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Warriors Win The NBA Finals, Hank Was Live On The Wood For Game 6, Golf Writer Bob Harig From The US Open Plus Cubs Patrick Wisdom And Frank Schwindel

Friday, June 17, 202219 takes

The Golden State Warriors are your 2022 NBA Champions. Hank was live on the wood for Game 6 and explains his experience. We give the Warriors their credit and Steph gets his signature Finals MVP as well as their likeability as a Dynasty. (-) We then talk Stanley Cup Final, US Open and our colleague is now the Commissioner of the Mike Trout Fantasy League. (-) Bob Harig joins us live from the US Open to talk about his new book Tiger & Phil, the LIV tour, the US Open course and more with bonus incredible Phil stories from back in the day. (-) Cubs Patrick Wisdom and Frank Schwindel join the show in studio to talk baseball and some poorly timed questions about Frank pitching in blowouts (taped last Thursday). (-) We finish with Fyre Fest of the week and Billy thinks he can not show up to work because he's a big shot who got drunk on Wednesday night. (-)

Warriors Dynasty, Bob Harig on US Open, and Cubs Patrick Wisdom & Frank Schwindel

The Golden State Warriors are once again champions of the basketball world, and the dynastic run continues for Steph, Klay, and Draymond. Steph Curry officially stamped his legacy with that elusive Finals MVP, ending any remaining whispers about his big-game credentials. PFT immediately recognized that we are looking at one of the greatest to ever step on the court.

Void
Jun 17, 2022
#9847
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Steph Curry is now in the conversation for best basketball player of all time

Steph Curry is now in the conversation for best basketball player of all time, all time, but he still hasn't had the, the MVP trophy handed to him by the commissioner yet because we had the backup commissioner that filled in for silver and did that tonight.

While Curry is generally ranked in the top 10-15 all-time, he is rarely considered above Jordan or LeBron, making this a bold but tracked debate point.

While the Warriors celebrated, Hank was stuck on the wood in Boston, forced to soak in every second of the trophy presentation. It was a brutal night for the Celtics, especially for Jayson Tatum, who looked completely out of sorts in the biggest game of his life. PFT wasn't ready to give him the benefit of the doubt on those growing pains.

Loss
Jun 17, 2022
#9849
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The NBA Finals moment was too big for Jayson Tatum

Tatum might've just shown his true colors. Like that's, that's who he is under the bright lights. I don't know. But that's a good spin zone Hank.

Tatum has since reached another Finals (2024) and won, partially debunking the 'can't win' narrative, though his 2022 performance was objectively poor.

Big Cat pointed out that Tatum's struggles often come down to his reluctance to use his size. Instead of punishing defenders, he’s hunting for whistles that don't come in the Finals.

Win
Jun 17, 2022
#21860
Big CatBig Cat

Jayson Tatum would be an elite finisher if he simply used his frame and stopped avoiding contact

It is so bizarre watching [Jayson Tatum] go to the hoop... he goes to the basket and he avoids contact and then he gets mad when there's no foul, even though he avoided contact. If he can just figure out like, 'I'm a big person who's got a strong frame, I can just run over these people,' that might solve it right there.

Tatum eventually improved his physicality and strength, leading to a championship in 2024, confirming the spirit of this critique.

Hank’s misery didn't stop with the final buzzer. He had to retire his Derrick White shirt after the guard turned into a "garbage can" down the stretch, and he even got denied a photo by Gucci Mane at halftime. In the depths of his despair, Hank is starting to worry that this Celtics core might have already peaked without getting the job done.

Loss
Jun 17, 2022
#9850
HankHank

The current Celtics are destined to be like the 2012 Thunder and never return to the Finals

I feel like the only real good comparison to the Celtics team is the fucking Thunder and they never got back.

The Celtics returned to the Finals and won in 2024, proving this fear wrong.

Turning to the ice, the Stanley Cup Final is underway with the Avalanche taking Game 1 in an overtime thriller. While the Avs look like a wagon, Big Cat isn't ready to bury the back-to-back champs just yet, especially with the odds shifting.

Loss
Jun 17, 2022
#21863
Big CatBig Cat

I'm betting on the Lightning to win the Stanley Cup at +220 after their Game 1 loss

I think I'm going to take the Lightning at like plus 220... the Lightning forcing that to overtime, it felt like [the Avalanche] win Game 1, game over, but Lightning have done this before, come out slow... and they came back and fought hard.

The Avalanche won the series 4-2, making the Lightning bet a loser.

Golf writer Bob Harig joined the show live from Brookline to talk about his new book, *Tiger & Phil*, and the ongoing LIV Golf drama. With the US Open in full swing, Harig broke down why certain golfers are better suited for the punishing conditions of a Major tournament.

Win
Jun 17, 2022
#9858
Bob HarigBob Harig

Will Zalatoris is a strong bet at the US Open because hard courses mitigate his poor putting

I liked Zalatoris because he's going to always be better on a hard golf course. Cause he's not a great putter. And this is if you can, if you can to put it to death at a us open, you're going to be up there because it's not going to be that much under par.

Zalatoris finished T2 (just one stroke behind the winner Matt Fitzpatrick), making this an excellent prediction.

He also shared some incredible stories about the legendary friction between Tiger and Phil, including the origins of Phil’s infamous "FIGJAM" nickname and Tiger’s internal satisfaction whenever someone else would beat Phil on a Sunday. For this weekend, Harig is looking at a specific favorite to stay focused.

Loss
Jun 17, 2022
#9860
Bob HarigBob Harig

Justin Thomas is a top pick for the US Open because his motivation is higher after nearly winning the week before

Justin Thomas to me seems a good pick right now. I mean, I think it's actually good. He didn't win last week. It gives you just that little, extra bit of motivation and you don't get complacent because you're coming off a win.

Justin Thomas finished T37 at +7, far from the win.

Cubs stars Patrick Wisdom and Frank Schwindel stopped by the studio to talk about their chemistry and the grind of the big leagues. Though the interview was taped a week ago—meaning the Cubs' losing streak has only worsened—the guys were in great spirits. Wisdom even addressed his failure to "Respect 90" on a recent walk after promising PFT he would sprint to first base. Meanwhile, the duo is still trying to figure out why the ball isn't traveling the same way it used to.

Win
Jun 17, 2022
#9863
Patrick WisdomPatrick Wisdom

MLB has been secretly switching to more 'lively' baseballs during specific games

I think they've like secretly been like switching in some good balls. Cause certain games, like on certain times, I don't want to say anything specific, but Or a lot of hard hit balls and they're going out of the park... off your bat... sometimes like there's balls that we hit and we're like, oh, that's gone. And then next thing you know, it's caught.

Later investigations and data confirmed MLB used multiple distinct ball constructions in 2022 without telling players.

We wrapped up with Fyre Fest of the week, featuring a vintage Billy Football performance. Billy decided to skip the in-person recording because he was "entertaining clients" at a lacrosse movie premiere the night before. After getting home in the early morning hours, Billy claimed he was just being responsible by testing for COVID, though the guys weren't buying it. Billy then tried to argue that his job is actually harder than Big Cat’s was during the early days of Barstool.

Void
Jun 17, 2022·Fyre Fest
#9867
Billy FootballBilly Football

Blogging was easier in the early 2010s because there were fewer bloggers and more unique topics to cover

I think you blogged a different era. I will say... there were fewer bloggers and there were more topics to blog [about]... I think you could have, like when you put up 14 blogs, it's 14 blogs that no one else is blogging.

Subjective, though Big Cat and PFT vehemently disagree based on their experience.

Maybe the Warriors can hire Billy to explain why 14 blogs a day is harder than winning four rings in eight years.

nflnba-finalswarriorsus-opengolfmlbcubsstanley-cup

More Takes

Win
Jun 17, 2022
#9848
HankHank

Derrick White was the worst player in the last two games of the NBA Finals

I was going to wear this shirt that we just came out with for Derrick White, who fucking sucks is maybe the worst player in the last two games. So that was just dumb on my part. Cause I thought about it after game three and by the time the shirt was made, he was just an absolute garbage can.

White had a +/- of -26 in Game 6 and -4 in Game 5, justifying the claim of poor performance in that specific stretch.
Win
Jun 17, 2022
#9851
Big CatBig Cat

Bench depth doesn't matter in the NBA Finals; you only need a tight seven-man rotation

We know this every year we learn this every year. We forget it during the regular season, like bench doesn't really matter in the NBA finals in the playoffs, deep in the playoffs. Like it does because you need like one or two guys, but guys that were really good at playing bench minutes in February, like, you need, you need a five that is going to play like 42 minutes.

This is a widely accepted basketball principle: star players play heavy minutes and depth is less critical than in the regular season.
Void
Jun 17, 2022
#9853
Big CatBig Cat

Steph Curry has a strong case for the #2 point guard of all time and people will soon argue he's better than Magic Johnson

He's, I don't know where he is [ranking-wise], but number two point guard of all time. And I guess you could probably make the argument now that like, people will probably argue that he's better than Magic. I don't know, I'm not an NBA historian, but he is number two all time.

Subjective ranking, though Curry is widely considered either #1 or #2 with Magic in most modern rankings.
Win
Jun 17, 2022
#21861
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

Steph Curry's record of 12 Finals games with 6+ threes is an untouchable statistical outlier

The number of NBA finals games where a player made at least six threes: Steph Curry has 12 of them. Second place all time is Clay Thompson with four of those games. Then after that, you've got Danny Green with three, Ray Allen with two... Steph Curry has 12 of those games.

The stats are accurate according to NBA history; Steph has triple the amount of such games as the next closest person.
Win
Jun 17, 2022
#21862
Big CatBig Cat

I'm willing to admit that Steve Kerr might actually be a good coach

I think Steve Kerr might be a good coach... [He has] nine rings, I think he probably knows the sport of basketball. He did have a good moment of self-deprecation when they were like, 'how do you do it?' He's like, 'I just surround myself with superstars.'

Kerr's resume (4 titles as coach) makes this a correct, if obvious, assessment.
Void
Jun 17, 2022
#9856
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The Lightning are the worst back-to-back champions of all time

The idea that the, the lightning might be the worst back-to-back champions of all time. If you look at the bubble when put an asterix on that, and then you look at them playing like maybe one of the worst Stanley cup champion or say like a finals teams in recent memory, like last 30 years and the Canadians, and now they finally run into a wagon in the Stanley cup finals.

This is a highly subjective and controversial take; winning back-to-back is difficult regardless of the opponent or venue.
Win
Jun 17, 2022
#21864
Bob HarigBob Harig

Phil Mickelson's FIGJAM nickname was born from his habit of acting like the smartest guy in the room

[Phil Mickelson] had a reputation of being the smartest guy in the room and that rubbed some people the wrong way... any kind of topic, Phil was the expert. Sometimes it was eye-rolling type stuff... [FIGJAM] just stands for 'Fuck I'm Good, Just Ask Me.'

This has been widely reported by multiple golf journalists and confirmed by players over the decades.
Win
Jun 17, 2022
#21865
FS
Frank Schwindel

Corbin Burnes and Zac Gallen are the two toughest pitchers to face in MLB

I'd say Corbin Burnes owns me and Zac Gallen. I think one for 20-something combined off those two, just nasty. Off [Burnes], everything looks the same out of the hand... the high velocity cutter with the stuff moving off that big slider, curveball to get you off it.

This is subjective to Schwindel's experience, but both pitchers are perennial Cy Young contenders, validating his struggle.
Loss
Jun 17, 2022·Fyre Fest
#9865
Billy FootballBilly Football

The new lacrosse movie will be as impactful for the sport as Drive to Survive was for F1

The sport was honestly amazing. It was like, I think that it's going to be as huge for lacrosse as DRS [Drive to Survive] is revive was for F1. It was an amazing feature.

While the PLL has grown, no lacrosse documentary or movie has come close to the cultural impact of Drive to Survive.
Void
Jun 17, 2022·Fyre Fest
#21866
PFT CommenterPFT Commenter

The early 2010s was the hardest era of blogging due to the sheer level of competition

The early 2010s was maybe the hardest era to blog in. You had the most competition, the fiercest competition... he [Billy Football] would've gotten chewed up and spit out in 2013.

Subjective opinion on the evolution of digital media and competition.

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