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  • Should they be the favorite toe?

  • Win it all.

  • I definitely believe that now, more than ever, particularly with the questionable health of Anthony Davis.

  • If Anthony Davis was 100% perhaps I would feel different, but he's not, and I don't think he's going to be for the rest of the year.

  • Meanwhile, I'm looking at the Brooklyn Nets, and I'm saying, Excuse me, you know, like per 100 possessions.

  • You know, they averaging like 124 points.

  • You know what they're giving up?

  • About 114 over the last five games or so got a net rating, the second in the league toe on Lee, the Utah Jazz, who have won 1919 of their last 20 games.

  • The Brooklyn Nets have been absolutely sensational.

  • As far as I'm concerned, James Harden is deserving of MVP consideration.

  • How selfless he's been, how how the quintessential point guard that you're supposed to be you one anticipated he would be that way.

  • But he is.

  • Kyrie has been sensational.

  • He's box office and he does what he wants on the offensive end of the floor.

  • And he has amped up his defense as well, and he's held other guys accountable to try and do so themselves.

  • This is what Kevin Durant out the last three games due to that hamstring strain, and then you've got Joe Harris.

  • You've got Jeff Green.

  • You got TLC.

  • You're just looking on and on and on.

  • DeAndre Jordan.

  • We can't ignore what he's bringing to the table.

  • There's nobody in the n B A that can stop them offensively if they give you anything defensively.

  • And I told you this, Max, I told you this a couple of weeks ago.

  • I said, Excuse me at the time they were ranked 27th or 28th over the last five games.

  • I think their defense has been like 18 again.

  • They're not off.

  • They're not awesome and all of this other stuff.

  • But they've improved significantly enough for you to look at them and pay attention and the fact that they can go 9 10 deep on and don't miss a beat offensively if they give you anything defensively, I mean, if they were 20th defensively, that's good enough there that potent offensively.

  • And I think when you look at the Eastern Conference, I don't think there's anybody that could mess with them.

  • And even though you could look at Utah, Denver, of course, the Clippers and a healthy Lakers squad again the healthy Lakers squad would be my caveat.

  • If Anthony Davis were 100% I probably would not say this, but he is not.

  • I do not believe he will be for the rest of the season.

  • It sounds too similar to what Kevin Durant went through before he went down to that MBA Finals game and towards Achilles.

  • It sounds too similar to me.

  • I don't like it, and as a result, I'm going with the Brooklyn Nets.

  • I think the Brooklyn Nets should be the should be the favorites toe win it all toe, win the chip.

  • Well, I'm assuming health for Anthony Davis.

  • I mean, that they're gonna give him a nice, long rest.

  • Don't forget.

  • When K D was in the finals, he came right back and played on that so called calf injury is going to Siri's.

  • We were seriously okay, but we you and I were We were on the road doing the show from the Bay Area and what did I say?

  • Like, don't play in this game This is obviously an Achilles know, the team doctor says No, of course it waas It was right, you know, the calf bones connected to the Achilles bone.

  • Apparently because off course, that's what happened.

  • Different for a d.

  • A.

  • D has a nice long time toe rest up.

  • Now, assuming that A D is healthy, the Lakers are the team to be.

  • They're the defending champions.

  • No one really extended them.

  • The Heat took two games from them that was extending them.

  • But before that, the gentleman sweeped the Western gentlemen swept the Western Conference, including a Denver team that not only gave the Clippers all they could handle but beat the Clippers.

  • Lakers lost one game to them.

  • They lost one game in each.

  • Siri's up to the finals, and they still didn't get taken seven games.

  • Now it's one thing, if you say yeah, but they lost this piece.

  • They prove Lakers improved since last year's team, and the thing about it is they're the one team the Lakers when healthy.

  • Stephen, if they don't have a D, don't bother showing up because they might not get to the finals probably won't get to the finals without a D, let alone beat whoever's there out of the East.

  • But assuming a D is there, this Lakers team is the only team in the league that is absolutely elite, both ends of the floor offense and defense.

  • Remember, no team has won a championship in the last two decades, 20 years with a defense ranked lower than 11th.

  • Now, do I agree with you that the Nets could be the first team to do that with a mid ranked kind of defense?

  • Yeah, they have that much offensive firepower.

  • I've consistently said this is going to be the best offensive team of all time by the end of this season, but they're going to have to play defense.

  • So because they haven't really done that consistently yet.

  • I can't make them the favorites when the Lakers or the Champions defending and have improved, presuming health for aid.

  • I'll tell you something else.

  • The Sixers are a real threat because not on Lee have they been playing well this season, but they are designed health permitting again.

  • Who's going to stop and beat on that Nets team like that is a bad matchup.

  • He is going to get his and the Sixers can also shoot and they can play defense.

  • All things considered, Do I like the Nets to beat him?

  • Yeah, I dio, I dio.

  • I think the Nets will play good enough defense, but that's a tough Siri's.

  • It's not a given.

  • I'm not saying it's not a tough syriza, but to but three's will be twos any day of the week.

  • And I think that when you consider the marksman that the meant that the Nets can put on the floor all at the same time, I think that spells trouble for the Philadelphia 76 is particularly with Ben Simmons refusing to be a perimeter threat.

  • That's number one.

  • I think that you have to look at it from the standpoint that the Philadelphia 76 is have tailed off a little bit defensively over the last few games.

  • If you're paying attention to them, we've got to pay attention to that and keep our eyes on that.

  • I think Seth Curry should be shooting the balm or not less, but that hasn't been the case as of late.

  • That's something to point to, and then I also think about this again.

  • You talk about Kevin Durant.

  • Kevin Durant had strained his calf back in What is the 2019?

  • I think it was like May 8th May 8th and he came back June 10th.

  • Mac, that was a month in two days.

  • Now, obviously, he could have sat out longer and we get all of that and we can.

  • We can assume that Anthony Davis probably will need to sit out long as well.

  • But my attitude is that if you're holding your Achilles, if you're holding your calf area and it's tinkering with your Achilles, then you know what it zycie, man.

  • And even if you come back, I have to imagine that you're not gonna be 100%.

  • You're gonna be very, very concerned about that as well, and the Brooklyn Nets and a team that you want to go through having those kind of issues going on, considering what they bring to the table offensively.

  • So I just looked at it, and I just say right now, because Anthony Davis, I think that his health situation is highly questionable.

  • I think that the Brooklyn Nets are legitimate favorites toe win the championship to win the title because they ain't going downhill once Kevin Durant comes back.

  • Kevin Durant is a plus on every level.

  • He ain't a minus.

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Should they be the favorite toe?

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