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Speaker 1: dot co slash b ball. All right, well, good to

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Speaker 1: tonight here at the volume Heavy Monday. Everybody up. All

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Speaker 1: of you guys had a great weekend. We had a

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Speaker 1: jam pack show for you today. I want to be

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Speaker 1: able to bounce all around the league because there's so

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Speaker 1: many different teams that we need to hit on, and

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Speaker 1: so I came up with a format today. We're gonna

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Speaker 1: do stock rising or stock falling. I'm basically going to

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Speaker 1: hit on a team and tell you guys whether or

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Speaker 1: not I'm feeling better about them. Compared to before the season,

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Speaker 1: or worse about them compared to before the season. And

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Speaker 1: then at the tail end of the show, we're gonna

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Speaker 1: have an episode of TIMPs tape where I have eighteen clips.

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Speaker 1: We're going to be bouncing around the league for that

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Speaker 1: as well. You guys are the Joe before we get started,

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Speaker 1: subscribe to the Hoops to Night YouTube channels. You don't

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Speaker 1: miss any more of our videos. Follow me on Twitter

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Speaker 1: at Underscore JCNLTS. You guys, don't miss you announcementsn't forget

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Speaker 1: about a podcast feed where you get your podcasts under

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Speaker 1: Hoops Tonight, and then keep dropping mail back questions and

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Speaker 1: those YouTube comments so we keep hitting them throughout the

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

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Speaker 1: So a little disclaimer off the top. This is all

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Speaker 1: very small sample size stuff, right, Like, it's only been

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Speaker 1: two or three games for most of these teams, so

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Speaker 1: obviously a lot can change over the course of even

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Speaker 1: just the next week for any of these teams. But

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Speaker 1: this is what we have, This is what we have

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Speaker 1: to work with to try to evaluate these teams. See,

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Speaker 1: we're gonna have We're gonna try to find what we

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Speaker 1: can learn within the small sample size. But let's also

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Speaker 1: just keep in mind that it's not the end all

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Speaker 1: be all, certainly not this early in the season. Like,

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Speaker 1: for instance, the Lakers. They're three to zero, that doesn't

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Speaker 1: mean they're the twenty seventeen Warriors, just means they're off

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Speaker 1: to a good start. Good teams can go on runs

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Speaker 1: where they win a couple of good win a couple

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Speaker 1: of games in a row against other good teams. It's

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Speaker 1: about sustained excellence that separates you, right The Nuggets, the Sixers,

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Speaker 1: and the Bucks, three teams that are all in my

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Speaker 1: top ten championship contenders, are two and six to start

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Speaker 1: the year. Doesn't mean this guy is falling for them either.

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Speaker 1: There's lots of things that could turn positively for them.

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Speaker 1: So remember, let's just kind of keep that small sample

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Speaker 1: size kind of disclaimer in the back of our minds

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Speaker 1: as we're looking forward. But let's start with first team today,

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Speaker 1: stock rising the Boston Celtics. Their last two games, they

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Speaker 1: blew out Washington and they ended up in a kind

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Speaker 1: of a tough game in Detroit. They were down by

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Speaker 1: six without four minutes left, but then they just went

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Speaker 1: on this Like Vin Titch, Boston Celtics run. They generated

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Speaker 1: a wide open three for Drew Holliday, where Al Horford

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Speaker 1: screen for Tatum. But like we've talked about so much

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Speaker 1: on the show, when teams are switching, if you're setting

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Speaker 1: the screen, you want to screen on the bottom side,

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Speaker 1: Horford screen on the bottom side and slips Tatum throw

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Speaker 1: Hi an easy pass formed a two on one on

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Speaker 1: the weak side. Kickout pass to Drew Holliday knocks down

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Speaker 1: at three very next possession, Jalen Brown just a beautiful

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Speaker 1: transition drive, gets into the lane. All hell breaks loose

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Speaker 1: around him, but he makes an amazing kickout pass to

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Speaker 1: the right wing swing swing another wide open three for

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Speaker 1: Drew Holiday. He knocks it down. Next possession, Jason Tatum's

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Speaker 1: trying to come off of an off ball screen, but

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Speaker 1: Tim Hardaway Junior is top locking him, and instead of

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Speaker 1: trying to force his way through the screen, he just

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Speaker 1: cuts to the post. And now he's got inside position

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Speaker 1: because Tim Hardaway Junior is on his top side trying

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Speaker 1: to top block, gets a quick post up, gets an

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Speaker 1: easy bucket, and then Tatum ice is the game with

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Speaker 1: a little iso jumper in the left short corner versus

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Speaker 1: Jayden Ivy, while on the other end of the floor,

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Speaker 1: just mothering defense. Drew Holliday gets a steal in transition

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Speaker 1: on Jada and Ivy. There's this crazy player, Ky Cunningham

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Speaker 1: breaks open on a back door cut, looks like he's

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Speaker 1: gonna get a dunk, and in comes Derek White just

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Speaker 1: flying in and gets a block. And by the way,

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Speaker 1: there's gonna be a lot of Knights like that for

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Speaker 1: the Boston Celtics. There's gonna be nice where they beat

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Speaker 1: the shit out of you, then there's gonna be nights

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Speaker 1: where they're in these tougher spots. And to me, it's

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Speaker 1: always a sign of a great team in the regular

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Speaker 1: season when you just find a way to win on

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Speaker 1: the nights when it doesn't necessarily look great. And that

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Speaker 1: what I just broke down for you. It's four really

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Speaker 1: good offensive possessions in a row and four stops and bam,

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Speaker 1: you got yourself a win in a game that it

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Speaker 1: looked like you had a decent chance of losing. And again,

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Speaker 1: those to me are like big characteristics of teams that

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Speaker 1: are serious about trying to repeat, that are serious about

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Speaker 1: trying to build championship habits over the course of the season.

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Speaker 1: They got out of there with a win, so farther

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Speaker 1: three oh. They're number one in offense with a one

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Speaker 1: twenty nine offensive rating. Their paint defense is getting shredded

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Speaker 1: a little bit, but that's to be expected. They're only

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Speaker 1: playing a starting caliber center for about twenty six minutes

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Speaker 1: a night, smartly keeping Horford's minutes down so he doesn't

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Speaker 1: get worn down. They're also really overplaying the three point line,

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Speaker 1: which is gonna lead to more paint scoring. They're allowing

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Speaker 1: just fourteen point seven wide open threes per game. That's

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Speaker 1: with the defender at least six feet away. That's the

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Speaker 1: third best mark in the league overall. Their fifteenth in defense,

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Speaker 1: which is fine. You also have to factor in there's

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Speaker 1: a couple of massive blowouts in there, and that just

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Speaker 1: means there's gonna be a lot of stretches of the

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Speaker 1: game where there's very little urgency. So that's gonna hurt

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Speaker 1: your defensive numbers as well. But we all expected the

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Speaker 1: Celtics to start three to zero. So why am I

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Speaker 1: saying their stock is rising? It's because Jason Tatum has

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Speaker 1: looked absolutely amazing to start the season. Thirty three point

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Speaker 1: six rebound, six assists, fifty five percent from the field,

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Speaker 1: forty nine percent from three. The jump shooting is absurd.

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Speaker 1: He's taken forty jump shots so far the season, made

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Speaker 1: twenty of them. He's sixteen for thirty four off the dribble.

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Speaker 1: That's forty seven percent overall, one point three to two

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Speaker 1: points per tempt. Now, obviously he's not gonna shoot that

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Speaker 1: well for the entire season, because no, but he shoots it.

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Speaker 1: Not even Steph Curry shoots that well for the entire season.

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Speaker 1: But if he can stay remotely close, that's a fundamentally

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Speaker 1: different type of star, a fundamentally different type of player

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Speaker 1: than the guy who was still really damn good, who

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Speaker 1: was the best player on a championship team last year.

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Speaker 1: His shot creation has been completely off the charts. He's

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Speaker 1: ran seventy two ISOs pick and rolls in post ups,

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Speaker 1: including passes that have generated one hundred and fourteen points.

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Speaker 1: That's one point five a points per possession. That's like,

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Speaker 1: completely absurd, Guys, he is They were already the best

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Speaker 1: team in the league last year with this, with a

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Speaker 1: lesser version of Jason Tatum. The guy that we had

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Speaker 1: last year was a very versatile defender, very good playmaker,

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Speaker 1: but he was an inconsistent jump shooter and an inconsistent

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Speaker 1: rim finisher. This year, he just seems to have tightened up,

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Speaker 1: specifically that jump shot piece, to such a crazy level.

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Speaker 1: It's unlocked so much more of his playmaking if he

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Speaker 1: rises to the ranks of the super duper stars like

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Speaker 1: the Jokich Luca tier. If he gets up into that tier,

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Speaker 1: we might as well just skip ahead to June when

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Speaker 1: he's got the Finals MVP Trophy in his hands, because

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Speaker 1: I don't know how anybody's gonna beat this team if

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Speaker 1: they don't have an advantage in that best player on

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Speaker 1: the team category, which used to be the one thing

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Speaker 1: that teams would look at. It's like, if we end

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Speaker 1: up in a series with Boston, at least we have

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Speaker 1: Luka don chicch and even that wasn't even enough. But

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Speaker 1: if if Jason Tatum is going to go toe to

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Speaker 1: toe with the best players in the league and be

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Speaker 1: at that level, nobody's beating these guys. Four times out

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Speaker 1: of seven. The Celtics have five different rotation players right

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Speaker 1: now that are shooting at least forty percent from three

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Speaker 1: on at least four attempts per game. They look like

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Speaker 1: a well oiled machine. How could you not be higher

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Speaker 1: on them even than what we thought going into the season,

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Speaker 1: stock falling the Celtics competition out in the Eastern Conference.

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Speaker 1: The Knicks, they had a nice bounce back win against

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Speaker 1: the Pacers or another team that's off to a rough start.

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Speaker 1: We'll be talking about them later on in the show.

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Speaker 1: They had four starters score twenty plus points, got one

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Speaker 1: point three to six points per jump shot in that game,

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Speaker 1: so a nice little bounce back game. They defended super well.

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Speaker 1: They gave Tyres haliburt in a nightmare game, but as

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Speaker 1: we saw on opening night, they're just miles away from

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Speaker 1: Boston right now. The Sixers, they got a big win

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Speaker 1: in Indy. Kind of a weird game. The Indy had

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Speaker 1: a late lead, they kind of combusted down the stretch.

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Speaker 1: Tyres Alliburton somehow ends up syncing like a double pump

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Speaker 1: three to send it to OT. But then the Sixers

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Speaker 1: end up winning in OT. But they also in that game.

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Speaker 1: One last shout out. Andre Drummond had a couple of

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Speaker 1: huge defensive plays at the end of regulation where he

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Speaker 1: was coming up to the level of the screen and

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Speaker 1: just being active with his hands on the ball handler.

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Speaker 1: I think he got a strip on Nemhard and then

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Speaker 1: another strip on Tyres Halliburton, two huge stops at the

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Speaker 1: end of the game that gave him a really good

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Speaker 1: chance to win. But they're one and two, and Paul

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Speaker 1: George and Joel Embiid are still not healthy and not

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Speaker 1: on the floor together, so it's hard not to be

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Speaker 1: at least a little bit discouraged by that. And then

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Speaker 1: the Bucks they follow up their impressive win against Philly

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Speaker 1: to start the season with two really ugly losses at

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Speaker 1: home to the Chicago Bulls and then on the road

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Speaker 1: in Brooklyn. Same issue in both games, a lot of

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Speaker 1: limited defensive personnel on the floor in these lineups, like

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Speaker 1: the starting lineup has been okay. They played one hundred

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Speaker 1: and fifteen possessions, they have won sixteen off rating, they

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Speaker 1: have a one eleven defensive rating that's plus five net.

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Speaker 1: That's fine. Obviously, you want it to be better. You

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Speaker 1: want Damon Giannis led units to just wax everybody that

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Speaker 1: needs to be like and they did last year. Damon

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Speaker 1: Giannis led units were i want to say, over ten

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Speaker 1: over plus ten in net ratings. So they were good

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Speaker 1: last year. But they're not playing too well to start

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Speaker 1: the year, but it's the bench units that have been rough.

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Speaker 1: Anything with Bobby Portos on the floor has been really

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Speaker 1: difficult to deal with. Defensively, he's just lost all over

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Speaker 1: the place. Last night in the Brooklyn game, they just

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Speaker 1: completely got annihilated in that early stretch of the fourth quarter,

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Speaker 1: and Pat Connoton was the guy they were going at

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Speaker 1: every time. Dennis Schroeder and Cam Thomas were just going

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Speaker 1: at Pat every single time. He had this really ugly

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Speaker 1: play where he there's a defensive rebound. There was right

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Speaker 1: in his face like he should have grabbed it, and

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Speaker 1: somehow he didn't grab it and then committed a flagrant

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Speaker 1: foul on Dennis Schroeder. So it went from should have

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Speaker 1: been Bucks ball to now the Bucks are shooting or

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Speaker 1: now the Nets are shooting two free throws and they

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Speaker 1: get the ball back. He just had an absolute disaster

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Speaker 1: to shift to start the fourth quarter. All of those

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Speaker 1: bench units, they're just incredibly slow. They're not getting enough

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Speaker 1: production out of them, and then when the starters came

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Speaker 1: back and they just have these effort issues. Like one

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Speaker 1: of the first possessions after Dame checks back in the

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Speaker 1: game in the fourth quarter, he gives up a tip

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Speaker 1: dunk in the left corner because he's not boxing out

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Speaker 1: and the man just runs right by him and gets

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Speaker 1: a tip dunk. It just it just seems like there's

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Speaker 1: that same funk that kind of sat over this team

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Speaker 1: last year where they just seemed like they could lose

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Speaker 1: on any given night to any given team, is still there,

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Speaker 1: and you know, you know how it goes like that,

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Speaker 1: then they'll turn around and beat the shit out of

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Speaker 1: a good team two nights later. But it's just it's

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Speaker 1: kind of a just a bizarre vibe that kind of

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Speaker 1: centers around that team. And to me, it really comes

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Speaker 1: down to the athleticism piece. And we were hoping that

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Speaker 1: Gary Trent and Delon Wright would kind of help address

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Speaker 1: this a little bit. But when you're slow and you're old,

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Speaker 1: the league is super athletic now and with these younger teams,

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Speaker 1: like if you bring poor effort, if you play lineups

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Speaker 1: and have a bunch of slow footed guys, like you're

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Speaker 1: just gonna get killed. And so it like, as we

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Speaker 1: look look back and we look at how Philly looks

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Speaker 1: right now, we look at how Milwaukee looks right now,

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Speaker 1: we look at how the Knicks look right now, we

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Speaker 1: look at how the Pacers look right now, it's hard

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Speaker 1: not to feel extremely confident if you're in that Boston

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Speaker 1: and Celtics locker room, or if you're a Boston Celtics fan,

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Speaker 1: that they're not going to get back to the finals,

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Speaker 1: because just everybody else is stumbling out of the gate,

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Speaker 1: and the Celtics are whooping everybody's ass. And they ended

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Speaker 1: up in one close game and they just turned into

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Speaker 1: an unbeatable half court machine in the final few minutes

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Speaker 1: of the game, and they got out of there with

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Speaker 1: the wins. So definitely stock falling for the Eastern Conference

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Speaker 1: competition for the Boston Celtics, stock rising the Los Angeles Lakers.

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Speaker 1: The Western Conference gave them a brutal schedule to start

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Speaker 1: the year. They played the Minnesota Timberwolves and then the

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Speaker 1: Suns and the Kings back to back. They ended up

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Speaker 1: going three to zero. Once again on the strength of

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Speaker 1: their offense, which is something I talked about coming into

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Speaker 1: the season. That was what made them so good at

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Speaker 1: the tail end of the year last year. Remember, from

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Speaker 1: basically their last forty six games of the season, they

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Speaker 1: were the third best offense in all of basketball. They

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Speaker 1: had a one twenty offensive rating through that first three

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Speaker 1: games of the season. That's in the league, again, obviously

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Speaker 1: small sample. One to six offensive rating in the half

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Speaker 1: court according to Cleaning and Glass, that's also an awesome number.

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Speaker 1: That was fourth in the NBA. Ironically, though, with all

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Speaker 1: the talk about them shooting more threes and everything I

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Speaker 1: talked about in preseason and everything about JJ Redick, here

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Speaker 1: they're in real games and they've kind of stylistically just

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Speaker 1: landed on the same type of offensive approach as last year,

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Speaker 1: which is like everything's in the paint and then taking

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Speaker 1: wide open threes out of it. They're twenty eighth in

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Speaker 1: three point attempts per one hundred possessions, so they're not

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Speaker 1: generating a ton of threes. Yet they're still a top

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Speaker 1: five offense, which again is what I talk about all

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Speaker 1: the time. It doesn't matter if you shoot threes, it's

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Speaker 1: just who can get the most high quality shots. The

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Speaker 1: Lakers don't shoot a ton of threes, but they're scoring

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Speaker 1: a lot because they're number one in points in the

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Speaker 1: paint per one hundred possessions with the five point lead

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Speaker 1: over the second place team. The Lakers butcher teams in

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Speaker 1: the paint that is where they drive the majority of

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Speaker 1: their offensive success. So that's what's kind of funny, is

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Speaker 1: like they went from Oh, we're gonna shoot more threes,

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Speaker 1: blah blah blah, and now they're just playing the same

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Speaker 1: way they did last year. Now there are a couple

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Speaker 1: of major changes to the way that they are actually

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Speaker 1: going about that paint to great attack on offense. One,

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Speaker 1: they have switched some of their lineup configurations. So in

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Speaker 1: the past, they used to pair Austin with Lebron and

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Speaker 1: d Lo with AD because Delo is a better playmaker

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Speaker 1: and when Lebron's off the floor, you need playmaking, right

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Speaker 1: and the Austin Lebron two man game has been really good,

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Speaker 1: so there's been that was kind of the driving force

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Speaker 1: behind that configuration in the past. This year they flipped it.

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Speaker 1: Now Austin's running with AD and Delo's running with Lebron.

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Speaker 1: It feels counterintuitive for the short term, right because Delo

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Speaker 1: is legitimately someone that in the large sample last year

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Speaker 1: just looked like a better fit with AD. But I

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Speaker 1: like the idea of investing in the Austin AD pairing

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Speaker 1: because I do think that we are going to finally

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Speaker 1: get that d' angelo Russell trade this year. So the

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Speaker 1: future of this team is Austin and AD units with

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Speaker 1: Lebron off the floor, those units needing to float themselves.

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Speaker 1: They're about minus two per Lebron off AD on lineups

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Speaker 1: right now are minus two per one hundred possessions in

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Speaker 1: the early going, which is not bad. They're floating around

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Speaker 1: even that's okay. Again, this team has always had big

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Speaker 1: splits with Lebron on and off the floor, so they

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Speaker 1: can hover around even with Lebron off. I think that's

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Speaker 1: a win. But that's the main difference in the way

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Speaker 1: that they're pairing the lineups. The other big change is

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Speaker 1: how often they're playing through AD. He's got a thirty

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Speaker 1: percent usage right that's the highest he's had since he's

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Speaker 1: come to the Lakers. He's shooting nineteen field goal attempts

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Speaker 1: per late per game, that's the highest since he's come

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Speaker 1: to the Lakers. So a lot more usage for Anthony Davis.

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Speaker 1: And he's been on an absolute tear. Like if you're

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Speaker 1: if you're asking, like, who are the standout players in

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Speaker 1: the league. The guys that have just been absolutely shredding

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Speaker 1: everybody to start the season. In the small sample, it's

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Speaker 1: Jason Tatum and Anthony Davis. Those are the two guys

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Speaker 1: that have been kicking everybody's ass to start this particular

346
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Speaker 1: ironically number six and number seven on my player rankings

347
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Speaker 1: come into the season that have been the most impressive.

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Speaker 1: He had completely dominated the Wolves game. He had thirty

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Speaker 1: six and sixteen, totally took that game over in the

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Speaker 1: second half. He had twenty in the second half against

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Speaker 1: Phoenix two, a lot of late game surges from Anthony Davis.

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Speaker 1: Then he hit the biggest shot of the game against Cremeno,

353
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Speaker 1: picking Pop three over Demonasibonas had another thirty point night

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Speaker 1: in that one. He's been a monster on defense in

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Speaker 1: every single game, playing like the best player in the

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Speaker 1: league right now. Is thirty four points and eleven rebounds

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Speaker 1: per game with four steals and blocks a game on

358
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Speaker 1: sixty seven percent tru shooting. Lebron got off to a

359
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Speaker 1: somewhat slow start as he eased his way into things

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Speaker 1: this season, but then he had that crazy run at

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Speaker 1: the start of the fourth quarter of the Kings game

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Speaker 1: that he had like sixteen points in three minutes as

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Speaker 1: he turned what probably should have been a loss into

364
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Speaker 1: a win. He's at twenty three points, eight rebound, seven

365
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Speaker 1: assists on sixty one percent trough shooting. Austin and Ruey

366
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Speaker 1: have both been excellent. They're getting thirty five points per

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Speaker 1: game out of those two guys, and they're both defending

368
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Speaker 1: well to start the year. But the main reason why

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Speaker 1: my stock is rising slightly with the Lakers is the

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Speaker 1: encouraging stuff from their bench groups. They are dominating the

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Speaker 1: minutes with Anthony Davis on the bench. So far, they

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Speaker 1: are plus fifty in sixty four possessions with AD on

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Speaker 1: the bench. And that was again over the years, when

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Speaker 1: AD is hurt or when AD's out, they've to put

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Speaker 1: together kind of like coherent lineups. Hasn't been the case

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Speaker 1: so far this year, all because of the play of

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Speaker 1: Dalton Connect and Jackson Hayes in terms of guys producing

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Speaker 1: off the bench. As we went into the season, if

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Speaker 1: you guys remember I talked about depth being the main

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Speaker 1: issue for this Laker team. The starters are good, that

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Speaker 1: Austin dil Ruiy lebron a d That lineup's good. They're

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Speaker 1: gonna win a lot of their minutes with that particular unit.

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Speaker 1: Right Gabe Vinson is a solid backup guard. Van Do

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Speaker 1: when he's healthy is a solid backup forward. But beyond

385
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Speaker 1: that and Vandal's got his own health issues, everything's a

386
00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:34,480
Speaker 1: question mark. It's like Max Christie's very young. Is he

387
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Speaker 1: gonna be able to produce? Dalton Connects a rookie, Is

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Speaker 1: he gonna be able to produce? Jackson Hayes is a

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Speaker 1: player with some really big weakness. Is he gonna be

390
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Speaker 1: able to produce? Like who's gonna be able to produce

391
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Speaker 1: from this bench group? And the two guys that have

392
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Speaker 1: really stood out so far as Dalton Connect and Jackson Hayes.

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Speaker 1: Dalton Connect has been great so far. He's brought this

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Speaker 1: like aggressive movement shooting. He's flying off the screens and

395
00:17:52,680 --> 00:17:55,080
Speaker 1: looking to shoot right away. He's making good reads when

396
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Speaker 1: he's coming off the screens. He brings real downhill athleticism

397
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Speaker 1: in transition. Hasn't really stuck out as a bad piece

398
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Speaker 1: on defense yet, although I think he will have some

399
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Speaker 1: ugly moments there in the large sample. And then Jackson

400
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Speaker 1: Hayes's finishing really well on cuts and rolls. He's six

401
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Speaker 1: for seven from the field on cuts and rolls. He

402
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Speaker 1: has five offensive rebounds. He's been active on the glass

403
00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:16,439
Speaker 1: STI fouling at an obsurd right six point one fouls

404
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Speaker 1: for thirty six minutes. That he's been really solid so

405
00:18:18,560 --> 00:18:20,760
Speaker 1: far too, and so they've been able to hold their

406
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Speaker 1: own with ad on the bench. The other big exciting

407
00:18:23,280 --> 00:18:26,520
Speaker 1: thing is the early returns on the JJ Reddick coaching process.

408
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Speaker 1: They look incredibly sharp on both ends of the floor.

409
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Speaker 1: One of the big things that before we get into

410
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Speaker 1: some of the specifics, JJ is actively coaching, and this

411
00:18:34,840 --> 00:18:37,439
Speaker 1: is something that I begged for last year. Darbnham got

412
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Speaker 1: made fun of all the time for having his hands

413
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Speaker 1: in his pockets, to call him hot pockets. They made

414
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Speaker 1: all these jokes about it, but it was less about

415
00:18:42,520 --> 00:18:44,240
Speaker 1: the body language and more about the fact that, like,

416
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Speaker 1: what are you doing to help your team win the game?

417
00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:48,360
Speaker 1: Like the players are out there doing everything they can

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Speaker 1: to win the game. Yes, I get it, you did

419
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Speaker 1: whatever you did before the game in terms of game

420
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Speaker 1: plan and preparation and scouting and all that sort of stuff.

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Speaker 1: Now we're in the game, though, what are you doing

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Speaker 1: to help the team win? On a possession by possession

423
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Speaker 1: during the game. Is super active on the sideline, talking

424
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Speaker 1: to the refs all the time, talking to the players

425
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Speaker 1: all the time, talking about schematic adjustments he can make

426
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Speaker 1: over the course of the game, emphasizing game plan details

427
00:19:11,359 --> 00:19:15,640
Speaker 1: that are not being executed, positively reinforcing game plan details

428
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Speaker 1: that are getting executed. He is active on the sidelines

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Speaker 1: and it's leading to a lot more organization on a

430
00:19:21,960 --> 00:19:25,240
Speaker 1: possession by possession basis. Their offensive organization in general was

431
00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:27,359
Speaker 1: already pretty solid last year, but it's gone up a

432
00:19:27,400 --> 00:19:31,240
Speaker 1: level or getting two or three beautiful after timeout plays

433
00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,360
Speaker 1: every single game, really smart concepts that are getting their

434
00:19:34,359 --> 00:19:37,960
Speaker 1: best players going with an advantage. The defensive organization has

435
00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:40,719
Speaker 1: been really exciting so far. Their game plans have been smart,

436
00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:45,600
Speaker 1: very nicely curated to each specific opponent they're playing. They're

437
00:19:45,600 --> 00:19:47,560
Speaker 1: doing a much better job at chasing teams off the

438
00:19:47,600 --> 00:19:50,240
Speaker 1: three point line than they did last year. They're performing

439
00:19:50,280 --> 00:19:52,240
Speaker 1: well on the margins too. That's a big coaching piece.

440
00:19:52,240 --> 00:19:54,679
Speaker 1: They're rebounding well on both ends. Last year they were

441
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:57,440
Speaker 1: not a good offensive rebounding team. They're forcing more turnovers

442
00:19:57,440 --> 00:19:59,240
Speaker 1: and scoring on them. Last year that just was not

443
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:01,439
Speaker 1: a margin for them. They're taking really good care of

444
00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:04,240
Speaker 1: the basketball now, like they just look like a really

445
00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:06,320
Speaker 1: well coached team. Now does that mean I think that

446
00:20:06,359 --> 00:20:08,760
Speaker 1: they're suddenly a top tier contender. No, of course not.

447
00:20:09,200 --> 00:20:12,280
Speaker 1: They still have their personal limitations. We saw their personal

448
00:20:12,320 --> 00:20:16,280
Speaker 1: limitations in the Sacramento game. They should have lost to Sacramento,

449
00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:18,840
Speaker 1: the same issues that they've always had. When Sacramento came

450
00:20:18,880 --> 00:20:21,480
Speaker 1: up in that second half, Ad really struggles to handle

451
00:20:21,480 --> 00:20:24,160
Speaker 1: Sabonis just because Sibonis is stronger and quicker than him.

452
00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:28,960
Speaker 1: And then two, the guards for Sacramento are so fast,

453
00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:32,800
Speaker 1: and the athleticism for the guardcore for the Lakers is

454
00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,240
Speaker 1: one of the biggest weaknesses on that roster. And so

455
00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,119
Speaker 1: when they turned up pressure, when they turned up the pace,

456
00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:41,520
Speaker 1: when Sabonis started going at Ad, the wheels kind of

457
00:20:41,560 --> 00:20:44,359
Speaker 1: came off and the Lakers really lost control of that game. Well,

458
00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:47,320
Speaker 1: Lebron just stole it. Lebron came in in the fourth

459
00:20:47,400 --> 00:20:50,520
Speaker 1: quarter and led a twenty one to nothing run and

460
00:20:50,560 --> 00:20:54,240
Speaker 1: stole that game. Like, the Lakers still have their personnel limitations.

461
00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:57,320
Speaker 1: The difference is is because they're well coached now, they

462
00:20:57,359 --> 00:20:59,439
Speaker 1: have a little bit more ability to pull out that

463
00:20:59,560 --> 00:21:02,600
Speaker 1: type of That's the hallmark of what makes a team different.

464
00:21:02,640 --> 00:21:05,280
Speaker 1: This team different from last year's team. You have two

465
00:21:05,359 --> 00:21:09,560
Speaker 1: top ten players and you're well coached. That will allow

466
00:21:09,600 --> 00:21:11,560
Speaker 1: you to cover for some of your weaknesses in the

467
00:21:11,680 --> 00:21:14,400
Speaker 1: large sample. It's a big part of why I said

468
00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,200
Speaker 1: before the season, I think this is a fifty win

469
00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:18,760
Speaker 1: team if they stay healthy, if Lebron and ad both

470
00:21:18,760 --> 00:21:21,119
Speaker 1: play at least, you know, sixty five to seventy games,

471
00:21:21,359 --> 00:21:24,000
Speaker 1: because the infrastructure is better now than it used to be.

472
00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:26,760
Speaker 1: But yeah, if they want to win the Western Conference,

473
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:30,600
Speaker 1: they're gonna have to upgrade D'Angelo Russell into a really

474
00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,400
Speaker 1: good athlete that can play both ends of the floor

475
00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,120
Speaker 1: at the two, because when you get into the smaller sample,

476
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:39,840
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, your personnel weaknesses get much harder

477
00:21:39,840 --> 00:21:43,120
Speaker 1: to hide. But heading into a tough five game road trip,

478
00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:45,800
Speaker 1: now they're at Phoenix or at Cleveland, at Toronto, at Detroit,

479
00:21:45,880 --> 00:21:47,800
Speaker 1: at Memphis, we're gonna learn a lot more about this

480
00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,320
Speaker 1: team over the course of that stretch. I think three

481
00:21:50,359 --> 00:21:52,560
Speaker 1: and two would be a huge win for the Lakers.

482
00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,440
Speaker 1: If they got back into LA at six and two,

483
00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:58,439
Speaker 1: I think that that's a really nice start to this season.

484
00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:00,280
Speaker 1: I don't think they're world beaters. I don't think they're

485
00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:02,080
Speaker 1: in that top tier contender tier. I don't think their

486
00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:05,480
Speaker 1: personnel is good enough, but they're sharp, and sharp teams

487
00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:07,840
Speaker 1: can win games in the regular season, and that's what

488
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:10,240
Speaker 1: they've done to start the year. So shout out to

489
00:22:10,320 --> 00:22:22,480
Speaker 1: JJ reddet Stock. Following the Denver Nuggets owing two out

490
00:22:22,520 --> 00:22:25,359
Speaker 1: the gates after a super disappointing loss at Homes to

491
00:22:25,400 --> 00:22:28,840
Speaker 1: the Los Angeles Clippers. Once again, Michael Porter Junior, Jamal Murray,

492
00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,520
Speaker 1: and Aaron Gordon just not providing any offensive pot for

493
00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:34,600
Speaker 1: this team. They are combined twenty eight for seventy nine

494
00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:38,040
Speaker 1: from the field for only eighty points so far this season.

495
00:22:38,240 --> 00:22:41,720
Speaker 1: Jokic looks amazing. He completely dominated the Clippers game when

496
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:43,720
Speaker 1: he was on the floor, and his three point shot

497
00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:46,919
Speaker 1: looks great. So like, if you're looking for silver linings

498
00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:49,240
Speaker 1: as a Denver Nuggets fan, they're two main things that

499
00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:53,080
Speaker 1: I look at. One. Christian Brown looks like a great

500
00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:56,760
Speaker 1: replacement for KCP with the starters you've won. His minutes

501
00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:59,520
Speaker 1: in both games, he's been a positive. He's been super

502
00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:03,680
Speaker 1: active screener and cutter. He's actually producing more points per

503
00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:08,080
Speaker 1: game individually than Michael Porter Junior, which is obviously a

504
00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:10,000
Speaker 1: negative on Michael Porter Junior that he's got to figure

505
00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:11,760
Speaker 1: out I've got to figure out. But the second piece

506
00:23:11,800 --> 00:23:14,040
Speaker 1: of that is that's legitimate production for a guy that

507
00:23:14,080 --> 00:23:16,680
Speaker 1: we all think is a limited offensive player. So far,

508
00:23:16,800 --> 00:23:19,560
Speaker 1: he's been in double figures both games, so like, he's

509
00:23:19,560 --> 00:23:21,760
Speaker 1: been productive. He's been doing his job. He's a more

510
00:23:21,840 --> 00:23:24,639
Speaker 1: versatile defender than KCP. And by the way, KCP is

511
00:23:24,680 --> 00:23:26,360
Speaker 1: off to kind of a rough start in Orlando. Now,

512
00:23:26,359 --> 00:23:28,040
Speaker 1: I think KCP will be fine in the long run.

513
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:29,720
Speaker 1: He's going to hit shots. It's a new team for

514
00:23:29,840 --> 00:23:31,480
Speaker 1: him to a lot of different things. He's got to

515
00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:34,359
Speaker 1: figure out not getting the same types of opportunities. But

516
00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:37,199
Speaker 1: like as of right now, the Christian Brown swap in

517
00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:40,160
Speaker 1: for KCP with the starters has looked like a move

518
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:44,560
Speaker 1: that was somewhat savvy by the front office. The second

519
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:48,520
Speaker 1: big like kind of upside. The second big silver lining

520
00:23:48,560 --> 00:23:51,480
Speaker 1: if you're a Nuggets fan is Jokic's jump shot looks great.

521
00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:53,920
Speaker 1: He had seven threes against the Clippers. He's eight for

522
00:23:54,040 --> 00:23:57,080
Speaker 1: fifteen from three on the season. As I've talked about

523
00:23:57,119 --> 00:23:58,920
Speaker 1: so much, that's such an important part of his game.

524
00:23:59,200 --> 00:24:01,919
Speaker 1: The pick and pop is a great way for Jokic

525
00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:04,640
Speaker 1: to generate offense without having to work as hard as

526
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:06,920
Speaker 1: he does when he worked closer to the basket, not

527
00:24:06,960 --> 00:24:09,800
Speaker 1: just for shooting threes, but driving closeouts where he can

528
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:13,200
Speaker 1: then weaponize his playmaking ability. It's just an important part

529
00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:15,440
Speaker 1: of what is a ceiling razer for yoks I've said

530
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:19,120
Speaker 1: this before, but Jokic as a mediocre to inconsistent three

531
00:24:19,160 --> 00:24:22,000
Speaker 1: point shooter is the best player in the league. Jokic

532
00:24:22,080 --> 00:24:24,720
Speaker 1: with an elite three point shot is the best player

533
00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,080
Speaker 1: in the league by a mile. That is the big

534
00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:30,679
Speaker 1: differentiator for him. Obviously, only two games, very small sample,

535
00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:33,240
Speaker 1: but that to me is a super encouraging start to

536
00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:38,920
Speaker 1: the season for Nikole Jokic. The the other starters, though,

537
00:24:39,000 --> 00:24:41,920
Speaker 1: those are the two silver linings. Everything else for the

538
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:45,119
Speaker 1: Nuggets has been an absolute tire fire. Obviously, Aaron Gordon,

539
00:24:45,160 --> 00:24:47,520
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray and Michael Porter Jr. Have been bad, but

540
00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:51,000
Speaker 1: that's especially extending into the bench units when they get

541
00:24:51,040 --> 00:24:53,160
Speaker 1: to the stretches of the game when Yokic is off

542
00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,639
Speaker 1: the floor, they are falling apart to a much greater

543
00:24:56,800 --> 00:24:59,120
Speaker 1: extent than they did in years past, and a very

544
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,560
Speaker 1: very on a very very basic level, on a per

545
00:25:02,560 --> 00:25:07,240
Speaker 1: one hundred possessions basis. This season. In years past, they've

546
00:25:07,280 --> 00:25:11,440
Speaker 1: hovered around minus eleven. So when Jokic's off, they lose

547
00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,359
Speaker 1: those minutes by about eleven points per one hundred possessions

548
00:25:14,440 --> 00:25:17,359
Speaker 1: this year so far, again only two games, they're losing

549
00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:21,359
Speaker 1: those minutes by forty three point three points per one

550
00:25:21,400 --> 00:25:24,920
Speaker 1: hundred possessions. That is untenable. And it's because when you're

551
00:25:24,920 --> 00:25:29,880
Speaker 1: staggering starters with bench players, and the starters aren't playing well,

552
00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:31,680
Speaker 1: and the guys that you're bringing it off the bench

553
00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,640
Speaker 1: that you're needing to provide firepower aren't playing well, you're

554
00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:36,800
Speaker 1: not going to get anything out of them. Right, Like

555
00:25:37,040 --> 00:25:40,200
Speaker 1: Julian Strather hit some shots, but Peyton Watson and Julian

556
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:43,880
Speaker 1: Strather combined have scored seventeen points through two games. That's

557
00:25:43,920 --> 00:25:47,800
Speaker 1: not firepower. That's not a contribution. Russell Westbrook. Some of

558
00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:50,080
Speaker 1: this is part of the Russell Westbrook experience, right. Like

559
00:25:50,119 --> 00:25:52,880
Speaker 1: I said before the start of the year, Russell Westbrook

560
00:25:52,880 --> 00:25:56,280
Speaker 1: has a higher ceiling than Reggie Jackson, for sure, but

561
00:25:56,320 --> 00:25:59,679
Speaker 1: he has a much lower floor. The bad RUSS games

562
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,840
Speaker 1: are so damaging. And you got two bad RUSS games

563
00:26:02,880 --> 00:26:05,520
Speaker 1: to start theories, two for eighteen from the field, one

564
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:08,359
Speaker 1: for nine from three a lot of the usual Russ

565
00:26:08,359 --> 00:26:11,040
Speaker 1: mistakes where he's missing box out's bad off ball defense.

566
00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:14,600
Speaker 1: The Nuggets are minus thirty seven in forty minutes of

567
00:26:14,640 --> 00:26:18,440
Speaker 1: game time that Russell Westbrook has played. That's a total disaster. Now,

568
00:26:18,480 --> 00:26:22,520
Speaker 1: to be clear, Russ's ceiling is way higher than Reggie

569
00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:26,000
Speaker 1: Reggie Jackson's. There will be many games this year where

570
00:26:26,080 --> 00:26:28,600
Speaker 1: Russ is awesome and many and there will be a

571
00:26:28,640 --> 00:26:31,040
Speaker 1: few times where you win a game because of Russ,

572
00:26:31,359 --> 00:26:34,160
Speaker 1: So Nuggets fans, it's not all like this, There's going

573
00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:37,200
Speaker 1: to be good times, but this is part of the experience.

574
00:26:37,240 --> 00:26:41,360
Speaker 1: The Russ experiences wild oscillations back and forth between downright

575
00:26:41,440 --> 00:26:45,720
Speaker 1: damaging and impressively good. And that's kind of the experience.

576
00:26:45,760 --> 00:26:48,240
Speaker 1: That's why, like Reggie Jackson, you're not gonna get the highs,

577
00:26:48,600 --> 00:26:51,040
Speaker 1: but the floor is a little bit higher, and like

578
00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:53,960
Speaker 1: that's the thing. Like it just that's the one part

579
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:55,679
Speaker 1: of like making this type of move is it just

580
00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:57,920
Speaker 1: comes with a lot of volatility that comes with it.

581
00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:02,080
Speaker 1: You almost, if you're Michael Malone, you almost hope by

582
00:27:02,080 --> 00:27:03,720
Speaker 1: the end of the year that it turns more into

583
00:27:03,760 --> 00:27:05,600
Speaker 1: like a let's see if Rouss has it tonight thing

584
00:27:05,680 --> 00:27:08,919
Speaker 1: and if Russ comes out and he's sloppy in undisciplined

585
00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:10,840
Speaker 1: and not paying attention, maybe a bail on him for

586
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,920
Speaker 1: that game and give him a longer leash in games

587
00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:15,800
Speaker 1: where he's sharper and he has it going. But like,

588
00:27:16,359 --> 00:27:18,040
Speaker 1: he's been pretty bad to start the year. And as

589
00:27:18,080 --> 00:27:21,040
Speaker 1: a result, there's been twenty four minutes of Nuggets basketball

590
00:27:21,040 --> 00:27:23,320
Speaker 1: with Yokach on the bench and they're minus eighteen. So

591
00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:26,320
Speaker 1: they're just hemorrhaging leads when Yokich is on the bench.

592
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:30,720
Speaker 1: So like the other thing with the backup with the

593
00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:32,800
Speaker 1: bench units is Dario sar It's has just been real,

594
00:27:32,920 --> 00:27:35,760
Speaker 1: like actually really bad on both ends of the floor,

595
00:27:35,880 --> 00:27:38,680
Speaker 1: like getting cooked on defense, not providing anything on offense.

596
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:40,720
Speaker 1: Sarage is a good player. I think he'll be fine

597
00:27:40,760 --> 00:27:42,040
Speaker 1: in the long run, but he's not off to a

598
00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,480
Speaker 1: good start. So here's the deal. Are the Nuggets this bad?

599
00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:48,680
Speaker 1: Obviously not. Michael Porter Junior will play better, Jaal Murray

600
00:27:48,720 --> 00:27:50,639
Speaker 1: will play better. Jamal Murray in particular kind of has

601
00:27:50,680 --> 00:27:53,120
Speaker 1: a habit of coming into the seasons out of shape

602
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,639
Speaker 1: and playing his way into shape. Right, Nicole Yokitch is

603
00:27:55,640 --> 00:27:57,919
Speaker 1: still the best player in the world and Mike Malone

604
00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:01,320
Speaker 1: is a good coach who will patch war together a

605
00:28:01,359 --> 00:28:05,719
Speaker 1: bench that at least isn't completely terrible. Right, they'll find

606
00:28:05,760 --> 00:28:09,760
Speaker 1: a footing, but at this point they don't look even

607
00:28:09,880 --> 00:28:12,560
Speaker 1: close to the favorite to win the conference that I

608
00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:15,399
Speaker 1: said they were before the season started. Now, I never

609
00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:17,119
Speaker 1: thought they were gonna get the one seed or anything.

610
00:28:17,359 --> 00:28:18,840
Speaker 1: I thought they'd be above the play in I thought

611
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,080
Speaker 1: they'd be in that like two, three, four, five range.

612
00:28:21,880 --> 00:28:24,800
Speaker 1: But like I picked them to win the conference, they

613
00:28:24,840 --> 00:28:26,840
Speaker 1: don't look like a team that can win three playoffs

614
00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:29,600
Speaker 1: series at this point, they look far away from that.

615
00:28:29,960 --> 00:28:33,199
Speaker 1: So again, small sample, we'll see, but it's hard not

616
00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:35,560
Speaker 1: to be at least a little bit discouraged with how

617
00:28:35,560 --> 00:28:37,800
Speaker 1: the Nuggets look to this point. Also, Nuggets fans, I'm

618
00:28:37,800 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 1: going on with Adam Mars from DNVR tomorrow on his

619
00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:43,560
Speaker 1: All NBA podcast to talk about the entire league, but

620
00:28:43,560 --> 00:28:45,120
Speaker 1: I'm sure we'll be talking a lot of Nuggets, so

621
00:28:45,160 --> 00:28:46,800
Speaker 1: make sure if you guys follow Adam keep an eye

622
00:28:46,840 --> 00:28:52,240
Speaker 1: out for that particular episode. Stock Rising Evan Mobley is

623
00:28:52,280 --> 00:28:55,640
Speaker 1: averaging eighteen points and nine rebounds here in the early going.

624
00:28:55,680 --> 00:28:58,520
Speaker 1: He's hit three threes and seven attempts doing a lot

625
00:28:58,560 --> 00:29:00,560
Speaker 1: more work on the ball. You u to rate in

626
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:02,680
Speaker 1: the first three years of his career was right around

627
00:29:02,720 --> 00:29:06,040
Speaker 1: twenty percent this year so far, obviously in small sample

628
00:29:06,520 --> 00:29:09,680
Speaker 1: usage rate of twenty five percent, so a substantial increase

629
00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:11,800
Speaker 1: in how much he's involved in the offense. The main

630
00:29:11,800 --> 00:29:15,640
Speaker 1: thing is he's run twelve ball screens so far. That's

631
00:29:15,760 --> 00:29:19,680
Speaker 1: four per game. He ran less than one ball screen

632
00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:22,520
Speaker 1: per game last year, zero point seven ball screens per

633
00:29:22,520 --> 00:29:25,680
Speaker 1: game last year. So they're going to a legitimate change

634
00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:28,400
Speaker 1: in their offensive approach to give Evan Mobley more touches

635
00:29:28,400 --> 00:29:31,200
Speaker 1: with the ball in his hands starting from the perimeter. Now,

636
00:29:31,360 --> 00:29:35,400
Speaker 1: these are inverted ball screens, right. Inverted ball screens function

637
00:29:35,520 --> 00:29:38,800
Speaker 1: in a unique way for two reasons. One, the guy

638
00:29:38,920 --> 00:29:43,880
Speaker 1: guarding mobilely is typically a bigger forward. Bigger forwards typically

639
00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:47,080
Speaker 1: don't spend a lot of time in their career navigating screens,

640
00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:49,640
Speaker 1: and so they are big targets. If you set a

641
00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:52,280
Speaker 1: good screen on him, you can get them caught on them, right,

642
00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:54,960
Speaker 1: That's what causes That's the first half of what makes

643
00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:57,680
Speaker 1: inverted ball screens hard to guard. The second piece of

644
00:29:57,720 --> 00:30:01,520
Speaker 1: it is guards don't spend a lot of time at

645
00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:06,400
Speaker 1: operating as the screen defender. In ball screens, usually it's

646
00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,200
Speaker 1: the inverse, right, they're the guy chasing the guard over

647
00:30:09,200 --> 00:30:12,160
Speaker 1: the top. They're really good at navigating screens, but they

648
00:30:12,560 --> 00:30:15,240
Speaker 1: don't know how to help when their man screens as

649
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:19,719
Speaker 1: well as forwards do. It's inverted ball screen. It's literally

650
00:30:19,760 --> 00:30:24,160
Speaker 1: an inversion of defensive responsibilities. And when you invert defensive responsibilities,

651
00:30:24,200 --> 00:30:25,840
Speaker 1: you start to make people do things that they're not

652
00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:28,000
Speaker 1: comfortable with, and so they're getting a lot of really

653
00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:29,880
Speaker 1: good stuff out of it. They're getting one point per

654
00:30:29,920 --> 00:30:32,840
Speaker 1: possession so far through the twelve attempts, we're seeing a

655
00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:35,760
Speaker 1: couple of different specific dynamics take place. One, the forward

656
00:30:35,800 --> 00:30:38,840
Speaker 1: is typically ducking underneath the pick. So when he ducks

657
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:41,480
Speaker 1: underneath the pick, Evan Mobley can either one take a

658
00:30:41,480 --> 00:30:43,240
Speaker 1: pull up jump shot, which he's been shooting his pull

659
00:30:43,280 --> 00:30:45,240
Speaker 1: up jump shot pretty well to start the year. Or

660
00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:47,880
Speaker 1: two it's a runway if he goes underneath the screen.

661
00:30:48,200 --> 00:30:51,760
Speaker 1: Now there's a gap between Evan and the defender. Went

662
00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:56,080
Speaker 1: underneath the screen, so he can attack get downhill. He's

663
00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:59,280
Speaker 1: got a head of steam before he runs into the defender,

664
00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,200
Speaker 1: which he can then into momentum that he can get

665
00:31:02,200 --> 00:31:04,840
Speaker 1: closer to the basket for an easier shot. The second

666
00:31:04,840 --> 00:31:08,640
Speaker 1: piece of that is when the guard screens for Evan Mobley.

667
00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:12,280
Speaker 1: In many cases the other guard will linger or help.

668
00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:14,959
Speaker 1: In cases like this, Evan Mobley can use it as

669
00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:17,280
Speaker 1: an opportunity to get the defense in rotation. There was

670
00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:20,200
Speaker 1: a layup that Donovan Mitchell got on a inverted ball

671
00:31:20,240 --> 00:31:23,680
Speaker 1: screen where Mitchell went to go screen for him. Evan

672
00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:26,880
Speaker 1: went downhill, Mitchell's man followed him on the hedge, there's

673
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:29,880
Speaker 1: two on the ball, kicked it back to Mitch hard

674
00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:32,480
Speaker 1: close out. Mitch beat him off the dribble, got into

675
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:35,320
Speaker 1: the basket for a layup. That's a really really interesting

676
00:31:35,360 --> 00:31:38,400
Speaker 1: wrinkle to this offense that I'd love to see continue

677
00:31:38,400 --> 00:31:40,680
Speaker 1: to develop over the course of the season. He's still

678
00:31:40,960 --> 00:31:43,400
Speaker 1: struggling a little bit with short range finishing. That's always

679
00:31:43,400 --> 00:31:45,120
Speaker 1: been a weakness of his and his career. He's just

680
00:31:45,160 --> 00:31:48,800
Speaker 1: six for eighteen on floaters, hooks, and layups so far.

681
00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:52,200
Speaker 1: But the jump shooting piece is super encouraging. Remember, guys,

682
00:31:52,600 --> 00:31:55,680
Speaker 1: Evan Mobley's development is the number one swing factor in

683
00:31:55,880 --> 00:31:59,760
Speaker 1: everything Cleveland is trying to accomplish in this era. He

684
00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:02,520
Speaker 1: comes an All Star level player, we're looking at a

685
00:32:02,520 --> 00:32:05,400
Speaker 1: contender in the last few years. If he doesn't, this

686
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:07,800
Speaker 1: team isn't going anywhere. So it's hard not to be

687
00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:09,960
Speaker 1: at least a little encouraged by the growth that we're

688
00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:13,000
Speaker 1: finally starting to see out of Evan Mobley stock falling.

689
00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:18,160
Speaker 1: Tyrese Haliburt twelve points per game in less than four

690
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:22,000
Speaker 1: assists per game on thirty nine percent true shooting to

691
00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:24,520
Speaker 1: start the year, had a zero point night against the

692
00:32:24,560 --> 00:32:27,080
Speaker 1: New York Mix the other day. He's really struggling to

693
00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:29,760
Speaker 1: put the ball in the basket himself on the ball,

694
00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:32,160
Speaker 1: and that is the issue because it is the give

695
00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,080
Speaker 1: and take of every playmaker, right. You have to demonstrate

696
00:32:35,120 --> 00:32:37,960
Speaker 1: your threat to score to warp the defense. If you

697
00:32:37,960 --> 00:32:41,240
Speaker 1: warp the defense, that unlocks your playmaking. And when one

698
00:32:41,280 --> 00:32:43,720
Speaker 1: of those elements is failing you, it's just like for

699
00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:46,520
Speaker 1: really good scorers that don't see the floor well. If

700
00:32:46,520 --> 00:32:49,440
Speaker 1: you don't pass the ball well enough to loosen up

701
00:32:49,440 --> 00:32:51,360
Speaker 1: the defense on you, you're not going to get the

702
00:32:51,360 --> 00:32:54,520
Speaker 1: opportunities in single coverage. You need to actually score the basketball.

703
00:32:54,520 --> 00:32:57,080
Speaker 1: It's a give and take, right. He's shooting just five

704
00:32:57,120 --> 00:33:00,760
Speaker 1: for nineteen as the ball handler pick and roll when

705
00:33:00,760 --> 00:33:03,640
Speaker 1: he takes shots just five for nineteen, he's just seven

706
00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,720
Speaker 1: for thirty on jump shots, he's just five for twenty

707
00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:09,000
Speaker 1: one on off the dribble jump shots, and he has

708
00:33:09,160 --> 00:33:12,719
Speaker 1: six total made shots at the rim in three games.

709
00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:15,239
Speaker 1: And so this is then turning into a trickle down

710
00:33:15,280 --> 00:33:17,479
Speaker 1: effect towards starting to effect his playmaking, which has been

711
00:33:17,520 --> 00:33:20,160
Speaker 1: non existent to start the year. And the worst part

712
00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:22,120
Speaker 1: about it is he's starting to look a little bit

713
00:33:22,160 --> 00:33:24,880
Speaker 1: like he has the yips. He's had some bad body language.

714
00:33:24,880 --> 00:33:26,520
Speaker 1: The end of that Sixers game, there were these like

715
00:33:26,520 --> 00:33:28,360
Speaker 1: close up shots of his face after he'd make a

716
00:33:28,400 --> 00:33:31,080
Speaker 1: mistake where he looks kind of like flabbergasted, like he's

717
00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:32,960
Speaker 1: just kind of in a weird spot. He had this

718
00:33:33,040 --> 00:33:34,760
Speaker 1: really weird play at the end of regulation where he

719
00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:36,320
Speaker 1: was coming off of a ball screen on the right

720
00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:39,040
Speaker 1: wing and Andre Drummond was up at the level and

721
00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:41,040
Speaker 1: right in his face and he just like wasn't paying

722
00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:44,080
Speaker 1: attention and exposed the ball out and Drummond just knocked

723
00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:46,080
Speaker 1: it out of his hands. Critical turnover at the end

724
00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:48,480
Speaker 1: of the game. He just now he's salvage and he

725
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:50,959
Speaker 1: ended up phitting this crazy like double pump, like prayer

726
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:53,040
Speaker 1: three point shot to send the game to OT, but

727
00:33:53,080 --> 00:33:55,280
Speaker 1: they ended up losing a ot anyway. And like he's

728
00:33:55,400 --> 00:33:57,479
Speaker 1: just the engine that makes this whole thing go, and

729
00:33:57,600 --> 00:33:59,920
Speaker 1: like he's had moments, he had some good playoff games.

730
00:34:00,040 --> 00:34:01,320
Speaker 1: Sure he had some good stretches at the end of

731
00:34:01,400 --> 00:34:03,440
Speaker 1: last year, but he just hasn't been able to like

732
00:34:04,080 --> 00:34:06,520
Speaker 1: really reach the level he was at before he heard

733
00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:08,560
Speaker 1: his hamstring. And that's concerning because the guy before he

734
00:34:08,560 --> 00:34:10,680
Speaker 1: heard his hamstring looked like a guy who was on

735
00:34:10,680 --> 00:34:14,160
Speaker 1: a like legit star trajectory, like superstar trajectory. That's how

736
00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:17,200
Speaker 1: good I was, averaging what fourteen assists per games, fifty

737
00:34:17,200 --> 00:34:19,640
Speaker 1: to forty ninety guy leading one of the best offenses

738
00:34:19,640 --> 00:34:22,400
Speaker 1: in the league. He looked like like a like a

739
00:34:22,480 --> 00:34:25,720
Speaker 1: transcendently great player in the making, and then he pulls

740
00:34:25,760 --> 00:34:27,879
Speaker 1: his hammy and he's been something less than that ever since.

741
00:34:27,920 --> 00:34:30,440
Speaker 1: And again, it's small sample size to start the season,

742
00:34:30,680 --> 00:34:32,839
Speaker 1: but it's hard not to be once again at least

743
00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:36,400
Speaker 1: a little bit discouraged about how he looks stock rising

744
00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,080
Speaker 1: the Golden State Warriors, but Jason, they just lost to

745
00:34:39,120 --> 00:34:41,880
Speaker 1: the Clippers. Steph got hurt, Andrew Wiggins and the Anthony

746
00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:44,400
Speaker 1: Melder both having back issues. How could you be higher

747
00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:46,960
Speaker 1: on them than you were to start the season? Well

748
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:49,080
Speaker 1: for starters. The MRI's back on Steph and it appears

749
00:34:49,080 --> 00:34:51,239
Speaker 1: to be super mild. It looks like he's going to

750
00:34:51,280 --> 00:34:53,920
Speaker 1: be reevaluated on Friday, so I doubt they lose him

751
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,000
Speaker 1: for more than a week or so. Right, So not

752
00:34:56,080 --> 00:34:58,839
Speaker 1: too worried about Steph. The injuries to d Anthony Melton

753
00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:01,200
Speaker 1: and Andrew Wiggins both appeared to be somewhat mild as well,

754
00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:03,759
Speaker 1: so I'm not super concerned there. But the main thing

755
00:35:03,880 --> 00:35:07,839
Speaker 1: is the depth has bared out in a way that

756
00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,399
Speaker 1: shows the Warriors have a much higher floor than all

757
00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:15,440
Speaker 1: of us anticipated going into the season, which makes them

758
00:35:15,680 --> 00:35:20,120
Speaker 1: more well positioned to be aggressive than they were last year.

759
00:35:20,360 --> 00:35:22,879
Speaker 1: The additions that they made this offseason have given them

760
00:35:22,920 --> 00:35:26,839
Speaker 1: a deep rotation of solid basketball players, a ton of

761
00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:29,720
Speaker 1: speed on the perimeter that can cover ground and guard,

762
00:35:30,200 --> 00:35:33,040
Speaker 1: and then two lots of guys who can actually do

763
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:36,120
Speaker 1: a decent job of generating offense within the Warrior system.

764
00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:39,759
Speaker 1: Beyond death right, we talked about Buddy Heald a lot.

765
00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:42,080
Speaker 1: He's been an absolute shoe and fit. He had a

766
00:35:42,160 --> 00:35:44,319
Speaker 1: really nice first half against Clippers. Struggled a little bit

767
00:35:44,360 --> 00:35:47,400
Speaker 1: in the in the second half, but like Buddy Hild's

768
00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:49,080
Speaker 1: had a pretty good start to really good start to

769
00:35:49,120 --> 00:35:51,520
Speaker 1: the season. The Anthony Melton can run action and run

770
00:35:51,560 --> 00:35:54,560
Speaker 1: it well. Brandon Pizemski can run action and run it well. Obviously,

771
00:35:54,600 --> 00:35:56,680
Speaker 1: Jonathanminga brings a little bit of that firepower. There's a

772
00:35:56,719 --> 00:36:00,359
Speaker 1: lot of guys that can run offense for this team

773
00:36:00,760 --> 00:36:05,240
Speaker 1: and generate quality shots. That, combined with their enormous amount

774
00:36:05,239 --> 00:36:08,400
Speaker 1: of perimeter speed and just overall depth of athletic talent,

775
00:36:08,719 --> 00:36:12,040
Speaker 1: has given them a really high floor. I mean, guys,

776
00:36:12,120 --> 00:36:15,359
Speaker 1: they beat the shit out of Portland in Utah. They

777
00:36:15,440 --> 00:36:18,600
Speaker 1: beat Portland in Utah so bad that even after last

778
00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:21,920
Speaker 1: night's loss, they have the best net rating in basketball

779
00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:26,560
Speaker 1: right now. That's how high their floor is. That's going

780
00:36:26,600 --> 00:36:29,440
Speaker 1: to help them win a lot of regular season games.

781
00:36:29,920 --> 00:36:33,160
Speaker 1: They're going to have a very high win percentage against

782
00:36:33,160 --> 00:36:36,440
Speaker 1: the bad and mediocre teams in the league compared to

783
00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:38,920
Speaker 1: the rest of their peers, especially in the Western Conference.

784
00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:43,200
Speaker 1: That will help them stay afloat in the standings. Now,

785
00:36:43,400 --> 00:36:47,480
Speaker 1: they still have their top end talent limitations. Steph has

786
00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:49,520
Speaker 1: been okay to start the year, but he hasn't produced

787
00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:51,160
Speaker 1: like a superstar yet, Like he hasn't had a game

788
00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:53,960
Speaker 1: with over twenty points in a single game yet. But

789
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:56,280
Speaker 1: although I thought he looked fine, Like I was watching

790
00:36:56,280 --> 00:36:58,680
Speaker 1: the Clippers game this morning, in that middle portion of

791
00:36:58,680 --> 00:37:01,960
Speaker 1: the Clippers game floory where he with a clip when

792
00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,000
Speaker 1: the Clippers took their first double digit lead, we went

793
00:37:04,040 --> 00:37:05,680
Speaker 1: on a floory where he kind of erased it where

794
00:37:05,680 --> 00:37:08,359
Speaker 1: it's like, oh, yeah, like Steph is still that guy,

795
00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:10,200
Speaker 1: you know what I mean, Like it's in there. But

796
00:37:10,239 --> 00:37:12,560
Speaker 1: then he got hurt obviously in that kind of disrupted

797
00:37:13,600 --> 00:37:17,719
Speaker 1: that momentum from really lasting. But beyond Steph is the issue.

798
00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:21,800
Speaker 1: Beyond Steph, they have no star level firepower. Other teams

799
00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:23,400
Speaker 1: in the West just have more. Let's just look at

800
00:37:23,440 --> 00:37:25,880
Speaker 1: a real basic level, who are the second and third

801
00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:29,160
Speaker 1: options on these Western Conference teams? For the Lakers, it's

802
00:37:29,239 --> 00:37:31,840
Speaker 1: Austin Reeves and Lebron James, pretty damn good second and

803
00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:34,640
Speaker 1: third options. For the Suns, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal

804
00:37:34,760 --> 00:37:36,840
Speaker 1: pretty damn good second and third options. For the Nuggets,

805
00:37:36,920 --> 00:37:39,520
Speaker 1: Jamal Murray, Michael Porter Jr. They're not even playing well

806
00:37:39,600 --> 00:37:41,839
Speaker 1: right now, but those are pretty solid second and third

807
00:37:41,840 --> 00:37:45,200
Speaker 1: options right Oklahoma City Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren, Memphis

808
00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:49,760
Speaker 1: Desmond Bain, Jared Jackson, Junior Minnesota Julius Randall and Mike Conley,

809
00:37:49,800 --> 00:37:52,680
Speaker 1: the MAVs, Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson, The Kings, Demarta

810
00:37:52,719 --> 00:37:55,279
Speaker 1: rosen In the Leak Monk, the Pelicans, de Jonte Murray

811
00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:58,040
Speaker 1: and Andrew Wiggins. For the Warriors, it's Buddy Healed and

812
00:37:58,040 --> 00:38:02,480
Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins. Like it's not even close in terms of

813
00:38:02,560 --> 00:38:06,200
Speaker 1: firepower off the top star compared to the rest of

814
00:38:06,239 --> 00:38:09,120
Speaker 1: the teams in the West. So that's what's exciting, is like,

815
00:38:09,680 --> 00:38:11,279
Speaker 1: you've got a ton of depth. You've got like what

816
00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:14,520
Speaker 1: twelve thirteen guys that are legitimate NBA rotation players. You've

817
00:38:14,520 --> 00:38:17,160
Speaker 1: got a perfect dude at the top, and you're really

818
00:38:17,160 --> 00:38:19,560
Speaker 1: good at defense, and you're really well coached, and you

819
00:38:19,680 --> 00:38:22,800
Speaker 1: just have a super high floor. What that means is

820
00:38:22,880 --> 00:38:25,080
Speaker 1: you're gonna stay aflow in the standings. If you stay

821
00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:28,480
Speaker 1: afloat in the standings, and you've got that kind of depth,

822
00:38:29,280 --> 00:38:30,759
Speaker 1: because most teams are gonna want to go down to

823
00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:32,360
Speaker 1: an eight or nine man rotation by the time they

824
00:38:32,360 --> 00:38:35,200
Speaker 1: get to the playoffs anyway, right, you can you can

825
00:38:35,280 --> 00:38:38,160
Speaker 1: afford to make a consolidation trade. Now, the Warriors have

826
00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:40,560
Speaker 1: two major weaknesses in my opinion, in terms of personnel.

827
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:43,560
Speaker 1: One that secondary shot creator. You got to have somebody

828
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:46,960
Speaker 1: on this team that is a reliable, dependably good offensive

829
00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:50,600
Speaker 1: player next to Steph like every night twenty something points.

830
00:38:51,040 --> 00:38:54,520
Speaker 1: Like you gotta have somebody like that on the roster.

831
00:38:54,680 --> 00:38:57,080
Speaker 1: That's the main target they've got to figure out. The

832
00:38:57,080 --> 00:39:00,239
Speaker 1: second piece is they're a little bit matchup depend with

833
00:39:00,280 --> 00:39:03,520
Speaker 1: their front court. Zubos really did a number on them

834
00:39:03,560 --> 00:39:05,520
Speaker 1: last night because he's huge. I think he had like

835
00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:08,600
Speaker 1: twenty three points and eighteen rebounds. Anthony Davis has always

836
00:39:08,600 --> 00:39:11,680
Speaker 1: given their frontline issues. You'll get like all these big

837
00:39:11,719 --> 00:39:14,000
Speaker 1: front lines have a tendency to give the Warriors some

838
00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:16,439
Speaker 1: issues because they're a little undersized. So they could really

839
00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:20,040
Speaker 1: use another backup center who's big, like a legitimately big

840
00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:22,600
Speaker 1: and strong backup center, and they could really use a

841
00:39:22,920 --> 00:39:27,200
Speaker 1: legitimate secondary shot creator. Well last year, it just that

842
00:39:27,360 --> 00:39:30,200
Speaker 1: they weren't good enough in the regular season to actually

843
00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:33,439
Speaker 1: justify that level of aggression. If they continue to stay

844
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:36,239
Speaker 1: afloat in the regular season with this machine that they've

845
00:39:36,280 --> 00:39:38,880
Speaker 1: got run in And this is where like in the

846
00:39:38,920 --> 00:39:41,480
Speaker 1: depth piece, what brings in the depth is you bring

847
00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:46,040
Speaker 1: in three really good rotation players at discounts this summer. Yeah,

848
00:39:46,080 --> 00:39:48,680
Speaker 1: you lose Klay Thompson, but you bring in to Anthony Melton,

849
00:39:48,719 --> 00:39:50,840
Speaker 1: you bring in Buddy Held, you bring in Kyle Anderson.

850
00:39:51,040 --> 00:39:53,680
Speaker 1: You've got the depth to be able to take a

851
00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:57,640
Speaker 1: few players and package them for somebody else and not

852
00:39:57,680 --> 00:40:01,200
Speaker 1: have to worry about nuking your own depth. That is

853
00:40:01,200 --> 00:40:03,279
Speaker 1: what makes me excited about this particular team. They are

854
00:40:03,360 --> 00:40:05,359
Speaker 1: deeper than they were last year. They have a much

855
00:40:05,440 --> 00:40:08,640
Speaker 1: higher floor than they had last year. That will keep

856
00:40:08,680 --> 00:40:10,719
Speaker 1: them afloat in the regular season and gives them more

857
00:40:10,719 --> 00:40:13,080
Speaker 1: flexibility to make some sort of trade. To put it

858
00:40:13,120 --> 00:40:16,360
Speaker 1: really simple, going into the season, I didn't think that

859
00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:20,600
Speaker 1: they were I didn't think that they had a like

860
00:40:20,640 --> 00:40:23,359
Speaker 1: a real championship upside. They did not make my contender list.

861
00:40:23,360 --> 00:40:25,160
Speaker 1: I had eleven teams in the contender list. I had

862
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:29,120
Speaker 1: four top tier contenders and I had seven like if

863
00:40:29,120 --> 00:40:31,200
Speaker 1: things go right contenders. The Warriors were not on that

864
00:40:31,239 --> 00:40:33,400
Speaker 1: list for me. I had them as a play in team.

865
00:40:33,880 --> 00:40:37,799
Speaker 1: Now I actually think that they have a shot if

866
00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:40,840
Speaker 1: they hit on a deal to enter into that puncher's

867
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:44,239
Speaker 1: chance tier, to enter into that top eleven, because they

868
00:40:44,280 --> 00:40:47,320
Speaker 1: have the resources to make a deal, and their floor

869
00:40:47,400 --> 00:40:49,480
Speaker 1: is so high that I don't worry about them as

870
00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:52,520
Speaker 1: a regular season team like I don't. I would have

871
00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:54,520
Speaker 1: thought coming into the season they would have been fighting

872
00:40:54,520 --> 00:40:56,799
Speaker 1: for the nine or ten seed all season. As long

873
00:40:56,840 --> 00:40:59,439
Speaker 1: as Steph doesn't miss too much time, I think there'll

874
00:40:59,480 --> 00:41:01,000
Speaker 1: be I think they'll be in that five to six

875
00:41:01,160 --> 00:41:03,919
Speaker 1: range they like because they just have such a high

876
00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:08,000
Speaker 1: floor with how much depth of talent in their organizational excellence. Again,

877
00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:10,760
Speaker 1: that organizational excellent we're talking about this with the Lakers.

878
00:41:11,160 --> 00:41:15,600
Speaker 1: They win margins. They know how to win basketball games institutionally,

879
00:41:16,520 --> 00:41:19,160
Speaker 1: and that is what creates that margin for them. There's

880
00:41:19,200 --> 00:41:23,280
Speaker 1: personal limitations there. Looney got his butt kicked by Zubach

881
00:41:23,360 --> 00:41:27,239
Speaker 1: last night, right like Kaminga still is super inconsistent up

882
00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:30,279
Speaker 1: and down. There are personnel weaknesses there, but there are

883
00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:33,000
Speaker 1: personal weaknesses that can be addressed, and there's such a

884
00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:35,799
Speaker 1: depth of quality role player talent on there that it

885
00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:38,160
Speaker 1: raises their floor to the point where I think that

886
00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:40,440
Speaker 1: they're a little bit more of a threat. So again,

887
00:41:40,560 --> 00:41:42,680
Speaker 1: as long as they can hit on a deal, I

888
00:41:42,719 --> 00:41:45,160
Speaker 1: think they can enter into that tier with like Memphis

889
00:41:45,200 --> 00:41:46,959
Speaker 1: and the Lakers and the Suns and all those teams

890
00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:48,720
Speaker 1: that are kind of like middle of the pack Western

891
00:41:48,719 --> 00:41:51,160
Speaker 1: Conference teams. That was not something that I thought going

892
00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:55,280
Speaker 1: into the season. Stock falling the Sacramento Kings. I've watched

893
00:41:55,400 --> 00:41:57,319
Speaker 1: both of their games so far, and everything comes down

894
00:41:57,320 --> 00:41:59,960
Speaker 1: to consistency. Third quarter against the Lakers was a thing

895
00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:04,640
Speaker 1: of beauty. Defensively, great ball pressure. They're disrupting LA's offensive

896
00:42:04,640 --> 00:42:06,480
Speaker 1: flow and keeping them out of their sets into late

897
00:42:06,520 --> 00:42:09,520
Speaker 1: in the shot clock, great rotations, no one's open for

898
00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:12,880
Speaker 1: very long, active hands, they're forcing deflections, getting great contests

899
00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:15,480
Speaker 1: on three point shooters. They held the Lakers to eighty

900
00:42:15,520 --> 00:42:19,080
Speaker 1: two point one offensive rating in that third quarter while

901
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:21,760
Speaker 1: getting out in transition, while scoring. They were just cooking

902
00:42:21,840 --> 00:42:23,680
Speaker 1: the Lakers the way that they always have over the

903
00:42:23,719 --> 00:42:26,120
Speaker 1: course of the last few years. Then in the fourth quarter,

904
00:42:26,680 --> 00:42:29,319
Speaker 1: it just is a completely different basketball team. They give

905
00:42:29,400 --> 00:42:32,000
Speaker 1: up a one point fifty seven offensive rating to the Lakers. Now,

906
00:42:32,000 --> 00:42:34,880
Speaker 1: obviously there's there is a Lebron flurry in there, but

907
00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:37,160
Speaker 1: for the entire quarter, they could not get a stop,

908
00:42:37,400 --> 00:42:41,120
Speaker 1: there's no ball pressure. Their back line was super disjointed,

909
00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:43,279
Speaker 1: and Lebron was picking them apart as a passer, just

910
00:42:43,320 --> 00:42:46,760
Speaker 1: like beating every single help with just like a headfake.

911
00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:50,319
Speaker 1: The same exact thing happened in Minnesota too, Like they

912
00:42:50,320 --> 00:42:52,799
Speaker 1: defended well, they take a lead, they let their foot

913
00:42:52,840 --> 00:42:54,560
Speaker 1: off the gas, Minnesota get back into it. They take

914
00:42:54,560 --> 00:42:56,319
Speaker 1: a lead, Minnesota get back into it. They take a lead,

915
00:42:56,320 --> 00:42:57,680
Speaker 1: Minnesota get back into it. Then all of a sudden,

916
00:42:57,680 --> 00:42:59,879
Speaker 1: you're in a crunch time game. Anthony Edwards hits a jumps,

917
00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:02,759
Speaker 1: draws a foul, and you lose, and like that. That's

918
00:43:02,920 --> 00:43:04,920
Speaker 1: that's the thing. It's like, I've never seen a team

919
00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:08,319
Speaker 1: like this, where like when they are good, they look

920
00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:11,080
Speaker 1: so so so good, but then they can look like

921
00:43:11,200 --> 00:43:14,560
Speaker 1: legitimately like basement of the Western Conference bad at other times.

922
00:43:14,640 --> 00:43:16,560
Speaker 1: It's a really bizarre kind of feeling around this team.

923
00:43:16,600 --> 00:43:18,640
Speaker 1: But again only two games. Want to give it some time.

924
00:43:18,680 --> 00:43:20,560
Speaker 1: You're also fitting in a new piece. The only other

925
00:43:20,560 --> 00:43:22,880
Speaker 1: thing that really stood out to me is they're very small,

926
00:43:22,920 --> 00:43:26,520
Speaker 1: Like Julius Randall just had a size mismatch basically regardless

927
00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:28,479
Speaker 1: of who was guarding him in that in that first

928
00:43:28,480 --> 00:43:31,440
Speaker 1: game of the season. That is a legitimate personnel weakness.

929
00:43:31,480 --> 00:43:34,520
Speaker 1: They are very very small on the perimeter compared to

930
00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:38,920
Speaker 1: their peers in the conference. Stock rising the Orlando Magic

931
00:43:39,760 --> 00:43:43,080
Speaker 1: your top five jump shooting team of the early part

932
00:43:43,120 --> 00:43:45,280
Speaker 1: of the season. Orlando Magic once again very small sample

933
00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:47,960
Speaker 1: size one point one points per jump shot so far.

934
00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:50,520
Speaker 1: That's fifth in the NBA. Remember they were below one

935
00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:53,080
Speaker 1: point per attempt last year, ranked twenty fourth in the NBA.

936
00:43:53,160 --> 00:43:56,760
Speaker 1: Palo and Franz are shooting a combined sixteen for thirty

937
00:43:56,760 --> 00:43:59,520
Speaker 1: six from three. Franz is like lighting up the nets.

938
00:43:59,560 --> 00:44:02,399
Speaker 1: He's at ten threes already. Remember how poorly shot last year.

939
00:44:02,440 --> 00:44:04,200
Speaker 1: That was such a huge important thing for him to

940
00:44:04,239 --> 00:44:06,879
Speaker 1: work on this summer. Jalen Suggs is shooting great. Gary

941
00:44:06,920 --> 00:44:09,240
Speaker 1: Harris is shooting great and all this is before Kntavio's

942
00:44:09,239 --> 00:44:11,120
Speaker 1: called what Pope has really even found his groove. Yet.

943
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:12,759
Speaker 1: The defense looks great too. They did a number to

944
00:44:12,840 --> 00:44:15,640
Speaker 1: Jimmy Butler on opening night. They're fifth and defense and

945
00:44:15,680 --> 00:44:18,040
Speaker 1: sixth and rebounding so far. They just ran into a

946
00:44:18,040 --> 00:44:20,640
Speaker 1: buzz saw on Memphis the Jay Huff game. Jay Huff

947
00:44:20,640 --> 00:44:22,920
Speaker 1: played so well in that game. He got a new

948
00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:24,719
Speaker 1: deal out of it the very next day. So, like,

949
00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:26,600
Speaker 1: by the way, that's something that's gonna happen a lot

950
00:44:26,640 --> 00:44:28,399
Speaker 1: in the NBA this year because there's so many good teams.

951
00:44:28,440 --> 00:44:31,400
Speaker 1: Like there's twenty good teams right, Like, there's roughly thirteen

952
00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:33,359
Speaker 1: of them out West and there's roughly seven of them

953
00:44:33,360 --> 00:44:36,120
Speaker 1: out East, and like anytime they run into each other,

954
00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:38,200
Speaker 1: the home team is gonna have a legitimate chance to win,

955
00:44:38,239 --> 00:44:40,919
Speaker 1: even if they have a talent deficiency. Memphis is really

956
00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:44,120
Speaker 1: really damn good, and Memphis is Memphis might even be

957
00:44:44,160 --> 00:44:46,879
Speaker 1: more talented than Orlando. They've got some really good shot

958
00:44:46,880 --> 00:44:49,880
Speaker 1: creators off the top. That's just the NBA this year.

959
00:44:49,920 --> 00:44:52,440
Speaker 1: We're gonna see a lot of teams go on the

960
00:44:52,480 --> 00:44:55,080
Speaker 1: road and lose games to media. Well, we think our

961
00:44:55,120 --> 00:44:57,680
Speaker 1: mediocre team is because the middle tier in the NBA

962
00:44:57,800 --> 00:45:00,360
Speaker 1: is so so good this year. One more quick and

963
00:45:00,360 --> 00:45:04,440
Speaker 1: then we're done. Stock rising the Dallas Mavericks. Yes they

964
00:45:04,480 --> 00:45:06,440
Speaker 1: lost to the Suns. Guess what. It's gonna be hard

965
00:45:06,440 --> 00:45:08,680
Speaker 1: to win in Phoenix. I think the Lakers are a

966
00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:12,200
Speaker 1: better basketball team than Phoenix. I think the Phoenix should

967
00:45:12,200 --> 00:45:14,960
Speaker 1: be favored tonight. I wouldn't be the least bit surprised

968
00:45:15,360 --> 00:45:17,440
Speaker 1: if Phoenix beat the Lakers tonight for the exact same

969
00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:19,719
Speaker 1: reason I was just talking about with the magic in Memphis, Like,

970
00:45:20,160 --> 00:45:22,200
Speaker 1: it is hard in the NBA to win on the road.

971
00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:25,239
Speaker 1: So Jason, they lose to the Spurs, or they beat

972
00:45:25,239 --> 00:45:27,359
Speaker 1: the Spurs and they lose to the Phoenix Suns. Why

973
00:45:27,400 --> 00:45:30,759
Speaker 1: are you so optimistic about Dallas. It's the style of

974
00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:34,520
Speaker 1: offense that has me excited, and they're still adopting it,

975
00:45:34,560 --> 00:45:36,600
Speaker 1: like this is gonna take time. They haven't even statistically

976
00:45:36,600 --> 00:45:39,319
Speaker 1: produced offensively yet the way they're capable of. Same thing

977
00:45:39,360 --> 00:45:41,879
Speaker 1: happened to the Lakers last year. Lakers, remember two years

978
00:45:41,880 --> 00:45:44,280
Speaker 1: ago they were a four out one in brute force offense,

979
00:45:44,400 --> 00:45:46,960
Speaker 1: very similar to what the MAVs were last year. Then

980
00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:48,680
Speaker 1: at the start of the year they went five out.

981
00:45:48,719 --> 00:45:50,840
Speaker 1: It was super clunky. It took them a long time,

982
00:45:51,080 --> 00:45:54,000
Speaker 1: but they hit their gear in January and suddenly it

983
00:45:54,080 --> 00:45:57,239
Speaker 1: was like a completely different team. Every Lebron offense had

984
00:45:57,280 --> 00:45:59,759
Speaker 1: been bad since since he came to the Lakers because

985
00:45:59,800 --> 00:46:02,400
Speaker 1: they were so heavy on defensive personnel, and suddenly they

986
00:46:02,440 --> 00:46:03,960
Speaker 1: had one of the best offenses in the league. When

987
00:46:03,960 --> 00:46:07,200
Speaker 1: everything clicked into place, that's the type of investment Dallas

988
00:46:07,280 --> 00:46:09,520
Speaker 1: is making. When you're looking at the big picture here,

989
00:46:09,640 --> 00:46:11,200
Speaker 1: I had a lot of mass fans out they're playing

990
00:46:11,239 --> 00:46:12,520
Speaker 1: the same way that they did that it was the

991
00:46:12,520 --> 00:46:14,680
Speaker 1: same stuff we ran with Tim Hardaway Junior. No, it's not,

992
00:46:14,840 --> 00:46:17,840
Speaker 1: it's not. I've watched both teams very closely. You're doing

993
00:46:17,880 --> 00:46:20,920
Speaker 1: a lot more action, a lot more involvement of all

994
00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:23,520
Speaker 1: your stars, a lot more ball in player movement, a

995
00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:25,640
Speaker 1: lot more having your center at the top of the

996
00:46:25,719 --> 00:46:28,200
Speaker 1: key operating as a passing volcrum with off ball action

997
00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:30,920
Speaker 1: happening around them. That is a different offense than what

998
00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:33,879
Speaker 1: you ran last year. It's a great thing. It's going

999
00:46:33,920 --> 00:46:36,040
Speaker 1: to take time. They're going to have to figure shit out.

1000
00:46:36,040 --> 00:46:38,080
Speaker 1: They're gonna have bad games. They're gonna have nights where

1001
00:46:38,080 --> 00:46:39,759
Speaker 1: they miss a lot of shots. They're gonna have knights

1002
00:46:39,760 --> 00:46:42,120
Speaker 1: where there's turnovers. They're gonna have nights where it looks clunky.

1003
00:46:42,360 --> 00:46:44,440
Speaker 1: But in the long run, that is an investment that

1004
00:46:44,480 --> 00:46:47,600
Speaker 1: will pay off for Dallas because that is the variety

1005
00:46:47,840 --> 00:46:51,359
Speaker 1: that will make them more resilient offensively when they get

1006
00:46:51,400 --> 00:46:54,640
Speaker 1: into the postseason. All right, guys, let's get into our

1007
00:46:54,719 --> 00:46:57,040
Speaker 1: film session for today again, I've got eighteen clips free you.

1008
00:46:57,040 --> 00:46:58,719
Speaker 1: We're gonna be bouncing around to a bunch of teams

1009
00:46:58,719 --> 00:47:16,640
Speaker 1: around the league. Let's get into our film session for

1010
00:47:16,680 --> 00:47:18,560
Speaker 1: today again. I've got eighteen clips for You're gonna be

1011
00:47:18,600 --> 00:47:20,479
Speaker 1: bouncing around to a bunch of teams around the league.

1012
00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:22,400
Speaker 1: If you're listening on the podcast feed, you're going to

1013
00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:25,200
Speaker 1: want to head over to YouTube to see that part

1014
00:47:25,239 --> 00:47:28,080
Speaker 1: to actually get the visual representations of what we're talking about.

1015
00:47:28,239 --> 00:47:30,239
Speaker 1: All right, our first one here, this is a great

1016
00:47:30,280 --> 00:47:34,440
Speaker 1: example of off ball action that doesn't necessarily result in

1017
00:47:34,640 --> 00:47:37,879
Speaker 1: and assist, but that results in an advantage that still

1018
00:47:37,960 --> 00:47:40,000
Speaker 1: ends in a bucket. So, as you can see our

1019
00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:42,359
Speaker 1: setup here, we have Tray Jackson Davis in the post

1020
00:47:42,400 --> 00:47:44,640
Speaker 1: against Zubas. We're gonna get a split cut here. What

1021
00:47:44,680 --> 00:47:47,640
Speaker 1: that means is Kaminga is going to set a screen

1022
00:47:47,719 --> 00:47:50,360
Speaker 1: for Steph to come off and then he's going to

1023
00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:53,680
Speaker 1: cut off of it. So as you watch, because he

1024
00:47:53,719 --> 00:47:56,719
Speaker 1: sets this off ball screen, Kaminga's looked off. Now this

1025
00:47:56,800 --> 00:47:59,040
Speaker 1: action is useless now because Kminga is now looking or

1026
00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:01,680
Speaker 1: excuse me, Tray X and Davis is now looking to score.

1027
00:48:02,280 --> 00:48:04,600
Speaker 1: So Trace Jackson Davis has taken his eye off this action.

1028
00:48:04,719 --> 00:48:08,000
Speaker 1: He's looking to score. But just because you ran the action,

1029
00:48:08,400 --> 00:48:11,839
Speaker 1: Kevin Porter Junior stepped out on Steph to help. That

1030
00:48:11,880 --> 00:48:14,760
Speaker 1: means Jonathan Kaminga has a free crash to the rim

1031
00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:17,759
Speaker 1: on what would have been his cut had it been

1032
00:48:18,040 --> 00:48:20,080
Speaker 1: a more traditional post up, had Trace been looking to

1033
00:48:20,120 --> 00:48:23,360
Speaker 1: pass the basketball instead, Trace looks to shoot and he misses.

1034
00:48:24,000 --> 00:48:27,440
Speaker 1: But Kaminga's got a straight runway to the rim for

1035
00:48:27,640 --> 00:48:30,799
Speaker 1: a tip dunk literally stemming off of this off ball

1036
00:48:30,840 --> 00:48:33,520
Speaker 1: action with Steph that drew two to the ball. So

1037
00:48:33,600 --> 00:48:36,360
Speaker 1: once again, part of the gravity that Steph has but two.

1038
00:48:36,719 --> 00:48:39,440
Speaker 1: That's why offball action is so important. It extends beyond

1039
00:48:39,800 --> 00:48:42,600
Speaker 1: spacing even to offensive rebounding, just anything you can do

1040
00:48:42,640 --> 00:48:45,600
Speaker 1: to get the defense in rotation. Really good defensive possession

1041
00:48:45,600 --> 00:48:47,760
Speaker 1: for the Clippers here. I've talked a lot about how

1042
00:48:48,960 --> 00:48:51,200
Speaker 1: the Clippers just have so much speed on the perimeter.

1043
00:48:51,280 --> 00:48:53,279
Speaker 1: Watch this speed. So we got Buddy hild sprint up

1044
00:48:53,280 --> 00:48:55,839
Speaker 1: the floor. Watch the transition defense, stop the ball, turn

1045
00:48:55,920 --> 00:48:57,440
Speaker 1: him to the sideline. We got to close out. We

1046
00:48:57,440 --> 00:48:59,960
Speaker 1: need to close out here, James Harden close out. Sharp

1047
00:49:00,040 --> 00:49:02,799
Speaker 1: Or Junior stays attached to Buddy Heeld. After he gives

1048
00:49:02,840 --> 00:49:05,760
Speaker 1: up the ball, a lot of guys they'll pass boom

1049
00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:07,920
Speaker 1: and then Kevin Porter will a lot of guys in

1050
00:49:07,960 --> 00:49:10,400
Speaker 1: this position will relax and then the shooter will relocate

1051
00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:13,640
Speaker 1: and get open. No, Kevin Porter's staying attached. Were Kevin

1052
00:49:13,680 --> 00:49:15,840
Speaker 1: Porter's denying the ball. Now we're swinging the ball to

1053
00:49:16,360 --> 00:49:18,480
Speaker 1: across the court. Look at the close out from Terrence Man.

1054
00:49:18,520 --> 00:49:21,600
Speaker 1: He's there on the catch. Kevin Porter's there on the catch.

1055
00:49:21,640 --> 00:49:24,520
Speaker 1: They're flying around and making sure none of these openings

1056
00:49:24,560 --> 00:49:27,600
Speaker 1: are there, switching off the ball to take over and

1057
00:49:27,600 --> 00:49:31,000
Speaker 1: opening another switch off the ball. Good communication. Kevin Porter

1058
00:49:31,120 --> 00:49:33,920
Speaker 1: stays attached on the cut. Now all of a sudden,

1059
00:49:33,920 --> 00:49:36,040
Speaker 1: there's five seconds on the shot clock and no one's open.

1060
00:49:37,080 --> 00:49:39,439
Speaker 1: Now Steph has to throw up a prayer notice off

1061
00:49:39,440 --> 00:49:41,400
Speaker 1: ball to Derek Jones Junior. It's remind a little bit

1062
00:49:41,440 --> 00:49:47,320
Speaker 1: watch Derek Jones stay disciplined, stays attached, no openings. Really

1063
00:49:47,320 --> 00:49:49,600
Speaker 1: really good defense from the Clippers. They look so sharp

1064
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:53,120
Speaker 1: defensively on the perimeter to start the year. This is

1065
00:49:53,480 --> 00:49:55,480
Speaker 1: a really example, a really good example of beating what's

1066
00:49:55,480 --> 00:49:58,720
Speaker 1: called strongside zone. So basically, when you have a player

1067
00:49:58,760 --> 00:50:00,799
Speaker 1: do what James Harden does here, which is like, this

1068
00:50:00,840 --> 00:50:02,319
Speaker 1: is the strong side of the floor, right, this is

1069
00:50:02,320 --> 00:50:05,200
Speaker 1: where the ball is. James Harden is straight up ignoring

1070
00:50:05,239 --> 00:50:08,400
Speaker 1: his man to zone up, meaning he's basically just guarding

1071
00:50:08,400 --> 00:50:10,720
Speaker 1: this entire area of the floor as a third defender,

1072
00:50:11,360 --> 00:50:15,600
Speaker 1: and Steph beats it by hitting Gary Payton just cutting

1073
00:50:15,600 --> 00:50:17,759
Speaker 1: along the baseline. Really nice work from the Warriors to

1074
00:50:17,760 --> 00:50:19,960
Speaker 1: beat a strong side zone. I thought this was a

1075
00:50:20,000 --> 00:50:22,200
Speaker 1: really nice low man rotation from James Harden that I

1076
00:50:22,239 --> 00:50:24,279
Speaker 1: wanted to shout out. You could tell that they're putting

1077
00:50:24,360 --> 00:50:26,640
Speaker 1: him in low man situations a lot to try to

1078
00:50:26,719 --> 00:50:29,120
Speaker 1: keep him engaged off the ball. He had a couple

1079
00:50:29,239 --> 00:50:30,799
Speaker 1: ugly ones, like he had a possession where he let

1080
00:50:30,840 --> 00:50:33,200
Speaker 1: Andrew Wiggins just jog right along the baseline and get

1081
00:50:33,239 --> 00:50:35,680
Speaker 1: over here and hit a three. But for the most part,

1082
00:50:35,680 --> 00:50:38,600
Speaker 1: he's been pretty good here at just playing good health defense.

1083
00:50:38,640 --> 00:50:40,960
Speaker 1: And again, all it is about reading the play. He's

1084
00:50:40,960 --> 00:50:43,400
Speaker 1: a low man. He's not too worried about Gary Payton

1085
00:50:43,440 --> 00:50:46,160
Speaker 1: taking a jumper, so he had a ball screen. Kai

1086
00:50:46,239 --> 00:50:48,160
Speaker 1: Jones comes up to the level off. Kai Jones comes

1087
00:50:48,239 --> 00:50:50,239
Speaker 1: up to the level. There's a pocket pass here, but

1088
00:50:50,320 --> 00:50:53,560
Speaker 1: notice how James Harden identifies it. He's running right now.

1089
00:50:53,560 --> 00:50:55,759
Speaker 1: He's gonna start running right now, sees the screen coming,

1090
00:50:55,800 --> 00:50:58,399
Speaker 1: he sees Kai up at the level. James is making

1091
00:50:58,480 --> 00:51:00,400
Speaker 1: his rotation right away, and he gets in there and

1092
00:51:00,960 --> 00:51:03,200
Speaker 1: knocks the ball away and gets a steal. Really nice

1093
00:51:03,239 --> 00:51:06,480
Speaker 1: lowman defense from James Harden. There's another level to a

1094
00:51:06,520 --> 00:51:09,319
Speaker 1: low man rotation though, so watches Steph is pointing to

1095
00:51:09,360 --> 00:51:11,520
Speaker 1: Buddy Heel to be the low man in this rotation.

1096
00:51:11,960 --> 00:51:15,200
Speaker 1: Buddy makes the rotation as the lowman over. But then

1097
00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:18,560
Speaker 1: Steph makes what I call windshield wiper rotation, meaning basically,

1098
00:51:18,600 --> 00:51:23,080
Speaker 1: as Buddy's rotating, he's rotating. If Buddy helps. Chris Dunn

1099
00:51:23,160 --> 00:51:26,480
Speaker 1: is wide open, right, but Steph makes the rotation too

1100
00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:29,480
Speaker 1: and gets into that baseline passing lane. So now watch

1101
00:51:29,520 --> 00:51:32,920
Speaker 1: Buddy and Steph again full speed from here. There's your

1102
00:51:32,920 --> 00:51:36,319
Speaker 1: shooters on the weak side. They're switching because there's an interchange, right,

1103
00:51:36,360 --> 00:51:41,720
Speaker 1: So there's your interchange switch. But then lowman rotation steal.

1104
00:51:42,239 --> 00:51:44,640
Speaker 1: Nice work from Steph. This is a fun example of

1105
00:51:45,719 --> 00:51:47,839
Speaker 1: like you can tell something something that Golden State has

1106
00:51:47,880 --> 00:51:50,640
Speaker 1: practiced a lot, which is double teaming and rotating out

1107
00:51:50,640 --> 00:51:52,680
Speaker 1: of it. But The specific thing I think is really

1108
00:51:52,680 --> 00:51:54,680
Speaker 1: smart here is how quickly they get out of the

1109
00:51:54,680 --> 00:51:57,120
Speaker 1: double team. So a mere coffee sets a screen. Steph

1110
00:51:57,160 --> 00:51:59,239
Speaker 1: is on the ball. They don't want Steph to be

1111
00:51:59,239 --> 00:52:01,319
Speaker 1: in a switch with James Harden. James Harden has been

1112
00:52:01,400 --> 00:52:03,879
Speaker 1: kicked cooking smaller guards on switches a lot in this season.

1113
00:52:03,920 --> 00:52:06,560
Speaker 1: It's been something he's been targeting a lot. So Andrew

1114
00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:10,719
Speaker 1: Wiggins comes up in double teams hard double Kaminga rotates up.

1115
00:52:10,760 --> 00:52:12,680
Speaker 1: So now the only pass that's open is the skip

1116
00:52:12,680 --> 00:52:15,480
Speaker 1: pass to done. But on the double team, as soon

1117
00:52:15,520 --> 00:52:17,600
Speaker 1: as James Harden picks up his dribble, Boom. As soon

1118
00:52:17,600 --> 00:52:19,480
Speaker 1: as James Harden picks up his dribble, he's no longer

1119
00:52:19,480 --> 00:52:22,160
Speaker 1: a threat, right sil threat sil threat, not a threat.

1120
00:52:22,719 --> 00:52:26,160
Speaker 1: Notice how Steph immediately when James picks up his dribble

1121
00:52:26,200 --> 00:52:28,839
Speaker 1: starts making his rotation. I'm gonna slow it down again.

1122
00:52:29,160 --> 00:52:34,000
Speaker 1: Watch Steph. He's watching James threat threat threat, pick up

1123
00:52:34,040 --> 00:52:36,880
Speaker 1: the dribble, not a threat, Rotate back, boom, Kaminga shoots

1124
00:52:36,960 --> 00:52:40,560
Speaker 1: up the line, Steph rotates down, waves Pajemski in. Now

1125
00:52:40,560 --> 00:52:43,520
Speaker 1: he's back on Derek Jones Jr. Advantage is gone That

1126
00:52:43,960 --> 00:52:47,400
Speaker 1: is a beautiful example of the proper way to double

1127
00:52:47,440 --> 00:52:51,600
Speaker 1: team and help a star that's or one of your

1128
00:52:51,600 --> 00:52:55,600
Speaker 1: weaker defensive players that's in a disadvantageous position. Again, pressure

1129
00:52:56,000 --> 00:52:58,320
Speaker 1: push out as soon as he picks up his dribble,

1130
00:52:58,360 --> 00:53:01,200
Speaker 1: immediately start your rotation. It's a pre rotation, if that

1131
00:53:01,280 --> 00:53:05,240
Speaker 1: makes sense. This next stretch is the incredibly damaging stretch

1132
00:53:05,280 --> 00:53:09,400
Speaker 1: of basketball from Pat Connaton in the in the Brooklyn

1133
00:53:09,440 --> 00:53:12,560
Speaker 1: Nets game. And this is all in reverse order because

1134
00:53:12,560 --> 00:53:14,640
Speaker 1: I ended up going back and adding the other clips,

1135
00:53:15,560 --> 00:53:17,640
Speaker 1: so these actually happened in reverse order in the game.

1136
00:53:17,680 --> 00:53:19,560
Speaker 1: But these are the mistakes that he made. This one

1137
00:53:19,640 --> 00:53:21,160
Speaker 1: was one of the weirder plays I've seen. So it's

1138
00:53:21,160 --> 00:53:25,600
Speaker 1: a long rebound, that's Pat Conninson's ball right, Dennis Schroeder's

1139
00:53:25,640 --> 00:53:29,080
Speaker 1: running in. That's Pat Connaton's ball right like he should

1140
00:53:29,080 --> 00:53:32,720
Speaker 1: get that doesn't get it, and then whax Dennis Schroder

1141
00:53:32,719 --> 00:53:34,600
Speaker 1: in the face and commits a flav or foul. So

1142
00:53:34,640 --> 00:53:36,640
Speaker 1: instead of getting the defensive reebound and going the other way,

1143
00:53:36,760 --> 00:53:38,680
Speaker 1: the Nets get two free throws and possession of the ball.

1144
00:53:38,719 --> 00:53:41,040
Speaker 1: That was really damaging. This was a point of attack

1145
00:53:41,080 --> 00:53:43,520
Speaker 1: defense possession on Cam Thomas that I didn't like. I

1146
00:53:43,560 --> 00:53:45,880
Speaker 1: just thought he was way too passive. So as we

1147
00:53:45,920 --> 00:53:49,400
Speaker 1: fast forward, here we go to Cam Thomas. There's no pressure.

1148
00:53:49,520 --> 00:53:52,800
Speaker 1: We're sitting off and letting Cam get comfortable, which allows

1149
00:53:52,880 --> 00:53:55,680
Speaker 1: Cam to just easily come off of the screen into

1150
00:53:55,680 --> 00:53:58,239
Speaker 1: this area and shoot an easy pull up three over

1151
00:53:58,239 --> 00:54:00,520
Speaker 1: the top. You have to with these really good pull

1152
00:54:00,560 --> 00:54:05,120
Speaker 1: up shooters, disrupt their handle, disrupt their pocket, disrupt their base.

1153
00:54:05,160 --> 00:54:07,720
Speaker 1: You've got to be more physical and apply more ball pressure.

1154
00:54:07,719 --> 00:54:10,319
Speaker 1: That's just that's just not good defense. And then this

1155
00:54:10,440 --> 00:54:13,640
Speaker 1: next one here against Dennis Schroeder, it's just clear the

1156
00:54:13,680 --> 00:54:16,839
Speaker 1: side get the matchup they want. Okay, we like pat

1157
00:54:16,840 --> 00:54:19,040
Speaker 1: content against Schroeder. I'm just gonna beat him off the

1158
00:54:19,080 --> 00:54:20,960
Speaker 1: dribble and get to the basket and draw an easy foul.

1159
00:54:22,719 --> 00:54:24,239
Speaker 1: And just like that, like it was like it was

1160
00:54:24,280 --> 00:54:26,200
Speaker 1: like one after the other. It was just it was

1161
00:54:26,239 --> 00:54:29,080
Speaker 1: just such a bad shift for that Bucks bench unit

1162
00:54:29,120 --> 00:54:31,120
Speaker 1: to start the fourth quarter and they completely lost control

1163
00:54:31,160 --> 00:54:33,120
Speaker 1: of the game. So then Dame comes in, right. See

1164
00:54:33,120 --> 00:54:35,040
Speaker 1: it's four point game, right, four point game. This game

1165
00:54:35,080 --> 00:54:38,719
Speaker 1: is is this is a hold on. This is one

1166
00:54:38,719 --> 00:54:41,160
Speaker 1: more content play. The Dame one is next. I apologize.

1167
00:54:41,480 --> 00:54:43,400
Speaker 1: So this is no man's land from Pat. So this

1168
00:54:43,440 --> 00:54:45,319
Speaker 1: is again I've had him in reverse order. So this

1169
00:54:45,360 --> 00:54:48,359
Speaker 1: was early at the start of this run, it was

1170
00:54:48,520 --> 00:54:51,520
Speaker 1: a four point game, and by the time all four

1171
00:54:51,560 --> 00:54:53,919
Speaker 1: of these defensive mistakes from Content happened, it's a twelve

1172
00:54:54,000 --> 00:54:56,680
Speaker 1: point game. That's how quickly things turned around. Look at

1173
00:54:56,680 --> 00:55:00,880
Speaker 1: this week'side defense. Who's Pat guarding like he's not low man,

1174
00:55:01,200 --> 00:55:03,279
Speaker 1: but Bobby's the low man, so he's got to be

1175
00:55:03,360 --> 00:55:06,160
Speaker 1: over here, but he's way he's caught in no man's line.

1176
00:55:06,200 --> 00:55:08,239
Speaker 1: This is like that limbo we talked about all the time.

1177
00:55:08,680 --> 00:55:11,200
Speaker 1: This has helped defense. Limbo. You're not helping on the ball,

1178
00:55:11,400 --> 00:55:13,879
Speaker 1: and you're not helping off the ball. Easy kickout pass

1179
00:55:13,920 --> 00:55:16,560
Speaker 1: for Schroeder. It's bad close out, gives up middle penetration,

1180
00:55:16,640 --> 00:55:18,200
Speaker 1: he gets all the way to basket for a layup.

1181
00:55:18,360 --> 00:55:21,200
Speaker 1: Just really rough defensive shift. So now Dame comes back

1182
00:55:21,200 --> 00:55:24,520
Speaker 1: in the game. You're trying to regain control. Dame is

1183
00:55:24,560 --> 00:55:27,799
Speaker 1: guarding here in the corner. Watch the corner crash cam

1184
00:55:27,880 --> 00:55:30,440
Speaker 1: Thomas takes I think a pull up three here. It

1185
00:55:30,440 --> 00:55:32,719
Speaker 1: takes a short jump shot. But look at Dame, like,

1186
00:55:32,760 --> 00:55:36,319
Speaker 1: what's Dame doing. You're not helping, you're not tracking, your

1187
00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:39,399
Speaker 1: man just goes right behind him for an easy tip dunk.

1188
00:55:39,480 --> 00:55:42,840
Speaker 1: Like the Bucks are gonna just keep getting kicked around

1189
00:55:42,920 --> 00:55:45,560
Speaker 1: by these young teams on these nights when they don't

1190
00:55:45,560 --> 00:55:48,520
Speaker 1: engage defensively like that. You've got to be sharper because

1191
00:55:48,560 --> 00:55:51,080
Speaker 1: you're not as athletic. If you're not as you can't

1192
00:55:51,320 --> 00:55:53,759
Speaker 1: you can't be the worst execution team and the worst

1193
00:55:53,800 --> 00:55:55,920
Speaker 1: athleticism team. You're gonna get beat a lot if you

1194
00:55:55,920 --> 00:55:59,440
Speaker 1: play that way. Here's that incredible stretch of offensive basketball

1195
00:55:59,440 --> 00:56:01,040
Speaker 1: from the Boston Celtics at the tail end of the

1196
00:56:01,080 --> 00:56:05,120
Speaker 1: Pistons game. Here's the inside seal from Tatum to Al Horford.

1197
00:56:05,280 --> 00:56:09,720
Speaker 1: Real basic action to beat switching. Right here comes Horford.

1198
00:56:10,280 --> 00:56:12,759
Speaker 1: We're expecting a switch, so he wants to screen the

1199
00:56:12,760 --> 00:56:16,440
Speaker 1: bottom side, kind of gets that inside forty five degree angle,

1200
00:56:17,320 --> 00:56:21,600
Speaker 1: creates inside seal. Tatum just throws the easy pass over

1201
00:56:21,640 --> 00:56:24,640
Speaker 1: the top that forces the help from the week side,

1202
00:56:24,640 --> 00:56:26,480
Speaker 1: and now we have our week side two on one.

1203
00:56:26,480 --> 00:56:29,319
Speaker 1: And remember, that's the foundation of everything that makes Boston great.

1204
00:56:29,719 --> 00:56:31,840
Speaker 1: If they can create these week side two on ones,

1205
00:56:32,120 --> 00:56:34,920
Speaker 1: they're just always wide open threes for really good shooters.

1206
00:56:34,960 --> 00:56:37,759
Speaker 1: Drew Holliday hits the three. This transition kickout pass from

1207
00:56:37,800 --> 00:56:42,560
Speaker 1: Jalen Brown is ridiculous. Get the rebound. Watch Jalen Brown's

1208
00:56:42,560 --> 00:56:45,440
Speaker 1: push here in transition nasty behind the back move, gets

1209
00:56:45,480 --> 00:56:48,600
Speaker 1: into the paint, draws three bodies, kick out the Alahifford

1210
00:56:48,600 --> 00:56:51,320
Speaker 1: pass pass rotate easy, wide open three for Drew Holiday.

1211
00:56:51,520 --> 00:56:54,239
Speaker 1: Boom games tied. Here's that top block play I was

1212
00:56:54,280 --> 00:56:56,839
Speaker 1: talking about. So again, they're setting up off ball action,

1213
00:56:57,440 --> 00:57:00,919
Speaker 1: but Tim Hardaway Junior is playing on the high side.

1214
00:57:00,960 --> 00:57:03,560
Speaker 1: This is called top blocking. He's trying to stop Tatum

1215
00:57:03,920 --> 00:57:06,520
Speaker 1: from flashing high to go get the basketball off of

1216
00:57:06,520 --> 00:57:10,160
Speaker 1: a Horford screen. But Tatum smartly just cuts out of

1217
00:57:10,200 --> 00:57:12,239
Speaker 1: it and gets really good post position out of it.

1218
00:57:12,480 --> 00:57:16,600
Speaker 1: See because Hardaway was basically conceding that inside cut, Tatum

1219
00:57:16,600 --> 00:57:18,920
Speaker 1: gets an easy layup. That's bad defense, but also just

1220
00:57:18,960 --> 00:57:21,760
Speaker 1: a really nice counter to a coverage from Jason Tatum.

1221
00:57:23,040 --> 00:57:25,920
Speaker 1: And then this was just this was just insane. A

1222
00:57:26,000 --> 00:57:29,600
Speaker 1: backscreen gets kay Cunnyham wide open. You think you're dead

1223
00:57:29,600 --> 00:57:33,440
Speaker 1: to rights, watch this block from Derreck White that is

1224
00:57:33,480 --> 00:57:35,560
Speaker 1: in a two point game with less than a minute left.

1225
00:57:35,600 --> 00:57:38,400
Speaker 1: That is a waning type of play from Derek White.

1226
00:57:39,120 --> 00:57:41,600
Speaker 1: That stop the Pistons from tying in that game, and

1227
00:57:41,640 --> 00:57:43,520
Speaker 1: then Jason Tatum goes down and ices it on the

1228
00:57:43,520 --> 00:57:46,320
Speaker 1: other end. All right, last, before we get out of here,

1229
00:57:46,320 --> 00:57:48,680
Speaker 1: let's talk about these inverted ball screens with Evan Mobley.

1230
00:57:50,280 --> 00:57:53,439
Speaker 1: This first one here again, notice the defender here, Jalen

1231
00:57:53,520 --> 00:57:56,240
Speaker 1: Durn's going way underneath the pick. Because he's going under

1232
00:57:56,240 --> 00:57:58,880
Speaker 1: the pick, Evan Mobley can easily set into his pull

1233
00:57:58,960 --> 00:58:00,520
Speaker 1: up three off the dribble, which he is been shooting

1234
00:58:00,520 --> 00:58:02,800
Speaker 1: well to start this year. The second one, he's going

1235
00:58:02,840 --> 00:58:06,440
Speaker 1: to draw two on the ball, So once again Durren's

1236
00:58:06,440 --> 00:58:11,480
Speaker 1: on the ball. When Mitch sets the screen, he draws

1237
00:58:11,520 --> 00:58:14,600
Speaker 1: the help because this guy's just thinking I've got to

1238
00:58:14,640 --> 00:58:17,880
Speaker 1: be there. Otherwise Mobley's gonna get downhill. That allows Mitchell

1239
00:58:17,920 --> 00:58:19,400
Speaker 1: this wide open close out at the top of the

1240
00:58:19,480 --> 00:58:20,560
Speaker 1: key and it gets all the way to the rim

1241
00:58:20,600 --> 00:58:23,800
Speaker 1: for a lamp here. Again, if you have another way

1242
00:58:23,800 --> 00:58:26,080
Speaker 1: to get the defense in rotation, that's a huge advantage

1243
00:58:26,080 --> 00:58:29,520
Speaker 1: because certain matchups might swing in each depending on who

1244
00:58:29,560 --> 00:58:32,000
Speaker 1: you're playing where those advantages are harder to come by,

1245
00:58:32,040 --> 00:58:34,160
Speaker 1: and if you have more ways to generate the advantages,

1246
00:58:34,200 --> 00:58:37,920
Speaker 1: it mix for a more resilient offense. Having Evan Mobley

1247
00:58:38,000 --> 00:58:40,800
Speaker 1: also be able to generate advantage makes your offense more resilient.

1248
00:58:40,840 --> 00:58:41,840
Speaker 1: This is why I've been harping on it with the

1249
00:58:41,880 --> 00:58:45,160
Speaker 1: Dallas Mavericks and they're playing style. You want to have

1250
00:58:45,400 --> 00:58:49,000
Speaker 1: more people involved so that you have more resilience on

1251
00:58:49,000 --> 00:58:52,440
Speaker 1: the offensive end of the floor. Last one, this is

1252
00:58:52,440 --> 00:58:55,280
Speaker 1: where you see that runway that I talk about. When

1253
00:58:55,320 --> 00:58:59,040
Speaker 1: Mobley gets the screen, Notice the defender, Tobias Harris in

1254
00:58:59,040 --> 00:59:02,400
Speaker 1: this case, goes under. Because Tobias goes under. Now we've

1255
00:59:02,440 --> 00:59:05,160
Speaker 1: got a solid like seven or eight foot gap here

1256
00:59:05,440 --> 00:59:08,440
Speaker 1: that allows Mobley to get ahead of steam. When he

1257
00:59:08,440 --> 00:59:11,600
Speaker 1: gets ahead of steam, by the time he drops that shoulder,

1258
00:59:11,640 --> 00:59:13,880
Speaker 1: now look where he is. He's eight feet from the basket,

1259
00:59:13,960 --> 00:59:15,760
Speaker 1: and then he can just turn easily over his left

1260
00:59:15,760 --> 00:59:18,320
Speaker 1: shoulder for a short range hook shot he's able to get.

1261
00:59:18,360 --> 00:59:19,680
Speaker 1: I'm gonna watch it. I want you guys to watch

1262
00:59:19,720 --> 00:59:21,920
Speaker 1: it full speed again, looking out easily he can get

1263
00:59:21,920 --> 00:59:24,680
Speaker 1: downhill because the defender goes under. The pick from that

1264
00:59:24,720 --> 00:59:27,000
Speaker 1: two man game where he's inverting it. It's a nice

1265
00:59:27,040 --> 00:59:29,760
Speaker 1: little wrinkle in the Cavs offense to start this year.

1266
00:59:29,960 --> 00:59:31,320
Speaker 1: All right, guys, That is all I have for today.

1267
00:59:31,360 --> 00:59:33,800
Speaker 1: As always, as sincerely appreciate you guys for supporting the show.

1268
00:59:34,000 --> 00:59:35,560
Speaker 1: I've got a little bit of a crazy day schedule

1269
00:59:35,560 --> 00:59:37,480
Speaker 1: wized tomorrow, so we're just gonna do a really short

1270
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Speaker 1: episode tomorrow morning, but then we'll be back with a

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Speaker 1: bunch of breakdowns on Wednesday. As always, as sincerely appreciate

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Speaker 1: you guys for supporting the show, and I'll see you

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Speaker 1: then the volume. What's up guys? As always, I appreciate

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Speaker 1: you for listening to and supporting OOPS tonight. It would

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Speaker 1: actually be really helpful for us if you guys would

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Speaker 1: take a second and leave a rating and a review.

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Speaker 1: As always, I appreciate you guys supporting us, but if

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Speaker 1: you get t a minute to do that, I'd really

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Speaker 1: appreciate it.