SPEAKER_01 0:01

Good morning, good morning, good morning. It is Sunday, April 26, 8 a.m. Up and early, up and at it this morning. Excited to talk MBA on Max Vert podcast here. So today's slate, we're gonna you know, we're just gonna talk about the NBA. I know that there was the NFL draft Thursday through Saturday, but it's all hands-on NBA right now in my life. So NBA, all today. We're gonna talk about the series standings, uh, talk about Anthony Edwards a little bit, the Orlando Magic, Knicks, Minnesota, and the LA Lakers. And then we'll probably take some picks for today's Sunday matchups. We got four matchups today. Uh big NBA Day, big NBA Sunday should be fun. We got games at 1, 3.30, 7, and 9.30. So as far as life updates, not a lot has changed since the last pod uh in my life. Pretty much the same. Been working the two jobs, doing the golf course. Also, obviously, my career job. Uh everything's going well in both of those jobs, so that's all good. Haven't really got a chance to take full advantage of the free golf at Ohio State golf course as um, you know, as an employee. So, you know, just with the wedding com coming up, uh, these weekends are kind of filled, you know, with Steph and I getting uh things taken care of for the wedding. So I've only been only played one full round uh since I started working um since I picked up the seasonal job. So I've only done one full round, and then I did um I did uh nine holes one other time. So I'd like to get out there today if if Steph and I can get a lot of stuff done. Uh obviously I I'm getting up and at it early this morning, so if we can get a lot of stuff done today, and uh maybe I can get out there, you know, maybe four or five and get get some holes in. So we'll see. We'll see about that. So we are less than three weeks away from from the wedding. So exciting times in my life. Uh can't wait for that. Should be a great, exciting day. Um yeah, can't wait, can't wait. I want all the feels, I want all the emotions. Yeah, we've been together eight years uh coming this June, so uh be a big special day. And uh can't wait, can't wait, just thinking about it. So let's jump straight into the NBA. So yesterday there were Saturday, April 25th, there were four games.

SPEAKER_00 3:13

And a lot of news, honestly, from from yesterday in those games.

SPEAKER_01 3:20

Well, first off, Shay. Shea has Shay and the Thunder beat the Suns 121 to 109. They now have a 3-0 series lead. I predicted, I believe, a sweep in this series by the Thunder, and looks like they are on their way to doing that. Shea had 42 points, though. 15 for 18. That is elite. And his only missed shots. Uh well, he he missed one shot from the field that was not a three. Because he went one for three from the three-point range, and then 15 for 18 overall. Uh eight assists, four rebounds. Uh so Shea had a career game yesterday uh on on the way to beating the Phoenix Suns. No surprises there. What about um the other three games? So we'll start with my boys. The Orlando Magic beat the Detroit Pistons. So that is the eight-seed, beat the one seed for the second time so far this series. Orlando now has a 2-1 lead. And um that was a nerve-wracking game towards the end. Through the first three quarters, it was yeah, it wasn't it was nerve-wracking in a sense of, okay, we're up seven, okay, we're up six, okay, we're up nine, we're up ten. Can we can we take this to the next level? Can we get this up to, you know, 15, 20 points and kind of seal the deal? Um, but it was there was never like, you know, felt like, oh man, we're down 10 points, we're in trouble. So that was good. And then Orlando got it up to I think a 17-point lead in the fourth. And that was where I wanted to be. I'm like, okay. You know, eight minutes left, seven, six, eight, nine minutes left, seventeen-point lead. I'm like, okay, this is this is pretty much it. Pretty much the nail in the coffin. And then the nerves started to come because Detroit made a little push, and they were getting all these and one cause, and sure enough, they tied the game up in the fourth quarter. So then the thoughts come in your head, like, man, we really we're gonna we're gonna crumble, we're gonna lose this game. And I'm just gonna be thinking about all the what-ifs. Well, you know, what if we just you know, why, why, why couldn't we just finish this game off? Why could we not finish this game off? We were up 17 points with nine minutes left to go. And um all those negative thoughts didn't matter because Orlando came through in the clutch and won the game. And Paolo hit a huge three. I think Orlando was up 109 to 105. Uh they're up 110 to 105, Cade Cunningham. Detroit has the ball, Cade hit Cunningham, comes down the court, turns the ball over, Palo gets the ball, takes it up court, dishes off to Franz Wagner for a second. Franz sends it back to Palo, top of the key, Palo shoots a three, hits the back of the iron straight up 10-15 feet. Uh at this point, when it was like 10-15 feet up in the air, I was like, okay, there's one of two things that's going to happen right now. This is either gonna drop straight down into the bucket or like go over the backboard. And seeing it just hang up there, I was like, it's not on pace to go over the backboard. So this is going in. Sure enough, it drops straight down in, and uh that kind of sealed the deal for Orlando. So, like I said, Orlando has more talent. Um, you know, just uh a couple weeks ago, it was shaky. It was, you know, if things don't work out, are we gonna fire a coach? You know, I was kind of leaning 60, 40, you know, 60 percent maybe we should fire him, 40% we shouldn't. So I I I I wasn't convinced that we should fire him, but I thought, you know, that was probably gonna happen. And he you who knows, he still might get fired. Um and then there was like you know, thoughts that came into my head about the Giannis rumors with their Orlando Magic. And okay, well, if this really isn't working out, would we consider a swap? A pretty much straight up swap, Giannis for Palo. And I said that's something you gotta consider.

SPEAKER_00 8:17

But if I mean because it is Giannis, right? But if Palo and the Magic turn things around, I can take that comment.

SPEAKER_01 8:30

And so if they go on to win this series, um I think they're they're on the right track. They're on the right track to keep the core nucleus of players uh on the team. I'm not convinced about Jamal Mosley as the coach, though. I don't I don't know that he will be back. But if they win this series, I think that uh the players will will remain the same. Now, if they if they if they lose this series, I don't know. Things could shake it, shake up and some player movement might happen.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

But I think Jamal Mosley's gonna need to win probably this series and the next series if he wants to stay.

SPEAKER_01 9:19

So what a what a what a what a great game. What a great game. They're up 2-1. Again, like I said, they have more talent, I think, than the Pistons. And I I you know I wouldn't be surprised if they won the series. I liked the draw of playing the Pistons as an eighth seed more than I liked the draw of playing the Celtics as a seven seed. You know, some people say uh Loreno, they threw um you know, they threw that game against the Sixers, the play-in game, because they wanted to play the Pistons instead of the Celtics. I just don't think that's how teams operate in the NBA, but it it makes a lot of sense if they did do that. And I don't know. We got game four, I believe, on Monday, and if the Magic win this game, it's a wrap for Detroit. So Detroit has to win this next game. Uh and I kind of feel like Orlando has to win this next game, too, to really put the pressure on, to really feel like they put the nail in the coffin. So I'm excited as a fan, this is this is great times. Um and I love the fact that the team is healthy and playing.

SPEAKER_00 10:35

You know, I give this team front office, the GM.

SPEAKER_01 10:41

I give them so much negative press because of the way when a player gets hurt, they sit their players out for an extensive amount of time, more than they probably should. I mean, Franz Wagner sat out for like 50 games for a high ankle sprain. You know, that was probably 15, 20 games too much. But they do this because they always think about the future. Um, there's two sides of that coin because they almost missed a playoff doing that. But now, you know, resting their players and making sure they're healthy, now they're an eight-seed and they have a chance to beat the one seed and they're all healthy in the playoffs, which they haven't had in a long time. So we'll see. I'm very excited as a fan right now. I expect to win this series now. They're up 2-1. We got one more game at home before we go back to Detroit. So I expect to win this series. And then there's a good chance that they play the Cavs. If the Cavs win their series, Magic won their series, it could be Orlando and Cleveland. And I will, you best believe, I will be going to a game in Cleveland. Let them know we're coming. We are coming. And hey, hey, if the Cavs win, all credit to them. Shake their hand, good series. But I love Cleveland versus Orlando basketball. It's chippy, it's back and forth. They're usually good games. It's kind of a little bit of a rivalry, and I'm ready for it. So let's go. Come on, Magic. Let's get to let's get to Cleveland. I think Cleveland's going to win the series. But yeah, that's the magic. We'll move on because I know there's other series in the NBA. It's not just about the Orlando Magic. So the Knicks played last night against the Hawks. And Atlanta's, you know, they're surprising a lot of teams, a lot of people right now, myself included. New York is tied after beating the Hawks yesterday. The Knicks are tied with the Hawks 2-2 series. So after game four, it's all square. And if the Hawks were to go on and win this series, man, New York media would be going crazy. I mean, they would be very upset. Credit to the Knicks for winning a big game yesterday. If they went down three games to one, you that's just a place you don't want to be. I'm not going to say that that's a guarantee you're going to lose the series, but that's a place you do not want to be. So it looks like they had solid scoring across the board out of their starters. Brunson 19. Josh Hart 10. Carl Anthony Towns 20.

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And OG Ananobi 22. Solid game for the Knicks. Big win away in Atlanta.

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Okay, here's my shocker series. I would say most people are probably surprised with how this series has gone. The Denver Nuggets lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves yesterday, 1-12-96. Minnesota now leads the series 3-1, and Anthony Edwards got hurt in that quarter, I believe, or in that game, I believe.

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Second or third quarter.

SPEAKER_01 14:23

So the Timberwolves played much of that game without Anthony Edwards. I don't know if you've seen the play or not, but he hyper Anthony Edwards hyperextended his left knee. Looks like he jumped up and then he was coming down at an angle, and then his knee, left knee just kind of hyperextended backwards. I get uh I get traumatizing memories when I see plays like that because I have torn my knee up. I tore my ACL, MCL, meniscus playing basketball. It was a little bit of a different situation. But seeing the way that he was grabbing his knee, holding it and rolling around, yeah, that brings back memory. I I remember feeling that way. So I wouldn't be surprised. I I pray that it's not, but I wouldn't be surprised if he tore his ACL. Uh some of the angles I saw, there's hope, you know, maybe he just, you know, has like a bone bruise or something. So prayers up to Anthony Edwards because, you know, don't want to see him tear his ACL or or any any type of injury for that matter. So one of the NBA's top players, one of the faces of the NBA. So I hope he he figures it out. But what's going on with with Denver? Because, you know, I I would expect at minimum this series to be tied 2-2 or Denver winning uh this series. So the fact that they are down 3-1. Um, I don't know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_00 16:04

I uh I think they're done as far as this series goes. Because I mean, 3-1's tough.

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Coming back from 3-1's tough, but I mean, look what Ayo. I can't remember, I can't remember how to say his last name. Ayo Dosun Dosun Dosumo or something like that. 42, 43 points, I'm sorry. 5 for 5 from 3, 12 for 12 from free throw, 13 for 17 from the field. Um stepped up big time for the Timberwolves. He had a career game, and what better time to have that career game in the playoffs? And if you're a Bulls fan, wow, you traded this guy away for crumbs, and he just went off for 43 points in the playoffs. So you gave away a player, you didn't make the playoffs, you gave away a player that just put up 43 points in the playoffs, and it's not like you got a first-round pick or anything. No, I think they did get Rob Dillingham, but so far I know Rob Dillingham was a high first-round pick. He hasn't really played much in the NBA, so is he kind of cooked? If so, a trade by the Bulls. When Denver won the the finals a couple years ago, I always thought it was just like a one it would be a one. They would only win once, you know.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

I don't see Nicola Jokic winning another ring in Denver.

SPEAKER_01 17:43

Or maybe he goes somewhere else, but it just didn't seem like that dominant of a team that would just be back year after year after year after year. And, you know, they got Jamal Murray still, they got Aaron Gordon still, uh, they got Jokic still. Um but they just they don't scare, I don't think they scare very many teams. Um Jokits had 24 points yesterday, Murray had 30, so their stars put up points, but the supporting cast didn't do very much. Aaron Gordon, nine points, Cam Johnson, nine points, Christian Braun, eight points, uh Tim Hardaway Jr. 10 points. Um yeah, I think Denver, I think Denver's kind of one and done as far as winning championships with Jokic, and that's fine. One is plenty. I would love to have one ring as an Magic fan, so no knock on them. And that was all the games. So we covered the Magic, we covered the Thunder, the Knicks, the Timberwolves. Okay, so let's move on to Sunday. Today's matchups. I don't know if it was because of the NFL draft, but I completely missed on Thursday that the Cavs lost to the Raptors. I thought for sure they were up 3-1 or 3-0, I'm sorry, but the Cavs are up 2-1. And they play in Toronto today at 1 p.m. Cavs are favored by 3.5, so that could be a very good game if you believe in the spread. Spurs play at the Trailblazers. Spurs are favored by 5.5. I'm not sure if Wemby is coming back from his concussion yet. And then 7 o'clock, Celtics at Sixers. Celtics are up two games to one. And then probably the biggest shocker, in my opinion, of the playoff series so far, the Lakers, 9 30 p.m. are taking on the Houston Rockets, and they are the Lakers are winning that series three games to zero. So the biggest, the first thing that's the biggest shocker for me, and that is just that the fact that the Lakers are up three to zero when they are missing two key players on their team, two starters on their team.

SPEAKER_00 20:21

Secondly, the what shocks me is Kevin Durant. KD's missed two games.

SPEAKER_01 20:30

I mean, you play all these regular season games for this moment, for the playoffs, and sitting out two games. I mean, listen, I feel like you gotta be. You gotta be out there. You gotta be out there. I I don't know how serious it is. I think it's an ankle injury. Let me see here. Kevin Durant. Yeah, left ankle sprain. I don't know, man. I I just feel like I feel like you gotta be out there. You gotta be out there in these moments. Unless unless it's you just gotta find a way, man. For an ankle injury, you gotta find a way. So I don't know what's going on, but that's surprising to me that Kevin Kevin Durant is he's missed two games. Because that makes a big difference. Would it be a three to three games to zero series lead for the Lakers if KD played in two of those games? I don't think so. I'd like to think that the Rockets would have at least one win. So now they're cooked. They are they're completely cooked, they're down 3 0. Lakers are gonna find a way to win uh one more game. So hats off to the Lakers, LeBron um for stepping up and not folding. You know, they could have easily folded when they lost Reeves and then they lost uh Luca, but they didn't. Stepped up to the plate, and maybe maybe the Rockets got too cute. Maybe they thought, okay, we can arrest KD for two games because we're going to win this series, and then he'll be more healthy for the next round. Well, sometimes you get too cute and you lose. So I don't know what's going on with KD, man, because he's just bouncing around on all these teams, and the success is not happening in the playoffs. You know, all these people say that, you know, Curry, you know, he needed Durant to come over to win those rings, but um from what I'm seeing with my eyes, Curry's had success without Durant in the playoffs. I mean, if we're going to be honest, Durant has had he's had success without Curry in the playoffs, but that was way back when it was the Oklahoma City Thunder. And him and Westbrook and Harden were on the same team. So in the years, in the most recent years, KD on these other teams, not a lot of playoff success. So I love KD, but hopefully he just maybe finishes his career here and the Rockets to stop jumping around because he might be the problem. He might be the problem because his teams aren't winning the playoffs. I don't know how else to to cut it, to cut it. His teams are not succeeding in the playoffs.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

And if he keeps jumping around, he can't say it's the team's fault. So that's my thoughts on that. So Lakers.

SPEAKER_01 23:44

I expect the Lakers to win tonight. I expect the Lakers to win tonight. It's in Houston. They're gonna go ahead and get that sweep. Let's go to the Celtics. Celtics has Sixers. I think Sixers got their one game. I think Celtics win tonight. 7 p.m. tip-off. Spurs, Trailblazers.

SPEAKER_00 24:04

Let me see what's going on with Victor. I think he remains in the cush concussion protocol. I honestly don't think it matters.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

I think the Spurs are gonna win. Um I thought the Trailblazers would get one one win, and they already got it. I think the Spurs can win without Victor. So I'm going Spurs and then Cavs, Raptors. Ah, this is tough. I want to say Cleveland is gonna win this game. You just don't know what James Harden you're gonna get. Uh let's go back to this Thursday game. Look at this box score. I didn't watch any of this game, so I'm just gonna box score.

SPEAKER_00 24:57

Yeah. James Harden, five for 13, 3 for 10 from the three. And then Donovan Mitchell, 7 for 16, 1 for 7 from the 3. I mean, not not the worst game by James Harden, uh, but also not the best.

SPEAKER_01 25:18

8 turnovers. Yeah, 8 turnovers, 4 assists. Yeah, that's that's what I'm talking about. So it's not a great game by James Harden. That is what I'm talking about. He has these games in the playoffs where he folds, and that's a fold. I'm sorry. Five for 13, 3 for 10 from the three, eight turnovers to four assists. That's too many turnovers, Harden. Way too many turnovers uh to only have four assists.

SPEAKER_00 25:45

So I don't know. I I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't show up again today.

SPEAKER_01 25:54

But as far as my prediction goes, I'm gonna take the the the Raptors to win because I have this going to seven. And I don't see it going a seven if the Cavs win today and it's 3-1. So my prediction is James Harden's gonna have another stinker. Donovan Mitchell will probably have a decent game. Uh, but playoff James Harden's gonna show up, and the Raptors are gonna go ahead and win this game. 2-2-tied series. Uh, that's what I think. So that is it for the pod today. Uh, maybe we'll do a pod mid-next week since these playoff series are, you know, you know, going on. I don't know. Maybe it'd be mid next week. I'm pretty busy right now. Maybe it'll be um later towards the end of the week, but we will have another NBA pod. So thanks for tuning in. Thanks for listening. Uh make sure you follow, subscribe on on whatever platform you're you're you're listening on. And then also, shameless plug, check me out on Instagram and YouTube. Um sports and sneakers tie in together. I have my sneakers Instagram page, easy underscore e underscore eighty. And then I have a YouTube page, the exact same spelling, easy underscore e underscore eighty. Go check me out on there. I appreciate it. Much love. Stay blessed, have a great weekend, or great Sunday, I should say. Deuces.