Well, I learned at the Brooklyn Nets going to the NBA Finals with or without Kyrie.

Irving Kyrie.

Irving may be the determining factor in winning the chip, but they won't need him to get to the finals.

All you need is for him not to be a distraction.

I don't care whether it is a distraction or not.

James Harden and Kevin Durant going to the Finals.

I don't see anybody stopping them.

It's just that simple.

And did you see K d?

Did you Did you see him?

I recall sitting on this set with a guy by the name of Max Kellerman.

Max Maximilian.

No, I, Max.

Whatever, whatever, Maximus or whatever the hell his name is.

Okay, I recalls it, and I say, Yo, I understand the stuff about the Achilles, but this is not a dude who's game is predicated on his athleticism.

He's a sniper who's 6 11 with a 76 wingspan and ball handling skills.

This brother, there's nothing you could do to him in his sleep.

He will average 25.

Well, guess what?

I was wrong.

He's averaging 30.

The cow is wrong.

He's averaging 30 okay?

On 54% shooting in 48% from three point range in his 1st 10 games back from an Achilles tear after 18 month layoff.

He's averaging 30.

He ain't even get Hey, ain't even get warmed up yet, okay?

And so now you got harder than there and harden with his ability to pass the ball with questioning his.

You know, he dribbles or whatever hard and will pass hard and will accumulate assist.

And we know what he could do.

Point wise.

Particularly one of one Lord.

Have you Brooklyn going to the finals?

Brooklyn is going to the finals.

That's all I That's what I learned.

Well, first of all, que de Actually, one of the remarkable things about him so far is his athletic ability.

His athleticism, as it were, doesn't look affected it all.

He looks like the same guy.

He's had an amazing recovery.

Let me say this.

Um, they still have a fighting chance to get to the finals with Harden and without Kyrie.

But I can't say Oh, they're definitely going the finals without Kyrie.

And this is why Stephen, a the hardened move accomplished a couple things.

It was a muscular move.

It did more than one thing at one time.

It was a hedge against Kyrie imploding or not being available because you brought in a superstar.

That gives you a premium at the highest level, even above Kyrie or almost everyone in the N b A.

To pair with a guy even better than him in K D.

And that could make up for a lack of depth, which didn't used to be the problem when the season started.

First the din witty injury.

Then they trade Levert and Allen.

And then Levert has some scary medical news or some kind of a growth on his on his, uh, kidney.

Like, you know, you hope he's okay, but there are three guys of their six best players who aren't there look like that.

That's three out of a nice starting five Levert and Dinwiddie kind of quasi all star level, and Alan, who's very good.

They're all gone.

So to make up for that, they got, you know, counterintuitively instead of looking for more depth to fill it, and they said, no, we're gonna go high end to make up for it.

They bring in Harden.

What Harden showed with K D is Yeah, he could play with Cady Easy.

And they're gonna be really good.

But that's two guys they have now.

They don't have any of their other best players, including maybe Kyrie.

So because of how thinned out the team is in order to bring on Harden partly as a hedge against Kyra's absence, you actually really do need to things for Kyrie to be there for those guys.

So its three stars and for Kyrie not to come up the works, not to throw a monkey wrench into everything.

Because Harden and K d seemed to know how to play together.

Max Kellerman.

Why don't you just tell the truth to the American people?

You holding on the Milwaukee bro?

I mean, you wrong, two years in a row, you said that you went from Yon is being the best player in the world to number five over a weekend.

And then this in a bubble.

You picked them toe beat Miami.

You were wrong about those two things.

Is that what this is about, Max?

You holding on because they got Drew holiday and they still kept Middleton and they got ya.

Honest, the Greek freak.

Are you still holding on the Milwaukee coming out of the East?

Is that what is all about you going for the three strikes and you're I'd rather than how much you like?

It was much, rather, I would much rather Brooklyn come out of the East.

A New York team that's not the Knicks.

Playing for a championship against the Lakers probably would be amazing.

I'm not holding on to Milwaukee.

I'm just saying it's gonna take more than two guys, two guys defensively.

Offensively, they don't need anything but those two.

It's like that.

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