Full Transcript for Nerd Sesh - Timberwolves DESTROY Nuggets, Brunson & Knicks win

they've played. Like. I don't know, dude, this might be the greatest defense I've ever seen, and I don't know how it gets better. I'm legitimately, I am stunned. I am shocked at this game went this way. 00:03:17 Speaker 3: I've been saying since last years against the Suns, this is the best defense of the last decade. I've been saying since the early twenty tens Bowls. Now we're getting into best defense of my lifetime territory. We're getting into one of the best best defenses ever period, point blank, Logan, this might be the best half of defense I've ever watched. They did it without their best defensive player. They did it without the soon to be four time defensive player of the Year, and I absolutely thought Denver was gonna win this game. This series I viewed as a toss up. Minnesota was super impressive coming into Game one. They smacked him in the mouth, but I thought Rudy was so essential to that defensive formula, what he was able to do in that full time roamer role, disrupting those interior passes, constantly deterring Nuggets from finishing around the rim. I thought how they couldn't possibly replicate a performance that dominant defensively without him out there, and they did. It was just an absolute swarm the likes of which I'm not sure I've ever seen. This team has the best combination of perimeter defense and flat out rim protection when Rudy is out there, but the collective rim protection in this game Logan. Without one individual guy like that, they still rack up twelve blocks. There was nothing easy around the rim. That's an understatement. Like you were praying if you were the Nuggets that you'd be able to finish around the rim. Every single catch down there was disrupted. Every single drive, every offensive rebound, you were either gonna be stuffed outright, you were gonna be stripped, or you were going to be considerably challenged. It was just remarkable what they did on the interior. They forced nine turnovers in that first half, in every possession, damn near. It felt like first action was shut down. Jokis Murray too, two man game again was effectively shut down in this game, and then the Nuggets would just sort of reset with a little bit of time on the shot clock, and the Timberwolves would just be completely dialed in every rotation, perfectly smothering you with ball pressure, probably get a hand on the ball just to boot. It was an absurdly physical performance from this Timberwolves defense, one of the most physical defenses that we've seen in a very long time, and I applaud the league for allowing that level of physicality. I was shocked, frankly by how many strips there were in the first half, none of them called like. They are allowing these dudes to assert themselves on the game, and it's making them one of the best defenses that we've ever seen. Zero airspace for Denver ball handlers ever and Nikkeil Alexander Walker, dude, to me, deserves the most credit for this individual game. I just thought the pressure that he constantly applied to Jamal Murray was outstanding. We saw it throughout the Phoenix series. We know that Jamak does it just as well, even a little bit better. We know that Anthony Edwards is outstanding defensively, but he just gave Jamal Murray fits throughout this game, was giving the man actual nightmares. So it's just special. It is absolutely special what we're seeing from this team, and that is the story of this team. Logan. We can talk about Aunt all we want, because Ant is special. And even though this wasn't a remarkable ANT game, he was still really good in this one. But doing this smothering them, forcing this many turnovers, obliterating this many shots around the rim, making the Murray Jokics two man game this ineffective without go Beart on the floor, It's absolutely incomprehensible. I could not have imagined anybody as great as Minnesota has been, as incredibly well as they have matched up with Denver, dating back even last year. Without Jade McDaniels, dating throughout this regular season, there was no question they would guard Denver better than anybody, But to do this, dude on flabberg acid. It's one of the most dominant and at the same time shocking performances that I can think of. 00:06:55 Speaker 1: They're suffocating man, every single possession, and I want to give a credit to to the other guys Man nas Reid in this game, bro Like, there's an isolation possession where Jamal Murray thinks he's gonna go and create for himself, just gets absolutely stuffed. He's got that other one where Yokic's got him on the low block and Yokich thinks he's gonna get something easy. He doesn't stuff him twice, but he stuffs him once. They just rupped the second shot. He gets it back and then he misses it again. Like it is crazy. Kyle Anderson is active with his hands and his activity in this game, man like, it's everybody and it's without Rudy. I don't know, man, They they can't get anything going. Dude. Jokic had fourteen turnovers in his two games previous heading into this one. He had four in this one. He's got eighteen over his last three games. Man just couldn't get anything going. And like again, man, the thing I'm most concerned about, dude, is that Denver looks demoralized. 00:07:51 Speaker 2: Like, yeah, they. 00:07:52 Speaker 1: Look completely morally broken. There's no silver lining, there's no like, oh, overwhelming, there's no Jamal Murray flipping on his switch. Some other crazy numbers about this. Jamal Murray in the first half of these two games is one of ten from the field or no chiev one of ten was just this game. He's one of fifteen from the field over the last two games. In the first halves, he's zero five from deep. He had eight points on three of eighteen shooting in this game. And to end and on the playoffs, Carson, he's sub thirty eight percent from the field and sub thirty percent from deep. Man, Yeah, I don't know how this gets better for Denver. Man, it seems like Minnesota is Denver's kryptonite.

00:08:35 Speaker 2: Dude. 00:08:35 Speaker 1: This is without Rudy Gobert. I just this game has broken me mentally man, as a basketball fan. 00:08:43 Speaker 3: It was outstanding. I want to give them props for some more specific things that they did. Defensively, incredible on Nikole Jelkicic and the whole theory with this team has always been, well, they're the best matchup for him because they can put a guy like Karl Anthony Towns on him as the primary post defender and then have Gobert in help. That's what was so phenomenal in Game one. That's what was so effective last series. They don't have go Bear on him. So this game they double the shit out of Jokic. And they are so long, they have such great hands, there's no passing lanes. They affect everything. They're so unbelievably quick that they're getting out to shooters. There's nothing easy, and if Yokic tries to put up a shot against the double, he just can't create any separation. It was incredible. Nas poked so many balls out he blocked him on several occasions. Jokic still had a couple careless moments with the ball in this game that you just can't excuse. He got absolutely dogged. He got eaten alive in this game in a way that I have not seen from Nikola Jokic, especially on the playoff stage. Last year, was one of the greatest offensive runs we've ever seen through a postseason by this guy. He was unflappable. Minnesota affected him the most, but he still dominated that series. Here he just looked completely physically overwhelmed, and there were no answers, and he still wasn't aggressive enough early, but that wasn't really the issue here. Like they just owned him in this game, and then his effort started to just regress on the glass, allowing offensive rebounds, conceding looks at the rim in the second half, and it's like, yeah, the game was basically over, but Denver just really let go of the rope, and it did feel like they gave up. Maybe not entirely, but like pretty much. Dude, when Minnesota is up twenty five and they're still beating you to every fifty to fifty ball and they're the ones racking up the offensive rebounds, like that's embarrassing. And I think there are a lot of Nuggets who just got absolutely outclassed in this game. But Nikola Jokic is the dude who we have been praising as potentially the greatest offensive player ever. He is the dude who we have been praising as clearly the best player on the planet. He is the reason that we have felt that Denver should repeat as champions. Yeah, they have a good supporting cast, he is supposed to be the unstoppable, indomitable force. 00:10:51 Speaker 1: And he was not that. 00:10:52 Speaker 3: And he wasn't that in game one, even in the first round against Lakers. I mean, he was pretty excellent, but he wasn't as great as we expected. This was the game, really, though, where you're just like, yeah, not even close, not even close to what you need from him. Jamal Murray, though, has been absolutely awful logan like, humiliatingly bad in this series. He's giving you twelve and a half points per game on twenty eight percent from the field. I don't care about a calf, bro, I don't care about a calf when you're talking about that level of production. Three of eighteen in this game, and he is just thrown off to the point where he starts acting out and he starts giving up on plays, throwing the heat pad on the court and making the money sign. Like that's just an embarrassing moment. Dude. You're getting beaten by twenty something at that point. It's not officiating, man, Like, yeah, Kat clearly committed an offensive foul and they didn't call it. Let's say you got fouled three more times in the first half because this was a super physical game. 00:11:51 Speaker 1: Maybe you did. 00:11:52 Speaker 4: Maybe you got hit a couple times and they didn't call it. Oh cool, Now you're down eighteen, Like you got your ass kicked, bro, You got your ass look into the officials doesn't change that you're getting dogged. You're getting funneled in to looks that are just statistically the least efficient for an offensive player, and you're missing all of them. And ni Keith Alexander Walker is in your head and he is imposing himself physically on you every time down the floor. And if it's not him, it's j Mac. Like you just got owned, bro. And then you get to the point where it's like third quarter, right, you're still trying to put together some sort of effort at a comeback. You have basically a three on one. He throws a behind the back pass that gets picked off, Like, dude, why. 00:12:30 Speaker 3: Are you on the court? What are you doing out there? You're just embarrassing yourself. This was a physical ass basketball game against one of the best defenses that we have ever seen, and you were not built for it. That's what this comes down to. I don't want to hear a single excuse. Yogis needed to be way better, Like I'm gonna hold him accountable. And I also am going to give full props to this Minnesota defense, but the dude who threw out now seven games with the exception of a couple really cut shots, has been abysmal bro forty five percent true shooting in this postseason. Jamal has fully fully given back the playoff magic that he had that made him an incredible riser in the bubble, that made him an incredible riser last year. Now we're looking at a d who is dropping like crazy, and they need him. They absolutely need him because the thing that Minnesota is exposing most to me about this Denver team, when I thought about the Achilles heel for Denver, it was the bench. Like if I thought, oh boy, there's somewhere that they're gonna lose, it's gonna be. Minnesota's bench is way better, right. They just have dues. They have eight dues on this basketball team. And the Jokich minutes where he's off the floor consistently have been rough. But the bench has done their job in both these games. What Minnesota is exposing is their lack of athletes and their lack of ball handlers, Like

they cannot get by these dudes. They cannot finish at the rim against this sort of size. Jamal Murray is a great shot maker. He is not a super quick, He is not a great vertical athlete finishing on the rim. MPJ is a pure shot maker. He obviously can't break a defense down off the dribble. Neither can KCP, neither can Aaron Gordon. So when you apply this level of ball pressure and you swarm like this and you force them to beat you with ball handling and to beat you around the rim, they just can't do it. So that's not to do a whole extensive referendum on this Denver team, because I still think they're great and they deservedly won the title last year. But nobody else has been able to really make that matter hold against them, the fact that they are built on this super skill based two man game, and then it's just great complimentary pieces, just guys who fill their roles and knock down spot up jumpers, and Minnesota's doing that. They are bullying them and making them uncomfortable in a way nobody else has come close to. 00:14:49 Speaker 1: Yeah, and when you limit the two man game like that and you force Gordon an MPGA to create there's so many times where now you've got possessions where Gordon's driving out of the corner, trying to create something that's not his game. You've got MPG driving into the teeth of the defense when he's getting stripped. You've got him taking super contested jump shots, and he's an elite jump shooter, but he's taking super tough looks. And every shot Jamal is taking, Carson, You're right, there are guys coming to the ball. And one of the big advantages that Minnesota has been able to eradicate that Denver has against other teams is the rebounding edge. Right, Normally, Denver can win this based on just effort and grit, KCP and Gordon going hard, the role players going hard, MPG. I guess a team like Minnesota they just don't have that edge too. Where Minnesota every offensive rebound in this game, Like Game one, they didn't get any offensive boards this game they did, and they never got a clean look off of a second exactly exactly. The arms are too long. Every shot that is going back up is being contested. There's so many shots in a single game that the Nuggets can break up these you know, bad stretches with a Jokic easy rebound and put back or Gordon easy rebound and put back. This is a major cornerstone of you know their game and it's just gone because Minnesota doesn't let you get anything easy, man. And that's the issue when nothing is coming easy. When we are finally seeing this Denver team up against real adversity, Carson, they have folded like a lazy boy. Shout out the game, man. They have folded like a lazy boy, folded like a lawn chair. It's embarrassing. It is embarrassing what we're seeing from the defending champs. And I want to ask you specifically to Carson, is there any recent champion, recent memory in a playoff setting that you can remember getting beaten like like this. This is the worst ass kick and I can remember, man. 00:16:41 Speaker 3: Well, the twenty eleven Lakers got absolutely obliterated by the MAVs. They got swept and they lost Game four by like forty. But yeah, this is just an ass kicking, dude, and Minnesota delivered an ass kicking last series. I did not think anybody could deliver an ass kicking like this to Denver. I thought this was gonna be a hell of a seat, but to do this, especially without Gobert's outstanding dude. Honestly, Minnesota had the four best players on the court tonight when you consider what NAS did, when you consider what NAW did, Like, both of those guys were so so good. But I do want to give props to the two big dogs as well, even if it didn't feel like this game was necessarily about them. Cat, particularly early, was phenomenal. They each give you twenty seven super efficiently, and the floor right now is just so consistent. And he has some great drives again in this game, and some awesome pull up jumpers, just operating out of the mid range beautifully. But what really excites me, what I really want to focus on, is Karl Anthony Towns because I am just so impressed by the level that he has consistently been out throughout this postseason. So many people hate on Cat and nobody seems to appreciate Cat, and he is bawling out, He is busting his ass defensively, has done an awesome job when matched up with Jokic through two games, has done a good job as a RINP protector, guarded well in space against Phoenix, like just completely bought in to the defensive side of the floor, rebounding really well, just doing an awesome job there, and then offensively just ruthless mismatch attacking like these downhill drives, dude, and the floaters through contact. He's just been so so good and it's not out of control over these last couple games, which we know can happen. He's not turning the ball over and then he's shooting the hell out of it as well. In these playoffs, dude, giving you twenty one a night on seventy percent true shooting, and that's only playing twenty nine point eight minutes per game. He's averaging twenty five points per thirty six if he had played more in that Phoenix series. This is what I said every game, dude, and they called me a fool logan. I kept saying, Oh, the cat game is coming. If he can stay out of foul trouble, no one can guard him, and he got in a lot of foul trouble. But guess what, no one could guard him. And if Aaron Gordon can't guard him, and Aaron Gordon has struggled to do so, then no team in the league has a four big enough to guard Karl Anthony Towns and if he ever gets a switch, he's just dominating. So this Karl Anthony Towns will certainly do as an offensive number two on a title team when you pair it with this sort of generational defense in the phenomenal depth, Like he hasn't had a bad offensive game, he's really just gotten into foul trouble. That's been the Achilles heel. And now you're looking at Anthony Edwards, he's been the best player in the playoffs so far.

After a game like this, Jokic concedes that title. It's and has been so outstandingly impressive. I just think they're gonna destroy whoever gets to the Western Conference finals, absolutely destroy them. 00:19:33 Speaker 1: Dude. 00:19:33 Speaker 3: I don't see either OKC or Dallas built to handle this level of defensive pressure, this level of physicality, this level of quality athletes and defenders thrown at you for forty eight minutes, and I think they're gonna win the title. Like Boston does have a better counter to Denver in the sense that they have a lot more ball handlers, They have more dudes who can handle this ball pressure in theory, but if Denver is getting their ass kicked by this level of physicality, Boston is just gonna get it even worse, like Minnesota is specifically built for Denver again because of how devastating that ball pressure is in this matchup, although it's devastating in every matchup, Let's be clear, ruined the Suns as well. And because they have these two big looks, the matchup so well with Denver size. But I just think Denver's better than Boston. I think they're more consistent. I do think they're better equipped, certainly in theory, to deal with a matchup this physical, and Minnesota has just taken them for everything they're worth. Dude, incredible. 00:20:33 Speaker 1: I mean, it feels like they've taken their soul. Man, like they have taken the soul of his basketball team. I want to expand a little bit, man on a big shout out to Cat and man, big shot out the Cat for this first half. Bro not only knocking down shots what I love to anytime Murray was closing out on him, Kat was going up with the ball. He knows he cannot contest that shot. Anytime Jamal was on him in the low block, he was backing him down. You know they should have called at one foul. But Caat was taking advantage of it, there's an other possession in the corner. I loved it so much, man, Like you said, he was playing so under control after kat had already hit a couple of big threes, and you knew the defense was gonna respect him and play up on him. He gets that ball in the corner, pump fakes, boom, opens a lane up, gets into the teeth like. It was a great game from Karl Anthony Towns. 00:21:19 Speaker 2: I don't want that to get overlooked. 00:21:20 Speaker 3: Man. 00:21:20 Speaker 1: Defensively, what he did on Jokic, walling him up physically, just matching up with him, played a perfect offensive game. 00:21:29 Speaker 2: I'm with you, dude. 00:21:30 Speaker 1: The level that ants at the level that this defense is at without go Bayer, Yeah, the level of like the amount of quality basketball players they have down this rotation, how much everybody has bought in defensively. I really wonder if Denver steals a game, and I think they I think they're my new title contender. To dude, the Nuggets have got to respond. Man, If they come out flat in the first half next game, I think this series is done. I think the Timberwls are gonna get it done in Minnesota and head onto the Western Conferences, like they've got to respond in the first half of next game or this series is done. 00:22:06 Speaker 2: In my opinion, dude, tough. 00:22:08 Speaker 3: To see how this series isn't done to me? And I'm not saying necessarily a sweep. I'm saying Denver winning four of the next five. How how does that happen? Jamal Murray pulls a rabbit out of a hat, like he's not playing close to the level that is necessary. I really don't think there's anything that can change significantly enough. Jokic again can play a good bit better. I don't know that he can play better by a wide enough margin to offset the fact that this Minnesota team is just playing at an unbelievable level right now. And we can focus on the defense, because of course that is the most incredible thing. But they enter this game as the number one offense in the postseason. This is another very efficient offensive game for them. The shooting is consistently delivering, and just the fact that on a night like this, right you have dudes on the floor at all times who are legitimately skilled, who can confidently pull from three, with the exception of maybe Kyle Anderson, but Kyle Anderson still does good stuff out there, and he's got the minterrans game and he's got the playmaking. But Nas is such a weapon. Nas has just been outstanding these last two games. It was a quiet first round series for him, but man, if he puts the ball on the floor or if he pulls, he's just absolutely lethal. And the defensive level from him has been phenomenal. Do you think there's any prayer for Denver in this series? 00:23:31 Speaker 1: Like I said, I think they gotta respond next one. Jamal's got to come out on a heater. You've got to throw. You just got to push back, man. Like it's like a bully. It feels like right now like Minnesoti is bullying Denver, and I need to see a pulse. I need to see a sign of life in Denver, man, Like this is a team that, like, just looking at them on the court, man, they look just completely demoralized. 00:23:56 Speaker 2: I don't know. I need to see this team answer. 00:23:58 Speaker 1: If they come out flat in the first quarter, I'm ready to call the series. 00:24:01 Speaker 2: Man. 00:24:01 Speaker 1: But there's not like a there's not a schematic adjustment that I think this team can make that's gonna make this easier. Like the athletic in length advantage that they have over all their offensive players, They're just putting them in boxes. Man, they are locking everything up, and I don't think there is enough offensive creation in the surrounding players on this team, right, And Reggie Jackson goes down with an injury in this one. I'm not saying that's gonna make a huge difference, but damn, Reggie's one of the only guys on this team that can get himself a bucket. Like, there's not crazy depth here, dude, And they just seem like they have the answer for Jamal and Jokic. Dude, I didn't know if that was possible, And to

no, man, I don't. I'm ready to flip on this series. I'm ready to say it's over. 00:24:44 Speaker 3: Definitely feels that way now. The one thing that is going to be annoying to me is I think we're gonna see an overreaction to this, just in terms of what it means for what Denver did last year, what it means for Niko Jokics, which to me is just silly, like that was a domin tighter run and no, it wasn't the most challenging path, but they destroyed the teams that were in front of them, and Yoga specifically did that too, the three best defensive bigs in basketball. He did that to Go Bear, he did that to Anthony Davis, He did that to Ban out of Bayo, who gave him thirty thirteen and ten on sixty three percent true shooting. And if your take from this is that he isn't a Tier one offensive player of all time or something, then I just think you're missing the point. Like this is an all time defense matching an all time offensive player and right now that defense is winning out convincingly. But I just don't think that takes away from the body of work that we've seen from him that has been so incredible. But this is about Minnesota. This is about a Minnesota team that is just outstanding, and they win in a way that you don't often see, just in terms of this level of defense. Bro. Like, again, this doesn't come around every year. This doesn't even come around every few years. And for Timberwolves fans, I'm just thrilled for you guys. Because we were talking the other day, we named like, I don't know, eight nine dudes on the four Western Conference Finals team, and to think like that's the best team in this franchise's history. Just congratulations, because this team is phenomenal and it's so redemptive in so many ways, Like this is a redemptive moment for Karl Anthony Towns, who has been, in my opinion, undeservedly slandered as much as anybody in the NBA. Even though Gobert wasn't on the floor tonight, he was so phenomenal defensively in Game one, He was so phenomenal defensively against the Suns, like this is a moment for him, another guy who has been slandered as much as anybody, and ant is basically universally beloved, But my goodness, he is just playing at a special level. Like we said earlier today talking with Matt Spahnauer, this has the potential to be a sort of six D Wade run where this guy is an ascending superstar. You think of him as a fringe top ten guy. You think his day is coming, but it's not here yet, and then all of a sudden, it's just there and he physically imposed himself and he just wills his way to a title. This Minnesota team is a lot better in totality than that Heat team, but it just has that sort of feel and the shot making was incredible again tonight. So I would be really, really, really surprised if Denver came back to win this. I think going to Minnesota is going to be exceedingly difficult, and more than anything else, it's this Jamal Murray that I just can't possibly buy in on. Maybe he even gets suspended. Some people

think he should be suspended for throwing the heat pad on Personally, I don't. I just thought that was really lame. But suspensions in the playoffs, Dude, you know how I feel about texts. I feel the same way about suspensions, especially if you're not putting your hands on somebody like it was a ridiculous thing for him to do. It was pathetic. You don't do that as a player just because you're frustrated. But I think the suspend him would be excessive. But what does it really matter. He's not playing at nearly the level that they need anyways. All right, guys, we're gonna take a quick break and get you some words from DraftKings. On the other side, we will be talking about the other game of the day, NICKX Pacers. The eighty two game preseason is in the books, and it's finally time for the real season. Don't miss out on any of the NBA playoff faction at Draft Kings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA, from the play in tournament through the finals. DraftKings Sportsbook has you covered with same game parlays, live betting odds, boosts, and so much more. 00:28:22 Speaker 1: Down with the Draftking sports Book app and use code Nerds. New customers bet five dollars and get two hundred dollars in bonus bets instantly. That's Code Nerds only on DraftKings. The Crown is yours. 00:28:34 Speaker 5: Gambling problem called one eight hundred gambler or in West Virginia visit one eight hundred gambler dot net. In New York call eight seven seven eight open wired text hope and y four six seven three six nine. In Connecticut, help is available for problem gambling Call eight eight eight seven eight nine seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Please play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino Wan Resorting Kansas twenty one and over age varies by jurisdiction, Voyd and Ontario. Bonus bets expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after issue ins. See DKG dot co slash bball for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gaming resources. 00:29:09 Speaker 3: Knicks Pacers logan was an awesome game ends up not really being the story of the night because just wow, Minnesota. But this was a really really fun competitive game down to the wire. The Knicks take this one as they do, and Jalen Brunson goes for forty again as he does. What's your biggest takeaway from this game? 00:29:28 Speaker 4: One? 00:29:30 Speaker 1: These teams are super evenly matched, Carson. You know, I thought that this was going to be a runaway, not a runaway series for New York, but I thought they would convincingly win. And I think Indiana can hang. I think their ball movement balances out New York's. 00:29:46 Speaker 2: Elite defense, right. 00:29:48 Speaker 1: It's really it's an interesting stylistical difference in how these teams play. Like, you know, the Knicks want to play super slow, methodical, the Pacers want to play upbeaten. The Knicks played pretty up tempo and this one too, But just interesting. Man, Like all the Pacers ball

movement, the Knicks balance it out with how elite their rotations are. I just think that they're a really evenly matched. Too evenly matched teams, like the elite offensive creation that's around Indiana. So many different guys they can shoot, they can put the ball on the floor, that can create for themselves, and then so many elite defenders on New York, Like it is super balanced. I want to give a big shout out to Jaylen Brunston. And then this one, the ending of this game, Carson soured on me a little bit just because of the refs getting involved, Like I hate pinning it on them, But you got the Halliburton foul on the strip versus Brunson, where it seemed obvious. I'm sitting there on my TV going, that's a strip, the refs call it. I'm a little peeved at that one. You have the kickball that gets called on Neie Smith where I'm also going, dang man, that pretty clearly looks like his hand touched it. I don't know why you're calling that one. And then you got the illegal screen on Dante DiVincenzo. Just when the refs get involved that much. It's really frustrating as a fan, especially with a game that is so good. Man, it's back and forth and it's just flowing and the ref's ruined it a little bit for me. But it's a Jalen Brunson masterclass man. Forty three six and six in this one, fourteen to twenty six in the field on the playoffs now, Carson, he's thirty seven nine and five on fifty five percent true shooting. Specifically, thirty six point six points per game. It's the tenth most points per game in a single playoff run in NBA history. Right now, like he is doing historic stuff. He's got forty points in four straight games a couple of nights back. You know, he broke the Knicks franchise record for points in a playoff game. It's an absurd burden that he's carrying, man, you know, thirty field goal attempts per game, such a high usage rate. But he can just take it like he can just he can hold up. 00:31:48 Speaker 2: To this man. 00:31:49 Speaker 1: He's such a genius operator. But the shot making is what was ridiculous to me down the stretch in this one man consistently, these are not easy buckets. 00:31:57 Speaker 2: Man. 00:31:57 Speaker 1: The turnaround fades on the low block, getting in some in the teeth of this defense. And it's a team effort, dude, you know, Brunson can't do this without like these other guys, Devincenzo, honestly, without this whole starting five. That's really it. I know everybody knows this number, Dude, forty six points to three bench points, that's crazy. Indiana Notch just forty six to the nixt three and the starting five just pulls their weight. Man, Devincenzo gives you twenty five. Og gives you great defense. Josh Hart is a superhero. I'm ready to give that man his kpe man twenty four points, thirteen boards and eight assists in this one, nine to thirteen shooting. 00:32:37 Speaker 2: He's a superhero role player, and. 00:32:39 Speaker 1: I'm just so proud that he was consistently getting downhill. That's the

thing, man, When Brunson is the only guy that is getting into the teeth of the defense, you need somebody. Whether it's Og, whether it's Stevencenzo, you all need them to pull their collective offensive weight, but you need somebody else to switch it up a little bit and get down hill. Dude, and Heart did that consistently in this game. I was happy that he wasn't just settling for threes. He's done that. And Josh Hard has shot really well in the playoffs, thus far way above his means from the regular season. But he only shoots one to three in this one, and I thought it was him really knowing what he does well and kept getting to the hole, kept finishing through contact. This is a good win for the starting five of the Knicks, Man, But I was pretty confident that the Knicks We're gonna convincingly disrupt Indiana, and they shoot themselves in the foot a little bit in this one too. Twenty two turnovers to fourteen. Indiana wins the turnover battle. But I think we're in for a battle, Carson. I thought the Knicks we're gonna finish this one off in five or six. I'm leaning towards Knicks and six or seven. Man. I think Indiana's offensive creation advantage. I think they hang around and linger a little bit longer in this one, and they put up a hell of a fight on the interior and on the glass in this one too. I really liked Indiana's defensive effort and energy, So I'm just I'm swinging the balance a little. 00:33:57 Speaker 2: Bit more in Indiana's favor. 00:33:58 Speaker 1: Man. I think this one either goes the distance or go six, and I think Indiana is gonna hold up really well in this series. Man, the Knicks don't have a ton offensive creation around Brunson, and Indiana just has a ton of guys that can contribute every single night. 00:34:11 Speaker 2: That's what I learned from this one. 00:34:13 Speaker 3: Well, I think that's been clear. Like, there's no question that this Indiana offense was just significantly better than New York's. The question was going to be how much could New York take advantage of the fact that this Indiana defense is significantly worse than theirs? And how much would having the best player on the floor matter? And those are ultimately the reasons that I still picked New York to win this series and six in my case. But Indiana has a lot of weapons, dude, And that's what's apparent on a night like this. That's what's been a parent Tyr's Halliburton at the beginning of this year was just phenomenal. Right, post hamstring injury hasn't been the same. I still think people understate his offensive impact. I saw a crazy tweet today, Bro. I saw somebody ask if he was top fifty, Like, dude, you are not watching or you don't understand what's going on, Like he had a really bad game today, But we talked about this last years. He needs to score more, he needs to be more aggressive, he needs to shoot way better. But he's still a phenomenal decision maker. He's so valuable pushing the tempo. He's an elite passer, and defenses still

treat him as if he is a constant scoring threat. I would argue sometimes too much, soal like he gets blitzed a couple times in this game where I'm like, why he's not gonna shoot. He's not shooting the ball. He wasn't nearly good enough in this game. But he's still a really good offensive player. But my point is even when he's not great, even when he's not good as he was in this game, they just have a lot of good basketball players. Man. That was the craziest stat post Siakham trade. When he was on the floor. Without Halliburton, the Pacers had a one to twenty six offensive rating. Like, they still have multiple really capable ball handling guards, good passers, they still have shooting everywhere. They have lots of good athletes and they run no matter what. But this was a bad performance from Halle because he just clearly lost confidence and he throws that ball away with like three point fifteen left, where Turner's clearly popping and that's the right read, and he just leads him too much and it's just a careless turnover. And then Andrew Nemhard starts running your clutch offense, and I really like Andrew Nemhard. That can't happen. Like Hallie, come on, man, you still need to have the ball in your hands. TJ McConnell is your best guard in this game. I love TJ McConnell, but like Hallie, you just have to be better than this. But their offense was still awesome, and that's where you have to give props to all their dudes. Miles Turner for what he's done as a picking pop threat. What he did in this game attacking mismatches in spots like he was just excellent. He's been an excellent offensive player. TJ is going to push the tempo, and he's relatively quick, and he's getting downhill and he's always gonna be awesome for mid range, and he's a really good passer and he competes. That was one thing that I was really happy with from Indiana in this game. We know what they can do pushing the temple. We know what they can do off Defensively, they really competed in this game. And there were a couple games against Milwaukee where I was like, yeah, you guys don't have great defensive personnel, but come on, man, like you have to leave it all out there. This is the playoffs, and I felt they did that in this one, and their bench really was phenomenal. Isaiah Jackson gave awesome minutes, super active defensively, finishing well. Ben Shephard was knocking down his shots, Obie was running the floor and hitting his threes, and everybody was involved in that ball movement. It's some of the most beautiful offense. They've assisted on seventy percent of their buckets in these playoffs. Logan like the ball just does not stick in. I do want to give Halle credit for that because I think it's infectious. They just have so many smart, skilled offensive players and that kept them in this game very much. But Jalen Brunson ultimately just did his thing man, and was so great in the closing stretch of this game, using guard on guard screens to get a switch and then get a step and the mittering shot making. To me, particularly out of isolation, was just phenomenal. The ability to decelerate, stop on a dime and then you with the turnaround hit you with the pull up. Scored fifteen points on ten isolations in this game. And no pacer can guard him in single coverage, certainly not Andrew Nemhard, and I was surprised that he was the primary matchup. When we previewed this series, I thought it would be Aaron nee Smith because in the regular season, nee Smith guarded him better, and he's bigger and longer and just more athletic, a better defender. Like I think that they have to make that switch, but ultimately, like there were times where Brunson would hunt Nesmith on a switch and he was still mostly getting what he wanted, And I think Indiana probably just has to try to force the ball out of his hands more. But the problem is when he's isolating, you can't. Right, it's not pick and roll where you can blitz it. You've already committed two defenders to that action, so it's more natural when you are trapping a guy outright like now, you're giving a very clear four on three even more of an advantage. So he's just incredible four straight games with forty plus is ridiculous, And that's a key in this series. Indiana has more offensive weapons, but Brunson right now is so much more reliable than what you're getting from either Indiana star. But just when it comes to closing time, like who's gonna be the best player on the floor, you don't even pause, you don't even question Tyre's Halliburn wasn't running the clutch offense in this game and Jalen Brunson was just getting bucket after buckett. And that's a huge difference in this series. 00:39:20 Speaker 1: It is a huge difference. And the reason that you know, I think Indiana provides a good counter for the next defense too is it is the on the ball never stops like it is crazy unselfishness. The reason I think the Knicks we're able to succeed so much against Philly in the first round was that you know, embiid, the ball sticks right, the ball gets stagnant, embiads, you know, got the ball at the elbow or you know, nobody's moving off ball. So what does this allow the next defense to do? 00:39:48 Speaker 2: Well? 00:39:49 Speaker 1: It allows them to get ready for what's about to happen, just like anticipate, all right, we're gonna need to crash. There's not a lot a ton of movement, like and it allows them to cheat a little more into play to what they expects gonna have happen. Like the ball is moving so fast here the Knicks don't have time to set up. And I think Miles Turner is a big key in this series. I think he is the key in my opinion, him and Siakam really like because the ball's moving so fast, what we saw New York do a lot in this game will switch everything. You know, you would have possessions where Hartenstein's getting on Halliburton or you've got Josh Hart on Miles Turner and I am doing so many in Indiana does a phenomenal job of this. I just running like little

actions. If it's a pin down, if it's a screen up top, I'm doing that. And I'm trying to get as many switches as possible. Nobody could stop Miles Turner and like even switches on og Ananobi where like he provides at least a physical big body, long arms. You know, he in theory can provide some resistance. Turner was just shooting over the top of him. And with how great he has been all series long, Like that is the guy I'm looking to feed on Switches. I'm looking to feed him the ball him and Siakam and Siakam had a game here too where he wasn't as dominant as you know he was in the first series. Of those first couple of games, he's also been surprisingly shaky at the free throw line, just missing shots there. Those are the guys I'm looking to to get, you know, easy looks off switches Man, because you're only running Hartenstein or Robinson. I do think the Knicks could maybe look to a chi Wa too if they want to match, you know, just bodies. I don't love a Chiwa minutes, but he does provide, you know, a good counter when you're getting beat on those mismatches. But Turner and Siakham are going to be the guys that I'm looking to take a step up and I'm looking defeat of Carson. Can we expect more from Halliburton? 00:41:38 Speaker 3: Like I just I don't know if more than this, yeah, more than what he did in this game, but we like. 00:41:45 Speaker 1: Can we really expect him to be tangibly better with the level he's been at during these playoffs. 00:41:51 Speaker 3: Yes, because this is the game in which it's not just that he scored the fewest points, he created the fewest really good shots. I would say he's still made good decisions out of but like six points on two of six shooting is another level down from what we've seen from him. I'm not expecting to look like start of the year halle That ship has certainly sailed, But I do think he can play better than he did in this one. But I like Indiana's offensive formula as is. I don't think that Hallie needs to be great for them to be good offensively for them to win this series. He definitely needs to be a good bit better. But you mentioned like Miles Turner dud and also when they're in drop like those pick and pop looks. Man, he is just a really really good floor spacer. He's a really really good shooter of the basketball, and that's been problematic all year, but like he's just stepped up and delivered in the playoffs so far. You mentioned the matching bodies, and that's a really interesting dynamic because nobody likes to play slower than the Knicks, but also nobody likes to play their starters or really whoever is playing well, but mostly their starters more than Tom Thibodeaux, and I just wonder over the course of this series against the team that likes to play the fastest and arguably is willing to go as deep in their bench and like play nine guys real minutes than the Pacers. Like New York was pushing the tempo in this game, they weren't really shying away from that, but just as a matter of conditioning and fatigue, I wonder how long that's sustainable for I thought New York was really good in terms of transition offense. They had thirty four transition points. That's their most in a game since January, and that. 00:43:31 Speaker 1: Was Josh Hart was Josh Hart was getting out on every break. 00:43:35 Speaker 3: Man always bro He's always so good pushing in transition. That was big in this game. And it was just such an easier offensive performance for them than what we saw against Philly. Like Brunson was great, but also getting an efficient twenty four from Josh, getting an efficient twenty five from Devincenzo, who gave you thirteen in the third quarter, and of course the game winning three, such a phenomenal shooter. Also, these guys are just like able to get a step on Miles Turner when he's out in space and get layups open layups, which didn't happen against the Sixers. Every time one of these role players came downhill, it was oh boy, I guess I'm gonna chuck up a floater over Embiid which is probably gonna miss, or I'm gonna kick out to a shooter. It's just a much easier defense that they're facing, as we knew. But I do just want to give props to the superhuman role players again. Josh Hart devinceanzo Og had a huge defensive stretch in this game in the clutch where he gets two steals, one of which was just on that Halliburn air it pass, but still he gets the steal, and then he pushes in transition big stop on Siakam where he stood up in single coverage. I thought that was an interesting battle. I wonder how much more aggressive Siaka will be overall in this series. But I actually thought he did pretty well against Og, Like that's a really challenging one on one matchup, and he was able to use his size and touch advantage enough and Og didn't really bully him physically on the block, and also Specyp is just so good at running out in transition, getting deep position and then quickly decisively making a move. So I thought that he fared relatively well in that matchup, but Og made huge plays. Hartenstein again was awesome with the touch shots, nice as a passers. Like, everybody did their job again, and that's what's so reliable with the next Everybody is going to do their job. Somebody's gonna step up and be the hero, and Brunson is going to be phenomenal. 00:45:21 Speaker 1: Do you think Indiana got this game stolen from them at all with the calls down the streets? Dude? 00:45:29 Speaker 3: You know me, I hate talking about the refs. I hate talking about the refs. I thought there were a couple of really bad no calls early in the Minnesota Nuggets game, or calls like when nas Reed just didn't get hit on the face at all but acted like he did. But overall I liked it. They allowed that game to be physical, and I always just prefer not talking about officiating because I think broadly things even out and different crews officiate differently and you have to adjust to the game, and sometimes they outright miss calls, but very

rarely is that the thing that determines the outcome of a basketball game. I will say, though, if you're a Pacers fan, I get you being pissed off, and I get you blaming officials in this one, because at the end of the day, dude, like just egregious calls in the last couple of minutes of this game, the phantom foul on Brunson where he just fell down, which luckily the Pacers got to challenge and that was overturned, But like that just should never have been called on the floor. The kickball, to me, is the worst. I've never seen a missed kickball call like that in my life. Logan never in my life. First of all, kickball calls are often wrong because the rules tell you that you have to be deliberately kicking the ball. Nico Jokic should get called for kickballs, right, you're telling me that contact with your feelings, that's not a kicked ball violation. I never knew that, not ever, no violation, which makes it even crazier because I don't know how you could argue that Nie Smith deliberately kicked that ball, but I don't know what the ref saw because there was no way that it even looked like he kicked that ball. That's just a normal That was crazy to me. And then the screen, like, come on, man, what that's a normal NBA screen? Like, yes, it is a moving screen. It is a moving screen, guys, set fifty moving screens a game. You call it when it's egregious. You call it when a guy really leans in with the show. And if you're calling at that stage, you better really be obvious. 00:47:22 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like a holding call, dude. You could call that on the Yah Boys. 00:47:25 Speaker 3: All game long, Like I could not believe that thirteen seconds on the game, like potential go ahead possession, you call that soft. 00:47:35 Speaker 1: Of a moving screen. 00:47:36 Speaker 3: If the guy commits a flagrant moving screen, if it's obvious, if it has a significant impact on the play, you call it. Like, I'm not somebody who believes, oh, you just let everything go on the last possession of the game. Of course not, You're still playing basketball. That's a basketball play that happens routinely. And that's just where I was so upset, and I thought that it just marred an awesome basketball game. And I don't want to be thinking the refs. I don't want to be like, man, that sucked, but it just leaves a bad taste in your mouth. New York ultimately, like shout out, Jalen stepped up and he made the clutch plays in this game. But also Indiana's offense like was mostly executing down the stretch, like when you're talking about the last couple of minutes, I don't know, just for them to not have a real crack at it didn't sit right with me. 00:48:23 Speaker 1: I completely agree, like it left me. It was an awesome game. That is one of the best games of these playoffs so far. Man, how back and forth that was in the clutch in the balance, I hated that. No, it's soured the game for me. I just anytime they interject that much too, man. And it was just really weird to me that all of the calls were skewed in New York's favor, not all of them, like the in credit to them for getting that call right on the floor, the one where Brunson gets trapped, great trap from Indiana on the baseline in the corner and he throws it back off Halle to get it off him, but it bounces off him. Like credit to you guys for getting one call, but others like yeah, exactly, and now. 00:49:05 Speaker 3: They did get the call wrong the ball that was off Nemhart's foot that they initially called yeah to be Pacers ball, but then the NIXT challenge that one. So the two meaningful calls it stood went against the Pacers. And like I talk about how their offense was executing down the very final stretch of this game, like they scored on three of their final four possessions before that, So that's the thing. It's like again, normally it's not the thing that decides the game. Normally the team is going to out execute the other. But it felt like, Okay, Indiana is actually doing their job offensively at least, and they just don't get a chance at the end. That's a bumber, but good for the next I love this next team. I love watching them. That did leave a bit of a sour taste in the mouth, but overall it was a deserved win. Like they played really good basketball in this game. And again Jalen Brunson down the stretch did his thing, was the best player on the floor. Incredible what he's doing. Any final thoughts logan before we get out of here today, nas reed, it's the most appropriate nas reed that there has ever been. Last game was very appropriate as well. But shout out to the Tim rules man. What a thunderous, thunderous performance and just a statement. They've been making statements for six straight games. Bro, Like every game against Phoenix was a statement game. Okay, we are just gonna smack you right in the mouth and dominate you physically. Okay, our two best offensive players aren't gonna come through. We're still just gonna be that much better defensively. Game four, you want to play a shootout, booking, k do you want to go crazy? Fine, we'll win in a shootout. We're just that much better than you. Game one against Denver taking it on the road. And then this is just the This is just the coupd de gram man. This is just something that like sticks with you for a while as a basketball fan, really really impressive stuff. All Right, that's gonna do it for us here today, guys, hope you enjoyed if you did. As always, there's more Nerd Sash content. You can check out all of our shows on our YouTube page. We also do some video essays in depth video breakdowns there that you can find. You can listen to the show across audio platforms. If you enjoy and you listen there, feel free to give us a rating or review. I don't know that'd be pretty chill, but you don't have to. You can also check out our merch if you want Logan's Got the Hat on That is at the volume dot com. You can join our discord if you want to talk with the fellas and specifically to speak with Matthew Spahnauer, who we did have on the show earlier today. Some of that stuff is now dated because we talked to Timberwolves Nuggets, but a lot of that show is still relevant. We reflected on round one, so you can go ahead and watch that one back if you want. And with that as always appreciate you guys. I've been Carson Braber, I have been Logan Canton and this was Nerd Sash