The Ringer NBA Show - Western Conference Finals Game 2: The Blazers Just Couldn’t Close the Door on the Warriors | The Ringer NBA Show

Episode Date: May 17, 2019

We give immediate reactions to the Warriors' hot third-quarter comeback against the Blazers, behind strong performances from Steph Curry on offense and Andre Iguodala on defense (1:00). Then, we briefly preview Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals, where Toronto will look to make adjustments against the heavily favored Bucks (22:52). Hosts: John Gonzalez and Haley O’Shaughnessy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey, it's Liz Kelly and welcome to the Ringer podcast network. Before you get to the show, make sure you check out the ringer.com for our extensive NBA playoff coverage leading up to the NBA finals. Also look out for a 2019 NBA draft guide, which now features 50 of Kevin O'Connor's scouting reports. The draft guide has a first-round mock draft, big board rankings from our draft experts like Jonathan Charks and Danny Chow, and much more to come leading up to the draft itself on June 20th. Once again, check out the Ringer's 2019 NBA draft guide. and all of our NBA coverage over on the ringer.com. Welcome to a special edition of the Ringer NBA show instant reactions from game two of the Blazers and Warriors Western Conference Finals. I'm your host John Gonzalez, Bobby Wagner is here producing.

I am joined by staff writer Haley O'Shaughnessy. We get right to it. Warriors go up to O'Shaelie. It felt like multiple opportunities for the Blazers until the very end when Dame Lillard was trying to tie the game with the three ball. And Andrea Godalas stole the ball right out of his hands. and that was it. Warriors win a game, and I feel like massive missed opportunity for the Blazers. You know, it's funny, I was telling Bobby that's on the way over.

It seemed like in those final, even more than the final possession, because CJ did it too, like maybe a minute prior. It felt like they were, instead of trying to create separation, leaning in for the foul. And I wonder if it's because they felt like they weren't shooting that great or if it was just a more sure thing. But they're an Oracle. Like, don't rely on getting a foul.

And they weren't getting any either. I mean, like, there were multiple. And it wasn't just in that final stretch. And you mentioned CJ, CJ missed a couple of shots more than a couple in the final, say, three minutes or so. But there were a couple of attempts by Dame late where, yeah, it looked like he was trying to draw a foul and got sort of indignant when he didn't. And in his defense, like, it did feel like those sort of touch fouls, like not quite actual

collisions on those threes, were. going to the Warriors and not to the Blazers. But I'm with you. You know, like, you've got to go win this game. You were up 15 points at the half and you were up 17 points in the third quarter. It was right there for you on a night where Steph was a killer and not everybody else was for the Warriors. And I felt like this was the one you could steal and it just slipped right through your

fingers. Yeah, exactly. I think it is also amazing to me that so many non-Dame and non-CJ Blazers were also heroes. especially Seth Curry. I love that Seth Curry had a good game, but I also hate for him that they didn't get to win it. You are now a converted Myers-Leonard fan. We'll get to Myers-Lennard in a second.

I feel like that's a little bit farther down. The Curry thing, though, is just the Curry family's winners either way. Seth Curry had a really good game. He had 16 points. He also had four steals, all of which were on his brother. and I feel like all of a sudden is Seth the Steph defensive whisperer? Like, can he affect him? And they showed the video during the game of those two playing when they were kids.

Maybe it's some sort of brother mind melt. Well, I mean, if anyone can predict what you're thinking or what your next move is going to be, it's going to be the guy who grew up with you his entire life. Yeah, and you've written about this. The, what do we call on this thing? The curry bowl. The curry bowl or the bowl of curry. It's whichever you think.

I think sounds better. Sure. I like the Curry's going at each other, a little familial bragging rights at the dinner table type of conversation. But you're right. I mean, it sucks that Seth Curry, who was clearly their best player off the bench, although Rodney Hood was pretty good too. And you mentioned Myers-Lundered. Actually, the bench was not bad for, with the exception of Zach Collins, who was just a friggin disaster. Five personal fouls in eight minutes. I mean, you have to read the room.

You just have to read the room against Draymond Green. and the Warriors personnel, if you're not careful and he's as usual bullying self, you're going to drop foul. It's just how it is. Yeah, but I feel like this is another way that they wasted, the Blazers wasted a game where they get an actual contribution from their bench. Dame started off slow and then got hot and was actually distributing well throughout the game.

C.J. sort of was the inverse of that. He started off well and then just absolutely fell off a cliff. But it was right there for them the entire time. time. And like, I don't know. If you can't, if you can't pull out that game, I'm skeptical about the Blazers' chances. I was skeptical about it before. I guess, you know, the old adage about a series doesn't start until somebody who wins on the other team's floor is still technically true. But I'd be worried if I'm Portland. I'm not necessarily sure that that's true against the Warriors because most things aren't true. Like, for example, you mentioned Portland's

lead going into the half. That's not really a lead against the Warriors. It's kind of like you either the field tied or maybe like even down a couple. It's away for the Blazers. It's not just any away game. It's an Oracle. Like I can't say this enough. Stealing a game at Oracle is necessary in my opinion. And they just couldn't get it done. And to your point, I don't think that Portland's role players will ever win a game for them. I think that they will push them to being within the game. But at the end of it, it has to be Dame and it has to be CJ. And tonight, they couldn't get it done. We've seen them get it done in the Denver series against OKC, and they have to be the finishers. It sounds so simplistic.

But, you know, Rodney Hood, Seth Curry, Myers-Lennard. You're not going to ride Rodney Hood and Myers-Lunner to a championship? That's weird that you say that. They will never be the last-minute guys against the Warriors. It felt like there was moments in that fourth quarter, Haley, where it felt like Dame was taking over. There was a scoop shot with his left hand. the glass and Mark Jackson and JVG were saying, oh, you know, like sometimes

the greats just take over and I was thinking, okay, yeah, this is another one of those games for DAME and then they just couldn't get it done. And then conversely, Seth Curry did. There was this crazy stat during the game where they said, Steph and I didn't realize this, has made now 79 straight free throws in the playoffs in fourth quarter and overtime.

The last time he missed one in the playoffs in the fourth quarter or overtime was the 2015 finals, Haley, which is insane. Like, he's just such a, incredible closer. And he had another massive night. I think the concerns about his shooting were obviously over-exaggerated. He had 37 points and ended on 22 shots and made all 11 of his free throws.

Yeah, agreed. And I'm sorry, but I just think it's kind of a bummer. I'd rather see Seth win against his brother than see Steph return to form because I think that he will anyway, you know, especially in the next series. I just think, you know, a rare couple stretches of Steph having an off game versus getting to see Seth steal one from his brother. I'm taking the ladder every time. That's my preferred storyline.

And I think that that's perfectly reasonable by you. I want to throw this out there. Our wonderful Julie Fayer, who does excellent work on social, put this on our Slack. And she previously was doing social for the Warriors for a long time. And she was like looking at this game going, oh, you know, like are the Warriors fun now? Like, is this version fun again?

And I was like, no. Like, even with that, I guess like, their slight vulnerability without KD and just even giving Portland a chance to steal one at Oracle and a game where they were up 15 at the half, like kind of peaked my interest a little bit. But it just makes me nuts that even in this situation, we've still got the Warriors winning this game. And it's like, God, I'm so ready for anything else. Yeah, they've dominated for far too long. And until they're not the favorites entering every game, they're not going to be fun again.

Yeah, I mean like on a night where I think that their offense struggle the times, although you did point out, and I thought that this was a good one, that like they pretty much got all the second chance opportunities they could handle. And that was part of the difference. And everything inside that they wanted. Everything inside. They were feasting in the paint. Yeah, feasting in the paint. And Jermon was play creating and rebounding. And he had a nice lob to Kavanaugh-Luny late in the game in the fourth quarter that I thought was a nice bit of playmaking.

and then, you know, Andre Aguadala defensively, offensively, he was not really there. Defensively, he was excellent. He played some really good defense on Dame early to have Dame have a slow start. And then, you know, he and Clay were doing a pretty good job trapping and doubling. And I just thought, like, God, you know, if this is the game where they could potentially steal it and still they can't, like, I don't know what you want the Blazers to do. Right. It's dispiriting. The Warriors were doing everything on defense that we wanted Portland to do.

And to Portland's credit, they did look better in the first and second quarters. But then by the half, it was like they completely reverted to what they were doing in game one. And I just want to point out real quick, I just checked. The Warriors outscored the Blazers 54 to 32 in the paint this game. And that is really saying something because I was telling Bobby earlier that in the regular season, the Warriors had the third fewest field goal attempts in the paint. And they drove the absolute fewest times to the rim. And they were just, and they completely took advantage of it against Portland,

especially when they were playing small ball. Yeah. And then, you know, like from the, from the Blazers perspective, obviously their threes weren't falling in that first game, or even in game seven against the nuggets. And both of those games, between game seven against the nuggets and game one against the Warriors, they went 11 for 54 from distance. And tonight was actually a good shooting night for them.

They made 46% 18 of 39 from 3. You would think if their 3 is falling, then all of a sudden they've got a real shot. They could win that game. And they couldn't even get one off as an opportunity to potentially tie it against the Warriors. That, I think, has got to be dispiriting. Like, if you're looking at this later on, if you're Terry Stats, you go, ah, shit, man. Like even tonight, our threes were falling. We took 39 of them.

and we hit a really good amount of them, and still we lose by three. This is a tough one. They got to hope KD doesn't come back at all. So KD is definitely out for games three and four. Bob Meyer announced that he will not travel to Portland for the series when it swings up north, which is great news if you're a Blazers fan

or if you play for the Blazers, a little glimmer of hope maybe? If the Blazers don't win both, I don't know why they'd play KD at all in this series. You would rest him completely. Yeah. The Warriors go up three to one. Well, you know, actually, scratch that.

They don't have a great history being up three and one now, do they? Well, what about, I mean, like, what about the whole rust versus rest thing if you're the Warriors? Like, don't you want to get him like a little bit of action or no? I mean, he's Kevin Durant. I think he's good. I think he's probably had enough experience and he'll just get right back into it. I mean, all in all, what's he going to miss?

A week and a half, two weeks. Yeah, yeah, you're probably right. God, what a like, what a groundhog day game that was. You know, like, I just feel like how many times have we watched the Warriors kind of dick around in the first half and then have their killer third quarters because they always do. And then you look at a game that the other team, you're like, ah, this is going to be their game. And then it's never their game. Like, it's always the Warriors game. Right. And the Blazers, especially in the last series, but kind of in the playoffs overall, have had a tough time in the third quarter, especially against, and I think that they lost all but two third quarters. I'll check later, but it sucks that that is always the quarter that the Warriors go off

because it's, you know, these playoffs at least been the Blazers' worst. So for the Warriors, pretty regular stuff from their, from their starters, Green, Curry, Thompson, and Iguodala side front, you know, like in terms of minutes. I thought that the way that Kerr went with his bench was interesting. Derebko got 15 minutes, Jordan Bell got 14. minutes. Kavana Ludi played almost 30 minutes. Livingston got 15. Quincook got 10. They played what? Five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve guys. Right, which is interesting because if you look at it, on paper, the Blazers Bench is so much better than the Warriors bench. And that's kind of true

against most teams because the Warriors, you know, they're extremely top heavy. That's just where they've invested all their money. Yeah, I was just, it just seemed like one of those games where Steve Kerr was going with these very interesting rotations and moments that I... If you look at it, all the players who played maybe more than they usually would have,

so Jordan Bell, who kind of, you know, 14 minutes and, you know, come on, Looney, they're big guys who are getting inside against Portland and who are

keeping Portland out. So that's probably why he went to them. Looney looked really good. I mean, like, there are moments when I think, oh, Looney's a plier?

Right. And he looks really strong, especially against, Portland's interior players, which is like kind of embarrassing. Ennis Cantor, go up stronger. You know, Zach Collins, this is supposed to be your whole identity. Is that you're a skinny enforcer. So, you know, don't foul and be that.

I guess, like you said, that there were moments when there wasn't much else for him to do. But Ennis Canter played 19 minutes. You mentioned Myers-Leonard, who looks really good in workouts, plays well in the summer when he's in, you know, pick up games and doesn't generally look as good during the regular season, certainly not in the playoffs, but all of a sudden played 17 minutes tonight. He's a knockdown three-point shooter. What do you expect? He had a three, Haley.

He was still a minus six. I'm not going to get carried away here, but they had to play him 17 minutes. He took three-threes. He was absolutely trying to take this game over. Yeah, I mean, I guess in a game like this, if you're going to give Terry Stats, he's going to keep putting Myers-Lennard on the floor, he's going to do Myers-Lenard. stuff and jack up a couple of threes and run the room. He was still a minus six though, so I'm not going to get carried away with him.

But aside from Seth Curry, you had mentioned the bench, Haley, and I've said this on the last couple of heat checks, Rodney Hood's name keeps coming up. His plus minus was a zero in this game. And yet, you know, they need some offense off the bench. And Rodney Hood, who in previous stops, I thought was, I kept waiting for Rodney Hood to be something and he was generally not. And now he kind of is again. and maybe like Rodney Hood back?

No, I'm like very cautious on hood. You're not buying it. But I will say that through stretches, he's very convincing. So at least for the rest of the playoffs, I'm like, yeah, absolutely. But this offseason, I'd be kind of hesitant overpaying him for sure, especially if Portland goes ahead and use their taxpayer mid-level exception on him. They could either do it Cantor, Curry, or Hood. They're all free agents.

But they all actually might require more than the taxpayers. mid-level exception, but I just, I'm always cautious about Rodney Hood because what is the longest stretch he's had being this solid? We're looking at it. Yeah, exactly, exactly. And he is very impressive. I don't want to, I don't want to downplay this. And I think that he'll continue to be one of the most important people in their rotation.

But, you know, I'm just, I don't, I wouldn't say back. I'd say here for now. Yeah, I think I've made this joke previously, but screw it. I'll make it one more time. I think you had to have been here previously before you can be back again. Maybe he's just now here. I don't know. But they need him.

They definitely do need them. Before we move on, do just a quick couple of minutes on the Eastern Conference, you wrote a piece because you're a writer, Haley O'Shaughnessy and you're a good one. You wrote a piece about the Trailblazers defense and how it's probably not well positioned or greatly suited to stop the Warriors. And in fairness to the Portland Trailblazers,

whose defense is? But explain to the good people. at home who are listening to the Ringer MBA show, why you think it is that this might be a tough slog for their defense the way it's normally constituted? First of all, thanks for being my hype man. Yeah, always. I would love more of that, all right? I'm here for it.

That's the reason why they hired me. To just be my hype man. Yeah, I carry your stuff around and I'm just like, you know who's good, Haley? So tell people. It helps you're also really good at writing and podcasting and everything else. But their defense. Well, first of all, it's worth noting that they, seemed to had tweaked it tonight, but kind of, as I said earlier, reverted to their former ways.

And their former ways have been their former ways for a long time. Terry Stotz very much subscribes to, especially on the perimeter, kind of not doing the typical modern defense switching. He actually does this thing on the pick and roll called the drop, which means that the big drops back instead of when the screener switches to the guard. So in that case, this would be, Steph, right? And Ennis Cantor, probably. So Ennis Cantor would not switch on to Steph, which, let's be honest, what is Ennis Cantor really going to do except for it be a body?

But instead, Ennis Cantor is going to drop back. Now, what that means is that whoever was guarding Steph before, let's say Damien Lillard, has to fight through the screen to try to get to Steph. Yeah. Now, this defense does work. And it has worked before. And it's worked times this season with different teams. and it's worked. Probably my favorite example is the Spurs with Tony Parker.

But that's because they can fight through screens. Something Damian Lillard can't do. And if you can't do that, you're not even getting any kind of contest on a Steph Curry 3. And leaving him wide open seems pretty ill-advised. And then, you know, the other points of this is that you want to do a drop defense on the pick and roll to stop drives to the rim and kind of encourage the mid-range shot. like the less efficient shots. Here's the problem.

As I said earlier, the Warriors don't drive to the rim. They drove to the rim the least times of any team all season. They also shoot in the paint the third fewest times. So that's not really their MO, right?

And although we don't typically think of them as a mid-range shooting team, they're really, really good from mid-range. And even though a lot of that is Kevin Durant, who's out games, one and two, Steph Curry and Clay Thompson are also good from mid-range.

You don't want to leave them open there either. They're good from everywhere. They're good from everywhere. So it just, I don't know why, and neither did the Portland players who were very fed up with Terry Stats after the game, after game one. Evan Turner was like, look, I've been questioning our pick and roll defense for three years. So, okay, but I understand all, like academically, everything you're saying makes sense. Evan Turner's indignation or frustration rather makes sense. I get that. And when you said they've

been doing this forever, Portland has been doing everything forever. Like they are the poster children for, you know, continuity, right? Exactly. They've stuck with this core forever. They haven't traded one of their two best players, even when it's been, you know, the rest of the NBA and NBA fans were crying for it. They have stuck with this for so long. And this is exactly where they've wanted to be against the Warriors. given a chance in the Western Conference finals. Two years ago, they were swept by the Warriors in the first round. This is exactly what they want.

And I just can't fathom why going into game one, Terry Sotz couldn't understand that this is not the way to counter them. And in the piece I wrote that you mentioned, I have a clip of them doing this, of Dame and Steph, and the Blazers utilizing the drop defense in 2014. And guess what? It didn't work back then either. I'm just kind of blown away and like a little disappointed because it feels like they're being robbed of a real opportunity because the pick and roll is not going away.

Steph's not going away. His threes aren't going away. And so it just seems kind of pointless. And also what they were trying to avoid, you know, points in the paint, high efficiency shots obviously happened tonight anyway. Yeah. And that's kind of, that's kind of my point. Like everything you said again is right and correct and make sense. Again, thank you. You're welcome. Um, my point, I guess is that like their whole situation has been, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. We're just going to run everything back and they finally got to the conference finals and like, they're going to just go forward with like sort of a dance with what you got you here type

of thing. However, yes, I, um, in this situation down to, uh, when you've seen this isn't working and you still have the benefit of not having to face KD when shit is really going to go sideways for you, might as well, like throw everything against the wall and hope something else sticks because this isn't sticking. But ultimately my bottom line here is, shit, man, what do you want them to do? Like, even without KD, they're so frigging good.

And they can shoot from everywhere. And Steph, even when he comes into a series cold, gets hot. And like, you're probably screwed. So, like, I get it. I get everything you're saying. I just, I don't think it's as easy as, you know, we just got to dream up some other defense. Right.

Well, and then it's like, okay, so all of a sudden, we're going to switch defenses or at least switch one part of the defense on the perimeter and start trapping and switching in the Western Conference finals. Yeah. It's a tough time to deal. It's a tough time to deal it. And before we move on, I also want to say, yes, it seems like Portland's been doing all these things forever.

But I do applaud the front office for what they've done this year. Because think about the guys that they picked up, who obviously they're going to be probably losing two of three, if not all of them next year, which is Canter, Seth Curry, and Rodney Hood. Those guys have been so important in the playoffs. So I do want to applaud them on that. And also then there was the drafting of Zach Collins, which is smart. But everything else, you're right.

It just kind of feels like it's the same. And if they had they not picked up those three players, this would be an even worse situation. I think still playing with house money. We'll see if they can steal one or two. Not even steal. I feel bad. I don't want to say steal. We'll see if they can hold court when they go back to Portland.

And then, like, you know, who knows what happens with the final three games. Anything could happen. All right. So we move to the Eastern Conference before I let you and Bobby go. What did you think about that first game? Kind of a bummer for the Raptors that they finally got a good game one out of Kyle Lowry, which our man, Dan Devine, wrote about on the ringer.com, which is a great website. Everybody should check it out. They got a good game one out of Kyle Lowry.

They waste it. Yeah, it was so sad. I mean, I'm not the biggest Lowry fan in the world. But, you know, when he's performing well, it's fun to see because everyone gives him shit all the time. but I mean you just look around it's like Pascal Seaccom was two for nine from three Pascal was better yes he was he went six of 20 as well from the floor but I still felt like he was more present and aggressive than he was since like early in the Sixers series and and this is why it was so frustrating if you're a Raptors fan because you get at least like a more

present Seacum you get a good game from Lowry uh you know kawai was still kawai and I felt like some of the other complimentary pieces were starting to play better and still they couldn't hold on. Because early on, it looked like it was their game. Well, I mean, it's worth noting with Seacom that he had that injury in the Sixers series. And so he might only be, you know, recovered or still recovering or feeling as good as he has felt since then. But you're right. I mean, the thing with Seacom is...

This is what happens, by the way, did you see Sixers' Twitter? Sixers' conspiracy Twitter is convinced that Seaccom heard himself trying to trip and bead. So Karma. You know, I try to stay away from Sixers fans and just let them do what they want to do. Probably for the best. Be Switzerland, so I don't have to get in those dumpster pool celebration things. But the thing with Yakima is, you're right. He always has a presence when he's the healthiest.

Because, no, that's his entire game. It's just constant energy and being a bouncy guy, a quick guy, you know, spinning to the rim, light on his feet. And so I think that you're right that it did, like, at least that was encouraging. Quai, although I'm like, oh, quai, 31 points. Yeah, 26 shots, though. Like, he wasn't as efficient. But yeah, he's still Kauai Leonard. So you always know what you're going to get out of him.

He's always going to have, like, at least one of those games where you go, oh, that's a pretty good Kauai game. And you look at it and he's got 31 points. The other thing about Siakum that I guess is worth noticing, noting too, is that Milwaukee's length bothered him a lot. and probably will continue to because he got blocked a couple times. And so he's going to have to find a way

to push through that. So hopefully he is fully healthy. But it looked like it. You know, and it seems like nurse is the kind of guy who can adjust to these things. So maybe the more that he gets bigs involved, they can kind of get around in that.

The other thing about the Raptors is that they went three deep on their bench. And Fred Van Vliet looks terrible. Yeah, he has for a while. For a while. So I'm like, you've got to. try something different, dude. Like, you have Jeremy Lynn on your bench.

You know, you could switch up a couple of things with other ball handlers. Like, you've got to do something different because Van Velaide is not the relief that you need. And he only played 13 minutes anyway. Yeah. I mean, the nurse has pretty much been going with this rotation of eight or even sometimes seven guys, depending on when he plays Powell or not. And this is his group. And he's decided this is what I'm going to run with.

I think the big thing, like just to go back to Seacum for a quick second, he wasn't obviously efficient, but he did, I just think it's encouraging that he even took 20 shots because in that game seven, he did not want any part of shooting. Like he just was on the floor and he was like trying to hustle and get rebounds and like play defense, but he didn't want any part of actually being involved offensively, which was part of the reason why Kauai had to take, what, 39 shots in game seven? And I think 26 is a much healthier number because somebody else has to shoot. You got Lowry going 10 for 15 and 20 shots for Siakum.

So maybe if he's, you know, making a couple more of those shots, you feel better if you're the Raptors. But from the Bucks perspective, big way for them to like hold that first game because I thought it was kind of slipping away from them. And then they came back. Well, I think Brooke Lopez came back. Not in small part because of Brooke Lopez who had a hell of a game. 29 points, 11 rebounds. Two assists and four blocks. I love five out Brooke Lopez.

I love Brooke Lopez just jacking up as many threes as he can get it. It's been a fun season for him. I love how he got to the Bucks because I think it's hilarious. Well, yeah, I mean, the Lakers are an abject disaster. And you know what? I want better things for Brooke Lopez than being part of the Lakers shit show. I'm glad he's on the Bucks Eastern Conference Finals team. This is where he should be.

He deserves it. The Bucks deserve it and he deserves it. Agreed. I also think it's a fun watching Brockton be back because it just adds a completely other element to the Bucks that I kind of almost forgot that they, needed or, you know, without a doubt. Yeah, exactly. And like for the further that they advanced, I mean, this sounds obvious to say, but they're going to need him more. So it was very funny. He had in 27 minutes, 15 points plus 18, you know, which actually was a team high. So very, very influential. Can't stress that enough. As compared to one Eric Bloodsoe, that's what I'm saying.

Like when, when Brogden was out and I, and people who listen to Heech know that I give Brogden a lot of heat for being a terrible rookie of the year winner. However, they really did miss him. Like, credit words do. He and George Hill 27 minutes both off the bench. Brogden clearly the better, more efficient player in that game. And like sometimes, you know, George Hill's been pretty good so far in the playoffs. Bloodsoe has been super hit or miss. There are games when he's been good and I'm like, ah, see, that's a good bloodso. And then there are moments when he just absolutely vanishes and you need somebody like Brogden to pick up the slack. So good for the bucks.

Do you want to make a prediction before I let you go about what happens in game two or the Raptor's going to steal one before they go back to Toronto? Yeah, I think so. I think Nurse will adjust. Although, I will say the bucks are not going to shoot like this every game and they still won. I mean, you had Merytich, Janice, Middleton, Ilyosovah, all just making one three-pointer off of 19 attempts. so that's really bad. Eric Bledso went 0 for 6 from the three and then George Hill

altogether went 0 for 6 from the field. So they're going to hit some shots that they missed tonight. I mean, everyone was obviously, sorry, Wednesday night. Everyone was obviously off. So they're going to, I mean, that's not going to happen every game, even if it only happens for a couple of them.

So the Raptors need to be cognizant of that. But I do think that the Raptors could definitely win. How about you, Gons? I don't know. I was going to ask you, you are our resident gambling officianto here on the ringer NBA feed. What is the line on this game?

Okay, so the line is minus 6.5 in favor of the bucks. The money line is minus... That feels heavy. Yeah, well, I mean, it does. It does, especially considering that the Raptors are pretty good on the road, minus 275 on the money line,

which feels, I guess, a little bit more realistic. But yeah, I mean, that'll probably move 6.5 is a lot. I'm going to ride with the Raptors. Every time I've counted them out, not just during the regular season, but especially during the playoffs, they've responded. And I think they're going to steal one against the bucks on the road and off they go. But I want to couch this with, and I've told you this before, Halley, I want to couch this with for Raptors fans, I'm sorry because I was previously a terrible gambler and no longer gamble. because after spending much of my career covering sports,

I realized that I don't know anything about sports and have no idea who's going to win games. So probably the Bucks roll now because I thought that the Raptors would steal one in Milwaukee. Yeah, as you were saying that, I just put money on the bucks. I was like, whatever Gons isn't doing, man. That's exactly the way you should do it.

Haley O'Shaughnessy, thank you for doing this. Bobby Wagner, thank you for doing this. To all of you listening, I will be back on Sunday night with Heech and Isaac Lee and two very special guests should be fun. Thanks for listening, everybody.