Greetings my peeps and welcome to the All Things Basketball Podcast with your boy GD.
In this episode I'll be giving you my Western Conference Semis Recap and also a Finals
preview for the Western Conference.
So just sit back, relax and enjoy the show.
Okay guys so we are back again, your boy GD with the All Things Basketball Podcast and
well we're going to wrap up the conference semi finals.
We'll recap everything and then we'll look ahead to the conference finals for each conference
both the east and the west.
Without any further delay let us get right into it.
We're going to talk about first the number 1C, the Denver Nuggets beating the number
4C, the Phoenix Suns 4 games to 2.
But nonetheless let us talk about it shall we?
So game 1, Denver takes it at home 125-107.
Then game 2, Denver again wins at home 97-87.
And then heading to Phoenix, Phoenix gets the win there 121-114.
Also goes to the Phoenix Suns 129-124.
Now this game had a lot of activity in it.
First of all the Joker he drops 53 points with 11 assists in a loss.
And then also there was a play where the ball went out of bounds, Joker goes for it and
he has the ball and the owner of the Phoenix Suns, Matt Isbia tried to take it from Joker.
He pretty much pushed around the way so he got teed up for it, he got a technical foul
and this happened like the second quarter.
So there was a big worry oh well Joker gets suspended for game 5.
That wasn't the case thankfully.
And again you gotta look at it this way.
The Joker doesn't have a history of dirty play and those sort of things.
And I guess being a two time MVP kinda gives you some latitude as well.
But nonetheless he wasn't suspended thankfully.
Well not thankfully for Phoenix cause Denver ends up winning that game 118-102.
And then in Phoenix actually surprisingly enough.
Denver goes in there and beats the breaks off of the Phoenix Suns 125-100 in a game
that was really not that close.
And a game that I ended up watching closely.
Kevin Durant he starts the first half, 1 for 10 from the field.
Not good guys.
Then Devin Booker for the game and he had a fantastic series guys but in game 6 he came
up lame.
4 for 13 from the field.
Only 12 points so.
The only person to show up was Cameron Payne.
He had 31 points.
12 for 16 shooting from the field.
He had 7 threes in the game so I think Kevin Durant's numbers look decent once everything
was said and done but yeah for him to start out that cold did not help matters for the
Phoenix Suns.
So nonetheless let us talk about each of the teams here.
We'll talk about Denver first.
The Joker has a fantastic series.
Average in the triple double.
34 and a half points.
Over 13 rebounds over 10 assists.
So Joker once again getting things done.
Outstanding from the field nearly 60% and even from 3 he did pretty well at 44.4% and
from the free throw always efficient from there so kudos to him.
Jamal Murray I continue to say this guys.
Jamal Murray when he's cooking Denver is hard to beat and he was cooking in this series
averaging nearly 25 points a game.
Six and a half assists and he was just magnificent.
And then he had 3 guys averaging nearly 13 points a game between Bruce Brown who's been
pretty good in these playoffs.
Aaron Gordon and Michael Porter Jr. as well so.
Denver getting contributions from various amount of characters here including Kentavious
Caldwell Pope who had 21 in the clinching game as well so.
Denver running on all cylinders right now guys.
So with that said let us talk about Phoenix.
Devin Booker when you look at his numbers they look fantastic.
He had solid games up until that game 6.
He had games where he had 27 points 35 points 47 points 36 points 28 points so him dropping
that 12 in the game 6 was pretty much eye popping to be honest with you so he didn't
show up in the biggest game.
Not good guys not good so when you need your star player the most he doesn't show up.
Yeah that's a recipe for disaster.
Kevin Durant you look at his numbers he had a solid series but he just went ice cold in
that first half of game 6 but you look at his numbers nearly 30 points a game nearly
10 rebounds 5 assists.
He was pretty alarmingly bad from the field though and he was horrendous from 3.
He only made rather 6 threes in the series and of course from the line he's usually
money from there so but the big story for Phoenix they were without CP3 for 2 games.
The man was injured so you miss one of your star players for 4 games it's going to be
a tough go.
Nonetheless they were able to get wins without CP3 but to have him missing for that long
is not good that's for sure.
And then you have DeAndre Ayton.
He played in 5 games in this series guys he missed game 6 with a rib contusion but for
the series he averaged nearly 11 points 8 rebounds he was pretty good from the field
but guys he only shot 6 free throws in this entire series that is unthinkable guys but
you know can't call it with him I cannot call it.
Well I'll talk about that in a minute.
So that's pretty much your story there guys a lot of Devin Booker a lot of Kevin Durant
not much from anybody else to be honest with you when it's like that it's tough to get
wins guys but nonetheless you know you get performances hand there from a guy like Landry
Shamet but it just wasn't enough.
So that is why Phoenix is going home early.
To the dismay of a lot of pundits out there who thought that Phoenix would win this series
I was on the no illusions that they would win this series.
I mean not having Chris Paul definitely hurts their case but I just didn't see them getting
a win in Denver I didn't see it and it held true.
I thought it would go 7 I thought each team would win on their home floor but Denver going
into Phoenix and pretty much blowing the doors off them in that game 6 I didn't see that
coming.
Nonetheless Denver prevails they move on.
What's next for Phoenix?
Well first of all they fired Monty Williams right after the series so you know now this
man is a year removed from being coach of the year.
One year removed from being coach of the year and you fire the guy I understand the Phoenix
owner he's a new owner so he's just walking in the door for the most part.
I guess he was unhappy with Monty Williams and his history of them laying eggs on their
home floor in a closeout game so I guess he said he's seen enough.
So Monty Williams is fired but I tell you what guys it's going to take a half hour before
somebody goes out there and picks up a Monty Williams.
I tell you this straight up if I'm the Milwaukee Bucks I'm thinking long and hard about acquiring
Monty Williams services.
I think that's a guy who he'll have a team that's pretty loaded and I think he'll be
able to get a lot out of that team so I'm putting it out there guys Milwaukee Bucks give
Monty a call.
Anyhow actually the owner is talking about hiring well the early talk is that they're
looking at a Nick Nurse or Mike Budenholzer but here's what I say to that though.
Sure they both won NBA championships so they're championship winning coaches so you can't
take that away from them but in their latest iterations with their teams they had the talent
but they couldn't get it done.
So I think that has to come into play here.
I understand you want to get a coach with championship pedigree both of those guys have
it but they pretty much underachieved with the teams that they had this season.
I mean you could sell it to your fan base you're bringing in a coach that's won an NBA
championship so you could sell that to your fan base but I just wonder yeah I just wonder
about that let me leave it at that.
Next item what to do with DeAndre Ayton you know he hasn't lived up to what his contract
states and this series really exposed him so he has three more years on his deal remember
in the summer the Indiana Pacers signed him to an offer sheet that Phoenix matched I'm
under the impression they just should have not matched it and let him move on elsewhere
and they just try and find somebody to put in the middle there but I guess you're not
going to find a player of Ayton's caliber on the free agent market so I guess I understand
but he disappoints you yet again so he has three years left at 102 million.
Question is do you keep him you know with a new coach coming in maybe the new coach
can reach him or do you move on from him now show I listened to a given goal they talked
about a few trade possibilities they said San Antonio but ruled it out I actually like
him going to San Antonio and I think if you get maybe a third team involved because maybe
you don't have the salary to match up maybe you get a third team involved maybe that'll
do the trick but I like him in San Antonio because you have a Popovich and you have
Tim Duncan as assistant coach there maybe these guys can reach him where he can maximize
his potential that's the only possibility I see I heard them also talking about Detroit
but you probably have to send back a James Wiseman coming back in a trade so that's
something to explore and then also you have CP3 he has two more years on his deal at 61.6
million I don't think you're going to get a lot of takers guys for a point guard that's
on the wrong side of 30 that's going to be tough contract to move so you have decisions
to make here then also in terms of your free agents you have a lot of guys that are free
agents a lot of your bench to be honest Tori Craig he'll be a free agent Bismack Biyombo
TJ Warren who came over in the Kevin Durant deal Damion Lee Josh Okogie he was your starter
for a good deal of time also Jock Landale Terrence Ross who you got into buyout from the Orlando
Magic and then Darius Bazley who has a qualifying offer so more likely than not they'll probably
keep him but they got some big decisions to make and remember the fact that Booker and
Kevin Durant has taken up a lot of money so it doesn't leave you a lot of wiggle room
which is why you got to explore doing a Ayton or a CP3 deal I would want to be James Jones
right now because you and then remember to you pretty much dried up your draft capital
when you brought in Kevin Durant so James Jones he's got some dilemma on his hands
so nonetheless that is that series for the Denver/Phoenix series let's talk about the Lakers
the number seven seed winning against the number six seed the goat state warriors four games
to two let's talk about how that shook out the Lakers take game one in golden state 117
to 112 and then gold state comes back and gets game two 127 to 100 so they blow them
out there and then game three lot of seemed like a lot of blowouts there was only two
games that were I would say about five points or less but the rest were blowouts guys game
three Lakers take 127 to 97 and then your next close game is game four one in which
the Lakers won that so Lakers win both of their games on their home floor in game four
104-101 and then golden state gets to win and game five to save face because they
were down three one at that point so they save face get the win at home 121 to 106 and
then the Lakers just beat them down in game six 122 to 101 so let's talk about the Lakers
LeBron James solid series he had one game in which he scored 30 points but other than
that for the series he averaged shy of 25 points nearly eight rebounds five and a half assists
shooting from the field it's standard enough for LeBron at this stage of his career and
from the line he was pretty good from the line so you got to give him credit Anthony
Davis as long as you're getting Anthony Davis peering in all six of these games I say that's
a win 21 and a half points for him 14 and a half rebounds he had over two blocks again
absolutely terrific from the field from the free throw line the rock solid there as well
so you like to see the points a little higher but yet and all the team gets to win the Angela
Russell has a nice series for them also Austin Reaves then you got contributions from your
bench guys like Lonnie Walker came out of nowhere and had a solid game so Lakers they're gonna
be a problem they're gonna be a problem and that's just the way it is you got two guys
there with championship pedigree and LeBron and Anthony Davis so with that said let's
talk about golden state golden state Steph Curry, of course Steph doing Steph things solid
across the board from the field not as good as you like but the man had to hoist up shots
so what you expect from three you expect better from there as well solid from the free throw
line Klay Thompson I tell you what man I thought he would be somebody who have a pretty good
series and he had I want to say below the standards you would set for him in this series
average and 16 points a game you need more than that from clay from the field he was
horrendous shot it a little better from three but yeah clay yeah we definitely expected
more especially given the fact that you're a kid so I expected you to play better once
you got on the floor out there in Crypto Arena whatever they're calling it these days but
he did not Andrew Wiggins I mean his numbers were okay 15 points a game over five rebounds
you'd like to shooting from the field to be better as well as from three Draymond I thought
he had a solid series I thought he had a very solid series there was times where he really
showed up for them and Jordan pool what happened to Jordan Poole oh my gosh he has fell off the
NBA map guys I mean he had a horrendous series was lousy from the field brutal from three
he shot at 7 for 28 for the series guys man that's hard from the free throw line what
can you do I mean he was solid but Jordan pool I mean and remember you gave him that
big bag so I'm gonna talk about him in a minute anyway Kevon Looney just doing Kevon Looney
things I mean he was pretty much solid across the board only went to a free throw line five
times in this series so there's not a case where you're gonna feature him and you know
have him in the low blocks taking AD to school down there that's not gonna happen so nonetheless
golden state the defending champions their road stops here so and the Lakers move on
what's next for golden state well you got the Jordan Poole dilemma that I just talked
about you just gave him a big bag four years at 128 million dollars so you really gotta
ask the question what to do with Jordan Poole and I think that speaks larger to another
question what you're gonna do with Klay Thompson he has one more year left he's 33 years old
he's already had two major knee injuries he has one year left at 43.2 million do you bring
him back I don't know if you do I would think you would but I think this is part and parcel
what you're gonna get from Klay Thompson because again those two major injuries there you're
gonna have to load manage him and those sort of things which I think they did a pretty good
job all in all throughout the year but I just think it's you know a 33 year old who's had
major knee issues so I think this is what you're gonna get guys there's gonna be times
where he's red hot and there's gonna be times where he's ice cold so it's a quagmire guys
so let's look at the free agent picture Draymond Green he has a player option he can opt in
they're already talking about possibly a new deal for him which I initially thought that
there was no way Draymond was coming back especially right after the incident with the
Montessabonnes but I gotta say it he has been a model citizen since that he really has from
what I understand well what's been reported he gave a fiery speech before game five which gave five
they ended up winning so he's a guy who does the things that help you win so with that said
Draymond he's gonna be a free agent but provided he opts out then you have Jonathan
Kuminga they got a team option on him Donte DeVincenzo he has a player option Moses Moody
there's a team option there I imagine both Kuminga and Moody the team picks that up JaMychael
Green he's an unrestricted free agent and then you got Andre Iguodala I think he ends up on the
Warriors bench as an assistant coach one of these fine days but I think the biggest free agent they
have is their GM Bob Myers he built this program right now he's saying give him a few weeks and
before he makes a decision so if they were to lose a Bob Myers that would be a tremendous blow
to this franchise so I think they need to keep him but he may want to go elsewhere and build
elsewhere so I would keep a close eye on what Bob Myers decides in the coming weeks I think that
can have a lot to do with where this franchise goes moving forward so with that said prediction time
let's talk about the conference finals guys it's gonna be the number one seed the Denver Nuggets
versus the number seven seed the Los Angeles Lakers what must Denver do to win continued success
from both Nikolai Yolkic as well as Jamal Murray as these two guys go so the Nuggets goes you need
production still from guys like Aaron Gorton guys like Michael Porter Jr. Bruce Brown who's been rock
solid as I mentioned Jeff Green, Kentavious Caldwell Pope those guys even Christian Braun coming off
your bench who's been playing pretty good so Denver gets that Denver's chances are really good
what must the Lakers do to get the win well they gotta stop Jamal Murray I told you guys as Murray
goes so does the Nuggets so if they were to somehow contain Murray in this series that would give them
a chance Anthony Davis has to step up he has to be consistent for this entire series here in order
for them to win because I'll tell you straight up Jokic gonna give him the business right now he's
playing fantastic basketball right now so Anthony Davis gonna have his hands full he really is I
imagine he's going to get some help from Jarrad Vanderbilt as well but he's gonna have to step up
big time in this series especially on the defensive end and they need contributions from their role
players guys like Austin Reeves of course D'Angelo Russell he's gonna have to show up Rui Hachimura
maybe we'll have another Lonnie Walker sighting we'll see but they're gonna need those contributions
as well key matchups D'Angelo Russell versus Jamal Murray I imagine too a little Dennis Schroeder
will be on him as well so how those guys fair against Murray I'll be watching that closely
and then there's the Joker versus AD I think that holds a key to what happens in this series
and then LeBron versus probably be a diet of Aaron Gordon probably some Jeff Green
maybe Michael Porter Jr as well so you got some bodies to throw at LeBron I think this one is
kind of under the radar but I think this one will be an interesting matchup
Kentavious Caldwell Pope versus Austin Reeves now you look at me like are you serious but I gotta
tell you Caldwell Pope he's a 3 and D guy so I think if he can keep Austin Reaves at bay that
really gives Denver a shot here I know everybody's saying Austin Reeves Austin Reeves but the kids
had a pretty good playoff run so far so you want to kind of derail that so yeah I think that match
up there is pretty intriguing so my prediction Denver and seven I'm gonna say Denver and seven
because here's how I look at it once again the Lakers have to go into Denver and win I don't know
if the Lakers can do that that high altitude man I keep talking about and I've been proven right
so far no one's won in Denver as of yet then on the other hand no one has won in LA I've or so we
have that but nonetheless I say Denver and seven that's my prediction guys and then we have outside
of the playoffs it just got word Ja Morant of the Memphis Grizzlies I was just talking highly about him
Ja Morant is suspended from all team activities pending a league investigation and guess what
this is about guys yes a IG live that he was on where he was take a wild guess he was brandishing
a gun on an IG live you know I had high hopes for him I liked the way he talked after the
Laker series one in which his team lost it sounded like a kid ready to go back in the lab and work on
his game work on his image and so forth and then you go and do this man you know I try to defend him
but I can't I can't I did there's no defense of this hopefully when they do their investigation
maybe they'll find something that we don't see but yeah this is not good guys this is not good
so hope the best for the kid but you're gonna have to change your circle you're gonna have to change
your circle do something because you know you fumbling the bag right now I mean you got the bag but
I just I don't know what to say at this point unbelievable it's just unbelievable anyway so
I'm gonna leave it there all right guys so I'm just gonna do it like this I'm gonna break it up into
two episodes so there you go producing on the fly guys all right so I am done thanks again for
listening much appreciate it and we'll talk soon so my peeps if you like what you're listening to
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