FIRST TAKE | “Thunder are biggest title threat after Celtics & Nuggets”- Stephen A. ignores Clippers

FIRST TAKE | “Thunder are biggest title threat after Celtics & Nuggets”- Stephen A. ignores Clippers

With their big three in the lineup Jaylen Brown went off 37 Tatum Al Horford added 26 and 24 respectively the Celtics became the first team to clck the playoff for the season they’re the favorites to win the NBA Finals that’s per ESPN bet and the defending Champion

Nuggets closely follow them so over the last 25 years only four teams to be the first to clinch a playoff spot went on to win the NBA title with the last being that 2016 2017 Warriors team big perk back here with us uh perk thanks for coming back back which team is the

Biggest title threat after Boston in Denver it’s the Clippers it’s the Clippers and it’s and they’re right there knocking at the door and it’s solely because look when I look at their roster they have zero flaws when you look at their depth right they have great depth at the big position in zubac

Daniel TI and uh plumbley and then when you look at the supporting Cass Norman PW coming off the bench of canid for six man of the year you know what Paul George is going to bring to the table being the number two to kawh Leonard James Harden and embracing that point

Guard role that facilitating Road on that team but it’s two guys that I trust with the All of Me and the one is tou walking up and down that sideline we know what he’s capable of doing as a head coach but the other one is kawhai

Lena Jordan and I’ve seen it right we’ve seen it in the past when he when he when he matches up with the best of them whether it’s LeBron James and dwade and Chris Bosch he’s came out Victorious whether he he did son yanis an tupo tucked them in night night you know when

He was in the uh Eastern Conference and broke up that home and so when I think about Kawai and I think about what he’s capable of doing on both ends of the floor Molly he could be the best player in any Series against any player at any

Given moment when healthy big perk I completely agree with you with kawh Leonard but I disagree with your take on the clippers because you just said you know what you gonna get from Paul George did you see Paul George in the playoffs last year against the Suns did you see

Him did you see him cuz I didn’t see him I didn’t see him I he was I that’s my point but that’s my point he was hurt that’s the biggest issue when it comes to the Clippers I don’t know that they top two players go to stay healthy I

Ain’t got no questions about their depth I ain’t got no questions about tyo I do got questions about who’s going to be able to stay in the lineup for 2 months in order to make a run and get through the Western Conference to the NBA finals

The team that I’m rolling with as the biggest Challenger to the nuggets out of the Western Conference and I can’t believe I’m saying this but I’m going with the Minnesota Timberwolves and the reason why I’m going with the Minnesota Timberwolves is because they just young enough to not know that they ain’t

Supposed to be there they’re young enough to know and sometimes ignorance can be a good thing when it comes to sports the other thing that I like to point out with the Timberwolves is that defense matters especially in the postseason they got the adage defense wins championships well this is the

Highest rated defensive team in all of basketball now they already stacked one win against the Denver Nuggets but that was in the first half of the Season they’re going to play them three times over the next three weeks so we’ll get a better idea a better gauge for where

They’re at but they got a star in Anthony Edwards and for people that ain’t paying attention to the NBA this dude is coming Superstar hold up one second but cat not healthy and Rudy goar is not Health yeah catch’s not healthy we’ll see what ends up happening Rudy

Goar we know he’s coming back relatively soon but goar is a guy that is in the conversation I think he’s the front runner to win Defensive Player of the Year again and it all starts and ends with him on that end of the court so when you start to look at the elements

That the Timberwolves have when you look at the overall depth this is a team that goes eight deep in their rotation this is a team that’s got six guys that average in double figures I believe that they have what it takes to go on a deep

Playoff run and on any given game that guy Anthony Edwards can be the best two-way player on the floor that’s what gives me confidence about what they can do once they get into a deep playoff series to be fair the Clippers aren’t actually healthy either Harry so per

I’ll start with the Clippers I think the health thing really scares me when it comes to them and also something I noticed about their basketball team when they’re playing a very athletic guard that can get to the rim and score the basketball at will Shay gilis Alexander

Um the young man that we have in Sacramento right now dear Fox they struggle big time they struggle big time with people like that now when it comes to Minnesota I think the thing that makes me nervous about Minnesota is being able to have enough scoring especially when you have car Anthony

Towns out right now and I don’t know what his condition is going to be like when he comes back because it is a miniscus right he’s having surgery on his knee you’re not going to be able to do everything that you want to do before you’re properly able to come back but

Who I think that can contend after we talk about the Boston Celtics at the divid Nuggets I’m not looking at anybody those are the two teams that I expect to be in the NBA Finals those are two teams I expect to be NBA Finals because cuz what I love

About joic when it comes to half court basketball they don’t have to live behind the three-point line they run everything through nicolea joic in that recent game that they just had versus the Boston Celtics every time the Boston Celtics tried to come back and they made

A run they go down the court we’re gonna get that ball at the elbow right to Nicole yogic he’s going to make the right play and when I’m looking at Boston in the East I don’t see nobody they’re they’re Their Own Worst Enemy in my yeah yeah but Harry it’s almost

Disrespectful to put the Boston Celtics in the same class as the Denver Nuggets it’s the Denver Nuggets and then there’s a gap the size of the Grand Canyon before you get to whoever is number two out there in the NBA whether we’re talking EAS conference or conf after

Boston no I I understand that but I don’t even think it’s respectful to the Nuggets to put Boston in that class well I have I have the Nuggets right here Chris I I that didn’t come out of my mouth I have theug I’m not AR I’m not arguing the point

What you’re saying I’m saying just to keep it in its proper perspective you think the nuggets are that much better the nuggets are they got yeah they got a player in niic yeah nicoa joic controls the game better than any player in the NBA we’re used to assigning that to LeBron James

But in terms of that attribute LeBron has passed the TS to nicoa yic like you point out the the what you’ve seen from the Denver Nuggets you go back to that MI Heat game that they played on Wednesday night nicoa yic dominated in the fourth quarter it was a one-point

Game going into the fourth quarter nicoa yic dominated but it wasn’t with his scoring it was with him passing facilitating I mean you could see the pick and roll between him and Reggie Jackson on a loop it was deadly they had no answers for it because he always

Makes the best basketball play and we’re not used to assigning that to a center quite quite literally I don’t know that we’ve never seen a center have the passing ability that nicoa yic has and when you see actually do that when it matters the most that’s to me what separates Denver

From everybody else why are they so much better than Boston break it down for me well I’m about to tell you because because Boston is popular right they’re popular right now the best record in the league they’re running through everybody in the Eastern Conference they have a dominant home record they’re smoking

People by double figures when you walk into the garden but when you look at the Denver Nuggets they are powerful they’re powerful in their play when you talk about joic being the best player in the league when you look at Jamal Murray being the best number two in the league

And why I say that is because in the big moments when it matters the most when they get to the postseason Jamal Murray elevates his game like no other that twom man game is something special that connection between joic and Aaron Gordon is something special we’ve been crowning

All season long in disrespecting the the devil nuggets by saying Boston Celtics have the best starting five in basketball well we were wrong the best starting five in basketball is actually the best starting five that actually won the NBA championship last year in the Delver nuggets when you look at that it

They fit so well together they communicate well and right now they’re one of the best defensive teams as well top 10 team defensively in the league they’re well coached by Michael Malone and when I talk about that popular powerful movement Molly when you’re powerful you actually knock people off

Their square and right now the D nuggets are knocking me off my Square because I had the Los Angeles Clippers representing the Western Conference but now they got me changing my mind because of the play of yic and Murray that twom man game is just something

Special you want a final word Harry no no I I I love the divver Nuggets they’re my favorite to repeat whenever you have a situation where teams are able to come back but you have that that killer M you had that wild card which is Nico yic

Yeah yeah I don’t see it happening it I have to see it happening in order for me to be able to believe it yeah coside everything that har big perk saying m Molly you getting soft today on Friday because you did not check Harry for strling the fence

He hold up hold up I got to say something K I was actually going to get on you but you’re my guy so I let it slide I asked you a direct question about Kevin Durant and I felt like you did a little slip and slide you didn’t

Give me the you didn’t give me the right answer oh you did a pivot you did a pivot and you moved right into you did it I did a drop I did a drop and you know what and you just smoothly went out and I was like you

Know what I’m going to I’m gonna I’m gonna let that one sleep oh my goodness say per a hit dog a holla every time every time big you have a fabulous weekend uh I will talk to you on Monday we got a lot of basketball talk about this is a lot

Of fun thank you still the Come for foree speee fore speech forign speech foreign speech foree for now For spee foreign spee Foree for speech foreign Speech Foree foreign foreign speech foreign speech speech fore Spee for foree spee forign foreign foreign fore speech fore for Fore foreign fore speech Fore speech foreign foreign speech foreign spee foreign fore spee For spe foreign spee foreign spee spee spee Speee spee fore fore Spee fore speee fore speee for Fore spe spee foreign forch spee spee spee Foree foree spee for speech foreign speech speech fore spee fore

FIRST TAKE | “Thunder are biggest title threat after Celtics and Nuggets” – Stephen A. ignores Clippers