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Speaker 1: The Volume. All right, welcome to him tonight. You're at

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Speaker 1: the volume every Friday, everybody. Hope all of you guys

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Speaker 1: had an incredible holiday break. We had an incredible showcase

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Speaker 1: for the NBA yesterday. Christmas Day is kind of like

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Speaker 1: that first big day that the NBA takes the center stage.

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Speaker 1: The NFL was graced us with an awful slate thanks

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Speaker 1: to a bunch of teams kind of being out of

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Speaker 1: the playoff hunt, leading to some bad football games. But

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Speaker 1: the NBA stepped right into that gap and provided some

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Speaker 1: awesome basketball. I thought the best way for us to

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Speaker 1: hit on all the games would be to go with

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Speaker 1: one major takeaway from all ten teams from that slate yesterday.

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Speaker 1: Can't wait to dig it into it with you guys.

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Speaker 1: You guys know the drill before we get started. Subscribe

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Speaker 1: to the oop Snit YouTube channel so you don't miss

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Speaker 1: any more of our videos. Don't forget to like this video.

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Speaker 1: That helps us a lot. And then lastly, if you

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Speaker 1: want to get mail bag questions, drop them underneath this video.

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Speaker 1: Put mailbag with a colon and write your question. We'll

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Speaker 1: get to them on Fridays starting next Friday. Throughout the

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Speaker 1: remainder of the season. So, like I said Christmas Day,

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Speaker 1: first major showcase of the NBA season, it is revealing.

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Speaker 1: And it's funny because we've actually been going forever. We

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Speaker 1: were over two months into this thing. We've had a

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Speaker 1: whole in season tournament. Every team is played like more

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Speaker 1: than a third of their games already. But in this environment,

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Speaker 1: everyone's playing about as hard as you'll see them play

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Speaker 1: in an NBA regular season game, at least for most

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Speaker 1: of the teams. We'll get to the Lakers later on.

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Speaker 1: But it can be revealing in a lot of ways.

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Speaker 1: And so I thought this. I thought this would be

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Speaker 1: a good chance to bounce around. Let's start with their

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Speaker 1: first big takeaway. Number one, The San Antonio Spurs are

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Speaker 1: the best team in the NBA right now. You don't

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Speaker 1: have to take my word for it. Shae Gilsis Alexander

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Speaker 1: basically said as much after the game yesterday. He said, quote,

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Speaker 1: we have to get better as a group. You don't

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Speaker 1: lose to a team three times in a row in

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Speaker 1: a short space without them being better than you. Now

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Speaker 1: we'll get to some of the specifics that the thunder

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Speaker 1: have been struggling with in a minute, but I want

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Speaker 1: to focus on this particular matchup, why the Spurs thrive

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Speaker 1: in this matchup, and why the Spurs as a team

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Speaker 1: have been better than everyone else in the league to

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Speaker 1: this point. First of all, some stats. So on November sixteenth,

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Speaker 1: the Spurs started this run. It was right after those

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Speaker 1: consecutive games they lost to the Warriors at home. Those

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Speaker 1: were the two games where Steph was amazing. Deeron Fox

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Speaker 1: made his return. It got badly outplayed in the first

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Speaker 1: game before coming back and being awesome victor women Yama

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Speaker 1: ends up getting hurt. But in that stretch, the Spurs

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Speaker 1: really started to find a groove on offense, fueled by

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Speaker 1: Dearon Fox playing some of the best basketball of his career,

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Speaker 1: all of the young guards kind of being slotted appropriately

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Speaker 1: as a result of that, starting to get healthy, finding

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Speaker 1: their groove, and it led to this fast paced, devastating

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Speaker 1: driving kick attack where the Spurs were generating a ton

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Speaker 1: of high quality threes, getting to the rim a ton,

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Speaker 1: and shooting a high percentage on everything. They were eleventh

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Speaker 1: in restricted area makes since November sixteenth, eleventh and made

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Speaker 1: threes per game seventh and three point percentage. They've been

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Speaker 1: the fourth best offense in the entire NBA in that

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Speaker 1: span a one to twenty offensive rating, which, as you

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Speaker 1: guys know, that's kind of like the benchmark for elite

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Speaker 1: offense in the modern NBAS if you can get that

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Speaker 1: offensive rating up over one twenty, which they've been. They've

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Speaker 1: also really started to dominate on the margins. They're plus

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Speaker 1: three point four and points off of turnovers every game

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Speaker 1: since November sixteenth. They're plus two point one and second

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Speaker 1: chance points, and they're plus two point one in fast

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Speaker 1: break points. Those are the three main margins. They are

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Speaker 1: winning every single one of those margins by a decent

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Speaker 1: chunk every single game. Now, obviously there's a little bit

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Speaker 1: of overlap there between things like fast break points and

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Speaker 1: points off of turnovers, but if you're getting like a

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Speaker 1: half dozen points and positive margin every single night, that's

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Speaker 1: gonna help you win a lot of basketball games. Now,

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Speaker 1: the defense struggled a little bit while Wemby was out,

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Speaker 1: but I talked at the time, I was really excited

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Speaker 1: to see because even though the defense was struggling the guards,

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Speaker 1: they were so athletic and scrappy on the wing. I

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Speaker 1: wanted to see that get combined with what Victor wemb

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Speaker 1: Minyama brought to the table to see if it would

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Speaker 1: lead to anything, and oh my goodness, a one oh

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Speaker 1: two point six defensive rating since November sixteenth. That's the

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Speaker 1: second best defensive rating in the entire NBA. That's what

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Speaker 1: Victor wen Minyama does when he's been on the floor,

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Speaker 1: just Wmby on the floor. In this stretch, they have

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Speaker 1: an eighty nine point five defensive rating that is like

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Speaker 1: shockingly good and a pretty good sample size, what six

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Speaker 1: or seven games at this point, even though Luke Cornett

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Speaker 1: groups with Wenby off the floor are defending a lot

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Speaker 1: better than they did before Wemby came back. So you

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Speaker 1: got the fourth best offense in the league in this span,

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Speaker 1: the second best defense over the course of this previous

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Speaker 1: six games or does that amount to since November sixteenth?

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Speaker 1: And by the way, I want to add this in

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Speaker 1: there too, that defense has been so good statistically that

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Speaker 1: even if you add it to all of the bad

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Speaker 1: defensive data before Wemby came back in this stretch since

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Speaker 1: November sixteenth, they're now tenth in defensive rating. That's how

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Speaker 1: good they've been on defense in this last couple of weeks.

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Speaker 1: But since November sixteenth, the Spurs are fifteen and three.

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Speaker 1: That is the best record in the NBA. The Pistons

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Speaker 1: and Thunder are both behind them, tied at thirteen and four.

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Speaker 1: So strictly speaking by win percentage, they've been the best

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Speaker 1: team in the league for about six weeks, and even

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Speaker 1: if you want to zoom out to the entire season,

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Speaker 1: they're only two and a half games back of the

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Speaker 1: Thunder overall in the standings, the Pistons actually are only

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Speaker 1: one and a half games back of the Thunder. Starting

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Speaker 1: to get a little bunched up between those three young

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Speaker 1: and talented teams at the top, we're talking about a

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Speaker 1: top four offense, top two defense, an earth shattering defense

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Speaker 1: with Wemby on the floor, and an offense that's really

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Speaker 1: starting to bud. And again, like will the Thunder have

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Speaker 1: more to say over the course of the season, We're

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Speaker 1: gonna find out as time goes on. But very simply,

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Speaker 1: the Spurs have been the best team in basketball over

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Speaker 1: the course of the last six weeks. Now, let's talk

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Speaker 1: about this matchup for a minute, because this has been

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Speaker 1: not just three to oh, it's been dominance. There have

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Speaker 1: been wild runs in all three games in the NCASON

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Speaker 1: Tournament game, they had a fifteen to OH run to

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Speaker 1: end the first half. In the game on Tuesday down

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Speaker 1: in San Antonio, the Spurs hung forty three points on

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Speaker 1: them just in the fourth quarter to blow them out

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Speaker 1: by twenty and yesterday in Oklahoma City a thirteen to

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Speaker 1: OH run to end the first quarter that completely flipped

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Speaker 1: the game, and the Thunder couldn't even make a run

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Speaker 1: to threaten them down the stretch. They never got any

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Speaker 1: closer than nine points over the final twenty one minutes

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Speaker 1: of that game. So this is three straight games, one

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Speaker 1: on a neutral site, one in San Antonio, and one

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Speaker 1: in Oklahoma City where the Spurs didn't just beat the Thunder,

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Speaker 1: they had runs where the Thunder looked utterly helpless. So

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Speaker 1: why is that? What is the secret formula? Why are

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Speaker 1: they able to pull this off? And this is where

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Speaker 1: I actually want to dig into the offensive end a

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Speaker 1: little bit because the defense we covered at length after

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Speaker 1: the NCASON Tournament game, and that dynamic has not changed.

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Speaker 1: San Antonio can really protect the rim. Wemby obviously is

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Speaker 1: the game breaking defensive weapon that we've talked about, but

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Speaker 1: also Luke Cornett, who's been phenomenal defensively in this stretch,

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Speaker 1: you're getting forty eight minutes of excellent rim protection from

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Speaker 1: those two guys. When you combine that with them being

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Speaker 1: bigger and more athletic on the perimeter, and now those

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Speaker 1: guys have free reign to press up on Oklahoma City's

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Speaker 1: guards close that space, get great contests on their jumpers.

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Speaker 1: And we're gonna dig into this when we talk about

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Speaker 1: Oklahoma City, but they're in a jump shooting spiral now

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Speaker 1: in large part because of them getting those contests. There

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Speaker 1: has been a huge difference in Oklahoma City's efficiency this

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Speaker 1: year between when they are guarded on catch and shoots

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Speaker 1: versus when they are unguarded, and there just haven't been

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Speaker 1: teams that have been able to contain the ball well

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Speaker 1: enough to be able to offer the types of closeouts

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Speaker 1: and to disintegrate the quality of their catch and shoot

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Speaker 1: opportunities to actually make them misshots. As they've been one

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Speaker 1: of the best jump shooting teams in the league to

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Speaker 1: start this year, and so as a result, because they're

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Speaker 1: able to take away the spacing, because they're able to

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Speaker 1: press up on these guards even they're off the dribble,

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Speaker 1: shooters are starting to really struggle like that was Shay's

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Speaker 1: worst game of the season by far. Yesterday his lowest

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Speaker 1: scoring total. He was below forty percent from the field,

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Speaker 1: really started to jack up bad shots in that second

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Speaker 1: half and decompose a little bit in his game management.

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Speaker 1: Like this dynamic isn't changing. Oklahoma City is going to

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Speaker 1: have to figure out how they're going to score against

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Speaker 1: San Antonio if they're going to survive in a playoff series.

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Speaker 1: And again, we'll dig more into San Antonio, or excuse me,

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Speaker 1: we'll dig more to Oklahoma City in a minute. But

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Speaker 1: the Spurs have taken this all time great Oklahoma City

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Speaker 1: defense and they've cut it to pieces in these three games. Again,

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Speaker 1: this is the team with the highest relative defensive rating

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Speaker 1: in the history of the league. So if you take

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Speaker 1: their defensive rating and you compare it to the league average,

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Speaker 1: it's a substantially larger gap than any team in the

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Speaker 1: history of basketball. And yeah, they had played a light schedule,

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Speaker 1: but the metrics were so absurd that even if you

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Speaker 1: accounted for that, they were all time great and they

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Speaker 1: had broken every other great offense they had run into

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Speaker 1: before this point. And yet the Spurs in these three

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Speaker 1: games have logged a one twenty one offensive rating. We

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Speaker 1: talked about that one twenty number earlier as like the

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Speaker 1: benchmark for elite modern NBA offense. The Spurs have now

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Speaker 1: done that against the Thunder in one hundred and forty

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Speaker 1: four minutes of basketball, and the dynamic on the film

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Speaker 1: is actually pretty clear. And I want to take go

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Speaker 1: away from Wemby here and zoom in on the guards,

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Speaker 1: because Wemby obviously plays a role. He's an offensive ceiling

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Speaker 1: razor in his own way. His ability to kind of

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Speaker 1: catch at the high post and just dictate a bunch

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Speaker 1: of attention has inverted the spacing in a way that

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Speaker 1: has allowed their guards to get open on cuts along

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Speaker 1: the baseline. And these guards, they're all like sixty six

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Speaker 1: sixty seven and can jump vertically off of a jump stop,

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Speaker 1: so they can finish really well on these cuts. Wenby

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Speaker 1: has been a dynamic to this offense as well. But

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Speaker 1: I really want to zoom in on the guards in

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Speaker 1: the wings. San Antonio is legitimately bigger, faster, and stronger

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Speaker 1: than Oklahoma City on the perimeter, and all of those

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Speaker 1: dudes can really handle the basketball. That depth of ball handling,

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Speaker 1: that advantage has allowed them to consistently break down Oklahoma

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Speaker 1: City's defense at the point of attack. Dearon Fox is

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Speaker 1: too fast for Alex Crusoe er Loudor, and he's too

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Speaker 1: tall for Cason Wallace. Steph Castle like this is a

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Speaker 1: whole thing. Like Steph Castle is a combination of strength

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Speaker 1: and size and mobility and footwork that is so rare

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Speaker 1: in the NBA that I'm not sure when he gets

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Speaker 1: into his late twenties, like when he's in his prime,

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Speaker 1: I'm not sure that he'll ever run into a defender

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Speaker 1: that makes him uncomfortable. When he gets to that point,

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Speaker 1: he's hard enough to stop right now. Devin Vessel isn't

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Speaker 1: really like breaking down the defense off the dribble as much,

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Speaker 1: but he has the size to shoot over the top.

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Speaker 1: He gets great lyft on that jump shot. Keldon Johnson

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Speaker 1: is too big and fast and strong for Oklahoma City's

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Speaker 1: bench groups. Dylan Harper is able to get wherever he

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Speaker 1: wants on the floor against Oklahoma City's bench groups. And

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Speaker 1: then you add that Wemby dynamic. They all look super

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Speaker 1: comfortable getting to their spots against this Oklahoma City defense,

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Speaker 1: and once you get to their spots, the defense is

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Speaker 1: going to react Oklahoma City is going to send help,

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Speaker 1: They're going to pack the paint, They're going to send

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Speaker 1: that second defender over. At that point, it's about the

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Speaker 1: playmaking piece, and all of these guys are really good playmakers,

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Speaker 1: like Deared Fox, Steph Castle, and Dylan Harper. That trio,

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Speaker 1: all three of them are averaging over six and a

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Speaker 1: half a SIS for thirty six minutes this year. So

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Speaker 1: they not only have all these dudes that can get

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Speaker 1: to their spots, but they're all great passers. That's the

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Speaker 1: dynamic that breaks this defense. It's the ability to break

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Speaker 1: Oklahoma City at the point of attack and pass through

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Speaker 1: their defense. We've talked about this dynamic at a lot

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Speaker 1: over the last couple of years. We've just focused on

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Speaker 1: big ball handlers. We focused on Luca and Lebron and

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Speaker 1: Nikola Jokic, and like these big guys that can punish

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Speaker 1: their smaller guys. These are more like guards and wings,

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Speaker 1: but they're guards and wings that are all so huge.

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Speaker 1: They're also bigger than these Oklahoma City guards and wings,

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Speaker 1: and so as a result, they are able to generate

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Speaker 1: really high quality looks and that's where the shooting comes

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Speaker 1: in again. Their seventh and three point percentage since November sixteenth,

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Speaker 1: and it's because they're generating really high quality kickouts. They're

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Speaker 1: generating the sixth most spot up opera tunities in the

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Speaker 1: league this year. Spot ups are a great hallmark for

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Speaker 1: how you're breaking down the defense, because if you break

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Speaker 1: down the defense, are gonna draw extra defenders. If you're

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Speaker 1: gonna draw extra defenders, there's gonna be easy kickouts. There's

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Speaker 1: gonna be easy kickouts. That's going to be a close

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Speaker 1: out opportunity for a guy to be able to score.

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Speaker 1: That's a spot out, the spot up opportunity, right, And

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Speaker 1: all of these guys are shooting really well or driving

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Speaker 1: really well out of those situations. Victor we Minyama forty

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Speaker 1: seven percent from three in this run, Keldon Johnson forty

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Speaker 1: three percent from three in this run. He's been huge,

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Speaker 1: Devin Vessel forty two percent, Dearon Fox forty one percent,

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Speaker 1: arguably the best JOMP shooting season of his career so far.

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Speaker 1: Steph Castle is shooting thirty nine percent from three in

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Speaker 1: this span. Dylan Harper is the one guy who's struggling

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Speaker 1: a bit among the ball handlers at twenty four percent.

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Speaker 1: And you know there's gonna be people who say, oh,

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Speaker 1: this won't last. And I have two counters for that

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Speaker 1: that make me optimistic in the long run for the Spurs.

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Speaker 1: One as good as the guards are shooting their wings,

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Speaker 1: they're forwards like their Champagnee and Barns in particular, those

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Speaker 1: are two guys that are like reliable catch and shoot guys.

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Speaker 1: They're both shooting below their normal averages in this stretch.

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Speaker 1: I think those guys will shoot better as time goes on.

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Speaker 1: Harrison Barnes has missed a dozen really good looks over

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Speaker 1: the course of the last couple of weeks, and again,

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Speaker 1: these are the second piece of it, and the main

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Speaker 1: reason why I think this is going to sustain is

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Speaker 1: these are great looks. Again, they're generating the sixth most

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Speaker 1: spot up opportunities in the league. It's not like they're

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Speaker 1: just jacking up threes and they're going in. These are

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Speaker 1: good looks coming out of quality dribble penetration and paint touches.

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Speaker 1: The last thing I want to zoom in on here

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Speaker 1: in terms of the team dynamic is I really found

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Speaker 1: in this Oklahoma City game yesterday they did a great

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Speaker 1: job hunting mismatches. A lot of their attacks. They're not

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Speaker 1: just like going at Dort every time down the floor

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Speaker 1: for no reason. They're hunting Shay, They're hunting Isaiah Joe.

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Speaker 1: They went at Aaron Wiggins a lot yesterday. And again,

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Speaker 1: these guys aren't necessarily bad defenders, but on Oklahoma City,

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Speaker 1: they are the best vehicles with which to enter their defense,

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Speaker 1: and they are deliberate and procedural with the way they're

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Speaker 1: targeting those guys, and I think that that's helping them

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Speaker 1: maximize their attack. I really want to highlight dearon Fox

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Speaker 1: here for a minute. Him coming in and playing this

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Speaker 1: well has worked wonders for this offense because of how

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Speaker 1: its slotted everybody. He's just taken a little bit of

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Speaker 1: pressure off of everyone, including Wemby, but especially Steph Castle

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Speaker 1: and especially Dylan Harper, making their jobs that much easier.

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Speaker 1: I think he's playing the best basketball of his career,

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Speaker 1: and I think it's a testament to the type of

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Speaker 1: competitor that he is. He clearly had a very good summer,

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Speaker 1: and when you're playing with a guy like Wemby, that

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Speaker 1: comes with a lot of pressure. Like Wemby's potentially going

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Speaker 1: to be an all time great, you don't want to

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Speaker 1: be remembered as the guy who played with Wemby and

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Speaker 1: underachieved or held the team back from their goals. Darin

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Speaker 1: clearly wants to be remembered as the first great running

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Speaker 1: mate of Wenby's career. We all know how this story ends.

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Speaker 1: It's gonna end with Steph Castle and Dylan Harper being

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Speaker 1: the primary guys. Maybe they hang on to Dearan as

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Speaker 1: he goes into being a VET, but like Deeron, kind

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Speaker 1: of feels like a stopgap in a lot of ways,

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Speaker 1: and that could go poorly, and Dearen's like, screw that, man.

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Speaker 1: I want to be the first great teammate of Wenby's career,

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Speaker 1: and it has like him reaching this level, especially as

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Speaker 1: a jump shooter. It has pushed San Antonio over the

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Speaker 1: edge in terms of their aggregate ball handling and their

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Speaker 1: aggregate quickness on the perimeter and their aggregate playmaking ability.

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Speaker 1: That's given them the ability to break the greatest statistical

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Speaker 1: defense we've ever seen. Again, when you're hanging a one

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Speaker 1: to twenty offensive rating routinely against this defense, you are

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Speaker 1: breaking the Oklahoma City Thunders defense. So I just want

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Speaker 1: to give that extra shout out to Deeron Fox So yeah,

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Speaker 1: the Spurs. They're the best team in the league right now.

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Speaker 1: It's wild stuff. I mean, I know, I sure as

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Speaker 1: hell underrated the hell out of them before the season.

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Speaker 1: I thought they'd be like a seventh or eighth seed,

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Speaker 1: But I don't think anyone, even Spurs fans, had them

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Speaker 1: as the best team in the league at this point.

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Speaker 1: So congrats to you guys. Really excited for the Spurs

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Speaker 1: fan base. I think you guys are set up for

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Speaker 1: a fun decade of basketball and most importantly, you guys

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Speaker 1: are fun to watch. Every time I get the opportunity

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Speaker 1: to watch the Spurs play basketball, I feel lucky as

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Speaker 1: a basketball fan. It's going to be entertaining, and that

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Speaker 1: is the best thing for this league. The league needs

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Speaker 1: a highly entertaining There's a huge difference between a juggernaut

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Speaker 1: that's fun to watch and a juggernaut that's not. That's

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Speaker 1: why TV ratings were still good during the phase when

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Speaker 1: the Warriors were running the league. You gotta be fun

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Speaker 1: to watch while you're kicking everyone's ass, and the Spurs

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00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:04,400
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00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:12,000
Speaker 1: New Jersey, Ohio, Tennessee, or Virginia number two. The demons

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00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:14,359
Speaker 1: of Oklahoma City's passed are starting to rise to the

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Speaker 1: surface again as their schedule gets tougher. We talked about

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Speaker 1: this a bit on Monday in our power rankings, but

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Speaker 1: there are three significant areas of statistical slippage over this

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Speaker 1: two to four stretch. One their defensive rebounding. In these

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Speaker 1: four losses, they've given up fifty three offensive rebounds, allowing

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Speaker 1: the Spurs and timber Wolves to grab thirty two percent

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Speaker 1: of their own misses. That is a reflection of the

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Speaker 1: size disadvantage they have in these matchups, which is something

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Speaker 1: that has popped up over previous years. To the turnovers

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Speaker 1: not so much. In yesterday's game, they only had seven

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Speaker 1: of them, and that's less of a demon from the past,

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Speaker 1: because Oklahoma City has always been good at taking care

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Speaker 1: of the basketball, but it is an area of statistical slippage.

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Speaker 1: In their other two losses to San Antonio, they gave

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Speaker 1: up forty six points off of turnovers and lost that margin.

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Speaker 1: That is the margin they dominate, and the Spurs have

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Speaker 1: flipped that on their head and have won that in

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Speaker 1: this matchup over the three game set. But the biggest

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Speaker 1: demon from their past rising to the surface is their

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Speaker 1: three point shooting. And again a good amount of this

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Speaker 1: credit goes to San Antonio in Minnesota as well as

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Speaker 1: we talk about that game for their defense, they've done

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Speaker 1: a great job of chasing Oklahoma City's better shooters off

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Speaker 1: the line and tilting things towards Oklahoma City's shakiest contested

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Speaker 1: three point shooters. In these four losses, Oklahoma City has

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Speaker 1: shot twenty nine percent from three, and you can kind

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Speaker 1: of see it starting to creep back in for them Mentally,

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Speaker 1: guys are not looking confident on some of these catch

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Speaker 1: and shoot looks because they're being rushed. In yesterday's game,

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Speaker 1: you might think Oklahoma City missed all their open looks. Well,

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Speaker 1: they were six for fifteen on unguarded catch and shoot

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Speaker 1: threes yesterday. According to Synergy, that's forty percent. Ideally you'd

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Speaker 1: like to be a little bit higher than that, but

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Speaker 1: that's solid. On wide open shots, that's fine. You're not

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Speaker 1: gonna lose a game making forty percent of your wide

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Speaker 1: open shots. But they were just two for twenty unguarded

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Speaker 1: catch and shoot jump shots, same dynamic in Tuesday's game,

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Speaker 1: eight for sixteen unguarded, one for seven when guarded on

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Speaker 1: catch and shoots. That has been a season long trend

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Speaker 1: for the thunder Ogoma City is the second worst catch

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Speaker 1: and shoot team in the league, but they are the

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Speaker 1: fifth best unguarded catch and shoot team in the league.

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Speaker 1: Second worst guarded, fifth best unguarded. The problem is most

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Speaker 1: teams don't have the athleticism to contain the ball well

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Speaker 1: enough to actually force them into tougher catch and shoot

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Speaker 1: looks Minnesota and San Antonio do. That's the difference, and

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Speaker 1: I really thought it started to affect their decision making

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Speaker 1: in the second half yesterday as well. A guys including

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Speaker 1: Shy Shay had his worst game of the season by far,

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Speaker 1: and really fell apart as a decision maker in that

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Speaker 1: second half. Took some really tough off the dribble jump

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Speaker 1: shots early in the clock. Now, does this mean this

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Speaker 1: guy is falling? No, this is all really good in

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Speaker 1: terms of adversity for Oklahoma City. Now, you know, if

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Speaker 1: you kick everyone's ass, you're just sitting there looking at

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Speaker 1: maybe trying to get to seventy four wins. Right now,

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00:22:21,320 --> 00:22:24,159
Speaker 1: they have some real clear stuff they have to focus

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Speaker 1: on for the rest of the season to prepare for

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Speaker 1: those potential matchups in the playoffs. As for their defense,

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Speaker 1: I want to look at the defense end for a minute.

429
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:35,040
Speaker 1: There's another demon from their pass that has risen to

430
00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:39,160
Speaker 1: the surface. Their lack of perimeter size guarding the ball.

431
00:22:40,119 --> 00:22:43,360
Speaker 1: Their guards and their wings are small. They don't have

432
00:22:43,640 --> 00:22:47,520
Speaker 1: six seven in taller athletes running around. It's a lot

433
00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,919
Speaker 1: of like six three dudes and six four dudes. And

434
00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:53,000
Speaker 1: the six six dudes that they have are not the

435
00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:57,960
Speaker 1: quickest dudes in the world. This is not necessarily a

436
00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:03,040
Speaker 1: lanky and long and hall defense. This is a ground

437
00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:07,680
Speaker 1: based defense. So when you see teams that have that

438
00:23:07,920 --> 00:23:10,520
Speaker 1: combination that we talked about in Minnesota falls into this

439
00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:13,920
Speaker 1: group as well, that combination of aggregate ball handling in

440
00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,960
Speaker 1: size on the perimeter that appears to be the key

441
00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:21,960
Speaker 1: to beating Oklahoma City on offense, you have to be

442
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:23,480
Speaker 1: on the defense event. You have to be able to

443
00:23:23,480 --> 00:23:25,560
Speaker 1: protect the rim, and you gotta have athletes to make

444
00:23:25,600 --> 00:23:28,240
Speaker 1: life hard for Oklahoma City's guards, like we talked about earlier, right,

445
00:23:28,440 --> 00:23:31,159
Speaker 1: But on offense, you need a depth of ball handling.

446
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:33,920
Speaker 1: You need three or four guys who have a combination

447
00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,439
Speaker 1: of real athletic advantages and can handle the ball so

448
00:23:37,440 --> 00:23:41,040
Speaker 1: they can get to their spots against this defense. For instance,

449
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:43,639
Speaker 1: I used to not like this matchup for Minnesota, and

450
00:23:43,720 --> 00:23:45,600
Speaker 1: I think they've closed the gap quite a bit, and

451
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:48,760
Speaker 1: I think part of it is because of their internal improvement.

452
00:23:49,440 --> 00:23:53,000
Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards is considerably better as a dribble penetrator this

453
00:23:53,080 --> 00:23:55,480
Speaker 1: year than he was last year, finishing at the rim

454
00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,840
Speaker 1: at a higher level than ever. He's not rushing on

455
00:23:57,880 --> 00:23:59,800
Speaker 1: his drives as much. He's slowing down and playing with

456
00:23:59,840 --> 00:24:02,800
Speaker 1: more pace. Jaden McDaniels has taken a leap in almost

457
00:24:02,800 --> 00:24:05,080
Speaker 1: every phase of his game on offense. Look at how

458
00:24:05,119 --> 00:24:07,879
Speaker 1: successful Nasried and Julius Randall were in that fourth quarter.

459
00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:10,280
Speaker 1: Julius had a bad box score night, but those two

460
00:24:10,280 --> 00:24:14,200
Speaker 1: guys were huge in that fourth quarter, punishing Oklahoma City's

461
00:24:14,200 --> 00:24:16,720
Speaker 1: as Smalls, Julius Randall shooting over the top of Case

462
00:24:16,720 --> 00:24:18,640
Speaker 1: and Wallace at the top of the key, driving down

463
00:24:18,680 --> 00:24:20,520
Speaker 1: the right side and dumping it off to nas Reid

464
00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:23,240
Speaker 1: Nasried spinning out of the post on JDub and getting

465
00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:25,800
Speaker 1: a bucket, getting an and to one offensive rebound put back.

466
00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:29,320
Speaker 1: Those guys came alive in that fourth quarter and helped

467
00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:33,320
Speaker 1: them pull away in that game. When we're looking at

468
00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:36,119
Speaker 1: teams that can beat Oklahoma City, that appears to be

469
00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:40,560
Speaker 1: the formula. San Antonio and Minnesota look to be their

470
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,200
Speaker 1: biggest threats right now. They can protect the rim while

471
00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,399
Speaker 1: being athletic on the perimeter to make life harder on

472
00:24:45,440 --> 00:24:49,679
Speaker 1: their guards, while also having the depth of big athletic

473
00:24:49,760 --> 00:24:53,280
Speaker 1: ball handlers that can penetrate their defense in the shooting

474
00:24:53,280 --> 00:24:57,199
Speaker 1: to pay those sequences off. Now, Houston and Denver are

475
00:24:57,280 --> 00:24:59,280
Speaker 1: threats as well, but kind of more in a funky way.

476
00:24:59,359 --> 00:25:02,399
Speaker 1: Right Denver has all the offensive stuff in spades. Jokich

477
00:25:02,520 --> 00:25:04,960
Speaker 1: is like indomitable right now. He literally had the first

478
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:07,000
Speaker 1: fifty five to fifteen and fifteen ever in the history

479
00:25:07,040 --> 00:25:09,680
Speaker 1: of the NBA yesterday. Jamal Murray's playing the best basketball

480
00:25:09,720 --> 00:25:13,800
Speaker 1: of his career, but their defense obviously doesn't bring the

481
00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,879
Speaker 1: rim protection that they need. Houston has the size and

482
00:25:16,960 --> 00:25:20,119
Speaker 1: rim protection, but we saw that they don't have the

483
00:25:20,160 --> 00:25:23,080
Speaker 1: depth of ball handling. So I still consider both of

484
00:25:23,119 --> 00:25:25,440
Speaker 1: those teams threats, just in kind of like a non traditional,

485
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,040
Speaker 1: more funky way because both teams are so strange compared

486
00:25:28,040 --> 00:25:32,119
Speaker 1: to the rest of the league. Number three, speaking of

487
00:25:32,160 --> 00:25:36,120
Speaker 1: a showcase for the NBA, yesterday was a dramatic showcase

488
00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:38,639
Speaker 1: of Nikola Jokich as the reigning best basketball player in

489
00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,320
Speaker 1: the world. I was exhausted last night, so I went

490
00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:42,840
Speaker 1: to bed in the mid third quarter when it looked

491
00:25:42,840 --> 00:25:44,560
Speaker 1: like the Nuggets were in control, and so I ended

492
00:25:44,640 --> 00:25:47,879
Speaker 1: up waking up to an instant classic. Anthony Edwards ends

493
00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:50,040
Speaker 1: up going nuclear down the stretch to send the game

494
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:52,600
Speaker 1: to ot we you know, we saw that shot that

495
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:54,600
Speaker 1: he hit over Cason Wallace on the left wing in

496
00:25:54,600 --> 00:25:57,479
Speaker 1: the Oklahoma City game. Similar kind of shot in the

497
00:25:57,600 --> 00:25:59,600
Speaker 1: left corner of is off to catch and turning over

498
00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:01,560
Speaker 1: his right shoulder that tied the game and sent it

499
00:26:01,560 --> 00:26:04,280
Speaker 1: to overtime. But Ant is reaching a level with his

500
00:26:04,320 --> 00:26:07,480
Speaker 1: shot making combined with the ability he has to just

501
00:26:07,600 --> 00:26:09,879
Speaker 1: lift over the top of the defense as an athlete,

502
00:26:10,119 --> 00:26:13,800
Speaker 1: where you basically now just cross your fingers and pray

503
00:26:13,840 --> 00:26:16,760
Speaker 1: that he misses. He's gonna get a shot that he

504
00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:20,119
Speaker 1: wants off, and with each passing year, it just seems

505
00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:23,840
Speaker 1: like he misses less and less. He continued that onslought

506
00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 1: to start overtime and the Wolves actually built a nine

507
00:26:26,119 --> 00:26:29,360
Speaker 1: point lead before the Nuggets just walked them down. Yoki's

508
00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:32,240
Speaker 1: three point shooting was huge down the stretch. Jamal Murray

509
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:34,520
Speaker 1: and Tim Hardaway both got in on the action in

510
00:26:34,560 --> 00:26:38,560
Speaker 1: ot hitting knocking down threes, and then Peyton Watson. He

511
00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:41,760
Speaker 1: was getting fried by Anthony Edwards in crunch time, but

512
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,000
Speaker 1: he made a huge play late in the game when

513
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,399
Speaker 1: the Nuggets blitzed Anthony Edwards and forced him to get

514
00:26:46,480 --> 00:26:48,639
Speaker 1: rid of the basketball. He came over and tagged the

515
00:26:48,720 --> 00:26:50,800
Speaker 1: roller and got a steal. It was a huge play

516
00:26:50,880 --> 00:26:53,520
Speaker 1: late that really sealed that game. What do I always

517
00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,200
Speaker 1: say when you're having a rough time on the court,

518
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:57,959
Speaker 1: just find a way to make a play and no

519
00:26:58,000 --> 00:27:01,000
Speaker 1: one's gonna care. No one cares that Peyton got fried.

520
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:03,240
Speaker 1: The Nuggets won, and a big part of how they

521
00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,960
Speaker 1: won is Peyton made a huge play tagging that roller

522
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:08,560
Speaker 1: and getting that steal. That's a great lesson for young

523
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:12,080
Speaker 1: basketball players there. Just keep your head on straight, try

524
00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:13,800
Speaker 1: to find a way to make a play to help

525
00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:17,440
Speaker 1: your team win the game. But Jokis was unbelievable man

526
00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:22,560
Speaker 1: fifty six, sixteen and fifteen did it on seventy one

527
00:27:22,600 --> 00:27:26,360
Speaker 1: percent from the field, four of six from three. It's

528
00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,760
Speaker 1: the first fifty five, fifteen and fifteen in the history

529
00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:33,800
Speaker 1: of the NBA. And again, this Nuggets team is ravaged

530
00:27:33,840 --> 00:27:36,600
Speaker 1: by injuries. You're down three starters. Although I'm glad to

531
00:27:36,600 --> 00:27:39,199
Speaker 1: hear that Cam Johnson's knee injury was not more serious,

532
00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:41,120
Speaker 1: he apparently is going to be out four to six weeks.

533
00:27:41,720 --> 00:27:44,160
Speaker 1: We got to see the bad Yokic off minutes come

534
00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:46,080
Speaker 1: back with a vengeance. As a result of that lack

535
00:27:46,119 --> 00:27:47,880
Speaker 1: of depth, the Wolves went on an eighteen to zero

536
00:27:47,920 --> 00:27:51,080
Speaker 1: run in this game. It's just an absolute carry job

537
00:27:51,119 --> 00:27:55,080
Speaker 1: by jokichen Murray in this game. I have to acknowledge

538
00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:57,200
Speaker 1: Murray had thirty five and ten last night. His last

539
00:27:57,240 --> 00:28:00,919
Speaker 1: ten games, Jamal Murray's averaging thirty four, four and seven

540
00:28:01,000 --> 00:28:03,960
Speaker 1: on fifty one percent from the field, fifty three percent

541
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:06,120
Speaker 1: from three and eighty seven percent from the line looking

542
00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:08,199
Speaker 1: like an All NBA guy. And again, like you know,

543
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,840
Speaker 1: we're gonna talk Lakers here in a minute, Like everyone's

544
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:13,520
Speaker 1: talking about the Lakers roster, and I'm certainly going to today,

545
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,240
Speaker 1: but like you know what happens when when stuff goes

546
00:28:16,280 --> 00:28:18,720
Speaker 1: on with the roster, because Denver has a much better

547
00:28:18,800 --> 00:28:21,600
Speaker 1: roster than the Lakers, but they're hurt right now. That

548
00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:23,680
Speaker 1: wasn't a great roster that went out there last night

549
00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:25,120
Speaker 1: and they found a way to get a win. Why

550
00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,919
Speaker 1: Because they're stars, played like stars. They can cover for

551
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:31,879
Speaker 1: a lot when they reached that level. I want to

552
00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:33,679
Speaker 1: shout out Tim Hardaway Junior here too. I know he

553
00:28:33,680 --> 00:28:35,159
Speaker 1: was a bit off last night, but I think his

554
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:39,360
Speaker 1: aggressive and accurate three point shooting has worked wonders for

555
00:28:39,480 --> 00:28:43,840
Speaker 1: helping them maintain their offensive ceiling from different lineup configurations,

556
00:28:44,200 --> 00:28:46,040
Speaker 1: especially now with Cam Johnson out. I thought he did

557
00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:48,680
Speaker 1: a huge one in overtime. It's that dynamic of having

558
00:28:48,760 --> 00:28:51,320
Speaker 1: two real knockdown guys on the floor at all times

559
00:28:51,320 --> 00:28:55,040
Speaker 1: that really brings that ceiling for the Denver offense. They're

560
00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:58,120
Speaker 1: in for some tough sledding next month with all these

561
00:28:58,120 --> 00:28:59,960
Speaker 1: guys out. But I think Yo Kitchen Murray are up

562
00:29:00,040 --> 00:29:05,280
Speaker 1: for the challenge. Number four. The Timberwolves continue to be

563
00:29:05,280 --> 00:29:09,360
Speaker 1: an infuriating regular season defense, super inconsistent in their effort

564
00:29:09,400 --> 00:29:12,440
Speaker 1: and execution. But I continue to view them to be

565
00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:14,600
Speaker 1: a better team than the last two years because of

566
00:29:14,640 --> 00:29:17,080
Speaker 1: that growth that they've shown down the line on offense,

567
00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:22,160
Speaker 1: ants shot profile has shifted slightly towards better distribution at

568
00:29:22,160 --> 00:29:24,040
Speaker 1: all three levels. A little bit more at the rim,

569
00:29:24,240 --> 00:29:26,959
Speaker 1: a little bit more paint non restricted, a little bit

570
00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:29,680
Speaker 1: more short mid range, a little bit more long mid range,

571
00:29:29,760 --> 00:29:32,640
Speaker 1: about two fewer threes per game. And as a result,

572
00:29:32,680 --> 00:29:35,960
Speaker 1: because he's become more balanced in his attack, he's become

573
00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:39,760
Speaker 1: less predictable, and because he's added some pace and some

574
00:29:39,880 --> 00:29:43,520
Speaker 1: patience on his drives, he's dramatically increased his efficiency at

575
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:45,880
Speaker 1: the rim and from three, and that's made him a

576
00:29:45,880 --> 00:29:49,320
Speaker 1: more effective and efficient score His per minute scoring is

577
00:29:49,400 --> 00:29:51,560
Speaker 1: three points up from last year based on a per

578
00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:55,480
Speaker 1: thirty six rate, and his true shooting percentage is dramatically

579
00:29:55,560 --> 00:29:57,360
Speaker 1: up as well, up over sixty percent for the first

580
00:29:57,360 --> 00:29:59,760
Speaker 1: time in his career. He's gone up a level because

581
00:29:59,760 --> 00:30:02,600
Speaker 1: of that that variety and that increased efficiency at every level.

582
00:30:02,680 --> 00:30:06,240
Speaker 1: Jade McDaniels real leap on offense as a ball handler

583
00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:08,479
Speaker 1: and shooter. He was great again yesterday. Gobar has been

584
00:30:08,520 --> 00:30:11,600
Speaker 1: absolutely fantastic this year, and as a group, there's a

585
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:14,200
Speaker 1: level of continuity and comfort to their offense that makes

586
00:30:14,240 --> 00:30:16,480
Speaker 1: them really difficult to handle on the offensive end of

587
00:30:16,480 --> 00:30:19,320
Speaker 1: the floor. Again, this regular season is going to be

588
00:30:19,360 --> 00:30:21,400
Speaker 1: filled with this type of uneven play that seems to

589
00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:24,360
Speaker 1: be their personality, especially on the defensive end. But I

590
00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:27,240
Speaker 1: still think this is the most dangerous Minnesota playoff team

591
00:30:27,640 --> 00:30:33,080
Speaker 1: from this era by far. Number five, Tarry Easton might

592
00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:37,240
Speaker 1: be the solution to Houston's fifth man problem. I thought

593
00:30:37,240 --> 00:30:39,840
Speaker 1: he did a phenomenal job right from the opening tip

594
00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:43,640
Speaker 1: guarding Luka Doncicic yesterday. He just brings that combination of

595
00:30:43,800 --> 00:30:47,520
Speaker 1: size and strength and speed that can cause real problems

596
00:30:47,840 --> 00:30:50,440
Speaker 1: for a big ball handler like Luca. I thought he

597
00:30:50,440 --> 00:30:52,640
Speaker 1: made Luca like flat out decomposed. At the start of

598
00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:54,960
Speaker 1: that game. He had five turnovers in his first shift.

599
00:30:55,000 --> 00:30:56,200
Speaker 1: I know it only showed up as four in the

600
00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:58,160
Speaker 1: box score, but there was a terrible lob pass to

601
00:30:58,200 --> 00:30:59,920
Speaker 1: eight and that got logged as a shot oft ten.

602
00:31:00,160 --> 00:31:03,000
Speaker 1: That was more of a turnover like he was just

603
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,840
Speaker 1: bad to start that game, and Tar Easton deserves the credit.

604
00:31:05,840 --> 00:31:08,400
Speaker 1: He was right up in his jersey right from the

605
00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:10,160
Speaker 1: opening tip and he was only one for five from

606
00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:12,400
Speaker 1: three last night, but he shooting forty nine percent from

607
00:31:12,400 --> 00:31:16,280
Speaker 1: three this season. He's basically just a bigger, better version

608
00:31:16,320 --> 00:31:19,600
Speaker 1: of Joshua Kogi, which allows Houston to bring that best

609
00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:23,480
Speaker 1: combination of size, strength, speed and shooting to that fifth

610
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:26,240
Speaker 1: man in those lineups. That has cost Houston so many

611
00:31:26,240 --> 00:31:28,320
Speaker 1: problems over the last couple of weeks as their record

612
00:31:28,360 --> 00:31:31,400
Speaker 1: has slipped quite a bit. Really nice win for Houston yesterday.

613
00:31:31,640 --> 00:31:34,680
Speaker 1: They absolutely demolished the Lakers on the offensive glass. They

614
00:31:34,720 --> 00:31:38,040
Speaker 1: grabbed over half of their own misses. Kevin duranam Men Thompson,

615
00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:40,040
Speaker 1: a red Shepherd in particular, I thought, did a great

616
00:31:40,120 --> 00:31:43,480
Speaker 1: job of breaking the defense down. Kad was consistently bringing

617
00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:45,400
Speaker 1: two to the ball and starting their four on threes.

618
00:31:45,720 --> 00:31:48,400
Speaker 1: He did a ton of mismatch hunting, especially hunting Luca

619
00:31:48,440 --> 00:31:50,719
Speaker 1: and drawing fouls and getting to the basket. And then

620
00:31:50,720 --> 00:31:52,960
Speaker 1: a Men Thompson, a read Shepherd, just using their speed.

621
00:31:53,000 --> 00:31:54,760
Speaker 1: That's the big advantage in this kind of matchup. The

622
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,400
Speaker 1: Lakers are slow. Those two guys were getting dribble penetration

623
00:31:57,560 --> 00:32:00,440
Speaker 1: consistently every time down the floor, and then I know

624
00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:02,520
Speaker 1: you may Yudok has been frustrated with their defense. I

625
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,400
Speaker 1: thought that was their best perimeter defense effort of the season.

626
00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:07,320
Speaker 1: I shouldn't say of the season, but up this recent

627
00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:10,400
Speaker 1: stretch as well. Really nice win for them to get

628
00:32:10,440 --> 00:32:20,800
Speaker 1: back on track. Number six, The Los Angeles Lakers are

629
00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:24,160
Speaker 1: at best the sixth best team in the Western Conference

630
00:32:24,200 --> 00:32:27,640
Speaker 1: right now. As is always the case when a team

631
00:32:27,680 --> 00:32:29,320
Speaker 1: goes into a funk like this where you go four

632
00:32:29,360 --> 00:32:31,719
Speaker 1: and six over ten games, there are plenty of issues,

633
00:32:31,760 --> 00:32:36,000
Speaker 1: not just one. Luca has just not been close to

634
00:32:36,080 --> 00:32:39,000
Speaker 1: as good as he was to start the season. Came

635
00:32:39,040 --> 00:32:40,920
Speaker 1: out just like he did in the Suns game, just

636
00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:43,520
Speaker 1: turning the ball over almost every time down the floor

637
00:32:43,560 --> 00:32:46,200
Speaker 1: and unable to make shots. Just brutal first shifts that

638
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:48,520
Speaker 1: biggest team in a massive hole in both the Sun's

639
00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:51,960
Speaker 1: game and again in this Rockets game. His win loss

640
00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:56,600
Speaker 1: splits are wild. In their ten losses, he's averaged like

641
00:32:56,720 --> 00:32:59,800
Speaker 1: in their wins, he's averaging thirty seven points per game.

642
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:03,440
Speaker 1: In their ten losses, he's averaging just twenty eight points

643
00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:07,600
Speaker 1: per game. Below thirty percent from three, averaging four point

644
00:33:07,760 --> 00:33:12,440
Speaker 1: nine turnovers in those ten losses. It's not all Luca's fault,

645
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:16,480
Speaker 1: like he's been He's been good at various stretches this year,

646
00:33:16,480 --> 00:33:20,200
Speaker 1: and the issues go way deeper than Luca. But he

647
00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:23,280
Speaker 1: is playing far below the level of a top tier

648
00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:26,960
Speaker 1: superstar in these losses. And he's the guy at the top.

649
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:28,680
Speaker 1: And I'm always gonna look at the guy at the

650
00:33:28,680 --> 00:33:31,040
Speaker 1: top first. Why Because he's the guy who has the

651
00:33:31,200 --> 00:33:34,680
Speaker 1: power to change the situation. When you look at Jake

652
00:33:34,760 --> 00:33:38,120
Speaker 1: Larevia and go save us Jake, that ain't gonna work.

653
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:40,840
Speaker 1: Luca is the guy who can save you. Say what

654
00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:43,480
Speaker 1: you want about the Lakers roster. The Nuggets were down

655
00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:46,840
Speaker 1: three starters last night and almost all of their athletes

656
00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,680
Speaker 1: were out, and they beat a good team at home

657
00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:54,640
Speaker 1: because their top tier superstar just backpacked the team. Luca

658
00:33:54,720 --> 00:33:57,040
Speaker 1: isn't even remotely close to that level right now, and

659
00:33:57,080 --> 00:34:01,080
Speaker 1: it's hurting the Lakers. Austin got hurt again and the

660
00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:02,640
Speaker 1: injuries are really starting to pile up for us, and

661
00:34:02,640 --> 00:34:04,280
Speaker 1: he's missed six games already and it looks like he's

662
00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:07,000
Speaker 1: gonna miss a while now. If this calf injury is lingering.

663
00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:08,560
Speaker 1: I wouldn't be surprised if he's out a month, he's

664
00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:10,720
Speaker 1: gonna miss something like, you know, ten to fifteen games.

665
00:34:10,719 --> 00:34:15,480
Speaker 1: At this point, Lebron was like embarrassingly bad on defense

666
00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:17,840
Speaker 1: and on the glass. Last night he had just two rebounds.

667
00:34:17,880 --> 00:34:19,239
Speaker 1: There's this clip on Twitter. You can find it on

668
00:34:19,760 --> 00:34:23,000
Speaker 1: I quote tweeted it, so Dan Devine ended up tweeting

669
00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:24,680
Speaker 1: it out the video, but you can find it on

670
00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:27,680
Speaker 1: my twitter feed at underscore jsonlt. But it was a

671
00:34:27,760 --> 00:34:30,280
Speaker 1: kind of a highlight reel of all the Rockets offensive rebounds.

672
00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:33,439
Speaker 1: Lebron was just standing around and watching. For the most part.

673
00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:35,000
Speaker 1: He had a play where I shit you not, where

674
00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:37,640
Speaker 1: Shepherd was dribbling through the middle of the field of

675
00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:41,040
Speaker 1: floor and Lebron like while Reid was dribbling, just leaked

676
00:34:41,040 --> 00:34:42,960
Speaker 1: out to the other end, just started running down in

677
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:46,239
Speaker 1: transition as crazy. And of course Albern Shang Gun's wide

678
00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:48,600
Speaker 1: open under the basket for an easy little offensive rebound

679
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:53,719
Speaker 1: put back. It's unacceptable because this team actually needs him

680
00:34:53,760 --> 00:34:56,319
Speaker 1: to be a great defender and rebounder based on their

681
00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:00,640
Speaker 1: current construct. I think this is an area, especially injury,

682
00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:03,640
Speaker 1: where Austin Reeves's injury has been an issue because it's

683
00:35:03,680 --> 00:35:06,520
Speaker 1: slotted Lebron into this higher usage roll, like when he

684
00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:09,160
Speaker 1: needs to score twenty five and eight. He even gets

685
00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:13,040
Speaker 1: lazier in those details. But Austin was healthy for most

686
00:35:13,040 --> 00:35:16,239
Speaker 1: of the first half yesterday, and yet Lebron still looked

687
00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:20,040
Speaker 1: completely unwilling to get his hands dirty. And I get it,

688
00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:23,800
Speaker 1: you're old, You're about to turn forty one, and you'd

689
00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:27,400
Speaker 1: prefer if you can chill during the regular season. Too bad,

690
00:35:28,080 --> 00:35:31,560
Speaker 1: you literally can't on this team, especially not with Luca

691
00:35:31,600 --> 00:35:35,040
Speaker 1: when he's in a slump. He either needs to lock

692
00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:37,399
Speaker 1: in on defense and on the glass, or he needs

693
00:35:37,400 --> 00:35:39,720
Speaker 1: to be traded to a team that will let him chill.

694
00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:44,040
Speaker 1: He's hurting the team right now, and I hope JJ

695
00:35:44,040 --> 00:35:46,239
Speaker 1: Reddick calls him out for it in practice on Saturday

696
00:35:47,760 --> 00:35:51,200
Speaker 1: and then take the stars out when these stars can't

697
00:35:51,239 --> 00:35:55,080
Speaker 1: get to that level. It shines a dramatic light on

698
00:35:55,160 --> 00:36:00,480
Speaker 1: how flawed this roster is. What an incredibly embarrassing rob

699
00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:04,759
Speaker 1: Polinka has done building a modern basketball team. Talk about

700
00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:07,760
Speaker 1: a showcase of what succeeds in the modern NBA. Yesterday

701
00:36:07,840 --> 00:36:13,160
Speaker 1: all over the TV five games, athleticism and shooting two

702
00:36:13,200 --> 00:36:17,240
Speaker 1: teams you absolutely must have to compete, and this roster

703
00:36:17,360 --> 00:36:22,239
Speaker 1: is utterly devoid of both. Rob should be fired immediately

704
00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:25,800
Speaker 1: so that he doesn't botch this deadline and be replaced

705
00:36:25,840 --> 00:36:28,400
Speaker 1: with a general manager who's willing and able to rectify

706
00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:32,720
Speaker 1: this mess. He has, over and over and over again

707
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:36,319
Speaker 1: demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of what works in

708
00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:41,080
Speaker 1: the modern NBA. They're nineteen and nine and still in

709
00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,520
Speaker 1: the four seed because Luca and Austin were so damn

710
00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:47,000
Speaker 1: good on offense to start the season that they were

711
00:36:47,080 --> 00:36:50,440
Speaker 1: routinely pulling out every single clutch game. They are ten

712
00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:54,960
Speaker 1: to zero in clutch games. Well, now Austin's hurt and

713
00:36:55,080 --> 00:36:59,640
Speaker 1: Luca's gone down to a level below that of a

714
00:36:59,680 --> 00:37:03,600
Speaker 1: top ten superstar, and Rob Polinka has been exposed once

715
00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:08,400
Speaker 1: again as incompetent, in a barrier between the Lakers and

716
00:37:08,480 --> 00:37:11,440
Speaker 1: where they want to get in terms of consistent success

717
00:37:11,440 --> 00:37:16,160
Speaker 1: in this league. Number seven, the schedule is lightened up

718
00:37:16,680 --> 00:37:18,920
Speaker 1: and the Golden State Warriors are finally starting to come

719
00:37:19,000 --> 00:37:22,040
Speaker 1: up for air and find their footing after an absolutely

720
00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:24,960
Speaker 1: brutal schedule to start the season. The Warriors ended are

721
00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:26,759
Speaker 1: at an end of a stretch where they played just

722
00:37:26,800 --> 00:37:29,600
Speaker 1: six games in twenty one days. They have two days

723
00:37:29,600 --> 00:37:31,839
Speaker 1: off now, Friday and Saturday. At the end of that

724
00:37:31,880 --> 00:37:34,120
Speaker 1: they will have played just six times in twenty one days,

725
00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:36,120
Speaker 1: and that has allowed them a chance to get healthy

726
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:38,360
Speaker 1: and come up for air. They've won three games in

727
00:37:38,400 --> 00:37:41,200
Speaker 1: a row now. Some of their older players, particularly Jimmy

728
00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:45,520
Speaker 1: Butler and Al Horford yesterday, have started to look much better. Ironically,

729
00:37:45,560 --> 00:37:47,560
Speaker 1: the young guys that they went with at the end

730
00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:50,080
Speaker 1: of the season last year, Pods and Moody, those guys

731
00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:51,960
Speaker 1: have come back to the surface and started to play

732
00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:54,080
Speaker 1: much better basketball, and they've started to round out most

733
00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:56,719
Speaker 1: of their best lineups again. It's interesting because that was

734
00:37:56,760 --> 00:37:59,439
Speaker 1: the duo that was most successful yesterday. They just bring

735
00:37:59,480 --> 00:38:03,200
Speaker 1: that best comp nation of like consistent effort, execution of

736
00:38:03,239 --> 00:38:05,680
Speaker 1: the game plan, and a natural fit in the offense.

737
00:38:05,719 --> 00:38:08,279
Speaker 1: From a skill set standpoint, those guys seem to round

738
00:38:08,320 --> 00:38:11,520
Speaker 1: everything out. D Anthony Melton has been a stabilizer in

739
00:38:11,560 --> 00:38:13,480
Speaker 1: their bench rotation. He's been one of their best plus

740
00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:16,600
Speaker 1: minus guys ever since he returned. I think actually the

741
00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:18,960
Speaker 1: blow up between Draymond and Steve Kerr will be good

742
00:38:18,960 --> 00:38:21,480
Speaker 1: for Draymond because Draymond was playing some bad basketball, and

743
00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:22,920
Speaker 1: I think he needed a wake up call, and I

744
00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:25,879
Speaker 1: think everything surrounding that moment will help him get back

745
00:38:25,920 --> 00:38:28,879
Speaker 1: on track. And in this three game streak, Steph has

746
00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:31,480
Speaker 1: not shot the ball super well, which we know that

747
00:38:31,520 --> 00:38:33,719
Speaker 1: will shift back in the positive direction. So I think

748
00:38:33,760 --> 00:38:35,880
Speaker 1: there's an opportunity for this team to really start to

749
00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:38,239
Speaker 1: go on to run and gain some momentum and gain

750
00:38:38,320 --> 00:38:41,120
Speaker 1: some ground in the standings. Remember earlier in the year

751
00:38:41,160 --> 00:38:43,840
Speaker 1: when I said that the Lakers were at best the

752
00:38:43,880 --> 00:38:47,520
Speaker 1: sixth best team in the West. I said that because

753
00:38:47,560 --> 00:38:51,120
Speaker 1: I'm not entirely sure the Warriors aren't better than them too.

754
00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:54,600
Speaker 1: I was watching him yesterday and I'm like, they just

755
00:38:54,600 --> 00:38:56,600
Speaker 1: look like a better basketball team to me. They look faster,

756
00:38:56,680 --> 00:38:59,080
Speaker 1: they look better on defense, they look more athletic. In general.

757
00:38:59,719 --> 00:39:02,960
Speaker 1: There star is playing at a higher level than Luca

758
00:39:03,040 --> 00:39:05,640
Speaker 1: right now in terms of creating offense for the team

759
00:39:05,680 --> 00:39:09,640
Speaker 1: as a team unit. Their secondary stars are healthy and

760
00:39:09,680 --> 00:39:12,040
Speaker 1: are playing better than the secondary stars of the Lakers.

761
00:39:12,040 --> 00:39:14,319
Speaker 1: Like they just you know, they're They're starting to gain

762
00:39:14,360 --> 00:39:16,120
Speaker 1: some real momentum. I have a feeling they're going to

763
00:39:16,200 --> 00:39:18,600
Speaker 1: go on a run here and start gaining ground in

764
00:39:18,640 --> 00:39:20,800
Speaker 1: the standings over the course of the next couple of weeks.

765
00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:26,680
Speaker 1: Number eight Cooper flag is the real deal. Another twenty

766
00:39:26,719 --> 00:39:29,880
Speaker 1: seven points yesterday. In his last six games, Cooper's averaging

767
00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:33,680
Speaker 1: twenty eight, seven and six on fifty three percent from

768
00:39:33,680 --> 00:39:37,200
Speaker 1: the field and thirty five percent from three, showcasing a

769
00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:39,880
Speaker 1: lot of three level scoring. He started to kind of

770
00:39:39,880 --> 00:39:42,480
Speaker 1: find his rhythm a few weeks ago with an intentional

771
00:39:42,560 --> 00:39:45,640
Speaker 1: effort to drive the basketball, getting him off the ball

772
00:39:45,719 --> 00:39:47,560
Speaker 1: more off of those guards caused him to look more

773
00:39:47,560 --> 00:39:49,640
Speaker 1: to be aggressive off the catch instead of managing the

774
00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:52,319
Speaker 1: flow of games more. That got him going down hill more.

775
00:39:52,480 --> 00:39:54,279
Speaker 1: He was getting a ton of stuff close to the rim,

776
00:39:54,440 --> 00:39:57,160
Speaker 1: short jump shots, floaters, push shots, stuff at the rim.

777
00:39:57,400 --> 00:39:59,000
Speaker 1: And then in the last couple of games, he's really

778
00:39:59,000 --> 00:40:01,760
Speaker 1: started to add more dynamic shot making off the dribble,

779
00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:04,480
Speaker 1: mid range stuff, three point shooting. The Denver game in particular,

780
00:40:04,520 --> 00:40:06,160
Speaker 1: he was shooting the shit out of the ball from three.

781
00:40:07,400 --> 00:40:10,440
Speaker 1: There's this like big ball handler dynamic that can also

782
00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:12,680
Speaker 1: drive the basketball that I think is going to be

783
00:40:12,719 --> 00:40:15,800
Speaker 1: a big matchup problem for this league as he starts

784
00:40:15,800 --> 00:40:17,480
Speaker 1: to enter into his prime. And this is something we've

785
00:40:17,480 --> 00:40:20,560
Speaker 1: seen around the league Jalen Brown comes to mind as

786
00:40:20,560 --> 00:40:23,760
Speaker 1: an example, Denny Avdia. When you have like a big

787
00:40:23,800 --> 00:40:27,280
Speaker 1: athletic dude who's too big for guards but too fast

788
00:40:27,360 --> 00:40:30,719
Speaker 1: for bigs, and that also brings downhill pressure, like real

789
00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:34,399
Speaker 1: speed attacking the rim on drives, and then you can

790
00:40:34,480 --> 00:40:37,239
Speaker 1: counter it with something, whether it's like Jalen Brown's mid

791
00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:39,480
Speaker 1: range shooting or Cooper flag and all these little push

792
00:40:39,520 --> 00:40:41,520
Speaker 1: shots that he can make or Denny Avdya's ability to

793
00:40:41,520 --> 00:40:43,480
Speaker 1: get to the foul line. But then you can also

794
00:40:43,520 --> 00:40:47,680
Speaker 1: make the kickout reads. That combines into being a very

795
00:40:47,680 --> 00:40:51,560
Speaker 1: effective shot creator in this league because because of the

796
00:40:51,560 --> 00:40:53,360
Speaker 1: way the league is shifted towards, you know, you have

797
00:40:53,440 --> 00:40:56,040
Speaker 1: these slower rim protectors and then you have these smaller

798
00:40:56,040 --> 00:40:58,600
Speaker 1: guards all over the floor. These types of ball handlers

799
00:40:58,600 --> 00:41:01,000
Speaker 1: seem to have two or three mismatches at all times

800
00:41:01,000 --> 00:41:04,879
Speaker 1: on the floor that they can attack. As Luca has

801
00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:08,400
Speaker 1: trended downwards and Cooper's trended upwards, I know it doesn't

802
00:41:08,400 --> 00:41:11,719
Speaker 1: completely remove the pain from what happened last February, but

803
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:14,160
Speaker 1: it has to at least cause a decent amount of

804
00:41:14,160 --> 00:41:16,799
Speaker 1: optimism for the future for Mavericks fans. Cooper has been

805
00:41:16,800 --> 00:41:22,239
Speaker 1: looking fantastic. Number nine, Jalen Brunson seems to have a

806
00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:25,879
Speaker 1: new backcourt running mate. Jalen had a rough shooting game

807
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:27,960
Speaker 1: yesterday in Madison Square Garden. Credits to the Caves. I

808
00:41:27,960 --> 00:41:30,200
Speaker 1: thought Sam Maryland particular, and then all of the Cavs

809
00:41:30,200 --> 00:41:31,719
Speaker 1: five man units. I thought they did a good job

810
00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:34,440
Speaker 1: of crowding Brunson and making him work for everything. But

811
00:41:34,520 --> 00:41:36,120
Speaker 1: of course, Jalen's been playing at the level of a

812
00:41:36,120 --> 00:41:38,400
Speaker 1: top tier superstar for a month or so. He's ticked

813
00:41:38,480 --> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 1: up his true shooting percentage significantly, and he's dropped his

814
00:41:41,600 --> 00:41:44,439
Speaker 1: turnovers significantly, which has made him like in that Shay

815
00:41:44,480 --> 00:41:48,320
Speaker 1: Gildess Alexander territory of like low thirties in points per game,

816
00:41:48,600 --> 00:41:51,840
Speaker 1: high sixties and true shooting percentage, super low turnovers, super

817
00:41:51,920 --> 00:41:54,880
Speaker 1: rare stuff from guards. Jalen's been in that territory for

818
00:41:54,880 --> 00:41:56,600
Speaker 1: a few weeks now, so I was curious to see

819
00:41:56,680 --> 00:41:59,360
Speaker 1: as he was having a tough game, like, will Jalen

820
00:41:59,480 --> 00:42:02,640
Speaker 1: find a way to flip the script? Because that's the thing,

821
00:42:02,680 --> 00:42:04,719
Speaker 1: Like when you talk about the top tier superstars, they

822
00:42:04,800 --> 00:42:06,480
Speaker 1: usually just kind of like, even when they're not at

823
00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:08,480
Speaker 1: their best, they find a way to win the game.

824
00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:10,200
Speaker 1: How many times have you seen a Yokic game where

825
00:42:10,200 --> 00:42:12,280
Speaker 1: he doesn't put up massive numbers and maybe he misses

826
00:42:12,320 --> 00:42:15,319
Speaker 1: more of his layups and floaters than usual, but then

827
00:42:15,360 --> 00:42:17,400
Speaker 1: he'll go four to four down the stretch with two

828
00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:19,160
Speaker 1: assists and no turnovers, and he just finds a way

829
00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:21,600
Speaker 1: to steal the game because he's indomitable down crunch time.

830
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:24,280
Speaker 1: That's what Jalen Brunson felt like last night or yesterday

831
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:27,399
Speaker 1: in the morning. Just nails on his pull up jump

832
00:42:27,400 --> 00:42:29,520
Speaker 1: shot down the stretch, all off that right side, short

833
00:42:29,520 --> 00:42:31,440
Speaker 1: little jump around the lay line, a couple pull up

834
00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:34,640
Speaker 1: threes along the right wing, all heavily contestant, and it

835
00:42:34,840 --> 00:42:37,239
Speaker 1: just did not matter. And again, that's one of the

836
00:42:37,239 --> 00:42:40,399
Speaker 1: hallmarks of a top tier superstar. But how about Tyler

837
00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:44,200
Speaker 1: Kohleik Brunston spoke about him the other day and how

838
00:42:44,239 --> 00:42:46,560
Speaker 1: important he's been for the team in this recent stretch,

839
00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:49,040
Speaker 1: and he had some massive catch and shoot threes off

840
00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:51,480
Speaker 1: the left side of the floor to kind of steming

841
00:42:51,920 --> 00:42:54,560
Speaker 1: some late Cavs shot making, gave the Knicks a chance

842
00:42:54,600 --> 00:42:57,759
Speaker 1: to win this game. I've always liked Tyler as a

843
00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:01,080
Speaker 1: bench guard just because he's solid, he runs action and

844
00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:03,520
Speaker 1: he makes the right reads and he's just a steadying

845
00:43:03,600 --> 00:43:05,719
Speaker 1: force with the bench unit. But he's starting to score

846
00:43:05,760 --> 00:43:07,640
Speaker 1: the ball now. He had never scored in double figures

847
00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:09,600
Speaker 1: this season. Three times in the last couple of weeks,

848
00:43:09,640 --> 00:43:12,439
Speaker 1: he's averaging twelve points per game to go with five

849
00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:15,080
Speaker 1: rebounds and seven assists on fifty percent from the field,

850
00:43:15,120 --> 00:43:17,080
Speaker 1: forty two percent from three, and one hundred percent from

851
00:43:17,080 --> 00:43:20,759
Speaker 1: the line in his last five games. Big win for

852
00:43:20,760 --> 00:43:23,080
Speaker 1: the Knicks against the Cavs team that, frankly, they looked

853
00:43:23,080 --> 00:43:24,839
Speaker 1: like they were out for blood yesterday with the way

854
00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:27,760
Speaker 1: they started that game eighteen to three. Something just feels

855
00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:30,640
Speaker 1: different with the Knicks this year. They feel tougher, they

856
00:43:30,640 --> 00:43:33,120
Speaker 1: feel like they're on a mission. They are still my

857
00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:39,200
Speaker 1: pick to win the Eastern Conference. Lastly, number ten, the

858
00:43:39,239 --> 00:43:43,720
Speaker 1: Calves did flash their upside finally yesterday. Spend the season

859
00:43:43,719 --> 00:43:46,480
Speaker 1: from hell. They're seventeen from fifteen or seventeen and fifteen

860
00:43:46,560 --> 00:43:48,880
Speaker 1: now they're technically in the play in if the season

861
00:43:48,960 --> 00:43:52,200
Speaker 1: ended today. Their injuries have been a nightmare. There's kind

862
00:43:52,200 --> 00:43:54,239
Speaker 1: of like a lack of that spark that they had

863
00:43:54,320 --> 00:43:56,920
Speaker 1: last year, and the collapse was discouraging. I'm not going

864
00:43:56,960 --> 00:43:58,440
Speaker 1: to sit here and pretend like it wasn't. Their front

865
00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:00,440
Speaker 1: line got punked on the glass again down the stretch.

866
00:44:01,120 --> 00:44:03,839
Speaker 1: That's been a discouraging trend with this team for years now.

867
00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:07,040
Speaker 1: And also credit the Knicks though, like Tyler Colok and

868
00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:09,480
Speaker 1: Jaln Brunson just made a bunch of contested threes at

869
00:44:09,480 --> 00:44:11,360
Speaker 1: the end of the game. That's tough to handle in

870
00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:14,480
Speaker 1: a situation like that. Overall, I thought it was a

871
00:44:14,520 --> 00:44:18,040
Speaker 1: super encouraging performance from the Caps. They looked fast and

872
00:44:18,080 --> 00:44:21,880
Speaker 1: disruptive on defense for stretches. Their offense looked as lively

873
00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:25,000
Speaker 1: as it was last year for stretches. Darius Garland getting

874
00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:27,480
Speaker 1: those drives and breaking down the defense consistently, which is

875
00:44:27,520 --> 00:44:30,000
Speaker 1: a sign of his health. And again, you're not going

876
00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:32,879
Speaker 1: to turn this thing around in a day. I thought

877
00:44:32,960 --> 00:44:35,200
Speaker 1: yesterday was a good step in the right direction for them,

878
00:44:35,640 --> 00:44:37,640
Speaker 1: even in the loss. All Right, guys, that's all I

879
00:44:37,680 --> 00:44:39,400
Speaker 1: have for today. I had to kind of rush through

880
00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:40,920
Speaker 1: the end of that because we're getting ready to take

881
00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:42,920
Speaker 1: a flight back to Denver today. But I'm excited to

882
00:44:42,960 --> 00:44:44,560
Speaker 1: dive into all these teams with you guys over the

883
00:44:44,560 --> 00:44:46,200
Speaker 1: course of the rest of the season. Christmas Day is

884
00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:49,160
Speaker 1: more or less the start of the NBA season for most.

885
00:44:49,840 --> 00:44:52,759
Speaker 1: We have a very interesting situation at the top of

886
00:44:52,760 --> 00:44:55,840
Speaker 1: the league now thanks to san Antonio starting to demonstrate

887
00:44:55,880 --> 00:44:59,320
Speaker 1: some of the vulnerabilities for Oklahoma City. That makes things

888
00:44:59,560 --> 00:45:02,440
Speaker 1: way more exciting and like it leaves a lot of

889
00:45:02,600 --> 00:45:05,680
Speaker 1: unknown hanging over the season, which I think will give

890
00:45:05,719 --> 00:45:07,920
Speaker 1: us a really fun next six months. I can't wait

891
00:45:07,960 --> 00:45:09,359
Speaker 1: to break it all down with you guys. I hope

892
00:45:09,360 --> 00:45:11,200
Speaker 1: you all enjoyed your holiday and had an opportunity to

893
00:45:11,200 --> 00:45:13,719
Speaker 1: spend some time with friends and family again. I'll be

894
00:45:13,760 --> 00:45:15,960
Speaker 1: back in Denver starting next week and we'll get back

895
00:45:15,960 --> 00:45:18,719
Speaker 1: to our usual routine starting on Monday. We do have

896
00:45:18,760 --> 00:45:21,360
Speaker 1: a little bit of a funky schedule next year surrounding

897
00:45:21,360 --> 00:45:24,800
Speaker 1: New Year's but we're gonna do a contender's rankings videos

898
00:45:25,080 --> 00:45:28,040
Speaker 1: with Sam Vessini, so we'll dig into how I feel

899
00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:30,360
Speaker 1: about the contenders and like my brain is like broken

900
00:45:30,520 --> 00:45:32,400
Speaker 1: compared to where it was two weeks ago thanks to

901
00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:35,719
Speaker 1: san Antonio, so a lot to dig into. Their really

902
00:45:35,800 --> 00:45:38,239
Speaker 1: excited to kind of take a snapshot of the league again.

903
00:45:38,239 --> 00:45:40,440
Speaker 1: I hope everyone has a great weekend. I'll see you

904
00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:41,640
Speaker 1: guys on Monday.