A. Sherrod Blakely is joined by Josue Pavon, who covers the Oklahoma City Thunder for Clutchpoints. The pair discusses OKC's run to the NBA Cup finals, all without their young star Chet Holmgren. As they continue to roll, could they carry their momentum all the way to the NBA Finals? Would the Celtics be there too? Who would win?
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SportsTranscript
00:00The Big 3 NBA Podcast is powered by PrizePix and the Game Time app.
00:25Hello everyone and welcome to another edition of The Big 3 NBA Podcast.
00:29I'm A'Sharrod Blakely and I'm joined by Josue Pavone.
00:33Many of you know him as part of the Sealinus Media Network family,
00:36but Josue does a little of that and then some.
00:39Welcome to the program, my friend.
00:41What's going on, Sharrod?
00:42How you been, man?
00:43It's good to be on.
00:44Good to be here.
00:45Good to be here.
00:46And we'll get into all the different things that Josue is doing,
00:49which is why he's on this particular episode.
00:52But before we do that, I just want to give a big shout out to our good
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01:12your favorite sports team.
01:13And another special shout out to our good friends at Game Time, which
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01:20sporting events.
01:21I know I got a couple events coming up in the next couple of weeks that
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01:38Terms apply.
01:39Josue, my man.
01:43What's going on, Sharrod?
01:44What's new?
01:45How's the season treating you?
01:46You good?
01:46I'm good, but I think the people need to know what's new with you
01:49because as some of you may or may not know, Josue is no longer in the
01:53Boston area.
01:54He's doing some other things now.
01:55Let the people know what you up to, Josue.
01:57Yeah, man.
01:57I'm out in OKC, man.
01:58I'm out in Oklahoma City covering the Thunder for Clutch Points and
02:04it's been great, man.
02:05This team is incredible.
02:06I mean, I knew that going in.
02:09I mean, we had a conversation before, right, during the summer where
02:11I was telling you, Sharrod, I'm like, man, this team, like this could
02:15be it, you know, or even if it's not this year, like whether it's, you
02:18know, the two-year, three-year window, whatever the case may be, like
02:21they're going to compete.
02:22They're going to compete for championship, you know, and I wasn't
02:25wrong, you know, they got to an incredible start, you know, 7-0, you
02:29know, 10-2 or excuse me, 8-2 in the first 10 games, lost Chet
02:34Holmgren, but they just kept on winning, Sharrod.
02:36I mean, it's incredible.
02:37They've only dropped about three games, you know, and they've been
02:40leading the Western Conference pretty much all season and yeah, it's
02:44just been me adapting to not only the team and the personalities that
02:49come with it, but also the city, you know, and the culture, which has
02:52been really cool.
02:53Yeah, absolutely.
02:54And you know, right now, you know, all eyes are on the Thunder and
02:58just what they're doing this year and obviously because of the success
03:01is part of it, but the bigger part of it at this moment is the way
03:05that they have been playing in the Emirates Cup, which they have
03:08advanced to the finals for that in Las Vegas, where they're going to
03:11face the Milwaukee Bucks and you know, again, they're facing a really
03:17good Milwaukee Bucks team, but this damn Thunder team, they're
03:19balling, they're balling out well, and I wanted us to get into just
03:23why this team has been so good.
03:27You look at the win over Houston.
03:28You got Shea, we had 32-6, Gilders Alexander, for those who've been
03:32under the rock the last three years, he is him in so many ways, 32
03:38points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals.
03:41Then you got Isaiah Hardenstein, who I love, love.
03:44That was, to me, that was one of the low-key major pickups in the
03:47offseason for them.
03:49He had 21-8 and then my man, Lugenz Dort, who was basically a
03:54supersized version of Marcus Smart, 9 points, 9 rebounds, I think
04:003 steals again in the win over Houston, balling out.
04:03But Joshua, I'm curious, what were some of your biggest takeaways
04:06from their win over Houston?
04:07Because Houston, you know, they're playing some of the best ball
04:10they played in a while under our Emei Yudoka.
04:13Yeah, for sure, Gerard.
04:14I mean, I just think the second half is when things really just
04:19the thunder went into domination mode.
04:20And of course, SGA had everything to do with that, you know, scoring
04:2320 points, you know, in that second half, but this has sort of
04:25been his thing, you know, or maybe it's not always him, but most
04:29of the time it is him.
04:30They come out at halftime with just a different mindset and they
04:33just go into takeover mode and that's essentially what happened,
04:36you know, in that particular game, you know, a lot of the times
04:39the the pattern has been get out to this quick start, you know,
04:43build that cushion and then in the second half, you know, run
04:46away with it and some teams will stick around, you know, in the
04:49first half, you know, and then other teams, you see the big
04:52difference in the second half.
04:53And I think that's exactly what happened with the Rockets, you
04:55know, and they met their match in the sense of having it's playing
04:58a team that can defend on the same level as them, you know,
05:01there's there's definitely one of the better defensive teams in
05:03the NBA right there with the Thunder, but at the end of the
05:07day, man, when when SGA goes off like that, he's damn near
05:10unstoppable, you know, it's just super hard for opposing defenses
05:14to figure that out and it's not just him, you know, it's Jalen
05:17Williams.
05:18It's everyone's commitment to defense, you know, and Isaiah
05:21Hardenstein has a big part of that, you know, ever since Chet
05:25Holmgren went down.
05:26It's like he's just been not only the rib protector that these
05:29guys need, but also just someone that create extra possessions,
05:33you know, can score, can do a little bit of the a little bit
05:36of of everything, you know, and I just think a lot of the time
05:40the opposing teams just they they they're overwhelmed, you
05:43know, it's just it's incredible how everyone is so committed
05:46to defense.
05:48You got, you know, a three-guard lineup essentially because
05:52of that, you know, with case and walls now in there with
05:55Ludo, as you mentioned, you know, very market smart like,
05:58you know, especially with this fan base that they certainly
06:01embrace them like market smart or like Boston did with market
06:03smart, I should say and yeah, I mean, it's just all of you add
06:07all that together and you you had this dominant team that's
06:11again been at the top of the Western Conference and just
06:13hasn't shown any signs of slowing down.
06:15Yeah, and you know, when you mention a door and again the
06:20job that they did early not not the Houston game, but when
06:23they played Dallas earlier where he was part of a defensive
06:26group that limited Kyrie Irving and Luca don't just to like
06:3033 points combined.
06:31And I think Chris J had like 39 in that game.
06:34He is an elite defender and I've been really surprised that
06:38he's been a name that we've been talking about for years
06:40as one of the better defenders and yet he doesn't get that
06:42all NBA defensive love that I think he deserves.
06:46I think this year he's making it pretty damn hard not to
06:50give him that love.
06:52How important it has as a guy like like that been to this
06:56team success particularly when you're you've got so many
06:58young players and and we've we've seen this before the
07:01one but it's almost like the last thing young players
07:03figure out how to do at a decent level is defend and it
07:06seems like that's the one thing that this Oklahoma City
07:08team does collectively that has been part of that.
07:11How important has he been to that that defensive mindset
07:15that defensive growth of this franchise?
07:17He's been a huge road.
07:18I mean, he sets the example as the leader, you know, and
07:22just holds his teammates accountable, but everyone does
07:24that, you know, it's not just him.
07:26But of course with him being the leader, it's that much
07:29it's more important.
07:30If you ask me, you know, like you have to put forth the
07:33same example that everyone's expected, you know, and I
07:36think a lot of the times, you know, in the NBA, especially
07:38young young stars, they forget how important that is, you
07:41know, on the defensive end and I just think when you have
07:44someone like that who's putting forth the same type of
07:46effort as everyone, it just makes things easier.
07:49But but again, it's the accountability, you know, it's
07:51a lot of a lot of somewhat some parallels with the Celtics,
07:54you know, the way Tatum is sort of like not going to be
07:58in people's faces, but he sets the example, you know, I
08:00think SGA is sort of figuring that out, you know, and I
08:03think this is the year where it's really going to all
08:05come together.
08:05I mean, he finished runner-up for MVP last season, you
08:08know, Mark diagonal coach of the year, you know, so I feel
08:12like this is that year where they know man that we can
08:15make that leap.
08:15We can make that jump and I think a lot of the a lot of
08:18that had to do with that matchup against the Maverick,
08:20you know, that's the team that knocked him out of the
08:22playoffs last year.
08:22That's the team that won the Western Conference, you
08:24know, so it's sort of like that's the benchmark for these
08:26guys and they're all in, you know, they they even after
08:31the game admitted that okay.
08:32Yeah, it was a little bit of different atmosphere or a
08:35playoff field to it, you know with the being the NBA
08:37Cup, but also because of what happened last year.
08:39So I think a lot of that plays a part as well.
08:42But yeah, man with the the way SGA defends I feel like
08:45it's just not only contagious, but it makes everyone
08:47want to want to step up on that on that end.
08:49And that's exactly what happens one through five the
08:51starters and even guys off the bench.
08:53I mean someone like AJ Mitchell, you know, a second
08:55round draft pick is a part of this rotation and a big
09:00part of that is because of his effort on defense.
09:02Yeah, and when you talk about stepping up, you know,
09:05certainly with the loss of Chet Holmgren for a pretty
09:08significant chunk of time someone in or someone's had
09:11to step up and it's been interesting to see how some
09:15of the things that that head coach is gone with his
09:18terms of rotations lineups, but from your perspective
09:21just what's been the key to this team finding a way
09:23to move on and still be successful without arguably
09:27their second best player.
09:29I just think it's guy stepping up on the defensive
09:31end for sure.
09:32But a lot of that has to do with Isaiah Hardenstein.
09:34I mean, I just think the the the time frame from when
09:38he came back from his injury, you know, it was kind
09:41of perfect in the sense of like, okay, we got a
09:43replacement big, you know, they went out and sign,
09:45you know, a guy at the end of the bench for that
09:49reason, but they didn't necessarily need to, you know,
09:51you got other guys like Kenrich Williams, you know,
09:53and these guys can also play small but having someone
09:56like that in the middle just makes it much harder for
09:59teams and it's not just about oh, well, he's got to
10:01block shots.
10:01You got to know he just makes people not want to go
10:04into the paint and try to score.
10:06You know what I mean?
10:07Like he's the way these guys.
10:08I mean, they leave the league in the flexions, you know,
10:10that's not just Hardenstein, but also the way he's able
10:13to just force guys to, you know, alter their shot,
10:16so to speak, it makes a humongous difference and he's
10:19like the double-double King, man.
10:21He went on this crazy streak of, you know, putting
10:24together these double-doubles like 17 points and 13
10:27rebounds, you know, or like 14 rebounds and 12 points,
10:30you know, like those type of performances, man.
10:32It just it goes a long way and also it creates more
10:36opportunities on offense, you know, he's a great offensive
10:39rebounder and also a vocal leader, you know, a veteran
10:43So to speak who was a bit of a journeyman or right
10:46sure.
10:47I mean, yeah people remember those two years in New
10:49York, but it took him a while to get that type of opportunity
10:53and it took a while to get that bag, right?
10:55And that's exactly what he got with OKC, you know, 80
10:59million dollar deal, you know, a commitment to not only
11:04join this franchise, but to compete for a championship
11:06and that played a big part in him in his decision to
11:08sign with Thunder.
11:10Yeah, because the Knicks are still kind of, you know,
11:12feeling like damn, damn, damn the salary cap did him
11:16in because they couldn't yeah, they could find a match
11:19that no, they couldn't which which obviously hurt them
11:21and they were able to get Karl-Anthony Towns, but it
11:23cost him, you know, pretty, you know, good players
11:26when you look at, you know, Dante DiVincenzo and also
11:29Julius Randall.
11:30So we're back to OKC.
11:32So now they're in the Emirates Cups finals.
11:35They got a chance to win franchise first ever championship
11:39at least in Oklahoma City.
11:41What would that victory over Milwaukee and Emirates
11:45Cups final?
11:45What does what would that mean for this this franchise
11:47and particularly this team?
11:50Sure.
11:50I think it would mean, you know, I think it would show
11:53them just how how competitive they can be in that type
11:57of situation and I get it's not the NBA, you know, playoffs.
12:00It's not the NBA finals, but I mean guys are taking this
12:03thing seriously, you know, especially this time around
12:05and especially against this Milwaukee Bucks team, which
12:07I think would be a great, you know, stepping stone, I
12:11guess, you know, for these guys with obviously, you know,
12:14championship aspirations to be there in the finals in
12:16June, you know, but to have that experience and to
12:19knock off someone like Giannis who's obviously been
12:21there, you know, has a championship under his belt and
12:24really wants to go out there and send a message to
12:26the rest of the league.
12:26And I think the Thunder are trying to do the same thing,
12:28you know, Dagnold's going to downplay it and say it's
12:31just another game and all that in this in the sense
12:33of, you know, they're going to put forth the same
12:35type of effort regardless and I get that, you know,
12:37you want to, you want to make sure that that's out
12:39there, but you know, deep down inside, I feel like it
12:41matters to these guys.
12:42It should, you know, I think they're just that competitive
12:45and you know, man, Sean, these guys aren't even playing
12:48on Christmas, you know what I mean?
12:49Like, I just feel like going into the season, people
12:51are like, yeah, the Thunder, you know, they should
12:52be good, but I think they're like, no man, like this
12:55is it, like we're trying to make that league.
12:57We're trying to, we want, we want a championship,
12:59you know, and I think this will kind of put them
13:00in that path in the sense of showing everyone like,
13:02yeah, we're that team to look out for.
13:04We're the ones, you know, Boston is still Boston.
13:06They're still the returning champions, but we're making
13:08noise over here as well.
13:09But the only thing I hope though, Sherrod, and I feel
13:12like they might do this just because the Lakers did
13:15it and also because man, they got division championships
13:18hanging up there in the Paycom Center, man.
13:19And you know, exactly, you cringe at that, don't you?
13:25Yes, man.
13:26Yes.
13:27The look you just made is the look that I make every
13:29single time I look up there and I'm just like, you
13:32know, but it's gonna, it's gonna put them in a position
13:36to, well, they might do that.
13:38They're probably gonna do that.
13:39But if anything, if they gotta look up to that, you
13:42know, between now and June as like, okay, we gotta,
13:45we have to get a championship banner next to it,
13:47then so be it.
13:48Okay, use it as motivation guys, but I'm not crazy
13:51about the idea, but it also put, it paints the right
13:55picture in the sense of like, they've never been there,
13:58you know, or they've been to the finals, but they
14:00haven't, they haven't won it.
14:01So, but yeah, man, they got a lot of divisional
14:03banners up there.
14:04So hopefully one, one, one of these, you know, whether
14:07it's this year or next year, hopefully they'll get
14:09a championship up there soon.
14:11We'll see.
14:12Yeah, that is, it's one of those things where, you
14:15know, I felt like, for example, when we were, I
14:17had, uh, uh, Lauren Williams from the Atlanta General
14:20Constitution on last week and we're talking about
14:22the Hawks and what it would mean for them to win
14:24a championship.
14:25And, you know, I, I just, I kept it a hundred.
14:27I mean, I wouldn't have been surprised if they had
14:29a parade in Atlanta for them, if they won, if they
14:31won an Emmys, I mean, what did you say to that?
14:36Lauren was like, yeah, you're probably right.
14:40That's, that's another story.
14:41But, uh, the bottom line is there's certain
14:46certain organizations and you know, this would
14:47be true where they see success on a completely
14:50different metric, uh, or standard than like the
14:54Boston Celtics.
14:54I mean, I was surprised when I first came to Boston,
14:58just how dismissive they were of anything.
15:00That's not an NBA championship, like division
15:03title, best record in East don't matter.
15:05It is the Larry O'Brien trophy in the building.
15:08And if it's not in the building, we don't care.
15:11We genuinely don't care.
15:12That's Red Auerbach, man.
15:13For sure.
15:15That would be, but I think for the thing about
15:17the Emirates club, just this whole, you know,
15:19process for me, looking at it from the outside,
15:22looking in, I think there's certain franchises
15:24that will benefit greatly from having an opportunity
15:28to win this championship.
15:29I think young teams that are on the come up
15:31like Oklahoma city, uh, or excuse me, like Atlanta,
15:35for example, it would be great for them as they
15:37try to get to the playoffs and make a little
15:39noise there for a young established team like
15:42OKC that has legitimate championship aspirations.
15:46Winning an Emirates club could be just kind of
15:48almost like the appetizer to what you want to
15:51be the main course, which is winning an NBA
15:52title.
15:53Uh, I got, but there's a lot of teams.
15:56I look at like Boston.
15:58I look at like, uh, you know, Cleveland teams
16:02that know at the end of the day, they going
16:03to be in a title hunt, whether they win an
16:05Emirates cup or they get that ass spanked and
16:08don't even get the Vegas.
16:09They know they're going to be in a hunt and
16:11for them, you know, not having to play in Vegas
16:16might be a blessing in disguise because I was
16:17thinking about this Joe Sway the other day.
16:19And if you go to Vegas and you lose and then
16:23you got a team like the Boston Celtics who play
16:26Detroit beat them and then they play Washington
16:30on the road, which is really like a home game.
16:32It's just like it's not really a road game when
16:35you play at Washington.
16:38Yeah.
16:39And so the Celtics are probably going to get
16:41to win two victories in a win column by not
16:45making it to Vegas.
16:46Whereas a team like, you know, Atlanta, for
16:50example, you caught a loss that you probably
16:54wouldn't have caught if you would not have
16:55gotten to this point in, you know, to the cup.
16:58So I'm curious.
16:59I'm really looking forward to when we get down
17:01to the final days of the NBA season.
17:04If there's like a one game separating a situation
17:08being tied up or team losing.
17:10How is that going to impact?
17:12And like for example, Milwaukee, let's say
17:14Milwaukee loses.
17:15So, okay, see that means they went one and one
17:18in Vegas.
17:19If they finish in a tie with let's say the
17:21Celtics for, you know, the best record or second
17:24best record or something like that.
17:25The Celtics with a tiebreaker, but if they
17:27would have played a weaker team, they might
17:29not have had to go to the tiebreaker and they
17:31might have.
17:31So I'm curious to see how the NBA Emirates Cup
17:37is going to impact playoff seating because I
17:39do think that there's going to be at least
17:40one team that got to Vegas that in a few weeks
17:45and a couple few months.
17:46I think like damn, was it really more of a
17:48time to split in Vegas versus playing two
17:51white gas teams that we could have beat at
17:53the crib or be one in a row to beat another
17:55one at the crib and we wouldn't be looking
17:57at like this fourth seed.
17:59We would have said be looking at the number
18:00two seed or something like that.
18:01I have this weird feeling.
18:03Somebody's going to feel that.
18:05Yeah, I can see that.
18:06Yeah, for sure.
18:07And I think that's what that's what the NBA
18:09wants, you know, to spice things up the way
18:11in in bringing a team, like you said, like
18:14maybe the Hawks, you know, giving them a little
18:16bit of inspiration in the sense of competing
18:18and getting as far as they did.
18:19But, you know, like you say, there's that balance
18:22like you got to make sure or, you know, if
18:24you lose for it to hurt you later, you know,
18:28it could put you in.
18:29But yeah, that's the thing, man.
18:30I just feel like the more that the more we
18:34see this, I think teams are going to adapt,
18:36you know, and kind of figure out what's best
18:38for them.
18:38And I don't mean that in the sense of like,
18:39you know, teams wanted to tank and all that
18:42because I just think the whole group phase
18:43and all that and the way the points are point
18:45differential.
18:46Like you really you're not sure and at the
18:48same time, you know, they all count towards
18:49the regular season.
18:50So I think it's a success man, the more they
18:53continue to do this and I think Tuesday could
18:55be one of the better games of the regular
18:57season.
18:57And if that's just if that's the case, then
18:59NBA will will be very happy, you know, and
19:01especially because I feel like they kind of
19:03want to maybe not the NBA, but you know, the
19:06fans kind of wanted a maybe a Warriors or
19:08you know, another team that you know, I just
19:11feel like when the price is dropped a little
19:12bit, I feel like that had a lot to do with
19:14it. But now, you know, you got this huge game
19:17on Tuesday, you know, you got Yonnas in the
19:18mix. I think that's good for the league.
19:20I think it's good for everyone.
19:21Yeah, absolutely.
19:22And to your point, Josue, there's no question
19:25that the NBA is looking at the Emirates NBA
19:28Cup as a way to kind of spice things up.
19:30And for those of us who have a big time
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20:48this basketball season which players are going
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21:00on prize picks. And again, if you want in just
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21:17your first $5 lineup prize picks run your game
21:22and we are going to continue running our game
21:25here on the big three NBA podcast and get into
21:27a conversation about the guy that we often
21:31refer to I refer to as he is him that will be
21:35Shea Gilchrist Alexander as you mentioned
21:39earlier just way runner-up for NBA League MVP
21:42a year ago and is right back in the thick of
21:45things this year from what you've been able
21:47to see from him up close. What makes him such
21:49a special talent in a league where there's a
21:52lot of special talents. I think it's his offense
21:56man. Like we talked about his defense, which
21:58I you know, it's super important as the leader
21:59of the team, but his his, you know, pull up
22:02game is his overall like man. He's got a lot
22:05of things in his bag, man. I just think it
22:07makes it it's just devastating for opponents,
22:09especially when he when he's on a roll and
22:11he's putting together those type of quarters
22:13or has where he's putting, you know, 2022
22:15points on the board, you know, whether it's
22:16from the behind the three-point arc, you can
22:18take it to the rim, you know, and he's still
22:20getting better, you know, I just think that's
22:21a big part of this as well. Like a lot of
22:23these guys, you know, it's funny man, like a
22:25week ago Jalen Williams was talking about,
22:29you know, improving his game and like, hey,
22:31you know, I'm not a finished prodigy. I'm only
22:33in my third season fast forward to their media
22:36day before the semifinals in Vegas and this
22:39reporter starts his question with, you know,
22:41with you being a veteran, he's like, well, I'm
22:43a veteran like, you know, like and it's it's
22:45funny because people forget because he's made
22:47this leap this significantly from last year
22:49to this year or even the year before that, but
22:52going into this year, you know, where he's just
22:54established as a 20-point score. And I think a
22:56lot of that has to do with his offensive game,
22:59you know, his mid-range game as well, you know,
23:01I just think he's finding ways to put points
23:04up in a hurry and I think SGA, you know, with
23:07the way he's able to attack and and you know,
23:10kind of his unpredictable style of play in the
23:13sense of, you don't know, he's going to pull up
23:14for three, take it to the, take it to the rim.
23:17It's opened things up for not only Jalen, but
23:19everyone else, you know, and I just think a lot
23:20of that has to do with everyone's, you know,
23:24coming together the way they had this year and
23:26SGA has been the leader of it. If you had to
23:29pick your league MVP now and again, you may be
23:31biased on this. I don't know. Maybe, maybe not,
23:34but maybe SGA is he your MVP right now? And
23:37if not, who would you? Okay? He is. Okay.
23:41Yeah, man. Yeah, he did doing this without
23:43Chet Holmgren, man. And I know it's not a huge
23:46sample size, but man, we're talking about what
23:5013, 14 games, you know, they've dropped how
23:52many three like it's incredible. And I think
23:55SGA has everything to do with that. He had the
23:57streak of scoring 30 plus points, you know,
24:00or at one point it was 28 plus. I was keeping
24:02track. He had like eight games in a row. We
24:03scored 28 plus. They started a new streak of
24:06scoring 30 plus and it's like teams just can't
24:10figure them out, you know, and a lot of the
24:12times I feel like he could have kept the street
24:13going, but then the damn thunder up by 25. So,
24:16you know, he didn't play much of the fourth
24:17quarter. It's just incredible, man. I haven't
24:19seen, I haven't seen a guard who could score
24:24the way he does in a while. I mean,
24:28can you think of someone recently like in the
24:30last 10 years or so like, well, you know, what
24:33about when I watch him play? It's not necessarily
24:36the points. He scores is the ease at which he
24:39gets his buckets. He plays in a league where
24:42some of the most phenomenal athletes exist in
24:45the entire world and he makes superior athletes
24:49exceptional athletes look average and that's
24:52hard to do. I look at him. I look at a guy like
24:55John Moran and just some of the things that
24:56they're able to do for from a basketball
24:58standpoint against some really phenomenal
25:01athletes to don't look phenomenal when their
25:04hands up against the right and that to me, that's
25:07the thing that makes she I think special and
25:09right now he's my MVP as well. The thing that
25:12makes him special is that he doesn't seem to
25:16be forcing the action, even though he puts up
25:19force the action numbers like you think for a
25:22guy to give you like a high 20s low 30s night
25:25in night out. They got to take a lot of bad
25:26shots and most of the shots that shade takes
25:29are kind of like in the flow of the offense
25:31and and the reason are in the flow of the
25:33offense is because he can't be guarded in the
25:37flow of the office. Most nights. I mean, I have
25:40seen him blow by some really, really, really
25:43good defenders as if they did not exist as if
25:48nothing more than just a little breeze in the
25:50wind that like, oh, I felt that show. What was
25:52that? Oh, that was somebody trying to guard me.
25:54Oh, okay. He's been that good and definitely
25:59he has been someone that you know, wherever
26:02he goes. It is a game that you certainly want
26:04to see and when it comes to seeing games,
26:08there's no better way to make that happen than
26:11checking out the game time app.
26:13The egos are out. Yes. We got the promos rolling
26:16today, baby. Everything is true. I'm on my state
26:19guild. Just Alexander transition game right now.
26:21Just like that's what we do it in time app for
26:25those of us who want to watch our favorite
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26:32game time has you covered with great ticket prices
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26:39game and I am thinking about one in another week
26:42or two game time is certainly the place I want
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26:48great opportunities to just really nail down some
26:51awesome seats. One of the really cool things
26:54about game time is that they have this all in
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27:02and once you but even before you get to the
27:04checkout you get a panoramic view of the seat
27:06that you choose so that before you actually buy
27:09the ticket, you'll actually know what the hell
27:10you're able to see when you're watching a game.
27:13So it takes a lot of the guesswork and uncertainty
27:15out of getting a ticket and not being sure what
27:17the sight line is going to look like. All you
27:20have to do is download the game time app create
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27:25first purchase terms apply. That's download the
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27:37Josue as we continue our transition game because
27:40it is on point when you talk about really is
27:45that's what we do. That's what we do when we talk
27:48about big time talent and teams and certainly
27:51must see teams in the NBA. It begins with your
27:55old team the Boston Celtics. Now when you look
27:59at what the Celtics are doing there's once again,
28:01they're near the top of the standards in the
28:03Eastern Conference and the NBA as a whole and
28:05you look at the team that you're now covering
28:07the Oklahoma City Thunder who are basically
28:09kind of the same way. How do you see the Thunder
28:13stacking up to the Celtics? I think that would
28:18be a heck of a series man to be honest with you.
28:20Can they beat them? I'm not sure they can beat
28:22them in the best of seven, but they got time,
28:24you know what I mean? Like again, this isn't a
28:26finished product far from it. And I think you
28:29know, the the fact that they're doing this
28:30without Chet Holmgren. It just speaks volumes
28:33as to where these guys are at in terms of their
28:34focus that people it's easy to forget man. It's
28:36only 10 games but Holmgren was Holmgren was all
28:38on man this year before before he went down, you
28:41know that pelvic injury. It was unfortunate super
28:44rare. By the way, my boy John Zanis in the group
28:48chat related it to a old man's injury, but you
28:51know, it's just the way he fell man. He fell kind
28:54of awkwardly and you know, it's unfortunate, but
28:56these guys it hasn't slowed them down. And I think
28:59that's a again. It's an indication of where they
29:01are in the sense of their growth and you know,
29:03how dominant they can be, you know, but I would
29:06Just I'm hoping that's what we get in the finals
29:08man. I really do but at the same time and like
29:12we have to wait and see, you know, how these guys
29:14are going to look in a few months. Absolutely.
29:17And then the thing about you know, Chet, you're
29:19right. I mean, he was definitely on one. He was
29:20definitely playing at an all-star level and when
29:23you're playing that well and your team is winning
29:26it's it's a matter of not if but when you're going
29:29to be an all-star, but one thing about Chet's
29:32injury and one of the reasons why I see a lot of
29:35parallels between them and the Celtics is remember
29:38the Celtics know a thing or two about a big man
29:40having a rare injury having to miss some time.
29:43We're talking about Chris that's presenting. It's
29:45different kind of injury than chess, but certainly
29:47one where him being out of the lineup forces you
29:50to frankly recalibrate how you're going to play.
29:53What can you do to continue to winning games while
29:55you're missing this significant piece of the
29:57puzzle and one of the things that it did for the
30:00Celtics way they became a deeper team. They became
30:04a team that understood that they had to find a
30:07different level to reach to in order to keep winning
30:11and it looks like OKC is starting to do that as
30:14well. Like, you know, I look at a guy like Isaiah
30:16Hardenstein and I mean he is not a 20 and 10 guy,
30:19but damn it. He's giving you some he's giving you
30:21some pretty damn good numbers in that ballpark
30:23with with Chet out and then you look at Shea who
30:26is doing what all leaders are supposed to do. You
30:28figure out ways to help your team win. You know,
30:30he had a bunch of points against Houston, but he
30:32also had a bunch of rebounds and assists and like
30:34five steals. So clearly he's figured out different
30:37ways to significantly impact the game, which is
30:40something that great players do is something that
30:42we've seen Jason Tatum do. We've seen Jalen Brown
30:44do that and that to me why I think the matchup
30:48that the NBA is thirsting for for the NBA Finals
30:52is these two teams because you have the Celtics
30:55are in a weird place because they're sort of kind
30:57of a veteran team. But when your veterans are like
31:0027, right? They're not even 30th. Yeah, they're
31:04like kind of at that peak of their game. Like
31:06this is like the next couple years will probably
31:08be the best that we see out of Jalen Brown and
31:11Jason Tatum and that's a little scary because
31:13they already got a chip in the bag and you're
31:15telling me that they got they're only going to
31:17get a little bit better and and and peak in the
31:21next two three years. That's a little scary for
31:23the rest of the league. Conversely, OKC looks
31:26like they're they are where the Celtics were a
31:28couple years ago that you can see they have
31:31championship pedigree. You can see you can envision
31:34them being the last team standing. But can you
31:36envision that today and I can't see it right now
31:40and again, it's it has nothing to do with talent
31:42and everything to do with experience. I mean,
31:46they need their hearts broken a few times before
31:48they get what you love. That's what we learned
31:51about the Celtics, right? Exactly. I mean, I mean
31:54think about how many times LeBron James broke
31:56the Celtics heart. Think about how Jimmy Butler
31:58broke the Celtics heart. Think about how gold
32:00the state is. So you start with the one that was
32:03the one that was that was that good. That's that
32:05scoring lover or whatever you want to call it,
32:07whatever metaphor you want to use. That was the
32:08one. Yeah, and I'm not quite sure of the Thunder
32:11at the at the Mavericks series last year qualifies
32:13as that, you know, if that makes sense, you know
32:14what I mean? So yeah, I'm with you. Yeah, you're
32:16still young super, right? And that's the thing
32:19and you're to your point. Just wait. That's the
32:20thing that makes me a little bit hesitant to go
32:24in all in on it because they are so young and
32:26they have played with a level of maturity that
32:28goes above and beyond their years and experience
32:30and I love that about them, but there's a part
32:33of me and if for those of us who've been in the
32:35game for a minute who think like this is great,
32:38but am I going to be surprised if they get knocked
32:41out in the second round by a veteran team that
32:44mucks the game up mucks up a couple games and
32:48get wins and they just by sheer being talented
32:51are able to get a couple more wins. That's what
32:54worries me about them. But but look, I'm enjoying
32:57this journey, man. I'm I am really enjoy watching
33:00and play because they play the game the way that
33:02you want to see. They're enjoyable to watch.
33:04They're one of the few teams that I will actually
33:07watch them play for no other purpose than
33:09enjoyment because Shay, like I said, he is a
33:13phenomenal athlete in the League of Phenomenal
33:15Athletes who makes those others look average and
33:17that's hard to do. I mean that is that is really
33:20hard to do because as good as you know, guys,
33:22like, you know, Jason Tatum is and guys like
33:26Joel Embiid whenever he's healthy, which is a
33:28rarity these days. They're so good, but you can
33:32see why they're better than the guys are playing
33:34with because they're just they're just better
33:35players, but it's not like they're making those
33:38other players look bad. They're just playing
33:40better. Shay makes guys look bad. He makes all
33:43NBA defenders look like they're on 10-day
33:46contract some days. That should never happen.
33:50And to me, that's why kind of he's my MVP now
33:53because not only is he winning, not only putting
33:55up numbers, but he is playing at a level that
33:57stands above and beyond others. And I know, you
34:00know, for those out there who think I'm like
34:02hating on you on Jokic, his team ain't winning.
34:09As great as his numbers are and as historic as
34:11his numbers are, I need you to give me numbers
34:14and I need you to win games. And if you're able
34:16to give me numbers in a very atypical fashion
34:19doing something that puts you a head and shoulders
34:21above the others and your team is winning at a
34:23high level. You're my guy. You're my MVP. And so
34:26Jokic, he's going to be in my top five for sure,
34:29but he ain't going to win that thing this year.
34:31And I think that and I don't think it folks will
34:34put it on. Well, you know, it's just voter fatigue.
34:36They just don't want to vote for me more. No,
34:38they don't want to vote for me more because his
34:39team is trash. If you start talking about who are
34:43like the biggest three threats out West Denver
34:45will not be one of them. And if you go five deep,
34:48they may not even be in your top five because
34:50they have clear weaknesses and deficiencies that
34:53as great as Jokic is as a player. He can't cover
34:55all the power. I mean, look, there's always so
34:58many times you can cover up when you're playing
35:01when teams are playing whack-a-mole with your
35:03squad. He can't fill every hole.
35:07So they didn't take care of the rest of the squad
35:10man. Like I always say that in the last two years
35:12it was like after they won the championship in
35:14their mind or the front office was like, okay,
35:16make sure we got Jokic and Murray read the rest
35:18of the way. You got to have a deep team. You got
35:20to have a group of guys that can fill their roles
35:23and know exactly what they're doing. You can't
35:25just plug in people and think that's going to
35:27work. I mean, we talked about it for the season
35:28start. I mean the way they let Caldwell, you know,
35:32Caldwell Pope go, you know what I mean? Like
35:35Bruce Brown and that was he was huge with these
35:38guys, you know, so I just feel like they never
35:41they didn't do what they were supposed to in a
35:43sense of keeping those guys keeping that core
35:45together where, you know, a team like the Thunder
35:47know how important that is, you know, team that
35:49you know, and for a championship team not to do
35:51that. I just thought it's super weird, you know,
35:53especially out West where it's very competitive
35:55and I think that's a big part of this as well in
35:58the sense of, you know, Shea winning MVP because
36:00he's not only is he leading his team with the best
36:03record out West, but they've been there to write
36:05like they haven't it's been like a couple games,
36:09you know, trailing or whatever in the second
36:12play whether it's Houston or whether it was, you
36:13know, the two three and four could continue to
36:15switch up because it's so competitive out West
36:17and they remain, you know on top and I think that
36:21at the end of the day that'll play the biggest
36:23part of, you know, seeing Shea win the MVP award
36:26this year. Absolutely. Absolutely. And again,
36:31before we before we get out of here, just want
36:32to again, thank Joe Sway for coming on here. This
36:35was great and stay on top is what we all want to
36:39do in some respect and and that includes us here
36:42at the big three NBA podcast for anybody going
36:45to another promo man. We got we got another one.
36:48We got another promo, but we do we were absolutely
36:50transitioning into into a basically pop the
36:53collar moment for us. Okay, some of you as some
36:56of you may know we were nominated the big three
36:58NBA podcast for best sports podcast. That's right
37:01and fans will be able to vote on whether we
37:03actually win best sports podcast and you can do
37:06that by going to the website www.sports podcast
37:11group.com slash shortlist hyphen category backslash.
37:17I'll read that one more time and we'll have it
37:18and on our YouTube channel and info over there
37:21as well, but it's a vote more than once get them
37:23in there. You can shout out to Joe Sway.
37:29Adding to that. I got you.
37:31But it's again. It's a sports podcast group.com.
37:34That's all one word slash shortlist hyphen category
37:39backslash voting is open until January 13th,
37:42and they're going to announce the winners on
37:44January 30th. Hopefully we will be getting that
37:46call. If we do there will be some type of celebratory
37:50thing and we haven't figured out what we're
37:51going to do for our fans, but we're going to do
37:54something because this because this literally
37:56wouldn't happen without you literally the reason
37:58why we do this week in week out is just to bring
38:01you content free of charge and just really have
38:05these great conversations with different people
38:07in different places and spaces throughout the
38:09NBA ecosystem like Joe Sway the Boston transplant
38:13now at OKC and I got to get a I got to get
38:16Quantie a Lou Dort jersey, man. He's Haitian
38:19and I don't feel like a lot not a lot of people
38:20know that but he's Haitian, but yeah, man, I'm
38:22gonna hook her up. See and now we got you on
38:25record for saying that. So if it don't come
38:29we we got we got proof that we got the receipts
38:32to say, yeah, Quanie gonna remind me. Yeah, for
38:34sure. Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. And before
38:38we get out of here again, want to give one more
38:39shout out to our people prize picks the exclusive
38:42daily fantasy partner of CLNS media Network. Also
38:46shout out to our good friends at game time, which
38:48takes the guesswork out of buying last-minute
38:50tickets to your favorite sporting events and
38:52concerts. Just download the game time app create
38:55an account and use code CLNS for $20 off your
38:59first purchase terms apply again. That's the
39:01game time app create an account and use the code
39:04CLNS for $20 off your first purchase terms
39:08apply Joe Sway. Let him know what you know. Joe
39:12Sway is not completely detached from CLNS media
39:16Network Joe Sway. You're still doing some stuff
39:17with us, right? Oh, yeah. Absolutely man. Such
39:19a Maxwell podcast. It's been it's been a blast
39:22man. The last two episodes specially check those
39:24out. If you haven't already especially with Rick
39:26Rick Mahoran, man was that that was always fun.
39:28But man the conversation about the last time Max
39:32play ball or like what he would do to get back
39:34on the court, man. I'm still cracking up over
39:36that. So if you guys haven't seen that episode
39:38check it out. But yeah, man, we still doing a
39:39podcast still got a ton of stuff coming up,
39:42especially with guests man. I'm really looking
39:44forward to it. I don't want to like some of the
39:46names haven't completely been, you know what I
39:49mean? You know how it is right? Don't know exactly
39:52because you know the moment you do something
39:53might happen and then all of a sudden they'll
39:55all happen to so-and-so but just know we got
39:57some we got some very special guests lined up
39:59and I can't watch. That's great to hear. Great
40:01to hear. And again, you can check out, you know,
40:03the Cedric Maxwell podcast as well as the big
40:06three NBA podcast available in all your podcasting
40:09apps. Just download that and go from there. That's
40:13going to do it for this week. Joe Sway Pavone
40:16my man. Appreciate you coming on appreciate you
40:18Sherrod man. We got to get out when I get back
40:20man, you know, I got to get back for the holiday.
40:22I got to see my family. So, you know, I'll be
40:23back in Boston soon. Okay, find me. I might be
40:27around. I might be around and that yeah, man.
40:29You so damn busy. I try to be busy man. I try to
40:32be busy that the alternative box if you ain't
40:34busy. So right, right. I will catch up one more
40:38time. Joe Sway Pavone. This is a Sherrod Blakely
40:41with the big three NBA podcast. Happy holidays
40:43everyone and we will see you next week.