Takes

There is no conclusive evidence that the shortened NBA turnaround caused the recent surge in injuries

I'm just not sure based on everything I've read that we have some conclusive evidence that these injuries have happened just because of what we had in the past year... Silver definitely pushed back on it, which I was just at least I guess I was even surprised because he's been so pro player as a commissioner.

The Suns will win the NBA Finals in six games

No, Suns in six.

I have conquered my free throw shooting struggles by finding a consistent routine

Well, if you have noticed, I'm shooting at least 70 right now. So I think that's something I've conquered already... I found a routine and shot it the same way for the entire summer. And it's been my routine ever since.

I will not play for the Portland Trail Blazers if Damian Lillard is traded

[Big Cat]: Name five of your favorite cities... Portland. [Drummond]: Dame's not there, though. No. [Big Cat]: Andre Drummond says he will not be going to Portland if Damien Lillard gets traded.

Giannis Antetokounmpo was not as injured as the public was told

Giannis was not as injured as we were told that he was because just from the start, he went out there and he was the most athletic player on the court.

The Suns will sweep the Bucks in the NBA Finals

I'll say [Suns] and four, [Suns] and three from right now. It was if Chris Paul plays like that, there's nothing you can do.

Brooke Lopez is a dominant 'system center' for the Bucks

Brooke Lopez dropped 33 tonight. 15 of 18. Brooke Lopez. Absolutely dominant is [Giannis] a system center. I don't know if people are saying, but yeah, that's how that's how bad that is.

The Bucks will win the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games if Trae Young remains out

I do think that if Trae Young doesn't come back in the series, I think the [Bucks] will probably win the series. And seven, I'm gonna say seven. So the Hawks will win another game, but it's just a bummer.

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.

Players who flop should be legally allowed to be shoved on the court

There was a technical debt that had been accrued on the part of Chris Paul over the course of that game with the flops... at that point, you should be allowed to shove him and actually get your jollies in, make contact with him to even up that debt that exists.

The Phoenix Suns will sweep the NBA Finals

Suns in four is our prediction for the NBA finals, this [NBA Finals]. Give Chris Paul the accolades that he deserves.

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.

NBA teams should sign stars and then only play them once the role players have won the early playoff series

Reggie Miller was mega right about resting the players. You should just, the new formula should be you sign star players and then you just try to win all the playoff series against inferior teams with your role guys. And then you put your stars back in for the fight.

The 2021 NBA Playoff injuries are mostly freak occurrences rather than a result of the shortened season

I still believe... that this is the weirdest playoffs ever... a lot of these injuries are kind of freak injuries that I don't know if that has anything to do with playing the season was shortened rests off of the bubble. I just think there's a lot of freak injuries. They've happened all at once.

The Hawks would have beaten the Bucks in Game 4 even if Giannis didn't get hurt

I do think the Hawks would have, they kind of were going to win this game without Giannis getting hurt. Like I know Hank just sitting there just saying 'game' after every made shot, that was pre-injury. The Hawks were playing like a spirited, like, Hey, we're coming out here, everyone in the world thinks we have no chance without Trae Young, fuck the world.

The NBA Finals will be Suns vs. Hawks

I think it's going to be Suns-Hawks and Suns in four. Suns Hawks, Suns and four.

Scotty Pippen is doing a great job promoting his bourbon because his controversial takes are keeping him in the news

I actually think he's doing a great job of pitching this bourbon... because everyone's talking about Scotty Pippen, but calling Phil Jackson racist for drawing up a winning play to Toni Kukoc... it goes against everything that everyone knows... he's on a scorched earth tour just getting back at everybody.

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.

The Suns will beat the Clippers in five games

But yeah, it feels like it's Suns in five because Chris Paul was terrible. I think Chris Paul was also just gassed... but he ended up making just enough shots to keep them ahead.

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.

Damian Lillard would not play well with LeBron James

I actually don't think that he [Lillard] would play well with LeBron. I mean, they would just win a title. But it wouldn't be fun for me to watch personally. No, it wouldn't be fun for anyone.

Ben Simmons does not love basketball

I do think Ben Simmons is probably one of those guys who falls in the camp of he's really good at basketball but probably doesn't love basketball. Because you can't love basketball and just never fix the fact that you can't shoot. Right?

Chris Paul was selfish for rushing back too fast from COVID protocols

I think Chris Paul was selfish tonight, Big Cat, in that he rushed himself back too fast. He did. And he needed to wait. Chris Paul needed to wait a little bit longer, come back. He was not the Chris Paul that we know.

Cam Payne's injury changed the whole flow of the Suns vs. Clippers series

Campaign did get hurt. He only played four minutes. That changes the whole series. You can confidently say there's no excuses left on the table. The Clippers are without their best guy, Kawhi. The Suns are without their best guy, Campaign.

The 2018 NBA Draft should be redrafted to consider Trae Young over Luka Doncic

The best thing I said about [Trae Young] was that we now have to redraft the 2018 NBA draft. Because that's the biggest – Luka, how could you pick Trae Young ahead of – or how could you – the trade that went down where the Hawks basically traded back and they're like, you take Luka, we'll take Trae Young. So I think that that's actually... yeah, it's a discussion.

Scottie Pippen is not clearly a top 25 NBA player of all time

I'm just still going through my head right now because it feels like Scottie Pippen is not clearly a top 25 NBA player of all time. And I'm doing names. Are you willing to stand by that take? I had a poster when I was a kid... And Scottie Pippen was like controversially on the list of top 50.

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.

DeAndre Ayton is officially an elite player alongside Luka Doncic and Trey Young

DeAndre Ayton... He's a fucking beast, man. He's like DeAndre Ayton showing up to the whole Trey Young, Luka Doncic, that draft ruled discussion being like, I rule too. I'm awesome on defense and offense.

DeMarcus Cousins' push on Devin Booker should have been a flagrant foul

Yeah, so that [DeMarcus Cousins pushing Devin Booker] should have been called, that should have been like a flagrant foul, right?

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.

The 76ers will eventually make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

I do believe, I truly believe, as much as I've said bad things about Philly, it's only been my honest opinion. And I do believe eventually they will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals.

Kevin Durant gained respect and status from this playoff run despite losing.

Weirdly I think Kevin Durant like gained from this. Oh yeah. I mean the shot at the end of regulation was huge and just the way this... Harden going down, Kyrie going down... 48 points where he just was so incredible... I think people appreciate Kevin Durant more than they ever have, watching him play without other players and being as incredible as he is.

Suns in four.

All I'm saying is Suns in four. Suns in four.

Reggie Miller was right about resting Kevin Durant and James Harden in Game 6

Reggie Miller was right. If you forgot, Reggie Miller basically said after game five, rest Kevin Durant, James Harden for game seven. Don't even play them. They played. They lost.

If the Sixers lose the series in six games, the franchise should consider blowing up 'The Process'

Right now, if the Sixers lose this series in six, hope is gone. Hope is out the window. I would be firing up the trade machine and seeing how many picks you can get for Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to just restart the process.

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.

The Hawks might have been right for choosing Trae Young over Luka Doncic

We're seeing now, were the Hawks right for taking Trae Young and not Luka Doncic? Maybe. So there you go. That's really when you know that you got a good one, when we're doing the revisionist history.

Ben Simmons should shoot more in the 4th quarter, even if he misses everything

I actually think if I were Ben Simmons, strategy going into game six, I would just shoot all the time in the fourth quarter. Because I really do believe if Ben Simmons went one for seven in the fourth quarter, it would be better than shooting one time in the last four games in the fourth quarter. That's basically giving up.

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.

LeBron James is not a great dunker because he doesn't hang on the rim

This is why LeBron James is not a great dunker, in my opinion. You have to hang on to the rim for just like a split second. You've got to make the rim move... Sometimes he acts like the rim is like a hot oven rack. He just taps it and pulls his hand away.

The Phoenix Suns will beat the Clippers in four games if they meet in the Western Conference Finals

If it does go to Clippers versus Suns, I think we have a real chance of Suns in four again.

The Suns fan from the 'Suns in 4' fight needs a championship ring

The bottom line is if they [the Suns] win, if they win the NBA finals this year, that guy needs a ring. He needs a ring for sure. And he needs to do the pregame ceremony.

Nikola Jokic's ejection in Game 4 was total bullshit

The Jokic ejection was bullshit. It was bullshit. Having that be an ejection was so, so stupid. I don't know if that changes the game... but yes, ejecting the reigning MVP, that's going to have an effect on it.

The Brooklyn Nets are still the best team in the NBA when at full strength

Obviously the Nets at full strength are probably the best team in the NBA and better than the Bucks. But at some point you do have to admit that Kyrie Irving, James Harden, those guys do get injured.

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.