1
00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:16,360
Speaker 1: The Volume. All right, welcome to Hoops tonight here at

2
00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:18,319
Speaker 1: the Volume. Happy Friday, everybody. I hope all of you

3
00:00:18,320 --> 00:00:20,960
Speaker 1: guys had an incredible week. We are also live on AMPS,

4
00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:23,000
Speaker 1: so if you're listening on the YouTube feed or on

5
00:00:23,040 --> 00:00:24,920
Speaker 1: the podcast feed, don't forget that AMP is the very

6
00:00:24,920 --> 00:00:27,200
Speaker 1: first place that you guys can get these shows. We

7
00:00:27,240 --> 00:00:30,360
Speaker 1: are finally at long last three weeks later, at the

8
00:00:30,480 --> 00:00:33,559
Speaker 1: end of our player rankings, we're gonna be paying homage

9
00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:37,360
Speaker 1: to the great Nicola Jokic today, who has the most

10
00:00:37,360 --> 00:00:40,239
Speaker 1: solid case for number one that we've seen in a

11
00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:42,360
Speaker 1: long time. You guys know the drill. Before we get started,

12
00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:44,360
Speaker 1: subscribe to the volumes YouTube channels. You don't miss any

13
00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,599
Speaker 1: more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter at underscore

14
00:00:46,640 --> 00:00:48,800
Speaker 1: Jason lt so you guys don't miss anyhow announcements. And

15
00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:50,920
Speaker 1: for whatever reason you miss one of these videos and

16
00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:52,600
Speaker 1: you can't get back over to YouTube to finished, don't

17
00:00:52,600 --> 00:00:54,800
Speaker 1: forget you can find them wherever you get your podcasts.

18
00:00:55,280 --> 00:00:58,960
Speaker 1: Under Hoops Tonight, last but not least, before we get started.

19
00:00:58,960 --> 00:01:01,240
Speaker 1: Next Monday, I'm actually going to see the Grand Tarismo

20
00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:03,240
Speaker 1: movie up in Phoenix, and then we're gonna actually be

21
00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:05,000
Speaker 1: doing a full review of it here on the show

22
00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:07,120
Speaker 1: I'm excited to do that for you guys. The new

23
00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:09,919
Speaker 1: movie Grand Tarismo is based on the unbelievable true story

24
00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:13,759
Speaker 1: of a team of unlikely underdogs, a struggling working class gamer,

25
00:01:14,200 --> 00:01:18,400
Speaker 1: a failed former race car driver, and an idealistic motorsport executive.

26
00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:20,600
Speaker 1: Together they risk it all to take on the most

27
00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:24,000
Speaker 1: elite sport in the world. Directed by Neil Blomkamp, the

28
00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,120
Speaker 1: movie features an incredible cast led by David Harbor, alongside

29
00:01:27,200 --> 00:01:31,279
Speaker 1: Orlando bloom jam And Hanso, Jerry Halliwell Horner, and Archie

30
00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:34,360
Speaker 1: Medecui as Jon martin Borough. Some of the most famous

31
00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,240
Speaker 1: racing competitions in the world are recreated through the use

32
00:01:37,280 --> 00:01:42,319
Speaker 1: of actual Nissan GTS, drones and practical effects. The racing

33
00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,600
Speaker 1: sequences are so realistic that the real life Jon martin

34
00:01:45,640 --> 00:01:49,480
Speaker 1: Borough himself actually served as the stunt driver for the film.

35
00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:52,640
Speaker 1: This is a movie that needs to be seen on

36
00:01:52,720 --> 00:01:56,320
Speaker 1: the big screen. Grand Turismo is an inspiring, thrilling, an

37
00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,560
Speaker 1: action pack story that proves that nothing is impossible when

38
00:02:00,560 --> 00:02:03,000
Speaker 1: you were fueled from within. Grant Arismo, based on a

39
00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:07,160
Speaker 1: true stories, exclusively in movie theaters this August twenty fifth

40
00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:10,639
Speaker 1: with special sneak previews this weekend. Get your tickets today,

41
00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:14,480
Speaker 1: rated PG thirteen. All right, let's talk some basketball. So,

42
00:02:14,600 --> 00:02:17,960
Speaker 1: as I said in the intro, this year was as

43
00:02:18,080 --> 00:02:21,280
Speaker 1: definitive a case for number one as you'll see in

44
00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:24,040
Speaker 1: the modern NBA. He was actually the front runner to

45
00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:26,679
Speaker 1: win his third consecutive MVP about two thirds of the

46
00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:30,000
Speaker 1: way through the season before he basically punted that award.

47
00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:33,560
Speaker 1: Not anything we can be critical of him for. I

48
00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:37,320
Speaker 1: thought it was more just Jokic just identifying that it

49
00:02:37,360 --> 00:02:40,280
Speaker 1: was already kind of like a politic oriented award that

50
00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:41,720
Speaker 1: a lot of people didn't want him to win, and

51
00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:43,760
Speaker 1: I think he just took the opportunity to rest up

52
00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,880
Speaker 1: for the playoff run. And in that playoff run, he

53
00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:51,960
Speaker 1: had an incredibly dominant run, especially dominant over his peers.

54
00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,160
Speaker 1: He ran through six players that were on my top

55
00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,880
Speaker 1: fifteen list, Anthony Edwards, Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Lebron James,

56
00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,679
Speaker 1: Anthony Davis, and Jimmy Butler. Just ran through those guys,

57
00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:07,000
Speaker 1: never was even remotely threatened. The only team to even

58
00:03:07,080 --> 00:03:09,480
Speaker 1: take two games off of them was the Suns, and

59
00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,079
Speaker 1: the Nuggets whipped their ass so thoroughly in the other

60
00:03:12,120 --> 00:03:14,600
Speaker 1: four games that they outscored him by fifty seven points

61
00:03:14,600 --> 00:03:17,240
Speaker 1: in the series, which was by far their largest margin

62
00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,200
Speaker 1: of victory in the playoff run. So the keyword there

63
00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:24,760
Speaker 1: is dominant. Most importantly, Nikole Yokuch was by far the

64
00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:29,000
Speaker 1: primary driver of their success throughout the season and in

65
00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:31,240
Speaker 1: the playoffs. Don't get me wrong, the Nuggets were an

66
00:03:31,280 --> 00:03:34,560
Speaker 1: extremely talented championship roster. You do not win in the

67
00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,160
Speaker 1: NBA if you do not have a good team. Jamal

68
00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,280
Speaker 1: Murray produced like a superstar in this playoff run, and

69
00:03:41,320 --> 00:03:43,320
Speaker 1: I actually think I had him at sixteen in the

70
00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:48,160
Speaker 1: list this year. Aaron Gordon had just this unbelievable defensive

71
00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:51,040
Speaker 1: playoff run where he took all these primary assignments between

72
00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,040
Speaker 1: Kevin Durant, Lebron James Jimmy Butler. Did a great job

73
00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:57,160
Speaker 1: at all those assignments, all while shooting thirty nine percent

74
00:03:57,200 --> 00:03:59,440
Speaker 1: from three and bringing a bunch of other little dirty

75
00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,240
Speaker 1: work things to the table. Bruce Brown played so well

76
00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,000
Speaker 1: he got a forty five million dollar contract over two years.

77
00:04:05,000 --> 00:04:07,760
Speaker 1: He's now a twenty plus million dollars a year player.

78
00:04:07,760 --> 00:04:09,560
Speaker 1: And I could keep going down the line, but you

79
00:04:09,560 --> 00:04:12,120
Speaker 1: guys get the point. The Nuggets were a very good team.

80
00:04:12,200 --> 00:04:17,000
Speaker 1: That said, it was incredibly apparent to anybody watching the

81
00:04:17,000 --> 00:04:20,520
Speaker 1: games that Nikole Jokic was the singular cog that made

82
00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:24,599
Speaker 1: the entire system work. On offense, he demonstrated what I

83
00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:28,919
Speaker 1: consider to be supreme unguardability that flummixed every defense that

84
00:04:28,960 --> 00:04:31,560
Speaker 1: he ran into. He flummixed the best defense in the

85
00:04:31,600 --> 00:04:33,560
Speaker 1: league in my opinion, and the Lakers took the best

86
00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:35,720
Speaker 1: defender in the league and Anthony Davis and made him

87
00:04:35,720 --> 00:04:39,679
Speaker 1: look utterly worthless. It was just as dominant as it gets.

88
00:04:39,760 --> 00:04:42,760
Speaker 1: We will get more to the unguardability element here in

89
00:04:42,760 --> 00:04:44,640
Speaker 1: a few minutes, because I want to spend a good

90
00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,720
Speaker 1: chunk of time breaking down what exactly makes NIKOLEA. Jokic unguardable,

91
00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:50,919
Speaker 1: because I think there are two specific traits that a

92
00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:53,440
Speaker 1: player has to have, and I think there's only two

93
00:04:53,480 --> 00:04:56,039
Speaker 1: players in the league that have those traits. But to

94
00:04:56,080 --> 00:04:58,479
Speaker 1: make a long story short, Nikola Jokic kicked everyone's ass

95
00:04:58,480 --> 00:05:01,800
Speaker 1: and got the trophy. No matter what he's he's got

96
00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:04,560
Speaker 1: the top spot on my list through to next June. Yes,

97
00:05:04,640 --> 00:05:07,320
Speaker 1: that means that even if he plays poorly for some

98
00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:10,080
Speaker 1: stretch of the regular season or misses some stretch of

99
00:05:10,120 --> 00:05:13,520
Speaker 1: the regular season with injury. And let's just say Jason

100
00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:17,080
Speaker 1: Tatum is averaging forty and just kicking everyone's ass in

101
00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:20,640
Speaker 1: the regular season. I don't care. You know, I said

102
00:05:20,640 --> 00:05:23,960
Speaker 1: this about Jokic before when I had it, because I

103
00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:26,159
Speaker 1: had a much lower last year. Because again, and you

104
00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:27,599
Speaker 1: guys know how I feel about this stuff. I have

105
00:05:27,680 --> 00:05:31,120
Speaker 1: my like kind of existing worldview of basketball, but I'm

106
00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:33,840
Speaker 1: not married to it. I'm gonna adjust that worldview based

107
00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,599
Speaker 1: on new information. Right, So, like I had Embiiden Jokicic

108
00:05:37,680 --> 00:05:39,360
Speaker 1: both very low last year. I had him I think

109
00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:43,520
Speaker 1: seven and eight respectively. Why because I believed that you

110
00:05:43,640 --> 00:05:47,080
Speaker 1: could not win in the NBA with a really slow

111
00:05:47,080 --> 00:05:49,760
Speaker 1: footed center. I thought that the teams would run you

112
00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,200
Speaker 1: off the floor in transition, spread you out and driving

113
00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:54,320
Speaker 1: kick you to death. I didn't think it'd be possible

114
00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:57,400
Speaker 1: to do it. It turns out I was wrong, Nicole

115
00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:01,360
Speaker 1: Jokicic proved that that's no longer the case now. Well,

116
00:06:01,480 --> 00:06:03,320
Speaker 1: it remains to be seen in the long run whether

117
00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:06,080
Speaker 1: or not he's kind of an outlier among centers. But

118
00:06:06,320 --> 00:06:08,760
Speaker 1: you'll notice I even moved and beat up this year

119
00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:12,520
Speaker 1: because now I actually see that you can structurally win

120
00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:15,640
Speaker 1: a championship with a slow footed center. We react to

121
00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:20,320
Speaker 1: new information, right. But again, like I was slower to

122
00:06:20,400 --> 00:06:24,960
Speaker 1: give Jokic, you know, a big picture credit because you

123
00:06:25,000 --> 00:06:27,919
Speaker 1: guys know how much I value championships. Well, now Jokic

124
00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:31,320
Speaker 1: has the championship, which makes him enter in an entirely

125
00:06:31,360 --> 00:06:34,520
Speaker 1: different class of conversation for me personally. And I know

126
00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,880
Speaker 1: everyone've used the game differently, that's just for me. I

127
00:06:37,880 --> 00:06:40,599
Speaker 1: I'm cool with being slow to give credit to guys

128
00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:43,040
Speaker 1: who are not champions, because you know, when you get

129
00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,400
Speaker 1: the trophy, that's when we layer all the praise and

130
00:06:46,440 --> 00:06:48,760
Speaker 1: the respect and the credit onto you. And that's what

131
00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:52,320
Speaker 1: we're doing to Nikole Jokic today. So quick season recap.

132
00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:54,520
Speaker 1: You played in sixty nine games this year, averaged twenty

133
00:06:54,520 --> 00:06:58,880
Speaker 1: five points twelve rebounds in tennisis seventy percent through shooting percentage.

134
00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:01,600
Speaker 1: Guess what. That was the highest true shooting percentage in

135
00:07:01,640 --> 00:07:04,960
Speaker 1: the entire league among any player who played at least

136
00:07:04,960 --> 00:07:07,520
Speaker 1: twenty five minutes per game, including big guys who just

137
00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,360
Speaker 1: stand under the basket and dunk everything. Nikol Jokic most

138
00:07:10,360 --> 00:07:13,600
Speaker 1: efficient player in the NBA this year to play significant minutes.

139
00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:17,520
Speaker 1: Some play type data for you guys. The post up

140
00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,440
Speaker 1: was by far to Koli Jokic's most common play type.

141
00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,160
Speaker 1: In fact, Kolokis ran six hundred and thirty four post

142
00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:25,440
Speaker 1: ups this year, which was by far the most in

143
00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:27,400
Speaker 1: the league. To give you guys, actually, I'll just let

144
00:07:27,400 --> 00:07:29,360
Speaker 1: you guys, guess who do you think was second in

145
00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,000
Speaker 1: the league and total post ups ran. The correct answer

146
00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,440
Speaker 1: is Nikola Vucevich. He ran four hundred and forty nine.

147
00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:38,520
Speaker 1: So to give you an idea, Nikola Jokic ran almost

148
00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:41,560
Speaker 1: two hundred more post ups than anybody else in the

149
00:07:41,680 --> 00:07:44,880
Speaker 1: entire league. He scored a staggering one point two to

150
00:07:44,920 --> 00:07:48,000
Speaker 1: two points per possession on post ups including passes. On

151
00:07:48,000 --> 00:07:50,360
Speaker 1: our high volume post up list, which is a minimum

152
00:07:50,400 --> 00:07:52,920
Speaker 1: of two hundred reps, there were twenty players on that list.

153
00:07:53,200 --> 00:07:55,760
Speaker 1: Jokic ranked second. Here we have another trivia question for

154
00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:58,080
Speaker 1: you guys. Who do you think finished first? And it's

155
00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:01,080
Speaker 1: not who you'd think and it's not a big guys,

156
00:08:01,200 --> 00:08:04,559
Speaker 1: only about six foot six. The correct answer is DeMar

157
00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:06,840
Speaker 1: de Rosen, who just had an absurd post up season.

158
00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,440
Speaker 1: He had an absurd iso season two but he averaged

159
00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,520
Speaker 1: one point three points per possession on post ups on

160
00:08:12,600 --> 00:08:15,440
Speaker 1: high volume, which is just outrageous, So kudos to DeMar

161
00:08:15,480 --> 00:08:18,760
Speaker 1: de Rosen. Second most common play type for Nicole Jokich

162
00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,640
Speaker 1: was rollman possessions, obviously as a product of the two

163
00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:23,960
Speaker 1: man game that he frequently runs with not just Jamal Murray,

164
00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:27,440
Speaker 1: but with KCP and Michael Porter Junior as well. Joki

165
00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:30,360
Speaker 1: shot sixty eight percent on rolls to the rim. That

166
00:08:30,480 --> 00:08:32,400
Speaker 1: efficiency number is key. We're going to get to that

167
00:08:32,400 --> 00:08:35,080
Speaker 1: more when we talk unguardability. But he averaged one point

168
00:08:35,080 --> 00:08:37,640
Speaker 1: three to seven points per possession in those situations, which

169
00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:41,280
Speaker 1: is in the ninety first percentile. Just a deadly floater

170
00:08:41,360 --> 00:08:44,040
Speaker 1: there in the mid range, deadly pick and pop, you know,

171
00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:47,520
Speaker 1: jump shot catching, rip, that kind of situation. He's also

172
00:08:47,559 --> 00:08:49,600
Speaker 1: one of the top tier passers in the league, which

173
00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:53,079
Speaker 1: is vital in the short role as the defense coalesces

174
00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:56,480
Speaker 1: around you. One point two points per spot up possession.

175
00:08:56,480 --> 00:08:58,720
Speaker 1: He shot sixty four percent in EFFECTI field goal percentage

176
00:08:58,760 --> 00:09:02,400
Speaker 1: and spot up situations. Once again, that's just your classic

177
00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:04,320
Speaker 1: stretch big as well, which opens up a bunch of

178
00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:07,040
Speaker 1: things for your offense. Inverted pick and roll was another

179
00:09:07,080 --> 00:09:08,880
Speaker 1: big one I wanted to hit on. You did it

180
00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:12,280
Speaker 1: mostly with Aaron Gordon, but he'd sometimes use guards as well.

181
00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:14,959
Speaker 1: This was a significant play type for Yo kid. You

182
00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:17,640
Speaker 1: ran it almost two hundred times this year. It was

183
00:09:18,040 --> 00:09:20,240
Speaker 1: you know, again, we talked about this yesterday with Jannis

184
00:09:20,240 --> 00:09:22,439
Speaker 1: because Jannis, you know, we think of him as a

185
00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:24,839
Speaker 1: perimeter ball handlers, so we don't call it inverted pick

186
00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:27,240
Speaker 1: and roll, but technically it's kind of like an inverted

187
00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,600
Speaker 1: pick and roll because Yannis functions as a as a

188
00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:32,120
Speaker 1: big man in their system most of the time. But

189
00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:34,160
Speaker 1: I talked about how for Yannis it works really well

190
00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,560
Speaker 1: because what you're doing is you're taking you know. So

191
00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,679
Speaker 1: for instance, like Trey Young ran almost two thousand pick

192
00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,720
Speaker 1: and rolls this year, right, Like we had fifteen players

193
00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:45,680
Speaker 1: in the league ran over a thousand pick and rolls.

194
00:09:45,760 --> 00:09:49,160
Speaker 1: Right for guards, it's such a common play type that

195
00:09:49,320 --> 00:09:52,880
Speaker 1: guess what guard defenders are constantly doing. They're constantly chasing

196
00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:55,360
Speaker 1: over the top of screens, right, That's what they do

197
00:09:55,440 --> 00:10:00,240
Speaker 1: from the collegiate level, primarily up through the pros. They

198
00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:04,760
Speaker 1: are just every single day practicing and in games chasing

199
00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,839
Speaker 1: over the top of screens, and so it's something that

200
00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:11,960
Speaker 1: they're good at. The gigantic forwards that you have to

201
00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:14,800
Speaker 1: put on guys like Giannis and on guys like Nikola Jokic,

202
00:10:15,200 --> 00:10:18,160
Speaker 1: they don't do that. They practice defending in the post,

203
00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:21,920
Speaker 1: they practice being the screen defender, operating in some form

204
00:10:21,960 --> 00:10:25,160
Speaker 1: of drop coverage. They guard on the wing against wing scorers.

205
00:10:25,400 --> 00:10:28,160
Speaker 1: They do not chase over the top of screens very often,

206
00:10:28,200 --> 00:10:29,920
Speaker 1: and so they're not very good at it. And so

207
00:10:30,000 --> 00:10:33,080
Speaker 1: inverted pick and roll basically takes defenders and puts them

208
00:10:33,120 --> 00:10:35,480
Speaker 1: in positions that they're not comfortable with. It's funny because

209
00:10:35,559 --> 00:10:38,439
Speaker 1: when we talk about matchup hunting, we always think about isolation,

210
00:10:38,640 --> 00:10:41,840
Speaker 1: but every single one of those matchup hunting situations brings

211
00:10:42,640 --> 00:10:46,359
Speaker 1: The goal is to bring a defender into a situation

212
00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:50,240
Speaker 1: where he's uncomfortable. Right, So, if we're attacking a big

213
00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:52,880
Speaker 1: on a switch, it's because big guys are not used

214
00:10:52,880 --> 00:10:55,559
Speaker 1: to guarding quicker players on the perimeter. Right. If we're

215
00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:57,760
Speaker 1: attacking a small guy in the post, it's because the

216
00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:00,600
Speaker 1: small player is not particularly good at post step defense

217
00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:02,559
Speaker 1: because he doesn't practice it a lot. Right. You know,

218
00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,360
Speaker 1: a lot of times screen navigation gets targeted in a

219
00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:07,960
Speaker 1: bunch of different situations. If a guy really struggles to

220
00:11:08,040 --> 00:11:09,920
Speaker 1: just guard a wide pin down, you'll see a team

221
00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:12,120
Speaker 1: spam a wide pin down because the guy keeps dying

222
00:11:12,160 --> 00:11:14,360
Speaker 1: on the screen or whatever. Pick and roll, same type

223
00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:17,520
Speaker 1: of situation, and inverted pick and roll, you're taking advantage

224
00:11:17,559 --> 00:11:19,959
Speaker 1: of the fact that the actual on ball defender is

225
00:11:20,000 --> 00:11:23,440
Speaker 1: not good at navigating screens, and so nikolea. Jokicz brings

226
00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:25,880
Speaker 1: up Aaron Gordon into the screen. Now I've got two big,

227
00:11:25,960 --> 00:11:29,080
Speaker 1: slow guys trying to guard an inverted pick and roll,

228
00:11:29,640 --> 00:11:32,439
Speaker 1: and it's just an extremely difficult task for guys that

229
00:11:32,520 --> 00:11:36,400
Speaker 1: don't have a lot of practice with that. So you'll

230
00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,600
Speaker 1: see in those situations Yokic will either just get downhill

231
00:11:39,600 --> 00:11:41,240
Speaker 1: because his man will dive on this die on the

232
00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:43,120
Speaker 1: screen and he's just getting really close to the rim,

233
00:11:43,280 --> 00:11:46,680
Speaker 1: or there's a botched interchange which leaves Aaron Gordon wide

234
00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:48,560
Speaker 1: open on a lob, or they have to bring the

235
00:11:48,600 --> 00:11:51,200
Speaker 1: third defender in and Yokic just hitting the corner the

236
00:11:51,200 --> 00:11:53,240
Speaker 1: pass of the week side corner. He just picks people

237
00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:55,360
Speaker 1: apart in those situations. He ran one hundred and ninety

238
00:11:55,400 --> 00:11:57,760
Speaker 1: two inverted pick and rolls this year, amounting to one

239
00:11:57,760 --> 00:11:59,599
Speaker 1: point zero nine points per possession, which is in the

240
00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:02,960
Speaker 1: eighty seven percent toime. Now, once again, whenever we see

241
00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:07,679
Speaker 1: super top tier half court shot creation, it's almost always

242
00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:13,040
Speaker 1: foundationally led by unbelievable shot making. These are the shot

243
00:12:13,040 --> 00:12:16,000
Speaker 1: making numbers for Jokic this year. Fifty seven percent effective

244
00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:18,720
Speaker 1: field goal percentage on catch and shoot jumpers, fifty nine

245
00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:22,360
Speaker 1: percent effective field goal percentage on pull up jumpers although

246
00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:24,959
Speaker 1: we only took forty four of them this season. Sixty

247
00:12:25,040 --> 00:12:29,240
Speaker 1: seven percent on runners, sixty seven percent on hooks. That's

248
00:12:29,320 --> 00:12:32,439
Speaker 1: the shot that makes Jokich completely unstoppable. Table that we're

249
00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:34,520
Speaker 1: gonna get back to that in a few minutes. Seventy

250
00:12:34,520 --> 00:12:36,560
Speaker 1: five percent in the restricted area on four point six

251
00:12:36,600 --> 00:12:39,360
Speaker 1: makes per game. All top tier numbers for those shots,

252
00:12:39,440 --> 00:12:42,040
Speaker 1: some of them off the charts, specifically the runners in

253
00:12:42,080 --> 00:12:44,000
Speaker 1: the hooks, which we'll get to in a little bit. Now,

254
00:12:44,080 --> 00:12:48,360
Speaker 1: let's talk about the unguardability thing. So yesterday, those of

255
00:12:48,360 --> 00:12:50,440
Speaker 1: you guys who listened in the Steph Curry Show, I

256
00:12:50,440 --> 00:12:53,760
Speaker 1: talked about how Steph and and Nicola are the only

257
00:12:53,840 --> 00:12:57,960
Speaker 1: two truly unstoppable offensive players in the league in my opinion,

258
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:00,000
Speaker 1: And so I want to dive into that concept a bit. First,

259
00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:03,679
Speaker 1: in my opinion, it takes two things to be truly

260
00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:07,360
Speaker 1: unguardable on the offensive end of the floor. First of all,

261
00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,640
Speaker 1: you have to have a shot that you can consistently

262
00:13:11,679 --> 00:13:14,040
Speaker 1: get to, either in one on one coverage or two

263
00:13:14,040 --> 00:13:16,320
Speaker 1: on two coverage, meaning like in an action or in

264
00:13:16,360 --> 00:13:19,080
Speaker 1: an isolation or post up situation. But you have to

265
00:13:19,080 --> 00:13:21,880
Speaker 1: be able to get to and make that shot not

266
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,720
Speaker 1: just at an efficient rate, but at at a rate

267
00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:29,080
Speaker 1: so efficient that it becomes painful and unsustainable for the

268
00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:32,480
Speaker 1: defense to accept. Okay, So, for instance, I'll give you

269
00:13:32,520 --> 00:13:35,360
Speaker 1: guys an example. There are a lot of players in

270
00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,600
Speaker 1: this league that can get to and make tough mid

271
00:13:38,720 --> 00:13:41,800
Speaker 1: range pull up jump shots at about forty five to

272
00:13:41,840 --> 00:13:46,720
Speaker 1: fifty percent right, And in those situations a lot of times,

273
00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:49,040
Speaker 1: like you'll a guy will make a tough shot and

274
00:13:49,040 --> 00:13:51,920
Speaker 1: you'll run back on defense and it can be slightly discouraging,

275
00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,560
Speaker 1: but you'll see the coaching staff of the defense be like,

276
00:13:55,679 --> 00:13:59,079
Speaker 1: we'll live with that. Why Because let's say, for instance,

277
00:13:59,200 --> 00:14:04,040
Speaker 1: like that Paul George on tough contested pull up twos

278
00:14:05,040 --> 00:14:07,640
Speaker 1: is having a crazy hot night where he's making them

279
00:14:07,679 --> 00:14:11,079
Speaker 1: a lot more than usual and like, generally speaking, he's

280
00:14:11,120 --> 00:14:14,000
Speaker 1: in the low forties there, Let's say he's making fifty

281
00:14:14,240 --> 00:14:18,280
Speaker 1: percent of them. That means that he's scoring one point

282
00:14:18,280 --> 00:14:22,600
Speaker 1: per possession, and in a league where offensive ratings are

283
00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,680
Speaker 1: well over a point per possession, that's a trade off

284
00:14:25,680 --> 00:14:28,880
Speaker 1: that the defense can live with. And so if you're

285
00:14:29,360 --> 00:14:33,440
Speaker 1: forcing guys into tough shots and they're not hitting them

286
00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:36,760
Speaker 1: at a high enough clip to be truly damaging, that's

287
00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:38,640
Speaker 1: a trade off the defense can live with. That extends

288
00:14:38,680 --> 00:14:41,240
Speaker 1: to different spots on the floor. So for instance, if

289
00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:45,800
Speaker 1: you got a heavy basket attacker who's only shooting fifty

290
00:14:45,840 --> 00:14:48,160
Speaker 1: percent at the rim. A lot of our hyper athletic

291
00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:50,560
Speaker 1: guards do stuff like that. That's kind of like the

292
00:14:50,560 --> 00:14:53,680
Speaker 1: predicament that Russell Westbrook is in right now. Right pull

293
00:14:53,760 --> 00:14:56,400
Speaker 1: up thirty point shooters that shoot in the mid thirties

294
00:14:56,880 --> 00:15:00,880
Speaker 1: like low thirties, like Trey Young, for instance, Trey Young

295
00:15:00,960 --> 00:15:03,680
Speaker 1: just shoots a ton of pull up threes and just

296
00:15:03,760 --> 00:15:06,560
Speaker 1: makes them at a percentage in the mid to low thirties.

297
00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,960
Speaker 1: So that means that in effective field goal percentage, once

298
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:13,920
Speaker 1: you extrapolate that out to a point percent per possession basis,

299
00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,000
Speaker 1: it's only about a point per possession. The defense can

300
00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:20,200
Speaker 1: live with that. But if you have a shot that

301
00:15:20,240 --> 00:15:23,920
Speaker 1: you can convert well over a point per possession, one

302
00:15:23,960 --> 00:15:26,440
Speaker 1: point two to one point three points per possession, it

303
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:30,040
Speaker 1: gets so damaging that the defense has no choice but

304
00:15:30,120 --> 00:15:34,640
Speaker 1: to take drastic measures to stop you. So for Steph Curry,

305
00:15:34,840 --> 00:15:37,040
Speaker 1: that's his pull up three point shooting is movement three

306
00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,280
Speaker 1: point shooting. Right, he's hitting those in the mid forties.

307
00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:46,160
Speaker 1: So if you let Steph get decent looks in those situations,

308
00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:49,000
Speaker 1: he's gonna get you close to one point three points

309
00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:52,800
Speaker 1: per possession. Because around forty five forty to forty five

310
00:15:52,800 --> 00:15:55,880
Speaker 1: percent in field goal percentage from three is in the

311
00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:00,160
Speaker 1: load to mid sixties in effective field goal percentage. So

312
00:16:00,200 --> 00:16:04,240
Speaker 1: it's not just efficient, it's damaging efficient, and there's nothing

313
00:16:04,280 --> 00:16:06,600
Speaker 1: they can do about it other than throw the kitchen

314
00:16:06,640 --> 00:16:10,280
Speaker 1: sink at right, Nikole Jokic, it's the floaters in the

315
00:16:10,280 --> 00:16:14,440
Speaker 1: hook shots, because he hits them at damn near sixty

316
00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:19,720
Speaker 1: seven percent. That you find yourself in a situation where

317
00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:23,400
Speaker 1: if you let Jokic catch in the short roll, he's

318
00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:26,200
Speaker 1: gonna take a pop shot. He's gonna make two out

319
00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:29,880
Speaker 1: of three of them, and it's unsustainable. It is too damaging.

320
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:34,120
Speaker 1: You have to send multiple defenders towards him. If you

321
00:16:34,200 --> 00:16:36,960
Speaker 1: leave him in single coverage in the post, he's going

322
00:16:37,000 --> 00:16:40,640
Speaker 1: He's two damn big, two damn strong. His footwork is

323
00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:43,000
Speaker 1: too polished, his control of the ball is too good.

324
00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,800
Speaker 1: He's going to work his way close to the rim,

325
00:16:46,160 --> 00:16:48,440
Speaker 1: get to a little hook shot over his left shoulder,

326
00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:52,720
Speaker 1: and he's gonna make two thirds of them. Sixty seven

327
00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,600
Speaker 1: percent on hooks comes out to one point three to

328
00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:00,680
Speaker 1: four points per possession. That is downright damaging to defense,

329
00:17:01,280 --> 00:17:03,280
Speaker 1: and they're going to have to take drastic measures to

330
00:17:03,280 --> 00:17:06,520
Speaker 1: stop it. That is step one. You have to have

331
00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:10,320
Speaker 1: a truly damaging shot that you can consistently get to

332
00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:12,920
Speaker 1: Step two. To be unguardable, you have to be able

333
00:17:12,920 --> 00:17:16,680
Speaker 1: to consistently capitalize on those drastic measures from the defense

334
00:17:17,240 --> 00:17:20,960
Speaker 1: by generating quality shots for your defense, for your teammates.

335
00:17:22,400 --> 00:17:27,120
Speaker 1: So Nikole Jokic is killing you with his mid range

336
00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:30,359
Speaker 1: little floaters, and he's killing you in the post. You

337
00:17:30,440 --> 00:17:35,280
Speaker 1: send multiple defenders at him. What happens next. Nikolejokic just

338
00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:39,240
Speaker 1: on ball as a passer, is constantly aware of where

339
00:17:39,280 --> 00:17:42,439
Speaker 1: all the defenders are. He sees plays developed before they happen.

340
00:17:42,800 --> 00:17:46,280
Speaker 1: He's big enough and his ball control is good enough

341
00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:47,800
Speaker 1: that he can get the ball on time and on

342
00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:51,960
Speaker 1: target to the kill pass, the specific pass that beats

343
00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:56,240
Speaker 1: the drastic measure from the defense. And for Steph Curry

344
00:17:56,280 --> 00:17:59,320
Speaker 1: it's obviously different. Like for Steph it's less on ball

345
00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:02,000
Speaker 1: and more off right, it's him flying off of a

346
00:18:02,040 --> 00:18:04,439
Speaker 1: screen and two defenders chase after him. We've referred to

347
00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,159
Speaker 1: this as the gravity concept. And the reality is is

348
00:18:07,160 --> 00:18:10,000
Speaker 1: the Warriors get better rim looks than anybody in the league.

349
00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:13,880
Speaker 1: They were third in restricted efficiency restricted area efficiency this year.

350
00:18:14,080 --> 00:18:17,240
Speaker 1: They were first last year, first in twenty nineteen, second

351
00:18:17,280 --> 00:18:19,719
Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen, first in twenty seventeen. You guys get

352
00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:22,120
Speaker 1: the point. The Warriors get better looks at the rim

353
00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,080
Speaker 1: than anybody in the league. That's because of Steph, even

354
00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:27,920
Speaker 1: though it doesn't even though the assists get registered to

355
00:18:27,960 --> 00:18:29,600
Speaker 1: w However, the big guy is at the top of

356
00:18:29,680 --> 00:18:32,200
Speaker 1: the court that's making those reads. As Steph and Claire

357
00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:36,600
Speaker 1: running off of screens. The actual fear of Steph is

358
00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:39,679
Speaker 1: what generates those open looks. And then Steph also is

359
00:18:39,680 --> 00:18:42,200
Speaker 1: a great on ball passer as well. We talked yesterday

360
00:18:42,240 --> 00:18:44,960
Speaker 1: about his fourteen assist game in Game four against the Lakers,

361
00:18:45,240 --> 00:18:47,600
Speaker 1: where they threw the kitchen sink at him. He could

362
00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:49,359
Speaker 1: make a three point shot to save his life, and

363
00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:51,840
Speaker 1: he still generated thirty eight points in twenty eight picking

364
00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:54,520
Speaker 1: rolls with his on ball passing. But you get the point.

365
00:18:55,520 --> 00:18:59,000
Speaker 1: For both guys, you just have to pick the lesser

366
00:18:59,040 --> 00:19:04,400
Speaker 1: of two evils. If you let them work in traditional coverages,

367
00:19:04,720 --> 00:19:06,679
Speaker 1: they're not just going to beat you. They're going to

368
00:19:06,720 --> 00:19:08,520
Speaker 1: beat you to the tune of a point in a

369
00:19:08,560 --> 00:19:11,440
Speaker 1: third per possession, which is going to cost you the game.

370
00:19:13,600 --> 00:19:16,639
Speaker 1: And then if you send the kitchen sink at them,

371
00:19:16,680 --> 00:19:18,320
Speaker 1: you're gonna stand there and watch them pick you to

372
00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:25,440
Speaker 1: pieces with their peers. The trade off is much more simple. Okay,

373
00:19:25,520 --> 00:19:30,320
Speaker 1: Joel Embiid is crushing us in post up situations, Let's

374
00:19:30,359 --> 00:19:32,960
Speaker 1: throw the kitchen sink at him. Doesn't handle double teams. Well,

375
00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:39,359
Speaker 1: there's an option there that's clearly better than the main option. Right, Okay,

376
00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:42,399
Speaker 1: Trey Young's hitting one out of every three pull up threes,

377
00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:45,680
Speaker 1: Like you know, like, what are we gonna do? Stay

378
00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:47,959
Speaker 1: in your traditional drop coverage. He's just not gonna make

379
00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:51,360
Speaker 1: enough of them for it to be truly damaging, especially

380
00:19:51,440 --> 00:19:54,480
Speaker 1: over the course of a playoff series. Every player down

381
00:19:54,480 --> 00:19:58,480
Speaker 1: the line has some sort of weakness in that department

382
00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:03,240
Speaker 1: where you can theoretically go with a path to guarding

383
00:20:03,280 --> 00:20:06,239
Speaker 1: them that should limit their efficiency enough to give your

384
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:09,400
Speaker 1: team a chance to win. Now, at any given one night,

385
00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:11,919
Speaker 1: those guys might beat you either with the pass or

386
00:20:11,960 --> 00:20:14,879
Speaker 1: with the shot, but in terms of consistently night in

387
00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,320
Speaker 1: and night out, even because that's the thing with you,

388
00:20:17,600 --> 00:20:19,959
Speaker 1: Even if Jokic is missing a couple of those shots,

389
00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:22,600
Speaker 1: even if Steph is missing some of his threes, They're

390
00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:26,119
Speaker 1: still guarded like they're going to make them consistently because

391
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,000
Speaker 1: the fear is still there. And those two guys are

392
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:30,440
Speaker 1: the only two that I can think of in the

393
00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:35,240
Speaker 1: league that truly resoundingly check both of those those boxes.

394
00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:41,160
Speaker 1: You saw everything that Nikola Jokic did translate to the playoffs.

395
00:20:41,320 --> 00:20:43,879
Speaker 1: His efficiency and floaters and hook shots went down just

396
00:20:43,920 --> 00:20:46,240
Speaker 1: to touch, but he made up for that by making

397
00:20:46,280 --> 00:20:49,040
Speaker 1: every damn three point shot they took, and just a

398
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:54,000
Speaker 1: ridiculous arsenal of one legged fadeaways and funky leaners and

399
00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,199
Speaker 1: all these different shots. The shot making maintained as he

400
00:20:57,240 --> 00:20:59,640
Speaker 1: went into the playoffs, his aggression went up a level

401
00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:01,679
Speaker 1: he went into the playoffs, which led to the increase

402
00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:03,440
Speaker 1: in points per game production. He was up at thirty

403
00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:07,200
Speaker 1: points per game in the playoffs. It was as impressive

404
00:21:07,200 --> 00:21:10,119
Speaker 1: an offensive playoff run that I've ever seen. The only

405
00:21:10,160 --> 00:21:11,639
Speaker 1: one I can think of that I thought was more

406
00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,240
Speaker 1: impressive was Lebron in twenty eighteen, and he didn't win

407
00:21:14,280 --> 00:21:18,040
Speaker 1: the title, which makes Nikola Jokic is more impressive. Every

408
00:21:18,119 --> 00:21:21,400
Speaker 1: series I watched, from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the Suns,

409
00:21:21,640 --> 00:21:25,240
Speaker 1: to the Lakers to the Heat, none of nothing those

410
00:21:25,280 --> 00:21:28,080
Speaker 1: four teams could do even came remotely close to making

411
00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:32,680
Speaker 1: Yokic feel uncomfortable, let alone to make him actually fail

412
00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,399
Speaker 1: to succeed. It was just utter dominance. There's two final

413
00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:37,920
Speaker 1: things I want to hit on with Nikola Yokis before

414
00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:41,280
Speaker 1: we get out of here today. One, Yokic as a screener.

415
00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:45,280
Speaker 1: Every time I watch Nikola Jokic footage, his ability to

416
00:21:45,359 --> 00:21:49,040
Speaker 1: set quality screens always pops off the screen to me. Now,

417
00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:50,959
Speaker 1: this is something I work on with my young players

418
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,359
Speaker 1: all the time. In our morning sessions, our training sessions

419
00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:58,199
Speaker 1: for the school that I coach at. We work a

420
00:21:58,240 --> 00:21:59,800
Speaker 1: ton of pick and roll right now, because it's something

421
00:21:59,840 --> 00:22:04,560
Speaker 1: that prepping on for this particular season. And in these situations,

422
00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:07,199
Speaker 1: I'm always telling the guard the big guys, I'm like,

423
00:22:07,800 --> 00:22:11,160
Speaker 1: I'd rather us get two or three illegal screens called

424
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:15,679
Speaker 1: on us per game, but generate better openings than to

425
00:22:15,800 --> 00:22:19,240
Speaker 1: never get called for an illegal screen. But can ever

426
00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:22,240
Speaker 1: set a good pick and the guard's consistently getting over

427
00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:25,639
Speaker 1: the top and staying attached. When you set a quality screen,

428
00:22:26,400 --> 00:22:30,320
Speaker 1: it generates a gap between the ball handler and the

429
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:34,760
Speaker 1: on ball defender. When you generate that, that's what forces

430
00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:38,200
Speaker 1: the defense to warp. If the guard can stay attached,

431
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:41,520
Speaker 1: then he can't take the pull up three. If he

432
00:22:41,560 --> 00:22:43,960
Speaker 1: can't take the pull up three, then the big guy

433
00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:46,840
Speaker 1: doesn't have to come out to contest the pull up three.

434
00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:49,240
Speaker 1: If the big guy doesn't have to contest the pull

435
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,440
Speaker 1: up three, he can linger back at the rim, which

436
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:56,400
Speaker 1: allows the guard as he's defending, to funnel him over

437
00:22:56,440 --> 00:23:00,479
Speaker 1: the top into the rim protection. Then you don't have

438
00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:02,840
Speaker 1: to bring the third defender over because the big is

439
00:23:02,880 --> 00:23:05,159
Speaker 1: back in a position where you can guard both the

440
00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:08,320
Speaker 1: roll man and the on ball the on ball guard.

441
00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:13,000
Speaker 1: Right now, if I set a solid pick and I

442
00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:17,880
Speaker 1: actually generate separation between the guard and the on ball defender.

443
00:23:18,560 --> 00:23:22,000
Speaker 1: All of a sudden, everything in terms of the pull

444
00:23:22,080 --> 00:23:24,639
Speaker 1: up jump shot and the floater and everything from the

445
00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:26,720
Speaker 1: three point line into the mid range as we work

446
00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:31,080
Speaker 1: downhill is open. And if there's a good guard there,

447
00:23:31,320 --> 00:23:35,160
Speaker 1: say Jamal Murray, who's gonna consistently make those shots. Now

448
00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:37,840
Speaker 1: the big man has to show up at the level

449
00:23:37,840 --> 00:23:40,760
Speaker 1: of the screen. If the big man has to show

450
00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:43,119
Speaker 1: up at the level of the screen, that opens up

451
00:23:43,160 --> 00:23:47,040
Speaker 1: the role. If the role is open, you're either gonna

452
00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:49,800
Speaker 1: get dunks or you're gonna bring the third defender over

453
00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,359
Speaker 1: to tag the roller, which is gonna open up the

454
00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:56,240
Speaker 1: week side corner. All of the openings, whether it's the

455
00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:58,960
Speaker 1: pull up jump shot, the pocket pass to the big man,

456
00:23:59,359 --> 00:24:02,679
Speaker 1: or the skip pa the weekside corner, entirely depend on

457
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,800
Speaker 1: the separation generated from the guard. And the only way

458
00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,480
Speaker 1: you're gonna generate that separation against NBA level point of

459
00:24:09,520 --> 00:24:12,679
Speaker 1: attack defenders is if you set solid screens. And this

460
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:14,960
Speaker 1: is something that I constantly get, you know, kind of

461
00:24:15,040 --> 00:24:18,000
Speaker 1: nitpicky with with Anthony Davis because he has a tendency

462
00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:20,080
Speaker 1: to run up and kind of like act like he's

463
00:24:20,080 --> 00:24:22,399
Speaker 1: set in a screen, but like not actually hit anybody

464
00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,760
Speaker 1: and then and slip early into his role. It's a

465
00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:28,640
Speaker 1: weakness for Anthony Davis. And it's crazy because I watch

466
00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:30,640
Speaker 1: him and I'm like, man, you're already so damn good

467
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:32,680
Speaker 1: with your vertical spacing and you've got a decent little

468
00:24:32,680 --> 00:24:34,439
Speaker 1: pop shot yourself. Not as good as Jokis, but you've

469
00:24:34,440 --> 00:24:36,719
Speaker 1: got a decent little pop shot yourself. Dude. Like, if

470
00:24:36,720 --> 00:24:39,880
Speaker 1: you start setting solid screens, the whole world could open

471
00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:41,800
Speaker 1: up for you in pick and roll. But when you

472
00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:43,800
Speaker 1: watch nicoll A Jokis, he makes it a pain in

473
00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,719
Speaker 1: the ass every single time for the on ball defender

474
00:24:46,760 --> 00:24:48,280
Speaker 1: to get over the top of the screen, which is

475
00:24:48,320 --> 00:24:51,360
Speaker 1: such a small thing that so many people don't pay

476
00:24:51,359 --> 00:24:56,080
Speaker 1: attention to, but it is the fundamental part of generating

477
00:24:56,119 --> 00:24:59,840
Speaker 1: openings in pick and roll. You absolutely must set solid screens.

478
00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,760
Speaker 1: Kolok is one of the best in the world at it. Lastly,

479
00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:04,439
Speaker 1: I want to talk about Yokic on the defensive end

480
00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:09,240
Speaker 1: of the floor. So first of all, Jokic defended really

481
00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,520
Speaker 1: well for him for his little individual standard in this

482
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,760
Speaker 1: particular postseason run. He wore tie out of Pick and roll,

483
00:25:16,080 --> 00:25:18,920
Speaker 1: kept his hands active, did a lot of little things

484
00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:24,000
Speaker 1: that helped make the Denver defense work. A big part

485
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:25,440
Speaker 1: of it too, that a lot of people don't pay

486
00:25:25,440 --> 00:25:28,080
Speaker 1: close attention to his defensive rebounding. Nikol Joki is one

487
00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:30,639
Speaker 1: of the best defensive rebounders in the league. That is

488
00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:35,440
Speaker 1: the absolute necessity to close the defensive possession. You don't

489
00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:38,320
Speaker 1: get a stop until you get a defensive rebound. It is.

490
00:25:38,359 --> 00:25:40,080
Speaker 1: It is a huge part of the process that gets

491
00:25:40,119 --> 00:25:43,520
Speaker 1: glossed over, and it's an important part of defense, especially

492
00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:45,600
Speaker 1: for a guy like the Jokich that can actually grab

493
00:25:45,640 --> 00:25:48,240
Speaker 1: and go and bring the ball to the floor himself

494
00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:50,720
Speaker 1: and make the necessary kick ahead passes, which is a

495
00:25:50,800 --> 00:25:53,160
Speaker 1: huge part of Jokic's defensive value that I don't think

496
00:25:53,160 --> 00:25:56,000
Speaker 1: it's enough credit, however. I one of my long standing

497
00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:03,560
Speaker 1: basketball opinions has been defense matters, but offense matters more.

498
00:26:04,119 --> 00:26:09,919
Speaker 1: And the reason why is as a coach, schematically I

499
00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,240
Speaker 1: can get you in the right spot and get you

500
00:26:13,320 --> 00:26:16,159
Speaker 1: playing hard and make up for a lot of your

501
00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:20,920
Speaker 1: defensive shortcomings. I can't get you to play harder way

502
00:26:20,960 --> 00:26:24,520
Speaker 1: into being a better offensive player. And yeah, I might

503
00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,399
Speaker 1: be able to organize some sets that will get you

504
00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:29,960
Speaker 1: some better looks, but you're somewhat limited by your shot making, right,

505
00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:33,399
Speaker 1: and especially when you get to certain parts of the

506
00:26:33,400 --> 00:26:37,240
Speaker 1: playoffs where defenses can get in front of sets. Now,

507
00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:42,600
Speaker 1: even that doesn't work so offensively. Your individual greatness matters

508
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:45,159
Speaker 1: so much more than the defensive end of the floor,

509
00:26:45,520 --> 00:26:47,920
Speaker 1: especially within the team concept. That's always been one of

510
00:26:47,960 --> 00:26:51,679
Speaker 1: my long standing opinions, and Nikole Jokic kind of established this,

511
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,280
Speaker 1: Like now, I want to emphasize a couple of different

512
00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:57,399
Speaker 1: things because I've always believed you have to be a

513
00:26:57,400 --> 00:27:00,639
Speaker 1: top ten defense to win the title. Nuggets kind of

514
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:04,359
Speaker 1: broke that mold, right, and they're the exception that proves

515
00:27:04,400 --> 00:27:06,679
Speaker 1: the rule in my opinion. That's within the team concept.

516
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,359
Speaker 1: But I'm zooming in on Jokic for a second, because

517
00:27:10,200 --> 00:27:14,080
Speaker 1: Jokic specifically didn't hurt the Nuggets on defense this year.

518
00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:19,159
Speaker 1: Why Jokic still has slow feet, He's still a below

519
00:27:19,200 --> 00:27:24,760
Speaker 1: average rim protector. So how did they manage to coherently

520
00:27:24,760 --> 00:27:27,679
Speaker 1: play defense with nikolea Jokic on the floor. It's because

521
00:27:27,720 --> 00:27:30,840
Speaker 1: they were schematically able to make it work. They brought

522
00:27:30,920 --> 00:27:33,240
Speaker 1: Jokic up high to the level of the screen, and

523
00:27:33,280 --> 00:27:35,720
Speaker 1: they had Aaron Gordon essentially as the low man function

524
00:27:35,760 --> 00:27:38,119
Speaker 1: as the rim protector, and then they were just really

525
00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:41,399
Speaker 1: sharp around that. And so as a result, they were

526
00:27:41,440 --> 00:27:46,159
Speaker 1: able to coach up a functional defense around a limited

527
00:27:46,240 --> 00:27:49,760
Speaker 1: rim protector well enough to win the title. So I

528
00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:52,560
Speaker 1: kind of looked at that as like a vindication of

529
00:27:52,600 --> 00:27:55,560
Speaker 1: that opinion, which is and we can translate that to

530
00:27:55,560 --> 00:27:58,560
Speaker 1: guys like Luka Doncic for instance. I mean Steph Curry

531
00:27:58,600 --> 00:28:00,000
Speaker 1: is a great example of this as well over the US,

532
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:02,440
Speaker 1: and he was kind of where I got this original

533
00:28:02,480 --> 00:28:05,040
Speaker 1: opinion from, Like, how do you win titles with Steph?

534
00:28:05,400 --> 00:28:08,359
Speaker 1: You just surround him with good defensive players, put him

535
00:28:08,400 --> 00:28:10,199
Speaker 1: in a position where he has a job to do

536
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:13,280
Speaker 1: within the scheme, and get him to play hard. If

537
00:28:13,320 --> 00:28:15,920
Speaker 1: you can do those things, you can defend well enough

538
00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:18,639
Speaker 1: to win at a championship level. Now, the Warriors had

539
00:28:18,720 --> 00:28:20,720
Speaker 1: so much defensive talent around him that they were still

540
00:28:20,760 --> 00:28:23,240
Speaker 1: a top ten defense. And that's what makes this Nuggets

541
00:28:23,280 --> 00:28:25,879
Speaker 1: team so unique, is like they kind of did that

542
00:28:25,920 --> 00:28:27,840
Speaker 1: with a bunch of guys, Like they did that with

543
00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,240
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray as well, Right, they did that with Michael

544
00:28:30,280 --> 00:28:32,160
Speaker 1: Porter Junior as well. They just gave him a job

545
00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:33,880
Speaker 1: and they got him to do it well. And then

546
00:28:33,880 --> 00:28:36,280
Speaker 1: guys that Contavio's Callbo Pope and Bruce Brown and Aaron

547
00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:39,480
Speaker 1: Gordon were so dominant defensively it allowed him to get

548
00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:43,160
Speaker 1: enough stops within the playoff context. But I think it's

549
00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:45,600
Speaker 1: I think it was a good proof of concept of

550
00:28:45,680 --> 00:28:48,680
Speaker 1: the simple idea that like as a when we are

551
00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:54,000
Speaker 1: evaluating star players like Luka Doncic, his defensive shortcomings do

552
00:28:54,080 --> 00:28:57,320
Speaker 1: not mean he can't be a champion. It just means

553
00:28:57,360 --> 00:29:00,040
Speaker 1: as we look back, the two guys who broke this

554
00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:03,680
Speaker 1: because Giannis in twenty twenty one was arguably the best

555
00:29:03,680 --> 00:29:06,440
Speaker 1: defender in the world. Lebron James in twenty twenty that

556
00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:09,760
Speaker 1: was that unbelievable Laker defense. He was an outstanding defender

557
00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:13,040
Speaker 1: in that season. Lebron James in twenty sixteen, still a

558
00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:15,840
Speaker 1: top tier defensive player when he blocked three shots a

559
00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:18,320
Speaker 1: game over that three three game span to come back

560
00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:21,120
Speaker 1: and beat the Warriors. Right Kawhi Leonard in twenty fourteen,

561
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:23,960
Speaker 1: Defensive Player of the Year. Right Lebron James twenty twelve,

562
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:26,520
Speaker 1: twenty thirteen First Team All Defense. You guys get the point.

563
00:29:26,800 --> 00:29:31,200
Speaker 1: All of them are defensive, you know, weapons except for

564
00:29:31,440 --> 00:29:34,400
Speaker 1: Stephan Nikola Jokic, the two players that I considered to

565
00:29:34,400 --> 00:29:36,640
Speaker 1: be the most unguardable offensive players in the league at

566
00:29:36,680 --> 00:29:38,640
Speaker 1: this point. Right. So the point is, as we look

567
00:29:38,680 --> 00:29:40,920
Speaker 1: at Luka Doncic, can you win a title without being

568
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,200
Speaker 1: a top tier defender? Absolutely, as long as he becomes

569
00:29:44,240 --> 00:29:47,160
Speaker 1: truly unguardable on the offensive ended four. So I thought

570
00:29:47,160 --> 00:29:49,959
Speaker 1: that was kind of an interesting concept that Nikola Jokics

571
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:53,080
Speaker 1: proved in this playoff run. But congratulations to NICOLEA. Jokics.

572
00:29:52,880 --> 00:29:55,840
Speaker 1: Just like you guys know how much I value the

573
00:29:55,840 --> 00:30:00,880
Speaker 1: winning piece, and I in particular was one of the

574
00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,000
Speaker 1: final people to kind of get on the Yokich bandwagon

575
00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:05,440
Speaker 1: because I was waiting for this in particular. But I

576
00:30:05,440 --> 00:30:08,520
Speaker 1: think he's proven a lot. I don't see a solution

577
00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:10,720
Speaker 1: for him in this particular season. That's why he's going

578
00:30:10,720 --> 00:30:14,320
Speaker 1: to be my championship favorite again this season. I'm excited

579
00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:16,000
Speaker 1: to watch him play again. I've become a fan of

580
00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:19,240
Speaker 1: his game. Shout out to Nicole Yokich, number one on

581
00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:22,160
Speaker 1: our player rankings this year. We will be back on Monday,

582
00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:25,760
Speaker 1: going into another top twenty five player list, this time

583
00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:29,719
Speaker 1: covering legacies and careers. Surrounding the top twenty five players

584
00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:31,840
Speaker 1: of the last twenty five years. As always, I appreciate

585
00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:56,360
Speaker 1: you guys, and I will see you on Monday. The

586
00:30:56,520 --> 00:30:57,000
Speaker 1: volume