Breaking Down The Dallas Mavericks’ Ability to Close Games | JJ Redick & Tim Legler

Breaking Down The Dallas Mavericks’ Ability to Close Games | JJ Redick & Tim Legler

welcome to the old man of the three things with JJ reck and Tim legler legs what’s up man you know what can I just say one thing to start yeah we have been treated to I think six minus the fourth quarter of game two of the Pacers Celtics uh uh series we have been treated to six really good basketball games and we’re sitting here and there’s two teams that are Up 3 0 and you look you look and we’re going to talk wolves and Mavs to start but you look at both these series and it very easily could be 2-1 flipped in either series um and and and I think we should start with just the way that the Mavs have finished and closed games I think in some ways this is what Nico Harrison Mark cubin Jason kid all envisioned when they traded for Kyrie Irving having two closers at your disposal in big games against Elite teams yeah well first and I don’t know have you done the research on this has anybody told you this because I I haven’t looked it up but when’s the last time we had two Conference Finals that were three 0 at the same time uh I think I think five of the last six or something it was in it was in our notes this morning um I’ll get it I’ll get it because to think I mean to think we’re potentially looking at two sweeps here I mean I don’t know you know I wouldn’t be shocked if either of these teams that were down 301 a game I mean just the way it’s hard to beat a team four times and to make as many big plays that you have to make to do that down the stretch and like you said as close as as five out of these six games have been not going to be shocked I really wouldn’t be shocked by it I think Dallas and and you know Boston both have high incentive to get this over with um but to think that we’re three with with the amount of drama that we’ve had the amount of big possessions we’ve had that have all leaned in One Direction in both of these series in terms of the teams that have made the absolute plays that they had to make for Dallas you saw it on full display at a higher level than you ever have seen it in game three this is what it’s all about having two guys this good offensively and what they’re capable of doing and it doesn’t really matter um what you throw at them they have an answer the but the most important part of all of this JJ there are a lot of tandems in this league of star players offensively where you look these are these are two dudes offensively you know top tier top of the food chain type guys doesn’t mean that every tandem we have in this league Embraces big spots offensively and shot making the way that these two guys do you got two of them and what a luxury man and what what pressure that has taken off of Luca to have Kyrie playing like this and to play the way that he did at the end of this game um it’s incredible and how frustrating for Minnesota because that their whole year they’ve hung their hat on the fact that even if they had some rough shooting nights and clearly cat’s struggling right now Anthony Edwards you know hasn’t been great in this series uh they’ve been able to figure out a way to overcome that anyway because we’ve got this defense that just is able to Corral teams and force what we want and dictate terms you can’t dictate terms to luuk and Kyrie you can’t dictate terms man they’re dictating terms because they’re that good and they could score from anywhere on the floor and and the threat of scoring for anywhere on the floor opens up the other stuff that they do too so just sit back and enjoy what you’re watching because this is this is really really special there’s been a lot of Praise thrown their way a lot of stuff people think’s hyperbole I don’t think any of it’s hyperbole this is about as good as it gets that we’ve ever seen in terms of offensive Talent paired together at that spot both of whom are guards that that handle the ball a lot we this is as good as it gets and you’re seeing it on full display and they’ve needed every bit of it to get up three in this series uh real quick so uh when I said five of the last six five of the last six Conference Finals a team has gone up three 0 but this is the second the second straight year that both Conference Finals started out three so three last year I already forgot that well okay yeah Denver Denver swept and then you know Boston had to come back from down three 0 um so Luca and Kyrie uh they’ve each scored 30 or more in the last three games uh talk about the Clos in a game they combine for 21 points in the fourth quarter uh Kyrie had 14 of his 33 in the fourth quarter you know I I think the big thing and I don’t necessarily want to have this discussion yet because the series is not over but the big thing for the Mavs and their Championship hopes is they have figured out ways throughout these playoffs whether it’s been against the Clippers whether it’s been against OKC to win when Luca has not been at his best can you win a championship if you’re best player is not at his best I think it’s really hard to do no matter how good the ancillary pieces are no matter how good your second star is no matter how good your role players are playing I think it’s hard to do that well Luca over his last five a shade under 32 points 8.6 rebounds 9.4 assists two Steals and his shooting splits are 50 45 88 50% from the field 45% from three 88 from the line Mavs of course have won all five of those games so all of a sudden yeah and you and I were texting this morning all of a sudden it it feels like going into this series you and I both kind of had Dallas as the favorites in this all of a sudden it feels like hey man Dallas can win this whole think Dallas can win this this year this with this team an NBA championship ship few things have uh happened here that you know I I I’ve liked them all along but I also thought I mean my statement I kept making on them was they they can get to the Conference Finals as long as they don’t play Denver like I kept saying that because that’s kind of how I felt if they stand on their bracket and they did and I thought okay well then they they can but I didn’t think they’d be playing Minnesota here I thought they’d be playing Denver in this spot and I thought it was probably end there I’m talking going back weeks ago but what has happened now is these playoffs have gone on and Luka obviously you know early on I thought physically didn’t look right Lou Dort was mulling him you know wearing him down uh didn’t look particularly right what’s happened in this round is he’s starting to now consistently get enough lift on his deep shot that the release the timing of his release is back on point and that you expect it to go in now there was a time there early in the playoffs I didn’t expect it to go in it didn’t because it didn’t look right he didn’t looked like he was timing it look when you’re not lifting this exact I know he doesn’t jump a ton but even if you jump I know what you’re say there’s a there’s a muscle sequencing to it and didn’t look yeah yeah exactly the timing of the ball coming off your fingertip you know if that muscle memory is absolutely locked in to your to your jumping and what your Peak jump is on your shots and if that’s not the same the timing of your release is different and the ball ends up front rim back rim whatever it may be it’s not the same it looks the same now as it did L Luca like at his best earlier this year that’s a big deal man he’s making that shot to such an extent that he’s now he’s now a threat from there and it opens up other things for him so that’s one thing another thing that’s happened man the the the timely shooting and look Derek Jones only took four shots in this game but you know he makes three for three from the three-point line he’s not known to be a three-point shooter but but the the supplemental shot making they’re getting because of when they’re selling out Minnesota to the paint and they’re letting these guys shoot they’re making them pay just enough and PJ Washington has been Sensational pretty much the whole playoffs but they’re getting that those timely shot making and then the final component is we’re in tight games now this is why we wanted Kyrie Irving this was one of the most talented offensive players of his generation and now we and and also a clutch player and now we’ve got him to help take the burden off Luca so it’s not Luca Luka luk Luka every possession down the stretch every shot every play that has to be made that’s that’s way too to expect of any player now to have a guy share that burden with the shot making in particular man now now you got Luka fresher when it has to happen in the fourth quarter he looks like he’s feeling better physically and these two guys are humming man and look 40 shots 66 points that’s almost 1.6 shots per field goal attempt it doesn’t get better than that in a big spot in the playoffs with a chance to go to the finals and to play that well that efficiently offensively it was absolutely special what you watched in game three on your point about Derrick Jones Jr uh it goes back to what we were talking about in last week’s old man of the three where you need seven guys you you you you need as you need seven uh at at the very least neutral players you can’t have multiple weak points right and the timeliness of role players stepping up it’s something we’ve seen throughout these playoffs and I think if you look at the history of the NBA it’s something you’ll see throughout um I I think you could argue one of the reasons Denver lost to Minnesota was because in their losses the rooll guys didn’t play great you can certainly talk about Denver looking Gass at times but if a couple of those guys have big games in those losses it it’s maybe enough to offset it and they end up winning that Series right and so yeah Luca and Kyrie were spectacular but it was a number of other guys stepping up having big moments um I think a concern and I look I don’t know I I sorry I I have not gotten an update today on my phone so I maybe it’s out but maybe it’s not out uh you called this early uh I don’t know if it was right at the end of the regular season or very very early in the playoffs but you called this early the sort of two-headed monster of Daniel Gafford and Derek Lively essentially giving you the production of a a of a tier one or tier 1A tier 1B starting center and though both those guys have been so good so I think it there’s a little concern I think if if Lively can’t go for a bit in this series or if this whatever the next brain is or if it is you know a concussion I don’t know I don’t know how they’re sort of phrasing it Beyond a next brain that is a concern for sure and and I think both those guys have offensively given them a lift even when they don’t score and I I I I’ll point to one thing let’s talk about Luca’s pick and roll coverage and this is where I think just them as vertical lob threats matter Luca’s pick and roll uh Minnesota has mixed it up uh they played a ton of drop some games they blitzed him some games game three they mixed everything in Luca because of his size can make any pass and the thing that I think he does better than anything anyone is the late pass when he goes up for a shot and so if it is a drop coverage situation and he’s down there in the paint you’ve got the vertical lob threat with Gafford and Lively so you’re not going to get the overcommit from Rudy goar and then PJ Washington guy hit in the corner Derrik Jones Jr guy in the corner when Luca goes up to shoot it on that pull-up jumper right as a Defender you’re not going out towards the three-point line you’re coming in to rebound that you’re your your your body momentum it might might be a little shift but that little shift matters right because you know I’ve got a vertical lob threat I me may need to help on that I need to help on rebounding you’re coming in and then he kicks it out to PJ he kicks it out to Derrick Jones Jr he has done it a ton of times and obviously he’s out for the season he’s done it a ton ton of times with baxi kba it’s it’s that little thing that he does and it’s it’s the fact that at any point in time if goar steps up just a little bit and Gafford and Lively can get behind he can make that late pass the late pass with Luca is such an important part of his game it’s uh look man we know that he had the one last night that that you know with the left-handed little scoop underhand lob that he threw to Gafford which like defies logic he had no angle to make that pass it didn’t look like there’s any to get it there you’ve got a huge impediment in between you and GA with a shot blocker jumping and he just threw that ball so self assuredly that exactly where it had to be with his left hand so that’s the one that’s going to get most of the attention from game three JJ I thought he had like four of those in the fourth quarter of game two he threw one of the most ridiculous passes I’ve ever seen in that game and I don’t think they even made the shot I think they missed the three but got an offensive rebound he went down the left slot of the lane all kinds of traffic in there he jumps in the air as if he’s going to shoot I don’t know maybe a left-handed shot off the glass or something you know guys jump he threw a left-handed jump like a hook pass to the right wing on a rope do you remember that it was it was PJ Washington and and like Minnesota The Defenders landed and they weren’t even sure where the ball was because he threw it through this little window in the lane on a rope to the opposite wing for a guy just and it hit him right here by the way right here right where we would want it as Shooters I think they missed that one but he had he had you know two or three others during that stretch and I’m just going what are you supposed to do when like you feel like you’ve defended this possession really well man you you’re you’re getting this guy funneled into traffic this is going to be a very difficult shot he’s about to attempt and he rewards guys on his own team at the very end of that by timing it perfectly right when there’s a final commit okay gosh I guess I to go for this when they’re you know go bar and towns like these guys are like backpedaling and they’re waiting and waiting it’s like okay he’s going to shoot it now I jump and now he find somebody behind you it’s demoralizing and what it does JJ it creates so much doubt and and hesitancy in your mind as a backline Defender when you’re supposed to commit and most guys that you’re playing against don’t by the time you get there they’re shooting the ball they’re somehow getting this ball up on the glass and you’re trying to go get it without fouling them and try to contest it or block it and with Luca it’s different your mind is not clear to go release to go get that ball because you don’t know exactly what he’s about to do to it if you if you go commit to that he’s gonna make you pay it’s special man it’s a big part of who he is as a player I I don’t know if you just said you think he’s the best you’ve ever seen at it he might I mean he might be right many’s the best player ever don’t don’t don’t I didn’t say he’s the best player ever I said no not best player not best I said best at that particular thing yeah yeah right I mean I don’t know who who even compare to that you can think of great Playmakers LeBron you know LeBron’s pretty good at that too but L Luca I feel like this is a huge part of what he’s waiting for you to do LeBron I felt some of those are more improvisational when they just played great defense and took away his shot attempt he can find a guy like Luca I feel like is moving the chest pieces on you he’s waiting for that commit knowing where that Ball’s about to go and it could be a pocket a lob or a crosscourt kickout doesn’t matter whatever requires that the open guy is going to get it it’s just the way he makes you pay man for anything like that defensively at the last second is just it’s like the ultimate final weapon for your possession and luc’s got the cards because he’s because he’s able to make those kind of play it’s not just Luca that they’ve double teamed in Blitz they’ve done it to Kyrie as well and I I think it’s important to note that these guys you know Luca uh I I want to I know I know he was this year and I I 100 % 99% certain certain he was last year but for most of his career I would venture to guess he has been one of the most blitzed and double teamed players in the NBA Kyrie of course is a vet he’s faced double teams and blitzes they the thing that they understand and Luca with his size I think is sort of a cheap code um because he can sort of make any pass but they they understand that sometimes just passing cre creates a downhill effect to then get an open shot versus holding on to the ball too long versus trying to find the pass that leads directly to a shot right it it’s that it’s that chess match that they’re playing when you decide to double team um and both those guys it look it hasn’t been perfect in this series by any stretch I think at times Minnesota’s has done a good job when they have blitzed or double team these guys but I think that’s where the evolution uh for Anthony Edwards is going to come into play and and maybe we see it in this series Maybe he fig figures it out in real time but throughout the next three four years like that to me is maybe the biggest growth point for him um sometimes you know when he’s got gotten double he he’s been passive sometimes he’s turned the ball over he had he had several turnovers last night so I I think for me that’s the growth with Anthony Edwards it’s we saw Devin Booker go through it in 20202 yes 2022 in the Dallas series when they just BL glitched the out of them in game six and seven and they ended up losing that series uh I thought it was a good Anthony Edwards game I like the aggressiveness how would you sort of uh evaluate his game last night uh particularly coming off games one and two by far his best game of the series his mentality was right his aggressiveness was right he was also able to make plays he wasn’t making earlier I think what I saw out of him last night at least was not an acceptance that I’m looking at a really crowded Lane and I felt I felt some of that particularly in the first game where it just like man this looks like it’s really crowded in there you know it’s almost like a one two two type setup here two guys elbows two guys on the Block and one guy on me like I just don’t see a lot of room to go in there and make plays and he wasn’t he wasn’t trusting his acceleration to get in there and use his athletic ability to figure it out once he got there he seemed very reluctant and as a result 75% of his shots were threes off the dribble and that’s that was a win for Dallas that’s exactly what they wanted um I thought uh in game two he had a really rough shooting night you know he had some balls that didn’t go in I think that he’s used to makeing so last night was by far his best game but still the fact that it’s still feels like he’s not he had nine assists in the game he’s but just it doesn’t feel like he could consistently operate against a loaded defense and if that’s what it took to be able to make everybody better to loosen everything up he’s going to be able to do it to that extent and then he can go get you buckets late and like settle matters and that’s the difference in tears of player in this league Anthony Edwards is is one of the best athletes in the league and he’s added a lot of refinement to his game he’s on his way to getting there but when you look at the way that Luca can operate in those moments and it doesn’t matter what defense he sees it doesn’t matter how crowded is or you trapped me Blitz me go under switch doesn’t matter I got something in my bag for that I’ve got a club in my bag for this shot and Anthony Edwards it still doesn’t feel like he’s quite there yet that was his best game of this series give him credit he showed up I there you know he had some guys you know had disappointing offensive performances around him that really didn’t give them a chance to win but it’s still not on the level of what you’re seeing on the other side yeah much more aggressive uh driving the basketball I know the one play that I remember thinking in real time he counted on the right wing and uh his def his Defender had kind of opened up a little bit and the low man was early I want to say the low man was Luca and then there was a shift from the strong side corner and I remember thinking as he caught the ball I’m like oh he’s another crowd another crowd and it was just a hard drive and he had the little Up and Under through two Defenders and finished like that there was a lot more of that whereas you know previously in this series there was way more settling for the jumper um I I I I want to just like try to figure out what is going on with C cat I mean is it is it is it more than he’s just missing shots he’s four for his last 32 from three and a number of them you know I think the vast majority of them are catch and shooting threes right so it feels like sometimes maybe it’s just the ball’s not going in and then and then because the three is not going in you know I think he’s forced a couple drives and taken some really tough sort of off-balance Runners and uh and then there’s like a Snowball Effect to that where he just ends up having these bad shooting nights but to me the the whole thing with him has always been his ability to space and catch and you know and make catch and shoot threes and then the rest of his game builds out from that yeah listen man I don’t care what level player you are you’re an All-Star caliber Talent like Carl Anthony towns or you’re a role player or you’re the MVP of the league it doesn’t matter when you go through an extended period of time where you’re not making shots particularly shots that are like you know in your repertoire and a big part of who you are it starts to get between your ears and you can’t tell me that that that’s not something to do with this because when you go up to shoot and you’re feeling pretty good or you’re feeling normal either way like you’re you’re average baseline or you’re really in a rhythm and you’re feeling great we know how that feels that’s like an euphoric feeling for anybody that’s trying to make shots when you just know like you just know like it feels so good I just have to get my right arm free and that’s a great chance of going in and it’s great when we get those waves and we we all have experience the other side of it where you’re going through a tough time making shots it gets between everybody’s ears a little bit I think it’s in his head a little bit and mainly tied to the three-point shooting so as a result the rest of his game is not feeling natural to him because that is a big part of who he is it’s a big part of what they need in this series with the way they’re playing Anthony Edwards there are shots to be had in the perimeter he has labeled himself like the greatest shooting big man in history like that self-proclaimed thing that he threw on himself so it’s a huge part of his game to what you just said it sets up the other stuff for him the straight line dribble drivs because he loves when he’s made a couple threes he loves that catch show and now close out the fender and it’s like two hard dribbles in a straight line he puts his left shoulder into you and Powers through to the rim for either a shot off the glass with touch or three-point play or whatever get to the line when when that shot’s not going in as much all of it feels now le he’s less confident all of it because that sets up his entire night I was just and I funny I didn’t go back as far as you did I’m just looking you know three for 22 in this series you said four for what 32 is that what you said four for 32 four for 32 and if you go back to two games before that it’s seven for 41 I mean we could just keep on going it’s really goes all the way back to game game three of the Denver series since then this is what it’s looked like like every night and I not getting out the quick starts man like you feel for a guy going through it when he shoots that first one we’re all thinking the same thing if he misses that shot it’s like a like oh man like here we go and you know that instant pressing that you feel because he wants to have an impact man I want to have an imprint I want to help and it’s it’s snowballing against him the other way so I think if there’s any way to overthink it he probably is right now he talked about it after the game all the Reps he’s getting all that I know sometimes man I don’t know about you JJ sometimes when I got into a like a legit shooting song where just didn’t feel right yeah sometimes you could rep your way through it other times I needed to go home and just forget about it for a day and watch some film of me making shots and not about the Reps just look at that and that visualization of the ball going in and all that stuff it’s such a psychological part of the game and I think right now he’s struggling with that I really do I think it’s it’s really affecting him he needs to make one or two in the first quarter and he could have a different night what a beautiful segue Tim what a beautiful segue into Boston Indiana because I think when you think about uh the early jump shot going in I think that was one of the big takeaways for me from game three uh of of Celtics Pacers is that Jason Tatum made his first two jumpers and then I think he made either three of his first four or four of his first five and finally had the jump shooting game because he’s had a lot of Jason Tatum games like he’s he’s been we talked about it on Saturday right but he he made shots early and he he ends up with 36 10 and8 just a monster performance um there was a lot there was a lot to get into this game I want to touch on the Pacers but as it relat the Celtics uh did you watch the game did you watch the broadcast I don’t know if you watched the broadcast about halfway through the third um you know Boston had had made a run to cut it to 12 it goes back up to 18 in the third and the the point I made was there’s zero resistance there a step slow on their help like there guys were guys were dribbling against Derek white and Drew holiday and not getting any resistance until the rim like I have not seen that from Boston and then they had four straight possessions where they got block shots and all of a sudden you know the the the the the flip switched or the switch flipped and it was like a different team defensively just the pressure the force the resistance all of those things and when it came down to it Tatum has the big the big night Al Horford hits seven threes but for me it felt like a lot of these intangible plays were being made by Drew holiday and Derrick White yeah no doubt including one of the that’s one of the best defensive plays you’re going to see a guard make that dreal made at the end of that game the anticipation that he had on that play to jump that and and like because he didn’t just like absorb the contact in his chest and then like take his off hand and like flick the ball away he moved both feet over both feet got basically on the opposite side of nar’s body in the direction exactly where he was going to where he just sort of hits this brick wall with his head and his shoulder into Drew holiday’s cor because he was positioned perfectly and then he just takes his hand and flicks the B like incredible play you know look and there you know you can get we can get into what did Indiana do there you know he rebound the ball was 7.1 down one like what do you want to do here um you don’t have Halle Burton on the floor who knows how you’re going to process that so nart didn’t take it to a great place there’s no doubt but that is an incredible play with his anticipation and if he’s even a half a count later nemh har probably gets the angle on him where now Drew holiday susceptible to riding his hip and fouling him if he’s taking that thing all the way to the rim there’s a good chance that could happen um but instead he never even let it get to that point by jumping in front of him making that play you’re right though they their their ability to clamp down they were down eight two and a half minutes to go and just go look at those possessions and you could look at him IND and got stuff up on the rim and you’re hoping something goes in and it kind of felt that way to them like man they’re trying to hold on for dear life by getting something to go in meanwhile Boston three by Tatum the pass he makes to Horford behind the back the bounce pass you know on the move to the to the left corner incredible pass Horford hits the three and then Drew of course with a three-point play and it’s like they’re making these plays and it just felt like man they’re just trying to survive this if they can without their floor leader on the court and ultimately deep Boston’s defense and their big shot making was the difference and and I look at Indiana and the way they played in this series to be down three was almost cruel when you look at game one and what happened yesterday it’s cruel and it’s it’s one of both of these series two of the closest you’re ever going to see to be three 0 each and that’s kind of where Indiana’s at and this feels I think even more hopeless for Indiana just from the standpoint like all right even if you’re at home even if you win a game then you go back to Boston get closed out like for Minnesota feels like man we’ve been in these games we are capable if they had just they can just have a like a worst shooting night they’re two best players play the same game we win a game we at least get to go home for a game five now you can push this thing to six like that’s kind of where you start thinking for for Indiana it was like they had to get game three to really make Boston feel something and now they don’t feel anything so I I think it’d be likely that Boston finishes this off yeah um the the the Derek white play you’re talking about get shot getting shots up on the rim the Derek white play and I I I don’t think he gets credit with anything other than maybe on second Spectrum uh a test but uh SE yakum goes right and has a good angle to the rim and white comes over low man help side and gets this late contest and it Alters both the tra trajectory and the release point of SE yakum shot off the glass he misses it there’s a massive play late in in the game um and and look I think I you brought up how how bad you feel in some ways for Indiana like it’s sports like you certainly have can have empathy for a team that has played their asses off to be in games with chances to win at at the end of these games and to be down three 0 and look if if if there there’s a timeout if Tyrese halberton doesn’t dribble the ball off his leg they probably win game one like Jaylen Brown hits a ridiculous shot you know they they can’t score at the end of the game there’s no there’s no telling whether or not they score if nard calls a timeout if Rick Carlo calls a time out when he gets that rebound but it’s just it’s it’s amazing how we can have hundreds of plays throughout a game yeah and in the aggregate we get down to the very end and we can just like we want to point to one or two plays right right by the way Rick Carlos’s uh football formation to get nce Smith that shot to tie it I’m stealing that one that was no no that’s going that’s going in that’s going in the memory bank you know what one last point I want to make on this series and you look at Halbert and the difference and and look at their three-point shooting numbers five makes 22 attempts the reason is because you don’t have someone out there orchestrating their offense where he does and it’s not yeah he’s a threat for sure but it’s more than that it’s his size to be able to come off and drag and now get it back to the middle to Turner and then maybe there’s one more pass to the opposite Wing as they rotate to Turner like that’s a very hard pass for TJ McConnell to make TJ McConnell as well as he has played not should say well as great as he has played throughout the playoffs the the pressure he puts on use more like downhill into the paint probing around his little pull-up shots or from that spot finding a kick out three right or or like a or like a hit a cutter along the Baseline he’s good on that one but to come off a ball screen High now be able to get the ball back to the middle he’s just a smaller guy it’s harder the arms are longer like hurn can come off of that kind of throw like a hook pass over his head over the top of an Outreach he uses the jump pass too but he doesn’t do it he he uses the jump pass like Luca too he just does it in a in a different way you know Luca will just jump to pass but Luca as I was talking earlier I was talking about specifically where he’s looks like he’s going to shoot and at the very last second he makes a late decision to pass halberton to your point he will come off a high ball screen soon as there’s two on the ball he will jump and then look at Turner look at the corner look at the wing and can make all three of those passes the size but look you have to I would say this you have to admire what Andrew nard and TJ mccon did in that game their all NBA guy to step up the way they did oh my God you could have asked for more you could have asked for more yeah it’s incredible and I was watching uh I was watching most of that game with a uh a friend who’s a Die Hard Sixers fan and uh like love TJ with the Sixers and so it’s like torture watching TJ play this well for Indiana man because he’s you know to be in games this with this much significance and to play that he the way he has and it’s not just a moment or here or there it’s every night like the way really the next never coralled him he’s kind of doing the same thing in this series no those two guys are incredible man but like you’re not winning you’re not winning games where you make five threes in modern NBA like 22 attempts they got outscored by 33 points at the three-point line 46 attempts to 22 like and some of that is because halberton creates all kinds of extra opportunities I think for their perimeter game and and to for guys to be threats from out there just the nature of the way he plays and his and length to get the ball places a little bit more on time out of those uh situations where he creates two on the ball and that’s to me was what was so glaring about what they’re missing that threat is not really there for them right now and it’s really tough man you make five threes in a playoff game in 2024 that is that’s tough because you know you’re giving up double digit threes just about every night it’s so funny because throughout the broadcast Doris and I would look at each other because Joe Joe talks about math all the time Joe moula talks about math all the time and shot profiles and sort of managing the game within that and uh there were multiple times sort of as as the second quarter progressed and the third quarter progressed and we we looked at each other we we’d get the box score you know before the timeout was over we looked at it and be like man if you’re if you’re Joe Missoula like you’re happy with this shot profile you’re happy with the amount of Threes you’re generating versus what you’re taking you know what what the amount of Threes the other team is generating they they won the free throw game again so you you’ve won the three-point game by a margin you’ve won the free throw game and yet it still was a onep possession game because Indie just they have I mean outside of game two of this series they just have a unique ability to score the basketball at The Rim to score the basketball in the paint they are going to hammer that again and again you know and and look that gives you a chance to win and it has given them a chance to win throughout these playoffs it’s just a tough it’s a tough calculus when another team is Is outscoring You by what Boston has done from the three-point line I was just gonna say real quick at the end of the day man for Indiana you know it’s unfortunately for the however this goes whether it’s four games five games whatever this ends and Boston gets to the finals it’s going to be just one of those situations where man it’s going to sting because of the way that some of these games have played out late game and it’s but at the same time I think they’re going to go into the summer knowing man we’re closer we than we thought and that’s going to be a good feeling for them to take with him but first look they got to finish him off and not going to be shocked one bit if Indiana Were Somehow win game four forc this back to Balton I’m not going to be surprised by that neither am I and so and I will be I will be headed to the arena about three and a half hours uh Tim always a pleasure before we go uh while we were recording this uh I just was checking my phone for time while we’re recording this uh it was announced that bill wat Walton lost his battle with canel cancer and passed away so I I just wanted to take this opportunity to send my condolences to the Walton family of course you know I know Luke um and Richard who is part of our team and family here at 342 is very close with Bill um so we just want to extend our condolences and and our thoughts and prayers um you know bill was uh a unique man a legend in the basketball game a legend outside of it um and and you know we’re very sorry for this loss for for everyone Echo everything you just said that is uh terrible news you feel for the family um Bill Walton is one of the icons of the game and a former colleague I mean Bill Walton used to do some NBA Studio coverage with me I was blessed and fortunate enough to be on the set with him I remember the first time it happened you you know you can’t even really believe you’re sitting out there with Bill Walton about you know to break down the NBA um because of the weight that he carried the energy that he carried in every room every conversation very positive upbeat person uh and like I said one of the true Legends of the game so I I for everything you said man heart heartfelt condolences to the family all right uh this has been another uh old man of the three things with JJ reck and Tim legler legs appreciate it thanks JJ

In this Monday’s episode of The Old Man and the Three Things, JJ Redick is joined by ESPN’s Tim Legler to break down the 3-0 leads that the Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics have in the Western Conference Finals and Eastern Conference Finals. They explain the Mavs’ ability to close out tight games with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, how this series will leads to growth for Minnesota Timberwolves young star Anthony Edwards, the shooting struggles of Karl-Anthony Towns, and how the Indiana Pacers have let games slip away from them.

0:00 Intro
0:43 Mavs vs. Wolves
25:04 Celtics vs. Pacers

Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis, player interviews and highlights.