The Ryen Russillo Podcast
How to Stop SGA and Brunson with Raja Bell. Plus, Conference Finals Preview.
Tue, 20 May 2025
Ryen Russillo is joined by Raja Bell to discuss the Conference Finals, including whether the Pacers can upset the Knicks and what makes Anthony Edwards’s game so special as he tries to stop the Thunder from reaching the Finals (01:16). Plus, Life Advice with Kyle (53:00)! Check us out on YouTube for exclusive clips, livestreams, and more at youtube.com/@RyenRussilloPodcast. The Ringer is committed to responsible gaming. Please visit www.rg-help.com to learn more about the resources and helplines available. Host: Ryen Russillo Guest: Raja Bell Producers: Steve Ceruti, Kyle Crichton, Mike Wargon, and Jonathan Frias This episode is sponsored by State Farm. A State Farm agent can help you choose the coverage you need. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: What are the predictions for the Eastern Conference Finals?
When you go to that side of what we saw from the Knicks and how big they played, that's the tough thing to get past when I try to figure out if I can pick the Pacers.
Yeah. Look at this one. I've gone back and forth on, I was, I was firmly, you know, Nick's over the weekend. I was out at UA with my, my boy in Ohio. And I was, I was like, man, the Pacers can get them out on this highway and just get up and down. Like we, The Knicks could be in a world of hurt. And then I think I've come back to the Knicks, Ryan.
I think for all the reasons you just talked about, and that's been the theme of this playoffs, right? In terms of the whistle that's being either, you know, gotten or not gotten. Like this has been physical. They've allowed these playoffs from the very jump. They've allowed a level of physicality that's kind of near and dear to my heart.
I've been watching it and feeling real nostalgic every night on the couch. But if we're going to live in that world, I am taking the Knicks. I'm just taking them. They're physical. They'll grind you out. They just, you know, I don't know what it is, but it's going to sound real cliche. Like some teams just stop believing at some point in a game. Like down 12, late in the third.
I mean, yeah, we're going to give it a shot. Typically, you don't see it as much in the playoffs, but still, the Knicks just have this stick-to-itiveness that is really interesting for me. I could convince myself that even if the Pacers run away 10, 12, 15 at some point because they hit one of these...
incredible transition runs and they're just lighting you up, the Knicks are still going to be there. And I like the physicality to win out over the course of time. The more physical football team wins, when they're reffing it like this, the more physical basketball team wins, usually the more physical hockey team wins, the more physical soccer team wins. I'm going to go with that.
Yeah, it's hard to dispute that. I've really struggled with this one, but I'm going to go Pacers. There's not conviction just because I think this is going to be an awesome series. I'd be surprised if it's a short series either way, and then who knows? We're surprised by outcomes all the time. Where are you on Halliburton? Would you hate him if you played against him and love him as a teammate?
Yeah, I think so. I think I'd be, I, you know what? I think he'd be the kind of dude that I'd be entertained by. Like I'd hate him, but I'd probably be cool with him because I, I, I just like his style. I kind of like, I like the, I like people with a little bit of shit about him. And for, you know, for whatever, man, he's got a lot of shit to him, man.
And I'll tell you like this, you touched on it. I have Brunson as my, like, he, he's the number one closer, but Hallie is like right there. And if there is anybody that would, convince themselves first and foremost, right? Because that's what this is all about. Like, I got to believe that I'm as good a closer as you are.
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Chapter 2: How can the Pacers upset the Knicks?
I do think SGA could be the exception to that, but I think they're more organic minutes for Rudy. Just because of the bigs, because of the personnel that OKC is going to have on the floor. I do think that you'll see situational stuff with him, though. It's got to be. How does OKC play down the stretch of a game in terms of their personnel? We're in a four-point game with three minutes to go.
Now that hunting doesn't always become about... how many you whether you finish five in a row, as much as it becomes about the the the quality of shot you're going to get after milking 20 seconds off of the shot clock. Right. And then we're going to get pummeled on the offensive glass because Rudy's out here guarding SGA in the mid range.
So like some of those things are going to have to figure out, you know, time, score, situation, personnel that OKC has on the floor. But I do think they're more organic minutes in the series for him.
Maybe it's because I just watched the Celtics series, but I think I'm starting to become anti-hunting. You know, like when I'll look at certain things, it's like, oh, hey, they're going to switch into Brunson and they're going to do it. It's like, you know what, if you want to bring the ball up
map it out, start your action at 16 seconds, and then just try to hammer into the switch over and over and over again when we're just going to send help to the guy that you're attacking anyway. And now you're left like this thing that I felt like this game is almost like predicated on or like, oh, they're going to keep doing this. They're going to keep doing this. I don't know.
I think if I were, again, I don't have to worry about being a coach anytime soon. I think I'd be like, you know, that, that actually like becomes really boring in it and it becomes easy to defend. And then the help starts cheating and we're doing the same shit over and over again. And so even if we think we have the advantage with a guy in the ball against a big or a smaller guard, like,
Maybe the reward isn't there as much as we think it is.
Yeah, the more you see it as a defender, I mean, you might get us as help defenders the first time, maybe two times you get the switch. But if I see something three times in a row, I shouldn't be out there if I don't have an answer for how I can help my guy. I always tell my son Ty or any player that gets a switch, right?
But he's the one that I coach the most, so I wind up talking basketball through his lens and how I coach him. If you hunt it to get it, fine. Don't play around with it. Go get it. Once you get the ball, get after him. Whether that's you get into the bucket or that's you collapsing defense quickly. I use the analogy of a fishing lure, right?
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Chapter 3: What makes Anthony Edwards a special player?
And there's, there's look, there's incredible point cards, but I don't know. Like to me, you have to be born. There has to be something that happens in the way that the DNA is put together for you to see the game, uh, And look, there's a lot of great point guards, but there was just something about Kidd, man. There was something about Jason Kidd that was just off the charts.
Damn, I love basketball. That was a lot of fun. Roger Bell, our guy, the real ones. Check him out with Logan Murdoch again, Tuesdays and Fridays. He'll be dropping another episode here shortly. Enjoy the conference finals and thanks for the time. Yeah, man. Thanks for having me. This episode is brought to you by State Farm.
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State Farm coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability and eligibility vary by state. man down man down life advice rr at gmail.com that's the email it's just me and kyle hanging out today um morgan's gonna be okay but he's not gonna be with the show today so uh just just me and my bud what's up um not too much not too much yeah um
Did a debt consolidation loan recently. Feels pretty good about that. Got a better rate. Always hunting for a good rate. So, yeah, I don't know. I feel kind of like a new man today.
Yeah, there is something to be said about doing stuff. Yeah. You know, it gets contagious. Like when I have a to-do list, sometimes I'll get into this rhythm where Sunday nights I'll write out the to-do list and then Monday. And it's like that first thing you have to do Always feels like it's hard, unless it's like a really easy.
Sort of the gateway to the rest of the list, you could say.
Really, really, it is. And then you get a couple things done and you're like, what else can I get done? Well, that thing that I was just probably just going to ignore. Let's call and figure that out.
Dude, you're so right. The first thing on the list was the debt consolidation. You know what I mean? Get that big weight off my chest. Then I went out and bought a brand new Swiffer power mop. Did all the floors. I was using a wet jet. Now I'm a power mop guy. I mean, what's next? Get in shape? I don't know. Yeah.
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Chapter 4: How should teams defend against Jalen Brunson?
don't know where radishes are right now with everybody it feels like nobody talks about radishes anymore but have you ever what's the last time you bit into a radish like they're not that's not really yeah yeah it's not like a taco move and they're not diced up or anything they're like pretty thick slices yeah of radish and just that would rip through the tortilla like yeah
I mean, I don't want to make any sort of tornado thing now because of what's going on. So let's not talk about natural disasters. So we got diced white onions that look huge, too. Like, I don't know about her knife skills. And the cilantro is not diced at all. So, I mean, there's the limes. Thanks. She cut them wrong, too, by the way. This is bad. It's really bad. But we agree.
Yes, agreed. Agreed. But I know there's more, and he's got a question, and I don't know if I agree.
My dilemma. I was immediately pissed to be asked for $100 for the tacos no less than three days before the event. I could go to Chipotle and get more food for $8 to $12 a person. I made the payment because Tom's squad is really important to him, and they have forged likely lifelong friendships, and my wife told me so or two. We never received acknowledgement or thank you for the payment. All right.
Now you're just like trying to find more reasons to be pissed off. I want to request a $50 refund as the food was the worst Mexican food I've had in a long while. My wife said not to do this is likely to get back to Tom.
She doesn't want him to have to deal with this and disturb the squad vibe as he is around for another one and a half months as he keeps up the search for a job and his lease expires at the end of July. While I want to go off in a text, my thought is to send a Venmo money request that just reads taco bar graduation refund, please.
My wife says that Betty probably thinks this is a great party and there are no problems. Of course, I disagree as there are no places to sit, which, man, this thing gets worse. It was served in a small coffee table, which, by the way, in the picture shows there's not a lot of square footage on this table that was set out as some sort of like catering thing.
Food is like below the knee. It's pretty close to the ground.
This feels like a freshman year parents weekend thing the kids would do thinking we nailed this. And a senior with an apartment would go, we have to do better than this. So I'm worried about, I'm worried about, what are the fake names here again?
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