The Ringer NBA Show - The Lakers Look Unbeatable: NBA Finals Game 1 Postgame

Episode Date: October 1, 2020

Logan Murdock, Raja Bell, and Kevin O'Connor break down a tumultuous Game 1 of the NBA Finals between the Los Angles Lakers and Miami Heat, which the Lakers took decisively as Miami fell to multiple injuries. Hosts: Logan Murdock, Raja Bell, Kevin O'Connor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Yo, what is good. This is the Ringer NBA show post-game live finals edition. I'm Logan Murdoch. We have our guys here. We have Raja Bell, obviously. And then we have Kevin O'Connor. I don't have enough time to do the O's right now because you only have like a 30-minute show. But Kevin O'Connor is in the building.

It's a mismatch, real ones production right now. What's up, Kevin? How you doing, bro? I'm doing great. How about you guys? Chitlin, man. It was a big snooze fest in game one. Yes, frankly.

You look a little tired right there, bro. When did you kind of like, we're talking about this right after the Lakers just stomped all over the Miami Heat in Game 1. It wasn't even a game in the second half. Lakers were up 30. When did you check out, Roger? Yeah, it was midway through the third. I wanted to give the heat. I knew the heat would play hard, the DNA there.

Like, I knew they would just keep plugging away. But once they made the run, got it to, I don't know, but like, what was it, 20 or 19, 18. And then the heat, I mean, the Lakers pushed it back out. It was a wrap. It was time for me to give it up. Yeah. Now, this is the Ringer NBA show postgame live. This is also going to be on the Ringer NBA show feed.

Thanks to our producer, Sasha, later on tonight. I have one question for you, Kevin O'Connor. Is this series over? It's over if Goren Drogich can't get back out there. He had the left foot injury saying he's getting an MRI tonight. Didn't come out in the third quarter. We didn't know why. I mean, you asked Roger when he was out.

I was out as soon as I heard that Drogich was out for the rest of the game. I mean, and if he can't come back in the series, no shot creation, no ability to hit threes off the dribble, no pick and roll creation. They need Drogich to have any chance in the series against the Lakers. Well, I mean, Drogich is a big part of that team, but he wasn't even. The only Miami Heat player to get hurt. You know, Jimmy Butler rolled an ankle. Bam, at a bio, his whole arm is just all messed up right now.

If they can't get Bam on the court and they can't get, if they can't get Drogh back on the court, I'm sure Jimmy Butler will play. But if they can't do that, Roger, it's pretty much, it's over, right? Yeah, it's a rap. I mean. Is it a rap, okay, okay. I want to preface it by saying this. Is it a rap no matter if they're on the floor or not for you?

Or is it a rap? Well, yes, it is, it is a, it is a rat. Well, I mean, I just thought the Lakers were going to be the better team, and those stars were going to be a little bit too much for Miami to handle if everyone was healthy. And I think you saw that starting to take place like Anthony Davis was just too big. The Lakers were too big around the rim. There was too much length. There was too much defensive versatility for the heat to do what they normally do.

But with all of those injuries and, you know, the Drogis is an interest in one because it was, it was like a non-contact thing. Typically, when you see a guy like peeked down at the back of his leg like that, like I tore a calf, the first reaction you have because it feels like something hit you in the back of the leg is to just check. That's really concerning for me because he looked down. The Jimmy Butler one is you're playing on adrenaline tonight, but that thing is going to swell up like a grapefruit and it's going to be really, really sore.

You're playing every other night. It's going to be really hard for you to be any semblance of yourself. And then, you know, the BAM situation, I'm not sure. shore on. But KOC said it the best. Without Goran and people like probably didn't put a lot of enough stock in what he meant to their offense. Like you lose a whole lot of playmaking and creating ability without him on the floor. You know, and this is a guy that is, uh, that really came, came into, not I wouldn't say came into his own, but really play well down the stretch over the last few games, especially offensively. How if, if Goran is out, I know we say this,

this series is over, but like who has to step up? KOC. I mean, Kendrick Nunn? I mean, you got to go to the rookie. Obviously, yeah, a great season. He's not what you need defensively, but it's got to be like somebody like Nunn. Or you need Jimmy Butler to do even more than he already does. He's your best overall player, but instead of 15 shots, maybe you need 22 shots for him, need more total possessions, more pick and roll. The problem is, is what makes Dragheek so good as a creator for you is the threat of him taking shots off the dribble from three. Butler doesn't offer that threat. So even though he's their best player, he's not their best shot creator. I think the biggest, yeah, go ahead, go ahead. No, I was going to say it's a great point. Like when you're playing Jimmy Butler in the pick and roll, you saw the Lakers, they're going under pick and rolls. And when you're sliding under pick and rolls, there's not a whole lot of creating you can do, right?

Because you're either going to shoot that jump shot or the defender is going to catch you on the other side of the screen. With Drogich and the threat of the pull-up, you got to go over. It puts the big man defensively in a bind, and then it starts to collapse your defense, which allows them to create. that you don't get the same effect with Jimmy in a pick and roll. We saw that in the first quarter too, when the heat was just attacking Dwight Howard possession after possession,

and that wasn't because of Mueller, it was because of Drodzich. Right. I think the biggest thing that I saw about this series, I mean, injuries aside, was the difference in, I guess, poise, right? Because the heat come out to this big lead, you know, and then the Lakers just storm right back.

And there's a lot to be said for a team that's been there before. And now the Lakers haven't been there before as a collective group, but you have guys like Dwight Howard who've been to the finals. You have LeBron James who's been to the finals. You have Javelle McGee who's been to the finals. You have Rondo been to the final who's a champion. How big is that to have that experience, Roger, when you are a player, when you can go into a battle knowing that, you know, I've been here before.

Oh, it's huge, man. Look, this is taking nothing away from the Kendrick Nuns, the Tyler Heroes, even the Bam out of Bios, but you don't see a lot of teams with players. that young and that relatively inexperienced playing deep into the playoffs and playing for championships usually, right? There's a reason because there's some seasoning that goes along with that. There's experience that usually trumps young talent in situations like that. They've been doing a phenomenal job, but you saw a team the night that took a haymaker to

start the game. No panic. You saw Frank Vogel use his normal substitution rotation to take LeBron out like he normally would. He sat there on a scores table. They paned to him. He was watching the game, taking it in, everybody getting a kind of finger on the pulse of what was going on. That second unit stepped up.

A lot of guys you just referenced that have experience closed the gap. And by the time LeBron hit the bricks again, it was on it popper. I mean, I think that the biggest thing is we always talk about playoff Rondo, but he really kind of, he really calmed a lot of players down with that with that second unit. And we don't really talk about that with a guy that can just calm a team down. especially in a point guard position. Did you see that KOC? And that let's stretch when they were, when the Lakers were coming back. I think, you know, Vogel and LeBron and AD,

a lot of the guys on the team have talked about that value he brings with his shot creation and, you know, the calming effect as you're talking about. And, you know, it's, I was wrong about Rondo in this playoff. The last two seasons, he just hasn't been good. Lakers fans really hated him for good reason with his play. But in this playoffs, I mean, he has shown how it's a different game between the regular season in the playoffs. And, you know, what might look like weaknesses during the regular season now matter more

because he has those strengths as a reliable playmaker. And he's been really good on defense as well. And he's actually hitting over 40% of his threes, which is turning. He's turning to Reggie Miller. What is going on? Oh, my goodness, dude. I mean, like, that's a big part of it. Like, he's not shooting 28% from three, right?

He's a career 32%. He's hitting above his average. So that's a big part of his success. But it is way more than that. And I'm curious, Rasha, with a guy like Rondo, I mean, is there something to it where maybe like a fan, they look at him, they're like, he's not trying on defense, he can't hit shots. But if you're a player on the court to have a veteran out there with you, that it's something that like the numbers just can't grasp or you have a fan or someone watching their eyes from home can't grasp. Oh, absolutely. Look, you have a guy with that wealth of experience.

You know, good point guards are like quarterbacks in that they know everybody's job, right? They have to understand what everyone is doing, both offensively and defensively on every play. And so having a guy out there that just has that type of cerebral, you know, ability is great for second units in particular because usually something has to tie that group together, right? And then the playmaking ability, because you know where everyone's going to be, allows you to kind of serve up guys, shots that they, they, they, probably can't create on their own. Like, you know, the Danny Greens, the KCP, they're not creating. Even Kyle Kuzma at this point, it's not really creating on his own too much.

He's living off of like hot closeouts and driving the ball pass. And Rondo has all of those intangibles. He's got that experience. Some guys just have a knack for the moment, bro. Like, you know they can be bad through a certain stretch of the season, but when you really need it, they're going to be good. And I really felt like their offense in the first

shift when LeBron and AD was out there, I was worried. Like, not because the heat were winning, but the offense was stagnant. It was a lot of walking the ball up. It was slow. It was really predictable. Conversely, the heat were whipping the ball around. People were flying around and moving. And as soon as Rondo hit the game, the whole complexion of it changed.

Roger, when you're a defender and you know a guy is shooting, like KOC said, 32% career from three-point range, are you closing out on him? Or are you just going to say, like, I'm going to let him keep shooting even if he's making it? I mean, that's- What are you doing in that situation? Are you laying off of him still? No, that is a tough call because, you know, when we used to get scouted reports, it would have your historical number, right? But it would also then qualify it by saying he's hot right now. So, like, while I might not close out to you as if you were like a 44% career three-point shooter, I would certainly knowing like over your last 10 games you were shooting in the 40s, I would be more apt to close you down and not just give you free looks at the basket. The one misconception about Rondo right now is, like, ever since he was traded from Boston in 2015, he shoots 37% on catch and shoot three. So that's not great.

I mean, you're not running out there hard like it's a knockdown guy. He's not Ray Allen. It's not Kyle Corver. But it's not horrible. It's not Andre Robertson, you know. And it's something that's really serviceable. Yeah. Yeah, for sure.

Yeah. I mean, would you be more likely to, Roger, would you be more likely to close out on Ray John Rondo or Russell Westbrook right now? That's straight. No, straight up. It would be Rayshan Rondo because he's hot. And I mean, like, you know, I know at this stage of the game,

Russ really, really wants to get to the cup. You know what I'm saying? So, like, I don't want to give him exactly what he wants. You know, so yeah, I would close down on Rondo. I'd let Russ shoot that. What's the, when you're getting, it's particularly in the postseason, when you're getting these scouting reports,

what's the biggest thing that you see? and that you pay attention to, Roger. Well, for me, it would be, it would be tendencies of, you know, because I was always tasked. My main job was trying to affect their best scorers' ability to do his job. So I had to really focus on, like, where Logan wanted to get the ball or, you know, in, you know, if the ball were to go to the elbow, what Kevin's tendencies were.

Like, if they was presented with two options to either come off the screen high or whether he could work the flex cut and then come up the middle, like, you know, which one he preferred and shot a higher percentage doing. So I could take that away. I'm the guy setting the screen to be clear. You're the screener. You don't got to respect me as a shooter. You don't even got to respect me at all.

Okay. So in that case, I'm doubling everybody. But no, that would be, you know, that's my job in a scouting report. Everyone's job in a scouting report at this point in the season is to know, know your assignment inside and out. Like, if they're going to beat you, they should be beating you on counters. They should be beating you on, on, you know, them. making a good basketball play to counter what you've taken away from them because you've been

prepped to do that. Now, the official word on the heat for Gorenzragic has a left foot injury. Bam, out of bio, has a left shoulder strain and his x-rays are negative. Pretty vague. I don't know what that means, but I do want to get that out there. Also, let's get into finals MVP right now, at least on the first, on the first game. So Anthony Davis had 34 points, nine rebounds. LeBron had a triple double, but it seemed like one of those triple doubles from Bronn, that it was just, you know,

within the flow of the game, it was just chill. It didn't seem like, you know, like a, umph, LeBron James triple double. Right now, who is your leader right now for finals MVP, Kevin? Probably AD.

I mean, if my leader, if my vote, I think LeBron is always sort of the MVP with the shot creation aspect, but if I'm like placing a bet on who finals MVP would be, I'm going to guess voters are probably going to lean towards AD, especially the defensive impact. I mean, from a media standpoint,

people are probably just going to go with, you know, the new guy. We've seen it happen with regular MVP voting. But, I mean, either way, though, both of these guys had sensational games. Can't go wrong. For sure. And, Roger, we talked about this

as the beginning of the postseason, that AD has to be that X factor. Does he have to be the finals MVP for the Lakers to win this series? Not now. I don't think so. Not in light of everything that we talked about leading up to it. I do think you can make a case for LeBron. So like if LeBron were to eke out the MVP over AD because he triple doubles his way through this series,

which he very possibly could do, right? And you get some, AD's still playing phenomenal, right? He had 34. I felt like his moments in the game where he was just big boy in the whole heat team on three offensive rebounds and then screaming and won. Like, you know, that's a problem. Like, you have no answer for that. And not that you have a true answer for LeBron, but this is going to sound crazy.

LeBron is the mortal, like, for the heat. Like, AD is supernatural for them. They don't have anything that could deal with that. And I applaud Bam. Like, he's game, but it's just, AD is just too crafty at this point and two season for Bam. He needs some, Bam needs to get his weight up just a little bit. All right, let's get messy a little bit. We always have these manufactured talks about legacy and things like that, right?

If AD does get the NBA Finals MVP, does that affect anything about LeBron's legacy KOC? No, not one bit. I'm sure people will use it against them. They use anything they can against LeBron James. So people will use it. But no, it should not make any difference. It's a vote here. It's like saying does, you know, Finals MVP for Hunter Goddala go against Steph.

or Clay or Draymond. No, of course it shouldn't. It's who the media guys they chose. In regards to Kevin, though. I mean, that's just as whatever. That does go into his resume. It's all like, it's like full five or six media, you know, members that are chosen by the NBA that choose finals MVP.

It's not necessarily who the actual MVP was. So it should not be used against him. And ultimately, like I said, LeBron James, a little shock creation aspect in addition to everything else, you know, the defense of scoring, the rebounding. he probably is the actual MVP of the series. Yeah. We were talking about this in the group chat earlier.

One thing that came to mind when we were asked that question, would it affect LeBron's legacy? I kept thinking about Tim Duncan, right? His legacy is straight, but he didn't win the finals MVP in all of the finals that he won. So I'm thinking about that. And Roger, with that in mind, I'll pose the same question to you. Does it matter if LeBron wins the league?

I mean, the finals MVP? No, because he's still playing. I agree with KOC completely. Like, he's still playing at an MVP level. Like, you're just playing alongside, you know, a player in his prime that's just really, really unique and is able to, you know, be a mismatch for whoever's guarding him. But it's not like you're kind of riding on coattails here. He's still responsible for a ton of the playmaking.

He's still scoring it at a tremendous clip. And, you know, defensively, I would even say. you know, he picks his spots, but he's, you know, when he really wants to, he's still going to pick up the Jamal Murray and say, I got this. Let's ride me defensively right now. So I don't think it hurts his legacy at all. I'm in the camp of like, you know, adding a third team and a third championship with three different teams is only helping the legacy in my book. And he's nowhere near Don either, you know, 35 years old, you know, still right here, man. I mean, like Logan, he's, he's, it feels like somebody who is likely going to still be competing for championships

and in good health for the next three, four, five years, right? What do you see? Yeah, you kind of set me up for the question. I was about to ask you, KOC, where it was, we've talked about the Miami Heat Sealing and what they could be going forward with the cap space and things like that. They could be a contender going forward. What do you think about the Lakers going forward over the next two or three years? Can they eke out if they, assuming they get a ring this year?

Can they eke out a couple more during this run while they have LeBron and AD? Absolutely. I think it relates a lot to what Raja said. I mean, obviously LeBron is LeBron and everything goes without saying for him. But AD is a major matchup problem for so many teams right now. Because even like with a BAM out of bio, maybe he isn't heavy and ever strong enough to handle somebody like him. Never mind some of the weaker centers that are being used across the league or the smaller teams like we saw Houston's issues that they had with Anthony Davis. So teams right now are so often wanting to build, you know, with pace and space.

But like before we recorded, you mentioned with the Warriors, they're a team that probably needs to add a big in order to defeat the Lakers in a playoff series. I think more than anything, roster building is all about balance, right? Yes, you can have the pace and space. But I don't think you can go all the way in one direction and expect to win. I mean, even when you talk about the Warriors, they still had a center. And even with the pace and space, Steve Carrow, always said that when we won, it was through the mid-range game, because that was something

that we could do. But I do feel that the Lakers will be good for years to come. We'll see. But a bigger question on that is, will they continue to be a destination and a place to continue to win once LeBron hangs it up? And assuming Anthony Davis stays, I'm going to go with Roger first. What do you think, man? Oh, yeah. Listen, Anthony Davis is going to try. free, free agents and people that want to play with him. I'm not the same way LeBron did. They're two different players.

I think they have two different mentalities. They're probably two different guys to work with personality-wise. But he'll attract people. L.A. as a destination, as the Lakers franchise is always going to attract free agents and talent. It is going to be interesting, though. I agree with you guys on the Lakers having a window. But what guys they're able to attract, like at those minimum

dollar amounts, like they're always going to be have to be reshuffling that deck. Like LeBron and AD remain the same. Like Coosma, if you could keep him, some of those, but some of those other pieces, those older glue guys, three and D guys, like you're going to have to keep shuffling through. So what pieces they find will play a big role in that too.

For sure. L.A. wasn't good enough for you to go to the Lakers, man. Wasn't good enough. What were you saying KOC? Oh, no. I mean, Touche.

You had Kobe on the phone, man. Yeah, Kobe on the phone saying come through. If I was comparing minimum to minimum, I would have been a Laker. Right. Okay. Okay. You would have got a ring, too. I probably would have got a ring.

It wasn't going to pay my mortgage, though. I think you said it there, though, Roger. If you compare an Eagle contract to Eagle Contract, you're probably choosing the city of Los Angeles. Right. Right. I mean, I think L.A. will always remain a destination as a city, especially. the Lakers, after LeBron and 80 win multiple championships,

the organization is going to be viewed in a different way than it was for a couple years prior to this when they were losing. Just like the Clippers are starting to make the organization look different despite what happened in this year's playoffs. Clippers and Lakers, because of the city and because of the way these teams are built, are going to be destinations, yeah. Well, let's keep it a buck, man. Even with all the Lakers' turmoil over the last 10 years,

LeBron James still decided to come to the Lakers, right? I mean, they would, and that says a lot for being a destination. Quick news right here, though. Shams is reporting that Gorin Rajsh has suffered a torn planter fascia. Wow. Yeah. He will be, he will continue to be re-evaluated is what he said, but he's done for the series, right? He has to be done. That's a round.

Yep. That's right. Series over, man. That goes into, is there any strategy in this? Is there anything that we can hang. our hats on or anything because they just give them give the lakers the ring right now i mean look i you're playing like the one the one interesting part would be for me for the heat is what happens if you just throw tyler hero into that gauron drudge's role i don't think he's ready for it i don't

think he's rounded out enough to do it but you're hoping if you're a heat fan like that his upside is that type of that type of player and better right like someone who could truly be a creator one two type of player. So like, the series is a rap, but like you might get to see some cool stuff out of Tyler Hero maybe. Or we mentioned earlier, Kendrick Nunn. You know, tonight he had 18 points on 8 of 11 and 20 minutes. It was garbage time, but, you know, he is a guy who can get buckets for you and, you know, maybe he's able to elevate his play after really sitting on the bench for most of the playoffs. What do we think about that front court though, KOC? When, um, do you do do you do any changes? Do you put a Myers-Linner on AD? Like, is there anything you

can do to switch it up because I think that it gets lost in this in this playoffs. We always talk about small teams and the Houston Rockers are the poster child for that. But the Miami Heat are one of the smaller teams in the league right now. They just have bam out of bio. For sure. And I think, you know, if you're a spolsterer, you have to think about that especially tonight. Solomon Hill, you know, obviously a respected veteran, but maybe it's a series for size, whether that's Kelly Olinick or Myers-Lennard getting back into your rotation because the Lakers so many times tonight did really abuse them with their size, particularly with AD, but, you know, they're just a big team, period. You know, it's not just, you know, the traditional bigs. It's, you know, it's, you know,

LeBron at the three. It's Danny Green and a KCP back cord. It's a lot of size on that roster. So maybe for the heat, it is time to go big instead of going small and doubling like they did early in the game. What do you think, Roger? Any strategy you would go to going into game two? I mean, I certainly tinker with that lineup. I mean, at this point, you're, if you're, if you're exposure, you're throwing whatever you have out. You throw the kitchen sink at them, right? So I would not be afraid to go big with either Myers-Lennard or Kelly Olenick. I didn't like to double on both players. I think that's a really chaotic thing to execute if you're a player. Like having to double LeBron is one thing. You're scrambling once you've doubled once the ball starts moving. And then to have

to double a second player in the same possession is versus. impossible. I mean, I'm not saying you can't do it. It's just a whole lot of movement and getting it right for that to work. So I would I would pick a poison there. I mean, I probably double AD, see what LeBron does, maybe try to dare him to shoot long jump shots. I've seen LeBron in action. And one of my critiques of LeBron, like in the past has been, if you really wall up, like he does, he will settle for J. He doesn't trust his jumper. Yeah, but And he doesn't, but he'll start settling for them eventually. Do you know what I mean?

And so I might play that game and try to bait him into it. But LeBron's best attribute has always been his ability to pass the ball. Like he's just brilliant, like passing the ball. And that's not taking anything away from his scoring and the rest of the shit he does, but he's a great passer. I'm not going to run doubles at him when he's not even in an advantageous situation and let him pick, like me apart, like he's Tom Brady. We made a video about LeBron James on the restart.

this week on the ringer's YouTube page just a quick plug for that if you want to watch a video about lebrons playmaking kevin no content smooth yeah it's true though roger i mean lebron's passing he can pick you apart so you know you might want to try one new strategy to do something else but every every decision you make as a coaching staff there's a potential downfall to it and and you outline that there and one thing i i'm curious about that you said about the doubling it's so hard to double two guys and virtually impossible in one possession, is that a strategy that you feel like is good in theory? You know,

like if it's executed to perfection, it would be unbelievable. But in practice, it's just that can't work. Yeah, totally. I mean, look, I'd love,

if you presented me with three great offensive players, I tell you, let's double all three of them and make the other two. But like, you're, you know, you're just scrambling and, and it just takes,

you're only as strong as your weakest link defensively. It's just facts. So it just takes one, you know, miscommunication or I thought you were running and I was running and you've compromised the whole possession. And, you know, with a strategy like that, the problem with it is if you give up three quick layups or three easy threes or, you know, four buckets in a row with that, like, it's going to get scrapped really quick because people are going to be like, I'm not doing this shit. And, you know, that's the problem with trying to double two people.

It's almost impossible. Do we think that the Celtics would have gave the Lakers a better running this? Yeah, I do. I do think they would have. I mean, just, I thought the Celtics, you know, we're going to beat the Heat and Six. I was obviously wrong about that.

But they still were in there at the end of games. It's not like they got smoked by Miami. And I think if you look at the Lakers Celtics matchup, some of the versatility, on the offensive end of the floor with the amount of shot creators, it sort of, you know, touches on what now we're talking about Miami. who is the guy that's going to do that for them with Boston. They had a lot of guys that did that.

It came from everywhere. Yeah, I think, you know, it's the old, like, styles make fights, right? Like, Miami was set up nicely to compete in the Eastern Conference with those matchups that they had. I always felt like the Lakers were just going to be, like, an almost impossible task for a Miami Heat team, the way they're currently constructed and how young they are to pull off. So I think Boston would have given them a better fight just because of the way they're made up, like Kev said. But the heat were a better matchup for Boston.

Like they had the answer for that. Miami is a tough team, though, to be clear. I mean, I mean, like they are challenging in that sense. You know, they could win a game or two if healthy and Dragich, according to Wojjj might play. I don't think, no. Yeah, Wos just did report that. I don't think that he's going to play, man.

I don't think that you just tore your planter fast year. I know. When you tear anything, like the chances of you're not coming back the next chance of you playing in that are slimmed. That's probably one of those things where it's tonight, like he's pounding on the table, like that they're not holding me out. I'm playing through this. And then tomorrow and the next day, it's like you're not playing. It's just can't. What do we think about the environment tonight, right?

Because there was a tweet that I saw that came out where it was talking about last year's game, one of the NBA finals. And it was a, it was a Danny Green three-pointer. And did you just remember it just gave me a lot of like memories of how crazy that game one was in Toronto in front of fans, right? I think KOC you were at that game as well. Is it weird right now to just see an NBA finals game without fans? This seems weird. I just got reminded of it of how great it was to have fans. How was that for you to see that KOS?

I mean, I feel like there's been multiple series this year that I've felt like this just isn't the same. You know, it was Toronto, I mean, sorry, it was Miami and Milwaukee and then Boston and Toronto. Some of the, you know, great home courts, especially Boston, Toronto. I found myself missing being, you know, at TD Garden. I found myself missing what it was like going to Canada and all that. And just your ears are ringing throughout the whole freaking game. It was madness to be there. And, you know, well, obviously none of us are in Orlando, but from talking to people that are there,

it just feels weird more than anything else. And that came across more than any other time tonight from watching on TV just without the insanity of what it's like to watch from home for the finals or just to actually be there. On a personal note, though, how dope would it have been to have an L.A. Miami series? It just go back and forth from L.A. to Miami. Come on. Yes. I'm in.

On site. All right, quickly, before we get out of here, first, before we get out of here, I want to let you guys know that the Ringer NBA show, this is going to be on the Ringer NBA show feed. And make sure you tap into the mismatch with Kevin O'Connor. Make sure you tap into group chat. Make sure you tap into real ones. We've got a new name before we get out of here. Real ones. I'm going to give you guys an opportunity, starting with Raja.

If you want to amend your prediction for this final series. If I'd like to amend my prediction, like which. The original Laker, what I say, Lakers in six? Yes. Yeah, all right. Well, yeah, at this point, I'm going to say Lakers in, I live in Miami full disclosure, so I'm saying Lakers in five. I'm going to give the heat of game.

Okay. I'll say what you really want to say. Lakers in four. Right, right. Lakers in four. There you go. All right, man. We'll see you guys.

We'll see you guys really soon. I think we're doing it. We might be doing another live show. Stay tuned for that. We'll see you guys next time, man. Peace.