FIRST TAKE | “Nuggets should be favorite to win NBA title after defeat Celtics twice” – Stephen A.

FIRST TAKE | “Nuggets should be favorite to win NBA title after defeat Celtics twice” – Stephen A.

Don at streak of seven straight triple doubles was snapped last night when he exited the Mavs win over the Warriors early due to left hamstring soreness Brian wior is back here with us Wendy what’s the latest on Luca yeah well the Mavericks haven’t released a nja report yet for their game

Tonight at Oklahoma City Jason kid said last night he wasn’t even sure if luuka was going to travel for that game so we’ll see how he feels today and if he can warm up before I will point out that the next game that the Mavericks have is

Now is not until Sunday so you know I know that Luca doesn’t like to miss games this is an important game they’re fighting for seaing they’re on a winning streak right now um but it wouldn’t surprise me if they’re very cautious with him especially with two off days

Coming after this absolutely all right we’ll keep it rolling in the NBA some action last night Denver beat the 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 beat the Celtics 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 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 they they you can tell they have risen to the occasion in big spots they beaten the Celtics twice they beat the Lakers in La when kareim 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 yic might be might be at the end of the day the greatest Center in the history of the NBA and that’s saying a lot he might be at the end of his care he’s that good he’s he’s better than Shaq I tell you that right now passes he dribbles

He is great is great so as a result of that want you want to respond to that greatest of all time I I’m still recovering from that because Mad Dog this is a guy who’s a big defender of the the olden gray and in the grave guys

So you saying that is I mean I think the thing about yic 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 going to 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 sent a text message

Which I don’t think he normally does I’m not on the Nuggets uh Team text message chain I don’t see yic as being too active in there I’m 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 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 are in first place this morning for the first time when 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 in 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 five 00 on the

Road but that kind of is the team that was pre yic text message let’s get serious and also they W Untouchable on the road in the Conference Finals and finals last year and my point is that they’re 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 kawhai 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 AOS between yage and I think Jason Tatum as the two best players on their teams is jic it’s not just the text 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 and ability that yic seems to have and I

Would say when I look at joic I see sorry to make the football comparison but I see Patrick Mahomes and when I look at the Celtics I see the 4 ners whereas it’s 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 because you already made him you made him the greatest Center of all time just a couple seconds ago but 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 play they seem to have control over that game and they have injury issues too they things

Change if they lose porzingis who is obviously always yeah always having issues well two things quickly before I 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 talk to Kevin Locker all the time on the air and they gonna laugh who’s Kevin Locker 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 joic best Center’s 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 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 rain Mad Dog we’ll let you know Yukon is looking to take down Xavier in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament Joe foron B

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 a little JLo beat in the background her new album in case you didn’t know Mad Dog in honor of women’s history month here’s today’s trivia

Question in 2023 Rees Nelson became the youngest athlete to medal at the X Games how old was she you want to take a shot at it 14 we’ll see after the Break fore spee this sign Foree Spee fore fore speee fore Fore fore Speee for for Speee foree foree k k Foree speech foree spe fore foree Foree

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FIRST TAKE | “Nuggets should be favorite to win NBA title after defeat Celtics 2 times in a row” – Windy tells Stephen A.

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