Takes

The 2022 NBA Finals will be the Boston Celtics vs. the Golden State Warriors

Go Celtics warriors.

The New Orleans Pelicans will make the playoffs through the play-in tournament

I have a, I have a big future on the pelicans to be in the playoffs after the play and games are over.

I will continue to keep the same 'negative' energy about LeBron James as he requested

My who's back is LeBron... his tweets coming back and everyone's retweeting it... 'keep that same narrative energy when it begins'... And we are keeping that same energy. He asked me to... far be it for me to disobey one of LeBron James' orders.

Chet Holmgren is an elite rim protector and I'm a full-on believer in him

I thought he like his defense is already at a point where it's like, okay, this guy can be an elite rim protector. Cause he was playing guys who were 70 pounds heavier than him... I'm a Chet believer. I'm a full-on Chet believer. I like Chet.

The Lakers are 'packing it in' and LeBron isn't trying on defense

The Lakers are so bad. It's awesome... LeBron... just doesn't try at all on defense. He's very close to packing it in... I watched the first quarter last night they were down 33 to 12 in the first quarter.

The Celtics are legitimate contenders to win the Eastern Conference

Celtics are back. They had some trouble early in the year... they have fully figured it out. Their defense is unbelievable. I think right now they're second in the league defensively. Beginning of the year, I didn't think that the Celtics had a shot to win the East. Now I do.

Never buy James Harden, always lease him on six-month rentals

Maybe that's the key to James Harden. You just need six month rentals where it's like, he's going to be in shape. He's going to be happy. He's going to try really hard. And you lease him. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Never, never buy James Harden always lease him.

Bronny James could probably start for Williams College as a 16-year-old

somebody was just asking me, honestly, I'm not, I'm not qualified to speak on it. I'm not tapped into high school basketball... [but] I'm going to say, I'm gonna say probably just for like just sheer athleticism from, you know, I've had the, the Williams debate a lot division three basketball.

The Dallas Mavericks are officially contenders to win a championship this year

Are we officially contenders? For sure. I mean, you know, it takes time to adjust to a new coach. We're 18 and six over the last 24 games. Our defense is top three and our offense is top 10. If you're a top 10 offense and a top five defense, you have a chance to compete for a title.

LeBron James is a shitty general manager

I don't think that people give enough credit to LeBron for being such a shitty general manager. He's actually not good at it. And, but in another way, he's very good at it. And, that Russell Westbrook was the perfect guy for LeBron to get on the team to be like, this is why we're bad because of him.

Three-point specialists are dying because every player is now a shooter

Three point specialists are dying. That's what I'm saying. I'm worried about the three point specialists. When you have guys like Jabari Smith and Paolo [Banchero] and Chet Holmgren... all the guys that are that big, that are now [shooting]. It's stupid.

James Harden is unhappy living in Brooklyn

James Harden is upset. This is going well. I fucking love the Nets—they're going to Kevin Durant's hurt, Kyrie plays half the games. And I saw the quote... James Harden doesn't enjoy living in Brooklyn, not just because of the climate, but also the state income tax is different than Texas.

LeBron James is the ultimate coach killer

LeBron and the coach killers back. It looks like Frank Vogel might get fired. There's a lot of rumors right now. No one does it better than him. No one kills a coach better than LeBron... Bron is going to come off the court and just be like, all right, he keeps his job one more game. Give him a look like, yeah, he's just doing the fucking gladiator up and down after every game for Frank Vogel's life.

Russell Westbrook's style of play does not lead to winning and he will never change

How many fucking years do you have to watch [Russell Westbrook] do the exact same thing that never leads to winning and think that it's just magic and it's going to work out at some point? Like most of us don't change and a basketball player that's as stubborn as he is isn't going to change... in the playoffs, it doesn't make any sense. He doesn't offer up any spacing for AD and LeBron, he's never set a screen in his fucking life.

Klay Thompson is a more dependable and valuable addition than Kyrie Irving

[Clay] is a better player and Clay's more dependable and Clay's available for all games. And he's not banned for half of them.

The Chicago Bulls are the best story in the NBA right now

I do think the Bulls 35 games in are the best story in the NBA, just because no one thought they were going to be the one seed right now and they're playing great basketball.

Following your shot in the NBA is a strategic mistake

The funniest thing is, is following your shot in the NBA is like the dumbest thing you could do... you get a transition on your face every single time.

Steph Curry will break the all-time three-point record tonight at Madison Square Garden

Steph Curry is going to, by the time you're listening to this, Steph Curry has already broken the record... I'm actually going to go to the game. I'm excited for it.

We are officially flipping the switch and betting overs in the NBA

The story's gotten too big now. It's gotten too national. So now I'm officially acknowledging we're flipping the switch. We're betting overs in the NBA now. Because too many people are getting – once NPR does a story about a trend in basketball, you can be sure that they're the last ones... So now we're betting overs officially.

The Bucks are a lock to win on NBA opening night

Also the Bucks... what if the Bucks are maybe the biggest lock tonight? The rosters coming allly back. You saw that video with Giannis with the jump shot. This is like the greatest basketball player of all time.

The United States is still the best in the world at basketball

I knew we was going to win. We're the best in the world. I don't care what nobody say... They're only catching up to us because they're learning from us.

It is now impossible for a single star to win an NBA title alone

Now it's like you try to do that now your ass would be out the league. Because it's impossible for anybody to do that... I don't want to say it's sad, but it is sad. Because it's impossible for you to try to go do it by yourself.

Draymond Green is officially a Basketball Hall of Famer

Draymond is a Hall of Famer now. Like, he has everything. Two Final Fours, three titles, two gold medals, Defensive Player of the Year. When you look at his resume, you're like, whoa.

Australia is a mortal lock to beat Slovenia in the Olympic Bronze Medal game.

Mortal lock of the century, Australia, third place game. You've got to find the teams that actually, it's like bowl season... Luka just carried his team to the semifinals, and now is he going to be like, I'm going to really want a bronze medal? Australia, that group together, has never won a medal.

Russell Westbrook cares too much to ever be LeBron James' 'Robin'

I love Russell Westbrook. I think he cares so much that he's going to be the one that gets pissed off at LeBron. I think that he's going to see a couple of games in the middle of the season like LeBron doing load management or whatever and Russell Westbrook is going to get pissed off about that. Russell Westbrook, I don't know if he's going to be able to work in a system where he's very clearly supposed to be the Robin because he's a dog.

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton, and Jrue Holiday are officially a 'Big Three'

The big three [of the Bucks] auto stepped up. They are the big three. So it was Giannis, Middleton, and Holiday. They're the first team in the NBA Finals since 1985 to have three guys go for 25 points on 50% shooting in the same game.

The Bucks' playoff record sequence will finish as a perfect palindrome

If they end up winning on Tuesday night, the Bucks this playoffs are going to go a perfect sequence of four wins, two losses, two wins, a loss, two wins, a loss, two wins, a loss, two wins, two losses and four wins. It's exactly 4-2-2-1-2-1-2-1-2-2-4. It's a palindrome.

Team USA Basketball is doing a 'rope-a-dope' and will win the Olympic Gold

I'm thinking about it, I think they're [Team USA] actually going to win the gold. I think they're doing a little rope-a-dope... they're doing some drinking before games and that might be why they're playing—no, they're just, you know, they were out the night before. It's a tune-up. They're not taking this seriously. Once they take it seriously, they will beat everyone.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's Game 4 block belongs in the Pantheon of all-time NBA Finals blocks

That block, [Giannis's] block, Pantheon of blocks. I'd say it's finals... greatest turnaround, no question. Greatest Mike Breen witnessed finals block of all time.

The Bucks will win the NBA Finals

I think the Bucks [win]. I just, and it's based solely on the fact that... I do actually think Chris Paul has some type of injury because there is no explanation for how he's playing. And if he has that type of injury, the Suns are kind of fucked.

Coach K would never have lost two games in a row with Team USA

Coach K would never lose two games. He would absolutely never. You guys roast him day in and day out. He stops being the USA coach. They lose to Nigeria and Australia. Back-to-back coincidence or—

NBA players are struggling in international play because they don't get 'NBA fouls'

It's actually what basketball should be because all of the guys in the NBA are looking for all the fouls that they call in the NBA and they don't call them in the world in the FIBA. So they're doing the jump into a guy. They're doing the, you know, going up for a layup and throwing their head back and the refs are just letting them play. And it's fucking awesome.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's Game 2 performance was exceptional, but he cannot win without his max-contract teammates showing up

Giannis was like, exceptional. It was reminiscent of... that finals game, the classic J.R. Smith game when LeBron had like 50... This was a Giannis display. He was the best player on the court, and he had no help because Chris Middleton and Drew Holiday were a combined 12 for 37... You cannot win with that when that's your second best guy and a max guy.

Chris Paul deserves all the accolades for his legacy-defining Game 6

Chris Paul legacy game, Skip [Bayless] challenged him. He came through that second half when they came, when the Clippers looked like they were coming back and Chris Paul came back in the game. He ended up with 41. He ended up with an all time great flopping performance. He deserves all of the credit.

Giannis Antetokounmpo's ligaments are made of rubber bands because he could walk after his knee injury

Giannis, I don't know, he like broke his leg. ACL? Yeah. Doctor David PFT says, I personally think it's an MCL... but whatever it is, his ligaments are not made out of ligaments. They're made out of like rubber bands. Cause it's crazy. Like my leg would have, my body would have just blown up given up at that point.

The Bucks will win the series against the Hawks in five or six games

I do think the Bucks are going to win this series in five or six. But... you know, who knows? Trae Young. You just got to say Trae Young at the end of everything nice you say about a Hawks opponent.

Chris Paul makes every big man he plays with significantly better

I do appreciate DeAndre Ayton being like, Chris Paul has changed my life. And it's like we know because... Chris Paul makes every big guy that much better because he basically just passes it to you in the best place possible.

Damian Lillard will eventually be traded by the Blazers

Damian Lillard has been the exception, not the rule, in that he has remained loyal and he deserves credit. But it does feel like this is going to probably end up being a trade. I also kind of figured it would happen eventually. He's not getting younger. He's like 31 or something.

LeBron James is definitively a top 25 NBA player of all time

Write that down. Can you stop the beeping again? Write that down. Big Cat said something nice about LeBron. He is a top 25 NBA player of all time. That was huge of me.

Game 2 was a backbreaker for the Clippers unless Kawhi Leonard returns

That does feel like a backbreaker for the Clippers. Unless Kawhi comes back. I don't know how you recover from that.

The Process is officially dead.

Today is Monday, June 21st, and the process is dead. We had a good run. This was going to be the postseason where we judged whether or not processes actually work. Turns out they don't.

Ben Simmons proves that you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.

I always thought that saying the Wayne Gretzky-Michael Scott quote didn't really make that much sense. [Ben Simmons] actually proves that you do, in fact, miss 100% of the shots that you don't take.

Ben Simmons will still have trade value because a team will believe they can fix him.

I think [Ben Simmons] still will have trade value because someone will think, I can fix that. I can make him better because he still has elite levels to his game. It's just the whole point of shooting a basketball into a hoop is the game, and he just doesn't want to do that.

Doc Rivers is the all-time greatest coach at choking away playoff victories

Doc Rivers... is also, like, sneakily the all-time greatest basketball coach at choking away fourth-quarter victories in the playoffs. And also series leads in the playoffs. Doc, this is like a habit for Doc.

Kevin Durant's legacy as a top 25 player of all time is now cemented

In my humble opinion, as a sports analyst... I am deeming Kevin Durant's legacy is a very good basketball player. Cemented... this decade, sky's the limit. This is where his legacy is made and it started tonight.

The Bucks will win Game 6 and force a Game 7 against the Nets

I do think the Bucks are going to win game six. I think it's going to go seven.

Game 5 against the Bucks is a legacy game for Kevin Durant

Is this a legacy game for Kevin Durant on Tuesday night? It's a must-win. If you want to jump to legacy... if he doesn't win this legacy game, there needs to be a new torch.

Brad Stevens is the right person to run the Celtics front office

If there's anyone that knows exactly what this Celtics roster needs to be and beat these teams that are on the next level, it is Brad Stevens. Obviously, Danny Ainge said that he was like, there's been moves that me and Brad didn't agree on, and now Brad has full control to do whatever he wants.

The Hawks will beat the Sixers in the second round because of Joel Embiid's injury

They don't have Joel Embiid because he can't stay fucking healthy ever. And they're going to get boat raced by the Hawks in the second round and not make the Eastern Conference Finals again. That's my opinion.

The pandemic has caused fans to lose their minds and forget how to behave in arenas

I do think the pandemic has fucked people up more than we realize. And people are just getting back into the real world and losing their fucking minds. Preseason. Yes, preseason. No one knows how to act right now. Give it a couple weeks. I do not think it's some huge epidemic where this is going to be the new norm that fans are just fucking with players constantly.