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Speaker 1: welcome to Hoops Tonight, presented here at the volume Happy Thursday, everybody.

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Speaker 1: Hope you guys are having a great week. I'm really

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Speaker 1: excited for this show. We are going to be ranking

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Speaker 1: all thirty NBA teams, not individually by number, but by tears.

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Speaker 1: I'm sorting them into tears based on where they're at

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Speaker 1: in their current development slash path towards an NBA championship.

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Speaker 1: I have the top tier contenders. Those are the teams

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Speaker 1: that obviously have the best chance to win the championship

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Speaker 1: this year. That I have the fatal flaw contenders, teams

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Speaker 1: that I do believe are contending for a championship but

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Speaker 1: have a significant flaw that I expect to get them beat.

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Speaker 1: Then we're gonna have the if they make the right

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Speaker 1: trade contenders. These are teams that are not good enough yet,

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Speaker 1: but if they address specific needs they have a chance.

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Speaker 1: Then we're gonna get into the lack of self awareness tier.

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Speaker 1: These are the teams that think that they have a

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Speaker 1: chance to win a championship but definitely do not. Then

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Speaker 1: we have the interesting and scrappy tier. These are the

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Speaker 1: teams that definitely don't think they're gonna win a championship,

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Speaker 1: but are playing really good basketball and are fun to

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Speaker 1: watch on any given night. And then lastly, we'll have

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Speaker 1: the actively and intentionally terrible tier. So we're gonna be

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Speaker 1: working on all thirty NBA teams today. It's gonna be

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Speaker 1: fun one. We're gonna be going pretty fast, though, you

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Speaker 1: guys know the joke before we get started. Subscribe to

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Speaker 1: the volumes YouTube channels. You don't miss any more of

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Speaker 1: our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore Jason Lts,

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Speaker 1: you guys don't miss any show announcements. And then, last,

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Speaker 1: but not least, for whatever reason, you guys miss one

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Speaker 1: of these videos and you can't get over to YouTube

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Speaker 1: to finish, you can find them wherever you get your podcasts.

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Speaker 1: Under Hoops tonight, all right, let's talk some basketball. So

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Speaker 1: these are the top tier contenders. Now again, nobody is perfect.

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Speaker 1: There is no two two thousand seventeen Warriors or two

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Speaker 1: thousand one Lakers in this mix, but all four of

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Speaker 1: these teams are a clear cut above the rest and

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Speaker 1: should feel confident in their championship odds. This particular season.

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Speaker 1: This is gonna be the Boston Celtics, the Brooklyn Nets,

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Speaker 1: the Milwaukee Bucks in the Golden State Warriors. Not to

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Speaker 1: be clear, as I'm going through these tears, the tears

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Speaker 1: are the ranking. The individual teams within the tears are

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Speaker 1: not in order, so I just have them in a list,

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Speaker 1: but the tears are where they are ranked. For instance,

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Speaker 1: I have the Celtics first in this first tier. I

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Speaker 1: wouldn't actually have them as the best championship contender. I'd

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Speaker 1: probably ranked them Golden State than Milwaukee, Den Boston, then Brooklyn.

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Speaker 1: But I'm gonna work. I'm just gonna keep them in

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Speaker 1: tears because I think it's more interesting that way. So,

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Speaker 1: starting with the Boston Celtics, I think that the humiliation

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Speaker 1: from last year's NBA Finals flame out has helped a lot.

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Speaker 1: Jason Tatum has clearly spent a ton of time in

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Speaker 1: the offseason working on his handle. Uh He's has He

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Speaker 1: has his lowest turnovers per thirty six minutes since two

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Speaker 1: thousand twenty. Then obviously they added Malcolm Brogden. So the

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Speaker 1: general growing up an improvement of the roster plus the

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Speaker 1: influx of Malcolm Brogden seems to have addressed their ball

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Speaker 1: handling concerns. They are the fourth best team in the

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Speaker 1: league right now at taking care of the bat basketball

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Speaker 1: at just thirteen point four turnovers per one possessions. But

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Speaker 1: then we had that Golden State game or that Denver

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Speaker 1: Nuggets game where just time and time again we've seen

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Speaker 1: at the biggest stages and a little bit of those

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Speaker 1: high stakes environments, they kind of lose their identity a bit.

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Speaker 1: They're sloppy on defense and the way you wouldn't expect

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Speaker 1: them to be, like, for instance, last year, great transition

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Speaker 1: defense all year, horrible transition defense in the playoffs when

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Speaker 1: the stakes get heavy, they just lose their identity a

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Speaker 1: little bit. And so the real question is can they

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Speaker 1: keep their focus this year through four rounds of the

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Speaker 1: playoffs and not lose that identity. They have to beat

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Speaker 1: their own demons. The biggest enemy of the Boston Celtics

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Speaker 1: is the Boston Celtics. I think they actually have the

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Speaker 1: most talented team in the n B A second team

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Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Nets. They are top five in offense, top

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Speaker 1: ten in defense. I think Kevin Durant is the m

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Speaker 1: v P of the league if the season ended today.

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Speaker 1: Kyrie Irving is having an excellent season. And then a

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Speaker 1: lot of their important offseason moves have panned out. That

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Speaker 1: Royce O'Neil trade that they made for that first round

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Speaker 1: pick from the Jazz, that was a home run trade.

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Speaker 1: T J. Warren has fit in really nicely with his

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Speaker 1: bit of ball handling and shooting. And then you do

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Speaker 1: what Naby getting him um uh this summer. Previously he

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Speaker 1: was with the Raptors. That him just providing another big,

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Speaker 1: long wing that can knock down threes at a high

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Speaker 1: rate and play a little bit of a bit of defense.

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Speaker 1: That is giving them a really functional basketball team. Now,

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Speaker 1: my two main concerns with the Brooklyn Nets are they

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Speaker 1: rely heavily on pull up shooting, and we saw what

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Speaker 1: happened last year against Boston when those pull up jump

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Speaker 1: shots stopped going in. How suddenly their offense loses a

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Speaker 1: great deal of effectiveness. So that would be one of

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Speaker 1: my concerns. The second concern is their lack of physicality.

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Speaker 1: They are a great defensive team, but they are very thin,

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Speaker 1: and so there are specific matchups teams specifically to have

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Speaker 1: a great deal of strength on the perimeter, teams like

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Speaker 1: Boston that I think are really bad matchup for Brooklyn

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Speaker 1: that could get them into some trouble. That top of

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Speaker 1: the East is very matchup dependent, Like I really like

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Speaker 1: Brooklyn's chances of beating Milwaukee, but I really like Milwaukee's

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Speaker 1: chances of beating Boston, but I really like Boston's chances

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Speaker 1: of beating Brooklyn. So it's kind of matchups could be

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Speaker 1: a big indicator of how things go out East this year.

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Speaker 1: But they are top three. The Brooklyn Nets are top three,

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Speaker 1: and both half court offense and half court defense, they

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Speaker 1: are built for these slow down NBA playoff games. They

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Speaker 1: can execute in the half court, so they are definitely

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Speaker 1: a top tier contender in my opinion. Alright, Milwaukee Bucks,

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Speaker 1: they really have done a masterful job this year of

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Speaker 1: floating things despite really bad injury luck with Chris Middleton

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Speaker 1: and Drew Holiday. The biggest issue with them is their

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Speaker 1: spot up shooting. There the nineteen best team in the

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Speaker 1: league at converting spot up opportunities at just one point

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Speaker 1: per possession. But we're starting to see some encouraging stuff.

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Speaker 1: As I expected, Joe Ingles has been a perfect fit.

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Speaker 1: They're not just attacking closeouts and doing stuff in spot

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Speaker 1: up situations, but also um his ability to make reads

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Speaker 1: on ball so they can run some actions with him

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Speaker 1: as a second side creator. Chris Middleton getting healthy and

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Speaker 1: getting a good stretch of basketball games where he gets

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Speaker 1: his rhythm will go a long way towards remedying those

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Speaker 1: spot up issues as well. And you know, just in general,

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Speaker 1: I think I can't shake the feeling that the NBA

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Speaker 1: world as a whole is kind of writing off your

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Speaker 1: honest right now. He is having kind of an ify

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Speaker 1: season from a shooting perspective and from a metric perspective.

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Speaker 1: The Bucks are flying under the radar right now. And

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Speaker 1: we've seen even without Joe ingles Is support, even without

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Speaker 1: Chris Middleton's support, we've seen how hard it is to

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Speaker 1: beat Janice in that group of guys in a playoff series,

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Speaker 1: even for a team is good at the as the

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Speaker 1: Boston Celtics, even with all those personnel limitations, because Janice

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Speaker 1: Antenna Combo in a seven game series is going to

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Speaker 1: put his damn head down and run you over. Time

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Speaker 1: and time again for every bit of those seven games

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Speaker 1: to try to get to the rim. And if you're

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Speaker 1: not prepared to hold up to that, you'll lose. And

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Speaker 1: even if you do hold up to that, it's gonna

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Speaker 1: be difficult. And if you throw in some real spot

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Speaker 1: up shooting with Chris Middleton and Joe Ingles, that fortification

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Speaker 1: there on the wing could make the really difficult to beat.

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Speaker 1: I still think they're a top tier contender. And then lastly,

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Speaker 1: the Golden State Warriors. I just think that I think

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Speaker 1: the Warriors are dealing with a really, really, really bad

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Speaker 1: case of championship malaise. Yes, they have some roster issues.

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Speaker 1: I think they could use a backup center. I think

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Speaker 1: they could use another wing off the bench, But I

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Speaker 1: think the vast majority of their issues come down to

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Speaker 1: inconsistent effort. They just put up a defensive rating of

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Speaker 1: one eighteen point three against the Orlando Magic or a

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Speaker 1: bottom ten offense, the Detroit Pistons who are a bottom

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Speaker 1: five offense, and the Phoenix Suns, who literally can't score

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Speaker 1: without Devin Booker on the floor. They're just not playing

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Speaker 1: hard enough right now. So I do think that eventually

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Speaker 1: they'll snap into gear. Now that steps back, I think

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Speaker 1: the veterans are gonna get on everybody's case and snap

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Speaker 1: into focus. I expect them to have a twenty game

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Speaker 1: stretch at some point over the course of the next

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Speaker 1: couple of months where they rip off, you know, seventeen

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Speaker 1: and three or sixteen and four, And when they do that,

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Speaker 1: all of their issues and the standings will go away

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Speaker 1: and they'll kind of recapture that identity. I also expect

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Speaker 1: them to finish with the top ten defense when it's

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Speaker 1: all said and done, because I think that will be

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Speaker 1: the driving force of their turnaround. And make no mistake

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Speaker 1: once again, like we were talking about with the honest,

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Speaker 1: if you want to beat the Warriors in a playoff series,

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Speaker 1: which is something you'll probably have to do, if you

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Speaker 1: want to get out of the Western Conference, you're going

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Speaker 1: to have to beat Steph Curry, Clay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins,

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Speaker 1: Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney four times out of seven games. Yes,

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Speaker 1: their bench has some issues. Yes they've had inconsistent defensive

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Speaker 1: effort in the regular season, but you know damn well,

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Speaker 1: because we just saw it against the Celtics last year,

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Speaker 1: and you just saw it against the Mavericks last year.

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Speaker 1: When they are in those settings, they just execute on

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Speaker 1: both ends of the floor at a higher level than

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Speaker 1: anyone else in the league right now, and they're not

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Speaker 1: gonna care about them sucking on the road during February

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Speaker 1: when they get to that point. They are the one

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Speaker 1: team in this entire field that has earned the benefit

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Speaker 1: of the doubt as it as it pertains to UH

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Speaker 1: trying to figure out what their ultimate ceiling is. We

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Speaker 1: know what it looks like, we know what these players

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Speaker 1: are capable of. They just have the worst case of

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Speaker 1: championship malays that I can remember seeing, which makes some

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Speaker 1: sense that this is a late term championship. This was

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Speaker 1: a championship at the end of most of these guys' careers,

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Speaker 1: so it's a little bit harder for them to get

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Speaker 1: the engine started. I do eventually think they'll get the

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Speaker 1: engine started. As of right now, to be clear, I

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Speaker 1: still have the Golden State Warriors winning the championship, all right.

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Speaker 1: Moving on to the next tier, This is the fatal

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Speaker 1: flaw contenders. These are teams that legitimately have good reason

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Speaker 1: to believe that they can win a championship, and they

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Speaker 1: should feel confident in their locker room. But I expect

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Speaker 1: these teams to get beat because of significant flaws that

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Speaker 1: are historically proven throughout NBA history to get team speed

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Speaker 1: in the playoffs. Starting with Denver, they have the best

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Speaker 1: offense in the league, or more accurately, they're tied for

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Speaker 1: the best offense in the league at one seventeen point

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Speaker 1: one points per one hundred possessions, which is just what

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Speaker 1: I expected before the season. I told you guys, I

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Speaker 1: expected Denver to be the number one offense, but I

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Speaker 1: said that didn't matter if they didn't get enough stops. Defensive,

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Speaker 1: there is a historic precedent in the NBA in this millennium,

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Speaker 1: you do not win a championship unless you have a

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Speaker 1: top ten defense. The only two exceptions are the Shack

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Speaker 1: Kobe Lakers and the k D Staph Warriors in two

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Speaker 1: thousand eighteen, who, by the way, were the eleventh best

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Speaker 1: defense in the league. So we have two examples where

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Speaker 1: that wasn't true. One they were eleventh and they had

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Speaker 1: two of the top three players in the world, and

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Speaker 1: the other one they had the two best players in

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Speaker 1: the world and Kevin in a Kobe and Shack. That's

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Speaker 1: not a luxury that the Nuggets have. Functionally, when you

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Speaker 1: get to the playoffs, teams target your weaknesses. That's just

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Speaker 1: a fact. Strategically, over seven games, when you have that

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Speaker 1: much time to scout and you're running, you know, over

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Speaker 1: the course of a series five offensive possessions, you're targeting

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Speaker 1: the defensive weaknesses every single time that you can. Now

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Speaker 1: Denver has loaded up on some solid defenders. Really like

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Speaker 1: the Bruce Brown acquisition. I thought flipping Will Barton for

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Speaker 1: k CP was really smart. Said that before the season.

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Speaker 1: I think he's a perfect fit with Yokich and he

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Speaker 1: has been erin Gordon's having a great defensive season. But

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Speaker 1: they're best lineups. Denver's best lineups feature three players that

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Speaker 1: will relentlessly be attacked in a playoff series. Nicola Yokich

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Speaker 1: through spamming pick and roll with players that force him

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Speaker 1: to come up to the level of the screen and

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Speaker 1: try to drive about around him or just attacking him

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Speaker 1: and switches when they have out opportunities, Jamal Murray attacking

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Speaker 1: and switches, and Michael Porter Jr. They will get attacked

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Speaker 1: and NBA history tells us they will lose as a result.

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Speaker 1: They've been a bottom ten defense this year when they

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Speaker 1: play against the top ten offenses in the league. They

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Speaker 1: are twentieth in defensive rating according to Cleaning the Glass.

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Speaker 1: I expect them in a playoff series to be put

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Speaker 1: in a predicament where they're best players are attacked, and

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Speaker 1: I think it will result in their in them losing

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Speaker 1: like Shack and Kobe, like Katie and Steath. You only

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Speaker 1: win a championship with a bad defense if you have

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Speaker 1: an otherworldly talent advantage, and the Nuggets do not, and

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Speaker 1: so that's the biggest thing standing in their way. Memphis Grizzlies,

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Speaker 1: they cannot score in the half court. They are a

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Speaker 1: great team. They're tied for the second best record in

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Speaker 1: the league. They're probably the most physically imposing team in

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Speaker 1: the league. They're damn good on the glass. They have

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Speaker 1: the number one defense in the league, but they lack

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Speaker 1: total offensive skill and ball handling and shooting in most

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Speaker 1: of their lineups. John Mary is the only guy who

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Speaker 1: can consistently create shots for himself and his teammates at

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Speaker 1: an extremely high level. So as a result, they have

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Speaker 1: the seventh worst half court offense in the entire league.

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Speaker 1: When they get into the playoffs, teams will find a

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Speaker 1: way to trap them in the half court, and when

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Speaker 1: that happens, I expect them to struggle to score, which

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Speaker 1: I think will get them beat. Uh. The only real

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Speaker 1: chance they have is if Desmond Bane comes back and

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Speaker 1: some of that off the drible stuff he flashed. Now

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Speaker 1: he is back, but gets back to what he was

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Speaker 1: earlier in the season, which is a really high level

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Speaker 1: dribble creator. And if that translates to the playoffs, it

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Speaker 1: might improve them um in those half court situations. But

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Speaker 1: right now to this point in the season, through half

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Speaker 1: the season, they've been a really bad half court offense.

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Speaker 1: That's going to be an issue when they get to

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Speaker 1: the late rounds of the playoffs. Next to Cleveland Cavaliers. Again,

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Speaker 1: lots of reasons to be excited. Second best defense in

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Speaker 1: the league, seventh best record in the league. The Donovan

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Speaker 1: Mitchell trade was an absolute home run, but their best

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Speaker 1: lineup features two small guards and Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell,

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Speaker 1: both of which are bad defensive players. Despite the fact

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Speaker 1: that the Calves as a team have a great defense, again,

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Speaker 1: when we get into the postseason, we see these things

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Speaker 1: get attacked. The best example I can give you, guys

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Speaker 1: is the Utah Jazz the Utah Jazz. Functionally, in the

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Speaker 1: regular season a couple of years ago, UM had an

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Speaker 1: excellent defense. I think there were third in defensive rating

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Speaker 1: two years ago. But then what happened It might have

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Speaker 1: been last year. Was either last year the year four,

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Speaker 1: I can't remember exactly, but they had the third best

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Speaker 1: defense in the regular season. I think it was last

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Speaker 1: year against the MAVs UM. But when they get into

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Speaker 1: the postseason, it turns out that all those small guards

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Speaker 1: that they have can get attacked. And so what ended

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Speaker 1: up happening. They got attacked all of a sudden. Rudy

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Speaker 1: Gobert isn't just hanging out by the paint blocking shots. Instead,

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Speaker 1: he's covering ground in rotation and being dragged away from

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Speaker 1: the rim, and teams are either getting high quality three

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Speaker 1: point shots or rim attempts. When Rudy gets pulled away

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Speaker 1: from the rim. Next thing, you know, their defense falls apart.

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Speaker 1: I want to say that the Jazz had like a

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Speaker 1: one thirty defensive rating um UH in that playoff run

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Speaker 1: after being the third best defense in the league to

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Speaker 1: start the year. There's a difference between you know, what

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Speaker 1: you can functionally like kind of like do what kind

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Speaker 1: of defense you can put out as a fac simile

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Speaker 1: of defense in the regular season versus what actually works

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Speaker 1: in the playoffs. It's kind of the difference between defensive

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Speaker 1: versatility and you know, a defensive base concept, you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean. Like in the playoffs, you need to

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Speaker 1: have defensive versatility, you need to be able to go

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Speaker 1: to different defensive coverages. And you know, when you have

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Speaker 1: two small guards like Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell, when

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Speaker 1: you get into the postseason, I don't care how good

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Speaker 1: defensively they were in the regular season. Teams will find

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Speaker 1: a way to attack those guys. And the big guy

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Speaker 1: that I've seen them get attacked, they seem get attacked

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Speaker 1: most frequently in these late game situations. In particular has

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Speaker 1: been Darius Garland because he's so incredibly small, and you

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Speaker 1: know what you're seeing it is in those clutch situations.

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Speaker 1: Calves are second in defense, but they're seventeen in defense

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Speaker 1: and clutch situations, and it's because clutch situations mimic playoff basketball.

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Speaker 1: It's a lot more matchup attacking, and that's where those

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Speaker 1: small guards end up presenting problems. As I've been preaching

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Speaker 1: all year, I expect that Eventually, the Calves will have

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Speaker 1: to consider flipping Darius Garland for a wing so that

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Speaker 1: they can get away from that specific fatal flaw. Next

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Speaker 1: is the Philadelphia seventy six Ers, their fourth in defense,

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Speaker 1: sixth best record in the league. I think they have

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Speaker 1: the most talented top four in the league, between James

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Speaker 1: hard and Joel and beat Tyres, Maxie and Tobias Harris

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Speaker 1: and Joel Embied and James Harden both look fantastic this year,

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Speaker 1: but Olan Bead and James Harden have a history of

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Speaker 1: not playing well in the NBA playoffs. Joel Embiid his

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Speaker 1: perimeter jump shot consistently falls apart in the playoffs, and

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Speaker 1: as we've seen, that has become a huge part of

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Speaker 1: his game. So if that happens again, that's gonna be problematic.

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Speaker 1: And then James Harden, we don't have to get into

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Speaker 1: his playoff resume, but just consistently like probably the most

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Speaker 1: consistent example of playoff decline in NBA history from a

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Speaker 1: superstar player. So again, if they do play at that

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Speaker 1: same level, if m B does continue to knock down

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Speaker 1: his perimeter shot in the playoffs, if James Harden does

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Speaker 1: continue to play at this level in the playoffs. I

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Speaker 1: think the Sixers have a damn good chance to win,

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Speaker 1: But the best indicator of future performances, past performance, and

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Speaker 1: what we've seen in the past is that those two

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Speaker 1: guys experience is significant decline when they get into the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: Then the last two teams I have in this team

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Speaker 1: tier are the l A Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans. Again,

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Speaker 1: two teams that I absolutely have think have chances to

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Speaker 1: win the championship, but health is their biggest concern. Kauai,

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Speaker 1: Paul George, Zion Williamson brandon Ing just can't stay on

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Speaker 1: the floor and stay healthy. Makes it really difficult to

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Speaker 1: evaluate them, makes it really difficult for that team to

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Speaker 1: build any continuity. They're gonna have to play a certain

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Speaker 1: way when they get in the postseason that they're not

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Speaker 1: gonna have enough reps from the regular season to lean on.

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Speaker 1: That to me, um takes them off of real championship

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Speaker 1: contention and puts it puts them more on the fringes Alright.

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Speaker 1: The next tier is the if they make the right

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Speaker 1: trade contenders. Again, these are teams that have incredible star

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Speaker 1: talent but monster roster deficiencies that need to be addressed

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Speaker 1: at the deadline to give them any chance to compete

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Speaker 1: for a championship. The first team I have in this

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Speaker 1: tier is the Dallas Mavericks. They have everything you need

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Speaker 1: except for that third drible creator. I think Luca is

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Speaker 1: more than good enough to be the best player on

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Speaker 1: a championship team. Their defense has been bad as of late,

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Speaker 1: but you gotta look at the personnel at Mexicaliba being hurt.

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Speaker 1: That's one of their best back line defenders. You know,

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Speaker 1: Josh Green has been a very important defensive player this year.

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Speaker 1: Dorian Phinney Smith is literally their best defensive wing. When

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Speaker 1: those guys come back, I expect their defense to stabilize, um,

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Speaker 1: but they need to address that backup creation role. I'd

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Speaker 1: be looking to flip Christian Would at the deadline for

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Speaker 1: a creator because I don't really like Christian Wood's game,

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Speaker 1: and I don't think he's a guy that you can

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Speaker 1: really rely on in a playoff setting. UM, you can

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Speaker 1: go super aggressive and pair him with like Tim Hardaway Jr.

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Speaker 1: And some draft picks and try to go after Zach Levin.

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Speaker 1: That'd be an interesting piece, but you better be convinced

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Speaker 1: that he can be your secondary star. Otherwise you're tied

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Speaker 1: up to him for a long time. UM Or you

401
00:20:32,000 --> 00:20:34,960
Speaker 1: could just flip Christian Wood straight up for you know,

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Speaker 1: someone like Jordan Clarkson from the Utah Jazz to try

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Speaker 1: to give yourself some backup um ball hand like you

404
00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:43,920
Speaker 1: could either go with a heavily protected first round pick

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Speaker 1: if you think that's what he's worth, or try to

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Speaker 1: go for something like two second round picks. Another guy

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Speaker 1: would be looking at his Terry Rosier from the New

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Speaker 1: Orleans or from the Charlotte Hornets. If you can get

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Speaker 1: him in there in that third creation role alongside Luca

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Speaker 1: and Spencer Dinwoody, I think you have a better chance

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Speaker 1: no matter what. Just somebody that can help them run

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Speaker 1: coherent offense when Luca is off the floor and lower

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Speaker 1: Lucas usage. Right now, this season, the Dallas Maverick score

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Speaker 1: d and twenty one points per one h possessions when

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Speaker 1: Luca is on the floor and just one oh six

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Speaker 1: when he's off the floor. It's a significant drop off

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Speaker 1: offensively when he's off. They can address that. That's their

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Speaker 1: big need at the deadline. Next the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Speaker 1: They have everything they need except for competency with wing size,

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Speaker 1: They've got all the star power in the world. Lebron

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Speaker 1: and Anthony Davis I think are definitively top ten players

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Speaker 1: in the league. Uh. The Ringer just released their NBA

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Speaker 1: rankings the other day and they have Lebron and A

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Speaker 1: d both as top ten players in the league. I

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Speaker 1: sent out a poll the other day just seeing what

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Speaker 1: the um pulse was of the fan the all of

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Speaker 1: the basketball fans that follow me and over of the

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Speaker 1: people who voted in the poll said that they believe

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Speaker 1: Lebron and A d were both top ten players. So

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Speaker 1: there you go. You're checked in the star department. Their

431
00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:59,199
Speaker 1: guard corps actually really solid. Dennis Reuter has been one

432
00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:01,080
Speaker 1: of the best veteran him them signings in the league

433
00:22:01,080 --> 00:22:05,000
Speaker 1: this year. Austin Reeves is an excellent backcourt piece. Lonnie

434
00:22:05,000 --> 00:22:07,160
Speaker 1: Walker has had a very good season for the Lakers.

435
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,320
Speaker 1: Kendrick Nunn is even starting to play better after a

436
00:22:09,520 --> 00:22:12,080
Speaker 1: nightmares start to the season, and then Russell Westbrook. I mean,

437
00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:17,399
Speaker 1: it's a complicated and polarizing topic, but as a bench guard,

438
00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:19,480
Speaker 1: he's not the worst option in the world. I think.

439
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:21,800
Speaker 1: I think as long as the Lakers don't ever play

440
00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:25,639
Speaker 1: him in a closing lineup, it's fine to keep him around. Um,

441
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:27,359
Speaker 1: you guys know how I feel about USS. I'm not

442
00:22:27,359 --> 00:22:28,960
Speaker 1: gonna get into it any further. And then when you

443
00:22:28,960 --> 00:22:31,359
Speaker 1: look at the front court, they're actually really solid between

444
00:22:31,440 --> 00:22:35,159
Speaker 1: Lebron James, Anthony Davis, Thomas Bryant has shown that he

445
00:22:35,160 --> 00:22:37,000
Speaker 1: could be an excellent backup center for that group. And

446
00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,359
Speaker 1: then when you Gabriel flies around and just does stuff

447
00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,640
Speaker 1: with his length in athleticism. But at the forward position

448
00:22:42,680 --> 00:22:45,680
Speaker 1: on the wing, they're incredibly thin. The only two forwards

449
00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,280
Speaker 1: they really have or Troy Brown Jr. Who's really undersized

450
00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:51,000
Speaker 1: and does better guarding guards than he does guarding wings,

451
00:22:51,119 --> 00:22:53,960
Speaker 1: and want Toscano Anderson, who can guard upon opposing wings,

452
00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:56,240
Speaker 1: but he really can't shoot, so he hurts you on

453
00:22:56,280 --> 00:22:58,800
Speaker 1: the offensive end of the floor. So they desperately need

454
00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:02,200
Speaker 1: somebody in that seven to six nine range, preferably two

455
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:05,159
Speaker 1: guys that can shoot the ball competently on the offensive

456
00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:07,280
Speaker 1: end of the floor and that can play defense on

457
00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,639
Speaker 1: the perimeter, particularly against bigger wings. If I was running

458
00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:12,359
Speaker 1: at the if I was running the Lakers, I'd go

459
00:23:12,400 --> 00:23:16,280
Speaker 1: after both Kyle Kuzman Boy and Begdanovitch. Both are reportedly

460
00:23:16,359 --> 00:23:18,959
Speaker 1: valued for right around the first round pick. The Lakers

461
00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:21,680
Speaker 1: have two first round picks that are both extremely highly

462
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,080
Speaker 1: valued around the league because of the incompetence of Genie

463
00:23:24,080 --> 00:23:27,159
Speaker 1: Buss and Rob Polinka. Now, matching salaries would be a

464
00:23:27,200 --> 00:23:30,040
Speaker 1: little bit challenging. Kyle Kuzma makes thirteen millions. You could

465
00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:33,639
Speaker 1: go straight across with a guy like Patrick Beverley for

466
00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:35,880
Speaker 1: Kyle Kuzma, But if you wanted to get Boy and Begdanovitch,

467
00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:37,320
Speaker 1: you might have to get a little bit more creative.

468
00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:38,720
Speaker 1: You might have to loop in a third team to

469
00:23:38,720 --> 00:23:42,080
Speaker 1: get some cap space to help absorb salary. But I

470
00:23:42,119 --> 00:23:44,080
Speaker 1: think that they should go after both because if you

471
00:23:44,119 --> 00:23:47,880
Speaker 1: put that backcourt with that front court with Lebron James

472
00:23:47,880 --> 00:23:50,840
Speaker 1: and Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzman, Boy and Begdanovitch on

473
00:23:50,880 --> 00:23:53,879
Speaker 1: the wing, that to me is a contender that is

474
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:56,200
Speaker 1: just below that top tier. And if Lebron James and

475
00:23:56,200 --> 00:23:58,679
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis play to the level they're capable of, then

476
00:23:58,680 --> 00:24:01,560
Speaker 1: they're absolutely top tier can tenders. And I have to

477
00:24:01,600 --> 00:24:04,080
Speaker 1: keep reminding everybody because people don't understand, but the Lakers

478
00:24:04,080 --> 00:24:07,280
Speaker 1: have been damn good at pretty much ever since they

479
00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,040
Speaker 1: beat the Brooklyn Nets back on November or whatever it is.

480
00:24:10,080 --> 00:24:11,760
Speaker 1: They've been one of the top ten teams in the league.

481
00:24:12,080 --> 00:24:15,159
Speaker 1: So whatever your impression is of the Lakers, it's probably

482
00:24:15,200 --> 00:24:18,000
Speaker 1: been poisoned by a two intense start to the season

483
00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:21,560
Speaker 1: when Dennis Shrewder wasn't available, Thomas Bryant wasn't available, Lebron

484
00:24:21,680 --> 00:24:24,040
Speaker 1: is playing like crap, and Anthony Davis wasn't making any

485
00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,280
Speaker 1: jump shots. So it's a different team now than what

486
00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,159
Speaker 1: they were to begin the season, and we gotta adjust

487
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:31,280
Speaker 1: our expectations there. But even if they couldn't get both

488
00:24:31,320 --> 00:24:34,399
Speaker 1: of those guys just one, if they could just flip

489
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:38,160
Speaker 1: Patrick Beverley in a lightly protected first for Kyle Kuzma,

490
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:43,280
Speaker 1: that would monumentally improve their opportunity to win this season.

491
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:45,919
Speaker 1: They have the eighth best record in the league over

492
00:24:45,960 --> 00:24:49,119
Speaker 1: the last thirty games, despite Lebron and Anthony Davis missing

493
00:24:49,119 --> 00:24:51,680
Speaker 1: significant stretches. There, if you get both of those guys

494
00:24:51,680 --> 00:24:53,760
Speaker 1: back on the floor and you fortify that wing position,

495
00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:56,920
Speaker 1: you have a championship contender. End of story. Um next

496
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:58,840
Speaker 1: Miami Heat. They have ton to get excited about. Their

497
00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:00,959
Speaker 1: ten and five over the last few team games, just

498
00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:02,640
Speaker 1: one and a half games back of the sixth seed

499
00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:04,760
Speaker 1: to get out of the plane. Bama to Bio has

500
00:25:04,760 --> 00:25:07,680
Speaker 1: gone up a level, particularly as a score, but they're

501
00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:11,160
Speaker 1: still way too thin on the front line. They definitely

502
00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,280
Speaker 1: need to look to try to get a big, strong forward,

503
00:25:14,359 --> 00:25:16,240
Speaker 1: kind of a different archetype. The Lakers are more in

504
00:25:16,240 --> 00:25:19,400
Speaker 1: the market for a skilled forward. I'm for the heat.

505
00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:22,480
Speaker 1: I'm more concerned with a physical forward, So I'd be

506
00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:24,359
Speaker 1: looking at guys like O g N and Obi on

507
00:25:24,400 --> 00:25:27,159
Speaker 1: the aggressive end, and guys like Jake Crowder on the

508
00:25:27,200 --> 00:25:29,720
Speaker 1: less aggressive end, but a big, strong forward that can

509
00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:34,199
Speaker 1: help fortify their interior presence. Okay, so we're moving on

510
00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,080
Speaker 1: to the next year. From this point forward through the

511
00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:38,760
Speaker 1: rest of the show, it's gonna be much more rapid fire. Obviously,

512
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:40,640
Speaker 1: these are lower level teams, so I'm not gonna spend

513
00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:43,040
Speaker 1: as much time talking about them. This is the lack

514
00:25:43,119 --> 00:25:45,679
Speaker 1: of self awareness here. Every single one of these teams

515
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:49,480
Speaker 1: is trapped in mediocrity and unwilling to admit it. They

516
00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:52,760
Speaker 1: probably have some sort of, you know, misperception that they

517
00:25:52,800 --> 00:25:55,040
Speaker 1: have an opportunity to win this year when they actually

518
00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:59,080
Speaker 1: don't and they have severe, you know, severe severe flaws

519
00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:00,840
Speaker 1: that would need to be dry before they could ever

520
00:26:00,880 --> 00:26:04,359
Speaker 1: even hope to contend. First the Chicago Bulls. Their stars

521
00:26:04,400 --> 00:26:06,960
Speaker 1: do not compete physically, especially on the defensive end of

522
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,160
Speaker 1: the floor. Secondly, the Atlanta Hawks. They have major locker

523
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:13,000
Speaker 1: room issues. Their energy seems off half the time I

524
00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:16,760
Speaker 1: watched them. Feels like any moment now Nate McMillan could resign.

525
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:20,359
Speaker 1: There's just a major chemistry issue in that locker room.

526
00:26:20,480 --> 00:26:23,480
Speaker 1: Next to Portland Trailblazers, they have the sixth worst record

527
00:26:23,520 --> 00:26:26,479
Speaker 1: in the league over the last twenty six games. Dropped

528
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,679
Speaker 1: another game at home last night to the Orlando Magic.

529
00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:33,680
Speaker 1: Next the Minnesota Timberwolves. Their best players can't play together.

530
00:26:34,119 --> 00:26:37,600
Speaker 1: Anthony Edwards lineups are way better when D'Angelo russell is

531
00:26:37,640 --> 00:26:41,080
Speaker 1: off the floor. All of their one center lineups are positive.

532
00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:44,120
Speaker 1: So if it's just nas read positive, just Carl Town's positive,

533
00:26:44,359 --> 00:26:47,440
Speaker 1: just Rudy Gobert positive, but any combination of the two

534
00:26:47,480 --> 00:26:49,800
Speaker 1: of them is negative, which goes right back to one

535
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:51,880
Speaker 1: of the fundamental team building things that I always talked

536
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:54,199
Speaker 1: about on this show. Don't build your team around two

537
00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:56,320
Speaker 1: centers on the floor at the same time. You need

538
00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:58,919
Speaker 1: to be able to um compete in the up and

539
00:26:58,960 --> 00:27:01,520
Speaker 1: down nature of the modern b A. I think Anthony

540
00:27:01,600 --> 00:27:03,920
Speaker 1: Edwards and Rudy Gobert make an interesting core, but I

541
00:27:03,960 --> 00:27:06,680
Speaker 1: think they need to reconfigure the rest, probably resulting in

542
00:27:06,720 --> 00:27:10,399
Speaker 1: then moving Carl Town's Indiangelo russell Um. Next is the

543
00:27:10,400 --> 00:27:13,119
Speaker 1: Phoenix Suns. They lost two years in a row in

544
00:27:13,680 --> 00:27:17,199
Speaker 1: UH Deep playoff runs because their stars couldn't compete with

545
00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,080
Speaker 1: the likes of Janice or Luca don chich Well. Now

546
00:27:20,119 --> 00:27:22,399
Speaker 1: CP three is worse than ever and Devin Booker is

547
00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,520
Speaker 1: having health issues, so that fundamental flaw that they have

548
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:28,160
Speaker 1: is only worse now than it's ever been. Plus they've

549
00:27:28,160 --> 00:27:29,480
Speaker 1: lost a lot of depth on the wing with the

550
00:27:29,520 --> 00:27:32,399
Speaker 1: Cam Johnson injury and the Jay Crowder trade request. They're

551
00:27:32,440 --> 00:27:34,920
Speaker 1: just a worse version of a team that was already

552
00:27:35,000 --> 00:27:38,520
Speaker 1: fatally flawed. Next is the New York Knicks, kind of

553
00:27:38,520 --> 00:27:40,560
Speaker 1: a similar predicaments of the Phoenix Suns. They have lots

554
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,720
Speaker 1: of talent. Mitchell Robinson's really good, Quentin Grinds is really good,

555
00:27:43,720 --> 00:27:46,520
Speaker 1: are j Barrett is really good. They defended a high level,

556
00:27:46,560 --> 00:27:48,840
Speaker 1: but you're not beating any of those top teams in

557
00:27:48,840 --> 00:27:52,119
Speaker 1: the Eastern Conference of Jalen Brunson and Julius Randall are

558
00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:55,280
Speaker 1: making all your offensive decisions for you. Next is the

559
00:27:55,280 --> 00:27:57,600
Speaker 1: Sacramento Kings. They don't play any defense, and as a

560
00:27:57,600 --> 00:27:59,760
Speaker 1: result they can't beat any good teams. They're just eight

561
00:27:59,800 --> 00:28:03,080
Speaker 1: and and against teams that are five are better. Next

562
00:28:03,080 --> 00:28:06,000
Speaker 1: to Washington Wizards, everyone of the team is overslotted. Bradley Beal,

563
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:07,680
Speaker 1: I really like if he's the second best player on

564
00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:09,520
Speaker 1: your team, but on the Wizards, he's the best player

565
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:11,720
Speaker 1: on the team. I really like Kyle Kuzma if he's

566
00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:13,800
Speaker 1: the third or fourth best player on your team, but

567
00:28:13,920 --> 00:28:15,560
Speaker 1: he's the second best player on your team, and so

568
00:28:15,600 --> 00:28:19,399
Speaker 1: as a result, everyone's kind of uh playing, you know,

569
00:28:19,480 --> 00:28:21,720
Speaker 1: above their pay grade, and as a result they can't

570
00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,080
Speaker 1: win games. And then lastly, the Toronto Raptors. They just

571
00:28:25,119 --> 00:28:27,760
Speaker 1: don't have nearly enough ball handling and shooting and so

572
00:28:27,840 --> 00:28:29,560
Speaker 1: as a result they can't score in the half court

573
00:28:29,600 --> 00:28:31,160
Speaker 1: and they can only win if it's a track meet,

574
00:28:31,200 --> 00:28:33,080
Speaker 1: which just is never going to happen when you get

575
00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:36,879
Speaker 1: into the playoffs. Alright, Moving on to the interesting and

576
00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:39,360
Speaker 1: scrappy tier. These are teams that are further along in

577
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:42,400
Speaker 1: their development than the tanking teams and have multiple good

578
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,760
Speaker 1: NBA players that are young and exciting, but they are

579
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:48,440
Speaker 1: close to being good enough to like push their chips

580
00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:50,560
Speaker 1: in to try to go after contention. And there's no

581
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,640
Speaker 1: misconception in the front office where they think they're contending

582
00:28:53,720 --> 00:28:57,160
Speaker 1: right now when they're not. Um. The front offices for

583
00:28:57,200 --> 00:28:59,360
Speaker 1: these teams probably know that they're gonna lose in some

584
00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:01,240
Speaker 1: early play round, but they look at it as a

585
00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,520
Speaker 1: valuable experience and part of that process towards getting to

586
00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:06,680
Speaker 1: the next level. The three teams that I have in

587
00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:09,160
Speaker 1: this yere are the Indiana Pacers, the Utah Jazz, and

588
00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:11,840
Speaker 1: the Oklahoma City Thunder. I just did a deep dive

589
00:29:11,880 --> 00:29:13,880
Speaker 1: on the Oklahoma City Thunder yesterday. You can find that

590
00:29:13,920 --> 00:29:16,600
Speaker 1: they're I'm not gonna talk anymore about them today. The

591
00:29:16,680 --> 00:29:19,240
Speaker 1: Utah Jazz, it's basically team made up of trade filler

592
00:29:19,440 --> 00:29:22,200
Speaker 1: from the Rudy Gobert and the Donovan mettal trades, and

593
00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,760
Speaker 1: this season is basically a tryout for the front office

594
00:29:24,760 --> 00:29:26,600
Speaker 1: to decide which one of these pieces they want to

595
00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:28,959
Speaker 1: hold onto for the future and which one of these

596
00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:32,520
Speaker 1: pieces they want to ship off for um for resources

597
00:29:32,600 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 1: over the trade deadline. But they're young talented, exciting LORI

598
00:29:36,040 --> 00:29:39,520
Speaker 1: market in looks like a franchise cornerstone piece. UM. Really

599
00:29:39,560 --> 00:29:41,200
Speaker 1: excited to see what Danny Angel does with that group

600
00:29:41,240 --> 00:29:45,000
Speaker 1: over the next decade, half decade, I should say. And lastly,

601
00:29:45,000 --> 00:29:48,560
Speaker 1: the Indiana Pacers, Um, it makes sense for them to wait,

602
00:29:49,320 --> 00:29:52,360
Speaker 1: they're I think they're all in trade would be for

603
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,560
Speaker 1: a wing right now. They're way too heavy young guards

604
00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,320
Speaker 1: and Miles Turner love would love to see them get

605
00:29:57,320 --> 00:29:59,840
Speaker 1: a legitimate wing in there that can take wing de

606
00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:01,960
Speaker 1: pensive assignments and give them a little bit more of

607
00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,000
Speaker 1: a rim pressuring element. But they have such an exciting

608
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:08,320
Speaker 1: young backcourt that they can even afford to trade some

609
00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:11,400
Speaker 1: of them for assets. Um, They're definitely a really exciting

610
00:30:11,440 --> 00:30:14,160
Speaker 1: young team. Tyrese Haliburton in his past First Culture has

611
00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:20,360
Speaker 1: transformed that backcourt all right. Lastly, the actively and intentionally

612
00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:23,440
Speaker 1: terrible tier. These are teams that basically serve one purpose,

613
00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,440
Speaker 1: giving young players low pressure reps so that they can

614
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,640
Speaker 1: evaluate and see what they project to be as NBA players.

615
00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:33,920
Speaker 1: They're bad, and they know they're bad, and they're playing

616
00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:38,240
Speaker 1: the long game. First is the Houston Rockets. They desperately

617
00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:40,280
Speaker 1: need a veteran ball handler to get in there and

618
00:30:40,280 --> 00:30:43,280
Speaker 1: teach their young guards game management. This is an important

619
00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,840
Speaker 1: detail of being a ball handler that I think goes underrated,

620
00:30:46,960 --> 00:30:50,240
Speaker 1: especially in young players. You know, I talked a lot

621
00:30:50,280 --> 00:30:54,440
Speaker 1: about the important skills of beating coverages in the NBA, right, Like,

622
00:30:54,440 --> 00:30:56,280
Speaker 1: you've got to have a certain amount of ball handling

623
00:30:56,560 --> 00:30:59,280
Speaker 1: off the dribble, shooting, finishing at the ram, and making

624
00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:01,760
Speaker 1: reads right. But it's not just as simple as that.

625
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:04,560
Speaker 1: There is a that's what you do on a single possession,

626
00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:06,880
Speaker 1: but over the course of a game, let's say, let's

627
00:31:06,880 --> 00:31:08,520
Speaker 1: to make the Matthew easy. Let's say there's a hundred

628
00:31:08,520 --> 00:31:10,840
Speaker 1: possessions in an NBA game. Well, in addition to those

629
00:31:10,840 --> 00:31:13,520
Speaker 1: one hundred possessions, let's say that I am on the

630
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:15,760
Speaker 1: floor for a thirty two minute shift out of the

631
00:31:15,760 --> 00:31:19,080
Speaker 1: forty eight, So that's like roughly seventy possessions. And then

632
00:31:19,400 --> 00:31:22,160
Speaker 1: you know, I'm sharing those possessions with my teammates. So like,

633
00:31:22,600 --> 00:31:27,840
Speaker 1: maybe I've got forty initiation possessions if I'm jailing green right, Um,

634
00:31:27,880 --> 00:31:30,480
Speaker 1: in those forty possessions, it's important for me to feel

635
00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,160
Speaker 1: the value of all forty of them versus the value

636
00:31:33,160 --> 00:31:35,800
Speaker 1: of any one particular of them, So there is a

637
00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:38,479
Speaker 1: time and a place for specific types of shots. Like

638
00:31:38,760 --> 00:31:41,720
Speaker 1: higher difficulty shots are better reserved for when you've built

639
00:31:41,760 --> 00:31:44,480
Speaker 1: your rhythm and you're feeling very confident and you feel

640
00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:46,360
Speaker 1: very good about that shot when you're rising up to

641
00:31:46,360 --> 00:31:48,920
Speaker 1: take it, whereas like early in the game, when you're

642
00:31:48,920 --> 00:31:51,440
Speaker 1: building your rhythm, it's better to make reads to try

643
00:31:51,480 --> 00:31:53,760
Speaker 1: to get your teammates going so they feel confident throughout

644
00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:55,800
Speaker 1: the game, or to seek out and hunt out easy

645
00:31:55,840 --> 00:31:58,440
Speaker 1: shots so you can build your rhythm to be able

646
00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:00,000
Speaker 1: to make the tougher ones at the end of the game.

647
00:32:00,160 --> 00:32:02,600
Speaker 1: But no matter what, there's a feel of the game,

648
00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:05,920
Speaker 1: especially as it pertains to the scoreboard. Down eight up eight,

649
00:32:06,200 --> 00:32:08,160
Speaker 1: close game. You're on a run, they're on a run.

650
00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,680
Speaker 1: Whatever it is, those ebbs and flows of the game,

651
00:32:12,120 --> 00:32:15,200
Speaker 1: and many in many ways are controlled by the ball

652
00:32:15,240 --> 00:32:18,560
Speaker 1: handlers and their ability to slow the game down when

653
00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:20,880
Speaker 1: the other teams on a run to really execute and

654
00:32:20,880 --> 00:32:24,480
Speaker 1: get a good shot, for instance, right or the transition

655
00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:26,800
Speaker 1: pull up three. When you're on a run, you're feeling

656
00:32:26,840 --> 00:32:29,960
Speaker 1: confident and you feel an opportunity to take to snatch

657
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:32,640
Speaker 1: the other team's heart. That's maybe an opportunity to be

658
00:32:32,640 --> 00:32:36,680
Speaker 1: more aggressive, but that feel is something that Kevin Porter Jr.

659
00:32:36,720 --> 00:32:39,719
Speaker 1: And Jaalen Green really struggle with, and so getting in

660
00:32:39,880 --> 00:32:43,480
Speaker 1: a a legit veteran ball handler kind of a similar

661
00:32:43,480 --> 00:32:46,040
Speaker 1: thing to what we were talking about earlier with Oklahoma City,

662
00:32:46,360 --> 00:32:48,640
Speaker 1: I should say yesterday with Oklahoma City, like I'd love

663
00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:51,200
Speaker 1: to see them target a Kyle Lowry or at Chris

664
00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:53,680
Speaker 1: Paul or something in the late end of their career

665
00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:56,800
Speaker 1: just to bring in not to do anything specific for

666
00:32:56,840 --> 00:32:58,960
Speaker 1: them on their team, but do what like Ray John

667
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,040
Speaker 1: Rondo did for the and A Hawks, which is like,

668
00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:03,440
Speaker 1: just go in there and be a mentor to some

669
00:33:03,440 --> 00:33:06,040
Speaker 1: of these young players and help them feel the game out.

670
00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:10,440
Speaker 1: Um the Detroit Piston, Charlotte Hornets, and San Antonio Spurs,

671
00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:12,800
Speaker 1: no specific thoughts there, but they're also in this tier.

672
00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:14,760
Speaker 1: And then the last team in this tier is the

673
00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:17,720
Speaker 1: Orlando Magic. And my one note there is I expect

674
00:33:17,760 --> 00:33:20,720
Speaker 1: them to jump into that interesting and scrappy tier next

675
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:24,120
Speaker 1: season because of the level of talent they have on

676
00:33:24,160 --> 00:33:26,760
Speaker 1: the wing and just how good they're young players are

677
00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,760
Speaker 1: in the sense that they're too good to continue to

678
00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,240
Speaker 1: lose basketball games, and they're becoming a very difficult team

679
00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:34,440
Speaker 1: to beat on any given night. They've been over five

680
00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:36,280
Speaker 1: hundred for the past like month or so. They just

681
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:38,640
Speaker 1: won last night in Portland, so I expect them to

682
00:33:38,680 --> 00:33:40,680
Speaker 1: move up to that next tier. All right, that was

683
00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:43,800
Speaker 1: fun all thirty teams. How about that? Um? You guys

684
00:33:43,840 --> 00:33:47,200
Speaker 1: know the drill. I'm gonna be h taking. I have

685
00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:49,920
Speaker 1: one other video this week. It's going to be five

686
00:33:49,960 --> 00:33:52,719
Speaker 1: burning questions for next season. I believe that one airs

687
00:33:52,840 --> 00:33:54,960
Speaker 1: on Saturday, so keep an eye on the feeds there.

688
00:33:55,160 --> 00:33:57,440
Speaker 1: As always, I appreciate your support and I will see

689
00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:13,560
Speaker 1: you guys next time. The volume