Is the Monty Williams Era with the Pistons ALREADY OVER?! – From Half Court Episode 147
[Music] what is going on I want to welcome you from half court for today Wednesday June 5th 2024 I am one of your host Shawn Murphy alongside the last Troy standing in the Pistons World Troy sery Troy you outlasted the other Troy that we will be talking about here in a minute did you ever feel like your position was at risk did you feel like you had to fight for things did you write a letter to Tom appealing that your St that your stature in the Pistons world would stay not quite Sean but I will have to say uh it will be a blessing in the comment section of our podcast not to be you know reading things like screw Troy or you know F bomb Troy you know sometimes I’m like whoa what did I say then it goes oh you know I know exactly who they’re talking about and that person is not me so that will be a big relief Sean but yeah certainly entering a new chapter in the Detroit Pistons franchise with firing of Troy Weaver we have a lot to talk about with that but also last time we recorded we were pretty confident it would be Mavericks and Celtics but now we are 100% sure we have a Maverick Celtics NBA final so uh final starts on Thursday really looking forward to that because I I really can see this one being a great great series with uh Revenge with Kyrie but also just the way that the Mavericks and Luca have been playing this is Luca’s first shot out of chit but also we know it’s on the line with the leg with the Celtics with their legacy and Joe Missoula and this Jason Tatum Jaylen Brown Duo so there’s a lot on the line Sean but you and I we are here for it from half court heck yeah man 100% And if those comments keep coming Troy then we know then we’ll know like specifically who it is about and we’ll we’ll finally have some clarity but in all seriousness we have a lot to talk about namely the the Pistons uh change in the front office if you will the change of the Guard the inevitable writing that was on the wall and then looking back on where things went wrong and how the Pistons can move forward but first this is from half court region every week we talk Detroit basketball NBA basketball WNBA basketball Park basketball raccoon basketball if there’s basketball we’re talking about if you like that you like this video smash that subscribe button hit that notification Bell but also be sure you follow my guys on X you can follow myself at Sean half court you can find Troy on X at Troy sery 44 over the last week the news became official that TR and Lon would be the new president of basketball operations and with that you know over the last week he had started taking meetings talking to people within the organization and according to Sham shirani and James Edwards III the Pistons had decided you know mutually between themselves and Troy Weaver to part ways you know obviously you can get over the you know you could talk about the semantics of the wording and about whether this was a firing whether this was a mutual decision but ultimately Troy Troy sery I mean Troy Weaver is gone Troy sery is still here for now but Troy my question for you is what was your reaction when you saw the news Break um what you know like what do you think you know like the the legacy of Troy Weaver will be best and worst case scenario yeah certainly not surprise the news with Troy Weaver uh because of the last two years uh losing less than 20 game Sorry winning less than 20 games uh in the regular season so as far as the shock not a big shock Sean but the first thing I thought of was okay certainly the organization wants to move in a different direction than what the Troy Weaver uh era brought and I think Sean I think you put on Twitter or x a good summary of of what you thought of hey some great pieces some great players that were able to be drafted with a high potential but at the end of the day missed massive talent and failed to get winning Talent on the roster because I think with a league like the NBA we know that there’s Talent out there we know that there are even stars at their rules if we want to say we’ve talked about that so there’s plenty of players you can bring in house and draft in house and develop in house that that will help your organization or help any NBA team but when you fail to get that talent that those talented players that can go and compliment your stars or at least your stars that you’re developing you can’t win at this level we’ve seen that time and time again the past two seasons with games that and leads that they were able to blow and just leads that uh or sorry massive blowouts as well in which they just got demolished by 20 30 plus points by teams who had Stars uh it just you have to move in a different direction and again Troy Weaver failed to bring that t talent to the Pistons team had some decent players drafted some decent players but failed to bring talent to this yeah yeah I mean I think when you look at the moves that you know are ultimately going to define the Troy Weaver era and where things went of course you know you’re going to look back at the drafting of guys like Kade Jaden Ivy you know SAR Thompson Jaylen Duren you can you can identify and see that there are tangible you know talented assets and players that you can build around but it’s the ancillary moves of of BU of complimenting those players and putting the right players to make that a cohesive team and not just a group of prospects you know specifically you know I I think it made a lot of sense for them to go after the Reclamation projects you know at the time you know like I think it’s like a great concept of you know taking guys who were highly talented prospects and see if you can you know turn around their career see if a new home can bring you know bring forth that fruit but like the problem is I think they just did it with the wrong players not that James wisan isn’t a hard worker but you know he just missed so much basketball that I just think it ultimately proved to be too much to catch up with I think Marvin baggley is a guy that you know is a you know pretty like decent floor not a very high ceiling and I think you know we had a pretty decent idea of who he was about like 20 plus games in his tenure in Detroit and then you know guys like Knox guys like Josh Jackson like none of those players really ever ever hit and reach that potential to where you know those gambl paid off right so he a lot of times Troy chose to you know identify players that he liked go out and make moves and worry about some of the assets later whereas you know if if he had taken more of a if he had more of a plan and a vision of constructing the roster he could have accumulated more assets get more more first round picks stuff him in the cover take on bad contracts so you can so you can then use those things to go and get those players that you identify more Sure Fire instead of you know just about a gamble one through 12 you know yeah that’s a great point and I’m glad you got you named those players in the draft such as Jayden Ivy and asard Thompson the beginning of your talk because name me any other NBA team who wouldn’t want those guys on their roster right now but it’s about that talent and you’re right with the Reclamation progress look at a guy like Marvin Bagley and James wisman sure it made sense bringing those guys in but I I feel like even too Sean Troy Weaver and even I guess with the lineups that mon Williams put in kind of in the beginning of the year and even the end of the year ler last year with Dwayne Casey it seemed like they had a lot of weight in these guys that I didn’t think that um was necessary they put a lot of faith and confidence it’s one thing to bring a guy in but it’s another to put a lot of faith and confidence in that guy that you gambled on I think that’s another interesting thing about the Troy Weaver era is not only did he bring these guys in but he put a little extra pressure any anything that you you uh that you say about that yeah I mean if there’s anything to me that was particularly damning about the roster construction of the Pistons it was that Kevin Knox came in off of the street not playing even on a g-league roster at a point this season and all of a sudden he came in and was one of the most productive Wings on the Pistons roster until he was ultimately traded at the deadline again you know like and and even then he also faced that inconsistent play so like there was never that you know just that overall through point of the progression of that roster sure like you said he identified Talent he identified good players boyang boan bogdanovich was a good trade you know Alec Burks was a good get but they held on to too long they were misp passed in their roles awesome but not if he’s your number one scorer and having to guard their best Wing every night like that’s just not Boon bogdanovich at 34 years old right like you see you see that you see someone like him go to the Knicks where he can go come off the bench sit in the corner you know have shots created for him if if if if that was a role he had in Detroit this year where you know we had kind of talked about If he if he did stay transitioning into a less of a role where he has to carry that level of a load whereas when he came back in it was like the whole world was on his shoulders right so I just you know again I I I think you know the record unfortunately of like you know as far as like what Troy will Troy Weaver will be remembered for the record unfortunately is going to speak for itself and I think people um you know at least for the next few years I think it’s going to hard it’s going to be hard to wash out the taste of the previous season seon that that you know fans just went through but I think at the same time I think you look at you know like what are some other examples of you know like front offices that we see throughout the league right so like you know to me I namely think of the you know the Philadelphia 76ers you know um you know they were built um I I’m forgetting the name of the general manager right now I’m going to look it up but um the Sam hinky I believe actually was the general manager did the trust the process in Philly and before they started winning he got fired and you know pretty much right after that they started getting all these years of playoff success Joel embiid is you know is is seen as like a a big man of this generation you know and like he gets none of the credit for that and you know I I I think we could look back and say wow look at all these you know Allstar level players the Pistons have and you know Troy Weaver is the one who who brought those in that’s the first step and he certainly you know set the Pistons you know in a position where at least they have cap space and they have options it’s just in the process they just pretty much made you know put every other area behind in the process now the news is official that TR and Langan is the president of basketball operations and as reports are suggesting you know now the process for looking at a new general manager is underway in addition yes but in addition there’s also now that the Troy Weaver Domino is Fallen we now move on to the next Domino Troy which is finding a new general manager so close the other person they have decide if they if they’re firing or not the coach M Williams there you go yes exactly the next step is figuring out what they’re going to do with the coach I personally think and you know this this is actually you know like uh shout out to Cory Woods he actually went on crunch time with Jeff and those guys uh the other day and talked a little bit about this where you know it makes a lot of sense that the Pistons made this decision and did this with Troy before the opening introductory press conference for trajan Langdon because you know for him to have to answer those questions you know would have been inconvenient so for him to be able to show up with that definitive answer and to be able to like share his vision is is you know is something that’s a wise move I wonder if they could also have that same you know decision about the head coach made going into that press conference as well so with that being said you know obviously the you know the general manager search is is pretty much beginning underway but it I I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s going to be somebody you know from the the Pelicans organization the the the the person that actually has been you know kind of cited as you know someone who’s heavily in talks is uh Michael Blackstone who is currently the VP of basketball Administration with the Pelicans he also worked with the Hawks as their assistant general manager at one point and he also has worked under the Cleveland Cavaliers so another guy who’s been around the league and again just someone who would be a TR and Langan guy but my question to you is do you think that you know what now that we’ve seen that first domino fall are you do you feel like we could be starting to see a head coaching search as well yeah I’m still not 100% convinced Sean I still think that with how much money that the Pistons has were able to pay Monty Williams last season to bring him in I still think that is a is a massive weight that I’m not quite sure they’re ready to lift off yet uh but if they do Sean if they are going to go that direction yeah I mean we we play this game on this podcast all the time of what do the Pistons need to do what do the Pistons need to do well F and kind of CopyCat some of these other younger teams and seeing some of their um you know front office type of people to bring in for different roles that the Pistons have vacancy for it’s it’s a decent way to look at things with looking at um the gentleman that you brought up uh Michael Michael what Blackstone Blackstone yes yes yes bringing a guy like him in so I think Sean I’m still not sure that letting go of Monty Williams is 100% % in their Forefront right now uh but and we this has been a debate that we’re probably going to have until we have a definitive answer uh what’s going to happen but I just think for me Sean I’m still not I’m still not convinced yet so I I can’t fully answer that question until I’m fully convinced that the Pistons are going to be parting ways with him this offseason into next season yeah I honestly think you know the thing that’s telling is the fact that you know they have been told explicitly that money is not an object you know that they can make the decision you know that they want to make so if Monty is here going forward it will be because Tran langden wants to see what it’s like with you know with Monty going forward so I think it you know obviously you you you have to bring him in and talk and actually see where he’s at as far as wanting to coach we know that he’s not going to you know want to look at a buyout he’s going to want the you know the the money that he you know that he has earned and signed in his contract in that way um but at at the same light you know you you you could look at this as a you know as an opportunity for a full clean sweep and a new you know kind of regime from top to bottom you could also look at this as you know kind of like you um kind of like what’s been mentioned before is you know if you put a better roster around Monty Williams if you give you know a a a better compliment and Suite of of players a roster that that better fits his you know abilities as a coach you know Monty historically even though he is a guy who’s you know been able to work well with young players he also needs those veterans and those guys that he can rely on right every coach does so I think I’m not you know I’m not in the boat to you know I’m not ready to be in the boat firmly that you know Monty Williams is is a bad coach or that you know like that he needs to go or anything like that but I do find it telling that Tom Gores has said that he’s willing to do that if that’s if if it’s if it’s necessary and you know the the fact that it’s still just surreal that that it’s even a conversation in the first place especially with you know everything that went around the announcement the pageantry like it felt like a big event you know like there was celebration and you know like as like James Edwards brought up before the Pistons failed to ask them themselves like the one glaring question what if this doesn’t work right right right and my goodness with the Pistons fans mindset of what we’ve been able to endure the past 10 15 years as Pistons fans that question should have came up right uh especially in the front office but with that being said you you this team has taken so many big big big gambles and I think this one hurts a lot as a Pistons fans because of what the Ben Gordon Charlie villan AA signing did but even another one that happened 10 years ago this summer or sorry 11 years ago this summer was the Josh Smith signing of that question was never answered or asked either of what if this doesn’t work so Sean I I I’d like to play this game a lot when we’re on the podcast of what are Pistons fans thinking because you and I we’re Pistons fans I well I can tell I can tell you right now they want Mony gone they don’t care what the ramifications are like if if we’re playing the game like what are Pistons fans thinking they want blood they want to see they want to see heads roll outside of the Pistons performance center like if like like fans are are bloodbound like blood hounds they exactly where I’m going with this Sean you you jump there because yes I can play the game of okay is this a realistic thing of okay with the money with this weight on the shoulders do they fire him do they not but I want to speak for Pistons fans of yes we want blood because we’ve been wanting blood with this organization with what they’ve had to put us through and make us endure with again some of these awful signings too but even I mean my goodness in the coaching uh standpoint hiring guys like a Lawrence from I mean why hiring a guy like even a Mo Cheeks and having to fire him halfway through the season and replacing him with um the lawyer guy so I mean there’s just been so much so much even in the coaching realm that goes outside of even the uh the free agent wrong yes it’s not just the signings not just the trades but even the head coaching and now we’re really seeing some some heads being wanted with h with the coaching so yeah I mean obviously when you have this level of you know of losing over a certain level of years when you haven’t won a playoff game since 2008 I think people want accountability right and I think that’s totally legitimate that’s totally fair as far as what’s realistic that’s the thing that we’ll see because you know if again if they do want to make a a change at the head coaching position they’re going to have to start like soon because the draft is about 3 weeks away there are still multiple other teams that are in the middle of making their head coaching changes as well and the and certain jobs especially like you know the Lakers job you know like even like the Cleveland job like those are kind of like you know jobs that are going to kind of Define the market a little bit and see who’s who’s actually going to be available so my one concern about making a move at the head coaching you know position at this juncture would be is the candidate you want actually out there right but at the same time I could also see the argument of of wanting that fresh face again nonetheless nonetheless I think you know the the biggest thing that you know uh with with with tra with TR and Langdon is you know obviously there’s a lot of pressure on his Soldier on his shoulders but you know I think this summer is going to be you know like you know it’s it was already a very important summer but now you know he’s going to have to set the table for what you know the rest of of these years are going to look like and he’s going to have to like steady steady the ship for all intensive purposes that’s right that’s right and yeah you brought up a good point too with you know is the fresh face the right face and for me right now with with bringing in a fresh face it it really better be the right fit because I just as a Pistons fan as someone who’s covering the the team with the podcast with you Sean it’s just it’s getting pretty mentally exhausting to go through this process if you are to move on from Monty Williams again I get all these different things that you’re talking about with uh you know the trade in langon and and making sure that okay if you’re if you’re starting fresh with some of these types of um you know positions with president of basketball operations wouldn’t you then want to start fresh with with the coach and um I’m not quite sure I’m still there yet so we’ll have this conversation continuing to to flourish um in the weeks to come I would imagine more than likely that we could potentially have an answer to this question by the next time we record the podcast and for all we know with the way that this league moves this question could have already been answered by the time this episode comes out I mean that’s that’s just how quick you know things things are moving but nonetheless I think the big thing that’s going to give a lot of clarity is just you know the hearing that first address to the fans specifically you know from langon in the new from front office because that’s that’s essentially the you know laying out the the foundation that’s that’s you know setting the vision and and getting fans to understand where we’re heading what we’re wanting to do you know setting the expectations right and so I think until that happens it is a lot of just the guessing game and I think once that does happen we’ll have a little bit better of an understanding of what they’re going to do in the next coming weeks but I mean Roy it’s not like they’re they’re very far away from some of these decisions a month from now is when the new league year will start so we are already a month away from free agency we’re three weeks away from the draft yeah and I would say both of those things are holidays from this podcast right you and I like to celebrate both draft day we like oh they’re holidays for this podcast but these are going to be War months for TR and langon like hope hope he found a house already because he’s going to be in the office for the next couple of months making a lot of phone calls that’s right that’s right but we’re here for it Sean I look forward to seeing not just with the Pistons do but with the league too because there’s a lot of other teams that are that are maybe not quite in the Piston shoes but have to make some serious uh decisions this summer with the direction that they want to go so that’s going to be some interesting conversations too that we’ll be having yep 100% we’ll be covering it all right here on the podcast speaking of head coaching openings I had mentioned this team a minute ago I normally uh try to not talk about this team unless there’s actually a reason to talk about about them the Los Angeles Lakers and there actually kind of is Troy because they have their head coaching opening and from all the tea leaves from all the reports the name that continues to circulate that continues to be the favorite for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching position is J J reck the former shooting guard out of Duke who had a you know 12 13e NBA career who is you know one of the biggest names in NBA media right now is the king of the podcasting game as a podcast with LeBron James which in retrospect seems pretty convenient that they had a podcast together and then a couple months later his name starts getting floated around as the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers but LeBron no he doesn’t like to be involved in these things no not at all no he he would never Roy never but I digress the point is we are legitimately a couple weeks away more than likely from an announcement that JJ reck will be the next head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers now mind you Troy this guy hasn’t even coached high school ball he’s coached his son’s aaou teams that’s about it I hope that they’re making the right choices this is the direction that they go we know that he knows the game that is something that I don’t think we can take away from JJ great basketball mind the basketball mind is there but can a basketball mind a great basketball mind translate to the X’s and O’s to NBA level competitive basketball that is GNA be the question that we will have if the Los Angeles Lakers do go and high tic but uh yes I think there’s no debate here that the mind is there yep the thing that immediately comes to M for me Troy there’s two names that I immediately think of I think of Steve Kerr and I think of Steve Nash now on one hand Steve Kerr when he was hired by The Warriors it had been years since he was coaching but he did have experience you know on on people’s staffs in San Antonio like he was on the bench before so him coming in and being a coach wasn’t a a overly novel con concept however it was considered a risk it was an out of left field hire it was a firsttime head coach and now you can make the argument that he is one of the greatest head coaches of all time I believe he was on the NBA’s you know list of greatest coaches ever during the NBA 75 but then on the other end you have Steve Nash who another great basetball mine first ballot Hall of Fame player you know multi-time MVP someone who was hand picked by Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to come in and Coach them and what happened almost immediately they showed that they didn’t respect you know Steve Nash fully as their coach Kyrie came in was like oh this will be like a collaborative thing think we’re all gonna jam it out essentially and that’s just not how it works so I I I I I have no questions about JJ’s ability as far as an ex’s anos coach I think you know there’s a pretty decent chance he can have some pretty creative schemes and and have some pretty solid things D you know drawn up my question is when Anthony Davis is having a bad game and he has to go up and tell him to get back in the game and to step up his play when when he has to call LeBron James on his will he have the respect will that actually be absorbed that’s going to be the hard thing because when you’re coaching these all-time greats and you have Championship pedigree to lean back on that’s some weight that people will listen to when it’s like oh that’s just the shooting guard from duke who played for the Clippers that’s that’s that’s the Pod guy like that’s like that that’s a real legitimate risk it is uh are you bold enough right now Sean to make any predictions I personally think that I I think they’re going to be the exact same team they have been I don’t know if it entirely matters who they bring in as their head coach I personally think that he can he can Thrive but I also if you were to ask me do I think this is the right coaching job for JJ reick I wouldn’t necessarily say yes I I would say no however I do I am conscious of the fact that if you are asked to be the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers how do you turn that job down how like that’s like that’s that’s one of the jobs in sports right the names the names haven’t necessarily matched it over the last few years with Darin ham Frank vogle you know th like things of that nature but you’re talking about rarified air to be a head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers that still means something and so I I I I’m still happy for him to get that opportunity but it does kind of bring back some of those uncomfortable conversations about how people in sports you know kind of get to skip the line get opportunities over other people you know guys who have been grinding and you know have been on you know teams benches for years but at the same light you know JJ reck has you know been notorious you know as has has really built a presence you know has you know really made his his basketball mind and his philosophy known and you know it’s not like you know like unlike a lot of other head coaches or a lot of a lot of other coaching candidates you have like tens of you have hundreds of hours of content to hear about what JJ reck thinks what he would do in certain situations so I guess if you’re looking for a positive that would be one but you know again it’s it it’s high risk High reward and even then I don’t know what the reward is because I think the ceiling for this Laker team is a really competitive first round exit especially with wimbe getting better and them having the potential to bring an All-Star in alongside him you talk about the Clippers they’re not going anywhere they’re have a new Arena they’re going to want to stay competitive you know you look at you know the the Phoenix Suns aren’t going anywhere the Warriors aren’t going anywhere the nuggets are still really good like this western conference is so deep so like my point is is like the Lakers I mean Rob pinka is generational at pointing the finger at other people and not taking the blame for the fact that the Lakers problems ultimately our roster construction right yeah yeah and uh it’s going to be interesting too Sean with the Lakers you talked about wimy potentially getting a Allstar to be able to go alongside of them now are the Lakers bold enough to do any type of trade to get a young star on the rise I mean you have tradable pieces but that’s going to be a really interesting conversation too with okay if the if the Lakers hire JJ reck is the Lakers roster as we know it today on June 3 going to be the roster that JJ reck inherits so there’s a there’s a lot of conversation that goes about that but yeah you’re right there are pieces that I don’t think you’re gonna move obviously LeBron and a and Anthony Davis your your two pillars there that’s G to be the same but a third piece there you know there is you know what what is D’Angelo Russell’s value you know I don’t know oh he’s gone he’s gone I’m telling you right now like they’re gonna find a way to make sure he is gone right right right obviously we saw this summer too I mean some of the free agent signings that they did bring in like Gabe Vincent I mean did that mean anything no I don’t I legitimately don’t think he played for them no right right if he did it was like less than 10 games yeah yeah and um I mean Reeves I I think he’s a player that I think you want to keep but um I don’t know how bold they want to be this summer um but yeah there’s a lot of conversation that they need to be having I think with their roster before the season starts yeah 100% And you know I think I think you’re going to hear them in the in the names of a lot of players that are available I think you’ll hear them in the trey young conversations I think you’ll hear about them you know like in the in the jonte Murray conversations as well you know I think they are going to try to be aggressive to maximize the final years of LeBron I you know in my opinion you know I I think this will be a slightly more competitive version of what we saw with like Kobe’s last year with the Lakers where they just want to go out and and you know essentially you know treat that player with the utmost respect and you know give him the best basketball he can but you know in the same light that just the way that they have things set up they don’t have a lot of flexibility like a lot of their picks have already been traded away like for like essentially that Russell Westbook trade really was the was the nail in the coffin in my opinion of their continual trade their continual title chances right right right and yeah I mean obviously the West is the biggest thing the biggest the biggest problem the Lakers have is actually the West itself with some of these teams getting more competitive and getting better and we saw even obviously the Mavs we have to throw them into the the ring now I mean we’ve been talking about them but even more so than a Clippers and and a phoenix and even a Minnesota now so there’s a lot there that that needs to be but dejonte Murray I’m glad you brought up that name Sean because I think no matter what team ends up trying to get him or ends up getting him uh I think that will be very very interesting um and especially if it’s a Lakers team how he how he gels with those guys um but yes you’re right the Lakers need to be in a little more of a they can’t run it back they have to do something a little bit competitive uh and aggressive this off season and and I do think Murray is a name that I like I I hadn’t really thought I thought more of the Trey young type of um fit but I’m glad you brought up Murray because that that really makes my my mind thinking a lot he was someone they were trying to go after at the deadline I personally think Deonte Murray reuniting with the Spurs and and being the point guard for wanyama would be a lot of fun you know that’s just the basketball fan in me personally but in the same light you know again I I I definitely think he’s he definitely fits the the ilk of what they need someone who’s you know athletic who can make plays who can defend you know and isn’t afraid of big moments because you know D’Angelo Russell we’ve seen the guys a bucket at times but you can’t count on him you know when when push comes to shove but you know I I think again they’re not going to be a conver you know much of a conversation going forward because of teams like we’re about to be talking about in the NBA Finals here the Dallas Mavericks that’s another team that they’re going to have to be contending with Luca donic just made it to his first NBA finals and is he even 25 yet Troy he he either he’s either he just turned 25 or he’s about to be 25 you just turned 25 a few months ago yeah yeah so you have you know th this Maverick’s team where a little over a month ago we talked about how they’re not even a guarantee to get out of the first round what’s the security of of Jason kid you know how legitimate is this team as a dark horse and now for a lot of people they’re the favorite going into this finals against the Boston Celtics Troy what were your thoughts of you know now that this series is officially over what were your thoughts of the Mavericks performance against the Minnesota Timberwolves and seeing what you have seen this playoffs and just all season long how do you think they stack up against the Celtics yeah well first touching on the Western Conference Finals there that we just saw and yes I don’t want to take anything away from the Mavericks because they get played awesome but I do think the Timberwolves in a lot of ways did lose that series uh Mavericks did win it but the Timberwolves did lose it uh and I think that’s worth mentioning too I mean where the heck was Carl Anthony towns from downtown That season and even his field goal percentage really suffered and I don’t think we could really count on goar playing you know Defensive Player of the Year basketball deep into May so I I want to at least say you know and Anthony Edwards we know he was good but we he wasn’t the same guy we saw I think in in game seven against the uh against the Nuggets so he wasn’t really good in game seven either though he was six of 20 he was six of 25 in game seven right so I guess that that series I guess more so leading up to game seven but yes yes you’re right uh but yeah Kyrie Irving is a name yes we can talk about Luca all we want but Kyrie Irving is playing great great basketball probably the best we’ve seen since he was in Boston who they’re going to be playing against so I think with him Derek Lively I know you’re a big fan of him Sean what he brings to this team that they did not have last year on the defensive end so I think with lively that’s going to be a really really good matchup um I know with porzingis should be back for for game one so that will be a good uh a good matchup there so yeah I I think the Mavericks they they’re playing the best basketball of the Year deep into the playoffs which you don’t see super often because a lot of teams Peak is in February or March and or sometimes their Peak is in the end of April in the first round and they can’t get to the finals but you’ve seen this progression from the beginning of the year until now the Mavericks just keep playing better and better and it goes with I think obviously Luca as your best player but Kyrie Irving really really really is playing what I think the the kind of basketball the Mavericks wanted him to play when they traded for him last year yeah it’s the best basketball he’s played since he was in Cleveland flat out you know he’s he looks inspired he looks focused he looks rejuvenated and you know side note I do think the conversation around Kyrie is kind of weird I don’t really know why there’s been like all these like apologies or why people feel the need to apologize to Kyrie like he was legitimately not focused on basketball and his head was in other places and there were legitimate reasons to criticize him but the conversation has always been if Kyrie Irving is is focused on basketball if he is you know if he is on the court if he is available he is one of the most talented players to ever play the game and you know I think you’re seeing a a motivated Kyrie who wants to make a statement but also just wants to win and so uh the the pairing with with him and Luca has turned out to be far more than I could have ever expected the ceiling of it from day one was always really high and this potential was always there but the fact that they so quickly and so effectively put the pieces around them to make it happen like Derrik Jones Jr who was a vet minimum signing that you know this last playoffs the three-point shooting that he’s on right now like you need role players like him to come alive for like a couple series you know I don’t know if he’s going to do this again next year or even even like even two years from now but he’s doing it right now and that’s what you need you know also you bring up drik Lively you know he reminds me a lot of he reminds me of Tyson Chandler which is funny because I I saw something online that that Jason K actually brought in Tyson Chandler to be the mentor of Derek Lively wow I realize that playing for the Mavericks so the he was their starting center when they won in 2011 yep so you know they’ve they’ve already been actively working together and you know we criticized them at the time for you know for for tanking that those final games and positioning themselves you know for the drafts last year but ultimately that draft pick more than paid dividends and is now like been one of the best Rim protecting bigs in this playoffs as a rookie and it’s not even to mention they have Daniel Gafford still who I am a really big fan of him as well so to get him from Washington this year I mean my goodness the the president I mean we talk about his defensive game Sean but I mean the guy can score around the rim too I mean we saw the statistic back in was it March with how how long he went without missing a shot from the field I mean when have we seen a player like that uh before so uh yeah I think he really adds a great great great presence to that team on both ends of the court and that’s what you need at this level both ends of the Court we said it with our assistance and uh we got to sit with the with our western conference champions so yeah well I mean like and even too the one game that that that the Mavericks did lose was when Derrik Lively was out did a concussion protocol you know so him being healthy and having this much time to rest in between you know after those rough rough couple hits he had in the back of the head you know that would be good for him but on the other side too the Boston Celtics you know the the on one hand I do think that it’s going to you know be a wakeup call for them game one with the level of competition that they’ll be facing because they really have had a smooth road to the finals but on the other hand the the the blessing of that is they did not have to rush back C stops for zingis they didn’t have to pull a New York Knicks where they put ogan anobi on the court and just see to see if he could do anything and he couldn’t even walk without discomfort right whereas now you’re actually giving Kristof porzingis a legitimate chance to be relatively healthy going into this finals and even though the amount of time in between this feels like a slog you are you know like you are like giving us in odds of seeing a fully healthy Celtics team against a fully healthy maick team or at least as healthy as you can be this time of year and that’s certainly the blessing of uh finishing off a team somewhat early that both that both teams were able to do but yeah to be relatively healthy part about kristofh porzingis I mean that very well could be the deciding factor of translating to a champion or not Champion right so that is gonna be really really fun to to see him at full health or even at 90% % health because again a fully healthy Pingus may lead to a fully healthy trophy in your hand I didn’t it go yes hey hey the the you know what Troy the intention was there and that’s all that’s all that matters you know I I I think you know I think you look at this you know this series too and you know it’s not even just those types of things but I think what what makes the series so great just beyond the basketball matchups is just all the storylines that are going into this series every sing single finals as a Litany of storyline but this is just a different level I mean you have the you have the the pressure facing Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown and Joe Missoula and everyone in the Boston Celtics to finally make a like bring home a championship to to hand up the hang up Banner number 18 which is something that they’ve been so aggressively pursuing but then you also have the Chris stop sport zingis versus Luca donic Dynamic you have you have Kyrie coming back to Boston in that Dynamics that’s going to be in play like both of these teams are going to have legitimate adversities mental you know things that they’re going to have to get over and you know I I I think this series could get pretty chippy yeah I agree Sean and you have those personalities on both teams too we know what Luca can be uh when a little stress gets on a shoulder and uh we certainly know that some of those Celtics guys can have a little temper when push can you imagine the interactions that Luca’s about to have in the TD Garden if he’s dagger threes unreal unreal unreal like oh just basketball Cinema is really all you can equate it to right and we saw even in the first round two years ago with the Nets and the Celtics and do you remember Kyrie had that awesome awesome either game one or game two I think game one and the Celtics they the Nets were up all game and the Celtics just barely pushed pushed uh pushed a win at the end there and that the fans chirping Kyrie and that was game one of the the first round imagine game one of the NBA Finals what those fans are gonna be doing so that’s G to be a lot of fun uh Kyrie coming back but the difference that is is that in the Nets if you recall too there was that video of him heading to the lock room and fans were still tripping at him and he was you know cussing like no tomorrow I think we see a more poised kyria that we know the fans will be chirping but I think in this stage of his career just a couple years later in the new setting with the NBA finals on the line I think we’re gonna see we’re gonna see a different Kyrie um than we saw a couple years ago with Brooklyn so it’s gonna be fine there’s a lot of moving parts to this Sean great finals great final I think he’s on a team where he doesn’t have to be the fiery one because you know like he doesn’t have to worry about being the bag like he doesn’t have to worry about the perception of being the bad guy like yes he knows he’s going to get booed he knows every single time he touches the ball in Boston he’s going to face a a sea of booze but at the same time he knows that he has Luca donic right next to him and after he goes out and hits a shot which by the way the whole you know parallels of the Celtics essentially playing the modern Reincarnation of Larry Bird in the NBA Finals is something that’s not caught on you know that that hasn’t been lost on me either like there’s just so many layers to like what makes this finals awesome and I just can’t wait for tip off but having said that Troy we’ve done a lot of setup we’ve done a lot of preview as of Wednesday June 5th 2024 we’re recording this on Monday but for posterity June 5th 2024 Troy sery what is your prediction for this NBA Finals yeah um we kind of touched on it last week but uh my bold bold take is going to be Celtics and seven I just think this Celtics team is too deep uh has too deep of a roster I think it’s too talented I I think these fans with the home corn Advantage are going to be too nuts to to fa uh to not be able to pull out a four game series against this Dallas team now would I be surprised would I be having a heart attack shocked if the Mavericks won absolutely not because we know that the level of talent that they have on their team but I just I think this Boston team has too much good pressure on their shoulder with Tatum being 26 now and being so close now two years in a row with you know coming back in a game seven against Miami not being able to to cut it and then of course we know what happened the year before that against the Warriors we know Joe moua’s line uh conversation with his job always at risk when you’re in an organization like Boston and not being able deliver with a championship and I think Jaylen Brown we we know he got paid this summer I just think they have a lot of good healthy pressure on their shoulder that they can use to their advantage and pull up the victory especially with Luca being a firsttime NBA Finals it’s not super super often you see a rising star who gets to the finals being able to deliver the first time you think of LeBron with Cleveland now granted his team was uh hot dog water that Cavs team in 2007 um you think of uh Dirk himself um you think of plenty of other players too those are just the two that I quickly thought of um but yeah very RAR Dwayne Wade did it we know he did it against Dirk but uh I just think had Shaq alongside him though that alongside of him you’re right and you could argue Luca has Kyrie alongside of him but I I just don’t think this is quite Luca’s year yet I I see Boston uncovering Banner 18 but what about you Sean yeah I I agree with a lot a lot of the principles and a lot of the things that that you said I do think that this is going to be an insanely competitive series we normally don’t see players this young come in and make this much noise and and have this much success but having said that allow me to lead to read you the playoff readers leaders in each statistical category okay points Luca donic rebounds Luca donic assists Luca donic heals Luca donic field goals made Luca donic three-pointers made Luca donic free throws made Troy do you have a guess LCA donic Lou dor no it’s it’s Luka L but like he like th this has been a alltime like like if he ultimately pulls this off this will be a alltime playoff run beating you know pretty much three teams after this finals with 50 with 50 win records and and beating them four out of seven games I personally go and and and Edge with Dallas because of what I’ve seen as they close games so six or seven games I I I personally I’m going to I’m going to go six I’m going to go Dallas and six and the reason why is because with when the final five minutes hit it’s been so long since Boston has actually had to be in that situation yes they’ve pulled themselves back into a lot of you know situations these playoffs but I haven’t seen that that dominant Celtics team at least all together in a couple of months and when you’re looking at momentum when you’re looking at you know a lot of the you know the the factors that lead into you know like a a finals of of of putting all those pieces together it just feels like Dallas has just been you know on this up continual upward trajectory I think if Kyrie continues to play the level he’s been playing I think they’re just a really hard team to beat and even if chrisps porzingis is back which I don’t like it still don’t know you know what I mean so that’s that’s a tough thing like when when when push comes to shove the final five minutes of the game do I trust Jason Tatum or Luca donic more I trust LCA donic right yeah no I I can’t massively disagree with you Sean I just one more thing about sorry one more thing about the about this finals you bring up the home court thing it feels like home court in this series maybe means almost nothing in a way just because of the fact that both of these teams are seemingly better on the road like Boston is almost like 500 at home during the playoffs when they normally are dominant during the season whereas for whatever reason they always pull out wins on the road and they’re undefeated aren’t they undefeated on the road I think the Celtics are undefeated on the road I think they are undefeated on the road this playoffs yeah yeah yeah yeah it’s a good point but Boston fans and I guess yeah you’re right they they lost well they lost they lost two games they lost to Miami and Cleveland at home um but yeah yeah it’ll be interesting I but again going back to why I still disagree about Dallas winning is Boston’s roster is too deep so it is I mean it is it is really good I mean you’re I’ll say this much like this series is you’re G to see why why the Celtics went out and got Drew holiday you know like I think that’s going to be one of the most exciting matchups it’s Drew holiday versus Kyrie and I think we’re gonna see D white we haven’t really touched on Derek white how awesome of a playoffs he’s had Derek white has just been amazing for Boston ever since he stepped in day one he’s probably the most underrated player in basketball I absolutely love him I think he’s you know a a phenomenal player Jaylen Brown you know is continued to have a pretty good season as well you know Jason Tatum I think the criticism is is a little too harsh on him I think people just expect greatness from him and we’ve seen you know like unprecedented levels of unprecedented levels of dominance from him that I think people expect more so I definitely think that you know whatever happens in this finals there’s going to be massive consequences for you know for for each organization I mean no matter what I think Dallas you got to almost feel like you have some house money going into this series because you know that you can run this roster back you know Luca is going to be awesome for another like 12 13 years yeah you know whereas with Boston if they lose this series nobody’s safe right yeah yeah that’s a great Point yeah so certainly more pressure on Boston but again I think they can use that I think they can use that to their advantage so yeah well Troy I’m certainly excited to watch it we got that coming up we still got some really good WNBA Hoops in the coming weeks as well Kaitlyn Clark has been looks like she’s been really piecing some things together is uh definitely getting some uh some some body thrown her way but we’re definitely going to be we’re definitely going to be talking more WNBA Hoops in the coming weeks as well but thank you for listening to this episode of from half court if you like this video be sure you like down below subscribe so you don’t miss any of the future podcast and hit that notification Bell as well thank you for listening we’ll catch you guys next time from half court be sure you’re subscribed [Music]
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