Was Embiid’s taunting tech borderline?
Panel:
First Half
Monologue: We will remember Damian Lillard’s shot forever
His teammate, CJ McCollum narrating the final shot:
That meme itself will live until the end of time!
Paul George on Lillard’s game winning shot (Via NBA/TNT):
Lillard after the game:
“He called series. It’s way worse than calling game. There’s no coming back from that. That is one of the greatest shots I’ve ever seen” – Pierce
How dangerous are Trail Blazers now?
“A confidence booster like this can go a long way for this team. They’ll probably be the favorite against their next opponent. They are very dangerous. I could see them in a conference finals but before the playoffs, I said this team’s ceiling is the second round. The way they played in the first round against OKC, I could see them maybe getting to the NBA Finals” – Pierce
“I see conference finals, but I don’t see Finals. In terms of how far they can go, they really have a favorable edge on the bracket. If they play the Spurs, they are playing against a team that’s much less talented. If they play the Nuggets, they are playing against a team that’s much less experienced” – Elhassan
“This guy is trolling” – Pierce
Most to blame for OKC’s 1st-round exit?
OKC, despite being a lower seed, came into this series favored by Vegas
They blew a 15-point lead with 6 minutes to go
“It’d be easy to attack Russ and PG-13, but I put a lot of this on Billy Donovan. This is the third year in a row that this team flamed out in the first round. It’s not like they didn’t have the talent, they haven’t lived up to expectations in the regular season. There is a lot of flaws in their offensive and defensive systems that they can clean up. The talent is there but they need another voice. Westbrook needs to have a voice that he can respect and listen to in order for this team to reach the next level” – Pierce
When the word “blame” is involved, you know Amin will hand out some:
10% to Billy Donovan
“You’re the head coach, it’s your responsibility to get this team on the right page both offensively and defensively and they just haven’t been able to do that not in the playoffs” – Elhassan
25% to Thunder Health
25% to Sam Presti
40% to Russell Westbrook
Nichols on PG-13 injury:
April 24, 1998 – Shaq going up high and dunking hard on Kelvin Cato (Blazers), plus the foul!
"First off, I would definitely like to thank the Knicks for waiving me."
Enes Kanter got jokes 😆 pic.twitter.com/DfQJs21vb7
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) April 24, 2019
Receipts; Perfect tweet by Enes Kanter?
Had 13 points and 13 rebounds in Game 5
CAN play Kanter
— Enes Kanter (@Enes_Kanter) April 24, 2019
This was a reference to a game in 2017 playoffs when he played for the Thunder and Billy Donovan was caught on tape saying this…
Because of his defense
Respect; More disrespectful to Magic?
Gasol:
Kawhi:
Pierce and Elhassan: The block by Gasol
Narratives; Is the “Drake curse” over?
Drake to the media on his way out of the building. "You want me to talk about the curse or you guys good?"
— Josh Lewenberg (@JLew1050) April 24, 2019
Moving on…
Who do you trust more: Raptors or 76ers?
Pierce: Raptors
“Only because Siakam has really stepped up. The championship experience is going to play out and the depth”
Elhassan: Raptors
“Knowledge of self. The Raptors know exactly how they want to play. Everyone knows their role, they bought into the roles. They don’t have the issues that Philly still seems to have”
“The Embiid health factor is the biggest question mark here” – Nichols
What’s next for Thunder?
Next questions by Royce Young | Next moves by Bobby Marks (E+)
Second Half
What’s next for Thunder?
$97M combined being paid to Westbrook, PG-13 and Adams
Pitino Game for the Thunder:
“Shooting is what needs to walk thru that door. They have to build like Milwaukee: find value guys like a Brook Lopez, find deals like a Nikola Mirotic and surround these guys with elite shooters. That will give them some room and some space” – Elhassan
“There’s not much they can do. It’s infrastructure. They got the talent” – Pierce
Nichols and Elhassan:
Nichols:
Have Nuggets figured Spurs out?
“I don’t if they’ve figure out the Spurs. I said before the series started: if this goes seven games, I have to favor the veteran San Antonio Spurs. I will never bet against them” – Pierce
Elhassan:
“They [The Nuggets] need to just end all discussion because if you leave the door open a little bit, that means you give the opportunity for Gregg Popovich to kick that door down” – Elhassan
Should Magic re-sign Nikola Vucevic?
Will be an unrestricted free agent this summer
“At the beginning the year, I would have said no. I thought he was a guy who was very talented but not necessarily, his individual success and team success, tethered to each other. He’s changed a lot. He’s improved a lot, particularly on the defensive end. If you’re Orlando, continuity is a good thing right now” – Elhassan
“I don’t think I’d do this deal. You just drafted Mo Mamba. He’ll get the money somewhere else but with this team, I’d grow the young core” – Pierce
Pitino Game for the Magic:
Jason Kidd a good fit for Lakers?
Via Dave McMenamin/ESPN: He interviewed with Rob Pelinka and Kurt Rambis on Monday
J-Kidd back on March 25 show:
“I don’t know if he’ll be a good fit, but I like the direction they’re going in. Guys that LeBron can have some respect for” – Pierce
Elhassan:
Pierce on playing for Jason Kidd:
More desirable job for Monty Williams: Lakers or Suns?
“Suns would be last on my list. There’s too much dysfunction over there, starting from the top down. There’s no stability there. I’d rather go down in flames with the Lakers than the Suns” – Pierce
“Once your name is mentioned in the Lakers conversation, your rate goes up” – Elhassan
April 24, 2005 – Steve Nash with the alley-oop pass to Amar’e Stoudemire who throws it down with one hand, plus the foul vs the Grizzlies!
Showtime
HBO making a “Showtime Lakers” series
Based off of Jeff Pearlman’s book
“I don’t want to see some dude trying to be Byron Scott. Come on, man!” – Elhassan
D-Lo coming back?
No-brainer for D’Angelo Russell to return to Nets?
Is a restricted free agent this summer
“I definitely want to be here” – Russell
“He’s definitely earned it. What numbers [salary] are we talking about?” – Pierce
Pitino Game for the Nets:
More likely to see a Game 6: Warriors or Rockets?
“Clippers for selfish reasons” – Pierce
“Jazz. Defensively, they have a good game plan. Harden hasn’t gone crazy. They’ve kept him in check for the most part. Offensively, they’re taking great shots, but they’ve just haven’t made them not because of defensive pressure, it’s just that they haven’t made the shots” – Elhassan
“Neither” – Nichols
Finally…
Nugget from Thunder/Blazers Game 5: Pierce watched the final seconds of that game….with Westbrook’s brother!
