Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00I am curious to see kind of what unfolds with the Nuggets,
00:03to see what kind of an opponent they're going to be in the Western Conference.
00:06But for me, the umbrella view, like where my mind goes,
00:11when I see what's happened in Memphis, when I see what's happened in Denver,
00:16I come back to Golden State and I go,
00:20Dude, bravo.
00:23For those of us fans who just want to eat nachos and watch a game,
00:28we don't really often give enough credit for how difficult it is
00:34to navigate all of these situations.
00:37And I know that people, oh gosh, that sounds like, oh, so milk and cookie.
00:42But let's review this now based on what she just said.
00:47The Warriors navigated two timelines.
00:49Now you lost Bob Myers.
00:51What an interesting way to put it.
00:54Because, of course, we were told,
00:56oh, well, Bob just wants to, you know, spend more time with the kids.
01:01Of course, four seconds later, he's working at ESPN.
01:04So, like, when she says it that way,
01:08it does bring to mind the idea of Steve and Joe Lacob
01:13and the front office and what were all of their opinions
01:16and were they blending perfectly with regard to the future of the organization?
01:21And then how do you take all those opinions
01:24and enter Steph Curry's opinion into the room?
01:28And Draymond's going to be a free agent.
01:30And Jonathan Kaminga's agent is calling shams.
01:33And all of the things that are going on,
01:35don't discount how hard it is to do all that.
01:40Stay together and stay relevant.
01:43And here we are, three games away from the playoffs
01:48and the mantra that they've been talking about
01:51for the last three months, which is meaningful basketball.
01:55Right.
01:55I don't want to lose that.
01:57That's incredible.
01:58It is, especially when you look at it from the 10,000-foot view,
02:02which is we're trying to maximize the Steph Curry era.
02:05And you mentioned it.
02:06Bob Myers, successful GM, leaves.
02:08And so Mike Dunleavy now has to step into the breach.
02:11And not only get the draft right, which he did,
02:15Pods and TJD, you know, you follow it up with Quentin Post,
02:19who was a great find.
02:20I know he's probably going to be your 10th or 11th man in the playoffs,
02:23but you did well in the draft.
02:25You had to navigate a Klay Thompson exit
02:28so that you actually got something for Klay, which you did.
02:31You found a DeAnthony Melton in the mid-level.
02:34You turned him into Schroeder, which eventually turned into Jimmy Butler.
02:37And that's the piece that really cemented the early part
02:41of the Dunleavy legacy is you were able to bring in Jimmy Butler,
02:45who has turned you from a 10 or 11 seed, play in,
02:50and maybe you're hoping to go on a run to you might be a top four seed.
02:54You have an outside shot at the three, but whatever seed you get,
02:58you've turned into a completely different team
03:00because of the maneuver that Mike Dunleavy and company were able to make.
03:04So you see what happened in Denver and Memphis and Sacramento,
03:07and yet in the midst of this thing maybe breaking apart,
03:12Ramona talked about two timelines and how that's no longer a thing.
03:16Now it's one timeline, and that timeline is this year.
03:20And maybe next year.
03:21Maybe.
03:22And maybe the year after.
03:23No one's even really worried about that right now.
03:25I do think there's a conversation that was happening a lot over the last year
03:30and a half, and I do believe that we have found a final answer with it.
03:34And I think most of us actually, we would moonlight on both sides of this issue.
03:40So I'm not trying to come at anybody who was wrong or right or whatever.
03:46That doesn't even matter at this point.
03:47But you know the conversation I'm talking about.
03:49Well, for a year and a half, right here on 95.7 The Game,
03:53it was like, do you still believe there's something left in the Steph tank or not?
03:59And there were even those who would call and suggest,
04:02you've got to trade Steph, as painful as it is,
04:05because there's no point in actually pursuing this.
04:11Well, that side was wrong.
04:15And I don't care what happens next year or the year after that.
04:18And I stand here and say that as someone who wanted a move but didn't want this move.
04:25And I was wrong about that.
04:27It turns out this was the available move.
04:30And luckily for the Warriors, it was the right move.
04:33And whether this ends in a championship or not,
04:37you're on the same page as I am, as is Ramona is,
04:41when we say the words Cavs, Celtics, Thunder, Laker, Warriors.
04:45Most of us believe we probably just named the NBA champion.
04:51That, for me, in and of itself,
04:53is an affirmative on if you thought there was nothing left in the Steph tank,
04:58you were on the wrong side of the fence.
05:00We're here.
05:01This is meaningful basketball.
05:03And the Warriors are one of the favorites to win the NBA championship.
05:06And you could even take that group of five and it wouldn't be outlandish to think that
05:11four of those five will be the last four teams standing.
05:14And I know seed is a part of it, but one, two in the East, Cleveland and Boston.
05:19I think that if I was to predict the Eastern Conference final,
05:23well, the obvious chalk pick would be Cleveland against Boston.
05:26They are clear cut the two best teams.
05:28I know New York can make noise against Boston.
05:31I think that they're going to break down the way Coach Tibbs runs them into the ground.
05:35They're just not good enough.
05:36Well, in the West, depending on the seed,
05:39I still think that if you want to take LA, OKC, and Golden State,
05:43you're likely going to get two of those.
05:44And Houston's got a lot to say about it as well.
05:47They might.
05:47So maybe those three, two of those three,
05:51aren't the final ones in the Western Conference.
05:52But I do like your group of five as we start to get here into playoff basketball next week.
05:58I'm on FanDuel right now, and those are the top five.
06:01Those are the top five in terms of championship odds.
06:03Those are them.
06:04Thunder 1, Celtics 2, Cavs 3, Warriors and Lakers tied for 4.
06:09And what are the Thunder odds right now to win the NBA championship?
06:11Plus 170.
06:12Oh, wow.
06:13Yeah.
06:13Not much.
06:14Super chalky.
06:15Super chalky.
06:15Yeah.
06:16And I've mentioned this before.
06:17They're number one all time in point differential for the regular year.
06:20And the teams that are 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 on that list all went on to win the NBA championship.
06:27So point differential is something you either believe in or you don't.
06:32Oklahoma City's been so good in the regular year, and the other teams that have been that
06:36good have gone on to win the title.
06:39So Oklahoma City right now is in that group of the top six.
06:44Five of them have won the title.
06:45The other one is OKC, and they're a favorite to win the title.
06:49Exactly.
06:49And, you know, she mentioned, she's like, I don't know why we always do this to the Rockets.
06:53They may have something to say about this.
06:56I get it.
06:56They're young.
06:57OK, if I told you, Thunder, Celtics, Cavs, Lakers, Warriors, those are all your clear-cut
07:03top five in terms of NBA title odds.
07:06How many more teams do you think I name before I get to the Vegas odds of the Houston Rockets?
07:10Well, I would say probably three or actually four.
07:15I'd think of four teams that are more favored.
07:18Who are they?
07:19Denver.
07:19OK.
07:19I still think that there's money.
07:21That is correct.
07:21On Denver.
07:22They are number six.
07:23I would say New York would be a team.
07:25They are tied with the Nuggets at number six.
07:28And then you would probably look.
07:30So that's seven teams that are out of the way.
07:33How much further do we go until we get to Houston?
07:35Are they next?
07:36I would put the Clippers ahead of them, too.
07:39That is correct.
07:40The Los Angeles Clippers are next at plus 4,400.
07:44Do we go to the Rockets next?
07:45They're the two seed.
07:47Yeah.
07:48You know what?
07:49I'm going to say yes, but I won't be embarrassed if Indiana's ahead of them.
07:53Because the Eastern Conference, they have an easier path.
07:57Indiana is not ahead of them.
07:59OK.
07:59But there is a team ahead of them.
08:00Someone else is.
08:01Wow.
08:03Jeez.
08:04It could.
08:05Memphis?
08:06No.
08:06No.
08:07No Memphis.
08:07Get out of here.
08:08Memphis.
08:08Nope.
08:09Or Milwaukee.
08:10Nope.
08:11Portland?
08:14I'm panicking.
08:16I'm panicking.
08:18Portland?
08:19I'm panicking, Mark.
08:20It's the team who gets the You Blew It Award of the night.
08:27Oh, boy.
08:28The Minnesota Timberwolves.
08:29OK.
08:30Actually are plus 7,000 while the Rockets are plus 9,000.
08:35So you can look at this one of two ways.
08:38You can sit here and go, dude, man, the Rockets get disrespected.
08:42And I think that that's wonderful value.
08:44Well, go ahead.
08:46Go ahead, then.
08:46Put your hard-earned money on plus 9,000.
08:51Dude, 90 to 1?
08:5290 to 1.
08:5490 to 1.
08:56OK?
08:57Yep.
08:57You can go put $10 on that, and they'll give you $1,000 if you're right almost.
09:03Why?
09:04Because they're not going to win it.
09:06That's why.
09:07They're not going to win it.
09:10They can be as young and talented and athletic and tall and, ah, man, Thompson, boy, he opened
09:18my eyes.
09:20They're not going to win it.
09:22They're not going to win it.
09:23And I told you this earlier.
09:25I have arrived at a spot where I am no longer looking at these standings on a nightly basis
09:32to worry about who the opponent is for the Warriors.
09:36I would say if there's anything I'm still rooting for, it is just to not play the Lakers
09:41in round one.
09:42If they play the Lakers, they play the Lakers.
09:44I'd rather it not be in round one because I do think that that's two of the best three
09:49teams in the West.
09:50I do think it's LeBron and Steph.
09:52And I just don't want to waste that in April.
09:55I'd like some more drama around that.
09:57I would too.
09:58So I'd like to push that a little later in a perfect world.
10:00But if you're asking me who the Warriors should be scared of, the answer is no one.
10:06It doesn't mean they're going to win.
10:08It just means that I don't really see any of these teams as overwhelmingly more difficult
10:15than any of the others.
10:17I think the Warriors will have a puncher's chance against any of them.
10:20And a good handful of them, I would heavily favor them against.
10:25And by the way, you can go ahead and put the Rockets on that list for me.
10:28But they're not going to play the Rockets in round one because they're going to stay
10:32out of the play-in tournament.
10:33They should.
10:33In my opinion.
10:34And that becomes an interesting question.
10:36Would you rather have to go in the play-in and you get the Rockets or you avoid the play-in
10:43but you've got to face the Lakers, Denver, or the Clippers?
10:47For me, that's an easy answer.
10:48You want to avoid the play-in.
10:50Hell yes.
10:51Even if I guaranteed you that you were going to win that 7-8 and you get Houston.
10:55Yeah, I don't want the fatigue.
10:57I don't want the stress.
10:58I don't want any of that.
11:00I get it.
11:00I want next week off.
11:03Off, off, off, off.
11:05Steph, go golf.
11:07Off.
11:08Warriors are, and I'm looking at it to make sure I get it right,
11:11they are 2-8 against Denver and the two LAs this year.
11:152-8.
11:16Yeah.
11:16And they are 3-2 against Houston.
11:19So, these are just facts, and I know numbers are normally just numbers, but...
11:23I really do think we need to make the effort, though, to put these stats together post-Jimmy.
11:28I just don't, I don't know that games against Denver in November are,
11:32they're just not relevant to me, to this conversation anymore.
11:35And I'll have to look at the Clipper games that you played,
11:37because odds are Kawhi didn't play in one, if not all of them,
11:40because he doesn't play basketball.
11:42They haven't played the Clippers in weeks and weeks and weeks.
11:45Kawhi hasn't played against the Warriors this year.
11:47There you go.
11:47And you're still 0-3.
11:48And Jimmy Butler hasn't played against them.
11:50So, like, I just...
11:51I get it.
11:51I look at it more like, Jimmy's Warriors have played the Rockets twice,
11:56they're 1-1.
11:57They've played the Nuggets twice, they're 1-1.
11:59They've played the Lakers once, they're 1-0.
12:02They've played the Lakers, they're 1-0.
12:05Who else are we thinking about?
12:06They haven't really got...
12:06Those are the ones.
12:07Yeah, I haven't played the Thunder.
12:08So, like, that, to me, is more of a snapshot of what you might see in a few weeks
12:14if we do this for a series, you know?
12:17The Zubats don't care who you have.
12:18We'll see Zubats this weekend.
12:20I can't wait.
12:21See if it matters.