- 2 days ago
The Atlanta Hawks are paired up with the Knicks in the first round. What will it take for them to stun them?
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00:00It's Dukes and Bell on Sports Radio 929 today. We start off every day and every hour by saying...
00:05Hey, man!
00:06Mike Bell.
00:07Is your mic on?
00:08I hope so. Is it not?
00:10Wait a minute. We've got technical excuse from the jump.
00:14There we go.
00:15Hey! There it is.
00:16Let's start again.
00:17Oh! Well, we start off every day and every hour by saying, hey, man!
00:20I don't know. Maybe a button wasn't pushed.
00:22Nevertheless, the Braves guys are rolling.
00:26And last night, they hit a speed bump.
00:28We've got to get into this, and we will.
00:29We're going to talk about the start of this Hawks series because Mike C.J. McCollum is going to stop
00:34by the show today.
00:34I don't think we have a chance to speak with him since he got signed over here after the trade,
00:37I should say.
00:38So, looking forward to talking with him and the questions we talked about on our pre-show today on Twitch
00:42and YouTube.
00:42Who handles the Rock in those two minutes when we were going, nah, nah, nah, against Cleveland and against the
00:47Knicks?
00:47And, you know, talk about his veteran experience with some of the young guys.
00:50Nikhil Alexander-Walker's got playoff experience.
00:52But how do you handle some of the things and the problems that the Knicks will present in the half
00:57court going on the road to the Garden?
00:58But looking forward to talking to C.J.
01:00Yeah, I think, you know, when we talk about these last few minutes of either a quarter, because end of
01:05quarters matter, and certainly the end of the game, it's going to come down to, you know, the creativity.
01:11I think, unless, you know, Quinn is not going to draw up something.
01:14But I think the creativity of this coaching staff, Mike, you know, you call timeouts, you hold on to them
01:18to the end of the games.
01:18And it hasn't looked like it should for us, especially the last two games.
01:23We're talking about the Cavs and the Knicks.
01:24But nevertheless, man, I think we got a great shot to upset the Knicks.
01:27I said to Mike today, everybody's looking at us as the scrappy young Hawks.
01:31Okay, cool.
01:33I don't mind being the underdog.
01:35As a matter of fact, I like that role, and I think these guys will probably embrace it, because everybody
01:38will be talking about the Knicks and what they think the Knicks are going to do.
01:41Obviously, they placed in the hands of Josh Johnson, who's, you know, a burgeoning star in this league.
01:45The brother can play.
01:46Jalen, Jalen, Steven, Jalen Johnson.
01:50Mike, last night, Braves lose 10-4 to the Marlins.
01:52Grant Holmes, we talked about all these guys, man.
01:55What did you make of him being pulled in this game last night?
01:57Well, I mean, okay, old Mike, like maybe five or six years ago.
02:01Okay, give me old Mike.
02:02Before I had my heart issue, I kind of learned to fire sale it, fire sale it, show more, you
02:07know, patience and restraint and, you know, less anger.
02:09I go, what a candy ass, what the heck, he threw 99 pitches last time.
02:14He's coming off an injury.
02:15They could have done Tommy John.
02:16They decided to go with, you know, therapy and the URL stuff.
02:18So he is going to be monitored.
02:21And Walt Weiss is the new age of baseball, where a guy who's no spring chicken coming off an arm
02:26issue,
02:27throwing 99 pitches a week before, all of a sudden they see immediately, they're watching it like a hawk.
02:31The velocity dips down.
02:33And so that was the last inning pitch.
02:35So, yeah, the old school would say, bah, you know, what the heck.
02:38They're trying to protect the guy.
02:40And considering that everybody in this rotation is coming off an injury, you got to watch it.
02:44So they're taking their time.
02:45And I don't like it because Aaron Bummer came in.
02:48It was terrible.
02:48And the rest of the bullpen couldn't do the job.
02:50But, you know, the argument was, you got a nice episode from Dylan Dodd the other day.
02:55Gives the pressure off the bullpen.
02:56Then you put the bullpen right back in the frying pan.
02:58They couldn't respond.
02:59Yeah.
03:00And, again, it was funny because after the game, Walt Weiss said, hey, I had to go explain to Grant
03:05Holmes what the reasoning behind this was.
03:07But, Mike, that's leadership.
03:08That's not just, I pulled you because I'm the manager and you do what I say, you know, like your
03:12mom used to, just because I said you need to do it.
03:14I think it was good for Walt Weiss to explain that.
03:17And then Grant Holmes was like, yeah, I get it.
03:18You know, nobody wants to be pulled.
03:20If you're a competitor and you're out there and you're pitching well and you have a bad inning, you want
03:24to come back out and right the ship.
03:25But it was 3-3 and then it wasn't until the fifth inning, as Mike mentioned, Aaron Bummer gives up
03:29that three-run shot.
03:3116 hits by the Marlins, guys.
03:32They had a series last week where they had three hits.
03:35And so an explosion last night.
03:37It matched their season high in runs.
03:39It's one of those things, Mike, I don't think the rest of the series will play out this way.
03:42But it's funny because Day-Day, or maybe it was Oren today on our pre-show behind the curtain was
03:46saying, this Marlins team's got a sneaky good, you know?
03:48Well, as we said, we were joking around with Grant McCauley yesterday about them.
03:51You know, we get used to seeing the Marlins build up their studs like Christian Yelich or John Carlos Stanton.
03:57Goodbye!
03:57You know, and then they go somewhere else.
03:59But now they're in the process of these guys are getting developed where if the past is prologue, eventually they
04:04will get traded.
04:05I don't know if Alcantara goes this year or not.
04:07But they've got some young pieces.
04:09They've always had good farm systems.
04:10The ownership is just brutal.
04:11You know the story in Miami.
04:13Unfortunately, the fans don't support it.
04:15And the owners will give them a reason to.
04:16So eventually some of these guys will be in other teams.
04:18But right now, they're good.
04:19They are good.
04:19At 404-726-0929, we'll dive into the more Braves conversation with our buddy Tony Gwynn Jr.,
04:24Odyssey MLB insider.
04:25He's going to join us in less than 10 minutes.
04:27We've got a lot of guests today, guys, and it's going to be great because Baldy's going to stop by.
04:31Brian Baldinger to talk NFL draft with us and his take on all the positions we've been looking at
04:36and what he thinks about this upcoming draft now as we count down nine days until the NFL draft.
04:42Meanwhile, as we talk about what's going on with the Falcons, Mike, everybody's trying to guess as to what position
04:49they're going to get.
04:50Where are they going in this draft?
04:51Did you do another mock today?
04:53I did.
04:54Shh.
04:54Don't tell anybody.
04:55Okay, too late.
04:56I posted on Twitter.
04:57Now, here's the deal.
04:58I'm going with ESPN because everyone argues whenever I do.
05:01Go outside, nerd.
05:02Whenever I do any of the other websites that are available to me, people just forget it.
05:07Use ESPN.
05:08So I'm with ESPN.
05:10Brandon is at Cisse from South Carolina.
05:13Really good corner.
05:14Good value there.
05:15We took him.
05:16Then I took Ted Hirsch.
05:17There was a 65% chance at the transfer from Valdosta State to Georgia State, who's very athletic, would be
05:22there for us.
05:23And then I went with Daryl Jackson, who's a very inconsistent defensive tackle from Florida State, who's got all the
05:29size.
05:30Again, if you ever get his head on straight, it's a risk.
05:32But, again, I'm also in the fourth round, so nothing's guaranteed.
05:34Patrick Payton, another guy who's got, you know, you've got to get him focused, but an edge rusher from LSU.
05:39And I just took the best tackle available with the seventh.
05:42So I didn't trade.
05:43I didn't try to make any trades.
05:44I just went chalk.
05:45But the thing is, we've got a big-time corner who could start as a nickel and could even be
05:48started by the end of the season.
05:49All right, so let me ask you this.
05:50You've done these mock drafts, and maybe many of you have as well.
05:53We'll talk about this.
05:54All the defensive tackles we wanted were gone.
05:56Christian Miller was gone.
05:57Lee Hunter was gone.
05:58All right, that's my question.
05:59When you go into these mocks, are you in your head going, I don't care who's there, I'm drafting this
06:05position?
06:05Or do you just wait to see who's there?
06:08And are you playing this out like Ian Cunningham has said to us, I'm taking the best player available?
06:12Some of these, I do the best players.
06:13Sometimes the best player is at the stud linebacker from Texas Tech, and we'll talk more about that.
06:18Rodriguez.
06:18Rodriguez is there.
06:20You know, it's one of those guys that they say, you know, it's not like he jumps off the chart
06:23in any one specific metric, but he's just really good, and he's going to be solid.
06:27And who did he remind you of?
06:28Caden Ellis.
06:29Yeah.
06:29You know, just a thought off the top of my head, but we'll get into the nuts and bolts.
06:33It's getting closer.
06:34I love D-tackle.
06:36I love, you know, again, wide receiver might be a bigger priority.
06:38Here's the thing, though.
06:39If you want to get an offensive tackle that can make a presence felt in the first couple of years,
06:43you've got to go do it there at 48.
06:46And if you don't, there's nobody there that's projected to be a starter anytime soon.
06:49Yeah.
06:49It's going to be interesting, guys.
06:50That pick is a big deal.
06:52I know we don't have a first round, and I've been saying that.
06:54I'm not just dismissing this draft.
06:56We've got a first round pick.
06:57You have five picks.
06:58You've got to make the most of it.
06:59Maybe you find a diamond in the rough late in the draft, but if you're going to tell me this
07:03early 48th pick doesn't mean anything, you're wrong about that.
07:06Because this is a guy that should have some kind of impact on your team, Mike, if he doesn't turn
07:10into a star.
07:11I mean, hell, there's a bunch of second round picks around the NFL that have turned into dudes, and so
07:16I'm not dismissing it because we have or don't have a first round pick.
07:19Meanwhile, we're going to talk to our buddy from the Golf Channel coming up in the 3 o'clock hour,
07:22Damon Hack.
07:23Mike, still people talking about the Masters.
07:26Yeah, and one thing we didn't talk about, because we were just focused on Rory and everything else that was
07:31happening, was one thing that Scotty Scheffler had to deal with on Sunday was Hatong Lee from China completely melting
07:39down and just hitting the ball everywhere but on the golf course.
07:41And him losing momentum because any time you played guys, whether you're lucky to be a private, nice, fancy-schmancy
07:47club or at your local Muni track, you know, hey, while we're young.
07:51And you're playing, and it just takes forever, and you get out of a rhythm.
07:54Scotty Scheffler had to sit there and wait for this guy to get one, two, three, four strikes, you're out
07:57all day long.
07:58And so a lot of folks are saying, and for whatever reason, CBS didn't show Lee's struggles.
08:04And a lot of folks do enjoy watching the pros look like us from time to time.
08:07But there were scenes where they couldn't even find him with a camera.
08:10So some people are saying they might have jacked up Scotty.
08:12Scotty's a professional. He's not going to complain about it, but may have jacked him up a little bit.
08:15I'll say this. And if, again, it did affect him, because pace of play is a big deal, what you're
08:20talking about.
08:21Then that even makes his round even more incredible to me, because what he, in his head, Mike, you know
08:27it.
08:27I just hit a great shot. I'm ready to go. Now I've got to wait and wait and wait.
08:32And as a professional, especially in these majors, I think that even makes it more incredible what he was able
08:38to do.
08:38Bogey-free guys Saturday and Sunday, and still, you know, was able to make a run.
08:43Came close, but wasn't able to get over the hump. And I'm not going to make excuses.
08:47I love Scotty's game. I think he's the best out there. I respect what Rory did.
08:50But that's interesting to hear that coming out of the Masters.
08:54Took a 10 on 13. Hot Tongley.
08:56Brutal. Yeah, that's brutal.
08:57A quintuple bogey. Yeah.
08:58Yeah, well, it's like, it's something I do on a Saturday.
09:01And the photos, like, they show a picture of him, and you're like, is that Augusta?
09:05Or is that Torrey Pines? He's in the Barranca.
09:07You can't even figure out where he would be in the golf course.
09:10That's what's so funny about some of the photos.
09:12So we'll ask Damon Hack if that's a consideration for a pro like Scotty Scheffler or not.
09:15All right. As we mentioned, guys, we're getting ready for the Hawks playoff run.
09:19And C.J. McCollum is going to join us later in the show.
09:23I asked the guys today, is he the most important piece?
09:27When you start talking about this playoff run and what it may ultimately turn out to be.
09:30I know people want to count us out.
09:32I'm going to tell you, look, just like 21, where nobody expected us to do anything.
09:36And that's why I bring up the young, scrappy Hawks.
09:38Okay.
09:39Can we make that kind of run again?
09:41Can you do it in 2026?
09:43The things that we had then, ironically, we have a little bit of that now.
09:48C.J. is one of the vets.
09:49We had vets on that team who understood what it took.
09:51Naha has playoff experience.
09:53You had young guys who were hungry and wanted to, you know, you got shot makers on this team.
09:57All of a sudden, Mike, you're looking at the makeup.
09:59It kind of feels familiar.
10:01The one thing we didn't know then, and I don't know if we know this now about Jalen Johnson,
10:04is he going to blossom into a star?
10:06We think he's really good.
10:08But Trey was put on the map in 21 through this playoff run.
10:12And this is where everybody kind of has, you know, you could argue that's Trey's coming
10:15out party.
10:16You know, Trey was a brand.
10:17There's a Luka or Trey.
10:18Trey or Luka.
10:19And he got there first, you know, with the big moment, the wow moment, taking the bow
10:23at the garden, rolling the dice, everything.
10:24Ice Trey.
10:25Living rent-free in Knicks fans' heads, you know, for years, even though the Hawks weren't
10:28really doing anything after that.
10:30So now it's Jalen's chance.
10:31He's an all-star.
10:32Average is 22 a game.
10:33We know what he's capable of.
10:34But now finding your way in the big moments to respond.
10:37You know, Nikhil Alexander-Walker, you know, he's like, thank you very much for all these
10:40minutes.
10:40And he looks like a guy who's been there and done that.
10:42Smaller sample size in Minnesota.
10:44So you're right.
10:45CJ McCollum can be that guy.
10:46I mean, when you think about the guys we need to lean into, and you expect buckets from
10:50in crunch time.
10:51That's it.
10:52I'm excited about it, man.
10:53I really am.
10:53I hope this is a six or seven game series.
10:56And I hope we come out victorious.
10:58I said to Mike, I really like our chances to do that.
11:00I know that the size is a concern.
11:03And we'll ask CJ about that as well.
11:04Because look, you've seen the Knicks now.
11:06You know what they are.
11:07You know what to expect.
11:09But when you get in these playoff series, man, you need a little something extra.
11:13And I'm wondering where that's going to come from with the Hawks.
11:15And you're just putting Dyson Daniels on Jalen Brunson the whole game?
11:18The whole series?
11:19Interesting.
11:20You know, so here's what's crazy, Mike.
11:21And talking to some guys around the NBA, because I was trying to get some info about the Knicks.
11:26And look, they're good.
11:27But what's their weakness?
11:29And one of the things that one of my guys told me was, when Cat and Jalen Brunson run
11:36pick and roll, if you have a traditional center on Cat, they really work well together.
11:41But when you put an athletic wing on him, it kind of makes Cat become this decision maker.
11:46And then he wants to drive to the basket, Mike, and uh-oh, turnover.
11:49Because he's putting it on the floor.
11:50Or that's not his game.
11:52He is a catch-and-shoot, set-shooter, three-point guy.
11:55Or he's down in the post and he can do a turnaround.
11:58Or, you know, he's got a variety of moves.
11:59But for him to have the ball in his hands and you have a traditional center on him, I think
12:04it makes it easier on him.
12:05So you ask that question.
12:07And what I'm going to and what I'm getting to is, maybe Quinn Snyder switches things up
12:11and puts somebody different on Cat.
12:14And you focus on Brunson, to your point about Dyson Daniels.
12:17But I don't know if you want to just exclusively go Dyson.
12:20Listen, you've just got to have maybe bigger guys on him to make it tougher for him to
12:23get his shots off.
12:24Look, I know Okongu is a guy that we've talked about continuing to develop his three-point
12:28shot.
12:28But as we said, it's just like a slightly smaller Capella.
12:31You know?
12:31And you just feel like he's going to be at a disadvantage in the front court.
12:35That's why, I mean, Jock Landau seems like a little more physicality is needed for this
12:39series.
12:39I agree with you.
12:40And unfortunately, he's still banged up because we got him mugged down in Orlando by a goon.
12:44He was.
12:45Yeah, because the Knicks offensive rebound, well, they're one of the leaders in the league.
12:49And, you know, Mitchell Robinson, we've been talking about him.
12:51And so there's going to be some interesting matchups in this series.
12:54But what we see in game one may not be what we see in game three and four.
12:59That's the uniqueness of these seven-game series.
13:01You make an adjustment and all of a sudden the Knicks may be looking at each other like,
13:04OK, what are we supposed to do?
13:05Teams have had success, Mike, putting smaller guys on Carl Anthony Towns.
13:09And again, guys, right ankle sprain, it's a high right ankle sprain for Jock Landau.
13:14Those take forever.
13:15Yeah, man.
13:15All right.
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