WEBVTT - Hoops Tonight - Game 4 Reactions: Lakers/Wolves, Knicks/Pistons, Celtics/Magic, Pacers/Bucks 0:00:01.440 --> 0:00:07.520 The volume. The NBA eighty two game grind is done, 0:00:07.600 --> 0:00:10.239 and now the real fun begins. The NBA Playoffs aren't here, 0:00:10.360 --> 0:00:12.920 and it's time for all the high stakes drama, clutch moments, 0:00:12.920 --> 0:00:16.079 and jaw dropping plays. I can't wait. If you're looking 0:00:16.239 --> 0:00:19.200 to make the playoffs even more exciting, DraftKings Sportsbook has 0:00:19.200 --> 0:00:21.880 you covered as an official sports betting partner of the 0:00:22.000 --> 0:00:23.919 NBA from the playing games all the way through to 0:00:23.960 --> 0:00:26.599 the finals. Now's the time to back your favorite players 0:00:26.600 --> 0:00:29.600 and teams as they chase glory. All season long. DraftKings 0:00:29.640 --> 0:00:31.600 has been the go to spot for NBA player props 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:33.400 and that does not stop. Now. Want to make your 0:00:33.400 --> 0:00:36.159 playoff experience even more intense, Try placing a bet on 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:39.360 your favorite player's performance. Well they drop thirty points, forty 0:00:39.479 --> 0:00:42.280 or more, it's your call. Ready to place your first bet? 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:45.320 Download the DraftKings Sportsbook gap Now lock in your bets. 0:00:45.560 --> 0:00:48.479 Let's make this playoff run unforgettable. Here's something special for 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:52.600 first timers. New DraftKings customers. Bet five dollars to get 0:00:52.640 --> 0:00:55.920 two hundred dollars in bonus bets. Instantly make it a 0:00:55.920 --> 0:00:58.400 playoff run to remember with DraftKings. Download the Draft Kings 0:00:58.440 --> 0:01:02.440 sportsbook gap and use code hoops. That's h oops. That's 0:01:02.480 --> 0:01:05.120 code hoops for new customers to get two hundred dollars 0:01:05.120 --> 0:01:07.720 in bonus bets when you bet just five bucks only 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:11.080 on DraftKings. The Crown is yours. Gambling problem called Wayne 0:01:11.160 --> 0:01:14.120 hundred gambler In New York call eight seven seven eight 0:01:14.240 --> 0:01:16.360 Hope and y or text hope and why to four 0:01:16.400 --> 0:01:19.280 six seven three sixty nine. In Connecticut, help us available 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:22.199 for problem gambling Call eight eight eight seven eight nine 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:26.920 seven seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Please 0:01:26.959 --> 0:01:29.600 play responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in 0:01:29.680 --> 0:01:33.160 Kansas twenty one plus. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. 0:01:33.440 --> 0:01:36.959 Void in Ontario, new customers only. Bonus bets expire one 0:01:37.000 --> 0:01:40.120 hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance. For additional terms 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:46.200 and responsible gaming resources, see dkang dot co. Slash audio. 0:01:57.400 --> 0:01:59.320 All right, welcome to Hoop tonight. You're at the volume 0:01:59.360 --> 0:02:01.520 heavy sun there everybody. Hope all you guys are having 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:03.559 a great end to your weekend. We got a jam 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:05.440 pack show for you guys today. We're gonna hit on 0:02:05.560 --> 0:02:09.880 four games. I'm gonna be primarily leaning into the first 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:11.639 two games of the day. Those are the two games 0:02:11.639 --> 0:02:13.120 that I thought were most interesting. So we're going to 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:14.880 talk Lakers Wolves off the top, and then I've got 0:02:14.919 --> 0:02:17.400 a lot of thoughts on Nick Pistons. We'll be going 0:02:17.440 --> 0:02:20.560 shorter on Celtics Magic as well as Pacers Bucks, but 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:22.240 we'll have some thoughts there at the tail end of 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:24.200 the show too. Also, no mail bag at the tail 0:02:24.240 --> 0:02:26.000 end of the show today, just so you guys know, 0:02:26.120 --> 0:02:27.639 but we're gonna hitting all four of those games and 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:28.639 then we'll get out of here for the night. You 0:02:28.639 --> 0:02:30.280 guys are the job before we get started. Subscribe to 0:02:30.320 --> 0:02:32.040 the Hoops and I YouTube channel so you don't miss 0:02:32.040 --> 0:02:33.800 any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at 0:02:33.919 --> 0:02:36.200 underscore Jason lt so you guys don't miss an ShW announcement. 0:02:36.200 --> 0:02:37.640 Son't forget about a podcast for you wherever you get 0:02:37.639 --> 0:02:39.880 your podcast on our Hoops Tonight. It's also super helpful 0:02:39.919 --> 0:02:42.760 if you leave a rating and a review on that front. 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:44.840 We also have social media feeds on Twitter, Instagram, and 0:02:44.840 --> 0:02:46.720 Facebook where Jackson's doing great work. Make sure you guys 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:49.239 follow us there. And then, as I mentioned off top last, 0:02:49.240 --> 0:02:51.320 but not at least keep dropping mailbag questions and those 0:02:51.360 --> 0:02:53.480 YouTube comments. All right, let's talk some basketball. I was 0:02:53.560 --> 0:02:55.520 telling the guys before the show started. It's a very 0:02:55.880 --> 0:03:00.519 rough day for my personal playoff rooting interests. League team 0:03:00.520 --> 0:03:02.760 had a playoff game today too, that we lost on 0:03:02.880 --> 0:03:07.080 a game winning jump shot at the Buzzert from my 0:03:07.240 --> 0:03:09.600 former college teammate, my point guard back when I was 0:03:09.639 --> 0:03:12.040 playing in college. Shout out to Dom Banks. Just an 0:03:12.040 --> 0:03:14.440 incredible player, good friend of mine. Hit a big time 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:17.120 shot to beat us today. So took that knife to 0:03:17.160 --> 0:03:20.200 the chest and then had to go home and watch 0:03:20.360 --> 0:03:22.480 the other knife go into my chest in the form 0:03:22.520 --> 0:03:24.560 of the Lakers losing that game in the fourth quarter 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:27.119 to the Minnesota Timberwolves. So obviously, before we get any 0:03:27.160 --> 0:03:30.799 deeper into it, just congratulations to Wolves fans. I'm sure 0:03:30.800 --> 0:03:33.080 you guys are very happy that I am wrong about 0:03:33.080 --> 0:03:36.240 what ended up happening in this series. And it's been 0:03:36.320 --> 0:03:40.480 especially painful for me because Anthony Edwards just continues to 0:03:41.440 --> 0:03:44.400 take a special place in my basketball heart, so to speak, 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:47.600 as I've always loved watching him play and just watching 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:50.400 the way that he has broken my heart so to 0:03:50.440 --> 0:03:53.280 speak as a Lakers fan in this series has just 0:03:53.320 --> 0:03:55.200 made me love him even more as a player, and 0:03:55.280 --> 0:03:57.200 I'm just I'm really happy for you Wolves fans, and 0:03:57.200 --> 0:03:59.600 you guys are in great shape moving forward, not just 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:01.520 in this but moving forward for the rest of this 0:04:01.560 --> 0:04:04.640 playoff run and for the rest of this era that 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:07.400 you guys have put together. So to me, Game four 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:11.119 basically came down to a gamble that JJ Reddick made 0:04:11.200 --> 0:04:13.840 in the second half, a bet based on two things. 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:18.320 One that the Luca Lebron Austin, Dorian Phinney Smith Ruby 0:04:18.320 --> 0:04:22.039 hot Chimura lineup was consistently generating great shots against Minnesota's defense, 0:04:22.080 --> 0:04:23.680 and he wanted to ride that out as much as 0:04:23.680 --> 0:04:28.240 possible and the Lakers effectively after tonight's game or today's game, 0:04:28.520 --> 0:04:30.960 had like two and a half full days of rest 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:32.800 before Game five and Wednesday, like they would have had 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:35.880 all night Tonight off, all day Monday off, all day 0:04:35.920 --> 0:04:38.640 Tuesday off, most of the day on Wednesday, So I 0:04:38.640 --> 0:04:41.320 don't think he was worried about long term wear and tear. 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:44.880 But the gamble was that the Lakers would be able 0:04:44.920 --> 0:04:47.839 to survive those twenty four minutes without succumbing to the 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:52.159 physical onslaught of Minnesota, and that ended up being the 0:04:52.160 --> 0:04:54.200 give a take, give and take right, and the Lakers 0:04:54.240 --> 0:04:57.359 just couldn't quite hold on. I thought Ant's shot making 0:04:57.400 --> 0:05:00.680 in the early fourth quarter was the first sign of 0:05:00.680 --> 0:05:03.600 that onslaught. I talked a lot after Game three about 0:05:03.640 --> 0:05:06.400 how you pretty much just have to cross your fingers 0:05:06.400 --> 0:05:08.880 and hope Aunt misses those pull up threes because you 0:05:08.920 --> 0:05:11.960 can't realistically take them away. You're just gonna give the 0:05:12.000 --> 0:05:14.800 best athlete in the league a crazy runway over and 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:18.560 over again. You have to play with You have to 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:23.800 play essentially to concede a contested pullback or step back 0:05:23.839 --> 0:05:26.640 type of three. Right. He hit three of them in 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:30.200 the early fourth quarter, including a twenty eight footer over 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:33.080 Austin Reeves with just under eight minutes left that cut 0:05:33.120 --> 0:05:36.400 the lead down to four, and that like immediately changed 0:05:36.440 --> 0:05:38.799 the tone and tenor of the game, and it turned 0:05:38.839 --> 0:05:43.320 it into a high pressure half court slug fest. And 0:05:43.360 --> 0:05:46.440 once again, just like in Game three, Ant and the 0:05:46.480 --> 0:05:50.200 Wolves just looked better down the stretch. Nasreg came in, 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:52.640 one of the few fresh legs guys on the floor 0:05:52.640 --> 0:05:54.800 there down the stretch. He immediately scored eight points. He 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:57.640 scored against Austin on a switch. He had two long 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:00.320 threes at the top of the key. The Lakers kind 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:02.440 of started to show their fatigue on those two threes. 0:06:02.480 --> 0:06:05.320 On the first one, Luca beats Naz Reid off the 0:06:05.400 --> 0:06:08.440 dribble and smokes a layup, like right at the rim, 0:06:08.480 --> 0:06:11.719 smokes a layup, and then in transition, Luca made a 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:13.760 bad read. He should have matched up with Nas. Him 0:06:13.800 --> 0:06:15.839 and Nas were the last two guys back in the play, 0:06:15.880 --> 0:06:18.600 but Luca just misread the floor and ran to go 0:06:18.640 --> 0:06:22.120 guard Austin Reeves's man, even though Austin Reeves was already there. 0:06:22.400 --> 0:06:25.320 That left Nas read open. Just a mental mistake, probably 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:28.160 that came from fatigue to a certain extent. And then 0:06:28.160 --> 0:06:30.719 on the second one, Nas broke open on a screening 0:06:30.760 --> 0:06:34.159 action kind of a two guys at the elbow. Nas 0:06:34.279 --> 0:06:37.719 was on the far elbow and Lebron just was resting 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:39.480 or fatigued or whatever it was. He just was like 0:06:39.520 --> 0:06:42.279 flat footed standing upright. And when Nas ran off the 0:06:42.279 --> 0:06:44.520 screen like it probably should have been a switch, but 0:06:44.640 --> 0:06:47.560 Lebron should have been up like communicating with Austin, like, hey, 0:06:47.640 --> 0:06:48.960 Naz is getting ready to come up, you gotta be 0:06:49.000 --> 0:06:51.800 ready to switch. Both Lebron and Austin were just a 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:54.560 little slow to react, and nas breaks open at the 0:06:54.560 --> 0:06:57.560 top of key and hits another three and made a 0:06:57.680 --> 0:07:00.800 very similar kickout read on a baseline drive that looked 0:07:00.920 --> 0:07:02.920 very similar to the one in Game three where he 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:05.280 hit nas Reed on the left wing. He hit Dante 0:07:05.279 --> 0:07:07.960 DiVincenzo on the left wing, who drove the close out 0:07:07.960 --> 0:07:10.800 and got an end one. Another great decision from Ant 0:07:10.840 --> 0:07:13.440 down the stretch, Ant be the double team he was 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:15.680 getting double team by Dorian Finney Smith and Ruey Hotchi 0:07:15.720 --> 0:07:18.720 murr Out in the kind of like left like just 0:07:18.720 --> 0:07:20.200 in front of half court on the left side of 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:23.920 the floor, and Ruy lost contain. Ant actually beat the 0:07:23.960 --> 0:07:26.640 double team off the dribble, forced Luca to help. It 0:07:26.680 --> 0:07:30.160 turned into effectively a triple team that caught Lebron in 0:07:30.240 --> 0:07:32.600 like this weird three on one underneath the basket where 0:07:32.760 --> 0:07:36.080 Ant makes a beautiful pass to nas Lebron flashes, Lebron 0:07:36.160 --> 0:07:38.360 drops it off to Jaden or excuse me. Nasried makes 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:41.960 a nice connective pass to Jaden McDaniels on the baseline, 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:44.800 Austin Reeves fouls him. That ends up basically being the 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:49.560 game winner. That lineup with Nazrid and Dante Devincenzo. In 0:07:49.680 --> 0:07:52.680 for Rudy, Ruey and Rudy have been killing me in 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:55.560 this series. In for Rudy, Gobert and Mike Conley is 0:07:55.560 --> 0:07:59.600 probably their best lineup. It creates space while still maintaining 0:07:59.600 --> 0:08:03.440 their side in physicality. It closed the deal yet again 0:08:03.520 --> 0:08:06.000 for the Wolves tonight, and now they are in serious 0:08:06.040 --> 0:08:09.000 control of this series. It's not over. The Lakers will 0:08:09.040 --> 0:08:10.760 have their shot. We'll talk about that in a little 0:08:10.760 --> 0:08:14.840 bit later on. But this same theme from the end 0:08:14.880 --> 0:08:18.920 of tonight's game has repeated itself over and over again 0:08:18.960 --> 0:08:21.560 in this series. Even in the Game two when the 0:08:21.600 --> 0:08:24.400 Lakers won, it felt like over the course of the 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:27.040 end of the game, the Lakers start to look old 0:08:27.080 --> 0:08:31.000 and tired, while the Wolves continued to look like the Wolves, 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:34.840 and then they take control. The Lakers came apart at 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:37.319 the seams at a bunch of basic execution details late 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:40.120 that I do think we're associated with fatigue. On the JD. 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:43.720 McDaniel's game winner, Ruey Hachimura loses contain on a double team. 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:46.840 When you're bracketing in a double team, the ball's here 0:08:47.120 --> 0:08:50.640 and these are the two defenders bracketing. This guy has 0:08:50.760 --> 0:08:53.400 to prevent him from driving outside. This guy has to 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:55.520 prevent him from driving outside. You have to contain the 0:08:55.559 --> 0:08:58.880 ball and force Ant to make a pass. But if 0:08:58.880 --> 0:09:01.960 you go back and WoT watch Ruey as he's sliding, 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:04.680 you can literally see how exhausted he is with the 0:09:04.679 --> 0:09:07.080 way he was moving on the NAS read threes. Like 0:09:07.120 --> 0:09:10.040 I mentioned, Luca smoking the easy layup and losing NAS 0:09:10.040 --> 0:09:13.600 with a mental mistake, Lebron getting caught relaxing. Austin missed 0:09:13.640 --> 0:09:16.600 several wide open threes in the fourth quarter. Lebron had 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:19.360 zero points in the fourth quarter, was generally uninvolved in 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:22.360 the offense. But this is where it gets tricky. Though 0:09:23.600 --> 0:09:25.640 I knew coming into the series that this would be 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:28.600 a physical tug of war. I knew that the Wolves 0:09:28.640 --> 0:09:30.679 would wear on the Lakers over the course of games 0:09:30.720 --> 0:09:33.560 just by being more athletic. I knew the Lakers would 0:09:33.600 --> 0:09:35.200 be able to score, but I also knew they would 0:09:35.200 --> 0:09:39.800 wear dam What I didn't predict was just how badly 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.920 Anthony Edwards would win the Superstar matchup with Luka Doncic. 0:09:43.960 --> 0:09:47.520 This is where the entire series turned. The Lakers were 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:51.319 tied with four minutes left in Game three. The Lakers 0:09:51.320 --> 0:09:55.720 were up to with four minutes left today, Luca had 0:09:55.800 --> 0:09:58.840 zero points in both of those sequences. From that point forward, 0:09:59.360 --> 0:10:03.400 in this series, Luka Doncic has been five for seventeen 0:10:04.200 --> 0:10:08.600 in the fourth quarter, Anthony Edwards ten for twenty three. 0:10:09.320 --> 0:10:13.000 Anthony Edwards has made twice as many fourth quarterfield goals 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.520 as Luka Doncic in this series. Luca has one fourth 0:10:16.559 --> 0:10:22.080 quarter assist, Anthony Edwards has seven. That's the series. That's 0:10:22.200 --> 0:10:25.280 it right there. Two games, Game three, in Game four 0:10:25.559 --> 0:10:28.600 coin flip games that came down to clutch shot creation 0:10:28.720 --> 0:10:31.520 from the two team superstars, and Anthony Edwards went toe 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:34.280 to toe with the guy that many people, including myself 0:10:34.320 --> 0:10:37.400 before the season, placed as the second best player in 0:10:37.440 --> 0:10:40.600 the league, and Ant just straight up alpha dogged him. 0:10:40.920 --> 0:10:43.079 He stared down the guy who beat him in the 0:10:43.120 --> 0:10:47.320 playoffs last year and straight up kicked his ass. The 0:10:47.360 --> 0:10:51.679 insane shot making, the growth as a playmaker, it's been 0:10:51.679 --> 0:10:56.000 incredible to watch. And here's how important it's been. The 0:10:56.080 --> 0:10:59.000 Lakers actually outscored the Wolves in the last three games 0:10:59.040 --> 0:11:03.120 by seventeen point in the first three quarters, but Anton 0:11:03.120 --> 0:11:05.959 the Wolves have won the fourth quarters by twenty three 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:10.400 points turned two of those games into Wolves wins. He 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:13.920 Anthony Edwards has been the swing between this series being 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:17.720 three to one Lakers and it being three to one Wolves. Now, 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:19.880 before we like, I want to be clear before we 0:11:19.880 --> 0:11:22.840 talk a little bit about Luca here, Luca is not 0:11:23.040 --> 0:11:26.439 the only one to blame for what happened today. As 0:11:26.440 --> 0:11:28.520 I mentioned, Lebron made several mistakes. He had a bad 0:11:28.520 --> 0:11:31.800 turnover in the final minute. He like it was kind 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:35.760 of on everybody the the There was this weird trip 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:38.199 where Jada McDaniel's trip Luca probably should have been a 0:11:38.200 --> 0:11:41.240 foul where that led to his sideline out of bounds 0:11:41.240 --> 0:11:43.840 with seventeen seconds on the shot clock. Because they're seventeen 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:46.160 seconds on the shot clock, the Lakers could not inbound 0:11:46.160 --> 0:11:48.240 into the back court. They had to inbound into the 0:11:48.280 --> 0:11:51.200 front court, so that caused a very tight space. Basically, 0:11:51.320 --> 0:11:53.920 Lebron was just on the other side of half court 0:11:54.000 --> 0:11:57.360 out on that sideline. It basically took the amount of 0:11:57.400 --> 0:11:59.600 space that the Lakers could inbound to and cut it 0:11:59.640 --> 0:12:03.160 in half, and the Wolves defended it pretty well. Luca 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:05.480 is kinda in a position where he could catch, but 0:12:05.559 --> 0:12:07.800 Jaden was right on his backside and Lebron took a 0:12:07.800 --> 0:12:10.640 bad angle. He threw it to Luca's right shoulder, Luca's 0:12:10.720 --> 0:12:12.640 left shoulder. He probably catches it, but he threw it 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:14.840 to the wrong shoulder. That's a bad turnover on Lebron. 0:12:14.960 --> 0:12:17.559 He took a bad three with five seconds left off 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:20.000 the left wing. In the final minutes, he lost Nasried 0:12:20.040 --> 0:12:21.600 on one of his threes. Like we talked about, he 0:12:21.640 --> 0:12:24.960 scored zero points. Lebron shares. Some blame Austin Reeves missed 0:12:25.320 --> 0:12:27.640 five threes in the fourth quarter. Some a couple of 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:30.560 wide open ones in the final minutes. Ruey Hatcher Murra 0:12:30.600 --> 0:12:32.760 made a few defensive mistakes. I want to be clear 0:12:32.800 --> 0:12:36.600 tonight is not only Luca's fault, but Luca is the 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:39.760 one player on that team who was truly capable of 0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:44.120 closing that deal. And he went one for six and 0:12:44.160 --> 0:12:49.880 he looked like completely exhausted and lifeless down the stretch. Now, 0:12:49.920 --> 0:12:52.000 before you tell me, well, Jason, he played the entire 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:55.240 second half. That's on jj Reddick. Well so did aunt 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:59.360 aunt played twenty four minutes in the second half. Julius 0:12:59.440 --> 0:13:00.920 Randall play two only three and a half minutes in 0:13:00.960 --> 0:13:04.680 the second half. Nasried can can pull the I was 0:13:04.720 --> 0:13:09.880 fresh card. Everyone was fatigued. And yet I know that 0:13:09.920 --> 0:13:12.720 ant is a better athlete and he will look better 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:15.360 when he's fatigued than Luca. But he looked like aunt. 0:13:16.080 --> 0:13:18.800 Luca didn't even look like Luca down the stretch of 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:21.360 that game when his team desperately needed him to look 0:13:21.400 --> 0:13:24.000 like Luca. And it's been the entire series, five to 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:28.280 seventeen in the fourth quarter. So again, even though tonight 0:13:28.480 --> 0:13:32.360 wasn't entirely his fault, it was a team, a set 0:13:32.400 --> 0:13:35.520 of mistakes from the team. My initial impression of Luca 0:13:35.600 --> 0:13:39.199 in the big picture, even beyond this series, has been 0:13:39.240 --> 0:13:41.800 that he consistently wears down at the end of games. 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:46.079 He was also just eleven for twenty seven in clutch 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:48.720 situations for the Lakers in the regular season this year. 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:52.760 I'm not saying this to pick on Luca. I root 0:13:52.800 --> 0:13:56.520 for the guy for obvious reasons. I just want to 0:13:56.559 --> 0:14:00.600 see him reach his full potential. He's getting passed by 0:14:00.600 --> 0:14:04.080 his peers right now. Tatum is playing better than him, 0:14:04.800 --> 0:14:08.400 Shay's playing better than him, AT's playing better than him, 0:14:09.640 --> 0:14:14.320 Steph is playing better than him. He's leaving meat on 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:18.800 the bone when it comes to his potential. And I 0:14:19.000 --> 0:14:21.840 genuinely believe that if he could figure out his conditioning, 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:25.560 that he has a great chance to become the best 0:14:25.560 --> 0:14:31.840 basketball player alive as Jokic phases out as he gets older, 0:14:32.240 --> 0:14:34.080 there will be no player in the league that has 0:14:34.120 --> 0:14:37.680 a better combination of scoring and playmaking ability than Luka Doncic. 0:14:38.320 --> 0:14:40.960 If he could become a player that holds up over 0:14:41.000 --> 0:14:42.840 the course of games, holds up over the course of 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:46.120 seasons and series, can stay healthy, can be operating at 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:49.680 peak efficiency at the end of games while also being 0:14:49.720 --> 0:14:52.600 a plus defender, which he is capable of being. That's 0:14:52.640 --> 0:14:55.600 the best player in the world. That's what he's capable 0:14:55.640 --> 0:15:02.160 of doing. It is a real and achievable outcome for him, 0:15:02.240 --> 0:15:05.720 and it would literally just take one summer, one summer 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:09.640 of obsessive work, the same obsessive work that all of 0:15:09.680 --> 0:15:12.560 the greats in NBA history have used to maximize their potential. 0:15:13.720 --> 0:15:16.760 The ball is in Luca's court and we all knew 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:19.040 this before. I mean, that was literally the main storyline 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:22.280 behind the trade, right, but we got to see it 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:25.560 up close and personal. Here. I can put it this simply, 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:30.680 had Luca played to his potential in this series, the 0:15:30.760 --> 0:15:35.920 Lakers win this series. But instead he faded at the 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:38.560 end of games while his counterpart on the other team 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:42.480 was fantastic, and it flipped entirely in the other direction. 0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:46.640 Other notes that I wanted to give before we move 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:49.720 on to the next game. JJ's decision to play everybody 0:15:49.800 --> 0:15:52.040 all twenty four minutes in the second half. Look it 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:56.000 was high risk, but it also high reward. And I 0:15:56.000 --> 0:15:59.920 hate playing the results because so many things went wrong 0:16:00.440 --> 0:16:02.680 down the stretch that could have just as easily ended 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:05.520 in a win for the Lakers. Even with everything that 0:16:05.560 --> 0:16:09.840 went wrong, the Lakers led in the final minute, and like, 0:16:10.080 --> 0:16:12.120 had they gotten it done, JJ would have looked like 0:16:12.200 --> 0:16:14.800 a genius as the Lakers went home for a long 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:18.440 stretch of time off with the series tied. I also 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:20.160 thought the Lakers were on the wrong end of two 0:16:20.240 --> 0:16:23.280 late calls. Luca got tripped at half court. He should 0:16:23.280 --> 0:16:25.800 have gone to the foul line after that. I thought 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:28.680 Lebron when he stripped Anthony Edwards underneath the basket, he 0:16:28.760 --> 0:16:31.240 was more or less in the hand wrist ball area, 0:16:31.680 --> 0:16:34.640 and the game was insanely physical. You would just let 0:16:34.640 --> 0:16:37.280 a non call go. And Jaden tripped Luca. I didn't 0:16:37.360 --> 0:16:38.680 like that call, and by the way, I'm not saying 0:16:38.720 --> 0:16:40.480 the Lakers are screwed. You know what, I always said, 0:16:41.520 --> 0:16:44.080 bad calls are a part of basketball games. You have 0:16:44.120 --> 0:16:47.720 to be prepared for that contingency. I don't blame the 0:16:47.760 --> 0:16:51.040 refs for today's outcome. I'm just saying it was a 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:54.560 razor thin margin. The Lakers very easily could have won 0:16:54.600 --> 0:16:57.640 that game. They didn't, But I'm not gonna blame it 0:16:57.680 --> 0:16:59.960 on JJ based on that result. It was a gamble, 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:04.760 the game became razor thin close to paying off, and 0:17:04.920 --> 0:17:07.159 there was an obvious downside, which was fatigue, and the 0:17:07.200 --> 0:17:09.000 fatigue did play a role in the loss. I think 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:12.520 that's worth bringing up. But like Chris Finch also played 0:17:12.520 --> 0:17:14.840 Anthony Edwards the entire second half and Julius Randall most 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:17.000 of the second half, Like, it's not exactly the craziest 0:17:17.040 --> 0:17:20.280 thing we've ever seen, they just were. JJ was looking 0:17:20.280 --> 0:17:22.520 at it like, I don't know that I can afford 0:17:22.560 --> 0:17:24.639 vandom minutes here. I don't know that I can afford 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:27.359 gave minutes here now, Like I probably would have just 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:30.840 found little short bursts to get them some rest. But like, 0:17:30.920 --> 0:17:33.919 I'm not going to over criticize the risk based on 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:36.679 a result that was like this close to going the 0:17:36.720 --> 0:17:40.600 other way and looking like JJ was a genius. Right now? 0:17:40.680 --> 0:17:46.880 Can the Lakers win the series? Of course? It's really simple. Actually, 0:17:46.920 --> 0:17:48.879 if you get down to it, Do I think the 0:17:48.960 --> 0:17:52.160 Lakers can beat the Wolves in Game five on Wednesday? Yes, 0:17:52.200 --> 0:17:54.040 I actually think they will. I think the Lakers will 0:17:54.080 --> 0:17:55.679 win this game. I think the Wolves are gonna win 0:17:55.680 --> 0:17:59.480 this series in Game six back in Minnesota. But from there, 0:17:59.600 --> 0:18:01.520 if the Lake Bakers win on Wednesday in Game five, 0:18:02.240 --> 0:18:06.480 you have Game six on Friday. It's one game in Minnesota. 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:09.919 We know they can win. They were right there in 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:13.240 each of the last two games. So you win on Wednesday, 0:18:13.600 --> 0:18:15.359 then you look at it on Friday and you go 0:18:15.560 --> 0:18:19.080 just beat the Timberwolves in Minnesota one time. And if 0:18:19.080 --> 0:18:22.919 you do, then it's Game seven on Sunday. You're the 0:18:22.960 --> 0:18:26.880 home team, You're likely favored. So they absolutely can win 0:18:26.920 --> 0:18:31.000 the series. I just think it's unlikely. I don't think 0:18:31.080 --> 0:18:34.600 Luca is gonna suddenly get into better shape. He's wearing down, 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:39.080 not because he's not capable of doing the basketball things necessary. 0:18:38.640 --> 0:18:41.960 It is a literal conditioning problem. In order for the 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:44.080 Lakers to come back and win the series, Luca would 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:47.640 have to make me look foolish by suddenly transforming into 0:18:47.640 --> 0:18:49.600 the best player in the series, which he hasn't been 0:18:49.640 --> 0:18:51.959 to this point. So it's on the table. It's an 0:18:51.960 --> 0:18:55.280 outcome that can happen. I just think it's far more 0:18:55.400 --> 0:18:57.800 likely than not that the Wolves close this out. And 0:18:57.840 --> 0:18:59.959 on that note, just again, like I mentioned off the tip, 0:19:00.400 --> 0:19:04.399 just I am happy, happy for Wolves fans because you 0:19:04.480 --> 0:19:06.679 guys probably got sick and tired of hearing guys like 0:19:06.720 --> 0:19:08.280 me and everyone else out there tell you how the 0:19:08.359 --> 0:19:10.960 Lakers were gonna win. Hell, the Wolves themselves were sick 0:19:11.000 --> 0:19:13.160 of it. And you just have such a great team 0:19:13.359 --> 0:19:16.680 and you have such a great star. And I am 0:19:16.880 --> 0:19:19.440 really looking forward to watching them as they move forward 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:21.159 in this postseason. Should they be able to close the 0:19:21.200 --> 0:19:26.040 deal on Wednesday or on Friday. All right, Nicks, Pistons. 0:19:26.600 --> 0:19:28.520 As wrong as I've been about the Lakers Wolves series, 0:19:28.520 --> 0:19:31.200 I've been pretty right about this one. The Pistons have 0:19:31.280 --> 0:19:34.200 been right there every single game. They led by eight 0:19:34.320 --> 0:19:36.840 in the fourth quarter of Game one, they obviously one 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:39.639 Game two, they were down by three with five minutes 0:19:39.720 --> 0:19:42.520 left in Game three, and they led by eleven today 0:19:42.680 --> 0:19:45.479 in the fourth quarter of Game four. But over and 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:48.480 over again. The Knicks have been able to out execute 0:19:48.480 --> 0:19:50.800 them at the end of these games because they are 0:19:50.840 --> 0:19:54.439 the smarter and more experienced team. Malik Beasley hits a 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:56.320 three with eight and a half minutes left that puts 0:19:56.359 --> 0:19:59.480 the Pistons up eleven. From that point forward, the Knicks 0:19:59.560 --> 0:20:03.160 played their ceiling. They knew they needed that game. They 0:20:03.240 --> 0:20:06.880 played peak Knicks basketball while the Pistons on the other 0:20:06.960 --> 0:20:10.200 end made mistake after mistake after a mistake. The Knicks 0:20:10.240 --> 0:20:12.320 were able to get offense on several fronts. Mikal Bridges 0:20:12.359 --> 0:20:15.440 actually started the run with two really tough movement threes 0:20:15.480 --> 0:20:16.639 out of the right corner. In a game where he 0:20:16.640 --> 0:20:18.840 could make a shot to save his life, hit two 0:20:18.880 --> 0:20:21.560 massive ones in the right corner. Jalen Brunson got into 0:20:21.600 --> 0:20:23.720 a great rhythm after coming back from an ankle injury 0:20:23.720 --> 0:20:25.320 he suffered right along the sideline in front of the 0:20:25.359 --> 0:20:28.760 scorer's table. He's really solved Dennis Schroeder at this point 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:30.400