1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:05,400 Speaker 1: The volume, from the football playoffs to college and pro 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:07,800 Speaker 1: basketball to the rush of hockey. What a time to 3 00:00:07,800 --> 00:00:09,719 Speaker 1: be a sports fan. It's all happening and you can 4 00:00:09,760 --> 00:00:11,440 Speaker 1: get in on all the action of the sports you 5 00:00:11,480 --> 00:00:13,800 Speaker 1: love at Draft Kings Sports Book. With so many sports, 6 00:00:13,880 --> 00:00:16,720 Speaker 1: every day is game day at DraftKings, that means unlimited 7 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,319 Speaker 1: opportunities to place your first bet, and DraftKings makes it easy. 8 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:21,959 Speaker 1: How easy? Try betting on something simple like picking a 9 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:23,960 Speaker 1: team to win. Go to the Draft Kings Sports Book app, 10 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,400 Speaker 1: pick your team and place your bet. 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For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, 30 00:01:18,640 --> 00:01:33,600 Speaker 1: see DKNG dot co slash audio. All right, welcome to 31 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,120 Speaker 1: tonight here at the volume, Happy Thursday, everybody. Hope all 32 00:01:36,120 --> 00:01:37,840 Speaker 1: of you guys are having a great week. As promise 33 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:40,640 Speaker 1: for doing some game reactions today, We're going to do 34 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: a deep dive into Cavs Rockets, which was a super 35 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: entertaining game from last night, and then we're gonna do 36 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:49,720 Speaker 1: shorter dives into three other games, the Kings beating the 37 00:01:49,720 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: Golden State Warriors, shake Gilgess, Alexander getting his career high 38 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:56,680 Speaker 1: fifty four points against the Utah Jazz, and then the 39 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: Boston Celtics winning an exciting overtime game over the Los 40 00:02:00,720 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: Angeles Clippers. You guys have the trip before we get started. 41 00:02:02,760 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: To subscribe to the Hoops and on YouTube channels. You 42 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:06,080 Speaker 1: don't miss any more of our videos. Follow me on 43 00:02:06,080 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: Twitter at underscore JCNLTS. You guys don't miss any show announcements. 44 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,000 Speaker 1: Don't forget about our podcast feed wherever get your podcast 45 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: under Hoops Tonight. It's also super helpful if you leave 46 00:02:13,040 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 1: a rating in a review. On that front, we also 47 00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:17,880 Speaker 1: have brand new social media feeds on Twitter, Instagram, and 48 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:21,840 Speaker 1: Facebook where we're releasing content throughout this season. Make sure 49 00:02:21,840 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: you guys follow us there and the last but not 50 00:02:23,240 --> 00:02:25,600 Speaker 1: at least, keep dropping mailbag questions and the YouTube comments. 51 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:27,560 Speaker 1: We'll have another mail bag tomorrow. We have mail bags 52 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 1: on Fridays throughout the season. You can drop those questions 53 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:34,280 Speaker 1: for those mail bags in the comments underneath these videos. 54 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,440 Speaker 1: All right, let's talk some basketball. So super interesting back 55 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: and forth game in Houston between the Cavs and the Rockets. 56 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: Cleveland controlled things early until Houston's bench came into the 57 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: game and they just completely changed things. Cam Whitmore was 58 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: insanely good. Tarri Easton was good Jayshon Tate. They do 59 00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:54,880 Speaker 1: a lot of damage with their rim pressure, and what 60 00:02:54,919 --> 00:02:58,280 Speaker 1: that means is just like their aggressive athletic moves towards 61 00:02:58,320 --> 00:02:59,679 Speaker 1: the rim. And this can come through a bunch of 62 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:03,000 Speaker 1: different ways. It can come through running your lane and transition. 63 00:03:03,080 --> 00:03:05,440 Speaker 1: It could come through crashing the offensive glass. It can 64 00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: come through cutting with the basketball, or cutting to get 65 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: the basketball, rolling out of ball screens. There's so many 66 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:14,639 Speaker 1: different ways to generate pressure. But the specific thing that 67 00:03:15,040 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 1: Cleveland was struggling with when in this particular one was 68 00:03:18,520 --> 00:03:21,920 Speaker 1: their athletes coming off of their action downhill. So like 69 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:25,120 Speaker 1: getting downhill against Jared Allen in a drop coverage, but 70 00:03:25,200 --> 00:03:28,120 Speaker 1: you're going so damn fast that everybody reacts to it. 71 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: And even if you miss the first layup, which they 72 00:03:30,760 --> 00:03:33,160 Speaker 1: were making a lot of those first layups, even if 73 00:03:33,200 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: you missed that first layup, there's just waves of athletes 74 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,560 Speaker 1: coming in behind, right. It's kind of what Houston does 75 00:03:38,600 --> 00:03:41,840 Speaker 1: to you. They wear you down with just waves and 76 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:47,120 Speaker 1: waves of athleticism. And Houston was actually beating Cleveland pretty 77 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:49,240 Speaker 1: bad in the half court in the first half, which 78 00:03:49,280 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: is an unusual occurrence for two teams that have these 79 00:03:52,920 --> 00:03:54,800 Speaker 1: types of strengths and weakness. As a matter of fact, 80 00:03:54,840 --> 00:03:58,160 Speaker 1: in the first half, Houston was getting one point zero 81 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 1: three points per possession in the half half court, Cleveland 82 00:04:01,320 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: was getting only zero point eight three, So a twenty 83 00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: point per one hundred possession advantage in the half court 84 00:04:06,720 --> 00:04:09,320 Speaker 1: for Houston in the first half. Again a combination of 85 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:13,480 Speaker 1: their great defense, as Amen Thompson was giving Donovan Mitchell 86 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: fits all night, which ended up being one of the 87 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,880 Speaker 1: defining factors in the late portion of the game, but 88 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:20,839 Speaker 1: just in general, them causing a lot of problems for 89 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:23,599 Speaker 1: Cleveland with their defense and then them getting out in 90 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:26,279 Speaker 1: transition and then pressuring the rim when they got stuck 91 00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:28,680 Speaker 1: in the half court, and again with Houston, there's a 92 00:04:28,680 --> 00:04:30,120 Speaker 1: certain amount of damage they're going to do to you 93 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:31,960 Speaker 1: in transition no matter what, just because they run and 94 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:33,280 Speaker 1: they run, and they run and they run. And they 95 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 1: did have twelve transition points in the first half, and 96 00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:37,720 Speaker 1: that probably could have been worse because Tarry Easton missed 97 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:41,480 Speaker 1: a couple of relatively makeable layups in transition. So Houston 98 00:04:41,560 --> 00:04:44,680 Speaker 1: ends up going in the late second quarter stretch with 99 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:47,159 Speaker 1: their first double digit lead of the game. So again 100 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: Cleveland controls early Houston bench comes in, the athletes kind 101 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: of take control. Houston goes up ten in the late 102 00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:55,360 Speaker 1: second quarter. At that point, the Cavs had only ran 103 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,080 Speaker 1: a handful of possessions of zone all game and nothing 104 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:01,240 Speaker 1: super substantial, and as soon the Rockets one up ten, 105 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,279 Speaker 1: Kenny Atkinson went pretty much all in on zone the 106 00:05:04,279 --> 00:05:06,680 Speaker 1: rest of the game. There's still a good bit of 107 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,680 Speaker 1: man at different portions of the game, like middle of 108 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:12,600 Speaker 1: the third quarter, late third quarter, they've played some man, 109 00:05:12,640 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: but a lot of zone from that point forward in 110 00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:17,240 Speaker 1: the game. And the idea there is is you're trying 111 00:05:17,240 --> 00:05:21,080 Speaker 1: to take away the easy opportunities for Houston's athletes to 112 00:05:21,120 --> 00:05:24,200 Speaker 1: get downhill because no matter when you have the ball 113 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: against the zone, the zone is always loaded up on you. 114 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:29,479 Speaker 1: There's always a rim protector waiting, there's always guys in 115 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:33,040 Speaker 1: the gaps. It's difficult to dribble drive against the zone 116 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:36,920 Speaker 1: compared to a man to man look. Right, So it 117 00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 1: basically puts more of the onus on Houston's weaknesses, right, 118 00:05:40,960 --> 00:05:44,960 Speaker 1: Like Houston's weaknesses are they don't have a ton of 119 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:47,960 Speaker 1: guys that are super reliable knockdown, catch and shoot guys, 120 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: and they're not the most offensively skilled and high offensive 121 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:54,599 Speaker 1: IQ type of team, and they're in those zones. You 122 00:05:54,640 --> 00:05:56,960 Speaker 1: have to break them down with ball and player movement 123 00:05:57,040 --> 00:05:59,400 Speaker 1: and the ability to knock down shots over the top 124 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:02,560 Speaker 1: of the defense. And so Kenny Atkins's Kenny Atkinson was 125 00:06:02,600 --> 00:06:07,039 Speaker 1: banking on that being what would specifically slow this team down, 126 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,520 Speaker 1: and they did. It's Houston struggled with the zone all game. Overall, 127 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:12,960 Speaker 1: Houston faced forty two possessions of zone in the game 128 00:06:13,000 --> 00:06:15,600 Speaker 1: and managed just thirty one points. They gave up zero 129 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:19,160 Speaker 1: point seven to four points per possession Cleveland did in 130 00:06:19,200 --> 00:06:21,560 Speaker 1: those forty two possessions of zone. The worst stretch of 131 00:06:21,560 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: it by far was in the fourth quarter, a stretch 132 00:06:23,320 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: when Steven Adams was on the floor, which was a 133 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 1: problem because shanegun Again, we talked about this a lot, 134 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: but in the I think it was in the Lakers 135 00:06:30,760 --> 00:06:33,799 Speaker 1: heat game from last week. But there's a certain amount 136 00:06:33,839 --> 00:06:36,200 Speaker 1: of pressure in the zone that can be relieved if 137 00:06:36,240 --> 00:06:37,919 Speaker 1: you have somebody who can get the ball into the 138 00:06:37,960 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 1: middle of the zone, who's a capable playmaker. Because as 139 00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:41,840 Speaker 1: soon as you get the ball in the middle of 140 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:44,200 Speaker 1: the zone, there's a tendency for all five guys to 141 00:06:44,279 --> 00:06:46,560 Speaker 1: kind of turn towards you. The big man in the 142 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:49,440 Speaker 1: middle almost always steps up, and so there's ope opportunities 143 00:06:49,440 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: for cuts along the baseline, kickouts to the corner, getting 144 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: the ball to the middle of the flour to a 145 00:06:53,200 --> 00:06:55,360 Speaker 1: guy who can actually make plays there is kind of 146 00:06:55,400 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 1: a vital part of breaking down a zone, and so 147 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: Steven Adams was out there in that fourth order stretch 148 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:04,840 Speaker 1: and at one point against Cleveland zone, Houston failed to 149 00:07:04,920 --> 00:07:09,080 Speaker 1: score on sixteen consecutive possessions. Think about how crazy that is, 150 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,520 Speaker 1: a complete and total offensive breakdown against Cleveland zone. Houston 151 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:16,040 Speaker 1: still defended pretty well in the stretch, so they only 152 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: allowed nineteen points in that time, but it was a 153 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:21,920 Speaker 1: nineteen to zero run. So all of a sudden, a 154 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,800 Speaker 1: thirteen point Houston Rockets lead turns into a six point 155 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:29,000 Speaker 1: Cleveland Cavaliers lead, and it looks like this whole thing 156 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:32,080 Speaker 1: is going down in flames. But then finally somebody for 157 00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:35,400 Speaker 1: Houston breaks through against Cleveland zone, and that person was 158 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 1: Fred Van Vliet. Again, the zone, like we talked about, 159 00:07:37,840 --> 00:07:40,160 Speaker 1: requires you to break it down with good bomb player movement, 160 00:07:40,560 --> 00:07:42,320 Speaker 1: and guys are gonna have to knock down threes. A 161 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: lot of times, the shot you're conceding in a zone 162 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:49,200 Speaker 1: is like the skip or the swing from either the 163 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: opposite wing or from the middle of the floor to 164 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 1: the opposite wing, where that guy's gonna have to make 165 00:07:55,120 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: like a twenty six footer, like a little bit outside 166 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:00,200 Speaker 1: the three point line, that's kind of contested, a little rush. 167 00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:02,600 Speaker 1: That's the kind of shot that a zone is going 168 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:04,240 Speaker 1: to give up. And you can't give that up to 169 00:08:04,400 --> 00:08:07,320 Speaker 1: teams that have super elite shooting because they're just going 170 00:08:07,360 --> 00:08:09,880 Speaker 1: to hit that shot at a pretty high rate. But again, 171 00:08:10,160 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: in this case, Fred van Vliet hits two massive threes, 172 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 1: one off of a skip pass in the zone, the 173 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 1: other one off of an offensive rebound in the zone. 174 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,880 Speaker 1: Knocks down both threes. Finally it's tied. Now we're locked 175 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:22,560 Speaker 1: in there. I think it was one oh four to 176 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 1: one oh four if I remember at that point in time. 177 00:08:24,320 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 1: So now we have ourselves a good old fashioned clutch 178 00:08:26,600 --> 00:08:30,640 Speaker 1: basketball battle. And in the clutch, Houston's Wings just kept 179 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 1: getting stop after stop after stop. First of men, Thompson 180 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 1: gets a steal and a foul that puts Houston up 181 00:08:37,080 --> 00:08:39,920 Speaker 1: by one. At the foul line he was given Donovan 182 00:08:39,960 --> 00:08:42,840 Speaker 1: Mitchell fits all night long. He had nineteen points on 183 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,160 Speaker 1: twenty one shots. And really, and this will become a 184 00:08:45,200 --> 00:08:47,160 Speaker 1: theme here down the stretch, the only thing that Donovan 185 00:08:47,160 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: Mitchell could do against the men Thompson was take extremely 186 00:08:50,240 --> 00:08:52,600 Speaker 1: difficult off the dribble jump shots and he just wasn't 187 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:55,480 Speaker 1: able to make him in this game. Darius Garland ends up, 188 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:57,800 Speaker 1: so Houston goes up one off of the foul shot 189 00:08:57,840 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: from a men Thompson. But then Darius Garland puts the 190 00:08:59,760 --> 00:09:02,200 Speaker 1: cab back up on the left wing with a three 191 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: on a switch interchange that Houston botches. So like the 192 00:09:05,280 --> 00:09:08,079 Speaker 1: couple guys linger with Garland and then one of them thinks, oh, 193 00:09:08,200 --> 00:09:09,800 Speaker 1: I got to get back to my man, except for 194 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:12,040 Speaker 1: both of them thought that, so they ran away from Garland. 195 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:13,760 Speaker 1: Garland ends up wide open, he hits a three, makes 196 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:15,840 Speaker 1: it one oh seven to one O five. Shane Goon 197 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,280 Speaker 1: ties the game. He had won a bunch of big 198 00:09:18,600 --> 00:09:21,160 Speaker 1: physical battles against Jared Allen down the stretch, and one 199 00:09:21,160 --> 00:09:22,840 Speaker 1: of the big ones he got in this one he 200 00:09:23,040 --> 00:09:26,080 Speaker 1: ducked in in the post. It was kind of like 201 00:09:26,120 --> 00:09:28,280 Speaker 1: a drive from Fred van Vliet where he kind of 202 00:09:28,280 --> 00:09:30,880 Speaker 1: posed the ball out and Shane Gun had been rolling, 203 00:09:31,280 --> 00:09:33,760 Speaker 1: and when he rolled, he had some pretty decent position 204 00:09:33,840 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 1: and so he just just threw his ass back into 205 00:09:36,760 --> 00:09:39,600 Speaker 1: to Jared Allen knocked him off his off his base 206 00:09:39,640 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: and created a nice big passing window for Fred van Vliet. 207 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,560 Speaker 1: Fred threw it to him and Jared was draped over 208 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:48,679 Speaker 1: the top, but Shane Gun just went up through him 209 00:09:48,679 --> 00:09:50,760 Speaker 1: and he was so close to the basket that he 210 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:52,280 Speaker 1: really just had to get the ball up in the 211 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,079 Speaker 1: air and had a really good chance of going in. 212 00:09:54,640 --> 00:09:57,360 Speaker 1: Makes that layup to make it one oh seven to 213 00:09:57,360 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 1: one oh seven, and then from there that's when Houston 214 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:03,320 Speaker 1: just starts to getting stops again. Amen Thompson forces Donovan 215 00:10:03,360 --> 00:10:06,400 Speaker 1: Mitchell into like this impossible left shoulder fate that has 216 00:10:06,520 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 1: very little chance of going in. And again the theme 217 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:11,640 Speaker 1: here is Mitchell can only get these super difficult off 218 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,080 Speaker 1: the dribble jump shots. Jalen Green got a big stop 219 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,480 Speaker 1: against Darius Garland where Daris Garland tried to go for 220 00:10:16,559 --> 00:10:18,760 Speaker 1: like a low gather to draw foul, and like this 221 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:21,240 Speaker 1: was a game where like no fouls were getting called 222 00:10:21,320 --> 00:10:23,640 Speaker 1: until randomly Shangoon gets two free throws at the end 223 00:10:23,640 --> 00:10:24,680 Speaker 1: of the game. We'll get to that in a minute, 224 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:26,480 Speaker 1: but like there was a lot of contact that was 225 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:28,600 Speaker 1: just getting allowed in this game, and so Garland made 226 00:10:28,600 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 1: a mistake I thought, and trying to like draw foul 227 00:10:30,920 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 1: with a low gather. Jalen Green ends up forcing the turnover. 228 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,320 Speaker 1: They go out the other way and then Amen Thompson 229 00:10:36,600 --> 00:10:41,199 Speaker 1: forces Donovan Mitchell into another impossible step back three kind 230 00:10:41,240 --> 00:10:44,520 Speaker 1: of in the left wing area. Misses again, but on 231 00:10:44,559 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: the shot Alprin shang Gun Alprin Shangun buries Jared Allen 232 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: to get the rebound and creates the angle and Jared 233 00:10:53,480 --> 00:10:56,640 Speaker 1: Allen fousand. Now I didn't agree with this call it 234 00:10:57,080 --> 00:10:59,400 Speaker 1: by the book technically, but like it was one of 235 00:10:59,440 --> 00:11:01,240 Speaker 1: those things where this game was kind of a physical 236 00:11:01,280 --> 00:11:03,959 Speaker 1: blood bath where everything was getting let go. It was 237 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 1: kind of a theme early on in the game. The 238 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,280 Speaker 1: Rockets broadcast was talking about it quite a bit and 239 00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:12,240 Speaker 1: how it actually favors Houston, which I agree because they 240 00:11:12,240 --> 00:11:15,000 Speaker 1: are the bigger, more physical team, especially with Evan Mobley 241 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:17,840 Speaker 1: out of the lineup. But Shangun gets two foul shots 242 00:11:17,880 --> 00:11:20,640 Speaker 1: right he makes both foul shots go out to the 243 00:11:20,640 --> 00:11:23,199 Speaker 1: other end. Darius Garland gets to the foul line off 244 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:25,200 Speaker 1: of a reckless close out from Tarry East and he 245 00:11:25,200 --> 00:11:28,280 Speaker 1: gets three free throws and the ball and makes only 246 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:30,319 Speaker 1: one of them. And that wasn't even the first time 247 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:32,720 Speaker 1: that game he went one for three on a three 248 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:34,880 Speaker 1: point shot fal he went three for eight in the 249 00:11:34,880 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 1: foul line of this game really was the difference between 250 00:11:37,040 --> 00:11:39,200 Speaker 1: a win and a loss for Cleveland in this one. 251 00:11:39,240 --> 00:11:42,080 Speaker 1: So Cleveland gets the ball back one point, game down, 252 00:11:42,160 --> 00:11:44,760 Speaker 1: one any bucket they win. But once again the best 253 00:11:44,800 --> 00:11:48,560 Speaker 1: shot that Donovan Mitchell could get against Aman Thompson was 254 00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,760 Speaker 1: a really really difficult right shoulder fade kind of along 255 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:55,600 Speaker 1: the baseline that barely grazed the rim, and so again 256 00:11:55,640 --> 00:11:57,800 Speaker 1: Cleveland had the chance, couldn't get a bucket there. Houston 257 00:11:57,880 --> 00:11:59,680 Speaker 1: ends up getting out of there the win. I don't 258 00:11:59,679 --> 00:12:01,880 Speaker 1: see too much point in like focusing on the specific 259 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,040 Speaker 1: result of this game, just because there was so much weirdness, 260 00:12:04,080 --> 00:12:06,720 Speaker 1: like Evan Mobley was out, Darius Garland missing all those 261 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,760 Speaker 1: free throws that he usually makes, Houston going as ice 262 00:12:09,800 --> 00:12:11,760 Speaker 1: cold as they did against his own in a playoff series, 263 00:12:11,760 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: you'd probably bail on Steven Adams a little bit earlier 264 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:17,439 Speaker 1: if that happens. All those weird foul calls at the 265 00:12:17,520 --> 00:12:19,600 Speaker 1: end of the game. It was it was just a 266 00:12:19,640 --> 00:12:23,160 Speaker 1: weird regular season game that Houston happened to come away with, 267 00:12:23,400 --> 00:12:25,800 Speaker 1: so that I'm not overly concerned with. I did think 268 00:12:25,800 --> 00:12:28,840 Speaker 1: the game was super revealing though, of both Cleveland and 269 00:12:28,880 --> 00:12:33,520 Speaker 1: Houston's respective strengths and weaknesses. Starting with Houston, their athleticism 270 00:12:33,600 --> 00:12:35,839 Speaker 1: is just a fucking problem on both ends of the floor. 271 00:12:36,320 --> 00:12:39,280 Speaker 1: Garland and Mitchell were both really struggling to get separation 272 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:42,240 Speaker 1: and get to their spots. Role players were getting spooked. 273 00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,520 Speaker 1: That was the big thing. It felt like Cleveland was 274 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,280 Speaker 1: getting rushed a lot. We'll talk about that here in 275 00:12:47,320 --> 00:12:50,960 Speaker 1: a minute. But georgi' niang smoked two easy layups on 276 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:53,360 Speaker 1: cuts because he was like terrified of Cam Whitmore coming 277 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:55,360 Speaker 1: over the top. One he tried to pump, bake and travel. 278 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:58,280 Speaker 1: The other one he just smoked the layup. They Houston 279 00:12:58,320 --> 00:13:01,720 Speaker 1: had twenty three fast break points, They had twenty offensive rebounds. 280 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 1: On offense, it was their downhill attack that actually forced 281 00:13:04,480 --> 00:13:06,800 Speaker 1: Cleveland to kind of default his zone as much as 282 00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:09,839 Speaker 1: they did. The athleticism for Houston just gives them such 283 00:13:09,840 --> 00:13:13,080 Speaker 1: an incredibly high floor. And then Shaneguon is just really good, 284 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:15,720 Speaker 1: Like I've seen Jared Allen outplay many of the best 285 00:13:15,760 --> 00:13:18,880 Speaker 1: centers in the league this year, again in a different 286 00:13:18,920 --> 00:13:20,960 Speaker 1: type of role, but just produce in his role at 287 00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:22,680 Speaker 1: a higher level than some of his peers at his 288 00:13:22,720 --> 00:13:24,840 Speaker 1: position have done. I thought shaneg Gun out played him 289 00:13:24,880 --> 00:13:28,520 Speaker 1: last night. The box score numbers were relatively similar. Jared 290 00:13:28,559 --> 00:13:30,719 Speaker 1: Allen did win some battles. He had I think five 291 00:13:30,800 --> 00:13:33,040 Speaker 1: or six offensive rebounds, was causing some problems with his 292 00:13:33,080 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 1: tap out rebounds. He was a big part of Cleveland's 293 00:13:36,600 --> 00:13:39,200 Speaker 1: third quarter surges that kept the game close with Jared 294 00:13:39,240 --> 00:13:41,160 Speaker 1: Allen and the work he was doing on the glass. 295 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:44,960 Speaker 1: But Shane Gun was winning some specific battles. He won 296 00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:49,320 Speaker 1: some big some big physical battles, namely that big duck 297 00:13:49,400 --> 00:13:52,400 Speaker 1: in on Jared Allen late that tied the game, drawing 298 00:13:52,440 --> 00:13:55,800 Speaker 1: the foul on the defensive rebound down the stretch. Like 299 00:13:55,840 --> 00:13:58,120 Speaker 1: he just won some key physical battles, and then there 300 00:13:58,120 --> 00:14:00,880 Speaker 1: was a difference there too, like Shanggun was errating offense 301 00:14:00,920 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 1: first team, Jared Allen was finishing plays, and obviously Jared 302 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:05,880 Speaker 1: Allen was still very good, But I thought Shanguon won 303 00:14:05,920 --> 00:14:09,120 Speaker 1: that battle. And he's just such a smart offensive player. 304 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:10,920 Speaker 1: The duck in is a great example like, oh I've 305 00:14:10,960 --> 00:14:13,400 Speaker 1: got good position, We're not really getting anything good right now. 306 00:14:13,400 --> 00:14:15,280 Speaker 1: I'm just gonna bury him right here and see if 307 00:14:15,280 --> 00:14:18,000 Speaker 1: I can't create an easy shot. There was a play 308 00:14:18,040 --> 00:14:19,600 Speaker 1: I clipped this play and put it on my Twitter 309 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:22,280 Speaker 1: feed at underscore jsonlt. But a play where it was 310 00:14:22,320 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 1: against a man and man look if I remember correctly, 311 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,000 Speaker 1: but Shangoon caught it in the post on the left block. 312 00:14:27,560 --> 00:14:29,560 Speaker 1: I think it was in like the like mid to 313 00:14:29,600 --> 00:14:34,160 Speaker 1: late third quarter stretch, and the Calves zone up on him. 314 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:35,800 Speaker 1: So they zone up from the baseline, meaning like a 315 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,400 Speaker 1: defender guarding somebody elsewhere on the floor. I think it 316 00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:40,680 Speaker 1: was Tyderme if I remember correctly, but comes all the 317 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:44,280 Speaker 1: way across to the outside the paint and basically zones 318 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:48,800 Speaker 1: up on Shanggun and then Fred van Vlietzman Darius Garland 319 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:52,320 Speaker 1: was digging down and so Shanegun was like posting, but 320 00:14:52,320 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 1: he's looking at three bodies. He's looking at body right 321 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:56,520 Speaker 1: in front of him, body to the left, body to 322 00:14:56,520 --> 00:14:58,560 Speaker 1: the right, at Jared Allen, I think was the guy 323 00:14:58,560 --> 00:15:00,560 Speaker 1: guarding him, and so it looks like a well like 324 00:15:01,080 --> 00:15:03,680 Speaker 1: you Lakers fans will listen to the show will recognize 325 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:06,240 Speaker 1: this as the way every team guards Anthony Davis in 326 00:15:06,280 --> 00:15:08,520 Speaker 1: the post where it's just like complete load up. But 327 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 1: Shanggun did something really really smart that got a great 328 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:15,320 Speaker 1: shot for his team on this possession. So instead of 329 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:18,400 Speaker 1: like trying to probe against three defenders right in his 330 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,880 Speaker 1: face or trying to force a looping skip pass that 331 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:26,200 Speaker 1: Cleveland could have easily rotated out of or potentially deflected 332 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,320 Speaker 1: with ball pressure, he just dribbles out at Fred van 333 00:15:29,360 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 1: Vliet as if he's going to do a dribble handoff 334 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:34,280 Speaker 1: with him. As soon as he does this, it triggers 335 00:15:34,280 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 1: a chain of events. Darius Garland, instead of digging down 336 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:41,720 Speaker 1: on Shangun, closes out to Fred van Vliet to get 337 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:44,280 Speaker 1: into chase position in case he has to chase him 338 00:15:44,280 --> 00:15:48,400 Speaker 1: over a dribble handoff. Jared Allen just barely gets up 339 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:50,760 Speaker 1: out of his stance and slides off to his right 340 00:15:51,080 --> 00:15:54,760 Speaker 1: to potentially contain a Fred van Vliet drive off of 341 00:15:54,760 --> 00:15:57,600 Speaker 1: a ball screen. And then Shane Gun just keeps the 342 00:15:57,600 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 1: ball and drives into the middle of the lane. So 343 00:15:59,720 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: he was facing this super loaded up man demand look 344 00:16:03,120 --> 00:16:06,400 Speaker 1: and just by taking a dribble at Fred van Vliet 345 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,560 Speaker 1: and then turning back into the lane. He completely shifted 346 00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:13,280 Speaker 1: Cleveland's defense, forced Garland and Allen to shift into more 347 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 1: of a ball screen coverage, which created an opening in 348 00:16:16,480 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 1: the middle of the floor for Shangun to drive that 349 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:21,360 Speaker 1: he drove right at it. Everyone collapsed, easy kickout Passatari 350 00:16:21,400 --> 00:16:23,800 Speaker 1: Easton on the right wing he knocks down at three. 351 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:26,720 Speaker 1: He's just such a smart offensive player and he has 352 00:16:26,760 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 1: such a gift for like meandering and making stuff happen 353 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:32,960 Speaker 1: in tight space situations. I thought he was absolutely huge 354 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:35,640 Speaker 1: in this particular game. The one thing with the Rockets 355 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,760 Speaker 1: that was on display though, is just again they just 356 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:41,160 Speaker 1: lacked that like highly refined offensive skill that they had 357 00:16:41,200 --> 00:16:43,560 Speaker 1: twenty two turnovers in this game. They had so many 358 00:16:43,640 --> 00:16:46,560 Speaker 1: ugly possessions in the half court on offense. So like 359 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 1: a pretty good indication, pretty good demonstration of Houston's strengths 360 00:16:50,760 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 1: and weaknesses last night. And then with Cleveland, the big 361 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:54,480 Speaker 1: thing that stood out to me that they're definitely not 362 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:56,800 Speaker 1: as athletic as some of these teams at the top 363 00:16:56,800 --> 00:16:59,600 Speaker 1: of the league, and it causes them when they run 364 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:01,680 Speaker 1: into that sort of team to rush things a little 365 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:05,000 Speaker 1: bit I've seen this in specifically the first game on 366 00:17:05,040 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: the road in Boston, the one on the road in 367 00:17:07,600 --> 00:17:11,160 Speaker 1: Oklahoma City, and then this one where they have these 368 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:14,439 Speaker 1: stretches where they kind of lose composure and start taking 369 00:17:14,520 --> 00:17:17,840 Speaker 1: bad shots, not trusting the things that caused them to 370 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:21,520 Speaker 1: succeed Earlier in the season. I talked about Mitchell forcing 371 00:17:21,520 --> 00:17:24,280 Speaker 1: things against Oklahoma City. I thought he looked similar to 372 00:17:24,320 --> 00:17:27,480 Speaker 1: that last night, just kind of taking extremely difficult shots 373 00:17:27,480 --> 00:17:31,119 Speaker 1: against elite perimeter defenders. Darius Garland was missing some reads, 374 00:17:31,160 --> 00:17:33,640 Speaker 1: Like there were about a half dozen possessions in this game. 375 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:35,760 Speaker 1: I clipped several of them and put them on my 376 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:38,360 Speaker 1: Twitter feed. But there were about a half dozen possessions 377 00:17:38,359 --> 00:17:40,480 Speaker 1: in this game where he took like pretty tough, contested 378 00:17:40,520 --> 00:17:43,960 Speaker 1: twos while there were easy kickout raads available for good shooters, 379 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:46,240 Speaker 1: the kind of reads he had been making all season. 380 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:49,280 Speaker 1: But he just looked rushed, you know. That was kind 381 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:50,520 Speaker 1: of the story of the game for me. He looked 382 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:54,800 Speaker 1: rushed like George's Niang looked rushed on those layups. In general, 383 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,760 Speaker 1: the team didn't shoot well from three nextrs, and Dean 384 00:17:57,800 --> 00:18:00,960 Speaker 1: Wade went three for ten. Sam maryl was one for six, 385 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:03,399 Speaker 1: and had some really ugly misses, like some bricks that 386 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 1: damn near put a hole on the backboard. Just something 387 00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:08,560 Speaker 1: to keep an eye on. Like, I've seen them handle 388 00:18:08,640 --> 00:18:13,000 Speaker 1: athletic pressure well and execute and make shots at stretches, 389 00:18:13,320 --> 00:18:17,400 Speaker 1: but I've also seen them handle athletic pressure poorly and 390 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:19,920 Speaker 1: lose composure. And I think I think that'll be one 391 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,760 Speaker 1: of their like kind of oscillating back and forth team 392 00:18:22,880 --> 00:18:25,280 Speaker 1: characteristics that we see in the postseason when they lose 393 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:28,000 Speaker 1: games versus when they win games, will probably center around 394 00:18:28,000 --> 00:18:31,439 Speaker 1: whether or not they can remain composed against more athletic teams. 395 00:18:31,760 --> 00:18:33,399 Speaker 1: But I really thought they won the chess match in 396 00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:35,680 Speaker 1: this one. Shout out to Kenny Ankinson in terms of 397 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,480 Speaker 1: their on the fly adjustments. They executed really well and 398 00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 1: they had a great chance to win. And again, like overall, 399 00:18:40,320 --> 00:18:42,399 Speaker 1: I thought it was a pretty impressive Cavs performance, Like 400 00:18:42,440 --> 00:18:46,240 Speaker 1: you're that's a tough Houston team to be especially in Houston. 401 00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:49,840 Speaker 1: Evan Mobley being out is a pretty substantial loss and 402 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,160 Speaker 1: you probably win that game if Darius Garland doesn't miss 403 00:18:52,160 --> 00:18:57,160 Speaker 1: five free throws. So overall, pretty encouraging from the Cleveland Cavaliers. 404 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:12,600 Speaker 1: We're gonna hit three more games, but it's gonna be 405 00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 1: a little bit more of a rapid fire kind of stop. So, 406 00:19:16,560 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: first of all, how can we be sure that Steph 407 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:24,840 Speaker 1: can't lead a championship team when this is what he's 408 00:19:24,880 --> 00:19:28,720 Speaker 1: working with? The Kings last night followed a game plan 409 00:19:28,880 --> 00:19:30,960 Speaker 1: that many teams in the NBA have employed over the 410 00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:34,000 Speaker 1: last couple of years against Steph Curry. Let's just get 411 00:19:34,000 --> 00:19:36,760 Speaker 1: the ball out of Steph hands. Let's pressure him, let's 412 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,600 Speaker 1: top lock him, let's deny him. Let's blitz him on 413 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:43,560 Speaker 1: every ball screen, Let's shade heavy towards him on every drive. 414 00:19:43,720 --> 00:19:47,120 Speaker 1: Let's just overplay him and make all of these fringe 415 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:49,560 Speaker 1: NBA players beat us. And for most of the night 416 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:54,600 Speaker 1: it actually didn't work. Sacramento allowed on astonishing twenty unguarded 417 00:19:54,640 --> 00:19:56,679 Speaker 1: catch and shoot jump shots, which is a lot to 418 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:59,959 Speaker 1: give up in any single game. Golden State made eleven 419 00:20:00,080 --> 00:20:02,879 Speaker 1: of them and led by as much as eighteen in 420 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:05,200 Speaker 1: this game. That was a big part of the early 421 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:07,400 Speaker 1: story of this game. It was a long term investment. 422 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:10,320 Speaker 1: You gave up a bunch of open looks, you gave 423 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:13,679 Speaker 1: up an early lead to Golden State, but a very 424 00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:17,560 Speaker 1: important thing happened Steph was out of rhythm on the 425 00:20:17,560 --> 00:20:19,720 Speaker 1: offensive end of the floor. It took just eleven shots, 426 00:20:20,200 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: he had twelve assists, but he had just fourteen points, 427 00:20:23,240 --> 00:20:26,399 Speaker 1: and so as the game progressed, Sacramento got a little 428 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:30,439 Speaker 1: sharper with their rotations. The open shots were fewer and 429 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,040 Speaker 1: further between. I think fourteen of the twenty open shots 430 00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,119 Speaker 1: they conceded were in the first half, and nobody in 431 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,080 Speaker 1: a Golden State uniform felt comfortable. When we ended up 432 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,720 Speaker 1: in crunch time, all the role players were out of rhythm, 433 00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:44,159 Speaker 1: and Sacramento's defensive intensity picked up again. This is a 434 00:20:44,160 --> 00:20:47,280 Speaker 1: team that has been really really good on defense in 435 00:20:47,320 --> 00:20:49,879 Speaker 1: this span, their sixth in defense in their last eleven games. 436 00:20:50,359 --> 00:20:54,000 Speaker 1: They made all the Golden State role players feel uncomfortable, 437 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:56,119 Speaker 1: and now we're in crunch time and Steph doesn't have 438 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,840 Speaker 1: any sort of rhythm or anything in his game going 439 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,280 Speaker 1: at that point in time, and it just led to 440 00:21:01,280 --> 00:21:04,840 Speaker 1: an absolutely brutal finish on offense for the Warriors. They 441 00:21:04,840 --> 00:21:07,480 Speaker 1: were up by four on a Wiggans three with four 442 00:21:07,520 --> 00:21:10,320 Speaker 1: minutes left. The Warriors did not score over the next 443 00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:13,399 Speaker 1: three minutes, and change in the game slipped away from them. 444 00:21:13,400 --> 00:21:16,200 Speaker 1: In that span to Marta Rozen got a bucket over 445 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:19,040 Speaker 1: Gie Santo's Malik Monk and Deren Fox kept getting to 446 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:21,399 Speaker 1: the foul line with their rim pressure and then they 447 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: iced the game. In the final minute, Deeron Fox hit 448 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:25,679 Speaker 1: a little mid range jump shot and Malik Monk had 449 00:21:25,720 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 1: a driving layup and that ended up putting the game away. 450 00:21:28,359 --> 00:21:30,800 Speaker 1: So the Kings trusted their defensive game plan. They didn't 451 00:21:30,800 --> 00:21:33,159 Speaker 1: overreact to guys making shots early in the game, and 452 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:34,960 Speaker 1: it ended up working out in their favor as they 453 00:21:34,960 --> 00:21:38,240 Speaker 1: got a huge win. The Kings are now ten to 454 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:41,800 Speaker 1: one in their last eleven games, fifth in offense, sixth 455 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:46,000 Speaker 1: in defense, just absolutely killing teams in clutch situations like this. 456 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:49,320 Speaker 1: In that eleven game span, they've played six clutch games. 457 00:21:49,760 --> 00:21:52,399 Speaker 1: In those six clutch games, they're six to zero. Malik 458 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:54,600 Speaker 1: Monk and deer and five or excuse me, Milike Monk 459 00:21:54,600 --> 00:21:57,920 Speaker 1: and Demarta Rosen have made seventeen of their thirty two 460 00:21:57,960 --> 00:22:00,800 Speaker 1: shot attempts in the clutch over that span. As a team, 461 00:22:00,800 --> 00:22:02,399 Speaker 1: we talked about them being a lead on offense and 462 00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:06,960 Speaker 1: defense in the large sample over that span. In clutch situations, 463 00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:09,359 Speaker 1: they have a one to thirty five offensive rating and 464 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:14,520 Speaker 1: an eighty defensive rating in those six clutch wins the Kings. 465 00:22:14,560 --> 00:22:16,040 Speaker 1: And this is such a great example of what I've 466 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:17,840 Speaker 1: been talking about all year with respect to the Western 467 00:22:17,880 --> 00:22:20,040 Speaker 1: Conference and not getting too high and getting too low. 468 00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:22,439 Speaker 1: I don't think you could have been much lower than 469 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:24,560 Speaker 1: the Utah Jazz looked at the end of that or 470 00:22:24,560 --> 00:22:28,360 Speaker 1: exus me. Then the Sacramento Kings looked at the end 471 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:30,960 Speaker 1: of that ugly stretch that they had a little over 472 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,400 Speaker 1: about a month ago, right, it looked like things were 473 00:22:34,520 --> 00:22:36,880 Speaker 1: legitimately like we were talking about Dearren Fox traits. That's 474 00:22:36,920 --> 00:22:39,919 Speaker 1: how bad it got, right, And now the Kings are 475 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,679 Speaker 1: up to seventh in the Western Conference standings in just 476 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:45,199 Speaker 1: one game back of the five seat. Pretty wild turn 477 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,280 Speaker 1: around and clearly just taking to the new voice in 478 00:22:48,359 --> 00:22:51,400 Speaker 1: the room, Doug Christy. This is something like I've talked 479 00:22:51,400 --> 00:22:53,280 Speaker 1: about a lot, as it pertains to like even the 480 00:22:53,560 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 1: move from Frank Vogel to Darvin Ham with the Lakers, Like, 481 00:22:57,119 --> 00:22:59,520 Speaker 1: there are many different reasons to potentially change your coach, 482 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:03,280 Speaker 1: and one of them is like sometimes the same guy 483 00:23:03,320 --> 00:23:05,560 Speaker 1: preaches at you for so many years, you just get 484 00:23:05,560 --> 00:23:07,800 Speaker 1: sick of them and you just need to hear a 485 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 1: different voice, and that appears to be something that has 486 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:14,320 Speaker 1: helped this Sacramento King, this Sacramento Kings team get back 487 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:16,600 Speaker 1: on track. But I wanted to briefly hit on that 488 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:21,200 Speaker 1: Warrior's closing group. The Warriors closed this game with Gie 489 00:23:21,240 --> 00:23:24,920 Speaker 1: Santos and Quinton Post on the floor. I don't understand 490 00:23:24,920 --> 00:23:28,600 Speaker 1: how we could possibly gauge what this team is or 491 00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:32,840 Speaker 1: isn't capable of, or what Steph is or isn't capable 492 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,320 Speaker 1: of when he's playing with fringe NBA players due to injuries. 493 00:23:36,600 --> 00:23:40,080 Speaker 1: When Jonathan Kaming is out, you know, when Gary Payton's out, 494 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:42,480 Speaker 1: when Draymond Green's out. Different guys have been in and 495 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:44,800 Speaker 1: out of the lineup all season long. When Brandon Pajemski's out. 496 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,679 Speaker 1: When these guys have been out with injuries, we're seeing 497 00:23:48,280 --> 00:23:52,440 Speaker 1: a depleted team that already had a top end talent issue. 498 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:54,640 Speaker 1: So I'm hoping that they can get their main guys 499 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:56,480 Speaker 1: out there again before the deadline and get a big 500 00:23:56,520 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 1: winn or two just to convince the front office to 501 00:23:59,080 --> 00:24:02,080 Speaker 1: invest in this team. Here's one crazy stat for you guys. 502 00:24:02,920 --> 00:24:05,639 Speaker 1: Golden State has seven wins this year against teams that 503 00:24:05,680 --> 00:24:08,040 Speaker 1: are in the top ten in point differential that is 504 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 1: the fifth most in the entire NBA. That is the 505 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 1: same amount as Boston. That is more than teams like 506 00:24:14,440 --> 00:24:17,560 Speaker 1: Denver or the Lakers or the Memphis Grizzlies. There is 507 00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:19,760 Speaker 1: a top end here that we haven't seen in a 508 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:22,280 Speaker 1: while due to injuries and some funks, and even Steph's 509 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:24,840 Speaker 1: a little banged up. But I'm hoping that this team 510 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:27,040 Speaker 1: makes a resurgence at some point this year because I 511 00:24:27,119 --> 00:24:29,399 Speaker 1: really want to see Steph play in some high leverage 512 00:24:29,440 --> 00:24:31,199 Speaker 1: basketball games, and this team is going to need to 513 00:24:31,240 --> 00:24:33,439 Speaker 1: make some sort of talent upgrade at the deadline for 514 00:24:33,480 --> 00:24:36,720 Speaker 1: that to be the case. Shae Gosus Alexander put another 515 00:24:36,760 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 1: feather in his MVP cap last night at home against 516 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:42,800 Speaker 1: a Utah Jazz team that, thanks to Will Hardy, was 517 00:24:42,920 --> 00:24:45,520 Speaker 1: nice enough to kind of let Shaye work in traditional 518 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,720 Speaker 1: coverages in one on one all night long regardless of 519 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,960 Speaker 1: how hot he got, and Shaye delivered his career high 520 00:24:52,000 --> 00:24:54,320 Speaker 1: as a result. He had fifty four points, just a 521 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:57,720 Speaker 1: ridiculous jump shooting display. Took twenty jump shots in this game, 522 00:24:57,760 --> 00:24:59,600 Speaker 1: made ten of them, just kept getting to his spots 523 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:03,200 Speaker 1: with a variety of different moves and footwork and dribble 524 00:25:03,240 --> 00:25:05,959 Speaker 1: combinations and just hitting a ton of them. He's now 525 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 1: shooting forty five percent on all jump shots this season, 526 00:25:09,960 --> 00:25:14,080 Speaker 1: fifty six percent inside his seventeen feet, fifty percent on 527 00:25:14,320 --> 00:25:17,200 Speaker 1: jump shots between seventeen feet and the three point line, 528 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,480 Speaker 1: and then supplemented it with a bunch of easy stuff 529 00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:21,960 Speaker 1: at the rim and at the foul line. He looks 530 00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:24,439 Speaker 1: like a player that is in complete control of his 531 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:27,320 Speaker 1: game all the time. He never looks rushed or pressured. 532 00:25:27,720 --> 00:25:29,720 Speaker 1: He's reaching a really special place as a guard in 533 00:25:29,720 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: this league. And interestingly enough, according to DraftKings Shake Gildos, 534 00:25:32,840 --> 00:25:37,359 Speaker 1: Alexander has now moved to minus five hundred to win MVP. 535 00:25:37,520 --> 00:25:40,199 Speaker 1: That is a massive favorite. I think he deserves it 536 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:42,920 Speaker 1: and it will be a nice precursor to his first 537 00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:47,520 Speaker 1: playoff run with some real championship pressure. All right, last 538 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:50,520 Speaker 1: game for today, the Celtics win a thriller in Los 539 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:52,760 Speaker 1: Angeles against the Clippers. The Clippers gave the Celtics a 540 00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,919 Speaker 1: bunch of issues with kind of like these freaky modern 541 00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,919 Speaker 1: lineups with a bunch of wings who can switch and 542 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 1: pressure the ball, fire around and transition in rotation, and 543 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,000 Speaker 1: they caused some problems for the Celtics. They sent the 544 00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:07,040 Speaker 1: game to ot with that pressure, they forced a couple 545 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:09,360 Speaker 1: of turnovers. They got a chicken wing offensive foul call. 546 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:11,800 Speaker 1: Then they trapped Jalen Brown, which forced him to just 547 00:26:11,840 --> 00:26:14,960 Speaker 1: throw the ball directly to Derek Jones, who immediately pushed 548 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:17,080 Speaker 1: it down the floor in transition and got a layup 549 00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:19,200 Speaker 1: to send it to overtime. But they settled down in overtime. 550 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,560 Speaker 1: It played some Celtics basketball. Got an easy three for 551 00:26:22,640 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: Derek White on the left wing off of a slip switch. 552 00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:27,399 Speaker 1: This is something that again Boston does a lot. Jylen 553 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:29,880 Speaker 1: Brown came off the screen with Cornette two guys stuck 554 00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:31,400 Speaker 1: with the ball for a minute, floated over the top 555 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:32,960 Speaker 1: to Cornette. We got a week side two on one, 556 00:26:33,000 --> 00:26:35,119 Speaker 1: skipped out to Derek White, hit in above the break three. 557 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:37,840 Speaker 1: I talked two days ago about Jason Tatum and how 558 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,600 Speaker 1: I really like his off the dribble threes when he 559 00:26:40,640 --> 00:26:44,240 Speaker 1: gets separation versus when he doesn't, And like he hit 560 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:46,760 Speaker 1: Kobe Brown with a snatchback dribble and got lots of 561 00:26:46,800 --> 00:26:50,520 Speaker 1: separation and didn't have to step too far back behind 562 00:26:50,520 --> 00:26:52,640 Speaker 1: the line. It was like a classic little twenty four 563 00:26:52,680 --> 00:26:56,040 Speaker 1: footer and knocked that one down. Jaylen Brown hit a 564 00:26:56,080 --> 00:26:58,360 Speaker 1: huge three. Jaden Springer hit a huge three, had two 565 00:26:58,359 --> 00:27:00,720 Speaker 1: big threes in this game. He was great, played great defense. 566 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:03,399 Speaker 1: I thought he had some really awesome defensive reps against 567 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:06,960 Speaker 1: Kevin Porter Junior in this game, and then icing the game. 568 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:09,840 Speaker 1: Nimi Queta at the layup right underneath the basket is 569 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:12,800 Speaker 1: Jason Tatum again. The Clippers finally got sick of it 570 00:27:12,840 --> 00:27:15,480 Speaker 1: and just started doubling, and they double Tatum out at 571 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:18,119 Speaker 1: half court. A nice little passing sequence leads to a 572 00:27:18,160 --> 00:27:20,280 Speaker 1: layup for Quada and he ends up or for keda 573 00:27:20,320 --> 00:27:22,960 Speaker 1: and he ends up icing the game. The Celtics get 574 00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 1: consecutive wins for the first time since January third, and 575 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:29,760 Speaker 1: now they have an opportunity against the Lakers tonight. Will 576 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:31,639 Speaker 1: be covering that game either tonight or tomorrow morning, I'm 577 00:27:31,680 --> 00:27:34,159 Speaker 1: not sure yet, but a nice little spurt for the 578 00:27:34,200 --> 00:27:36,800 Speaker 1: Celtics as they try to get back on track. One thing, 579 00:27:36,960 --> 00:27:39,840 Speaker 1: one little tiny negative note that I wanted to just 580 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,080 Speaker 1: call attention to. Late in the game, the Celtics centers 581 00:27:43,160 --> 00:27:46,560 Speaker 1: ended up giving up some drives. Both Luke Cornette and 582 00:27:46,680 --> 00:27:50,760 Speaker 1: Nimi Quota gave up driving layups. Kada gave up a 583 00:27:50,840 --> 00:27:53,800 Speaker 1: driving dunk to a mere coffee right the one before 584 00:27:54,200 --> 00:27:57,400 Speaker 1: Derek Jones junior bucket, And it's just a reminder that, 585 00:27:57,480 --> 00:27:59,440 Speaker 1: like a big part of what makes this team work 586 00:27:59,560 --> 00:28:04,000 Speaker 1: is that they have pretty good defensive personnel all over 587 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:06,000 Speaker 1: the floor at all times and a scheme that works 588 00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:08,879 Speaker 1: for all their different lineups, and there is a little 589 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:12,119 Speaker 1: bit of a tendency for their backup centers guys like 590 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:16,800 Speaker 1: guys like Cornett to have some trouble in space guarding speed. 591 00:28:17,200 --> 00:28:19,200 Speaker 1: And it's just something to keep in mind that if 592 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:22,119 Speaker 1: Boston were to end up against a great team in 593 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:25,840 Speaker 1: a playoff series and have some injury issues with Portlingis 594 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,240 Speaker 1: and Horford, that is a slight area of vulnerability on 595 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:31,240 Speaker 1: the roster to keep an eye on. All right, guys. 596 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:33,000 Speaker 1: So it's all I have for today is always sincerely 597 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:35,200 Speaker 1: appreciate you guys for supporting me and supporting the show. 598 00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:38,440 Speaker 1: We'll be back tomorrow with a mailbag as well as 599 00:28:38,720 --> 00:28:43,640 Speaker 1: some game reactions. I will see you guys then the 600 00:28:43,760 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 1: volume what so, guys, As always, I appreciate you for 601 00:28:46,960 --> 00:28:49,840 Speaker 1: listening to and supporting OOPS tonight. It would actually be 602 00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 1: really helpful for us, if you guys would take a 603 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:54,800 Speaker 1: second and leave a rating and a review. As always, 604 00:28:54,800 --> 00:28:56,480 Speaker 1: I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if you could 605 00:28:56,520 --> 00:28:59,000 Speaker 1: take a minute to do that, I'd really appreciate it.