Takes

The Celtics will not win another game in their series against the Nets

[Jason Tatum] had 50, right? Yeah, that's fine... The starting lineup, it's one of those things where it doesn't matter. You could play those starting two lineups 100 times and the Celtics might win one. [Big Cat: 'Can we call it over?'] 100%. It's over.

Tom Thibodeau's coaching style prevents teams from having an extra gear in the playoffs

Tom Thibodeau is a fantastic coach, and he will always get your team to overachieve and play to their max ability during the regular season. And then when you get to the postseason, there's no extra gear... he also played Julius Randle the most minutes of anyone in the NBA this year. It's always going to go like this when you do that with your star player who can't figure out a double team.

The 'sports are better with fans' honeymoon phase will end by Thanksgiving

We're in a nice honeymoon phase where it is incredible to turn on a game and just be like, oh, my God, this is awesome... I think sometime around Thanksgiving, if you're still doing that, if you're still pointing out the extremely obvious sports are better with fans, you're late to it.

The Brooklyn Nets are the 'new' L.A. Clippers

I think the Nets are the new Clippers in that regard. They're obviously very good. They're super talented. They're the favorites to win it. But can it work? Do they have production after the first three guys? ... Is Kyrie nuts? And is James Harden a little too? Can those three personalities mesh? That's what the new Clippers are to me.

The Milwaukee Bucks will win the 2021 NBA Championship

I'm going to go with – I know this is going to be crazy... I got Milwaukee in the finals for me... And then at the end, said and done, Milwaukee's walking away with it.

The Celtics vs. Nets series is basically over after Game 1

Obviously, the Celtics lost. That first half, though. They had a great first half. They had a chance. Kemba Walker played terribly in the second half, and the series is basically over. Sweep. Maybe gentlemen's sweep.

The Lakers money line in Game 2 against the Suns is the lock of my lifetime

I responsibly, 1-800-GAMBLER, if you have a problem, I think the Lakers game two is the lock of my lifetime. I think LeBron will answer. And AD, like we said, he forgets that he's a seven-footer. He thinks he's a mouse. He's an elephant. The Lakers will be fine in this series, and LeBron will start dominating, and it will all be for naught.

The Suns will win their first-round series against the Lakers

I disagree with you. I think the Suns are going to win. I think they're going to win the series. I've just been down this path too many times. It's just too many times for LeBron to give up game one and to be like, oh, there it is.

You cannot win in the NBA when Robin Lopez is your go-to guy

I also think anytime Robin Lopez is like your go-to guy... You're probably not going to win that game. Doing some post moves on everyone's ass.

The Celtics weren't going to make any noise in the playoffs anyway

They weren't going to make any noise in the playoffs anyway.

SlamBall will definitely be back on television in the U.S. within five years

Oh, 100%. 100% [chance SlamBall is back on US TV in five years].

Russell Westbrook deserves significantly more respect for averaging a triple-double for a fourth season

Russell Westbrook doesn't get enough respect. This is now the fourth season that he will average a triple-double for the entire season. He could record zero points, zero rebounds, and zero assists in all the rest of the games this season, and he would still have a triple-double... The dude is fucking crazy. He's really, really good.

Nikola Jokic is the NBA MVP.

Jokic is our MVP. I was reminded we're nuggets podcast. ... 7% credit. All I was saying was I was just throwing it out there.

Steph Curry is the greatest shooter in the history of basketball and deserves more respect

I think that we're in the specific zone now where we don't respect Steph Curry enough... we should just remember the fact that we're watching literally the greatest shooter of all time play basketball. So we should just enjoy that and be like, holy shit, Steph Curry is awesome all the time. He is that much better of a shooter than everyone else in the history of basketball.

The Nuggets are 'cooked' for the season after Jamal Murray's injury

Jamal Murray tears ACL. So the Nuggets are cooked and that does suck because they actually were like one of those teams like, oh, maybe if they get a nice run going. So we're going to be Jazz fans now.

People are overreacting to the Nets signing LaMarcus Aldridge

LaMarcus Aldridge signing with the Nets had everyone upset. I still don't understand why. Everyone does the tweet where it's like, look how many All-Stars the Nets have... This is they're doing everyone who's upset about this is doing my Kevin White bit being like Kevin White's a top 10 pick. Eventually you get old and LaMarcus Aldridge, great career, but he's not LaMarcus Aldridge of five, ten years ago.

The Boston Celtics have no chance of beating the Brooklyn Nets or Miami Heat in the playoffs

There's no way we're winning. There's no way we're beating the Nets. We're probably not going to beat the Heat again. That's what sucks about the NBA is where there's really only a few teams that are going to make the finals.

A basketball team's pace of play does not correlate to their defensive efficiency

I don't think pace of play correlates to defensive efficiency at all, which you can tell. I mean, we're top three in the country in defensive efficiency. We've been number one for a few weeks... on our offense is one of the fastest, if not the fastest in power five. So I think we can still push the pace on offense and then demand a lot out of them on defense and get stops.

I considered Boston, Golden State, and Portland before signing with the Nets

I will tell you some of the teams... I really liked Boston. I really liked Golden State. I really liked Portland. There was a few other teams... but I had a tough decision. But ultimately, I had to do what was best for me and I think my ability to get a dunk.

Blake Griffin will dunk for the first time since 2019 this year

I'm really hoping that Blake goes there and then he can just immediately play like old Blake again. Change of scenery will be good for him. He's going to dunk for the first time since 2019. Mark my words. 2021 is the year of Blake Griffin dunking again.

Kyrie Irving is the Tom DeLonge of the Brooklyn Nets

I think it's like Blink-182. I think that Kevin Durant and James Harden are Mark and Travis, and then obviously Kyrie's Tom. And then he's off somewhere studying aliens. And then he's going to get pushed off to the side eventually.

The Houston Rockets are the winners of the James Harden trade

The Rockets, actually, I will say are a winner just because James Harden was going to eat himself to 300 pounds, was not going to try... they got anything for him, and they got a lot. They got a lot of picks.

The James Harden trade sweepstakes won't move until a team gets truly desperate

They have to wait for a team to be desperate. And how long is that going to take? ... The reason I say that is to get a Paul George type package to get an Anthony Davis type package for in trade, which is what you want if you're the Rockets... until someone gets desperate, I don't see James Harden moving.

James Harden joining the Nets would be a complete disaster

James Harden apparently wants to come to Brooklyn and play with the Nets, which would be a complete disaster. It would destroy the entire... Yeah, what the hell? Yeah, that's not going to work. There wouldn't even be a super team.

Doc Rivers will never be able to successfully ditch his nickname for 'Glenn'

He is going to get rid of the Doc Rivers nickname and just go by Glenn and somehow he thinks that that's just going to happen. Yeah, that doesn't happen. You don't go from a Doc to a Glenn because of anything.

LeBron James is definitely winning the NBA title this year

LeBron's gonna win [the] title... I ran some simulations and they're all kind of coming out the same way.

Brad Stevens is not on the hot seat even if the Celtics get swept

If the Celtics lose game three is Brad Stevens coaching for his job? No. Mmm. I wasn't gonna say that Hank I'm being serious is Brad Stevens on the hot seat right now? No if they get swept? No, no, he's not on the hot snot on my season.

The Lakers will gentleman sweep the Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals

I'll say right now Lakers... it's a gentleman sweep. I'm calling it a sweep four games to one. They're gonna gentleman sweep their way. I think the Lakers like I think they're going to win the series. I just don't I'm not going to say there. It's going to be sweep or five games. Yeah.

The Lakers will win the Rockets series in a gentleman's sweep

The series is over. It's going to be gentleman's sweep for the Lakers. They are d-u-n done. James Harden picked it perfectly to suck in a playoff game because there was football on and no one cares.

The Bucks cannot beat the Heat or the Celtics in a seven-game series.

There's nothing about the Bucks team that makes me think that they can beat the Heat in seven games or the Celtics in seven games.

Jimmy Butler is a top 20 NBA player

Jimmy Butler, I think we're witnessing the emergence of a top-20 player in the NBA. I am fully onboard... I think now Jimmy Butler is a top 20 NBA player.

A unified Yugoslavian Olympic basketball team would be one of the best in the world

Doncic, Bogdanovic, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jokic, Vucevic, Dragic... If Yugoslavia remained today, their Olympic team national team would actually be pretty good.

NBA games will likely resume by Saturday following the protest

My sense is, the games will either begin Friday or Saturday. It's seeming more and more like Saturday because you want to give maybe these guys one more day of self-care and really practice for some of these teams.

Chris Webber is a terrible announcer

Chris Webber is a terrible announcer and he's getting exposed because he's been calling it feels like the important game every single night and holy shit does he suck. Chris Webber is the Michael Scott? Sometimes I start a sentence and I don't even know where it's going. It's hard to trend as an announcer two nights in a row without saying anything actually controversial... he's just trending because he's bad.

Allen Iverson is one of the greatest basketball players we have ever witnessed

I will tell you, one of the greatest basketball players that we have ever witnessed with some of the quickest handles and some of the best most precise pivot movements ever. He's a good face for the Tidewater area, I would definitely say that for sure.

Luka Doncic is a generational superstar and the teams that passed on him missed out on 20 years of greatness

I'm just going to say it to the Hawks who traded him on draft night to the kings that took Marvin Bagley... They worry about it. They do you miss on a generational super Star that is going to be incredible in the NBA for like the next 20 years shit happens man

Giannis Antetokounmpo must make the NBA Finals this year or the narrative will turn against him

I got to take about giannis... he's got to go to the finals this year. That's all I'm going to say because when he dunks on the magic up 20 and like pounds his chest... if he gets stopped in the Eastern Conference Final again, like you can't do that where you just in the first round your piece and then in the second and third round you get shut down.

The Sixers cannot win a championship with both Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons together

The the like sports radio call-in like you need to trade one of the two and just build around the other I think is actually now true like someone in Philly. Has been saying has been calling Angelo and Phil he's been calling into the last three years screaming about this Angel and Phillies. Correct? I do not think that you can win with both those guys.

The Trail Blazers are not going to win their series against the Lakers

What I've said from the start is the Blazers aren't going to win this series and they're not gonna win this series. That is the worst shooting team I've ever seen though the Lakers... I am I do want the Lakers to lose very badly. Um, but I just don't think they're going to lose this series.

The Lakers are going to destroy the Blazers in five games

The Lakers are going to fuck the Blazers up. Put it up, put it right down, quote it. Five games. Maybe [four]. ... The Blazers play pickup basketball. They do not play defense. And they play against the Lakers. I think the Lakers just need to get three consecutive stops and the game's over.

The Raptors will probably sweep the Nets in the first round

Raptors verse the Nets. Probably sweep

The Pelicans not playing Zion Williamson more minutes is failing the whole reason they were invited

The Pelicans not realizing the whole reason they were invited was to get Zion in the playoffs and playing him 29 minutes over two games... we wanted to watch Zion. Yeah, he's a little heavy but we still wanted to watch him and you played him 29 minutes in two games... the Pelicans are not going to play ball.

The 2020 NBA bubble would never have happened without Rudy Gobert's positive test

How crazy is it to think back to March that Rudy Gobert testing positive probably led to this bubble being created. We probably would never have Bubble life... the the Butterfly effect from that one test. The ripples will be felt for centuries.

The 2020 NBA season only counts if LeBron James wins it

I think the Pelicans are going to win. I think the Clippers are going to win lock it up noted does the season count? Yeah, not as LeBron wins, correct good answer.

The NBA Bubble won't feel weird until the conference finals

I actually think it's not going to be that weird to start. But once we get into, like, the conference finals, it's going to be fucking bizarre to have, like, games go on with no fans and just, like, big, big moments happen to, you know, 20 people in the room.

Carmelo Anthony will dominate in the NBA Bubble because it mimics the Olympic Village environment

This is actually the perfect environment for Carmelo Anthony because when does he perform at his best? In the Olympics, right? When the athletes are confined to a certain type of village with each other living under the bubble... and this is exactly what's happening in Orlando.

NBA players will play better in the bubble because there is no away crowd or travel anxiety

The lack of anxiety is going to allow players that you probably didn't think were great players go out... they're going to play better. So if you want your things, some guys are going to average more than 10 points that typically don't.

NBA players are self-deputizing as Karens in the bubble

It's not the journalists that are doing it. It's actually the players. The players have self-deputized as Karens. I actually want every NBA player should get a Yelp account and I want to read their Yelp reviews of the hotel afterwards.

There is a 100% chance the NBA season will happen exactly as scheduled in the bubble.

What percentage that there will be a full basketball like real... from exactly how they have it scheduled? A hundred percent. Because I'm not willing to doubt myself now. It's the only thing I've got pulling me forward to the end of the month. So call me delusional, call me insane, but I think it's a hundred percent going to happen.

The NBA will power through positive COVID tests and won't cancel the season unless LeBron is impacted.

I don't think they're going to be deterred by a couple positive tests. I think it's going to be weird. I think there's going to be guys that are going to miss time... but they're going to power through it. I think... at what point does Adam Silver say, 'Okay, we're canceling this whole operation?' At that point you're going to get all the conspiracy theories coming out and saying they're just canceling it because LeBron is not going to make the finals.