Speaker 1: The volume. It's the Colin Coward Podcast presented by fan Duel.
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Speaker 1: code Colin and download the fan Duel app today. Hi, everybody,
Speaker 1: welcome in. Well a real treat. I'm gonna give you
Speaker 1: about forty five fifty minutes. If you're on your morning commute,
Speaker 1: you're in your office, We're gonna talk hoops with Jason
Speaker 1: timp He has a very popular podcast called Hoops Tonight
Speaker 1: at the Volume, and so we chopped it up from
Speaker 1: forty five fifty minutes on a variety of topics. One
Speaker 1: of the ones we didn't get to but I do
Speaker 1: think is really fascinating is the Boston Celtics. We talked
Speaker 1: a lot of Warriors, Clippers, Lakers, Denver Nuggets, some Milwaukee
Speaker 1: is at the end of the Warriors dynasty. That was
Speaker 1: one of the topics. The Celtics are a fascinating team
Speaker 1: to me. And I was talking to somebody that covers
Speaker 1: the team and he said, Marcus Smart is actually the
Speaker 1: soul of the team. Jalen Brown's the best athlete on
Speaker 1: the team. Jason Tatum's the best player on the team,
Speaker 1: and there are nights because of his defensive abilities, Robert
Speaker 1: Williams can be the most valuable player late in games
Speaker 1: on the team. He's a complete utter rim protector. With
Speaker 1: Jannis in the Bucks, Janis is the most important player.
Speaker 1: He's the soul of the team. He's the go to
Speaker 1: player on both ends in crisis. There's a lot of
Speaker 1: moving parts with the Celtics, where the soul of the team,
Speaker 1: the best athlete of the team, the most talented player,
Speaker 1: the rim protect They're all different pieces. When I watch
Speaker 1: the Celtics, I don't trust them in the half court set,
Speaker 1: in big spots, they get very stagnant. And I think
Speaker 1: Jason Tatum is a one as an athlete and a
Speaker 1: two as a personality. I think there are times he
Speaker 1: gets a little passive, waits for the game to come
Speaker 1: to him. I like him. I think he's a top
Speaker 1: seven eight player in the league. But the Celtics and
Speaker 1: Boston's a very intense sports town, usually not very patient
Speaker 1: with its politics or its sports. We've been really, really
Speaker 1: patient with the Boston Celtics right and I think a
Speaker 1: lot of us kind of feel like last year. I
Speaker 1: thought they had a real chance early. I think Robert
Speaker 1: Williams was a huge Warrior matchup issue. I thought after
Speaker 1: a couple of games, I thought they were the better
Speaker 1: team in the series. I don't think they're getting to
Speaker 1: the finals this year. I'm interested to see how patient
Speaker 1: Brad Stevens, the owners and people can be with the Celtics,
Speaker 1: because I just don't think they have as many guys
Speaker 1: that can get a bucket as Milwaukee between Ingles, Holiday, Janis,
Speaker 1: Jay Crowder, Chris Middleton. I think the Celtics to me,
Speaker 1: are the most interesting team going forward the rest of
Speaker 1: the season. We know they're really good. How patient are
Speaker 1: we going to be the Jason Tatum Jaylen Brown relationship.
Speaker 1: One's a better player, one's a better athlete, one's more aggressive,
Speaker 1: one's less aggressive but more talented. I can't wait to
Speaker 1: watch how it plays out. Let's bring in Jason timp
Speaker 1: hoops tonight, chop it up with some NBA stuff, So Colin.
Speaker 1: I this morning as I was driving around town, was
Speaker 1: listening to your opening segment on The Herd, as I've
Speaker 1: done many times over the course of the last ten
Speaker 1: years or so, and you were talking about Lebron James
Speaker 1: and you had some interesting thoughts about just where he
Speaker 1: fits into the Lakers long term plans with this latest injury.
Speaker 1: So my question for you is if the Lakers end
Speaker 1: up let's just say they get into the play in
Speaker 1: and then they put up a good fight against Denver,
Speaker 1: but they lose in six games, in large part because
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis and Lebron are a little bit out of rhythm.
Speaker 1: But you have this excuse in the back of your head,
Speaker 1: which is they didn't have this full season with this group,
Speaker 1: you might be able to put together a more a
Speaker 1: softer workload for Lebron in a d next year, and
Speaker 1: maybe it's better. Are you in a position where you
Speaker 1: would continue with the core of these two guys moving
Speaker 1: forward or would you look to move on at that point? Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'd look to move on. I you know, Lebron is
Speaker 1: such a unique player that you can argue there's only
Speaker 1: been a handful of players in league history. Magic Johnson's
Speaker 1: another one where they've made every single teammate in their
Speaker 1: career either better or in the Chris Bosh Kevin Love space.
Speaker 1: For Lebron, I don't know if he made them better.
Speaker 1: He kind of asked them to sacrifice, but he won
Speaker 1: them titols and they would not have won titles. So
Speaker 1: every player he's played with is a better version of
Speaker 1: themselves or they've won titles. That's very rare. I would
Speaker 1: keep Lebron until he doesn't want to play, even an
Speaker 1: old Lebron will elevate others, teach others, coach others. I
Speaker 1: think he has just such redeemable value on so many levels.
Speaker 1: I don't feel that's the same for Anthony Davis. Anthony
Speaker 1: Davis is simply talented. He doesn't have a tremendous work ethic.
Speaker 1: Although I don't think he's a bad teammate. I don't
Speaker 1: think he's a guy that's going to spend his offseason tutoring.
Speaker 1: He doesn't necessarily elevate others, although he does elevate your team.
Speaker 1: He's a very good defensive player and on his best nights,
Speaker 1: he's unstoppable's he's really a John Calipari won a title
Speaker 1: with him John Calipari this year lost to Saint Peter's. Okay,
Speaker 1: so he ran through the tournament with him, But I
Speaker 1: would move him. I said this before the season, is
Speaker 1: that certain players, most players have limitations. Once that limitation
Speaker 1: is injuries. There's certainly an argument to be made if
Speaker 1: you look at Lebron in a d and I don't
Speaker 1: have the number with me. We talked about it this morning.
Speaker 1: How many games in a row since they arrived together
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles have Anthony Davis and Lebron James played consecutively.
Speaker 1: The number is shockingly low, like bizarrely low, and it's
Speaker 1: getting worse because Lebron is simply getting older. So I
Speaker 1: would have moved off him. You know, he's a commodity.
Speaker 1: You can move him, cross your fingers. He remains healthy,
Speaker 1: they win a playoff series, they get in, he's viable.
Speaker 1: I mean, Russell Westbrook keeps getting teams like. You can
Speaker 1: move Anthony Davis absolutely, But I would move off him.
Speaker 1: I would continue to surround Lebron with bigs that run
Speaker 1: the floor. Jared Vanderbilt's been terrific. Shooters always benefit from Lebron.
Speaker 1: But Kevin Durant coming to the West feels like he's
Speaker 1: changed the West, Like there were some obstacles for this
Speaker 1: Laker team. I the small right now, I feel the
Speaker 1: Suns will in the West. I really do. Yeah, Phoenix
Speaker 1: changes the math for everybody at this point. And the
Speaker 1: weird thing is, and this is the unfortunate thing, And
Speaker 1: this is what I was complaining about so much early
Speaker 1: in the season, was that this kind of felt like
Speaker 1: the last great chance to do something in the Western
Speaker 1: Conference if you were a team that had that was
Speaker 1: close just because of some things like you know, the
Speaker 1: Luca Kyrie pairing. They're going to be able to address
Speaker 1: their front court issues in the summertime. They are a
Speaker 1: complete disaster in the front court defensively and on the glass.
Speaker 1: You know, Phoenix, same sort of thing. They're going to
Speaker 1: have a lot of opportunity this summer to address some
Speaker 1: of their specific holes. You know, at like Golden State
Speaker 1: and the Lakers are kind of in this interesting position
Speaker 1: where they were close enough to make more of an
Speaker 1: all in move. And I feel like specifically with the Lakers,
Speaker 1: they were even more aggressive at the trade deadline than
Speaker 1: I expected them to be, but they paid a price
Speaker 1: for waiting as long as they did and you know
Speaker 1: what's funny, Like som Sharania reported today that this specific
Speaker 1: foot injury for Lebron was one that he actually experienced
Speaker 1: in January and him and his team had a decision
Speaker 1: to make as to whether or not to shut him
Speaker 1: down or to continue and play on it, and he
Speaker 1: opted to play on it. And this is where if
Speaker 1: I wanted to make the case for giving it one
Speaker 1: last goal around with these two guys, I would put
Speaker 1: it based on the workload and the potential next year
Speaker 1: to keep that lower. So I wanted to share a
Speaker 1: couple of pieces of data with you. So first of all,
Speaker 1: these are this is Janis's minutes per game over the
Speaker 1: last two season two seasons thirty two point seven, Steph
Speaker 1: Curry over the last two seasons thirty four point five,
Speaker 1: Nikola Yokich over the last two seasons thirty three point five.
Speaker 1: Lebron James over the last two seasons thirty six point
Speaker 1: seven minutes per game. And in addition to that, he's
Speaker 1: had multiple extended stretches over the last two years where
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis has been hurt and he's had to carry
Speaker 1: limited rosters by himself to float them in the standings.
Speaker 1: Which he did this year. By the way, the only
Speaker 1: reason they still have a chance to make the play
Speaker 1: in is because of the quality of basketball that Lebron
Speaker 1: played over the course of the end of December and January.
Speaker 1: Here in early February, he carried them to this point.
Speaker 1: So I guess the case that I would make is
Speaker 1: I'm a huge believer in the Lebron Anthony Davis ceiling.
Speaker 1: You saw what it looked like again on Sunday when
Speaker 1: the two of those really hit the jets. They can
Speaker 1: win rock fights, and they can win with skill, which
Speaker 1: is such a unique capability of those two. That's why
Speaker 1: they have the high ceiling that they have. So the
Speaker 1: way I'd look at it is if Anthony Davis can
Speaker 1: finish this season healthy and playing at an MVP level,
Speaker 1: which he's got a golden opportunity here over the course
Speaker 1: of the next few weeks without Lebron to demonstrate that.
Speaker 1: If he demonstrates that, I look at it as next year,
Speaker 1: you might be able to limit their minutes, keep them
Speaker 1: both around thirty to thirty two minutes per night, sit
Speaker 1: them out back to backs, and do all the little
Speaker 1: things that keep the workload lower to where you don't
Speaker 1: need them to carry as much as they've done over
Speaker 1: the last two years, which I think has directly directly
Speaker 1: led to the injuries that they've been dealing with. So
Speaker 1: I would give it one last chance. If Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: finishes the year healthy. But Anthony Davis could not finish
Speaker 1: last year healthy. The year before that, he was awesome
Speaker 1: against the Suns for two games and then he broke
Speaker 1: down again. If he breaks down again, I think then
Speaker 1: it enters a simple like risk reward proposition where it's
Speaker 1: foolish to plan your franchise around a star player in
Speaker 1: his twenties who literally cannot finish the season healthy. That
Speaker 1: when we presented that idea in our last show, a
Speaker 1: lot of people kind of framed it as we want
Speaker 1: to trade Ad. No. No No, we believe in what Ad
Speaker 1: can do when he's healthy. He demonstrated that for us
Speaker 1: over the course the last few games. It's the it's
Speaker 1: the health, that's all it is. If he can't finish
Speaker 1: the season three years in a row in his late twenties,
Speaker 1: what makes you think that's going to get better in
Speaker 1: his thirties. That's just bad management at that point. It's
Speaker 1: bad planning. So I would give I would say, regardless
Speaker 1: of what happens down the stretch here, as long as
Speaker 1: a D's healthy, I'd give it one more shot. But
Speaker 1: then you know, if they break down again at that point,
Speaker 1: then you have to start looking to move in a
Speaker 1: different direction. Well, it's also the NBA is in an
Speaker 1: interesting space where many of its best players that are
Speaker 1: the most dependable in the playoffs Steph kd Lebron ad
Speaker 1: MBID can be brittle like like many So those are
Speaker 1: not dependable guys. But when they're good, they're great. And
Speaker 1: then we have these young players who just quite not right,
Speaker 1: quite ready to aunt John Morant, like Jamal Murray Izzy ready.
Speaker 1: So I've got these young players who are very, very talented.
Speaker 1: The brandon Ingrams were just waiting for them too, and
Speaker 1: it may never come right. So the old guys Chris
Speaker 1: Paul Durants, I mean, guys we know can win playoff series,
Speaker 1: Steph Curry, Draymond catalyst for a Warrior's offense. The league's
Speaker 1: in an interesting space and about there's only about two
Speaker 1: or three teams that I think bridget really well. Milwaukee
Speaker 1: where Jannis is in his prime, Drew Holliday is in
Speaker 1: it or just out of it. And then the Ingalls
Speaker 1: Jay Crowder Middleton are out of it but shotmakers. That's
Speaker 1: why I think Milwaukee should be favored, and I think
Speaker 1: Boston similarly. Tatum's in his prime, Jalen Brown is. I
Speaker 1: think Marcus Smart's out of it. Robert Williams probably in it,
Speaker 1: but he's hurt a lot. I don't think there's a
Speaker 1: lot of teams that bridget I mean, let's be honest
Speaker 1: about Phoenix. I love him, but if Chris Paul and
Speaker 1: both got hurt in the next two weeks, nobody'd be surprised.
Speaker 1: I think this is the last year for the Warriors dynasty.
Speaker 1: Draymond just got a nice scoped Steph coming off an injury.
Speaker 1: Clace having a remarkable season. But you know Wiggins, You're
Speaker 1: not quite sure what you're kind of getting with Wiggins
Speaker 1: right now. He got the bag, he's got money. Is
Speaker 1: it the same guy? So it's an interesting time in
Speaker 1: the league where the teams I really really like, I'm
Speaker 1: not sure I trust their health, and the other teams
Speaker 1: like a Memphis, which I think is a Cleveland I
Speaker 1: think are both tremendous teams. I just don't think they're
Speaker 1: ready yet, Like, who's the second star for Memphis. I
Speaker 1: don't think Mobley's quite ready to be great in a
Speaker 1: playoff series and dominate. So it's an interesting time. My
Speaker 1: best bets outside of Milwaukee, I think they're a clear favorite.
Speaker 1: I think the Warriors are completely in Tatum's head. I
Speaker 1: just I would take the Warriors ten out of ten
Speaker 1: series getting lost. But I mean Milwaukee, to me feels
Speaker 1: like the safest bet, bridging youth, veterans, shot makers, defense,
Speaker 1: and then it's a It's a very interesting next two months.
Speaker 1: There's a lot I mean Memphis and the Clippers. I
Speaker 1: still love the Clippers, but I had somebody tell me something.
Speaker 1: Somebody incredibly well connected to the Clippers say that they've
Speaker 1: just come to the conclusion that you just Kawhi Leonard
Speaker 1: doesn't communicate. He's not a good teammate. He's just a
Speaker 1: great player. He's a bad teammate. Nobody knows when he's
Speaker 1: gonna play. He's not verbal. You can't depend on him.
Speaker 1: I still think that team is Most of their good
Speaker 1: players are excellent defensively. I like Tylu. The Clippers sum
Speaker 1: up the league for me outside of Milwaukee, I just
Speaker 1: have to watch the playoffs, I could get multiple outcomes.
Speaker 1: I mean, if the Clippers came in, Kawai got dinged up,
Speaker 1: Paul George struggles in the postseason, they're out first round,
Speaker 1: it could happen. So I just think it's March Madness
Speaker 1: this year. There's no great team. I do think in
Speaker 1: the NBA there are Knights. Milwaukee can be great when
Speaker 1: Jannis is really on, but it's going to be wide open. Yeah,
Speaker 1: Milwaukee has separated themselves in a recent weeks, you know,
Speaker 1: like the Boston Celtics haven't looked consistently great over the
Speaker 1: course of the last few months, and almost in the
Speaker 1: Western Conference, it almost feels like who's gonna be playing
Speaker 1: best at the right time, because it's just constantly up
Speaker 1: and down. Who's got it going on any given week
Speaker 1: or two stretch during the season. And you know, I'll
Speaker 1: put it this way, like when we get to the playoffs,
Speaker 1: in the play in in particular, you're probably going to
Speaker 1: see Dallas, Golden State, and the Lakers all end up
Speaker 1: in that seven, eight, nine, ten range. That's completely possible.
Speaker 1: Dallas is heading into an extremely tough stretch of their
Speaker 1: schedule over the course of the next few weeks and
Speaker 1: against some specific matchups where they're really going to struggle.
Speaker 1: So you're gonna see even the two top teams in
Speaker 1: the Western Conference, if it ends up being Memphis or Sacramento,
Speaker 1: and then obviously Denver, they're gonna have a very difficult
Speaker 1: first round matchup that they're capable of losing. And so
Speaker 1: to keep it on the Lakers for a second, I
Speaker 1: first of all, even with Lebron James being out, the
Speaker 1: Lakers have the fifth easiest remaining schedule out of everybody
Speaker 1: in the league. This is not the same Lakers from
Speaker 1: the last year and a half. They have a lot
Speaker 1: of talent after Lebron James. Jared Vanderbilt and Anthony Davis
Speaker 1: have played one hundred and eighty possessions together and are
Speaker 1: holding teams to ninety eight points per one hundre possessions,
Speaker 1: which is outstanding. They can defend. They have an identity
Speaker 1: outside of Lebron. Now they've got two really good ball
Speaker 1: handlers in D'Angel Russell and Dennis Schroder to run pick
Speaker 1: and roll with Anthony Davis. I think they have a
Speaker 1: legitimate fighting chance still. And then Golden State, obviously is
Speaker 1: this big wrinkle there that could end up in that
Speaker 1: eighth seed. So let's go. Let's put it this way
Speaker 1: really quick. Do you think that all is lost for
Speaker 1: the Lakers this season or do you think they have
Speaker 1: a chance to potentially go on a run? So I
Speaker 1: think I think when they made the trade, it gave
Speaker 1: them more ways to win. To your point, it's a
Speaker 1: better pick and roll team, it's a better shooting team.
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt was always a solid player. I think Laker fans
Speaker 1: that didn't want watch him are shocked, but it's like,
Speaker 1: you know, people knew in the league. I mean I
Speaker 1: texted text two different scouts in the NBA what to expect,
Speaker 1: and they're like, he's going to really help Anthony Davis out,
Speaker 1: good length, runs the floor, He's a good player. So
Speaker 1: I think there's more ways for them to win. I
Speaker 1: don't think there is Lebron dependent, but I do think
Speaker 1: Lebron is such a unique gifted player. The elevate, the
Speaker 1: ability to elevate others is so magic, Johnson. I mean,
Speaker 1: many of our best players, Kobe and Michael jurk Nevitsky
Speaker 1: don't necessarily elevate. They just are great players. They're just
Speaker 1: fantastic individual scorers. I think Luca's got a lot of
Speaker 1: that where Jalen Brunson explodes when he leaves right like,
Speaker 1: you're like, Jalen Brunson's this good. Yeah, I mean it's
Speaker 1: a very James Harden thing where you're in awe of
Speaker 1: his offensive efficiency. But he does take shots away because
Speaker 1: he has the ball all the time. So yeah, I
Speaker 1: think they can win. I think I think the Memphis
Speaker 1: games tough. I think it could be a little a
Speaker 1: little bit of a pit they could get, they could
Speaker 1: be in trouble, but I think there's a lot of
Speaker 1: ways they can win. I think they're a better defensive
Speaker 1: team on nights, they shoot well. Is D'Angelo Russell plan tonight.
Speaker 1: I don't think he's gonna play until Friday. That's the
Speaker 1: word as of right now. Cornerica Ramona Shelburn, which is
Speaker 1: really unfortunate because like an ankle tweak like that, and
Speaker 1: he kept playing on it for like a minute after
Speaker 1: I that's the gosh. Leaker fans have to just be
Speaker 1: pounding their head against the wall just with the luck
Speaker 1: they've had with the injuries here down the stretch of
Speaker 1: the season. But it's kind of been the story over
Speaker 1: the last two years. If the Lakers got to let's
Speaker 1: just call it to eight seed and they were healthy,
Speaker 1: would you pick them over the Denver Nuggets or would
Speaker 1: you pick Denver to win if they were healthy, I'd
Speaker 1: picked the Lakers. With the NFL season over all, eyes
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Speaker 1: I was talking about this today, like I really like
Speaker 1: Miami and Close games. I think they're I think they
Speaker 1: lead the NBA in thirteen like one bucket wins. I
Speaker 1: don't love you know, Bam and Jimmy Butler are very
Speaker 1: good players, great coach, great defense, great crisis management, excellent situationally,
Speaker 1: they're kind of the opposite of the Sixers that are
Speaker 1: docs not great situationally. They're sloppy. Last night they had
Speaker 1: like twenty turnovers. I don't trust Harden late in games,
Speaker 1: even though he's had a good season. There are these
Speaker 1: cultures of smart people. I think Miami is a less
Speaker 1: talented version of Golden State in a seven game series.
Speaker 1: They're just gonna win more possessions. They're going to be
Speaker 1: better late in the shot clock, Layton quarters, Layton sets.
Speaker 1: So if Golden State is one of those playing teams,
Speaker 1: that's my pick. I don't buy into Denver. You know,
Speaker 1: Yokich is going to probably win a third MVP. It's weird.
Speaker 1: There are players that I can really like in the
Speaker 1: regular season, but I don't trust him in the postseason.
Speaker 1: And there have been in my lifetime watching players that
Speaker 1: I love as scores, but I don't love him as players.
Speaker 1: Zach Levine's won. He's obviously he's an explosive, dynamic player.
Speaker 1: I don't think he's a winning player. I don't think
Speaker 1: Sprooks a winning player. I never thought John Wall was
Speaker 1: a winning player. I never thought Carmelo was a winning player.
Speaker 1: I just think they're great players. I don't I don't
Speaker 1: trust Denver in the West, and I don't trust Philly
Speaker 1: in the East. So I think if Lebron and Ad
Speaker 1: were healthy, I would have the two. I know Yokicho
Speaker 1: win the MVP, but I would have two players. I
Speaker 1: would have the best defensive player. I would have the
Speaker 1: best ball handler of those three is Lebron. The best
Speaker 1: physical presence is Lebron. The best defensive players Anthony Davis,
Speaker 1: Yokicho win the MVP. So I think playoff basketball is
Speaker 1: about being great at stuff Miami, great situationally, great coaching,
Speaker 1: great defense. That stuff wins. It's not about depth. It's
Speaker 1: not about plaques, it's not about MVPs. The Lakers, when
Speaker 1: Adi and Lebron are healthy, they have things they're great at.
Speaker 1: Vanderbilt just made them a better, deeper, defensive team. So
Speaker 1: I would take the Lakers. Yeah. You know what's interesting
Speaker 1: is Denver. Denver fans in particular are particularly sensitive about this,
Speaker 1: and I think it's the classic small market thing. They've
Speaker 1: been kicking everybody's ass all year. I understand why they
Speaker 1: want a certain amount of respect and so on and
Speaker 1: so forth. And to be clear, I think Nikola Yoki
Speaker 1: is a good playoff player on the offensive end of
Speaker 1: the floor. He has demonstrated that. But you said playoffs
Speaker 1: are about what you're great at, they're also about what
Speaker 1: you're bad at. And specifically with Denver, they have a
Speaker 1: couple of entry points on the defensive end of the floor.
Speaker 1: With Michael Porter Junior, you can struggle a little bit
Speaker 1: defending on the perimeter. Nikola Yoki when he gets out
Speaker 1: onto the perimeter, can struggle a little bit. He's actually
Speaker 1: struggled a little bit with rim protection this year, which
Speaker 1: has been an issue that has risen as of late.
Speaker 1: So like the way I look at it, like I
Speaker 1: believe Denver can win. They absolutely have a chance. But
Speaker 1: we're sitting here and we're looking at the bigger picture,
Speaker 1: and we're looking at Milwaukee, and we're looking at Boston,
Speaker 1: and we're looking at Golden State. We're looking at all
Speaker 1: these teams that we have as other options, and would
Speaker 1: you pick the team that has not won an NBA
Speaker 1: championship and has glaring entry points on the defensive end
Speaker 1: that we've seen time and time again in NBA history
Speaker 1: get exploited. I just don't think they're as safe as
Speaker 1: a bet of a bet compared to some of the
Speaker 1: other teams that we have elsewhere on the league. I
Speaker 1: don't think that's an insult to Denver. They're a great team.
Speaker 1: I think they can win it. I just think that
Speaker 1: Phoenix is every bit as capable of winning it. I
Speaker 1: think Golden State is every bit as capable of winning it,
Speaker 1: and I still think the Lakers and Clippers have an
Speaker 1: outside chance. On that note, let's move on to the Clippers.
Speaker 1: So we've had two games with Russell Westbrook in a
Speaker 1: Clippers jersey, and I actually think he's been pretty solid
Speaker 1: so far. Tyler did pay that I played Russ and
Speaker 1: Crunch time tax in the King's game when Russ lost
Speaker 1: Milik Monk on the game time shot and then spent
Speaker 1: the entire overtime period as the King's just double teamed
Speaker 1: off of him and just went at Kawai and Paul
Speaker 1: George everywhere on the floor. So there have been some issues,
Speaker 1: but I do think you've seen an obvious basketball fit
Speaker 1: that wasn't there With the Clippers, specifically, he's pushing the pace,
Speaker 1: which is the thing that that team desperately needed to do.
Speaker 1: And one of the things that's been kind of sneaky
Speaker 1: good is they run a switching defensive scheme, as opposed
Speaker 1: to the Lakers that ran a lot of drop coverage
Speaker 1: where they were asking Russ to chase guys over the
Speaker 1: top of screens, and so in switching schemes, he ends
Speaker 1: up on bigger players a lot. And Russ is actually
Speaker 1: one of the better switching guards that we have in
Speaker 1: the league because he's so competitive. He takes that personally
Speaker 1: when you try to attack him, and he's so big
Speaker 1: and strong, and he's very good technically at fronting the post,
Speaker 1: which is something he does a great job of in
Speaker 1: those switches to prevent that post entry. And so he's
Speaker 1: been a good piece for them on the defensive end.
Speaker 1: And then one of the sneaky subplots here too is
Speaker 1: Kawai and Paul George actually prefer to operate off the ball.
Speaker 1: They are like guys that are like, let me get
Speaker 1: to my spot, let me fight for position, then you
Speaker 1: throw it to me. I can go to work. So
Speaker 1: there's been kind of a natural offensive synergy there. The
Speaker 1: lineup date is a little skewed because Russ unfortunately that
Speaker 1: first shift against Denver, the Denver starters just beat the
Speaker 1: heck out of him for I think they went up
Speaker 1: twenty four to eight, which is kind of skewed the data.
Speaker 1: But I think it's been pretty good so far. So
Speaker 1: my question for you is, what have you thought so
Speaker 1: far about Westbrook in a Clippers jersey. I well, I'm
Speaker 1: not a fan of Westbrook. I think if you can
Speaker 1: avoid using him in situational basketball late in a quarter,
Speaker 1: like a three minutes to go, I don't want him
Speaker 1: on the floor. But he's productive, He pushes the pace,
Speaker 1: he gives you great minutes, he gives you great energy.
Speaker 1: I mean, even with the Lakers, there were moments. Was
Speaker 1: at that Celtics game. There was a big Laker game
Speaker 1: I was watching, and he had a tip in at
Speaker 1: the basket and he's just out of control, applies it,
Speaker 1: tips it in, and I'm like, that's Westbrook. In the
Speaker 1: regular season. Not everybody brings energy, Not everybody is equally rested.
Speaker 1: You saw it last night. The Celtics were completely flat
Speaker 1: against the Knicks. First quarter, Tatum's awful, browns out, They're done.
Speaker 1: You know, it felt like it felt like a first
Speaker 1: round of the playoffs for New York at Madison Square.
Speaker 1: They just came out on fire. And so I think
Speaker 1: the Clippers because Kauai, I don't I don't like when
Speaker 1: Kauai the offense runs around him. I'm a believer. It's
Speaker 1: he's way better off ball, and so I think I
Speaker 1: think Westbrook fits better. Lebron is so great with the ball,
Speaker 1: Kauai is better off it, Paul's better off it. So
Speaker 1: I think he's a better fit. And again, twenty games left,
Speaker 1: you can get thirty minutes a night from him. Just
Speaker 1: get him out of spaces. Um. You know it's in football.
Speaker 1: Some guys are great in the red zone. So you
Speaker 1: know what I mean. There are third down backs, right,
Speaker 1: They're not powerbacks. It's okay. Most athletes are, even the
Speaker 1: good ones are situational. There's Jason Tatum is usually ohways good.
Speaker 1: That's very unique. So I think when you keep out
Speaker 1: of those spaces, they've got a lot of depth. He's fine.
Speaker 1: But I think with I thought when he came to
Speaker 1: the Lakers. I remember saying at the time is. I
Speaker 1: think it can work. He can't play off ball, but
Speaker 1: Lebron and Adi get hurt. He'll give him thirty four
Speaker 1: minutes a night, and he had games, he had moments,
Speaker 1: but because of Lebron's ability to control the tempo and pace,
Speaker 1: he got in the way. I think there's going to
Speaker 1: be moments. He's exactly what they need. Give him the ball,
Speaker 1: let him burn the tempo, get up the floor. I'm
Speaker 1: a total believer in what you said. I think both
Speaker 1: Paul and Kauai are terrific in the wing off the ball.
Speaker 1: Whenever the offense goes through Kawuhi, it can be effective. Esthetically,
Speaker 1: it doesn't look good. It feels like a struggle, like
Speaker 1: right like because Kawhi is so great, it can be effective.
Speaker 1: It never looks good. It always looks stilted. So and
Speaker 1: I don't want to I don't want a guy that
Speaker 1: plays only three out of four nights, you know, doesn't
Speaker 1: play black to backs. I don't want him running my offense, right,
Speaker 1: I'd rather have him off ball. So I think Westbrook's
Speaker 1: okay for them. Just keep him out of a game
Speaker 1: with four and a half minutes left tied, and it matters,
Speaker 1: and that's what Tyler did. They did not play him
Speaker 1: in crunch time against the Nuggets. Now, that game kind
Speaker 1: of swung ironically on Paul George, who's been one of
Speaker 1: their biggest issues in crunch time. He kind of co
Speaker 1: opted things in ot and made a couple of crucial
Speaker 1: mistakes early in the period, and then the game was
Speaker 1: over just like that. I agree though, like Kawhile, Leonard's
Speaker 1: interesting when you get him to his spots, like it's like, Oh,
Speaker 1: navigate an off ball screen and get a switch and
Speaker 1: then dump it to him in the post against Jamal Murray,
Speaker 1: that's as high percentage of possession as you'll find around
Speaker 1: the league. Like, he's great in those situations. But when
Speaker 1: you start asking him to initiate offense from the perimeter
Speaker 1: with a live dribble, that's where things can get a
Speaker 1: little bit messier. This is my big concern with the
Speaker 1: Clippers called this is a wild stat for you. Did
Speaker 1: you know that they've lost thirteen out of fifteen games
Speaker 1: against the Denver Nuggets dating back to the bubble. That
Speaker 1: specific matchup is so in their head. The Nuggets in
Speaker 1: particular are very very good at beating their switching scheme
Speaker 1: by getting the ball to kitch in their spots, and
Speaker 1: that it's there's a little bit of a mental advantage.
Speaker 1: They're kind of like you've seen even with Boston and
Speaker 1: Golden State, like you've talked about, So that that's kind
Speaker 1: of where the thing that severely limits the Clippers chances
Speaker 1: of getting out of the Western Conferences. You'll probably have
Speaker 1: to go through Denver, and I just don't think they
Speaker 1: can win. Their best bet is that someone like the
Speaker 1: Lakers or the Warriors ends up getting that eight seed.
Speaker 1: It can knock knock the Nuggets out before they even
Speaker 1: have to see them. But that specific matchup is an
Speaker 1: issue for them. They just gotta get They gotta get
Speaker 1: everything clicking at the same time. Like right now, Kawai's peaking.
Speaker 1: You know, they're they're integrating Russ and it's going well.
Speaker 1: But Paul George is having some struggles and Norman Powell
Speaker 1: starting to struggle a little bit. There's a bunch of
Speaker 1: like little pieces there that they just can't get aligned.
Speaker 1: But they're one of those teams just like the Lakers,
Speaker 1: where it's like if they're healthy and you catch them
Speaker 1: in the in the right matchup, they're capable of beating anybody,
Speaker 1: and that's just the Western Conference right now. We tend
Speaker 1: to get impatient, but you know, the Clippers, it wasn't
Speaker 1: long ago that we were celebrating Paul George and Kawai
Speaker 1: playing together. And anytime anybody doubts them, my takeaway is, well,
Speaker 1: where's Boston's ring? I mean, this Boston group's been together
Speaker 1: six years now and they got one Finals appearance and
Speaker 1: they kind of folded in this way, and nobody doubts
Speaker 1: the Celtics, So this is only the second year. Kauai
Speaker 1: is a very unique personality. I had somebody very close
Speaker 1: to Kauai and people around him. Kauai is hard. He's
Speaker 1: hard on coaches, he's hard on teammates. He's nonverbal. Nobody
Speaker 1: knows when he's gonna play. You don't know what kind
Speaker 1: of performance you're getting. So it's easy to be impatient.
Speaker 1: But you know, Durant to the Warriors was different, superstar enters,
Speaker 1: winning culture with rings and momentum. I think the Clippers
Speaker 1: will be interesting. They struggled all last year with health
Speaker 1: they got I thought they were going to play their
Speaker 1: way in and be interesting and they didn't. They just
Speaker 1: didn't have enough chemistry. They felt a little bit last
Speaker 1: year like Brooklyn. You like the parts, but they never
Speaker 1: aid together, you know, so you get into the playoffs
Speaker 1: and there's just no chemistry. I didn't think they had
Speaker 1: it last year. But I'm I'm a buyer on the Clippers.
Speaker 1: I think they are the only team that matches up
Speaker 1: really well, not just well, but really well against Golden State. Well. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that that perimeter size gap between them and in the Warriors,
Speaker 1: and how small they are at in the backcourt and
Speaker 1: on the wing, that's a significant issue. One of the
Speaker 1: things that's really glared for Golden State this season is
Speaker 1: just their overall lack of athleticism and that it's just
Speaker 1: one of those things where they bet on that bench
Speaker 1: coming around for them, and it just didn't and became
Speaker 1: a problem for them, didn't. I have a feeling they're
Speaker 1: going to be pretty active in the next few weeks,
Speaker 1: going after someone like Stanley Johnson or New Orleans Noel
Speaker 1: to bolster that because Golden State's entering a little yeah.
Speaker 1: Oh no, I mean I watched them m they played
Speaker 1: was at Minnesota. I watched them there night. When Looney
Speaker 1: goes to the bench, they're tiny and by the way
Speaker 1: Dante de vins Henzo, he's a really good fit for them.
Speaker 1: Peyton will be available in six weeks. They're getting very guardy.
Speaker 1: They're getting smaller, right and so, and even Wiggins, who
Speaker 1: has some length, is very rail thin. They're just they've
Speaker 1: got Minnesota was getting. He was naz Reid. They were
Speaker 1: getting a lot of cheap buckets they give. You know,
Speaker 1: you're going to give up a lot now. Durant now
Speaker 1: his length against the Golden State with DeAndre Ayton, So
Speaker 1: it's like Golden State when Looney hits the bench. They're tiny,
Speaker 1: and so it's you know, listen. They like Kaminga, they
Speaker 1: don't trust him. And Steve Kurs liked this. I think
Speaker 1: he likes Pool. I think he begrudgingly trusts him. Pools immature.
Speaker 1: So they're a classic example great veteran culture, young guys.
Speaker 1: They're trying to bridge it. They gave up on Wiseman
Speaker 1: coming and they like but don't trust. Moody's not playing enough.
Speaker 1: And I think Kur's offense is a reactionary. It's really
Speaker 1: a high functioning on you that offense. Yeah, I mean,
Speaker 1: by the way, nothing against Dangel Russell. They couldn't get
Speaker 1: him out of town family And why does I mean
Speaker 1: he was because he was a little immature. They didn't.
Speaker 1: But Wiggins considered a one talent, but a two or
Speaker 1: a three personality. Really cerebral player, very sensitive guy, cerebral player.
Speaker 1: He picked it up immediately. Like that worked. So that's
Speaker 1: andre Iguadala. That worked. Durant high functioning, like a little
Speaker 1: bit of a basketball savant, worked instantly. So if you're
Speaker 1: asking why aren't these young players work for Golden State,
Speaker 1: it's eff and hard. That system is hard, and Comming
Speaker 1: is the great example. Six seven twitchy. They you can
Speaker 1: tell they like him watching situational basketball. He's not around
Speaker 1: like they just don't trust him, so they it's I
Speaker 1: think we keep forgetting this is not the NFL. These
Speaker 1: kids come out of the draft or nineteen and you're
Speaker 1: asking them to function in a wild like a Miami
Speaker 1: Heat offense, like you're talking Battier, Wade, Haslem, Real and Lebron.
Speaker 1: Come on, that is like that is neck, that is
Speaker 1: that is like nuclear fusion. The class in high school
Speaker 1: or college none of us wanted to take. You're talking
Speaker 1: about a different galaxy. So I just think Golden state,
Speaker 1: they're a victim of their own success. They're they're they're
Speaker 1: brilliance offensively, even defensively, they're really high end. It's hard
Speaker 1: for young guys. It's just hard. That's a fundamental difference
Speaker 1: between basketball and football. Two. Where football, especially in athleticism
Speaker 1: positions like on the defensive line or a linebacker, you
Speaker 1: can see a player come out of the draft and
Speaker 1: immediately become an impact player. Basketball is such an IQ
Speaker 1: sport and it's so skill heavy now, especially as it's
Speaker 1: gone more perimeter oriented. It's just extremely difficult for a
Speaker 1: young player to play winning basketball at the highest levels.
Speaker 1: It's it's one of the biggest reasons why that that
Speaker 1: idea was flawed from the start, because you're banking on them, like, hey,
Speaker 1: maybe when they're twenty one, twenty two, they'll figure it out.
Speaker 1: But almost every time in NBA history, it's been more
Speaker 1: like twenty six twenty seven when they actually start to
Speaker 1: figure it out. I mean, I like, when I was
Speaker 1: twenty two years old, I had no idea what the
Speaker 1: hell I was doing on a basketball court. You know,
Speaker 1: I was running and jumping and shooting and just be
Speaker 1: you know, hoping that I could find some way to
Speaker 1: impact the game. It's just extremely difficult to do. And
Speaker 1: and Steve Kirk can be a little bit of a
Speaker 1: doghouse coach too. Like he's one of those coaches when
Speaker 1: he pulls you, I'll be like, oh, you're out of
Speaker 1: the rotation for the next week until you figure this out. Like,
Speaker 1: he's just he's one of those kinds of guys. And
Speaker 1: I think that's a big part of why, Like, and
Speaker 1: Bob Meyers straight up came out and said this, He's like,
Speaker 1: we have to be careful who we sign with that
Speaker 1: final roster spot because we have to make sure Steve
Speaker 1: Kerr will actually play that person, you know what I mean.
Speaker 1: And and so they're in kind of an interesting predicament.
Speaker 1: And every time I look at their Rotetian, I go, Okay,
Speaker 1: Jordan Poole, Dante DiVincenzo, Jonathan Cominga, Gary Payton, and Jamichael Greene.
Speaker 1: That's kind of enough. They've got a bench. It's just
Speaker 1: it's really hard when they're not healthy to have a
Speaker 1: good eight or nine man rotation to lean on. And
Speaker 1: when you have Wiggins, Draymond, and Steph All out of
Speaker 1: the rotation at the same time that you're three best players.
Speaker 1: It's a miracle that they were able to win that
Speaker 1: game against Minnesota the other night, in large part because
Speaker 1: Clay Thompson went off. But they're just they're in a
Speaker 1: situation where you trust the core so much, but you
Speaker 1: just haven't been able to get everyone available and there's
Speaker 1: no depth there to carry them through the other stretches
Speaker 1: of the season. I mean, thank god, Clay has had
Speaker 1: a great play, has really played well. He's had a
Speaker 1: great year. His half court shot creation has been a
Speaker 1: revelation this year, carrying the Warriors through these stretches because
Speaker 1: he's always been such an off ball player, but he
Speaker 1: beat Minnesota the other night on the basketball making plays
Speaker 1: for his teammates. It's such a unique, like kind of
Speaker 1: late career shift from him as he's been able to
Speaker 1: just it's almost like your force of will, Like Klay.
Speaker 1: Thompson's one of those guys that I think he's kind
Speaker 1: of a little bit of a funny guy, so then
Speaker 1: so there's there's less of a like a serious attitude
Speaker 1: around him, but that dude is a savage competitor. When
Speaker 1: you hit that last three coming off that handoff on
Speaker 1: the right wing, he just went over to Minnesota's bench
Speaker 1: and was just talking all that shit to them. You know,
Speaker 1: like you're not. Dude is a savage competitor looking to
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Speaker 1: know what I love. What I love about the Warriors
Speaker 1: is that last year in the final in a Clay's
Speaker 1: neet going to be this same defensive player. He was like,
Speaker 1: that's over. But you know he was really spotty last
Speaker 1: year in the playoffs. But Steph was great. Wiggins was
Speaker 1: a bit of a revelation. Jordan Pool. His minutes got
Speaker 1: reduced the farther they went but he had his moments.
Speaker 1: Draymond was hot and cold. I kind of feel like
Speaker 1: last year they stole one, they kind of stole the championsolutely,
Speaker 1: like like now Clay's better, Steph will be. You know,
Speaker 1: these injuries are funny. Steph's going to be completely rested
Speaker 1: for the postseason. The scope that Draymond got is fine.
Speaker 1: Wiggins has taken plenty of time off. They're like this
Speaker 1: veteran baseball team that's arrested. A lot of their start
Speaker 1: starting pitching and here we go, we're gonna start moving
Speaker 1: into September baseball, and you're like everybody's everybody's ready to go.
Speaker 1: I've been saying this all year. They're not the same
Speaker 1: defensive team. Pool doesn't really want to engage in it
Speaker 1: most nights. Steph is limited, Clays not the same. I
Speaker 1: think that's why they brought Peyton back. They know what
Speaker 1: they're not, but man situational half court basketball. A lot
Speaker 1: of those guys have played a lot of minutes together. Jason,
Speaker 1: They're gonna be a hard team to bet against. I
Speaker 1: think some of this stuff looks like a crisis, and
Speaker 1: I think a lot of it is. They're they're kind
Speaker 1: of resting they're kind of experimenting. I think if Peyton's
Speaker 1: ready to go in five six weeks, they're gonna be
Speaker 1: a handful because he's gonna be a great late game
Speaker 1: defensive player. You know he is. But if I can
Speaker 1: put if I can put Peyton on the floor late,
Speaker 1: Wiggins on the floor late, Dramon on the floor late,
Speaker 1: it's a pretty good defensive team. They're actually my pick
Speaker 1: to get the sixth seed because Dallas is heading into
Speaker 1: a pretty tough stretch of their schedule. I think Steff
Speaker 1: is going to be coming back. They're they're clicking right.
Speaker 1: I think they're gonna end up getting the sixth seed.
Speaker 1: And then it's pretty simple like i'd picked them over
Speaker 1: the Kings, you know, like I absolutely play Kings. And
Speaker 1: then from there you end up playing Memphis, which they've
Speaker 1: got a great match up with Memphis specifically, they're just
Speaker 1: the smarter, bigger brother type of team. And then you
Speaker 1: have the time to get ready and get playing at
Speaker 1: your highest level in time for Denver in the last round.
Speaker 1: Before we get out of here, I have one last
Speaker 1: question for you. I kind of hinted at this before
Speaker 1: we got started, but I'm really curious to hear your opinion.
Speaker 1: So after Dame scored seventy one the other night, I
Speaker 1: did some digging into individual scoring in the NBA, and
Speaker 1: there are there were ten years ago eleven players in
Speaker 1: the NBA who averaged at least twenty points per game,
Speaker 1: and this year there are fifty one players in the
Speaker 1: NBA that are averaging at least twenty points per game.
Speaker 1: Now there's I've been a slight increase in pace. There's
Speaker 1: about seven additional possessions per game per team. There's about
Speaker 1: fourteen additional three point shots per game, which is a
Speaker 1: little bit more shot value there. So there are a
Speaker 1: couple of different factors, but not enough to justify an
Speaker 1: eleven to fifty one type of change. So my question
Speaker 1: for you is do you have a theory as to
Speaker 1: why individuals scoring in the NBA is gone the way
Speaker 1: that it's gone. Two things. The game is more European
Speaker 1: and those are more skilled players and better shooters. We've
Speaker 1: eliminated essentially the back to the basket center, so the
Speaker 1: game is more European, more good shooters. The court is
Speaker 1: spread out more. I think that's part of it. There
Speaker 1: are more shots a game. I think the pace of
Speaker 1: the game is much faster, and I also think, you know,
Speaker 1: years ago there was a sense that European players weren't
Speaker 1: tough and our young players weren't as skilled because their
Speaker 1: players go to the academy. I think our domestic players
Speaker 1: are more skilled, and I think those players in Europe
Speaker 1: are tougher. I think they both sides have heard it.
Speaker 1: So I think our American players now six eight and over,
Speaker 1: guys shoot the rock better. I think the shooting is
Speaker 1: the best it's ever been. The game's more international, you know,
Speaker 1: I remember in this let's say the analytic movement's been
Speaker 1: fifteen years, kind of the sweep into the analytic movement
Speaker 1: about five or six years ago, maybe six or seven,
Speaker 1: there was this you can't have two guys on the
Speaker 1: floor at the same time that can't shoot. You're getting
Speaker 1: to a point now you can't have a You can
Speaker 1: have a guy on the floor that can't shoot, but
Speaker 1: like Cavon Looney, he better be a great Like you're
Speaker 1: getting to a point now where you can go back
Speaker 1: and talk about the Knicks teams that everybody loved with
Speaker 1: Starks and Anthony Mason. Their guards couldn't shoot. You can
Speaker 1: only have one non shooter on the floor and he
Speaker 1: has to be absolutely something has to be elite. Looney's
Speaker 1: a great rebounder. It's like, okay, so he fits it.
Speaker 1: I think I just think we're seeing this in all sports.
Speaker 1: We're seeing it in football. Quarterbacks are faster, receivers are greater,
Speaker 1: the Moneys and wide receivers and quarterbacks. What a kids
Speaker 1: Kids always create culture. Kids are like, I'm not gonna
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna play safety. I'm not gonna play run back.
Speaker 1: I'm maybe be a quarterback or wide receiver. So all
Speaker 1: the great athletes are going there. And I think what
Speaker 1: you're seeing now is this generation of biggs has been
Speaker 1: watching Dirt, Navitsky and Durant and there's no more. Mark
Speaker 1: Few told me he he can't take a big and
Speaker 1: ask him to go back to the basket. His dad's like, nope,
Speaker 1: I won't send him to Gonzaga. Like we're moving into
Speaker 1: all bigs now. They're not learning how to shoot. They
Speaker 1: come into the league by seventeen, they're ready to shoot.
Speaker 1: And I think it's great. I think the offense, you know,
Speaker 1: the cliche zo as nobody plays defense. The defense any
Speaker 1: given night you watched the last couple of possessions last
Speaker 1: night of Miami in Philadelphia, intense defense and beat Harden
Speaker 1: went over three A Butler had to do some spectacular
Speaker 1: shot that maybe the best shot of the year, probably
Speaker 1: the best shot of the year in crisis. It was incredible.
Speaker 1: So I don't buy the defense isn't good. I think
Speaker 1: it's I think obviously when you get teams that are,
Speaker 1: you know, last game of a road trip, and veteran
Speaker 1: players Biggs come into this league. Now they are ready
Speaker 1: to shoot. College guys come into this league. They're closer
Speaker 1: to being ready to shoot. I think the skill's gone up.
Speaker 1: I think it's just, you know, people talk in the NFL.
Speaker 1: We heard about how good the Eagles and Niners defense was.
Speaker 1: The Chiefs shredded both in the second half. It's not
Speaker 1: because those teams can't play defense. Andy Reid a million threats,
Speaker 1: Patrick Mahomes, smarter schemes. Just the money is greater, and
Speaker 1: it's all on offense. All the best athletes are going
Speaker 1: to shooting an offense in basketball, they're going to passing
Speaker 1: and catching in football, and you just we've never seen
Speaker 1: anything like it. And there are teams in the NFL
Speaker 1: that have four legitimate receivers. I mean, I can remember
Speaker 1: growing up where you have your running back was your star.
Speaker 1: You didn't have a star receiver. It's like, I look
Speaker 1: at how these guys now six to eleven, six to this,
Speaker 1: this kid that's coming in this this um woman Yanna,
Speaker 1: what's his victor women? Yama? Yeah, his skill levels insane.
Speaker 1: He'll get pushed around even Chet Holmgren. Come on, I
Speaker 1: mean he's like inside I watched this highlight when he
Speaker 1: was seventeen. I'm like, he's like a twenty seven year
Speaker 1: old fifteen twenty years ago. His skill level is so high.
Speaker 1: That's the new basketball. Yeah. Pull up shooting in particular
Speaker 1: is the main driver in my opinion, because like when
Speaker 1: you get to your muscle memory. And I've leaned a
Speaker 1: lot on this stuff because I've gotten older, because I'm
Speaker 1: a taller player and I always could shoot, but now
Speaker 1: I can actually dribble on like I did when I
Speaker 1: was younger. And like when you when you get to
Speaker 1: your spot and you get into your rhythm and your
Speaker 1: muscle memory, the defense doesn't matter anymore. Like you can
Speaker 1: contest me all you want. As soon as I get
Speaker 1: to my muscle memory. If I'm in rhythm. That thing's
Speaker 1: going in, you know what I'm and so like, I
Speaker 1: think almost we've reached the point now where good offense
Speaker 1: can get any defense. Like if the right shooter on
Speaker 1: the right night as his pull up jump shot going,
Speaker 1: you can do everything right and those things are just
Speaker 1: going in. And I think that's a big part of why,
Speaker 1: Like I think skill level, particularly from guards and pull
Speaker 1: up shooters, is at such a ridiculously high level now
Speaker 1: that NBA defenses have not yet figured out how to
Speaker 1: deal with it. Now in NBA history, there's an EBB
Speaker 1: and flow there, and I'm so glad you pointed that out,
Speaker 1: because NBA defenses don't get nearly enough credit for how
Speaker 1: advanced they are, for how athletic they are, for how
Speaker 1: smart they are, for how schematically sound they are. They
Speaker 1: do everything they can. They're just a step behind right now,
Speaker 1: but they will catch up at some point. And most importantly,
Speaker 1: I think it's great for the game. I think I
Speaker 1: find basketball to be very esthetically pleasing now. The rock
Speaker 1: fights are cool in their own way, but every game
Speaker 1: was a rock fight fifteen years ago, and that's not
Speaker 1: as fun as what we see now with the type
Speaker 1: of skill level that's on display around the court. By
Speaker 1: the way, Milwaukee, Milwaukee and Boston still play great defense.
Speaker 1: Miami plays great defense. The Clippers played great defense. Memphis
Speaker 1: can be very good defensively. This idea we all know this.
Speaker 1: When everybody's equally rested and I get a face the
Speaker 1: same offense seven games in a row, watch the defense have.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's hard, Jason. You fly into town. You know,
Speaker 1: you fly into town. It's high altitude, it's Denver. Your
Speaker 1: guys are weary. Two guys are banged up. They dropped
Speaker 1: one thirty six, and You're like, yeah, they just got
Speaker 1: they just there's too many guys. Now I get two
Speaker 1: nights rest. It's the fourth night of seeing Jamal Murray
Speaker 1: and Michael Porter. The defense. It did it last year. Cleveland,
Speaker 1: by the way, plays pretty good defense. You're gonna see
Speaker 1: defense win series. It'll be the Nixell potentially win a series.
Speaker 1: It'll be defense. They have limitations offensively, so everybody bails
Speaker 1: on defense. I watched the end of that Sixer's heat game,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, that last four minut that was real defense. Well,
Speaker 1: and look at what the look at what the Lakers
Speaker 1: did to the Mavericks on Sunday, same type of deal.
Speaker 1: They just locked in at the end of the game
Speaker 1: and two outstanding offensive players couldn't make a shot down
Speaker 1: the stretch of that game. It's just it's just the way.
Speaker 1: It's just the way the league is gone. And I
Speaker 1: do think it's interesting though, because it's it's been a
Speaker 1: it's been an interesting shift the volume. Make sure to
Speaker 1: check out The Draymond Green Show. I brought Draymond Green
Speaker 1: into the volume because one of the more entertaining voices
Speaker 1: in sports. Unique perspective understands behind the rope. Also chops
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