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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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Colin right, Colin wrong, as we often do on a Monday. Here we go. Where Colin was right. I've said it before in sports. Parody is overrated. Rory, Tiger, Phil, Kepka, the numbers are going to prove it. Rory McIlroy helps the Masters. Five of the world's top six golfers finished at least tied for third or in the top three. It was a magical event. If you take Rory out of that,
And it would have been Cam Young and Scotty Scheffler. You know it and I know it. It wouldn't have felt close to the same and the number wouldn't have been the same. Where Colin was wrong. I kind of figured the Doc Rivers thing would be fine. He's good inside the room if he's not a great schematic coach, but... He's older. He managed egos, kind of a Joe Torre feel to him of the Yankees.
It did not work out. It got worse. Two of the three seasons, losing record, didn't win a playoff series. So it probably couldn't have gotten worse for Doc Rivers in Milwaukee. I was wrong on that. Where Colin was right. But I said, the Celtics culture, coaching, Brad Stevens, they're still going to be really good this year. Well, they finished with a number two seed despite the Tatum injury.
And remember, they moved off four of their top nine players. Jalen Brown had a took over, as he's prone to do, really talented, really aggressive. Between Brad Stevens, Missoula, the culture, the intelligence in the building, how many other teams could lose four of their nine top players and Jason Tatum for a majority of the season and still be favored to win the East?
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Chapter 2: How does Rory McIlroy's performance impact his legacy?
That's not, I don't think, how he wants to end his basketball career. I don't think.
Yeah. We were talking about this earlier about the Knicks. When outside of Aaron Judge and maybe Juan Soto, who's hurt now, it's really a starless sports team. City, Breonna Stewart, New York could be one of the bigger stars.
And so what happens, because New York's such a large, passionate, a lot of media, a lot of voices, talk radio sports market, is you turn and convince yourself good players are very good and very good players are great. Mikael Bridges is good. I'm not sure he's very good, but they gave up five first-round picks and 140, 150 million. He's good. He's not very good. Didn't have a great year.
Jalen Brunson's very good.
Chapter 3: What insights does Alan Shipnuck provide about Rory McIlroy?
He's not great. If you look at the teams in the playoffs, their best player is Wemby and Jokic and Ant. Right now, LeBron, Tatum and Brown. He just doesn't ā he's not that guy. He's not that guy. And so I look at the New York Knicks, and this is why the Giannis discussion is so ā relevant, is that Jalen Brunson has to be a number two on a great team of three.
But I think New York is convinced, hey, he's one of the best Knicks of all time. You live in the city. Cats had a down year. I don't think this team can beat Detroit or Boston. I don't think they match up with either, in my opinion. What say you?
All right. The last point, listen, I don't think they can beat Boston. I don't know that anyone's beating Boston, to be totally honest. Certainly not in the East, and I don't know about in the West either. I think you are shortchanging Jalen Brunson a bit. Listen, there is a ceiling on a player his size. That's just the fact of the matter. Becky Hammond said it two years ago.
Everyone killed her for it. All of league history tells us that that is true. There are two small players ever who have led teams to championships, Isaiah Thomas and Steph Curry. Isaiah Thomas had one of the greatest defensive teams ever. Steph's the greatest shooter ever. And they're both bigger than Jalen Brunson. Steph's considerably bigger than Jalen Brunson.
So, I mean, I still think, though, he's a deserving player. Perennial All-NBA guy. I don't think on a great team he's the third best player. I think you could be a great team and him be the second best player. Probably really hard for him to be the best player and you win a championship unless you fill out the rest of the roster perfectly, which the Knicks thought they did.
And that's, to me, the Knicks not being a touch better is less about Jalen Brunson and more about what you said. Mikael Bridges, not an amazing year. O.G. Ananobi, a really good player in his specific role. Towns is who Towns is. Nobody ascended. And the Knicks also thought, those of us that thought the Knicks could have a special season, part of it was belief in the Knicks and part of it was...
well, Boston's going to be, you know, in this weird 40-win zone without Tatum all year. And instead, Boston was excellent, and Detroit jumped the line. So I think the Knicks are going to be in a really tricky spot because they won more games than last year. They had a slightly better offense, slightly better defense. They're healthy.
And yet last year, they make the conference finals, beating Boston in round two.
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Chapter 4: How has Rory McIlroy's emotional journey shaped his golf career?
And this year, I think they're going to lose to Boston in round two, and it's going to feel like a step backwards.
Yeah, you know, it's funny. I've said this. I think Jason Tatum's really good. I don't think he has much of an aura. I said yesterday, some actors just pop. And some, like Michael Jordan, the look, the style, the flair, the game, the persona, the clothes, the earring, the smile, that's a star. Magic Johnson, that's a star. Steph Curry's got that. LeBron's got that.
Ant is really good but doesn't want to be it. And Jason Tatum wants to be it, but there's no aura. And he comes back and everybody goes, people say, Colin. I mean, look what Tatum's done. I think the opposite. I think Tatum left, and because their GM, their coach, and Jalen Brown has always been a bit underrated, is so good, their culture is the star of their team.
Jalen Brown and Tatum are both excellent players. But the fact that one of them can be gone, the other is a MVP discussion, and they're still the best team, it doesn't tell me that Tatum's great. It tells me this is a much like we give so much credit to Mahomes. It's Brett Veach. It's Andy Reid. It's Spags. I mean, when he doesn't have protection, Mahomes can get blown out in the Super Bowl.
They literally, Tatum is the icing. The cake there is the culture. That's the Celtics star. They lost four of their nine guys in the rotation. They're still excellent.
So I understand what you're saying. Here is the distinction I would draw, and then I'm going to throw something at you on Tatum. I think what you saw this year was the roster that Brad Stevens puts together, the intensity and strategy that Missoula brings to the table, gives Boston about as high of a floor as any team in the league. I agree with that. But they had, in my opinion, a 0% chance.
I don't care what their record was. A 0% chance to actually win the championship before Jason Tatum came back. Jalen Brown was having a great year. They were a great story. There was no shot that team was going to win four straight rounds and win a championship if Jason Tatum doesn't have, arguably, the fastest and thus far most successful quick turnaround Achilles recovery ever. And he did it.
knowing he was opening himself up to massive criticism. A guy who was the best player on their team for years but didn't win finals MVP. And then the team is rolling and Jalen Brown's having the best year of his career. Tatum came back knowing, I'm not at 100%. Jalen will be the number one option.
And if things go sideways, I think some fans, I think they'd be foolish, but some fans would be like, man. Yeah. Things sure were rolling well before Jason came back. All that. He did it anyway because I think he knew and the team knew this is our only chance to win a championship. And if Boston does end up in the finals, as you are predicting... Yeah.
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