podcast 13

The hosts discuss the New York Knicks' performance in the playoffs, criticizing their complacency and lack of effort. They also praise the Minnesota Timberwolves for their teamwork and determination. They highlight Anthony Edwards' impact on the game even when his shots weren't falling. They talk about the upcoming series between the Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers, with differing opinions on the outcome. They also discuss the Dallas Mavericks and the Timberwolves, with one person predicting the Mavericks to win and the other supporting the Timberwolves. They briefly mention Kaitlin Clark's injury in the WNBA and discuss the expectations and challenges faced by rookies in the league. They mention other standout rookie players and the increase in WNBA viewership. Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome back to another episode of Dunkin' with Duke and Boss Barbie. Thank you for joining us. The New York Knicks. You're sad, right? We've got a lot to talk about as far as basketball goes, a lot of controversy, a lot of disappointment. Daddy Denver, Mr. Mikey Malone, there was this kind of complacency, and up by 20 and you lose by eight. That's just unacceptable. I don't think it's crazy at all, because I've said from the beginning, we went to a lot of games, there was a lot of complacency, there was a lot of inconsistency, they almost lost to the Spurs, and I just didn't see a team that was really putting the best effort in. Malone, literally at the parade, or as soon as they won last year, which took 50 years to achieve, right? Let's keep this in perspective, 50 years to achieve, and he immediately says they're going to win number two. I just don't think it's that simple, and I think he overplayed it. It really did not pan out. It did not pan out. He was looking pretty upset at the press conference, he's in the news today, for being a little salty about the questions that were asked of him that ... Yeah. Big bro. What do you think about his coaching in the whole series? He just got too emotional with it. He needed to stay calm and collected, and he just really did not. A lot of it laid on Malone and his frustration levels, that I have not seen him before really that aggro. Yeah, I know. Just straight up sloppy play, and I want to talk about Minnesota and what they did right. Obviously, better coaching, right? Yeah. All in all, across the board, better team play. Just committed to each other. You saw the love they had for each other, how they stepped up for each other when others fell down. Even Ant, right? He didn't have his best game offensively in game seven, but he was determined to win that game with defense. If he was not contributing on offense, he was going to get them on defense, and he did just that. There are multiple ways to impact a basketball game, and Anthony Edwards is a prime example of that. He's a great scorer, great passer, and really good on defense. Even if the shots aren't falling, he can still positively impact his team. Carl Anthony Towns, Nas Reed, Rudy Gobert. I don't know if you saw the Rudy Gobert-Kobe fadeaway over Jokic to take the lead. Yes, I did. Amazing. Gobert, he's beating the allegations. Yes. There are many Minnesota fans that are believing in him this year. I was a little on the fence about him, but he showed up. I would just say it's a reminder, right? For every great player has a bad day, and they have to believe in their team, and make things happen for the team, and not just carry it on their shoulders, one person. All the benefits that people can provide on the team, and really bring that out, and a true leader does that. Yes. Also, shout out to D-Lo for not being on the Timberwolves this year. Walking trash can. All right. Well, good point. Okay. Now, let's talk about the New York Nickelbackers. Yes. I feel bad about that. Honestly, I do. They gave it their all. Nobody can complain about them not giving it their all. Yes. Injury, injury, injury. Some might say that's because of Thibodeau, but it would've been a different series if they weren't injured. He overworked them, and I just have to say that it's his job as a coach to care for his players, and playing them 48 minutes every single game, that's a lot of strain and miles put on the body, and it's just going to catch up one way or another. The New York Knicks, they had Mitchell Robinson out, Jalen Brunson broke his hand, Julius Randle was injured, Bojan Bogdanovic was injured, OGN Inouye was injured. That's five great contributors right there, but shout out to the bench for the New York Knicks for stepping up and keeping it as a great series, and the Pacers, they did well. I think that they've been a really slept on team. I saw a post today saying that either Ant, Jason Tatum, or Luka Doncic will become a champion this year, and it's had no mention of Tyrese Halliburton, and he is just truly- His mindset is crazy. I think people forget about that, like how intensive a competitor he is, and he was challenged. People were saying he was a joke, and he came back. He didn't let that get to him. He came back and dominated, right? He is self-motivated, and I don't think you should sleep on him. I am really not sold on the Celtics winning. I personally have Celtics in six games. They just have a well-built roster. They have multiple ways they can score. They're multifaceted. They can shoot the three. They can take it inside, and I think that really, if Jason Tatum steps up like he should, if Jason Tatum remembers that he's six foot eight and not Steph Curry, and just runs to the basket and dunks, I think that they can have a great series, and with Pingas Pingas coming back, maybe? Well, is he coming back? The word is still out on that. I think they're holding back with him to keep him for the finals, quite honestly. I don't think we'll see him in this series at all. I think that Al Horford will have to step up, because his match-up will probably be either Pascal Siakam or Myles Turner. Both of whom have been outrageous in this series, and amazing, so that's a tough one. For sure. Horford has been amazing. Yeah. Luke Cornett will also have to step up on defense. It sounds like a lot of stepping up that has to happen. The Pacers, they are such an offensive- They've got the underdog rating. That might be motivation for them. Plus 2,500 betting odds on Indiana. I want to say, I'm still feeling the Pacers, although- Derek White, I would honestly make a bet on him winning finals MVP, because he is the best player on the Celtics right now. He absolutely is. He's giving the most contributions on defense, on offense, getting the team hyped. He's just really been an outstanding player throughout the playoffs. What a great value he is to the team. Yeah. He'll be matching up with Tyrese Halliburton, and that should be a good match-up for him. That would be a great match-up. I trust in D. White. I got Celtics in six. What do you got, Boss Barbie? I think underdog status is really going to be everything for the Pacers, so I could see them winning. If Tatum does not, they're going to lose, right? It can't just be the three-point game. They've got to drive to the hoop, but I'm going to go Pacers, seven. Pacers in seven. All right. Hot take, Boss Barbie. Hot take. All right. Now, let's discuss the Mavericks and the Timberwolves. I got Mavs in six. I'll go T-Wolves in six. The Mavericks, they are a well-oiled machine. I mean, Luka Doncic is literally just him. He has a knee injury. He is playing through injury, and it doesn't even show on the court. It shows on the court. It does not show on the court. It shows on the court. He cooks all the time. He cooks, sir. Of course he cooks. Tyree Irving. He's cooking on medium-low. He's not cooking on high. So, he is great. There is no denying that. And I'm loving the bromance with him and Kyrie. Like, Kyrie seems like a new guy, right? Yeah. He's enthusiastic. He's positive. Like, playing well. I love their combination together and the mentorship and just the bromance. And one stat that you can't forget is that Kyrie is clutch in the playoffs, 14-0 in closeout games. I just really have to say that the Mavericks, they're ready. They have Daniel Gaffer, Derek Jones, Jr., Derek Lively. Everyone is stepping up. Everyone is ready. They are ready to make their run to the NBA finals. Okay. Well, we'll see because I am still Minnesota all the way. All right. Now, let's talk about Kaitlin Clark in the WNBA. Already suffered an injury. Coming off a hard screen, and they are just big bodies in WNBA basketball. Yeah, I think there's a lot of response to her play. People are both disappointed and also annoyed with the other players in the WNBA. They seem to think that the other players are targeting her. I don't agree. I'm going to say because, I mean, she just is really like the college intern coming into her new job, right? You don't know everything. You're not the best at what you do. You weren't close to the best at what you do in college. I mean, she didn't win the chip last year, right? No. Let's point that out of the WNBA. Candice Parker retired, right? I mean, let's look at those numbers. She won. Stewie won all four of her college championships. Yes. No question, Stewie is amazing. These are just huge, big bodies. Brittany Greiner, experienced professionals. Of course, she's going to take a little time to get. I don't think it's intentional that they're trying to teach her a lesson. That has been the narrative. What do you think about that narrative? Welcome to the WNBA. Yes. You've got to learn how to do your thing. Yes. She's played well. I mean, her first game she had a double-double, 20 points, 10 turnovers. She had a lot of turnovers in college. People forget that. Yes. It's a much slower game than she was playing in college. WNBA is fast. The defense is different. The offensive spacing is really much different. She's going to have to adapt her game, and she'll figure it out. Yes. I just think that this rookie class overall has been playing really well. Oh, my God. Let's talk about Cameron Briggs. She's been amazing, too. Awesome. Camila Cardoso. Angel Reese. Rekia Jackson. Aliyah Edwards. Yes. I think that just it's been great. WNBA viewership is at an all-time high. They've been cooking, that's for sure. I agree, and I will say that I think Caitlin brings a lot to the WNBA as far as marketing, and all of these rookies actually do, and that's why I wanted to say we want to mention all of their names and hope that they get a lot of endorsements as well. Caitlin just got a huge endorsement deal from Wilson. We don't know the value of it, but first time since Michael Jordan to do a signature basketball. She is just kind of like transcends basketball. It's the marketing. There's something about her. It's not that she's so much better than everybody. No, she isn't so much better than everybody. Sabrina Ionescu. Better. I would say she's better. She is better. She got the hype train going. She got the hype train going. She figured it out early on, and people bought into it, and now all of the corporate sponsors are buying into it. The other part that she's brought, I think, to the WNBA is these chartered flights. For sure. Not a coincidence that they started the same season as she got in the league. It's clearly the reason. I think it's disappointing that they waited this long, but it's well overdue. Can you imagine being 6'9", Brittany Greiner, sitting in coach with NHL random on your Southwest flight? Horrible. The NBA teams fly chartered flights all the time. Equality with regard to how we treat people. We want to make sure that people have the same treatment in their jobs. Even high school football teams down south, they get private flights. Very nice. It's been long overdue. Great thing that has come to the WNBA a little late, but I'm happy to see it now. Another controversy that has hit up with the WNBA is the latest Las Vegas Aces sponsorship. We know that Becky Hammond has gotten in trouble before. She has lost a draft pick. She has been suspended for her maybe soft behavior with regard to how they pay. Today or yesterday, I think it was, that the Las Vegas Tourism and Convention Bureau is sponsoring each member of the Las Vegas Aces for $100,000. No. A WNBA investigation because of this. Basically, they think it creates a competitive advantage for the Aces. I have to ask, is this true? They're saying smaller markets can't afford this. I say, doesn't every billionaire own these clubs? There are billionaires who own these clubs. Is it somebody making middle class wage that owns these clubs? No. I think you're just seeing the Tourism Bureau step up. I think there's other ways to be creative about sponsoring these players, and they don't make a huge amount of money. The average salary for a rookie is $74,000. The average salary for the WNBA went up this year. Last year, it was $100,000. This year, it's $147,000. It has gone up, but it is not really a livable wage. That's why we see players playing overseas. Meanwhile, Fred Van Vliet is getting $40 million a year. Evaluation of that. No question on that one. Everything is fine with that. I hope this fits and stands and they get their money. Really, you heard Asia Wilson say, everybody on this team deserves to be paid, not just me. The Valkyries, newly announced WNBA team. I like the logo. I like the colors. I'd buy a shirt. Would you buy a shirt? I would buy a shirt. I think it will be cool. I hope Denver gets an expansion team. Oh, that would be great. The reality is a lot of people have said negative things about the WNBA, like the game is boring. Now, our last topic that we'll be discussing today. Bronny. Bronny. Bronny. All right. I am so happy for Bronny. He is moving up in the draft, looking good. Why am I happy? Good for him. Had a serious life-threatening cardiac event. Came back to play at USC. People gave him crap because they thought he wasn't playing the same way. Yeah, no kidding, people. Of course he's not going to play the same way he had. God only knows what happened to him, but life-threatening, disturbing. And he's killing it. He is. He 40-and-a-half inch vertical, 12 in a row from the three-point line in his shooting contest. Team high, 13 points in the scrimmage. He just played really well at the draft. Definitely raised his draft stock. And on our next episode of Duncan with Duke and Boss Barbie, we'll discuss the Olympics. All of the team rosters are out, what we're going to see across the board, how competitive is Team USA going to be. Indeed. And also NBA finals predictions. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. And we'll see you next time on Duncan with Duke and Boss Barbie. We'll see you next time on Duncan with Duke and Boss Barbie.