Hour 1: Does Knicks Win Over Celtics Mean Anything With Jaylen Brown Sitting?

Hey sports fans the ESPN app has all of ESPN all in one place. The ESPN app is your home to thousands of live events ESPN shows and originals across every ESPN network and service. And now you can check if you already have ESPN unlimited as part of your TV package for no additional calls. Visit activate.espn.com to learn how to access your account or sign up then start streaming in the ESPN app. So all of ESPN all in one place. Sign up or activate now. The return of Jason Tatum to Madison Square Garden Tatum just so smooth. Trading baskets back and forth. Next try to go back and forth. Brunson it wins in. Kicks. Shiderman. Hot hand. Yes! And a B-Campi start. The 22nd to last. One possession game. A dagger three from Josh Hart. The mix. Get a goodie win. Good morning and welcome to First Take. Packed house here today in studio. David Dennis Jr. Vince Goodwell. Courtney Cronin with you here on this Friday. Big Perk. Kendrick Perkins here with us as well. Mike Tannenbaum. Kevin Clark going to join us here in just a little bit. I guess you guys didn't get the memo of dressing like a caddy down in Augusta. I'm the only one. Oh okay. That's the motif. I wasn't trying for it but it is what how this has worked out this morning. So we're going to rock it. I like it. Let's start in the NBA because there was a big one. Up on 7th Avenue last night. The Knicks getting a crucial win against the Celtics at Madison Square Garden. Keeping their game one game lead for the three seed alive right now over the caps. Jalen Brunson led the way for New York with 25 points and ten assists. Well Josh Hart had 15 of its 26 points in the fourth quarter. Hart and coach Mike Brown talked about the important win post game. You know the first half I was ass. So I had you know the second half I knew I had to bring it. We're heading in the direction of being where we need to be. I like the the climb that we've made the last week or so. The last three or four games and you know we got a couple more games to get there. And you know for us we'll take it one game at a time but you know we got these two left. We'd like to win both of them. You know what does that mean. I don't know we'll see it at the end of the day but when we lace them up we're playing the win. No men's thing of words there from Josh Hart. 26 points three assists that's what he finished with and the Knicks now 52 wins on the season. They're most in the season since 2012-13. And those 52 victories for head coach Mike Brown are the most by a Knicks coach in his first season with the franchise which passes now the record set by Pat Riley during the 1991-1992 season. So some context here obviously no Jaylen Brown in the lineup yesterday for the Boston Celtics. Baylor-Shyerman 20 points coming off the bench but let's look at this win holistically Perk. How much stock are you putting in this win for New York last night? For as well Courtney. For as they're matching up with the Celtics and the playoffs and beating them. I ain't putting that much stock in them at all. Listen was this win important for the New York Knicks? Absolutely. Did this mean anything for the Boston Celtics? Did they leave out of Madison Square Garden lacking confidence or saying that they still came reached that goal or they shouldn't be the favorites to come out of these? Hell no. Listen the New York Knicks don't skill soul not even on Halloween. And here's the thing that I'm going to tell you. I understand that Jason Tatum he didn't have a great night shooting wise but he's not. He didn't come back this season to be Batman. He came back this season to be Robin and even sometimes Alfred depending on what Peyton Pritchard and Derek White is doing throughout the course of the game. So am I putting a lot of stock into this? Am I going to flip the script and say oh now the Knicks are the favorites to win the East? Hell no. It is still the Boston Celtics. The Celtics still have the most championship experience out of anybody in the Easter Conference. They have a head coach at Joe Missoula who has taken them to the promised land and they have guys that know how to beat stars and they roll. So I'm not going to overreact and flip the script. Was he a great win, a good solid win for the Knicks? Absolutely. But I still got the Celtics as the favorite. Okay. I think that's understandable. It is interesting David because Perk brings up Jason Tatum comes back after that Achilles injury. We've seen him now for just over a month that was early March. 16 double doubles. 16 games. That's like 10 times that that's happened now in 16 games. So it is pretty remarkable to see the impact that he's made so far. But as you look at this from the Knicks side, do you put much stock into what New York did on Thursday night? Yeah, I put a lot of stock in what New York did and part of it is the process and how they're winning these games. Not just this game against the Celtics, but also the game prior against the Hawks. We've got to give Mike Brown a little bit of credit here. Perk, there was a great game that we saw last night. I know you over there got your eyes closed and everything. Seems like you know bad mood is where I'm going to take vitamins or something. That was a great game and a great, a great win for the Knicks. A large part because of how they are winning these games. We've got to give Mike Brown some credit here because he has figured out something with this two man game with Brunson and Carl Anthony Towns. They're getting Josh Hart some of these wide open shots and Brunson is closing out some real playoff level games at 17 in the fourth against Atlanta and then he had five assists last night. They are orchestrating the offense and these are playoff level wins from a Knicks team that for the last few weeks, what have we been saying? They've been folding up under pressure, especially when they play some of these good teams. Look, I know Jaylen Brown was not out there, but what we saw was a Knicks team that when the going got tough, when it got to clutch time, they said, we have a go-to play or a couple of go-to plays and some go-to sets to get us to win these games. And there is a chess match that is going to happen between them and the Celtics. I still think the Celtics are probably favorite against this Knicks team, but if you're the Knicks, you do not fear this Celtics team in the way that other people think they should. They beat the Celtics team in the playoffs last year when everybody thought the Celtics was going to win. If you're the Knicks, you've got to have that same confidence going to the playoffs this year. That's my thing. We treat the Knicks as if they lost to the Celtics last year and so much of the conversation surrounding the Celtics was skewed because of how we felt about Jason Tatum and him getting hurt in game four of that series and what that looked like and how it turned into gap year and it talked about the future. But let's be honest here. Jason Tatum and Jaylen Brown did not cover themselves in glory in how they played in that series before the injury. They were shooting 40% from the field. They did not handle the pressure of the Knicks wings as well as they should have. Those are the same wings that are there this year. And I know McKell Bridges has taken a lot of hell and I'm 100% understanding why. But when you got Josh Hart and OG Ananobi and Bridges who can defend and are switchable, they are still built to beat the Boston Celtics. I don't think that either team should feel fearful of the other. When you get to the playoffs, you get to the second round and unless you're playing Oklahoma City, there's so much parody in the NBA that no one should fear anyone. Everybody should feel reasonably confident against the other unless you're the Cleveland Cavaliers and you're just avoiding everybody. But I think these two teams, I think it's going to be a dynamite playoff matchup and I think the Knicks as much as hell as we give them. They should not fear the Boston Celtics under any circumstances if they have health. Okay, so Vinny, you say neither of these two teams should fear each other. No. Perk, you look perturbed right now and I know that you said that not even on Halloween should anybody be fearing the New York Knicks. What is it about them that you've seen down the stretch? Because that win against Atlanta was gritty. The win last night, despite not having Jaylen Brown on the lineup and who they're going against for the Celtics, was an important one. Why are they not a team that I guess anybody should fear here? Well, first of all, we can't just act like Jaylen Brown not being there is just a small thing. We're talking about a guy that's in the MVP conversation. We're talking about a guy that's one of, if not the best two-way player in the game. So that's number one. Number two, last year I had the Knicks pick to beat the Boston Celtics, right? Because they had an identity at the time. I knew who they was. I knew what they were going to bring defensively 90 in the night out. I don't know what this team is under the coach. This team is going to play like under the coach of Mike Brown. I knew who they were, the Tom Tipper though. And all I've been hearing this morning since this show started is Vinny and David talk about offense. Nobody's talking about defense. Nobody's talking about the other side of the basketball. No one is talking about, when you say defense, what you said about that defense? I said Ananobi and Hart and Bridges match up against Brown and Tatum defensively. I said that. Last year. Those are the two key offensive players. Last year. This year. You said, no. This year too, Jason Tatum struggled in the fourth quarter because Josh Hart was on him. You saw that, Perk? He's not, he's not, listen, Jason Tatum is not, Jason Tatum has, he wasn't brought back this year Vinny to be the number one guy and be the closer. I guarantee you Jaylen Brown wouldn't have struggled last night if he was playing in that moment. And so here's the thing that I'm saying. What's going to happen when the Celtics are fully loaded and we get into the postseason and Joe Missoula go with that small ball lineup and you got to have Carl Anthony Towns on the floor and all of a sudden they're putting his ass in those pick and rolls and he got to slide those size 21s on the perimeter. What's going to happen then? Remember the Celtics healthy? A top five offensive elite? The Celtics healthy? A top five defense. And I'm not sitting up here saying that the Knicks are not a legit threat in the Eastern Conference. I got all the confidence in the world and big body Bronson, but I will not be fooled by the 26 points by Josh Hart. Carl Anthony Towns is still the most important piece on that New York Knicks team. And we'll get more into Kat here and his importance in just a little bit because I know you're hot on that David, but it is, like this is a tale of two halves for Boston. They're going to shoot well in the first half. They're over nine combined. Derek White and Jason Tatum. And then in the second half the shots fall, but the defense falters, they get outscored 31-23. You're high on the Knicks right now. So how do you kind of justify that knowing that what Perk's telling you right now is that we're all like conflating defense here. How do you see the defensive impact playing into your belief in this New York team? New York Knicks is still the top 10 defense in the league for the season also. And there's a guy that nobody's mentioned so far, which is Mitchell Robinson, who comes in there and for three minutes at a time, this dude looks like the second coming to Will Chamberlain out there playing defense and just running up and down the court and blocking shots, getting rebounds. He is a disrupter on a level that we have not seen on either, like you talked about who's the most feared person. We look at what the Celtics did last year in the playoffs. They were fearful of that guy, Mitchell Robinson. And when he comes out there, he is an absolute X factor. Now we can all agree that Kat, he has to show up big when you talk about teams going small. Kat has to show up big. Mitchell Robinson will show up big. But it is about those wings. I know Perk loves those wings when you're talking about the OGs, when you're talking about those guys who are playing defense against Brown and Tatum. But this Knicks defense is nothing to slouch at. When they have slagged defensively, it has been about effort. And if this Knicks team does not show that effort come playoff time, they're in trouble. But I have no reason to believe that they will not show maximum effort come playoff time, especially against that Celtic squad. Perk, last word here. I mean, the Celtics got wings too. And I ain't talking about it from wingstop. They got defensive minded wings. Last time I checked, Derek White is one of the best perimeter players and the best perimeter defenders in the league. Last time I checked, Jalen Brown is one of the best perimeter defenders in the game. And all I'm saying is the growth of the Celtics, Vucovic, he's just coming back into the lineup after being injured. He's going to be coming in off the bench. Kater, I love what he's been bringing to the table. Peyton Pritchard, we talking about a lot of guys being in that most improved conversation. He's another guy that's in that conversation. All I'm saying is, is this, I still have the Celtics, I'm not overreacting to the Knicks getting a win at home without the Celtics best player on the floor. And them winning by six points. I'm not overreacting because of that. That's fair. And obviously you mentioned Jalen Brown of it all. He's out last night, Achilles tendonitis, his 10th game he hasn't played in the season. There's still eight and two without him this year. We'll get more into this on Jason Tatum's return and what all of that means. But let's move over to the Western Conference because LeBron James, once again, turning back the clock last night, a 119-103 win over the Warriors, the 41-year-old finished with 26 points, eight boards, 11 assists in a victory that for now keeps the Lakers in the four seed in the West. Meaning they would host a first round playoff matchup against Houston if the playoffs were to start today. I know Vinnie, when we were doing the YouTube segment on first take after the show yesterday, that was the first round matchup you were most looking forward to. So let's dive into this Lakers team a little bit more. Can LeBron and the Lakers get through round one knowing that they probably are not going to have Luca Doncic in Austin Reaves? Get through round one? I don't know about getting through round one. But I think if you're the Lakers, you're looking at the Rockets as the best possible matchup for you. If you're the Rockets, you're looking at the Lakers as the best possible matchup for you. The Rockets have trouble in the clutch. You're looking at the Lakers and LeBron being the best supercomputer in the game. I think a great player like LeBron can get you one game. I don't know if he can get you four at this stage at age 41 and a lack of playoff pieces that he has around him. But Houston has so many issues late in games that all you want to do is get to the last five minutes and stay close and figure stuff out. I'm looking forward to it from a basketball fan standpoint, just seeing those old gunslingers, LeBron and Katie, one more time. I don't think either of these teams are in the championship conversation. I think if you're the Lakers, what you want to do, if there is a best case scenario, you want to stretch this series out as long as possible to open up the possibility for a Luka Donchich, to open the possibility for an Austin Reeves to return in this series. We know the first round is seven games, game one is on Saturday, game two is on Thursday. He's going to have a long time to stretch this thing out. I'm just not sure the Lakers have enough talent over the Rockets in the long haul to even keep it close. You want to talk about not putting stock in the win? Lakers played against a bunch of creative players for that Warriors last night. It was like the hook you played for all stars at the Bronn and them beats. So putting zero stock in that game whatsoever. Because when we come playoff time, that Lakers team does not stand a chance against anybody in the Western Conference. And I know that the downfall of the Rockets that we can already foretell right now is that they're going to lose a bunch of clutch games in the playoffs. They're going to lose a series with the feeling that we should have won three or four of those games and we blew it come clutch time. The problem is when you play the Lakers, you're not going to have no clutch games because the Lakers do not have anybody. When you don't have Luka Donchis, when you don't have Austin Reeves, those games are not going to be close. Because one thing that we learned from JJ Redick, unless he's improved on that, last year he going to play LeBron James 40 to 45 minutes. And LeBron James is not going to be able to maintain that level of play he had last night against that Warriors team, against the Rockets team. When their full defense is focused on that dude, when you're throwing Almond Thompson on him, when you're throwing all these other guys at him, doubling him, making him work on both sides, that is not sustainable for LeBron James at that age. And when that happens, who else are you going to rely on on the Lakers team? The answer is absolutely nobody. I'm looking at a short series if they're playing against the Rockets and we're not going to have to worry about clutch games for the Rockets until maybe the second round, unless they play to Thunder and they ain't going to have no clutch games in there either. So Vinny, you're giving the Lakers a game. You said just about a game. Gentlemen's sweep, five? Yeah, gentlemen's sweep because the Rockets are going to blow a game at some point, but other than that, I think it's going to be a short series. Kirk, how do you see it? No, I agree with the both of them. I'm going with gentlemen's sweep. And listen, let me say this, the Lakers are dead bird tall grass. All right, this season is over. They're a first round exit. It's nowhere in hell. You're going to ask a 41 year old LeBron James to come in and lead in this tough Western conference to try to lead this Laker team without Luca and Austin Reeves. And when the series, no, it ain't happening. And to be honest with you, if I was the Lakers, I would just go ahead and shut Luca down for the season. Like all this speculations, if he could return Vinny, I heard you say I would try to stretch this series out so that Luca could come back. Even if he does decide to come back, he's still not going to be 100%. We know how delicate it is when you talk about these soft tissue injuries and you talk about hamstrings. So again, when we look at the Lakers and we look at this roster, and then like we said, we saw them get a win against Golden State. Who gives a damn? We know Golden State ain't going nowhere anyway. All I'm saying is, is this, we have been noticing and watching. You could go look on social media, it's clips that are going viral right now. This team is dysfunctional. The Role players and JJ Reddick are not on one accord. JJ Reddick has been calling out his role players time and time again from DeAndre Aten. We saw him and Jerry Vanderbilt getting into it. So again, it's a lot of dysfunction in that locker room. Does JJ Reddick have the ears of his superstars when talking about LeBron, talking about Luca, Austin Reeves, a young star on the rise? Yes, but the others are there that's available for him right now. And when you talk about going against a rockets team that's going to hang their hat on the defensive side of things that has the defensive personnel. I'm looking at the gentlemen's suite while they possibly could get swept. Perk, I got a quick question because you give me some doozy sometimes. Dead bird, tall grass. Can you tell me what that means? Yo, I mean you just said it. I mean, is it easy for you to find a dead bird in tall grass? I never look for one. Huh? I'm just saying so because you ain't a country boy. You know what I mean? When you go hunting, when you go hunting and you shoot down a bird from the sky, you need the dogs to go find it because you ain't going to be able to find it. That's what I'm saying. They dead birds tall grass. You can learn something new every day. A hill battle that is insurmountable. It's funny, Perk. I typed that into Google and the first thing that came up was a tweet that you sent February 19th, 2021. I'm going to deal with Kyrie and LeBron and it was this situation is quote, dead bird, tall grass. I don't believe either one of them gives a damn about being friends again. That was six years ago, so this is not some new phrase. He's used it many times before. But you said something about Luca Doncic. I want to get both of you guys on because you say Luca should not come back, not rush back for this at all. I obviously know this kind of an indefinite timetable here for the injury coming back from that hamstring. How do you think he approaches this, Vinnie? I think he has to approach this and the Lakers have to approach this with a long term frame of mind. He is in year eight and you don't want to start having hamstrings, soft tissue injuries. Hamstrings is one of those tricky things. Once you start having hamstring injuries, you don't stop having hamstring injuries. It's like having a bad back. You've never met somebody who used to have a bad back. You've met somebody who got a bad back. And I don't think for the Lakers in their long term future and how they're going to build a post-Librand Lakers franchise, how much they can invest in a playoff series with very little return. I understand Luca's getting a second opinion and everything else, but the Lakers have to be the adults here, I think, and prevent Luca from doing further damage to himself and the franchise long term. Yeah, this is a long term thing. Next year is the hard launch of the Laker's relationship. These last two years have been the soft launch. Post on Instagram with the hand. You always see the hand as a couple drinks. It's soft launch because... Now it's going to be interlocked. Now you've tagged the other person. Now it's the hard launch of the relationship because now this is officially straight up Luca's team post-Librand. And now you are in earnest building your championship squad around Luca Donch. You do not want to have the start of the Luca Donch's Laker era be an era in which he's dealing with injuries with a lingering hamstring injury. You shut him down because quite frankly, even if you beat this Rockets team, you're not beating that Thunder team. And all the Thunder going to do is going to tear that hamstring up even more by making you run around that court and try to defend somebody. Sit him down, give him the off season, let him get in even better shape than he was coming into this season and then have a real let's go get an MVP. Let's go try to win a championship. Let's build around Luca Donch because the Luca Donch's era starts as soon as he comes back. Alright, it's funny. Perk, you mentioned how JJ Reddick's calling everybody out. Bench player starters Deandre, and the guy he said couldn't catch the ball the other day. 21 points, five boards on 9 of 11 shooting. Message received maybe? I don't know if Deandre is just second best player. Alright, big news and Philly. Joe L&B'd underwent surgery for an appendicitis. The 76ers hope for a deep playoff run already over for the postseason begins. And according to Ian Rappaport of NFL Network, the Jaguars are planning for Travis Hunter to become a full-time defensive back when fully healthy. But is that the right move for the former number two pick? Please stand clear of the gap. Another morning, another reminder there's a gap to be careful of. But maybe it's time to bridge the one between your nine to five and your dream of living life on your own terms. At HSBC, we know ambition looks different to everyone. Whether it's retiring early or leaving more for your family, we can help. Because when it comes to unlocking your money's potential, we know wealth. Search HSBC Wealth Today. HSBC UK, opening up a world of opportunity. HSBC UK current account holders only. From 30 for 30 podcasts. 9-1-1, where's the emergency? It's the middle of the night in a small town on the Jersey Shore. Someone reports an abandoned car on a bridge. A search gets underway for the missing driver, 19-year-old Sarah Stern. Is it a missing person? Is it a suicide? At this point, nobody knows. Old friendships, buried cash, and a sinister plot that was once pitched as a movie plays out in real life. I'm Juju Chang from 2020 and ABC Audio. Listen now to Bridge of Lies, wherever you get your podcasts. First Take is brought to you by Liberty Mutual Insurance. Only pay for what you need. Welcome back. Philadelphia 76ers star Joellen Bied underwent emergency surgery in Houston Thursday after being diagnosed with appendicitis a few hours before the team fell to the Rockets. 113-102 in a pivotal late regular season clash. And it's unclear right now whether M. Bied would be able to return to the court. Here's head coach Nick Nurse on M. Bied's appendectomy. It was a tough blow. I think that the biggest thing right now is that, you know, Joe comes out of the surgery. And, you know, that's as possible and all that goes well. As far as, you know, that's where most of my thoughts are right now. But I'm the leader of the team. I got to pick the guys up and they'll understand the situation. And we've got to be professional and we've got to go try to figure it out the best we can. So this came about on Thursday. He gets added to the injury report late in the afternoon and then has to undergo, added with an illness and then has to undergo surgery. This is not something you can certainly project. Not something he can control. But for someone who's played 490 games in his career, he's missed 473 games. That's a lot. So, David, your reaction to this Joellen Bied injury? It makes me sad. Like, I mean, I'm just kind of bummed out about this. I think about a couple of weeks ago, the 76ers, fully healthy, going to Charlotte in a playoff level game, and they win. And Bied is like the best player. Paul George is doing the stuff that he's doing. Maxi has a great game. And it's like, this is a dangerous 76ers team that nobody would want to face. Even if they won't win the first round, this is something that, you know, a team that is going to give you problems. And Joellen Bied can be the best player on the court. But now we have something like, look at Joellen Bied. People have been made a lot of jokes and comedy about the injuries and talking about, he's got all these knee problems. But like, an appendectomy is something different. You can't control that. And you look at the injuries that he's had just in the playoffs. That Bell's palsy, he has this appendectomy, respiratory infection in 2019 when he took the Raptors to 7 games and quite made that shot. He was like a plus 100 in that series when he played two orbital fractures and concussions. Like these things are in the playoffs that have derailed their entire seasons. So we can't talk about Joellen Bied as just a guy who is fragile. These are fluke injuries that have changed the course of one of the most talented players that big men that we've ever seen change his entire career. Yeah, let's pull up the graphic we have of like the games he's missed by notable injury. Because there are certain things that have affected him more than others. 153 games he has missed due to knee injuries and then a pretty significant drop off but oblique injuries, illnesses, the face injury, the Bell's palsy you had mentioned. Nine games each with hand and back injuries. It's tough. It's tough Vinny because this is somebody who at times it's felt like his body has betrayed him in the biggest moments and ultimately that ends up hurting the team. Whether he controls it or not. He's going to go down as one of the most unlucky players in NBA history. You're going to have the Grant Hills, the Penny Hardaways, the Derrick Groves, even Chris Paul to some degree. And you're going to say, man, we got a taste of what Joellen Bied once he got over that playoff thing because there were years where he couldn't perform up to his regular season standing in the playoffs. But he's shaking that off more recently. He's played 96 games since that MVP season up three years ago. That's barely a season and a playoff run since. And to Philadelphia's credit, when you look at Tyrese Maxey and B.J. Edgecom, you see the future of the franchise. You see it in front of you right there. I didn't give them much of a chance this season even if you want to call them a scary team in the first round. I didn't give them much of a chance because there's not much sweat equity with their best four players between Paul George and Bied, Maxie and Edgecom. They play 360 minutes together. If you look at the next four best players of OG Ananobe, Carl Towns, Bridges and Brunson, 900 minutes. There's just way too much experience on the other side of teams that you're going to be going against that know how to play with each other, that know how to play against other teams. This team doesn't know each other in that way. The Philadelphia 76ers are an idea. That's what they are. They're an idea more than they are anything else. And this is just another unfortunate example of how their best laid plans have never come to bear. I just feel bad. It's sad for Joellen Bied. Again, we're talking about one of the most talented centers that this game has ever seen. And when you talk about bad luck, it always come at the worst time right before playoffs or during the first round of the postseason. Like he never has the luck that he needs to go and be at his best. And like David said, we're not talking about just neat injuries. We're talking about backs. His back, we're talking about Bill's palsy. It's stuff that he can't control. Stuff that he can't control that's out of his hands. And so again, I'm kind of pissed off about it because I was looking forward to seeing Joellen Bied play this postseason. I was very critical of the Philadelphia 76ers and Joellen Bied at the start of the season. But I started to see the plan that they had in place. It was actually working. We started to see Joellen Bied when he first touched the floor at the beginning of the season. He wasn't even ducking. I think he got his first duck like late January, early February, if I can remember. We started to see Joellen Bied get his legs underneath him. We started to see Joellen Bied start to trend towards that MVP Joellen Bied. And we started to realize and say, hey, if you're one of those top dogs in the Eastern Conference, you might want to stay away from the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round. Especially the way Paul George came back off the suspension. Tyrese Maxey playing at an all NBA level. So again, it's just sad that we can't see Joellen Bied again this postseason at his best. I don't know if we are going to see him. Yeah, unclear when he comes back. If he comes back. What that means for their postseason helps. Perk, you can bring it up. They're 21 and 14 with him on the court this season. But the 76ers have struggled without Joellen Bied. They've gone 19 and 23 without him when he has played. They're 10 games over 500. And they average close to 120 points a game. So sharp drop off in offensive production when he is not on the floor. 112.7 points per game without their All-Star Center. So Perk, I know we talked about like if he's going to come back at all. I mean, we're not doctors here, but it doesn't sound like something you rush back from. Are the 76ers playoff hopes cooked without him? Because right now it would line up to be the 76ers magic in that 7-8 play-in game. And because Philly has the tiebreaker over Charlotte. They do close out the season with the Pacers and the Bucks. So I guess that that could keep them in that spot. But are they a legit, do they have any hope in the postseason if they get into the actual tournament? I mean, look, it's going to be hard for them to get into the postseason to be honest without Joel and B. I'm looking at the teams that are in the play-in tournament. When you talk about the magic, right? Although they've been having their highs and a lot of lows. You know, they still have that core group that could come together and get it done. And Paolo Bequero could be really dominant in their series. The Hornets, obviously, they have been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA, if not the biggest surprise. And the Miami Heat, we know their exposure and that he culture what they're going to bring. But again, when you talk, if they do get in their first round, the exit, I mean, without Joel and B. But I'm just being real. I don't see the Philadelphia 76ers getting in without Joel and B being in this, in the lineup. I don't see them making the playoffs. I just don't. Yeah, they have two easy wins coming up. I think you said Pacers, Bucks to end the season, season. I think those last two wins are going to have this season. Like I just do not think that they're going to beat a magic team or a Hornets team to get out of the play in. And even if they do some squeak by and get a win, they're losing very easily in the first round. Joel and B just changed the trajectory, changed the equation for what this team could be. If he's on the court, we've talked about offensively what he meant. But when he was healthy during that stretch a couple months ago, defensively in the paint, when you're talking about blocking shots, he was up there with Gobert and Wimby in terms of diverting the offense from the paint when he was fully healthy. That is something that he brought to that team defensively. Without that, I'm not sure they can stop anybody and without him offensively, I'm not sure they can put up enough points. This team feels like they are DOA as soon as the postseason starts. I think it's something important to note here too. When you have a player like Joel and B, as talented as he is, and we can all agree, generational talent, right? You can put up there from a talent standpoint with the Akemi Lajomars with the David Robinson. But when you have a player who has such a checkered injury history, this is baked into the equation of team building. Like you have to factor this in if you're Daryl Mori, if you're a Nick Nurse, that something like this can happen because it always happens. Let's say you go into a playoff situation with Joel and B if he's healthy and you're playing every other day. You can't plan out the rest days and everything else. They've done a good job of ramping the minutes up, but it didn't seem like it was going to be a sustainable operation from the beginning because Joel and B is so hurt. He's now entering the other side of 30. His contract escalates over the next few years up until 29. So this is what the future looks like. Fuller Philadelphia 76ers, as long as they have Joel and B, it becomes an if. It becomes a patchwork process around him. And I don't know how sustainable or successful that is. If the first thing you're saying about them is if. Well, the problem was this was kind of their best case scenario. If you look about it before the appendectomy, Paul George had been resting for 25 games. Yes, it was an unfortunate situation, but he was resting. And B only played pretty much half the season, theoretically well rested going into the playoffs. They were peeking at the right time behind guys like Maxi and Ed Scum who were carrying them into the playoffs. Then you walk into it with your two best players rested and theoretically healthy. And even then, even then an appendectomy is what does it. He didn't tweak a knee, he didn't twist a ankle. It was something like that that is D-Rail this season, which makes us feel even more unfortunate because this was best case scenario in terms of resting your best players on the field. You just said if theoretical best case scenario. That sounds like you made something out of paper and paper. A lot of hypotheticals. Like I said, that's the Embiid world. And it was hearing up to all those hypotheticals lining up for this very one time, but it just didn't happen. 49% of his team's games. That's how many Joel Embiid has missed since he was drafted in 2014. As it stands right now, the Philadelphia 76ers eighth in the Eastern Conference. They would be in that seven eight game with the Orlando Magic in a couple of weeks. All right, time for a quick take. The Houston Rockets extended their win streak to eight by beating the 76ers, 113-102. Perk, are you buying the Rockets now as they head into the postseason? Buying them the do what? Be legit tight of contenders? Hell no. Look, and I said this, listen, Donovan Mitchell, in my opinion, is the player that's under the most pressure in this postseason. Second on their list is Kevin Durant. This Rockets team was second in the Western Conference last year. Do I think they could get out of the first round if they get the Lakers? Absolutely. But they didn't bring Kevin Durant over to the Rockets and trade away Jalen Green and Dylan Brooks just to get out of the first round. They didn't pick up the phone and call for Yanis and the Coupos and not try to get Yanis because they got faith in Armand Thompson and Shangoon. This team is on the clock. Kevin Durant is on the clock. Like they got to make some noise. Damn it, you got to do something. What's wrong with you, Vinny? You said Donovan Mitchell was first and then Kevin Durant is second as far as most pressure. May I introduce you to the movies of Carl Anthony Jones? Yeah. Y'all just going to stare at each other? In terms of person, I think it has the most pressure. I do think it is a myth. No, I'm saying. Where there's Carl Anthony Jones and Jalen Brunson. Well, that's going to be a good place. Kevin Durant got rings. He got rings. What pressure? He got rings. And the Rockets don't have a point guard. What is he supposed to do? I don't get that one. I don't get that one. Come on, Perk. What you mean you don't get it? What you mean you don't get it? They traded away a guy that they drafted in the lottery with the number two pick in Jalen Green. This team was number two in the Western Conference. They didn't go get Kevin Durant just to come over here and be mediocre. What are we talking about? We're talking about Kevin Durant, a top 15 greatest player of all time. One of the greatest scores of all time. They went and got Kevin Durant to be a legit title contender. All the Rockets are legit title contender. Yes or no? No, but you act like Kevin Durant on Gary Rings and Bonafide's already. We got plenty of people who ain't never played in June. But it's, I didn't say, I didn't, all I'm saying is this, all I'm saying is this. Since he's left Golden State, Brooklyn Nets disaster. The Phoenix Sun's disaster. You on the clock, Katie. What are you talking about? Well, you mentioned Carly Anthony Towns. It's a good place to go. He's coming up next. We talk about Kat posting a double double in the Knicks win over the Celtics. Is he the most important player for New York's title run? Someone here says absolutely 100% all the way. That man happens to be sitting on my right. Red Hot Denver surging ahead of the postseason and they face SGA and the Thunder tonight. Can Nicola Jokic leave the nuggets to an upset series win over OKC in the postseason? We have a take you need to hear. Follow the steps to get set up. Then sign in to the ESPN app and you're in. WrestleMania and the biggest WWE premium live event. All in one place, anytime, anywhere. At EDF, we don't just encourage you to use less electricity. We actually reward you for it. That's why when you use less during peak times on weekdays, we give you a chance to get a better experience. You can get a better experience with the EDF. We give you free electricity on Sundays. How you use it is up to you. EDF. Change is in our power. How so to ship weekday peak usage by 40% for an up to 16 hours of free electricity for subject to fair usage care. For all Tuesdays and Sundays, visit EDFenergy.com or slash our hyper power. Welcome back to first take to the NFL. We go according to Ian Rappaport of the NFL Network. Jacksonville Jaguar's two way star Travis Hunter is doing quote exceptionally well in recovering from the knee injury he sustained as a rookie. And while Hunter will be limited throughout the spring during OTAs, the Jags do expect the last year's number two overall pick to be back fully healthy by training camp. And when he is, Hunter is expected to become a full time cornerback. Last season, we know that the Jags played Hunter nearly double the amount of snaps on offense than he did on defense. However, Hunter season was limited to seven games as he had to undergo season ending knee surgery on November 11th. All right, Kevin Clark, where do you lie on this? Mike Tannenbaum here as well. This guy is so talented. We were all hoping he was going to be the Shohei Otani of the NFL, but now it appears that the Jags are trying to go all in on defense with him. Is that the right move? It's 100% the right move. I don't care about, nor does any Jaguars fan care about Travis Hunter being the Otani of the NFL. No, let's work on him being an all pro and he's going to be an all pro at cornerback, not wide receivers. We played about 65 snaps a game last year, 44 of those on offense, the rest on defense. I would flip that, have a major in defense, minor in wide receiver. I just think that there's still a role for him in certain packages, but it's just supply and demand. It's a lot easier to find an elite wide receiver than it is an elite cornerback. And I think that there's been arguments. Oh, you can, you can scheme a cornerback out. You can go away from, you can't take a wide receiver over the game. No, no, no, no. If you have an elite cornerback, and by the way, Monterrey Buster Brown on the other side of the Jaguar is a really good cornerback. If you've got Travis Hunter playing a good cornerback position, that changes the entire complexion of your defense. On offense last year, there was such a proof of concept with Liam Cohen and Trevor Lawrence in year one. The last half of the season, Trevor Lawrence was throwing that deep ball as well as anybody in football. He was using his legs. He took a step. They are fine on the offensive side of the ball, offensive play call or head coach. Everything is good there. Work on the defense. You lost Devin Lloyd. You have some identity issues. Travis Hunter is that identity. Yeah, Courtney, I get there for similar reasons and for different reasons. First of all, I agree. Monterrey Brown was a good resigning. They got Jordan Lewis. Travis Hunter has elite footwork, man to man ability, change of direction. And the way teams play 11 personnel, three wide receiver, even as a nickel, he would be a starter playing over 80, 85% of the snaps. But there's another real fundamental reason here, which is Travis Hunter is a great player, world class athlete. If there was a question about him coming out, ironically, it was his durability and his size. He's not big by NFL standards to be a receiver. And unfortunately, he got hurt. So the trade is what it is. It's a sunk cost. What can we do to maximize his ability? Let's play him a corner and work him in as Kevin said for certain packages. I think he could be a good receiver. I don't know if he'll ever be a top elite receiver because his size deficiency could hurt him. So I think this is smart by Jacksonville and Jacoby Myers has come along well to compliment Brian Thomas. If those guys play together for a full season, they could be really good at both receiver and corner, assuming that Travis Hunter stays healthy. So during that Heisman trophy year he had at Colorado, 96 catches, 1,258 yards, 15 touchdowns. The catches and the touchdowns led FBS receivers. We're not going to see that much, if at all, it might be on gadget plays here and there, a little bit on offense, but he's going to be focusing on defense. Mike, you said that the trade, you kind of categorized it as a sunk cost at this point. They traded up. They don't have a pick in 2026 in the first round that went to Cleveland to go get Travis Hunter. In retrospect, was that the right move or I mean, the way you're categorizing it makes me seem like there's a little bit of regret here from doing that. Is that accurate? Well, you know, I mean, can't really right now, the only grade we could give it is a grade of incomplete. But if you look at one of the best run organizations in all sports, it's the Rams. And what did Sean McVeigh do? He walked into Mr. Cronkey's office and said, hey, we gave all this guaranteed money to Jarragov and little over 13 months later, he's like, I got a better idea. Let's trade that and let's go get Matt Stafford. They want a super. I think that's what good organizations do. They realize what they have and if they have to pivot, they pivot. And to me, Travis Hunter could be a really good corner in the NFL. Arguably, you would say they probably traded up too much to get just a corner and maybe over the course of five years, again, a rookie deals four years plus a club option. Travis Hunter is not going to go anywhere. Maybe you sprinkle in receiving responsibilities a little this year, more in the third year and so on and so forth. So if I was the GM, you eat it, you own it, and then you say, what's best for us? Make Travis Hunter a corner. I'm with you, Mike. Obviously, James Glasser on the GM comes from the Los Angeles tree. They understand aggression. He said it after the pick that he's uniquely equipped to be able to take these aggressive moves because he was with the Rams. But I also agree that they gave up too much. And if they knew, I think if they knew they were going to be as good as they were in year one, they would want a first round pick this year to build on that. Because if how good Trevor Lawrence was all the moves they made, they lost Devon Lloyd, as I mentioned earlier, but there's a proof of concept here. I would have loved to have a first round pick to play with this year. At 22 interceptions last year as a team for the Jacksonville Jaguars that was right behind where the Chicago Bears were with 23. You do make more money as a cornerback by and large in the NFL. So good choice for him. Yanis has been ruled out for the Bucks final home game of the season and someone here is ready to go off about how that saga has played out in Milwaukee. And the Knicks kept the Celtics from locking up the two seed in the East last night. Which team has the edge in a possible playoff rematch? We are not seeing eye to eye on this one. Fresh hour coming up.