1 00:00:01,440 --> 00:00:06,240 Speaker 1: The volume When it comes to college basketball in March Mania, 2 00:00:06,320 --> 00:00:10,480 Speaker 1: one thing is for sure. Nothing's for sure. Upsets, buzzer beaters, 3 00:00:10,520 --> 00:00:13,760 Speaker 1: Cinderella is advancing top seeds, going home early. It's all 4 00:00:13,800 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 1: gonna happen. Bet the unexpected, every upset, every day with 5 00:00:17,960 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: Draft Kings Sportsbook. With live betting, exclusive content, promos, and parlays, 6 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:25,799 Speaker 1: Draft Kings is the ultimate college basketball destination for March. 7 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 1: Ready to make your first bet, check out the matchups, 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:30,280 Speaker 1: and pick a team to win. It's that simple. 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After that, we're going to 37 00:01:59,320 --> 00:02:01,760 Speaker 1: talk about the Olkahoma City Thunder getting revenge on their 38 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: n season tournament performance by going into Milwaukee and really 39 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,640 Speaker 1: handling the Bucks. I want to focus in on the 40 00:02:09,080 --> 00:02:12,000 Speaker 1: some elements of the OKC defense that I think are 41 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:14,239 Speaker 1: separators for them from their peers around the league. And 42 00:02:14,240 --> 00:02:16,640 Speaker 1: then after that, the Orlando Magic gets some revenge after 43 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,760 Speaker 1: they took a beatdown from Cleveland at home a little 44 00:02:20,760 --> 00:02:23,680 Speaker 1: while back. They went into Cleveland and stole a game, 45 00:02:23,760 --> 00:02:25,840 Speaker 1: a really interesting game on a bunch of fronts, showed 46 00:02:25,840 --> 00:02:28,400 Speaker 1: some of the big picture upside for the Magic, also 47 00:02:28,480 --> 00:02:31,720 Speaker 1: revealed some of the weaknesses in that Cleveland roster. We're 48 00:02:31,720 --> 00:02:33,480 Speaker 1: going to talk about that game from the perspective of 49 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:35,119 Speaker 1: both teams as well. You guys are the joke before 50 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: we get started. Subscribe to the Hoops to Night YouTube 51 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:38,880 Speaker 1: channel so you don't miss any more of our videos. 52 00:02:38,880 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: Follow me on Twitter at underscore JSONNLTC. You guys don't 53 00:02:41,440 --> 00:02:43,880 Speaker 1: miss announcements. Don't forget about our podcast feet wherever you 54 00:02:43,880 --> 00:02:45,600 Speaker 1: get your podcast on our Hoops Tonight. It's also super 55 00:02:45,600 --> 00:02:47,200 Speaker 1: helpful if we leave a rating and a review on 56 00:02:47,200 --> 00:02:49,720 Speaker 1: that front. We also have brand new social media feeds 57 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 1: on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, where Jackson's been doing some 58 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: incredible work putting together some film breakdowns and stuff like that. 59 00:02:55,280 --> 00:02:56,960 Speaker 1: Make sure you guys follow us there, and the last 60 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: but not least, keep dropping mail back questions in the 61 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,880 Speaker 1: YouTube comments so we can keep hitting those mail bags 62 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:05,880 Speaker 1: throughout the remainder of the year. All right, let's talk 63 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:09,280 Speaker 1: some basketball. So the Suns are not a good matchup 64 00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: for the Lakers in a bunch of different ways. The 65 00:03:12,720 --> 00:03:15,679 Speaker 1: big fundamental thing that makes it really difficult for the 66 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: Suns to guard this version of this Lakers team is 67 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 1: they don't feel comfortable switching with their fives with their centers. 68 00:03:23,280 --> 00:03:24,959 Speaker 1: That puts you in a really tough spot dealing with 69 00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:26,880 Speaker 1: Luka Doncic in pick and roll. We've talked about this 70 00:03:26,960 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: a while. JJ Reddick has mentioned it in the postgame 71 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: presser like running drop coverage against Luka Doncic is death, 72 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: And I look at that as, like, you know, drop 73 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:39,480 Speaker 1: coverage can mean a lot of different things, but basically 74 00:03:39,520 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: all that means is anytime you're chasing Luca over the 75 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: top of the screen and the big man is waiting 76 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:46,440 Speaker 1: on the other side, either up at the level and 77 00:03:46,480 --> 00:03:48,440 Speaker 1: what they call a high drop or further back and 78 00:03:48,480 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 1: what they call a deep drop. That sort of coverage 79 00:03:51,520 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: makes for these really easy reads for Luca that he's 80 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,560 Speaker 1: been immediately great at in a Lakers jersey. What's been 81 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,480 Speaker 1: interesting is like they've struggled a little bit against switching 82 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:05,200 Speaker 1: for a lot of different reasons. Luca wasn't in shape 83 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: for a lot of those tough switching teams that they 84 00:04:07,200 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: faced earlier in that stretch, and as a team, they 85 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:12,040 Speaker 1: haven't shot the three ball well in large part because 86 00:04:12,040 --> 00:04:15,400 Speaker 1: they're playing super super hard on the defensive end of 87 00:04:15,400 --> 00:04:17,680 Speaker 1: the floor and adjusting to the new types of three 88 00:04:17,720 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 1: point looks that they're getting as part of the Luka 89 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,800 Speaker 1: Doncic offense, and so their offense, even in the wins, 90 00:04:23,240 --> 00:04:26,159 Speaker 1: has sputtered at times against teams that can switch with 91 00:04:26,200 --> 00:04:29,440 Speaker 1: their five man. But again with this Phoenix Suns team 92 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:32,599 Speaker 1: with Nick Richards, with Mason Plumley, they're just not doing 93 00:04:32,640 --> 00:04:35,560 Speaker 1: a lot of switching with their five men, and so 94 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,760 Speaker 1: that just allows Luca to play read and react basketball 95 00:04:38,760 --> 00:04:41,440 Speaker 1: with baked ribble penetration. And we've got over this a 96 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:43,880 Speaker 1: million times, but it's a simple set of reeds. If 97 00:04:43,920 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: the lowman and the screen defender stay back, Luca gets 98 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:49,800 Speaker 1: to just work his way into the lane until he 99 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:51,760 Speaker 1: can take a little floater off the glass. If the 100 00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:54,720 Speaker 1: big steps up, it creates a simple read behind it 101 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: with the lowman. If the lowman steps over and tags 102 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:58,960 Speaker 1: the roller, he's skipping it to the weak side. If 103 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:01,720 Speaker 1: he doesn't tag the roller that he can hit the 104 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:04,479 Speaker 1: hit Jackson Hayes runnerneath the basket. That was the big 105 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: thing that Phoenix kept messing up in this game. They 106 00:05:07,680 --> 00:05:09,720 Speaker 1: were running a good mix of high and low drop 107 00:05:09,760 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: and a lot of high drop early in the game, 108 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,000 Speaker 1: and they weren't tagging Jackson Hayes. And part of this is, 109 00:05:15,080 --> 00:05:17,680 Speaker 1: like I've been talking a lot about how the Suns 110 00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:20,040 Speaker 1: lately look to me like a team that is basically 111 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: quit trying to be the best basketball team they can be, 112 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: in large part because they know that their best isn't 113 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: good enough to beat the best teams in the league. 114 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:31,400 Speaker 1: And so there were a lot of weak side possessions 115 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 1: with Bradley Beal, Devin Booker, and KD all three of 116 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:37,479 Speaker 1: them where they just didn't bother to tag Jackson Hayes 117 00:05:37,560 --> 00:05:40,440 Speaker 1: or some really sloppy tags. I saw both Devin Booker 118 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:42,560 Speaker 1: and Bradley Beal have tags where they just kind of 119 00:05:42,600 --> 00:05:45,120 Speaker 1: like ran up to Jackson. So what you're supposed to 120 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:47,480 Speaker 1: do on a tag if they come up to the 121 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:49,880 Speaker 1: level of the screen and Jackson Hayes is rolling hard 122 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: to the rim, your jobs, the lowman is to literally 123 00:05:53,040 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: get between the rollman and the rim and hit him 124 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:58,640 Speaker 1: so that he can't throw the lob up to the 125 00:05:58,640 --> 00:06:02,600 Speaker 1: basket he has to, and usually some teams will counter 126 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: that by posting there or by skipping the ball to 127 00:06:04,800 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 1: the weak side. Right, You've got to literally put your 128 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: body on the line as a small against a rolling big. 129 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,200 Speaker 1: It's a hard job, and the Sons just weren't really 130 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:18,160 Speaker 1: interested in doing it last night, and so you'd see 131 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: them kind of like run over to Jackson and like 132 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:22,560 Speaker 1: put their hands on him, but they're not really doing 133 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:24,680 Speaker 1: anything to make him feel uncomfortable, and he's just catching 134 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:27,359 Speaker 1: and finishing. Here's an easy little stat to demonstrate that 135 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: for you. He had nineteen points. Jackson Ay's nineteen points 136 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:34,240 Speaker 1: in this game, seventeen of which were on cuts and rolls. 137 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 1: He has had nineteen points twice so far with Luca. 138 00:06:38,560 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: He had nineteen points one time total in the entirety 139 00:06:42,760 --> 00:06:44,760 Speaker 1: of the rest of his Lakers ten years, and that 140 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:47,960 Speaker 1: goes to show you the benefit of Jackson Hayes in 141 00:06:48,000 --> 00:06:50,279 Speaker 1: this system. I have been talking a lot about this 142 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:52,800 Speaker 1: concept lately, but the idea of like, your value as 143 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:55,440 Speaker 1: a basketball player is kind of unique to the system 144 00:06:55,480 --> 00:06:57,720 Speaker 1: that you're in, Right Like, there are guys that are 145 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:00,760 Speaker 1: deeply valuable in a certain system that would be less 146 00:07:00,839 --> 00:07:04,400 Speaker 1: valuable in another system. Whether it's like Aaron Gordon in 147 00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:08,160 Speaker 1: Orlando as like a swing forward star type of player, 148 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,200 Speaker 1: looks really underqualified for that job, but you put him 149 00:07:12,200 --> 00:07:15,080 Speaker 1: in Denver where he can operate on the back line 150 00:07:15,160 --> 00:07:18,000 Speaker 1: because their center kind of inverts their spacing, all of 151 00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,000 Speaker 1: a sudden, he becomes immensely valuable in that type of role. 152 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,480 Speaker 1: Right Like, everybody's value is unique to their individual system, 153 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: and Jackson Hayes, specifically, when Luka Doncic is on the Lakers, 154 00:07:29,320 --> 00:07:32,360 Speaker 1: is immensely valuable because Luca is one of the best 155 00:07:32,920 --> 00:07:35,680 Speaker 1: passers in the league at making teams pay by hitting 156 00:07:35,760 --> 00:07:38,160 Speaker 1: a vertical spacer. And I mean, there were a lot 157 00:07:38,160 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: of issues that have gone wrong for the Lakers in 158 00:07:40,440 --> 00:07:42,200 Speaker 1: the four game losing streak, most of which have come 159 00:07:42,240 --> 00:07:44,920 Speaker 1: down to injuries. I mean, you're down, You're you're starting 160 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 1: front court. Literally, if you're down Lebron, Ruy and Jackson, 161 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: it's such a difficult thing to overcome. But it's funny 162 00:07:51,960 --> 00:07:55,040 Speaker 1: to say Jackson Hayes is so valuable because it felt 163 00:07:55,080 --> 00:07:58,120 Speaker 1: so different in previous iterations of the Lakers, But on 164 00:07:58,160 --> 00:08:02,840 Speaker 1: this version of the Lakers, Jackson Hayes is incredibly valuable 165 00:08:03,120 --> 00:08:05,560 Speaker 1: to this offense because he is the guy that allows 166 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: them to function in four out one in spacing. I've 167 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: talked a lot about this concept. When you're running a 168 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,680 Speaker 1: lot of motion, ball flowing side to side, everyone's involved 169 00:08:14,680 --> 00:08:17,480 Speaker 1: in the action. It's like a five out spacing concept, right. 170 00:08:17,720 --> 00:08:20,800 Speaker 1: You got ball handlers on the wings, guys in the corner, 171 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: and then a big man at the top of the keys. 172 00:08:23,400 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 1: Functioning is like this passing folkrum, screening folkrum out at 173 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:29,520 Speaker 1: the top of the key. This Lakers team is very 174 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:32,679 Speaker 1: much going back to the old version of their offense, 175 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: way back when they were the Western Conference Finals team 176 00:08:35,640 --> 00:08:38,120 Speaker 1: in twenty twenty three, where it's like we're spreading the floor, 177 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:40,680 Speaker 1: running pick and roll like it's a lot of that 178 00:08:40,760 --> 00:08:43,720 Speaker 1: sort of thing, and in those situations you don't want 179 00:08:43,760 --> 00:08:47,679 Speaker 1: five out spacing because in five out spacing, when the 180 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: gaps on the perimeter shrink to get pretty small and 181 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:53,079 Speaker 1: it gets harder to drive as defenders are able to 182 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:55,240 Speaker 1: gap into driving lanes and stuff like that. And so 183 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:57,400 Speaker 1: the way you prefer to set up your spacing when 184 00:08:57,400 --> 00:09:00,600 Speaker 1: you're more of a matchup attacking, spread pig roll type 185 00:09:00,600 --> 00:09:02,760 Speaker 1: of team is four out one in spacing, and once 186 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:05,160 Speaker 1: your shooters in the corner, you got a shooter on 187 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:08,559 Speaker 1: the wing, and you're basically occupying either the dunker spot 188 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:10,839 Speaker 1: with a dunker or a screen and roll threat where 189 00:09:10,880 --> 00:09:13,720 Speaker 1: the roller is occupying that spot when he rolls to 190 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:17,240 Speaker 1: the basket. And so guys like Jemison, guys like Jared 191 00:09:17,320 --> 00:09:20,800 Speaker 1: vander Built, even Christian Kaloko he botched two lobs last 192 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:22,520 Speaker 1: night in the first half, where it's just the easy 193 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:24,840 Speaker 1: dunks that he's struggling to make because he's got a 194 00:09:24,840 --> 00:09:27,160 Speaker 1: little bit of an issue catching and finishing. Sometimes you 195 00:09:27,200 --> 00:09:30,680 Speaker 1: can see just how incredibly valuable Jackson Hayes is to 196 00:09:30,720 --> 00:09:35,080 Speaker 1: the Lakers as a vertical spacer. In this version of 197 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:37,480 Speaker 1: the team. They did a lot of damage on that 198 00:09:37,600 --> 00:09:40,400 Speaker 1: Sun's back line in this game, and after in the 199 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:44,000 Speaker 1: early third quarter they generated yet another easy lob dunk 200 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:46,160 Speaker 1: for Jackson Hayes kind of like a behind the back 201 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:49,760 Speaker 1: lob a ridiculous pass from Luca, and from that point forward, 202 00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,240 Speaker 1: the Sun's basically just decided to blitz him and double 203 00:09:52,280 --> 00:09:54,160 Speaker 1: team him all over the floor, and so the Lakers 204 00:09:54,160 --> 00:09:56,560 Speaker 1: were able to play with an advantage and they were 205 00:09:56,600 --> 00:09:58,400 Speaker 1: able to stiff arm the Suns. The rest of the way, 206 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,160 Speaker 1: the Suns fought back. They've they've been resilient. This has 207 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 1: been a consistent theme for the Suns in the last month, 208 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:06,560 Speaker 1: is like they'll get off to an ugly start and 209 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:10,080 Speaker 1: then rather than get humiliated, they'll like suddenly start competing 210 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: really hard towards the end of the game. And it's 211 00:10:12,920 --> 00:10:15,400 Speaker 1: the U. Lakers fans are familiar with this concept from 212 00:10:15,480 --> 00:10:18,800 Speaker 1: last year. It's the fake comeback concept, right because that 213 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:21,960 Speaker 1: Laker team used to have a very similar personality last year. 214 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:24,839 Speaker 1: But KD had seventeen points in the second half and 215 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:26,640 Speaker 1: they kind of battled a little bit, but they never 216 00:10:26,679 --> 00:10:29,840 Speaker 1: got any closer than eight the rest of the way. 217 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:31,800 Speaker 1: A couple of Laker concepts and I want to hit 218 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:35,559 Speaker 1: before we move on. Luca's rapidly improving as a shot maker. 219 00:10:35,600 --> 00:10:37,200 Speaker 1: This is a concept that talked a lot about after 220 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:39,160 Speaker 1: his first few weeks with the Lakers, he just wasn't 221 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:42,880 Speaker 1: shooting as well as he typically is capable of. And 222 00:10:43,400 --> 00:10:46,080 Speaker 1: you know, he obviously had that really bad night in Brooklyn, 223 00:10:46,400 --> 00:10:49,880 Speaker 1: but even including that game, in his last eight games, 224 00:10:49,880 --> 00:10:52,400 Speaker 1: he's averaging thirty two points per game on just twenty 225 00:10:52,400 --> 00:10:55,520 Speaker 1: two shot attempts, shooting forty one percent from three on 226 00:10:55,559 --> 00:10:57,440 Speaker 1: eleven attempts per game, and he's getting to the foul 227 00:10:57,440 --> 00:11:01,040 Speaker 1: line ten times, where he's shooting eighty percent from at 228 00:11:01,040 --> 00:11:03,400 Speaker 1: the free throw line. So he's really starting to come 229 00:11:03,440 --> 00:11:06,760 Speaker 1: around as an offensive player, which is helping this team 230 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:08,440 Speaker 1: start to have a little bit more resilience on that 231 00:11:08,520 --> 00:11:10,520 Speaker 1: end of the floor. He's also averaging over two steals 232 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:13,680 Speaker 1: per game in that span. He's sliding his feet, really 233 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,560 Speaker 1: active on the perimeter, active in help side, functioning as 234 00:11:16,600 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: a cog in that defensive system. Austin Reeves is starting 235 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 1: to look like himself again. He commented after the Nets 236 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:24,560 Speaker 1: game that he needed to be better with Lebron out 237 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:26,960 Speaker 1: in order to help his team. He's averaging thirty one, 238 00:11:27,160 --> 00:11:29,839 Speaker 1: seven and seven on fifty two percent from the field, 239 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:32,120 Speaker 1: forty four from three to ninety four percent from the 240 00:11:32,120 --> 00:11:34,840 Speaker 1: line in his last three games, which is just outrageous. 241 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:38,520 Speaker 1: JJ Reddick talked after the game about Jordan Goodwin and 242 00:11:38,559 --> 00:11:40,560 Speaker 1: the tone that he set early. He was spot on 243 00:11:40,640 --> 00:11:42,560 Speaker 1: about that. One of the very first I think it 244 00:11:42,640 --> 00:11:45,520 Speaker 1: was literally the first possession of the game. KD was 245 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: guarding him, he was ball watching, and I think Luca 246 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,160 Speaker 1: ended up missing a jump shot short and he just 247 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:54,160 Speaker 1: shot like a cannon into the lane, got the offensive 248 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 1: rebound and put it back in. He was excellent with 249 00:11:55,960 --> 00:11:58,040 Speaker 1: his ball pressure and with his back pressure. He had 250 00:11:58,040 --> 00:11:59,959 Speaker 1: a couple offensive rebounds. He had a couple of block shit. 251 00:12:00,679 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: Really really impressive game from Jordan go and ended up 252 00:12:02,800 --> 00:12:05,600 Speaker 1: getting a start in this game. Nice win for the Lakers. 253 00:12:05,880 --> 00:12:08,520 Speaker 1: They got some help over the weekend too. In the standings. 254 00:12:08,559 --> 00:12:12,280 Speaker 1: Memphis got crushed at home by the Calves. Denver toasted 255 00:12:12,280 --> 00:12:14,400 Speaker 1: off a game to the Wizards on a crazy game 256 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 1: winner from Jordan Poole. He shot like a forty footer 257 00:12:17,080 --> 00:12:20,440 Speaker 1: in Russell Westbrook's face that ends up leaving the Lakers 258 00:12:20,559 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 1: tied in the loss column for the two seed, despite 259 00:12:24,520 --> 00:12:28,839 Speaker 1: dropping four consecutive games earlier with an injury ravaged roster. 260 00:12:28,920 --> 00:12:30,679 Speaker 1: I think that's a win no matter how you look 261 00:12:30,760 --> 00:12:32,439 Speaker 1: at it, to drop four in a row like that 262 00:12:32,800 --> 00:12:35,320 Speaker 1: and to still really be in position to potentially get 263 00:12:35,360 --> 00:12:38,439 Speaker 1: that two seed, and the Lakers, the Nuggets, the Grizzlies, 264 00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:40,440 Speaker 1: and the Rockets, it's a four way tie, are all 265 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:42,839 Speaker 1: tied with twenty five losses in that spot, and I 266 00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:44,640 Speaker 1: think the Lakers have a good chance to win that 267 00:12:44,760 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 1: race and just get the two seed, as long as 268 00:12:46,800 --> 00:12:49,280 Speaker 1: they can get healthy soon enough. Allegedly Lebron's about a 269 00:12:49,320 --> 00:12:52,360 Speaker 1: week out. Ruly, I would imagine we'll come back not tonight, 270 00:12:52,400 --> 00:12:55,439 Speaker 1: but probably in the game on Wednesday night. It shouldn't 271 00:12:55,480 --> 00:12:58,120 Speaker 1: be too long before they get healthy. And like, I mean, 272 00:12:58,160 --> 00:12:59,760 Speaker 1: we're gonna talk about this a little bit, especially when 273 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 1: we get into our mail Bag, which is releasing on 274 00:13:02,400 --> 00:13:05,760 Speaker 1: Wednesday this week. But like, the Lakers might just be 275 00:13:05,760 --> 00:13:07,960 Speaker 1: better than all those teams, and so they might end 276 00:13:08,040 --> 00:13:10,280 Speaker 1: up coming away with the two seed just because they're better. 277 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:12,800 Speaker 1: And so they're in a good spot now. They made 278 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:16,200 Speaker 1: a good call, a smart call to rest Ruie rest Jackson, 279 00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:18,240 Speaker 1: rest Lebron. Make sure those guys get the rest that 280 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,120 Speaker 1: they need, and we'll see. I think they have a 281 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 1: chance to end up coming out with the two seed. Anyway, 282 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:24,880 Speaker 1: we'll see how they can close the season. The big thing, 283 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:26,840 Speaker 1: the big swing factor there for me is Denver, and 284 00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:30,240 Speaker 1: I just can't get a read on the Nuggets. They 285 00:13:30,280 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 1: look so bad sometimes they're so so so bad on defense, 286 00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:36,760 Speaker 1: but there's this big part of me that just can't 287 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,719 Speaker 1: believe that they're actually that bad and that they're just 288 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:42,680 Speaker 1: kind of going through the motions a lot. Now. NBA 289 00:13:42,840 --> 00:13:46,000 Speaker 1: history tells us those teams always lose, but it's hard 290 00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 1: to say at this point they're They're the team that 291 00:13:48,160 --> 00:13:50,080 Speaker 1: that's in that group of four with the Lakers that 292 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:52,840 Speaker 1: I can't really get a read on where they kind 293 00:13:52,880 --> 00:14:08,400 Speaker 1: of land among the top teams in the league. All right, 294 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:12,439 Speaker 1: let's talk some thunder Bucks. We've talked a lot this 295 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:15,840 Speaker 1: year about the strength of Oklahoma City being their defense, 296 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:18,880 Speaker 1: and we've got all, like, over all the reasons why. 297 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:22,480 Speaker 1: They have a ton of good perimeter defenders that they 298 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,440 Speaker 1: can keep cycling into the game to wear out ball handlers. 299 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,960 Speaker 1: They can apply excellent ball pressure for forty eight minutes. 300 00:14:29,400 --> 00:14:32,200 Speaker 1: They have these aggressive game plans that suit their team 301 00:14:32,320 --> 00:14:35,320 Speaker 1: speed really really well. It's the right type of game 302 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:37,160 Speaker 1: plan to go with with the type of roster that 303 00:14:37,200 --> 00:14:40,320 Speaker 1: they have. They're super sharp in rotation on the back 304 00:14:40,400 --> 00:14:45,280 Speaker 1: end to make these like perceived openings disappear in a flash. 305 00:14:45,480 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: Their rim protection is legit with chet homeground on the floor. 306 00:14:49,040 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 1: But I want to zero in specifically on the concept 307 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:56,400 Speaker 1: of defending superstars for a minute, because like superstars are 308 00:14:56,480 --> 00:15:01,360 Speaker 1: scheme breakers, they're personnel breakers. Like oh you Anthony Davis. He's, 309 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:03,960 Speaker 1: in my opinion, the best defensive player in the league 310 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:06,600 Speaker 1: when he's healthy and in shape. Well it turns out 311 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 1: he can't guard Nikola Jokic. So the Lakers' greatest defensive 312 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 1: weapon was basically neutralized, and it led to a few 313 00:15:13,560 --> 00:15:15,920 Speaker 1: years of dominance. In that matchup. If you guys, remember, 314 00:15:16,120 --> 00:15:18,000 Speaker 1: oh you have Jaden McDaniels, he's one of the best 315 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:20,000 Speaker 1: perimeter defenders in the league. Well, it turns out he 316 00:15:20,040 --> 00:15:23,320 Speaker 1: can't guard Luka Doncic. So in that matchup in the 317 00:15:23,360 --> 00:15:26,920 Speaker 1: Western Conference finals last year, the strength of Minnesota's perimeter 318 00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:31,640 Speaker 1: defense was neutralized and the MAVs ended up thrashing the Wolves. 319 00:15:32,000 --> 00:15:34,479 Speaker 1: This is a thing that can happen that a superstar 320 00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,960 Speaker 1: can break a scheme. A superstar can break even personnel strings. 321 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:43,280 Speaker 1: One of the non negotiable barriers that stands between any 322 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:46,240 Speaker 1: great team and a championship is the ability to go 323 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:48,640 Speaker 1: head to head with the best players in the world 324 00:15:48,720 --> 00:15:52,080 Speaker 1: and come out on top. For the thunder in the West, 325 00:15:52,720 --> 00:15:56,680 Speaker 1: you've got Nikola Jokic, You've got Luka Doncic, Lebron James 326 00:15:56,720 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: before his injury was playing at near that level, not 327 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:02,560 Speaker 1: quite that level, but near that level. Steph Curry is 328 00:16:02,560 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: coming on strong. Anthony Edwards is a type of threat 329 00:16:05,400 --> 00:16:07,760 Speaker 1: that you have to face in the Western Conference. In 330 00:16:07,760 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 1: One of the traits of this OKC defense. Something that 331 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:14,560 Speaker 1: makes them so dangerous is their ability to match up 332 00:16:14,560 --> 00:16:17,480 Speaker 1: with the top players in the league. They've had their 333 00:16:17,480 --> 00:16:20,000 Speaker 1: issues with Jokic over the years because it seems like 334 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,400 Speaker 1: nobody can guard that guy, but he's literally the best 335 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:24,960 Speaker 1: player in the world and Okay, so he can have 336 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,440 Speaker 1: success against him on the other end of the floor. 337 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:30,160 Speaker 1: Even the game they dropped to Denver the other day 338 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:32,840 Speaker 1: a week ago or so, it was a weird game. 339 00:16:32,840 --> 00:16:34,800 Speaker 1: They played really well in the first half, had a lead, 340 00:16:34,920 --> 00:16:39,040 Speaker 1: drop seventy three points. J Dubb gets hurt. They double 341 00:16:39,120 --> 00:16:41,520 Speaker 1: team Shay every time he crosses half court. It allows 342 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:44,400 Speaker 1: them to gimmick their way into a win. But like 343 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,800 Speaker 1: that's a matchup that they've done pretty well against. They 344 00:16:47,840 --> 00:16:50,200 Speaker 1: have one of the best players in the league to 345 00:16:50,280 --> 00:16:54,960 Speaker 1: match up against Luca Lebron Kawhi, Jason Tatum, those big, 346 00:16:55,120 --> 00:16:59,240 Speaker 1: strong matchup attacking forwards. Lou Dort is literally one of 347 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:02,760 Speaker 1: the very best options in the NBA for that type 348 00:17:02,800 --> 00:17:08,040 Speaker 1: of matchup. He's uniquely strong enough to keep his base. 349 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:11,960 Speaker 1: Most of the success that those players have comes down 350 00:17:11,960 --> 00:17:16,359 Speaker 1: to bullying and dislodging defenders from their base so they 351 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:19,479 Speaker 1: can get separation and get great shots. Lou Dort in 352 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:22,919 Speaker 1: many cases the guy dislodging them from their base and 353 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:26,040 Speaker 1: forcing them to play off balance and causing them to 354 00:17:26,080 --> 00:17:29,159 Speaker 1: miss a lot of shots that they normally make. It's 355 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,720 Speaker 1: a huge asset to have, specifically in the Western Conference 356 00:17:32,720 --> 00:17:34,200 Speaker 1: with the types of teams that you have to face 357 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,119 Speaker 1: coming out of there, and for a potential Boston matchup 358 00:17:37,119 --> 00:17:40,280 Speaker 1: with Jason Tatum, and then in this game against Milwaukee, 359 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:43,560 Speaker 1: they demonstrated that they have athletes for two of the 360 00:17:43,680 --> 00:17:47,760 Speaker 1: other types of world beating stars. They held Dame and 361 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,520 Speaker 1: Yannis to just forty points and held both of them 362 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:55,440 Speaker 1: to below fifty percent from the field. They held Yanis 363 00:17:55,440 --> 00:17:58,439 Speaker 1: to his lowest field goal percentage game of this entire season. 364 00:18:00,000 --> 00:18:02,760 Speaker 1: Excellent guards to match up with all the different types 365 00:18:02,800 --> 00:18:05,240 Speaker 1: of starguards in the league that you can run into 366 00:18:05,920 --> 00:18:08,960 Speaker 1: in any playoff matchup or any regular season game. I 367 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,679 Speaker 1: thought Cason Wallace and Alex Crusoe were both fantastic in 368 00:18:12,680 --> 00:18:16,199 Speaker 1: their reps against Damian Lillard last night, applying ball pressure 369 00:18:16,280 --> 00:18:19,840 Speaker 1: up and down the court, staying attached in screening actions 370 00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:22,480 Speaker 1: and pressuring the ball from behind, swat and getting hands 371 00:18:22,520 --> 00:18:26,520 Speaker 1: on the basketball. Great contests on everything. Dame, of his 372 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:32,280 Speaker 1: nineteen points, managed just seven points on the ball. Twelve 373 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:34,960 Speaker 1: of his nineteen points came off of spot ups, meaning 374 00:18:35,280 --> 00:18:38,440 Speaker 1: one of his other teammates made a play that got 375 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:42,880 Speaker 1: oksee in rotation, forced caseon or Alex to help which 376 00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,440 Speaker 1: allowed Dame to get an open catch and shoot look 377 00:18:46,000 --> 00:18:48,199 Speaker 1: or on a random, weird play like there was a 378 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:52,560 Speaker 1: random play where Caruso stripped Damian Lillard clean underneath the 379 00:18:52,600 --> 00:18:55,320 Speaker 1: basket and the ball just happened to pop right back 380 00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: into Dame's hands and he drew a foul, And then 381 00:18:57,600 --> 00:18:59,679 Speaker 1: Dame got fouled on a jump ball, and just like 382 00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:02,240 Speaker 1: him and Alex wrestling for position off the ball, but 383 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:06,400 Speaker 1: like they had him strapped up in the on ball situations. 384 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:08,960 Speaker 1: If you hold Dame to seven points on the ball, 385 00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,000 Speaker 1: you're gonna give yourself a really good chance to stop 386 00:19:11,040 --> 00:19:14,239 Speaker 1: at Milwaukee offense. And like, that's not just a Dame thing. 387 00:19:14,280 --> 00:19:17,280 Speaker 1: Whether it's Steph, it could be any of the great 388 00:19:17,280 --> 00:19:20,880 Speaker 1: guards in this league. They are built to handle those 389 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 1: guards really well. And then I thought Isaiah Hartenstein did 390 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:29,160 Speaker 1: about as good a job playing positional defenses against Giannest 391 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:32,680 Speaker 1: as you can. Again, when I say positional defense, to me, 392 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:36,639 Speaker 1: that's positioning yourself between a player in the rim and 393 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,240 Speaker 1: at least forcing them to make over the top shots. 394 00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 1: Defense against these types of players is very different than 395 00:19:42,640 --> 00:19:45,240 Speaker 1: I could think like Palo Boncaro for example, or a 396 00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:49,359 Speaker 1: Lebron James for example. These like big bullyball forwards that 397 00:19:49,440 --> 00:19:52,520 Speaker 1: aren't super comfortable shooting jump shots. Now Lebron has become 398 00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 1: much better at that over the years, so maybe he's 399 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:55,680 Speaker 1: a bad example, but you get the point. Like these 400 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,400 Speaker 1: big bullyball players that you kind of want to take 401 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:01,560 Speaker 1: jump shot and floaters and hooks and stuff like that, 402 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:04,879 Speaker 1: just position yourself between that player and the rim, and 403 00:20:04,960 --> 00:20:09,120 Speaker 1: you're doing your job. Anytime he got anybody else on him. 404 00:20:09,119 --> 00:20:12,040 Speaker 1: In this game, it was a double team easy to 405 00:20:12,040 --> 00:20:15,680 Speaker 1: get past in rotation getting great looks. Jannis was able 406 00:20:15,680 --> 00:20:20,560 Speaker 1: to consistently generate great stuff against anybody that wasn't Isaiah Hartenstein. 407 00:20:20,840 --> 00:20:23,439 Speaker 1: But Hartenstein has that combination of a little bit of 408 00:20:23,440 --> 00:20:26,879 Speaker 1: mobility and he's big and strong as a center to 409 00:20:26,920 --> 00:20:29,480 Speaker 1: where Yannis isn't looking at him, like I can go 410 00:20:29,600 --> 00:20:33,960 Speaker 1: right through him. With Yannis, like he doesn't even really 411 00:20:34,040 --> 00:20:36,639 Speaker 1: have to make a move to get by most people 412 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,960 Speaker 1: because he's so big and strong. If he just rips through, 413 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:43,080 Speaker 1: even if the defender slides his feet, there's usually just 414 00:20:43,119 --> 00:20:46,200 Speaker 1: a tiny bit of an opening, and Giannis is gonna 415 00:20:46,240 --> 00:20:48,719 Speaker 1: hit that with physicality and get his shoulder in there. 416 00:20:48,760 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: He has that move too, where he'll gather and like 417 00:20:51,200 --> 00:20:53,600 Speaker 1: chicken wing with his arm as he goes to the rim. 418 00:20:53,720 --> 00:20:56,800 Speaker 1: Like he's impossible to guard when you're giving up that 419 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:59,480 Speaker 1: much size and weight, because even if you get in 420 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:01,680 Speaker 1: front of him, he's just gonna get his way around 421 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:05,879 Speaker 1: you by using his physicality. Right. But Isaiah Hartenstein, because 422 00:21:05,920 --> 00:21:10,000 Speaker 1: he has that mobility and size and strength, Jannis actually 423 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:13,119 Speaker 1: has to make a good enough move to force Isaiah 424 00:21:13,119 --> 00:21:15,800 Speaker 1: Hartenstein to lunge out of position in order for him 425 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:18,520 Speaker 1: to get all the way to the basket. And so 426 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,679 Speaker 1: that allowed Hartenstein to do a really nice job on 427 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:26,359 Speaker 1: yon Is forcing him into those over the top shots. Again. 428 00:21:26,720 --> 00:21:31,639 Speaker 1: In last night's game, Hartenstein and the Thunder as a 429 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,920 Speaker 1: team held Giannis to below forty seven percent from the field. 430 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:37,520 Speaker 1: It was literally his least efficient field goal percentage game 431 00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:40,960 Speaker 1: of the entire season. And like, and I haven't even 432 00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:43,400 Speaker 1: mentioned the fact that Hartenstein had twenty four points last night. 433 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,159 Speaker 1: He had twenty two on cuts, he made five of 434 00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:49,240 Speaker 1: his patented floaters. He had a great game. Like I've 435 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,520 Speaker 1: been consistent on the record that I have concerns about 436 00:21:52,520 --> 00:21:56,960 Speaker 1: okc's offense in a playoff context. I do think they 437 00:21:56,960 --> 00:21:59,399 Speaker 1: have a tendency to get into these extended stretches of 438 00:21:59,480 --> 00:22:01,199 Speaker 1: ugly bass could ball on that into the floor. That 439 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 1: makes them more vulnerable than their record would lead you 440 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:08,439 Speaker 1: to believe. But make no mistake, this defense is legit 441 00:22:08,560 --> 00:22:12,520 Speaker 1: and not like cute twenty twenty one Utah Jazz regular 442 00:22:12,600 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 1: season legit. They are versatile playoff Freddy able to handle 443 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:20,600 Speaker 1: the types of challenges that await them in the Western 444 00:22:20,600 --> 00:22:23,240 Speaker 1: Conference playoffs type of legit on the defensive end of 445 00:22:23,280 --> 00:22:26,560 Speaker 1: the floor. It's gonna keep them in every series. Like 446 00:22:26,600 --> 00:22:29,280 Speaker 1: I don't think even if OKC loses, this isn't gonna 447 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:31,960 Speaker 1: be a sweep or a five game series. Their defense 448 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:34,800 Speaker 1: is so good it's gonna keep them in any series. 449 00:22:35,400 --> 00:22:37,879 Speaker 1: They're gonna be very, very difficult to beat four times 450 00:22:37,880 --> 00:22:41,440 Speaker 1: in a two week span. A couple other shoutouts from 451 00:22:41,440 --> 00:22:43,480 Speaker 1: this game. I thought Kenrich Williams was amazing, kind of 452 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:45,439 Speaker 1: similar to what we talked about with Jordan Goodwin earlier. 453 00:22:45,680 --> 00:22:48,200 Speaker 1: I thought he just helped set the defensive tone right 454 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:52,000 Speaker 1: away early, flying around in rotation, making extra efforts. He 455 00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:54,000 Speaker 1: was a guy in many cases that was rotating to 456 00:22:54,000 --> 00:22:57,159 Speaker 1: Brook Lopez and picking pops, which is a foundational release 457 00:22:57,240 --> 00:22:59,600 Speaker 1: valve for the Bucks offense. In one of the hardest 458 00:22:59,600 --> 00:23:02,120 Speaker 1: action to guard, but it just requires a good amount 459 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:04,679 Speaker 1: of speed on the weak side. He locked zero points 460 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,000 Speaker 1: in this game and only one steal, and I thought 461 00:23:07,040 --> 00:23:10,520 Speaker 1: Kenrich was awesome in his minutes. Chet was really great 462 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:12,600 Speaker 1: on offense in this game. He continues to hit threes. 463 00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:14,439 Speaker 1: He had two last night. He's made five of his 464 00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,000 Speaker 1: last ten, and it caused some overreaction from Milwaukee's defense. 465 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:21,800 Speaker 1: Both Torrian Prince and Giannis bit on pump fakes on 466 00:23:21,920 --> 00:23:24,159 Speaker 1: kickouts to Chet that led to points. He drove on 467 00:23:24,280 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 1: Torrian and got a floater on the honest one, he 468 00:23:26,080 --> 00:23:30,080 Speaker 1: ended up drawing a foul. He gave up the Thunder 469 00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 1: ended up getting an easy dunk on a play where 470 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:35,800 Speaker 1: Chet kind of relocated up to the right wing and 471 00:23:35,920 --> 00:23:38,440 Speaker 1: Torrian Prince, who should have been the low man instead 472 00:23:38,440 --> 00:23:41,400 Speaker 1: of protecting the rim, overplayed Chet at the three point 473 00:23:41,440 --> 00:23:43,760 Speaker 1: line and gave up a dunk. That's all a product 474 00:23:44,320 --> 00:23:47,200 Speaker 1: of the fear of Chet's shooting because of how well 475 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:49,040 Speaker 1: he's been shooting the ball over the last couple of games. 476 00:23:49,080 --> 00:23:50,920 Speaker 1: He also did some nice work in action too. The 477 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:53,359 Speaker 1: two most common actions they'll run with him is like 478 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,000 Speaker 1: a two man game right around the foul line the 479 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:57,399 Speaker 1: middle of the floor with him and Hartenstein trying to 480 00:23:57,440 --> 00:24:01,240 Speaker 1: bait trying to force big bodies to guard in screening actions. 481 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:02,880 Speaker 1: And then they'll run a lot of wide pin down 482 00:24:02,880 --> 00:24:04,600 Speaker 1: stuff where they'll like set him in the corner and 483 00:24:04,920 --> 00:24:06,800 Speaker 1: have a guard screen down for him so that the 484 00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:08,359 Speaker 1: team doesn't want to switch and try to see if 485 00:24:08,359 --> 00:24:12,120 Speaker 1: they can get him coming downhill with the ball catching 486 00:24:12,160 --> 00:24:15,840 Speaker 1: on the move going downhill. He's really starting to blossom 487 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:18,000 Speaker 1: into an incredible player. I thought he was fantastic and 488 00:24:18,119 --> 00:24:22,440 Speaker 1: last shout out, SGA is becoming one of the greatest 489 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:26,520 Speaker 1: shows in the league. I've seen a lot of people 490 00:24:26,520 --> 00:24:29,680 Speaker 1: complaining about his foul grifting or like shoving people off 491 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:32,639 Speaker 1: with his off arm, and like, the grifting is a 492 00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:35,919 Speaker 1: league wide problem, and yeah, Shay is better at it 493 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:39,360 Speaker 1: than most, but like, I'm never gonna judge the players 494 00:24:39,400 --> 00:24:43,120 Speaker 1: for that because to me, it's a competitive advantage and 495 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 1: Shaye's just like, imagine being Shay. You're on a team 496 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,680 Speaker 1: with a bunch of super young players and so much 497 00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,480 Speaker 1: of the offensive workload falls on your plate. You got 498 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:53,520 Speaker 1: to find a way to get some easy points in there, 499 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:56,240 Speaker 1: and foul grifting is the way he's doing it. And again, 500 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,160 Speaker 1: everyone has access to those moves. He's just better at 501 00:24:59,160 --> 00:25:01,840 Speaker 1: it than most. And eventually the league, I hope will 502 00:25:01,840 --> 00:25:03,960 Speaker 1: get will legislate it out, but it is part of 503 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,160 Speaker 1: the game at this point, the off arm stuff, this 504 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:09,959 Speaker 1: is where I think the complaints from people are ridiculous. 505 00:25:10,359 --> 00:25:13,480 Speaker 1: All throughout NBA history, we've had players that use their 506 00:25:13,480 --> 00:25:19,720 Speaker 1: physical advantages to dominate, like Shack bullyballs everybody, Lebron bullyballs everybody, 507 00:25:20,000 --> 00:25:24,600 Speaker 1: Yannis bullyballs everybody, Luca bullyballs every there's so jokicch is 508 00:25:24,720 --> 00:25:29,240 Speaker 1: just rumbling, stumbling to the rim NonStop, like we have 509 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,320 Speaker 1: to be okay with it from guards too. And the 510 00:25:32,400 --> 00:25:35,320 Speaker 1: thing with Shay is he's really good at getting a 511 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:38,800 Speaker 1: defender out of position to where they're leaning back, and 512 00:25:38,840 --> 00:25:40,640 Speaker 1: you see it. He did it against Kuzma a couple 513 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,600 Speaker 1: times last night, where it's like he sees Kuzma in 514 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:47,280 Speaker 1: a retreat positional defense stance, and so he just drives 515 00:25:47,359 --> 00:25:49,760 Speaker 1: really hard and gets that shoulder into him and bumps 516 00:25:49,800 --> 00:25:51,120 Speaker 1: him off a little bit. And by the way, he 517 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:54,040 Speaker 1: does get called for offensive fouls occasionally when he really 518 00:25:54,119 --> 00:25:56,600 Speaker 1: extends that arm, but a lot of times he doesn't 519 00:25:56,640 --> 00:25:58,159 Speaker 1: extend the arm. A lot of times he just kind 520 00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 1: of gets you with his shoulder and he's so strong 521 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:02,840 Speaker 1: on his base that he'll bump you with his shoulder 522 00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,240 Speaker 1: and get plenty of separation. And I have no problem 523 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 1: with that at all, because that, to me is what 524 00:26:08,400 --> 00:26:11,520 Speaker 1: the game of basketball is. It's physical it's a contact sport. 525 00:26:11,560 --> 00:26:13,919 Speaker 1: It gets even more physical when you get into the postseason. 526 00:26:14,359 --> 00:26:17,240 Speaker 1: And all throughout NBA history, we've allowed these big, strong 527 00:26:17,320 --> 00:26:20,080 Speaker 1: dudes to throw people around. I have no problem with 528 00:26:20,119 --> 00:26:21,960 Speaker 1: Shaye doing it too. But even if you set that 529 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:26,080 Speaker 1: stuff aside and you just watch him play, he's starting 530 00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:29,160 Speaker 1: to break people off with these dribble combinations that are 531 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:33,439 Speaker 1: sending defenders into a different area code. And it's because 532 00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:38,080 Speaker 1: he can chain together multiple dribble combinations, multiple pieces of footwork. 533 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,040 Speaker 1: I've talked about this concept before. He doesn't go into 534 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:45,560 Speaker 1: a sequence like telegraphing what he's gonna do. He starts 535 00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:47,720 Speaker 1: with just a hard drive in one of the directions, 536 00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:50,760 Speaker 1: whether it's that hesitation between the legs dribble going left 537 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:52,760 Speaker 1: or the hesitation between the legs drible going right. You 538 00:26:52,840 --> 00:26:55,119 Speaker 1: kind of slowly do the between the legs dribble, and 539 00:26:55,160 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 1: as soon as it hits his driving hand, the hand 540 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:00,320 Speaker 1: that's on the strong side that he's driving to, he'll 541 00:27:00,359 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 1: just explode forward. He has a lot of that hesitation quickness. 542 00:27:03,280 --> 00:27:05,159 Speaker 1: It's like a first step combined with a change of 543 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:08,320 Speaker 1: pace kind of thing. But he's just gonna go. And 544 00:27:08,359 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 1: then if you cut off that side, he's pulling it 545 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:15,080 Speaker 1: back through the legs and he's going the other way. 546 00:27:15,600 --> 00:27:17,320 Speaker 1: And if you cut him off that side, he's pulling 547 00:27:17,400 --> 00:27:19,240 Speaker 1: it back through the legs and he's going the other way. 548 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:22,359 Speaker 1: It's all just like a relentless change of direction. But 549 00:27:22,440 --> 00:27:25,280 Speaker 1: he's just so good at using that pullback dribble between 550 00:27:25,280 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 1: his legs and in those situations he's generating contact a 551 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:31,160 Speaker 1: lot of times in bumping guys off that it's kind 552 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:33,320 Speaker 1: of just like, do I need to do it once twice, 553 00:27:33,359 --> 00:27:35,840 Speaker 1: three or three times to get to my spot? Well, 554 00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:37,880 Speaker 1: regardless of how many times you defend it right, I'm 555 00:27:37,920 --> 00:27:40,000 Speaker 1: eventually going to get to my spot. And like, again, 556 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:42,639 Speaker 1: there are some of these guys that he's going up 557 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:45,439 Speaker 1: against and they're biting so hard on one of the 558 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:48,600 Speaker 1: moves that he's getting like ten, twelve, fifteen feet of 559 00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:52,359 Speaker 1: separation on that pullback dribble. It's wild to me. And again, 560 00:27:52,400 --> 00:27:54,360 Speaker 1: like it's not just fun to watch. There's a lot 561 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:56,679 Speaker 1: of good stuff in there for young basketball players to 562 00:27:56,680 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 1: emulate that will help you get to the next level. 563 00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:03,200 Speaker 1: That getting that shoulder contact and then quick scissor dribble 564 00:28:03,280 --> 00:28:05,439 Speaker 1: between your legs is an excellent way to deal with 565 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:08,080 Speaker 1: ball pressure or to get separation when a defender is 566 00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:11,840 Speaker 1: pressuring you. It just takes a lot of that contact, 567 00:28:11,880 --> 00:28:14,359 Speaker 1: ball handling ability, the ability to dribble while you're dealing 568 00:28:14,359 --> 00:28:17,199 Speaker 1: with contact, and again, like it's just all of it 569 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:20,600 Speaker 1: is just super tight handle, super tight footwork, and the 570 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: ability to chain every single move together with hesitation dribbles 571 00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:27,840 Speaker 1: just ties together. This player that is like entirely unpredictable 572 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:30,360 Speaker 1: and extremely difficult to keep in front. And I've really 573 00:28:30,359 --> 00:28:34,399 Speaker 1: really enjoyed watching him over the course of this season. 574 00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: All right, magic has before we get out of here 575 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:51,720 Speaker 1: for the death, it's bit of a weird game. Both 576 00:28:51,760 --> 00:28:56,840 Speaker 1: teams shot catastrophically different than their typical efficiency. Orlando is 577 00:28:56,920 --> 00:28:58,840 Speaker 1: by far the worst jump shooting team in the league. 578 00:28:58,840 --> 00:29:01,520 Speaker 1: They get seven fewer points per one hundred jump shots 579 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:05,000 Speaker 1: then the twenty ninth ranked Wizards. That gap is the 580 00:29:05,040 --> 00:29:07,520 Speaker 1: same as the gap between the twenty ninth ranked Wizards 581 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,160 Speaker 1: and the thirteenth ranked Bulls. They are a god awful 582 00:29:10,200 --> 00:29:13,080 Speaker 1: jump shooting team and last night they got one point 583 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,600 Speaker 1: twenty four points per jump shot. Cleveland is the number 584 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,040 Speaker 1: one jump shooting team in the NBA, and they got 585 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:21,680 Speaker 1: zero point seventy five points per jump shot, so it 586 00:29:21,720 --> 00:29:24,440 Speaker 1: was kind of just like a weird jump shooting game. 587 00:29:24,480 --> 00:29:26,400 Speaker 1: It played a roll down the stretch of the game too, 588 00:29:26,520 --> 00:29:28,840 Speaker 1: like it was a shot making game down the stretch, 589 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:31,520 Speaker 1: and a couple of thirty two percent three point shooters 590 00:29:31,520 --> 00:29:34,560 Speaker 1: and Anthony Black and Pala Boncaro hit three clutch threes, 591 00:29:34,600 --> 00:29:38,160 Speaker 1: and Donovan Mitchell, a player who's hitting forty nine percent 592 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,160 Speaker 1: of unguarded catch and shoes a catch and shoots, missed 593 00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:43,880 Speaker 1: back to back wide open threes above the break in 594 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:48,040 Speaker 1: the clutch Max Strus hits forty eight percent of unguarded 595 00:29:48,080 --> 00:29:50,200 Speaker 1: catch and shoots. He missed an open corner three in 596 00:29:50,200 --> 00:29:53,000 Speaker 1: the right corner light. So like obviously it was kind 597 00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:56,360 Speaker 1: of a shot variance game. It turned into a fun 598 00:29:56,360 --> 00:29:58,720 Speaker 1: little chest match down the stretch two for Palo. The 599 00:29:58,800 --> 00:30:01,200 Speaker 1: last two buckets that were like and got or just 600 00:30:01,320 --> 00:30:04,160 Speaker 1: inverted ball screen action with Palo and KCP on the 601 00:30:04,240 --> 00:30:07,000 Speaker 1: left wing, and it's the exact same sequence of events 602 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,320 Speaker 1: that most teams have to deal with in inverted ball screens. 603 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:11,200 Speaker 1: They don't want to switch because they don't want to 604 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:14,240 Speaker 1: leave a smaller player defending a big bullyball player, So 605 00:30:14,640 --> 00:30:18,719 Speaker 1: they opt for a hedge and recover to try to 606 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 1: prevent the switch and prevent the drive, but it concedes 607 00:30:22,880 --> 00:30:26,200 Speaker 1: a slipping three. So KCP comes up, slips out of 608 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:28,959 Speaker 1: the screen to the left corner. Palo briefly gets two 609 00:30:29,040 --> 00:30:31,480 Speaker 1: on the ball, he whips it over the top. KCP 610 00:30:31,600 --> 00:30:34,480 Speaker 1: hits the corner three very next possession. They're like, well, 611 00:30:34,520 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 1: we don't want to give up that open corner three 612 00:30:36,160 --> 00:30:39,080 Speaker 1: to KCP, so we might as well switch the action. Now. 613 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:43,360 Speaker 1: DeAndre Hunter is on KCP, but Donovan Mitchell's guarding Paalo, 614 00:30:43,480 --> 00:30:46,120 Speaker 1: and Paalo just hard dribbles into the middle of the floor, 615 00:30:46,280 --> 00:30:49,440 Speaker 1: just bumps Donovan Mitchell off with that shoulder and then 616 00:30:49,560 --> 00:30:51,840 Speaker 1: rises up right there in the middle and knocks down 617 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:54,440 Speaker 1: the huge shot at the elbow that ended up giving 618 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:58,480 Speaker 1: them the lead. And so like a shot making type 619 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:01,000 Speaker 1: of game from the three point line that swung Orlando's favor, 620 00:31:01,400 --> 00:31:03,800 Speaker 1: and then a nice little chess match sequence from Orlando 621 00:31:03,880 --> 00:31:06,600 Speaker 1: with kcpm palow down the stretch to get the win. 622 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:09,720 Speaker 1: Now here's the thing. I'm never gonna get too worked 623 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:11,520 Speaker 1: up about a regular season result. You guys know that 624 00:31:11,520 --> 00:31:14,280 Speaker 1: about me. Weird stuff can happen in basketball games, but 625 00:31:14,360 --> 00:31:16,520 Speaker 1: I did think this game was revealing of some of 626 00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:20,400 Speaker 1: Orlando's big picture playoff upside and some of the weaknesses 627 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:25,320 Speaker 1: in Cleveland's roster. Orlando's size was a consistent problem for 628 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:27,800 Speaker 1: Cleveland in this game. And I know people are gonna 629 00:31:27,800 --> 00:31:30,440 Speaker 1: say Evan Mobley didn't play, but neither did Jalen Suggs, 630 00:31:30,480 --> 00:31:34,280 Speaker 1: and I actually thought it manifested mostly with Cleveland's perimeter players. 631 00:31:34,960 --> 00:31:38,120 Speaker 1: Mitchell and Garland combined for twenty seven missed shots and 632 00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:40,840 Speaker 1: eight turnovers in this game, and a big part of 633 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:43,800 Speaker 1: that was them struggling to shoot over good contests or 634 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,680 Speaker 1: trying to pass in traffic. The two main ways this 635 00:31:46,760 --> 00:31:51,000 Speaker 1: manifested from Orlando's defense was that bracket that I always 636 00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:53,520 Speaker 1: talk about in pick and roll, and then some of 637 00:31:53,560 --> 00:31:56,200 Speaker 1: the deal the problems they had was switching focusing on 638 00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:58,240 Speaker 1: the bracket. I've talked about this concept a lot. In 639 00:31:58,280 --> 00:32:00,600 Speaker 1: a drop coverage, when you've got a guard chasing over 640 00:32:00,600 --> 00:32:02,680 Speaker 1: the top and a big up at the level when 641 00:32:02,720 --> 00:32:05,720 Speaker 1: you are staying close to the ball handler, you bracket 642 00:32:05,720 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 1: them appropriately when there's distance. If the guard gets caught 643 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 1: on the screen and the biggest too far back, there's 644 00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:13,320 Speaker 1: an open bracket, there's space in there to operate. That's 645 00:32:13,320 --> 00:32:16,080 Speaker 1: where guys like Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland can barbecue 646 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:18,960 Speaker 1: you with just comfortable shot making in the mid range. Right, 647 00:32:19,600 --> 00:32:22,640 Speaker 1: Orlando had a very tight bracket in this game, but 648 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:25,320 Speaker 1: they had a very tight bracket with size, and that's 649 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:27,239 Speaker 1: where it can become really problematic. And this is one 650 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:30,520 Speaker 1: of the strengths of Orlando's roster. Whether it's Jonathan Isaac, 651 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,240 Speaker 1: or it's Anthony Black, or it's Contavious Callwell. Pope is 652 00:32:33,280 --> 00:32:35,280 Speaker 1: one of the smaller guys you're dealing with there, but 653 00:32:35,600 --> 00:32:37,640 Speaker 1: Palo and Franz front spend some time with the ball. 654 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,080 Speaker 1: Wendell Carter Junior and Goga Patadz they are big dudes. 655 00:32:40,080 --> 00:32:44,080 Speaker 1: They are huge on the ball, and it made those 656 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:48,760 Speaker 1: guys consistently shoot some tough, contested shots that were over 657 00:32:48,840 --> 00:32:51,360 Speaker 1: tight contesting. You could tell they're putting extra arc on 658 00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:55,280 Speaker 1: the turnovers we talked about earlier. It caused problems for Cleveland. 659 00:32:55,800 --> 00:32:59,400 Speaker 1: This is why it's always way too simplistic to just 660 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:02,800 Speaker 1: attribute a game to shooting. Luck Again, it plays a role. 661 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,479 Speaker 1: There is shooting variants in a game, but usually it 662 00:33:06,560 --> 00:33:08,760 Speaker 1: is connected in more than one way to the way 663 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:12,959 Speaker 1: the game is being played. For instance, Cleveland only generated 664 00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:16,800 Speaker 1: nine unguarded catch shoot jump shots in this game. It's 665 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:20,120 Speaker 1: one of their lowest totals of the season, and it's 666 00:33:20,160 --> 00:33:22,160 Speaker 1: not the first time Orlando has done this to them. 667 00:33:22,440 --> 00:33:25,840 Speaker 1: Orlando in the blowout game where Cleveland shots super well, 668 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:28,400 Speaker 1: only three of those catch and shoot threes were unguarded 669 00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:34,040 Speaker 1: in that game. They typically generate Cleveland fourteen unguarded catch 670 00:33:34,040 --> 00:33:35,840 Speaker 1: and shoots per game. This is an issue they've had 671 00:33:35,880 --> 00:33:39,560 Speaker 1: in the Orlando matchup. Now again, they missed some looks, 672 00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:41,680 Speaker 1: some wide open looks that they normally make at a 673 00:33:41,760 --> 00:33:44,600 Speaker 1: high rate. We talked about Mitchell and Struce. Sam Merrill 674 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:46,400 Speaker 1: missed a bunch of great looks in the third corner. 675 00:33:46,440 --> 00:33:48,120 Speaker 1: Was kind of bizarre. They were all like wide open 676 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:49,680 Speaker 1: and he was just missing, and they were like not 677 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:53,880 Speaker 1: necessarily close either. But Orlando did help play them into 678 00:33:53,880 --> 00:33:57,000 Speaker 1: that kind of night by wearing them down with their size, 679 00:33:57,360 --> 00:33:59,920 Speaker 1: making them play in a crowd, and by getting great 680 00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:05,680 Speaker 1: contests in rotation. It's also worth mentioning Orlando allows fewer 681 00:34:05,720 --> 00:34:09,080 Speaker 1: made threes than any team in the entire NBA. That 682 00:34:09,239 --> 00:34:11,920 Speaker 1: is a strength of their defense. A big part of 683 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:14,040 Speaker 1: that is their length on the perimeter in the physicality 684 00:34:14,040 --> 00:34:17,239 Speaker 1: they play with all game long. They held Cleveland to 685 00:34:17,440 --> 00:34:21,920 Speaker 1: zero point eight five points per half court possession. That 686 00:34:22,040 --> 00:34:25,440 Speaker 1: was their third lowest mark of the entire season. So 687 00:34:25,440 --> 00:34:28,360 Speaker 1: again shout out to the Orlando defense and focusing on 688 00:34:28,480 --> 00:34:31,280 Speaker 1: Orlando for a second. This is their big picture upside. 689 00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:35,359 Speaker 1: If their young players ever learn to shoot more consistently, 690 00:34:35,800 --> 00:34:37,920 Speaker 1: and if they can continue to improve over the years, 691 00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:40,480 Speaker 1: if they can get Jalen Suggs back and get healthy, 692 00:34:40,840 --> 00:34:44,600 Speaker 1: they can be a very dangerous playoff team because of 693 00:34:44,640 --> 00:34:46,880 Speaker 1: their size and strength and their ability to wear on you. 694 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:50,560 Speaker 1: I notice it with Palo, Like Palo has that really 695 00:34:50,680 --> 00:34:53,440 Speaker 1: ugly jump shot that he misses so frequently in the 696 00:34:53,440 --> 00:34:57,520 Speaker 1: mid range, and like that part drives me crazy, but 697 00:34:57,560 --> 00:35:00,799 Speaker 1: he gets a ton of separation in there. Like if 698 00:35:00,800 --> 00:35:03,760 Speaker 1: he ever does put that together to where he becomes 699 00:35:03,800 --> 00:35:07,080 Speaker 1: a fifty two to fifty five percent mid range jump shooter, 700 00:35:07,239 --> 00:35:09,719 Speaker 1: Like he's gonna feast on teams in that part of 701 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,160 Speaker 1: the floor because he's just so big and strong that 702 00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:14,640 Speaker 1: he can get to his spots there so easily. There 703 00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:17,120 Speaker 1: is a lot of big picture upside with the Orlando 704 00:35:17,480 --> 00:35:19,919 Speaker 1: that I thought was on display. There were a couple 705 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:21,400 Speaker 1: of things that stood out to me on the Cleveland 706 00:35:21,440 --> 00:35:23,719 Speaker 1: front in this game. Though again I talked about this 707 00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:26,319 Speaker 1: a lot with the Lakers during this phase when they 708 00:35:26,320 --> 00:35:28,680 Speaker 1: were struggling, even in their wins. No matter how good 709 00:35:28,719 --> 00:35:32,280 Speaker 1: you are, even if you happen to win, I always 710 00:35:32,320 --> 00:35:35,360 Speaker 1: think there's value in taking a closer look at why 711 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:39,400 Speaker 1: you struggled during games or stretches of games where you struggled. 712 00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:42,080 Speaker 1: And again, the two things that I noticed from Cleveland 713 00:35:42,120 --> 00:35:45,520 Speaker 1: in this game won the size. Cleveland, even with Mobley, 714 00:35:45,640 --> 00:35:49,040 Speaker 1: isn't exceptionally exceptionally big and strong. They can wear down 715 00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:51,919 Speaker 1: against size. It happened against New York two years ago, 716 00:35:52,239 --> 00:35:54,319 Speaker 1: it happened in the Orlando series last years. They were 717 00:35:54,360 --> 00:35:57,080 Speaker 1: trailing big in Game seven. It is something to keep 718 00:35:57,120 --> 00:36:00,320 Speaker 1: an eye on. And then switching. There was a switch 719 00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:02,480 Speaker 1: look from Orlando in the second quarter where they had 720 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:05,319 Speaker 1: Goga off and Wendell Carter Junior off and that led 721 00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:08,080 Speaker 1: to the first big magic run of this game. They 722 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:10,399 Speaker 1: shut off the baked in dribble penetration they got from 723 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:12,400 Speaker 1: ball screens. They forced Cleveland to play a lot of 724 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:16,439 Speaker 1: one on one, and we have seen Cleveland struggled at 725 00:36:16,440 --> 00:36:18,680 Speaker 1: times against these kinds of looks in the regular season, 726 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:23,600 Speaker 1: especially against Boston and Oklahoma City. This is why it's 727 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:27,080 Speaker 1: so important to keep an eye on the Boston matchup. Specifically, 728 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:29,640 Speaker 1: Cleveland has a couple of wins this year against a 729 00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:33,719 Speaker 1: shorthanded Boston Celtics team. But when they're healthy and they 730 00:36:33,760 --> 00:36:36,880 Speaker 1: go Drew Holiday, Derek White, Jalen Brown, Jason Tatum, and 731 00:36:36,880 --> 00:36:40,080 Speaker 1: Al Horford, they're bigger and stronger than Cleveland and they 732 00:36:40,080 --> 00:36:42,680 Speaker 1: can switch one through five and again. This is an 733 00:36:42,680 --> 00:36:46,520 Speaker 1: incredible Cavs team that's winning at a historic pace, but 734 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,000 Speaker 1: the Boston Celtics are like the final boss for them 735 00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:52,040 Speaker 1: in a video game. It's gonna attack their biggest weaknesses 736 00:36:52,760 --> 00:36:54,160 Speaker 1: and it's gonna be a hell of a show. I 737 00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:56,640 Speaker 1: can't wait to see what happens. All right, guys, This 738 00:36:56,719 --> 00:36:58,680 Speaker 1: all I have for today, as always is I sincerely 739 00:36:58,719 --> 00:37:01,359 Speaker 1: appreciate you guys for supporting me and supporting the show. 740 00:37:01,760 --> 00:37:05,120 Speaker 1: We are going live tonight on YouTube after the final 741 00:37:05,160 --> 00:37:08,239 Speaker 1: buzzer of Nuggets Warriors. I'll see you guys then, and 742 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:10,560 Speaker 1: then our next daytime episode will be coming out on 743 00:37:10,600 --> 00:37:16,239 Speaker 1: Wednesday in the form of a mailbag the volume What's 744 00:37:16,280 --> 00:37:18,560 Speaker 1: Up Guys? As always, I appreciate you for listening to 745 00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:21,760 Speaker 1: and supporting OOPS tonight. It would actually be really helpful 746 00:37:21,760 --> 00:37:23,400 Speaker 1: for us if you guys would take a second and 747 00:37:23,520 --> 00:37:26,360 Speaker 1: leave a rating and a review. As always, I appreciate 748 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:27,840 Speaker 1: you guys supporting us, but if you could take a 749 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:30,120 Speaker 1: minute to do that, I'd really appreciate it.