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Speaker 1: HOOPSINAI here at the volume heavy Monday, everybody, I'll bob

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Speaker 1: you guys had a great weekend. We have finally made

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Speaker 1: it to the first week of the NBA season. But

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Speaker 1: before we get into the NBA season, I want to

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Speaker 1: take a little detour. Last night, my wife and I

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Speaker 1: watched Game five of the WNBA Finals, and that was

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Speaker 1: an incredibly entertaining basketball game. I have a bunch of

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Speaker 1: thoughts on that particular game about some of the specific

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Speaker 1: performances we saw, some of the officiating, discussion after the game,

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Speaker 1: a lot of interesting stuff to get into on that front.

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Speaker 1: After that, we're going to just take some time to

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Speaker 1: go through some of my predictions for this NBA season.

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Speaker 1: Some of it's going to be kind of a rehashing

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Speaker 1: of some of the stuff we've gone over in other videos.

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Speaker 1: Some of it's going to be just some other predictions

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Speaker 1: that I haven't had a chance to talk about on

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Speaker 1: the show yet. Or we're just gonna do like a

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Speaker 1: quick little synopsis of how I see this particular NBA

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Speaker 1: season going, and then the plan for the rest of

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Speaker 1: this week. We have two live shows at night this week.

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Speaker 1: We're going live Tomorrow night after the final buzzer of

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Speaker 1: Lakers Timberwolves to discuss both of the opening night games,

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Speaker 1: and then on Thursday night, we'll be going live after

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Speaker 1: the final buzzer of Nuggets Thunder to break down that

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Speaker 1: night's slate. We're also going to do a mail bag

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Speaker 1: in that show as well. We're going to do a

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Speaker 1: nice long show to prep for the weekend. You guys

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Speaker 1: are the job. Before we get started. Subscribe to the

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Speaker 1: Hoops Night YouTube channels you don't miss any more of

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

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Speaker 1: So you guys, don't mas show announcement, I forget about

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Speaker 1: a podcast feed or if you get your podcast under

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Speaker 1: Hoops Tonight, don't forget it's helpful if you leave a

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Speaker 1: rating and a review on that front. The last but

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Speaker 1: not least, keep dropping mail back questions and those YouTube

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Speaker 1: comments so we can keep hitting them throughout the remainder

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Speaker 1: of the season. All right, let's talk some basketball. So

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Speaker 1: really fascinating Game five between the Minnesota Links and the

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Speaker 1: New York Liberty. That entire series was like that. Every

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Speaker 1: game came down to the final handful of possessions for

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Speaker 1: the most part. And you know, there's something about truly

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Speaker 1: high leverage basketball games. Even in like playoff games where

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Speaker 1: there's a series, you see these oscillations and effort and intensity, right,

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Speaker 1: Like home team might come out and win game one,

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Speaker 1: but then Game two, maybe the road team just comes

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Speaker 1: out like super desperate because they know if they go

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Speaker 1: down to two to the series, it's gonna be very

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Speaker 1: difficult for them to regain control of And sometimes that

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Speaker 1: home team comes out with just a little bit less

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Speaker 1: urgency and it becomes something that manifests in the game. Right.

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Speaker 1: But when you get to true winner take all games,

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Speaker 1: like whoever wins moves on, whether that's game seven or

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Speaker 1: in this case of game five, or it's a single

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Speaker 1: elimination format like we see in the NCAA tournament. Whenever

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Speaker 1: you get true winner take all basketball, it just makes

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Speaker 1: such an incredible television product. It's super physical, there's fouls

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Speaker 1: on basically every possession. We're gonna talk a lot about

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Speaker 1: officiating here at the tail end of the show. The

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Speaker 1: effort everyone's giving is completely desperate, especially in rotation. No

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Speaker 1: one's ever really open. That's always the fascinating thing that

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Speaker 1: stands out to me in games like that. It's like, oh,

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Speaker 1: you got two on the ball here, or oh this

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Speaker 1: person beat this person off the dribble. But like, these

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Speaker 1: are two teams that are so deep into the season,

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Speaker 1: that have worked so hard for so long, and you bet,

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Speaker 1: you bet your ass they're not going to quit on

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Speaker 1: any single possession at any point in time. And so

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Speaker 1: it's like somebody steps over and helps, and then they

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Speaker 1: rotate and they all kind of winch you'll wipe around

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Speaker 1: and suddenly it's like, God, no one's open. And that's

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Speaker 1: just like what it's like playing in those chaotic, super

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Speaker 1: stressful situations, and like even when people are open, they

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Speaker 1: don't they tend to not go in just because everyone's

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Speaker 1: so rushed and hectic in every other phase of the

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Speaker 1: game that no one's comfortable shooting the basketball. The two

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Speaker 1: teams went five for forty two from three in this game.

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Speaker 1: They shot twelve percent. It just it's really difficult to

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Speaker 1: play in those types of settings, which is it makes

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Speaker 1: it for a really strange kind of product because it's

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Speaker 1: really ugly basketball. It's ugly basketball. There's usually a lot

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Speaker 1: of turnovers, there's usually a lot of sloppiness, there's a

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Speaker 1: lot of physicality, there's a lot of missed shots. But

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Speaker 1: there's like a beauty to this ugly basketball in the intensity,

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Speaker 1: in the urgency, in the stakes. It's what makes the

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Speaker 1: NCAA Tournament so entertaining. The NCAA Tournament. Every NCAA Tournament

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Speaker 1: game is ugly as hell because the defensive talent and

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Speaker 1: coaching is so far ahead of where the offensive skill

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Speaker 1: development is for those players. You know, you get to

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Speaker 1: the NBA. I mean you don't even see this in

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Speaker 1: the WNBA as much, but like in the NBA, when

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Speaker 1: you're dealing with some of these like ridiculous athletes that

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Speaker 1: we have. There are guys that like, oh, you play

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Speaker 1: perfect defense, but just hit like a left right crossover

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Speaker 1: into like a fade away seventeen footer on the baseline

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Speaker 1: and there's literally nothing you can do when it goes in.

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Speaker 1: There's there's a point in the NBA where the athleticism

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Speaker 1: and shot making ticks up, and it can still have

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Speaker 1: some pretty basketball in there, but you watch an NCAA

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Speaker 1: tournament game and it's like those kids, they're completely in

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Speaker 1: over their skis to handle the level of athleticism and

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Speaker 1: the coaching attention to detail that those teams have on

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Speaker 1: their defensive schemes. And so it's always fascinating because like

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Speaker 1: I'm like completely glued to the screen, super entertaining game,

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Speaker 1: but at the same time, it's like some of the

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Speaker 1: ugliest basketball that you'll see. Right. The most fascinating subplot

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Speaker 1: of this particular game was just how substantially more comfortable

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Speaker 1: Kayla McBride and the Fisa Collier looked compared to Sabrina

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Speaker 1: and Escu and Brianna Stewart. Like there was a lot

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Speaker 1: of talk about shooting percentages and how people shot from

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Speaker 1: the field. But like the truth of the matter is

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Speaker 1: is even though Brianna Stewart and Sabrini and Escu weren't

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Speaker 1: making shots, they weren't really getting separation. For Sabrina, Kayla

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Speaker 1: McBride and Courtney Williams had her in clamps on her

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Speaker 1: drives to the rim. It wasn't like she was getting

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Speaker 1: an angle and just missing a layup, like she was

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Speaker 1: failing to turn the corner. And as they had angles

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Speaker 1: on her kind of flattening out her drives, she was

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Speaker 1: just throwing shit up. She got a couple of decent

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Speaker 1: looks from three, but they were all really deep threes

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Speaker 1: and they were so few and far between she was

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Speaker 1: never able to get a rhythm. And again, I gotta

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Speaker 1: talk about this concept all the time on the show.

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Speaker 1: Even among wide open shots, no two shots are the same.

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Speaker 1: Is it a wide open shot where everything has been

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Speaker 1: easy throughout the game and you're feeling great about yourself

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Speaker 1: and there's not a ton of pressure and the game

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Speaker 1: hasn't been super physical so you're not as tired or

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Speaker 1: is it super physical? So your legs are beat, you're

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Speaker 1: having a rough night because you're not getting open at all,

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Speaker 1: So you don't really have a ton of confidence in

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Speaker 1: your game. Every shot is monumentally important, so there's a

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Speaker 1: stress and like stakes element to every shot. All of

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Speaker 1: a sudden, that wide open three is just not the

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Speaker 1: same as the wide open three you take in a

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Speaker 1: regular season game when you're feeling great, right. I do

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Speaker 1: think Sabrina had a very underrated game, though we will

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Speaker 1: get to that later on in the show. But Cayle

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Speaker 1: McBride and Courtney Williams did an amazing job on Sabrina.

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Speaker 1: She was not getting good looks. She went one for

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Speaker 1: nineteen because she wasn't able to get separation from her defenders.

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Speaker 1: And Fisa Collier did an amazing job on Brianna Stewart,

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Speaker 1: specifically in the mid to short range. Like she got

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Speaker 1: some decent looks from the three point line, but that's

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Speaker 1: a game plan thing. Brianna shot below thirty percent from

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Speaker 1: three on the season. She shot just twenty six percent

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Speaker 1: from three in the playoffs, so they were kind of

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Speaker 1: helping off of her and conceding those jump shots. But

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Speaker 1: she went over three on threes and then in the

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Speaker 1: mid range all of like the like like face up

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Speaker 1: like step backs to like short range fadeaways that sort

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Speaker 1: of thing. The FISA was doing an amazing job just

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Speaker 1: like corraling drives and then closing the gap so that

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Speaker 1: when Brianna would try to go to those step backs,

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Speaker 1: she just wasn't getting separation. Again, like those two didn't

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Speaker 1: shoot well, but it was one thousand percent a credit

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Speaker 1: to Minnesota's defense. They just straight up put the clamps

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Speaker 1: on them right then. On the other end, like Nafisa

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Speaker 1: was consistently getting dribble penetration using a great amount of

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Speaker 1: hesitation moves in little body angle tricks to kind of

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Speaker 1: like get angles on defenders that she could drive to

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Speaker 1: the basket. The entire Links team did an amazing job

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Speaker 1: of this, but no Fisa, particularly early in the game

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Speaker 1: inside seals and slip cuts to the basket, like finding

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Speaker 1: angles on overplays. This was something especially in the first

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Speaker 1: half where I was like, what is what is New

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Speaker 1: York doing? Where like they were overplaying everything on the

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Speaker 1: perimeter and giving up a lot of back cuts and

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Speaker 1: slips on ball screens where like openings were coming on

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Speaker 1: the role or in cutting situations right and like that

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Speaker 1: that to me is like smart basketball too, Like if

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Speaker 1: you can in a game that's really messy. If you

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Speaker 1: can get four or five easy layups just based on

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Speaker 1: like tricks of the trade in terms of position eating

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Speaker 1: and back cutting defenders that are denying the ball and

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Speaker 1: that sort of thing, that's a great way to supplement

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Speaker 1: your offense in a game where every shot is going

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Speaker 1: to be really difficult. Right, But then at the end

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Speaker 1: of the game a couple times in a row, Defisa

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Speaker 1: was able to get dribble penetration and get all the

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Speaker 1: way to the rim and make layups that little driving

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Speaker 1: reverse layup that she had at the end that should

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Speaker 1: have won the game before the bad call at the end.

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Speaker 1: And then Kaylen McBride was doing the same thing, combination

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Speaker 1: of just weaponizing the fear for shooting ability as well

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Speaker 1: as her ability to change pace with the live dribble

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Speaker 1: to get into the paint. It was crazy how much

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Speaker 1: better those two looked on offense compared to Unesca and Stewart.

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Speaker 1: As matter of fact, they made eighteen field goals between

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Speaker 1: the two of them, and Yeneska and Stewart only made five.

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Speaker 1: That's like a WHI Like if you would have said

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Speaker 1: before the game, Kayla McBride and Defista calli you're gonna

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Speaker 1: make eighteen shots, Sabrina Ynescu and Breonna Stewart are gonna

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Speaker 1: make five? What do you think is gonna happen in

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Speaker 1: that game? Right? So, like, shout out to those two.

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Speaker 1: They played and they played an incredible game. I talked

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Speaker 1: about the cuts and rolls on a team level. Minnesota

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Speaker 1: had sixteen points on cuts and rolls compared to just

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Speaker 1: six for New York. So that was a big part

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Speaker 1: of how they were having success in offense, especially on

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Speaker 1: the first half. So how did they have How did

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Speaker 1: New York winning this game? How did they win a

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Speaker 1: game where their stars made thirteen more field goals or

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Speaker 1: excuse me, where their stars made thirteen fewer field goals

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Speaker 1: than Minnesota stars. They dominated the margins. Minnesota had five

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Speaker 1: more turnovers and allowed eight more points on those turnovers

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Speaker 1: than New York did. That was a big swing in

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Speaker 1: this game. New York won the second chance points battle

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Speaker 1: by five points. That's a thirteen point swing just on

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Speaker 1: the margins. Right there, free throws. New York got to

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Speaker 1: the foul line seventeen additional times than Minnesota did. And

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Speaker 1: by the way, before you start screaming about how it

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Speaker 1: was rigged. A lot of this has to do with

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Speaker 1: play style. This is something I've been a concept I've

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Speaker 1: been talking out about a lot on this show, especially

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Speaker 1: at the NBA level. The foul count in this game

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Speaker 1: was twenty one to seventeen. Wasn't that different. The reason

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Speaker 1: why the free throws looked the way they did is

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Speaker 1: the Liberty were attempting more shots right at the rim

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Speaker 1: and getting fouled on shots right at the rim. The

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Speaker 1: play type data pretty obvious. New York posted up nineteen times,

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Speaker 1: Minnesota posted up five times. New York drew four separate

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Speaker 1: shooting fouls on post ups, they had more offensive rebounds

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Speaker 1: Minnesota or New York drew two additional shooting fouls on

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Speaker 1: offensive rebounds than Minnesota did. Those are additional trips to

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Speaker 1: the foul line that they're generating by virtue of their

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Speaker 1: play style. Do I think New York got a favorable

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Speaker 1: whistle and that the call at the end of the

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Speaker 1: game got botched. Yeah, But also the play style of

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Speaker 1: these two teams is kind of conducive to a free

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Speaker 1: throw disparity. As a matter of fact, in the regular season,

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Speaker 1: Minnesota was dead last and foul shot attempts per game,

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Speaker 1: New York was third. So like, if a team is

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Speaker 1: really good to get into the foul line and another

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Speaker 1: team's not, there's going to be a disparity. That's just

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Speaker 1: kind of how it goes. And that disparity manifested throughout

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Speaker 1: the entire playoff run by the way, So like again

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Speaker 1: I like part of it too, And we're gonna talk

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Speaker 1: a lot about officiating later. But like when you go

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Speaker 1: on the road in a basketball game, part as a team,

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Speaker 1: you're in the locker room going like, guys, we're not

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Speaker 1: gonna get calls tonight, especially if you know, going in,

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Speaker 1: like you're playing against a team that does a lot

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Speaker 1: of grifting and a lot of flopping and a lot

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Speaker 1: of trying to get to the foul line, right, you know,

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Speaker 1: going in, that's part of the battle that you're trying

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Speaker 1: to deal with. We will talk more about officiating later,

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Speaker 1: but again, it wasn't just the free throws. New York

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Speaker 1: was just better on the margins. They forced more turnovers

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Speaker 1: and they scored on them. They won the second chance

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Speaker 1: points battle. I thought they executed better Like Sabrinni and

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Speaker 1: Escu for a one for nineteen game, she did a

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Speaker 1: massively better job running the point than Courtney Williams did.

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Speaker 1: Courney Williams was a disaster down the stretch of this game,

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Speaker 1: just as a decision maker. Minnesota wasn't even matched up

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Speaker 1: on the jump ball to start overtime and gave up

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Speaker 1: a wide open three on the right wing without New

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Speaker 1: York even having to do anything. Is that the officials

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Speaker 1: fault in a one possession game in overtime Kayla McBride

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Speaker 1: threw a terrible high post entry pass that turned into

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Speaker 1: a pick six in a lay up. The other way

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Speaker 1: was that the official's fault. Yes, Minnesota's stars played better

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Speaker 1: and that allowed them to be in this game and

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Speaker 1: have a really good chance to win. Probably should have won,

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Speaker 1: but the Liberty were a smarter team that did a

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Speaker 1: better job of executing and avoiding mistakes throughout the game.

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Speaker 1: It's always the little things that end up determining who

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Speaker 1: wins and loses in these big time basketball games, which

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Speaker 1: brings me to the lay foul call. So let's talk

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Speaker 1: about this foul call. And again, we all know what

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Speaker 1: we're talking about here. It's a play where Breanna Sewer

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Speaker 1: catches at the kind of left elbow and she drives

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Speaker 1: into the lane, throws up that kind of bullshit shot

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Speaker 1: gets fouled, makes the two foul shots since the game

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Speaker 1: to overtime, Right, Do I agree with the call? No,

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Speaker 1: she traveled on the catch immediately should have been a

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Speaker 1: travel boom and a possession turnover going the other way,

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Speaker 1: and then even the foul itself. I didn't think that

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Speaker 1: the there was some contact, but I didn't think it

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Speaker 1: was enough contact to justify two free throws. Would I

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Speaker 1: have overturned it on the review? Yes. If I was

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Speaker 1: the official and I went over to the video and

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Speaker 1: I was watching this and I'm in the WNBA finals,

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Speaker 1: like literally the fucking finals, the trophies on the line,

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Speaker 1: and I'm watching that video and I'm watching Breonna Stewart

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Speaker 1: travel and then throw that shot up against pretty damn

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Speaker 1: good defense. In help, I'm saying, like, she doesn't deserve

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Speaker 1: two free throws. Here, we're reversing this call. But that's

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Speaker 1: just my take. At the same time, I thought the

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Speaker 1: decision to uphold the call was at least defensible. Why

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Speaker 1: because you technically can't review the travel that's unreviewable. It's

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Speaker 1: a flaw on the rule, right, And the foul call

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Speaker 1: was made on the floor live, so you need indisputable

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Speaker 1: evidence to overturn the call. You're in New York, Brianna

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Speaker 1: Stewart is two time finals, MVP is heading to the

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Speaker 1: foul line to make two shots to tie the game.

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Speaker 1: If you're going to overturn that call, these officials have

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Speaker 1: to be damn sure. Again, I would have overturned it,

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Speaker 1: but I don't give I care more about the game.

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Speaker 1: These officials, they're very, very keyed in on their rules

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Speaker 1: right for good reason. It's a flaw in the system.

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Speaker 1: But like I understood why they could didn't overturn the call.

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Speaker 1: You can't overturn the travel because the travel's not up

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Speaker 1: for review, and you can't overturn that foul because it

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Speaker 1: looked kind of like as she was straight up, her

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Speaker 1: arm came down just a little bit, and that made

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Speaker 1: it disputable, and as soon as it's disputable, you can't

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Speaker 1: overturn it. So, in short, it was a bad call live,

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Speaker 1: and it was really difficult to overturn that same dynamic

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Speaker 1: bad call from the official that we go look the monitor,

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Speaker 1: and when we look at it, there's just not enough

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Speaker 1: evidence by rule to overturn it. That same dynamic happens

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Speaker 1: all the time in basketball games. Have we been covering

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Speaker 1: the NBA here for a few years, how many times

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Speaker 1: have we seen that? Dozens and dozens and dozens of times,

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Speaker 1: which brings me to my main takeaway from that whole incident.

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Speaker 1: Bad officiating is a part of basketball. Every basketball player

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Speaker 1: has been around the game for any amount of time

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Speaker 1: knows that if you allow a game to remain, two

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Speaker 1: potential variables come into play. One, a bad call might

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Speaker 1: go against you, and two, somebody might make some lucky,

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Speaker 1: bullshit shot. Every basketball player knows that, shit, it's close.

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Speaker 1: Anything can happen. Now, bad call, lucky shot, we could

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Speaker 1: lose this game. Everyone knows that. Every basketball player knows that.

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Speaker 1: This is why teams are obsessed with building leads and

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Speaker 1: maintaining leads, because that is what takes bad luck out

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Speaker 1: of the equation as a variable. So this is where

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Speaker 1: I think what Cheryl Reeve, head coach of the Links,

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Speaker 1: did after the game. I think it's super lame because

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Speaker 1: you're right, you get screwed by a bad call at

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Speaker 1: the end of the game. You were also soundly out

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Speaker 1: playing New York, especially with your stars throughout the game,

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Speaker 1: but you made so many mistakes that you failed to

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Speaker 1: build the margin to withstand the bad luck at the

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Speaker 1: end of the game, instead of focusing on the controllables,

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Speaker 1: taking better care of the basketball, holding up better on

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Speaker 1: the offensive glass. Some of these huge execution mistakes late,

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Speaker 1: like leaving that shooter wide open on the on the

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Speaker 1: right wing right after the jump off. All these these

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Speaker 1: little control those are controllable mistakes. That's the shit you

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Speaker 1: should be mad about. That's the ship that should be

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Speaker 1: chewing you up on the inside as you're trying to

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Speaker 1: deal with this loss. You go into that game knowing

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Speaker 1: I have no control over the officials. You also go

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Speaker 1: into the we're gonna talk about this with Stewart and

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Speaker 1: Unescu here in a minute. You kind of don't really

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Speaker 1: have any control over whether or not shots go in.

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Speaker 1: You work your ass off behind the scenes, you shoot

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Speaker 1: thousands and thousands and thousands of them, but once you

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Speaker 1: get in the game, as soon as you release, it

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Speaker 1: either goes in or it doesn't. What you can control

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Speaker 1: is your execution. What you can controls your details. And ironically,

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Speaker 1: even though Minnesota's stars played way better, New York was

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Speaker 1: way sharper on the details and they ended up winning

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Speaker 1: the game. For the record, like I was rooting for

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Speaker 1: Minnesota in this game, I was pissed off about the

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Speaker 1: call too, and the stuff with replay where we have

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Speaker 1: replay for the sole purpose of getting the call right,

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Speaker 1: and yet we're staring at the video where we watch

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Speaker 1: Brianna Stewart travel and we're not allowed to call it.

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Speaker 1: That's a problem. And I bitch and want about officiating

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Speaker 1: in the big picture all the time. Most officials don't

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Speaker 1: understand their role in basketball games. There are a million

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Speaker 1: things that they need to get better at. You guys know,

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Speaker 1: I complain about that all the time. But when it

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Speaker 1: comes to the team and the locker room, I will

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Speaker 1: always criticize players and coaches who focus on officiating. It

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Speaker 1: is completely out of your control. Again, like going on

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Speaker 1: the road in a hostile environment and getting bad calls.

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Speaker 1: Has been a part of basketball since James Nasmith hung

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Speaker 1: up a peach basket. It is a part of the game.

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Speaker 1: It is a variable you know when you go in

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Speaker 1: and that is why you fight so hard to avoid

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Speaker 1: those types of close games. I do feel terrible for

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Speaker 1: Nafisa Collier. She played about as well as you possibly

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Speaker 1: can play in a game of that magnitude. She played

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Speaker 1: like a champion and she didn't leave a champion, and

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Speaker 1: that's gut wrenching, especially how with how dominant she was

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Speaker 1: all season. But it is what it is, part of

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Speaker 1: the game. A couple of shout outs to Brianna Seward

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Speaker 1: and Sabrini and yen Escu. I thought both of them

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Speaker 1: showed remarkable mental toughness last night. Now, yes, in the

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Speaker 1: narrative business, there is fallout from how poorly they play

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Speaker 1: like Are is Sabrina Enescu gonna move up anybody's player

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Speaker 1: rankings after that series? Probably not. Did Breonna Stewart demonstrate

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Speaker 1: that she was better than the FISA Collier No and

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Speaker 1: the Visa Callier out players. She looked like the better

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Speaker 1: player in the series, But that's for us. That's for

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Speaker 1: the media to figure out in the moment. On your team,

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Speaker 1: if you're in, if you're playing with the New York

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Speaker 1: Liberty Jersey on that shit doesn't matter. If your shot

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Speaker 1: isn't falling and you're failing to get a separation from

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Speaker 1: your defender, the worst thing you can do is hang

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Speaker 1: your head and get discouraged. That's literally where the philosophy

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Speaker 1: of next play mentality comes from nothing that happened previously matters.

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Speaker 1: As long as I can find a way to make

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Speaker 1: a couple of plays to help my team and get

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Speaker 1: the hell out of there with the win, then the

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Speaker 1: media can argue and say that I suck all they want.

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Speaker 1: But if I just make a couple more plays and

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Speaker 1: we win this game, I can go to sleep at night.

430
00:22:00,840 --> 00:22:02,919
Speaker 1: That's the way most of these athletes are approaching this.

431
00:22:03,760 --> 00:22:05,879
Speaker 1: For Stu, it was all game long. She couldn't make anything,

432
00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:07,639
Speaker 1: but she just kept playing her ass off all night.

433
00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,679
Speaker 1: She had fifteen rebounds. She was unbelievable defensively, she had

434
00:22:10,720 --> 00:22:13,680
Speaker 1: three blocks. She has this like crazy seven to one wingspan.

435
00:22:14,119 --> 00:22:16,880
Speaker 1: She was impacting the game at so many different levels

436
00:22:16,880 --> 00:22:19,680
Speaker 1: throughout even though she wasn't making shots. Again, she didn't

437
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:21,399
Speaker 1: play great. No one's gonna leave that game and go

438
00:22:21,440 --> 00:22:24,200
Speaker 1: a man. Brianda Stewart was great. I'm sure she's still

439
00:22:24,240 --> 00:22:27,840
Speaker 1: pissed off when the dust settles on the celebration at all,

440
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,399
Speaker 1: she's gonna think back and be like, man, I wouldn't

441
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:35,120
Speaker 1: I'd need to be better, right, But she made enough

442
00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,399
Speaker 1: plays and she got the win. Is the free throws

443
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:39,919
Speaker 1: late she missed clutch free throws earlier in the series.

444
00:22:40,080 --> 00:22:42,360
Speaker 1: She missed clutch free throws earlier in the game, less

445
00:22:42,359 --> 00:22:44,440
Speaker 1: than a minute prior. She had two free throws that

446
00:22:44,440 --> 00:22:47,200
Speaker 1: could have tied the game, but then she made the

447
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:52,040
Speaker 1: big ones at the end. Sabrina in particular really impressed

448
00:22:52,040 --> 00:22:56,280
Speaker 1: me with her resilience because like in the first half,

449
00:22:56,720 --> 00:23:01,320
Speaker 1: she was having an absolute disaster of a game, like

450
00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:03,760
Speaker 1: so bad it was looking like it was gonna be

451
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:05,680
Speaker 1: on the short list of some of the worst playoff

452
00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,360
Speaker 1: performances ever for a star basketball player. Like that's how

453
00:23:09,400 --> 00:23:13,080
Speaker 1: bad it was. Yeah, it was so interesting. Again. I

454
00:23:13,160 --> 00:23:15,400
Speaker 1: was watching with my wife and we were talking about it.

455
00:23:15,480 --> 00:23:22,840
Speaker 1: Like her like facial expressions and body language, you could

456
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:26,480
Speaker 1: not tell she was having a historically bad game. Somehow,

457
00:23:26,560 --> 00:23:30,320
Speaker 1: her body language never cracked even for a second. She

458
00:23:30,480 --> 00:23:32,199
Speaker 1: just kept her head in the game and tried to

459
00:23:32,200 --> 00:23:36,240
Speaker 1: make a play. Again in the moment, no one's gonna

460
00:23:36,280 --> 00:23:39,000
Speaker 1: save you. You have to save yourself. You have to

461
00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:41,520
Speaker 1: find a way to make plays. I thought she was

462
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:46,800
Speaker 1: awesome in the second half everywhere except for making shots. Obviously,

463
00:23:46,840 --> 00:23:49,320
Speaker 1: she had a disaster shooting game, there's no way around there.

464
00:23:49,800 --> 00:23:51,679
Speaker 1: But in the second half she had five assists with

465
00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:56,480
Speaker 1: zero turnovers. She hit sobbily and pick and roll for

466
00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:58,760
Speaker 1: layups twice. She hit her in transition, another time in

467
00:23:58,800 --> 00:24:01,639
Speaker 1: a really nice over the top feet generating again, generating

468
00:24:01,680 --> 00:24:05,000
Speaker 1: baskets in a game where baskets were really hard to

469
00:24:05,040 --> 00:24:07,840
Speaker 1: come by. She hit brown A Stewart on a back cut.

470
00:24:07,880 --> 00:24:09,280
Speaker 1: There's a play. She missed a three on the left

471
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,800
Speaker 1: wing again, disaster right. Couldn't hit a shot save her life,

472
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:16,119
Speaker 1: misses the three, crashes the offensive glass, gets it, pulls

473
00:24:16,119 --> 00:24:19,280
Speaker 1: it out, runs action, hits Brianna Stewart on a back

474
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,720
Speaker 1: cut for a lamp, generating an extra possession and then

475
00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,760
Speaker 1: generating a basket out of it. That's that is just

476
00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:30,080
Speaker 1: making a play. You're just making a play to try

477
00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:32,400
Speaker 1: to help your team. She was the one who hit

478
00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:35,040
Speaker 1: Phoebitch on the right wing in overtime for the three.

479
00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:36,960
Speaker 1: She was the one who quickly identified that she was

480
00:24:37,000 --> 00:24:40,520
Speaker 1: open and made the pass. And she made several huge

481
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:44,520
Speaker 1: defensive plays. She blocked kayleb McBride on like an iso

482
00:24:44,560 --> 00:24:46,120
Speaker 1: little step back three at the top of the key,

483
00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:50,280
Speaker 1: several big lowman rotations. Do you guys remember the play

484
00:24:50,280 --> 00:24:52,520
Speaker 1: where Nafisa was on the right wing and she was

485
00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:54,399
Speaker 1: driving again sobboly and she got into the lane she

486
00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:56,960
Speaker 1: like it was either a pump fake or Sobbily tripped.

487
00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:58,440
Speaker 1: I can't remember what happened, but she ended up getting

488
00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:03,160
Speaker 1: a straight line drive had been layup. Sabrina came flying over,

489
00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:07,160
Speaker 1: jumped vertical like this in the lane and just got

490
00:25:07,400 --> 00:25:12,240
Speaker 1: n Fesaa pump fake. And when Nafista pump faked, Sabili

491
00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:16,520
Speaker 1: was able to recover and blocked her it like eras

492
00:25:16,600 --> 00:25:19,919
Speaker 1: the layup. Sabrina erased the layup with the defensive rotation.

493
00:25:20,040 --> 00:25:24,639
Speaker 1: That's a play. That's making a play again like she

494
00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:27,959
Speaker 1: had a disaster shooting game. There's no way around it.

495
00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:30,280
Speaker 1: No one's sitting here going Sabrina is one of the

496
00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:33,000
Speaker 1: best players in the WNBA. Like, no one's gonna call

497
00:25:33,040 --> 00:25:36,120
Speaker 1: her top five after that series. No one's gonna sit

498
00:25:36,119 --> 00:25:38,680
Speaker 1: there and talk about how amazing she is. And she

499
00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,200
Speaker 1: doesn't deserve that necessarily. She had a really bad game.

500
00:25:41,359 --> 00:25:43,280
Speaker 1: She had a bad series for the most part, aside

501
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:46,239
Speaker 1: from a couple of moments, but I was impressed by

502
00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:49,639
Speaker 1: her mental toughness in the sense that she was having

503
00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:54,000
Speaker 1: with the world watching an absolute disaster of a game,

504
00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:56,720
Speaker 1: and she just kept her eyes on the fucking prize

505
00:25:57,119 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 1: and she just made a couple of big plays down

506
00:25:59,600 --> 00:26:01,359
Speaker 1: the stretch. And yeah, you know what, a lot of

507
00:26:01,400 --> 00:26:03,320
Speaker 1: people are gonna talk shit about her in the media

508
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:06,080
Speaker 1: and in the casual basketball fan base, but she's a

509
00:26:06,160 --> 00:26:10,040
Speaker 1: champion and that's all it really matters, because she made,

510
00:26:10,160 --> 00:26:13,200
Speaker 1: you know, seven or eight big plays in that second half.

511
00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:15,879
Speaker 1: And if she makes six or seven instead of seven

512
00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:19,760
Speaker 1: or eight because she cracks emotionally at some point during

513
00:26:19,760 --> 00:26:23,240
Speaker 1: that stretch, they lose. And that's why when you're having

514
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,320
Speaker 1: those kinds of games again, like young basketball players out there,

515
00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,760
Speaker 1: you're having a bad game. Something's going wrong for you,

516
00:26:29,840 --> 00:26:31,919
Speaker 1: whether it's on defense or on offense, the coach is

517
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,000
Speaker 1: upset with you, whatever it is, things are going south.

518
00:26:34,840 --> 00:26:38,320
Speaker 1: Keep your head on straight, keep your eyes on the prize,

519
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:42,280
Speaker 1: and just try to make a play. A big contested

520
00:26:42,359 --> 00:26:46,520
Speaker 1: defensive rebound, getting back in transition, defense and taking away

521
00:26:46,560 --> 00:26:49,879
Speaker 1: a layup, running your lane and transitioning, getting a layup,

522
00:26:50,200 --> 00:26:53,359
Speaker 1: a really hard screen that gets someone open, a corner

523
00:26:53,359 --> 00:26:57,480
Speaker 1: crash that gets an offensive rebound. Any little thing can

524
00:26:57,520 --> 00:26:59,760
Speaker 1: be that little bit of juice that either gets you

525
00:26:59,840 --> 00:27:02,199
Speaker 1: go or gets your team going, or it could be

526
00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:05,000
Speaker 1: the difference in a game that gets decided by the

527
00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:08,720
Speaker 1: smallest of margins. I thought it was kind of one

528
00:27:08,760 --> 00:27:11,680
Speaker 1: of those games that like young basketball, like young basketball

529
00:27:11,680 --> 00:27:14,200
Speaker 1: players could learn a lot from what happens to bringing

530
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,800
Speaker 1: Yinescu last night. I thought it was an interesting little

531
00:27:16,840 --> 00:27:20,359
Speaker 1: basketball lesson. Congrats to Liberty. I feel bad for the Links,

532
00:27:20,560 --> 00:27:22,240
Speaker 1: but that series was always going to end a heartbreak

533
00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:26,240
Speaker 1: for somebody, right And I mean as far as the

534
00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:28,360
Speaker 1: bad calls going is there's a lot of like kind

535
00:27:28,359 --> 00:27:29,800
Speaker 1: of if he calls that kind of took place in

536
00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:31,280
Speaker 1: that series. Again, it's part of the game. It is

537
00:27:31,280 --> 00:27:35,560
Speaker 1: what it is. Basketball officiating is in a bad place

538
00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:37,280
Speaker 1: for the most part, and it's always going to be

539
00:27:37,320 --> 00:27:39,119
Speaker 1: something that players have to be prepared for. As far

540
00:27:39,119 --> 00:27:41,919
Speaker 1: as covering the WNBA goes again, like I'd love to

541
00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,359
Speaker 1: try to do it more, the unfortunate reality is is

542
00:27:45,400 --> 00:27:47,200
Speaker 1: that I kill myself covering the NBA. I mean, you

543
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:48,760
Speaker 1: guys see in the playoffs. In the playoffs, we do

544
00:27:49,760 --> 00:27:53,359
Speaker 1: what more than ten new episodes a week, and like

545
00:27:53,600 --> 00:27:55,000
Speaker 1: part of the deal there is then we come right

546
00:27:55,040 --> 00:27:56,800
Speaker 1: out of that and it's draft and its free agency,

547
00:27:56,800 --> 00:27:58,480
Speaker 1: and it's I have to go to Vegas for Summer League,

548
00:27:58,520 --> 00:27:59,920
Speaker 1: and I've got all this shit going on, and then

549
00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:02,879
Speaker 1: it's like I gotta take a break at some point,

550
00:28:03,600 --> 00:28:06,440
Speaker 1: and so like I try to take August and September

551
00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:08,199
Speaker 1: is times when I try to tone it back and

552
00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:10,440
Speaker 1: spend more time with my loved ones and try to

553
00:28:10,440 --> 00:28:12,159
Speaker 1: take a little bit of a break from basketball. But

554
00:28:12,520 --> 00:28:16,080
Speaker 1: I will say this, I think it's an awesome television product.

555
00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:18,480
Speaker 1: I think the players are incredibly talented. I think the

556
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:21,439
Speaker 1: quality of the basketball is really good. I think the

557
00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:24,720
Speaker 1: parody is really good. I think it's entertaining, and we

558
00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:26,560
Speaker 1: will be trying to cover it a little bit more

559
00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:29,000
Speaker 1: with each of the coming years. And just again, it's

560
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:31,280
Speaker 1: always a delicate balance with trying to navigate the time

561
00:28:31,320 --> 00:28:34,840
Speaker 1: off type of situation, and it's more complicated than just me.

562
00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:36,680
Speaker 1: There's other people that work on this show as well.

563
00:28:37,440 --> 00:28:38,880
Speaker 1: But we will try to cover it more and more,

564
00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 1: if for no other reason that I'm a huge basketball

565
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:43,520
Speaker 1: fan and I enjoy watching I really enjoyed watching the

566
00:28:43,560 --> 00:29:01,880
Speaker 1: WNBA this year. All right, let's quick go over some

567
00:29:01,920 --> 00:29:06,080
Speaker 1: predictions on this upcoming NBA season. First of all, disclaimer

568
00:29:06,200 --> 00:29:08,160
Speaker 1: up front. I will be wrong a lot. I'll be

569
00:29:08,200 --> 00:29:11,640
Speaker 1: wrong about a lot of this stuff. If NBA basketball

570
00:29:11,680 --> 00:29:15,120
Speaker 1: was easy to predict, we'd all be rich betting on it, right,

571
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:18,000
Speaker 1: But it's not. It's really hard to predict because I,

572
00:29:18,040 --> 00:29:20,600
Speaker 1: as Mark Titus said when he came on the show

573
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:23,640
Speaker 1: last year, basketball is more art than science, and I

574
00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:28,320
Speaker 1: believe that sincerely. Like there's a concoction of ingredients, and

575
00:29:28,440 --> 00:29:31,120
Speaker 1: sometimes it mixes together and makes it makes something beautiful,

576
00:29:31,120 --> 00:29:33,840
Speaker 1: and sometimes it mixes together and it makes something less

577
00:29:33,840 --> 00:29:35,480
Speaker 1: than beautiful, or it just doesn't amount to what you

578
00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:38,480
Speaker 1: hope it would, right like that, That's part of the game.

579
00:29:39,920 --> 00:29:41,800
Speaker 1: But we're gonna just do our best to try to

580
00:29:41,840 --> 00:29:43,719
Speaker 1: make some predictions because that's part of the fun of this.

581
00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:46,200
Speaker 1: And I'll just kind of get into each conference to

582
00:29:46,280 --> 00:29:48,920
Speaker 1: let you guys know what I'm thinking. So Eastern Conference

583
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:50,960
Speaker 1: regular season, I think the Celtics will run away with

584
00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:52,720
Speaker 1: the one seed again. Again, they're too much of a

585
00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:55,719
Speaker 1: well oiled machine. They're too deep and specific position groups

586
00:29:55,760 --> 00:29:57,840
Speaker 1: not to just win a ton of regular season games.

587
00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,560
Speaker 1: My guess is the Knicks get the two seed. Similarly

588
00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:03,200
Speaker 1: deep and talented, not at the same level as Boston

589
00:30:03,320 --> 00:30:06,800
Speaker 1: but I think I as I've said before in some

590
00:30:06,840 --> 00:30:08,960
Speaker 1: of our preseason reactions, I think the Knicks are just

591
00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:11,920
Speaker 1: a lesser version of Boston. They should still win a

592
00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:13,880
Speaker 1: lot of regular season games on the strength of a

593
00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:15,760
Speaker 1: similar type of engine, even if it's not as good

594
00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,920
Speaker 1: as Boston. Don't be surprised if teams like Cleveland, Orlando

595
00:30:18,960 --> 00:30:22,960
Speaker 1: and Indiana finish above Philly or Milwaukee. They're younger, and

596
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:25,160
Speaker 1: they're faster, and they just are at a different phase

597
00:30:25,160 --> 00:30:27,200
Speaker 1: in their team development where they care more about regular

598
00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:29,920
Speaker 1: season games. Philly will have to play without EMBII in

599
00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:33,160
Speaker 1: all likelihood for at least thirty of their games. Milwaukee

600
00:30:33,480 --> 00:30:36,120
Speaker 1: couldn't even get to fifty wins out East with Damon

601
00:30:36,120 --> 00:30:38,720
Speaker 1: Giannis both playing seventy three games. Now. I think they'll

602
00:30:38,720 --> 00:30:40,360
Speaker 1: be better than they were last year, but I don't

603
00:30:40,440 --> 00:30:42,400
Speaker 1: view them as some sort of regular season juggernaut that's

604
00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:43,920
Speaker 1: going to win a ton of games. They're old, and

605
00:30:43,960 --> 00:30:46,160
Speaker 1: they're slow, and Chris Middleton is going to be out

606
00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:49,720
Speaker 1: to start the regular season. So my guess is, don't

607
00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:52,360
Speaker 1: be surprised if at least one of those tea teams,

608
00:30:52,400 --> 00:30:55,720
Speaker 1: Philly or Milwaukee, drops into that four to six range.

609
00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:58,360
Speaker 1: In the standings. I do think both of them are

610
00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:02,600
Speaker 1: substantially better playoff teams than Orlando, Indiana or Cleveland, but

611
00:31:02,640 --> 00:31:05,080
Speaker 1: in terms of the regular season standings, keep an eye

612
00:31:05,080 --> 00:31:08,440
Speaker 1: on that. In the playoffs, I've tried to think through

613
00:31:08,480 --> 00:31:13,400
Speaker 1: ways Boston could lose. Boston is built similarly to New York,

614
00:31:13,520 --> 00:31:15,080
Speaker 1: but I just think they're better. So I'm having a

615
00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,440
Speaker 1: hard time seeing a path there, like there's a chance.

616
00:31:17,440 --> 00:31:19,000
Speaker 1: I'm not saying the Knicks can't beat them, but it

617
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:21,520
Speaker 1: just feels like a long shot to me. Philly and Milwaukee,

618
00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:23,640
Speaker 1: I don't think they're good enough at containing the basketball

619
00:31:23,680 --> 00:31:26,719
Speaker 1: in space to defend Boston well enough to beat them

620
00:31:26,720 --> 00:31:29,880
Speaker 1: four times in two weeks. So I think Boston probably

621
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,280
Speaker 1: gets pushed by one of those teams, probably to six,

622
00:31:32,400 --> 00:31:35,280
Speaker 1: probably by if I had to guess a team like

623
00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,960
Speaker 1: New York. But I'd be really surprised if Boston didn't

624
00:31:38,960 --> 00:31:41,440
Speaker 1: win the East. Again. I think that's probably the of

625
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:44,400
Speaker 1: all between the two conferences. It's certainly the easier pick

626
00:31:44,760 --> 00:31:47,600
Speaker 1: out West okoame the city loses heart and sign to

627
00:31:47,600 --> 00:31:49,080
Speaker 1: start the year, but I still think they run away

628
00:31:49,080 --> 00:31:50,880
Speaker 1: with the conference in the regular season. That just have

629
00:31:50,960 --> 00:31:54,680
Speaker 1: the best combination of good fitting talent and youthful exuberance

630
00:31:54,720 --> 00:31:57,480
Speaker 1: that will play hard by a good margin. Out West

631
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:00,760
Speaker 1: Minnesota feels like the obvious two seas to me, they're young,

632
00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:02,800
Speaker 1: they're talented, they're athletic, and they're great at defense, and

633
00:32:02,800 --> 00:32:05,880
Speaker 1: they have a superstar plays in every single game. So

634
00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:07,800
Speaker 1: I think there'll be a few games back from Oklahoma City,

635
00:32:07,800 --> 00:32:09,800
Speaker 1: but I think Minnesota will get the two. The next

636
00:32:09,800 --> 00:32:12,160
Speaker 1: tier is a total bloodbath. Like I think the next

637
00:32:12,240 --> 00:32:15,080
Speaker 1: best four teams are Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, and the Lakers.

638
00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:19,480
Speaker 1: But and I'd include excuse me, I'd include Memphis in

639
00:32:19,520 --> 00:32:23,000
Speaker 1: that tier if John Moran is healthy. But then there's

640
00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:26,160
Speaker 1: like these younger teams that aren't necessarily as good, but

641
00:32:26,200 --> 00:32:27,960
Speaker 1: they have a lot of young talent and they could

642
00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:29,880
Speaker 1: win a lot of regular season games, like the Pelicans,

643
00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:32,040
Speaker 1: the Warriors, the Houston Rockets. Those are all teams that

644
00:32:32,440 --> 00:32:35,920
Speaker 1: could be in similar win tiers as Denver, Dallas, Phoenix,

645
00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:38,040
Speaker 1: and the Lakers, even despite the fact that they don't

646
00:32:38,080 --> 00:32:40,360
Speaker 1: have as much talent. Now here's where it gets weird.

647
00:32:40,760 --> 00:32:43,600
Speaker 1: Only four of those teams will stay out of the

648
00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:47,000
Speaker 1: play in, So let's work backwards. Who do I think

649
00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:51,120
Speaker 1: is going to miss the play in entirely. I think

650
00:32:51,240 --> 00:32:53,800
Speaker 1: Houston misses the play in. I don't think they have

651
00:32:53,920 --> 00:32:56,160
Speaker 1: enough shooting, that's the main thing. Houston has a ton

652
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,920
Speaker 1: of talent. They've got a deep rotation of really good players,

653
00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:02,920
Speaker 1: but they've got a lot of guys that you can

654
00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:04,960
Speaker 1: sag off into the lane and help. I think that's

655
00:33:04,960 --> 00:33:07,560
Speaker 1: going to hurt them in close games. I expect them

656
00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:09,960
Speaker 1: to be right around where they were last year, right

657
00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,640
Speaker 1: around five hundred, maybe a little bit below, and I

658
00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:14,840
Speaker 1: think that I think that keeps them out of the plane.

659
00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:17,920
Speaker 1: I think San Antonio misses the plane. I don't think

660
00:33:17,960 --> 00:33:20,320
Speaker 1: they have the talent over the course of the season

661
00:33:20,320 --> 00:33:22,760
Speaker 1: to hang tight. But they obviously have a chance with

662
00:33:22,920 --> 00:33:25,400
Speaker 1: Victor weman Yama if he just goes full wrecking ball.

663
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:28,920
Speaker 1: The third team of the thirteen teams in the Western

664
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:30,800
Speaker 1: Conference that are trying to win, the third team that

665
00:33:30,800 --> 00:33:32,360
Speaker 1: I think will miss the plane is probably going to

666
00:33:32,400 --> 00:33:35,080
Speaker 1: be the Clippers. I had high hopes for the Clippers

667
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:37,160
Speaker 1: if Kawhi was healthy and ready to go to start

668
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:40,040
Speaker 1: the season, but he's just not and who knows, he

669
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:41,400
Speaker 1: might not play it all this year, at least not

670
00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,520
Speaker 1: for a very long time, and that just puts a

671
00:33:43,520 --> 00:33:45,920
Speaker 1: lot on Norman Powell as their secondary shot creator. So

672
00:33:45,920 --> 00:33:48,280
Speaker 1: I think they'll end up slipping. I like that roster

673
00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,240
Speaker 1: with a healthy Kawhi to be a good regular season team,

674
00:33:51,560 --> 00:33:53,160
Speaker 1: but without a healthy Kawhi, I don't know if they

675
00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:54,720
Speaker 1: can do it. So if I had to pick, and

676
00:33:54,760 --> 00:33:57,760
Speaker 1: again there this is just my attempt at a prediction.

677
00:33:58,360 --> 00:34:00,680
Speaker 1: This is a total bloodbath. After the time, I think, Okay,

678
00:34:00,760 --> 00:34:03,520
Speaker 1: C Minnesota is a pretty clear one too, But the

679
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,320
Speaker 1: next seven or the next eight, who the hell knows

680
00:34:06,320 --> 00:34:08,960
Speaker 1: what's gonna happen. If I had to guess, I'd go

681
00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:13,480
Speaker 1: Denver in Dallas above the plane for sure, and then

682
00:34:13,520 --> 00:34:17,600
Speaker 1: the next the two spots. I think the three teams

683
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,560
Speaker 1: that will be competing for that are the Memphis Grizzlies

684
00:34:20,640 --> 00:34:23,440
Speaker 1: and then the Lakers and the Suns. All three of

685
00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:26,960
Speaker 1: them are health All their success depends on health. If

686
00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:30,720
Speaker 1: Kadie misses significant time, the Suns are screwed. If AD

687
00:34:30,880 --> 00:34:34,359
Speaker 1: missed a significant time, the Suns are screwed. If if

688
00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:36,640
Speaker 1: John Moran, if AD miss a significant time, the Lakers

689
00:34:36,680 --> 00:34:39,200
Speaker 1: are screwed. Excuse me. And then if John Morant misses

690
00:34:39,400 --> 00:34:42,560
Speaker 1: extensive time. The Grizzlies are screwed, So who knows what's

691
00:34:42,560 --> 00:34:45,960
Speaker 1: gonna happen in health there, But all three of those

692
00:34:46,000 --> 00:34:47,680
Speaker 1: teams I think are gonna be battling for that four

693
00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:49,640
Speaker 1: and five or for that five and six spot. One

694
00:34:49,640 --> 00:34:51,760
Speaker 1: of those teams is going to slip into the plan.

695
00:34:52,160 --> 00:34:54,719
Speaker 1: Whichever one of those teams has the worst injury luck

696
00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:59,840
Speaker 1: will drop to seven. Then I would have the Pelicans,

697
00:34:59,880 --> 00:35:02,560
Speaker 1: the Kings, and the Warriors as the three teams that

698
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:04,600
Speaker 1: end up getting into the play in with Houston, San

699
00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:08,399
Speaker 1: Antonio and the Clippers end up missing. Standings don't matter

700
00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:11,040
Speaker 1: that much out West. Last year, the Clippers were the

701
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:13,799
Speaker 1: four seed. The Clippers were the four seed, and they

702
00:35:13,840 --> 00:35:16,919
Speaker 1: were two games ahead of the Pelicans, who are playing team.

703
00:35:17,800 --> 00:35:22,120
Speaker 1: Pelicans had forty nine wins playing team. Clippers had fifty

704
00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:26,319
Speaker 1: one wins home court advantage in the first round. So

705
00:35:26,520 --> 00:35:28,879
Speaker 1: like a lot of this, like oh, they're a playing team.

706
00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:32,080
Speaker 1: That means a fundamentally different thing in the West than

707
00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:34,239
Speaker 1: it does in the East. If you're playing team in

708
00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,560
Speaker 1: the East, you're probably a bad basketball team. If you're

709
00:35:37,560 --> 00:35:39,960
Speaker 1: a playing team in the West, I'm certain you're a

710
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:42,480
Speaker 1: good basketball team because they're gonna be three good basketball

711
00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:45,480
Speaker 1: teams that missed the play in entirely out West. And

712
00:35:45,600 --> 00:35:47,160
Speaker 1: of those three teams, I'm sure a couple of them

713
00:35:47,200 --> 00:35:49,440
Speaker 1: will be bad, but there's gonna be a good team.

714
00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:54,000
Speaker 1: My guess is Houston. There's gonna be a good basketball

715
00:35:54,040 --> 00:35:56,880
Speaker 1: team that would easily make the playoffs in the Eastern

716
00:35:56,880 --> 00:36:00,480
Speaker 1: Conference that's going to miss the play in entirely West.

717
00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:05,359
Speaker 1: There were five games total separating the four seed from

718
00:36:05,440 --> 00:36:09,560
Speaker 1: the ten seed in the Western Conference. Again, home court

719
00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,359
Speaker 1: advantage in the first round, have to win two single

720
00:36:12,400 --> 00:36:16,799
Speaker 1: elimination playing games on the road. Five wins separated those

721
00:36:16,840 --> 00:36:19,960
Speaker 1: two teams. There's no shame in finishing in the playing

722
00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:22,400
Speaker 1: in the Western Conference. As far as the playoffs go

723
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:26,240
Speaker 1: for the West, it's all about matchups. Makes it extremely

724
00:36:26,280 --> 00:36:29,359
Speaker 1: hard to predict. It's quite literally up for grabs. In

725
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:32,640
Speaker 1: my opinion, I could see seven different teams winning the conference.

726
00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:34,480
Speaker 1: I could see Oka see winning the conference. I could

727
00:36:34,480 --> 00:36:37,439
Speaker 1: see Denver winning the conference. I could see Minnesota winning

728
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:40,000
Speaker 1: the conference. I could see Dallas winning the conference. I

729
00:36:40,000 --> 00:36:42,279
Speaker 1: could see Phoenix winning the conference. I could see the

730
00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:44,880
Speaker 1: Lakers winning the conference. And I could see Memphis winning

731
00:36:44,920 --> 00:36:46,799
Speaker 1: the conference. Those are the seven teams that I view

732
00:36:46,840 --> 00:36:49,360
Speaker 1: as legitimate threats to win the conference. I think Denver

733
00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:53,440
Speaker 1: presents the biggest singular matchup issue in the conference, which

734
00:36:53,480 --> 00:36:56,319
Speaker 1: is Nicole Jokich. So I'm going to pick Denver, but

735
00:36:56,400 --> 00:36:59,799
Speaker 1: I don't feel particularly great about it, certainly not as

736
00:36:59,800 --> 00:37:02,239
Speaker 1: the I feel about Boston. Like I would be surprised

737
00:37:02,719 --> 00:37:06,040
Speaker 1: if Boston won or did not win the Eastern Conference.

738
00:37:06,680 --> 00:37:08,759
Speaker 1: Any one of those seven teams could win the West,

739
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:11,439
Speaker 1: and I wouldn't be surprised. As for the finals, though,

740
00:37:12,120 --> 00:37:15,080
Speaker 1: if Okac or Denver get through, I think they have

741
00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:18,120
Speaker 1: a legit shot to beat Boston, I would pick Boston,

742
00:37:18,800 --> 00:37:21,520
Speaker 1: but I think Okac and Denver present enough issues to

743
00:37:21,560 --> 00:37:24,120
Speaker 1: Boston to at least make it a long, competitive series

744
00:37:24,120 --> 00:37:26,760
Speaker 1: that could go either way. Even though I'd picked Boston.

745
00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:30,640
Speaker 1: Minnesota has an interesting shot. They're so good in perimeter

746
00:37:30,800 --> 00:37:33,640
Speaker 1: defense that they should, in theory, be able to slow

747
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:36,480
Speaker 1: down Boston's drive and kick attack, right, But I just

748
00:37:36,520 --> 00:37:38,160
Speaker 1: don't think they're gonna be able to score enough to

749
00:37:38,160 --> 00:37:39,920
Speaker 1: hang with Boston. So that's an effer if you won

750
00:37:40,040 --> 00:37:43,400
Speaker 1: for me. If the Lakers' Suns Grizzlies are MAVs, sneak

751
00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:46,040
Speaker 1: through the West. I think they get smashed by Boston,

752
00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:49,399
Speaker 1: just like Dallas did last year, unless one of those

753
00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,319
Speaker 1: teams hits on a big trade or has a young

754
00:37:51,360 --> 00:37:53,960
Speaker 1: player pop. Right, So, like, if the Lakers trade d

755
00:37:54,040 --> 00:37:55,839
Speaker 1: Low in two first round draft picks and they get

756
00:37:55,880 --> 00:37:59,520
Speaker 1: a great haul back, they could be more interesting. If

757
00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:02,319
Speaker 1: Ryan Done for the Phoenix Suns turns into this like

758
00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:05,319
Speaker 1: thirty eight percent three point shooter is one of the

759
00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:07,840
Speaker 1: best defensive players in the league and a great defensive rebounder,

760
00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:10,040
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, the Suns become way more interesting

761
00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:13,280
Speaker 1: and dangerous. Right. What if Derek Lively for the MAVs

762
00:38:13,320 --> 00:38:16,000
Speaker 1: just becomes like a fringe all Star level player, that's

763
00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:19,480
Speaker 1: a huge swing factor for Dallas. What if Klay Thompson

764
00:38:19,560 --> 00:38:22,959
Speaker 1: kind of has like a defensive resurgence with Dallas this year.

765
00:38:23,600 --> 00:38:26,479
Speaker 1: What if John Moran just becomes one of the top

766
00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:28,479
Speaker 1: five or six players in the league over the course

767
00:38:28,480 --> 00:38:31,319
Speaker 1: of this season. That sort of thing could swing things

768
00:38:31,360 --> 00:38:34,040
Speaker 1: for those teams. But as currently constructed and as I've

769
00:38:34,080 --> 00:38:36,640
Speaker 1: currently seen them, I think all four of those teams

770
00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:38,520
Speaker 1: will get smashed by Boston if they got through. So

771
00:38:38,600 --> 00:38:43,400
Speaker 1: for right now, pick Denver against Boston. I'll pick Boston

772
00:38:43,440 --> 00:38:45,880
Speaker 1: to beat them in the finals in six or seven games.

773
00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:48,640
Speaker 1: Not exactly a brave prediction, but they have the best team.

774
00:38:48,640 --> 00:38:50,279
Speaker 1: I do think they'll face more adversity this year. I

775
00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:52,200
Speaker 1: think they'll I think we'll have more fun at the

776
00:38:52,280 --> 00:38:54,000
Speaker 1: end of the year just by virtue of some more

777
00:38:54,440 --> 00:38:57,719
Speaker 1: extended playoffs series in the our conference finals in NBA

778
00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:00,359
Speaker 1: Finals sucked two years in a row. I think we're

779
00:39:00,360 --> 00:39:04,120
Speaker 1: gonna finally get a good end of the season this year. MVP.

780
00:39:04,320 --> 00:39:06,960
Speaker 1: I think it's extremely likely that Shay Gilos Alexander gets it.

781
00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:10,279
Speaker 1: I think Luke would be my second choice, but I

782
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:12,880
Speaker 1: really worry about the MAVs winning enough regular season games

783
00:39:12,920 --> 00:39:15,280
Speaker 1: in order to get the MVP. Like if Shae finishes

784
00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:18,400
Speaker 1: seven or eight games above Dallas and the standings like

785
00:39:18,760 --> 00:39:23,480
Speaker 1: Shaye's getting MVP. I just think sha like everything is

786
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:25,960
Speaker 1: just shaping up perfectly for Shae to get the MVP

787
00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:29,160
Speaker 1: this year. Young player I expect to pop this year.

788
00:39:29,160 --> 00:39:31,920
Speaker 1: I'm gonna go with Kaide Cunningham. He has a more

789
00:39:32,040 --> 00:39:36,720
Speaker 1: traditional supporting cast, looks really sharp. In preseason. He actually

790
00:39:36,719 --> 00:39:38,600
Speaker 1: generated the most points out of pick and roll out

791
00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:40,600
Speaker 1: of any player in the league. In preseason, he generated

792
00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:43,719
Speaker 1: eighty points on sixty five possessions including passes. It's one

793
00:39:43,760 --> 00:39:46,440
Speaker 1: point two to three points per possession. That's amazing. He

794
00:39:46,480 --> 00:39:48,680
Speaker 1: has excellent chemistry with Jalen Durr and he's got this

795
00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:51,480
Speaker 1: like lob feed that he throws, and Jalen's so good

796
00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:53,360
Speaker 1: at high pointing the ball coming down and then just

797
00:39:53,400 --> 00:39:55,440
Speaker 1: like power dribble and just going up and dunking it

798
00:39:55,480 --> 00:39:58,520
Speaker 1: with two hands. Got really good patience in the mid range.

799
00:39:58,560 --> 00:40:01,080
Speaker 1: Shot over forty percent on pull of shots in preseason,

800
00:40:01,520 --> 00:40:04,799
Speaker 1: Luca esque manipulation of help side defenders as he kind

801
00:40:04,800 --> 00:40:07,440
Speaker 1: of patiently works in that mid range. Look for Kid

802
00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:10,279
Speaker 1: Cunningham to have a huge year this year. One of

803
00:40:10,320 --> 00:40:13,719
Speaker 1: these older teams with high expectations is going to completely

804
00:40:13,719 --> 00:40:17,200
Speaker 1: fall apart. The Bucks, the Sixers, the Lakers, and the

805
00:40:17,239 --> 00:40:19,080
Speaker 1: Suns are the four teams I have my eye on there.

806
00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:21,600
Speaker 1: I don't know who it's going to be, probably gonna

807
00:40:21,600 --> 00:40:24,160
Speaker 1: involve an injury to a star, but one of those

808
00:40:24,160 --> 00:40:26,440
Speaker 1: teams is going to fall apart, maybe even more than one.

809
00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:29,359
Speaker 1: But it just seems like almost a certainty that one

810
00:40:29,400 --> 00:40:31,160
Speaker 1: of those four teams is going to have a very

811
00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:34,640
Speaker 1: disappointing season, probably based on injury luck. A couple of

812
00:40:34,719 --> 00:40:37,480
Speaker 1: mediocre teams is our last bit for today. A couple

813
00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:40,520
Speaker 1: of mediocre teams that I expect to be surprisingly good.

814
00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:43,839
Speaker 1: These are the four teams that I put picked out.

815
00:40:43,880 --> 00:40:47,400
Speaker 1: All these teams, I think people expect to struggle, but

816
00:40:47,480 --> 00:40:50,520
Speaker 1: I think will be pretty solid. One Golden State. They

817
00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:53,080
Speaker 1: didn't make a trade this offseason, and so we already

818
00:40:53,120 --> 00:40:54,840
Speaker 1: knew without a doubt from last year that they just

819
00:40:54,840 --> 00:40:56,640
Speaker 1: don't have the firepower to hang with the top teams

820
00:40:56,640 --> 00:40:58,839
Speaker 1: in the league. But they added some high level role

821
00:40:58,880 --> 00:41:01,920
Speaker 1: players that specific fit their style really well on both ends.

822
00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:05,080
Speaker 1: They looked super sharp in preseason. They look like a

823
00:41:05,120 --> 00:41:07,479
Speaker 1: team to me that's going to really hold up well

824
00:41:07,520 --> 00:41:10,520
Speaker 1: against the lower end teams on their schedule, which should

825
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:13,200
Speaker 1: keep them afloat in the standings. And watch out if

826
00:41:13,200 --> 00:41:14,960
Speaker 1: Steph has a little bit of a bounce back year

827
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:18,040
Speaker 1: and gets back to like near where he was when

828
00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:20,640
Speaker 1: he was a top five player in this league. That

829
00:41:20,680 --> 00:41:22,680
Speaker 1: could be something that swings a bunch of clutch games

830
00:41:22,680 --> 00:41:24,319
Speaker 1: for Golden State and then suddenly they could be in

831
00:41:24,360 --> 00:41:26,960
Speaker 1: a much more favorable position. They're a candidate for mid

832
00:41:26,960 --> 00:41:29,480
Speaker 1: season trade as well. That could move some things. But

833
00:41:30,120 --> 00:41:32,319
Speaker 1: I think Steve Kerr is the second best coach in

834
00:41:32,360 --> 00:41:35,160
Speaker 1: the NBA. I think Steph Curry and Draymond Green are

835
00:41:35,160 --> 00:41:38,279
Speaker 1: incredible leaders. I think they look super locked in. Don't

836
00:41:38,280 --> 00:41:40,640
Speaker 1: be surprised if Golden State is super scrappy this year.

837
00:41:41,800 --> 00:41:43,799
Speaker 1: The Clippers were a team I was super high on

838
00:41:44,040 --> 00:41:46,200
Speaker 1: before the not high as like a playoff threat, but

839
00:41:46,239 --> 00:41:48,600
Speaker 1: high as a regular season team before the Kawhi injury.

840
00:41:48,880 --> 00:41:51,080
Speaker 1: They lose Paul George, everyone's off the set, but they

841
00:41:51,080 --> 00:41:53,280
Speaker 1: just have all these good perimeter defenders and James Harden

842
00:41:53,360 --> 00:41:56,560
Speaker 1: is a really good regular season offensive engine. Zubach is

843
00:41:56,560 --> 00:41:59,200
Speaker 1: the perfect pick and roll partner for him. Again, just

844
00:41:59,239 --> 00:42:02,240
Speaker 1: like you, full exuberance and speed on the perimeter combined

845
00:42:02,280 --> 00:42:04,680
Speaker 1: with good half court shot creation. I just believe in

846
00:42:04,719 --> 00:42:08,160
Speaker 1: that formula for winning regular season games. So even without Kawhi,

847
00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:10,800
Speaker 1: even though I think now without Kawhi they'll probably slip

848
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:12,840
Speaker 1: out of the play in I think even without Kawhi,

849
00:42:12,840 --> 00:42:14,480
Speaker 1: they're gonna be paying the ass and they're gonna win.

850
00:42:14,480 --> 00:42:16,399
Speaker 1: They're gonna win some games this year where like they

851
00:42:16,400 --> 00:42:18,799
Speaker 1: look like the easy win on the schedule, and then

852
00:42:18,800 --> 00:42:20,600
Speaker 1: it's like, holy shit, the Clippers beat him again or

853
00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:22,000
Speaker 1: whatever it is, Like, I think they're gonna be a

854
00:42:22,040 --> 00:42:25,400
Speaker 1: decent team this year. The Hawks, they lose to Jonte Murray,

855
00:42:25,400 --> 00:42:27,640
Speaker 1: but Trey Young is probably a little bit underrated at

856
00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:29,200
Speaker 1: this point as a guy to run a team. And

857
00:42:29,239 --> 00:42:31,759
Speaker 1: then Jalen Johnson has looked insanely good in preseason. He

858
00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:35,760
Speaker 1: shot seventy five percent on jump shots, obviously a small sample,

859
00:42:35,800 --> 00:42:38,840
Speaker 1: but shot the seams off the basketball seventy nine percent

860
00:42:38,840 --> 00:42:40,879
Speaker 1: at the rim. They got some young talent. They're gonna

861
00:42:40,880 --> 00:42:43,160
Speaker 1: be exciting. I haven't had a chance really to watch

862
00:42:43,360 --> 00:42:45,680
Speaker 1: Zachary Risochet really closely, but we will watch him over

863
00:42:45,719 --> 00:42:48,960
Speaker 1: the course of the season. The Charlotte Hornets are the

864
00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:51,239
Speaker 1: last team I put down lots of young talent with

865
00:42:51,320 --> 00:42:54,080
Speaker 1: LaMelo Ball, Miles Bridges, and Brandon Miller. Charles Lee has

866
00:42:54,120 --> 00:42:56,160
Speaker 1: him playing a really fun brand of basketball. They're generating

867
00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:58,920
Speaker 1: a ton of three point shots they got. I think

868
00:42:58,960 --> 00:43:01,120
Speaker 1: they're just gonna be a really fun league past team

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00:43:01,160 --> 00:43:03,240
Speaker 1: this year. Don't be surprised if they end up sneaking

870
00:43:03,239 --> 00:43:07,000
Speaker 1: into that eight nine range in the Eastern Conference standings

871
00:43:07,040 --> 00:43:09,480
Speaker 1: as well. All right, guys, that's all I have for today.

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Speaker 1: I'm so excited to get into the season with you

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Speaker 1: guys starting tomorrow night. Remember no show during the day tomorrow,

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00:43:13,920 --> 00:43:17,640
Speaker 1: but we will be live after the final buzzer Timberwolves

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00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:23,960
Speaker 1: Lakers on YouTube. I will see you guys then the volume.

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Speaker 1: What's up guys? As always, I appreciate you for listening

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00:43:27,080 --> 00:43:29,920
Speaker 1: to and supporting OOPS tonight. It would actually be really

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00:43:29,920 --> 00:43:31,840
Speaker 1: helpful for us if you guys would take a second

879
00:43:31,920 --> 00:43:34,600
Speaker 1: and leave a rating and a review. As always, I

880
00:43:34,600 --> 00:43:36,359
Speaker 1: appreciate you guys supporting us, but if you could take

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00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:38,719
Speaker 1: a minute to do that, I'd really appreciate it.