Like CJ’s tribute to LeBron?
“That’s what the postseason is about: Not stopping. Giving yourself every opportunity. They have played with nonstop effort” – Jefferson
“It looks a little bit better than LeBron” – Pippen
Panel:
Guest:
Bucks Reporter, Malika Andrews
First Half
Monologue: Kawhi changes everything for Raptors – again
And yet all of it turned out to be just lead up to Kawhi:
And there was some poetry that he did it over Embiid who wants nothing more than those kinds of moments for himself:
Playoff wins and loses… if you’ve never cried… you’ve never truly cared or were committed. ✊🏾
— Richard Jefferson (@Rjeff24) May 13, 2019
Jefferson and Pippen on Embiid crying:
Who’s your playoff MVP thus far?
“Giannis. He has not stopped from what he was doing in the regular season. He’s playing with a lot of force. Reminds me a lot of Shaq” – Pippen
“Kawhi. He is the central focus of this team and the rest of his teammates haven’t played great in this postseason. So for him to hit that shot in that moment, that has to give the edge to him” – Jefferson
Why couldn’t 76ers execute down the stretch?
Jefferson:
“They just never really found who their go-to-guy. They were trying to win by committee. The fact is that they’re inexperienced and you saw that [in Game 7]” – Pippen
Nichols:
Game 7 tell you more about Nuggets or Blazers?
Western Conference Finals bound for the first time in 19 years!
MOOD pic.twitter.com/e7JgQZ5t0b
— Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) May 12, 2019
“Blazers. They showed no quit” – Jefferson
“Nuggets. They learned a lot in this series. It was about experience” – Pippen
May 13, 2004 – Derek Fisher with the famous 0.4 shot to win Game 5 in San Antonio!
Is CJ McCollum bringing the midrange back?
Dropped 37 points on 17 made shots; 16 of those shots were on two-pointers
“He’s bringing it back at his own pace” – Pippen
“I don’t think the midrange ever left” – Jefferson
Should we tweak how coaches call timeouts in loud arenas?
Kawhi’s reverse Kobe-esque?
“It doesn’t like as sexy” – Jefferson
“It looks really Kobe-Jordanish” – Pippen
Crazier stat from Blazers-Nuggets: 9 TOs or 6 threes made?
“6 made threes” – Pippen
“9 turnovers only because it was a Game 7. Normally, Game 7s teams get a little anxious and start getting a little tight and the game improves as the game goes on” – Jefferson
Moving on…
Cavs hire Michigan coach John Beilein
5-year deal, per Woj; He’s the 3rd Cavs head coach…since the start of last season!
“I don’t think he’s the guy [at 66 years old] for the future. This is an interim job for him to develop young guys” – Jefferson
“It’s a surprising hire. This was something that was already premeditated. Hopefully he’s a good fit for them” – Pippen
Cool with Frank Vogel agreeing to have J-Kidd as assistant?
3-year deal, per Woj
“I take my hat off to Jason Kidd as well. He’s taken a backseat. This is going to work out great for the Lakers” – Pippen
Jefferson:
Second Half
Most to blame for Rockets losing to Warriors?
Time for RJ to hand out some…
33% – Mike D’Antoni
“He plays a great brand of basketball. It’s fun to watch. But is it championship basketball?” – Jefferson
“The game plan of what they brought in game 6 was not efficient” – Pippen
Bonus: Will D’Antoni be the Rockets coach next season?
Jefferson & Pippen: Yes
“Houston loves the regular season winning. There’s not a lot of pressure to win championships there. It’s just how they’re bred there” – Pippen
33% – James Harden
“KD goes down, you’re up, you have a chance in the second half and then you go home and lose both of those games? You can’t even force a Game 7 without Kevin Durant? That means you’re so far actually away from the mentality and the talent of Golden State that you still can’t get it done” – Jefferson
Pippen:
33% – Daryl Morey
“He is the mastermind. He’s the one that facilitated the system: ‘We only want threes or layups. Nothing in between.’ At some time, you got to look internally. You have to kind of tweak some things and under this current thing it’s not working” – Jefferson
“I’m not going to blame the GM. I’m going to blame the other abling bodies that was out there on the basketball court who could have made a huge difference” – Pippen
1% – Everyone else (including) CP3
Nichols:
KD out for Game 1 of WCF (Calf Strain) | Boogie to be re-evaluated this week (Quad)
Still expect Warriors to 3-peat despite KD’s status?
“No. I don’t think they can without KD. It’s going to be a tough struggle. Were not going to see the dominance that we’ve seen in the Golden State Warriors when KD is on the floor” – Pippen
Jefferson:
The New Yorker on Jackie MacMullan by Louisa Thomas
Giannis ready for Conference Finals stage?
Fun Nugget: Giannis watches ‘Keeping up with the Kardashians’
“One thing about Giannis is he’s absolutely good at being humble. He will never ever come in unprepared. His pregame routine is so meticulous” – Andrews
“He’s had enough bumps in the road that he’s ready for this challenge, physically and mentally” – Pippen
Will Brogdon start in East Finals?
“One thing we know about Mike Budenholzer is he doesn’t like to change things when he doesn’t have to. He likes Nikola Mirotic in the starting lineup right now. He wants to give Brogdon a little more time and get him back up to game speed” – Andrews
“What you don’t want to do in that moment is if you have a rhythm, it doesn’t matter. Malcolm has played enough with this team and has enough respect of everyone around him that it’s all about the last 5-10 minutes. The crucial moments” – Jefferson
More trustworthy supporting cast: Bucks or Raptors?
Pippen: Bucks
“Eric Bledsoe’s leadership has been tremendous on this team. He’s probably the one that’s responsible for Giannis’ growth and development over the season. I see a lot of Bledsoe in Giannis”
Andrews:
Jefferson: Bucks
“Their supporting cast feed off of what Giannis does. This team was built around him”
May 13, 2007 – Flip Murray (Pistons) with the poster dunk on Kirk Hinrich of the Bulls!
Unicorn cruelty?
Porzingis jumped while visiting Latvia (Via TMZ)
The men who attacked him were upset that he left the Knicks!
“He needs some security” – Pippen
Suns of Anarchy
Suns forward Josh Jackson arrested at Miami Music Festival (Via Andy Slater (slaterscoops.com); Faces a felony charge
Embiid on Brett Brown: “He’s an amazing coach”
Where do 76ers go from here?
“It’s something to really consider and look at. He’s had great talent as he had this season and you really didn’t do a lot with it” – Pippen on Brett Brown’s future with the Sixers
Nichols:
“They should be evaluating how much of their team has grown and where your team can go. And if he’s the right guy, you need to stick with him” – Jefferson
“The future of this franchise really depends on Ben Simmons and what he’s going to do this summer” – Jefferson
