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In l A visit www dot 20 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:18,240 Speaker 1: m d gambling help dot org in Maryland dial one 21 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: eight seven seven eight Hope and Why, or text Hope 22 00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: and Why to four six seven three six nine in 23 00:01:26,280 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: New York, called one five to two four seven zero 24 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: zero in Wyoming, or visit www dot one Gambler dot 25 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:49,600 Speaker 1: net in West Virginia. All right, welcome to Hoops Tonight, 26 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: versed by Vanduel here at the Volume. Happy Monday, everybody. 27 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:55,000 Speaker 1: I hope all of you guys have had a great weekend. 28 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:57,560 Speaker 1: We have a jam pack show tonight, four games that 29 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:01,880 Speaker 1: we're getting into Lakers, Blazers, Nuggets, he Eat, Wizards, Warriors, 30 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: and Grizzlies Celtics. You guys know the drill before we 31 00:02:04,960 --> 00:02:07,400 Speaker 1: get started. Subscribe to the Volumes YouTube channel so you 32 00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on 33 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:12,280 Speaker 1: Twitter at underscore Jason Ltis, you guys don't miss any 34 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,799 Speaker 1: show announcements. 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Alright, 62 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:37,440 Speaker 1: So the Blazers beat the crap out of the Los 63 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,240 Speaker 1: Angeles Lakers again tonight, and I wanted to talk a 64 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:42,880 Speaker 1: little bit about Darvin ham and his game plan because 65 00:03:42,880 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 1: we spent a lot of time in our last show 66 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,280 Speaker 1: talking about Darvin Hamm's genius game plan against the Golden 67 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:51,760 Speaker 1: State Warriors when he was top locking on all of 68 00:03:51,800 --> 00:03:55,200 Speaker 1: the off ball actions and ignoring all the nonshooters and 69 00:03:55,200 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: trying to funnel all of Golden States back cuts into 70 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:01,080 Speaker 1: rim protection. Well, it's night. You got to see the 71 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:04,960 Speaker 1: other side of that, which is kind of a stubborn 72 00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:08,560 Speaker 1: ideology from the Mike Budenholzer coaching tree, which is where 73 00:04:08,640 --> 00:04:11,480 Speaker 1: Darvin Hamm came from, and that is running drop coverage 74 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,960 Speaker 1: against absurdly good pull up jump shooters, which is going 75 00:04:15,000 --> 00:04:17,160 Speaker 1: to end a lot like what you saw tonight with 76 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:21,039 Speaker 1: Damian Lillard lighting the Lakers on fire for thirty points 77 00:04:21,560 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: in the first half. Now, again with drop coverage, when 78 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: it's running properly, it works when the guard is chasing 79 00:04:31,560 --> 00:04:34,480 Speaker 1: over the top of the screen and applying back pressure 80 00:04:35,320 --> 00:04:38,800 Speaker 1: and the big man is up higher to contain against 81 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,160 Speaker 1: those pull up floaters and mid range shots, and is 82 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,480 Speaker 1: the type of athlete that Anthony Davis is that can 83 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:46,279 Speaker 1: get back and protect the rim or the way that 84 00:04:46,279 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: Brook Lopez is for the Milwaukee Bucks. When it works, 85 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:55,080 Speaker 1: when it's done properly, it's really effective. The problem is 86 00:04:55,080 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 1: is that it's nearly impossible to run properly. It's especially 87 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,040 Speaker 1: over some sort of large sample size. I mean, tonight 88 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,159 Speaker 1: was another great example of that. You see the Lakers 89 00:05:06,200 --> 00:05:09,080 Speaker 1: do a really nice job on Dame for a few minutes. 90 00:05:10,320 --> 00:05:12,640 Speaker 1: It's one thing to do it once. It's another thing 91 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:14,359 Speaker 1: to do it twice. It's another thing to do it 92 00:05:14,440 --> 00:05:17,120 Speaker 1: three times. It's a whole different animal when you have 93 00:05:17,160 --> 00:05:19,440 Speaker 1: to do it forty to fifty times in a game. 94 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:22,800 Speaker 1: And I've just seen this way too often in recent 95 00:05:23,000 --> 00:05:25,920 Speaker 1: NBA history, where these really really good pull up jump 96 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: shooting guards, they don't have any issue getting separation from 97 00:05:30,080 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: the guard going over the ball screen. And so then 98 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:34,520 Speaker 1: all of a sudden, You're big man is in this 99 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:37,839 Speaker 1: awkward position where if he's not high enough, it's just 100 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:40,960 Speaker 1: pull up jump shot city, and if he is high, 101 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: it's an easy pocket pass to the big man rolling 102 00:05:44,040 --> 00:05:46,800 Speaker 1: down the lane. We look at Boston versus Golden State 103 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:48,839 Speaker 1: in the finals last year. This was a major topic 104 00:05:48,839 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: of discussion for US as we were breaking down that series. 105 00:05:51,600 --> 00:05:55,839 Speaker 1: Just in general, I wanted Boston to switch and try 106 00:05:55,880 --> 00:05:58,920 Speaker 1: to force Steph Curry and Jordan Pool and Clay Thompson 107 00:05:58,960 --> 00:06:00,719 Speaker 1: and all them to ice so that ball game long. 108 00:06:01,240 --> 00:06:06,120 Speaker 1: But instead he ran drop coverage and even Udoka did 109 00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:09,240 Speaker 1: and as a result, they got burned in Game four. 110 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: Steph Curry let them on fire and they lost the 111 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: series that they probably should have won in retrospect, at 112 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,600 Speaker 1: least they had the talent to And you know, again, 113 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:22,760 Speaker 1: like if you're Steph Curry and you see that coverage, 114 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:28,320 Speaker 1: are you uncomfortable? Where are you comfortable? You're you're salivating 115 00:06:28,320 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: at that coverage. Look at the difference between that genius 116 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: game plan against Golden State in the Lakers game the 117 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:39,479 Speaker 1: other night, where you're actively making guys who don't want 118 00:06:39,480 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 1: to shoot in Draymond Green and Jonathan Cominga and Kevon 119 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:46,880 Speaker 1: Looney take wide open shots, and then you're making the 120 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,560 Speaker 1: guards who want to shoot jump shots trying to finish 121 00:06:50,600 --> 00:06:53,320 Speaker 1: over length around the rim. That's a game plan that 122 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,240 Speaker 1: makes them do something that they're uncomfortable doing, and so 123 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: as a result that led to positive results. But when you, 124 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:04,960 Speaker 1: when you're game playing, actively plays into the strengths of 125 00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:08,760 Speaker 1: the other team's best player, that's what's gonna happen. You're 126 00:07:08,760 --> 00:07:11,640 Speaker 1: gonna give up thirty points to Damian Lillard and you're 127 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 1: gonna get your butt kicked. The problem with guys that 128 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:19,320 Speaker 1: are so beholden to drop coverage, Guys like Mike Budenholzer, 129 00:07:19,680 --> 00:07:21,760 Speaker 1: guys like he made you Doka, guys like Darvin Ham. 130 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: A lot of coaches around like I don't wanna be 131 00:07:23,360 --> 00:07:25,360 Speaker 1: over the critical of the them because it is kind 132 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:27,679 Speaker 1: of a common thing that we see around the NBA. 133 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,720 Speaker 1: The problem is that when guys start making shots, they 134 00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:33,840 Speaker 1: look at it as an execution problem instead of a 135 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:37,200 Speaker 1: flaw in the coverage. So, for instance, like one of 136 00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:40,480 Speaker 1: the big reasons why Darvin Ham starts with Dennis Schroeder 137 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:44,160 Speaker 1: as opposed to playing an off ball player that compliments 138 00:07:44,600 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: the other starters in that lineup better is he thinks 139 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,280 Speaker 1: of him as like, hey, I can trust Dennis to 140 00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:52,920 Speaker 1: chase him over the top of the screen, and like 141 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,160 Speaker 1: I said, he did at first. But that's a really 142 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:58,800 Speaker 1: tough job, and over the course of the game he 143 00:07:58,920 --> 00:08:02,200 Speaker 1: started to get food old by Dame as Dame started 144 00:08:02,200 --> 00:08:03,920 Speaker 1: to get him to lean one way over the screen 145 00:08:03,960 --> 00:08:05,800 Speaker 1: and then reject the screen and go the other way, 146 00:08:05,920 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: or get him to go under over the screen, but 147 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:10,640 Speaker 1: then it can completely pull back and go the other way. 148 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: Now he's trapped on the wrong side of the screen, 149 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: or just all in it. Just in general getting caught 150 00:08:16,240 --> 00:08:19,800 Speaker 1: on the screen. It's just a really, really difficult job 151 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:22,920 Speaker 1: to do, and inevitably, over the course of time, guys 152 00:08:22,960 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: will get caught on those screens. That's why if you 153 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:28,080 Speaker 1: look at Dennis's first shift, it looked great, but then 154 00:08:28,080 --> 00:08:31,160 Speaker 1: the rest of the game he was getting barbecued by Dame. 155 00:08:32,120 --> 00:08:34,360 Speaker 1: But from Darvin sitting on the sideline, he's looking at 156 00:08:34,400 --> 00:08:37,800 Speaker 1: that and he's going, we aren't executing it right, as 157 00:08:37,800 --> 00:08:41,120 Speaker 1: opposed to acknowledging that like there's nobody in the league 158 00:08:41,120 --> 00:08:44,040 Speaker 1: that can execute that right against a great pull up 159 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 1: jump shooter. For for that large sample size, Marcus Smart 160 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:52,559 Speaker 1: and Derek White are much better defensive guards then the 161 00:08:52,600 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 1: guard corps of the Lakers, and they were getting barbecued 162 00:08:55,800 --> 00:08:59,320 Speaker 1: and drop coverage in the finals. You know, Al Horford 163 00:08:59,320 --> 00:09:01,480 Speaker 1: and Robert william were coming pretty damn high up to 164 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:04,440 Speaker 1: the level of screen. They were getting barbecued. Anthony Davis 165 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,439 Speaker 1: was coming pretty damn high. He was getting barbecued. It's 166 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:10,880 Speaker 1: just extremely difficult to do. It's one thing against guys 167 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:13,360 Speaker 1: that can make pull up jump shots, but when you're 168 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:16,320 Speaker 1: going against the top tier guys in the league. If 169 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,959 Speaker 1: it's Dame Lillard, if it's Steph Curry, if it's Kyrie Irving, 170 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 1: you cannot run that coverage. They work so hard on 171 00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:29,760 Speaker 1: those shots every day of their life that they are 172 00:09:29,840 --> 00:09:33,120 Speaker 1: comfortable in that setting. I mean, Dame was coming down 173 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:37,440 Speaker 1: early shot clock, seconds on the shot clock, just right 174 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 1: over the ball screen, stopping pop from like twenty six 175 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:45,760 Speaker 1: ft bucket. He just works too hard on that. Again, 176 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 1: you wanna you wanna, you wanna target your game plan 177 00:09:49,440 --> 00:09:53,680 Speaker 1: towards what makes teams uncomfortable. So for instance, if you 178 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 1: trapped Dame or you aggressively switch, now the shots that 179 00:09:57,960 --> 00:10:00,360 Speaker 1: Dame has to take, he has to get separate with 180 00:10:00,440 --> 00:10:03,800 Speaker 1: a live dribble and like yeah, like he's gonna hit 181 00:10:03,840 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 1: some of those. Like he had a really tough step 182 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:07,600 Speaker 1: back over Austin Reaves at the end of the first half, 183 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 1: like a hard step back that he but like broke 184 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:13,600 Speaker 1: Austin off and knocked it down. That's in much tougher 185 00:10:13,679 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 1: shot than him coming off of a ball screen. You 186 00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:22,439 Speaker 1: might have to help and rotate out of it. That's correct. 187 00:10:23,080 --> 00:10:26,600 Speaker 1: But wouldn't you rather give up shots to lesser shooters 188 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,400 Speaker 1: on the back end then one of the greatest pull 189 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:31,760 Speaker 1: up jump shooters to ever play the game of basketball. 190 00:10:33,160 --> 00:10:35,199 Speaker 1: That that's the way. That's the way I look at 191 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:38,559 Speaker 1: it is you've gotta target your game plan towards what 192 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: what makes the other team uncomfortable day wants to score. 193 00:10:41,800 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 1: If you turn them into a passer all game long 194 00:10:44,280 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 1: and you make role players make shots, I think you 195 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,400 Speaker 1: have a better chance. And so I thought that was 196 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:52,360 Speaker 1: an interesting kind of back and forth example of how 197 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:55,400 Speaker 1: a game plan can go right against the Warriors and 198 00:10:55,440 --> 00:10:58,320 Speaker 1: then how a game plan can go wrong against the Blazers. 199 00:10:58,320 --> 00:11:01,120 Speaker 1: And the really unfortunate part of it is, yeah, did 200 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:05,360 Speaker 1: they shoot better than usual? Yeah, okay, but if they 201 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:08,320 Speaker 1: make four or five less of those threes, it's still 202 00:11:08,360 --> 00:11:10,920 Speaker 1: I mean, they were up by most of the second half. 203 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,640 Speaker 1: It's just not that it just it just put yourself 204 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:16,319 Speaker 1: in a position where it was really difficult to win 205 00:11:16,400 --> 00:11:18,600 Speaker 1: that game, and unfortunately, because of where you are in 206 00:11:18,600 --> 00:11:22,160 Speaker 1: the standings. You know, a hot shooting game like this 207 00:11:22,240 --> 00:11:25,640 Speaker 1: is you know, if if Boston loses in a hot 208 00:11:25,640 --> 00:11:28,280 Speaker 1: shooting environment, they can go like, oh it is what 209 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:31,600 Speaker 1: it is. We have forty one wins, you have twenty 210 00:11:31,679 --> 00:11:35,679 Speaker 1: six wins. You don't have time to lose because of 211 00:11:35,720 --> 00:11:39,560 Speaker 1: shooting variants. The last thing I want to talk about 212 00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: in this game was Anthony Davis again. He had nineteen 213 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:44,959 Speaker 1: points and twenty rebounds tonight. One of the weirdest things 214 00:11:45,000 --> 00:11:47,320 Speaker 1: about covering this Lakers team over the last few years 215 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:50,280 Speaker 1: has been Anthony Davis and Lebron James can put up 216 00:11:50,320 --> 00:11:54,560 Speaker 1: monster box score numbers every single night, but there's always 217 00:11:54,559 --> 00:11:56,800 Speaker 1: a huge difference between what their box score says and 218 00:11:56,880 --> 00:12:00,120 Speaker 1: what their real impact was. Like A d grabbed a 219 00:12:00,200 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: lot of uncontested rebounds in this game, particularly in the 220 00:12:03,080 --> 00:12:05,960 Speaker 1: first half, where guys weren't even crashing the glass. They're 221 00:12:05,960 --> 00:12:08,600 Speaker 1: just running back in transition defense and eight is just 222 00:12:08,600 --> 00:12:10,840 Speaker 1: grabbing an uncontested rebounds, So that's a really easy way 223 00:12:10,880 --> 00:12:15,720 Speaker 1: to fill up the statue. Anthony Davis took eighteen shots 224 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:18,560 Speaker 1: in thirty one minutes. So you see nineteen and twenty, 225 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:21,120 Speaker 1: you're like, oh, he's one point shy of game. No, no no, no. 226 00:12:21,559 --> 00:12:24,439 Speaker 1: He was on a basketball court with a Portland Trailblazers 227 00:12:24,480 --> 00:12:27,280 Speaker 1: team where every single player on that team was physically 228 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:31,719 Speaker 1: incapable of even coming close to handling it, even with 229 00:12:31,800 --> 00:12:35,480 Speaker 1: help and double teams, which Portland when they did double 230 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 1: it was sloppy and a lot of times they left 231 00:12:37,120 --> 00:12:38,760 Speaker 1: him on the island on an island. This was not 232 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:42,959 Speaker 1: Golden State swarming Anthony Davis. This was a sloppy defensive 233 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:45,960 Speaker 1: Portland's team that was leaving Anthony Davis on an island 234 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,720 Speaker 1: a lot. He took eighteen shots and only got nineteen 235 00:12:48,760 --> 00:12:52,920 Speaker 1: points out of him. Now, again, I don't know it's 236 00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:59,680 Speaker 1: there is the foot injury, and I do have some 237 00:13:00,160 --> 00:13:03,480 Speaker 1: is there. I personally had a stress fracture before one 238 00:13:03,480 --> 00:13:06,959 Speaker 1: of my seasons playing in college. And it's funny because 239 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:10,600 Speaker 1: I in the first half of the season was terrible. 240 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 1: At one point, I got pulled into the coach's office 241 00:13:15,240 --> 00:13:17,360 Speaker 1: and the coach basically was like, hey, I gave you 242 00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: this full right scholarship, what's the deal, man? And they 243 00:13:21,160 --> 00:13:23,040 Speaker 1: actually pulled me from the starting lineup for I think 244 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,640 Speaker 1: two games, and I had just come off of this 245 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:28,680 Speaker 1: foot injury and I wasn't playing well. He had every 246 00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 1: right to feel that way. But then in the second 247 00:13:31,559 --> 00:13:34,720 Speaker 1: half of the season, I started to trust my foot 248 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:37,240 Speaker 1: again and I played really well and I made an 249 00:13:37,240 --> 00:13:38,960 Speaker 1: All Conference team in the second half of the season. 250 00:13:39,520 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 1: So like part of me wants to be like, you 251 00:13:43,040 --> 00:13:47,120 Speaker 1: know it, maybe it's just his foot, but the reality 252 00:13:47,240 --> 00:13:51,839 Speaker 1: is that they don't have the time like they they 253 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,880 Speaker 1: cannot afford for a d to ease his way into 254 00:13:55,920 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 1: this And if he does need another month to get 255 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,600 Speaker 1: things right with his foot, then this Lakers team has 256 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:05,640 Speaker 1: no ceiling. And and it's been one of the more 257 00:14:05,720 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 1: sad subplots of this Lebron Anthony Davis era. With the 258 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:16,559 Speaker 1: exception of the season when they won the title, Anthony 259 00:14:16,640 --> 00:14:20,480 Speaker 1: Davis has been incapable of remaining at his ceiling. We've 260 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:23,480 Speaker 1: seen bits and pieces of it. You saw him dominate 261 00:14:23,520 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 1: the Suns for two games in the playoffs. You saw 262 00:14:27,160 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 1: him earlier this season when I was two years ago. 263 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,040 Speaker 1: But you saw him earlier this season put together like 264 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:33,760 Speaker 1: a ten fifteen game stretch where he looked like you 265 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,400 Speaker 1: might be the best player in the world, drops fifty 266 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: in Washington and then leaves early the next game because 267 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:44,480 Speaker 1: he's sick, then gets in foul trouble against Joel Embiid, 268 00:14:44,520 --> 00:14:47,480 Speaker 1: and shortly after that he's hurt. And we haven't seen 269 00:14:47,520 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: the same a D since And it's just really unfortunate 270 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:55,680 Speaker 1: because his inability to remain at that ceiling has put 271 00:14:55,760 --> 00:14:58,640 Speaker 1: the entire franchise at a disadvantage. Again, like I always 272 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:00,880 Speaker 1: say this, but when you have on James and Anthony 273 00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:04,360 Speaker 1: Davis on the roster to be as bad as they've 274 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 1: been the last two years, you need a lot of 275 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,640 Speaker 1: things to go wrong. It's not just one thing. It 276 00:15:09,760 --> 00:15:12,760 Speaker 1: wasn't just Russ not playing well. It wasn't just the 277 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: role players that they sent out in the Rush trade. 278 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:19,760 Speaker 1: It was also Lebron getting hurt a lot, Anthony Davis 279 00:15:19,760 --> 00:15:23,760 Speaker 1: getting hurt even more. And when Lebron has been able 280 00:15:23,760 --> 00:15:27,560 Speaker 1: to play, he's been m v P level. When Anthony 281 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:31,720 Speaker 1: Davis has been on the floor, it's been somewhere between 282 00:15:31,800 --> 00:15:35,600 Speaker 1: Clint Capela and top tier a D a little closer 283 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:39,080 Speaker 1: than to Clint Capella than were comfortable admitting. And that's 284 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: just really unfortunate because, as I mean, I don't even 285 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:47,720 Speaker 1: know how you plan as a team for this kind 286 00:15:47,760 --> 00:15:50,160 Speaker 1: of thing, when it's like, Okay, eight is gonna be 287 00:15:50,200 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: out for a month, but when he comes back, we 288 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,840 Speaker 1: got this other month where he's a shell of himself, 289 00:15:58,160 --> 00:16:01,360 Speaker 1: and then maybe, if we're lucky, he'll hit that top 290 00:16:01,400 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: tier again and we might get ten fifteen games where 291 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:06,200 Speaker 1: he looks really good. And at that point, it's just 292 00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:08,960 Speaker 1: fingers crossed and hope that he stays healthy. I just 293 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:12,880 Speaker 1: feel really bad for him, and uh, and it makes 294 00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:14,640 Speaker 1: it really hard to kind of judge where where this 295 00:16:14,960 --> 00:16:18,280 Speaker 1: Lakers team is going moving forward. All right, let's move 296 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: on to Nuggets Heat. So this is an example. We 297 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:22,920 Speaker 1: just talked a lot about drop coverage and how I 298 00:16:22,960 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 1: prefer switching, but tonight's Nuggets heat game was a great 299 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:31,240 Speaker 1: example of when switching doesn't work. So Miami is one 300 00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:33,480 Speaker 1: of my favorite teams to watch in general because they 301 00:16:33,480 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: have a very very modern approach to the game, and 302 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,240 Speaker 1: one of the things that they do on defense is 303 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,600 Speaker 1: they do a ton of switching and it works really 304 00:16:39,600 --> 00:16:42,480 Speaker 1: well because of their personnel. They've got um as a team. 305 00:16:42,480 --> 00:16:46,080 Speaker 1: Obviously from the culture standpoint, everyone's in great shape. Everyone competes. 306 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,680 Speaker 1: You don't play if you don't defend. But also Bauman 307 00:16:48,760 --> 00:16:50,680 Speaker 1: a bio gives you the ability to switch out on 308 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:54,840 Speaker 1: any perimeter player. Um that allows you to switch pick 309 00:16:54,880 --> 00:16:56,640 Speaker 1: and roll, which is something you can't do if you 310 00:16:56,720 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: have a different type of defensive center. And then they 311 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:01,280 Speaker 1: also just help and rotate out of that kind of 312 00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:04,240 Speaker 1: stuff extremely well. Jimmy Butler's one of the best players 313 00:17:04,240 --> 00:17:06,600 Speaker 1: in the league at hawking passing lanes on the back 314 00:17:06,720 --> 00:17:09,000 Speaker 1: end and making it look like he's not a threat, 315 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:11,840 Speaker 1: but then suddenly jumping in and and and uh getting 316 00:17:11,840 --> 00:17:13,880 Speaker 1: a pick six going the other way. That's a big 317 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 1: part of Miami's fifth why Miami is fifth in the 318 00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:20,480 Speaker 1: NBA and defense this year. But the problem is is 319 00:17:20,520 --> 00:17:26,400 Speaker 1: for specifically Denver Nicola, Yogi is so so good at 320 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:30,560 Speaker 1: when he gets that switch quick diving to quick post position, 321 00:17:30,960 --> 00:17:35,439 Speaker 1: catching and finishing quickly around the rim. And so in 322 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:38,359 Speaker 1: order to survive that, you need a certain amount of 323 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:44,080 Speaker 1: size and athleticism to allow yourself to scheme around those switches, 324 00:17:44,119 --> 00:17:46,439 Speaker 1: whether that's doubling and recovering out of it or fronting 325 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:48,800 Speaker 1: or whatever it is that you do so the and 326 00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:50,920 Speaker 1: this is where the heat are in a personnel predicament. 327 00:17:52,040 --> 00:17:53,840 Speaker 1: So they actually threw a graphic up on the screen 328 00:17:53,880 --> 00:17:56,080 Speaker 1: in the national broadcast I was watching today on the 329 00:17:56,240 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 1: NBA TV, but I can't remember the exact number. It 330 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 1: was somewhere between seven and nine undrafted players on the roster, 331 00:18:04,400 --> 00:18:08,639 Speaker 1: like a significant chunk of their rotation are guys that 332 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:12,320 Speaker 1: are undrafted players. Now that, to be clear, undrafted does 333 00:18:12,359 --> 00:18:16,359 Speaker 1: not mean not an NBA player, Like there those guys 334 00:18:16,359 --> 00:18:19,080 Speaker 1: that are playing for the Heat are bona fide NBA players. 335 00:18:20,480 --> 00:18:23,720 Speaker 1: But when you're dealing with undrafted players, they usually are 336 00:18:24,359 --> 00:18:29,159 Speaker 1: compensating for a lack of like blue chip NBA talent 337 00:18:29,520 --> 00:18:34,000 Speaker 1: with you know, crazy work ethic, a developed skill set, 338 00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:38,160 Speaker 1: high basketball i Q, you know, commitment to the defensive end. 339 00:18:38,480 --> 00:18:41,280 Speaker 1: They grind out those areas to find a spot in 340 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:44,920 Speaker 1: the NBA. But the truth is is like if you're 341 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:47,639 Speaker 1: a six eight wing that can run and jump and 342 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:51,280 Speaker 1: has a six eleven wingspan, and like, you're not gonna 343 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,240 Speaker 1: be an undrafted free agent, You're you're gonna be a 344 00:18:54,359 --> 00:18:57,840 Speaker 1: first round pick, right, And so a lot of the 345 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:03,760 Speaker 1: guys on that roster are short and thin and physically overmatched. 346 00:19:03,760 --> 00:19:06,320 Speaker 1: In a lot of these matchups, and so you know, 347 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:08,679 Speaker 1: and and one of the really unfortunate things about this 348 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:11,080 Speaker 1: Miami Heat season is we thought, for sure, I thought 349 00:19:11,160 --> 00:19:13,919 Speaker 1: for sure at this deadline that they would make a 350 00:19:13,960 --> 00:19:15,920 Speaker 1: move to bolster the front court, and they just did it. 351 00:19:17,119 --> 00:19:19,520 Speaker 1: And so especially in the front court, everyone not named 352 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,240 Speaker 1: Bam at a bio Jimmy Butler is a fringe NBA 353 00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:25,399 Speaker 1: player at best, and so they're just completely overmatched in 354 00:19:25,440 --> 00:19:27,520 Speaker 1: these physical areas of the game. So one of the 355 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:29,200 Speaker 1: things that was happening in this game is Yoki is 356 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,000 Speaker 1: just bringing the ball up the floor, running a quick 357 00:19:32,000 --> 00:19:35,439 Speaker 1: inverted pick and roll, getting that switch and then just 358 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:37,600 Speaker 1: passing the ball back to the guard, diving down to 359 00:19:37,640 --> 00:19:39,320 Speaker 1: whoever it is that you can get that switch again 360 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:45,280 Speaker 1: against catching and just turning and finishing every time. I 361 00:19:45,280 --> 00:19:47,560 Speaker 1: mean even like so Miami, and we talked about this 362 00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:49,800 Speaker 1: a lot in the sixer series last year, but Miami 363 00:19:50,119 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 1: in post mismatches and just in general, but they were 364 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,480 Speaker 1: treating it with the same with Bam. But in post mismatches, 365 00:19:55,480 --> 00:19:57,280 Speaker 1: what Miami will do is they'll front and back, so 366 00:19:57,400 --> 00:20:00,440 Speaker 1: it's it's like a bracket coverage. But basically what regarding 367 00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:02,119 Speaker 1: the post will try to get out in front of 368 00:20:02,200 --> 00:20:05,000 Speaker 1: Nickela Yokich squat down low and put his hands up 369 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:07,520 Speaker 1: to force a pass over the top. That over the 370 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:09,399 Speaker 1: top pass has to be kind of a lob to 371 00:20:09,440 --> 00:20:12,119 Speaker 1: get over Bam or whoever it is that's fronting, and 372 00:20:12,160 --> 00:20:16,440 Speaker 1: so then you offer backside help to take that pass away. 373 00:20:16,520 --> 00:20:19,040 Speaker 1: But the problem is is every heat player is so 374 00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:22,680 Speaker 1: short that even when they bracket properly, they just throw 375 00:20:22,720 --> 00:20:25,440 Speaker 1: that high pass and Yokis can turn and just hold 376 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:28,040 Speaker 1: the ball up high and pick him apart with that 377 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 1: over the top pass. And that's where that overall lack 378 00:20:33,240 --> 00:20:35,439 Speaker 1: of size becomes so so much of a problem. Like 379 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,080 Speaker 1: normally I'd be like, you know, blitz him or double 380 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:41,160 Speaker 1: him and just try to apply as much ball pressure 381 00:20:41,200 --> 00:20:44,080 Speaker 1: as possible so that those passes don't come out clean 382 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:47,119 Speaker 1: so that you can rotate out. But the passes are 383 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:50,200 Speaker 1: coming out clean because you've got undrafted free agents trying 384 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:54,399 Speaker 1: to bracket it. It's it's just a it's a personnel limitation, 385 00:20:54,600 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 1: I mean, and some of this, like some of this 386 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,399 Speaker 1: is you just gotta tip the caps at Yokich because 387 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,879 Speaker 1: even on the plays where Band managed to avoid a 388 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:07,000 Speaker 1: switch and remain on Yokis and suddenly there's seven seconds 389 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:09,720 Speaker 1: on the shot clock. Yokis was just walking him down 390 00:21:09,720 --> 00:21:11,879 Speaker 1: to the rim and just beating him with pump fakes 391 00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:15,520 Speaker 1: and pivots and every conceivable post move known to mankind. 392 00:21:15,520 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 1: He scored on him straight up in the post four 393 00:21:18,280 --> 00:21:22,320 Speaker 1: times in this game. So, I mean, some of it's 394 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:25,600 Speaker 1: just personnel, but like as a roster, they had absolutely 395 00:21:25,600 --> 00:21:27,560 Speaker 1: no chance. Like think, think, think of how bad this 396 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:30,639 Speaker 1: loss is. This is a top five defense in the league, 397 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:34,680 Speaker 1: a Miami Heat team that's well over five dred. You're 398 00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:39,120 Speaker 1: you know, aside from Kyle Lowry, you're healthy. You uh, 399 00:21:39,320 --> 00:21:41,639 Speaker 1: You're playing against the Nuggets team that is down Jamal 400 00:21:41,720 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 1: Murray and down Aeron Gordon probably their second and third 401 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,920 Speaker 1: best players. You have to win that game. But they 402 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 1: couldn't because they were at such a significant personnel disadvantage 403 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,840 Speaker 1: and Nickel Yokas just picked them apart. So that's a 404 00:21:56,840 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 1: really bad loss. One last note on this game for 405 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:04,000 Speaker 1: Ugets fans, Thomas Bryant that who they picked up at 406 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:09,200 Speaker 1: the trade deadline for Devon Reid, so obviously have covered 407 00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:11,320 Speaker 1: the Lakers pretty closely this year. So I just wanted 408 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:13,520 Speaker 1: to give Nuggets fans a little breakdown to Thomas Bryant. 409 00:22:14,200 --> 00:22:16,000 Speaker 1: I actually thought he's a really nice pick up. You know, 410 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,400 Speaker 1: the Nuggets went with DeAndre Jordan as their backup center 411 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:19,679 Speaker 1: for the first chunk of the year. They kind of 412 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,080 Speaker 1: went away from that, went smaller as of late, but 413 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:27,520 Speaker 1: like they needed a legit backup center. And you know, 414 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:29,600 Speaker 1: I think Thomas Bryant is about as good as you're 415 00:22:29,600 --> 00:22:32,159 Speaker 1: gonna get for that type of position. He plays his 416 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:36,160 Speaker 1: ass off. He runs the floor extremely well. Um uh, 417 00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:37,800 Speaker 1: in the when the game is up and down, he 418 00:22:37,840 --> 00:22:40,000 Speaker 1: has amazing hands rolling to the ram. He's got he's 419 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: like vacuums everything in. He finishes at the ram extremely well. 420 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:48,040 Speaker 1: He's a great offensive rebounder. Um shooting the laces off 421 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:50,679 Speaker 1: the basketball from the perimeter this year too. He's just 422 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:53,359 Speaker 1: a really poor defensive player. He struggles and pick and 423 00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:57,320 Speaker 1: roll and in isolation. You even saw, uh, you saw 424 00:22:57,359 --> 00:23:00,359 Speaker 1: play today where like Bam just in transition just dropped 425 00:23:00,359 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 1: his shoulder and just went right through Thomas Bryant to 426 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:04,320 Speaker 1: the ram and got an and one. Um. He's gonna 427 00:23:04,359 --> 00:23:06,480 Speaker 1: give up a lot defensively, but he is a very 428 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:09,440 Speaker 1: very good offensive pick And what does that mean that 429 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:12,240 Speaker 1: means that's a perfectly fine bench pick. They're really tough 430 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:15,080 Speaker 1: decisions there are gonna be, you know, in a playoff series, 431 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:19,080 Speaker 1: if Thomas doesn't have it going offensively, Mike Malone might 432 00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:20,520 Speaker 1: have to pull the plug on him a little bit 433 00:23:20,600 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 1: quicker and go small in those cases, just because if 434 00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:25,960 Speaker 1: you're not getting the offense from Thomas Bryant, then the 435 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:29,199 Speaker 1: trade off is just not worth it there, all right, 436 00:23:29,240 --> 00:23:30,840 Speaker 1: moving on to Warriors Wizards. Just gonna hit on this 437 00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:34,280 Speaker 1: game quickly because we're gonna talk a lot of Warriors tomorrow. Uh. 438 00:23:34,280 --> 00:23:36,800 Speaker 1: The Warriors won one twenty six. They were went went 439 00:23:36,840 --> 00:23:38,920 Speaker 1: from down fifteen to up twenty and just about a 440 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:42,359 Speaker 1: quarter and a half. Uh. They weathered a ridiculous barrage 441 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:45,119 Speaker 1: just scoring from Bradley Beale and Kristaps Porzingis they combined 442 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:47,800 Speaker 1: for almost seventy And this Wizard's team is pretty good. 443 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:50,960 Speaker 1: They were fourteen and eight coming into tonight since December, 444 00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,199 Speaker 1: which was the sixth best record in the league in 445 00:23:54,200 --> 00:23:57,880 Speaker 1: that span. So let's a quality win. Um. The Wizards, 446 00:23:57,920 --> 00:23:59,320 Speaker 1: we think of them as a bad team, but they've 447 00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:01,040 Speaker 1: been dealing with a lot injuries throughout this season, like 448 00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:02,960 Speaker 1: anybody else, but when they're healthy, it's a good amount 449 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:05,680 Speaker 1: of talent that's on that floor. Uh. There's two things 450 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:06,960 Speaker 1: that I wanted to hit from this game on the 451 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,600 Speaker 1: Warriors front. First of all, it was good to see 452 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:12,480 Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins get going since coming back from his injury. 453 00:24:12,520 --> 00:24:14,919 Speaker 1: He had been just from three. A big part of 454 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:17,399 Speaker 1: that is his shot is pretty flat, and when your 455 00:24:17,400 --> 00:24:18,919 Speaker 1: shot is flat, you just don't have a lot of 456 00:24:18,960 --> 00:24:21,600 Speaker 1: margin for error. So you really have to be dialed 457 00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:23,560 Speaker 1: in to be knocking that shot down and kind of 458 00:24:23,560 --> 00:24:25,080 Speaker 1: gotta go in a little bit tonight use three for 459 00:24:25,200 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: six from three. But the big thing that stood out 460 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:28,919 Speaker 1: to me is you can really see the leg strength 461 00:24:28,960 --> 00:24:31,879 Speaker 1: coming back. So, like I've always talked about, Andrew Wiggins 462 00:24:31,960 --> 00:24:33,840 Speaker 1: is a is a power wing. I talked about this 463 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:36,359 Speaker 1: a lot in the in the playoffs last year. The 464 00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:39,760 Speaker 1: ability when he's drawing good matchups because teams are throwing 465 00:24:39,840 --> 00:24:43,479 Speaker 1: really good defensive players at Stephan Clay. He's got the 466 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:48,360 Speaker 1: ability to just rip through against thinner like physically overmatch 467 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:51,600 Speaker 1: defenders to get easy shots just driving to his right 468 00:24:51,640 --> 00:24:54,160 Speaker 1: without having to do anything complicated, not having to put 469 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:56,560 Speaker 1: the ball on the floor and hit a dribble combination, 470 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:59,240 Speaker 1: just catch and rip through, especially with the closed out 471 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:01,280 Speaker 1: opportunities that he was getting. And I thought it was 472 00:25:01,560 --> 00:25:03,679 Speaker 1: there was a play at the his first basket in 473 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:07,239 Speaker 1: this game about halfway through the first quarter. He just 474 00:25:07,359 --> 00:25:11,360 Speaker 1: ripped through and like body checked Kris stops Porzingis, which 475 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:13,760 Speaker 1: with his left shoulder and like shoved him back and 476 00:25:13,920 --> 00:25:15,800 Speaker 1: made a little pop shot in the lane. And I 477 00:25:15,840 --> 00:25:18,440 Speaker 1: was like, Okay, you're not doing that if you don't 478 00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:20,480 Speaker 1: have your leg strength, Like that's a good sign that 479 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:22,480 Speaker 1: that weakens is starting to get it back if you 480 00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 1: look at it, like he was just just living around 481 00:25:25,040 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 1: the rim tonight. And and that's what you want from 482 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:29,200 Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins. You're you're gonna depend on him when he's 483 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,119 Speaker 1: dialed in to knock down threes. He's shown that he 484 00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:36,400 Speaker 1: can do that. But that real ceiling of Andrew Wiggins 485 00:25:36,440 --> 00:25:38,480 Speaker 1: game with this team is when he's also ripping through 486 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:41,360 Speaker 1: and getting close out attacks to the basket. And then 487 00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:43,080 Speaker 1: the second thing I wanted to hit on with Michael Green, 488 00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:46,080 Speaker 1: he was, you know when he was out, you know, 489 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:50,080 Speaker 1: last end of December early January, with that injury, we 490 00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:53,960 Speaker 1: were all concerned about Golden State's depth in particularly, we 491 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:56,240 Speaker 1: were looking at like them getting somebody in that front 492 00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:59,919 Speaker 1: court to bolster them, um in the bench groups and 493 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:02,240 Speaker 1: John than Comica kind of exploded during that time, which 494 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:05,080 Speaker 1: was a good thing. But you know, the reality is is, 495 00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 1: if Jamichael Green is gonna play this well, they don't 496 00:26:07,640 --> 00:26:09,560 Speaker 1: need a backup bick. Now, they might still want to 497 00:26:09,560 --> 00:26:13,320 Speaker 1: look to get one, just simply for the sake of depth. Um, 498 00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:15,560 Speaker 1: But even then, like Steve Kurt doesn't really like playing 499 00:26:15,800 --> 00:26:18,280 Speaker 1: traditional bigs. There's actually a quote that was going around 500 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:23,520 Speaker 1: today Bob Meyer's basically discussing the buyout market, and he 501 00:26:23,560 --> 00:26:26,080 Speaker 1: basically said, like, it's not just about who I think 502 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:27,760 Speaker 1: the team needs. He's like, it's about who the coach 503 00:26:27,800 --> 00:26:31,080 Speaker 1: will play. It was it was basically a reference to 504 00:26:31,080 --> 00:26:33,199 Speaker 1: the fact that Steve Kurt does not like to play centers, 505 00:26:33,280 --> 00:26:36,919 Speaker 1: which is just the truth. Um. But if he's not, 506 00:26:36,960 --> 00:26:39,399 Speaker 1: if if if they don't end up getting anybody in 507 00:26:39,400 --> 00:26:42,159 Speaker 1: the buyout market, as long as Jamichael Green is healthy 508 00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,919 Speaker 1: and playing like this, they're gonna be fine. Like he 509 00:26:46,080 --> 00:26:48,320 Speaker 1: was four for four from three tonight, He's thirteen for 510 00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 1: twenty four from three since returning uh from the injury. 511 00:26:52,160 --> 00:26:56,080 Speaker 1: He also is just like that natural Golden State fit 512 00:26:56,119 --> 00:27:00,000 Speaker 1: from a ball movement standpoint. Ball doesn't stop with him. 513 00:27:00,040 --> 00:27:03,320 Speaker 1: He makes quick and easy reads. He knows when to cut, 514 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:05,480 Speaker 1: when to stay in the corner. He's just got that 515 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:07,840 Speaker 1: natural basketball like que that fits really well with the 516 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:10,760 Speaker 1: Golden State system. So at this point, I'm like, just 517 00:27:10,840 --> 00:27:14,679 Speaker 1: get Gary Payton healthy. And if you've got Gary Payton healthy, 518 00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:17,000 Speaker 1: and you've got and you've got a bench group that involves, 519 00:27:17,440 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 1: you know, Jordan Pool and Dante DiVincenzo and Jonathan Cominga 520 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:26,760 Speaker 1: and Um and Jamichael Green, Like that's nine really good players. 521 00:27:27,520 --> 00:27:29,800 Speaker 1: And I really like the warriors chances. As long as 522 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 1: they can get to the playoffs with that nine guys healthy, 523 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:35,919 Speaker 1: they're gonna be in pretty good shape. They do have 524 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,879 Speaker 1: a really tough game against the Clippers tomorrow night. We 525 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:42,800 Speaker 1: are going to be covering that game on Wednesday morning. Alright, 526 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,040 Speaker 1: last game of the night is Memphis Boston. This was 527 00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:49,480 Speaker 1: from actually actually from yesterday, uh but shortly before the 528 00:27:49,520 --> 00:27:51,320 Speaker 1: Super Bowl. But it's a good game and I wanted 529 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:54,960 Speaker 1: to cover it. Um also one last note here and uh, 530 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:56,720 Speaker 1: I actually I mean I'll just save that hit that 531 00:27:56,760 --> 00:27:58,720 Speaker 1: at the start of next show. We've had some people 532 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:02,320 Speaker 1: complaining about too much Lakers and Warriors lately, and um, 533 00:28:02,359 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 1: I just want people to understand that, like we have 534 00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:06,440 Speaker 1: to hit those kinds of things, but at the same time, 535 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,159 Speaker 1: we're gonna hit other teams and other games around the 536 00:28:09,240 --> 00:28:11,600 Speaker 1: league constantly. You just have to sort through some of 537 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:13,000 Speaker 1: the Lakers and Warrior stuff to get to it. But 538 00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:15,320 Speaker 1: we'll talk about that later. Um So, Boston won the 539 00:28:15,359 --> 00:28:19,120 Speaker 1: game one nineteen to one on nine. Memphis honestly played 540 00:28:19,119 --> 00:28:21,440 Speaker 1: pretty well. They butchered Boston in the paint. They one 541 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,160 Speaker 1: point in the paint six thirty four. Dylan Brooks did 542 00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,440 Speaker 1: a really nice job again just denying Jayson Tatum off 543 00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,080 Speaker 1: the ball to to disrupt his rhythm and using a 544 00:28:30,080 --> 00:28:32,520 Speaker 1: ton of ball pressure and physicality to help Tatum to 545 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:35,480 Speaker 1: three for sixteen from the field. Uh, Dylon Brooks is 546 00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: you know, he had another dirty play the other night 547 00:28:38,080 --> 00:28:40,080 Speaker 1: where he like just straight up swung and through a 548 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:42,760 Speaker 1: punch at Mike Conley. So like half of my brain 549 00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:44,760 Speaker 1: is like, I'm so sick and tired of this guy 550 00:28:44,800 --> 00:28:47,040 Speaker 1: because he just shouldn't be out of basketball court when 551 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:49,200 Speaker 1: he's just trying to hurt people. But then I've got 552 00:28:49,200 --> 00:28:51,080 Speaker 1: this other side of my brain. That's like, it's kind 553 00:28:51,080 --> 00:28:53,800 Speaker 1: of impressive the defensive job that he's done on Superstars 554 00:28:53,840 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 1: all year long. But down the stretch of this game, 555 00:28:56,840 --> 00:28:59,880 Speaker 1: they trapped Memphis in the half court, They sagged way off, 556 00:29:00,080 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 1: John Morant got a bunch of stops, held them to 557 00:29:03,560 --> 00:29:05,480 Speaker 1: just nine points from the seven and a half minute 558 00:29:05,480 --> 00:29:06,720 Speaker 1: marks to the one and a half minute mark of 559 00:29:06,760 --> 00:29:08,880 Speaker 1: the fourth quarter. And then on the other end they 560 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:11,760 Speaker 1: were getting crazy dribble penetration with Derek White. They just 561 00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:15,200 Speaker 1: could not keep Derek White from getting downhill and that 562 00:29:15,320 --> 00:29:18,160 Speaker 1: started Boston's driving kick, and then everyone was making good 563 00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:19,479 Speaker 1: reads out of that, and they hit a bunch of 564 00:29:19,520 --> 00:29:22,920 Speaker 1: important threes. And then when they couldn't contain Derek White, 565 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,240 Speaker 1: they started sending that big up higher. And what what 566 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:28,320 Speaker 1: always happens when you have to send that big up higher, 567 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:30,680 Speaker 1: that's where that pocket pass opens up. They actually got 568 00:29:30,680 --> 00:29:34,360 Speaker 1: two wide open threes on slips went from Robert Williams 569 00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:37,760 Speaker 1: and Jayson Tatums slipping after ball screens that ended up 570 00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:40,320 Speaker 1: starting that driving kick again. When it comes to driving 571 00:29:40,360 --> 00:29:42,959 Speaker 1: kick basketball, you need that initial advantage, and that initial 572 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:45,680 Speaker 1: advantage can be anything. It could be a post up 573 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:47,680 Speaker 1: that leads to a double team. It could be a 574 00:29:47,720 --> 00:29:50,080 Speaker 1: transition run out. It can be a ball screen. It 575 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:52,479 Speaker 1: can be an isolation beat my man off the dribble. 576 00:29:52,680 --> 00:29:54,720 Speaker 1: It can also be I draw a second defender on 577 00:29:54,800 --> 00:29:56,800 Speaker 1: the ball screen and float a little pass over the 578 00:29:56,800 --> 00:29:58,680 Speaker 1: top to the screen or rolling to the rim. It 579 00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:01,080 Speaker 1: doesn't matter how you get that initial advantage, but once 580 00:30:01,120 --> 00:30:03,880 Speaker 1: you get there, it's just making good reads out of that. 581 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:08,440 Speaker 1: All in all, it was an eighteen to nine run 582 00:30:08,480 --> 00:30:10,200 Speaker 1: in the fourth quarter that put the game away. Memphis 583 00:30:10,280 --> 00:30:13,720 Speaker 1: is now sixteen and fifteen against teams that are at 584 00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:17,040 Speaker 1: least five hundred or better. Now, there are six teams 585 00:30:17,040 --> 00:30:19,440 Speaker 1: in the league right now that have at least thirty 586 00:30:19,480 --> 00:30:24,040 Speaker 1: four wins. All of them are at least six games 587 00:30:24,080 --> 00:30:27,440 Speaker 1: above five hundred against teams that are five hundred or 588 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:33,280 Speaker 1: better except for two, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Cleveland Cavaliers. 589 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:36,600 Speaker 1: And I don't think it's a coincidence that those two 590 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:42,080 Speaker 1: teams are teams that I've said have fatal flaws. Again, 591 00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:44,880 Speaker 1: the other four teams are just beating everybody, and the 592 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 1: good teams well over five hundred against the good teams. 593 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:51,920 Speaker 1: Memphis and Cleveland not so much. And this is why 594 00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:55,240 Speaker 1: I want to talk about entry points on defense, because 595 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:59,280 Speaker 1: both of these teams are excellent defenses. Cleveland's number one 596 00:30:59,280 --> 00:31:01,760 Speaker 1: in the league in defensive rating, Memphis is number three 597 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:05,040 Speaker 1: in the league of defensive rating. But neither of these 598 00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:07,720 Speaker 1: teams can get stops against the good teams, especially at 599 00:31:07,760 --> 00:31:09,560 Speaker 1: the end of games. That's the thing that I wanted 600 00:31:09,560 --> 00:31:13,800 Speaker 1: to dive into a little bit. So for example, we 601 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 1: see teams often in NBA history that defend really well 602 00:31:17,240 --> 00:31:20,200 Speaker 1: in the regular season but cannot defend in the postseason. 603 00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:22,400 Speaker 1: My favorite example this is the two thousand twenty one 604 00:31:22,480 --> 00:31:25,240 Speaker 1: Utah Jazz. They were third in defensive rating in the 605 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:28,960 Speaker 1: regular season, allowing just one seven point five points per 606 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: one h possessions. Then they lost to the Clippers without 607 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:35,880 Speaker 1: Kawhi Leonard and in that series gave up a hundred 608 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:40,680 Speaker 1: and twenty eight points per one hundred possessions. And the 609 00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:43,880 Speaker 1: reason why is in those core Jazz lineups, you have 610 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:48,160 Speaker 1: Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell to really pour defensive players 611 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 1: in the backcourt. In a regular season, you have a 612 00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:56,600 Speaker 1: base defensive concept and if it's executed well and you've 613 00:31:56,640 --> 00:32:00,200 Speaker 1: got somebody like a Rudy Gobert or Jared Allen or 614 00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:05,160 Speaker 1: Jaren Jackson. You can put forth the facts simile of 615 00:32:05,200 --> 00:32:08,880 Speaker 1: a great defense, but when you get into that playoff 616 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,360 Speaker 1: setting and there's plenty of time to figure out that 617 00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:17,080 Speaker 1: base defensive scheme, suddenly it becomes more about personnel. They're 618 00:32:17,080 --> 00:32:20,720 Speaker 1: going to find your weak points, those entry points, and 619 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:27,160 Speaker 1: how to exploit them. In that game, Boston was cooking 620 00:32:27,200 --> 00:32:30,800 Speaker 1: Memphis just by getting dribble penetration at the beginning of possessions. 621 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:32,720 Speaker 1: In the first half of the fourth quarter, it was 622 00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:35,120 Speaker 1: Taias Jones. In the second half of the fourth quarter, 623 00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:39,320 Speaker 1: it was John Moran every single time down the floor 624 00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:44,480 Speaker 1: attacking those two guys. Then they had to bring the 625 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:47,080 Speaker 1: bigs up to the level of the excuse me, up 626 00:32:47,120 --> 00:32:48,960 Speaker 1: to the level of screen to help, which opened up 627 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,320 Speaker 1: those slips I was talking about. But then you go 628 00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:55,240 Speaker 1: over the other side of the floor. Boston doesn't have 629 00:32:55,320 --> 00:32:59,040 Speaker 1: good entry points. Marcus Martin j Len Brown did not 630 00:32:59,080 --> 00:33:02,800 Speaker 1: play in this game. That's two excellent defenders in the 631 00:33:02,800 --> 00:33:05,200 Speaker 1: starting lineup, but they were still able to close with 632 00:33:05,280 --> 00:33:09,960 Speaker 1: Jayson Tatum, Derek White, Grant Williams al Horford and Robert Williams. 633 00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:13,760 Speaker 1: Where's the entry point? Who's the guy there that you're like, 634 00:33:13,840 --> 00:33:19,360 Speaker 1: I like my chances here. And then from an offensive standpoint, 635 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:21,480 Speaker 1: John Moran is really the only guy in that closing 636 00:33:21,480 --> 00:33:25,520 Speaker 1: group from Memphis that can create his own shot. So 637 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:27,680 Speaker 1: you've got one guy who can create his own shot 638 00:33:28,080 --> 00:33:31,320 Speaker 1: against five great defensive players. So there's no good entry point. 639 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:33,760 Speaker 1: Oh and they're just sitting back and saying, go ahead 640 00:33:33,800 --> 00:33:35,960 Speaker 1: and shoot John and he's over four from three and 641 00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:40,440 Speaker 1: he was way off on his last couple. There are 642 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:41,960 Speaker 1: a lot of teams in the league that can have 643 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:45,160 Speaker 1: success with their base scheme in the regular season. But 644 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,040 Speaker 1: when you get to against the good teams and in 645 00:33:48,080 --> 00:33:51,280 Speaker 1: a situation where scouting and scheming becomes more of a 646 00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:55,760 Speaker 1: uh an issue in the playoffs, that's where that that's 647 00:33:55,760 --> 00:34:01,440 Speaker 1: where you see those limitations become a problem. So for instance, 648 00:34:01,480 --> 00:34:04,160 Speaker 1: their third in defense in the regular season, but they 649 00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:07,720 Speaker 1: are twenty four and clutch defense. They allow a hundred 650 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:10,160 Speaker 1: and nineteen points per one hundred possessions when the game 651 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,399 Speaker 1: is within five points inside of five minutes. Why it's 652 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:16,280 Speaker 1: attacking jaw every single time to get the defense in rotation. 653 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:22,520 Speaker 1: I always say clutch basketball mimics playoff basketball, and then 654 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:24,279 Speaker 1: on the other end of the floor, if you trap 655 00:34:24,360 --> 00:34:26,000 Speaker 1: them in the half court so that they can't run, 656 00:34:26,480 --> 00:34:31,840 Speaker 1: Memphis is a bottom ten half court offense. So they 657 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:34,759 Speaker 1: they've they've won a lot of games this year. They're 658 00:34:34,760 --> 00:34:37,400 Speaker 1: in great shape in the standings. But the reality is 659 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:39,879 Speaker 1: is against good teams, when the game slows down, they 660 00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:42,520 Speaker 1: can't score, and the other team doesn't seem to have 661 00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:44,719 Speaker 1: much trouble scoring. And that's a big part of why 662 00:34:44,719 --> 00:34:49,640 Speaker 1: I haven't got on the Memphis bandwagon yet. Um. And 663 00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:51,120 Speaker 1: then the reason why I lumped the Calves in there, 664 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:52,400 Speaker 1: and I'm not gonna dive into it right now, but 665 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,560 Speaker 1: it's the same concept. Mitchell and Garland number one defense 666 00:34:55,560 --> 00:34:58,399 Speaker 1: in the in the regular season by defensive rating six 667 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:03,720 Speaker 1: and clutch defense. When they play the top ten teams 668 00:35:03,719 --> 00:35:06,840 Speaker 1: in the league. According to Cleaning the Glass, Cleveland's defensive 669 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:09,239 Speaker 1: rating drops from one O nine to one four team 670 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:12,000 Speaker 1: because again, they're attacking those entry points every time down 671 00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:14,960 Speaker 1: the floor. It's just it's just something I've learned in 672 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:19,040 Speaker 1: my time watching the NBA in recent years. UM. Quick 673 00:35:19,040 --> 00:35:20,960 Speaker 1: notes on the Celtics. They've now won six out of 674 00:35:20,960 --> 00:35:24,240 Speaker 1: seven despite Marcus Smart missing all of those games. Jalen 675 00:35:24,239 --> 00:35:28,080 Speaker 1: Brown's missed three of those games, Robin al Horford, Rob 676 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:31,280 Speaker 1: Williams and Al Horford have missed two of those games each. 677 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:34,600 Speaker 1: But this is the advantage of depth. Like I said, 678 00:35:34,600 --> 00:35:36,640 Speaker 1: you're down two starters and you can still put out 679 00:35:36,640 --> 00:35:39,720 Speaker 1: a group of five with Derek White, Jayson Tatum, Grant Williams, 680 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,640 Speaker 1: Robert Williams, and Al Horford. That's just gives you the 681 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:45,160 Speaker 1: ability to close the game. And it's a really good 682 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:47,040 Speaker 1: team down two starters. How many teams in the league 683 00:35:47,080 --> 00:35:50,960 Speaker 1: can say that. Now, they've had some stretches this year 684 00:35:51,000 --> 00:35:53,080 Speaker 1: where they've let their foot off of gas, but even 685 00:35:53,120 --> 00:35:56,520 Speaker 1: with that, they're still in control of that number one 686 00:35:56,560 --> 00:35:59,319 Speaker 1: overall seed. They've never given it up, and I think 687 00:35:59,320 --> 00:36:01,360 Speaker 1: that bodes well for them in the playoffs. Again to 688 00:36:01,560 --> 00:36:03,680 Speaker 1: two series last year they had to go to San Francisco. 689 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:07,600 Speaker 1: If they can hold onto that one seed, that team 690 00:36:07,600 --> 00:36:09,440 Speaker 1: will be come into Boston. That kind of thing matters, 691 00:36:09,680 --> 00:36:15,920 Speaker 1: buys you margin for error in the playoffs. Um. One 692 00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:17,960 Speaker 1: last thing that's kind of irritating me is Jayson Tatum 693 00:36:18,000 --> 00:36:21,520 Speaker 1: apparently is gonna sit out Thursday against Milwaukee, and that 694 00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:25,880 Speaker 1: that that started. Like again, I've been talking about this forever, 695 00:36:26,040 --> 00:36:30,640 Speaker 1: but everyone wants to stick with the eighty two game 696 00:36:30,680 --> 00:36:34,399 Speaker 1: season for the sake of revenue. But the reality is 697 00:36:34,400 --> 00:36:39,080 Speaker 1: is like, drop the games by if the Stars playing 698 00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:41,719 Speaker 1: them all because there's no back to backs and you 699 00:36:41,760 --> 00:36:45,160 Speaker 1: play three times a week at most, and everybody's well 700 00:36:45,239 --> 00:36:47,799 Speaker 1: rested for every single game, so you have fewer injuries. 701 00:36:49,040 --> 00:36:53,680 Speaker 1: I like, do you think there's gonna be fewer people 702 00:36:53,719 --> 00:36:57,879 Speaker 1: watching tata uh, you know, Grant Williams versus The Honest 703 00:36:57,920 --> 00:37:00,120 Speaker 1: instead of Jayson Tatum versus the Honest? I think so 704 00:37:02,239 --> 00:37:04,160 Speaker 1: that Like that, that's the thing that I that I 705 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:07,279 Speaker 1: don't think is getting properly factored into those decisions. Like 706 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:12,359 Speaker 1: if you shorten the season, guys will play more. If 707 00:37:12,360 --> 00:37:15,640 Speaker 1: they play more, there will be more urgency, and the 708 00:37:15,719 --> 00:37:17,680 Speaker 1: quality of the product will be better because the stars 709 00:37:17,680 --> 00:37:21,240 Speaker 1: will be planned. I think it's just better for the league. 710 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:23,640 Speaker 1: Al Right, guys, that is all I have for tonight 711 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:25,640 Speaker 1: is always I sincerely appreciate your support. We're gonna be 712 00:37:25,680 --> 00:37:29,680 Speaker 1: back tomorrow night immediately after Buck Celtics, and then again 713 00:37:29,800 --> 00:37:33,239 Speaker 1: in the morning covering the late slate. I will see you, guys, 714 00:37:33,239 --> 00:37:42,640 Speaker 1: tomorrow night, the volume