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Game 3: Thunder vs Spurs Live Reaction | The Warm Up

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The Western Conference Finals continue as the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs clash in Game 3. Join Jah and Ashton live on The Warm Up as we break down all the action, biggest moments, standout performances, and key adjustments from both teams.

We'll discuss Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Victor Wembanyama, Jalen Williams, De'Aaron Fox, and everything that shaped this pivotal matchup. Tune in live and join the conversation as we react to another exciting playoff battle.

#NBA #Thunder #Spurs #WesternConferenceFinals #TheWarmUp

We are live back at the warm-up. We are going live after game three of the Western Conference Finals between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the San Antonio Spurs. Joining me today is Aston. Aston, how are you doing? What's going on? Okay, see you playing them boys out out there. Salute. Yeah, man. Hey, hey, the series got a little bit tight. I think it was our first game of the series where we got to we got a lot of information, a lot of adjustments need to be made. But you know, before we get into it, leave a comment below on what you want to see the Spurs do in game four. Subscribe, turn on that bell, and yeah, let's get into it. So action, um Thunder win tonight in a pretty convincing fashion. Um the th well I didn't watch the first half, but uh the Thunder, it sounded like the Spurs were up 15. Didn't look like it was close. Uh the Spurs came out a bunch of fours, forcing turnovers, their defense was at a high level. Um, the Thunder weathered the storm and then cut the lead and didn't look bad. Um, yeah, four years. Yeah, man. Like they they showed why they were champions, they just took care of business, you know. Uh a lesser team would have probably folded, they would have let the crowd get into it, and that 15 becomes 20, then maybe 25, and then maybe make a run or two, but it never really gets back into it. But they just clamped down and evaporated that lead, and then the crowd got quiet. And I was like, wow, it's like my sound off. And then you take the crowd out of it, you know what I mean? It's like yeah, yeah. And then the Spurs never found that magic again. I don't they to me, they never made another run. That was like that. I agree. I agree. I I mean, for me, it it just seemed like they didn't play with that force, they played it with games one and two, where like because OKC would go on runs in games one and two, and then it'd be like, okay, uh Spurs want a 7-0 run. And it's like, okay, everything that we just did is back to zero. And tonight it just seemed like I don't know, we'll we'll get into it, but yeah, I mean, I feel like where we got a star is Wendy. I mean, yeah, like if we if we're gonna, I don't want to say overreact what he did on game one because what he did in game one was arguably the best performance I've ever seen in my life. Special. They were comparing him with Wilt. No, it was absolutely amazing, especially with the three down on top of it. That was the same spot as Furry. It was insane, but like the Spurs aren't going anywhere unless Wemby's that guy. And for about a game and a half, he hasn't been. And I wonder if it's a fatigue from playing 49 minutes in game one. I don't know what it is, but that force he was playing with and that swagger has not been. Yeah, I think that's a great point. Um, and you think Bringan, you you think being fully healthy, quote unquote, I'll say tonight, um would help alleviate some of that. You get more production out of Fox, who came back and looked like he was going to be injured and out again. But uh and Harper came back and he was questionable, but he didn't even play like 20 minutes of looking here. So then it's then it really does fall to you know, can Wimby continue to be sensational? And they weren't. I think the physicality from game one is upped every game, and it is where I don't know. And his his not even just physically, like you said, his mentality. It seems like his focus is off because I'm like, okay, I gotta fight to get down to the paint again against Caruso, IHeart. And then I think I'm just gonna stay right here in the three three-point line. Do I want to try to bang down, you know, power through? No, let me just sell for jumpers. And then jumpers were kind of falling, but you know, honestly, looking at his numbers here, he's still I don't know how to say it was a quiet 26 to me in 40 minutes. And he still shot pretty well. He shot eight for 15, hit two to five threes, but I don't know. It just Yeah, no, I mean I I think like statistically he had an okay game, but like I didn't feel him on the defensive side of the ball. I didn't feel him on the offensive side of the ball. I think he had like six shot attempts midway through the uh third quarter, and I'm like, that's fine if the game's close, but when you're down, I think they were down 13 at one point in the third. It's time to impose their will. It's time to, hey, I'm Wembinyama. I mean, the the offensive side is like wishy-washy for me because I I think he's still he's so young, he's still like developing it. But I was more stressed on the defensive side of the ball. Like I didn't, I felt like he like people stopped, like he didn't impose his will like he usually does. Like people would drive and then um it would back out. Tonight it was like McCain got like into his chest and scored and was like flexing on him. I was like, Well, you know what I mean? Like it was just like little like mental lapses like that. I was like, is Victor okay? Like, is everything okay? Because I mean, there's so many times on offense who would run to the corner, and we talked about it before the show started. Like, his hands are just on his knees, and I'm like, is he tired? Like, I know we're tired, it's every other day, but winning a championship isn't easy. So, like, hey, is this your wake-up call? Yeah, I mean, is this his wake-up call where it's like, oh, I need to understand how the playoffs work. So, me exhausting everything in game one, I gotta learn how to do that again. Because the great, I mean, the greats, you do it again, you do it again, and you do it again, and that's what makes you great. But yeah, for me, when Wemby hasn't been itself the last game in it. Yeah, and you know what? You you compare that directly to the guy that motivated him to have such a great game, SGA. SGA will never ever forget his brand. And it seems like all 17 of his field goal attempts were from the same two spots, the left elbow or the right. Yeah, um, you know, well, we need a run, I'm getting, I'm getting there. Maybe now and then I'll take a step back three, but he's digging and he's fighting for those. And then when you come to double or when you start to double, he starts dissing it out and he had the 12 points. So he affected the area in those two ways, to your point. Whenby really only did it on one side um through his scoring. And even when he's not scoring, because like when he's not scoring, I just I don't even feel his involvement on offense. So at least maybe use it, use him as a hub, keep him touching the ball, get some rhythm because Fox is not a hundred percent obviously, and he's not in rhythm. Maybe can play through him, use some DHOs like iHeart was killing them the past two games. And um, yeah, so so he's not involved when he's not scoring, he's not really impacting defense to the level he was, he's not playmaking, yeah. So you're gonna have a result like you have today. And then all his co-stars were muted, they got thoroughly outplayed by OKC. Yeah, I mean, it was I mean, it was for me, it was like the first time this playoffs where I was like, oh, like something something's off with them. They finally came back to earth. They look like it was their first playoff run, and which is expected. Like, I mean, I I think each time they've had such a disappointing loss, whether it be game two with Portland or game one with Minnesota, they tend to respond it really well. So I think game four just becomes such a big game because like they need to come out and just kick their ass. Like, like I know they can. I know like the Thunder completely different level, but I'm I'm not saying win by 20, but have a convincing win like the Thunder did tonight, win by 13, 14, and it's like in convincing fashion, but we'll see what happens. Yeah, we'll see. And you know, to that point, um you thought you would think getting into a kerfuffalo, say, like they did in the third quarter, yeah, at home when you've already upset the other team with Castle and uh was it AJ Mitchell Caruso and that whole crew, and you know, your flagrant fouling after a hard foul, the previous play by Caruso, which was a grown man. Like, this is where it was a good playoff foul. It was a good playoff foul, but to your not to your point, that shows that their top guys are all on rookie scale deals, and this is their first time being here, even though Castle was a champion of UConn. He's like, Come on, man, what what was that? It's just a regular file. He didn't hurt you enough, and you fell on your own court, and then they kept fouling him, and he was in his head. They showed the zoom in. You could hear the NBA young boy, whatever you want to say, coming up. It just seemed like they were out of their out of their head. To me, a seasoned team would use that to start their run, exactly. And they didn't. To me, it's it just seemed like Vassell was the only one that came with energy and consistency in that third quarter. Yeah, but yeah, 100%. Um, before we we you know, we continue with the Spurs. I feel like we should talk about the team that won the Thunder. Um, yeah, just an absolute. I mean, first of all, no J Dub. So you come in, you're coming into this game, you're like, oh, they don't have J Dub. Um, a guy who scored 40 points in the finals game last year. Um, AJ Mitchell with a broke wrist. With a broken wrist, yeah. He's take he was taking like horse tranquilizers just to play. And then, like, I mean, tonight AJ Mitchell, who's been like a revelation all playoffs, and he goes down with injury, but up until that point, he wasn't on shit. So it's like, where are you getting it your points from? And I think I mean me and you talked about it earlier, but between Caruso and McCain, like it's just so much contribution coming off that bench for the Thunder. It's it's so hard to beat. Yeah, man. Playoff risers was the word, and Caruso, the bald eagle, is at what averaging over 20 points, which he's never come close to in the regular season. Yeah, you just think of uh on elite shooting, on elite shooting. He had a he had a 2K fade, he had a 2K fade. Yeah, crazy. Boy, had a 2K fade, and I was like, yo, that's off. Cash switched it, the net was stuck. And I think Wemby closed out on that one, right? I think he he might have, but Wimby closed out on a couple of them, and he and he FaceTimed them. Yeah, like, but he's been FaceTiming Wemby. Like, we're talking like turnaround middies and threes. I'm like, dude, this guy's unbelievable. So you got a guaranteed 20-point score off your bench that's gonna play great defense and high efficient and limited minutes, and then and then Mr. Duke, your guy. Jeremy Kane, baby, cold as light skin since Curry, dude. I mean, I mean, I keep saying this point to you, but I swear to God, every point he scored tonight felt like double. Like every time, like, even to your point, like it didn't feel like the Spurs made a run. It's because every time they like cut it to seven, the cane just comes down 30 feet, three-pointer coming up, he's coming off screens like they're running shit for him. I think he shot like 11 threes tonight, like they're running shit for him. Well, the i i heart chemist his chemistry with those little guys like Isaiah Joe got his only points off of off of that little between the legs uh uh DHO. What McCain, their chemistry with that guy, because they can just run off him, he's big as hell, they get wide open, and you're right. Every time he scored, I felt the same hate I felt when Curry was banging threes. So, like, yeah, man, it's it's crazy, and then even but that was all the second half. The first half, you had lightskin Duke Dennis, what four threes, five threes, excuse me, five or six. What the f yeah, and he didn't even play that. They just call him other J dub, you know what I mean? Yeah, and tonight he was DJ dub, but yeah, and and in the first quarter or first half, it was Case of Wallace. I'm like, dude, it's just pick your poison. So when you get so like if you're in the Thunder, like you get 71 bench points, you're not losing any playoff game, especially when you have the starting five that they had. So, I mean, my question is to you like, what can the Spurs do to weather the storm? Like, I mean, for me, I think it might have to start with playing these guys straight up. The one-man zone with Wemby sitting at paint, looked really good in game one, but we're in game three now, and I think the Thunder found something where they they've adjusted quite well. And the Thunder, they're good catch-and-shoot three-point team, wide open. But why if you know that, why are you letting them be open? Like, they're putting the ball in rotation, getting the people uh moving around, and it's like, oh, Wemby has to do the slate closeout, and he's long as shit, but like Caruso's open on all these shots. McCain's open on all these shots, Champagny and Harper confused on each DHO. It's like just play this guy straight up, yeah. And what makes it worse is that um, like, you know, IHart is so good at getting these guys open. If Wemby is on him, um, then he has to contest on a shooter. IHERT's gonna get the rebound anyways. So then it's like, do you try to put um somebody else on that to just switch it every time and hope Wimby can come in from the weak side and get the rebound or contest, and then you just then you just peel switch out whenever IHart dies. Yeah. Like also Nick Nurse from uh the 2020s or 2019. Yeah. Um, what I would do probably if I'm Mitch is I would be more ruthless. I I need to show up my rotation first. So I'm looking at like tonight's minutes, and Dylan Harper played 17 minutes. I don't know if he was on a minutes restriction or something, but that would seem off because there's just no way that just Fox comes back partially hurt, and then Harper's been balling, and he just comes back for all the seven months. Yeah, and and I felt like when Harper was out there for the little bit that he was, I thought you know he was doing Harper's stuff, but he's not getting enough touches. He's not getting enough touches, or he didn't get enough touches tonight. And you see, yeah, Fox had 30 points, uh 30 minutes, Castle had 34, Champagne at 35. Maybe off the bench, you want to play your sixth man of the year more than 11 minutes. Yeah, maybe maybe you just cut the Carter Bryan minutes out, the 10. Like Carter Bryant is going to be a hellacious defender when he's probably by the time he's at the end of his rookie deal, he'll be one of the premier wing defenders. But you know, he's not giving you enough right now on defense, and he's nothing outside of that. That part of the game, his game is not developed. So maybe split those minutes between KJ and Harper, and maybe give some of them to your veteran, Harrison Barnes, who's probably the only other guy that can play with power, not just speed, and he can shoot still. You know, these were one of your main guys. You had your top eight, you know, first ever team to get eight guys to score double digits. They're not playing. Yeah, they're not playing. And especially because he's an older veteran. I think, I mean, we're in the Western conference finals, we're not just a regular game on a Friday night. You don't have to wrestle. He's been wrestling. You've been wrestling, he's a champion. He's a champion. They need some like veteran leadership. Well, whether he scores or not, just the hey, let's huddle up right now. They just went on a quick 5-0 run. Because I felt like tonight, like their emotions got the best of them, especially, especially with Castle. I mean, Castle had he had like four, three or four fouls all in the second half, all after that that uh pickup sequence. And I'm just like, he's young, he'll learn, but like you said, why is that that's not getting turned into motivation to go to go win, to cut this lead. Yeah, Sal was the only one that responded from it. Yeah, yeah. I can't get away. He's been amazing. Dude, and I'm so glad he's finally suffered through what he was suffering with the last few pop years. Yeah, and uh, and he lasted through the team. Like he wasn't like a Jeremy Sohan or a Murray, who they sent out. Um, yeah, man, because this guy, this guy's defense, like he, I think was he the lead defender on SDA today? Because it used to be Castle, because it was Castle and game one and two. It seemed like they switched them off because Castle kept getting in foul trouble. And then so it's like, I mean, I thought Cassell did a pretty good job. There was a there was a stretch in the fourth where they kind of cut it to seven and super late reaching foul on SDA. And I was like, ooh, like there was like three seconds left. But that whole play, I don't know what play you're talking about. He was locking him up. He poked the ball away. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I ain't gonna get it again. Yeah, yeah, exactly. I thought you I thought he was playing good. Um yeah, uh what was your thoughts on Fox overall? Well, you know, I he I mean his stats were fine, but like it seems like he's he was still getting to his spots, but when he arrived there, he would kind of lose the ball, like especially in the second half. Yeah, like his jumper was one for three. I wrote it down as like, yeah, Fox, is he on the court? I don't know. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, exactly. I mean, you know, he's not hitting threes, he's not getting to the line. Um, so like yeah, I remember a couple plays where he drove by Dort Wallace, but then they just timed his gather. And then sometimes, like right before the half, I think uh somebody uh Jay Crossover said it like he blew by the guy, but then he made the wrong decision. Like um, he blew by he should have finished with his right, went back to his left, got blocks. So it seems like obviously the rhythm of playing against the defending champs is something he needs, maybe another game to adjust to. Um, but again, like you know, he's their lead ball healer, he's their all-star, even though he maybe shouldn't have been all-star. Uh, but he's their all-star. Maybe you could have you have to super lean on him. You you were hoping maybe he could have had a really strong impact, but I don't know. Like I said, I think the best guard tonight was SGA, and the second and third best guard were off the bench for OKC. Yeah. Um but yeah, if I'm Mitch Johnson to answer your question, what do I do? I start with my rotation. Maybe I go eight guys, I figure out who the top eight is. It'll probably be Harper, KJ, and I gotta make a decision between Cornet and Barnes. Um, or maybe I'll try to fit Barnes in and take away from Champagne or take a little bit away from Fox. Yeah, I would start there. And then on the court, I don't know if I start with offense or defense. Defense is harder, but yeah, to your point, maybe I can try to do the box one, and I just literally I do not care what Dort and Wallace do. I don't care what they do. Even Chet, I'm touching the Chet three right now. Like, especially like unless he if he hits three, I might agree. I'm fearful of those guys right now. And Williams and Jay the and and J Dub, big big J Dub, yeah. Yeah, big J Dub, yeah, Duke Dennis. But uh yeah, so like those guys, you're right. And and I I think I'm just gonna be like, are you really gonna do this? Because I'm I might want SJA to get into his into his mode of game one where he wasn't passing the ball to guys on two and one fast breaks because he needs his numbers, like I'm the MVP, I got the trophy night. I want SJA in that mode. But if you if he's got 30 and double digits, come on. Like I can't have you get both. You can't have both well because SJA's not like he's a decent playmaker, but he's not a guy that's gonna get you eight plus assists tonight. So the fact that he gets you 12 with 30 points, I mean, I mean, you're just sitting dead in the water. I think I think you hit on something pretty interesting. We're in game, we're in game like 98, 100 right now, and you brought up um. Johnson needs to find his best eight, which is so interesting. Like, why don't we know our best eight in game 100? You know what I mean? Yeah. Like, like, that's a problem. Like, I feel like he's getting a little too not that it's his fault, but like, I'm kind of shocked. I bet he's shocked too. I bet he thought his six man of the year and Kelvin Johnson would be a lot more uh, you know, useful. And then Carter Bryant is getting a lot more. Like, I love Carter Bryant. I think in a couple years from now, we're gonna talk about him on all defense, but it's a lot of Carter Bryant. You know what I mean? It's a lot of those those 10 minutes could get split between KJ or Barnes. Yeah, Barnes really just played the garbage minutes, but you could take out his minutes. Well, yeah, because Carter, Carter's taking Barnes minutes if we're being honest with you. Yeah, yeah, like those are the minutes he's taking now. Yeah, so cut him out, and then that gives you four, and you're you're playing Wimby 39 minutes now, which I know he doesn't want to do. Yeah, Luke Connot's only 12, like yeah. Well, what he averaged in the season, like 27? Yeah, he was well below 30. Yeah, so well below 30. So he's beyond his thing. Maybe you know what? Yeah, that's probably the thing. Like, they gotta it's tough. It's tough, but you gotta play him like Giannis. You know, you gotta try to figure out because he's because Giannis, him, Caruso, they're all the same type. Like, let me play hard for 30 minutes, 20 minutes if you're a guy like Caruso, and then I can rest. Other than that, Wemby doesn't know how to, I'd say, uh, save his energy to pop where he needs to. Maybe that's what he was trying to do on offense, or so what I was I was thinking something like that, and I thought it would have got turned on. Like I thought, like, come fourth quarter time or early third quarter, we would have saw like four or like three or four straight 1B possessions. And it just wasn't like that. And I think like what I like I we could talk about like what they could do on defense, offense. I think I I really do think that uh one man zone is like kind of kicking their ass right now. But um, other than that, I think like going into game four, like the the best way I could describe it is um when the Lakers play the Rockets in game six. Like where like you know what what you need to do, just play hard and forceful. When you play hard and forceful, Wemby Castle Harper, no one's touching you guys. I'm sorry. Like, like Wemby, if Wemby, because I mean, if if Wemby's the leader, they're gonna follow suit. I think he was a little too passive tonight. Um, when he's when he I think because I thought they also jacked up too many threes without having any sort of rhythm or anything going. And he had four rebounds. Remember the game one, he was missing it and coming across the lane, which I've you've never seen before, ever. And he had three or four of these plays. You just miss and finish on the other side of the rim. He had four rebounds today. He he was completely complacent tonight. It just didn't like game four, he needs to come out kind of like how he did game three in Minnesota against Minnesota. Like, hey, yo, I'm here. Let me show you the most efficient 38 points and best two-way play on the because because one thing I've learned through this series through three games, Shay's the MVP, the back-to-back. Yes, we can get into the antics, how he falls all the time and he flops, and it's super fucking annoying. Compilations of falling to the ground, yeah. Right, but his ceiling, like Wemby's ceiling compared to Shay's, it's not even a fucking like like when Wemby's at his ceiling, there's no doubt who's the best player, not even in the in the series, but in the entire world. In it in the world, and it's honestly like Wemby, I'd say for more times than not, this playoffs has been like, how do you stop this guy? And what are you gonna do the next 10 years? 15 years, maybe. And I felt none of those, I felt none of those moments today. Not one time, not one time. So to so to your last point, you said play with force and heart, right? Yeah, I'd say and play with intentionality, so which means I'm taking my time to get to the elbow, not the three-point line. Yes, and I'm taking my time to get a deep paint touch, so then it's then you gotta dump, and that really goes for Castle and Harper, uh, Harper 2 and Fox. You know, get to your spots. Do you think he's do you think like the physicality is catching up to him? Why he he feels like he doesn't want to waste so much energy just getting positioned? 1000%. Yeah, 1000%. I mean, that's good. I mean, no offense to Lendy. That's probably gonna be the blueprint for the rest of his career. Yes, you know what I mean. Like, I don't see him becoming this Giannis, big, bulky guy. Like, he'll forever be this pretty slim, agile, bandy. Yeah, basically. I mean, don't get me wrong, he's put on massive muscles since he's been in the league. But he's got some definition though. Yeah, like like, but from I mean, he he'll he will the blueprint for him will be hey, knock him around. Games three and four. He's he's kind of checked out. He needs to establish, because bro, he shot 75% in the paint in game one. He shot one three and it was that fucking crazy three. He shot from 35 feet out or 30 feet out. Yeah, you're right. So when he's just playing like Shaq, I think he's the like when he plays inside out, I think he's the best player we've ever seen. When he plays outside in, I think that's where the Squares lose their momentum. Yeah, exactly. Like when he when he's um it all it also sticks out more. I think that's another reason why we didn't notice him. When he's actively fighting Caruso, I heart, Dort to get to his spot, it it just draws a lot of attention to the screen, I think. Yeah, and uh, you're right. Then he's just on in in the corner, and I'm like, damn, they look um more like mortal or normal, whatever the words you want to say. He he doesn't look from out of this world anymore. You know what I mean? He looks more like Chet. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, yeah. But you're right, man. Like when he's uh yeah, and then when he gets to the paint, he's got maybe the best touch of any big in the league, like outside of maybe Jokic. Like some of the shots he can make, for first off his shot range in the paint is crazy because his extremely long limbs and then his footwork and touch make him virtually unguardable. So yeah, it's gotta, it's gotta get back to that. And um, Wemby, and if you can't do that, Wemby, you will not win. No. I don't think because there's the the rest of your supporting cast cannot carry you like 40 points from a J. Not yet. Not yet. Not this year. Not this year. Yeah. They're not ready to. Yes. Like, yeah, they don't they don't have that guy yet. It's like 20 here, 20 there, you know. Yeah, and and you know, all season, I mean, everybody's been saying, hey, no team, their first playoff run of the playoff, win the championship. But they won 60 games, and they're like, they won 60 games, and we've also never seen anyone like win. So it's like, oh, it's possible. Yeah, and and I still think they could win the series. Don't get me wrong. Like, whenever he's just the best player on the floor, there's literally no answer to him. And I still like if I still had a pick, I would still say this goes seven. But um but if for the thunder's sake, hey, this is the worst Dylan Harper will ever be. This is the worst Stefan Castle will ever be. This is the worst Victor Women Yama will be. Like, low key to the Thunder, like, hey, we escaped this series, we gotta play the Knicks. Hopefully we could go back to back. Yeah. Because what because when because one thing like I think that doesn't get talked about enough, when you lose, you learn so much more than when you win. And so if you if you were to, if so, like in the Spurs case, if they just were to go out and win all in their first go around, it'll probably get really ugly when it when they eventually lost. Like going into this. So if they I mean if they if they lose this series, still insane year. I still think Wemby's probably the best player in the world and and is annoyed at that title. But hey, like Dylan, you know you have Dylan Harper. You probably have the best. I would take their trio ever, any trio, for the next 15 years. So yeah. That the those three those three draft picks gotta be the best three-year draft since like Magic, James Worthy, and like I don't, I don't even know, like Brian Scott or something. Like that's that's like the closest thing I can think of. Yeah, that actually as you know what I got one another. Kevin Durant, Westbrook, Harden. It's probably the best since then, actually, probably the best since then. Um, and we we saw what they did. They got it out too early. But yeah, I totally agree. Um you learn a lot from when you lose, and they didn't have any adversity, I'd say, real adversity, until they got to the playoffs and they lost to Portland. Yeah. Um they bounced right back. But you know, Dag Not's a former coachineer, Mitch Johnson might get his first one. Let's see what type of chops he has, man. I really want to see. Um OKC took home courtback. It took home courtback. But yeah, I'm I'm trying to think what's what's repeatable from OKC's line. I'm like, are you gonna get three guys that have 15 plus off their bench again? Well, I think it's repeatable for the OKC standpoint. They're gonna get two of the three people to score off of it. Now, that might be different now with AJ Mitchell, but I mean, I don't know, like they might have lost him too, yeah. Yeah, but now they got no J Dub. Maybe Mitchell misses next game, and then you gotta start now, McCain or Crusoe. Or Casey, maybe Wallace, yeah, or Wallace. Yeah, and then they don't have that impact, and then now you gotta go into well, I mean, their deep bench is still unbelievable. Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins. I know, like I texted out like the uh the Spurs fucking put in their empty their bench, they put Bizmac, Biambo, Mason Plumley, the Thunder empty their bench, Isaiah Joe, Kendrick Williams, J Dub, because they don't have another center because Sorber's out still. So it's like it's crazy. Yeah, or or Nicola Topic, who's like was like the best player in Europe two years ago. Yeah, I so they got him as well. So closing thoughts, like going into game four, like what do you think is gonna happen? And then, like, I mean, this is not the third game. Like, is the battle of the attrition kicking in? Like, this is these are been dog fights. Like, Casco, he took some crazy calls, like every playing every other day, your body's gonna get beat up. And like, like I said earlier, we're in game 100 damn near. Like, all right, it is the series gonna sadly come down to who's healthy? Is it gonna come down to experience? Like, what do you think going into game four? Yeah, yeah, these teams are so close, so close. I mean, this is the first two 60-win teams to play each other in what like 20 years or something, yeah. Um, that you have to start thinking it's external factors like attrition and injury. Like this the Thunder had one guy go over 30 points tonight, and it was SGA. The Spurs had their entire start lineup go over 30 points tonight. Um, and they were very high 30 minutes. So you're like, okay, you get a day rest sleeping in your own bed, though, but maybe, maybe it really does start to worry. You gotta grind out game four, but then you're going back to OKC. The desperation of game four, too. I mean, it'll be an emotional game. Like, I mean, whoever wins, like if the Spurs lose, it's over. Like, they're not with I don't see a world where they win three in a row. Three three in a row. I'm sorry, but me neither. Like, there's no way, there's no way you're not beating another team, you're not beating this team unless they get like another injury somehow. Yeah, um, but yeah, man, they they gotta they gotta go all out. They gotta go all out. I want Mitch Johnson. This is his first time too. Like, he's not expecting so this is like new for their entire team. That's a good point. Because even I mean, being a Lakers fan, you know how much better JJ was this year compared to last year. And it's like night and day. So you're right. Like, this is Mitch Johnson's first. Yeah, uh maybe we can hit Spurs like Twitter and see where they're complaining about him. Like play Harrison Barnes. Yeah, play play Harrison, wise when we getting all these high, uh, high touches. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, definitely if just easily just uh play harbor more, 1000%. Play Harbor Moore. Um, and make them make them die, make them do it. And then they gotta figure out a way to get hard stuff. I mean, he's only playing 21 minutes. They need him to play 12 minutes again, so I don't know how the hell you do that, man. But it it's it's starting to feel I know we say this after every game. It's so hard to be not hype, you know, uh not like hyperbolic and try to keep a macro view, but uh yeah. I don't know. No, game four game four is gonna decide, not decide the series, but it's gonna keep it's either gonna keep the Spurs out or they're gonna knock them out. So I'm excited. I'm excited for game four. It's Sunday. Uh maybe we'll go live after game four on Sunday. Yeah, man. I'm I'm really hoping we get game seven, like everyone was saying. Like to every everyone was saying this was the finals. And I'd say it's really living up to the hype. Well, I mean, think of yeah, yeah. It's gonna be it's gonna be crazy. Um now let's take it to, I mean, we haven't touched on it at all, barely. It feels like the redheaded stepchild series of the Knicks and the and the Cavs, but the Knicks last night they go up too low. Um, pretty convincing win, honestly. Uh wire to wire the Josh Hart game of a lifetime. Uh if Josh Hart's gonna be the third best player on the court, the Cavs have no chance. Um, what's your thoughts on the Knicks? Give me your thoughts on Brunson, Josh Hart, Donovan Mitchell, Harden. What's your thoughts? Well, um I I was telling everybody, you know, for those that I I work in New York, I live in Jersey, so I buy a lot of Knicks fans, and I was telling everybody that, yeah, it is orange and blue skies, at least for game one, y'all should win by 20 because they just played their second game seven um against two of the best defensive teams in the league. Yep uh that were probably built to guard a team like the Cavs. Um, one of my homies, my closest homies, is uh Cavs fan, and he was like, he likes his chances against the Knicks, and he was breaking it down. I was like, I don't know, man, I don't see it, but we'll see. And then they came out. Donovan Mitchell looked like the best player, he looked like he did look like the second coming of Dwayne Wade. Like he was getting whatever he wanted, he was super fast, he could change threes, he had like 29 points to three quarters or something. And that was with Brunson having 15 in the first quarter. Yeah, Brunson wasn't matching him, but he was like one run below. He was close, he was close, and then Kenny was thoroughly out coaching Mike Brown to a level that I was legit saying, Mike Brown, what are you doing? I don't I couldn't even recognize what I was watching from his next team. Granted, yeah, nine days off. Um, but they were running like flex offense. The cat stuff wasn't working, and the defense, I didn't even know what the hell was going on. As soon as the cats defense, uh the bench came in, they had Harden and I think it was Mobley with that Tasmanium Devil trio of Sam Merrill, Max Struuss, and Dennis Schroeder. Those three guys were flying everywhere and shooting the quickest threes ever. They were amazing, they were killing them, they were killing them, and um, yeah, they they had the Knicks rotation all the time, and then yeah, Mike Brown didn't know what he was doing. So honestly, I I took I put this in our chat. Jalen Brunson legit said, Fuck you, Mike Brown. I'm doing what I want because it can't they call like a timeout, the commercial break came back. You could literally hear Jalen Brunson say, Yo, you got Jack, yo, come over, come over here. Yeah, and he hunted him for what maybe the greatest eight minutes of Knicks basketball this millennium, yeah, yeah. And like all grown man buckets, no layups, no free throws, all grown man buckets, and they were all going to the right hand, too. I mean, dude, like just trying to send him to his left. I know he's left-handed, but whatever. So then, yeah, and the Cavs, Kenny doesn't call a timeout, whatever. Um, and then I guess that really did lead into the next game. I thought the Cavs offense could have been more repeatable for what they did. Maybe it's a fluke, but it wasn't. Mitchell, I think you said it, man, he didn't look good. Allen and Mobley weren't playing with four. I don't know what they're doing half the time, Kenny. What are you doing? And then because they started off game two, like on fire, like the score of like 16-16. Mobley had eight for 10, but like Allen had the rest. And I was like, well, okay, if Mowgli, because the Mowgli's your best or second best player, they're not gonna lose a lot of games when Mobley plays like that. And then they just completely go away from it. It's like, what the hell's going on? Like and I'm not saying it's like over anything because the Cavs were down 2-0. Or they're up 2-0 against the Raptors, they were down 2-0 against the Pistons. So now they play really well at home. Um, game three is obviously a must-win because no teams ever came back from 3-0. But I mean, for me, it's like I want to see Donovan Mitchell take more control, and I want to see Kenny I guess have a shorter leash with James Harden. Oh my god. Um, because I forgive that I was like, well, Harding kind of helped him get the lead. And then to your point, I I mean you said this. He said, well, he's the reason why they lost it. So I'm like, there has to be a good check-in. Like, if we're up 15, hey, let's put Keon Ellis next to Donovan Mitchell or Schroeder next to like let's have some banshees where it's like I just want Mitchell Isaac ball right now with Mobley and Allen, and let's go from there. And I just feel like there's just been way too many times where it's like it's Schroeder, Merrill, Struess, Dean Wade, and Mobley. I'm like, what the hell is this lineup like? Yeah. Yeah. Kenny, man, like uh I love him. Like, I I try to I watch his like FIBA stuff that he does when he's coaching like the Dominican team or you know what back when he was with the Hawks and all that. So he's definitely a bright coach. Like, definitely a bright coach. But yeah, sometimes I'm just like, why is Jalen Tyson not playing? Why is he not playing like 20 minutes? The Kelvin Johnson of this series. Like, why is this player that's was a replacement for you all regular season? Yeah, I'm like, he's top he's well, he's like the fourth or fifth guy and three-point percentage, and you drafted him. This wasn't a Jamie Bicker's thing. You drafted him. Yeah, you did. I'm like, and and it just seems like maybe a little too much D Way uh D Wade, just a little bit. I know they love him. Yeah, you know, everybody loves D. Wade. It just seems like, yeah, Tyson is in the doghouse for some reason. Um, and his rotations, I'd say, have been frustrating. They've just been frustrating. I don't know any other way to put it. Um, go ahead. And then and then, yeah, to your point, uh, game one to game two. Uh I guess what was not repeatable for the uh the Knicks was Josh Hart having the goose egg again. Yeah, so you got production from him, OG Ananobi. Another this is his second game back now. He's got more rhythm. Um, Carl Towns finally maybe he started to figure out the Allen Mobley combo because he was absolutely, I don't know what he was doing, um, trying to post up from the three point line. Yeah, the same Josh Hart that I was thinking, oh, I think he just got played off the series. Like, I don't think this is Josh Hart. And it comes out and he has fucking 26 points. Yeah, man. Yeah. And then, like, yeah, they're like the Dick's Benz didn't even do nothing. Like Mitchell Robinson, he had a worse game this game. Shannon. The mayor of New York. Undowney. I mean, he's playing with energy, but yeah, it's this is really just it's starters versus starters at this point. Like game three, man. Tomorrow. Knicks fans already think they won the chip over here. Like, or they're they're for sure won the series. They're going to the finals. They know that. Yeah. They were gonna think we want Wimby at the end of game two. Orange and blue skies, man. It's yeah, it's crazy. But uh I mean for for me too, it's like when I look at the Cavs, it's like going into this when they made the James Harden trade. I was like, okay, they're gonna be this unbelievable offense. You have Harden running a pick and roll. Um, you have Mowgli and Allen, and it looked like Allen was just about to have his best pick and roll partner he's ever had. I think the first like four games with Harden, he was like 20 and 30. Black History Move Allen. I don't know if you saw that on Twitter, but Black History Move Allen. Like crazy. And I thought it was like just gonna be the same thing. And then fast forward, Jared Allen, Mr. The lights are too bright. I mean, both game sevens, he played like he was arguably the second best player in both of those games. And I mean, now we're here, like we know the Cavs aren't gonna win because of defense, but their offense has been arguably just as bad. So it's like, how are you supposed to win at all like that? Um I don't know. Yeah, I I don't know if it's a rotation thing. I think it is a rotation thing. I don't know if it's a personnel thing. I think that's also the case, but I also don't think the Knicks played particularly that good in game two. I just thought they had like that outlier Josh Hart performance. I didn't think like Kat went crazy. I still think he has some stuff to figure out with Mowgli and Allen, but I mean Brunson got that heater, and maybe that game one loss was just so deflating, it's like they're still reminiscing in that like what could have been. But hey, you gotta get your head out your ass because game three is tomorrow night. Every other series, man. Yeah, and like um, you know, I I totally agree. Like, you traded, what was it like 10 years or something for Harden to Garland? Yeah, yeah. And people, yeah, and people are already talking about like if this doesn't work, you know, blow it up. I'm like, Jesus Christ. I I will say they don't beat the Pistons with Garland. I will say that. I think they go to the conference finals with Garland. Yeah, yeah. So it's like and you know what? I think yeah, I think for me, I was I've been kind of surprised that Donovan Mitchell's metaphorphosis over the past when they went 60 games last year to now, because last year he was lower minutes and he was letting the young guys shine. He's like Garland was going crazy before the injuries, then Mobley was going crazy, and uh he was dishing the ball more. And then it seemed like once, especially in the playoffs, his playmaking evaporated. Then game seven kills, does everything. You think it's back, and now he's not now he's back to not playmaking yet. Like you look at the assists, you think the Knicks would be like a heavy ISO team. The Cavs had 15 assists, the Knicks had 32. Yeah, that's not gonna cut it. Like, yeah, like it has to it has to flip. Like, there's some areas that they gotta win, like they gotta win the three-point battle, and they gotta win, like you said, on offense. And then well, I think the glaring two for Donovan Mitchell too has been like he's like 10 for 52 on catch-and-shoot shots. I'm like, I'm like, that's god awful. Like, especially playing next to somebody like Harding. Like, I mean, Harding will create and find you some space, but there were a couple threes last night in in game two. I'm like, oh, if Mitchell hits these five-point game right now, and who knows, like what could happen. So, yeah, yeah, but yeah, man. Yeah, it just reminds me of probably you too, as Laker fans of Austin Reefs. Whenever LeBron or Luca hits him, I'm like, damn, Austin, can you only hit threes when you coming off a flat ball screen and pulling up? Yeah, exactly that. Uh yeah, yeah, those misses, and you feel those misses when they they're wide open. I call the crowd stoppers, like because if he hits them, the crowd's sick to their stomach, they're kind of checked out, and then he misses them, and then it's like, oh uh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you know what I mean? It's like, yeah, yeah, and you're not you're not gonna stop in a still. You're not gonna stop and still because you're like, I don't know, gimpy or whatever the hell. Like, man, but dude, he was going crazy. Was that was that the first game? Uh, if tell me if you remember this play, where like uh it was somebody, I think it was Mikkel, I think it was Carl Towns, actually. Like, he tips the ball out and like he rolls over the guy, gets the oh, I think it was Mitchell Robinson. He roll he tips the ball out, rolls over the guy, gets the rebound, dribbles up, and they score. And I'm like, if you play like how you did early years in Utah, before you're the lead guy, give me the two-way Mitchell, then yeah, you're there, man. But other than that, you know, you're never gonna be better than like the 10th best guy in NBA, yeah. Or, you know, whatever. Like because in that game seven against the Pistons, I was like, Whoa, is this is this the year of the Mitchell where it finally kind of all clicks for him? I was like, because he absolutely dominated that game, like to the point where I was making earlier with Spurs and Wimby, he played the force, he only had 26 points, but you felt every strong, you know what I mean? And then I feel like that gets lost in a lot of these like playoff matchups. Like, these are all professional athletes. A lot of them have been in the playoffs before. Sometimes it's just playing hard and with force, like, because I would argue his 20 his 26 in game seven was way more impressive than the 39 in the second half he had in game three or game four, whatever that was. So, yeah, one one thousand percent. And it's uh yeah, man. And it's I I really do think it's because you've you feel them in all areas of the game. Like you feel them on in their playmaking when they're not scoring, you feel them pushing the fast break and maybe making the hockey assists, you feel their defense, you feel their efficiency, all those things. Like you gotta if you're gonna be the number one guy, you gotta be able to rely on at least two things. At least two things every night. Or if it's just scoring, you gotta at least get to your spot to make the defense react. And for like Mitchell, I really don't know where, like, it seems like I don't know where his spots is. And I think that's what throws his consistency off so much. Because yeah, his scoring, uh he I he's he's got very high scoring numbers. But always, it's like when you get later in the series, like where are you? Like you have 30 points almost every game one he's like played ever or something, yeah, which is nasty. And then like you get later in the series, and he's got like, I don't know, a muted performance or horrible efficiency. Yeah, so yeah. I I think I think too, like, like going in, like the the so the thing that's so frustrating, I think, for me is like Jalen Brunson went at James Harden for eight straight minutes. And he just like there was there was like no help, right? But forget the help. On the other side of the court, why isn't Donovan Mitchell going at Jalen Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns every single play? Like Indiana was last year when you pointed out. Exactly. I just have no idea, like, hey, they're picking on my weak defender. Like Donovan Mitchell, you just have a star jump stomping for seven games. You should be licking your chops looking at Jalen Brunson and Carl Anthony Townsend. Jose Alvarado, like, dude, like you know what I mean. It's not like because OG Ananobi and McKell are great, Chash Hart are great. You can get them off you. You can go at Jalen Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns anytime you want, like, they're on the court all the time. Yeah, I and and then and the Knicks would will have those defensive laps lapses. Like, those guys are good individual defenders, and I don't know about the Knicks team defense, I'd say. Yeah, that's a great way to put it. But yeah, but like to your point, it goes back to what I was saying. Play with like what you say with play with force and play hard, and then add the intentionality to it. Yeah, like they're not being intentional about getting to the spots, like and if I'm Kenny, I need Evan Mobley taking 15 shots a game. I need to take 15 shots a game. And I'm not even talking about, and I want three of them to be threes. Yeah, yeah. I need 15 shots a game. And like I tell my boy this all the time. Why is Mobley not like even like I don't want to see him bring the ball up, but like he can catch it and go off of uh off a miss rebound or something, or he can be the hub guy. Like I was I was just thinking that like why don't they use him more as a hub? Because they had Allen in the dunker spot anyway. Yeah, yeah. So that'll at least keep him engaged to touch the ball, and then maybe that'll free up, you know. I don't that'll free up your guards, man. I don't know. And then he can't that's what they did in game one. They kept doubling Donovan Mitchell with James Harden. Mobley would slip out of it, and you had Struce and shooters around, so it's like yeah, man. It's it's just frustrating, man. I don't know. It's just frustrating. You got any uh closing thoughts going into game three tomorrow in Cleveland? Well we can say all of what we just said for Cleveland, but if they hit their threes, I'd say a lot of these games, especially especially Cleveland. This is where I really notice like quote unquote modern basketball. Sometimes it just comes down to threes and turnovers. Yeah, like the team that turns over the ball less, doesn't matter what scheme it is, who's the best player. If you're hitting threes and you like you, as in the world, you your teams, your role players, you're hitting threes, that's why you see a team get blown out, and then they and then you you don't even recognize them next game. Right. Like, so if they just hit their threes, man, maybe a lot of that or a lot of those mistakes can just go away. Yeah. I mean, in in game one, they shot 18 unguarded catch-and-shoot jumpers. Nasty. And lost. Like, if you if you hit five of it, the game's over. Exactly. I mean the game should have been over anyway, but but those games. I mean, the the shots are open. Is Sam Marrow gonna go 0 for 7 again? I'd say no. Is Max Stuze gonna go one for four again? Is Jalen Tyson who averaged what 50% from three damn near gonna go 0 for 3? And Roll Club play better at home, too. I mean, yeah, they're a great home team. They have one loss at home, is it this year, or something like that? I mean, uh in the playoffs? Yeah, yeah, yeah. And you know, the Knicks are like like playing in Madison Square Garden at the Eastern Conference Finals, seeing Celebrity Row, it is a it is a little bit different than oh, I'm down in Detroit, and I get to see you know Ben Wallace court side. It's like I'm just still like an old ass nigga. You know what I mean? It's like in the VFP spot, yeah. I mean, the Knicks the Knicks is a little bit different, but which makes game one so fascinating because they completely controlled that game for three and a half quarters and then lost it. So this series has been completely I I I can't get a good read even now. Like I think that I still think that I think the Knicks can win in six. I feel pretty confident, but I mean it'll come down in tomorrow. So yeah, yeah, I I I'd say I I'd agree. I I thought coming into the series, like if the Cavs are gonna win the series, how would that look? It would be like, well, well, how'd the Knicks lose the past couple years in the Brunson era? Like um, they almost lost to the Sixers when Maxie had his coming out party when they had Harden because they had long athletic defenders on them. They had they had your Kelly Ubre. Free agent. Hopefully, Rob's listening. But uh they had Kelly Ubre on him and he just couldn't deal with the lens. So you're like, all right, let me get 6'10 fucking uh Dean Wade on him and off the bench. I got Schroeder picking up half court, I mean full full court. I got Keon Ellis picking up full court, maybe Jalen Tyson. Maybe we just switch the cat pick role every time because cat we'll see if he I'm just gonna wear James um Jalen Brunson down and let everybody else beat me. Yeah, and and then and then yeah, and then I'm gonna yeah, I'm just gonna pick on you on offense. Like, I got James Harden, I got Diamond. What are you gonna do to stop me? Yeah, and also to your point, too. Like, there was a couple times um in game two, or maybe it was game one, like I did not trust OG and Anobi's shot at all. Like, I think him coming off the injury, I think playing a little too close on him to the point where he got those drive-by's. And I mean, when OG gets to the paint, he's strong. He moved a couple of things. He was dislodging people, he was hitting the phone. Goddamn, yeah. I mean, I think people forget how like strong OG and Anobi is, but there's a point I'm kind of like trust is shocked right now. Like, why are you pretending this guy's like Clay Thompson? Like, like shooting out of it. But you can say that on both sides, man. Like, yeah, I remember the Knicks were why are you closing out hard on Dennis Schroeder? Yeah, I'm just like, what the fuck am I wanting? And I'm just like, both of these teams, y'all should be scared of what comes out of the West. Because the decision making on who they're on somebody's defensive thing, I'm like, what are we doing? I mean, if the Cavs somehow come back, pray for James Harden against Caruso, Wallace, or Harper and Castle. Or I mean, even Brunson, like I think Brunson is one of the best. I mean, you said one of the top three uh shot makers in the league. Hey, let me introduce you to K-Son Wallace. I mean, all of a sudden Lou Dort becomes super valuable in a series like that because it's not he comes back, he comes back. So it's like, hey, oh yeah, you gotta beat Dort, you gotta beat Wallace, you gotta beat Caruso, you gotta beat all these fucking guards, and it's like, oh, you want this fucking pit bull in Castle? Harper's not no slouch, yeah. Fox is decent, Carter Bryant. Hey, go go stick Brunson for a couple possessions, like all of a sudden it becomes yeah, oh like for for the cat for the Cavs to well, first off, yeah, both teams should want to play the Spurs, I think. Um, and then you know yeah, I think both teams should want to figure out the Spurs and just try to figure out Wemby. I like I mean when Wimby goes off, the plus minus is disgusting. But anyways, like uh I will say I would I would be scared for the Cavs to have to try to guard Castle Harper and Mitch, uh Castle Harper and yeah, but then but then I'm but then I'm just like like would would you just be ruthless like we thought they were gonna do with the Pistons and putting Mobley on um a Sartops into Rome, which I don't think they did enough of? Would you just put him on a Harper? Because Harper, yeah, he can shoot, but yeah, he's really wants to drive. Yeah. Exactly. Would you just put him on the street? But then I get scared, like, oh Wendy, guard Jared Allen. And now you're really in that one man zone. It's like, hey, yeah, what are you gonna do? Yeah, yeah. Well, then then then you really have then you really gotta go back to Jared Allen like a couple years ago before was it Mitchell joined? When he was that when he was averaging like four or five assists, and he was the hub guy. Yeah, because that's how Hart can at least survive for 20 minutes. Yeah, and then he never got it back when Mitchell joined. When Mitchell joined, yeah, they just took the ball out his hands. But um, but yeah, and then if they play and then if the Cavs play OKC, if they can make it, uh we shouldn't be talking about it. But yeah, they they should maybe their base can nullify the other team's base. I don't see how they went outside of that. I would just like to under low key. Yeah or high key. I would just hey Alan, you're up to court. I trust Chet against Mobley. Now I have yeah, and then SJ just isometer four wins. Yeah, yeah. No, that's exactly what I think. Yeah, because I bigger, yeah, bro. The battle of attrition, though, we'll see, you know, who can come out the west. I I I mean, I think we were talking about it yesterday or the day before um the East has no chance, and you were like, oh, they have a chance, and I said for years, and you know, no bell. Like, the more I think about it, it's like, man, if these two teams can even come out alive, like they got a chance because they're beating the hell out of each other. Like they're fucking just beating the hell out of the tire. That's the chance. I like if I'm the Knicks, I've tried to get through this shit in four or five, and I sit back and I watch because you gotta travel to the West Coast anyway, because you're not gonna be the home court. But I mean, yeah, I mean, that's probably your chance because that's the chance. I don't try to trust Elton though in either of these teams. Jado has five hamstring injuries, AJ Nix was out. I don't trust I'm not trusting um Caruso, I'm not trusting Dora, I'm not trusting Chet. I will say Chet and Kat would be fun though. That's a fun matchup. Yeah, yeah. Chet and Kat. Listen, man, the the Knicks definitely have a rotation that could win championships in most eras. But we're in like we're in a new era. We're in a new era, man. Um, but yeah, the Knicks. You think this Knicks team would have been Denver? No way. Not Denver. This year, Denver? This year, Denver? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. The championship Denver. This Knicks team beating that Denver team. Well, listen, like I I've I've been defending Kat because even Knicks fans say he's soft, but he led the league in rebounding until he didn't. I forgot who passed him. Um yeah, I know. I think it was Jokic actually. And then he guarded Jokic. Then he guarded Jokic when they beat them in 24. It wasn't Rudy, it wasn't. Yeah, that's a good point. It was Kat. So maybe you can go double big again with Metal. It would have been fun, but yeah, I I I definitely would have won that next to uh that Nuggets team because I I thought that Nuggets team had a two to three year run where they could have beaten all these. I think they could have beat the Celtics. I don't know. I know you you keep saying I really I really think they could have I really think they could have because they still had KCP playing at a somewhat decent level. I just think Porzingis played at a level in that finals run. Yeah. Where like because honestly, I think even I think a better question would have been like, do you think that Mavericks team could have beaten this next team? And that's where I'm like, because that Mavericks team got pretty dusted by that subtics team. I think that Mavericks team, I think that Mavericks team would have had a better chance against um the Nuggets team. With those like uh with the law threats, yeah, Tyree playing like that. I don't know a lot, a lot of a lot of hypotheticals though. Like those are those are fun, those are fun, those are fun a little bit. Those are fun, man. But maybe I'm just super scarred by Jokic, and I just thought he was like the best offensive player I've ever seen in my life. Sweeping the Lakers, and then yeah, then it's timely MPJ3, and then uh Aaron Gordon, like what the Jamal Murray, what you're averaging 30 now? You're not even an all-star, like only six players in NBA history are done with Jamal Murray's done, and he's like, hey guys, Jamal Murray, but yeah, but yeah, dude. Yeah, well, I think we're gonna wrap it up there. Um, I appreciate everybody that joined the live. Um, we'll be back here maybe tomorrow. Break down game three of the Eastern Conference Finals. Where I'm I'm 98% sure we're gonna go live after game four of the Western Conference Finals. Um drop a comment. Who do you guys got winning each of these series? What's your dream finals matchup with the remaining four teams? Um turn on that notification bell so you never miss an episode of the warm-up. And yeah, thank you guys. Thank you, Ashley, for joining us again. Absolutely, man. This is fun. Um, yeah. See ya.