NBA Finals Have Aura Again | Knicks vs. Spurs, Wemby's Dominance, Brunson's Struggles & Full Recap

Hoops for Hotties live show is back and we are breaking down everything from Game 1 of Knicks vs. Spurs.

If you're new to the NBA or just getting into the finals for the first time, this episode is for you! We explain how both teams got here, what to watch for, and why this series has a different energy than anything we've seen in years. The NBA Finals finally has aura again!

Timestamps:
3:04 Hot Girl Lesson of the Day: The NBA Finals Explained
4:16 How the Knicks Got to the Finals
10:00 How the Spurs Got to the Finals
20:00 The Coaches: Tom Thibodeau vs. Mitch Johnson
32:00 The Aura of This Year's Finals — Larry O'Brien Trophy Back on the Court
34:45 Inside the NBA Is Back & Knicks Celebs Take Over San Antonio
35:16 Game 1 Debrief: Quarter-by-Quarter Breakdown
37:00 Jalen Brunson's Struggles
40:00 MVP of Game 1, Clutch Player & X Factor
43:00 Who's on Probation Heading Into Game 2
45:00 Series Predictions
47:04 Office Hours
49:10 Fan Ran on the Court Mid-Game
57:00 Film Review: Pre-Game Tunnel Fits Review

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Let’s chat, hotties! 🔥
#nbaplayoffs #wemby  #jalenbrunson  #newyorkknicks  #sanantoniospurs  #nbafinals  #GameOneDebrief #sportspodcast #thursdaylive #sports #sportsnews #sportspodcast 

🎥 Watch on YouTube: @hoopsforhotties
📱 Follow on Instagram: @hoopsforhotties
📱 TikTok: @hoopsforhotties
🎧 Listen on Apple: https://apple.co/3YhVfXj
🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3SksWUt

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Hey y'all! Welcome back to another week of the Hoops for Hotties live show. Today is our Indiana Finals special. And so this is really, really exciting. And before we get into class, I have to take attendance. So if you are awake and alive in the chat, please give me a present, okay? Tell me your present, tell me what city you're coming from, and tell me who you're rooting for in the finals. Listen, I kept my board the same. Those who who attend class regularly know that I always change my whiteboard. And I've kept it the same almost all month, I think, because I predicted Knicks first finals, even when everyone said I was crazy. I was on the sports reporter show on ESPN and I said, I think people are sleeping on the Spurs to go to the finals. And I feel like everybody was looking at me like I had five heads. Everyone was talking about Denver, possibly Minnesota, obviously OKC. And I had faith. I had faith in the Spurs. I and that's, you know, I'm rooting for the Knicks, so that's what I'll give you, Spurs fans. But at the end of the day, I don't have a full dog in the fight. I'm not a real fan of either team. So no matter who wins, I'm gonna be happy. Okay, we've got prog? Pra? You bitches can't even spell prog. Yeah, reference for my chronically online girlies. Present from Las Vegas. Oh, and rooting for the Knicks. Um, Matt said I'm not a baddie, but he's here and he's rooting for the New York Knicks. Welcome, Matt. Thank you for being present for class. Brianna is present for class. Uh, only rooting for the Knicks because of McCall Bridges. Mikhail, I always call him McCall Bridges. Mikael Bridges as a Suns fan. Present from San Antonio, Ghostbirds Go. Um, Minnesota in the chat, rooting for the Knicks because of Mondami and Spike Lee. My bro, my boyfriend was just talking about Mondami last night and how he thinks he's likes he thinks he's so cool. Rooting for Carter Bryant, my Bookie. Okay, welcome. Banks is here in seated Orlando, Florida is present in the chat. Listen, we got the whole country in the chat at this point, so we might as well get started with our conversation, shall we? Now I've got my handy ditty notes and we can get into all the fun of today's live show. I'm so excited. I planning the show was really enjoying myself looking through all of the storylines and everything from this year's finals. And I listen, if you aren't an NBA person and you're looking to get into the NBA through these NBA finals because it's such a good gateway time, it's such like an NBA gateway drug, like watching your first finals and a finals this incredible. I it's a good time to be a basketball fan. And if you watch this episode, you will walk away with all of the knowledge you need to not only watch and know what's happening in the finals, but to enjoy and fall in love with the NBA Finals. So without further ado, let's get into today's show. So obviously, I'm going to start off with your hot girl lesson of the day, explaining the finals. I'm gonna tell you how all the teams got here. I'm gonna explain the finals, how the Knicks got here, how the Spurs got here. We're gonna debrief game one, of course. I'm gonna give you my predictions. We're gonna talk about the aura of this year's finals, a full-blown debrief. We're gonna talk about the MVP, the clutch player of the game, the X Factor, and who I'm looking out for, who's on probation, because baby, you need to act right, all right, get it right. Um, and then of course, I'm going to take calls from you guys, the audience, live on the show. If you guys don't already know my phone number, first of all, that means it's probably your first live. Welcome. If you guys don't know my phone number, I put it right here on the screen. So that you know it, you can call me and leave me a voicemail. I've got my phone right here. And later in the show, during our crawl block, I am going to be having office hours with you all where I'm gonna take your calls, answer your questions, explain anything that you don't know and you wanna know about the finals. Like, this is your opportunity to talk to me directly, okay? And like, we're sparing, we're sparing nothing, okay? I'll tell you all the tapes. And then at the end, we're gonna go through the pregame fits and I'm gonna tell you which ones I liked and which ones need some reworking. Okay, does that sound good? Let's get into it. Okay, we are usually starting off with our hot girl headlines where I talk about everything that's going on in the sports world, and there is a lot going on in the sports world besides the NBA Finals. Caitlin Clark is yelling at her coach. We've also got this AJ Brown and uh Jalen, uh, not Jalen Brunson, Jalen Hurts situation, where I guess AJ was messing with the same girl as Hassan Redick and Jalen knew about it and didn't tell nobody uh it's so tea, but I'm gonna have to save that tea for another day, so make sure you're following me on TikTok if you want to hear more about that. Today we are going to start off with a hot girl lesson of the day, and I'm going to break down the NBA finals. You guys, the NBA finals is every little boy who dreams of playing basketball's dream. Okay, the NBA finals is the pinnacle, it is where champions are made, where history is made, where big moments are made. My favorite NBA finals of all time was the 2016 NBA Finals. I was an I was a LeBron James hater before that, and he literally converted me into a fan with what he did in the 2016 NBA Finals. This is where you stamp your name in the GOAT conversation, and you become a part of history. It is a really big deal to win the NBA Finals because number one, it is so hard. It is so hard to win an NBA championship. The way they have it set up, you have to be the best team to win. Every single series in the M NBA playoffs is a seven-game series. You have to beat a team four times to move on to the next round. And it is really hard to beat a team four times if they're better than you. Plain and simple. But you also have to have luck on your side. Lady luck has to be riding with you. You can't be getting injured. I mean, we saw a really heartbreaking moment in last year's finals where Tyrese Halliburton got injured in game seven of the NBA Finals. I mean, absolutely heartbreaking. So luck has to be on your side. So much has to go right in order for you to win an NBA Finals that when you do, it is so impressive. And you cannot be in certain NBA conversations if you don't have a ring. And that's why it is such a big deal to these guys to win. And getting into this year's finals, the New York Knicks haven't won an NBA title since 1973. Madison Score Garden has been a heartbreak factory for an entire generation of Knicks fans, and they have some of the most dedicated fans in the entire NBA, in the most famous arena in the world. They are four wins away from the city completely losing its mind. Well, three, but we're talking, you know, listen, I'm getting I'm giving you the breakdown, all right? On the other side, we have Victor Wimbanyama. He is being past the torch to be the future face of the NBA. Victor Wimbenyama is a guy who goes to bed at 9 p.m., who reads books and doesn't just fake it. I'm looking at you, LeBron. He, I mean, he goes and plays chess in Central Park with fans of the game. He's from France. He's 7'4. I've been calling him 7'6 all season long because he is definitely 7'6, but you know what? They want to call him 7'4, we'll call him that, right? And he plays basketball like he downloaded the future version illegally online. He is the alien, and the way Victor Wiminyama is able to move his body is absolutely insane at that height. I mean, he moves like a guard at times, he hits step back threes to send games to double overtime in the playoffs. Unanimous defensive players of the year, you guys, guys who are seven foot tall aren't supposed to be able to do the things that Victor Wimanyama can do. When he is on the court, he's not just one player, he's three. He is insane and has had an insane playoff run. And this is his first time at 22 years old. This is his first time in the NBA playoffs. And the story has always gone that you need to experience some sort of heartbreak in the playoffs before you can experience the mountaintop, before you can experience the NBA Finals. We saw it with the Boston Celtics. They lose in the playoffs and they lose in the Eastern Conference Finals and they lose in the finals to the Golden State Warriors, and it's heartbreaking. And Jason Tatum tells the story of seeing the confetti go down and the other teams' colors and it being just heartwrenching and being like depressed in the offseason after losing in the finals, and that being what propelled him to get there again and be able to win finally. We have been used to the story being you have to experience heartbreak in order to experience happiness in the NBA finals. And a lot of people looked at this San Antonio Spurs team and they said, You have a rookie head coach. He was an interim coach, but he's a rookie as a head coach. You have a 22-year-old superstar. I've been calling him the foreign exchange student, right? If we're in the school, he's the foreign exchange student, he's the new guy who definitely has all of the cards in his pocket to be popular, to be that guy, but he's so young, right? It's like you don't expect a freshman or a sophomore to win prom queen. You expect that from a senior or somebody who's been at the school long enough to take that title. You don't expect that from the sophomore exchange student that just got here and is kind of finding his way, right? But he got there. He he got there. And I do think to a certain extent, the NBA, the NBA set the OKC Thunder up, and we'll talk about that in just a second. But you've got two completely polarizing different types of teams. You've got the big market, popular New York Knicks who have been experiencing generational heartbreak. They haven't been in the finals since 1995 when they lost to who? The Spurs. The Spurs. The closest the Knicks have gotten in uh the near, the near past? 1999. That was before I was born, y'all. The closest they have gotten, they were heartbroken at the hands of the Spurs. So this, I mean, this is like taking your ex back that broke your heart 10 years ago, and you're like, okay, we're adults now, he's grown, he's changed, and you're like experiencing this relationship again. But it's kind of hard to forget what it looked like when you was texting other bitches right in front of you, right? It's kind of hard to forget what the black and silver, gray, whatever the fuck their color is called, confetti looks like. It's hard to forget losing to the Spurs. It might be different people, but it's still the same franchise and they're still the same fans, right? A lot of those Knicks fans that were fans in 1999 are Knicks fans today, and they're like, holy shit, them again. So you've got two very different teams: a young team that is way ahead of schedule, and a big market team that everybody knows that it's good for the NBA when they're good, that have a huge fan base, that are kind of experiencing this underdog mentality. Because everyone said going into this game that the Knicks had it easy. The Knicks were in the East and they had it easy. Their road was a lot easier than the Spurs road because the teams in the East suck. The teams in the East suck. The Atlanta Hawks, okay, the Philadelphia 76ers, and the Cleveland Cavaliers are not the competition that the Spurs have faced. So let's talk about how each team got here. First, we have got the Spurs. And round one, they handled Portland four to one. They were never really threatened, okay? This is exactly what a two-seed is supposed to do to a seven-seed. It's not too much drama, just business. They handle business against Portland. And then you've got round two, where they beat Minnesota. This was a little bit tougher, right? Some people in moments thought that the wolves had a chance. When Anthony Edwards got hurt, I was like, all right, forget about it. But they beat the Wolves, right? And they closed it in six. Then you move on to the Western Conference Finals, which was a whole different story. They drew Oklahoma City, the number one seed, the team that everyone had penciled in to go to the finals. Again, the Oklahoma City Thunder had just come off of sweeping the Lakers in the second round, and they came in looking virtually unbeatable. The roster was super deep, they were getting J Dub back, he was healthy. SGA was the two-time MVP. And that brings me to this Spurs series, and where I think OKC got set up in before game one on the court in Oklahoma City. Adam Silver did a thing. He presented the MVP trophy to Shea Gilders Alexander with Victor Wimbenyama watching. An award that Victor Wimbenyama wanted and wasn't quiet about wanting. And that's one of my favorite things about Wimby. I feel like we live in such a social media age right now where everyone is so rehearsed and so polished and media trained because they have to be, right? These players are scrutinized for every single thing that they do. But you go into these post-con post-game pressers and you have these post-game interviews and these pregame interviews, and it seems like the players are getting interviewed every every second. And you kind of hear the same thing from them all the time. It's just another game. Job's not finished. They're rehearsed lines that come from their PR representatives, but Wimby isn't that guy. He's not afraid to speak up on political issues. He's not afraid to say when he sees injustice, and he's not afraid to say that he wanted the MVP trophy and exactly why he thinks he deserved it. He gave us very eloquent reasons as to why he thought he deserved it. And number one was the fact that you have to play on both ends of the floor. Defense is just as important as offense. And I'm seven foot four and kind of a threat on defense. I'm three people. I, just by standing here, will stop you from shooting the ball. Okay? First defensive player of the year to win unanimously, not a single person voted for somebody else. Ever. Right? He also stated that a reason he feels like he deserved to win the MVP award is because they had OKC's number. They beat OKC in the regular season with their main team and their backups. I beat your main bitch and your side hoe, right? And so going into this series, you kind of were like, okay, we have seen this movie before. The Spurs know how to beat the defending champs. They have this thing that nobody else has, and that is OKC's number. So going into the series, I knew, as I wrote, you know, before the series started on my board, I knew that we were gonna be able to see the Spurs take down OKC, and that's exactly what we saw, but it didn't come easy. It came in seven games, which I mean, as the highly anticipated series of the playoffs up until the finals, everybody wanted to see OKC versus the Spurs. We wanted it to go to seven games. I don't think anybody's hungry would have hunger would have been satisfied by anything less than seven games. So I'm very glad we got there. But I do think it's important to note that one thing we saw in that series is when OKC was rolling and San Antonio was tired. Okay, that's when we saw a scary version of that San Antonio Spurs team. When they were tired. You could tell when they were tired. Game six at home, right? They were home, they were tired. Wimby was gassed. This series was exhausting them. And I wondered going into game one of this Knicks series, if all of that emotional and physical exhaustion, Wimby was literally crying when they won the series, which I'm gonna take a beat to talk about that for a moment. You look at this first team, very, very young, and I believe they're the second youngest team to ever go to the finals, and you wonder what it would feel like to experience the biggest dream of your life so young. At that age, you can't even pretend like it's not as big of a deal as it is because they have so much time to experience things like this. And one of the things I love about Gen Z and men of Gen Z, I don't give men a lot of compliments, but one thing I do like is being able to show your excitement. And I think a lot of these Gen Z NBA players get labeled things like zesty or sassy or soft. And really what they're doing is just being honest about what they're feeling and what they're experiencing. Seeing Wimby win the Western Conference Finals and Western Conference MVP, he should be happy about that. I'm sorry, he should, it's his first playoffs ever. He lost the MVP award to Shea Gilgest Alexander and he watched him get the award in front of him. He wants to win so bad, he left his home country to come here to play basketball to win. So, for I believe it was Kevin Garnett that was talking about Wimby and saying it's soft and he shouldn't be satisfied and he shouldn't be happy. If Wimby and the San Antonio Spurs lose in the finals, that is not a failure. They are way ahead of schedule. And getting to the Western Conference Finals and winning was a win and something that he should feel well within his right to celebrate. And I love that he said, I will not take on the burden of hiding my emotions. You can fucking have it. And that's why that generation of men is so fucking traumatized. Cause because then nobody let them be happy and smile and shit. Damn. Sorry. He's experiencing the biggest dream of his life and he shed a tear. Get over yourselves, old heads. Like he should be happy. And guess what? If he loses the finals, he might not be happy in the moment, but he still should be proud of what he accomplished this season. Let's be serious. But moving on to how the Knicks got here. Their road was very, very different. Okay. They lost two games to the Atlanta Hawks, and I made a video saying, listen, everybody's gonna get fired if they lose to the Hawks. Because ain't no fucking way. They they put it all on the table for this season. They fired their head coach that brought them to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, farther than they've been in years. They put it all on the table for one of Jalen Brunson's college homeboys. They they risked a lot for this team. They took on Carl Anthony Towns when Minnesota said, eh, I think we're better off without him. And shout out to Carl Anthony Towns because Minnesota looks stupid. I mean, whether the whether the Knicks win the finals or not, Minnesota looks stupid to me. Because right now we're saying, damn, uh obviously Anthony Edwards is Batman, but he really needs a Robin. And that was literally Carl Anthony Towns. And they drafted him there. And he wanted to be there. And they let him go to New York, right? Where he's now playing in the finals. And where's Anthony Edwards at home during the finals again? Anthony Edwards, come to Atlanta. Conversation for another day. Then, after losing two games to the Atlanta Hawks, they haven't lost since. They haven't lost since. And not only have they not lost, they've been embarrassing and steamrolling teams on their way to the finals. They literally have just been skipping through. They've been girl dinnering their way through the entire NBA playoffs. They get the 76ers, sweep them. Joelle and Bede came back. Everyone's like, Joel Embiid comes back. Maybe they can get a game. No, they couldn't. And then they swept the Cavs. And I found it interesting. After they swept the Cavs, the conversation became well, it's the Cavs, it's the 76ers, it's the East. The East is so easy. Everyone's asking, is this Knicks team one of the best ever? And I think nostalgia bias put everybody in a defense mode where everybody was kind of like, this Knicks team, mm-mm. We're hearing their name put in conversations with teams like the 2017 Golden State Warriors. Absolutely not. Because everything is better in your memory. You know, when you go on a trip, when you go on a trip and you leave the trip, you don't remember how tired you were at breakfast every morning and how hungover you were every single day while you were lying by the pool or how jet-lagged you were on day one. You remember, oh my god, do you remember the crazy dinner we had? Do you remember? And that's how NBA fans are. They they just remember the good parts and how incredible it was. And blocked by James and all of these big moments. That's that's how our memories literally work. And so it's hard right now while we're living through this Knicks team to give them their flowers. But I want to be one, and hopefully I'm on the right side of history when I do this, to give the Knicks their flowers for what they did leading up to this point. It was incredible because they don't control who they play. They can only control the outcome. They can only control if they win, and they can only control in what fashion they win. And they won pretty convincingly to me. So going into game one of this series, we're gonna have a little bit of tea time. Okay, welcome to tea time, where I spill the tea about happenings around the sports world. And today in Tea Time, we are going to be having a little debrief of NBA Finals game one. Game ones of the NBA Finals are always really exciting because you don't really know what to expect, right? And game one is kind of the tone setter to tell you what you're looking for. And when you watch the NBA Finals, Hoddies, you're watching each game and it's as its own entity because every single game is so different. And game one for me is always a tone setter game. I try not to overreact too much to game ones because you never know what's gonna happen in game twos. And good coaches are able to make adjustments, and game twos should look very different from game ones. But the storylines going into this game one was number one, rust or rest. The New York Knicks hadn't played basketball in over a week. They beat, I believe it was May 25th when they beat the Cavs in game four. They were chilling at home watching the Spurs and OKC beat up on each other. They could have literally took a trip to Cancun, got a massage, got a foot rub, got ice, got in the hyperbaric chamber. Got listen all the treatment they could have gotten injured, got healthy, and came back. They had so much time. But part of having all that rest is you haven't played, you haven't played in heavy competition, like playoff competition. Like you have this high high of playoff competition, and not even really because they were blowing through the calves. You have this high high of playoff competition, and then you just like are resting and chilling. And obviously, like they're practicing, but you don't want to go too crazy because you don't want to get hurt. It's like you can come into your next series rusty. And that's something we saw from SGA after they swept the Lakers. SGA was talking about how he struggles with a game one after having a ton of rest. Like he does. It's hard to get back into that competitive mindset. And so I was wondering one of the things I was looking out for in game one was game one could be a game where the Knicks are dusting off all the rust from all this rest they've been having. And honestly, had the Knicks been rusty, it would have been justified because first of all, the game was in San Antonio. So San Antonio had home court advantage. And the important thing about home court advantage in the NBA playoffs is when you have the games on your home floor first, right? When you're the higher seated team and you have the games on your floor first, the pressure is on you, babe. The pressure is on you, babe. I'm sorry, the pressure is on you, babe. Because you want to at least get one game at home, but you definitely want to get two. And you definitely don't want to start out on a in a hole at your home turf, right? Because right now in the situation we're in, the Knicks beat the Spurs, right? And the Spurs are down by one at home. They have one more home game before they got to go to Madison Square Garden. If they don't win on Friday, they are fidgety fucked. They are figgy fucked. They are figgy fucked. You do not want to travel to New York and be playing in the world's most famous arena down 0-2. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. Because then the Knicks, they only got to win one at home. And they good. They good. They got three on your ass. That's all you really need for the momentum. So you don't want to go to Massive Square Garden down 0-2. And the Spurs have home court advantage. So you really want to take care of game one. You got a Knicks team that could be rusty from being off all these days. Okay. You got an advantage of have, you know, still being hyped up in all this competition, right? You want to take care of game one. So the pressure is off the Knicks because had they lost last night, the storyline would have been, well, they were probably just dusting it off. You know, they've been resting all this time. So I'm looking forward to game one, thinking, are the Knicks going to be rested or are they going to be rusty? What Knicks team are we going to see? And I'm looking at this home court advantage situation like the Knicks are playing with house money. They're going in a yoke crib. You know what I'm saying? They could blame it on the fact, uh, you know, we weren't at home. And then if they lost, they can make adjustments and win the next one. You only got to steal one on the road, right? And the next storyline that I was looking to were the Spurs. Are they going to be tired, mentally and physically exhausted? You guys know what it's like when you go on a girl's trip and you have so much fun and it was so crazy, and there are so many highs and lows, and you were tired and you were hungover and you were drinking and you were dinner and you were in the sun and so much was going on, and then you go back to work and you're like, holy shit, I was on vacation, I was supposed to be rested, but uh like I'm I'm still on a high from this vacation. I don't want to be at fucking work, right? Like you're you're on a high, you want to go back to a weekend, right? This is like the Spurs coming off of a lit ass, beautiful ass girls' trip coming home to a birthday party, right? They just carrying on the energy from their girls' trip into this birthday party, right? But it could also be a situation where you get to this birthday party and instead of carrying that energy from the girls' trip, it's a lot more likely you're gonna be at the birthday party tired of shit and not wanting to be there. You could be at the birthday party like, fuck, I just got off this trip, I'm exhausted, like it is too much, right? It could go one of two ways. So I wanted to see if the Spurs, you know, they were on a high from experiencing all that emotional turmoil against the against OKC while the Knicks sat back and watched, or or if they were going to be like, I can't do this shit no more, especially with them being so young. So I was looking to see if the Spurs would be too tired going into the series, right? Um, and then the next thing I was looking at was the Knicks kind of proving that they really are that good, and it wasn't just because they're coming out of the weak ass East, right? Or is their playoff run as impressive as it looked? Or would they get to a West team and be like, we don't know what to do with this? This competition is too hard for us. We don't know what we ain't been playing all that, y'all. Like, was the West genuinely as harder as it looked, as it appeared? The Spurs had home court advantage. Another storyline I was looking at at going into game one was the bench players. See, hotties, a thing you need to know about having home court advantage in the playoffs is when your team has a game at home, your star player is supposed to play good no matter what. Okay, your star player is supposed to play good no matter what. But your bench players, your bench players are supposed to play better at home. I don't even know what to like compare this to in girl worlds. Like, I don't, like, I don't even know what to compare this to in girl world. Oh, I gotta, I got, I got, I've got it perfect. Okay, so you know when you know a couple, and it every couple I feel like has like the really charismatic, like, what's the word? Extroverted one. Like every couple has like the really charismatic, extroverted one. A really bad example that aged super poorly is Megan the Style and Clay Thompson. Like, you've got your Megan and your Clay, you got your more introverted person, and then you've got your really extroverted, like, life of the party person, right? Your life of the party person is going to be the life of the party no matter if they're with your friends, his friends, her friends. Like, if they go to the boyfriends event, the extroverted girlfriend is gonna be, you know, lighting up the room. Hey, hey everybody, how you doing? And the introverted boyfriend is is gonna be a little more lively, right? Because he's with his friend group. So so he can pipe up a little bit. Whereas the extroverted girlfriend, when she's with her friends, she's she's gonna be extra like shiny and light up the room, but but she's he's gonna be a little bit more shy, her man, because he's not with his friends, right? That's kind of how the NBA playoffs is. When you are at home, your star player is gonna be your star player regardless. I mean, I don't know what the fuck was going on last night, but your star player is gonna be a star and shine regardless. It's up to the bench players to play their best at home. They need the crowd, they need to get treated by their treatment professionals at their arena, they need their mama and their girlfriend and their homeboys in the stands. They need all that to play their best and to play like a star. The star gonna be a star regardless. Whereas the away team, their bench kind of is a little bit, uh, I don't know, the lights are too bright, I'm uncomfortable, this ain't my crib, I didn't sleep in my own bed, my girl not here, my mama not here, like I this is just too much, right? Your bench is supposed to carry you at home. So I'm looking at the benches and I'm thinking if the Knicks bench outbenches the Spurs bench in San Antonio, the Spurs got a problem. Because I another storyline I was looking to were the bigs, were the bigs from New York, right? Are they going to be able to answer Wimby? And I'm looking at Carl Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson, right? Are they going to be able to answer and defend Wimby and not just rely on Jalen Brunson to create and to make shit happen? Are you guys gonna make shit happen by shit? I mean, make sure Wimby, you know, we we dim his light a little bit. You know what I'm saying? So I'm looking at that. I'm also looking at the fact that it's Wimby's first playoffs, okay? And I know Wimby is the alien and he's incredible, and I wouldn't put it past him to be the guy who is incredible in his first playoffs ever. He doesn't have any sort of learning curve in the playoffs. I'm looking to see if Wimby is going to be, you know, like a Magic Johnson as a rookie winning the finals and being the finals MVP, or if he's gonna be like every other young player in their first playoffs and like kind of shit the bed a little bit and be a little bit nervous. Like it's at the at the end of the at the end of the day, it's it's early in his his playoff career. Another storyline I was looking at were the battle of the coaches. Okay, the battle of the coaches. You've got Mike Brown who has coached in the NBA finals seven times throughout his career. That's the Knicks head coach. Okay, he's coached in the finals seven times throughout his his career, twice as a head coach and five times as an assistant coach. So he's got finals experience, Mike Brown, and he's not gonna be afraid to make adjustments. And then you've got Mitch Johnson, the head coach that looks like a pit bull from the Spurs, the light-skinned dude. Oh my god, he is so light-skinned. Like every time we come up on the screen, and by that, by light-skinned, I'm light-skinned too, Mitch. I'm not coming for you, but by light-skinned, I don't just mean like his skin is a light color, I mean like he is light-skinned to his core. Like the way he the way he looks out into the crowd. Like, I I genuinely think I don't like that I don't act like that, but I don't know. Like, I I I I don't know. I'm still light-skinned, so maybe I got my my things, but you know that gene that like Drake has, and like Mitch Mitch Rob Mitch Mitch Johnson kind of has it too, where they're like moging and like you know, he he has that. What was that song from the light skin trend back in the day that was like what was the song from the light skin trend? How did it go when it was like a light skin when they trip and fall on the pavement and it started playing that music? That's what I see when Mitch Johnson comes onto the screen, and he's always acting nonchalant. To start off, immediately when I turn on the game, I'm like, this feels like the finals of the olden days. The finals has aura again. When I saw the Larry O'Brien trophy on the court, I was so so happy. You guys, something about having like the court different for the finals just adds that extra Je ne sais quoi and that extra aura, the Tori Kelly national anthem. Like, just the whole game before it even started, the players lined up, the coaches closing their eyes, taking the moment, the crowd and their fucking Fiesta t-shirts in San Antonio, loud as hell. Like the anticipation behind this series, I wouldn't be shocked if this series breaks viewership records. The entire air was like, this is the motherfucking NBA finals, and this is serious. This isn't just another game. And I was living for it. The NBA released a statement on putting Larry back on the court. They said, with no fanfare other than a social media post, the NBA announced Sunday that the image of the Larry O'Brien trophy, the one given to the winner of the finals, will be painted at midcourt for both for games at both the Frostbank Center in San Antonio and Madison Square Garden in New York for this season's title series. I love you, Adam Silver, for listening to the people. It's the first time since the 2009 finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Orlando Magic that the title series will feature the trophy logo at midcourt. The iconic photos of like Kobe walking over the finals trophy at the midcourt. Like it's so good. The finals word mark and logo last appeared on the court during the 2014 finals during the Spurs and the Miami Heat. Fans had turned to social media. This is from NBA.com. Like the NBA knows we were pissed. Fans had turned to social media in recent years to complain that the court lacked the finals flair. The league commissions alternate courts for events like the Emirates NBA Cup games, and some fans wondered about the lack of consistency. Special courts for the in-season tournament, but no special markings for the finals. Yeah, NBA, that pissed us the fuck off. We didn't like that. And so the NBA to listen to us and give the finals its energy back is exactly what the people wanted to see. Inside the NBA, being at the finals is also something that meant a lot to me. Having watched and Inside the NBA is my favorite studio show of all, having Charles Barkley and Shaq and Ernie being the ones covering the finals just feels right and gives it that extra aura. Just to think that last year we thought Inside the NBA was going to be over and we were saying goodbye to it and spent half of All-Star Weekend giving them a farewell ceremony. And the show was back on ESPN, and it's the same. They kept the same production, the same studio, like they didn't take away like the era or the aura of the show. And so to have them covering the finals just gave it that extra oomph for me. And the Knicks celebs took over in San Antonio. Yes, Knicks fans know how to travel, and that includes the famous people. Ben Stiller was present, Tracy Morgan, Timothy Chalamet, Fat Joe was there, Spike Lee was there. Having the Knicks celebs at the game, are we gonna lie and act like it doesn't give it that extra? Like they care. Knicks fans travel, and it was it was it was cool to me. The Knicks fans were going crazy, but let me not get too ahead of myself. So here's how the game went down. If you didn't watch and you were watching Love Island last night, which I'll watch Love Island tonight, don't give me any spoilers. But during the first quarter, the Spurs won out 27 to 19. San Antonio came out hot at home, and the crowd was into it. Wimby and the kids set the tone early, and the Knicks looked a step too slow. And New York was down by eight after the first quarter. If you only watched the first 12 minutes of the game, you'd bet on the Spurs. You'd look at that and you say, okay, the Knicks came in rusty, right? They're they're definitely going through something, right? Jalen Brunson can't buy a bucket. It's just, it looks a mess if you're looking at the first quarter of the game. The second quarter was basically even New York steadied it, but they couldn't make a dent in the lead. The Spurs took a 55 to 48 cushion into halftime, still up by seven. And it's looking like the team, and it they're looking like the team that's in control. This was the uh oh, New York, you know, New York is is looking a little bit ugly, right? You go you go into halftime and you're like, I don't know. I I don't know about this. The the score was basically even 28, 29 Knicks. Um, so you know, New York stepped it up, but they still they still weren't winning. And this is when you're kind of going into the half. I at one point we're thinking the Knicks are gonna go in the half with a win, and then it's back and forth, and it's back and forth, and it's back and forth. And Jalen Brunson is struggling to get a shot. Like he is struggling to make a shot. And San Antonio is doing a great job at making it difficult for him, and the refs are doing a great job at not calling shit for him. I mean, and look, not so much on the refs, but this is the kind of basketball we want to see. We want this series to be physical, but when I say I clinch my booty cheeks, when I thought Jalen Brunson was gonna be hurt, when I thought Jalen Brunson was gonna be hurt, was that Harrison Barnes that fell into his knee? Because you know when you're just standing there looking at the basket, you're you're vulnerable. And I had an anxiety attack. Because here's the thing if Jalen Brunson is hurt, I'm not watching this shit. I I'm not watching this shit without Jalen Brunson. Y'all can forget about it. Like, no, I was so pissed because I want this to be an even series. I don't my my heart and soul and my goal for this series. I literally said a prayer, and I think we can all say a prayer together. Lord, please don't let anyone get hurt during the series. That's all we want. We do not want to see any injuries during the series. He went back to the locker room, then I'm really fucking scared, but he came back and I was like, let's just hope Jalen was being a little dramatic trying to sell a call, okay? It wouldn't be the first time we've seen him be a little dramatic trying to sell a call, right? Carl Anthony Towns is being a leader. He told his team, we aren't getting shots right now, okay? We aren't making shots right now, but if we play defense, we can get back in it. And I would have never thought it was not on my NBA Finals bingo card for Carl Anthony Towns to rile me up, to make me want to run through a wall, to make me want to wake up early for my workout class. Carl Anthony Towns is moving different, his voice sounds different, all that, all that after all that, like it this ain't Carl and this ain't Carl, this cat, all right, big cat, the lion. He is moving different, and when he said, I'm getting ahead of myself, but when he said after the game that he felt the presence of his mother, I got chills. I got chills, I got chills, and anybody who has shit to say about that, like for him to lose his mom and all that he has been through, and the way NBA fans talk about him and make fun of him, and the way he was traded from the team that he was drafted to, shockingly, and had that sense of rejection in his career for him to come out in this game and be the leader, be the one to rile the team up. I was like, fuck yeah, cat. He put the clamps on Wimby. And I know what you're thinking. Wimby, I mean he, what do you have, 26 or something? I don't know. Fuck that. If you watch the game, he had Wimby struggling one-on-one. I hope Chad Holmgren was watching that shit at home. Like, fuck. Like, what? Oh my god, somebody in the chat called Kat Big Prrr. Ah! Big Perr! Oh my god, that is Kat's nickname for the rest of the finals for me. Big purr!

unknown 39:39

Ah!

SPEAKER_01 39:41

I love it! So we have halftime, right? And the Knicks were looking better, but still didn't get the lead. Then you go into the third quarters. Okay, the Knicks won the third quarter 28 to 21. This was the turn in the game. New York's defense clamped down. San Antonio's offense went cold and only managed 21, and the Knicks erased the whole lead. The score nodded at 76 going into the fourth. We were tied. Wimby was pressing by now. The rookie energy that started the first half started looking like nerves. I mean, like this is when we were seeing the Knicks take control and their pace of the game, right? Like this looked like the way the Knicks wanted to play. And the way that Jalen Brunson was getting to the basket with his little self, wow. Uh wow. And then you go, so we go into the fourth quarter tide. I'm nervous, shaking in my boots. We go into the fourth quarter. The Knicks win the fourth quarter 29 to 19. This was the takeover. New York outscored San Antonio by 10 in the final frame and pulled away to win 105 to 95. Jalen Brunson kept hunting buckets even on an ugly shooting night. He kept shooting and his team kept trusting him with the ball. The fuck? Shout out Landry Shamut. Huh? Shout out Landry Shamut. He looked like somebody tried to draw Klay Thompson from memory. And played like somebody tried to draw credit. I mean, you know what I'm saying? Like hitting shots and he shout out Landry Shamut, man. The next bench, I told you this at the beginning of the show. It's up to the benches. When you're at home, you gotta take care of shit. If we're in a couple and I'm the extroverted one and you're the introvert, I expect when we get around your friends, you to start acting extroverted. You to be the one carrying conversation, you to be the one talking. I'm extroverted already. You know, I'm gonna bring what I bring, I'm gonna be a star regardless. But these are your friends. I want you to show out. Well, the San Antonio bench let the Knicks come into their hood and outscore them and outdo them. Listen, the the Knicks. Can we give a shout out to Josh Hart? Can we just give a shout out to Josh Hart? If you just watch, if you just look at stats at the end of the game, you might look at Josh Hart's stats, and and you're not impressed, right? He had three points, three measly points, 15 rebounds, and I believe like 12 or 13 of those were defensive rebounds. Four steals, he was plus 20, 20, he was plus 22. He gave the Knicks, and on a night where they weren't shooting well, right? Every possession counts, every opportunity counts, and Josh Hart was the guy getting them those opportunities. Josh Hart was fing incredible last night. Like he glue guy, glue guy down. He was he was my X Factor of the night. Last night in my debrief on TikTok, I said he was my MVP, and he is not. Okay, I was being a little bit dramatic, but I my MVP of game one is gonna have to be Carl Anthony Towns. I mean, putting the clamps on Wimby, shout out to you. If he can keep that up, he only had one foul going in a halftime. If he can keep that up and stay out of foul trouble, and it's not like Wimby wasn't shooting free throws because the Knicks weren't getting calls. I felt like the Knicks weren't getting calls like that, at least in the first half. They weren't getting calls like that. It's not like Wimby wasn't shooting free throws. Kat just played great defense on him. He did, he just played great defense on him. And Kat, the way he was moving, I was like, yeah, they're not losing. Yeah, the way he was losing, yeah, they're not losing. Can they keep this up? Is the question. Can they do if they if they beat them next game, I'm gonna be like, holy fucking shit. Holy fucking shit! Could we be, could we be, could we be watching a possible sweep? That like that's how I'm gonna feel next game. Because if history repeats itself with the Knicks, game one was it, then game two, bang! So Kat was my MVP at game one, he was incredible. Don't hurt him, Big Perr. Don't hurt him, Big Perr. Hold on. That ain't Kitty Cat. That's Big Perr. What? Shout out to you, Kat. He was my MVP, and the clutch player of the game was obviously Jalen Brunson. On a night where you're having a shitty shooting night, you know what I'm saying? On a night where your makeup looks bad, your hair sucks, your outfit it looked cuter in your head, and you put it on and it's like fuck, you didn't have time to change, so you just leave, right? On a night like that, everything's going wrong. You still manage to go out there and dance and have a good time. You still manage to go out there and be the main bitch in the fucking function. That's Jalen Brunson right there. No matter it's like when it's harder, like the more impossible and the more difficult it is, the better he is. It's like he he thrives on being doubted. He thrives on the movement being too large. I just I love that about him. Going up against a seven foot three man, seven foot four, seven foot six, I don't fucking care. A tall ass Wimby alien. And he getting in the lane. Like, what are they gonna do with that? Like, when Minyama had a rough playoff debut, he had 26 and 12, but on six of 21 with six turnovers, he dribbled the ball off his foot at one point. I was like, But this is this is to be expected. Like I said, you're young, you gotta experience some heartbreak in the playoffs. Honestly, Wimby having a stinker kind of scares me more for the Knicks. Because, like, is he gonna just like allow that? Right? Is that just like how it's gonna be? I don't I don't know that that's just like how it's gonna be. You know what I mean? Like, Wimby's gonna have to step it up at some point. I'm gonna keep an eye out and we'll see. But it was rough for Wimby. Uh he and then you've got Josh Hart, who was incredible, and the Knicks haven't lost a game in 42 days. Can we talk about that? The Knicks the Knicks haven't lost a basketball game in 42 days. But Wimby's not gonna go out like that. So I I'm interested to see next game. So what I'm looking at going into next game is how the Spurs adjust. I'm gonna see how the Spurs adjust and if Wimby can manage to get cat and foul trouble. That's the main thing I'm gonna be watching. The Spurs at game two is a must-win for them. Game two is a must-win for them. They gotta get in the series and they gotta do it now. Do not go back to Madison Square Garden down 0-2. Can't do it. Not against this team. So that's what I'm looking forward to. Game game two is on Friday. I cannot wait to see how it goes down. Now I'm gonna see if any of y'all left me voicemails. Yes! Is that that time? It's time. It's time for office hours, bitch. I am answering your calls live and in action. Uh first I'm going to look at my voicemails and see who fucking listened to me and sent me texts and left me voicemails, if any of you. Oh my god, I have hella missed calls from y'all. Okay, I have a voicemail. Why am I always like I'm always scared?

SPEAKER_00 47:09

Oh my god, I hope, I hope I've reached who's varieties right now. I have to say, I'm in Germany and I'm spending a lot of money to make this phone call. But it is well worth it. That's asked for us.

SPEAKER_01 47:23

Somebody interrupted my girl, like years and years of. Hold on, y'all. I gotta. Can y'all tell I be working out the kinks in this in this dam?

SPEAKER_00 47:34

I'm doing New York, New York on karaoke tonight. Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 47:42

Big Germany! Big Germany, she spent money to call me, you guys. Thank you so much for calling. Um, she said she loves Josh Hart. I've listened I am not a single girly, and I saw a picture of Josh Hart's wife yesterday. Bad, bad bitch, glowing skin, outfits tea, like everything tea. And I love the fact that when I went to his Instagram, bam, picture of his wife that he is not in. He said, Happy Mother's Day to my woman, period. Love that. We love to see that. Yes, and a black queen at that. But I've been learning recently in my group chats and on TikTok and everything. Y'all love Josh Hart. Y'all love Josh Hart! Like the girls think Josh Hart is fine. I didn't, I didn't I wasn't expecting that.

SPEAKER_00 48:28

Hi, I just I saw your number and how you were gonna go on live. And you haven't got really pretty hair. Gorgeous. And I hope you have an awesome day. Bye. Bye!

SPEAKER_01 48:47

Oh my god, everyone is just like coming into my into my voicemail and being nice to me and like telling me I'm pretty and shit. I love this. Okay, last, I'm gonna answer one more. And it is a text um from Patricia from Portland, and it says, Girl, do you think that fan running out mid-game changed the Spurs energy? From Patricia from Portland. Oh my god, I forgot that happened. Oh my god, I forgot that happened. Thank you, Patricia. Y'all, a fan ran onto the court in the middle of the game. What the fuck was that? If you are a basketball fan and you run out onto the court in the middle of the game, you are embarrassing. First of all, you can go to jail. Second of all, you're at the NBA Finals. You buy an expensive ass ticket to go to the NBA Finals just to fucking endanger the players and stop the game and make things inconvenient. And I just think that that's embarrassing. Attention is one hell of a fucking drug. And all that for some likes on TikTok. And mind you, I can see the comments now. This isn't the flex you think it is. This isn't the flex you think it is. Like, that shit is not cute. It's not cool. Don't do that. It's not fair to the players, it's not fair to us, the people watching the game. Cut that shit the fuck out. Do you not get enough attention at home? Get your shit together. I hate when fans run out onto the court during the game. Disgusting. Weird. Nobody, like they don't fucking know you. They don't want you in their personal space. If you have enough money to be close enough to the court that you can run out onto the court into the game, sit there and watch the fucking game and enjoy it. Like there are basketball fans that would wish to be in your position and to have that seat. So yeah, I don't like that shit. I don't think it's cute. And I don't think that it messed with the Spurs' energy, baby, because because the fan ran out into the court and it it fucked up, it fucked with everybody's energy. Okay. If the Spurs are using that as an excuse, that's crazy. I think the lights were just too bright for them and they weren't expecting the way the NBA finals were gonna feel, especially on a year like this where like it feels like the whole aura is back. Yeah. Thank you guys for coming in at office hours. This is my phone number on the screen. If you want to call me and you want me to, you know, talk to you next time. I am going to do my next segment, which is film study. Today for film study, since it's our NBA Finals Extravaganza, we are going to be reviewing some pregame fits. Woo! Guys, I haven't reviewed pregame fits in so long. So we're gonna be reviewing some of the pregame fits for the NBA finals because obviously, if you're not an NBA fan, the guys really care about their fits. Okay, they do. They care about what they wear, they want to look fly, they want everyone to post them, they want League Fits to post them, like they want to be the flies of the game. And this is the NBA Finals, it's the biggest stage. So I figured the boys were gonna wear some fits. I haven't even really looked at these, so I don't really know what the boys had on last night. So we're going to be having our first impressions together. We're gonna start with the Knicks. Shout out to NBA Fashion Fits for posting these because that is where I am getting them from. So, not hood at the bottom. I'm triggered, triggered, triggered. I can't stand her. All right. First of all, we got Jalen Brunson with the corded headphones. Listen, did everybody just randomly decide corded headphones are back and like purchase corded headphones? Because like that's kind of performative to me. Or is it just, I mean, it's kind of cool. I mean, you'll probably see me in corded headphones next week because I'm so like, I love a trend. But we got Jalen Brunson in the corded headphones, the performative male of corded headphones. I'm sorry, the boys are gonna get that. They're gonna be like, how was wearing corded headphones performative? But the girls get it. Um, and a little all black fit. You know, this is what guys wear when they're like, I'm gonna be nonchalant and it's the it's the finals, but it's just another game. But the lines are clean, his shoes are white and clean, and his sunglasses are cute, and you know, he got a little fresh cut, and his you I saw the fresh braids, Jalen. I see you. The beard could use a trim. I'm not his woman, and that's not my business, but it it could. No shade. All right, next. Um, all right, Louis Vuitton bag. He said nope, no performative cord performative corded headphones. I've got my AirPod, Max's bitch. Um I like this, very casual. It looks like a he looks like a college football player, right? Well, good for him. Next, Josh Hart, you know, some casual, his little Louis Vuitton purse, white tee, white forces. He dressed like me for real. That tight ass bass pro shop baby tea. And quartered headphones, of course. Uh, that's so funny. Like, what are you listening to? Uh not the not the bass pro shops baby tea. That is sending me to the moon. Okay. Well, alright. Why he got them little ass booty shorts on? That is sending me to the moon. I guess it's hot. Let me not too much on Mitch. Listen, y'all play good. Let me just I'm moving on. Okay. No! Every time I see him, I think he looks like he is six years old. Like, Carter, Bryant, that's that's who this is. He looks like he's six years old every time I see him. Like, why does he look like he's in middle school? You know? How did y'all not get euphoria spoilers by now? Like, come on. It can't like y'all gotta get it together. The chat is like, Yo, you're spoiling euphoria. What? Like, y'all anyways, child. Okay, I mean, this is cool. It's a t-shirt, it's jeans. Listen, you see how the NBA players aren't wearing them bedazzled ass, sparkly ass clothes, like these regular men be wearing? Like, please. I know he walked down the hall. You know how windbreakers are? Chrome hot hot. Yeah, he ate that. I mean, best dress of the night. Best dress of the night. You see, this this is how you know the Spurs young, because they actually tried with their fits. All the Knicks, all the this is the difference in the game, right here. All the Knicks got on white T's. Anyways, it's another game, you know, jobs not finished type shit. And and all the Spurs dressed to the gods. They they had their fits laid out. You know that that meme where the fits are laid out the night before? Yeah, um, that's hilarious. Booted and booted, Harrison Barnes looking like looking like the vet on the team. I do think this is a little I I don't like that the the like trench coat suit looks this is a little bit weird. I it could be cool, but it's just not for some reason. The way it's bunched, it bunched up at the waist. I I don't I don't know. I don't I don't really like that. This is nice. Yeah, if you know me, you know I love pinstripes. The magic got my favorite jerseys in the league. I love pinstripes. Good for him. And you know what? I like when they wear suits. He needs to button his jacket. He needs to button his jacket. I like when they wear suits. It shows that they they care and they're they're there for business, you know? I I was about to call him Jaime Hawkins Jr., but I'm just being irritating. He got a suit on too. He I don't this photographer need to get this photographer need to get in trouble because they're washing my boy out. What what is this? What is this now? You need to go get an Alex Earl light from my boy. He's washing him out. He's blending in with the damn lights at the top. The fuck? I don't know. But it's so funny when they got their little purse on. Like, please. Next, what this looked like the white boy off of Love Island who uh who messed with the garbage trucks, the unemployed boy from what from Love Island. Let me not, not too much on him. But he got his suit on with his backward hat. All right now. Don't hurt him. Don't hurt him. Alright. Well, guys, that was all I had for today. We have come to the final bell. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Hoops for Hoddies Live. I'm sorry I had technical difficulties today. I promise next week they're all gonna get ironed out. If you are watching me on TikTok or Twitch or YouTube live and you missed the beginning of the live, don't worry. It's going to be up on my YouTube channel, Hoops for Hoddies, at 7 p.m. Eastern. And stay tuned to my TikTok at Hoops for Hoddies and Instagram at Hoops for Hoddies to know when those episodes go live. Make sure you're following me on at Hoops for Hoddies on all social media platforms, TikTok, Instagram, you fucking name it, to keep up to date on when I'm going to be live next. Please enjoy the NBA finals, okay? And if you're listening to me on audio, leave me a review. I would prefer it to be five stars. And if it's not, let me know why it's not. Okay. I read all of them, I read your YouTube comments, subscribe to my YouTube so I can keep the lights on in this bitch, okay? Help a girl out. All right. I love you guys so much. Mean it. Thank you so much for watching. Bye.