get the referees to bail a mound. He's like, oh, okay, this is where we have. We're Hardin today. And it killed the team.

And, you know, Tailu taking these guys out, like I text you guys. I was like, wait a second. Kauai and Hardin are not playing right now, like in the fourth quarter. 10.30 in the fourth quarter. Facing a huge deficit. And, yo, to be honest, man, like if you're Tai Lu and you watch the effort that these guys gave all third quarter and to start the fourth,

I'm not really mad that he was like, you know what? I'm going to put my young bench guys in and figure something else out. Because these dudes clearly don't feel like giving it a maximum effort today. I would have left them in. I think it's more embarrassing to force them to play an entire fourth quarter in which they made the bed for themselves. We need to talk about Hardin here. We need to like pause and just kind of almost light the candles for yet another awful hardened performance. Like, was, is this like, this has to go in like one of the like top five worst.

Considering the stakes, considering how much we invested in the clippers being good again, how much we believed in then going into this game and this series in totality. this has to be top five Mount Rushmore. So listeners will remember we have Michael Pina up here and he was talking about how much he loved the Clippers and what they're doing. He was like, there's no reason to think that the Clippers will not be a successful playoff team. And I was like, really, Mike?

And after game one, I swear to God, I almost text Michael Pina like, oh, you an apology. James Hardin is incredible. And I'm really happy I didn't do that. Never apologize. Never do it. I mean, this is right there to me with 20, what was that, 2017 against Golden State or was that

2018 when they bricked like a million threes to Houston Rockets? I forget which year that was. That game sticks out in my mind. The final two games against Boston after Philly was up three, two. And these guys basically pissed the series away. That sticks in my mind. But today, you know, today it's a little bit different because it's like they're giving up 70 points in the middle of this game in the second and third quarter, right? As, you know, as bad as hard and was, like, a lot of it was just like the team just straight up didn't have it.

So, you know, like he was horrible. I think, you know, talking to my sixers buddies, they're like, don't worry. Don't worry. It's going to happen. He's going to lay an egg. I promise you. But I just couldn't foresee something this. dramatic, man.

Yeah, if I can make one prediction, we're recording this before the press conferences after this game have taken place. Assuming that James Hardin talks to the media, which my understanding is he basically hasn't for most of the series, just been walking out the back door every game. If he has availability, he will say something to the effect of, I was just trying to be a facilitator out there. I was just trying to be a point guard out there, as he often does, as he did in particular in Philly when he really laid some eggs in some really important games.

I think James Hardin's a great player and I'm mystified by. these kinds of performances. I don't understand why they keep happening. I think the only reason I would push back, Justin, on the Mountain Rushmore

of James Harden disappointments is because, like in Houston, he was the only guy, or at least the defining guy of those teams. And thus, him laying an egg

in those games was so much more punitive than even this would be. And the combination of the defense, no showing, and like, Kauai also having

just kind of a ho-hum, okay game at the same time. It's like, there's plenty of blame to go around, for the clippers. I think a good amount of it should be pointed at James Hardin. But our guy has had some bad ones. He's had some real stinkers. Yeah. I would disagree, though, because if you looked at the times where he has no showed in this

series specifically, those are the three of the worst performance that they've had. Like, those are the games that stand out. He had the monster game one performance and they were in that game until the end. And that was partly why he seems to be the canary and the coal mine, whatever you want to say about this team in this series specifically, whereas Kauai, he has been great at times, but he is just more methodical, more steady, and Hardin is the guy typically pushing them over the top. If there's anyone to maybe share the blame, it was Paul who apparently can't play on the road. I don't know if like the altitude, like messes with like his wind or what's going on there, but he was so good last game and to just completely almost like

lose his powers like he's in space jam was just so disappointing because they needed him. They needed him. They just needed a jolt from somebody. I like, this was a game in which they were desperate for someone to come in off the bench and have the Russell Westbrook level of energy and investment. Not just the production, not just like the chaos he creates, but just the, just the energy alone. They needed a shot on the arm. And this is one of the problems when you have these sort of like veteran laden teams is who gives you the juice? Who's really giving you that sort of influx of something you don't otherwise have? Yeah, they needed Baton. They needed, They needed Norm, who had a fabulous season, borderline all-star type of season career year at 29 or 30, however old Norm is at this point, just did not have it today.

And again, like I stress to people, like watching Denver just generate dunks and wide open threes. And, you know, when Jamal Murray isn't just walking guys to the rim for layups, it's that to me was. is going to stick apart. Like Hardin's flailing. Definitely I'm going to remember from this game. But what I'm going to remember is like these alley-yutes and, you know, these fast breaks and just so much easy buckets that these guys generated. That's what I'm going to most remember from this game seven in particular.

Hardin, indeed, did not talk to the media. He left the arena. Apparently he did not talk after the last three Clippers losses. That's what I'm saying. That is a total coincidence. I'm sure we will get the report two days from now that he also has like a hamstring strain. I'm sure he'll just follow in LeBronsted

and just coming up with an injury all of a sudden after they're out of the series. I don't know what to do with this team anymore. I mean, we only have one rule on this podcast, which is to not trust the pelicans. I think the clippers. They need to be in that category. We have two rules at this point

and we can't trust the pelicans or the clippers. Ironically, the two teams I'm probably closest with over my career. I think it's don't trust the pelicans, period. don't trust the clippers in the playoffs. Might be the only asterisk guy would put on that. Like slightly different cap because like they did get here with such gusto, like down the stretch of the regular season.

And they did force. Yeah. Not gusto? Gusto. Gusto? You put a little accent and a good on that one? Of course. Went in row,

Justin. But like they got here and they forced the game seven. Like that's the thing. It's hard to hang it too much on them when they forced the game seven. But then they embarrassed themselves in that game seven. as badly as you possibly can. Also, I would say, have the clippers looked worse than the Rockets or dubs in this playoffs? I don't think so.

They look better than Memphis. We don't have for sure. But I don't think they had some, like, horrible playoffs showing. I just think, you know, they came up against a team that has way more continuity, has way more championship pedigree, especially as a collective, you know, not just a bunch of individuals. who have had deep playoff fronts. These guys have done it together a bunch of times. And so, you know, I think they came up against a better opponent, man.

And that's just what it is. I think I'm heartened by the fact that Kauai actually finished a playoff on his feet for the first time in five years. That's pretty cool about the fourth quarter thing is I actually was saying to myself, are they putting Kauai on ice just so that they could say that they finished a season with him healthy? or they bubble wrapped him so he wouldn't get an injury carrying into next season. That's how crazy this was.

Well, he shouldn't get an injury in a game you're losing by 30. I think that's okay. He definitely wasn't going to get a hustle injury like diving after a ball, that's for sure. I think what's distressing to me about this game from a Clippers perspective is it felt like they weren't prepared for it

mentally and emotionally. And this is like guys who have been in these games before. They're coached by Tailu has certainly been in these games before and coached these sorts of games. before it's like it's four and oh when game seven's going into this there's really there's really no reason you could articulate why this group of clippers players wouldn't be able to meet the moment of what this game would require in terms of like the energy that it would take from them to compete

and that's where their biggest deficit was and if like if we're going to talk about that ty lu part of it too and him being undefeated in those games got to say david adelman coached a hell of a series and i don't know what would have happened if michael mullen was the coach i have zero idea. I just know David Adelman did his job against a pretty tough playoff counterpart. Wanted to, wanted to highlight David Adelman, man, who got put into a crazy situation, basically just got thrown into the deep end right before a playoff run. And I think he's done a damn good job. And not just because they won. It's because, you know, like, there were things that they were having trouble dealing with. Like the Clippers were presenting them with problems on both

offense and defense. And by game seven, by golly, there was zero. I mean, they were getting what they wanted. They looked like the nuggets of 2023 on offense. And defensively, like the positioning and everybody really having a great understanding what the game plan was and executing at such a high level that, you know, I got to give this guy his props. He coached them up, man.

And, you know, I thought, again, I thought it was lunacy that they would have fired their coach that late. in the season right before a playoff run. But I'll be, goddamn, if this team isn't energized, if they don't seem like they got a brand new vigor, a brand new pepiness that, man, so salute to the cronkeys,

salute to David Adelman. I don't know if we're saluting the cronkies, but, I mean, shoot, they had the balls to do this. Like, the season was going in a horrible direction. It really was. And they did something extremely bold. and it feels like it's paying off and like this guy just seems so unassuming.

He's like literally, you know a lot of times the cliche, like you get the opposite, like if you get some hard ass, you get a players coach afterwards or whatever. Like he is so clearly the opposite temperamentally to what Michael Malone is and was. And maybe these guys are responding to that. Yeah, there could have been a galvanizing effect.

I'll be honest. I don't know if he never, he really pulled any levers where I'm just like, oh, what a brilliant. decision there. It's not like he put in, he started Zeke Naji and all of a sudden it's just like, he unlocked Zieg Naji finally. They had to play Jamal Murray 42 minutes in a like a 30 minute blowout. He's shortened in the rotation, which is, I think, was the pretty obvious move there. I

just think like the nuggets in their core five plus just had more consistently than the Clippers did. And what's so bad about this series for the Clippers, as opposed to some of these other teams. We'll see what happens with the Warriors because they might blow a 3-1 lead at this point. We'll find out on Sunday. We'll talk about that a little bit later. It's just like the losses were just so absolutely painful. The two big ones that they lost, game one and then four back in LA, were just right there for them. I think we all agreed at the time they should have won them. And this one is just like in such spectacular fashion to just completely just like lose the effort battle. And a lot of these is it's just that's what's so bad about this from the

Clippers perspective. It's that it was just so classic clippers to lose in these sorts of ways. Yes. I mean, fundamentally, to get run off the floor in a game where Yokic scored 16 points is kind of unforgivable. Like, you didn't even really make him push it at any point in this game. And so from that perspective, you get Fs all around. Just absolute failure in terms of this specific performance.

The closest thing I could think of to this game was the Mavs' sons second round, game seven where the suns ended up losing by like 33 points or something like that. And it was just so clear that like, oh, these teams are not on the same competitive wavelength for this particular night. And again, I have no idea why that's the case for the Clippers. I have no way to explain it other than we just saw it. And it was frankly embarrassing for most of the Clippers involved. Did Devin Booker play in the fourth quarter in that game? We'll have to check the tape. We'll have to see when they really pulled the plug. Yeah. Anything else you guys want to talk about from this one. Like if I were to like kind of forecast for the clippers, like,

they did such a good job of of bulletproofing the roster post Paul George finding guys. They are, they do a good job of doing that. If I were to say what they need is actually Bogdan Bogdanovich, but good. Like they just need someone when they need offense to be able to turn to. Unfortunately, Bogie was pretty suspect. He could not hit a shot, dude. His final line looks good from this one, but he was just unreliable. single time at the point where Batum was the biggest role player on this team and he's aging past the point where we thought he was going to retire three years ago. I feel like every season is going to do. It's like, this is Batum's swan song. It's going to be like that until he's 40.

But I think that they do need that. They clearly need a little bit more spacing just to unclog their offense. They also need other mechanisms for secondary playmaking. Like all they have right now is they have the hardened like self-creation and creation out of the pick and roll. Zhu, I thought over the course of this season, proved himself pretty capable of sort of catching in the middle of the floor and spraying out and making plays. But that's all rooted in the same action. Like you need another means to connect dots. And it doesn't really feel like unless Batum is involved sort of like swinging on the

weak side or Zoo is involved helping guys out from the middle of the floor, they just don't have the means to actually diversify their offense right now. What do you think? Anything that jumps out to you for the couple that is going to the off season? I mean, this is what the thing is, though, when you are a five seed or four seed. you know, like you have a team that's too good to try to like make some major pivot, right? But at the same time, like, they can't make some incredible acquisition either. It is going to be this more marginal kind of stuff.

And, you know, Kauai still has that ticking time bomb of a knee. Hardin is going to be a year older. And so, yeah, I'd like to see them, like you said, like an offense. player who can do more heavy lifting, sort of like what Lou Will used to do for this team back in 2020, right? Where it was just like, no, he would come in the game. Him and Montrez Harrow would literally carry the offense, you know, for stretches while they were in there.

And I think they need somebody in that vein who can, like, actually shoulder some offensive burden so that it's not just all predicated on Harden being incredible and Kauai being, you know, otherworldly where we're like, oh, is he the best player in the league? We were doing that at the game too, by the way. I just think they need a real solid offensive threat. Chris Dunn being essential personnel for this team ended up being what sparked their regular season success and ultimately probably didn't help them in a crucial game like this,

especially as this series went on. Just him being an absolute non-factor offensively, just leaves him exposed in a way that I think a team like the Nuggets that at least one through five is so bulletproof is going to pick on repeatedly to the point where he had to be relegated. As much as it was like kind of maybe throwing a wrinkle with Derek Jones going into the starting unit, I think it was more about kind of diminishing Dunn's role because he was just getting the Russell Westbrook, just left on an island treatment there. And he's, he's just been so awesome. Even when he got into this game, he was basically a piranha on Nicola Yokic, basically biting at his kneecaps trying to defend him.

It's just the offense is just not there. and just to have that sore spot, just feels like a team at this level. Like even if they got into the second round against the Thunder, where it's going to keep, like, sweeping the leg over and over again repeatedly. And they need to really shore that up

because Kwai's going to get older, Hardin's going to get older. They need that athletic pop from the ancillary guys to matter more. And they just consistently are relying on guys that, like, will come in and out of the rotation. I thought those guys, too, in this game,

like some with Norm, some with Dun, some with Zoo, honestly. Like, felt like they, they were nervous trying to finish around the basket sometimes. Like they felt the weight of this game to the point they were they were missing shots that they kind of have to make. Like if Kristun isn't going to make threes,

you can see him trying to create alternatives. Like trying to cut, trying to make himself useful offensively. If you're doing that and you can't finish, you're just out of the game. Like you just don't have a place on the floor anymore. And so it's pretty dangerous territory. I agree with a lot of their role players.

And that was kind of something we were flagging all along with this team. It is like, is Derek Jones going to be able to hit? enough shots. It's Chris Dunn going to be able to hit enough shots. And ultimately, the Clipper offense down the stretch of the regular season was so convincing. I think we talked ourselves into the idea that they could paper over some of those limitations, but clearly in this game, they couldn't. Yeah. All right. Let's let's let's let's let's, can we give one more bit of kudos to Michael

Porter Jr. who gutted through that shoulder injury to finish out this series. Again, if we're going to talk about the Nuggets, synergy among that core five and the fact that they really don't have a lot of other places to go, him giving them as much as he did. And I saw that Ben, at Durando of the Denver Post mentioned during the game that Porter hasn't been able to remove his own jersey during this series. His shoulder injury has been so bad. He literally just can't extend his arms

that high. For that guy to finish this series as effectively as he did, I think is a tremendous thing. He's hanging tough. He can go in the inals as well. The Ringer NBA show is brought to you by Fan Duel. The NBA playoffs are underway, so don't miss your chance to bet on all

the clutch shots and legendary performances with Fan Duel, America's number one sportsbook. Fandu is the best place to find all of your favorite player props. And now you can make a heads-up play with player performance trends. That means whether you want to bet on a player to score 30 points or put up a triple double, you can check out the latest stats and see who's hot without leaving the app. Plus, after the game tips off, you can combine live prop bets into a same game parlay for a chance to win big. For this particular day, I think I would pick the warriors who actually slate underdogs in their game seven against the Rockets to take that thing home.

It's hard betting against Houston's physicality and their athleticism. They certainly have all the momentum in that series, not to mention home court advantage. But it's Golden State. It's Steph. It's Draymond. It's Jimmy Butler in a game seven. I'm just going to air on the side of those guys pulling it out. And if you don't already have FanDuel, it's not too late to get in on all the playoff action.

You'll get started with $200 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. So just visit fendul.com slash ring your NBA to join today. Make every moment more with FanDuel, official sports betting partner. of the NBA. Must be 21 plus in present in select states or 18 plus in present in DC. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets, which expire seven days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.Fanduel.com. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler or visit rg dash help.com. All right. Second round, thunder nugs. You know, the NBA might not get

the Warriors Lakers series that they probably wanted just to boost the ratings, but they will get the MVP versus the MVP in this one. I think this is probably the best matchup on the board, especially for all of us who have been in the mud of this regular season and seen these guys kind of go back and forth in the MVP conversation all year. A complete different scenario for the Nuggets going from the methodical ass Clippers team to the just like working off of pixie dust and just like high off of sugar energy of the thunder who have so many just wing defenders that they can throw out there so many options that they go on can throw out there in addition to all of the big guys that they have there uh i i will be surprised honestly if the nugs

can stretch this series out considering what just happened but if they can make it to six or seven i'll i'll tip my half to them just if only because they've just been through a war and this one is not going to be any easier it's going to be tough i mean like let's be honest about it. I think anyone playing the Thunder is going to be tough. So this isn't really a sight on the nugget so much is just the reality of playing OKC these days, which is basically the piranha effect you talked about, JV, with Chris Dunn, except the whole aquarium is full of piranha.

So what are you going to do? I think that that ferocity is going to be really tough for them to deal with. And all of this size and all this collective playmaking, like there's so much to admire about the way Denver plays, especially when they're rolling right. It's just tough to maintain all that stuff against a team with that. that sort of, like when they're in your jersey, when they're in every passing lane, when they're deflecting so many balls and discouraging so much of the movement you rely on,

I don't think it gives a team like the Nuggets a lot of places to go. I think Yolkich is going to be happy that he gets to see Hartenstein and Chet and not Zubach anymore. That may be true. I think he will be relieved by the side of those two dudes. Yeah. Unfortunately, I don't think Jamal Murray will be happy to see the nine different permanent offenders that they could throw at him. I just, it seems like a tough one.

Is there any, like, question or storyline-wise that you think jumps out to you about this series? The same as always. It's the guys that aren't Shay. And when they're called upon, can they be relied upon? You know, J. Dub and Isaiah Joe and, you know, Will Caruso make a shot when called upon? And Lou Dort, who, you know, in the past,

that's been what teams have done to him is, like, leave him alone. To me, it's just about everybody who isn't Shea. I know Shea's going to be excellent no matter what. It's about these other dudes. To me, that's going to be the story of O.KC's playoffs. It's like, will these other guys reliably hit open shots in big moments? Will J. Dub be able to provide some level of playmaking and shot creation on his own

so that it's not a, you know, basically a Shea Gilgis and the Pips routine, right? And so that to me is always going to be the question for the thunder. I think those guys are probably going to deliver, to be honestly. I have a lot of confidence in it. And I think ultimately there's going to be a little bit of pressure off of them because of their defense collectively. I think that like the defining quality of the series to me, like the thing that Denver has to overcome is the turnover battle. Like this Denver's been one of the higher turnover teams throughout this first round so far. OKC forced like they forced the Grizzlies to turn the ball over on like 20% of their position.

A ridiculous number that probably will not be that high because the Nuggets are not the Grizzlies. But that fundamental tension, a team that like has to pass to survive against the best ball hawks in the league, I think that's going to swing the series. And I don't see it going super well for the Nuggets, to be honest with you. This is shaping up to be just like the perfect litmus test for the Thunder though. And I do think this plays to their advantage to get a team like Denver wounded, but that is going to push them to execute at a high level. I keep saying that Denver, despite being wounded,

despite being basically down to five guys, is just so good when they can keep things tight because they tend to build things on the margins and win those battles over and over again. And I do think this is going to force the thunder to be more pragmatic as opposed to maybe believing more in their principles and being able to rely on their swath of guys as opposed to drill down on like,

this is the set rotation we need because we need to do this specific thing. And so I agree with you. I think the Thunder are going to win. I don't want to say the win in five games because at this point saying five almost feels like you're discrediting the other team, it's like saying someone, it looks tired.

It's just like it's a backhanded compliment or just like a complete backhand, I guess. But that would be my prediction for this series. It can easily go six just because of the Yokech Factor. No, I think it's going to be a longest series. I don't think this is going to be some cakewalk for the thunder. I just don't foresee that for them. It was nice they got to play Memphis and all of that dysfunction,

but I think this is going to be a totally different animal for them. Ultimately, you know, they've been the much better team this season. They should win the series, but I don't think they're going to walk, just walk through this thing like that. I don't think they're going to walk through it. I mean, if I can kind of bridge these two takes, I think it is going to be a tough series. I think it is going to be hard fought.

It's clearly going to be nothing like Memphis. And I still think that ultimately the nuggets are going to lose in five. Like I just, it feels like the series does have that kind of momentum. And granted, I'm a thunder believer. Maybe we'll get a game or two where just the shooting doesn't hit and their offense goes haywire and can't quite sustain it. We'll see. But between not really having any, anything resembling a good defensive answer for Shea in this matchup. And Christian Brown is just going to be run into the ground by the end of it, I suspect is really the only option that they have.

Between that and overall, like how oppressive their defense is going to. to be. I think that's going to be enough to take this Nuggets team coming out of a seven game, like, trading Haymakers with the Clippers for seven games and then having to walk into the series against the Thunder. Just not a fair expectation that the Nuggets are going to turn that into

a long series too. All right. Let's flip to the east now and knock out these other second round previews before we get to game seven between Warriors and Rockets. Let's start with Celtics Nix, a series that I honestly can't remember just like an absolute

slob knocker, just like a historic Nick Celtics tilt in the playoffs and the way that, like, for instance, the Yankees and the Red Sox go back and forth practically multiple times every decade. Was, is this like, are you getting the vibes from, from New York that this is like a big thing now? Because it hasn't happened before? What's the read?

No, it's not a big thing. I think Nick's fans, after, you know, basically having the series of their freaking lives, being pushed to the brink by the Detroit Pistons, nobody's idea of a world beater at all. I think there's a bit of humility about what they can possibly achieve against the Boston Celtics.

Anytime Boston's involved in anything, I think the sort of stakes feel heightened for any New York team, for sure. But the idea that they're about to be in some war against Boston, a team that's just been so clearly way better than them. I don't think that's the sense that I've gotten so far for Nick fans. I think there's just a big relief

that Jalen Brunson saved their bacon the other night in game six and just happy to be here kind of vibe. I don't like this matchup for the Knicks at all. I think it's really tough. I think it puts them in a really difficult spot where New York, as we saw in that series and part of the reason they had such trouble with Detroit,

they run probably the most straightforward offense of any of the teams in the playoff field right now. They're going to run that against a defense that can switch like crazy. They can handle all sorts of coverages. They can really challenge them. And then as a counterpoint, the Celtics, whenever they want, can drag Jalen Brunson or Kat into an action. And they're going to have those buttons to just kind of repeatedly push on

as much as they would like to do it. In particular, I would say, Brunson did not really have to work very hard defensively against Detroit. That is about to change, whether he's involved directly in kind of on-ball screening stuff, whether he's dragged through a bunch of offball screens, whatever it ends up being, cutting, slicing, offensive rebounding. They're going to push Jalen Brunson in a totally different way,

and there's nowhere to hide. And I just do not like that for New York, because they're so reliant on him having exactly enough energy to hit the game winner to drag them out of a game that they should otherwise lose. So the Celtics were four-no against the Knicks in the regular season, Tatum 34-7-in-6 in those four games. I think there was hope going into the season that the Knicks had built the starting five

almost to contrast the high-powered offense of the Celtics, not necessarily built in their image, but definitely built for the series. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone has much hope that they can actually go toe to toe, especially if the Celtics are going to be clicking on all cylinders. We should mention Drew Holiday hasn't played in probably a week and a half before we get game one in this series. Jaylon Brown also ailing Christops's head,

maybe maybe stitches will bust open at a certain point, but like you're really hoping that the Celtics just drop guys over and over again because the Knicks unfortunately go five deep. And they can't rely on anybody else on their bench. You look at just the minutes their starters have played in contrast to any other team that's played in these postseason. It's ridiculous. It's like 200 minutes for every one of their starting five.

I just, I want to believe I just, there is no evidence that we've seen that they can do it. Well, the closest thing they have to a sixth viable man is Deuce McBride, who hasn't really been able to hit shots at all in these playoffs. The closest they have to a seventh viable man is Mitchell Robinson, who I think did have some very good games against the fiftics. Unfortunately, he is a terrible matchup for the Celtics and it's just going to get caught in that blender in a way where he can't just hang back and protect the rim. Campaign is going to be prominently featured in this series. Of course he will. This is the next rotation. These are the guys that they have at their disposal.

And so ultimately, you're going to trade off with some of the. that against, you know, depending on who's healthy for Boston, guys like Al Horford, guys like Peyton Pritchard, guys like Luke Cornett, who I would say is just kind of like a better, more effective playoff performer than Mitchell Robinson is on balance, as crazy as that is to say. I just, I really just don't like the contours of what this series is going to present for the next. I don't, I don't think they have it in them offensively to overcome Boston. Mitchell Robinson Rinkle really didn't come to bear, I think, as much as we were told it might. you know i feel like we got half a season of like Mitchell robinson well yeah waiting in the wings

you might be able to solve their defensive issues and he's like playing 10 to 15 minutes a game at this point and they're pretty you know forgettable so i don't know what else to do with the series there is that kind of rumor swirling that the celtics might need to trade one of these guys in the off season based of like what i've heard on that it seems like it's coming more from other teams circling like vultras based off of the expectation of the new ownership pushing one of those guys out the window. I mean, it's going to happen at some point anyway, but I think that's one thing maybe to factor in.

Maybe there's a case of senioritis with the Celtics, if they see the writings on the wall, or there's like a galvanizing effect with the last dance style, where it's like, this is our last run. We might as well make the most of it, but it's just another factor to throw in there. It's an interesting dynamic they have because of the sale. And it's like, if you just pay billions of dollars for something and not. now you got to pay a payroll of $500 million annually. It just doesn't seem like that's something any owner would want to do.

But at the same time, like, do you want to be the owner that comes in and is ultimately the one that breaks up a championship core? Like, that's a pressure in and of itself. So it's definitely something to watch. It just seems impossible that they can keep all of these guys in their building at the prices that these guys get paid. I agree that it feels like that information is coming from other teams. but it wouldn't be so crazy

if it came from within the Celtics of just kind of a conscious reminder of like it's not always going to be this way you know like this this roster is not always going to look like this this is a rare opportunity granted title defenses are very difficult granted this is a banged up team that has had to kind of work its way

through the back part of the regular season through this first part of the playoff bracket and we'll see kind of if they can even be in anything resembling one piece by the time if they can make it out of the east but this is a chance like this is a chance that you can't squander by things that are controllable, right? If Drew Holiday gets hurt, if Jalen Brown gets, like, his injury gets exacerbated,

Chris Saps, Porzingis goes down with whatever, those are things that are beyond your control. If you lose this series because you don't dot your eyes and cross your T's, because you don't take the Knicks seriously, because you aren't playing with the requisite effort a la the clippers, then you have to look around at the reality of the situation, which is one of these teammates on which you dearly rely is probably going to be out of here in a couple months. I think the Knicks need a good showing here because to get to the same point as last year and to just get absolutely waxed by the Celtics

it's one thing to lose a hard-fought battle but you basically sold your fan base at the start of the season that we're going for we can go toe to toe with the best teams in the east and to not come close after like kind of limping into the second round after getting pushed by a piston team that was frankly like seemed happy just to be there would be a travesty because you

you put so much and invested so much in building this kind of pseudo super team to lose in four or five would be kind of almost existential. They would really kind of send them into like a place of fatalism where it's like, do we have to do this all over again? We literally just put this awesome team together. Do we have to go out and do something else now? So just something to watch. Seems like there's stakes for the Knicks just to not vomit it up. I mean, they could, they have built in excuses this year one of this completely brand new team, right? Like, um, they can say that they need to be. build in more wrinkles and more continuity to the thing that they have. Whereas the Boston team, which is like the exact opposite of that, these people are a well-oiled

machine. These guys have played together for so long and so many big games. I think they got excuses if they want them. But, you know, it's going to be interesting to see how OG Ananoi plays, you know, the $45 million man, how Mikhail Bridges plays, the six first-round pick man, you know, is going to, Carl Town, same thing. Like, individually, these guys have to show and prove. But I think if guys play reasonably within what we know them to be capable of and ultimately lose to a team that we all know is better than them by a lot,

I don't think they should be, you know, too disgraced by that. But they should and will. You know, like, I think that's, you're right, that they have those excuses that they want them. I kind of wonder if maybe they dodged the big existential stuff by getting out of that series with the pistons in the way that they did. And even if it had gone to seven, that may have been like a different conversation. We'll have to see how ugly this gets. I think you're right, Justin, that the complexion of how they lose, if they lose,

will tell us a lot about the Knicks off season. And this is a team that even though they made big changes, like could easily make more, could easily trade critical parts of this team, could easily make a coaching change. I kind of feel like this is a Celtics and five sort of series, not ruling out the possibility that it could go a little bit longer. but I would be very surprised if the Knicks win. Yeah, I agree. Let's go to the other series then.

Cavs Pacers, I would say this is the big litmus test for Rob's Pacers. I think they got out of the state title and now they're going into nationals. Sure, yeah. You proved it that you are a feisty team. Now you're going to play an absolute buzzsaw potentially in the Cavs, who waxed the heat by 90, it seemed like in most of those games, especially the last two. Garland, we'll see.

He didn't practice on Saturday, has a toe issue. I would assume he's going to go on Sunday for game one. He's considered day to day. But I do think that this is the type of team in the Pacers that could give them guff. Rob,

what do you have as maybe like a thing that you're looking forward to in this series? So I think we talk a lot with the Cavs about their spacing and their three-point shooting and the ball movement that's oriented around those things. But really to me with that, them like their interior offense is kind of always the swing piece. And when they're getting Mowbly and Allen easy baskets cutting and slicing to the

rim, that's when they feel unbeatable. If they're just hitting a lot of threes, that's something that a lot of good defenses can weather and good, good playoff teams can weather. And so to me, if those two guys are doing damage inside and as a counterpoint, if Miles Turner and Pascal Seaccom in particular can actually protect the rim and hold down their spots and overall flatten out Cleveland's offense, that feels like Indiana's path to being really competitive and potentially. winning this series.

But you have to turn Cleveland into a jump shooting first and kind of only team. And if you can cut off all the other cut off their water in other ways, I think that's where you kind of even the score. Yeah, for me, it's Garland. I think there's a lot of people

that thought he could have been an all-star starter, that he might have had a better, you know, start to the season than even Jalen Brunson did. Right? And he just has to severely outplayed Nemhart,

straight up. we kind of know what Donovan Mitchell's going to do. I think we have a pretty decent idea about what Halliburton's going to do out there. To me, Garland has to dominate his matchup. And, you know, as Rob mentioned, it's about getting downhill, you know, forcing these guys to send help and spray it out to your myriad of shooters. And that's what I'll be watching. How Garland handles himself in this, you know, elevated level of competition. Because Miami, you know, they were the 10th seed.

And so that's not. anybody's idea of some playoff challenge and Garland, I'll definitely be having my eyes on. I kind of wonder how Indy matches up with him. Like, do you, because you could put Halliburton on Garland and kind of hoping, like, hope and pray to kind of hang in that matchup. You could put him on Struce potentially and then maybe have knee Smith guard Donovan Mitchell and Nemhart on Garland, depending on how

you prioritize those threats. It's just hard to look at Donovan Mitchell and not say we should put our best defender, Andrew Nemhart, on that guy from minute one. But like, they do have some cards to play. Like, these aren't stoppers for the Pacers per se, but they know how to play a system. They know how to take away the three point line. Like they know how to get back in transition. Like I think they're going to take away

some Cleveland's easiest stuff. Yeah, that's what I have down here is I do think this is going to be a big Nemhart series in part because if you guard Halliburgh with Struz, which is where I assume they're going to start with. Definitely could be. Then I think you're letting Garland and Mitchell, like one of those, Nemhart is going to have to go on one of those guys and So I just think on both sides, he's going to have an advantage going against the biggest

weakness of the calves, which is like exposing their defensive backcourt. And then on the other side, I do think he has a potential to maybe go mono-a-modo with Mitchell. And then if Garland is ailing, that makes him just like a little bit easier to guard here. Pacers, very good at disallowing threes. Cavs, obviously, are going to push the volume. I think that's where I would worry at this point. It seems like a lot of the Pacer's defensive success comes with just denying. And I don't think that's going to be possible against the team with the Cavs that is shooting more in just in the first round than any other team going right now.

And so I don't know, it just seems like mathematically the Cavs just have a lot of advantages. And I also think this is a big stage for Evan Mobley because if he is going to play like you did in the regular season offensively, I think that's someone that like I don't know what I answer the Pacers has in order to stop it. Yeah, I mean, there's no one-on-one guy that you would put on him in those situations. And I say that with great respect for like the work Miles Turner did, trying to guard Janus in the first round, the defense that Pascal Seacom plays regularly. But Evan Mobley as a full court threat is a pretty unique challenge. Obviously, Janus is too. I just think he has the length to kind of get past Seacom in some cases. And I think ultimately he can kind of worm his way by Turner in a way that definitely concerns me from a Pacer's perspective.

Yeah. All right. Game seven, we don't know who the wolves are going to face, but we got rockets, we got warriors. Was, I'm worried about the warriors. Down 3-1, you could hear the whispers that karma is finally caught up to them. How are you feeling? I ultimately think they kind of screwed around for most of that game six. And then in the fourth quarter, they went completely cold.

And because of that screwing around, they, you know, they kind of got. got caught out there. But I still think this Rockets team is eminently guardable. And the Warriors have Jimmy and Steph Curry. Like, I think they're going to be able to manage to get enough offense, squeeze enough offense out of that, you know, that stone. And they're going to guard the hell out of these guys. They got to figure out a way to, you know, squeeze some rebounds at a certain.

But they just have to. But I think they're going to. going to win. I think they're going to, I think it's going to be one of those games in the 90s, and they're going to have Steph Curry, and they're going to have Jimmy Butler, and they're going to ultimately prevail. I can't wait to see it. I have no idea what to expect. This has been a cluster fuck of a series basically all the way through. Ultimately, like, so, as you said that, you know, the Warriors kind of messed around and then went cold in the fourth. I think that's true, but they also got put in the freezer in the fourth, and Houston's defense is a not insignificant part of

why they're going cold. Granted, there's some shooters who are just not hitting shots. So it depends on whether you, do you believe with the series on the line that Buddy Heald is going to deliver, that Brandon Pajemski is going to deliver, that Quentin Post is going to deliver,

that these guys are going to step in, Moses Moody, are these guys going to step in and hit the shots of their lives, basically? I think it's very possible that they do, or it's also possible that Seth just hit so many that no one else really has to do that kind of heavy lifting.

But ultimately, like, Golden State has to figure out a way to bust, Houston zone. Like they cannot let the rockets get away with it to the extent that they did, because the zone is really the reason that jumbo lineup can stay on the floor. It's the reason why Stephen Adams can be a game-changing force. It's the reason why Draymond Green is up there today talking about how Stephen Adams needs to get called for three second violations. They're trying to lobby to get this man off the floor because they don't know what to do

with them. And they don't know what to do with them because they can't shoot their way out of the zone right now. Listen, I know it's a completely different team and it's a completely different era. But seeing a big lineup of Stephen Adams and Elprin Shengoon just, like, have their way against the small ball warriors is startling. Like, how many, like, bigs of Adams vinci, at least this version, did the classic warriors just basically relegate to, like, nothing? That was where they made their hey. Like, they would constantly make those guys look silly. All the, all the Grizzlies teams that they basically sent into retirement. and then you had last time in the fourth quarter,

Adams just basically pummeling to the point where they just kind of fell over. Like in late when they were hacking Adams and he missed a free throw and then Shengung got the offensive rebound. I was like, what the fuck is going on here? It's just there's just like something. There's a demoralizing effect there. And I think you guys hit it. It's just like if they don't have the offense to back it up in order to lean on that

advantage that they have with their extra shooters on the floor, I just, I don't know. I don't know where it's going to come from. It's to the point where I've seen multiple Warriors people being like, I wish we had Clay Thompson in this series because he would come up with big shots after last year basically running him out of town

because he can barely move anymore. It's like, it's tough. So Stephen Adams had 17 points in that game. When was the last time you think Stephen Adams had 17 points or more in an NBA game? 2016? Okay, that's right. 20, 23.

Well, when was he, he missed one season with the Grizzlies? So he missed all of last season. Okay. All of the 2020, 24 season. Yeah. So his last game with so many points was March 22. Like, this is not, it's not who he's ever been. He doesn't really want to score.

But if you gift wrap it for him, he will hit putbacks all day. If you foul him and send him to the free throw line, he's going to knock down at least. least a requisite amount of them or certainly did in that game. I just don't think anyone on Gold State side was fully prepared for the impact he was going to have on this series. And they assumed, as you said, Justin, that they were going to be able to play him off the floor when it mattered. Game six, that was absolutely not the case.

And maybe it is only a couple of threes or a couple of clever backcuts or a well-played offense against the zone away from doing that. But so far, he's had a huge impact on the series. Do you think him hugging guys just threw the warriors completely off-kilter? He's so sweet and also so physical. You know, like, what are you supposed to do with a guy like that? There is part of this where it does feel like a lot of the warrior's surge came off of the piss and vinegar of trying to prove people wrong, which frankly, it was part of like their narrative and when they were rising to begin with. It just felt like Jimmy wanting to get revenge on the heat show everyone what he was about, but also Stefan Dremont being like, we're still here.

This is our final run. They've been pretty public about that. It seemed like that was so much about what propelled them. and it feels like that now that they're getting like just outbeat physically, just feels like they're a little limp at this point. And so like maybe Steph has the juice in Game 7 he typically does. But it's it's kind of depressing watching them just like kind of get their ass beat by the young upstars right now. I mean, they won three games in this series, right?

Like they're not down. But the last three of the series, the last two are completely different. The last two did feel different. I hear that, but like they're not down 0.3 in this series. They haven't just been getting their asses kicked up and down the court for six games here. Like, it's the Houston Rockets. There's nobody's idea of like, oh, this team can completely come out and just clobber these dudes.

I just have a hard time believing that. They got a competitive bunch of people on Golden State. Like, the last two games, remember, they're not the ones facing elimination. They're playing a team that's playing for its playoff lives. Like, I think that counts for something, right? And so I think we will get a different version. of how the dubs come out against this team tomorrow and I think ultimately they're going to win.

I really do. I kind of lean that way, but I also have the flash of like, even in this game six, you're getting a combined, what, like 56 points for, yeah, 56 points from Jimmy and Steph, and that's like not enough to win against the Rockets, right?

Like that is where you're getting held back is offensively you can't produce enough against this team. Maybe they weren't taking seriously enough I've seen that way at times in the first half in particular. But on the other side, like, Fred Van Fleet has sort of unlocked something in this series as well. Like, why try to beat Steph when you can just be Steph ultimately is kind of the Fred Van Fleet model here? And so like between him and Stephen Adams having this sort of impact, Amman Thompson, getting better and better game over game has been a huge deal. Ultimately, even Amy O'Doka making some tough calls and saying like, you know what, Dylan Brooks, you're just kind of like not a part of this particular run.

And him having the cash A and the capital to do that, I think is really important. This game seven is going to take some tough calls. I think it's going to be a really physical battle. It's really hard not to bet on the collective guile of Golden State. And so I think I would lean that way, but I don't feel confident in it at all. Hopefully it's more interesting than this game seven that we just got. But we shall see on Sunday. Let's wrap it there.

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