FIRST TAKE | “It’s the Nuggets or Clippers!!” – Stephen A.: Celtics are not enough to win NBA Finals

FIRST TAKE | “It’s the Nuggets or Clippers!!” – Stephen A.: Celtics are not enough to win NBA Finals

Miami Heat again handing last year’s NBA Finals fo a 12th loss in the last 13 games against the Nuggets Michael Porter Jr scored a game high 25 points on 16 shots adding seven rebounds the Celtics have the NBA’s best record and also the shortest odds to win the NBA title

Despite losing to the defending Champion nuggets and both head-to-head matchups this season interesting okay Mad Dog yeah do you think the Seas should really be the favorites well you’re going to make them the favorite from a betting perspective because the Eastern Conference is easier than the West okay

So there is less likelihood that the Knicks of Philadelphia Milwaukee getting killed every night defensively that they’re going to lose Denver may not have home field the heat the one team that actually could could beat the Celtics could but we don’t know how that

Match up will work in the n in the west the heat the rock the Nuggets may not have home court nor the all the rounds that’s number one they haven’t gotten that top seed yet of those Wendy said at the top of the program today they’re in

Good shape to get it I would favor them but if they don’t have it yet Boston does and there you know Clippers are dangerous you know there’s a couple of teams there you know I would be worried about the thunder got a lot of talent so

I would be a little concerned from that perspective so I understand why they made the Celtics the favorite but if it’s Christopher Russo’s money and I had to make a play right now for a team to win it I’m taking Denver I love their that they you can tell they have risen

To the the occasion in big spots they beaten the Celtics twice they beat the Lakers in La when Kar when uh Lebron had the 40,000 point game I saw him play The Warriors about two Saturdays ago in Golden State they did a tremendous job in the fourth quarter they beat Miami

Last night in Miami matchup of course last year in the NBA I love this team now they’re not a great historical team they got two great players Murray’s great how he hasn’t made an All-Star team is ridiculous and we know joic might be might be at the end of today

The greatest Center in the history of the NBA and that’s saying a lot he might be at the end of his careers that good he’s he’s better than Shaq I’ll tell you that right now he’s better than sh don’t start with is and I’m not not just Shaq

I mean he’s better than Malone Elijah he does everything passes he dribbles to he is great is great so as a result of that you want you want to respond to that greatest of all time I I’m still recovering from that because Mad Dog this this is a guy who’s a big defender

Of the the old and gray and in the grave guys so you saying that is I mean I think the thing about joic that is so remarkable is that he’s a little bit impervious I think he’s going to be impervious to aging the guy doesn’t his nothing in his game is based on

Athleticism at all and so going forward I could see this guy the only thing I think is gonna prevent him from playing and being a championship Contender till he’s 40 is that he doesn’t want to do it I don’t know if this is something he wants to do with an undying desire I

Think he loves being at home in Serbia he has other interests but I want to talk about his phone for a second because his phone has played a big role in this season I know that sounds crazy and the last time you saw jokic’s phone was probably at the end of last season’s

Finals when he picked up his phone after game five and looked at how many text messages and cursed and slammed it down when he saw how many he had to look at but after the All-Star game he sent a text message to his teammates now I want

To remind you that the Nuggets had lost the last three games going into the break they looked kind of flat they’re you know they were looking like a a team on a championship hangover I think they had slid to third or even fourth maybe in the Western Conference and yic said a

Text message which I don’t think he normally does I’m not on the Nuggets uh Team text message champ I don’t see yic as being too active in there talking about love is blind okay I think he probably picks his spots and I think whatever he put in that text

Message you want to talk about leadership he said to the and we know about it not because he said it but because his teammates brought it up to the media and I think they regretted it right away because people started asking about it and they then they wouldn’t

Talk more about it since that text message which he basically said gentlemen it’s time to start acting like Champions they’re 10 and one they’re number two in offense number seven in defense they have been a killer team since that happened they have the easiest schedule they they have the

Third easiest schedule left in the whole league so when I look at them they’re in first place this morning for the first time I say first place I mean in the west Mad Dog the Celtics are going to have the number one overall SE unless they have some sort of collapse they’ve

Got a a pretty good cushion but the the the number one seed in the west means a lot because you got to go through Denver and they’re killer at home but they’re number they’re in first place now for the first time since November okay they have the third easiest schedule of all

Teams in the NBA and of all those top teams in the west coming down they have three games left with the Wolves where they will not have Carl towns okay so they have an opportunity to totally strangle hold that situation the Clippers are seven and seven their last

14 games they’ve got their own issues to talk about and while I think the Thunder are a potent team they have a much more difficult schedule coming out I think they’ve got like the six or seven toughest schedule Denver is highly favored so you’re going to have them if

They don’t mess around with the number one seed in the west I like it the only thing that you’re going to convince me that you could say Boston has an edge is that home Court Denver is only a couple games over 500 on the road but that kind

Of is the team that was pre yic text message let’s get serious and also they weren Untouchable on the road in the Conference Finals and finals last year year and my point is that they they’re they can be great on the road the the only thing you’re looking at with this

Denver team is to say well this is what their issue is if they have an injury to one of their front line their reserves are suspect they’re young and unproven and you know Murray has shown he has injury-prone they are a little susceptible on depth and their road

Record isn’t as good the Celtics have been awesome at home but they lost to the Nuggets so I love Denver as the favorite and I think they’ve earned that that um the the depth is the one argument I think that you could make for the Celtics and I think obviously with

Cat out um the West gets a lot easier for the Nuggets I think I would definitely go with the Nuggets over them over anybody honestly including the Celtics even though they appear to have an easier path because the one issue that Wendy brought up that uh is injuries in depth frankly that’s

Everybody on the west is injuries we saw it with uh if you lose Kawai or if you lose PG it’s going to change the way that things look for um for the for the clippers but another thing you brought up earlier was the leadership of jic and

That jumped out to me when you’re watching those games and that’s a ju position between yage and I think Jason Tatum as the two best players on their teams is yic it’s not just the text message leadership he seems to have that maturity control of the game thing that

The greats have that that’s the one thing is as talented as Jason Tatum is although he’s had huge postseason moments I I saw yage last night telling the team to calm down in certain spots like it doesn’t feel that Jason Tatum has that next step in ability that yic

Seems to have and I would say when I look at yic I see sorry to make the football comparison but I see Patrick Mahomes and when I look at the Celtics I see the 49ers whereas kind of a really well-rounded kind of strengthened numbers team whereas on the other

Sideline they got that dude and I I’m sure you agree cuz you already made you made him the greatest Center of I do think that obviously everyone has weaknesses but it’s hard for me to imagine particularly given the history of the NBA the best team wins the championship and I know the Celtics

Record is better but no one thinks that the Celtics are better than the nuggets and we saw when the Nuggets played them not only they beat him they seem to have control over that game and they have injury issues too that things change that they lose porzingis who is

Obviously always yeah always having issues well two things quickly before run remember the Celtics have scars 2-1 lead Golden State lost lost to Miami game seven at home Denver doesn’t have any scars Celtics do let me see them overcome that that’s not going to be easy to overcome that and number two I

Talked to Kevin lockery all the time on the air they gonna laugh who’s Kevin lcky coach Julius coach Jordan played in the NBA for years played against them all he told me I’m telling you right now Chris I I played against Kareem wil Russell yic best center he ever seen

That’s all you need to know Wy we got to go to bump one word answer which team most likely to get in the way of nugget Celtics probably uh clippers but they got to start playing better yeah well and need to be healthy all right coming

Up the Chiefs are hoping to become the first team in NFL history to win three straight Super Bowls which teams have the best chance of ending their reign Mad Dog we’ll let you know you come is looking to take down Xavier in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament

Joe for and ball here to help us try to win some big money on today’s matchup by the way this is and we got women’s history month that’s foree speee be nice one of these days I’ll find my old self double kill you have been defeated my an enemy has been defeated is

Base is under attack on double kill battle hi have our base is under attack spe Spee fore fore for spee foree spe spe spee It’s all still I always find my our St Tower is under attack acing tar to our Slayer Lane Tower is under attack an enemy has defeated AC our Slayer Lane Tower is under attack let me take the shotan tower is attack Our Middle Lane Tower is under attack who best an enemy has defeated it’s all skill

FIRST TAKE | “It’s the Nuggets or Clippers!!” – Stephen A.: Celtics are not enough to win NBA Finals