00:00:01
Speaker 1: As Curry lays it up on it fifty point Game seven, First Step Cury. Welcome into NBA Pulse, a production of iHeartRadio in the NBA. I'm Sarahustak, NBA analyst for the Yes Network, and today is Monday, May first, and man, these playoffs have been extraordinary. We've had a ton of fun watching some of these, especially first round matchups. And so who better, who better than to bring on to our pod here than.
00:00:29
Speaker 2: Chris Mannix, senior writer for Sports Illustrated, not only a excellent talented professional journalist, but also one of my dear friends. So thanks Mannix. I know you're on that. I know you're on the West Coast, so I appreciate you waking up early.
00:00:40
Speaker 3: For me, I've always wondered what you do when the net season ends, And this is it. This is this is how you fail your time, gotcha?
00:00:50
Speaker 1: I mean you can come on, you can come on as often as you want, as often as you want, pending performance, pending performance. No, this is this has certainly been fun time for the NBA for all of us who are fans of the game, in particular scenes, some just extraordinary performances by individuals that we have watched to do it over over again, and none more so than Steph Curry. It was amazing last night. Another performance for the Ages, once again setting history. The Golden State Warriors facing elimination in Game seven at Sacramento. The Kings team who have opened a ton of eyes this season, of course, with their Coach of the Year and Mike Brown and how they've been able to perform what they've done at home. But incomes Steph Curry setting a game seven record fifty points, eight rebound, six assists. He goes seven of eighteen from three to twenty of thirty eight from the field. It's also his playoff career high.
00:01:43
Speaker 3: Curry just flips it up and added Steph Curry magic care of the puck quarter.
00:01:48
Speaker 2: No doubt, Golden State Warriors.
00:01:50
Speaker 1: They advance, they keep rolling, and it's been interesting to see just how he continues to show up and do things that it's hard to believe with how easy he sometimes makes things look. But MANX, when you're watching that game, when you're watching Steph go off, what goes through your mind when you see the things that he is able to accomplish on the floor.
00:02:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, I heard Jeff Van Gundy say on the broadcast. This is one of Steph's greatest performances ever, and it's got to be really high on the list. I know it's a first round series, but it's Game seven. It's on the road, where Golden State has been pretty bad all season long. I mean, you know, the regular season is a different animal, but the numbers don't lie.
00:02:34
Speaker 4: I mean, Charlotte had more road.
00:02:36
Speaker 3: Wins than Golden State did this season, so this has not been a friendly environment for the Warriors.
00:02:44
Speaker 4: Then you have to factor.
00:02:45
Speaker 3: In not just the potential end of this season, but you know, going into that game, I thought it could have been the end of the Warriors dynasty.
00:02:56
Speaker 4: I mean, you think about what you know is going.
00:03:00
Speaker 3: To happen this offseason, the decisions that need to be made from the very top. I mean, Bob Myers, the man, the architect of all this, he is a free agent at the end of this year. Draymond Green can be a free agent, and there's gonna be a lot of questions one way or the other about how the Warriors deal with Draymond Green. So the pressure was I think multiplied for this particular game, and stuff just just showed up. I mean, he came in the first thing, you know, after the game, he listened to some of the things they say, and then you start to piece together how this all happened. And they clearly, coming off Game six, knew how the Warriors were going to defend them in Game seven.
00:03:40
Speaker 4: They had a beat on that.
00:03:42
Speaker 3: And that's why Steph said after the game, Look, I got thirty eight shots up.
00:03:45
Speaker 4: That's because I.
00:03:46
Speaker 3: Saw the holes in the defense and I knew where my shots were going to come from. That takes a high level of basketball IQ to be ready for that coming into the game.
00:03:56
Speaker 4: Get to fact Curry three pointer.
00:04:00
Speaker 3: Curry, and then you know when his entire team is struggling offensively, I mean you know whether it's you know, Andrew Wiggins or Klay Thompson. I mean, these guys were were taking as many shots as they had points. I mean, the most efficient number two guy on that team was Kevon Looney and he only had eleven points. So we'll get to his impact there for sure, But I'm saying like, in terms of scoring, like nobody else but Steph was efficient. Jordan Poole was three for nine off the bench, so like he had to you know, this was not a a offensive, brilliant offensive performance by everyone on Golden State. This was Steph Curry for the most part, taking this team offensively, strapping them on his shoulders and scoring for them. And to do that on the road in a Game seven with all that in the line. You know, I'm sure there are better performances with more pressure deeper in the playoffs, but because of the totality of it, I look at this as probably a top five Stephan Curry performance.
00:05:03
Speaker 4: Wow.
00:05:03
Speaker 1: Yeah, And it was everything about it. As you mentioned, You've talked about the picture of it, of what it meant for that game, that series, but also the wide view of what it means really for the legacy of this team, of this iteration of the Golden State Warriors, what they've accomplished. And the even better part of the many, many layered storylines of this series and of this team is now as they advance from the first round, the number six seed Golden State Warriors will then host the number seven seed Los Angeles Lakers.
00:05:33
Speaker 2: Steph Lebron.
00:05:35
Speaker 1: All of these things it continued to build and just our anticipation for what the early part of these playoffs looked like. So as you look now is the quick turnaround. The Warriors gets that to face the Lakers, who took care of business as well themselves.
00:05:49
Speaker 2: How do you view this matchup in what jumps out to you?
00:05:52
Speaker 1: I know you've got the star power of those big names, but just in general, with this group and with these teams, what do you see in the Lakers Warriors match up that you're most intrigued by?
00:06:02
Speaker 3: Well, for starters, I think this is going to rate pretty well for the NBA. Lebron versus the Warriors again, is I think a storyline that's going to be explored at length. I'll be at you know, Lakers practice later today, and I'm sure that's going to come up a few times with Lebron, his history playing Golden State in those four straight finals. Look, I've been bullish on the Lakers since mid March. I have been predicting they would make the NBA Finals since mid March. I think that the team that Rob Polenka assembled around Lebron, James and Anthony Davis is the best version of the of the kind of team they need since the championship year. And I think obviously Lebron the level he's playing at, Anthony Davis back at that all NBA All Defensive player level, a little show and.
00:06:54
Speaker 4: Go oh man, Anthony Davis put that on hold like customers service.
00:07:02
Speaker 3: I think they go into the series as the favorite. They'll be on the road once again to open this series. But when I look at some of the matchups, whether it's you know, Lebron versus Andrew Wiggins, I don't think Wiggins is going to have the kind of success against Lebron that he did against someone like say Jason Tatum in the NBA Finals, Anthony Davis against Draymond. I think that's a plus for the Lakers. Obviously, the backcourt of La is going to have to find some way, somehow to you know, make inefficient the Curry Thompson backcourt. But I look at the Angela Russell in this series and maybe there's a little saltiness for him too. I mean, he signed with the Warriors and then was traded before he got his bags unpacked, So maybe he's got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder coming into the series. He had He's coming off the best performance of his playoff career in that Game six against Memphis. So look, there's a lot of variables here, and you can't discount Golden State's experience and their perimeter shooting and their guard play. But I think this is a matchup that the Lakers you can and I believe, have a great chance of winning real quick.
00:08:11
Speaker 1: How much do you think and you could say this probably for both the Warriors and for the Lakers having played Memphis, the Warriors having played the Kings to switch from a quick series of stylistically what they faced and now playing an entirely different team in some ways, and that contrasting style for veterans, yes, but for team for coaching staffs, how much does that change how you view things in what these teams have been doing now for a stretch of time and the Warriors playing a long, dragout seven game series, and in how that may affect either team.
00:08:44
Speaker 3: Well, I think that it was a blessing for the Lakers that the Warriors Kings game A series went to seven because getting those two extra days for Anthony Davis, who had a hard fall and was bumped around in that Memphis series. For Lebron at his age, that's going to be invaluable, like having those extra days physically to heal, having those extra days, you know, for the coaching staff to kind of reset and start to dig in is going to be key. You know, the war is really you know Steve Current, his staff, the players, it's what thirty six hours at most before you step into a Game one against the Lakers. That's going to be a challenge right off the bat. So I think the Lakers have an advantage there.
00:09:27
Speaker 4: And look the Lakers.
00:09:29
Speaker 3: You know, Golden State isn't They're not a premium up tempo team, not like like Sacramento is. But they'll try to play up tempo and the Lakers, I think it's going to benefit them having the experience of playing against a team like Memphis and the.
00:09:43
Speaker 4: Lakers that entire series.
00:09:46
Speaker 3: Part of their game plan was to slow the Grizzlies down, make them play in the half court. You heard Anthony Davis say after Game six, they aren't very good in the half court. We have to find a way to make them play there. And they'll probably try to do the same thing with Golden State. Keep them out of those transition opportunities, keep them out of those first ten seconds in the shot clock opportunities. With something Darvin ham harped on before Game six, I think it's a more natural transition for the Lakers to go into Golden State than Golden State to go into the Lakers, because the Lakers and the Kings are night and day in terms of how they play offensively. The Lakers are more comfortable in the half court. They've got more dangerous weapons in the half court. In terms of bron ad for however much that's a variable. I think that is on the side of the Lakers.
00:10:35
Speaker 1: We're going to transition from the West Coast back to the best coast a place in a series near and dear to your heart, Mannix, We're gonna take a quick break, but get to the Philadelphia seventy six ers in Boston Celtics clash right after this.
00:10:53
Speaker 2: Welcome back to NBA Pulse, Saracoustak.
00:10:55
Speaker 1: Joined by Chris Mannix and Mannix, you do a lot of things.
00:10:57
Speaker 2: You have a million jobs.
00:10:59
Speaker 1: I introduced you as senior writer for Sports Illustrating, but you cover a multitude of things, including boxing, which we're not going to get into on this pot but maybe another time. But in terms of the Boston Celtics number two seed, obviously a lot of change throughout the course heading into the season. In they've continued to play well, they've rolled, they take care of business with Atlanta facing a Philadelphia seventy six ers team that Joel and b to this point, doctor River study is doubtful. Will wait to see if he will be able to play. But you covering and doing a lot of coverage throughout the years for the Boston Celtics, what are you looking for in this series and your expectations here between Boston and Philly.
00:11:43
Speaker 4: I mean, really it comes down to Joel.
00:11:45
Speaker 3: You not to oversimplify it or kind of punt on any analysis of the question, but if he is limited or can't play, and as we sit here talking, it's very unlikely he plays in Game one. You know, I was checking in with people down there and around him last week and one of the things I kept hearing was, you know, forget about practicing at full speed. He's trying to walk without pain at this point. That's how much discomfort he was dealing it with in that knee. And Joel Embiid, you know, for the last few years, has been willing to play through some significant injuries, hand injuries, leg injuries. I mean, he's played through a lot of stuff, so there's no questioning his toughness, But when you have an LCL sprain that is as significant as his, the kind of thing that ordinarily would probably sideline him for multiple weeks. It's asking a lot for him to come around, turn around less than a week later and play in a postseason series against Boston. And it's not understating it to say he's absolutely necessary, not just for the Sixers to win games in this.
00:12:52
Speaker 4: Series, but to even be competitive.
00:12:54
Speaker 3: I mean, you go back to the last regular season matchup between these two teams. Joel had fifty in that game and the Sixers only won by like a bucket like that. I mean, they needed every one of those fifty points for them to beat the Celtics. The Boston has owned Philadelphia over the last three or four years. I mean, their record in the regular season is outstanding. Like they just match up really well, whether it's Al Horford against Embiid, Rob Williams, you know, patrolling and being a good stopper against Embiid. The Celtics defensive strength is in their backcourt and it's only gotten stronger this season with the addition of Malcolm Brogden. That gives them a good matchup against James Harden Tyrese Maxi and all those wing players in Philadelphia.
00:13:39
Speaker 4: It's just a nightmare matchup for the Sixers.
00:13:41
Speaker 3: And the only way they can win is if Joelle emb dominates every game of this series or every win they have in this series, and right now it's looking like it's going to be challenging for him to do that at full strength.
00:13:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, and in the other Eastern Conference semi finals, So that game is tonight in Game one, seven, three pm Eastern on T and T other side of the Eastern Conference. On my final Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler, Eric Spolster, the crew continued to just impress. They were at the Garden last yesterday, I should say yesterday afternoon. The Heat end up winning that one, one o one against the New York Knicks, so they take a one zero series lead. The Heat surprised you, and I know we talk about playoff Jimmy and what Jimmy Butler consistently does throughout the course of the postseason, same with obviously the track record of Eric Spolstra and that Heat organization. But did that surprise you watching what happened in Game one and in particular how it finished with Jimmy's kind of banged up ankle, which we'll see how that looks and how that affects him here as the series goes on.
00:14:45
Speaker 3: Well, you know the old coaching cliche that we hear a lot, you know, when there's injuries or you know, guys being out for different reasons, is next man up? Like, how many times have you heard a coach say well, it's next man up? A lot of times when I hear that, I roll my eyes a little bit and say, well, no, it's not. You lost player RECX. You can't just plug in player why and still be successful. Miami is the exception of that rule, Like they really are a next man up organization. Like Tyler Hero there, you know, number two, number three offensive option, a max contract player. He goes down, Well, let's just plug in Duncan Robinson who hasn't played since like the bubble, and you know he plays like the guy that earned that max contract.
00:15:30
Speaker 4: Goblet fling can't leave him open. Jimmy Butler gets injured, rolls the ankle.
00:15:35
Speaker 3: It gets to the middle whistle foul and did he turn his ankle on that boy? Wait?
00:15:41
Speaker 4: Hope not, but he's holding his lower right leg.
00:15:45
Speaker 3: Well, let's play him as a decoy in the corner for the last five minutes of the game. And let's watch like Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry, Max Strus and you know bam Adebayo, not just yeah, like not just preserve the lead, but they expanded it. They won the game by more points than they were up. When Jimmy Butler, you twisted his ankle and look, I we're not not gonna be too critical my pal Tom Thibodeau, but it's like he didn't see Jimmy Butler was hurt. Like he's letting Jimmy just stand there defensively. And the one time in that last five minutes they got matched up one on one, he had somebody set a screen to get RJ.
00:16:24
Speaker 4: Barrett off Jimmy. I'm like, what are we doing here?
00:16:27
Speaker 3: Attack this guy. He's got a bad ankle. You've got to go at him and try to take advantage. I thought that was a major whiffy by the Knicks in Game one.
00:16:36
Speaker 4: But all that being said, Jimmy Butler.
00:16:38
Speaker 3: Is the one guy you you can't just plug and play somebody else and expect to win, not on this team, Like he is the heart, the soul, the fiber whatever you want for however, you're in a frame in of this team.
00:16:48
Speaker 4: That's why you know, when Eric S.
00:16:50
Speaker 3: Bolster was caught on camera after Jimmy turned his ankle and the four letter word he used, he knows, like he knows just how valuable Jimmy Butler is to this team.
00:17:00
Speaker 4: So it's a quick turnaround.
00:17:03
Speaker 3: It's it's gonna be challenging for an ankle injury like that to heal all the way. But I think look, if Jimmy's able to play, and specifically if Julius Randall still isn't you know, Miami not only has a great chance to win Game two, but to win this whole series.
00:17:17
Speaker 4: If Jimmy Butler is limited or if.
00:17:20
Speaker 3: He's out entirely, big opportunity for the Knicks not just to get back into this game, but to regain control of this series.
00:17:28
Speaker 1: Without a doubt, without a doubt, those series will continue. Game two between the Heat and the Knicks is seven thirty Eastern on TNT, and that will then be followed by Game one between the Lakers and the Warriors, and as we said tonight, obviously Philly and Boston at seven thirty, but following up with that will be the Suns and the Nuggets in their game two ten pm Eastern on TNT is Denver Lee. It's that series one nothing Mannox. You are the best. We appreciate you. Like I said, I know you're waking up early for us for the pod.
00:17:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, I appreciate you, man anytime.
00:17:57
Speaker 1: Sarah Andy Appulse with Sarahustak is a production of the NBA and iHeartRadio. Please rate, review, and subscribe on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1: As Curry lays it up on it fifty point Game seven, First Step Cury. Welcome into NBA Pulse, a production of iHeartRadio in the NBA. I'm Sarahustak, NBA analyst for the Yes Network, and today is Monday, May first, and man, these playoffs have been extraordinary. We've had a ton of fun watching some of these, especially first round matchups. And so who better, who better than to bring on to our pod here than.
00:00:29
Speaker 2: Chris Mannix, senior writer for Sports Illustrated, not only a excellent talented professional journalist, but also one of my dear friends. So thanks Mannix. I know you're on that. I know you're on the West Coast, so I appreciate you waking up early.
00:00:40
Speaker 3: For me, I've always wondered what you do when the net season ends, And this is it. This is this is how you fail your time, gotcha?
00:00:50
Speaker 1: I mean you can come on, you can come on as often as you want, as often as you want, pending performance, pending performance. No, this is this has certainly been fun time for the NBA for all of us who are fans of the game, in particular scenes, some just extraordinary performances by individuals that we have watched to do it over over again, and none more so than Steph Curry. It was amazing last night. Another performance for the Ages, once again setting history. The Golden State Warriors facing elimination in Game seven at Sacramento. The Kings team who have opened a ton of eyes this season, of course, with their Coach of the Year and Mike Brown and how they've been able to perform what they've done at home. But incomes Steph Curry setting a game seven record fifty points, eight rebound, six assists. He goes seven of eighteen from three to twenty of thirty eight from the field. It's also his playoff career high.
00:01:43
Speaker 3: Curry just flips it up and added Steph Curry magic care of the puck quarter.
00:01:48
Speaker 2: No doubt, Golden State Warriors.
00:01:50
Speaker 1: They advance, they keep rolling, and it's been interesting to see just how he continues to show up and do things that it's hard to believe with how easy he sometimes makes things look. But MANX, when you're watching that game, when you're watching Steph go off, what goes through your mind when you see the things that he is able to accomplish on the floor.
00:02:12
Speaker 3: Yeah, I heard Jeff Van Gundy say on the broadcast. This is one of Steph's greatest performances ever, and it's got to be really high on the list. I know it's a first round series, but it's Game seven. It's on the road, where Golden State has been pretty bad all season long. I mean, you know, the regular season is a different animal, but the numbers don't lie.
00:02:34
Speaker 4: I mean, Charlotte had more road.
00:02:36
Speaker 3: Wins than Golden State did this season, so this has not been a friendly environment for the Warriors.
00:02:44
Speaker 4: Then you have to factor.
00:02:45
Speaker 3: In not just the potential end of this season, but you know, going into that game, I thought it could have been the end of the Warriors dynasty.
00:02:56
Speaker 4: I mean, you think about what you know is going.
00:03:00
Speaker 3: To happen this offseason, the decisions that need to be made from the very top. I mean, Bob Myers, the man, the architect of all this, he is a free agent at the end of this year. Draymond Green can be a free agent, and there's gonna be a lot of questions one way or the other about how the Warriors deal with Draymond Green. So the pressure was I think multiplied for this particular game, and stuff just just showed up. I mean, he came in the first thing, you know, after the game, he listened to some of the things they say, and then you start to piece together how this all happened. And they clearly, coming off Game six, knew how the Warriors were going to defend them in Game seven.
00:03:40
Speaker 4: They had a beat on that.
00:03:42
Speaker 3: And that's why Steph said after the game, Look, I got thirty eight shots up.
00:03:45
Speaker 4: That's because I.
00:03:46
Speaker 3: Saw the holes in the defense and I knew where my shots were going to come from. That takes a high level of basketball IQ to be ready for that coming into the game.
00:03:56
Speaker 4: Get to fact Curry three pointer.
00:04:00
Speaker 3: Curry, and then you know when his entire team is struggling offensively, I mean you know whether it's you know, Andrew Wiggins or Klay Thompson. I mean, these guys were were taking as many shots as they had points. I mean, the most efficient number two guy on that team was Kevon Looney and he only had eleven points. So we'll get to his impact there for sure, But I'm saying like, in terms of scoring, like nobody else but Steph was efficient. Jordan Poole was three for nine off the bench, so like he had to you know, this was not a a offensive, brilliant offensive performance by everyone on Golden State. This was Steph Curry for the most part, taking this team offensively, strapping them on his shoulders and scoring for them. And to do that on the road in a Game seven with all that in the line. You know, I'm sure there are better performances with more pressure deeper in the playoffs, but because of the totality of it, I look at this as probably a top five Stephan Curry performance.
00:05:03
Speaker 4: Wow.
00:05:03
Speaker 1: Yeah, And it was everything about it. As you mentioned, You've talked about the picture of it, of what it meant for that game, that series, but also the wide view of what it means really for the legacy of this team, of this iteration of the Golden State Warriors, what they've accomplished. And the even better part of the many, many layered storylines of this series and of this team is now as they advance from the first round, the number six seed Golden State Warriors will then host the number seven seed Los Angeles Lakers.
00:05:33
Speaker 2: Steph Lebron.
00:05:35
Speaker 1: All of these things it continued to build and just our anticipation for what the early part of these playoffs looked like. So as you look now is the quick turnaround. The Warriors gets that to face the Lakers, who took care of business as well themselves.
00:05:49
Speaker 2: How do you view this matchup in what jumps out to you?
00:05:52
Speaker 1: I know you've got the star power of those big names, but just in general, with this group and with these teams, what do you see in the Lakers Warriors match up that you're most intrigued by?
00:06:02
Speaker 3: Well, for starters, I think this is going to rate pretty well for the NBA. Lebron versus the Warriors again, is I think a storyline that's going to be explored at length. I'll be at you know, Lakers practice later today, and I'm sure that's going to come up a few times with Lebron, his history playing Golden State in those four straight finals. Look, I've been bullish on the Lakers since mid March. I have been predicting they would make the NBA Finals since mid March. I think that the team that Rob Polenka assembled around Lebron, James and Anthony Davis is the best version of the of the kind of team they need since the championship year. And I think obviously Lebron the level he's playing at, Anthony Davis back at that all NBA All Defensive player level, a little show and.
00:06:54
Speaker 4: Go oh man, Anthony Davis put that on hold like customers service.
00:07:02
Speaker 3: I think they go into the series as the favorite. They'll be on the road once again to open this series. But when I look at some of the matchups, whether it's you know, Lebron versus Andrew Wiggins, I don't think Wiggins is going to have the kind of success against Lebron that he did against someone like say Jason Tatum in the NBA Finals, Anthony Davis against Draymond. I think that's a plus for the Lakers. Obviously, the backcourt of La is going to have to find some way, somehow to you know, make inefficient the Curry Thompson backcourt. But I look at the Angela Russell in this series and maybe there's a little saltiness for him too. I mean, he signed with the Warriors and then was traded before he got his bags unpacked, So maybe he's got a little bit of a chip on his shoulder coming into the series. He had He's coming off the best performance of his playoff career in that Game six against Memphis. So look, there's a lot of variables here, and you can't discount Golden State's experience and their perimeter shooting and their guard play. But I think this is a matchup that the Lakers you can and I believe, have a great chance of winning real quick.
00:08:11
Speaker 1: How much do you think and you could say this probably for both the Warriors and for the Lakers having played Memphis, the Warriors having played the Kings to switch from a quick series of stylistically what they faced and now playing an entirely different team in some ways, and that contrasting style for veterans, yes, but for team for coaching staffs, how much does that change how you view things in what these teams have been doing now for a stretch of time and the Warriors playing a long, dragout seven game series, and in how that may affect either team.
00:08:44
Speaker 3: Well, I think that it was a blessing for the Lakers that the Warriors Kings game A series went to seven because getting those two extra days for Anthony Davis, who had a hard fall and was bumped around in that Memphis series. For Lebron at his age, that's going to be invaluable, like having those extra days physically to heal, having those extra days, you know, for the coaching staff to kind of reset and start to dig in is going to be key. You know, the war is really you know Steve Current, his staff, the players, it's what thirty six hours at most before you step into a Game one against the Lakers. That's going to be a challenge right off the bat. So I think the Lakers have an advantage there.
00:09:27
Speaker 4: And look the Lakers.
00:09:29
Speaker 3: You know, Golden State isn't They're not a premium up tempo team, not like like Sacramento is. But they'll try to play up tempo and the Lakers, I think it's going to benefit them having the experience of playing against a team like Memphis and the.
00:09:43
Speaker 4: Lakers that entire series.
00:09:46
Speaker 3: Part of their game plan was to slow the Grizzlies down, make them play in the half court. You heard Anthony Davis say after Game six, they aren't very good in the half court. We have to find a way to make them play there. And they'll probably try to do the same thing with Golden State. Keep them out of those transition opportunities, keep them out of those first ten seconds in the shot clock opportunities. With something Darvin ham harped on before Game six, I think it's a more natural transition for the Lakers to go into Golden State than Golden State to go into the Lakers, because the Lakers and the Kings are night and day in terms of how they play offensively. The Lakers are more comfortable in the half court. They've got more dangerous weapons in the half court. In terms of bron ad for however much that's a variable. I think that is on the side of the Lakers.
00:10:35
Speaker 1: We're going to transition from the West Coast back to the best coast a place in a series near and dear to your heart, Mannix, We're gonna take a quick break, but get to the Philadelphia seventy six ers in Boston Celtics clash right after this.
00:10:53
Speaker 2: Welcome back to NBA Pulse, Saracoustak.
00:10:55
Speaker 1: Joined by Chris Mannix and Mannix, you do a lot of things.
00:10:57
Speaker 2: You have a million jobs.
00:10:59
Speaker 1: I introduced you as senior writer for Sports Illustrating, but you cover a multitude of things, including boxing, which we're not going to get into on this pot but maybe another time. But in terms of the Boston Celtics number two seed, obviously a lot of change throughout the course heading into the season. In they've continued to play well, they've rolled, they take care of business with Atlanta facing a Philadelphia seventy six ers team that Joel and b to this point, doctor River study is doubtful. Will wait to see if he will be able to play. But you covering and doing a lot of coverage throughout the years for the Boston Celtics, what are you looking for in this series and your expectations here between Boston and Philly.
00:11:43
Speaker 4: I mean, really it comes down to Joel.
00:11:45
Speaker 3: You not to oversimplify it or kind of punt on any analysis of the question, but if he is limited or can't play, and as we sit here talking, it's very unlikely he plays in Game one. You know, I was checking in with people down there and around him last week and one of the things I kept hearing was, you know, forget about practicing at full speed. He's trying to walk without pain at this point. That's how much discomfort he was dealing it with in that knee. And Joel Embiid, you know, for the last few years, has been willing to play through some significant injuries, hand injuries, leg injuries. I mean, he's played through a lot of stuff, so there's no questioning his toughness, But when you have an LCL sprain that is as significant as his, the kind of thing that ordinarily would probably sideline him for multiple weeks. It's asking a lot for him to come around, turn around less than a week later and play in a postseason series against Boston. And it's not understating it to say he's absolutely necessary, not just for the Sixers to win games in this.
00:12:52
Speaker 4: Series, but to even be competitive.
00:12:54
Speaker 3: I mean, you go back to the last regular season matchup between these two teams. Joel had fifty in that game and the Sixers only won by like a bucket like that. I mean, they needed every one of those fifty points for them to beat the Celtics. The Boston has owned Philadelphia over the last three or four years. I mean, their record in the regular season is outstanding. Like they just match up really well, whether it's Al Horford against Embiid, Rob Williams, you know, patrolling and being a good stopper against Embiid. The Celtics defensive strength is in their backcourt and it's only gotten stronger this season with the addition of Malcolm Brogden. That gives them a good matchup against James Harden Tyrese Maxi and all those wing players in Philadelphia.
00:13:39
Speaker 4: It's just a nightmare matchup for the Sixers.
00:13:41
Speaker 3: And the only way they can win is if Joelle emb dominates every game of this series or every win they have in this series, and right now it's looking like it's going to be challenging for him to do that at full strength.
00:13:56
Speaker 1: Yeah, and in the other Eastern Conference semi finals, So that game is tonight in Game one, seven, three pm Eastern on T and T other side of the Eastern Conference. On my final Miami Heat, Jimmy Butler, Eric Spolster, the crew continued to just impress. They were at the Garden last yesterday, I should say yesterday afternoon. The Heat end up winning that one, one o one against the New York Knicks, so they take a one zero series lead. The Heat surprised you, and I know we talk about playoff Jimmy and what Jimmy Butler consistently does throughout the course of the postseason, same with obviously the track record of Eric Spolstra and that Heat organization. But did that surprise you watching what happened in Game one and in particular how it finished with Jimmy's kind of banged up ankle, which we'll see how that looks and how that affects him here as the series goes on.
00:14:45
Speaker 3: Well, you know the old coaching cliche that we hear a lot, you know, when there's injuries or you know, guys being out for different reasons, is next man up? Like, how many times have you heard a coach say well, it's next man up? A lot of times when I hear that, I roll my eyes a little bit and say, well, no, it's not. You lost player RECX. You can't just plug in player why and still be successful. Miami is the exception of that rule, Like they really are a next man up organization. Like Tyler Hero there, you know, number two, number three offensive option, a max contract player. He goes down, Well, let's just plug in Duncan Robinson who hasn't played since like the bubble, and you know he plays like the guy that earned that max contract.
00:15:30
Speaker 4: Goblet fling can't leave him open. Jimmy Butler gets injured, rolls the ankle.
00:15:35
Speaker 3: It gets to the middle whistle foul and did he turn his ankle on that boy? Wait?
00:15:41
Speaker 4: Hope not, but he's holding his lower right leg.
00:15:45
Speaker 3: Well, let's play him as a decoy in the corner for the last five minutes of the game. And let's watch like Caleb Martin, Kyle Lowry, Max Strus and you know bam Adebayo, not just yeah, like not just preserve the lead, but they expanded it. They won the game by more points than they were up. When Jimmy Butler, you twisted his ankle and look, I we're not not gonna be too critical my pal Tom Thibodeau, but it's like he didn't see Jimmy Butler was hurt. Like he's letting Jimmy just stand there defensively. And the one time in that last five minutes they got matched up one on one, he had somebody set a screen to get RJ.
00:16:24
Speaker 4: Barrett off Jimmy. I'm like, what are we doing here?
00:16:27
Speaker 3: Attack this guy. He's got a bad ankle. You've got to go at him and try to take advantage. I thought that was a major whiffy by the Knicks in Game one.
00:16:36
Speaker 4: But all that being said, Jimmy Butler.
00:16:38
Speaker 3: Is the one guy you you can't just plug and play somebody else and expect to win, not on this team, Like he is the heart, the soul, the fiber whatever you want for however, you're in a frame in of this team.
00:16:48
Speaker 4: That's why you know, when Eric S.
00:16:50
Speaker 3: Bolster was caught on camera after Jimmy turned his ankle and the four letter word he used, he knows, like he knows just how valuable Jimmy Butler is to this team.
00:17:00
Speaker 4: So it's a quick turnaround.
00:17:03
Speaker 3: It's it's gonna be challenging for an ankle injury like that to heal all the way. But I think look, if Jimmy's able to play, and specifically if Julius Randall still isn't you know, Miami not only has a great chance to win Game two, but to win this whole series.
00:17:17
Speaker 4: If Jimmy Butler is limited or if.
00:17:20
Speaker 3: He's out entirely, big opportunity for the Knicks not just to get back into this game, but to regain control of this series.
00:17:28
Speaker 1: Without a doubt, without a doubt, those series will continue. Game two between the Heat and the Knicks is seven thirty Eastern on TNT, and that will then be followed by Game one between the Lakers and the Warriors, and as we said tonight, obviously Philly and Boston at seven thirty, but following up with that will be the Suns and the Nuggets in their game two ten pm Eastern on TNT is Denver Lee. It's that series one nothing Mannox. You are the best. We appreciate you. Like I said, I know you're waking up early for us for the pod.
00:17:55
Speaker 2: Yeah, I appreciate you, man anytime.
00:17:57
Speaker 1: Sarah Andy Appulse with Sarahustak is a production of the NBA and iHeartRadio. Please rate, review, and subscribe on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts.
