while missing Chris Paul who was out due to covid-19
protocols last year. So let's not forget. Let's not forget
how well the sun's fared. They had winning records both
without Chris Paul and without Devin Booker.
So we want to talk coaches. I give a lot of credit to Monty
Williams and I think the sun's can say in Monte We Trust so
I think that's one thing they have going for them. That maybe
the Nets don't have right now, so I'm not willing to
write off either of these teams without the injury unless
Forget if you're saying the sons are in trouble
against the Pelicans now because they don't have Devin
Booker. Let's not forget. The Pelicans, haven't had a minute
from Zion Williamson
all year. And yet here they are in almost a good of positions
anywhere. Right now, Philly is the closest of anyone to
a championship, but here are the Pelicans
at 11, having stolen home, court advantage in the series,
from the team. They had the best record in the league.
They've done it off without Zion Williamson.
Like this, come on, they had their moment. They had their
win.
Congratulations saying about your one. But what I'm saying,
it's only
a great place without Zion all year. They're in a good place
right now. If you don't take it,
you know, they lose the nicer for game, the next three games.
They still they still survive without him.
I agree with you. Okay, I agree with that. Okay, big picture
Pelicans, making the playoffs and I was dying. Yeah, that's
huge.
But in this series, nah, now as much
Monty Williams very diplomatically pointed out yesterday.
Hey, we won games without
Devin Booker.
We have to know next, man up. And look at our road record.
Look at our road record. We've done well, and wrote A Story.
Look at Dallas, Dallas now is won a game without Luca,
right?
Yep. And and if they play, if they play Dallas in the next
round, let's, so let's say Phoenix winds and they're
playing Dallas in the next round. Okay, they get them
either without or with the hobbled Luca.
So again, that's why I'm not riding the the sun's off just
yet.
You know, we We saw we saw the Warriors. Make the finals
without Kevin Durant in in 2018.
We saw the Warriors make the finals while missing Steph
Curry for part of the playoffs in 2016.
So these injuries are significant. I'm not going to
just write off the ability of these teams to cope and to
adjust in particular,
give some credit to the coaching staff to make adjustments.
Well, here's the question. Speaking of writing.
I have a question for you
before we We take a little 20-second timeout or okay, fool
will go full time. Go full spread it out.
Yeah, go go fool.
Very remember, remember Phil used to do that? No, no, go,
go, go, go. Full
then go in the Huddle
and not, and talked to his assistant coaches. He's,
I think you started. I didn't feel start that. Let's talk to
the coaches. First will come out here, mid Court, ought to
the coaches,
then we'll come back and talk to the players. But
before we get to that,
I do remember that you used to write. For the Chicago
Sun-Times and used to cover
the Chicago Bulls. When I was covering the Cavaliers. I was
coming to Cavaliers. You're coming to Bulls Chicago
Stadium. We just kick it.
What would you write? Give me a lead
or two
17 out of 18 Milwaukee, has beaten Chicago 17. I'll has 18
times.
I'm here. If you cover like you probably got like four or five
leaves already prefab leaves already. Ready to go. You know,
I know you don't tell your students to do stuff like that.
But
you know, at Norton funny my
brother, sometimes you kind of had to have stuff written in
advance because our first deadline was a 10:00,
you know, had have the story in at 10:00. So yeah, I'm gonna
call Central, have to pre write at least
ten o'clock Central Time.
Yeah. It's a central time, was the first deadline and then
I had to come back with the Second Story at midnight. So
you can go in the locker room, get your Quotes come back and
then rewrite and have a real story
for midnight. At mpm was the first one. So yeah, you might
have to kind of, you know, I mean, honestly during
the finals in 94,
I would have to write, especially once we got near
the end of the series. I would write two separate stories.
Basically, you know, and have one for. If the next one,
the game, one for the Rockets, won the game
and just, you know, hit send depending on which way things
go. So you so you would have to pre, right.
I would have thought that. Yeah, the bunks were the one.
I mean, you saw the way this was going, but again, people a lot
of people felt like the bull Is the left one on the table and
game 1, right?
And and
you know, especially with with Middleton going down and then
and then the Bucks lost the greatest
nobody but nobody nobody
beats the Bulls 15 times a minute,
but you know that brings a lot, you know,
there's Trends,
you know, things are established until they aren't
you know, I mean that that happened with I think
the Warriors and the Cavaliers
where the words are just on the Cavaliers, you know, they won
three straight to finish off the 2015,
NBA Finals. I think they own them throughout the season, you
know, the regular season,
and then they're up 31,
you know, so they've won like eight out of ten or something
like that. Against them make me know, maybe six or seven
consecutive
and then they lost three straight, you know, so
it's things are Trends until the not anymore and that
sounds, you know, basic. But I think that's an important
number in front. Things change quickly.
And if I momentum is non-existent from game to game,
I believe, in momentum within games,
but I do not believe in momentum carrying
from game to game same which team has the momentum
that doesn't exist in a playoff series. Momentum does not carry
on game.
That's a word. That's a word right there.
And, you know, it goes so great day. It's just that Dynamic.
Oh, we're going for, we're going for the Dynamics.
It's a dynamics of a series. I
How players respond game the game. But you know what? I also
love, I love fan. Responses game to game up to 0. We go
sweep on,
lose a game to 10022
all this team's about to blow it. Five, four. Three, two one.
Yeah, exactly. It's all over the place. So it's a series.
It's a series 2-0, who knows? What's going to happen?
Brooklyn could come back and win four in a row, they could,
they won't but they could
But
you never know.