Nick Wright & Colin Cowherd react to Celtics-Knicks: Tatum injury destroys Boston | THE HERD NBA

Nick Wright & Colin Cowherd react to Celtics-Knicks: Tatum injury destroys Boston | THE HERD NBA

All right, with that we bring on Nick Wright, co-host. First things first. Hey, buddy. Listen, first of all, we are both so happily married, it’s hard for us to relate to any of this stuff, right? Right. It it is. Yeah. An an older man being taken advantage of. I I you know, I feel like you maybe could relate to in an alternate universe, but luckily you have an and so you’re fine. Yeah. I uh you can I tell you something before we get to the stories of the day? Yeah. You have been more bold. I have so many takes on this Bellich check thing, but I just I’m like, you know, it’s live TV and I just is I don’t have to get all the takes out all the time. Like maybe I’ll just hold this one in. I turn on the herd leading the hour. So here’s the deal. And you are what what I will say is this. While I maybe am more skeptical of it than you are, I think you are totally correct that once the money and the will starts potentially being messed with. That is historically very often where you have more concerned family members saying, “Hold on a second. Wait, we’re not going to split this five ways. cuz I thought we were splitting at four. And so, yeah, I do think there’s a long history of that. I also think Bellich’s choices the last four years might be of a man who is, you know, not quite have his fast ball as much as he once did. But let’s talk draft lottery in the NBA playoffs for the love of God. Okay. though you and I and I said this the the de facto opinion in America now with the FBI, the CIA, the media, the government, vaccines is skepticism. We do not trust our institutions. And so when Dallas won that thing, I’m thinking, “Oh boy, here here we go. This is it’s going to be rigged.” And my takeaway is did they rig it for Atlanta last year? By the way, Zion was available. The Knicks had the number one pick. Let’s give it to the Pelicans. That’s a hot bed for basketball interest. So, I think all the rig stuff is nonsense, but I think conspiracy theories are overwhelmingly silly. What do you say to all the non-believers after Dallas landing Cooper flag? All right, so I have a lot of takes on this. Let me start with the first one. And I have intentionally not consumed any media today on this. So, if I’m insulting someone with this opinion, please know it is unwittingly, but one of the things I like about NBA Draft lottery day when there is an event like this is it’s a nice quick easy way for me to check off in my brain a mental list of all the of who all the true idiots are. I’m like, “Oh, you think it’s rigged? You’re an idiot.” Okay, that’s fine. That’s fine. I just now know in my head you’re either an idiot or someone that is not as smart as I once thought you did. It’s good to know. It’s like it it’s the same way if you walk into a bar and you see a guy’s got cauliflower ear. You’re like there’s no quick-handed like oh don’t mess with him. This is like oh it’s an idiot test because here’s the problem with So there’s so many problems with it. Most of which is people are like 1.8%. 1.8%. th those same people. Again, I would say, you know, you can take a local uh probabil probability and statistics class, local community college, 70 bucks a credit hour, might be worth your time because the thing about low event, low probability events is they occur all the time. The odds of winning the power ball are more than a billion to one, but every week someone does it. Is that rigged? Here’s that’s so there’s one point. Here’s another point. the number of people who would have to be involved in this conspiracy, not the least of which are Ernston Young, the accounting firm. They’re like, “We have a very successful long-term 100 plus year accounting business.” And then on the side, couple times a decade, we engage in massive fraud to the benefit of who and of what? And the other problem is, as is always the case, there are there are four teams that could have won it yesterday and people would have said rigged. If the Sixers won it, ah, trying to save and be big market. If the Spurs won it, oh my goodness gracious. Can you They’re just supercharging Wimby there. And the years that a rigging doesn’t make sense, but would have for another team. What do they think that those years the NBA was just asleep at the wheel? Like, well, Anthony Davis was a generational prospect and we sent him to our worst and least successful market. We forgot. And then we did it again with Zion Williamson. And then there is the specifics about this alleged rigging, which is give Luca to the Lakers and we’ll get you Cooper flag. Okay. Do those people not remember what that the Dallas Mavericks did after trading Luca, which is do everything in their power to not have any lottery balls to be rigged. They rushed Anthony Davis back. He got hurt. They played Kyrie insane minutes which led to him getting hurt. All just to get into the playoffs. Then they were in the playin, won a game in the playin, and were in a tight game with Memphis where Anthony Davis scored 40 where if they win it, they don’t have any lottery balls. And so what is is someone again with an IQ above 75. Talk me through it. Talk me through each step of it. And what you’ll get to at the end of it is ah, it feels fishy, which is shorthand for I’m a So again, I don’t know which of my colleagues or friends I just called a And here’s the thing, I’m fine with being friends with morons. It’s nothing. We can still hang out together, but I just think you’re a dollarard if you think this thing’s rigged. Yeah. I I said earlier the NBA flattened the odds and really made it into a raffle. And I have bought $20 worth of raffle tickets in a room of 20 people a hundred times. I’ve never ever won it. So everybody’s and I also said it is fixed. Fixed so that the tanking teams don’t win. Yes, they did fix it. They flatten the odds. Okay. So before the Jason Tatum injury and and maybe you and I are different on this, I’m not sure. years ago, I had a boss and he said, you know, have strong opinions. You don’t want to sit in the fence in your business. And he goes, “Sometimes being really wrong is great because the audience feels like they’re right and you’re wrong. They win and you lose.” And there was a moment, it was about four to five minutes before the Tatum injury. And I was like, New York’s the better team in this world. They got the better coach. They got the better number one. Jaylen Brunson’s playing out of his mind. Their wing defense, male Bridg’s OG, is really working. The officials are letting it be physical. The shot making’s better. The movement’s better. Prejason Tatum, I was like, “Wow, I missed on this.” Did you have a revelation of any sort watching that game before Tatum got hurt? No. Listen, so, and I know we’ll deal with the Tatum stuff later. I I think the Tatum injury has obviously understandably but muddied the water on what happened in that game. When Jason Tatum got hurt, there were 3 minutes and 4 seconds left and the Knicks were up nine points. The Knicks were winning that game and going to win that game even if Tatum does not suffer the injury. I as far as my thought I think this now listen I got the series wrong on the front end before it started. I thought the Celtics would cruise after game two. I said, “I think the Knicks are going to the finals.” And I thought the analysis of this series had been incorrect. Every after after three games of this series, the Celtics were shooting from three 32%. The Knicks were shooting from three 33%. during the regular season. The Knicks, it’s by tiny a tiny margin, but the Knicks shot a better percentage from three than Boston did. Boston just had crazy high volume. So, they both were shooting a couple percentage points beneath their regular season three-point percentages. And the way everyone had told the story of the series is Boston’s ice cold. The Knicks have gotten lucky. And I understand that Boston missed a ton of shots in games one and two, but I was watching the series saying OG Anobi hasn’t played well yet. Jaylen Brunson hasn’t had an explosion game yet. And while everyone else was saying, “What’s going to happen when Tatum has a great game?” I was asking, “What’s going to happen when Jaylen Brunson has a great game?” And they both had a great game at the same time. And the Knicks once again walked them down. The Knicks once again had taken control and the Knicks had the their biggest lead of the series. And I brought this up to you last week and I will bring it up again. The Celtics were a team built to win a championship and they did and maybe they could have again this year. The Knicks were a team built to beat Boston. And just like we saw one year ago in this round, a team in Minnesota who hired Denver’s GM and then he came there to build a team to beat Denver and then they played in round two and Minnesota took the first two in Denver and went on to win the series and beat the defending champs. We see a team in New York that traded for OG Anobi, traded for male Bridges, traded for Carl Anthony Towns, OG to guard Tatum, Bridges to guard Brown, Carl Anthony Town. So they had a stretch five like the Knicks do in Porzingis and Horford. They built a team to beat Boston. And then Jaylen Brunson’s continued ascension to the most clutch player in the league this year is the tiebreaker on it. So, I think even if Tatum hadn’t been hurt, the Knicks were going to win this series. And now, obviously, they are. And now the Tatum injury has real impact on next season and the seasons after. Yeah. The Knicks were better right now. Yeah. And I And I was saying this years ago, the Seahawks looked like they were built for a dynasty. And then all of a sudden in the second Super Bowl, there was a coaching decision, Russell Wilson interception. It hurt the locker room. It hurt the culture. Distrust. all of a sudden you’re like never got back and we’re seeing this in the NBA where I watched Denver win and I thought this is the Spurs with Duncan and you know the CBA you’ve got to get rid of players you can’t have the depth and it’s like no Denver’s going to win one and Milwaukee is going to win one and Toronto won one and I thought Boston was different and I watched last night and I thought okay Drew Holiday and Porzingis are old Horford’s older they’re up against the cap They’ve got new owners. I think we’re looking at, if you ask me today, four or five teams with a future I love. It’s Indiana. It may be New York, OKC, Houston. I don’t know if Boston, that injury to me was like, wow. No, the tentacles of this thing, Colin, are overwhelming. And it does, if I may just for a moment, not that anyone would ever be able to do this, but like when you see how hard it is to repeat or to continually go on deep playoff runs, like imagine if someone in today’s era did something like make eight straight finals and make nine out of 10 finals with three different organizations and four different head coaches. Like that guy must must be the greatest player ever to live. Um, but yeah, every team looks like they’re going to repeat until the moment it looks like they might never win again because that like So, think about that, Colin. So, Kawawaii in Toronto’s different because nobody thought they were going to repeat cuz he left. The Lakers win the championship. They are the favorites to win the next year. They look amazing. Solomon Hill somersaults into LeBron James’ ankle. They’re never that close again. Yep. The Bucks win the championship. They are the favorites to repeat. Chris Middleton gets injured in the playoffs. Jason Tatum has an amazing game six. They haven’t been close again. The Warriors win the championship. They go back the next year. They lose to the Lakers in round two. The Nuggets win the championship. They are overwhelmingly clearly the best team. and they blow a 20point lead in game seven at home and a year later are firing their coach. The Celtics are the best team all year. Even if they don’t have the record, everyone is penciling them in. They have two cold shooting nights and then one incredibly unfortunate, unlucky, devastating injury. And now you say to yourself, if Tatum is out for next season, he’ll never play without Al Horford again, who’s probably retiring. He’ll never play with Chris Epsorzingis again. He may or may not play with Drew Holiday and or, and this is the big question, Jaylen Brown. Was last night the last game of Tatum and Brown together? Maybe. I wouldn’t bet that, but maybe. It certainly ends this iteration of Boston, which people were speculating was going to, you know, potentially make some major moves even if they won the championship cuz the team was so expensive. Excuse me. But now with Tatum, assuming he’s out for next year, you rework it entirely. I’m going to add one other tentacle to it. It’s actually two. If you are Giannis and you’re open to the idea of leaving Milwaukee for the first time reportedly, yeah, do you see this and say maybe I do give it one more year? The Cavs are frauds. It would appear the Celtics are not going to exist. I’ve got two years left in my deal in Milwaukee. Do I do I rush to get out west where now 12 of the 15 best players are? Yeah. Or do I say I can give it one more year here and then I’ll add one more. Let me take a sip of coffee before Okay. All right. I’ll wait patiently. If you are LeBron James in year going into year 23 and you’re surveying the landscape and you’re like, “Well, I plan to stay in Los Angeles. I want to stay in Los Angeles, but that team from my home state that won 64 games and then got clocked in round two like it has every year since I was gone that they actually made the playoffs out east where Boston is a nonfactor where Giannis might leave where I could just be the conquering hero back home once again and sign with them for nothing to in year 23 get my fifth championship and certainly my 11th trip to the finals. It’s at least worth considering. Now, you’d have to convince maybe the Cavs that what they’re going to have to trade for Bronnie, but aside from that, it works quite well. It’s something to think about. Yeah. By the way, I’m going to throw this in. We got a couple minutes left. I I thought Brunson was a 1A and I said years ago, if you told me the best Knicks ever, I’m old enough. I was like Walt Frasier, Patrick Ewing, always thought Melo was a great scoreer but not a great teammate. I look at Brunson right now and I’m sorry, you don’t know something until you know something or you don’t know something till you see something. I feel he is the best small shot maker in the league. Unlike Kyrie Irving, he is healthy more often. Unlike Steph, he’s in his prime. I think Brunson’s a one and the best small shot maker in the league. Am I nuts? He’s definitely a No, no, no. He’s definitely a one. I bet the, you know, him versus Steph, they play s such different styles, right? And and so here’s to me a fun one, Colin. Because I br and I know I was always higher on Melo than you. Yeah. If you’re listing, you know, the greatest players in NBA history in order and you get Melo’s entire career, obviously Brunson has not eclipsed Melo, who’s one of the 50 greatest players of all time, but he hascliped him as a Nick. And as far as as a Nick goes, the Mount Rushmore, it’s always fun sports radio TV topic of New York Knicks, three spots are locked. Willis Reed, two-time Finals MVP. Walt Frasier, who should have won one of those finals MVPs when he had 36 points, 19 assists in a game seven for the championship. Those two champions, those two spots are locked. The third spot is Patrick Ewings. That is locked. That final spot, there is an argument for Earl Monroe. There is an argument for Bernard King, who I’m sure you loved. There is an argument for Melo. I think it is Jaylen Brunson’s spot now. Yep. I think he is on the Mount Rushmore of New York Nick basketball players. I think it’s Frasier Reed Yuing and this little guy who is even his I think people can Nick fans can be like you underestimated him. I bet Rick his dad underestimated him. I don’t think anybody saw this coming. It’s a remarkable revelation. Yeah, I remember his dad because I think I was in Port I don’t know if I was, but I remember his dad. I think Brunson was on the team, the Portland team I covered, I think. Um, and he was just it was solid pro, you know. It was like everybody liked him. Solid pro. Not a shock. His kid goes to Villanova, you know, smart dad, been around. Um, he’s just a great story. And he just he he just I I got to tell you something. It is it it’s maybe it’s just easier to root for New York heroes because they it does feel bigger. I watched that game and New York feels bigger and there’s a reason that crowd was jet fuel. It was it was it was incredible. It’s unbelievable. I was there Saturday. Uh I and I wasn’t able to go last night and it’s it really is some parts about I understand why people and I’m not from here. I’m from the Midwest. Some things you hear about New York as someone who’s not from here but has now lived here almost a decade. It’s like oh that’s a little overrated. That’s a little East Coast bias. One thing that is not overrated. The garden when the Knicks are even kind of good is unbelievable. Yeah. The Garden when the Knicks have the best team they’ve had in a quarter century is a religious level experience and it has been absolutely unbelievable. They shut down 7th Avenue. the fans did yesterday and they’re going to host a conference finals game for the first time since it was Spreewell in Houston in the 99 season. And it’s going to be a hell of a sight to see. It’s really going to be unbelievable. And you and I might have nailed it on your pod last week. The Popes from Villanovavva. We should have just bet the farm on the Knicks. I mean, who’s going to benefit from that more? If there is a sports guy, he’s putting his finger on the scale today. I’ll tell you that much. Great stuff, Nick. Write as always, buddy.

Colin Cowherd is joined by Nick Wright to react to the NBA Playoffs. They discuss whether or not it is over for the Boston Celtics after Jayson Tatum got injured last night. Will anyone stop Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks from reaching the NBA Finals? They also react to the Dallas Mavericks winning the NBA draft lottery for the right to select Cooper Flagg and answer whether the NBA is rigged.

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