1
00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:08,520
Speaker 1: The volume NBA fans. The weight is over. Basketball is back.

2
00:00:08,600 --> 00:00:12,320
Speaker 1: In DraftKings Sportsbook, an official sports betting partner of the NBA,

3
00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:16,640
Speaker 1: is celebrating with an unbeatable offer. New customers can score

4
00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:20,880
Speaker 1: two hundred dollars instantly in bonus bets for throwing down

5
00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,079
Speaker 1: five dollars on the NBA. Win or lose, it doesn't matter.

6
00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:26,960
Speaker 1: You'll start the season with an instant dub. And with

7
00:00:27,040 --> 00:00:30,280
Speaker 1: DraftKings parlays, everyone's got a shot at an even bigger

8
00:00:30,560 --> 00:00:33,520
Speaker 1: basketball win. Strain together multiple bets from the same game,

9
00:00:33,720 --> 00:00:36,760
Speaker 1: or build your parlay across multiple games for a shot

10
00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,760
Speaker 1: at making your payday even sweeter. Basketball is more fun

11
00:00:40,040 --> 00:00:43,279
Speaker 1: when you're in on the action. Download the Draftking Sportsbook

12
00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:48,519
Speaker 1: AP now and use code hoops. That's hops. New customers

13
00:00:48,520 --> 00:00:50,920
Speaker 1: can get two hundred dollars in bonus bets instantly for

14
00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:55,800
Speaker 1: betting just five dollars only on Draftking Sportsbook with code hoops.

15
00:00:55,920 --> 00:00:59,160
Speaker 1: The crown is yours gambling problem called one eight hundred

16
00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,680
Speaker 1: gambler or visit www dot one eight hundred gambler dot

17
00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:06,240
Speaker 1: net in New York call eight seven seven eight hope

18
00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:09,680
Speaker 1: and why or text hope and Why to four six

19
00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:12,959
Speaker 1: seven three sixt nine. In Connecticut. Help is available for

20
00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:16,039
Speaker 1: problem gambling called eight eight eight seven eight nine seven

21
00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:20,959
Speaker 1: seven seven seven or visit CCPG dot org. Please play

22
00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:24,400
Speaker 1: responsibly on behalf of Boothill Casino and Resort in Kansas.

23
00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,760
Speaker 1: License partner Golden Nugget, Lake Charles and Louisiana twenty one

24
00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,720
Speaker 1: plus age varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Bonus bets

25
00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:35,640
Speaker 1: expire one hundred and sixty eight hours after issuance. See

26
00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:40,840
Speaker 1: Sportsbook dot DraftKings dot com, slash Basketball terms for eligibility

27
00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:55,080
Speaker 1: and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gaming resources. All right,

28
00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:57,720
Speaker 1: welcome to hoops tonight. You're at the volume. Happy Tuesday again,

29
00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,120
Speaker 1: everybody hopbald. You guys are having a great week. We're

30
00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:02,880
Speaker 1: gonna get to a couple more game breakdowns in today's episode.

31
00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,080
Speaker 1: The Golden State Warriors notch their third road win of

32
00:02:06,120 --> 00:02:08,600
Speaker 1: the season as they are undefeated on the road, a

33
00:02:08,600 --> 00:02:11,640
Speaker 1: big change from last year over the New Orleans Pelicans.

34
00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,839
Speaker 1: And then we're gonna take a little deep dive into

35
00:02:13,840 --> 00:02:16,640
Speaker 1: the early season stretch from the Pelicans. And then the

36
00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,400
Speaker 1: Atlanta Hawks have a wild second half comeback fueled by

37
00:02:20,520 --> 00:02:24,240
Speaker 1: dominant defense from all of their perimeter athletes as they

38
00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,000
Speaker 1: come back and take it to the Minnesota Timberwolves to

39
00:02:27,240 --> 00:02:30,079
Speaker 1: notch their second win of the season. We haven't talked

40
00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:32,120
Speaker 1: to Timberwolves yet this year either, so we're going to

41
00:02:32,160 --> 00:02:35,040
Speaker 1: talk a little bit about them and their early season

42
00:02:35,080 --> 00:02:37,320
Speaker 1: as well. And then I have one mail bag show,

43
00:02:37,840 --> 00:02:39,639
Speaker 1: one mail bag question for the end of the show

44
00:02:39,639 --> 00:02:41,400
Speaker 1: as well. You guys are the joke for we get started.

45
00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:43,959
Speaker 1: Subscribe to our brand new YouTube channel. We're trying to

46
00:02:43,960 --> 00:02:46,440
Speaker 1: get this thing off the ground. I would sincerely appreciate

47
00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:48,359
Speaker 1: if you guys would take a second to scroll down

48
00:02:48,400 --> 00:02:51,760
Speaker 1: and hit that subscribe button. Don't forget about our podcast

49
00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:55,239
Speaker 1: feed wherever you get your podcast owner Hoops Tonight, social media, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter,

50
00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:57,280
Speaker 1: That's where I'm doing video content as well as show

51
00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,080
Speaker 1: announcements throughout the year. And then last but out at

52
00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,120
Speaker 1: least a need more mailback questions, only got one for

53
00:03:02,160 --> 00:03:04,280
Speaker 1: this show, so keep dropping mail back questions in the

54
00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:08,000
Speaker 1: comments and we'll get to them in videos throughout the

55
00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:10,800
Speaker 1: rest of the week. All right, let's talk some basketball.

56
00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:14,120
Speaker 1: So Draymond Green turns out a perfect type of a

57
00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:17,120
Speaker 1: defender to guard Zion Williamson did a really nice job,

58
00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:22,160
Speaker 1: especially on Zion's crazy rip throughs and attempts to bully

59
00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,640
Speaker 1: his way to the basket, of keeping his body in front,

60
00:03:24,720 --> 00:03:27,079
Speaker 1: knocking him off balance with that low center of gravity

61
00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:29,280
Speaker 1: and strength that he has, and then swiping away from

62
00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:32,800
Speaker 1: the basketball, causing Zion to have an uncharacteristic night from

63
00:03:32,840 --> 00:03:35,600
Speaker 1: the standpoint of losing control and turning the basketball over.

64
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:39,360
Speaker 1: Having Draymond as a weapon again, because you kind of

65
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,640
Speaker 1: saw it in that bench shift when Dario Sarage came

66
00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:45,840
Speaker 1: in and then it was like Zion layup, Zion layup,

67
00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:48,040
Speaker 1: Zion layup, and it's like, oh, actually, this is what

68
00:03:48,080 --> 00:03:49,840
Speaker 1: it looks like for the vast majority of the league.

69
00:03:49,880 --> 00:03:52,680
Speaker 1: And if you remember, like Zion, when he's healthy, he

70
00:03:52,720 --> 00:03:55,119
Speaker 1: gets to the rim and finishes at a higher rate

71
00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:58,240
Speaker 1: even than guys who were stereotypically at the top of

72
00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:00,680
Speaker 1: the league, guys like Giannis and Lebron usually even the

73
00:04:00,760 --> 00:04:03,960
Speaker 1: level above them. When he's healthy, he's the most gifted

74
00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:07,520
Speaker 1: basket attacker in the NBA right now, and Zion was

75
00:04:07,560 --> 00:04:09,720
Speaker 1: able to kind of thwart that. And when you combine

76
00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,680
Speaker 1: that with Brandon Ingram being out of the equation, and

77
00:04:12,720 --> 00:04:15,200
Speaker 1: then the job that a plethora of different Warriors perimeter

78
00:04:15,280 --> 00:04:17,960
Speaker 1: defenders did on CJ. McCollum. They did a nice job

79
00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,240
Speaker 1: keeping the Pelicans out of rhythm throughout the night. On

80
00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:23,280
Speaker 1: the other end of the floor, that the Pelicans were

81
00:04:23,560 --> 00:04:26,280
Speaker 1: hard blitzing Steph like crazy, because Steph will lit them

82
00:04:26,279 --> 00:04:28,360
Speaker 1: on fire to start the game. We're to talk about

83
00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,680
Speaker 1: this more in a minute, but Steph is like playing

84
00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:33,560
Speaker 1: at the highest level that I've seen him play and

85
00:04:33,680 --> 00:04:36,200
Speaker 1: his time in the NBA right now, and we're going

86
00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,120
Speaker 1: to talk about what that means and what that could

87
00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,880
Speaker 1: potentially lead to here in a minute. But he was

88
00:04:41,880 --> 00:04:44,640
Speaker 1: shooting like crazy to start the game, just cooking everybody,

89
00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:47,479
Speaker 1: didn't matter who it was. They even tried Dyson Daniels,

90
00:04:47,480 --> 00:04:49,840
Speaker 1: one of their better perimeter defenders, on him off the bench,

91
00:04:49,880 --> 00:04:52,360
Speaker 1: and he just started cooking him too, and so they

92
00:04:52,400 --> 00:04:54,840
Speaker 1: had to just start crazy blitzing him on pick and roll. Now,

93
00:04:54,880 --> 00:04:56,800
Speaker 1: the Pelicans have a lot of athletes, and they did

94
00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:59,120
Speaker 1: a pretty nice job of making it really difficult for

95
00:04:59,160 --> 00:05:01,960
Speaker 1: Steph to hit hit the pocket pass, and so in

96
00:05:02,000 --> 00:05:03,839
Speaker 1: a lot of cases what they were doing, which I

97
00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:06,160
Speaker 1: thought was a really interesting counter Steph would just make

98
00:05:06,160 --> 00:05:08,279
Speaker 1: the swing pass to the wing, and then the swing

99
00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:10,840
Speaker 1: pass from the wing, that player would make the pass

100
00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:12,560
Speaker 1: to the role man coming down the lane as they

101
00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,240
Speaker 1: would kick out to the weak side shooter. I actually

102
00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,000
Speaker 1: clipped an example of that play that you guys can

103
00:05:18,040 --> 00:05:20,480
Speaker 1: see on my Twitter feed where Steph makes that swing pass.

104
00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:22,720
Speaker 1: I think it was Looney on the wing who then

105
00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:25,839
Speaker 1: hit Draymond coming downhill, who then hit Gary Payton in

106
00:05:25,880 --> 00:05:28,720
Speaker 1: the corner if I remember correctly. Then in the second

107
00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:31,800
Speaker 1: quarter they started spamming that Gary Payton pick and roll

108
00:05:31,839 --> 00:05:34,520
Speaker 1: with Steph like they did against the Lakers, and they

109
00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:36,880
Speaker 1: had a lot of success there as well. It was

110
00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,640
Speaker 1: just a steady diet of Steph pick and roll picking

111
00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:41,920
Speaker 1: them apart. I think Steph is up around like one

112
00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:44,400
Speaker 1: point two six points per pick and roll so far

113
00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:48,080
Speaker 1: he's generated. Steph pick and rolls have generated sixty seven

114
00:05:48,160 --> 00:05:51,320
Speaker 1: points so far, which is the fourth most in the NBA.

115
00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,040
Speaker 1: And he's been way more efficient than the three guys

116
00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:56,240
Speaker 1: that are ahead of him, and he's running more pick

117
00:05:56,279 --> 00:06:01,280
Speaker 1: and rolls than he has in years past traditionally, especially

118
00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:03,440
Speaker 1: during the regular season, but he's just so damn good

119
00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:06,159
Speaker 1: at it now and I'm kind of pro leaning into

120
00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:07,760
Speaker 1: that a little bit more because it's a counter they

121
00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:09,200
Speaker 1: have to go to when they get to the later

122
00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:12,000
Speaker 1: rounds of the postseason. Anyway, and then the bench was

123
00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:16,400
Speaker 1: awesome once again. They were plus fifteen without Steph again.

124
00:06:16,600 --> 00:06:19,480
Speaker 1: Tray Jackson Davis got a lot of minutes. Jonathan Kmingo

125
00:06:19,560 --> 00:06:21,120
Speaker 1: is out of the lineup and Klay Thompson was out

126
00:06:21,120 --> 00:06:23,479
Speaker 1: of the lineup, so there were some front court minutes available. Also,

127
00:06:23,600 --> 00:06:26,440
Speaker 1: just Sorry was having a lot of trouble guarding zions.

128
00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:28,800
Speaker 1: That was an issue. So again that's kind of the

129
00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:30,960
Speaker 1: matchup flexibility that you have that you haven't had in

130
00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,840
Speaker 1: years past. Moses Moody played really well again starting for

131
00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,120
Speaker 1: Klay Thompson thirteen points and four assists with zero turnovers.

132
00:06:38,400 --> 00:06:40,719
Speaker 1: He's become one of their more reliable point of attack

133
00:06:40,760 --> 00:06:43,479
Speaker 1: defenders too. And remember his thing is like he's actually

134
00:06:43,520 --> 00:06:45,599
Speaker 1: a good physical point of attack defender, he just commits

135
00:06:45,640 --> 00:06:47,919
Speaker 1: too many fouls. And I thought it was a solid

136
00:06:48,040 --> 00:06:50,280
Speaker 1: night to put up zero fouls in twenty one minutes,

137
00:06:50,360 --> 00:06:53,280
Speaker 1: especially with the defensive effort that he was putting up.

138
00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:56,320
Speaker 1: But let's make no mistake about it, Like obviously the

139
00:06:56,360 --> 00:06:59,720
Speaker 1: bench helps. Obviously, some key guys are stepping up, but

140
00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,880
Speaker 1: Deaf is playing every bit as well as anybody else

141
00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,680
Speaker 1: in the league right now, potentially the highest level that

142
00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:08,039
Speaker 1: I've ever seen him play. You know, It's funny, it

143
00:07:08,120 --> 00:07:10,840
Speaker 1: kinda I was looking at it because Steph just kind

144
00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,320
Speaker 1: of seems like he's in command of his game at

145
00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:17,320
Speaker 1: a level that I've never seen from him in his career.

146
00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,920
Speaker 1: Just seems like he's so unbelievably confident. There's no coverage

147
00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:23,840
Speaker 1: that flusters him, there's no defender that keeps him off balance.

148
00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:27,480
Speaker 1: He just seems in complete command of his game at

149
00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:29,480
Speaker 1: an even higher level than I'm used to seeing from him.

150
00:07:29,760 --> 00:07:32,120
Speaker 1: And he's thirty five years old. And I thought it

151
00:07:32,160 --> 00:07:37,120
Speaker 1: was interesting because we've seen some examples recently of players

152
00:07:37,200 --> 00:07:39,880
Speaker 1: kind of like peeking in a big way around that

153
00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,360
Speaker 1: age thirty five thirty six season, and like, I've got

154
00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:46,080
Speaker 1: a buddy of mine, a guy, a guy named Josh Colash.

155
00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:48,440
Speaker 1: He actually took over as the head coach at the

156
00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:50,400
Speaker 1: high school that I coach at, and then him and

157
00:07:50,440 --> 00:07:53,920
Speaker 1: I play in this this men's league here in town

158
00:07:53,920 --> 00:07:55,840
Speaker 1: that him and I have won almost every time over

159
00:07:55,840 --> 00:07:57,720
Speaker 1: the course of the last couple of years and we've been

160
00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:01,440
Speaker 1: playing together for a while and he he just recently

161
00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,600
Speaker 1: has gone up a huge level. I don't know if

162
00:08:04,600 --> 00:08:06,680
Speaker 1: he's just been in the gym more or if it's

163
00:08:06,760 --> 00:08:08,520
Speaker 1: just like his mastery of the game, but it's been

164
00:08:08,520 --> 00:08:10,840
Speaker 1: fun playing with him because he's playing at the highest

165
00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,920
Speaker 1: level I've ever seen Josh play at. And he just

166
00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:16,240
Speaker 1: turned thirty six, and it kind of feels like that

167
00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:20,680
Speaker 1: mid thirties is like that time where the mind is

168
00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,040
Speaker 1: at its absolute peak while the body still has something

169
00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,080
Speaker 1: left to give. And I mean, I remember Lebron James

170
00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:29,800
Speaker 1: in his twenty eighteen season thirty five years old. I've

171
00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:34,000
Speaker 1: always said to Lebron fans, thirty five is like that

172
00:08:34,040 --> 00:08:37,320
Speaker 1: thirty five twenty eighteen season, in my opinion, was the

173
00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:39,800
Speaker 1: best version of Lebron we ever saw. That was the

174
00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,600
Speaker 1: best offensive version of Lebron who still had the ability

175
00:08:43,840 --> 00:08:46,600
Speaker 1: to hit the defensive play making possessions that he needed

176
00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:48,520
Speaker 1: to as an athlete. If you remember, that was the

177
00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:50,600
Speaker 1: year he dunked all over Usuf Nurkic. So it was

178
00:08:50,640 --> 00:08:55,200
Speaker 1: like peak Lebron athleticism mixed with like his peak shot making,

179
00:08:55,559 --> 00:08:58,240
Speaker 1: mixed with like his peak ability to see the floor.

180
00:08:58,559 --> 00:09:00,800
Speaker 1: It just it kind of feels like Steph's kind of

181
00:09:00,840 --> 00:09:04,839
Speaker 1: slotting into that same timeframe here at age thirty five. Right,

182
00:09:05,080 --> 00:09:08,440
Speaker 1: he's averaging thirty four points, five rebounds, and four assists

183
00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:13,240
Speaker 1: so far through four games, seventy six percent true shooting,

184
00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,800
Speaker 1: seventy one percent effective field goal percentage on jump shots.

185
00:09:18,200 --> 00:09:20,760
Speaker 1: Every Steph Curry jump shot this season is worth one

186
00:09:20,800 --> 00:09:25,319
Speaker 1: point four to one points. That's insane. Eighty six percent

187
00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,160
Speaker 1: effective field goal percentage on catch and shoot jump shots

188
00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,760
Speaker 1: when he is unguarded, a one hundred and seven percent

189
00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:36,040
Speaker 1: effective field goal percentage of pull up jump shots. He's

190
00:09:36,120 --> 00:09:38,400
Speaker 1: right where he was last year sixty one percent, which

191
00:09:38,440 --> 00:09:41,160
Speaker 1: was what led the entire league sixty one percent effective

192
00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,160
Speaker 1: field goal percentage, and he's shooting seventy one percent at

193
00:09:44,160 --> 00:09:48,440
Speaker 1: the rim, which is completely off the charts for guard

194
00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:50,720
Speaker 1: in the playtype data I went over pick and rolls earlier,

195
00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:53,560
Speaker 1: one point twenty six points per possession, basically the best

196
00:09:53,559 --> 00:09:56,160
Speaker 1: combination of volume in efficiency in the league right now,

197
00:09:56,520 --> 00:10:01,120
Speaker 1: fifteen points on fourteen ISOs and outrageously coming off of

198
00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:03,679
Speaker 1: off ball screens, he's shooting nine for twelve in those

199
00:10:03,720 --> 00:10:06,920
Speaker 1: situations and a Steph off ball screen is now worth

200
00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:11,280
Speaker 1: two point one points per possession so far through four games.

201
00:10:11,679 --> 00:10:14,640
Speaker 1: I said in my season preview, if you guys remember

202
00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:18,080
Speaker 1: that I viewed Steph as one of the highest value

203
00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:21,800
Speaker 1: MVP candidates in terms of betting odds. And it comes

204
00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:23,839
Speaker 1: down to a bunch of different things. But the gist

205
00:10:23,840 --> 00:10:26,240
Speaker 1: of it is he hasn't won one since twenty sixteen,

206
00:10:26,559 --> 00:10:28,679
Speaker 1: so there's like a seven year loll in there in

207
00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:31,280
Speaker 1: terms of optimism from the voters. You know how voters

208
00:10:31,320 --> 00:10:34,120
Speaker 1: get when they've had a recent MVP pick, right, He

209
00:10:34,200 --> 00:10:36,160
Speaker 1: has the playoff success to back it up. He was

210
00:10:36,200 --> 00:10:39,920
Speaker 1: the finals MVP literally like what sixteen months ago, so

211
00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:42,160
Speaker 1: you've got that piece of it. And then he doesn't

212
00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:44,920
Speaker 1: play alongside another star. As a matter of fact, Wiggins was

213
00:10:44,920 --> 00:10:47,120
Speaker 1: the best player, the second best player on the team

214
00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:49,360
Speaker 1: in twenty twenty three, and he's been a shell of

215
00:10:49,400 --> 00:10:51,959
Speaker 1: himself so far this season. There's other guys playing well,

216
00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:54,280
Speaker 1: for sure, But like the gist of it is is,

217
00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:57,079
Speaker 1: it's Steph and a bunch of really good basketball players,

218
00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:00,320
Speaker 1: no legitimate superstar next to him, and that kind of,

219
00:11:00,360 --> 00:11:04,880
Speaker 1: to me, is the perfect recipe for an MVP campaign.

220
00:11:04,920 --> 00:11:06,240
Speaker 1: They just had to be able to win on the road,

221
00:11:06,280 --> 00:11:08,240
Speaker 1: which they couldn't do last year because they were already

222
00:11:08,480 --> 00:11:09,880
Speaker 1: one of the best teams in the league at home

223
00:11:09,960 --> 00:11:12,880
Speaker 1: last year. You add in the road element. If they

224
00:11:12,960 --> 00:11:15,160
Speaker 1: just could win about fifty percent of their games on

225
00:11:15,160 --> 00:11:17,960
Speaker 1: the road, they can win fifty games. They win fifty games.

226
00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,040
Speaker 1: There's no reason in the world why Steph Curry can't

227
00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:23,440
Speaker 1: win MVP. I don't have the odds in front of me,

228
00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:25,720
Speaker 1: but my guess is he's still somewhat of a long shot,

229
00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:28,600
Speaker 1: and I think that that's a good betting opportunity. I

230
00:11:28,640 --> 00:11:30,240
Speaker 1: just look at some of the bigger names up front,

231
00:11:30,720 --> 00:11:32,560
Speaker 1: Like I mean, the MAVs are winning at a super

232
00:11:32,600 --> 00:11:34,040
Speaker 1: high rate. They're a team that we need to cover

233
00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:37,520
Speaker 1: here in the next couple of days, and maybe maybe

234
00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,560
Speaker 1: Luca can enter into that conversation. But like I tend

235
00:11:40,600 --> 00:11:42,720
Speaker 1: to think in terms of the best combination of like

236
00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:47,440
Speaker 1: surrounding circumstance, potential team success, and top tier play with

237
00:11:47,679 --> 00:11:50,079
Speaker 1: playoff resume to kind of back it up, Steph is

238
00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:53,559
Speaker 1: kind of shaping up for what could be an MVP season.

239
00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:58,080
Speaker 1: Just in general. Surrounding the Warriors, a bunch of key

240
00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:02,160
Speaker 1: markers are going well for them, young players making significant improvements,

241
00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:05,400
Speaker 1: the bench lineups being able to float and succeed in

242
00:12:05,480 --> 00:12:07,880
Speaker 1: games thanks to the Chris Paul acquisition, and some really

243
00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:11,079
Speaker 1: high level defensive play from the role players off the bench,

244
00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:15,080
Speaker 1: The ability to win games on the road, and then

245
00:12:15,360 --> 00:12:18,080
Speaker 1: Steph Curry playing at that MVP level. All of those

246
00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:21,680
Speaker 1: things to me are big hallmarks that make this team

247
00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:24,560
Speaker 1: a lot more similar to the twenty twenty two team

248
00:12:24,600 --> 00:12:26,959
Speaker 1: that won the title than the twenty twenty three team,

249
00:12:27,000 --> 00:12:29,520
Speaker 1: which was largely a disappointment. So Warriors are in a

250
00:12:29,520 --> 00:12:32,719
Speaker 1: good spot so far through four games. On the Pelicans front,

251
00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:36,400
Speaker 1: Zion struggle with Draymond, and I get it, Draymond's one

252
00:12:36,440 --> 00:12:38,640
Speaker 1: of the best defensive players in the world, but just

253
00:12:38,679 --> 00:12:41,680
Speaker 1: in general, he hasn't looked quite as explosive off the

254
00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:44,280
Speaker 1: bounce as he was last year. His scoring volume is

255
00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:47,400
Speaker 1: down from where you'd expect it to be, especially with

256
00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:50,040
Speaker 1: Trey Murphy out of the lineup and them needing him

257
00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:53,760
Speaker 1: to be more creative and aggressive offensively, He's just not

258
00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:57,880
Speaker 1: beating people off the dribble as smoothly as he used

259
00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,439
Speaker 1: to now. I tend to think that it's probably a

260
00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:03,559
Speaker 1: lot of just getting back into the NBA swing of things,

261
00:13:03,559 --> 00:13:05,079
Speaker 1: and I tend to think he'll be fine in the

262
00:13:05,080 --> 00:13:07,640
Speaker 1: big picture. But to start the season, it's just not

263
00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:10,839
Speaker 1: the same Zion that were accustomed to seeing with Brandon

264
00:13:11,000 --> 00:13:15,079
Speaker 1: ingram out, they just really struggled to generate quality shots. CJ.

265
00:13:15,160 --> 00:13:17,160
Speaker 1: McCollum was way off. He was seven for twenty one

266
00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,000
Speaker 1: from the field in this game. Was taking some really

267
00:13:20,040 --> 00:13:21,960
Speaker 1: tough shots and I thought missing some reads. He was

268
00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:24,560
Speaker 1: forcing the action a little bit. It's just, again, if

269
00:13:24,559 --> 00:13:26,439
Speaker 1: they don't have all of those guys clicking at a

270
00:13:26,480 --> 00:13:28,679
Speaker 1: high level, they're just not good enough offensively in the

271
00:13:28,679 --> 00:13:30,920
Speaker 1: half court. And then the Trey Murphy acquisition is a

272
00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,320
Speaker 1: legitimate loss. He was one of their most aggressive spot

273
00:13:33,360 --> 00:13:35,880
Speaker 1: up shooters. He brought the ability to shoot out to

274
00:13:35,960 --> 00:13:38,120
Speaker 1: like twenty six twenty seven feet, which was important for

275
00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:40,600
Speaker 1: their spacing, which has been an issue here early on.

276
00:13:41,559 --> 00:13:44,680
Speaker 1: I just again, I don't want to really evaluate the

277
00:13:44,679 --> 00:13:47,319
Speaker 1: Pelicans within the big picture until they get everybody back

278
00:13:47,360 --> 00:13:49,560
Speaker 1: in their one hundred percent healthy. They were two to

279
00:13:49,640 --> 00:13:52,439
Speaker 1: zero before this game and wins over Memphis and New York,

280
00:13:52,480 --> 00:13:54,560
Speaker 1: who were a couple of playoff teams from last year,

281
00:13:54,880 --> 00:13:56,640
Speaker 1: but let's just take a look real quick at some

282
00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:59,240
Speaker 1: of their numbers through three games and what they've been

283
00:13:59,240 --> 00:14:00,960
Speaker 1: doing well and what they haven't been doing well. So

284
00:14:01,000 --> 00:14:03,280
Speaker 1: they're twenty eighth in offense again missing Trey Murphy, brandon

285
00:14:03,400 --> 00:14:06,520
Speaker 1: Ingram out last game, Zion not quite operating at the

286
00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:10,200
Speaker 1: same level you're hoping for. CJ's been okay in the

287
00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,280
Speaker 1: big picture. They're twenty fourth and three pointers made and

288
00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:17,640
Speaker 1: twenty fourth and three point percentage. Jordan Hawkins really seemed

289
00:14:17,679 --> 00:14:20,200
Speaker 1: to kind of catch some daylight in last night's game.

290
00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:22,920
Speaker 1: Get some confidence. He's shooting forty percent from three here

291
00:14:22,960 --> 00:14:25,320
Speaker 1: in the early season. Matt Ryan has had like these

292
00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:27,840
Speaker 1: brief stretches, particularly in the first half of games, where

293
00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:29,760
Speaker 1: he shot the ball really well. He actually looks a

294
00:14:29,800 --> 00:14:32,800
Speaker 1: lot more mobile in terms of just getting to his

295
00:14:32,840 --> 00:14:35,640
Speaker 1: spots and like using escape dribbles and things like that.

296
00:14:35,760 --> 00:14:38,080
Speaker 1: He seems a lot more mobile now than he did

297
00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:39,720
Speaker 1: when he was with the Lakers, when I was covering

298
00:14:39,840 --> 00:14:42,440
Speaker 1: him at the beginning of last season. So they bring

299
00:14:42,480 --> 00:14:44,720
Speaker 1: some of that more aggressive three point shooting. Trey Murphy

300
00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:47,800
Speaker 1: coming back should help a lot. They are seventh in

301
00:14:47,840 --> 00:14:52,440
Speaker 1: defensive ratings so far this year. Thirtieth in rebounding percentage.

302
00:14:52,480 --> 00:14:55,000
Speaker 1: This is the crazy part, and again, like seventh in defense,

303
00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:57,080
Speaker 1: has something to be encouraged about. You expect this team

304
00:14:57,120 --> 00:14:59,080
Speaker 1: to be a top ten defense with her Jones is

305
00:14:59,080 --> 00:15:00,600
Speaker 1: one of the best perimeter of defense in the league.

306
00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:04,320
Speaker 1: The additional length and athleticism they have, their base coverages

307
00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:08,160
Speaker 1: and their ability to keep yonas Valentchutas around the rim.

308
00:15:08,200 --> 00:15:11,040
Speaker 1: But they're just having a hell of a time on

309
00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:13,640
Speaker 1: the on the glass thirtieth and rebounding percentage. They were

310
00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:16,040
Speaker 1: fifth last year. This was the top five rebounding team

311
00:15:16,080 --> 00:15:19,240
Speaker 1: last year who is now currently dead last in rebounding

312
00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:22,400
Speaker 1: And again that's where I think Trey Murphy and bi

313
00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:24,640
Speaker 1: being out last night in particular hurt them in their

314
00:15:24,680 --> 00:15:27,720
Speaker 1: big picture numbers because Golden State out rebounded them sixty

315
00:15:27,760 --> 00:15:30,280
Speaker 1: four to thirty nine. And again, like in the modern NBA,

316
00:15:30,400 --> 00:15:32,880
Speaker 1: with all of the long distance jump shooting, there's a

317
00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,800
Speaker 1: lot more long rebounds, and so wing athleticism and ball

318
00:15:36,880 --> 00:15:39,680
Speaker 1: pursuit is one of the most important elements of defensive

319
00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:41,360
Speaker 1: rebounding in a way that it didn't used to be

320
00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:43,840
Speaker 1: when it was more controlled by the big guys inside right,

321
00:15:43,880 --> 00:15:46,920
Speaker 1: And so that data is a little bit jumbled by

322
00:15:47,000 --> 00:15:49,640
Speaker 1: that awful night against the Warriors, but obviously in the

323
00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:53,360
Speaker 1: big picture, they need to rebound better. Even with Bi

324
00:15:53,440 --> 00:15:57,200
Speaker 1: in the lineup, that's starting lineup, but brandon Ingram Herb Jones, CJ. McCollum,

325
00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:00,560
Speaker 1: Zion Williamson and Yonas Valentiunas is minus eight point three

326
00:16:00,680 --> 00:16:04,080
Speaker 1: net so far this season, only a ninety eight point

327
00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,480
Speaker 1: four offensive rating. Their defense has been solid with that

328
00:16:06,520 --> 00:16:08,880
Speaker 1: group of one zero seven defensive rating, which is solid,

329
00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:12,600
Speaker 1: nothing to write home about, but okay, but they're just

330
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,680
Speaker 1: struggling to score the basketball and again, like if Zion

331
00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,920
Speaker 1: can't get back to where he was in general, they're

332
00:16:18,920 --> 00:16:21,360
Speaker 1: spacing just looks like shit right now. I don't know

333
00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:23,160
Speaker 1: what they do in the big picture with that Zion

334
00:16:23,240 --> 00:16:25,480
Speaker 1: Yona's front court, because they tend to get in each

335
00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,600
Speaker 1: other's way quite a bit. And I know they want

336
00:16:28,680 --> 00:16:30,920
Speaker 1: Yonas to shoot the three, and he's taken it when

337
00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:33,640
Speaker 1: he's open, but it's it's it's just one of those

338
00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:35,680
Speaker 1: things where even when he makes a couple, it's not

339
00:16:35,800 --> 00:16:39,800
Speaker 1: necessarily a good thing because he's not being guarded out there,

340
00:16:39,840 --> 00:16:41,600
Speaker 1: and at the end of the day, that matters. Way

341
00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,280
Speaker 1: more than the actual shot result. Because Jonas is not

342
00:16:44,280 --> 00:16:46,440
Speaker 1: gonna take ten threes a game. He's gonna take, you know,

343
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,120
Speaker 1: a handful of them, right, and that handful of him

344
00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:51,480
Speaker 1: making them. Let's say he takes three or four game

345
00:16:51,520 --> 00:16:53,800
Speaker 1: and he scores four or five points a game on him.

346
00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:57,000
Speaker 1: That's not gonna swing the scoreboard. What's gonna matter is

347
00:16:57,040 --> 00:16:59,560
Speaker 1: in the one hundred or so possessions, how is he

348
00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:01,960
Speaker 1: being guarded when he's on the floor. Spacing is an

349
00:17:02,000 --> 00:17:07,000
Speaker 1: issue right now, and like if Zion can't just bulldoze

350
00:17:07,000 --> 00:17:08,320
Speaker 1: his way to the rim the way that is used

351
00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:10,480
Speaker 1: to doing that could be a problem in the bigger picture.

352
00:17:10,480 --> 00:17:14,320
Speaker 1: A lineup I'd like to see more of this Kira Lewis,

353
00:17:14,440 --> 00:17:19,040
Speaker 1: Dyson Daniels, Herb Jones, brandon Ingram and Larry Nance lineup.

354
00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:22,000
Speaker 1: They've played fifteen possessions so far. It's just a ton

355
00:17:22,040 --> 00:17:25,800
Speaker 1: of perimeter defense next to Bi and Herb Jones's wing defenders.

356
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:29,880
Speaker 1: With a more athletic center on the floor, Dyson Daniels

357
00:17:29,880 --> 00:17:31,480
Speaker 1: can really get into people at the point of attack.

358
00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:34,520
Speaker 1: Kira Lewis is freakously quick on the perimeter. When you

359
00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:37,480
Speaker 1: combine that with the rangy athleticism to rotate on the

360
00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,360
Speaker 1: backside with Larry nance As just like a more versatile

361
00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:44,680
Speaker 1: defensive player than Yonas Valanciunas's. They are plus twenty net

362
00:17:44,800 --> 00:17:48,720
Speaker 1: rating in fifteen possessions against small sample size ninety three

363
00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:51,879
Speaker 1: defensive rating. And that's that combination of perimeter defense with

364
00:17:51,960 --> 00:17:55,840
Speaker 1: like rangy ability to rotate. Right. I was sifting through

365
00:17:55,880 --> 00:17:58,360
Speaker 1: the lineup dated this morning, and most of their core

366
00:17:58,400 --> 00:18:03,120
Speaker 1: lineups are not playing particularly well. And ironically, the lineups

367
00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:05,800
Speaker 1: that have done well in decent sample sizes, a lot

368
00:18:05,840 --> 00:18:07,879
Speaker 1: of them were just like little short spurts from the

369
00:18:07,880 --> 00:18:10,679
Speaker 1: bench group against the Warriors last night, with groups of

370
00:18:10,680 --> 00:18:12,919
Speaker 1: guys that probably aren't gonna play in the bigger picture,

371
00:18:13,200 --> 00:18:16,400
Speaker 1: you know, Like I don't think Jordan Hawkins or Matt

372
00:18:16,480 --> 00:18:19,040
Speaker 1: Ryan's gonna be in the rotation when Trey Murphy and

373
00:18:19,040 --> 00:18:21,040
Speaker 1: Brandon Ingram are back in the lineup, right when Jose

374
00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:23,359
Speaker 1: Alvarado's back in the lineup. And so it's good to

375
00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:25,520
Speaker 1: get looks at those guys and to see what they're

376
00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:27,359
Speaker 1: good at and where they can help you. But at

377
00:18:27,400 --> 00:18:28,719
Speaker 1: the end of the day, right now, there's not a

378
00:18:28,720 --> 00:18:32,960
Speaker 1: ton of encouraging lineup data coming out of the Pelicans,

379
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:35,840
Speaker 1: even with their two to one record. But they have

380
00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:37,920
Speaker 1: a lot that they can get better at, right Trey

381
00:18:38,000 --> 00:18:40,320
Speaker 1: Murphy coming back, Zion getting back to for him in general,

382
00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:42,159
Speaker 1: just shooting the ball better, and then they have to

383
00:18:42,200 --> 00:18:44,640
Speaker 1: rebound at the level that we're accustomed to seeing from them.

384
00:18:45,040 --> 00:18:46,760
Speaker 1: In the big picture, I'm a believer in what this

385
00:18:46,800 --> 00:18:48,880
Speaker 1: team is capable of. The Only thing from a structure

386
00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:51,840
Speaker 1: standpoint I don't like is the Jonas Valanciunas piece. I

387
00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:56,200
Speaker 1: just think in general, the floor speed can be an issue,

388
00:18:56,240 --> 00:18:58,160
Speaker 1: like him getting up and down the floor in transition,

389
00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:01,040
Speaker 1: the fact that teams don't go him when he goes

390
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:03,600
Speaker 1: out to the three point line. He's a post up

391
00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:07,879
Speaker 1: offensive player who attacks the offensive glass a lot, and

392
00:19:07,920 --> 00:19:11,080
Speaker 1: so there's advantages there when you're leaning into his play style.

393
00:19:11,119 --> 00:19:13,520
Speaker 1: But when you're trying to play spread, pick and roll

394
00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:16,240
Speaker 1: basketball and you're trying to get Zion involved with his

395
00:19:16,320 --> 00:19:19,640
Speaker 1: fake dribble handoffs and his clear ISOs and stuff like that,

396
00:19:19,840 --> 00:19:22,720
Speaker 1: it's harder for him to get to get to work

397
00:19:22,720 --> 00:19:24,560
Speaker 1: with that fit. So in the big picture, that's the

398
00:19:24,560 --> 00:19:27,240
Speaker 1: one thing I don't like, but that I do love.

399
00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:29,199
Speaker 1: The perimeter core and I do think they can be

400
00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,560
Speaker 1: very good when they're healthy and when they're in rhythm.

401
00:19:32,800 --> 00:19:35,480
Speaker 1: I moving on to Wolves Hawks tailor two halves in

402
00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:38,600
Speaker 1: this one. The Wolves won the first half seventy nine

403
00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:40,840
Speaker 1: to sixty, and then the Hawks came back and won

404
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:42,800
Speaker 1: the second half sixty seven to thirty four to notch

405
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:45,080
Speaker 1: double digit victory to get to two and two. In

406
00:19:45,119 --> 00:19:47,040
Speaker 1: the first half, the Wolves were just cooking on offense

407
00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:49,399
Speaker 1: and was doing everything well. He was playing like a

408
00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:51,160
Speaker 1: bona fide superstar in the first half. He was sitting

409
00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,720
Speaker 1: and pull up threes, he was hitting post up fadeaways,

410
00:19:53,760 --> 00:19:57,000
Speaker 1: he was driving in kicking for threes. Anthony Everards had

411
00:19:57,000 --> 00:19:58,720
Speaker 1: five assists in the first quarter, which was the first

412
00:19:58,720 --> 00:20:01,000
Speaker 1: time he's ever done that in the his career. He

413
00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:03,720
Speaker 1: had this like ridiculous Jordan esque reverse layup where he

414
00:20:03,760 --> 00:20:06,120
Speaker 1: planted right left and then like went up and down

415
00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:08,840
Speaker 1: and under onto the onto the right side of the basket.

416
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:13,920
Speaker 1: He was absolutely destroying the Hawks. Nas Reed got going.

417
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,840
Speaker 1: He hit three three point shots. He was attacking closeouts,

418
00:20:16,840 --> 00:20:19,040
Speaker 1: he was cutting out of the eastside corner for lob dunks.

419
00:20:19,080 --> 00:20:22,720
Speaker 1: He looked great. Rudy Gobert dominated the second quarter defensively,

420
00:20:22,840 --> 00:20:25,000
Speaker 1: you look up, they're up seventy nine to sixty, and

421
00:20:25,400 --> 00:20:27,600
Speaker 1: it you know. And then on the other end, like

422
00:20:27,640 --> 00:20:29,720
Speaker 1: and we've talked about it with the Hawks, Trey Young

423
00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:31,480
Speaker 1: and de Jontay Murray just haven't been playing that well,

424
00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:33,640
Speaker 1: and they didn't play particularly well in the first half.

425
00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:36,200
Speaker 1: They're pretty mediocre. Then you go a few minutes into

426
00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:39,000
Speaker 1: the second half and then something just clicks into place

427
00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:41,520
Speaker 1: for the Hawks. On both ends of the floor. They

428
00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:45,000
Speaker 1: ratcheted up defensively. Jalen Johnson like kind of locked up

429
00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:49,159
Speaker 1: Karl Anthony Towns, kept him in front, didn't wasn't susceptible

430
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:51,760
Speaker 1: to Cat's bully ball attack. Then he did the same

431
00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:53,480
Speaker 1: thing to nas Reid when he checked into the game.

432
00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,600
Speaker 1: I thought de Jontey Murray did an awesome job keeping

433
00:20:56,680 --> 00:20:59,400
Speaker 1: it in front and baiting him into pull up jump shots,

434
00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:02,200
Speaker 1: which he ended up in the second half. And then

435
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:05,199
Speaker 1: all of their athletes all over the floor were flying

436
00:21:05,240 --> 00:21:09,600
Speaker 1: around in rotation, flying in passing lanes, getting out in transition,

437
00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:12,640
Speaker 1: and then running out the other way for dunks and layups.

438
00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:14,840
Speaker 1: I talked about this in my season preview for the Hawks.

439
00:21:14,840 --> 00:21:18,280
Speaker 1: If you guys remember they were nineteenth last year in

440
00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:22,520
Speaker 1: transition frequency. They are second in transition frequency this year.

441
00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:25,080
Speaker 1: I talked in the season preview, this is an athletic team.

442
00:21:25,320 --> 00:21:27,280
Speaker 1: They need to look to avoid the half court, get

443
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,000
Speaker 1: out and run as much as possible, especially off their defense,

444
00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:32,080
Speaker 1: and they've been doing that at a really high level

445
00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:33,720
Speaker 1: so far to start this season. And then in the

446
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,359
Speaker 1: half court, both Trey Young and Dejonte, but mostly Dejonte

447
00:21:37,760 --> 00:21:41,560
Speaker 1: just took it to the Wolves on the not even

448
00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:44,000
Speaker 1: like in screening actions. For the most part, a lot

449
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:46,000
Speaker 1: of it was just taking it to their best perimeter

450
00:21:46,040 --> 00:21:48,600
Speaker 1: defenders by beating them off the bounce. Like de Jontay

451
00:21:48,680 --> 00:21:51,680
Speaker 1: Murray was barbecuing Anthony Edwards. And we're gonna talk about

452
00:21:51,680 --> 00:21:53,240
Speaker 1: this in a little bit, but ant reaches too much

453
00:21:53,240 --> 00:21:55,200
Speaker 1: and gets himself out of position and doesn't do himself

454
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:58,800
Speaker 1: any favors. But de Jontay Murray was using pump fakes

455
00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:02,520
Speaker 1: and moves and counter moves to just get around Anthony

456
00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:04,240
Speaker 1: Edwards and get to his spots. He got his pull

457
00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:07,119
Speaker 1: up jump shot going, he got to the rim. He

458
00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,159
Speaker 1: ended up finishing the game with forty one points. He

459
00:22:09,200 --> 00:22:11,439
Speaker 1: was incredible. He's plus twenty five in this game, and

460
00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:13,680
Speaker 1: then Trey Young was pretty good too. He was beating

461
00:22:13,760 --> 00:22:16,760
Speaker 1: Jaden McDaniels off the dribble and getting the defense into rotation.

462
00:22:16,840 --> 00:22:19,000
Speaker 1: Now Jayden kind of tightened that up in the fourth quarter,

463
00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:22,080
Speaker 1: but at that point they had already kind of got

464
00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:24,840
Speaker 1: in control of the game. But it was nothing. It

465
00:22:24,880 --> 00:22:27,760
Speaker 1: was nothing fancy. It was just brute force, Like Trey

466
00:22:27,800 --> 00:22:30,960
Speaker 1: Young and DeSante won the shit out of their matchups

467
00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:33,040
Speaker 1: in that second quarter on both ends of the floor

468
00:22:33,200 --> 00:22:36,040
Speaker 1: to and we're gonna talk about the Hawks defense like

469
00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:40,520
Speaker 1: because it's becoming a cultural thing in these short bursts,

470
00:22:40,880 --> 00:22:43,639
Speaker 1: Like in that second half run, even Trey Young was

471
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,000
Speaker 1: like sprinting over the top of screens. There was a

472
00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:48,280
Speaker 1: play where Anthony Edwards got him on a switch and

473
00:22:48,320 --> 00:22:50,000
Speaker 1: tried to post him up, and he fought in front,

474
00:22:50,000 --> 00:22:52,400
Speaker 1: and he fronted the post and denied the post entry,

475
00:22:52,440 --> 00:22:55,760
Speaker 1: like Trey Young was legitimately giving a shit on the

476
00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:58,119
Speaker 1: defensive end of the floor. And then just in general,

477
00:22:58,160 --> 00:23:01,560
Speaker 1: the flying around in rotation, all of their athleticism on

478
00:23:01,600 --> 00:23:03,720
Speaker 1: the floor. When you have Dejontey Murray out there with

479
00:23:03,720 --> 00:23:06,600
Speaker 1: DeAndre Hunter and Jalen Johnson and then with Sidique Bay

480
00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:08,720
Speaker 1: coming in and aj Griffin coming in like they are

481
00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:12,080
Speaker 1: just super fast and rangy and athletic. And then their

482
00:23:12,119 --> 00:23:15,160
Speaker 1: front court players in a Congou and Capella are also

483
00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:18,080
Speaker 1: pretty athletic versaal players that can cover ground, and so

484
00:23:18,359 --> 00:23:23,320
Speaker 1: they're capable of being an elite defensive team like and

485
00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:25,840
Speaker 1: like in the big picture, this has been a run.

486
00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:28,720
Speaker 1: This is a rundown of the Hawks defense so far

487
00:23:28,800 --> 00:23:31,160
Speaker 1: this year. They had a one to twelve defensive rating

488
00:23:31,200 --> 00:23:35,000
Speaker 1: against Charlotte, They lost a one to nineteen defensive rating

489
00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,760
Speaker 1: against the Knicks. They lost first half against the Bucks

490
00:23:38,920 --> 00:23:43,400
Speaker 1: an eighty nine defensive rating, and they won. They had

491
00:23:43,440 --> 00:23:45,639
Speaker 1: a one to twenty nine defensive rating in the second half,

492
00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:47,159
Speaker 1: but they had built such a big lead they were

493
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,919
Speaker 1: able to weather that. First half against the Timberwolves a

494
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:53,280
Speaker 1: one to sixty one defensive rating, found themselves down by

495
00:23:53,280 --> 00:23:57,199
Speaker 1: twenty one points. But second half against the Timberwolves a

496
00:23:57,359 --> 00:24:00,480
Speaker 1: sixty eight defensive rating, and they won the half by

497
00:24:00,480 --> 00:24:02,199
Speaker 1: thirty three points and won the game. So you can

498
00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,480
Speaker 1: kind of see a clear formula here. When they lean

499
00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:06,960
Speaker 1: into their defensive potential and they make that the identity

500
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:09,159
Speaker 1: of their team, they get out and transition more. It

501
00:24:09,200 --> 00:24:13,240
Speaker 1: invigorates like literally, de Jontay Murray got going in his

502
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:18,320
Speaker 1: rhythm in transition, Like that's the formula defend, get out

503
00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,080
Speaker 1: and run, find the easy shots when you're stuck in

504
00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:23,200
Speaker 1: the half court an in rhythm and ty Trey Young

505
00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:25,280
Speaker 1: and Dejontay Murray can take you home. And then one

506
00:24:25,280 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 1: other thing I noticed on the offensive end of the floor,

507
00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:29,800
Speaker 1: they used a lot of Jalen Johnson, Sidik Bay, and

508
00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:32,800
Speaker 1: DeAndre Hunter as screeners, which is something that it used

509
00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:35,200
Speaker 1: to do because the spacing concerns. When you had John

510
00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:37,000
Speaker 1: Collins and Click Capella on the floor, you almost had

511
00:24:37,040 --> 00:24:39,000
Speaker 1: to bring one of them into screen because you couldn't

512
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,680
Speaker 1: have two non shooters off the ball in your two

513
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,520
Speaker 1: man game. It just made it too easy to guard.

514
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:45,679
Speaker 1: But now they're actually running a lot of these like

515
00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,680
Speaker 1: a four guard screen actions with a wing, a wing

516
00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,200
Speaker 1: that can shoot, and they having success there all three

517
00:24:52,240 --> 00:24:54,600
Speaker 1: of them. Jalen Johnson, Sidek Bay, and DeAndre Hunter, each

518
00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:56,960
Speaker 1: of them have hit two pick and pop jump shots

519
00:24:57,160 --> 00:24:59,880
Speaker 1: from the three point line already this season. That's turned

520
00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:02,760
Speaker 1: to a significant chunk of their offense. And again those

521
00:25:02,800 --> 00:25:06,280
Speaker 1: like little ghost screens are picking pops. They also are

522
00:25:06,320 --> 00:25:08,280
Speaker 1: a lot harder to guard at the point of attack,

523
00:25:08,320 --> 00:25:10,679
Speaker 1: and they allowed de Jontay Murray and Trey Young to

524
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,080
Speaker 1: get downhill. And like their offense will go up a

525
00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:14,960
Speaker 1: level as soon as Trey Young and de Jontay Murray

526
00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:19,240
Speaker 1: start being consistently good on that end. But I predicted

527
00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:21,160
Speaker 1: that the Hawks would go up a level this year,

528
00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:24,440
Speaker 1: and again it's been mixed results through two games, through

529
00:25:24,480 --> 00:25:26,919
Speaker 1: four games, but I do think that potential has clearly

530
00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,120
Speaker 1: been on display with what they've done on the defensive

531
00:25:29,200 --> 00:25:32,479
Speaker 1: end of the floor. Moving on to the Wolves, this

532
00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:34,879
Speaker 1: loss drops him to one and two. They haven't been

533
00:25:34,880 --> 00:25:37,320
Speaker 1: good enough on either end of the floor. Jada McDaniels

534
00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:39,360
Speaker 1: being out has definitely hurt them. He's been their best

535
00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:41,760
Speaker 1: perimeter defender for a couple of years now, one of

536
00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:43,560
Speaker 1: the top two or three of them in the league,

537
00:25:43,560 --> 00:25:45,720
Speaker 1: to be honest. And it was his first game back

538
00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:47,399
Speaker 1: and you could tell he's getting his legs underneath him.

539
00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:49,280
Speaker 1: He looked good offensively. It was what five for six

540
00:25:49,359 --> 00:25:52,560
Speaker 1: from the field and two for two from three. Definitely

541
00:25:52,600 --> 00:25:54,240
Speaker 1: struggled a little bit keeping Trey Young in front of

542
00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:55,800
Speaker 1: the third quarter, but then you saw him kind of

543
00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,040
Speaker 1: get his like second win or whatever in that fourth

544
00:25:58,119 --> 00:26:02,920
Speaker 1: quarter and got some stops there. But like Nikhil Alexander

545
00:26:02,960 --> 00:26:06,240
Speaker 1: Walker wasn't good defensively in that Hawks game, Anthony Edwards

546
00:26:06,280 --> 00:26:08,879
Speaker 1: has been pretty bad defensively. He reaches in way too much,

547
00:26:08,960 --> 00:26:11,400
Speaker 1: He takes way too many defensive possessions off. He's having

548
00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,200
Speaker 1: an amazing offensive seasons so far, twenty five seven and five,

549
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:17,680
Speaker 1: fifty seven percent through shooting, shooting the jump shot extremely well,

550
00:26:17,720 --> 00:26:19,800
Speaker 1: sixty seven percent effective field goal percentage on pull up

551
00:26:19,840 --> 00:26:22,880
Speaker 1: jumps or on jumpers, seventy one percent on pull up jumpers.

552
00:26:23,200 --> 00:26:24,800
Speaker 1: But he's only eight for eighteen at the rim, which

553
00:26:24,840 --> 00:26:26,399
Speaker 1: is to be expected, right, this is a team that

554
00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,719
Speaker 1: has poor spacing. Rudy Gobert another game where just like

555
00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:31,960
Speaker 1: it's amazing how many times like he'll catch underneath the

556
00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,159
Speaker 1: basket and not score like he has stone hands, and

557
00:26:35,200 --> 00:26:36,760
Speaker 1: then he just can't make shots at the rim. He's

558
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:38,760
Speaker 1: only fifteen for twenty five at the rim. That'd be

559
00:26:38,800 --> 00:26:42,560
Speaker 1: bad for a wing, let alone a center, right, And

560
00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:44,440
Speaker 1: so it's a lot easier for teams to help off

561
00:26:44,440 --> 00:26:46,560
Speaker 1: of him and recover, which hurts their spacing. So like,

562
00:26:46,960 --> 00:26:49,320
Speaker 1: I'm not super concerned about the rim finishing for ant

563
00:26:49,320 --> 00:26:50,800
Speaker 1: I know that's something that's gonna be good for him

564
00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:52,840
Speaker 1: in the long run. The playmaking has been at a

565
00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:55,439
Speaker 1: higher level than we're accustomed to seeing from him. But

566
00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,440
Speaker 1: that defensive end is a huge part of this team's identity.

567
00:26:58,440 --> 00:27:01,000
Speaker 1: This team is not good enough offense, especially when you're

568
00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,720
Speaker 1: playing guys like the Kyle Alexander Walker who can go

569
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,000
Speaker 1: ice cold shooting, Anthony Edwards who can sell for a

570
00:27:06,000 --> 00:27:09,080
Speaker 1: lot of jump shots, Rudy Gobert, bad hands, bad finishing,

571
00:27:09,359 --> 00:27:11,960
Speaker 1: Kyle Anderson, a guy who struggles to space the floor

572
00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:14,679
Speaker 1: from the three point line. Like, with that kind of lineup,

573
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,159
Speaker 1: you're never gonna be a great offensive team. What you

574
00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:19,920
Speaker 1: are is you're a grinded out rock fight team. You're

575
00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:24,040
Speaker 1: supposed to be a top five defense that strangles teams,

576
00:27:24,359 --> 00:27:27,359
Speaker 1: gets out in transition, and relies on Anthony Edwards bully

577
00:27:27,359 --> 00:27:30,320
Speaker 1: ball basically to win games on the offensive end of

578
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:32,639
Speaker 1: the four, that's what they need to do. And so

579
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:34,760
Speaker 1: like early on in the season, you know, again all

580
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,520
Speaker 1: my optimism around the Wolves was surrounding the defensive end,

581
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:39,520
Speaker 1: and they just haven't been good enough on that end.

582
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:43,639
Speaker 1: Twenty second in offense, again, that Gobart piece I just

583
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:46,280
Speaker 1: talked about with his hands. Kat's not playing well either.

584
00:27:46,280 --> 00:27:48,520
Speaker 1: He's averaging sixteen points a game, thirty seven percent from

585
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,600
Speaker 1: the field, twenty four percent from three. He's shooting two

586
00:27:51,640 --> 00:27:54,720
Speaker 1: for fourteen on spot up possessions. That's really hurting their

587
00:27:54,760 --> 00:27:57,879
Speaker 1: spacing as well, four for twenty one on jump shots

588
00:27:57,920 --> 00:28:00,920
Speaker 1: in total so far this season. Kat obviously has got

589
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,720
Speaker 1: to play better as well. I think Jayden needs to

590
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:07,000
Speaker 1: almost be more aggressive offensively with some of the other

591
00:28:07,040 --> 00:28:09,879
Speaker 1: issues they're having on that end. If Jaden starts being

592
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:12,119
Speaker 1: more aggressive offensively, gets his legs back underneath him, If

593
00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:15,200
Speaker 1: Carl Towns starts playing more like himself on the offensive end,

594
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:18,800
Speaker 1: if Anthony Edwards locks in on the perimeter, having Jayden

595
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:20,240
Speaker 1: backed out there because he wasn't there for the first

596
00:28:20,280 --> 00:28:22,240
Speaker 1: two games, I think they're gonna be fine in the

597
00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:24,720
Speaker 1: big picture. But it's definitely been a disappointing first three

598
00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:28,840
Speaker 1: games on the Wolves front. All right, one male back question,

599
00:28:28,840 --> 00:28:30,360
Speaker 1: then we'll get out of here today. A little shorter show,

600
00:28:30,400 --> 00:28:32,000
Speaker 1: I guess. I guess we did two shows today though.

601
00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:35,400
Speaker 1: How pumped are you for the Ncason Tournament. I'm pretty

602
00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,320
Speaker 1: excited about it. I think it's such a great idea.

603
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:39,880
Speaker 1: As we get closer to it, I am getting excited

604
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:43,160
Speaker 1: about it. I think the single elimination format is going

605
00:28:43,160 --> 00:28:45,400
Speaker 1: to bring out some really fun NBA games. The biggest

606
00:28:45,440 --> 00:28:48,160
Speaker 1: question is can we get people to care now. I

607
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:49,800
Speaker 1: think a big part of it is going to be

608
00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:52,320
Speaker 1: like the fact that the games matter for the regular season,

609
00:28:52,440 --> 00:28:55,240
Speaker 1: that matters. That'll help in terms of just keeping a

610
00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,240
Speaker 1: baseline level of effort, right, and if we see the

611
00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:01,920
Speaker 1: stars give a shit, And I think a strong indicator

612
00:29:01,960 --> 00:29:04,680
Speaker 1: would be seeing a good team finish one of our contenders, right,

613
00:29:05,800 --> 00:29:08,160
Speaker 1: excuse me. If one of our top six teams, seven teams,

614
00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:09,920
Speaker 1: if you include the Clippers after the hard and trade,

615
00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:12,000
Speaker 1: if one of those teams wins it and one of

616
00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:13,560
Speaker 1: the best players in the world plays well and ends

617
00:29:13,600 --> 00:29:16,040
Speaker 1: up poisting the trophy. I think that adds legitimacy to it.

618
00:29:16,400 --> 00:29:19,640
Speaker 1: I'm excited. In keeping an open mind, I still don't

619
00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:22,760
Speaker 1: think it was the best idea in the world. I

620
00:29:22,760 --> 00:29:24,720
Speaker 1: would have always, like you guys know where I stand

621
00:29:24,720 --> 00:29:26,880
Speaker 1: on this stuff. Shorten the season, go down to sixty

622
00:29:26,880 --> 00:29:30,320
Speaker 1: six games. It adds twenty percent urgency. It adds rest

623
00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:32,720
Speaker 1: to prevent guys from having to play four times a week,

624
00:29:32,760 --> 00:29:35,880
Speaker 1: which inevitably leads to stars missing games. Ratings were down

625
00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:37,320
Speaker 1: in the first week of the NBA, and I think

626
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:38,760
Speaker 1: a big part of it is we just saw an

627
00:29:38,760 --> 00:29:41,720
Speaker 1: eighty two game season where it really didn't matter because

628
00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:43,360
Speaker 1: an eight seed made it to the finals and a

629
00:29:43,400 --> 00:29:45,200
Speaker 1: seven seed made it to the conference finals. And so

630
00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:48,960
Speaker 1: you're seeing teams like just understanding the big picture that

631
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:50,880
Speaker 1: the regular season doesn't matter that much. And so I

632
00:29:50,880 --> 00:29:53,440
Speaker 1: think pairing it down to sixty six games would improve

633
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:57,640
Speaker 1: star participation, improve urgency, and lead to at least a

634
00:29:57,680 --> 00:30:01,240
Speaker 1: twenty percent increase in revenue surround owning each individual game.

635
00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:03,040
Speaker 1: But that's just my take on it. Obviously I'm not

636
00:30:03,080 --> 00:30:05,480
Speaker 1: an economist as well, so it could be more complicated

637
00:30:05,480 --> 00:30:07,280
Speaker 1: than that, but like, that's the way I would go

638
00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:10,880
Speaker 1: that said it already happened, trying to keep an open

639
00:30:10,880 --> 00:30:12,760
Speaker 1: mind about it. I think it could be really cool

640
00:30:13,000 --> 00:30:16,440
Speaker 1: watching NBA players play in a single elimination format. All right, guys,

641
00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:18,320
Speaker 1: that's all I have for today. We are going to

642
00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,520
Speaker 1: be back. There's three games tonight. I'm gonna hit you know,

643
00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:24,320
Speaker 1: maybe two of them tomorrow during the day, and then

644
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:29,160
Speaker 1: we've got our nighttime slate with the jam packed, like

645
00:30:29,200 --> 00:30:30,920
Speaker 1: there's two ESPN games, and there's a bunch of other

646
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:32,880
Speaker 1: games on Wednesday night that we're gonna hit, and then

647
00:30:32,880 --> 00:30:35,040
Speaker 1: we're gonna go Thursday and Friday as well. So I

648
00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:36,920
Speaker 1: will see you guys tomorrow. And a lot of more

649
00:30:36,960 --> 00:31:07,200
Speaker 1: basketball to get to this week. The volume