Reflecting on Bill Walton's Legacy & NBA Playoff Updates
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 - Welcome back to Newswire here on Sports Grid.
00:05 Let's get into the latest in the NBA
00:07 and of course preview tonight's game.
00:08 Look back in the past, speaking of the past,
00:11 what a life and career it was for Bill Walton
00:13 who passed away at the age of 71 yesterday.
00:15 Gilbert McGregor joins us now here on the show.
00:16 Gilbert, what a life for Bill Walton,
00:19 who arguably was one of the best college basketball players
00:21 of all time at UCLA.
00:23 Went on to have a great career in the NBA as well.
00:26 Portland, of course, winning championship
00:28 with the Boston Celtics.
00:30 A big fan of the Grateful Dead,
00:31 big fan of being funny on broadcasts
00:34 and lived his best life, so to speak.
00:37 Caught me by surprise.
00:39 I didn't even have any of this coming,
00:41 but no one really with a negative thing to say
00:43 about Bill Walton, which tells you all you need
00:45 to know about the guy.
00:47 - Absolutely, Craig.
00:48 I think those are the biggest points
00:50 when I think about the life and legacy of Bill Walton.
00:53 One, that he has an argument to be one
00:55 of the greatest college basketball players ever,
00:58 three-time national player of the year at a time
01:00 where freshmen couldn't play varsity.
01:01 So he was three for three with national player
01:04 of the year awards and thinking about what he did
01:05 with the Blazers and winning that franchise,
01:07 a championship and winning MVP
01:10 and then redefining himself later in his career
01:11 after injuries to be a six man of the year
01:14 and play a great role for arguably one of the best teams
01:17 in NBA history, that Celtics team.
01:19 But the biggest thing is the life that he led
01:22 outside of the lines and seeing all the stories
01:26 that everybody shared about their times
01:28 encountering Bill Walton.
01:29 Everyone left a smile on my face.
01:32 So it just kind of speaks to the impact that he had
01:35 during his time on earth and the legacy
01:37 that will definitely live forever.
01:40 - Yeah, I think so too.
01:42 A lot of fun watching this guy call basketball games,
01:44 called a baseball game last year as well.
01:46 All right, let's get to Celtics Pacers.
01:49 Gilbert, you pretty much nailed this one.
01:51 Not a long series, ended up going less than the five
01:54 and a half over on FanDuel 105-102.
01:57 What's interesting to me, I guess, Gilbert,
01:59 is that Boston can't cover a spread,
02:00 but they sure can win a game.
02:02 That's kind of the story of the series.
02:04 - Absolutely.
02:05 You know, it's funny.
02:06 They found ways to continuously win.
02:08 And I guess you could say the Pacers continue
02:10 to find ways to lose as well, looking back at this series
02:13 and really three games that could have gone either way.
02:16 The Pacers were played by turnovers down the stretch
02:18 and the absence of Tyrese Halliburton as well.
02:21 But obviously you have to acknowledge the absence
02:23 of Chris Dapps Porzingis for the Celtics,
02:25 which them winning this series in four games
02:28 and somehow finding ways to take care of business
02:30 and really kind of do away with some of the narratives
02:33 that they are unable to win games in the clutch,
02:36 it will be a huge favor to them.
02:37 Now they have 10 days off as they prepare for the finals
02:40 and they'll probably get Chris Dapps Porzingis
02:41 back in the lineup.
02:42 So a very weird series.
02:44 It definitely felt closer than a sweep,
02:47 but at the same time, it was clear the Celtics
02:49 were the better team because they continued
02:50 to find ways to win despite what the Pacers threw at them.
02:54 - And sort of a story for redemption for Jalen Brown,
02:58 whose last postseason didn't go very well,
03:00 much better this time around.
03:02 - Absolutely.
03:03 You know, I think people were giving him a lot of flack
03:05 for the contract he received, but who could blame him
03:07 for signing that $300 million deal?
03:09 He certainly lived up to it.
03:10 I think it's big for him to get that Eastern Conference
03:13 finals MVP award.
03:14 I know he said he doesn't win a lot of things.
03:16 I think it was well-deserved.
03:17 He had big moments in the series,
03:19 especially that three-pointer in game one,
03:21 which again was the Celtics finding a way
03:23 to win that game.
03:25 So big kudos to him, and I'm sure that leaves
03:28 the big trophy for Jason Tatum, have that in his eyes.
03:31 (upbeat music)
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