Fred Katz

Zach, Neesmith is so physical now. And I remember when he came out in the preseason last year and he was just guarding dudes in the preseason. I was like, damn. Neesmith got really good. Nemhard's very similar. Nemhard defensively is one of the most underrated players in the league.

Zach, Neesmith is so physical now. And I remember when he came out in the preseason last year and he was just guarding dudes in the preseason. I was like, damn. Neesmith got really good. Nemhard's very similar. Nemhard defensively is one of the most underrated players in the league.

Just put a little pin in that. And Neesmith did a great job on him. Neesmith did a great job on Brunson. Like, I thought Neesmith was one of the best Brunson defenders that I've seen since Brunson kind of hit elite status. I mean, to your point on Nembhard's jump shooting... I don't know, maybe playoff Nembhard's a thing.

Just put a little pin in that. And Neesmith did a great job on him. Neesmith did a great job on Brunson. Like, I thought Neesmith was one of the best Brunson defenders that I've seen since Brunson kind of hit elite status. I mean, to your point on Nembhard's jump shooting... I don't know, maybe playoff Nembhard's a thing.

Just put a little pin in that. And Neesmith did a great job on him. Neesmith did a great job on Brunson. Like, I thought Neesmith was one of the best Brunson defenders that I've seen since Brunson kind of hit elite status. I mean, to your point on Nembhard's jump shooting... I don't know, maybe playoff Nembhard's a thing.

Like last year, game seven on the road at MSG, he literally shot 100% in a game seven. In a game that the Pacers literally broke the record for field goal percentage in any playoff game. Not just the game seven. And they did it on a road game seven in a crazy MSG environment. The thing with the Pacers that I think a lot of people...

Like last year, game seven on the road at MSG, he literally shot 100% in a game seven. In a game that the Pacers literally broke the record for field goal percentage in any playoff game. Not just the game seven. And they did it on a road game seven in a crazy MSG environment. The thing with the Pacers that I think a lot of people...

Like last year, game seven on the road at MSG, he literally shot 100% in a game seven. In a game that the Pacers literally broke the record for field goal percentage in any playoff game. Not just the game seven. And they did it on a road game seven in a crazy MSG environment. The thing with the Pacers that I think a lot of people...

And obviously the fact that the Cavs are missing guys is the most important thing here. I also find Darius Garland's importance to just be unbelievably underrated in terms of their success. He's an all-star point guard. But it's even more than that. Yes, he's an all-star, but people talk about the Cavs as if this is Donovan Mitchell's team. And I get it from a status standpoint. It is.

And obviously the fact that the Cavs are missing guys is the most important thing here. I also find Darius Garland's importance to just be unbelievably underrated in terms of their success. He's an all-star point guard. But it's even more than that. Yes, he's an all-star, but people talk about the Cavs as if this is Donovan Mitchell's team. And I get it from a status standpoint. It is.

And obviously the fact that the Cavs are missing guys is the most important thing here. I also find Darius Garland's importance to just be unbelievably underrated in terms of their success. He's an all-star point guard. But it's even more than that. Yes, he's an all-star, but people talk about the Cavs as if this is Donovan Mitchell's team. And I get it from a status standpoint. It is.

And if you ask me who the best player on the Cavs is, I will tell you Donovan Mitchell. However... Who runs more pick and rolls than anybody else on that team? Darius Garland. Who's their leading facilitator? Darius Garland. Who's the one who creates the most threes for his teammates? Darius Garland. Who's the one who basically runs as many isolations as Donovan Mitchell? Darius Garland.

And if you ask me who the best player on the Cavs is, I will tell you Donovan Mitchell. However... Who runs more pick and rolls than anybody else on that team? Darius Garland. Who's their leading facilitator? Darius Garland. Who's the one who creates the most threes for his teammates? Darius Garland. Who's the one who basically runs as many isolations as Donovan Mitchell? Darius Garland.

And if you ask me who the best player on the Cavs is, I will tell you Donovan Mitchell. However... Who runs more pick and rolls than anybody else on that team? Darius Garland. Who's their leading facilitator? Darius Garland. Who's the one who creates the most threes for his teammates? Darius Garland. Who's the one who basically runs as many isolations as Donovan Mitchell? Darius Garland.

Who's the one who gets into the paint and has those jump passes that create all these corner threes, which is like part of the strength of the Cleveland offense. It's Darius Garland. And not having that guy is kind of like not having your engine. That being said,

Who's the one who gets into the paint and has those jump passes that create all these corner threes, which is like part of the strength of the Cleveland offense. It's Darius Garland. And not having that guy is kind of like not having your engine. That being said,

Who's the one who gets into the paint and has those jump passes that create all these corner threes, which is like part of the strength of the Cleveland offense. It's Darius Garland. And not having that guy is kind of like not having your engine. That being said,

That being said, one thing that really intrigued me about this matchup, and I'm not going to sit here and say I thought Indiana was going to win, but one thing that really intrigued me about it is as much as Indiana's reputation is this high-powered, fast-paced offensive team, since they started out 10 and 15 to the year, they've been a really good defensive team.

That being said, one thing that really intrigued me about this matchup, and I'm not going to sit here and say I thought Indiana was going to win, but one thing that really intrigued me about it is as much as Indiana's reputation is this high-powered, fast-paced offensive team, since they started out 10 and 15 to the year, they've been a really good defensive team.

That being said, one thing that really intrigued me about this matchup, and I'm not going to sit here and say I thought Indiana was going to win, but one thing that really intrigued me about it is as much as Indiana's reputation is this high-powered, fast-paced offensive team, since they started out 10 and 15 to the year, they've been a really good defensive team.