Chapter 1: What happened in the Thunder vs. Lakers game?
Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports, and giving you the real story behind the headlines.
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Chapter 2: How did the Thunder manage to sweep the Lakers?
Time out. Quarterback on offense, blue, 42. Hey, ref, my mama wants you to wave at her. What? Where she at? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to The Clifford Show on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The regular season is a wrap.
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Prize Picks, a preferred partner of the NBA. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining us for another episode of Nightcap. Y'all know who I am. I'm your favorite. My partner and co-host, the Liberty City legend, the bingo ring of fame honoree, a former pro bowler and an all pro. That is Chad Ocho Cinco Johnson and a third member of the big three.
He's a seven time NBA all star from the Atlanta Hawks, University of Arkansas alum. That is ISO Joe Johnson.
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Chapter 3: What were the Lakers' key mistakes in the playoffs?
And our special guest tonight, he's a one-time Olympian. He's a 75th anniversary All-NBA team. He's a former defensive player of the year and a perennial All-Star. There he is, ladies and gentlemen, GP the Glove himself, Gary Payton. GP, what it do? What is it, man? What's up, Shannon, man? And then you're going to short me down off of one of my Olympics, man.
I had two of them.
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Please drink responsibly and stay safe. Well, guys, the Lakers put up a valiant effort. They scored 39 points in the third quarter. They gave them a four-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, but it wasn't enough. The turnovers did them in tonight. Far too many careless turnovers, but they played a valiant game. Think about it. You had three guys in mid-20s.
and you still couldn't get it done, that's a very good team. A J. Mitchell, oh my goodness, he is sensational. Watch him up close. Guys, look, you got to think about this. When Shea went to the bench to start of the second quarter, the Lakers had a five-point lead. When he came back in the game, they were up nine. Yeah.
So that is the difference because that is what they can do that very few teams can do. That when their best player goes to the bench, a lead, they eat that up. And if they got the lead, they'll extend the lead. If they're behind... They'll come and get the lead, and he comes back in the game, and Shay did what he did.
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Chapter 4: What does LeBron's future look like after this season?
But thanks to all the big shots that they hit down the stretch. McCain, big three after big three. Jay Mitchell, the A-1. It was just too much for them to overcome, Joe. What did you like most about what you saw from the OKC Thunder? Because a lot of teams might have panicked, like, look, we got three in the bag. Let's go back home and close this thing out.
But they say, nah, we want to go on and finish this thing up the right way. Do it tonight. Man, listen, as we all know, man, you know, champions prevail, bro. You know, they found ways to win. I agree with you, Unc. I think the A.J. Mitchell kid, I don't know where he came from, GP, Ocho. I don't know where he came from, but he fit perfectly.
You know, when I watch him play, it's more how decisive he is when he's out there. Like, he don't have no indecision on what it is he trying to do. He get right to it, bro. It's like, look, I know the game plan. Yeah, we got J-Dub out who's an all-star. Oh, well, I'm going to step right in. I fit like a glove. You feel me? And I think the Lakers played as great as they can play.
I mean, they had three guys with 20 and high efficiency. I'm like, damn, they might have a chance to win. But OKC just got too much, bro. They got closers. They got defenders. They play great team defense.
Chapter 5: How did the Thunder perform against the Lakers overall?
And everybody on their team know their role, man. They a true champion. True champion. Oh, Joe, JP, go ahead, take it away. What did you see in this game, JP? Yeah, well, you know, Shannon, I think the turnovers beat them really tough.
When they had, when they got key stops, even though Oklahoma made big shots, even when they had big time stops, they turned the basketball over on unnecessary situations. And against a basketball team like Oklahoma, you cannot turn the ball over because they're going to capitalize because they are a great half-court team. And that's what it was. I just thought they turned the ball over.
Even when, at the end of the game, when it was 1-0-7, 1-0-9, LeBron gets a big time stop, get a rebound, and he turns the basketball over. You know what I'm saying? You can't do that. And then they come right back. And then what they do, they hit a three and go a five. So you can't do that in this situation.
I think the Lakers lost this game on their own, but you got to understand, Oklahoma City, they got eight deep. We haven't even talked about the boy Wallace. The boy Wallace is a key ingredient to this, too. The boy Mitchell comes up, but you go nine and ten deep on this Oklahoma team, and the way they play aggressive, I think it's hard to beat this basketball team. Man. You're absolutely right.
You're absolutely right, guys. And you think about it, Chet. I think Chet had maybe like two points, maybe four points, hitting that fourth quarter, and he ends up with like 16, 17 points. Shea was Shea, started getting to the free throw line, hit big shots. But I just think the thing is is that it's just so hard because I know JJ wanted to play Kennard and Austin Reeves together.
But the problem is is that they're going to sit the pick, and one of those guys is going to have to guard Shea one-on-one. and he's going to eat every single time. Go ahead, Ocho. Yeah. Now, I want to tell you, obviously, most of the people watching the game, especially you guys, you knew how the result would be.
In order for the Lakers to win this game, Uncle Joe and Gary and GP, the Lakers would have had to be perfect. They would have had to damn near be perfect. And obviously, the turnovers, that was their Achilles heel tonight.
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Chapter 6: What are the implications of LeBron's performance this season?
Obviously, defensively, they got beat a few times. They had no answer for Mitchell. Hell, they had no answer for goddamn Shea as well. But obviously, no one's had an answer for Shea. But what Mitchell has been able to do, And coming through in clutch moments and being a resurgence that we didn't even see before like this has been phenomenal.
I thought, for your sake, being that you went to the game, and I know it was a pretty penny, I was hoping they could pull this game off. Listen, it would have been a good one for you to be able to watch them. But it was unbelievable. It was unbelievable. Goddamn Oklahoma City Thunder are so strong and really have no weaknesses offensively, defensively, in transition, on the glass, on the board.
I mean, there's really no answer to really stop these individuals because not only are they not only the starting five deadly, they can go to the bench and give you whatever you need when the starters are out as well. You know what I noticed, guys? Watching them up close, not one time did I ever think somebody took a bad shot. They get whatever. They don't take bad shots.
They're never in a hurry. Yes, if they can get a chance to get out in transition, they get out in transition. But you know what it is? They're fast, but they're never in a hurry. He doesn't understand what I'm saying. But you know what, Chad? The reason that is is that Shea gets whatever he wants when he gets there.
And once he gets that mid-range game going, a lot of people are now focused on him. And then the other guys just sit where they got to sit. You remember, see, Chad, he always around the bats. They throw up lobs. They throw them. And then the other guys sit there, and they're – in their comfort zone and just shoot their shots and make buckets.
And that's why they don't speed up because he has the ball in control. I think sometimes to get them out of their situation, I think you just gotta double shake sometimes. Get the basketball out of his hand and then see what everybody else does. I would do that more to make it an understanding because I can't beat them with him having 35 and everybody else having something else.
If I can get him to have 14, 16, and everybody else around has to have a big, big-time game.
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Chapter 7: What strategies could the Lakers adopt moving forward?
And the Lakers couldn't do that because they don't have anybody to guard it. I would have doubled him. I would have just got the ball out of his hand because pressure ain't pretty well. And he would have denied him the basketball, but they just didn't do that.
Yeah, I think when you think about it, when you look at the Lakers, bro, it seems like, yeah, these guys shot high percentages from the field tonight. I mean, it's probably the best game they played. But it always seems like it's hard for them to come by buckets. You know, they always got to make tough shots.
It seems like as soon as they make a tough shot, hell, OKC come down and score so easy because Shea and Mitchell – They're great at isolation, bro. They're great at using their body. They're great at using them bumps to create a little space just to get their jumpers off. They never in a rush, bro.
They have an understanding on the spots that they're trying to get to, and you can't stop them from getting to them spots. If you don't double team them, hell, this is what you're going to have to deal with. And I just think the Lakers, as great as they played tonight, hey, you get, what, 18 from Jackson Hayes. You probably ain't going to never get that again, six for eight.
I thought it was perfect for them to win the game. But the last three minutes, the back and forth, oh, my God. You talking about basketball at its highest level. But I knew they couldn't stop OKC, bro. It don't matter. You know what I mean? A.R. making tough buckets. Brum making tough buckets. And, GP, you spoke on another thing earlier.
It's them damn careless-ass turnovers that they have that lead to points, bro. I'm talking about in crucial, crucial times of the game, under two minutes, three minutes. Man, you got to value the basketball against this OKC team because this is how they thrive. You know, their defense... Creates offense. Hell, they already got great offensive guys. The defense creates offense too.
Too much of a juggernaut.
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Chapter 8: What does the future hold for the Thunder in the playoffs?
Hell, we didn't think the Lakers were going to win this series. And Joe, you've seen it too. Oklahoma, like you said, make shots. And they make crucial shots. And see, you remember when LeBron went in there and was fast and missed that little runner and stuff like that. He's got to go get into somebody's body and get to the free throw line.
You know, in a situation like that, get to his body, get a free throw and then see what happens. But, you know, OK, see, they go there. Shea gets in his bag and then, you know, he makes a great pass. And it was great. Look what Chad did when he was down there. He pumped fake, pumped fake, went up. They thought he traveled and he dumped the basketball on a crucial time in the game.
And they go up one. See, that's the difference between them two teams. Oh, yeah. And the thing is, you said the problem that they had tonight, that even when they doubled and got the ball out of Shea's hands, Hey, Mitchell hit a three. McCain hit a three. And what they do is that they play high-low with the big. So they trap Shea. He throws it to Hartenstein. To Hartenstein takes one dribble.
He throws the lob, and here comes Shea hammering it down. So I thought they did. I was saying the same thing. Get the ball out of Shea's hands. And you say, let somebody else beat you. Well, I'd be damned if Mitchell didn't do it. And McCain hit a couple of threes. I'm like... Bro, he's been sitting for like 10 minutes. He just come off a pick and shoot it from 25.
At some point in time, Joe, GP, you know this guy, Ocho, you just tip your hat and say, man, that's just too good. That's just too good. Well, Shady, you know, they're going to make shots. But like we say, I still have to let not have Shea have 35. I can't do it. I got to let them beat me another way. You know the team that makes them do that is the San Antonio Spurs. They make them do that.
San Antonio makes other people play, and then that big boy over there block his side. So hopefully if we see that series, I think it'll be a little different. I think they're going to trap Shea a little bit more, and then we'll see what happens. And that'll be a great series, you know, for me. I would love to see that again. Hey, GP, hold up, though.
I didn't think Marcus Smart done a bad job on this series. This the first game he really got out on him, just to be honest. I mean, he shot 15 free throws. He went 12-15 from the line. But I'm like y'all, man. I think Shea understood the moment and the way him and Mitchell play off each other, bro.
it's unbelievable to watch because you're like, damn, we ain't even really know nothing about Mitchell until this year if y'all just want to keep it 100. And for this team to sacrifice the way they do, look at Caruso, look at Isaiah Joe, look at Wallace. Like, those guys, they never rush the issue, bro. They play the right way. The system is great.
And like you say, when Shade's not on the court, hell, you still can't run away. And if you trap him on the pick and roll, fellas, Hardenstein is too clever. when it comes to distributing the ball, making plays. He ain't going to do nothing that's going to hurt you. So you trap and he goes to him. He got the high low with big fella. He can spray out the three.
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