Should Thon Maker have refused jersey swap?
Once teammates, always brothers!!#FearTheDeer pic.twitter.com/slVVT4jU6F
— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) April 23, 2019
Panel:
Guest:
First Half
Monologue: Donovan Mitchell will make you a believer
But there are some general rules of thumb that you can count on:
But here’s the thing about all those rules: Sometimes a player is too young to know what he is supposed to know
Instead, Donovan went on a rampage:
What did you learn about Donovan Mitchell last night?
“I learned absolutely nothing about Donovan Mitchell. He is the exact guy that I knew since he came into this league. He was my pick for rookie of the year because of him just being a rookie and leading last year. This is a guy who that’s going to compete to the very end. I’m not surprised” – Jefferson
“Part of last night was: now he’s hitting those shots that were always good shots, but they’re going in now and they needed it big time” – Elhassan
Vegas right about Rockets chances if they advance?
“That would be a bet that you would want to take” – Jefferson
“It’s a safe bet. But the only thing about Golden State is internally. Do they have any internal stride that could self combust? If that doesn’t bubble up and if they just go out there and play basketball, then this series is a lot less close than a lot of people are making it out to seem. I don’t know if it’s going to be that close” – Elhassan
Nichols:
Understand KD’s frustration with free agency?
“I don’t understand how he doesn’t understand his role in us talking about all of this” – Elhassan
“If KD wakes up and switches teams, he will change the balance of the NBA. That is the primary reason why we talk about him instead of Klay” – Nichols
“The game of basketball needs you to be better at this. He is on the Mt. Rushmore of this generation. They need him to be able to handle this better. That’s what the title of King means. When you are the king, when you are number one, that means you have a ton more responsibility that you would have to handle or you are not fit for that” – Jefferson
April 23, 1999 – Arvydas Sabonis (Blazers) with the nifty behind the back bounce pass to Damon Stoudemire who finishes with the layup vs the Jazz!
Adjustments; Are we allowed to call this Jordan-esque?
Receipts; Chris Paul is still trolling people’s flops?
“Chris Paul has never flopped” – Jefferson
Expressions; Can Blake get fined for chanting with fans?
Layups; Does this perfectly encapsulate today’s NBA?
During one 90-second sequence, The Jazz and the Rockets made 3 pointers on six consecutive possessions!
Moving on…
Another new edition of…
Suns fire Igor Kokoskov
Woj reporting that Sixers assistant coach, Monty Williams is the top target
Impact of coach change on Suns young roster?
Elhassan:
“It’s not an indication of whether or not Igor can coach, that’s more of an indication of the organizations. It’s literally the structure from the top all the way up” – Jefferson
Second Half
Giannis on first playoff series win:
Significance of Giannis’ first playoff series win?
The Bucks won all 4 games by at least 15 points vs the Pistons
First playoff series win for the Bucks since 2001
“If your expectations are greater than this, then we will treat you like your expectations are greater than this. This is one step. They believe that they could win a championship. Do I think they can beat the Warriors? No” – Jefferson
“They’re supposed to beat them handedly. This is what we expected and anything less, we would have been on top of them. Now the significance starts” – Elhassan
“This series [against the Pistons] did not test or push the Bucks” – Jefferson
Should Bucks be favored vs Celtics?
“They should. This is the best defensive team in the league and a top five offensive team. But I always value knowledge of self: guys that have bought into their role, accept their role and know how to execute their role. For Boston, I’m still not sure. When they win, everyone’s happy. As soon as adversity hits it’s ‘I should get more touches and more shots'” – Elhassan
Jefferson:
Best path for Pistons going forward?
Haven’t won a playoff game since 2008 (14 straight losses, an NBA record)
“Talent of any sort: Shooting, playmaking” – Elhassan
“Andre Drummond needs to take another step forward. I think he can be a Rudy Gobert type given his physical gifts. But he has to want to be a Rudy Gobert type which means not complaining about not getting enough post ups or trying to do stuff like that. It means focus on being devastating at things he could be devastating at right now” – Elhassan
“They need more perimeter” – Jefferson
Nichols:
April 23, 2000 – Chris Webber with the monster putback dunk vs the Lakers!
Optimistic Pelicans can keep AD long-term?
“I think that shirt [AD’s ‘That’s All Folks’] was probably foreshadowing of Space Jam 2 as much as anything else” – Griffin
“I look at the situation with very good optimism and the reason is I have a very good working relationship with Rich Paul. Because of that there’s mutual respect. I think there’s going to be appreciation on his part for the fact that I would not have come here if it wasn’t for the fact that Mrs. [Gayle] Benson and her ownership team weren’t completely committed to winning. They very much are. Because of that, I think some of the concerns that Anthony probably had, we’re going to be able to alleviate. I feel like there is reason to be optimistic that he’s going to be open minded to coming back. But the real question is, what does it look like and can we give each other what we really need and be the sort of expression of greatness for one another. I hope that we can. But it’s certainly not something we believe can’t happen” – Griffin
On what attracted him to the Pelicans job:
“Mrs. Benson is the first thing and the absolute clarity of focus she has on wanting to deliver a winner to this community was really meaningful to me. Frankly, the community in and of itself was really meaningful to me” – Griffin
“We’re certainly going to add infrastructure” – Griffin
How much different will Pelicans roster look next season?
“I think we’re going to build a team very much like we did in Cleveland in terms of something that represents the ethos of the city. We’re going to be competing. We’re competing to win. We’re not coming at this as though we’re rebuilding” – Griffin
“We want guys that are about the right things. I envision that’s what the team will look like” – Griffin
Relationship with Danny Ainge?
Nichols:
“I was Danny’s assistant video guy when Danny was the head coach in Phoenix. He was a person that had a really big impact on my having an ability to get into scouting in the first place because he was giving me far more credit than I deserved for the players that I was ‘finding’ on video tape. It was a lot work and a grind and Danny appreciated the grind that I had and really was a huge part of me being able to move up and onward in the front office” – Griffin
“To some degree you are mindful of what his tact is. You’re very mindful if you’re doing this right. You’re very aware of what everyone’s tact is. The negotiating tactics that someone uses and employs, you’re going to be aware of that. Danny is not unique in that. He has a very specific style. What makes the situation with Danny unique is we have the type of relationship where we can really call each other on all that nonsense and just sort of go, this is what it looks like. Because we have that ability it makes any conversation we have along the way, a fruitful one” – Griffin
“I really don’t anticipate anything happening any time in the near term” – Griffin
Are Nets dispelling need for draft lottery by Kevin Pelton (E+)
Expect fireworks in Nets-76ers Game 5?
“I don’t think they will. It’ll be competitive” – Jefferson
“It’s blown over. They’re already shorthanded with Embiid’s health. You don’t need anymore kind of shorthanded moving onto the next round against a Toronto team that’s rolling” – Elhassan
More pressure on Spurs or Nuggets in Game 5?
Elhassan: Nuggets
“They have to win this game at home. If they don’t, they got to go back to a building where they’ve won once in the last 7 years or so. That’s huge pressure”
Jefferson: Spurs
“They’ve had multiple opportunities”