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Speaker 1: The volume. It's the Colin Coward Podcast presented by fan Duel.

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Speaker 1: The NBA season kicking into gear Baby. No better place

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Speaker 1: to get in on the action than Fan Duel. FanDuel

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Speaker 1: app is safe. You get paid fast. A lot of

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Speaker 1: ways to play the spread, the money line, team totals, players, props,

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Speaker 1: a lot of stuff over unders, jump into the action,

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Speaker 1: same game parlays are my favorite. Just use the promo

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Speaker 1: code Colin and download the fan Duel app today. Hi, everybody,

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Speaker 1: welcome in. Well a real treat. I'm gonna give you

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Speaker 1: about forty five fifty minutes. If you're on your morning commute,

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Speaker 1: you're in your office, We're gonna talk hoops with Jason

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Speaker 1: timp He has a very popular podcast called Hoops Tonight

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Speaker 1: at the Volume, and so we chopped it up from

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Speaker 1: forty five fifty minutes on a variety of topics. One

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Speaker 1: of the ones we didn't get to but I do

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Speaker 1: think is really fascinating is the Boston Celtics. We talked

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Speaker 1: a lot of Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Denver Nuggets, some Milwaukee

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Speaker 1: is at the end of the Warriors dynasty. That was

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Speaker 1: one of the topics. The Celtics are a fascinating team

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Speaker 1: to me. And I was talking to somebody that covers

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Speaker 1: the team and he said, Marcus Smart is actually the

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Speaker 1: soul of the team. Jalen Brown's the best athlete on

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Speaker 1: the team. Jason Tatum's the best player on the team,

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Speaker 1: and there are nights because of his defensive abilities, Robert

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Speaker 1: Williams can be the most valuable player late in games

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Speaker 1: on the team. He's a complete utter rim protector. With

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Speaker 1: Jannis in the Bucks, Janis is the most important player.

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Speaker 1: He's the soul of the team. He's the go to

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Speaker 1: player on both ends in crisis. There's a lot of

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Speaker 1: moving parts with the Celtics, where the soul of the team,

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Speaker 1: the best athlete of the team, the most talented player,

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Speaker 1: the rim protect They're all different pieces. When I watch

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Speaker 1: the Celtics, I don't trust them in the half court set,

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Speaker 1: in big spots, they get very stagnant. And I think

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Speaker 1: Jason Tatum is a one as an athlete and a

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Speaker 1: two as a personality. I think there are times he

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Speaker 1: gets a little passive, waits for the game to come

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Speaker 1: to him. I like him. I think he's a top

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Speaker 1: seven eight player in the league. But the Celtics and

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Speaker 1: Boston's a very intense sports town, usually not very patient

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Speaker 1: with its politics or its sports. We've been really, really

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Speaker 1: patient with the Boston Celtics right and I think a

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Speaker 1: lot of us kind of feel like last year. I

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Speaker 1: thought they had a real chance early. I think Robert

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Speaker 1: Williams was a huge Warrior matchup issue. I thought after

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Speaker 1: a couple of games, I thought they were the better

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Speaker 1: team in the series. I don't think they're getting to

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Speaker 1: the finals this year. I'm interested to see how patient

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Speaker 1: Brad Stevens, the owners and people can be with the Celtics,

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Speaker 1: because I just don't think they have as many guys

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Speaker 1: that can get a bucket as Milwaukee between Ingles, Holiday, Janis,

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Speaker 1: Jay Crowder, Chris Middleton. I think the Celtics to me,

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Speaker 1: are the most interesting team going forward the rest of

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Speaker 1: the season. We know they're really good. How patient are

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Speaker 1: we going to be the Jason Tatum Jaylen Brown relationship.

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Speaker 1: One's a better player, one's a better athlete, one's more aggressive,

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Speaker 1: one's less aggressive but more talented. I can't wait to

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Speaker 1: watch how it plays out. Let's bring in Jason timp

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Speaker 1: hoops tonight, chop it up with some NBA stuff, So Colin.

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Speaker 1: I this morning as I was driving around town, was

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Speaker 1: listening to your opening segment on The Herd, as I've

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Speaker 1: done many times over the course of the last ten

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Speaker 1: years or so, and you were talking about Lebron James

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Speaker 1: and you had some interesting thoughts about just where he

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Speaker 1: fits into the Lakers long term plans with this latest injury.

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Speaker 1: So my question for you is if the Lakers end

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Speaker 1: up let's just say they get into the play in

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Speaker 1: and then they put up a good fight against Denver,

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Speaker 1: but they lose in six games, in large part because

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis and Lebron are a little bit out of rhythm.

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Speaker 1: But you have this excuse in the back of your head,

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Speaker 1: which is they didn't have this full season with this group,

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Speaker 1: you might be able to put together a more a

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Speaker 1: softer workload for Lebron in a d next year, and

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Speaker 1: maybe it's better. Are you in a position where you

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Speaker 1: would continue with the core of these two guys moving

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Speaker 1: forward or would you look to move on at that point? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I'd look to move on. I you know, Lebron is

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Speaker 1: such a unique player that you can argue there's only

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Speaker 1: been a handful of players in league history. Magic Johnson's

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Speaker 1: another one where they've made every single teammate in their

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Speaker 1: career either better or in the Chris Bosh Kevin Love space.

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Speaker 1: For Lebron, I don't know if he made them better.

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Speaker 1: He kind of asked them to sacrifice, but he won

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Speaker 1: them titols and they would not have won titles. So

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Speaker 1: every player he's played with is a better version of

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Speaker 1: themselves or they've won titles. That's very rare. I would

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Speaker 1: keep Lebron until he doesn't want to play, even an

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Speaker 1: old Lebron will elevate others, teach others, coach others. I

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Speaker 1: think he has just such redeemable value on so many levels.

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Speaker 1: I don't feel that's the same for Anthony Davis. Anthony

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Speaker 1: Davis is simply talented. He doesn't have a tremendous work ethic.

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Speaker 1: Although I don't think he's a bad teammate. I don't

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Speaker 1: think he's a guy that's going to spend his offseason tutoring.

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Speaker 1: He doesn't necessarily elevate others, although he does elevate your team.

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Speaker 1: He's a very good defensive player and on his best nights,

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Speaker 1: he's unstoppable's he's really a John Calipari won a title

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Speaker 1: with him John Calipari this year lost to Saint Peter's. Okay,

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Speaker 1: so he ran through the tournament with him, But I

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Speaker 1: would move him. I said this before the season, is

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Speaker 1: that certain players, most players have limitations. Once that limitation

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Speaker 1: is injuries. There's certainly an argument to be made if

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Speaker 1: you look at Lebron in a d and I don't

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Speaker 1: have the number with me. We talked about it this morning.

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Speaker 1: How many games in a row since they arrived together

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Speaker 1: in Los Angeles have Anthony Davis and Lebron James played consecutively.

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Speaker 1: The number is shockingly low, like bizarrely low, and it's

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Speaker 1: getting worse because Lebron is simply getting older. So I

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Speaker 1: would have moved off him. You know, he's a commodity.

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Speaker 1: You can move him, cross your fingers. He remains healthy,

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Speaker 1: they win a playoff series, they get in, he's viable.

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Speaker 1: I mean, Russell Westbrook keeps getting teams like. You can

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Speaker 1: move Anthony Davis absolutely, But I would move off him.

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Speaker 1: I would continue to surround Lebron with bigs that run

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Speaker 1: the floor. Jared Vanderbilt's been terrific. Shooters always benefit from Lebron.

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Speaker 1: But Kevin Durant coming to the West feels like he's

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Speaker 1: changed the West, Like there were some obstacles for this

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Speaker 1: Laker team. I the small right now, I feel the

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Speaker 1: Suns will in the West. I really do. Yeah, Phoenix

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Speaker 1: changes the math for everybody at this point. And the

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Speaker 1: weird thing is, and this is the unfortunate thing, And

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Speaker 1: this is what I was complaining about so much early

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Speaker 1: in the season, was that this kind of felt like

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Speaker 1: the last great chance to do something in the Western

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Speaker 1: Conference if you were a team that had that was

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Speaker 1: close just because of some things like you know, the

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Speaker 1: Luca Kyrie pairing. They're going to be able to address

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Speaker 1: their front court issues in the summertime. They are a

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Speaker 1: complete disaster in the front court defensively and on the glass.

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Speaker 1: You know, Phoenix, same sort of thing. They're going to

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Speaker 1: have a lot of opportunity this summer to address some

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Speaker 1: of their specific holes. You know, at like Golden State

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Speaker 1: and the Lakers are kind of in this interesting position

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Speaker 1: where they were close enough to make more of an

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Speaker 1: all in move. And I feel like specifically with the Lakers,

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Speaker 1: they were even more aggressive at the trade deadline than

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Speaker 1: I expected them to be, but they paid a price

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Speaker 1: for waiting as long as they did and you know

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Speaker 1: what's funny, Like som Sharania reported today that this specific

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Speaker 1: foot injury for Lebron was one that he actually experienced

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Speaker 1: in January and him and his team had a decision

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Speaker 1: to make as to whether or not to shut him

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Speaker 1: down or to continue and play on it, and he

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Speaker 1: opted to play on it. And this is where if

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Speaker 1: I wanted to make the case for giving it one

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Speaker 1: last goal around with these two guys, I would put

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Speaker 1: it based on the workload and the potential next year

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Speaker 1: to keep that lower. So I wanted to share a

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Speaker 1: couple of pieces of data with you. So first of all,

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Speaker 1: these are this is Janis's minutes per game over the

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Speaker 1: last two season two seasons thirty two point seven, Steph

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Speaker 1: Curry over the last two seasons thirty four point five,

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Speaker 1: Nikola Yokich over the last two seasons thirty three point five.

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Speaker 1: Lebron James over the last two seasons thirty six point

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Speaker 1: seven minutes per game. And in addition to that, he's

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Speaker 1: had multiple extended stretches over the last two years where

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Speaker 1: Anthony Davis has been hurt and he's had to carry

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Speaker 1: limited rosters by himself to float them in the standings.

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Speaker 1: Which he did this year. By the way, the only

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Speaker 1: reason they still have a chance to make the play

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Speaker 1: in is because of the quality of basketball that Lebron

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Speaker 1: played over the course of the end of December and January.

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Speaker 1: Here in early February, he carried them to this point.

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Speaker 1: So I guess the case that I would make is

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Speaker 1: I'm a huge believer in the Lebron Anthony Davis ceiling.

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Speaker 1: You saw what it looked like again on Sunday when

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Speaker 1: the two of those really hit the jets. They can

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Speaker 1: win rock fights, and they can win with skill, which

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Speaker 1: is such a unique capability of those two. That's why

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Speaker 1: they have the high ceiling that they have. So the

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Speaker 1: way I'd look at it is if Anthony Davis can

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Speaker 1: finish this season healthy and playing at an MVP level,

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Speaker 1: which he's got a golden opportunity here over the course

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Speaker 1: of the next few weeks without Lebron to demonstrate that.

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Speaker 1: If he demonstrates that, I look at it as next year,

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Speaker 1: you might be able to limit their minutes, keep them

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Speaker 1: both around thirty to thirty two minutes per night, sit

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Speaker 1: them out back to backs, and do all the little

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Speaker 1: things that keep the workload lower to where you don't

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Speaker 1: need them to carry as much as they've done over

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Speaker 1: the last two years, which I think has directly directly

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Speaker 1: led to the injuries that they've been dealing with. So

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Speaker 1: I would give it one last chance. If Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: finishes the year healthy. But Anthony Davis could not finish

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Speaker 1: last year healthy. The year before that, he was awesome

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Speaker 1: against the Suns for two games and then he broke

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Speaker 1: down again. If he breaks down again, I think then

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Speaker 1: it enters a simple like risk reward proposition where it's

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Speaker 1: foolish to plan your franchise around a star player in

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Speaker 1: his twenties who literally cannot finish the season healthy. That

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Speaker 1: when we presented that idea in our last show, a

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Speaker 1: lot of people kind of framed it as we want

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Speaker 1: to trade Ad. No. No No, we believe in what Ad

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Speaker 1: can do when he's healthy. He demonstrated that for us

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Speaker 1: over the course the last few games. It's the it's

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Speaker 1: the health, that's all it is. If he can't finish

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Speaker 1: the season three years in a row in his late twenties,

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Speaker 1: what makes you think that's going to get better in

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Speaker 1: his thirties. That's just bad management at that point. It's

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Speaker 1: bad planning. So I would give I would say, regardless

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Speaker 1: of what happens down the stretch here, as long as

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Speaker 1: a D's healthy, I'd give it one more shot. But

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Speaker 1: then you know, if they break down again at that point,

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Speaker 1: then you have to start looking to move in a

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Speaker 1: different direction. Well, it's also the NBA is in an

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Speaker 1: interesting space where many of its best players that are

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Speaker 1: the most dependable in the playoffs Steph kd Lebron ad

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Speaker 1: MBID can be brittle like like many So those are

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Speaker 1: not dependable guys. But when they're good, they're great. And

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Speaker 1: then we have these young players who just quite not right,

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Speaker 1: quite ready to aunt John Morant, like Jamal Murray Izzy ready.

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Speaker 1: So I've got these young players who are very, very talented.

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Speaker 1: The brandon Ingrams were just waiting for them too, and

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Speaker 1: it may never come right. So the old guys Chris

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Speaker 1: Paul Durants, I mean, guys we know can win playoff series,

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Speaker 1: Steph Curry, Draymond catalyst for a Warrior's offense. The league's

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Speaker 1: in an interesting space and about there's only about two

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Speaker 1: or three teams that I think bridget really well. Milwaukee

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Speaker 1: where Jannis is in his prime, Drew Holliday is in

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Speaker 1: it or just out of it. And then the Ingalls

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Speaker 1: Jay Crowder Middleton are out of it but shotmakers. That's

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Speaker 1: why I think Milwaukee should be favored, and I think

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Speaker 1: Boston similarly. Tatum's in his prime, Jalen Brown is. I

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Speaker 1: think Marcus Smart's out of it. Robert Williams probably in it,

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Speaker 1: but he's hurt a lot. I don't think there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of teams that bridget I mean, let's be honest

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Speaker 1: about Phoenix. I love him, but if Chris Paul and

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Speaker 1: both got hurt in the next two weeks, nobody'd be surprised.

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Speaker 1: I think this is the last year for the Warriors dynasty.

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Speaker 1: Draymond just got a nice scoped Steph coming off an injury.

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Speaker 1: Clace having a remarkable season. But you know Wiggins, You're

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Speaker 1: not quite sure what you're kind of getting with Wiggins

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Speaker 1: right now. He got the bag, he's got money. Is

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Speaker 1: it the same guy? So it's an interesting time in

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Speaker 1: the league where the teams I really really like, I'm

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Speaker 1: not sure I trust their health, and the other teams

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Speaker 1: like a Memphis, which I think is a Cleveland I

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Speaker 1: think are both tremendous teams. I just don't think they're

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Speaker 1: ready yet, Like, who's the second star for Memphis. I

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Speaker 1: don't think Mobley's quite ready to be great in a

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Speaker 1: playoff series and dominate. So it's an interesting time. My

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Speaker 1: best bets outside of Milwaukee, I think they're a clear favorite.

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Speaker 1: I think the Warriors are completely in Tatum's head. I

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Speaker 1: just I would take the Warriors ten out of ten

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Speaker 1: series getting lost. But I mean Milwaukee, to me feels

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Speaker 1: like the safest bet, bridging youth, veterans, shot makers, defense,

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Speaker 1: and then it's a It's a very interesting next two months.

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Speaker 1: There's a lot I mean Memphis and the Clippers. I

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Speaker 1: still love the Clippers, but I had somebody tell me something.

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Speaker 1: Somebody incredibly well connected to the Clippers say that they've

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Speaker 1: just come to the conclusion that you just Kawhi Leonard

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Speaker 1: doesn't communicate. He's not a good teammate. He's just a

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Speaker 1: great player. He's a bad teammate. Nobody knows when he's

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Speaker 1: gonna play. He's not verbal. You can't depend on him.

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Speaker 1: I still think that team is Most of their good

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Speaker 1: players are excellent defensively. I like Tylu. The Clippers sum

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Speaker 1: up the league for me outside of Milwaukee, I just

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Speaker 1: have to watch the playoffs, I could get multiple outcomes.

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Speaker 1: I mean, if the Clippers came in, Kawai got dinged up,

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Speaker 1: Paul George struggles in the postseason, they're out first round,

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Speaker 1: it could happen. So I just think it's March Madness

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Speaker 1: this year. There's no great team. I do think in

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Speaker 1: the NBA there are Knights. Milwaukee can be great when

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Speaker 1: Jannis is really on, but it's going to be wide open. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: Milwaukee has separated themselves in a recent weeks, you know,

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Speaker 1: like the Boston Celtics haven't looked consistently great over the

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Speaker 1: course of the last few months, and almost in the

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Speaker 1: Western Conference, it almost feels like who's gonna be playing

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Speaker 1: best at the right time, because it's just constantly up

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Speaker 1: and down. Who's got it going on any given week

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Speaker 1: or two stretch during the season. And you know, I'll

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Speaker 1: put it this way, like when we get to the playoffs,

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Speaker 1: in the play in in particular, you're probably going to

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Speaker 1: see Dallas, Golden State, and the Lakers all end up

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Speaker 1: in that seven, eight, nine, ten range. That's completely possible.

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Speaker 1: Dallas is heading into an extremely tough stretch of their

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Speaker 1: schedule over the course of the next few weeks and

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Speaker 1: against some specific matchups where they're really going to struggle.

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Speaker 1: So you're gonna see even the two top teams in

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Speaker 1: the Western Conference, if it ends up being Memphis or Sacramento,

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Speaker 1: and then obviously Denver, they're gonna have a very difficult

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Speaker 1: first round matchup that they're capable of losing. And so

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Speaker 1: to keep it on the Lakers for a second, I

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Speaker 1: first of all, even with Lebron James being out, the

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Speaker 1: Lakers have the fifth easiest remaining schedule out of everybody

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Speaker 1: in the league. This is not the same Lakers from

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Speaker 1: the last year and a half. They have a lot

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Speaker 1: of talent after Lebron James. Jared Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis

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Speaker 1: have played one hundred and eighty possessions together and are

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Speaker 1: holding teams to ninety eight points per one hundre possessions,

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Speaker 1: which is outstanding. They can defend. They have an identity

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Speaker 1: outside of Lebron. Now they've got two really good ball

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Speaker 1: handlers in D'Angel Russell and Dennis Schroder to run pick

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Speaker 1: and roll with Anthony Davis. I think they have a

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Speaker 1: legitimate fighting chance still. And then Golden State, obviously is

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Speaker 1: this big wrinkle there that could end up in that

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Speaker 1: eighth seed. So let's go. Let's put it this way

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Speaker 1: really quick. Do you think that all is lost for

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Speaker 1: the Lakers this season or do you think they have

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Speaker 1: a chance to potentially go on a run? So I

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Speaker 1: think I think when they made the trade, it gave

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Speaker 1: them more ways to win. To your point, it's a

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Speaker 1: better pick and roll team, it's a better shooting team.

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Speaker 1: Vanderbilt was always a solid player. I think Laker fans

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Speaker 1: that didn't want watch him are shocked, but it's like,

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Speaker 1: you know, people knew in the league. I mean I

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Speaker 1: texted text two different scouts in the NBA what to expect,

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Speaker 1: and they're like, he's going to really help Anthony Davis out,

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Speaker 1: good length, runs the floor, He's a good player. So

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Speaker 1: I think there's more ways for them to win. I

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Speaker 1: don't think there is Lebron dependent, but I do think

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Speaker 1: Lebron is such a unique gifted player. The elevate, the

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Speaker 1: ability to elevate others is so magic, Johnson. I mean,

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Speaker 1: many of our best players, Kobe and Michael jurk Nevitsky

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Speaker 1: don't necessarily elevate. They just are great players. They're just

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Speaker 1: fantastic individual scorers. I think Luca's got a lot of

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Speaker 1: that where Jalen Brunson explodes when he leaves right like,

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Speaker 1: you're like, Jalen Brunson's this good. Yeah, I mean it's

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Speaker 1: a very James Harden thing where you're in awe of

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Speaker 1: his offensive efficiency. But he does take shots away because

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Speaker 1: he has the ball all the time. So yeah, I

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Speaker 1: think they can win. I think I think the Memphis

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Speaker 1: games tough. I think it could be a little a

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Speaker 1: little bit of a pit they could get, they could

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Speaker 1: be in trouble, but I think there's a lot of

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Speaker 1: ways they can win. I think they're a better defensive

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Speaker 1: team on nights, they shoot well. Is D'Angelo Russell plan tonight.

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Speaker 1: I don't think he's gonna play until Friday. That's the

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Speaker 1: word as of right now. Cornerica Ramona Shelburn, which is

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Speaker 1: really unfortunate because like an ankle tweak like that, and

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Speaker 1: he kept playing on it for like a minute after

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Speaker 1: I that's the gosh. Leaker fans have to just be

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Speaker 1: pounding their head against the wall just with the luck

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Speaker 1: they've had with the injuries here down the stretch of

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Speaker 1: the season. But it's kind of been the story over

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Speaker 1: the last two years. If the Lakers got to let's

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Speaker 1: just call it to eight seed and they were healthy,

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Speaker 1: would you pick them over the Denver Nuggets or would

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Speaker 1: you pick Denver to win if they were healthy, I'd

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Speaker 1: picked the Lakers. With the NFL season over all, eyes

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Speaker 1: in the sporting world turned everything from the NBA to

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Speaker 1: college hoops to the NHL. Plenty of games to watch

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Speaker 1: are even better, plenty of games to get out of

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Speaker 1: the house and actually go to. That's why the best

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Speaker 1: way to get your hands on tickets when you want

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Speaker 1: I was talking about this today, like I really like

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Speaker 1: Miami and Close games. I think they're I think they

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Speaker 1: lead the NBA in thirteen like one bucket wins. I

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Speaker 1: don't love you know, Bam and Jimmy Butler are very

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Speaker 1: good players, great coach, great defense, great crisis management, excellent situationally,

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Speaker 1: they're kind of the opposite of the Sixers that are

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Speaker 1: docs not great situationally. They're sloppy. Last night they had

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Speaker 1: like twenty turnovers. I don't trust Harden late in games,

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Speaker 1: even though he's had a good season. There are these

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Speaker 1: cultures of smart people. I think Miami is a less

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Speaker 1: talented version of Golden State in a seven game series.

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Speaker 1: They're just gonna win more possessions. They're going to be

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Speaker 1: better late in the shot clock, Layton quarters, Layton sets.

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Speaker 1: So if Golden State is one of those playing teams,

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Speaker 1: that's my pick. I don't buy into Denver. You know,

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Speaker 1: Yokich is going to probably win a third MVP. It's weird.

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Speaker 1: There are players that I can really like in the

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Speaker 1: regular season, but I don't trust him in the postseason.

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Speaker 1: And there have been in my lifetime watching players that

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Speaker 1: I love as scores, but I don't love him as players.

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Speaker 1: Zach Levine's won. He's obviously he's an explosive, dynamic player.

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Speaker 1: I don't think he's a winning player. I don't think

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Speaker 1: Sprooks a winning player. I never thought John Wall was

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Speaker 1: a winning player. I never thought Carmelo was a winning player.

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Speaker 1: I just think they're great players. I don't I don't

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Speaker 1: trust Denver in the West, and I don't trust Philly

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Speaker 1: in the East. So I think if Lebron and Ad

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Speaker 1: were healthy, I would have the two. I know Yokicho

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Speaker 1: win the MVP, but I would have two players. I

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Speaker 1: would have the best defensive player. I would have the

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Speaker 1: best ball handler of those three is Lebron. The best

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Speaker 1: physical presence is Lebron. The best defensive players Anthony Davis,

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Speaker 1: Yokicho win the MVP. So I think playoff basketball is

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Speaker 1: about being great at stuff Miami, great situationally, great coaching,

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Speaker 1: great defense. That stuff wins. It's not about depth. It's

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Speaker 1: not about plaques, it's not about MVPs. The Lakers, when

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Speaker 1: Adi and Lebron are healthy, they have things they're great at.

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Speaker 1: Vanderbilt just made them a better, deeper, defensive team. So

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Speaker 1: I would take the Lakers. Yeah. You know what's interesting

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Speaker 1: is Denver. Denver fans in particular are particularly sensitive about this,

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Speaker 1: and I think it's the classic small market thing. They've

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Speaker 1: been kicking everybody's ass all year. I understand why they

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Speaker 1: want a certain amount of respect and so on and

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Speaker 1: so forth. And to be clear, I think Nikola Yoki

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Speaker 1: is a good playoff player on the offensive end of

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Speaker 1: the floor. He has demonstrated that. But you said playoffs

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Speaker 1: are about what you're great at, they're also about what

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Speaker 1: you're bad at. And specifically with Denver, they have a

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Speaker 1: couple of entry points on the defensive end of the floor.

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Speaker 1: With Michael Porter Junior, you can struggle a little bit

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Speaker 1: defending on the perimeter. Nikola Yoki when he gets out

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Speaker 1: onto the perimeter, can struggle a little bit. He's actually

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Speaker 1: struggled a little bit with rim protection this year, which

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Speaker 1: has been an issue that has risen as of late.

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Speaker 1: So like the way I look at it, like I

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Speaker 1: believe Denver can win. They absolutely have a chance. But

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Speaker 1: we're sitting here and we're looking at the bigger picture,

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Speaker 1: and we're looking at Milwaukee, and we're looking at Boston,

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Speaker 1: and we're looking at Golden State. We're looking at all

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Speaker 1: these teams that we have as other options, and would

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Speaker 1: you pick the team that has not won an NBA

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Speaker 1: championship and has glaring entry points on the defensive end

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00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:04,720
Speaker 1: that we've seen time and time again in NBA history

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Speaker 1: get exploited. I just don't think they're as safe as

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Speaker 1: a bet of a bet compared to some of the

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Speaker 1: other teams that we have elsewhere on the league. I

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Speaker 1: don't think that's an insult to Denver. They're a great team.

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Speaker 1: I think they can win it. I just think that

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Speaker 1: Phoenix is every bit as capable of winning it. I

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Speaker 1: think Golden State is every bit as capable of winning it,

425
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:24,239
Speaker 1: and I still think the Lakers and Clippers have an

426
00:23:24,240 --> 00:23:27,560
Speaker 1: outside chance. On that note, let's move on to the Clippers.

427
00:23:27,560 --> 00:23:30,600
Speaker 1: So we've had two games with Russell Westbrook in a

428
00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:34,320
Speaker 1: Clippers jersey, and I actually think he's been pretty solid

429
00:23:34,400 --> 00:23:38,000
Speaker 1: so far. Tyler did pay that I played Russ and

430
00:23:38,040 --> 00:23:41,720
Speaker 1: Crunch time tax in the King's game when Russ lost

431
00:23:41,840 --> 00:23:43,800
Speaker 1: Milik Monk on the game time shot and then spent

432
00:23:43,840 --> 00:23:47,560
Speaker 1: the entire overtime period as the King's just double teamed

433
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:49,560
Speaker 1: off of him and just went at Kawai and Paul

434
00:23:49,560 --> 00:23:51,560
Speaker 1: George everywhere on the floor. So there have been some issues,

435
00:23:51,600 --> 00:23:55,440
Speaker 1: but I do think you've seen an obvious basketball fit

436
00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:59,760
Speaker 1: that wasn't there With the Clippers, specifically, he's pushing the pace,

437
00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,120
Speaker 1: which is the thing that that team desperately needed to do.

438
00:24:02,359 --> 00:24:04,360
Speaker 1: And one of the things that's been kind of sneaky

439
00:24:04,480 --> 00:24:09,200
Speaker 1: good is they run a switching defensive scheme, as opposed

440
00:24:09,240 --> 00:24:11,200
Speaker 1: to the Lakers that ran a lot of drop coverage

441
00:24:11,240 --> 00:24:13,280
Speaker 1: where they were asking Russ to chase guys over the

442
00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:16,200
Speaker 1: top of screens, and so in switching schemes, he ends

443
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:19,040
Speaker 1: up on bigger players a lot. And Russ is actually

444
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:21,560
Speaker 1: one of the better switching guards that we have in

445
00:24:21,600 --> 00:24:24,920
Speaker 1: the league because he's so competitive. He takes that personally

446
00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 1: when you try to attack him, and he's so big

447
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,320
Speaker 1: and strong, and he's very good technically at fronting the post,

448
00:24:30,359 --> 00:24:32,000
Speaker 1: which is something he does a great job of in

449
00:24:32,080 --> 00:24:34,960
Speaker 1: those switches to prevent that post entry. And so he's

450
00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:36,960
Speaker 1: been a good piece for them on the defensive end.

451
00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,679
Speaker 1: And then one of the sneaky subplots here too is

452
00:24:39,720 --> 00:24:42,920
Speaker 1: Kawai and Paul George actually prefer to operate off the ball.

453
00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:45,000
Speaker 1: They are like guys that are like, let me get

454
00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,359
Speaker 1: to my spot, let me fight for position, then you

455
00:24:47,400 --> 00:24:48,800
Speaker 1: throw it to me. I can go to work. So

456
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:52,240
Speaker 1: there's been kind of a natural offensive synergy there. The

457
00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:56,639
Speaker 1: lineup date is a little skewed because Russ unfortunately that

458
00:24:56,800 --> 00:25:00,359
Speaker 1: first shift against Denver, the Denver starters just beat the

459
00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:02,399
Speaker 1: heck out of him for I think they went up

460
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,440
Speaker 1: twenty four to eight, which is kind of skewed the data.

461
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:06,320
Speaker 1: But I think it's been pretty good so far. So

462
00:25:06,440 --> 00:25:08,760
Speaker 1: my question for you is, what have you thought so

463
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:13,640
Speaker 1: far about Westbrook in a Clippers jersey. I well, I'm

464
00:25:13,640 --> 00:25:17,800
Speaker 1: not a fan of Westbrook. I think if you can

465
00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:21,840
Speaker 1: avoid using him in situational basketball late in a quarter,

466
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,159
Speaker 1: like a three minutes to go, I don't want him

467
00:25:24,160 --> 00:25:27,240
Speaker 1: on the floor. But he's productive, He pushes the pace,

468
00:25:27,480 --> 00:25:29,880
Speaker 1: he gives you great minutes, he gives you great energy.

469
00:25:30,119 --> 00:25:33,800
Speaker 1: I mean, even with the Lakers, there were moments. Was

470
00:25:33,840 --> 00:25:36,120
Speaker 1: at that Celtics game. There was a big Laker game

471
00:25:36,160 --> 00:25:37,840
Speaker 1: I was watching, and he had a tip in at

472
00:25:37,840 --> 00:25:40,200
Speaker 1: the basket and he's just out of control, applies it,

473
00:25:40,320 --> 00:25:43,359
Speaker 1: tips it in, and I'm like, that's Westbrook. In the

474
00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:48,000
Speaker 1: regular season. Not everybody brings energy, Not everybody is equally rested.

475
00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:50,639
Speaker 1: You saw it last night. The Celtics were completely flat

476
00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:54,360
Speaker 1: against the Knicks. First quarter, Tatum's awful, browns out, They're done.

477
00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,600
Speaker 1: You know, it felt like it felt like a first

478
00:25:56,680 --> 00:25:58,600
Speaker 1: round of the playoffs for New York at Madison Square.

479
00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:01,560
Speaker 1: They just came out on fire. And so I think

480
00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:05,840
Speaker 1: the Clippers because Kauai, I don't I don't like when

481
00:26:05,960 --> 00:26:09,640
Speaker 1: Kauai the offense runs around him. I'm a believer. It's

482
00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,560
Speaker 1: he's way better off ball, and so I think I

483
00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:16,560
Speaker 1: think Westbrook fits better. Lebron is so great with the ball,

484
00:26:17,080 --> 00:26:20,080
Speaker 1: Kauai is better off it, Paul's better off it. So

485
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:23,600
Speaker 1: I think he's a better fit. And again, twenty games left,

486
00:26:24,119 --> 00:26:26,919
Speaker 1: you can get thirty minutes a night from him. Just

487
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:30,360
Speaker 1: get him out of spaces. Um. You know it's in football.

488
00:26:30,520 --> 00:26:32,560
Speaker 1: Some guys are great in the red zone. So you

489
00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:35,360
Speaker 1: know what I mean. There are third down backs, right,

490
00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:40,679
Speaker 1: They're not powerbacks. It's okay. Most athletes are, even the

491
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:44,920
Speaker 1: good ones are situational. There's Jason Tatum is usually ohways good.

492
00:26:44,960 --> 00:26:47,600
Speaker 1: That's very unique. So I think when you keep out

493
00:26:47,600 --> 00:26:50,680
Speaker 1: of those spaces, they've got a lot of depth. He's fine.

494
00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:52,800
Speaker 1: But I think with I thought when he came to

495
00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,760
Speaker 1: the Lakers. I remember saying at the time is. I

496
00:26:55,800 --> 00:26:58,760
Speaker 1: think it can work. He can't play off ball, but

497
00:26:58,880 --> 00:27:01,120
Speaker 1: Lebron and Adi get hurt. He'll give him thirty four

498
00:27:01,119 --> 00:27:04,520
Speaker 1: minutes a night, and he had games, he had moments,

499
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,359
Speaker 1: but because of Lebron's ability to control the tempo and pace,

500
00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:12,080
Speaker 1: he got in the way. I think there's going to

501
00:27:12,160 --> 00:27:16,760
Speaker 1: be moments. He's exactly what they need. Give him the ball,

502
00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:21,760
Speaker 1: let him burn the tempo, get up the floor. I'm

503
00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,840
Speaker 1: a total believer in what you said. I think both

504
00:27:24,880 --> 00:27:27,720
Speaker 1: Paul and Kauai are terrific in the wing off the ball.

505
00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:33,560
Speaker 1: Whenever the offense goes through Kawuhi, it can be effective. Esthetically,

506
00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:38,560
Speaker 1: it doesn't look good. It feels like a struggle, like

507
00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,320
Speaker 1: right like because Kawhi is so great, it can be effective.

508
00:27:41,359 --> 00:27:46,159
Speaker 1: It never looks good. It always looks stilted. So and

509
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:48,320
Speaker 1: I don't want to I don't want a guy that

510
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:50,920
Speaker 1: plays only three out of four nights, you know, doesn't

511
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:54,320
Speaker 1: play black to backs. I don't want him running my offense, right,

512
00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:56,960
Speaker 1: I'd rather have him off ball. So I think Westbrook's

513
00:27:57,000 --> 00:27:58,640
Speaker 1: okay for them. Just keep him out of a game

514
00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:01,640
Speaker 1: with four and a half minutes left tied, and it matters,

515
00:28:02,000 --> 00:28:04,400
Speaker 1: and that's what Tyler did. They did not play him

516
00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:07,520
Speaker 1: in crunch time against the Nuggets. Now, that game kind

517
00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,399
Speaker 1: of swung ironically on Paul George, who's been one of

518
00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:12,480
Speaker 1: their biggest issues in crunch time. He kind of co

519
00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:15,040
Speaker 1: opted things in ot and made a couple of crucial

520
00:28:15,040 --> 00:28:17,000
Speaker 1: mistakes early in the period, and then the game was

521
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:19,840
Speaker 1: over just like that. I agree though, like Kawhile, Leonard's

522
00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:22,640
Speaker 1: interesting when you get him to his spots, like it's like, Oh,

523
00:28:22,760 --> 00:28:24,760
Speaker 1: navigate an off ball screen and get a switch and

524
00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:26,879
Speaker 1: then dump it to him in the post against Jamal Murray,

525
00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:29,800
Speaker 1: that's as high percentage of possession as you'll find around

526
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:32,640
Speaker 1: the league. Like, he's great in those situations. But when

527
00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:35,400
Speaker 1: you start asking him to initiate offense from the perimeter

528
00:28:35,440 --> 00:28:37,639
Speaker 1: with a live dribble, that's where things can get a

529
00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:40,800
Speaker 1: little bit messier. This is my big concern with the

530
00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,200
Speaker 1: Clippers called this is a wild stat for you. Did

531
00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,040
Speaker 1: you know that they've lost thirteen out of fifteen games

532
00:28:46,080 --> 00:28:50,600
Speaker 1: against the Denver Nuggets dating back to the bubble. That

533
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:55,000
Speaker 1: specific matchup is so in their head. The Nuggets in

534
00:28:55,080 --> 00:28:59,080
Speaker 1: particular are very very good at beating their switching scheme

535
00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:01,320
Speaker 1: by getting the ball to kitch in their spots, and

536
00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,000
Speaker 1: that it's there's a little bit of a mental advantage.

537
00:29:04,040 --> 00:29:06,040
Speaker 1: They're kind of like you've seen even with Boston and

538
00:29:06,080 --> 00:29:08,360
Speaker 1: Golden State, like you've talked about, So that that's kind

539
00:29:08,360 --> 00:29:11,680
Speaker 1: of where the thing that severely limits the Clippers chances

540
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:13,960
Speaker 1: of getting out of the Western Conferences. You'll probably have

541
00:29:14,040 --> 00:29:15,960
Speaker 1: to go through Denver, and I just don't think they

542
00:29:15,960 --> 00:29:18,560
Speaker 1: can win. Their best bet is that someone like the

543
00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:21,080
Speaker 1: Lakers or the Warriors ends up getting that eight seed.

544
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,960
Speaker 1: It can knock knock the Nuggets out before they even

545
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,560
Speaker 1: have to see them. But that specific matchup is an

546
00:29:26,560 --> 00:29:28,760
Speaker 1: issue for them. They just gotta get They gotta get

547
00:29:28,800 --> 00:29:32,280
Speaker 1: everything clicking at the same time. Like right now, Kawai's peaking.

548
00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,000
Speaker 1: You know, they're they're integrating Russ and it's going well.

549
00:29:35,040 --> 00:29:37,560
Speaker 1: But Paul George is having some struggles and Norman Powell

550
00:29:37,640 --> 00:29:39,400
Speaker 1: starting to struggle a little bit. There's a bunch of

551
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:42,280
Speaker 1: like little pieces there that they just can't get aligned.

552
00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:44,440
Speaker 1: But they're one of those teams just like the Lakers,

553
00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:46,440
Speaker 1: where it's like if they're healthy and you catch them

554
00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:48,960
Speaker 1: in the in the right matchup, they're capable of beating anybody,

555
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:52,080
Speaker 1: and that's just the Western Conference right now. We tend

556
00:29:52,120 --> 00:29:56,800
Speaker 1: to get impatient, but you know, the Clippers, it wasn't

557
00:29:56,840 --> 00:29:59,400
Speaker 1: long ago that we were celebrating Paul George and Kawai

558
00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:04,800
Speaker 1: playing together. And anytime anybody doubts them, my takeaway is, well,

559
00:30:04,840 --> 00:30:07,880
Speaker 1: where's Boston's ring? I mean, this Boston group's been together

560
00:30:07,960 --> 00:30:11,400
Speaker 1: six years now and they got one Finals appearance and

561
00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:13,880
Speaker 1: they kind of folded in this way, and nobody doubts

562
00:30:13,920 --> 00:30:17,080
Speaker 1: the Celtics, So this is only the second year. Kauai

563
00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:22,920
Speaker 1: is a very unique personality. I had somebody very close

564
00:30:23,560 --> 00:30:26,920
Speaker 1: to Kauai and people around him. Kauai is hard. He's

565
00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,120
Speaker 1: hard on coaches, he's hard on teammates. He's nonverbal. Nobody

566
00:30:30,160 --> 00:30:32,000
Speaker 1: knows when he's gonna play. You don't know what kind

567
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:36,040
Speaker 1: of performance you're getting. So it's easy to be impatient.

568
00:30:36,760 --> 00:30:40,440
Speaker 1: But you know, Durant to the Warriors was different, superstar enters,

569
00:30:40,480 --> 00:30:46,320
Speaker 1: winning culture with rings and momentum. I think the Clippers

570
00:30:46,320 --> 00:30:50,240
Speaker 1: will be interesting. They struggled all last year with health

571
00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:52,200
Speaker 1: they got I thought they were going to play their

572
00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:54,080
Speaker 1: way in and be interesting and they didn't. They just

573
00:30:54,080 --> 00:30:56,880
Speaker 1: didn't have enough chemistry. They felt a little bit last

574
00:30:56,960 --> 00:30:59,719
Speaker 1: year like Brooklyn. You like the parts, but they never

575
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:03,360
Speaker 1: aid together, you know, so you get into the playoffs

576
00:31:03,400 --> 00:31:05,719
Speaker 1: and there's just no chemistry. I didn't think they had

577
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,600
Speaker 1: it last year. But I'm I'm a buyer on the Clippers.

578
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:10,400
Speaker 1: I think they are the only team that matches up

579
00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:14,640
Speaker 1: really well, not just well, but really well against Golden State. Well. Yeah,

580
00:31:14,680 --> 00:31:17,440
Speaker 1: that that perimeter size gap between them and in the Warriors,

581
00:31:17,480 --> 00:31:19,320
Speaker 1: and how small they are at in the backcourt and

582
00:31:19,320 --> 00:31:21,240
Speaker 1: on the wing, that's a significant issue. One of the

583
00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:23,480
Speaker 1: things that's really glared for Golden State this season is

584
00:31:23,480 --> 00:31:27,760
Speaker 1: just their overall lack of athleticism and that it's just

585
00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:30,200
Speaker 1: one of those things where they bet on that bench

586
00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:32,800
Speaker 1: coming around for them, and it just didn't and became

587
00:31:32,840 --> 00:31:35,200
Speaker 1: a problem for them, didn't. I have a feeling they're

588
00:31:35,240 --> 00:31:36,880
Speaker 1: going to be pretty active in the next few weeks,

589
00:31:36,880 --> 00:31:39,280
Speaker 1: going after someone like Stanley Johnson or New Orleans Noel

590
00:31:39,360 --> 00:31:44,520
Speaker 1: to bolster that because Golden State's entering a little yeah.

591
00:31:44,360 --> 00:31:47,680
Speaker 1: Oh no, I mean I watched them m they played

592
00:31:47,720 --> 00:31:51,920
Speaker 1: was at Minnesota. I watched them there night. When Looney

593
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:55,880
Speaker 1: goes to the bench, they're tiny and by the way

594
00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:59,240
Speaker 1: Dante de vins Henzo, he's a really good fit for them.

595
00:31:59,280 --> 00:32:02,760
Speaker 1: Peyton will be available in six weeks. They're getting very guardy.

596
00:32:03,200 --> 00:32:07,240
Speaker 1: They're getting smaller, right and so, and even Wiggins, who

597
00:32:07,240 --> 00:32:10,760
Speaker 1: has some length, is very rail thin. They're just they've

598
00:32:10,800 --> 00:32:14,479
Speaker 1: got Minnesota was getting. He was naz Reid. They were

599
00:32:14,480 --> 00:32:17,680
Speaker 1: getting a lot of cheap buckets they give. You know,

600
00:32:17,760 --> 00:32:20,160
Speaker 1: you're going to give up a lot now. Durant now

601
00:32:20,320 --> 00:32:25,600
Speaker 1: his length against the Golden State with DeAndre Ayton, So

602
00:32:25,640 --> 00:32:30,160
Speaker 1: it's like Golden State when Looney hits the bench. They're tiny,

603
00:32:31,720 --> 00:32:35,360
Speaker 1: and so it's you know, listen. They like Kaminga, they

604
00:32:35,360 --> 00:32:38,680
Speaker 1: don't trust him. And Steve Kurs liked this. I think

605
00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:43,760
Speaker 1: he likes Pool. I think he begrudgingly trusts him. Pools immature.

606
00:32:44,400 --> 00:32:48,920
Speaker 1: So they're a classic example great veteran culture, young guys.

607
00:32:49,600 --> 00:32:51,840
Speaker 1: They're trying to bridge it. They gave up on Wiseman

608
00:32:52,400 --> 00:32:56,480
Speaker 1: coming and they like but don't trust. Moody's not playing enough.

609
00:32:56,760 --> 00:33:02,000
Speaker 1: And I think Kur's offense is a reactionary. It's really

610
00:33:02,000 --> 00:33:06,520
Speaker 1: a high functioning on you that offense. Yeah, I mean,

611
00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:09,200
Speaker 1: by the way, nothing against Dangel Russell. They couldn't get

612
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,360
Speaker 1: him out of town family And why does I mean

613
00:33:12,400 --> 00:33:15,240
Speaker 1: he was because he was a little immature. They didn't.

614
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:20,280
Speaker 1: But Wiggins considered a one talent, but a two or

615
00:33:20,280 --> 00:33:25,080
Speaker 1: a three personality. Really cerebral player, very sensitive guy, cerebral player.

616
00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:28,160
Speaker 1: He picked it up immediately. Like that worked. So that's

617
00:33:28,280 --> 00:33:33,520
Speaker 1: andre Iguadala. That worked. Durant high functioning, like a little

618
00:33:33,520 --> 00:33:38,240
Speaker 1: bit of a basketball savant, worked instantly. So if you're

619
00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:40,400
Speaker 1: asking why aren't these young players work for Golden State,

620
00:33:40,800 --> 00:33:44,600
Speaker 1: it's eff and hard. That system is hard, and Comming

621
00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:48,640
Speaker 1: is the great example. Six seven twitchy. They you can

622
00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:53,720
Speaker 1: tell they like him watching situational basketball. He's not around

623
00:33:53,760 --> 00:33:58,680
Speaker 1: like they just don't trust him, so they it's I

624
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:00,959
Speaker 1: think we keep forgetting this is not the NFL. These

625
00:34:01,040 --> 00:34:02,840
Speaker 1: kids come out of the draft or nineteen and you're

626
00:34:02,840 --> 00:34:06,480
Speaker 1: asking them to function in a wild like a Miami

627
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:12,600
Speaker 1: Heat offense, like you're talking Battier, Wade, Haslem, Real and Lebron.

628
00:34:13,120 --> 00:34:16,000
Speaker 1: Come on, that is like that is neck, that is

629
00:34:17,160 --> 00:34:20,440
Speaker 1: that is like nuclear fusion. The class in high school

630
00:34:20,520 --> 00:34:22,759
Speaker 1: or college none of us wanted to take. You're talking

631
00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:25,919
Speaker 1: about a different galaxy. So I just think Golden state,

632
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:29,080
Speaker 1: they're a victim of their own success. They're they're they're

633
00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:34,560
Speaker 1: brilliance offensively, even defensively, they're really high end. It's hard

634
00:34:34,600 --> 00:34:38,520
Speaker 1: for young guys. It's just hard. That's a fundamental difference

635
00:34:38,560 --> 00:34:43,080
Speaker 1: between basketball and football. Two. Where football, especially in athleticism

636
00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:45,839
Speaker 1: positions like on the defensive line or a linebacker, you

637
00:34:45,880 --> 00:34:47,920
Speaker 1: can see a player come out of the draft and

638
00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:52,240
Speaker 1: immediately become an impact player. Basketball is such an IQ

639
00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:55,920
Speaker 1: sport and it's so skill heavy now, especially as it's

640
00:34:55,920 --> 00:34:59,600
Speaker 1: gone more perimeter oriented. It's just extremely difficult for a

641
00:34:59,719 --> 00:35:03,320
Speaker 1: young player to play winning basketball at the highest levels.

642
00:35:03,360 --> 00:35:06,080
Speaker 1: It's it's one of the biggest reasons why that that

643
00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:11,120
Speaker 1: idea was flawed from the start, because you're banking on them, like, hey,

644
00:35:11,200 --> 00:35:13,839
Speaker 1: maybe when they're twenty one, twenty two, they'll figure it out.

645
00:35:14,080 --> 00:35:16,440
Speaker 1: But almost every time in NBA history, it's been more

646
00:35:16,480 --> 00:35:19,520
Speaker 1: like twenty six twenty seven when they actually start to

647
00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:21,600
Speaker 1: figure it out. I mean, I like, when I was

648
00:35:21,640 --> 00:35:23,120
Speaker 1: twenty two years old, I had no idea what the

649
00:35:23,120 --> 00:35:24,840
Speaker 1: hell I was doing on a basketball court. You know,

650
00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:27,200
Speaker 1: I was running and jumping and shooting and just be

651
00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,360
Speaker 1: you know, hoping that I could find some way to

652
00:35:29,400 --> 00:35:33,280
Speaker 1: impact the game. It's just extremely difficult to do. And

653
00:35:33,280 --> 00:35:34,640
Speaker 1: and Steve Kirk can be a little bit of a

654
00:35:34,680 --> 00:35:37,920
Speaker 1: doghouse coach too. Like he's one of those coaches when

655
00:35:37,920 --> 00:35:39,239
Speaker 1: he pulls you, I'll be like, oh, you're out of

656
00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:41,279
Speaker 1: the rotation for the next week until you figure this out. Like,

657
00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:43,719
Speaker 1: he's just he's one of those kinds of guys. And

658
00:35:44,000 --> 00:35:46,520
Speaker 1: I think that's a big part of why, Like, and

659
00:35:46,960 --> 00:35:48,759
Speaker 1: Bob Meyers straight up came out and said this, He's like,

660
00:35:48,800 --> 00:35:51,239
Speaker 1: we have to be careful who we sign with that

661
00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:53,839
Speaker 1: final roster spot because we have to make sure Steve

662
00:35:53,920 --> 00:35:56,000
Speaker 1: Kerr will actually play that person, you know what I mean.

663
00:35:56,080 --> 00:35:58,400
Speaker 1: And and so they're in kind of an interesting predicament.

664
00:35:58,560 --> 00:36:01,440
Speaker 1: And every time I look at their Rotetian, I go, Okay,

665
00:36:01,520 --> 00:36:06,280
Speaker 1: Jordan Poole, Dante DiVincenzo, Jonathan Cominga, Gary Payton, and Jamichael Greene.

666
00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:08,839
Speaker 1: That's kind of enough. They've got a bench. It's just

667
00:36:08,880 --> 00:36:11,920
Speaker 1: it's really hard when they're not healthy to have a

668
00:36:12,000 --> 00:36:14,640
Speaker 1: good eight or nine man rotation to lean on. And

669
00:36:14,680 --> 00:36:16,759
Speaker 1: when you have Wiggins, Draymond, and Steph All out of

670
00:36:16,760 --> 00:36:19,080
Speaker 1: the rotation at the same time that you're three best players.

671
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:21,080
Speaker 1: It's a miracle that they were able to win that

672
00:36:21,120 --> 00:36:23,239
Speaker 1: game against Minnesota the other night, in large part because

673
00:36:23,280 --> 00:36:26,279
Speaker 1: Clay Thompson went off. But they're just they're in a

674
00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:29,719
Speaker 1: situation where you trust the core so much, but you

675
00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:32,120
Speaker 1: just haven't been able to get everyone available and there's

676
00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:34,880
Speaker 1: no depth there to carry them through the other stretches

677
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:36,759
Speaker 1: of the season. I mean, thank god, Clay has had

678
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,480
Speaker 1: a great play, has really played well. He's had a

679
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:42,920
Speaker 1: great year. His half court shot creation has been a

680
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:46,880
Speaker 1: revelation this year, carrying the Warriors through these stretches because

681
00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:49,719
Speaker 1: he's always been such an off ball player, but he

682
00:36:49,840 --> 00:36:53,440
Speaker 1: beat Minnesota the other night on the basketball making plays

683
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:55,759
Speaker 1: for his teammates. It's such a unique, like kind of

684
00:36:55,880 --> 00:36:58,680
Speaker 1: late career shift from him as he's been able to

685
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:01,239
Speaker 1: just it's almost like your force of will, Like Klay.

686
00:37:01,280 --> 00:37:03,200
Speaker 1: Thompson's one of those guys that I think he's kind

687
00:37:03,200 --> 00:37:05,520
Speaker 1: of a little bit of a funny guy, so then

688
00:37:05,800 --> 00:37:09,480
Speaker 1: so there's there's less of a like a serious attitude

689
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:12,000
Speaker 1: around him, but that dude is a savage competitor. When

690
00:37:12,000 --> 00:37:14,560
Speaker 1: you hit that last three coming off that handoff on

691
00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:16,520
Speaker 1: the right wing, he just went over to Minnesota's bench

692
00:37:16,560 --> 00:37:18,600
Speaker 1: and was just talking all that shit to them. You know,

693
00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:24,040
Speaker 1: like you're not. Dude is a savage competitor looking to

694
00:37:24,080 --> 00:37:26,960
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723
00:38:53,280 --> 00:38:56,640
Speaker 1: know what I love. What I love about the Warriors

724
00:38:57,360 --> 00:38:59,280
Speaker 1: is that last year in the final in a Clay's

725
00:38:59,360 --> 00:39:01,319
Speaker 1: neet going to be this same defensive player. He was like,

726
00:39:01,360 --> 00:39:04,799
Speaker 1: that's over. But you know he was really spotty last

727
00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:08,000
Speaker 1: year in the playoffs. But Steph was great. Wiggins was

728
00:39:08,080 --> 00:39:11,279
Speaker 1: a bit of a revelation. Jordan Pool. His minutes got

729
00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:13,560
Speaker 1: reduced the farther they went but he had his moments.

730
00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:17,040
Speaker 1: Draymond was hot and cold. I kind of feel like

731
00:39:17,160 --> 00:39:21,920
Speaker 1: last year they stole one, they kind of stole the championsolutely,

732
00:39:23,360 --> 00:39:26,880
Speaker 1: like like now Clay's better, Steph will be. You know,

733
00:39:26,920 --> 00:39:30,759
Speaker 1: these injuries are funny. Steph's going to be completely rested

734
00:39:30,760 --> 00:39:34,840
Speaker 1: for the postseason. The scope that Draymond got is fine.

735
00:39:34,920 --> 00:39:37,719
Speaker 1: Wiggins has taken plenty of time off. They're like this

736
00:39:37,840 --> 00:39:40,399
Speaker 1: veteran baseball team that's arrested. A lot of their start

737
00:39:40,719 --> 00:39:43,800
Speaker 1: starting pitching and here we go, we're gonna start moving

738
00:39:43,800 --> 00:39:47,560
Speaker 1: into September baseball, and you're like everybody's everybody's ready to go.

739
00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:50,399
Speaker 1: I've been saying this all year. They're not the same

740
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:54,680
Speaker 1: defensive team. Pool doesn't really want to engage in it

741
00:39:54,800 --> 00:39:57,560
Speaker 1: most nights. Steph is limited, Clays not the same. I

742
00:39:57,560 --> 00:39:59,520
Speaker 1: think that's why they brought Peyton back. They know what

743
00:39:59,560 --> 00:40:05,239
Speaker 1: they're not, but man situational half court basketball. A lot

744
00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:07,920
Speaker 1: of those guys have played a lot of minutes together. Jason,

745
00:40:08,560 --> 00:40:10,560
Speaker 1: They're gonna be a hard team to bet against. I

746
00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:13,520
Speaker 1: think some of this stuff looks like a crisis, and

747
00:40:13,719 --> 00:40:16,600
Speaker 1: I think a lot of it is. They're they're kind

748
00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:20,880
Speaker 1: of resting they're kind of experimenting. I think if Peyton's

749
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,239
Speaker 1: ready to go in five six weeks, they're gonna be

750
00:40:23,280 --> 00:40:25,520
Speaker 1: a handful because he's gonna be a great late game

751
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:28,359
Speaker 1: defensive player. You know he is. But if I can

752
00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:31,560
Speaker 1: put if I can put Peyton on the floor late,

753
00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:35,080
Speaker 1: Wiggins on the floor late, Dramon on the floor late,

754
00:40:36,040 --> 00:40:38,359
Speaker 1: it's a pretty good defensive team. They're actually my pick

755
00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:40,960
Speaker 1: to get the sixth seed because Dallas is heading into

756
00:40:40,960 --> 00:40:42,800
Speaker 1: a pretty tough stretch of their schedule. I think Steff

757
00:40:42,920 --> 00:40:45,560
Speaker 1: is going to be coming back. They're they're clicking right.

758
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:47,439
Speaker 1: I think they're gonna end up getting the sixth seed.

759
00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:49,880
Speaker 1: And then it's pretty simple like i'd picked them over

760
00:40:49,920 --> 00:40:54,239
Speaker 1: the Kings, you know, like I absolutely play Kings. And

761
00:40:54,280 --> 00:40:56,719
Speaker 1: then from there you end up playing Memphis, which they've

762
00:40:56,719 --> 00:41:00,920
Speaker 1: got a great match up with Memphis specifically, they're just

763
00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:03,759
Speaker 1: the smarter, bigger brother type of team. And then you

764
00:41:03,800 --> 00:41:07,200
Speaker 1: have the time to get ready and get playing at

765
00:41:07,239 --> 00:41:09,440
Speaker 1: your highest level in time for Denver in the last round.

766
00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:11,520
Speaker 1: Before we get out of here, I have one last

767
00:41:11,600 --> 00:41:13,520
Speaker 1: question for you. I kind of hinted at this before

768
00:41:13,520 --> 00:41:16,000
Speaker 1: we got started, but I'm really curious to hear your opinion.

769
00:41:16,920 --> 00:41:19,160
Speaker 1: So after Dame scored seventy one the other night, I

770
00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:22,800
Speaker 1: did some digging into individual scoring in the NBA, and

771
00:41:23,120 --> 00:41:26,040
Speaker 1: there are there were ten years ago eleven players in

772
00:41:26,080 --> 00:41:29,439
Speaker 1: the NBA who averaged at least twenty points per game,

773
00:41:29,520 --> 00:41:33,640
Speaker 1: and this year there are fifty one players in the

774
00:41:33,760 --> 00:41:36,480
Speaker 1: NBA that are averaging at least twenty points per game.

775
00:41:36,480 --> 00:41:39,000
Speaker 1: Now there's I've been a slight increase in pace. There's

776
00:41:39,000 --> 00:41:42,720
Speaker 1: about seven additional possessions per game per team. There's about

777
00:41:42,719 --> 00:41:45,560
Speaker 1: fourteen additional three point shots per game, which is a

778
00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:48,960
Speaker 1: little bit more shot value there. So there are a

779
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:52,040
Speaker 1: couple of different factors, but not enough to justify an

780
00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:55,520
Speaker 1: eleven to fifty one type of change. So my question

781
00:41:55,560 --> 00:41:57,840
Speaker 1: for you is do you have a theory as to

782
00:41:57,880 --> 00:42:00,480
Speaker 1: why individuals scoring in the NBA is gone the way

783
00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:05,759
Speaker 1: that it's gone. Two things. The game is more European

784
00:42:05,960 --> 00:42:08,759
Speaker 1: and those are more skilled players and better shooters. We've

785
00:42:08,800 --> 00:42:11,759
Speaker 1: eliminated essentially the back to the basket center, so the

786
00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:15,840
Speaker 1: game is more European, more good shooters. The court is

787
00:42:15,880 --> 00:42:19,319
Speaker 1: spread out more. I think that's part of it. There

788
00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:21,360
Speaker 1: are more shots a game. I think the pace of

789
00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:27,080
Speaker 1: the game is much faster, and I also think, you know,

790
00:42:27,160 --> 00:42:30,720
Speaker 1: years ago there was a sense that European players weren't

791
00:42:30,760 --> 00:42:34,120
Speaker 1: tough and our young players weren't as skilled because their

792
00:42:34,120 --> 00:42:37,000
Speaker 1: players go to the academy. I think our domestic players

793
00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:39,680
Speaker 1: are more skilled, and I think those players in Europe

794
00:42:39,680 --> 00:42:42,520
Speaker 1: are tougher. I think they both sides have heard it.

795
00:42:43,080 --> 00:42:47,040
Speaker 1: So I think our American players now six eight and over,

796
00:42:47,080 --> 00:42:49,480
Speaker 1: guys shoot the rock better. I think the shooting is

797
00:42:49,480 --> 00:42:54,319
Speaker 1: the best it's ever been. The game's more international, you know,

798
00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:57,000
Speaker 1: I remember in this let's say the analytic movement's been

799
00:42:57,040 --> 00:42:59,960
Speaker 1: fifteen years, kind of the sweep into the analytic movement

800
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:02,560
Speaker 1: about five or six years ago, maybe six or seven,

801
00:43:02,719 --> 00:43:05,440
Speaker 1: there was this you can't have two guys on the

802
00:43:05,480 --> 00:43:08,600
Speaker 1: floor at the same time that can't shoot. You're getting

803
00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:14,080
Speaker 1: to a point now you can't have a You can

804
00:43:14,160 --> 00:43:16,319
Speaker 1: have a guy on the floor that can't shoot, but

805
00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:22,040
Speaker 1: like Cavon Looney, he better be a great Like you're

806
00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:24,319
Speaker 1: getting to a point now where you can go back

807
00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:26,920
Speaker 1: and talk about the Knicks teams that everybody loved with

808
00:43:27,080 --> 00:43:32,440
Speaker 1: Starks and Anthony Mason. Their guards couldn't shoot. You can

809
00:43:32,560 --> 00:43:34,680
Speaker 1: only have one non shooter on the floor and he

810
00:43:34,719 --> 00:43:39,440
Speaker 1: has to be absolutely something has to be elite. Looney's

811
00:43:39,440 --> 00:43:42,480
Speaker 1: a great rebounder. It's like, okay, so he fits it.

812
00:43:43,160 --> 00:43:46,560
Speaker 1: I think I just think we're seeing this in all sports.

813
00:43:47,080 --> 00:43:51,400
Speaker 1: We're seeing it in football. Quarterbacks are faster, receivers are greater,

814
00:43:51,480 --> 00:43:54,680
Speaker 1: the Moneys and wide receivers and quarterbacks. What a kids

815
00:43:54,760 --> 00:43:57,680
Speaker 1: Kids always create culture. Kids are like, I'm not gonna

816
00:43:57,920 --> 00:44:00,279
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna play safety. I'm not gonna play run back.

817
00:44:00,239 --> 00:44:02,359
Speaker 1: I'm maybe be a quarterback or wide receiver. So all

818
00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:04,840
Speaker 1: the great athletes are going there. And I think what

819
00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:08,560
Speaker 1: you're seeing now is this generation of biggs has been

820
00:44:08,600 --> 00:44:13,160
Speaker 1: watching Dirt, Navitsky and Durant and there's no more. Mark

821
00:44:13,239 --> 00:44:16,640
Speaker 1: Few told me he he can't take a big and

822
00:44:16,800 --> 00:44:19,120
Speaker 1: ask him to go back to the basket. His dad's like, nope,

823
00:44:19,880 --> 00:44:23,880
Speaker 1: I won't send him to Gonzaga. Like we're moving into

824
00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:27,399
Speaker 1: all bigs now. They're not learning how to shoot. They

825
00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:30,640
Speaker 1: come into the league by seventeen, they're ready to shoot.

826
00:44:31,440 --> 00:44:35,719
Speaker 1: And I think it's great. I think the offense, you know,

827
00:44:36,160 --> 00:44:43,120
Speaker 1: the cliche zo as nobody plays defense. The defense any

828
00:44:43,160 --> 00:44:46,520
Speaker 1: given night you watched the last couple of possessions last

829
00:44:46,600 --> 00:44:50,600
Speaker 1: night of Miami in Philadelphia, intense defense and beat Harden

830
00:44:50,640 --> 00:44:54,280
Speaker 1: went over three A Butler had to do some spectacular

831
00:44:54,320 --> 00:44:58,400
Speaker 1: shot that maybe the best shot of the year, probably

832
00:44:58,400 --> 00:45:01,319
Speaker 1: the best shot of the year in crisis. It was incredible.

833
00:45:01,640 --> 00:45:04,520
Speaker 1: So I don't buy the defense isn't good. I think

834
00:45:04,640 --> 00:45:07,359
Speaker 1: it's I think obviously when you get teams that are,

835
00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:10,280
Speaker 1: you know, last game of a road trip, and veteran

836
00:45:10,360 --> 00:45:14,879
Speaker 1: players Biggs come into this league. Now they are ready

837
00:45:14,920 --> 00:45:17,760
Speaker 1: to shoot. College guys come into this league. They're closer

838
00:45:17,800 --> 00:45:20,080
Speaker 1: to being ready to shoot. I think the skill's gone up.

839
00:45:20,280 --> 00:45:24,800
Speaker 1: I think it's just, you know, people talk in the NFL.

840
00:45:25,239 --> 00:45:27,640
Speaker 1: We heard about how good the Eagles and Niners defense was.

841
00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:31,840
Speaker 1: The Chiefs shredded both in the second half. It's not

842
00:45:31,920 --> 00:45:36,120
Speaker 1: because those teams can't play defense. Andy Reid a million threats,

843
00:45:36,239 --> 00:45:43,239
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes, smarter schemes. Just the money is greater, and

844
00:45:43,360 --> 00:45:46,279
Speaker 1: it's all on offense. All the best athletes are going

845
00:45:46,320 --> 00:45:49,800
Speaker 1: to shooting an offense in basketball, they're going to passing

846
00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:52,799
Speaker 1: and catching in football, and you just we've never seen

847
00:45:52,880 --> 00:45:55,279
Speaker 1: anything like it. And there are teams in the NFL

848
00:45:55,400 --> 00:45:59,040
Speaker 1: that have four legitimate receivers. I mean, I can remember

849
00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:01,160
Speaker 1: growing up where you have your running back was your star.

850
00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:04,799
Speaker 1: You didn't have a star receiver. It's like, I look

851
00:46:04,800 --> 00:46:07,480
Speaker 1: at how these guys now six to eleven, six to this,

852
00:46:07,719 --> 00:46:11,600
Speaker 1: this kid that's coming in this this um woman Yanna,

853
00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:17,320
Speaker 1: what's his victor women? Yama? Yeah, his skill levels insane.

854
00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:22,080
Speaker 1: He'll get pushed around even Chet Holmgren. Come on, I

855
00:46:22,160 --> 00:46:24,719
Speaker 1: mean he's like inside I watched this highlight when he

856
00:46:24,800 --> 00:46:27,880
Speaker 1: was seventeen. I'm like, he's like a twenty seven year

857
00:46:27,920 --> 00:46:30,640
Speaker 1: old fifteen twenty years ago. His skill level is so high.

858
00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:34,680
Speaker 1: That's the new basketball. Yeah. Pull up shooting in particular

859
00:46:34,800 --> 00:46:36,359
Speaker 1: is the main driver in my opinion, because like when

860
00:46:36,400 --> 00:46:38,600
Speaker 1: you get to your muscle memory. And I've leaned a

861
00:46:38,640 --> 00:46:40,719
Speaker 1: lot on this stuff because I've gotten older, because I'm

862
00:46:40,719 --> 00:46:42,360
Speaker 1: a taller player and I always could shoot, but now

863
00:46:42,400 --> 00:46:43,880
Speaker 1: I can actually dribble on like I did when I

864
00:46:43,960 --> 00:46:46,640
Speaker 1: was younger. And like when you when you get to

865
00:46:46,719 --> 00:46:49,279
Speaker 1: your spot and you get into your rhythm and your

866
00:46:49,360 --> 00:46:52,960
Speaker 1: muscle memory, the defense doesn't matter anymore. Like you can

867
00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:55,040
Speaker 1: contest me all you want. As soon as I get

868
00:46:55,200 --> 00:46:58,800
Speaker 1: to my muscle memory. If I'm in rhythm. That thing's

869
00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:01,360
Speaker 1: going in, you know what I'm and so like, I

870
00:47:01,520 --> 00:47:06,720
Speaker 1: think almost we've reached the point now where good offense

871
00:47:06,920 --> 00:47:10,040
Speaker 1: can get any defense. Like if the right shooter on

872
00:47:10,120 --> 00:47:12,520
Speaker 1: the right night as his pull up jump shot going,

873
00:47:12,960 --> 00:47:14,920
Speaker 1: you can do everything right and those things are just

874
00:47:15,040 --> 00:47:16,759
Speaker 1: going in. And I think that's a big part of why,

875
00:47:16,880 --> 00:47:19,600
Speaker 1: Like I think skill level, particularly from guards and pull

876
00:47:19,680 --> 00:47:22,120
Speaker 1: up shooters, is at such a ridiculously high level now

877
00:47:22,320 --> 00:47:24,800
Speaker 1: that NBA defenses have not yet figured out how to

878
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:26,960
Speaker 1: deal with it. Now in NBA history, there's an EBB

879
00:47:27,000 --> 00:47:29,319
Speaker 1: and flow there, and I'm so glad you pointed that out,

880
00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:32,440
Speaker 1: because NBA defenses don't get nearly enough credit for how

881
00:47:32,480 --> 00:47:34,680
Speaker 1: advanced they are, for how athletic they are, for how

882
00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:38,560
Speaker 1: smart they are, for how schematically sound they are. They

883
00:47:38,640 --> 00:47:41,480
Speaker 1: do everything they can. They're just a step behind right now,

884
00:47:41,560 --> 00:47:44,360
Speaker 1: but they will catch up at some point. And most importantly,

885
00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:45,880
Speaker 1: I think it's great for the game. I think I

886
00:47:46,120 --> 00:47:50,279
Speaker 1: find basketball to be very esthetically pleasing now. The rock

887
00:47:50,400 --> 00:47:53,520
Speaker 1: fights are cool in their own way, but every game

888
00:47:53,600 --> 00:47:55,560
Speaker 1: was a rock fight fifteen years ago, and that's not

889
00:47:55,680 --> 00:47:57,279
Speaker 1: as fun as what we see now with the type

890
00:47:57,280 --> 00:47:59,719
Speaker 1: of skill level that's on display around the court. By

891
00:47:59,719 --> 00:48:03,840
Speaker 1: the way, Milwaukee, Milwaukee and Boston still play great defense.

892
00:48:03,960 --> 00:48:08,320
Speaker 1: Miami plays great defense. The Clippers played great defense. Memphis

893
00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:11,840
Speaker 1: can be very good defensively. This idea we all know this.

894
00:48:12,239 --> 00:48:14,719
Speaker 1: When everybody's equally rested and I get a face the

895
00:48:14,840 --> 00:48:18,279
Speaker 1: same offense seven games in a row, watch the defense have.

896
00:48:19,040 --> 00:48:23,040
Speaker 1: I mean, it's hard, Jason. You fly into town. You know,

897
00:48:23,080 --> 00:48:26,120
Speaker 1: you fly into town. It's high altitude, it's Denver. Your

898
00:48:26,160 --> 00:48:28,520
Speaker 1: guys are weary. Two guys are banged up. They dropped

899
00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:31,399
Speaker 1: one thirty six, and You're like, yeah, they just got

900
00:48:31,480 --> 00:48:33,640
Speaker 1: they just there's too many guys. Now I get two

901
00:48:33,719 --> 00:48:36,920
Speaker 1: nights rest. It's the fourth night of seeing Jamal Murray

902
00:48:37,080 --> 00:48:41,840
Speaker 1: and Michael Porter. The defense. It did it last year. Cleveland,

903
00:48:41,880 --> 00:48:44,759
Speaker 1: by the way, plays pretty good defense. You're gonna see

904
00:48:44,840 --> 00:48:49,360
Speaker 1: defense win series. It'll be the Nixell potentially win a series.

905
00:48:49,560 --> 00:48:55,520
Speaker 1: It'll be defense. They have limitations offensively, so everybody bails

906
00:48:55,560 --> 00:48:58,759
Speaker 1: on defense. I watched the end of that Sixer's heat game,

907
00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:01,160
Speaker 1: and I'm like, that last four minut that was real defense. Well,

908
00:49:01,160 --> 00:49:02,560
Speaker 1: and look at what the look at what the Lakers

909
00:49:02,560 --> 00:49:04,239
Speaker 1: did to the Mavericks on Sunday, same type of deal.

910
00:49:04,280 --> 00:49:05,759
Speaker 1: They just locked in at the end of the game

911
00:49:06,080 --> 00:49:09,759
Speaker 1: and two outstanding offensive players couldn't make a shot down

912
00:49:09,800 --> 00:49:11,839
Speaker 1: the stretch of that game. It's just it's just the way.

913
00:49:11,880 --> 00:49:13,680
Speaker 1: It's just the way the league is gone. And I

914
00:49:14,280 --> 00:49:16,120
Speaker 1: do think it's interesting though, because it's it's been a

915
00:49:16,239 --> 00:49:36,320
Speaker 1: it's been an interesting shift the volume. Make sure to

916
00:49:36,440 --> 00:49:40,200
Speaker 1: check out The Draymond Green Show. I brought Draymond Green

917
00:49:40,280 --> 00:49:42,800
Speaker 1: into the volume because one of the more entertaining voices

918
00:49:42,840 --> 00:49:47,360
Speaker 1: in sports. Unique perspective understands behind the rope. Also chops

919
00:49:47,480 --> 00:49:51,000
Speaker 1: up with guests like Gary Peyton, Zach Levine, Tracy McGrady.

920
00:49:51,160 --> 00:49:54,960
Speaker 1: Make sure download The Draymond Green Show wherever you get

921
00:49:55,040 --> 00:49:59,560
Speaker 1: your podcasts, only on the Volume podcast Network.