0:00

Now let's talk about the play of the week.

0:02

The pressure to follow up hypnotic and cognac weighing

0:04

heavily on the team. Hypnotic was in

0:06

the cup, blue and ready for the play.

0:09

And boom on Yeho tequila came

0:11

in with a smooth assist to

0:13

hypnotic's tropical fruit finish. Shaken,

0:16

strained, poured. It was green

0:18

and good. The playmaking splash shifted

0:20

the tempo. Another great cocktail

0:22

from the hypnotic team. Every

0:25

season is hypnotic and tequila season. Hypnotic

0:28

liquor barred South Kentucky 17% alcohol

0:30

by volume. Hypnotic reminds you to

0:32

think wisely, drink wisely. Welcome

0:35

to NBA Today, presented by

0:37

American Express. I

0:42

just love playing the game. I just want to be

0:44

on the floor as much as possible. I

0:51

want to play as much as possible. And that's 50

0:54

for Joel Embiid. Magic

0:57

dominated in every category. We know we got

1:00

to do the same thing on Saturday. Here's

1:02

LeBron in a breakaway. Every

1:06

time we get down, we don't panic. We say the course

1:08

and we find a way to get back in the game.

1:11

Denver wins game number three,

1:13

a decisive three games to

1:15

nil lead. Welcome

1:20

to NBA Today, presented by American Express.

1:22

I'm your girl, Chanel Gomikke filling in

1:24

for the one and only Malika Andrews.

1:27

And I'm joined here in Los Angeles

1:29

studio by former front office executive Scott

1:31

Perry and beaming in somewhere in Ohio.

1:33

Our senior writer, Brian Windhorst and y'all.

1:36

We have so much to get into

1:38

after last night's action. Let's start, though,

1:40

where things ended, because this was supposed

1:42

to say Lake Show. But things

1:45

changed quickly. Nuggets

1:48

versus the Lakers in game three. Lakers

1:50

have lost six straight playoff games all

1:52

to the Nuggets. One loss from tying

1:54

the franchise's record. Longest playoff losing streak,

1:56

but early in the first quarter, Wendy,

1:58

a little showtime for. Los Angeles. Yeah,

2:02

this is what you'd expect from the Lakers coming

2:04

out at home. Lots of energy from LeBron, lots

2:06

of energy from AD. They were a great home

2:08

team this year. You knew they were going to

2:10

come out and fight for their lives in this

2:12

series. Yeah, LeBron, eight points four for four field

2:14

goals in the first quarter as

2:16

Los Angeles took an early lead

2:18

and then Anthony Davis really aggressive

2:20

getting to the rim now. Okay.

2:23

The nuggets start showing up. They

2:25

push it in transition. I know

2:27

exactly. And watch this right

2:29

here. Aaron Gordon, he was Mr. Do

2:31

it all. Aaron Gordon was awesome

2:34

today. He play off career high

2:36

and points and rebounds.

2:38

He set the tone with his energy and

2:40

athleticism all night long. He truly did. He

2:42

truly did. Now in the third quarter

2:44

nuggets down again, but watch tough

2:47

finish. He plays in the dunker position

2:49

and I don't think anyone plays better

2:52

from that spot on the floor than

2:54

AG later. Again, turnover, dime, just

2:57

the top finish from DeMarr Murray. DeMarr Murray

2:59

said he is a common. He raised his

3:01

game come playoff time. We know that.

3:05

Yeah. And then I mean, this

3:07

was a tough style, a little bit of a frustration

3:09

style from LeBron James, especially given

3:11

the circumstances. Now we head to

3:14

the fourth quarter nuggets

3:16

in the lead and Porter

3:18

Jr. knocked down the jumper, the nuggets extend the

3:20

lead to 12 and the nuggets

3:23

would win 112, 105.

3:26

And this was just a little bit of insult to injury.

3:28

Yoga said 24, 15 and nine

3:30

nuggets went. Here's what's wrong after the

3:32

game. We know what it takes to

3:35

win. We know what it takes to

3:37

win a championship and how, you

3:39

know, damn near perfect.

3:41

You got to be, that's not like something

3:44

that's so crazy to obtain. I've been

3:46

a part of it four times where

3:48

you have to have almost perfect basketball

3:50

to win, you know, and I've

3:52

done it with him. So I'm

3:56

not a guy that you should ask that because I

3:58

don't feel. a

4:00

way about anybody that don't

4:02

want to strike me as close

4:04

to nothing as possible. And

4:07

it's just basketball. And

4:09

every day it's just basketball. So

4:15

glad to have Brian Windhorst here today

4:18

because Brian you read the tea leaves

4:20

better than anyone when it comes to

4:22

LeBron James. What's your reaction to his

4:25

comments after he's now one loss away

4:27

from getting swept by the nuggets? Yeah,

4:31

he's getting raked over the coals a little bit for

4:33

this comment but you have to give

4:35

the context of what the question he was asked. The

4:37

question was does he think some of his teammates are

4:39

pressing because he knows that they have they all know

4:41

they have to play perfect to beat the nuggets. And

4:44

he was basically saying that's basketball. Basketball

4:46

is the way you play that. I really

4:48

don't think you should take that comment and

4:51

blow it out of proportion. What I do think

4:53

you should understand is that LeBron is

4:55

15-1 in his career in the first round.

4:58

Not overall record, 15-1 in series.

5:01

Janae, he once went through a

5:03

stretch of five years where

5:05

he didn't lose a first round game. 21

5:07

straight first round games he won. And the

5:10

reason I'm bringing that up is he

5:12

knows what it's like to be on the

5:14

other side where he's the best player and

5:16

he has the better team and he just

5:18

wrestles the other the other opponent that is

5:21

inferior to the ground. That is

5:23

what is happening here. He can't say

5:25

it that cleanly because he would get raked

5:27

over the coals for it for that too. But

5:29

I am saying it for him. They are not

5:31

good enough. He knows they are not good enough

5:33

and it's now just a matter of time as

5:35

it was for him for a decade plus on

5:38

the other side of this. Yeah, so Wendy you're

5:40

basically saying the tables have turned in the

5:42

harshest ways for LeBron James and you also

5:44

know that saying the luck of the draw

5:46

while this matchup was the opposite of that

5:48

for the Los Angeles Lakers because the Nuggets

5:50

are that good. Let me talk nerdy to

5:52

you for a second. Denver is the 14th

5:54

to win the first three games of the

5:56

series after trailing at halftime. This

5:58

is even more impressive when you

6:00

realize that the Nuggets have trailed by

6:02

double digits in all of those three

6:04

games. So Scott, why can't a LeBron

6:07

led Lakers team figure it out really

6:09

in the second half of these games?

6:11

To put it simply Sinead, they're just going

6:14

up against a better team. This Denver Nuggets

6:16

team is just absolutely better. And

6:19

let's just break down the starting

6:21

lineups. Okay, you got LeBron and

6:24

A.D., two All-Stars. You've got obviously

6:26

Nicole Yochich and, um,

6:28

Ma Murray and two All-Stars. But

6:31

the other three starters, huge

6:34

advantage for the, um, for

6:36

the Nuggets for sure. Because look, Aaron

6:38

Gordon, we just talked about him, super

6:40

athlete, near All-Star last year. Uh, KCT,

6:44

great two-way player. Michael Porter could be averaging 20

6:46

points on any team in the league and

6:49

they just, they over, they're, they're

6:51

overmatched. I mean, D-Lo and Austin

6:54

Reed, those guys are overmatched in

6:56

this series. And so they're running

6:58

against a championship, uh,

7:00

caliber team that knows how to win. Even

7:02

when the Lakers get off to these

7:05

fast starts, they understand how

7:07

to not drop, drop the rope,

7:09

continue to execute, push through and

7:11

get to the finish line. Yeah.

7:15

And they got, they were fortunate last year

7:17

in their draw. They got a team in

7:19

Golden State that was smaller that they could

7:21

be bigger than. And then they played, you

7:23

know, they played Memphis and Memphis, John Morant

7:25

was, was dinged up and Steven Adams was

7:27

dinged up. They had some advantages last year.

7:29

They didn't have this year just because

7:32

they're going to go out in the first round of

7:34

this year's playoffs doesn't mean that they're demonstrably worse than

7:36

they were last year. It just means that they play

7:38

the Nuggets in the first round. And the biggest number

7:40

that I can give, we played that sound from Michael

7:43

Malone, who goes, we don't panic when they get behind

7:45

in the seven games in the playoffs that the Lakers

7:48

and Nuggets have played over the last two years, the

7:50

Lakers have won the first half by 21 points. They've

7:53

won almost every first half. The Nuggets

7:55

have won the second half by 62.

7:57

And I'm telling you, maybe those numbers don't

7:59

even. exactly equal, but I'll bet if you go back to LeBron

8:01

James teams in 2013, 14, 15, 15, those

8:06

were happening in those series too. Because

8:08

the better team, and in this case

8:10

also usually the bigger team, bigger, taller

8:13

and better, tends to win

8:15

out as the game goes along. And

8:17

I'm sure if you're a Lakers fan you feel like you've seen the

8:19

same game over and over because that's what it really is about. Yeah,

8:21

the hard thing about all of this is

8:23

that the Lakers, they came into this series

8:25

playing really great basketball, they just ran into

8:27

a juggernaut and that is also led by

8:30

Niko Loyokic. So he's winning the battle of

8:32

the big men on the West Coast. How

8:34

about the battle of the big men on

8:36

the East Coast? Because Drowned Bead, I mean

8:38

my goodness, the effort that we have seen,

8:40

we've gone eight minutes and we haven't talked

8:42

about the reigning MVP's 50 piece wing dinner

8:44

in Philly last night. So

8:46

let's roll the highlight MVP right

8:48

there. Drowned Bead, though the

8:51

start of the game, it was

8:53

a little physical and I know a lot of

8:55

people are talking about moments like this. Drowned Bead

8:57

is called for the offensive foul on the swim

9:00

move right there, just making

9:02

multiple points of contact that immobilized

9:04

Isaiah Hartnett and then again, watch

9:06

this right here. And Bead grabs

9:09

a leg and then... It

9:13

just was a tough situation to juris-dick,

9:15

but here's Tom Thibodeau after the game

9:17

on the... Which one? The

9:20

one they called or the one they didn't call? Oh,

9:23

okay. Oh, okay. I just

9:25

want to make sure we have clarity on this. Wendy,

9:29

your thoughts on the physicality in this play

9:31

right here from Joel? Well,

9:34

Joel and Bead is lucky that he was

9:36

not ejected from this game, not just to

9:38

that play, but for a... He could have

9:40

been called for a second play-grant on two

9:42

different plays. He hit Hartnett and then also

9:44

he did a sort of a Draymond scissor

9:46

kick to Mitch Robinson later in the

9:49

first half. He was sort of a little bit

9:51

out of control. And if you

9:53

want my honest assessment, it was a huge

9:55

advantage that he was still in this game at the end of this first

9:57

half. That is true even though the New York

9:59

Knicks... continue to fight back but

10:01

then Wombe had himself a second half,

10:04

particularly the third quarter, which was more

10:06

performed than the third, which is

10:08

the most in any quarter of his

10:10

career. And then halfway through the course,

10:12

we see it continue. He did it

10:14

from three levels, but particularly he realized

10:16

that, hey, this game is gonna be

10:18

physical and I'm getting called for it.

10:20

I'm gonna stay on the perimeter and

10:23

I'm gonna shoot and watch him knock

10:25

down this jumper over Jalen Brunson. So,

10:27

so far we have seen, I

10:29

mean, we saw a game two that was interesting.

10:31

We saw a game three that also was interesting.

10:33

Overall, the Sixers win the game. And here is

10:35

Joanne Bede after dropping 58 and four after

10:38

the game. He's

10:40

just meant to be, just

10:43

gotta take it as it is. But

10:46

the one thing I'm not gonna do is give

10:48

up. No matter what happens, gotta

10:50

keep pushing, gotta keep fighting, gotta

10:53

keep putting my body on the line for

10:56

my family, for this city,

10:59

for this team. I

11:02

can't sit back and be like, every single

11:04

time I feel bad about myself. Joanne

11:08

Bede had the best game of his playoff

11:10

career and dropped a 50-piece special, all-class. That's

11:12

where you heard verse the Knicks. I'm sorry, it's

11:14

Unix as well. He's just a third player to

11:16

score 50 against the Knicks in a

11:19

playoff game. The others are all Hall

11:21

of Famers, Sam Jones and his airness,

11:23

Michael Jordan. So Brian, and

11:25

Bede seems to be successfully fighting off all

11:28

of those playoff demons of the past so

11:30

far in this series. What are your takeaways

11:32

from the game? Two

11:35

things I wanna say. One, he had

11:38

the greatest playoff game of his career

11:40

while dealing, as he revealed after the

11:42

game, with Bell's Palsy, which was

11:44

paralyzed in the left side of his face. He

11:46

can't blink his left eye. He said that sometimes

11:48

his left eye goes blurry. And

11:51

Bell's Palsy is usually caused

11:53

by, usually a result

11:55

of an underlying condition. I don't know what he's dealing

11:58

with on a day-to-day basis, much less than me. And

12:00

he drops an absolute enormous game in a

12:02

must-win situation that was huge. So I have

12:04

to acknowledge that this is one of

12:06

the great performances we've seen in the playoffs

12:09

in years when you consider all that. So

12:11

he needs to be applauded for that. The

12:13

second thing is the

12:15

New York Knicks can withdraw, or the Philadelphia

12:18

76ers can withdraw their grievance or whatever they

12:20

were pretending they were gonna do after game

12:22

two, because whatever you think that you were

12:24

wronged by in that

12:26

last two minute report and whatever

12:28

you think is unfair, Joel

12:31

Embiid was fortunate to not get

12:33

ejected from this game. Again,

12:35

I wouldn't even be surprised if

12:38

the NBA retroactively upgrades

12:40

one of those fouls to a flagrant. And

12:42

if he had gotten a second flagrant one,

12:44

he would have been ejected. So the fans

12:46

that Joel Embiid was able to stay in

12:48

this game, in my view, maybe not in

12:50

the 76ers fans' view, but in my view,

12:52

squares us when it comes to officiating in

12:55

this series. I don't wanna hear about game

12:57

two again, but

12:59

in square, it's two, one, Knicks, and let's

13:01

move forward. Look, you kind of are giving

13:03

the Knicks fans more to be mad about, but

13:05

when we think about the basketball gods, yes, let's

13:07

just move forward. This is an instant classic already

13:09

of a series. So Scott, you know the Knicks

13:12

better than anyone. Do you think that the momentum

13:14

has really shifted in the series after what we

13:16

saw in game three? I think

13:18

it's slightly shifted towards the Sixers.

13:20

Now look, you don't get down

13:22

in a series until you lose at home.

13:24

So it was important that the Sixers get

13:26

this one. Joel has an epic performance, you

13:29

know, playing on one leg. I think it's

13:31

inspiring his team. It gives the Philadelphia team

13:33

a lot of confidence. And one thing, if

13:36

you're a Philadelphia fan to take away from

13:38

this game, Jaylen Brunson had his best game

13:40

by far in this series. And

13:42

so the Knicks best player

13:44

had his best game. The Sixers best

13:47

player had his best game, best

13:50

on best, really won. So you

13:52

gotta be encouraged about that if you're Philadelphia

13:54

going into game four. Yeah, I

13:56

do agree. I mean, this has

13:58

been fun to watch. I know there's been controversy. But

14:00

that's like the recipe for success when

14:02

it comes to the NBA. Now coming

14:04

up right here on NBA Today, an update

14:06

on when we might see Giannis back on the

14:08

court. And why more trouble could lie ahead

14:10

for the Bucks as they head into Game 3

14:13

tonight. Plus, we

14:15

go to the Apex series in the

14:17

West. As Luca and Kyrie face Kawhi

14:19

and Paul George, we will tell you

14:21

one thing that this series hinges on

14:24

with some special guests that are here

14:26

to debate. And if

14:28

the Lakers get swept, is there a

14:30

legitimate path for LeBron to ever win

14:32

a fifth championship with the Lakers? If

14:35

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15:37

Now let's talk about the play of the

15:39

week. The pressure to follow up Hypnotic and

15:41

Cognac weighing heavily on the team. Hypnotic was

15:43

in the cup, blue and ready for

15:45

the play. And boom, Onyehotakela

15:47

came in with a smooth assist

15:50

to Hypnotic's tropical fruit finish. Shaken,

15:53

strained, poured. It was green and

15:55

good. The playmaking splash shifted the

15:57

tempo. Another great talk to the

15:59

team. tale from the hypnotic team.

16:02

Every season is hypnotic and tequila

16:04

season. Hypnotic liquor, bards down Kentucky,

16:07

17% alcohol by volume. Hypnotic reminds you

16:09

to think wisely, drink wisely. NBA

16:13

Today is presented by the powerful

16:15

backing of American Express. The

16:20

Magic were in a must win situation

16:22

last night in Orlando and playoff P,

16:24

as in playoff, Paulo was on full

16:26

display. In the best of seven series,

16:28

Cavs are as magic, the Cavs are

16:30

15 and 0 all time with two

16:33

O lead. And the Magic are 0 and

16:35

6 all time when facing that type of

16:37

deficit. But Paulo, I guess we're saying, playoff

16:39

P, came to play, he had himself

16:41

a night. Oh, he was excellent. It's great

16:43

to see a young player respond after having two

16:45

rough games on the road to start the series.

16:48

The 15 combined turnovers in Cleveland, he was

16:50

also set to tone in the very beginning

16:52

with his aggression. 31 points

16:54

in the night, he led this magic team, gives them

16:56

confidence going in the game pool. And what you just

16:58

saw right there by the Magic is their bread and

17:00

butter. They have defense that turns into offense,

17:03

but when your offense shows up like this, Paulo

17:05

Ben-Garr, who had 19 points, 18 fields all the time, he

17:08

was like, I'm gonna shoot my shot. In the first

17:10

half, as a Magic led 61, 45 at the half. When

17:13

we go into the third quarter, I mean, Paulo

17:16

gets back to the spot. Paulo

17:18

again, just was super aggressive all night

17:20

and when he has that outside shot,

17:22

workers, he is really tough to defend.

17:24

Look at that, package, no offense. Super

17:27

strong, isn't it? Magic go on to win 121, 83, Paulo Ben-Garr, 31,

17:32

14 rebounds and guess what? Zero turnovers. Don't

17:34

sleep on, last year's Rookie of the Year,

17:37

the Magic get their first home playoff win

17:39

since 2011 and Paulo

17:41

Ben-Garr announced himself to the NBA world

17:43

in a very big way. Paulo became

17:45

the third youngest player in NBA history

17:47

with 30 points and 10 rebounds in

17:49

a playoff game. Now get this, only LeBron

17:52

and Magic did it at a younger

17:54

age. So let's sit in the East

17:56

though here. As a must though, when he

17:58

lives in the East, we'll deal with the East. two

18:00

of their core pieces tonight in game

18:02

three versus the pay three. Giannis has

18:04

missed the last five games due to

18:06

a calf injury, while Chris Middleton twisted

18:08

his ankle in game two. So

18:11

for more on those two key players for the

18:13

Bucks, I'd like to welcome in our Bucks

18:15

reporter live from game three in Indiana, Jamal

18:17

Collier. Hey, Jamal. So we know that Giannis

18:20

is out tonight for the fifth consecutive game.

18:22

What more can you tell us about his

18:24

recovery? Well,

18:28

Sinead, the Bucks are still optimistic about

18:30

just the steps that Giannis has taken

18:32

in that calf injury, the progress that

18:34

he's made over these past few weeks.

18:36

He's been on the court for most

18:38

of the past week. He

18:40

has not been running yet, he's been jogging,

18:42

he's been shooting. And the key is for

18:44

him to get running before they're ready for

18:47

him to go back on the court in

18:49

a game situation. Doc Rivers mentioned that he

18:51

has not participated in a full five on

18:53

five practice just yet. And he may not

18:56

have to before he gets back on the

18:58

court. But for all the improvements they have seen

19:00

from him and they're still optimistic that they will

19:02

see him at some point in this series. They've

19:04

got to see him running and testing that calf

19:07

out at full speed before he's ready to play

19:09

in a game here in this series. So a

19:11

little bit more movement for Giannis. How about his

19:13

running mate, Chris Middleton? What is his status for

19:15

tonight? Well,

19:18

Middleton, it was a surprise to see that he did not practice on

19:22

yesterday because he said it right after game

19:24

two that he thought that ankle was fine

19:27

and he was gonna be able to bounce

19:29

back. But going into this game, he's questionable.

19:31

The Bucks want to see how he warms

19:33

up tonight before determining his status. But Sinead

19:35

in practice yesterday, they were going

19:38

through a game plan as if Middleton would

19:40

not play. I mean, Doc Rivers talked about

19:42

ways they'd have to necessarily generate offense, whether

19:44

it be posting a Brook Lopez more and

19:47

just finding ways for Damian Lillard if he's

19:49

gonna have an even heavier scoring load on

19:51

him. How can they rest, Dame? How can

19:53

they get, they can't afford to

19:55

have him not actually on the floor. Can they

19:57

sort of manipulate the TV timeouts to give him

20:00

an extra breather if he's got to do

20:02

more. They did win two games this year

20:04

that Giannis and Middleton did not play when

20:06

they just had to rely on Dame but

20:08

going into this game three they as Doc

20:10

said they're in a hold their breath situation

20:12

because Middleton's status is really up in the

20:14

air here before he can get

20:17

on the court and test it a couple hours before

20:19

game three. Jamal I said it yesterday that movie waiting

20:21

to exhale it feels like that's what

20:23

all the Milwaukee Bucks fans are

20:25

feeling right now and I know that's one of your favorite movies as

20:27

well I got a I got a concurrent right. Thanks

20:31

so much Jamal. It is a

20:33

classic. Thank you so much. As

20:35

you mentioned this is new territory

20:37

for the Bucks. They're facing potentially

20:39

missing both Giannis and Middleton their

20:41

2021 championship duo that has only

20:43

happened twice this season but as

20:45

Jamal mentioned Milwaukee was able to

20:48

win both of those games. Let's

20:50

get Brian Windhorst and Scott back

20:52

into this conversation with Chris Middleton

20:54

status in questioning Giannis still out.

20:56

Brian how much longer can

20:58

the Bucks survive with all of these injuries? Yeah

21:02

well they're not gonna survive this series if

21:04

they can't get these production from these two

21:06

guys and obviously tonight's game plan is heavily

21:08

dependent on Middleton but I think Doc Rivers

21:10

big choices could be at the defensive end.

21:12

The strategy that they've put in place for

21:15

these first two games is to really limit

21:17

Tyrese Halliburton. They've been trapping him forcing the

21:19

ball out of his hands. He has his

21:21

17 total shots in the

21:23

first two games but that has opened

21:25

the door for Pascal Siakov who's having

21:27

one of the most prolific performances in

21:29

the postseason thus far. 36 points

21:32

in game one, 37 points

21:34

in game two. He's getting the ball way

21:36

too cleanly and easily and look they also

21:38

add their role players shoot well from three

21:41

point range in game two. Kind

21:43

of a choice that you got

21:45

to make stick with your game plan. The guy

21:47

who beat them four times in regular season was

21:49

Halliburton or do you have to

21:51

adjust to worry about Pascal Siakov who's been killing

21:54

them in games one and two? Look

21:56

I think they need game time.

21:59

Game time. tonight for sure.

22:01

What we've seen throughout his career, he's got

22:03

to have a huge scoring output tonight. And

22:05

then you need Bobby Porter's as well as

22:08

Brooke Lopez to up

22:10

their scoring output tonight as well. Look,

22:13

it's going to be tougher than to rely

22:15

on their defense. The Milwaukee Bucks have been

22:18

spotting defensive reasons. All season long, their

22:20

playing team is one of the top scoring

22:22

offensive teams in the league. They're

22:24

going to have to score with this

22:26

team enough to keep it close and

22:28

let Daim do what Daim does and

22:30

put it out in the end. Yeah, I mean, look

22:32

at the difference between first half and second half for Daim

22:34

Lillard. It feels like he gives all of his energy in

22:36

the first. He's got to find a way to muster up

22:38

some more because they need him now more than

22:41

ever before. But, y'all, we will actually find

22:43

out tonight because the NBA playoffs first round

22:45

rolls on with three more game threes tonight

22:47

on ESPN and the app. The

22:49

Pacers host the Bucks, as we just mentioned, at 5.30

22:52

Eastern, 4.30 Central. But

22:54

the series tied at one apiece is crucial

22:56

then. It's the Clippers' map, both of tied

22:58

at one. And we cap the night with

23:00

the Timberwolves' sons. With Minnesota up two games

23:02

to none, the countdown crew begins our coverage

23:04

at 5 Eastern, 2 Pacific. Still

23:08

coming to NBA today, what did Drake say? I

23:10

love this, Producer Jaron. Drop and give me a

23:12

pity. Drop and give me a pity. How M.B. silence

23:14

all the playoff critics with his

23:16

best postseason performance of his career.

23:18

But will Kawhi and the Clippers

23:21

rebound after their loss to Luka

23:23

Doncic in game two? Or will

23:25

Luka continue with prowess tonight at

23:27

home? And something is happening

23:29

to LeBron against the Nuggets that never

23:31

happened to Michael Jordan. Find out what

23:33

that is next. NBA Today, we'll be

23:35

right back. Tired

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24:47

Welcome back to NBA Today,

24:49

presented by American Express. What

24:54

are we calling this, the Golden Game?

24:56

Because this was the 50th player that

24:58

scored 50 points in NBA playoff history

25:00

and it goes to Joel Embiid. And I

25:02

wanna talk nerdy to you. I wanna break

25:04

it down. This is how good Joel Embiid

25:07

was versus the Nixon game. It's so rare

25:09

that you have a post player that you

25:11

send pin down for because they're lethal on the

25:13

perimeter, but also at the paint. This is how

25:15

he got early good looks at the rim and

25:17

there he kisses it off the glass. So he

25:20

did his damage on the inside to start. Then

25:22

he started to go to his most unregardable place

25:24

on the floor through a pick and pop. A

25:26

lot of attention heading to the rim. They just

25:28

drop it over to Joel Embiid. That's his favorite

25:31

place where he knocks down most of the

25:33

shots from the perimeter. He took some

25:35

time to add the most foul, full-club

25:37

ball. Again, another pick and roll as we

25:39

keep moving the ball back. Again, the defense

25:41

is all eyes are on the ball handler.

25:43

You cannot leave that man open from three

25:45

because that's where he does his damage, particularly

25:47

as we saw in the second half. But

25:49

this is what I love right here. When

25:52

you force a switch in a pick and roll, this is

25:54

a rejection of the screen. He will make

25:56

you pay. It forces Jalen Brunson to

25:59

step out. Do you even see Damon Bronson?

26:01

I don't think so, Scott. No, no. He's

26:03

able to knock it down again. I

26:05

believe 10 of his 18 shots were contested, and

26:08

he made most of those in the second half. It

26:10

was wild. Jelon B became the first 76ers player with

26:13

15 points in a playoff game

26:15

since Allen Iverson in 2003, and

26:18

I think he was there watching. The 15 points by

26:20

NBA are tied for the fourth most

26:22

by any player in 76ers playoff history

26:25

and set his personal best in the

26:27

postseason. Tim

26:30

Bontemps is with us now, and you were in

26:32

the building last night. It's hard to believe that

26:34

Joel Embiid has been back from his knee injury

26:36

for less than a month, and he just put

26:38

up 50 points in a playoff

26:40

game. We also, though, found out he's dealing

26:42

with more than just the meniscus injury. So

26:44

health-wise, Tim, what can you tell us about

26:46

what's going on with Joel Embiid? Well,

26:50

today you were right. Allen Iverson was in the building

26:53

for that game through and for the Sixers last night,

26:55

and as you also mentioned, Joel Embiid is dealing with

26:57

a whole bunch of stuff. So let's start with the

26:59

meniscus injuries. Obviously, still coming back from

27:01

that, he's wearing the bulky knee brace on his

27:03

knee, even though he was moving, I think, much

27:05

better throughout game three than he was for large

27:07

stretches of both game one and two. Obviously, left

27:10

game one in the second quarter, look hampered in

27:12

the second half, and then he looked like he

27:14

triggered something in the third quarter of game two

27:16

that limited him through the rest of the game.

27:18

But he looked very good, I think, physically moving

27:20

around in game three, and that's all the

27:22

more remarkable when he also has been dealing with Bell's

27:24

Palsy, a condition that has impacted the left side of

27:26

his face for more than a week now. If you

27:28

go back to the game against the Miami Heat and

27:30

the playing tournament, since then, he's been dealing with this

27:33

condition which causes the left side of your face to

27:35

not be able to move. So he's had to put

27:37

eye drops in his eye to keep him from drying

27:39

out. He joked that he doesn't want

27:41

to impact his beautiful face and his beautiful smile. It

27:43

doesn't allow him to quite use his

27:45

mouth in the way he normally does. And

27:47

it's obviously been something that has bothered him on the court.

27:49

I asked him if it's impacted his vision, and

27:52

he said that it's at times made it blurry.

27:54

This is why both last night, speaking to reporters,

27:56

and after game two, I saw him looking down

27:58

at the ground and not... the camera because it's

28:01

hard for him to sort of look level at

28:03

people when he's dealing with this. So

28:05

you've got all this going on with Joel Embiid and

28:07

the other thing, Sinead, that I think hasn't been talked

28:10

about very much is there's been a real mental toll

28:12

on Joel Embiid, something he talked about last night after

28:14

game three, something he also talked about before coming back

28:16

from the knee injury. This is a guy who year

28:18

after year says all I want to do is be

28:21

healthy when the playoffs arrive and every single year of

28:23

his career he's either missed the whole season with an

28:25

injury, missed the end of the season with an injury

28:27

or has been dealing with an injury in the post

28:30

season as we just laid out. He's dealing with

28:32

multiple injuries right now. So despite

28:34

all that, Joel Embiid had 50 points last

28:36

night, got the Sixers back in the series,

28:39

backed up his declaration that the Sixers are going

28:41

to win the series after game two and as

28:43

always is the most interesting man in the NBA

28:45

because every game no matter what's happening there's

28:48

something happening with Joel Embiid. Tim, it

28:50

is truly remarkable given all that he

28:52

has gone up against and all those

28:54

challenges. He's also played his way into

28:57

shape during the playoffs. He has increased

28:59

his scoring in every game of the

29:01

series and that culminated with a new

29:03

playoff career high last night. This was

29:05

hands down the best post season performance

29:08

of his career. But Brian, can we

29:10

say that Joel Embiid truly unleashed something

29:12

last night? I

29:16

think so. I think all things considered it was

29:18

remarkable. I think it's frankly going to be hard

29:20

for him to replicate it. The

29:23

Sixers are going to need to get more

29:25

balanced production from across their team because frankly

29:28

the Knicks are probably pretty pleased with what

29:30

they got from Jaylen Brunson. Scott mentioned that

29:32

earlier. It was gloss over

29:34

because Embiid was so breathtaking but he had 39

29:36

points and 13 assists last night. So

29:40

they needed every single one of these

29:42

50 points and they really never

29:44

had great separation. They were behind at

29:46

halftime. So it's an incredible

29:48

load that they're asking from Joel and it's remarkable

29:50

that he's been able to carry it and continue

29:52

to get better at every game in this series.

29:56

Wendy you're so right. I've learned so much

29:58

about Joel Embiid in this series. Look,

30:00

we all know he's a generational talent, one of

30:02

the best ever at the center position in terms

30:04

of skill and talent. When I'm

30:06

learning about what's inside of his heart and

30:08

his head, this guy is competitive. He's

30:11

got great passion for basketball. He's playing

30:13

on one leg through multiple medical conditions.

30:16

You got to marvel at what he's doing. And

30:19

I think he's really empowering his teammates

30:21

too, because they're watching him do that.

30:23

So I got to believe that they're

30:26

going to come out in this next

30:28

game and try to rally behind him,

30:30

knowing that he can't keep putting up

30:33

50-point performances and they try to get

30:35

wins on him. Well, let's stick on

30:37

the numbers though, Scott, because Joel Embiid 50

30:39

in game three was a blend of efficiency

30:41

and also just straight up dominance, because he's

30:43

the fifth player in NBA postseason history to

30:45

have a game with 50 points,

30:48

at least five threes, and make

30:50

65% of their shots. All

30:53

of the previous four players were

30:55

guards, making Embiid's offensive versatility truly

30:58

pop. Now, Wendy, overall, when you

31:00

look at this matchup, it's been

31:02

truly emotional. I mean, game two,

31:04

the way that the Knicks won,

31:07

now there's some controversy. Game three with

31:09

Joel Embiid maybe not being ejected. Where

31:11

do you think the series overall stands?

31:15

I think the Knicks probably feel

31:17

okay about where they're at. Game

31:20

two was a 50-50 game that they stole,

31:23

maybe even 51-49 in favor of

31:25

the Sixers. They hung

31:27

in this game despite Embiid throwing haymakers

31:29

like that. The Sixers

31:31

kind of had confidence in the

31:34

defensive strategy they were employing on

31:36

Brunson, using a bunch of size with him,

31:38

using Nico Batum and also Kelly

31:40

Ubrae on him. He was able

31:42

to break out of that. I

31:45

think the Knicks probably will take some confidence,

31:47

especially because of the way Brunson played

31:49

into Sunday's game four. You

32:00

know, Kelly Ubert had 15 the last game,

32:02

but Tobias Harris, a buddy healed off

32:04

the bench, they're going to need someone

32:06

else to provide scoring other than just

32:08

Tyreese Maxi and Joel Embiid if they

32:10

want to win game four. Let's dive

32:12

a little bit in further because Joel Embiid had

32:15

the best game of his playoff career, dropped

32:17

50 piece special all flats on the

32:19

Knicks, and again, he's just the third player to

32:21

score 50 against the Knicks in a playoff game.

32:23

As I mentioned before, the other two are

32:26

Hall of Famers. For

32:30

a deeper look at the reaction to the

32:32

Sixers success in game three, it's time for

32:34

our special series home court advantage, where we

32:36

go to our boots on the ground reporters

32:38

based in NBA playoff cities. So we're going to

32:40

welcome in Deuces Rogers from WPVI

32:42

in Philadelphia. And Deuces, beyond nailing

32:44

those jumpers in the third quarter,

32:46

we saw extraordinary physicality from Joel

32:49

Embiid. How is Philly reacting to this

32:51

type of play from their star

32:53

player? It's funny you should

32:55

mention that on the drive in today, I'm listening

32:57

to the talk radio and both the fans and

33:00

the radio hosts they said had Embiid been

33:02

hit with a flagrant two, they would have

33:04

crushed him today. That was that fine line.

33:06

Yes, he was a little more physical there

33:08

in game three. And with Joel, it's all

33:11

about availability, not about ability

33:13

about availability. And had he not been able

33:15

to complete that game yesterday, they would have

33:17

crushed him. So again, fine

33:19

line, but stayed in the

33:21

game got the 5050 burger. So that was

33:23

good for the Sixers. It was good. So

33:26

the Sixers fans, they were clearly outraged by

33:28

the officiating in game two. And now Knicks

33:30

fans have their own gripe of their own

33:32

with the officiating after game three. So with

33:35

a little luck and also drawn beads 50

33:38

piece on their side is faith truly

33:40

restored in Philadelphia? Did the universe balance

33:42

everything out? Kinda.

33:45

So again, the fans are pointing

33:47

at Tom Thibodeau for complaining about

33:49

the officiating. Which which we find

33:51

kind of kind of rich here in this town.

33:54

The Knicks are physical team, the

33:56

Sixers were out bodied, especially in that

33:58

game one the Sixers. realized,

34:01

listen, we played really well in game two,

34:03

we were a couple of questionable calls away,

34:05

maybe a rebound away from winning that game.

34:08

They won their home games, the Sixers won their

34:10

home game in game three, so the Sixers, they're

34:13

pretty confident that they did what they were supposed

34:15

to do and they can do the same thing

34:17

in a game four coming up on Sunday. Oh

34:19

yeah, we will have all of our popcorn ready.

34:21

Thank you so much for joining us, Deusis, here

34:23

on NBA Today. Thank you, Sinead. Thank

34:26

you, Sinead. 11

34:28

Beat isn't the only top performer this playoff.

34:30

I'll get to the rest with some special

34:32

guests. Luca always brings buckets, but his defense

34:34

is going to be a permanent tool and

34:36

it's that a certain podcast is taking over

34:39

to get that after the race. Hey

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for details. Welcome

35:20

back to NBA Today presented

35:22

by American Express. Welcome

35:26

back to NBA Today. Chaneo Gomike here

35:29

with Brian Windhorse and Tim Bontemps. And

35:31

I just realized we're one person short of

35:34

the Hoop Collective pod. Hey,

35:38

Tim McMahon, everyone here

35:41

is the let's officially do a

35:43

Hoop Collective takeover of NBA

35:46

Today. Get away, Brian. Hey, thanks,

35:48

Chaneo. Thanks

35:51

for hosting the Hoop Collective here on NBA

35:53

Today. We'll talk about the NBA.

35:57

So the last couple of

35:59

days by... heavy criticism

36:01

of Darvin Ham as he has now

36:03

overseen seven consecutive playoff losses to the

36:06

Denver Nuggets. They're ripping his lineups. They

36:08

say he's too small. They're ripping his

36:10

second half adjustments. They're ripping the fact

36:12

that he's not using enough timeouts. They're

36:15

ripping the fact that he's not using

36:17

enough challenges, although he did use a

36:19

challenge late in the fourth quarter last

36:21

night that was successful. There's

36:24

a lot of heat on Darvin Ham. I don't know

36:26

if he's going to survive this if they get swept

36:28

a second time, but you

36:30

don't necessarily believe that all of the angst

36:32

should be pointed at the head coach of

36:34

the Lakers. Yeah,

36:37

look, I'm not going to sit here, Brian, and try to say

36:39

Darvin Ham has done a perfect job, but let's look at what,

36:42

to me, the real problem with the Lakers is, which is the

36:44

roster isn't good enough, which is why

36:46

they've lost 11 times in a row to

36:48

the Denver Nuggets. So let's look at a

36:50

series of decisions that Rob Polinka has made

36:52

over the past few years. Rob Polinka was

36:54

the one who traded Katavia's Caldwell Pope, who's

36:56

beating them now with the Denver Nuggets for

36:58

Russell Westbrook. Rob Polinka was the guy who

37:00

chose DeAngelo Russell over Mike Conley in the

37:02

second Russell Westbrook trade. Rob

37:05

Polinka was the guy who chose Taylor Horton

37:07

Tucker over Alex Caruso and also just decided

37:09

not to pay Alex Caruso, what was an

37:11

under market value contract at the time and

37:13

has only grown in that regard over the

37:16

past few years with the Chicago Bulls. Rob

37:18

Polinka is the person who drafted Jalen Hutchafino

37:21

over Jaime Hakes, Brandon Pajenski, and Cam Whitmore,

37:23

the next three picks in the draft, all

37:25

of whom would have been excellent two-way additions

37:27

for the Lakers this year. He's also the

37:29

guy who signed Gabe Vincent last summer, who

37:31

basically didn't play this year with a knee

37:33

injury, and he's the guy who turned out options

37:35

for Malik Beasley and Mo Bamba that could have been a

37:37

large expiring contract for the Lakers to

37:39

make a move this summer to add to their team, or

37:42

this season, I should say, and then they didn't have it

37:44

to improve this roster, which clearly wasn't good enough over the

37:46

course of the year. So yes, not saying Darvin Ham's perfect,

37:48

not saying he's the second coming right hour back, but when

37:50

you look at what's going on with the Lakers, this team

37:53

is not good enough. They have

37:55

two two-way players, and Anthony Davidson, LeBron James, and

37:57

those guys combined to play a hundred and forty

37:59

seconds. seven games this season. The fact that

38:01

this team is in the play-in mix because of that

38:03

means the rest of this team around them is simply

38:06

not good enough to be where the Lakers expect to

38:08

be, which is contending for Western Conference titles and championships.

38:12

McMahon? Well,

38:19

listen, man. Everybody wants to talk

38:21

about LeBron James. I get it. We only

38:23

have one game left to talk about King

38:26

James in the playoffs. He's in the conversation

38:28

for the greatest of all time. He's not

38:30

in the conversation for greatest of right now.

38:32

At some point, I guess we have three

38:34

rounds left to talk about the greatest of

38:36

right now. We have three rounds left to

38:39

talk about. Nicole Yokoch, because the story of

38:41

this series is not LeBron James. It's not

38:43

the Lakers. It's the defending champion nuggets and

38:45

the fact that Yokoch is so by far

38:47

the best player in this series. It's not

38:50

even funny, just like that was the

38:52

case last year in the so-called most competitive

38:54

sweep of all time. Yeah,

38:59

absolutely. And, you know, that was

39:01

a negative resume for Pelica. The

39:04

bond temps just went through there.

39:06

And I don't know if

39:08

I could recover from that if I was a Laker fan,

39:10

because quite frankly, that was quite the

39:12

indictment. OK, the series that you're at, McMahon,

39:15

is going to be, I think, one of

39:17

the most important and high intensity of the

39:20

first round. You're back in Dallas tonight for

39:22

game three after the Mavericks were victorious in

39:24

that terrific game two performance. And you said

39:26

something on the Hoop Collective the other day

39:28

that we ran in today's edition, which

39:30

is you thought the game two is

39:32

the best defensive performance of Luca Doncic's

39:35

career. Is this something that is

39:37

a one off? Can he keep this up and

39:39

can the Mavs win this series playing defense? This

39:43

is something that he's been building up to.

39:45

He's been a drastically improved defensive player all

39:47

season long. There's plenty of metrics that point

39:49

to that. One of those team defense, the

39:51

Mavericks for the last 20 games of the

39:54

season, were the number one defense in the

39:56

NBA. So no, I don't think this is

39:58

a fluke. What I do think think is

40:00

it's an endurance test for Luca Doncic. Tyloo

40:03

referred to Jason Kidd as Jason Thibodeau

40:05

because Luca played 46 minutes. He

40:08

rested one time in the second half. He

40:10

subbed out for one free throw. They called

40:12

a timeout and he subbed right back in.

40:14

The Clippers, I think, will continue attacking him,

40:16

but it did work last game. Two of

40:18

17 with Luca as the primary defender. They're

40:21

attacking him to try to make him work

40:23

as hard as possible. Not only did he

40:25

shut them down defensively, he had enough gas

40:27

left in the tank to hit that step

40:29

back dagger. Tyloo said he felt like

40:31

they were so focused on going out Luca that

40:33

they're often got stagnant. So again, I think they'll

40:36

tweak it, but they're still going to hunt him

40:38

because they have to wear him down to have

40:40

a chance to win this series. Well,

40:43

McMahon, you're totally right about Luca's defense. He was

40:45

fantastic in game two. And

40:47

if you look forward in this series, this is

40:49

a huge five games upcoming for Dallas. They traded

40:51

for PJ Washington, traded for Daniel Gafford, gave up

40:53

a lot of future draft capital at the trade

40:55

deadline to be a contender right now. They

40:58

got to win this series to show there you have the ability to

41:00

be a contender right now. So let's see

41:02

what happens tonight. Let's see what happens over the four games. The problem. It's

41:06

going to be a very exciting series. I think Chanae,

41:09

the hoop collective is very, very

41:11

proud to have been a little part of the

41:13

show today. Thank you for allowing me to

41:16

be load managed here on NBA today. It

41:18

was very fun. Who's collective. But now would

41:20

you all be down to make some pics

41:22

with me because it's now time for setting

41:24

the pick brought to you by ESPN bet,

41:26

the official sports book of ESPN. And we've

41:28

got three game threes tonight. The team will

41:31

start it off. They have a two old

41:33

lead on the sun. Game three

41:35

is in Phoenix. And who you got tonight? I

41:40

mean, I'm saying the sun's just to

41:42

satisfy this segment, but I don't

41:44

know how you can trust the sun's the way that they have

41:46

played all year. Good luck to

41:48

you. If you're a Phoenix fan, get your, you

41:50

know, your Pepto biz mall. I have no idea

41:52

what's going to happen in this game tonight, but

41:54

the sons are home. Not the Pepto biz mall

41:56

for the headache. Not the introduction. Okay.

42:00

Clippers at Mavs and Dallas series aside at

42:02

1-1 Tim McMahon, who you got? I

42:06

picked Mavs and six for the series, so make

42:08

sense, I would pick the Mavs tonight. Again, it's

42:10

about defense, it's about the Stars, it's about the

42:12

role players playing better at home. I think for

42:14

the Clippers that have a chance to pull off

42:17

this series, they're going to need Pete Kawhi. I

42:19

think it's not reasonable to expect that just in

42:21

the second game back. And also your safety

42:23

as you're standing in the arena. Now, Bucks at

42:25

Pacers and in these series aside, Tim Bontemps, who

42:27

you got in this one? I

42:30

got the Pacers today, we don't know what Chris

42:33

Middleton's status is. He's questionable with an ankle sprain

42:35

from the last game. Giannis not playing again. We

42:37

saw the Pacers figure a bunch of stuff out

42:39

in game two, and I think Tyrese Housen will

42:41

play much better as it comes back to Indiana

42:43

for game three. Kudos to the guys, that

42:46

takeover was fun. Glad to be a part of the

42:48

first and likely not the last takeover here on NBA

42:50

Today. Adios amigos, that's what you always say. Who are

42:52

you picking though? Download the ESPN bet app to get

42:54

started. New customers receive $100 in bonus bets once

42:57

they place their first sportsbook bet with

42:59

ESPN Bet. Plenty

43:02

of picks to go around these days

43:04

in the sports world. The NFL draft

43:06

coverage continues tonight on ESPN2, ABC

43:08

and the NFL Network at 7 Eastern with

43:11

the second and third rounds. You can always

43:13

watch it on ESPN Deportes as well, the

43:15

ESPN app, and listen to it on ESPN8

43:17

radio from anywhere. All

43:21

right, so if the Lakers get swept, this

43:23

won't be a first for LeBron. What will

43:25

it mean this time around for his chances

43:27

at fifth title in Los Angeles? I

43:31

need a bucket. Bucket? I'm a

43:33

walking bucket. Chelsea Plumb. I got clutch

43:35

buckets. No. I got deep buckets. No.

43:38

Easy buckets. Girl. I got

43:40

it, I got it. You're not a floater. Splash!

43:45

Splash. I need a bucket bucket.

43:48

Oh, you don't need me. You need like a

43:50

good neighbor. State Farm is there. Oh,

43:52

State Farm can help with this. Just file a claim on

43:54

the app or give us a call. I get

43:56

buckets and assist. The NBA on ESPN

43:58

presented by State Farm. Today

44:06

is presented by the powerful backing

44:08

of American Express. Fellows

44:13

got to stay in this. Clearly

44:19

these Lakers are ready to play. We've

44:23

been starting this year for the first time

44:25

in a row. This

44:32

is the first half, we're going to lead into the future

44:34

that we have. We're going to come on the third quarter

44:36

with not much energy, probably a strike-up, but just in a

44:38

deep setter we have in the first half. Nuggets

44:41

are rolling, they take a 3-0 lead

44:43

in the series. The Lakers season might

44:45

be on life support. Ooh,

44:49

life support. LeBron is an all-time great, but it is

44:51

true. He has been swept out

44:53

of the playoffs in the past. First, in 2007, despite

44:56

making the finals, the

44:58

Spurs won their fourth title by

45:00

sweeping the upstart path. Then,

45:03

in 2018, also in the finals, this time the

45:05

Cavaliers were helped by the Warriors. It

45:08

was LeBron's final game as a member of the Cavs

45:10

during his second stint with the franchise. And

45:13

in the Western Conference Finals just last year, this

45:16

same Nuggets squad ended the Lakers season at

45:18

crypto.com Arena. Denver went on

45:20

to win the title last season. Now

45:24

we've never seen a team win a playoff series

45:26

when trailing three games to none. Each

45:29

of the previous 151 teams tried

45:31

and failed to win four consecutive

45:33

games to turn the tide. Only

45:35

four of those 151 teams were

45:37

even able to force a game

45:39

seven, which they all lost. Now,

45:42

LeBron said it after the loss. It's

45:45

just basketball. But I want to take a

45:47

moment to bring up this tweet by Kendrick

45:49

Perkins, because it had us thinking, if you

45:51

look at this tweet, he called to question

45:54

this. Unless Jokic has an early retirement, LeBron

45:57

will never win another title.

46:00

I know Perk is not on the show, he always likes to drop some

46:02

dime for us. But Ryan, when you

46:04

look at the state of the Los Angeles

46:06

Lakers, and where LeBron is currently in his

46:08

career, do you think there's still hope for

46:11

him in LA to win

46:13

a fifth title? You

46:15

know, they have one more big move that

46:18

they can make. They have three first round

46:20

picks, and basically Austin Reeves, that they'll be

46:22

able to trade in June. It's

46:24

possible that they could attract a big

46:26

time star player in Parham with LeBron

46:28

and AD, and get close to the

46:30

Nuggets. What I favor that to happen,

46:32

I would not favor it to happen,

46:35

especially when you look how young OKC

46:37

is. But they're not gloved. The

46:39

idea that this was the Lakers last stand, I don't

46:41

think is a fair analysis, especially since they do have

46:43

those aspects to play with over the summer. Just

46:47

to add to what Wendy's saying,

46:49

look, LeBron is gonna need a little

46:51

more help. We know that. He can't play Superman

46:53

any longer. But I

46:55

think they need to add a very

46:57

high level two way player, and

47:00

additionally, they need to

47:02

find a guy who can be that reliable third

47:05

scorer. They have to have that to be able

47:07

to compete and even have a chance to play

47:09

against the likes of the Denver Nuggets and the

47:11

OKC Thunder going forward. Wendy, really quickly, do you

47:13

think the Lakers can do that in the off

47:15

season? I

47:18

think that there'll be players who will wanna play in LA, whether

47:21

or not in the current CBA you wanna live

47:23

in a world with three star players, that's a

47:25

different question. It is a different question, but still,

47:27

there's one game left. So you're telling us that

47:29

there's still a chance for LeBron James to reverse

47:31

the course of history. Thanks for hanging us with

47:33

here.