After Hours with Amy Lawrence PODCAST: Hour 1

What you watch depends on what kind of mood you're in. Sometimes you're craving comedies like Friends or South Park, and sometimes you're more into dramas like HBO's Succession and House of the Dragon.

There's also cooking shows like Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay, and even movies like The Lord of the Rings and Shazam! Fury of the Gods. Well, Max is the streaming destination that has the best of entertainment for whatever mood you're in anytime. And plans start at as little as $9.99 a month. Max, the one to watch. Subscription required.

Visit max.com. Surgeons keep our hearts beating. They do the amazing, help save lives, and so can you. Your CSL plasma donation can help create 24 critical life-saving medicines that can give grandpa the chance for his heart to swell when he meets his new grandson, or give a bride the chance for her heart to skip a beat on her wedding day. Every plasma donation helps more than you know. Do the amazing, help save lives. Donate today at your local CSL plasma center and be rewarded for your generosity. Well, you'll be happy to know that we all survived Chubby Bunny.

No one died. If you missed it, don't you worry. First of all, the video version will very soon be available on our YouTube channel, even as producer Jay works to put it together. But more importantly than that, and more pertinent than that, is the fact that we are going to re-air the video, excuse me, the audio version sometime on this show.

Have we decided yet when we'll do that? I'm not sure, but we are going to re-air the audio edition of it because it was hysterical. And we know the audience turns over a lot during the course of a show. Where we start in the first hour is not where we end up in terms of who is listening.

Now there are a few of you, I would say. It's a relatively minor cross-section of our audience that does listen all the way through. We're thrilled that you do. Even those of you who complain about how I'm talking about the same thing in hour four that I was talking about in hour one, that makes me laugh. My response to that is thank you for listening all four hours. We really do appreciate your faithfulness. So most of you tune in and out.

Most of you are here as part of your standard routine. And then you may catch the rest of the show on podcast or you may end up not listening to the rest of the show. Either way, we know that a lot of you are into your regular routines, which means that you catch one hour, but not the second. You catch the third, but not the fourth. So we're going to go ahead and replay the audio of Chubby Bunny because, well, we got ourselves a ringer. That's what we found out.

He's a liar and he's not a cheater, but he's definitely a ringer. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Hello and happy almost Friday. For us, it's happy almost payday, baby. In fact, in the next hour, I think our paychecks hit direct deposit. Not that I'll be checking right at that second, but I am pretty excited about the fact that it's a Friday payday on the horizon.

We hope that you enjoyed your Thursday. It's a lot to talk about in the sports world and we have something new. We're going to try something new on this show.

I've never done this before. I'm really looking forward to it. And no, I don't mean Chubby Bunny because that was our fourth annual Chubby Bunny World Championship. What I'm referring to is the fact that we have a guest that is focusing on the business and the tech side of sports these days. So a guest who will help us answer some of the questions that we have about broadcast TV, how sports are diversifying from broadcast to streaming. And you may remember a couple of weeks ago, we did a question and we got a ton of answers from you about whether or not you would use Peacock, get Peacock, order another streaming service, get another app to watch one football playoff game plus a regular season game. And we've talked about the number of different streaming services that fans need if they're going to follow everything.

We asked you, where do you draw the line? We asked you, how do you determine what you need, but also what you can live without? And remember, it's not just streaming services for sports. If you have if you have any other interests outside of sports or you live in a house with multiple people, maybe you have a family that shares some of these services, though they frown upon that. But if you do, well, then, you know, sometimes you need apps for entertainment, not for sports.

So you have to add those on as well. So just a lot that we could dive into and pick apart. And we're going to do our best to try to keep it to one segment, might be a little bit long. We're going to do our best when Matthew Keys of thedesk.net, who is an award-winning journalist in media, tech and business, he will join us from Sacramento, listens on 11 40 a.m. in Sacramento.

So excited for that, something a little bit new. It's really about trying to help sports fans try to help sports fans navigate what is an ever-changing landscape when it comes to broadcast rights and streaming services and how we consume our sports, because that is the name of the game, right? How we consume our sports. Thank goodness for radio is all I have to say. Thank goodness for radio. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. You can find me on Twitter, ALawRadio.

Can't wait to connect with you. As I say, many of you are chomping at the bit to see the Chubby Bunny World Championship. We're going to replay the audio and then we've got football to work in as the NFL goes through its first week of practices. We've also got an extended series in the NHL Western Conference Finals thanks to overtime. Man, three of the four games in the Western Conference Finals have gone into overtime.

The only one that hasn't is the 4-0 win by Vegas and that was the game in which Jamie Benn got the major penalty, the match penalty and was kicked out. The Stars battle back tonight in Dallas and they extend the series. They force it back to Vegas. Can they push this to the limit? There are a couple of games behind the Celtics and the Heat, but wasn't that the same question that we were asking about Boston?

Can they push this to the limit? You want to hear this crazy stat? I know we've shared with you and will continue to share with you and you're going to hear it and see it over and over, not just from this radio show, but from other sports outlets. Here's the basic stat. Teams in the NBA that fall into an 0-3 hole in a playoff series are right now 0 and 150. Meaning 150 times an NBA team has taken a three to none series lead, a three games to none series lead and in none of those situations has the team in the 0-3 hole ever come back to win. Okay, so that's something that you're hearing and seeing a lot more of. Get this stat though.

This one blows me away. I didn't realize it was such a small minority of teams that it ever even forced a game six. Of the 100 and we're going to say 151 teams now because the Celtics fell into the 0-3 hole. Okay, of the 151 teams in NBA playoff history who have ever gone down 0-3, only eight, including these Celtics, have ever even forced a game six. Meaning the vast majority of the teams in the 0-3 hole have either been swept out in game four or have lost in game five. Only eight of 151 teams have ever rallied to force a game six. Now, of course, none of them has ever won the series.

No one has ever seen it happen. But I'm telling you, if I'm the Miami Heat or if I'm their fans, I'm feeling nervous. Jimmy Butler says no.

Bam Adebayo says no. They claim this is who the Heat have been. These last two games, not their best effort. They've obviously run into a motivated Celtics team that did not want to get swept and then did not want to be embarrassed on their own. But only eight times in 151 tries has a team ever even rallied to force a game six after going down 0-3.

That should tell you something. And if you watch these Celtics, they look a heck of a lot more like the Celtics that we saw for most of the regular season. A heck of a lot more like the Celtics that were the second best record in the league this year. If I'm the Heat, I'm maybe not getting nervous, because internally you can't get nervous.

You won't play your best basketball if you're nervous or anxious. And they are going home for game six, so I think that's huge. But this is the second best record in the league this year. But this is your last chance at home court advantage. If you don't end this in game six on Saturday night, you are back in Boston for a game seven. And everybody saw what happened to the Sixers in game seven in Boston. Are the Heat a better team than Philadelphia?

Heck yeah. In every way, on every level. But game six is their last chance to have the advantage. Because if they go back to Boston with this incredible momentum and a raucous atmosphere inside the Garden, the Celtics will have battled back to the point where they have the advantage.

And they're getting pretty damn close to it right now. Here's what I note about game number five, though. As much as it was a 24-point lead for the Celtics at one juncture, they built a 24-point lead. The Heat never led in game five tonight. But did you notice, outside of the first quarter, the Celtics didn't have a major advantage. Outside of the first quarter, the scoring was relatively even.

So here is how it broke down. In quarter two, Boston outscored Miami by two. In quarter three, it was one.

One point, that's it, in quarter number three. And then in the fourth quarter, now granted, a bunch of the starters were out by then, but in the fourth quarter, the Heat actually outscored the Celtics by five. So all things being equal, because you're dealing with a lot of the reserves in quarter number four, the Heat actually outscored the Celtics if you combine quarters two, three, and four. The Heat had more points in quarters two, three, and four. The problem is, they got blown out of the water in the first quarter. And then as the Celtics continued that momentum into the second quarter, they were able to put together a nice run just before half. So yeah, the Heat put themselves in early hole and then just didn't have enough to climb out of that big hole.

It's after hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. So we're going to get to the postgame reaction, of course, get to the play-by-play. But I think it's huge to note that the Celtics came out with the effort, the intensity, and the efficiency. Now in game number four, they came out with effort. It just didn't look real good, and it didn't fall into place until the second half of game four, in which they were able to put together those two really crazy runs right in the second half. So game four in Miami, they had the 18 consecutive points in the third quarter. That was the backbreaker for the Heat. They didn't wait to quarter number three in this game.

No, they punched the Heat in the gut right off the top. It's funny that Derek White, one of the great shot blockers among guards, goes to that pump back. Tatum right down the middle, throws it down hard with the right hand. Zeller got picked off, was not in a position to block the shot. Timeout air exposure.

He said, nah, we don't need that. Everybody on their feet at the Garden. A spectacular six-minute start here for Boston in game five. Three seconds. Cross court, Tatum finds White, steps to his right, takes the three and drills it at the buzzer. The perfect finish to the perfect quarter when one is facing elimination.

Shawn Grandy and Cedric Maxwell, max singing about how they want to go back to Miami. A 15-point advantage in the first quarter alone and Derek White on point. Again, Miami outscored Boston in quarters two, three, and four combined, but the Celtics never lost their edge and that's due in large part to Derek White. Tatum deep on the left side against Max Drewes, dribbles him to the elbow, he exposes the ball, Highsmith knocked it away, Butler knocked it away, but saved to Horford, kick out Derek White for three. Boy, that dude been spot on. Derek White.

He isn't making them, he's making them pay. Tatum steps to the corner, shoulder into Strewes, he's going to take a contested jumper and knock it down and the Celtics have their largest lead of game five. Too big, too good, too sweet. Tatum drives, throws out to the wing, Derek White up big, sucks the shoulder, gets the 10 feet flip shot up and good. It's Derek White's night.

Seven of ten, five of seven from three. He's got 19 points. He's the leading scorer in game five. And he turned out to be the leading scorer when it was all said and done.

Derek White, 24 points, a half dozen triples. They were big ones too. They were daggers when the Celtics were stuffing any attempt by the Heat to rally, but it was the first quarter that made the difference. They came out swinging, they came out firing, use all your cliches. This time it wasn't just about effort.

It was also efficient. It was methodical and it was defense and it was offense. Derek White, Marcus Smart, the head of the snake when it comes to the defense. And when it starts for them up top and when they're wreaking havoc with the Heat guards and with the Heat backcourt, it sets a tone and it allows the big men or the wings for the Celtics to then see what's happening, watch it unfold, take some risks, take some chances, go for steals, clog the lane. It allows them to be a little freer in their defense and in their defensive movement.

And here's something else that I think can't be overlooked. Once again, the Celtics were facing a Heat team that is without a major piece, another major piece. So they already don't have Tyler Herro and don't have Victor Oladipo. They didn't have Gabe Vincent in this game either. And while you may say, Gabe Vincent, who cares what's the big deal? Well, he's been monumental in these playoffs.

And not to mention he's another body. They're losing their guards like nobody's business. So Kyle Lowry has to start.

Two things. I know Kyle has played some vintage games and he's a championship winning guard. But if you have him in the starting lineup, you don't have him coming off the bench, which means you've got an even shorter bench. They had to rely a lot more heavily on Haywood Highsmith, a guy who came off the bench and played 36 minutes in this one.

He did hit three triples. Some of those minutes coming late. But it does change what the Heat can do with their rotation when they have to start Kyle Lowry. And 30 minutes is a lot for him.

It's a lot. He had five points and four turnovers. So without Gabe Vincent, they're down another guard. You'll hear from Joel Missoula on what's changed for the Celtics now and why Marcus Smart believes they're playing in their comfort zone where they weren't before. And Derek White, what he means to these Boston Celtics.

We'll call this the Derek White game. But if you're looking for the Heat to panic, think again, they've been in this position before. All of that is coming up. Love for you to find us on Twitter, After Hours, CBS, our Facebook page too.

The number again, only eight of 151 NBA playoff teams that have ever fallen into an 0-3 hole has even forced, have even forced a game six. Are the Celtics on the cusp of history? A couple days, we'll find out. Heading into a holiday weekend.

Oh my goodness. I know so many people are already on the move, whether it's driving, whether it's flying. Of course, there is a sober, somber tone to this Memorial Day weekend. But I know a lot of people use it as an opportunity to get together with family, with friends.

A lot of people use it as an opportunity to celebrate the unofficial start of summer. We'll be here all weekend. Well, not all weekend. We'll be here Sunday night.

Jay's like, no, that's not how it goes. That's not happening. Not all weekend. We're not taking time off is what I meant to say. So we will be here both Sunday night as well as Monday night. We'll take those days off later in the year. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. 541 to go, Tatum. Into the corner for Jaylen Brown against Duncan Roberts. Jaylen, right hand dribble, coming strong, hangs in the air, puts it off the glass and in, busting it in over Kevin Love as he goes to the ground.

Wow. He hit him with the body. Jaylen's really answered tonight. Tatum, up fakes the three on Highsmith. Left hand dribble, spins, draws the double, kick out White, up fake, steps to his left three in the air and Derek White's brilliant game five comes to a perfect conclusion as he buries a three that will settle the issue. Tatum switches to the left hand, stops at 12 feet, kick back to Rob.

Rob steps in to eight feet, flips it up and in. Oh, he'll call timeout after that one. Everybody's into the act as the Celtics are going to take their talent and this series back to South Beach. We're backs against the wall, you don't have a choice. And so it builds a connection and builds, you know, just an opportunity. And so like I've said it all year, the guys in that locker room, they always stick together and, you know, when our backs are against the wall, we just have to continue that. This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence.

Joe Mazzulla, very matter of fact. Backs against the wall, we don't have a choice. We either rally or we get bounced and the team has definitely rallied. But what has changed?

What has changed for this group? Well, one thing that they're doing much better, you can see, is playing defense like it actually matters. Playing defense as though they can't just allow the Heat to take any shot they want and to have any look they want. They're challenging and a lot of times it's not just challenging the shots, it's challenging the passes. If you notice too, for instance, Marcus Smart has five steals in this game, five, and they're able to score 27 points off Miami turnovers.

Think about that. 27 points in a game in which they won by 13. They have 27 points off turnovers. Now if you want to look at the differential between what Miami had and what the Celtics have, well then it's easy math. Eight extra points off turnovers for the Celtics.

All right, well there's the most of your margin for victory. Their defense has ratcheted up a notch. They're playing like defense is actually an important component of the basketball game.

It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio. Derek White leading scorer with 24 points in this one. Just having that defensive mindset, we're able to get stops, which allowed us to get out and run and get good looks. So we got to have that mindset for the rest of the series.

The second team on defense this year for a reason is a big part of our team, our identity, you know, things we try and do on a defensive end. And, you know, he's a very smart basketball player on both ends and, you know, his awareness, his instincts, you know, they show tonight. It's not often that either Jason Tatum or Jalen Brown is not the leading scorer for the Celtics, but in this one not only is White a leading scorer, but then you have Marcus Smart with 23 more than Jason Tatum who had 21 points, 11 assists though. That number jumps off the page and then eight rebounds. Tatum did not shoot well from beyond the arc, but he was setting up his teammates and he seems a lot calmer, a lot more composed.

He's not dropping swear words that we have to bleep out of his press conferences. You can see the true character of a person, of a team, when things aren't going well. And our ability to come together, figure things out, you know, when it's not necessarily looking good for us.

It's unlike any team I've been on this year and last year. We got room for the determined tough guys that, you know, push come to shove. You know, you look to the left and the right and you believe that the guy next to you is going to do whatever it takes and go down fighting if it don't work out. Being together in moments of adversity, you know, staying on the same page and sticking with it, you know, doubling down on things that we need to do better, holding each other accountable has been the key. I think once we got ourselves together, we all looked each other in the eyes and saying like, hey, we're not going out like this.

We represent the organization, but we also represent ourselves and our family. And obviously we haven't performed the way we felt like we needed to perform. So that game four was the start of the Atonement.

And then now we've been able to pick up off that game five and hopefully we can carry it on to game six. You know what usually follows Atonement, right? Redemption. And the Celtics are looking for redemption after they put themselves in a huge hole, but they don't want redemption for themselves as individuals.

They want it for the guy on their left and the guy on their right. As I'm hearing Jason Tatum and Jalen Brown speak, did you notice they're not talking about basketball? Well, they are talking about a basketball game, but they're not talking about basketball skills, defense. They're not talking about shots.

They're not talking about rotations or anything to do with what happens on the court. It's taking care of your teammates. It's having pride in your job. It's being disciplined.

It's being focused. It's caring about the outcome. It's passion. It's desire. It's heart. It's effort.

If you listen, we're going to listen to Jason and Jalen again. These words could apply to anything. They could apply to any sport. They could apply to any skill. They could apply to families.

They could apply to friends just the way they apply to teammates. Anything that you do, anything that you want is worth sacrificing for and that's what these guys are talking about. Digging down deeper, sacrificing for the team because it matters. Tapping into that passion again and that was missing for a couple of those early games. You can see the true character of a person, of a team when things aren't going well and our ability to come together, figure things out when it's not necessarily looking good for us.

It's unlike any team I've been on this year and last year. We got room for the determined, tough guys that push come to shove. You look to the left and the right and you believe that the guy next to you is going to do whatever it takes and go down fighting if it don't work out. Being together in moments of adversity, you know, staying on the same page and sticking with it, you know, doubling down on things that we need to do better, holding each other accountable has been the key. I think once we got ourselves together, we all looked each other in the eyes and saying like hey we're not going out like this. We represent the organization but we also represent ourselves and our family and obviously we haven't performed the way we felt like we needed to perform. So that game four was the start of the Atonement and then now we've been able to pick up off that game five and hopefully we can carry it on to game six. See what I mean?

Not one mention of basketball in there, not one mention of defense, not one mention of three pointers, not one mention of anything except for character, except for the types of skills and effort that you would use in even in battle. As I was listening to Jason and Jalen again, I was thinking about our men and women who serve overseas. Now are these stakes quote unquote a lot higher? Is that is that a matter of life and death? Yes. Is that so much more important and critical?

Yes. But as we head into Memorial Day weekend, it actually strikes me that what Jason and Jalen are talking about could apply in many other areas of our lives. They're not talking about playing better basketball. They're talking about being committed and determined and accountable and disciplined and focused and passionate. Gosh, that resonates, right?

Regardless of what sport or what skill or adventure or challenge we're talking about. And the Heat have said the same thing. They have, in fact, said the same thing. So can they tap into that again? One more from the Celtics. This is Marcus Smart and he says the Celtics are a heck of a lot more comfortable now. They snuck up on us and got us. You know, these last two games for sure. We definitely just wanted to turn it around.

You know, we wanted to go out there and leave it on the court and, you know, let the results fall where they may. The obvious question is why did it take three games for you guys to change the mentality when you say they snuck up on you and why not one game or something? That's the thing about sneaking up on somebody. They're not supposed to know you're coming.

So that's what happened. We didn't know. We didn't see it and they got us. So it wasn't like we were trying to have that mindset as just as part of the game, as part of life, as part of the roller coaster of playing in the NBA at the highest level.

You're going to have ups and you're going to have downs but figuring out when you get down how to get back up and that's what we've done. Yeah, interesting from Marcus Smart. They snuck up on us and I will say it again. How do you have a team that, A, you're super familiar with? This is the Miami Heat.

They've been in three of the last four conference finals. How does that team with Jimmy Butler and other championship members like Kevin Love and Kyle Lowry and a bam out of bio, how do they sneak up on you? And in game number three, when you're in Miami and you're facing a deficit that has never been overcome, how do you come out and play like a bunch of slugs?

I mean, how does that happen? Well, Joe Mazzola has one answer. You'll hear that following the update and poor Grant Williams. He's in pain and not from the basketball game. Also, why is Jimmy Butler unconcerned?

Good stuff. And if you haven't heard Gilbert Arenas talk about Nikola Jokic, oh dear, it's not a slight on Nikola's basketball acumen or the fact that he was an MVP twice. But do you know how Mike Malone enjoys using slights to motivate his team? He enjoys throwing it back in the faces of the doubters. Oh, just wait. They've got some new bulletin board material courtesy of Gilbert Arenas. I don't know. Well, you might not pay attention, but your coach does. Your coach definitely does. And he's got more now to put into the pipe and smoke it.

You put that in your pipe, you smoke it. I mean, it's coming. Just wait.

It's coming. All right. All right. On Twitter, A-LOL Radio. Happy almost Friday. Happy almost payday for us. If you're on the same schedule, woo.

You are listening to the After Hours Podcast. Sam Houser will have to inbound it and that will do it. The Boston Celtics win game four facing elimination. They win game five facing elimination. And the Celtics have taken their talents and the series back to South Beach game six on Saturday night.

The final score, Boston 110, Miami 97. One of our assistants put it in great perspective with the season's like nine months long and we just had a bad week. Sometimes you have a bad week at work.

And we obviously didn't pick the best time to have a bad week, but we did. And we're sticking together and fighting like hell, keep it alive. And the guys are really coming together.

This is After Hours with Amy Lawrence. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio and it's impossible until someone or something or some group accomplishes it, right? I would say the Miami Heat are in a precarious position. They may not agree, but it seems like they're in a precarious position for a couple of reasons. Number one, this is the team that we saw from the Heat a lot of the season, right? This is the team that can go stretches without getting the big baskets or can go stretches and not regain momentum. But in addition, this is the team that we saw from the Celtics a good portion of the season.

Not the whole time, of course. They did go through that that spurt where they were losing all those games in the fourth quarter, remember? And they ended up getting bypassed or leapfrogged by Milwaukee for the top seed and the top record in the NBA. But they were the second best record in the league. So there's a lot of this that Celtics fans are familiar with, NBA is familiar with. But can they do it for two more games, including one in Miami? Because as I pointed out, the Heat outscored the Celtics by a couple of points in quarters two, three, and four combined. It was just that first quarter where they were punched in the gut and weren't able to fully recover.

Sean Grady and Cedric Maxwell on Celtics Radio and Joe Missoula. I like what he had to say about the fact that it's a nine-month season. We just had a really bad week.

In the scope of nine months, we had a really bad week. Grant Williams, he didn't have a bad game, wasn't as big a scoring game as what he's had in the past, but total team effort. He logged a lot of minutes and he gets interviewed by NBC Sports Boston as Jalen Brown and Al Horford are walking by and apparently a little bit too exuberant in their pats, pats, I'm using my air quotation, on the behind. The energy was tremendous. We had to do our job to make sure we get it back here. That's number one goal. Take care of the next game, one game at a time.

We can't look too far ahead and make sure that we got to make sure we take this one game at a time and make sure that we just make sure we stay together. Poor guy had to gather himself before he could even finish answering the question. Wait, just play the second half of that where they're walking by. You can hear the smack on his rear end.

It's so loud and he can barely keep talking. Take care of the next game, one game at a time. We can't look too far ahead and make sure that we got.

He caught himself before he said something that he couldn't take back. Ouch, ouch, ouch. Why Jalen Brown? Why Al Horford?

Too far ahead? No, no. I'm only laughing because it's awful. That makes zero sense whatsoever. That's like intent to injure. That's supposed to be the loudest slap I've ever heard. That should have incurred a targeting penalty, I feel like. That's friendly fire. I don't know what they're doing out there. Or what's the other one in the NFL that gets the unnecessary roughness?

I don't remember if that's the actual flag. I'm so out of NFL mode, which is funny because we've been talking football this week. It's after hours here on CBS Sports Radio. All right, so how are the Heat feeling right now, coach?

Who cares about mood? We have a gnarly group, so I think so much of that is overrated. It's a competitive series. You always expect things to be challenging in the conference finals. One game doesn't lead to the next game. Based on all the experience that we've had, it doesn't matter in the playoffs. It doesn't matter if you lose by whatever. We beat them by whatever in game three.

It just doesn't matter. It's about collectively preparing and putting together a great game. We'll play much better on Saturday, and that's all we just have to focus on right now. The last two games are not who we are. It just happened to be that way, and we stopped playing defense halfway because we didn't make shots that we wanted to make, but that's easy corrected. We just got to come out and play harder from jump, so like I always say, it's going to be all smiles. We're going to keep it very, very, very consistent knowing that we are going to win the next game.

I love Jimmy Butler. He doubles down non-stop, and it's not just because he believes in himself. It's because he believes in the guys that are around him, and because there's a track record.

There's evidence, right? Bam Adebayo says the same thing. They've gone through so many ups and downs this regular season.

This is no big thing to drop back to back. Why would we lose confidence? When we started this journey, nobody believed in us. Everybody thought we was going to be out the first round.

Everybody thought we was going to be out the second round, and now we're here one game away, so for us, man, we've always had confidence, and that's not going to go away. Bam Adebayo definitely was harassed by the defense. Six turnovers in this one, though. He had 16 points and eight rebounds, and when the Heat were making a run, he was the catalyst for it. Jimmy Butler only took 10 shots. This is, I believe, the lowest scoring game he's had in the postseason.

Only 14 points for him. They need more from those two guys. You could call them their superstar tandem. Those are clearly the two best players, and with Gabe Minton missing, and with more of their guards missing, it means a lot of extra responsibility on Butler when it comes to ball handling. It's After Hours with Amy Lawrence on CBS Sports Radio.

Now, coming up 30 minutes from now, your chance to hear the fourth Chubby Bunny World Championship as it aired live on Thursday morning here on CBS Sports Radio, so that's coming up. Also, we've got game four between the Stars and the Knights that goes into overtime. Man, we got some great stuff from football, including one of the Lions who's suspended for gambling, saying he didn't even know the rules, but before the top, Gilbert Arenas, NBA veteran. He actually believes that the NBA can't use these big men like Nikola Jokic as a great marketing strategy. They're not the faces of the NBA, according to him. The NBA is not built off of that. They don't survive off that.

They never have. Tim Duncan was four rings in, and when he went to go win his fifth one, we said, oh, this is boring. Nobody wants to see Tim Duncan in the Spurs in the championship. That's just facts. No matter how many rings they won, no one really cared about the Spurs like that. You know, Jokic can win his championship. No one's going to care. Let's just be honest.

I'm sorry. He's not going to go from where he is right now to this super mega star because he's not doing anything kids want to see. It's the players, their personality. You know, Jokic is great, but he doesn't have it.

Wow. Gilbert Arenas. This guy is an NBA veteran. He was a three-time all-star, three-time all-NBA.

He played for multiple teams in the league, last about a decade ago, but he tells JJ Reddick on Old Man and the Three that Nikola Jokic does not have it. He's not exciting. He's not dazzling. Kids don't want to see him play like they would, say, a Steph Curry. He didn't name Steph, but it's obvious that that's kind of the style he's referring to and that no one will care.

Let's be honest. Nobody will care if Jokic gets a ring. Well, what about Jamal Murray? Do we care if Jamal Murray gets a ring?

Wow. What are the chances that Mike Malone uses that over and over and over again to once again fire up the Denver Nuggets? And then also raise your hand if you don't care if Nikola Jokic gets a ring? First, it's not just Nikola Jokic, first of all, but second of all, the Denver Nuggets have never had an appearance in the NBA Finals, much less an NBA championship. I kind of feel like that's a great storyline, but maybe I'm missing something. I do love fresh blood and new material, so I could be way off base here, but man, have at it, Coach Malone. It's after hours on CBS Sports Radio. at your local CSL plasma center and be rewarded for your generosity.