All Things Basketball with GD - 2022-23 Season, Western Conference Semifinals Recap and Conference Finals Preview

1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:10,520
Greetings my peeps and welcome to the All Things Basketball Podcast with your boy GD.

2
00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:19,200
In this episode I'll be giving you my Western Conference Semis Recap and also a Finals

3
00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:21,800
preview for the Western Conference.

4
00:00:21,800 --> 00:00:34,480
So just sit back, relax and enjoy the show.

5
00:00:34,480 --> 00:00:44,520
Okay guys so we are back again, your boy GD with the All Things Basketball Podcast and

6
00:00:44,520 --> 00:00:48,720
well we're going to wrap up the conference semi finals.

7
00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:56,560
We'll recap everything and then we'll look ahead to the conference finals for each conference

8
00:00:56,560 --> 00:00:59,680
both the east and the west.

9
00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:04,960
Without any further delay let us get right into it.

10
00:01:04,960 --> 00:01:11,640
We're going to talk about first the number 1C, the Denver Nuggets beating the number

11
00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:16,480
4C, the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2.

12
00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:19,680
But nonetheless let us talk about it shall we?

13
00:01:19,680 --> 00:01:25,880
So game 1, Denver takes it at home 125-107.

14
00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:32,960
Then game 2, Denver again wins at home 97-87.

15
00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:40,960
And then heading to Phoenix, Phoenix gets the win there 121-114.

16
00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:47,800
Also goes to the Phoenix Suns 129-124.

17
00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,760
Now this game had a lot of activity in it.

18
00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:59,960
First of all the Joker he drops 53 points with 11 assists in a loss.

19
00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:06,880
And then also there was a play where the ball went out of bounds, Joker goes for it and

20
00:02:06,880 --> 00:02:15,880
he has the ball and the owner of the Phoenix Suns, Matt Isbia tried to take it from Joker.

21
00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:22,760
He pretty much pushed around the way so he got teed up for it, he got a technical foul

22
00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:25,200
and this happened like the second quarter.

23
00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:31,880
So there was a big worry oh well Joker gets suspended for game 5.

24
00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:35,000
That wasn't the case thankfully.

25
00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:37,520
And again you gotta look at it this way.

26
00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:43,000
The Joker doesn't have a history of dirty play and those sort of things.

27
00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:49,080
And I guess being a two time MVP kinda gives you some latitude as well.

28
00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:52,240
But nonetheless he wasn't suspended thankfully.

29
00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:59,520
Well not thankfully for Phoenix cause Denver ends up winning that game 118-102.

30
00:02:59,520 --> 00:03:04,200
And then in Phoenix actually surprisingly enough.

31
00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:13,480
Denver goes in there and beats the breaks off of the Phoenix Suns 125-100 in a game

32
00:03:13,480 --> 00:03:17,320
that was really not that close.

33
00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:21,080
And a game that I ended up watching closely.

34
00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:27,000
Kevin Durant he starts the first half, 1 for 10 from the field.

35
00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:28,560
Not good guys.

36
00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:35,480
Then Devin Booker for the game and he had a fantastic series guys but in game 6 he came

37
00:03:35,480 --> 00:03:36,480
up lame.

38
00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:39,520
4 for 13 from the field.

39
00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:41,680
Only 12 points so.

40
00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:44,240
The only person to show up was Cameron Payne.

41
00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:46,240
He had 31 points.

42
00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:48,960
12 for 16 shooting from the field.

43
00:03:48,960 --> 00:03:55,720
He had 7 threes in the game so I think Kevin Durant's numbers look decent once everything

44
00:03:55,720 --> 00:04:03,480
was said and done but yeah for him to start out that cold did not help matters for the

45
00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:04,760
Phoenix Suns.

46
00:04:04,760 --> 00:04:09,720
So nonetheless let us talk about each of the teams here.

47
00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:13,080
We'll talk about Denver first.

48
00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:16,760
The Joker has a fantastic series.

49
00:04:16,760 --> 00:04:18,840
Average in the triple double.

50
00:04:18,840 --> 00:04:21,040
34 and a half points.

51
00:04:21,040 --> 00:04:23,400
Over 13 rebounds over 10 assists.

52
00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:27,800
So Joker once again getting things done.

53
00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:36,080
Outstanding from the field nearly 60% and even from 3 he did pretty well at 44.4% and

54
00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:41,800
from the free throw always efficient from there so kudos to him.

55
00:04:41,800 --> 00:04:46,400
Jamal Murray I continue to say this guys.

56
00:04:46,400 --> 00:04:53,360
Jamal Murray when he's cooking Denver is hard to beat and he was cooking in this series

57
00:04:53,360 --> 00:04:56,720
averaging nearly 25 points a game.

58
00:04:56,720 --> 00:05:01,600
Six and a half assists and he was just magnificent.

59
00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:08,600
And then he had 3 guys averaging nearly 13 points a game between Bruce Brown who's been

60
00:05:08,600 --> 00:05:11,560
pretty good in these playoffs.

61
00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:16,840
Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. as well so.

62
00:05:16,840 --> 00:05:23,680
Denver getting contributions from various amount of characters here including Kentavious

63
00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:28,040
Caldwell Pope who had 21 in the clinching game as well so.

64
00:05:28,040 --> 00:05:33,200
Denver running on all cylinders right now guys.

65
00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:37,520
So with that said let us talk about Phoenix.

66
00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:41,480
Devin Booker when you look at his numbers they look fantastic.

67
00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,160
He had solid games up until that game 6.

68
00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:55,640
He had games where he had 27 points 35 points 47 points 36 points 28 points so him dropping

69
00:05:55,640 --> 00:06:02,120
that 12 in the game 6 was pretty much eye popping to be honest with you so he didn't

70
00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:04,720
show up in the biggest game.

71
00:06:04,720 --> 00:06:10,800
Not good guys not good so when you need your star player the most he doesn't show up.

72
00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:13,440
Yeah that's a recipe for disaster.

73
00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:19,360
Kevin Durant you look at his numbers he had a solid series but he just went ice cold in

74
00:06:19,360 --> 00:06:25,280
that first half of game 6 but you look at his numbers nearly 30 points a game nearly

75
00:06:25,280 --> 00:06:28,040
10 rebounds 5 assists.

76
00:06:28,040 --> 00:06:35,640
He was pretty alarmingly bad from the field though and he was horrendous from 3.

77
00:06:35,640 --> 00:06:42,000
He only made rather 6 threes in the series and of course from the line he's usually

78
00:06:42,000 --> 00:06:49,080
money from there so but the big story for Phoenix they were without CP3 for 2 games.

79
00:06:49,080 --> 00:06:54,360
The man was injured so you miss one of your star players for 4 games it's going to be

80
00:06:54,360 --> 00:06:56,160
a tough go.

81
00:06:56,160 --> 00:07:03,240
Nonetheless they were able to get wins without CP3 but to have him missing for that long

82
00:07:03,240 --> 00:07:05,680
is not good that's for sure.

83
00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:08,840
And then you have DeAndre Ayton.

84
00:07:08,840 --> 00:07:16,440
He played in 5 games in this series guys he missed game 6 with a rib contusion but for

85
00:07:16,440 --> 00:07:23,440
the series he averaged nearly 11 points 8 rebounds he was pretty good from the field

86
00:07:23,440 --> 00:07:32,680
but guys he only shot 6 free throws in this entire series that is unthinkable guys but

87
00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,560
you know can't call it with him I cannot call it.

88
00:07:36,560 --> 00:07:39,680
Well I'll talk about that in a minute.

89
00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:46,000
So that's pretty much your story there guys a lot of Devin Booker a lot of Kevin Durant

90
00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:50,920
not much from anybody else to be honest with you when it's like that it's tough to get

91
00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:59,600
wins guys but nonetheless you know you get performances hand there from a guy like Landry

92
00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:03,760
Shamet but it just wasn't enough.

93
00:08:03,760 --> 00:08:07,680
So that is why Phoenix is going home early.

94
00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:13,280
To the dismay of a lot of pundits out there who thought that Phoenix would win this series

95
00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:17,080
I was on the no illusions that they would win this series.

96
00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:23,360
I mean not having Chris Paul definitely hurts their case but I just didn't see them getting

97
00:08:23,360 --> 00:08:26,800
a win in Denver I didn't see it and it held true.

98
00:08:26,800 --> 00:08:31,920
I thought it would go 7 I thought each team would win on their home floor but Denver going

99
00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:37,000
into Phoenix and pretty much blowing the doors off them in that game 6 I didn't see that

100
00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:38,000
coming.

101
00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:41,760
Nonetheless Denver prevails they move on.

102
00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:43,880
What's next for Phoenix?

103
00:08:43,880 --> 00:08:51,200
Well first of all they fired Monty Williams right after the series so you know now this

104
00:08:51,200 --> 00:08:55,120
man is a year removed from being coach of the year.

105
00:08:55,120 --> 00:09:01,320
One year removed from being coach of the year and you fire the guy I understand the Phoenix

106
00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:07,520
owner he's a new owner so he's just walking in the door for the most part.

107
00:09:07,520 --> 00:09:14,000
I guess he was unhappy with Monty Williams and his history of them laying eggs on their

108
00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:20,120
home floor in a closeout game so I guess he said he's seen enough.

109
00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:26,320
So Monty Williams is fired but I tell you what guys it's going to take a half hour before

110
00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:31,120
somebody goes out there and picks up a Monty Williams.

111
00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:37,440
I tell you this straight up if I'm the Milwaukee Bucks I'm thinking long and hard about acquiring

112
00:09:37,440 --> 00:09:39,960
Monty Williams services.

113
00:09:39,960 --> 00:09:46,440
I think that's a guy who he'll have a team that's pretty loaded and I think he'll be

114
00:09:46,440 --> 00:09:53,920
able to get a lot out of that team so I'm putting it out there guys Milwaukee Bucks give

115
00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:55,840
Monty a call.

116
00:09:55,840 --> 00:10:02,120
Anyhow actually the owner is talking about hiring well the early talk is that they're

117
00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:09,040
looking at a Nick Nurse or Mike Budenholzer but here's what I say to that though.

118
00:10:09,040 --> 00:10:14,640
Sure they both won NBA championships so they're championship winning coaches so you can't

119
00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:20,680
take that away from them but in their latest iterations with their teams they had the talent

120
00:10:20,680 --> 00:10:23,280
but they couldn't get it done.

121
00:10:23,280 --> 00:10:27,160
So I think that has to come into play here.

122
00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:32,920
I understand you want to get a coach with championship pedigree both of those guys have

123
00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:39,760
it but they pretty much underachieved with the teams that they had this season.

124
00:10:39,760 --> 00:10:45,240
I mean you could sell it to your fan base you're bringing in a coach that's won an NBA

125
00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:53,120
championship so you could sell that to your fan base but I just wonder yeah I just wonder

126
00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,000
about that let me leave it at that.

127
00:10:56,000 --> 00:11:04,360
Next item what to do with DeAndre Ayton you know he hasn't lived up to what his contract

128
00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:12,320
states and this series really exposed him so he has three more years on his deal remember

129
00:11:12,320 --> 00:11:18,320
in the summer the Indiana Pacers signed him to an offer sheet that Phoenix matched I'm

130
00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:22,800
under the impression they just should have not matched it and let him move on elsewhere

131
00:11:22,800 --> 00:11:28,440
and they just try and find somebody to put in the middle there but I guess you're not

132
00:11:28,440 --> 00:11:34,920
going to find a player of Ayton's caliber on the free agent market so I guess I understand

133
00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:42,880
but he disappoints you yet again so he has three years left at 102 million.

134
00:11:42,880 --> 00:11:47,440
Question is do you keep him you know with a new coach coming in maybe the new coach

135
00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:54,320
can reach him or do you move on from him now show I listened to a given goal they talked

136
00:11:54,320 --> 00:12:00,920
about a few trade possibilities they said San Antonio but ruled it out I actually like

137
00:12:00,920 --> 00:12:06,840
him going to San Antonio and I think if you get maybe a third team involved because maybe

138
00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:12,720
you don't have the salary to match up maybe you get a third team involved maybe that'll

139
00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:20,880
do the trick but I like him in San Antonio because you have a Popovich and you have

140
00:12:20,880 --> 00:12:26,400
Tim Duncan as assistant coach there maybe these guys can reach him where he can maximize

141
00:12:26,400 --> 00:12:32,560
his potential that's the only possibility I see I heard them also talking about Detroit

142
00:12:32,560 --> 00:12:37,680
but you probably have to send back a James Wiseman coming back in a trade so that's

143
00:12:37,680 --> 00:12:47,680
something to explore and then also you have CP3 he has two more years on his deal at 61.6

144
00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:53,680
million I don't think you're going to get a lot of takers guys for a point guard that's

145
00:12:53,680 --> 00:13:00,480
on the wrong side of 30 that's going to be tough contract to move so you have decisions

146
00:13:00,480 --> 00:13:07,600
to make here then also in terms of your free agents you have a lot of guys that are free

147
00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:15,600
agents a lot of your bench to be honest Tori Craig he'll be a free agent Bismack Biyombo

148
00:13:15,600 --> 00:13:25,080
TJ Warren who came over in the Kevin Durant deal Damion Lee Josh Okogie he was your starter

149
00:13:25,080 --> 00:13:35,080
for a good deal of time also Jock Landale Terrence Ross who you got into buyout from the Orlando

150
00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:42,360
Magic and then Darius Bazley who has a qualifying offer so more likely than not they'll probably

151
00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:49,720
keep him but they got some big decisions to make and remember the fact that Booker and

152
00:13:49,720 --> 00:13:54,040
Kevin Durant has taken up a lot of money so it doesn't leave you a lot of wiggle room

153
00:13:54,040 --> 00:14:02,640
which is why you got to explore doing a Ayton or a CP3 deal I would want to be James Jones

154
00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:09,520
right now because you and then remember to you pretty much dried up your draft capital

155
00:14:09,520 --> 00:14:15,240
when you brought in Kevin Durant so James Jones he's got some dilemma on his hands

156
00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:22,720
so nonetheless that is that series for the Denver/Phoenix series let's talk about the Lakers

157
00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:29,040
the number seven seed winning against the number six seed the goat state warriors four games

158
00:14:29,040 --> 00:14:37,840
to two let's talk about how that shook out the Lakers take game one in golden state 117

159
00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:45,760
to 112 and then gold state comes back and gets game two 127 to 100 so they blow them

160
00:14:45,760 --> 00:14:51,400
out there and then game three lot of seemed like a lot of blowouts there was only two

161
00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:58,520
games that were I would say about five points or less but the rest were blowouts guys game

162
00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:07,240
three Lakers take 127 to 97 and then your next close game is game four one in which

163
00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:12,920
the Lakers won that so Lakers win both of their games on their home floor in game four

164
00:15:12,920 --> 00:15:20,800
104-101 and then golden state gets to win and game five to save face because they

165
00:15:20,800 --> 00:15:28,880
were down three one at that point so they save face get the win at home 121 to 106 and

166
00:15:28,880 --> 00:15:37,880
then the Lakers just beat them down in game six 122 to 101 so let's talk about the Lakers

167
00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:45,200
LeBron James solid series he had one game in which he scored 30 points but other than

168
00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:55,400
that for the series he averaged shy of 25 points nearly eight rebounds five and a half assists

169
00:15:55,400 --> 00:16:02,040
shooting from the field it's standard enough for LeBron at this stage of his career and

170
00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:06,320
from the line he was pretty good from the line so you got to give him credit Anthony

171
00:16:06,320 --> 00:16:13,000
Davis as long as you're getting Anthony Davis peering in all six of these games I say that's

172
00:16:13,000 --> 00:16:21,040
a win 21 and a half points for him 14 and a half rebounds he had over two blocks again

173
00:16:21,040 --> 00:16:26,600
absolutely terrific from the field from the free throw line the rock solid there as well

174
00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:35,240
so you like to see the points a little higher but yet and all the team gets to win the Angela

175
00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:41,480
Russell has a nice series for them also Austin Reaves then you got contributions from your

176
00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:47,880
bench guys like Lonnie Walker came out of nowhere and had a solid game so Lakers they're gonna

177
00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:52,960
be a problem they're gonna be a problem and that's just the way it is you got two guys

178
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:59,120
there with championship pedigree and LeBron and Anthony Davis so with that said let's

179
00:16:59,120 --> 00:17:06,680
talk about golden state golden state Steph Curry, of course Steph doing Steph things solid

180
00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:14,520
across the board from the field not as good as you like but the man had to hoist up shots

181
00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:21,760
so what you expect from three you expect better from there as well solid from the free throw

182
00:17:21,760 --> 00:17:28,800
line Klay Thompson I tell you what man I thought he would be somebody who have a pretty good

183
00:17:28,800 --> 00:17:35,880
series and he had I want to say below the standards you would set for him in this series

184
00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:42,000
average and 16 points a game you need more than that from clay from the field he was

185
00:17:42,000 --> 00:17:52,200
horrendous shot it a little better from three but yeah clay yeah we definitely expected

186
00:17:52,200 --> 00:17:57,560
more especially given the fact that you're a kid so I expected you to play better once

187
00:17:57,560 --> 00:18:03,640
you got on the floor out there in Crypto Arena whatever they're calling it these days but

188
00:18:03,640 --> 00:18:13,560
he did not Andrew Wiggins I mean his numbers were okay 15 points a game over five rebounds

189
00:18:13,560 --> 00:18:19,720
you'd like to shooting from the field to be better as well as from three Draymond I thought

190
00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:27,040
he had a solid series I thought he had a very solid series there was times where he really

191
00:18:27,040 --> 00:18:35,080
showed up for them and Jordan pool what happened to Jordan Poole oh my gosh he has fell off the

192
00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:44,960
NBA map guys I mean he had a horrendous series was lousy from the field brutal from three

193
00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:52,920
he shot at 7 for 28 for the series guys man that's hard from the free throw line what

194
00:18:52,920 --> 00:19:00,200
can you do I mean he was solid but Jordan pool I mean and remember you gave him that

195
00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:07,640
big bag so I'm gonna talk about him in a minute anyway Kevon Looney just doing Kevon Looney

196
00:19:07,640 --> 00:19:13,000
things I mean he was pretty much solid across the board only went to a free throw line five

197
00:19:13,000 --> 00:19:19,680
times in this series so there's not a case where you're gonna feature him and you know

198
00:19:19,680 --> 00:19:26,760
have him in the low blocks taking AD to school down there that's not gonna happen so nonetheless

199
00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:35,240
golden state the defending champions their road stops here so and the Lakers move on

200
00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:40,840
what's next for golden state well you got the Jordan Poole dilemma that I just talked

201
00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:50,840
about you just gave him a big bag four years at 128 million dollars so you really gotta

202
00:19:50,840 --> 00:19:59,600
ask the question what to do with Jordan Poole and I think that speaks larger to another

203
00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:07,160
question what you're gonna do with Klay Thompson he has one more year left he's 33 years old

204
00:20:07,160 --> 00:20:16,240
he's already had two major knee injuries he has one year left at 43.2 million do you bring

205
00:20:16,240 --> 00:20:23,840
him back I don't know if you do I would think you would but I think this is part and parcel

206
00:20:23,840 --> 00:20:30,280
what you're gonna get from Klay Thompson because again those two major injuries there you're

207
00:20:30,280 --> 00:20:36,160
gonna have to load manage him and those sort of things which I think they did a pretty good

208
00:20:36,160 --> 00:20:43,440
job all in all throughout the year but I just think it's you know a 33 year old who's had

209
00:20:43,440 --> 00:20:50,120
major knee issues so I think this is what you're gonna get guys there's gonna be times

210
00:20:50,120 --> 00:20:58,040
where he's red hot and there's gonna be times where he's ice cold so it's a quagmire guys

211
00:20:58,040 --> 00:21:05,560
so let's look at the free agent picture Draymond Green he has a player option he can opt in

212
00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:12,880
they're already talking about possibly a new deal for him which I initially thought that

213
00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:20,000
there was no way Draymond was coming back especially right after the incident with the

214
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:28,040
Montessabonnes but I gotta say it he has been a model citizen since that he really has from

215
00:21:28,040 --> 00:21:35,520
what I understand well what's been reported he gave a fiery speech before game five which gave five

216
00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:44,320
they ended up winning so he's a guy who does the things that help you win so with that said

217
00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:52,000
Draymond he's gonna be a free agent but provided he opts out then you have Jonathan

218
00:21:52,000 --> 00:22:00,720
Kuminga they got a team option on him Donte DeVincenzo he has a player option Moses Moody

219
00:22:00,720 --> 00:22:07,280
there's a team option there I imagine both Kuminga and Moody the team picks that up JaMychael

220
00:22:07,280 --> 00:22:14,640
Green he's an unrestricted free agent and then you got Andre Iguodala I think he ends up on the

221
00:22:14,640 --> 00:22:21,200
Warriors bench as an assistant coach one of these fine days but I think the biggest free agent they

222
00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:30,720
have is their GM Bob Myers he built this program right now he's saying give him a few weeks and

223
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:38,560
before he makes a decision so if they were to lose a Bob Myers that would be a tremendous blow

224
00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:44,880
to this franchise so I think they need to keep him but he may want to go elsewhere and build

225
00:22:44,880 --> 00:22:52,560
elsewhere so I would keep a close eye on what Bob Myers decides in the coming weeks I think that

226
00:22:52,560 --> 00:23:00,400
can have a lot to do with where this franchise goes moving forward so with that said prediction time

227
00:23:00,400 --> 00:23:09,120
let's talk about the conference finals guys it's gonna be the number one seed the Denver Nuggets

228
00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:18,240
versus the number seven seed the Los Angeles Lakers what must Denver do to win continued success

229
00:23:18,240 --> 00:23:29,040
from both Nikolai Yolkic as well as Jamal Murray as these two guys go so the Nuggets goes you need

230
00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:38,240
production still from guys like Aaron Gorton guys like Michael Porter Jr. Bruce Brown who's been rock

231
00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:47,760
solid as I mentioned Jeff Green, Kentavious Caldwell Pope those guys even Christian Braun coming off

232
00:23:47,760 --> 00:23:55,200
your bench who's been playing pretty good so Denver gets that Denver's chances are really good

233
00:23:55,200 --> 00:24:02,800
what must the Lakers do to get the win well they gotta stop Jamal Murray I told you guys as Murray

234
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:11,040
goes so does the Nuggets so if they were to somehow contain Murray in this series that would give them

235
00:24:11,040 --> 00:24:18,000
a chance Anthony Davis has to step up he has to be consistent for this entire series here in order

236
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:25,520
for them to win because I'll tell you straight up Jokic gonna give him the business right now he's

237
00:24:25,520 --> 00:24:32,320
playing fantastic basketball right now so Anthony Davis gonna have his hands full he really is I

238
00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:38,320
imagine he's going to get some help from Jarrad Vanderbilt as well but he's gonna have to step up

239
00:24:38,320 --> 00:24:43,360
big time in this series especially on the defensive end and they need contributions from their role

240
00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:52,400
players guys like Austin Reeves of course D'Angelo Russell he's gonna have to show up Rui Hachimura

241
00:24:53,120 --> 00:25:00,480
maybe we'll have another Lonnie Walker sighting we'll see but they're gonna need those contributions

242
00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:09,120
as well key matchups D'Angelo Russell versus Jamal Murray I imagine too a little Dennis Schroeder

243
00:25:09,120 --> 00:25:16,160
will be on him as well so how those guys fair against Murray I'll be watching that closely

244
00:25:16,160 --> 00:25:23,760
and then there's the Joker versus AD I think that holds a key to what happens in this series

245
00:25:23,760 --> 00:25:31,200
and then LeBron versus probably be a diet of Aaron Gordon probably some Jeff Green

246
00:25:31,920 --> 00:25:39,680
maybe Michael Porter Jr as well so you got some bodies to throw at LeBron I think this one is

247
00:25:39,680 --> 00:25:45,120
kind of under the radar but I think this one will be an interesting matchup

248
00:25:45,120 --> 00:25:53,680
Kentavious Caldwell Pope versus Austin Reeves now you look at me like are you serious but I gotta

249
00:25:53,680 --> 00:26:02,240
tell you Caldwell Pope he's a 3 and D guy so I think if he can keep Austin Reaves at bay that

250
00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:08,720
really gives Denver a shot here I know everybody's saying Austin Reeves Austin Reeves but the kids

251
00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:16,880
had a pretty good playoff run so far so you want to kind of derail that so yeah I think that match

252
00:26:16,880 --> 00:26:24,480
up there is pretty intriguing so my prediction Denver and seven I'm gonna say Denver and seven

253
00:26:24,480 --> 00:26:31,120
because here's how I look at it once again the Lakers have to go into Denver and win I don't know

254
00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:38,400
if the Lakers can do that that high altitude man I keep talking about and I've been proven right

255
00:26:38,400 --> 00:26:46,560
so far no one's won in Denver as of yet then on the other hand no one has won in LA I've or so we

256
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:56,400
have that but nonetheless I say Denver and seven that's my prediction guys and then we have outside

257
00:26:56,400 --> 00:27:05,360
of the playoffs it just got word Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies I was just talking highly about him

258
00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:15,040
Ja Morant is suspended from all team activities pending a league investigation and guess what

259
00:27:15,040 --> 00:27:25,440
this is about guys yes a IG live that he was on where he was take a wild guess he was brandishing

260
00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:35,440
a gun on an IG live you know I had high hopes for him I liked the way he talked after the

261
00:27:35,440 --> 00:27:43,680
Laker series one in which his team lost it sounded like a kid ready to go back in the lab and work on

262
00:27:43,680 --> 00:27:55,600
his game work on his image and so forth and then you go and do this man you know I try to defend him

263
00:27:55,280 --> 00:28:02,560
but I can't I can't I did there's no defense of this hopefully when they do their investigation

264
00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:10,800
maybe they'll find something that we don't see but yeah this is not good guys this is not good

265
00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:17,200
so hope the best for the kid but you're gonna have to change your circle you're gonna have to change

266
00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:23,920
your circle do something because you know you fumbling the bag right now I mean you got the bag but

267
00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:33,200
I just I don't know what to say at this point unbelievable it's just unbelievable anyway so

268
00:28:33,200 --> 00:28:39,520
I'm gonna leave it there all right guys so I'm just gonna do it like this I'm gonna break it up into

269
00:28:39,520 --> 00:28:47,520
two episodes so there you go producing on the fly guys all right so I am done thanks again for

270
00:28:47,520 --> 00:28:56,080
listening much appreciate it and we'll talk soon so my peeps if you like what you're listening to

271
00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:06,800
you can go to my website www.allthingsbasketballwithgd.com; you can also email me at thatsportsdudegd@gmail.com 

272
00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:18,160
to support this podcast you can go to my PayPal and that email is that sports

273
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:27,280
do gd at gmail.com also on my anchor page I have a support button there that you can also use

274
00:29:27,280 --> 00:29:39,360
to help the podcast I'm on all the major platforms like Anchor, Spreaker, Google Podcasts, Amazon,

275
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:49,680
Soundcloud, YouTube, Castbox, Radio Public, Podchaser just to name a few and also you can find me

276
00:29:49,680 --> 00:30:00,800
on social media, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Tiktok, Clubhouse and Fanbase so once again

277
00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:20,080
I thank you for listening and supporting this podcast and take care and be safe